Link's breath scattered across his face as the cold temperatures of the Gerudo night brought a form to it. He rode steadily as his sand seal swam swiftly through the fine sand. The air began to hit his face like small needles. He gazed at the peaceful desert which was tinted blue from the moonlight. Feelings of nostalgia came over him. He remembered the first time he braved the harsh environment of Gerudo, a hero on a quest. A quest that should have been completed with the destruction of Calamity Ganon, but once again Link found himself in the same situation as before. Something drove him towards danger, that compelled him to always be the hero.

Link looked up at the rising sun over the highlands. Light broke the shadows behind Link. He reached his hand up and felt the warmth against his chilled fingers. The others will be waking soon, but he was at least 5 hours out. They wouldn't be able to catch him at this point. They were supposed to stay another day there, but they would certainly come looking for him when they found out he was gone. He knew they would feel betrayed, but heroes don't put people in danger, they save them from it. It kept them safe and that's all he cared about. "Mipha…forgive me for this. This who I am. This what fate chose me to be."

The morning transformed Gerudo town from a quiet, peaceful village into a busy city with many hustling townsfolk. People shopped from the town-side markets, children played in pathways, and friends chatted with one another. Mipha stirred in her bed. Her eyes twitched as she was reluctant to open them. With some effort she sat up and let out a silent yawn. Zelda lied asleep in the bed adjacent to her. Mipha walked over to a window and admired the people of Gerudo. The town had been full since the addition of men to the community. "I suppose we had best begin waking up. Link will certainly be upset if we stay too long in bed." She whispered

She walked softly over to Zelda and gently nudged her until she mumbled something. Mipha smirked. She looked at Zelda's messy hair sprawled across the unorganized bed. This is the person that would lead Hyrule into prosperity, but for the time being she's still just a teenager. Zelda rolled over and sat up clumsily. "Why is it we need to wake up so early? We stopped in town to rest up for the journey."

Mipha turned to her. "My aren't you a charmer at this hour."

Zelda snapped back to her, her messy hair covered most of her face. "It is quite hard to be diplomatic this early in the morning!"

Mipha took a step back. "S-Sorry, Zelda. I'll give you some time to wake up. I'll go see if the boys have woken up."

Zelda flopped back down onto her bed as Mipha quietly exited. As she made her way to the boy's room she saw a pool of water at the base of a small water fall. She splashed some of the cool water in her face. She hadn't been used to going so long without hydrating herself. Her skin had started to stretch and become rubber like. "Ah that's much better. I was starting to get uncomfortable."

She made it to the boy's room and gently tapped on their door. Sidon answered. "Ah good morning, sister."

He hugged her as she smiled. "Good morning, brother. I'm still having trouble getting used to your size. I still remember when I'd lift you on my shoulders."

"I wouldn't make a great warrior if I were still small.", he laughed

"Maybe not, but you'd certainly be cuter. Anyway, is Link in there?"

Sidon gave her a puzzled look. "Actually, I haven't seen him all morning. He wasn't here when I woke up, and Kivian hasn't seen him either."

Mipha frowned. "Oh, then I guess he's already out. He seems to be well-liked by the townspeople here, I'm sure he's just catching up with his friends."

Sidon put his hand on her shoulder. "There isn't any need to worry. Link is a free spirit. You know as well as I do that he does not like to stay in one place for too long. He'll show up eventually."

Link stood at the beginning of the Gerudo highlands and gazed at the hill in front of him. He unlatched his shield from his sand seal and rubbed its back. "I appreciate the help, friend. It would've been difficult to cross the desert without you."

The sand seal clapped its flippers. Link smiled and set a hydromelon in front of the seal, who began attacking the fruit. Link fastened his shield to his back and made sure his pack was tightly secured to him. He approached the hill and began climbing it. Climbing had been a skill he practiced his entire life. He excelled in the wild based on his ability to climb almost any surface. His hands were rough and callused from constantly gripping the rocks and wood. Within a few minutes, he had reached the top of the hill. The Yiga hideout was at ground level, but from up there he would be able to spot any possible threats.

He scanned the entirety of the area, making note of every detail of the hideout. All that was visible was a single entrance. The hideout was carved into the Gerudo canyons, so the entrance was all he had expected to see. Two Yiga foot soldiers stood guard in front of the gateway. They looked loose and slow; Link guessed that they had just woken up. Link remembered when he used to correct the Hyrulian guards' forms and stances back when the kingdom was still together. These two Yiga guards would have definitely been scolded. Link smirked at the thought of him calmly approaching them and yelling at them to stand up straight.

"Let's see here…" he whispered, "I could always just barge in there, it's not like they could beat me. However, it will probably be best if I take my time with this mission."

Link reached for his bow and pulled out two arrows. He took aim at one of the guards and released his grip. Before the arrow even reached the guard, Link had fired another one at the second guard. Both of the arrows hit with a satisfying thud. The two guards fell silently to the ground. Link shut his eyes and took a breath. He took no solace in taking lives, and he felt something that could only be identified as sorrow for killing the Yiga. They may have even been distant relatives to the guards he himself trained, since the Yiga originally branched off from the Shieka army. Unnecessary violence. That's all this whole conflict is. Hyrulians killing Hyrulians and for what?

Link secured his bow to his back and used his paraglider to float down to the entrance. The gateway towered seven feet above him. At the top, a giant red banner with the words "Through Death, Life Grows" stood as message to all who may enter. "That was not there before…" Link thought.

Now that he was closer, he noticed that the Yiga's clothing were different. Before they wore a red variation of the shieka garments and a mask with an upside down Shieka symbol. Now they were clad in all black, the symbols on their maskes were replaced with an eye with a spark in it. Link thought this was suspicious, but at the moment he did not have time to think about it. He quietly entered the Yiga temple.

Zelda approached Mipha in the center of town. "I just walked around the edge of the city; he is not there either."

No one had seen Link all morning. Mipha was getting extremely nervous. "I have no idea where he could have gone or why. Have you asked everyone?" She asked shakily

Zelda frowned. "I've talked to everyone in town, and they have all said they have not seen him at all."

"Oh Goddess, I pray that he is safe."

Zelda put her hand on Mipha's shoulder. "It is Link we are talking about. He knows how to handle himself against anything in that desert. I am sure that he is safe."

"ZELDA," a voice rang out.

The girls both turned around. Riju was running toward them frantically. "What is it?" Zelda said.

Riju stopped to catch her breath. "Link- He's- I have-

"Calm down. Deep breaths."

"I found someone who saw Link last night. One of the guards was doing her nightly patrol when she saw a hooded figure leave Link's room. Apparently, he rode off towards the Highlands on a sand seal."

Mipha and Zelda were both shocked. Mipha became very upset. "Why would he do that!? We were supposed to do this together! He is going to get himself killed! I should have…I should have-"

Zelda cut her off. "Mipha, there was nothing you could have done to stop him," she said in a soft voice, "You know he has been acting independent lately. It was selfish of him to leave without us, but there is not anything we can do where we are."

Mipha began to tear up. "I…hurt that he would just abandon me. He promised he would not leave…"

Sidon and Kivian approached. Sidon spoke up, "Hey! Have you had any word on Link?"

"He left for the hideout late last night. He did not say anything to anyone; he just packed up his things and left," Zelda said.

Sidon frowned but Zelda thought she saw a small grin spread across Kivian's sour face. "What is the plan? Are we going after him?" Sidon questioned.

"Yes. We are leaving immediately. If not you guys then just me, but I am not leaving him alone out there," Mipha said, her voice no longer soft.

"Of course, we are coming with you, Mipha. We do not need someone else out there alone," Zelda said.

They quickly gathered their basic necessities and left. Riju had graciously lent them a few sand seals, so the journey would be quicker. "Link…" Mipha thought, "Don't you dare be hurt…"

Link quietly swept through the Yiga hideout. He stayed close to the ground, avoiding being spotted by the occasional clan member. The hideout was dank and humid, which was odd considering they were in the desert. Wood scaffolding supported to roof and walls from caving in. The entire hideout was a bunch of rooms connected by hand dug tunnels. Torches adorned the walls to provide light in the dark corridors. Link was positioned in a room with many crates full of bananas. Of course, the Yiga always had an addiction to bananas for some unknown reason. He was crouched in a corner, invisible thanks to the cover of the crates. He had to get to the bottom of the sudden monster growth. He spotted a door across the room that lay unguarded. Fortunately, Link was the only one in the room, so he silently dashed to the door and entered the room.

The first thing Link noticed was the density of the air in the room. It was so heavy, Link felt like he had to fight for breath. The room was fairly small, and all it contained was a bed and a weird circular drawing on the ground. There were also some papers that decorated the walls, they all contained foreign symbols that he could not understand. He approached the circle on the ground, and his stomached instantly dropped. He felt like he was going to vomit. Whatever this circle was used for, it was evil. Link could not look away from it. It was like it was calling to him. Sweat began to drizzle down his forehead. He began to shake violently. What was this thing?! "A-Are those…blood stains?"

The door opened behind him and within an instant a huge black figure was inches away from Link. "Hello there."

The figure held up his hand and Link's muscles tightened. He fought hard, but he could not move. "So…you're that so-called hero, right?"

"Gagh…what is…this?" Link struggled to utter.

"Oh, it is just a simple incantation. Stops you from being so…unnegotiable. You see, I really need you. My dear spies tell me that the zora girl has quite the interest in you."

"Mipha?" Link said, horrified"

"Ah yes yes! Dear Mipha. You see I need her- actually that would be foolish to inform you. Anyway, you will serve as her motivation to come to me. I just need you for a little while and I promise that I will…release you from this pain."

Link frantically tried to break loose from the spell, and he managed to release his arm and grab his sword, but once again his harmed tightened. This time it became extremely painful as his arm began to crush itself. "AGHGH"

His arm kept tightening and tightening until a shivering crack shot out. "There." Master Kakao said, "that arm has proved to be most troublesome for my army. You have dispatched quite a bit of my monsters as well as my men. I saw what you did to my two guards… I must say that was impressive when you broke free for a second, I was actually a little nervous if you can believe it. Congratulate yourself on being the only person to have done that."

"You….you are going to regret that…" Link managed to gasp through the immense pain.

"I highly doubt that…"

Kakoa waved his hand and a large Yiga member entered the room, and before Link could even make a sound, the member bashed him in the head, knocking him out.

Kakoa looked to the member "Put him somewhere safe. The girl will not come unless we have him. This has to work. I need that girl"

"Yes, Master!"

The member picked up Link's body and began dragging him away. Link's last thought was of Mipha.

Okay okay, I know this chapter has been long awaited, and I am sorry to have put it off for so long. I do not have an excuse other than that I have just been busy with my school and an organization that I am a part of. This chapter may not have been the most exciting, and I am sorry for posting such a bland one after you guys have been waiting so long, but this is just another bridge into the rest of the plotline. You guys deserve better than to wait this long, and it pains me to say that the next chapter may not be out for another few months. At least until sometime in June. I just need to finish up the rest of my school year. I am on Spring Break right now, so I found some time to sit down and write. You can thank my girlfriend for motivating me to finally post this chapter. Shout out to her! Annnnnnnnnnnyway I hope you all have enjoyed this latest installment in the story! Our hero has fallen into the grasp of the enemy, and it is up to his friends to save him! Stay tuned to see if they all die! I hope you all have just a fantastic day, and I love you!