Chapter 8: Postman's Hat.
Zak opened his eyes slowly. He found himself floated calmly in a body of water. Pain radiated through his entire body. He looked around, finding the water around him soaked with his blood. His previous match with the wire monster came to his mind just as the water picked up speed. He cascaded over a waterfall and landed hard onto some squishy plants. While shaking his head, he glanced around to gain his bearings. He spotted a house of some kind; it looked more like a twisted tea kettle than any house he had ever seen before. Judging form the smell, Zak assumed that he had ended up in the swamp, somehow. He managed to drag himself to his feet, and he hobbled over to one of many giant jugs filled with liquid. Much to his despair, Zak did not find water, but instead some mysterious liquid. Shrugging, he dipped his empty bottle into it and brought it to his nose. He drank the blueish liquid, grimacing at the foul taste.
He felt a little bit of his strength return to his body. An old hag of a woman flew up out of the bizarre house and circled him. "How dare you try and steal from us!" she shrieked, "You will pay for your treachery!" Ignoring her, Zak dipped his bottle into the potion and drank another one. More of his strength returned. She growled at him, "Don't you ignore me, you insolent worm! I'm trying to run a business, here!" He drank a third one before finally looking up at her.
"How about I pay you for these," he said sternly, "How about two-hundred?"
She narrowed her eyes, "Okay, fine. It's a deal. Give me the money and get out of here. You stink of trouble." He dropped four purple rupees on the ground and stomped off without another word. The old hag gathered his money and flew back into her bizarre house.
As Zak walked out towards the swamp's exit, a red blur darted out, followed by a group of monkeys. The red things ran to and fro, desperately trying to escape from the monkey's wrath. They chased it relentlessly, climbing all over the boat house. The owner opened a window, yelling at the monkeys for causing such a ruckus. He looked over at Zak.
"Hey, buddy, mind helping me out? I'll give you something nice in return," he called out. Zak stared at him blankly. The owner tossed him a slingshot and a bag full of something. He caught it awkwardly. "Just chase them off with that, will you?" he asked.
Shrugging, Zak fired a few shots at the monkeys, but missed them by a huge distance. He shot a few more, and the red thing hid between his legs. The monkeys dove at him and tackled him to the ground. The red thing darted off towards the swamp's entrance. The monkeys retreated, afraid of Zak's retaliation.
The shop owner smiled, "Alright, good job, I guess. I'll give you some money, so you can hand that back, if you don't mind."
Zak shook his head, "I think I'll keep this. I know someone who could use it. Thanks, buddy." He ran off after the red thing before the shop owner could object. While running past the grove in which he fought the boar earlier, he quickly realized that he had lost track of the red thing. Sighing, Zak jammed the slingshot into his belt and made his way over to the spring water. He drank a few mouthfuls, relieved. Without a lead, Zak decided to head back towards the ranch. The sun dipped lower in the sky, indicating the evening. With a sigh he headed out to Termina field.
The red thing ran in fright as a blue-headed bird plucked it off of the ground. The bird flew off towards Clock Town. Shrugging, Zak aimed the slingshot and fired. The bird dropped the red thing as the seed hit it in the back of the head. Quickly, Zak headed into Clock Town. He shoved past the guard of the door and ran off to the laundry pool. The red thing bobbed in the water. As he approached, it darted out of the pool and in between his legs. Cursing, Zak ran after it. The stiffness of his injuries kept him from running for long, however, and it ran off into East Clock Town.
Zak snarled in anger and hobbled after it as best he could. While he walked, he reached up to find that his spear was missing. He had to have left it up in Ikana Canyon. There was no telling what could've happened to it. Cursing, he tried to focus on the task at hand. The red thing managed to climb up onto the roof of the inn, and darted underneath a bell just as it spotted Zak. He aimed the slingshot at the large bell and shot at it. After a few tries, he struck the bell. It rang a few times, and the red thing scampered out. It ran off towards the bomber's hideout. Zak trudged after it, but couldn't quite keep up.
Once down in the sewer again, Zak spotted it quite a ways ahead of him, swimming through the water. He slipped in, looking over at the spot where he finished off the large cucco monster before heading through the water in front of him. After making it to the end of the waterway, he climbed out and headed into a large room with a ladder at the end. The red thing scurried up the ladder. He fired a few shots at it, missing every single one. He hurried after it up the ladder until he arrived inside an observatory. Bewildered, Zak charged after the red thing, which managed to slip under the door. He ripped the door open as it popped through the hole in the large fence surrounding the observatory.
"You've got to be kidding me," he cursed, putting the slingshot away. He climbed up the fence, straining with each grasp, until he managed to reach the top. He spotted the red thing hauling off towards Ikana Canyon. With a grunt, he fell from the top of the fence. As he landed, he rolled as best as he could, and hobbled off after it. The red thing bolted as fast as it could towards the cliff face. Zak knew he wouldn't be able to climb that again, not at his current strength. As the red thing scurried up the wall, an arrow stuck into it. It unfolded into a large red hat. Zak sighed and put the grass whistle to his lips. He played the song, and the arrow ripped the hat in two as he played. The shimmering light drifted up in the air before dissipating.
He turned around to see Romani holding her bow in front of her. Tears streamed down his face. Before he could greet her, she grabbed him and hugged him tightly around the waist, burying her face in his chest.
"I was so worried!" she cried, "You've been gone for hours. I thought you died!"
He smiled, placing a hand on her head, "Just stumbled onto another monster, is all. Although, I'm a little banged up, so, if you could stop squeezing me so hard."
She immediately let him go, "Sorry. Let's go home, okay? You look like you could use a break."
He sighed, "I dropped my spear up there. I have to go and get it. Wait here for a minute." He pulled out his hookshot and fred it into the dead tree once more. With great difficulty, he climbed up a few feet before falling back down to the ground. "On second thought, let's go home. I'm sure it'll turn up."
Romani picked him up and pulled the slingshot out of his belt, "Is this for me?"
He nodded, "I'm garbage with it, anyway. It's all yours." After she helped him up into the wagon, Zak promptly fell asleep.