And it's done, Chapter 24 is a master piece! And fraught with twists and turns! Enjoy!

-Jack Knights

"That man you saw turn to dust, the one that put a blade to Jaz's neck," Sheik said, his voice oddly quiet and reserved. "I killed him almost ten years ago."

"But he was standing there, in the middle of the room," Link commented, confused.

"Such is the power of Ganondorf. I had discovered he'd pledged himself to that monster, just moments before he killed my father."

Link looked at Trex, who shrugged, unsure of what to say. They needn't say anything, Sheik was only beginning.

"He killed the Council of Elders and my father in a bid at power," he murmured, staring into the tea as he remembered the ghosts of his past. "And I suspect he killed my mother as well."

"Sheik..."

"Let me finish, Trex," he said, oddly on edge and tense. "He said he wanted the old ways destroyed, that it was a dying regime we shouldn't have to follow, seeing as the Hylians were almost completely wiped out. Years later, I found out he'd killed almost half of our tribe; those that remained were twisted by the contract he'd struck with Ganondorf and my father's blood."

What does that mean? Link wondered. Sheik caught the look on his face and explained.

"My father held a very powerful place in the tribe," he said with a ghost of a smile. "He was their leader, one of the last chiefs. I wouldn't have taken up the title after him because my mother was a human woman. I'm only a half-blood and as such I have no right to rule. Carlisle knew that and devised a plan.

"By killing off the Council of Elders, those who would have decided the fate of the tribe after my father had died, he assured that my father had to choose a successor. Naturally, he would have chosen me, so he decided to put a stop to that. He had me under watch, and if my father should refuse to hand over his power, they were to kill me.

"I escaped, but not in time to stop him. The contract had already been taken to Ganondorf by the time I found my father, dying in Carlisle's tent. The guards, Sheikah of course, were already under his command and refused to intervene. That's when I stabbed him, in the lower back. It wasn't until I escaped that I realized I'd killed him."

So young... and already he's been through so much turmoil, and all because of that blasted Ganondorf, Link raged silently. Trex had put a hand on Sheik's shoulder and he shrugged it off.

"I killed him with my father's knife, then I escaped with it," he murmured and Link looked at Trex, hoping she'd elaborate.

"When a contract is issued," she began, rubbing her chin. "the man who relinquishes his power pays for it in his blood."

"So? His father died, didn't he?"

"He doesn't get it," Sheik said, huffing. "I'm not surprised. I doubt Hylians ever did it that way. A man passes his weapon on to his child. My father inadvertently gave me his. It's a passing of responsibility."

"And because he was the leader of the Sheikah..." Trex continued.

"He passed that responsibility onto you?" Link finished and Sheik bowed his head dismally. "And the contract?"

"It is null and void, until I either die or relinquish my seat," Sheik muttered, raking a hand through his hair. "And I am the true heir of the Sheikah."

"That's why those men, those reanimated corpses came here?" Link asked, strangely glad they hadn't discovered him yet. "They came here to kill you?"

"Yes," he said, lifting his head. "Now do you see? I've put you all in great danger. Again."

"Again?"

"We were attacked a few years ago, just after Sheik had run off, with quite a few of my parts, I might add," Trex explained thoughtfully. "People came around, demanding that we turn over the Lord of Shadows. Back then, we didn't know what they meant..."

"And now they're back to finish the job?"

"Most likely, yes," Sheik sighed, standing. He handed the teacup to Trex and shoved his hands in his pockets. "And that's why we—that is, I—have to leave. Today, if possible."

"What do you mean 'I'? I'm going with you," Link said, standing, grabbing Sheik by the shoulder and turning him around. The sudden movement made him cringe when a blast of pain shot up his new arm.

"That's why I'll go alone," he said, nodding at his shoulder. "You can't use that properly yet, you'll just stuff up your arm even more if you don't let that heal first."

Link looked at Trex for support, but she merely shook her head. "He's right, unfortunately; if you use that arm before it's healed, you could get an infection. And if that happens... you could die."

"I'll go pack my stuff," he said, shrugging off Link's hands as he shuffled towards the stairs.

"Now wait just a second," Trex said, standing as well, hands on her hips. "I never said you were leaving. What purpose will it serve if you disappear again like last time? They know we were sheltering you, and they will come back. And this time, they won't play nice."

"They'll use them to get to you," Link added, and Sheik paled. "You might as well stay put."

"And this is why I wish I'd never made friends with any of you," Sheik muttered.

"Little late for that," Trex said with a huff. She turned to Link and told him to go upstairs and sleep. He had tried to argue, but the look she'd shot him had made his words die in his throat. That woman really scares me... he mused as he headed into his room. He was surprised to see Jaz sitting on his bed, her back to the wall, clutching her knees to her chest. She either hadn't paid any attention to him or she hadn't heard him enter. He cleared his throat, looking at her with curiosity. Jaz lifted her head and frowned, as if she didn't really see him.

"I am sorry," she murmured as she stood. "I'll be leaving now."

"Hey," he said, grabbing her arm when she walked past him without another word. She turned to look back at him and he sighed; she was under a trance again. "Jaz, why were you in my room?"

"I... don't remember," she said, her brows drawing together as if she was trying to remember something. She turned to leave again and he caught her by the shoulder, turning her around.

"It's alright," he said with a smile. "I guess under the same circumstances, I wouldn't want to sleep in there either," Link indicated to her room, the piles of ashes surrounded by clothes. "Hey Trex, did you put her under again?"

"No, I didn't, but she can do it to herself," the older woman called up from the first floor. She did this to herself? Why? And how?

"I'll leave you to rest," she murmured, making to leave again. He yanked her back yet again, and she looked at him, a brief flit of anger shining in her eyes. "Leave me alone," Jaz said forcefully. Link let her go, confused, and she disappeared into Trex's bedroom. Women... he thought acidly. Who can figure them out?

Decidedly put out, Link fell onto his bed, frowning. Things will look up tomorrow, he tried to believe. He sighed and rolled onto his stomach, breathing in the smell of his sheets. Despite the strangeness of the hour, he willed himself to sleep.

"What? He left?" Link said, outraged. "When did he go?"

"Sometime during the night," Trex said, mellow. He slammed his fist against the wall, breaking into the stone. He bit back a shout of frustration brought on by the pain of his own stupidity and seethed.

"I can't believe he'd disappear like that," he said through gritted teeth. Link wanted to scream, he wanted to hit something, anything. Eying a porcelain plate in the sink, he grabbed it and threw it against the wall, smashing it to pieces.

"That's enough!" Trex said commandingly as she stood up from her chair. "You'll end up breaking all the plates in the house at this rate! Sit down and calm yourself, or so help me I'll disconnect your arm!"

He gulped, his anger vanishing instantly. Cowed, Link sat down across from her, disgusted with his own behaviour. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lost it like that."

"Damn straight," Trex said, huffing as she sat back down. "Destroying the house won't bring him back."

"Then what will? How are we supposed to go after him?"

"We don't," she said calmly, placing a cigarette in her mouth. "It was obviously his desire that we remain unable to follow him, or else he wouldn't have left in the daytime, while we were all asleep."

What am I supposed to do now? If more of those thugs show up, sooner or later they'll discover that I'm a Hylian, he mopped. And when they report back to Ganondorf... he'll know. He grimaced and a shiver ran down his spine in fright. Trex calmly lit her cigarette and burned it down halfway before speaking again.

"There's no last safe place for us now," she began, blowing a ring of smoke. "I've been kicked out of the Citadel, Kakariko's in the King's pocket, Ordona's been destroyed and I just received word that Ruto's been wiped off the map. Saria and Darunia are the only two places left, but they're so far away. And then there's the equipment and parts... boy, what a pickle."

I've never even heard of those places... Link noticed as Trex muttered. "There is one other place we could go."

"What; where?" she eyed him skeptically.

"The Resistance," he said quietly and she stared at him, dumbstruck, for a minute. She suddenly broke out in laughter, banging her fist on the table. "What's so funny?"

"The Resistance?" she said between gasps for air. "Come on! No-one knows how to find their base camp, and even if we did, they'd probably shoot us on spot."

"What other choice do we have? All the places you've mentioned are not a possibility," he said testily, crossing his arms. It dawned on him then; rushing out of the room, he went upstairs and into his bedroom. Link rummaged around in his pack and took out his map, which thankfully wasn't destroyed. He went back to Trex and placed it on the table.

"What's that, a drawing?" she asked as he unrolled it.

"Do you have a map, one of Hyrule?" he asked. She nodded and began shuffling through the stacks of paper and junk, eventually withdrawing a dirty, crumpled paper.

"It's an older version, from about nine years ago, but most of the stuff is still good," she said, handing it to him. Link placed the two maps side by side and studied them.

"Where are we now?" he asked, and she pointed out a round disk of space in the mountains. "Actually, could you get me a quill or something I could write with?"

She handed one to him, quietly observing him as he worked. Although nearly eighty years had passed and the landscape had expanded considerably, he found he could read the new map with ease, able to locate familiar places and landmarks. He circled Oocconia's location on his map, pleased to see that it wasn't as far north into Snow Peak as he had thought. He overlapped the new map's cities on his own and traced a path. He then copied it to Trex's and examined his handiwork carefully before putting down the quill.

"We have a place to go to now," he said proudly, indicating on both maps. "It was known as the Hidden Village, and not too many people knew about it. It might still be around, hidden within the mountains."

"I've never even seen this trail before, and I've been around Hyrule a few times," Trex noticed, pointing out the road he'd painstakingly drawn on her map. "Are sure it's actually real?"

"Been there myself, a few years ago," he said. Well, quite a few years ago, actually, but whatever. "If you can lead us through the mountain ranges and off the beaten path, literally, I can take us there. We should be safe for a while until we figure things out."

"I admit, it's pretty handy," she said, straightening. "But going through the mountains is no walk in the park. It's all harsh weather and freak storms. Not to mention we might run out of food and water."

"But see, according to your map, there are two fresh water springs that begin out there," he pointed them out. "And there is an outpost we can spot at if we need anything."

"It's controlled by the King," she warned, but he shrugged. "But then I guess everything is nowadays. If we do end up taking this route, we'll need to stock up on supplies."

"And quickly," Link said, looking out the window. "Somehow I doubt those thugs really died. They'll be back for more before long."

"What's up?" Jaz said as she entered the room. Link greeted her absently, thinking deeply while Trex explained their situation. "Well, I guess thats that then," she said with a sigh, hands on her hips. "We'd better get a move on if we want to leave here in one piece."

"Then we'll need you to get as many supplies as possible," Link said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "And do it fast."

"We're gonna stay here and work out our route," Trex said before Jaz could protest. She thrust a bag of money into her hands and pointed at the door. "Take that, it's a fair portion of our savings. Buy as much as you can. Bargain until your throat is sore and then some. We leave in three days."