Author's Notes: Not too much to say here. I guess this is kind of a buildup for chapters to come, but hey. In addition, it also intros characters that you might find interesting. Well, without further ado…
Chapter 35: Bremen, Keaton n' King
The ocean breeze was calming, as morning slowly came to life. Double D and Vivian both stood near the bow of the Going Merry. Luffy was inside, eating his normal breakfast, whilst Nami was busy preparing something near her trees. Of course, Mac and Bloo were off playing a game somewhere near the back of the ship.
Vivian looked towards the sock-hatted boy. She seemed to be somewhat nervous about something, as his expression gazed into the blue skies ahead.
"…is something bothering you?" She asked.
"Yeah." Double D said. "I don't know what it is, but I have been a little nervous lately. I feel like something is going on…"
It was about then that Double D's cell-phone began to ring.
"A moment, please." Double D said. He walked away from Vivian, who watched in curiosity. Double D reached into his pocket; taking out his phone, and answering it:
"Hello, 'Double D' Eddward, speaking." he answered.
"DOUBLE D!!" shouted a voice on the other end.
"Goombella?!" Double D asked, hearing the worry and panic on the other line. "What's going on?!"
"I-I- we- I-"
As she talked, Double D noticed the sounds of police and ambulance sirens.
"Goombella, please, try to calm down." Double D spoke.
"I think-I think Beldam- oh MAN!" she continued.
"Ok… ok." Double D said. "Please… what happened?"
"We- that is- Eddy, Goombirro and I - went to a hotel in downtown London." She said, trying to calm herself down. "…and-and I left them for a few minutes! And when I came back- oh…"
"Goombella? Did Beldam do something?" Double D asked, now starting to sound worried himself.
"I don't know, that's just it!" Goombella shouted. "When I came back, Eddy and Goombirro were-were turned to stone!!"
"Stone?!" Double D asked.
Vivian, as well as Mac and Bloo arrived, to listen in on their conversation.
"Yeah!" Goombella said. "…and Nazz was… lying there, in the room. All hurt and injured!"
"Nazz?" Double D asked.
"Yea, I checked-" Goombella sighed. "-and she wasn't wearing the Medallion! I think someone else has it now!"
"Someone else?" Double D asked. "Like, Beldam has a new host?"
"I don't know." Goombella said, sounding worried. "I don't even know who might have it."
"…then that means that anybody in London could be possessed by Beldam now." Double D sighed. He placed his hand on his forehead. Bloo and Mac were murmuring things to themselves, as Vivian looked on worried.
"Goombella, where is everyone now?" Double D asked.
"Well, the police took the Eddy and Goombirro statues as evidence. I guess they said there were two other cops who were turned to stone earlier, so they're being examined by scientists."
"We have to get them back." Double D said.
"…and… as for Nazz." Goombella sighed. "She was very badly hurt. …the doctors said that she might not live."
"What?!" Double D said, now with a grim expression on his face.
"After I called the police, I ran away from the hotel." Goombella continued. "I didn't want to make things worse by having them see and alien. I'm behind the hotel now."
"Ok, stay there." Double D urged. "We will come get you as soon as possible."
"Thank you, Double D!" Goombella said.
"Until then, be on the defensive." Double D said. "Since we don't know who Beldam might be possessing, don't trust anybody."
"Gotcha." Goombella said. "Ok, I'll see you later."
"Ok, goodbye, Goombella." Double D said, before he hung up the phone.
Double D turned to look at the others. "Everyone-"
"We heard." Mac said.
"WE DID INDEED!" Bloo blurted out. He began to pace back and forth. "So, I guess now we must find the guy who did the bad thing that he did!"
"What kind of grammar was that?" Mac asked.
"Not now, Mac, I am going to solve the mystery!" Bloo said. He pointed towards the back of the ship.
"Tallyho!" he shouted, before he ran down a set of stairs and towards a door.
"What's with him?" Vivian asked.
"I don't know…" Mac shrugged, looking somewhat confused himself.
"So… what do we do?" Vivian asked.
"We can't do anything but keep going." Double D stated. "Once we arrive in London, it's going to be insanity."
Double D glanced over to Mac. "Mac, please go to Nami, and tell her that we have to speed up."
"Sure!" Mac said, running down the deck and away.
"Double D…" Vivian looked at him.
"I know…" He said. "I know."
"What do you mean?!" Sarah shouted in anger.
"I'm sorry, miss." the lady at the counter said. "But all flights out of London have been postponed."
"Why?" She asked.
"I… I'm sorry, it's classified." she said.
Sarah sighed and walked away from the counter. The lobby of the airport was quiet, as the morning sun flowed inside the windows. A few annoyed people were sitting or pacing about. They mumbled about themselves, most likely about how unhappy they were with the situation.
Sarah looked back and watched as the lady at the counter turned around walked through a door behind the counter. Sarah looked, to make sure that nobody was looking at her, before vaulting over the counter and ducking behind it. Sarah pressed her ear against the door.
"…yeah, I told her too." the lady's voice said.
"Good." said a deep, male voice, presumably her boss's.
"We have to give the public some kind of bloody explanation." she said.
"And tell them what?" her boss said. "That a mysterious man in green came here last night and sabotaged the runway?"
"Well, it did happen!" she replied.
"What were to have happened if we had not noticed that?!" he asked. "This is delicate work!"
The lady was silent, though Sarah continued to listen on.
"…ok." the lady said.
"Our repairmen are on the job now." he said. "The planes should be up and running first thing in the morning. That's the best we can do."
Sarah sighed and backed away from the door. "Tomorrow?" she asked. "…wait, a mysterious man in green? Where have I seen that before?"
Sarah decided to simply shrug it off. "Ok, I'll just stay here, then. I won't meet anybody dangerous if I am with a crowd."
She got back up on her feet and looked over the counter. To meet her gaze was a robot. The Same robot she met the night before. It's eye-piece was glowing again, though it still looked cracked.
Sarah nearly jumped. "Y-you!!"
"Sarah." the robot said. "Please come with me."
Sarah refused. She vaulted over the counter and walked towards the doors. She decided to look back, to see the robot, apparently talking with someone over a radio. Sarah raised her eyebrow.
The robot's arm the rose, directed at her.
"Sarah, this is for your own good." the robot said.
Out of nowhere, the arm shot a net at her. Sarah screamed and dodged the net by throwing herself to the floor. The net continued, out the door. It wrapped around a civilian outside instead, causing her to fall to the ground.
By now, everyone in the lobby was gasping and shouting. Sarah, decided now was the time to run. She bolted out of the door, and back out into the streets once more.
"FINE!" She shouted to herself, as she ran wildly though the streets. "I don't care if I have to swim back!"
The strange, purple-clad man approached the side of the Westminster Palace. He had hidden himself behind a large pillar, nearby a door.
He looked left and right, making sure that he had no onlookers. He then approached the door, and knocked three times.
He watched, with a bored expression on his face. The door then opened slightly.
"Identify yourself." came a voice.
"Beldam. Oldest of 3 shadow sirens, sorceress of ice. Holder of the Medallion of Life."
"Come, quickly." replied the voice. She door opened up. Beldam, in Link's guise, walked inside quickly, silently shutting the door behind her. In the darkness, she had no trouble descending a discrete set of stairs.
This was a small room, directly below the Tower of Big Beg, at the foot of the stairs. It was but a simple little cellar. The dust everywhere indicated that the room hadn't been known about for a long time. Rather then powered by electricity, a couple of lanterns that hung on the wall lit the room.
Beldam noticed Dimentio, standing in his usual posture, to greet her at the stairs. Behind him, standing, almost perfectly shrouded in darkness, where three tall figures.
"Why, good morning, Beldam. You certainly look different." the dark jester said chivalrously.
"Whatever." she replied coldly.
"I agree…" said a voice.
Their attention turned towards the three men, standing in the darkness.
"That annoying little girl's time was up anyway." the middle one said. He stepped out of the darkness. This man, the shortest out of the group, was wearing a tall overcoat, with pieces of shoulder armor that resembled horns. His pants and matching shoes were black, and he wore black leather gloves that hid even his hands. This man was wearing a mask as well. It was made of a blue cloth, and covered most of his head. Printed on the front, where his face would be, was a picture of a white skull, starring forth on this man's behalf. For some bizarre reason, the mask smelt of gunpowder, and there was a fuse hanging off the side.
"My king." Beldam and Dimentio said, bowing before his presence.
He glanced back and forth, looking at his two companions. "Hey, Keaton, Bremen! Come on, already!"
The one called "Keaton" walked out of the shadows first. As this one walked, he made whirring and beeping sounds, and oddly enough, his right footsteps sounded metallic. As he walked out of the shadows, it revealed him wearing a tall overcoat, similar to the previous man. However, unlike the king, Keaton only had one visible human leg. The other, his right leg, looked to be made of metal. His left arm looked quite normal, but his right arm was also missing. It has been replaced by a strange, metal-looking arm. Instead of having a hand on that arm, he simply had a fingerless rod, that pointed downwards. His head was perhaps the strangest of all. Keaton's black hair stuck out of a big, metal helmet that he wore. The helmet was a night sky black, with two white stripes on it's top. His actual face was hidden behind a mask, one that resembled a yellow fox. Written on the mask's side in small text read "KEATON."
The other one, the one that the King called Bremen, appeared. As he walked forth, one could see that he was a little bit taller then the other two. He was wearing an overcoat as well, and unlike the others, had white pants as opposed to black. He also lacked gloves, showing his skin to look a little yellow tinted. He was also wearing a mask, resembling an eagle. The eyes were red, and the beak took place of his nose, though the mask left his mouth exposed, revealing his strange appearance that seemed to have him lacking a chin.
"You brought them, I see?" Dimentio asked.
"Well, yeah! I practically made these two the way they are today, so I trust them more then you two freaks." stated the king.
Both Beldam and Dimentio mentally growled in frustration.
"But I guess I should thank you, Dimentio. We wouldn't have been able to get to this time-space without your help." stated the King.
"It's the least I could do for you, my king." Dimentio stated, bowing.
"It's just like old times, isn't it?" the King asked. "This world brings back a lot of memories."
"Yeah." Bremen confirmed. "I remember this one time-"
"Not now, I'm talking, you klutz!" the King exclaimed sharply.
Bremen frowned. "But-"
"-best do as he says." stated Keaton, in a darkened voice. "For everyone's sake, do us all a favor and shut up."
Bremen looked down in shame.
"So, anyway." Beldam said, trying to break the awkward moment. "I take it that you wanted these."
She reached into her host's pockets, and took out the Gold and Sapphire Crystal Stars. She then handed them to the king.
"Oh, this brings back a lot…" said the King, starring at his own masked reflection in the Gold Star. He tossed the Sapphire Star over to Keaton, who caught it with his "hand".
"…just 5 more stars, then." Keaton stated
"Whoo! Another step to victory!" Bremen exclaimed.
"Both of you shut up, or I'll lock you guys away for the night." he stated.
"My King." Dimentio said. "What are your orders now?"
"Isn't it obvious?" the King asked. "Because of you, there are 4 people turned to stone, a hotel room filled with evidence, and a team of meddlers rushing to aid them as we speak."
"None of that was my fault." Dimentio said.
"HEY!" Beldam shrieked. "I didn't see you do anything!"
"Listen, you two monsters." the King said. "I don't care what, don't care how, just fix it, before you lure them here!"
"Mwe he he he…" Beldam laughed under he breath. "Of course, my King."
With that, Link's figure vanished, sinking into a shadowy veil in the ground, until he appeared out of sight.
Dimentio nodded. "…ciao."
He, too, vanished, using his teleporting magic to escape in an instant.
The King looked at Bremen and nodded.
Bremen held his palm out towards the exit, and with a sudden burst, electricity burst from his hand. It struck the door, with so much energy that it welded itself shut.
The King then nodded, and turned his head to Keaton. "We have work to do. Kill the light."
Keaton nodded, and snapped his fingers. The flaming torches flickered, and extinguished, shrouding the chamber into darkness. …all the while, unknown to them, a set of glowing eyes had watched the entire conversation through a small crack in the wall.
"Goombella!!"
She turned around, spotting Double D. A sigh of relief sounded from her worried face.
"Double D! Thank gosh you're here!"
Double D, followed directly by Vivian, then Mac, Bloo, Luffy, and finally Nami, surrounded her.
They were all standing near the police HQ. Quite a few emergency personnel were moving around the town, as if the entire city was in a state of excitement. It was just about 6 PM at the time, the sun was on it's way down the horizon as Big Ben tolled over the racket of the people.
"What is going on?!" Mac asked, shouting over the sirens.
"It's a mess!" Goombella stated. She used her mouth to grab a paper that she had placed on a bench. Double D accepted the Newspaper, and read aloud.
"Mysterious Man wreaks havoc. In the last 48 hours, reports have filled in, as this dangerous criminal has somehow petrified 3 civilians into a state of solidity. In addition to this, there have been leaks in secret proceedings that indicate that he is responsible for sabotaging a runway, causing all airways to come to a standstill. Even further reports confirm that is has caused major property damage to a hotel, local pub, central area, as well as other unconfirmed reports of further city damages…"
The group of 7 stood, looking confused, as Double D went on.
"''We found a total of 3 civilians somehow turned to stone.'' states Private Investigator Harold Bean. ''We also found a strange 4th statue, of some kind of inhuman subject. We really don't know what to make of that."
"Hey, look at that mug!" Bloo said, pointing at a photograph. It was of a strange man, wearing a long tunic, with hair that came out of his sock-like hat. It was blurred though, so there wasn't much for the picture to show.
"This is the perpetrator, caught racing from the scene of the hotel crime, by an anonymous amateur photographer." Double D read it's caption.
"…who is that?" Nami asked.
"It's definitely Beldam, in her new host." Double D said. "There's no doubt."
"No, I mean that guy." Bloo said, specifically referring to her host.
"I've never seen him." Vivian said.
"Me neither." Luffy stated.
"I don't think he's from our world." Nami said in conjecture.
"Hm…" Mac shook his head back and forth.
"Even I don't know." Goombella said, discouraged.
"Great." Bloo moaned.
"…weird." Double D thought. "For reason, it feels like I have seen him before… oh, but from where? I can't tell…"
"Goombella, where's the van?" Double D asked.
She quickly directed him to the direction of the Ed-Mobile, parked in a nearby parking lot under a street light.
The group raced to the car, crossing a busy road in the process.
"Wow! What a cool car!" Luffy exclaimed.
Double D got down onto the ground, and quickly stuck his head under the car. His head came back up a second later.
"Good news." he said. "The Emerald Star fuel chamber hasn't been tampered with. Beldam still doesn't know about it."
"Then I guess we're not hopeless, are we?" Nami asked.
"Everyone get in, I'll drive." Double D said.
Double D opened the van, and let everyone in through the side doors. By now, it was so dark that they needed to turn on the car's lights. The group in the back argued as to where they should sit as the car door alarm signal beeped a few times, before Mac finally shut the door behind him.
Mac joined Double D in the front, whilst everyone else was in a duel as to where to sit.
"Goombella!" Double D shouted, as he turned the van's ignition. "Where is Eddy and Goombirro?"
"They were brought to a laboratory. Look, I have a map." She tossed him a small roadmap of the city. He caught- fumbled- and caught it again; and opened it up. Written on the map was a red circle over a specific location.
"I overhead the police and marked the location." Goombella said. They're trying to have some doctors return them to normal."
"Ok, we'll start there." Double D said, fastening his seatbelt. He pulled the gear shift into Reverse, and began to back out of the spot.
Just as night came in to bring an end to the day, twilight was in it's prime. Sarah had made it quite far. She raced all the way to the River Thames, and came to a sudden stop as she gasped for breath, leaning against the rails that kept her safe from falling in.
She looked down at her reflection in the river, seeing her exhausted expression. Night was coming, but she was worried about spending but another second in the city. The city, remarkably, seemed to be calming itself down now, as less emergency vehicles were running about the streets.
Sarah knew that she needed to find a place to stay immediately. She peered on as one of the police cars ran by. Sarah wove her hands, shouting at the car as it drew near. The car slowed to a stop, and the window opened up slowly.
"…anything I can do for you?" he asked.
"Please, I think I'm being chased by something." Sarah said, sounding a little desperate.
"Something?" the officer asked.
"Or someone or- whatever!" She said.
The officer nodded. He turned off the ignition, and slowly opened the door.
"Would you prefer I stay here for a while?" asked the officer.
Sarah nodded. "Please."
He stepped out of the car, and sighed. The man looked around the parameter.
"I don't see anybody." he said. "Where did you see him last?"
"I-I saw him near the airport." Sarah stated.
The officer shook his head. "What the devil is going on in this city? Honestly, everything's gone mental since that asteroid crash a month ago."
"Asteroid?" Sarah asked.
There was a sudden noise that startled the two of them. It was a sort of childish, echoing laughter, just like the sound of a little girl. At the same time though, it sounded anything but human.
"It's the thing!" Sarah shouted.
"What-what-what?" asked the officer. He drew his gun and positioned himself on the defensive.
"Now now, there's no need to point that thing around." said the same, dark voice.
To both of their surprise, a dark figure materialized before them. It looked like a dark little imp, wearing a bizarre helmet. Her hair was aglow, orange in tint. Other then that, she looked to be a complete shadow.
"WHAT THE-"
The officer didn't finish his sentence.
"It's rude to point things at people." stated the Imp in her strange voice. "I know it's not a lethal weapon. It looks more like a tranquilizer."
"F-f-freeze!" the officer said, trying to remain undaunted.
"Listen… you're a good man. I can tell, you know. You don't deserve to be caught up in all this madness."
"What are you talking about?" asked the officer.
"Ha ha ha ha… good luck." said the mysterious Imp.
The Officer suddenly screamed. Sarah watched in awe, as the man was suddenly enveloped in darkness. The shock caused the man to release his grip, dropping his gun. His body began to break into black pixels, which rose into the air. The pixels formed a dark cloud above, and flew off into the twilight-lit evening.
Sarah's eyes were wide open. She gazed at the imp, which gave a mischievous gaze back.
"Hello again. I think I remember you from somewhere."
Sarah stepped backwards. "I-I'll do anything you say. Please don't kill me."
"Kill you…?" she asked back. "I'm no murderer. Don't get me wrong though, anybody who deserves it will get what they deserve."
The imp floated right up to Sarah, who shouted in surprise.
"But the officer-"
"Believe me, I just saved his life." the imp said. "If that stalker of yours found him, that officer would have attempted to guard us. He would have been killed."
Sarah's face turned from horror to disbelief.
"I just warped him away. I sensed in his heart that he was worried that he was going to be killed, and that he was thinking of his family. So I warped him back to his house. He ought to have a funny story for his wife and kids now, huh?"
Sarah rose an eyebrow. "…who are you?"
"Oh, sorry! I seem to have forgotten to introduce myself. You can call me Midna."
"…Sarah." Sarah replied back.
"Good!" Said Midna. She flew a bit backwards and spun in the air whimsically, before returning to Sarah. "Now that we've met, we're just like best friends, right?"
"…what are you?" Sarah asked.
"Ha ha ha ha! Right, sorry, I forgot!"
Midna suddenly glowed brightly. Her shadowy veil flew off her, turning into particles of darkness and vanishing into the evening. Her new formed showed her. She was a dark midnight color, with white spots all over her front portion of her body. A few blue tattoos covered her arms and legs, and her only exposed eye (as the other lay hidden behind a piece of the helmet), was a sort of orange, just like her hair.
"…uh, ok." Sarah said.
"I'm confused about what you are too. You look like a Hylian, but you're missing the pointed ears." Midna said.
Sarah shook her head. "We don't have time for this now! We got to get out of here!"
"Get out of here? I want to find that arrogant witch that possessed Link!" Midna said.
"Link? Who's that?" Sarah asked.
"…hm, we must have different stalkers, I guess."
Sarah sighed, and nodded.
"Hey, listen Sarah. I'll help you stop your stalker if you help me with mine." Midna offered.
"How?" Sarah asked. "I'm unarmed."
Midna looked down on the ground. The officer had dropped his gun before warping away. Midna closed her eyes, and reached down at the ground. The gun began to levitate, reacting to her hand as she rose it towards Sarah. Sarah slowly accepted the gun, grabbing it by the handle.
"And now you're armed. Let's go."
"Go where?" asked Sarah.
"You don't have to go anywhere." said a voice.
They both turned around. As they did, they spotted a man, with a darkened tunic, starring at them darkly.
"Witch!" Midna exclaimed.
"…Beldam?" Sarah asked. She quickly drew her gun on Beldam.
"Hey..." she said, looking at the battle ready Sarah. "Didn't you used to be my minion?"
Sarah was undaunted, pointing the gun at him with a look of confidence in her eyes.
Beldam chuckled. "What a surprise."
Author's Notes: As this chapter comes to it's end, mysteries grow more powerful. It may not seem like it, but King, Keaton, and Bremen, the three of them homeages to Majora's Mask, the Zelda Game, will all play veeeeeery key roles in the story. Just how, you'll have to find out. That's it for this chapter, more on the way!