Chapter twenty-five is full of action, people! hahaha and in case there's any confusion, the Sheik in this chapter is based off of the Sheik in Super Smash Bros. Brawl so... yeah. Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Five: A Changed Person

Zelda turned to face the door that led out to the dungeons, and she felt her stomach turn. She could hear noises, and in the blink of an eye, she was at the door and pressing her ear against the wood. Outside, she made out the sounds of heavy footsteps, and then the howl came again. It sent shivers down her now more flexible spine, and she caught her breath anxiously.

Link... Zelda thought worriedly. Suddenly, all she was worried about was saving the love of her life, whether he was a wolf or not. Without any hesitation whatsoever, Zelda put her hand on the doorknob and turned it. The door wouldn't budge. Sighing angrily, she pushed harder with her gloved hand. The door was firmly locked.

"Fine," she took a step back. After that moment, her body starting moving without her control; Zelda simply let her limbs move on their own. She let herself become Sheik. "Hyah!" her leg nimbly kicked down the door with a loud slam.

As soon as the dust of the old door and the dirty floor cleared, Sheik found herself face to face with two guardians. They growled, pulling out their jagged swords and taking a step toward her. Sheik didn't move an inch.

"Get her!" the two guardians cried in unison, and then pounced. With a quiet grunt, Sheik hopped over them with a somersault. They ran straight under her, jabbing their swords forward to no avail. Sheik landed agilely, smiling as her long braid fell against her muscular back.

The guardians were baffled at her nimble avoidance of their attack, and frankly, Sheik was surprised herself. She had no idea that she was capable of such feats. And by the time they turned around, Sheik was already bounding down the hall, which was covered in a shallow sheet of water. She was crouched low, her legs carrying her with a speed that she thought impossible for a human. But then again, she wasn't human anymore.

The dungeons were beginning to confuse Sheik as she came to a four-way intersection, and Link's howling had now died down. Instinctively, she turned to the right; and she nearly ran into another towering guardian.

"Wha...?" he screamed at the sight of her, and Sheik took a step backwards. "C'mere!"

He swung the sword, and Sheik widened her red eyes as she ducked reflexively. The sword missed her head by little less than an inch. He growled in frustration, and then swung the sword again, vertically this time. Sheik hopped to the side without much effort, and it sliced through the air beside her.

"Hah!" she leaped into the air before the guardian had a chance to recover. Twisting, she swung her leg around gracefully, and the ball of her foot collided with the guardian's helmet. He dropped his sword with a cry of surprise and he stumbled back, groping for his head. As he did, Sheik landed lightly, crouched low with her hands on the ground.

"Where is Link?" she hissed. The guardian recovered, but his sword still lay in the shallow water at his feet. Sheik remained low, breathing heavily. "Tell me where he is!" Along with her weak body, Sheik's attitude had been replaced as well. Instead of calm and sweet, she was feisty and demanding. If she wanted something, she was going to get it when and how she wanted it.

"Ah!" the guardian reached out to grab her, but Sheik easily avoided with a tilt of her head. A cruel smiled appeared on her face as she straightened up, though he couldn't see it.

"So, you want to do this the hard way," she muttered, readying herself for a fight. She stepped on the sword, showing the guardian that she had no intention of letting him get it. Narrowing his eyes, the guardian clenched his armored fingers into a fist. Sheik saw it coming.

When he punched at her, she grabbed his wrist inches from her face and pulled him down. Unprepared for the counterattack, the guardian was subdued. Without another word, Sheik lifted her lean arm and brought her elbow down into the small opening between his helmet and his shoulder blades, on his unprotected collarbone. She somehow knew it as a pressure point, and her elbow came down hard. The crack was sickening.

With a yelp of pain, the guardian fell face first into the water, groaning. Sheik chuckled cruelly, and then ran past the body and continued down the hall. If he wasn't going to tell her where Link was, she would find out on her own.

"Link!" she called down the corridors, but there was only the sound of rats running through the sewers. With her keen eyesight, Sheik saw that just ahead was a dead end. She turned around, running back the way she came.

She sprinted past the unconscious guardian she'd just defeated, and then turned right at the intersection. Perhaps this way would lead her to Link...

"Oh, great," Sheik halted at the sight of two more guardians. "Just what I need."

"Well, hello there," they cackled, looking at each other. "What do we have here?"

"Where's Link? Where's the wolf?" Sheik stood tall, making sure she didn't look intimidated.

"Maybe if you tell us where the orb pieces are, we can negotiate," one guardian said, unsheathing his sword. Sheik scoffed, staring straight into his eyes.

"Maybe if you tell me where Link is, I won't kill you."

"You hear that?" he laughed, glancing at the other guardian. "She's going to kill—"

The guardian's laughter was replaced by gagging. In the blink of an eye, Sheik had pulled out a thin chain from her sleeve. She still didn't know how she had all of these abilities and weapons, but she was grateful. She expertly stepped forward, throwing out the whip. It wrapped around the guardian's vulnerable neck while sending out currents of electricity, causing him to gasp for air and drop his sword as he reached for his throat. Sheik pulled on it with all of her strength.

The guardian came crashing toward her, and before he hit the ground, she lifted her leg straight up and brought it down on the back of his skull. He fell limply to the ground, and Sheik whipped the water as she glanced back up at the other guardian. He was staring at her with an expression of astonishment, but she simply raised her eyebrows and twirled the whip around her finger.

"So... where's the wolf?"

LINK POV

Link was curled up on the ground, breathing heavily as he slept. But suddenly, the sound of footsteps caused his ears to twitch, and he lifted his furry head curiously. He tried to ignore the hungry growling in his stomach.

As the footsteps neared, he caught sight of two guardians walking to his cell. With a snarl, he leaped to his feet and remained alert. The rumble in his throat never ceased as he watched them appear in front of him, speaking to each other in a language that he couldn't understand. Then, they were silent and turned to him.

"If she doesn't have them, then he must have them," the larger one mumbled, cracking his knuckles. Link barked defensively, allowing his claws to protrude from his paws.

"How? Even if he did, we wouldn't be able to understand," the other argued. "True," the other scratched his chin, squinting in thought. He sighed, waving his hand. "Do what you want with him."

Link barked again, trying to hide the fact that he was slightly afraid. The other guard laughed quietly, pulling out a ring of keys to unlock Link's cell door. As he stepped inside, the guardian locked the door behind him.

"Have fun," the first one laughed, and then he pulled out a piece of the orb from his armor to examine it. "Try not to hurt him too bad."

"I can't make any promises," the guardian inside Link's cell moved forward, but the wolf crouched low and stared at him with narrowed eyes. Without warning, he kicked him harshly, forcing him backwards. Link whimpered, but refused to succumb. He remained standing, ignoring the pain in his side.

"Woof!" Link barked, and then pounced as far as the chains would allow. His fangs aimed for the small opening of vulnerability in the guardian's heel, but the monster easily dodged and then kicked Link again... harder.

With a howl of pain, Link fell to the ground. The metal of the monster's armored foot had cut into his flesh, and he felt warm blood in his fur.

"Stupid chains," the guardian sighed. With that, he pulled out his sword and swiped it against the chains holding Link down. They broke easily, snapping and freeing Link. But then again, he wasn't free.

"There we go," the guardian grabbed Link's collar and lifted him up to his face. Then, he flung him across the cellar. Link's lean body collided harshly with the jagged wall, and he howled as the pain exploded...more blood.

As a wolf, there was no way he could fight this guardian, especially in his current bloody and pained state. There was nothing he could do but stay conscious, and even that was getting difficult.

SHEIK POV

With the directions she needed, Sheik let the chain slip back into her sleeve. Leaving both guardians unconscious, Sheik ran down the hall. As she continued, she heard a quiet whimpering. Following the instructions of the cowardly guardian, Sheik turned left at the next intersection and once again found herself before a guardian.

This one was different than the others. It was larger, and had an authoritative atmosphere about him. And Sheik's stomach turned when she saw the orb piece in his hand. At the sight of her, the guardian quickly put it away and unsheathed his sword.

"You won't escape from me," he shook his head. Sheik was silent, waiting for the guardian to make the first move. He was stupider than Sheik expected, and he let out something of a war cry as he swung his sword. As she did a back flip to avoid it, something happened that she wasn't expecting. Just as she landed, the guardian kicked her stomach, sending her to the ground.

Taking a deep breath and putting the pain aside, Sheik put her palms on the ground and catapulted herself back up. This time, she was ready for the guardian's assault. Her mind was now processing his fighting style in the way only a warrior could, and she examined his spots of weakness.

He punched, and she stepped to the side. Before he could retract his arm, she grabbed it and kneed his vulnerable elbow joint, causing him to cry out loudly. Blindly swinging his sword, the guardian screamed in fury. His left arm was now immobile, and Sheik smirked as she did a somersault in the air to avoid the sword. Just before landing, she managed to kick the very top of his skull.

Now it was time for the finale. As he adjusted his now crooked helmet, Sheik crouched and set her sights on his armored torso. Armor wasn't going to be able to protect him from this. With a soft grunt, Sheik shot herself into the air, sending her leg out. It hit him right in the center of his chest, and as he stumbled backwards, Sheik landed in the same position. Before he could even say anything, she was back in the air with the same movement. The double kick sent the guardian significantly back, and when Sheik straightened up, he jabbed at him with incredible speed.

Her pointed hands were complete blurs as she hit him repeatedly, twisting occasionally and never allowing him a single opening. Finally, with one more, strong elbow to the chest, she flipped backwards to watch him tumble down. He fell onto his back, but Sheik knew that he would be back for more if she didn't end it now.

"HYAH!" she screamed, leaping six feet into the air. Twisting and flipping intricately, she appeared directly above him, and as she came down, she put her leg out. The sole of her foot collided directly with his chest, creating a dent in his armor.

"Gah!" he twitched upwards, gasping for air as Sheik knocked the wind out of him. She smiled triumphantly; he wouldn't be going anywhere for a while.

"Thank you so much," she muttered sarcastically, still standing on top of him. She reached into his armor, pulling out the piece of the orb he had been hiding. "You've been such a great help."

He could only gag and stare up at her blankly. With a scoff, Sheik stepped off him and ran onwards. Link's whimpering was getting louder as she turned and ran down empty hallways. She met no more guardians for the rest of the way, much to her relief. But at the same time, she was finding it quite enjoyable to leave a trail of unconscious guardians behind her. Feeling this new power running through her body made her feel invincible, incredible, and untouchable.

Suddenly, Sheik found herself at a small wooden door. She halted, scrutinizing it suspiciously. First there was silence... but then, directly on the other side of the door, Sheik heard the cries of pain and suffering once again. Her heart wrenched at the sound, and anger began taking over her.

Sneakily, she pushed the door open and walked through the entrance. She found herself surrounded by cellars, each one empty. The corridor went straight forward, and at the end, there was a right turn. Staying as silent as a mouse, Sheik rushed to the corner and then squatted down, her back against the wall. The whimpers were now loud and clear, and she peeked around the edge of wall. She sighed angrily as her long braid fell over her shoulder, and her eyes became narrowed dangerously.

In the cell across from her view, her wolf was laying on the ground. And standing, towering over him, was yet another guardian. Link's fur was matted with sweat and blood, and cuts and bruises covered his body. The guardian's hands were clenched into fists, and Link's eyelids were fluttering.

The guardian laughed, and then kicked Link yet again. He cried out, but it was a weak sound. Sheik could tell that the wolf was hanging onto consciousness by a single thread, and the fury inside of her raged. As she crouched, watching the scene unfold and deciding on what to do, the wolf caught sight of her.

Sheik sucked in a breath as his blue eyes gazed into her red ones, and his narrowed suspiciously. Sheik put a finger to her lips, signaling for the wolf to be quiet; obviously, he wasn't going to listen to a stranger. He began growling ominously, staring straight at her. The guardian stared at it, confused, but Sheik continued trying to calm the wolf. It simply continued growling, trying to stand up as it did.

Finally, Sheik rolled her eyes and lifted her arm, showing him the back of her hand. As she did, the Triforce began glowing. It was proof that she was his friend, and Link suddenly became silent.

"What's wrong with you, dog?" the guardian hissed, kicking him once more.

Out of nowhere, Sheik produced six sharp, metal needles between her knuckles. Still squatting, she glared at the guardian, searching for an opening.

She found one.

"Hah!" she said quietly, throwing out her arm nimbly and letting the needles fly. They went right where she wanted. Each one hit the guardian in the neck, one after the other, and he was taken completely by surprise. Victoriously, Sheik hopped out of her hiding place as the guardian's blood was shed on the floor. He put a hand to his neck, swaying slightly. When she tried to enter the cell, she found the door barred and locked. There was no way in from the outside...

Sheik took a step back, being led by her instincts. She bent her legs, compressing herself into a slight ball. Then, doing something she didn't think she could, Sheik vanished in an explosion of fire. In the blink of an eye, she reappeared inside the cell with a large puff of smoke. The weak wolf stared at her with wide eyes, completely shocked, and the guardian was simply trying to stay conscious.

"Hi, Link," Sheik said, and then bent low to swoop her leg across the guardian's feet. He immediately crumpled, groaning. Link exhaled deeply as Sheik knelt beside him, and then she put a soft hand on his side.

"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner," she sighed. Link growled quietly, still mistrusting of this stranger. "Shh, Link, it's me. Zelda,"

She ran her fingers through his bloody fur, comforting him. Link seemed at a complete loss, so he simply let her pet him, as he lay motionless. His large eyes blinked slowly, and she knew he needed help.

"I have this," she continued quietly, pulling out the orb piece. Link growled again, but it seemed in a relieved way. She put it in front of him, sighing. He was beginning to slip into unconsciousness, and Sheik was reluctant to let him do so. She wanted to help him transform back into a human, and that was going to be impossible if he wasn't awake. All Sheik could do was sit beside him, and she hated the feeling of being helpless...

Cliffhanger! Yaaaay! Hahahah Chapter twenty-six will be up soon! Tell me what you guys thought ;) Thanks!