A/N: Here we go again. The anticipated Chapter 3. I hope the cheap cliffhanger grabbed you all enough to keep you interested in what I have planned.
Review responses:
Oracle of Hylia: I'm glad you could find your way here. I plan to make these first few chapters a bit faster than the original. I will try to keep the pacing consistent though. To answer all of your questions though; let's just say that all of those situations are complicated. All will be answered soon though.
I hope you all enjoy!
"Last chance old man," the masked man said. "You hand over your project, or you will lose your life."
Link once again felt himself in a nightmare-scape which he couldn't escape from. It was a dark night. Pale light showed on two figures who stood opposite of each other. On one side of him stood an old man that held a pistol to the other party's head. The other party wore a dark mask in the shape of a boar and fiery orange hair spilled from the back of his head. Link struggled to get in between the fight and protect the old man, but was powerless to do anything against the assailant.
The boar-faced man held a staff that looked like three serpents intertwining to hold a ruby ball in their mouths.
"I would sooner die than give you access to it," the old man spat.
Link heard a loud shot ring out and time almost seemed to slow as the bullet sailed straight towards the boar-man's face. The ruby ball flashed and within an instant the bullet had changed directions towards the old man.
"Ezlo!" A new voice sounded. A whirlwind appeared in front of Ezlo, but the bullet trailed through it and embedded itself into the vital organ close to his left shoulder. A medical professional wasn't needed to assume the wound was fatal. A dark crimson liquid spilled onto the old man's white shirt. In the pale moonlight the blood looked black. Ezlo crumpled to the ground, but was caught by a figure that seemed to materialize out of shadowy wisps.
The figure wore a black hooded cloak, the hems of which were shaded a deep violet color. He cradled Ezlo's form in arms covered in black and hands covered in fingerless gloves, the back of which had a crimson eye with golden irises.
Red eyes pierced the night as they stared down at the shocked open eyes below. The cloaked figure's intense gaze shifted towards the boar-man.
"Haven't you taken enough from me already, Yuga?" He spat with a venom that Link had only heard from one other person.
The boar-man, Yuga, laughed. "Oh Vaati," he said smoothly. "When will you learn that father always wins in the end? Your betrayal wasn't forgotten, and soon you will beg for what you once had."
The figure that Link now recognized as Vaati barked a short and spiteful laugh. "When will I learn?" He repeated. "I have lived through the millenia, Yuga. I have seen the Demon King bested by the Blade of Evil's Bane. I have learned better than you or Bellum could ever hope to."
"Open your eyes, Link," a soft voice echoed from within the nightmare scape.
"Still living that delusional fantasy, I see. Well then O Immortal Wind God, show me what your millenia of farcical combat have taught you."
Vaati threw off his cloak to reveal a set of polished battle armor. The chestpiece resembled that of the vigilantes, but held a purple color scheme accented by gold and black. His forearms were covered in gauntlets that held the same patterns, but his biceps were bare. A red fabric with golden hems covered his waist and stopped at the back of his knees, but didn't cover the front of his calves, which instead showed a sturdy yet flexible material that was adorned with the same coloration as his chest and arms. He wore black knee high boots which also were similarly designed. On his head rested a thin golden crown that was adorned with a ruby gem.
"Link. Wake up Link," the voice came again.
Vaati unsheathed a golden hilted blade that gave off a pale glow in the gleaming moonlight.
"You still carry your outdated relic then," Yuga taunted. "How quaint."
"I carry the blade forged by my people in order to stop my own tyranny. I carry the blade of a hero forgotten by the sands of time," Vaati retorted.
"Then your blade reflects you," Yuga lauged. "A waste of power from a meaningless time."
Vaati said nothing and stood in a ready position. He stood and waited for Yuga to make the first mood; the latter of which laughed and pointed the ball of his staff at his opponent. It must have been an optical illusion, but it seemed to Link that there were two of Vaati.
Link heard a faint voice that called his name as Vaati ran towards Yuga. The voice got louder with each step Vaati progressed towards Yuga until it was almost a shout. Link felt his head pounding again and the throbbing seemed it wouldn't stop until-
"Link!"
Link's sapphire eyes fluttered open to that of a white hospital room. With blurry vision he looked to his left to find a blonde woman wearing what appeared to be costly apparel. He blinked a few times in order to clear his vision. When he had accomplished this, he found that he was face to face with the crown princess Hyrule.
His eyes widened and he moved to get into a position to bow, but was stopped when the flames of pain seared his body. He gritted his teeth and shut his eyes again. When he opened them a moment later he found that the princess held up a hand for him to still his movements.
"Do not feel the need to address me due to my status. Your sacrifice for this land has certainly disputed any need for any sort of formalities in the face of royalty," the princess soothed. She wore a blue and white dress with long white gloves. Her hair mostly lay at her back, but she wore two long braids in the front. Her radiance was breathtaking. Link struggled to choke out some sort of intelligible speech, but was again stopped by Zelda.
"It is good to finally see you again, Captain Faron," She stated with a warm smile.
Link's face turned warm. It wasn't often he was addressed by his military title. "What brings you here of all places, princess?"
Zelda held her smile, "I came to ensure your safety. All of Hyrule would loathe to mourn your passing, myself included," she said. "And I am here to inform you that I will be covering your medical expenses of this trip."
Link opened his mouth to protest, but he was again stopped when Zelda raised her hand.
"You have refused every other form of compensation for your efforts in the war. I will not hear any more of your protests, Captain."
Link was appalled by the Princess's knowledge of his past actions. He huffed a defeated sigh and smirked to himself, "Am I to even get a word in?" He teased.
Zelda chuckled slightly at his joke, "It was good to see you again Link, but I am afraid I must leave you now."
Link gave her a concerned look, "Is everything alright, your majesty?" He inquired.
Zelda looked out the window that let in most of the light into the room. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes as grabbed one of her arms with the other. "I'm afraid mother's passing left quite a bit of chaos in its wake. The prime minister, Ghirahim Diamonds, is working to dispute my claim to the throne. He believes that because my brother Rhoam disappeared, and he was the rightful heir, that the Prime Minister's office should assume the role of leadership."
"Ghirahim Diamonds is an… eccentric man to say the least," Link commented. He grimaced slightly at the thought of the man ruling the country. "I don't think that would be a good idea."
Zelda smiled slightly at his words. "I agree, which is why I must leave you so soon," she said. She moved towards the door and put her hand on it before she turned back to him. "It was good seeing you again, Link.
Link smiled at her, "I agree. I hope you have a good day, majesty."
Zelda returned the gesture and left Link alone in the room to think on the two strange visions he had recently seen. Eventually he grew tired and wrote them off as nothing more than his imagination playing tricks on him.
It was late evening before Link's family had to come to visit him. Aryll was the first to enter the room with a bubbly laughter and jumped up onto Link's hospital bed to crush him in a hug.
Link grimaced in pain as his niece performed the action, but did his best not to show any sign of discomfort for the action. He tried to hug her back despite the large sling around his left arm to little success.
"See momma? I told you uncle Link would be alright!" Aryll exclaimed excitedly. "He's big and strong like Cawin will be someday!"
Hilda entered the room with a somber looking Colin in tow. She smiled at her daughter sternly, "What did we say about jumping on Link."
Aryll wore a guilty frown, "We said that it would not be very nice." The small girl immediately got down from the bed but stayed right at the bedside. She looked up at Link with big eyes, "Daddy said that you saved us from the car accident all by yourself!"
Link looked at his niece quizzically and then up to Hilda, "I did what?"
Colin spoke for the first time, "You got in between us and the explosion," he said spitefully. "You could've died."
Link looked out the window of his hospital room and thought on the matter. He had gone out of the school. He found Colin and Ravio fighting in the parking lot. Then he-
'Oh goddesses,' He thought. "Was anybody hurt?" His eyes were panicked and his heart sank at the thought of anybody else being in the same situation he was in. "Did the kids make it out safe?"
Hilda rolled her eyes, "They were fine, o hero," she teased. "The authorities weren't thrilled when they found out that it was your body on the ground, but the medical staff was more than willing to admit you in record time."
Link breathed out in relief. "That's good," he said. He turned to Colin with a smile on his face, "So did you make the team?"
Colin didn't answer his brother, and looked out the window to avoid Link's gaze.
"Bo seemed to think you had a lot of potential," Link remarked kindly. "I can help you tighten up your form once I'm out of here."
Colin looked at him with massive glare. He didn't say anything at first, but then finally opened his mouth to speak. "Will you stop pretending like everything is ok, Link?"
"Colin," Hilda said sternly. It sounded like a warning to Link.
Colin glared at her, "No, you don't get to defend him," Colin spat. "He does this all the time. It's all because he has to satisfy his need to be some sort of hero. The validation makes him feel good. He could have gone into any career, but he chooses law enforcement because of this stupid need of his to redeem himself after mom and dad died!"
"That's enough!" Hilda said coldly.
Aryll shrunk down close to Link and Link put his arm around her. Link looked at his brother; he was obviously annoyed. "You know what Colin? It's better than hating the world. They're gone, Colin, and hating everything isn't going to bring them back. At least I'm doing what they wanted me to do," he shot back with a level voice.
Colin laughed at the statement, "You don't really get to make that claim. Ravio hasn't slept in the three days you've been unconscious. So don't go parading around on your high horse while the rest of us feel like shit because you almost died saving us."
Link froze at the revelation. He didn't say anything because he didn't know what to say.
"Princess didn't tell you about that, did she?" Colin remarked, he felt a twisted sense of pride after the comment.
"How did you-" Link started, but he was cut off by Hilda.
"You are going to wait in the car until we are finished visiting Link," Hilda said with a voice only a mother could have. "Any disputes will remove you from the spot on the team which you hold so dear."
Collin scoffed and muttered something unintelligible as he walked out of the room. Hilda turnered to her brother-in-law and sighed. "I am sorry about that. He is going through a bit of the phase right now."
Link nodded, "Yeah I know. I went through one with Ravio a while back," Link responded. "Is it true what he said about Ravio?"
Sat down in a chair next to the bed and crossed one leg over the other. "You know how he gets when he worries. I wouldn't blame yourself. He does do it to himself after all. He is relentlessly stubborn despite anything I do."
"I think I should ask how extensive the damage is," Link said. He gestured to his arm in the sling.
Hilda nodded. "The doctors say that you were lucky to come out as unscathed as you did. Normally you would have come close to the brink of death, but you managed to escape with just a hairline fracture on your left radius."
Link thought for a moment, "Honestly, it feels a lot worse. My head is throbbing and I thought I had broken at least one of my ribs.
They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment before a new thought that had been on Link's mind came to the forefront.
Link nodded. He looked around the room. "How did he know about the princess?"
Hilda allowed a small smile to creep onto her face, "My dear cousin has been visiting you ever since you got here. I think you've managed to capture the eye of the future queen," Hilda teased.
Link rolled his eyes and his cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink. "Shut up."
"Momma! Uncle Link said a bad word!" Aryll tattled. She glared up at her uncle.
"I'm allowed to say it," Link teased. "I'm a grown up."
Aryll pouted and glared up at her uncle, "It's still a bad word."
Link laughed and ruffled Aryll's hair with his right hand.
*SMASH*
A burly man holding a baseball bat pulled his offending weapon away from the shattered store front of a jewelry store. A scrawny man behind him pulled a small pistol out of his pocket when the store's security system began to blare.
"Get as much as you can and get back to the van!" The scrawny man ordered.
Two other men, one armed with a machine gun and the other with a knife, passed the scrawny man with loot bags and began smashing cases to take the valuable gems that were locked inside. In the distance police sirens began to let out their wail.
The scrawny man laughed, "They won't get here in time to save it."
"Dragmire isn't paying you to stand around and gab," a man said from behind the scrawny man. He wore a bore mask. "Get to work Wizzro."
The scrawny man looked at the boar-man with an annoyed expression, "But of course, Master Yuga." The scrawny man began to scavenge with his cohorts for the desired gems.
"The deal has changed gentlemen," Yuga said. "You keep all of the other gems, but the ruby still goes to Dragmire."
The sentence had the desired effect. The men began to ravage the store much faster. If all went to plan, Yuga would have his gem and his cronies would be in handcuffs within five minutes. He pulled a timer out of his pocket and set it for five minutes. He placed it back in his pocket.
From the shadows of the room a figure dressed in a full black robe emerged from the shadows. He wore a grey belt which was clasped with a green rupee looking gem and a long black and blue striped scarf. He had a hood on his head, and underneath he wore a mask that could only appear as a rabbit's face. The teeth of the mask stopped at the man's mouth. In his hand he held a red gem that was uncased in a golden metal.
"Looking for this, Yuga?" He taunted. He placed the stone in his pocket. "I think I should at least get a cut of the profit."
The boar-man turned to the new figure, "Well if it isn't Hyrule's little shadow. You should hand the ruby over like a good little lap dog. It will be just like old times."
Shadow laughed, "Sorry, I already payed a lot to remove the tattoo. I'm not that eager to get it back either. Thanks for the offer though. I'll have to get going now." He began to toss it up in the air and then he caught it.
"Dragmire will double every rupee for whomever gets that gem from his cold, dead hands," Yuga said in a prideful tone. "I'd like to see what my favorite student learned under my tutelage."
The burly man was the first to charge at Shadow. Shadow simply jumped into the air and stepped onto the man's head to get over him. The burly man was sent sprawling to the ground. The man with the knife was next. He slashed at Shadow, who caught his arm and twisted it behind his back. Shadow proceeded to grab the knife from the man's hand and stab it into his good arm. The man crumbled as Shadow took it out and held it. The burly man got back on his feet and grabbed his baseball bat. He managed to slam it into Shadow's head, who went tumbling forward. With blurred vision, Shadow slashed at the burly man's legs and sent him onto the ground.
Shadow took cover before the other goon lit the store up with a round of bullets. He found himself pinned behind a shattered display case. He saw a mirror in the top corner of the ceiling and began to move around the case in the opposite direction of the man when he came closer. The man let loose another round of shots, which Shadow hid from with ease. He made his way to the sales desk and searched for anything he could use for a distraction. He picked up the stapler and then looked around in the dark for anything he could use it on. He found a storefront window that wasn't shattered and threw the stapler at it. The man was distracted by the falling glass and Shadow took the opportunity to throw the knife into the man's back.
The man let out another round of shots by accident. One of the bullets ricocheted off of a wall and grazed Shadow's shoulder. "Damn it!" He swore quietly as he grabbed the wound with his good hand.
Yuga continued to watch the scenario play out as Wizzro located Shadow and pointed the gun at Shadow's head. "End of the line, vigilante," he said proudly.
Shadow said nothing. He reached his bare hand out towards Wizzro and his hand became a group of small, black shards. The rest of his body also gained a black color as he turned into hundreds of tiny dark shards. In a flash the shards began to move forward and left tiny cuts on Wizzro as he passed by. Dark wisps began to spew from the open wounds as Shadow regained his original form. Wizzro went down and Shadow took shape behind his crumpled form. Wizzro began to convulse on the floor and had a broken look in his eyes. He felt cold.
"In interesting take on the shadow magic we taught you to be sure," Yuga commented. "But still nowhere near as powerful as the original seven sages." The timer in Yuga's pocket went off and he took it out to turn it off. "Ah well, it seems our time here is up, Ravio." Yuga's staff flashed and a red aura surrounded Shadow. The gem emerged from his pocket and went straight into Yuga's open hand. "Thank you for the first spiritual stone. It was difficult to locate. Oh, and give my regards to your poor brother. I'll make sure Kohga is punished for missing the poor boy."
Shadow was flung out into the street as the police vehicles entered the scene. For a moment he laid there in defeat, "Well shit," he muttered.
"Put your hands where I can see them!" One of the officers ordered as he exited the squad car. He had a pistol aimed at Shadow. "You are under arrest for the murder of Ezlo Piccori!"
Shadow did indeed put his hands next to his head, but began to disappear into black shards again which flew up into the night sky. He left only baffled officers and criminals in his wake.
On the floor of a bunker, Shadow began to materialize. A figure approached Shadow. He looked warily over with blurred vision after he tore off his mask.
"Looks like you've had quite the night, Rav." He said. It was Phoenix.
"Yeah, no shit Gulley," Ravio replied as he pulled off his hood. He grabbed his shoulder in pain. "Is the meeting over? I would gladly use some stitching."
"Vaati tried to keep it going and plan some sort of contingency for when the police began to investigate into us, but you can assume how well that went over," Gulley replied.
"If memory is anything to go off of, you fell asleep. Rutala, Vaati, and Saria fought the entire time, and Daphnes couldn't show up," Ravio replied with a face contorted in pain. He used his hand to pull off his scarf. "Meanwhile, Yuga kicks my ass and steals the Goron Ruby."
Gulley cocked an eyebrow, "And you didn't call for backup because..?" He asked.
Ravio ran a hand through his hair, "I didn't have the time or resources. If I hadn't engaged in the fight, I would have been fine," he admitted. He began to take off his robe and revealed a black breastplate on his torso with the royal insignia on the back of it. He wore black pants that hugged his legs. On his hip rested a pistol and a knife was strapped to his right thigh.
"You didn't even use your weapons, did you?" Gulley asked with a smirk on his face.
"They provided them for me," Ravio replied with a face full of pain. "Besides, I didn't need to kill them. Yuga will take care of that for me. He loves his sadistic mind games."
The thud of footsteps echoed on the concrete floor as a zora woman approached the two Hylians. She had pale salmon scales and carried herself with a serene elegance. As soon as she saw Ravio's arm she increased her pace until she had reached him. "What in the name of Nayru happened to you?" She asked worriedly.
"I thought that the bullet would slow down for me to move out of the way," Ravio said through gritted teeth.
"I don't believe your sarcasm is going to help you now," Rutala stated in a no-nonsense voice. She kneeled down and put her hand on his shoulder to inspect the wound
Ravio grimaced as he felt her cool fingers on his hot skin. "Just stitch me up, dammit."
Rutala set to work immediately after cleaning the wound to ensure no infection had entered Ravio's system. "Just like Ralis," she muttered to herself sadly. "Always coming back more bloodied than the day before." A small tear escaped her eye. She wiped it away quickly. A comforting hand moved to her shoulder.
"We're gonna find them," Gulley said softly. "They're gonna come home the heroes we all know they are."
Rutala looked at him kindly and shed another tear. "I know." She continued to patch up Ravio's shoulder. "You really should find a way to provide more protection to your sleeves," she stated.
Ravio yawned, "I should do a lot of things, like sleep, but we see how well that goes."
Gulley laughed. "So how close is Dragmire to finding the other two spiritual stones?"
Ravio shrugged, "I have absolutely no clue," he replied. "We should increase our patrol around the castle anyway though. I don't want Ghirahim just stumbling upon Nayru's Sapphire."
"And the third?" Gulley asked curiously.
"That secret stays with me." Ravio replied. "Less messy if Dragmire tries to find it."
"Fair enough. I'm headed out for patrol. Let me know if anything comes up," Gulley said.
"Don't you have class in the morning?" Ravio asked. "When do you have time to do your school work?"
"I have two free periods in the morning, I can sleep then. I'd be more worried about your own sleep schedule."
Ravio nodded. He sat for a moment before looking Gulley straight in the eye, "Make sure Link stays safe tonight. And get some rest!"
"You're one to talk!"
"I have trouble sleeping. That's why I go out all of the time," Ravio shot back.
Gulley chuckled and nodded, "I'll keep him safe. You have my word, Rav."
Ravio sighed in relief. "You stay safe too. Dragmire is on the prowl."
Gulley smiled and his hair went from blonde to an ashen grey. "I promise I will." His hands lit in a fire and he began to lift off the ground. He flew towards the end of the bunker where a large doorway opened and revealed a hidden road. As soon as Gulley had vanished from sight, the doors closed again.
Ravio let out a deep sigh, "That kid needs to get his- OW!" he exclaimed when Rutala threaded another stitch through his skin. "What was that for?"
"I wanted to save you from making a hypocritical remark," Rutala replied with a small smirk.