If the Kara Kara Bazaar was beautiful (which it was, it was absolutely gorgeous), then even still it was far overshadowed by the overwhelming, breathtaking beauty of Gerudo Town. As I passed beneath its gate, I found myself taken aback by the views; the sweltering heat and the sweat lining my brow and the dry heat did little to dissuade me or my efforts to look around and take in the sights.

And god damn if it wasn't a magnificent view, any way you chose to look. It had bubbling, rushing aqueducts along the perimeter, bringing water wherever it was necessary; there was simple architecture and rather uniform layouts compared to, say, Rito Village, but there were adornments along the outer walls and strung across doors; and of course, there was no way I could forget the dazzling golden glow of the setting sun.

Everything here fit together perfectly, as though puzzle pieces, but the truth of the matter was that everything here was painstakingly handcrafted and well-maintained.

It seemed... magical, almost.

I wanted to sightsee, of course I did, and I wanted to act like little more than a common tourist. But that wouldn't be helpful, and I didn't want to return to Link empty-handed. I needed information, and the only way to do that was to do a little bit of digging and the only way to do that was to catch up with some of the locals.

...ok, I decided I could take a moment or two to sightsee.

Leaving the gate behind me, I wandered into the town, and along the main road I found myself in what I suspected to be the main square and hub of commerce and activity. Larger, permanent shops resided in the buildings lining the square while shaded booths and tables made a smaller perimeter within the square.

I walked along the shopfronts, gazing curiously at the goods and the services they were promising. That Gerudo woman sold trinkets and oddities procured from the desert sands; that one there offered love readings to hopeful passerby; that woman across the way was shouting out her own deals for hand sculpted bowls and dinnerware.

Everything looked incredibly artsy and to be crafted with care, and if I had more time and money, I'd spend plenty of both here. But I didn't. I passed through the shops, gliding through the bustling crowd that was buzzing with excitement and energy despite the heat of the day - though perhaps that added a certain level of adrenaline, a rush that they enjoyed as they made their bids for goods.

I left the marketplace behind and continued on along the main road. In alleyways there were panting dogs and individuals leaning against the walls to either side in purple hazes that smelled almost sickeningly sweet even from where I walked.

Food was left out to cool on windowsills under the awnings of homes and their aromas enticed little lizards to emerge that in turn were stalked by cats. Guardswomen walked the streets in pairs, increasing in frequency as I approached the heart of the town and found myself facing a stairwell leaning upwards - not to a grand palace per se, but to a building grander than any other to be found within the village itself.

This must be where the chief resides, I figured, wondering if I might be able to ask for council with her. Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't - but it couldn't hurt to try.

I walked to the nearest pair of guardswomen at the foot of the stairwell and, like before, they crossed their polearms to prevent me from passing.

"Pardon me," I said to one of them directly. "I don't mean to trespass. I just wanted to ask you a few things."

"Then speak, vai," said the guard I'd spoken to.

"The sandstorms," I began, getting right to the point. "Clearly, you've a hub of trade here. Does the sandstorm kicked up by the Divine Beast get in the way? Or do you have routes around it?"

"We deal with it," said the other guard.

"It isn't so much the storm itself - our routes are well out of its way," clarified the first guard. "The problem lies in the shockwaves its steps make in the sand, and the way the sand resettles after each storm. People are also afraid to visit our town, and even the Kara Kara Bazaar, for fear of the beast. Trades are down, and lower than they've ever been that I've seen."

"I see," I replied, thinking it over. "And I've also heard that a select few have tried approaching the beast."

"Fools," the second guard spat. "Fools for thinking they can stop it, and fools for trying in the first place."

"People have spent time researching its exact habits," the first guard said. "They've got it down to the time of day - and they approach during a break in the storm. What they don't account for is a secondary mode of defense for the beast."

"And what would that be?"

The guards looked at each other. "Just know that it'd be foolish to go and try," she continued. "I cannot stress enough the dangers."

"Say I was with a very skilled swordsman," I said. "Say I had the means to disable the beast. Surely you can give me more information?"

"If it's information you want, it's a meeting with the chief that you want," the first guard told me. "But she's very particular about who she sees."

"Might I be able to get an audience with her, then? I'd love to talk to her about what I can do to help." I didn't miss it when the guards looked up and down my body pointedly, and I resisted the urge to balk or grow embarrassed or defensive. "Any information at all would be a great help. Do you employ the use of mounts? Anything to help you traverse the desert quickly?"

The rest of the conversation went... alright. It wasn't great, and they were hesitant to give out any more information than necessary which, of course, meant none at all. I did find out that they did have mounts in the form of sand seals, affectionate little guys who laze about a lot, and I did find out that the window of time between storms is so slight that lots of residents here had yet to be lucky enough to spot it - meaning Link and I had just gotten lucky.

Having gotten all of the information I could scrape together from the guards, I now took to walking the outskirts of the town, along the taller walls surrounding the city as the sun dipped below them and the shadows deepened, bathing me awash in cool, delicious air.

I could still hear the gurgling of the water from the aqueducts far above me, perhaps even better now because there was no one around and I relished in the silence while I had it, with only the sound of my footfalls in the densely packed sand to combat the soothing sounds of the water. I was just rounding the corner which led back into the town square when I saw movement by the gate.

Looking ahead, curious, I smiled at the sight of a fair-skinned Hylian (I could see the tips of her pointed ears poking out from her intricate Gerudo headwear) stepping into the village hesitantly, almost shyly, peering around cautiously.

I continued walking, and as I went to pass by, her beautiful, bright blue eyes met my own. I smiled politely and went on my way... but I did a double take, my feet stilling completely as I felt that something was... off. Something was strange. Familiar.

Apparently, I had appeared too friendly and especially more so now because I was looking at her, because she approached me. I allowed her to, my eyes narrowed. She seemed familiar... something was so familiar about those eyes and oh my god.

Oh, my god.

Holy shit.

"Link-"

"Shh," he immediately hissed, covering my mouth with his hand, blushing profusely as he set his other hand on my back to guide me right back in the direction I'd come from.

When we were tucked safely out of earshot of anyone who cared to listen in an alley, with him having pressed me to the wall gently for good measure, he faced me directly. He made sure to keep his palm over my mouth just in case I decided to say something stupid or blow his cover, probably. His cheeks burned bright red and though he could meet my gaze, his brow was furrowed and his eyes glassy and he looked embarrassed.

"Let me explain," he said quietly. "Just... don't speak. Ok? Don't speak. I'm trusting you."

He slowly, carefully, almost hesitantly lowered his palm from my face and, when he watched me resolutely close my mouth and pretend to zip it closed, he nodded affirmatively, as though finally convinced.

He glanced around us pointedly and when he was satisfied that we were good and alone, he looked back at me, his eyes meeting mine. Well, no they didn't. My own eyes had gotten right to... taking in his new outfit.

Wow.

He was wearing a set of traditional, light, flowy Gerudo vai clothing. His headdress, face mask, and the fabric about his torso were of this gorgeous baby blue, maybe teal color; and my eyes trailed downwards towards his legs only to dart back up - I knew he was fit but holy shit - and I found that he was wearing these deep purple capris, green shoes, and to round out the look, an anklet of gold.

I let out an amused sort of hum and smiled at him. "You look good, Link."

Thinking I was teasing, a blush creeped up his cheeks again and he said defensively, "I needed to get into the city somehow."

"Yes, I know," I assured him. "And I suppose I should've expected you to show up here, but I mean it, Link. You look good." Then I leaned closer to him to tease him, my smile turning sly. "Where'd all that confidence from before go, hmm? Where did the Link who was perfectly content to run around shirtless go?"

"Shut up," he muttered. "Saying something to fluster you and actually doing what I said I'd do are two completely different things."

"Right, well," I began, laying off a little, "I'm sure you're eager to know what I've learned."

"Yes," he said, nodding, and I was taken aback for a moment by how quickly he went from shy and flustered to serious and engaged. "What did you find out?"

I, once again, got right to the point. I told him all that I had found out, even the most trivial bits of information from the locals - stories they shared about the beast namely, just wives' tales and things of that nature. Because we didn't know what we were dealing with, everything had value.

"Right," he said determinedly. "I'm going to go see if I can meet with the Chief."

"You're more likely to get an audience than me," I said, nodding. "I'll dig around a little more, see if I can't find anything else."

"Let's meet by the gate when we're done?"

I nodded and we went our separate ways - until I turned and called after him, "You look good in that outfit, Link, so own it! You won't convince anyone if you walk around all nervously like that."

He turned to look at me, but seemed to relax more as his eyes met mine. I couldn't see it because it was obscured, but from the look in his eyes alone I could tell that he was smiling under his mask.

And that, in turn, made me smile, too.

And I watched him walk away, amazed at how well he really did look in that damn outfit.

Damn.

—

When the moon began to rise, Link and I regrouped. Fresh out of his audience with the chief, who was apparently a sparky young Gerudo woman named Riju, Link seemed excited to tell me everything he'd learned, so arm-in-arm we searched for somewhere we could speak privately.

Well, I searched.

It shouldn't surprise anyone to find out that Link got distracted. He was a boy easily sidetracked, after all.

What we quickly learned in our search (or the beginning of it, anyway) was that Gerudo nightlife was lively. Without the direct heat of the sun, and with the moon's brilliant glow reflected off the sand, lots of folks made their way out of their homes and their inns and their shops to populate the dense town square. As I made to walk right by the square because it was far too busy for what we were looking for, Link grabbed my wrist and made me stop with him.

"Look at that," Link said, watching a group of women gathered in a semicircle, and I did just as he said to do.

What he was looking at was a crowd of tourists, like us, and they were all watching, abuzz, as a trio of Gerudo women performed what seemed to be a traditional dance of theirs. With synchronized movements, it was obvious they were well-versed in this choreography in particular and the way they moved together looked less like dance and more like flowing water.

The isolations of their movements were sharp and precise, and there were these incredibly confident, yet incredibly carefree looks on their faces. It was a form of bellydancing, I think, and if I didn't know any better, I'd have thought the musicians nearby were using the dancers as guides for what to play instead of the dancers going by the music and knowing what move to do next - and something about that was terribly intriguing to me.

I was smiling before I knew it, nudging Link with my arm. "Incredible, huh? It's beautiful," I said.

"Yeah," Link agreed, then smiled mischievously - I could see it in my periphery.

"Oh, no," I said, beginning to withdraw from his grasp and retreat from his side. "I know that look."

"Hmm," he hummed with the intonation of a question, the smile on his lips as he followed after me telling me that he knew exactly what I was talking about, but the fool vocalized the useless question anyway: "What do you mean, (Y/n)? What look?"

"You know exactly what I mean," I pressed, unknowingly passing to the other side of the square. Though less densely populated, there still were people milling about, though most of their focus seemed to be on the dancers as they attracted more and more people. "It's a look that means I won't like what you say next," I said, then added, "which probably means it's really dumb. Or stupid."

"That's the same thing," he said, his smile growing.

"No, wait," I struggled to say as Link reached for my hands, taking them in his own. He won, because of course he did, and succeeded in taking my hands before pulling me in close to him. He looked down between us despite my continued protests - there were too many people around for him to do what I think he was about to - and yet he did it anyway. His smile was infectious and his excitement palpable as he began to move, to attempt the dance the Gerudo women were doing just across the square.

"(Y/n)," he said when he realized I wasn't doing anything, "come on, you're a woman!"

...

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" I asked, incredulous.

"It means you should know how to dance, right? Or move your hips, at least. You're supposed to be showing me how it's done!"

"Oh, sorry," I muttered dryly, "I didn't realize I was supposed to be giving a demonstration right now."

"Of course you are," he said with a huff of his own, glancing back at the Gerudo women briefly and mimicking the way their hips moved with little success before letting his eyes meet mine. "Come on, firefly, you said that it was beautiful, and you're b-" Whatever he was going to say was cut off by him clearing his throat, and he shook his head. "You're being a pain," he decided to say.

"I'm being a pain," I repeated with a laugh, only able to believe he was saying this because I knew him. "You didn't exactly ask me to dance, you know!"

"Fine," he said, his cheeks flaring, his movements all screeching to a halt. "Dance with me? Please?"

"Link, come on," I protested again. "I don't know how to dance like that, and-"

"So? Come on, have some fun," he said and, for his part, he certainly seemed like he was having fun, and... with a quick glance around, I could see that no one was watching him. No one at all. Not a single pair of eyes was directed his way except my own, when I decided to meet his gaze once more.

"You're a pain in my ass," I said, though of course my words held no heat, and my giving in had brought this bright, beautiful smile to his face.

So, we danced.

We danced like fools.

At times, people did look at us... but by that point, we were both too far gone to care.

—

With flushed cheeks, exhausted bodies, yet full hearts, we decided to stop and maybe grab a bite to eat and finally discuss what Link had discovered at his audience with Chief Riju. I'd honestly managed to forget all about why we were here, actually. It was strange, and definitely not something I anticipated, but all Link had done in response to my murmured admission was smile knowingly and nod in agreement, because he'd forgotten, too.

"We just have to defeat Ganon once and for all, and as soon as possible," Link had said determinedly, taking my hand into his own and leading me along one of the roads, and I fought not to outright laugh at the way he said it because he made it sound so easy.

That's about when we got distracted from our mission yet again.

"You two," we heard, the unfamiliar voice a lilting whisper like the breeze brushing across the sand. It was at the same time as unnerving as it was welcoming, which lured us both into the booth after a well-meaning look shared between us. The tent we found ourselves entering was small, and from the outside, rather unassuming. On the inside, it was adorned with all manner of trinket and oddity and gem that my eyes didn't know where to look first. Should I look at the chains of handmade wooden beads? Or the lines of gems according to color that ran along the floor? Or perhaps even the matron of the small booth herself, wearing shawls and robes of varying color, dizzying pattern, and clashing fabric?

"It's about time you returned to the desert, young hero," the voice said, and I looked at Link, surprised.

Had he been here before? Surely in his 'past life', so to speak. But for someone to remember him, and as the hero...? Either this woman had more years beneath her belt than she seemed to have, or Link had been introduced to her before. Yet even I knew that wasn't the case.

"These dunes seem much more barren and empty without your presence," the evidently ancient Gerudo woman spoke. Link just stared at her, aghast.

"You... you know who I am?"

"Of course I do," she answered, her weathered skin making way for a smile.

Link's eyes narrowed as his mind raced, then his features conveyed nothing but surprise as he said, "Urbosa?"

"Goddesses, no," the woman said right away. "I'm not her. She perished long ago - as you well know."

"Right," Link said, seeming to deflate slightly.

"Don't fret," the Gerudo woman said. "We never met personally, you and I. But everyone knew you, and everyone knew the princess. Sit, child." Link didn't have to be told twice. And I... lingered by the edge of the tent, wondering if I should leave. That's exactly when she noticed me, and I smiled cordially at her as she looked me over, feeling slightly awkward about the whole thing.

"Oh," Link said, smiling at me, "this is-"

"Your partner," she cut in. "I assumed as much." Her smile turned mischievous, and she gestured for me to join Link and kneel before her. "Perhaps the two of you might like a reading?"

"A reading...?"

"A love reading, my specialty," the woman clarified, the whole thing seeming like an advertisement, now. "Come, sit."

"Oh, no," I protested right away, my cheeks flaring. "We don't need a reading or anything, we'll be ok, really!"

"Sit," the woman said, and I couldn't help but feel like she herself had access to some kind of genuine magic because for whatever reason, I actually knelt beside Link without a word.

Link reached out to take my hand in what I assumed was a reassuring gesture, but when the woman reached for both our hands to complete the circle, I couldn't be sure - though he did squeeze my hand and smile at me in what was for sure a reassuring way, so I figured he wasn't really clairvoyant and just picked a good time to take my hand.

The woman closed her eyes.

As if instructed to, so did Link and I.

I chanced a glance at Link, but he was waiting patiently for the Gerudo woman to begin. Guess we were going to be doing this, then.

A love reading, honestly. As if I needed this to confirm what I already knew.

—

When at last the elderly woman let go of our hands, we stood and politely ducked out of the tent. We decided to drag ourselves to the nearest restaurant, which just so happened to be a quaint, hole-in-the-wall type of place. It was quiet and unassuming, so it was perfect.

After dancing and wandering several hours away about the town square and its markets and adding a love reading to it, we decided to at long last get on with business.

For real, this time.

This restaurant was small and for the hour it wasn't busy, so we decided that speaking there made the most sense. We'd have the least chance of getting overheard, of course.

As we ate, Link briefed me on what he had heard between bites. He was planning on heading to infiltrate the Yiga Clan hideout which was quite the distance from the town to show that he wasn't just a stranger - that he meant well for the Gerudo people. In order to gain the young chief's help, he needed to retrieve something that had been stolen from her.

But I... I frowned at the mention of the Yiga Clan. We hadn't exactly gotten attacked by them, but I'd heard of them accosting travelers and from what I heard, they were deadly. They were dangerous. And that worried me. I knew well what their intentions were.

Dealing with magic in particular made me uneasy, besides. However, I knew that we were stuck without the chief's help. I tried to hide my anxiety about the whole thing by looking over the dessert menu, and as I did, Link took out his tablet and placed it flat on the table with the map open.

I looked down from the menu, setting it aside for now. Link pointed to a marked point. "It's there," he said.

"We should go tonight," I offered. "We'll have the cover of darkness that way. I'd like to just go in and out without any trouble."

"So would I," Link agreed. "Besides, it'll be cooler."

"Mm," I hummed, considering it. "So no dessert, then?"

Link frowned and let out a breath. "As much as it pains me to say this, that's right. I want to get us out of this desert as soon as possible."

"Alright then, let's just get the check."

"I'll pay for it," Link said, taking out his wallet.

"We'll split it," I protested.

Link looked up at me innocently. "No, I'm paying," he insisted.

I went to protest further but the waitress came up to the table. Link threw his facemask back up and handed the Gerudo his rupees without a single word uttered. When she left with them, telling both of us to have a nice night, I turned your attention to Link to glare at him. I was met with Link's cheeky smile. "Let's get going, then, shall we?"

—

Down a winding path through the desert with walls of rock on either side of us we walked, our paces slow, our steps even, our footfalls silent. I was unsure of when, exactly, we had entered the canyon, because the rock seemed to naturally rise up on either side of us in a way very natural and unknowing. In the dim lighting of the lanterns strung high above our heads, hanging between the two rock walls, I could see odd frog-like statues with the Yiga Clan's mark over their faces. That was unsettling enough, to say the least.

It was safe to say that of all the enemies I had encountered, the Yiga Clan members were the ones I hated the most. Whether that was because of their tactics, my unfamiliarity with magic, or the fact that they had a personal vendetta against Link, I wasn't entirely sure, but I was sure that I wanted to get this over with.

"Link," I said quietly, crouching down beside Link behind a row of such statues. His eyes flickered to mine briefly before returning to the barren canyon before us. "It's quiet."

"It is quiet," he agreed. "I don't like it."

"What exactly are we here to retrieve, Link?"

"The chief's helmet," he replied, maintaining the low volume and I was taken aback. This was their hideout. They were dangerous enough on their own. We would potentially be facing dozens of them, likely at the same time... and for a helmet? These were folks that wanted Link dead!

"I'm sorry, what?" My voice was a low hiss and I faced him directly, lowering one knee to the sand. "Did I hear that right? We're here for a helmet?"

"It isn't just a helmet," he argued gently. "She called it a Thunder Helm. It can withstand the lightning that the Divine Beast shoots out at whoever nears."

My eyes widened. Well, nobody had told me that.

The Gerudo had only said that people perished if they dared venture too near - not that they were electrocuted. Fear took root in my heart just before it sunk down into my stomach. Did the Yiga know what they stole? If they did, did they know its capabilities, and if they knew that, what were they planning to do with it? They're against Link and believe in Ganon's rule. Did they want the helmet so that they could get up to the machine and possibly learn to pilot it?

I... I began to fear for Link's life. If we were unsuccessful, Link would have no way to get to the Beast, but I knew damn well that he would try anyway. If they had for some reason moved it to a different location, we were in trouble and the world doubly so.

Link stayed low but ran around the row of statues and to the next one. I made to move but paused, and I picked a good time to do so - because just in that moment, flames appeared out of thin air and I knew what that meant. Three Yiga Clan members appeared just behind Link, but I had already strung my bow, an arrow already notched in place. Link heard their wicked laughter and turned around, drawing his sword from its sheath and swinging at the member closest to him.

I pinned one in the shoulder, but disappeared in a puff of smoke before I could shoot it again, so I lined my arrow up with another one. Link ran for one, to which I was surprised. He never ran at them - the only time they'd let us near them was when they were down and immobilized. That was our only window to attack in close combat. He knew that we needed to attack them from a distance; it was most effective. Was he panicking?

Link swung at one just as it disappeared, and the perfect opportunity set itself up for me. I nearly smiled at this perfect timing, but forced myself to remain concentrated and I grabbed two more arrows. I lined them up with the heads of the Yiga members perfectly as they took far too much time to aim their bows at Link. I released the arrows, all three at the same time and-

"Holy shit, that worked?"

Each one hit its target. All three fell over, and then promptly disappeared in puffs of red smoke and flames. I cursed under my breath. The damn cowards always start fights but never let us finish the job. Not that I was excited for murder, of course, but they wanted Link dead!

I stood and jogged over Link. "Link," I said, "are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he answered. "Sorry about that."

"It's alright," I said, not really believing his words. "Just stay focused, alright?"

"I was just thinking," he mused. "Why do they need the helmet? What are they planning?"

"I was just wondering that, myself," I told him. "I wish I knew what they wanted with it. But we can't worry about that. Just focus on getting back what they stole. I'm sure they just found it to be pretty and shiny and wanted it to match their bananas."

"Yeah," he agreed, and he smiled. "You're probably right. Let's keep going."

The two of us continued down the pathway, but slowed as the rock walls began to get narrower, narrower, and narrower still. There, down a small rocky corridor was a door of sorts cut out of the rock. Peering inside, I could see some kind of altar in the center. I couldn't see what was at the top of it, but it looked unassuming enough - which meant we had to be very cautious. "Could it be right there, at the top of the altar?"

"If it was," Link said, "I'd be nervous. It seems too easy. It might be a trap."

"No way to know than to go in," I said, summoning up my nerve. I tightened your grip on your bow, keeping it aimed downward as I notched an arrow. He shifted the shield on his arm and led the way inside. Side-by-side we walked inside, looking around as we entered. There were individual stairwells set up around the cavern, leading to different rooms.

We climbed up the steps to the central altar only to find a duplex bow. I didn't want to grab it, or risk setting off some kind of trap, though I did want it. The one I held now was getting weak, and I'd need a new one soon, anyway.

But still, I  refrained from grabbing it. I assisted Link first in searching each of the rooms. Some held boxes of fruit, some required us to burn the banners covering them, revealing anything from Keese to chests holding gems inside. The last one we burned through, however, revealed to us a narrow stone corridor. Link and I looked at each other, and then climbed up the stairs as quietly as we could.

Reaching the top of the stairs, I found myself crossing a short wooden bridge before ending up on a stone platform. At the other end of the platform was a small cell, in which a Gerudo woman sat.

"It's the missing soldier," Link whispered before crouching down and slowly making his way over to her. I followed after him, keeping my eyes peeled for any members of the clan. I noticed that on a small table next to the cell were several bunches of bananas.

Because of course there were.

When the Gerudo woman noticed our presence there, she looked up, taking in our appearances respectively, though she didn't look particularly impressed.

"Hey," she said, "what are you doing here? This is the hideout of those Yiga thieves who stole the Thunder Helm... If they spot you, they'll call their friends for sure. There's no way the two of you can take them all on."

The soldier paused, her eyes looking away from me and focusing on Link.

She added, ruefully: "If only you had some way of distracting them... but I don't know how." She sighed. "All I ever see them do is patrol and eat bananas. I haven't seen anything else that you could exploit as a weakness." Now, she looked back up at me. "Listen, this place is dangerous. You should get out of here while you can. I can take care of myself."

I glanced at Link, then spoke: "I'm sure you can take care of yourself," I said, "but we're not leaving."

"You're making a mistake," she said, "but thank you."

"Just sit tight," I told her. "We'll find you a way out of here."

We turned then to the bananas. Link and I looked to the table of bananas, then to each other.

...and we broke into huge grins.

Even underneath his facemask, I could see his brilliant smile and I had to hold back my laugh because yep, we were on the same page. But then I did laugh, because he was still wearing that outfit, even though we were well outside of Gerudo Town.

"Link," I said, figuring that the Gerudo soldier wouldn't have spoken if there were Yiga clan members around, so it was probably safe to speak here, "I told you to change into normal clothes, didn't I? What'll you do if we get into another fight?"

Ok, I should be clear. I wasn't complaining, of course.

Anyone could enjoy a set of nice toned abs. And he was lean, too, not overly muscular. And with it being him, it wasn't something I'd tire of seeing, that was for sure. So I didn't mind this for the time being... so long as Link didn't notice me staring. But for all intents and purposes, that probably wasn't the best outfit to infiltrate a hidden base in.

He only shrugged and grabbed a bunch of bananas. "I'm not worried," he said. "Not with you to cover me."

I rolled my eyes and followed Link down the stairs to the main floor of the hideout. Going into the next room, we crouched down behind a wall and noticed a tall stone pillar in the center of the room with a set of stairs just beyond it.

"Lots of stairs around here," Link huffed. He began to head for the stairs but I caught sight of a flickering shadow and instinctively grabbed Link by the back of the tunic and yanked him back behind the wall. I had perfect timing, too; just as I pulled Link back, a large, burly guard came around the pillar, holding a torch.

I peeked back out from behind the wall. When the guard had his back turned, I grabbed Link's hand and ran, staying close to the ground, to the stairs and went down them. Just at the bottom of this short set of stairs, we entered another room. There was a single guard blocking the door to the next room. I looked around the room, seeing if there was a way to get around him. There wasn't - we'd need to be creative and find a way to distract him, then.

In the room, there were two big slabs of rock, and Link hid behind the one closest to the stairs. Taking some bananas from his pack, he tossed them to the other side of the room. The guard let out a delighted noise of surprise. I cursed quietly - the guard would investigate where the bananas were thrown from, right? That's what I would do.

I hesitated to follow Link around the slab of rock, but seeing that the guard was going right for the bananas, I thanked Hylia and trotted after him, dumbfounded at the guard's stupidity.

I made it through the door just seconds after Link and glanced back to see the guard doing an odd little dance before pocketing the banana. I resisted the urge to laugh and opted instead to follow Link once more. At the top of the stairs was a narrow corridor leading to a large room with multiple guards. Further down, however, there was a ladder, which I began to climb after Link.

Reaching the top, I pulled myself up to see that we were at the top of the room, well above the guards and the slabs of rock that they patrolled around. There was wooden infrastructure we could walk on, which led right to... a room full of bananas. Oh, my god.

"Oh, man," Link said, laughing. "Hey, (Y/n). My slate has a camera on it. Can you take a picture of me and all of these bananas?"

I don't know what surprised me more - the concept of the camera in itself or the fact that Link wanted to immortalize this moment in particular. Needless to say, I took the picture... or at least, I tried. I couldn't exactly use it without... oh. When the gemstone tucked into my circlet warmed, the slate remained aglow in my hands and I was able to use it, freely.

Strange.

I shook my head and took the picture, confused by the sudden change and the idea of a picture in the first place, but because it all made Link smile, I decided not to press either issue for now. Satisfied, Link opened the lone chest in the room to find another gem - one we could sell later.

From this vantage point, far above the rest of the hideout, Link and I could strategize. And that's what we did. There was nothing left to do, once we had a plan in place, but to execute it, so that's exactly what we did.

We continued on. Eventually, we reached a large, open cavern, the walls of the canyon opening up and I found myself stunned by the gorgeous night sky, opening up above us.

Oh, and there was a giant pit.

"Hey," I heard. Preparing for a fight, I tensed, and so did Link. Evil villains always had a monologue, so we both waited with bated breath for-

"Who the heck are you? And what are you doing in my napping spot?"

...

Huh?

"Wait a minute... That thing on your hip... is that... Could it be a Sheikah Slate?! If it's a Sheikah Slate, then that means... Yeah, it's you! You're that Link guy I've been looking for!"

My eyes narrowed and I drew my sword, taking half a step forward. At last noticing me, the burly man looked at me and if he wasn't masked, I'm sure he'd be blanching. "...Who the heck are you?"

"Someone who's gonna kick your ass if you don't keep his name out of your mouth," I sneered.

"Feisty," he said in response as Link stared at me, mouth agape and eyes wide. "Alright, cool. Let's get this started!"