Chapter 40: A Dark Theft

After climbing out of the Ikana River and using the ladder to reach the mainland of Ikana Valley.
"Hopefully we can leave this land of the dead behind us forever…" Link said.
"We all hope that, Link. After all, we have no business in such a land with a blood-stained history." Zelda said.
"Indeed." Link said, sighing.
"You seem quite upset." One of the Pirates said.
"Well, to be fair, I've had my share of traumatic experiences during my first visit here. The only thing I'm happy about now is that we didn't have to go through the Ikana Well this time." Link replied.
"Ikana has a well too?" Impa asked.
"Yes. The only time I had to go in there was to find a way into Ikana Castle and had my own share of horrors there. Doors being guarded by Gibdos, spike rollers left, right up and down, respawning Wallmasters, rooms being blocked by spider webs… it makes the atmosphere of the Kakariko Well much more pleasant in comparison." Link said.
Zelda shuddered at this, as did Saria.
"At least we're now much better equipped than when Majora sent five of us, including myself, here into that Skulltula-infested cavern…" Ruto said.
"You got that right, Ruto. All I hope now is that there won't be any webs blocking our path any time soon. They can be handy as catching nets or to treat injuries, but the itch of those threads on the bare skin is intolerably annoying." Link said.
"I second that." Saria said.
"I third that." Zelda said.
"You got stuck in a web?" The second pirate asked.
"Yeah, Majora decided to give us a trip of a life time by sending us into that cavern not too long ago, which caused us to end up landing directly into a giant web that was big and strong enough to simply hold the five of us while we were out cold." Link said.
"Yikes, that sounds nasty."
"It was. Then again, Majora's practically a lunatic who doesn't care what the consequences of his actions are." Link said.
"You got that right." Zelda said.

Just as Nabooru wanted to talk, Link was hit by an arrow in his arm, causing him to yelp in pain, right before a second one struck his leg, causing him to fall down on the ground.
"Link?!" Saria asked, just as another arrow flew by, shortly followed by a scream of Zelda as she was hit by it in the back.
"What the-?!" Impa asked.
"OVER THERE!" The Third Pirate said, clocking the culprit just as another arrow flew by, striking Saria into her stomach.
Nabooru turned into the direction her fellow Gerudo said, seeing the person. It was a bald person with a white sweater and blue pants on, brandishing a bow and arrow. Immediately she recognized him.
"SAKON! YOU BLOODY IDIOT, NOW I'M REALLY PISSED!" Nabooru snarled as she suddenly charged at him, her blades drawn as the thief made a run for it to his hideout.
"Sakon?!" Impa asked.
"He's a thief that stole a few items of ours and also knocked out Link and Zelda some time ago when he created a diversion using a bomb that scared Epona, causing her to throw Link and Zelda off of her…" Ruto said.
Narrowing her eyes, Impa let her Shadow Medallion glow as she was now getting royally pissed herself…

Sakon ran to his hideout again, his bow in hand.
"GET BACK HERE SO I CAN CUT YOUR HEAD OFF, YOU VILE, PRANCING MAROON!" Nabooru roared as she was gaining ground on him, having launched several Sword Sparks at him while he was running like crazy to avoid her strikes.
Sakon managed to enter his hideout in time, locking the door so Nabooru couldn't get in, leading her to strike the boulder-shaped door with her blades.
"OPEN UP, YOU DIRTY COWARD! SHOW YOUR FACE SO I CAN CUT YOU UP!" Nabooru snarled from behind the door.
"Try as you might, but you won't break the door," Sakon taunted, "those arrows I used have been tipped with a venom that will soon paralyze your little friends… that will teach them to stay out of my business…" Sakon said, taunting Nabooru, which caused the Gerudo woman to growl in anger more.
"Poison Arrows, you said?!" She asked, growling.
"Yep. And only I have the antidote, which you're never gonna get. Those three will learn what kind of price there is to messing with the great Sakon." Sakon replied, taunting her.
"Oh yeah?" A stern, female voice then said from behind him.
Sakon blinked at this, before turning around, coming face to face with a VERY pissed off Impa…
"What the-?! How did you get in here?!" Sakon asked, bewildered.
"That's not of your concern. What IS of your concern is the amount of your bones that will remain intact once I'm through with you if you don't tell me right now where the antidote is." Impa said, making the motions of rolling up her sleeves which showed she was ready to inflict serious pain.
"And why should I tell you that, woman? Those kids shouldn't have meddled in my affairs!" Sakon defiantly said.
This made Impa smirk.
"I was hoping you'd say that." She said, approaching him…

Nabooru, having placed an ear against the boulder-door, suddenly startled as she heard some crashing, punching and kicking from behind the door, coupled with painful grunts and outcries of a male and the cool, collected, charging strikes from a female, which made Nabooru realize that Impa was laying the brutal smackdown on the prancing thief known as Sakon, which she knew he deserved it. It was then that one of the Pirates hurried to her. Nabooru looked up to see her.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"It's the three children… they're barely moving…" The Gerudo said.
"Then the poison must be taking effect!" Nabooru said.
"Poison?!"
"Yeah, Sakon used Poison Arrows in an attempt to paralyze Link, Zelda and Saria. Impa's gone after him to get the antidote and Impa sure doesn't mess around." Nabooru said.
"I hope it's quick…" The Gerudo said in worry.
"I hope so too." Nabooru said.

Soon enough, Impa returned with a small bottle in her hands.
"I've got it, now let's go." Impa said, rushing back to where the others were, with Nabooru and the Gerudo in tow.
Upon reaching the group, they could see that Princess Ruto was practically in hysterics, with Darunia looking worried as Link, Saria and Zelda laid rather limply on the ground, still alive, but unable to move a muscle!
"This would better work…" Nabooru said.
"It will; I told Sakon that if it doesn't, I'll come back for him and take the others with me to end him." Impa replied as she rushed over to Zelda, who could barely move her head, but the three children did acknowledge her presence; their eyes were the only things they could still freely move…
Kneeling down, Impa put the tip of the bottle against Zelda's lips after opening it and made her drink her part of it, using gentle massages to make her swallow it and prevent her choking on it. She repeated the same maneuver with Link and Saria respectively, before the bottle was empty.
"It may take some time for it to take effect, so we can rest up here to be sure it works." Impa said.
"Great idea. It'll also let us keep an eye on Sakon…" Nabooru said.
"Where is Sakon anyway?!" Ruto asked.
"I simply messed him up and he now lies in a crumpled heap somewhere in his hideout." Impa calmly said.
"Oh wow!" Ruto said.
"And I told him I would take you to him to make things worse for him if this antidote doesn't work. By all accounts, regardless of what he thinks of himself, he's actually quite a coward that knows when to value his own life, no matter how pathetic it is." Impa said, making Ruto chuckle lightly.
Then they could hear the three moaning. Looking at them, they could see that they tried to move, but were unable to do so; to them it was as if everything had gotten stiff except for their eyes. Even their speech was currently impaired for the moment.
"Should we take them to the Great Fairy in Clock Town though? Maybe she can help in fixing them completely?" Rauru suggested.
"We will visit her soon, I first want to make sure that the antidote is working good enough for them to stay alive long enough in order for us to reach her in the first place." Impa said, now noticing that the wounds have been bandaged and the arrows that inflicted the pain having been pulled out and cast aside.
The Gerudo Pirates adjusted the children to a more comfortable lying position to prevent them from swallowing their tongues and choking to death because of it. Zelda on her turn managed to look at Impa, who was gently caressing her face. Zelda's only response was a single tear rolling down her face. Link and Saria were facing each other, the both of them also silently crying as they were unable to do anything at the time. Nabooru gently stroked their faces to comfort them, knowing that everything will be alright.
"We should get going. We can use the horses to help in carrying them. The area remains uncomfortable to me…" Darunia said.
"Right. We'll head to Clock Town then." Impa said, leaving a shadow clone behind, just to be sure.
While Impa picked up Zelda to carry her, Darunia picked up Saria while Nabooru picked up Link. It broke Nabooru's heart to see the once energetic, heroic young man being so ruthlessly deprived of any form of movement for the time being… using her own spiritual powers, she made a quick check on the three before they went on their way.
"Let's take it easy; the antidote is currently in the process of neutralizing the poison within their veins." She said.
"Right. Let's hope the Goddesses can aid us…" Impa said, nodding.

Sakon in the meantime was scared, upset, terrified, angry… he was basically in a turmoil. He succeeded in striking those meddlesome children with his self-created Poison Arrows, but he underestimated the immediate response of what he presumed to be guardians of those children, with him being chased all the way into his hideout and being beaten into a severe mess, to the point of being FORCED to give the antidote to her. So his revenge would end up being short-lived after all. He growled in frustration as he wanted things to be WORSE for them. Sighing, he tried to get up and move to his quarters.
"Where are YOU going?!" A dark, female voice then called out to him.
"Huh?! Who's there?!" Sakon asked, turning around.
Due to the darkness in his hideout, as well as his vision still being somewhat hazy from the beating he took from Impa, he was unable to see the person with him clearly, as if shadows were talking to him.
"A simple-minded, yet cunning thief… quite resourceful from what we've seen…" A dark, male voice said.
"However your transgressions have gone too far…" A second dark, female voice said.
"What do you mean? All I wanted was to teach those kids a lesson for meddling in my affairs, they should know better!" Sakon protested.
"So, you resort to such a vile action… Those three you targeted are not yours to take care of!" The dark, male voice said.
"Oh, what are they to you then? Friends of yours?" Sakon scoffed.
"Not exactly friends, but more like people whom we have our own score to settle with. Having done what you did was absolutely rude!" The first dark female said.
"Oh cry me a river. You're lucky that they've been given an antidote."
"Oh, yes. But you did it reluctantly, seeing your expression tells us all." A third dark female voice said.
"Like you can do anything against it now. They're not with you right now, so what's the point of coming here?"
"You're right about them not being with us at the moment. We will meet them soon enough however." The second dark female said.
"As for why we're here, you shouldn't worry about that. In fact, you won't have to worry about anything anymore." The first dark female said.
Suddenly, what appeared to be dark vines shot from the walls and shot around the prancing thief, wrapping him up tightly in what appeared to be a cocoon-like fashion. Sakon tried to fight, but his weakened body was unable to resist against it as he was soon encased inside the vines. A dark hand of a pre-teen girl then appeared in the light, as if controlling the vines, leaning in a relaxed state, before it moved upright and went in a clenching motion, as if creating a fist slowly. Sakon's shouts of protest turned into screams of pain as the vines began to press tighter against him, putting pressure onto his body which grew and grew more intense with each second, before a loud *CRUNCH* ceased the outcries in an instant, with a dark liquid oozing from between the vines… when it dripped on the ground in the light, it was apparent that this liquid was a crimson red in color. A few seconds later, the vines vanished, causing Sakon to fall to the ground, his arms and legs bent and twisted in different angles, his mouth open in a silent, agonizing scream, his eyes empty and his face and body showing similar contortions as if the bones in there have been completely snapped, the crimson-red liquid soiling his outfit. He didn't move a single muscle after his landing… nor did he even breathe. Sakon was dead. Stepping into the light, holding the hand into a relaxed state now, was none other than Dark Saria, accompanied by Dark Link, Dark Zelda… and another dark female with the same dark gray to black color palette all over, save for the crimson to blood-red eyes, whom was more of an adult. She also had the different jewelry on her that was befitting of a Gerudo. This was Dark Nabooru, a nigh-perfect clone of the leader of the Gerudo Tribe, but this one was, like the other dark clones, loyal to the forces of Evil. Walking over to Sakon's corpse, she extended a hand to it, lifting something that looked like a sphere from it, guiding it in the air. Letting it float still, she then raised her other hand in the air, before bringing her hand down to her face while also clenching it into a fist. In an instant response, the sphere burst apart with a *SPLAT*, causing Sakon's body to give one final jerk before it laid still forever, after which the four Dark figures vanished from the hideout in a plume of black smoke, letting Sakon's corpse decay within his own hideout, never to be discovered… except for one person who hid in the shadows… appalled at what she just witnessed…

Safely moving down the cliff from Ikana Valley after dealing with the resident Nejirons, the remaining Sages joined up with the horses that were still waiting for them close to the pathway that led to the Ikana Graveyard. Epona was still standing still, although she was worried about her master. She neighed when she saw the group approaching, galloping towards Nabooru who held Link, butting its head against the young Hyrulean warrior. Link merely grunted weakly, which worried Epona.
"We'll fix 'em up for you, girl." Nabooru said to Epona, laying Link on one of the large horses along with Saria and Zelda, with two Pirates aiding them to ensure they wouldn't fall from it as they made their way towards East Termina Field.
With Princess Ruto already eliminating the Real Bombchus and Blue Bubbles up ahead, the group took their time while the remaining Gerudo Pirates, as well as Darunia, were watching the group's back, ready to intercept enemies coming from behind if necessary.
"So many things have happened the last few days…" Nabooru said in a lamenting tone.
"I know… it's not easy to actually cope with such affairs in such a short span of time… and yet the fate of Hyrule and Termina both lies on the shoulders of Link and the Sages, including you and me." Impa said.
"We definitely can use some time off once this is all over. Otherwise it would drive us completely nuts."
"I agree. Perhaps we can make plans once the fight is actually over, but until then…" Impa said, sighing.
Nabooru nodded as the group continued on their way.

As the group arrived in Termina Field, they saw that there was a carriage up ahead at East Clock Town, seeing two people inside, who also didn't look well… it were Romani and Cremia! Although the two ranch girls looked fine in regards to having no injuries whatsoever, they did look quite exhausted, as if they had just managed to make a daring escape or went through another chase scenario, the latter being apparently more plausible as the milk bottles they had with them were damaged, but not broken. Seeing the group coming, the two recognized Princess Ruto and Nabooru, waving at them as the group approached them, before blinking at seeing Link, Saria and Zelda lying limp on one of the horses. Nabooru was constantly checking on them and was relieved to find out that at least their breathing had become stable; the poison was neutralized in time before it could affect the lungs and the hearts…
"Oh my, what happened to them?!" Cremia asked.
"That thief named Sakon nailed them with Poison Arrows. We managed to give them antidote in time though…" Nabooru said.
At the same time, Impa's Shadow Clone dispersed, giving Impa her knowledge, which made her eyes widen in shock for a moment.
"Well, it looks like Sakon won't be much of a bother to us anymore." She said.
"What do you mean?" Ruto asked.
"Sakon's been killed."
"What?! How do you know?!" Nabooru asked.
"I left a Shadow Clone behind to keep an eye out on the thief so we can be informed ahead in case he tries anything funny. However something happened which I didn't expect; dark, evil voices addressed the thief before he was wrapped into what appeared to be vines and then crushed to death and after that something was removed from him and destroyed… I assume that was his spirit… since I saw who did it." Impa said.
"Who?"
"I've seen the Dark clones of Link and Zelda in the room, this time accompanied by two more Dark clones, one of Saria, the Forest Sage… and one of you, Nabooru." Impa said.
This information shocked Nabooru to the core, making her go in a state of briefly experiencing a Heroic Blue Screen of Death, staggering backwards before falling on her rear on the ground.
"This… this can't be happening…" Nabooru said, clearly upset.
"Then I wouldn't be surprised if they would make something similar with me…" Ruto said, annoyed.
"I'm afraid so… " Impa said.
"But why would they kill Sakon?" One of the Pirates asked.
"I don't know. Sakon is however not in league with Ganondorf and/or Majora, making him more of a lone wolf thief whom operates on either his own accord or when he can get some profit off of it; Link told us about him before." Ruto said.
"I remember now; he said that Sakon was once seen in the Curiosity Shop to sell the goods he stole to the shop owner, in the case where Link witnessed it, the offering was a set of Big Bomb Bags that Sakon stole from an old lady…" Nabooru said.
"How rude!" The First Gerudo Pirate said.
"And now the thief's dead?" The Second Pirate asked.
"Yep and as far as I know, he won't ever come back." Impa said.
"Then we have something to watch out for." Nabooru said.
"The only advantage that Link and Zelda had was that the clones were made from the time where they hadn't learned those moves from the Swordsman's School yet, so the same will count for those of Saria, Ruto and Nabooru. But this doesn't make them any less dangerous; Dark Saria can summon vines with the intention to constrict and crush a victim, much like a snake and she could be more affiliated with killing people, as the Saria herself is practically the embodiment of life due to her being the Forest Sage..." Impa said.
"Gosh, I bet Saria won't like that..." Ruto said, shocked as the group carried on to North Clock Town, with Romani and Cremia following them.
"So, what happened to you?" Nabooru then asked the two Romani Ranch sisters.
"Nothing really major, just the Gorman Brothers being a pain in the butt again, now that I've realized who's behind all of the assaults in trying to put me out of business..." Cremia said, clearly annoyed at them.
"Have you considered taking steps against them?" Impa asked.
"I have, but they claimed innocence and seemed insulted at that. It's simply them playing it so they pass off to the others as normal people and giving me a bad name." Cremia said.
"At least Grasshopper believes my sister." Romani said.
"Grasshopper?" Impa asked.
"That's Romani's affectionate nickname for Link." Ruto said, causing Impa to chuckle.
"At least we managed to make the delivery in time..." Cremia said.
"Hmmm, perhaps you can work together with Malon and Talon in Hyrule's ranch?" Impa then offered.
"Yeah, that way you will be able to reach out your Chateau Romani to more public as well..." Nabooru said.
"Are you sure?" Cremia asked.
"I'm sure Talon would understand. Perhaps it could retain you a place to work on in case it does come to the worst and you won't be bothered by those Gorman Brothers..." Impa said.
"Hmmm, this does deserve some thought. Who knows what it can bring for us; perhaps we can actually get a more sustainable income to at least take care of the basic needs of us and our animals without having to look out for potential saboteurs..." Cremia said.
"Exactly." Nabooru said.
"I'll be definitely thinking about it. It may take some time though, since this is the first time that I've been given such an offer, but nonetheless consider it a point of interest." Cremia said.
"Alright. We're off to North Clock Town to get our friends healed up again and then we're off to Hyrule to finally put an end to this whole situation." Impa said.
"Alright. Perhaps I can make an arrangement for you to get a special discount of Chateau Romani for being genuinely trying to help me." Cremia said as she went off the cart to help load the jars of milk inside the milk town.
"Thank you." Nabooru said, nodding as she went on her way with the others again.
Romani went to help her sister to bring the jars into Clock Town, looking around the area while having her bow and arrow ready as if she was like a security guard for her.

As the group approached North Clock Town, they could hear the three children grunting and/or moaning, indicating that they were trying to talk, but the remnants of the poison still kept their bodies docile and paralyzed, although they could at least look around a little more.
"Relax, please. We'll get you fixed as soon as we can. It won't be long now." Impa said, stroking Zelda's face, getting a little saddened when she felt a moist area on her cheek, which indicated that Zelda had been crying, yet she knew she was fighting to pull through.
"It's getting a bit more drafty here..." One of the Pirates said.
"The mountain region known as Snowhead is directly ahead. It's mountain tops are usually covered with snow, although the snow reaches all the way down North Termina Field when it's winter..." Ruto said, shivering a bit.
"I see... wow, it's like traveling around the world for a bit." She said.
"Yep, we've pretty much seen most of Hyrule and Termina in the span of time we've been traveling to help in saving the lands, even to areas that are not exactly known to public with the exception for ancient stories and everything." Nabooru said.
"Oh? What places have you seen, my Lady?"
"We've seen places that enemy forces occupied in areas between the Swamp and Ikana, within the vast forest between Hyrule and Termina and a dangerous, lava-filled country between Ikana and Snowhead. It's been quite hectic for us I tell you..." Nabooru said.
"That I can see."
"We were fortunate to have the horses which have save quite a lot of the normal traveling time. Otherwise we'd still be in either the Forest outpost or the lava one..."
"I see what you mean." The Pirate said, nodding as the group entered North Clock Town, with Ruto and Nabooru leading the way to the resident Great Fairy's Fountain, the guard looking on in worry.
Impa stroked Zelda's face again as the group climbed the pathway going up the entrance to the fountain, leaving the horse outside to carry the three children inside the fountain. Both Link and Saria looked as if they were asleep, but their faces and all said otherwise, hoping they would soon recover from this ordeal…