I'm pretty mad about writing this chapter. Not because of the content of the chapter, but the fact that I lost this chapter several times while trying to write it. It got very annoying very quickly.

Before I got to the reviews, some quick updates and a notice. First of all, Fallout 76 came out! I like it, but it's a mess. A fun, broken, hilarious, buggy, mess. It got me back into Fallout even though I still prefer New Vegas (But there is a mod for Fallout 4 that replaces Four with New Vegas so I'm kinda wanting it to come out like now.)

Second, the world grew a little darker. We have recently lost one of the brightest minds of the world, Stan Lee. He was the one who inspired generations to create their own stories, and the world won't be the same without him. We live in the darkest timeline now that he's gone.

A notice about this story. I'm sure people have noticed that I've used NPC names from other games for different characters (Ruto, Cia, etc). There is a reason. What I'm doing is that I'm remixing different characters from Zelda games into the story. Not all of them will be exactly the same as they were in their respective game, and there are many more to come. In fact, many of them are important to the plot. Have some fun and try to guess who in the reviews? I'll give you a clue though. Most of the character's I'm using that matter in the story appear in the Child Link Timeline, with one (technically two) exception being from before the timeline split.

Finally, I recently got an Archive of Our Own page! Yaaaay. I don't have anything posted on it, but I do have plans of moving Inquisitions Courier to that account. So...consider Inquisitions Courier as moving to a new home (If you read that). Plus I have something in the works that'll be exclusive to Archive. What it is, I'm not telling! You gotta figure it out for yourself! I'll give you a hint however. Daft Punk. :-)

With that out of the way, let's get to reviews.

Sp00kyT00ns: Thanks! But is it actually one of your favorites? Is it? IS IT?

Kill King: I'm not planning on adding any lemons into the story. I don't do lemons not because their bad, but because It's not my personal style. A lot of really good stories on this website have Lemons, and there's nothing wrong with that! I just don't do it. There will be suggestive content in the story however, but no full on sex scenes. Yes, new monsters will be added to make it more like Bloodborne, but you gotta wait. I have plans...hehehehe...

Axccel: Really? I did a good action scene, my fatal flaw as a writer? Trust me, the story of the Hunter and the village is far from over. We've only seen about 25-40 percent of his entire story. Enough to have a basic idea, but there will be more fleshed out.

Neema Amiry: Is it though? IS IT AWESOME!? IS IT?!

Guest: I don't have ta listen to ya! I am a free human, I DO WHAT I WANT! HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Saber aka 'I Dont Give A Damn (That is a long name to type out): You actually find this story interesting? Well then...hot damn. But hopefully this chapter will satisfy you!

An Indulgent Fellow: Wait. Wait wait wait, wait. You...think this is good? You actually think, that this story is something worth reading?...Well then you have made a great mistake (Not really. Thx for your really cool words actually)

STORY TIME LET'S GO

Don't own nothing. Yadda yabba Doo!

*EDIT* I'm editing all the previous chapters in order for this story to be...well, good.

I should think you still have dreams? Well, the next time you dream, give some thought... to the hunt

Princess Zelda groaned as the ray's of the morning sun hit her face. She really didn't want to get up, she had the strangest dream. She dreamed of a city. The architecture was foreign, almost Gothic. The people were strange yet familiar, and it had a large church. The sunset was beautiful in this dream, with color being rampant. But she noticed that people began to flee into her homes. When she saw three women, a mother and her two children (One older and one younger who wore a precious white ribbon) close the door to their home, the dream ended.

She rose up from her prone position and groggily opened her tent. Already she spotted Link up and awake, preparing the morning breakfast. She greeted him before sitting down next to the fire, warming herself. It would not be long for the other champions to awake and begin to eat. The food for the morning was crepes and omelets. They ate quickly, eager to continue their mission to Zora's Domain. Mipha and Link were especially excited (though the latter would not show it), for the two had grown up at the domain. The Zora princess sat next to the Hyrulian knight, attempting to be subtle with her feelings. Zelda smiled to herself when she saw her friends go through this, it was very cute.

Soon the meal was over, and after a quick session of cleaning and packing the steed's, they set off on the road. The plan for the day was to stop at Malon Village. This village was rather important, as it served as a major trade and agriculture hub for the kingdom. The harvest provided from the town could feed around 40 percent of the entire population of Castle Town, if one had a good year. Thus, making sure that all was well was absolutely necessary.

The time they walked was quiet and quaint. The horse that Zelda rode was calm for the most part, besides an occasional spook from the wildlife. The Champions that could not ride a horse (Revalli and Daruk) walked instead, talking (arguing) to each other as they took point. The princess rode with Urbosa in the middle, and Mipha and Link in the back. The Zora princess tried to flirt with the Hylian hero, but failed for two reasons. One, was the fact that both she and Link were socially awkward. Two, being the fact that the Zora had no idea what she was doing, and was only trying this out because of encouragement from the other female champions when they talked together last night in the woman's tent.

"Bet you ten rupee's that she's going to bail sooner or later." Urbosa said.

"I'll take that bet." Zelda replied. Normally, it seemed scandalous that a member of the Royal family would gamble at all. But Zelda was not a normal royal figure, and she was among friends. It took only 2 minutes before Mipha road up, her head low. Urbosa laughed as Zelda handed her the 2 blue rupees.

"Don't laugh..." Mipha moaned.

"Oh my little child, you need help if you're going to conquer that beast." Mipha gasped and blushed at Urbosa's words. The gerudo woman then leaned as close as she could and began to whisper in her ear. Mipha's face went from curiosity to scandal to fantasizing.

"What on earth are you talking about back there?" Revalli cut in.

"Nothing!" Mipha yelped out, followed by the other two. The Rito looked at them for a moment, then turned away. The girl's laughed at themselves, confusing all of the males, Link specially. He did not know why Mipha was being...strange today. He had known her most of his entire life, and she had never behaved like today. The words she said were...bizarre for her to say at the least. But Link lost these thoughts as he gazed at her face...her cute adorable face...and her arms...and then her entire lower...Wait hold up and Reign the Horses. Link forced himself to keep his eyes straight on the road and not at Mipha's arse...Dammit!

Zelda was sure that they were close. She knew this because she remembered the road she was one at the current moment. This sign, pointing to it's direction.

West: Hyrule Castle

East: Zora's Domain

North: Malon Village

This sign meant that they were close. She remembered coming her when she was young and running around with the other Children while her mother and father discussed with the villages about food distribution. Zelda remembered having her first friends here...her first time playing with other children that weren't royal...her first kiss (that was an accident when she ran into another girl and they landed on each other, but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy it. Rather...she kept on seeing that girl, but she won't kiss and tell) Malon Village meant the world to Zelda, and she would always returned whenever she had the opportunity too.

Zelda could not contain her excitement. Despite the protests of her fellow's, she broke away and urged her horse to speed off towards the village. With her steed going full sprint, she grinned as she felt the wind fly in her hair. She felt so free! She was about to return to her paradise! She would see her again...

But she stopped once she saw the burned down and broken remains of what was once called Malon Village. She gasped and held her hand to her mouth as tears began to form. When the other champions caught up, they were equally shocked to see the ruins of the town. It was...gone. Nothing left but ash, burned down houses and graves.

"S-Search for survivors!" She ordered. The champions obeyed immediately as they all sped down to the town. Instantly they began to look for any signs of life. Lifting up rubble and clearing out ruin. Nothing was being found, no life was sought. Zelda stood in the middle, in shock. And why wouldn't she? She had her childhood vacation spot, the place she felt comfortable to be herself, ruined. Destroyed. Burnt down.

"I found someone!" Daruk shouted out. The other champions and Zelda rushed to the Goron, where they were met with a ghastly sight. A girl, same age as Zelda. Her hair was green and poofy. Her clothes were tattered, her skin cut and bruised. She had a large gash across her chest that Mipha tried to heal, but could not. The wound was fatal, she would die. Zelda knew this girl, knew her far too well.

She held the dying woman in her arms and whispered "Saria...?"

"z...z-zee?" Saria smiled faintly before she began to hack up a storm, blood drooling from her mouth. Zelda did her best to clean it up. "you...came..."

"What happened? Who did this?"

"last night...people in...masks...slaughtered everyone...tried to hide and was hit...then...he came.." She coughed up some more as Zelda asked who came. "Don't know...he had a hat on and looked...strange...had a scythe. He killed them all...them all..."

"Killed who Saria. Killed who?" Zelda frantically asked the girl, but received no answer as Saria laid still in her arms, unmoving and unbreathing. Zelda quivered as she held the woman in her arms before gently setting her down and closing her eyes, lightly kissing her forehead. She stood up, aware that the other champions were staring at her. "We're burying her."

The great door's opened with a groan. Idris paused for a moment before entering the astral clock-tower. He wore the attire of the old hunters with a decorative spin on it. In his hands, the Blade's of Mercy was wielded. He stepped up to the great hall of the Astral Clock-tower, and took in his surroundings.

At the end of the hall, was a body. A woman, judging by appearance. Could this be the Lady Maria that the mysterious hunter Simon told him to slay? He did not truly know. All that he knew was that this body wore an outfit similar in appearance to that of a knight of Cainhurst, and that this woman seemed to be dead. A great pool of blood lay before her. But what was most peculiar was the fact that this woman seemed similar...to someone. He could not put his finger on it however.

Idris stepped towards the woman and reached out to her. He had to make sure that she was alive or dead. These mysterious were always so tantalizing! But before he could react, the body grabbed his outstretched hand and pulled him close to the woman's face. He did not see a stranger however, he saw someone he knew.

"A corpse...should be left well alone."

It was the doll.

But of course, it was not truly the doll. She was not in this Hunter's Nightmare, rather the serene and calm dream that he called a sanctuary. Gently, smoothly, Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower let loose her grip on his arm and he pulled away slowly. She then began to stand up, in her hand she wielded a twin-blade unlike any other. It looked to be a saber and a dagger molded together by the end's of their hilts. "Oh, I know very well. How the secrets beckon so sweetly."

"I..."

"Only an honest death will cure you now." Maria said as she split apart her weapon, now wielding sword and dagger. "Liberate you, from your wild curiosity. As she stepped towards him, he separated the Blades of Mercy into two, preparing for the oncoming pain.

The burial was quick, clean, simple. A shallow grave for Saria was dug, as directed by Zelda. The small service done for her was performed in complete silence, as none of the champions wanted to somehow insult Zelda by speaking. They did not know about Zelda's past with Saria, and they would not pry. It was obvious that they were close.

As they said their prayers for the deceased girl, Zelda turned to Revalli. "Have you found anything?" As they dug the grave, Zelda ordered the Rito to search for any tracks of the murderer. She wanted justice, badly. The man responsible would be punished accordingly. With death.

"Yes, I have." The archer pointed southward. "I found horse tracks down that way. Recent from the looks of it, a day old. With any luck we could find them in an hour or so if we're fast." Zelda nodded her head. Running to her horse alongside the other champions, they then bolt off following Revalli down the trail (Except Daruk who could not ride a horse and was stuck running behind them constantly saying "Running...my...only...weakness...)

Fortunately they did not have to ride far. Luck was on their side it seemed, for they found the horse which created the trail. It stood next to a small stream, drinking from the water while it's rider sat on a fallen log and inspected a large curved sword. They watched carefully as they studied his movements. This man...he wore the same garments as the village with the two wounded boy's described their attacker. The same rags, the same hat, the same slow methodical movement. It was that man.

They watched him as he attended to his scythe. Each of the slowly going for each of their respective weapon (except Zelda who did not have a blade. Instead she began to ready some magic) but stopped when they saw him stand up and turn to the side. A fawn and it's mother stood and watched him, and he watched back. The man stood as still as a stone, unyielding. The deer were wary, but not as wary with a normal Hylian. No...they were nervous around him...afraid... He turned away and went back to his blade and the deer ran away, as if they knew what was to come.

"We need a strategy. It's obvious that he's extremely skilled." Urbosa whispered as they huddled together. As a chieftain and warrior of her tribe, Urbosa was the most well-versed in battle tactics. "I recommend that we come at him all at once in different directions. Daruk will charge while Revalli forces him closer. Mipha will put pressure on him and Zelda, you'll distract him with magic. With all of that in place, he won't see me and Link coming in for the kill." A sound plan, with only one flaw. Revalli.

"And why, pray tell, am I only distracting him?"

"You're the range of this fight Revalli, you are forcing him to pay attention to different sources. " Urbosa sighed, the two had never gotten along.

"But-"

"No but's you bird brain! Get into position!" He growled before creeping away to prepare himself. The champions then placed themselves around the Hunter (Even though they did not know he went by that). Mipha and Revalli to his east and west. Urbosa, Link and Daruk in front and Zelda in the back to charge up. They waited for an opening, just one opportunity to strike, that perfect moment! They were tensing up so heavily that seconds seemed like hours, and a minute felt like a day. But it came when the man put down the blade he was working on and pulled out a saber and began to clean it. "NOW!" Urbosa called to Revalli, who then knocked an arrow straight at the man and fired.

*Thnnk!*

The man had caught it. Without even looking, he held it in his fist only a few meters away from the back of his head, The champions all stared in awe as the man looked at the arrow, and then turned to their hiding spots.

"An impressive shot, but easy to defend against once I knew it was coming."

He knew? He knew everything? Slowly, the champions got up from their hiding spot and looked at the man. With a better view they could see his face clearer. He wore a cloth mask to cover the lower half of his face, but what they could see was already partially hidden by the hat he wore. Still, he was bizarre to say the least. He looked both young and old, as if youth and energy was held down by experience and seeing too much.

"You knew what was coming?" Daruk asked the man, curious and confused."

"It's hard not to notice the lot of you coming. You weren't very quiet." He answered simply. "Regardless, I would ask if you would not attempt to kill me where I stand."

"And let a murderer like you walk away? Never!" Zelda called out from behind, her eyes filled with fury.

"I am afraid that I do not understand what you speak of, Princess Zelda." Again, they were stunned. He knew who Zelda was, did he know who they were as well?

"How..." Zelda began before being interrupted by the man.

"You wear a formal outfit suited for both exploration and regality, it was easy to determine who you were. I assume that these warriors you stand with are the Champions of Hyrule as well, the one's who aided you in defeating the great calamity?"

"...Yes."

"Well then, I salute you." He bowed to them, a sign of respect. Clearly, this man was a foreigner. "However, I am afraid that I must part. I have beast's need slaying." He went for his horse, but an arrow shot between the two scared the horse and made it run into the distance. The Hunter turned to Revalli, who lowered his bow.

"You're not going anywhere."

"...I see." He then grabbed his Bowblade and turned it into the bow. "Then I must defend myself."

The champions where taken aback by the weapon's sudden transformation, and they were forced to take cover when he began firing at them with rapid speed. Idris fired an arrow for each champion, forcing them to scatter. He then transformed it back into a saber and leapt at the Rito. He swiped and swung at the Champion, who was forced to dodge and roll clumsily as his life depended on it. The Hunter then dashed out of the way of the Goron's charge. He bobbed and weaved out of the way of the Boulder Breaker. He then countered with the Bowblade, gaining a cut on the Goron's shoulder, but he simply shrugged it off and continued to swing. Idris then changed it back to a bow and fired a couple of arrow's at him, forcing him back.

He then parried a blow from Mipha's spear. The Zora was stunned at his reaction speed, and then ducked from a swing of his sword. She then caught his blade with her spear, attempting to disarm him. He let the blade fall from his hand, letting it fall straight to the ground before catching it in his left hand. He took a swing at her, which connected and sent her to the ground. He then faced Urbosa and Link, who were encircling him with Zelda charging magic (The other champions where recovering). Urbosa then dashed at him, swinging with a ferocity unseen by the other champions. To most enemies, they would be taken aback by her power and speed. Not Idris, who managed to not only keep up with her, but attack as well.

The two danced with their blades, their duel barely being tracked by the wielder of the Master Sword and the Princess. But it seemed that the Hunter was gaining the upper hand, as he put Urbosa on her back pedal. He swiped at her, nearly cutting her neck before Link jumped in and bashed him with his shield. He then went for 3 attacks, easily blocked by the hunter but allowing Urbosa to counter. She cut the Hunter across the lower, sending him to the ground. Not a fatal blow, but still a hit. He rolled quickly out of the way from Daruk's smash and weaved out of the way from Revalli's arrows. But the Rito's arrow's did their job, and allowed Mipha to catch the Hunter's blade in her trident and send it flying. Before the Hunter could recover, a great cut from Link went it's way across his chest, and that was followed by a stab from the Gerudo's scimitar.

Idris panted as he leaned upon the log, his chest bloody. Gasping for air, he faced the champions with anger. Who were they to combat a hunter? They were arrogant fools! And the scent coming off of them...the sweet sweet blood...it was like a melodious harmony! He reached for a blood vial and injected it (Much to the horror and disgust of his enemies) and grabbed the Burial Blade, transforming it into a scythe. A smile on his face, covered by the cloth, he roared and went for his prey.

A slash onto the Goron and he was sent back, a slice at the Rito and he was on the ground, a pommel strike and a quick back-step attack sent the Zora away, a charged attack then sent the Gerudo flying. He then faced down the Hero himself, and he went for the kill. His strikes were too fast, Link could barely defend from those savage blows! A strike from the scythe blade then knocked his shield out of his hand and another went for his head, only to be parried by the master sword. But the blow was too strong and the blade of evil's bane was sent away. Link could no longer defend himself. Idris's scythe then ringed out with a quick slash, straight across the Hero of Legend's chest. The Champion gasped for a moment, as time seemed to freeze as Link fell backwards, his eye's hazy and his chest bloody. Only the drips of his blood off the Burial Blade made noise.

Drip

Drip

Drip

"NOO!" The champions cried when they saw their great friend wounded heavily. They then attacked all together. Idris could barely defend himself from all of their ferocious attacks. Urbosa's fury was great, the power of Daruk forced him to constantly be on the move, the accuracy of Revalli kept him on his toes, and the jab's from Mipha would not let him attack. Add all that plus constant magic barrages from Zelda, and the Hunter was simply outmatched. He could not win this bout, not today. He let out a roar, a roar so inhumane and beastly, it sent them all flying back. As they slowly got up, their wounds made them slow. The Hunter had picked up his blade and pointed his bloody scythe at his foes. "Do not follow me. Or you...will...die." He then drank a blue elixir from a bottle in his hand, and he vanished into thin air.

Mipha rushed over to Link, tears enveloping her eyes as she muttered 'No No No No' to herself repeatedly. The Champions soon followed, concerned for their friend. Link's eyes were heavy, everything was going dark. All he saw before he unconsciousness took him was the sorrowful and terrified face of Mipha.

He wondered if he loved her. He thought he did.

This is defiantly the shortest chapter yet for this story, but I felt that this was a good place to stop for now.