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Link POV

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I grunted when the Moblin's club slammed into my shield, its force straining my arm to the point of almost breaking. Droplets of rain flew off my sword as I slashed at the monster, which left a large gash on its forearm.

"You good?" I asked Y/N, who was panting heavily just behind me. Her hood had fallen down during the fight, so her hair had become unkempt and damp, and now stuck to her face.

"I'm fine..." she muttered and gripped her spear "But man am I an idiot for skipping Gym..."

"What?"

"Athletic stuff." She joined my side again and pointed her weapon at the moblin "Anyway try not to block its attacks, it could break your shield."

My jaw dropped in offense "What about my arm?! And since when were you a combat expert?"

"I'm not, I just—"

"Club!"

After my yell the two of us ducked, and the weapon swung just over our heads. When we stood again all seemed fine.

Until.

"Hey!" Y/N whined from beside me, holding up her now broken weapon "I liked that spear!"

The moblin snorted, as if mocking her, which provoked her enough to throw the remaining half of her spear at it "Take that, you oversized pork chop!"

Bad move, Y/N...

The moblin was hit right on the nose, which didn't do much. It only made it sneeze... and also really, really angry.

"Oh no..." Y/N muttered as we backed away, nervous smiles on our faces "Abort, abort!"

The moblin roared when we began running away, its gain on us apparent from its heavy footsteps behind us. As we approached the end of the bridge, the sky lit up with a flash of electricity, followed by a clap of thunder that drew a gasp from both Y/N and myself.

Great, a storm. As if our situation wasn't bad enough already.

"Link, your sword!" Y/N pointed out, driving my attention to my soldier's broadsword. Tiny sparks of electricity danced around it as we ran from our current enemy.

"We've got other things to worry about," I exclaimed, completely ignoring the increasingly violent sparks "It's probably not that big of a dea— hey!"

After letting out a groan of frustration, the girl actually ripped my weapon out of my hand and dug her heels into the ground. With a strained cry from the unfamiliar weight, she launched the heavy sword through the air at the moblin.

This chick's crazy!

The moblin screamed as the blade pierced through its shoulder, which had my jaw dropping at the accuracy- or luck of her throw. And if that wasn't enough—

CRASH

A bolt of lightning enveloped the moblin, causing us to shield our eyes from the light as it screamed in pain. After a moment all was silent, and I let my arms fall from my face to see the now dead and barbecued monster lying on the ground with my sword still wedged into it. And after a moment, it disappeared into purple smoke. Both Y/N and I were shocked about the whole situation, and therefore only stared at the ground with wide eyes.

"I—"

I cut her off "Don't even think about saying 'I told you so'."

Her mouth remained open, as if my interruption froze her. After a moment she began walking away "I wasn't gonna say anything... Except—!"

Her sudden turn and index pointed at my face startled me, as well as her sudden change from deadpanned to angry in just a second.

Oh boy.

Expecting rant in 3...

2...

1.

"You were way too cocky in that battle! I mean, it's great that you're confident and all, but the bomb, and just now with the sword!" She pinched the bridge of her nose "We can't afford to over exert ourselves, especially you! You're our best bet here! Because I think we've made it clear that I can't fight! Everything I've done has been pure luck, especially now with that f***ing lightning, because God forbid what could've happened if I hadn't noticed those sparks! You can't discard things like that, I can't always fix your errors last second! Yeah, I provoked that thing, and I costed myself my defence... but just now, and everything before - you aren't a god Link! In fact, this is probably what lead to your demise 100 years ago!!!"

I clenched my jaw "How would you know? And besides I could've handled it if I wasn't paying attention to your safety! It didn't look that strong—!"

"See, that's your problem!" she cut me off, yet again "You don't judge an enemy on their appearance, you judge them on their skill and likelihood of ending your life!"

I was going to retort, however that phrase stopped me in my tracks. I've heard that before...

Y/N noticed my hesitation and frowned "What is it?"

"Nothing, it's just..." I paused, before sighing and moving to reclaim my weapon "Forget it, it's nothing..."

"Okay...?" she responded, still unsure as she turned to leave the bridge behind "Just remember to consider the possibilities and your limitations. I only have so much luck for the both of us. Don't make me waste it all on you."

My eyes narrowed as I watched her continue down the path, before focusing on my blade which was currently warm from the lightning. Deciding not to take anymore risks with it, I tucked it away so it couldn't attract anymore of the dangerous sky.

"Yeah," I muttered under my breath, and began walking after my annoying know-it-all travelling partner "whatever, Y/N..."

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Your POV

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Link hadn't said anything to me since the moblin incident - which typically I would find comforting, but honestly at this moment in time having someone like him not blabbering my ear off was a little unnerving... Suppose I can't really blame him, I did give him quite the earful. But it had to be said; the Zora were counting on us. Hyrule was counting on us.

"Y/N."

I turned to the blonde "The silent hero speaks!"

He stared at me blankly, but made no attempt to comment and instead pointed down the path below us. Another bridge of luminescent structure stood proudly, which lead towards something I couldn't quite make out due to night falling upon us once again, but by the way it was shaped I assumed it was man- or Zora made.

"Call me stupid, but I think that's what we're looking for." He said, mostly to himself. I hummed.

"You may be right... stupid."

Link slapped me on the arm in irritation "Don't get clever with me, kid."

Did he just—

"Kid?!" I hissed, absolutely offended.

"Yeah, I'm 100 years older than you." The boy stared, taking out his paraglider "So you're basically a kid to me."

"Those years in the shrine don't count - and where do you think you're going?!"

"Taking the shortcut!" Link yelled back at me after leaping off the edge of the path, gliding through the air towards the bridge on his paraglider "What's the point of these if we don't use them?"

I frowned and took out my own glider, biting my lip unsure "I don't know about this!"

It is pretty high up...

"You'll be fine!" The boy responded "It's not that hard, really! You just gotta jump and hold it upright!"

Oh yeah, cuz that's easy enough when you're free falling to your death. Well, not death, but...

You know what, if that moron can do it... so can I.

With a deep breath I took off and the wind caught my sail, allowing it to drift across the air as I dangled under it. My eyes were closed most of the time, so I didn't quite know when I would—

I gasped when my feet grazed the ground, which had me losing my balance and stumbling forward. Until a pair of strong arms caught me.

"Why were your eyes closed?" Link asked as he stood me upright. I scoffed, trying to play off cool.

"None of your business," I pushed away from him, nose turned upwards "Enough stupid questions, Prince Sidon's—"

"Whoa!"

We turned towards a surprised, yet amazed voice, which revealed our scaly sharp toothed friend.

"There," I deadpanned while Link waved at the tall Zora "Prince Sidon's right there."

Sidon grinned and spread open his arms in welcome, clearly happy to see us alive and well "I've been waiting for you two! Welcome! Behold the pride of my people, Zora's Domain!"

I hadn't even had a chance to take in the majestic surroundings of what was Zora's Domain. Everything was decorated with luminescent stone, the night allowing it to glow a brilliant blue that took your breath away. It was marvellous, even in the not so marvellous rain.

Link seemed to be more vocal about his admiration "It's amazing..."

"Thank you!" Sidon beamed "Now, it's time for you to meet the king! Hurry, this way!"

Gracefully the prince turned and made his way through the domain, with us close behind while looking around at what the place had to offer. There seemed to be a general store and an inn, as well as a statue made of luminous stone. It seemed to be of a young Zora woman, who smiled kindly down at us as we gazed up at her. Link seemed a little more intrigued than I was, and seemed to want to question Sidon. However the prince seemed eager for us to meet the king. Rightfully so - he was counting on us to save the domain. And so the hero kept quiet.

"Hylians?! And not just any!"

The two of us flinched and turned around, where an elderly Zora stood glaring at us. We were about to ask what gives, until he began yelling at us.

"You've got some nerve showing your faces around here, especially after what you did! I half half the mind to punish on behalf of our beloved Lady, if it weren't for Prince Sidon being present!" He hissed.

Link and I exchanged a glance, having no recollection doing anything bad to these people.

"It's because of you our Lady Mipha was taken from us!"

I heard a small gasp from next to me. Link's eyes were wide, and his hands were clenched. And it was no mystery why. His failure 100 years ago... did it cause that much loss and heartbreak? I felt a large hand on my shoulder, pulling me away from the enraged Zora and towards a fishlike structure.

"Pay his loathe no mind," Sidon muttered, escorting both me and Link up a staircase "The elderly here had an unconditional fondness the Zora Champion Mipha. And they seem to blame her death on the Hylians... it's probably best to avoid them during your time in the Domain."

"R-Right." Link muttered. He seemed rather pale, and I think I know why. He doesn't remember Mipha; the Zora champion. And he doesn't remember how she died.

He probably thinks it really is his fault.

Because of our thoughts, Link and I kept quiet and we proceeded up the large amount of stairs until we entered what looked like a throne room. Sidon made his way towards the throne, where a flat faced elderly Zora stood. As well as—

"Holy—" I covered my mouth to muffle the profanity that was about to escape my lips, for what sat in front of us was a Zora Titan. He was even bigger than Sidon, who had already proven to be taller than most of his race. Never less, he seemed to be the Zora king Sidon told us about, and we therefore approached respectfully.

The Zora smiled "Ah, you must be the Hylians Sidon brought here, correct?"

We nodded, not saying a word.

"Excellent! You both did well to come all the way here! Oh, allow me to introduce myself," he placed his large hand to his chest "I am King Dorephan, ruler of the Zora. It is a pleasure to make your aqua—"

He stopped, his eyes narrowed at Link which caused the boy to shift uncomfortably.

"You, boy. That object upon your waist... is that not a Shiekah Slate?!"

"I-It is..."

Dorephan hummed, holding his chin as he glanced at the two of us "Well I never... now that I have gotten a good look at the both of you, it is clear who you are... You are the Champions Link and Y/N!"

My eyes widened "You know us?"

"How can I not? We've met countless times before!" The king exclaimed "Don't tell me you've forgotten..."

"Wait wait wait," Sidon spoke up from the sidelines, holding out his index fingers "Champions? You can't possibly mean THE Link and Y/N? THOSE champions? From 100 years ago?! No wonder I recognised your names! What a fateful coincidence we crossed paths!"

"It is truly unbelievable..." Dorephan's smile dropped "We heard a dreadful rumour that you two had fallen in combat, but look at you! Good as ever!"

"We're back..." Link began, biting his lip nervously "But we have no memories of what happened 100 years ago... we've been..." he glanced at me "renewed..."

"No memories you say? Oh dear..." the king shook his head in distress "But surely you remember my daughter, Mipha?"

Link's eyes lowered guiltily, but I had no such reaction. I couldn't feel guilty about not remembering Mipha, for they weren't my memories to recall in the first place.

"I cannot believe it..." the king sighed "After all you'd been through together."

"Father," Sidon, being the voice of reason, butted in "I do not believe discussing my sister is helping matters. They are clearly confused."

Sister?

Mipha was...

"Oh. Yes, of course." Dorephan sighed out in defeat "Link, Y/N, I have no doubt you have endured many hardships. Still, I must ask you to hear my plea. Zora's Domain is in danger of vanishing because of Divine Beast Vah Ruta. To put it bluntly, we cannot stop this threat alone. Will you help us?"

We were about to answer - well, Link was, but the elderly Zora that kept silent spoke up. He was was clearly unhappy. "What?! King Dorephan! My liege! Please do not speak so! To ask help from Hylians! The thought of if curls my fins!"

Uh. Pardon?

Dorephan cleared his throat "Muzu, I expected more of you. How can you still process at this fire time?"

"Muzu! It is rude to speak in such a way to your king and his guests!" Sidon scolded, clenching his sharp teeth "Link and Y/N are here because I invited them! With this rainfall, we must seek help from trustworthy Hylians! I thought we discussed this already! They are the key to saving our home, I know they are."

"Indeed. As things now stand, Zora's Domain... perhaps all of Hyrule is doomed to be swallowed by the sea." Dorephan have us a pleading look "This is bigger than all of us. We must put our differences aside and band together."

"Have you forgotten already, my king?!" Muzu screeched again "We cannot trust these lowly Hylians!"

Okay. That's it.

"And why not?" I snapped back, meeting the Zora's hateful glare as I crossed my arms. Muzu scoffed.

"A hundred years ago you all abused the power of an ancient civilisation and turned Hyrule into what it is today! And that isn't even the least of it! It..." he trailed off, his head turned away from us "It's your fault Lady Mipha was lost to us..."

Again, I felt Link tense up from beside me. Not surprised; what Muzu said was uncalled for.

"Link..." Dorephan put on a brave face "Vah Ruta has great power. It can create an endless supply of water. As of late it has mercilessly spouted water into the air. And as result, this area has been plagued by heavy rains. You would think this wouldn't be a problem for us Zora, however sadly the rains have filled the eastern reservoir nearly to the point of flooding. If it bursts, I fear great damage will not only befall Zora's Domain... but also the area downstream from us. There, Hylian lives are in grave danger."

Almost as if someone pressed a button, the ground began shaking as a loud roar echoed around us. I gasped; I hadn't even seen the damn thing yet and I was already terrified... I felt Link's hand on my shoulder, who asked if I was okay.

"I'm... fine." I responded almost inaudibly, not trusting my own voice.

King Dorephan seemed unaffected by the tremors; I assume it's normal around here, and he continued to speak "That was Vah Ruta... Princess Zelda often studied the Beasts, before the Calamity that is. According to her research, the orbs on Ruta's shoulders are what control the water it generates. However, they require electricity to work. They are currently out of control because there is no electricity coursing through to stop them."

"We Zora are terribly vulnerable to the power of electricity..." Sidon continued with an exasperated sigh "Because we cannot strike Ruta with the required electricity... we are expecting the worst"

His worry was clear, but he hid it behind a razor sharp smile when he addressed us "However, that is why I went searching for a strong Hylian! Which is where you two come in... we need you to use shock arrows to get those orbs working again! I of course will help you in anyway I can. So please... help me stop Ruta's rampage."

Link was quick to reply, as he once again had that courageous glint in his eyes "That's why we came in the first place!" He began to explain what Zelda has told him and I, and what we were set to do. This surprised Dorephan, as he leaned forward in his throne.

"So Zelda herself asked you to appease the Divine Beasts?!" He asked "So... she's alive?"

"Yeah, she's in Hyrule Castle." I responded, arms crossed.

"So she's been alive this whole time, as you two were!" The Zora smiled down at us "That's wonderful! Then if we take back Ruta, it can aid you in sealing Ganon once and for all!"

"Wondrous!" Sidon beamed, his spirits lifted "Naturally, I'll help too! Come on, Link and Y/N! Let us appease Ruta together!"

"I'm in!" Link responded with a grin, holding out a fist "You in too, Y/N?"

I pursed my lips together, reviewing what needed to be done. We had to get these shock arrows and shoot them at Vah Rara - or whatever its name is, to get its water spouting under control. Board it, fix whatever caused it to go coocoo, reclaim it, and use it to defeat Ganon?!

Blimey Hermione! that's a lot to do under pressure!

But I say again, did we have a choice...?

I sighed "Sure, it beats maths homework."

Despite my half arsed response, the king couldn't be happier "Thank you, truly. Well then, let me offer you this." He held out his large hand, which lay a piece of armour which seemed to be crafted for a specific purpose "With this, you can ascend waterfalls as a Zora would. I'm afraid I only have one, but nonetheless... please take good care of it."

Link took the armour and admired it, his fingers running across the material gently. His eyes seemed to hold familiarity for a split second, but before He could say anything—

"My king! Surely you do not truly intend to give these outsiders the Zora armour!"

Ah of course... I thought everything had suddenly gone quiet...

Muzu began to rant about the Zora Armour being crafted by Zora princesses for the one they chose to marry. This one in particular was made by Mipha herself, and apparently we were 'too shady' for it to be in our hands. I wanted to retort again, but before I could the green Zora had stormed off in a sulk. Sidon rubbed his temple.

"Oh Muzu, why are you so stubborn..." He turned to us "I apologise about him... He educated my sister, and therefore she means a great deal to him, like she does to us. Ever since she was lost to the calamity... he's grown to despise Hylians. However, this behavior cannot do. Only he knows where the shock arrows are... Worry not! I shall fix this! Excuse me!"

And with that the Prince took off, leaving Link and I with Dorephan. I heard him mutter something, which had me turning around "What was that?"

"Oh, sorry I was merely talking to myself." He laughed nervously "Anyway, Muzu will most likely be at the square below us. Would you mind speaking with him? Maybe you can... convince him somehow."

I didn't know what he expected would happen, Muzu hated us after all... However Link didn't seem as hesitant and therefore bid Dorephan farewell, taking me by the wrist and leading us out of the throne room.

"We'll figure it out..." Link said, mostly to himself "We have to..."

His grip was noticeably tighter than usual, which had me staring at the back of his head.

Just how affected was he by all this...?

What exactly was his relationship with Mipha?