Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up ; A lot more of my spare time has been going into drawing lately. Soooorrrry, really. Argh, I need to draw some pics for this story before it ends .

But, ya know, in this chapter, I was GOING to tell were Link is...but then I thought.... "NAH. I'll let 'em suffer some more" XD;

Blowfish: Thanks for all yer reviews. I'm glad to see someone so into the story (so much so that it scares me o.o cowers in a corner away from you) lolz jk. Heh.

P0wrz: Thank you! Yeah, I thought having his head on a pike would make it more...nasty. XD

Risike: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you found time to read the story. Heh, you'll find out soon enough whether Sheik is a bad guy or not.

Rising Dragon: Why, thank you. I think I could probably be a lot better though.

ONTO THE STORY!!

Chapter Twenty-Three

Anyone who was walking along the eastern river would have gotten quite a shock as thousands of Zoras came swimming through so fast it made the river look like nothing more than a blue and white blur. Isuke, surprisingly, was not part of this army. He had gone ahead as soon as news of the King's death had reached him, and was supervising the building of the defenses around Hyrule Castle Town. The Goron army had come down from Death Mountain, and their help in the construction was moving things along speedily.

The Gerudo Tribe had been sent word, and would most likely arrive the next day. Zara was making herself useful helping with construction by using her magic.

With the King dead, the young prince was rightfully king. However, being one so young, the Queen would take over rule of Hyrule until the Prince was old enough.

Miroku was no longer allowed to play with the prince and was terribly bored, doing nothing but sitting around and wondering around the castle, which was nothing but a mad house, people running this way and that, generals barking orders at soldiers...

The child decided he wanted to get out and, in all the confusion, managed sneak out of the castle and onto the castle grounds.

A zora was walking up to Hyrule Castle just as Miroku was walking away, and stopped him. "Hey, Miroku."

Miroku looked up at the tall zora. "Umm...you're Isuke, aren't you?"

Isuke nodded and knelt down next to the child. "What are you doing out here alone? It isn't safe."

"The castle isn't a nice place to be in... I want Link! Where is he?"

"Ehh...he's-"

"He left without saying anything," came a voice, badly startling Isuke. Sheik stood there, his arms folded, the same emotionless expression on his face. "No one knows when or if he'll be coming back. That or he's dead of course."

"Why the HECK do you always have to sneak up on me?!" Isuke growled angrily.

Sheik looked up at the sun that was shining down on the three. "You, zora, allow yourself too many distractions. If you are aware of your surroundings and keep at least one of your senses on everything around you, you'll live much longer. I could have easily slain that boy and then you without you even knowing it until you reached the afterlife."

Isuke tried to think of something to counter Sheik's words, couldn't think of something quick enough, so just gave up and sighed. "Well, what do you think about this?"

"About what?" Sheik passively asked, showing no interest.

"Everything we're doing to prepare for an attack. Think it will be of any use?"

"Not really." Sheik turned and motioned to the mountains behind Hyrule Castle. "They're more likely to attack from there. They're able to as well. Sheikah don't use horses much unless they need to travel a great distance. A head-on attack isn't our style."

"Well, that's just great," Isuke said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"But...you never know. The person leading the Sheikah isn't one of us. Who knows what he's planning."

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

"As we speak, the Gerudo and Zoras are traveling to join Hyrule's army," said a Sheikah, bowing before the Master.

"The Errithil failed in finding Link, did they not?" the Master said, as if dismissing what the Sheikah had just said.

"Yes sir," was the Sheikah's simple reply.

"Well then," the Master said, going back to the original subject. "I think we should play along with this little game those Hylians are playing. Let us march out to meet them. Heh-heh...their pitiful army will fall...even if they do have help."

He stood up and walked over to a pillar in the room, where hung the same mask that Isuke and Sheik fought.

"Begin preparations. Only a few more lives and the revival project will be done."

"Yes, Master Majora."

"Oh, and tell Sheik to eliminate everyone in the Castle courtyard..."

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

Sheik reached into his cloak and from it he drew a long bokuto. Isuke blinked. "What is that?"

"A wooden sword, a bokuto," Sheik answered. "My new weapon."

Isuke chuckled. "That thing ain't gonna hold up well to blades."

"On the contrary, I can shatter steel blades with this bokuto. I also can cleave stones in half."

"It's wood! How can you do that?"

"Partly magic, mostly skill."

"Heh, reeeally? Well, let's see if it can stand up to my fins!"

Sheik sighed a looked down the pathway that led out of the courtyard. "I'm afraid we won't be able to do that."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Because, someone's coming."

Isuke, confused, looked down the path Sheik was looking. He watched as every single guard dropped to the ground, blood bursting from different areas of their bodies. The gates to the castle exploded open, sending pieces of metal everywhere.

"Isuke, take the kid and get out of here," Sheik said calmly.

"What?! Yeah right, I'm gonna kill who ever it is that did that!" Isuke growled.

Sheik turned and looked at Isuke with a cold, dagger-through-the-heart look that sent chills down Isuke's spine. Without a word, he picked up Miroku and hurried back into the castle.

"Show yourself, shadow."

Then, appearing right in front of Sheik was a Sheikah...that looked exactly the same.

"Greetings," said the other Sheik. "It's been awhile, Sheik. But I hardly think you have the right to call me the shadow."

"You aren't real. Nothing but dark side I cast from myself. I am the real Sheik." He threw off his cloak. "It was you that killed Malon, wasn't it? And the one that beheaded the King."

"Yes, it was. I took great joy in it too. Just as you would have, traitor."

"I think not...I remain faithful to the crown. Unlike the rest of the Sheikah."

"The King had no right to lock us away for all those years! You know that we had nothing to do with a plan against the King," Shadow growled.

"I hold no grudge against the Royal Family. Now, I will vanquish you once and for all."

Sheik instantly rushed towards his opponent, giving out a quick slash with his bokuto. Shadow raised his short katana and blocked the strike, locking blades. "Not even using the traditional weapons, eh, Sheik?"

"As you can see."

Sheik kicked Shadow hard in the gut then smacked him across the face with the bottom of his bokuto.

"You're too weak, shadow. I already conquered you; do not try to win me back."

Shadow lashed out with his sword, but Sheik easily avoided it then came back at him with a cut right across his gut. Shadow stumbled back, growling pain. Sheik was ready to finish him. He sent a kick across the shadow's face knocking him down, then lifted his sword up, the stabbed down at Shadow's head. Sheik's shadow rolled away and hopped back onto his feet, then sent a strong slash at Sheik's face, which he blocked skillfully. He kicked Shadow in the ribs then gave him a gash on his arm with a swift strike of his bokuto. Shadow kept attacking, acting unscathed from the wound.

His sword stabbed forward, attempting to impale Sheik in the gut. Sheik knocked his enemy's blade away with a powerful strike, spun to the side, lifted his arm, and jammed his bokuto right in between Shadow's eyes. The wooden blade crushed through his skull and pierced the brain. Shadow went limp and dropped to the ground...and that was it.

"Pitiful..." Sheik muttered, yanking his bokuto out of the fallen Sheikah's skull and walked back to the castle. I've avenged your death, King.

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

It was while Isuke was talking to the newly arrived Rittowa the next day when the scout came, bringing important news.

"Lord Isuke, the Sheikah are coming!" exclaimed the young Hylian, who was obviously scared to death.

"What?!" Isuke jumped up. "Where are they?! How many is there?!"

"They'll probably be here sometime after noon. There must have been at least one thousand."

"A thousand? That's all?" Isuke was surprised. A thousand was hardly any. The Hylian army was small because Hyrule was a peaceful country, but they had over two-thousand soldiers. The Gorons added over four hundred to that, the Zoras had another thousand warriors or so, and then the Gerudo army was less than three hundred.

"That's too many," said a voice, making Isuke jump back out of fear.

Sheik.

"Will you STOP doing that?!" Isuke yelled angrily.

Sheik continued, ignoring Isuke like he always did. "Those thousand Sheikan warriors are all very well trained. Better than most of the soldiers we have. Look around you at the army. The Gerudo have been trained well, but there isn't many of them. Gorons and Zoras aren't a race of warriors. All the Gorons have is their brute strength, and there are few Zoras with Isuke's abilities. The others will fall easily... a few weeks of training isn't even close to being enough. And these Hylians..." Sheik scoffed. "They've lived in peace for so long they can't even hold a spear properly or string an arrow."

Isuke looked at the scout. "Go alert everyone of the situation." Once the rider had left Isuke looked back at Sheik. "What do you want us to do, hmm? Just sit here and wait for them to come obliterate us? I refuse stand idly by and let these blood-thirsty monsters take over Hyrule. If I am to die, so be it. But I will send as many of the Sheikah as I possibly can to hell before a death blow strikes me!"

Sheik saw now in Isuke's eyes a new fire, and let out a quick, low chuckle at it. "Your spirit...it's quite powerful. Indeed, I shall fight my best too. And will not stop until I am dead. But, without the Hero of Time, this battle won't last through the night."

"I will not believe that," Isuke said firmly. "Hyrule will win. With or without Link's help."

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

Noon

The sky was grey, covered with clouds, giving the forbidding day an even more bleak appearance. All was quiet as the rain slowly began coming down...first in little drops, and then came pouring down, showering over the solemn army.

The Sheikah were there, marching down towards Hyrule Castle Town slowly. The full army of the Hylians, Gorons, Zoras, and Gerudo were behind and in front of the barriers around the town, and some were on the walls of the town. All weapons were ready to kill, though many of their wielders had keeled over and thrown up on the ground.

Isuke made sure he was up front along with the Hylian knights, and right now he was more ready than he ever was.

That's right, walk , challenge me. Let's see what'll happen to you.

"My Lords, look over there!" called a soldier.

Isuke turned to the direction the soldier pointed and saw a lone figure approaching from the east. As it got closer, the Zora made out that the figure was clothed in dark brown cloak, and a green hood and had blond hair.

"Link....?"