#do you think she tried to convince him to go live with sidon or teba

[cosbeans]

they're like siblings. understand my vision

[katedoesfics]

Shadows of the Yiga | Chapter 21

It was after midnight when Link and Mipha got back to the palace. Zelda pulled her robe tightly around her as she strode towards them. “You better have a good reason for waking me up,” she muttered. She yawned as she stopped before them. They looked equally as tired as her, but the lines in their faces were creased with worry and fear. They looked about the same as when she had seen them a few hours prior, except they were somewhat cleaner. Link’s hands were shoved into the pockets of a leather jacket, which she suspected was mostly to cover the weapon he still kept on him. Based on his expression, it didn't seem likely he would be removing it any time soon. Her brows furrowed. “What's going on?”

“We need to talk,” Link said sternly. “About the Yiga Clan.”

Zelda hesitated. She looked around them quickly. Though the room seemed empty, she knew they couldn't speak so openly. “Come on,” she said, her voice hushed. “Follow me.” She moved quickly through the dark hallways with Link and Mipha on her heels. They moved almost silently up the staircase and down another hallway before Zelda slipped into a room at the far end of the hallway. She closed the door behind them before moving to the center of the room. Except for a few book cases and stacks of boxes, the room was relatively empty.

“What's happening?” she asked, turning to them.

And Link explained what had happened. Everything from their kidnap, to the injections, and their eventual escape. Zelda listened intently as he spoke, but said nothing for a long moment when he finished. She turned her gaze to the solitary window, open to the glow of the moon, the only source of light in the room.

“They'll be looking for me next,” she said softly. “My father... he couldn't have known about all this. If he knew they were such a threat... that my life was in danger...”

“He knows something,” Link said, his gaze narrowing on her. “We need answers.”

“I'll try to talk to him,” she said, meeting his gaze. “I'll talk to Impa.”

“If they haven't said anything by now, what makes you think they'll tell you the truth?” Mipha asked coolly.

“I don't know,” Zelda admitted, averting her gaze. “Perhaps they won't. But leave that to me.” She met Link's gaze. “In the meantime, we can't do this alone. If we're going to take on the Yiga Clan and stop them, we'll need all the help we can get.”

“Absolutely not,” Link barked. “That's out of the question.”

“Well, no offense,” Zelda started, crossing her arms. “But without that sword, you're useless to me. And if you think I'm going to rely on some former hero who's been turned to the dark side, you're clearly insane.” She dropped her arms and pulled her shoulders back. “I have a kingdom to protect.”

“To protect from an evil that only you and I can stop.”

“It seems to me that right now, you're the evil that Hyrule needs protection from.”

Without hesitation, Link let his fist fly into the wall, shattering his knuckles. Blood coated his hands quickly and stained the crevices in the hole in the wall. He fumed angrily, his teeth clenched together. “Fuck you.”

“What do you want me to say, Link?” Her voice sounded apologetic. “In the state you're in, you pose a threat to Hyrule. As it's queen, I cannot sit by and allow the darkness to take over. I will do everything in my power to fix this and to fix you, but...” She hesitated.

“What are you going to do?” he sneered. “Lock me in a dungeon?”

“Well, we don't typically call them dungeons anymore.”

“You are not dragging anyone into this.”

“I can't very well do this on my own.”

“You'll need me,” he said. “I'm not useless.”

Zelda's voice lowered, her gaze softened. “What happens when we lose you, Link? When you betray us all?”

Link grit his teeth together. He inspected his broken knuckles. “Kill me,” he muttered. “But I will destroy the Yiga Clan first.”

Zelda sighed softly through her nose. She held her gaze on him. “I’ll call the Champions together,” she said. “We’ll discuss it together and figure out what to do about it. I’ll try to get as much information as I can.”

“Fine,” Link said bitterly. He didn’t pull back when Mipha took him by the wrist and healed his hand. When she was finished, he glanced at Zelda one last time before leaving her alone in the dark room.

Zelda stood quietly in the dark for a moment until she allowed herself to relax. She jumped slightly when Impa appeared in the doorway, then narrowed her gaze on the old Sheikah.

“I told you not to go after the Yiga Clan,” Impa hissed at her. “You need to convince him not to go.”

“This is Link we’re talking about,” Zelda said flatly. “There’s no convincing him.”

“You’re not exactly trying to steer him away.”

“My concern is with the darkness that has corrupted him,” she said. “If we don’t find a way to fix it, he will turn on us all.”

“Fix him,” Impa snapped. “But stay away from the Yiga Clan. I won’t say it again.”

“I can’t stop him. What do you expect me to do about it?”

“Don’t go after him.”

Zelda hesitated, holding her gaze on Impa. “If he goes -”

“If he goes he will die,” Impa snapped. “If you try to save him, you will die, too, and the Yiga will get exactly what they want.”

“I won’t let that happen,” Zelda said fiercely. “Someone has to stop them. I don’t see you doing anything about it!”

“Don’t be a fool, Zelda. You know that’s not true.”

“How can I know when you won’t tell me anything?”

“You need to trust me.”

“Trust you?” Zelda raised her voice. “You and my father have been lying to us for years! How do you expect me to trust you?”

Impa frowned. “Please,” she said softly. “You cannot get involved with the Yiga Clan, Zelda. That’s all I ask of you. You must understand that we’ve been fighting them since before you were born. All to keep you and Link safe. If you walk right into their hands, all of this will have been for nothing. All the lives sacrificed. Can you really do that? To Link?”

Zelda hesitated, her lips pressed together. “I’m terrified, Impa,” she said softly. “Link is the only person I trust.”

“That may be,” Impa started, “but he is not thinking straight. He puts his trust in you. Don’t lead him into more trouble than he needs. Let me deal with this. Focus on fixing him before it’s too late.” And without another word, she was gone.

*****

Daruk was gone by morning, though not without arguing with Link, who still wouldn’t tell him anything, merely stating that he would ‘find out soon enough.’ For the first time since their abduction, Link turned on his phone and prepared himself for the onslaught of notifications.

The text messages came first. From Zelda, Daruk, Urbosa, and Revali. Even Teba, Riju, and Sidon had tried to get a hold of him. There was a group message as well that they all seemed to be a part of. And then there were the missed calls. Hundreds, it seemed. And not just from his friends, but from Talon, Kit, and Sera. There were quite a few voicemails, too, but he didn’t bother listen to them. He was sure they were all the same.

And though he knew everyone was searching, the lack of media coverage shouldn’t have surprised him. Like everything else, Roham made sure to keep their abduction a secret. Of course, it wouldn’t bode well on his part if all of Hyrule knew their Chosen Hero was missing or in trouble. And at the hands of the Yiga Clan, no less. A group of people that were made to look like nothing more than a mere annoyance, when they were in fact a very dangerous group of rogue Sheikah. Lies, lies, and more lies.

He decided to call Sera. She picked up on the first ring.

“Link, what the fuck? Where have you been?”

“Hey, miss me?”

“You’re not fucking funny, man!” Her voice lowered. “The fuck is going on with you?”

“What are you doing?”

“What - what? What am I doing? For the love of - I’m at work! The hell do you think I’m doing?”

Link frowned. He realized then that he had no clue what day it was. Were they even still in the same month he last remembered? Was it still June? “Uh. Sure. Work.”

“Yeah, that thing you’re gonna be fired from,” she hissed.

“Yeah. About that. I need to quit.”

Sera was silent for a moment. “What’s going on? Are you okay? Will you just talk to me? Shit, Link, no one has heard from you in like, two weeks! I thought you were dead! And you left me here alone at work - I thought I was going to die!”

“That must have been so hard for you,” Link said dryly.

“Look. I’m leaving early. Meet me at the bar, alright?”

“But-”

“Be there!” And the call ended.

Mipha’s gaze narrowed on him as he stood. “Where are you going?”

“His work wife is pissed at him,” Aryll said with a grin. “Tell Sera I said hi.”

Mipha frowned. “You’re really leaving?”

“Yes,” Link said simply. “I have shit to take care of.”

“Like what?”

“Like a job to quit.”

“A two week absence wasn’t enough?”

“I’m hoping if I show up, they’ll fire me and then have to pay me a severance.”

“I’m glad you have your priorities in order,” Mipha said, rolling her eyes.

“Well, I need some kind of money coming in while I’m off saving Hyrule again.”

“You know,” Aryll started, “if things weren’t so fucked up right now, you’d make a better Superman than Superman. Corporate slave by day, hero by night.”

“I’m hoping they’ll make a movie out of my life,” Link said bitterly. “Gotta get something out of this, anyway.”

“Because peace in Hyrule isn’t enough.”

“Doesn’t pay my bills.” He grabbed his keys. “Don’t leave the house, got it?”

“What if we’re attacked?” Aryll asked.

“Then stay here and survive so I don’t have to go searching for you.”

“Wouldn’t want to put you out,” Aryll said. “Would you be okay with it if I blew up the house in the process of trying to survive?”

Link shrugged. “I could collect the insurance money on it. Won’t have a mortgage. Yeah, go for it.”

He made his way to the office first, making his way straight to his boss’s office and avoiding as many people as he could. To his dismay, his boss was not angry, but concerned for his sudden absence, and seemed unwilling to fire him over the matter. To no surprise, his boss was full of his own conspiracies, and pressed Link for information, though Link insisted nothing was going on. He was obviously not convinced, seeing no other logical explanation for his sudden disappearance, and insisted that Link couldn’t quit.

So, Link opted to go another route, and inferred that there was something going on, but he couldn’t explain the details to him. It was the truth, anyway, and this seemed to please his boss’s inner fanboy. And they came to an agreement - a layoff, of sorts, leaving Link free to go about his heroic duties, and able to return to work when he was ready, all the while still having some sort of money coming in. Because, as his boss stated, Aryll still needed to get through one more year of high school.

No one could say his boss wasn’t an understanding and considerate man. Off the record, of course. Still, Link didn’t press his luck further, quickly thanking him before carefully sneaking out of the office undetected.

His next stop; the bar. It was still early, but he knew Sera would be meeting him there shortly. And he was sure he’d get the same interrogation as he got from everyone else, but there was little he could say to her. He made his way to his usual stool, ignoring Kit’s surprised gaze.

“What the fuck, man?” The bar was empty, which was no surprise giving the early time of day, which meant Kit had all the time in the world to press Link for information. He whistled as Link sat. “Where'd ya get that shiner?”

Link grunted his thanks as Kit slid a beer across the counter.

“Did Aryll finally beat you up?” Kit continued with a grin. “I'm sure you had it coming.”

“No, but you should see the other guy.”

Kit raised a brow. “The fuck happened to you? You were gone for two weeks. Sera wouldn’t leave me alone about it. Said you stopped coming to work, and you weren’t answering either of our texts.”

“I was... busy.”

“Busy getting the snot beat out of ya?”

“Something like that.”

“So, what happened?”

Link said nothing as he finished his beer. He met Kit's watchful gaze and waved the empty bottle at him.

“Fine,” Kit muttered. “But in exchange, I want answers. I know something's going on.”

“What makes you so sure about that?”

“You've got that determined look on your face.”

“I don't have a determined look.”

Kit put the next bottle down in front of Link. “You've got that 'I'm the hero and I'm about to kick some bad guy ass' look.”

“That's not a look.”

“Sure it is. I haven't seen it in some time. But if we're being honest, it didn't look that threatening on that baby face you had back in the day when I'd see it on the news.” Kit grabbed a beer for himself, opened it, and took a sip. “You're scarier, now. If you didn't have that nice black and blue, I'd be intimidated.”

Link sighed. “It doesn't concern you.”

“So, it is hero business, then.” He leaned on the counter. “What's going on this time?”

“If I told you, you'd only be in danger.”

Kit leaned back and grinned. “Oh, sounds good. Now you gotta tell me.”

“Let it go,” Link muttered.

“No way,” Kit said. “You guys get to have all the fun. I live through your stories, Link. The only thing that gets me through the day is wondering what exciting adventure story you'll have for me. My life is meaningless, Link. I'm begging you to tell me.”

“You're pathetic.”

“Tell me something I don't know.” He finished his beer and waited for Link to finish his. He tossed the two bottles, then turned back to Link. “So, what's a guy gotta do to join the hero team?”

“What's your superpower?”

“I'll give you free beer for life.”

Link frowned. “Shouldn't that have been offered to me when I saved the world?”

“Clearly the world isn't out of the woods yet.”

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

“What do I have to do? Jump up and down like a little girl?”

“Yes.”

Kit scowled at him. “I'm cutting you off until you tell me.”

Link shrugged. “Plenty of other bars around here.”

“But will you get the same quality service that you get here?”

“Probably better.”

As Link stood, Kit sprawled out against the bar, grabbing at the air with his fingers. “C'mon, Link,” he whined. “I won't tell anyone. Tell me, tell me, tell me!”

Link sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You're impossible.”

“What's a little story gonna hurt, hm?”

Link narrowed his eyes at Kit, but sat back at the bar. “Look,” he started. “This is serious.”

Kit straightened and nodded, his face serious. “I'm listening. Hit me.”

Link shrugged. “You were right.”

Kit mouthed his words silently to himself. “About what?” When Link didn’t answer, his eyes lit up. “The Yiga Clan?” he shouted, then lowered his voice, his face falling to disappointment. “Did you let the Yiga Clan beat you up?” He didn’t wait for Link to respond. “Of course you did, you dumb bastard. You know, I know you don’t have your super sword anymore, but come on, man, you’re better than that. You can’t let a bunch of losers in red tights beat the shit outta ya.”

“I don’t exactly stand a damn chance, you know.”

Kit considered this with a nod. “Guess you’ll need all the help you can get.”

The door opened before Link could argue, and Sera strode angrily over to him. She sat promptly at the bar and narrowed her gaze on Link, though she spoke to Kit. “Beer. Now.”

“Rude,” Kit snarled.

“The fuck happened to you?” Sera said, ignoring Kit.

“The Yiga Clan beat the shit out of him,” Kit said smugly.

Link shot an angry gaze toward him, and Kit threw his arms in the air defensively.  He turned away to get Sera her beer.

Sera’s eyes widened. “The Yiga Clan? The fuck is that?”

“They’re bad news,” Kit said. “Mr. Hero’s got some ass kickin’ to do.”

“For real? Is that why you just disappeared?”

“I never said that,” Link muttered.

“You implied it,” Kit said.

Sera frowned. “What’s going to happen?”

“I don’t know,” Link said simply. “I’m kind of going rogue, here.”

“Rogue?” Kit repeated.

Link’s brows furrowed. “Roham has been keeping a lot of secrets.”

“Scandalous,” Kit said with a grin. “Hyrule would riot if they knew their old king was being so shady.”

“What about Zelda?” Sera asked.

“I think he’s been lying to her, too.”

“So, what exactly is going on?”

Link shook his head. “I only know what I know, and even that isn’t much.” He sighed. “The Yiga Clan needs to be stopped before they have a chance to undo everything Zelda and I did ten years ago. And that’s all I’m going to say about it.”

Kit frowned. “So, what? You’re taking off to go hunt them down?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Yeah? You and what army?”

“I’m rogue,” Link said. “I’ve got not army.”

“And you’re gonna die.”

“Probably.”

“This is stupid,” Sera insisted. “You can’t do this alone.”

“Never mind the fact that the a single Yiga could take him out with a snap of their fingers.”

“I’m well aware of my odds,” Link said.

“This is suicide,” Sera said fiercely.

Link stood. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve gotta take care of them while I still can.”

“While you still can?” Sera narrowed her gaze on him. “The fuck does that mean?”

Link sighed. “Stop asking questions,” he hissed at them. “You’re not supposed to know any of this shit.”

“So why you tellin’ us?” Kit asked.

“Because I figured I at least owed you a damn explanation. Just leave it alone, alright?”

Kit and Sera fell silent. They exchanged worried glances.

“You know,” Link muttered. “I’m not incapable. I saved the world once, didn’t I?”

Kit grinned and shrugged with one shoulder. “Alright, Mr. Hero. But when you’re ready to admit you need real help, you let me know.”

“And what do you think you’re gonna do?” Sera sneered.

“I know people,” Kit said cryptically. “I can get you things.”

“Right,” Link said, rolling his eyes. He turned to leave the bar. “Stay out of trouble.”

Sera frowned. “At least try to stay in touch this time,” she called after him. Link waved a hand over his shoulder as he made his way to the door. “And stay alive, dammit!”