Chapter Two

Rego moved silently through the woods of Kokiri, after hearing guards talk about a cult suspected of setting off the bomb. He expertly flipped over logs and boulders, as he used his Sheikah magic, picking up on voices deep within Lost Woods. He made his way to an entrance, one of the large hollowed out trees, listening to the voices.

"The bomb should be ready by next week." One man said. Another responded. "It only killed some old bitch, and a few unimportant people. We needed more. The King, yeah, we got him, but we needed both of them." Rego growled, knowing he found his man. He extended his hands, long claws sliding out from the tips. He leaped into the doorway, landing in an opening where multiple men, all clothed in black robes, stood and sat, discussing things. He stood slowly, as they all, startled, called for help.

"Which one of you did it?" He asked, angrily. None of them said anything.

"I suppose I'll have to beat the answer out."

He leaped forward, slashing into men, punching and kicking expertly as he took on the whole of the group. He noticed men running for the exits, and he shouted.

"Cowards! Fight me!" He yelled, pointing his fingers at them. An unseen force grabbed them, and yanked them back, as he continued beating the men into submission. He saw one man, clothed in a dark red instead of black, attempting to sneak away, and he leaped over the hordes of beaten men, claws extended, as he sunk every claw on his left hand into the man's shoulder, his open hand punching his foes.

"Why did you kill her?!" He said, pushing him forward, pinning him against a wall as he spun, kicking the last few conscious men to the ground. "Why?!" He screamed, his fist slamming into the man's face repeatedly, knocking his hood back. The man was bald, with tattoos covering his head.

"I...suppose...you are Link..?" The man said, smiling through bloodied teeth. Rego slammed his head into the wood behind him, cracking it.

"WHY?!" He screamed, digging his claws deeper into the man's shoulder, a scream coming from him.

"Who else did we kill...?" He said laughing. Rego raise his hand, his claws sliding across the man's face quickly, blood pouring out.

"I will ask again. Why did you kill her?!" The man panted.

"Because...it's what we do...did we kill T'Darka? He was the real target...but if we could get to you, Link..." Rego slammed his fist into the man.

"And we will win either way...you've walked into our hive, did you think you could get out?" Men flooded into the opening, all armed with bows and arrows, aiming them at Rego.

"No, I am not..the man who killed her...I am..simply a captain..." He said, grinning. Rego rose his fist.

"Hit him and die, Hylian scum." Said an archer. Rego lowed his fist as the man grinned, blood and broken teeth falling out of his mouth.

"Congratulations, you've been captured..." Rego let his claws out of the man, and stepped back, as men moved in, cuffing his hands and leading him deep into the forest.

Link entered the room where Cadus was held, and tapped the bars, getting his attention.

"Cadus." He said. "I'm going to ask you this one time, and one time only. Did you set off that bomb?" Cadus smiled.

"You are not royalty, Link. You are a born peasant, parentless, friendless, fairy-less even. You're lucky I'm even speaking to someone of your...stature." Link smiled.

"You're not going to make this any easier on yourself." He reached into the bars, grabbing Cadus, and pulling him to them. "If you killed my friend, I will personally rip you apart, limb from limb, and mail them back to whatever hole you crawled out of individually! Do you understand?!" Cadus swallowed.

"Struck a nerve, did I? Still searching for that little ball of light, or did you realize that not even she wants you?" Link threw him back to the cage, as he walked back up the stairs.

"Don't feed him today." He said to the guard. "Or tomorrow." He strode out of the castle, and into the stables, were Epona's stall was. The keeper of the stalls, a young man named Shar, stopped him.

"Um..your highness, I..." He began. "I went to get Epona ready for the ride, and...I knew she wouldn't want to. She's old, you know.." He said, looking away from Link. Link smiled.

"She's got fire in her yet, I know."

"I...thought so too. But I never would have guess she was done with...it." Link's smile faded.

"What are you saying..?" He asked. Shar sighed.

"She's gone...in her sleep last night, we're guessing." Link's eyes softened, and his mouth twitched.

"Where is she?" He asked, emotionless. The boy pointed to her stall.

"Still in there." Link nodded.

"T-thank you." He walked up to the stall, and sighed. "It's gonna be a long ride." He said, looking at his feet. "And there's really nobody better for the job than you. Do...you remember Gerudo Valley? Hell, how could you forget it...I had to clean out your mane every few minutes. But I'd still do it for you...you know that. I'd do anything to ride with you again. One...last time." He opened the door, to see Epona, lying on the floor. She was peaceful looking, at least. Link slumped down to his knees, not caring for his royal garb, as he hugged Epona, tears streaming down his face. He said nothing as he sobbed into her mane, holding her close, one final time.

Hey guys! So, that happened, huh? I'm so sorry for taking forever to post this, I had finals to take care of, school crunching and all. But now I'm done, and will be posting much more often! I also will say that...90% of this chapter was made up on the spot, which is honestly the best kind of stuff. Epona was supposed to live, but...emotional kicks are fun. This chapter's pretty short, but the next one'll be much longer. ;)

Please review, and stay tuned for the next chapter!

-Darth Ganon