I do not own the Legend of Zelda series nor any of its characters
"Rain again."
It was always raining in Clock Town.
The last two months had been riddled with rain. It was absolutely relentless. Day and night the clouds were heavy with moisture. They hung overhead grey and gloomy, which in turn, left the citizens of Clock Town feeling the same. The downpour had devastated the harvest, which made the Carnival of Time seem like a useless festival. Some believed the ongoing rain to be a premonition to something devastating.
It wouldn't have been the first time Clock Town had seen something so utterly terrifying that the festival celebrating the very existence of their town was cancelled. Why couldn't something of the same magnitude occur again? It had been fifteen years since the moon descended upon the bustling town. If terrible disasters leading to the end of life as they know it were going to be a continuous part of Clock Town history…maybe they were past due for their next one.
Now if rain were their only bad omen, anyone would consider them crazy.
The Snowhead Mountains. Now summer for the Gorons, the tribe had opened the racetrack for the season. The rain had taken care of that as if it had a grudge against them. The track was muddy and traction was nowhere to be found while racing. The track was closed immediately once the rain continued well into two weeks. With their only source of entertainment gone, it may as well have been a never-ending winter again for them. What didn't help was that rumbling occurred underneath Snowhead Temple periodically. At first, the Gorons considered it normal, but as it continued with the ongoing rain…they weren't so sure.
Clock Town's walls and structures weakened from these rumblings.
The Great Bay. The once warring Zoras and Gerudos were forced into a stalemate once the rain became stronger. Waves crashed against the seashore, taking away the beach as they did. The tide swelled and swallowed up the houses on the shore and beyond. Both tribes were trapped within their own strongholds, one underwater, one in the cliffs. The waves grew in size to the point of being considered tsunamis and went on with their attack on the shore.
Clock Town watched as the waves drew closer.
The Southern Swamp. The Deku tribe of Woodfall was never, under any circumstances, sociable. Since the building of their castle they completely cut themselves off from any civilization other than their own. The good news was they stopped kidnapping people off of the tour boat. With the rain, came flooding. This wasn't really a problem for the swamp. The tall houses and lily pads for the Deku made for easy escapes from any flooded area. The increase in hostile creatures was the problem. Again, the rain brought darkness to the hearts of the creatures of the swamp. Stalfos, Lizalfos, Wolfos. Monsters of all kinds laid waste to any living being in the swamp. Once they ran out of things to kill their eyes moved towards Clock Town.
Clock Town was running out of guards.
Ikana Canyon. The old decrepit canyon had once been a flourishing kingdom. It's long and bloody history made more than a few ghost stories and myths for the citizens. Once the moon retreated back to the sky, the mayor of Clock Town began a plan of action to settle in and populate the canyon. If it could once support a kingdom why not a small group of people from Clock Town? For years the small village prepared there grew. No problems or complications occurred, even the Garo and Stalfos were mysteriously absent. As was the case in every other direction, Ikana Canyon suffered when the rain came. The village fell silent and no word was sent to Mayor Dotour as to what was happening in the settlement. Now the Garo and Stalfos have returned, as if they had been waiting for the rain the entire time. No one can reach the settlement, not on foot, not on horse, not even the sky using messenger birds…
Clock Town feared being alone.
The central town had plenty to worry about: monsters, waves, a possible eruption. With so many things happening around them, Mayor Dotour sent guards out to Ikana Canyon to search out a possible reason as to why any civilization from the canyon would not respond and why that was the only direction without an apparent problem. Should the guards find any threat against Clock Town, at least they could be prepared for it. The plan was risky, but he was determined to intercept and prevent any surprise coming from Ikana. Viscen stepping down from Captain of the Guard didn't help the situation. His replacement, Shiro, was sent instead with three guards; all formerly of the old Bomber's Gang, one of which was their leader, Jim. For two days they remained in Ikana. And when they did return, the only thing they could report was the finding of a Garo in exchange for the life of one of the Bomber's members.
"When are you ever going to stop?" Jim asked the sky. By now he had figured he'd put up with it long enough that he deserved an answer. "There's unrest in my town thanks to you. I can't let you go on like this. You will stop. I'll find a way to make you stop." Jim was returning from Mayor Dotour's office to the Stock Pot Inn. He had taken up residence in the Knife Chamber. Anju was nice enough to let him stay there for a low sum and to reject the offer would have been insanity on his part. The inn wasn't so much an inn anymore, more like a boarding house. The people in the building never changed. There was himself, Anju, her mother, her mother Granny (dear goddess when would she die), the fisherman from Great Bay who escaped the tide, the weird hand thing in the toilet, and Kafei.
Kafei was an absolute mess. He was living his life over. Majora's magic never did wear off of him. Kafei remained in his smallish form, going and growing through life once again. His relationship with Anju was tenuous at best, but they managed in the areas they could. They were still emotionally attached, but physically was out of the question. Their conversations slowed, and then halted completely. Kafei, sulking in self pity, stopped taking care of himself realizing he could never catch up to Anju's age. Jim hated to see him in that state. The Bomber's sense of justice never faltered and since then he had been looking for a way to cure the grieved man, but to no avail.
Jim entered the inn and although the inn was two stories he could still hear the rain pounding on the roof above. He grabbed a towel off of the coat rack positioned next to the door. Anju had placed them there after having to clean the floor each and every time someone came home. No one was waiting at the desk, not that it would matter as there was no one actually looking for a room. Jim ascended the stairs and entered the second room. It was a cozy place, a place for him to call home. The fire was crackling in the spot reserved for one, "Guess I forgot to put it out. I've got to stop doing that. The place is liable to go up in flames," He changed his clothes and laid down on the soft bed. Recalling today's events didn't sit well in his stomach. This was the third friend he had lost on these missions alone, and many more to the creatures of the swamp. The dead received no peace, no satisfaction, they all died feeling guilt for not being stronger or not being able to do more for their friends and loved ones. No funerals were held as they would be as ongoing as the rain. A knock echoed from his door.
"Jim, you back yet?"
Jim walked to the door, "Yes Kafei, I'm back," He let the purple haired man into the room. "I still haven't found anything Kafei, I still don't know how to turn you back, I'm sorry," Jim said it rather half-heartedly. His promise to Kafei was wearing thin after so many years. He still looked, but finding something now, after so long, would be a miracle.
"It's not like I get my hopes up for it, Jim. How did it go? Did you find anything for my father?" Kafei responded.
"The Garo are more vicious now. Maybe he can put that bit of evidence to good use," Jim let this come out very sarcastically. "Another death this town can't afford,"
"Jim…I'm..I…I'm sorry," Kafei didn't know what to say.
"Why are you apologizing? It's not like something you did lead to Daniel's death," Jim began to tear up a bit.
"Daniel? Dear goddess he was only fifteen. To die that young…I couldn't imagine. The pain and guilt to die with such an unfulfilled life. I know you blame my father for not taking more action, Jim. The apology for his actions are necessary." Kafei explained.
"I DON'T WANT A DAMNED APOLOGY FROM YOU!" Jim's tears flowed, "I want it from Dotour! That indecisive, cowardly bastard has no right to be mayor anymore! Hell, he didn't when the moon fell! His orders have lead to more injuries and deaths than necessary and that's the reason we don't have a competent guard captain!"
"Viscen left because he could do more on his own than what he could in the guard," Kafei reasoned.
"Which shouldn't at all, be the case," Jim was beginning to calm down, "I frustrated with this whole situation. It feels like it's all on us…"
"It is all on us. It's Clock Town versus the elements now. Link isn't going to show up this time to save us. It's our job." Kafei looked at the floor, "I want to ask you something, Jim. As a friend, not as a guard. Off the record, you know? Where do we stand? How long do you think we can hold out like this?"
"Straight or sugar-coated?" Jim joked. Not even a sad smirk. "What does it matter? All I know is that we can't hold out forever." Kafei sighed. He looked as if he were about to vomit. Going through two catastrophic disasters, one of which going on currently, and drifting apart from the person that means the most to you would give anyone enough anxiety to induce a heart attack at age two, regardless of physical health. "It just means that we need to get a plan in motion. Anything! Anything is better than sitting around here all day or going out on wild goose chases! Damn it! I need a drink!" Jim stormed out of the room. He descended the stairs, but was surprisingly stopped by Anju.
"Oh! Mr. Baumer! Captai- excuse me. Mr. Caspary was here to see you earlier this evening." Anju explained.
"Viscen was here? Where did he go?" he asked.
"He said he'd meet you at the bar when you had a moment. Although, he did seem in a rather excited mood." Anju told him.
"Thanks Anju," Jim expressed.
"Of course," Jim started walking to the door, "Mr. Baumer! Before you go. How is..umm..Kafei?"
"I don't think it's my place to play messenger between you two. Go talk to him if you want answers," Jim tried to keep the statement as light as possible, although he was afraid it came out cold. Anju's eyes were cast downward at her feet. She apologized and hurried up the staircase. He exited the inn and took the small amount of steps to reach the door way to the bar. Just as he was about to grab the handle the door swung open and a figure walked straight into him. He collided fully with this person, but it did little to effect him. Jim recognized the person as the younger sister of the ranch to the southwest of town. 'Romani?' he thought, "Sorry about that,"
"No,no!I'msosorry!Ishould'vebeenlookingwhereIwasgoing!" the girl said this so quickly it almost completely blurred together in Jim's ears.
"Sorry, I didn't catch that. One more time, slowly please," Jim requested.
Romani took a deep breath, "I was just saying sorry and that I should've been looking where I was going,"
"You okay?" Jim asked, "It seemed like you took a nasty spill there,"
"I'm fine, thanks!" Romani looked at the clock tower, "I'm sorry again for bumping into you and also that fact that I need to rush off. I promise I'll apologize more properly the next time I see you."
Jim turned to look at the tower himself, "Oh, that's not-," he had been turning back to her mid-sentence, "And she's gone. Weird girl." He moved toward the bar entrance, "Time to see what Viscen wants."