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~MASQUERADE~

Chapter 7: Running in Circles

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"C'mon, you call that running? You're going to have to go faster than that if you want to catch those little punks! Faster! Go faster!"

Link pushed himself to run faster, trying to keep up with Tatl as she led him through the winding streets of Clock Town. She zipped around corners and darted down side streets, forcing him to stay close, lest he lose sight of her. She sure wasn't going to risk missing an opportunity to catch one of those Bombers.

"Faster! Push those stumpy little legs to the limit!" she hounded him, but he was rapidly falling behind. Overcome with exhaustion, he teetered to a stop and slumped forward, resting his hands on his knees. His breath passed in and out of his snout as a soft whistle.

"Well. That was pretty pathetic," she said, flying back to meet him. He threw her a look, albeit a rather weak one. "Oh, don't get your pants in a bunch, kid. It just means we'll have just have to resort to cheating. No worries, I'm an expert."

Link lifted his arms and waved at their surroundings.

"Huh? What's that?"

He made the motion again.

"Where are we?"

He nodded in confirmation, still trying to catch his breath. Tatl took a look around to check where they were, but she didn't recognize the street they were on. "…Huh. I don't know. But if we keep going west, we'll eventually get to West Clock Town!" She grinned. "So, why don't we check there next? We can get something to eat while we're over there too."

After one more long inhale and exhale, he stood up straight and looked to her to lead the way, as she expected. The kid was probably famished by now, and he would need some food if he was going to be chasing the Bombers around town all day. Plus she was rather in the mood for something to eat herself.

They traveled a few more blocks and made it to West, Clock Town's main shopping hub. It was the smallest section of town, comprised of a downward sloping, covered market lined by a strip mall. Upon turning the corner onto the main strip, Link immediately gravitated toward the swordsman school to observe the blades glinting in the front windows. Rows of long, curved swords; pairs of short, lethal-looking daggers; all kinds of sharp, pointy weapons Tatl had no names for.

She had always figured Link had been some kind of swordsmen before…the incident. But now, looking at him, the image just didn't add up. She couldn't help let out a small laugh when she pictured the shrimpy deku scrub trying to handle a blade twice his as big as he was. Link turned from the window and gave her a questioning look.

"Nothing. It's nothing," she lied.

West's outdoor market was active, but unusually sparse. Many farmers had not turned up, leaving large gaps between shopping stands. Even fewer shoppers than stand owners walked among them, occasionally pausing to sample the fresh produce. It wasn't long before Tatl and Link caught a whiff of something delicious. Link breathed in deeply, as if to taste the air with his snout. He quickly singled out the stand the inviting aroma was emanating from, one with a decadent-looking spread of fresh baked bread and pastries. There was something for everyone; goron muffins sprinkled with rocks, zoran crescents stuffed with seaweed, honey-drizzled rolls that were apparently popular with deku scrubs. They used eight of their nine rupees to buy a couple of the rolls and a shiny red apple and sat down on a low bench to indulge in their breakfast. Link began scraping at the apple and stuffing tiny pieces of it into his hollow mouth. Tatl lingered at his side for a few minutes as he ate, eyeing the rolls hungrily. When she couldn't stand it anymore, she leaned over and stole away with a few crumbs. Link peered down at her with curiosity.

"What's with you?" she said, popping a crumb into her mouth. "Never seen a fairy eat before?"

He gave her and idle shrug and went back to eating his food. Maybe it was because she was so used to always having her brother around to talk to, but his constant silence was beginning to wear on her nerves.

"Ever the talkative one, aren't you?" she sighed. "You know, I can't believe you still can't talk. You've been a deku scrub for how long now? Almost a day and a half? You could at least try to speak. Go on. Try saying 'apple.'"

Link looked down at the fruit in his hand thoughtfully, but didn't make an attempt at talking.

"I won't laugh at you," Tatl rolled her eyes. "Go ahead. Say apple."

He scrunched up his eyes in concentration, giving the apple a hard stare. "Aaahl."

Tatl pursed her lips. "I think maybe you're trying to talk too much like you would when you were a human. You're forgetting you don't have lips anymore. Or a tongue…do deku scrubs have tongues?" She wasn't positive. Actually, she had never once thought about that in her life until now. "Well, I'm guessing you don't. Try speaking more from your throat or something. It seems like dekus make the sound in their throat somehow."

"…Aah-ol."

"Hm. Maybe it's not that simple." She wracked her brain for another approach, but no bright ideas came to her.

"Aah-ol," Link tried again. "Aaool."

"Okay. On second thought, stop. Just…shut up. If I have to listen to that nonsense the rest of my time with you, I think I'll go insane," she said, going for another breadcrumb. At that moment she felt something wet land on her head. She looked up at the sky and saw that the dark clouds had overtaken almost half the sky. Any minute now, raindrops would be dropping from those clouds like bombs.

"Oh no, I hate getting wet!" she whined. She hopped off the bench and hovered in front of Link's face so he had to cross his eyes to see her. "It's cold and icky and I can barely fly with all the heavy rain drops pounding me down and ohhh," she inched toward his hat, "you understand, don't you?"

Silence.

"Good. Then I'll just be hiding out in here," she said, zipping inside his hat without giving him a chance refuse. Not that his opinion mattered. It was raining, and it was only getting heavier by the second. Shoppers flung hoods over their heads and took cover inside shops. Vendors who were too dumb to set up under the straw market cover rushed to throw table clothes and blankets over their stands to shield their hard-earned produce from the rain. Sheets of water slid off rooftops and ran down the sloped road, forming a miniature river. Suddenly, the bell to the post office door jingled and out came the postman himself, bright red mailbag in tow. He hesitated in the doorway for a split second when he saw the road conditions, gripping the doorknob tightly. But then he pressed his lips together into a look of determination that much resembled a constipated frown and charged out into the downpour in his short shorts and sandals like it was nothing.

"Goddesses. Someone ought to get the postman some pants," Tatl remarked as the skinny man dashed by. Link hopped down off the bench and followed in his trail of water ripples, nibbling on his last roll. He angled his head up toward the sky as if to welcome the falling rain, his eyelids drooping ever so slightly. He was spacing out again, she was sure of it. She prodded him in the side of the head.

"Hey Deku Boy, snap out of it. We still have to keep a look out for the brats in blue hats, remember? So do us a favor and keep your eyes open!"

"Hey there, little guy! How would you like to create a savings account?"

Link lethargically turned toward the voice that had called out to him. A slim redhead with a black cap over their eyes waved at him from a sketchy-looking stall nearby. Leaning against the stall was a large sign that, interestingly enough, read "BANK".

"Won't you deposit some rupees?" the banker asked.

When Link hesitated to decline the offer, Tatl coughed in his ear. "Ignore her—er, him. Don't make eye contact."

"If you make a deposit with us, you gain interest with time," said the banker, motioning to the gigantic vault behind him. "Do you know what that means, little guy? That means you'd be making money! So, whaddya' say? Wanna give me some rupees?"

"Keep moving," Tatl hissed.

After another brief moment of uncertainty, Link followed her instructions and passed the bank stall over.

"Nowadays, even if people have money, they don't deposit any," the banker yelled after them. "Nothing! Nothing!"

Tatl had just about had it. She stuck her head outside and shouted, "We don't have any rupees!"

"You just used money to buy that bread!"

"Duh. That's why we don't have any rupees!" she shot back. Link winced. She was about to apologize for screaming in his ear, but then she felt a twinge of annoyance. Who was he to dictate how she should behave? She'd scream whenever and at whomever she darned well wanted.

"Who does he think he is, trying to make an example of you like that?" she growled. "The nerve!"

Just then, Link came to a sudden stop. Tatl turned her attention back to the road and immediately saw why. A Bomber was just standing out in the open a couple stalls down, his hands resting in his pockets ever so inconspicuously.

"Hey, deku scrub," he said, giving a little wave. A devilish grin slid across his freckled face. "Here I am. Why don't you come and get me?"

Link lunged toward the Bomber.

"Wait!" Tatl yanked on one of his hairs. He reeled back, letting out an agitated squeak. "Don't just run at him, dummy! Can't you see he's up to something?" She leaned forward, scrutinizing the Bomber. What was he hiding?

Link tensed his body and went alert. For a few seconds, nothing happened. The Bomber didn't move. Link didn't move. They just remained frozen in their spots, staring each other down. Then suddenly, something exploded halfway between the two boys, spewing the surrounding street with dark green sludge.

A putrid smell like rotting fish instantly filled the air. Tatl covered her nose and mouth, gagging, as screams and wails went up throughout the market. Next thing she knew, the Bomber was fleeing the scene and Link was bolting after him, avoiding the gunk from the stink bomb as best as he possibly could. She held onto Link tight with one hand and kept her nose pinched shut with the other, trying to keep tabs on their target, but the nasty smell was making her eyes burn. Through the chaos, she could just make out a number '2' disappearing around a corner, into a narrow space between two buildings.

Just as Link was about to round the corner, something smacked into them full force. Tatl screamed as they fell backwards and hit ground. She struggled out into the air to see Two lying flat on his back, his chest heaving. He had doubled back and collided with Link.

"G…guards…!" the Bomber panted.

Scrambling to his feet, Link yanked the boy up by the arm and dragged him through the nearest doorway, slamming the door shut behind them. Once inside, Tatl flew out of Link's hat to get her bearings. They appeared to be inside some quaint little general store, with a man-made stream cutting through the center of the room. A small, wooden bridge arched over the stream,and orange-and-black speckled koi fish glided along just beneath the surface of the clear water. Link and Two dove underneath a fishing rod display in the corner of the room and collapsed on the floor, gasping for air. Two's hyperventilating quickly turned into peals of laughter.

"Would you shut up?" Tatl snapped. Guards were running back and forth right outside the windows, looking for the stink bomb culprit. And to make matters worse, they weren't exactly alone inside the store. Tatl kept one wary eye on the clerk at the back of the room, a stocky man with a full head of wiry brown hair and a mini mustache and goatee combo that seemed to be all the rage with middle-aged men these days. Luckily, he was preoccupied with organizing the shelves and had yet to notice them hiding in the corner.

Tatl hunkered down close to the floor and whispered sharply, "don't come out of there. You understand me?! Stay down and keep your mouths shut-it's not that funny!" she snarled when Two started up his maniacal giggling again. "What are you, some kind of raving lunatic?! Get a grip!"

"What? Kids?!" The owner of the shop turned his round, blue eyes on them. "You can't play in here!"

Tatl cringed. He was so loud. She did a fast double take between the man and the window. The guards seemed to be regrouping to take their search elsewhere.

"This ain't no playground!" the shopkeeper said, scratching at one of his sideburns. "Kids hafta play outside, I kid you not."

Without warning, the two boys burst out from under the fishing display. One of them banged his head on the underside of the table, upsetting the tools that had been so carefully arranged on top. In one swift movement, Tatl slipped back into Link's cap just as he crashed out the doorway after Two, making a cringe-inducing exclamation point on the end of their already messy exit. They stumbled outside and ran in the opposite direction of the guards, the shopkeeper hollering expletives after them.

"Nice going, genius. Real smooth," Tatl scolded Number Two once they were good and far away from the scene of the crime. "You could have gotten us all arrested!"

"That was wicked, deku kid!" Two screeched under his breath, blatantly ignoring Tatl. He punched Link in the shoulder playfully.

She let out an exasperated groan, burying her face in her hands. "Fine. Ignore me. I give up."

"If you hadn't braved my stink bombs, I would've gotten caught by those guards!" Two went on animatedly. "And here I thought you looked like a total pansy."

Link's eyes went to the pouch strapped around Number Two's waist; it was overflowing with deku nuts. He took his last rupee out of his pocket and offered it to the Bomber.

Number Two gave him a puzzled look. "Heh?"

"I think he wants to buy a deku nut off you," Tatl told him.

"Oh! Right," the Bomber grinned. "That's ok, you can just have some for free!" He dumped five of them in Link's hands, and then his eyes grew wide and insane. "The more explosions the better."

Tatl and Link both recoiled a little bit.

"You want anything else?" the madly grinning Bomber asked. "I got the whole shibang. Firecrackers, sparklers, smoke balls, and—ooohh," He flashed a little canister filled with dark-green liquid. "I still have one stink bomb left!"

Tatl exchanged a look with Link. "Uh…I think we're good."

"Eh? Ok! More for me, then," he chirped. He gave Link a hard slap on the back that almost knocked him over. "See you later, deku kid!"

The Bomber zoomed off down the alleyway and out of sight. Once he was long gone, they found their way back to the main street, thanks Tatl's intuitive sense of direction and Link's acute sense of smell. The air still reeked from Two's stink bombs, and the rain was only making things worse. Swirls of green stink juice mingled with rain puddles and washed down the road in dark, putrid stripes. Even after they'd walked the rest of the way down the market, Tatl could still smell it. She grabbed a little bit of fabric from Link's cap and blew her nose in an attempt to expel the nasty stench from her nostrils. Link flinched at the sudden sound.

"Don't judge me."

They followed the main thoroughfare all the way back to South Clock Town. The first thing that alerted Tatl to their whereabouts was a gruff man's voice shouting relentlessly over the downpour. "Is that Mutoh out there?" she said, taking a peek outside. Sure enough, Mutoh was screaming at a pair of heavy carpenters who were trying to hold down a rickety old scaffolding. A third carpenter stood on top of it, trying to nail a wooden beam in place and blissfully unaware of the shenanigans going on on the ground. The whole thing looked like a disaster waiting to happen.

"Jeez, they're persistent," Tatl sniffed. "I guess this means the mayor hasn't ordered an evacuation yet…"

Looking out at the drab, rainy square, she couldn't help but feel more than a little dispirited. Decorations had fallen down and blown away, no one bothering to put them back up. House windows that would normally be alight on an awful day like this were dark and fogged over, their blinds drawn. Tatl shivered. The cold rain was starting to soak through the lining of Link's cap and get her soggy.

"Well, Deku Boy, you're on your own from now on," she said, retreating further back into the hat to find a dryer resting place.

He stopped walking.

"…What's wrong? Don't tell me you don't know your way around by now. It's nothing but a big loop! Just keep running in circles and you're bound to find one of those brats eventually. I'll come out and help you once it stops raining."

After a few seconds pause Link kept going without complaint, but she thought she could sense his annoyance.

"Hey, this was what you wanted. This was all you. I was going to try and cut us another deal, but no. You had to settle for this," she yawned. "Did I actually say this was going to be fun? Because it's not. This is not fu—watch where you're going!"

Tatl grabbed a fistful of cloth and held on for dear life as Link lurched sideways unexpectedly, eliciting a small yelp from whomever he carelessly ran into. He staggered a couple steps before regaining his balance.

"What's your problem?!" Tatl spat, trying to free herself from his mess of yellow hair.

"Ahh! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you down there!" cried a familiar voice. "Are you okay, Mr. Scrub?" A sigh of relief, "That's good. I'm terribly sorry, I really must pay better attention to where I'm going. I ran over a dog the other day too…"

Tatl clambered of the hat and found herself gazing up at the overly-apologetic receptionist they met at Stock Pot Inn yesterday. To her surprise, the lady's hair and clothes were completely dry. It was then that she noticed the dainty little umbrella resting on her shoulder.

"Oh, thank you so much!" Tatl exclaimed, flying into the precious pocket of dry air beneath the umbrella. She buzzed her wings rapidly to shake off the condensation that had collected on them. "You brought this all the way out here just for me, didn't you?"

The inn receptionist gave her a bemused look, but didn't object to sharing her umbrella. "So…how have you been, Mr. Scrub?" she asked, turning to Link. She was smiling, but everything else about her, from her stooped posture to her pale face, seemed devoid of any cheer. "Usually I'm terrible at remembering faces, but for some reason I remembered yours."

Unable to speak, Link merely blinked up at her with his gloomy orange eyes.

Her expression softened. "Do scrubs feel sad on rainy days, too? Oh—but," she shook her head, "deku scrubs are supposed to like rain, right? I forgot." She let out a heavy sigh, her gaze growing distant. "At least one of us has a reason to be happy…"

Tatl rolled her eyes. When people went around acting all depressed she never humored them by asking what was wrong…unless she actually cared, that is. But more often then not, she didn't.

The woman looked back down at Link, a hollow smile on her lips. "I need to be happier, don't I?"

Her somber expression turned to one of puzzlement when Link didn't answer. He offered her a little head tilt in response, but she was still staring at him, waiting for him to say something.

"Oh, don't mind him," Tatl spoke up, running her fingers through her wet hair in an attempt to comb some of the knots out. "He just gets really shy around pretty girls."

Link abruptly looked away. If he weren't made of wood, he probably would have been blushing furiously. Tatl smirked to herself.

The woman forced a laugh. "Well, that explains it. How cute."

"More like annoying."

The inn keeper just smiled awkwardly, shaking her head. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Oh, I meant to ask," she said, looking to Tatl, "did you two manage to find a place to stay yesterday?"

"Are you kidding?" Tatl said sharply, unable to contain herself. "We slept in the park like a couple of bums!"

The woman's eyes widened. "Oh my goodness! Y-you did?!" she stammered, covering her mouth in surprise. "That's…I…I feel so bad!"

"And you should," said Tatl. Link shot her a look, but she pretended not to notice. "Not a single hotel in town would even spare an empty closet for poor little Deku Boy."

"Aww," the woman cooed. She was gazing down at little homeless Link with a look of genuine pity on her face. "I wish there were some way I could help…um...say, Mr. Scrub, how about this. Would you like to come by the inn for dinner later?"

"Mm?" Link squeaked, seeming a little taken aback by this sudden offer.

"It'll be no trouble," she assured him, twirling her umbrella absentmindedly. "I make dinner for my grandmother every night anyway. It's the least I can do to…to make your stay in Clock Town a little more bearable," she shrugged. "Is 6 o' clock all right?"

A reluctant pause, and then Link averted his eyes and gave her a timid nod. Even he couldn't deny free food.

The innkeeper uttered a small laugh, a real one this time. "Okay. 6 o' clock it is, then," she said, giving him a little pat on the head. Link kept his eyes on his feet. "See you later, Mr. Scrub…"

She stepped around Link and continued on her way down the road, her heels clicking against the sidewalk. Link turned around and stared after her for a long moment, until her silhouette faded behind a curtain of rain.

Tatl started to work her way back into his hat, peeling the soaked fabric away from his face. "Ugh, disgusting."

He gave her an odd sideways glance.

"What?" she snapped. "I don't know if you noticed, but I just scored us a free meal! You should be thanking me. It's called Survival 101: taking advantage of random strangers. Me and Tael do it all the time."

Link turned his gaze back in the direction the woman had gone. A knowing smirk crossed Tatl's face. "Ooohh, I get it. You're just mad because I embarrassed you in front of the pretty lady, aren't you? Aren't you?"

Link blinked at her, looking a bit flustered. He stomped his foot and shook his head at the ground, fuming quietly.

"I'll take that as a yes," she chuckled, slipping back into his cap. "Well, get over it kid! We'll probably never see her again after today anyway."

And so, the cold, wet, muggy day wore on. Tatl lounged around in the soggy folds of Link's hat for who knew how long, occasionally suggesting places to look. The Clock Tower's bells signaled each passing hour as they looped around the entire town again and again, scouring the streets for signs of Bomber activity. Finally, while they were searching a dreary back alley in East Clock Town, they scored a hit.

A loud yelp echoed off the alley walls as they rounded a corner, only to see Bomber Three darting in the opposite direction. Link began to pursue him, his stubby legs going as fast as possible. But it wasn't fast enough. Three was leaving them in the dust.

"Come on, get him!" Tatl commanded, peeking out from underneath the hat to watch the action.

Number Three disappeared around a corner; Link followed, but skidded to a halt immediately. They had reached the eastern plaza. Tatl squinted through the cascading rain, searching for a blue Bomber cap, but there was no sign of the little boy. Then something caught her eye. A small trash heap lay by some citizen's door, waiting to be collected. Among this heap was a small cardboard box with two little feet trying to squirm under it.

Tatl let out a small snicker. If the little brat had kept running, he would have gotten away. Too bad for him.

Link was still whipping his head around, trying to figure out where to go. Tatl inched out of his hat and tapped his forehead with a finger. Then she pointed to the box. The feet had disappeared, but it was still shifting as Three tried to make himself comfortable. The little deku scrub approached the box, getting a firm grip on the bottom. Just as he was about to flip it over, a muffled voice burst out, "Wait! I can—I can tell you the other Bombers' locations! Just let me go!"

Tatl narrowed her eyes disbelievingly. "You can, huh? Well let's hear one."

Silence followed her words.

"Tag him, deku kid."

As soon as Link started to lift the box, the shrill sound of a whistle pierced their ears. Tatl smiled deviously. Hopefully all the remaining Bombers would come running at Number Three's distress call. The three of them froze, waiting.

A few seconds went by and nothing happened. Tatl let out a snort of frustration and was ready to tell Link to do away with Three, when a shout reached her ears. She craned her neck to see another Bomber standing on the roof of the milk bar. He jumped, but instead of plummeting to his death, he soared to meet them, gripping the talons of a cuckoo. The massive white bird squawked and beat its wings, scattering a cloud of white feathers.

Four hit the ground hard and stumbled, landing clumsily on his face. Link was on him before he could pick himself up off the ground. He gave a soft groan as the deku scrub tagged him and took him out of the game.

Tatl looked back to see Three burst out of his box and make a run for it. "Hey!" She shouted, darting from the shelter of Link's hat and out into the rain. She was already soaked to the bone so it made no difference anymore. She powered her waterlogged wings with all her might, trying to stay aflight in the rain. She sped ahead of Three and began to harass him like an angry fly. He slowed his pace, flailing his arms to try and swat her away. She narrowly dodged being hit just as Link came running up from behind.

He tagged Three on the back. The Bomber whipped around, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Hey, no fair! The scrub is supposed to tag us!"

"He did tag you, in case you hadn't noticed," Tatl sneered, settling back down on Link's wet mop of hair.

Three shook his head furiously. "That's not what I meant. You're not supposed to help him!" He pointed an accusing finger at Tatl and she had to refrain from biting it.

"Look—Deku Boy here had to tag all of you. That was the only requirement. There were no rules that said I couldn't help him!"

The two argued for a full five minutes, but in the end, Tatl won. She watched approvingly as Three gave an indignant huff and trailed after Four, leaving the eastern square behind.

"That's what I like to call killing two Bombers with one stone," Tatl said, gliding down to rest on Link's shoulder. "Let's see, who all did we get? Those two, the creepy pyro, that annoying kid with the camera…wouldn't you know it, Jim's the only one left. How typical."

Link didn't appear to be listening. He was still looking after the two Bombers they had just caught. They were marching to the upper east side of the town, their heads hung in shame.

"Huh," Tatl said thoughtfully, "now where could they be headed off to?"

Link began to follow them, making his squishy footfalls as silent as possible. They peeked around the corner of a building to see that all of the Bombers except Jim had gathered out front the town hall. The kids all looked the same from a distance, their drenched polo shirts clinging to their skinny frames. Tufts of matted hair stuck out from underneath their bandanas and clung to their foreheads. The tiny little yellow Bomber was looking at each of the older Bombers with worried eyes, shivering.

"I can't believe that scrub managed to off four out of five of us! That's 80%!" Three scowled, his hands placed firmly on his hips. "You guys should be ashamed of yourselves."

"Hey. You got caught too, didn't you?" Two said, lounging by the narrow alleyway, fiddling with his remaining stink bomb.

"Not the point!" Three snapped. "What's Jim going to say? I wouldn't be surprised if he kicked us out of the society!"

Four gasped as if that were the worst possible thing that could ever happen to him.

"Don't worry!" Five grinned, holding up his pictograph. "He'll never find Jim. He's still hiding at the old playground in North Clock Town. Wanna see the picture I got?"

Link gave a small start at the location of the final Bomber. He began to turn and run back the way he came, but Tatl pinched his shoulder, bringing him to a halt. "No," she said gleefully, batting her wings and taking to the air, "we gotta do this the right way."

She flew out into the open, with Link following her more tentatively. "Thanks for the tip off, boys!" she called over her shoulder cheerfully. "We'll say hi to Jim when we get there."

All of the Bombers whipped around, staring at them with wide eyes. Three turned and clocked Five on the head, screeching, "idiot!"

Snickering, Tatl led Link to North Clock Town. They could see the playground dripping with rainwater. A small stream ran down the slide and into the mud beneath it, forming a large puddle. At the top of the slide, they could see the top of Jim's red hat as he hunkered down in the shower.

Link gave the playground a wide berth, sneaking around to surprise Jim from behind. Tatl suppressed a smirk and followed him quietly. Jim lifted his head every once in a while to scan the area, then returned to a crouching position. Link scaled the stairs leading to the top as silently as possible, allowing the pattering rain to drown out his footsteps.

When he was just a few feet away from Jim, the Bomber whipped around, letting out a startled cry. Link threw himself forward to tackle the boy, but he had already escaped down the slide. He landed with a splash in the puddle below.

Orange eyes blazing with determination, Link dove after him, going headfirst down the slide. Jim scrambled to his feet, narrowly avoiding the deku scrub that landed in the mud next to him.

"You'll never catch me!" Jim declared, preparing to make a run for it. But his feet slipped out from under him. With a loud squelching sound, he face planted into the muddy ground. Link weakly crawled over and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. Jim lifted his head, his face coated with sludge.

Tatl flitted over, waiting for the explosion that would no doubt occur.

Jim's filth-caked lips parted. "That…was awesome!" He roared, leaping up.

Link shakily rose to his feet, looking satisfied. Jim gave him a playful shove that nearly knocked the tired deku back into the mud. Then his usual nonchalant demeanor settled back over him. He folded his arms, nodding approvingly at Link.

"Nice job, deku kid," he said coolly.

"Don't forget your part of the deal!" Tatl reminded him testily.

"I know, I know!" Jim waved an arm at her, scattering bits of mud in her direction. She backed away, grimacing in disgust. "C'mon. Let's go find the others."

Together, they went back to the Town Hall, leaving a trail of dirty brown water in their wake as the rain washed the mud off their bodies. When the rest of the group came into sight, Jim blew his whistle.

"Alright, guys! Line up," he commanded.

When the other Bombers saw that Link had been victorious, their faces displayed an array of mixed reactions, from surprise to admiration to disdain. But they followed Jim's orders without question. They immediately started scrambling into a line, shifting and shoving around each other to get into a specific sequence. Jim took up a position at the left end of the line.

"Well, deku kid, it's been fun," he said, crossing his arms. "I honestly didn't think you had it in you, but you proved me wrong."

"Cheater," muttered Number Three.

"We don't give our secrets away to just anybody, so I hope you understand-"

"Yeah, yeah," Tatl interrupted. "We get it, this is a once-in-a-lifetime event! Just tell us the code."

Narrowing his eyes, Jim turned his gaze to Tatl and opened his mouth as if he were going to say something, but then he just closed it and gave her a bleak stare.

"Mr. Shinkashi's telescope is amazing!" Five blurted out, demonstrating his knack for breaking awkward silences. ("Shikashi," corrected Three.) "He has a lot of cool stuff over at his place!"

"…Yeah," said Jim, disregarding Tatl. "Professor Shikashi's a pretty cool old guy." He directed Link's attention to the narrow alley behind them. "I guess you figured it out already, but this is the secret entrance to his observatory. You'll be allowed in until we change the pass code again next week. Just tell our guard Bobby—where's Bobby?"

One of the other Bombers shoved the little yellow-capped Bomber out in front of the line.

"This is Bobby," Jim went on. "You'll want to tell him the code. Once you do that, just keep following the alley due east, and then…well, it's pretty obvious where you should go after that." He paused, considering Link thoughtfully. "If only you were human. Then I could give you an original Bombers' Notebook and make you an official member. What do you guys think?"

"No way! No scrubs!" cried a couple of the other Bombers.

Jim shook his head. "Yeah. Sorry, not gonna happen. But we'll teach you the code, just like we promised." He smiled mischievously and said in a hushed voice, "are you ready?!"

Link gave him an eager nod. Jim turned around. One by one, the other Bombers followed suit, turning away to reveal the order of the numbers on the backs of their shirts.

Tatl's jaw dropped. "No. No way. You have got to be kidding me. That's the code?!"

"Yup!" said Jim. "Don't forget it 'cause we're only going to show you once!"

"One, two, three, four, five?!" Tatl exclaimed, looking absolutely petrified.

"Shh! Not so loud!" somebody said.

"You're telling me we wasted an entire day running around in the pouring down rain like a couple of nitwits for," Tatl clutched her head, desperately trying not to start tearing her hair out. "One, two, three, four, five?!"

The Bombers looked at each other.

"Well, everybody was having problems remembering it sooo…" Jim shrugged.

"You mean Bobby was having problems remembering it," said Three, eyeing the littlest Bomber with contempt.

Bobby looked around frantically. "What?! What'd I do?!"

Tatl just stared at boys incredulously, at a complete loss for words.

Number Four leaped into the air. "Bombers Secret Society of Justice forever!" he proclaimed proudly, making a little salute.

"Bombers Secret Society of Justice!" the others all cried in unison. That is, all but Number Five, who was a little late on the uptake.

Tatl opened her mouth to berate them, but what came out instead was a little bout of insane laughter. It took every ounce of willpower in her little body not to fly at the nearest Bomber and start ripping one of his ears off right then and there.

"You know what guys?" she said finally, in a voice so sickly sweet it was scary. "Screw you. All of you. I wish you would all go die in a hole somewhere."

Jim blew his whistle once more and dismissed his comrades, a small smirk curling his lips. "The feeling is mutual, Tatl."

-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Fun fact: Bobby and Number Five are brothers. Also, Bobby Bomber. Bob-omb. Get it?

Don't hate me.

My editor/sister (Hoprocker) and I decided to do a little trade and write 3 pages of each others' stories that were giving us writer's block. I wrote a reaping for her Hunger Games story, and in exchange she wrote the part where Link catches Bombers 3, 4, and Jim. So that portion is credited to her. Could you tell it was written by a different person?

I consider this chapter to be a milestone, because this arc is now more than halfway over. Link and Tatl's days of running aimlessly around Clock Town are behind, and the [relatively more] interesting stuff is ahead! Also, school is back, which means you can be sure I'll be disappearing for a while (but hopefully not for 4 months!). Spring semester isn't nearly as bad as Fall without marching band and music composition sucking up all my time and creative energy, so I think I might be able to manage one update/month and at least keep this story alive...? I don't know, we'll see. I'll shoot for that, but I won't make any promises.