Disclaimer: GrimGrave does not own any of the characters featured; they belong to their respective franchises of Nintendo, Namco Bandai and Arc System Works. GrimGrave does not make money for writing fiction.

Wooh! I'm back, and so is the gang! A bit on the short side, granted, but it'll be serving as a start for the real adventure!

Cover made by the talented KillerInstinct12 on deviantart, a.k.a The Epic Legion - Thank you very much! Go check out his work!

:::

:::

To Hunt Down a Hylian

Chapter 8

Trust

A low, rumbling mutter gently echoed within the underground caverns, pale eyes glaring in fury and fright into the clear crystal sphere: its contents swirled and revealed champions – formerly his – standing united.

Inside of what appeared to be the castle.

Happily chitchatting and letting the Hero walk away!

This was clearly not working. His plan of fighting fire with fire by pitting otherworldly heroes against Link was quickly turning against him. Scratch that – it already had.

Through yellow, crooked teeth he hissed, nearly slamming his clenched fists into the orbs before stopping himself – there had to be a way out of this.

"Massster…?" a slithery voice asked. From the shadows a large, hunched lizalfos stepped through, clad in flimsy chainmail and shoddy rags that did nothing to properly protect him.

"Quiet, Ichor!" Mau nearly growled. "Do not disturb me!"

"Yesss massster…"

There had to be a way. His plan couldn't end here – not now. Dared he summon more assistance? It had already proved to be pointless, but what if…

In silent contemplation, Mau stared aimlessly around his lair. Time was of the essence.

::::::

::::::

"There you go, good as new," a large woman with flowing, purple hair said, – purred – shifting her vine-and-leaf-clad body and assuming a laying position in the air. Full, ruby lips quirked upwards into an alluring smile and lilac orbs fluttering long crimson eyelashes seductively. "Help yourself to faeries – my darlings will soothe your wounds on your travels."

"Much appreciated, Great Fairy," Link replied with a smile as his tunic "repaired" itself. He bowed before her, before fishing out his empty bottles and gently allowed the bright pink faeries fly inside. "I'll definitely need them."

"Another big adventure awaiting you?" the Great Fairy inquired, floating gently down until her larger form was roughly at Link's height. "I hear you encountered some strange warriors recently."

He narrowed his gaze. "How did you know?"

An audible, serene laughter. "My darlings keep me informed of what's happening in the world, brave hero. You've been awfully busy it seems. I heard they're all women, too."

"They are," Link said, flustered. "W-what about it?"

The voluptuous fairy giggled softly and reached out to gently caress his cheek. "Oh, nothing. You're just so cute when you're like this," she said. "I could just keep you around in a bottle and stare at you forever..."

"E-Excuse me?!"

"Oh, nothing," she said with a giggle. "I'll be looking forward to the next time we meet, hero," she replied, laughing aerially before diving back into the crystal waters of her fountain.

Puzzled by her words, Link merely walked out of the cave.

::::::

::::::

Back at the castle, Taki rested against a marble pillar, arms crossed over her chest. "…I remember you telling me a similar story back then. To be honest, I was a bit sceptical."

The Grecian pouted at her friend, but didn't press the matter. It was in her nature to always be wary, but still…

"If there's truth to your tale, Miss Cassandra," Lucina began. "Then there is no doubt that, as I suspected, this man is a good person. We appeared to have been misguided by the elderly man-"

"No way!" Rikku exclaimed, wide, bright green orbs trained on the flaxen-haired warrior. "He sounds awesome! No wonder we couldn't take him on, right Noel?" She turned towards the gunslinger, who merely shook her head. "I mean, I could see that he was good, but… whoa!"

Whilst the others were talking, the blonde martial artist sighed in mild annoyance, trying to ignore the throbbing in her temples. ´Imbeciles…´

Honestly, what was it with them all? Good guy or not, this so-called hero could easily turn into their enemy if they let their guard down. But as much as that bothered her, the real source to her ire was because she had suffered defeat at the hands of that man!

Degrading, shameful, bitter defeat.

She'd show him – she'd show him real good just how strong she really was without those dirty tricks of his interfering. He'd be crushed and would grovel beneath her boot, and she'd just keep him down as she listened to his pleas.

…Maybe even letting him get up, only to knock him down on his hands and feet and use him as a bench as she rested her tired legs.

Her personal bench… She liked that. Perhaps even keep him on a leash-

´Que dans le monde?!´ Lili bolted upright, startled and wide-eyed. What was up with these thoughts as of late?! She wasn't fantasizing about him… like that, right? Of course not! She just wanted to humiliate him by showing him just who was the superior of the two.

Yeah, that was it.

"Lili? Are you alright?" She heard the flaxen-haired thief ask and, startled, let out a short but audible yelp before quickly gathering her bearings.

"I, I'm fine! Absolutely fine!" By now everyone was looking at her, a mixture of confusion and annoyance. "W-what?!"

In their bickering, none of the outlanders could even suspect that a pair of crimson orbs watched them from the shadows before they slowly blurred into the darkness.

::::::

::::::

Link stepped past the first gates leading up to the castle, awaiting the guards to acknowledge him and lower the drawbridge. As he waited, he began to dwell on his current situation.

How had it come to this, anyway?

It wasn't that he disliked adventure – hell, it was born into him: Hyrule, Termina, the otherworldly tournament, and distant lands of another world… He had seen many things, experienced things people could barely dream of…

…So why did he have a bad feeling gnawing him at the back of his head about this?

Just who was this sorcerer? He wanted Link dead, obviously, but what was his true goal? Revenge? The Triforce? Damnation upon the land? … All of the above?

There was more to this, he knew it – but this puzzle was missing pieces.

It was bad enough that he had to deal with assassins that were (and perhaps still is) after his life and merely waited for the right opportunity. He didn't trust them with the exception of Cassandra, and to an extent, Taki.

Lucina? She hadn't attacked him: on the contrary, she had approached him carefully, not once resting her hand on her blade. And judging by her demeanour, she could, possibly, be trustworthy.

That left three of them: Lili, Rikku, and Noel. Three of which had tried to slay him.

Link rubbed the bridge of his nose. He really didn't look forward to have to deal with them. Of everyone, he trusted those three the least, but they would tag along either way and, maybe, it was for the best just as Lucina had stated.

´Good grief…´

As the drawbridge settled before him he walked towards the slowly opening gates. He saw the group of outlanders and, for a moment, they didn't pay attention to him. Cassandra and Rikku appeared to be having a good time while Lili kept to herself, much like Noel but for different reasons. Lucina and Taki were engaged in a calm, pleasant conversation but as soon as the ninja glanced over at him, the rest followed silently suit.

"I take it that you're all ready to go?" Link inquired as he stepped inside the castle. "Do you wish to stock up on anything before we go?"

"Stock up on what, exactly?" the raven-haired ninja responded. "We don't know anything regarding this world."

That's right – these outlanders couldn't possibly know what stuff was here, be it potions or otherwise. Link sighed.

"Well, I suppose we just have to pay a visit to Market Town before we go – we have to go through it either way, so I'll help you-"

"I'm fine as it is," Lucina interrupted. "I have a few items myself, and I could possibly spare a few if needed."

"Oh! Oh! Me too!" the thief blurted out. She was about to speak again, had she not checked her pouches and, with a sheepish smile, stuck out her tongue childishly and scratched the back of her head. "Whoops. I haven't got much!"

Quickly scanning the rest, – Cassandra, Lili, and Noel – the blonde Hero sighed yet again. His wallet would haemorrhage like a gash, but at least-

"I don't need your charity, peasant!"

… At least there was one less to supply. For Cassandra, it was worth it and Noel… she looked harmless enough, for now. If anything, she barely looked him in the eye and was awfully quiet… As if she was shy.

Yes, she. Not "him" – she.

Honestly, how many times had he faced death due to Noel's rage?

"Very well, let's go to Market Town first thing's first," Link stated and headed back out, the entourage of outlanders following suit.

:::::

Murmurs – murmurs, whispers, and troubled glances.

The girls were exposed and scrutinized to the general public who warily ogled them as they walked by. Guardsmen gave them an alarming glare but otherwise did nothing to stop them – be for Link being with them, or otherwise.

Cassandra looked around. "They… Don't really seem like the friendly sort of people…"

"Some of you hardly made a good first impression," Link shot back, glancing angrily back over his shoulder towards Lili, Rikku, and Noel as the former scoffed. "They're just on their guard."

"And I suppose you'd rather have us surrender and imprisoned?" Lili snapped at him. "Girls are delicate, you know."

"In your case, I do wonder…"

"What was that?!"

"Nothing," Link muttered back. "I'll take you to the Bazaar and the other shops. Stay close, will you?"

They hadn't even set foot onto Hyrule Field, and already was Link getting mentally exhausted by at least some of his entourage. This would be a challenge in itself.

::::::

::::::

"I'm sorry to have dragged you into this."

The young hylian turned towards his Grecian friend as they walked across the field. "Pardon?"

"I don't think this is what you had in mind as your next adventure," Cassandra said shyly. "It's more like you were dragged into our affairs."

He was a bit baffled, granted, but his smile was more reassuring than anything else. "Don't apologise. It's not like you chose to be summoned, right? You should blame this sorcerer."

The flaxen-haired warrior smiled brightly back at him. "Thank you…"

"Hm? For what?"

A giggle. "For being you."

A blush gently heated his cheeks, azure orbs immediately finding the sky to be a lot more fun to look at. "Ah… Don't mention it, I guess…"

"Li~~nk! What's this stuff you bought us?" Rikku bounced over, in her hand a clear glass bottle containing a red substance.

"Red Potion. It'll heal your wounds, so don't waste it."

"Ooh…" The thief eyed the bottle. "Nifty!"

Was this really an assassin? Link eyed the bubbly blonde's childish antics and if he was completely honest with himself, it was cute. Was this really someone who had previously attempted his life?

Shrugging it off, he turned towards the cobalt-haired warrior. "So where is this sorcerer, Miss Lucina?"

"He's nestled deep in the forest on the other side of the field," she replied. "It's not too far, but the forest is thick and narrow. I dare say that we could easily get lost in there."

"Do you remember the way?"

"I do."

"Very well. Lead on, if you'd please," Link said, motioning for the warrior to take the lead.

The adventure was only just beginning, but Link knew that the road ahead was a treacherous one and that there was definitely more to this than he – or anyone – knew. With these women, there was trouble brewing.

Little did he know: one such trouble was spying from a far, hiding in the crown of a lone tree. Crimson eyes watched coldly as the group marched on.

"Hmph."

The crimson eyes vanished without trace.

Hope you've enjoyed it so far, because the real fun starts with the next chapter!

I would also like to announce that I actually have a new Harem story in the making - not so much going on in the plot-department though. I'll upload it a lil´ bit later.

More T.H.D.A.H and A.H.H coming relatively soon!