Kafei's New Mask
Chapter 10
"Are you sure there isn't anything we can do to repay you?" Link stood at the doorway of Kotake and Koume's front door to their hut. "You've done so much for us."
Kotake waved her hand dismissively at him. "Getting rid of Katal was payment enough!"
"But we didn't defeat him. He just...left."
"Out of the swamp! I don't think he will have any business here in the future, so we don't have anything to worry about," Koume said gratefully.
Link sighed and smiled at them. "Well...alright then!" He backed up and begun to climb down the ladder to where his friends were waiting. "Thank you again!" He waved up at them as they closed the door.
Kafei yawned and slipped the mask off his face so that he could rub his eyes. "It was really nice of them to let us borrow this boat." He patted the edge of the small wooden boat he, Link, Anju and the fairies were sitting in. "I wish we would have thought of that before."
Link flinched, remembering how they had sloshed through the icky swamp a couple days before. "Well..you know.."
"How are we going to return this?" Anju asked, nonchalantly running her fingers across a lily pad that floated by them.
Link took hold of one of the oars and handed the other to Kafei. "They said to just leave it in the water, and it will find its own way home."
"Well..." Anju brought her hand out of the water and rested it in her lap. "They are witches."
Before the took off, Link looked behind them to see Tingle and the three Deku watching them happily. "Thank you for all of your help!" The princess called after them. "We'll never forget you!"
"It's no problem!" Kafei exclaimed.
"Mr. Tingle, are you sure you don't want to ride back to town with us?" Anju asked.
Tingle bounced once. "I've got my ballon! Much faster traveling!" He pulled his string and the ballon inflated. "See you again sometime, Mr. Fairy!" He floated up into the sky, higher and higher until they could no longer see him.
Link nodded, and pushed off the shore with his oar. "Wait!" The little deku skipped across the water to meet up with them. Link took his oar out of the water to slow them down. "If you ever find yourselves around here again, don't hesitate to come by!"
"Of course." Link smiled. The little deku hopped back over to the Princess and King and waved goodbye with them.
"Hm." Kafei said, as they made their way down the swamp. "I think I might miss the little guy a bit."
"Tingle?" Link said innocently.
"No way!" He lifted his oar out of the water and flicked it at Link, splashing him.
Anju covered her mouth and giggled quietly, before they all started to laugh.
Navi flew ahead of the others, and rested on a nearby stone. "Finally! Fresh, field air!" She flopped over, letting the sun hit her.
They had made it out of the swamp, and into Termina field where Clock Town was visible only a little bit away. "Ahhh..." Kafei stretched his arms out. "Thank goodness."
"Soo...where to next?" Tatl landed on top of Kafei's head.
"First," Link said, "Let's go back to town. We'll collect some supplies."
"And some clean clothing. You both smell horrible. And I have blood all over my shirt." Anju stated, brushing at the dried blood from her almost fatal wound.
"Yeah that might be our first order of business!" Navi sped back over to the group.
They walked steadily back to Clock Town, but as they did, Link took in what was around him. Not much had changed since his last visit. The entrance to the mountains and the ocean were still there, the same as they had been. Romani ranch seemed to be doing just fine, didn't look like they had been destroyed by aliens. As the group passed a certain tree, Link looked down to see the picture that Skullkid had doodled of himself and Link with their fairies, Tatl and Tael.
"Tatl...I just remembered something. "Where's your brother? And Skullkid? Are they well?"
Tatl halted in mid-air. "Yeah. Tael and Skullkid are fine. They're at home." After that, Tatl didn't say anything else. Link thought it best to leave it at that. She didn't seem to feel like talking about them.
"Look!" Anju exclaimed. "We're home!" There they stood, at the base of Clock Town.
People were all about, running around doing their errands, shopping. Even the little kids were happily playing in the town. They all seemed happy, like they had no idea what was actually going on in the world. The group made their way around all of the people, luckily evading eyes. Nobody noticed that Kafei and Link were covered in mud, or Anju in blood. They were able to get to Anju and Kafei's house without drawing attention.
"Oh my...we must get this door fixed." Anju said, prodding at their broken front door. "And look at the wall! How atrocious!" She placed her hands on her hips and glared at the bloody message that still stained the wall.
"Yeah...come to think of it...where did all of this blood come from? It didn't seem to come from you, Anju." Link said, scratching his chin.
"No. I wasn't bleeding when he...first captured me. Oh what are we going to do? Our house doesn't seem livable at the moment." Anju grasped Kafei's hand and frowned.
Kafei thought for a moment. "Maybe you should go stay with your grandmother."
"Your grandmother is still alive?" Is what Link wanted to say. But instead he said, "Yeah that's a great idea!"
"But what about you?" Anju said worriedly. "What are you going to do?"
Kafei sighed, and looked over at Link who had just jumped into the middle of a bickering fest of the two fairies. "I have to help them save Termina."
"I know..." Anju said sadly. "But will you be careful? Please? I don't want to lose you."
Kafei smiled. "Of course I will."
"Come on Navi! I'm sure she didn't mean it!" Link held both of the wriggling fairies as they tried to maul each other.
Anju giggled. "I'm sure you'll have lots of fun," she said sarcastically.
Anju gathered some things and left to her grandmothers. Before she went, however, she asked Kafei and Link to come see her one last time before they left town. Navi and Tatl stayed with Anju to rest up. The two men went to walk around town to see if there was anything they could use on their journey.
"I'll take a few of those arrows aaaannnd a couple of these red potions." Link said to the shop owner, who nodded and went to gather Link's items.
Kafei stood in the shop behind Link, looking around. "You know, I don't think I've ever been in this shop."
"Well you've never been out adventuring before." Link stuffed the filled potion bottles and arrows into his pack. "Have you?"
"Nah. I haven't been much of anywhere besides Clock Town and the surrounding area. I went to the beach once." He frowned.
"I take it you didn't like it?"
"A crab pinched me."
Link laughed. "You know we'll probably have to go there soon."
The two left the store and headed down the street. "Actually," Kafei started, "Where should we go next?"
"Hm. I don't know. Maybe we should check that paper." He reached his hand around to the pack on his back and fished around. "Um." He stopped walking and checked another pack. "Not in that one..." Suddenly he grimmaced and looked slowly over to Kafei.
"Link. Do not tell me you lost it." Kafei covered his face.
"I...I didn't loose it! I may have just...misplaced it? But I know I just had it! Maybe I dropped it!" Link turned around to look at the ground to see if he had indeed dropped it. He spotted a little kid, who was grinning at him.
"Hi mister! Are you looking for this?" The kid held out a crunched up piece of paper.
"The map! Hey! How did you get that!" Link grabbed for it, but the kid jumped back to evade him.
"Catch me if you can!" He sang and ran off.
"What! Come back here!" Link reached for his sword, but Kafei stopped him.
"Link! He's only a kid!"
Link stopped, and slid his sword back into its holder. "R-right."
The two bolted after him. The kid was actually pretty quick. He dared around corners and over tables. Places where grown ups like Kafei and Link had a hard time getting around. Finally, the kid stopped in front of a door and turned around. He stuck his fingers in his ears and blew raspberries at them. Then he opened the door and ran inside.
"Jeese that kid is fast!" Kafei bent over to catch his breath. "Why is he doing this?"
"I don't know!" Link grabbed Kafei's arm and dragged him towards the door. When he swung it open, the room was empty. "What? Where did he go?"
"Psst!" The kid waved at them from the opposite side of the room. Then he disappeared into a hole in the wall.
Kafei and Link both sighed. "We're going to have to follow him," Link said, and led the way.
They knelt down onto the floor in front of the hole. Peering in, they could see that it was a tunnel. "I don't know if I can fit through there..." Kafei whispered, pushing the mask down onto his face.
"We have to try!" Link plopped down onto his belly and began to wriggle his way through the tunnel. Kafei took one last look around the room before sighing loudly and going after Link.
After a long while of harsh crawling and scooting, the two were able to make it to the end of the tunnel. "I think I see light!" Link exclaimed and accidentally kicked Kafei in the face.
"Ow!" Kafei yelled rather quietly.
"Sorry..." Link apologized and crawled out into the open, helping Kafei out as well. The both stood up and brushed them selves off. "Where did that little brat go?"
Suddenly the room lit up, totally surprising them. The kid that stole their map stood confidently behind a couple of other kids. They all had their arms crossed and they were looking down at Link and Kafei from a platform. "Welcome to our hideout! If you want your paper back, you're going to have to do something for us!"
"Come on kid, we're kind of in a hurry-" Link tried to reason with him.
"We won't let you go that easily!"
"Fine...what do you want." Link stated bluntly, getting irritated.
The kid uncrossed his arms and held up the paper. "In order to receive this, you must... play our game!"
"Seriously? Can't we just knock him out and take the paper?" Link pleaded to Kafei.
Kafei scoffed at him. "Of course not! Just play along...maybe this wont take long. What do we have to do, Kid?"
"My name is Taler! The boss of the Bombers!"
"...ok. Sorry...Taler." Kafei said under his breath.
"And this is what you have to do!" He pointed towards an abandoned cart sitting on a rusty track.
"What the-!" Link flailed. "Where are we?"
Taler continued, "Get in that cart and use this slingshot to hit all the targets along the way." He chucked a slingshot at Link which hit him in the head. "You'll be traveling down a track."
"Why!" Link rubbed at his head.
"Because! We want to open this new game to make some money! And we need some test subjects."
Link and Kafei looked at eachother for a long moment. Finally, they hung their heads and gave an exasperated sigh. They made their way towards the cart and started to get in it.
"Wait!" Taler called. "You have to wear these!" He threw two objects at them.
Upon picking them up, Kafei saw that they were headbands with bunny ears attatched to them. "Hold on! What do these have ANYTHING to do with this stupid little game!"
"Because it's fun! Now put them on or I will just have to tear this little paper up..." He made a pretend tearing motion with his hands.
"No!" Kafei and Link yelled at the same time. Defeated, they placed the bunny hoods onto their heads.
"Ready?" Taler called to them over by a switch.
"As ready as we'll ever be..." Link muttered, twirling the slingshot around in his hand.
"Ok! One...two...three!" As soon as Taler said three, he flipped the switch, and their cart shot off with amazing speed.
"Holy Zora eggs!" Link screamed as he clung onto the edge of the cart for dear life.
Kafei did the same. "How did these little kids build this damn thing!" The cart zipped right down the track, turning corners and teetering with every direction change.
"We're missing the targets!" Link yelled as he spotted wooden cut outs of horribly drawn monsters hanging on the walls.
"Forget the targets! I don't want to die!" Kafei slipped off the side of the cart and slid to the bottom.
"They'll probably make us do it again if we don't hit them!" Link tried to steady himself and fix the slingshot on a target. But...as he did, something smacked him in the side of the head, exploding and getting water everywhere. He fell over onto Kafei who was already lying on the floor of the cart. "The targets are shooting things at us! What is this, a water balloon!"
"Oh my god, we're not going to make it!" Kafei cried, clutching onto Link, the only thing that was around.
Link pried Kafei off of him. "Yes we will! Here!" He took off his shield and handed it to Kafei. "You shield me from the projectiles while I shoot the targets!"
Kafei slowly peered over the edge of the cart towards the way they were traveling. Instantly, a ballon came flying towards his face. "Gah!" He held up the shield just in time, but the water still showered over him.
"Keep it up!" Link pulled back a seed in the slingshot and closed one eye to get a better look at the targets. He let go, and the seed flew right into the forehead of a wooden green chuchu. "Yes!" He pumped his fist in the air as another ballon hit Kafei's shield. He pulled back again and shot another target. "Woohoo!" He was actually starting to enjoy it.
"Wow you're good." Kafei called to him.
"Thanks!" He shot a couple more targets.
Suddenly, the cart stopped, sending Kafei and Link flying out of it. They screamed and hit the floor, more like splashed because they were covered in water. They both groaned in pain. Kafei shoved Link off of him and sat up, rubbing his head.
"So." Taler had appeared at the end of the track. "How was it?"
Kafei and Link both glared intently at him. "Give us that paper! Now!"
"And that's why we're so wet..." Kafei explained to Anju as he and Link dried their drenched hair with towels. The entire time, Anju and the fairies were laughing hard at them.
"I can't beleive you got tricked onto that by a bunch of kids! Wahaha!" Tatl fell out of the air and rolled around on the floor. Link thought about stepping on her.
"Haha..ha. I'm sorry. It's not funny." Anju put a hand over her mouth and tried not to smile as Kafei glared at her. But she couldn't help it. She made a muffled sound, then burst out laughing again.
"Yeah yeah yeah, laugh all you want." Kafei threw his towel onto the floor. "But if you ever see a kid and he asks you to follow him, don't do it. Do not do it!"
Anju fanned her face with her hand. "Ok..ok." She cleared her throat.
Link and Kafei went to change their clothes again before setting out to find the next piece of the seal. Upon looking at their now crumpled map, they saw that they needed to head to the mountains. Link carefully folded the paper and stuck it in his pack. "That rotten little kid..."
"Don't lose that again." Kafei said, smoothing down his shirt.
Anju's grandmother wheeled into the room in a wheel chair. On her lap were a few pieces of wool clothing. "Come here, you two." She motioned for Link and Kafei. She handed them the clothing. "I made you both sweaters. It's cold in the mountains."
Link and Kafei examined the sweaters. She gave Kafei a brown one, and Link a green one. They were plain, not something a grandmother would normally make. "Well...thank you!" Link exclaimed happily.
"You two be careful now. Come back safely!" She then wheeled out of the room.
"Yes..." Anju rubbed her arms and walked over to Kafei. "Please come back safely..." She looked at him sadly.
Link stood there for a moment before grabbing both the fairies out of the air and going out the door. "I'll wait out here!" He called over the fairies' protests.
Kafei pulled Anju into a hug. He smoothed down her hair as she laid her head on his shoulder. "I will, Anju. I promise."
As he pulled away, he noticed a single tear running down her cheek. "You can come back anytime. If you want a warm meal, or a place to sleep for the night. Don't hesitate to come back."
Kafei wiped the tear off her face. "I will. This will not be the last time we'll see each other. I swear." He put a hand over his heart to emphasize. They stood for a long moment before Kafei finally broke away from her. "I guess it's time I should be going."
"Wait-!" Anju ran up to him and threw her arms around him. She crushed her lips against his and held him tight.
Kafei kissed her back for a few seconds, then pulled away again. "I will come back." He reassured her.
"Tatl, cut it out!" They heard from beyond the door.
"Hmph. Looks like they need my help." Kafei smiled at Anju one last time before exiting the house.
When he walked out, he almost jumped out of his shoes in surprise. "Link what are you doing!"
Link stared at him, flabbergasted, with Tatl and Navi shoved in a sealed bottle. "I couldn't take it anymore!"
HAHA. Well this chapter was kind of...a filler I guess you could say? Meh I don't know what else to call it. I wanted to do a funny, kind of worthless chapter for the fun of it. Kind of like a side quest eh? XD I'll do a few more later on if you guys want me to!
Well I want to apologize for the really quick updates...wait. I shouldn't be apologizing, it's a good thing, right? Anyway, I just graduated from highschool and I have literally NOTHING to do. So expect quite a few chapters and updates in the next week or so!
ENJOY! 8D
P.S. I pulled Taler's name out of thin air randomly so please forgive if it sounds weird. =P