Holy spit cakes! Chapter 8 already? It's only been a day! Don't get used to it, though. I'm not going back to a daily update basis. Too much pressure. Well, here are my replies to all my beloved readers!

Blondie91: Soonish enough for ya?
Dragon-Charmer16: DOGGIE! Give it a pat on the head for me!
Mxedcherub: How can you not like Aiko? She's awesome! And I'm sure you will like Artemis. She's the incarnation of the Goddess of Wisdom; what's there NOT to like?
CheeseFromJupiter: NO! No 'awesome' or variants of it! OH NO! I said 'awesome'! ACK, I said it again!

Hee hee, well, here's the chapter! I hope it's good; the story doesn't seem to be going anywhere... Long term, I mean. Short term, it's got plenty of direction. But as to... Hey, whaddya know? This story DOES have a future! -just realized I have the entire plot figured-

Chapter 8: Artemis, Nayru's Incarnation

Lor pushed through the thongs of people in the streets, despite their protests. The school building loomed in the distance like the Hyrule Castle. The black-haired boy uttered a sigh and continued his advance through the crowd. Eventually he came to the doors of the building. He paused a moment to behold it, the proceeded through the entrance.

Not a great deal had changed since he left two days ago with Drakar, even though time moved twice as quickly in his world. Inattentively he passed one of the girls who used to tease and taunt him. "Ooh, look who's back," she scoffed, continuing along her way. Lor turned his head momentarily, then shrugged and advanced down the hall, his footsteps echoing through the corridors.

Class after class saw the deep amethyst peek through the glass windows on the door. Not one of those rooms held the purpose of Lor's search, so he continued on. It took a good twenty minutes to search every room in that school, and his quest yielded no results. A shrill metal bell rang, indicating the end of first period. Students flooded the hallway, surging about Lor like the ocean surf. He quickly struggled to a wall and stood there, body pressed against the smooth surface, holding his ground against the masses.

The traffic died down shortly as students reached their destinations while stragglers still milled about in the halls. Lor pulled one of these aside to ask them about Artemis' location. "Excuse me, ma'am," he began politely. "Have you seen a young woman with silver hair streaked with blue? I believe her name is Artemis."

The inquired boy nodded. "Yeah, I know her," he smiled, happy to offer his help. "She's my best friend. But she stayed home sick today; probably from running around in the rain last weekend." Lor said his thanks and exited the building with a sigh of defeat. So Artemis wasn't in school at all. How on earth would he manage to find her without any knowledge whatsoever as to her whereabouts.

The same way Link and Hieke are going to find Diana and Isis, he mused grimly. He now felt ashamed to have sent his companions into this strange land without any sense of direction. He could have at least given them maps, or money to buy them. "Hopefully they won't get too lost," he muttered to himself.

"Hey, you!" called a loud, feminine voice, interrupting Lor's thoughts. His second block teacher stormed out of the building and grabbed his arm roughly. "Lor, you've been absent the past four days! Not only that, but now I find you leaving the premises after cutting first period! What is wrong with you?" she demanded as she dragged the black-haired boy through the halls to the principal's office.

Lor was instructed to wait in the room preceding the principal's office under the supervision of a secretary. She eyed him suspiciously, but carried along with her paperwork. The principal, Dr. Young, opened the door and gestured for Lor to enter. The boy glanced about warily; he had no time for a stern talking-to. He stood and moved towards the door Dr. Young stood before, then quickly darted backwards and made for any exit. The secretary picked up a speaker and made an announcement at the signal of the principal. Security guards swiftly ran after the fleeing boy.

"All staff please lock the doors and apprehend Lor immediately," the secretary reported over the P.A. system. Lor cringed and paused momentarily. He looked around frantically. The exit he was headed for at the moment would certainly be blocked by the time he got there. There was another door that was a bit further away, but no one was anywhere near that wing of the school during this time of day. That's my choice then, Lor decided as he turned and made for the deserted annex.

It was astounding how many teachers, security guards, and janitors were tailing him. There was actually a small crowd chasing after him. No doubt someone had even phoned for the police. Then, like a glimmer of light in an infinite dungeon, the exit loomed before him. Lor laughed for joy and victory. Then…

---

Halfway across town a girl sat in a recliner with a blanket pulled around her shoulders. She shivered and opened her fatigued emerald eyes. A blue streak of hair fell across her face and she reached to return it to its position behind her ear. Her silver hair was a mess, thrown up in a rather awkward way to keep it out of her face. However, the job was so ill-done that the tactic was hardly working.

"Would you like something to drink, Artemis?" the girl's mother asked from the kitchen. Artemis shook her head slowly, as if not entirely conscious. She didn't feel exactly sick, but she certainly didn't feel normal either. It felt like something was welling inside of her, looking for a means of escape from her body. When Artemis told this to her mother, she was quickly guided to the bathroom.

Now she had the fearful presumption that there was somewhere else she should be, something more important she should be doing. Artemis wandered into the front yard absent-mindedly. An unfamiliar name resonated in her mind: Lor. "Who are you?" she whispered, turning to the sky with clouded eyes. A gentle mist caressed her face. "Lor…"

---

Lor couldn't help but mutter a curse. A janitor darted out from behind a corner and slammed the door, his only hope for escape, shut. The black-haired boy skidded to a stop. While he disapproved of fighting in any manner, this was desperate. The life of a friend and the fate of an entire world rested with him. Lor grumbled to himself and took on an offensive stance. If he could plant his blows just right, he could knock them out without doing any real harm. Just how a pacifist like Lor knew these particular points was beyond him… but as the plan gained substance, he could almost swear he heard a malicious chuckle in the back of his mind.

Ignoring his premonitions, Lor dodged right and struck a teacher on his shoulder where the neck connects. The man fell limply to the floor. Overcome by some strange force, Lor disposed of the entire staff present. When he was through, he felt sickened by what he had done. This is madness! his mind screamed. The black-haired boy stared about numbly, tears threatening at his eyes. "They are not dead," a distant voice hissed. Lor snapped to attention and looked around worriedly. There was no one there.

He pushed this bizarre encounter into the recesses of his consciousness and opened the door behind him. He looked back at all the bodies littering the floor, alive but inanimate. With a sigh he exited and made for the residential area. Artemis would be there, somewhere. Hopefully her senses as an incarnation of a goddess would alert her to the presence of a Hylian and make her easier to find.

A long walk found him in the middle of a serene neighborhood, small children frolicking in their mothers' gardens. There was one house, an aged yet beautiful abode, with a girl sitting upon the steps. She turned to look at Lor, sapphire bangs falling into her face. The boy smiled in relief upon finally locating Artemis. As he moved to greet her, however, someone placed a hand on his should and forced him around.

"Brandon…" Lor growled. The muscular boy from the football team, who should have been in school at the time, had Lor in his grasp. There was something wrong, however. His eyes were devoid of color or emotion, his motions were doll like, and there was a strange mark on his head. It was shaped like a mountain range: three points connected at the corners.

"Lord Dameus advises you to keep away from Nayru's Incarnation," Brandon said in a ghastly voice. Lor gasped and jerked his head to catch a glance at Artemis. The girl was standing in the street with a bewildered expression. "Look out!" she shouted. Lor felt a powerful impact on his torso and collapsed to one knee from the pain of the blow.

"Nice to see you too, good sir…" he smirked. This time would be different. There would be no running and absolutely no tolerance. This was a fight for Hyrule.

W00t! Okay, now HONESTLY tell me what you think. Sometimes people say my dialogue gets confusing. If you're one of the people who thinks so, please give me an example of something that confused you and I'll try to improve. I need to know this stuff if I'm ever going to publish my book!

REMEMBER! The deadline for the art contest is October 31! That's less than two weeks! See my profile for details! Oh, and please leave a review! Sometimes I forget to ask for reviews and I forget to tell you how I much I love you all, my readers! But the love is there! THE LOVE IS THERE!