Pain and darkness. Sensations Gnisal was becoming familiar with. Pulling himself together, the Sheikah shook the last fading shadows from his eyes, dimly aware of the throbbing pain in his hand. Much to his disappointment, but not to his surprise, Gnisal was still in his candlelit cell. Meathos, the Hellrider, was there as well, lying down on the floor several feet away. It had been almost a week since the guards threw in the "traitor" and the Gerudo, Jedam. Straining in his strait jacket, Gnisal looked around the brightly lit cell, trying to find the familiar clump of dirty rags that bore the name Jedam. He saw nothing but the sleeping Hylian and the ever present light from the candle.

The door to the cell suddenly swung open. Before Gnisal or the newly awakened Meathos could react, strong hands tossed Jedam onto the floor in front of them. The door slammed shut, leaving the room in silence, save for the labored, raspy breathing of Jedam. Clutching his right shoulder, Jedam rolled up his tattered sleeve, revealing the numbers '337' branded into his arm.

Meathos looked on, left hand subconsciously finding his right hand, finding his own brand there. '33' was inscribed in the flesh, burnt there by so many pieces of hot iron. Gnisal looked down at his strait jacket, remembering his own experience with the irons, remembering his number: 13.

"Heh, I didn't know we had so many of your guys in here..." Meathos growled. He balled his right hand, crushing the numbers burned into the palm of his hand. He looked to his left, and saw the same number branded into the front of his other hand. Between his thumb and forefinger, in clear visibility, his curse lay smoldering.

Jedam simply smirked and breathed hard. "We have three times the

number of you Hylians back in the Fortress... Well, I'm not sure if we've killed them yet."

Gnisal sat quiet in a corner, smirking slightly at the tension between the two men. Meathos shrugged, and slid up against the wall. He stared into the candle as the flame danced gently... Then, it flickered. Curious, Meathos stood to look out of their small barred window. He didn't see much, but he heard the bombs, still drumming in his head.

"Are you guys hearing that, too?" Jedam asked. "Sounds like the Front..."

Meathos' ears perked. He turned quickly, and stared at Jedam with wide eyes. "Why, yes, Gerudo. I do..."

A guard appeared outside their barred door, lantern in hand, keys in the other. "Oi, get comfortable, you three. Lockdown time." The guard reassured himself by locking their door a second time, and then walked off. His footsteps echoed in the dark hallway, followed by a deafening detonation. When the smoke cleared, Jedam was on the ground in a heap, hands over his head. Meathos lowered his forearms from in front of his face, and Gnisal was standing: the candle had been blown out, just as their door had.

The three looked at each other ecstatically, but then heard someone running down the hall. Three guards appeared, weapons drawn.

Meathos and Jedam stood at the blown out gate, Gnisal crouching behind them in the shadows...

"Oh, no, sirs, we would never dream of walking out on you fine fellows." Jedam said sarcastically.

"We just love your company, boys." Meathos winked, thinking of the share of women he'd been with in the Army, as if to cleanse himself.

Gnisal hissed a signal, and the two men stepped backwards, letting the light from their small window land on their backs, and further drench the cell in darkness.

Gnisal silently thanked the Hellrider and the Gerudo as he slowly fell forward towards the ground. Instead of landing flat on his face, the Sheikah melted into the shadows of his human wall, leaving only the strait jacket, the only thing that had ever managed to hold him.

Meathos and Jedam continued to step backwards, eventually passing over the barren jacket. The three guards stood, puzzled at the mystery. They had been sent to secure three prisoners, not two.

As the three hapless soldiers stood there and puzzled over the missing prisoner, they never noticed that the moonlight from the window across from them cast their own shadows behind them. They also failed to notice the black clad monster appear behind them, emerging in a puff of smoke.

The first guard might have had a chance, if Gnisal hadn't snapped his neck.

The two remaining guards reacted, but not in the right direction. Turning to attack Gnisal, they forgot about the "weak prisoners" they had been sent to collect. With a roar, Meathos tackled one of the guards from behind, knocking him to the ground. Jedam pulled the other guard aside, using one hand to pin the guard's sword hand, and the other to choke him.

Meathos and his quarry wrestled around for a few moments, but Meathos soon won the upper hand. Pinning the guard to the ground, Meathos proceeded to pummel his foe in the face with his bare fists.

Screaming in a language that neither Gnisal nor Jedam could recognize, Meathos bloodied his hands with his opponent's face. Come to think of it, Meathos couldn't recognize the language he was screaming in, either.

Jedam removed his foe in a more complacent fashion, to say the least. Sword pinned to his side, the guard was forced to drop it in order to bring his hand up to his throat. The powerful Gerudo won out, nonetheless. Nearly blacking out, the guard fell to the ground. Finished with his mangled target, Meathos kicked the unconscious guard in the face.

As the toe of Meathos' boot collided with the unconscious guard's cranium, Jedam dashed into the hallway to confirm there were no more 'visitors'. He was met with silence; not a single footstep echoed in the empty hallway ahead. The Gerudo started out the door and, looking back over his shoulder, saw Gnisal and Meathos glance doubtedly at each other.

It only lasted as long as a glance, though.

The two Hylians and the Gerudo sprinted through the hall, catching glances and hearing angered screams from other men -- Hylian and Gerudo alike -- still holed up in their own cells. There would be no time to stop for them: they were of little importance in the list of priorities which the three were at the top of.

As they made their way through the winding hallways, another thought was brought to the front of Jedam's mind... a thought which had stuck in his head since they were thrown into that damn prison.

'Halse, ' he whispered in his mind. 'My ancestor... a name that even the ones who honor me remember. How did this Hylian... this enemy...'

"I'll make sure to ask him once we're out of this hell, " he chuckled to himself.

As the three turned the final bend, noises which Jedam had thought he was imagining became more obtrusive to his ears. Explosions, screams and the clanging of metal resounded and echoed in the otherwise silent hallway.

Without warning the wooden door ahead of them exploded, a flying body being its cause. The newcomer Gerudo lay on the ground, blood pouring out of wounds the arrows protruding from his chest had made.

Jedam could have sworn he noticed slight grins on his companions' faces; whether it was the sight of a dead Gerudo, or the prospect of ensuing chaos... he did not know.

The three escapees made their way through the twisting, endless corridors of Kakariko prison, narrowly missing frantic guards and soldiers intent on keeping the peace. The sounds of a battle were distinct now, as obvious as the chatter of birds on a quiet summer day. Meathos, Gnisal and Jedam quickly and quietly slipped through the fortress, eagerly awaiting that one door to freedom.

Estimated Chance of Escape : 60...65... As each door opened, the numbers climbed in Gnisal's head. Eventually, the three would find one of two special doors. The door to salvation, or the door to security. As luck would have it, the three found the door to security first.

Jedam was the first one in. Charging quickly, the Gerudo stormed the only guard in the room. A quick haymaker to the jaw left the guard unconscious. Gnisal entered the room second, drifting silently towards the far corner, intrigued by what he saw there. Meathos entered last, closing the door behind him and keeping guard.

In front of Gnisal was an exquisite blade of obviously Gerudo origin. The sword hilt was embossed with ancient runes that looked like the Gerudo language, but were older and more archaic than anything Gnisal had ever been briefed on. The grip itself was made of some sort of animal skin that Gnisal was unfamiliar with. Giving the sword a few practice swings, the Sheikah found it a bit uncomfortably heavy for him to heft. Perhaps Meathos…

"Hey!" Jedam shouted, standing over the inert guard, "That's mine!"

Gnisal looked at the Gerudo. "Is that so…Well, I guess this weapon doesn't suit me anyway. Hellrider! Take this sword." Meathos turned around, looked the blade over, and looked at Jedam. "Give the Gerudo his blade. I'm sure he won't turn on us…"

"I'm right here, you know…." Jedam said, obviously irritated. "And if it makes you feel any better, I found these on the guard." Jedam tossed a pair of small scabbards at Gnisal. Inside them, he found his Makhaira. Gnisal looked at Meathos. "Well, it seems you still need a blade." Meathos shrugged. "I'll make do with what I find, Sheikah."

"Call me Gnisal, Hellrider." Gnisal said, strapping on his blades.

"Meathos, not 'Hellrider' " Meathos retorted. "I'm not part of that unit anymore…"

"Well, it's nice we are all on a first name basis now. Shall we?" Gnisal said loftily, opening the door. Meathos nodded, following the Sheikah.

"Damn Hylians…" Jedam whispered, walking out last.

13, 33, and 337 continued through Kakariko's corridors, following the sounds of battle. Finally, the three reached one last door, a mighty oaken wonder eight feet high.

"This must be it," Jedam said.

"Yes, this is the door to the courtyard," Meathos replied.

The Hylian pressed his hand against the door, and opened the way into hell.

Meathos opened the door, and poked his head into the immense chaotic massacre that was raging beyond it. He looked for a few seconds, then quickly slammed the portal, putting his back to it. He closed his eyes, running what he had just seen through his mind… Meathos breathed heavily, opened his eyes and looked at the two men in front of him.

"Stay here."

The door slid opened, and Meathos slipped out, entering the brutal fire-pit beyond. He moved quickly, but as usual, he did not know where to. His mind raced and scrambled to gain a grasp as to what was happening, but his body moved on its own. Everything was bathed in red and orange.

The large courtyard had spots of fire and dead scattered. Most of the prisoners who had escaped a few minutes before himself were huddled under overhangs, climbing up walls, killing the guards they hated the most. The guards were on the walls, doing what they could to stop the rioting victims of Justice.

Meathos found himself pressed against a wall as a group of roughly twenty-five guards jogged past, towards the horde of escapees. They immediately started cutting the prisoners down, occasionally entering fist-fights or wrestling with them. One guard was ripped limb-from-limb by a Goron.

More bombs fell. Meathos had learned to dodge them rather well on the front, and he put the skill to work in Kakariko. He watched the night sky, and traced the dark orbs on their way in, and hit the ground when they landed.

Meathos found himself on the ground, covering his head and listening to the howls and screams of the fray that had just been hit by a shell. All of Kakariko was now burning and crumbling, as far as he could see. The courtyard was lit up as though it were noon, but the sky was dark with stars and smoke. Above the buildings hung a glow and a crown of flames…

Meathos Alregdia rose to a knee, and surveyed some more. He tried to remember what his battalion's next orders were, but failed miserably… 'Where did that bloody Major say we were headed to?'

Suddenly, Kakariko's heavily reinforced gates were pushed slowly open. They were aflame, as was the dead and dry grass around them. Meathos looked into the gates of Hell, and saw those who ride the dark realm.

His battalion marched in, officers on horseback. They strode through the fire, the flames, not caring. Their eyes were fixed on the courtyard, surveying every chaotic aspect of it.

The former Hellrider threw himself towards a wall, and peered behind it. Slowly, surely, the Hellriders marched on. They had no shields, no fear. Their horses were calm, their soldiers hummed melodic hymns and laughed amongst each other. Meathos missed them all…

The battalion reached the centre courtyard, spread out, and let loose. Everyone not in uniform was being cut down… Meathos caught the attention of the Captain he had, before, on the front. The man confidently walked over, sword held high. Upon recognizing his former soldier, the man's confidence disintegrated, and morphed into a sort of remorse…

"Captain. Nice to see you, Sir."

"Aye, Sergeant. I'm sorry it has to be this way…" The man raised his weapon, Meathos stood firm and accepting.

"Do what you must."

A swing. A dodge. A snap.

Meathos had absolutely no idea what he had done. Perhaps he was dead? Perhaps. One thing he was certain of, however, the Captain was dead.

"Promotion accepted, Sir."

The door swung open, and Gnisal and Jedam took defensive stance. Jedam held his weapon to the Hellrider's throat.

"Nice to see you, too, Gerudo."

Gnisal looked at Meathos up and down as Jedam sheathed his weapon. "Captain, are we?"

Meathos nodded.

"How'd you do that?"

"…I don't know."

Jedam, Gnisal and Meathos took a split second to survey their surroundings, it being all they could afford. Their weapons drawn, the three men rushed forward in a frenzy, catching steel against their own and looking frantically for the gate to leave Kakariko -- their gate out of hell.

Apparently not taking much notice of the two Hylians breaking away to oppose their own attackers, a guard armed with a longsword rushed towards Jedam. Obviously in a panic, he took several wild swings as the Gerudo simply back stepped to avoid them. Jedam was upon the guard the moment he dropped his guard out of fatigue. His blade came down, snapping the Hylian's collarbone and ripping into his torso

As the rain of explosions and arrows commenced once more, the Gerudo ducked behind a corner to gain a momentary peace. He spotted Meathos among the fray, the Hylian's blade swinging and taking off a man's head. To the left of Meathos was Gnisal, his blades whirling in a fury in response to another soldier. As Gnisal's opponent fell, he jerked his head to a scream and took off in that direction.

A Hylian child stood among the fray, tears pouring out of his eyes. His clothing -- rags, rather -- signified that he was a prisoner... most likely a family member of ones subjected to 'treason'. Several feet away a Goron with an expression of pure madness on his face began a charge for the screaming child. Gnisal, whose mind was set on making it to the child, had the wind knocked out of him as a soldier rammed his shoulder into the Sheikah.

"Damn, " he exclaimed under his breath.

Not waiting to watch the outcome from his place, Jedam charged from his spot, racing the deranged Goron to the Hylian boy. The Gerudo's legs, used to trudging in deep sand, got him to his location faster than the Goron's could. His blade came out in the most powerful swing he could muster, catching the towering Goron in the chest. It did little to him, though, and soon it had regained its composure and changed targets to Jedam.

The Gerudo braced himself and, as if it was a blessing from Nabooru herself, an explosive landed behind the Goron who now stood between it and Jedam. Pounds of shrapnel unloaded themselves into the Goron's tough back and knocked him forward.

As he laid there in the ground, Gnisal looked up at the Gerudo ten paces away. Illuminated in the firelight, the warrior brought his sword down on the skull of the rampaging Goron, and returned to the young boy's side. The Sheikah faked being dead for a few moments, eager to observe this new ally. The Gerudo moved quickly and efficiently, countering any threat posed to the child. When an attacker drew him away, Jedam returned at once.

Everything he had ever been taught, everything he knew about the Gerudo, was a lie. From birth he learned that they were a faceless, soulless, emotionless entity. Just like him… He was taught that they weren't real people, just tools for the slaughter. Just like him… But here was a Gerudo who risked everything to save a child. Just like him… Gnisal was speechless.

Gnisal slowly rose, almost feeling the makhaira slip out of his left hand, almost as it had done nearly four months ago. Gnisal charged at Jedam, his grip on the blades tightening. Jedam, dueling one of the guards, barely had time to look at Gnisal before the Sheikah threw the makhaira.

Even if he could have blocked the weapon, Jedam had another foe in front of him to deal with. A swift breeze, the sound of metal whirling through the air, and the swift thud of an impact was all Jedam heard.

He was alive.

Gnisal ran to Jedam and the boy, picking up the Makhaira that had embedded itself in the chest of the Hylian behind Jedam. The bastard had tried to sneak up on the Gerudo. Gnisal would have none of that. He was the only person here allowed to fight dirty. Wiping the blood off the blade, Gnisal assumed a defensive stance behind Jedam.

"I've got your back, Gerudo" Gnisal said, placing the child between them.

"Jedam, please." Jedam said, having finally felled his foe with a blow to the gut.

"You can call me Gnisal, Jedam." The Sheikah replied, steeling himself against a new wave of troops. It was going to be a long night.

Gnisal and Jedam stood, backs to one another, defending the boy. Gnisal pondered over the irony. Two rebels, defending a child yet again. Just like before. Hopefully, Gnisal thought, we will meet a better fate than the last two.

Tense minutes passed. Gnisal and Jedam relentlessly defended the child from any danger. A heap of bloodied bodies fell all around. Gnisal was busy engaging a burly Hylian, while Jedam found himself squaring off against two sword wielding foes. Seeing an opening, Gnisal slid beneath his target's feet, slashing his hamstrings as he went. Slipping into the crippled Hylian's shadow, Gnisal appeared behind one of Jedam's enemies. The Hylian on Jedam's left fell to the ground instantly, his Achilles tendons sliced. Shocked, the second Hylian missed Jedam's sword slipping into his chest. Wheeling about, Jedam decapitated the burly Hylian Gnisal had hamstringed. Grabbing the child, Gnisal and Jedam ran.

The two defenders finally caught up to Meathos. The former Hellrider had cut a bloodied, frenzied swath through his former comrades. Scores of men fell beneath his rampaging blade. Gnisal and Jedam kept their distance, until the Hylian calmed down.

Wiping sweat from his brow, Meathos said "Who's the kid?"

"Does it matter?" Jedam replied. Meathos shrugged.

"He's mine," a voice cried out. A ragged man, roughly fifty by Gnisal's estimate, emerged from the crowd. "Thank you, good sirs, for saving my grandson…" The boy seemed to relax, and walked over to the old man. Relieved of his duty, Gnisal relaxed as well.

Meathos noticed the shoulders of Gnisal drop as he exhaled. Jedam roughed the hair of the little boy, and shook the old man's hand. Meathos nodded, smirked, and shook the man's hand as well.

"It was nothing."

"Gnisal, look..." Jedam said over the raining Hell. "They're arming themselves."

The Prisoners had busted into the main prison building, and were coming out in small groups, clad in bits and pieces of armour. They were all carrying weapons... The Hellriders and the guards had no choice at that time. They began to heave small personal bombs into the mob, dispersing them, and then picking them off when they were alone. Eventually, they had barricaded the prisoners, whom the majority of were inside of the building, and started to take the heavy bombs off of the defense catapults, and put them inside and around the building.

"They're going to blow the place to Hell and back." Jedam said, and began to walk over to the soldiers. Meathos put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"And they'll love it."

"There's more prisoners in that building, still locked up and protected from the explosion than had escaped, Jedam. Let the Hylians kill themselves with victory."

13, 33, and 337 stood in a secluded corner of the courtyard, watching the industrious guards go to work. Lit bombs were thrown through windows, torches set to thatched buildings. However, the biggest carnage was wreaked upon the main building. Seven of the massive bombs, powder kegs, as they were called, were launched at the main prison building. Even at their distance, the three had to shield themselves from falling shrapnel and …pieces.

"Those bastards!" Gnisal shouted, drawing his blades. However, before he could take a step, he came to understand what Meathos had said. Even as the smoke cleared, the screams of the newly-freed prisoners echoed in Gnisal's ears. True, the Hylians had destroyed the weapons cache, but they had also inadvertently blasted open most of the building. The prisoners who weren't killed outright were now freed. The guards, who were facing bad odds to begin with, now faced dismal ones. Gnisal , Meathos, and Jedam watched as a wave of flesh erupted from the rubble, and simply passed over the vanguard of troops.

"Come on!" Meathos shouted, gesturing that the other two should follow him. The three took flight, following the massive riot to its primary objective: the main gate.

Hundreds of desperate men, women, and children rammed the main gate, rhythmically pushing it and each other in a terrible struggle to escape. Many were crushed under the feet of their fellow escapees. Above, dozens of guards fired hand bombs and arrows into the crowd, dropping targets and blowing massive holes in the formation. Staying alive was as simple as not getting wet in a rainstorm.

The trio were at the very front of the massive parade, using a dead Hylian as a shield, of sorts. Meathos had his right shoulder on the door, pushing with all of the strength he could find... He looked back, and saw the prisoners using the dead as shields, as well. Jedam simply laughed at that, and continued to push under the flurry of arrows and the bombs.

Soon, however, a bomb was dropped right near the door, some twenty feet from 13, 33 and 337. It blew a hole in the gate a good three meters across... Gnisal had an idea.

A bomb was dropped near them, and Gnisal immediately picked it up, and dropped it at the gate. Meathos threw a dead prisoner on top of the bomb, and pushed back through the crowd. Yet another portal revealed itself. Prisoners began to pour out of the gate, and make their ways up to the guards and soldiers on the wall. Within twenty minutes, Kakariko was calm, and all but fifty prisoners were dead, in pieces.