Chapter 6: The Sundial Theft

Ezlo- Vaati…

Vaati- Well…good to see you too…my former master…

Ezlo- You've got some nerve showing your face to me after what you've done.

Vaati- Well, I was tired of spending my entire childhood living in your shadow, Ezlo.

Ezlo- I did no such thing! In case you forgot, you were abandoned and left at my doorstep as an infant that rainy night? You would've likely perished had I not taken you in.

Vaati- Regardless, I am far from the Minish boy you once were.

Link- I'll say! Now, you're Tabuu's slave like the Quinking and the others who were foolish enough to accept Tabuu's offer.

Fi- And I see Ezlo was correct about what Tabuu was after. Vaati was reaching for the Celestial Sundial before I stopped him.

Ty- Interesting…

Link- If you don't mind me asking, what does Tabuu want with this sundial?

Quinking- Well…uh…we could tell you…but we'd rather make you guess…

Ty- You both have no idea either, mates. I can tell from the look in your eyes.

Vaati- So what if Tabuu hasn't told us what his plan is. We all know that the outcome for all of Tabuu's plans has always led to something big. But I think it's time we just take the sundial through action rather than trickery.

Quinking- Might as well since they already know what we're after and are in our way. And Tabuu will have our heads again if we come back empty handed.

Link- Fi, I need the Master Sword!

Fi- Yes, master!

Then Fi's body turns into the Master Sword. Link quickly grabbed the Master Sword and turned to face Ezlo.

Link- Sorry about this Ezlo, but I think you should leave. Probably don't want to get mixed in the crossfire.

Ezlo nods and rushes to the door.

Quinking- Should we do something about him?

Vaati- Nah. Ezlo was not really a fighter. He won't trouble us. Unlike those heroes.

Quinking- And you had better back me up this time, Vaati!

Vaati- I intend to, Quinking.

Then Vaati created a ball of dark energy from his magic and launched it at Link and Ty. Ty jumped out of the way, but Link used his shield to block. But when Link lowered his shield, he saw the Quinking had turned into Link and swung a replica of the Master Sword at Link. Link blocked with the real Master Sword and crossed blades with his doppelganger.

Link- You don't really think turning into me will really be able to copy Triforce?

Quinking (in Link's voice)- Not really. But I can match your swordplay move for move.

Then Link managed to back flip over to a corner of the workshop.

Link- You think so? Then come at me!

The Quinking rushed at Link, but Link quickly crouched down as soon as the Quinking got in close and took a stab at his lower body.

Link- Mimic my moves all you want, but you could only come at me from one angle and I could easily take advantage of that.

Quinking (In Link's voice)- Hey…(coughs up blood)…that's not fair…you heroes aren't supposed to cheat like that…

Link- This isn't a competition. It's a fight for our lives and to prevent your dark master from doing something much worse.

Then Link charged the Master Sword to full power and struck the Quinking with a Triforce Cut and knocked him to the ground and knocked him out of Link's form an into his original form. Meanwhile, after Ty managed to dodge Vaati's attack, some of the bookshelves attempted to fall on Ty. Luckily, Ty used his boomerangs to catch the bookshelf before it fell on him.

Vaati- How are a pair of wooden boomerangs even able to hold up the weight of the bookshelf full of those Minish items?

Ty- Me boomerangs were well crafted and not amateurly done. But how about we try another type of boomerang, mate…

Then Ty rolled out of the way of the bookshelf before switching out to his Kaboomer-rangs and throwing them at Vaati. Once they hit him, they exploded as if he got hit with one of Link's bombs and knocked him into one of the shelfs in the workshop.

Ty- Me Kaboomer-rangs explode on impact, mate! But I think Tabuu should've sent more than just the two of you to fight us.

Then Vaati saw a small red cap on the shelf and seemed to recognize what it was.

Vaati- Well we're not really here for a fight now, are we?

Then Vaati grabbed the cap before also grabbing hold of the Quinking.

Vaati- You'll see…it's the little things that count…

Then Vaati places the cap on his head and both him and the Quinking shrunk until they were both too small to see.

Link- Where did they go?

Ty- Not sure, mate! But they could strike at any moment.

However, after a few minutes, Ty looked over towards Ezlo's desk and noticed something was missing.

Ty- Link…I don't think they're in the workshop anymore…

Ty pointed at Ezlo's desk and saw that the Celestial Sundial was missing.

Link- They weren't even trying to fight us? That is very unlike Vaati. Even if Tabuu is threatening him to get the job done or else.

(Minish Woods)

Vaati and the Quinking returned to normal size for the Minish Realm and Vaati took off that cap he swiped from Ezlo's workshop. At the same time, Vaati was holding the Celestial Sundial in one arm.

Vaati- I Minish Cap like the one I turned Ezlo into. Who would've thought that it would still let the wearer shrink in the Minish Realm?

Quinking- And we got the Celestial Sundial, like Tabuu wanted!

Vaati- Yes, but we should've fought…

Quinking- No, Vaati! Master Tabuu told you not to let your obsession get in the way this time! But I'm sure we'll get our revenge on the heroes once Tabuu finishes whatever he's doing.

Suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed Vaati and the Quinking. At first, Vaati and the Quinking panicked…until they saw it was Hades who had picked them up. Only Hades was not tiny.

Hades- I see you did something right for a change.

Quinking- Hades? Where did you come from and how can you see us while not in the Minish Realm?

Hades- I might not be in the same class as Tabuu or Kyrin, but I too am a god. That means I can see and hear you between realms too. But let's get you both through that Minish Door so you can return to normal size.

(Back at Ezlo's workshop)

Link and Ty had just finished Ezlo repair the damage done to the workshop. Although, Link and Ty seemed a bit upset the whole time.

Ezlo- You both seem troubled.

Link- We just lost this battle and failed to stop them from stealing that sundial.

Ty- And now, Tabuu has something he needed for his plot that we know is against us and our friends.

Ezlo- I know it's hard dealing with a loss like this one, but that shouldn't mean it's the end of the world. After all, things might have a funny way of turning around in your favor towards the end when you least expect it.

Link- You sure seem calm about it, especially since you were just robbed. But don't you worry, because we'll get the Celestial Sundial back from them eventually and return it to you.

Ty- But right now, the best we can do is wait for Tabuu to make another move.

The End

Epilogue-

(Tabuu's palace in Subspace)

Vaati and the Quinking handed the Celestial Sundial to Tabuu. Both Hades and the Empress Siren were standing next to Tabuu as he took the sundial.

Tabuu- Well, you finally managed to do something right for once.

Vaati- Still, we could've fought…

Tabuu- You and the Quinking were getting your asses handed to you by Link and Ty! If you stayed to try and fight, you both would've failed and had been unable to retrieve this. And I needed the Celestial Sundial. I wouldn't be able to know the alignments will occur without it.

Vaati- I still don't like running away when I should be cutting Link's head off! How would you feel about Link if he killed your mother instead of the Mushroom Kingdom?

Tabuu was triggered by what Vaati said. The Quinking on the other hand, immediately ran away from Vaati as a large monstrous fist punched Vaati in the face, severely broke his nose, and knocked him into the wall.

Perfect Tabuu- Don't you dare bring up my mother like that, Vaati!

Hades- Hold on…Perfect Tabuu?!

Perfect Tabuu- What of it, Hades?

Hades- If you've been able to turn back into Perfect Tabuu this whole time, that means you're at full strength! You could've physically exited Subspace and had done the job yourself instead of sending those two to fetch the Celestial Sundial!

Then Perfect Tabuu changes back to regular Tabuu as he turns to face Hades.

Tabuu- True, I could've done the job myself and I could've easily gotten the sundial better than those idiots…but truth is I don't want Mario and the others to know I'm at full strength again. At least not until I've gotten to "HIM" first! But for now…Fawful!

Then Fawful entered the room.

Fawful- Master Tabuu call?

Tabuu- Take Vaati to the infirmary to get that broken nose looked at.

After Fawful and the Quinking took Vaati to the infirmary, Tabuu placed the Celestial Sundial in the center of the pentagram he drew in the floor.

Tabuu- Ok…it should be set to counting down to the alignment that I am waiting for.

Empress Siren- And that would be?

Tabuu- All in good time, empress. Speaking of which…there is another item I require. It's in a tall stone tower in Sequin Land. And I don't think I've given you a job since I recruited you to my service. Let's fix that.

Empress Siren- Me?!

Tabuu- Don't worry. I won't send you in there alone. And no, Hades, I will not be sending you to go with her!

Hades- That's no fun, Tabuu!

Tabuu- Shut it or I'll turn into Perfect Tabuu again and break your nose as well!

Little did Tabuu realize that there was a glowing rune underneath the Celestial Sundial and it seemed to be waiting for a specific moment to activate whatever it was supposed to do.