Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda, its characters and locations are all property of Nintendo. Any and all OCs and original locations belong to me unless specifically stated to belong to someone else.


IMPORTANT NOTE: the rating for this story is now M, as I think I've finally reached the point where a T rating simply won't do.


Soul Remnants
Chapter 54


The silence was the worst part. Ever since he'd been thrown into one of the old novice rooms, he'd felt like he was deaf. Six hours of nothing but silence. The noise insulation was one of the strategies the guild had developed to discourage bonding between the different age groups. They never heard each other, they rarely saw each other. It wouldn't do for children of different ages to form friendships; it would only lead to a failure in discipline.

Not that it had stopped Jeryd from getting to know both Lezal and Lor...though, in hindsight, he bitterly regretted the former. How could he have been so stupid, thinking that Lezal wouldn't remain loyal to the guild? It wasn't like he had ever shown any sign of rebelling against his masters, even if he had defied the orders not to bond with the younger assassins. Then again, Lezal had gotten something out of it...

What did you get out of this, Lez? he wondered. A promotion? A big bonus? Lezal wasn't a particularly complicated man. He preferred simple pleasures, usually of the flesh. Perhaps he'd been promised...no, he couldn't even finish the thought. It was nauseating. He'd rather fall on a sword. How he wished to have the older man in the room with him now, his hands around his throat, squeezing...

The fact that Lezal had betrayed him wasn't the thing he hated the most about the situation, however. It was the fact that Lezal had made Sheik and the others think that it was actually Jeryd who'd planned it. He'd seen the glee on Lezal's face as he spoke, knowing he was destroying the struggling friendship between him and the Sheikah and Elenwe. But why? Because Lezal was one of nature's arseholes, for one. Gods...he couldn't even imagine how his companions must have felt at that moment. He'd seen it on Sheik's face—anger, betrayal, hurt...sadness, even. He didn't understand the last one, but...

He growled to himself and went for the door, trying to turn the knob. It didn't budge. If he'd had a set of lock picks, he'd be out of the room in minutes, but there was surely a guard waiting on the other side. Or several, depending on how paranoid the master felt about keeping him locked up like this. Sighing, he trudged over to one of the bunk beds, sitting down on the hard straw mattress. He felt around beneath the sheets. The two bulges were still there. At least that was something. He'd struggled as hard as he could against his captors, and they'd been so hard-pressed to disarm him that they'd simply gone after his blades before throwing him in here. They'd completely missed the two bombs he'd stolen from the airship. When the guards had returned in force to hold him down and properly disarm him, he'd long since hidden the explosives in the bed, which they'd neglected to search. Sloppy, sloppy...

He grinned. Oh, they were in for a surprise, all right...

Voices outside the door. He stood up, moving to another bed to minimise any suspicion. The lock clicked loudly as the door was unlocked and swung open. The master strode inside, flanked by two of his fearsome bodyguards. He had a satisfied smirk on his face, which Jeryd answered with a scowl.

"Oh, come now, Jeryd," the master said, clicking his tongue disapprovingly. "Surely you should have seen this coming? I was certain you did and the fact that you remained was a blessing to ahead with the plan."

"Really?" Jeryd said, glaring at him. "The fact that I flatly refused your offer in your office wasn't enough to convince you that I wasn't onboard with your plan?"

The master shook his head and dismissed his guards, who left the room and closed the door behind them, leaving Jeryd alone with the master. He chuckled.

"Ah, I assumed that refusal was linked to the rather...rough way you let me take you in my office," he said, chuckling a bit louder when he saw Jeryd's eyes open widely at him. "You didn't struggle all that much, did you?" he asked. "You even seemed to enjoy it by the end..."

"Fuck you," Jeryd spat.

"No, that was your role, remember?"

He couldn't control himself as he rose from his seat and marched over to the master, fists raised to deliver a devastating punch to the old man's face. He was stopped by the cold steel that was suddenly at his throat—the master's sword, silently drawn the second he'd gotten to his feet.

"Ah, ah, ah," the master said gently, as if scolding but not really scolding a child. "Temper, temper, Jerry," he said. "I didn't train you to be like this."

"Why? Why did you do this? Why couldn't you just leave us alone?"

"The chance to have real Sheikah in my...collection was a temptation too big to resist, my dear boy," the master said, walking forward, forcing Jeryd to go backwards to avoid the sword cutting into his throat. "You, precious as you are, are simply a bonus. You were my favourite once, but make no mistake in thinking that you are important enough to be worth the trouble. Make another move like that one, and I will kill you. Now sit down."

He was forced to sit on the mattress again, scowling up at the old man, who sheathed his sword. He was definitely past his prime, but the master was still strong and fast enough to kill Jeryd before he could make any attempt to fight or escape.

"Now, I am willing to let bygones be bygones, Jeryd," he continued. "I am not an unreasonable man. You cannot remain an assassin; you have broken too many tenets for that. However, I can let you work in the Cock. You're still young enough to pull in quite a few clients—some of the regulars have been asking for you for years, in fact."

"And what could possibly make you think I'd go back to being a whore?" Jeryd asked, his grip on the sheets tightening. The thought of once again having to service the customers...it made bile rise in his throat.

"Because if you don't, my dear Jeryd, I shall be forced to kill you."

So that was it. An ultimatum.

"Of course, you will need a mark to show you're our property, perhaps a—"

"Tattoo?" Jeryd said, glaring. "Like the one you put on Lor?"

"Lor...? Ah, Lorasi, the mage, of course," the master said after a few seconds of confusion. "Yes, something like that. Though yours won't contain enchantments to contain the wearer's magic, naturally."

Jeryd paused. "Enchantment?"

The master rolled his eyes. "You didn't think I'd be stupid enough to let an untethered mage run around my guild hall, did you? Good grief, Jeryd... The first thing the monster would do would be to burn it all down!"

The master had never been fond of magic, like much of the population of Lumina. Jeryd had actually been surprised that Lor was still alive, as he knew many preferred to kill magical children outright rather than give them a chance to master their powers.

"Magic to stop magic, huh? The hypocrisy is staggering," Jeryd said, mirroring the master with a roll of his eyes. "Then again, that's not new, coming from you..."

The slap came as fast and surprising as always, and it made his cheek feel like it was on fire. He didn't budge, however, refusing to even acknowledge it, staring at the old man.

"Watch your tongue, boy," he said darkly. "We hired a foreign mage to come and do it. I didn't really understand how he did, but the ink on that boy's cheek...powerful suppressor, apparently. He was quite happy to do it, too, even after we told him what we were going to use it for. He wasn't quite so happy when I cut his throat, of course, but I like to think the disappointment only lasted a moment before he lost consciousness and died."

"Risky, if his friends begin to miss him," Jeryd said, trying to find ways to surprise the old man, but finding none.

"Ah, we took that into account and had them eliminated too. Took us a while to track them all down, and some of them put up wicked fights, but even they fell in the end."

"You're a monster," Jeryd said, certain that no other word could describe the man in front of him.

"Never claimed not to be," the master said, shrugging. "That's probably why I had no qualms handing the Gerudo over to Aina and her...rather ill-groomed friend. I'm sure they'll have their fun with her before killing her. I've no use for trash like her."

"Bad idea," Jeryd said, grinning when his mind was suddenly filled with the many things, none of them good, that Kafei would do to the master once he found out. "If you think it's going to be difficult keeping the Sheikah contained, killing the girlfriend of one of them isn't going to help."

"We already have them quite contained, and they will remain so," the master assured him, turning around and heading for the door. "So, back to my original point. You have two choices, Jeryd. You can remain at the Cock and spend the rest of your miserable existence making yourself useful to the guild, or you can die in this room."

"I'm sure there's a third option," Jeryd said.

"And what would that be?" the master asked, looking amused.

"Kill you and every single one of your whores and burn this place to the ground." He put as much venom as he could in his voice as he spoke, fixing him with his most penetrating stare. "And dance on the ashes."

The master's amusement disappeared like a flash, but he did nothing but sigh. "It saddens me to think you would be willing to do such a horrible thing to the one who took you in when you were but a child condemned to die on the streets. But no, you will not have a chance to pick that third option. I will give you some time to consider the other two and will return shortly. I expect an answer."

The door slammed shut, leaving Jeryd alone and miserable. What could he do? Armed guards outside the door, no windows to break out of in the room, no chimney to climb up... He stood up and paced around on the floor, trying to figure something out. He pulled out the explosives, weighing them in his hand. They would make a pair of pretty big bangs, he figured. There was a gaslight on the wall, providing the room with light. Break the glass, light the fuse...bound to eliminate the door guards...probably the door as well. But it would probably kill him in the blast too, and that was no good if he was going to have any hope of getting Sheik and the others out. And if Aina's reputation was anything to judge by, he didn't have much time. Or, more correctly, Elenwe didn't have much time.

He supposed he could try to move the bunk beds and somehow create a barrier between him and the explosion, hoping the flimsy wooden constructions and mattresses would protect him from the blast. But that was still more risky than he liked, and the sound of him moving the beds would surely attract attention from the outside...

There was another knock on the door. Was the master back already? He quickly grabbed one of the bombs and moved towards the gaslight, preparing to smash it open. If he was going to die, he was damn well taking the master with him. That way, at least he'd do some good. He realised halfway through his train of thought that it was strange for one who'd had such a strong desire to die just weeks before was suddenly worried about his life, but he ignored it. He had a higher purpose for the moment—to rescue the others.

The door opened, but someone entirely different came through the door.

"Lor?" Jeryd asked incredulously.

Lor spotted him and smiled, closing the door behind him. The lock snapped shut. "I heard about what happened..." he began.

"How much?" Jeryd said.

"Enough to know that you're in big trouble," the boy said, looking sad. "They said the master's going to kill you!"

"Not if I choose to come back to work here," Jeryd said miserably, gesturing around him. "Only not as an assassin. Just as..."

"...a whore," Lor finished for him, shaking his head.

"Yeah..." They stood in silence for a moment, staring at each other. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Officially, I'm here for a last goodbye," Lor said, moving closer to Jeryd, swaying his hips slightly. The motion only made Jeryd uncomfortable. It wasn't right for someone like Lor to move like that, voluntarily or otherwise. "The guards let me in when I said we used to be lovers," he continued, lowering his voice. "And that I wanted one last..." he trailed off, not finishing the sentence.

"And...unofficially?" Jeryd asked, feeling like backing into the corner, but standing his ground.

"Unofficially..." Lor said, wrapping his arms around Jeryd and beginning to fiddle with the back of his shirt, one hand finding Jeryd's. "I'm here to give you this," he said as something heavy slipped into Jeryd's hand. A dagger. A small one, but sharp as a razorblade. Jeryd looked up in surprise as Lor suddenly detached himself from him, holding up his other hand to reveal another, identical blade. "And help you escape," he said quietly.

"W-wha...?" Jeryd said incredulously. Did the boy have any idea the repercussions this action would have if they failed?

"You heard me," Lor said, just as quietly. He looked worriedly at the door and made a louder-than-necessary moan. "Have to play it up for the guards," he explained and motioned Jeryd towards the corner farthest away from the door. He joined him soon after. "I've managed to find out where they took the Sheikah," he whispered.

"Where?" Jeryd asked, excitement building in his chest.

"One of the sparring rooms, or so I heard. The eastern one."

"And Elenwe?"

Lor sadly shook his head. "I don't know for sure, but I think they took her to the basement. An assassin named Aina is here, and—"

"I know," Jeryd said. "She has a score to settle with Elenwe, apparently."

"Then we've no time to lose," Lor said, making another loud moan, which made Jeryd blush. "Here's the plan: I leave the room, but attack before they lock the door. You shove it open and help me. There's only four guards, I think I'll be able to take at least two of them out before they can react."

Jeryd stared at him for a second, suddenly remembering Lor for the assassin that he was. He certainly hadn't lost his guts. "And then?"

"Then we hurry to the sparring room, free the Sheikah and search for Elenwe before escaping," Lor said.

"...this isn't a very detailed plan, is it?" Jeryd asked.

"No, but there are limits to what we can plan for in a situation like this," Lor admitted.

"You could die..."

"I'd rather die trying to escape this place than stay here for another day," the boy said firmly. "I've had enough."

Jeryd nodded. "All right, then. Thank you."

"Thank you for coming back," Lor said quietly, smiling at him. "Now, let's start."

"Already? I thought the guards were supposed to think we were...you know..."

"Oh, I always make my clients finish quickly," Lor said with a wink and heading for the door. He hid his dagger up the sleeve of his shirt and knocked on the door. "It's me," he said. The door was unlocked and opened. Jeryd crept closer to it as it slowly began to slide closed, waiting...

There was a muffled gasp and gurgle, and he leaped to action, slammed into the portal with his shoulder, throwing it open and crashing into the guard standing beside it. One of the assassins was already sliding to the floor, his hand clutching his throat, which had been opened almost from ear to ear. The young boy was already dealing with a second guard, his dagger deeply embedded in the man's eye. Jeryd wasted no time himself, stabbing the guard just beside him in the throat with a reverse grip on his weapon, pulling it towards him to do as much damage to the man's neck as possible. The guard who'd had the door slam into him was dealt with in a similar manner.

Six seconds, or thereabouts. That was all he and Lor had needed to kill four people. He'd forgotten how effective the mage had been when he was younger. He could only guess how much he'd improved before his final exam...

"Let's go, it won't be long before someone finds this mess," Lor said, taking one of the guards' long knives.

"Hang on," Jeryd said, hurrying back inside the room to fetch the explosives.

"What're those?" Lor asked.

"Surprise elements," Jeryd replied. "Let's free the Sheikah!"


"Any luck?" Sheik asked, feeling blood running from his wrists. His repeated attempts to pull at his chains in an attempt to find a weakness and made the cuffs cut into the skin. It didn't deter him, though. It only made him try harder.

"No," Kafei replied after a few strained grunts. "They really didn't take any chances with this."

"And no one's come to feed us either," Sheik said. "No chances to break their necks."

"Hate to say it, cousin, but I've no idea how to get out of this," Kafei said after a few minutes.

"Well, I'm not exactly a never-ending fountain of ideas either," Sheik said. If only Link were here with his hammer...that'd take care of these chains. Or just the Master Sword—that thing will cut through anything. He waited for the inevitable sarcastic comments from the shadow, but he seemed to have gone dormant or something. What, nothing?

"Wait, do you hear that?" Kafei suddenly said. "Footsteps."

"Coming closer," Sheik said after picking up on them as well.

There was the sound of a brief but violent struggle on the other side of the main doors. Then they heard hurried whispering before the jangling of keys signalled that something either wonderful or disastrous was about to happen. The lock clicked and the doors were slid open. Sheik faced them and was briefly blinded by the light coming from the corridor beyond. A figure approached.

"Master Sheikah? It's me, Lor," a quiet voice said. "I'm here to help you."

"Lor?" Sheik asked. It took a moment for the name to find a face in his mind's eye, and smiled when he made the connection. "I don't understand..."

"Jeryd's here too," Lor said, kneeling down and beginning to fumble with Sheik's cuffs, trying to find the right key on a pretty massive chain. Sheik squinted towards the door and noticed someone pulling the dead guards' bodies inside the room. The figure had a large back slung across one shoulder.

"Jeryd! I'll kill that bastard!" Kafei growled, thankfully keeping his voice quiet.

"Please, I didn't have anything to do with this," Jeryd's voice said, sounding apologetic. "We were all fooled by the master."

"Hah, like we'd believe that," Kafei guffawed. "Oldest trick in the book—"

"It's actually true," Lor said, finally finding the right key and unlocking the cuff around Sheik's left wrist. He hissed upon seeing the torn skin beneath. "Otherwise he wouldn't be here, would he?" he asked, looking Sheik in the eyes. Sheik stared back, looking for a single hint of a lie. There was none...but then, there hadn't been in Jeryd's either, had there?

"Sheik, Kafei," Jeryd said as he slid the doors closed after pulling the bodies inside. "I know you both hate my guts right now and think I've betrayed you—but I swear on my wretched life that I had nothing to do with it. It was all Lezal and the master."

He certainly sounds genuine enough, Sheik thought, unable to ignore the fact that they were probably both very accomplished liars, considering their upbringing. But he's right...why would they be killing guards and unlocking our chains if it's all a trick?

Lor paused, the key hanging above the lock to the second cuff, staring at Sheik. "Do we have your word that you won't attack us when we free you?" he asked.

Smart kid, Sheik thought. They are certainly our best—if not only—ticket out of here. "Yes, you have our word," he said, nodding.

"What? How can—"

"You have our word," Sheik repeated firmly, hoping Kafei would take the damn hint. "Kafei, I'll leave you here to rot if you don't agree."

"All right, all right, fine, you have my word as well," Kafei in exasperation, clearly not happy. "But one sign that you're betraying us agai—one sign, and you're both dead!"

"No worries," Lor said with a smile, unlocking Sheik's remaining cuffs and handing him the keys before going to help Jeryd keep a lookout.

Sheik went over to Kafei and released him from his bonds. The purple-haired Sheikah was quivering, though he had no idea whether it was with anger or excitement. Probably a bit of both. "Remember, Jeryd and Lor are allies," he whispered to his cousin.

"For now," Kafei replied, standing up and popping his joints.

"Weapons over here," Jeryd said, waving them over. "Most of your equipment has probably been scattered all over the building, but we found Sheik's swords and Elenwe's crossbow. The armoury wasn't even locked, the stupid bastards didn't expect us to escape, it seems."

"Speaking of which, where the hell have you been?" Sheik asked, strapping the swords Kafei had had made for him to his back.

"I was imprisoned myself," Jeryd said, looking at his feet, suddenly finding them very riveting, it seems.

"And was going to be killed if he didn't agree to come back to the guild," Lor elaborated. "I decided neither option was acceptable and intervened." His voice left no room for doubt.

"Where's Elenwe?" Kafei asked, ignoring the assassin's plight.

"We're not sure, but we think she's been taken to the basement," Jeryd said.

"Why there?" the oldest Sheikah demanded.

"Interrogation," he replied, deciding not to use the word 'torture', which he suspected Aina was in the middle of.

"Then let's go," Kafei all-but shouted and tore the door open. "Which way?"

The progress towards the basement was slow. No one had discovered any bodies yet, but that didn't mean the corridors weren't patrolled. More than once they'd had to duck into alcoves and random rooms to avoid assassins roaming the halls. Most of them were young men and women around Kafei and Jeryd's age, though some were as young as Lor.

They reached the staircase and made their way down. One guard emerged from a door, but Jeryd quickly knocked him out with a flying kick from the landing. Just to be safe, he cut his throat, knowing it was a cowardly act, but necessary.

They heard Elenwe's screams long before they found the door to the torture room.

"What the fuck are they doing to her?" Kafei said, moving to break it down. He snarled when Sheik pulled him back, shaking his head. "What are you doing?"

"Don't be stupid about this," Sheik reminded him. "We can't just go charging in without a plan—what if there are more guards in there?"

"Lor and I will take the left side, you will take the right," Jeryd said, standing by the door. "We go in hard and fast, give them no time to realise what's happening."

Another blood-curdling scream cut off any argument from Kafei, and they piled up on either side of the door. Sheik gave a signal and Jeryd kicked open the door, charging inside with brandished knives, closely followed by the others.

Prepared as they were, they still paused at the sight. The smell of blood and burned flesh hung heavily in the air, making Lor retch. Elenwe was chained to a rack-like mechanical table, currently lying flat with her arms held straight out to her sides. Or what was left of them. Her left arm was gone, cut off just above the elbow. The wound had been cauterised with a white-hot piece of metal lying in the embers of a dying fire. The torturers had made a start on her right arm as well. The tips of her fingers were gone, the cleaver the male torturer had used lying beside the severed joints on the table. Her face was a mess of cuts and bruises, her right eye practically ruined by a long slash that ran diagonally from her forehead to her chin. Her legs were bruised; one of them looked broken.

Everyone in the room was frozen—Sheik and the others by the shock of Elenwe's state, and the torturers by the sudden intrusion.

Kafei unfroze first, screaming in anger and hurling his knife at the male torturer. It struck him in the throat, and he gave a gurgling scream as he fell on his back, clutching at the weapon. Having thrown his only weapon, the Sheikah grabbed the cleaver from the table and went after the female torturer, Aina.

"I'll kill you!" Kafei roared, lunging at her.

Aina dodged the clumsy, angry strike and twisted the handle of her cane, drawing a delicate-looking blade from its hiding place within the cane. It looked like a rapier, but was even thinner than that. She made an annoyed grunt and swiftly stepped past Kafei, sliding the blade of her sword along his side, cutting through clothing and the skin beneath. The Sheikah didn't even seem to notice, his rage was so great. He whirled around and swung the cleaver in a wide swing, dangerously close to Aina's throat. She tried to step out of the attack's way, but was too slow and was forced to bring up her weapon to block. The pitiful sword snapped in half. The cleaver bit into the stone wall, spraying fragments in all directions.

Aina moved in closely, kicking Kafei in the side where she'd cut him. Even Kafei's anger couldn't let him ignore the blow, and he groaned in pain, stumbling away from her. Aina followed him, apparently ignoring the others in the room. She was limping, favouring one of her legs. She brought up her fists and attempted a fast combo, which Kafei dodged. He nearly stumbled over the now dead body of the male torturer, quickly regaining his footing and retrieving his knife from the dead man's throat. Grinning at Aina, he spoke,

"Any last words?"

"Only that you're too late," Aina said with a smirk. "She'll be dead long before you get out of here."

Those were clearly the wrong words to say as Kafei gave another roar and threw himself at the woman, ignoring her seemingly powerless attacks, stabbing her in the side before grabbing a handful of her hair and smashing her face into the wall once, twice, thrice. He tossed her to the floor and straddled her, stabbing her in the chest several times. Sheik tried to stop him, but he refused to cease, mutilating the dead body until Sheik pulled him away.

"Enough! She's dead!" he yelled into his cousin's ear.

"El...Elenwe," Kafei stuttered, scrambling to his feet, panting heavily. Jeryd was undoing the chains that held the Gerudo down, trying his best not to aggravate her injuries. He reached out, unsure of where he could touch her. "Elenwe, speak to me, please..."

"K...Kafei?" she muttered, one of her eyes opening to focus on him. "You...came..."

"Of course I came," he said, almost laughing in his hysteria.

"What...what..." she tried to say, her hoarse voice giving out.

"What?" he asked, leaning closer.

"What...took you...so long?" she asked. "Bastard..." She tried to grin, but only moaned in pain as the action tore at her split lips.

"I'm sorry...I'll do better next time," Kafei said.

"We've got to move," Lor said from outside the door. The smell in the room had been too much for him. "The alarm bells are sounding. They'll be all over us soon."

Sheik and Kafei exchanged glances. They both knew Elenwe would slow them down, if they could even move her in the state she was in. Kafei's stare told him that it was a burden they'd have to bear with. Sheik didn't protest. Link would've done the same for him, he was sure of it. He looked at Jeryd, who was gently examining Elenwe's hand.

"We'll need to cauterise these," he murmured. "Or she'll bleed out."

"We don't have the time," he replied quietly. "We'll have to do it once we're out of here."

"Let's not waste time, then," Kafei said, ripping off pieces of cloth from Aina's dress and wrapping them around Elenwe's hand, to the Gerudo's pained protests. "I'm sorry, E, but it's necessary. Here, let me help you up."

"I...can't walk..." the Gerudo said quietly. "My leg..."

"There's no need to walk," Kafei said, lifting her as gently as he could, bridal style. "You'll have to escort us," he told all three, his gaze lingering on Jeryd, no doubt holding the human responsible for what had happened to her.

"Where to?" Sheik asked, unable to look at the mutilated Gerudo without feeling a pulsating rage surely similar to his cousin's.

"The front door's useless, as is the back passage," Jeryd said. "They'll be too heavily guarded."

"The tunnels," Lor said.

"We'll be trapped down there," Sheik said, feeling no desire to go back down into that maze.

"No, there's a passage that leads to the main gates. They'll be open at this time. We'll steal some horses from the stables," Lor said. "Trust me, I know the way."

"It's the only plan we've got, Sheik," Jeryd said.

Everyone looked to him for the decision, Sheik realised. He hated it when people did that. He wasn't a leader; he had wanted to be a leader... He sighed, nodding. "All right, the tunnels."

The whole guild hall was on alert now, and several assassins were waiting for them in the corridor. They underestimated their opponents greatly as Sheik, Jeryd and Lor cut their way through them all. Sheik was momentarily surprised by the young boy's skill and precision and the way he did not hesitate to kill his once fellow assassins. Then he remembered how he had been like at that age—only two years ago, he reminded himself—and refocused on the situation.

They reached the stairwell and heard dozens of assassins descending towards them. At least in such cramped quarters their numbers wouldn't count for much. The three surrounded Kafei and Elenwe, forming a protective triangle and were about to hurry past the stairs and down the corridor that led towards the tunnel entrance when Jeryd suddenly stopped.

"What are you doing?" Sheik demanded.

"Slowing them down a bit," the human answered, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a small, round object that looked suspiciously like... "A bomb?" he asked.

"Correct," Jeryd said, smashing the nearest gaslight and using the suddenly roaring flame to light the fuse. "Fire in the hole!" he shouted and threw the bomb into the stairwell before pushing them forward, into the corridor. The shockwave nearly tossed them to the floor, and the corridor was suddenly filled with smoke, dust and the smell of burning wood. "That ought to keep them occupied!" Jeryd's voice could barely be heard shouting over the ringing in their ears. Sheik could have been wrong, but he was certain that the human was limping as he hounded them along the corridor.

It felt like it took forever to reach the room containing the hatch that led down to the tunnels. Luckily, it was not guarded. They hurried inside the room and threw the door shut.

"It won't take them long to get through that," Lor said as Sheik began turning the wheel of the hatch. It was heavy, and in the end it took both his and Jeryd's combined strength to get it open.

"All right, Kafei first, then Elenwe, then you," Jeryd said, leaving no room for argument as he practically pushed Kafei down the hatch.

"How is she going to climb down the ladder, genius?" Kafei barked at him.

"Carry her over your shoulder, do I have to figure out everything?" the human barked right back, wincing and clutching his side. There was no mistaking the patch of red growing underneath his shirt. Sheik marched over to him and yanked it up, gritting his teeth at what he saw. "Caught me in the explosion," Jeryd said, looking at the small piece of wooden debris sticking out of his side. "It's too far in."

Sheik's heart seemed to skip several beats. No, no, no...not this...not now! He struggled to find anything to say, but Jeryd simply shook his head, giving him a sad smile.

"No happy ending was written for me," he said.

"Jeryd...?" Lor said, having noticed the wound.

"If you don't leave now, you'll never get out of here alive, any of you," Jeryd said, staring pointedly at Kafei. After a moment's hesitation, the oldest Sheikah nodded.

"I'm sorry for not trusting you," he said. He carefully lifted Elenwe over his shoulder and slowly climbed down the hatch.

Sheik, having always prided himself on being able to say the right things at the right times, was at a loss. It couldn't end like this, Jeryd was...Jeryd was supposed to live, and they argue and fight about the kisses and unrequited love and, and...

Jeryd carefully drew him into a hug. "It's for the best," he whispered. "Go to your Hero. He's waiting for you."

Suddenly finding strength, Sheik returned the hug. "Thank you...for everything," he whispered back. "If things were different...then perhaps..."

"They aren't, so don't waste time thinking about it," Jeryd said, pushing him away and towards the hatch. "Now go, go before it's too late." He didn't even look at Sheik as he climbed down.


Jeryd was dreading this the most. Lorasi's tear-filled eyes watched him as the boy remained rooted to the floor. He could feel his own tearing up as well. There were so many things he'd wanted to say, to do...

"You need to go as well," he told the boy. "They'll need a guide out of the city. Go with them to the rebel camp. There's a mage there...Ard is his name...he can help you..." his voice began cracking, and he cleared his throat.

"I don't want to leave you," Lor said, shaking his head like a stubborn child. "I'm staying."

"No, you're not," Jeryd said, swiftly grabbing him and pushing him towards the hatch. "Unless you want them to die as well, you'll lead them out of here. Please, do this for me."

"No!"

"Lorasi, do as I say!" Jeryd shouted, wincing as the debris in his side shifted inside the wound. He didn't have long at this rate; he was already very dizzy... "Live the life that I never had the chance to, please. Live it for both of us."

"Jer..."

He silenced Lor with a kiss. It was not long or deep, but it certainly made Lor's eyes light up like fireworks. His fingers clung to Jeryd's shirt, and the tears rolled freely once the older assassin pushed him towards the hatch again.

"If things were different..." Jeryd said, trailing off. "Now go."

"I love you," Lor said, sniffing before slowly beginning to climb down. They shared one last, meaningful look before Jeryd closed the hatch and tightened the wheel as hard as he could.

The wound was going to kill him very soon if no one else did, bleeding heavily all over his clothes. He took one of the long knives and jammed it inside the wheel. That would stall anyone trying to open it again, he figured. Then he took one of the torches from the wall and removed the barricade in front of the door, opening it and stepping out into the corridor.

This was where he was going to make his last stand, he decided. The cramped quarters would force the enemy to come at him in threes, max. His vision was swimming, the loss of blood beginning to take its toll on him. He drew a sword he'd taken off a dead guard and prepared himself. Footsteps were approaching the junction, the first of the assassins who'd managed to get past the mess in the staircase. The smoke told Jeryd that it had caught fire. Good, he thought. To hell with it all. The assassin came around the corner, emerging from the smoke, crossbow drawn. His face...it looked familiar...

"Jer," Lezal said, slowly approaching him. "You're a mess."

"Tell me something I don't know," Jeryd said, glaring.

"I don't think there's anything about this situation I could tell you that would surprise you," the older man said, stopping a few paces away. "Didn't imagine you'd end up doing this. Figured you'd either fold like a cheap suit or kill yourself."

"Goes to show how much you know about me," Jeryd said, taking great delight in the fact that he'd surprised Lezal. "But then, I guess I didn't know all that much about you. How could you do this to me? To us?"

"All necessary to put all the pieces in the positions I wanted," Lezal said, taking another step forward.

"What positions?" Jeryd asked suspiciously.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," the older man said casually as he suddenly moved, standing next to Jeryd, but making no move to attack. He turned to face the same direction Jeryd was, towards the direction the enemy would come from. "Who do you think sent Lorasi to get you out?" he asked.

"What?"

"He knew nothing about your situation until I told him. I was planning to get you out of here later, but that bitch Aina started her...procedure too soon." He carefully took the torch from Jeryd's hand and inserted it into an empty sconce beside him. "I had to act, but I was too late, it seems," he said, looking sadly at Jeryd's wound.

"You...you were...on our side?" Jeryd asked. "But...you betrayed—"

"I had to act like I was in on it, or else the master would have suspected something," Lezal said. "He was already mistrustful me by the time you got out of the tunnels. Doing what I did got me back in his good graces...and that's when I killed him."

Jeryd stared at him with wide eyes. "You...you mean...?"

"The master is dead," Lezal confirmed with a nod. "I slit his throat open in his study ten minutes ago, during the commotion when the alarm sounded. He didn't see it coming, the old fool."

Jeryd couldn't believe it. The master was dead...he was really dead... Why didn't it feel better? It was a pyrrhic victory, certainly, but he was certain he'd feel a bit more...elated.

"But...but why?"

"I've always wanted to kill that bugger," Lezal said, grinning. "But...I suppose I was infected by your...dream, at some point or another. I wanted to be free, but I saw no reason to attempt to escape because I had no friends on the outside...and then you came back...and...well, it doesn't matter now," he said after a pause. "You know how I feel about you, Jer."

"I—"

Jeryd's reply was cut off as several assassins emerged from the smoke, having snuck up on them during their conversation. Lezal's crossbow drew first blow, the bolt slamming into the closest assassin's chest, the force of the impact nearly throwing him backwards. There was no time to draw and fire a second time, so he abandoned the crossbow and drew his long, curved sword. As one, both Jeryd and Lezal threw themselves into the melee, cutting and stabbing at their attackers.

Jeryd was dazed and confused, not really understanding why Lezal had gone to such lengths to help...or why he'd even bothered to play the charade to begin with, but happy that his friend was indeed still his friend...even if it was only for a little while.

Enemy after enemy fell to their attacks, but more assassins came to fill the spots of their dead comrades, though they too quickly fell to the deadliest duo the guild could ever have hoped to produce.

But even they had to fall at some point, and Lezal was the first. He'd finished off an enemy by sticking his sword in his chest while he lay on the ground, and was too late to retrieve his weapon when a throwing dagger caught him in the shoulder. A razor-sharp sword quickly separated his head from his body.

Jeryd saw it happen. The expression on Lezal's face was one of surprise. His chest tightened, and he felt a new burst of energy surging through his body. Time slowed down as he tore his way through the crowded corridor towards the one who had killed Lezal, swiftly giving him the same fate. His comrades soon joined him, though they got in several hits on Jeryd as well before falling.

When the last enemy fell, Jeryd was barely able to stand, leaning on his weapon like a crutch. There were enemies approaching, more people to kill, more bodies to stack up in the corridor... But he was so tired, and he couldn't grip his weapon. The sword slipped from his fingers, and staggered his way back to the door, leaning against it while looking at the torch burning brightly on the wall.

"Grand finale," he whispered, reaching into his pocket and grinning.

Jeryd was already dead by the time the next group of assassins reached the door. They never saw the burning fuse.


Even the ones in the tunnels heard the muffled blast and felt the vibrations that went through the ground.

They all paused, looking back.

Sheik's stomach gave a lurch, and he whispered, "Goodbye, Jeryd..."

To be continued...

Last chapters for a couple of weeks, I've got finals coming up. Thanks for the reviews, everyone!

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