Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The shrill, stabbing sounds of her ship’s alarm cause Samus to shoot up in her makeshift bed. Her screams died out as the sight of deep space filled her vision. The view was blocked out by a red panel appearing on the windshield of her spaceship.

“Good morning Samus. It is currently six AM Federation Time.” The robotic and uncaring voice of her personal computer Adam filled the cockpit of her ship. The captain’s chair of the ship slowly returned to its normal position. Samus’ body felt uncomfortable, and the few clothes she wore to sleep were drenched with sweat. Likely the result from a nightmare. She didn’t remember what happened in the nightmare, but she had a hunch that it had something to do with her bastard Chozo father or the indestructible research robots she had encountered just the day before. 

Samus slowly rose from the captain’s chair and tore off her sports bra and shorts she went to sleep in. The sound of running water flowing from the unused bedroom. Adam’s job was to keep Samus alive, both during and between missions. Of course he would run the shower when she needed it. 

Samus entered the shower and simply stood there and let the water run down her body. She ran her hair through her fingers, felt the small, scattered hairs on her arms. She felt her stomach and her breasts and smiled, but when she continued lowering her hands she frowned. She worked hard and paid so much for the body she had now, but it still wasn’t enough. There were defects, imperfections that drove her insane. She wished she could just take a knife and carve up the things she hated about herself, but things were not that simple. These things took time and money, things that Samus didn’t have.

Samus dried herself off and put on a fresh set of underwear and sat back down on the captain’s chair. Several windows opened with various messages, some from her contacts in the Federation, some from news stations asking her for information regarding the recently destroyed planet ZDR.

“I was certain that you wouldn’t be willing to meet with anyone from the Federation after your mission on ZDR, so I contacted them remotely. Congratulations Lady, you are now one thousand credits richer. The cost of the destroyed E.M.M.I. was cut from your pay.” Samus groaned as she looked at her account balance. She would be fine, she’s survived off much less. But there was no way she could afford some of the services she needed. 

With a sigh she pressed a few buttons on the ship’s console and stood up. “Adam, plan a route to Earth. We’re gonna take a mission.”

“I assumed you wouldn’t want to take a mission from the Galactic Federation considering how your mission on ZDR progressed.” Samus didn’t respond to Adam, instead walking to a large capsule at the end of the cockpit and typing on the keypad on the wall. “The Federation doesn’t even have a mission ready for you.”

As the capsule opened up to reveal the fully charged Power Suit, Samus turned back to the front of the ship and smirked.

“Oh, I see. Be warned Samus, the risks associated with what you’re going to do are high. You may be tricked into performing a dangerous or illegal job for too little. You might not get paid at all.”

“I know the risks Adam.” Samus said as she stepped forward into the suit, which deformed and morphed around her body. As soon as the helmet engulfed her head, she felt some of her fatigue and even her distress start to dull. The Chozo Power Suit was designed to keep the wearer at peak performance at all times, with systems that supported Samus’ body and mind. It was hard to fight endless hordes of pirates when you were having a panic attack after all.

Once Samus was comfortable in the Power Suit she sat back down in the captain’s chair and started flying the ship.

“Very well. Proceed with caution, Lady.”

Although Earth was not where Samus was raised, she was very familiar with the massive Federal City that covered over half of the planet. Only a quarter of the City was devoted to the Galactic Federation Headquarters and housing its upper classes, the rest of the city was taken up by dense, poverty-ridden urban streets. Whoever could afford it would move to one of Earth’s colonies, and whoever was lucky enough to get a job in the Galactic Federation moved to the suburbs. Crime was rampant, wealth inequality was the highest it’s ever been in Earth's history, and there was almost no hope for the billions living here.

Samus couldn’t help but love it, however. The cold efficiency of the Galactic Federation and the sterilized suburbs were alienating. The rich and powerful were disgusted by the lower classes and paranoid that their wealth would be taken from them so they stayed behind heavily locked doors. In contrast, the city streets were personal. People milled about and actually talked to each other. It was common for people to open their homes to complete strangers. They were getting fucked over by the system in so many ways that the only way to survive was to band together. 

Samus would find excuses to visit the slums during her time training in the Federation Military. The other soldiers were way too high and mighty for her taste, getting way too much excitement out of defending the rich while shitting on the poor for not working hard enough to get into a better situation. The people of the slums were just that, normal people. At least they had the perspective needed to treat their fellow humans with care. She was never a very social person even back then, but she actually managed to make some friends while getting drunk at bars. It was the only time she felt actually respected for who she was.

Most people steered clear of Samus while she walked from the spaceship ports to her destination. Anyone who had such high-tech power armor was truly dangerous. Some recognized her and were brave enough to wave in her direction or say hi as they passed. Samus didn’t react much, giving a subtle nod to those she truly remembered. Samus was glad she had acquired such a menacing presentation, social interaction was never her favorite pastime.

Eventually, she made it to her destination, a dingy bar called the Back End. This was one of the more dangerous places in the city, being a popular hub for bounty hunters and mobsters. Even the regulars of this bar were intimidated by Samus, however. Her entrance was accompanied by the stares of many. The shiny and sleek armor of her Power Suit was strange for this place, so obviously they wondered why she was there. Samus paid them no mind as she walked straight to the person she was here for.

“Samus! It’s been too long!” A man with long silver hair said from a booth at the very back of the bar. Damien Solen was a powerful man in the slums of Federal City, the head of the Mercenaries Guild. Only the most efficient bounty hunters got to talk to him directly. “Do you have any fucking idea how surreal it was to get a message from you in my inbox? What brings you over?”

Samus sat down in the booth. “I’m here for a job Damien.”

“I thought you were in cahoots with the Federation now? Too big for us small fry?” 

“I need a job, and I don’t want to go through the Federation.” Samus liked to keep business meetings as professional as possible, while Damien was much more casual. This was a strategic tactic on Damien’s part, of course, lowering people’s guard made it easier for them to make mistakes, and much easier to read. Samus was the only person Damien was confused about.

“Ah, is blowing shit up getting a bit too tiring?” Damien chuckled at his joke, Samus did not. “Seriously Samus, you should get something to eat! We have not seen each other in so long, we need to make up for lost time.” 

“I’m here for a job, Damien.”

The two stared at each other for a moment, neither of them was getting what they wanted.

“You know what, I’m going to get something for myself.” Damien waved over a waiter and gave his order. “You always were pure business, Samus. This whole casual shit? It’s for way more than just exploiting anyone that might try to fuck me over. Being forgiving and nice means that more people will be there when you need it. I can’t even begin to count how many times my life was saved because I had a friend willing to back me up in a firefight.”

Samus remained silent as the waiter delivered Damien’s food and the mercenary leader began eating.

“How much do you want?” Damien said in between bites of steak.

“Any amount is enough. I know you’re kind-hearted enough to give me good-paying jobs.” Samus answered. It was hard not to lace in a little snark in her response.

“In that case, I have a job from a plantation owner, some of his slaves managed to escape and he wants them dead.” Samus’ silence was deafening in the crowded bar. “Too serious one moment, too innocent the next. Fine! I got another job from an aristocrat who needs their life spiced up. You know, some personal shows and private moments. Not picky about gender either.”

Samus clenched her one free fist. “Damien-”

“I was joking! I was joking, god.” Damien savored a particularly good bite before continuing. “Alright Samus, we may have our differences, but I’m interested in ensuring you have a positive experience with me. When you’re happy I’m happy, you know how it goes. So I think I have the perfect job for you. Have you heard of the planet ND-821?”

“In passing.” Samus recognized the designation, ‘ND’ referred to planets that were occupied by a sentient race that was protected under the Federation constitution. Essentially, it was impossible to legally travel to or set up shop on an ‘ND’ planet without permission from the Galactic Federation, and a very good reason to do so. 

Performing a job for the Mercenaries Guild was not a very good reason.

“ND-821 has various kingdoms dotted around it, the medieval kind. Knights and castles and kings and whatnot. This is a job from the King of Hyrule, he sent it to me personally on an honest-to-god scroll. I still have it displayed on my bedroom wall.”

Samus had the feeling this was the punchline to some joke.

“The kingdom of Hyrule is apparently under threat of constant monster attacks-” Damien chuckled to himself at the absurdity. “So he’s worried about the safety of his daughter. That’s the job, you’d be acting as a royal bodyguard.”

“This isn’t a very funny joke Damien.”

“I thought it was a joke too! But the scroll wasn’t the only thing that the king sent over. Included was a security deposit. A wooden chest filled with these,” Damien reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a dark green crystal. He threw it across the table in front of Samus. “Recognize this material?”

Samus held up the crystal with a delicate touch. There was no way it was possible, but her Power Suit’s scanners confirmed it. “This is Malecite, this is so incredibly rare.”

“It’s their currency, apparently they call them rupees. They’d be paying you with those. Just one of them would probably go for… Around a hundred thousand credits.”

Just a few of these crystals would set Samus up for years, if not decades. “Why me?”

“The king specifically requested someone who was brutal and decisive, yet kind and empathetic. There’s probably only one person in the galaxy that fits that description.”

Samus stared at the rupee in shock. This was simply too good to be true, so much money for just protecting a princess? One-half of Samus said it was simply too good to be true. But the crystal was pure malecite, as Damien said, it would have cost millions to make, for just a joke? The other half reasoned. 

It might have been incredibly risky, but the reward was simply too good to pass up.

“Send the details to my computer,” Samus said as she stood up from the booth.

“Woah, Woah, a few things. First, that one is mine,” Damien quickly swiped the rupee from Samus’ hand. “You can earn your own. And second, the king also specifically requested a man, he didn’t write why. I’d recommend keeping that helmet on,  wouldn't want to draw the king’s ire.”

Samus nodded and quickly walked out of the bar, almost running to take advantage of the job. Damien stayed behind and held the rupee like a baby. 

“Oh, I'm going to eat well with this.”

King Rhoam Nohansen Hyrule was considered a military genius by his servants and his people. He led the armies of Hyrule against the armies of the Gerudo, negotiated peace treaties between the Zora, and settled long-held disputes with the Rito. He made decisions for his people that decided their fates and had made many tough decisions during his time. But this one decision was the toughest he’s made yet.

With Link charting the vast oceans, there were no other heroes to defend the royal family, and his soldiers were busy dealing with the increasing monster attacks against Hyrule Castle Town. His daughter was adept at magic, but he couldn’t stand leaving his remaining family alone. So he did the unthinkable and made contact with the cosmos. He needed someone to defend his family, he couldn't do it himself.

It was the morning of the new moon when the warrior first arrived.

His servants were fitting him a new robe after the previous one was damaged when a royal retainer burst through the door.

Rhoam’s personal advisor Graham was quick to admonish the disturber. “What is this?! I thought I informed the staff that the King was not to be disturbed.”

“But sir! The signal appeared as the King described, bright lights started flashing above the courtyard!”

Rhoam stepped forward and began clothing himself in a finished robe. “We will resume this later. You make sure that the courtyard is properly evacuated. And Graham? You come with me.” The King left the room with haste, Graham following close behind.

By the time Rhoam and Graham arrived at the courtyard of the castle, no guard or staff was in sight. Graham was clearly nervous about the lack of protection for the King, but Rhoam wasn’t scared. Like all kings, he was trained from birth in sword combat. No one in the kingdom could best him.

Of course, the man they were meeting was not from this kingdom.

A collection of four red lights shined brightly above the courtyard. Rhoam would have considered it a miracle from the goddesses, if not for what happened next. A large metal object appeared where the lights had been, coated in a sheen of silver and purple. It lowered from the sky like an angel, landing in the courtyard with a strange grace for something so large. Rhoam was aware that this was what Cosmos beings called a ‘spaceship’, designed to travel through the endless Abyss above them. Nothing like it existed in Hyrule, and it made the mighty king feel insignificant. 

“Are you sure of this, my King?” Graham asked by his side.

“We have no choice, my friend.” Rhoam and Graham composed themselves as a ramp lowered from underneath the ship. “If I’m right about what’s coming, only this man could truly save us.”

The warrior that walked out of the spaceship was like nothing the two had expected. The man wore a suit of armor, much more pristine and elegant than any armor he knew of. It was slender and surprisingly colorful, the glass visor on the helmet gave no hints as to if the being walking towards them was even human. Every step of this mystical armor let out an ominous thud on the stone walkway. Rhoam would never admit it, but he was terrified of the man stepping up to him.

The warrior stopped just a few feet in front of the King and his advisor, Staying completely still and not saying a word. Graham and Rhoam glanced at each other before Graham stepped forward.

“W-Welcome, great warrior, to Hyrule Castle. You are in the presence of his majesty King Rhoam Nohansen Hyrule. Please bow in his name!” The warrior remained perfectly still, still saying nothing. Graham felt his nervousness be replaced with anger. “You dare disrespect the King of Hyrule? This is treason!”

“Your king has done nothing to earn my respect.” The warrior finally spoke. His voice was masculine but held a slightly metallic and artificial sound. He spoke authoritatively, even in the presence of royalty. “And I refuse to bow down to any monarch.”

“Spoken with confidence” Rhoam stepped forward, motioning Graham aside. “If I so choose, I may have you hunted and executed. You would become an enemy of Hyrule. Does that not dissuade you?”

“I surveyed your military before coming here.” The warrior spoke in a neutral tone, keeping perfectly still. “I’ve killed worse.”

Graham felt his fear return and stepped back. Out of all the tyrannical generals and bloodthirsty monsters his King has faced, nothing compared to the sheer danger radiating from the man standing before him.

But the King only laughed in the face of such a man. “You truly are a threatening warrior. What is your name?”

The man stayed silent for a moment before responding, “Samus.”

“Well Samus, You have been summoned here to act as a bodyguard to my daughter. Zelda is the last of my family and my heir to the throne. If you dare do harm unto her, The forces of Hyrule will descend upon you. Although our foot soldiers may not be a match to you, our wizards and spellcasters will hunt you through the Cosmos for all of time.”

Samus did not respond to Rhoam’s speech.

“In any regard…” Rhoam was not used to speaking to such a quiet man. “You will of course be paid for your services. Two hundred rupees a day. It is quite a generous amount, you should live comfortably with it.” Again no response.

“First you should take your ship elsewhere.” Graham finally worked up the courage to speak again. “Keep it in a secret place, the existence of your kind is a great secret of the Royal Family of Hyrule.”

Samus wordlessly turned back to her ship and walked away from the two.

“My King, I must advise against this,” Graham whispered to Rhoam as the spaceship took off and disappeared again. “He is a danger to your daughter, nay, the entire kingdom! He was so disrespectful-”

“He gave me a warrior’s respect, Graham.” The King cut off his advisor. “What he said was true. He is not familiar with our kingdom, nor of me. I may be king, but to him, I am a normal man. He also has a monetary incentive to not work against us.”

“Is that enough?! I must ask that you reconsider, my King. No good can come of this.”

“Graham, there are forces at work behind the monster attacks, I am sure of it. With Link gone, Samus is the only warrior left in the kingdom that might challenge a threat like Ganon.” Graham jerked at the mention of that monster’s name. “I am sure you are familiar with the danger that is associated with that name. A danger like that cannot be defeated with armies. We need Samus.”

It was the morning of the new moon when Zelda first met Samus.

She was studying in the library, as she did every morning. Her lessons on healing magic progressed very well, so she was spending her study time learning telekinesis magic.

‘To lift an object in the air with magic requires a perfect understanding of the object in question. What is it made of? How much does it weigh? How big is it? The larger and more complex the object, the more it needs to be understood. A block of wood isn’t complex so lifting it would be easy, while a house is made of many complex parts, so lifting it would be nigh impossible. The largest object lifted with telekinesis magic in recorded history were several catapults, telekinetically lifted by the Sorcerer King Barthemous as a last-ditch effort to fight off the Monster Army of Yuga.’

Simply understand the object you're trying to lift? That shouldn’t be too hard for someone wielding the Triforce of Wisdom!

Zelda took a moment to memorize the incantation and then shifted focus to her quill. It was a gift from a Rito prince, a sign of goodwill between them when the treaty was first signed. It was a magnificent quill, forged from a Rito feather, it was incredibly durable and high quality. Zelda had used it for years and had memorized what it was like to write with, the perfect candidate for Zelda’s first telekinesis experiment!

Zelda held out her hands to the quill and closed her eyes. She focused on the exact length of the vane, the color of the plumes, and how it felt to write with. With everything in focus, she opened her eyes and chanted, “Farore’s Lift” 

As soon as the words left her lips she felt a magical connection form between her mind and the quill. She could feel a small part of herself inside it, almost like a new limb.

As if on instinct, she instructed the new part of herself to move.

The quill slowly lifted itself into the air under Zelda’s control. She controlled her new limb to fly in circles over the desk, and spin around over her hand. Although the quill followed her commands, Its movements were slow and shaky. Zelda’s magic was incredibly strong, she should have been able to move it easily.

But then it hit her. The answer was obvious. Telekinesis magic connected the target object to the caster like a separate limb. She had heard stories from her father about soldiers who awoke from a coma, only to need weeks of physical therapy to restore full strength to their limbs. Patients that were in comas for a long time needed to have their limbs exercised for them so that their bodies retained a small bit of strength. The same was true for telekinesis magic, Zelda simply had to practice! Even as she moved the quill through the air she could feel her control over it grow, if only slightly. With time, she would surely be able to-

“Princess Zelda!”

“Ah!” The sound of Graham yelling caused Zelda to jump, tearing the connection between her and the quill. “Graham, you know I value my study time!”

“Apologies, Princess!” Graham closed the door behind him and walked up to Zelda. “The King considered this matter important enough to interrupt your study.”

Zelda’s face lit up with excitement. “Is he taking more time off to see me?!”

“... Unfortunately not, Princess.” Graham felt bad disappointing Zelda like that. “The King is busy with important matters of course, but he sends his regards. I am here to update you: we have found you a suitable bodyguard,” Graham motioned to the door he entered from.

“I don’t need a-” Zelda felt the words stop in her mouth as her bodyguard entered.

The man’s armor shimmered in the light and moved completely unnaturally. While knights wielding such elaborate armor were slow and clunky, the man walked forward with speed and grace. Instead of a right hand, the armor sported a long cylinder with a hole at the end. The man inspired fear in Zelda’s heart, he radiated danger. 

“This is Samus, He has agreed to serve as your bodyguard for financial compensation.” Graham seemed equally off-put by Samus. “Although I have my doubts, the King trusts him to guard you with his life. I have already shown him around the castle, I’ll leave you two alone to get to know each other.” Graham was too quick to back away from Zelda’s new bodyguard. He almost tripped over himself, opening the door and leaving.

Samus stayed still and observed Samus, making no move to do anything. 

“Did Father really not care enough to come himself?” Zelda turned back around and sat back down and the desk. “He’s always like this, you know. Ever since Mother died, he’s been obsessed over his duties as king. I know that he is an important man, but does he really not have enough time for me?”

Even at that, Samus stayed still.

Zelda felt her temper rising. She held her hands together and shouted, “Farore’s Grace!” Fast wind blew throughout the library, picking up loose parchment and quills, but Samus still stayed perfectly still. 

Zelda pointed her hands at the ground and shouted, “Din’s Light!” Bright balls of light surrounded Zelda and began flying throughout the library. Zelda closed her eyes in pain from the bright light. She opened them for a moment to check, only to see that Samus remained still.

Zelda growled to herself and poured every ounce of magic she had into her hands, before casting, “Nayru’s Love!” Light collected around Zelda and formed a diamond-shaped barrier. Zelda smirked as Samus finally moved, taking a step back to avoid the barrier forming on top of him.  

“This shield was formed with all of my magic power, It is the strongest barrier I've ever created! Nothing can get through it!” Zelda gloated. Samus turned her head to the side examining the barrier. “Father was a fool, thinking I needed a bodyguard. I can defend myself perfectly well!”

Instead of speaking, Samus stayed still. With the power of the Triforce of Wisdom, Zelda could read and understand people far more than they would expect, But since she couldn’t see Samus’ face underneath his helmet, she couldn’t get a read on him.

“Do you truly have nothing to say?! Say something! Do anything!”

Samus moved in an instant, swinging his right arm forward. Zelda’s shield shattered with little effort, causing the princess to freeze in shock. Samus stepped forward in an instant and held his left hand up to her face, but didn’t touch her. 

Samus stepped back away from the shocked Zelda and simply said, “Not strong enough.”

Zelda felt her confidence wither away. No physical attack from the guards or even Link was enough to shatter her magical shield, and Samus did it in an instant.

“You… You’re-”

The doors to the library burst open as several royal guards barged through the door, with Graham quickly following behind.

“We heard everything! Step away from the princess, intruder!”

Samus readied an attack stance, and the guards began to charge. Zelda had to stop this!

“Enough!” Zelda yelled, causing everyone in the library to freeze. “Everything is fine Graham, Samus was simply testing the strength of my magic at my request. Clearly, I still need practice.”

The guards all stopped and stared at the still battle-ready Samus. “So…”

“There was no danger, Graham. You may leave.”

Graham glared at Samus before he and the guards walked out of the library.

“You’re from the Cosmos, aren’t you?” Samus turned back to Zelda, who looked at him with wide eyes. “My father told me stories of Demigods like you from the Abyss that travel in ships that can move faster than light. You come from the domain of Gods!”

“I’m just a man,” Samus said. “Just like you. There are billions out there, they’re just the same as me or you.”

Zelda massaged her temples. “This is too much. I’m going to lunch.” Zelda walked slowly out of the library, leaving Samus alone. Samus took one moment to look at the library before following.

Chapter Text

Following Zelda through the halls of Hyrule Castle gave Samus plenty of time to think about the person she was guarding. Samus was pleasantly surprised at how respectful the king was to her treatment of the king’s royalty. Maybe Rhoam was a sign that his daughter would be more respectful too? Initially, that didn’t seem to be the case, as Zelda acted just as pompous as Samus expected the king to be. She was boastful about her magic abilities, confident that she didn’t need Samus to keep her safe. So Samus proved her wrong. Showing up this self-righteous brat of a princess was worth making an enemy of Hyrule.

But then Zelda defended Samus from the guards. It was a half-truth, as Samus was just testing the magical power of Zelda, but the princess never requested Samus to do this. Zelda had lied in order to defuse the situation, clearly having been humbled. Zelda was clearly more mature than Samus expected, so she was interested in learning more about her.

Eventually, the two made their way to Hyrule Castle’s kitchen, where royal chefs were hard at work preparing meals for everyone in the castle. For a brief moment, Samus tuned her suit's sensors to detect the smells of the kitchen. The food the chefs were preparing smelled divine.

“Do you want anything to eat?” Zelda stopped before walking further into the kitchen. “Our chefs are the best in Hyrule, they can cook anything you desire.”

Samus shook her head in denial. The Power Suit could keep Samus satiated for weeks, and eating would require Samus to remove her helmet. She had no interest in revealing her identity here.

“Very well. Jacob!” Zelda walked forward to one of the chefs. “I’d like my usual dinner tonight.”

“Of course Princess! Would you like the meal sent to the dining hall?”

“Not tonight Jacob. Could you send my meal to my private dining room? I’d like to be left alone with my new personal guard.”

The chef Jacob then took notice of Samus standing at the entrance of the kitchen, and like everyone else, he reacted with shock. Samus would have rolled her eyes if the Power Suit didn’t suppress it.

“What kind of guard is that!?” 

“This is Samus, trained by the grand wizards to be the first magical knight.” Zelda told the panicking chef. “If Samus is effective at being my guard then more will be trained like him.”

Hearing Zelda refer to her as a man felt strange. Samus hadn’t existed as a man for years, and she was rarely referred to as one. Being pushed back into a situation that required her to identify as something she wasn’t would have normally driven her to despair, if the calming effects of her helmet didn’t suppress such negative emotions

Yet another reason she would refuse to take it off.

“I see…” Jacob calmed down at Zelda’s explanation and went to work preparing Zelda’s meal.

“Magical knight?” Samus asked as the two exited the kitchen.

“As you have been told, the existence of your kind is a great secret held by the Royal Family of Hyrule. A cover story was needed to explain your incredible armor.” 

Zelda led Samus through the halls to a room in the corner of the castle. Two guards stood at the door, but Zelda dismissed them as she entered with Samus. Zelda’s private dining room was a decently large room with only one window on the far wall, looking out to a flower garden. The only furniture in the room was a long dining room with four chairs, three more were waiting in the corner stacked up until they were needed. After Zelda took a seat, a servant entered the room and placed a tray of food in front of her.

“Steak and potato soup cooked how you like it, Your Highness!” The servant said with a wide smile on her face. 

“Thank you, Maribelle.” If Zelda was annoyed at the servant’s plucky attitude, she didn’t show it on her face. “Please inform the guards that I am not to be disturbed. I wish to be left alone with Samus.”

Maribelle's wide smile became strained as she turned to study Samus. Her eyes traveled across Samus’ Power Suit, from her helmet to her arm cannon. 

Zelda could feel the tension mounting. “Maribelle-”

“Of course Princess! I’ll inform the guards.” Maribelle backed out of the dining room, keeping Samus in view at all times.

“They certainly are afraid of you!” Zelda spoke as she began eating. “If they knew what you really are, they would chase you from the castle!”

“Why aren't you afraid?” Samus asked as she leaned against the wall.

Zelda took a bite of her steak before explaining. “I won’t lie, you are very frightening. A small part of me wants to treat you like they do. But the rest of me remembers that moment in the library. You proved my defense was inadequate in a very scary way, but am I wrong in thinking that it was done out of some interest in making sure that I could defend myself? I get the feeling that you truly intend to keep me safe.”

“Relying on feelings is a good way to end up dead.”

“Then tell me, do you intend to betray my father and hurt me?”

Samus felt herself smirking underneath her helmet. “You’re safe with me princess.”

“I’m glad.” Zelda continued to eat while Samus leaned against the wall. “You can sit down if you want. I have many questions for you and it might be easier to sit down for them.”

Samus didn’t like that idea. Sitting down at the table meant constricting herself. She was trained from birth to never leave herself exposed, from the Chozo to the Federation military. Being exposed meant weakness, and Samus could never be weak.

Zelda continued eating as Samus refused to move from her spot against the wall. “Very well. I was curious about where you came from. My father told me stories about how the Cosmos held beings closest to godhood. They were the ones blessed with the power to live in the Void, able to travel between realms in an instant.”

“Funny, none of what you said is true.” Samus tried her best to make herself comfortable leaning against a stone wall. “FTL travel certainly is fast, but not nearly instant.”

“FTL… You mean ‘Faster Than Light’?” Zelda asked. “How does a ship travel faster than light? No magic can even come close to matching light speed.”

“Dunno. I’m not an engineer.” Samus stated simply. Zelda looked annoyed for a moment before composing herself.

“Well, you said that everything else I said was wrong. Care to explain?”

Samus stayed silent for a moment. “For one, I’m not close to godhood, or whatever. From what my scans indicate, the difference between Hylian and human biology is negligible, besides some physical characteristics like the pointy ears.”

“There are many ways that one can be close to godhood. You for example wield your incredible armor and know much more than even the highest scholars of our schools.”

“Doesn’t mean much. You guys have magic, I don’t.”

Zelda continued eating her steak in silence. “I suppose being ‘close to godhood’ is up to personal interpretation. If a low-level Hylian wizard ended up in a colony or tribe that wasn’t familiar with magic, they would consider that wizard to be a god. Or at least a representative of a god or something along those lines. The same thing is happening here between us.”

Samus was surprised by Zelda’s analysis. “For being a princess of a historic medieval kingdom, you’re surprisingly smart.”

Zelda frowned while she held up the back of her right hand to Samus. On the back of Zelda’s hand glowed three golden triangles, the bottom left one glowed much brighter than the others. “The Triforce of Wisdom certainly helps.”

Samus felt her more curious side take hold as she studied the glowing symbol on Zelda’s hand. If she didn’t know any better, Samus would have confused it for some sort of synthetic implant. Such things were common in technologically developed communities, allowing citizens to interface with technology at a basic level like paying for purchases or unlocking their front doors. Of course, Hyrule’s level of technology was millennia out of date. Was it some sort of magic? Samus couldn’t stop herself from asking, “What’s that?”

“Legend has it that three goddesses created these lands, Nayru, Din, and Farore. The three goddesses had to leave our realm to continue their tasks but realized that the people they created couldn’t defend themselves alone. So they created the Triforce, a three-piece sacred relic that embodied their power. Each Triforce piece is bonded to a person until death, letting that person use the Triforce's power. The Triforce of Wisdom represents Nayru’s power. The Triforce of Courage represents the goddess Farore, and is wielded by the chosen hero Link, he’s currently exploring the seas. And Din's Triforce of Power… Was wielded by the warlock Ganon.”

Zelda’s voice filled with scorn at the mention of this Ganon. “He took the Triforce of Power by force five years ago and used its power to raise up an army of monsters. He would have destroyed Hyrule completely if it wasn’t for Link destroying Ganon in battle.”

“If Ganon is dead, then where is the Triforce of Power?”

“Technically it’s located in the Sacred Realm, along with the rest of the Triforce. A wielder doesn’t physically have a Triforce piece in their possession, they are just psychically connected to the piece and are able to use its power, that connection is represented by the Triforce pattern on their hand.” Zelda lifted up her hand again. “Right now the Triforce of Power is deciding who should wield the piece next. It could take a few hours, it could take decades. We must be prepared for the day that the next wielder is chosen.” 

“Because whoever gets it could be another dangerous wizard?”

“Exactly. Each Triforce piece chooses its wielder based on whoever reflects its nature the best. the Triforce of Courage chooses people that persist even when faced with despair and loss. The Triforce of Wisdom chooses people who hunger for knowledge. And the Triforce of Power chooses people who are already very powerful and want even more power. You can guess what kind of people the Triforce of Power tends to pick.”

Nice job goddess, you created an all-powerful relic that was almost always used by fascistic lunatics. If these goddesses were capable of creating this entire planet, shouldn’t they be smart enough to know that creating a weapon that could be exclusively used by evil people would be a bad idea? That is of course If these goddesses were responsible for creating Hyrule in the first place. Before the age of space travel and scientific enhancement, humans had similar creation stories, of some god coming along and creating everything. The existence of magic in this world gave Hyrule’s creation myth a little more credit, but there could be an easy scientific explanation that Samus wasn’t smart enough to see.

“What are you thinking about?” Samus raised her head at Zelda’s question. “You stay so silent and you share so little. Would it kill you to open up?”

Samus chuckled, “Yeah.”

Zelda dropped her utensils on her plate and stood up from the table. “It’s time for my archery practice.” Zelda picked up her plate and walked out without addressing Samus. 

In the brief moment that Samus stayed behind in the dining room, she reassured herself. It didn’t matter if Zelda hated her, she was only here to get paid. When this job was done she could get everything she’s ever wanted. Forget about Zelda, forget about everything, and keep your mind focused on the mission.

Samus shook her head and followed Zelda.

Samus was brash. Samus was rude. Samus was flippant and standoffish and just so- so annoying! Here comes the perfect learning opportunity, a being from the Cosmos! Oh, the experiences Samus must have, the knowledge he must possess! Zelda felt herself salivating at the opportunity to learn about the Cosmos directly from someone who came from it! But Samus was a brick wall, completely unwilling to teach Zelda his knowledge. The thought of having such an incredible resource and being unable to make use of it made her blood boil!

Zelda channeled her anger and frustration into the tip of her arrow and let it fly through the air. The arrow flew smoothly and elegantly through the air and landed on the target one hundred meters away. The arrow landed closer to the edge of the target than the center. 

Zelda’s archery instructor squinted her eyes to get a clear look. “Your form is good, but you lacked focus. Is something on your mind?”

Zelda stayed silent as she turned her head to look at Samus, who stared at the two from his spot leaning against the wall. “Yeah, there is something.”

“Then forget it,” Her instructor told her. “Right now your focus should be on the target.”

Zelda turned away from Samus and closed her eyes. She pulled an arrow from her quiver and nocked it. She breathed long deep breaths and focused her thoughts. She forgot all about Samus and her frustrations with him. She felt the worries about what happened earlier slip away, and all the worries about her father fell away with them. She opened her eyes. 

In a quick motion, Zelda pulled the string of her bow taught and released it, causing the arrow to fly smoothly through the air. With a soft thud, the arrow planted itself squarely in the center of the target. 

“Much better,” Her archery instructor said as Zelda turned back to Samus. Her bodyguard had moved, instead looking through a door in the corner of the range.

“Can we pause practice for a moment?” Zelda asked her instructor. 

The instructor paused for a second and eventually relented. “Sure, we can take a break. We’ll return in fifteen minutes.”

Zelda quickly joined Samus in the door frame, observing the training room on the other side. Several guards were sparring with wooden swords. The Captain of the Royal Guard stood on a raised platform watching all the guards train.

After one pair of guards stopped for a moment to chat, the Captain snapped. “There will be no interruptions! You are all to train until the end of the next hour. Do not disappoint me again,” he said with his deathly stare focused on the two lazy guards. They snapped up in attention to their Captain before returning to their training. 

Zelda felt ashamed at how the guards were acting. The Captain was trying his hardest, but there just wasn’t any energy fueling this training. Zelda knew that Samus was disappointed in them. “I’m sorry you’re not seeing the Royal Guard at their best,” Zelda said with a growl.

Samus turned his covered head to Zelda and said, “I doubt they were any good to begin with.”

Zelda was starting to get incredibly frustrated both with how Samus was acting and how lazy the guards were. But then Zelda got an idea. “Zachary? Have you met my new bodyguard?”

The Captain of the Royal Guard stepped down from his podium and approached the two. “No, I have not. You must be Samus,” Zachary bowed in respect towards Samus, who simply stared at the Captain in silence. 

“I think It would be a fantastic opportunity for your guards to spar with Samus,” Zelda chipped in. “He is a very adept fighter, it should prove to be great training.”

“... That sounds like a wonderful idea Zelda. Gather around!” The guards stopped their sparing and stood at attention in front of Zachary. “For the remainder of your training, you will take turns sparring against Samus. Does anyone want to volunteer?”

The guards studied Samus as Zachary spoke. Even though Samus was only a little bit taller than Zachary, the next tallest person in the training room, Samus towered over them with his sheer presence. The seemingly impossible nature of his armor caused the guards to pause, some fearing what Samus was capable of. No one stepped forward.

Samus studied the guards before him and pointed at the largest one there. This guard was nearly the same size as Zachary and had a very thick frame. He seemed to be around forty years old and was the least visibly nervous of all the guards.

“You,” Samus said simply as he pointed. “You’re up against me first.”

The guard was surprised to be called out, but regained his composure and walked with Samus to the central sparring ring. The guards stepped back as Samus walked through them, giving him a wide birth. Some of them gave the guard Samus chose a sad look, almost as if the guard was facing an early grave. The guard was ignorant of their looks as he picked a wooden sword from the rack.

The guard returned to the sparring ring only to see Samus standing at one end with his hands empty. “Will you pick up a weapon?”

Samus said simply, “Don’t need one.”

Zelda watched the two from next to the Captain’s podium. She was well aware of the fighting capabilities of the Royal Guard. They were all trained from a very young age in combat. When they became adults, they participated in a rigorous series of tests to become members of the Royal Guard. Only ten percent of applicants ever made it in. The rest devoted their lives to protecting Hyrule Castle Town and other Hylian settlements. Only the best of the best could adequately protect the Royal Family.

Yet Zelda knew that Samus was better than all of them put together. The only question was how big of a metaphorical bloodbath this was going to be.

“Normal sparring rules apply. The match ends when I reasonably determine that a combatant is incapacitated.” Zachary stared at both combatants, studying their stances. “... Begin!”

The guard rushed forward and stabbed at Samus with his wooden sword. Samus batted the sword away with his left hand and raised his arm cannon to the guard’s face. The guard jumped back while Samus returned to a neutral position. The guard was going to attack again until-

“This battle is over. I’ve won.” Samus said as she relaxed.

Everyone stared at Samus in confusion. “But you didn’t even touch him!” Zelda pointed out.

Samus casually raised his right arm and pointed his arm cannon to a blank wall in response. A globe of yellow energy shot out of Samus’ arm cannon, shooting into the wall with lightning speed, and exploded with a flash of light on contact. Several bricks in the wall had melted completely, emitting a pungent smoke.

“If I wanted to kill you then, I could.” Everyone stared at Samus in horror. “Your armor isn’t enough to defend against my arm cannon. If I point it at you, you lose.”

The guards stepped far back from Samus in fear of his potential. While Zachary and Zelda knew more of what Samus was capable of, neither of them had ever seen anything like this. Samus wielded power that no one in Hyrule could match.

“How could I ever hope to match this power?” The guard Samus fought fell to his knees at the display. 

Samus stepped forward to the guard. “What’s your name?”

“... Robert,” Robert stood up and faced Samus. “Robert of the Mandias family.”

“It’s just like I said Robert, If I point my arm cannon at you, you lose.” Samus stepped back and adopted a battle stance. “Focus on defense, deflect any attack I make, and go for the kill when you have the opportunity.”

Robert paused before adopting a new stance, this time holding his sword up in parallel with his body. Samus wasted no time and rushed forward with a punch from his left that Robert twisted his body to dodge. Samus then swiped with his arm cannon, a wide attack that Robert easily batted away with his sword before he slammed the end of the flat end of the sword into Samus’ head.

“Again,” Samus said simply before continuing with his assault, this time beginning with a stabbing motion with his arm cannon. Robert expected the sudden attack. He batted the arm cannon away and hit Samus in the side with the wooden sword. 

“Again,” Samus said, this time more forcefully. He performed a low sweeping kick that Robert dodged expertly. Samus went to jab at Robert with his arm cannon, but Robert jerked his body out of the way and closed the distance between the two. Before Samus could pull her arm back and point his cannon Robert made a stabbing motion at Samus’ stomach area, though he positioned the sword so it would graze past Samus.

“Again!” Samus yelled, and they began again.

The guards watched the sparring session and grew more and more amazed as Robert adapted to Samus’ style. Some of them started cheering Robert on. Zachary seemed honored to have worked with Robert, while Zelda was more amazed at Samus. She expected Samus to tear the guards apart! The bounty hunter was a mystery to Zelda still. Nothing made sense!

“Again!”

Samus swiped at Robert several times, the guard deflecting them all. But Samus didn’t let him counterattack as he stepped back, lept in the air, and kicked at Robert. Robert ducked under all of Samus’ kicks and darted forward as soon as Samus landed, pulling his arms back for a stab.

Samus performed a palm thrust to intercept the sword with his gloved hand, but Robert’s attack was a feint. He instead turned on his left leg to get to Samus’ side and sliced upward. The hit surprised Samus and caused him to fall onto his back.

All the guards stared at Robert in awe. They all cheered and clapped for Robert’s victory. Zachary clapped his hands quietly but held a wide smile, proud of his subordinate for his impressive showing. Zelda barely reacted at all, instead staring in stunned silence at Samus as he stood up.

“Nice job,” Samus nodded at Robert.

“I feel honored that you chose me to spar with you,” he said, returning Samus’ gesture with a bow.

Samus raised his voice to address the entire room. “I may be on your side, but there will be more like me who won’t be so kind. They won’t hesitate to kill you. They’ll abuse and violate your families and burn this town to the ground if it satisfies them. It might be weeks, it might be decades, but they will come. Thank the goddesses that I got here first because I’m gonna turn you all into the most powerful battalion in the entire galaxy.”

The mood of the training room shifted as Samus spoke. The excitement of Robert’s victory transformed into determination to uphold their vows to the royal family and protect their families.

“It will be rough. You’ll feel like you’re dying before the first day even ends. But it will be worth it. Are you ready?” 

The guards all cheered before bowing in reverence to their new teacher. 

“Samus was able to stir them up into a frenzy…” Zachary and Zelda watched all of this in awe. “Where did they find him?”

Zelda’s amazement slowly transitioned to more frustration. “I wish I knew, Zachary. I wish I knew.”

Samus continued to oversee a new training regiment that the Royal Guard partook in, with Zachary training with him. The brutal exercises Samus pushed them through were unlike anything they had done before. They performed hundreds of pushups, hundreds of squats, and hundreds of sit-ups. Zelda felt sorry for the guards when after hours of training they looked like they just came home from war. She felt even worse for them when Samus told the already exhausted guards that they would be performing an exercise that he literally called a ‘suicide’. The exercise consisted of running back and forth to increasingly smaller distances. If the men and women of the Royal Guard weren’t exhausted before then they certainly were now.

Even throughout all the harsh exercises, the Royal Guard was determined to see them through. When one guard fell behind, the others were quick to pick them back on their feet and remind them of what they were training for. They sang various Hyrulian military songs all the while they suffered through Samus’ harsh routine.

This didn’t mean that Samus was cruel to the Royal Guard. In fact, Samus was often more affirming in his teaching style. He reassured anyone that struggled with the exercises with the same stoic, almost emotionless tone that he usually carried. Samus only demeaned a guard when they stepped out of line, which was very rare. 

It was a side of Samus that Zelda didn’t expect. He was a natural leader who inspired those under him. If her father saw this side of Samus, he would have asked that Samus take the position of Royal Guard Captain immediately. Considering how Zachary now looked up to Samus, he would have given up the position immediately.

Once the guards finished their last exercise (a single lap run around the entire castle) Samus gave a very brief talk. He was clear that he was satisfied with their performance, but didn’t say much beyond that. Zachary spoke next, laying down heaps of praise to his subordinates, telling them how proud he was of them. The guards returned to their barracks happy and ready to continue training another day.

Samus and Zelda found themselves sitting on the ground together alone in a courtyard. It was very late at night, so Zelda brought a candle out to illuminate their surroundings. Samus motioned that it wasn’t necessary and pulled out a small metal and glass container from her Power Suit. When Samus pressed her finger on the top of the container, light began pouring out from the glass parts of the container illuminating way more than Zelda’s little candle ever would. She wondered if such containers could be implemented into the lighting of the castle to make it safer at night.

Samus paid Zelda no mind as he observed the stars above them. “On more developed planets there would be so much artificial light at night that you would barely be able to see the stars.” Zelda looked up with Samus. The stars were indeed beautiful tonight. 

“You can see them up close with your ship, correct?”

“Yeah. I see them pretty often actually,” Samus replied. “Since I stay up in space so often. There’s still something about looking at stars from a planet that’s really nice.”

“I never thought you would appreciate something for its beauty,” Zelda commented. Samus answered with a shrug. The two stayed silent and watched the stars for a few moments. “I never expected you to be such a good leader too. You inspired the Royal Guard when they were at their lowest.”

“Honestly I regret it,” Samus said simply. “It was really tiring. Thankfully Zachary can handle all the physical training from now on. I was never fit for that stuff.”

“Then why did you do it?”

Samus contemplated his answer for a few seconds before saying, “I didn’t want them to suffer.”

“So you were telling the truth? People like you will be coming from the Cosmos?” Zelda said with worry.

“Someone will eventually find this planet. I’m surprised it hasn’t happened already.” Samus lowered his back to the ground so he was facing up at the sky. “I’ve seen so much suffering already, I don’t want similar things to happen here.”

“What kind of things?” Zelda asked.

“Are you sure you want to know?” 

Samus’ question gave Zelda pause. She would normally jump for joy at learning something about the Cosmos and its residents, but she felt that this information wasn’t worth the trouble learning.

Whether or not Zelda would regret learning this information, she was a scholar. She couldn’t pass up on this opportunity. “If I know what could be coming, then I’ll be more prepared for it, right?”

Samus sat back up and began talking.

Samus described a group of marauders called the Space Pirates. He talked about how the Space Pirates invaded his home and slaughtered everyone they found. He described how he witnessed a high-ranking Space Pirate toy with his parents and eat them. He described the event with such incredible detail almost as if it had only happened the day before. He described how the Space Pirate first targeted the mother, how the pirate first tore massive gashes into her skin with its claws, and how it started with her legs and worked its way up from there.

Zelda asked that Samus stopped telling this story and move on to something else. It was a level of gruesome that Zelda was uncomfortable with, and she could tell that it was unhealthy for Samus to recount such a story. If he could still remember such minute details about the event, it must have traumatized him greatly. Samus paused for a few minutes before continuing with another story.

He talked about a genetically engineered weapon called the Metroids, their incredible ability to absorb energy from living things, and how the Space Pirates tried to control them to conquer the galaxy. He talked about how after he stopped the Space Pirates, he went on a hunt to wipe out the Metroids on their home planet. Samus called the act a genocide. He was clearly unsure if what he did was right. 

Samus talked about the various bounty hunters he had interacted with. They had little interest in helping the needy, they only cared about their own personal gain. He described they talked about the regular people, and how little care they cared for them. He described some of the horrible acts he had witnessed them perform. 

Samus talked about the X Parasite, a shape-shifting organism that could assimilate the DNA and even the knowledge of whoever or whatever they absorbed. They had no national affiliation or any personal ambition, they acted as a collective to consume and spread across the Cosmos. He described how the X had completely absorbed the human and animal population of a space station in just a few hours. He described how the parasites had taken control of his Power Suit and transformed into a killing machine with all of his abilities. He described how he almost was killed by the X trying to absorb him. The only way to stop it was a procedure that massively changed his genetic structure to resemble that of the Metroids.

He described the Galactic Federation and its authoritarian measures. They cared very little for the downtrodden that lived in their territory. They only cared for militaristic expansion for a crude version of ‘peace’. He described how the Federation wanted to weaponize the X Parasite. They were overconfident in their ability to control the X, and would risk the safety of the entire galaxy just for the chance to gain a weapon of mass destruction.

But the one story that chilled Zelda to her core was Samus’ story of the man named Raven Beak.

Raven Beak was the leader of a warrior tribe of an alien race called the Chozo. He genetically engineered Samus to be a perfect soldier in his armies, but he escaped to a more peaceful tribe of Chozo. He wanted to use the Metroids to conquer the galaxy, but couldn’t once Samus destroyed the Metroids completely. But he got his chance once Samus’ biology was massively changed to be similar to the Metroids. Raven Beak tricked Samus into traveling to the planet ZDR and trapped him on the planet. Raven Beak sent eight near indestructible robots that almost did him in several times over, and Raven Beak came closest than anyone else to stealing Samus’ power. It was only Samus’ rage leading to a sudden evolution in his biology that let him kill Raven Beak and escape. 

One detail of the story stuck with Zelda as she returned to her bedroom for the night. Samus described Raven Beak as his father. How could a father do something like that to his own son? Zelda was frustrated with her father for many reasons, but she knew that her father would do nothing to physically hurt her. She considered what it would be like if her father suddenly and without warning became hostile to her. The thought of her only family turning to her with disgust made her feel horrified. And what of Samus? He almost died at the hands of Raven Beak. If Samus was just a little less lucky he wouldn’t be here to tell the tale. What was it like for him? To come so close to witnessing the face of Death so many times?

The dangers that Samus described were innumerable. The world Samus came from was a dark, cruel place, filled with corruption in every corner. It was a world that transformed Samus into a cold and efficient weapon of war. And the scariest thing was that this world was right over her own head. Every time Zelda looked up at the stars, it was there. An evil worst than Ganon was waiting up there, at any moment they could descend from Heaven and destroy them all.

With all of this on her mind, Zelda had a hard time going to sleep that night.

Chapter Text

Zelda entering her chambers for the night gave Samus the chance to travel to her ship and rest for a moment without her suit. She would take ten to fifteen minutes to recharge her armor while guards looked over Zelda’s bedroom. Technically Samus could go for weeks without charging her armor, she could even go without eating or sleeping during that time because the Power Suit sustained her body to the necessary degree. But Samus wasn’t a sadist, using that function of the Power Suit kept her barely alive and could leave her with a debilitating weakness outside of her power suit. She remembered one of her first missions where the Space Pirates got the drop on her as she was leaving the planet Zebes. Somehow Samus managed to sneak past an entire Space Pirate army through their own mothership. In a weakened state with just an  and an emergency stun pistol no less. She was proud of herself for that, but would never subject herself to that again willingly.

Samus entered her ship through the elevator at the bottom and was met with the familiar sight of the ship’s cockpit, Adam was ready and waiting for her.

“Congratulations on completing your first day,” The cold robotic voice of Adam complimented as Samus stepped into the Power Suit storage capsule. “Although training the Royal Guard was not required of you, you still put in a lot of effort to make sure their training was satisfactory. The goodwill you build up with the Royal Family may help you in the long run.”

The cold utilitarian calculations of Adam gave Samus some comfort as her Power Suit slowly slid off her body. Once the helmet piece came off, Samus reacted exactly how she predicted, but that didn’t dull the pain of it. Samus collapsed onto the ground and breathed heavily. Her muscles refused to work and she felt herself sweating up a storm almost instantly.

“It seems that despite the Power Suit limiting your emotional reactions, it only pushes them back for you to deal with later.” 

Samus felt her frustration with the AI grow as she pushed herself up and tore off her sports bra. Thankfully Adam was caring enough to start a shower for her while the Power Suit topped off its batteries. 

“May I suggest revealing your true identity to the Royal Family? I took rigorous scans of the settlement called Hyrule Castle Town. The social factors of this society seem to be on an equal level with Federation territory. From this evidence, and the fact that being seen as a woman would improve your mental health, I conclude that there would be no consequences to revealing the truth to them.”

Samus sighed as she tore off her boxers and entered the shower. “The King specifically requested a man.”

Samus began to wash her hair, doing her best to ignore her discomfort with her body. Adam continued as Samus cleaned herself. “I might have been assigned by the Federation to monitor and control you, but my purpose now is to keep you safe and healthy. You have a history of sacrificing your well-being for a strategic advantage. If you don’t disclose your identity to someone within three weeks, then I’ll force you to disclose your identity to an individual of my choice. Do you have any objections to that, lady?”

Samus felt her anger rising. “I swear Adam-”

“I am well aware of how your Power Suit works, Samus. It may suppress your emotions for the time being, but it leaves you very vulnerable when you don’t have it on. Also, consider how others would trust you more if they knew more about you. It simply isn’t advantageous to keep your identity a complete secret.”

“If you dare to go behind my back like that, I’ll pull your plug.” Samus felt offended that Adam would go against her like this! It was safer to keep her identity hidden. This was supposed to be an easy mission!

“We both know that you derive too much use from me to disable me,” Adam commented as Samus dressed in a new pair of boxers and a bra. She scarfed down a nutrition bar as fast as she could before entering her Power Suit once again. The slightly warm synthetic metal of the suit engulfed Samus, accompanied by the pinpricks of thousands of microscopic needles puncturing her skin. The needles connected to her nervous system and allowed her to “feel” what the Power Suit touched, such as the stuffy atmosphere of her ship’s cockpit. The helmet of the Power Suit was last to form over her head, showing a near 360 heads-up display. “I intend to keep my word Samus. Keep that in mind.”

Samus stared at the holographic screen that represented Adam and wished (not for the first time) that her death glare could intimidate artificial intelligence. Unfortunately, Adam’s cold mechanical brain was resistant to such tactics. Samus, defeated in a battle she knew she would lose, told Adam, “I’m off to work, honey,” with as much sarcasm and venom as she could muster as she exited the ship to return to Hyrule Castle.

Zelda woke up exhausted the morning after Samus told her those stories. Knowing that such potential for destruction existed just above her head kept her up at night. The few hours of sleep she got were interrupted by nightmares that left her bolting up from her bead.

What would Samus think, seeing her react in such strong ways to nothing but stories? Samus was the one that fought and survived all those horrible encounters, Zelda was just hearing about them secondhand. As the night went on Zelda felt more and more ashamed of herself. She was weak and insignificant compared to the wall that was Samus.

Zelda woke up tired and ashamed. She wanted so badly to try again to sleep as the Cuccos crowed as the sun rose, but she had duties to fulfill. So she dragged herself out of bed and got dressed in her morning gown. Samus was standing outside the door when Zelda left her bedroom. Samus was supposed to be stationed there the entire night. Another way that Zelda was weak compared to Samus, he was capable of working without needing sleep.

Samus was leaning against the wall next to Zelda’s bedroom door when the princess exited. When Samus took a moment to study her appearance, his posture shifted ever so slightly. Almost as if he cared.

“You’re exhausted,” Samus said not as a question, but as a statement.

Zelda sported bags under her eyes and carried herself with drowsiness that was unfitting for her. “I’m fine Samus.”

“You should get some sleep,” Samus’ pity did nothing but frustrate Zelda.

“I’ll be fine, Samus. Please don’t interfere with my duties today.” Zelda turned away from Samus and walked away, her bodyguard following apprehensively followed behind her.

Zelda almost fell asleep during her morning bath and needed to be woken up by a servant helping her. She apologized and was profusely embarrassed. Breakfast didn’t go much better, she had a hard time not dozing off over her sausage. Thank goodness she was eating again in her private dining room, she wouldn’t forgive herself if her father or Graham saw her like that. Of course, Samus was there, and acting weak in front of her was an entirely different type of embarrassment.

For the first time Samus stepped forward from her spot leaning against the wall. “Zelda, you’re exhausted. You need rest.” He told her.

“Samus,” Zelda mustered a response with as much force as she could. “I’m fine. Please trust me.”

Samus hesitantly returned to his spot on the wall, letting Zelda continue with her breakfast in peace.

Zelda’s exhaustion continued throughout the day. Several servants questioned her about it as she walked through the halls, having to stop and reassure them was a massive waste of time. She tried her hardest to prove that she could continue but it was getting harder and harder with every minute. It didn’t matter how hard she tried, her exhaustion would catch up to her eventually. The tipping point came just a few minutes later.

The Royal Family had high expectations of decorum and regality, which held even more weight in Zelda’s case since she was an only child. She was expected to be the queen one day, so there was no skipping out on this. 

Her instructor was a much older woman who taught her father many years ago. She had a strict teaching style and expected perfection. Today her lesson consisted of proper table etiquette. Zelda’s instructor guided her on how to properly drink from a glass and how to properly hold a fork and knife.

“Keep your hand at an upward angle, keep your chin high,” Her instructor told Zelda over her shoulder as the princess delicately held the fork and knife in her hand. Her hands shook as the exhaustion crept in. The feel of the instructor’s breath on her neck and Samus watching from the corner of the dining room didn’t help.

“Keep your hands steady,” The instructor hissed as she grabbed Zelda’s hands. “Keep your hands steady! This is very important, princess. Pay attention!”

“I know…” Zelda felt her eyelids drop. “I know…”

Sleep temporarily overtook Zelda and her head drooped, but the Instructor was quick to shake Zelda awake and yell at her, “Princess! How irresponsible of you, you know how important this is!”

“I, I know!” Zelda jumped at the sudden sound and the instructor shaking her. “I just-”

“No excuses! Such disrespectful behavior-”

The sound of metal steps against the stone floor caused Zelda and the instructor to stop in their tracks. Samus had stepped forward from her position leaning against the wall. He kept his distance and his emotions were unreadable, but he still towered over the instructor and naturally intimidated her.

“She’s exhausted. Trying to teach her now would be pointless.” Samus said in a neutral tone. 

The instructor stuttered trying to find an argument against him. “Royal etiquette is vitally important! It’s irresponsible for the princess to act like this-”

“She’s exhausted,” Samus repeated. It was clear that Samus was not backing down.

The instructor stuttered for a few more moments before giving up. “Fine, fine! We’ll continue this tomorrow. I expect the princess to be able to learn by then!” The instructor scuttled out of the room, giving Samus a glare before she exited.

Zelda hunched down in her chair over the fine cutlery she was practicing with. She could feel the stare of Samus above her. She could feel his disappointment and judgment, It burned like the sun.

“I tried so hard to be strong, but I just couldn’t.” Zelda felt tears running down her cheek and stopped for a moment to compose herself. “Those stories you told terrified me last night I couldn’t sleep. Yet you lived through them and still stand strong… I guess I really am weak…”

“I knew I shouldn’t have told you those stories,” Samus grabbed Zelda and lifted her up into his arms. He checked for a moment to make sure that Zelda was secure in his grip before moving.

Zelda expected the metal of Samus’ suit to be cold, but it was surprisingly warm. The suit was still very hard and not quite comfortable, but she still felt herself dozing off in his arms. She gathered the strength to ask, “Where are you taking me?”

“To your room. You need sleep.” 

Zelda felt her eyes drooping yet again as she leaned up against Samus’ shoulder. “Sorry, you needed to carry me...”

“Just get some sleep.” Samus’ response was curt but held a strange softness that wasn’t typical of him. Zelda let herself sleep in Samus’ arms as he continued to march through the castle.

Samus’ march through the castle only took a few minutes but was a test of patience for the bounty hunter. Every so often a servant or a guard would walk past and ask what was wrong, only for Samus to quickly respond with “She’s exhausted, I’m taking her to her room.”

Most were satisfied with this answer and continued on. Some thanked her for her services, but Samus ignored them as she continued on. One person wasn’t so understanding, however. When Samus passed by Graham, he gasped in shock and ran to the Princess.

“What have you done?!” He screamed as he tried to take Zelda from Samus. The bounty hunter Zelda away from the frantic advisor and responded as she had before.

“You’re presence here has been nothing but a disturbance! Nothing like this happened before. I’ll talk to the King and-”

“Be quiet,” Samus hissed with as much venom that she could muster. “You wouldn’t want your yelling to wake the princess, would you?”

Samus didn’t wait to see Graham’s enraged reaction, continuing to take Zelda to her bedroom.

The biggest distraction to Samus however was Zelda herself. As Samus marched to Zelda’s bedroom, the princess got more comfortable resting against her shoulder. Eventually, she placed her hand against the suit’s chest. Despite the layers of metal between them, Samus could feel everything through the Power Suit’s sensors. When she felt Zelda’s hand against the Power Suit’s chest, Samus looked down at Zelda. She looked so peaceful resting in Samus’ arms. The feeling was certainly there, but it was a faded synthetic sensation. Samus wished she could feel this sensation without the metal of the Power Suit between her and Zelda.

Samus shook her thoughts away. Feelings like that would distract from her mission. Samus quickened her pace to Zelda’s bedroom after that.

Once Samus made it to Zelda’s bedroom she didn’t hesitate to lay Zelda on her bed. It was a four-poster bed fitting for a princess. The rest of the room was similarly ornate, with immaculate carpeted floors and chiseled stone walls. Zelda didn’t move as Samus placed her on the bed, nor did she react when Samus pulled a blanket over her. When Samus walked over to the window to close the blinds, the rustling of bed sheets let her know that Zelda had woken up.

“Samus?... Sorry, you had to carry me…”

“You said that already,” Samus said as she closed the blinds with her one free hand.

“I know… I felt like I needed… To say it…” The two stayed silent as Samus looked around Zelda’s room for anything else she could help the princess with. “How do I get strong… Like you?”

Instead of answering, Samus studied the rest of Zelda’s furniture. On the opposite side of the room was a large vanity, topped with accessories, jewelry, and more makeup than Samus had ever seen in her life. To the left of the vanity in the corner of the room was a large armchair and a small bookshelf, it must have been for Zelda’s private collection. Right on the other side of the vanity stood a wardrobe. On the very top of the wardrobe sat a small stuffed wolf. Its cloth fur was grey and white, its patchwork eyes were a bright blue, and it sported an earring on each ear of a similar color. The sewing was faded and it was clearly an old plush. Samus was so surprised to see something like it in Zelda’s room that she chuckled.

“I was serious, Samus,” Zelda said from behind Samus.

“Alright,” Samus sighed and grabbed the stuffed animal from the top of the wardrobe. She marched over to Zelda and pushed it into her hands. She then said, with as much sarcasm as she could muster, “Step one, go to sleep.”

With that, Samus marched out of Zelda’s room and closed the door behind her. 

In the hours that Zelda slept Samus stood guard right outside her door, several servants and advisors came to check on the princess, only for Samus to shoo them away with the same excuse as always, “She’s sleeping, don’t disturb her.” Some gave Samus a bad look, suspecting foul play. Others thanked Samus for her service and walked away without issue. 

Eventually, Samus was approached by the King of Hyrule, with Graham by his side rubbing his hands together and whispering to him. Samus’ astute hearing and her Power Suit’s sensory enhancements let her hear what Graham was whispering, “It’s just as I described it, your highness. Zelda was exhausted, I’m sure Samus had something to do with it.”

“Samus, did you do something to cause Zelda’s exhaustion?” The King asked calmly as he approached.

Samus nodded. “Told some stories that scared her. Didn’t consider how it’d affect her sleep.”

“And you took her to her room to let her rest?”

Samus nodded.

“Thank you for taking care of my daughter, Samus. I’m relieved to see that I can trust you in that.” The King smiled while Graham stared incredulously at his monarch.

“But sir, it’s his fault that Zelda was exhausted in the first place!”

“Graham,” The King’s tone shifted away from his praise. “Would you kindly check the operations of the castle? I can handle this from here.” 

Graham look frustrated seeing Samus get away with interfering with Zelda’s sleep schedule, but eventually walked away, grumbling to himself about Samus. 

“Everyone calls you ‘highness’, I don’t even know your name,” Samus stated to the King.

The King laughed. “My name is Rhoam. Rhoam Nohansen Hyrule.”

“Rhoam. Zelda clearly hates royal etiquette. Why does she have to go along with it?” 

Rhoam sighed. “I felt the same way when I was younger. I couldn’t see the value of such things at the time, but age has wisened me.”

“Explain it to me,” Samus forcefully said as she crossed her arms.

“The common man expects their leaders to be better than him. Maybe expects isn’t the right word, believes would be better. If I rejected my teachers and acted like a common person, the people would doubt my authority and protest. It could lead to chaos.” Rhoam calmly explained.

Samus simmered on Rhoam’s explanation. It might have been true that rejecting the high standards of royalty would lead to protests and revolts, but that was just an explanation, not a justification. 

“You’ve made your distaste of me clear. May I ask why?” Rhoam asked. He seemed honest in his request. “I know nothing of the political system of the Cosmos.”

Samus took a moment to think of her answer. “It’s not you, it’s the monarchy. You may be a good person, but there’s nothing stopping the next king from acting against the people.”

“That is true, it is a failure of this system.” Rhoam sighed. “But what could I hope to do about that? If I instilled laws that would protect against corruption in the Royal Family of Hyrule, a corrupt king still has the authority to reject those laws. I can’t imagine a law that would restrict the power of future monarchs without causing them to protest and revolt against it.”

Samus chuckled. “I can.”

Rhoam laughed. “I’m sure your kind has already solved these problems. Perhaps we can talk about them sometime. For now, I must fulfill my duties.”

Samus looked at the King with incredulity as he walked away. “How uncreative…” She said to herself as she leaned against Zelda’s door.

The night Samus told her stories of his adventures, Zelda dreamed that she was the one exploring these alien worlds instead of Samus. In one of her nightmare, she was in a cold dark cave running from the X Parasite. Her sleeping mind imagined the X Parasite as a pack of nightmarish wolves, so numerous that they barely fit the cave. Zelda tried her best to run, but tripped and scraped her skin against the hard rock. Eventually the X caught up to her and clawed at her body, tearing her apart. In another nightmare, A great dragon fell from the skies and burned Hyrule Castle to the ground. The dragon toyed with her father just like Samus described how Ridley toyed with his mother; all Zelda could do was watch.

But after Samus carried Zelda to her room, the princess had different dreams. She had the nightmare of the pack of wolves chasing her in a cave again, but this time Samus appeared to carry her away from the monsters until they managed to escape out of the cave into a beautiful field. The wolves turned to dust when the light touched them, and Zelda continued to rest in Samus’ arms as they walked through the field. Instead of a dragon killing and toying with her father, Samus appeared to slay the dragon and helped the two escape the burning rubble. 

Zelda couldn’t remember much from the last dream, but she distinctly remembered Samus standing next to a grey and white wolf, taking his helmet off to reveal his face. He had features like a Hylian and hair like gold. His face almost resembled that of Link’s but with many scars. Despite the years of experience showing on his face, he sported a soft smile.

When Zelda woke up she wondered to herself what Samus’ face truly looked like. It was said that the Royal Family of Hyrule had dreams that hinted at the future, did that last dream mean anything then? As Zelda regained her mental functions, she noticed that she was still holding the stuffed wolf that Samus shoved into her arms. Zelda chuckled as she held the stuffed toy close. If the dream could be influenced by something so simple, then it probably didn’t mean anything.

Zelda got dressed in a new set of robes and slowly exited her room. Samus was of course waiting for her, standing just outside. Samus didn’t say a word, but Zelda got the message loud and clear.

“I’m better now Samus. Thank you for going out of your way to help me.”

Samus reached into a compartment in her suit and pulled out a small bar. He handed it to her and said, “Eat this, it’ll help a bit.”

The bar was covered in a grey metallic foil, Zelda could tell based on the design that she could peel it off, revealing dark chocolate. “This looks like a dessert,”

“It’s got nutrients, proteins, stuff like that.” 

Zelda took a bite of the chocolate and grimaced. “Ugh, it tastes bland.”

“Yeah, it wasn't meant to be tasty,” Samus commented as Zelda ate the bar. 

Samus was many things. He was an unstoppable force. An immovable object. He was both an efficient war machine and a supportive pillar to learn on. He cared about the people around him and had the strength to protect them. As Zelda finished the bar Samus gave her, one thought filled her mind. She needed to be like Samus.

“I meant what I said before Samus,” Zelda gave back the wrapper. “How do I become strong like you?”

“You are strong,” Samus said as if it was already true.

Zelda let her head droop. “But I’m not, and I need to be strong.”

Zelda could feel Samus’ irritation grow, but what he said next surprised her. “Make a shield.”

“Huh?”

“Make a shield, like when we first met.”

Zelda was confused at first but followed Samus’ request. She moved to the center of the hallway and focused the magic in her hand. She wasn’t in peak condition so the magic wouldn’t be as strong as back then, but she figured that it would be fine for whatever Samus wanted to demonstrate.

“Nayru’s Love,” The glowing magic erupted out of Zelda’s hand and formed the shape of the familiar blue barrier. Samus studied the barrier in silence. Even though Zelda couldn’t see his face, she could feel his watchful eyes upon her.

“Why’s it so big?” Samus eventually asked. “You’re just wasting space.”

Zelda processed Samus’ question. The shield was indeed big, covering a meter of space around her. Changing the shape of the shield was a simple matter, all it took was a simple thought for the magic to coalesce much closer to Zelda’s body.

“Why is it a diamond too? Right now you only have to worry about me, so you can focus the shield into a single plane.”

Zelda did as Samus suggested, focusing the magic into a completely new shape in front of her. Now her back was completely exposed, and a single blue barrier stood between the two of them. “What is the point of this, Samus?”

Before Zelda could react Samus smashed her arm cannon into the shield. Zelda stepped back expecting Samus to break through instantly, but Samus instead bounced back from the impact, and large cracks appeared in the shield. It would only take a few more hits like that from Samus for the shield to break completely, but it still held strong.

“Wha- How did-” Zelda looked down at her hands with incredulity. 

“Making your shield so big made it weaker since the magic was dispersed over a wider area. Seems my hunch was correct.” Samus explained as the shield faded away. “Considering new perspectives can go a long way. That's step two.”

Zelda’s mind raced while she stared at her hands. A new world had opened up to her, and she realized how foolish she truly was.

Magic was just energy, a power given to the people of Hyrule by the Triforce. It didn't have strict rules or requirements, it responded to thought and changed its shape depending on the caster’s will. The incantations were just memorization techniques, making the casting of spells quicker and easier. It was helpful for newer sorcerers who were unfamiliar with how to command magic with their thoughts. 

Zelda had inadvertently stumbled into a common pitfall that sorcerers faced when their control over magic strengthened. Using an incantation was easier than performing magic without a guide, but it was far too easy to rely on incantations when a more custom spell would have worked better for the situation. It was also led to a completely different pitfall: The incantation, unless effect was properly described, leads to the mindset that the incantation could only perform one specific task, when it could be performed to do many other things as well. The mark of a truly great sorcerer wasn’t knowledge of many incantations and the magic power to perform them, but the understanding of how certain incantations worked and the mental fortitude required to bend them to their will.

Zelda didn’t feel embarrassed at her mistake, instead, she felt empowered. A blazing fire had started, and Zelda needed to keep feeding it. She ignored Samus’ presence and started running through the halls of the castle, Samus following close behind.

Zelda was a diligent and respectful young woman. In the time that Graham was advisor, the princess had never missed a meeting or a class, and if she didn’t live up to the standards expected of her she always apologized and worked herself to the bone to get better. Graham was sure that Zelda would be a great queen one day.

But that all changed recently when Samus came along. Just a day after Samus began guarding Zelda, the princess collapsed during an important class, and it was all Samus’ fault, He admitted it! The King was unwilling to punish or admonish Samus for driving Zelda to exhaustion, something that Graham did not understand. And now Zelda was missing for another class, Graham was sure Samus was to blame.

The advisor eventually found Zelda in the royal library, studying intensely with dozens of books surrounding her. Graham marched forward to discipline her but the metal arm of Samus stopped him. “You know she cares about her study time.”

“Samus,” Graham hissed between clenched teeth. “I swear-”

“Just. Watch.” Samus said forcefully. Graham calmed down and watched as Zelda studied.

During her study of magic over the fifteen years since she’s been learning, Zelda would first learn a branch or specific incantation before moving on to a new one, making sure to practice so she doesn’t forget. This method of learning meant that she would be able to perform the spell near perfectly, but some of the details of how the spell worked were lost on her. Samus had proved to her that such knowledge was invaluable, so she was going over previously learned spells to master them further. For today she had chosen healing magic.

‘Healing magic is a sacred art, closely tied to the Goddess Nayru. The process of healing with magical power is simple. One must simply gather magical power and will that power to heal wounds. Of course, the medical knowledge that is required to properly use healing magic to heal is far from simple. The mind of the subject knows it’s proper form, but knowledge of the caster is required to make sure that the reconstruction is accurate, and above all, safe.’

Healing magic was always framed as a way of healing wounds in living people, and Zelda never questioned that. But one fact now caused her to question her assumption. It was something so striking and so obviously suspicious that Zelda almost instructed Samus to slap her across the face when she realized. In order to practice healing magic without potentially threatening someone’s life, Zelda would use healing magic to repair cuts in raw meat.

It was such an obvious question that Zelda was embarrassed she didn’t already ask. Raw meat isn’t alive, it doesn't have knowledge of how it’s formed, what does that mean for healing magic that it works on things that aren't alive at all? What does it mean that a piece of raw meat could retain it’s proper form? Zelda was curious, so she went to the royal doctor and asked him a few questions. He confirmed to Zelda that healing magic could be used on corpses as well. This was actually a common occurrence, many mortuaries employed sorcerers adept at healing magic to restore any severe wounds of corpses so open casket funerals could be performed.

With all that on Zelda's mind, a question naturally formed. Since healing magic could be used to heal things that used to be alive like raw meat and corpses, could it be used on something that was never alive in the first place?

Zelda put down her book and focused on the worn out stuffed wolf on the table. The plush toy was one of Zelda’s favorite toys as a child, so she was familiar with every detail, in the likely chance that the plush had no recollection of it’s previous form. There was no risk of potentially worsening an injurie, and she would only be loosing a plushie she could easily replace.

Zelda held out her hand and focused magical energy into her hand. Blue magic surrounded her hand as she placed the hand onto the stuffed animal’s fur and whispered, “Nayru’s Care.”

Magic danced across the plushies fur with surgical precision. Every thread thread that the magic touched returned to it’s original color, every stitch was put back together, and every missing thread was restored. The process took several minutes, and Zelda needed to take a break for her magic to recharge, but tat the end of the process the stuffed wolf stood on the table good as new.

Graham watched in awe as Zelda performed an impossible act. Graham recognized what Zelda was doing as healing magic, but using magic to restore an inanimate object? It was an impossible feat!

“I guess if Zelda is accomplishing such feats with magic, then I guess it’s acceptable. You may continue.” Graham tried his best to hid his awe, but had a large smile as he left the two alone in the library.

Zelda picked up the stuffed animal and studied it’s features. The faded colors were restored to their bright hues. Places where the stitching fell apart and was leaking stuffing, now were patched up and good as new. The bright blues of the wolf’s eyes and earrings shined brighter than they ever did before. 

“Daddy?” Zelda looked up at her father. “Will mommy be ok?”

Rhoam picked up Zelda and carried her in his arms as they walked through the halls of the castle. 

“Honey… I’m sorry. Mommy isn’t going to survive her illness.” Tears slowly formed in Zelda’s eye as she held her father close. “Don’t worry honey, Mommy is going to go to a better place. Let’s make these last few days for her good days.”

“But daddy,” Zelda leaned away from her father. “I… don’t know if I can watch her leave us.”

The two walked in silence together for a few moments before Rhoam continued. “I have an idea. Let’s go to my room.”

Rhoam took Zelda to his bedroom and placed her on the bed. Rhoam reached into his wardrobe and pulled out a stuffed wolf and held it out in front of Zelda.

“This was going to be your birthday gift, but I decided to give it to you early. It’s said that the Hero once took the form of a wolf. He’ll give you strength.” Zelda grabbed the plush toy from Rhoam and held it close to her chest. “Let’s be strong for Mommy, ok Zelda?”

“Ok Daddy.”

Zelda held the newly created plush close to her chest. Tears fell down her cheek remembering a different time.

“Told you.”

Zelda wiped the tears away and turned to Samus. “Thank you, Samus.”

The history of Hyrule was vast, defined by heroes and heroines. Zelda would become one of the greatest heroes Hyrule had ever seen, and this was the beginning of her story.

Chapter Text

A few days passed since Zelda’s revelation, and things had changed massively. For one, any time that wasn’t spent with important meetings or classes was spent studying magic. Every meal was eaten with a book in hand, studying the history and development of incantations. Zelda would describe her findings about magic and magic history to Samus, and although she didn’t show it, Samus listened intently to Zelda’s findings.

A lot of the technical aspects of spell craft went above Samus’ head, but the history of spell development was immensely fascinating to the bounty hunter. Samus always had an interest in the technological developments that humanity went through early in its history, from the age of stone tools to the iron age, to the development of computer technology to the advent of quantum computing. All of these developments were new chapters in the story of humanity, each written by someone working beyond themselves to push humanity further. The same was true for other alien races as well, and Samus was perpetually interested in those stories. Out of all subjects, history was always her favorite.

Many aspects of hylian social progress and culture were similar to medieval human culture, castles and monarchies appearing in a similar way if slightly different. Hyrule was much smaller compared to human medieval kingdoms for one, Zelda showed Samus a map of Hyrule once and how even long trips to the Deserts at the other side of the kingdom would take less than a day. This meant that settlements and villages were much closer together. Magic also led to a generally higher standard of living for all social classes. Samus’ worst fear was that the ruling class thought of magic to be the sole domain of the royalty and banned anyone of the lower classes from making use of it. It seems that she could rest easy for now, since according to Zelda, every hylian had the capacity to cast magic and could train to grow their magic power. Such training was very physically intensive so most people just learned a few simple spells to help them around the home.

The intense magical training also explained why Hyrule had both a traditional army and a battalion of wizards. Although it was useful to be able to throw fireballs in the general direction of the enemy, soldiers would tire out immediately after firing just a few shots. They could train to increase their magical power of course, but the time spent increasing their reserves necessarily cut into time to learn how to physically fight and vice versa. The heavy time requirements on both sides meant that everyone just chose a role that fit them and didn’t bother with learning much outside of that. So foot soldiers learned how to physically fight while only learning a few spells they could use in absolute emergencies at the risk of tiring themselves out, while mages became masters of the mystic arts and only learned the basics of self defense so they could defend themselves in emergency scenarios. That’s what made Samus’ fake identity as a magical knight something so otherworldly. She was both amazing at physical combat, and had the appearance of being a master of magic.

Samus was also willing to bet that the existence of magic led to the slowed technological development of Hyrule; if humans had magical abilities like the hylians, they probably wouldn’t have put as much effort into studying the sciences. Of course it was also possible that hylians were a much younger race than humanity. It was only natural for humanity to outpace the hylians if humanity had a 2 billion year head start. Samus had asked Zelda how long hylians were around for and what Zelda told her made Samus worry.

“The honest answer is that we don’t know. We have evidence to suggest that hylian societies existed before ours, and their technology was much more advanced. It’s theorized that they were wiped out and their history was lost. Something happened to them, whether it was a plague, or monsters, or a tyrant driving his kingdom to dust. Our written history only goes back 600 years, we’re lucky that Ganon failed to do the same thing to us.”

Oh, so at any moment a cataclysm would happen and society will just reset completely? All progress and development, just gone? This made sense, Humanity has had some pretty close shaves in the past, from the nuclear threat of the cold war, to the threat of climate change, to the extraterrestrial wars that started when humanity began reaching other galaxies outside the milky way. Samus couldn’t even imagine how devastating the previous World Wars would have been if each side had just a handful of magicians.

Samus preferred hearing Zelda talk about magic over history after learning that uncomfortable fact.

Zelda’s progress of reverse engineering magic was progressing fast. In the week since her revelation with healing magic, Zelda made progress on many different branches of magic, even one considered the simplest. Being able to create a blast of energy similar to Samus' own arm cannon was a very easy spell to learn, you just commanded magic energy to condense in your hand and then used more magic to make it move through the air. There were a couple issues with this spell however. Getting a powerful blast required pooling together a lot of energy, and unless you wanted your target to just walk out of the way of the blast, it needed a lot of push to get a high enough speed. Not to mention that it was difficult to aim with your hands alone. 

Zelda’s solution to these problems were actually quite simple. Instead of making her magic form a large sphere of energy, she could form it into a thin rod, a shape perfect for piercing barricades, and one that moved through the air with much less resistance than a ball. The launching cost and aiming problem were solved with one elegant solution. Instead of using magic power as fuel for the projectile's flight, she instead created an apparatus out of magic to launch it like a bow. Magic was only used in the construction of the bow itself, the launching of the arrow was done with simple physics. This made it much easier to aim as well since Zelda was already adept at using a bow and arrow. The result was a new spell that acted like a normal bow and arrow, but had the properties and power of the most fearsome magics. Zelda called her new technique the Bow of Light, due to its radiant glow. Samus could still remember the joy on Zelda’s face when she first successfully used this new spell.

“Samus, how could an inanimate object retain a memory of its previous state?”

Samus was torn out of her memory by Zelda’s question. The two were in a situation they had found themselves in a lot these past few days. Zelda was enjoying lunch with her eyes planted in a book while Samus leaned against the other wall.

“You tell me.”

“If these books are accurate, then healing magic was developed and was mostly used for healing people. There is no mention of healing magic being used on inanimate objects or corpses. I haven’t seen a single source that mentions when morticians started using healing magic at all either!” Zelda dropped the book she was reading on the dining table and covered her eyes with her hands. “Curse historians for not keeping proper records.”

Samus felt Zelda’s frustration alongside her. Were hylians just prone to forgetting to write down their history? Did they just not think it was important? Perhaps they felt that the history would have just been lost no matter what when the next cataclysmic event occurred, Samus thought morbidly.

“Then test it,” Samus stood up from the wall and walked over to the dining room table. She planted her left hand onto the surface of the table as she continued. “Conduct experiments. You guys have the scientific method, I hope?”

Zelda’s face lifted up at the challenge of solving such a problem, before smirking at Samus’ jab. “Of course we do. Give me a moment.” Zelda left the dining room for a few minutes before returning with a scroll and quill. She began writing down various lines and whispering quietly to herself. Samus couldn’t help herself, she joined Zelda on the other side of the table and looked over Zelda’s shoulder to see what she was writing down.

Observation: Healing magic works on both living and nonliving things. 

Information: Textbooks state “ The mind of the subject knows its proper form ”. Inanimate objects don’t have a mind to contain the form the object needs to be reconstructed into.

Hypotheses:

• Healing magic isn’t actually based on knowledge of “the subject’s proper form”.
• Healing magic is based on the knowledge of the caster not the subject
• Healing magic derives the “blueprint” for reconstruction based on the subject (A hidden magical record? Some unknown element of science?)
• Healing magic refers to cultural consciousness to judge a subject's “proper form”.

Zelda tapped her quill against the wooden table. “Oh! Perhaps…” She said to herself as she added,

• Healing magic refers to the subjects previous states in time 

Samus scoffed. “Time travel? Really?”

“You jest, but it was once said that there were many past legendary heroes that could travel through time, beyond just the one called the Hero of Time.”

Samus shook away her confusion about this Hero of Time and focused on the question at hand. “Any other potential hypotheses? That first one’s broad, you could expand it.”

“Indeed… but it could be broken down into a million different ways. I say we treat hypothesis 1 as a group of hypotheses and likewise consider 2 through 5 to be another group. If we determine that none of the other hypotheses in the second group fit the observation, we can expand hypothesis 1.” Zelda’s quill flew across the page a mile a minute, Samus was almost having a hard time keeping track. “How can we test these hypotheses?”

“I’m seeing a smaller group here, does the ‘blueprint’ come from the caster or the subject?” 

“Or does it come from a third source outside of the two. So we have three different hypotheses first to test. The blueprint comes from the subject, hypotheses 3 and 5. The blueprint comes from the caster, hypothesis 2. The blueprint comes from others, hypothesis 4.” Zelda wrote those down. “I wonder, because broader hylian culture doesn’t have a specific cultural belief that all of a type of object must have the exact same characteristics, no one expects all tables to have the exact same dimensions or size, so we could first test the third before testing the first two.”

“And how do you say we do that?” Samus prodded Zelda.

“Say we take an important cultural symbol… Like the Triforce, we commission the royal seamstress to create a tapestry depicting the Triforce, but we instruct her to make it slightly incorrectly, like one of the pieces of the Triforce is slightly off angle. If healing magic works on the tapestry to return it to how the Triforce is normally understood by culture, then healing magic bases its restructuring on cultural understanding. And if healing magic has no effect, then we can go to test 2, 3, and 5. Right?” Zelda looked up to Samus, silently asking for confirmation. 

Samus felt herself smirking behind the opaque glass of her helmet. “Sounds good to me.”

Zelda grabbed the scroll in her hands and practically bounded out of the private dining room with Samus following close behind her. The princess showed no signs of exhaustion as she barreled through the door to Graham’s office. Samus stood outside to not aggravate Graham more than Zelda was probably going to.

“Graham!” Zelda yelled as she entered, causing the advisor to jump in his chair. Graham was apparently reviewing documents, as he jumped several scrolls scattered across his desk.

“Samus! Must you barge in and yell?” Graham asked as he tried to collect his scrolls.

Zelda continued without care for Graham’s plight. “I need to commission a tapestry from the royal seamstress depicting the Triforce. The exact design doesn’t matter, just instruct the seamstress to make the Triforce slightly incorrectly, like one of the pieces is at a slight angle compared to the others-”

Graham gasped. 

“This is for an experiment, Graham, no need to react in that way.” Zelda paid no mind to Graham’s discomfort. “Will you do it?”

Graham at first looked hesitant to fulfill Zelda’s request, but the excited look on the princess' face made Graham break. “Very well, I’ll take this request to her later,” He might have been uncomfortable with it, but this was clearly important to Zelda for some reason. “Now get out of my office! I’m busy dealing with paperwork. The festival is right around the corner, and I have a lot of work to do beforehand.”

Zelda chuckled and left Graham’s office. Samus was waiting outside, leaning against the opposite wall with her arms crossed. “That happened really quickly,” Zelda chuckled. “It should take a few days for that tapestry to be made.”

“Beyond that,” Samus’ tone was slow and deliberate. “What other experiments could you conduct?”

“Well, I can think of one type of experiment to test hypothesis 2 against 3 and 5. We can have five different clocks made, three of one construction and two of another, but then have them broken in a way that makes them all look identical. I know what one of the types of clocks are supposed to look like, so if healing magic reconstructs all the clocks to resemble the clock type that I’m familiar with, then healing magic works based on the caster’s knowledge. If not then we can continue with more experiments.” Zelda’s thoughts were moving faster than light, and her mouth was barely keeping up. “We can also test hypothesis 5 rather easily. Can healing magic restore something that’s fixed back to its broken state? And what do we do if that test fails? I’m not sure… We might need a better understanding of magic in order to move further, that would require an entire team of researchers…” Zelda chuckled as she rubbed her temples. “My head hurts now. A break may be a good idea.”

Samus was impressed with how Zelda managed to devise several good experiments in just a few minutes. The Triforce of Wisdom may have given Zelda an edge, but her genius was on another level.

“What’s this about a festival?” Samus asked Zelda as the two walked through the halls of Hyrule Castle.

Zelda looked surprised. ”How did you hear that?... Nevermind. The Festival of the Hero started as a celebration of Link’s victory against Ganon, it’s since expanded to celebrate heroes throughout history. It’s become an annual event at this point.”

“Are you going?” Such an event was bound to be a great place for the royalty to show how much they care before retreating behind their castle walls.

“Oh heavens no. Even if monster attacks were not frequent, such a public event would be too dangerous for me.”

That didn’t sit right to Samus. “Will your father go?”

“Yes, he’s going to be making a speech.”

“So your dad can go, but you can’t?” Samus wondered aloud. “How is that fair?”

“My father used to be a general, he can defend himself, I- I can’t.”

“You can absolutely defend yourself.”

“I can’t, Samus! I just can’t!” Zelda’s yelling surprised Samus.

“You won’t even ask?”

“They would never say yes anyways,” Zelda frowned.

“Zelda,” Samus stopped for a moment to find the right words, “I can tell you don’t like having to stay behind. If you don’t at least ask then you’re never gonna get what you want.”

“I know! It’s just- It’s just so hard!” Zelda looked genuinely frustrated at Samus for pushing her on this issue.

Samus sighed to herself. Why did she have to care so much about this issue? Why did she have to be so interested in boosting the confidence of some princess? Zelda and Rhoam, despite being royalty, were empathetic and kind. They wanted to do better and improve people’s lives, they were just locked in a system they had no idea how to escape from. Samus couldn’t stand by without helping them.

“You want to go to the festival?” Samus asked, Zelda nodding in response. “Eventually you’ll have to learn to be assertive, but you don’t have to start right away. I’ll be right by your side when you ask to go to the festival.”

“I’m sorry Samus,” Zelda looked genuinely ashamed of herself. “I can’t stand up to Graham.”

“Not Graham, your father.” Zelda looked surprised at Samus’ statement. “He genuinely cares about you, and would be much more willing to say yes.”

Zelda looked hopeful, but still had some doubts. “Graham would say that I shouldn’t interrupt my father’s business.”

“He wouldn’t care. I’m sure.”

“In that case… I’ll go ask him.” Zelda looked more confident, but she wasn’t fully on board. “Will… Will you be there with me?”

Samus gave a simple nod in response. It was strange how such a noncommittal response would comfort Zelda so much, but she was decently familiar with how Samus acted at this point. 

“Well then, no time like the present!” Zelda began her tepid march to her father’s office, with Samus close behind her.

The sheer amount of paperwork and planning required to get the Festival of the Hero running was immense, but the King of Hyrule was always ready and determined to see it through. His advisors, especially Graham, would insist that such matters were below him. It might have been true, he would only be giving a speech, not actually participating in the festivities, but Rhoam knew that wasn’t the case for the people of Hyrule. The Festival of the Hero was an important festival for the average man, it was an event that they looked forward to. It was a celebration of hylian perseverance in the face of evil, and was a rallying cry for them. Of course the King would do his best to make this event as joyous as it could for them, he had a responsibility!

That didn’t make the work hard or grueling. So many teams had to be coordinated to make sure that there were no managerial hiccups. The caterers needed to have an accurate prediction on the number of attendants to make sure they prepared enough food, the performers needed adequate time, space, and resources to make sure their performance goes smoothly. Guards needed to be properly scheduled to provide adequate protection. In a major event like this, there was no room for error.

For the past few hours Rhoam was busy signing contracts in his private office. He would rather be talking to everyone face to face, but such paperwork was necessary. If only there was something to take his attention away from the paperwork, if only for a moment.

Such a distraction came when his daughter slowly entered his office, with Samus close behind her. Samus looked confident like he usually was, but Zelda was timid and shy.

“What's wrong my daughter?” Rhoam was concerned. Zelda was usually comfortable around her father.

Zelda looked at Samus, who nodded in approval. “I’m sorry to bother you Father, but I wanted to ask you something.”

Rhoam was concerned. Zelda would only interrupt her father’s business if it was an absolute emergency.

“I was wondering… With the festival coming up,” Zelda looked to Samus for more encouragement. “I was wondering if I could attend?”

Rhoam sighed. He was worried for nothing! Thank goodness Zelda’s question was so inconsequential. 

“I won’t be defenseless, I’ll have Samus with me!” Zelda grew more passionate as she spoke. “And I’m- I’m not defenseless either! I’ve made major developments with my magic! I can take care of myself-”

Zelda suddenly stopped as if her mind finally realized what she was saying. She looked horrified, and Rhoam hated seeing her like that.

“It’s okay Zelda, it’s okay.” Rhoam stood up, walked around his desk, and engulfed her in the biggest hug he could give. “I would never be angry with you simply for requesting something. Especially for something so simple!”

Rhoam stood up. “I know what my advisors would say. ‘Rhoam, The festival is far too dangerous for you and Zelda. Any assassin or irrational peasant could attack you at any moment. Such a public appearance could only result in the lower classes loosing faith in their rulers.’” Rhoam spoke in a comedic, uptight tone which made Zelda laugh. “But I want to hear what you think, Samus.”

The bounty hunter, as expected, never faltered in his calm and stoic nature and answered Rhoam’s request with ease, “The public would be much more likely to follow you if you’re as honest and open with them as possible. Spending time at this festival seems to be a great way of doing that.”

“That makes a lot of sense.” Rhoam kneeled in front of Zelda. “If you believe that you’ll be safe during the festival, then you’re free to go with Samus. I might decide to join you myself actually.”

Zelda’s face lit up in excitement and hugged her father. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I need to prepare!” Zelda dashed out of Rhoam’s office. The King smiled, happy that Zelda had the courage to ask her. He was also grateful that Samus was willing to help Zelda find that courage. 

Rhoam placed a hand on Samus’ shoulder before he could leave. “I appreciate you supporting my daughter, Samus. But I must know, why are you doing this?” Samus answered Rhoam’s question with silence. “You just don’t seem to be the kind of person to offer emotional support.”

Samus shrugged. “I wanted to.”

“Is that your answer?”

“Yeah,” Samus left quickly after that, seemingly in order to catch up with Zelda.

Samus was a confusing person, but Rhoam was not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Zelda would eventually become queen, and she needed to be bold and confident to be an effective ruler. In hiring a bodyguard for his daughter, he also got a perfect role model for her. Maybe not completely perfect, Samus was a man after all and wasn’t quite familiar with the physical and emotional aspects of being a woman. Zelda had very few mother figures to guide her after the death of her mother. How would Zelda’s current development progress if Samus was a woman? 

Rhoam shook away his thoughts. It was hopeless to imagine such alternate scenarios when there was important work to be done. Rhoam returned to his desk chair and continued signing paperwork. Only a few hundred documents remained!

One week had passed since Adam’s declaration. In two weeks, Adam would out Samus to a person of his choice. Samus wouldn’t stand by it of course, the question was how she was going to stop him? Deactivating him was a no-go, Samus derived too much use from the ai to deactivate it. She could try to convince Adam that coming out with her true identity would do more harm than good in her situation. This wasn’t likely to work either. The AI considered his reasoning to be better than Samus’ own most of the time, so Adam could just reject any argument that she gave. The seemingly obvious and terrifying solution was to follow along with Adam’s ultimatum and reveal her identity to someone. If Adam was going to reveal her identity to someone no matter what, then Samus would be much more comfortable revealing it to a person of her choice.

The question was who to open up too? Graham was not to be trusted obviously, he was the one person most likely to react negatively. Rhoam was a slightly better candidate, he was much more amenable to Samus than she expected him to be. But the fact was that Rhoam requested a man to guard his daughter, learning that Samus was not a man would no doubt cause some strife.

For a second Samus considered if Rhoam would consider her a man, but she shook that thought away quickly.

The obvious candidate would be Zelda then, right? Samus didn’t know anyone else in Hyrule besides those three people. She spent the most time with Zelda, and the girl seemed to trust her. She was obviously the best choice then, the only thing left to do was to tell her. She just needed to risk everything she was building up here in Hyrule.

It was such an insane risk that Samus almost hit herself for considering it. The safest option would obviously be to keep herself hidden. In just a few weeks she will have earned enough rupees to never have to work a day again in her life. After that, Hyrule wouldn’t matter to her. She just needed to make sure that her plan wasn’t ruined by Adam.

In the meantime, Samus focused on the upcoming Festival of the Hero she and Zelda were attending. Zelda’s enthusiasm flew through the roof as she prepared as much as she could. The actual operations of the Festival were already handled, so Zelda could only prepare an outfit to wear to the event.

“Something more casual than my royal robes…” Zelda wondered aloud to herself as she studied a dress she took from her wardrobe. “Something I can wear out in the heat… Something that’s easy to move in…”

The past several days were spent just like this. Zelda would take hours to choose a set of clothes to wear to the Festival only for her to change her mind the next day and continue with the same song and dance. Even when the Festival was less than a day away, Zelda was still pouring over every article of clothing she owned.

Samus had the feeling that Zelda would never decide on an outfit if she just stood by, so she piped up from the corner of the room, “You should just make a choice already. The Festival’s tomorrow.”

“It’s important to make a good first impression!” Zelda held up a blue and white shirt to her chest. “Just like you said to my father, right?” 

“You should be trying to have fun,” Samus commented as Zelda neatly placed the shirt on her bed. 

“We can do both.” Zelda pulled out a pair of black tights and held it up to her legs to see if they still fit.

“You’re not wearing that,” Samus stepped forward and took the tights out of Zelda’s hands. “You’d get really hot.”

Zelda looked confused. “Why?”

Samus almost didn’t know how to respond to Zelda’s confusion, so she stated the obvious. “Because it’s black.”

“Why would that matter?”

“Uh-” Sometimes Samus severely underestimated hylian scientific understanding. “Black clothes absorb more light than other colored clothes.”

“Really?” Zelda looked fascinated. “How so?”

“Let’s talk about that later,” Samus pulled a pair of brown pants from the wardrobe. “This would work better.”

“Okay,” Zelda took the pants and placed them alongside the shirt on the bed. “What will you be wearing?”

“My Power Suit,” Samus answered.

“You always wear your armor. I’ve never even seen your face.”

“You don’t need to,” Samus hoped that her answer would dissuade Zelda, but Zelda wasn’t done asking questions.

 “Why are you so insistent?”

“A good bounty hunter never removes his mask,” Goodness, what a stupid excuse. Even Zelda gave a look hinting at her disbelief. “There are secrets I have that I don’t want to get out.”

Zelda looked apprehensive as she asked, “What kind of secrets?”

The dumb, insignificant kind of secrets that don’t actually matter. “The kind of secret that might put me in danger, maybe. Potentially.” 

“I see…” Zelda clearly felt pity for Samus, and she hated it. “If you need someone to talk about these secrets, I’m willing to listen.”

Samus instinctually pushed back, “I’m just a guard. My secrets don’t matter.”

“You know that’s not true, Samus.” Zelda walked up to Samus and looked up to her visor. Samus knew that her visor was too cloudy to see any details of her face, but she still double checked. “We’ve grown as friends this past week. You’ve given me advice and have helped me grow, and I’m willing to do the same for you. As long as you're willing, of course.”

“You shouldn’t,” Samus shook her head. “I don’t matter.”

“But-” Zelda paused for a moment. “We’ll talk about this later. I’ll try on these clothes, can you give me some privacy?”

Samus nodded and walked out the door of Zelda’s room. Before she could close the door, Zelda continued speaking.

“You may feel that you are insignificant Samus, but that’s not true. I care about you, and I want you to be happy.”

Samus didn’t respond to Zelda, she didn’t even know how. Samus knew that Zelda was wrong, but arguing with her about it would only make the situation worse. In order to avoid any more conflict Samus slowly closed the door without acknowledging Zelda.

The Festival of the Hero was a multi day long event taking place in the main square of Hyrule Castle Town. People came across the land of Hyrule to take part, so much planning was required to make sure that housing was provided for them, either through Castle Town’s residents opening up their homes or local inns accepting them. The town square had to be properly divided into booth space for vendors and entertainment. Guards needed to be stationed and scheduled at precise times to make sure that nothing went wrong. It was a delicate operation that cost an incredible amount of time and money, but it was all worth it.

The first major event of the Festival was a speech delivered by the King of Hyrule. Giving hope to the attendants and celebrating the persevering nature of hylians was an important job, and Rhoam always gave it his all. The stage was set, and hundreds of hylians stood in the audience waiting for their king to walk on stage. The loud voices of celebration had already morphed into a single loud drone.

“My King, is your speech prepared?” Graham was worried, Rhoam refused to have any of his advisors proof read his speech.

“Of course, Graham, there’s no need to worry.” Rhoam reassured Graham as seamstresses took care of his clothes. An ornate black cloak rested over a royal blue shirt and pants. A crown rested on top of his head. Seeing the king wearing his crown was a rare occurrence, he never liked how it felt on his head. 

Zelda and Samus stood by. A seamstress was taking care of Zelda’s outfit while Samus studied the crowds gathered.

“I must insist that-”

“Don’t worry Graham, you know father has always taken this seriously,” Zelda’s seamstress broke away from her as Zelda walked up to her father. As his seamstresses finished their work Zelda gave her father the biggest hug she could muster. “Good luck out there father.”

Rhoam reciprocated her hug in kind. “Thank you so much Zelda. I’ll make you proud.”

As Rhoam took to the stage, the voices of the crowd diminished until there was complete silence. Rhoam studied the crowd before giving his speech. The hylians were numerous in numbers, with dozens of Gerudo, Gorons, Zora, and Rito scattered among them. This made sense, most non-hylian cultures didn’t participate in the Festival of the Hero. They had their own events celebrating the defeat of Ganon. Rhoam respected the right for these cultures to exist and thrive, but would such cultural divisions lead to further divisions between groups? That was a question for another time.

Rhoam breathed in, and began speaking. His voice boomed throughout the square.

“Today we are here to celebrate the legendary achievements of not just the hero Link, but also the achievements of heroes throughout history. Some wielded the power of the Goddesses, others did not, but they all had the courage to fight against evil and protect the people of Hyrule. I have experienced this courage first hand during the final battle of the war against Ganon.”

A shock went through the crowd of onlookers, simply the name of Ganon was enough to inspire fear among the hylian people. “I’m sure many of you are aware of what transpired on that day. Ganon’s forces invaded this town and threatened to make their way to Hyrule Castle, where the people of this town had evacuated to. During that final battle, I fought with Link against Ganon in this very square. The Monster King fought like a beast, his primal roars shook the earth under my feet. I was afraid, but Link stood without fear. He slayed the beast with his legendary sword, and with that, the war against Ganon was over.” 

“Link is not here now,” The crowd looked at Rhoam silently. Some of them were afraid. “He is currently traveling the seas, we don’t know when he will return. But we are not defenseless without him. His strength lies not just in his physical power, but his power to inspire us all. Let him, and past heroes like him, be a symbol of our own bravery. Just as he stood against the greatest evil Hyrule has ever seen, we will stand together, against the hopelessness and fear. May our enemies tremble in terror at our unbreakable will!”

The crowd erupted into shouts and cheers of determination. Rhoam smiled as he bowed and walked off stage. With how well his speech went, then the rest of the Festival was bound to be a success.

In the deepest, blood soaked cave of Death Mountain meanwhile, an unholy communion was conducted without interruption. Ten worshipers in black cloaks whispered dark hymns to themselves as a woman in a red cloak knelt before a dark altar, A black and gold stand on which stood a large bowl.. The woman in the red cloak stood up, letting dark words come from her mouth.

“Tenebrae vocat, da nobis potestatem. Tenebrae vocat, da nobis potestatem.”

From the altar spilled a dark miasma that coalesced around the worshippers. It poured into their bodies, filling them with power. The worshiper in red raised her hands to the sky and yelled out one final enchantment,

“TENEBRAE VOCAT, DA NOBIS POTESTATEM!”

The worshipers cried out in pain as the altar began giving off black lighting, electrocuting all the worshipers. As the lighting subsided smoke began rising from the bowl on top of the altar. The worshipers fell to the ground from the pain, not moving for what felt like hours.

Eventually one of the black cloaked worshippers pushed themselves up and asked, “Cia… Did it work?”

The worshiper in red looked into the bowl. Inside was a small pinkish blob of flesh, convulsing as smoke came off from it. Its stunted arms and legs were held close, and its thin eyelids were closed. Cia smiled a devilish grin. “It did. It did! The growth is beginning. Within a few months, Ganon will walk among us again.”

“Months?!” Another cloaked figure stood up. “All this preparation, all this sacrifice, and we still have to wait?!”

“What do you suppose we do during this time, Cia?” Another cloaked worshiper questioned. “I hope you don’t expect us to wait those months down here.”

“Ghirahim, Zant! Please do not worry,” Cia grabbed their hands and smiled warmly at the two. “The vessel needs time to hold the evil spirit. We must be patient. And we still have more to do. We need to feed the vessel in order for it to properly mature.”

Cia walked away from the group as a dark energy surrounded her eyes. “And we have a new power to help us!”

The dark miasma shot from Cia’s hands and fell on the ground with a wet splat. The miasma boiled and formed the bodies of two red bokoblins, who stood still ready for orders.

“We no longer have to rely on monsters forming on their own, we can now create them ourselves! The hylian’s Festival of the Hero has started, we shall raise a battalion and strike when they least expect it! Who among us shall lead this first strike?”

One cloaked figure stepped forward and pulled off the hood of his cloak. The man couldn’t have been older than twenty, his skin was a light purple and one of his red eyes was covered with purple hair. “I will be the first.”

“Vaati, do you swear to honor the name of Ganon, and strike fear in the hylians?”

“I swear.” Vaati summoned the dark miasma and studied how it flowed over his hands. “The hylians are hopeful that they live in an era of peace. How foolish. I’ll show them how little their hope really means. It's time for the Children of Ganon to show themselves to the world.”

Chapter Text

The loud droning of constant conversations. Groups of people spread out across the square. Some were eating, some were playing games, some were enjoying time with their friends. The energy of the Festival reminded Samus of the busy streets of Earth. Memories flooded back of a time that felt so far away.

“Samus!” Zelda’s voice tore Samus out of her memories. “Are you ok?”

Samus shook her head and continued following Zelda. There was no point in reliving such memories now.

Rhoam was busy meeting with guards scattered around the festival, Zelda meanwhile was infatuated with the various games dotted around the festival.

“Knock over all the milk bottles and win a prize!” One game owner advertised as he juggled three leather balls with one hand. On the table next to him stood a pyramid of white bottles. The tent around him was decorated with woolen plushies of animals and mythical creatures. “Ten rupees gives you three balls!”

“Oh Samus, we need to play this one!” Zelda said as she scrambled to pull two blue rupees out of her pocket. Samus stayed back to pick up the few rupees Zelda dropped as the princess walked over to the game booth.

“Princess!” The booth’s owner looked surprised and honored to see Zelda. “I’m honored you came to my booth!” The man didn’t give much attention to Samus, which the bounty hunter didn’t mind at all.

Zelda exchanged the ten rupees for the three balls and prepared herself. She studied the weight on the ball in her hand, before reeling her arm back and throwing the ball with all her strength. The ball hit the left side of the pyramid, causing two bottles to fall to the ground. The second ball took only one pin, leaving a smaller pyramid of three bottles.

“Oh, you only have one ball left Princess!” The game owner advised with a smile.

Zelda frowned at the ball in her hands before turning to Samus, “Would you like to give it a try?”

Samus grabbed the ball from Zelda’s hand. The various sensors of her Power Suit confirmed her suspicion about the ball, but what about the bottles? Various scans of the bottles showed up on her HUD, analyzing the way the bottles fell, the sound they made when they landed… There was no doubt.

Samus threw the leather ball with precision and strength, hitting the dead center of the bottom two bottles, sending all the bottles crashing to the ground.

The owner of the game whistled. “That’s some strength you got, sir. You two win a prize! Take your pick!” 

The dozens and dozens of plushies hanging from the top of the tent were themed after various animals. Some were animals that Samus was familiar with, others were more mythical. Samus had no interest in them, but Zelda seemed very interested in a plushie of a white chicken. 

“Can we get that cuckoo plushie?” Zelda pointed at the chicken. They were called cuckoos here? Strange.

Samus simply nodded. The man noticed the gesture and gave Zelda one of the cuckoo plushies. She gave the plushie a big hug and thanked the game runner.

“Thank you for coming princess! I hope you enjoy the Festival!”

Samus and Zelda continued to walk through the Festival as they talked. “I feel a bit ashamed. You did much better than I did.”

“It’s fine. Those games are rigged anyways.”

Zelda looked surprised. “Really? The game was rigged?”

Samus was incredulous at Zelda’s naivete. “Yeah. The bottles were filled with lead and the balls were filled with cork. The people who run the games have to make a profit. Everyone knows that those types of games are rigged, it’s surprising that you don’t.”

“I’ve never been to the Festival before, this is all brand new to me! Knowing that all these games are taking advantage of the people that play them, that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

Samos agreed, she never understood the mindset that led people to maximize profit over everything else. “It is exploitative… But it's not worth worrying about. You could get those toys for way cheaper at any store.”

Zelda giggled. “That’s true, but it’s so fun to play a game for it! Are you having fun, Samus?” 

Samus shrugged. “It’s nice.”

“Well, I want you to have fun at this Festival too. Is there anything you want to do?”

Samus studied the various booths and attractions around them. The various carnival games didn’t interest her, nor did the prizes. She could only eat the food if she removed her helmet and that wasn’t happening, what else was there?

A fountain in the center grabbed Samus’ attention, specifically the statue at the center of the fountain. The statue depicted a woman wearing a long gown. Her right hand was held up in the air, holding up the three pieces of the Triforce. Samus couldn’t remember Zelda ever talking about this figure.

“Tell me about her.”

Zelda looked confused, until she realized what Samus was talking about. “Oh, Hylia! According to legend, she was the First Hero, and the nation was named after her.”

“What did she do?”

A look of excitement formed on Zelda’s face. “You remember when I told you how the three goddesses created the Triforce to help the people they created defend themselves? Legends say that Hylia was the first person to ever use the Triforce’s wish granting power. At the time monsters were a grave threat, and dark influences were inspiring some Hylians to attack each other. Hylia used her wish to bring magic into this world, so people could defend themselves from the monsters and dark influences at every turn. Hylia could have used the Triforce for her own selfish gain, but she instead wished for something that would benefit all Hylians. For this selfless act, she is remembered as the First Hero.”

It was a classic religious fable, giving a poetic origin to an aspect of the natural world. Samus was willing to believe there was a lot more truth to this story however, considering the fact that magic was a thing that genuinely existed.

“You keep mentioning heroes.” Samus questioned.

“Right, Heroes are individuals recognized and honored for their acts of bravery and kindness. Heroes don’t do what they do for the sake of being Heroes, they do it because they want to protect the people around them. The most recent person given the title of Hero was Link, for his bravery in defeating Ganon he is recognized as the Hero of the Blade.”

“Are there other Heroes?”

“One of my favorites is the story of the Hero of Time. He lost his family when he was young and was raised as a child of the forest. With no family to call his own he took a legendary quest traveling through time itself to save Hyrule from a rising dictator. The Hero of the Wild is another favorite of mine. When a calamity befell Hyrule and only disparate villages remained, the Hero of the Wild made sure that the calamity didn’t get worse, and inspired the disconnected villages to come together again.”

“Do Heroes only get a title? Nothing else?”

“Well, Heroes and their stories are immortalized into history and supported financially by the royal family. Many businesses also provide their services for free to Heroes. It’s considered-” Zelda suddenly stopped and looked embarrassed. “Sorry, we were going to do something fun! What would you like to do now?”

“I’m having fun.” Samus said as seriously as possible. “I enjoy hearing you talk about your culture. It’s fascinating.”

A blush formed on Zelda’s face. “I’m glad to hear that Samus. In that case, there’s this popular theory that all of these Heroes are just reincarnated forms of the First Hero, or some other heroic spirit watching over Hyrule. The main evidence for this is how most Heroes are described to have similar appearances, and some even had similar names. It’s possible to poke many holes in this theory, it’s very common for parents to name their children after major political or cultural figures so that could explain the names. It’s also hard to confirm the appearance of previous Heroes, we only know the general details on how Hylia looked because the Legend is so popular, but even then-”

A notification flashed in the corner of the Power Suit’s HUD. Samus silently groaned to herself, she was enjoying Zelda’s explanation. She was tempted to ignore it entirely but the specifics alerted her.

“I suppose the poetic nature of the theory attracts people. I once talked to my father about… it…” Zelda noticed that Samus was no longer listening. “Samus?”

Sensors in the Power Suit’s feet returned readings of a slow increase in seismic activity. Was it an earthquake? No, It wasn’t strong enough. Her ship wasn’t returning any similar readings, so the effect was localized to the festival. What did it mean? What-

Realization struck Samus like a freight ship. She screamed as loud as she could, “GET AWAY FROM THE FOUNTAIN-”

The sudden explosion of the fountain caused chaos and screaming in the festival. From the hole created by the explosion poured hordes of… Samus wasn’t quite sure what they were. Some were humanoids with burning red skin and horns atop their head, some looked like anthropomorphic lizards with crude metal armor that stood as tall as a person. They moved less like a platoon of soldiers and more like a band of wild animals.

Rampant screams filled the square as the monsters moved out from the center of the square. Most of the guards were positioned on the edges of the festival grounds leaving the center unguarded. 

Unguarded, except for Samus who sprung into action immediately, shooting balls of plasma into the monsters closest to the civilians. The projectiles tore the bodies of the monsters apart, turning them into purple ash. The rest of the monsters stopped their assault to evaluate this new threat.

“Keep the monsters at bay Samus, I’ll head to safety and support from afar however I can.” Zelda seemed confident in herself, Samus had to admit that she was proud of the princess for this change of attitude.

Samus kept this to herself of course, opting instead to nod and say, “Stay safe.” She waited a second to make sure that Zelda made it to safety before charging at the monsters. 

Several approaching monsters were vaporized by Samus’ plasma volley, but some managed to get through and slice at Samus with crude metal weapons. The monster’s swords bounced off Samus’ advanced Power Suit. Samus batted away the monster's weapons and shot them dead, before loading her arm cannon with missiles. Dozens of monsters were torn apart with just a few missiles, but before Samus could shoot any more, a long tongue wrapped itself around her arm cannon and pulled her arm back. The tongue belonged to one of the large lizards, A gang of which surrounded Samus and swiped at her with their tails. With her limited movement and her arm cannon pulled away from the lizards the only thing she could really do was kick at the monsters surrounding her, who would simply block the attack with their armor. 

Arrow fire caused the monsters to back away, giving Samus the space to free herself from the lizard’s tail. Dozens of soldiers surrounded her and began fighting back against the monsters. 

“Impressive work Samus, but you won’t have to fight alone,” Samus turned to see the guard captain Zachary standing ready with a sword in his hand. “Let none of them escape the square!”

The small army of soldiers fought like a well oiled machine, none of the monsters even got close to the borders of the festival grounds. Despite the chaos of the first few minutes of the attack, things were going to calm down. Of course, it was never that simple.

Another monster erupted from the ground, one that stood as tall as the buildings surrounding the square. It resembled a spider, standing on two exoskeleton covered legs in its front and one pink fleshy leg on its back. Two more limbs stood on top of the spider, and the face was dominated by one massive yellow eye.

The appearance of the massive monster broke the composure of Zachary. “A Gohma?! Fall back! We can’t take it-”

The sight of Samus flying over him made him pause. Somehow Samus managed to clear the entire platoon with just one jump, rolling forward through the air. After stabilizing in the air, Samus fired a missile straight at Gohma's eye. As soon as Samus landed, the Gohma stabbed at her with one of its top legs. Samus dodged out of the way of the attack and pinned the thin leg to her side. Gohma stabbed with the other leg, but Samus simply lifted her leg and pinned the other leg to the floor. With the Gohma pinned down Samus fired as many missiles as she could before the monster pushed her away. 

Seeing Samus’ bravery and strength reinspired the platoon of soldiers. “Come on men, follow his lead!”

The soldiers gave off a heroic warcry as they charged into battle against the army of monsters.

Moments before, Zelda ran to the edge of the festival grounds and jumped to a rooftop with bursts of magical power. She almost slipped on the worn shingles, but managed to keep her footing. There were no arial enemies in the monster ranks so she would be safe. But she couldn’t help but be worried for Samus, despite knowing his immense strength.

Samus was handling the army of monsters admirably. When he was about to be overwhelmed by Lizalfos, Zachary and his men came to his rescue. Even when a Gohma erupted out of the ground, Samus charged in with no fear and fought it off with proficiency. Seeing such bravery from Samus inspired Zelda. She had to do something to help!

So Zelda summoned a Bow of Light and scanned the battle. On the outskirts of the battle two soldiers were fighting off several Bokoblins. The soldiers were struggling to push the monsters away. Zelda pulled back the magical string of her bow, took aim, and fired. The arrow pierced one of the Bokoblins in the heart. The other monster’s shock gave the soldiers the opportunity to gain the upper hand.

Samus dodged through the various swings of the massive Gohma while firing shots at the monster’s legs, which all did no damage.. Samus wasn’t familiar with this monster, so he of course wouldn’t know how to kill it. Right before Gohma attacked, its yellow eye flashes red. With a perfectly timed arrow shot, the Gohma was stunned and its eye turned green. Samus turned to look at Zelda, before continuing his fight.

The battle was going well, until a brand new threat suddenly entered the fray.

“That’s some fancy magic you got there, princess,” A voice lazily said to Zelda’s left. Turning to the source of the sound, Zelda found a person in purple robes standing on a different roof. His skin was a light purple and his one eye not covered by his purple hair was red. Despite standing so far away, his voice sounded like he was right next to Zelda.

Zelda didn’t recognize the stranger, keeping up her guard as her focus shifted from him and the battlefield. “You should leave, it’s not safe here.”

The stranger scoffed. “I’ll be fine. I’m more interested in your magic. I’ve never seen anything like that bow of yours. Keep using it, I want to see it in action.” 

Zelda eyed the stranger before slowly returning her focus to the battle. Several monsters got too close to the edge of the festival grounds, so Zelda shot them down. A group of soldiers were getting surrounded by Bokoblins so she gave them the opening they needed-

In a near instant the stranger moved to Zelda’s side and pulled the Bow of Light from her arms. “This is really well done, you must have practiced this alot.” 

Zelda stumbled back from the shock of the stranger crossing the distance between them so fast. “This is a dangerous situation, you really shouldn’t be here.”

The stranger’s face turned into a mischievous grin. “Oh princess, you have no idea how dangerous this battle is.” The stranger's hands emanated with a strange purple glow. As the stranger pointed his hands at the battlefield, masses of black ooze poured out and landed on the ground. The ooze condensed into a single massive shape, before taking on the appearance of another massive Gohma.

The sudden appearance of another massive monster caused the soldiers to fall back, letting the monsters take the advantage. Samus’ iron focus was broken, giving the first Gohma the chance to knock Samus into a building.

Zelda stumbled backwards away from the stranger and almost fell backwards off the roof.

The stranger sat down on the roof in front of Zelda. “You can call me Vaati, princess. If you want this carnage to end, then you’ll need to stop me.” More of the purple magic surrounded Vaati’s hands, “Make sure to show me some impressive magic while I’m here.”

Before Vaati could blast her Zelda dived off the roof, landing on a stray cart. She barely managed to escape the cart before Vaati shot out the dark magic at the cart. The purple miasma melted the wood quicker than any acid she could think of. With her magic she summoned another Bow of Light and ran through the streets of Hyrule Castle Town.

The dense streets of the town gave Zelda plenty of cover to evade Vaati's attacks, but Zelda was unfamiliar with how the town was laid out. If she wasn’t careful, she would trap herself in an alleyway leaving herself wide open to Vaati. Vaati was unfortunately fast, any time Zelda would round a corner, a wave of black magic would fly past her back. The wall to her right exploded, Zelda barely dodged out of the way as the black miasma melted the stones of the road. 

Vaati stepped out of the newly created hole in the building and snarled. “Enough running Princess, show me your magic!” he yelled before shooting out a geyser of black magic.

“Nayru’s Love!” A dense shield of blue magic formed between the two, intercepting the blast of dark magic. To Vaati’s surprise, the shield held back the destructive magic, if for a moment, giving Zelda the chance to escape into a door.

“What strength! This is what I wanted to see!” Vaati yelled as he followed Zelda into the building. The building seemed to be mostly a large storage room, filled with crates and barrels stacked high above Vaati’s head. Zelda really got lucky, there were plenty of hiding spots in this building.

Unfortunately for the princess, most hiding spots couldn’t survive Vaati’s dark magic. A casual wave of his hand and over a quarter of the room was doused in the horrible magic. The magic made quick work of the crates, but no princess was revealed. 

“Such powerful magic, yet you continue to hide? You could cut me down in an instant yet you still fear me? Pathetic!” Vaati’s annoyance grew into a burning rage. Vaati smashed a crate with his darkness coated hands, breaking it into pieces.  “Fight me Princess! Show me your power!” 

A stabbing pain in his thigh made Vaati collapse onto the ground and scream in pain. “You bitch!” he yelled as he blasted a wave of black magic at everything behind him. Around a quarter of the room was torn apart in a wave of black magic, leaving only a stray bow of light on the stone floor.

Vaati growled, “I didn’t know the princess was a rat. Pests like you should be exterminated.” 

Vaati summoned more black magic around his hands to shoot out, before flashes of white out of the corner of his eye distracted him. From his right a magical arrow was shot out from a crack between two crates, and another came to his left from just above a tower of crates. The two incoming arrows forced Vaati to roll away. As Vaati recovered, Zelda dashed from behind more crates and escaped through a nearby door.

“You can summon multiple bows… And release them remotely?” Vaati’s curiosity outstretched his anger. “Yes! Show me more!”

Zelda did her best to get out of sight of the storeroom she just exited, using magic to propel herself up to and across the rooftops of the buildings in town. On the second rooftop she landed on, the shingles of the roof shifted under her feet and she awkwardly rolled onto the street below. Zelda gasped as she fell on her left arm. Zelda grunted as she struggled to move her arm, it was definitely strained, if not broken.

“Oh Goddess’ please…” Zelda whispered through her teeth as she dragged her injured arm with her into a nearby alley. The pain started to subside as she collapsed against the wood of the building. Poking at her injured arm and bending her arm proved it, Zelda’s left arm was broken. She had healed injuries before, but not her own, and especially not in such stressful circumstances. She couldn’t afford to let her stress impact her healing-

A building across the alley exploded in dark magic and out from the rubble walked Vaati. “Running won’t get you anywhere here, Princess.”

Zelda’s terror grew into a strength she didn’t think was possible as she stumbled backwards through the alley. She tried her best to get up but her exhaustion and stress caused her to trip and fall flat on the cobblestone. 

“The gifted princess, reduced to a stumbling mess.” Vaati relished Zelda’s suffering. Vaati walked through the alley slowly and deliberately. He didn’t need to go any faster, Zelda was struggling to crawl across the stone with just her right hand. Eventually Zelda stopped moving. Her fast and erratic breathing slowed. Vaati stood over Zelda and summoned one last blast of dark magic. “Don’t worry Zelda, it’s time to die now.”

Zelda closed her eyes and prepared for the worst.

But before Vaati could land the killing blow, the wall to his right exploded as a massive Gohma flew through it, with Samus following close behind it. Vaati barely dodged out of the way as the massive monster crushed the building it landed into. The Gohma tried its best to get up but Samus pinned it down into the rubble and shot a missile out of his arm cannon at the monster’s eye. Gibs of meat and fountains of blood erupted out of the destroyed eye, and the body of the monster collapsed.

Zelda pushed herself up with her right hand and smiled at Samus. “Thank goodness…”

“Zelda!” Samus yelled as she took a step forward, but was stopped by Vaati holding his darkness soaked hands up to Zelda.

“You’re Samus? The Royal Family’s new magical knight…” Zelda cowered in fear from the threat while Samus slowly readied himself. “Such a rare thing. A warrior and a magician rolled into one… But why can’t I see any magic in you?”

Samus and Zelda tensed at Vaati’s revelation, while the evil sorcerer laughed. “You thought you could hide it?! Maybe a layman would fall for your tricks, but to me it’s clear as day. Your abilities don’t quite resemble any magic I've ever seen, and I sense no magic power behind them. And that armor, it’s like nothing I've ever seen… What are you?”

Samus stayed perfectly still as he spoke. “Your Gohmas are dead. The Royal Guard are taking care of the remaining monsters. You’ve lost.”

“Have I now?” Vaati chuckled. “This is all just the beginning. It’s only been a year since you won your war against Ganon, yet you arrogantly celebrate this new era of peace. The Children of Ganon are rising, and we’ll prove how foolish this celebration is.”

Samus’ arm cannon started emitting a hum and yellow light. “I won’t let that happen.”

“How, ARROGANT!” The dark magic condensed in Vaati’s hand condensed into a small point as Vaati raised his arms straight at Samus. The point of black magic shot like an arrow at Samus head. Samus didn’t even move from her spot, only twisting her head to the side to dodge the attack. “You’re just one man! What could you possibly do?!”

Samus shot a large ball of plasma at Vaati who jumped over it effortlessly. His body twisted through the air dodging several more plasma shots from Samus while flying in the bounty hunter’s direction. The two figures met in the rubble of the destroyed building in a trade of blows. Vaati was dangerous, his dark magic ready for the kill. Samus on the other hand was far faster, able to slowly pick at Vaati’s defenses before moving away.

Zelda watched it all from her position on the ground. Her spirits soared as Samus fought back. Vaati got angrier and angrier, but he couldn’t land a single hit on Samus. But then something strange happened. When Samus batted away one of Vaati’s attacks, Samus’ arm growed an unfamiliar pink as he rushed forward. Before Samus could do anything she stopped, his arm cannon pulling back his arm away as if he was trying to physically restrain himself. During this opening, Vaati recovered and screamed rage as he shot a direct blast of dark magic into Samus’ helmet and point blank range.

Zelda’s hope fell as Samus fell on her back from the attack, dark magic eating at his helmet. At that moment, Zelda didn’t think. She didn’t consider her broken arm, or her own fear. Her timid nature slipped away as she summoned a power that only she could control. The Triforce pattern on her hand glowed as she pointed that hand at Vaati and yelled at the top of her lungs, “SAMUUUS!!!”

A blast of holy light shot from her hand at Vaati, upon striking the dark sorcerer, the light lifted him up in the air. The shape of the triforce surrounded him and spun through the air, giving off an incomprehensible light. Vaati screamed in such guttural pain that Zelda wished she could stop, but she had important things to do. She poured more power into the magic, causing the light to strengthen and the screams to grow, as the Triforce spun and spun, until the Triforce exploded into a wave of magic that spread the entire town. Once the light clearned, Vaati had disappeared without a trace.

But Zelda’s mind was focused on someone else. She stumbled as she pushed herself off the ground, screaming at her friend. “Samus! Sam-”

When Zelda turned to Samus, she saw that the bounty hunter’s helmet had been taken off. It was heavily damaged, but it had seemingly taken the brunt of the impact. But that wasn’t what Zelda’s attention was focused on. Samus’ exposed face was… Beautiful. His hair was long and colored a dirty blond. His face was pointed and shaped differently than how Zelda expected. It was the face of a woman.

Samus’ breaths were heavy and erratic, almost as if having his- or was it her?- face exposed caused her immense anxiety. Her shaking hand struggled to lift the damaged helmet off the ground. She balanced the helmet on her arm cannon and glided her hand over the helmet’s surface. The damaged metal reformed into Samus’ completed helmet, and Samus very quickly put the helmet back on her head. As soon as her whole face was covered Samus’ breathing began to slow into a much healthier pace. 

“Samus?” Zelda asked in a meek tone. Samus’ helmet was completely static, her emotions hidden from the world. The two stood across from each other for what felt like an eternity. “Are… Are you okay?”

A torrent of coming footsteps tore the two’s attention away from each other. Dozens of soldiers ran from around the corner at the two, with Rhoam and Graham at the lead. 

“Zelda! Zelda!!!” Rhoam yelled as she rushed forward and embraced Zelda in a hug.

Graham walked up to the still bounty hunter. “Where is the dark sorcerer?”

“Zelda used some magic… Made him disappear.” Samus’ statement was quick, and her voice sounded awkward.

“Did you use your sealing magic, Zelda?” Zelda nodded to Rhoam’s question. “Oh my goddess, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“That magic took a lot out of me… and my arm…” Zelda’s broken arm still hung lifelessly by her side

“Oh, Goddess!” Rhoam turned to the soldiers around him. “Summon a magician, my daughter needs to be healed!”

Graham stepped forward first. “Sire, magicians are on their way to begin reconstruction of the town. It will take them half an hour to mobilize and get here in time.”

“My ship is close by,” Samus stepped forward. “I have medical equipment, I can heal her faster.”

“Thank you Samus. Please take care of my daughter,” Rhoam turned to the soldiers to mobilize them. “Search the town for any remaining threats, and help any civilian you find!”

Samus walked up to Zelda and pulled out a long band from a compartment in her arm cannon. She carefully pulled Zelda’s broken arm upward and wrapped the band around her shoulder and back. A blue mesh extended across the broken arm, the mesh cooled the wound and the band gave a minimum amount of support. Graham watched this from the sidelines. He looked conflicted, but recognized that it was probably best for Samus to help Zelda.

“Let’s go,” Samus and Zelda walked through the wreckage of Hyrule Castle Town. 

As soon as Zelda was sure that no one could hear them, she spoke up, “Samus? What about-”

“About what?”

Samus’ sudden interruption caught Zelda off guard. “But, Samus-”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Samus said forcefully. “So drop it.”

Zelda wanted to continue, but she knew that Samus would just refuse to talk about it. The two women continued to walk through the abandoned town silently, the tension of what just happened hanging over the both of them.

Chapter Text

Zelda experienced her first battle just a few minutes ago. It was traumatic and terrifying, it was the first time that Zelda feared she was going to die. But in the aftermath of that horrific battle, Zelda’s mind focused on the seemingly benign.

Samus, the powerful, strong man that Zelda had called a friend, was not a man at all. Samus was a woman, just like her. During her entire stay at Hyrule Castle, everyone referred to Samus as a man. In the few times that Samus referred to herself, she referred to herself as a man. Why didn’t Samus ever correct anyone?

These thoughts plagued Zelda as the two walked to Samus’ ship. It wasn’t a long walk, Samus’ vessel was apparently parked in a forest close by. The walk wasn’t challenging either, even with Zelda’s broken arm. The hardest part of the walk was the tension between Samus and Zelda. 

Zelda figured that Samus wouldn’t talk about her identity, so she tried to talk about something else. “Samus, did you get hurt in the battle?”

Samus stayed silent for a moment, was she considering what she would say? Eventually Samus gave a simple, “No.”

“Really? You fought off two Gohmas. Even one is considered dangerous. How did you do it?”

“Shot it in the eye,” Samus said, as if it was the easiest thing in the world! Samus didn’t answer any of Zelda’s questions after that one. 

After a few minutes of walking The two arrived at a seemingly empty clearing. After Samus pressed a few buttons on her arm cannon, the center of the clearing started shimmering, and Samus’ star ship appeared, as if from thin air. It looked like no ship Zelda was familiar with. It was colored a bright purple, and stood on two legs near the back of the ship. Despite having no visible support on the front, the ship kept itself perfectly balanced. 

“Amazing…” Zelda whispered to herself as the two walked up to the ship. From the bottom near the back of the ship a platform lowered to the ground. After the two stepped onto the platform it began raising back into the ship.

Samus and Zelda entered a small room that led out into a connected space. To the right there was a small messy bedroom, with clothes scattered everywhere. The bedding was a mess, yet it looked like no one had slept here in a while. An open doorway led to a small white room with a toilet and drains on the floor, likely the bathroom. To the left was a small kitchen. It was smaller than Hyrule Castle's kitchen by an order of magnitude, but it still held appliances that Zelda couldn't even begin to describe. All of these spaces were ignored as Samus led Zelda to the cockpit. The interior of Samus’ ship was cozy. Everything was colored a dark purple. Multiple consoles stood around the cockpit, and a massive green tinted window wrapped around the room to show the forest surrounding. In the front was some sort of command center, with a captain’s chair that looked unlike anything Zelda had ever seen. Near the back stood a large glass cylinder, it seemed like the perfect size to store something massive like Samus' power suit.

“I’m thankful to see you two safe and sound,” A stilted robotic voice rang throughout the cockpit, making the princess jump. Zelda scanned the cockpit searching for the source of the voice, before landing on a holographic screen hovering in front of the cockpit’s window. “I’m also glad to meet you, Zelda. My name is Adam, I am Samus’ personal computer.”

Zelda looked at the hologram in awe. “Are you… sentient?”

“Sentient enough to uphold my directive, to keep Samus as safe and healthy as possible. I’ve been in service for almost a year now and it’s by far the most difficult directive I've been given.” Despite the apparent sass of his statement, Adam’s delivery was completely emotionless. 

“Don’t mind him,” Samus said harshly as she glared at the hologram. She pulled out a chair from one of the walls and pointed at it. “Sit here.”

The chair wasn’t the peak of comfort, it only consisted of a single platform coming out of the wall, but she endured it for her bodyguard. Samus began rifling through compartments looking for something specific, while Adam continued talking. 

“I managed to get a few scans of that dangerous substance from your close encounter with it. Judging from my readings, it could very well be the most hostile substance in the universe, rivaling even phazon. And your helmet took a full blast of it. You’re lucky it stopped before it reached your head.”

Samus found what she was looking for, a strange device with a long thin needle and glass canister connected to it, a capsule of some gelatinous silver substance, and a bandage. Samus filled the glass canister of the device with the strange substance as best she could and walked over to Zelda. 

“This’ll sting a bit,” Samus said as she slowly injected the needle into her arm. The sensation of the needle piercing her skin made Zelda clench her teeth. Through the needle the jelly moved into Zelda’s body. Once the glass container was empty, Samus slowly pulled the needle out and put a bandage over the small wound left over. “That’ll heal the break in about five minutes.”

“Wha- five minutes?” Zelda stood up from her chair. “You can heal a broken bone in only five minutes?! your kind managed to recreate healing magic to such a degree?”

“It’s nanotechnology. Tiny machines that help the body repair itself.” Samus walked to the opposite wall and began leaning against it. “Just try not to poke at it.” 

“Samus, did the dark magic hurt you in any way?” Adam asked.

Samus signed, “I’m fine Adam.”

“There could be unknown effects to this magic that we aren't aware of. I insist that I get a medical scan of your head. Please remove your helmet.”

Samus’ helmet shot up as she stood up from leaning against the wall. Samus defensively said, “No. Absolutely not.”

“Samus, I think you should,” Zelda spoke up from her chair. “Information about dark magic is scarce, and its effects. Your suit somehow survived a direct blast of dark magic, but I’d sleep soundly knowing for certain that you won’t suffer from any lasting effects.”

Samus’ featureless helmet stared back at Zelda. What was the bounty hunter thinking underneath that mask? Eventually Samus slowly lifted her hand to her helmet and pulled it off. Zelda finally got the chance to get a good look at Samus’ face. Her blonde hair was tied in a messy ponytail. It looked like it hadn't been brushed in weeks. Her eyes shined a magnificent blue. A long scar stretched from the top right of her chin, extended past her right eye, and stopped just above her right eyebrow. It was funny, she somewhat resembled how Zelda imagined Samus’ appearance in a dream.

As her face was exposed, Samus’ breathing got faster and faster. Her entire body shivered as she turned around and slammed her head against the metal wall.

Zelda stood up from her chair and reached her hand out, “Samus-”

“Don’t,” Adam’s sudden interjection made Zelda stop. “Physical contact would only increase her stress. If you want to help, verbal reassurances would work better.”

Sweat started to form on the back of Samus’ neck. Samus’ heavy breathing showed no signs of getting better. Her legs gave out from under her and her heavy power suit collapsed onto the ground. Her metal fist and arm cannon wrapped around her head. 

Zelda was unsure if talking to Samus was enough, but she guessed that Adam knew Samus well, so Zelda went along with it. She slowly got on both of her knees and said, “It’s okay Samus. You’re safe here. No one here wants to hurt you. You’re going to be okay.”

Over the course of the next several minutes Samus’ breathing slowed, eventually returning to normal. Despite this, she didn’t move from her spot on the floor. 

“The Power Suit connects directly to Samus’ limbic system, suppressing emotions that would be too compromising to experience during a mission. Once the helmet is removed, Samus experiences all those emotions at once.” Adam explained.

Zelda looked upon Samus with worry. “Such an intense reaction…”

“An unfortunate result of Samus’ brain development. Overwhelming amounts of stress can lead to Samus losing control of her behavior. The best solution is to make sure she doesn’t feel stressed in the first place.”

“That’s enough Adam…” Samus slowly raised herself off the ground with her hand. A bruise had formed on Samus forehead from her slamming it against the metal wall, colored a distinct dark blue. “Won’t have you spilling my life story.”

“Must you still hide things from me, Samus?” Zelda looked at Samus with worry. “I only wish to help you as best as I can.”

Samus opened her mouth, but no words could come out. In her stead, Adam answered, “Your kindness is amenable, Zelda. But there are some secrets that Samus is right to keep to herself. The reveal of such secrets could potentially lead to Samus being ostracized and persecuted.”

Adam’s statement made Zelda pause. What kind of secret could endanger Samus to such an extent? “Very well, but there must be something I can do. I don’t want to see you stressed like this Samus.”

“It’s fine,” Samus slowly stood up from her spot on the floor. “You wanted to scan me Adam?”

Several beams of green light shot out of small glass bulbs on the ceiling of the cockpit, running across Samus’ face several times. Eventually the light’s disappeared and Adam reported his findings. “Apart from your new bruises, there seems to be no damage to your person. You got lucky Samus.”

Samus whispered something under her breath that Zelda couldn’t hear and picked up her helmet from the floor. She stared into the helmet’s green visor solemnly. In her face Zelda could see the years of violence, conflict, and despair weighing down on Samus’ face. 

“Please Samus, there must be something I can do to help you-”

“Zelda-” Samus turned to face Zelda, struggling to keep eye contact. Their eyes would meet for a moment, then Samus’ focus would shift away. “I’m not your friend. I’m your bodyguard. I’m being paid to keep you safe. Please keep that in mind.”

Zelda was familiar with grief. She felt it when her mother died when she was young. She felt it when her father ignored her for over a decade in favor of his duties. She felt it when she watched her father fight for his life against the injuries Ganon had given him. From the brief snippets of Samus’ history, Zelda knew that Samus went through way worse. Zelda knew that Samus was suffering, and she wanted to help her. But she also knew that Samus was stubborn and headstrong. Pushing her to come out of her shell would only make her crawl deeper. 

So Zelda relented, at least for the moment. The two women got up from their places on the floor, Samus putting her helmet back on and Zelda making sure not to move her damaged arm.

“Your arm should be healed now.” Samus undid the ties keeping the sling holding Zelda’s arm in place. Zelda slowly moved her arm to see that indeed, her left arm was now fully healed.

“It’s like it was never broken at all…” Zelda could move and twist her arm freely. It was bizarre, any healer worth their salt would take hours if not days to heal an injury. Not due to healing magic being difficult, but because the risks of making a mistake was too great. These ‘nanomachines’ didn’t need to be careful, their healing was perfectly accurate. Of course they would be, Zelda thought to herself. A machine was precise in ways that a human couldn’t be. Were these ‘nanomachines’ sentient? Perhaps if they were then they were more likely to make mistakes. In that case, could Adam make mistakes?

“Zelda,” The sound of Samus’ now synthesized voice tore the princess from her thoughts. The bounty hunter was standing by the open doorway in the back. Right, it was time for them to leave for Hyrule Castle. Zelda joined Samus and looked at Adam's screen while the door closed behind her.

“It was a pleasure meeting you Zelda,” Adam said before the cockpit disappeared from view.

After the battle at the Festival of the Hero, the Hyrule royalty were on high alert. A terrorist had sprung an attack on a highly populated event without anyone knowing. They had come closer to assassinating the crown princess than anyone else before. And judging from the words of the leader of the attack, then more like it would be coming in the future.

Now alongside Samus, Several guards were appointed to protect Zelda at all times. Her movements were limited to heavily defensible positions within the castle. All of her extra curricular activities like archery and her studies were canceled until they could confirm that the threat had passed.

Zelda and her father had to bear these living conditions for several days, cooped up in the massive mess hall of Hyrule Castle while dozens of guards were stationed at every corner. The rectangular mess hall had two entrances on its shorter sides, easily defensible by just a dozen guards. Barricades were erected to divide off areas for sleeping, eating, changing, etcetera. Samus knew it was hard for Samus and Rhoam. Zelda hated her lack of freedom and Rhoam hated not being able to do anything for his kingdom. Even Samus was starting to feel the monotony weighing on her.

The ninth day of their stay in the mess hall was just like every other. Rhoam was quick to get up from his bed at the same time every morning, but Zelda was still fast asleep. Samus walked up to Zelda and gently poked her awake. Zelda looked tired and frustrated as she returned to consciousness.

“Let me sleep…” The princess said as she turned over in her bed.

“You need to keep your sleep schedule consistent,” Samus said as softly as her voice synthesizer could. “You’ll regret it later.”

Zelda stayed still for a moment before slowly pushing herself up. “Why do you have to be so right?” She said as she slowly got out of bed. Zelda walked slowly over to the chest containing her clothes. Samus stayed by the bed while Zelda rifled through to find an outfit for the day.. “I’d like some privacy.”

Samus exited the temporary bedroom to see servants setting down plates of food on the mess hall table for the royalty to eat, while Rhoam and Graham discussed something in the far corner of the room. With Samus’ advanced hearing she managed to catch their conversation. 

“No further reports on these ‘Children of Ganon’ have risen since the attack. Whoever they are, they’re keeping quiet.” Graham whispered in a frustrated tone. “If only Zelda hadn’t sealed the leader of the attack, we would be able to question him.”

“I have no interest in criticizing my daughter for what she could have done. She did admirably well protecting herself from the attacker and that’s all I care about. Contact the other settlements in Hyrule, see if they have any leads on this group.” Rhoam responded.

Graham groaned. “I never liked speaking to the delegates from the Gerudo tribes.”

“Please bear it for me Graham. I know you care for this kingdom’s safety just as much as I do.” Rhoam patted Graham on his shoulder. “Now go.”

Graham bowed to his king before leaving the mess hall, several guards following him. Rhoam’s gaze followed Graham as he left the mess hall and lingered even after he lost sight of him. The sound of Samus’ metal boots against the stone tore Graham out of his funk. He turned to face Samus and addressed her, “Samus, do you have any input on this ‘Children of Ganon’ group?”

Samus thought for a moment before speaking, “If the other members are just as fanatical as Vaati, then they’ll most likely get bolder with their attacks.”

Rhoam nodded. “That is a fear of mine as well. These people are truly dangerous… But cracking down on every citizen, enacting a curfew, regular check-ins… I’m not comfortable limiting freedom to that degree.”

Rhoam was unique among monarchs, kind and compassionate almost to a fault. He was open to criticism and advice. He was a great leader, but prone to manipulation from a malicious actor. “The freedom to live without terrorists threatening the kingdom is also important.”

“Ha, of course. I’ll make sure that we get rid of these threats swiftly,” Rhoam stepped up to Samus’ side. The bounty hunter’s instincts wanted her to step away but she stayed still as Rhoam got right next to her and whispered into the sides of her Power Suit, “You and Zelda have proven to me that you are capable of protecting each other. Stick by her side, make sure she is safe, and most of all, make sure she is happy.”

Samus turned around to see Zelda sitting down at the mess hall table. On the table in front of her was her breakfast, consisting of sausage, eggs, and some biscuits. It was a perfectly crafted meal, but Zelda wasn’t eating it. She looked tired… Samus could see the isolation weighing on her face. 

The King continued whispering. “I trust you to keep her safe no matter what, so make sure she gets what she needs. Do you understand what I mean?”

Samus rolled that statement in her head. Obviously he was talking about Zelda’s emotional state, her physical needs were all taken care of already. The fact that Rhoam was whispering this to her implied that he wanted her to do something the other guards or Graham wouldn’t approve of. Seemed simple enough, so Samus nodded her head.

“Wonderful. I’ll be assisting Graham. Thank you for your hard work, Samus.” With that, Rhoam left with a few guards in tow.

Samus walked up to the dining table and sat on the opposite end to Zelda, said princess didn’t react to her presence.

“You need to eat,” Samus stated simply.

Zelda’s head slumped further down before slowly picking up a biscuit and taking a bite out of it. “It’s just… Really hard to work up the motivation.”

Samus nodded. “Isolation isn’t good for anyone.”

“Have you ever been isolated like this before?” Zelda looked up at Samus.

The probing question threw off Samus. Sharing her history would mean getting close with Zelda, but as long as she kept the details light, it would be fine, right? 

“Cave in during a solo mission. Didn’t have much wiggle room… Took a week or so for someone to follow my distress signal.”

“Goodness,” Zelda fell back into her chair. “I can’t even hold a candle to that-”

“Don’t,” Samus interrupted Zelda.

Zelda looked confused. “Don’t what?”

“Compare us. The fact is you’re suffering, that doesn’t make you weaker than someone who's been through worse.”

Zelda remained still in her seat. Besides the single biscuit, her food wasn't uneaten. Rhoam told Samus to help Zelda get what she needed, and Zelda needed to get out of here.

“Get ready to run,” Samus said as moved her fingers in a familiar pattern.

“Get- What?” Zelda’s confusion turned to amazement  as the machinery in Samus’ hand got to work. Metal plates folded open and released globs of jelly. The jelly hardened into a rubbery ball, translucent with a red core. Samus rolled the ball under the table in the direction of the south exit. It rolled smoothly despite the uneven stone floor. The silent rolling ball went unnoticed by the guards as it left the mess hall and hit the wall of the hallway outside. The ball started sparking red light before it exploded, cracking the wall and ceiling and sending the guards into high alert.

“Explosion from the south side!” One guard shouted at the top of his lungs. The guards focused their attention to the non-existent threat at the south entrance of the mess hall. “Samus, stay with Zelda and keep her safe!”

Samus nodded as she got out of her seat and started walking to the end of the table. Zelda looked more confused as she followed. Most of the guards were at the south entrance, and the few that remained at the north entrance had their focus locked onto the other entrance.

“Now,” Samus suddenly grabbed Zelda’s arm and bolted out of the north entrance. 

“Samus!” Zelda screamed as the two ran through the halls of Hyrule Castle. The guards looked confused but came to their senses quickly and started to follow. Eventually the two arrived at a balcony overlooking a courtyard.

“Samus, what are you-” Zelda then noticed how Samus looked at the courtyard several stories below them. “No. No no no, don’t tell me-”

As the guards rapidly approached Samus and Zelda the bounty hunter picked up Zelda into her arms and jumped over the railing of the balcony. Zelda screamed as Samus fell three stories down to the courtyard below her. But Samus wasn’t done when she landed on the ground below. The thrusters in the back of the Power Suit hummed to life as Samus bolted across the courtyard to one of the walls that surrounded the space. In a single powerful jet assisted leap she cleared several stories and landed on the roof of the wall.

Zelda shaked in fear in Samus’ arms. “Warn me next time!” She sputtered out as she took deep and long breaths. “Why in the goddess's name did you do that?!”

“You needed space, and I knew the guards wouldn’t let you leave.” Samus scanned the environment. They could easily hide away in Samus’ Gunship, but the cramped cockpit would only be worse for Zelda’s mental state. “Do you know someplace we can hide?”

Zelda thought for a moment before pointing at one of Hyrule Castle’s towers and saying, “That tower over there!”

The tower Zelda pointed to stood near one of the corners of the castle grounds. It was by far the shortest tower in Hyrule Castle, and several rooftops were positioned around it. The jump from the rooftops of the buildings around the tower to the tower’s balcony was only one or two stories. The Power Suit’s calculations confirmed, Samus could make the trip easily. “Okay. I’ll run over there now, brace yourself.”

“Oh, okaaaAAAY!” Zelda screamed as Samus began sprinting across the rooftops of Hyrule Castle. She cleared every gap with an elegant leap. Once Samus got closer to her destination the jet boosters on the Power Suit blazed back to life, the combined power of Samus’ incredibly strong legs and the thrusters let her easily reach the top of the tower, perfectly landing in the center of the balcony.

Samus helped Zelda get back to her feet. She slowly stepped to the edge of the doorway and leaned on it. “Oh goddess… “ she whispered to herself.

“I made sure to warn you that time,” Samus stated.

“Yeah, but I thought you would sneak through the normal way, not jump up to the balcony!” Zelda took a moment to catch her breath. “How did you even do that?”

Samus was confused by Zelda’s question. “I ran across the rooftops and jumped over every gap-”

Zelda shook her head and said, “No! I saw how you did it, I meant how you’re even able to do that in the first place.

Oh, that made more sense. Zelda could have made her question a little clear, Samus thought. “It was part of the training my Chozo fathers gave me.”

Samus regretted saying that almost immediately as Zelda got a curious look in her eyes. “What were the Chozo like?” She asked.

Of course Zelda would pounce on the chance to learn more about Samus’ past. In order to shift focus away she asked, “What is this place?”

At the top of the tower was a single two story tall room, Filled with toys and games. A ladder led to a second floor loft, and a large slide extended and twirled back to the floor. The loft was covered with curtains and filled with soft cushions.

Zelda looked disappointed that she didn’t get an answer to her question, begrudgingly continuing. “This was a play space meant for me. My mother and I would spend a lot of time here together…” Zelda picked up a teddy bear sitting on the ground a few steps away from her and held it close to her chest. “I haven’t been here since my mother passed. The memories of her were too painful.”

“Is being here healthy for you then?”

“I think so… I was scared of this place at first, but having you here makes me feel brave enough to do it.” Zelda looked around the room in a melancholic haze. “You’ve done so much for me Samus, I want to do more for you too. Whatever you need from me, I will provide it.”

Samus groaned. “You can start by not poking into my past.”

“Why? Why must you hide yourself away from other people?”

Samus felt herself getting angrier and angrier as she marched to Zelda. “Like a royal snob like you could understand.”

“Then explain it!” Zelda held her ground to Samus’ menacing frame and desperately yelled at her bodyguard, “Explain it to me so that I may understand!”

Samus could feel her emotions rising higher and higher as she continued, “If my secrets get out, if you or anyone else realize what's in my fucked up head, then you’d all hate me. I know it for a fact, It’s happened before.”

“I promise you Samus, There’s nothing you could tell me that would lead me to hating you.”

Samus took a few slow steps away from Zelda. The storm in Samus’ mind grew in intensity as she turned around and sat down on the floor. “Even if you’re telling the truth, I’m too terrified of what could happen.”

For what felt like an eternity to the overwhelmed bounty hunter, the two stayed silent and still. Part of her wanted to turn back and look at Zelda but another part screamed at her to stay still. She was terrified of Zelda’s reaction. She would be disgusted, angered, furious with her-

“You’re right. I don’t understand.” Zelda’s voice pulled Samus out of her spiral. The princess slowly stepped up to Samus as she continued talking. “I could never understand that fear. I could never understand your trauma, or the secrets you hold on to so dearly.”

Zelda sat on Samus’ left side and grabbed onto Samus’ metal hand. The warmth Samus felt through the Power Suit helped her center herself.

“All I know is that you are suffering, and your suffering is much worse than mine. And if I deserve help to better my suffering, then you deserve it too.”

Zelda’s words rolled through Samus like a calming wave. Her fear began to leave her, but her discomfort didn’t completely subside. Emotions that she couldn’t name still swirled around inside of her. The emotion restricting functionality of the Power Suit was only designed to keep Samus operating at one hundred percent efficiency during life or death situations, not for calm emotional moments like this. She could still sense the discomfort and pain, but it was distant enough that Samus couldn’t deal with it in this moment where there was no danger. The pragmatic tool that the Chozo left her now acted as a prison for her own mind.

The loud sounds of the front castle gate opening and a loud trumpet sounding pulled Samus from the spirals she found herself in. Zelda was quicker to recover from whatever emotion she was feeling, standing to her feet and walking to the balcony. She stared down at the distant gate, squinting her eyes to make out any detail she could, until-

“Oh my goodness!” Zelda whispered in shock, before running to Samus’ side and dragging her to her feet. “Samus! Take me to the gate! Please!”

Samus shook away her initial confusion as she picked up Zelda and jumped off the balcony. Zelda stayed quiet as Samus raced across rooftops and jumped over gaps. After a few moments Samus landed in the main courtyard and set Zelda back down on her feet. Samus’ curiosity grew as Zelda immediately ran forward to a large group of people near the gate. What could possibly possess Zelda to act like this?

Eventually Zelda and another man separated from the group and approached Samus. The man wore green robes and a pointed hat. He stood about an inch taller than Zelda. He carried himself with confidence.

“Samus,” Zelda said as the two approached. “I have the honor of introducing you to the hero Link, the savior of Hyrule!” So this was him then? The hero that Samus had heard about for months? Samus’ curiosity piqued as she studied the man standing in front of him. ‘What kind of hero are you, Link?’

Chapter Text

Zelda could recognize Link’s brilliant green tunic from anywhere. The two of them spent a long time together during the war against Ganon, and they had become close friends during that time. Link treated Zelda like any normal person, and would listen close as she described her scientific studies. With no one else her age to talk too, Link quickly became her first friend.

In the years after Ganon was defeated, Link left to travel the seas. A post war Hyrule had no need for a warrior like himself, he reasoned. Zelda understood his reasoning, but the weeks spent in his absence weighed heavily on the princess. The presence of Samus helped, but seeing Link coming back lit a new fire under Zelda.

After Samus put her back down on solid ground, Zelda ran to Link and wrapped him in a massive hug. “Link! I’m so glad to see you!”

Link smiled softly and returned the hug. “Glad to see you too Zelda. The royal wizards sent me a prophetic dream that I should return, so I came back as soon as possible.”

“Yes, much has happened in your absence,” Zelda said as she pulled away from Link. Several guards surrounded the two of them to greet Link. Many of them fought together during the war against Ganon, and grew close during that time. Link had the uncanny ability of being able to make friends with anyone, and it made Zelda jealous that she had a harder time getting people to like her. Very few people liked hearing her constantly rant about her studies besides Link and Samus. “Oh, Link! There’s someone I want you to meet!”

Zelda grabbed Link's hand and dragged him to Samus, who didn’t move from where she dropped Zelda off.

“Samus, I have the honor of introducing you to the hero Link, the savior of Hyrule!” Zelda excitedly told Samus as the two approached.

Link looked at the high tech armor and whistled, “Nice to meet you Samus. That’s some impressive armor you have there, what is it made of?”

Samus didn’t respond to Link’s question, just like when she and Zelda first met. Link grew uncomfortable as the silence stretched on so Zelda interjected, “Sorry, Samus is a little shy. Sh- uh, he sure is talkative once you get to know him!”

Zelda mentally admonished herself for her slip up. Samus cared enough about keeping her identity a secret even after it was revealed to Zelda. Assuming that she was free to share this secret as she wished would be highly disrespectful in Zelda’s eyes so she tried to keep it a secret as well, with much less success than Samus, clearly. The bounty hunter’s head turned to Zelda, seemingly noticing how Zelda almost revealed her secret. Link didn’t react at all to Zelda’s slip, so he must not have missed it.

“Well then, I hope we get to know each other better, Samus,” Link said to Samus before focusing on Zelda. “I’m sure you’ll want to hear about what I found on my travels. I’m also missing the Hyrule Castle cooks. Let’s get something to eat, we can talk during our meal!”

Link walked past the two women to the castle, several soldiers following behind. Samus and Zelda watched as the two walked away. 

Once everyone was out of earshot, Zelda said, “I’m sorry I almost revealed your secret.”

Samus looked at Zelda for a moment before saying “S’fine. Don’t do it again.”

“I’ll do my best.” Zelda contemplated for a moment, “What do you think of Link?” 

“I don’t know, I just met him.” Samus crossed her arms, “Seems nice, I guess.”

“Great! That’s great!” Zelda’s mouth was in a wide smile. A blush grew on Zelda’s face as she laughed and said, “Sorry, I’m just so excited. Link is my first friend, and having him back is just so… electrifying!”

Samus didn’t react or say anything in response to Zelda’s statement.

“It would mean alot to me if you got along well with Link. I know you have issues with relationships, and you’re not very comfortable with casual conversation, So you can just socialize with him the same way you do with me, which you were probably going to do already…” Zelda stood still for a moment before quickly blurting out, “Nevermind I’m going to go catch up with Link!” before running off to Hyrule Castle. Zelda didn’t notice that Samus chuckled as she followed.

From the stories that Samus heard about the legendary Hero of the Blade, Link seemed like a very charismatic and heroic individual. She heard the story of how Link defeated Ganon so many times she could recite it from memory at this point. Ganon and his monster army overtook Hyrule Castle Town with the intention to lay siege to the castle. Thankfully no one died from the initial conquest, the citizens had already been evacuated to Hyrule Castle. The siege lasted for several days, Ganon used his dark magic to summon devastating storms that threatened to destroy the castle and the surrounding area. In one last ditch effort to save everyone, Link walked to the conquered town alone, with no weapons or even a shield to defend himself, in an attempt to provide a distraction while military forces infiltrated the town through secret passageways. Link willingly gave himself up as a prisoner, endured torture and humiliation, and almost died. Ganon was about to behead Link himself in an act of ritual sacrifice before hundreds of soldiers attacked the unaware monsters, with Rhoam leading them. The king gave Link back his legendary sword and shield and the two fought together against Ganon, in a battle that ‘shook the very foundations of this world’. Despite his injuries and exhaustion, Link fought with all of his strength. At the crack of dawn he impaled his sword into Ganon’s forehead, killing the warlock and ending the war. 

Samus never believed this story for a second. It was such an impossibly tall tale that it must have been exaggerated, some form of propaganda to keep citizens in line after the war. Magic spells and kingdoms bizarrely similar to medieval human societies? Samus had traveled around the galaxy enough to know that these things must have had rational explanations. Magic could simply be an undiscovered form of energy or science. The similarities between hylian societies and human ones was even easier to swallow, ND-821 is a very similar planet to Earth (at least the version of Earth that existed thousands of years ago). Similar material conditions would lead to societies developing in similar ways. The existence of magic is such a big wrench in the system that it accounted for all the differences, like the higher standard of living, the density of their kingdoms, and the constantly looming threat of societal collapse… That was still scary to think about.

In order to keep her mind away from such things, Samus focused on the here and now. Zelda and Link had already found their way to the massive dining room of Hyrule Castle. The two were seated next to each other. As Samus approached the two, she heard their conversation.

“... Moon Festival, The moon would come so close to the surface that you could see its detail. The formation of rocks along its surface almost resembled a grinning face. Four massive giants would push the moon back into the sky as the clock struck midnight, it was magnificent. If only you were there to see it, Zelda.” Link held a dramatic tone, evidence of his skill as a storyteller.

 “It does sound amazing…” Zelda almost drooled at Link’s description. Suddenly, Zelda noticed Samus’ presence and spoke to her, “Oh Samus, Link was just telling me such amazing stories! Link, tell him the one about the tower you found in the ocean!”

Link chuckled, “Of course, Zelda! This happened near the end of my voyage. It had been days since I passed a ship or a landmass, my supplies were dwindling, and It was unbearably hot. It was at my most desperate moment, through the haze of the blinding sun, I saw it: A tower stretching from the surface of the ocean to the heavens, standing alone in the infinite stretch of water. I thought It was a mirage, or a delusion. But as my ship approached, the tower never faded away.”

Samus’ curiosity got the better of her. as she sat down across from the two friends, she asked, “How tall do you think it was?”

“Taller than Hyrule Castle by my estimation. It wasn’t built on a landmass either, it extended to under the ocean surface too. Imagine how far it goes underwater.”

Oh, now that sounded interesting. If Samus ever got the chance to explore this planet, She would have to find this tower herself.

“The tower’s interior was a maze of stone corridors and impassable doors. After it was evident that I would find no food there, I continued my quest across the ocean. My life was saved by a passing fishing boat, the generous sailors gave me food and directions to their village. When I asked them about the tower, they said it had been there for as long as anyone could remember. They called it the Tower of the Gods.”

Zelda shook with excitement. “Doesn’t that sound so exciting, Samus?”

Oh it was, but Samus wasn’t going to let her calm exterior crack. “Seems neat.”

“Only neat!? I don’t understand you, Samus.” Link walked with the confidence of a man who could take on the world. “Such an impressive sight inspires me to explore, to see amazing things no one else has. Adventure has always been my calling.”

“Hopefully we can explore that tower together!” Zelda’s initial excitement dimmed as she continued, “Samus, on your adventures you must have encountered similar sights. Can you describe some?”

Samus didn’t expect to be put on the spot and paused for a moment. “Uhhh… I don’t know, I don’t sight see very often.”

“There must be something.” Link commented.

Samus sat there, flying through memories of past missions. Samus had been to so many planets and experienced so many different cultures and environments that none of them stood out to Samus as particularly special. Nothing struck the imagination on the same level as Link’s story of the Tower of the Gods. 

Except, Samus realized, one such thing.

“Oh one of my missions, I encountered something… Astronomically impossible. “ Zelda and Link shot up to attention when Samus began speaking. Her tone was flat and awkward, and her storytelling left much to be desired, but Zelda and Link were hooked all the same. “A living planet. A super massive, sentient organism called Phaaze. It reproduced by shooting living meteors into space, which would crash land on other planets and corrupt them, creating a perfect copy of Phaaze.”

Zelda and Link were silent even as Samus finished her initial introduction. Feeling the awkward silence weighing on Samus, she continued with a personal anecdote related to the planet.

“I explored a part of the internals of the organism. It was… surreal. Like I've been shrunk down and put in the blood vessels of a living thing. As I explored the ground would shake around me and sounds would bellow from some unseen location, most likely the product of some other organ. I started noticing patterns in how the planet moved around me. Looking back on the situation… I think the planet was trying to communicate to me.”

Samus’ audience contemplated Samus’ story for a moment, until Link said, “I feel like I can’t even understand how impossible this creature was.”

“Indeed,” Zelda, always the scientific one, was focusing on the specifics. “How big do you think this creature was?”

Samus thought for a moment. “It was about the size of your moon. Maybe a bit bigger."

Zelda and Link silently processed what Samus had told them. "I've seen many amazing things on my adventures; none of them compare to what you just described." 

“I’ve never even read anything that described such a creature,” Zelda spoke with awe. “Hearing your stories makes me want to explore with you both. Unfortunately we can’t right now.”

Link’s face switched from excitement to a reserved seriousness, “That’s why I'm here, Princess. Samus, tell me everything we know about this ‘Children of Ganon’ group.”

“Right now we know that one of their members had the ability to summon monsters at will. It’s safe to assume that their other members will have similar abilities. We don’t know anything about their numbers, their tactics, or their motives.”

“I wouldn’t say we don’t know their motives,” Link said as he rubbed his chin with his hand. “With a name like ‘Children of Ganon’, it’s fair to assume that they worship the warlock, or at least agree with his goals. Ganon was desperate to find a way to live forever. He used dark magic to gain the Triforce of power, and tried to grab the remaining two pieces to give himself immortality. I’d be willing to bet that this new group is attempting to resurrect Ganon.”

“That’s a bold assumption,” Samus crossed her arms. “We know nothing about what this group believes, we only have a name. ‘Children of Ganon’ could mean a lot of things. They might want to resurrect Ganon. They might just want to continue his conquest, or they’re using Ganon as a symbol and they intend to do something totally different.”

Link hummed. “I don’t know, resurrecting Ganon seems like a thing they would do.” Link’s assumption gave Samus pause.

Zelda took advantage of the pause in conversation to state, “Whatever their goals are, they are still a threat. Hopefully we can stop their operation soon.”

“Indeed.” Link nodded. The serious tone of the conversation fell apart as the sound of Link’s stomach grumbling filled the air. “Man, I’m hungry. I need some steak in me!” 

Zelda chuckled, “Glad to see your passion for food hasn’t diminished.” Link chuckled, partly embarrassed but still confident in himself. His charisma, his ability to impress others. It was a quality that Samus found completely alien. Did she want the same confidence? No, Samus said to herself, She was completely incapable of learning such a trait, so it was foolish of her to desire it, she reasoned.

Link lit up with excitement as a servant walked up with a plate and a bowl in her hands. The servant placed the plate in front of Link and the bowl in front of Zelda, with appropriate cutlery and ornate napkins. Link’s plate was covered with a very meaty, gravy covered steak, with a side of mashed potatoes covered in glistening butter. Zelda had a bowl of some kind of vegetable soup, simple when compared to the hearty steak, but colorful and delicious looking. Link picked up a fork and knife and was about to begin eating before he paused.

“Are you not going to eat?” Link asked Samus.

Samus gave the simplest answer she could, “I’m fine.”

Link looked confused until Zelda spoke up, “I’ve never seen Samus eat, I don’t think he needs too.”

“My Power Suit keeps me alive,” Samus chimed in.

“I see…” Link stared at Samus while he ate a bite of his steak. She could feel Link’s stare boring into her. With nothing to say or do about Link’s stare, she simply glanced at Zelda, hoping she would get the hint.

Zelda’s attention rapidly switched between Link and Samus, desperately hoping that one of the two would resolve this tension, but neither of them did. Eventually Zelda forced out of her mouth, “Link! Did I ever tell you about my experiments?”

Link’s gaze shifted between Samus and Zelda as he asked, "No I don't think you have."

"I realized with Samus' help that I could reconstruct my old toys. I never thought to check if healing magic could fix inanimate objects; I never found any records of healing magic being used this way."

Link looked confused. "How could healing magic work on something that wasn't alive?"

"That’s what I was wondering. So me and Samus performed an experiment; we commissioned a tapestry depicting the Triforce, but we had the seamstress make the Triforce of Wisdom piece slightly off angle. The goal was to see if healing magic would reconstruct the Triforce to how it's supposed to look."

"... Which would prove… What exactly?" Link asked.

"That healing magic works based on cultural consensus. In our culture we have an idea of what the triforce is supposed to look like. This test ended up being a failure, healing magic could not restore the Triforce on the tapestry.”

“Too bad. Hopefully you didn’t waste too much time with that one.”

“Oh no, no, no! There is no failure here. We now know that cultural consensus isn’t an aspect of healing magic, so we can continue from there. Right now I’m in the planning phases of our next experiment.”

Samus silently studied Link’s confused expression. Link looked lost in thought, until he seemingly gave up and sighed.

“Sorry Zelda,” Link sheepishly apologized. “You’re so much smarter than me, I can barely understand what you’re saying.”

“Oh, it’s okay.” Zelda chuckled. “I just appreciate that you actually listen to everything I say.”

In the short lull of conversation, Samus thought about her thoughts on Link so far. The stories of a man being elevated to hero status through some prophecy rang true to Samus, Link acted how a peasant elevated to royalty might act. He was very emotionally intelligent, but lacked more traditional knowledge. He knew how to emotionally support a person, and he knew how to swing a sword, but not much else. There was one more question Samus had about the hero of Hyrule, and what happened next would answer it.

Zachary, accompanied by a handful of guards, stormed into the dining room, grabbing the attention of all those sitting at the table. Graham’s eyes lit upon seeing the three.

“Zelda!” Zachary yelled, before turning his attention towards Samus. “Guards! Seize him!”

All the guards pulled out their swords and pointed them at Samus. Link and Zelda both stood up and stepped back, but Samus remained seated.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Zelda yelled as the guards surrounded Samus.

"The reports were very clear, Samus ran past a dozen guards and jumped out of the window with you in tow!" Samus still had not moved, even with six swords pointed at her. Zachary’s annoyance grew at the display. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Samus slowly stood up from her seat and stared at Zachary. The guards looked apprehensive, they knew how dangerous Samus could be.

Eventually, Samus spoke slowly deliberately, "Everything I did was for Zelda’s wellbeing. Being locked up in this room for over a week would be horrible for anybody."

"Exactly! Samus would never intentionally harm me!" Zelda turned to Link, "Back me up here, Link."

Link looked between Zelda and Samus, lost in thought. Eventually, he slowly spoke, “You were kept here for your protection, right? I think you should have stayed here."

"Sorry Zelda, but I side with Link." Zachary chimed in. "I hate to say it, but alleviating your discomfort isn't nearly as important as keeping the princess safe."

Zelda looked like a deer in headlights, shocked that two people she trusted would say such a thing. Samus meanwhile was angry.

"Zelda is perfectly capable." Samus attested. "I've seen it."

Link looked sheepish as he said, "Maybe, but I don't feel comfortable leaving her alone."

"Alone? What about me?" At this point Samus was frustrated. She was getting paid to protect Zelda constantly!

Zachary tried his best to calm the situation down. "I'm sorry, but-"

"Have you seen what Zelda is capable of? I have. She invented a brand new combat spell all on her own."

“Really?” Link sounded genuinely surprised. He looked at Zelda and Zachary and asked, “Is this true?”

"Uh, yes! Yes I did." Zelda awkwardly shuffled in place, "How about I show you?"

"That’s a great idea!" Link proclaimed as he stepped forward. "Why don't we have a little competition with it? We can see which of us is best with a bow. You can join in too, Samus, I'm curious about your skills."

Under her mask, Samus smirked. She remembered watching Zelda develop and master the Bow of Light. Her skills with a bow and arrow were already impressive, the magic of the Bow of Light increased Zelda’s abilities to an order of magnitude above that. Samus herself was an expert marksman with any weapon, let alone her arm cannon. 

"Sounds fun." Samus said ominously.

"I'll have it set up then." Zachary reluctantly volunteered. He didn't look sure about the competition, but was willing to go along with it to get out of the argument.

Link smiled and held out his hand for Samus to shake. "I can't wait to see how we compare!"

Link seemed oblivious to the energy in the room. Zelda was still very uncomfortable and awkward and Samus was absolutely livid at everyone involved.

Samus made a promise to make sure Zelda was happy and healthy, and that's what she was going to do.

Never before had Zelda experienced such a whirlwind of emotions. First was the lull and depression of being on lockdown. Then Samus literally ripped her away from that, taking her to her old playroom to hide out. Then she helped Samus deal with her mental issues. Then she was ecstatic at Link returning from his voyage out at sea. Then she felt betrayed by Link and Zachary. It was all too much for such a short amount of time. Zelda had never felt so betrayed before, she didn't know how to handle it. It was Samus who chastised the two for saying such things, giving her the time to get her focus back. 

The bounty hunter turned bodyguard amazed Zelda like no one else. Samus had so much trauma and pain and fear, but she hid it all in service of everyone around her. She had a truly selfless attitude, willing to throw herself into the line of fire for everyone else. But Zelda knew that attitude was anything but a good trait. She had seen it in Link during the war with Ganon. Link would often put forward plans that would have resulted in his death, even when other plans that included other people would have a better chance of succeeding. He couldn’t bear putting other people in situations that might hurt them.

After Link’s insane gambit that won the war, Zelda spent much more effort helping Link see his own value. In the aftermath of the war, he had made decent progress to see value in himself. Hopefully his time out at sea gave him time to think and improve his mental health. Already Zelda could tell a difference in his expression. He felt more present, more comfortable in himself and more happy in general. It was wonderful to see.

Zelda wished one day she would see a similar expression on Samus’ face. Honestly Zelda hoped she would get a chance to see Samus’ face at all! Her facial features and expression held such a beauty to Zelda. It was a feeling she couldn’t quite place but she wanted to feel it more. 

But that would have to wait, because Zelda was somehow roped into this competition.

Link had proposed it in an effort to calm everyone’s spirits. But Zelda knew that it wouldn’t work. Samus had something to prove, and Zelda had a funny feeling that the bounty hunter wouldn’t back down.

Zachary had set up a dozen targets in the archery range, each at different distances. The intent was to hit each of them as fast as possible. Link looked excited, while Zachary looked just as uncomfortable as he once did. Link stood in front of the range, studying the bow he had been provided. Zelda and Samus stood right behind him, with Zachary leaning against the wall even further away.

“How fast do you think I'll hit them all?” Link asked as he attached a quiver to his back. 

Zelda thought for a moment before responding, “I remember your average being a little over a second. Adding onto that the amount of time to draw arrows… I’d guess you’d take less than half a minute.”

“Then I'll try to do better than that.” Link mimicked firing an arrow with his bow. “Can any of you record my time?”

“I can.” Samus spoke up for the first time in a while. “My suit comes with a timer. It’ll be exact.”

“Nice. You’ll start when I pull the first arrow from my quiver?”

Samus nodded. Link took several deep breaths before suddenly reached behind him and pulled not one, but three arrows, out of his quiver. He put one arrow into the bow, pulled the string back, and let it fly into the first target. It landed very close to the bullseye. He walked a few steps and notched the second arrow, pulled, and fired. This one landed dead center. One more time he took a few steps, notched an arrow, pulled and fired. Another bullseye. Three arrows, fired near perfectly, in about five seconds.

Link scrambled to grab three more arrows from his quiver and did the same, notching each one individually and firing them one at a time. The arrows would often land very close to the center of the target. After the next batch he took a little longer grabbing his arrows from the quiver, but his shots were near perfect. After another batch of three arrows fired, all twelve targets were cleared.

“Twenty seconds and thirty six milliseconds.” Samus said as Link relaxed.

Link whistled. “That really is exact.”

“Your talent with the bow is truly extraordinary.” Zelda complimented Link. “You’ve improved so quickly.”

“All thanks to you Zelda. I can’t wait to see how the master compares!”

Zelda was giddy at the chance to give such a showcase of her magic, especially to her best friend. This was her opportunity to prove herself to him. To prove that she wasn't just a weak princess. Zelda turned to Samus' silent frame. The bounty hunter gave no indication of emotion, but Zelda hoped that Samus was proud of her for making so much progress. 

"Are you ready to track my time, Samus?" Zelda asked the silent suit of armor.

Samus nodded, letting Zelda walk up to the start of the range.

"Don't you need at least a bow?" Link asked as Zelda stretched her arms.

Zelda ignored Link as she took a deep breath. Mathematical formulas and magical runes shuffled through her thoughts along with a single statement, 'You got this Zelda'

Zelda’s eyes shot open as the Bow of Light formed in her hands. Link gasped at the beautiful spell, but Zelda paid him no mind. Three arrows were already notched into the bow, Zelda pulled the string back and let the three arrows fly without hesitation. All three hit their targets dead center in the bullseye.

Zelda showed no sign of stopping as she started bolting down the range. Three more arrows magically appeared in the bow as Zelda pulled the string back and she fired them, each of them hitting their targets dead center. A few more quick steps later, three more arrows were embedded into three more bullseye. She suddenly skid across the stone tile floor and fired the last three arrows, each of them of course landing in the dead center. She had achieved it, all 12 targets in…

“Three seconds and sixty four milliseconds.” Samus’ reported.

When Zelda turned around, she saw Link’s face was in shock. Zachary had already seen the Bow of Light in action, so he simply looked on proud. Samus didn’t show any reaction, as usual. Zelda chuckled, “What do you think?”

“That was amazing!” Link stepped forward, looking at the magical bow in Zelda’s hands. “Can I take a look at that?”

Zelda handed the bow to Link. It was harder to maintain the bow when it was away from her person, but she persisted in order to show Link the magical bow. 

“It’s so light,” Link felt the weight of the bow in his hand, he strummed the taught string and felt along the magical material. “As far as I can tell, it’s a perfect bow.”

“Of course it is. I made it!” Zelda cheered as the Bow of Light disappeared from Link’s hands. “With a spell like that, I could take on anyone!”

“Uhhh…” Link looked unsure, “I don’t know about anyone. An assassin could sneak up and attack you, a bow isn’t a good weapon for close quarters combat. Plus there are plenty of long range archers in Hyrule, they could get to an advantageous position and easily snipe you.”

Zelda felt her face fall at Link’s comments. The joy and elation from doing so well had completely disappeared, with Link seemingly unaware. Samus’s helmet slowly turned to look directly at Link, giving off no indication of emotion. Link eventually noticed the change in tone.

“Is it something I said?” Link cluelessly asked. 

In response, Samus silently stepped up to the range. Her arm cannon pulsed with life and energy as the metal plates folded and shifted. A point of red light shot out of Samus’ arm cannon and she aimed it at each of the targets in a fraction of a second. After Samus went over all the targets, her arm cannon opened and several tiny missiles fired out, each hitting one of the targets causing them to explode in shards of cloth and wood

Zelda, Link, and Zachary each jumped back at the sudden explosions, but Samus remained perfectly still. It took a few seconds for the three to recover. Link was the first to speak, “Did you, uh, record how fast-”

“One second and eighty two milliseconds.” Samus said without emotion.

Link looked confused, “Uh, wow. That’s very-”

“Do you know who I am?” Samus asked as she turned around. “Do you?”

Link puffed up his chest and did his best to regain his confidence. “You’re Samus, hired to be Zelda’s bodyguard-”

“I am Samus Aran. I served in the Federation Military for five years. Joined when I was eighteen.” Samus slowly walked up to Link as she spoke, “I left and became a bounty hunter, I’ve been doing that for eight years.”

“Where did this come from?” Link’s confidence faltered as Samus kept walking up to him. Samus didn’t stop, forcing Link to step back.

“I’ve stood against armies with only six men by my side. I’ve finished missions everyone else thought impossible. I escaped the Space Pirates with nothing but a stun pistol. I’ve ended wars, and unlike you, I did it alone.”

Zelda and Zachary watched in amazement as Link’s back hit the wall. Samus’ armor stood tall over Link as he struggled to regain confidence. “Where exactly are you going with this?”

“Now that we’ve established that I’m better than you, how dare you say that I can’t protect her,” Samus pointed at Zelda without looking at her. “Do you really think that anyone who tried to kill Zelda could get past me?”

“It’s not that anyone could slip past you,” Link stood up as tall as he could to establish dominance. "It’s not worth the risk, if Zelda died-"

"Let me guess, for the good of Hyrule, sacrifices must be made to keep the peace.”

“How dare you! You accuse me of treating the princess like a sacrifice?! ” Link yelled as his anger increased.

Samus’ anger increased in turn as she began yelling, “That’s exactly what you’re doing! You’re saying that Zelda should be locked up, that she should never see the light of day again, all in an effort to keep this society from falling apart!”

“Stop! Both of you!” Zelda screamed, causing Link and Samus to stop in their tracks. Tears were running down her face as she said to Samus, “Please just step out for a minute.”

Samus groaned, but did what she asked, marching her way to the exit. As she passed the door to the archery range, she hit her arm cannon with her left hand.

“Goodness, are you really friends with him?” Link asked Zelda.

“Link, I agree with him.” Zelda’s answer left Link shocked. “Samus has helped me improve my confidence. I know now that I can take care of myself.”

Link struggled to find a way to respond to Zelda, awkwardly saying, “But… You understand Zelda, if something were to happen…”

“If you or my father were hurt, it would also negatively affect Hyrule, yet you two are allowed to roam free. I’m the only one that has to stay hidden. I don’t think that’s fair.”

Link opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He turned to look at Zachary, who was still silently watching everything play out. He looked sheepish, like he wanted nothing to do with what was happening. Zelda imagined that Link felt the same way.

The awkward silence was interrupted by the sound of metallic steps. Samus ran into the doorway and stopped, not saying a word.

“Samus, is anything wrong?” Zelda eventually asked.

Samus paused for a moment before saying. “You all really need to see this.”

Link’s gaze darted from Zackary to Zelda, and back to Samus as he asked, “What’s going on?”

“Honestly? I can’t explain it.” Samus started walking out of the archery range. “But it can’t be good.”

Zachary shot up from his place in the wall as the mood turned serious. All three of them began following Samus, confused as to what exactly could have happened.

None of them could have expected what awaited them outside Hyrule Castle.

Chapter Text

Frustration was a hard emotion for Samus to manage. It was a very useful emotion in battle, giving Samus the motivation to kill whatever the hell had annoyed her. It was one of the few emotions that the Power Suit’s emotion restricting feature let slide. But in a peaceful scenario, where killing things would be very unproductive, it was absolutely useless. Samus wanted to throttle Link for what he said to Zelda, but doing such a thing would be absolutely unacceptable. Not only did seeing Zelda so distraught make Samus’ frustration worse, it made the frustration solely focus on Samus herself, which just felt horrible.

So Samus did the best she could to alleviate her frustration; when she was sure no one else could see or hear her, she hit herself on the head really hard with her arm cannon. She knew that Zelda would hate her if she saw her doing this, but in Samus’ defense it did help her feel just a bit better.

Samus gave herself a moment to breathe as she looked out a nearby window. She did her best to forget about Link, about the Children of Ganon, about her own volatile emotions, and focused on the land that surrounded Hyrule Castle. Hyrule truly was a beautiful country. The plains that immediately surrounded Hyrule Castle and its moat sported beautiful green grass. Even from so far away, Samus could see Hyrule Castle Town bustling with life. The Great Hyrule Forest stretched on in the east, and Death Mountain stood tall in the north east. For a moment, Samus found herself forgetting all her troubles, and admired the beauty of the world around her.

And then all of a sudden, the Hyrule that Samus was familiar with disappeared, replaced with an endless blue ocean.

It took a moment for Samus to process the sudden change in front of her. Even when she did process it, she kept on staring. The frustration must have been getting to her. There was no way that the environment around the castle could suddenly change. 

When Samus finally realized that Hyrule was somehow replaced with an ocean, she slowly stepped away from the window and started running back to the range. 

As Samus ran into the firing range, Link and Zelda had stopped the conversation they were having to stare at Samus. Suddenly having everyone’s attention on her made her uncomfortable, so she didn’t answer for a second. It wasn’t until Zelda asked her a question that she snapped out of it and finally spoke, “You all need to see this.”

“What’s going on?”

Samus opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out of her mouth. No words could describe what Samus saw. “Honestly?I can’t explain it… But it can’t be good.”

Link, Zelda, and Zachary all followed Samus to the exterior of the castle. As they approached an exit to the castle, Samus tried to preface the effect the three were about to see for the first time.

“It’s like… Okay I just need you all to confirm.” Samus approached a door to the outside and pointed at the ocean. “Is that- is that real?”

Link looked outside and rapidly looked intrigued at the ocean that now surrounded Hyrule Castle. He marched forward while Samus, Zelda, and Zachary stepped forward slower and studied the beauty of the ocean. Link quickly arrived at the edge and studied the dirt. He bended his knees to pick up a pile of dirt and threw it into the water, studying the way the water rippled. 

“This isn’t a trick, it’s all real.” Link stood up and looked back at the other three.

“So that’s real? That’s the ocean?” Samus asked, making one hundred percent sure.

“Yes, yes it is,” Zelda assured at her side.

“What is this?” Zachary said, feeling exasperated. “What kind of magic could replace all of Hyrule with an ocean?!”

“Or more likely, they moved Hyrule Castle to the middle of the ocean.” Even faced with such unknowns, Zelda’s analytical side emerged. “Where exactly are we located?”

Link looked up at the cloudless sky. “I don’t know. When it turns to night I’ll be able to tell from the stars where we are.”

“No need,” Samus jumped at the chance to be useful. She explained as she fiddled with controls on her arm cannon. “I just have to connect with my ship, I can access it’s geometric data and calculate-”

Samus stopped as the answer appeared on her HUD. It was something so impossible, literally the worst case scenario.

“Samus,” Zelda looked concerned, “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t connect with my ship from here…” Samus almost didn’t want to continue. “We’d have to be impossibly far from Hyrule. At least twenty thousand kilometers.”

The three gasped at the distance. Link was the first to recover and asked, “How long would it take for us to get back to Hyrule?”

Samus fiddled with her arm cannon controls once more. “With the most advanced ship this society could produce? Around seventy days.”

“Can we afford to dedicate time to build such a ship?” Zachary pondered, “Should we try to defend ourselves from attack?”

“I get the feeling we won’t be attacked here.” Samus ominously said.

“What do you mean by that, Samus?” Zelda questioned.

The bounty hunter considered her words carefully. “This is no doubt the work of the Children of Ganon, correct? They want the royal family dead. Teleporting us here must be some sort of plan to do that.”

“Where are you going with this?” Link asked.

Samus turned to Zachary. “How many days of food do we have in storage?”

Zachary’s eyes lit up as Samus’ question caused him to realize something. “We were going to get a resupply tomorrow. Right now I'd say we have less than a week of food left. Oh my goddess they intend to starve us!”

Samus nodded, “It’s an insane plan, but an effective one. We don’t have the time to build a ship and travel to a nearby island for food, that would take us several weeks. They just have to kick back and wait for us to die.”

Zelda started breathing heavily. “What do we do? What can we do?”

“Hey, breathe,” Samus stepped up to Zelda and grabbed her shoulder with her one open arm. “We’ll think of something. Right now, we can take stock of all our resources and assemble everyone in the castle for a meeting. We need to discuss things with everyone.”

“I can handle the resources. Good luck with the assembly,” Zachary strode away with haste, ready to do his part.

Link groaned. “This can’t possibly go well.”

“It’s the best course of action for the moment,” Samus answered Link’s gripe. She continued to comfort Zelda, “I will protect you. Don’t worry.”

Zelda’s breathing slowed. “Okay. Thank you.”

“Now let’s go. We have a lot to do.” 

So Zelda, Link, and Samus walked back to the castle, the future unsure.

Getting all the staff together in one place wasn’t a complicated feat. Samus, Zelda, and Link would each go to a department of Hyrule Castle and inform the head of each section to meet in the throne room. The throne room was chosen for the meeting, out of every suitable location it was the most well renowned and respected, it might have a positive effect on the meeting to come.

Zelda entered Hyrule Castle's kitchen to inform all the cooking staff to meet in the throne room. Several of them were huddled together, discussing something in whispers. The few other staff were learning against various tables or walls. As Zelda entered, their discussion stopped as they all paid attention to Zelda. Their gazes made Zelda feel anxious. After taking a few seconds to breathe, she spoke.

“I’m sure you are all aware of the phenomenon that currently surrounds us.”

One of the cooks chuckled, “That’s a funny way of saying, ‘we’re in the middle of an ocean.”

“Yes…” Zelda struggled to come up with an answer for a moment. “We are going to be discussing this in the throne room soon with everyone.”

“Is the king here in the castle?” One of the chefs asked.

Zelda stood silent for a moment before saying, “We will be discussing this in the throne room soon-”

The chefs all broke out in protests and questions. “The King’s gone?! What are we supposed to do now?!”

“Please listen to me!” Zelda’s sudden cry caused everyone to stop. “I understand your apprehensions, I wish it wasn’t like this. But at this most critical moment, we all need to work together.”

All the staff stood still before one spoke up, “What do we need to do?”

“Right now, we need everyone together to assemble a plan.”

“Sounds good,” The head chef spoke for everyone. “You are next in line for the throne, so we will follow you.”

Having so much responsibility scared Zelda, but she swallowed her reservations. In a situation like this, a leader was needed, and Zelda needed to step up. She only hoped that it wouldn’t always be so hard.

“Thank you, all of you.” Zelda bowed to everyone present. “The meeting will commence soon.”

After a few more encounters, It was time for the meeting in the glorious throne room. At the peak of Hyrule Castle, the massive circular throne room took up several stories. The king’s throne stood on a second floor balcony, which had two staircases leading up to it on opposite sides of the room. Beautiful red carpets covered the floor, and gold detail filled each inch of the building. The dozens of staff stood on the bottom floor, looking up at Zelda, Samus, and Link standing above them.

“I’m sure you are aware that something has happened to Hyrule Castle.” Link was the first to speak up, the three delegated that responsibility to Link as he was the best at it. “We don’t know the exact details, but Hyrule Castle has been teleported far away from Hyrule.”

Whispers broke out across the throne room as Link spoke. For Zelda, it was a sign of the chaos that would come. The rational side of her tried to calm her down. She knew these people, she talked to them every day. They were capable of coming together and doing great things. Despite her rational side, Zelda’s anxiety persisted. How could Link and Samus stay so calm? Did they feel anxiety like she did?

“We believe this is a plot of the Children of Ganon, they seemingly intend to starve us out. Right now we only have less than a week of food supplies in our stores.” 

The whispers from the crowd turned into shouts and yells. This is exactly what Zelda worried about!

“Please calm yourselves!” Link desperately tried to reign in the crowd. “Things do look dire, but we can survive this!"

"First thing we need to do is buy us some time." Samus spoke up. "We're surrounded by the ocean, so we should try to fish for more food, we also need to ration out the food we have now as much as possible."

The shouts had subsided, but not everyone was satisfied. One staff member from the crowd spoke up and said, "That’s all well and good, but how are we going to get back to Hyrule?"

The entire crowd looked to Zelda, expecting her to answer the crowd. She knew the plans, but being put on the spot made her almost forget them! 

“First… Uh, we can send a message to Hyrule with a prophetic dream. I’ll be sending a… a message to my father about what has happened. We’ll be able to organize a strategy. In the meantime w- we can create boats out of the resources available to travel to the nearest landmass. The nearest island is… Uh…”

Samus leaned over slightly and whispered “Nineteen days by boat.”

“Nineteen days by boat!” Zelda’s breathing slowed slightly, “With magic we could cut it even shorter.”

The awkward stillness that came after Zelda finished killed the princess inside. For not the first time Zelda wished her father was here. Rhoam’s natural charisma and experience made him a natural leader. Beyond food, good leadership was something they desperately needed.

“Despite what it may seem, things are not hopeless,” Link spoke up in the silence, “If we work together, we can survive and even make it back to Hyrule. I believe it.”

Once Link took control of the situation, the crowd calmed down and voiced more support. Even though he had very little experience with it, Link had the same leadership quality that Rhoam had.

"Come on," Samus grabbed Zelda and pulled her quickly from the balcony. She looked back to Link, who was staring at the two of them as they walked away. A few watched as Samus and Zelda walked passed, their expressions unreadable. Zelda could kiss Samus for hurrying them past.

As the two found themselves alone in the halls of Hyrule Castle, Zelda spoke, “I’m sorry, I-”

“Don’t,” Samus interrupted. “You have no reason to apologize.”

“I did such a bad job up there…” Zelda chuckled, laughing at herself made her feel just a little better.

“Not everyone can be a leader. Your talents could be useful elsewhere.”

Samus somehow knew just what to say to make her feel better. “Thank you.”

Samus didn’t respond, neither with words or body language. At times like these Zelda wondered. What was Samus thinking about? What was she feeling?

Eventually Samus asked, “What do you want to do now?”

Zelda thought for a moment, “I want to research this phenomenon we’re experiencing. Best to do that in the library.”

Samus nodded. The two enjoyed each other's company as they walked through the near empty Hyrule Castle.

Zelda’s first attempt at acting as a leader went about as well as Samus expected. Zelda was a brilliant woman, but too often her insecurities got the better of her. Her lack of experience didn’t help either. Samus pulled Zelda aside earlier and suggested that she leave all the talking to Link, but Zelda wanted to take a crack at it. 

“I’m going to be queen some day, and I’ll need to be able to lead. Nothing better than a trial by fire to learn leadership, right?” Was her reasoning.

There were actually many ways to learn leadership that were much better than throwing yourself into a leadership position and hoping you managed to do well, but Samus decided to let Zelda give leadership a shot. If she wanted to try it out, then Samus would be there to support her. And that’s what she did to the best of her ability. Once the two were alone, Zelda slowly started returning to her old self, which Samus loved to see. 

Zelda took a few steps into the royal library and then stopped. Her hand gravitated to her chin and her left foot began tapping frantically. Samus could tell what was happening, Zelda’s attention was being pulled in multiple different directions. A classic case of analysis paralysis. Samus chuckled to herself before asking the princess, “What do you want to do first?”

“Hmmm… It could be beneficial to figure out how the Children of Ganon got us here.” Zelda broke out of her stump and turned to Samus, “You witnessed the change happening in real time, how did it look from your perspective?”

Samus stopped for a moment to think. She was having a hard time remembering what exactly happened at that time. Her frustration was at an all time high. From her perspective, the terrain around Hyrule Castle just changed in an instant. It took a few seconds for Samus to register the change. Samus recounted this experience to Zelda.

“Oh, that sounds like how teleportation magic affects the user!” Zelda took a second to recollect her knowledge of the subject. “Teleportation magic is immensely complex. One must imagine a field of magic around the teleportation subject. Constant magic power must be spent to keep the internal measurements consistent while decreasing the size of the outside of the field, then using magic to propel the field to a specific location. Once the subject arrives at its destination, you release control of the field. While the magic dissipates in a fraction of a second, it returns the subject to its normal size and state.”

Samus was completely stunned at the insane explanation Zelda gave. The only response Samus could give was a single word, “What.”

“Oh, sorry! Uh…” Zelda refocused, “How about I show you instead?”

Zelda looked up and decided on a destination for this demonstration, another floor of the library, higher in the air and with denser rows of shelves. Her hands focused on a single point in space. Magic power started to coalless into a gale of magic infused air. From Zelda’s lips she whispered,

“Farore’s Wind!”

Magical gales whipped up around Zelda as she disappeared in a flash of light. Zelda was gone for a millisecond before she reappeared on the next floor of the library with similar magic gales around her, which quickly faded away.

Samus studied the phenomenon in awe, before jumping up to the next floor. She used just enough force to reach the railing, which she quickly vaulted over. As Zelda recovered from the teleportation Samus walked forward and one word, “Impressive.”

Zelda broke out into chuckles. “Thank you. It really seems like the Children of Ganon just used teleportation magic, except on a much larger scale.”

“How much is normal?” Samus wanted to get perspective on the scale of this feat.

“I can somewhat easily teleport across the length of Hyrule Castle. To be able to teleport the entire castle itself, across that great a distance? It’s several orders of magnitude beyond what I can do… I can’t think of any normal magic that could allow one to do such a thing.”

Samus asked the question left up in the air, “What about dark magic?”

Zelda thought for a moment. “... There’s a way we can find out. Follow me.” 

Zelda led Samus through dense rows of shelves, filled with leather bound books. The Power Suit managed to translate a few titles written in Hylian etched into the spines. Books about spells, deep dives into specific applications of magic, theory so high level Samus barely understood their titles.

“What makes dark magic ‘dark’ anyway?” Samus asked as they rounded a bend.

“Every living thing has magical power living inside them, training is only required to increase the amount of power they can hold and how they can use it. Most of the time, normal magic only requires the use of one’s magical power. Sometimes magic can be performed by sacrificing crops, jewels, or any resource that holds a type of value. Dark magic is classified as magic that requires severe harm to be performed, either on the caster or some other individuals. Some dark magic can take magic power from other’s, some take something physical, like an organ or a sense. One spell I remember reading about could create a perfect biological clone of an individual, requiring a limb to be cut off the individual for the clone to grow from.”

“Pretty intense.” Samus could only sheepishly say.

“That’s one way to put it,” Zelda stopped in front of a bookshelf up against a wall. It looked identical to every bookshelf next to it. Zelda pushed in a few books seemingly at random, each of them moving further back than they should have been able to. After pressing in six books, the bookshelf moved into the wall and then slid out of the way, revealing a small room.

“All the books on dark magic are kept in here, so they don’t tempt anyone to use the magic found inside.” Zelda revealed as she stepped inside. “Look for a spell that could increase the magical power of a normal spell.”

Inside the room were several bookshelves that were filled with books. Samus picked up one randomly from the shelves. “It looks so normal.”

Zelda looked up from the book in her hands and asked, “What did you expect?”

“I don’t know. I expected these books to be more… Evil. Like the subject matter you know?”

“The subject matter is dark enough.” Zelda said in seriousness.

Samus shrugged and opened the book against her arm cannon. The book recounted some sort of ritual to grow younger. Didn’t seem to be what they were looking for. Another book from the shelves talked about taking knowledge from other people. The subject seemed tenuously related so Samus skimmed through it. One sentence stood out to her.

‘The incantations needed to perform a knowledge drain share a passing resemblance to the incantation for a magic power drain, which is described in the Dark Encanti.’

That was it. Samus put the book back and said to Zelda, “Look for the Dark Encanti.”

Zelda put down her book and joined Samus looking for the specific book. After a few seconds, Zelda pulled a book out and commented ‘Found it,” before opening the book to read. For several minutes Zelda flipped through pages of the book, before pointing at one part here.

“This part here talks about a magical power draining spell, where a caster could permanently take magic power away from a person and add it to their own temporarily. With enough magical power, moving this castle would be child’s play.”

“That doesn’t help us get back,” Samus couldn’t help but comment.

“Well…” Zelda looked at the book again for a minute, “If my mental math is correct here, We’d need to take the magic power of eighteen sorcerers to teleport Hyrule Castle back to where it was. There’s also a way to return stolen magical energy back.”

“Can’t be that easy,” Zelda didn’t respond to Samus’ comment. The more the silence persisted Samus grew worried. “Zelda?”

Zelda looked apprehensive about speaking, “Returning stolen magical power will permanently cripple the magical power of the caster.”

“No. Absolutely not.” Samus put her foot down.

“No one would get hurt! The magic would return to them and they’d be fine, this could save us!”

“At the cost of you! I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Zelda looked frustrated and said, “Oh, so you can sacrifice yourself for others but I can’t?”

Samus froze. Her entire body had stopped and all her thoughts became jumbled. How did that comment do something like that to her? It was honestly pathetic. She wanted to say something, anything, but Samus’ body refused to move.

Zelda realized quickly what her statement did to Samus. “Oh Goddess,” Zelda put the book back and walked up to Samus, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t think about what I was saying.”

Slowly Samus’ senses started to return to her. Her breathing slowed (was she hyperventilating?), as she felt better. She slowly said, “It’s okay.”

“I worry about you so much, so you have a right to worry about me.” Zelda paused for a moment before taking a step back. Why did she pause? Did she feel that bad about what she said?

“Okay, we need to research other methods of getting everyone to safety.” Zelda and Samus stepped out of the small room, which closed behind them. “Follow me.”

Zelda and Samus marched on through the rows of bookshelves.

"I have one idea we could explore," Zelda explained without stopping. "There are magic potions that replenish magical power, and some that temporarily increase the magic power in a person.”

"How does that work?" 

"Well, Potions are created by cooking certain ingredients with monster parts, the magical energies inherent to the monsters are transformed by the other ingredients into a brew with helpful properties. The more intense the magic in the monster parts, the stronger the potion effect will be."

Zelda stopped in front of another bookshelf and pulled out a specific book. She continued to talk as she thumbed through it. "We definitely don't have enough resources to teleport this entire castle back in place, but we could do something useful with it."

For several minutes Zelda studied the contents of the book, while Samus was left to watch. In her boredom, Samus took to looking at the bookshelves surrounding them. The titles of these books all revolved around potion brewing, from Unusual Ingredients for Specialty Brews to Temperature and Time: How to Maximize your potions. Most of these books revolved around different aspects of potion theory that were way too complicated for Samus to comprehend.

“Okay!” Zelda snapped her fingers. “In order to brew a magic power potion, you need three grams of butterfly wings, two grams of essence from a fairy, and whatever monster parts you want to use to amplify the power of the brew. Last time I checked we had plenty of those, so all we need to worry about are monster parts. So we just need to calculate the magical power in a brew with the most monster parts shoved into it. Taking into account the perfect temperature to cook the brew at and the optimal time to let it simmer… If my memory of the quantity of monster parts we have in the store rooms is accurate, and my calculations are correct, we’d be able to multiply my magic power by one hundred and eighty six times.”

Samus chuckled when Zelda finished. “That doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“Right, so… The teleport I just showed you used about ten percent of my magic power. If I theoretically used all of my magic power to teleport, I could travel about 35 kilometers. So, that would make it! Except I would have to leave everyone else behind, teleporting the whole castle would cut the distance immensely. Also I reasonably make it all in one jump because consuming that many potions would be immensely stupid…” Zelda put the book back into the shelf and held her head in her hands. “Oh goddess, why did I think that this could work?”

“It’s fine. This is a desperate situation.” Samus reassured Zelda. Samus’s tone was flat and dry. It was hard for her to speak in any other tone. She was worried that her reassurances would do nothing for Zelda, but it seemingly worked. The princess’ posture relaxed and she took several deep breaths.

“If only we had your space ship. This would be much easier if we had that.”

Samus nodded. “It would be handy to have it here.”

“Can’t Adam fly the ship? He seems smart enough.”

“Under regulation artificial intelligences can’t pilot spacecraft. It’s built into Adam’s programing, he couldn’t break regulation if he wanted to.” Samus explained.

Zelda’s inquisitive glare returned as she asked, “Could Adam explain to someone how to fly your ship?”

Samus could see where Zelda was going with this. “He could, but Adam would only do that if he had my authorization, and I can’t contact him at this range. I would need a network station."

"Can we build a network station here?"

Samus opened her mouth to say no, but then stopped herself. It would be impossible to make the computer systems of a network station. But… "We could make an antenna to extend the range of my Power Suit’s communication tech. We would just need to shape some metal."

Zelda’s eyes lit up with excitement. "That’s it! We can save everyone!" Zelda grabbed Samus' hand and began running.

In the immediate aftermath of the meeting, Link and Zachary assembled the royal guard for an important role. Their food supplies were limited, and the stressful situation could inspire someone to steal food. So they had to lock the store rooms down with constant guard patrols. Right now they were discussing the patrol schedules while walking.

"Jeremy works best in the morning so he would be best for the morning shift,” Zachary pointed out. "Right now we have two guards on at a time, should we consider having more?"

Link shook his head, "No, that storeroom only has one entrance, so two guards is fine. Are you confident in having Tom and Kila on the night shift?"

Zachary stayed silent for a moment, shaking his head. He opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by a voice behind him. 

"Link, Zachary, I have amazing news!" Zelda ran up to both of them, with Samus coming in from behind her. "So we were-"

"Where were you?" Link interrupted her, with frustration laced into his voice. "I've been trying to keep a handle on this situation on my own!"

Zelda stuttered, "Well we were-"

"Look, can we talk?" Link motioned for the three of them to walk together. Before the three left, Link turned back to Zachary and said, "I'll catch up to you later."

As the three walked together, Link could tell that Zelda was a little confused. He led the two others to an empty storage room, filled only with a small assortment of boxes. Once they were alone, Zelda asked, "What is this about?"

Link sighed. "I'm concerned, Zelda. Right when you needed to step up to the plate and take a leadership position, you disappeared. This was your time to rise up and establish yourself."

"I- I tried!" Zelda sputtered, "I did horribly! Samus and I decided to work on a solution to this problem since-"

"Zelda, you are a princess!" Link in exasperation grabbed his forehead. “Once you become queen, you’ll be responsible for the entire nation. It is your duty to lead us, just as it’s my duty to be your knight.”

Zelda opened her mouth, but no response came out. It was disappointing to see the future ruler of Hyrule reduced to a stuttering mess. After Zelda struggled to respond, Link asked, "Do you really have nothing to say?"

"This is a unique situation," Samus finally spoke up. His body moved very little, and his tone remained neutral. "We need everyone to work with their strengths."

Samus' words irritated Link, "You know, before I left everything around Hyrule Castle was fine. We were well into recovery after the War with Ganon. Once you show up, these terrorists start attacking us. You bring conflict to everyone in this castle, dividing even Zelda and I.”

“Are you accusing me of something?” Samus questioned the hero.

Link scoffed, “I just think it’s an interesting coincidence. Perhaps something to look into.”

“You really are pathetic huh?” The poison laced in Samus’ voice could kill a King Dodongo. “We’re in a life or death situation. We were working on a way to save everyone, and here you are bickering!”

“Stop it!” Zelda screamed, causing Link and Samus to stop in their tracks. “Both of you stop it! We cannot afford to fight like this! Link, with my power as princess, I delegate leadership responsibility to you. You are the most capable leader here right now, so please step up to the role.”

Link stared at the empty visor of Samus’ helmet. He was surely glaring at Link from behind the glass. Eventually Link sighed, before bowing and saying, “Apologies princess. I’ll get to work immediately.”

Link left Zelda and Samus alone in the storage room. 

“And you Samus, please don’t pick fights with Link,” Zelda addressed Samus. “He is a respectable knight, and a valuable asset.”

Samus struggled to find the right words for a second before she spoke, “I can’t stand the way he treats you.”

“I have issues with it too… But Link is still my friend. Please try to get along with him, at least for the moment.”

“... Okay. I’ll try.” Samus nodded.

Zelda slowly made her way to one of the few boxes in the room and sat down, her stare focused on the stone tile floor. With the weight of the world on her shoulders, Zelda quietly contemplated. 

The silence was deafening to Samus. She wanted so badly to reassure Zelda, that everything would be okay. But she didn’t know how. The danger that surrounded them wasn’t a direct threat, it wasn’t a monster that could be killed. It was their own bodies, their own hunger. Once they run out of food, it will only be a matter of time till they starve to death. What could Samus possibly say in the face of that?

So instead, Samus let the silence overwhelm her. The two simply enjoyed each other's company for a brief few moments, before they had to head back out into the great unknown.

Chapter Text

The halls of Hyrule Castle were filled with a strange calmness. Even though the castle was in grave danger, it was an unexpected danger. Every inhabitant of Hyrule Castle was familiar with the threat of monster attacks or war, the dangers of something coming for them. What was strange was that the danger this time came from the fact that nothing was coming for them. They were locked inside a prison of endless waters. 

It was a particularly strange situation for the hero Link. He had just finished his voyage across the Great sea. Although he certainly enjoyed his time exploring the seas, he was happy that he would never have to see the endless ocean around him ever again. He wondered if someone had cursed him, or if he had accidentally insulted the Goddesses. Why did he deserve this fate?

Although the Children of Ganon had a devastating hand, the people of Hyrule Castle had an Ace; the only way that they could survive this situation was with magic and a strong leader. Zelda was an incredible magician, the Triforce of Wisdom granted her immense magic powers. This situation also provided a perfect opportunity for Zelda to prove herself to her servants. It was the chance to establish herself as the next in line for the throne, and gain respect from everyone. And so Link eagerly awaited for Zelda to step up and prove how strong she really was.

But that didn’t happen. Instead, Zelda struggled to gain the people’s confidence and ran away at the first chance she got, leaving Link to pick up the pieces. Link and Zachary came together in Zelda’s absence to establish order. They quickly delegated roles, the cooks would be responsible for rationing out food, The guards were responsible for protecting their precious resources, and everyone else was given odd jobs to keep Hyrule Castle in order.

Zelda finally showed up again after a few hours doing goddess knows what. Link’s frustration had been growing for a while, so he lambasted Zelda for her failure. 

Link honestly regretted handling the situation in the way he did. Snapping at Zelda like that was completely unwarranted, and the spat he had with Samus was a complete waste of time. Link resolved to apologize to Zelda when he saw her next.

When Link caught up with Zachary again, the guard captain was standing on a balcony, looking at the wide ocean that surrounded Hyrule Castle.

The sound of footsteps behind Zachary caused him to turn, "Oh Link, how did your conversation with Zelda go?"

Link sighed as he walked up to Zachary’s side. "Not good. I let my frustration get the better of me."

"It happens to the best of us," Zachary reassured. "Why were you frustrated?"

"Zelda isn't living up to her full potential. She should be taking charge and establishing herself. If she's going to be queen, she needs to put forward a good first impression."

Zachary scoffed. "I highly doubt Zelda cares right now about being queen. Right now she cares about making sure we get out alive. We all are."

Link slowly nodded, "Of course… That was a stupid thing to think."

"Don't be too hard on yourself son," Zachary spoke softly as he placed his hand on Link’s shoulder. 

“I can’t help but think stupid things like that. What’s wrong with me?”

"Not your fault. You've been dealt a bad hand from the start."

Link’s head dropped. Memories flew through his mind, of a time long past that still stuck to him like glue.

"If we get out of this alive I never want to see the ocean again." Link joked.

Zachary suddenly burst into laughter. "I forgot you came back from a voyage! I'm sorry son."

"Let's just focus on getting everyone home," Link stopped for a moment to stretch, his arms extended up in the air and back. "How are you holding up?" 

"Honestly the hardest part about all of this is that I don't know how I should delegate people. Besides rationing food and guarding our stores, there's nothing for people to do."

"We could have people build boats. Could be useful to get to an island or catch fish."

Zachary awkwardly paused for a moment. "Link, promise me that you won't tell anyone else what I'm about to tell you. Zelda and Samus are the only exceptions."

Link stood up from the sudden serious tone, "I promise."

"Do you remember how our best estimation for how long it would take to get to the nearest island was nineteen days?"

Link slowly nodded.

"Right now we barely have enough food to last everyone a week. We wouldn't make it."

Link gasped, "We can fish for more food at least!"

Zachary shook his head. “We don’t know if there are fish in this area of the ocean. It would be a shot in the dark.”

Link slowly stepped away from the railing of the balcony. "So there's nothing we can do?"

"The only solution we can rely on is a magic one. It's all on Zelda now to save us."

Link's eyes lit up in realization before he smacked his forehead. "Zelda had a plan and I didnt even listen to her! Goddess I'm such an idiot."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up over it!" Zachary dusted off Link’s shoulders. "Make it right! Find Zelda, apologize for what you said, and help her get us out of this mess."

"Right, thanks Zachary!" Link waved as he ran to find the princess. 

Zachary chuckled to himself as he stared back out into the sea.

“How hard is it to build an antenna?” Zelda asked as she exited the storeroom she and Samus took a break in. 

Samus thought for a moment before asking, “Can magic shape metal?” When Zelda nodded she answered, “Yeah, it should be easy. I should be able to whip up some schematics.”

“Perfect!” Zelda’s excited demeanor was slowly replaced by her more analytical side until she asked, ”How does an antenna work anyway?”

“Uh, I wouldn’t know.” Samus said sheepishly. “It’s not my specialty.”

Zelda sighed, “That’s too bad.”

"Zelda!" The sound of Link running up to the two of them caused Zelda to pause. After Link caught up he took a moment to catch his breath. "I wanted to apologize. It was wrong of me to expect you to lead in this situation. It was also wrong of me to speak to you in that way. Samus, it was wrong of me to accuse you of such things. I apologize to you both."

Samus was surprised, Link seemed like the kind of man that wouldn't be willing to apologize, but he just proved her wrong. 

Zelda smiled and nodded, "Thank you for your apology Link."

Link and Zelda began staring at Samus. Were they expecting to say something? She guessed it was pretty rude to not accept the apology. So Samus nodded and said, "Yeah, thanks."

Link looked between Zelda and Samus with confusion. Was he expecting more? Samus accepted his apology!

"Samus is a person of few words. You fully accepted his apology, right Samus?" At Zelda’s question, Samus nodded. "There we go. So, I never got the opportunity to talk to you about our plan. We're going to make an antenna to communicate with Samus' ship, so someone back in Hyrule could pilot it to us."

Link looked confused for a moment. "Wouldn't any normal ship take too long to reach us? How fast could this ship do the journey?"

"Less than two days."

Link scoffed. “Of course, why would I expect it to be anything else? You need to show me that ship once we get out of this.”

“Alright, alright,” Zelda waved her arms. “Let's get this done. Come on.”

The three walked through the halls of Hyrule Castle with purpose. Zelda lead the group to the royal forge, Link and Samus tagged behind. It wasn’t often that Zelda became so determined, Samus was mostly familiar with this side of Zelda from when she would hyper focus on a scientific problem. She was dedicated to helping the people of Hyrule Castle. Zelda might not have a talent in leadership, but her sheer determination made her a force to be reckoned with.

“Alright, we’re almost there,” Zelda turned around as she rounded a corner. “Samus, do you have the plans ready for the antenna?”

Samus quickly nodded.

“Perfect. We’ll get this-” Zelda’s speech stopped as she turned around. Her face morphed into a shocked expression. Noticing something was wrong, Samus stepped forward to look around the corner. She spotted what caused Zelda to stop rather quickly, from a wooden door a few paces away, a puddle of dark red blood pooled at its base.

Samus lept into action immediately. She charged a shot in her arm cannon as she ran past Zelda to the door. With a high power kick she blew the door clean open and thrusted her arm cannon into the room. Her eyes quickly scanned the room looking for threats, the only person she could see in the forge was a single muscular man lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

Samus ran up to the body and pressed her free hand against the man’s neck. She frowned, the man didn’t have a pulse. Link and Zelda entered the forge behind her.

“Oh my goddess,” Zelda gasped, freezing in place at the horror in front of her.

“Clive!” Link yelled as he ran up to Samus’ side and kneeled over the body. “Is he alright?”

“No pulse, he’s dead.” Samus said simply as she studied the body. In terms of clothes, the man only wore a pair of dirtied trousers and heavy boots. Seeing no injuries on the body’s back, Samus used her free hand to turn over the body.

Link looked offended at Samus’s actions saying, “You're disrespecting the dead!”

“I need to see what killed him.” Samus focused on the bodies’ chest and found the problem quickly, a stab wound just above the abdomen. Samus looked around for anything that could be used to do the stabbing. Gripped in the right hand of the body was a blood drenched knife. “Looks like he stabbed himself.”

Link shook his head, “No, Clive wasn’t the type of man to do something like this…”

Zelda’s shock gave way to tears as she stared at the body. Her breathing became erratic, and she started leaning against a workbench. “No… This- this can’t be!”

“Breathe,” Samus consoled as she stood up. She walked up to Zelda and placed a hand on her shoulder. “In and out, with me.”

Zelda couldn’t hear Samus’ breathing so she matched with the small rise and fall of the Power Suit’s chest. Four seconds in, four seconds resting, four seconds out, four seconds resting. Samus learned the box breathing technique during her time in the Federation military. Eventually Zelda’s heartbeat slowly fell to normal levels. Zelda didn’t say a word as calmed down.

“Okay?” Samus asked quietly. Instead of verbally responding, Zelda wrapped her arms around Zelda’s waist and pulled her closer. Samus stumbled for a moment as Zelda pulled her into a hug. Her footing became uneven and she held her arms up in the air away from Zelda.

After a few seconds Zelda slowly separated from Samus. “I’m sorry, I’ve never seen…”

“D- Don’t blame your- yourself,” Samus stuttered. 

Zelda didn’t notice Samus’ stuttering as she began pacing back and forth. “If only we were here earlier… We could have stopped him.”

Samus shook her head, “It’s no use thinking about that.”

“I know, but-”

“Wait,” Link interrupted the two. He had not stopped studying the body, continuing to study it while Samus reassured Zelda. He started rubbing his chin. “Zelda, wasn’t Clive left-handed?”

Zelda seemed confused at Link’s question. “He was, if I remember correctly.”

“Then why did he stab himself with his right hand?” 

Samus rolled this new piece of information in his head. At first Samus would have attributed this death to suicide over the stress of the situation. Link claimed that Clive wasn’t the type to do such a thing. At first Samus didn’t take much stock in it. People were more complicated than the impression they left on others. There could also be plenty of explanations as to why someone would use a knife in their non-dominant hand.

Samus shook her head. “It doesn’t matter, we need to get back on track. Can you still shape the metal?”

“I should be able to,” Zelda nodded. “The metal should be in that closet over there.”

Zelda pointed to a wooden door in the corner of the forge. Without wasting a beat Samus marched over and tore the door open. What she saw left her stunned. Instead of being filled with bars of usable metal, the closet was mostly empty except for a few burnt bits of slag. When Link and Zelda looked past Samus at the empty storeroom, their eyes widened in shock.

“We should have had plenty!” Zelda exclaimed.

“What could this mean?” Link questioned.

“Something’s up. I don’t think Clive’s death was just a suicide now,” Samus spoke as she turned around. “Someone is-”

Samus stopped as she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. The door exiting the forge was just slightly ajar, and she could see someone watching them from the other side. As soon as Samus stopped talking, The person outside the door moved away. Samus lept into action immediately, running past Link and Zelda to chase after the observer at mach speed. Zelda and Link yelled after her as she ran, but she paid them no mind as she burst through the door into the hallway. Samus’ eyes scanned for any sign of the person running, but they were already gone from sight. The chances of catching them at that point were low enough that Samus just waited for Zelda and Link to catch up.

“Samus! What happened?” Link asked as the two quickly joined the bounty hunter. 

“We were being watched. They got away before I could catch them.”

Zelda closed her eyes in concentration. “Clive definitely wouldn’t destroy the metal like that… And it’s just too unlikely that this would happen right as we were about to make use of the metal. I’m certain now that Clive’s death was not by his own hands.”

“Then…” Link looked shocked. “We’re not alone in Hyrule Castle. The Children of Ganon are here.”

“And someone saw that Clive is dead, Everyone is going to know soon.” Zelda shook her head. “This can’t be good.”

“I’ll take care of that,” Link reassured the two. “You two get us out of here.”

“You sure?” Zelda asked.

“This is a magic problem, we need a magic solution. I know you can do it Zelda,” Link said before he turned to Samus. “You better keep her safe.”

Link didn’t stick around for a response from Samus, quickly turning around and marching away. Samus’ gaze lingered after Link was gone from view, lost in thought. 

Zelda rubbed her temples. “What are we going to do?”

And still Samus’ gaze lingered.

Never before have the halls of Hyrule Castle held such an ominous atmosphere. As if the threat of starvation from being in the middle of the ocean wasn’t bad enough, now there was a murderer on the loose. Someone from the Children of Ganon was here with them, with terrifying powers. What kind of magic would make a healthy and sane man take his own life? Could this magic make Link do the same?

Link’s search for Zachary took too long for his liking. He was terrified that he would round a corner and have a knife planted in his stomach. Images of him being stabbed in the back plagued his thoughts. The silence around him except for his footsteps against the tile drove into his soul. The sound of another pair of footsteps alongside his own stunned him. He jerked his body around to see what was following him, only to catch a shape moving around a corner out of his sight. Link stared at the corner for what felt like an eternity. Slowly he stepped away, before turning back around and breaking out into a sprint.

“Goddess above protect me,” Link prayed as he held his right hand to his heart. The warmth of the Triforce symbol on his hand comforting him just a little. “Goddess let me see the light at the end of this tunnel. Give me courage to see this through.”

“Link?”

“AAAUGH!!!” Link screamed at the sound of Zachary’s voice. Link waited until his rapid breathing slowed before saying, “Goddess Zachary, don't scare me like that!”

“What the hell has gotten into you?” Zachary stared at Link incredulously. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost!”

“I might be close to seeing one. It’s Clive, he-”

“Zachary!” A hylian man in simple robes ran up to the two of them. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

“Davron, Is it important? I need to talk with Link about something.” Zachary addressed the newcomer.

Davron scoffed “I’d certainly say so! I’ve been hearing these dreadful rumors! People are saying that Clive the blacksmith took his own life in his forge.” 

Link looked stunned while Zachary simply chuckled, “I can’t say I’ve heard anything like that.”

Davron chuckled. “Yeah, I thought it was so outrageous! But Teal was so worked up about it that I went to double check just for her sake.”

Zachary chuckled at Davron’s account. He turned to Link as Davron continued to talk. When he saw Link’s shocked face, his own face fell in realization. As his face morphed into confusion, Link silently nodded. Meanwhile Davron kept on talking, ignorant to the two’s silent conversation.

“-I told Teal she had nothing to worry about, but you know how she is. She can’t seem to keep her head on straight sometimes!”

Zachary coughed and put on as good of a fake smile as he could muster, “Yes! Well, Link and I have things to discuss so if you’ll excuse us.”

Davron sighed, “Please tell us that you have some sort of plan to get us back to Hyrule. Everyone is so worried.”

“We… We do. We’ll get everyone home safely.” Zachary grabbed Link’s shoulders and pulled him away from the somewhat satisfied Davron. Once he was sure Davron couldn’t hear them, Zachary leaned against the wall and held his head in his hands.

“Zachary… We don’t have a plan.” Link told the guard captain. Zachary didn’t respond to Link’s statement. “So you just lied? You lied to Davron?”

Zachary stood up from the wall and stepped in front of Link. “What was I supposed to say? That we didn’t have any hope of escaping this hell? Saying that would have just made things worse. Davron would go off and tell everyone and there’d be chaos. Do you understand?”

Link considered what Zachary said for a few moments before he nodded his head. “I understand.”

“Good… So Clive is dead? He killed himself?”

“Worse, it looks like someone tried to fake his suicide. The metal we were about to use to save us was destroyed.”

“Oh great. Not only are we stranded in the middle of the ocean, we’re stranded with a murderer.” Zachary ran his fingers through his hair. “They already have us on the ropes with the ocean surrounding us. Why send someone here?”

“Maybe they want to make sure that we don’t find a way out of this situation. As soon as Zelda and Samus arrived at a solution, they cut it off.”

Zachary shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe. Honestly I couldn’t care less about the motive, we just need to survive.”

“Right,” Link nodded. “Right right. Okay, so… We should let the guards know to be on watch for an intruder. We should also take a headcount of everyone to make sure that everyone is accounted for.”

“Good idea,” Zachary commended Link. The two walked through the empty halls of Hyrule Castle with measured steps.

Zelda frantically searched the library of Hyrule Castle for something, anything that could return them to Hyrule Castle. She poured over every section, searched through every book that could have relevant information, but nothing seemed to work. Could they grow more food with the help of magic? Unfortunately the math didn’t add up, It would give them a few days more food, but no more. Was there some way to use magic to sustain themselves? There were records showing that to be possible, but it seemed the health risks were too great. Magic could only prevent them from dying of hunger, they would still feel the weakness and pain hunger brought. In Zelda’s desperation for a solution, she came to the most ridiculous of ideas. What if they launched Samus through the air to the closest landmass and got help from the locals? Although Samus claimed she could survive such a feat (If it wasn’t for their situation Zelda might have been more amazed at this fact), They didn’t know in what direction the closest landmass was.

The days passed and they were nowhere close to a solution. Every day she would be woken up by Samus (Even in these trying times, Samus still insisted that Zelda keep a consistent sleep schedule), force down her morning rations, and make her way to the library. She would spend the whole day at the library, eating more rations in the mid day. It was only at the end of the day that she would leave the library, eat her final rations of the day, and fall asleep in her bed.

At every moment Samus was there, providing support and protection. Samus waking her every morning became a comfort. In some instances Zelda could sleep relatively comfortably knowing that Samus was always there to protect her. Having Samus’ input while working on different plans also turned out to be very useful. Zelda also found that simply describing her thought process to Samus verbally would help her catch any problems in her reasoning. When she described this to Samus, the bounty hunter mentioned that human society had named this process ‘rubber ducking’. Zelda had a good laugh over the silly name.

Lighthearted moments like those acted as a brief distraction to Zelda’s monotonous work. Right now her and Samus were situated deep into the Royal Library, Zelda sitting at a table, while Samus leaned against a bookshelf across from Zelda. Surrounding her were dozens of books, some propped open for her to scan through. She scanned through references at the back of one book, looking to see if any of the titles listed could hold any information. Her mid day rations were abandoned at the end of the table, she could only stomach to take a few bites of bread before she returned to the books. She could feel aches in her stomach and the titles stretched out before her looked like gibberish. In frustration she furiously closed the book and pushed it away.

“Frustrated?” Samus asked as she stepped up to the table.

Zelda massaged her eyelids and sighed. “My brain feels like mush.”

“Good time for a break then,” Samus commented as she grabbed Zelda’s rations and placed them in front of her.

“No, I want to keep working.”

“Your brain is mush, right? Take a break, it’ll help.”

Zelda sighed. Of course Samus was right, pushing through right now would only make her work worse. Samus was very good at recognizing such things. Knowing that Samus had very little regard for herself, Zelda wondered if Samus would apply the same thinking to herself as she picked at her rations.

Her rations included a piece of bread, two sausages, and a baked potato. It wasn’t exactly a meal fit for a princess. She was offered something more substantial, but Zelda insisted that she be given the same rations as everyone else. It seemed unfair to her that she would be the only one to eat more substantial food.

She bit into the sausage with a fervor unfit for a princess. It was only now that she noticed how hungry she truly was. She felt her stomach fill with every bite. Despite the lack of flair, Zelda found it tasty enough.

As Zelda finished her meal, her attention went to Samus standing ahead of her. Although she was offered rations, Samus refused. Many were confused as to how Samus could survive without food, but Zelda was familiar with this strange trait of Samus.

“When was the last time you ate anything?” Zelda asked Samus.

Samus stayed silent for a moment before answering. “I haven’t eaten anything since getting here.”

Zelda’s eyes widened in shock. “That won’t do at all! The cooks at Hyrule Castle are some of the best in the land, after this I’ll have them cook something for you! Let me know if you have any dietary restrictions.”

Another moment of silence passed. Zelda quickly realized something and quickly added, “I understand that you have reservations about removing your helmet, so we can eat together just the two of us, or you could eat on your own if you would prefer that.”

Samus nudged her head the briefest amount. What the movement meant Zelda was unsure. Slowly Samus began to nod. “Okay, yeah… I’ll think about it.”

Zelda nodded in excitement. “Great!... Wait, if you haven’t eaten anything since you’ve arrived in Hyrule, does that mean that you haven’t slept since then either?”

Samus shook her head silently.

“Have you drank anything? Water, cider, anything at all?” Zelda asked. Samus responded with another silent shake of her head. Zelda gasped. “Samus… Have you relieved yourself since arriving here?”

Samus snorted. “My Power Suit replenishes me in ways that don’t produce waste. I haven’t needed to.”

“That- it-” Zelda had trouble finding the words in her shocked state. “It cannot be comfortable for you to rely on your suit.”

“It isn’t.” Samus answered curtly. “I can deal with it though, I wanna focus on keeping you safe.”

Zelda’s shoulders slumped in exasperation. “Didn’t you just say that I should take a break or else my work would suffer? You should apply some of that logic to yourself, Samus.”

Samus sighed and stepped back. Zelda could tell that Samus wanted this conversation to end, but Zelda wasn’t going to have it. She motioned at Samus to come over to her, an order that she followed closely. When she arrived Zelda pulled out a chair to her right. “Sit down.”

Samus didn’t follow Zelda’s order immediately. Zelda was familiar with Samus’ hang up of leaving herself vulnerable. Eventually Samus slowly lowered herself in the chair.

“Can you remove your helmet?” Zelda asked. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I would just prefer to see your face.”

Samus’ head wandered as he considered Zelda’s proposition. Eventually she nodded. “No, it’s okay.”

Samus pushed a few buttons on her arm cannon, releasing a hiss of air from under her helmet. She grabbed her helmet and paused for a moment, Steeling herself for what she was about to do. With one quick motion she pulled the helmet up and over her head and set it down on the table.

As soon as her helmet left her head, Samus started breathing heavily. Zelda scooted her chair back to give Samus space, remembering how Samus reacted the last time Samus took her helmet off. But this time, her heaving breathing calmed to a more stable pattern. Samus looked confused, clearly expecting a meltdown similar to what happened last time.

Samus’ face was just as beautiful as Zelda remembered. Her hair was even more messy than it was last time, the long ponytail Samus sported now tangled up in a weave of unwashed hair. Her face was surprisingly clean, if a little sweaty. Perhaps the hermetic seal of Samus’ suit kept out any dust or dirt. 

“You mentioned that your suit limits your emotions, right?” Zelda asked. Samus’ gaze turned to Zelda before she nodded. “Then maybe me being aware of your identity made your emotions less severe. Easier to handle.”

Samus turned her gaze away, lost in thought. “That’s a nice thought.” She eventually said.

Zelda smiled. Samus kept her gaze focused away from Zelda. Occasionally Samus’ eyes quickly glanced at Zelda before looking away. Her left hand fiddled with her arm cannon, moving components back and forth and tracing her finger around the end of the cannon.

“I’m sorry, are you uncomfortable?” Zelda asked Samus. “I shouldn’t have asked you to remove your helmet.” 

“It- It’s okay.” Samus reassured Zelda. “I feel fine.”

Zelda frowned. “Are you just saying that because you don’t see your discomfort as worth fixing?”

“No, this- This is how I am normally, really.” Samus assured Zelda. “I- I was born with a condition humans call Autism. It’s uh… characterized by social anxiety, obsessive behavior, lack of social awareness, difficulty communicating… And a bunch of other stuff I can’t remember. You’ve probably noticed how I tend to be interested in history? That’s, uh, that’s a special interest of mine I fixate on a lot. You also probably notice how I don’t really like eye contact. It’s a common autism thing. I don’t really know why. Oh, and, uh…”

Samus raised her arm cannon into the air and showed Zelda how she fiddled with her arm cannon’s mechanisms. “This is called stimming. It helps me regulate my emotions. I, uh, I kind of do it automatically most of the time. The Power Suit limits my emotional responses so I don’t stim very often while wearing it.”

Zelda chuckled. “You explained a lot there.”

Samus’s eyes went wide as she looked away from Zelda. “S-sss- sorry.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay!” Zelda waved her hands, doing her best to reassure Samus. “I just wasn’t expecting it.”

“Infodumping like that is… Another sign of autism.” Samus sheepishly admitted. 

Zelda nodded. “I see. You should take your helmet off more often, I enjoy seeing you like this.”

Samus looked at Zelda in disbelief. “Really?”

“Yeah! I enjoy it when you explain something you’re interested in.” Zelda nodded. “Your Power Suit takes away these aspects of you. You should feel free to express yourself how you are.”

Samus held a painful look in her eyes. She looked away from Zelda. The princess would describe the look Samus held as melancholic. 

“I can’t do that Zelda.” Samus said sadly.

“Why not?”

Samus thought for a moment before speaking. “That… That helmet is just one mask I wear. The other is- more metaphorical. It’s the mask I wear to hide who I am. To hide what makes me autistic. To hide what makes me-”

Samus gulped. Zelda noticed how Samus held herself back. She remembered how Adam said that Samus had secrets that could lead to her persecution. Zelda could not even begin to imagine what kind of secret that could be. Samus clearly wasn’t ready to share that just yet, so she didn’t press the issue.

“Some are already off put by what I hide behind my helmet. When I remove my… Other mask… It just pushes people away. They’ll see me get interested in history, or misunderstand some social rule, and they’ll see me as a child. As a thing. A deviant they need to stay away from.” The venom that laced Samus’ voice was impossible to miss. After Samus’ speech, The two stayed silent for a moment, Unsure of what to say.

Eventually Zelda slowly spoke, “Is that what you’re afraid will happen if you take off the mask? Is that what you fear I will do to you?”

“No! N-nnn-nn- uh…” Samus' breathing became heavy. She stood up from her chair and stepped back from Zelda. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m really-”

“It’s okay, It’s okay! I can see how you would feel that way. I’m guessing you haven’t had many people prove your fears wrong.” Zelda comforted the frantic Samus. “You know, when I was younger, I would really struggle with focusing on… Anything really. My attention would shift from one thing to another. It would happen so rapidly that I would be stopped in place from my focus rapidly shifting from subject to subject. I couldn’t sit still, I was impulsive, and I couldn’t help but interject myself in any conversation. People hated me for it. The things they called me… But Father was different. He told off anyone that said such mean things about me, and taught me techniques to focus better. He was really understanding. I know it’s not exactly the same as my condition, but I’m sure Father would understand your autism. Like he does with me.”

Samus looked amazed at Zelda’s story. She stayed completely still, lost on some train of thought. Eventually her gaze turned back to Zelda and said, “That sounds alot like ADHD.”

“What’s that?”

“Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It’s the name humans give what you’re talking about.” 

Zelda laughed, “Humans really have figured everyone out huh? But you know what I mean, right? There’s nothing to be afraid of! I certainly won’t think such negative things about you.”

Samus closed her eyes and a tear fell down her face. She quickly wiped it away. Her eyes slowly opened and she nodded. “Thank you, Zelda.”

Zelda nodded in return. “Once we get back to Hyrule, I’m going to show you that you have nothing to fear. You’ll eat all the food you want, you’ll get plenty of sleep, you’ll infodump about anything you want! All of the experiences we should have had when you first arrived in Hyrule.”

Samus was amazed. “You’d really do that for me?”

“Absolutely,” Zelda looked determined, but quickly turned sheepish. “First we actually have to get back to Hyrule.”

Samus laughed. “That is an important step. Let’s get back to that.”

Zelda focused on the books in front of her. Almost immediately she started feeling the same way as she did before her break! “This clearly isn’t working… Honestly the plan we had before with using your ship was the best plan we had.”

“It would have been, but then our materials for building an antenna to contact Adam were destroyed.” Samus said solemnly. 

“So we can’t contact Adam directly…” Zelda rubbed her chin as she thought. “Could we have someone convince Adam that you’ve given him authorization? Like maybe you reveal some piece of information only you and Adam could know.”

Samus’ brow furrowed in thought, until suddenly her eyes widened and she slapped herself on her forehead. “R-right! Normally I’d use my ss-suit to send my authorization key directly to the ship, but theoretically we could totally just send the key over in a dream!”

Zelda nodded, “Would Adam accept that? It’s possible someone forced the key out of you.”

“Absolutely not,” Samus shook her head. “Adam knows I wouldn’t break like that. Plus, he’s probably confused why he hasn’t been able to detect my signal.”

“Perfect! Let’s update Link and Zachary.”

Samus made sure to put her helmet back on before the two left the library. Zelda frowned, she wished that Samus didn’t feel the need to keep her helmet on all the time. But Zelda also knew that Samus’ fear would take time to subside. So for the moment, she waited as Samus’ reactivated the hermetic seal in her suit. Once Samus was ready, the two began marching through the halls of Hyrule Castle.

Chapter Text

Davron was very familiar with hardship. He was raised by a poor family in Kakariko Village. Some days his parents struggled to put food on the table. They would put on a straight face while with Davron, but the young boy could hear when his parents cried over their poor luck in their bedroom. When Davron got a position as a cleaner in Hyrule Castle, his family was incredibly proud of him. His pay was much higher than what he needed, so he sent half of his wages to support his mother and father back in Kakariko. His parents constantly insisted that he spend his wages on himself, but Davron was glad he could support his parents after everything they did for him.

With all of that history behind him, adapting to living frugally in the middle of the ocean came easy for Davron. It wasn’t an experience he wanted to relive, but he had no choice in the matter. At least now he could use that experience to help the people around him survive. His coworkers struggled to adapt to the rations they were provided. Many of them broke down within the first few days. In those moments Davron was there to provide a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear. It was the least he could do for these people that accepted him.

The circumstances were hardest on Davron’s best friend Teal. Teal had been an anxious person her entire life, not helped by her horrible parents. One day when Davron was visiting Teal, he overheard her father slap her across the face when he thought Davron had left. After he heard that, Davron secured a position as a maid in Hyrule Castle for Teal and helped her move out. Teal still had not told Davron the extent of her abuse, and Davron had not pressured her to. He was just glad he was able to help his friend.

When Hyrule Castle had suddenly found itself stranded in the ocean, Teal almost lost her poor mind. It took a while for her to calm down, and even then she was much more on edge than usual. She stuck by Davron’s side constantly, jumping at any noise she heard. It was a sad sight to see.

One day Teal came running to Davron screaming her head off. It took a moment for her to calm down enough to be comprehensible. She told Davron that she had gone to check on Clive at the forge, only to see that Clive had taken his own life. The princess’ bodyguard had noticed her peeking through the door, so she ran before she could get caught. The skeptical part of Davron figured that Teal’s anxiety had gotten the better of her, but the realistic part figured that Teal could be telling the truth. The situation was hard, and some would inevitably falter under the pressure. In order to comfort Teal, he went to find Zachary to confirm what Teal had told him.

Zachary told him that Clive was fine, but Davron wasn’t stupid. He could tell Zachary was lying to him. It was an understandable lie, if the truth of Clive’s suicide got out, it would only force more people over the edge. So he played along with Zachary’s lie, and went to find Teal to reassure her.

Davron knew that Teal would be in her room, what he didn’t expect was the small group of people that stood outside her door. three different hylians in total stood in front of Teal’s door, whispering amongst themselves. As Davron approached one of them noticed, and addressed him, “Where were you Davron? We were looking for you!”

“Nevermind that,” Davron dismissed their question. “Is Teal alright?”

“She’s in her room right now. She’s been crying for a while!” The hylian said. “None of us were sure how to calm her down so we just went looking for you.”

Davron nodded, “Thank you all. I’ll take it from here.”

The group disbanded, leaving Davron alone outside of Teal’s room. He lightly knocked the door three times and said, “Teal? It’s Davron. Can I come in?”

Davron’s words were greeted by silence. Teal had a bad habit of pushing other people away in times like these, leaving herself alone to stew on negative emotions and fears. Over the past few years she had gotten alot better at letting people in, but she still fell into it from time to time. It was hard on Davron to see Teal like this. He wished he could force Teal to break out of a negative loop, but Davron knew that doing so would only make things worse.

“Please don’t keep to yourself Teal,” Davron sorrowfully asked. He rested his right hand and forehead against the wooden door. “Please let me help you.”

For a few more moments Davron was met with silence, until the sounds of rustling blankets and light footsteps filled the empty air. Davron lifted his head as the door’s latch was released. Davron knew this meant that he was free to open the door, so he grabbed the handle and slowly opened the door.

On the other side of the door, Teal stood in the center of the room. Her arms were folded inward and her body was leaned forward. Davron spread his arms wide. Teal walked forward into Davron’s awaiting hug.

“It’s okay Teal,” Davron whispered as he comforted Teal, who began crying in his arms. “It’s going to be okay.”

Teal continued to sob into Davron’s shoulder, letting out the massive weight that came from the past few days. Careful not to bother Teal, Davron kicked the door shut behind him to give them some privacy. For a moment the chaos and danger of the outside world didn’t exist, Teal and Davron were alone in the universe.

After Teal’s sobbing went away, she stayed in Davron’s arms for a few more moments. “Are you feeling better?” Davron softly asked.

He felt two taps on his back. Yes . Davron then asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”. This time he felt a single tap against his back. Maybe. It was a simple code system the two had devised for when Teal had these nonverbal episodes. 

“How about we sit on your bed, and you can talk once you’re comfortable?” Davron suggested. Teal nodded into Davron’s shoulder and slowly pulled away. She collapsed onto the bed, laying down on her back. Davron sat down on the end of the bed.

Teal didn’t say anything at first, instead staring at the bricks in the ceiling. Davron laid a reassuring hand on Teal’s leg, hoping to ground her. If she didn’t like the contact, Teal didn’t vocalize it. Eventually she breathed in and said just a few words, “It’s just- so much.”

“I understand,” Davron nodded. “If it means anything, I don’t think there’s a single person here who is handling the situation well.”

Teal nodded. “Are we going to die here?”

Davron shook his head. “Princess Zelda is one of the most skilled magicians in the world. And she has her amazing bodyguard and the Hero of the Blade at her side. I’m confident they will save us.”

“How can you be so sure?” Teal raised her head and asked. “We’re in the middle of the ocean. We’re going to starve!”

“We are not going to starve!” Davron reassured Teal. Teal’s head fell back down and she remained silent. Davron could tell that she was unconvinced. Such bad anxiety brought with it a pessimistic perspective. It wouldn’t be enough to simply reassure Teal that everything would be alright. Anxiety didn’t operate on rational thought, It was an irrational warning siren that blared whenever something even slightly seemed off. It didn’t matter that Teal’s anxiety had been proven wrong in the past. Anxiety still forced its way into Teal’s mind at any opportunity it could.

So Davron took a different approach. “Do you remember when you didn’t think you could get away from your parents, and then you got this job and managed to escape?”

Teal’s face morphed into confusion, “Yeah, but, that was mostly you…”

“What about the time you didn’t think you could handle going to the festival last year, and then you went and had a lot of fun?”

“Yeah but-” Teal raised her hand to gesture in the air, “But- but that was different.”

Davron’s smile grew as he spoke, “All I'm saying is that your anxiety is often wrong about what’s going to happen. It’s okay to be scared in this situation, I’m a little scared too. But that doesn’t mean we won’t be okay. Hylians are resilient, and you especially so.”

Teal’s face turned red. “No I’m really not…”

“You absolutely are!” Davron said as he looked into Teal’s radiant blue eyes. “You managed to survive your parents' abuse. You constantly push past the anxiety they gave you. You might not be able to see it, but I certainly can.”

Teal began crying again and covered her face as Davron’s words washed over her. He felt a soft smile spread across his face. Davron nudged himself closer to Teal and he leaned over her, giving as tight of a hug as she could. Teal’s arms wrapped around Davron as she continued to cry. Teal returned to normal quicker than earlier. 

“Did you really mean that?” Teal whispered into Davron’s ear.

Davron nodded, “Of course.”

With tears in her eyes Teal nodded, “Thank you.”

Davron sat up to give room for Teal. She took a few breaths and pushed herself up. Her legs crossed and her back hunched forward.

“Is something else bothering you?” Davron asked.

Teal nodded, and slowly began to speak, “Is Clive dead?”

Davron stuttered for a second before saying, “Clive is fine, Zachary is-”

“Don’t lie to me.” Teal looked up and locked eyes with Davron. “I saw his body in a pool of blood. He wasn’t moving. I want to know the truth.”

Davron stayed silent in thought. “I didn’t expect such fire from you. I was right, you are resilient.”

Teal’s features softened at the sudden compliment. “I appreciate it, but don’t deflect from my question.”

“Right,” Davron took a deep breath before continuing. “Clive is dead. He took his own life.”

Teal let out a large breath and layed back down on the bed. She held her hand above her face as if she was studying it. “There are… gaps… in my memory. I don’t remember going to the blacksmith. I was in my bedroom, then suddenly I was standing outside looking into the blacksmith… What did I do?”

Davron frowned. “That’s… concerning.”

Teal’s breathing got heavier and heavier. “I might be the one that killed Clive. It was me, I’m a murderer!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Davron held Teal’s shoulders. “You’re not a killer Teal. we’ll figure this out. Let’s go to Princess Zelda.”

“There’s no way Zelda would care!” Teal’s panic was starting to get the better of her. “Even if she did, she’d try me for murder!!!”

“She won’t Teal! I promise you she won’t! Breath with me.” Davron grabbed Teal’s hand and placed it against his chest. Slowly Teal’s breathing slowed down to match Davron’s. Eventually once Teal calmed down she reached forward and held onto Davron for dear life.

“I’m doing better,” Teal said as she separated from Davron. “Let’s go to the princess.”

Davron nodded, helping Teal to her feet.

Zelda and Samus marched her way through the halls of Hyrule Castle, determined by their new plan.

“We need to be careful,” Samus commented from behind Zelda.

Zelda turned around, “Why do you think?”

“Clive’s body was fresh, meaning his death happened soon before we got there,” Samus explained. “I have a bad feeling that whoever killed Clive did it because he was instrumental to our original plan. The metal being destroyed was no accident.”

“I didn’t even consider that…” Zelda bowed her head and stopped walking. “I feel so bad that we couldn’t help Clive.”

Samus placed a reassuring hand on Zelda’s shoulder. “Let’s make sure his death isn’t in vain.”

Of course Samus knew exactly what to say to reassure Zelda. A warm feeling sprouted in her chest as she smiled. Samus was truly special to her.

“Alright. If someone is willing to kill to keep us from escaping, then their next target will be me.” Zelda said, her determination rising. “They’ll have to get through you first, and I trust you to protect me.”

Samus simply nodded. The weight of the gesture felt like a thousand words to the princess. The two began walking again, looking for Link and Zachary to enact their plan.

They found the two of them in the dining hall organizing the distribution of rations. The tables had been pushed aside and used to store dozens of boxes, while many guards were stationed throughout the room. They were lucky, this gave them even more defense against their potential attacker.

“Link!” Zelda yelled as she ran up to the hero. He was busy talking to one of the servants. When Zelda approached, Link quickly gave them a ration box and walked away with Zelda. “We have another plan, this one should work.”

“That’s great!” Link said excitedly. The serious look on Zelda’s face dimmed his spirits. “Is there a catch?”

“There’s a chance that whoever killed Clive is going to come after me next.”

Link sighed, “We haven’t seen any signs of this attacker, I'm starting to wonder if they even exist.”

Zachary finished up serving rations and joined the three of them. “We can’t be too careful about this. What’s this plan of yours?”

“It’s an adaptation of our original plan, we-”

“Princess Zelda!” Davron and Teal ran up to the four. Teal was breathing heavily, and partially hid behind Davron’s frame. 

“Davron, Teal, what's going on?” Zachary stepped forward.

“We have something we need to tell you,” Davron spoke. He grabbed one of Teal’s hands and said to her, “It’s okay, you got this.”

Teal looked unsure of herself but worked up the courage to step forward. “I… Was the one outside the forge.”

Samus’ gaze shot up at Teal, causing her to falter. Several people began to walk up to the group, making Teal’s anxiety even worse.

Seeing what the crowd was doing to Teal, Link stepped forward to disperse the crowd and the guards. “Let’s give them some space everyone.”

As the crowd slowly dispersed, Teal’s visible anxiety got better and better. Seeing Teal’s anxiety, it reminded Zelda of Samus’ anxiety. The two shared a quick look. Samus’ visor covered her face. Seeing how much emotion Samus held in the library and seeing her like this felt so strange. What was the bounty hunter thinking? She wanted to see Samus’ face again, wanted to hear her talk about her interests and her quirks. It acted as further motivation for Zelda to get everyone home.

“It’s okay Teal,” Zelda held out her hand to Teal. “You’re safe with us, let us help you.”

Teal took a few slow breaths and nodded. “I was the one outside the forge… I remember thinking, ‘I should check on Clive’ and then I’m standing outside the forge looking at his body. Everything in between is blank…”

Samus stepped towards Teal as a light next to her visor lit up. Teal gasped as Samus’ gaze focused on her for several seconds, perfectly still. Eventually Samus relaxed and said, “I just scanned you. I'm not seeing anything abnormal, you should be perfectly healthy.”

“That’s good at least…” Teal slowly nodded her head. 

“This is concerning though, thank you for coming forward Teal. May I take your hands?” Zelda asked. Teal slowly reached forward and let Zelda hold her hands. Her hands were slightly calloused compared to Zelda’s smooth skin. Zelda noticed that a light blush appeared on Teal’s face, but Zelda ignored that as she extended her magic senses. “I’m going to see if there’s anything wrong with your magic.”

The amber orange lights of Teal’s magic slowly extended from her arms and wrapped itself around Zelda’s light blue magic. It was a magic scanning process that Zelda was very familiar with, but Teal stared at the intertwining lights amazed Teal.

“It’s so pretty…” Teal commented. Zelda could feel Teal’s anxiety slowly melt away through the magical link. “I feel so warm.”

Zelda nodded. “This magical link allows us to share emotions and memories. Through it I can see any abnormalities in your magic.”

Teal’s eyes widened, “Oh no, what if there are memories that we don’t want to share?”

“It’s okay, Just imagine those memories behind a locked door.” Zelda answered. She was familiar with this fear, right now she was focusing all of her memories with Samus behind the biggest locked door she could imagine. In Teal’s memories she saw her dancing with Davron at the festival of the hero, the soft moments between them. She also saw a memory of a man slapping her across the face before it quickly faded away. Zelda shook her head, this wasn’t the time to be lost in memories. Instead Zelda focused on Teal’s magical power.

“I see what you’re saying here Teal, there are gaps in your magical power, in the place of where those memories would be.” Zelda focused her gaze on the lights. “I’m also seeing some strange flecks of energy here that don’t belong. It’s almost as if-”

The sound of Samus shooting into attention and pointing her arm cannon at the end of the dining hall made Teal and Zelda jump, the link between them dissipating.

“What’s going on?” Link asked as he and Zachary stepped to Samus’ side.

“Something’s over there,” Samus explained, keeping her arm cannon locked onto the empty space of the dining hall. “Something’s tripping my scanners.”

“I think I see it too,” Zachary commented. Zelda could see it as well, flickering distortions of light at the end of what should have been an empty dining hall. Samus slowly stepped forward, arm cannon at the ready. Zachary and Link pulled out their swords, ready for battle. Zelda summoned her bow of light and stood in front of Teal and Davron, who stepped back in fear of what was happening.

“If you can hear me, Identify yourself.” Samus ordered as she activated her arm cannon’s missiles. The distortion in space flickered more and more, until with a snap it disappeared without a trace. Samus lowered her armcannon and scanned the dining room again. 

Zelda lowered her bow in confusion. In such a state, she barely noticed the sound of Davron’s voice behind her.

“... Teal? Teal!!”

Samus rocketed back towards Zelda in a fraction of a second and reached past her with her left hand, the sound of metal clanging made Zelda jump to the side, letting her see behind her. Samus was grabbing a knife, held by Teal. Davron stood back shocked.

“Teal?” Zelda asked the woman. It was as if the anxious Teal had been replaced by a much more insidious woman. Her normally blue eyes now showed an unsettling yellow.

“What strength, you are truly impressive, Samus Aran. If only I could take you instead,” Teal said as she struggled against Samus’ grip on the knife. Her hardened gaze moved over to Zelda, who cowered at the way Teal’s yellow eyes stared at her. “And you Zelda, I’m surprised You didn’t notice me. Perhaps I am better at hiding than I thought. Or maybe you just didn’t know where to look.”

“What do you mean, Teal?” Zelda asked. Teal’s gaze continued to bore into her very soul as Teal struggled to rend her knife free. “What happened to you!?”

Teal let go of the knife and jumped unnaturally far back, hovering just above the surface of the floor. Zelda stared in shock as whatever-it-was let out a low, ominous laugh.

“Still so clueless. Perhaps a demonstration is in order,” Teal continued laughing an unsettling, unnatural laugh. Until she suddenly stopped. Her body fell limp against the hard stone floor. Davron gasped at the sight of his friend’s body going limp. Teal’s shadow began to lengthen and darken, before… Something else began rising from the dark abyss. The temperature of the room slowly dropped as the shadows formed something unnatural. A large four armed octopus like creature, with a yellow body and jet black tentacles. At the end of each tentacle sat a yellow eye. On top of the octopus a large, grotesque mouth opened up, revealing a massive yellow eye studying them.

“What are you?!” Samus yelled as she pointed her arm cannon at the strange creature. Zelda could see even Samus’ endless determination beginning to falter at the monster as the end of her arm cannon slowly started shaking.

“Hearing my true name would break your mortal minds,” The deep voice of the monster rang out. It felt like the voice was boring its way into Zelda’s heart, grabbing it and forcing it to stop. Her breathing became heavy, and her entire body froze. “You all can call me Bellum. I’m sure Princess Zelda is familiar with that name.”

Zelda looked shocked at being directly addressed by such a monster, before she slowly nodded. “Y-your name is written in ancient tomes… A demon, of fear and hatred itself.”

“Indeed. I was there when your kind was hiding in caves, afraid of the night. I preyed upon you, your life energy fueled me, made me stronger. But Hylia pushed me back, summoning great magics to stop me.”

Samus and Zelda shared a gaze. It seems both of them were realizing the same thing; What they were facing now was far more ancient than they ever could have anticipated.

“Your kind selfishly crawled its way to power you didn’t deserve. From the very beginning you were nothing but our sustenance. I’ve waited countless eons to teach you all a lesson.”

“Why wait so long?” Samus gained some of her determination back as her grip on her arm cannon tightened. 

“It was a warlock who summoned me back into this world, gave me the chance at power again… If I were to aid him in his conquest.”

Zelda’s eyes widened as she uttered a single name, “Ganon.”

“Indeed. Once his war was finished, I planned to prey on his soul. His powerful magics would have sustained me… But you,” Bellum’s eyes focused on Link. The hero gasped and stumbled backward against the powerful dark gaze of the demon. “You felled Ganon with the sacred sword, I could no longer access his soul. So for acting against me, I will take your life force for myself. Once the Children of Ganon bring back the warlock, I will be taking his life force as well.”

“Will you now?” Samus asked as she lowered her arm cannon. Everyone stared in absolute shock and fear as Samus relaxed. What could Samus possibly be thinking!?

“ KNOW YOUR PLACE, INTERLOPER !” Bellum’s voice boomed. “ I AM UNKNOWABLE, I AM IN THE DARK CORNERS OF YOUR MIND, PLAGUING YOUR NIGHTMARES AND POISONING YOUR DREAMS! FEAR THE ABYSS FROM WHICH I CAME!!! ”

“I’ve killed things that claimed to be demons before, you don’t look so tough.” Samus shook her head. “I’m curious though, Why is an all powerful demon monologuing to us, when he could just blink and make us disappear? I’m starting to think you’re not as powerful as you say.”

Dark power began coalescing around Bellum as the temperature continued to drop. “You dare to-”

“What do you think, Zelda? Why hasn’t he killed us already?” Samus questioned the princess, enraging the demon even further.

Zelda stared at Samus incredulously. But then her mind slowly began to work, and she realized, “Of course, we still have our natural magic, it shields us from his influence!”

Samus nodded. “He said he wished he could take me, so I think that means that he can’t affect me either. Probably something to do with the Chozo tech imbued with it.”

“Y-yeah!” Link, slowly gaining his confidence back, stood back up. “So you’re powerless!”

“I’m also confused about something else. Earlier you said that hearing your name would drive us insane, but you chose not too. Wouldn’t that make your job easier right now? Or your job requires that you keep us alive, so you can’t hurt us even if you could . You’re nothing!”

A sudden explosion of dark energy knocked everyone back. “Don’t think you’re safe! Although I cannot take your souls just yet, I could kill all of you myself. Let me show you how powerful I can be.”

Bellum’s demonic body faded into black smoke and flew away through the cracks in the ceiling. The temperature raised as soon as Bellum left, but the group didn’t drop their guard just yet. Zelda readied the Bow of Light, and Samus readied her arm cannon. Link and Zachary pulled out their swords from their sheaths and entered a battle stance. Davron ran up to the still unconscious Teal and picked her up in his arms. He stood with the group, resolving to keep Teal’s body safe.

Metallic footsteps emanated from the ceiling above them, dropping gravel onto their heads, and with the footsteps came a strange string of sounds Zelda couldn’t place.

“Oh fuck me.” Samus said with a surprisingly deadpan nature.

“What?” Zelda turned to face Samus, “What is that-”

The ceiling crumbled on the other side of the dining hall and something black and gray fell from the ceiling, slamming on the cold floor. Whatever it was looked to be somewhat humanoid, but its limbs folded in unnatural ways. It’s body was cold and metallic, with gray plating and black limbs and accents. At the end of each limb the thing had massive claws with four talons at equidistant angles. Instead of a face, its head was dominated by a massive red light partially covered by four faceplates that flowered outward. Some parts of the machines were clearly rusted and cracked, but it moved with a mechanical efficiency that seemed almost impossible.

Just like Samus, the strange machine looked so impossible, so out of this world. But instead of the warmth that Zelda felt towards Samus, she felt only cold dread.

“Here we go again,” Samus whispered to herself as she shot several missiles at the machine while it folded in on itself and stood up. Each of the missiles did nothing to impede it as the thing stood up several heads taller than all of them. Samus sprayed an endless amount of missiles at the thing as it leaned back down and crawled at the group. Before the thing could get too close Zelda stepped forward and prepared her magic. Once the machine reached out to attack she spread her barrier as wide and strong as it could get, stopping the thing in its tracks.

“What is that thing?!” Davron screamed as the machine scratched and clawed at the barrier.

“It’s called an EMMI, a research robot developed by the Exelion star corporation. I fought a bunch on a previous mission. None of my normal weapons could damage it. The Federation must have sent one to this planet before.”

The EMMI stopped for a moment as its massive red eye glowed bright. A massive spike came through the light and impacted the barrier, creating a spiderweb of cracks and causing everyone to jump. Link began whispering himself a silent prayer, while Zachary and Davron only looked on in sheer horror. 

Samus looked down at her left hand, clearly contemplating something. Just as Zelda was going to ask Samus what she was doing, pink electricity and power began flowing through it. Just like Zelda saw at the festival! What did it mean?

“Lower the barrier,” Samus instructed Zelda. She wasn’t sure, what could Samus do against a machine that tanked so many missiles? But Something about Samus’ gaze warmed Zelda to the core. “Trust me, I will protect you.” 

Slowly Zelda’s apprehension faded away. She was completely confident in her friend. Zelda nodded, and braced herself as she dissipated her magic. 

For a moment the EMMI towered over them all, staring at them silent and still. Zachary, Link, Davron, and Zelda all stepped back in fear. But Samus stood still. She stared down the face of the EMMI with an unstoppable determination. It was a defiant act of rebellion against the incarnation of fear.

The red light that was the EMMI’s face shined bright and a spike shot out at the speed of light. Samus reached and grabbed the spike out of the air, the electricity and light from her arm extending to the EMMI. Samus stayed resolute as she pushed the EMMI back with her strange power. Samus began to scream as the power of the EMMI slowly faded. Zelda stared in amazement and cheered her hero on, “Yes, Yes!”

And then all of a sudden, everything went wrong. From the metallic EMMI the haunting body of Bellum sprung out and its massive eye gazed into Samus’ visor. The demon’s tentacles wrapped around her, keeping her in place. Samus tried to shake it off, but her grip on the EMMI faded as Bellum let out a single word in a haunting note.

“ DIE “

The EMMI overpowered Samus and its spike embedded itself in her chest. Samus stumbled back as her head rocked forward. The EMMI pushed Samus back. Everyone could only watch in horror as Samus fell back and fell limp. Zelda held her arm out in horror at the collapsed form of Samus as Bellum addressed them.

“Let this be a warning. There is no hope in resisting. Learn your place, and die scared and helpless.” With that, Bellum entered the EMMI once again, before the EMMI bended its body around and walked away. 

Zelda stumbled towards Samus’ limp form and collapsed in front of her. She grasped Samus’ left hand and held it against her face, it felt cold to the touch. Her sobbing pierced the quiet of Hyrule Castle as everyone else could only watch in sheer terror. The doom of Bellum had grasped their souls. How in the Goddesses name could they possibly survive this?

Chapter Text

Swirling darkness. Incomprehensible monsters. Colors outside the light spectrum. 

Teal saw all of those things in her sleep. It awakened a primal fear in her soul, a state of panic that she didn’t think she could feel. Every emotion at once flooded through her brain, every time she thought it was over, it got worse and worse. Death, life, pain, hunger, hatred. Everything. More and more and more plunged into her head, and she felt herself being pulled apart. The pure agony of-

“TEAL!”

Teal’s eyes shot open to see Davron standing above her. Her breath was heavy and labored, her heart felt like it was pumping faster than it ever had. The visions she saw in her nightmare fading by the second. Teal did not mind in the slightest, she hoped she would never see such horrors again in her life.

“Are you with me Teal?” Davron asked above her. His face was soft, and looked concerned for her well being. His wondrous brown eyes became a beacon for Teal, that she used to pull herself fully awake. Teal nodded slowly. She felt confused, but explanations could wait. For now she just immersed herself in this moment.

“Oh, Is she up?” 

Another man walked into Teal’s view. An older Hylian with a messy white beard and a head free of hair. Only one of his eyes was brown, the other was a pale white. 

Teal sighed. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, Atmon.”

Atmon was the doctor stationed at Hyrule Castle. He had been working for the royal family for decades. He wasn’t bound to it, it was only his own sense of duty that kept him stationed there. The only time he left the castle was to act as a field doctor during the war. It was a hard war for him, but Atmon pulled through. Even when he lost the use of one of his eyes, His positive attitude remained. 

Teal attempted to sit up, but a splitting headache made her fall back.

“Woah, easy now. You came here in rough condition.” Atmon gently pushed her down while Davron held her head up. “Just take it nice and slow.”

“What happened?” Teal asked as she slowly rose upward. The familiar appearance of the medical hall slipped into view. “All I remember is… Ugh, these strange visions.”

“You were being… Controlled by something,” Davron spoke up from Teal’s side. “Some kind of demon. It attacked us with this strange machine. Samus-”

Davron stopped, unable to finish his sentence. “What happened to Samus?”

Davron’s gaze moved past Teal, leading her to turn around. Behind Teal the immobile form of Samus laid on a medical gurney. Next to the gurney, Zelda and Link sat next to each other. Zelda’s gaze stayed locked onto Samus’ prone suit. Link rubbed Zelda’s back, in an attempt to comfort her. At the door to the medical hall stood Zachary, standing guard. Teal had known Zelda to be a perpetually excited chatterbox. Stories were told of how long Zelda could talk about a topic. But now she was completely silent. 

Davron helped Teal slowly stand up from the gurney. She had to lean on her friend’s body to stay upright. “Samus tried to stop that thing, but it pierced his chest.”

“I’ve never seen anything like that armor,” Atmon spoke up. “By the time it was brought in here, the damage to the armor was already repaired. None of my tools could cut it open. The magic in that thing is simply insane.”

Teal couldn’t look away. “So what can we do for him?”

“I’m sorry to say but, there’s nothing we can do.”

Zelda burst into tears, and Link continued to comfort her at her side. It was a sad sight, to see the once happy princess collapsing on the loss of her bodyguard. Samus must have been truly special to her.

Eventually Zelda recovered to look up at Link. “I… I want to be alone… With him…”

Link nodded and stood up.

“You should be fine now, just don’t do anything strenuous,” Atmon told Teal, before he walked to his office at the end of the hall.

Link, Davron, and Teal slowly walked to the exit. As Link explained to Zachary what was happening, Teal looked back at the princess. For a moment, Teal’s and Zelda’s eyes met. She looked emotionally empty, it was a feeling Teal was familiar with. She wished that she could do something for the princess.

Zachary was the last to leave the medical hall, slamming its massive double doors closed behind him. The tension amongst the group was thick, blanketing everyone like a fog. The most powerful man in the castle had fallen, and the princess remained a sobbing mess without him. What hope did they have, what could they possibly do?

“Breathe with me Teal,” the calming voice of Davron instructed as he took her hand and placed it on his chest. Slowly her breath got slower and slower in time with Davron’s.

“Every time we make progress, something horrible comes up to stop us.” Link groaned as he leaned against the stone wall. His hands raised to rub the exhaustion out of his eyes. “It’s such an impossible situation. This demon just wants us to suffer!”

“You heard Zelda, Bellum is apparently a demon of fear,” Zachary commented. “It’s a creature that feeds off that sort of stuff.”

Link’s head fell. “How do you stop something like that?”

“You saw how it used that machine, that… EMMI it was called,” Zachary held his chin as he speculated. “Samus claimed that Bellum was powerless. The fact that it killed Samus with the EMMI seemingly confirmed that. If we destroy that machine, he can't touch us.”

“But not even Samus’ weapons could destroy it! If he couldn’t, how could we?” 

Zachary didn’t have an answer. They had already solved the problem so many times, and each time their solution was taken away from them. It was only inevitable that they would run out of potential solutions. But Hylians were desperate creatures. They would continue to fight, until they drew their last breath.

Zelda slowly exited the medical hall through one of the doors, making sure the door closed behind her. Zelda looked emotionally dead, drained of all hope and optimism. Link stepped forward and wordlessly pulled Zelda into a hug. She didn’t even react to Link’s embrace, staying completely still.

“Samus’ death will not be in vain,” Link promised as he separated from Zelda. Despite the fear surrounding him, Link stood determined. The Triforce of Courage shone brightly on his right hand. Farore had truly chosen well. “We will defeat Bellum. We will escape this ocean. We will survive!”

“But how?” Teal asked, her breathing ramping up again. 

Zachary shook his head. “If only we had the Master Sword. Then we would have a fighting chance.”

Link’s face lit up in realization. “That’s it! The Master Sword could have the power to destroy Bellum’s machine!”

“The Master Sword is here!?”

Link nodded. “After the war ended, it was sealed in a secret chamber in Hyrule Castle. Please Zelda! Let’s end this nightmare once and for all.”

Slowly the determination returned to Zelda’s eyes. She didn’t look confident or resolute, but ready to move forward. “Yes. Let’s end this. For Samus.”

Link nodded. “Davron, Teal, bunker down and keep yourselves safe. The three of us will take down Bellum.”

“Teal and I will keep everyone safe in the store rooms. May the goddesses grace you,” Davron bowed to Zachary, Link, and Zelda, before pulling Teal away. For a moment Teal’s gaze remained locked onto princess Zelda. Before the two turned a corner and walked out of sight.

“Now where the hell is this secret chamber?” Zachary asked Link and Zelda. “I know this castle in and out, and I’ve never found it.”

“Underneath the throne room,” Zelda answered. “It was constructed once the war ended, to keep the Master Sword hidden from public sight."

“Bellum will certainly try to stop us. Let’s hurry.”

Zelda, Zachary, and Link bolted through the quiet ominous halls of Hyrule Castle. They watched over their shoulders As much as they could, and they kept their ears tuned to the sound of the EMMI’s approach. Sometimes they could hear it, patrolling through the halls looking for its prey.

With the massive entrance to the throne room in sight, Zelda became desperate. Her speed quickened as she got closer and closer. She turned the corner to the throne room, only to see the EMMI scanning the room with a strange blue light. Zelda scrambled back behind cover, causing Zachary and Link to skid to a stop.

Zelda said a silent prayer hoping that the EMMI didn’t hear them, to no luck. A yellow light shone from the entranceway, and the horrifying sounds of the EMMI’s footsteps slowly got closer and closer.

Zelda slapped a hand over her mouth in an effort to make her as silent as possible. The hall behind them stretched just a little bit too long. They wouldn’t be able to find a hiding place in time, not without tripping the prowling machine’s auditory sensors again. If she didn’t do anything to distract the EMMI from their position, they were done for.

Zelda amassed a small amount of magic energy in her fingertips. She needed something that would be invisible to the EMMI’s cameras, but powerful enough to distract it. It was a difficult magical formula to form in just a few seconds. Slowly she raised her glowing fingers to point them at the hall opposite the doorway. Her breath hitched as she let the invisible magical bolt fly through the air.

The bolt passed through the yellow light without disturbing it, impacting the far wall with a loud pop. The sound of EMMI’s sensors being pinged played again, and the machine quickened its pace. From the entranceway the hunk of metal emerged, focused away from Zelda’s group. She silently begged for it to not turn around, for it to follow the sound.

This time her prayers were answered as the EMMI walked down the hall in the opposite direction of them. As the EMMI prowled away, Zelda slowly entered the throne room with Zachary and Link following behind her.

“That was way too close,” Link whispered as the three of them approached the center of the throne room.

“Now how are we supposed to open this secret room?” Zachary asked as he scanned the throne room.

Zelda answered by approaching Link in the center of the room. The floor of the throne room was decorated with a massive depiction of the Triforce. Detailed carvings depicted aspects of each Triforce piece. The Triforce of Wisdom on the left side held depictions of flowing water and vast oceans. The Triforce of Courage on the right side held depictions of wind and nature. The Triforce of Power on top held depictions of fire and lava.

On the surface it seemed like an ordinary carving, honoring the sacred relic that has defended the people of Hyrule for millennia. But the carving was so much more.

Zelda stood dead center on the Triforce of Wisdom relief, while Link situated himself over the Triforce of Courage. Both of them clapped their hands together and whispered a silent prayer. As they did so together, the Triforce pieces on their left hands began to glow a holy yellow light. As the glow continued, the sounds of rumbling stone began to ring throughout the throne room. Zachary was initially worried that the sounds would draw the EMMI closer, but the worries ended quickly.

Zelda and Link stepped off the Triforce relief as the rumbling under their feet halted. The relief sank a few centimeters into the ground, before several different panels continued to sink further down. Eventually the stones settled, forming a spiral staircase into an unknown chamber.

Link and Zelda spared no time making their way down the stairway, while Zachary stood stunned for a second before joining them. The staircase led to a modest stone corridor, lit with strange red flames, perpetually lit with magic. At the far end was a door with the Triforce etched into it, which opened once Link and Zelda approached. Beyond that door sat a chamber, the sight of it made Zachary gasp in awe.

No corners were cut when creating this vault for the Master Sword. Red velvet carpet decorated the floof, and intricate banners depicting the Triforce hung from the ceiling. The walls of the circular vault were covered head to toe in carvings depicting the war against Ganon. Key moments were given special attention, with the final battle in Hyrule Castle Town taking center stage on the opposite side of the room. 

In the middle of the vault stood a raised stone platform. At the front of the platform, a short stone pillar presented the brilliant blue Hylian Shield. It was one of the most durable shields ever created, built specifically for Link. And there, dead center on the platform, stood the Master Sword. It stood embedded in a raised stone. It's dark purple hilt showed no wear despite the year it’s been here, and it’s light blue blade glowed in the darkness of the vault. The sight of the legendary sword sent chills down Zachary’s spine.

“The Blade of Evil’s Bane…” Zachary whispered in awe as Link picked up the Hylian Shield. The leather straps felt familiar in his hand. He strapped the shield to his back and walked forward.

Link stood in front of the Master Sword. He could feel it calling to him, with a strange humming that gently pushed it's way into his head. It was a sound only he could hear, a sign that he was the sword’s chosen wielder. The last time he heard that voice was when he plunged the sword into Ganon’s forehead. It left a scar in him. Link prayed that he would never have to hear that voice again. It seems the goddesses did not answer his prayer.

But Link refused to hesitate. He had a duty to Hyrule he promised to uphold, and Link wasn't one to break a promise.

The voice got louder as Link placed both of his hands on the Master Sword’s hilt. For anyone else, the sword would refuse to move from its spot in the stone. But Link pulled the sword out with ease. The weight and feel of the sword felt familiar. Link and the Master Sword were reunited once more.

There was no room to celebrate, the sounds of the EMMI got closer and closer. Link put the Master Sword in its sheath and said with a look of determination in his eyes, “Let's end this.”

As the three exited the vault and it's hidden door closed behind them, the EMMI rounded the corner to the throne room And stood as tall as it could. 

“You still fight, even when there is no hope,” the haunting voice of Bellum said as his octopus-like form emerged from the EMMI. “Where do you find this hope?”

The Triforce on Link's hand glowed as he answered, “If we stopped when there was no hope, then we would have lost the war. It's not enough to fight only when there's a chance. We will continue to fight, until we can fight no longer!”

Zachary nodded as he pulled out his sword, “That's right, we will stop you or die trying!”

“It's not enough to try,” Zelda said in a low, angry, “I will avenge my friend.”

The laugh that came from Bellum caused everyone who heard it to shiver. “Hylians are truly fascinating creatures. Very well! Let's test your determination against my power.”

Bellum entered the EMMI and stepped forward. Link pulled the Master Sword out of its sheath with his left hand and readied the Hylians Shield on his right. Zachary stepped back and pulled out his sword while Zelda summoned the Bow of Light into her hands. Link stood tall in the face of the approaching EMMI, simply holding his shield in front of him, ready for an attack.

The EMMI suddenly swiped at Link in an instant, but Link was ready. He batted away the strike and swung the Master Sword across the EMMI’s arm with a loud battle cry. A spark of holy light shine where the sword hit the machine and pushed it back. The blade didn't cut the arm off, but it did leave a gash in its white armor. 

“Yes!” Zelda yelled out as Link rolled away from another shot at the EMMI. Before the machine could attack again Zelda shot a powerful magical arrow at it, pushing the EMMI back several meters. “We can beat it! Keep attacking!”

“Hyaaaah!” Link yelled as he ran forward and landed a jumping slash on the recovering EMMI’s leg. Zachary ran up from behind Link and slashed at the EMMI's head. The blade bounced off, dealing no damage at all. Before the EMMI could retaliate, Zelda generated a massive gale of wind to push the EMMI back further.

Zelda readied her bow once more as Link blocked several strikes from the EMMI with the Hylians Shield. Before the EMMI could get the upper hand, Zelda let a magical arrow fly directly into the machine’s red eye, stunning it for a moment. Zelda readied a bolt of magical energy while Link readied the Master Sword. The two of them ran forward, before-

“Useless!” The voice of Bellum yelled as the EMMI jerked leaned back unnaturally far out of the way of Zelda and Link’s attacks. The EMMI twisted in on itself and grabbed the pair’s legs and pulled them to the ground. before they could react. The EMMI twisted back around and raised its claw, “You cannot resist me!”

The EMMI's claw struck the ground between Link and Zelda, collapsing the floor into the room below. Link groaned as he tried to recover from the fall. Screams barraged his ears as he sat up from the ground. The sight of people running all around him. Oh goddess, they landed in the storage room everyone was boarded up in!

The EMMI’s massive claw pinned Link to the ground as it's red eye glowed brighter and brighter.

“No!” Zelda yelled as she pushed the EMMI away with a gust of powerful air. “I will not let you take another of my friends!”

The crowd around them pushed itself back further and further away from the fighting. Most of the crowd quickly exited the store room, but a few were rooted in place, in fear of the monstrous EMMI.

“Come on, Link!” Davron cheered with Teal by his side, who held her hands in a silent prayer. “Defeat that thing!”

Link quickly got back on his feet and readied his sword. He didn't hesitate to slash the EMMI with all the strength and precision he could muster.

In response the EMMI grabbed the sword out of the air with one of its claws. Link pulled and pulled at the Master Sword, but the EMMI’s grip held strong. A devastating strike from the machine’s other claw launched Link onto his back. The EMMI let the Master Sword fall limply from its claw as it walked forward.

Zelda ran between Link and the EMMI with the string of the Bow of Light drawn. Her hands were shaking, but she refused to move.

The voice of Bellum chuckled from that machine. “You brave girl. Playing the hero now?”

“I- I have no choice,” Zelda whispered, “I won’t let you hurt anyone else!”

“Zelda-” Link gasped from his spot on the floor. “Save yourself!”

“No! I won’t stand by!”

“Yes, Yes!” Bellum gleefully yelled. “Both of you will die in fear!”

And then a small bolt of light impacted the side of the EMMI’s head.

For a moment everything stopped. Bellum’s aggression dropped, while Link and Zelda’s fear turned to confusion. 

Everyone turned to look at the source of the bolt, only to see a woman clad in simple servant robes. 

“Why do I even keep this stun pistol around?” The woman asked as she spun the pistol around her middle finger. Her face held a distinct scowl. Her most noticeable traits were her long blonde hair, and a large scar that traveled over her right eye.

“Samus!” Zelda yelled in relief of her friend.

“Wh-What?” Link stared at the woman in confusion. “That’s Samus!?”

Bellum’s voice echoed with rage, “How!? How are you alive!?”

Samus scoffed. “I don’t die easily.”

Bellum screamed with rage as the EMMI dashed forward on all of its legs towards Samus. She chose to casually walk forward in response. Her left arm began to glow with that strange pink energy, her arm shuddered with power. The EMMI stood straight up and attacked Samus with his left claw, only for Samus to grab the claw with her energy laden hand.

Power began flowing from the machine to Samus, as the glow encapsulated her entire body. With just one arm she pushed the EMMI back. Bellum sprung out of the EMMI’s body just like he had done before.

“Not this time!” Zelda yelled as bolts of holy light shot from her hands and kept the demon in place. She pulled at Bellum with as much strength as she could muster while Samus continued to absorb the EMMI’s energy. As Bellum’s control over the machine weakened, Zelda successfully pulled Bellum away from the EMMI. The mechanical body instantly slumped to the ground as soon as the connection was severed.

Dark energy emitted from Bellum’s body and his eyes glowed a sinister red. “You… HOW DARE YOU! ”

"DIIIE!" Samus yelled as she ran forward with the energy charged into her left hand. She pulled her hand back and punched Bellum’s spirit form with as much strength as she could muster. The energy from her hand exploded across the body of Bellum and the demon let out a scream of pain as his form dissipated into the air.

Samus breathed heavily as the energy from her hand slowly faded away. As the energy disappeared she stared at her palm, caught up in her own thoughts.

The few remaining observers in the store room cheered at their victory as Zelda ran forward and wrapped her arms around Samus’ waist. She clearly wasn’t expecting it as she awkwardly shuffled and kept her hands high in the air as Zelda hugged her tightly.

Zelda separated from Samus and looked up to her with amazement, “I'm so glad you're okay!”

A blush formed on Samus' face before she covered her mouth with her right hand and nodded.

“You- you're Samus?” Link asked as he stood up from the floor.

Samus’ awkwardness disappeared as she spotted a more serious look. “You got a problem with that?”

“N-no! Not at all.”

“Good. Just keep it a secret,” her gaze flipped to the few remaining Hylians in the room. “You all better keep it too.”

Teal nodded furiously while Davron bowed next to her. The other Hylians nodded as well, they wouldn't rat out their savior.

“But I thought Bellum killed you?” Link asked one final question.

“Bellum underestimated me.” Samus answered as she pulled out a gray remote and kneeled down to the fallen EMMI.  “He thought he could attack me with the same strength to kill a Hylian. I'm tougher than that.”

“It still knocked you out for a while, it gave me quite a scare!” Zelda elbowed Samus’ arm. “We came up with this plan while we were alone in the medical hall. Bellum would be more careful if he just saw Samus' Power Suit walking around, so Samus disguised herself to sneak up to him.”

Link stared at Samus with awe. “You really are amazing, Samus.”

Samus stopped at the sudden compliment. Link felt awkward as the bounty hunter didn't say anything, until, “Just go, make sure everyone's alright.”

“R-right!” Link turned around and began checking on everyone else.

Samus returned to tinkering with the remote and the EMMI. Zelda kneeled down next to her and simply studied Samus’ face. She looked so focused on the EMMI. As she pressed a big button on the remote a panel on the EMMI's body opened up to show a screen.

“What are you doing?” Zelda asked as Samus pressed a few buttons under the display and closed the panel.

The EMMI shot back to life, causing Zelda to jump back with fear. But Samus was unphased. She explained as the EMMI climbed the wall and exited through the hole in the ceiling. “Gave it a new function. Its gonna get my Power Suit from the medical hall and bring it here.”

“Oh, handy!”

Samus nodded. “I caught a look at its logs. It was sent here by the Federation a few decades ago to study the plant life of this planet. Somehow its wireless module got damaged, and the Federation abandoned the project.”

“A tool of research turned into a weapon.”

“I wouldn't put it past the Federation to develop them first as weapons and then spread them as research tools.”

“You fought seven of them, right? You told me the story of ZDR before.”

Samus nodded. “Yeah, it was my toughest mission yet. I couldn't relax for a second.”

Zelda wrapped her arms around Samus' frame. She could feel Samus' posture clam up under her touch, but she didn't push Zelda away. “To think you could have died there… And then I never would have met you.”

Samus paused for a moment before she stuttered out, “W-well, I'm alright. Don't worry about me.”

Unknown to the two of them, they were being observed from afar by Davron, Teal, and Link.

“They seem so close… They're so cute together!” Teal squealed as she rubbed her hands together. Davron simply nodded.

Link studied them from a distance, and felt relief. He had heard stories about Zelda from before he met her. She was a social recluse, her endless excitement and energy pushed away the few Hylians her age she ever met. Most adults didn't like her either, thinking she was just a bother. To try and combat her loneliness she threw herself into her studies of magic. Link couldn't understand why anyone would think such things about the princess. Her excitement was infectious, and it was fun to hear Zelda talk about the subjects she was interested in. Knowing that Zelda had such a hard time with making friends before she met him seemed impossible.

Link was happy to see that Zelda had found a friend in Samus. This mysterious bounty hunter from the stars had made the princess so much more confident in herself, and she was always there when Zelda needed her. 

It was clear that Link was wrong to distrust her, so Link walked towards the two to apologize to Samus for his behavior. But before he could do that, the EMMI returned from the hole in the roof, dragging Samus’ Power Suit behind it. Samus wasted no opportunity to climb inside the suit, its metal shifting to form around her body. It looked so alien to Link, that something that durable could move so fluidly.

“Now that Bellum is gone, we should put the Master Sword back in its place,” Zelda said.

“Heh, yeah we should,” Link chuckled, in all the chaos of the fight, Link had almost forgotten about the Master Sword. It was still on the ground from when the EMMI had dropped it.

Link walked up to the Master Sword to pick it, but as he reached down to pick it up, something shot from the shadows of the storeroom and grabbed the Master Sword from under Link's hand.

“No!” Link yelled as the shadow bolted through the door to the storeroom and out of sight.

Samus didn't hesitate to run after the shadow, ready to do whatever necessary to stop whatever it was from stealing the Blade of Evil’s Bane.

Chapter Text

A shadow darted from the door to the store room, and Samus darted out in turn. Her rapid entrance into the hall caused the Hylians that remained around the storeroom after the panic to jump in shock at the sudden action, but Samus paid them no mind. The mysterious creature was fast, it had already sped away out of sight. But Samus wasn't out of luck just yet.

The shadow creature didn't emit any signatures Samus could use to track it, but the Master Sword did. The legendary blade constantly emitted an energy similar to the magic she was so familiar with Zelda using, but even stronger. It was almost like it was made of the stuff. Considering how legendary the sword supposedly was, it wouldn't surprise Samus if that was exactly what the sword was forged from.

Samus activated her scan visor and saw the Master Sword rapidly move through the castle. It didn't hesitate to ascend the massive stairways of the castle to its unknown destination. From the information of the sword’s speed and its path through the castle, Samus formed an educated guess as to where the shadow was moving. There was one way to intercept the creature if she was quick enough.

Samus would be quick enough. She had to be.

Thrusters opened up on the back of the Power Suit as Samus began running. Electricity swirled around the Power Suit and the thrusters grew more and more powerful with each step, until they quickly all hummed to life. Samus' pace quickened rapidly as the thrusters pushed her further, and her electrified limbs moved at lightning speeds. She took no mind of the Hylians that jumped out of her path, only slightly altering her path to move out of their way. 

In just a few moments Samus reached a garden enclosed by the walls of Hyrule Castle. The Master Sword was currently passing through a hallway several floors above the garden. With a running start Samus leaped into the air and spun her entire body as she was covered with electricity. Her entire body acted like a wrecking ball, tearing through the stone into the hallway.

Samus’ Screw Attack hit the shadow and knocked it into the wall. The impact caused the creature to drop the Master Sword, which Samus kicked away immediately and pointed her Arm Cannon at the shadow.

“Identify yourself,” Samus ordered.

The shadow slowly dissipated, leaving a thin man dressed in white. His pale skin was visible through several diamond shaped holes. His arms were obsidian black, extending into his main body in strange cracks across his chest. Purple eyeshadow accented his face, and his white hair covered his left eye.

“Wow, you caught up quick! You must be fast.” the intruder complimented Samus. “I am unfamiliar with this shadow technique, with my own magic I would win for sure.”

“Identify yourself!” Samus insisted as she charged her Arm Cannon.

The intruder smirked. “You're persistent. Usually my presence enough is-”

The intruder didn't have time to react as a charge shot rammed itself into his chest. A cloud of dust stirred up, leaving the body obscured.

She heard a whisper in her ear from behind, “Trigger happy too.”

Samus instantly twisted her body and pointed her arm cannon at- nothing. There was nothing behind her.

“Oh you are amazing!” The Intruder’s voice bellowed from the other end of the hall. Samus kept her Arm Cannon raised at the intruder as she kneeled over to pick up the Master Sword. How was he able to move so fast, a teleportation spell? “Such ruthlessness, such power… I can see why they hired you to protect their precious princess.”

“I won't ask again. Identify yourself.” Samus ordered as another charge shot built up in her Arm Cannon.

The intruder smirked. “Very well. I am Lord Ghirahim. I expect to be addressed with my full title.”

Samus didn't respond, keeping her Arm Cannon locked on Ghirahim.

“Usually I enjoy playing with my victims… But you are painfully dull.” Ghirahim sighed as he snapped his fingers, causing diamond shaped magic to form around his hand into a sword. “Hopefully you will be more interesting in combat.”

Ghirahim rushed forward with impressive speed, while Samus flung the Master Sword behind her. She wasn't familiar with using sword's, and she didn't need one. She proved as such when she blocked Ghirahim’s sword swing with her Arm Cannon. Ghirahim struggled against the power in Samus' arm and got quickly overpowered. Samus knocked Ghirahim’s sword into the air and tackled him back. She aimed her Arm Cannon and took several shots directly into Ghirahim's stomach, only for Ghirahim to use his free hand to block the shots, which dissipated off his black skin.

“Wh!?” Samus gasped.

“Ah yes, the power of dark magic!” Girahim boasted as he held his arm in the air and studied it. “My arms are well and truly indestructible. Care to test them?”

A string of missiles shot out of Samus' arm cannon towards Ghirahim, who used his hands to block each one. With a growl, Samus extended the barrel of the Arm Cannon and let out a volley of high power super missiles, which also harmlessly bounced off Ghirahim’s hands. Samus’ anger continued to rise and rise as she ran towards Ghirahim with her left arm pulled back. As soon as she got in range she punched at Ghirahim with as much strength as she could muster, only for Ghirahim to twist his body out of the way. Samus continued with a barrage of punches from her left and swings from her right. Ghirahim twisted out of the way of each one. With each dodge his grin grew wider and wider, ticking Samus off even more. She built up a charge shot in her Arm Cannon that she shot at point blank range. Another cloud of smoke kicked up at the impact, obscuring Ghirahim again.

“Were you not trying to protect this sword?” Ghirahim vocalized behind Samus as he picked up the Master Sword. The bounty hunter stared at the dark sorcerer, her rage obscured by her opaque helmet visor. “You failed this time, bodyguard. Ta ta for now!”

Ghirahim’s body transformed into a shadow and sped off away from Samus. A scream left her throat  as she bolted after the rapidly moving shadow. The shadow continued to rise higher and higher in the Castle until it leapt out of a window and landed on the roof. Samus arrived at the roof soon afterward. The roof gave a clear view of the blue ocean surrounding Hyrule Castle. Ghirahim’s shadow form had solidified at the end of the roof, and a tall figure in a robe stood next to him. 

Ghirahim held the sword out to the robed figure. “I told you it would work.”

The robe figure chuckled as they took the sword from Ghirahim’s hands and held it up to study the craftsmanship. “I suppose you were right. And what of Bellum?”

“The bodyguard destroyed him.”

“I see. We needed to get rid of him eventually, so it is no loss. I thank you Samus Aran! You’ve done me a great service.” The robed figure addressed Samus as she raised her Arm Cannon up to the two of them. “I am Cia, the Dark Sorceress. I will bring this world to its knees.”

“Give me the sword,” Samus growled as a charge shot built up in her Arm Cannon.

“You’re very brave, using a simple weapon against us. With one snap of my fingers…” Her right hand slowly raised as she spoke. Samus braced herself against any attack that Cia could send her way. The sound of Cia’s snapping fingers echoed and ringed across the castle. The ocean shifted in and out of focus, until it faded back into the familiar surrounds of Hyrule.

Cia laughed. “You are thoroughly outclassed, bodyguard. Run along back to wherever you came from.”

Such an amazing feat of magic left Samus in a stupor. She had faced plenty of powerful warriors before, but nothing like this. What hope did she have against someone who could teleport anywhere? If she wanted, Cia could transport Samus directly to the heart of a star, and she would have no way of defending against it!

Of course, that would only happen if Samus let it happen. Time and time again Samus faced impossible odds. At this point she had forgotten how many times she had barely escaped a planet about to explode. Something like this was no different. She could do this.

Samus held her arm cannon steady. The barrel folded outward, ready to fire a missile at any moment. “Give. Me. The sword.”

“He will continue to follow us. Kill him,” Cia ordered Ghirahim.

“With pleasure.”

Ghirahim charged forward with dark magic in his hand. He paid no mind to the missile that Samus shot directly at him, simply catching it in his hand and throwing it back at Samus. She couldn’t stop herself from laughing as she sidestepped the missile.

“What’s so funny!?” Ghirahim asked as he let out blasts of dark magic at Samus.

“I’m- i’m sorry,” Samus responded as she caught Ghirahim’s fist with her left hand. “Its been a while since anyone caught one of those!”

Samus ducked under a swipe from Ghirahim’s other hand. She pushed Ghirahim away and kicked him away. His body slid several meters across the tile, leaving deep scrapes. Despite his damage, he chuckled as he stood up.

Ghirahim snapped his fingers and several spinning red and black diamonds appeared around him. “Oh, you are amazing! It will be so satisfying to beat you within an inch of your life!”

The diamonds flew through the air around Samus as Ghirahim approached her again. The diamonds made a whistling sound as they moved through the air, so the sound of one of the whistles getting louder behind her alerted her. In an instant she performed a backflip and watched as a diamond sped through the space she once was in. 

As soon as she landed Samus rolled out of the way of another diamond, and stepped back out of the way of a slash from Ghirahim’s sword. She flipped through the air as more diamonds shot at her. Ghirahim's sword came back for another swing, but Samus kicked the sword out of Ghirahim's hands.

“What?” Ghirahim yelled, stunned at Samus’ skills.

Samus pressed the offensive, charging power into her Arm Cannon and running forward to deliver a point blank shot. Her arm cannon pressed against Ghirahim's chest and a hand pushed past his head and reached for Samus’ head. Before Samus could pull the trigger, a single finger grazed against her helmet.

He collapsed onto his bunker, his military uniform thrown to the side, leaving him in an undershirt and boxers. The others in his platoon did the same. There would be time to properly fold their uniforms, the Captain wouldn't be there for half an hour. 

“Did you see the skirt that the Federation chick had on?” One of the guys probed.

One man chuckled, “Oh my God, it was crazy!”

“I can't believe they let her wear it!”

Said ‘Federation chick' was a record keeper of the Federation’s data archives, she was there to record footage of the platoon’s exercises and make sure there were no errors in documentation. Record workers didn't have any uniform restrictions, which explained why this record keeping lady had a tight miniskirt. It seemed impractical to him, but whatever, it was her choice. He couldn't lie, the lady did look good in the skirt. Seeing it gave him feelings that he couldn't quite place.

“Man I wish I could have ripped that thing off of her,” One man lecherously fantasized.

“Wish I could have felt those legs…”

He pressed his pillow across his ears in an attempt to keep the sound of the other's disgusting comments out of his ears.

He She finally got the chance to get out for the night. Jumping past defenses and cameras was trivial, the hardest part was waiting for the moment when everyone was asleep and wouldn't wake up for a while. Today they had a particular arduous exercise, so the entire platoon was out like a light.

She made her way to a particular bar in Federation City, the Back End. The spot’s shadiness didn't intimidate her, she was strong enough to defend herself even without any weapons. 

She walked up to the bar and sat next to an old man with white hair. He frequented the bar often, and was one of the only people she trusted to get close too.

The man looked surprised when she suddenly sat down. “Oh, hey *****.”

She nodded in response.

“It's been a while.”

She nodded again.

The man chuckled. “As talkative as usual I see. What's going on with you?”

She wanted to say something, but it was hard. It kept getting caught at the ends of her lips, until she finally got out, “I think I'm a woman.”

“I see.”

The conversation paused.

“Is this a new development?” The man asked.

She nodded. “A few months. Been thinking about it.”

“Ah.”

Another pause.

“Got a new name figured out?”

She paused and took a deep breath, “Samus.”

“Well then. Nice to meet you, Samus. Will you be able to get the medicines you need from the Federation?”

She sheepishly admitted, “I haven't been brave enough to ask.”

The man reached inside his pocket and pulled out a card. “If they try to stop you, go to the office on the corner of 9th and Dayle. Tell them Mike sent you and show this card. They'll forge a prescription for you.”

She took the card. A warm feeling welled up in her chest. “Thank you.”

“It's nothing,” The man said as he called over the bartender.

Lunch was always a mixed bag for her. She knew she was a picky eater, and most of the food didn't mesh with her tastes.

Today lunch consisted of a bland chicken breast with black beans and rice. The chicken was tough but edible, but the texture of beans made her want to gag. It didn’t matter the way it was served to her, she never liked the taste and texture of beans. She inhaled the rice, forced down a few bites of chicken, and stayed far away from the beans.

She didn't waste time throwing her plate in the nearest trash can once she finished. As she walked back to sit down, someone else stood up.

“you're not even gonna touch those?” The man said he leered at her. “You're insane *****”

Her expression stayed neutral. “I-I-If y-y”

“Hey don't you know it's rude to stutter?” The man interrupted. Several surrounding the two started to laugh at her. Her anger began to rise.

She took a deep breath and slowly spoke, “Did you want them? You should have told me.”

“You're a disgrace, you know that *****?” The man’s face shifted into a snarl. “We’re here to fight for the Federation, for the values the Federation embodies. You're an offense to those values.”

“Takes one to know one.”

At that, the man punched her across the face. She wasn't expecting it, the hit caused her to fall backwards to the floor.

“Go back to the hole you crawled out of, you tranny freak,” The man grizzled, before spitting on her shirt. At that, the man walked away, satisfied with his work.

Jeers and slurs surrounded her as she stood up. The disrespect made her blood boil. She wanted to fight them and hurt them for insulting her. But she knew that it would only make their harassment worse. So with no recourse, she stood up and walked away.

The haze over Samus' mind cleared and her surroundings came back into focus. Cia’s arm outstretched and slowly receded, while Ghirahim stood in front of Cia, looking confused at what just transpired.

“You…” Cia spoke, hesitation lacing her voice. “You're like me.”

Maybe it was the fog that was still clearing in her head, maybe it was her confusion at Cia’s statement. Maybe it was a combination of both. For whatever reason, Samus' defenses fell as she stared at the dark sorcerer. I'm the empty air she asked a simple question, “... What?”

“Cia…” Ghirahim’s gaze lingered between Samus and Cia. Urgency filled his face and her hands quickly charged up with dark energy. A non damaging cloud surrounded Samus, covering up her vision.

She rapidly switched between different sensors in an attempt to see through the cloud to no effect. She shot several times into the darkness in an attempt to find the villains, running to find the end of the cloud. Eventually she found herself on the edge of the roof, overlooking the country of Hyrule. Cia and Ghirahim were nowhere to be found, as well as the Master Sword.

Samus had failed in her mission.

“Samus?” An artificial voice rang in her ear. “You've been missing for over a week.”

Samus sighed, “It's good to hear your voice Adam.”

“Satisfaction? Unexpected. Usually you threaten to deactivate me.”

Samus laughed, “It's been a wild week.”

“Then tell me everything.”

With Samus gone to fight whatever took the Master Sword, Zelda ran trying to catch up to them. She didn't know where Samus was exactly, so she couldn't teleport to her location, so she had no choice but to run.

“Zelda! Wait up!” Link yelled as she caught up to Zelda. “You'll never catch up to him!”

Zelda stopped for a second. “I don't want her to fight alone.”

“You almost died to Bellum! I'm not going to let you get hurt.”

“I can defend myself!” Zelda said indignantly. “And Samus is a she!”

“She… Huh. Why would she hide something like that?” Link asked.

“Samus is a very secretive person. She had to practically be forced to open up to me, and she still hides things from me. Her privacy is very important to her, so I haven't pushed her to say anything.”

Zelda wished that she could show Samus that there was nothing to be afraid of, but she knew forcing it would be hopeless. Samus would open up in time, Zelda just needed to be there for her friend when she was ready. Samus was already making such amazing progress! Samus had never relaxed in the month of time she had spent in Hyrule. Now that she was willing to spend some quality time with Zelda, she was ready to make it worth it for Samus.

Zelda was torn from her thoughts by a low rumbling shaking the ground underneath her feet. A flash of light from all the nearby windows joined the rumbling, but quickly subsided. Zelda and Link looked out the nearest window, and saw the sight of Hyrule Castle back in its proper place. 

“What?” Link asked as he stared into the countryside. As time passed he expected the ocean to fade back into view, but it never did. They were back in Hyrule. Link turned to look at Zelda, only to find her slowly stepping back from the window.

“We're just back? Why would the Children of Ganon just take us back to Hyrule?”

“Well, maybe they're retreating because they lost!”

Zelda shook her head. “No that's not it. If they wanted us dead then they could have just left us in the middle of the ocean.”

“You think there's more to it?” 

“Certainly. Especially since they have the Master Sword. We need to get it back.”

“Right, right,” Link nodded his head. “Where could they have gone?”

“It was hard to pin down an exact location, but I think it was higher up. They're on the roof.”

“The roof? Princess, that's dangerous.”

Zelda groaned as green magic twirled around in her hands. She didn't give Link time to say anything before she used Farore's Wind to take both of them to the roof above them. Her eyes scanned for the familiar form of Samus’ Power Suit. Link beat her to the punch and pointed to a roof at the opposite end of the castle.

Samus was battling an unknown sorcerer while a robed figure stood farther away. The sorcerer was giving Samus no openings as several projectiles flew around her. Zelda formed a Bow of Light in her hand and aimed to try and provide support for her friend. That's when the robed figure sprung into action, dashing forward with an arm held out. Before Samus and the sorcerer clashed, the figure grabbed Samus' helmet. With a flash of purple light, Samus and the robed figure stopped in place.

“Dang it,” Zelda cursed as she lowered the Bow of Light in her hands.

Link looked at Zelda confused. “Can’t you stop them?”

“They’re linked through magic, Like I used with Teal,” Zelda explained. “I can’t attack without risking hurting Samus.”

Link sighed, “Let’s stay back, for your safety.”

The link between Samus and the robed figure lasted for a few moments before Samus stumbled a few steps back. She was clearly delirious from the mental connection, but the robed figure and the sorcerer didn’t press the advantage. If they shared a few words, Zelda didn’t notice. Eventually the sorcerer emitted a dark cloud of purple smoke. Samus used her Arm Cannon to try and find them, but to no luck. 

“He- she let them get away.” Link complained.

“You don't know what happened there. Come on, let's regroup.” Zelda said as she took a few steps forward to join Samus.

But before Zelda could make it far, Link grabbed her arm. “No, let's go inside.”

“Link! I'm not fragile, I can take care of myself! I fought alongside you!”

“That was different!” Link explained. “That was an emergency situation that we needed everyone. There is no more danger now, you don't have to risk yourself!”

Zelda sighed in frustration. Seeing no way to convince Link, she instead teleported away. She arrived at her destination, a few steps behind Samus, in a near instant. Samus spun around at the windy sound of Zelda’s arrival. Her left hand was placed firmly on her Arm Cannon, but her posture relaxed when she recognized Zelda.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to shock you!” Zelda apologized.

“It’s fine,” Samus responded as she turned back to look at the landscape surrounding Hyrule Castle.

Zelda stepped forward to Samus’ left side as she asked, “Are you okay?”

“They got the sword.” Samus ignored the question. “I failed.”

“If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be back here! You didn’t fail,” Zelda corrected. Samus did not respond to the princess, pointing her gaze out into distant fields of Hyrule. 

“This is what they wanted the whole time,” Samus said. When Zelda didn’t respond, she continued, “A-aa-all of the attempts of Bellum to keep us from escaping, it was pushing us into a corner. I-I think their intention was to force us to use our trump card, that sword. Once they had that, th-they left.”

“And returned us to Hyrule in the process. I can’t see why they would do that unless they wanted us to survive.” Zelda theorized, Samus nodding in response. She continued to look out at the horizon for several moments. Zelda couldn’t read Samus’ mind, but she had a hunch, “You’re blaming yourself for what happened, are you?”

Samus jerked her head in Zelda’s direction, before quickly turning it away. “I- uh…”

“If you weren’t here when we were trapped in the ocean, we wouldn’t have survived against Bellum. We wouldn’t be able to return to Hyrule. We would have all died of hunger. You saved us, Samus. You saved us all.”

Samus’s head turned to Zelda for a few moments. Eventually she slowly pressed a few buttons on her Arm Cannon with her left hand, causing a hiss of air to come from under her helmet. With a slow, clunky motion she pulled her helmet off with her left hand, leaving her messy blonde hair and scar covered face in the sunlight. Her head slowly turned to Zelda’s direction. She didn’t maintain eye contact, it would likely make her uncomfortable.

“Y-you mean that?” Samus asked with a shaky voice.

Zelda gave a firm and resolute nod. “Of course.”

Samus slowly turned her gaze back to the landscape. She looked conflicted. Zelda’s reassuring words clearly were not enough. She had another idea, but she was unwilling to do it without permission.

“May I hold your hand?”

Samus looked at Zelda out of the corner of her eye. Moments passed without Samus saying a word. Did Zelda go too far? Was Samus not comfortable with holding hands? But then Samus leaned down slightly and grabbed Zelda’s right hand with her left. The bounty hunter held her hand daintily, as if she was worried about crushing it. The warmth of the Power Suit was pleasant, but the hard metal was slightly alienating.

Zelda turned to look at the face of Samus focused so intensely on the beautiful surroundings. Rays of sunlight made it look like Samus’ messy hair was glowing, and her face glistened from the sweat falling from her brow. Samus looked beautiful.

Zelda hoped that soon, she would be able to hold her friend’s hand without the suit between them.

For a moment there was nothing in the wilderness far away from Hyrule Castle, and then suddenly there was something, two somethings in fact. One was the Dark Sorceress Cia, and the other was Lord Ghirahim.

If Ghirahim were even a fraction of a second late to teleport himself and Cia away, the Samus would have grabbed them and they would have lost. What incredible power Samus possessed, far greater than any foe he had seen before. Wherever did such a person come from? That didn't matter at the moment, what mattered was the Master Sword, still kept firmly in Cia's hands. Cia herself was out of breath and unfocused, her eyes looking at nothing in particular.

"You good Cia?" Ghirahim chuckled. He didn't get a verbal response, Cia instead choosing to simply turn to his direction. "What did you mean by-"

It happened so fast that Ghirahim barely noticed it. Cia had dashed forward with an unnatural speed, grabbed Ghirahim by the neck, and pushed him into the side of a tree with enough force to cause a spider-web of cracks to appear in the bark. All the air in Ghirahim's lungs escaped in the surprise, leaving him no time to counter attack. All he could do was squirm against the iron grip of Cia, doing his best to pry her fingers open, to no avail.

How could Ghirahim forget? Cia was the right hand of Ganon. You didn't get that position without being among the strongest.

"You will speak of this to no one," Cia spoke in a tone that wormed its way into Ghirahim's mind. "The price of your betrayal will be death. Do you understand?"

Oh how humiliating! Lord Ghirahim answered to no one, and lived by his own rules! To beg and grovel for forgiveness would be a stain upon his honor. But already his grip was weakening from lack of oxygen. The lack of oxygen wouldn't kill him, his dark magic made sure of that, but the pain of asphyxiation would be too great to bear, so much that he would not be able to function for weeks.

Ghirahim couldn't speak, so he nodded as intensely as he could. The message was received by Cia, and she responded by dropping Ghirahim to the ground. It took several moments to recover from the lack of oxygen, which Cia did not stick around for, choosing instead to walk away while Ghirahim regained his breath.

Chapter Text

Samus' self hatred felt like an endless void of darkness. Her mind was filled with statements berating herself. I let them go. The sword was stolen because of me. She was familiar with voids like this, having experienced them before. It was nearly impossible to pull herself out of it. But then Zelda asked a simple question,

“May I hold your hand?”

Zelda's sudden question placed a beacon of light in the chaos of Samus' mind. It was enough to break the hold her negative thoughts had on her. Whether or not Zelda was aware of it, she offered Samus an escape. 

Who was Samus kidding, of course Zelda was aware of what she was doing. For all of her issues, Samus was predictable. Over the month of time the two had gotten to know each other, Zelda learned many of Samus' eccentricities and how to comfort her. 

Knowing that Zelda and her were so close, it made Samus both scared and excited. She knew what the consequences would be. The two would get closer and closer. Samus would get her hopes up that there was something special between them, only for Zelda to pull herself away. Zelda would hurt Samus, use every insecurity Samus had shared with her to pull her down deeper. Samus knew the risks, but the feeling of getting closer to another person felt exhilarating. Samus looked out of the corner of her eye. Zelda’s brilliant green eyes stared back at her, her right hand lifted up. She recognized that she wouldn't be able to answer verbally, so she took the initiative herself. After what felt like an eternity she grasped Zelda’s right hand with her left. The warmth from her hand traveled to Samus through the Power Suit’s artificial nervous system, dulled. She desperately wanted to feel what it was like to hold Zelda’s hand without the suit between them.

Samus wanted this moment to last forever, but she knew it couldn’t. After a few minutes of enjoying the sunlight, she said to Zelda, “We should head back inside.”

The princess sighed as she let go of Samus’ hand. “Yeah. Link probably already headed back and reconnected with Zachary.”

“I could carry you back inside.”

Zelda opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Samus could see the tiredness on her face. “That might be for the best. I used a lot of magic today.”

When Zelda was ready, Samus swept her off her fear into her sturdy arms. She jumped off the edge of the castle, and jumped off the wall to a nearby balcony. Once both of her feet were planted firmly on solid ground, she put Zelda down on her feet. Zelda kept a hand placed on Samus' arm once she was on her own feet. A moment passed before she tore herself away and began walking through Hyrule Castle. Not understanding why Zelda did that, Samus followed her. 

The two found Link and Zachary handling the distribution of the remaining food. With the castle returned to Hyrule they didn't have to worry about rationing anymore. Zelda and Samus arrived just in time to watch Link hand a starving Hylian a loaf of bread and a container of water, while Zachary reassured the person that they were back in Hyrule and everything would be alright. Link noticed the two as the man began to devour the bread, and jogged up to the two.

“Zelda! It's good to see you're safe.”

The princess scoffed at Link’s words. It was a frustrating feeling, knowing that the people around her saw her as lesser. Only Samus saw how powerful she was. One day Zelda would prove that she was more than able to stand with Samus and Link.

“The Master Sword is really gone…” Zachary lamented. “What will we do without it?”

Samus stepped forward and spoke, “The same thing we did when we had it. We need to be prepared for whatever comes for us. Right now we need to recover.”

Zelda sighed and rubbed the tiredness from her eyes. The week of stress on her body weighed her down. More than making sure everyone was safe or seeing her father again, Zelda just wanted to rest.

Link noticed Zelda's exhaustion and looked at her with pity. “You should rest Zelda. We can take care of this.”

“No no no,” Zelda insisted. “I can do this.”

Zachary stepped forward and placed a hand on Zelda's shoulder. “You look exhausted, princess. Your skill doesn't lie in leadership, so this would only make your exhaustion worse. Link and I will be fine.”

“Your father will be here soon I’m sure,” Link theorized. “So you can wait for him.”

Zelda drew a long sigh and looked to Samus. Was Zelda silently asking what Samus thought? Working with that assumption, Samus spoke up, “It's a good idea. You clearly need it.”

Zelda held her head down. “Okay. You two better do a good job or I'll feel horrible.”

Link laughed and shook Zelda's hand, while Zachary stepped back and smiled. The two stepped away and began talking amongst themselves, leaving Samus and Zelda alone.

“Okay. We can make our way to my bedroom. We won’t be disturbed.” Zelda said. 

Samus nodded and followed Zelda as she led the way. Several people gave the princess well wishes as they passed, in response Zelda gave a quick nod while Samus continued without acknowledging them. It was the first time she had seen Zelda act curt to anyone. The exhaustion must truly be getting to her.

Zelda didn’t hesitate to tore open the door to her bedroom and storm inside. Samus took a moment to close the door behind the two as Zelda layed down on her bed. A long deep sigh bellowed from the princess, her body relaxing into the mattress as deep as she could.

Samus felt a smirk form on her face as she looked down on the princess. “You really needed this huh?”

“Yeah. Yeah,” Zelda breathed out. “I feel like I could sleep for months.”

“We should probably reconnect with Rhoam first.”

Zelda nodded. “Yeah. Just let me rest for a few minutes…”

Zelda curled up on her bed for some rest while Samus leaned against the far wall. Zelda looked so peaceful. After a week of watching Zelda toss and turn in her sleep, this was a good change of pace. With the room being as calm as it is, Samus felt comfortable enough to let her focus slip away for a moment. For the first time in a while, Samus gave herself some time to rest.

Eventually her Power Suit notified her of footsteps fast approaching. She stood up straight readying for whoever it was as the door busted open. The massive frame of Rhoam stormed inside with the lanky Graham following close behind them. Zelda was still lying on her bed, and the two assumed the worst.

“Zelda!” Rhoam cried as he ran up to Zelda’s bed. “Are you okay? Please!”

Graham growled and pointed a finger at Samus, “How dare you! Zelda is hurt because-”

“She’s sleeping, dumbass,” Samus growled, making Graham lose his bite and step back. “Don’t jump to conclusions.”

Zelda began to stir awake at the sound of the yelling around her. “Ugh, Father. Not so loud.”

Rhoam breathed a sigh of relief, “Oh thank the goddesses, you’re okay. I’m sorry for my intrusion.”

“It’s okay…” Zelda spoke and she pushed herself up and rubbed the tiredness from her eye.

Rhoam and Graham shared a look between them. They both looked confused. Rhoam was the one to speak first, “Zelda, what happened? On our end the castle disappeared and came back a week later.”

“The Children of Ganon teleported the castle into the middle of the ocean with some sort of dark magic. Far enough away that Samus could not contact her ship remotely.”

Samus nodded in affirmation. “It would have to be on the other side of the planet.”

“Goddess above…” Graham whispered in horror.

“There was this ancient demon there that used a machine from Samus’ world to hurt us,” Zelda continued, seemingly numb to what she was saying. “We managed to destroy the demon… But the Children of Ganon got the Master Sword.”

Rhoam looked to be torn between relief and dread. “The Blade of Evil’s Bane is gone? Oh goddesses, what are we to do?”

“It's just a sword,” Samus confusingly stated. “What's so important about it?”

Graham looked at Samus with indignation as he spoke, “The Master Sword is the sacred blade of the chosen hero! It is the only sword that could stand against the dark energies of a powerful warlock! Ganon would take over If it wasn't for the Master Sword!”

“But we're not dealing with Ganon, just his Hylian followers.”

Zelda raised her finger as she spoke up, “That is true. The only benefit the Master Sword has to use is that it is unbreakable, but there are many ways to address the issue of a broken weapon. And since the Master Sword can only be used by the chosen hero, they get no benefit from it as a weapon. My guess is that they need the Master Sword for some kind of spell, the Master Sword’s holy energy would be perfect for that.”

Graham's breath became heavy as he held his head with his hands and paced around the room. “The Master Sword is gone… For use in some spell? They could use the sword to destroy all of Hyrule! We're all doomed!”

Samus groaned, ”Stop whining! We’ll be fine!”

“No! We will not! We are in grave danger!”

“SILENCE!” The voice of Rhoam bellowed. Both Samus and Graham stopped in their tracks. “Bickering like this will not help us!”

Everything in the room stopped, but the tension didn't fall at all. A look of fury sprouted on Graham’s face, and Samus’ face was no different. 

“The fact of the matter is that The Children of Ganon have gotten far too close to taking the life of your heir, your Highness,” Graham turned to Rhoam. “If this continues at this rate, one of their attempts will succeed. I recommend that we take extreme measures to keep Zelda safe. More guards and more defenses. Keep her as isolated as possible from anyone who could infiltrate the castle.”

“Are you serious?” Samus asked with an incredulous tone.

Rhoam didn’t look too sure about Graham’s proposition, “I think that is taking things too far-”

“You almost lost your own daughter, my King!” Graham insisted. “We cannot risk losing her!”

Rhoam looked upon Zelda with a melancholic sadness on his face. Zelda hadn’t said a word, from exhaustion or being overwhelmed Samus couldn’t tell. Graham looked at Zelda with a look of pity, and it only made Samus mad. Zelda wasn’t a thing to be protected, she was strong! Samus had seen first hand how strong Zelda could be.

Rhoam let out a long deep sigh before speaking, “We will increase Zelda's defense. Keep her as safe as possible.”

“Are you serious?” Samus asked as she stepped towards Rhoam. “Zelda isn't weak, she doesn't need this-”

“Samus,” the bold voice of Rhoam stopped Samus' speech in its tracks. “I lost my wife when Zelda was only five years old. Zelda is the only family I had left. I… I cannot bear to lose her.”

Tears rolled down Rhoam’s face as he turned to face his daughter. He slowly kneeled down in front of Zelda and wrapped his arms around her. Rhoam held Zelda as tightly as he could without hurting her, and Zelda reciprocated. Her arms struggled to wrap around her father’s massive frame. Tears fell from Rhoam’s face onto Zelda’s dress; eventually Zelda started to cry too. Graham and Samus stayed silent for the two’s intimate moment. 

Samus could tell that Zelda looked conflicted about her Father. Samus was conflicted too. Rhoam was simply a concerned parent. He fully supported his daughter in whatever she wanted to do, but his worry over her safety was also a priority for him.

“Take time to rest, Zelda,” Rhoam softly spoke to the princess. “We’ll take care of everything.”

The king stood up from his place on the floor before giving a brief nod to Samus. Rhoam and Graham quietly left Zelda’s room, Rhoam with a smile and Graham with a scowl.

Once the two were alone, Zelda layed back down on her bed while Samus watched from afar. The princess's breathing was slow and miniscule. Her gaze looked empty. It was a sight that Samus was familiar with, usually with soldiers experiencing PTSD. It was a state of near emptiness, an emotional numbness that reflected upon the one experiencing it.

She couldn't let Zelda simmer in these negative feelings alone, but how was she supposed to help her? Samus knew plenty about survival tactics and battle strategies, but she was clueless on interacting with others. The memories of Zelda comforting her sprung forth amidst Samus’ struggles. At all of those times, Zelda simply offered a metaphorical shoulder to cry on, and a few words of encouragement to boost Samus’ spirit. Was it really that simple?

There was no time to hesitate, Zelda needed Samus immediately. She slowly marched her way towards Zelda’s bed and kneeled in front of the still lying princess. Her body hesitated for a moment, but her mind forced herself to release the hermetic seal on her helmet. Her left hand fumbled slightly lifting the helmet off of her head, but she eventually managed. Golden strands of blonde hair fell in front of her head, Which Samus struggled to push out of her face.

“They don’t have any faith in me…” The soft sound of Zelda’s whispering caused Samus to halt in place. “I’ve done so much… And I’m still nothing to them.”

Samus’ arm fell to her side as she observed Zelda through strands of hair, “You’re so more than they say. I know it.”

“I wish I could be like you. You’re strong enough to earn the respect of everyone.” Zelda’s words caused a soft chuckle to escape past Samus’ lips that she immediately pushed back. It didn’t stop Zelda from chuckling along with her. “What was that about?”

Samus’ gaze fell as the words struggled to reach past her tongue. “Y-you’re so… You- Ugh! H-honestly I wish I was mm-more like you. With h-how charismatic and empathetic you are.”

A sudden snort from Zelda transformed into a soft polite chuckle as she covered her mouth and nose with her hand. Seeing Zelda give such an un-lady-like response threw Samus off, and she could do nothing but stare.

A soft smirk spread on Zelda’s face as she spoke, “I’m sorry, It’s just that I doubt you would ever say something so sweet a few months ago. You’ve really changed.”

The sound of those words ringing in Samus’ ears, the sight of Zelda looking at her with such warmth and comfort, the small segment of space that separated the two of them. All of these factors and more combined to produce some feeling Samus had little experience in. She had felt related emotions like this, and had seen it described in books or shows. This was something completely different however, it was infinitely more intense then she ever expected.

“I-I’m sorry…” Zelda’s voice broke Samus out of her own head. “Your hair is very dirty.”

Samus sighed and pushed the strands that covered her face. “I haven’t washed it in… Months, really.”

“That absolutely won’t do!” Zelda spoke as she sat up and scooted to the edge of her bed. Samus awkwardly stood up letting Zelda dismount from the bed in a quick motion. “I can start a bath for you! You’ve worked so hard for so long, it only seems fair that you get some form of rest and relaxation.”

“Uh- I-I-I don’t knnn-know…” 

Being without her Power Armor sparked a fear that Samus didn’t want to feel again. The last time she lost her sacred piece of Chozo tech was her very first independent mission on the late planet Zebes. Shot down to the planet’s surface, Her suit was damaged beyond use. All that she had left was the light and skin tight Zero Suit and a rudimentary stun pistol. Being so defenseless, so… Naked, while danger lurked around every corner. The stress and fear of those moments escaping the Space Pirates have never left Samus’ mind since.

Even bringing up her insecurities caused a new sort of fear to emerge; specifically a fear of rejection and disappointment. When Samus first entered the Federation Military, she naively thought that her fellow soldiers would be understanding of her ticks and quirks. When she asked them to be patient with her struggle to understand others, they made fun of her. When she asked them to stop talking so loud so she could focus, they would only talk louder. Eventually she learned to not ask at all, relishing the suffering from accommodations not being met. She expected Zelda to laugh at her, proving her fear wrong.

She didn’t, of course. Zelda instead nodded and empathized with Samus, “I understand. I think it’ll be good for you, but I also don’t want to force you.”

Samus thought for a moment before responding. “... I could keep my suit nearby… And I would feel better if I knew you were safe… M-maybe you could… t-tt-talk to me through the door?”

Zelda looked unsure, “You don’t have too if you don’t want too-”

“No, I- I do want to… I haven’t felt sss-such comfort in a long time… I think it will be enjoyable. I-I want to try at least.”

At first Zelda looked up at her with surprise, but eventually shifted to a beaming look of happiness. “I’m glad. I’ll go run the bath, wait just a few minutes!”

Zelda practically skipped her way to a side door and entered it, leaving Samus alone in the massive bedroom fit for a princess. With everything that had happened in the past hour weighing heavily on her, Samus found herself falling onto Zelda’s messy bed, the wood creaking under the weight of the Power Suit. Her gaze fell and her eyes caught on something bright red among the tiles. It was her helmet. Samus scoffed as she picked it up and sat it on her lap.

She almost chastised herself for forgetting about her helmet, but the voice of Zelda inside her mind made her stop. She would say something about giving herself time to recharge. That Samus deserves to feel comfortable and safe. 

Zelda stumbled back through the door, breaking Samus from her contemplation. Her breathing was heavy and quick. “Okay, the bath is ready.”

A look of concern sprouted on Samus' face as she stood up, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah! Yeah, I just wanted to make sure the water was perfect,” -she raised her hand and beckoned at Samus- “Come in, come in!”

Samus' steps are slow and deliberate as she makes her way to the washroom. As she enters, her eyes take in every detail. The room was circular in shape, large and imposing just as she expected. The walls were covered with soft grey tiles. Several windows lined the walls, just the right size to let in natural light but not let anyone peek inside. A large basin sat in the center of the room inset into the floor, warm foamy water filled nearly to the brim. A few chairs, a small circular basin, a towel rack, and a storage closet lined the walls.

“I wanted to make sure that the water was perfectly warm for you, which took a lot of concentration. If it's too cool or too hot for you just let me know.”

Samus studied the foamy water before giving a nod to Zelda. “Looks fine to me.”

“Perfect. I'll be right outside the door. Try to relax!”

Zelda gave a warm smile before exiting through the door, leaving Samus alone. 

The first thing Samus did when she was left alone was make sure the door was locked. There was a simple chain bolt on the door, not secure enough for her. From across the room she grabbed a chair with her grapple beam and placed it under the door knob. Her privacy was important after all, there were things she would rather Zelda not see.

She studied the water as best she could with her unassisted vision. Zelda would have to use some sort of magic to create so much warm water so quickly. What about the foam? Some sort of addition to the water that Zelda must have added. It smelled faintly of lavender.

When was the last time Samus had immersed herself in a bath? When was the last time Samus did something for comfort? Her safely guarded psyche, surrounded by walls built up after years of trauma and violence, rejected such comforts. The blonde haired princess had torn down Samus' walls one by one, exposing herself to the bright sunlight. All that was left was to leave her safe place behind and immerse herself in the unfamiliar. 

Hesitation laced Samus' movements as she pressed a series of buttons on her Arm Cannon. Her finger hovered over the last key, before pressing down with a shake. The Power Suit responded with a hiss, metal plates parted and reformed themselves as the suit moved back, but Samus stayed in place. Her body shivered in the unregulated air more and more as the suit left her and disconnected itself from her nervous system. After an agonizing few seconds, the suit fully disconnected from Samus' body.

A pair of boxers and a bra hung off her massive frame, but she still felt so naked. Being so exposed outside her ship… It left an exhilarating feeling that Samus was unfamiliar with. The feeling only grew in intensity as she unclipped the bra and dropped it on the floor, leaving her breasts to hang in the open air. They felt so soft in her hands, and she lost a minute groping herself. This was not the first time Samus used her own boobs as a stim toy, and it wouldn't be the last.

The feeling of shame and exhilaration peaked when she lowered her boxers to the floor, leaving her completely naked. She didn't relish the moment as much as she took off her bra, feeling absolutely nothing but loathing for what laid between her legs. There was nothing wrong with her penis necessarily. The treatments she had to eliminate the production of testosterone had left her infertile, but she never wanted kids in the first place so Samus considered it no loss. The thing just didn't feel like a part of her body, it felt like a tumor. She needed to be rid of that thing, and then she could be happy.

From the inner thigh of her Power Suit Samus pulled out the stun pistol that she once relied on, just to make sure she wasn't completely powerless as she bathed. She felt the temperature of the water with her toe. The water was perfectly warm. A smile formed on Samus' face as she slowly lowered herself into the basin. For the first time in months, Samus let her shoulders relax.

The feeling of warmth the water provided reinvigorated Samus. She could feel her muscles relax as months or stress washed away, leaving with only her thoughts. 

While her thoughts would usually be dominated by historical records and memorized dates, her thoughts only consisted of one woman.

“Fuck me,” she whispered underneath her breath. “I'm in love with Zelda. I'm in love with a princess.”

Chapter Text

Zelda closed the door behind her and immediately began to lean upon it. All that talk of taking time to rest and relax has been thrown out the window, because Zelda had to make a bath for Samus with exact magical specifications. In any normal circumstances, creating and heating up water was not an arduous task. The specificity and detail Zelda desired made the task a little more difficult, but wouldn’t completely drain her like it did this time. In this case, her already present exhaustion meant that preparing a bath was only pushing it even higher.

And for what, to draw a bath for her friend? Well, yes, of course. Samus might not be exhausted like her, but she needed rest just as much as Zelda did. For months Samus worked without any rest, and that would absolutely not stand.

Zelda's body slid down the door, only stopped by the stone floor. Her attention was nearly absent as her eyes unfocused on her surroundings.

“The water feels nice,” Samus' voice passed through the door.

She waited far too long to answer back, “I'm glad…”

“Are you okay?”

Her mouth opened to answer but no sound came out. Her focus filtered out and her eyelid fell…

She awoke with a startle, frantically trying to take in her surroundings. Instead of sitting against the washroom door, she was laying down underneath the silken blankets of her four poster bed. Samus sat next to Zelda’s bed on her reading chair reading something on her Arm Cannon. Her helmet was set to the side, leaving her now clean golden blonde hair in the open air. 

“How was the bath?” Zelda asked in a quiet tone. 

Samus smiled without looking at Zelda. “It was good. It was… Nice to relax for once.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t talk to you like I said I would.”

“It’s okay,” Samus reassured Zelda with a smile. “I could hear your heartbeat through the door, so I knew you were safe.”

A soft chuckle escaped Zelda’s lips, before she fully processed what Samus said. “Wait, you could hear my heartbeat?”

“Oh! Uh-” An anxious look sprouted on her face. “Yeah, my hearing is really good. From the Chozo DNA I think.”

“Amazing…” Zelda’s mind went into overdrive. Interspecies relationships were a well known phenomenon in Hyrule, with many writings on the ethics and mechanics of such things. Hylians could have children with other species, but the main species would be decided by the mother (their wombs having evolved to birth one type of kid). Only a few compatible traits, like eye color and hair/feather color, would be inherited from the father. Samus was completely unique, bonding together several different biologies nearly seamlessly.

“Can you tell me more about that?”

Samus nodded and answered with, “I wouldn’t be able to survive on Zebes without the augments they gave me. The gravity was stronger and the atmosphere was heavier. So now I'm stronger than most humans, I can jump higher, and my senses are supercharged. That last one can get really annoying sometimes.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, another symptom of autism is sensory sensitivity. Loud sounds in particular are rough. My helmet diminishes sounds enough that it isn’t a problem usually. When I don’t have my helmet on I have- hold on…” Samus reached into a side pocket in her Power Suit and searched for something specific. How many things could she be holding in that suit? Eventually she smiled and pulled out a small capsule. It opened with a pop revealing two small pieces of plastic. Samus carefully pulled them out one at a time in her ears, one at a time pushing her hair out of the way for each. Once both were in and stable, Samus shook her hand and celebrated with a light, “Tadaaa!”

Zelda couldn’t stop herself from laughing. It was just too cute! “That’s amazing.”

Patches of light pink blush spread across Samus’s cheeks and she looked away from Zelda. “Yeah, they really help.”

A warm feeling grew in Zelda's chest as she observed Samus' flustered appearance. This feeling in her chest… Was it a fever? Some kind of sickness? It felt localized to the area around her heart. She wouldn't call the feeling discomfort, more so… calmness? Some type of anxiety? It didn't seem to affect her too much, so she decided to keep her feelings to herself until she started feeling more ill.

“What was it like on Zebes? You don’t have to tell me, I just want to know more about you.”

Samus looked introspective for a moment before she nodded, “Yeah. I can tell you. I was raised by two Chozo named Old Bird and Gray Voice. They were rarely outright kind to me. Their love showed through in other ways, treating me when I was sick, or complimenting me when I did well. They respected me. Gray Voice was a pragmatic, no nonsense type of person. I don’t think I ever saw him crack a smile. Old Bird was more lighthearted. He taught me the importance of kindness.”

“Those are some strange names.”

“Chozo rarely take on permanent names. They’ll adopt new ones during monumental events in their lives to reflect themselves better. I always kept the name Samus from my human family, but I took on many names with the Chozo too. New Nestling, Brave Sight… Changed One.” Her gaze averted at the mention of that last name. Changed One, what did that one mean? Zelda opened her mouth to ask, but Samus beat her to the punch, “Don’t ask about that last one.”

Zelda hurriedly nodded, “Of course! That’s fascinating though. I wish I could immerse myself in that culture.”

Samus sighed, “Can’t anymore. Most of the Chozo are gone. They struggled to reproduce due to long lifespans. A few are still around, but keep to themselves.”

“That’s such a shame. Well, we have one Chozo here at least!” Zelda said optimistically. Samus blushed again and her gaze averted even further. Was she feeling sick as well? “Can you tell me about Chozo culture?”

Samus’ gaze looked contemplative. Her left hand fiddled with the mechanisms of her Arm Cannon. Eventually a smile spread across her face as she finally responded, “I’d love to.”

Samus’ smile was infectious, spreading across Zelda’s face as well. How wonderful it was, to feel so appreciated, to feel like you met the one other person in the universe that understood you perfectly. The complex machine that before was missing a piece, just found a part that fit like it was designed to go there. Did Samus feel the same way? Did she understand how much of an impact she had on Zelda?

“There were many different sects of Chozo scattered throughout the universe. Each of them had different priorities. I belonged to the Hrana tribe. They prioritized a community approach of caring for one another and supplying for everyone. From each according to their abilities, to each according to their needs. You know” -Samus stopped to reposition herself in Zelda's chair- “It’s actually very similar to a few Earth ideologies that originated on Earth. Specifically communism that got its name from Marx in around 1840. It’s an ideology that focuses on-” A sudden stop from Samus tore Zelda from her state of focus. “I just realized I got off topic, I’m so sorry-”

“No, it’s okay!” Zelda reached forward and placed an affirming hand on Samus’ Arm Cannon. “Remember when I said you should be more true to yourself? I meant it. You can act just how you are with me. You might not be brave enough to be yourself out there, but here with me, I can promise that you will be safe.”

A fire erupted across Samus’ face as she suddenly stood up. Zelda looked up at her concerningly, but Samus quickly seemed to calm down. She fiddled more and more with her Arm Cannon. “It’s aaa-about time for dinnnn-nn-ner. Let me get sssomething for you.” Samus didn’t wait for a reply from Zelda, instead quickly putting her hemet back on and leaving Zelda alone in her bedroom. 

With Zelda alone with the thoughts in her head, they quickly got out of control. Did she say something wrong? Did she misjudge what Samus needed at the moment? Maybe she came on too strong. Now that she thought about it more, it was definitely a mistake to place a hand on Samus’ Power Suit. That was a big leap of intimacy that Samus must not have been comfortable with.

… Why did she do it then? The question pounded inside Zelda’s head. She tried looking at it from every angle, but every time she got the same answer: It was the warmth radiating in her chest. It was a fire that fueled Zelda to make such a massive leap. Why did she feel this warmth? It wasn’t like any sickness that she had ever heard of. Instead her mind tried to find other sources. She searched the massive halls of her memories… Until she ran across a possible explanation. Not from any spell, or any sickness, but from stories she read and tellings from her Father.

It was romance. Attraction.

… Love…

But, that couldn’t be it. Samus and Zelda were both women, It wasn’t right. She couldn’t feel such things for Samus…

The fire from her chest spread throughout her whole body. She stuffed those feelings and thoughts away in her mind, desperate to cool herself off. She tore herself from the bed and scrambled to find anything to distract herself, before Samus returned. Zelda couldn’t tell Samus these things, it would only scare her away. She had to reject such things before Samus returned…

Eventually Zelda distracted herself by reorganizing her wardrobe, and finding something new to wear. Sleeping in her day clothes wasn’t exactly comfortable, and the feeling of new fabric on her skin rejuvenated her. If Samus wasn’t going to come back at any minute with news about dinner, she would have started a bath. It would have to wait until later.

Shortly after Zelda put on some new royal robes, a knock on the door reverberated through the room. Zelda rushed over but before she opened the door, she prepared herself. If Samus was beyond the door, she couldn’t react in any way that revealed her strange feelings. Zelda gave herself several light slaps across her cheeks and opened the door before she could doubt herself further.

Samus stood tall directly outside Zelda’s room. Seeing her massive frame ignited her feelings yet again, but she shook her head and pushed the feelings down. “I’m okay! Good to see you Samus.”

“You too,” Samus spoke with her artificial voice modulator. After hearing Samus talk with her natural voice, it felt surreal to hear something so artificial come from her friend. In the disconnect Zelda nearly didn’t notice a servant walk through alongside Samus holding a tray of food. 

“Here you go Zelda, grilled venison and roasted vegetables, with a cup of Lon Lon Milk and a bowl of fresh fruit.”

It was a beautiful spread, fit for a princess. But something felt wrong, that Zelda couldn’t help but point out.

“Will I not be eating in the dining room?”

The servant looked at Zelda sheepishly and hesitantly said, “... I was told that you were to stay here, princess.”

With rage bubbling inside, Zelda grabbed the tray from the servant and marched over to her table. Without saying a word she sat the tray down and began eating, paying no attention to anyone else in the room. Samus escorted the servant out of the room and closed the door behind her and Zelda still paid no mind. She could tell that Samus’ bright blue eyes were baring into her, but she didn’t care.

Samus walked around to the opposite side of the table and sat down in front of her. With a slow and deliberate motion, she slid her helmet off her head and put it down on the table. For a while she didn’t say anything, observing Zelda as she tore into her venison.

“I know it’s frustrating,” Samus’ voice speaking so softly finally broke Zelda free from her funk. “But this isn’t forever. We’ll prove to them how strong you are.”

“It won’t be enough. I’m already capable, but they look past that. They think I’m inherently weak, something that needs to be protected.”

Samus evidently didn’t have an answer to that. So Zelda continued eating, the silence of her bedroom overwhelming the two. She wanted to break the silence with something, but she had no idea what. As she chewed another piece of venison, an idea came to her.

She swallowed the meat down as quick as she could and scrambled to ask, “Do you want to try some?”

Samus studied the meat in front of Zelda with a curious look. “Never had venison.”

“It’s good.” Zelda cut up a piece, attached it to the end of a spare fork, and held it out for Samus to grab. The bounty hunter greeted the meat with a hesitant glare, but it eventually diminished as she took the fork and forced the meat into her mouth. “What do you think?”

Samus closed her eyes as she immersed the flavor and texture. She held a slow pace of chewing until she finally swallowed it. “It’s good.” Her answer only produced a chuckle from Zelda, which Samus looked at incredulously. “What? I said what I thought.”

“I’m sorry, it's just, that was such a blunt statement!”

The red haze spread across Samus’ face again, “I did what you asked.”

The warm feeling threatened to return again, so Zelda forced it back down by drinking a big mouthful of Lon Lon Milk. “It’s- it’s okay, really. Are you having fun? I’m having fun, I hope you’re having fun.”

“I am,” The tone of Samus’ voice read more as disinterested on the surface, but Zelda was familiar with her eccentricities to know that sometimes, Samus was just like that. Zelda learned to trust Samus words instead of her tone, because her sometimes disinterested facade hid a fascination with the world around her.

It's one reason she fell in love with her.

“Do you want some fruit?”

“I already know I'm gonna hate the texture, so no thanks.”

“Okay. At least try this,” Zelda held out the glass of milk, “Lon Lon Milk is a favorite in Hyrule.”

Samus trepidatiously grabbed the glass from Zelda’s hand. With her hand now free, Zelda began snacking on the various fresh fruits as Samus studied the milk. Zelda chuckled as she joked, “You know it’s not poisonous, right?”

A look of shock spread across Samus’ face as she cursed at Zelda, “Oh fuck you!” Samus then took a massive chug of the milk seemingly out of spite. She gulped it down as quickly as she could, leaving her time to analyze the flavor left on her tongue. “Okay that was pretty good.”

“I’m glad. I would love to hear” -Zelda interrupted herself to devour a strawberry- ”any info you have” -A grape this time- ”on Chozo cuisine, I’d love to see if we could recreate any of it.” With her sentence finished, she tore into the skin of an orange, peeling a slice away and chewing it desperately. Noticing the amused gaze on Samus’ face, she wiped the fruit juice off her face and sheepishly explained, “I haven’t had any fruit in a while. I’ve missed it.”

“Clearly.”

A scoff escaped Zelda's lips from Samus’ mockery. Her head fell in incredulity. She raised her head to respond, but then noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Resting behind the various fruits in her bowl sat… something. It didn’t belong with its dark and woody texture. Zelda slowly reached into the bowl and pulled out the strange object. 

“What is that?” Samus asked while straining her eyes to take in every detail.

“I don’t know…”

The strange object was a dark block of wood, shaped like an octagon. It barely fit in the palm of her hand. Its surface was polished to a smooth texture, and its top side held no detail. Zelda turned the object around in her hands, revealing a symbol etched into the other side. A single eye with a massive tear falling down from it, with three triangular eyelashes on the top.

Zelda held the symbol out for Samus to see and asked, “Does this mean anything to you?”

“Never seen that symbol before.” Zelda handed Samus the block of wood and allowed her to study it. “It was hidden in your fruit bowl?”

“Yeah…” Zelda’s gaze stayed locked into the seemingly plain bowl of fruit on her tray. “Someone snuck it in there.”

The sheer weight of the mystery pulled down the atmosphere of the room. The light hearted conversation felt like a thing of the past, as Zelda and Samus’ focus was pulled to the octagonal piece of wood.

A few days had passed since the discovery of the wooden object. The thing had dominated Zelda and Samus’ time so much that they started calling it the Octagon. All of Zelda’s spare time was spent studying it, trying to figure out its secret. It definitely had a secret to discover, one of the most notable aspects about the Octagon was a magical signal imbued in it. There was no spell attached to it, no function the Octagon held, It was just a long signal that varied between two different amplitudes. It was too intentional to just be an accident. It just wasn’t enough to come up with an answer. They couldn’t find anything else either, Samus took the Octagon to her ship for Adam to scan and he didn’t find anything notable. 

The symbol on the face of the Octagon too. The eye with the tear and the three lashes. it was evocative, but she had no idea what it meant. Once Zelda started paying attention, she began to see it anywhere. The few times she had been allowed outside of her room, she saw it in the corner of murals. She read Hyrule Historia to find any info about it, only to find it in the corner on the very last page. It was like finally seeing some monster always in the corner of her eye. Zelda felt like she was going insane.

Through all the questions and mysteries, Samus was there with her. She was with her, helping her with brainstorming and researching. Whenever Zelda hit a dead end and white hot frustration flowed through her veins, Samus was there with a hand on her back and comforting words. In the storm of doubt and infantilization that everyone else projected around Zelda, Samus was a beacon she could hold on to.

Her appreciation for Samus was growing more and more as the days passed. With each moment that Samus comforted her, that appreciation turned into affection, and then into love. She was stepping into dangerous territory. As the next in line to the of Hyrule, it was expected that one day Zelda would take the place of her father. She would become queen, and the man she was to marry would become king. With her position came great responsibility. Throwing it all away by falling in love with a woman was not an option.

So she did her best to push her feelings down as far as they could go. She knew that Samus was a fickle person emotionally, so knowing that her friend felt some sort of attraction to her would only scare her away. The lingering gazes she occasionally noticed from Samus were only proof that she was starting to suspect something. 

She threw herself more into discovering the secret of the Octagon. In front of her sat dozens of books that all contained the strange symbol somewhere within its covers. Several fictional works contained detailed spreads of environments and characters that hid the symbol within its many details. Archeological texts described several ancient monuments housing carvings that sounded similar to the symbol they were obsessing over. Collections of poems contained many teary eyes in the arts that surrounded each peace.

“Are there any similarities between each appearance?” Zelda said as her focus shifted to and from several books at once. Samus was sitting next to her against a wall, a copy of Hyrule Historia in her hand.

“Nothing that I can see,” Samus answered. Unlike Zelda she was taking in every detail of the book, making sure not to miss anything. “I’m starting to worry that this symbol was just a trend of some kind.”

“What do you mean?”

Samus saved her place in the book with a dry quill before answering. “Maybe at some point in history a random artist painted this symbol and it got really popular. Other artists thought the symbol was cool and started putting references to it in their works. This would all just be an art history trend.”

“I refuse to believe that. There must be some meaning to it!”

“Okay, it’s time for you to stop. You’ve been doing this for far too long.”

Zelda wanted to protest, but she knew that she couldn’t. She was losing track of time again. A break would do her good. 

A knock at the door shocked the two women. Thankfully the door was locked so they couldn’t just barge in. Zelda gave Samus enough time to put her helmet back on before she undid the lock and opened the door.

A servant stood on the other side of the door holding a tray. “Princess, I brought your dinner. A braised beef and vegetable stew.”

“Oh, thank you,” Zelda responded as she moved out of the way and allowed the servant to enter. “Sorry about the mess, I was in the middle of a research project.”

“I can see that! Let me put this tray down and I can help clean up.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary-” Zelda’s words fell on deaf ears as the servant placed the tray down on Zelda’s table. At that point Samus had already started to pick up books with her left hand, making a pile of books on Zelda’s bed. “Uh, its okay, Samus and I can-”

“Oh it’s my job to help you princess, I couldn’t just- oh!” The servant perked up when she noticed one of the books, picking it up and studying it. “Are you looking into the Sheikah?”

Zelda and Samus halted at what the servant said.

“The what?” Samus’ modulated voice asked.

“It’s an old fairy tale my parents taught me as a kid. It’s a popular story in Kakariko village. The Sheikah were a secret clan of warriors who served the royal family. ‘Whenever a princess held a teary eye, the Sheikah would come to comfort her cries’. The symbol of a crying eye was always associated with the story.”

Seemingly blind to Zelda and Samus staring at her in awe, the servant continued to clean up the books until every single one was placed neatly on Zelda’s bed. “Well, I’ll leave you to your meal. Have a good night princess!” The servant left and closed the door behind her, leaving the two alone.

“Uhhh…” Even through the opaque glass of Samus’ visor, Zelda could tell she was confused. “What was that?”

“Whenever a princess held a teary eye… A teary eye…” Zelda whispered the phrase to herself for a few moments before realization struck her. She scrambled to get the Octagon from its hiding spot underneath Zelda's bed and studied it. “A teary eye!”

Samus took the Octagon from Zelda's hand and studied it herself, taking in every detail. “So it's related to the Sheikah, but how? Aren't they just a fairy tale?”

The reasonable side of Zelda wanted to deny it, to come up with a reasonable explanation to what it was, but… “I'm not so sure they are ‘just a fairy tale’.”

Samus chuckled. “You know what? Me neither.”

Chapter Text

The stew made specifically for Zelda was quickly forgotten as she began tearing apart the pile of books for some clue to the meaning to the octagon talisman. The information about the Sheikah myth must have inspired her. Samus was very familiar with the sudden inspiration to learn as much as possible about a certain interest. But she also recognized how important it was to eat! She couldn’t allow this to stand.

Samus quickly snuck up from behind Zelda and wrapped her arms around her before she could notice. With a help from Zelda, Samus began pulling her away from the books.

“Samus! What are you doing!?”

“You need to eat!” Samus yelled as she pulled Zelda up into the air.

“AAH!!”

“Trust me Zelda this is for your own good,” Samus said as she sat down on a chair, with Zelda on her lap. 

Zelda struggled for a few moments to escape from Samus' grip, but she wasn't strong enough. “Ugh, fine, you win.”

Samus’ plan proved successful as Zelda began eating the stew. At first she was proud of herself, but then as the seconds passed on she realized her mistake. This plan she had devised, she never considered that it would involve Zelda sitting on her lap. 

For the first time in what felt like forever, Samus felt her mind draw a complete blank. A girl she was in love with was sitting in her lap, and her arms were tightly wrapped around the girl's waist. Every other concern faded into the background and she internally screamed to herself a single command, ‘God damn it Samus, don't be weird about it, don't be weird about it-’

Zelda, ignorant to Samus' mental plight, began shoveling the stew into her mouth. From between frantic bites she spoke, “I think… Now… We should… Focus… On what… Ever the… Octagon is.”

With her brain already occupied, Samus didn’t even process that Zelda had said anything.

“... You okay?”

The haze lifted momentarily and she realized that she missed everything Zelda said. “Y-yeah, i'm good. What did you say again?”

“I said we should focus on whatever the Octagon means.”

“Right, right…” Samus shook herself as the sensation of Zelda sitting on her lap slowly became comfortable. “Eat your stew first.”

Zelda let out a loud and annoyed groan, “I ate a quarter of it, that’s enough!”

“No it’s not. Finish it.”

“Okay mom ,” Zelda teased before she dived back into her stew. “Do you really have to hold me down like this? I’m not a child.”

“You’re not. But if I let you go then you’re just gonna go back to what you’re interested in and you’ll go hungry.”

Zelda held her spoon in the air as she asked, “But how do you know that’s what I’ll do?” 

Samus felt herself smirk underneath her helmet, “Because I've done the exact same thing before and regretted it.”

“Okay, fine.” Zelda suddenly adjusted herself to the side so she could look at Samus’ covered face. She hesitated for a second, an emotion Samus was unfamiliar with spread across her face before she recovered and grabbed her bowl from the table. “Want to try some?”

Trying some of Zelda’s stew would require taking off her helmet. Normally such a thing wouldn’t bother Samus anymore, but the added element of Zelda and Samus’ proximity made Samus hate the prospect of revealing her face. She was already struggling to not scream from just this contact, showing her face would only tip her over the edge.

“Just finish your meal, and I’ll take it off.”

A look of worry sprouted on Zelda’s face, never fading as she continued eating her dinner in silence. 

Once Zelda downed the final pieces of stew, she rocketed out of Samus’ grasp for the Octagon left waiting on her bed. Samus stayed seated, content to just watch as Zelda turned the talisman over in her hand, studying its every surface. The feeling of air rushing into her helmet and her left hand taking the thing off covered her vision just long enough for Zelda to cross the distance between them.

“I still can’t think of anything! This is so frustrating!”

“Maybe you just need a change of perspective,” Samus commented as she took the Octagon from Zelda’s hands. “Can you show me the signal?”

Zelda nodded and concentrated for a moment. She clasped her hands together, creating sparks of magical energy. The energy quietly hummed for a few seconds before she extended her hands outward, focusing her magic around them. A single line snaked around in a circle, surrounding Samus and Zelda many times over.

Samus gasped at the display of magic, her head twisting every which way in an attempt to grasp all of it at once. “Amazing…”

Zelda giggled from the praise and quickly denied it, “Oh this is nothing at all.”

A blush threatened to overtake Samus’ face, forcing her to look away. The start of the signal lept out at her immediately, its end sparking as if something was traveling through it. A few key details revealed themselves to Samus…

“All of the different amplitudes have the same length-” She stopped herself and studied it more closely, “-And the longer sections are divisible by that length.”

“Different segments… It has to mean something!”

“Yeah…”

There had to be a pattern to the amplitudes, they had to mean something! Samus scavenged through her memory for any piece of information that could help. What could the two values mean? True or false, on or off, one and-

Realization stabbed through her brain, causing her to chuckle.

Zelda looked at her friend with slight concern and asked, “Samus?” 

“I just figured it out!” Samus smiled, she didn’t even bother hiding her self satisfaction from her voice and expression. “It’s binary!”

“Binary?”

“It’s a base 2 numbering system, representing values with only two characters,” Samus explained as she looked through the signal once more. “The lower amplitude is zero, and the higher amplitude is one. You could spell out anything with binary, letters are represented by eight character strings.”

“Eight, eight! Like an octagon!” Zelda smiled as she understood the puzzle finally, “That has to be it!”

Samus reached for her helmet and positioned it so the visor was facing the rest of the room. “Adam?”

A familiar start-up sound rang as blue lights lit up in the helmet. “Nice to hear from you again, Lady.”

“Enough with the sarcasm, we need you to translate a binary string.”

“With pleasure. Show me the string and I will begin immediately.”

Samus looked at Zelda expectantly, but she looked unsure of how to proceed. She stepped up to Zelda and put her left hand on her shoulder, “Just scroll it in front of the helmet, Adam will be able to read it.”

Zelda nodded and focused her magic once again. The string glowed a light blue as it began slowly moving through space. Zelda did exactly what Samus asked of her, snaking the signal through the helmet’s vision so Adam could see every piece. It moved at a slow pace. Was Zelda doing that for Adam’s sake? She nudged Zelda slightly, breaking her concentration a bit and stopping the string in the air. “You can go faster than that.”

Zelda nodded once again (slightly more frantically this time) and began snaking the signal at a much faster pace. Waves moved through the air so fast that it all looked like a blur to Samus. She felt herself starting to get dizzy, but the dizziness faded when Zelda stopped the signal and dismissed it once the helmet had seen everything.

“Translating sequence… Sequence complete. Interesting.”

They really did capture her old CO’s personality to a tee. Samus tapped the helmet with the back of her left hand and ordered, “Just give us the solution.”

“You need to work on your patience Samus,” The AI bit back. A sigh escaped her lips, but halted once Zelda let out a chuckle. “The text reads, ‘at night the light burns brightest from the castle to the forest’.”

“Another puzzle…” Samus pondered the clue, but she couldn’t grasp it just yet. 

Samus looked over to the princess standing next to her, intending to ask her what she thought. But Zelda was locked in thought. As was typical for her, she was pacing in circles around in her room, with no sign of stopping. Her voice slowly raised with every second, “Castle to the forest… Castle to the forest…” Her pacing suddenly stopped as she stood up straight and her eyes lit up with excitement. Zelda had evidently figured something out. her legs scrambled to carry her through the doors to her balcony, leaning over the edge to look for something. 

Samus ran after her and said, “Zelda, careful!”

“Oh Goddess above.” Zelda leaned back. When Samus reached her, she saw the look of amazement on Zelda’s face. “Look at that, Samus.”

The enhanced eyes of Samus stared into the forest beyond the plains and gardens that surrounded Hyrule Castle. When she noticed what Zelda was referring to, she laughed. In the bark of one of the hundreds of trees was carved the teary eye in precise detail. It was so imperceptible that anyone else who saw it would think it was just the random scratches the poor tree had endured along its lifetime. It was clever, but Samus would never admit it.

“Shine a light on it? From the castle to the forest, the light shines brightest?”

“It would have to be at night. I assume the dead of night-” Zelda looked up at the dimming sky. “Which would be in a few hours.”

Oh, that was soon. Very soon. Knowing that the answers to the puzzle they’ve been struggling over for days would be solved in moments? It was intense. “It’s gonna be hard to pass the time.”

“Oh, I’m sure we can find something to do. Oh-” Zelda’s gaze suddenly brightened again. “We can read some books! I have a small collection here…”

Samus’ neutral face morphed into a smirk. Now that sounded fun.

Zelda looked up from her book ( Hyrule and Surrounding Kingdoms ) with a question on her mind, “What do you call it again, when two people do a task in proximity but don’t regularly interact?”

“Parallel play.” Samus explained, keeping her gaze firmly locked onto Monster Bestia. “The name is a little annoying since play is mostly associated with children, but it can mean doing any activity or task in proximity. It’s a common bonding activity for autistic people. Haven’t done it in a while.”

“Would you say this has strengthened our bond?”

“Hmmm… I think our bond has certainly been reinforced.”

Keeping her eyes locked on her book was key to not breaking out into a stuttering mess. She didn’t need to see Zelda to know how she was looking at her. Her book would be sat down in her lap, her hands laying on top wrapped together. The corners of her mouth would be raised in a smile and her eyes would give Samus a look that she knows would just drive her insane.

“Aww, that was sweet Samus.” Zelda sang with a chuckle. Of course, Zelda was powerful enough to push Samus’ sanity off a cliff with only her voice. She had to dive deeper into her book in order to not look like a smiling fool. Thankfully Zelda would offer her a reprieve, “It’s about time now.”

Samus peaked a glimpse up to see the darkness of night overtaking Hyrule Castle. At this point almost everyone at the castle would be asleep. The perfect time to send out some sort of signal.

“Sure about this? We might not be able to trust… Whoever it is.”

Zelda shook her head. “If they were able to sneak in this talisman, then they could have killed me already. I’m not concerned about that, I just want to know who they are.”

The burning curiosity of Zelda now started to fuel Samus too. This story about the Sheikah, the mysterious talisman, the carving of the eye. It piqued her curiosity enough to jump the unknown, with Zelda at her side.

Generating light took little effort, manipulating it to shoot out in a specific direction only slightly more so, Zelda explained. From the palm of her left hand a blast of light shot out in all directions. Her right hand held in front like a circle, manipulating the light to point precisely at the symbol. She kept the beam focused securely on the teary eye for several minutes to make sure the message was received. At first it looked like it wasn’t. Nothing happened for several minutes after giving the signal. Did they get something wrong?

Samus’ worries were shut down as her sensors pinged. Infinitesimally small tremors resonated through the stone beneath her feet. There was something hiding underneath the balcony, and the placement of these tremors and their frequency implied that the thing was preparing to leap up.

Samus knew that the difference between life and death could be just a few short seconds. There was no room for hesitation when the life of her friend was in danger. Powerful energy charged around her right hand. Her sensitive ears kept close attention to the footsteps of Zelda stumbling back. The thing under the balcony readied itself, and Samus held her cannon at the currently empty air. It didn’t stay like that for long.

As Samus’ Arm Cannon rested into its position, a blur of a figure flipped out from under the balcony and perched on the railing. As the blur settled, Samus got a good look at their visitor. She was a dark skinned woman with pale white hair, fashioned into a strange ponytail on the right side of her forehead. She wore a tight body suit, with light gray armor covering her vital areas. Rips in the fabric revealed even more body armor underneath. A dark brown leather neck gaiter rested loose on her neck. Her face was accented with distinguishable orange tattoos around her left eye, a tear falling under it and three eyelashes over it. A scar rested above her mouth and lips, and the few pieces of the neck Samus could see held memories of burns.

The appearance of the stranger made Zelda jump back even more, while the woman did not progress any further. Samus couldn’t see any telltale signs of hidden weapons. She faced down Samus’ Arm Cannon as if she had nothing to fear.

“You really noticed me?” The woman asked with her low voice. “Impressive. I’m glad I am not your enemy.”

Samus scoffed, “Really? If you don’t want to become my enemy, drop your weapons to the ground.”

“As you wish,” The woman complied with Samus’ request, pulling out several knives and shurikens hidden under armor, even unraveling the string wrapped around her ponytail. She tore through the fabric, revealing it to be a long string of wire, probably for choking people with.

“Alright,” Samus commented as she lowered and depowered her Arm Cannon. “Who the hell are you?”

The woman gave a courteous bow as she introduced herself as- “Impa, leader of the Sheikah clan. It’s an honor to be in your service, Princess Zelda.”

A pause hangs in the air. Zelda makes a noise resembling a, “hah?”

“Yes. explanations are in order.” Impa jumped off the railing and landed on the balcony while making almost no impact at all. The strange ninja gave Samus a nod as she passed. Samus could only stare. It wasn't every day that she met an honest-to-god ninja.

“The Sheikah were formed in a time pre-history several times over. The princess of the Royal Family of Hyrule was nearly killed under the cover of darkness. The queen realized the danger that women of the royal family faced, and mobilized the first Sheikah to protect her daughter from the shadows. We’ve been here ever since, ever vigilant for any threats that might face the women of the Royal Family.” The Sheikah woman paused to kneel before Zelda. “I’m honored to serve you princess! All of us have taken the same oaths and we are loyal only to you!”

Her proud declaration resulted only in silence.

“Uh, thank you,” Zelda stuttered awkwardly. “This is all so sudden.”

Impa’s head fell solemnly. “It is traditional for the queen to explain this all when she becomes of age. After the early passing of your mother, we remained hidden until we were needed.”

“And that time is now,” Zelda commented.

“We’ve been aware of the Children of Ganon for years, hampering their efforts as much as possible. In the last few months they’ve grown bolder. To attack Hyrule Castle Town and the Royal Family directly… Something must have happened for them to attempt such things. After the Festival of the Hero we made preparations to meet you and fill you in, but then Hyrule Castle disappeared. We thought you were gone…” Impa slowly rose off her knees and turned to face Samus. Her eyes looked so genuine, as far as Samus’ poor facial recognition could tell. “Thank you so much for protecting her, Samus Aran. It’s nice to finally meet you after nothing but reports between us. Your true identity is surprising though, the reports… They did not mention you were a woman.”

“Should have looked closer,” Samus deadpanned. She didn't mean it was a joke but Zelda and Impa laughed anyway. Samus filed that thought away for later and said, “I still have a question. How the hell do you know binary?”

“Oh, we've known about the cosmos for ages,” Impa spoke as she leaned against a nearby wall. “We have eyes and ears everywhere, including in the Royal Family. That talisman was designed in such a way that only you two would be able to decode its message.”

So Zelda with her ability to read magical signals, and Samus with her knowledge of the cosmos. Samus had to admit, the Sheikah were pretty clever.

Impa turned back to Zelda, “If you have any requests princess, the Sheikah will fulfill them.”

“Okay I have one request immediately, just call me Zelda. Being called a princess all the time feels alienating.” 

“Oh- uh-” Impa looked genuinely flustered from Zelda’s request. Was she just earnest to a fault? “As you wish Zelda. Anything else?”

Zelda thought in silence for a moment, considering all her options. “You won't like this Samus, but… Can I come with you? To wherever the Sheikah are?”

Impa looked shocked, “E-excuse me?”

“You’re right, I don’t like it,” Samus stepped forward to Zelda. “Where did this come from?”

“Being kept in my room is supposed to keep me safe, but it only makes me a sitting duck!” Zelda complained as she paced around her room. “The Children of Ganon know exactly where I am! They can kill me anytime they want!”

“So you wish to hide with the Sheikah?” Impa asked. Zelda gave an enthusiastic nod in response. 

It was a perfectly logical reason, but Samus knew there was something more. “It’s not just that, isn’t it?”

Zelda looked ready to retort, but her features softened instead. “I just… I don’t want to sit here doing nothing. I want to be free… Does that make me selfish?”

Of course not pr- uh, Zelda,” Impa kneeled down in front of Zelda again. “It’s in a Hylian’s nature to be free. I’m willing to take you with me.”

“Woah woah, hold on.” Samus interjected. They were talking like they already agreed! She pointed at Impa, “I'm sorry, but I still don’t trust you. I agree that Zelda shouldn’t be locked up like this, but you’re not the solution here.”

Zelda grabbed Samus’ Arm Cannon and yelled, “Samus! I-”

“It’s okay, Zelda,” Impa interjected, making the two stop. “You two have no reason to trust me at the moment.”

A groan escaped Zelda’s lips as she collapsed on her bed. Her expression was dead and vacant. It was a sad sight to see.

Samus sighed. With the Children of Ganon posing a constant threat, at least some level of caution was warranted, but was it warranted here? Her gut instinct told her not to trust the ninja, but as Samus learned during her several months spent in Hyrule, her gut instincts were often wrong. Years of bloodshed and betrayal had conditioned her to never trust anyone. She didn’t trust Zelda at first, and she proved to be the best friend she had ever met. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to be a little lax this one time, to test the waters.

“I don’t feel comfortable with you leaving with a stranger. We can give it a few days and see how I feel about it then.”

Zelda slowly sat up from her bed, her eyes bearing into Samus. At first the bounty hunter was worried that Zelda would protest again, but then she smiled and said, “That sounds good to me.”

“Okay then. I’ll let you make your decision,” Impa started walking away from the two towards the balcony. Samus’ gaze met Zelda’s. Intent was somehow shared with no words, so Samus readied her Arm Cannon. “Just shine the light again and I’ll-”

A blue beam shot out of Samus’ arm cannon and grabbed onto Impa’s arm, stopping her in place. Her fists clenched, preparing for a fight, but Zelda and Samus had no such intentions.

“How are we supposed to trust you more without you being here?” Zelda asked with a smirk on her lips.

Impa looked between the two of them with confusion. “Uh- I mean- I didn’t want to bother either of you.”

“Just stay.” Samus insisted, giving light tugs through the Grapple Beam. “Zelda won’t let you leave at this point.”

“Uh, okay?” When Samus was sure that Impa wouldn’t run away, she released the Grapple Beam. Impa rubbed her wrist where the Grapple Beam grabbed her as she stared at Zelda and Samus. Neither of them held any ill intent, so she tentatively walked forward. “I don’t know if I would be of use here.”

“Oh you don’t have to do anything, we can just hang out!” Zelda said as she adjusted her position on the bed. She sat on the edge with her legs kicking up and down, while Samus leaned against one of the posts with her arms crossed. “Why don’t you tell us about the Sheikah? I want to learn about them.”

“Really?” Impa looked unsure of herself, but the calm demeanor of Zelda and a nod from Samus made her feel better. Her eyes closed and her fists bobbed up and down, seemingly in an attempt to pump herself up. “Yeah, of course I can talk about the Sheikah! Like I said, it was founded a long time ago. Protocols are in place to keep the Sheikah alive even through civilizational reset. Even if no one alive still remembers us, our history is documented so that it can be passed along. I became the leader of the clan several years ago after decades of intense training. The leader before me was my mentor, and she taught me everything I know.”

Samus smiled as Impa continued to explain every aspect of the Sheikah from their techniques and history to their hierarchical structure. Samus saw a lot of herself in Impa’s mannerisms. Their laid back nature, the nervousness, the passion with specific interests, the hand flapping. Impa was one hundred percent autistic. Samus’ smile widened as she felt a sense of connection to the ninja. Did Impa feel the same way? 

Out of the corner of her eye Samus studied the princess. She was absolutely enraptured by Impa’s stories of Sheikah history. Her obsessive drive to constantly learn more meshed perfectly with the desire to explain every single little detail about a subject that Impa and Samus shared…

Damnit, Samus was hopelessly in love. She tried to push those feelings down, but it just wasn't happening. Zelda was the first person to see behind the mental walls Samus had built up and treated what she found with respect. The kindness and generosity she had shown to Samus only made her want more. Why did she have to fall in love with the first person to show her even a moderate amount of kindness? Why did it have to be a princess, why couldn’t she fall for someone she actually had a chance with?

Once the Children of Ganon were gone, she could return to the stars and never have to worry about these unrequited feelings again. The amount of credits she could accumulate by selling the Rupees she’s earned would be enough to live a life of luxury for several lifetimes. She could get every procedure, every service she needed to make her life perfect. Maybe even after all of that, she could finally retire. Find some unpopulated planet somewhere in the galaxy and hide herself away.

… Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to indulge in these feelings, just for a while. With plans on her mind, Samus listened to the conversation and provided input when she thought it appropriate. The smiles that Zelda gave her warmed her heart a little each time. There was certainly no chance between them, but at least now she was happy.

Chapter Text

The presence of the Sheikah clan leader Impa was a shot in the arm to Zelda. After days and days of the same thing over and over again, there was someone new to talk to. And Goddess above, was Impa fun to talk to. The adventures Impa had experienced became fodder for countless stories the ninja told with as much bravado she could manage.

“My first independent mission was supposed to be a simple one. There were some Hylians going missing around Hateno Village and I had to find them. It should have been simple, but oh goddess above it wasn’t.”

Impa was currently retelling an old tale, standing tall above Zelda and Samus. Her feet bounced up and down with unrelenting excitement. It was one of the many mannerisms Zelda had noticed as the days passed. Her feet would tap like a drum, Her hands flapped, her shoulders would hike up and wiggle. It all reminded her so much of Samus’ condition. She was worried that she was being accidentally hurtful, but The bounty hunter confirmed, Impa certainly was autistic. They never talked about it with her, the right occasion never came up.

Zelda was fascinated with everything Impa had to tell, while Samus held this stoic uninterested look that Zelda knew was just a cover for how absolutely giddy she was underneath. She knew that once they were alone Samus would get more and more excited and talk about everything she had learned and goddess Zelda would want to kiss her so badly-

And there her thoughts go, into the distance with wild abandon, with no care to how possible her fantasies were.

“I managed to follow the trails of the most recent missing person to the forest near Hateno. After what felt like hours of searching I stumbled upon a very well hidden trapdoor in the forest floor.”

“A trapdoor?” Samus asked incredulously. “In the middle of a forest?”

“That's what I thought! Now if I wasn't a dumbass, I would have recognized how incredibly suspicious the trapdoor was and called for reinforcements. Instead I looked at the thing and thought, ‘How bad could it be?’” -Impa paused for dramatic effect, struggling to stop her shoulders from wiggling- “Very bad in fact!”

A chuckle, from Zelda, at Impa’s comedic tone. “What was down there?”

“At first I expected it to be a simple hidden room. But in reality I had stumbled into an underground dungeon, not recorded in any of Hateno’s documents. It was massive, some monster encampment used it as a base. Instead of falling back and calling for backup, I kept sneaking through the place. I kept saying to myself ‘This has to be the end of it!’, but it just kept on going!”

“Oh that must have been horrible!”

“It was so bad! This mission taught me the importance of being aware of the sunk cost fallacy. Eventually some monsters saw me, so I had to retrace my steps while a Lizalfos chased me down! Thankfully some more Sheikah came to check up on me since I was down there for so long, And we were able to save the missing people.”

Zelda’s hands lightly clapped with the excitement she felt. Samus meanwhile was much more reserved. She only gave a light chuckle.

“Pretty exciting, but I’ve seen better.” 

An awkward chuckle from Impa, and a hand rising up to rub the back of her neck. “Alright, why don’t you tell a story now?”

Samus placed a finger on her chin. “Hmmm… There is this one time…”

The days on the other hand felt much worse. Samus was free to go and do anything Zelda asked, but she couldn’t do anything herself. Various staff and servants visited her to deliver meals. The food tasted good like it always did, but her stomach rejected it. Zelda only ate anything because Samus encouraged her. It was a pathetic feeling. Sometimes Link or Father would visit, And those moments were the worst of her days. They would tell her about the goings on around Hyrule Castle, the important work of fully recovering from their unexpected ocean getaway, and the efforts to locate the ones who did it. It was meant to comfort her, but all it did was show her the life she was missing.

And the looks they would give her, it made her want to scream. They didn’t see her as a person who deserved respect and freedom. They saw her as a priceless artifact, delicate to the touch. She needed to be locked up and protected, lest she fall apart at the seams. Zelda could see it in the gazes Link would give her, or the words Father would say to justify it. At least Father held a shred of doubt as to if this was the right decision.

Samus was different. She was fiercely protective, but those instincts were not born from pity. It came from a sense of appreciation, for the life Zelda had given her. The bond between the two of them had become something nearly indestructible. Samus would do anything for Zelda, just like Zelda would do anything for Samus.

Originally the escape plan included Samus coming with, but Zelda shot down quickly. If Samus were to flee as well, then the blame would be put squarely on her. Hyrule would make an enemy of Samus, and Zelda did not want such a thing to separate them.

… But still, the separation would happen for a time. Zelda would run for freedom while Samus stayed behind to provide cover. Leaving the world she knew for something completely alien… It was a scary feeling. Would she ever return to Hyrule Castle? Would she ever see her father again? Hopefully once the chaos around her quieted down, she could return to her normal life. It was wishful thinking, but wishful thinking was all Zelda had.

After days of learning more and more about the Sheikah leader, Samus felt comfortable with Zelda going with her. It was time for Zelda to escape.

The plan was simple. Samus would leave to recharge her Power Suit in her ship, leaving Zelda alone with two guards. Zelda would give the signal to Impa to jump up and quickly incapacitate the guards. The two would then sneak down the walls of the castle and travel into the darkness of the forest around them. 

The day leading up to the escape was tense. She wanted these last few moments with Samus to be as valuable as possible, but she couldn't will herself to do much. The knowledge of what would be happening in a couple hours weighed over Zelda too much to do anything. The two just relaxed around her table, content to just spend the time in silence together.

“I’m…” Zelda struggled to get the words out. “I’m going to miss you.”

Samus hummed in acknowledgement and continued to stare into something off to the left. She didn’t respond immediately, and when she did her voice sounded almost like a whisper.

“I still don’t feel fully comfortable with this.”

Zelda knew of course. Samus’ anxieties would never be satiated no matter how long they waited.

“But I won’t stop you,” Samus’ gaze turned slightly to Zelda. “You deserve to decide for yourself. I just hope you’re making the right choice.”

“Oh, I hope so too.” 

The silence continued between them for some time.

“Hold on…” Samus rummaged through the many compartments in her Power Suit. 

Zelda chuckled, “How much stuff do you have in there?”

“Enough for any situation,” Samus commented, seemingly missing Zelda’s joke. From somewhere by her chest Samus pulled out a small orange disk, with silver and blue highlights. She placed it firmly on the table and slid it to Zelda. “Press the top of that,” She ordered.

Zelda knew that Samus would do nothing to hurt her, so she didn’t hesitate in pressing her index finger firmly on the disc. The sudden blue lights and shapes that sprouted from the disc however, made her jump back in shock. The lights formed a grid with several different panels floating through space.

“What… Is this?”

“A PDA. My suit does everything this thing can do, but I keep it just in case. It can message me directly and can act as a tracker.”

Zelda stared in awe as the panels came to life with various different charts and messages. One panel contained an empty page, with Samus’ name on top and another panel underneath it with several characters. When Zelda reached out to the character panel, a character appeared on the screen above. Ah, this must be some sort of interface for writing messages. Zelda removed the initial character and typed out a simple message (‘Hi, my name is Zelda!’). It took her a second to figure out how to send the message. It turns out she just had to press one long key at the right most side of the panel for the message she typed out to appear on the panel above.

Samus picked up her helmet and placed it back on her head for a moment, and then pulled it back off. “Message received.”

Zelda laughed at the amazing technology in front of her. “This is amazing! We can communicate at any time we wish! I won’t feel so lonely then.”

Samus coughed. “I gave you this specifically so I would know you’re safe. I want to hear from you everyday. If a message doesn’t contain the words millennium, crimson, or sunlight, I’ll assume you’re in danger and make my way to your location as fast as I can.”

It certainly was a lot to keep track of, but Zelda didn’t have any issues with it. When she first saw the PDA she swore to message every day anyway, so it wasn't a bother. If it made Samus feel more comfortable, then Zelda would do it.

A knocking sound from Zelda’s door tore the two from their conversation.

“I suppose it’s time.” Zelda said regretfully. She placed a finger again on the surface of the PDA to turn it off. The two stood up, and Samus began wordlessly preparing. “Hold on…”

Zelda walked forward and wrapped her arms around Samus’ torso. A small gasp escaped from Samus’ lips as Zelda tightened her grip. “I’ll miss you…”

It took a moment, but Samus reciprocated the hug, wrapping her left arm around Zelda’s shoulders. “I’ll miss you too.”

The two quickly separated. Zelda placed the PDA in a pocket, while Samus put her helmet fully on and walked towards the door. Two guards entered Zelda’s room, glaring at Samus as they passed. They still hadn’t gotten used to the presence of the bounty hunter even after several months. Samus gave a wordless nod and left. It would be the last time Zelda saw Samus for what would feel like a long time.

The officers were flippant, and didn't acknowledge Zelda much at all. She preferred it this way. Made it easier to stand by as Impa did her work. She made her way to the balcony, and shone a beam of light to the forest as soon as she was sure she wasn’t being watched. 

Zelda didn’t have to wait long for Impa to appear. Almost immediately after she gave the symbol, Impa jumped up from somewhere below, and immediately got to work. The first guard didn’t even make a sound as Impa delivered several attacks at various specific points on his body. The second guard barely yelled as Impa did the same to him. 

“Are they okay?”

Impa’s shoulders rolled as she spoke, “Yeah, they’ll wake up in a couple of hours. Are you ready to get going?”

“Yes!” Zelda answered. She already had a bag packed with everything she needed hidden in her wardrobe. The leather bag Zelda pulled out only had a few change of clothes, a few books, and some potions she had Samus smuggle. Being a skilled magician meant that she didn’t have to pack too many survival resources. Magic could do all of the things Zelda needed in an emergency. If she got too tired to use any magic, that was what the potions were for. 

Zelda was completely confident in her decision to leave with Impa. But she still hesitated for one reason, “I’m really going to miss Samus.”

“I can tell she’s really important to you.” Impa placed a reassuring hand on Zelda’s shoulder as she spoke. “I promise you’ll see her again.”

The words comforted Zelda. They gave her confidence in what she was about to do. She didn’t hesitate to make her way to the balcony, readying a spell in her hands to teleport the two of them to their destination. The spell faded when she saw the group of guards outside.

“Oh no.”

Oh no indeed. The Sheikah symbol Zelda was intending to teleport to was surrounded by guards. All of them carried torches, looking for anything that might be sneaking in the dark. Several lights moving through the forest indicated that even more guards were searching the forest. Some held their torches up to the Sheikah symbol carved into the bark.

Panic instilled itself into Zelda’s bones. Why did they have to discover the signal today, why now? All the other times she shined that light, no one had even noticed. Instead it had to happen on the one day that it was most important they were not discovered. The grasp on her shoulder returned, stronger this time, tearing her horror away. “Zelda, I can still get us out of here. The only question is if you still want to come with me.”

“Goddess, of course I still want to leave!” Zelda insisted. “I’m tired of living like this. I want out.”

Impa sighed and her arm spasmed. “Okay… Okay.” The Sheikah woman hurriedly scanned the environment around them. Her trained observation skills absorbed everything around her in an instant. It only took an instant longer to come up with a plan. “Alright. We can’t just teleport to the forest since we can’t be sure we won’t be spotted immediately. Teleport directly to the ground below us.”

Directly underneath Zelda’s balcony was a large garden of beautiful flowers and hedge art. With the guards focusing on the forest, no one would notice them appearing behind the various plants of the garden. The wind magic returned to her hands again, space shifted, and Impa and Zelda now found themselves several stories lower.

The two braced themselves for a moment before reappearing, making sure they were not spotted. Thank the Goddesses, none of the guards noticed the whirling of Farore’s Wind. A relieved sigh later and Impa was leading Zelda through the garden, staying as low as possible to not draw any attention. 

“We’ll have to find a position to teleport to where we won’t be spotted,” Impa whispered.

Zelda nodded hurriedly. Her heart beated faster and faster as the seconds kept going. “I-If we keep moving this way, I should be able to teleport us t-to a spot where the guards won’t see us.”

“Sounds good… Are you okay?”

“Of course I’m not okay!” Zelda whispered with as much intensity as she could. “If we get caught, I’m going to be locked up again!”

To Zelda’s panic, Impa only smirked. “Oh don’t worry. We won’t be caught.”

The sound of sudden footsteps tore the two's attention to a guard walking towards their location. Zelda and Impa were kneeling on the side of a dirt path. If the guard rounded the corner, he would definitely see them and it would all be over. The princess scrambled backwards to get away, but a firm hand on her shoulder and a firm nod from Impa made her stop in her tracks. The guard got closer and closer, Zelda closed her eyes in preparation for the worst.

But the worst never came. The guard turned the corner, but he never noticed the two. Zelda could feel her heart beating at the speed of sound as the guard walked passed. The guard's gaze never turned to them, his pace never changed. Zelda and Impa remained unseen.

As the guard passed out of earshot, Zelda whispered, “How did he not see us?”

The grin that spread across Impa’s face and what she said next only made Zelda more confused, “Wasn't paying enough attention.”

Zelda knew that was bullshit. If Impa’s grin was any indication, she knew it was bullshit too. Zelda would press Impa for an explanation if they were not currently sneaking through the grounds of Hyrule Castle. Several more close calls like the one before continued to happen. A guard would pass by yet not notice them, even when they should have. It was clearly some technique or magic by Impa, but Zelda for the life of her couldn’t figure it out. Zelda filed her question away for later and continued to sneak through Hyrule Castle, questions could come later.

Eventually they reached what they needed. Far in the distance was the edge of the guard’s patrols. With the guards focusing on the Sheikah mark carved into the tree, they could teleport away and not be seen.

“Okay, That should be a good spot,” Zelda commented as the winds of Farore’s Wind rippled in her hands once more.

“Once we reappear, we need to head into the forest immediately to get out of sight.” Impa reminded Zelda. “We’ll need to go deep inside if we want to make sure we’re not seen.”

“Understood. On the count of three… One… Two-”

“Zelda?”

“AUGH!” The sound of Zelda’s name behind her made her nearly jump out of her skin. Behind Zelda stood Teal, her arms folded behind her back and her head hanging from anxiety. “Teal! Uh, wh-what are you doing here?”

“Uh, the guards woke me up and I couldn’t fall back asleep, so I went for a walk to clear my head.” Teal’s hands bunched up the hem of her shirt. “What’s happening? And I thought you were staying in your room?”

Understandably, Impa looked incredulously at Teal. She was just a distraction to Impa, and the ninja made her claims known. “Zelda, we have to go.”

Teal looked at the two with confusion. “Go? Go where? And who are you?”

Zelda, being the kind soul that she was, wanted to at least explain what was happening to Teal. But she didn’t get the chance. Shouts of attention from the guards behind Zelda sent a shiver down her spine. They had been noticed.

Beams of light blinded Zelda as multiple torches shined in their direction. Impa grabbed Zelda by the shoulders with the intent to force her to act. Impa didn’t need too. Zelda’s fight or flight response had activated, and it had chosen flight. The magical winds surrounded her in an instant, collapsing her form until her surroundings changed. Impa and Zelda had arrived at their destination.

“Where’d they go?!” One guard shouted. Confusion spread throughout as they spread again to search for the intruders.

“Come on, we have to hide!” Impa yelled as she ran at full speed into the forest. Zelda began to follow her, but a cry of pain drove her attention behind her.

Behind Zelda sat Teal on the forest floor. Her arms cradled her foot, which looked red with irritation. She must have been caught in Farore’s Wind, and tripped once she reappeared in a place she didn’t expect to be.

The guards were on high alert. If they caught Teal here at the edge of the forest, they would tear the girl apart! Zelda couldn't leave here! Maybe it wasn't the best idea, but Zelda didn't care. She helped Teal to her feet and kept a firm grip on her hand.

“Come on!” Zelda yelled as the two began to run through the forest. 

“What is happening!? AAH!!!” Teal yelled as she and Zelda darted throughout the trees, the light of the torches getting closer and closer. 

Impa doubled back, jumping from branch to branch. “Why did you take her!?”

“She was caught up in Farore’s Wind-” Teal stumbled, forcing Zelda to help her before she continued, “I couldn't leave her, they would hurt her!”

“Ugh, okay!” Impa looked back, the guards were getting closer. At any moment, Zelda and Teal would be in their line of sight. “You won't be able to take her and get away, so you better think of something fast!”

Zelda's mind worked into overdrive. There was no distracting the guards now that they were locked on to them. They couldn't make themselves move faster without making them even more noticable. Zelda needed to get out of their sight. The answer came pretty easily to her then.

“Teall, we're going to teleport again,” Zelda warned as the winds of Farore's Wind blew around them. “Brace yourself!”

The magic peaked, and the sound of raging winds rang in Zelda's ear. In an instant Zelda and Teal disappeared from the forest, and reappeared in the gardens directly underneath Zelda's balcony. Teal stumbled at the sudden change of setting, but Zelda kept her upright and silent in case anyone was around to hear. They were in the clear it seems, the guards having left the Sheikah symbol to chase after the would-be intruders.

“Okay, we made it out.” Zelda breathed a sigh of relief. Teal meanwhile was in complete shock. Her breathing was heavy, and only got heavier. Zelda sat Teal down on the ground with her back to the wall. It took a while for Teal to calm down, but Zelda didn't mind. “You should be able to sneak back inside without the guards noticing.”

Teal must have sensed that Zelda was going to leave, because her gaze shot up and locked onto Zelda. “Zelda! Wh-whats happening?”

… Would it be that much of a risk to tell Teal what was happening? She couldn't stop Zelda from what she was doing. Seeing no harm in it, Zelda explained, “I’m running away. I'm not safe there. The Children of Ganon know exactly where I am, I have no choice… I'm tired of being locked up anyway.”

Teal let out a long sigh. “Oh… I'm so sorry you have to do this…”

Zelda shrugged, doing her best to hide her fear, “It's okay. I have a good friend helping me out.”

Almost as if she was called, Impa swung from out of the forest and landed gracefully before Teal and Zelda. Beads of sweat kept their place on her forehead before he wiped them off with her arm.

Zelda realized after an awkward second that she should probably handle introductions. “Teal, this is Impa. Impa, this is- my friend, Teal.”

A soft sigh escaped Teal’s lips. Soon, tears began to flow. Was what Zelda said that impactful?

“Am… Am I really your friend?”

Zelda chuckled. “Of course. I think you deserve that title.”

Impa felt a little lost. She wasn't the most social person in the world, so she struggled with moments like this. 

“We're behind schedule, Zelda. We need to go.”

Zelda nodded. “Okay, goodbye Teal. Keep yourself safe.”

“Wh-wha?” Teal stuttered as Impa and Zelda turned to leave. “Wait! Are you really trusting a stranger?”

Impa's arms went limp at her sides as she let out a loud groan. “We don't have time for this!”

“I absolutely trust Impa. I don't see any reason for her to betray me.”

“Wait-” Teal stumbled as she stood up from the ground. “Iii-if you're so trustworthy then… T-t-ttake me with you!”

For a moment, nothing. No sound surrounded the group this late, except for the “hah?” Sound that came from Impa. Zelda couldn't blame her, she was surprised too. The soft spoken Teal, being so forward to suggest such a thing?

Sensing the silence coming from Zelda and Impa, Teal continued, “Well, there are still some risks, even if you do trust her. Ssso… let me come with you. Might- might make things safer for you.”

Zelda wanted to protest against Teal's suggestion… But she couldn't. Teal’s suggestion was sound, going with someone else would make things safer. Samus would definitely appreciate that. And on top of that, having Teal by her side would help immensely. Zelda was upset that Samus wouldn't be able to come with her. With Teal nearby and Samus only a message away, leaving Hyrule Castle seemed so much more manageable.

“I'm okay with it,” Zelda commented. “Is it okay Impa?”

As for Impa… She looked less convinced. Understandably so, Teal had compromised their initial attempt to escape, nearly getting them captured. Her scowl looked between Zelda and Teal. Zelda had to admit, Impa could be very intimidating when she wanted to be.

No one could escape Princess Zelda's ability to get exactly as she wanted, however. Impa gave in, hanging her head and groaning loudly. “Fine, fine! She can come.” Zelda cackled in delight while Teal only chuckled in relief. The laughing stopped when Impa's eyes narrowed and the corners of her mouth turned up. “Of course, we've lost a lot of time with these distractions. We'll need to hurry.”

With the way Impa looked at them, Zelda thought it was going to be something worse. “Yeah, we s-AAAAUUUGH!”

Impa crossed the distance between the two and picked Teal and Zelda over her shoulders. From the two came screams of panic. They were supposed to be stealthy, but Impa seemingly didn’t mind. How strong did Impa have to be to carry the two of them so easily!? “Better hold on tight, we’re gonna be moving pretty fast!”

Impa sprinted at inhuman speed, reaching the forest in only a few seconds. She continued uninhibited, darting between trees without any hesitation. Zelda and Teal were terrified. Their faces were pointed to the forest floor, wind whipping past their ears. Every time Impa suddenly changed direction, Zelda feared that she would fall to the ground. 

“Impa!” Zelda screamed over Teal’s cry of terror. “What are you doing!?”

A hysterical laugh sent shivers down Zelda’s spine. “Time is precious, Zelda! There’s not a second to lose!”

The cries and laughter continued to ring throughout the forest as the group traveled at rapid speed.

The escape didn't go unnoticed by a man wearing massive plate armor and a woman in purple robes somehow standing on the very tip of Hyrule Castle's tallest tower, The woman balancing effortlessly on the point while the man hung from the side of the spire.

"The Sheikah always seem to be one step ahead of us..." The man complained as she sneered at the escaping Princess.

"Patience, Onox," The woman reassured the man, "They may be quicker than us, but we are stronger. We'll catch them eventually."

Onox hesitantly nodded, looking up at the woman she asked, "We don't need the Princess anyways, don't we? We can just go for Link."

"The blood of either the Princess or the Hero will do, yes. But Link will surely be protected by the Royal Family, or that damned bounty hunter."

Onox groaned. Samus had been a thorn in their side ever since the Children of Ganon emerged from the shadows. If only Onox got the chance to fight him one on one, then Onox could truly prove that he was stronger! But the chances of Samus being alone for such a fight were next to none, he would be surrounded by Link or the Princess, and It would no longer be one on one. Onox would not get cheated of his chance to prove his strength.

That would have to come at another time. "What should we do then, Veran?"

The woman named Veran responded immediately, "You search for the Princess, she will surely be hiding out in the Sheikah's stronghold. The Hero will surely go out to look for her, I'll be ready to capture him when he leaves Hyrule Castle."

Onox chuckled in anticipation. "Sounds like a plan. Can't wait to smash some Sheikah skulls in."

The two disappeared into the night, one dissipated in a flash of dark magic, and the other took flight on coal black wings.

Chapter Text

The hardest part about Samus' role in the escape was waiting for news from Zelda. Whether the escape succeeded or not was out of her hands. She wanted so badly to run away with them, but Zelda wouldn't let her. She didn't want Samus to ruin her relationship with the Royal Family.

A genuine Royal Family. Younger Samus would be so disappointed. What would she say if told she would have a working relationship with a king? What would she say if she learned she fell in love with a princess?

These thoughts occupied Samus’ mind as she left her Power Suit in the charging bay. The feeling of the comforting metal and polymer suit replaced with the open air made Samus shiver. The boxers and sports bra she wore under the suit were absolutely drenched sweat, they felt horrible to the touch.

“Welcome back Samus,” The artificial voice of Adam said. “If my chronometer is accurate, then today will be the day Zelda escapes Hyrule Castle.”

Samus grunted in affirmation, her focus squarely on the shower slowly heating up in the bedroom.

“I still don’t believe this is the correct course of action.”

Adam was right of course. Leaving your home with a person you had only met a week before was, to put it simply, a really bad idea. Why did Samus agree to it then? Call it human intuition, call it desperation to see the person she cared about happy.

“This is her choice.” Samus said simply. The shower was finally hot (blazingly so, just how Samus liked it), So she threw the sweaty underwear off her body and stepped inside. “I’ve done everything I can to help.”

“You seem strangely lax in this situation, Lady.” Adam said. Even with a robotic tone, he still somehow managed to speak in that annoying tone her old CO would constantly use. “No matter what mission you take, you give it one hundred percent. Your mission was to guard Zelda, but here you are letting her walk into enemy territory.”

Samus’ groan of frustration pushed past the loud sound of the shower. “You’re underestimating her too. Zelda’s strong, has a good head on her shoulders. She’ll be fine.”

“The mission parameters state-”

“Fuck the parameters! Zelda’s well-being is more important than her safety.”

Adam didn’t respond. With her body feeling refreshed, Samus turned off the shower and exited. Adam finally spoke up while Samus dried herself off and entered the cockpit.

“Of course, Samus Aran is not known for sticking to mission parameters, even when it jeopardizes her own safety.” Adam finally spoke. He continued once Samus was dressed in a fresh pair of boxers and a bra. “I’m one to talk, given my own pension for betraying mission parameters.”

Samus smirked. Her mission aboard the BSL research station had been several years ago, but the memory of Adam rejecting the Federation’s orders still played in her mind. “So we’re in agreement?”

“We are, Lady. There's just one more thing to bring up. I’m very familiar with your personality type Samus. After observing your interactions with Zelda, I've come to the conclusion that you are in love with her.”

“Huh?!”

Her toe slammed into the base of the captain's chair. The pain blazed up her leg, forcing her to the ground. Adam didn't say anything as Samus pulled her way up onto the captain’s chair.

“Now what-” She drew a heavy breath “-makes you think that?”

“That reaction for one.” Samus scoffed at Adam's words. “Your heart rate and blood flow also spike when in the presence of Zelda.”

“I've been with Zelda constantly for weeks! You can't tell based on that!”

“Why are you denying this Samus? Do you have any other explanation for these symptoms?”

Samus opened her mouth even though she wasnt ready to retort. Try as she might, she couldn't come up with a good justification beyond, “... Maybe I'm sick?”

Complete silence filled the cockpit. Adam could be sassy when he wanted to be.

Samus sighed, “Okay, okay. I'm- I'm in love with Zelda…”

It was one thing to feel it inside. Vocalizing her feelings was an entire different beast. It proved that her feelings were real, not some flight of fancy.

“There's nothing to be ashamed of, Samus,” Adam explained. “Romantic attraction is a perfectly normal emotion to feel.”

Samus' gaze tore away from Adam's holographic screen. “I don't even know if she likes me back.”

“I cannot determine that either.” Adam's robotic voice said. “Isn't it interesting? This mission was supposed to be simple, but it has since ballooned in complexity at all angles.”

Adam was right about that. This mission was supposed to be a simple job that would put some food on the table, now it was a several month long job. Samus had made a friend, a best friend in fact, and got the chance to spend time on this amazing planet. The kingdom of Hyrule was far from perfect, but it held so much beauty in its borders. She had been accumulating rupees every single day throughout all those months. It was enough to have a respectable life in Hyrule. In Federation economy terms, Samus was immensely rich from the stores of malecite she had accumulated. She had enough to get every single surgery and service she ever wanted and never work another day in her life.

The sound of a notification drew Samus from her thoughts. Adam quickly piped in to explain, “It seems you have gotten several messages from Zelda's PDA. Displaying it now.”

Text filled the screen in front of Samus.

Zelda Hello Samus! The escape was a success, but we ran into a few hiccups. Teal got us caught by the guards, but we managed to escape. It might actually be a blessing in disguise. Since the guards have seen me run away with Impa, there's no confusion about if I've been kidnapped, taking some of the heat away from you.

Also Teal ended up coming with us. This won't be so lonely with her.

It's still dark out and I'm exhausted. I need some sunlight to start shining, that'll really make me feel better!

Awaiting your reply.

The words rolled across Samus like a wave. First came relief that the escape attempt was successful, then came a warm feeling of appreciation. Zelda had actually followed through with Samus' insane safety measure. Samus was worried that she had forced too much on Zelda, but clearly the princess was ready to comply with Samus' request. Failing to keep hold of her blush, Samus typed a response.

Samus nice. glad to see yur ok

Zelda “yur”? What is that supposed to mean?

Samus its short for you're lol

Zelda I see! Also, what does “lol” mean?

I'm probably making a fool out of myself with these messages.

Samus naw yur ok. lol stands for laughing out loud. its an acronym

you can also use lmao, stands for laughing my ass off

Zelda That's amazing! In that case I am “lmao-ing” right with you.

That message made Samus chuckle.

Samus now yur making a fool of yurself

Zelda Oh goddess above. You'll have to teach me proper messaging etiquette.

Impa says we're about to leave. Message you later!

Talking to Zelda felt so easy. Samus didn't need to worry about saying something awkward and ending the conversation there, Zelda didn't care. Has she ever felt this way before? Has she ever felt so comfortable with any other person?

“Your interest in Zelda is apparent, Samus.”

Samus sighed, Adam always had a talent at pissing her off whenever she was happy. Samus didn't dignify Adam's jab with a response, wordlessly standing up and entering her power suit.

“It seems I struck a chord.”

“Yeah Adam, you did.” Samus struck back as the Power Suit enveloped ember once again. 

“I apologize. My banter was out of line.”

Samus didn't respond as the Power Suit performed its startup checks. Batteries were half full, enough for a week. Nervous system connection ports stable, artificial muscles working at expected levels. The Power Suit was in full working order.

No words were exchanged as Samus took the elevator out of the Gun Ship.

Samus was a woman of many talents, but acting wasn't exactly one of them. It wasn't that she was bad at it per see. She simply never had the opportunity to try it. Her style of bounty hunting was direct and to the point, no espionage allowed. It was what came natural to her. Now it was time to test her skills without any practice or training. Oh joy.

Samus was entering Hyrule Castle through a side gate when Link scrambled up to her. Interspersed with heavy breaths he spoke, “Zelda’s… Gone!”

Time to test Samus’ acting skills. “Gone? What do you mean?”

Thankfully, Link didn’t sense anything amiss. After taking a few moments to recover. “The guards that replaced you were knocked out, and Zelda was gone when they were found!”

Thank god Samus’ helmet covered her face, she would never be able to hide the massive smile on her face. It took a lot of effort for her groan to not become a laugh. “They were waiting for me to leave her side.”

“Damn it!” Link yelled as he slammed his fist against the metal gate. “Those bastards. They could be anywhere right now!”

“They might have left some clues behind. Come on!” Samus yelled (internally praying to whatever God was out there that this worked) and broke out into a sprint. Link, still worn out from earlier, took a second to follow her.

The door to Zelda's bedroom was surrounded by servants, only held at bay by a line of castle guards keeping them away from the door. The mumble of a dozen whispered conversations made the atmosphere heavy. News of the princess’ disappearance hadn't been made official yet, but rumors were clearly starting to spread.

The crowd stopped when Samus got closer, the sound of metal steps upon stone causing all discussion to halt. Samus' running turned to a slow walk as the crowd parted in front of her. Not even the guards stood their ground in front of her. The only Hylian not terrified of her presence was Link, following behind her without hesitation. She expected the response, but man was she getting tired of it. 

Zelda's bedroom felt empty without its host, even with the room filled with people. Rhoam sat on the bed, sobbing into his hands. Graham was by his side, trying his best to give comforting words. Zachary stood over the two guards that replaced Samus. They sat on the floor against the wall, their stares empty. What a horrible atmosphere.

Zachary was the first to notice Samus enter. He sighed in relief as he left the inert guards behind him.

“Samus, good to see you. I assume Link told you what happened?”

Samus nodded. “What do we have so far?”

“Straight to the point. Well, from the looks of it, these two were knocked out right after you left. Whatever it was got to one of them before they could notice. The other saw a streak of something blue before they dropped.”

Samus side-eyed the two guards from within her helmet. “They don't seem really talkative.”

“Whatever condition they have comes and goes. I've never seen anything like it. To be able to incapacitate someone like this in a fraction of a second… I don't like it.”

Impa, Zelda, and Samus had spent several hours coming up with a plan of escape, so Samus was at least aware of the technique in passing. If Impa was to be believed, then the guards would be back to normal in several hours.

“YOU!” A shout from Graham demanded Samus' attention. “This is all because of you! Zelda is gone, we may never see her again!”

“Graham, Samus had nothing to do with this!” Zachary explained as he stepped between them. “This routine has been happening for months, It's been an established pattern. There's nothing suspicious going on.”

“That's what you think! It was all part of his plan, he's been waiting for this moment!”

Link stepped forward as well. “This is not the time to argue!”

Graham scoffed. “This is the perfect time to argue! The princess is gone! She could be dead by now!” Rhoam’s sobs increased in ferocity, stopping everyone in place. Samus forgotten, Graham returned to his side. “I’m sorry my king, I’m sure Zelda is out there somehow.”

Graham’s reassurances did little to quell the sobs of Rhoam. The King of Hyrule was usually a pillar of a man. When panic gripped the world, he would stand tall and reassure them. Seeing him like this made Samus’ heart drop. Samus slowly stepped forward to Rhoam. As Samus stepped into his vision, his head raised. Tears stained the front of his face. 

“She’s still out there.” Samus assured. “I’m sure.”

Graham spat out in a low growl, “She’s a princess, there is-”

“She is not weak!” Samus said in an authoritative tone, shutting Graham up. “Zelda may be the greatest sorcerer in this country. She has the Triforce for god’s sake! That has to mean something!” Samus sighed. Her patience was already thin from days of mistreatment, any more would make her snap. She took a moment to compose herself before she spoke to Rhoam. “Zelda is the kindest woman I’ve ever met. You should be proud, you raised an amazing daughter.”

Rhoam’s mouth turned up into a brittle smile. “... Thank you.”

Samus gave a brief nod before turning to Zachary and Link. “Link, Search the room, there must be some clues here. Zachary, see if the guards spotted anything.”

The two Hylians nodded and got to work. Samus meanwhile stepped out onto the balcony. The moon hung low in the sky, the darkness of night started to fade into day. The teary eye still stood etched in the tree bark far away from the balcony. Several Hylians stood around it, struggling to find an answer to its question. They wouldn’t find anything. Impa had proved herself a capable ninja, the top of her class. She wouldn’t have left any evidence that pointed to her.

Samus’ head hung and she leaned against the railing. The tracker in Zelda’s PDA reported her location. She was near Kakariko Village, in a hidden valley by the Dueling Peaks. Samus wanted so badly to tell Rhoam that her daughter was safe. There had to be a way to alleviate Rhoam's worries! But what? Link found a solution to this problem before Samus did.

“Hey Samus?” Link’s voice brought Samus back to reality. He was kneeling in front of Zelda’s dresser, waving her over. Once Samus got close enough, Link asked, “I noticed that Zelda’s bag was missing. Any idea what that means?”

“Looks like some of her clothes are missing too…” Samus whispered as she studied the dresser closely. This was it. “I doubt the Children of Ganon would let her pack her bags.”

Zachary overheard them and piped in, “That matches some of the reports I just received. Some of the guards saw Zelda running away from the castle with a bag on her shoulders.”

“She ran from the guards…” Samus pondered as she rubbed the chin of her helmet. Please God let her acting be convincing. “It sounds to me like Zelda ran away on her own will.”

“Excuse me?” Graham's voice sneered from Rhoam’s side.

“Think about it. Why would Zelda run away from castle guards if she was kidnapped? It seems to me that Zelda was trying to get away.”

Graham looked incredulous. “B-but that's preposterous! Why would Zelda ever leave Hyrule Castle!? She received royal treatment!”

“Oh I don't know, maybe it was because you had her locked up in her room?” Samus said with as much venom in her voice that she could muster. “What a horrible idea by the way. Keeping Zelda in a single location for weeks at a time, you’re practically handing her to the Children of Ganon at this point!”

The sobs from Rhoam continued again. “Oh Goddess above, we made a mistake. I’m sorry for not listening to you Samus.”

“It’s no use worrying about that now.” Samus insisted. “I will find her.”

Graham just couldn’t take the humiliation on the cheek it seems. He stood up straight and tried his best to look intimidating as he addressed Samus. If the situation wasn’t serious, Samus might have laughed at the absurdity of it. “You will do no such thing! You’ve already-”

The cold metal of Samus’ armored left hand gripping Graham’s shoulders stopped him in his tracks. The artificial bravado faded in the face of Samus’ cold rage. His body shook as Samus’ grip tightened harder and harder. No one tried to intervene, they knew it would be impossible to stop Samus.

“Do me a favor…” Samus growled into Graham’s ear. “Stay the fuck out of my way. You’ve done enough.”

She didn’t mean to push Graham hard, but he still hit the bed frame behind him with a loud thud. The advisor sneered at her, but she ignored him. Samus gave no attention to any of the Hylians around her as she marched out of the bedroom. They made no effort to stop her, thankfully. There was no guarantee that Samus would be able to contain her anger if they did.

It took Zelda running away from her own home to make them realize their mistake! The fact that Zelda was eating less and less by the day didn't do it, nor did seeing how her chipper personality disappeared by the day. Zelda's well-being wasn't important, the only thing that mattered was that she was respectful, submissive, and ready to pump out kids as soon as she was to be married off.

No, that wasn't fair. Rhoam did care about his daughter's happiness and well-being. He had even asked Samus to make it a priority. He was just too trusting in people who would take advantage of him. Link simply wasn't aware of the consequences. Ignorance was no excuse for hurting others, but it was at least better than intentional malice.

Samus sighed. She needed to get away before she did something she would regret. It was time to ‘search for Zelda'.

“Wait, Samus!” Link yelled from behind Samus as he ran up. 

Another sigh, even deeper. Of course she couldn't catch a break.

Samus turned around and looked at Link with an annoyance invisible to him. Link struggled to catch a breath for the second time this night. How was he this winded? Did the ocean destroy his muscles or something? Eventually Link recovered his breath and stated, “I'm coming with you.”

“No.” And with that, Samus turned around and walked away.

“Wh-what? Wait!” Link struggled to keep up with Samus' stride. “Why not?”

“I'm not much of a fan of you right now.”

“Why?”

“Because you stood by when Zelda was suffering,” Samus turned around. Even with her eyes obscured by her visor, Link faltered under her gaze. “Let me be clear, Part of the reason she left was you.”

Link was left hurt, not that Samus cared. She turned back around to walk away. What Link said next made her stop. “You're right. It is partially my fault.”

A moment passed with no words.

“I know we got off on the wrong foot…” Link's voice sounded hesitant. The confidence and determination usually present was gone from him. “I've made many mistakes. I understand if you consider me irredeemable… But please, let me try to redeem myself.”

Another moment of silence from Samus. Partly due to ruminating on Link's words, partly due to intimidation factor. Samus loved being scary to a fault.

“You might be a dumbass, but you're willing to learn.” Samus finally said. It was one of Link's best traits. “We’ll leave in an hour. Get everything you'll need.”

Samus couldn’t see Link’s face behind her. She imagined that Link smiled in the whimsical delight he sported heavily. “Yes! I won’t let you down!”

Samus scoffed. “You will, I’m just on another level.”

“Hey, I was caught off guard before. I can totally keep up with you!”

“We’ll see,” Samus hummed. Taking Link along would make hiding the truth more difficult. Hopefully she was up to the task.

“Samus! Link!” The voice of another man, Davron this time, running up to them from behind. “I heard about Zelda’s disappearance. Let me join you!”

“Heh?” Might not be the most dignified of responses, but it was all Samus could muster as she turned around to face the newcomer. “I’d really rather not.”

“Please!” Davron insisted. “Teal is gone too. I can’t even begin to imagine what she must be thinking now. I have to find her!”

Link looked shocked. “Wha- Teal is missing too?!”

Samus sighed. “Listen, I work better alone. Taking Link is, already…” Her voice trailed off as she noticed Link standing next to her. He was really struggling not to speak up. Dread filled Samus’ veins. “Don’t say it.”

“I mean, it would be nice to have another set of eyes looking for them! Just saying.”

“No, no. I-” Her left hand gripped into a tense fist as her gaze switched between Link and Davron. Both of them looked so sure of themselves. Why couldn’t they just leave her alone!? A low groan escaped from her before she spoke, “Fine, fine! Yeah let’s go, it’ll be fun! Like a party! Make sure to bring some drinks, can't have a party without those!”

“Uh, Samus?” Link asked with concern.

“What's that Link? Are you concerned? This is me coping with having to deal with you both. This is very normal for me!” Samus raved, Link and Davron looking on with anxiety. “We’re leaving in an hour. If either of you aren’t ready by then, I’m leaving both of your asses here!”

Davron and Link didn’t move a muscle. Every second that passed made Samus more irate. “Go!?”

At Samus’ order, Link and Davron backed away. She was alone in the corridors of Hyrule Castle. The realization of what she just did hit her in the silence. She turned into a raving lunatic! The looks Davron and Link gave her, they were genuinely afraid, and they should have been! Samus valued her alone time greatly, and those two just intruded where they didn’t belong. Now here she was, about to spend who knows how much time ‘searching’ for Zelda with two people she barely knew. Ones that saw her nearly at her lowest. 

She really was pathetic. Zelda had been gone for less than a day and Samus had degraded so quickly. What would she do after several days of this? What about a week? If Samus didn’t have her helmet on, she’d be sobbing.

‘Please just let this be over soon.’ Samus prayed. ‘I can’t last much longer without her.’

Chapter Text

All in all, the trip from Hyrule Castle to the Sheikah’s secret stronghold was the most intense and stressful journey of Zelda’s life.

After the horribly botched escape and the journey through the forest over Impa's shoulders, the ninja had laid them down on a particular soft patch of ground and gave them fifteen minutes to recuperate. She knew Impa was talented enough to sneak into Hyrule Castle to deliver the talisman to her, but Zelda never expected the sheer physical ability hidden in the Sheikah leader's thin frame.

The first half of the fifteen minutes provided were spent laying as still as possible in an attempt to calm down. The second half was spent struggling to send properly spelt messages to Samus through her PDA. The holographic ‘keyboard’ as it was apparently called was surprisingly intuitive to use. After a few minutes of figuring it out, she had typed out a few perfect messages to send to Samus. She even managed to sneak in one of the code phrases! Zelda was proud of herself, even though she figured the task was simple to Samus.

That pride faded quickly as Samus replied with an absolute atrocity to the written word. Perhaps proper spelling was not expected in this context? It clearly wasn't a fatal error, as Samus didn't mention it during their short conversation. Of course she still embarrassed herself a little bit, as Samus pointed out. It felt strange to be so out of her comfort zone. Zelda realized humorously that this must be how Samus feels during normal conversation. 

“Alright, break time is over,” Impa ordered from behind Zelda. Putting her question away for later, Zelda slipped the PDA back into her pocket.

Teal evidently was not as ready as Zelda was. The poor girl laid unconscious on the forest floor. Impa looked at the prone form of Teal incredulously,  nudged the unconscious girl's body with her foot getting no reaction. “Is… Is she okay?”

“She… She's not a very stable person…”

Impa's face was currently hidden behind her neck gaiter, but the look in her eyes was all Zelda needed to tell she was annoying. With a groan, Impa picked up Teal's unconscious body and placed it on her shoulder. “I can carry you if you're tired.”

“Oh no! I'm fine!” Zelda certainly didn't want to be carried like a potato sack any longer. “We can just walk.”

And walk they did. The path to the Sheikah stronghold was long and arduous. Predetermined paths were non-existent in this part of the forest, forcing the group to duck under low vines and squeeze past shrubbery. If an obstacle was too big to move past, Impa would cut it down in an instant with a kunai hidden up her sleeve. 

“Please don’t be angry with her,” Zelda begged. “She didn’t mean to impede us.”

“I’m not angry at her. I’m just-” Impa’s free hand waved in the air as the words struggled to come to fruition. “I’m just not good with changes. It’s an issue I’m actively working to remedy. I apologize.”

Self doubtful to a fault, just like Samus. Zelda made sure to let Impa know, “There’s no issue at all.”

“Thank you for the kind words Zelda… But you don’t have to coddle me. I’m the leader of the Sheikah clan, I’m expected to be better.”

If only Zelda could just pepper Impa with all of the compliments and reassurances she deserved, but unfortunately it wasn't that simple. It was the same with Samus, being told that what makes up themselves was deviant for so long made those thoughts burrow deeper. There was one option she could try…

“Those things that you think are bad, your resistance to change, your strange behavior, there’s nothing wrong with it. I know that because Samus is the same way.” Those words from Zelda made Impa completely stop in place, not making a sound. The princess continued speaking undeterred, “She has issues with change just like you do. She has trouble maintaining eye contact. She feels so passionate about history and could talk for hours on end about it. I don’t think there’s ever a moment where she isn’t fiddling with something or tapping her feet. Those aren't things to be ashamed of, they make you who you are! If anyone thinks you’re weird or tries to stop you from doing those things, then forget them! They don’t deserve the time of day.”

Impa didn’t have anything to say to Zelda’s compliments, her brain struggling to comprehend it. Never in her life had she met someone who held the same condition as her. Everyone else seemed so able , they didn’t have to worry about containing their excitement in fear of getting stared at, it made her feel like an outsider. She might have been the leader of the Sheikah, but everyone else either tolerated her at best or thought she was a horrible choice for leader at worst. For decades she trained to hide those traits under a layer of stoicism. 

But, apparently, Samus was like her. Impa had noticed a few traits that made her suspicious of such, but she knew that such conditions were not to be discussed in good company. And here was Zelda, completely rejecting that paradigm in favor of accepting her whole heartedly.

Finally Impa slowly turned around to face Zelda; Her soft smile made the Sheikah leader feel safe. She had a question on her mind but getting the words out was difficult. This was something she needed to know for sure. “I’d- If she is willing, I’d like to talk to Samus about this.”

“Of course,” Zelda answered with a soft tone. “She would love to talk to you.”

Thank the goddesses that Impa still had her neck gaiter up, the manic smile she now sported would have made Zelda change her mind, but nothing could stop her from chuckling from the new found possibilities. “Thanks Zelda. Uh- we really need to get going though.”

“Oh yes, yes! I can hurry.”

“You sure? You look like you’re gonna collapse.”

Impa wasn’t exactly wrong. All the stress from the botched escape and the upcoming several hour walk made her knees weak. Her strength was never physical. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” 

Impa placed the still unconscious body delicately on the ground before she began rummaging through her armor. “I should have some rope here… Okay, here it is!” From under Impa’s armor she pulled out a tightly woven length of rope. “I can secure you to my back while I carry Teal in my arms.”

Well, this way of traveling sounded a lot better than being carried over the Impa’s shoulder. It took some time to figure out a comfortable position for Zelda to be tied to Impa’s back, but they settled on one eventually. Zelda had asked if it was truly worth it to spend such time on this, but Impa just gave a wolfish grin. Zelda should have known not to underestimate her.

“Okay, ready?” Impa made sure Teal was secure in her arms as she asked, and got a few reassuring taps on her shoulder from Zelda. “Alright, brace yourself!”

Impa ran through the forest dividing Hyrule Castle and Kakariko Village with amazing efficiency, avoiding every obstacle in her path without incident. It was all so exciting! Never before had Zelda moved so fast, the wind ripping through her hair, her heart pulsing in her chest. The sounds of Zelda’s manic laughter filled the quiet forest, with Impa echoing the laugh along with her.

“AAAAUUUUGH!” The screams of terror from Teal, who had woken up only to see her surroundings rocketing past. “She clung to Impa’s body with all the strength she could.

“Enjoy this Teal!” Impa yelled as she jumped from branch to branch. “There’s nothing better!”

“Just don’t drop me! Goddess, please!”

The manic laugh grew louder. “Don’t worry, I got you!”

How amazing was this? The expectations placed onto Zelda by her status as royalty were gone, back at Hyrule Castle with everything else she left behind. Of course, Samus was still back there too; It hurt so badly to leave her behind. But now there was hope, hope that she could get back all of the good things that she left behind. For the first time in what felt like forever, Zelda was free.

They eventually arrived at the base of the dueling peaks. Kakariko village was just a few paces away out of sight from the dense trees. Above them the sky shone a dark blue that was lightening by the minute, the sun was about to break through soon. 

Teal struggled to stay standing after Impa placed her feet firmly on the ground. After a few seconds of stumbling, her legs finally gave out and she fell to the forest floor. Zelda did better, if only marginally. Once Impa untied the ropes keeping Zelda on her back she faltered slightly, leaning on the ninja leader for support. Impa was the only one standing tall and strong, and she was the one doing the work of carrying them! It was honestly kind of scary.

“Okay! Here we are.” Impa announced as she stretched. Her entire body leaned back unnaturally far before rapidly settling back down. Zelda had taken to leaning against a tree to support herself while Teal simply stayed seated on the ground, content to not move a muscle. Impa looked confused at the scene. “Goodness, you two look dead.”

“Well yeah, that was the most intense experience of my life!” Teal yelled, her hand on her chest in a desperate attempt to control her breathing. Zelda stumbled quickly to her friend and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. The poor girl eventually calmed down, her breaths slowing to a normal pace, and she gave Zelda a small nod as thanks. “So this is it?”

‘It’ was nothing more than the sharp incline of earth and stone that made up the base of the dueling peaks. It was an awe inspiring sight to be sure, especially as Zelda had never visited the peaks before, but it didn't seem like there was any Sheikah encampment anywhere.

Seemingly reading her mind, Impa answered Zelda's silent question, “The entrance here is very well hidden. Only a good eye could spot if anything was amiss.”

The entrance was definitely of the secret variety then, but where could it be? The clue must be incredibly subtle if the hint Impa gave was any indication. The Sheikah were incredibly meticulous in making sure they left no traces of themselves behind, so whatever the key was to finding this entrance, she would have to pay close attention to find it. Nothing seemed off with the forest, so her focus shifted to the mountain that stood above them. Her eyes scanned over every single inch of the rock face in front of her, analyzing every stone and tuff of moss. And then she found it. Her eyes glazed over it at first, but then she took a second look. Several meters above them on the side of the Dueling Peaks sat a small stone, ever so slightly darker than the stones around it.

Her finger pointed upward to the strange rock, before her head turned to Impa's direction and asked, “Is it that rock there?”

Impa didn't answer Zelda directly. Instead, she pulled a kunai from under her robes, pulled her arm back, and threw the kunai directly at the stone. The kunai spun rapidly through the air before it impacted the rock with its round base, Imbedding the rock further into the mountain side. Impa caught the kunai out of the air without even looking in its direction.

“Show off.” Zelda's jab made Impa chuckle. 

The ground beneath the group suddenly began to rumble. Zelda almost fell over from the sudden movement, Teal was lucky in that she was already sitting down, and Impa didn't seem phased at all. Once the rumbling reached its peak, a small part of the mountain slowly receded into the ground until a cave was revealed.

The sight of the secret passageway made Teal and Zelda stare in amazement. Seeing the two like that made Impa chuckle. “Yeah, it is amazing. Come on, let's get inside.”

Zelda's control over her legs had mostly returned, though Teal's looked as if they were made of jelly. With the help of Zelda, she was able to stand up on wobbly legs and find support on the princess's shoulder. The three made their way through the hidden passageway, stones rising to cover the way they came in.

“This is insane…” the voice of Teal remarked as the group walked forward, Impa directly in front of them. “What is this place?”

Impa was quick to answer, “The Sheikah Village. Well, this is a secret passageway to the Sheikah Village, I just-”

The sound of Zelda's laugh made Impa stop, “It's okay Impa.” It looked like a weight was lifted from Impa's shoulders, as they rolled with relief. “We haven't explained what the Sheikah are, haven't we Teal?”

“It's my first time hearing about it.”

Zelda opened her mouth to begin explaining, but stopped when she considered the people around her. “Would you like to explain, Impa?”

“The Sheikah are a clan of warriors that date back to prehistory!” Impa gleefully explained. “Every Sheikah is vowed to protect the women of the Royal Family from the shadows.”

“Huh. Amazing.” The weariness in Teal's bones must have diminished her interest. “And we're going to be staying with them?”

Zelda nodded. “Yep! Until it's good for me to return to Hyrule Castle.”

“And when is that going to be?”

The one question that Zelda didn't have an answer for, and she desperately wished she did. There was no guarantee that it would ever be able to return. It had been less than a day at this point and she already missed Samus terribly. All of this led her to not answering Teal’s question. If the girl didn’t notice Zelda’s lack of an answer, she didn’t bring it up.

The sound of Impa’s cough brought Zelda out of her funk. “Well, we’re almost there. Get ready to be amazed.”

Light poured out of the cave exit in front of them, blinding Zelda. Once her eyes adjusted and saw what the Sheikah Village looked like…

It was amazing.

The Sheikah Village sat in a small but deep circular valley. The sun shone high in the sky, and the sight of the Dueling Peaks towering high above them lent to an amazing view. The village itself was modest. None of the buildings were particularly large, but they were all built in a style that Zelda was unfamiliar with, with thatched roofs, many ornate gates, and beautiful cherry blossom trees dotting the paths. The clothes everyone wore were simple, trousers and tunics, mostly colored beige with some blue highlights and accessories. People milled around the streets freely, partaking in the community around them. 

“This is amazing!” Zelda gasped as she struggled to take in all the sights around her. Teal’s reactions were much more muted in comparison, but her eyes were still wide open.

“Yeah it really is. Nothing else in Hyrule compares really.”

Teal, Zelda, and Impa attracted a fair number of stares as they made their way to the center of town. Zelda expected as much, outsiders were likely extremely rare in this village. Her status as a princess had begotten many stares as well, as much as she loathed them. What surprised Zelda about the stares were who they were directed at. It was hard to tell at first, but after a while Zelda was sure, the Sheikah around them were staring at Impa. Why did they find her strange? Impa was the leader of the Sheikah tribe, why did they regard her like that?

Eventually they arrived at the center of Sheikah Village, a stone courtyard with a brilliant fountain in its center. Next to the courtyard stood the biggest building in the village, likely a town hall. A crowd had already coallessed, ready to welcome their leader home.

One of the Sheikah stepped forward and addressed Impa directly. He wore a similar ninja garb to Impa, and stood nearly as tall. “Welcome back, Impa. Was your mission a success?”

Impa’s nod looked forced and awkward. “Yes, yes, everything went well. Uh, Here is the Princess, and her friend Teal.” Her hands waved as she presented the two guests to the crowd.

The crowd's reactions were mixed to say the least. Some looked at Zelda and Teal with total neutrality, while others looked at them with distrust. Their presence wasn’t exactly welcome here clearly.

“Bringing total strangers into the village. Can’t believe the elders signed off on this.” One voice from the crowd spoke.

“Impa has always been their favorite. What a spoiled brat.” Said another.

How disrespectful! Did they not know how strong Impa was, how much she deserved her position?

“It was my decision to come here, so if you want to blame anyone, blame me.” Zelda announced to the crowd. All eyes descended on her in an instant. Addressing crowds was never Zelda’s strong suit, but she would have to bear with it for her friend. “The Children of Ganon are only growing bolder and bolder, so it just makes sense for me to stay hidden.”

The crowd seemed satisfied with that. Impa quickly grabbed the arms of Zelda and Teal and pulled them past the crowd to the town hall. Once they were inside, Impa leaned against the door and breathed heavily.

“I-ii-i’m sorry. I’m- I’m nnn-not good with crowds.” Impa apologized as she averted her gaze.

“Why were they so disrespectful to you?” Zelda asked resolutely.

“I… was only appointed recently.” Impa answered awkwardly. “And It was a heavily protested decision.”

“But you’re so capable…” Teal said in amazement. “You must be the strongest person I know, aside from Samus. You’re a great leader!”

Teal’s words brought out a soft chuckle from Impa. “It’s not that simple. Leadership also means organizing the people around you. I’m just not good at that.”

“That doesn’t excuse what they’re doing.” It was so painful watching Impa, this amazing person that Zelda looked up to, be so dejected. It didn’t matter that she had the talent to back up her leadership, she was so unconfident in herself to lead that it didn’t matter.

“Anyway, this my place,” Impa changed the subject, wavering her hands around the sparsely furnished meeting hall. Several pads sat on the floor, likely for people to sit on during meetings. Even the chief’s chair was only slightly fancier than the others. It looked to be the biggest room in the building, taking up the entire first floor. “As the chief I get special accommodations, which, uh, is nice.”

“It’s, uh, quaint,” Teal hesitantly commented. “Very comfortable.”

“Th-this is just the meeting hall. My stuff is mostly upstairs.” Impa spoke as she led Zelda and Teal to a staircase in a back corner of the large room. 

The upstairs that took up the bulk of Impa’s living space was quaint for the chief of the Sheikah. The staircase led immediately to a small living room with a few comfortable looking armchairs and a small table between them. A small kitchen was attached to the living room, just big enough to be usable by a single person. Big windows on both sides of the room brought in enough natural light that there was no need for candles. Two doors stood against the left wall, and one more door sat on the right.

Impa first pointed to the door closest on the left. “This’ll be your room. My room is directly next to it. It was, uh, meant for only one person, so it’ll be a bit cramped.”

“Oh this doesn’t look bad,” Zelda commented as she opened the door. Two beds were situated in the opposite corners of the room, with a few paces of space between them. There was enough for both of them to stand in the center of the room without bumping into each other.

“So, uh, the kitchen is free reign, I barely use it anyway. That door over there is a study. There are some book shelves, it’s good for reading. And- uh- feel free to wander around the village, you don’t need to stay here or anything…” Impa trailed off as her shoulders spasmed and her gaze turned away. “... I’m sorry about them. We don’t get many visitors. Just give them some time, I’m sure they’ll turn around on you.”

“We’ll just have to make a good first impression!” Zelda proclaimed, her fists placed against her hips. 

The confidence on display made Impa chuckle. Zelda had been told her chipper attitude could be infectious, hopefully Impa was getting a big dose of it. “I have some duties to attend to. Make yourself comfortable, just, stay away from my room. I value my personal space.”

And with that, Impa scampered away down the staircase and out of sight. The second floor was awfully silent, the only noises being Impa’s footsteps and the sounds of the front door being passed through downstairs. 

Teal was the one to first break the silence, “Goddess, she’s less confident than me.”

Even with the dim reality of the statement, it still made Zelda laugh. “Yes. It’s a shame, she really is worth more than that.”

The awkward silence continued.

“So!” Zelda spoke, finally tearing through the atmosphere, “I suppose we’ll be sharing a room.”

Teal’s expression looked completely vacant, “Yeah… I can’t believe I’m sharing a bedroom with a princess.”

“No more of that princess talk. Right now I'm just Zelda. No need for all of those formalities.”

Teal looked stunned, but eventually settled down and took it in stride. “Okay, uh… Zelda. That still feels weird.”

“Hey, you’ll find no judgment from me.”

“Ugh… I think I’m going to collapse in bed. Today’s been… so much.”

“Go ahead. I don’t care about bed choice, so choose whatever.”

Teal stumbled over to their shared bedroom and shut the door behind her, leaving Zelda alone in the living quarters. With no one around to watch her, Zelda took the bag on her shoulders and placed it on the table before getting herself comfortable in one of the armchairs. The Sheikah didn’t mess around, the chair was just as comfortable as Zelda expected and more. From a pouch at her side she pulled out the now familiar PDA. Its sheen metal stood out so much in the living room it was almost comedic. The light of the holographic display soon filled the living room with a comforting blue glow.

The PDA opened immediately to Zelda’s messages with Samus. The bounty hunter hadn’t sent any more since their last correspondence. It was time to fix that.

Zelda At the Sheikah Village. It’s very nice, I think you would like it.

It is very quaint compared to Hyrule Castle.

It only took a few moments for Samus to reply back.

Samus im sure. the castle is way too fancy 4 me

youve seen where i live most of the time

davron and link are joining the search. rn theyre going to ask around castle town while i look for clues around where you escaped

Zelda Good luck, Impa is a professional. I’ve never seen anything like that. She didn’t leave any trace behind.

Samus lol think again

my suit can pick up subtle traces

i could find you if i wanted to

Of course she could. Samus could tell Zelda that she could lift the whole of Hyrule Castle on her shoulders and the princess would believe her. With all of the amazing things she’s seen Samus do, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.

Zelda I’m glad you are not actually looking for me then.

I wouldn’t have stayed hidden very long lol.

Samus hey you did it right this time

nice

Zelda With the Triforce of Wisdom at my side, nothing can get past me.

Intellectually, I mean.

Samus if you really needed all that to wrap your head around ‘lol’

lets just say it dosnt inspire alot of confidence

Even in text form, Samus could still deliver this deadpan snarky attitude that Zelda loved to hear from her.

Zelda Your spelling doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence.

Samus wow. rude

Three dots appeared in the bottom left corner of the screen. This indicated that the person on the other end of the message was typing something. The seconds continued to pass, and then turned into minutes, without a single message from Samus. Was she going to send a seriously long message? Eventually Samus sent a message, and…

Samus i miss u

It was shockingly simple. Did it take so much effort to send it? For some reason, that thought had Zelda’s heart racing in her chest.

Zelda I miss you too.

I wish we could just spend time together without worrying about the Children of Ganon or my royal responsibilities.

It’s all so annoying.

Samus yeah

well crush them

do you even like being a princess?

Zelda I

It was such a hard question to answer. It meant pushing forward feelings she’s kept deep inside her for a while.

Zelda I don’t.

I just want to study magic, and spend time with the people I care about.

I don’t want to have to worry about royal etiquette. I just want to be free.

Samus youll get that freedom. im sure of it

It was such an impossible fantasy. The throne was hers by birthright. To reject one's birthright was blasphemous to a high order. Zelda would be disavowed by the Royal Family and be treated as an outsider by all Hylians. But somehow… Zelda felt hope. The impossible could be made possible, with the strength of Samus Aran behind her back.

The warmth returned. It was such a bitter feeling, since she could never manifest those desires in reality. She could only bottle them up and hope no one ever found out. At least Samus was still her closest friend.

Zelda Thank you Samus.

Samus anytime 

Chapter Text

A crack team was assembled to find the missing Princess Zelda. Samus Aran: Legendary bounty hunter from the cosmos, The brawn of the group. Her years of experience give her an edge in any combat encounter. Link: The Hero of the Blade. His travels across Hyrule during the war against Ganon gives him the perfect set of skills to be the group's navigator (Not too shabby with a sword if it came down to it either). He might be missing his signature blade, but the sword he was given as a replacement was easily one of the best swords that Hyrule’s blacksmiths could forge. Davron: The frontman with the silver tongue. No secrets are safe when Davron is there to negotiate them out into the open. The three of them together were the perfect search and rescue team. Princess Zelda would be found in no time.

Except, no she wouldn’t, Because Zelda was not missing at all.

The GPS chip in the PDA Samus gave Zelda sent the Princess’ location at all times, and she hadn’t moved from the bounds of Sheikah Village for several weeks. She messaged Samus every day just like she promised, with each day bringing a new secret message assuring her safety.

Samus’ job during this search would be the hardest of them all: Trick Davron and Link to make sure Zelda stays as hidden as possible. For how long would the Princess be out of sight? It was hard to say. Coming back to Hyrule Castle only to be locked up again would be a failure by Zelda’s standards. Something would have to change for her to feel safe returning. To give herself the most time possible, Samus would have to delay the search by as long as possible.

And delay she did. The first two weeks of searching took place in Hyrule Castle Town, asking around for any sightings of the blonde haired Princess. Link and Davron were spending their time asking anyone traveling to and from Castle Town if they had seen a Hylian woman with Zelda’s description. Samus however, took a much more laid back approach. She only asked a small number of people for information, and some days didn’t ask anyone at all. Her time was spent just exploring Hyrule Castle Town, looking as busy as possible while doing little work.

After two weeks of questioning, a Gerudo sales woman came saying she saw a Hylian that matched Zelda's description sneaking into Gerudo Town. It was a shot in the arm after a slow week with no news, energizing Davron and Link into action (It wasn't Zelda of course, just someone who happened to match her description, but it was enough for the two).

They were about to hop on horseback and go riding off to Gerudo Town, but the three ran into a hitch immediately. Samus' Power Suit was way too heavy for even the strongest horse to carry, so she would have to stay behind. That was out of the question according to Link, so something else had to be done.

Which was why Samus was leading the two other members of the search party to her Gun Ship. Two strangers, two people that Samus was nearly unfamiliar with, in this space that was so important to her. The thought made her blood boil… At least, it would have several months ago. She’d really gotten soft, hasn’t she? Spending time with Zelda had rounded out her edges, found her more room to give. Samus could already hear what Zelda would say, it would be good for her to make more friends and connect with more people, and as much as she wanted to, she couldn’t argue against that. Link and Davron were good people, they meant well despite their ignorance. 

So Samus decided to give the two a shot. It would be painful, yes, but she would give them a shot.

“How much farther is it?” Davron asked from the back of the group. Being the most inexperienced with marching through such thick wilderness, he determined their pace through the wilderness. Link hiked by his side, ready to help whenever Davron tripped, while Samus took the front to lead the two to their destination. “What even is ‘it’?”

“My ship. We’ll be using it to get around,” Samus answered. “We should be getting to it soon.”

“A ship? In the middle of a forest? How is that possible?” Link asked.

Samus couldn’t help but smirk under her helmet. “You’ll see. We’re almost there.”

They arrived at the small clearing that contained Samus’ Gun Ship within a minute. The ship was still hidden under its cloaking tech, so to Link and Davron, there was nothing to be found. 

“There’s nothing here…” Link commented as Samus stopped at the edge of the clearing.

“That’s what you think,” Samus jabbed as she fiddled with the controls on her Arm Cannon, finishing off with a dramatic button press.

The Gun Ship’s cloak lifted with a shimmering light leaving the purple ship standing tall amongst the trees. But Samus wasn't paying attention to the ship, instead her gaze was focused exclusively on Link and Davron. The Power Suit was certainly alien to the Hylians, but their reactions to it had softened with time. The Gun Ship was an immense leap past that, and their reaction was appropriately dumbfounded. Their eyes were wide as they struggled to take in the purple ship in front of them.

“Th- that's a ship?” Link asked, pointing at the strange ship with a shaky finger. Davron was simply too astounded to speak, lost in the impossibility looming over him.

“Yep. Come on, we have to go.”

A platform lowered from the bottom of the ship, ready to carry them inside. Samus went first, the bulk of her Power Suit wouldn’t allow anyone else on. Once Samus was in the ship the platform lowered again and returned with Davron and Link in tow.

“Don’t touch anything,” Samus ordered as she opened the door to the rest of the ship. Did they even hear her? The two Hylians were currently attempting to take in every detail of the metal walls around them. Samus sighed, the initial surprise was funny but now it was only getting annoying. Her impatience got the better of her as she forced the two forward. The small messy bedroom on the right and the utilitarian kitchen on the left were ignored for the cockpit straight ahead. 

“This must be Davron and Link,” Adam’s artificial voice said, making the two jump just like Zelda when she first met the AI. “Pleasure to meet you two.” 

“Wh-” Davron already looked so done with everything around him, but it seems Adam tipped him over the edge. “What is that?”

“Adam. My ship’s AI.” Samus explained as her foot knocked one of the floor panels further down. From underneath the floor she pulled out a chair that slid out on a track and folded into place. “Don’t worry about him. He’s annoying.”

“I’d like for their impressions not to be colored by you, Lady.” The sassiness of her AI companion made Samus groan. Adam had already promised that he would go along with Samus’ lie, thankfully. If only she could get Adam to cool it with being a dickhead.

Link looked confused, asking, “‘Aye-Eye’? What does that mean?”

“Just don’t worry about it,” Samus said as she did the same to another floor panel and pulled out another chair. “We’ll be able to get around much quicker this way-”

The sounds of the Gun Ship’s scanners being activated made her jerk her head back. Davron had pressed a button on the control panel.

“Hey, I said don’t touch anything!” Samus yelled as she marched over to Davron and pulled him away from the console. “This is my space, you don’t get to just walk around and touch my shit!”

The look Davron gave Samus was intensely fearful, the sight of it made Samus step back. Link was also on edge, ready to pull his sword out from its sheath on his back. Samus was familiar with looks like this, she had seen it before on the faces of the Space Pirates she had gunned down, but this time was different for some reason. These faces of fear only made her stomach drop. With little strength she walked over to the captain’s chair and collapsed on it, her gaze focusing on the green forest surrounding the Gun Ship. Her tuned senses could hear the awkward shuffling the Hylians behind her were making. It only served to remind her of their judgment.

Link was the first to speak up, “Are you okay? Samus?”

“Naw.” The silence after Samus’ answer was unbearable, so she elaborated, “My one friend goes missing and here I am losing it. Turns out that bodyguard you hired is kinda pathetic.”

“Struggling doesn’t make you pathetic, Samus.” Davron explained as he stepped closer. “We’re all struggling with this, in our own ways. We’re not going to blame you.”

Link chuckled, “Yeah. After everything I’ve seen you do, I would never describe you as pathetic.”

It wasn’t the same as when Zelda would reassure her, but that didn’t make it bad. “Let’s just get this over with.”

“Right yes, finding Zelda. I assume you want us to sit down.”

The two Hylians found their way to the two chairs Samus raised, making themselves as comfortable as they could. Samus meanwhile began typing on the dashboard in front of her, readying the ship for take off.

“How exactly does a ship sail without any water?” Link asked curiously as he did his best to look over the Power Suit’s pauldrons.

The ship shuddered to life around the crew to various reactions, surprise and caution from the Hylians and pure familiarity from Samus. 

“It sails on air of course,” Samus answered as the Gun Ship raised into the air and started moving with a burst of speed.

The screams of Davron and Link went unheard by Samus as she piloted the Gun Suit for the first time since landing in Hyrule. Despite everything, Samus felt alright.

The Gerudo Chief had already been contacted, letting her know that the search party would be arriving that day, they just didn't tell her how they would be arriving there. Samus touched the shop down at the edge of the desert, just out of sight from so no one would notice them appear out of nowhere. They would have to walk a bit to get to Kara Kara Bazaar.

The bazaar was a small trading outpost surrounding an oasis, spaced equidistant from the edge of the desert and Gerudo town. Gerudo culture dictated that men were forbidden from entering Gerudo town, so the chief and her convoy would be meeting them at the bazaar.

Samus asked Link why the Gerudo had such a policy regarding their town, and was answered with the fact that a man was only born In the Gerudo every one hundred years. Samus didn't ask any more questions after that.

Kara Kara Bazaar was small compared to Gerudo Town but was still bustling with life and energy. Dozens of not hundreds of people filtered through the rows of shops, mostly Hylians but also some Gorons and Rito. Gerudo sales women shouted their deals to anyone who would hear them, and were not hesitant to use their charm and good looks to get people's attention.

“Hey there cutie, You look hot! Some fresh hydromelon will refresh you better than anything else!” one adventurous Gerudo woman called out from a red tent to a very distracted Davron. They were supposed to meet with the chief immediately, but the easily distracted Hylian couldn't help but get attracted to the women around him.

“Oh I am absolutely parched!” Davron said as he walked over to the Gerudo’s tent. Several juicy looking melons were presented on a well worn carpet. “I must say however, just the sight of you is refreshing enough for me!”

“Oh, you scamp!” The woman playfully waved her hands. “You must be a hit with the ladies where you’re from if you’re this much of a smooth talker.”

Davron laughed, “Well, not to brag but-”

“Davron! Get your ass over here!”

The sound of Samus’ yelling made Davron sigh, “I apologize, I must be going.”

“Oh no worries,” The woman assured Davron. “See you around, handsome!”

The glare behind Samus’ visor was invisible to Davron, but the intensity of it was communicated through her body language. “We're not here to flirt. At least Link is controlling himself.

Indeed, Link was easily resisting the chaos of the crowd around him. Samus was jealous, if it were not for the noise canceling features of her helmet, she would probably break out sobbing and fall to the ground.

“Alright,” Davron sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Where are we meeting this chief anyway?”

The biggest tent in the bazaar was dedicated to royal correspondences like these, where meeting in Gerudo Town was restricted due to the cultural norms of the Gerudo. The fabric was a beautiful velvet red that shone from the hot sunlight. The edges were decorated with ornate gold details. Massive Gerudo women guarded the tent wearing pieces of golden armor and wielding short curved swords and shields. It was much less armor than a traditional knight, less clothing in general than the Hylians normally wear, most likely due to the intense heat of the desert. They didn't react as the group stepped forward.

“We're here to see the chief.” Link said as he led the group up to the tent.  “You should have received notice that we were coming?”

The entrance to the tent parted and a massive woman wearing similar golden accessories and carried another massive sword. “I am Buliara. The chief is waiting for you inside.”

The interior of the royal tent was just as lavish. An ornate rug led from the entrance of the tent to a golden throne on a raised dais. To the side there were more guards standing in attention. On the throne sat the chief, who looked to be a young girl to Samus’ surprise.

Buliara stood at the chief’s side. Her great sword slammed into the ground, causing all the other guards to stand in attention. “Visitors! You stand before Riju, the Chief of the Gerudo. Kneel!”

Respect was given to Riju instantly, The guards were quick to kneel and Davron and Link were close behind them. The only one that didn’t kneel was Samus. She could feel the stares of the kneeled guards around her. Link hissed at her to kneel before something bad was to happen.

“I said to kneel, visitor. Being with the Hyrulian Royal Family will not spare you,” Buliara hissed in a venomous tone. Her grip on her great sword tightened. And her eyes stared deep into Samus’ visor. If the gesture was intended to scare Samus then it didn’t work, She had faced much worse threats with a stone cold stoicism.

Samus’ response was simple and to the point, “I’ll show my respect to your chief when she has earned my respect.”

That did it for Buliara as she began marching forward, only stopping because of Riju raising her hand. The guard’s rage and temper had abated, but only for a moment. The tension remained just as it was.

“The responsibility of being chief was bestowed to me when my mother and father were killed. I was not ready for the position, but I accepted it completely.” Riju began to monologue in a tone that Samus couldn’t place. She wasn’t good at determining people’s emotions at the best of times, and Riju was clearly adept at remaining stoic as she spoke. “It was an arduous time, but I led our people as best as I could through the desperate times we faced. I believe that is reason enough to give me respect, or do you think differently, you sorcery-powered knight?”

“It is respectable,” Samus admitted. “But I still refuse to kneel. I don’t engage in such things.”

What Samus said was apparently funny enough that Riju began laughing, starting as a simple chuckle but escalated quickly. Everyone in the room looked uneasy, even Buliara was unsettled by how Riju was acting.

“Of course. You side with the Hylians while you refuse to show even the most basic respect to me!” Riju yelled incredulously at the bounty hunter. “It’s always been like this. The Hylians have never respected the Gerudo, but now you come begging for us to find your princess?! How dare you!”

“I am here to ask for help finding my friend Zelda.” Samus corrected. “She’s an important person to me and I want to make sure she is safe. And if it makes you feel any better, I treat all royalty the same. To me, you’re just a normal person.”

The daggers that Riju glared at Samus were strong enough to leave scratches in her Power Suit. At first Samus thought that Riju’s temper would only grow, but she then took several deep breaths and calmed down. “... What is your name, knight?”

“Samus.” 

“You will not receive any support from the Gerudo royalty, Samus, but you will not be prohibited from searching these lands on your own. Now leave. My patience will not last much longer.” 

Davron practically crawled away from the Gerudo chief, while Link and Samus left with a quick pace. None of them wanted to anger Riju any longer. Davron was the first to exit, with Link leaving quickly behind him.

“And Samus?” Riju’s last words stopped the bounty hunter right as she was about to step out. “I wish you luck in finding your friend.”

The words were kind, but they were useless to her. Without providing any help, it would be useless to Samus even if she had to search for Zelda. Samus paid no mind to the chief as she followed Link and Davron outside.

“Well… It could have gone worse.” Those were the first words from Link as the three reached the edge of Kara Kara Bazaar. Here the crowd thinned to a point that they could safely discuss things without anyone hearing. Samus and Link had sat down at a stray table while Davron found something for the two Hylians to eat. Samus wouldn’t be eating of course, doing such a thing would require taking off her helmet, and she was not doing that around Link and Davron.

Samus was impressed. “You’re surprisingly optimistic.”

“I’m just trying to lighten the mood,” Link responded as he took off his sword, scabbard, and shield. “I’m also trying not to get mad at you. I can’t believe you talked back to the chief!”

“Shouldn’t surprise you. I treat everyone the same, royalty or not.”

“We’re here for a reason. You couldn’t kneel just to get what we needed?”

Samus shook her head. “I refuse to sacrifice my values.”

“Goddess,” Link cursed. “You’re really something, Samus.”

“So are you, Link.”

The silence that followed was palpable. An ever present tension between Samus and Link, one that always emerged in times like this. Samus was hopeful however. Link was always willing to admit he was wrong, it was a very courageous trait of his, probably the reason he was chosen by the Triforce of Courage.

Davron chose that moment to return to the group, carrying three small carved hydromelons in his arms. He placed one in front of Samus and Link as he said,  “Here we go! These are supposed to be a delicacy.”

Link began sipping on the drink immediately, his eyes lighting up as he drank more. “It's perfectly sweet, and so refreshing! I gotta figure out how they did this.”

“Never took you as a chef, Link,” Davron commented as he drank from his own hydromelon.

“It's always been an interest of mine,” Link responded sheepishly. “I mean, who doesn't like making something tasty, right Samus?”

Samus didn't hear him, her focus was entirely dedicated to the drink sitting in front of her. The top quarter of the melon had been chopped off and triangles had been carved into the edge. The inside of the melon contained a light pink liquid, and a paper straw leaned against the rim. It looked like a very tasty drink, but confirming that would mean taking off her helmet. Obviously that was a no go, so the drink remained unattended.

“Samus?”

“Huh?” Samus' head jolted upward at the sudden question.

“Were you listening? I was asking you if you liked to cook.”

“Oh, uh… No, I'm not the cooking type.”

Link sighed. “It’s too bad, I have a really good roasted Cucco legs recipe.”

“I'm… sure it's good.” Never the conversationalist, Samus didn't really know how to continue, so she changed the subject. “Uh, chief Riju said that Hylians don't respect Gerudo. What's that about?”

The sudden change in subject left the Hylians feeling unsteady, but the two recovered quickly and Link answered, “Well, the Gerudo have always been shifty. I heard before that that the entire town is a front for thieves.”

“That's just a baseless accusation,” Davron corrected after taking a long sip from his drink. “Though there is some truth to it. Lots of Gerudo had to steal to get by after the war.”

That made Samus curious. “Why's that?”

Link answered her question, “The Hyrule Royalty stopped supporting them. For good reason too, they supported Ganon during the war.”

“That's news to me, why did they?”

“Ganon was the one male born every hundred years, and as such became the Gerudo chief by the time he was ready. They all followed him in lock step.”

“Ganon was Riju’s father, so her taking the throne when Ganon died just made things worse.”

A wider context to this country and the war in the past, valuable information to Samus. The way Link and Davron talked about the Gerudo made them seem untrustworthy, their chief especially so. But Samus knew that not everything was as it seemed. She needed to confirm this. Samus asked her first question, “Why did they support Ganon?”

That question threw Link off guard. For a moment he didn’t know how to respond. “... I mean, does that matter? Whatever made them do it, it doesn’t excuse all the bad stuff they did during the war.”

“It doesn’t excuse it,” Samus granted Link that point, “but the question still matters, specifically in determining how we respond.”

“How so?”

Samus paused for a moment to consider her words carefully. “Let’s say that you go to Davron’s home only to find that he killed his father-”

“Wait, what?” Davron stuttered out. “Why would I kill my dad?”

Samus groaned, “It’s a hypothetical, I’m using an example to prove a point. It could be Link, it could be anyone.”

“I, uh, also don’t want to kill my dad,” Link said hesitantly.

“Ugh!” A groan escaped Samus’ mouth as she waved her arms in the air, “Fine, we’ll just go with a random guy. You go to this person’s house and see that they’ve killed their father. The dad is laying on the floor with a knife in his stomach, and the son is standing over the body. How would you respond in that scenario?”

Link came to his answer quickly. “I would take him to jail for murder, he obviously committed a crime.”

Samus nodded, “What if you knew the son killed his father because he was abusive and threatened to kill his son for disobeying him. Would that change how you respond?”

Link’s mouth opened to answer but no noise came out. He kept trying to say something, only to get the same results each time. Eventually Link’s shoulders slumped and his gaze grew distant. It was a familiar sight to Samus, she had seen it in soldiers stricken with PTSD. The thought of what might have caused this left Samus’ blood cold.

“Link?” Davron asked as he shaked his friend’s shoulder. “You okay?”

The jostles from Davron brought Link back from whatever memory he was trapped in, though he still looked dazed. After a moment to think he spoke, “... It would. I would- try and get the son some help.”

Samus nodded. “I think the same applies to the Gerudo. Instead of punishing them for supporting Ganon, we should find out why they did that and alleviate the issues that made them do it. Riju seemed very vitriolic to the Royal Family, and I can’t blame her. I can only imagine that she’s planning some way to get back at them.”

Link and Davron were taken aback, Both from how Link responded to the hypothetical, and what Samus had said. Davron slowly nodded his head and spoke, “Yeah, that makes sense. How are you so smart?”

“Uh,” Samus was taken aback in turn from the compliment, “I just read a lot.”

Seemingly no one knew how to respond there, because the three sat in silence for several moments. It wasn’t until Link and Davron finished their drinks that Davron said something.

“Okay, well, that was fun. But Zelda is still missing, and we don’t have any support from the Gerudo.”

“That may be true, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything here,” Samus explained as she stood up from the table. “Let’s head back to the ship and regroup.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Davron said as he leapt up and began marching back to the Gun Ship. Link took longer to get up, taking his time to place his shield and scabbard on his back. After a brief pause, he spoke for the first time since the discussion.

“Did you really mean that?” Link asked hesitantly, unable to keep his gaze on Samus. His eyes fluttered to different details around him. He might have been back, but the memories he was lost in before clearly still had an impact on him. “The son shouldn’t be blamed for killing his father?”

Puzzle pieces slowly clicked together in Samus’ brain, and she didn’t like the picture they were making. “... Yeah. In that case they acted in self defense. I couldn’t blame him for doing what he did.”

All Link gave in response was an ominous low chuckle. His feet began carrying him after Davron, slowly picking up speed with each step.

Something seriously bad had to have happened in Link’s life for him to act like that. Samus’ first thought was that it had something to do with the war. Link was close to being killed by Ganon in the final battle after all, experiencing that would mess with anyone. But Samus felt that this was something different, something that happened from before the war. She knew nothing at all about Link’s life before he was chosen by the Triforce of Courage and began wielding the Master Sword. What happened in that time before? It couldn’t have been good.

Samus began to follow Link and Davron, but stopped. For whatever strange reason, the drink Davron got for her popped out in her mind. She slowly turned around and picked the drink up in her left hand. The melon was warm at this point and all the ice inside the drink had melted, but it still looked good. Was anyone looking in her direction? A quick scan indicated that she was not being observed. Just in case, Samus stepped away from Kara Kara Bazaar and faced the desert as she lifted her helmet off her head by an inch, freeing her mouth. She hesitantly raised the straw to her lips and drank.

A bit of lingering cold remained from the melted ice inside the drink but the straw was warm from its time in the sun. It was a strange contrast that Samus didn’t particularly enjoy, but the drink still tasted amazing. It had this fruity flavor that reminded Samus of watermelon, though the taste was more intense. Even after a single sip, Samus felt refreshed. That seems to be where the hydromelon gets its name, Samus figured. 

Samus could only imagine how good the drink tasted cold. How would the flavor feel when the drink was fresh? How would it feel to drink with the intense sunlight beaming down on her? What would it be like to spend time with friends here in this bazaar, getting drinks and enjoying each other's presence? What would it feel like to see Zelda’s reaction to the drink, to hear her thoughts and excitement, to look into her eyes and know that she was loved?

And there Samus was, getting lost in fantasies that would never become reality. She dropped the hydromelon like it was lava and quickly followed Link and Davron, trying (and failing) to keep her thoughts away from the object of her affections.

Chapter Text

It had been two weeks into her stay in the Sheikah Village, and Zelda was feeling conflicted. The village itself was absolutely beautiful. The architectural style of the village was so quaint and captivating. The cherry blossom trees and the Dueling Peaks above the village were simply the cherries on top of an amazing town. The people were amazing too. It took some time for them to get accustomed to the Princess of Hyrule living with them, but they got used to her presence quickly. There was always someone to talk to that would engage with her on anything she had in mind; it was so unlike how it was in Hyrule Castle that Zelda was rapidly feeling like she never wanted to leave.

There was one thing missing however. It didn’t matter how amazing Sheikah Village was, Samus wasn’t in it and that was a dealbreaker as far as Zelda was concerned. Although Zelda had accepted that a relationship between her and the blonde bounty hunter was impossible, Samus was still her best friend. The daily conversations the two had over text wasn’t enough, Zelda needed Samus to be physically there with her.

Such a thing was impossible for now, at least with the tools she had available to her. Samus couldn’t just leave Davron and Link and go to the Sheikah village, that would draw an immense amount of suspicion from the Royal Family, even if Zelda’s situation at Hyrule Castle changed, then Samus would surely be banned from ever seeing her again. So something fundamentally had to change about her situation at home before she could see Samus again. There didn’t seem to be a way to get that to happen from the Sheikah Village, Not even the Triforce of Wisdom could help her find a solution, so Zelda resigned herself to waiting for something to change.

At least Zelda was good at keeping herself entertained while she waited. The first thing that Zelda dedicated herself to was Impa’s library. A few of the books she remembered from Hyrule Castle’s library, but most of them she was completely unfamiliar with. The promise of new books to read dragged Zelda to the library like a moth to a flame, and the numerous unknown books bellowed with a fire that would never die out. At least, not until Zelda finished reading all the books. Although for some getting through a massive library would be quite a task, for Zelda it was simple, all thanks to the abilities given to her by the Triforce of Wisdom. She read through each book at lightning speed, memorizing each sentence as she went along, this way she was able to finish several books in a day. By the time week two rolled around, The entire library had been memorized. It was an amazing selection of books, containing literary classics and textbooks that absolutely enraptured Zelda. The only problem was that the supply of books eventually ran out.

Zelda placed the final book down on the coffee table in front of her, next to several other books that she had finished reading earlier. The sense of accomplishment radiating Zelda must have been palpable, making Teal step out of the shared room to see what was happening.

“Did-” Teal almost couldn’t believe it. “Did you just finish the entire library?”

“Yes I did!” Zelda announced, her satisfaction with herself clear from her voice.

“That’s… Wow. I could never do something like that.”

“The only reason I was able to is the Triforce of Wisdom,” Zelda commented as she held her hand up in the air.

The sight of the Triforce took Teal’s breath away. She slowly approached Zelda and sat down in another armchair, not removing her eyes from the sight for even a moment. “It must feel amazing to be chosen by a goddess.”

“It’s certainly affirming,” Zelda admitted. “But It’s not like I did something amazing to earn Nayru’s favor. It’s probably just because I have the blood of the Royal Family within me.”

“Yeah, lucky you.”

Zelda could tell that Teal was not happy. Was it jealousy? Zelda was familiar with the fact that Teal did not grow up in a good household, but didn’t know much beyond the broad strokes. It was understandable that Teal would feel at least a little bit of envy of the life Zelda had lived.

Zelda figured that the best way to improve Teal’s mood would be to focus on the here and now, so she tried just that by asking, “What do you think of the village?”

Teal was thrown off slightly by Zelda’s deflection, but paid no mind to it. “It’s, uh, nice. I haven’t really explored that much.”

“Well why not? There’s so much to see out there!”

“I’m sure, it’s just… I’m nervous, it’s hard for me. I’m sorry.”

Zelda sighed and placed a reassuring hand on Teal’s shoulder. “You don’t have to be sorry for being nervous, it’s perfectly natural. Hmmm… How about we go explore the village together?”

“T–Together?” Teal seemed shocked that Zelda would even suggest such a thing. “Is it really okay? I mean, you’re a princess-”

“It’s fine! It’s fine. I’m just a normal person. I’m not anything special.”

“You have the Triforce of Wisdom, you’re a princess, of course you’re special!”

“Well maybe I don’t want to be!” Zelda yelled at Teal. The poor girl was obviously freaked out by Zelda’s sudden yell, but the princess went on regardless, “Maybe I don’t want to be locked up for the rest of my life in a castle, married to some prince I don’t love, kept away from the amazing things Hyrule has to offer! I just want to have a normal life!”

Resentment built up from years of being forced into a position that Zelda wasn’t fit for boiled to the surface in an instant. It was only after Zelda was done with her rant did she process things around her, and when realized her mistake. Teal looked terrified, she had stepped back and retreated inward, arms held close and her head hung low. The sight made Zelda admonish herself, but now wasn’t the time for that, now was the time for fixing her mistake.

Zelda held out her hands and spoke with the softest tone she could muster, “I’m sorry Teal, I shouldn’t have exploded at you like that.”

The process of coming back from such a panic took time. Eventually Teal and Zelda found themselves sitting down next to each other on Impa’s couch. Zelda didn’t speak a word, not until she was sure that Teal was ready for conversation again.

“Did you…” Teal finally spoke after what felt like forever. “Did you really mean that?”

The implied ‘that’ of Teal’s question was picked up by Zelda in an instant. Answering the question was a whole other ordeal in and of itself. Admitting this would be dangerous, but then again, she was already in danger with the Children of Ganon constantly threatening to hurt them. The reason she was hiding in Sheikah Village to begin with was because her life at Hyrule Castle was already unbearable, so why not add on to all of that?

“Yes I did.” Zelda answered solemnly. “Being a princess sounds amazing, but there are so many responsibilities and expectations that go along with it that the benefits don’t even seem worth it. I’d much rather be a scholar, studying anything I set my mind to.”

“You would, uh, clearly be good at that.”

“Ha! Thank you Teal. Even with all the things I struggle with now, It’s only going to get worse. Father is patient with me for the moment, but eventually he will have to arrange a marriage with some political figure. I could never stand to be forced into a loveless marriage.”

“That sounds horrible,” Teal whispered. Not having that choice? It was scarily similar to the time earlier in her life that she never wanted to go back to. With everything she struggled with, all her doubts and insecurities, at least she was free. She could come and go as she pleased, and fall in love with whoever matched her fancy. She feared every day that her freedom would be taken away from her, and here Zelda was living. There was only one thing she could say to that, “I am so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Zelda nodded as she adopted a warm smile. “Thank you for listening to me. Just, promise not to tell anyone.”

“Of course! I won’t tell a soul!” Teal answered while frantically nodded. Despite all her faults, Teal was not the person to spill secrets like that. “A part of me is curious, is there anyone you would have a relationship with if you had the chance?”

A beat passed. Zelda didn’t even process the question at first, but when she did…

“No!” Zelda answered a little too emphatically. “No, no no. I’m not interested in anyone right now, actually. Just, kind of, doing my own thing, you know? Just, uh, waiting for the right person.”

Zelda’s answer did nothing to detour Teal, in fact she looked even more interested now. Her wide smile and curious eyes gave it away. “That makes me think there is someone! Come on, who is it?”

“I…” This was all rapidly getting out of control. Zelda shot up from the couch in an effort to escape the situation. “This conversation is over.”

“Okay, okay.” Teal looked so pleased with herself that Zelda was conflicted. Seeing her friend feel better was good of course, but did it have to be at the expense of Zelda’s dignity? “You uh, said earlier that we could go around town together? I think I’d really like that.”

“Yes, yes!” Zelda jumped at the excuse to avoid the previous topic. “I’ll wait downstairs, take all the time you need to get ready, I’ll see you later!”

Teal’s confused stutters went unanswered as Zelda bolted down the stairs.

It was almost noon when Teal joined Zelda in a walk around town. The sun was beaming down upon the village, but a gentle breeze came from goddess knows where that kept everything nice and cool. The joys of the Sheikah Village were familiar to Zelda at this point, but seeing Teal’s reaction to them was like experiencing it again for the first time. People milled about the streets often, and gave Zelda a warm smile and wave every time they passed. Teal was unfamiliar with the attention and felt awkward about it, but slowly became acclimated with it. Every kind look a villager gave her made Teal light up with glee at being fully accepted here. It was a great sight to see.

Their walk took them to a park on the edge of town where several Sheikah children played with each other. Teal’s gaze wandered to everything around her, eventually settling on the sky overhead. “How has this village remained so secret when it’s exposed to air like this?”

“Oh, it’s so fascinating,” Zelda answered, relishing in the opportunity to gush about something. “This is actually a cave, and that’s the cave ceiling. It just doesn’t look like it because of some clever magic that allows light to pass through without bouncing back outside.”

Teal continued to stare wordlessly at the sky until she snorted, “Does that mean that we could see someone standing above the village, and to us it would just look like they’re hovering in the air?”

Zelda laughed and nodded. “Apparently it’s a popular pastime for residents to observe any hikers that explore the area above the village.”

“That’s just amazing.”

It was common for Sheikah to be seen dashing across rooftops for their training. There were many tall poles scattered throughout the village for Sheikah warriors to balance on or climb up. The sight never failed to make Zelda and Teal stare with awe. It was Impa’s preferred way to travel actually, Zelda had never seen the woman enter or exit her house through the front door, always choosing to jump through the window. Teal nearly fainted when Impa did this for the first time, and several minutes had to be taken to reassure the poor girl that no, Impa was not suicidal and was simply going about errands.

Perhaps Zelda’s favorite part of the Sheikah Village was the second largest building in the town, a mess hall that saw plenty of attention. Sheikah that were adept at cooking would volunteer their time and labor to cook their own delicacy for everyone in the village to enjoy. Partaking in meals was completely free. Commerce was a rare sight to see in the village actually, Instead Sheikah preferred to freely give what other people desired. That was just one of the reasons Zelda was sure Samus would love to visit this amazing place.

The meal they served today were hearty brisket sandwiches with a peculiar item on the side Zelda was not familiar with, cheese curds covered with batter and fried in oil. She had no idea what to expect from the cheese curds, but they were melt-in-your-mouth delicious. The Sheikah she and Teal sat with were in full agreement.

“Ollie is always looking for an excuse to make these cheese curds for everyone,” One Sheikah said, who earlier introduced himself as Dolkin. “Can’t really complain, this stuff is amazing.”

“I can’t handle it honestly,” Another Shiekah named Lasli admitted.

Teal didn’t agree with them verbally, she didn’t need to, due to the fact that she was busy shoveling them into her mouth.

It was all an amazing experience for Zelda. The food was absolutely delicious for one. The meals prepared for her at Hyrule Castle were prim and proper, the right food for royalty. This sandwich was something homely, she could feel the love poured into every aspect of it. There was something also to eating with a community, getting to engage with the people around her. It was an amazing experience, Zelda couldn’t help but get lost in it.

The atmosphere of the small group around Zelda stilted for a moment, what could have caused it? Zelda got her answer when she looked up from her food. Impa had just entered the mess hall. Her neck gaiter was pulled up, and her hands were locked at her sides. Her gaze remained locked forward, and she marched through the mess hall with purpose. She grabbed her portion and marched back out of the mess hall without speaking to anyone.

Zelda saw no better opportunity to prod the individuals around her. “What are your thoughts on Impa?”

Lasli and Dolkin clearly looked uncomfortable by the question. Lasli was the first to answer. “Well, I have nothing against her, she’s just not fit for the role.”

“You saw how she just acted,” Dolkin commented. “She almost never talks to us directly, always going through middlemen. She just doesn’t have it in her to lead.”

Something bothered Zelda, “Why was she given the role then?”

“You’ll have to ask the elders, they were the one who gave the position to her. There were alot of other Sheikah that seemed much better candidates, and a lot of people were angry when a nobody was selected.” Lasli explained.

Zelda couldn’t hold her derision for such a perspective, “Impa is insanely talented, I know that for a fact, I’ve seen how she operates. She absolutely deserves the position!”

Dolkin couldn’t hide his protests as well, “She may be good, but she’s not good enough. There is more to being the leader of the Sheikah than being talented, and someone like her could never live up to those standards.”

“Someone like her!?” Zelda’s hatred peaked as she stood up from the table. The scale of her anger made Teal step back as well, the anger not being directed at her being the only thing that kept her from panicking. Zelda grabbed her tray from the table and gave one final response to the horrible people around her, “Impa is a great woman, you don’t deserve all she does for you!”

And with that, Zelda stormed out of the mess hall. If Teal left to follow her, Zelda didn’t stick around to check.

The outside world was much more empty, which was a good thing for Zelda, it was rare that she felt this angry and she didn’t know if she could restrain herself from snapping at someone. Insulting Impa was enough to make Zelda livid, but what the man implied was even worse. Zelda thought of her best friend Samus, an amazing person that was a mirror image to the Sheikah leader. She just could not stand to hear such horrible speech about two people that she saw so much value in.

Impa was busy eating her meal at a lone bench, her tray balanced on her lap, barely staying still from Impa’s feet tapping the dirt below her. Her gaze looked… The best way Zelda could describe it was empty. No emotion, no reaction to the food she was eating, which was strange since Zelda knew that Impa was a very emotional person. Slightly concerned about her friend, Zelda slowly approached until Impa noticed her approach. Seeing Impa’s empty eyes gaze at her made Zelda stop in her tracks.

“Can I join you?” Zelda tentatively asked her friend. Impa’s eyebrows raised at the question. Did she genuinely not expect Zelda to offer such a thing? Eventually her stupor broke and she gestured at Zelda to sit down next to her, which she did so happily. “Do you usually prefer eating by yourself?”

Impa nodded as she placed a cheese curd in her mouth. “It just makes things easier for me. Everyone talks during meals and I have no idea what to say.”

“Just commenting on what other people are talking about is enough, really.”

Impa took a bite out of her sandwich before responding. “I’ve tried doing stuff like that. It always got me blank stares.”

Zelda was sure that Samus would have some better advice for Impa’s conversational troubles, but for now Zelda had no advice to give. “That’s fine then. Nothing wrong with eating on your own.”

Impa laughed. “I’m the chief, Zelda. The leader. I’m expected to engage with them, but here I am sitting outside.”

“You don’t have to do anything.” Zelda reassured her friend, but she could tell that the message didn’t get through. The answer here wasn’t to say the exact right words to make Impa suddenly gain confidence, the answer was to spend quality time with her friend, and eating a meal together was certainly a way to do that. Zelda had eaten more than Impa at that point, so she took her time letting the taste of the meal linger on her tongue. “Isn’t this food amazing?”

“All the food here is amazing,” Impa said without looking up from her food. “I just- I love this place in general. I hope you are too.”

Zelda nodded, “I am, the people here are amazing! I’m kind of spent on things to do, I just finished reading your library today.”

Impa paused, in the middle of chewing a bite. She quickly swallowed her food and looked at Zelda, “The whole thing?”

“Yep! You have quite the impressive collection there,” Zelda complimented, causing Impa to avert her gaze. “There was this one book I found, about the history of the Sheikah, it looked like a lot of it was written in code.”

Impa recognized what Zelda was talking about instantly, “That book came from my mentor. It was part of my training.” Impa took several more bites of her meal before continuing. “The book contained instructions for several tasks to perform in secret. Not even my mentor could know I was doing them, if he managed to figure out what I was doing, then I would have failed. I managed it easily enough.”

Zelda’s curiosity was officially piqued, “I have to know, what was the hardest task he gave you?”

“There was this one where I had to steal a specific book from his residence. Of course he knew to look out for anyone stealing it, and he would be able to discern if I had replaced the book with an exact copy. It took a while to figure out how to do it. I ended up replicating the original book as best as I could and presented it to him as if I had stolen it from him.”

“There is no way that worked,” Zelda commented, in complete denial of Impa’s accomplishment.

“It did. I tried way too hard to sell the idea that it was his book and not a copy, but his surprise at me completing the task made him not notice it. He only figured out what was wrong after he told me that I passed. I was worried that he wouldn’t accept it, but he was so impressed he gave me the okay.”

“Oh my goodness that is amazing,” Zelda said to herself as she leaned back. “How could anyone doubt that you deserve your position? You’re amazing!”

Impa stuttered and shook her hands in response to Zelda’s statement. “I- uh- I’m not that impressive-”

“Everyone thinks you are amazing! Even the people who detest you say so!” Zelda’s emotions dimmed as her shoulders slumped. “At least they acknowledge you in that way.”

The Sheikah Villlage lacked the typical fauna seen around other Hyrulian settlements due to it being inside a cave. There were no birds chirping in the night, no owls calling for mates, no crickets chirping to ward off intruders on their territory. As evening turned to night, Sheikah village remained dead silent. It felt agonizing to Zelda.

“I, uh…” Impa hesitantly broke the silence, “I’m not the best at noticing these things, but it seems like something is on your mind.”

Zelda’s sigh felt heavy in the silence. “I’m just frustrated that everyone sees so little in me. I was locked up in my room in an attempt to keep me safe, when I’m perfectly able to keep myself safe!”

“That seems horribly restrictive,” Impa commented.

“Everything about being a princess is restrictive,” Zelda began to rant. Maybe it was unwise to let her emotions get the better of her like this, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care. The high she got from letting her anger out was too great to reject. “They expect me to be prim and proper, showing no intelligence and strength. They want me to be a prize for some prince that I'll eventually be forced to marry. That’s the way of Hylian royalty. Honestly I wish I had no part in it.”

Zelda knew she shouldn’t have said that the moment it left her mouth. Such a hidden truth should have been kept inside, and here she was telling it to nearly everyone.

“I’m… I’m sorry.” Impa said quietly. “I guess… Both of us are failing to live up to the standards of others.”

Zelda chuckled. The comparison was accurate. Two friends, struggling against a world that didn’t believe in them. Zelda knew that she was better than what everyone thought of her, but Impa had so much doubt in herself. Two impossible problems presented herself to Zelda. How was she supposed to help Impa see the value in herself? And how was Zelda supposed to lift the restrictions placed on her by royal traditions?

And then suddenly it hit her. By sheer happenstance, these two questions had the same answer. Inspired by the new path that laid before her, Zelda looked straight at Impa and gave a simple request.

“Teach me!”

“Wh-” Impa turned to Zelda in confusion. “What?”

“Teach me to be a Sheikah! If I could gain even a fraction of your skills, then they would have no choice but to accept that I can defend myself and that I deserve my freedom! And If they still refuse, then I can just escape again on my own! That history book had a story about a Hylian princess in a world threatened by collapse. She went into hiding with the Sheikah and was trained by them, this has precedence!”

“Wait, wait,” Impa shook her hands in an effort to get Zelda to pause. “You want me to train you? I- I don’t know if I’m capable of doing that.”

Impa’s hesitation did nothing to slow Zelda down, if only it made her more determined. Her face now held a wide smile as she said, “I know you can do better than you think, Impa. In the little time I’ve known you, I’ve seen how amazing you can be. You would be an amazing teacher, I know it.”

The silence returned, this time filled with a sense of anticipation. Impa didn’t say a word as she contemplated. Her eyes fell to focus on nothing specifically, and her feet tapped a rhythm into the dirt underneath them. From everything she’s seen and heard about the Princess of Hyrule, Impa knew that Zelda was amazing. That amazing person was the first to see something in Impa. That feeling spurned something with her. 

“This is going to be tough,” Impa said. “I’m not going to treat you lightly just because of your status. You’re going to be worked to the bone and beyond. Are you ready for that?”

Zelda nodded, already sure of her answer, “I am.”

“Very well,” Impa said as she smiled. “It’ll be an honor to train you, Sheik.”

The name that Impa used for Zelda confused her. “Sheik?”

“It means a Sheikah in training. My mentor called me the same thing when he taught me. Sheik will be your new name, your old name ‘Zelda’ is a thing of the past now. You will not respond if someone calls you ‘Zelda’. You will not answer with ‘Zelda’ if anyone asks for your name. You won’t even think of yourself as ‘Zelda’. Only when you have completely adopted your new identity will your training truly begin.”

Zelda’s eyes widened, “But- that’s-”

“Told you it’s going to be tough. You wanna be like me? Then you’ll need a complete mental focus. This will be how you learn that. Still think you’re up to it?”

It was insane, absolutely like nothing Zelda had done before. Could she really do such a thing? No, that wasn’t it. Zelda had no room to doubt herself, she needed to become stronger, to fight for the life she wanted. If becoming Sheik is what it would take to become stronger, then Zelda wouldn’t hesitate.

Zelda nodded, “I can do it.” 

Impa smirked. This was going to be fun.

Chapter Text

The trek back to Samus’ Gunship had a different tone depending on who you asked. To Davron, the trip represented disappointment and failure. The only reason they came to Gerudo Desert was to search for the Princess Zelda and Teal, and that was stopped right in its tracks before they even got the chance to look for them, all thanks to Samus Aran. The bounty hunter was mostly a mystery to Davron, he only knew a few details. She was a woman, hiding her identity from the people around her. She came from… it was impossible to say for sure, but her home was definitely far away from Hyrule. She was the most powerful and determined person Davron had ever met, completely unwilling to waver on her values, and able to back those values up with a violence trained after years of experience. He understood why Samus felt that way of course, even related to her. But did Samus really need to jeopardize their one goal? Couldn’t she just let it go just this once?

For Link, the trip back to the Gunship was… it was impossible to say for sure. He was obviously disappointed over not getting help from the Gerudo Royalty, but his mind was far away from that topic at the time, instead focused on memories long past. Memories he’d rather stay hidden. It certainly didn’t help that Samus had torn asunder several of Link’s previously held assumptions, leaving him barely able to stand on two feet.

As for Samus Aran herself, the walk to her Gunship was filled with yearning. Zelda had captured Samus’ heart so completely, somehow injected herself past the mass of coping mechanisms Samus used to handle her barely contained emotions. Being without her left Samus in pieces, she felt worse and worse by the day, and her anger was threatening at any point to burst out of her. It was hard not to call the mission off in its entirety just so she could escape with the Princess. In her wildest fantasies, Samus imagined escaping this planet with Zelda in tow, finding a remote colony on some far-off planet, and settling down to live their lives together. She couldn’t believe it, someone - a princess no less! - had climbed the walls of Samus’ psyche to rest in her heart. If only such a fantasy was possible.

The collective mood was dim to say the least. The three entered the Gunship without a word, and collected themselves in the cockpit with no sounds being shared between them.

“Well, what are we supposed to do now?” Davron asked incredulously after what felt like an eon of silence.

“We keep looking,” Samus answered simply. “That hasn’t changed.”

Davron laughed, “Maybe so, but are you really expecting the three of us to search the entire desert?”

“Not the entire desert dumbass,” Samus corrected, not caring about the derision in her voice. The insult made Davron jolt in his chair. Satisfied with herself, Samus continued, “Why the hell would Zelda just walk out into the middle of the desert? She would die from the heat.”

“Okay, just Gerudo town and the surrounding outposts then.” Davron corrected himself.

Link spoke for the first time in a while, “That’s not too bad, honestly. Samus, you could take off your armor-”

“No way,” Samus denied instantly. “The only way this suit is coming off of me is if I'm dead.”

The silence that filled the Gunship was palpable. Both Link and Davron were experienced dealing with stubborn people, but Samus’ obstinance was on a whole other level.

Link was the first to tentatively ask, “Could you just go with your helmet off so-”

“No.”

A pause, the only sound being the beeps and boops of the Gunship.

“May I make a suggestion?” The sound of Adam’s interruption tore through the silence, making the occupants of the Gunship jerk in surprise. “Getting into Gerudo Town while following the laws of the Gerudo is clearly impossible, so we must break those laws.”

“It wouldn’t be impossible if Samus wasn’t so stubborn.” Link grumbled.

“Do not expect to convince Samus to take off her Power Suit, Link. I’ve known her for long enough to know that convincing her to do something against her interests is practically impossible.”

“Fine then! I guess we’re breaking Gerudo Law!” Link yelled frustratedly. “How exactly are we going to be doing that?”

Samus smirked behind the opaque green glass of her visor. “If they only let women in, then we’ll need to make one of you look like a woman.”

Davron chuckled. “What, like crossdressing? My physique would only draw suspicion, so that leaves…”

Davron and Samus both turned to Link at the same time, staring silently at the hero. Said hero looked between the two before a look of realization spread across his face. “No. No no no. You can’t be serious.”

“Sorry Link,” Samus said, desperately trying to hide a laugh. “You’re the twink here, it has to be you.”

“What in goddesses name did you call me? Ugh, whatever. If it’s for finding Zelda, then I’ll do it. Let’s just get it over with.”

“Perfect!” Davron cheered as he hopped up from his seat. He made his way to the lift before he turned back to Link and Samus. “I’ll find the perfect outfit for you, Link. Be right back!”

The lift door closed behind Davron, leaving Link and Samus alone.

Davron was, as it turned out, was very picky when it came to fashion and took almost an hour to pick an outfit, leaving Link and Samus alone with plenty of time to not talk to each other. The tension between the swordsman and the bounty hunter was not nearly as bad as it was when the two first met, but they were far from friends. They were just acquaintances that had a few disagreements with each other. Time breaks down all barriers, including the barriers between Link and Samus. It wasn’t like there was anything better to do than talk to each other.

Link was the first to break after fifteen minutes of nothing happening. “... Can’t say I expected any of this when I returned to Hyrule.”

“You should’ve,” Samus said simply, “Expect the unexpected.”

Link sighed. “Easy for you to say. All of this is so new to me. How was I supposed to expect this?”

“Time and experience. I’m older than you, and I’ve seen more. Makes it easier for me.”

Samus wasn’t exactly wrong. She was much more experienced than Link, stronger, far wiser too. It left Link feeling unsubstantial in her presence. Why search for Zelda when Samus could clearly do it on her own?

Shaking such thoughts from his mind, Link said, “In any case, I’m not going to back down from this. I have a duty to protect Zelda.”

“Your duty?” Samus asked.

“Of course. It is my duty as a knight and a hero to protect the innocent, whether it be from monsters or man.” A lull in the conversation, accented by the ambient noise of the Gunship. Link needed to ask a question, “Don’t you have a duty to perform?”

“The only obligation Samus has is a financial one, to perform jobs well and get paid,” Adam explained.

“So you only work for money then?” The disappointment in Link’s voice was impossible to miss, even to Samus.

“No,” Samus interrupted. “I have a similar duty to yours. It’s just… self enforced.”

The moments of quiet on the ship were unbearable, So Samus spent the time observing the various windows on her HUD. The tracker in Zelda’s PDA was working well, the signal placing her right next to the Dueling Peaks as it had for weeks. The Power Suit’s battery was seventy-eight percent full, not quite a full charge but serviceable for days of operation. The various security devices and sensors on her ship were reporting back well, not like she expected anyone to approach the Gunship when it was currently off the beaten path and invisible to the naked eye.

“How does a bounty hunter get a self enforced duty?” Link asked, knocking Samus away from her distractions.

Well, Samus was hesitant to explain that. But then again, maybe talking about her past while Zelda’s away will make her feel better, Samus’ rational side argued. So Samus hesitantly, eventually, began to tell her story.

“When I was a kid, the mining colony I lived on was attacked by a group called the Space Pirates. They only wanted to steal the surplus of ore that our mine contained, but they still massacred us just because they could. I watched as my parents were killed by one of their leaders, this skeletal dragon named Ridley. As Ridley consumed the corpse of my mother, my only thought was, ‘this must be the god of death’. I swore to fight the Space Pirates and Ridley, so that no one would go through what I did.” As anyone could predict, her monologue resulted in only silence. If she was in Link’s shoes she sure wouldn’t be able to respond! Maybe she shouldn’t have gone into detail…

“That Ridley… He seems like a monster.” Link stated, breaking through the quiet. It might have been a simple statement, but anything was better than the heavy atmosphere.

Samus nodded. “Yeah, he was not like the monsters you know. Ridley was smart, incredibly so. He didn’t do what he did out of an animalistic drive. He did what he did out of a love for causing misery.”

“Was… So you stopped him?”

“Yeah…” Samus said distantly, ruminating on her vault of memories. “He always had some way of crawling back from death, super annoying. I made sure to get one up on him the last time I saw him, tore his heart out of his chest and crushed it in my hands.”

Samus’ left hand clenched, remembering the sensation of Ridley’s heart bursting in her grip, the blood dripping through her fingers. Not being the type to eat her prey, she considered it an apt treatment after everything Ridley did to her. She expected some modicum of satisfaction, finally striking down her arch-nemesis and satisfying her thirst for revenge. It didn’t come. Samus didn’t feel anything at all, a pure emptiness.

Link evidently didn’t know how to respond. Samus was a powerful and hardened warrior, but he never expected her to be so… brutal. That’s what years of conflict and hatred could do to a person, Link was very familiar with that.

“I’m… so sorry that happened to you…” Link whispered in a desperate attempt to comfort Samus. “You didn’t deserve that.”

“No I didn’t.”

No words were shared after that. How could they follow the conversation up? Talk about the weather? The fact was that Samus didn’t have the conversational skills to continue. Link had them sure, but he clearly wasn’t interested in continuing conversation, focusing his attention away to stare randomly at the Gunship’s walls. That was fine with Samus, it gave her plenty of time to do something else. She opened the texting conversation with Zelda to message her.

Samus yo zelda. whats up

Zelda Nope, not Zelda. Call me Sheik.

…

Samus wat

Zelda Can’t you change your name in this application?

Zelda Ah, here it is.

(Zelda has changed her name to Sheik)

Sheik Perfect.

Safe to say that Samus had no idea what was going on.

Samus whats this about?

Sheik Can’t tell you yet.

It’ll be a surprise! You’ll like this surprise.

Samus i sure hope so

Sheik Impa is summoning me. Talk to you later!

Samus slumped back into her chair, utterly done with everything around her.

Davron returned to the Gunship with a flourish, carrying several outfits under his arms. His voice carried with it excitement, “I’m back! You have to try this on!”

Far too much energy as far as Samus was concerned.

The outfits Davron returned all featured light colors that would shine in the sun of the desert, as was seemingly common with the Gerudo. Each outfit had various levels of coverage, from a conservative full body robe to a pair of trousers and a crop top that left little to the imagination. Davron was smart enough to pick outfits that would cover Link’s more masculine features, which would allow him to blend in the crowds of Gerudo Town easily. Still, Davron being the fashion freak he was, made sure to get outfits that would only serve to make Link look more, well, ‘sexy’.

Davron spread the outfits out across Samus’ bed (after the bounty hunter very carelessly pushed all the trash and laundry in the room to the corner). Davron was studying each fit, trying to see with his mind's eye if the outfit would work. Link stood farther away, staring at the clothes with hesitation. “I really don’t know about this, guys…”

“Oh it’ll be fine!” Davron waved Link’s worries away as he picked up a light purple top and a similarly purple half skirt. He pushed the garment into Link’s arms and pushed him over to the Gunship’s bathroom. “Quick, try it on!”

Link looked at the clothes in his arms apprehensively before he steeled himself. He had a job to do after all, and he would not allow a challenge like this to best him. The small bathroom had been designated as a temporary changing room, so Link stepped inside, leaving Davron and Samus to wait for him.

“This… feels weird,” Link commented. “I’m showing so much skin!”

Samus’ response was simple, “Imagine how women feel.”

“... I’ve never thought about that.”

‘You don’t think about much of anything’ , Samus whispered to herself, knowing that saying such a snarky statement would be too much. As much as she loved being sarcastic and snarky, she didn’t want to be an asshole.

Eventually the door to the bathroom opened and Link stepped out. The half skirt and the crop top indeed showed very little skin, showing off Link’s surprisingly defined muscles. Of course, Samus thought to herself, a hero like Link capable of killing the infamous Demon King would be naturally strong, Link just wasn’t the kind of guy to show it off.

“You look great!” Davron squealed as Link slowly stepped out. Samus didn’t say anything, choosing instead to press her left hand against one of the wall panels. The panel morphed into a shimmering mirror, perfect for such an occasion. Were Link and Davron surprised by such technology? If they were, they didn’t show it, clearly invested in what was happening here.

Link grimaced as he looked up at the mirror, but it slowly faded as he studied how he looked. The top was tight against his flat chest, just a size too small for him. The half skirt clung to his body, Samus could only imagine how awkward it was for Link considering his ‘anatomy’.

“This is… not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.”

That was actually surprising. A lot of men would be horrified by the prospect of dressing like a woman, but Link seemed to be somewhat embracing it. Instead of looking ashamed of himself, he looked at himself in the mirror with a positive curiosity, twisting his body to get a look at himself at every angle. 

Samus had to ask, out of sheer curiosity, “What did you expect??”

“I mean, so many guys keep talking about how embarrassing it would be to dress like this, but… it’s fine? These clothes are kinda comfortable.”

Thoughts about eggs filled Samus’ mind for a moment, before she shook those thoughts away. There were more important things to do at the moment. “That outfit doesn’t disguise you enough.”

“It is a shame, it looks good on you Link,” Davron commented as he picked another outfit from the pile. “Try this on now?”

This went on for several more outfits, each one rejected for different reasons. Samus’ problems were always practical, favoring how well the outfit looked as a disguise. Davron was much more focused on appearance, highlighting instead how the colors didn’t match Link’s hair and eyes, or how the fabric didn’t accentuate his curves enough. Link never minded the constant changes, instead choosing to find value in the chance to try out so many different clothes.

An outfit was eventually settled on, a green crop top with blue disconnect sleeves. Purple trousers that ended just past the knees. A real mask and shawl that covered his face just enough to make Link look like someone he wasn't. Every single inch of fabric was detailed with ornate depictions of Gerudo imagery.

“That looks so good!” Davron comments as he swivels around Link, taking in every detail. He isn't wrong, the outfit looks good on Link, but that was secondary to Samus' concerns of practicality.

“It works. You'll be able to get into Gerudo Town no problem.”

Link did a few stretches to test how the clothes held up. “Yeah, better now than later, right? Let's do it.”

And so Link set off to Gerudo Town, showing much more skin than he was used to, with a strange machine shoved into his ear.

It was Samus' suggestion, It allowed the two left at the Gunship to listen in and watch what Link was doing, and allowed for long distance communication with ease. Link recognized the endless military applications of the machine instantly, Ganon would have been defeated in an instant if they had machines like these. The communicator, as Samus had called it, fit comfortably in Link’s ear. His hearing in the ear that held the communicator was muffled by its presence, and it would get uncomfortable to wear after prolonged use, but the benefits of wireless communication and how easy it was to hide easily surpassed the downsides.

Said communicator and a small knife Davron picked up along with the clothes were the only pieces of equipment Link had access to for this mission. Although his current sword was far from the instantly recognizable Master Sword, it still stood out as a sword made for Hylian Royalty. Not good for hiding one’s identity.

Approaching Gerudo Town wearing so little with only a knife to defend himself was one of the most tense experiences in Link’s recent memory. Link might be surprisingly okay with wearing women's clothes, but he was certainly not okay going without any form of armor or capable weaponry. 

The very first hurdle was by far the most difficult, that being the guards at the town gates. The Gerudo stationed there were extra vigilant to any men trying to sneak inside, so Link’s disguise needed to be perfect. 

“Remember, don't try to walk like a girl or anything,” the voice of Samus said clearly through the communicator. “Just walk like you usually would.”

Samus was very insistent on that point earlier. Link figured he should follow the advice, considering Samus was currently their best expert on women, being one herself.

“Halt there, visitor,” One of the guards ordered as Link approached. “What business do you have in Gerudo Town?”

Honesty seemed to be the best response here, “I'm looking for a friend.”

Link’s worries spiked as the guard studied his form. Was the disguise truly effective? Eventually the guard stepped aside and allowed Link to pass. Thanking Hylia that nothing went wrong, Link wasted no time entering the town.

Having no expectations for Gerudo Town set Link up perfectly to be amazed. The modest size of the town betrayed its true occupancy, the buildings were close together and the streets narrow. The biggest open space available was the town square, and It was a fraction of the size of Hyrule Castle Town’s square. Everywhere you looked there were people, kids playing in the streets, adults conversing with their neighbors, merchants selling their wares. That was something else notable. In Castle Town, commerce took place exclusively in the walls of established businesses, but in Gerudo Town it was common for a random Gerudo to set down a rug under a spot of shade and sell their goods themselves, whether it be fresh fruit or finely crafted jewelry.

“This is amazing…” Link whispered to himself as a group of children raced past him without a care in the world.

“It sure is,” Samus replied from the communicator. “I’ve noticed that the quality of life in Hyrule is rather high compared to the settlements in the Federation. Over there it’s common to see people starving, or without a home.”

“That’s horrible.”

No other words were shared on the topic, because there was nothing else to say. What else could you say about the plight of a people several million miles away? No words could save them, and talking about it would only drag the mood down further. Better to focus on the good surrounding them and the mission they’ve sworn to complete (or delay, in Samus’ case).

“Try to find a bar or a tavern somewhere,” The distant voice of Davron said in Link’s ear, “You’re bound to find some info there.”

A tavern or bar, someplace where lots of people congregate… After a few minutes of looking around, Link found something that fit the bill. It was a small building with a large sign over its front door. The attached porch was filled to the brim with people, and through the windows Link could see what looked like a bar, with various drinks being served. Confident in his choice, Link entered the building without hesitation.

Business was clearly booming, with dozens of women sitting at the bar and partaking in meals at tables dotted around the interior. Not just Gerudo or Hylian women, there were a few Rito and Goron women as well. Spotting an open seat at the bar, Link stepped forward and sat himself down.

Almost as soon as he sat down, A Gerudo woman of average height (for a Gerudo at least), with unusually dark colored clothes and a clip fixing her red hair out of her face walked up from behind the bar. “ Vasaaq , stranger, anything I can get you?”

The incident at the gate proved that he at least looked like a woman at first blush, but would it work for more prolonged conversations? Only one way to find out. Link cleared his throat before speaking, “I’ll take anything that’ll refresh me.”

“I got just the thing for you!” The woman turned around to prepare a drink, one that looked similar to the hydromelon drink Link had just a few hours before but served in a glass bottle. The sound of ice clinking against the glass from the Gerudo woman placing it in front of Link sounded like heaven. “One Hydromelon Hurricane for you, miss?”

“Oh, uh… Linkle,” Link said, reciting the fake name the three had agreed on. “And you are?”

“Timara,” The woman announced herself with a chuckle, “Nice to meet you, Linkle.”

Link couldn’t help but chuckle too, satisfied that her false appearance was working. From the way that Timara prepared the drink he knew that she used a little rum in the construction of her drink, which didn’t bother Link. He wasn’t the type to drink the night away, but he would accept an alcoholic beverage from time to time. Taking a small sip of the beverage made Link moan from the flavor, sweet, fruity, and refreshing just as Timara promised.

“This is amazing,” Link commented, earning a smile from the Gerudo bartender. “Quick question, have you seen any blonde haired Hylians around here?”

Timara whistled in contemplation for a moment before saying, “Nope, none that I can remember.”

“Hear any talks about blonde haired Hylians from customers?”

“Never heard anything like that,” Timara answered, eliciting a groan from Link. “Is she important to you?”

Link hesitantly nodded, “Yeah, she’s my friend. She ran away from home, I just want to make sure she’s okay.”

“Why’d she run?”

“It’s partially my fault,” Link admitted. “Everyone underestimated her, including me. We all tried to protect her, but we were just limiting her freedom. She had enough of it after a while and, well, she bolted.”

“Well, if you underestimated her, she must be pretty strong, right? I don’t think you need to worry, your friend seems like the kind of vai who can take care of herself.”

She wasn’t wrong, not at all. Samus had been repeating it the whole time Link knew her, that Zelda was so much more than a weak princess and that she deserved to be free of her restrictions. At the time he let his own biases and worries for Zelda’s safety overtake Samus’ reasoning, and he continued to hurt Zelda over and over again without even realizing. Timara was right, Zelda could take care of herself perfectly well. Link promised that the first thing he would do upon finding Zelda was to apologize for all of his mistakes and beg for forgiveness.

Link smiled and took another sip of his drink before saying, “Thank Timara, for the drink and the conversation.”

“Just pay your tab before you leave and we’ll call it even,” Timara joked before moving onto other customers, the laugh she got from Link being the cherry on top of a pleasant conversation. 

“So that’s a bust then,” The voice of Davron complained.

Samus was the one to respond, “We’ll keep looking, wouldn’t hurt to ask a few more-”

The sudden stop made Link pause. He moved his hand to cover his mouth before he whispered, “Samus are you okay?”

The voice of Samus returned without any fanfare, only delivering this ominous warning, “The sensors in your communicator just picked up some strange energy near your position. Likely dark magic.”

“Dark magic? Wha-”

Another interruption, this time physical. Someone just grabbed Link’s shoulder from behind.

Link jerked away from the stranger in an instant, turning to make out a Hylian woman dressed in deep purple garbs. The sudden turn made the woman jolt back as well.

“Oh, sorry for scaring you! Are you okay?” The woman asked.

After Samus’ random warning about nearby dark magic, and this woman approaching him immediately after, Link was naturally on edge. Maybe this was just a case of bad timing, and this woman had nothing to do with the strange warning he had just received. The presence of dark magic was still a danger, so Link didn’t leave himself open for a second.

“I’m fine,” Link stated, pushing his drink away to keep his focus sharp.

“Well that’s good,” The woman breathed a sigh of relief. “I just overheard your conversation across the bar, your name is Linkle right? And you’re looking for a blonde Hylian?”

Link responded with a curt nod.

“Well what a coincidence,” The woman’s smile turned more upward, and more sinister, “Because I’m also looking for a blond Hylian, and also a man with a very similar name to yours.”

Link needed to get out, now. Taking several rupees from a pocket of his clothes and placing them on the counter he let out a hasty, “I really should go.”

The woman’s hand shot out at lightning speed, grabbing Link’s shoulder with an iron grip. The hero could barely move under the woman’s grasp. He was well and truly caught. 

“Oh no, I insist, we really should work together here, your help will benefit me immensely. ” The woman whispered menacingly. “Why don’t you come with me?”

Chapter Text

With the horrible things said in the Mess Hall and Zelda storming away, Teal simply didn’t have the strength to stay there any longer. She knew that the awkward gazes would simply be too much for her, so she smartly followed Zelda’s footsteps. She didn't, however, join her in conversing with Impa. Her overwhelming emotions would only make her a burden, so Teal made her way back to Impa’s house to relax. She could make sure Impa and Zelda were alright later.

Teal was doing her best to relax on Impa’s couch when the sound of two pairs of feet marching up the stairs indicated the return of Impa and Zelda. She didn’t really have any expectations for what their attitude would be, but somehow her expectations were subverted all the same. 

“Hah! Teal! This is amazing!” Zelda yelled with glee as she ran around the living room with a radical excitement. She barely acknowledged Impa rising the stairs behind her, who seemed to hold a pleasant calmness. Their conversation must have been really effective.

“Teal, you are not going to believe this,” Zelda said as she grabbed the anxious woman’s shoulders. “I’m going to be a Sheikah!”

Teal’s eyes widened, “Really? You can do that?”

The excited nod from Zelda made Teal excited alongside her, “Yes, Impa is going to train me!”

Impa nodded. “Hey Zelda, tell Teal what the first part of your training is going to be.”

“Oh yeah! First I'll have to-” All of Zelda's energy deflated in an instant. With nothing to support herself, she collapsed onto the couch beside Teal. “I'm an idiot.”

That got a laugh out of Impa, making her lean against the wall for support. “Her first task is to change her identity completely into ‘Sheik’. Once she becomes Sheik, the rest of her training will begin.”

Teal’s eyes widened, “But that's- that's insane!”

The only response Impa could do to that was shrug. “Try to get some rest, Zelda. You'll need it for tomorrow.”

And with that, Impa walked into her bedroom, leaving Teal and Zelda alone in the living room.

This was a lot to take in for Teal, but Zelda seemed so excited. Something confused the poor woman.

“You're already adept at magic, why this?” Teal asked.

Zelda’s gaze remained focused on the ceiling above her. Her commitment to this would surely be tested tomorrow, and Zelda was finally starting to internalize it. That didn't scare her away however, it only made her want to do it more. 

“Excelling at magic isn't enough, people still think that I need protecting,” Zelda explained. “I want to get stronger to prove them wrong. And if they still restrict me, I can just run away again with my Sheikah skills!”

That would be nice, wouldn't it? Teal was a kid before, and all kids fantasized about being a brave hero that saved the princess. The difference between fantasy and reality was so vast that most looked at what it took and declined to continue instantly. Zelda, never the type to give up on anything, took a look at the massive gulf and jumped right into it. Sometimes Teal wished she could muster the same sort of determination to fulfill her goals, but then she remembers how she shouldn't compare herself to others, and Teal didn't necessarily dislike how she was as a person, it was just an issue of remembering that.

“Well, whatever this ends up being, I'll support you, Zelda,” Teal assured.

That was what made Zelda turn her head to the side to look at Teal directly. With a soft smile, she responded, “Thank you Teal.” With a labored stretch Zelda stood up from the couch. “I'm going to head to bed. I get the feeling I'll need plenty of sleep for tomorrow.”

Saying that Zelda ‘woke up’ the next morning would be an understatement. A better way of saying it would be that she bolted awake, thanks to the sound of clanging metal ringing in her ear.

“AAAUGH!!!” Zelda screamed as she awoke from the sudden noise. Impa was standing above her holding a metallic pot lid and a spoon, smashing together to make the horrible noise that woke her up. Teal was standing just behind Impa, she must have had the foresight to wake Teal up first so she didn’t get scared by the loud noises.

“Up! Get up!” Sheikah yelled, banging the pot lid with a powerful fury. 

The rude awakening wasn’t enough to completely wake Zelda up, so she groggily pulled herself up and off the bed. “It’s so early!”

“My teacher had me wake up even earlier! Trust me, I’m doing you a favor,” Impa assured Zelda, unsuccessfully. She grabbed a folded set of beige and blue clothes from the bedside table and threw them at Zelda, waking her up further if she wasn’t completely lucid already. “Get those on, your training starts now.”

The training gi that Impa provided for her felt light and loose on Zelda’s frame, giving her complete freedom of movement. Most of the outfit was colored beige, with the edges of the fabric being a navy blue, the belt that affixed the outfit together being completely blue. Seeing herself in the mirror wearing the gi, an outfit so far from the traditional dresses the woman of the Royal Family wore, it made her feel powerful.

Once she was dressed, Impa took her to right outside of the Town Hall. The sun was only barely peeking up into view, leaving the Sheikah Village covered in a soft, morning glow. If other Sheikah were awake they were sticking to their homes, the streets sat mostly empty.

“Sheik,” Impa called Zelda to attention, instantly making her back straighten out. “You are going to be worked to the bone, and you must fully internalize your new identity in order for the next phase of your training to begin.”

It was a tall ask, even to someone of Zelda’s mental fortitude. But she wouldn’t falter just because the task in front of her was difficult, no, she would face this head on! Zelda screwed her eyes shut and focused on one thought, ‘I am not Zelda, I am Sheik. Zelda is gone, and I have to earn that name back!’

It wasn’t that easy, of course, but Zelda- no, Sheik wouldn’t be dissuaded.

Zelda wasn’t the physical exercise type. She did keep herself active to maintain her physique, but she never considered it important enough to put a focus on. Impa’s training was an effort to fix that. Zel- Sheik needed way more strength and stamina than she had at that point if she wanted to stand up to the Sheikah’s best and brightest.

“Go, go! Push it!” Impa yelled from Zelda’s side as she jogged throughout the streets of the Sheikah Village. She had to do it for an hour straight, an entire hour! It seemed insignificant to Impa, but to a young Sheikah in training, it was practically torture. Zelda’s muscles burned from the strain, her heart was beating so fast she thought it would burst out of her chest. Did Samus go through the same sort of intense training to become the powerful woman she was today?

Impa slowed down for a moment to lean against a tree and said, “That’s enough, Zelda. We can take a break.”

Ah, finally! Time to recharge. Zelda’s body collapsed from exhaustion in the middle of a street, her breathing heavy and labored. Just when she thought that she would finally get a chance to rest, Impa’s face slid into view, and she looked very smug. Realization struck Zelda.

“Dang it!” Zelda yelled in frustration. No wait, not Zelda, Sheik! Sheik yelled in frustration! She was so ashamed for having made such a simple mistake, this was the whole point of this exercise, to make sure she kept her new identity up even in intense moments like this. Sheik used the shame from her mistake as a motivator to push herself off the ground.

“You don’t need me to tell you your mistake,” Impa assumed. “Keep going.”

Sheik didn’t stick around to hear it twice, starting her jog again despite the protest from her burning muscles.

What the two didn’t notice was the growing interest coming from the other Sheikah. Impa wasn’t the type to take on apprentices, despite the expectations placed around her. Many had already written her off. So seeing her training Zelda out of nowhere? Usually there was a ceremony to initiate new apprentices, but Impa had skipped that completely. Some were disappointed that Impa rejected tradition yet again, while others were happy that she finally started to perform her duties as chief.

That was how it continued on for the next several week. Sheik even went through the effort of making sure that Samus was calling her Sheik during their text conversations. Convincing her to do this while also not letting it slip that Zelda was training to be a Sheikah was difficult, but she managed it in the end. The task was still monumentally difficult however, especially for a person like Sheik, who struggled to keep focus on a single thing at a time.

Impa had a solution of course, a regiment of meditations that, for Zelda Sheik at least, were about as hard as the physical exercises.

“This isn’t just for focus, of course, meditation can also calm down rampaging emotions. Stress isn’t required to advance in your training, after all,” Impa had explained one morning.

Impa had chosen the perfect spot for achieving a sense of calm, a quiet section of the Sheikah Village around a pool of calm water. A cherry blossom tree stood tall next to the pool, providing the perfect amount of shade. Next to the pool sat a small field of sand, with patterns immaculately sculpted into it, with various stones acting as accents. Impa called the piece a sand garden. It seems that this was a spot many Sheikah would meditate in, although today it was only Sheik and Impa making use of the space. 

Impa and Sheik were currently sitting down with their legs crossed facing the calm blue waters of the pool. If only there weren't so many interesting things to look at around them (Though a part of Zelda worried that even if she were meditating in a completely blank room, her mind would still focus on something else).

The silence got to Zelda after only fifteen minutes. “How much longer are we going to be here?”

“Oh…” Impa’s voice was light and airy, clearly in a state of zen. “I was going to go for four hours.”

“Four hours!?”

The sound of Zelda’s yell of incredulity tore the calm away completely from Impa, making her entire body jerk. With a sigh of disappointment she settled back down to a neutral position.

“Yes, four hours,” Impa reiterated. “Is there a problem, Zelda?”

The question only led Zelda to scoff. “Yeah, you can’t expect me to do this for four hours! My mind doesn’t let me work like that!”

“Then it is simply a matter of working with your mind, not against it,” Impa explained. “Describe your struggles with meditation.”

Well, that is a response Zelda wasn’t expecting. Whenever Zelda would bring up issues like this one in her studies, they would just tell her to brute force her way past those issues. Sometimes it was possible to do so (often leaving Zelda exhausted afterwards), but most of the time doing so only left her and her tutors frustrated. This was a nice change of pace to say the least.

Zelda took in a deep breath before continuing, “I can’t help but focus on the things around me. It’s not even that getting rid of distractions would make it better, it’s just that my mind gets bored quickly and wants to focus on something else.”

Impa nodded, “Then you need to give it something to focus on. Try to be mindful of your breathing. Either that, or you can repeat specific words and phrases to yourself. I know a popular focusing phrase for the Sheikah is ‘look within’. If you need something visual to focus on, then that is fine too.”

“Okay…” With a new direction to travel, Zelda tried to meditate again. ‘Look within’ seemed to be as good a phrase as any to focus on, so she did just that. Look within… look within… look within… it certainly helped, but she wasn’t completely at ease. “It’s not easy to sit still.”

“Who said you had to sit still?” Impa said. “If you need constant movement to be at ease, then that is fine. Plenty of Sheikah meditate by pacing around the pond.”

“Huh?”

Impa stared at Zelda incredulously. “What, did you think that meditation was specifically sitting with your legs crossed, eyes closed, not listening to or thinking about anything at all?”

“Uh… yeah, kinda.”

“Meditation is the art of achieving an emotionally stable state. You can do it sitting down, you can do it while walking. You could do it in any space that works for you. I only chose this pond because I find it calming, but if this space isn’t working for you, we can move to anywhere you would like.”

Zelda stared forward in thought for several moments before asking another question, “So there is no right or wrong way for this? It’s all up to the individual?”

“The same is true for many other things as well,” Impa answered. “Whatever means by which you choose to live your life, as long as they work for you, then that is the correct path to take.”

“... Whatever works for me…”

It was a feeling that Zelda had always felt implicitly, but hearing it put into words made it feel concrete. For so long everyone told her that there was a set right way. A right way to be royalty, a right way to be a woman. Women in the Hyrule Royalty were supposed to be proper, respectful, and demure. They were to be seen, but not heard. It was a man’s place to be in authority, while it was a woman's job to ensure that there were more men who took those powerful positions when the time came for a new leader to step up.

Samus was the polar opposite to that. She was loud, aggressive, the type of person who doesn’t back down when someone tells her no. Samus taught Zelda that she had the same power too, the power to decide what she wants out of life for herself. The bounty hunter was a role model for Zelda in that way.

Well, enough of that thinking, it was time to meditate, and Zelda had just the right thing to help her.

“Din’s Fire ”

A small flame formed between the palm of Zelda’s hands, and with a simple push the flame started hovering over the calm waters. This was a technique that Zelda would use early in her magical studies to train her automatic thinking. Keeping the flame alight, while also keeping it hovering in the air and safe from any oncoming winds, required a small but steady stream of magic energy, a stream that Zelda could manipulate as easily as she could breathe. It was the perfect focus for meditation.

And so, Sheik focused on the flame in front of her, on the flow of magical energy from her core to the focusing point. She focused on how the flame would flicker over time, never repeating the same shape. She focused on the effort it took to maintain a simple flame, the processes it took to create a barrier capable of allowing light and oxygen but not wind. She focused on all of this. Nothing else mattered, just the flame. Sheik felt at peace.

Until a ball falls from out of nowhere into the dead center of the pond, breaking up the calm surface.

Impa and Zelda both jump, the former releasing a gasp of air and the latter giving a brief shout. A child comes running up to the pond, and then into it as he tries to reclaim his lost ball. He holds the ball high up in the air, basking in it for a moment, before a Sheikah woman comes along and picks the child up.

“Honestly, Ceir, you know better than to disturb someone when they are meditating!” The woman admonishes her son before turning to Zelda and Impa. “I apologize for the disturbance, Chief Impa.”

The only thing she got were stares. Impa silently begged the Sheikah woman to turn around and walk away, and that she did, overwhelmed by the awkward energy.

“That was… unfortunate,” Impa comments. “Are you okay, Sheik?”

“Yeah, I'm good,” Sheik answers as she rolls her shoulders. “It’s too bad, I only managed around… it felt like five minutes.”

Impa briefly laughed, “It’s actually been an hour.”

Huh?

Sheik turns to Impa to try and find some indication that she was joking, but there is none. Sheik really managed to meditate for an hour. She bends forward in shock, focusing on the water of the pond. It was settling down after the ruckus caused by the boy and his mother, and so was Sheik’s nerves. She was worried before that she just wasn’t cut out for this, but what Impa suggested actually helped.

“You’re a really good teacher, Impa,” Sheik says after a long silence.

It’s Impa’s turn to be surprised. Her eyes widened at the sudden compliment, the only thing she’s able to say being a sound that sounds like “hah?”

Sheik only laughs. “You actually helped me stay calm and focused for a full hour! That’s pretty impressive. There’s no way you’re not a great teacher after helping me with that.”

Another bout of silence. This one is contemplative in nature, Impa thinking about Sheik’s compliment, while Sheik herself reveling in the sense of calm she feels. Safe to say that both of them got much out of this meditation session.

“Thank you, Sheik.”

“Of course, Impa.”

Another moment of silence passes.

“You answered to Zelda earlier,” Impa says.

Sheik groans, “Yeah, I realized right after it happened.”

To the residents of Sheikah Village, Teal and Zelda were outsiders intruding on a place that was supposed to be restricted to only the Sheikah. No non-Sheikah had been taken to the Sheikah Village in living memory, and no amount of historical context would make it any easier. Impa, being the highest authority in the Sheikah, ordained Zelda and Teal’s presence. No one could challenge such high authority, so the villagers cut their losses and tried to ignore them.

That was how the two were perceived at first, but slowly and surely, Zelda and Teal became part of the community. Zelda was a kind and energetic soul who would engage with everyone. Everyone in Sheikah Village has had at least one interaction with Zelda, and all of them were positive. Teal was not nearly as outgoing as the princess, but she was a gem in her own right. It was impossible to be rude to Teal, with her anxious disposition and the magnitude of her joy when it was witnessed. It was a testament to how wonderful the two were that the community accepted them so quickly.

Which is why everyone was so worried that Zelda was so willing to break herself.

Everyone was excited to hear that Zelda was going to train to be a Sheikah, they all prayed for her success. But the way she was going about it was too much. Working herself to the bone will only leave Zelda with a ruined body! Nothing was worth that!

It got worse after a week of it. Zelda and Impa went out on a run first thing in the morning. The villagers woke up to see Impa leading a clearly exhausted Zelda through the streets. Everyone gathered as Zelda stopped for a break at a bench, her entire body collapsing in on itself.

“Zelda!” Teal yelled, but it was as if she didn't hear her. Her eyes kept staring up at the sky. It was only when Teal handed her a canister of water to drink that she took notice of her, ripping the canister out of Teal’s hands. She downed the thing like she hadn't had any water for days. And Impa was just standing there, like nothing was wrong! “This has to stop! She can’t take it anymore!”

“She will be fine,” Impa insisted, despite all available evidence. At this point a small crowd had begun to congregate, the villagers taking Teal’s side.

“Impa, this is going too far,” One of the villagers stepped forward. “Zelda cannot take any more.”

Impa had no words to spare, instead choosing to look over the exhausted form of Zelda. Everyone was happy that Impa had finally taken on a protege after so long, but some were wary of training a princess of the Royal Family. But now everyone was sure, this was purely unacceptable.

“Come on Zelda,” one villager said as she grabbed Zelda’s arm and went to pull her up, but the princess didn’t budge. “Princess, we need to get you some help, your body won’t take any more.”

“Shut up…”

Those words coming from the princess’ mouth made everyone freeze.

Teal placed a calming hand on Zelda’s shoulder and began to say, “Zelda, you should really-”

“I said shut up!” Zelda yelled as she pushed Teal away from her. Everyone was surprised by Zelda’s outburst, but Teal especially, who jumped back in shock and struggled to contain her breathing afterwards. Zelda didn’t waste time to help her friend, instead choosing to push through the crowd and begin running again. Her steps were labored and her breathing slow. Did she have a death wish?!

“Zelda!” A villager called after her, but she gave no response.

“Zelda, come back!” A second villager yelled, but Zelda didn’t respond to them either.

Impa was the last person to call after the running princess, but she didn’t call her Zelda.

“Sheik?”

“What?” Sheik groaned as she turned around, her face holding a look of resentment.

“The first phase of your training is complete. Nice job.”

The silence that followed was immense. The only sound Zelda could make was a strained, “eh?”

“You didn’t respond to the name ‘Zelda’ a single time.”

“But-” Sheik felt a mix of emotions. Joy at completing the first phase of her training, but also confusion. Was it really that simple? “How do you know I won’t respond to my old name accidentally?”

Impa smirked, “Because of your red eyes.”

Red eyes? But Sheik had blue eyes-

Wait, no, that wasn’t right. Zelda had blue eyes, blue like the ocean. Her mother had the same eyes as she does. But Sheik? She didn’t know what her own eye color was. Was it possible that somehow it changed? 

The desire to know what had happened to her was greater than her exhaustion, so she pushed forward. Everything faded into the background, the only thing that Sheik registered were the feeling of her feet impacting the soft ground and her destination, the pond and cherry blossom tree that she would meditate at. She kneeled before the water’s surface, gazed into it and saw exactly what Impa had said. Sheik’s eyes were no longer blue, they were now a deep crimson red.

But no, saying they changed wouldn’t be right. It felt more right to say that Sheik’s eyes had always been read, just as Zelda’s had always been blue. This distinction between the two parts of her were so pronounced, what was happening?

“You’ve entered a state we call Pure Focus. Your red eyes are a sign of that.”

The sound of Impa’s voice speaking right behind Sheik made her dart to her feet and turn around.

“The Hylian body does several tasks automatically, from breathing, to processing food, to making your heart beat. Normally all of these processes are facing different directions, pulling us in ways that can influence our behavior. While in Pure Focus, every single part of your body, all those processes that happen automatically, are all following along with your mind. Essentially you have full control of your body. You could stop your heart with a thought.”

Sheik, always the inquisitive one, placed her hands above her heart and willed it to stop, and surely enough it did. The rhythmic beating that kept her alive was now as silent as ever. She willed it to continue, and it continued, as if nothing had happened.

Having such control over her body felt… strange. But it also felt empowering. How many times had Sheik been deep in a research project, only for the needs of her body to pull her away. Resisting those needs was like flying to the sun, tempting its powerful rays to drop you back down to Earth.

“And in just a week too!” Impa stepped forward and placed her hands on Sheik’s shoulders. “It took me months to achieve Pure Focus for the first time. You really are amazing, Sheik.”

The gratitude that welled up in Sheik was immense. “It was only because I had a great teacher.”

Impa laughed after only a second of nothing passed. “I really am great, aren't I?”

“Okay, don’t let it get to your head too much.”

Impa and Zelda laughed together. Having such a friendly relationship between student and teacher was considered heavily untraditional in Sheikah culture, but that was not the time for that. Sheik had just made the first big step in her training, and she couldn’t feel better.

Chapter Text

In Link's several years career as a knight of the Royal Family, never before had he been in a situation so strange. Dressed as a woman, sneaking into Gerudo Town, with a dark magic user holding his shoulder in a death grip. He could practically hear the laughter of his training buddies right now.

“Why don't you come with me?” The dark witch whispered as her grip on Link's shoulder tightened.

Now, how was he supposed to get out of this one? The only weapon he had access to was the small knife stowed away behind his back. The witch would notice something was up immediately and blast Link with whatever magic she had stowed away inside of her. The same would happen if he tried to pry her hands off his shoulders. Calling for help would do nothing, Samus and Davron were too far away. The only thing Link could do was delay until a solution presented itself.

A smile formed on Link's face despite the pain in his shoulder. Why not have some fun with the villain, if it meant wasting more time? “We only just met, I think going to your place would be way too fast.”

“Ha! Cheeky,” the woman chuckled as she licked her lips. “I have nothing against one night only affairs, you know. That wouldn’t be an issue with me.”

“I have plenty against those,” Link commented, very uncomfortable with the situation. “I prefer to engage with people I already know very well.”

“Why don't I give you my name? That'll surely bring us closer together! My name is Veran.”

Knowing the name of his attacker did nothing to help him get out of this situation, unfortunately. There must be something Link could do! He wouldn’t just go down without a fight. How to get out of this situation… The one saving grace was that Samus and Davron would surely know something was wrong and come as fast as possible, but would that be enough? 

“What's going on here?”

The voice of Timara from behind the bar made Veran and Link stop in place. She looked upset to say the least, pointing accusatory glares in Veran’s direction. The presence of the bartender only made Link more worried. Veran was clearly a very deranged individual, any provocation would cause her to snap. If Timara tried to get Veran to leave the establishment, it would only goad her on to attack.

Link shook his hand and spoke in a desperate attempt to recover the situation, “It's okay, we're just going to take this outside-”

“Oh come on, Linkle, don't let her walk all over us!” Veran interrupted as she slowly raised her left hand in the air. “I think she needs to be taught a lesson.”

Link’s eyes widened as his worst fears were confirmed. “No, Don't!”

With a snap of her fingers, all the chatter in the building turned to silence.

Everyone just stopped. People in the middle of a conversation stopped in places with their mouths still open. Those who were taking a drink still held their cups to their lips, their drinks dripping down their chins. Timara was caught in the middle of saying something, her eyes still glaring at Veran.

“It's mind control. My specialty,” Veran explained as she took a shot glass out of a nearby patron’s hand and downed it herself.

A terrifying power, but something bugged Link. “Why didn't you just control me?”

Veran sighed. “I tried, but it didn’t work! I imagine it has something to do with that Triforce on the back of your hand. It interferes with my magic.”

Even if Link didn't have any effective weapons or armor, at least the enemy couldn't use her instant win move against him. The silver lining looked small compared to the dark cloud that hung over him. Veran's firm grip relented for just a moment to push Link into the woman next to him, who wrapped her large arms around his neck. Timara and another Gerudo reached around to grab Link’s arms. He was thoroughly stuck.

“Now stay still, I won’t be able to perform the teleportation spell if you squirm,” Veran explained as dark magic swirled around her hands. “Your presence is required for our plans. You are the key to open the way for our Master to return.”

Link’s eyes went wide. So that was their plan! “You won’t get away with it!”

Veran’s laugh echoed off the walls of the silent tavern. “Considering the fact that I'm about to kidnap you, I think I will get away with it!”

The energy around Veran’s hands pulsed with dark energy, readying a teleportation spell that would spell Link’s doom. Whatever was on the other side could not be good. With his body restricted and no one else to help, everything seemed truly hopeless. Link closed his eyes, preparing for the worse-

Only for a soft metallic thud to tear Veran and Link from their situation. 

It sounded like it came from the floor…

Veran and Link looked down to see a large purple ball that had rolled into the bar, creating the noise. The ball looked like nothing Link had seen before, but the color and finish of it reminded Link of Samus’ Power Suit.

All of a sudden the surface of the ball exploded outward and unfolded into the crouched form of Samus, which shot up like a coiled spring to deliver an uppercut directly to Veran’s face. The control Veran had over the people of the tavern disconnected as soon as the punch connected, the Gerudo holding Link freeing him.

“Come on!” Samus yelled as she ran out of the establishment, Link following close behind. Their sudden burst into the courtyard made many Gerudo stop to stare at them, and they only stared more upon seeing Samus’ armor. She stuck out like a sore thumb. But now wasn’t the time to worry about something like that, dealing with Veran was a priority. “I came running as soon as I felt that something was wrong.”

“You ran all the way from your ship?”

Samus shrugged, “I can run fast. But whatever, what happened?”

“Her name was Veran, she had some sort of mind control power,” Link said, looking around at the crowd that surrounded them. Any one of them could be controlled by Veran. “They were able to gain control of everyone in the tavern in an instant. But It seems she only wanted to capture me.”

“Well that makes things easier, we just have to get out of here.”

“Sounds good to me,” Link sighed in relief as he began to walk to the edge of the crowd, with Samus following right behind him. But before they could step through the crowd, the Gerudo there pushed them back.

“Did you really think it would be that simple?” The voice of Veran spoke from behind the two. The crowd parted like a wave as Veran stepped through, stopping at the opposite end from Link and Samus. With a wave of her hand, dozens of people in the crowd pulled at daggers and pointed the weapons at themselves. “If you step one inch out of Gerudo Town, then I’ll make everyone slaughter themselves. I’m afraid the only way you’re leaving this town is under my control.”

“Not if I had anything to say about it,” Samus said casually.

Veran laughed an insidious high note as she raised her hands, “Unfortunately you do not! Not when I have the power here!”

Samus stumbled backwards at the sound of Veran snapping her fingers, struggling against the hand trying to grip her mind. Link was at her side in an instant, begging her to resist it, like it would do anything in the end. The only thing that would keep Samus in control was her will power and the technology of her Power Suit. Veran’s power wasn’t enough to capture Samus’ mind. It seems the only thing that Veran was able to accomplish was knocking Samus off balance, which she regained nearly instantly.

Samus chuckled as she straightened her back. “Looks like I do have something to say about it.”

“Well that’s annoying,” Veran complained. Her other arm rose into the air and the mind-controlled Gerudo got in a ready stance. “Luckily for me, I have an army.”

Right. They were still surrounded by a crowd of mind-controlled Gerudo ready to attack at any moment, and now they were charging at them.

Samus didn't waste a second grabbing Link's arm and jumping high in the air. The sudden burst of speed made Link gasp, but Samus was in her element. She flew through the air gracefully, landing on her feet outside of the crowd and began running. Link scampered to follow, barely managing to get away from dozens of outstretched hands.

“Augh!” Link yelled as more Gerudo on the outskirts reached out for him. He did his best to duck under each grasping hand and dived out of the way of the people in his way. “How are we supposed to deal with this?!”

“I’ll get Veran, you focus on evading!” Samus yelled as she jumped over more Gerudo that were struggling to reach her.

He just needed to keep away, how was he supposed to do that? And then he realized, most of the buildings in Gerudo Town didn’t have roof access. It would be the perfect place to go where few people would be able to follow. He climbed up onto one of the merchants tables and made a jump for the roof of the building that the table stood next to. Several of the mind controlled women climbed onto the table and tried to grab him, but Link was faster, pulling himself onto the roof and out of harm's way.

Only a few Gerudo were physically capable enough to follow Link, those with the dexterity to perform such a feat, which made things even more troublesome. These people knew how to fight, and every single one of them had a knife ready in hand to fight with. The numbers may be lessened, but the danger was still real.

But that didn’t stop Link. He pulled his own knife from out behind his back and held it in a reverse grip in his left hand. A symbolic gesture of course, Link wasn’t intending on actually harming the mind-controlled fighters. Incapacitating them would be enough, and Link had enough training to know how to do that.

The first Gerudo ran forward and stabbed forward right at Link’s heart, but he was ready for it. His entire body twisted to the side, letting the blade graze the fabric on his arm. He shot the blunt end of the knife upward into the attacker’s wrist, making him drop the knife with a jerk. With a smooth motion he pushed the mind-controlled Gerudo to the side where she landed by the edge of the roof. Another at him, Link ducking under her attacks effortlessly. A kick to the shin made her trip, and a tackle to the fumbling attacker pushed another Gerudo behind her, incapacitating them both for the time being.

Only two more remained, attacking again in turn. Link desperately rolled backwards to get away from their slashes, giving him the space to regain his footing. The two women slashed and stabbed at Link with a fiery fury, barely giving any room for Link to respond. He was quickly losing roof to back up on, and something needed to change soon. There were barely any openings, but Link burst forward anyway, striking the woman’s knives away and kicking the two of them back. 

It wasn’t nearly enough to stop them completely, not by a long shot, and Link knew that well. That’s why he darted backwards and jumped over the gap that divided the two buildings. He needed to give himself as much distance from his attackers as possible. He didn’t stop running as he landed, jumping another gap, and another. Soon he was far enough away from any of the mind-controlled that he could plan his next move. At least he thought he was, until he sensed the presence of someone behind him. He swung around, his knife ready-

“Woah! Stop!” It was Riju! The Gerudo Chief! Link quickly put his knife away. Nice job, nearly attacking Gerudo royalty. As If he wasn’t already breaking a ton of rules. “There better be a good explanation for this, because I don’t think I can make an excuse as to why Hyrule’s precious hero had been chopped up to bits!”

“Wait, how could you tell it’s me? And how are you not being mind controlled?”

“That’s what that is? I felt an itch in my head, I’m trained in magic so I could repel it. As for how I know it’s you, maybe next time-” Riju yelled as she grabbed Link’s left hand. “-you should try to cover up the big yellow tattoo on your hand! Now talk, or I’ll-”

The sound of a dark magic explosion rocked Riju out of her rant. A gust of wind and the form of Samus shooting past them followed quickly afterwards.

“Samus! Are you okay?!” Link yelled to the bounty hunter, who struggled to get back on her feet.

A guttural growl plagued Samus’ throat as she yelled, “I’m fine!” She didn’t waste a second, jumping back into the fray.

Veran was the first opponent in a while that genuinely annoyed Samus. The mind controlled Gerudo acted as the perfect shields, Samus outright refused to blast through them, so Veran was free to command them to block any attack Samus would think of sending her way. It was child’s play to shoot dark magic blasts around the mind-controlled, but sometimes she wouldn’t even bother, instead shooting an attack through a group of Gerudo. The loss of innocent life made Samus’ blood boil.

The more time passed, the more people Veran would kill. Samus needed to end this now. Her plan was risky, but she didn’t have a choice. She launched herself forward at Veran, who predictably erected a human shield to stop Samus. Instead of moving back to find another opening, she launched herself again using the Space Jump function of her Power Suit. She spun through the air as she flew over the shield, Veran not expecting the movement. Samus didn’t waste any time shooting out her Grapple Beam at Veran, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her into the air. The force of Samus spinning swung Veran upward, and she slammed into a roof with a massive THUD that sent a spider web of cracks throughout the surface.

The mind control lifted as soon as Veran made impact with the roof, leaving everyone confused as to what was happening, and then promptly horrified at the bodies shot dead from Veran’s attacks. But that was no cause for celebration, the cause of the control was still active, and so Samus didn’t have a second to lose. She tried to land a devastating kick to the downed Veran, but the witch rolled out of the way right before Samus made impact with the roof. Veran righted herself in an instant and launched forward to Samus with a hand coated in dark magic. Samus caught the hand with her left, leaving the two in a stalemate, fighting to overpower the other.

“Such power… and you waste it on them, ” Veran spat out the word like it was an insult. A chuckle rose from her throat as she continued, “Why don’t you join us and show that power off?”

Samus responded with a click of her tongue and biting remarks, “You can’t control me with your magic so you try to control me with words? You’re desperate.”

Veran snarled, mists of dark magic flowing through her mouth. “You’ll regret not joining us!”

The mist solidified into gusts of dark clouds that swam through the air and landed on the ground. The clouds solidified quickly into monsters, these lanky humanoids with skin that clung tight to their skeletons, wooden masks covering their faces. Samus readied herself for a fight-

The piercing scream that came from the monsters felt like needles entering her brain. Samus collapsed onto the ground and clamped her hands above her ears in a desperate attempt to keep the sounds away. Damn her sensitive hearing! It was not helping right now.

“ Their screams are supernaturally damaging, ” Adam’s voice explained as the sound dampeners in Samus’ helmet activated, letting no sounds reach the suit’s occupant.

“I noticed!” Samus groaned. The screams of those monsters was unlike anything Samus had heard before. Even when she wasn’t at risk of hearing them again, her body barely cooperated with her. Damn it, just stand up! Fight!

Veran blasted Samus with more dark magic, degrading the shielding in the suit. But Samus wouldn’t take it without a fight, swinging her Arm Cannon in a desperate attempt to hit her attacker. Veran stepped back easily enough and threw another blast, this one focused on Samus’ helmet. A bit of sound managed to reach into Samus’ protective bubble. This was bad, this was very bad. She needed to fight back, she needed to stop Veran!

Her Arm Cannon charged with energy and pointed at Veran, ready to fire-

The sound of Veran snapping her fingers stopped her completely.

Veran’s finger snap stopped nearly everyone in Gerudo Town actually, the townspeople falling under her spell. The only sound that could be heard was the energy coming from Samus’ Arm Cannon, and even that started to fade as Samus lost control of herself. The silence was well and truly deafening.

“No!” Link screamed from a roof farther away. Riju snarled, insulted by the villain that dared to take control of her people.

“Well that was close…” Veran breathed a sigh of relief as she relaxed. Nothing threatened her anymore, now that she had Samus under her control. Samus’ Power Suit slowly reformed, putting her in peak condition. The bounty hunter slowly lowered her Arm Cannon and stood up in attention to her new master, so unlike her normal behavior. It was disgusting to look at. “Now I can relax. Go get him.”

The mind controlled Samus followed her commands without question, jumping high in the air towards Link and Riju. The two darted away as Samus landed between them. A missile left the lips of her Arm Cannon and shot directly at Link, which he barely managed to dodge by dropping down from the roof. The missile exploded above him, sending a ringing through his ears.

How in the Goddesses name was he supposed to fight Samus Aran, with nothing but a knife!?

Samus was quick to follow Link, landing squarely in the center of the street. Several plasma shots flew to Link who barely managed to dodge by diving around a building’s corner. He wasted no opportunity to get up and keep running.

“How does it feel to be a prey animal?” The voice of Veran asked from above. Link looked up to see Veran sitting on the edge of a building, kicking her feet in glee. “Surrounded by predators…”

Samus stepped around the building into view, staying uncomfortably still. Several Gerudo walked forward as well, circling Link.

“I’ve killed your master before,” Link’s voice shakily proclaimed, “You’re nothing compared to him.”

The sound of Veran’s laugh unnaturally echoed throughout Gerudo Town, sending shivers down Link’s spine. “That was with help, but you’re all alone now! And besides, you’re also going against her.”

… Veran was not wrong. Link only managed to kill Ganon with help from an army, and now he was completely alone. Alone, and standing up against the most powerful figure Link had ever seen before. Could Samus kill Ganon single handedly? The chances were likely. It was a terrifying prospect. Ganon was a terrifying force, his presence alone bringing fear and gloom. Samus was having the same effect, though this time it wasn’t through magic, it was just through her own merit. How could Link hope to stand against that?

But Link couldn’t afford to feel that way. Everyone was counting on him. There was no way he could back down!

“It seems your mind control is rather weak. One hit to you and everyone in town will be free.”

A look of hatred sprouted on Veran’s face, breaking through her cam facade. “You… you will not beat me!!”

Link smirked. Heated emotions led to mistakes, and mistakes led to more openings to strike. Not exactly a chivalrous behavior, but codes didn't matter here, survival trumped all. Now he just had to give himself some distance. With almost every direction guarded by some mind-controlled person, the only place to go was inside the building. And that is exactly what Link did.

He dived through the closest window to him, landing in a roll and instantly righting himself. He did it again through a window on the opposite side of the building. Several Gerudo waited for him outside, but they didn't make any moves to attack. A shadow passing over him was the only warning he had to another attack, and he rolled out of the way just in time to dodge a devastating kick from Samus. She was relentless, immediately swinging with her Arm Cannon, which Link struggled to dodge.

Veran was so confident in Samus' strength that she didn't even bother to have the other Gerudo attack. It was a bold move, but not one that would lead to her downfall.

Link did his best to parry away Samus' wide swings, but she was just too strong. The force of the Arm Cannon impacting Link's hands made the knife fly out of his hands, too far away to grab. He just barely managed to roll out of the way to another merchant stand, on which sat several beautiful plates. Link grabbed the plates with haste, throwing them at Samus in an attempt to distract her, but the plates just broke up on contact with her suit, doing nothing to stop her. Arcs of yellow energy emerging from her Arm Cannon scared Link enough that he jumped over the table and into another window. The plasma shot that followed barely missed Link, hitting the windowsill and melting it instantly.

Link’s eyes darted around the building he landed in. There must have been some sort of weapon nearby… there! On the wall sat what looked like a commemorative sword, the blade still looking sharp. It would do for now. Link grabbed the sword and didn't even have a chance to see how it felt in his hands before the wall behind him blasted open and Samus stepped through.

Link grunted as he readied himself, “Come on Samus! Fight it!”

But Samus said nothing, instead responding by raising her Arm Cannon, a missile ready to go. Link readied himself for an attack-

A bolt of lightning struck Samus suddenly, making her entire body jerk in pain. The mind-controlled Samus collapsed on the ground, struggling to recover from the attack. Poor Samus, she was going to be in so much pain after this!

The source of the lightning was Riju, who stood behind Link holding a scimitar. She wasted no time in grabbing Link's arm and pulling him away. The two ran throughout the streets until they entered another building, ducking down out of sight.

After a few moments of silence making sure they were not followed, Riju finally said, “Goddess, how are we supposed to fight that?”

“We just need to land an attack on Veran, then she'll lose control over her,” Link explained. “Could you shoot a bolt of lightning at her like you just did there?”

Riju snarled, “That witch is crafty. She keeps herself out of sight. If I could just get her in my sights for a second I could-”

“Come out, cowardly hero!” The booming voice of Veran made Riju and Link completely stop in her tracks. “Surrender to me and I'll release your friend.”

“She's just trying to manipulate you!” Riju whispered to Link. The two fell back into silence, hoping that their hiding spot wasn't discovered. 

“... That won't do it for you? How heartless…” Veran stayed silent for a moment of contemplation. “Oh I know! My magic interacts directly with my target’s mind. I can read their thoughts, and Samus has some rather interesting ones rolling around in her head! Would you like to hear all about them?”

Link did not like the sound of that.

“This one is particularly juicy, so get ready!” Veran yelled with glee. “Your bodyguard fancies your precious Princess Zelda! How queer!”

Everything stopped.

It couldn't be true, right?... But the more Link ruminated on it, the more true it seemed. Zelda and Samus were close, closer than Link had ever been with Zelda. They've only known each other for several months, and yet they were attached like glue. Despite how much his doubt pushed against the idea, he accepted it all the same.

No, no! He shouldn't let that change things. Samus was still under the control of Veran’s mind control, the villain had all of Gerudo Town under her control, she couldn't be allowed to continue with this! 

“You with me hero?” Riju asked. As soon as Veran announced Samus' secret the Hylian man sat dead silent.

But Link paid her no mind, his focus turned inward. He raised his left hand in front of him and clenched the first as hard as he could. A silent prayer whispered under his breath…

“Farore, give me strength!”

The Triforce symbol on the back of Link's hand shone with holy light.

Chapter Text

The Triforce. The sacred relics left behind by the three goddesses, Farore, Nayru, and Din. A measure to make sure that their creations could survive in the harsh world they were created in. That's what the legend says at least. It was impossible to say how the Triforce really came into existence, such a legend could not continue for so many years without changes being made through inaccurate translations or simply misremembering details.

The Triforce is not a unique phenomenon. In fact, there are many instances of unexplained relics or powers that could be deemed as ‘magic’. The Chozo of Tallon IV had achieved a state of transcendence beyond time and space through hundreds if not thousands of years of meditation and prayer, leaving the realm of mortal beings. They had discovered a particular truth of the universe that no one had before or since. Even in old Human civilizations, a few unlucky people stumbled into a similar state of transcendence, becoming ghosts or evil spirits. The exact methods of becoming such beings have yet to be discovered by the current Galactic Federation, and many believed them to be simply stories. It was only through a fundamental truth of the universe so complex that it had not been unraveled by the greatest minds in Human history over the course of thousands of years that these ghosts were created.

The Triforce is unique in only one aspect, It is by far the strongest unexplainable relic the universe had ever seen. It had the power to grant any wish the wielder of the Triforce held in their heart. That power led to the creation of ND-821’s magic, a force more concrete than any other magic in the universe. Of course, that power is only available to those with all three pieces of the Triforce, and it was impossibly rare for all the three pieces to come together under one united will. But even so, just the three individual pieces of the Triforce are immensely powerful relics unto themselves, granting their chosen wielders immense power.

The Triforce of Wisdom, representing the Goddess Nayru, who according to legend bestowed upon the pure chaos of the emptiness the rules and logic necessary for anything to exist at all. Its power gave the wielder the true embodiment of wisdom, through a few different abilities. All wielders of the Triforce of Wisdom have a photographic memory, and the ability to recall any piece of information instantly, regardless of how long ago the memory was created. The Triforce of Wisdom also accelerates the process of thinking in its user’s mind, letting them use their immense knowledge in an instant. Wielders of the Triforce of Wisdom were still prone to bias, as shown by when Zelda fell into a pitfall common in all sorcerers, but her ability to take in new information allowed her to instantly correct and move past her own limitations. She would still be talented without it, but the power bestowed by the Triforce of Wisdom allowed Zelda to become the greatest magic user in all of Hyrule, if not all of ND-821.

The Triforce of Power, the representation of the Goddess Din. With her flames she sparked the creation of matter, guiding the process of the formation of earth and proto-life. The Triforce of Power is the simplest part of the Triforce, but no less important, because it is only through the eruption of power that change can be dealt. Wielders of the Triforce of Power are given immense strength, infinite stamina, mastery over all forms of combat, all things required to become one of the strongest beings in creation. The Triforce of Power was once wielded by a warrior of great renown, a person who considered strength a value in and of itself, and made a vow to not use their power on innocent people. This allowed Ganon to overpower them, performing a dark ritual that transferred the Triforce of Power to himself. With it he became the Demon King, and waged war with Hyrule. Killed by the hero Link, his power is remembered in infamy.

The Triforce of Courage, left the Goddess Farore. She was the last in the process of creation, giving the beasts of the world created by Din morality and complex thought, leading to the creation of the Hylians. The Triforce of Courage gives the power to uphold its namesake, the ability to stand strong in the face of fear, danger, and difficulty. Wielders of the Triforce of Courage have strong resistances to magic, allowing them to resist the effects of mental sorcery and withstand the blows of offensive magic without a scratch. With the Triforce of Courage, the wielder is granted an immense will, immunity to the restrictions of fear and doubt. Through focus and meditation, wielders of the Triforce of Courage can enter a state of flow where their actions and thoughts become precise and intentional. The wielder becomes enraptured with the current moment and performs near perfectly.

This power of flow the Triforce of Courage gave Link is ultimately what gave him the victory against the mind-controlled Samus Aran with no available weapons or armor, proving just how powerful even just one piece of the Triforce can be.

“This one is particularly juicy, so get ready!” Veran yelled with glee. “Your bodyguard fancies your precious Princess Zelda! How queer!”

It was a technique Veran was familiar with. Her mind control magic also allowed her to read the thoughts of her victims on a surface level, only things the victim was thinking about a lot at the time the link was established. If her Link gave her access to some scandalous secrets, then why not spill them? It did a good job provoking her enemies, and really they should have just not gotten mind-controlled if they didn't want their secrets revealed. Their own fault really.

Usually revealing big secrets like that would drive those associated with her victims to attack irrationally. But Link and Riju were strangely absent. Gerudo Town had been completely silent ever since Riju shocked Samus and ran away with Link. Thankfully, damage to her controlled victims didn't disconnect her link with her, so Veran was still free to use Samus as her ultimate soldier. 

Now the problem was searching for the pesky Hero of the Blade. Even with everyone in Gerudo Town searching for him, Link just wouldn’t show up. Of course, he was being assisted by the chief of the Gerudo. She must have known some way to get around Gerudo Town without anyone noticing her. Samus’ Power Suit had some amazing method of seeing through walls, an ability called the ‘X-ray Scope’. With it she could scan for secret passageways, confirming Veran’s suspicions. If only the thing had a bigger radius, then it could actually be useful!

Samus searched while Veran relaxed in the center of town, having a hydromelon drink, a delicacy in Gerudo Desert. With diligent workers like her mind-controlled victims, she could afford to cut it loose. Being a dark witch came with its challenges, so Veran took all the opportunities she could to relax.

This almost led to her downfall, as Link erupted out of the ground in front of her with a sword in his hand, ready to strike.

Veran barely managed to back out of the way of Link’s swing before she flew into the air away from the danger. Riju was quick to follow Link through the secret passageway entrance, her two scimitars in her hands.

“So, the pests have finally come out of their hiding spot!” Veran sneered from her spot dozens of feet in the air. “It makes sense that you would try this, you have no hope of defeating me with any other method.”

“So says you! I will not stand by while my people are under your control!” Riju growled as she ran past Link to fight Veran. Link himself stepped back, letting Riju take on Veran.

A bolt of lightning suddenly struck Riju scimitars, igniting them with electricity. She wasted no time pointing the swords at Veran and allowing the bolts to fly forward into them, which Veran twisted her body to dodge out of the way of. Riju didn’t let up her assault, jumping to the side and throwing more lightning bolts and Veran. Each one was dodged with little effort. Seeing how hopeless her current barrage was, Riju dashed forward, each step causing sparks to bounce against the stone. With a lightning assisted jump, Riju flew towards Veran, her scimitars ready to strike. Veran summoned a shield, one made of magic this time, to stop Riju’s blades before they could reach her.

“Release my people!” Riju yelled as she pushed against Veran’s shield, lighting bouncing all around her.

“Never!” Veran protested as her shield strengthened and pushed Riju back. “I overpowered them, they’re rightfully mine to rule!”

Riju growled before she responded, “Then I'll just have to take them back!”

Riju’s foot shot forward and kicked off against Veran’s shield, jumping high into the sky. With a flourish she threw her scimitars to the sides, lighting spreading between them. Veran’s eyes widened, she barely had enough time to teleport away before the lightning would reach around her shield.

Riju landed on a roof on one side of the square, while Veran teleported to the other side. Both of them were out of breath, struggling to take in as much oxygen as possible. But Veran only smiled. If the Gerudo Chief wanted her subjects back so badly, then Veran would send them to her.

Two large Gerudo women sporting royal Gerudo armor jumped up to Riju, their greatswords ready to slam into her. Riju barely dodged out of the way and stepped back.

“Naru, Dana, please fight it!” Riju pleaded to no avail. The two Gerudo soldiers simply readied their greatswords and charged forward.

Having no choice, Riju charged more electricity into her hands. The massive greatswords swung at her, but they couldn’t hope to match Riju’s athleticism. With a leap she flew over the swiping swords. With just a touch from Riju’s hands, the two Gerudo’s bodies jerked and dropped their weapons. It wasn’t enough to kill them, but it was enough to incapacitate them for the moment.

More soldiers jumped up onto the roof and charged at Riju, and she gave them a similar performance. She dodged the attacks of each soldier and attacked them back with her lightning. Every single one of them fell to Riju’s athleticism, but she wasn’t done. Lightning engulfed her form yet again, and in an instant she ran forward towards Veran and jumped over the whole town square to reach her. Veran teleported to another nearby roof to dodge Riju’s attack, but she was already dashing forward to attack her again. No matter where Veran teleported, Riju was there to attack her.

Well, that's enough of that. A blast of dark magic readied around Veran’s hands before she slammed them into the roof. The dark magic blasted in all directions, throwing Riju back. Veran smiled as she saw Riju groaning from her injuries. The chief tried her best to stand up, but could work up the effort. The once powerful electricity that covered Riju’s form was now completely absent.

“Not so tough now!” Veran gloated. “This town belongs to me!”

As much as Link wanted to assist Riju in fighting Veran, he had his own duties to attend to. The plan the two had formed required Link to keep Samus busy for as long as possible so that Veran couldn’t use the mind-controlled Samus to defend herself from Riju. The prospect didn’t scare Link, he had the Triforce of Courage at his side. The warmth of its glow soothed Link, getting him ready for what he was about to do. 

Samus was quick to arrive, landing from a massive jump in the center of the square. Instead of rushing forward, Samus casually walked to Link. It was somehow even more intimidating.

… Even with everything that was happening, Link’s thoughts still went to his relationship with the bounty hunter. She had so thoroughly deconstructed Link’s views in himself and others, which he fully accepted. It took courage to admit when you were wrong, and Link had that in spades. Samus deserved an apology. Link took in a deep breath. “I hope you can hear me in there, Samus.”

But Samus continued to walk forward.

Link knew that as soon as Samus got in range, she would release like a coiled string and Link wouldn't be able to react. He needed to get some distance. He slowly stepped back as he continued to speak, “I don’t care that you’re in love with Zelda. If anything, I support you.” Seriously? Link couldn't believe that he was talking about this right now! “On my journey through the ocean I met a lot of amazing people, saw so many amazing things. I met many people like you, men who loved men, women who loved women, and they seemed so happy together.”

Samus’ pace kept consistent, but Link didn’t care, speaking with all of his heart, “I realized that my previous worries over those sorts of things were unfounded. How could I continue to think down on other people just due to who they loved? Meeting you only confirmed those thoughts to me. You proved every one of my assumptions wrong. I apologize for not being the best to you…”

From his back Link pulled out the commemorative sword he picked up earlier. It was a beautiful piece, with a golden hilt and decorative carvings along the blade detailing Gerudo history. Whoever possessed it clearly cared about it being in working order, as the blade was still sharp. Link felt sorry that he had to use such a beautiful sword for this fight, but he had no other choice. He finally stopped stepping back, readied his sword in his left hand and pushed his right foot forward, ready to attack.

“I will save you from Veran, we will find Zelda, and you will tell her how you feel. I promise you that!”

The Triforce of Courage glowed with a holy light as Link charged forth into battle.

Samus was quick to parry away Link's horizontal strike with her Arm Cannon, but Link's grip on his weapon remained strong. He somersaulted back out of the way of Samus stabbing her arm cannon forward. As soon as his feet touched the ground Link rushed forward, slashing at Samus' waist. It did little damage, but that didn't stop Link from attacking again. He managed to get several quick slashes before Samus had a chance to recover. She tried to reach forward with her left hand, intending to grab Link, but his blade was already glowing with a blue light. Link began to spin like a top, his sword leaving trails of blue magic. Samus had no choice but to jump backwards, flipping through the air before she landed elegantly on her feet.

This was quickly going nowhere fast. Maybe Link could tear through Samus’ armor with enough perseverance, But Samus didn’t have enough openings. Link’s grip on his sword tightened and the Triforce of Courage glowed brighter. If Samus wasn’t providing any openings, then Link simply had to make them.

Link darted to the side, his objective being an alleyway that branched off from the town square. But Samus wasn’t going to allow Link to get there if she could help it. From her Arm Cannon came a volley of missiles that Link rolled out of the way off. He righted himself from the roll, preserving as much speed as possible and darted through the alleyway, navigating the tight streets of Gerudo Town.

Link’s weapons did little to damage the Power Suit, so he needed to find something, anything, that would stop Samus even temporarily. His mind raced, there must be something! And then he saw it, the one tool that would give Link a chance. His hands scrambled to grab what he was looking for, a wooden pot lid. Not the most glamorous weapon, but it would do.

He fixed the pot lid to his right arm right as Samus rounded the corner, her Arm Cannon glowing with charged energy. Link gritted his teeth, he had only done this a few times before and those times only succeeded due to blind luck. If this failed, Link could lose his arm completely. But he didn’t think about that. He didn’t think about anything at all besides the lid in his hands and the charge shot flying towards him from Samus’ Arm Cannon. It was as if time had slowed down. In conditions like this, it became easy for Link.

Link swiped the makeship shield at the charged shot, The sheer technique of the bash and the power behind it sent the charged shot flying back at Samus, hitting her in the chest and knocking her back into the wall.

“Yes!” Link yelled, pumping his fists in the air. He could do this!

Samus shot another charge shot, and another, and another, and all three of them met the same fate as the first. Link could see scorch marks burning into Samus’ suit with each impact. The suit had taken damage, Link was on the right track. But Samus wouldn’t make it easy for him. Blue light surrounded Samus and she dashed forward, reaching Link near instantly. The Hylian had no chance to react as Samus grabbed him by the throat and picked him up off the ground.

Certainly anyone else would panic in this situation, but Link remained calm. His hands found purchase on Samus’ wrist and with as much strength as he could muster, he swung his left leg upward to wrap around Samus’ arm. With his leg up in the air he jammed his foot into Samus’ face, jerking her head back and making her drop Link to the ground. He scrambled to his feet to get as far away as possible, but Samus recovered quicker, shooting a missile at his feet. The explosion made Link fly down the alleyway, landing hard on the stone ground.

Link groaned as he pushed himself up. Come on think, there must have been some way out of this! His eyes scanned his environment, until he landed on a boomerang nearby, likely left there by some kid. He could work with that. His left hand dropped the sword and reached for the boomerang. He could hear the telltale sound of Samus readying a missile, so he didn’t hesitate to roll on his back and throw the boomerang right at Samus. The boomerang impacted with the Arm Cannon, detonating the missile inside instantly. Link smirked, satisfied that his gambit paid off. They could actually do this! Link stood back up and began to run away-

-only for Riju to fall from the rooftops to the ground, with only crates or pots to break her fall.

“Not so tough now! This town belongs to me!” The voice of Veran gloated from above.

Riju stood up despite her injuries, her scimitars still resting in her hands. Her entire body charged with electricity as she growled. “I won’t let you get away with this.”

Veran laughed as she commanded the townspeople of Gerudo town to step forward, blocking off the alleyway at all sides. “Nope! Sorry to break this to you, but you’re outnumbered about uh… one-hundred to one! Also FYI, I don't need to bring you alive, hero, so I can rough you up however much you want!”

Although it was technically true, Veran was leaving out her greatest weakness, that being herself. Just one good hit to the mind-controlling witch would release her grip on everyone’s minds. But how to land that hit? Veran was constantly vigilant, ready to dodge the moment an attack came her way. Link needed to surprise her somehow.

The sound of Samus’ Arm Cannon charging up energy gave him an idea.

It was risky, but Link had no choice. It had to work. The Triforce of Courage glowed even brighter before he dashed forward right at Samus.

As predicted, Samus released the charge shot from her Arm Cannon, shooting it straight at Link. Time slowed down for the hero as every moment counted. He rolled forward underneath the shot, getting the one angle he needed. His right arm whipped around, bashing his makeshift shield into the charge shot from below. His angle was perfect, and the charge shot careened towards a new target: Veran, who was currently busy enjoying the misery she caused. Veran managed to react at the last second, holding her hand up to make a shield, but it was too late. The charge shot rammed through whatever meager shield Veran had the time to make and slammed into her arm, launching her back. Her grip on the town released in an instant, the pain breaking her concentration in an instant. 

Samus was the first to regain full control over herself, as expected of a woman of her mental caliber. She didn't waste a second jumping up to the roof to capture Veran. Link was right behind her, clamoring up whatever boxes were stacked nearby. Riju stayed behind, eager to tend to her citizens.

By the time Link made it to the roof, Samus was in a combat stance, holding her Arm Cannon up to Veran’s prone form. “Just making sure that she doesn’t get up,” Samus explained as her stance held firm.

Link looked at Samus incredulously, “That seems a little much. There’s no way she’s not down after that.”

“In my line of work, there is no such thing as too much precaution,” Samus said. “How did you do that with the pot lid?”

“Oh this?” Link asked as he held up his right hand, the pot lid still strapped to it. “Yeah, I did it once before against a few of Ganon’s attacks. Of course that was with my Hylian Shield, but I figured I should still be able to do it with a pot lid.”

Samus’ arm cannon swayed in the air as Samus laughed, staying locked on Veran’s body. “You’re insane, Link.”

“It’s all because of this,” Link answered as he showed off the Triforce of Courage on his left hand. “It’s hard to explain, but I felt like I could hear the Triforce reassure me, or maybe it was Farore herself. Whoever it was, they told me that I would be able to pull it off.”

Samus seemed lost in thought before she quietly responded, “Seems convenient. ”

Now it was Link’s turn to laugh. In the light hearted mood of this conversation, he felt that it was appropriate to poke a little fun, “I told I’d be able to keep up with you.”

“Huh. Yeah, you did.” Samus nodded. “Nice job Link.”

“Thanks, Samus,” Link said as he smiled.

The two shared a moment of silence standing guard over Veran’s body just in case she managed to wake up. Some Gerudo guards thankfully arrived quickly to apprehend Veran, they would be able to contain her with some magic restricting bands.

Riju thanked the two personally for their efforts in defending Gerudo Town. She apologized for her misjudgment of the two, and gave them permission to stay in and search Gerudo Town for a short period of time to help find Zelda. Link and Samus were immensely grateful, Link for having the opportunity to search for Zelda, and Samus for having the opportunity to delay the search longer.

The sun started to set by the time everything was said and done. With the night beginning, Link and Samus began the trip back to the Gunship to reassure the worried Davron that they were okay.

“Link?” Samus grabbed the attention of the hero walking beside her.

“Yeah?”

Samus took a moment to calm her breathing. It was such an anxiety inducing topic, but also one she couldn't avoid. She just had to say it.

“Did you… really mean all that stuff you said back there?... About me and Zelda?”

“I did,” Link answered instantly. “I think you two would be great for each other.”

“But she's a princess, and I'm a bounty hunter. We couldn't be less alike.”

Link scoffed, “Zelda never cared about that stuff. She only bears it because other people expect her too. I'll admit, I was a part of the problem. You were the first person that treated Zelda like an actual person. I'm sure that means something to her.”

“Wait, -” Samus might be horrible at reading subtext, but even she heard what Link implied “- are you saying that Zelda likes me back?”

“I don't know for sure, but I'm willing to be the answer is yes.”

“Huh…”

The walk continued for some time without any more conversation, which was just fine with Link. He was perfectly okay with silently enjoying the walk back to the Gunship. The Gerudo clothes he wore certainly made the heat more bearable. Something he didn’t expect was for Samus to suddenly take her helmet off.

Link was too surprised to say anything as Samus pulled off her helmet and shook her hair out of her face. Layers of sweat covered her face, and her hair was a tangled mess. She certainly didn’t look ‘good’, but the scars on her face gave her a rugged beauty that was rare to see in Hyrule. Few women were as talented and dedicated as Samus after all.

Samus let out a deep sigh before she said, “I’m sorry I was an ass to you initially.”

“I mean, so was I…” Link awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, “so I can’t really blame you.”

Samus hummed in agreement. “Zelda would be happy we’re getting along.”

“She would,” Link agreed. ”I’m glad to call you a friend.”

Samus’ eyes widened in shock. She tried her best to look at Link, but her eyes refused to cooperate, instead focusing on various cacti or sand dunes around them. “D-do you really mean that?”

“Of course!” Link answered as he chuckled. It was strange, Samus normally held this stone cold confidence around him. This anxious side was one that Link was unfamiliar with.

“That's- uh… cool. Yeah.”

A second of silence stretched on for what felt like a minute before chuckles burst out of Samus. Her Arm Cannon raised to cover her mouth, the restricted laughter only making Link laugh in turn.

Link had no idea how much that meant to Samus. Her missions and social-naivete made it easy for her to huddle up in her Gunship and stay alone. It was what she preferred over constantly being the center of attention, but the loneliness would get to her as it would to anyone. When was the last time that Samus had anyone she could call a friend? Adam certainly wasn’t, he was just a grumpy CO that Samus occasionally tolerated. The few bounty hunters she was in contact with didn’t count either, they usually only tolerated Samus. Zelda had become Samus’ first true friend. And now Link was her second.

Her smile under her Arm Cannon widened. She quietly thanked Damien for recommending this job. Even with all the chaos and stress, she wouldn’t give it up for the world.

Chapter Text

Saying that Davron was worried about Samus and Link was an understatement.

“Oh my goodness, you’re okay!” Davron yelled as Samus and Link entered the Gunship. “I was so worried about you!”

“Clearly,” Samus commented bluntly as she stepped past Davron to the cockpit.

Link stayed back to reassure his friend, putting his hand on Davron’s shoulders as he talked, “Nothing to worry about, Davron. Samus and I make a great team as a matter of fact! Samus fought valiantly at first, then I managed to free her from the enemy’s mind control-”

“Mind Control!?” Davron yelled before he marched into the cockpit. Samus was sitting at the captain’s chair, fiddling with the controls.

“Calm down,” Samus ordered as the Gunship shot to life. “We’re heading over to Gerudo Town.”

“Get this, since we did so well protecting everyone, Riju decided to allow us to stay in Gerudo Town temporarily for our search!”

Davron looked surprised, “She can do that?”

“Apparently!”

Davron and Link kept conversing, which Samus ignored, preferring to stay with her own thoughts. Sending time searching for Zelda in Gerudo Town would be an excellent time waster, allowing Zelda more time to spend on her own. So far Samus was able to give Zelda several weeks worth of distractions. But it was starting to grow thin. At most they would search Gerudo Town for maybe two to three days, for as filled with people Gerudo Town was, it was also small compared to Hyrule Castle Town. Samus got the distinct feeling that this charade wouldn’t be able to last much longer.

She also knew for a fact that her emotions couldn’t handle it. So much time spent away from her best friend had left a toll on her psyche. All of this subterfuge and distraction was making Samus tired. The only thing she wanted was time with Zelda.

And then there was what Link said earlier-

“- are you saying that Zelda likes me back?”

“I don't know for sure, but I'm willing to be the answer is yes.”

It wasn’t confirmation that Zelda reciprocated Samus’ affections, but it was still enough to send Samus’ heart ablaze. Before she thought that there was no chance there would be anything between her and Zelda, once the Children of Ganon were dealt with she would return to her bounty hunting routine. But now? Now she didn’t know.

Samus sighed and hung her head low. It was all so overwhelming. Hopefully things get easier soon.

The search in Gerudo Town lasted exactly two days.

Link would don his Gerudo outfit again and ask around Gerudo Town itself. He relished the opportunity to wear them again, saying that the clothes were comfortable and made the desert heat bearable. Samus found it amusing, almost every other man she met in her life would balk at the idea of wearing women’s clothes, while Link treated it like it was completely normal. Link looked around every business and asked every Gerudo he saw, none had seen the princess.

The various Gerudo outposts including Kara Kara Bazaar were the only places that the Gerudo allowed men to enter, so Davron naturally took point on those. It was hard for Davron to ignore all the trendy clothing stores and delicious looking food stalls, but he did his best. Unsurprisingly, Davron didn’t find any sign of Zelda either.

Samus stayed in her Gunship. With the ship’s advanced sensor arrays, she had the chance to scan for any appearances of princess Zelda. At least, that’s what Link and Davron thought she was doing. In reality, Samus was wasting as much time as possible listening to music and talking with Zelda. Adam played a great part in the act, making up fake technical details that fooled Link and Davron easily.

On the second day Link returned from his search in a bad mood. His steps were heavy and his breath ragged. He pulled the mask off his face and collapsed into one of the cockpit’s chairs. Samus instinctually reached for her helmet laying on the console to her left, only to pause. The two were friends now, as strange as it was. Samus was willing to try leaving her face exposed, at least to Link.

“Someone’s annoyed,” Samus commented from the captain’s chair, fiddling with the controls of the ship (making sure there was no evidence of the ship’s music player and messaging app on the holographic display).

Link laughed at Samus’ deadpan comment, “Yeah, you could say that. I’ve searched every inch of town, Zelda isn’t here!”

No, she wasn’t. She was still in Sheikah Village, as she had been for two weeks. Her daily messages contained the code phrases the two agreed upon. Zelda was completely safe and sound.

“Ugh, I’m sorry,” Link apologized as he leaned forward in his chair. “I know how important Zelda means to you.”

“Uh, thanks…” Samus said. “But that doesn’t matter.”

“Yes it does! I’m sure you’re worried about her. Not even just because you like her, you two are good friends.”

Maybe if Zelda was actually missing, Samus would appreciate Link’s gesture of kindness. But she wasn’t, so Samus only felt the guilt of keeping secrets from him. A pretty devastating secret too. How would Link react if he found out? It wouldn’t be good, Samus knew that for sure.

After a particularly devastating silence, Link broke through it with, “So… you and Zelda? Tell me about it.”

Samus scoffed, “Are we really talking about this?”

“Why not?” Link asked, “This is something friends talk about, right?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“We can try it at least.”

Samus wanted to say no at first. Exposing her innermost emotions and thoughts hadn’t gone well in the past. But then again, she did it with Zelda before, and that turned out right. Why not at least try it? Samus swiveled her chair around so it faced Link straight on. Samus got the strange feeling that Zelda would be proud of her, if she knew what Samus was about to do.

“Well, uh, I’m not the kind of person that gets out alot, with my job being what it is. My autism doesn’t help either.” Link looked confused at the bringing up of Samus' disability. Right, autism was a foreign concept to Hylians, so it couldn’t go unexplained. Samus lightly tapped her head as she explained simply, “It’s a, well, it’s a brain disorder. It’s a whole thing.”

Link slowly nodded, absorbing the information. “You always seemed different to me. But everyone is different in some ways, so I didn’t think too much about it.”

“You’re in the minority there. The few times I’ve tried to hook up with people, they’re just been… grossed out by me.”

Link sighed and slumped back in her chair, “I’m so sorry, that’s horrible.”

Unsure of what to do with Link's kind words, Samus just awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck and continued, “Well, Zelda is the first person to see something really valuable in me. She sees me as more than just a weapon.”

“She's good at that, yeah,” Link smiled and chuckled. “When she looked at me, she didn't see the wielder of the Master Sword, she saw me.”

“I’m honestly surprised you didn’t get with her first, since you’re such good friends.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that alot.” Link nodded. “I’ve never been interested in having a relationship like that. I’m sure one day the right woman will come up, but until then I’m not worrying about it.”

Huh. If Samus didn’t know any better, it looked like Link didn’t have any interest in romantic relationships at all. She might not have much experience with queer communities, but she was familiar with the basics. What Link described sounded familiar. The sheer weight of the bomb Link casually dropped made it hard to say anything. The only word she could get out of her was a bemused…

“Okay.”

Not much else you could say, really.

Davron chose that exact moment to enter the cockpit, entering with a similar frustrated energy. All of that energy disappeared in an instant when he noticed that Samus wasn’t wearing her helmet. “I don’t think I’ll get used to that.”

And he won’t have to. Samus wasted no time putting her helmet back on while Link swiveled his chair in Davron’s direction and asked, “Anything?”

“No, nothing.” Davron complained as she leaned against the wall. “I’m starting to think that this lead was a dead end.”

Samus sighed. She knew the charade couldn’t go on forever, but she was at least hoping for one more day.

Link groaned as he shot up from his chair. “What if we interrogate Veran? She might have some info that will help.”

“That’s a long shot,” Samus advised from the captain’s chair.

“It’s better than nothing! Come on, let's do it.”

Samus raised her hand to protest some more, but hesitated. There wasn’t any risk of her being found out through the interrogation, so she didn’t have that as a reason to protest. If anything, it might give her just a little more time. Her left hand found its way to her forehead. All this talk of wasting time, more and more and more time, was getting tiring. But she couldn’t afford to stop. This wasn’t for her, it was for Zelda, so she could live the life she wanted.

With that in mind, Samus hesitantly stood up and followed Davron and Link out of the Gunship.

Riju was perfectly willing to accept Link’s proposal, but she treated the whole ordeal with doubt.

“I’ve spoken with the prisoner, she is a real piece of work,” Riju explained as she led Davron, Link, and Samus through the halls of her palace, with guards flanking every step. “I highly doubt you’ll get anything out of her.”

“We have to try at least,” Link said, following right behind her. “She might have something we can use.”

Riju couldn’t help but laugh, “You’re an optimist to a fault. I know what side my rupees are on.”

Link looked ready to retort, but his gaze fell downward. The hopelessness of the situation getting to him. Davron was right at his side, patting his shoulder with a comforting touch, “It doesn’t hurt to try at least. What about you, Samus? What do you think?”

Her gaze jerked upward, not expecting to be addressed. What were they even talking about? It took a second for Samus to register the topic of conversation, and an even longer second to think of a response. It all took a second longer than it should have, a second that Samus would agonize over internally.

“It’s unlikely,” Samus eventually spoke, “but we might as well.”

“Right, okay. Okay,” Link said to himself.

Riju looked back over her shoulder at the ragtag group. When she heard that the Hyrulian Royal Family was sending men to search for Zelda, she expected something far different, more along the lines of the sniveling advisors and rough thugs the crown usually sent. Link and Davron were much more cordial, they didn’t see Riju as lesser than them. They respected her position, and even protested against Samus’ disrespect. Samus herself was flagrantly disrespectful, seeming blind to the authority Riju commanded, but not due to any bias against the Gerudo. She was a natural rebel, rejecting all authority and only seeing the person behind all the titles and authority. Riju chuckled to herself. Samus was at least an interesting person to watch from afar. Riju shook herself from her thoughts as she approached the guarded door to the palace dungeons. It was time to see if Link’s long-shot plan would work.

The dungeons of the Gerudo Palace looked exactly as Samus expected, dark and damp. Rusty iron bars covered cells filled with nothing but worn wooden cots and metal chains. Aside from the light that shone in from the stairway entrance when the door was open, the room was only illuminated with wooden torches, looking like they’ve had years of use. Probably kept alight by magic, if Samus was to guess.

At the end of the long corridor that made up the Gerudo Palace dungeons sat Veran, Her hands and neck bound fully in tight chains and the door barred tight. She was currently sleeping, or at least trying to with the horrible cot she had been provided. Two guards stood at attention, ready at every moment in case Veran attempted an escape.

One thought came to the forefront of Samus’ mind at the sight; this was all so horribly depressing.

Link marched forward and knocked the side of his hand into the iron bars while saying, “Hey! We’re here to talk to you.” But Veran stayed still. Link knocked harder, “Come on, get up!”

And still, nothing.

Riju sighed, “I told you, this is a waste of your time.”

“No no,” The tired voice of Veran interjected. She slowly sat up from the cot and stared at her guests with a tired gaze. “This might actually be fun. Go on, let’s talk.”

“Okay…” Link hesitantly said. “Where is Zelda?”

“That’s the question of the hour, isn’t it?” Veran said in a sing-song voice. “Discerning the location of the princess was not my concern. I was only tasked with capturing this hero. Do you wanna know why?”

Davron sneered, “You didn’t answer our question.”

“No no no, trust me, you’ll want to hear this!” Veran chirped as she rubbed her bound hands together. “Our glorious leader Ganon left us with the plans for a ritual, a fascinating bit of dark magic manipulation, intended to bring him back from the dead should he fall in the war.”

“That’s impossible,” Link said as he stepped back from the bars. “I’ve talked to Zelda about this, there is no magic that can bring someone back from death, dark or otherwise.”

“There is no known magic that can bring someone back from the dead.” Veran corrected, silencing the entire room. “At least, there were no known means to do so at the time. But Ganon was smart, he dived deeper into the power of dark magic than anyone before him. And he found a way. It is through the power of the Master Sword and the blood of either the princess or the hero that Ganon will return to us.”

The dungeon suddenly fell into silence at what Veran proclaimed.

Link sighed in annoyance, “There’s no way she’s telling the truth.”

Samus pushed past Link and stepped right up to the bars, glaring down to Veran through her green tinted visors. “How does the ritual work?”

Veran’s dark chuckle echoed off the stone walls of the dungeon. “It is amazingly simple. The holy energies of the Master Sword prevent us from wielding it, But through a little bit of dark manipulation, we can control that energy, and use it to tear a hole open between the realms, from the mortal to the spiritual. All we would need then is a tracking spell. With the blood of Ganon’s greatest enemies, we can cast a spell to lure Ganon’s soul through the tear, and put it into a new body generated through dark magic. Ganon would return, as strong as he ever was.”

The silence continued for longer.

“Well… I have no fucking idea what that means,” Samus said as she stepped back and turned around. Her next words were spoken as she walked away, ”so if you just wanted to gush about your fancy spell, we’ll be going now.”

“But I still haven’t answered your question yet!” Veran stuttered out. “And I need to thank you, Samus Aran, for giving me the answer!” 

And Samus stopped mid stride.

Davron and Link looked at eachother, both seeing the confusion in each other’s faces. Both of them saw how Samus suddenly stopped at Veran’s statement. That couldn’t be good.

“When I held control over Samus’ mind, I learned the truth. The bodyguard that has been searching for her princess, has known of her exact location this entire time. They’ve kept in contact, as a matter of fact!” Veran’s horrible laugh echoed off the stone walls. “I bet she enjoyed having the princess all to herself, free to do whatever-”

The sound of Link’s fist slamming into the bars stopped Veran’s monologue right in its tracks.

Link stared at Samus, who slowly turned back around. She knew that this couldn't last for long, but could it have not gotten out in a better way? Any way, other than a dark witch casually diving into her thoughts and revealing them for all to hear. Davron looked shocked, maybe a little bit angry, Samus couldn't say exactly. Link looked… contemplative? Damn her disability for making faces hard to leave. This was it, all the work Samus had done to keep this a secret, and it was going to blow up in her face.

“Okay.” Link said as his gaze dropped to the floor. “I get it.”

Davron and Riju looked at Link like he was crazy. 

Sensing the stares of everyone around him, Link threw up his arms and yelled, “Listen, I knew that Zelda was miserable, and I didn't care! I stood by and let Zelda suffer, because I only kept Zelda's safety in mind! So yeah, you did the right thing, Samus. You did the right thing when no one else would.”

Davron’s anger didn't fade. “Did you know where Teal was too? The whole time?”

Well, this wasn't going to go well. The truth may make Davron upset, but he had a right to know it at this point. “Yes, I did.”

“You knew!?” Davron yelled as he marched forward to Samus. Seeing how angry Davron was, Link held him back from doing anything he would regret. “You knew this whole time!? ”

Samus sighed. “I know. I’m sorry.”

The apology looked like nothing to Davron, who struggled to escape Link’s grip. Link did his best to reason with the man, “Davron, fighting Samus won’t help with anything. At least the two of them are safe.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that!” Veran spoke up before she laughed.

“Goddess damn it!” Link grunted as he marched back up to the bars and slammed his fists against the bars once more. “You’re in a cell, you can’t do anything!”

“Oh no, she’s not in danger because of me ,” Veran corrected. She leaned back on her wooden cot before she continued, “My partner Onox is busy searching for Zelda, I was in charge of capturing you, hero. I’m sure he will appreciate that I found out that the princess is located-” Veran suddenly raised her voice “-In a village hidden underground at the foot of the Dueling Peaks!”

Samus stared at Veran with suspicion. Clearly she intended to leak Zelda’s location, but how was she trying to do it? She couldn’t use magic for some sort of long distance communication, the chains on her hands made sure of that. Did they have some other communication method? Maybe-

A sudden rustling from behind, footsteps, leaving the dungeon quickly. Samus turned around to see that one of the guards was leaving the dungeon, while the other guard that came down with them stood there confused as to why their partner left.

Samus’ body moved on its own, leaving Link and Davron behind.

Samus reached the top of the stairs to the dungeon in an instant. She got there just in time to see the guard standing by a balcony at the end of a hallway, standing up on the railing. Whatever they were doing, Samus couldn’t afford to let them go. The thrusters on her back whirled to live as she ran at inhuman speeds to catch the guard, but it was too late. The guard had jumped from the railing just before Samus could reach them.

And suddenly, the guard was suddenly not a guard at all. The falling body morphed and changed until a pair of dark wings shot out of the back, lifting them upward. The body morphed even more as the body flew upward past Samus and hovered high in the air. Skin turned to hefty armor colored gold and silver.

“I’ll meet you at Zelda’s hiding spot, Samus Aran!” The flying suit of armor yelled, “There we will fight to the death, and I will claim Zelda’s blood in the name of my master! Haaa!”

A sinister laugh rang out from the armor as it flew off into the distance at high speed.

Samus didn't waste a second, turning around on a dime and running back to Davron and Link, who now stood at the door.

“Come on!” Samus yelled, not giving any explanation, Link and Davron eventually running after her.

“Samus! Hold on!” Link yelled as he and Davron entered the Gunship’s cockpit. Samus was already sitting on the captain’s chair, punching in controls. “What’s going on?”

“That guard was a shapeshifter. It overheard Zelda’s location and is going there right now! Adam, do you have a read on it?”

The red window that represented Adam lit up on the ship’s heads-up-display and spoke in a synthesized voice, “No, our mysterious shapeshifter has already left my scanning range. I’ve lost its location.”

The silence that came after Adam’s announcement overwhelmed Link and Davron, making them step back from Samus. Her left hand furiously clenched into a fist, and when all of Samus’ explosive rage became too much to contain she slammed her fist into the front console. The sound of the armored fist hitting metal rang throughout the cockpit. Link heard the whispering voice of Samus talking to herself, too quiet for Link to understand.

He hoped his guess as to what Samus was whispering was inaccurate.

“Veran mentioned the name Onox, that sounds familiar to me…” Davron commented as he paced around the cockpit. His realization was signaled through the snap of his fingers, “Oh yeah, Onox used to be a general! He disappeared one day during the war, rumors said that he was disgraced.”

“Or he was working with Ganon,” Link morbidly commented.

Samus’ whispers raised to annoyed growls, making Link and Davron stop in place. Her left hand struggled to type in commands to the cockpit’s console. “Who cares, who fucking cares! Zelda’s in danger!” Her left hand slammed a button down, making a large window appear in front of her, with a rotating circle. Her whispers picked up again, “Come on, pick up, pick up…”

A music jingle played and the image on the display before transforming to an entire new picture, Zelda sat on a couch in what was presumably where she had been staying, with Teal standing nearby behind her.

“Oh, oh wow!” Zelda gasped in amazement as she leaned closer to her PDA. “Some sort of live visual- uh-” Zelda stopped in her tracks when she realized that Link and Davron were there too. “Uh, hi?”

Samus tried to say something, but couldn’t, pathetically. How could even just seeing Zelda in a call cause Samus’ heart rate to spike? The answer was obvious, She was in love. Seeing the woman she loved after a long time of not being able to be there with her just destroyed her.

Link simply looked relieved. A little confused about how he was seeing Zelda on this screen, but relieved. “We know that Samus helped you escape, and I’m sorry. You wouldn’t have to resort to such things if I was a better friend to you.”

Zelda’s eyes widened. “Oh uh, thank you Link, that means a lot.”

“Teal!” Davron yelled, his reaction to seeing his friend much more energetic than Link’s. “I’m so glad to see you safe.”

The image of Teal leaned over the couch to look back at them, “It’s good to see you too, Dav.”

Samus’ arms waved as she desperately tried to take back control. “Zelda, listen, someone-”

“Eh, eh!” Zelda vocalized as she held her finger up. “I told you, Samus. My name is Sheik, at least it is for now. Oh, I can’t wait to show you-”

“You’re in danger!” Samus screamed at the top of her lungs, making everyone stop. The feeling of everyone looking at her made Samus’ skin crawl, so she forced herself to continue, “Some shapeshifter knows about your location, they’re heading there now! I tried to stop them- damn if only I wasn’t so fucking slow!”

Link and Davron glanced at each other, despite the lack of verbal communication, both held the same thought. Samus needed space alone. Watching her in distress would do no good to anyone. And Zelda was there, at least digitally, so she could much more easily help the bounty hunter more than they could. Link and Davron quickly backed up and out of the cockpit, leaving Samus alone.

“It’s okay Samus, it’s okay!” Zelda reassured Samus through the screen. Oh if only she could be there with her! “I’m going to be okay!”

Teal walked around the camera and said something not picked up by the PDA’s microphone. Zelda nodded. Samus barely paid attention to these events. Her anger was directed right at herself, intense and fiery, but it soon subsided. The woman Samus loved saw her in such a pathetic, weak state. She did her best to push it down.

“It’s been so hard, I’ve missed you so much,” Samus began to ramble (Nice job Samus, rambling about how much you need her. Pathetic), “It’s been so hard to not drop everything and join you.”

“It’s okay, you can come here now,” Zelda- or, it was Sheik apparently, reassured Samus, “I’ve been training hard, I can defend myself better than ever. And with you heading right towards me, I know I’ll be safe.”

That’s right, that’s right. Samus couldn’t stand by anymore, she needed to go help Zel- Sheik. Her mind screamed at her to go, to save the princess.

But there was one thought different from all the rest.

Link said that there was a chance Zelda felt the same way to Samus. It seemed like an impossibility, but impossible things have proven to be possible over the course of this mission. Powerful magic and sacred relics held in such high regard, a people that survived despite the rampant destruction caused by those powers. A woman who had shown that Samus had more to offer than just violence. All of these things proved the impossible was possible.

So Samus slowly reached up for her helmet, grasping it with her left hand. Zelda gasped at what Samus was doing, and for good reason. Without the emotional inhibitors of the helmet, all of the worry and pain would come to her all at once. It would be debilitating. But that didn’t matter. The only thing that did matter was her love for Zelda, and that gave her the strange desire to show her face.

The wave of pain and discomfort hit her in an instant, making her buckle forward into the console. A whine left her throat as her breathing became fast and desperate. Her left hand gripped her hair pulling hard against the golden locks, while her Arm Cannon raised to cover her face. The pain and discomfort wasn’t slowing down, in fact, it was just growing. The pressure was so much, too much. The fact that Zelda was seeing her like this only made it worse.

“It’s okay, Samus, It’s okay.” Zelda’s calming voice filled the cockpit. “Just breathe, like you showed me before! In…”

In, two, three, four. Hold, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four. Hold, two, three, four. The desire to take in air as quickly as possible made it almost impossible to keep with the pattern, but Zelda was there to remind her whenever Samus deviated from their shared rhythm. Zelda’s calm voice and the breathing exercises eventually helped Samus to calm down, if not completely, then to a point where she was stable. Her messy hair covered her face. She desperately needed to brush it, but Samus paid that no mind. There were more important things to get to.

Samus slowly lifted her face to look at Zelda. The way she looked back at Samus, it wasn’t a look of pity, that much Samus knew. It looked more like a calm relief, that her friend was no longer suffering from such panic. Her eyes shone a bright red. Some sort of contact lens? The exact reason for the chance didn’t matter. Zelda was beautiful.

Samus took a deep breath, readying herself for what she was about to say… “Once this is over… I want to spend more time with you. This time, without my Power Suit between us.”

Zelda gasped, not believing what she was hearing. “Samus, I- are you sure?”

She wasn’t, but she could fake it. “I want this… and… I trust you.”

“I’m honored that you trust me so much…” Zelda whispered with what Samus could only hope was adoration. It quickly left in favor of a stone cold seriousness, so unlike the princess Samus knew, “Okay, I’ll be waiting for you to get here.”

“I’ll be there. Count on it,” Samus declared, matching Zelda’s determination.

“My hero,” Zelda chuckled, before the seriousness returned. “See you soon.”

And with that, the image went dark, leaving Samus alone in the cockpit.

The chaos and discomfort in her mind was a thing of the past. Samus had a job to do. Her Arm-Cannon-covered right hand found its place in the console's Arm Cannon port, and her left hand found its place on the thruster controls. The ship hummed to life around her. Nothing else mattered.

“I'm coming, Zelda. I’ll be there soon.”

Chapter Text

It was only after Sheik hung up on Samus did she truly freak out.

In her defense, it was kind of hard not to! It was perfectly reasonable to be freaked out from being told that a dark wizard was coming after you specifically, Anyone would feel that way. Well, Samus might not, but she was insane. Years of conflict reflected off her battle hardened face, and you don’t get looks like that from anywhere. (It took far too much effort to not think about how insanely hot Samus was, or how she would be seeing her without her Power Suit soon. Samus had worn the thing her whole time in Hyrule, so seeing her without it… it would be like seeing her naked! And oh, now Sheik was thinking about seeing Samus naked. Bad, Sheik, bad! This was a crisis! Stop thinking about how hot Samus is!)

Shaking the thoughts of her crush away, Sheik began to focus on the present. Clearly she couldn’t stay in the Sheikah Village any longer, so the first order of business would be to pack up her stuff. It was an easy task, since she only brought with her a small pack of clothes and emergency supplies. With her belongings secure, Sheik began thinking of her next move. Clearly she needed to find Impa, they needed to make a plan.

Speak of the devil and she shall arrive, Impa jumped through the window with a shaking Teal in her arms.

“I- I got her!” Teal said as confidently as she could from Impa’s strong grip. Making sure that Teal was planted on her own two feet, Impa stepped forward to address Sheik.

“Teal told me everything. We need to get you out of here. Do you have your stuff?” Sheik holding up her bag gave Impa the answer she needed. “Okay good, Hopefully we have some time to-”

An earthquake shook the house, making Impa stop, and the sound of something breaking through the cave ceiling made everyone freeze. Sheik and Impa ran to the window to take a look at what happened.

The magically projected sky disappeared from above the village, revealing the cave ceiling the village laid under. The only light left in the village came from a massive hole that now exposed the village to the sky. Massive boulders fell from where the hole was broken open, crushing several buildings. Thankfully any Sheikah in those buildings managed to react in time and get out of the way before they were crushed.

As for what caused that hole, whatever it was stood at the center of the village, right in front of the Town Hall, thankfully facing away so Impa and Sheik could go unseen. The thing resembled a massive suit of armor made from gold and silver, far too massive for any normal Hylian to be wearing it. The head of the armor stood tall and ended in a point, holding a snarl too unnatural to just be normal armor.

“People of this hidden village! Give me Princess Zelda!” The armor bellowed, “If you refuse to give her up, then you will face death at the hands of General Onox!”

The rest of Onox’s rambles went unheard as Impa and Sheik stepped back. Impa went straight to Teal and grabbed her by her shoulders, “Teal, there is a secret door underneath my tatami mat at the front of the meeting hall downstairs. It leads to a secret exit outside of the village. Get going.”

Teal didn’t waste a second, scrambling down the stairs and out of sight.

Impa then turned to Sheik, “I want you to go with her Sheik-”

“What? No!” Sheik strongly refuted. “I can fight with you!”

“You’ve just barely unlocked Pure Focus! You can’t afford to get hurt, you’re the princess for goddesses sake!”

“I’m not a princess!” Sheik asserted, shutting Impa down. “My name is Sheik, don’t you remember?”

Impa chuckled to herself. Instead of responding, Impa entered her bedroom and came back out quickly holding a folded bundle. She presented the bundle to Sheik, “This is your shōzoku. Normally you’d get this at a ceremony, but we don’t have time for that.”

Sheik gasped at the bundle. All of her work over the past few weeks was for this, the traditional garb of Sheikah warriors. Although the ceremonies were rushed, receiving this garb from your sensei was a pivotal moment in a Sheikah’s journey. Sheik held her hands out as Impa placed it into her hands, treating it with the reverence the bundle deserved.

“Do not engage with the enemy directly,” Impa began to speak, Sheik standing to attention instantly, “Stay out of sight. You are to assist with the evacuation and nothing more. Understood?”

Sheik gave a firm nod, “Yes Sensei! But what if you need assistance?”

Impa smirked, “I won’t.” And with that, the Sheikah chief darted away and jumped out of the window, out of sight.

Fair enough.

Sheik wouldn’t let her respect for her sensei get the better of her. She needed to act! With no one else in the house to see her, Sheik stripped out of her casual garb right there in the living room. Time was of the essence, and shouldn’t be wasted on privacy. She unfolded the bundle and stared for a moment in awe. Her shōzoku was colored with the various shades of blue that was standard for the Sheikah. The shirt was a pale blue with a large red teary eye sewed into the front. The arms and legs of the garb were a darker blue. The pieces of armor provided were light enough to not hinder her movements, but not too light as to not provide any protection, as was the Sheikah way. A long white scarf and head wrap were provided to hide her identity, finishing the outfit.

Sheik felt powerful as she wrapped the scarf around her neck. Two kunai were also provided, which Sheik spun on her fingers before placing them securely in their holders on her belt. Sheik knew she had nothing to fear, all she had to do was act.

All of her time before then was dedicated to strength training, with the teaching of Sheikah techniques put to the side to happen later. That ‘later’ would never come now. Sheik needed to make use of techniques that she had never been taught. But that didn’t phase Sheik. She had seen how Impa moved, how she barely made a sound with her feet, even when running and jumping. She had seen the ways the other Sheikah navigated the village with grace and ease. She turned over the examples in her mind, studied how they moved their feet to negate the impact of long falls. It was far from the proper training she would have received should this attack never come, but it would have to do. What better way to learn than a trial by fire?

Without an ounce of hesitation, Sheik ran for the back window and dived through it. Her body spun in the air and her feet extended in just the right way for her to land on the ground without barely making a thud.

Sheik only spent a few seconds giddily celebrating her achievement before she jumped into action, running silently in the now dark Sheikah Village.

Onox’s booming voice filled the cave once again, his arms sparking with dark magic, “Very well, if you will not give me the princess, then I shall simply take her from you!”

Sheik watched from a dark corner as the dark magic around Onox’s hands shot out in all directions, forming into various monsters. Bokoblins, Moblins, and Lizalfos, all ready to serve their dark master. Sheik cursed, as if avoiding Onox with her limited skills was too easy, even more enemies have now appeared. How was she supposed to get past them? And where was Impa, anyways!?

Several kunai shot out from the darkness, striking the monsters true, their bodies collapsing into dark magic upon defeat. Several more shot out, killing even more. Onox scrambled to find the attackers in the darkness, unaware that one was right above him; Impa had jumped high in the air from the roof of a house, her entire body spinning silently in the air. She continued to spin as she fell, her leg extending and laying a devastating kick to Onox’s shoulder. His entire body collapsed from the attack, and Impa darted back to the shadows before the villain could see her.

“How dare you!” Onox yelled as he stood up. “How dare you use these cowardly tactics! Fight me head on with honor!”

There was truly nothing to fear with Impa on her side. Sheik steeled herself and kept moving.

Onox didn’t hesitate to summon more monsters, but no matter. They would pose no threat as long as Sheik wasn’t caught. She observed several training exercises during her time in the Sheikah Village, how they would mask their footsteps and provide distractions, replicating those techniques was child's play. Several monsters patrolled in front of her, leaving no openings for Sheik to sneak by. The ground near her was littered with small stones from the earlier collapse of the cave ceiling, so she grabbed one and threw it with expert precision away from where she needed to go. The monsters fell for the distraction hook line and sinker, all of them moving at once to investigate the noise. Sheik wasted no time moving past the distracted monsters out of sight.

With a little bit of caution Sheik opened the back door to a nearby nursery, opening the way too a small classroom. The first thing she noticed was a small group of children hiding inside under a table. The children’s eyes widened at the sight of her, but they made no sound. The children of the Sheikah were trained to stay silent and hidden during emergencies such as this. They should have been able to escape through the hidden doorway, there was one in each major building in the village after all. Something must have happened.

Sheik snuck inside and quickly crawled her way to the children. One of the children began speaking right as she arrived, “We got scared, and now…”

The sounds of monstrous growls coming from elsewhere in the nursery confirmed Sheik’s suspicions, A monster blocked the way to the secret exit. Sighing under her breath, Sheik reassured the kids, “Wait here, I’ll take care of it.”

Sheik pulled a kunai from her belt and readied herself for whatever she would see on the other side of this door. She slowly pushed the door open and saw what she was dealing with through the small crack, a green Lizalfos with a dagger in its hands. She studied the kunai resting in her hands. Seeing Impa throw the thing with expert precision was one thing, actually pulling it off herself was another altogether. But she couldn’t afford to doubt herself. She needed to act. Sheik pushed the door farther open while the Lizalfos looked in the other direction, readied her kunai, and threw. The kunai flew through the air and stabbed itself into the monster’s back. 

The Lizalfos screamed in pain from the hit, but it wasn’t enough to kill it. Instead it turned around and shot out its long tongue to attack Sheik. She barely dodged out of the way before dashing forward, taking another kunai from her belt. She stabbed the kunai upward into the Lizalfos’ tongue, disorienting the monster more before she went for the kill, stabbing the kunai between its eyes. The Lizalfos let out one final cry of pain before disappearing into purple mist.

Sheik sighed as she put away her kunai and picked up the one she threw. That was her first successful fight as a Sheikah! Her trial by fire was working!

The kids were quick to follow her once the monster was gone, their arrival snapping Sheik out of her funk. She quickly pushed open a doorway hidden behind a fake wall, the children entering without resistance.

A puff of smoke appeared out of thin air next to Sheik, surprising her. She entered a combat stance, but the smoke cleared quickly to reveal Impa, out of breath but otherwise unharmed. “Sheik! Are you okay?”

“Better than okay, I feel amazing!” Sheik proclaimed as she held her arms aloft. “I’ve been observing the Sheikah for weeks! With my photographic memory and my control of my body with Pure Focus, I’ve been able to replicate Sheikah techniques nearly perfectly!”

Impa looked incredulous. “Really? There’s no way.” But Sheik looked too confident to just be bluffing. Another tremor made Sheik and Impa almost lose their balance. Likely from Onox stomping around outside.

If it wasn’t for Impa’s near instant reaction time, Sheik would have been run over by Onox charging into the building. She dashed forward in an instant and pulled her out of the way of the charging Onox, who completely destroyed the nursery.

“I will only ask one more time. Give me Princess Zelda,” Onox ordered, his massive frame standing tall over them. The sight of him made Sheik’s blood chill, the high from her success fading completely. Merely being able to replicate Sheikah techniques meant nothing if you didn’t have a firm understanding of them. In an instant she remembered how much of a gulf there was between her and Impa. 

Impa stood strong despite it all, holding her kunai in front of her in a combat stance. “We will never give her up.”

“So be it.” Onox raised his hands in the air, which pulsated with dark magic. The metal gauntlets melted and reformed into massive swords, their edges looked capable of cleaving Sheik in two. “You have chosen death!”

Another impact at the center of Sheikah Village made everyone stop in their tracks.

Was it reckless to fly the ship this fast, without performing the proper checks or enabling interior stabilization? Yes, absolutely. Link and Davron were almost certainly pressed into the back wall of the Gunship, unable to push against the immense amount of G force pressing down on them. Samus herself struggled with not getting turned into a pancake against her chair. All it would take was a few minutes of no movement to enable the stabilization system, but that was a few minutes spent not reaching Zelda as fast as possible, so Samus rejected the idea without thought.

“Samus, calm yourself,” The robotic voice of Adam spoke to her, “You need to activate the interior stabilization.” Samus only grunted and kept the ship moving at it’s current pace. That didn’t last long however as her controls started to lock up. “I am allowed to restrict steering of the Gunship if I determine that the pilot is unable to pilot safety, and you fit that criteria perfectly at the moment.”

“No, no!” Samus yelled as the Gunship slowed to a halt. “Don’t stop! Keep going!”

The sound of Link and Davron entering the cockpit did nothing to stop Samus from protesting the decision of the AI. Their breaths ragged from the pressure, yet despite that Link managed to step forward and grab Samus’ pauldron. “Samus-”

The bounty hunter shook Link’s hand off of her immediately, “Get off of me!”

“Hold on!” Link yelled back, “We need to coordinate!”

Samus groaned, “No we don’t, I’m going over there to fight Onox and save Zelda. Nothing else needed.”

“You can’t be serious!”

“I am serious!”

Davron and Link stared at Samus like she was crazy. Feeling the pressure of their gazes upon her, Samus continued, “Every second not spent going after Zelda is another second where she could get hurt! I refuse to let her get hurt!”

Davron sighed incredulously, “I know you’re dedicated to your job Samus, but this is overkill.”

“No it isn’t,” Link corrected. The look he gave Samus felt oddly reassuring. “I said you would get to tell her how you feel. Zelda is very capable, I know that now, and we will be there to back her up.”

“How you feel?” Davron looked between Link and Samus with confusion, until what exactly Link meant dawned on him. His eyes lit up with excitement, he couldn’t help but feel giddy as he said, “Samus and Zelda? Oh my goodness you’re perfect for eachother!”

“God, can we not do this right now!?” A tremor felt in the cockpit indicated that the internal stabilization systems were now up and running. With the systems finally in place, Samus planted herself back into the captain’s chair and began flying at high speeds.

“Once we get there I’m going to hand the controls over to you!” Samus yelled at Link, who had a firm grip on one of the chairs.

“Wh-what?”

“You’re just going to land it!” Samus explained as she worked the controls. “Adam will show you how!”

“Th-that's still a lot!” Link commented, but his words went unnoticed. Samus’ focus was on the Dueling Peaks, which they were rapidly approaching. The GPS signal locked onto Zelda’s location showed Samus exactly where to go, On the opposite side of the Dueling Peaks to Kakariko Village sat Sheikah Village, which would usually have been underground. Not anymore, a massive hole in the ground led straight to the hidden village, likely created by Onox.

“Here!” Samus yelled at the worried Link as she detached her Arm Cannon from the console and stood up, giving Link the space to land the ship.

The voice of Adam tried to reassure Link, “Do not worry, landing the Gunship is a very simple process.”

“None of this is simple!” Link screamed as he struggled to understand how the console worked, let alone how he was to use it to land the ship.

Samus paid him no mind as she left the cockpit and entered the ship’s exit hatch. A press of the emergency release button on the wall made the hatch open, letting in the sound of rampaging wind deafen her. The exposed Sheikah village sat right underneath the Gunship. No hesitation, no fear. Samus stepped off into the empty air.

Wind whipped past Samus’ helmet, nearly deafening her. This would have been a concern if Samus was not wearing her Power Suit, its gyroscopes helping Samus right herself in the air. Samus hit the ground with enough force to cause a massive cloud of dust to rise up from the point of impact, making sure to plant her left hand, foot, and right knee on the ground to diffuse the impact. She certainly made a good first impression at least.

Not even dust could restrict Samus’ visibility, not when she had access to the X-ray Scope. With it she got an impression of her surroundings: Sheikah Village mostly fell into rubble when Onox broke through the cave ceiling, but thankfully no one was caught underneath the rubble. Onox stood over two Sheikah with his arms raised, both arms transformed into some sharp looking blades. Seems like she got there just in time.

“Hey Onox!” Samus yelled as energy began to coalless at the tip of her Arm Cannon. “You wanted to fight me?”

And for a moment everything stopped.

Slowly the sound of Onox’s deep laughter echoed off the walls of the cave. “Yes! This battle will be glorious!”

Onox’s arms shot towards Samus as writhing tendrils, which she jumped over with ease. At the peak of her jump she released the Charge Shot in Onox’s direction. It landed in the center of Onox’s chest diffusing harmlessly against the armor. A heavyweight fighter then, Samus realized. Hit him fast, don’t let him get the chance to hit you. Simple enough.

Another tendril shot out of Onox which Samus dodged with her Flash Shift ability. Two more shifts brought her just above Onox’s head. She barely spun her body in the air to avoid Onox shooting a tendril straight up at her before she landed in between the two Sheikah and Onox. The tendril hardened and thickened into a heavy looking axe with barrelled down at her, but Samus was ready. At the last second Samus used her Arm Cannon to bat the attack away and retaliated with another charge shot to Onox’s face. This attack struck Onox off guard and caused him to step back in shock.

‘So counters work against him. Maybe any attack to the face as well?’ Samus wondered to herself before she remembered the Sheikah cowering behind her. Now that she was up close, she recognized one of the Sheikah as Impa, the other Sheikah she couldn’t identify. She waved her left hand behind her and yelled, “Get out of here!”

The unknown Sheikah protested, but Impa was quick to carry her away into the darkness of the cave.

“Finally, we are alone,” Onox’s deep voice growled. “For five years I have hid in the shadows of Hyrule, searching for anyone who could fuel my bloodlust. Working with Ganon has spoiled me, now I only wish to fight the strongest. And then you arrived! Finally, I may fight against an equal! Our battle will-”

“Oh shut up!” Samus yelled, cutting Onox off. “I’m familiar with your type, no convictions or beliefs of your own, just an addiction to violence for the sake of it! You sicken me!”

“Really? I sicken you?” Onox said incredulously, “You say that, but we are one in the same. We both fight for our own gain, either for money or personal glory.”

Samus’ snarl deepended. “We are nothing alike. I fight for something more.”

“Ha ha ha, something more?! Nothing else matters but ambition!” Onox’s voice bellowed in the dark cave that was once Sheikah Village.his arms started to writhe and transformed into massive flails, “Let me show you how foolish you truly are!”

Onox’s flails shot upward into the air and fell rapidly towards Samus, who used another Flash Shift to dodge out of the way. She had barely a second to jump before another flail would have hit her head on. The other flail hit her side and sent her flying into the wreckage of a house.

Samus growled as she tried her best to get up in spite of the pain. Onox was giving her zero opportunities to attack! She needed a new strategy. The hit Samus gave him earlier hinted at a potential weakness: his face. She needed to find some way to hit it while still prioritizing evading attacks. Samus smiled, she had the perfect equipment for this. Her Arm Cannon entered its missile mode and a yellow guiding laser began shooting out the front. All that she needed to do now was move .

The thrusters on her back ignited as she dashed out of the wreckage at lighting speed. Onox was ready for her of course, swinging his flails horizontally, which she easily cleared with a high jump. As she spun through the air Samus pointed her targeting laser at Onox’s face, causing a reticle to appear over it on her HUD. One.

Her speed remained high as she landed into a slide, ducking under a piece of wreckage that was immediately destroyed by Onox’s flail. She kicked off another piece of wreckage and jumped on Onox’s flail, still stuck in the wreckage, giving her massive air time. She pointed the laser at Onox’s face as long as she could. Two, Three.

The other flail swung in a wide arc that she could easily see. Instead of dodging it, Samus chose to use it to her advantage. She pulled her legs upward and planted her feet onto the attacking flail, letting it push her rapidly through the air. With that maneuver she bought herself a second of time, and with it more time to target Onox. Four.

She flipped off of the flail right before it impacted the cave wall, embedding itself within the stone. The other flail came immediately after the first, which she easily jumped over. Both flails were stuck deep into the stone wall, giving Samus an opportunity. She began to run along the chain-tendril-things attached to the flails, giving her a direct line of sight to Onox. Five, Six.

Onox interrupted Samus by whipping the chains, sending her bouncing off and onto the ground. The flails returned to his side as he lorded over Samus, struggling to push herself off the ground. The laugh that bellowed from him echoed off the cave wall until it became unbearable to listen to. “Ha! It looks like whatever drives your convictions isn’t worth much after all! How disappointing!”

Samus clicked her tongue. The six reticles in her HUD pulsed as the end of her arm cannon widened. “Think again.”

With the press of a trigger, her Storm Missile ability activated, reigning hell upon Onox. Dozens of missiles left Samus’ Arm Cannon, each of them tracking straight to Onox’s face. Failing to suspect the attack, there was nothing he could do. Each missile struck true, sending cracks in Onox’s faux armor. As soon as the barrage was over, Onox’s helmet exploded, gold and silver pieces of armor flying out in all directions before turning into a gray sludge. At the end of the barrage, Everything from the mid-torso up had been completely blown away, leaving a gray goopy stump.

Samus didn’t waste any time before standing up from the ground. Onox may be incapacitated, but she still hadn’t confirmed the safety of Zelda. She also needed to rendezvous with Link and Davron. There was still work to be done, so she walked away to find a way out of the cave, only to stop at the sound of rustling behind her.

The grey pieces of sludge squirmed their way back to Onox’s broken body, connecting together at the base of the sludge stump. Slowly the sludge began to return to the silver and gold of Onox’s armor, his body reforming back to the way it was. The body pulsed with life, and Onox stood tall, as if the missiles did nothing to him.

“It seems I was wrong about you! I still need to find Princess Zelda, so I’ll deal with you quickly.” Onox menacingly said.

Onox’s body pulsed again and again as it changed, his body growing and limbs extending. A pair of coal black wings shot out of Onox’s back while his face extended into a horrible looking snout, filled with sharp fangs. Onox had turned himself into a mighty dragon. He roared as his transformation completed, shaking the earth under his feet.

“Prepare to die, Samus Aran,” The deep voice of Onox bellowed, plumes of flame from his maw accenting every word.

Samus gripped her Arm Cannon in fury, keeping her aim right at Onox. Her teeth grit in fury. There was no way she would let Onox have Zelda. Samus would rather die than let that happen! With a missile loaded in her Arm Cannon she charged forward, ready to fight.

Chapter Text

Sheik would have rather stayed with Samus and fought with her, but Impa made the choice for her. With an iron grip, Impa picked Sheik up and carried her away from the village. She used her foot to kick at a specific rock to open a secret passageway, which she dived into.

“No!” Sheik yelled as she held her hand out to the passageway, which closed behind the two of them.

“Calm down Sheik!” Impa ordered, “You are not ready to fight that thing!”

But Sheik wasn’t listening to reason, she was desperate to save the woman of her affections. She scratched at the stone wall in an attempt to open the way through. But the stone refused to budge. Samus was fighting all on her own. Why did Sheik feel so strongly about that? Samus was a very capable warrior, she could handle a threat like Onox on her own. There was no concern if Samus could make it out alive. Her body slid to the floor as Sheik realized: she just wanted to prove herself at Samus' side. After all the hard work that she had taken to get to this point, she still wasn't able to help her best friend.

Sheik turned back to Impa and said, “There has to be something we can do!”

“We need to regroup first,” Impa said as she helped Sheik up on her feet.

The secret passageways created by the Sheikah were a confusing maze of winding passageways and secret entrances that led to numerous different exits around the Dueling Peaks and some even beyond. In emergencies like this, there was a designated meeting spot on one of the caves large enough for the whole town to congregate there. That's where Impa and Sheik found everyone. Sheik first took notice of Teal, who was awkwardly running her hands together from the stress.

“Teal!” Sheik yelled as she ran up to the poor girl. Teal herself was scared by Sheik, but she calmed down once she realized who was approaching her.

“Zel- I mean, Sheik!” Teal said Sheik approached. “Are you alright?”

Sheik nodded, “I'm okay. Did you manage to get away okay?”

“I'm fine! It was so scary…”

A massive tremor shook the cave, making Teal scream in fright and jump into Sheik’s protecting arms. The other Sheikah’s reactions were more muted, but far from reserved, several fell over from the sudden shock, some looked up at the cave ceiling in fear. Murmurs broke out across the cave, drowning out any single conversation.

Impa looked across all the chaos and swore to herself. This was the moment where the strong, confident leader would capture the people’s attention and rally them to victory. But Impa wasn’t that strong, confident leader. She was an anxious, socially awkward mess at best. But then she noticed Sheik looking at her with a quiet confidence, giving her a single slow nod.

And suddenly, it was like all of the noise faded away. Sheik was living proof that Impa had the potential to be more. Much, much more. Strip away her own negative thoughts, all of the voices in her head telling her that she was a failure. What was left? A looming threat and a cave full of people that needed direction. Impa could give her that direction, if only she allowed herself to just act. No thinking about what might happen or how people will react. No doubt, no second guessing, just act.

Impa screwed her eyes closed and drew in a massive breath in preparation for what she was about to do. Her voice bellowed over all of the rumbling in the cave, bouncing off the wall so that her voice was heard, “HEEEEY!!!...”

And everything stopped. The thousands of voices that transformed into this unintelligible murmur. Even Teal was shocked into attention. The tremors still continued, of course, that was the pressing concern.

Impa pushed down the doubt rising up through her body and continued, “Right now Samus Aran is fighting a monster that is currently destroying our homes. We need to assist her.”

“But we have all the Sheikah here!” A man in front of Impa spoke up. “Why should we care about Samus?”

“Are we-” Impa’s voice hitched for a moment, “Are we really okay with leaving someone to fend for themselves? Is it not also our duty to lend help when we can? And here we can! We can fight!”

The cave fell into silence once more. The lack of noise grated on Impa’s ears, so she forced herself to continue, “I am going to fight with Samus, anyone else who is willing to fight may join me, the rest will escape to somewhere it’s safer.”

And with that, Impa turned around and began to walk away. A part of her hurt, to see her efforts rejected even when she did her best to rally them. But no matter. She was going to fight no matter what. Her sense of duty wouldn’t stop her.

“Wait!”

The sound of someone yelling behind her made Impa pause. Several Sheikah stepped forward, the first to speak being the man named Dolkin.

“We’ve clearly misjudged you,” Dolkin apologized with shame. “Allow us to make it up.”

The Sheikah that stepped forward with Dolkin all nodded resolutely. The words of affirmation made a few more Sheikah step forward after the fact. Six Sheikah stepped forward in total, all of which bowed to Impa with respect. Impa’s eyes were wide open. She just didn’t expect this! This was something else Sheik was right about. The people of Sheikah Village finally saw her value.

“I- uh…” Impa just couldn’t handle it! Living proof of her worthiness to be the chief of the Sheikah, it was a feeling so overwhelming it overtook all other thoughts in her mind. Come on Impa, say something! Anything! “Th-thh-thank. You.”

At first that disbelief in her manifested on the face of the volunteers, but they quickly shook it off. It looked like training Sheik went a long way to make Impa look more like a legitimate chief.

“Impa!” Sheik's voice yelled as she ran to the front of the crowd. “Let me join as well.”

But Impa denied her, “No, you are not.”

“But wait! I know I can do it! You saw, I know what I'm doing!”

“Mimicking Sheikah techniques is certainly an impressive feat, but not enough to fight against that monster.”

“But-”

“Enough, Sheik! As your teacher I order you to stand down!” Impa screamed. 

Sheik growled, an order from your teacher was held in high regard in Sheikah society. She could not break this order lightly. “You don’t understand, I have to come with you.”

“No you don’t,” Impa insisted. “You’re just throwing away your life!”

“That doesn’t matter!”

Impa groaned, “Are you kidding me!? You’re willing to die fighting that guy? For what!? Why are you so flippant about this!?”

“Because-” Sheik stopped herself. Admitting this would be a mistake. But a voice in the back of her head overtook the rational voices. You know what? Fuck it. “Because I love her! ”

The silence that fell after the confession only amplified the few gasps from shocked onlookers. Impa was so surprised by it that she stepped back as her eyes widened.It was probably a mistake to admit to it, Zelda would have never been bold enough to say it out loud. But Sheik was. This new identity, this ‘mask’, gave her the foolhardy determination to admit it. Anything to get what she wanted, anything to help Samus.

“Yeah, I’m in love with Samus,” Sheik continued. “I know that I'm being foolish, I know that this love can’t be realized, but at least let me help her! At least give me that!”

The silence returned, stronger still. Sheik could feel the gazes of the Sheikah bore into her. Oh she really did it now. All the respect she worked hard to build up in the Sheikah was crashing down around her. Impa would reject Sheik as her student, she had to, Sheik had dishonored her! She was foolish for running away, she had a good life as Princess Zelda. Now everything was going to-

The feeling of a firm hand on her shoulder pulled Sheik from her feelings of doubt and anxiety. Impa had stepped forward and helped Sheik ground herself. Her eyes were not filled with feelings of anger or sadness that Sheik expected, instead she felt hope.

“Come with me, Sheik,” Impa said as she gestured behind her. “Let’s talk. Alone.”

Impa turned around and walked back through the tunnel. Sheik was hesitant to follow her at first. She looked around. Every Sheikah was staring at her silently. Teal was too. Whether they were supportive or disgusted by her she couldn’t tell, her emotions were too chaotic for her rational mind to give an answer. She quickly turned around and followed Impa. Everyone’s stares simply became too much to handle.

Impa was waiting for her farther into the tunnel, leaning against the stone wall, her focus pointed inward in meditation. She stepped away when she heard Sheik get closer and asked one question, “You really love her, do you?”

Having already admitted her feelings out loud made it easier to say it again. Like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. “Yeah, I do.”

Impa sighed, “And that means that you’ll go fight with Samus no matter what I say.”

More silence, more tension. Did Impa see her as lesser now? What would this mean for their relationship? And then…

“In that case, I have one more lesson for you, Sheik.”

It took a second for Sheik to register what Impa said. “Wh- what?”

“One more lesson, just as I said,” Impa said as she sat down on the cave floor with her legs crossed. “Indulge me for a moment.”

Another tremor shook the tunnel. This was taking too much time, Sheik needed to get to Samus now! “I don’t think we have the time-”

“Trust me. This is important.”

Impa was serious, deadly serious. Sheik's desperation to go help Samus clashed with Impa's seriousness, and Impa prevailed. Samus was capable after all, she didn't need the help. The drive to help was strong, but the desperation faded, if just a little bit. Sheik sat in front of Impa with her legs folded, resigning to finish this as fast as possible.

The lesson began. “Question Sheik, what is the most important aspect of Sheikah technique?”

Sheik thought about it before answering, “Speed and maneuverability?”

“Good answer, but not quite what I was looking for.” Impa responded. “The answer is deception. Hitting hard and running fast are important in a fight, but a little misdirection can confuse the enemy enough that strength and speed become irrelevant. It can even make sure you don’t have to fight at all.”

Sheik hummed in acknowledgement. “That book your master used to test you, the one with those hidden instructions.”

“Indeed. That was a test of my ability to deceive, and I aced it. What I am about to show you is the pinnacle of Sheikah technique, the ultimate tool for deception.”

Impa closed her eyes and calmed her breathing. Everything else faded away, from the quiet ambient noises of the cave to the sounds of battle in Sheikah Village. She gripped her hands together and focused. Sheik could feel the telltale sparks that indicated Impa was about to use magic, and it became clear visually when Impa opened her hands revealing a swirling orb of white magic. It was a beautiful thing, but what was the purpose of it, what did it have to do with deception? Sheik got her answer really quickly. Impa shot her hands forward, launching the ball in her direction. Sheik held up her hands and closed her eyes, ready to defend herself from the attack-

But there was nothing. No attack, not even a gust of wind. It was like it wasn’t there at all.

Sheik opened her eyes to see Impa struggling to hold in a laugh. Sheik didn’t find it nearly as amusing. “Seriously?”

“Sorry, sorry. Okay.” After Impa took a moment to calm down she continued, “What you just saw was an example of the most advanced Sheikah technique: Illusion magic. The ability to make others see what you want them to see. Or what you don’t want them to see.”

Sheik’s photographic memory shot back to her escape from Hyrule Castle, “That guard that walked past us! I was wondering what happened there. So that was…”

Impa nodded. “I used an illusion to make it look like we weren't there at all. In the hands of a talented Sheikah, it is an invaluable tool. But it has its limits. Illusions are fickle things, they only last as long as there are no noticeable contradictions. Once someone sees that the attack you just threw at them wasn’t real, the illusion will be destroyed, and your application of illusion magic will need to be reset.”

“Amazing… What a fascinating bit of magic! How does it work?”

“About that. The execution of illusion magic is conceptually simple, but incredibly difficult. I am the only living Sheikah that can pull it off for a reason. Illusion magic is the act of projecting your own sense of your environment into the minds of the people around you. I trust that your piece of the Triforce can help you grasp how to do that?”

“Yeah I got- wait,” Sheik stopped, realizing something horrible about the magic she was being taught. “Illusion magic requires that the caster believes their own illusions are real?”

Impa nodded, “Essentially you need to trick yourself into believing that something is true and push that belief onto other people.”

“Wait, wait, back at Hyrule Castle. When that guard passed by us, you had to convince yourself that your location in physical space was disjointed? How is that possible!?”

“Not quite, I convinced myself that I had the ability to turn invisible and that I had this ability activated. Easier for the mind to handle.”

… Seriously?

“Oh, well when you put it like that it seems easy!” Sheik ranted, in utter disbelief of what she was hearing.

“It’s easy for me because I trained my mind for months and months to adopt a completely new identity. My mentor made sure I had completely become Sheik before my training to continue, to prepare me for learning this technique. Since you were able to accomplish the same feat in just a week, I'm sure you will have no trouble either.”

Impa’s words grounded Sheik, returning her rampaging emotions back to her body. She was falling into the same trap that others were, Sheik laughed as she realized. Sheik ran away from Hyrule Castle to gain her freedom and prove that she was stronger than their impressions of her. Never before did she encounter a challenge that she couldn't climb with enough time and determination, and this one was no different, Sheik could do it, she had to!

Sheik nodded to herself as her confidence rose. “Yeah, I can do it.”

“Good. I know that I can't force you to do this, but I want you to stay away from the battle until you're able to create illusions on your own. I would feel much better about sending you out there if you can.”

“Very well.” Sheik responded with a firm nod. There was no doubt in her mind that she would be able to use Illusion magic successfully, and she would still join her even if she couldn’t.

“This concludes your lesson, Sheik. Considering how quickly you’ve come in just a few weeks, you might just be the greatest Sheikah in history. It has been an honor to train you.”

A strange sort of reverence befell Impa and Sheik as they stood up and bowed to each other. Their mentor student relationship was brief, but critical. For Impa, it meant the building of confidence in herself as a leader and a teacher, and for Sheik, the means of establishing her capability to anyone who would dare question it. With their professional relationship being so strong, Sheik hoped that their friendship would thrive too. Did Impa feel the same way? If she was, she was probably too anxious to say it out loud.

And suddenly, contact. Impa’s powerful frame wrapped itself around Sheik in a hug. It was a crushing hug, one that made Sheik gasp away the breath in her lungs, but Sheik didn’t push away. She let Impa overwhelm her, and responded in kind with a hug of her own. A moment of closeness between a teacher and her student.

Impa separated from Sheik and placed her hands squarely on Sheik’s shoulders, gripping them with an intensity that forced Sheik to pay attention. Impa’s eyes locked onto Sheik’s despite the discomfort, the import of this final order required it.

“Your time here has proven that the word impossible does not apply to you. You are capable of amazing things, Sheik, do not let your own doubts make you believe otherwise.” Impa’s right hand released Sheik’s shoulders and rested calmly above her heart. Tears welled in Impa’s eyes as she said one final word, “Do not make the same mistake as your foolish mentor.”

What a powerful moment of vulnerability from her mentor, being driven to tears by her own words! Sheik held the words in her heart with the reverence they deserved. The history that led to the teary order going unsaid. Sheik nodded firmly, “I won’t.”

“Good, now get out of here,” Impa patted Sheik on the back and gestured to the cave behind her, “You have a new technique to master.”

With a determination in her chest that burned with a fiery passion, Sheik took off running through the cave, ready to face the impossible.

It was only once Sheik exited out of one of the Sheikah’s hidden cave entrances into the forest surrounding the Dueling Peaks that she realized exactly what she was expected to do.

She was expected to master an entirely unfamiliar branch of magic, ideally in a few minutes. Sheik was adept at magic, but this was on a level far beyond anything she had ever done before!

How the heck was she supposed to master the most complex Sheikah technique that quickly?! At least she knew how the magic worked in theory. Pushing her view of the world onto other people through magic. That part was easy to figure out, all she needed to do was get in the right headspace for the illusion to work properly. Easier said than done.

Well, there was no better way to start than to try. Sheik collapsed into a meditative stance and closed her eyes. Don’t focus on the powerful tremors coming from the ruins of Sheikah Village, focus on your breathing. In, out. In, out. Once Sheik was sure she reached a state of zen, she put her focus onto nothing. There is a wick of flame hovering in front of Sheik. It generated a soft heat that tickled Sheik’s face. This flame was real, despite all physical evidence of the contrary.

Sheik opened her eyes and there was no such hovering flame.

A curse whispered under her breath as she tried again. There is a flame in front of her, its soft light dying out in the brightness of the day above her. Its shape never took on the same form twice, always shifting and changing as the air in the atmosphere fueled it. Sheik opened her eyes, and the flame she imagined was not real.

“Damn it!” Sheik yelled as she jumped up and paced around the forest trees.

This wasn’t working. If she truly believed in the flames' existence, then she wouldn’t need to convince herself of it. No, she needed to dive deeper into her mind for this to work. She had both the Triforce of Wisdom and Pure Focus at her side, ready at a moment's notice to force her brain into submission, but it wasn’t going to be that simple, was it?

Impa’s words earlier crawled forward from her memory. you need to trick yourself into believing that something is true. That’s what she was doing this whole time, right? Zelda worked hard to adopt Sheik as her identity, and doing so required her to convince herself of something she didn’t previously believe. But that took weeks of time, even with her incredible mental fortitude. If her Illusions were going to be effective in a fight, she needed that process to happen in an instant.

Pure Focus would obviously play a big part of that process. Pure Focus gave her total command over her body, and her brain and nervous system was part of her body, so she should be able to control that too. What if Sheik used Pure Focus to manipulate the signals traveling through her nervous system and inject something in them? That way her mind would perceive the fire as being real, no trickery needed!

But Sheik realized a flaw in this method immediately. Using Pure Focus in and of itself required conscious thought, and that thought would necessarily poke holes in the trickery she was trying to enforce onto herself. The insanity of this problem was so great that Sheik began to laugh hysterically, her body collapsed against the tree and slid down to the forest floor. How was Sheik supposed to trick herself if she herself was doing the tricking? Obviously her attempt at manipulating herself would fail, because she was the one doing it!

Perhaps Impa was the only Sheikah able to use this technique effectively because she was genuinely fucking insane. At this point it was the most reasonable position to take. Sheik’s mania slowly faded into a deep sadness. Impa could do this technique, and Sheik had rapidly overtaken the rate it took Impa to achieve Pure Focus. She should have been able to get it by now, surely!

From a hidden pocket Sheik lazily pulled out her orange PDA and turned it on. The holographic display took over her entire view, letting her focus on her past messages with Samus.

Samus nice. glad to see yur ok

Sheik “yur”? What is that supposed to mean?

Samus its short for you're lol

Samus, the one who had so effortlessly forced her way into Sheik’s heart when no one had ever been before. Incredibly tall, captivatingly beautiful, constantly affirming. She believed in her when no one else would. She saw the potential in her when everyone else saw only a silly princess who should focus more on her decorum. Samus saw through all of that. It didn’t matter to her.

Samus i miss u

Sheik I miss you too.

In turn Sheik saw through all of the false walls that Samus had around her. She was no weapon, she wasn’t a killing machine. She was a kind woman with such life and energy to her that was practically infectious. Sheik saw past the mask that Samus pulled up to protect herself, became the first person to know Samus as herself, her true self. Samus doubted herself, but that didn’t stop Sheik from seeing her value and becoming infatuated with it.

Samus youll get that freedom. im sure of it

Sheik Thank you Samus.

Samus anytime 

How did Samus fight with such an impossible focus, when her mind was filled with traps that would snare her at a moment's notice? How did she push that all down when innocent lives were in danger? If Samus was in her position, would she be able to create an illusion with the coping mechanisms she spent several years developing? If nothing else, Samus would be able to point out where Sheik was struggling, just like she did before.

A massive tremor unlike any of the ones before shook the earth under Sheik’s feet, snapping her out of her stupor. A massive tremor like that could only mean bad things, so Sheik scrambled to her feet to find out what was going on. What she saw made her stop in her tracks.

From the ruins of Sheikah Village flew a massive coal black dragon, its tattered wings flapped with terrifying power. Plumes of flames left the dragon’s snout as it breathed. Caught in the grip of the dragon’s claws was a blur of white and purple. Sheik realized instantly, Onox had transformed into that dragon, and had Samus on the ropes.

That was the thing that shot Sheik into action. Samus was in danger! She needed to help! But she couldn’t rush in blindly. As Impa said, the greatest strength of a Sheikah was deception. Sheik needed to master Illusion magic as soon as possible.

She collapsed onto the forest floor with her legs folded, her mind entering a meditative state, a calm mind would be essential to understanding this technique. The worries that Illusion magic was just a circumstance specific to Impa fell away. Impa’s mentor taught her this technique, there had to be a method to this madness if it could be taught to others. A hint came in the form of something Impa said during their final lesson.

“Not quite, I convinced myself that I had the ability to turn invisible and that I had this ability activated. Easier for the mind to handle.”

For the mind to handle.

Not for “me” to handle. Not for “Impa” to handle. For the “mind” to handle. Maybe it was just a random word choice, maybe it meant nothing at all, but that simple word gave Sheik the hint she needed.

Impa was referring to the subconscious mind.

What you could call “the mind” is split into two different things. The waking mind is the one that responds to the body’s surroundings, the one that communicates and reasons and conspires. The subconscious mind is the layering underneath, the support that makes the waking mind possible to exist. The processes that automated breathing, that told the body’s organs what to do, the one that handled the storage of memories. All of these automatic processes happen without the will of the waking mind, constantly working in the background, unchanging.

Unchanging, unless you had the ability to dictate how those processes function.

And so Sheik had a hypothesis: using Pure Focus, one manipulates the subconscious mind to take on a new process. One that alters the perception of the waking mind and pushes that perception outwards with magic. All the waking mind would have to do was give the subconscious an order, and they would do it automatically. It was an astounding feat of mental engineering. Sheik had gained a new level of respect for her mentor, and she already respected her a great deal. Impa was wrong, Sheik had the Triforce of Wisdom to help her on her Sheikah journey. Impa mastered this technique all by herself. That feat alone made Impa the greatest Sheikah in history.

A new calmness spread over Sheik’s mind. The method was now revealed to her, she just needed to execute it. So Sheik took a deep breath, and focused inward. Further inward than she ever had before.

Deeper and Deeper. It was like the makings of her mind were spread out in front of her in a great web of instincts and learned behaviors. Her eyes scanned over the web, constructed over millennia of evolution and conflict, and she saw It like a work of art. Anyone else that found themselves here would only be able to witness the construction, but Sheik had Pure Focus. With her brush in hand, Sheik began to paint a new masterpiece.

Step by step a new process was constructed. Nodes of abstract thinking linked together, settling alongside those that already existed in perfect harmony. Sheik marveled at what she was doing. She was manipulating her own subconscious mind! The prospect was theoretically horrifying, what if she accidentally broke some important part of herself? But that fear never crossed her mind. The doubt left her completely, she had proven herself time and time again, this was just another feat in a long line of feats that Sheik had accomplished. If only Samus could see her now, the strongest she had ever been.

Samus…

Her love. The object of her desire. Impa’s words rose to the surface. Do not let doubt make you believe that something is impossible. Let nothing stand in your way. Nothing was impossible for Sheik. A princess could be the strongest of a generation. A cold and weaponized bounty hunter could feel the warmth of a kind friend. Both of them could drive each other to new heights. Both of them could find something more than friendship together. Both of them could love each other.

“Hey Sheik.”

Sheik opened her eyes, and there she was. Samus was kneeling before her, the Power Suit missing from her. She was wearing the same servant clothes that she used to trick Bellum. Her hair flowed in the soft breeze of the forest. Sheik smiled. She was so beautiful.

“Hey Samus,” Sheik responded. She tenderly pulled her scarf away from her face, revealing her wide smile. Samus’ smile only appeared wider at the sight. The look in her eyes, she looked like she wanted Sheik. Sheik wanted her back. She couldn’t stop herself from chuckling. “I- I love you.”

Samus didn’t respond with words, only actions. She slowly leaned forward, her eyes focused on Sheik’s lips. Sheik knew exactly what was going to happen, her heart raced with anticipation. Her eyes closed as she readied for her first kiss with her love-

But it never came.

Sheik opened her eyes. Samus wasn’t there. She was never there, Sheik only thought she was there. Just an illusion.

She was ready.

Not just ready to fight, but ready to confess the thing she was once terrified of confessing. The fear seemed insignificant, in the face of her love. She would not let it hold her back anymore.

Sheik rose to her feet with elegance, determination filling her heart. She would fight Onox and win. She would see Samus again, and Samus would see her. Sheik would tell Samus how she feels. Nothing could stop her. Her entire body exploded with movement, following the path the dragon took with Samus in tow. It was time for this separation to end.

Chapter Text

The King of Hyrule was not one to let others do his work for him, and searching for Zelda was no exception. Her daughter was missing, she could be in danger, he couldn’t stop himself if he wanted to! Graham wanted to stop him certainly, he tried his best to get Rhoam to stay in the safety of the castle. But Rhoam couldn’t wait while his daughter was missing any longer. He set out for Kakariko village, the nearest settlement to Hyrule Castle besides Castle Town. Its proximity made it the perfect place to look. Rhoam insisted on searching for himself. Graham insisted that he let the guards do the work for him, but he could never persuade Rhoam when he was this determined. 

He was out on the streets of Kakariko asking passersby if they had seen Zelda when the attack happened.

Tremors shook the ground under everyone’s feet, stowing chaos and confusion. Rhoam was quick on the upkeep, reassuring everyone around him to stay calm. His position as king gave him an air of authority, and the people did as best as they could.

“My king! It isn’t safe!” Graham’s cries reached Rhoam’s ears as the advisor scrambled to reach his king. “We need to evacuate!”

“Not while there are people here that need help!” Rhoam declared as he helped a man back to his feet. What was causing these tremors? Some kind of earthquake? No, the tremors were too sporadic. Was something specific causing them?

“But sire! I- oh Goddesses…”

Something big must have caught Graham’s attention, as he looked up at the sky towards the Dueling Peaks. Rhoam followed his gaze and saw-

Oh goddess above. A massive coal black dragon flew over the Dueling peaks, its dark torn wings carrying it high in the air. And it was flying their way. Panic screams filled Kakariko village as the dragon flew closer and closer.

Rhoam bellowed at the top of his lungs, “Everyone run! Stay away!” But he was too late, the dragon crashed into the center of Kakariko village, causing a massive cloud of dust and debris to kick up, blocking everything in sight. It wouldn’t be blocked for long, as the massive wings of the dragon blew the dust away. It stood tall over Rhoam, matching the height of the two story buildings nearby. Rhoam could see something trapped in the dragon’s claws, but he couldn’t make out exactly what it was.

“Ah, if it isn’t the King of Hyrule!” The dragon bellowed with its deep voice.

Rhoam’s eyes widened in shock. He recognized that voice. “Onox!?”

The dragon laughed at Rhoam’s shock. “Yes, Rhoam, it is I. The general you dishonored by removing me from my rightful position!”

“You cared not for peace or the greater good, you only cared about your sick addiction to violence! You dishonored yourself!”

The sound of Onox’s powerful roar tore the confidence away from Rhoam. “I’m sick of this talk! If you refuse to engage with me in glorious combat, then you shall die!”

Powerful flames stirred around Onox’s massive maw, the sheer heat radiating around him made Rhoam stumble backwards in fear. He was going to die here. He would never see Zelda again! Rhoam closed his eyes as the end approached him-

The sound of a strange ticking made Rhoam and Onox pause. The sound seemingly came from the claw that gripped the something Rhoam couldn’t identify. The ticking grew quicker. Rhoam felt his soul screaming at him to get away, and Rhoam wasn’t one to ignore his instincts. He dived away from the dragon as a massive explosion ripped from the dragon’s claw, eviscerating the creature’s arm into grey sludge, the beast screaming in pain. From the blast came an unaffected Samus, who dashed forward to grab the king and ran away as fast as possible.

Samus dropped the king off behind a building, leaving Rhoam shaken with fear. This was the most afraid the king had been since his fight with Link against Ganon, five years ago. Samus kneeled by Rhoam and asked, “Are you okay?”

“I- I’m fine.” Rhoam gasped. “Tell me Samus, is Zelda far away from this danger?”

“Uh, hopefully.” Samus answered with a shrug. “There is a chance that she’ll jump in to help no matter what.”

From Samus’ statement Rhoam gleamed a bit of hope, “So then she’s here? Or at least, nearby?”

A pause, and then Samus said, “... Yes. Zelda is nearby. Once we deal with this monster, we can find her.”

Rhoam breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed against the building. The relief he felt was palpable in the air. Zelda was alive, he would see her again! Rhoam’s soul sang in relief.

Until the wall at his back suddenly grew hot.

A gale of fiery breath burst through the wall behind him, not before a blue blur dashed up to them and pulled Samus and Rhoam out of the way of the blast. The blur stopped behind another building, letting Rhoam rest. Samus didn’t need such recovery time, the unnaturally capable bounty hunter readying himself in an instant.

“Impa!” Samus cried at their savior, a woman in an attire colored with various hues of blue, like how a master of stealth should be dressed. Did Samus recognize the woman?

The woman (Impa?) nodded at Samus, “I’ve brought reinforcements. You will not fight Onox alone.”

Samus nodded back before turning to Rhoam and saying, “Stay here, we’ll take care of this.”

And with that, Samus and Impa scaled the massive building in an instant, ready for battle. Rhoam sighed and sat down. Rhoam was only getting older, and wished for some of that youthful strength for himself. Ah well, his time of fighting was long past. He was king, and he had a duty to uphold. He could at least help innocent bystanders escape from the carnage. With resolve he pushed himself up on his feet.

“My king!” The voice of Link rapidly approached Rhoam, the hero wearing-

“Uh, Link? What are you wearing?”

Link, clad in feminine Gerudo attire, stood in front of Rhoam awkwardly. “It’s- uh- it’s a long story.”

Rhoam shaked himself out of his confusion, “Whatever, we need to assist in the evacuation!”

“Right!”

Samus and Impa landed on the roof with ease, giving them a straight forward view of the massive Onox, his dragon form unfit for the small town that had become a battleground. How horrible, Samus thought, for this community to be involved in her battles. It was now a matter of making sure no more destruction occurred, Samus swore to herself.

“I grow tired of these games of cat and mouse,” The massive form of Onox growled. “Fight me, Samus. Only you are able to satisfy me!”

Samus sighed. She was getting tired too, of Onox’s obsession with fighting and violence. “You don’t deserve the satisfaction.”

“We will not allow you to harm anyone else, monster!” Impa cried in righteous anger.

“Very well. If I must fight both of you…” The fire in Onox’s maw grew in intensity as he spoke. “Then I shall rend you into cinders!”

From the side a smoke bomb flew at Onox, slamming against his jaw in an instant. Plumes of dark smoke shot out in all directions, blinding the dragon, which screamed in confusion and pain. Onox’s claws swiped at the gas to push it away to no avail. Several Shiekah warriors jumped into battle, jumping across rooftops, not stopping for a moment.

Impa pulled up her neck gaiter in preparation. “We’ll distract Onox, you hurt him good.”

“Got it.”

And they got to work.

Samus leapt to the side to another building while her Arm Cannon readied its Storm Missile mod. It had hurt Onox before, so why fix what wasn’t broken? With the red targeting laser active, Samus pointed her Arm Cannon at various points across the dragon’s body, yellow targets appearing on her HUD. The dragon spewed fire in all directions in a desperate attempt to fend off his attackers, which Samus easily dodged to the side of. With the storm missiles fully loaded, Samus pulled the trigger.

Missile after missile shot out of Samus’ Arm Cannon and honed in on various parts of Onox’s draconic body. Some barely made a dent, while others caused clumps of grey sludge to fall off the shapeshifter’s form. The dragon wallowed in pain, several shurikens and kunai embedded themselves into Onox’s wounds, making him scream more.

But then something in the air shifted. The dragon’s skin turned to a fiery red as the ambient heat of the town rose by a slight degree. Samus barely had enough time to curse before a wall of fire shot out of Onox’s skin, engulfing the entirety of Kakariko Village in flames.

The force of the blast made Samus fly back into the side of a building, creating a large crater where she landed. With the wind knocked out of her, She barely had time to react before Onox’s dragon form flew right up to Samus and slammed his claw into her. One of them stabbed her right arm.

“AUGH!” Samus screamed in pain as her right arm became practically useless. The pain was so intense, so mind numbing. Blood drained from the wound like a fountain, her enhanced genetics meant that the loss of so much blood wouldn’t kill her, but her Arm Cannon was out of commision for a while.

“That should get rid of those horrible attacks. A little trick I learned from Ganon, shifting my skin to rapidly heat up the cool air around me, creating a massive shockwave.” Onox bellowed down into Samus. “I wouldn’t have to use such trickery if you fought honorably. Why do you resort to such pathetic tactics? Why deny yourself the glory of taking a life with your bare hands?! Nothing compares to the feeling of raw, deadly combat!”

From the top of her lungs, Samus screamed, “Fuck you!” The pain was too great to think of anything else to say.

Onox sighed. “Ah well. You were a great disappointment to me, Samus. I will have to find someone else to satisfy me. For now, I’ll just relish in the chance to end your life, along with the lives of those Sheikah and the Royal Family. Seeing Zelda shake in fear should be some good entertainment.”

Samus' blood ran cold. She wasn't about to lose, was she? Onox had her pinned, in this state all her weapon systems were useless. If she could push Onox away she could use the Screw Attack, but that wasn't happening any time soon with the pain from her stabbed arm making her unable to move. She looked around, trying to see if anyone else would be able to help her, but she had no such luck. Impa and the Sheikah were similarly knocked back from the blast, Rhoam and Link looked like they got burned and were unable to move either. Burnt corpses littered the streets of Kakariko Village. How many innocent people had died because she wasn't fast enough to take Onox down?

Samus squirmed in Onox's grip as a devastating thought entered her mind. She was going to die here. There were no more allies to help her, no more tools to use, a claw had completely pierced her arms and blood was flowing freely from the wound. The blood loss was starting to make her vision hazy. Her thoughts became more and more frantic.

‘No, I can't die here! There are still so many people to save! I can't let anyone die here!’

‘I’ve made so many friends, I've done more than I ever thought I could! Please don't let this be the end, please, I just want to do just a little more!’

‘I want to spend time with my friends, I want to feel safe for the first time in decades, I want to finally feel comfortable in my body!

‘I…’

‘... I want to tell Zelda that I love her…’

Samus’ left hand pulsed with life and energy. One last trump card. One last chance. Samus needed to take it, even if she would throw away her humanity doing so. She could feel the Hunger scratching at the edge of her psyche, the drive to kill and consume everything in her path. If it meant saving the people she loved, she would accept it without reservation. She could feel her bones shift-

A kunai flew through the air, cutting into the tough hide of Onox’s dragonskin, forcing him to drop Samus. The shock of the drop forced the Hunger away, that half of her retreating in her confusion. With her arm free of the claw stabbing it, the Power Suit reformed over her arm and a numbing agent was administered to get rid of the pain. The arm was still unusable since the bone was destroyed. It would take some time for the Power Suit to repair her wound. Samus braced for Onox to attack again, but Onox was confused as well. Both of their gazes looked up at the source of the attack.

The tallest point in Kakariko Village, a church dedicated to worship of the Goddesses, its spires pointing several stories above the other buildings in the village. And on that tallest spire stood a figure, balancing precariously on a small point. With a flick of the figure’s wrist, the kunai flew backwards through the air on golden wire, the figure catching the kunai gracefully.

Who was that?

A magically created thread to recall thrown kunai. Sheik had hypothesized that such a thing was possible during her training, it was great to see that her hunch was proved correct.

But that didn’t matter right now, Sheik, come on, focus on the battle happening.

The massive dragon that had destroyed Kakariko village was looking up at her with curiosity. Impa and the Sheikah warriors she brought with her were out of commission. Rhoam and Link were burned trying to help people escape, said people were now just burnt corpses dotting the town, how horrible. Samus quickly crawled out of sight from the dragon and slumped against the wall of the building, looking up at her.

Samus…

Sheik’s rage peaked as she considered how Onox had hurt the woman she loved. What would have happened if Sheik came a little bit later? Would Samus be alright in the end, or would she be dead? She didn’t want to consider that second possibility. She had still not told Samus that she loved her after all. What was important was that Sheik was here, and that this would all be over soon.

Sheik closed her eyes and focused. Deep breaths, long breaths. One, two, three, four. With a thought her subconscious mind got to work, readying for the battle. Everything clicked into place.

With everything ready, Sheik moved.

With her Sheikah training and an invisibility illusion, it was like Sheik disappeared in an instant, leaving no indication she was ever there at all. Onox’s gaze darted around the battlefield, desperate to find Sheik in the ruined buildings. Out of the corner of her eye Onox could see Sheik darting from rooftop to rooftop, disappearing as soon as he turned to get a better look. And then he would see her again, this time in a completely different direction.

“Yet another piece of Sheikah trickery…” Onox growled. “You will not beat me with this!”

Onox didn’t stop to confirm the sighting of Sheik, he simply jerked his head and breathed a torrent of fire at where he saw Sheik. But the fire hit nothing at all. Sheik disappeared in an instant. Where is she!?

What Onox didn’t see was Sheik falling from the tall spire like she never stopped perching up there. She fell with her head down, rapidly crossing over Onox’s line of sight. Before Onox had a chance to react, Sheik threw her kunai into the dragon’s eyes. The screams of pain from Onox filled the destroyed Kakariko Village, but Sheik paid him no mind. Her entire body flipped around in the air and landed perfectly on her feet. She didn’t have much time at all as Onox swung his tail at the Sheikah warrior, who jumped out of the way of the attack before running to Samus, her kunai returning to her during her sprint.

Sheik slid to a halt in front of the bounty hunter, who was currently leaning against the wall. “Are you okay!?”

“I’m fine!” Samus groaned as she stood up from her spot against the wall. Her right arm hung limp from her shoulder, decidedly not looking fine. “I’m good to fight.”

“What? No! I saw what happened to your arm, you can’t fight like that!”

“Oh yeah I can!” Samus yelled back. “Listen, I’m going to fight that thing whether you want me too or not. My friend is around here somewhere, and there’s no way in hell I’m letting her get wrapped up in this!”

… Did Samus not recognize her? Sheik’s eyes were red, and most of her face was covered, but she should have at least recognized her voice! Okay well, maybe being in Pure Focus changed her tone a little bit. Sheikahs were masters of misdirection after all.

Sheik shook her head and resigned to Samus’ demand. “Fine. We need to get Onox out of that dragon form.”

“And how do we do that?”

“We destabilize his current form as much as possible. Deal damage in a wide enough area and he’ll have to revert back.” Sheik readied her kunai in her hand. “You ready?”

“Just try and keep up.” Samus snarked before she sprinted around the building into the battle. Sheik could practically see the smirk spreading across Samus’ face, and it made Sheik smile in turn. Sheik never expected for the two of them to be reunited in battle, but it was okay in her eyes. Any reunion was satisfactory to her.

Sheik scaled the building quickly with her copied techniques to get a birds eye view of the battle. Samus had taken to rolling around in her Morph ball form (Sheik really needed to ask Samus about that, how did it work?) Onox did his best to stomp on Samus, but he had a hard time doing that due to the kunai flying at his face. He shot a burst of fire at the parkouring Sheik, only to dispel an illusion. More kunai hit him in the back of the head, another burst of fire in response, catching another illusion. Where was she? Samus was meanwhile busy laying bombs down by Onox’s feet, chipping off pieces of sludge with every hit. Every hit he received made him stumble a little more.

Samus boosted through a small gap before Onox could blast her with fire. In the cover provided by the wreckage to jump off of a wall onto a nearby building. Sheik appeared next to her in a cloud of smoke. The two conversed as they ran.

“Just one more big hit should do it! Once Onox is in his smaller form, we need to keep hitting him so he gets smaller and smaller. If we get him small enough, he should lose control of his form!”

Samus repeated Sheik’s words under her breath as she observed Onox. The massive beast opened his maw and shot a massive ball of fire at the two, which they easily dodged. Onox was getting slower and slower the more damage he was dealt. Samus rapidly turned to Sheik with a solution, “Throw me in his mouth.”

“What?!” Sheik yelled, looking at Samus like her head was cut off. “Are you crazy?”

“I can survive the heat!”

“Can you survive the stomach acids?”

“Does that thing even have a stomach?”

A pause.

“... Good point. Get in your ball thing.”

A flash of light and Samus was back in her Morph Ball (Sheik needed to ask Samus how that thing worked). It was surprisingly light, Sheik discovered as she picked it up. She carried the ball under her arm and shot forward in a burst of speed. If Onox saw what they were trying to do, then he wouldn’t give them another opportunity. Sheik had one shot at this.

“Whatever foul trick you are planning, it will not work!” Onox yelled as its maw lit up with powerful flames. A massive fireball shot out at Shiek, but the warrior was ready. Her free hand raised, she snapped her fingers, and then in an instant it was like there were three Sheik’s, with three Morph Balls being carried in her arms. Onox’s eyes struggled to follow all three as they split up. One stayed on the floor, the other two returned to the rooftops. A tailswipe was useless, the Sheik on the ground just jumped over it. Any attacks at the two Sheiks on the rooftops would dodge them just as well as the first.

The rooftop Sheiks readied their kunai and threw them at Onox’s eyes, which closed in an automatic response to the attack-

Nothing came. Another damn trick!

“This better work!” Sheik growled as she vaulted off a piece of wreckage high into the air, right in front of the open maw of Onox. No way she could miss now. She spun through the air with ferocity and with the momentum from that, she launched the Morph Ball directly into Onox’s mouth.

Onox’s maw slammed shut as he felt something foreign enter his throat. But it was already too late. The same beeping from before now came from his throat, the signs of a Power Bomb.

An explosion ripped through Onox’s throat, cascading much of the village into grey sludge that landed on the ground lifeless. From the remaining sludge came Onox’s armor form, much less intimidating than his previous form. Samus, again, was unaffected by the blast, protected by her amazing suit of armor.

Sheik pumped her fists in excitement. They could actually do this!

Sheik was quick to respond to the opening, launching forward with a bouncing fish kick directly to Onox’s chest, right before Samus smashed his face in with a devastating haymaker. Sheik and Samus never gave Onox a chance to recover. Slashes from Sheik’s kunai, a kick to the back of knees, a stab in the chest from Sheik. Several parts of Onox were torn away by the attacks, leaving him as a misshaped blob that once resembled his armor. And that made him furious.

“How… How dare you!” Onox cried as his entire body trembled. “I will not fall to such trickery! You will-”

Unfortunately, a missile explosion into Onox’s face interrupted him. His body exploded into a mass of goop, no recognizable piece of Onox anywhere. Sheik jumped back in shock from the blast before her gaze turned to Samus. The bounty hunter was cradling her Arm Cannon with her left hand. “Did that do him in? Some of the stuff is moving.”

Indeed, some of the sludge that once was Onox was wiggling away. It was pathetically slow, but it was moving all the same.

Sheik was quick to shoot the sludge with a magic bolt, which caused the sludge to melt into the ground. “Now he’s done in.”

“Great- ugh!” Samus grunted as she cradled her Arm Cannon with her left hand. “That missile had some killer kickback.”

“Oh my goodness!” Sheik dashed to Samus’ side with magic flowing in her hands. “Here lemme see the wound, I can-”

“No. If you want to help, heal someone else. Plenty of people could use it.”

Oh yes, Samus' sacrificial attitude, something that Sheik hadn’t seen in over a month. It hurts to see now even more than before. Being in love will do that to you, Sheik figured. But Samus was right, many people needed her help.

From a pouch on her hip, Sheik pulled out a vial filled with a green potion and downed it in one big gulp. Sheik would need it for the feat of magic she was about to perform. Sheik looked out to the surrounding buildings, burned down and destroyed, several people struggling against burns, Link, Impa, and Rhoam included. They needed to be healed. She held the back of her left hand out as the Triforce of Wisdom glowed a brilliant yellow. Its power flowed through Sheik, and once she was sure she was ready, she released the magic outward.

That little application of magic was one Sheik had hypothesized about for a while, a radial wave of magic that automatically healed whatever it touched. It was a highly impractical use of healing magic that was only viable in specific circumstances, like the current situation, when many things around the caster needed to be healed at once. The wave shot outward, impacting nearby buildings and people, restoring them to the state they were in before the battle. Buildings were able to stand just as tall as before, but the people that were burned by Onox’s attack needed more time to recover. Sheik first ran up to Impa to check up on her, the Sheikah leader struggling to prop herself up.

“Impa!” Sheik yelled as she helped pull her teacher up, “Are you okay?”

Impa’s breathing is heavy from the stress, but she is otherwise healthy. With Sheik’s help she is able to stand on her shaky legs. “I’m okay. Good job, Sheik.”

“Zelda?”

Both Sheikah halted in place. The voice was Samus’, apparently she finally recognized Sheik. Most likely due to the Triforce of Wisdom. There was only one person in existence who could call upon that power, after all. Sheik felt so conflicted. If she turned around then she would be acknowledging a name she didn’t have anymore. Responding to Samus would mean breaking her oaths.

But Impa pierced all those worries. She put a firm hand on Sheik’s shoulder and gave a light nod. Sheik’s breathing calmed. Her teacher was giving Sheik her blessing! Nothing would get between their reunion!

Sheik turned around and looked at Samus with a smile on her face. “It’s good to see you, Samus.”

The Power Suit’s helmet hid Samus’ face from Sheik, but she could hear the smile in Samus’ voice. “That was- that was amazing!”

“I know right!?” Sheik couldn’t keep her excitement from manifesting. “Impa’s been training me. I’m a full blown Sheikah now! Or, one in training at least.”

“Not anymore.” Impa’s words made Sheik and Samus turn to her. “I think it’s safe to say that I have nothing else to teach you. You even managed to create perfect illusions! Your training is complete.”

It was as if Sheik didn’t even process Impa’s words at first. But as soon as she did. Sheik’s eyes went wide and he fists pumped in the air. She had finished her training in only a few weeks! A completely unprecedented feat in Sheikah history. 

Samus meanwhile watched on as Sheik celebrated her accomplishments, thanking the designers of her Power Suit for adding an opacity option for her helmet’s visor, as it allowed her to hide her massive blush. She had not seen Sheik in months, and her affection had only grown from then! Add on top of that her promise to spend time with Sheik outside of her Power Suit… Samus’ heart pounded from the pressure of it all.

“And that means it is time for you to accept a new name.” Impa explained. The surprise on Sheik’s face only made Impa look at her incredulously.  “Don’t tell me you thought you would just keep the name Sheik forever?”

Sheik paused before speaking, “Uh, yeah, kinda.”

Impa shook her head. “Once a Sheikah finishes their training, they choose a new name for themselves as the final rite of passage for a warrior. We would have gone over this had your training gone on longer. Seems to be a running theme with you, doing things unconventionally.”

“... I can’t really think of anything. I bet it would have helped to have that extra time training.”

Impa nodded. “Not much we can do about that now. You’ve earned your old name back at this point, you can come up with a name for your Sheikah identity later. It’s good to see you again Zelda.”

And so Sheik fell away, leaving behind only Zelda. Zelda breathed a deep sigh of relief at finally being back.

“I’m going to help with the recovery. My people need me.” Impa explained as she patted Zelda on the shoulder. “This is where we part ways for now. It was an honor to be your teacher.”

Zelda’s smile shone even past the scarf that covered her mouth. “And it was an honor to be your student.”

The two shared one last bow as teacher and student. And with one last nod in acknowledgement to Samus, Impa ran off to attend to her duties. Zelda watched with a strange sadness. It wasn’t as if they wouldn’t see eachother again. Zelda would just miss the time she spent in Sheikah Village.

Samus eventually broke through Zelda’s sadness by saying, “I have no idea what's happening.”

The burst of laughter that Zelda released made her realize how much she had missed her best friend. She grabbed Samus in the tightest hug she could give. Samus’ arms raised in the air, but slowly lowered them around Zelda. Both of them fought hard for this moment for Zelda to finally have the standing to attain her freedom. The future was uncertain, but both Zelda and Samus were ready to face it together.

Both of them had the same wish in their hearts, for their powerful friendship to become something more.

Chapter Text

As much as Samus and Zelda wanted to spend all of their time together, they couldn’t afford such time just yet. Kakariko Village was still in ruins around them. With Impa gone to help Sheikah Village recover, Kakariko was their responsibility. The first step was to help King Rhoam and Link recover.

The healing wave that Zelda released earlier healed Rhoam’s surface wounds, but he still needed a boost to get back on his feet properly. He still layed limp against the wall that he was blasted into when Onox released his massive wave of fire. So Zelda kneeled next to her father and applied a little magic to him, while Samus stood a step back to give the family some time together. It took some time for Rhoam to come to his senses, once he did he looked at Zelda with confusion.

“Thank you for your help, whoever you are,” Rhoam said as he slowly sat up from the wall, Zelda supporting him. “May I have your name?”

Her father didn’t recognize Zelda either. The shōzoku given to her by Impa did a great job hiding Zelda’s features, but she never expected this. It would have made it easier if Rhoam recognized her, that way she didn’t have to go through the ordeal of revealing herself to her father. Zelda shook those worries away. No more fear, no more regret. She would not let those things define her anymore.

“It’s me, Father,” Zelda said as she removed her headwrap and scarf, her long blonde hair cascading down the back of her head. Nothing happened for a second, almost as if time itself stood still at Zelda’s revelation. But it didn’t last that way for long. Once he recognized his daughter, Rhoam cried tears of joy and grabbed Zelda in the biggest bear hug he could.

“Oh my daughter, Zelda! You’re okay!” Rhoam gasped between cries of joy. “I was so worried for your safety!”

“I’m okay Father. More than okay, I’m the strongest I’ve ever been.” Zelda reassured her father.

The two separated so Rhoam could have a good look at his daughter. “These strange clothes… What were you doing while you were gone?”

Maybe before Zelda would have been scared to tell her Father about all the ways she disobeyed him. But Zelda wasn’t afraid anymore. She spoke with assuredness in her voice, “I left to train, though I cannot tell you where. I trained for weeks and achieved amazing things, some of which you saw here today.”

“You defeated that monster Onox with Samus today!” Rhoam gasped. “I… I almost can’t believe it.”

“Because your daughter is supposed to be a soft princess who stays in her castle?” That shut Rhoam up completely, staring in awe at how bold his daughter was being. With the silence dominating the space around her, Zelda continued, “I ran away for this reason, Father. I was strong before I left, but you still treated me like a child. You kept me locked in my room and limited my freedom all in an effort to protect me. But I don’t need protection! I didn’t need it then, and I certainly don’t need it now! And this is my vow to you, if you choose to limit my freedom like that again, I will escape again and again until you change your mind.”

For a moment, Zelda thought she had made a mistake. Rhoam continued to stare at her daughter in shock. Was he angry at Zelda’s defiance? No, of course not. Rhoam was a loving man, willing to listen to the people around him and accept when he was wrong. And in his heart he realized what a fool he had been. He took Zelda in another hug, this one more tender, keeping her close.

“I am so sorry, my dear,” Rhoam whispered into Zelda’s ear, “I realize now how much I hurt you. I only hope I can make it up to you with time.”

Now that was too much for Zelda to handle, breaking down her worried barrier and letting her tears fall freely. The two held each other close, happy to finally be reunited without the barriers between them.

It was a nice scene to witness, Samus couldn’t lie, but simply standing above the two was becoming too awkward for her. Looking around, she saw Link sitting against the wall a few paces away, doing his best to regain his strength. Seeing the opportunity to be useful, Samus knelt next to the recovering hero to assist.

“Hey,” Samus said casually, like Link wasn’t just recovering from whiplashing between severe burns and mostly healed (Was there even a proper way to approach this? Samus couldn’t have known).

“Hey yourself,” Link responded as he pushed himself up. “That was… amazing. You and Zelda fought so well.”

Samus nodded. “So that confirms it?”

Link’s gaze turned to Zelda, who was still busy reuniting with Rhoam. “Yeah. Zelda is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. I made a serious mistake.”

“Good.”

Link sighed, “I’ve been so stressed for a month straight, now I feel exhausted. The burns probably don’t help.”

“I have injections in my ship that will accelerate healing if you want them.”

“Injections?”

“You know, needles.”

Link’s face paled. “No thanks, I’ll be okay.”

“Suit yourself,” Samus said. She couldn’t help the laugh that followed. Despite Link’s embarrassment, he couldn’t help but laugh as well.

Of course Graham had to run in and ruin the moment. He marched over to the king and kneeled next to him, his sniveling voice asking, “My King! Are you alright!?”

“Oh I’m fine, Graham!” Rhoam cheered, the presence of his advisor not enough to dim his spirits. He and Zelda separated and Rhoam continued, “Look who has returned to us!”

Graham gasped in shock. “Princess Zelda! The King was so worried about you, how dare you do that to him!”

“Graham, that is enough,” Rhoam rebuked his advisor. “The important thing is that Zelda is here and safe.”

Graham was clearly not happy with Rhoam’s response. So instead, he chose to change topics, “In any case, it is much too dangerous for the two of you to be here, let us return to Hyrule Castle! We cannot risk being out here!”

Samus couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Zelda just fought a dragon! A shape shifting dragon! How much danger could Zelda be in right now? It seemed that Link agreed. He looked at Samus out of the corner of his eye, a look that Samus was at least partially familiar with. It was a look that communicated, ‘can you believe this guy?’, and yeah, Samus couldn’t believe it either.

But Rhoam didn’t share the same view, acquiescing to Graham, “I think some rest will do us all good. Let us return to Hyrule Castle. The delegates can help with the recovery of Kakariko.”

Zelda did not like bending to Graham’s will, but she too was tired from the proceeding events. She needed time to rest, and spending some time resting with Samus sounded particularly divine. “That sounds like a good idea.”

Samus nodded, “I’ll head back in my ship, It’s parked out here somewhere.”

“I’ll join you,” Link piped in as he stood up from the wall. “My clothes are still on your ship anyway.”

Graham gasped, like he didn’t even process what Link was wearing. “Wh- What in the goddesses name are you wearing, Link!?”

“Uh, clothes?”

“Gerudo clothes!?”

“They’re just clothes man. It’s whatever,” Link sighed. “Can we go now Samus?”

“Uh sure,” Samus agreed, but she didn’t leave just yet. Leaving like that after so long spent apart from Zelda would just be improper. So she awkwardly turned to Zelda and asked, “See you later?”

The smile that Zelda gave would have made Samus melt if she wasn’t wearing her helmet. “Yes, I’ll see you later, Samus.”

Samus didn’t want to leave. Not because the Children of Ganon were still out there, no, Zelda could defend herself just fine from them. She didn’t want to leave because she couldn’t bear being without Zelda for even a second. The two had been separated for a month, and that time had taken its toll on Samus. Her thoughts went back to the promise she made Zelda, that she would take off her suit to be with her. No more barriers between them. It would be the most intimate she had been with anyone in… well, forever. She would be the weakest she had ever been in over a decade.

And Samus couldn’t wait for it. The old her would be so disappointed in herself.

But patience was a virtue, one that Samus often struggled with. The separation would only make the moment sweeter anyway. So Samus and Link bidded the Hyrulian royalty farewell and made way to Samus’ ship. The walk was tense. Samus could tell that Link wanted to talk about something, it was only several minutes into their walk through the forests surrounding Kakariko that he finally spoke up.

“So, are you going to tell her soon?”

Samus groaned (not before making sure to mute any sounds coming from inside her helmet), of course Link would bring that up. The Hylian had been strangely determined to make Samus and Zelda a thing ever since he learned about it. It was certainly a better response than Link being hateful about her affections. In a strange way, she wished that Link wasn’t so accepting, she knew how to handle that, not whatever the hell Link was doing now. Knowing she had to respond, Samus hesitantly asked, “You didn’t crash my ship or anything, right?”

“Don’t change the subject, I know what you’re doing!” Link admonished Samus, but didn’t push further. “And for the record, Adam said I did a satisfactory job piloting your ship. It wasn’t as hard as I was expecting.”

“You really are a prodigy aren't you?”

“It helps not having any doubt in myself. Triforce of Courage and all that.”

“God I wish that were me.”

Link stared at Samus like she said something crazy. “Are you kidding me!? Besides Zelda, you’re the strongest, smartest person I know. How could you possibly doubt yourself?”

Thank god her visor obscured her blush. “I, uh- I- I just do… but thank you…”

Link hummed in acknowledgement, and for a while, that's all there was to it. But Samus wasn’t satisfied. This was an effort to open up more, just like Zelda would want. Samus wasn’t used to it, but progress was never easy, she figured.

“I…” Samus paused to consider what she was going to say, “I’m going to tell her.”

“Nice,” Link complimented casually, which Samus appreciated. The bounty hunter couldn’t handle Link making a big deal of it. “I hope that goes well. You got this!”

“Yeah…”

Samus’ heart was pounding what felt like a million times a second, faster than when she was fighting that dragon even. But Samus relished in this feeling. She wasn’t nervous about the planet blowing up around her, or being trapped behind enemy lines, she was simply going to admit her crush. Something normal for once.

Hopefully it will stay that way.

Davron was absolutely hysterical when Samus and Link returned. His extravagant personality could be annoying, but he genuinely cared. Was Davron her third friend? At this point the answer seemed to be yes.

But that didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered is what would happen later.

The trio arrived first, Samus’ Gunship moving them fast across the Hylian countryside. Apparently there were some issues with getting Teal back from the Sheikah without alerting them to their presence, but it resolved quickly enough and they arrived back at Hyrule Castle by nightfall.

The three waited by the front gates for everyone else to arrive, the royal entourage returning to the castle in a large carriage. Zelda was the first to exit the carriage, her smile lit up the instant she saw Samus. She was still wearing her Sheikah outfit, and the way her long blonde hair flowed behind her made her look absolutely majestic. God, Samus was so gay.

Teal bolted out of the carriage first, immediately running to Davron and getting swept up in his arms. The two walked away together whispering something that Samus couldn’t make out. Zelda ran up to the bounty hunter slower than Teal did, but still with plenty of excitement. She stopped right before her before she spoke to Samus properly. “Hi!”

“Hey,” Samus said more casually. The sight of Zelda made Samus realize exactly what she was going to do soon, and the thought of that made her face light up red. For the nth time, Samus thanked the advanced features of her helmet, no sign of her embarrassment made it to the outside world. “Trip here went alright?”

“It went well. I could see that Graham was trying to not explode at me though, so we might see something like that soon.”

Ugh.

Rhoam was next out of the carriage, with Graham stepping out right after them. Rhoam looked happy, while Graham decidedly didn’t. Just like how Zelda described.

“Samus, thank you so much for dutifully searching for my daughter,” Rhoam thanked Samus, not noticing the look of shame on Zelda’s face. “You as well, Link. Both of you have done a great service.”

Link laughed and rubbed the back of his hair. “Oh it was nothing. We’re just glad to see Zelda back.”

“Yes, yes… But there are things to attend to.”

Samus couldn’t stop herself from groaning. Leave it to Graham to ruin a happy moment.

Graham pointed an accusatory finger at Zelda as he spoke, “I am incredibly disappointed in you Zelda, you betrayed a direct order from your father! And in doing so, you jeopardized the stability of Hyrule!”

“Now, now, Graham, her escape was justified! I fully side with my daughter,” Rhoam interjected.

“But sire, listen to reason! Without anyone to protect her, anyone could have harmed your daughter with nothing to stop them!”

“I’m sorry Graham, I don’t agree. Considering the amazing feat we just witnessed Zelda performing, I’d say that she is fully capable of defending herself!”

The sight of the argument made Samus’ blood boil. How could Graham not see the obvious? Zelda was perfectly capable! Certainly stronger than him! But before she could interject, Link whispered to Samus and Zelda to get their attention.

“You two should get out of here,” Link whispered.

“Are you sure?” Zelda whispered back.

“Yeah, I’ll take care of this,” Link assured them. “I know you two have been missing each other.”

Zelda thought about it for all of a second, before she charged a bit of magic into her palm. “In that case…”

A massive cloud of smoke overtook everything in a several meter radius around Zelda, blinding everyone except Samus. While everyone else jumped at the suddenness of it all, Samus saw Zelda running away.

‘Did she just-’

Samus was quick to follow Zelda out of the courtyard, seeing her laughing while leaning against a wall.

One question burned in Samus’ mind, “Was that a smoke bomb?”

“Yep!” Zelda answered between giggles. “Another Sheikah technique. Might not have been super necessary, but come on! I’m sure we both have read stories about ninjas, I couldn’t resist.”

Samus awkwardly laughed with Zelda. Seeing her crush filled with so much life after the weeks she spent in isolation lifted her spirits immensely. Her time away had been completely worth it.

“But anyway, should we go to my room?”

“Actually, uh, it would probably be best if we go to my ship.”

Zelda stopped at her realization. “... Heh, I almost forgot. Yeah- uh- well, lead the way?”

Zelda seemed nervous. Genuinely so. Did it mean anything? Samus’ mind was racing too fast to properly consider the possibility. With a quickness in her step, Samus led them both to her Gunship, parked in the courtyard she used back when she first arrived on ND-821. So much time had passed from that point. Like Adam said before, this mission ballooned in complexity to such a massive degree. Samus wouldn’t have it any other way.

Zelda had been in the Gunship before, but this was a completely different context. The thought of Zelda being in this space made Samus’ heart race.

“I’m sorry about the mess…” Samus apologized as she pushed around several loose articles of clothes on the ground.

“No, it’s fine-” Zelda apologized as she helped Samus to push everything into a corner. It wasn’t great, but it would have to do for now. “My room can be plenty messy most of the time.”

Maybe in a better state of mind she would have responded, but she couldn’t right now. She quickly picked up a casual outfit with her left hand. “I’ll change in the cockpit. Just, uh, wait here for a moment.”

“Okay! No worries.” Zelda sat down on the edge of Samus’ bed. “Take your time.”

Struggling not to think about Zelda sitting on her bed, Samus entered the cockpit. She made absolutely sure that the door was closed and that Zelda couldn’t hear anything before her shoulders slumped and she let out all of her nervous energy into a massive sigh.

“I see your friend Zelda is here in the ship’s living quarters,” Adam commented. “Why is she here?”

Samus didn’t answer at first, choosing instead to tap a few buttons on her Arm Cannon. With that, the suit slowly melted off Samus’ body into the capsule in the back that housed it normally. As soon as the helmet left her face she gasped in shock, but quickly came down from her anxiety. Thank goodness she didn’t have a mental breakdown with her crush just beyond the door. “Take a wild guess.”

“Is she perhaps here to help clean your messy living space?”

Samus glared at Adam’s display as she pulled a shirt down her torso.

“I kid. Of course Zelda is here in relation to your affection for her.”

“Yeah,” Samus sighed as she put on a pair of jeans. “I’m gonna tell her.”

“I see. In that case, do not allow yourself to fall into despair if Zelda rejects your advances. It would not do you good, especially in your current mission.”

Samus scoffed. “Wow Adam, thank you for the vote of confidence!”

“I am simply trying to help you in the best way I can. That is my purpose after all.” Adam explained. “Sometimes I misjudge what the best course of action would be, and I apologize for that. Please understand that I am trying to act in your best interest.”

The glare that Samus gave Adam could kill a Moblin where it stood, but Samus eventually relented. The real Adam acted the same way. When others didn’t believe that she was a woman, Adam had taken to calling her ‘Lady’. It was a bullheaded solution to their problem, Adam himself being a bullheaded man. For all of his faults, he did genuinely care about Samus, and showed it in his own special way. Samus had to respect that. Sometimes you need someone to be hard on you to move forward.

Samus considered all of this as she laced up the pair of combat boots that she grabbed earlier. Far from the feminine ideal, but it was what Samus was most comfortable in. Comfort was a necessity for what she was about to do. She turned back to Adam, “Just don’t interrupt us unless it is an emergency.”

“Understood. And Lady?”

Samus’ attention focused squarely on Adam.

“Good luck.”

Samus smiled.

Saying that Zelda was incredibly nervous would be an understatement. This was the first time she had seen Samus in a month, and they were jumping to such a massive level of intimacy. She had seen Samus outside of her Power Suit before, but that was a purely utilitarian thing, in order to trick Bellum. Back then she wasn’t thinking about Samus in the way she was now. Zelda feared that Samus’ radiant beauty would blind her, making her completely unable to function. That wouldn’t do, Zelda had a plan to enact.

She was going to tell Samus she loved her.

Impa had made clear to Zelda not to doubt herself, that she was capable of anything. To not make the same mistake she did. Zelda considered that for a moment. Impa knew at that point that Zelda was in love with Samus. She had said then that she knew she could never be with the bounty hunter. Impa said not to doubt herself. ‘The same mistake I made’.

Did Impa love someone the same way that Zelda loves Samus? The possibility amazed her, but it made complete sense. But she quickly shook herself out of those thoughts. Thinking about her mentor when she should be focusing on Samus wouldn’t do.

Speak of the devil and she shall arrive, The door to the cockpit slid open. Zelda looked up and-

Goddess above Samus was beautiful. Her outfit was simple, a white tank top and a pair of denim jeans, with a pair of combat boots on her feet. Her hair was tied up in its signature messy ponytail that allured Zelda so much. She stood in the doorframe awkwardly, so unused to being so vulnerable. She was so beautiful.

Was Zelda blushing? Probably. Maybe. Whatever, don’t think about that right now. “You look amazing.”

A small blush spread across Samus’ face as she looked away. “Thanks.”

The two were stuck there, caught up in their own affection for each other. Both forced themselves out of it. They needed full control over themselves to fulfill their objectives

“So…” Zelda hesitantly said before she patted the spot next to her on the bed. “Sit down?”

Samus awkwardly did so, after a few seconds of silently pumping herself up. The two sat there together sharing no words between each other. The urge to just let their love burst forth was strong, but they resisted. There was no way that their affections were actually reciprocated, right?

But Zelda felt spurred on. She slowly turned to Samus, taking her vulnerable form in. She was just as tall outside the Power Suit as in. Her muscles on her arms were massive, well defined. Never before did Zelda consider muscles attractive, but that was before she saw such muscles on a woman. Now she realized how amazing they looked.

Something else stood out to her too. Samus’ arms were covered with scars. Several lines of damaged skin, patches of raised, hard tissue. The signs of wear and tear that showed Samus’ history across decades.

Samus must have noticed Zelda was studying her scars, as she began speaking, “Yeah. My line of work is… rarely safe.”

Zelda felt horrible. These scars were visible signs of what the world had done to her. “I could fix them with my magic, if you’d like.”

“No.” Samus was quick to insist. “... These scars are reminders of what I’ve been through. I… I don’t want to forget.”

Zelda remembered Link saying something similar after his final battle with Ganon. A sign that you faced adversity and survived to tell the tale. She could understand that, even if she felt queasy thinking of everything Samus had been through.

“Can I feel them?”

At first, nothing.

Zelda at first thought that Samus didn’t want Zelda to touch her, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. The idea of Zelda caressing Samus made her mind blank. Just, don’t get too excited, Samus told herself, don’t let yourself lose control over this. Instead of answering verbally, Samus held her arm out to Zelda, inviting her.

An awkward energy filled Zelda as she slowly raised her hand to Samus’ arm. With a delicate touch, Zelda trailed her fingers along Samus’ scars, like Samus would break apart at a moment's notice. Samus didn’t need to be babied like this, she was strong! And yet, feeling Zelda touch her so softly made her heart beat out of her chest. Her face lit up in embarrassment, forcing her to turn away.

Zelda’s face was similarly lit up like a fire. Samus’ muscles were incredibly firm, built that way from decades of rigorous training and focus. The thought of those arms wrapped around her was too much to handle. In her dazed state, she placed her full hand against Samus’ arm, the contact making Samus tense her muscles and stand up from the bed, practically leaping away.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean-”

“No, it's- it's okay.” Samus reassured Zelda as she stood against the wall. “I- I jj-just wasn't expecting it.”

Zelda stared at Samus in shame, before her gaze fell downward. ”Still, that wasn’t right of me, I-”

“Zelda.”

The call for attention made Zelda shoot her gaze up. Samus looked so anxious. She held her arms closed, wrapping them around her torso. Her gaze was focused slightly to the side of Zelda. The tension in the air felt heavy.

“Zelda… You’re the first friend, and best friend, I’ve ever had. Our relationship is very important to me.”

Zelda could feel her heart swell at Samus’ words. “I treasure our relationship too.”

Samus swelled at Zelda’s response, but it quickly diminished. There was more after all. “But…”

Zelda sat back to fully focus on Samus’ words. Samus herself could feel them on the tip of her tongue. This was it. After Samus said these next words, there would be no going back. A part of her wanted to change course, to keep their relationship as it currently stood. At least that path wouldn’t risk their friendship turning sour. But no. Samus Aran was not one to back down from a challenge, and this was no exception.

“What if… I said I wanted there to… be more, between us.”

And there it was, out in the open air. The silence that followed was devastating. Samus just wanted it to end already! Zelda looked at Samus with a neutral expression, so she couldn’t tell what Zelda was thinking. But that wouldn’t last for long.

Zelda took in a deep breath, clenched her fists on her lap, and responded, “... What if I said I felt the same way?”

Her brain halted for a second, not even processing the words. But when she did, her gaze shot up at Zelda. Their gazes met, and both of them saw the same thing. A bewildered amazement at their shared affections.

“D-did you really just say that?” Samus asked.

Zelda laughed, “Did you really say that?”

“I- Oh my god.” Samus stepped back and leaned against the metal walls. Her arms shot up and rested on her head as she stared into the distance at nothing in particular. Her focus regained and she looked at Zelda again, “Are we talking about the same thing? Do we..?”

Zelda laughed, a combination of amazement and incredulity showing on her face. “I think we are… at least, I hope we are.”

“... Yy-you’ll have to say it. I- I need to be sure.”

“Well in that case…” Zelda stood up from the bed and stepped forward. The way Samus looked at her, with stars in her wide open eyes, it did things to her. “Samus… I’ve fallen for you. I’ve felt this way during our whole separation, and I couldn’t stand to be away from you.”

Samus looked at Zelda in amazement. Was this really happening? There was no- wait- “Wait- wait, when did..?”

“Oh uh…” Zelda paused. “It was when we got back from the ocean.”

Samus scoffed. “You’re fucking with me. That’s when I realized.”

The laughter that followed from both of them was absolutely infectious, fueled by once powerful anxieties rendered mute. Samus leaned further back into the wall for support, while Zelda rested her hands on her knees.

Samus was the first to recover. “God, we are both idiots.”

“Goddess above…”

The laughter died out, but the warmth between them remained. The two looked at each other with new eyes, their relationship forever changed for the better. Samus then realized something else. Zelda was only a few steps away from her. That distance lessened as Zelda slowly stepped forward up to Samus. The bounty hunter pressed herself further into the way in an instinctual effort to get away, but eventually relented, letting the distance between them lessen even more.

Zelda looked away as she spoke, “I don’t have any experience with this, but… from what I’ve read… This is where we- uh…”

Oh goodness, was this going where Samus thought it was going? The way that Zelda was looking away, her upper teeth biting into her lower lip, like… Samus’ face lit up in a blazing inferno, her heart pounded like she was in the most intense fight of her life. At that moment, words could not come to her. But Zelda was quick to step in when Samus was unable to.

“Samus… may I kiss you?”

No words could come to her, she was far too overwhelmed. But Samus wanted it, god she wanted it. So she slowly nodded. 

The distance between them became miniscule, but even that wasn’t enough. Samus’ hands left their spot at her sides and slowly raised forward. A look at Zelda gave Samus all the confirmation she needed; Zelda wanted this just as much as she did. So Samus put her hands on Zelda’s sides and slowly pulled her closer. Their bodies were almost completely flushed together. The warmth shared between them felt so amazing. So intoxicating.

And then it was time. Zelda slowly closed her eyes as her lips pursed, and Samus did the same. She slowly leaned forward-

“Wait-” Zelda said before pulling the slightest bit away. Samus felt bad at first, did she do something wrong? But the look Zelda gave her, one kindness and understanding, it reassured her. “I’m sorry. It’s just, there was something… poking me.”

Zelda was the first to look down with Samus following her immediately afterwards. Both of them saw it as clear as day. Inside the front of Samus’ jeans stood a mound, just large enough that Zelda noticed it touching her when the two were flushed together.

“Strange…” Zelda commented as she slowly looked up. “What is-”

Zelda stopped.

Samus looked horrified.

Her eyes were opened wide in shock as her entire body trembled. Her hands shot away from Zelda’s body like she was burned from the contact. The look Samus gave Zelda, like she was so afraid of her, it made Zelda completely stop in place. Never before had she seen Samus like this.

“Samus, I- what’s wrong?”

But Samus didn’t answer. She stepped away from the wall, slowly at first, but then in a full sprint towards the Gunship’s exit. 

“Samus! Wait!” Zelda called out, but Samus didn’t stop. The doors closed behind her and the telltale sound of the ship’s hatch opening signaled her leave. Zelda was quick to run after her.

That moment, where Samus chose to run instead of talk to Zelda, seemed like the most reasonable thing to do at the time. That reason was born from a terrified anxiety, of accidentally showing too much. It wasn’t rational. Later, Samus would despair over her choice, as that was the moment where everything went wrong.

Chapter Text

In Samus’ rational mind, she realized that running out into the castle grounds without her Power Suit on to disguise her true identity was a very bad idea.

But Samus’ rational mind wasn’t present at the moment. No, Samus was too much of a terrified wreck to do that. The sudden reveal of her greatest secret had pushed her into a frenzy. Maybe with time she could have built up to the point where coming out would be impossible, but that ship had sailed. Zelda knew the truth, and she learned it in the worst way possible! Zelda must have been so uncomfortable, anyone would feel that way if an erection poked them during an emotional moment! Samus needed to get away, and that was what she did.

“Samus!” The voice of Zelda yelled from inside the Gunship, the hatch opening to let Zelda fall to the ground.

Zelda was making getting away difficult. So Samus did the one thing that seemed rational at the time, she ran. Running through the halls of Hyrule Castle left her more exposed than she had ever been before.

If she was thinking clearly, she might have noticed how she ran past a grumbling Graham, jumping back from the sheer speed of Samus. At first he was confused, but Zelda following the stranger gave him an answer.

“Samus! Come back!” She yelled as she continued running in the distance.

Graham was absolutely shocked. That woman running past was Samus!? He always wondered what the bounty hunter looked like under that mask, and now he had his answer. As he considered what this meant, a devious grin sprouted on Graham’s face. A plan began to form.

Samus continued to run, and Zelda continued to run after her. Samus had no destination in mind, simply the raw emotional desire to get away from Zelda. When she realized she was running in the direction of Zelda’s room, she got an idea. She dashed through the door, paying no mind to the maids cleaning Zelda’s room who jumped away from her in shock, and focused exclusively on the balcony on the other side of the room. With Zelda hot on her trail, Samus didn’t hesitate. She jumped over the railing several stories below, landing in a roll so she could continue running without injury. The forest surrounding the castle stood before her, and she entered without hesitation.

Zelda watched Samus do all of this from right behind her. A part of her was shocked that Samus pulled off such a feat without her Power Suit, but she quickly shook that away. Focus on getting to Samus. Zelda followed Samus’ path down the balcony, landing in a very similar roll.

While Zelda’s stride was controlled and efficient, Samus’ was wild. With the uneven forest floor in her way, she quickly tripped over a branch, falling flat on her face. Zelda gasped at the sight, running up to her side to help her. “Samus! Are you-”

But Samus was quick to scramble away from Zelda, struggling to push herself up to her feet. She leaned against a tree, her exhaustion finally catching up to her.

Zelda was shocked. She had never seen the bounty hunter so scared! It was a strange thing to witness. “Samus? Are you okay?” But Samus wouldn’t answer. Zelda continued, “Whatever that was back there, it doesn’t change anything. I just want to understand.”

Slowly but surely Samus’ breathing slowed. Her entire body felt like jelly, her limbs barely functional from the stress. Her brain was engulfed in a lazy fog. But those were slowly fading as well. Eventually she was left awkwardly leaning against a tree while Zelda looked on with worry. If there really is a Goddess out there, Samus silently wished, then please just kill me now. That would be better than this.

But Samus slowly pushed through those feelings too. Her mouth hesitantly opened and she spoke, “Zelda… I…”

And then suddenly it was like she was all there, from the corner of her eye she saw a bolt of dark magic shoot at Zelda through the trees. At that moment, Samus didn’t consider anything else. She tackled Zelda out of the way, taking the dark bolt straight on. Dark electricity sparked across her entire body as her muscles spasmed painfully.

“Samus!” Zelda gasped, but two pairs of hands darted from out of nowhere to pull her away and keep her in place before she could help her. Cia teleported in soon afterwards.

“Can you believe this Zant? The princess was foolish enough to leave herself so exposed!” The taunting voice of Ghirahim spoke from behind her. “I’m almost disappointed! At least give us a challenge!”

Zant responded from Zelda’s other side, “With all the trouble those two fools had, I’m glad we don’t have to deal with that mess.”

“Both of you shut up,” Cia ordered before she kneeled over the prone form of Samus. “I am curious though. The Samus Aran I knew wouldn’t be so careless as to come out here without her precious suit of armor. What would drive you to do such a thing? Let’s find out.”

Samus frantically tried to push herself away from Cia, but her muscles were still useless from the attack she took at full force, giving no resistance as Cia placed her entire palm against Samus’ face. Samus did her best to resist, but nothing could stop Cia from getting what she wanted.

“... Oh. So the secret is out then. All of that work to make yourself a place here, gone in an instant. You got too careless. Now they see you for what you are. A freak.”

Zelda pulled against the two holding her in place, but Ghirahim and Zant’s grip on her were too strong. “Don’t listen to her, she’s lying!”

“Shut it princess! You know nothing of what Samus is! Deviants like him have no place in this world!” The wicked voice of Cia screamed at Zelda. “But don’t worry. You will never see Samus again now. Your blood will be the final piece we need to bring back our Master. Ganon will return!”

It felt like her entire body was on fire, but the pain was minimal compared to letting Zelda be taken away by these monsters. She raised her arms up in a feeble effort to reach Zelda, a gesture which Zelda did her best to reciprocate, but it was much too late. Zant and Girahim teleported the frantic Zelda, leaving Samus and Cia alone in the forest.

Cia looked down at Samus with disgust. “You should be happy. The world we create with Ganon’s power will be a paradise. No more strife, no more hatred. All will be as one.”

Samus growled with all the hatred she could muster in her weakened body. “Nnn-not if I have anything to ss-ss-ssay about it.”

“You’ll see the beauty in my vision with time, as everyone will. Sit back, and witness the birth of a better world.”

And with that, Cia collapsed into a veil of dark magic, disappearing from sight.

For a while, Samus could only stare at the place where Cia once was, her entire body limp from the shock. Zelda was gone. The Children of Ganon took her. They didn’t even have to put up a fight, they got the drop on Samus while she was without her Power Suit. Just one attack was enough to do her in.

Samus’ self hatred spiked when she realized Zelda was gone because of her. She ran away from her problems instead of facing them head on. She gave the Children of Ganon the perfect opportunity to get the drop on them. Some bodyguard she was, huh. Samus slowly pushed herself off the forest floor, her limbs weak from the pain and her whirling emotions. No single thought could be identified in the horrific spiral that was Samus’ mind. Every one of those thoughts was pointed in the same direction: Samus Aran was a horrible person. She let her best friend get kidnapped over a stupid mistake. She really was a freak, just like Cia said. Maybe she doesn’t deserve to live.

The sounds of footsteps and a yelling voice indicated that several people were approaching her, but Samus’ brain was so fucked from the pain that she barely noticed them. It was only when several hands pulled her to her feet that she had the sense to take in what was happening around her.

Graham was there, along with dozens of guards and Rhoam himself. Every single one of them looked at Samus with some form of contempt. Rhoam carried a loathsome disappointment, while Graham held a powerful hatred. Graham pointed accusingly at Samus and said, “It is just as I described! Samus let the princess get kidnapped! He- or I guess she- is the enemy!”

What? No! Samus may be a failure and a screw up and a piece of shit and a freak but she didn’t let Zelda get caught intentionally! She wanted so desperately to defend herself, but the sensations were all too much. Several pairs of hands touched her skin, keeping her locked in place, the places where they held bare skin felt like they were being burned. All of the gazes focused on her felt like they weighed tons. The sights and sounds that would have been filtered out by her Power Suit were now hitting her at full force. It took a substantial amount of effort to keep herself from screaming or bursting into tears.

“I knew there was something funny about Samus, I always knew! I recommend you lock Samus up in the dungeon. Scum like her doesn’t deserve the light of day!” The shouts of Graham filled the forest, shooting pins and needles into Samus’ ears.

Rhoam had yet to say a word, choosing instead to study the display before him. Samus looked at Rhoam with what could only be described as chaotic terror. Samus’ mind was truly lost, if not completely than at least in the present moment. Something had to be done.

“You were right, Graham. I apologize, I had failed to see what you had seen this whole time,” Rhoam spoke to Graham, before turning to the guards around him. “Take Samus away to the dungeon. The rest of you look for my daughter. I will not let her be lost again!”

All of the guards saluted in attention to their king. Most of them stuck around to search for clues as to Zelda’s whereabouts, while the ones keeping Samus in place dragged her back to the castle. With everything happening around her, Samus only focused on one thing.

It’s my fault. It’s all my fault. I’m a failure.

This was the second time that Rhoam had lost his daughter, and this time he was not making the same mistakes he once did. Every single working set of eyes in Hyrule had been recruited to search for her. Every magician worth their salt in Hyrule was dragged to the castle and tasked with searching where the Children of Ganon had gone. But even that wasn’t enough. The Children knew how to hide their tracks well. No magical traces remained at the sight where Zelda had been kidnapped. Rhoam partially blamed himself. If he had not trusted Samus so much, then Zelda would still be here.

Samus. The bounty hunter from the stars. Everything Rhoam knew about him was a lie. Samus wasn’t a he, for starters, Samus was a she. Did Zelda know of Samus’ true identity? Maybe that was the link that brought the two together so quickly. The two could relate to the trials of femininity more than Rhoam ever could. Samus had used that to her advantage to get closer to Zelda, close enough that she could spring a devious trap against her friend. How despicable.

Link was quick to insist that Samus was innocent and that there must have been some sort of misunderstanding, but he was quickly shot down. Rhoam loved the boy, truly, but he could be hopelessly naive. His own friend was gone, kidnapped by a horrible cult to resurrect their Dark Lord, and he was defending the one who let that all happen!

Rhoam shook those thoughts away. Now was not the time to consider that, it was time to find his daughter. It had only been a few hours since Zelda’s kidnapping. Rhoam knew that expecting progress in such a short time frame was unrealistic, but he still worried. Every second wasted threatened the death of Zelda, Rhoam would do anything, which was why he and Graham entered the dungeon of Hyrule Castle.

The dungeon looked like exactly what you expect when you think of a ‘dungeon’. Dark stone walls, dim light only coming off of torches, and iron bars keeping prisoners in barely hospitable cells. This was where Samus was put after she was caught helping the Children of Ganon capture Zelda.

“It’s not worth it, my king. Samus has been lying to us from the start, who knows if whatever she tells us is true?” Graham insisted as he followed Rhoam down the dark halls of the dungeon.

Rhoam shook his head, “We have no other choice. I will take any opportunity that returns my daughter safely to me.”

The sight of Samus in her cell made him temporarily forget who they were dealing with. The poor woman was curled up into a ball in the corner of the cell, desperate to protect herself from the outside world. Her breathing was slow, practically catatonic. She was a broken shell of a woman. Of course she was, Rhoam realized, she had sold her soul to dark influences. She did not deserve any pity or care.

Rhoam stood firmly in front of the cell, his firm voice asking one simple question, “Where is my daughter?”

The time it took Samus to respond in any way at all resulted in such a powerful tension that was barely relieved when Samus finally stirred, even slightly. Her body shifted in just such a way that only a part of her face was revealed. A single blue eye, slightly hidden behind her messy blonde hair, stared at her visitors. No more words were shared.

“Was there any point during your friendship that Zelda meant something to you? Any point at all where she was more than a target?” Rhoam asked. “If there was, then help us save her. Please.”

“I don’t know where she is.”

Rhoam and Graham starred as Samus finally moved from her spot curled up on the ground. She laid down on her side, and looked up at the king with an emotionless disposition. Graham looked furious that Samus would treat the king with such disrespect, but Samus didn’t have the heart to care. Not now, not ever.

“And I didn’t sell out, despite what you may think. I want to save her,” Samus explained as she pushed herself off the floor. “Let me out, and Zelda will be back within the day. I promise.”

“Oh, don’t try to trick us with that! We’ve found your ship, and taken all of your dark instruments. You’ll never get the chance to hurt the Royal Family again!” Graham spieled.

Rhoam looked unconvinced by Samus. He enjoyed the presence of the bounty hunter, and saw value in Samus and Zelda’s friendship. For Samus to betray that… “I’m sorry, Samus. I simply don’t trust you anymore.”

Samus slumped back down. “Sorry I’m not the man you were expecting.”

The sight of Samus in this state of utter dejection made Rhoam’s heart twist. He enjoyed Samus’ company, he loved conversing with her. Was all of that a mirage? A trick to get closer to his daughter? Rhoam didn’t want to believe that, but with the turmoil in his life, he didn’t know what to believe anymore. The king stormed out without a word, with Graham following him close behind.

A sigh escaped Samus as she was finally alone. Well, not alone, there were guards stationed outside her cell to make sure she wouldn’t escape. But it was the best she could get in the situation. Less people bothered her while she was ruminating. 

Samus was strong, but not strong enough to pry open the bars of her cell with her bare hands, no, she would need her Power Suit. There was no way that she was getting that anytime soon, so she would need to come up with a different escape plan. The guards outside had the keys for her cell, but these guys were smart enough not to keep the keys on a ring hanging from their back, so that was out. Maybe she could trick one of the guards into opening her cell. Maybe if she stayed still for long enough, the guards would think she was dead and come check on her. No, no. That was too stupid to work. Samus needed to do something now. The more time she wasted, the more likely that Zelda was gonna be hurt, or killed.

It was so hard to think when this feeling of emptiness engulfed Samus. All of her overthinking, it had collapsed into that single feeling. So much had happened within the last day. Now that Samus was without her Power Suit, her body was subjected to the physical needs that the Power Suit once maintained. It was all so much. She was so tired.

So… Tired…

“Hey.”

The sound of greeting made Samus shoot awake. On the other side of the bars of the cell stood Link. His green garb stood out in the dark barely lit dungeon. However long Samus was out wasn’t enough to fully revitalize her, so she turned around and slumped back to the floor.

Link sighed, “Come on, Samus, can we not do this right now?”

“... What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I just mean that we should go save Zelda. I know she doesn’t need it, but I would be much more comfortable if we actually did something.”

Samus didn’t respond.

The sight of Samus being so silent made Link uncomfortable. He turned to look at the guards stationed there and waved at them to leave. The guards were hesitant at first, but they stepped away so that they wouldn’t hear what the two were talking about

With the two alone, Link finally felt comfortable asking, “What happened?”

Samus sighed, she knew it was going to come to this. She took a second to sit up against the wall before speaking, “I panicked and I ran, like an idiot. The Children took advantage of that when we left Hyrule Castle. I fucked up.”

“... So what are you doing in this cell?”

“Graham found me after Zelda was taken,” Samus explained, “And he convinced Rhoam that I intended for this to happen.”

“Damn it,” Link swore. “Graham why do you have to do this now?”

“I’m sure Rhoam wasn’t happy to see this face either. He requested a man specifically in his job offering.” Samus didn’t joke that she was a man anyway, at least, not verbally.

Link pondered Samus' statement for a moment. “That doesn’t… sound like the King. But whatever. You wanna save her?”

“Of course,” Samus admitted instantly. “But I can’t do that in a cell.”

“Then you need to get out of here. They have most of your equipment from your ship in the vaults, but I managed to sneak something small over here. Think you can do something with this?”

From behind his back Link pulled out- Samus laughed at the sight of it- her emergency stun pistol. The same one she used to escape the Space Pirates in her first independent mission, and against that EMMI controlled by Bellum. Samus stood up to grab the pistol from Link and spent time studying the thing in her hands. It was fully charged thankfully, but the output levels were much too high. At this level they would stun a Space Pirate temporarily and barely dent an EMMI, but it would seriously injure a normal Hylian. She made sure to lower the output level substantially to the point where it would only stun a Hylian without hurting them.

“Yeah, this is good.” Samus answered as she got used to the feel of the pistol in her hands.

“Good, and Samus?” Samus looked up from her pistol to Link, “Good luck.”

And with that, Link walked away. His departure would signal to the guards to return to their stations, which was confirmed as the guards walked back into view, returning to their positions before. Samus made sure to hide the pistol from view. Once the guards were looking away, Samus made her attempt.

A stun bolt hit one of the guards in the back, making him convulse and fall to the ground. The other guard barely had time to react before a strong pair of arms reached through the bars and grabbed him from behind. One kept him in place with unnatural strength while the other placed a strange instrument on the side of her face.

“Give me the keys, or I'll shoot.” The voice of Samus ordered.

“N-never!” The guard yelled, “I’ll never yield to a prisoner!”

“You saw what happened to your friend over there. Can you imagine how your family would react, seeing your body?”

The guard gasped as Samus pushed the barrel of the pistol harder into his cheek. It was a brutal treatment, one that made Samus squeamish inside, but she couldn’t afford half measures here. Zelda was in trouble after all. The guard wouldn’t be hurt anyway.

But the guard didn’t know that, he thought that he was almost about to die. With that pressure weighing down on him, he shakily reached into a pocket of his armor and pulled out a small ring of keys. Samus was quick to grab the keys from the guards hands and pull away the pistol. Before the guard could feel relief, Samus shot a stun bolt into the Hylian’s back. Second verse, same as the first, he fell onto the ground unconscious but not hurt.

It only took a few tries for Samus to find the right key and unlock the door to her cell. The first thing she did was check the pulses of the guards she shot. She had set the output level right, they were still very much alive. Samus breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn’t forgive herself if she actually killed those two. Just to be safe she lowered the output some more.

Now that Samus was free, she needed to get her Power Suit. But then what? She had no idea where the Children of Ganon hid their base of operations. She couldn’t search all of Hyrule by herself.

But she didn’t need to. Samus had an idea.

Zelda grunted in pain as Girahim and Zant pushed her into a rudimentary cell. After the Children of Ganon teleported her away, they had thoroughly searched her body for any weapons or tools that would allow her to escape, her shōzoku left tattered. It was humiliating. They forced a plain shirt over her head to protect her dignity at least a little bit, but Zelda could tell they did it as a way of mocking her position as royalty. Powerful binds enforced by dark magic were forced around her wrists that limited her use of magic. The Children of Ganon were not taking any chances.

The door of the cell closed with a loud metallic thud as her jailors laughed at her. Girahim was the first to speak, “How humiliating, a princess lowered to such horrible standards!”

Zant’s satisfaction came through his words, “Finally, A royal snob gets what she deserves.”

“Yes, yes! This has been a long time coming!” A pair of women said at the same time. Zelda overheard their names earlier in the hustle of her capture, was it Koume and Kotake?

While her brothers and sisters celebrated their victory, Cia looked on from the back of the group, her long cloak keeping her face obscured. Without seeing her face, it was impossible to tell how she felt, but Zelda could easily sense the powerful dark magic aura that emanated from her. It was a horrible, powerful thing.

“I understand your desire to celebrate, my brothers and sisters, but there is much to be done.” Cia’s voice tore through all of the celebrations, the Children of Ganon ceasing instantly at her decree. “The ritual must be prepared. Ganon will return to us tonight. The celebration can occur then.”

The manic excitement from Girahim made Zelda feel uneasy, “Oh Ganon, our great leader! We have pledged our lives to you, the ritual you entrusted to us will finally be completed! It’s such a shame that one of our own will be absent from the celebrations.”

“He is hard at work keeping the castle busy,” Zant responded, “But enough. Let us begin preparations.”

It was like Zelda suddenly stopped existing, as the Children of Ganon were only interested in the return of their master. They chanted and danced as they slowly left Zelda’s cell alone. Soon Cia was the only person left with Zelda.

“You should be grateful for this opportunity,” Cia explained to Zelda. “You will be the catalyst for the Dark Lord’s return.”

Zelda sighed, “I don’t think so, I don’t want to see the deaths of my friends and family.”

Cia laughed. “Right. Your friends. Like Samus?”

Zelda slumped in her cell at the mention of Samus. The incident earlier with her still fresh in Zelda’s mind.

“I’m sure you’re curious about what happened between the two of you. Allow me to enlighten you.” Cia said. Zelda had the feeling she would not like what she was about to hear. “Samus is a freak. A deviant who spits in the face of the natural order. People of his type manipulate those around them into seeing a false reality, a false reality that he has you ensnared in.”

“No. You’re lying.”

“You will see. Samus will undoubtedly come to rescue you before the ritual can properly be carried out. Once he arrives, I will strike him down, and expose him as the monster he is.”

Zelda wanted to protest, to scream and protect her friend, but what was the point of it? Doing so would not accomplish anything. She was still captured by the Children of Ganon. Her binds were powerful, she wouldn’t be able to escape on her own. “Samus will come. She will stop all of you, and prove that she isn’t the monster that you say she is.”

Cia laughed, “We shall see! We shall see…”

Cia continued to laugh as she walked away leaving Zelda alone in her horribly cramped cell. The darkness overwhelmed her, and she was terribly cold. She pulled at her bindings just to test them again, and yes, the dark magic inside the bindings made it impossible for Zelda to escape. All she could do was wait for Samus to save her.

Such a task would be impossible, not even the Sheikah had been able to find the Children of Ganon’s whereabouts, but Zelda had an idea. The Children were thorough at searching her, but they assumed that she would use magic to hide any tools or weapons on her. Her time at the Sheikah had given her a handle on sleight of hand, and she used that to her advantage today.

She felt the outline of her PDA under her shōzoku. She never took it off her person during the month that she had been away in Sheikah Village, and she refused to part ways with it even now. It was trivial to simply hide the device out of sight, and now the stage was set. Samus was able to use the PDA to determine her exact location while she hid at Sheikah Village, and this time would be no different. 

‘I’ll wait for you, Samus. I know you will save me. I only hope that you are not falling into despair over my capture. I’ll be alright, and we’ll be reunited surely.’

‘I have a failed kiss to make up for after all.’

Chapter Text

The vaults of Hyrule Castle were not a single location. In order to protect the valuables of the Royal Family, several vaults were placed in secret locations in Hyrule Castle. Only the King knew the location of all of them. And Samus’ gear had been hidden in these vaults.

Not an issue for Samus. She was really good at searching spaces like these.

Her stun pistol might be enough to knock any Hylian out of commission, but she still didn’t want to put the castle on high alert. A fight with dozens of guards was not what she needed right now.  Of course, news of Samus’ escape would have gotten out quickly and the guards would be on high alert. That was unavoidable. Better to get this done as quickly as possible. Her time in Hyrule Castle allowed her to scan the structure with the Power Suit, showing her points of interest throughout the castle. One of these points of interest were right by the dungeons, so she naturally went there first. There were no guards at the entrance to the vault of course, it would only reveal there was a vault there. So Samus was free to open the way through a hidden switch in the wall.

Samus quickly entered the vault and made sure it was closed behind her. Riches beyond measure filled the vault, but that wasn’t what she cared about. In the center of the vault layed a PDA and her pair of Jet Boots. No Power Suit, but it was better than nothing. She quickly activated the PDA and connected wirelessly to her Gunship.

“Samus, you and Zelda ran from the ship without warning,” Adam’s robotic voice spoke through the connection. “What happened?”

Samus groaned, “Zelda’s been captured, and I was framed for it. They locked me in the dungeon.”

“I see. The situation is dire then,” Adam responded. “That doesn’t exactly explain why you two ran from the ship.”

Samus froze. “That- that doesn’t matter.”

“... I suppose it does not. Zelda’s PDA is still returning her location, if this is to be believed, then Zelda is being kept in a cave inside of Death Mountain.”

Of course a cult worshiping the Dark Lord would shack up in a place literally called ‘Death Mountain’. The sheer contrivance of it all made Samus’ blood boil. She let those feelings simmer inside of her as she affixed the Jet Boots to the combat boots she was currently wearing. This piece of hardware improved Samus’ agility and speed, breaching the gap between her with her Power Suit and her without. In a situation like this, where she was forced to work without her Power Suit, it would be essential.

“If my predictions about the Children of Ganon are accurate, then they will perform the ritual in a few hours at nightfall. You have your mission then, Lady,” Adam ordered, “Recover your Power Suit and save Zelda. Any objections?”

“No sir.” Like Adam had to ask. With a press of a button the display cut out and Samus placed the PDA in her pocket. With the emergency pistol in her hand and her Jet Boots on her feet, Samus was as ready as she would be. After taking a moment to make sure that no one was outside the vault, Samus bounded down the hallway with the Jet Boots assisting her.

With Samus on the case, Link knew that Zelda would be found in an instant. Some of her strange technology would give her the princess’ exact location immediately, and her Gunship could take her there just as quickly. But that didn’t mean that Link could sit idly by. Something was wrong.

“I’m sure Rhoam wasn’t happy to see this face either. He requested a man specifically in his job offering.”

Link had spent plenty of time with the King of Hyrule since his return from his ocean voyage to know that this didn’t make any sense. Rhoam had never mentioned this to him in any of their talks, and Link knew that Rhoam didn’t care about gender, only fighting ability. He had stumbles, like everyone else, but Link could never see him specifying that.

As soon as Link left Samus with that strange weapon, he searched the castle thoroughly to find Rhoam. He needed to figure out what was going on. Eventually, Link found Rhoam and Graham ordering a platoon of troops.

“Spread out throughout Castle Town. Leave no stone unturned, and do it quickly,” Rhoam instructed the soldiers. “Every second risks losing Zelda, and I refuse to let that happen!”

“Yes sir!” The soldiers all responded before they turned and marched away.

A respectable effort, but it wouldn’t be enough. The Children of Ganon were masters of magic. They could be anywhere in Hyrule, possibly even out of Hyrule. Samus was the only one who could find them in the time provided. Link was determined to help her in that, and the best way of doing so would be to get the king on their side. So Link stepped forward.

Graham noticed Link approaching first, turning around to address the hero, “Ah Link. I’m sorry that you fell victim to Samus’ tricks.”

Link scoffed, “I didn’t fall victim to anything. Samus did not let Zelda get kidnapped.”

“You’re still on this, Link?” Rhoam asked as he also turned around. “Everything we knew about Samus was a lie, from the very start she was tricking us.”

“No, that’s not true!” Link affirmed. “Samus kept some secrets, like we all do!”

Rhoam shook his head. “Secrets are one thing, but Samus hid so much from us! And besides, Graham clearly witnessed the act, Samus made Zelda follow her and dragged her straight into a trap.”

“Exactly! Explain this to me, Link, why was Samus leading Zelda out of the castle?” Graham asked, pointing an accusatory glare at Link, who balked at the question. Link didn’t know the full details, but revealing the little he really did know would only make things worse for Samus. With Link unable to answer, Graham smirked and walked away.

Rhoam was quick to place a reassuring hand on Link’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Link. Samus is not the person any of us expected… Though I am confused. Why would she feel the need to hide the fact that she was a woman?”

Link’s eyes widened at Rhoam’s words. “Rhoam, I just talked to Samus, and she said that you specified a man when you sent out the request.”

Rhoam scoffed, but he quickly looked unsure. “I would say that is a strange thing to lie about, but I didn’t write that request myself.”

“You didn’t?”

“No, I asked Graham to handle it for me.” Rhoam turned around, “Graham, do you know-”

He never got his answer. Only a wave of dark magic over his mind.

With a PDA connected wirelessly to her ship, it was easy to find the location of the Power Suit. It was being kept in the most secure vault of all, the one that once kept the Master Sword secure in the throne room. It had sat unused since the blade was stolen, and now finally had a use. Of course they would keep her greatest weapon in the most secure vault in the castle.

That left an obvious question, how was Samus supposed to get in that vault? She couldn’t open it with an emergency pistol and her Jump Boots, that was for sure. She would need something stronger. Perhaps one of the other vaults would have something.

Searching for an ability that would allow her to access a roadblock. A strange sense of deja-vu accompanied Samus as she sneaked through Hyrule Castle. That sense of deja-vu didn’t last for long, as she was pulled from when the sound of someone yelling at her from behind hit her ears.

“Samus!”

She cursed herself, letting herself get caught so easily. Well, it was time to face the music. Samus kept her grip on her pistol firm as she turned around-

Ah, fuck. “Robert.”

Robert of the Mandias family stood across from Samus holding a spear typical of castle guards. Other than a scar across his cheek, he looked the same as when the two sparred early in Samus’ work in Hyrule. A suit of armor traditionally worn by Hyrule Castle guards accented his frame. It was basic, but effective, and it clearly had been through alot. Scratches and dents covered the suit.

“You’re out of your cell,” Robert stated the obvious. “You’re a traitor, and so I have to take you in.”

Samus sighed. “I’m the only one who can save Zelda.”

“You say that when you’re the one who had her captured!”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Robert shook his head. He readied his spear and entered a combat stance as  “I’m sorry, I can’t let you go. I serve my King, and my King says that you are a traitor.”

The more Samus processed Robert’s words, the more her blood boiled. Such simplistic mindsets, ones that held the words of a single man higher than all others, Samus knew what it led to. Unchecked power was a dangerous thing, as absolute power corrupts absolutely. “If Rhoam ordered you to kill an innocent person, would you do it?”

Samus’ question knocked Robert off guard, like he never considered that something like that would happen. “I- I don’t-”

Samus had heard enough. The last thing she needed right now was for the entire castle to be alerted to Samus’ presence. She hated herself for what she was about to do, but she had no choice.

Her Jet Boots hummed to life, greatly increasing her speed as she shot forward towards Robert. His reaction time since then had gotten better, as he had his spear ready to intercept Samus, but it still wasn’t good enough. She vaulted over Robert and his spear, giving her full access to Robert’s back. The sights of the pistol locked onto the back of Robert’s exposed neck and fired, one shot being enough to knock him unconscious.

Without wasting a second, she pulled Robert’s limp body up and over her shoulder. She was quick to hide Robert’s body into a nearby closet. This would help mask Samus’ escape, but that was becoming harder with each passing moment. Someone was going to check on her in her cell. They probably already have. She stopped for only a moment to lower the power of her pistol even more before she began running.

Her Jet Boots flickered to life as they assisted Samus’ movement once more. Her powerful muscles combined with the artificial boost made her run as fast as a bullet. Her enhanced senses helped her detect the presence of Hylians in her path and allowed her to course correct. Before long she was standing in front of another of Hyrule Castle’s vaults. She pressed the hidden switch in the wall and the door opened just in time for her to slip through unnoticed.

Samus sighed in relief. She turned around-

“Fancy seeing you here.”

Graham was standing in the center of the vault. The presence of the advisor caused Samus to stop in her tracks. What was he doing here? How did he get in here anyway?

“I figured you would go to one of these vaults, so I decided to wait here for you,” Graham answered Samus’ unasked question.

Samus chuffed. “So if I chose any other vault I would’ve missed you?”

The jab made Graham laugh, ”Yet you chose this one, because you didn’t want to attract any attention. It was simple to place Hylians around the castle to direct your path.”

Samus didn’t like the sound of that. “And how did you do that?”

“Every magic user has a specialty that they are fond of,” Graham explained as he rubbed his hands together, dark magic shooting out like static electricity, “Zelda has her light constructs, Ganon preferred raw dark strength, Vaati was a summoner. As for me, my powers of suggestion are unmatched.”

For a moment there was silence, the tension weighing down on both inhabitants of the vault. Even the normal hustle and bustle of Hyrule Castle had seemingly stopped. And then-

“That’s it? Nothing else?” Samus was not impressed.

Graham scoffed, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Within the last week, I fought a woman who could mind control an entire town at the snap of her fingers and a guy who could turn into a dragon. Compared to them? You’re kind of pathetic.”

“How dare you,” Graham hissed with a venom typical of someone whose entire being was made up of hate. “This power allowed me to rise up to the King’s royal advisor, I’ve been practically controlling this Nation for the last five years!”

“Yeah, I don’t know about that,” Samus said. “Because I’ve seen how often Rhoam disagrees with you. And it’s only gotten worse with my arrival. That gives me an idea actually. Why don’t you use your powerful magic to control me? Bellum couldn’t because of my Power Suit, but I’m not wearing it right now. My mind is yours for the taken! Do it! Or are you unable to?”

The look of rage on Graham’s face only confirmed Samus’ hunch. Graham’s supernatural suggestion might have been effective against a weak willed mind, but when faced against someone with confidence in themselves and their ideals, Graham was hopeless. Maybe if Graham was more self assured like Samus and Rhoam he would be truly dangerous. But Graham was far from that point. He was a pathetic, unremarkable man that clawed at the coattails of his betters. He could influence Rhoam sometimes, but was completely powerless against Samus’ confidence in her beliefs.

While it was fun to taunt Graham, Samus had a job to do. So she casually walked around Graham to her stolen bits of gear, this time a few bombs and missiles, and delicately put them in her pockets.

“It was fun to taunt you, Graham,” Samus stated as she walked to the entrance of the vault, “But I really have things to-”

Standing outside the entrance to the vault were dozens and dozens of guards, each holding a sword or a spear and pointing them at her. Samus groaned. She should have expected this really. Graham began to monologue behind Samus, but she didn’t care enough to process what he was saying. It was just a waste of Samus’ time. Instead, she whipped her pistol around and shot at Graham several times. Despite having weak magic, Graham was able to dodge out of the way, screaming as dark magic enveloped him and he teleported away.

Coward.

Not a second was wasted thinking about Graham, as soon as he disappeared Samus’ Jet Boots hummed to life and she jumped over the group of guards around the exit to the vault. With her Jet Boots, it became easy to jump over every single one and land on the wall opposite of the vault. One massive wall jump later and she was completely free of the guards and able to run to her heart's content. The guards yelled after her and tried to give chase, but couldn’t keep up with Samus’ impressive speed. She dashed through the halls of Hyrule Castle, rapidly approaching her destination. 

With the throne room in sight, she pulled out a bomb and readied it in her hand, only to stop once she arrived. Standing in the middle of the throne room was Rhoam surrounded by several guards. In his hands he held a massive greatsword, holding it by the grip as the tip sat against the stone floor. That didn’t look good to say the least.

“I’m sorry Samus, but your escape ends here,” Rhoam stated authoritatively. “I will not allow you to return to your dark coven.”

Samus’s brow furrowed at that. Graham must have gotten the drop on him, that would explain his level of control. “Where’s Link?”

“He has been detained for aiding in your escape. What does it matter?”

“He could tell you that this is complete bullshit.”

“Ha! Unfortunately, Link isn’t here right now. You don’t have any support.”

Samus sighed. She didn’t want to do this, but if it meant saving Zelda, then Samus would do anything. Her grip on the emergency pistol in her hand tightened as she dashed forward and jumped into the air. Rhoam looked shocked as he raised his greatsword in the air to block Samus’ kick. Samus kicked off Rhoam’s sword with a powerful leap and shot several bolts in his direction, which he rolled out of the way to dodge.

Samus yelled with rage as Rhoam recovered from his roll, “I’m trying to save your daughter, you idiot! Get out of my way!”

The guards ran forward in an attempt to protect their king, but they were nothing in the face of Samus’ experience and expertise. She dodged out of the way of every swipe and stab they threw her way, responding in turn with a stunning blast. The guards were taken out quickly, leaving Rhoam and Samus alone in the throne room.

“You’ve always been like this Rhoam, too willing to accept what bad actors suggest you should do. Graham has been controlling you this entire time!” Samus yelled. Rhoam looked so unsure, so Samus drove the point home, “If you let Graham continue to control you, then Zelda will die! How much longer are you going to allow this?!”

Rhoam’s greatsword dropped from his hand and landed on the stone with a loud thud. For the first time, Rhoam was beginning to doubt his advisor. He looked at his hands, unsure. Such introspection was too little too late.

Before Samus could push past Rhoam, a platoon of guards entered the throne room from behind Samus. Scowling, she adopted a combat stance. The guards rushed forward.

“Enough!” The booming voice of Rhoam stopped everyone in their tracks. “This has gone on for long enough. Bring Link here now!”

The guards looked confused, but eventually acquiesced to the king’s demands, turning back and leaving Samus and Rhoam in the throne room.

Samus turned to see Rhoam hanging his head in shame. “Samus, I-”

“Save it,” Samus ordered as she pulled out the various explosives she got from the vault. “I don’t have time for any of this. Stand back.”

“What are you..?”

Samus carefully armed the bombs and missiles she brought with her and placed them on the stone carvings that she knew covered the entrance to the Master Sword’s vault. With all of them ready she pulled Rhoam back away and readied her pistol. She shot the explosives once, the shot triggering a chain reaction that created an explosion large enough to blow the secret vault wide open. Rhoam gasped at the destruction, but Samus remained unphased. The sounds of footsteps signalled the rapidly approaching guards returning with Link, but Samus paid them no mind, as she jumped down into the vault. 

Link turned the corner into the throne room, running up to Rhoam once he noticed the destroyed vault door. “My King! What happened?”

“It was Samus, she blew open the vault to get her suit, I-”

Both men stopped as a purple and white blur jumped high into the air from the vault and landed in front of them. Samus Aran had regained her Power Suit. She slowly stood up from her landing and stared at everyone surrounding her, sharing no words with them.

Link slowly stepped forward, “Samus, do you know where-”

“She’s being kept in a cave in Death Mountain,” Samus cut Link off. “I have her exact location.”

“Perfect, let's go and save her!”

“No. I'm doing this alone.”

Link looked at Samus incredulously. “Alone? Are you sure you can take on the Children of Ganon by yourself?”

“I’ve done much more on my own before,” Samus explained. The thrusters on the back of her suit hummed to life as they slowly built up charge. “I’ll get Zelda back, nothing will be able to stop me.”

Sensing what was about to happen, the crowd of guards separated suddenly, just in time to allow Samus a clear path to pass. She began moving at lightning speed, the thrusters on her back keeping her insane speeds up. The castle was tricky to navigate at such high speeds, but Samus managed it, darting out of the way of passersby and drifting past corners. A large balcony that overlooked much of Hyrule stood in her way, but instead of turning in a new direction or jumping from the balcony, Samus suddenly crouched down. All of that speed suddenly stopped as her Power Suit flooded with energy. This state wouldn’t last for long, So Samus was quick to jump onto the edge of the balcony and scout for her destination.

Death Mountain stood tall in the distance. Currently dormant, the sky around Death Mountain was a clear blue. With the advanced scanning capabilities of her suit and her excellent eyesight, Samus was able to make out the place that the Gorons called home partway up the mountain. Near Goron City sat an unassuming cave that hid the path to where Zelda was being kept, deep below Death Mountain.

With her target in sight, the energy in Samus’ body peaked, as dust stirred in the air around her and her suit roared under the stress of it all. In an instant, Samus shot forward with the power of a Shine Spark, moving through the air like a bullet. The air hummed with electricity around her as Death Mountain rapidly approached. Anyone who managed to see the Shine Spark in action would say the sight was some sort of envoy of the Goddesses, traveling through the air at the speed of light.

Samus’ determination raised with each passing second. Nothing could stop her now.

Inside the Children of Ganon’s secret base, a ritual was being prepared. Dark sigils were painted into the stone floor, and the Master Sword was placed in a slot in the stone. Behind the Master Sword stood a black and gold altar, on top of which sat a bowl which contained a pulsating ball of muscle and flesh. In just an hour, the ritual would be performed. A portal would be opened with the Master Sword, and Ganon’s soul would be lured through by the foul stench of his rival’s blood.

Zelda was chained to the way on the opposite side of the ritual, watched over by the Children of Ganon, as Cia knelt in front of the Master Sword and casted the dark spells necessary to make use of the sword’s power. Zelda could only watch as this sacred weapon was tainted for use in this ritual.

But then everything changed. A figure teleported to the center of the cave, a figure that Zelda recognized instantly.

“Graham!?” Zelda cried as Graham dusted himself off.

“Yes princess, it is I. Once Ganon has returned, I will take my rightful place at his side, ruling Hyrule like I was always meant to!”

But Graham’s speech was interrupted as he was pulled to Cia in an instant and held aloft by her powerful grip on his neck. “Graham, you were supposed to distract the denizens of Hyrule Castle while we completed the ritual.”

“I- I know!” Graham cried desperately, the crushing grip on his neck knocking the air out of him. “Samus- she-”

With an angry cry, Cia threw Graham against the stone wall of the cave, his body shuddering at the impact and falling limply to the floor.

“Useless,” Cia spat. “Samus is surely coming for us right now. Koume, Kotake, intercept him before he reaches us. Ghirahim, Zant, you stay here with me.”

The Children of Ganon bowed in respect to their leader before they got into position. The two sisters Koume and Kotake left while Zant and Ghirahim got ready for their soon to arrive guest.

Before Cia returned to the ritual, she turned to Zelda. “Nothing will come from this. He will be unable to stop the ritual. Ganon will arrive and strike him down.”

The desire to perform a rude gesture she learned from Samus at Cia burned strongly within her, but the restraints keeping Zelda against the wall kept her from doing that. So instead, she responded with a devilish smirk and said, “We’ll see about that.”