EDIT: Fixed some spelling and grammar mistakes :X I sooo need a beta reader XD Anyone want to volunteer? You've got to be prompt though, because I'm extremely impatient/forgetful when it comes to updating :X

Thanks for reading, reviewing, faving me and my story and pointing out any mistakes I might have made! See you next time!

-Jack Knights

The wall to his right exploded. It literally blew up. Through the painful haze of his mind, Link was shocked on some level. All eyes on the gaping hole in the wall, they watched eagerly as the dust settled some. A massive structure flew out of the debris, striking the massive monster in the face. It roared in pain, stumbling back, its massive feet crushing the Bulblins immediately behind it. It erroneously let its massive sword drop to the floor, hands flying up to cup its damaged face. He looked at what had hit the monster; a heavy metal bed lay in ruins nearby. His gaze shifted back to the wall, and through the dust, he saw a lone figure standing confidently.

Someone threw that? That's impossible!

The shadow shifted, accompanied by the shrieks of Bulblins. Quite of the Bulblins in the front line had fallen to their knees, hands clasping at the needles that jutted out of their throats. They began to fall down, their bodies rattling as they struggled to breathe. Even those that had pulled out the needles where convulsing. One by one, those who had been hit fell to the ground unmoving, dead. Poison... Link realized weakly.

"Sheik?" he muttered, apparently loud enough for the pale blonde to hear. The young man stepped out of the dust, sparing a glance at the downed Hylian. He didn't quite hide the grimace before grinning like a madcap. His hand went to the short sword strapped to his back and as he drew it, he dashed forward, becoming a blur. His sword flashed as he wove in and out of the goblins, their necks slashed open. They gurgled in surprise before falling to the floor in a pool of their own blood. Having regained its composure, the Bulblin Lord glanced around itself, surprise flickering in its beady eyes before turning to bare its teeth at Sheik as the nimble warrior stepped in front of Link, his sword slick with black blood.

It roared furiously, bending to pick up its discarded sword. Reacting instantly, Sheik's hand flung out, a small red pellet flying from his fingertips. It struck the Bulblin's face, a red powder exploding around its head. At first, it seemed unaffected; it merely swatted away the powder and grasped its sword. Then its face twitched and it growled, scratching its face. Red welts, both painful looking and itchy, sprung up where it touched its own skin, causing the goblin to scratch even more. Soon its face was covered in welts, blood oozing out from it had scored furiously. Link watched from the floor as the massive creature careened out of control, blinded and disorientated.

Taking his chance, Sheik unraveled a weighted chain hanging at his hip, swinging it round for a moment before letting it fly at the Bulblin Lord. The chain wrapped itself around the monster's short stubby legs and, as Sheik pulled tight, its legs drew together, causing the monster to careen forward, hitting the wood floor hard. Despite the rattling it had no doubt taken, the Bulblin picked itself up off the floor, grunting as it did so. It glared at Sheik, who swung the chain in a lazy circle, silently daring the creature to come at him. It glanced at the fallen Hylian and smirked evilly before diving at him. Almost on impulse, Sheik let the weigh soar at the monster again, striking it in the head as it attempted to grab Link. The Bulblin, disorientated by the blow, bowled through the wall, falling on its face again. It grunted once, but lay still.

Sheik smirked, whipping the chain back to him. He wrapped it around his shoulder and walked over to Link lay on the floor. Despite the gravity of his wounds, he grinned weakly at the young blonde.

"It won't stay down for long and I don't have the weapons to take that thing out," Sheik explained, gingerly lifting Link to his feet. "We'd better get out of here before it wakes up."

"Right," Link said, wincing. His head swam from the loss of blood and he nearly fell to the floor again, but Sheik, despite his lithe appearance, held him in a strong grip. He heard the young man say something, but his hearing was shot. His vision grew dim and he dropped forward again.

"I… can't" he muttered before he blacked out.

Dammit, he's lost too much blood, Sheik thought worriedly as he slung Link onto his back. Dagg's gonna kill me if he dies… Sparing at glance at the Bulblin Lord, he grimaced. He's going to murder me when he sees the damage we've done. Jogging down the corridor, he turned right. Luckily he knew the layout of the hospital and reached the door to the roof without incident. He kicked the door open, ripping one of its hinges off. A commotion from the ground below grabbed his attention and he went to edge overlooking the street. A crowd had gathered, murmuring amongst themselves as more people, both the sick and those treating them, were brought out into the street. He caught a snippet of a conversation; they were actually complaining about the damage done to the building, about how much money it was going to take to repair everything.

They've got patients to worry about, but all they do is stand there, complaining about money. Damn humans...

He turned away, disgusted. Eyeing the path he had taken many times before, Sheik went to the other side of the roof, bracing himself. He broke out into a run, gaining momentum for the leap to the next building over as Link's head bouncing on his shoulder. Reaching the ledge, the blonde launched himself off the roof and landed on the one next to it. Despite the extra weight, he made the jump with room to spare. And so he went, jumping from building to building. He spied his objective from two buildings over. From the ground, it looked like a like a small ledge, barely wide enough for the shrubs growing on it. To those few who knew the truth, it was actually a cleverly concealed tunnel, the entrance blending into the rock face, a perfect illusion.

Legs burning from exertion, Sheik made the final jump, landing neatly on the barely-there ledge. He teetered briefly before regaining his balance. He strode forward, brushing away the foliage that hid the entrance to the tunnel. Despite his average height, the blonde still had to bend low to avoid hitting his head on the roof of the tunnel. His arms shook from holding onto the Hylian's lifeless legs and he gritted his teeth as his body began to complain. Din he's heavy… he groaned inwardly, shifting the dead weight on his back as the exit loomed near. At least I don't have much farther to go.

He exited the tunnel and walked out into a crater of sorts. Once, it had been an outlet for a spring, pure mountain water filling the entire basin. Now, it was empty, save for the trickle of a stream that still fed into the area despite the water having long since been redirected to other areas. A tall, thin tree grew from the ground, its leaves dry and brittle. Tuffs of grass poked out from the dusty ground here and there, an occasional wildflower visible amongst the sharp blades. The cliffs surrounding them stretched into the sky, giving them protection from the harsh winds that tore through the mountain and any prying eyes.

Sheik lay the Hylian upon a blanket that had been set there previously, attending to his wounds. He cut off his shirt and redressed the wounds, but he could do little else but apply pressure to try and stop the bleeding. I'm no doctor, but even I can tell he's close to death, Sheik thought grimly, his lips pursed into a thin line. If Dagg doesn't get here soon…

A clattering from the tunnel alerted him to the arrival of persons unknown. He glanced over his shoulder, praying he hadn't been followed. Relief washed over him when he saw Dagg, not a raging band of Bulblins, exiting the tunnel, a massive pack upon his back.

I hope I haven't kept you waiting for too long," Dagg apologized, sounding breathless. "It was a complete disaster in there. The stairs collapsed, so I had—you're bleeding," he said abruptly, eyeing the rapidly drying blood on his friend's back.

"I'm alright, but the blood's not mine," Sheik shook his head, still applying pressure to the Hylian's side. "It's his."

Dagg knelt next the pale blonde, cursing when he saw the condition Link was in. He checked his pulse, pressed his ear to the poor man's chest, his face growing from sombre to ashen. He reached into his pack and pulled out a pair of leather gloves. He tied up his hair, pulled on the gloves and grimaced.

"Farore's sake… what happened to him?" he muttered, shaking his head when he saw the gapping wound in the Hylian's side.

"While we were making our escape, he bumped into some people who were making their way out," Sheik began, moving to the side as Dagg began to work. "Needless to say, they didn't take too kindly to him and screamed blue murder. We got separated during the fight and when I found him again, he'd managed to get himself cornered by the Bulblin Lord. It was all I could do to get him out there alive."

The darker man cursed, exasperated. "The Bulblin Lord? He's getting bolder… Pass me a needle and some thread, he's popped his stitches."

Sheik did as he asked, going through the bag the Gerudo had brought with him. As he handed over the things he asked for, he remained silent. The blonde didn't question him on who was getting bolder. He already knew who he referred to. Sheik proceeded to remove his cap, undid his long blonde braid and proceeded to brush the grime out of his impressive locks. Dagg finished up his work, ordering Sheik to start a fire as he went over to the stream to wash out his tools. When he returned, he covered the Hylian with a blanket and the two of them sat around the growing flames, unspeaking.

"Where did you even find this guy anyway?" Sheik said lightly, attempting to break the tense air around them.

"He just showed up," Dagg shrugged. "He just appeared in the street, all bloody and battered. Luckily, one of my men found him and brought him straight to me. I can only imagine what he's been through."

"Do you think it was magic that brought him here?" he asked. "I mean, is he one of ours?"

"It certainly seems like magic. But if it is, it wasn't one of us. I asked around and no-one's sent or received a fugitive in weeks," the Gerudo explained, his brows furrowing. They slipped into uncomfortable silence soon after, each occupied their own thoughts.

"We… we can't keep doing this, you know," Sheik said eventually, starring into the embers. "It's getting tougher to transport people to safehouses. And even then, they're not really safe."

Dagg remained silent, frowning as if he'd eaten something sour. Sheik ploughed on. "We've had six places found out in the last month. I barely escaped with my life the last time."

"What does that leave us with?" Dagg asked solemnly then. Sheik sighed, shaking his head.

"A handful of people in Ordona, and by handful I mean literally like five people," he counted off. "There's still Dormu in Saria, but he's becoming extremely elective about who he takes in. We should be as well, you know," he glanced at Link, his brows drawing together. "He's more trouble than he's worth," he added under his breath.

"Who else is there?" the dark man asked, ignoring him.

"We've got a contact in the Citadel, that family in Ruto, but they've got their hands full right now with something and," Sheik hesitated, biting his lip, "and maybe someone else. I can't say for certain, but she might be willing to help for the right price."

"She's no ally then," the Gerudo murmured. "If she can be swayed that easily by money, then she'll turn on us for a pretty penny."

"Maybe…" he agreed hesitantly. "What's the plan then?"

"We'll head to Ordona as soon as possible," Dagg said with a sigh. "His wounds are still in bad condition; if we move him now, they might open again. Also, I won't risk the chance of infection."

"How long then, do you reckon?"

"Two days, maybe, if we're lucky."

"How are you gonna explain a two-day absence to your bosses?" Sheik asked. "You are going to stay up here with him. If he, like, goes into anaphylactic shock of something, I can't handle it. I'd probably do more harm than good to guy at this point."

"I'm inclined to agree with you on that," Dagg sighed. "I don't know. I suppose I'll have to stay with him for now. It's not as if I can go back to work now anyway. Only the first two floors of the hospital are still operational. Thanks to you two."

"If I say I'm sorry, will you let it go?" the blonde asked, trying to lighten the mood. Dagg gave him a lopsided grin before shaking his head. "Didn't think you would, but I had to try right?"

The brief moment of respite was gone soon after and they were back to wallowing in their despair. Sheik knew that Dagg would never go back to the hospital. It might have been his home, but he was a prime suspect. They had to suspect that someone on the inside had let the Hylian through without alerting the authorities and he'd always empathized with the people being hunted down. Someone along the line would say as much and if he stayed, he'd be caught. Sure, if he ran he would become a fugitive himself and his reputation would be shot, but at least he'd live.

Not that there's much to live for when you're reduced to running, Sheik thought bitterly. I would know… Dagg's been the only thing keeping me from disappearing into the shadows permanently. If he got caught, I don't know what I'd do.

"You should get some sleep," the Gerudo muttered, bringing his friend's attention back around.

"I'm alright," Sheik began to insist. "I—"

"You've been fighting for your life and his," he cut him off, glancing at Link. "You must be exhausted. Go on, rest up for tomorrow. You'll need your strength. I can handle the first watch."

"Fine, but you'd better wake me in four hours' time," the blonde muttered.

"I brought a change of clothes for you," Dagg changed subjects abruptly. "Change out of those things and I'll wash out the blood."

Sheik did as he said, and put on a pair of dark blue pants, a long sleeve shirt and a light wool sweater. He brushed his hair away from his face and tied it into a loose ponytail with a strip of leather. As Dagg set about cleaning his clothes, he unrolled a sleeping bag and got inside. He could still hear the Gerudo scrubbing away when he fell asleep.