Sorry it took so long to update. School hasn't been the best, plus my house is a bloody construction site right now I've had writers and artists block too, so I haven't felt like doing much of anything, 'cept read...Speakin' of which, you must go out to your local library and check out these two books: This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness, by Frank Peretti. Awesome books.

Riighto, now, onto the chapter...

Twenty-Two

It had been three weeks since Link's disappearance and Malon's death. No word from Link, and the Sheikah hadn't shown their faces anywhere. The Zora army, now under Isuke's training, was progressing well. The Gorons were proving their strength to each other by crushing rocks all over Death Mountain, and they were getting eager to fight. Sheik had been able to strike a deal with the Gerudo, and they were preparing for battle too. Hyrule was preparing like all the other races. They were even building extra defense around Hyrule Castle's walls, and the walls in front of the moat outside of Hyrule Town.

After Sheik had seen to it that the first half of the Gerudo's pay had been delivered safely, he disappeared, saying he was going to look for the remnant of the Sheikah. And, a little less than three weeks later, no one had heard or seen anything of him. Zara figured that was a good sign. After all, if news of him was popping up everywhere, it meant that the Sheikah would probably know as much about what he was doing as the Hylians.

Zara hadn't been doing much. There wasn't much for her to do. She wasn't even sure if, come this great battle, she would fight. Zara was only a fairy, after all. She had no experience in war and little in just fighting. She wanted to help, really, she did, but for once she found herself doubting if she was any help to anyone.

At that moment she was sitting in one of the few tall trees that stuck out from the top of the water in Zora Fountain. The place that once was a shrine for Jabu-Jabu had been turned into an all-out training area. Not much had changed though, there were targets here and there, dummies that the Zora were allowed to pound the stuffing out of, trunks of wood that stood for blades to cut against, and armor and weapons everywhere, types ranging from spears to swords.

Zara wondered why they had all the weapons though. Isuke never used them when he battled, and Isuke was indeed an impressive sight to behold when fighting. He had taken on five Zoras in an underwater battle and beat them so fast with such skill that it left everyone with their jaws on the floor. On land Isuke was a great fighter, better than most at least, but underwater he was deadly. Zara had never seen any person or creature move and strike like that whilst in the water. She was amazed.

Now, if only Hyrule would flood when it came time for the battle, Zara thought, smiling a bit to herself.

After Isuke had finished teaching a young zora how to swing a blade properly, he dove into the water and swam over to the tree Zara was in.

"Nice to see you again, Zara," Isuke greeted with a smile.

"Same here, Isuke," Zara replied. "How's your army coming?"

"Better than I thought it'd be doing. We have some really talented warriors among our race."

"Including you."

Isuke grabbed onto a branch of the tree and pulled himself up to sit next to Zara. "Eh, I could be better. I'm hoping to become as good a fighter on land as I am in the water."

"If that happened then you could take on the Sheikah by yourself!"

"I don't know about that..."

"I was wondering, Isuke, why is it that there are weapons everywhere? I thought that Zora used their fins to fight."

"Ahh...well, that's not so. Some do, but not many. A Zora has to be born with the ability to use their fins the way I do."

"I see."

"Yep. And I prefer to use my fins over any weapon too."

"Isuke..." Zara's long blue hair blew slightly in the cold wind, prompting her to pull her cloak closer around her.

"What's wrong?"

Zara looked at him. "Have I...have I really helped at all since being here?"

"What?"

"Well... I came here from the Sanctuary to help Hyrule with the threat of the Sheikah. But, I'm so useless. I don't know how to fight or anything...I can't help in this coming battle. I have magic that could be helpful, and I've defended myself from Sheikah, but, I couldn't have done it without help."

Isuke smiled softly at her, which shocked her slightly; Isuke never did that.

"Zara, just because you can't fight doesn't mean you're useless or anything. I mean, look at your healing magic. It has been and still will be a great help to us. And... I haven't known you long, Zara, but I do know that you are a brave person. You left the Fairy Sanctuary, knowing that you may not be allowed back. You left to come face this darkness that is covering Hyrule by yourself. Just that proves you aren't useless. And if that isn't bravery, I don't know what is."

"Stupidity, perhaps?"

Isuke almost fell out of the tree from surprise. There, sitting on a branch behind them was....

"Sheik!" Zara exclaimed.

"Yes, I am back."

"Have you found anything out yet?" Isuke asked after setting himself properly on the branch again.

"I found out that the ranch wasn't their base. It was some kinda decoy. They wanted to lure the Hero of Time there to kill him with a full-force attack."

"So, is he alive or not?"

Sheik shrugged. "Zelda is still clinging to the whole 'the Triforce power still remains' thing, but it doesn't mean he's not imprisoned by the Sheikah."

"Don't you think they would've done something by now if they had him?"

"Perhaps. I think he's either alive, or dead and they think he's alive. If they knew he was dead, I don't see why they would sit and wait while your armies are getting stronger unless they had something to fear."

"Why would they fear Link?" Zara asked. "He's strong, but all they need is to get two Sheikah as strong as Spiaze and he'll go down."

"No. I saw the bodies in the ranch. There were a lot of them, and Link killed them all. I could tell in some places it wasn't the explosion that killed them all."

"I must not have noticed that," Isuke said. "How could Link kill all of those Sheikah by himself though?"

Sheik just shrugged. "Who knows? He could have used...that mask."

"Mask? What are you talking about?"

"Remember? When Link turned evil...Oni Link you might say...and I sealed the power inside that mask?"

"Oh, yeah. What would have happened if he did use it?"

"I don't know. I never really studied those dark arts. I only know to seal such evil because it is taught to all Sheikah."

"So, what now then?"

"I go back off to look. Waiting around doesn't solve anything. I just thought you guys would like to know what I dug up, little as it is."

"Well, I'm glad you did."

Sheik nodded then disappeared in a small flash.

""""""""""""""""""

Somewhere in the deeper places of Hyrule there was a room, a dark room in which evil hung over like black blanket. The room was decorated with masks and statues that just the sight of would make any normal person tremble in fear. From the door of the room a long red carpet stretched to the back of the room where a throne was. On this throne was a large, shadowy man. Not many of his features could be made out, except for glowing yellow eyes and long blue hair.

"Well?" The man asked in a low, but forceful growling voice.

The Sheikah bowing before him was scared just from being in his master's presence, but, like all Sheikah, his face displayed no emotion and his voice was calm and even.

"The Hero of Time hasn't been seen anywhere. Our spy says that Zelda knows he is still alive, but the rest of Hyrule is in doubt, including the zora and that fairy...Zara."

The Master thought silently, then finally said, "Their hero wouldn't leave for no reason. He's waiting. Sitting and waiting for us."

The Master looked at the Sheikah in front of him and grinned. "We will send a message to those Hylians, telling them of their doom. Send it in a way...that they won't quickly forget."

"Yes, Master."

The Master grinned devilishly, stroking his short blue goatee thoughtfully. "Where is Sheik at the moment?"

"I believe he's still in Hyrule Castle Town, Highness."

"Good. Have him deliver the message."

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

It was early morning, the sun just barely peeping its head out over the region. Grey mist covered the large town. An eerie silence engulfed every area...except for the sound of a pair of feet slowly making their way towards the center of the town, where the market would soon be full of people buying and selling. The footsteps stopped. A woman screamed.

A butcher who had just woken up was preparing for customers when he heard the scream. He bolted from his shop and raced down the street to the woman, where he beheld a horrible sight.

Laying on the cobble stone street was the King's decapitated body. A pike stuck through his chest, and on the end of the pike was his head, skillfully cut off, the eyes wide, horror still spelled on the dead face. Next to the body, crudely written with blood were three simple words: HYRULE WILL FALL.