As he ran, he went through the possibilities. Could it be a fire? No, they'd have seen smoke. Was someone hurt? The alarm wouldn't ring just for that. Someone must be attacking the village, but who? Bandits? No, they were too out of the way for most bandits to bother. An army? Who'd send an army after them? Besides, they hadn't gotten word of Hyrule going to war. So if not an army and not bandits, who?
Once he arrived at the village, he discovered that "who" was not the question, but "what". A thick white fog coming up to his waist had settled over the ground. It felt slightly cold and didn't disperse even when the wind blew. Oddly, it only covered the area leading up to the village and inside; the path he had just come from was free of it.
This isn't normal fog. What the hell is going on here...?
The gate, now unmanned, was still wide open. He rushed inside, stopping in his tracks as he witnessed the scene before him. Skeletal creatures with glowing white dots for eyes were rising up out of the ground, some with weapons, some unarmed. They varied in height and form, most looking as though they once belonged to Bokoblins or Moblins but others bearing an unsettling resemblance to more humanoid skeletons. They marched through the city, using bows with arrows lit on fire to set buildings ablaze. Right as it was bringing up its axe to swing into the side of a house, a Bokoblin skeleton turned around and saw Rell standing at the village gates, paralyzed with fear. It slowly made its way towards him.
Goddesses...what's happening? No, no, I can't move! Oh, Din, I'm going to die...! Help, Din, please help...!
As though in answer to his prayer, Rell suddenly regained control over himself and darted behind a nearby shop. He hesitantly peeked out the other side to see the skeleton make a few steps towards the house, pause, and then turn around to march off in another direction. He sank to the ground, breathing heavily.
Why didn't it come after me? Goddesses, who cares? At least it's gone...but wait, what about my parents? Dad knows how to fight, I'm sure he's okay. He shook his head. But what if he's not? What if he and mom-ugh no! I don't have time for that! I need to go check. Besides, my bow is at home, and I'm useless to anyone without it. Not like I have much else going for me...
He stood up and, using the buildings as cover, ran towards his house. He kept telling himself that everyone, his parents and Fuga in particular, were perfectly fine. The further he got, however, the less sure of this he became; several homes had already been destroyed, and when he passed the bakery, he found it completely engulfed in flame. He tried to go inside, but both doors and all the windows were blocked by fire.
Damn it...Din, let Aiki be okay... he pleaded, continuing on. His house, he was relieved to see, was mostly unharmed, but the door had been busted open. He dashed inside.
"Mom! Dad!" he called out.
"Rell? We're up here!" his mother's voice shouted from the second floor. He sighed with relief and ran up the stairs to find the two of them had barricaded themselves in their room. The door could only be opened just enough for him to see a sliver of her eye looking back at him. "Oh, thank the goddesses! Honey, he's okay! Hold on, we'll unblock the door."
"I saw the front door. Are you okay? Why didn't you fly away?" he asked frantically.
"Yes, sweetie, we're fine. We heard it get smashed in, but we were both upstairs at the time and kept silent, so they must have thought we weren't home. We stayed because we weren't sure if you were okay, and we didn't want to leave you. You aren't hurt, are you?"
"No, I'm okay. I was outside the village with Fuga when we heard the alarm."
His mother disappeared behind the door. "Honey, help me move this! Rell, is Fuga okay?"
"I don't know. He flew off on his own. I'm going to go find him," Rell answered. She instantly reappeared at the door.
"Like hell you are!" she growled. "I'm not going to let you go out there on your own!"
"And I'm not going to let Fuga be out there on his own!"
"Rell, just come inside and stay with us!" his father said, peering through the opening as well. "I'm sure Fuga will be okay. He has training, after all. You don't."
"I know how to use a bow! And you taught me to use a sword, remember?"
His mother shook her head. "You know the basics of them, but do you really think that's enough to stop those things? Even your father would struggle out there, and he was in the Hylian military!"
"Hey!" her husband grunted. She ignored him and looked at Rell with pleading eyes.
"Stay with us where it's safe. I'm begging you."
"I'm sorry, but I can't. You said it yourself, mom. Even dad wouldn't be safe. If he isn't, then neither is Fuga."
Suddenly, a loud yell broke through the chaos. "Get off of me! I won't go with you!"
Rell's heart sank. He recognized the voice instantly.
Din, no...
Immediately, Rell turned and ran to his own room. Against the wall next to his bed was the bow his he made when he first learned archery and a quiver full of arrows.
I never wanted to use this for fighting, but if that's what it takes to help him...
He grabbed the quiver and slung it over his back. He then grabbed the bow, strung it as quickly as possible, and sprinted out of his room and back down the steps.
"Rell? Where are you going? Rell!?" his mother shouted as he passed.
"That was Fuga! I have to help him!" he replied, stopping at the foot of the stairs.
"You can't! You'll just get yourself hurt, or worse!" his father said, joining his wife at the door. "Please, Rell! Just stay here!"
"I won't leave Fuga out there by himself! I promise I'll come back!" Without saying another word, he dashed out of the house, ignoring his parent's cries. Once outside, he scanned the area, looking for any sign of a struggle. That yell was close, I know it. So where...?
Unfortunately, finding hints regarding his whereabouts proved more difficult than he anticipated; the fog completely obscured the ground, making footsteps or other clues impossible to see.
Fuga's voice rang out again. "Let me go! Damn it! Where are you taking me!?" His yells were growing more distant, but it sounded as though he was still in the village. Rell moved in the direction they were coming from, doing his best to pretend that the large shapes he felt against his feet every so often were just mannequins from a store that had been raided. The screams of not only Fuga but of the other inhabitants of the village grew louder as he progressed, occasionally accompanied by the sound of something large breaking or even worse, a thud followed by a scream going silent.
Din, why is this happening...? What did we do to deserve this?
"Someone! Help!" a new voice called out. He whirled around to find Aiki backed against a building with her wings over her head and surrounded by skeletons, each with a weapon pointed at her. He drew an arrow and aimed at one of them, but his hands shook so badly that it was impossible to keep the bow steady. He fired an arrow that missed its target by several inches and struck the wall instead. Although they had not been hurt, it was enough to draw their attention. They quickly turned to find the source of the arrow and began to converge on him, their bones giving an unsettling rattle with each step. Rell backed away, trying to shoot more arrows but unable to aim well enough to hit. He felt the back of his foot hit something, which turned out to be another wall. With nowhere else to go, he quickly became surrounded by the skeletons. Rell closed his eyes, bracing himself for the worst...
"Hey! Over here, you dead fucks!" someone shouted, followed by the sound of a thud. He opened his eyes to find Osso with a bow in her hand, doubled over in pain from the still bleeding wound on her stomach but keeping her attention on the skeletons. One of them, he noticed, was missing its head. Osso fired several more arrows, each hitting its mark and causing the heads of the skeletons to fly off. They fell to the ground and vanished into the fog.
"Osso! Are you okay?" he asked, rushing over to her.
"I'll be fine," she grunted, dropping to her knees and clutching her wound. "Found out their weakness soon enough. Just take out the head, and it's gone. Figured a bow was better for that than a spear, so I ran to the barracks. Still, one of those fuckers got me pretty good when I came out. I don't think it's deep, but it hurts like hell. Ugh...for right now, though, I'm more worried about Aiki. Go check on her."
He nodded, going over to the other Rito and kneeling down beside her. She had uncovered her head and was sitting against the wall, breathing heavily. "Aiki? Are you alright?"
"I...I think so, yes, thank you," she replied slowly. "They took my by surprise. If you and Osso hadn't shown up when you did..." She shook her head. "By the goddesses, Rell, what's happening? This fog came out of nowhere, and before we knew it, these things were rising up out of the ground and attacking us...! Most of us were able to get away, and the ones who refused to leave barricaded themselves in their homes. Only the guards and a few unlucky ones like myself are still outside. Wait...now that I think about it, why are you out here, you foolish boy!?"
"Me? What about you? Why didn't you just fly away?"
"Well, I would have loved to, but I was busy focusing on the fact that skeletons were trying to kill me!" she growled. "Forgive me if the logical course wasn't the first thing on my mind!"
He sighed impatiently. "Alright, fine. I'm out here because I'm looking for Fuga. I heard him yelling for help. Did you see him?"
Her expression became somber. "Din help that poor boy, I saw him being dragged that way by some skeletons, towards the village entrance. I wanted to help him, but I had no weapon, so I tried running back to my house-"
He jumped to his feet. "I'm sorry, Aiki, but I don't have time! You can tell me about it later! Just take Osso and get yourselves out of here!" he exclaimed, running off towards the entrance. Fuga's yells started to grow louder again and became more frantic.
"I won't go with you! You can't do this! LET GO OF ME! Help!"
He arrived just in time to see two particularly large skeletons each holding one of Fuga's arms, dragging him along as though they could not notice his constant efforts to escape. They had not left the village yet, but were mere steps away.
"Let go of him!" he cried, readying his bow and trying to suppress his shakiness. The skeletons stopped moving and turned their heads but made no move toward him. Fuga, who had also looked around at the sound of the yell, saw Rell and resumed his attempts at wrenching himself free.
"Damn it, Rell! I told you to wait by the cliff!" he snapped, pulling his wings as hard as he could. He gasped. "Rell! Behind you!"
Several pairs of skeletal hands reached out from behind him and grabbed his arms. "No! Get away from me...!"Rell growled, doing his best to shake them off. As soon as one lost its grip, however, another took its place, wrestling with him until they managed to pry the bow from him and toss it aside. They then shoved him to the ground and held his hands behind his back, forcing him to watch as the larger skeletons resumed their march out of the village. The moment they stepped foot outside, they stopped and turned around to face him. They slowly began to descend into the fog, taking Fuga with them.
"W-what? No! Rell!" he cried out.
"FUGA!" Rell screamed, using every ounce of his strength attempting to escape, but the skeletons were much stronger than he was. He pushed and pulled and kicked and squirmed but to no avail. In the end, he could do nothing but watch as his friend sank deeper and deeper into the fog, his screams for Rell growing more distant until, finally, they stopped.
"DAMN IT, NO! FUGA! FUGA!" The skeletons let go of him. He instantly sprinted forward to where they had vanished, crouching down and digging at the ground desperately, still calling out for his friend. He didn't even notice the sound of Aiki and Osso calling out his own name, nor the sound of several people running up to him. He only stopped digging when they grabbed him and forced him away. He tried wrenching himself out of their grasp, but a few extra pairs of hands appeared and grabbed him as well. "NO! LET GO! I HAVE TO HELP HIM!"
"He's gone, Rell," Osso said, her tone much softer than usual.
"HE'S NOT GONE!"
Aiki looked down at him, a few tears running down her face. "I'm sorry Rell. I'm so sorry...but he is. You know he is."
"I CAN STILL SAVE HIM! I CAN'T LET THEM TAKE HIM AWAY!" But even as he said it, he knew it wasn't true. Fuga was gone. They had taken him, and there was nothing he could do about it. He fell to his knees, burying his head in his hands. Then, he screamed. And when he was able to scream no longer, he cried. A torrent of tears fell, his sobs occasionally interrupted by Fuga's name and semi-comprehensible apologies. Aiki took a step towards him, but Osso put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head. And so he continued, watched by the others, until his crying exhausted him physically and mentally. He collapsed, barely aware of being picked up by several others, and by the time they had started to carry him off, he had fallen unconscious.