Hey yall! This is chapy 4! And I guarantee it to be the most Action packed hum dinging chapter yet! It's also extra long and exciting to make up for all the short suspenseful chapters earlier. :p Thanks again, please R&R

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Chapter 4: Blood

When Junto opened his eyes, his vision was flooded with the first clear images he'd seen in what felt like years. He was apparently laying in some kind of infirmary. Warm sunlight streamed through the window and diffused into the room via the pure white stone walls. He could move now, so he sat up, feeling only slightly groggy from his prolonged coma. How long had he been unconscious? Were the heck was he? Upon circumspection of the room, he had answered his own question. There were many ornaments and decorations bearing the triforce symbol, so he must have still been in Hyrule. His effects lay at his bedside, his sword leaned against the wall, and his clothes and smaller items neatly folded and arranged on a nightstand beside him. He had something important to do, but what? He was in too much of a stupor to remember. There was something of life and death importance that he needed to tell someone. He wracked the furthest confines of his mind for answers, trying to remember something so vague, and yet so very important.

"Come on Zelda, how are you just going to poop on the party like that?!" Link shouted from the pristine waters of Lake Hylia with a casual tone of humor in his voice. Zelda merely stuck her tongue out at him from her nice, dry beach towel on the shore. "Why would you come to the lake if you don't want to get wet?" Link asked as he swam to shore and marched over to where Zelda was sunbathing. She looks awesome in that bathing suit! He thought to himself. "I came here to spend time with my little Linkums! Not to get all wet and dirty!" Zelda protested. She enjoyed the rise she got out of Link when she called him that. Link sighed, "Then you leave me no choice little girl." He proclaimed matter-of-factly as he made his way closer. Zelda opened her eyes just in time to see Link reach down and scoop her off of her towel. "AH! NO LINK!!!" She screamed kicking playfully. Link hefted her to the waters edge and tossed her into the lake. She screamed all the way down, and landed with a splash. "Oh it's on now boy!" She yelled at Link splashing and dunking him under the surface of the cool water.

Junto swung his legs over the edge of the bedside and allowed his bare feet to touch the cool marble floor. It wasn't until then that he realized just how nice his accommodations were. The floor was a smooth rolling marble that met the pure white walls at a green base. The lone window was huge, allowing tons of sunlight to pour into the room like a ship taking on water. Even the sole nightstand was beautifully hand crafted from red oak, stained to a perfect hue of mahogany. Junto slowly stood up and began to pace the room as he wondered how he had gotten there. On his third lap around the room, he stopped at the large, full length mirror in the corner of the room. He inspected the tall dark young man who stared back at him. "Quite handsome," he thought aloud. He was only wearing a pair of grey sweat pants, so he could see his muscular chest and torso, as well as the extent of the damage that had been done to his body. His lean, muscular build and handsome sable features were offset by bandages here, and gauss there. Having nothing better to do, he began to remove the bandages one by one, peeling them off and peering beneath them. He had always been a fast healer, and true to life, most of his wounds were already nothing more than scars now. How did he sustain these injuries? And what was this pounding voice in the midst of his subconscious telling him there was still something he had to do? "Come on!" He thought aloud, trying to prompt his own memory. Then, as if on cue, it snapped. Everything fell into place with such suddenness that he couldn't move. All of the memories came crashing back into his mind. With each bandage he removed, he would recollect how he'd gotten the scar. Memories of sharp unforgiving steel and wicked blades flashed before his eyes. Then there was that girl he saved in the market. Junto smiled to himself. "Go figure," What a coincidence that she turned out to be the princess of this land. And finally, his train of thought brought him to where he was now, the castle. "Oh my goodness, you shouldn't be up!!" A female voice behind him caused him to spin around. It was that same hovering face from his dreams. Now, seeing her in her entirety, she must have been a nurse. Why else would she were such a lame outfit? Junto thought, taking note of her long white stockings, skirt, and the puffy shoulders of her blouse. "My name is Junto, I am the last judge of the kingdom of Ritz," He spoke quickly. "I have to speak with the king; I've brought news of the utmost urgency."

After changing back into their street clothes, Link and Zelda began the trip back to the castle hand in hand. "I told you that you would have more fun if you got wet!" Link teased, knowing that Zelda enjoyed herself in the water, although at this point, she would never admit it to him. "Yeah, well, you'd better watch it stud, because I still owe you one for that!" Zelda proclaimed as she tried to shake the water out of her ears. Link just flashed his trademark grin, "You know you liked it!" He responded playfully, "How about I make it up to you with a kiss?" He bargained. Zelda leaned in close to kiss him, but he backed away. "Is that a yes?" He inquired, still smiling. "Kiss me and we'll see." Zelda replied coquettishly as she made kissing faces and batted her eyelashes at him. "So are you implying that there is a possibility that I may pay you with this kiss, and still have a debt to pay to you?" Link asked feigning shock. "Perhaps," Zelda replied, affectionately moving closer. "So then what you are telling me, my dear princess," Link began with a coy grin," is that you are planning to steal a kiss from me!" "Yep," she replied giggling. "I'm Shocked Princess!" Link retorted playfully, "I thought you were a woman of scruples!" Amused by Link's playful accusations, Zelda finally closed her eyes, leaned in, and kissed his lips tenderly. There was no response, Link neither reacted nor kissed her back. Zelda opened her eyes to investigate, and found link standing there with a look of utter disbelief on his face, his azure eyes were wide, staring off behind her. Zelda smirked. "Well I know I'm a good kisser but"- She cut herself off when Link's finger pointed to something behind her. She spun around and beheld the cause of Link's shock. In the distance, she could see an orange glow on the horizon. All of castle town was aflame! Monstrous plumes of smoke rose from the charred and burning buildings. All of Zelda's breath left her, as she looked on in horror.

"The king is quite busy right now, but if you would only wait a few hours, I'm sure he'll see you." Junto's nurse told him. "Besides, you're going to need some more time to recover from your injuries!" Junto didn't have the time for this. He'd already lost too much precious time as it was. It turned out, as the nurse had informed him, he'd been unconscious for five days! He was only six days ahead of the enemy! "Trust me, I'm wide awake lady, and I will see the king" Junto replied as he stepped to his bedside and put on his thick leather boots. At this point, he had surmised that he was in the castle. The view from the window, and opulent surroundings were a dead give away. If this nurse wouldn't take him to see the king, he would find the king himself. If the people of this land, Hyrule, were to stand a ghost of a chance at fending off what was coming for them, their King must be warned. Junto dumped all his effects into his pockets and grabbed his sword, which caused quite a start in the nurse. "Look, I have to go and"- CRACK! A sound one hundred times louder than the most earsplitting thunder rang out, followed by a cacophony of screams and shouts. "Oh no," Junto cried out. "I'm too late! It's starting again!"

Junto dashed out of the infirmary with his diamond bladed sword, Zeng, firmly in hand. He stepped through the threshold and into the castle courtyard. From what he could see, it looked as though it was once a beautiful castle, but as it was, there were flames licking the ceiling and blood running down the walls in an array of patterns. Bodies were strewn every which way, and the smell of death was strong. Hundreds of people were running here and there in a panic, screaming, not even knowing what they were running from. Three more ear splitting cracks rang out, and several walls blew inward from the explosions. The knights and soldiers of the castle ran around trying to get organized, most just running for thier lives. And still as these people ran from their invisible assailants, they were being killed by the dozens. Run through by phantom blades or mangled in some horrible way. The soldiers that tried to fight were killed instantly by unseen forces. It was too late for these people. Junto had failed his mission. And now the people of Hyrule would meet the same fate that had been bestowed upon his own people. The only option left for him now was escape. He had to get the hell out! Bare-chested, sword in hand, he ran for what looked like the way out.

"No!!" Link shouted bluntly. "You stay right here!" Link and Zelda stood at the entrance to the Lon Lon Ranch, beside Talon, a short plump man with a wide mustache whom owned the ranch, and had been a friend of Link's for many years. Talon stood a few feet away, trying to stay out of their tiff, he was holding the harness of a mare that he intended to lend to Link, and staring into the brilliant light that was emitting from the blaze in the distance. "My father is in the castle, I have to go with you!" Zelda shouted, tears began to well up in her eyes. She had not seen Link this serious in a very long time. Why did terrible things keep happening to them every time things seemed to be going so well? She once again glanced at the ball of flame on the horizon. The whole city was engulfed within the inferno. Even at such a distance of a couple miles away, she could hear the screams of people, no doubt being slain in some horrible fashion. An occasional flash of light and loud crash issued forth from behind the city walls, Zelda wondered what it was. "How could this happen?" She asked Link dejectedly, she knew that if she went with him, she would only get in the way. So once again, she was forced to play the hand that everyone was waiting for. She winced as she thought about how powerless she was. Despite being a member of the royal family, when it came right down to moments like this, the here and the now, her lineage never amounted to more than a hill of magic beans. "So what the hell is happening?" Talon interdicted during the silence that befell the two lovers. "That is what I'm going to find out." Link replied tersely. "If this is so big that the capital city has been overwhelmed, then you should probably prepare to get out of dodge Talon." Link told his old friend solemnly, knowing he would be reluctant to leave his life's work, the ranch, behind. "Malon and I have already started packing." Talon said despondently. Malon was Talon's only daughter and only living family after his wife had died in the barn fire all those many years ago. How he wished his beloved homeland wasn't always plagued with disasters that put his stunted family through more and more misery. He walked over to his old friend, grabbed his wrist, and placed a short bladed dagger with a cloth wrapped handle into his hand. "You'll need it," he told Link sagely. As if to punctuate the clear and present danger, another series of ultra-loud cracks rang out from the direction of the city. The Mare jumped and trembled. Talon soothed the horse with a rub on his nose. "Just wait for me okay?" Link told Zelda trying his best to sound reassuring. "Take care of her Talon. If things get too bad, will you take her with you and Malon?" Talon nodded. "You'd better be careful!" Zelda told him through her tears. Link gave her a final kiss on the forehead, waved to Talon, mounted the horse, and raced off towards what was once the capital city, but now looked much more analogous to the gates of hell.

The exit to the castle was blocked. To the untrained eye, it was all clear, the draw bridge was down and the gates were open, but Junto knew that the invisible fiends were waiting. He had just moments ago seen about half a dozen people lose their heads all at the same time as they ran out the doorway. Screams and shouts, explosions and death rang out in the early afternoon. The sun was blotted out by the thick clouds of smoke spiraling overhead. From this vantage point, Junto could see that the entire town was under attack. He was in the main foyer that led out of the castle and into town. But he had to find a safe way out. He shared the foyer with about sixty people whom were running about, screaming and dying pitifully.

Junto's ears reported to him a distinctive sound behind him, the ever so quiet sound of an approach. Junto tucked and rolled to his left, and came out of the roll with his sword at the ready. He couldn't see it, but he knew he had just narrowly avoided being cleaved in two. These Garro warriors didn't play games; they wasted no time and killed indiscriminately. Junto had vied against them before, during a very similar situation within his own country.

Junto quickly assessed this large foyer where he intended to make his stand. To his right, there was a ragtag group of what appeared to be hardened warriors. Among them were a few soldiers, a couple knights, as conveyed by the markings on their armor, and an older looking woman wearing a Shiekan combat uniform. They all stood back to back in a circle as not to be flanked. Junto Considered joining their squad to fight the enemy, but ultimately surmised that there was safety in solitude.

To Junto's left, was that which all within the room sought after; the exit. It stood as a symbol of escape, pouring the orange light of the burning city into the room. It was so close yet so far. Once more, Junto's keen hearing betrayed the location of his invisible pursuer. He waited patiently, feigning ignorance. He was waiting on a gut feeling. In combat, all one can do is go with his gut. The instant Junto was certain that the phantom was lashing out at him with some invisible and arbitrary weapon; he leaped backwards, and landed a few feet away, his boots slipping through a puddle of blood. A clank rang out amidst the din, and a chip of marble dislodged from the floor where Junto had stood. He immediately thrust his double edged sword into the thin air before him. Through the hilt, he could feel the reverberations of the blade sliding into the chest cavity of his foe, slicing through the organs, scraping and splintering the bones. Thick red blood began to run from the emptiness where Junto's blade was situated. With one quick motion, he retracted his outstretched arm, pulling his sword out of his fallen adversary. Now blood sprayed from the nothingness before him, and Junto scoffed as he heard the thud of a body hitting the floor. "Useless" He breathed, before putting a considerable distance between himself, and the body. Within a few moments, the body exploded violently into flames and shrapnel. The Garro, were master bomb makers. A stipulation within their doctrine was that when they die, no Garro leaves a corpse. Somehow, they'd engineered their bodies to explode at death. And as Junto had learned the hard way during that fight in the market, if they were near death, they would not hesitate to blow themselves up the old fashioned way!

Then suddenly, all of the invaders became visible. The halls that were empty moments ago were now occupied by dozens of cloaked warriors. The castle defenders and soldiers could now see who they were fighting against, but it did very little to shift the battle in their favor. A lone Garro warrior could fight and win against five men. These poor fools were outclassed, outmatched, and outnumbered, they had no chance.

Junto couldn't help but shiver at the feeling of deja vu he was feeling. He'd seen this exact same thing once before. The sorceress' magic had worn off. Before each invasion, the entire invasion force would be enchanted by their head sorceress, rendering them invisible. But the spell only lasted for a limited time. Junto had been waiting for this moment; he had seen the sneaky bastards use these very same tactics against his countrymen. And just as before, although the cloaking wore off, they had already done more than enough damage to fatally wound any organization that would oppose them. Just like they did in Junto's country, the Garro had without a doubt simultaneously attacked the largest, most vital cities here in Hyrule. Within a couple of hours, the country was firmly within their hands. Now they simply had to mop up the stragglers. There was nothing more to be gained from his remaining here. He had to escape.

Junto's burnt-umber eyes gazed to the east, towards the exit. Sure enough, there were two enormous Garro-elites posted at the exit; undoubtedly charged with the task of ensuring that no one escaped. They were covered from head to toe by the greatcoats they wore. Only their gleaming green eyes were visible from under their hoods, and Junto knew from experience that each Garro possessed a plethora of weapons under their cloaks. Junto grinned; he had a knack for looking at the bright side of every situation. "At least now I can see you bastards!" He thought aloud. He brandished his weapon and charged at the Elite to the left of the door. "You're in the way!" He roared as he dashed into action. The fiend removed a wicked looking sword from somewhere within his coat, and stood ready; the sword in his right hand. As Junto ran, he just barely noticed the other hand of the Elite when it reached into his expansive coat and expertly flung a dagger at him. Junto raised his blade, and deflected the dagger with the foot-wide blade of his own sword. He then jumped into the air and came down hard with his weapon, striking blade to blade with this Garro warrior. The steel and diamond met with an awkward knocking sound, the two foes pushed against each other. Trying to gain ground, Junto put both of his hands on the hilt of his sword and brought his knee up into the Garro's gut. However, he seemed to hit a breastplate or other manner of hardened metal and did no damage. What he did do was leave himself open; the Garro with his non-sword hand removed another sword from his cloak and swung for Junto's neck. Junto deftly let go of his own sword and ducked under the swing, causing his foe to topple forward. He then strafed the villain, jumped on his back, and brought his elbow down on the back of its head. "Gah!" The Garro cried out in pain, then without warning, a long jagged blade tore out through the back of the Garro's cape and lashed at Junto, forcing him to dismount clumsily with a start. Damn! It's like these guys have three arms something! He thought, retrieving his own sword from the ground. He stood facing his opponent from about six feet away. Junto risked glancing to his right to see the previous entourage of seven was engaging the second Garro elite. When he looked back to his own adversary, the terror was already lunging at him! NOW!! Junto thought. In an incredible display of strength, he plunged the blade of his sword into the stone floor, lodging it into the ground, and then took a step back. The Beast's attack was barred by the embedded blade, sending him reeling backwards from the shock and flinging his sword into the air. Junto leapt up onto the hilt of his sword, balancing about four feet above the ground. From there he leaped higher still, catching the fiend's sword in midair. As he began to fall, he aimed the blade at his opponent, and violently landed, sword first, on top of him, impaling the beast through the neck. Finally, Junto stepped back and admired his handiwork. "One down" He scoffed.

From the edge of town, the capitol city looked like the gates of hell, but as Link rode through the city gates and into the heart of the inferno, Link came to understand the true meaning of the words "indescribable horror". Headless, limbless bodies were strewn everywhere. The streets and walls were painted with blood. Weather In the distance, or close by, Link continually heard the screams of women and children, right up until their voices were silenced by way of death. Garro shock troops were everywhere! They ran up and down the streets, checking every individual home, killing everything that moved. Where did all of them come from!? Link wondered. It was as if they just materialized in town. Link's stomach turned end over end as he rode past piles and piles of bodies stacked on high. Link began to feel the feeling he hadn't felt in some time. It was the feeling of every hair on his body standing on end, of the adrenaline pumping thick through his blood. This was how Link always felt just before a major battle. All of these innocent people, massacred for nothing. The bodies of the innocent lay in street corners, hanging out of windows, everywhere. All bathed in their own blood. Link was prepared to unleash heinous retribution upon the sick bastards that had so passionately slain his people.

It was for that reason that Link wasn't scared or even worried when a half dozen Garro soldiers finally noticed him and ran up to obstruct his path. Even though he had no weapons with the sole exception of Talon's dagger, he was unconcerned with the number of meat bags he would have to cut through to exact justice. Three more of the devilish fiends approached him from behind. Link calmly dismounted his horse, then slapped it on the rear as if to tell him, "Thanks for the ride buddy, now get out of here!" As if the horse understood Link's tacit message, it obediently trotted off in the direction they came from. The nearest Garro ran up and nonchalantly slashed the mare's head off with one fell swoop. Link winced as he watched Talon's beloved horse fall to the ground in two pieces. You'll pay for that! For all of this, you will pay! All of you will pay! He eyed each of the nine hooded legionnaires before him as he pulled the dagger from his belt. They made no move; they seemed to see fit to allow Link the first move. "You are all going to die today." Link hissed between his clenched teeth with a fire in his eyes. At that, they all closed in on him, attempting to overwhelm him. Link stood ready as they came, the dagger in his left hand. His right hand trembled, not out of fear; it trembled with eagerness to put down these baby killing bastards.

The first Garro to make contact was also the first one to die. Link easily evaded the villain's sword swipe by sidestepping; he then instantly buried his own short blade into the back of his adversary's spine at the base of the neck. The Garro's body crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes. The next two attacked simultaneously, both were wielding a sword in each hand, attempting to skewer Link with a tag team stabbing maneuver. However, Link was much faster. He masterfully jumped straight up, achieving a vertical height of about six feet. He then, in midair, threw his dagger at the Garro on the right. The dagger landed smack dab in the center of his face, with the blade jabbing through his sinuses. As his enemy fell to the ground Link landed on top of him, ensuring the demise of his foe by smashing his windpipe with the heel of his thick boot. Before the Garro on the left had the chance to recover from his botched attack, Link grabbed his face in the palm of his right hand, used his foot to sweep the bastard's legs out from under him, and smashed the back of his skull on the unforgiving cobblestone of the market. At this point, the other six warriors were approaching much more cautiously than before, but their discretion proved futile. Link held his hand before his face, palm up to the sky, and smiled at his foes. "Die" He insisted matter of factly. He then knelt down and slammed his palm to the earth. From the point of impact, a hemispherical pillar of flames erupted from around Links body and engulfed the remaining grunts. As his foes burned, Link watched pitilessly until they finally ceased their flailing and fell to the ground, dead. He then spun on his heel, and continued towards the castle.

Link was not violent by nature; he was forged into an efficient killer by a lifetime of strife. As a matter of fact Link was quite an amorous fellow. However, these were violent times and Link's feelings often took a backseat to his brutal efficiency in combat. Link had been introduced to the concept of "kill or be killed" at the age of ten. Since then, he had more often then not engaged in mortal combat. He was a lighthearted young man, who had seen too much, too soon. He was a prodigious master of combat, but was conflicted in his ways. His journeys led him to see many horrible things in horrible places. He'd seen and done so many horrible things that at times, he would have to emotionally detach himself as he fought, killing without remorse. Some of the knights and soldiers who had fought beside him often said his was like a different person when he fought. Link knew it was true, but preferred not to speak of his state of mind when it came to killing someone. Like any soldier, Link had discovered that the death of others weighs heavy on the soul. Hence, he didn't like to fight. Usually, he fought his battles with no passion or enthusiasm, he fought with only the direct fact that he was doing what needed to be done. But this time, he could not mute his mental anguish as he looked upon the hills of dead women and children, sons and daughters, husbands and wives. So it was right then and there, sprinting down the lane towards the castle that Link decided that in all his battles to come, he would fight for these people. He would fight for those whom were silenced, but still had much to say, for those who met death by no means of their own. Link decided he would fight for the innocent. He would fight with passion. These were his thoughts as he made his way into the heart of the burning city, with no idea that things were about to get much worse.

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BOOM SHAKA LAKA!!! That was my biggest and baddest chapter yet! Tell me what you all think! So far, there are officially two people that actually read this stuff. I sure hope more will come! Please R&R, I've never devoted this much time to actually writing something good! And prepare yourselves for… Dun dun dun!! Chapter five: The Exodus