Chapter 26: Avenged

Link felt pain everywhere. His arm and leg from the impact on the ground, his other leg burning with the pain of being stabbed.

But even with the pain, and the blurriness of his vision, Link could recognize the man the captain had turned into.

He was smaller. A red bodysuit hugged the man's arms and chest, revealing his muscular build.

And his face. Unlike the other Yiga, his guiltless red eyes were in plain sight, his ratty black hair sitting messily on top of the man's head. No mask.

And at the sight of the man, Link felt bitterness and rage creep up inside. He knew the man anywhere.

Zelda gasped as the Yiga grabbed her arm and held the sickle to her throat. "Can't have you killing me quite yet. I have important things to say."

The room was silent, and Zelda held as still as she could. Help me. She prayed. Though it wasn't like it had gotten her anywhere before.

"My fellow Yiga wanted me to give you a message when I revealed myself." The Yiga explained. "Because, of course, that stupid Sheikah recently figured me out. She was just about to come tell you, actually."

"What is it that you want here?" Zelda's father, the king, growled.

"Well, if I told you, all my work would have been for nothing!" The Yiga laughed. "But let's just say that you aren't going to be defeating the calamity this time!

"So this is the message." The Yiga said, pressing the sickle closer to Zelda's throat. Zelda nearly winced at the sting of it cutting into her neck. She held her breath in terror. "Bring the Sheikah slate and the other ancient Sheikah artifacts to the Great Plateau- some bananas would be nice, too- or the death of your princess is guaran-!"

Then something collided with the Yiga, pushing him away. Zelda stumbled forward, gasping for breath.

Zelda whirled around to see her knight standing beside her, Master Sword at the ready in his left hand, wiping blood from his lips with the other.

"Feisty!" The Yiga chuckled, bringing a hand away from his forehead, dripping with blood. "It seems you remember me! How delightful." The Yiga brandished his sickle. "Apparently cowardice doesn't run in the family!"

Link turned to Zelda and the others in the room, keeping one eye on the Yiga. "Get out of here." For being stabbed in the leg, he seemed pretty calm. But Zelda could see something in his eyes that said he was not happy. "This is my fight."

Zelda took a couple steps backward. She turned hesitantly to see her father waiting for her. One of the guards had already left, the other inching away. Liari was standing beside the doorway, frozen.

She looked back at Link. He had begun battling against the Yiga, the two blades clanging with each clash. However, her knight's movements were slower than usual, his skill clumsier. His skin seemed pale, even from a distance.

"Unfortunate, that I failed to kill you before." The Yiga grunted as Link managed to cut his side. "That's the reason I ended up stuck here for ten years. Impersonating that stupid captain that decided to come after me!"

Link did not respond, instead ducking under another swipe from the sickle.

"Interesting." The Yiga mumbled as he leapt over Link's slash with ease. "I thought you'd be more talkative when I'm not beating you senseless. But clearly that is not the case."

"I don't speak to murderers." Link hissed. Zelda glanced at Liari, who was still staring in shock.

"Zelda," Her father said firmly. "Get over here. It is not safe for you in there."

"No need, Your Majesty!" The Yiga laughed as he ducked under the Master Sword. "Despite his bleeding all over the place, this boy is still handling himself quite well! And since he took away my bargaining chip, I'll have to poof out of here anyway."

"I'm afraid," Link mumbled as he disarmed the Yiga. The sickle flew across the room. "You will not be escaping this time."

The Yiga began to engulf himself in cards, but Link pounced on him with speed that he had not had previously. Oh no, you don't!

"Master," Fi said. "It seems that the leather armband is necessary for the Yiga to teleport."

Oh, well, in that case…

Link ripped the armband off violently, then glared at the Yiga.

"Maybe now you'll get the justice you deserve." Link growled menacingly.

Then he knocked out the Yiga with the flat of his sword.

Link turned around and blinked as he saw four people staring at him. The princess, one of the other members of the royal guard, Liari, and… the king?

Link sheathed his sword and attempted to kneel, but his body decided to swerve dizzily instead.

He felt something catch him and looked up. Thank you, Liari.

"Sir Viri," The king addressed the guard. "Take this Yiga to one of our cells. Make sure it's locked tight. Do not let him escape."

Link heard the knight's footsteps, but his vision was unfocused. He could feel his consciousness waning. Now that his adrenaline was fading, he could feel stinging on his arms and, of course, his thigh. Oh, his thigh was burning.

"Get Sir Link to the infirmary." A voice said. Link couldn't tell whose it was anymore. Was it the king's? Oh, he didn't kneel to the king. He was going to get in trouble, wasn't he? At least… I avenged… them…

And everything went black.

My writing was pretty bad last chapter, I'll admit. It was a bit too fast paced, and I could have revealed the Yiga differently. A lot of you commented about that. I was kind of busy the day I wrote it, and I've been busy the past few days, too. If you have suggestions, then feel free! I won't be changing too much right now, but maybe if I'm feeling really motivated I'll go back and rewrite some of these chapters. You know, fix 'em up a bit. And yeah, this chapter is short too. SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE! I'm running out of ideas ;-;

Another reason is that I caught a bit of writer's block. I did lots of reading, and I've been reading the Wings of Fire books. I've also been working on the plot for an original book I plan on writing. I doubt I'll publish it any time soon, but whatever. And I still suck at writing. That's one of the reasons I started doing this- so that YOU guys would CORRECT ME, and give me BETTER IDEAS for WRITING. So, that's your homework. GIVE ME SUGGESTIONS FOR THIS!

Uh... Replies! (Secret phrase is... uh... blue.)

MeaninglessMayhem: Yeah, it was a bit sudden. But it made for a nice twist. I have a black kitten named Jinx! She's a bit crazy. Likes climbing all over me. Zelink. Yes.

The-Fallen-Spirit: I hope it wasn't too sudden. Lots of people commented about that, but oh well. *Gasp* Link didn't like the apples?!

bladeofthebookworms: I really hope it wasn't too sudden! I'm so glad you like it! SO. GLAD. But seriously, I'm so happy you enjoy it!

Just-AWESOME-Old-Me: Hmm, a critical review? ...FINALLY! Seriously, that's one of the MAIN reasons that I published this stuff. So that people would correct me! And people have only pointed out one or two grammar mistakes so far! THANK YOU! Yes, I admit last chapter could have ended better. I'm going to try and explain why the Yiga revealed himself, and see if I can make it make sense. Thank you for pointing it out! It's too late for me to change it, but maybe, if I'm motivated enough, I'll rewrite it. MAYBE. No promises. I'll see if I can make it more consistent! Sorry about not updating consistently in the last few days. I got busy! I have problems with sentence structure and grammar? Yeah, in the first fifteen chapters I forgot to capitalize nationalities and such. Oops. I'm glad you like it! I'm really, REALLY sorry it took me so long to upload!

midnaisbae: I don't really have a specific ship for Link, but for this story it's going to be Zelink, because that is still one of my favorites. ESPECIALLY for BoTW. Yeah, Link seems to have a low self esteem. Maybe I should recommend him to a therapist or something. Well, to be fair, Mr. King over there has to constantly deal with rumors, and pretty much all of them are false.

thedarkesthorcrux: I don't think so. I guess that the "captain" was secretly a Yiga, and his role is actually kind of important, despite him being locked up now. ' . Sorry! How do you like them apples?

SmokeyMirrors: And a Merry All Hallows Day! Sorry I haven't updated. Got really busy. The captain got smacked real good. Poor Link, though. Yeah, I totally could have revealed that better, but I'm trying to explain why in the next chapter. Hmm.. I can't tell you yet. Flesh out Champions and temples and stuff? I'll see what I can do. Backstories are fun. UGH, I can't TELL YOU! Well, I can tell you why he didn't kill Zelda. Not Link, though. He was going to use Zelda as a hostage, and he also doesn't see her as a problem because (No offense, Zelda) she doesn't have any powers and doesn't seem like a risk. Glad you enjoy this nonsense!

Thanks for the reviews! And sorry about the inconsistencies! I'll see what I can do to fix it!