Alright, first chapter was pretty good. But I don't want good. I want GREAT. So, I want to make this one GREAT! But, before it can be great, I need to publish the chapter first. In other words, let's get writing! And you, you get reading! Hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 2

Stricken

Making his way downstairs, Link nearly slipped and fell due to a headache he received due to his nightmare. Righting himself, he continued his descent, sitting down at the dining table.

"Are you alright? I heard you stumble when you were coming down the stairs," questioned Ryla. "Are you sick or something?"

Placing a plate in front of him, she placed the back of her hand onto his forehead, checking for a temperature.

"You don't seem hot, but I can't be sure."

"Ryla, I'm fine, I'm fine. I just have a headache, and it's a persistent one, too. I might have hit my head in my sleep."

Ryla nodded, scooping some eggs and bacon onto his plate.

"Thank you. It looks... *Sniff* and smells delicious!"

Wasting no time, he dug in. Ryla laughed, surprised that little bits of food weren't flying everywhere as he tore away at his breakfast. Still laughing, she placed a fork in front of him, which he ignored and continued to eat.

"Don't let me stop you."

Sitting down, she began to eat as well, actually using a fork and knife.

"How's your headache?"

"Better, actually. Much better..."

He looked down at his left hand, specifically his birthmark. On the back of his left hand were three triangles held together at the points, together forming a single large triangle with a hollow in the center.

He never knew why, but he always felt more at ease when he looked upon his birthmark. Almost as if someone was with him.

"But, what can I say. It must be your cooking!"

"Hehe... No, i-it couldn't have been..." said Ryla rather shyly.

"Hey, we're siblings, and you still can't take a compliment?"

Grabbing a small piece of bacon, Ryla playfully threw it at her brother, only for him to catch it in his mouth and eat it, giving a thumbs up.

"Still good."

Ryla started laughing, causing Link to start laughing as well.

"I don't even get how that's funny," said Link in between laughs, "But it is!"

After a few minutes, the two calmed down and finished eating. Link helped Ryla with the dishes, cleaning them off and putting them away. Ryla knew he was terrible with dishes, mainly because he nearly dropped three plates. Thankfully, Link had amazing reflexes, being able to catch what he had dropped before they even got close to the ground.

"Maybe I should just hold off on dishes..."

"You really think so?"

Link sighed, helping her finish the dishes. Once everything was said and done, Link changed into a blue tunic and cap.

"Not green?" asked Ryla.

"The Hooded Demon wears green, not me," replied the bounty hunter.

"Oh, should I change too?"

"No, you don't have to," said Link. "You haven't gone on a hunt with me yet, so people who have it out for me won't know who you are. We'll be fine, Sis."

"Oh, okay! Let's go get what we need then. Should we take Epona?"

"Yeah. Despite being the Hodded Demon's horse, if I switch her saddle, no one should be able to connect her to me. Wanna help out? One day, you're going to have to know how to do it too."

Ryla smiled and watched her brother remove the Demon's Saddle, and followed his directions as he instructed her on how to put on another.

"...And you have to make sure that it's completely on. Epona doesn't like when she feels me swaying."

Link checked Ryla's work, and nodded, satisfied as he found it was on securely.

"Is it comfortable, Epona?"

Epona neighed in agreement, fine with the saddle in its current state.

"Alright, Ryla, it looks like you did a fine job. Now, let's head out. Do you have the list?"

Ryla nodded and handed her brother the list of things they were running short on. After looking it through, he mounted Epona and helped Ryla on, easing his mount into a canter.

"Ryla, even though I said that we were going to be careful with the money, I decided otherwise. I grabbed 400 Rupees, and we're getting our things from Castle Town."

"Castle Town, really?! Oh my Goddesses, thank you!"

"Not a problem. Oh, and this is going to your first time in Hyrule, isn't it? Who knows, if we get lucky, we may get to see the princess, haha!"

"Princess Zelda?! I might faint if I did... She's so pretty, I might even pick up a few tips!"

"But of course, that's if Her Majesty decides to grace the commoners with her presence."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that..." said Ryla. "But hey, there's always a chance she does! She loves Hyrule, just like the rulers before her."

"Hehe, you've always been able to look at the brighter side of things. Anyway, let's get going! I want you to see the capitol of our homeland!"

Urging Epona into a sprint, Link and Ryla continued on their way to Hyrule Castle Town.

OOO

Dismounting Epona and hitching her, Link helped Ryla off her back and walked with her around Castle Town so that she may see everything it had to offer.

"Oh, look, the Happy Mask Salesman! I hear he has the cutest masks EVER!"

"We have a decent amount of money, so... Do you want a mask or two?"

"OH MY GODDESSES YES!"

Ryla nearly tackled Link to the ground in a hug that he happily returned. After getting up and dusting themselves off, the two walked into the salesman's shop, Ryla looking around in awe.

"Aw, a Keaton Mask! Oh, Oh, and a Bunny Hood!"

While Ryla was fawning over the masks in the shop, Link addressed the salesman, an orange-haired man wearing purple clothing and baring a wide smile.

"Good morning, Sir. If it isn't too much to ask, but how much would each mask be?"

"Oh, but a mere 20 Rupees. Would you care for one?"

"Hmmm..." Link looked back to Ryla, who clearly couldn't choose between the Bunny Hood and the Keaton Mask.

"Maybe two."

Placing the 40 Rupees on the table, Link turned smiling back to Ryla.

"You really want those two?"

"Yeah! But, they might cost too much, don't they..."

"Oh, quite the opposite! 40 Rupees is really cheap for a couple of masks," said Link. "They're yours."

Ryla stopped and stared at him for a minute, before jumping up and down in joy with both masks in hand.

"I have the best older brother ever!"

Link laughed a moment before seeing another mask behind Ryla, one resembling a black skull with raised silver markings covering the left side, green around the eyes, and etchings covering the entirety giving it a decently threatening appearance. (1)

Grabbing the mask in question, he placed it in front of the salesman.

"How much is this one?"

"Ah, this Reaper's Mask," began the salesman, "costs 100 Rupees."

Link sighed, getting ready to place it back on the wall to where he found it, but he was stopped by the salesman.

"But for you, my good friend, I'll give it to you for a mere 25 Rupees. You did buy 2 other mask earlier, so I'll be generous."

Link handed the salesman the 25 Rupees, securing possession of the Reaper's Mask.

"A pleasure doing business with you, Hero."

Before Link could ask him what he meant, he slipped back into the shadows of his store, disappearing. Link paid it no mind, but placed his new mask over his face to show Ryla.

"It even matches the Hooded Demon's clothes!"

"You keep referring to him like he's a dif-"

Link gave Ryla a deep glare from beneath his new mask, silencing her.

"Oh, right. My bad, Brother."

Link removed the mask and walked with her out of the store, simultaneously placing his new mask into his pouch which he wore on his belt. He received that pouch from his father, and it could literally hold anything he could possibly try to place inside of it.

Rounding the corner to the central hub of Castle Town, Link stopped. Ryla didn't notice, forcing Link to grab her arm to halt her.

"Why are we stopping?"

"Hyrulean Knights."

Ryla beamed and stood closer to Link as they both watched a squad of 6 Hyrulean Knights pass by, each heavily armored and wielding a spear. Their leader stood in front, a tall brunette man wearing black possessing deep blue eyes much like Ryla's, as well as wearing a black headband to keep his hair out of his eyes. (2)

The man noticed Ryla looking at all of them so gleefully, and as such halted his group.

"At ease, men."

The 5 soldiers relaxed, yet stayed in the same place.

"Is this your first time in Hyrule, young one?"

"Y-Yes it is! My brother told me so much about it here!"

"Oh, really? Like what?"

Ryla smiled even wider, very happy that she was having conversation with a high-ranking Hyrulean officer during her very first visit to the capitol.

"He said that out of every place he's ever visited, none of them have ever lessened his love for Hyrule."

"Is this your brother?" the man asked, gesturing to Link.

"Yes, this is my older brother, Link!"

She shoved him forward, prompting him to give her a slight glare before turning towards the commander.

"It's very nice to meet a Son of Hyrule like you, Link. My name is Sebastian, Hyrulean General, Third-in-Command of the Hylian Royal Army."

He held out his hand to Link, who gladly shook it.

"I'm afraid that I don't have the same kind of introduction as you, Sebastian. But it's a pleasure to meet you nonetheless."

Sebastian smiled, releasing Link's hand.

"I like you. You know, the Hyrulean Army is always accepting new recruits. We could always use one with a heart like you."

Link nodded, a smirk on his face. "I might just have to take you up on that. But until then, it was nice to meet you, Sebastian.

Sebastian grinned as he turned back to his squad. "Company, ready!"

The five soldiers stood in attention, waiting for their general's next command.

"Forward march!"

As the soldiers passed by Link and Ryla, they nodded, with Ryla waving and Link returning the nod.

"Well, it wasn't the princess, but we did get to meet a Hylian General. That's always nice!"

"And you got a job offer! You'd be a great recruit, Link, especially considering all of your experience as a hunter." Ryla said the last part very quietly so that Link was the only one who could hear her.

"True, but they usually only accept recruits when they turn 21."

Ryla nodded in understanding. "Anyway, let's see what else we can do! I'm sure we can find a shooting booth that we can try!"

Link pat her back, smiling. "That would actually be really fun right now. I'm sure I can teach you how to shoot."

Ryla nodded, looking around to find a booth, and sure enough, there was an archery booth in the central plaza.

"Hey, I found one!"

Ryla nearly dragged Link to the booth, dropping him as she reached the attraction.

"Hey there, little lady. How 'bout you and your boyfriend try your hand at my little game here! It costs 10 Rupees to play, and the grand prize is 50 Rupees! All you have to do is use this bow," he held a bow out to Ryla as Link stood, as well as a few arrows. "And hit all 10 targets. Are you up for it?"

Ryla turned to Link, who placed 10 Rupees on the table.

"She'll go first. She's been itching to learn how to shoot. Oh, and we're siblings."

"Heh, sorry about that. You can never be sure, am I right? Anyway, step right up and hit all 10 targets!"

Ryla put the arrow to the bowstring, pulled back, and released, missing the target she was aiming for by a hair.

"Aw, darn it."

Link stood beside her and shadowed holding a bow.

"Here, you have to compensate for wind and drop, and since there isn't much wind today, you have to focus a bit more on making sure that the arrow doesn't hit the ground before it hits the target. And since there's no wind, you just have to aim slightly above the bulls-eye. Alright?"

Ryla nodded, her tongue popping out of her mouth in concentration as she did as he said, raising her finger to point at the bulls-eye, then moving slightly up. She released, and as Link had said, it hit the target.

"One down, nine to go!"

The rest went in the same pattern, a miss to gauge the shot, and a second to hit, giving Ryla a final score of 7.

"Aw, better luck next time, kid."

Ryla pouted, but turned to Link.

"Come on, Brother, win our money back."

Link gave her a look, then placed another 10 Rupees in front of the booth operator, who in turn gave Link 15 arrows.

"You know the rules, right? Just hit all 10 targets. Whenever you're ready!"

Without hesitation, Link raised the bow and let fly an arrow, embedding it straight in the center of a target.

"One down, Nine to g-"

Before the man continued, Link placed two more arrows into the bulls-eyes of two more targets, keeping pace with the remaining seven. The booth operator could barely fit a word in between the 'thunks' of arrows as they flew from bow to target, hitting the center each time.

"O-One target left!"

Link watched closely, taking his time. The last target was set to move, making random movements.

But to Link, there was a pattern.

Every few seconds, the target would switch into one of 3 patterns; moving erratically back and forth, moving in a triangular pattern, occasionally switching direction, and moving slowly only to quickly speed up in order to throw off those who thought they could score an easy win.

Taking a deep breath, Link let fly the arrow, and it struck true, hitting the target dead center.

"We have a winner!"

Link lowered the bow and placed it down on the table, along with the extra five arrows. In other words, he didn't miss a shot.

"And for our winner, we have the grand prize of 50 Rupees! Here you are."

Link gladly accepted the 50 Rupees, placing it in his wallet.

"Hope you come back! I always enjoy new challengers, and returning customers even more!"

Link waved farewell to the man as he and Ryla left, Ryla still impressed by Link.

"How do I live with you for 16 years and not realize how good of an archer you are?"

"Because, I don't want too many people to know. If I seem like a typical villager, then they're less likely to connect me to the Hooded Demon."

"Oh, right."

They continued to walk until Link noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

Quickly grabbing Ryla and covering her mouth, he quietly brought her into an alley, where she pried his hand off of her mouth.

"What are you doing?!"

"Shh!"

"Hey, don't tell me to be quiet right now, Li-"

"Shh! I'm not kidding around!"

Ryla's eyes grew wide, as Link only acted like this when they were in danger.

"What's going on?" she asked in a panicked whisper.

"Some of the gang mates of Atlas Fang are out there."

"So? You had the hood."

"I told you, one of them saw my face. And the one that did is one of the ones out there. We'll have to run. I don't have any weapons, and I can't risk your safety."

Sure enough, as she checked from the alley, she saw several armed men walking around town with a sketch of Link asking if they had seen him.

"We'll have to take the back alleys. They're where I take my bounty targets in from so that the townspeople don't see me."

"What about Epona?"

"Her hitching is loose. I don't like keeping her tied up, so when we're out of town, I can whistle and she'll be there in a second."

Link quietly led Ryla through the back alleys of Castle Town, eager to get her out of there as soon as possible. The men looking for him were part of one of Hyrule's most powerful gangs, the Fang Syndicate. Their leader, Esteban Fang, was a very dangerous man, and had an absurd bounty of 200,000 Rupees. The main reason he never heard of him getting captured was because of his guard, a staggering 1,000 armed men that rivaled the princess's own Royal Guard, and Zelda's guard has an unknown warrior heading them.

Finding a crack in the wall, Link instructed Ryla to crawl through as he watched to make sure no one found them. After both were through the cleft, they ran a while until Link felt they were out of sight. Bringing his fingers to his lips, Link let loose a very loud whistle, hearing a distinctive neigh in response.

He smiled when he saw Epona rounding the corner, but that smile quickly turned into a frown of shock.

"Miss us, you little brat?"

OOO

The group of Fang members were searching, in vain, to find that little brat who put a gash in the apparent leader's arm.

"Geoffrey, do we really have to go through all of this trouble? You said it yourself, he looked 17, what's a kid going to do about us?"

"Before we knew he was 17, he was just the Hooded Demon. And we can all agree that the Hooded Demon is a huge threat to Esteban. Him being 17 doesn't change a damn thing," replied Geoffrey, the leader of the small band of gangsters.

"Well... That's fair."

Geoffery kept thinking to himself what would make sense for the Demon to do. He did remember him carrying weapons, so maybe an armorer? No, that would be too obvious... He had a bow... Wait, a bow!

"Alright, guys, look around fora anything to do with archery! The little shit had a bow!"

Two of them immediately found the shooting booth Link had participated at, and made their way to the owner with the sketch of Link.

"Hey, you, have you seen this guy?"

"N-No, I can't s-say that I have..."

"No? Are you sure? Maybe this will jog your memory."

Drawing steel and pointing it at the man's neck, he held up his arms in defeat.

"P-Please, no! I'll tell you anything you want, just please don't kill me! I have a wife and kids who depend on me!"

"Well, I'd hate to break up a family, but..."

He pressed the tip to the man's neck, drawing blood.

"I don't have all day, so tell me if you've seen the fucking kid or not!"

"H-H-He came here a few minutes ago with his sister to play my game, that kid in the sketch!"

"Well, where'd he go?"

"I don't know! I had another customer right after him, but I know where his horse is!"

"His horse, huh?" said the man as he sheathed his sword. "Well, where is it?"

"It's hitched up over by the bar."

The two men looked, and sure enough, it was the same horse, but with a different saddle.

"It looks like today isn't your day. But, I do need cash. Give me what you've got and you'll see your family tonight."

The booth owner quickly handed over everything he made that day in fear, getting a laugh out of the Fang members. They left and returned to Geoffrey, handing him the sketch.

"Yeah, the guy at the shooting booth saw him. He said that he left earlier, but that his horse was still here."

The man pointed at Epona, who sure enough, was the same horse that the Hooded Demon rode, only with a different saddle.

"Pffft. He thinks a different saddle would make me forget that damn horse."

Geoffrey and his comrades stopped and looked around when they all heard a loud whistle, then turned back to Epona when she undid her reigns from the hitching post, galloping away.

"Hey, follow it! It may be going back to its good-for-nothing master!"

The Fang members chased Epona down from a distance in order to follow her without startling her, eventually being led outside of Castle Town.

And right to Link.

"Miss us, you little brat?"

Link gritted his teeth, looking around to see the men from the Fang Syndicate drawing their weapons.

"Damn it, I don't have any of my weapons on me."

The men continued their approach, Geoffrey taking a few practice swings with his blade.

"Oh, you're gonna get it, you little piece of shit. So, what do you want to loose first? An arm? Or maybe a leg? Oh, the tension here is palpable!"

Epona finally made it to Link, who had an idea.

"Ryla, take Epona home. I'll hold them off."

"No, I'm not going to leave you here!"

"Damn it, Ryla, there's not a choice! Take her and go! I'll be fine."

"You have to promise Link. Promise me you're coming back home."

"I... Promise. Now go!"

Ryla reluctantly mounted Epona and began to ride off, but she was cut off by a few Fang members.

"Come here, girly! I haven't had a woman in a while!"

Ryla kicked him in the face from on Epona, though she was basically thrown off by another. After the man wiped the blood from his face, he pinned Ryla down.

"Hehehe... I like my women feisty..."

Link was about to charge the man to get him off of his sister, but he had to focus on Geoffrey, who was taking wild swings at Link. Link was narrowly dodging each swing, but he couldn't keep it up forever.

"I knew I saw Fang members!"

Link saw Sebastian out of the corner of his eye, along with the five other soldiers they had met in the plaza.

"Thank the Goddesses..."

As Geoffrey's attention was on Sebastian, Link spin-licked him in the side of the head and took his sword as he fell. Charging the man attempting to take his sister, he rammed him off of Ryla.

"Get away from my sister, you low-life trash."

The man was about to draw his sword, but he found the one Link took from Geoffrey pointed at his neck.

"I don't usually kill, but I have to, I will."

The man released the blade's handle, and Link took it, throwing it to the side.

Sebastian and his men quickly engaged the Fang members, and easily overpowered them due to formal training. Sebastian was even more skilled, and wielded a very unique sword which was long, thick, and black in color. (3)

One of Geoffrey's men got an idea, and grabbing something out of his pocket, he grabbed Ryla and held it to her throat.

Link was about to assist Sebastian, but stopped when he saw the man holding Ryla.

"Let her go!"

The man shook his head, pressing whatever he had against Ryla's neck.

"I can't say I'll do that. You see, what I have here is a very potent poison, and in a pretty big dose for a girl this young. Let me go, and she lives, but try anything funny, and she experiences the most painful death a Fang can offer."

Link gritted his teeth and stepped forwards, but the man stopped him.

"No no no, drop the sword."

Link did as he said, dropping his blade.

"You know what? All of you, drop 'em and toss 'em."

Sebastian and his men looked to Link, who's eyes pleaded for them to comply, and they did, discarding their weapon.

"Now, I'm gonna let her go. But don't think that right after I do she'll be safe. I can throw these things with some accuracy, so as long as she's in sight, she's in danger."

Link nodded, seething in rage.

The man smirked, shoved Ryla into Link, and ran. One of Sebastian's men wasn't feeling too generous, and lifted a throwing knife off of Geoffrey's unconscious body, and threw it as hard as he could at the man, the dagger sinking into his back like butter. He turned, still able to move regardless of the knife in his spine, and threw the poison coated weapon at Ryla, grazing her shoulder. Shortly after, the man fell, the knife taking its toll.

"RYLA!"

Link ran to her, quickly checking her shoulder, then turned to the soldier who threw the knife.

"The poison's in her arm! I swear, if I lose my sister because you didn't want to let a criminal run free, the entirety of the Hyrulean Military won't keep me from killing you!"

He tried to throw himself at the man, but two of Sebastian's men restrained him.

"I understand your rage, but murdering a soldier won't quell it," said Sebastian before turning to the soldier who threw the knife.

"And you. You've just endangered the life of a citizen, and that is inexcusable. I, General Sebastian, hereby relieve you of duty. Remove your helm."

The man reached up to his helm, but quickly struck Sebastian in the face, and began running.

Sebastian went relatively unfazed by the attack, reached down and grabbed his sword, and threw it as hard as he could at the traitor, the massive weapon shearing through both the man and his armor.

Sebastian rubbed his face. "He strikes like a child."

The other 4 soldiers ran to the fallen man, and removing his helmet, were startled.

"Sir, this is... empty."

"What? That's impossible."

"No, sir, this suit is empty, the blade has blood on it, but the suit has no man nor woman inside," replied the soldier.

"By the Goddesses, this must be sorcery. It takes powerful magic to animate armor. But whoever he is, he likely wanted the girl dead."

Link looked down at the suit of armor before kicking it.

"I don't care if there's no one in there, I'm still angry."

Sebastian nodded and turned to his men.

"No one is to know of this."

They nodded, and returned to the town carrying the remaining Fang members. Sebastian turned to Link, and gestured to Ryla.

"You'll need to get her to a doctor fast. Fang member's poisons are extremely deadly, and if she weren't to receive treatment..."

"I get it. There's one in town, right?"

"Yes, now hurry. I will escort you there, as her condition is partially my fault."

"Thank you , Sebastian. I just want to save my sister."

Dun dun DUUUN! Don't you guys just hate when everything seems to be going well, and then there's that guy who's like, "Hey, wouldn't it suck if someone the main character loved got poisoned? Not for me." But anyway, I have a few points to go over today.

(1) Ichigo Kurosaki's Hollow Mask, recolored to match Link's clothing as the Hooded Demon.

(2) Sebastian Steele returns. What? He's one of my favorite OCs.

(3) A darknut sword, the one wielded by the miniboss from the Temple of Time.

Chuck Norris grinds his coffee with his teeth and boils the water with his rage.

OniHelix out!