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Chapter 5- Disaster

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Summary: it’s been three years since Calamity Ganon attacked Hyrule, and everyone was recovering well from it. Until the strange substance gloom appeared, making people sick when they touched it. Wanting to find answers, Zelda and the champions went beneath the castle against her father’s wishes to try to solve the problem. Meanwhile, the King of Hyrule is desperately trying to figure out more about the gloom, though no one knows the true danger lurking beneath Hyrule…

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It was all a mess.

Impa didn’t know what happened. She thought there was a simple earthquake that left Kakariko in shambles, only for strange structures to fall onto her village from the sky. A large circular one landed right in front of the graveyard, cutting it off from the Sheikah, but fortunately no one got hurt. Impa barely arrived in the village when it happened, having just traveled from Castle Town. She was helping her people with the catastrophe, and she figured it only happened in Kakariko. But that was not the case. Purah sent her an urgent message to get to the castle immediately, which told her that it was not exclusively in Kakariko. When she arrived she expected direction from the king on what to do, but instead the castle was raised miles above the ground, completely surrounded by the mysterious gloom substance. People were panicking, leaving Castle Town, taking refuge in temporary tents, and staring at the castle in shock and awe. Impa couldn’t help but do the same, her neck craned to get a good look at the building. It made her nervous.

A small camp was built outside of Castle Town, with guards and knights leading people to safety, trying to organize the chaos surrounding the situation, and Impa was able to spot the person who called her here in the first place: Purah.

Purah and Robbie were running from place to place, barking orders at the guards and hunching over their slates. It was a strange sight to see, and Impa couldn’t help but wonder where the king or princess were.

“Purah!” Impa called out, jogging to her sister, and her focused expression turned to excitement.

“Sis!” Purah cheered, holding out her arms and pulling Impa close. “I’m glad you’re alright! I was getting worried!”

Impa reciprocated, surprised at the genuine concern from Purah. She wasn’t very good at expressing such emotions. The two had just barely seen each other too, only to be dragged to the chaos in Castle Town.

“I’m alright, Purah,” she said, pulling away. “Please don’t tell me Zelda and Rhoam are up in the castle.”

Purah sighed, resting her weight on one leg and tapping her pencil against her head. “No, they’re not.”

Impa smiled, relieved.

“They’re not down here either.”

Her smile disappeared, and she frowned at her. “What do you mean?”

Robbie stepped up, watching a group of Rito land with Hylians clutched to their feathers. “The Rito have been evacuating the castle, but there’s no sign of the princess, or the king.”

Impa blinked, dread resting within her stomach once again. “You don’t know where they are?”

“No.”

Impa’s brows pinched together, anxiety eating up at her as she stared up at the castle. The royal family disappearing was bad enough, but the princess was her closest friend! Zelda had grown so strong and capable, and she couldn’t be more proud, but that didn’t make her invincible!

“I’m going to go find them,” Impa said, marching to the castle, but Purah stopped her.

“No, Impa! It’s too dangerous!” She protested. “I understand you’re worried about Zelda, but she’s not up there! Trust me!”

Impa stopped, giving Purah a look, so she continued.

“The Rito have been doing everything they can to rescue the people in the castle, but everyone, even those who were in the castle during the earthquake said that Zelda and Rhoam weren’t there. I’m sorry, but right now the royal family is missing.”

Impa bit her lip, looking down at the ground while Purah’s hand squeezed her arm.

“What about the champions?”

“I can’t get ahold of them,” Robbie answered, looking up from his Sheikah slate. “No one knows where they were before the earthquake.”

Great. Impa groaned and rubbed her hands over her face, leaning against a wall. “So what do we do?”

“There’s a lot of people who are injured and evacuating,” Purah explained, “I was hoping you’d help out with them.”

Sighing, Impa turned to the floating castle. She wanted to go searching for Zelda, knowing that she and the king were top priority, and Purah walked up to her.

“I just need to organize this chaos, then we’ll make a plan to search for the king and princess, ok?”

She nodded, rather reluctantly, and she moved to help around. There were hundreds of citizens who were huddled by big tents, being assisted by knights and medics while others were trying to run away with carriages and horses. The town was completely deserted, and it didn’t take long for Impa to find out why. Not only was the castle close to them, but gloom was everywhere, covering the homes, the fountain, and basically making it completely unlivable. Impa and the knights worked to find any lost children, trapped citizens, and any abandoned supplies, the whole time Impa praying that Zelda was nearby. The day dragged on, and when the castle and town were swept through, they all returned to the small camp, the place crowded with refugees. It was overwhelming, with work never ending as she and the knights tried to take care of everyone; finding a place to stay, getting enough food, and helping anyone who was hit by gloom or by falling debris. She was exhausted by the time the day ended, and she sat on a rock by the edge of camp, rubbing her aching head. There was no sign of Zelda or Rhoam, and there was no word from the champions. Even Link, one who stayed close to Zelda was nowhere to be found, and she couldn’t help but feel hopeless. Hyrule lost all of its protection and leadership, and it felt like everyone was at a loss on what to do. She didn’t even know what was happening, so she couldn’t find a way to fix it all. A big sigh escaped her, right as Purah walked up to her, and her sister was silent for a moment.

“Hey sis,” she greeted, and Impa turned and nodded at her.

“Hey.”

“Thanks for all your help today,” she said, sitting down next to her.

“Of course.”

“I hate to drag you from place to place, but it was greatly needed,” she continued, letting out a sharp exhale. “What a day.”

“Yeah…”

Purah looked up at her, her brows pinched together and her eyes filled with concern. She took off her glasses, rubbed the bridge of her nose, then rested her hand on Impa’s arm, a small smile on her face.

“Zelda and the others are gonna be ok, Impa.” She reassured, and Impa shrugged.

“I hope so… the rito didn’t find them in the castle?”

“No.”

Impa pursed her lips, staring at her clasped hands. She couldn’t think of a reason for Zelda to leave the castle at the time; she was there when Impa was with Purah, and when Impa went back to Kakariko, not enough time passed for Zelda to suddenly run miles away from the castle. There was no way that she wasn’t closeby. None of it made sense.

Maybe if she had her sheikah slate, she’d be able to somehow find her. She knew it was a silly idea seeing how she wasn’t as tech savvy as Purah was, but there could’ve been a way. But before the upheaval, Kohga had asked to borrow it, being very pushy. She had grown close to him during the Calamity, so she thought nothing of it. But something poked at the back of her mind: did Kohga have something to do with this? Or was it just an unfortunate set of coincidences?

“Excuse me.”

The sisters turned to see Robbie walking up to them, his expression looking rather melancholic.

“The knights are wanting to make a plan on what to do next,” he simply said, pointing to the camp behind them. The sisters nodded and stood to follow him, walking through the small camp with families huddled together and crying. It was a grim sight.

The knights were all in a big tent, with the first knight at the edge of a table. He was a much older man, having been the first knight for decades now. His gray hair was thinning slightly at the top of his head, and his sharp blue eyes glared straight through Impa, which made her uncomfortable. The eyes reminded her a bit of Link.

“We can begin,” he said, standing up and staring at each knight in the room, including the small group of Sheikah at the entrance. “Hyrule is in shambles, and it’s up to us to protect it while we search for the king and princess. Finding them is our top priority, so we must split and search for them!” He pointed at a map on the table. “I will take a group with me and we will look for them near the castle. I need others to split and search every corner of Hyrule.”

“We will search Faron Woods,” a small group of knights volunteered.

“We will search Death Mountain,” another spoke up. Soon the knights were volunteering to search each region of Hyrule, the numbers of knights dwindling as they were being ordered to their positions.

“Um, excuse me.”

Impa turned to see a tall Lurelinian man walking into the tent, followed by a shorter man. The two wore the royal guard outfits, which were horribly dirty and disheveled. They looked like they had been running, and their panting drew the attention of everyone in the tent. The first knight glared for a moment, nodding his head at the Lurelinian man.

“Sir Orman,” he greeted, and Orman bowed his head. He then looked at the shorter man, his gaze sharpening. “Sir Ammon.”

The shorter man, Ammon, glared back at him, nodding slightly. “First Knight Richard.”

“Two of the king’s bodyguards,” he announced, placing his hands behind his back. “I take it you were with King Rhoam?”

Orman and Ammon nodded, the two looking uneasy. The other knights were whispering amongst themselves, and the first knight walked up to the two.

“Is the king alright then?” He asked, and the two glanced at each other.

“I’m afraid not, sir,” Orman answered, looking ashamed. “The king got a message to go to the Great Plateau. We were there when the earth started to shake.”

Richard frowned. “Who called him there?”

“The leader of the Yiga clan, Kohga,” Ammon said, his voice sharp and monotone. Impa couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her as Richard’s expression darkened. What on Farore’s green earth was Kohga doing with her sheikah slate?

“Of course,” the first knight grumbled, turning away. “What happened?”

“Kohga was dragging us across the plateau, where we found puddles of gloom surrounding the shrines,” Ammon answered, “King Rhoam was observing the shrine when the world began to shake. Me and Sir Orman couldn’t get to him, and when the shaking stopped, we found ourselves trapped within a cave. When we finally escaped, the king was nowhere in sight. I’m… afraid the king is missing.”

Richard’s jaw twitched, and he turned away. “The princess is also missing.”

The two guards glanced at each other in shock.

“The princess is missing too?” Orman asked, and the first knight nodded.

“Yes, as is the champions and the knight that seals the darkness.”

Orman glanced at Ammon, where an expression of panic flickered across his face, but it was quickly hidden behind determination.

“Yes… it all makes sense now. The yiga are behind it!” Richard looked at each knight in the room with a look that made Impa squirm. “Kohga and the yiga must’ve kidnapped the king and princess of Hyrule, along with the champions. Everyone, keep your eyes out for those yiga scum!”

The knights all cheered in response, all while Impa picked at her lip. There was no way Kohga actually kidnapped Rhoam and Zelda, that just couldn’t be it! Kohga was an… interesting character, but she really didn’t believe he’d backstab her and Hyrule like that! Especially with how compassionate Zelda was towards him! It didn’t make sense… but…

They were the yiga clan, going against Hyrule for centuries now. It made sense that they’d turn against Hyrule eventually after the Calamity. But Impa couldn’t believe that Kohga would do such a thing. Would he?

Goddesses, this was all her fault.

“Sir Ammon, Sir Orman,” Richard started, and the two guards straightened themselves. “As the guards of King Rhoam, I need you both to find Kohga, find out where the king and princess is, and then bring him here where we’ll hold him prisoner. Understand?”

The two guards nodded seriously, and Impa finally spoke up after being silent for the entire meeting.

“I’ll go with them!” She volunteered, knowing that she had to get to the bottom of it herself. She was personally involved anyway. Richard nodded and glanced at Purah and Robbie behind her.

“Very well, you all will find the leader of the yiga clan. I hope in doing so the royals will be found. The rest of you will guard this place here, making sure the people are safe, understood?”

“Yes sir!” The knights all said in unison.

“Good. Get some rest, we’ll all head out tomorrow.” Richard commanded, and the knights all nodded, each one trickling out one by one. Impa, Purah, and Robbie left, with Orman following the three, possibly to become acquainted since they were going to be working together. Impa had seen him and Ammon before, but they did a good job blending into the background so much so that she never interacted with them. They did their jobs well.

“Do we think the first knight is right?” Purah asked, her brows furrowed. “Kohga kidnapping the royals?”

“It’s hard to say,” Robbie said, shrugging his shoulders. “They are yiga, but they haven’t acted out since the Calamity.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t seem logical for them to act out now,” Purah added, rubbing the bridge of her nose where her glasses sat. “What do you think, Impa?”

Impa pursed her lips, anxiously fidgeting with her fingers. She just couldn’t believe that Kohga would actually stab her in the back like that—taking her technology and kidnapping the royals of Hyrule. It was, oddly enough, not in character for him. But even so, she needed to find out what was really happening, and why Kohga truly wanted her sheikah slate.

“Excuse me.”

Impa turned to see Orman and Ammon following her closely behind, and Orman smiled, bowing his head slightly.

“You’re lady Impa, right?” He asked, and she nodded.

“It was your sheikah slate that Kohga used,” Ammon said bluntly, and Impa sighed, cringing slightly.

“Wait, what?” Purah walked up to them, and Impa stepped back, preparing for her sister’s rampage. “You gave Kohga your sheikah slate? The one I so kindly gave you?”

“I… yeah…” she confessed, and Purah gasped.

“Why would you do that?” Purah yelled.

“Because I trusted him!” Impa yelled back. “He came to me and begged for me to let him borrow it! He said he wanted to take photos or something like that but… I… I didn’t think he’d do this!” She sighed, giving everyone an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, this is all my fault. I let my guard down, but that’s why I volunteered to hunt him down! I’m honestly having a hard time believing he’d actually do something like this!”

“Why?” Ammon asked, almost in an accusatory tone. “Why are you so surprised that he’d go as far as to kidnap the king and princess? He’s a yiga, the yiga are all murderous monsters that—”

“Ahem,” Orman interrupted him, and Ammon gave him a glare. “We’re going to figure this out, Impa. I’m glad you’re coming with us.” He turned to Robbie and Purah. “You too.”

“Yeah! We’ll be a great team!” Purah said, striking her usual pose.

Orman nodded with a smile, then he grabbed Ammon’s arm and turned around, waving at them.

“We best turn in for the night. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow,” Impa said, and the two began to walk away, all while Ammon stared blankly with his sharp blue eyes. Turning away from them, Impa walked with her sister and Robbie, and she couldn’t help but glance back at the knights. Orman was turned away while Ammon continued to stare, an almost tired and defeated look on his face, but there was also a hint of rage in his expression. He made her uneasy.

She looked back up at the sky, the full moon bright as they walked through the camp, different refugees staring at them as they walked past. It felt like Hyrule was truly falling apart, more so than the calamity. It was all one big nightmare.

~~~

Ammon’s entire body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds as he and Orman walked to the tents shared by knights. There were several cots lined up, and the two were pushed to the very back. Orman immediately plopped onto a cot, letting out a heavy sigh as he practically melted into it.

“I’m beat. I didn’t realize the Great Plateau was so far from the castle,” he mumbled, and Ammon nodded quietly, taking off his hat and overshirt, leaving his undershirt on. Orman watched him for a moment, opening his mouth to say something, but Ammon stood and went to leave before he could say anything.

“I’m going to wash up real quick,” he simply explained, and he left the crowded tent, feeling everyone’s eyes on him, like he was a failure.

He really was, both he and Orman. The two had clearly failed in protecting King Rhoam despite their efforts in finding him, and on top of it all, it was believed that Kohga was behind it all. The leader of the yiga clan of all people. His chest bubbled with a familiar rage as he walked to a bucket full of water, grabbing a ladle and pouring some water in his hand, splashing it on his face.

He was worried about the champions as well, not fully knowing if they were truly missing or just misplaced, but the idea of the yiga having their filthy mitts on them made him furious. It made him more determined to find Kohga and finally bring him to justice. The man was let off too easily anyways.

Ammon glanced at the night sky, the caves, holes, and sky islands coming to his mind. Did the yiga do that? It was a terrifying feat, only making them more threatening to Hyrule, though he couldn’t wrap his brain around how they were able to do such a thing. His mind turned to his wife and kids, fear clamping his heart. He really wanted to see them, just to make sure they were ok, but he knew that as guard to the king, his job came before his family, which he hated. Why did he even accept this job in the first place?

“Sir Ammon.”

Turning around, Ammon saw the last person he wanted to see: the first knight Richard. He turned back to roll his eyes, then he stood and faced him.

“What do you want?” He asked, his tone like a moody teenager, and Richard glared at him.

“It matters not what you think of me—I am still the first knight of Hyrule, so you best treat me with more respect, Ammon.”

Ammon shuffled his feet. He was frustratingly right; he had to show him more respect as his boss. Bowing, Ammon quickly apologized. “Forgive me, first knight. What do you need?”

Richard was silent for a moment, then he walked up to Ammon, discreetly leading him to a more secluded place. Curious, Ammon followed, and the first knight stared down Ammon, his height slightly intimidating him.

“I have a special mission for you, Ammon,” Richard said quietly, looking around to make sure no one was watching. Ammon frowned, tilting his head. The first knight never asked anything like that from him.

“What is it?”

“Ammon, when you see Kohga, I want you to kill him.”

There was malice in his voice, and Ammon blinked, feeling rather conflicted; both relieved and uneasy.

“You want me to kill Kogha?” He repeated, and Richard nodded.

“I have much respect for the princess, but pardoning the yiga clan and that disgusting man was a grave mistake, and it’s clear that it’s affected Hyrule for the worse.” He turned away for a moment, his brows resting heavily on his eyes. “He’s too dangerous to be kept alive. He needs to die.”

“I—” Ammon paused. He wasn’t the executioner or judge in any regard, he was the protector. Was it right of him to decide who would live and die? He hated Kohga and wanted him dead, but he didn’t want to be arrested or lose his title for doing it.

“I don’t really care if Kohga actually kidnapped the king and princess,” Richard continued, his voice soft. “There’s a good chance this is all a coincidence, or the work of a greater evil. But Kohga deserves to die after all the pain he’s put Hyrule through.”

Ammon shuffled his feet, avoiding eye contact.

“Why do you ask this of me?” He finally asked. Richard’s jaw twitched, his forehead creased from his frowning expression.

“Because I know you will do it. Impa clearly cares about Kohga, while Purah and Robbie are no killers. Orman is simply too soft, but you… I know you hate the yiga more than I do.” Richard turned away for a moment, then he set his hand on Ammon’s shoulder, which he almost swatted off, but he stopped himself. “You won’t hesitate, I know you won’t. It’s best to get rid of their leader and then let the clan crumble after. I can write it off as self defense, or as an accident. But I swear no consequence will fall on you.”

Ammon looked down. He’s wanted to kill Kohga for years now, but even with Richard’s permission, he still didn’t feel like he’d get away with killing him now.

“Ammon, please,” Richard begged, his voice losing its edge. “Do it for Georgie.”

He stared, feeling a sense of vengeance grow within him. “Alright.”

“Thank you,” he whispered, then he pulled away, his expression growing blank again and simply walking away. Ammon glanced down at his hand, the first knight’s command echoing through his mind. He still wasn’t sure how he truly felt about it, but he knew better than to disobey the first knight. It seemed like something he had to keep to himself though; somehow he knew that Orman would not approve of this. Clenching his hand, Ammon walked back to the tent where his partner was, the man already asleep. Smiling slightly, Ammon laid in the cot next to him, and despite the anxieties in his mind, he fell fast asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

~~~

“Purah you have to come with us!”

Purah stubbornly sat at a desk, with notes and her Sheikah slate scattered on top of it, and she shook her head at Impa, who had her arms crossed.

“No way. I’ll only slow you guys down.” She puffed up her hair and adjusted her glasses, tapping at her Sheikah slate. “I’m no field gal you know.”

Impa frowned, crossing her arms. She knew she wasn’t going to get her to change her mind no matter how much she pestered.

“But… are you sure you’re ok staying here? By yourself?”

“I’m perfectly fine! Someone needs to be in charge here,” she pointed to a random direction in the tent, “and that first knight isn’t gonna be here most of the time.”

Impa sighed, rubbing her chin. She had a point, Purah was pretty good at bossing people around when she needed to. If the first knight was going to investigate the castle, then there needed to be some guidance, even if knights were staying behind to protect the place. Robbie entered the tent, his goggles reflecting the sight of the sisters talking. Purah smiled softly and rested her hand on Impa’s arm.

“I’ll be ok, sis. The knights are here to protect us. And I know you will be ok too!” She playfully smacked Impa’s arm and laid back into her chair, crossing her legs. “Now, you guys need a plan for hunting down Kohga!”

Robbie nodded. “Yes, quite.”

“Impa, you said he took your Sheikah slate, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, me and Robbie added tracking to your guys' Sheikah slates when we made them.”

Impa’s eyes widened. “You did? That’s so helpful! We can find everyone with them then!”

Purah nodded. “Yes. There’s a good chance that the yiga took Zelda and Rhoam’s Sheikah slates, and it’ll give us clues as to where they are!”

“How do we track down the slates?”

Purah looked at Robbie and sighed. “Unfortunately we have to get to the Akkala tech lab to do it.”

“Well then that’s where we’ll go.”

“Perfect.” Purah stood, grabbing her slate and offering it to them. “I’ll send you guys with my Sheikah slate, that way you can transfer the info to it and have it accessible.”

“How do we do that?” Impa asked, feeling slightly incompetent.

“Not to worry, Impa,” Robbie said, grabbing the giant Sheikah arms and throwing them onto his back. “I can get all the information we need. I invented this tracking ability anyways.”

Impa nodded. She’ll forever be impressed by their ability to work with ancient technology and add to it. It was useful having them on her side.

“Yes, this tracking ability is called the Purah Tracker,” Purah said, and Robbie stopped abruptly.

“What? We never agreed to that!”

“Why not? It’s a perfect name!”

“But I invented it! It should be called the Robbie Tracker!”

“That doesn’t have a good ring to it!”

“The ring doesn’t matter!”

The arguing Sheikah left the tent, with Orman and Ammon waiting for them. Their clothes were replaced with cleaner guard outfits, and Impa couldn’t help but notice the weapons they were holding.

“What’s wrong with your weapons?” She asked while Robbie and Purah continued arguing, and Orman pulled out his spear which revealed a strange black mold covering the blade.

“I don’t know. All weapons are like this,” he explained. “They looked like this after the upheaval, and we thought that they were just dirty but…”

“They never got clean no matter what we did,” Ammon finished for him. Impa frowned and pulled out her own weapon, seeing that yes, the blade was covered in mold, like it was decayed.

“Just another thing to add to the list of things going wrong,” Ammon muttered sarcastically. “So what’s the plan?”

“You guys are going to Akkala to see if you can track down the royals’ sheikah slates,” Purah explained, shoving the slate into Robbie’s arms. “It should be able to lead us to them one way or another.”

“And we could find my sheikah slate that Kohga has,” Impa added. Ammon frowned.

“Akkala, that’s rather far, isn’t it?”

Purah scoffed, resting her hand on Ammon’s shoulder. “And here I thought you understood how we did things around here, Ammon! We’ll teleport there, click snap!”

Ammon gave her an annoyed look while Orman nodded excitedly.

“Perfect! That’ll save us a lot of time!” He exclaimed. “Are you all ready to go?”

Impa looked back at Robbie, who was messing with the sheikah arms and the sheikah slate. He gave her a nod and walked closer to the group, all while Purah stayed back.

“We’ll go to the Akkala tech lab, then we’ll track the sheikah slates,” he muttered, pressing some buttons and nodding at the group. “We should be ready.”

Purah nodded. “Let me know if those arms work fine.”

“Of course, of course.”

Impa turned to Purah as she and Robbie bid their farewells, an ache in her heart as her sister smiled at her. She really didn’t want to leave her, but she had to find the royal family. Purah gave her a reassuring smile and waved.

“I’ll be here, ok?” She said, mostly to Impa, and Robbie pressed the Akkala tech lab on the map, the blue light surrounding the group all while Purah stayed behind. The last thing of the camp Impa saw was her sister smiling at her, then the world of Akkala came into view. She stumbled slightly, Robbie’s hand on her shoulder, and they turned to the tech lab. Ammon was rubbing his left arm, staring at the lab as if he’s been there several times before, and Orman stretched his arms above his head.

“Oh I love Akkala!” He said, staring at the orange trees with a smile on his face. Ammon only shrugged.

“Let’s just track down Kohga and make him tell us where the royals are,” he murmured, and Impa winced as they all headed inside. It was easily crowded with Robbie’s large Sheikah arms sitting on his back, and he moved to a pedestal where the slate was placed upon. Ammon casually sat down while watching Robbie, which Impa found rather rude, but she said nothing while everyone remained quiet. Occasionally, Robbie would make his strange sounds as he worked, but the awkward silence never fully went away.

“So, uh,” Orman started, leaning against a wall next to Ammon, “how long will this take?”

“Not much longer,” Robbie said, pressing a few buttons before letting out a cheer. “Perfect! I have the locations of the slates, now to just—” he plugged the slate into the pedestal, and a large screen popped up, causing Impa to gasp.

“What is that?” She asked, staring in awe as she saw a giant map of Hyrule, pinpricks of blue scattered across it.

“That there is an enlarged screen of the Sheikah slate. It can only be done here in the lab for now, but it allows you all to see it.” Robbie pointed to a blue light by Death Mountain with his pen. “That there is Daruk’s Sheikah slate.”

“So Daruk is ok,” Impa commented, relief building up within her.

“Uh, not quite,” Robbie said, and the relief was gone in an instant. “Daruk can’t use his slate because his fingers are… well… the same size as the screen. Same thing with Revali. That’s actually why I’ve been working on this screen so that they can use their slates.” He tapped the screen. “So while Daruk’s slate is there, it doesn’t mean he is as well. He never moves with it.”

Robbie zoomed out of the map, going to point at something before stopping abruptly. He went silent, studying the screen while Impa, Ammon, and Orman all glanced at each other.

“Huh,” he finally muttered, and Ammon stood up, his neck craned to study the screen.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“We’re missing some slates,” Robbie said, and Impa frowned.

“Missing?”

“Yes. There’s the first knight,” he pointed to where the castle was, the blue light moving. “This is us,” he pointed to Akkala Tech Lab, where Purah’s sheikah slate was plugged in. “This is Daruk’s and Revali’s,” his pen moved across the map to gesture to them both, then he hummed, Impa understanding the issue. The rest of the champions, along with the princess and king, had their sheikah slates gone from the map.

“Were they destroyed?” Orman asked, worry thick in his voice. Robbie rested his weight on one leg and tapped his head with his pen.

“I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense why the yiga would destroy the slates.” He tapped at the screen, fiddling with it to find an answer, and Ammon studied the map.

“Where’s Impa’s sheikah slate? Is that missing too?”

Robbie looked up and stared at the map as well. “I’m not seeing it here… unless…” he zoomed in on the map, studying each blue mark, until they reached the Akkala Tech Lab. Robbie leaned forward, zooming in again, and Impa gasped. There was a second blue light, right on top of theirs. Kohga was nearby.

“He’s here!” Ammon exclaimed, whirling around and drawing his sword, sprinting up the stairs with Orman following. “Show yourself, you fiend!”

Robbie looked at Impa, pointing to the door. “Let’s check outside!”

The two sheikah left the guards inside the lab, Impa’s eyes wide as she searched for the yiga leader.

“Kohga!” She called out, walking around the lab. “I know you’re here, come on out.”

Robbie followed closely, the sheikah arms out and him being uncharacteristically quiet. The two nearly circled the entire lab when Impa heard a noise. She stopped and strained to listen, trying to ignore the sounds of the wind blow.

“Psst!”

Turning to the source of the sound, Impa saw a gloved hand gesturing for her to get closer. Robbie seemed hesitant, and almost moved in front of Impa, but she walked closer before he could do so, her cautiously approaching the hand.

“Kohga?” She said, and the yiga leader suddenly grabbed and pulled her into the crevice he was hiding in, a yelp escaping her.

“Impa! I need your help!” Kohga said breathlessly, grabbing onto her arms. “I’ve been framed—”

“Hey!” Robbie stormed into Kohga’s hiding spot, pointing the sheikah arms at him. “Let her go.”

Kogha let go of Impa’s arms, his hands raised defensively. Impa immediately got between them, giving Robbie a pleading look.

“Hang on, Robbie. Let’s hear him out,” she said, and he sighed, dropping the arms and glaring at Kohga.

“Impa, you have to help me,” Kohga repeated, clasping his hands together. Impa turned back to Kohga, fury in her expression.

“What have you done?” She yelled, stomping up to him and pointing a finger at his chest. “I let you borrow my slate and suddenly the world has gone to chaos with the king missing! Why did you ask Rhoam to go to the Great Plateau? What were you planning?”

Kohga’s arms never lowered, him backing away like a frightened animal. “N-now now, I can explain—” He started, but Impa interrupted him.

“I can’t believe you! Do you know how bad this looks for me? For you?” She gestured wildly. “You’re a criminal now!”

“I didn’t kidnap Rhoam!” Kohga yelled. “I didn’t kidnap Zelda either! I’d never do that to her!” He shrugged. “Maybe to Rhoam, just to toy with him—” He raised his hands again as Impa and Robbie got closer. “BUT I DIDN’T!”

“What happened?” Impa asked, her hands on her hips as she glared at the big man. Kohga sighed, pulling out her sheikah slate and handing it back to her.

“I’m sorry, Impa. I did lie to you about what I wanted with this.” He handed her the slate, which she swiped away, her glare never leaving him. “I swear, the yiga and I have nothing to do with the royal’s disappearance! I know it seems that way, but I promise we didn’t kidnap them!” Kohga shrunk away, his head hanging as his arms crossed in front of his chest. He seemed… nervous. “I don’t know what’s happening, and I don’t know why the earth started shaking with everything falling from the sky, but I know it can’t be good. Something bad is happening.”

Impa glanced over at Robbie, who seemed expressionless with his goggles covering his eyes.

“What do you mean?” She asked, and Kohga sighed.

“Impa, the reason why I called Rhoam over to the Great Plateau was because Zelda wanted me to distract him.”

She was taken aback, all hostility in her body fleeing. What? “Why would Zelda need Rhoam distracted?”

“She said she was going to investigate under the castle, and she knew Rhoam wouldn’t approve of it. So she asked me to distract him.” He huffed, rubbing his mask. “Zelda said it had something to do with the gloom, but I knew I’d take any chance to inconvenience the king. But now both him and Zelda are missing! I know it can’t be a coincidence!”

Impa was silent as she stared at the wall behind Kohga, her brows pinched together. Why didn’t Zelda tell her about this? She was always so trusting towards her, telling her everything no one else knew about.

Yet she kept this from her. And now Impa didn’t know where she was.

“Well, this is quite the predicament,” Robbie muttered, his sheikah arms relaxing as he rubbed his chin. “We were hoping you would give us a lead.”

Kohga shrugged. “Zelda was supposed to be under the castle—“

“Which is in the sky now and completely inaccessible.”

“Right… and Rhoam was at the Great Plateau. But I didn’t see him there after the earthquake.”

Impa glanced over at Robbie.

“Looks like we’ve hit a dead-end,” he commented, and she nodded, though she said nothing, hopelessness beginning to overwhelm her.

“There he is!”

The sheikah all shot up to look at the hylian guards now running into the hiding spot, Ammon charging with his sword drawn.

“Wait—WAIT!” Impa jumped in front of him, grabbing his arm to stop him in his tracks. Ammon stopped, and he gave Impa a bewildered look.

“What?”

“Kohga is innocent,” she explained, and Ammon’s eye’s narrowed.

“What?” He repeated, though his tone was more sharp than before.

“Um…” Impa turned to look at Kohga, and Robbie huffed, walking towards the two and beginning to push them to the exit.

“Let’s head back into the lab, we’ll discuss things there.”

~~~

“You can not seriously trust him!”

Impa glanced at Ammon, who had his arms crossed with a furious look on his face. Orman simply sat next to Impa, while Robbie fiddled with the slates. Impa sighed, nodding her head.

“I do trust him.”

“He could very well be lying, lady Impa!” He shot a glare at Kohga. “He is a yiga, I wouldn’t put it past him to make up this story just to save his own skin!”

“You know I can hear you, right shortstack?” Kohga spoke up, and Ammon glared at him again.

“Don’t call me that. And keep your mouth shut, I’m supposed to be arresting you right now.”

“Sir Ammon,” Impa started, “Kohga didn’t kidnap the king or the princess, don’t you think we should hold off the arrest until we get definitive proof?”

“I have to agree with Lady Impa, Ammon,” Orman spoke up, and Ammon spun around to look at him, a look of betrayal in his face.

“How could you say that?”

“I don’t think Kohga did it. I mean, look at him.” He gestured to Kohga. “He’s acting very different from the plateau.”

“So?”

“So, I think we should wait before fully arresting him.”

“But Orman—“

“We are knights meant to bring justice to Hyrule. Arresting him when he’s innocent here is unjust.”

Ammon huffed, crossing his arms. “We can’t just assume he’s innocent.”

“Innocent until proven guilty, Ammon,” Orman said, and Ammon groaned, finally turning away.

“Ha! I knew you’d believe me Impa!” Kohga cheered, and he stood, walking up to her. “And I’m going to help you find Zelda!”

“Oh, really?” Impa asked, admittedly shocked. Kohga was a pretty lazy man, and it wasn’t like him to do something for others. Then again, he was very loyal to those he cared about.

“No! You’re not searching with us!” Ammon protested. “You must turn yourself in where the other knights are!”

“Why? So the first knight can just kill me?” Kohga fired back, and he got close to Ammon, who actually took a fearful step back. “Don’t think I don’t know about your little secret mission, shortstack.”

Ammon’s eyes widened. “How did you…?”

“What secret mission?” Orman asked, and Kohga pointed a finger at Ammon.

“Shortstack here was ordered to kill me!” He yelled, and Orman glanced at Ammon. Impa frowned, stepping between Ammon and Kohga.

“That is wrong!” She said, and Ammon simply glared at her. “You can’t just kill him, that goes against the king and princess, have you no shame?”

“I’m not the one who made the order,” Ammon defended.

“But would you have still done it?”

Ammon said nothing, which told Impa everything.

“Why you—“

“Hey!” Orman stepped in between them, blocking Ammon from Impa’s view. “Look, we need to work together to save the royal family, alright? We can’t do that if we’re fighting. It’s great that Kohga wants to help, but,” he looked directly at the yiga leader, “the evidence does point to you. So how about this: if Kohga is innocent, Ammon won’t kill him. If Kohga is guilty, then Ammon will. Ok?”

Impa opened her mouth but Kohga spoke up before she could.

“I accept! I know I’m innocent so I have nothing to be afraid of!”

Impa looked at him, with Orman nodding.

“Great. Ammon?” He looked at his friend who was still glaring, his arms crossed in front of his chest. He was silent for a long moment before looking down, sighing.

“Fine.”

“Great! Now let’s direct our energy to finding the royal family!”

Everyone quietly agreed, and Kohga walked away to lay on the crate. “I’m gonna go ahead and take a nap, then we can head out!”

“I’m glad you’re really prioritizing the royal family,” Robbie muttered from where he was sitting, his eyes glued to the screen where the sheikah slates were shown. Kohga simply shrugged and laid back, and Orman glanced over at Ammon, his face filled with concern. He made no movement, so Orman walked away and stood by Robbie, watching what he was doing. Ammon and Impa simply stared at each other, and she figured she needed some air. Avoiding eye-contact with him, she moved to the door behind him, trying to be quick. But right when she walked past him, he grabbed her arm firmly, stopping her in her tracks.

“It’s great that you can be friends with a cult leader,” he spat, every word dripping with ire, “but don’t forget, he and the yiga still have blood on their hands from centuries of torment and terror.”

Impa swallowed, holding eye contact with him. “I think we should give them a chance of redemption,” she said coolly.

Ammon’s glare hardened. “You don’t know what they’ve done to me,” he whispered, and he finally let go of her arm, walking away and heading upstairs. Impa watched him, feeling her heart racing, and she tore open the door, marching into the cold, evening air.

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smilesrobotlover · 15 hours ago