THEY WERE here. Finally, preparing for their real final confrontation with Ganondorf. Beneath the rippling, magical curtain far above them, Link and Tetra walked the ancient roads of Hyrule. Tetra kept pausing to look at every slight change in the vista, at the Hylia River, the mountain peaks far in the distance.

It was beautiful, but felt odd, and incomplete with a blue sky with billowing clouds overhead. Strangely, despite the water separating them and the surface, the sunlight seemed just as bright in old Hyrule.

They were already treading carefully, when they saw it just beyond a hillside. It was a massive army.

Link stared in a kind of morbid awe at it. Link had read of warfare, what it had been like in the days of the ancients. It was like a sea of soldiers, armored beasts, all bearing weapons.

There was a massive noise accompanying it - but Link had assumed he was hearing some kind of natural force. The entire throng was around an obsidian black tower, that rose high up into the underwater sky. It was not a very enlivening sight.

"That... is a predicament."

"We need to lead them off in some way," Tetra said. "Sneaking does not appear to be an option."

"What kind of thing would lead them off?" Link asked.

"They're beasts that won't think very clearly," she said. "They will simply go after what they desire."

"Are you suggesting that one of us plays decoy?"

"Something like that," she said.

"It isn't like we have some other Hylian here that can pose as us," Link said, "it would actually be us. That kind of defeats the purpose of being a decoy."

Tetra breathed out, and planted her hands on his shoulders.

"Link. You are the hero of winds. I am Tetra. I am not going to be the one to defeat Ganondorf. I have no divine weapon. I cannot harm him with simple powder and ball."

"Tetra," Link said, "don't say that. You are not "just Tetra." You are a capable warrior. You are the heir of Princess Zelda. You have the wisdom of Nayru within you. Even if you didn't have that, I want my friend fighting alongside me."

Tetra removed her hands from him, and glanced between him, the army, and the expansive landscape.

"What would you even try doing?" Link asked. "Ganondorf knows that we're here. I think maybe we should rethink this, maybe try and gather a force -"

"No Link," she shook her head, "I can feel it. Ganondorf is going to begin lashing out in rage before we raise an army to fight this."

He stood there in unsure, anxious silence.

"What are we going to do then?"

She slowly met his eyes.

"We're going to surrender."

Link's eyes shot wide. "What? Tetra, you can't possibly be serious!"

"We need to get in," she said. "That seems like the only way."

"But it also results in us failing."

"It puts us in a place to talk, to outwit him," she said.

"But we won't have any weapons," Link said. "And do you really think that we can outwit someone who's been around for more than a thousand years?"

"Do you really think you can outfight him? Someone who was said to be an accomplished, well trained warrior?"

Link bit his lip.

"We have to trust in the abilities of our two parts of the Triforce. That they will give us the wisdom and courage to do this."

"So are we going to just walk up to them then?"

"How much can Ganondorf see of us here?" Tetra asked.

"I'm not sure. King Daphnes seemed to indicate that at heightened times of alert, he knows where we are, but can't see us directly or hear us."

"We have an advantage then," she smiled. "Take off the master sword."

"Why?"

"To store it for safekeeping," she whispered with a smile.

Link realized what she was thinking.

"A basic plan, yes," she admitted, pulling out her cutlass and pistol, "but those are sometimes the best."

"Won't Ganondorf be familiar with an ancient item like my satchel though?"

"Maybe," she said, sliding her weapons into the endless store. "But I'm making the estimation that his minions are not so wise."

Link thought it over, and then removed the master sword, and placed it in his satchel.

"I'm not sure exactly what to do from here," Tetra said. "So, I believe I'm going to simply make it up as I go."

"If everything goes wrong," Link said, "don't hesitate to fight your way out. Tap into the power of the triforce, and retreat."

"Understood, keep going unless everything goes wrong."

Link found himself chuckle slightly. Though she was the vessel of Nayru's wisdom, she was indeed quite brave. And powerful. She was a flawed girl, but she was growing to exemplify the virtues of the Triforce.

"Link?"

"What?"

"You just... you just looked like you were lost in thought."

"I was," he said, "I... I wish to be optimistic, Tetra. But... there is the chance that one or both of us doesn't make it out."

"Don't even consi - "

"Tetra," he interrupted her interruption, "can you please, just listen?"

She relaxed.

"With that possibility in mind... I just wanted to say... thank you. Even though we've conflicted with each other in the past, I feel like I understand you a lot better. Despite what you, or other people may think, you are capable of becoming a great person. You have chosen to be here, with me, and take on something so dangerous."

"And for all your annoyance," she gave him a slight punch in the arm, "I've found a pretty good guy in there. You don't question, like I do, if you should do the right thing. You just try all you can to do it."

Link thought on her words. He wasn't sure he always had. Was it even right for him to not question? Did that make him merely a follower?

He felt a snap, a moment of clarity. Tetra had likely felt her doubts too, when he'd complimented her. And though Link didn't know everything, he trusted in the goddesses, his friends, and himself.

"And... uh, Tetra?"

"Yes?"

"I... I felt I just needed to say one last thing... I've kind of grown to... like you."

He waited for some extreme reaction. He wasn't sure what exactly he expected. Instead, she just stared at him with a blank face.

"I mean, well, I mean in a... more, than just -"

"I know what you mean Link. I'm not stupid. I've noticed. Look, you're... you're only fourteen."

"Fourteen and a half," he said with sternness. "But you're also only fifteen."

"Going on sixteen," she argued in turn. "I just... you gain a little maturity with a bit more - "

"You really think that being the age of fifteen is the pinnacle of maturity?"

"Neither is fourteen."

"Forget it," Link huffed, "if you're pining after older men - "

"Augh," Tetra groaned, "I don't really pine after anyone Link. I just... we'll talk about this another time. I... I'm not just going to toss your feelings aside. I don't think you're just some crazy confused kid that... well, never mind. I think that you are rather handsome, and you've proven to me that you're more than a child playing with his daddy's sword. I just... I just am not in the mindset to think about that right now."

She started walking further down the road - something Link had found, was her typical way to indicate the conversation was over. 

"You kissed me."

She turned around. "On the cheek. What of it?"

"You don't have to hide it," Link said. "Showing that you care about people does not make you weak. Admitting something sensitive I think, actually makes you strong."

"I do care about you Link," she said, "but right now, I'm just not sure if I do that way. I know you want something poignant for your facing death confessional, but right now, I can't really say how I feel. It has been a long time since I've cared about someone that much. I'm going to have to - "

Shadows jumped off the bluffs around the road, and soon, they were surrounded by all manner of monstrous creatures, wearing haphazard armor and growling.

"Well," Tetra said, "Gerudo."