WHERE HEROES UNITE IS ON HIATUS UNTIL I FINISH MY OTHER CROSSOVERS. I'm sorry for the disappointment, but school has me so drained to the point where I feel guilty just by existing, so I'm going to have to push it to the side. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you for understanding (if you did, that is).

Chapter 2: Under the Sun

Tony's POV

The playboy grumbled obscurities under his breath; this was a stupid idea! What was Fury thinking? The man could watch them prance into a minefield and brush it off as a minor setback, if anything.

"You know," Nat said from the couch, "if you were more positive about things, it would be easier to consider this as fortunate."

Clint looked at her with a disgruntled expression. "No offense, Nat, but we just saved the world a few months ago, and now we have to deal with assassins. Not something that I would consider 'fortunate,' in all honesty."

She shrugged. "Well, at least we know who we're looking for. We also got a lot of important factors that could lead to the discovery of these assassins from their remains, so we have it a little better than it could be."

Tony poured himself a glass of whiskey and took a sip, the burning sensation temporarily washing away his worries-that is, until he got a hangover from drinking four so far. "Mmm . . . I don't like the sound of this in general, though. Don't you find it weird that this 'person' handed our asses to us? They probably have little to no experience, too."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Tony, stop trying to forget the fact that they kicked your ass by something other than pure luck. That person obviously had a lot of experience to be able to fight us like that."

Nat nodded in agreement. "Yes, the way he held his weapon, and how he kept his stance and didn't talk? That definitely shows that they had been well trained before our confrontation."

"And, they appeared to be very young," Thor interjected, shoveling a handful of popcorn into his mouth as he watched the news on one of the TVs.

"What do you mean?" Steve asked.

"Didn't you notice how short they were compared to us? That, and they seemed to be a bit stubborn, similar to a common teenager-"

"Okay, okay, but I have something I need to ask!" Tony interrupted, putting the shot glass on the table so that he could raise his hands up. "We need to come up with a name for this person; calling them 'they,' and 'him,' is starting to really get on my nerves."

"How about Agadhi?" Thor asked, his question returned with judgemental stares. "What? It means mysterious or secretive."

"Eh, just doesn't really have a ring to it," Nat said. "How about Raziel? Raziel is the Angel of Secrets; we don't know who the person is, afterall."

"Are you sure? What if they-er, the person isn't on our side?" Steve asked.

"We'll find that out when we find out their real name," she deadpanned, raising a well-sculpted eyebrow.

"Raziel it is!"

Link's POV

"Raziel?"

Farore smiled in an amused way at him, her green eyes glittering with humor. "Yes; that is what they have decided to call you-for now, that is."

"Why?"

"On earth, there are many different religions and races, similar to our world. One of these religions is known as Christianity, and there are angels in Christianity. One of these angels is known as Raziel, and Raziel is the Angel of Secrecy."

"So, they named me after Raziel because they have no idea of who I am?"

She nodded, her long braided hair swaying behind her. "Speaking of them, I have a quest for you that includes them."

Link cocked his head to one side, his cerulean blue eyes shining confusedly. "'Quest'?"

Farore's green aura flickered with electricity, but not out of aggressiveness. "Indeed, Link. I'm sure that you are already aware of the fact that they are also after the Yiga?"

He nodded.

"These people . . . they are heroes of earth, as I have already told you. They are searching for you and the Yiga, and they are still trying to figure out what they want to do with you once they do manage to speak with you. Speaking of which," she explained, placing her hand on a tree, "I find that it would be helpful to ally with them."

"Your Grace . . . ?" he asked in disbelief, not understanding fully.

She looked back at him, her green eyes solemn and serious. "I have spoken with the other goddesses, and ever Nayru agreed that this is the best course of action. In all honesty, I'm just as confused as you, but I do not find it to be a good idea to argue with the Goddess of Wisdom."

Link chuckled. "It wouldn't, would it?"

The Goddess of Courage shook her head, jewelry twinkling as she did so. "No. However, I'm leaving it up to you to actually agree to these terms. These people have injured you, but they care for their people and wish for nothing but peace and prosperity, just like any good ruler. Please consider this in your decision."

"Although they have done this to me, I have not nursed a grudge against them, Your Grace. I know that joining them will benefit both of us; I agree to these terms," he said confidently, looking up at her.

Farore's smile beamed, her aura doing the same. "Thank you, Link. But, heed my warning; the path ahead of you is painful and treacherous. It would do you well to proceed with caution."

The dream began to flicker, much like her aura. In fact, it was becoming more wavy by the second.

She looked up, her smile waverin for a second. When she looked back at him, her smile was more sympathetic than good humored. "Goodbye . . . Hero of Hyrule."

Link sat up quickly, looking around him. As he expected, his house in Hateno Village looked just as quaint and welcoming as usual. He sighed; ever since Hyrule Castle had been repaired, he had turned down Zelda's offer to live in the castle, and preferred his home in the village. Of course, this made getting to Hyrule Castle when he was called up complicated, but neither of them minded. When he needed to go to the Great Plateau, he would take Epona to the closest face of it and then climb up; he had asked Zelda about creating a path of some kind, but she told him that travelers finding the Shrine of Resurrection would not be a good. He agreed, of course, and the only on-foot entrance was a secret that only they knew. They couldn't tell Purah, as she would probably use her big mouth to tell someone else. And Impa . . . well, she couldn't exactly leave the village, due to her age and the Yiga.

Link dragged himself out of bed, looking at his blue tunic. It would take around a day's time to get to the Great Plateau, and he knew that Farore's message meant to get their as fast as possible. It's not like he went there every day; he was only informed to go there every two days, just about. Not that long, really, but still some time for him to take a break and heal.

After pulling his tunic over his head and putting his many belts and straps on, along with his weapons, he dug a bit under his stairs for a bit more supplies. He picked up Epona's saddle and other riding tack, his seemingly small muscles easily cooperating with the heavy equipment. He lugged it outside, walking over to the horse resting in her stable. The chocolate-colored horse in question stamped her hooves eagerly, neighing her greetings.

"Good morning to you, too, Epona," he returned, petting her on the muzzle. She cocked her head to one side, inspecting what he was holding. Epona stomped her feet again, nickering in discomfort. "Yes, I'm going to give you an apple before we go." As he walked off, he heard her neigh in a satisfactory way.

Entering the small house again, he looked through a cabinet and grabbed an apple, taking one for himself and another for Epona. Link returned to her outside, holding the apple up for her to see, holding the other one behind his back. "Now, what do we say?"

Epona stomped and tossed her well trimmed mane, a rumble emitting from her throat as she stared him down.

"What do we say," he asked again, knowing that she would be this impatient.

She huffed, but neighed an apology, along with a polite way to ask for the apple.

"Good job!" Link praised, tossing her the apple. She immediately caught it in her mouth, chewing it up so quickly that he was almost sure that he'd never even given her anything. He placed the other apple on the stable roof, out of her line of vision, and got to putting her horse-tack on. After a bit of adjusting the straps, he looked up at her and patted her on the head. "If only earth had roads for horses."

She gave him a questioning look.

Link smiled at her, shaking it out of his mind. "Nevermind. Now, off to-"

"Zora's Domain."

His ears twitched, looking up and around him for the source of the voice. Of course, he didn't find anything.

"Go to Zora's Domain, Link," the voice gently chimed. "You will find what you need there."

He looked up, Epona obviously hearing it, too. "Why Zora's Domain, Your Grace?" (I didn't think that it was possible to type a sentence of capitalization!)

". . . Danger . . . f . . . nd . . ."

"Your Grace?"

There was nothing but silence.

"-Zora's Domain," he finished, looking back to Epona. "We are departing for Zora's Domain."

Natasha's POV

The assassin glared at Tony. "I doubt that Raziel will take some sort of bait," she said.

"What do you mean? All we're going to do is attack the assassins, and see if it'll draw him out; knocks two birds out with one stone, right?" he retaliated, repositioning the ice pack on his forehead.

"Not really," Clint interjected. "You're just assuming that he'll come to the brawl. We have no way to be sure that Raziel is going to show up every time this happens."

"Okay, number one-" Tony began, "-he has showed up for at least two attacks. And number two, I'm sure that he'll come to a place where they meet up."

"But, what are we going to do?"

Nat looked at Steve. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Fury told us to not take him for an interrogation if we need to establish some kind of trust, so raising attention through an attack to draw him in would seem to be breaking that rule," he said, staring outside through one of the large windows.

"And you, Thor; do you have any ideas?" Natasha asked, looking at the unusually quiet god.

"Hmm? Ah, yes; I have a few of my own plans. These assassins . . . they seem to be ignorant of something . . . I'm yet to wrap my mind around it, though."

"What do you mean."

He stood up, pouring himself some coffee. "It's just . . . they don't know what their looking for; that's what I feel, anyway."

"So, you mean that you think that they're looking for something that they know little about?" Clint asked. "That would make sense; they were meeting with Hydra in one of the most deserted parts of the city. If they were looking for something that someone might have, why would they look for this 'relic' in a place where they can't scout for civilians?"

"Yeah, that's one of the parts that doesn't add up," Steve agreed, resting his chin in his hand. "Raziel may or may not know about this too. What have we gotten on him, Banner?"

Banner, who was sitting with a S.H.I.E.L.D. tablet in his hands, looked up from whatever he was reading. "Oh, yes! Unfortunately, the blood samples that you got weren't of much use, due to them being mixed with the blood of the victims. However, one of our more dedicated agents was able to get a sample from one of the boxes that you told me he ran into, so we were able to take the samples with the results . . . of nothing."

"Nothing?!" everyone echoed.

He nodded. "Yes; you see, the person-er, Raziel-is not anyone on record. In fact," he began, facing the screen towards them, "these samples show that this person doesn't have a trace of human blood in their system."

Natasha's green eyes ran from left to right over the screen, inspecting the data; he was right. "How has he been out of our line of vision for so long, then?"

"Well, we've searched the information on every-accessible set of archives-from this country and others-but none have any recorded test subjects, trainees, citizens, etc concerning this person. Hell, even their folklore turned up empty . . . Thor, are you alright?"

She looked at the god, who was staring thoughtfully at the ground.

"Oh, I was just considering . . ." he cleared his throat, "I was just consider something that has me a bit-ah, unnerved, one could say. Is there a possibility that this person could be from one of the other Nine Worlds? I just thought that it was a coincidence, that's all . . ."

"No, by all means; amuse us," Clint welcomed, raising his hands in the air.

"Raziel had clothing that looked like garb that someone would clothe themselves in if they are from Asgard, or anywhere near there. And Raziel's weapon . . . that was quite a well crafted broadsword, if I do say so myself. I think that Tyr would kill for one like that, if he could attach it to his arm. He must be taken good care of, if he can afford clothes and weapons like that, along with such fine skills in combat."

"Mm-hm, mm-hm-are we forgetting the point of this conversation?" Tony interrupted, dropping the ice pack on the floor. "Fury has given us two hours to get our shit together, and we're talking about people prancing around with sharp things and bags on their heads! Make! A! Decision!"

Everyone was quiet until Banner gasped. "Oh my God!"

"What's wrong?" Nat asked, peering over his shoulder at the screen.

"We have an update on them. Hydra's database shows that they are planning to try and meet up with them again at 11:30 pm today."

"Where?"

"Long Island Sound. We have about nine hours to plan an intervention. Cap? What do you say we do?" (I always find a way.)

He cleared his throat. "I say that we inform Fury and prepare for a fight. These people have pushed us to this decision; it's time to push back."

Link's POV

"Sidon, please try not to electrocute yourself," Link warned.

The Prince of the Zoras in question was inspecting a shock arrow that had a snapped shaft. "I thought that if one part of the arrow is damaged, the rest of it doesn't work?"

"A snake can still bite you if it's dead," Link deflected, raising a good humored eyebrow.

"Good point, my friend," Sidon agreed, holding the arrow in a different way in order to not hurt himself. "So, are there any other monster appearances? Other than the ones at the domain, I mean."

He nodded. "Yes, though no one has been hurt, so far. A lynel reappearing, though . . . that is rather peculiar."

"Indeed; they are very rare and strong monsters, not to mention intelligent. This one at Polymous Mountain . . . you disposed of it recently, correct?"

"Yes, but there was a blood moon just last night. A few people around these parts have mentioned seeing an increase in the population of monsters; not an alarming amount, but definitely potential threats. This lynel, however . . . well, not all monsters come back at the blood moon if they've been killed a great number of times."

"You and Mipha defeated that lynel over a hundred years ago," he added, his voice cracking at the name of his late-sister. "It should've had its essence completely destroyed long ago."

"Yes, but you and I both know that Ganon still has some power over his subjects."

"Even more so with the Yiga making an effort to resurrect him, yes."

Silence.

"Are there any monsters that need to be dealt with in this area, Sidon?" Link asked, looking up from one of the arrows he was trying to repair.

"Hmm . . . yes, there is this one monster camp that keeps getting under our scales. You see, my hylian friend, these certain lizalfos have decided to 'set up shop' right in the middle of the camp to Zora's Domain. I'm sure that there are more of them, but we Zora tend to use the waterways to get to the domain, so they aren't much of a problem for us. However, any tourists who try to make their way here have trouble getting past them unfazed. No one has gotten severely injured or maimed-save a person who broke their arm-but it is still something that my father and I are concerned about. We would send our soldiers, but we are still trying to get back on our feet after so many people leaving to go see the whole of Hyrule.

"Not only that, but-as you know-we Zora are vulnerable to weapons that involve electricity, and the enemies in this area use that to their advantage. If you would be so kind as to assist us and deal with them, I would be happy to accompany you. If I'm correct, there are at least four or five groups of monsters along the path."

"Of course; it would be my pleasure," Link confirmed, smiling kindly.

Sidon took his right hand in his, shaking it violently. "THANK YOU!" he said, flashing him a toothy smile and thumbs up (YES).

Sidon jabbed the end of his weapon into the rib cage of a lizalfo, ending its life quickly. "Is that the last of them?"

Link looked around, craning his neck to inspect the remnants of the short battle. "Yes, I would think so."

"Good! There is one more left; best for last, as Bazz says."

He nodded, whipping his sword on the rag he usually carried around and then sheathed it. "How much farther?"

The prince looked up at the slowly darkening sky. "About ten minutes, my friend. Are you sure that we should try to fight monsters this late in the day? I've seen how bloodthirsty monsters can get around this time."

Link's eyes looked at the ashes that remained from the lizalfos' old fire; he could tell from the steam beginning to rise off of the grey and black flakes that the area was starting to cool off.

Lizalfos are reptile-like monsters that can't maintain their own body heat, much like lizards, he thought. This would mean that they would be weak at night in the Lanayru region, especially around water.

"No, Lizalfos aren't very strong when it comes to later hours. They usually hunt during the earlier hours of the day, meaning that they are close to famished by the twilight's arrival (literally the prettiest sentence I have ever typed). Attacking them at this time would be the best course of action."

Sidon nodded. "I understand. But just know, you are going to be the one explaining all of this to my father if I get emotionally traumatized."

Link chuckled. "Sure, tell yourself that. So, what are you-"

Water splashed loudly as the Zora prince dived into the river beside them, his red and white head bobbing on the surface (I almost typed 'boobing' XD). "The camp can be accessed by taking the path in that direction," he said, pointing down river. "On the way, you may encounter a few foes, but none of major concern. I'll meet you there; we both know that my natural coloration won't do me any favors in the dark." And with that, he slipped beneath the raging water and gracefully swam to their intended destination.

The hylian-now left alone, looked up at the sky, squinting his eyes from the harshness of the dying sun. "Hmm . . ." he hummed, gazing at the vibrant golden colors of the sky. His hand found his hair, running its fingers through his amber colored locks. Link turned, realizing that he had no time to waste.

Yes, Sidon will definitely get there faster than me.

He pulled his hood over his head, the gentle pitter-patter of rain resounding on the dark fabric as he walked over the grass. "I think that I've been to this specific camp before," he thought aloud. "However, I wasn't exactly as experienced before, so I merely cut through some woods and climbed the rest of the way (I was a coward, okay?). If I remember correctly, these lizalfos used shock arrows to shoot down any intruders, shooting at any puddles near them to create a deadly electrical currents. This will make them rather threatening."

Link quickly nocked an arrow and fired, bringing an end to one of the yellow keese hanging from the roof of a stone cave in front of him. The others pried their eyes open for a few seconds, then brushed it off and sank back into their slumber. He gave them no time to sleep, as he shot them down quickly and walked past quietly, his boots leaving no sound on the ground as he took step after step. He looked behind him. "Why do I feel like I'm being followed?" he thought to himself.

"Show yourself."

Nothing.

Link had quite the sharp instincts, and he could always tell if something was off in the environment. Seeing as that no one was walking out from the beautiful wilderness of the Lanayru lands, he squinted his eyes, searching for any movement in the underbrush surrounding him. The blue and purple bushes around him swayed in the breeze, wilting a bit from the weight of rain drops on their leaves; however, they did not move in a way that showed any intervention.

Link drummed his fingers on his bow out of annoyance; he knew someone was following him, that he was sure about. Whoever was stalking him, though, was hiding from him. He rolled his cerulean blue eyes, concealed beneath his hood; they couldn't have picked a better time, eh?

Alright, I'll play your "game," of sorts. Just don't attack me and we'll get along well. Got it?

He turned the corner, past the small part that exposed him to the river and kept on moving. Once he arrived at his intended location, he turned back around, climbed over part of the raised up land that restrained the path, and wove his way through a few trees before finding a good spot to pick off the lizalfos with arrows.

"Sidon?" Link whispered, making sure that none of the monsters could hear him.

He felt something lie down on the grass next to him, and he could tell by the glowing blue and silver that the Zora Prince had found him. "Yes, I'm here (no homo). Took you long enough, my friend."

Link glared at him through the newfound darkness. "I know, I know. But, boku o mitei; does this look like the face of someone that runs late?"

"I can't see your face. It's dark."

"Your jewelry isn't complying with that statement."

"I can't help it; it's just customary for us Zora to wear garb like this!" he whisper/shouted in amusement.

"That doesn't mean that you couldn't use something dark in your wardrobe."

"Are you saying that we have a problem with our clothing choices?"

"Eh . . . am I really though?"

"Yes."

"Gomen'nasai. Anyway, back to the task at hand," he interrupted, turning towards the lizalfos "innocently" sitting at their posts. "How do you want to attack?"

"Are you suggesting what I think you are?"

"Nani? What do you mean? I'm only asking if you want to attack from down there while I pick them off, or something else?"

"How about this: you target the ones on higher ground, while I wait for you to finish doing that? Then, when only the ones on the ground are left-which, I can see quite a few of them-I run out and dispose of them quickly. I feel that it sounds like a good idea, mind you."

"Hai, I agree; that seems to be a good idea. Quick question, though: Where are you going to wait?"

Sidon's amber eyes-which seemed to glow in the dark-scanned the terrain; they brightened with satisfaction at one point. "You see that small outpost, right there? It's carved out of some sort of stone?" he asked, pointing at what he was talking about.

He squinted his eyes. "Hmmm . . . That one?" he asked, pointing at an area where some smoke was beginning to rise.

"Indeed; 'tis that one. I could go over their, kill the guard, and wait for you to take out the other guards positioned. From that point, I'll run down and deal with the ones on the ground. Sound good?"

Link nodded. "Yes, that would be a good idea."

"Alright, then; you stay here. Once I take out the guard, I'll put out the fire, and that is when you'll attack."

"Hai."

Sidon nodded in return, standing up quietly and trudging quietly through the slick grass to get to the place where he would wait. As this happened, Link nocked an arrow and stared at the lizalfos sitting on various rocks; he was trying to figure out which one to shoot first, and with what kind of arrow. He didn't dare use a shock arrow, as he was afraid of accidentally shooting Sidon, but he settled on using ice arrows; they were the least threatening. He pulled back the bowstring to his cheek, looking out of the corner of his eye to see a fire dying down.

Sidon was sending the signal.

Link wasted no time in impaling his first target with an arrow, its skin freezing before bursting into small shards of ice and purple smoke. Nocking another arrow, he shot the lizalfo that had been sitting across from it, giving him a similar result. He looked in Sidon's direction and took out one of the faintly glowing ice arrows, flicking it in the air to tell him that he could get to the first group on the ground.

The Prince of the Zora quickly complied, drawing his silver rapier and making his way down to the enemy. Link sprinted quickly after him, still on the elevated part of the ground, but ready to shoot down any more lizalfos. Sidon slashed and stabbed violently, the monsters not having a chance of beating him. When he noticed that one of the ones with a bow was aiming at Sidon, it magically sprouted an arrow in its chest.

The small hylian climbed down to the path where Sidon was, nodding at him. "There are more of them up ahead. If I saw them correctly, it seems that they're gathered around something."

"Could it be a fire?" Sidon asked, wiping his brow of any sweat that had developed upon it.

"No, I don't see any light, other than the small luminous stone checkpoints. Perhaps some sort of prey?"

He shook his head. "That wouldn't be possible . . . lizalfos don't hunt at night. They don't because they fear getting lost."

Link's eyes widened at his explanation. "Then, could it be . . . a person?"

Sidon's expression mirrored his. "Oh my gods . . . We must help them!" he exclaimed, running towards them.

He followed in suit, putting up his bow quickly and drawing the Master Sword. The tall Zora in front of him jumped into the fray, cutting off the surprised squeals of the overgrown lizards with well placed blows. Link followed his example, gracefully slashing at the enemy and trying to get to what they were crowding around.

"Sidon, could you cover my back while I try to get through?" he asked, kicking one of the lizalfos in its scaly stomach.

"Y-Yeah, I think I can do that, my friend," he assured him, pushing a few of the green fiends away from him.

"Okay, then. On the count of three: one, two . . ." he began to count, readying himself to bolt through them. "THREE!"

Link tore through their numbers, swinging the Master Sword when any of them tried to get in his way. He could hear Sidon behind him, hacking expertly at them to keep him from any of their attacks. When he was just about to reach the person in trouble, a particularly large lizalfo jumped in front of him, croaking threateningly.

"Move," Link said coldly. The creature opened its mouth, preparing to attack him. "I warned you."

The hero jabbed the Master Sword in between two of its ribs, causing the foul being to explode in a flurry of black and purple smoke.

He charged through the smoke and turned back to look at Sidon, who had a small cut on his arm from all of the fighting. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he replied, kicking one of the other lizalfos like it owed him rupees (b**** slap!). "I'll definitely have to nurse this cut later, though."

Link turned back, noticing that they had been crowded around what seemed to be a thin trail that was surrounded by raised up ground, much like a few of the paths to Zora's Domain. "Come on, Sidon," he said, walking through without looking back.

Another squeal of a monster and the steps of finned feet on the ground assured him that he was following him. To prove that, the prince took his place walking right next to him. "Do you think that the person being attacked ran here?"

"Yes, that would make sense."

He hummed. "Do you think that they are injured . . . oh, gods!"

Link looked ahead of them and saw what had frightened him. Along the rest of the trail, something red and slightly washed off by the rain soaked into the pale soil. Knowing what would come next, he braced himself for the metallic scent that hit him in the face a few seconds later. He craned his neck to see further ahead, but the rain blurred the area around him too much for him to be able to see anything.

"Stay here," he told Sidon.

"But, what if they need help?" he protested.

"I don't doubt you, my friend, but I'm well experienced as a healer. I'm not trying to say that you can't be of any use, but you are kind of . . . intimidating."

He nodded, putting a thoughtful hand on his chin as he considered this. "Yes, I suppose that I am a bit frightening to a person who has never seen a Zora before; especially an injured person."

Link smiled at his understanding and then pasted on a blank face to keep from possibly scaring the injured person not too far away. Walking down the path, he noticed that a few trees had blood on them, probably from the person putting their hand against the bark before continuing to run away. He turned to the left, looking around to see if the person was around the corner. They weren't, but the hylian was sure that he heard something approaching him from behind.

"Hello?" he asked, turning around, only to dodge a knife that came his way. His head snapped in the direction of which it had came, seeing the dark silhouette of someone standing under a large pine. He spared a glance at the knife lying on the ground; the hilt was bloody. "Come out; I can see you. I don't wish you harm," he coaxed softly.

The person stumbled out of the darkness and into the moonlight; he was definitely the source of the blood. Before Link had the chance to say anything more, their knees buckled, and he rushed to catch them in time. Noticing how the man (it was a man; his shoulders were quite broad and he was lacking the wide hips of a female) went limp, Link gently placed two fingers on the stranger's neck. When he couldn't find a pulse, he tried his best to lift the man's head so that he could feel for his heart beat. As he saw the man's face, he nearly jumped away.

It was him.

It was one of those men who had attacked him the other day. Which one was it, again? It wasn't the female or the blonde haired man . . . and it wasn't the archer, and he highly doubted that it was the man who had been in the suit of armor . . . so that meant . . .

"The . . . Shield Thrower . . . ?" he wondered aloud, finally finding a pulse. Looking around him to see if there was anyone else, Link picked the man up with little difficulty to carry him bridal style. The result he got in return was one that he expected: the man screamed in agony, grabbing the collar of Link's tunic so tightly that the hylian was thankful that he didn't have a higher collar, or he would've been strangled. The man's eyes opened, nothing but misery and fear in their slate blue on a pinkish canvas (his eyes were bloodshot). Just as quickly as he had reacted, the man went limp again, but he was still weakly clinging to him.

Repositioning him in his arms, he kept on walking to where he had "left" Sidon. When he did arrive, Sidon began to say something and then noticed what was laying in his now-bloodied arms.

"Oh no . . . How bad are his injuries?"

Link craned his neck to see a bit more of what had already been witnessed by him. "Major, that's for sure. From what I can deduce, these are both the normal blows of common monsters," he paused, "and the Yiga. He must've been fighting for his life when we confronted them."

His eyes showed deep concern and sympathy. "Did you notice . . . ?"

"His ears?" Link finished, a bit of amusement lacing his voice. "Yes, I am aware that he is a human. But, that doesn't change anything; we need to get him to the Rutela Dam (Percy Jackson jokes) infirmary immediately, before he bleeds out."

Link's cerulean blue eyes stared at the sleeping form of the human sleeping in front of him. His injuries had been grievous, yes, but he and Sidon were able to heal him as best as they could. Right now, the man was resting in the comfortable bed in front of the body of water that Vah Ruta had once inhabited. He found the name of the dam securing the water ironic; the name of a Zora queen who had given her life for her people this dam was named after. She was still cradling her people and Hyrule, even thousands of years after her tragic death. It was so funny that a man from another land was being nursed back to health in the place that kept Hyrule from flooding.

Shaking those thoughts from his mind, he returned to listening to the man's breathing and watching him to make sure that he didn't show any signs of death. The man had lost a lot of blood, resulting in him needing a great amount of rest and shallow and ragged breathing. He had a surprising lack of wounds on his legs, but his ankle did look a bit beat up; not a break or a sprain, though.

Link stood up and walked over to one of the trays sitting on the wrap-around table made of luminous stone and glass, reading the labels on the surface of each of them.

"You're nervous, aren't you?" a voice asked from behind him.

He turned around to see Sidon walking over with a satchel in both of his arms. "Only a little, yes," he confirmed, watching him place the bag on one of the cleared parts of the table. "What's the bag for, if I may ask?"

The Zora prince chuckled, muttering something under his breath. "This is for the man-if he wakes up, that is. It has an extra pair of clothes, food, and supplies in it," he said, resting his chin on his fist. ". . . He is not from here, is he?"

Link stiffened. "Well, he is human. I do not think that he would be from Hyrule; humans left our land long ago."

"Hmm. . ." he hummed. "I guess so . . . how long do you think he'll be like this?"

"Probably another day, or two," he guessed, shrugging. "A handful of hours, at the least."

"What do you plan on doing when he awakens?"

"I'll find a way to bring him home. That is really all that I can do, in this situation."

Sidon nodded. "I understand. Would you like any assistance with such?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Sidon, but you are needed at Zora's Domain. Your training to be one of the Champions cannot be paused by something like this."

". . . Alright. But if you need any help," he gestured towards the domain, softly glowing in the distance, "you know where to find me, okay?"

"Okay."

The prince yawned, covering his fang-filled mouth with a clawed red and white hand. "Well, I think I'm going to get to bed. See you tomorrow morning, Link," he said, bidding him farewell and jogging back to the domain.

Link sighed and slumped back into his chair, placing his head in the palm of one of his hands; this was going to be a sleepless night, that was for sure.

Clint's POV

Barton tapped his fingers on the steering wheel of the van, waiting for Tony to give the signal. They were waiting for Hydra to appear to meet the assassins, and they were bound to show up any minute now. He remembered all of them cramming into the large van, Steve trying to get Thor to calm down so that it didn't rock side to side and give away their position. Tony was currently outside, waiting for them to arrive so that he could show them a sign that they could attack.

"How much longer?" Thor asked, bouncing his knee.

"It's 11:35; they should be here in a little while," Natasha assured him, peering through the windshield.

"What if they don't show?"

"They'll come," Steve said, twiddling his thumbs in his lap.

"How do you know that?"

Clint sighed. "We hacked into Hydra's system; their files showed that they arranged a meeting for tonight, right here."

The god proceeded to mutter things in Norwegian under his breath, some of these statements insulting certain parts of a snake's anatomy; he decided to leave that alone.

"Do you think that Raziel will come, too?" Natasha asked, her hair red twitching as she looked at him.

Steve shrugged in the back of the van. "To be honest, I don't know. He probably won't, considering the injuries we gave him a few days ago (HAHAHA)."

She nodded satisfied by this explanation. "Maybe, maybe."

Thor perked up suddenly, standing up as best he could in the van. "Do you all hear that?"

Everyone was silent for a few seconds, listening for anything outside the van. "No . . . ?" Clint said, answering for Nat and Steve.

A flash out of the corner of his eye forced him to look in Tony's direction, noticing that he was sending the signal in a way that seemed desperate. "Gu-"

Something slammed into the van, putting a good sized dent in the side. "It's an ambush!" Steve shouted, all of the pouring out of the van to avoid another strike to the vehicle.

Clint whirled around to the direction of the attackers, an upside down red eye sitting right in front of his face. Drawing an arrow quickly, he lunged for the assassin in front of him-eager to stab them-but missed greatly when they jumped a few yards away from him, drawing a weapon of their own.

Something metallic landed beside him. ". . . Got j-jumped," Tony breathed, leaning against him. The archer turned to see that parts of his armor were dented and damaged, some patches spurting blood. One of these places happened to be his head.

"Hold on," Clint told him, picking him up under his arms and dragging him away from the others-who had already engaged in their own fights-and sat him down at the foot of a tree.

"Th-thanks," Tony said, curling up. "You know . . . I think I-I'll just-"

He went limp.

Seeing this, he nocked an arrow and shot one of the assassins beginning to approach him. "STEVE!" he shouted. The soldier turned in his direction, but not before jabbing one of them in the face. "Tony's down-" Clint shot down another enemy "-so you'll need to call Fury! Tell him to send reinforcements!"

Cap nodded, tossing his shield at an assassin, and hid behind a tree to tell Fury about their current predicament.

Clint nocked another arrow, shooting an opponent that was starting to come up behind Nat. Thor was swinging and tossing his hammer at anyone unfortunate enough to challenge him, smashing them into a bloody pulp. Tony . . . well, he was unconscious and vulnerable at the moment.

When the assassin realized that he was out of arrows, he held his bow in an awkward way, hitting the other assassins over the head with it. A person who knew little about archery wouldn't probably think that being hit over the head with a bow was painful, but that was wrong. Bows were made to take the strain of shooting an arrow, meaning that they were not the type of weapon that could break easily. So, being attacked by just a bow was a very painful experience.

The assassins soon noticed that attacking him would bear little to no fruit, so they instead chose to attack the other three Avengers at the scene. A pained cry interrupted Clint when he slammed the bow into the side of one of their enemies. His head snapped to attention, looking for the source of such. Thor was still slaughtering them, and Natasha was currently slicing some of them to ribbons with her knives. So, that only left . . .

"Cap?!" he shouted, hoping that he was wrong.

He was right.

Rogers was curled up at the foot of a tree, trying his best to hide under his shield and away from their assailants as blood seeped through his suit and into the ground. Dozens of cuts marred his arms and torso. The assassins gathered around him, pink and black embers emitting off of their bodies as they began to glow with a bright red aura; Clint screamed, a shrill ring filling his ears. He curled up into a ball, covering his ears and crying out in misery, trying to block out the awful noise as his eyes closed tighter and tighter.

And then, there was silence. He didn't know how to describe it; the closest thing he could come up with was that it was similar to the satisfaction of hearing your alarm clock turning off. Clint looked up, seeing that Nat and Thor were in stances that almost perfectly mirrored his own. The assassins seemed to have disappeared in midair. But the part that made the blood drain from his face was this:

Steve was gone.

Unknown POV

The warrior chuckled under his breath, ducking under a few stray branches as he made his way through the small forest. When he came upon the small clearing that he called his destination, he leaned down in front of a small, black, and blood-stained knife sitting abandoned on the wet ground.

Picking it up with two of his gloved fingers, he smiled wickedly, looking up at the moon in the navy blue sky. "Heh. Is this what you desire, Master?" he asked the sky, holding up the knife as though it were a prize. His lips parted to reveal his sharp mouth of canines, rumbling in a bitter and malicious laugh that would hurt the ears of any hylian that sensed it.

One hylian, a beautiful and elegant one, twitched in her bed-beyond the man's eyes-as she felt her sensitive pointed ears tingle painfully from the wretched noise. Her green eyes fluttered open, tears spilling onto her nightgown as she looked at the same moon from her bedroom.

"This has only just begun," she whispered, putting a hand on her chest. "Yes, this war has only just been born."

End of 2nd Chapter

I'm sorry for the wait, guys, but I've been struggling with my (demon of a) math teacher, so I've been super tired lately. As I said at the end of the first chapter, I may have been lazy and half awake at some points of me writing this, so please excuse any of my writing errors. Have a nice day (or night), and please don't ask me to date you. Sayonara.