Summary: Ganon's malice begins to contaminate Lake Hylia, prompting increased urgency for Link to complete his training and tackle their enemy. Mipha remains firm with Zelda that Link cannot be pressured into a premature confrontation. Link works his hardest to develop Zora combat skills, and Mipha finally feels he's ready. Mipha and Link rejoin Ruta at Lake Hylia and prepare for their long-awaited battle.

It had been three months since Ganon's creation had taken residence at the deepest part of Lake Hylia. So far, it had been content to stay there and hadn't moved since its battle with Ruta that ended in a standoff. But fishermen began to notice dead fish floating on the water, and the probe stationed near Ganon's creation showed blobs of purple malice were starting to spread. That was undoubtedly the cause of the poisoned fish. When the news reached Zelda, she asked Dr. Purah for a scientific assessment.

"How bad is it?" said Zelda when she met with Dr. Purah, her lead scientist. "How quickly is the malice spreading? We clearly cannot afford to lose a whole body of water the size of Lake Hylia to Ganon's malice."

"It has not spread too far yet, Your Majesty," said Purah. "But I am afraid its spread will increase more rapidly the larger it gets. The rate of contamination is proportional to the surface area of the malice's outer membrane, and that grows each day."

"So, how long do we have? How long before Lake Hylia is too poisoned to recover?" said Zelda.

"I would say about three months," said Purah. "After that, the lake will be too poisoned. Defeating the enemy after that would destroy all the existing malice, but by then, too much life in the lake would have perished for the ecosystem to sustain itself. Lake Hylia would become a dead body of water and might affect other water as well. Is there no news on Link's progress?"

"Mipha tells me he is doing better but is still not ready," said Zelda. "My concern is Mipha being overly cautious, swayed by her personal feelings for Link. I need to stress the urgency of our situation. Let me call her now. King Dorephan told me he left Mipha in charge of Link's training, so she is the only person worth speaking to."

Zelda called Mipha's Tab, and Mipha answered promptly.

"Zelda, hello," said Mipha.

"Mipha, this is somewhat of an urgent call," said Zelda. "Ganon's malice is beginning to contaminate Lake Hylia, and Dr. Purah fears we have only three months to stop it before it goes too far and destroys the lake. I am wondering where Link's training stands and whether he will be ready before then."

"Link's training is going well, Zelda," said Mipha. "And I am hopeful in three months he will be ready. But that may be optimistic. He still needs to hone many of the skills he will need in deep water."

"Mipha, I hate to be blunt, but are you putting your own feelings ahead of our needs?" said Zelda. "Are you certain Link is working as hard as he can on this and cannot be ready any sooner than that?"

"I am being as objective as I can, Zelda," said Mipha. "Of course, I don't want my husband hurt, so I would like him to be as prepared as possible. And I would like to think you feel the same way. What use is it to send Link into battle insufficiently prepared? If he is defeated, what do we gain? I have been working him as hard as possible, and I understand the urgency. If I increase the pace of his training, we risk exhausting him to the point he will be useless in battle."

"Alright," said Zelda. "Just do your best. Of course, I don't want Link hurt. I just want to make sure you understand the urgency. I'm sorry if I sound ill-tempered or impatient but the situation is growing dire. I will check with you again."

Mipha clicked off her Tab. Zelda was starting to get on her nerves. From the very start, she predicted Zelda would be hounding Link to be ready sooner than he safely could. Putting her own feelings ahead of their needs? How dare she say that! Aside from a few afternoons off, she had made Link train all day every day and often into the night. And Mipha knew he was trying as hard as he could. He needed rest now and then, or he would have a breakdown. The strain was already showing on him. Most nights, he came to their pool exhausted, falling asleep the moment his fins hit the water.

And for the love of Nayru, what did she expect? Link was learning how to live in a different body in a different environment. Did Zelda think that was easy? Mipha loved the waters of Lake Hylia and knew them far better than Zelda. She didn't want to see them poisoned either. And unchecked, the poison could even spread to their Domain and threaten all of Hyrule's fresh water. So, she knew the situation was growing dire, as Zelda put it. But when Link confronted their enemy, she wanted to know he was as prepared as he could be. Only then would she let the person she loved face such danger. She could not live with herself doing any less for him.

Link was struggling to master echolocation, the use of high frequency clicks to 'see' your enemy, and even stun them in some cases. In deep water, eyesight was useless. When Zelda had discussed their battle plans on an earlier call, she had tried to argue against taking the extra time for Link to learn that technique. They could illuminate the depths of Lake Hylia with lights, Zelda suggested. And what if the lights were destroyed during battle Mipha had asked. She wanted Link to be completely self-reliant, she told Zelda. End of discussion.

At East Reservoir Lake, Link tried again. His swimming was quite good now. Not great for a Zora, but as good as some knights, and arguably good enough. His combat skills in visible light were also decent. He was able to hold his own with most knights, though some could still beat him underwater. But he was getting better at that each day and had confidence in himself he could improve on that.

What was causing him the most difficulty was echolocation. It was a new sense for him and required him to emit clicks of the right frequency and rapidity and have his mind construct a picture of the scene from the echoes. And he had to do that quickly in real time. He wasn't yet able to do that well enough for combat purposes. He would mistime some aspect of the process and lose 'sight' of his opponent. Zoras called it a 'click slip,' and it could be fatal in a battle.

So, echolocation combat was what he and his knight trainer were practicing. And his trainer wanted him to succeed every bit as much as he did. Princess Mipha had selected him because she had confidence in his teaching skills. He did not want to fail an assignment from the Princess herself.

"Alright, Link, let's go over your mistakes," said his trainer. "I can feel the clicks you're emitting. Your frequency was good this time, but you are not increasing the pace of your clicks. You need to be getting rapid updates on the position of your enemy and its movements, and to do that you need very rapid, almost continuous, clicks. Let's try just practicing your click speed."

By the time their training session was over, he was tired and hungry. Mipha had arrived and consulted with the trainer on his progress. She could also sometimes judge how well he did each day by how many bruises she had to heal later, the less, the better. Sometimes he was so exhausted Mipha ended up treating him while he slept. And sometimes he frankly wished she wouldn't heal him at all, just give him some brief time off to recover naturally. But no, instead he started each day at full health with no excuse not to go all out again.

"You need to keep working on echolocation," said Mipha, without a word of greeting as they walked home together. "You're going to have to catch your dinner tonight, blindfolded. Let's go."

And so, he dove into the water with his eyes covered and used echolocation to scan for fish. There were two plump fish near the waterfall, and the thought of biting into one consumed him. And he was angry. Angry at himself for not doing better. In his anger and hunger, he sent a barrage of clicks in the direction of the fish, and they stopped moving, stunned. He rushed forward and grabbed both of them, then came to the surface, holding a fish in each hand.

"Good," said Mipha as she removed his blindfold. "You're getting better. If I weren't so kind, I'd make you catch some more."

"Kind?" said Link. "You've been ruthless with me for weeks. You don't think I'm trying?"

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself," said Mipha. "You agreed to do this, and it's my job to make sure you can do it well. You can thank me later. Now let's have dinner together. You look like you want to bite into those two fish at once."

He ate both fish as soon as they sat down to eat. The rest of the family was out. His hunger satisfied, he started feeling better.

"Sorry," said Link. "I know you're doing everything for me because you care. I get cranky when I'm hungry."

"And I get cranky when we have no time to be together as a couple, and you have to spend all your energy training," said Mipha. "But I want you prepared and confident when the time comes."

They sat together silently for a few moments. Then Mipha turned to him, and her tone became much softer.

"You know, sweetheart, I would be so lovingly grateful if you would master echolocation so we can enjoy our time together at night. Wouldn't you like that?"

Then she gave him that irresistible look with her eyes open wide and her pretty smile.

"Is this the 'carrot and stick' approach?" laughed Link. "You know very well I'd like that. I'll keep trying tomorrow."

"Good attitude," said Mipha. "We call it the 'bait and click' approach. Now three times up and down the three waterfalls here, and we can call it a day."

Link did as she asked, and after he finished, he made his way to their pool and collapsed. He didn't even have the energy to say goodnight.

Mipha joined him in the water and looked at him as he slept. He really was exhausted. She was being hard on him, and she didn't like doing it. But the fear of losing him in combat fueled her determination. The next morning his swimming exercises would involve high-speed swimming through a course of rings blindfolded. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Link had absolutely no time or energy to keep a journal during this period of his life. Later, looking back at this period of time, the days blurred into each other. All he could remember was training from sunup to sundown every day. He even stopped getting some fourth day afternoons off.

But after two more months of training, he started showing marked improvement. It all started to come together. The echolocation images in his mind sharpened as his clicking ability improved. Mipha even had a kind word for him for a change. And a further week after that, he felt that his echolocation sense was no different than his other senses like hearing and seeing. His trainer was quite pleased. And so was he, when later that evening, Mipha reached over to him, and they shared another endless kiss that overwhelmed all his senses. He felt good about himself and ready for anything.

So, it was now five and a half months since Gannon's creation had arrived, and Mipha finally felt Link's skills were good enough. She wished they were better, of course. But she realized she had to balance perfection with need. Waiting for perfection was unrealistic. Fielding a flawless army after the battle was lost served no purpose. They would spend one more day together in the Domain. Then it was time to journey back to Lake Hylia, get Ruta ready, and take care of Ganon's creation once and for all.

And when that was all done, she and Link were going to enjoy some quality Zora time together. They were going to spend whatever time remained for him as a Zora to explore Hyrule differently, a way he never could before, and he would always remember. But first things first.

Everyone was asleep when Link joined Mipha in their pool. "So, tomorrow we get organized, and the next day we head to Lake Hylia and finish this. Sounds good to me," said Link. "And what do we do after that?"

"We take some well-deserved time off to enjoy ourselves without a care in the world," said Mipha. "You think you're the only one who's suffered over these past five months? I hated what I had to do to you. And I miss being with you the way we should be. We owe each other some time together before you decide what you're going to do. But let's take care of business first. Get some rest, sweetheart. I love you."

"And I love you," said Link. "I understand you had to be the way you were. As you said, I'll thank you later. Goodnight."

The next day Link gathered up what he needed. He had his shield, bow, arrows, food, and the sword that seals the darkness. Arrows didn't work very well underwater, but he brought them in case they ended up battling on the surface somehow. He wanted to be prepared for any eventuality. After lunch, he finished with preparations, and Mipha wanted to take a walk with him.

"I want to visit our special place before we go," said Mipha. "Veiled Falls will always be dear to me. It was where my heart leaped for joy when you first kissed me, told me you loved me, and first accepted my wedding gift. I still feel a thrill when I remember that day. It was the happiest of my life. And I like to remember it at times like this."

"I understand," said Link. "That would probably be the happiest day of my life, too, if I could only remember all of it. I hope someday I will, every precious moment of it. But for now, the happiest day of my life also happened here. It was the day you finally accepted me as really me after the timeline break. Then we kissed and walked back to the Domain so you could give me the Zora Armor, again, as you pointed out. That was my happiest day. But for the same reason as yours."

"That's good enough," laughed Mipha. "At least we share the same location."

And so they walked hand-in-hand to Veiled Falls. They sat there on the rock they had first kissed and enjoyed the waterfall and the scenery. And they enjoyed a kiss as well. Then a quick dip in the pool, a ride up the waterfall, a dive back down, another kiss, and then they headed home for dinner and a good night's rest.

"Good luck, Mom and Dad," said Mila after dinner. "Come home to us. We will all be praying for you."

"We will, Mila," said Link. "I promise you. I didn't do all this training for nothing. And I expect to give you all a challenge at echolocation tag when I get home. But don't worry. Your Mom and I are ready."

Then they kissed and hugged everyone goodbye and headed to their pool to sleep. They would leave together first thing in the morning.

Early the next morning, they headed for Lake Hylia. They had already informed Zelda they were coming, and she had alerted the other Champions to be ready in case they were needed. Mipha and Link had not been to Lake Hylia since their battle over five months ago, and when they arrived around mid-day, they could sense the change in the water. The malice had spread, and the water felt different, impure, something Link sensed much more keenly as a Zora.

They swam directly to Ruta. She had been sitting peacefully on the surface of Lake Hylia all this time in full working order. Mipha opened Ruta, and they both entered. Then she sealed it up as they discussed final preparations.

"I'm going to attack with Ruta first," said Mipha. "And when Ruta weakens it, you go in and finish it. We don't know what this creature's defenses are, so be careful. And keep your clicks going. The water is dark at that depth, and you won't be able to see much. Zelda is going to have the area illuminated for us, which should help at first, but I don't want to count on it. You swim behind Ruta and out of sight while I approach. I'll have Ruta clear a path through the malice. Are you ready?"

"Yes, sweetheart, I am," said Link. He leaned forward, and they kissed.

"I love you," said Link.

"I love you," said Mipha.

Mipha opened Ruta, and Link exited and positioned himself behind it. Then Mipha activated Ruta, and she began her descent to the bottom of Lake Hylia.

As he descended, Link could see the malice, an ugly pulsating purple slime he was very familiar with. Ruta plunged into it, and it fell aside. He followed close behind. Ruta was much quicker and less clumsy in water, and it glided forward and down. The sunlight began to dim as they descended further. Soon they passed the probe, and the lights were turned on for them.

Link could not see clearly with Ruta in front of him, but he knew they must be getting closer to the enemy. He felt for his sword. He would emerge from behind Ruta once she completed her attack. Link sensed Ruta slowing down, and he did the same. She must be positioning herself. The water was black, illuminated in places by beams from the lights placed around the area. The lights were aimed toward their enemy. Ruta came to a stop at the bottom of the lake. Ganon's creature rose and took notice of Ruta but had otherwise done nothing so far.

And then Ruta's blue beam of energy shot out from her, and the enemy let out a scream. It was time. Link emerged from behind Ruta, and he could see the creature ahead of him in the lights. But he began using ultrasound as well. The beast was clearly hurt by the beam, but as before, not seriously enough to destroy it. Link's cue to finish off the creature was when Mipha stopped firing. He swam closer to the beast to be ready. So far, it had not paid him any attention.

Then the beam from Ruta stopped. Link rushed forward to attack, and the thing finally noticed him. Link managed to strike the creature once with his sword, but the beast had defenses they were unaware of. Aside from its weapon, a giant spear that glowed blue, the creature was apparently able to create small but powerful whirlpools from openings in its body and project them into the water. Link was taken by surprise as a blast of water hit him, spun him around, and pushed him away. The creature prepared to fire its energy beam at Link, but Link recovered his orientation on time, saw the threat, and managed to position his shield well enough to block the beam. But not well enough to reflect it back at his enemy as he had hoped. The beam reflected off his shield and hit a cable connected to one of the lights, which immediately extinguished it. There were still three other lights, but realizing what had happened, the thing took aim one by one at the remaining three lights and destroyed them all. Then it turned back to face Link.

But Link had not been idly waiting for this thing to attack him. He swam as fast as he could to the side and around the back of his adversary. He brandished his sword and cut a slice into the thing's back, leaving a gaping wound. The creature howled in pain and spun around, once more releasing a cluster of whirlpools in Link's direction. Their current was too strong to resist. He had to allow himself to be pushed away, then regroup and attack.