Ch 3: Finding a New Lead [August 21st, 2014]

A.N: You're expecting Red in this chapter, aren't you? Too bad for you! :p Jk, I'm putting him off 'til later I guess. I don't want to be too redundant or whatever you call it. Repetitive-that's what it is. This isn't Sgt. Frog, m'kay? Not gonna have a new character every "episode".

Green crept back to the castle, avoiding the guards carefully as he went. Miraculously, the rope he had lowered out of his window earlier was still there. He climbed up quickly, and pulled himself in through the window. With a sigh of relief, he turned to face his room. As he started toward his bed, he heard something behind him.

"And just where have you been?" Zelda's voice asked.

Green winced as he turned around to face her. "Uh...hey, Zelda. How's it going?" he asked, trying to sound cheerful.

She put her hands on her hips. "I thought I told you-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Green interrupted, hanging his head. "I'm sorry."

"You don't know what you've done," Zelda groaned. "You didn't just break the rules, Link. You went back on your word."

"So?" Green asked as he lifted his head. "It's not like it's a big deal."

"On the contrary," Zelda sighed. "When one goes back on his word, the royal family doesn't take lightly to it." She paused for a moment. "Over the short period of time you were gone, there was an outbreak of monsters in Kakariko Village."

Green's eyes widened. "W-what?!"

"My thoughts exactly," Zelda continued. "During the outbreak, the knights never showed to help the civilians, all because there was no one to alert them. When the knights had found out about the attack, they were already too late."

He winced. "Was anyone hurt?"

"Three were severely injured," Zelda sighed. "And one was killed."

Green felt his shoulders slump and he sat on his bed, his head in his hands. "I...I don't know what to say."

"Just promise me one thing, Link," the princess said softly. "The requirements are there for a reason. If you don't plan to do your part, people are going to get hurt. Promise me you'll play your part." She turned to leave and closed the door behind herself as she went.

Green looked up at the closed door, wishing that Zelda would come back. It seemed that she was starting to act more like a princess than his friend lately. Right now, he just wanted his friend back.

The next morning, life for Green went back to its default position in knighthood. Fighting off thieves and such was a bore to him now. It was always the same thing over and over again. Look for a distress signal, go to it, fight the bad guys, take them to the dungeon, and repeat.

Ever since he had discovered the secret identity of Lightning, he hadn't been appearing anymore. Did he plan to vanish for good now that his secret wasn't a secret anymore? No one had spotted him anywhere ever since that day. It was going to be even more impossible for Green to track him down if he never showed his face again.

No matter how much he wanted to get the team back together again, Green had to play his part in knighthood like Zelda had asked him to. If he wouldn't, people would get hurt again, and he didn't want that. All he could do now, was hope that he would encounter his copies sometime over the course of a mission. There was no other way.

Two long weeks went by, and Green was starting to give up by then. If they weren't going to show up, they weren't going to show up. He just had to accept facts. He was strolling through Hyrule Castle town, not a cloud shown in the sky. It had been forever since he had a peaceful walk through the streets. Every day it had been mission after mission, and for what? No one really appreciated the royal guards much, let alone respected. They didn't even get paid, for Nayru's sake! But today, Green felt just like a regular boy, not a knight.

He continued his stroll through town, when something caught his eye. There was a Happy Mask booth standing off to the side of the road. A boy with dirty blonde hair was running the stands, and he looked extremely grumpy and annoyed. Every time someone walked by, he would give them a deathly glare when their backs were turned.

Green decided it wasn't his problem, and started to continue walking onward. That was, until he heard the boy talking to someone. As he turned around, Green saw that he wasn't glaring at this figure. He looked up to this cloaked man with fear and respect. If this wasn't suspicious, Green didn't know what else to call it.

He snuck into an alley close-by and started eavesdropping on their conversation. Green kept himself as silent as possible as he listened carefully.

"So there's no sign of him?" the man asked in a deep voice.

"Not since a few weeks," the boy replied. "I'm starting to think he's disappeared."

"Good," the man replied. "We can't allow that Lightning-" Green flinched at the name and forgot to listen for a moment. They were talking about Blue! Snapping from the shock, he resumed listening.

"Understood," was the last word the boy spoke to the tall, cloaked man before he walked away. After he left, the boy sighed deeply in relief. It was apparent that the man was intimidating, especially to this kid. Green emerged from the alley and made his way to the Happy Mask booth. There was a hint of a lead lingering around, and he needed to find it.

He walked straight up to the booth and slammed his hands down on the counter. "Hey!" he greeted loudly, causing the boy to fall backward. Green tried not to laugh as he got up, glaring at him with the same glare he gave everyone else. It was hard for Green to keep a serious face with that boy staring at him like that.

"What do you want?" he asked impatiently.

"Do you know Lightning?" Green asked, answering his question with a question of his own. The boy shrunk back slightly.

"You mean that thief? I know of him, but I don't know him personally," he mumbled.

"Do you know where I can find him?" Green asked hopefully.

"No one's seen him since a few weeks ago," the boy scoffed. "Besides, why would someone like you go looking for a thief?"

"Because I know who he used to be," Green said boldly. The boy's eyes grew wide with curiosity as his grouchy attitude faded.

"You did?" he questioned.

"Yeah. Do you have any idea of where he could be?" Green was starting to worry that he might have to use bribery, but the boy finally replied.

"The last I heard of that guy's whereabouts, was at Gerudo's Fortress." He leaned closer, making sure no one nearby could hear. "Make sure you take the secret route through Kakariko Village. They've made security there a lot tighter."

Green started to leave the booth. "Thanks for the advice!" he called over his shoulder as he ran off, continuing his search once more.

A.N: Well... #Sorrynotsorry. As for the next chappie... I don't really know where to go next. Maybe I should've just left Green out of the knighthood thing. Ohhhhh well. I should put a purpose to being a knight sometime later. Cause right now, it's just a burden.