Summary: A Yiga Clan plot disrupts Link's and Mipha's life together, distressing Mipha as they are about to start a family.

It was early evening, and Mipha and Link had just finished dinner. There were three weeks to go before Mipha would lay the two eggs she was carrying, and they were discussing names for their children. They were both surprised by a knock on the door.

"Who can that be?" asked Mipha.

Link got up, opened the door, and found a Zora guard standing there.

"Link, His Majesty needs to see you at once. It is a matter of some urgency," said the guard.

"Alright," said Link. "Mipha, I'll be back as soon as I can, and let you know what this is all about."

He followed the guard to King Dorephan's throne room.

"Link, I'm sorry to tell you this, but I have some distressing news. A few days ago, the Gerudo intercepted a Yiga Clan message without the Yiga Clan realizing it. The Gerudo could not decode it but sent it to Impa in Kakariko Village. Impa was able to decipher the message, and it contained details of a Yiga Clan plan to attack Gerudo Town in force in one week. Upon learning this, Lady Urbosa appealed to King Rhoam for aid, and he, in turn, has sought aid from the other kingdoms, including the Champions. As you know, Zoras cannot survive in the desert, so I cannot offer any assistance. But they have requested your help."

"I see," said Link.

"As Mipha's father, I would prefer you not to go. And I fear Mipha will take this news very badly. But I believe it is my duty and yours to comply with King Rhoam's request," said King Dorephan.

"Yes, I can understand that," said Link. "When would I need to leave?"

"I'm afraid you will need to leave this evening," said King Rhoam. "The plan is to assemble secretly in Gerudo Town. You will need to travel discreetly. We have arranged a boat for you to help with the first part of your journey."

"Alright," Link said. "I will go home and let Mipha know."

He started to walk home, wondering how to break this terrible news to her.

Mipha was worried by Link's unexpected summons from her father and was pacing back and forth, waiting anxiously for his return. She could tell from the look on his face that the news was not good.

"Mipha, I am being asked to help defend Gerudo Town from an upcoming Yiga Clan attack. King Rhoam has requested all the Champions assemble there secretly. Of course, as a Zora, you cannot go to the desert. I am supposed to leave this evening," said Link.

Mipha's hands flew to her mouth, and she gasped as she heard this.

"No, no, no," she cried. "You can't do this! You have a family now. Your first loyalty is to our Royal Family, not King Rhoam. I must speak to my father."

There was no stopping her now, so he let her leave. In the meantime, he started to gather his armor and weapons.

Mipha rushed to the throne room. King Dorephan had been expecting her.

"Father, what is this about Link having to defend Gerudo Town?" said Mipha. "You need to keep Link here with his family. His first loyalty is to us, not King Rhoam or the Gerudo. His children will hatch in less than a month. How can you send him away into battle now?"

"Mipha, I am so sorry about this," said King Dorephan. "In my heart, I want him to stay here with you. But I cannot in good conscience refuse King Rhoam's request. Think, for example, if the circumstances were reversed? If Link was King Rhoam's son-in-law, and our Domain came under attack, and I appealed to King Rhoam for assistance, don't you think he would send Link to our aid? I believe he would."

"Perhaps he would. I don't know, father," said Mipha. "But I do know what my heart tells me. And if anything should happen to Link, I don't think, in my heart, I could ever forgive you for not protecting him."

Mipha left the room. She felt like crying. She usually could handle Link going off on some assignment. She knew he was very capable of handling himself in battle and trusted he would be especially careful now that he was a father. But her emotions had changed since they started a family. She felt more protective of her family, including him. Link's going off now was painful. But she would do her best to control her emotions. She returned home. Link tried to comfort her upon her return but did a terrible job of it.

"Mipha, I know you don't want to hear any speeches. But look at the good things we've had. In my former life, we lost each other before we could even be together. In this life, we have had over a year together and two children on the way. If it is my fate to fall in battle now, we should be grateful for the extra time we had together," said Link.

"I don't want to hear about falling in battle!" she shouted. "And I don't give a fish's poop about your other timeline, which never happened anymore," said Mipha growing angrier. "I can't lose you now, and especially with our family about to start. If you must go, I want to go with you to help and heal you. But I can't because of the desert. Every day you're gone, I will be worried sick you're hurt, and I'm not there to help you."

Link could think of nothing to say that might not make matters worse.

"Please get down on your knees right now and swear a sacred oath before Nayru that you will not be reckless, and you will protect yourself," said Mipha. "That will give me some comfort, at least."

Link knelt down as she asked. "I swear on my honor before Nayru that I will not be reckless and will do my best to protect myself and return safely to you and my family," he said.

He rose and then held her in his arms. He kissed her and said, "I need to go now." Then he turned to the door and left.

Link walked down to the Domain's lower level, where two Zora guards were waiting with a boat. The plan was to travel day and night by boat along the Zora River, loop around Crenel Hills, and then continue south on the Hylia River to Lake Hylia. The Zora guards would accompany him on that part of the trip and take turns driving the boat. This would be faster than traveling overland since there would be no need to rest on the way, and it was less likely to draw the Yiga Clan's attention. From Lake Hylia onward, Link would be on his own. He would head first to Gerudo Canyon Stable. After resting overnight, he would continue to Kara Kara Bazaar in the guise of a merchant traveling with a mule. At the bazaar, he would then disguise himself as a Hylian Vai and complete the journey to Gerudo Town.

The trip went according to plan. The boat part of the journey was uneventful, and he disembarked at Lake Hylia. A Zora guard was waiting for him there with a horse. He thanked the three Zora guards and asked them to please tell Lady Mipha upon their return to the Domain that he was alright so far. They agreed and wished him well.

Then he mounted his horse and headed west across the plains south of Mount Hylia until he met up with the road through Gerudo Canyon Pass. Travel by road went without incident, and he finally arrived at Gerudo Canyon Stable. He needed to rest and spent the night there. The next morning, he obtained a mule they had waiting for him and continued south along the road to Kara Kara Bazaar in a merchant's guise. The only people he met along the way were some Gerudo. When he reached the bazaar, he stopped at the inn there and switched disguises, now becoming a Hylian Vai. He waited until some Gerudo were heading home to walk with them to Gerudo Town. So far, the plan had gone well, he thought. He wished he had some way of letting Mipha know he was alright, but secrecy was too essential now to jeopardize with any messages.

Gerudo Town looked pretty much the same as he remembered it. No one paid him any attention. He looked like just another Hylian Vai on a visit. His orders were to request an audience with Lady Urbosa by giving a secret password to the guards. He proceeded to do just that. Upon entering, a guard directed him upstairs to the Gerudo Chief's bedroom. Apparently, the meeting was being held there to avoid being detected. Upon entering, he found the other Champions were already there. Urbosa greeted him.

"Link, I am glad you finally made it and so sorry to take you away from your family," said Urbosa. "Now that we are all here, we need to formulate our plan. Let's all sit down over here."

The group assembled at a bench area alongside one of the pools of water. No one was in the mood for pleasantries, but Daruk gave him a nod and a wink. Besides three of the Champions, Dr. Purah and Dr. Robbie were also present. Urbosa led off the discussion.

"We don't know all the details, but we do know the Yiga Clan will be staging an attack here tomorrow at an hour past midday. They expect to surprise us, so we need to keep up the illusion that they will. We understand they have built a Guardian mechanism of sorts to attack us, something between a Guardian Stalker and a Divine Beast. They expect to use their Guardian to break down our walls and spearhead their attack. Dr. Purah has been working on something that may aid us in that area, so I will let her speak next," said Urbosa.

"Yes, thank you, Urbosa," said Dr. Purah. "Robbie and I have been working on something that originally came from Link. The Purah of his old timeline described in detail in her notes how Ganon had been able to infect the Guardians and Divine Beasts with his malice. She and Robbie were working on a defense to that process, the details of which Link brought back with him. We are optimistic we can use the same technology to immobilize the Yiga Clan Guardian. I have programmed the Sheikah Slate I brought with me to do that. I only need to get close enough. However, that does not solve the problem of the Yiga Clan warriors themselves. For that, we will need the help of the Gerudo warriors and the Champions."

"That is good news," said Urbosa. "So, assuming we can take their Guardian out of commission, let's talk about how we deal with their warriors. I would suggest we let Link lead the Champions and Gerudo warriors into battle since he has the most experience fighting the Yiga Clan."

At this, Revali jumped up and protested. "I don't think Link is suitable for that role anymore if indeed he ever was," said Revali, "I think married life among the Zoras has dulled his combat skills. I would prefer someone with sharper current fighting ability. Like myself, for example."

Daruk was about to speak up in Link's defense when Link waved for him to stop. Usually, he would have challenged Revali's assessment of him, but now he was mindful of the oath he took for Mipha.

"I agree with Revali," said Link. "I think he would be more capable of leading this battle. I will be happy to play whatever support role seems suitable."

Revali looked a bit surprised, as he was expecting an argument from Link, but quickly recovered his composure.

"Well, then, is that settled?" said Revali.

"If there are no objections," said Urbosa.

No one raised any.

"Alright, Revali," said Urbosa, "do you have any thoughts on how we should deal with the warriors?"

"Yes, I do," said Revali. "I have asked a squad of Rito archers to fly here secretly tonight and roost out of sight at the top of the Gerudo Town water tower. They will be ready to defend the town from above. Daruk, Link, and the Gerudo warriors can cover the grounds and deal with any attacks from there."

"And I will sneak back to Vah Naboris tonight," said Urbosa. "Vah Naboris will be ready to cross the desert tomorrow and give the Yiga Clan the shock of their lives. If necessary, Vah Naboris can battle the Yiga Clan Guardian."

"The Yiga Clan Guardian still worries me," said Link. "Do we know anything about this device? Have we seen any sign of it?"

"No," said Urbosa. "And that troubles me too. We have sent scouts out to see what they could learn, but they report no sign of it. Yet we know from their plans it is part of their attack."

"And I guess," said Link, "you cannot move Vah Naboris any closer to Gerudo Town at this point without arousing suspicion?"

"That's right," said Urbosa.

"Alright," said Revali. "The main thing we must do now is to maintain secrecy. Is there a chance there are any Yiga Clan spies in Gerudo Town?"

"There is a chance," said Urbosa, "which is why I asked you all to travel as secretly as possible. Link came disguised as a Hylian Vai. Daruk's visit was harder to conceal, but we do have Gorons visiting here from time to time, so a Goron visit would not be too unusual. We have a healthy trade with Gorons for jewels. Revali, you flew here, and we also get many Rito visitors. I am hoping we did not draw any attention to ourselves. I can vouch that the palace guards here are loyal, and there are no spies among them. If we are careful, we should maintain the element of surprise. I recommend we all sleep here in the palace to avoid detection."

Everyone agreed. Some food was provided, and they had a quiet dinner together. Daruk finally had a chance to talk with Link, who was still in his Hylian Vai costume.

"I know I'd better be quiet, but it's nice to see you again, little gal," Daruk laughed. "I hope we can catch up on things when this is all over. We'd better get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow will be a busy day, and my Boulder Breaker is just waiting to see some action."

Link lay down on one of the benches. The sound of the water flowing through the palace pools was soothing. But he was thinking of Mipha and how much he missed her. He hoped she was alright. If all went well tomorrow, he could send her a message that he was okay and start the journey home. He said a quiet prayer to Hylia, then soon fell asleep.