Kisuke: Hello everyone! Finally back with another chapter! Took a little over a month, I'm getting so busy... It's all so suspenseful isn't it? Who's the bad guy? What're they gonna do next? When is Kisuke gonna upload the new chapter?
Sheik: I think the last one is the worst.
Kisuke: Ugh I know. So I'm both kinda eh about this chapter. The beginning's slow but it gets better. Well, enjoy!
Disclaimer: We do not own Legend of Zelda or any of the characters in it. As much as Teru Kisuke is kicking the disclaimer and trying to lie, we are not part of Nintendo or have consent from Shigeru Miyamoto himself to actually publish these works out into the world.
Kisuke: I wonder why it keeps saying 'we'... I'm not a corporation or anything. Anyways, on with the story.
Chapter 5
Link and Selma reached Kakariko again that next morning. The sun peeked over the hills and the cuckoos were chirping up a storm. Early risers started on their work in the small town, although half was still asleep.
Many of the buildings sat on hills and platforms and were no more than two stories. A windmill spun with the wind near the back of the town and seemed to carry the beacon of homeliness.
The two travelers stepped past a pair of sleeping guards and down some stone steps. Link shouldered his two-handed sword on his back, which seemed to add a new weight on his shoulders. Selma was doing fine with the crate on her shoulders. Link didn't know how she was able to carry around a crate the size of a child and the weight of an adult with just one shoulder strap. Perhaps the rumors were true and ghost hunters are superhuman. He shooed the theory away with a shake of his head.
"Let's stop by the tavern, Link! I'm dying for one of Lucy's sandwiches right now!" She pumped one of her fists in the air to show her excitement.
Lucy was the bartender of a nice tavern in the small town of Kakariko Village. Link and Selma had stopped by there for food the other day and met the woman. Her sandwiches were to die for and her brew was killer.
His stomach growled at the thought of a sandwich and he blushed. She only laughed it off as they both reached the short wooden structure. The sturdy wooden door creaked invitingly as the pair stepped inside the warm room on an otherwise chilly morning.
Few of the tables were occupied, and those that were merely chatted quietly to themselves. The travelers went over to the bar and each sat on a stool.
The figure cleaning glasses looked up at the sound of visitors and turned around to see them in full profile.
Lucy was a tall woman that had meat on her bones. She looked like she was approaching her forties with her dark indigo hair pulled into two low short pigtails. Her green eyes sparkled with welcome as she looked over the two. "Fancy seeing you two again."
They both smiled at her in greeting. "Hey Lucy, can we get a sandwich?"
"Coming right up!" She went off into the kitchen and left them to themselves.
Selma pulled out a small book and set it before her along with a pen. He looked curiously over at it and leaned closer.
She caught him staring. "Oh, this is my Ghost Codex. I tend to right notes on each encounter."
He saw quick sketches of poes too. Each of them looked different and some he hadn't even seen before.
"I have some notes from my grandpa's as well."
He sat up straight again and she started to scribble inside her notebook. Time passed a little until Lucy came out again with what they ordered.
"How's adventurin' coming along?" she asked the two kids, who were shoveling sandwiches down their throats.
Selma tried to talk with her mouth full but that went unsuccessfully, so she swallowed it all (nearly choking herself) and so told her about the trip to meet the peaceful Gorons and the exorcism. Lucy listened with a warm smile on her face and straightened up once the girl finished.
"So where are you kids rushing off to now?"
Link leaned on the counter with his elbows and interlaced his fingers in front of his face. He hadn't thought of that part yet and he had yet to discuss the matter fully with Shaedna since he didn't get the opportunity.
"Ummm…" Selma scratched the back of her head. Apparently she didn't have a clue either.
The woman sighed and shook her head with her hands at her hips. "Kids these days, wandering around the world without planning what's ahead of them first…" She pointed to the tavern door. "How about you take a stroll around Kakariko? Perhaps our peaceful town will clear your heads a little."
Selma perked up a bit and finished gobbling down her sandwich. "Come on, Link! Let's go exploring!" She got down, linked her arm with his, and nearly made him fall flat on the tavern floor but kept his balance by some miracle but stumbling. He looked back at his unfinished sandwich sadly before being dragged through the now open door.
Lucy merely chuckled and took their plates, shaking her head along the way.
(*)
Link was finally released from her hold and got his balance (oh sweet, sweet balance!) and looked over at her. She stood proudly with her hands at her hips staring across the town. She then returned his gaze.
"Wanna come along with me? I heard that there was a potion shop here, I'm gonna check it out!" She was literally bouncing on her heels.
He was about to accept the proposal, but something nagged at him. Literally; Shaedna's lantern was shaking slightly at his side. He didn't dare look down or else Selma would notice, so he just shook his head and told her that he would find her later.
She was okay with his response and waved before walking off to what he assumed was the potion shop.
He merely sighed. Perhaps she didn't notice.
The green-clad Hylian felt a tug at his waste. He looked down at Shaedna's lamp that was still tied at his waste. The second tug pulled him off balance and made him cry out in surprise as he stumbled to gain it again. The tugging continued until they were in a shadowed space between two small buildings.
The poe, in all her glory, popped into view. "Man I'm glad you said no! I was afraid that I was gonna be stuck in my lantern for another day! Don't get me wrong, it's rather cozy in there, but you can feel trapped when you don't have another choice!" She started stretching and Link dead-panned.
He didn't even know ghosts could be that uncomfortable.
She finished stretching and crossed her arms. "Okay, back to business. I have a little errand that we need to do that involves a graveyard. Sound interested?"
He was about to answer, Umm no thank you. Please try again for another hero, but she pushed him along saying, "Okay, let's go!"
The boy sighed and merely went in the direction that she pointed him to. He jumped off the ledge on the other side of the cramped outside corridor and adjusted his hat before looking around.
The sun still had much to go before it was fully in the sky. He figured that he still had a lot of the day to spend and so he shouldn't worry about the time. He went up to the sign that told him exactly where he was supposed to go when he was suddenly stopped by an elderly man.
The man looked up at him under his hood and asked him, "Are you going to the graveyard, by chance?"
He stiffened before nodding.
The hooded man shook his head. "Trouble seems to be brewing there nowadays. The keeper abandoned his post long ago. Consider where you are going first." Then he crossed his arms behind his hunched form and strolled past the stunned man.
Link shivered when he looked at the now foreboding-looking sign again before trudging up the path.
(*)
It only took them a few minutes to reach the graveyard. They figured it would be vacant, so she floated next to him freely.
The rising sun bathed the cemetery in yellow, giving it an eerie and dead look. A tall wooden arch blocked the view of most of it, but they could see rows of tombstones leading up a hill. A few dead pitch black trees sat alone in the depressing setting. They cast shadows from the bright sun beneath their prickly branches. Cobblestone lined a small path in front of each stone along with glimpses of metal fences.
She snatched her lantern from him and started to drift ahead. "Come on, slowpoke."
When he stepped past the arch he spotted a small hut that was leaning. It looked abandoned and worn from weather.
Link also passed by a large stone in front of all of the others, though he couldn't make out what it said. He just followed Shaedna as she calmly drifted past the other tombstones without a glance back.
They finally reach the top of the hill which held two gravestones. Between the two there was a large hole with an engraving of the Triforce on the ground in front of it. The two gravestones were identical and more long than tall.
He looked up and saw a fence on what looked like a ledge. He stared puzzlingly at it; why would there be a lone fence up there?
Shaedna twirled around and faced him and held her hands out as if a presentation while bringing him out of his thoughts. "Here is our destination!"
The poe drifted over to the right gravestone and looked over the stone as if contemplating something. Link went over to her side and read the script.
R.I.P. Flat the Younger.
Link was flown backwards and landed on his back with a loud OOF! He groaned and knew that he'd been hit in the chest by something hard. He craned his neck over to where the gravestone was.
There was a ghost floating there. Shaedna merely stood there in shock and stared at the figure. He wore what looked like a green robe with the Triforce and a matching cap with a moon symbol on it. He had a ginger mustache and two cloudy red eyes. He held his lamp and a conductor's baton of which his flicked menacingly.
"Flat… Why…" She was interrupted when he waved his lantern in her direction. Flames consumed her and she reappeared into existence right next to Link.
He grunted as he got to his feet, spurred on by the situation they were in. The poe named Flat took taunting swipes in Link's direction as if to beckon him forward. And Link took that challenge as he drew his new blade.
Shaedna snapped her fingers and turned into the small flickering purple flame and sat on his shoulder once again. She sat there in silence for moment in contemplation. Then she whispered slowly, "I don't know why he is acting this way. So we must bring him to his senses. Poes have low patience and tend to charge without thinking. Flat is no different. Use that to your advantage."
He nodded grimly as he gripped the foreign weight in his hands. He didn't know who this ghost was, but Shaedna seemed to know. And as her companion he was obliged to help her out along with this Flat.
Link lunged out at his opponent, not yet accustomed to the weight and somewhat stumbled. Flat used the opportunity to maul him with his light.
The Hylian stumbled from the hit and was backed into the same grave that the ghost awakened from.
Well, that hurt. His back was already sore from earlier. He grunted in pain but willed himself to get up.
Flat was already waiting for him. He flicked his baton in a stabbing motion.
He dodged and sliced at him with his own weapon. The impact hurt the poe and he threw his arms up in surprise and pain.
But Link was surprised to see, or rather hear, laughter. He came to a dead stop and stared at him in wary puzzlement. Why was the poe laughing?
The ghost faded away into invisibility with a cackle. The only signs of Flat still being there were the sounds of metal clinking and robes fluttering. He tensed and kept his sword ready.
"Look out!" he heard Shaedna cry. He felt a hard impact against his back which made him fall forward onto his front. The surface was hard and he happened to hit his nose on it.
The swordsman felt dazed and everywhere throbbed. But he lifted his heavy head up to look at what he was draped over.
R.I.P. Sharp the Elder.
He saw what was coming and rolled out of the way of a foreseen attack. The sound of clinking and the air rising signaled a new presence. His intuition was correct; another figure came into sight before him.
Here appeared another ghost in clothing similar to Flat's but red in style. He was shorter and stouter than the green ghost and his ginger hair had curls. However, they both had identical mustaches.
On his hat was the symbol for the sun and his chest the Triforce. He held a thick lantern identical to Flat's and his own baton. But he held them calmly at his side and stared at Link with slitted pale foggy red eyes.
"What business have you in Kakariko Graveyard, land where only the dead roam? This is no place for one as full of life as you. Or do you say that you wish to join the dead? That is fine…" The poe smiled under his mustache and took on a battle stance. "If that is the case, sleep gently to the Melody of Darkness that the great composer, Sharp shall play… and join the ranks of the dead."
Then the ghost slowly raised his baton. Link tensed and raised his sword at the deceased composer.
Shaedna's flame flickered. "COVER YOUR EARS, LINK!"
Flat seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in. "SHARP, NO!"
Sharp made harsh flicking gesticulations with his baton. The melody brought forth signaled eerie darkness and peril. The sun was blocked temporarily and the setting turned dark and red in hue.
The swordsman suddenly felt pain stabbing at him. The world started to turn blurry and the scenery was changing. Link blinked before realizing that he was falling. His legs didn't have the strength to hold his weight anymore and so he was on the cold ground. His sword clattered uselessly at his side.
He felt tired all of the sudden. Oh so very tired. His nose hurt where it was hit and his arms were losing energy while trying to keep him up. Something was leeching his strength away until he had none left.
He didn't even realize that he was still trying to get up. Perhaps he was too tired to think properly.
He heard a voice screaming at him to get up. He knew that voice, it was familiar. But he was too exhausted at the moment to hear what it said and his arms were shaking too much to support his weight. His mind was fading into unconsciousness and drawing a blank. His bright blue eyes dulled and darkened as he hit the cold ground; soon they saw nothing.
(*)
His head that was filled with darkness started to awaken. There were notes playing that was slowly making itself known. It was a slow melody that brought peace to his sore head. Cold and lifeless blue eyes started to brighten in color and behold life. Warmth started to fill his aching limbs and give his body life.
His fingers started to twitch and he was able to grab the hard earth beneath him. His limbs told him that they were strong enough to support him once again, and so he shakily got on all fours. The melody that was playing supported him and gave him strength enough to stand.
Before he knew it, he was standing up straight and proper.
"That was the Song of Healing."
Link looked curiously over at where the voice came from. It came from the strong poe Flat, of which was holding his baton steadily in his hand as if he was going to continue conducting at any moment.
"It will only help you for a short period of time," The conductor continued, "so I suggest you keep my brother busy while I compose another song."
Link warily nodded. He did feel exceptionally better, but he still felt a little sore.
He realized that the harsh song wasn't playing anymore. Sharp stood there stiffly with his baton still raised as if stunned. Then he shook himself out of his stupor and faced the boy again. "You shall perish by the hands of the dead!"
Link charged now and dodged Sharp's agitated swing of his lantern by stepping to the left, his hair blowing with the swing's current. The boy got in close and swiped horizontally with his sword. The ghost was hit, and so he used the same trick Flat used: disappear.
This time Link stood there quietly and closed his eyes to focus all of his senses into one. He heard the poe circling him, sizing him up, deciding whether to strike. So he clenched the hilt of his sword in his left tighter.
"Hayyyyah!" Link cried out, using a spinning slash. Sparks lined the blade with the speed and cut what little blades of grass there was.
He held his crouched position. Something tapped his head and he looked skyward.
Drips of rain fell down from the sky and drenched the living. Soft music drifted up from the ground and grew louder in volume. It seemed like a godly melody decided to step before them to cease the fighting.* It must have also been crying for Sharp, who had been striking in mindless rage. But it was already over.
Sharp was nothing more than a green orb of fire. His expression looked disgruntled and forlorn. He looked up when Shaedna quietly floated over to him.
"Sharp…" she muttered, "what's going on? What happened to you?"
The green glob of fire looked down to the ground and contemplated his answer. "I… I do not know. Maybe it was a year ago. Two years ago. Ten. A week. A day. I do not know when this happened."
Flat drifted over to them. "I remember. It was a week ago and we were protecting the crypts of the Royal Family descendants from an army of ghosts and ghouls. But there was one that stood out the most. A figure wearing a low cowl over their face turned their attention to Sharp, and he started to act differently. He stopped fighting and betrayed me. He sealed me in my own grave."
The green flame saddened at the news at how he had done that to his own brother.
"After that, I must have lost my sanity. I felt more and more alone in my grave and I thought about everything. About you, about Sharp, about Dar, about Hyrule's history. I could not end my duties there! I still had much to do! So I tried to fight my way through this barrier of sorts, the host of my form. But I could not break free, and I lost track of time… It was as if I was stuck in a long and maddening coma, and so now the first time I regained my senses is from hearing Sharp play. It is humorous, a song that should madden and weaken brought coherency and life back!"
Link's face took on a puzzled emotion. There was an unfamiliar name that he had mentioned.
Sharp's form looked up at him. "What was the song that you played, brother? I have not heard it before."
"That is what I call the Song of Storms. I composed it so that if your temper ever consumes you, then I have a way to grab you out."
"I do not have a bad temper!"
Shaedna stepped in. "Before you two geezers bicker, I need information. This shorty here-"
Link sneezed.
"-is the one I chose to be as a 'hero.' The scythe was stolen and broken apart. I want to know about everything: Who nabbed it, where they are, what we can do about it, and how many are in on it. I want to know what we're up against, and pronto."
Both poes nodded respectfully.
"You are dismissed." She then disappeared into her lantern again, making it flicker wildly before settling.
Link shivered with his arms around himself since he was soaking wet. The Hylian was about to turn around and head back to town when he felt Flat grab his arm. It felt solid and deathly cold. "Wait a moment."
He turned around and Sharp looked up at him. "You're his descendant, aren't you? The Hero of Time's?"
He stood there frozen, wide-eyed in shock.
"I fought against him, the Hero. His fighting style was similar to yours, although he did have a shield as well with his Master Sword." He smiled at the boy. "If it is you, then perhaps you could find something for us. They are called the Ivories of Obscurity. Nobody knows what it is, or where it is at, or even what it does. But if it is you, then perhaps you can find what we have been searching for, for years."
He looked at them with interest. How could he possibly do it alone with nothing to go on? But for some reason, he nodded anyway. He could not turn down that offer.
And so he was finally able to head back to Kakariko, and he did so without looking back.
They got closer to town, but before they could do so, Shaedna got out of her lantern and stopped him.
"Before we get back, I want to discuss something with you…" She turned her back to him. "About Sharp and Flat's proposal, you don't have to go through that. Nobody knows where it is. Don't worry about it."
She glanced over at him over her small shoulder.
He considered what she said before smiling and shaking his head.
She stared at him before smiling and shaking her head herself. The girl returned to her lantern and let Link step into town. The rain fell from the sky and clouded the view of the green-clad Hylian before fading entirely.
* -this is supposed to sound like the Wind Waker from it's respected game. They're both batons, and I wanted to try them sounding similar. Sadly I can only give you the imagination in your heads instead of the real sound.
Kisuke:
So how'd you like this chapter? I was originally going to split Chapter 4, but that'd take extra editing and I'd have to find a good midpoint to split it and it looked okay as it was. So I left it and this one as well. 3,690 words excluding Author's Note! The longer the better, right?
So Flat's explanation about being trapped in his own grave must've been some type of nod to Edgar Allen Poe. I haven't read The Cask of Amontillado yet, but I've heard of it and some minor details resembles it, like how someone Flat associates with, like Sharp, turns against him and locks him up into a catacomb. Just thought I'd point that out, it was kind of interesting to me.
I've been taking some details from Majora's Mask for these two since we don't really know much about them with just OoT alone. Sadly I haven't played through MM, it has a lot of interesting ideas from what I've seen... I'd always get stuck at the beginning. So the Composer Brothers seem like they've been serving under multiple kingdoms, why is that? They sure have a lot of loyalties. So that tells me that they are very old poes and they've traveled far and know a lot in their long life, or rather, afterlife. I figured they'd make interesting characters to write about and their characters will be more defined later.
Need more reviews! This story is still like two months old, so I'd like to get feedback when I can. I'd like to hear all of your ideas and criticism! I have a whole bucket of candy like snickers and kit kats that I'll share with you all if you press that awesome little button!
Sheik: You do have a bucket of candy, but you're not going to share it with anybody.
Kisuke: Darn, my secret's discovered! But you're free to have some when Halloween comes by.
Sheik: But nobody knows where you live.
Kisuke: Of course they do. It's my imaginary door on fan fiction.
Sheik: Oh, right... The imaginary door...
Kisuke: All right, guys! I have to plan ahead for the next chapter, so good luck and Happy Halloween!
Sheik: 'Happy Halloween' doesn't make sense...
Kisuke: Ugh, go away Sheik...