Haven Trials

Act 1: The Fox Jumped Over the Moon

Chapter 3: Rainfall


"... And are you sure everything is fine, Link?" The Deku Tree asked in his slow-paced speaking voice.

Link nodded. The Deku Tree's face still seemed worried, Navi shaking herself in front of it. "No worries! We took care of whatever was in there!" The Deku Tree sighed, and nodded in return as well. "Very well then. Make haste through the woods and onto the Hyrule Fields. It should take you but three days to arrive."

"Well Link? You ready?" Navi asked. Link looked back towards her and the Deku Tree, again nodding.

"Before you leave, say any goodbyes that you want to. It will be a long while before you return, if you do at all." The Deku Tree said. As Link went on ahead, Navi stayed behind, knowing something else was still bothering the Deku Tree.

"It won't be long now.. will it?" Navi asked.

"No.. it won't. Within the next week, I will have perished. My time has come though, Navi. Despite whatever grudges you felt against Link at first, you need to disperse of them and assist him in becoming the Hero of Time," The Deku Tree ached through his bark.

Navi was silent for a moment, tears falling off of her fairy body. "I'll try my best."

"I know you will. You never have disappointed me once, after all. But now here I am, dying, without anything to do about it as well."

"I promise you, Deku Tree, Link and I will find out whoever did this to you!"

The Deku Tree made a sort of chuckling, the kind that warms the bodies to hear. "I know you will.. Navi. Now, go, before Link comes back."

Navi too now left, trailing after Link. The Deku Tree moaned, sighing almost. "Unfortunately, I already know who did this to me... And I can only hope you can cure Link before he too is overcome by the spell..."


Link walked through the village, looking around at all of his friends and neighbors, their homes as quaint as ever. He sighed, Navi peeking out from his bag. "You sure you're okay with this? Not telling anyone you're leaving?"

"It's best. I don't want some people wanting to worry over me day and night..."

"But you're going to disappear! How is that going to put people to rest?"

"It's better than telling them I'm going on some sort of life or death journey, that I probably wouldn't be coming back at all."

Link stopped walking. He sighed, staring off at the edge of the village, the Lost Woods ahead. Link closed his eyes, the wind blowing past him, carrying with it the feelings of his past.

"Ouch! You did that on purpose! Jerk!" A young voice shrieked.

Link looked behind him and saw a young girl marching towards him, her hair as green as the jades Arn had embedded in his crest. "Who, me?"

The young Saria walked towards Link and slapped him, tears rolling off her cheeks. "I saw you throw that rock at me!"

Link rubbed his face and scowled. "How do you know that was me! What gives you the right to just slap people, huh?"

He opened his eyes and only saw what appeared to be a confused Navi staring back at him. "... Everything alright there Link?"'

Link immediately blushed and gritted his teeth, before sighing. "Erm, yeah, sorry. Never mind that now, we've got to get going, right?" He tried to cheese a smile, to which Navi giggled at. "After you then, crazy."

The two made way into the Lost Woods, a face staring at where Link had just made that outburst. Saria moved her hands together and bowed her head, her brows burrowed and her eyes closed. "Promise you'll be safe now.. Link.."


"They were GAD mercenaries. But why did they target us?" Fox asked. Krystal continued to circle around, Falco walking into the room now as well. "Who are you talking to?"

Fox opened his eyes again, frowning. "Nobody, just thinking aloud." Fox turned towards Krystal, who was now fading away, back into his mind.

Falco nodded his head, popping a cigarette into his beak. "You want one?"

Fox looked confused, shaking his head. "Is it really time for a smoke break? Are we not still breaking out of this place?" He cried out.

"We're fine for a quick puff, mate," Falco replied, puffing a cloud of smoke out. "These buggers can't be much more persistent to chase after us after we took out nearly half of 'em."

"You seem much too calm about all of this." Fox said, sighing.

Falco glared back at Fox. "Well excuse me for wantin' to smoke one real quick after bein' locked up for 'bout a month! Ya know what that does to smokers? It's worse than gettin' whipped or gettin' smacked in the face."

Fox snickered, Falco dropping the butt now and puffing out the last bits of smoke. "Let's get a move on now, eh mate?"


"So we need to rendezvous back with Ike an' the rest before headin' up to the boss's room. Even though Tabuu aien't here, his two lackeys are," Falco explained as the two dashed through the halls.

"The Hand Brothers, correct?" Fox asked.

"Right-o; Deman and Deficio. They've got some sort of lab set up in this place, and most likely the majority of the guards are stationed there as well. We take out the Hand Brothers and hopefully we can score some info on the big dog himself."

A figure had emerged before the two, and before either one could react, two swift punches were carried out, taking down both Fox and Falco.

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy now, Lombardi. Hello as well, Mc'Cloud."

Fox groaned, holding a grip on his chest where the man had just struck him. He looked up and observed him. "Definitely a guard, but not the same white suit attire," He had on a blue jumpsuit of sorts, gray shoulder pads, and a red helmet, complete with a visor obscuring his face.

"I'm sure you know me, Mc'Cloud, even though we've never met." The man said.

Fox stood up, grinning. "Of course I do, Captain Douglass Jay Falcon, highly esteemed racer who seemed to have disappeared completely seven years ago. Of course, you did in fact become a bounty hunter after growing bored of winning race after race.. correct?"

"Spot on, Mc'Cloud. But please, do call me Falcon. I appreciate the praise though."

"Praise, Falcon? Or was I mocking you?"

"Should I interpret your mocking as praise, would it make me look like a fool, or make you the fool?"

"You are just saying things at this point Falcon."

"Yes, of course. Anyways, if you couldn't tell, I was hired to take you out. Your partner will simply be a bonus to the prize."

Falcon cracked his knuckles, raising them into his fighting stance. Falco stood up as well, spitting out a bit of blood. "Lucky hit ya got on me, won't happen again mate."

"Please, it was calculated, my friend, no bit of luck used at all," Falcon sneered.

Fox was the first to strike, dashing forwards and throwing an uppercut. Falcon swatted his strike away and reared his right fist back. Falco shot forward afterwards, throwing a kick towards the exposed Falcon. Falcon threw his punch at Falco's kick instead, blocking the blow and leaping back a few feet. A grin emerged on Falcon's face, and this time he took charge and dashed at Fox, who was still on the ground. He sent a kick forwards, shooting Fox back a few feet. More groans were heard, and they were followed by Falco's own groans, as Falcon quickly sent another two punches into his chest.

"Amateurs, both of you. You really want to take on the entirety of GAD? You can't even defend yourselves." Falcon said, moving in towards Fox. Falco laid on the ground, moaning, unable to move.

Falcon kneeled over Fox, rearing his fist back. Fox stared at his hand, flames emerging off of it. Falcon immediately shot up and turned around, kicking away Ike's slash, the tip nicking his chest. Falcon looked up at his assailant and smirked.

"Why, if it isn't the leader of the Greil Mercenaries himself! What are you doing all the way out here, you're far from home aren't you?"

Ike pulled his sword back and swung it again, across this time, slashing through the walls of the short hallway. Falcon ducked and back flipped away from him. Fox scurried over to Falco and pulled him behind Ike, Ike nodding towards Fox, who ran ahead with a still dazed Falco.

"If it's a fight your looking for, it's a fight you're gonna get, Falcon!" Ike shouted. He reared his blade back, both hands on the hilt, and dashed towards Falcon. Falcon ran towards Ike, side stepping right, dodging another swing from Ike. As Ike recovered, Falcon sent a quick jab, only to be grabbed by Ike and pulled closer. Ike reared his head forward, bashing it on Falcon's, and kicked him back, pulling his sword upwards. Falcon jumped backwards onto his hands and sent a kick with both feet into Ike's chest, sending him backwards as well.

"At least you're not a push over like the last two, thankfully. I was bored the minute I started pounding into them," Falcon sneered. He dusted his shoulder pads off and spat to the left of him. "I'm sure you're enjoying yourself as well now. You and I both crave this sort of action, the one that involves bloodshed and brawls, adrenaline pumping through our veins."

Ike stood up, tightening his grip on his blade. He reared it back and began to charge up, flames once again dancing among the blade. "I'm not the kind of bastard who goes around and kills people off because he's told to, or because he wants to for sport. Don't try to put me in your league, you son of a bitch!"

He quickly rushed forward, flames trailing behind him. Falcon grinned, rearing back his fist, flames engrossing it all. "That's quite ironic of you to say, mercenary." He sent his own signature punch out, flames shooting forward in the symbol of a bird, a falcon. They met with Ike's blade, and the two clashed, both standing in place for what seemed to be an eternity. An explosion concluded from the encounter, and the two were shot backwards, the walls of the hallway shattering. Falcon frowned, as he looked up and saw the roof collapsing before him, blocking him from his opponent.

"Until next time, Ike."


Ike finally caught back up with Fox and a now awoken Falco, who were all running ahead to meet with the rest of the group.

"What happened back there? I heard an explosion," Fox asked.

"Just taking care of Falcon. He should be off our backs for now, but I can't say I'm completely sure," Ike replied.

"Grr.. he got a lucky hit on me, wasn't even lookin', the cheeky bastard!" Falco complained, frowning.

"But, we do need to talk about a change of plans now," Fox said. "Falcon's right; can we really take on the Hands in this stage?"

Falco looked towards Fox, his brows burrowing. "You sayin' we just blow the whole plan now and run with our tails between our legs?"

"Think about it though. We can easily save the lives of all these captured men, instead of throwing them at an unexpected enemy. Do you know exactly what or who are in that room with them?"

Ike remained silent, just running along with the two. Falco spoke back up, showing a bit more distraught in his voice. "We've come so close though! But damnit.. you're right, probably. Arggh.."

"Look, let's go on ahead and get the rest of these guys to safety. We can always come back after-" Fox stopped in his tracks along with Falco and Ike. His eyes widen, his mind confused. What was suppose to be the meeting spot with around thirty others was nothing more than a room full of corpses, blood splattered along the walls and floors, their bodies sliced up badly.

Ike walked first, slowly, his fists curled and tightening. "No.. no! This wasn't suppose to happen! No damnit!"

Falco dropped to his knees, his beak wide open. Sounds were emerging, but none of them actual words. Fox walked forward, his head shaking. "They are all just.. dead? Like that? How.." Fox closed his eyes, searching for answers within his mind. He wasn't there for long though, as a voice sounded ahead, the heels of the man's shoes clicking on each step he took.

"I didn't want to kill them, truly. But they were bothersome, the disgusting filth they were." The man said in a calm voice. He reached for his glasses and pulled them off, wiping them on his tie. Fox looked up at the man. He had a black vest on, the expensive kind, and a tie now being re-tucked into it. His red dress shirt's sleeves were rolled to his elbows and the rest tucked into his black pants.

"You seem confused, mister Mc'Cloud, and I'm sure you, along with the rest of your comrades. But before you get the wrong notion, understand that I am no villain." The man continued, walking towards the three, waving his hands in front of him.

Ike began to grit his teeth, pulled his sword our and holding it in front of him. The man chuckled, "Please now, sir Ike, put away your sword before I feel the need to kill you as well."

"You won't be killing me before I off you, bastard!" Ike shouted, rushing forwards. The man held his hand out and Ike stopped moving. With his other hand, he rubbed his stubble, his mouth smirking. "So eager you are, mercenary." The man continued to move his fingers and hand, Ike now moving again, but it seemed it was against his will. He began to place the edge of the blade against his neck, as if he were planning to kill himself.

"Stop it, please! Don't kill him!" Fox pleaded. Ike continued to pant, the blade inching closer to his neck, before dropping out of his hands. Ike fell to his knees, his hands on the ground. The man continued to chuckle.

"You see what I can do now, so maybe this time you will sit still and listen."

Falco looked up, his eyes furious. "What do you want, Deficio?"

He grinned. "Nothing. I just wanted to leave you bunch a message." He turned and walked away from them, his hands grasping one another, his posture proper. "Any of these blokes could have easily killed you. I did you a favor and killed them before they could. They would have made great soldiers too."

Fox kept his gaze on Deficio. "Then why spare us?"

"I needed to leave some members of the rebellion alive, after all. So you can run away and put more fear into others who wish to bother us with their boring selves," he replied. "Or perhaps give them hope, that they can return and try to slay us. Well, that would be delightful, actually. I could spill more blood."

The gate ahead began to open, Deficio pulling the lever. He turned towards them, his expression no longer grinning. "But do take this as a warning. Or as an invitation. This time, I was gracious enough to spare you all. Next time? Could be my brother meeting with you, and understand, my fellows, he is not as restrained as I am."

Fox and Falco pulled themselves up, rushing towards Ike and hoisting him up as well. The three of them quickly ran for the gate, Deficio staring at them the whole while. "If you do intend on still investigating, perhaps head west and send your attention to Fourside. But do be careful; there are more bounty hunters besides Douglass after you." The gate shut behind them, along with the rest of the underground base of GAD. Rain poured, coating the three weary members in a refreshing mist, the facility having been choking them with dust and heat.


"What happened back there.. we can't ever let that happen again. We went in unprepared, and we didn't only lose against them, but lost the lives of other men because we were too damn careless!" Fox shouted, hitting the rain-soaked ground with his fist.

"Fox.. it's alright. Hell, we didn't know these bastards were a lot stronger than what we anticipated!" Falco replied. He turned towards Ike, who sat a little ways away from them, his back turned to both of them. Falco moved closer to Fox, poking his shoulder and nearing his ear, whispering. "Besides, Ike seemed to have gotten hit the hardest. We need to talk to him."

Falco began to move towards Ike, before Fox stood up and place his hand on his shoulder. Falco turned back towards Fox, who was shaking his head. "Let him grieve on his own. When he's ready to move on, so will we."

Both Fox and Falco sat down as well, letting the rain wash away the blood and injuries they had endured. With all that had happened in the past few months, Fox continued to wonder to himself, when or if he would ever feel at peace again. He closed his eyes, Krystal sitting next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.