It took a while to get to this point, but we finally have a chapter with some action and a few new (but familiar) faces!

Chapter 8 – Brotherhood

Epona slowed to a trot as Link approached his old property. His home, built into a tree, still stood where he remembered it. In fact, the exterior hadn't changed at all. He kept a wooden sword and shield within his house, and though they weren't the most ideal equipment, it was better than being defenseless.

Once Epona stopped, uncertainty hit Link. He had been gone for years, so it was possible that this had become someone else's home since then. There was no telling what happened to his old possessions.

Another explosion went off in the village. It was smaller than the first, but the implications were unsettling. Link decided that he didn't have time to investigate his home; Epona galloped towards the site of battle.

A smoking crater greeted him near the entrance. Epona leapt it with ease, pulling them right into the battlefield, and revealing to Link why his trip to and from the Castle Town went by so smoothly: the bulblins had swarmed the village. More surprising to Link were the three cloaked figures fending them off, each equipped with a bow.

One of the figures was perched atop a home, releasing an arrow a group of bulblins attempting to storm into a home. The arrow exploded on impact, sending them all flying away. Link was quite familiar with the technique of bomb arrows as it was one he employed himself.

The clang of iron brought Link's attention to the home of Rusl, where his former mentor stood alone in defending his house from a converging group of bulblins. Link reacted, sending Epona charging into the crowd. Her powerful legs kicked and trampled bulblins in her way, scattering them in fear and confusion.

"I…don't believe it!" Rusl said in awe. The flawless image of Link before him caused him to remove his helmet for a better look. His eyes weren't playing tricks on him, but by the time he realized this, the bulbins had regrouped and surrounded them again.

Link cursed. He was still without a weapon and the hooded warriors would be unable to assist them with bomb arrows as they would be too risky to use on assailants so close. He dismounted Epona to fight them more directly, and that's when he saw the flash of a blade cut down several bulblins in three strokes.

The possessor of the sword moved with a speed and grace he had seen few exhibit before. More bulblins met the swordsman's blade in a whirling dance before they realized that they were outmatched. He halted, spinning the sword in his hand before aiming the blade to the ground. The swordsman turned to Link, letting his blue cape flutter in the wind.

"Armless…a dangerous miscalculation, yes?"

Link was greeted by the soft facial features of a man not much different from himself in age. A tiara sat atop the swordsman's blue hair, and he was lightly armored with shoulder and chest plates over his blue shirt and pants. He did not wait for a response before jumping back into the fray.

"Link!" a voice called. Link turned around in time to catch Rusl's sword. Instinctively, he tested it with a few slashes. The blade was sturdily crafted and would suffice; the thrill in his heart when wielding it made him realize that he missed the heat of battle.

Link nodded to Rusl before coming to the blue swordsman's aid. His new comrade may have had speed, but Link had power, and he was intent on using it. The swordsman's words had bothered him and made him feel like an amateur. He'd show him.

A few bulblins surrounded Link. Their confidence waned when he grinned, holding the sword behind him. He spun into a whirlwind, cutting down the multitude with a spin attack. Whatever devastation he felt he wrought upon them with that attack was doubled when the remaining bulbins were engulfed in an eruption of flames.

Flaming bulblins dashed by to dive into the lake, leaving a laughing warrior to admire his work.

"Where are you guys goin'?" the red-headed swordsman taunted spiritedly. "The fight's just getting started!"

"Actually," the other swordsman began, sheathing his blade, "I believe this battle is over." The remaining bulblin forces retreated while they still had the chance.

"Sucks. What's it take to get a decent fight around here?"

"You should watch what you wish for."

Link was thoroughly intrigued by these newcomers. He thought he was aware of most of notable swordsmen in Hyrule. Then again, a lot could have happened in four years.

Before he could even ask their names, he was tackled to the ground by one of the cloaked warriors. The figure removed the hood to reveal his face.

Link's jaw was agape. "Colin!"

"IT'S REALLY HIM!" the boy cried to the others.

Talo and Beth removed their cloaks as well, but that didn't compare to the shock Link felt seeing Colin. Colin, the sheepish boy that idolized him and found his inner courage in a dire situation. It looked like his maturing didn't stop in Link's absence.

The children surrounded him – though now they were nearly teenagers – and expressed their joy in seeing him alive.

"What do you guys think you're doing flipping around in cloaks and fighting bulblins?"

"We are the Night Stalkers!" Talo proclaimed with a leap.

"Someone had to pick up the slack," Beth said.

Link frowned. "Yeah, but…you're still kids. It's way too dangerous for you to be doing anything like that."

"We live in dangerous times."

"Don't be a know-it-all," Talo teased. "She's the one that made that big hole!"

"Hey, there were a lot of them, okay!"

"But five bombs on one arrow?"

The commotion drew the villagers from their hiding spots. The two newcomers were practically ignored in the face of Link's triumphant return. The red-headed swordsman looked a little annoyed, though his partner's expression was unreadable.

Colin hugged Link and whispered, "I knew you weren't dead." He looked up and beamed at his hero.

Link fell silent. He didn't want to crush the boy's spirits by telling him that he actually had died and was reincarnated. No, that was complex and unnecessary. All that mattered was that he was here now. That's all any of the kids needed to know.

A hand gripped his shoulder. "I don't know how you pulled it off, son, but I'm glad you're back."

Rusl's words made Link smile. That comfort reminded him of his own father back in Centropolis.

"No, you need it more than I do," Rusl said, declining as Link offered to return his sword.

"You made this; I can tell from the craftsmanship," Link admitted, fully admiring the blade. He pushed it into Rusl's arms. "I have a sword waiting for me."

Link remembered that he needed to thank the mysterious swordsmen, but before he could even approach them, the commotion turned to the arriving caravan surrounded by the Royal Guard. Ilia stepped out with the princess, and a different kind of panic ensued in the presence of Zelda. Royalty never visited the quaint village of Ordon.

"This way…quickly!" one of the swordsman said in a hushed voice. Link followed them back towards the entrance of the village. He didn't know why he did so, but he did find something trustworthy about them.

They reached the quiet area where Link's home resided. Standing alone in the center of the path was Lucario, and the pieces fell into place.

Link smirked. "Let me guess…you're part of this Brotherhood?"

"Correct," the blue swordsman responded. "I am Marth, and this is Roy."

"Heard a lot about you, Link," Roy said. "You're not half bad with a sword."

"We'll have to cut the chit-chat," Lucario announced suddenly. "Kneph is on the prowl. I can sense him."

Link was suddenly more aware of his surroundings. "I need the Master Sword. It's in the Sacred Grove."

"Then we leave immediately."

With the wave of his arm, Lucario encapsulated the four of them in another aura bubble, whisking them away and above the forest.

The bulblin attack was not as random as many have concluded it to be…but that alludes to something else entirely.

The children of Ordon are growing up and following in the footsteps of Link. Except for Malo. He'll always be a creepy baby with outrageous prices.

The Brotherhood shows its face. Everyone has a story and reason for joining – what could be Marth and Roy's?

And finally, a shout out: I borrowed the "Night Stalkers" name from Ishida Sasuke and his Smash X Evolution series.