Summary: The leader of the Yiga Clan plans the assault on Hyrule in detail. Zelda speaks with her daughter Astra about Link.

It was evening, though it was difficult to tell that, as Dark Link met with his son and Captain Kaplan in their underground hideout beneath the Thyphlo Ruins. It was time to plan their attack, and Dark Link had learned his lesson from last time. He wanted nothing overlooked this time; no mistakes to be made.

"I want both of you to critique anything that causes you concern about this plan," said Dark Link. "I expect obedience, but the last thing I want now is trying to flatter me with uncritical acceptance. If you see any flaw in the plan, no matter how small, this is the time to speak up."

His son and Captain Kaplan both nodded that they understood.

"Alright, we're going to go over this step-by-step," said Dark Link. "The first step is to abduct Queen Zelda or her older daughter. What are your thoughts?"

"I recommend Queen Zelda," said Shadow Link. "Aside from guards, she is mostly alone these days. And you can thank me for that, by the way, as I'm responsible for her husband's death. Her older daughter is often with her own family these days, which complicates matters."

Dark Link looked at Captain Kaplan, and he nodded agreement.

"All right, then our objective is Queen Zelda," said Dark Link. "Now, the question is, how do we abduct her?"

"I've studied this matter," said Kaplan. "I recommend we abduct her at night, of course. She won't be missed as quickly. We have created replicas of Royal Guard uniforms, so unless checked closely, we should be able to get close to her. Of course, we can eliminate any guards who get in our way, but would prefer stealth to outright combat."

"Yes, stealth is important," said Dark Link. "And above all, we need Zelda alive. You cannot let anything happen to her, Kaplan."

"I understand," said Kaplan. "So, as we discussed earlier, we will assemble two teams, one team to act as a decoy and the other team to perform the real abduction."

"What other steps must be taken?" Dark Link asked.

"Well, for one thing, they can track Zelda through her Tab," said Kaplan. "So, the decoy team will need to confiscate her Tab and take it with them, of course. And the decoy team will head toward the Thyphlo Ruins from the eastern side of the Castle. When the time is right, the real abduction team will move by night toward the Thyphlo Ruins from the western side of the Castle. I think our enemy knows our hideout is here somewhere, so moving in this direction adds credibility."

"Very well," said Dark Link. "You understand, the decoy team may well be a suicide mission. But when our Lord is restored, he can resurrect any of us who are killed."

"Yes, I will pass on that information. It will certainly make filling the decoy team easier," said Kaplan.

"All right. Then one of your units will bring Zelda here to our hideout, and the Poe Collector will perform the ritual," said Dark Link. "I am told that the ritual will revive Ganon, but he will not fully absorb Zelda's soul until the Blood Moon that same night. Even before the Blood Moon, however, once Ganon revives, we should be able to teleport. That will be a big advantage for us, so make sure everyone knows how to invoke the proper spell."

"Understood," said Kaplan.

"The next critical step is that we need to assure the Divine Beast pilots are kept away from their Divine Beasts until the Blood Moon occurs," said Dark Link.

"Yes," said Kaplan. "I will have teams assigned to each race, to teleport and restrain the Divine Beast pilots. And I understand you feel our Lord would not want them killed so he can imprison their spirits?"

"Yes, I believe so. What about the pilots, then, including the two North Hyrule pilots?" Dark Link asked.

"We will time our attack for when Faray visits Hyrule. She comes every three weeks to visit her niece. All the other pilots are already in Hyrule, and we will know their whereabouts from Tab signals," said Kaplan.

"We should confiscate Tabs, of course," said Shadow Link. "But Tab messages can be sent by thought now. Tila and Faray know how to do that. They could alert the Sheikah in their own realm before we can move their Tabs out of range. We cannot prevent that."

"Can the Sheikah pilot a Divine Beast on their own?" said Dark Link.

"No, their Divine Beasts cannot be activated without pilots," said Shadow Link.

"Then their messaging is of no real concern," said Dark Link. "Remember, we need only prevent the pilots from accessing their Divine Beasts until midnight. After that, Ganon can deal with everyone personally."

"Very well," said Kaplan. "Then that leaves only Link. He will almost certainly be in Zora's Domain, likely with Ruta's pilot, his wife, Mipha."

"I would like to deal with Link personally," said Dark Link. "The last time we fought, we killed each other or would have if his daughter hadn't rescued him. This time, I can afford to be more aggressive. Whatever happens, win or lose, I will be alive after Ganon takes over."

"So, that means you wish to be with the team that goes to Zora's Domain then?" said Kaplan.

"Yes, wherever Link is, that's where I want to be," said Dark Link. "Besides exacting revenge, I want to make sure he is not a position to oppose Ganon, that Link's goddess sword stays far away from Ganon."

"I want to go with you," said Shadow Link to his father. "I wish to taste the sweetness of your revenge. I have been bitter over what happened since childhood."

"No, I prefer you remain here to oversee things," said Dark Link. "The absorption of Zelda's soul is critically important for Ganon, and I want nothing to go wrong."

"Speaking of Ganon, do we have any clue what Ganon will do once revived?" Kaplan asked.

"Not entirely," said Dark Link. "But if I could guess, I believe he would seek to first take over Hyrule Castle and destroy what remains of the Hyrule Royal Family. As the new ruler of Hyrule, that would be his natural destination. Queen Zelda will be lifeless after midnight. There is nowhere else I could imagine him going."

"All right," said Shadow Link. "Have we covered everything? It sounds like we need to find out for sure when Faray will be in Hyrule, and that will decide when we attack."

"She was in Hyrule two weeks ago," said Kaplan. "We have people watching travels from North Hyrule. If her pattern holds, Faray will return in one week."

"All right, then we need to move quickly and be sure everyone is ready by then," said Dark Link. "Kaplan, you will need to brief your lieutenants and organize the units that will abduct Zelda and imprison the pilots."

"Yes, I'll take care of that at once," said Kaplan. "I plan to meet with my lieutenants as soon as we finish here."

"Things are moving along quite nicely," said Dark Link, rubbing his hands together. "I think we can look forward to victory this time."

Meanwhile, the next morning at Hyrule Castle, Queen Zelda was meeting with Astra. Zelda had another bad dream that night. It was becoming a nightly event now, but she wasn't sure what to do about it.

Anyway, after breakfast together, she decided to tell Astra about Link. They were sitting together on a couch, and Zelda was holding Astra in her arms.

"So, Uncle Link is really my Dad? Not Dad?" Astra asked, sounding confused.

"Yes," said Zelda. "The reason is complicated and has to do with some time travel caused by an evil creature. What she did was eventually undone by Goddess Hylia. You somehow lived in both timelines. I can tell you all I know about it, but I wanted to get to the point, sweetheart."

"But I have no memory of anything other than being raised by you and Dad," said Astra.

"And that's all you would remember," said Zelda. "The Goddess undid what happened, so it didn't happen anymore. But she turned evil into good by somehow bringing you into this timeline. No one can explain why or how. It just is what it is."

"I feel funny, Mom," said Astra. "Like my life is not my own."

Zelda kissed her gently on the forehead.

"I know, sweetheart," said Zelda. "I realize this must be very strange for you, just as it is for me. But we will get through it."

"Did Uncle Link know he was my Dad all this time?" Astra asked.

"Yes, I believe so," said Zelda.

"Then why didn't he tell me?" said Astra.

"He thought it was best to leave our family as it was," said Zelda. "And I think that was the right thing to do. You had a more normal childhood because of that. Link could not have been here with you to raise you as a father."

"It feels so strange now, Mom," said Astra. "So Zel is my half-sister, and so are Mila and Lapha? And now young Link and Midon are my half-brothers? It's weird, Mom."

"Yes, I know, sweetheart," said Zelda as she caressed Astra's cheek. "Don't you think it's weird for me too? But it's not a bad thing. Just different. Link and Rudin were cousins. Their fathers were brothers."

"Does Zel know?" Astra asked.

"No, I wanted you to know first," said Zelda.

"Do you have to tell her?"

Zelda paused for a moment. She hadn't expected that question.

"Would you rather she didn't know?" Zelda said.

"I'm afraid she will feel differently about me," said Astra, and her eyes filled with tears.

Zelda squeezed Astra in an affectionate hug.

"Trust me, she won't," said Zelda. "You are the only sister she has, and she's loved you since the day you were born. We all love you the same as before, sweetheart. And it's love that matters most of all, dear. Not where someone came from. But if you don't want me to tell her, I won't."

"Maybe just give me a little time to get used to the idea first, Mom?" said Astra.

"That's fine, sweetheart," said Zelda. "You tell me when or if you're ready. Only Link's family knows, and they won't say anything."

Astra wiped her eyes and then smiled. Then she leaned over and kissed her mother before running off for a lesson.

Zelda called Link at once.

"I told Astra, and it's obviously a lot for her to handle," said Zelda after Link answered. "She wants some time to get used to the idea before I tell her sister. So, please have your family continue to keep this secret. I hope you understand. Astra is very grown up in some ways, but still a young girl in others. It's a big shock to her as you would expect."

"I understand perfectly, Zelda," said Link. "Just tell her I love her, and we all love her when you get the chance."

"I already did, but it never hurts to repeat it," said Zelda. "Bye."

Link turned to Mipha and explained the situation.

"It's understandable," said Mipha. "She will go through all her relationships in her mind and adjust her thinking about them in light of this new revelation. And she will especially think about you, Link. She may feel hurt that you didn't tell her sooner. So be prepared."

"I will," said Link. "I'll do my best when we meet."

"Faray messaged me she would like to visit this coming weekend as usual. I told her she could stay in Lapha's room since Lapha will be at the Castle," said Mipha.

"Great," said Link. "We'll have another full house, and Tara will probably sleepover with her. It's good that they stay close. It should be a fun weekend."

Meanwhile, beneath the Thyphlo Ruins, Captain Kaplan had already shared the plans with his lieutenants. And now the lieutenants were organizing the units who would undertake the various missions. They assigned Palan to Galon's team, and he was attending the briefing. But he soon found out he was not qualified for any of what they deemed the riskier missions.

"All right, please listen carefully," said Galon as he addressed his squad. "We've been assigned western Hyrule, which means the Rito and the Gerudo. These are both very challenging assignments, as both races are strong warriors. I am giving you the names of those who can pilot a Divine Beast, and those people are your objective. We want them restrained, prevented from reaching their Divine Beast, but not killed unless absolutely necessary. Once midnight and the Blood Moon arrives, Ganon can deal with them."

Galon read off the names assigned to each of the two teams and then got to Linpa.

"I'm sorry, Linpa. I'd love to use you on one of these missions," said Galon. "Your stealth skills could prove invaluable. But you haven't studied with us long enough to handle teleportation. So, your assignment will be to remain here at headquarters with our former leader. It's an important assignment, too. Zelda needs to remain alive and imprisoned here until at least the Blood Moon that night."

"I understand, Sir," said Palan. "And I will do my best at whatever I am assigned."

Galon went on to describe the specifics and how each unit should teleport into a position to trap the Divine Beast pilots. Then he asked for questions.

"What if something goes wrong, and we are unable to trap a pilot?" asked one of the soldiers.

"Then you do whatever it takes to prevent anyone from boarding their Divine Beast," said Galon. "Guard the Divine Beast and repel any who approach it if necessary. Remember, we are trying to buy time until the Blood Moon occurs that night. Be prepared to give your life if necessary. Our Lord can resurrect you once we are victorious."

From other information that Palan gleaned in the briefing, Kenyon's squad was in charge of the two Queen Zelda abduction units. And Fredon's squad was in charge of the Gorons and Zoras, including Link.

Now Palan had another decision to make. Should he try to escape with what he had learned or stay behind and try to foil their plan?