Summary: The Hyrule authorities investigate the Lizalfos sighting near Tenoko Island but dismiss it as a false alarm. Lapha works with Purah and Robbie to develop a pilot travel gate to the Divine Beasts. Mipha and Link do some combat training simulations in Ruta before preparing to leave for Eventide Island.

It was late afternoon in Lurelin Village, and Andes, a young fisherman, had experienced an unpleasant encounter with two lizard shaped creatures in the open sea near Tenoko Island earlier that day. As was typical of families who lived off the sea, they rose early in the morning, so their dinner meals were early as well. After dinner, Andes had been discussing the incident with his father, Mandor, a retired fisherman.

"A Li-zal-fos? Is that how you say it? What was it?" said Andes.

"They were a type of lizard monster that used to terrorize people," said Mandor. "They went extinct not long after the Great Calamity, or so everyone thought. All that happened before you were born, son. But we need to report this to the Hyrule authorities."

"Report it? Is that really necessary? Won't that affect our fishing?" said Andes.

"They were very dangerous carnivores, son. They killed many people back in the day, and we're lucky all they did was spit at you. If you saw two of them, there may be more. We need to alert the Hyrule authorities. It's the kingdom's job to investigate this and protect our village. You're completely sure of what you saw?"

"Yes, very sure, Dad," said Andes. "They were just as I described."

"Then we need to call it in," said Mandor. "We can make the call together now. But don't be surprised at some skepticism. Monsters haven't been seen for a long time."

They called the emergency number and were connected at once.

"Is this a life-threatening situation?" asked one of the guards on duty at Hyrule Castle, who answered the call. He sat before an interactive map of Hyrule that displayed caller Tab locations.

"No, but we need to report something serious," said Andes.

"All right, go ahead," said the guard.

If the situation had been life-threatening, there were a limited number of Rito who could assist. And they also possessed some recently developed drones that could be used. First aid supplies could, of course, be created directly by rune from Tabs.

Mandor nodded to his son, and Andes described the encounter.

"You say you encountered two giant lizards in the water?" said the guard after Andes finished. "Something you think was called a Liz-al-fos?"

"Yes," said Andes.

"I never heard of them," said the guard. "You say you weren't actually attacked, right? Are you injured in any way? Are you sure what you saw was not simply a type of marine life you were unfamiliar with? I'm trying to understand the nature of the emergency, sir."

"Excuse me," said Mandor, interrupting. "Please check with one of your superiors or look it up somehow. Trust me. If these were Lizalfos, they are dangerous monsters, and not something to be ignored."

"Very well, please calm down," said the guard. "I'll let my lieutenant know, and I'll send a pair of guards to investigate. The closest ones to you at the moment are by the Lakeside Rest Area. They should be able to reach you in less than two hours. I have your location, thanks."

The call ended, and the dispatcher notified two guards at the Lakeside Rest Area as well as his superior, Lieutenant Lafton, who was nearby.

"Monsters?" said Lafton. "That would be big news if true! But it's more likely the fisherman was mistaken. He only got a glimpse of them, then fled, right?"

"Yes, Sir, that's what he said," said the dispatcher. "I thought it was wise to send two guards to investigate anyway. The incident was auto-logged, of course."

"Yes, of course, and we do need to investigate no matter what we may think," said Lafton. "Let me know as soon as you hear anything. If there really are monsters around, that news will go all the way to the top! But we don't want to look like fools, do we? Have them make sure first."

"Yes, of course, Sir," said the dispatcher.

Meanwhile, at the Lakeside Rest Area, two Hyrule guards named Santon and Horton had stopped for a bite to eat when their Tabs buzzed. Horton had already finished eating, so he pulled out his Tab while Santon continued eating his food. Horton scanned the message.

"What's it about?" said Santon after he swallowed.

"We need to investigate a disturbance at Lurelin Village," said Horton. "You just about done? I'd like to get there well before dark."

"Yes, it's the last bite," said Santon as he popped the last morsel into his mouth.

Horton put on his helmet, and Santon donned his helmet as well.

"Lurelin is always a nice place to visit, especially when it's not raining," said Horton. "We'll just follow the road. When we get there, we need to interview a fisherman named Andes, who reported the incident. The message gives his location."

They hopped on their motorized cycles and were soon racing across the Floria Bridge and through the Ebara Forest, then on across the Atun Valley and down into Lurelin Village. The trip was without incident and took them slightly over an hour, arriving before sunset. Then they parked their cycles and headed for the hut.

There was a gentle breeze blowing off the sea, and the stiff leaves of the palm trees made a clicking sound as they brushed against each other.

"The hut is right this way," said Horton, consulting his Tab.

When they reached the hut, Andes and Mandor asked to speak outside as Mandor's wife was already sleeping. Andes repeated the story he had told the dispatcher.

"Well, that must have certainly been quite the scary encounter," said Horton. "Is there any place on land from where we might be able to spot what you saw?"

"I don't know," said Andes looking at his father. "Maybe from Soka Point, but even from there, it's pretty far away. Plus, it's getting late."

"If they were east of Tenoko Island, the island itself might obscure the creatures from view," said Mandor.

"We'll just take a ride out to the point and look," said Horton. "And we will check if there are any Rito available who could do a flyover. Thank you for reporting this."

Horton and Santon said goodnight, then retrieved their motorized cycles.

"That fellow Andes sounded pretty convincing," said Santon. "Best stay alert."

"I will," said Horton. "Let's go."

They were soon traveling at high speed along the sandy beach toward Soka Point, maneuvering around crabs that scurried to get out of their way. When they reached the furthermost point of the curved peninsula, they parked their cycles alongside a lone palm tree, took out binoculars, and stood at the water's edge as they began scanning the sea around Tenoko Island.

The sky had turned orange by now and gave the calm sea an orange tint as well. Seabirds circled above the water, and all you could hear were their cries along with the sound of the waves gently washing onto the shore.

"I can't see anything unusual," said Santon after several minutes of carefully sweeping back and forth and seeing only open water.

"No, me either," said Horton, finally lowering his binoculars. "But let's ask dispatch if there is a Rito nearby who can do a pass over the area. Then we can complete our report."

Santon called the dispatcher and was told to wait a moment.

"I was able to reach a Rito warrior at Hateno Village," the dispatcher said finally. "He agreed to do a flyover before it got too dark. I'll let you know what he finds."

The call ended.

"Let's head back to the village," said Santon. "Whether the Rito sees something or not, there's not much we can do from out here. We'll need new orders."

Horton nodded, and they both made the reverse trip along the beach back to the village, their headlights illuminating their path.

Neither noticed something unusual - an eye that opened and cautiously watched them as they raced by. For the eye belonged to a motionless creature that had camouflaged itself to blend in nicely with the sand-colored beach that it was laying down on. Once they passed, it closed its eye again.

It was dark by the time they reached the village again, and torches had been lit, giving the area a quaint, picturesque look. Some couples were strolling about, and there was music playing nearby. This was a popular tourist destination, especially for honeymooners, and the village did its best to preserve its appearance. As they reached the village, a call came in from the dispatcher.

"The Rito didn't see anything," said the dispatcher. "What's your take from the ground on all this? Did you see anything to cause alarm, any unusual footprints, for example? The lieutenant is very keen to know."

"No, we didn't see anything suspicious, though our vantage point was not ideal for checking the sea," said Horton. "We'll just report it as an unconfirmed sighting of something unusual. Do you have anything else for us?"

"No, you can rest there for the night," said the dispatcher. "Enjoy the fish!"

"Ugh, give me steak every time," said Santon. "But, thanks."

They booked beds at the inn for the night and left Lurelin the next morning.

Their report did not sound any alarms at the time. It was only later, looking back, that it was realized it should have. But hindsight is always clearer than foresight, and after thirty-five years of never seeing a monster, it was hard to believe two had suddenly reappeared. And no one thought at that time of the one Sheikah creation they had neglected to protect against Ganon's misuse.

It was two weeks later in Zora's Domain, and Mipha and Link were finishing breakfast alone with Lapha. Tara and her family had traveled to North Hyrule to visit Faray, and Lapha's two older siblings were out. Astra was staying at Hyrule Castle.

"You don't know how good it feels to be spending time back in the Domain," said Lapha. "And to be with family again too, of course. Tara is such a clever cutie! I was not paying enough attention while talking with her, and she tricked me into agreeing to something when she used what I ended up parsing later as a double negative! I carelessly agreed, and then she shouted 'Yay' and giggled at catching me out. To be fair, I had to give in to her."

"Yes, Tara can be quite clever," laughed Link. "And mischievous, too."

"But we missed you, too, sweetheart, and it's been wonderful having you back home again," said Mipha. "I know I'm going to sound old fashioned now, but I'm still not quite used to children leaving the Domain when they grow up. But times have changed, I guess."

"Yes, times have changed," said Link. "But we can all get back and forth quicker now and visit each other more quickly and more often. And with Tabs, we can keep in touch easier. Remember the old days when we relied upon letters?"

"Yes, I do, though I don't recall many letters from you, sweetheart," teased Mipha.

"Well, you know how I was back in the day," laughed Link. "I wasn't any better at writing than speaking. But I do recall some sweet anniversary notes we exchanged."

"And so do I, dearest," said Mipha as she smiled at him and touched him gently on the cheek. "You know I'm teasing you."

"But anyway," said Lapha. "Purah, Robbie and I are still working on a new line of research based on an assignment from Queen Zelda. She wants a means of transport for pilots to Divine Beasts using ancient energy. We have some documents on travel gate design I recall studying when I was researching the Shrine of Transformation. In any case, Purah and Robbie will want to test their design on a Divine Beast when it's ready. So, it actually works out well that I'm here, as I can coordinate that end of the test. But you'll have to take me to Ruta when it's time, Mom."

"I hope the test will be safe," said Link. "Dr. Purah has a reputation for being a bit reckless. I would hate to see something go wrong!"

"We will test it very thoroughly first, Dad, don't worry," said Lapha. "I love Mom too, you know, as I do you. It will work just like the Sheikah Slate travel you were familiar with, only using the Divine Beast pilot's Tab. We may pull Midon into the project to help with rune programming."

"I trust you, and when you're ready, just let me know sweetheart," said Mipha. "If it will aid in Hyrule's defense, then, of course, I will work with you to accomplish it."

"What are your plans for today?" Link asked.

"I'm going to keep working with Purah and Robbie from home," said Lapha. "We have a call later this morning to continue our discussion. You know Dr. Purah can't rest if there's research to be done! And I don't mind keeping busy. What about both of you?"

"Nothing special for today, but we're planning to leave for Eventide Island soon," said Link. "When we decide to go, we'll take the ferry to Hateno Village and spend the night there. I checked, and we can rent a motorized watercraft from Hateno Beach so we can get around fast in the water. So,I can get around fast in the water, I should say."

"Sounds like fun, and I hope you enjoy yourselves, but please be careful," said Lapha. "There is something strange about Eventide Island."

"Yes, there is, and it does seem to attract evil sometimes," said Link. "Sopha apparently hid there for a time. Anyway, we will both definitely be on our guard, so don't worry."

"Yes, please don't worry about us," said Mipha. "We've both kept our combat skills sharp."

"Okay, I'll try not to," said Lapha.

Lapha exchanged hugs with both of them, then returned to her room for the call.

"It's just you and me again today," laughed Link.

"I'm not complaining," laughed Mipha. "Let's visit Ruta. Maybe we should practice some more combat simulations, just in case. Lapha has a good point. We don't know what we will run into there."

"Great! I'm always ready for combat," said Link as he pulled out his sword and examined it, then put it back in its scabbard.

"You know that's the real sword, not the one in the simulation, right?" said Mipha.

"Yes, just force of habit, I guess," laughed Link. "I like to examine my sword first. It fills me with confidence. And it's never failed me."

They made their way holding hands up the east path and then on to Ruta, where they practiced battling a variety of enemies, separately and together. After several hours of combat, they decided to call it quits for the day.

"What are our scores?" Link asked as Mipha finished disconnecting the simulation device from Ruta and examined the summary report.

"You got a 985, and I got a 920 out of a possible 1000 score," said Mipha. "That's quite good!"

"I would have done even better if you hadn't made me laugh," said Link. "I mean, was what you did actually intentional? I saw you spear that Bokoblin that charged you with a flaming spear. Then you flipped it over your head behind you and right into a barrel of explosives. It lit the explosives with its own weapon, destroying the entire camp. And you did all that without even looking over your shoulder? Seriously?"

"You'll never know, sweetheart," laughed Mipha. "But I'll give you a hint: sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. I wondered why you were doubled over afterward and let that Moblin manage to strike you. I thought at first you were hurt, not laughing."

"Well, luck or skill, it was a one in a million move, sweetheart, and amazing to see," laughed Link.

"Let's relax on Ruta for a bit," said Mipha as she took his hand and they made their way outside to the trunk.

It was late afternoon, and the sun glinted off the icy blue cliffs as they sat down alongside each other and held hands.

"I do feel good about us keeping in combat shape," said Link. "I may not be as sensitive as Zelda to future events, but I feel unsettled, not at peace like I was the time before last. You teased me about looking at my sword before the simulation, but lately, I've had an urge to draw it. I don't know what that means, but usually nothing good."

"Whatever it is, sweetheart, I have the utmost faith in you," said Mipha. "I have more confidence in you than any other person in Hyrule. You have never let us down, and I know you never will."

Link smiled at her, squeezed her hand, then leaned over, and they kissed.

"You may think it's silly, but it feels good to hear you say that," said Link. "I remember right after the Calamity, people who didn't know me expected me to be boastful or arrogant. But that was never my way or the way of the sword. The sword helps your confidence, but it puts a burden on you to earn it, to keep your skills top rate. So, you do your best. And my best has usually been good enough. But it wasn't once, my first time. So, while I'm generally quite confident going into battle, I still feel a twinge of humility sometimes. A note of confidence is always welcome."

"I think that twinge of humility as you call it is actually a good thing and helps you fight better," said Mipha. "I believe it's what tempers any urge you may have toward recklessness. And in the end, that makes you even more formidable, knowing your limits and not overreaching yourself."

"Remind me to ask for a pep talk from you the next time I go into battle," said Link as they kissed again.

"Just think of your love of us and of Hyrule, those you are protecting," said Mipha. "And say a short prayer to the Goddess to protect you."

"I always do," said Link.

Then they kissed again.