"An Act to Follow"
Disclaimer: You know the drill.
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Author's Note: Hey, I'm back again, part 13. College…well…college goes, I suppose. My addiction to Smash Brothers Melee deepens with every waking hour…soon there will be no escape…I will defeat Mr. 'Bacon and Mop'…Mr. Game and Watch to those outside of my dorm…but I digress…sorry to say that schoolwork DOES come before the story…but it's a very very close second. I started this story a few months ago, and when I did I vowed that I would finish it!! So bear with me, cause here we go again…Enjoy! And please please please please please if you have even a shred of decency within you, do review! Oh, and Kudos to you if you recognized the Invader Zim quote in the last chapter. ^_^
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An Act to Follow – Part 13 – Hide and seek isn't as fun when the guy who is 'It' is out for your blood
"Eh?" Viscen craned his head backwards as he felt the kick to his chair. "What's wrong, Veneer?" The Captain had a contented smirk about him that was making the paid hunter's blood slowly boil. The Captain, probably aware of this, only smiled more as Veneer looked positively furious.
"That kid. Up there." Veneer nodded towards the stage at the two disguised children, whose glasses glared and reflected the bright lights shining upon them. They were still engrossed in their duet, which was quickly garnering laughter from the audience, who appreciated the song's humor.
"What about 'im?" Viscen asked slowly.
"That's him, you idiot! Remember, the kid who was one of th' witnesses? We've been looking for that kid all day! Look at 'is hands!"
Viscen shrugged. "Him?" Squinting, the Captain craned his neck forward. "Oh…yes…you're right…I do believe that is him, now that I think about it…Well, not exactly sportsmanlike to stop them in the middle of an act. We'll just have a talk with him when the act's done, and then...well then I suppose your job here will be done, won't it Veneer?"
Veneer had to stop himself from whacking the Captain of the Guard upside the head. He was, after all, still on commission, and it was never wise to hit the hand that paid you. "Very well," Veneer gritted between his teeth, as if the idea of being sportsmanlike didn't appeal to him. "You bring them to me when their little song is over, Captain. Then I'll show you I am right."
"Suspicious, aren't you? They're just kids, Veneer, for goodness' sake."
"Never underestimate these creatures, Viscen. Could be the last thing you do."
But the Captain wasn't really listening to Veneer's daunting admonition. "Quite the good voices, aren't they, Veneer?" Viscen remarked.
Veneer just rolled his eyes.
"I can't believe they'd actually be that crazy to actually go up there!" Chiron and Link exclaimed together. Link was still looking uncomfortable, laden as he was with a gelatin-stained pair of shorts. Whenever he moved his eyes tended to cross with discomfort.
"Eh, leas' they' singin' well…" Nick said.
Kat and Sond, however, were more interested in Veneer's expression. "Guys," Sond said after a moment. "He's looking more and more suspicious by the moment. Now when the act is over, and they get off the stage…I think we'd be best off grabbing them then, before Veneer gets Captain Viscen to question them."
Kasumi, in the meantime, had disappeared. Ty looked around for his older brother with a slightly confused expression. But he wasn't overly concerned, as Kasumi's frequent evaporations were somewhat of a normal occurrence. Uncurling his tail from around his ankle, Ty stared at his shoe. "But what if they take off again? Maybe we should get Kei and Ana to intercept them."
"But they're off somewhere else, remember?" Kat argued. "What if we can't find them in time?"
"Hey, Tatl…? I'm gonna need some help." Link looked around for his fairy partner.
"What, need me to fetch you a diaper?" Tatl said wickedly. "Because I think I know where we might fin-"
"Can it already!" The boy in green snapped, unamused. "Tatl, go and find Kei and Ana. You'll remember Kei, that guy who got us all ice cream the other day. Rather tall and burly, blue hair. Ana's probably with him, she's his wife. Tell them to get to here, quickly! This is really important!"
"Uh…right." Tatl said hesitantly. She was shocked into obedience, partially due to the concerned tone of voice her partner was using. She flew off rather quickly.
"But she wanted to see the end of the show!" Tael whined.
"There won't BE much of a show if she doesn't hurry up-"
Kafei chewed his lip. "Speaking of hurrying up. Better hurry up arguing. They're almost at the end of the song, you know." He hummed merrily along to the tune, trying to drown out his and his friends' growing concern.
I could be a racer, quite a steeple chaser.
I can jump a hurdle even with my girdle.
I can open any safe.
With out being caught?
Yes.
That's what I thought.
Any note you can hold I can hold longer.
I can hold any note longer than you.
No you can't.
Yes I can.
No you can't.
Yes I can.
No you can't.
Yes I can, yes I can!
This last stanza was sung out slowly, as it appeared to be the finale. Up on the stage, it had been almost a competition between both of them. Tejina did have command of a good, loud voice, much to Timbre's surprise, which forced him to sing loudly as well. Both of them were now actually slightly hoarse from trying to outdo each other, but now that the song was over, neither of them cared overly too much.
"Hah," Tim rasped as he regained his breath. He was sweating a little under the cloak, as he and Tejina had simply thrown them on over their regular clothes. Peering through the dark glasses, he could make out the crowds cheering and clapping faces as they applauded. He wasn't that much of a people person, but even this sight was enough to make him smile a bit.
"Showed 'em. Did you see the looks on your friends' faces?" Tee laughed, and thumbed over at the aforementioned slack-jawed group, who were slowly recovering, and now attempting an approach towards the stage. Although difficult, considering their size and the chaos of the crowd, they were soon making good progress towards them. The looks on Kat's and Sond's faces especially told Timbre it was probably time to move on.
"Uh…better get going…they don't look too happy…" Timbre said sidelong to Tee nervously. "I didn't really want to win, you know, just get up here…" Tee nodded. Both of them were just backing away when a large, heavy hand was suddenly planted on both of their left shoulders. They both jumped, and in Timbre's case, yelped.
Captain Viscen had been standing behind them, his armor clattering gently. He was, however, chuckling warmly, and his face was crinkled in a smile. "You kids were fantastic…both you and the act before you! Spectacular!"
Tee was slightly paralyzed with shock, although even if she had squirmed, it wouldn't have done much good. Viscen had quite a strong grip. "Uh, t-thank you sir…" she stammered after a moment. Now that they were stuck for the moment, their friends were dangerously close to catching up with them.
"Hope that one of your little songs won the competition!" Viscen boomed. "While you wait, there's a friend of mine that wants to meet you."
Uh-oh…"Uh, we're running kind of late, actually, we were supposed to, er-" Timbre stammered, trying and failing to find an excuse.
"Ah, don't be so modest!" Viscen chuckled, steering them both around so they faced the other way. "See, there he is now. Veneer!"
Tee bit her lip and prayed that the glasses and cloaks were enough as Veneer's loomed over both of them, Viscen's hands like lead weights on their shoulders.
"Evening," Veneer said, smiling unpleasantly at the both of them. He was swinging a lantern in his right fist, almost jubilantly. The bright flame flickered merrily with every creaking swing.
Under the roar of the crowd, Timbre could make out the voices of his friends, behind them, fighting the movement of the bustle as they tried to make it to the stage. Come on, guys, he urged them. Just catch up with us, drag us away, something!
"Uh…uh…hello." Timbre managed to get out despite the internal monologue, looking up at Veneer. He was just as large and imposing as he had been the other day when he had accidentally run into the man. Though this time the gleam in Veneer's eyes was triumphant, rather than bored or annoyed.
Now Viscen was steering them off of the stage, off to the side, next to the judge's booth, where the crowd didn't penetrate. Helpless, the two children were walked resolutely as if on their way to an execution. Which in Tim's opinion, could have easily been the case. He was convinced he was definitely in for it. All the escaping, all the running, all the hiding for the past three days had all been for nothing. He was sunk. All because he had been curious, and stupid.
Tee averted her gaze slightly, something that the glasses managed to mask pretty well. Things weren't looking too good. Feverishly, she wished somebody would come, maybe Kei or Ana, and rescue them. She was beginning to really regret stealing that key. She wasn't even sure why she'd wanted to do something this crazy in the first place. Well, maybe she was sure, she thought, looking sidelong at the captive boy.
As they stopped, Veneer leaned against the wall, at ease. Apparently he was convinced that he'd already won. And unfortunately, they had to agree with him. The area was clear of any spectators, which meant anything said here couldn't be accidentally overheard. The crowd wasn't that concerned, anyway.
Viscen's smile faded slightly, and he kneeled so that he was closer to the children's eye level, though his hands remained on their shoulders. "I do have a few questions for you both. What're your names?"
"Timbre." Tim said dejectedly.
"Tejina." Tee's voice also sounded quite down.
Viscen looked slightly surprised at the little girl. "Tejina? But, we met earlier today! Don't you remember, with your brother and his wife?" He blinked. "Dyed your hair again, I see…"
"Uh…right…" Tee said, exchanging a confused glance with Timbre, who shrugged marginally. Viscen didn't seem to notice too much, either he was too accepting or the disguises were somewhat effective.
Timbre was dimly aware of something occurring onstage far behind them. It sounded as if Mayor Dotour was making another speech in that wobbly voice of his, possibly announcing the winner of the competition. Despite the severity of the situation, Timbre had to smile a little. Hope they won, he thought. The did sound great. Wish they'd stopped these two from finding us, though.
"…anyhow, back to the point. I believe we have also met before, Timbre. Three days ago…" Viscen's gaze turned upon the boy.
Timbre swallowed a little, trying hard not to look nervous. "Yes," he said truthfully.
Veneer took this time to butt in. "There was an accident in the alleyway in West Clock Town, a crate fell over, and when the guards investigated, they found two people in the area. One of them was you, was it not?"
"It was." Timbre said, staring at the ground, which seemed even darker through the glasses.
"Were you aware," Veneer continued accusingly, "That this was found later at the scene of the crime?" Veneer uncrumpled the 'SORRY' note, which had been residing in his pocket. Oddly enough, the rupees had not yet made a reappearance, however.
Timbre looked from Veneer's face to Viscen's face, unable to say anything, because no matter what he said, it would either be a lie or the truth. Lies he couldn't handle, and the truth…well, the truth would probably be rather incarcerating on his part.
"So whoever did it was sorry," Tee said suddenly. "They made a mistake, and they apologized."
Viscen smiled a little. "That is what we'd like to believe, but-"
Veneer shot the Captain a venomous glare. "Aye," he said, not sounding very sincere. "But sometimes we still need to know exactly what happened, and by whom."
Again, Timbre said nothing, as he couldn't find any way out of the inevitable accusation. He knew it was coming. He'd heard Veneer talking that night he'd investigated the prints. In fact, he probably would have found them both out than and there if Sond hadn't come in at the last second and distracted the tracker.
Behind them came the muffled roar of the crowd. Apparently the winner had been announced, whoever it might be. Veneer, however, ignored this.
"Something," Veneer added pointedly, "is very suspicious. You wouldn't happen to know anything, would you?" He grinned again. He was enjoying this immensely, much to Viscen's chagrin.
"Now now Veneer, we can't just accuse the boy because he happened to be there."
"But isn't it his duty, as a witness, to tell us what he knows?" Veneer argued. Then, with whiplike snap of the lantern, he changed the subject, glaring down at Timbre. "Show me your hands."
"Wha-?"
"Show me your hands, boy!" Veneer snapped, ignoring Viscen's disapproval.
Looking glumly at Tejina, Timbre slowly held out his hands, palm upwards. Veneer smiled a little more, and the lantern stopped swinging.
"You're wearing gloves," he said slowly, giving an expectant look to Viscen.
"Yes sir," Timbre said helplessly. This is all my fault, he thought miserably. If I hadn't been so stupid and wanting to perform…Tee was right about me not using my head, and look where it's got us. My friends can't always be there to come to the rescue, after all. Looking at Tejina, he inclined his head slowly. Go on, run.
Tejina's eyebrows furrowed behind the glasses as she glared back at him. Not on your life, dummy. She too had felt a surge of guilt. It's all my fault for stealing that key.
Sighing, Timbre resorted himself to Veneer' condemning voice as the hunter kneeled down, looking him straight in the eye. Blinking furiously, he found himself unable to break away from the steely gaze of the adult.
"Why are you wearing dark glasses at night? I thought they were used primarily to block the glare of sunlight."
"W-well…it was for the act, you see, an-"
"But the act is over, isn't it?" Veneer didn't smell any better close up than he did from a distance. Timbre recoiled instinctively as Veneer's face leered a bit closer.
"Veneer!" Viscen warned. "You're intimidating the witness. That's duress, you know."
Veneer ignored the Captain. "So why are you still wearing them?" Veneer held up the lantern so that it shone directly in the boy's face.
"Well, I-" The glasses, though reflecting a glare, couldn't hide the worried look on Tim's face. Tee held her breath, wishing she could do something, but was unable to.
"Take them off, then, if you don't need them any more," Veneer dared, the lantern still swinging in front of his face. Timbre knew if he took the glasses off it would be all over. That light would reflect off his inhuman eyes, Veneer would sound the alarm, and Tim would be better off dead. But Timbre wasn't about to give up passively.
"I don't want to," he said, sticking out his jaw stubbornly. Veneer snarled at this defiance.
"Don't be an idiot, I can see right through you!" He yelled, and was about to snatch the glasses off of the boy's face when-
"Wait!" Seven voices yelled at once, and there was a clattering of footsteps as some certain friends finally arrived on the scene. All of them looked winded, as if they'd been running around a lot recently. With them was a single glowing orb, purple in color.
Veneer froze in mid grab, and looked, wide-eyed, at the new arrivals. "More kids…?" he growled a little.
"Yeah!" Sond stomped over to Veneer and swatted his hand out of the air. "You leave our friend alone! He needed those glasses for medical reasons 'cause the glare hurts his eyes, and you were gonna blind him! Meanie!" She glared daggers at the man.
Timbre almost laughed aloud in relief.
"We were real worried about you guys," Kafei said seriously. "You disappeared all of a sudden and we couldn't find you anywhere.
Tael piped up. "You guys sounded great, though!"
Ty grinned. "You really did," he agreed.
"Yeah," Nick nodded.
Viscen chuckled after he got over his initial surprise. "So I take it you're all friends?"
Timbre looked from Tejina to Sond, and to the other children's faces, even Link. "Yeah," he agreed, grinning. "We are all friends."
Chiron and Nick grinned. "Yep, we're all just such good friends!" Chiron said, smirking as Ty and Link exchanged dark looks.
"You die tonight, monkey boy," Link gritted.
"Not if I get you first," Ty muttered back.
"Ow!"
"Ow!" Both boys suddenly winced as Sond innocently withdrew her leg, trying not to arouse suspicion. This wasn't the impression they needed to make on Viscen or Veneer at the moment. At all.
"Behave, or I'll kick you both in the shins again," she warned quietly. "We're trying to rescue them, not incarcerate them…"
Kat nodded, trying to look innocent. "That goes for all of you," she said pointedly.
"Eh?" Viscen blinked.
"Eheh, nothing." Kafei laughed nervously.
"Ah, you're Dotour's younger son," Viscen stated, looking at the purple-haired boy and smiling. "Where are you kids all staying? The Inn?"
"Uh, nope. Everyone's staying at our house for the festival, Mom let them."
"Nice of her to offer," Viscen said.
Kafei nodded eagerly. "Yeah, though Tee's staying with Kei and Ana at the Inn, since they have to travel and stuff."
Viscen blinked. "Right. So, how 'come you didn't compete all together, as a group?"
"Yeah, why didn't you?" Veneer said suspiciously.
"Umm…." About a dozen glances were exchanged between them. Finally, Nick interposed.
"Cau'…th' didn' wanna, 'riginally…" Nick mumbled in his funny accent.
Veneer, still holding the lantern up, raised an eyebrow. "What did that br- I mean, kid say to me?" He snapped, annoyed that he had been interrupted. Then, suddenly he squinted at Nick. "Something funny is going on here. That boy's wearing gloves too-".
"We didn't want to go, originally," Tee clarified, interrupting whatever train of thought Veneer might be having. "But we changed our minds at the last minute, that's all…" Veneer grunted, but still had a suspicious glint in his eye.
"Well, I'm glad you did!" Viscen chuckled heartily, clapping Timbre on the back.
"Oof!" Viscen was a large adult, after all, and Timbre only a small boy. The impact had practically winded the boy, and knocked him over in the process. Picking himself off, he blinked heavily several times.
"Uh oh," Link said suddenly, looking a bit shocked.
"Not good." Chiron pointed out with wide eyes.
"Opposite of good, in fact…" Tael said, wings drooping.
"What?" Timbre said, confused. Looking around at all the slack jaws, he blinked. Then he looked down. Before him on the ground lay a pair of dark glasses. With a sickening lurch, he recognized them as the ones that had previously been attached to his face. Viscen's hearty clap had managed to knock them off, and now he was receiving the full glare of Veneer's lantern in the face.
And his eyes were now reflecting a healthy inhuman viridian glow.
Sitting on the roof of the Inn, Kasumi sighed as below he heard somebody yell. He just knew something like this was going to happen, he had felt it in his bones for the past few days. All feelings of uneasiness aside though, he wished reverently that it was a clear enough night tonight. Glancing up at the sky, he noted no clouds, just lots of stars. Great. He hadn't wanted to have to interfere like this, but if it were a last resort, then he had no choice…
Standing up, shook his head, his eyes unusually clear. Bending his knees, he jumped the unnatural distance to the roof of the Milk Bar effortlessly, and with no sound. Before his foot had even touched the thatch of the roof for a second, he had launched to the next roof. Nobody would notice him if he kept this up. Well, not yet, anyway…
Boy, that crowd below was in for a surprise soon enough.
Shortly after Timbre's glasses fell off, all chaos had broken loose. Veneer had given a rather loud yell of "I KNEW IT!" and leapt for Timbre, only to hit the ground hard as five or so children dogpiled suddenly on him. Wheezing and winded, the hunter had rolled to his feet quickly, as Viscen started pulling kids off of him.
"Are you brats insane!? They're getting away!!"
"That's the point!!" Sond gritted, as she and Kat pinned the large man's boots to the ground.
"Gerrof me!" Veneer snarled, "You don't know what you are doing!"
Timbre and Tejina had pointedly become absent from the scene, and with great alacrity. The only proof of their previous presence was a pair of dark robes, and a pair of dark glasses, thrown in a crumpled pile as they had run. Tael, too, had disappeared along with the wolves. Veneer brushed himself off, noted the direction of the robes and sped off quickly northwards, yelling.
"STOP THOSE KIDS!!"
"Ow." Kat said finally. "Would whoever is standing on my ankle please get off?"
"Well someone has to get off my back first," Ty grumbled.
"Guys, we have to stop Veneer!" Kafei said, squirming out onto the ground.
"Yeah!" Link said. "Just a sec, let me get off of…what is this?"
"My hand," Chiron gritted.
"Oops, sorry."
Viscen roughly pulled the tangle of kids apart, with a look of concern. Everybody was in various states of disarray, although no lasting damage had been done. Viscen put his hands on his hips. "Hold on one moment. First, somebody here is going to have to explain exactly what is going on here. Did Timbre knock over that crate or not?"
"He…he did, yes…" Sond began miserably, "But-"
Viscen held up a hand. "And what did Tejina-" He stopped in mid statement. "Wait a second, I thought you were-"
"I'm not Tee," Sond admitted. "Tee was hiding from Veneer, and well, you showed up an' I panicked…sorry…"
"Nevermind," Viscen said gruffly. "But what does she have to do with this? And why was she hiding from Veneer?"
Kat shuffled, examining a bruised elbow. "It's complicated…see she was there when the crate fell over, but she didn't have anything t'do with it, but Veneer might think that-"
"Okay, that's been established. He did the deed, she was just a bystander. Unfortunately I don't have much control over what might happen, as your friends did cause a stir around here…that's disturbing the peace."
"But he didn't mean it!" Kat argued. "It could've been anyone!"
"And he even left an apology!" Sond added.
"Be that as it may," Viscen said, "I can't just tell my Guards to-"
"He's harmless!" Ty grated. "Just because he's-." Sond coughed and nudged Ty. "Well, everyone's entitled to a mistake, right?"
Viscen sighed. "I suppose, he did seem like a decent little fellow, but still, you have to answer for wrongs done."
"Bu' i' Veneer catch' up to 'em, they en' gonna 'ave a chan' t'answer t'anything!" Nick said urgently.
Viscen looked at all the faces, and finally sighed. "Very well. I agree, we cannot let Veneer do anything rash…I mean, I did hire him to exterminate-"
"WHAT?!"
"I didn't know what the real cause was, I apologize." Viscen felt unnerved. The looks the children were currently giving him did not belong on the faces of innocent ten-year-olds.
"So if he catches him, he's toast," Chiron said carefully.
"Ba'sically," Nick agreed.
Kat nodded. "Right! We've gotta stop Veneer quickly, so we'd better split up so we'll find him quicker. Okay, Sond, Ty, Link…you three take the eastern route, Kafei and I'll take the western route around the stage, and Nick and Chiron can go with the Captain. You three need to find Kei and Ana, okay?"
"Right!" All the kids eagerly split up. Viscen stood, confused.
"Bu-" Viscen was a bit flabbergasted. Being a Captain, he just wasn't used to being ordered around by kids. It seemed just so abnormal.
"Come on, we have to find Kei and Ana!" Chiron urged the Captain, running off towards the Festival, the opposite way Veneer had taken. With a shrug, Captain Viscen jogged after the kids, clanking metallically in his armor.
All wagers were off, as far as Timbre and Tejina were concerned. They were both back in wolf form, charging northwards as quickly as they could go. Unfortunately in a place like Clock Town, being a city surrounded by walls, this inevitably led to a dead end. Paused in front of the darkened windows of the Mayor's residence, they both stared around, in a good panicked state. Between them, Tael fluttered, flickering with distress.
It was no use trying to leave through the gates, each gate was still posted with a pair of Guards each. Maybe if there had only been time, they might have worked out a way to slip past them unnoticed. Unfortunately, time being the precious commodity it was, was scarce. Already Veneer's yells were alerting the Guards.
"STOP THEM!"
Tee looked at Tim with wide eyes. "Now where? We can't run forever!"
"Maybe if you guys hid somewhere. Where's the last place you'd normally go?" Tael said rhetorically.
Timbre put his lupine brain to the test, staring at the ground. Tael orbited his head, agitated. Anxious, Tee did a slight dance in place, agitating him even more.
"Hurry up, would you?!"
"Arg, thinking…thinking…"
"Oh no, oh no, he's here…I can see him, but don't think-" Tael never did finish his sentence.
"THERE THEY ARE!" Tee jumped at the sound of Veneer's scream. At that exact same moment, however, Timbre's ears stood up as his brain suddenly decided to function.
"I've got it! Follow me!" He flung himself in a westerly direction, headed towards North Clock Town. Behind them they could hear the loud thuds as Veneer's boots pounded the pavement. They might be smaller and faster than he was, but he was still dangerous, and they still had no clear route of escape.
Veneer must have been aware of this, for he hollered at their retreating tails, "You can't run forever!" After that they were too far out of earshot to hear anything more, which was probably a good thing. The Guards at the gate stared after Veneer, confused. The hunter turned around, cursing, and glared at them with flashing gimlet eyes.
"Look," Veneer snapped at them. "Just…don't let anyone…or anything, by those gates! We've found our culprits, and if they're blocked off from leaving, then they can't escape."
The Guards nodded slowly. Veneer was under the Captain's orders, after all.
"Where…exactly…are we headed?" Tejina panted, trying to keep up the breakneck pace. Tael, who was quickly fatiguing from high-speed flight, had decided instead to cling to Timbre's left ear. It was annoying, but better than losing him.
Timbre stared directly forward as he slowed to a trot. They were now well into North Clock Town, and although the entrance to Termina Field to the right was tempting, it too was guarded. "Up that incline there. See the cave? Yeah, in there. And don't make a sound, or you'll wake her up."
"Huh?" Tejina's confusion wasn't sated, even as they slipped quietly into the dark hole. As her eyes quickly adjusted to the light difference, her nose picked up a peculiar damp scent. Water? It was definitely humid in this cave, and as they moved towards the dimly lit back of the cave, Tee found out why.
Lit by an unknown but soft light source was a large, perfectly circular pool of water, flawlessly reflective and without a ripple. Intrigued, Tee walked straight up to the rim of the pool, cocking her head at her reflection. She giggled.
"Shh!" Timbre warned.
That was true, last thing they needed was to make noise. They were still being chased. She followed Timbre as he circled the pool. Tael abandoned Timbre's flickering ear and hovered quietly over the pool, a perfect duplicate violet orb reflected in the water below.
"I'd ask her for help," he said soberly, "but…well, I don't know if she would or not."
"Who?" Tee asked, curiously.
"The Great Fairy." Tael said, somehow understanding Tee's questioning growl. "I mean, we did help her out of a jam once, but…"
"You did?" Tee whispered, interested.
"Yeah, she was split into pieces by a curse, and…well…ever since then, she's been rather overly thankful-ack!" Timbre's front paw slipped, and landed with a resounding SPLAT in the pool. Ripples flowed outward from that one spot, disturbing the perfect mirror and causing their reflections to subtly distort.
"Did somebody call me?" A dulcet female voice echoed through the cavern.
"Uh…no!" Tael said, somewhat stupidly. Down below, Timbre shook his now damp paw with annoyance.
With a cackle that befitted an old witch rather than a Great Fairy, she emerged. Tee blinked. She was like a giant floating dryad, clothed in ivy and in possession of a great amount of flowing tresses, which undulated from her scalp in three ribbons. Peering around, the Great Fairy of Magic quickly spotted Tael.
"Why hello, Tael!" She started, sounding much too enthusiastic about her visitor. "What brings you here? Did you bring friends?"
"Um." Tael stammered, looking apologetically at the pair sitting below.
The Great Fairy laughed again, even more piercingly this time. Allowing herself to hover lower, she peered at her other two guests.
"Wolfos?" Her brow furrowed. "No, wait…wolves, that's it. Well, you're a rare lot, 'specially to be around this town. I suppose you've heard about the news-"
"Yes," Timbre said shortly, returning to human form.
"Oh, it's you, Timbre," the Great Fairy seemed taken aback, and she hovered a few feet lower than normal. "I didn't know that you were a wolf…"
"Eheh…" Timbre said, scratching the back of his head nervously. "That's kind of why we're in here, we're being pursued by a rather unfriendly man, you see…"
"Why?" The Great Fairy stared Tim in the eye.
Tee also became human and piped up. "It's a long story." She quickly explained the situation. The Great Fairy nodded at intervals, looking interested.
"Well," she said finally. "That is quite a pickle. Hopefully your friends are on your trail too. They'll be certain to help you out."
"So you'll let us hide in here?" Timbre said hopefully.
The eyes oriented on the boy. "Unfortunately, my charge and alliance lie with Clock Town. And your actions do technically put you against Clock Town's law."
"For goodness sake!" Timbre half-yelled in exasperation. "It was an accident! And a really minor one at that!"
"But sometimes, we must answer to our actions, young one." The Great Fairy murmured. "Besides, if Veneer is searching as completely as you say he is, it is only a matter of time before he finds the need to search my Fountain." She folded her arms. "And there are not many good hiding places here."
Both children looked a bit crestfallen.
Smiling not unkindly, the Great Fairy added, "I didn't say I would not help. Although I cannot interfere directly, offering you advice does not violate my alignment. And I offer you this advice: seek out friends, for they are always willing to aid you, as you aid them. Good luck!" With a final cackle, the Great Fairy disappeared in a burst of light.
"Well," said Timbre after a beat, "That was nice and cryptic."
"Not really, I think what she meant was to find your friends. Or maybe Kei and Ana. Then it'll be all of us against Veneer, instead of just the two of us."
"Three." Tael said.
"Three, sorry. Safety in numbers and all."
"So, I guess we can't hide in here after all," Timbre said, walking towards the exit. He ran a hand through his hair. "Pretty pointless side track."
"Hey, you got some advice at least," Tael said. "And at least she didn't ask us to stay for cookies. She always bakes oatmeal, and I hate oatmeal."
So far, Veneer had examined several possible hiding places in North Clock Town. The entrance could be ruled out, as the Guards there were alert and hadn't spotted anything, even though it was very dark. And even a bunch of idiots like Viscen's Guards wouldn't have missed something like two animals trying to use the gate.
North Clock Town was deserted, and unlit. The Festival, taking place near the tower had leeched all occurrences away from the small field. Seeing as it was so dark, Veneer's search was forced to a painful slow crawl. He was determined not to leave a single bush unrustled, or a single corner unexplored. But North Clock Town was soon devoid of secret areas that Veneer hadn't searched, except of course, for the most obvious. That large cave…Veneer remembered Viscen mentioning it being some kind of shrine, or fountain. Squinting, he furrowed a brow.
"There's no way they'd be that obvious…" he muttered to himself.
Off to the side, several groups of people had arrived. Sond, Ty, and Link peered out of the dark into North Clock Town. Their route had taken them around the right side of the Milk Bar, following the route that Veneer had supposedly taken. Halting at the entranceway, Link held a finger to his lips and pointed at Veneer. His companions nodded silently in agreement.
For once, Ty and Link were not fighting. It was one thing if it was just them bickering during an otherwise peaceful moment, but when something serious came up, their rivalry was often strangely forgotten. Reveling in this alliance, Sond inclined her head as Veneer walked towards the Great Fairy's Fountain.
"Look!" She hissed, pointing towards the cave at the top of the incline. The other two followed her questing finger.
Peering around the rim of the Fountain's cavernous hole were two small heads, one blue-haired, the other black. Hovering over their shoulders was a glowing purple pinlight. Ty's tail bristled.
"Hsst!" Ty hissed urgently, waving at them. This was difficult, seeing as he wanted to get their attention whilst leaving Veneer unalerted. "Psst! Hey! Over here! Look!"
"I don't think they're gonna see us in time…" Link said, biting his lip. "Waving isn't doing any good!"
"I know…" Sond said delicately. "I've got a better idea." With a triumphant look she pulled out an arrow. Here was the tricky part. She didn't want to charge a Light Arrow up all the way, as that would be a dead giveaway to the hunter. But if she only charged it a little…
As if in response to her thoughts, a tiny warm glow, smaller than a firefly, appeared at the extreme tip of the arrow. It was so small, it barely cast any light at all. That wouldn't do.
"Give it a little more," Ty suggested.
"Okay…" Sond squinted in concentration, and before their eyes, the small pinprick inflated to the size of a marble. It was now glowing substantially.
"That'll work," Link said approvingly. "Now hold it up."
Sond did so, waving it slightly for good measure. They were rewarded with two heads turning their way. "Good! They've seen us!"
"Yeah, but now what? Veneer's right there, in fact, he's going towards them. What are we supposed to do about that?" Ty sighed.
"I dunno, distract him?" Sond suggested. "I've done it before."
"Hey guys, look…" Link pointed off to the left. "There's Kafei." There was no mistaking that purple shock of hair, even from a distance. And the small brown-haired figure with him could only be Kat. The second group had arrived. Sond waved her muted light arrow some more.
The small Kafei turned his head, and smiling, poked the equally miniscule Kat on the shoulder and pointed. They both turned and waved. Ty waved back, then pointed over at Veneer, who was still stalking quietly towards the Fountain. Then he pointed to the entrance and nodded. Seeming to understand, Kat gave the thumbs up. She then busied herself, removing something from her pocket.
"You didn't stick that stuff in her pockets too, Ty?" Link said uncomfortably. He was glad it was so dark, nobody noticed the dark stains if they couldn't be seen very well.
"No." Ty said simply. "That's a slingshot she's taking out."
"A slingsho-Wait a second, that's mine!" Link protested.
"She borrowed it the other day, don't you even remember?" Sond asked.
"Not really. What's she gonna do with it?"
"We'll see."
Kat loaded a small seed (or maybe a stone, it was hard to tell at a distance) into the slingshot. Flashing a wicked grin at them, she took aim at Veneer's exposed backside, pulled the strap as far back as it could go, and fired.
ZIIIIP! CRACK!
It was like a bee had stung the man. He jerked viciously upright, spine curved like a bow, eyes stretched wide in surprise. The sharp, loud exclamation that Veneer emitted as he did so was quite creative.
Link snickered. "I didn't know that word could be used like that," he said, keeping a hand over his mouth so that his laugh wouldn't carry.
"That's great and all, but now…" Ty trailed off as Veneer now turned his head towards the entrances, suspicious. "Now he'll find us, and…well…that could be a bad thing."
Sond had another idea though. Dousing the light arrow before Veneer noticed it, she strung it on the bow and took aim. However, she wasn't planning on hitting Veneer. She had to get this just right…closing one eye, she sighted along the shaft until she spotted her target. That group of seemingly innocent bushes…
"What are you doing?" Link hissed. "Those are Keaton bushes. If they're disturbed, they'll-" Then his blue eyes brightened as he clonked himself on the forehead. "Well, that answers my question…"
"Good. Now be quiet so she can aim right. She doesn't have many arrows left to waste." Ty warned, as Sond cleared her throat importantly.
"Three…two…one…fire!"
ZWIIISH! THUD!
The arrow rocketed like a bolt directly into the center of the bushes with a loud rattle. For a moment, the bush quivered, as if completely outraged at being shot at. Then, a moment later, the entire group of bushes began to rustle loudly, individual plants uprooting themselves with much swishing, twisting, and crackling.
"What the-" they heard Veneer exclaim, and even the passive Guards turned their heads towards the commotion. Veneer picked himself up, and ran (with a slight limp, to everyone's satisfaction) towards the disturbance. The bushes were now trundling away, moving rather quickly for immobile plants.
"You're in there, I know it!" Veneer growled, and waded into the moving bushes, which came up barely to his knees. Agitated at this, the bushes all moved away from the man. Veneer finally noticed the mobility of the bushes with a gasp. "Moving bushes…?!" He said, distractedly.
In fact, he was so distracted, he didn't even notice the two lupines that slipped incognitively out of the Great Fairy's Fountain, hugging walls whenever they could. With a self-satisfied wave of his tail, Timbre walked over to Ty and Link, trailed closely by Tee. He looked up at them thankfully, his expression echoed on Tee's as she followed him.
"That was a close one," Tael breathed.
"Just what were you two thinking, anyway?" Sond hissed suddenly, looking down at the pair of miscreants. The look on her face was quite severe, and she tapped her foot impatiently.
Timbre blinked, gave a furry shrug, and looked away, either unwilling or just unable to answer. He was still a bit frightened of what Veneer. Tee looked downcast, staring with her nose pointed to the ground as if she were really tired.
"Yeah, you guys didn't really think, did you?" Sond said. "You worried us half to death! And don't look at us like that," Sond scolded down at the forlorn pair. "It's your own faults for leaving the Laundry Pool."
"Mrr…" Tee grumbled apologetically. Tim too looked a tad sorry.
"In any case, we can't let you two get into any more trouble. We gotta get you out of Clock Town somehow." Ty said after a moment's awkwardness had passed. "Somewhere…where he can't go."
"Any chances of getting over the wall?" Link wondered idly.
"Not unless you can fly," Ty grumbled.
"Well what about if-" Link started.
"No." Ty said firmly, eyes flashing.
"But-"
"Just no, alright?" Ty looked a little annoyed, and his tail started to lash from side to side.
"Well, what do we do, then? I mean, Veneer's already getting bored of those Keaton bushes," Link said. Sure enough, Veneer was looking about him, confused, as the Keaton bushes dived fully underground, like so many photosynthetic moles. The hunter looked mad enough to spit. Even from across the dark field they could see his fists shaking.
And then Kafei sneezed.
"Run!" Everybody screamed at once as Veneer's head turned sharply towards the sound, a rather murderous glint in his eyes as he recognized the culprits. Everybody took their own advice, and with a clatter of boots, paws, and whirring(in Tael's case), they quickly ran back the way they came. The two groups merged as they fled down the alleyway between the Milk Bar and the Inn.
"That wasn't good…" Kafei panted.
"You just HAD to have allergies, didn't you?!" Ty snapped at him, running.
"Sorry for breathing!" Kafei snapped back, nearly tripping over his own boots.
Squashed in a row against the Inn's southern wall, they stopped to catch their breath. Nothing could be heard but heavy breathing, as the kids exchanged fearful looks. After a moment, Link spoke up.
"That," Link wheezed between breaths, "Was the scariest thing I have ever seen. Did you see his face??? It was like a rabid monkey or something!"
Kat, who was the one closest to the corner, peered around it. "Oh no…"
"What?" Kafei asked.
"Did we lose someone?" Ty asked.
"Is my stain getting worse?" Link asked.
"Arf?" Timbre offered.
"No!" Kat was hyperventilating.
"What's wrong, already?!" Kafei said, exasperated.
"He's right behind us!!!" Kat shrieked.
"AAAAH!!" Everybody screamed again, and the chase began anew.
*****
Yes, I'm cutting it off there. Yes, I KNOW that it's a cliffhanger. Yes, I apologize. Will Veneer catch those meddling kids? Will they escape? That's for next chapter to decide-boy are you in for a surprise! Next chapter will probably be the exciting conclusion, after that there will be an epilogue. Thanks for putting up with this story, it began and ended totally in randomness. Of course, that is the philosophy of Team Random!! Until next time, thank you for reading!