A/N: I could not help but put up two chapters this week since chapter 8 was so ridiculously short. I finished my homework early so I had a little bit of free time, and that coupled with an inability to fall asleep last night brought about an extra chapter. I realize it would be rather irksome to only get a few hundred words in exchange for waiting a week for an update. I thank you all for your time and reviews, it makes ridiculously happy and smile like this :D through-out the day.

Guest- Wow, thanks for pointing that out, it was rather impolite of me to misuse my homophones, sorry about that. I did not even realize they were there. I'll fix it as soon as I can.

ClarkyGirl- Green outfit blond hair fugitive from the law hiding in the woods *gasp* It must be Robin Hood. :P

Generala- Zelda has not made a slip up yet (but perhaps in the future). Yup, poor Link is in a mess at the moment. Interesting character parallel, I never thought of that until you mentioned it.

AnimeMaster- Hehe… All of them! Thank you!

XxFirecrackerxX- Thank you for all your awesome reviews, (and Link is my guy I saw him first Jk) *puts finger to lips and pantomimes silence* you're not supposed to be yelling in the library, though that is awesome.

7he Goddess Din- Thanks, I did try to make the characters as accurate as possible, which is a bit subjective because it's based on my own interpretations, but I'm glad you approve. Bounty hunters are epic.

Da Amazing Po-Po-Pony- Hyenas can cackle, maybe wolves can as well 0_0

And, thank you Victoria-BlackHeart and MiniJen


An Enemy's Revenge

The remains of last year's fallen leaves and a few dried pine needles crunched lightly under Link's feet as he walked through the woods. The outlaw's supply of heeling herbs was running low as well as their food supply. Because he had extensive knowledge of woodland plants, he had offered to help organize a foraging party.

He had tramped around the woods for hours and he finally slung a full sack of the gathered supplies over the shield on his back. It looked as if they would be having wild onion and leek soup yet again, at least this time there would be a little bit of fish to give it more flavor.

It had taken him quite a while to spear that fish with his sword. His fishing rod was back in Ordon and it was unsafe to go there. It was a good sized fish, about eighteen inches, but no one would get much because there were many mouths to feed. It was then he came across a small meadow that had at least five hares bounding about the grass and clovers, munching the plants in an idle manner.

If only I had my bow, he thought miserably, but he had unfortunately left it behind at camp. He was a bit low on weaponry and useful tools today. However, he still knew of a way he might be able to catch one of the rabbits. In a flash he had taken out his Twilight Shard and had transformed into a wolf. It would be relatively easy to catch a rabbit this way. After some stalking and chasing he managed to get one.

He was about to take his kill back to where he had hidden his sword, behind a low standing grove of trees, when Telma trudged into the clearing and sat down on a nearby log with a tired sigh. He dropped the rabbit and tried to crouch low; but she had seen him.

She gasped quietly and started to draw her dagger. Her face went pale with fear. Link, thinking quickly, crouched low in a submissive pose with his rump in the air and wagged his tail, yipping happily, mimicking the behavior of a dog.

Telma started in surprise "Well you're a friendly wolf are you?"

Link padded over and rolled onto his back before her feet. He gave her a huge doggy smile with his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth in an exited pant. From his slightly upside-down position, he curled his raised front paws by his nose and fixed her with his widest, most innocent puppy dog eyes until her expression softened completely. Righting himself, he sat in front of her and stuck his paw out as if he were shaking hands.

"A wolf with manners eh," She said as she grasped his paw. "Well that's a nice surprise. I have never seen a friendly wolf before and it is plainly obvious you are no dog. I wonder who you belong to," she mused softly. "You have the strangest marking on your head, my friend, but that is not as strange as your eyes. I have never seen a wolf with dark blue eyes. Don't look at me like that," she said with a laugh, "you look so sad and forlorn with those big eyes of yours, yet they also look wild and brave too."

Link licked her hand lightly, hoping she had washed them recently.

"You remind me of a boy I know. He has eyes that are very similar to yours. "I am actually looking for him right now. You haven't seen him around have you? He has ashy golden hair, and he wears the colors of the forest. He said he would be foraging in this direction. I wanted to ask him whether he knew if these mushrooms I found are edible or not."

Link looked at the mushrooms she brought out from her apron. They were large with red brown caps, sponge-like gills and they had an earthy scent to them. He could tell that they were the mushrooms known as porcini or sometimes cep from the bolete family. Those mushrooms were not only edible they were actually quite tasty. They were some of his favorite. Unfortunately, he could not tell her any of this information in his current form, so he merely blinked at her whilst waging his tail.

"Knowing me, I probably picked a bunch of poisonous ones," she complained. "Hunting and foraging are not my strong suit. This outlaw life is probably going to end up being the death of me, what with the poisonous plants and soldiers. I am not much of a woods-wife. In fact I grew up in the…"

Link was interested in hearing more but he felt his hackles rise and a growl start to rumble deep in his throat. He knew something was amiss. His canine senses had picked up the scent and sound of danger. He stood in front of Telma growling at the rustling brush in front of them, in the opposite direction of his hidden sword.

"Whatever is the matter?" Telma asked concerned but then she too directed her attention to the rattling foliage as if she had just heard became aware of the ominous racket.

As she and Link watched, five fully armored soldiers walked into view. There were two archers, two swordsmen, and a certain fat whip wielding knight that Link had seen before. This time along with his whip he carried two other weapons, an immense broadsword, and a battle spiked flail. Both of these were tucked into his belt. The whip he held in his hand. The fat knight gave a shout and quick as a flash his soldiers had formed a ring around Link and Telma.

Telma drew her wide curved dagger and picked up a long straight chunk of wood from the ground. She held it in her other hand like a quarterstaff. Her large form was making for quite an imposing figure. Link stood in front of her growling and snarling ferociously.

"Well if it isn't a member of the traitorous Resistance. If you show us where the outlaw's camp is we won't hurt you," the knight said coldly with an unpleasant smile.

"I would rather die than show you anything. I would fight you all to the death, and before you cowards even ask, I will never surrender."

Despite her older age, Link was quite sure she was capable of carrying out her threats.

"Is that so?" the fat knight asked. "Well then, it looks as if we will have to get the information out of you the hard way. I have a duty to my princess and my kingdom to keep them safe from traitors like you, and I have a score to settle with your leader. Men attack! But remember, I want her alive."

The ring of soldiers closed in on Telma and Link. Telma clubbed a swordsman over the head with her staff as he charged her front and Link jumped on the one who attacked from behind. He was having a hard time finding a spot to sink his teeth into because of the soldier's thick armor, but finally he found a week spot just above the swordsman's gauntlet. The soldier dropped his sword and fell to the ground screaming with pain and terror.

"Get the wolf," he heard the fat knight screech, "kill the wolf!"

Link heard the bullwhip crack and saw it coming towards him. He let go of the swordsman and tried to dodge it but he couldn't get out of the way in time completely. He yelped with pain as the whip slashed into his shoulder.

"Archers shoot the wolf!"

The two archers bent back their bows and Link, sensing impending doom, dashed into the woods towards his hidden sword as arrows whizzed past him uncomfortably close. Telma screamed angrily as she was she was overwhelmed by combined force of the knights as a few more, alerted by the sounds of battle, joined their captain.

Link reached his hidden weapons, stuck out his paw and touched his sword. Once he was back to his normal form, he grabbed his sword and shield and turned to run back to help Telma. Running off to fight a troop of soldiers who already held a hostage was pure suicide and he knew it. However, based on his previous encounter with fat soldier he knew of a particular weakness he might be able to exploit, namely, his pride. He mentally prepared himself before he stepped into the clearing, sword and shield at the ready.

"Let her go!" he yelled as he came into view. All the guards abruptly stopped tying up Telma to gawk at his brashness.

"I have a better idea," the fat knight sneered, "give yourself up, or she dies."

Link laughed, "Oh, I see, you want me to give myself up peacefully because you are too cowardly to face me in single combat. Judging by your display of skill last time we met, you have a right to be so. I don't believe you have ever fought a one on one match in your life."

The soldiers in the fat knight's command looked directly at their captain. The looks they gave him seemed to confirm Link's supposition.

"Even now you are too afraid to fight someone less than half your size and half you age," Link challenged with a smirk.

Now the challenge was out in the open Link knew the knight had to accept it or he would lose face in front of his men, something his pride would not allow. Also, he commanded his soldiers by fear and if his men lost their respect for him then he would lose his power. His soldiers were still looking expectantly towards their leader, waiting to see what he would do.

"Foolish boy," The fat knight yelled furiously, "you will not last more than a minute against me. I will face you one on one and you will lose. You two," he pointed at the archers, "guard the prisoner." He barked a command to the other soldiers and they lined up on the side of the field.

"Come and face me boy," he said as he cracked his whip with his left hand and drew his enormous broadsword with his right. "Your previous escape made me lose face and go down in rank. I would like nothing more than to face you in combat and bring you in. Once I defeat you I will take great pleasure in flaying your hide with my whip, and when I carry your beaten body back to the princess, who knows, she might want to have a go with it as well. Judging by what happened to you last time she saw you I am sure she enjoys hearing your screams as much as I do."

Although Link tried not to let them, the knight's words stung him like a blow. He quivered with fury. Screaming an enraged battle cry, he charged the knight at full speed.

The fat knight, Arscair, immediately regretted bating the boy as soon as Link raced towards him in a fury of anger, bloodlust lighting his eyes. Arscair found himself desperately parrying the fighting whirlwind that was Link. He was absolutely terrified.

In about five parries Link was able to knock the immense sword out of Arscair's hand. The knight immediately took out his spiked flail and tried to hold Link back by swinging it skillfully with his whip. Link dodged all of his attempts with graceful ease and agility. Then Arscair swung downwards with them both at once, Link leapt to the side and landed in a fast side roll around the knight. He leapt up and slashed hard at the plate armor on the knights back before Arsciar could turn to parry. The force of his blow knocked Arscair of balance and he fell to the ground in a face plant, dropping his weapons. He tried to roll over onto his back, as fast as his bulk would allow him, but it was not quick enough. Link put a foot on his chest and pointed his sword at his throat.

"Let Telma go or I will kill you," he said in a quiet yet forceful voice.

It was a bluff. He would never kill an unarmed man, not even one as cruel and heartless as this one, but the portly supercilious fool beneath his foot did not have to know that. He was gratified to see Arsciar's eyes widen with terror.

The solders, when they saw that there leader was in danger, sprang into action. One of the archers let go of Telma drew his bow and took aim.

"Link! Watch out!" Telma yelled desperately. Link leaped out of the way of the arrow just in time. Then the whole line of soldiers charged him. Link barely had enough time to parry the charge and he found himself in the middle of a one on six battle. In normal combat circumstances, the odds wouldn't have been a problem. He had often fought and won severely outnumbered battles against monsters, but this was different. These were actually people, knights no less, and he had no desire to kill or even wound any of them. With a bit of difficulty, he managed to knock out two of them, and one of them had run away. There were only three left to oppose him.

Telma had taken advantage of the situation as soon as one of the archers had let go of her to shoot at Link. She had knocked that one down and was in the middle of choking the other with his own bow string, when she saw Arscair rise to his feet. He headed directly towards Link's unprotected back as the young green-clad warrior fought against the three remaining soldiers.

The three soldiers simultaneously lunged at him. Link kicked one down sidestepped the other and was in the middle of a sword grind with the third when he heard a warning cry from Telma. At the same time he heard a bullwhip's crack. He let out a strangled cry as the tip of the whip wound around his neck, and he was yanked backwards towards the fat knight.

He turned around quickly and gasped for breath as he tried to loosen the cruel leather lash. He was mere feet away from Arscair and he desperately slashed at the taught whip with his sword to try and sever it from the knight's grasp. At that exact moment Arscair, with a wicked grin on his face, remembered something helpful to his cause. He swung his flail towards a particular spot on Link's torso as his whip was slashed apart by the youth's blade. Link tried to dodge the flail but was milliseconds too slow. The tail end of the blow hit him right on his burn scar. He cried out with pain as he fell to the ground. Immediately, the fat knight kicked him to his back and put a huge leather booted foot on his chest and pressed hard.

Link gasped painfully as he felt the crushing pressure of Arscair's weight. He looked desperately towards his sword that had fallen out of his grasp. It was just out of reach. The knight raised his flail with a sneer as he prepared to bring it down hard.

Quick as a flash, Link pulled out his dagger from the side of his belt. He drew and stabbed hard through the leather of the knight's boot with one lightning fast fluid motion. As the knight screamed with agony, Link pushed his enormous foot off of him. Link rolled over and held himself with his hands, spun his leg around and kicked Arscair's feet out from under him. His foe fell to the ground with a jarring thud. Link leaped to his feet and unwound the whip from his neck and lashed out with it as the knight tried to swing his flail from his prone position. Link caught the knight on his weapon hand and dealt him several blows, catching him once hard in the face. The knight dropped his flail but Link took no notice. Lost in a sea of feral and, in that moment, uncontrollable anger, Link kept up his barrage. The once mighty knight started blubbering with pain and terror.

His last two conscious solders ran for it when they saw that there leader had been defeated, assuming they would be next.

"Mercy," The stout knight cried out between tears, "please, mercy!"

Link, shaking slightly with rage, flung the whip away in disgust, "I suggest you run for it before I change my mind!"

The fat knight got to his feet as fast as he could and half limped half ran back the way he had come. The two running soldiers paid no attention to their disgraced leader and soon outdistanced him.

As soon as they all were out of sight, Link sank to the ground, a miserable expression on his face, rubbing his neck with one hand and cradling his side with the other.

"Honey," Telma exclaimed as she ran towards him, "are you hurt?"

Link shook his head, "not really, but you saw what I did. I have made myself little better than they are," his glance fell on the broken whip. "I completely lost my head and struck him when he was down and weaponless."

Telma smiled as she stood over him, "Oh that's all that's bothering you is it? He simply got what was coming to him. I rather think he deserved it; he needed to be taken down a peg or six. Besides, you have struck down monsters like that before."

"Yes, but those were just mindless evil creatures that lived for nothing but murder and causing pain. He was a knight of Hyrule, one of us."

"Link, honey, based on the way he was talking that man does not deserve the title of knight. Do you think he would have shown you mercy if he had won and you had pleaded for him to stop? I don't think so. If I were you, I would have hit him more and harder too."

"That still doesn't excuse what I did; the last thing I want is to be like them."

She shook her head with a sigh as she laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you for coming to my rescue. You're a regular old knight in shining armor. How did you know I needed some help? You're bleeding!" she exclaimed as she pulled her hand back from his shoulder.

"Oh, I cut myself on a tree branch when I was fishing," Link lied about the cut the knight's whip had given him when he was in wolf form before he answered her question. "I knew you needed help when my wolf ran to me acting strange so I followed him. That's when I saw you were in trouble," he explained lying again. He did not like lying to a friend but he could hardy tell her the truth.

"Honey, does your wolf have weird markings on its forehead?" Telma asked.

Link nodded, before his expression became serious.

"Telma," he said softly looking up at her with large eyes, "there is something really important that I need to tell you."

Telma looked at him gravely, thinking something was wrong. "What is it?" she asked softly.

Link grinned at her, "I am not a honey, I'm a dear."

"Why you cheeky… Alright I'll remember that honey-dear," she said chuckling.

"Oh, that's even worse that just plain 'honey'," Link said with a mock disgusted face.

When his side and neck stopped throbbing he stood and gathered his sack of herbs, food, and his rabbit and they left the unconscious soldiers behind.

When they got back to camp Link placed some herbs on the cut on his shoulder. It was not at all serious, and his chain-mail had protected him from the spikes on the flail. Ashei was on coking duty so he took the food and the rabbit to her.

"Where did you get this rabbit?" Ashei asked him suspiciously, "It has bite marks instead of arrow wounds."

"I found it on the side of the path," he replied with a cheeky grin.

"Ha, ha," Ashei replied unenthusiastically, "Where did you really get it?"

"Well," Link said with a smile, "I caught this rabbit with my bare hands but the darned thing was wriggling out of my grasp...so I bit it."

Ashei laughed, "I hope for everyone's sake that that was a lie but, knowing you, it probably wasn't," She teased.

Link laughed with her as Telma joined them.

"Your wolf friend caught that for you didn't he?" Telma asked.

Link nodded as Ashei exclaimed, "You have a pet wolf? I want to see it."

"Next time he finds me I will show him to you," Link said, not having the heart to tell her that it would never happen because he was his own pet wolf.

He took in the hustle and bustle of the outlaw camp. People who were trying to be helpful and stay busy were milling about doing what they could to make life a bit easier for their fellow 'traitor.' Link sat near a tree trunk, the adventure of the day had proven that the soldiers of Hyrule were still searching for their hideout. They would never find it though. Link had chosen the place well; it was almost as inaccessible as the Lost Woods so he doubted that city born soldier would ever find it. Also, they were constantly on the move, switching from this hide out, to one actually in the Lost Woods- when the soldiers movements were getting a bit too close to either one. He knew his way through the Lost Woods very well, having been through them a number of times. If worse came to worse, they could hide in the desert canyons, the land near Zora Mountain, or even Snowpeak and the mountains behind Ordon.

He glanced at the band of outlaws. They had all lost so much. He admired their strength of will. With a pang he realized he been a bit selfish of late. He had been dwelling on his problems quite a bit more than anyone else's, something he was determined to change. Rusl had lost his family; it was too dangerous to visit them or they could be taken as traitors too and lose everything. Telma had lost her livelihood and the ability to visit the Shaman of Kakariko; he could tell she had a thing for him. Ashei, Auru, and Shad had lost their freedom to roam and travel, and any family they might have had. He wished he could do something to help them more. He angrily wondered if Zelda even knew how much pain she was causing. She probably did. The thought of her made him frown and his gaze turn cold; but he couldn't think of a single thing he could do about it that would not put countless lives at risk. He was thoroughly trapped.


Are you glad that I am an insomniac? I hope you like this chapter!

QUESTION:

What is your top 5-10 favorite Zelda Bosses?