As Link looked around, he counted ten Yiga soldiers now surrounding him on all sides. They started slowly moving towards him, as if daring him to make the first move against a small army of powerful fighters. Link, in turn, drew his legendary sword, raised his shield, and put his legs in a fighting stance. He tried to mask the anxiety on his face, but this caused one of the Yiga to laugh - the same one who'd tricked him into coming here.

"Surprised to see us, hero?" she said with snark. "I should think so. We took a lot of effort into setting this trap up for you."

Link's expression grew slightly angry at that. He felt foolish for having been deceived so effectively, but at the same time couldn't blame himself for having wanted to help a seemingly innocent woman. But this did cause him to make a shuttering realization: this stable must have been operated by actual good people at one point, people whose appearances the Yiga must have used for their disguises. Which begged the dark question:

"What have you done with everyone who was here before?" Link asked in a low, bitter tone.

Out of the corner of his eye, the hero caught a Yiga to his left side crouching lower; he was about to strike. But the traitorous member he'd been speaking to answered him coldly.

"Don't fret for them, boy. For their fate was mercy compared to what you're in for."

With that, Link's assumption was correct, as he ended up with a figure sprinting towards him. Link expertly flipped out of the way just in time for the soldier's sickle to barely miss him. Taking advantage of the opening, Link went in for a counter-attack, slashing his sword at the Yiga and sending him crashing into one of his peers. But before he could make another move, another Yiga suddenly appeared directly above him and slammed down right onto the Hylian. Link let out a yelp of pain as he was knocked to the ground.

The same Yiga was then joined by another, and they towered above Link and raised their weapons to strike him while he was down. But the skilled warrior thought quickly, managing to hook both of their sickles with his sword at once. He pulled one of the members in to kick them hard in the gut, followed by striking the other member. This allowed him to swiftly get back on his feet before another member charged at him, swinging at him with a Demon Carver. Link blocked it with his shield, while slashing his sword behind him to hit the Yiga who betrayed him.

Because of the number and coordination of these Yiga, Link had to follow up each and every movement he made with another. He had no room to rest for even a second, the ambushing group was closing in on him more and more, and he was taking a several hits that each weakened him a bit. He had to create some distance, and fast.

When he saw two members telegraph an attack with a glowing red ring of nine Hylian letters, he knew that it meant they would be teleporting away to strike him. This left a brief opening, and when they disappeared, he took it. The knight sprang his powerful legs up and, with a midair flip, landed his booted feet on a Yiga soldier's shoulders. He sprang off of them and landed with another flip outside of the circle of attackers, using his shield to block the swinging of their weapons while he was in the air. The papers left behind by the two disappearing Yiga ruffled at the Hylian's skillful movements. Said Yiga reappeared above where Link formerly was, only to slam down onto nothing. Link swiftly spun around, combat stance firmly reengaged.

The Yiga were quick to readjust their strategy, however. Three of them spread out to a distance, drawing Duplex bows. Two more looked ready to charge at him, spinning themselves about midair as a sign of intimidation. And five others were getting ready to teleport. And then, all at once, Link found himself overwhelmed. He was able to dodge the soldiers charging at him, but couldn't strike back at them before needing to roll out of the way of two Yigas appearing above him to attack. He wasn't fully successful, though; he took a solid brunt of the blow, knocking the wind out of him briefly and knocking his shield out of his grasp. He then made out three Duplex bow arrows firing at him, and the lack of a proper window between attacks enabled one of them to graze his lower left waist, causing him to grunt out through his teeth and collapse onto one knee.

This left him unable to properly react when three more Yiga teleported around him, the smoke getting into Link's throat and making him cough. All three then lashed out at him. Link narrowly managed to dodge the first two blows, but wasn't so lucky with the third as it knocked him onto the ground. He then had to roll weakly to avoid another series of arrow attacks. He could feel his stamina drained from the exertion he used up until now, not having any time to get it back. It made it that much more difficult for him to keep up in this losing battle.

But he had to endure. He couldn't allow himself to be taken down by these treacherous thugs. What they stood for could threaten Hyrule's peace as they knew it. He had to be there to fight back.

In all of this, the tenth Yiga member had been waiting on the sidelines for the right moment to make her move. Link's feeble rolling on the ground seemed to indicate that this moment was now. With a wave of her arms and a summoning of symbols, she disappeared from her current position, and reappeared directly above the weakened hero, ready to give the blow that would end this fight.

Link was able to turn his head, and his eyes widened at the sight of the footsoldier. Battered, drained, and vulnerable as he was, he wouldn't be able to dodge the attack in time.

This is going to hurt.Miles away, a Zora princess was having that same grim sentiment.

Mipha was able to dodge the Lynel's charging swing of his massive blade by less than a second, jumping to the best of her ability just out of its reach. She nimbly rolled back onto her feet, but the Lynel just turned around and began another charge. She backflipped away to dodge it again, and this time the beast remained in place once he missed. Narrowing her eyes, Mipha saw this as an opening and took it. She ran up, Lightscale Trident firmly in her grip, and rapidly jammed it fiercely into the Lynel's flank. The creature roared in anger and pain, but was able to quickly turn around to face his smaller foe.

Mipha gasped as the massive attacker spread his arms and smashed them together. The Zora had to collapse onto the ground to avoid the strike, and then had to back up on her hands and feet when he started swinging at her multiple times. She made to get up and add some distance, but the Lynel then decided to charge at her headfirst, and in her position she couldn't get out of the way in time. The princess let out a piercing scream as she was hit and sent flying several feet in the air. She landed harshly on the ground with several aching pains, moaning in agony of the brutal blow.

She knew she had to force the pain back, however, as this creature was relentless. With distance drawn between the two, he began to spew massive fireballs out in her direction. Mipha darted out of the way as more came at her. As she ran, she recognized that this left an opportunity for her. She made her way over to a large tree and, in one of the most daring things the Zora girl had ever done, made a gesture for the Lynel to come at her, brandishing her trident. The beast let out a roar and obliged, ready to strike again. With determination glistening in her golden eyes, Mipha bravely waited as he got closer. And just as he was about to reach her, she deftly leapt up into the tree, swung herself around a thick branch, and vaulted her way onto the Lynel's back.

Before the creature could react, his Zora foe relentlessly swung, stabbed, and pierced him the head with her trident, using her expertise and unmatched skill with the weapon to yield the most efficient results. But the Lynel was able to just get enough of an opening to shake himself about violently, forcing the smaller Zora off his back. Mipha, thankfully, was able to land directly behind the monster, giving herself just the right opening for a few more strikes. They did less damage to him than she was hoping for, but it was something.

Unfortunately, the Lynel then quickly turned to her and brought his fists down onto Mipha, smashing rapidly and getting many devastating hits on her. Mipha tried to suppress her screams, but even as she managed to roll out of the way she could feel the toll the hits had taken on her. She stumbled as quickly as she could away from the large creature, shakily jumping behind a large boulder that graced her with its shelter.

It came as no surprise considering her last sighting of a Lynel, but this beast was relentless and overpowering. With how much damage she'd taken and how relatively little damage she seemed able to give back, the Zora was now under no delusion that she could ever win this fight. She gasped and panted furiously, her exhales choked and heaving from the exhaustion and heavy toll on her body.

Then, something peaked into Mipha's sight from above. She looked up, and her heart dropped at the sight. Five shock arrows were making their way towards her, the Lynel clearly having fired and arced them to land on her. It was common knowledge that Zoras were particularly vulnerable to shock-based weaponry, and so getting hit by one was not only unideal, but potentially fatal to the princess. In her weakened state, Mipha tried to get up and run out of the way. She was successful in avoiding the first four arrows.

But sadly, the last one was a different story.

The pain that burst through Mipha's body was unlike anything she'd ever experienced. She screamed at the top of her lungs, dropping her trident and clutching herself as if that would quell the searing burning in any way. It felt like she was on fire from the inside, and she could barely breathe. There was no way to recover from this; not quickly enough to save herself from this mad beast, who seemed ready to charge at her again.

Desperate for any means of protection or escape, Mipha looked around. Directly ahead of her was none other than Shatterback Point. This was a very popular diving spot in the area, in spite of - or perhaps because of - its dangerous height. Mipha had been successful in diving off of it several times before with little issue. But now, with her body on the brink of collapse, the outcome would be much less certain.

But as the Lynel began his fast charge towards her, Mipha's mind quickly made up its decision: a clumsy dive off the point was preferable to another strike from the Lynel that would likely be enough finish her off. Heaving desperately for breath, Mipha crawled and stumbled her way to the edge of the point, unable to get to her feet but able to move just quickly enough so that she'd have enough time.

Barely enough time, though, as once she reached the edge of the steep cliff, the charging Lynel was a mere second away from striking her with its brutal weapon. Mipha didn't look down, didn't second guess herself; she rolled herself off the ledge and let herself fall with no technique, just shy of the Lynel's swing.

As she heard her assailant roar from atop the cliff, Mipha silently prayed to Hylia that she would not be another casualty of this diving spot.Link weakly squirmed in the grasps of the two Yiga gripping his arms and dragging him along, but the loss of the fight had sapped out nearly all of his strength. After that crippling blow from above, he was too weak to prevent the ensuing onslaught of the rest of the soldiers, who quickly overpowered him, took his sword, and gave him no room to fight back or escape. The Hylian was beaten and at their mercy.

The two Yiga eventually dropped their defeated foe on his knees, and brought his arms behind his back. Link initially resisted them and tried to get loose, but when another Yiga - the one who'd initially tricked him - brought a sickle right to the boy's throat, he begrudgingly ceased his efforts.

"So this is the great hero of Hyrule. The one chosen by the sword to save us from this supposed 'evil'," she spoke with scorn. Link glared up at her with equal disdain. He started to feel his wrists being crossed and what he assumed was rope being wound around them, while at the same time his feet were pushed together and also looped with rope. The fallen hero took a deep breath, needing to keep reminding himself that he was too vulnerable to turn around and fight against it.

"In all fairness, I must say I'm impressed you fared as well as you did," the Yiga continued. "I assumed that with ten soldiers against you, you'd go down in mere seconds … I suppose that's our mistake for underestimating one of such high esteem." She tilted Link's chin up with her sickle as she spoke, and while Link was able to keep his steady scowl, he gave a very slight wince as he felt the ropes around his wrist being pulled tight and knotted. The other ropes dug deeply into the fabric of his boots, making it impossible for him to slip a foot free.

"Well?" the Yiga asked, removing the sickle once she saw his ankles were tied. "Nothing to say, do you? The great knight is too ashamed to speak up in his hour of defeat?" Link breathed in and out slowly and steadily, not wanting to show any weakness. But this was doubly difficult when the ropes kept coming, now being wound around his lean torso to weld his arms to his sides. But he merely hardened his glare, trying to hold back a gasp as his chest was constricted achingly by the tightened ropes.

"Don't bother, Jora," a male Yiga interjected. "Word is that the Hylian never speaks. Probably a mute, I'd say." He looked at Link mockingly as his thighs were being tied together, the ropes particularly stinging him there. Between the humiliation and the increasing discomfort as he was continuously tied up, Link's resolve was becoming harder to maintain by the second.

"Oh, he speaks," Jora corrected. "Just barely. But seems he's gone cold on us now." She crouched down to meet Link's gaze, the boy internally wincing as his ropes seemed to squeeze harder with the slightest movement he made. "How about it, sonny? Any last words you'd like to spit at us?"

Last words? Link wondered. They're obviously not going to kill me right now. Why would I- "Mmmmph!"

Link let out a startled but stifled shout as a cloth fabric of some kind was shoved into his mouth. Another one was quick to follow, one that was white with red markings of the Yiga's symbol emblazoned upon it. Link shook his head in resistance, but it was ultimately placed over his lips and tied securely at the back of his head, the knot covered up by his thick blond hair.

"Well, even if you're the silent type, can't take any chances here," another Yiga spoke up.

Link couldn't help but squirm now. He was now bound, gagged, and at the mercy of the most feared organization in all of Hyrule. They had played him like a fiddle, beaten him mercilessly, and were now free to do whatever they pleased with him. He tugged at his bonds, forced to breathe through his nose as he did so, but this only made it clear that they weren't budging in the slightest.

"Now then, hero," Jora said, a hateful bitterness in her tone. Link's blue eyes pierced brightly above the gag, his only means of showing disdain or resistance now. "We're taking you on a vacation from all your responsibilities. And I promise you, it'll be one that you'll never forget … if you even live to forget it."

It took a lot for Link to suppress a muffled moan of dread.Mipha's vision was blurring. Her body was numb, her hearing nearly muted, and her mind feeling like it was fading.

When she hit the water of the East Reservoir Lake, it felt like just as much of a slam on her as any of the Lynel's attacks. Her inability to properly pose herself was to thank for that. Now, after mustering all the strength she had, Mipha found herself feebly swimming, her usual mastery of the water now replaced by a mighty struggle to simply stay conscious.

She could see her way out; an elegant platform that also served as the top of a great structure used to access the elevated, artificial lake from the Zora Domain. She just needed to get there, crawl down, and she would be home.

But the closer she got to it, the closer Mipha felt to slipping away. Her limbs splayed in an uncoordinated effort to reach her destination, slowly propelling her mere inches at a time. The burning inside of her from the shock arrow was still present, but it grew numb as she lost feeling in her body. But the princess was determined even in this current state. She was out of harm's way. Just a little further.

Mipha did ultimately make it, collapsing onto the surface and heaving mightily. At this point, dark circles had appeared around her vision, everything becoming an unidentifiable haze. She couldn't make out any sounds of the waterfalls despite them being clearly present around her. She could only just make out her sanctuary beyond the blurry veil, and it drove her to try desperately to get the attention of anyone who was close enough to hear her.

"H-Hel..."

But with just that feeble, barely audible shout that took far more energy than it should ahve, there was practically nothing left in her. The Zora made one final push, but all this did was cause her to roll off the edge of her current platform, falling limply into the water that surrounded her home and would lead out into the Zora River.

Mipha had already lost consciousness before she hit the water.With the full knowledge that his team had Link fully subdued and helpless, a lone Yiga rode alone the edge of the river on his horse. He had been set to the task of searching around for any supplies or potential food for the long journey to the lair that he and his fellow soldiers called home.

In the distance, he saw a limp, red form just on the river's edge. As he got closer, the form appeared wet, as if it had recently washed up onto the shore. At first he believed that this meant an easy meal for him and his team. However, he soon got close enough to realize that it was actually a Zora. But this only got the Yiga more curious.

As he and his horse reached the downed figure, many thoughts wandered through his head regarding how this happened. But these thoughts were quickly pushed aside when he noticed the bright blue sash this Zora was wearing across her torso. Its color and design were similar to that of the hero they had just tied up. Additionally, her entire body sported beautiful jewelry that was fit for royalty.

The dots quickly connected in the Yiga's head. And behind his mask, an evil grin formed on his lips.

"Why hello there, little Champion."The Legend of Zelda franchise, the image used, and all characters and settings portrayed (except Jora), all belong to Nintendo.

Originally uploaded on October 19, 2019.And at last, we reach the point many have been waiting for! (For Link at least. But Mipha will be in the same predicament very shortly!)

Surprisingly, the fighting for both characters was pretty easy to write out. A part of this is due to the fact that I looked up videos of Yiga fights and Lynel fights so as to refresh my memory of how they generally go down. After that, it was just progressing things naturally until it was time to do our heroes in. It was especially interesting to write out Mipha's combat, since we don't really see it and therefore I had to rely more on imagination to bring it to life. Really, the biggest challenge was trying to make Link's tie-up scene good without giving it disproportionate focus, since it's obviously more slow-paced than the fighting. It may not be the most exciting to see him more subdued as he's bound and gagged, but that's how I see him being like in this situation ...... for now.

And this also answers the question of how Mipha would end up a captive alongside Link from fighting a Lynel. Perhaps it's stretching a bit and requiring things to go a very specific way, but I have my reasoning as to why I did it like this, which you may realize in later chapters.

Well, things are getting juicy now! Hope everyone likes it so far, and feels enticed to keep going now that everything is in full swing! Thanks for reading this far, and always feel free to let me know what you liked and disliked about it!

Also, screw the Lynels. Friggin things are harder to kill than Calamity Ganon.