Chapter 3: A rainy start

Hyrule Field has become even worse ever since Majora and Ganondorf teamed up together. Some dub it even 'Field of Hyruined', due to the state it is in. The main sight of enemies along the field are the Poes, the ghostly undead who are poised to torment any survivor with their lanterns. The Castle itself is almost nigh-impassable; nearly every corner of Hyrule Castle Town had a ReDead nearby, ready to rip off the flesh of the living to feed on. The only path free from those fiends was the path leading to the ruined Temple of Time. A dark, malevolent sky is the main look over the entire area, the dark clouds bellowing slowly over the area, and an occasional lightning strike making the trip hazardous. A lone person came out of the ranch in the center and into the field, gazing sadly upon the blackened walls of the ruined castle wall. She too had heard of what has transpired and has sent Epona and a few other horses away to find the missing ones. Some speculate that they may have fallen victim to some blood-thirsty monster, but most of them are confident that the Hero of Time and the Seven Sages are very much alive, and that they are simply recovering from the setback they had and will eventually return to banish Majora and Ganondorf to the Evil Realm permanently. As the figure stepped in the light of the moon, she sat down for a moment. It was Malon, daughter of the ranch owner Talon.
"It's been over a day since Hyrule was attacked and has fallen under Ganondorf's might…" She said, sighing sadly, "I find it strange that they are keeping to themselves though. The castle has been completely separated from the main area, with nobody able to enter it unless they could jump far or be like a bird… The town is in ruins too and ever since Death Mountain has erupted, the townspeople, the villagers and even the Gorons have taken shelter elsewhere… I just hope that those who managed to escape are safe… as well as Link and his friends… I wonder where they are…"
After a few minutes, Malon returned back into the ranch area, ready to move to bed. Fortunately for her, the ranch was spared of the current assault for the time being, as its business has so far been completely untouched. But it would only be a matter of time before it would fall under enemy occupation…

It had started to rain after Link, Saria, Zelda, Ruto and Nabooru had entered East Termina Field. As Clock Town was still being a bit far away, the five were forced to take shelter in a grotto next to the Astral Observatory. As it was getting nighttime, the five decided to settle down for the night and reach Clock Town in the morning; they thought it would be the only spot for them where they would be safe until they were fully ready to go back towards Hyrule. Putting their equipment against the green-colored Gossip stones, Nabooru sat down against the wall in the middle, making sure her clothing wouldn't be in any of the present water puddles to prevent the sand from sticking onto it, holding Link and Saria in her left arm, while Zelda and Ruto settled at Nabooru's right arm as she held the four in a friendly, protective hold.
"Once we get back to Hyrule, we should head for the Gerudo Fortress first once we've recovered the others." Nabooru said.
"What for?" Zelda asked.
"Gerudo's Fortress is practically a maze where we Gerudo reside and train. We know every inch of the fortress, so it is imperative we stay together. Besides, the Gerudo have sworn allegiance to me ever since they found out what Ganondorf had done; he would not hesitate to kill one of his own kind after all. It is a shame that Ganondorf has Gerudo blood, even though he is technically our 'king', as every male who is born every 100 years in our tribe is supposed to be." Nabooru replied.
"Wow." Saria said, blinking.
"We should be resting now; I have a feeling we won't be getting any rest any time soon." Nabooru said.
"You're right. Hopefully we'll remain safe here…" Zelda said.
"At least I'm happy to see you lot again," Link said, "somehow I felt saddened when learning you had to stay in the Chamber of the Sages during our first fight against Ganondorf."
Zelda smiled, touched by Link's loyalty to his friends.
"I have a hunch that there's a good chance of you joining us in the chamber in the future, Link." She said.
Link nodded with a smile, before he dozed off with the others.

The next day, Link and the four Sages woke up, having slept well throughout the night. After retrieving and re-setting their equipment, they prepared themselves to leave.
"By the way, how come those Gossip Stones are a different color?" Zelda asked.
"They wanted that to be as I learned through using the Mask of Truth on them. I just had to play one of four specific songs for them…" Link said, stretching a bit.
"Hmmm, those stones always respond to the ones wearing that mask to reveal their secrets." Zelda said, nodding.
After getting out of the hole, the group approached East Clock Town.
"The inn is located in East Clock Town. Hopefully we can get settled in for the time being and use their facilities to improve our skills around here further." Link said.
"What kind of facilities do they have?" Saria asked.
"There's a Sword Training Center in West Clock Town and an Archery Shooting Gallery in East Clock Town. West Clock Town also has shops where we can restock on supplies if needed." Link replied.
"Alright. Perhaps we can-"
Zelda couldn't finish her sentence as suddenly a small group of Stalfos appeared, having waited in ambush for the five! Instantly the five drew their weapons and stood in a circle, ready to defend themselves at a moment's notice.
"An ambush… they really want us dead…" Link snarled, narrowing his eyes as his courageous self took full control.

The fight began. Link charged ahead with a Jump Slash, inflicting great damage onto the Stalfos, but a second one hit him with the scabbard, knocking him back. Ruto retaliated using her Fin Boomerangs, hitting some Stalfos, while Nabooru clocked the one which attempted to strike Ruto from behind. Saria assisted Link with the first Stalfos, while Zelda went to help Ruto. Being an adult, Nabooru could handle a Stalfos by herself, but she did whatever she could to assist her friends. Link and Saria managed to defeat one Stalfos, but then the Stalfos attacked en masse, injuring Link, Saria, Zelda, Ruto and Nabooru in a series of slashes. Zelda was then forced to use her Sage Beam attack to disable two Stalfos who stood close together, but still, the Stalfos pressed on the offensive. A Dual Spin Attack courtesy of Nabooru decapitated three of the Stalfos, but a few more still remained.
"These freaks are definitely skilled, I give them this much." Saria said, hissing at a slash she received on her arm.
The slashing rampage of the Stalfos wasn't broken. Saria, Zelda, Ruto and Nabooru were hit once more, while Link managed to block the attack on him just in time with his shield. Getting angry herself, Nabooru swung her dual swords around in another big spin attack, slashing two more Stalfos to bits. The five then received a slash from behind; a few remaining Stalfos had circled around them, attacking them in the back. Saria yelped as she was forced to drop her weapons. Now getting pissed off, Link charged whatever magic power he could muster and unleashed his Super Spin Attack just as the Stalfos leapt at them, destroying the last remaining Stalfos in the process.

With the battle over, Link panted furiously as he leaned on his sword which he stabbed in the ground for now, trying to calm himself down. He could see Saria and Ruto on the ground, having several cut wounds , while Nabooru tried to nurse Zelda's arm. The last thing Link saw, before he collapsed from exhaustion, was that several civilians and guards of Clock Town rushing to them, having heard the battle and watched them defeat the Stalfos. Nabooru watched Link passing out, while she felt light-headed as well, due to her own injuries…

Link, Saria, Ruto, Nabooru and Zelda woke up, finding themselves in a warm bed each, in a big bedroom which was illuminated by a few makeshift candles and torches. They also noted that each of their injuries had been bandaged thoroughly, although a few had some makeshift stitches. Both Link and Zelda had one of their arms in a sling, while Saria had her left leg completely covered in bandages. Ruto's fins were also carefully tended to, with bandages around her shoulders. Their equipment was neatly placed on top of a small table by their beds, their normal clothing replaced by some night clothing. Hearing two sets of footsteps, the five looked up to see a door opening. Inside came a woman with dark red hair, wearing an outfit of where she looked like a caretaker of an inn.
"Anju?" Link asked, recognizing her.
"Yes, it's me. Are you alright?" The woman asked.
"We're alive, that's saying a lot; those Stalfos did quite a number on us." Zelda said.
"Thank you for bringing us here. Where are we?" Saria asked.
"You're in the Stock Pot Inn. We had to carry you up here after bandaging your injuries and everything." Anju replied.
"Thank you." Ruto said, smiling.
"No problem. You should rest for now, the weather's going bad today…" Anju said, pointing at the rain outside.
The five nodded, opting to stay in their room for now to properly recuperate, falling asleep a few minutes later.

About thirty minutes have passed since the group was taken into the Stock Pot Inn, which was luckily in time as a fierce thunderstorm passed over Clock Town and its surrounding field area. Link however was awake as he had a hard time in sleeping, sighing deeply, before observing the room... Saria, Zelda, Ruto and Nabooru are seemingly asleep.
'This sure is a whole series of unfortunate events. I have my Gilded Sword, but the others have still the basic ones… I wonder if the Smith's house in the Mountain Village is still present...' Link thought to himself as he looked around, dozing off slightly, only to be startled by a very loud thunderclap, causing him to nearly sit up in bed in a flash, although hissing as his arm still hurt, even though it was in a sling. He then heard the sound of someone whimpering nearby… it was Saria, whom also was startled by that thunderclap, waking her up.
"Saria?" Link whispered to her, gaining Saria's attention.
"L... Link..." Saria said, before she slowly got out of her bed and limped towards his, with Link moving his blanket away to she can enter his bed carefully, wanting to provide some comfort and company. Both relaxed a bit after finding a comfortable position next to each other without touching each other's injuries.
"Are you alright?" Link asked her in a whisper.
"Not really... this thunderstorm scares me... it reminds me of evil with its ferocity..." Saria whispered back, while Link nodded.
Another loud thunderclap sounds of the area, causing Link and Saria to hold each other, while Zelda, Ruto and Nabooru are also startled by this.
"Dang, the weather is really harsh..." Nabooru said, catching her breath from the sudden jump scare.
Ruto shivered in her bed, only to see Saria lying in Link's bed, eventually deciding to limp over to them as she needed the company. Nabooru and Zelda soon followed, with Nabooru carefully trying to shove Saria's bed next to Link's to make twin beds, which would provide enough room for the five to lay down on.
"Things are really messed up now..." Link said as Nabooru carefully moved the blanked over the group.
"I'll say... I wonder if we are truly ready for this..." Saria said, trying to relax.
"Any ideas? Other than training of course..." Zelda asked.
"I know of a place close to Snowhead where a blacksmith has his business. He and I go way back after I destroyed Goht, the beast that was wrecking havoc in the Snowhead Temple and thus was bothering the mountain area, including its Goron Population. He should be able to get our swords upgraded." Link said.
"That's a great idea; we can train during the time they are working on our blades. I'm sure it can also help us in finding more weapons we can handle. Even Ruto should be able to handle more weapons." Nabooru said, smiling which caused Ruto to blush.
"I also remember having a bank account with a very big amount of rupees here. If anything, we could also go for some shopping and get in some bombs and other weapons. I feel that in this time of emergency, it should come in handy. I also suggest we should visit the Zora in the Great Bay. They know a few secret techniques that Ruto will be able to use just fine." Link said
"You're really resourceful, Link." Zelda said, gaining more respect for the hero.
"Hey, I don't want to keep you slighted, just because I'm the Hero. As we know, we need the help of each other really hard in the upcoming days, so I want to help you train in the weapons. With the friends I have made during the time I spent in Termina to defeat Majora the first time, that should be no problem." Link said.
"Sweet. I suggest we should also have some songs to us available which we can use during our quest. Perhaps their magic can be of use in a few places." Saria said.
"Great idea. Let's just hope the weather improves overnight... " Link said, looking outside as it rained hard, large puddles of water being present on the outside street, with the street itself void of life due to everyone seeking shelter inside.

Unknown to the five, they were being watched from the roof of the Milk Bar, apparently paying no attention to the rain. It sat there for a moment, watching them fall asleep, before spreading its wings and flying off, knowing it would see them soon enough. Back on Termina Field, the final remains of the Stalfos attacking the five disintegrated into nothingness, the blood stains being slowly washed away as if nothing happened. And yet… a dark presence remained close by, waiting for its chance to strike again at the group when the time was right… All they needed to do was to play the waiting game and ensure that their leaders would tighten their rule over the already conquered lands, before moving on to take what was left untouched or unconquered, so no one would be able to resist them any longer. A soft, dark laughter echoed away with the sounds of the rain and thunder…