Chapter 6: Deal With the Bombers' Gang

"Tatl, I don't understand… What's going on?"

My mind was slowly filled with questions as I looked back to the strange things that floated over the pond. Was this really the Great Fairy? I wasn't even sure whether they were fairies at all. But this fountain looked very much like the ones I've entered before, the ones that acted as a haven for fairies. These creatures however, looked nothing like the fairies I've seen before. I kept pondering until a ball of light flew swiftly past me. Tatl appeared over the water, and she flew high and low while her glowing form had shown her panic.

"Oh, Great Fairy!" Her cry sounded closer to a fearful shriek. "Great Fairy, this can't be! What in the world happened to her?"

"Calm down, Tatl." I said as I met up with her. "The way you're acting, it won't-"

"No, no, no, no! This couldn't have happened! The Great Fairy, she-she…!"

As if responding to Tatl's behavior, every one of those 'things' were starting to circle around us while carrying a faint glow. At that moment, I suddenly felt calmer- it was as if their glow was helping me relax. I wondered if this helped Tatl calm down as well, because she wasn't trembling anymore.

A soft, yet high-pitched voice came from the floating creatures. "You are… Tatl. The fairy's sibling is here at last…"

'Fairy' sibling …?' I thought curiously. 'So these things knew who Tatl was. But still…'

"And you," they continued, facing me. "You… have come into contact with 'him' as well. I can sense it, only faintly. I'm afraid that my powers have been drastically reduced."

"Great Fairy," Tatl said. "What happened to you? You look-well… um…"

"Tatl, and you, young one. Listen to my words, if you please." Their voices sounded pleading, almost desperate. As they held their gazes at me, they made a face that gave me the feeling they knew I was just as confused as my fairy partner. "As Tatl mentioned, I am indeed the Great Fairy. Though I'm afraid that if you seek guidance from me, I am sorry to say that I cannot help you."

I blinked in surprise. "What do you mean? Why can't you?"

"Because of my current state. My body has been shattered into the fairies you see before you. Thus causing my powers to wane. Even my senses have been weakened. I never would have imagined that a young child would carry such dark powers."

As soon as the Great Fairy mentioned this, I had a feeling of who she was talking about. But I had to ask the question: "Who did this to you?"

"The one who broke my body to pieces, was a Skull Kid wearing an unusual mask…"

"No! That's not true!" Tatl suddenly bellowed. "It can't be true! I know that Skull Kid may be a bit of a brat, but he could never do this to you. He's not that strong, he just can't be!"

Unlike Tatl, I can easily believe what the Great Fairy had just told us. After all, if Skull Kid was able to turn me into a Deku Scrub, it's not that surprising to hear that he can cause the Great Fairy to lose her form as well. Then a thought came to me. Shortly after what happened to me I met that mask salesman, and he said that he had a way to turn me back to normal. So then…

"Is there a way for you to turn back to the way you were before?" I finally asked.

The fairies looked as if uncomfortable to answer my question.

"There is a way," they said. "Though the Skull Kid managed to take a piece f my body away from this place. I can only return to my former self if every fairy is in this fountain, but I'm afraid I cannot risk losing another fairy outside of this haven. If you could please, help me find that stray fairy and guide it back here."

I nodded in response, and I made a mental note that Skull Kid had already made an impact in Clock Town. It also looks as if everywhere I turn, that things were getting worse. I needed to find Skull Kid soon before anything else like this happens.

"We'll find that fairy for you, Great Fairy." I replied, then turned to face Tatl. "You're going to help me, right?"

"Of course!" she answered spiritedly. "You can count on it, we'll get that fairy back here in no time! Come on, Link. Let's go!"

The sky was now clear in a bright blue hue, and the field shimmered against the sun's light. As I walked along through the park, I caught a glimpse of the strange flower I used to 'jump' into from before. The memory of the voice came to mind. I had a feeling that wouldn't be the last time I'll hear of it.

I turned to Tatl as I walked on. "You're quiet." I said. "I figured you'd be on some kind of frenzy or something."

"Oh believe me, I have the right mind to knock that Skull Kid's head senseless!" The fairy fumed, not surprisingly. "Let's just hurry up and find that lost fairy."

Before long I had entered a passage that led me to another part of town. There were more buildings in this area than where I first came from the clock tower, but the surroundings looked just as festive. When I looked around, I noticed not that many people walking along the streets. Deciding to check if anything was going on, I quickly scampered down a staircase, then I heard a voice calling from somewhere behind me.

"Hey Deku boy, up here!"

I tried to look to where I had heard the voice and I found the same boy who wore the red handkerchief on his head, at the top of a pink building. After waving at me while leaning against the wooden fence that bordered the roof, he quickly got off the building and rushed to stand in front of me.

The boy took a short glance at Tatl's direction before looking back at me. He made a smile and said, "Yeah, um, about what happened at the park…I'm sorry."

I waved my hand in front of me. "It's alright, don't worry about it." I told him. I then looked over to Tatl; who- by the way her wings fluttered- didn't seem as though she considered the apology.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." She said. "Why don't you think twice before judging people like that, or didn't anyone teach you that before?"

I rolled my eyes in response of her attitude, and figured that she was still upset about what had happened to the Great Fairy. Then when I let that thought sink in, I quickly turned back to the little boy. "So is there any way that you can help us find Skull Kid?" I asked, remembering what he proposed to us back in the park.

"Maybe…" he answered. "I was waiting for you for a while, I wondered if you still wanted to try and catch him."

"Of course I am."

The boy nodded. Turning his head to the side, he brought two fingers to his mouth and blew. Pretty soon a few more boys- four more kids came to meet him. I blinked in surprise as I noticed that all of the boys wore the same uniform, all except for the handkerchiefs on their heads, which was blue instead of red. Everyone was lining up side by side, and the boy wearing the red headpiece stood in the middle.

"We are the members of the Bombers' Gang, The Secret Society of Justice!" The boy announced proudly as he put his hands to his hips. "Are job is to keep the peace and to hassle anyone making trouble. If anyone has a problem, we're here to help 'em. My name is Jim, and I'm the leader. And do you have a name, Deku boy?"

I nodded as I slowly let his words sink in my head. "It's Link." I answered.

"'Link' huh? Well Link, I told you before that Skull Kid has been making trouble here in town. And we need to do what we can to make things better. We don't have any idea of where he might be now, but do have lots of resources that might help us track him down."

My eyes grew wide as I lit up. I guessed that Jim wasn't lying to me about having some help. To me, it was a little unbelieving at first. But maybe…

"But I can't just give you what information we've got." Jim continued. "You've got to earn it."

'I should've seen this coming.' I thought as I sighed to myself. I then caught sight of Tatl flying towards Jim.

"Why do you kids have to make things so difficult?" she yelled. "You said it yourself that Skull Kid was giving you a hard time! So why make things harder for everyone else?"

"That's part of the code!" Jim yelled back. "I want to see if we Bombers can really trust him. And besides, any kind of information is supposed to be kept secret!"

"Oh please, that's a load of-"

"Tatl! Can you cut it out?" I interrupted. The fairy's attitude towards the whole thing got to me. I eyed Tatl as she retreated and grumbled in such a low voice that I couldn't hear.

I slowly shook my head before turning to face Jim again. "So tell me what I need to do." I said calmly to him, before noticing another member of the Bombers' Gang moving to stand beside Jim.

"You need to play a game of Hide- and- Seek with us." He answered.

I blinked. "…That's it?"

The boy flashed a grin. "Trust us when we say, it's not as easy as we make it sound. When we play our game of Hide- and- Seek, all of Clock Town becomes a playground. That means you'll have to look everywhere to try and find us."

"Well, how am I supposed to do that?" I burst out. "I can hardly tell where I am right now!"

"That's your problem, not ours." Jim answered. "If you were so determined to get this Skull Kid, you wouldn't be complaining. Besides, what's the big deal anyway? Aren't we on the same side?"

I slightly turned away to hide my silent mumbling. How am I supposed to find and catch the Bombers' Gang when they're going to run and hide all over the city? Thanks to Skull Kid, who had granted me this body of a Deku Scrub, I had barely managed to escape an angry stray dog. I can barely run without tripping over my own feet, and my long cap wasn't exactly helping.

I sighed. What have I gotten myself into?

"We don't need to stay and waste our time with those kids." Tatl said. "Come on, Link. Let's-"

"Alright." I said, facing the gang leader. "Let's play."

"What?" I heard the fairy yell, but I chose to ignore her.

Jim smiled. "Great! You've got until this evening to catch us all." I watched as Jim pointed a finger towards a corner of a building, just behind a tall post set at the center of the area. "Go stand over there and wait 'til Ash tells you to start looking. Good luck!"

I did as he asked and walked over to the corner to face the stone wall, but I nearly stumbled over at the impact of Tatl colliding with the side of my head. I rested a hand on my head to try and ease the slight pain. "What the heck was that for, Tatl?" I shouted.

"You just had to do that, didn't you?" she roared back.

I blinked and looked at her dumbfoundedly. "What are you talking about. 'Do' what?"

"We're supposed to be helping the Great Fairy, remember? We still need to find her lost fairy! How could you let yourself get sidetracked like that?"

"I'm doing whatever I can right now!" I stopped myself from yelling any further, and took a deep breath before continuing. "We don't have any clue where Skull Kid has gone, so asking kids like the Bombers' Gang gives us the same amount of chance as asking anyone else. Besides, I think working together will help in finding the Bombers' Gang a lot faster. And since these kids are going to be hiding all over town, there's a high chance in finding the fairy at the same time. At least, that's what I'm thinking."

I waited for Tatl to respond, but the fairy remained silent. I had a feeling that she considered my reasons for dealing with the Bombers' Gang.

"So, are you still going to help me?" I asked her.

Tatl seemed hesitant towards the simple question. "...Sure." she then answered.

I felt a tap to my shoulder soon afterwards, and I turned to see a boy who I quickly guessed was Ash. He wore the same uniform as the other members of the group, though he was the only one I saw wearing a yellow handkerchief on his head.

"Okay Link," Ash excitedly said. "You're ready to go!"

"Honey, isn't it still early for you to be working? Why don't you rest a little more before starting your shift?"

She looked back to her mother over her shoulder and her lips formed a gentle smile. These were the kinds of questions that she would be asked nowadays. And it wasn't as though they annoyed her, but it happened often enough to have become close to a routine.

"I'm fine, mother." She replied. "Grandma is going to be up soon. And besides that, there are going to plenty of people coming today. So I may as well get to work."

In truth, she wasn't sure herself if some of the town's citizens, or even people from outside of town, would be visiting for the carnival. She had heard that there had been debates over whether or not the carnival would even be held. Even though a decision had yet to be announced, this was quite unsettling. And she was looking forward towards the festival as well.

She had heard stories about this upcoming carnival. Legends, to be more precise. They were old tales that her grandmother would tell her every year, even at a young age. This was a tradition that has never been broken.

But this year is different.

A sigh came from her mother's lips. "Sometimes it looks as thou you're acting like you father, when you are trying to handle you work."

At her words, she couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle.

"Do you see any of them yet?"

Just then I had to jump aside to avoid bumping into a pair of jugglers. I realized that looking for kids in a town filled with workers and large crowds does complicate things.

"Not really...Hold on! There's one! On that veranda over there- the one with the huge bell. Do you see it?"

Looking over to where she flew, I saw a small building that looked as if it 'came out' from the walls, because it was painted with the same festal colors as them. The veranda that Tatl mentioned was on top of that building, and a large bell was placed near the edge. When I got closer, I was able to see a pair of ragged shoes hiding under the bell. That must be one of the kids of the Bombers' Gang.

'How did he get up there?' I wondered, then looking around and saw a door close to where I found the bell. I figured it would be easy enough to sneak in and catch him.

"Come on, Tatl!" I called out as I ran towards the door. But just when I was about to reach for the knob, the door opened and I collided with someone. The force of the impact caused me to fall back on the ground.

"Watch where you're going, you little runt!" said an angered, but strangely familiar voice.

"Ungh, I'm sorry sir..." When I looked up, I couldn't believe who stood in front of me.

It was Mr. Ingo! Or at least, I think it was him. But I was positive. The thin body, the round belly, the thick moustache and bushy brows. There was no doubt that was Ingo. What was he doing here? How did he get here? Why wasn't he at the ranch?

"Mr. Gorman, can't you relax for a minute? That's hardy fair to treat a little boy that way."

A woman soon walked over beside me to help me get back on my feet, while I was thinking about what she called the man who I thought was Mr. Ingo. I watched as Mr. Gorman walked passed me while muttering silently under his breath.

I quietly sighed to myself. It seemed as though Clock Town was getting weirder with each passing moment.

Sorry for the late update. Turns out I had way too much fun during the holidays. I hope everyone else did too. I' like to know if I did any mistakes in this chapter.

Rougesweet16