-Chapter 03: Fairies, Snot, and Hide-and-Seek-

They entered the town just as a rooster crowed, announcing the start of a new day. Early as it was, the town was already bustling, especially with what appeared to be a group of men doing construction. "That salesman gives me the creeps," Tatl said, rubbing goosebumps off her arms.

"Yes! Thank you!" Calynn cried, happy that finally someone understood her.

"Don't worry, Cal. I think we all agree that he's creepy," Dylan said, patting her cousin's arm. "More importantly, are we going to be able to do all of this in three days?"

"It does seem like a rather short amount of time," Ashby agreed. "I wonder where we should start."

"We're going to see the Great Fairy!" Tatl piped up.

"The Great Fairy?" Link asked. "Can she help us?"

Tatl explained that the Great Fairy kept watch over the whole town and would be able to help them find the Skull Kid, to which Link could agree she had a point. "And just between you and me," Tatl added with a wink, "the Skull Kid is no match for the Great Fairy."

"Yeah, that's what she thinks," Leslie muttered under her breath.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Calynn asked.

"Oh, you'll see."

"Oh, look, a puppy!" Ashby suddenly squealed. She ran forward happily as a small white dog ran towards her, bending down and patting her knees. "Come here, puppy."

"Oh no, Ashby, don't-" Leslie started, but too late.

The dog suddenly stopped right in front of Ashby. Its haunches raised and it let out a low growl, right before pouncing onto the Deku Scrub, knocking her to the ground.

"Hey!" Dylan shouted. She grabbed Ashby, pulling her up, and waved her hand, trying to shoo off the growling mutt. The dog didn't budge, but instead tried to jump up and bite Ashby's foot. Dylan lifted the Scrub out of reach and ran to hide behind Calynn. "Cal, make it stop!" The dog only followed her. The girl ran around, holding Ashby high over head. "Go away!" she yelled, while the dog continued chasing her, determined on getting a hold of the Scrub.

"Come on, let's go this way," Leslie said, pointing to a wooden ramp leading upwards. "I don't think it will follow us if we leave this part of town. I hope," she added.

The girls and Link ran up the ramp as fast as they could. Thankfully, Leslie's guess was correct and the dog stopped following them, although Dylan could still hear the terrifying barking not far behind them. "Is it gone?" she asked.

"Ma'am, please put me down," Ashby said.

"Oh, right." Dylan returned the Deku Scrub to the ground. "Sorry," Dylan said sheepishly, hoping Ashby wasn't upset with her. "I thought it was going to use you as a chew toy."

"How odd," Ashby commented, straightening out her dress. "Usually dogs love me."

"Trust me. It doesn't love you while you're a Deku," Leslie said.

"No, I think it just loves her for a different reason," Dylan pointed out.

"Anyway," Tatl cut in, darting into the middle of the girls to get their attention, "the Great Fairy is right over there." She pointed to a cave not far away. "Let's hurry up."

"Hey, guys! Look at the scary balloon! Doesn't it look like the mask that Skeleton Kid was wearing?" Calynn said, pointing to the large purple balloon at which a small boy of about seven or eight years old was shooting blow darts.

"You mean the Skull Kid?" Leslie corrected. "And yes, it does. It was probably his doing."

"Skull Kid loves playing pranks," Tatl said. "Usually they're pretty harmless, but lately they've been...well…" She gave a sidelong glance at Link, blushed, and shook her head. "Anyway, stop standing around and let's hurry up already!"

"So Link," Calynn said as they made their way toward the cave, "is the Great Fairy as terrifying as she seems in the ga-OW!" Calynn glared at Leslie, who had just smacked her in the head. When Leslie gave her a look, her eyes widened. "Oh, right. In the stories we've heard?" she corrected herself.

Link gave her a blank look. "Terrifying?"

"Yeah, you know. Cause she's all scary looking and stuff."

Link still stared at her with the same blank expression, as if he didn't have a clue what she was talking about.

"What are you talking about?" Tatl asked. "The Great Fairy is known for her legendary beauty."

Leslie, Dylan, and Calynn all exchanged glances. Even if they hadn't played Majora's Mask, all three of them had played Ocarina of Time. Ashby was the only one of the group who generally wasn't much of a gamer, other than the occasional Pokemon game or when her friends kidnapped her and forced her to play something with them. Whatever the case, they were going to find out soon. Except they weren't, because when they entered the Great Fairy's Fountain, to everyone's horror (except Leslie, who already knew what to expect), they discovered the Great Fairy had been shattered into a bunch of tiny golden fairies, which looked almost like adorable dolls, by the Skull Kid's power. Following her plea to find the last stray fairy, they exited the cave and stood around to discuss.

"Has anyone seen a fairy around?" Dylan asked.

Ashby and Link shook their heads. Calynn pointed to Tatl. Everyone gave her a look.

"What?" Calynn asked. "She's a fairy."

"Not helpful," Dylan said. Calynn shrugged. "Leslie?" Dylan looked at the redhead expectantly.

"Hold on, I'm thinking," Leslie said. "It's daytime, so if I remember-" She glanced at Link and Tatl. "I mean, uh, I have a feeling we should go this way."

Leslie led them back down the ramp. They made a run past the dog and to a set of stairs leading up to a Laundry Pool. There, floating over the water, they saw a little, doll-like fairy.

"How are we going to get it?" Calynn asked.

"Ashby can get her," Tatl said. "Deku Scrubs are light, so they can hop on the water for a short period of time. Just don't overdo it, or you'll sink," she added.

Following Tatl's suggestion, Ashby jumped onto the water. To her amazement, the water almost felt solid beneath her feet. It was almost like jumping on a really bouncy bounce house. She hopped to the fairy, which instantly attached itself to her, asking her to return it to the shrine in North Clock Town. Ashby continued her bouncing to the other side of the water. "Hee hee, this is so fun!" she giggled, and proceeded to bounce back across. With the fairy now in tow, the group headed back to the shrine.

"How did you know where to find the fairy?" Link asked Leslie.

"Uh…" Leslie glanced around nervously. "Just a lucky guess?"

"More importantly," Dylan said, "did you see how cute the little Great Fairies are? They're so tiny and adorable! I wish I could keep one." She put her hands on her cheeks and squealed.

"You cannot keep the Great Fairy," Tatl said, sounding slightly annoyed. "I still can't believe the Skull Kid did this to her. Or how he did it."

"Can I just hold her for a minute? Pleeeeease?" Dylan held out her hands to Ashby, a puppy dog look on her face.

Tatl glared. "No way! She's not a toy!"

"I know she's not a toy! I just wanna hold her!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Ok, you two," Leslie said, grabbing Dylan's arm and pulling her away from Tatl, who stuck her tongue out. "Let's just get back to the shrine already. We don't have time to waste arguing about silly things." To Calynn she whispered, "Your cousin is a little weird…"

"Yeah, she gets that way around cute things," Calynn whispered back, glancing at Dylan, who was still pouting and casting longing glances at the little sprite hanging onto the bud on Ashby's head.

Ashby led the way inside the Great Fairy's Fountain. Her miniature companion gave a tiny yip of joy and joined the other fairies floating about the pool of pale sparkling water. They spun around, merging together to form a giant, bosomy woman scantily clad in ivy which covered her body and adorned her long golden hair which floated gracefully around her. Calynn, Leslie, and Dylan gaped. She really was beautiful. Despite Tatl's insistence of the fact, they had chalked it up to the fairy's own bias. But no, it was easy to see why a faint blush tinted Link's cheeks.

Leslie nudged Dylan and Calynn, and jerked her head toward the boy, who was gaping at the fairy with mouth slightly open. "I think someone's got a crush." The three giggled.

Meanwhile, the fairy gave Ashby her thanks, explaining that she'd thought the Skull Kid was helping her and had grown careless, then offering to grant Ashby magic power. Before Ashby knew what was happening, the Great Fairy held out her hands and a golden light surrounded the Deku. Unlike the dark light of the Skull Kid's curse, this light felt warm and seemed to wrap around her like a comforting embrace. A gentle sensation filled her body, as if warm honey were flowing into her, and she began to swoon while her body slowly levitated into the air. Gradually, the light faded away, lowering Ashby back to the ground. She felt strange, but not in a bad way. Rather, she felt that she had grasped hold of some new power.

The Great Fairy explained that Ashby could use the magic to blow bubbles, then turned to the other four. "I sense that on the journey which lies ahead of you, you will all need my blessing," she said. And so saying, she proceeded to grant each one of them the gift of magic. Her task finished, the Great Fairy advised them to seek out the man in the observatory for help finding the Skull Kid, leaving them with a final warning to be careful before she twirled around, disappearing into the rippling water with an echoing laugh.

"Wow," Dylan said, looking down at her hands. Was it her imagination, or were they now surrounded by a pulsating glow so faint it was almost unnoticeable? "I think we can do magic now."

"How do we use it?" Calynn asked.

The girls all turned to Link. He stepped backwards, raising his hands defensively. "Wh-what? What did I do?"

"You know how to use magic, right? Teach us," Leslie said. Link looked back and forth from each of the girls, who were all staring at him expectantly, finally turning a look of desperation to Tatl.

"You're some kind of great hero, right?" Tatl said, shrugging. "It makes sense to me. You should teach them what you know."

"Ok, ok, I get it," he said as the girls started to close in on him. "But the only magic I can do is with a weapon. Do you have weapons?"

"Aw man, we probably need that," Dylan said.

"Where are we gonna get weapons?" Calynn asked.

"I've heard there's a swords master somewhere in town," Tatl said. "But do we really have time for that now? We have less than 72 hours to find the Skull Kid and we still have no idea where he is."

"She has a point," Leslie said. "Let's focus on finding the Skull Kid for now. We can worry about other stuff later."

They left the shrine, re-entering Clock Town. "Ashby," Leslie said, "the Great Fairy said you can blow bubbles. Maybe you can use it to pop that balloon."

"I suppose it's worth a try," Ashby said. As she'd discovered the case usually went in this new form of hers, Ashby had no idea what she was doing. If blowing a bubble was her power, which seemed a little silly to be honest, perhaps it was similar to blowing a bubble with gum. Closing her eyes, she tried to remember what it felt like to have teeth. Strangely, though she'd only been a Deku Scrub for a day, the memory of being human seemed fleeting and distant, almost like a barely remembered dream. But she had had teeth once, not so long ago. Teeth with which she could chew. And lips too. Lips to blow the gum, forming a sticky orb of thinly stretched goo.

She didn't have lips now, or a nose, but instead some snoutlike structure that seemed to serve as both. But surely the concept was the same. So she put all her focus into it and started to blow. Sure enough, she felt something thick and sticky emerging from her snout. Opening her eyes, she looked cross-eyed down her snout to see a viscous bubble balancing on the orifice of her snout. She blew some more and the bubble grew slightly larger. It glistened in the sunlight, shining with a putrid green sheen. It was, for lack of a better word, disgusting.

Ashby continued to blow until she felt certain that if she blew anymore, it would pop, covering her in its thick, green, slime. Then she took aim at the balloon and imagined her lips puckering and spitting out the gum. Away went the bubble, soaring through the air until it struck the balloon with a loud POP! that sent the balloon scattering about in tiny shreds.

"...Whoa," Calynn said.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure you just popped that balloon with a giant snot bubble," Leslie said.

"A magic giant snot bubble," Dylan pointed out.

"Yep. Ashby has magic snot bubbles," Leslie said, and she and Dylan burst into giggles.

"This is so gross," Ashby said. She wished she could get her hands on a tissue to wipe off the remaining essence of the bubble.

"Hey." Everyone looked up to see a small boy wearing a red bandanna over his head standing there, fists on his hips. They recognized him as the boy who had been shooting blow darts at the balloon earlier. "Did one of you pop that balloon?"

"That would be me," Ashby said.

The kid crossed his arms, tilting his head. "Not too bad for a Deku Scrub," he said.

"Oh, how kind." Ashby wished she could tell the kid a thing or two, but she held her tongue.

"You know, I'm the leader of a club called the Bombers. We're the coolest kids in town. I might be willing to let you join," he said.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Ashby said.

"No, no, she didn't mean that!" Leslie said quickly. "She's definitely interested. In fact, we'd all really love to join."

Jim looked their group up and down, sizing them up. "If you pass a test of mine, we might consider it."

"Oh no, I hate tests," Calynn moaned. "We don't have to study, do we?"

"I don't think he means that kind of test," Dylan said.

Jim pulled a whistle out from under his shirt and gave it a loud blow. Within moments, a group of boys all around the same age and all wearing matching bandannas ran up. They lined up with Jim in the middle and all folded their arms, mirroring their leader.

"Bombers, these kids want to join our club." Jim gestured to the group. "Ready for the Ultimate Test?"

"Ready!" three of the boys chimed in unison.

Jim eyed the fourth, who had gotten distracted watching a bug that was crawling near his foot. "Alf!"

The boy called Alf started. "Oh! Sorry!" he cried hastily. "Um...what was the question?"

Jim sighed. "Are you ready for the Ultimate Test?"

"Oh, right. Ready!" Alf called.

Jim turned back to Link and the girls. "Here are the rules. We're all going to hide, and you have to find all of us by this evening. If you find us, you pass the test. Got it?"

"Ohh, I love hide-and-seek!" Calynn said, clapping her hands. The others gave her a look. She shrugged. "What? It's fun!"

Leslie shook her head. "Anyway, I think we got it."

"Ok. Ready, set, go!" All of the Bombers except Alf, jumped up, raising their right hand toward the sky and bringing it down. "Alf?" Jim said.

"Oh!" Alf proceeded to do the jump, only to fall on his behind, then all the boys ran off to find a hiding place.

"Alright!" Calynn threw a fist into the air. "These little boys are about to witness the finding powers of the amazing Calynn Caulfield! Let's go!"

Dylan also threw her fist into the air. "Charge!"

"I can't believe we have to do this," Leslie muttered to Ashby, who nodded.

They found Jim and Alf first; both were hiding in North Clock Town. When they'd thoroughly searched the area, the group headed to the east part of town, where they found the third boy standing on top of a nearby roof, holding a chicken above his head.

"What's he going to do with that cucco?" Calynn asked.

"He's gonna throw it at us!" Dylan proclaimed.

"Somehow, I don't think that's the case," Leslie said. When they approached the boy, he proceeded to jump off the building, using the cucco's fluttering wings to float safely down to the ground. "Oh, I probably should have seen that coming," Leslie mused.

Dylan peeked over the edge of the building. "How are we gonna get down there?"

"I'm going to jump," Link said, and jumped off the edge, landing below with a graceful roll and chasing after the kid.

"Ohh. I'm Link," Dylan said in a high-pitched, mocking voice. "I'm the Hero of Time and I'm gonna jump cause I'm just that awesome." She stuck her tongue out at the green-clad boy, who was in the process of catching the runaway kid.

"Dylan," Leslie said. "There's a staircase over there." She pointed.

"...Oh."

Down the staircase they went, catching sight of the fourth child standing on top of another roof. "What's with these kids climbing on rooftops?" Ashby grumbled. "How did he get up there?"

Leslie looked around until she spied a nearby Deku flower. "Look. You can use that to get up there."

The kid was so surprised when Ashby flew up that he fell off the roof. Fortunately, it wasn't a far fall, so he was unharmed and the girls were able to catch him before he recovered himself.

"That just leaves one more," Leslie said once Ashby had taken a leap of faith and discovered that in her Deku Scrub body, she could jump more easily from high places.

"Don't you know where he is?" Dylan asked.

Leslie shook her head. "I can't remember. I played at my cousin's house and it's been a few years since I last went there. Cal, go get Link." Leslie gestured to the boy, who was busy chasing around the cucco that the kid had used.

"What? Why me?" Calynn asked.

"Because I said so."

"Ugh, fine…" Calynn moaned and went to fetch the boy and the fairy who was flying around after him, giggling at his attempts to catch the cucco.

After a long time of roaming around the city, they finally managed to find the fifth child in West Clock Town. They met up with Jim and his gang in North Clock Town.

"Sorry, but I don't think we can let the Deku Scrub join our club," Jim told them. He sounded genuinely apologetic. "What do you guys think?" He looked to his friends.

"No way! No Scrubs!" the other boys cried.

Jim shrugged and explained that they'd let a non-human join once and he'd proceeded to wreak all sorts of havoc across town. Tatl coughed self-consciously and ducked down behind Link's hat.

"We can still let the others join, though. Here, these are the Bombers Secret Society of Justice special notebooks. We use them to help the townspeople," Jim explained, handing out notebooks to everyone but Ashby. "And as promised, here's the secret code."

On Jim's command, the kids lined up and turned around so the numbers on the backs of their shirts formed a code. Jim reminded them that the entrance to the hideout was in East Clock Town and the kids all saluted and sang out together, "The Bombers Secret Society of Justice forever!"