Chapter 49

Viscen, Charlie, Brad, Navi, Valerie and Izzy followed the nervous lookout as he led them to where the groans were coming from. They approached the large tree and listened carefully. A voice suddenly issued forth.

"Ugh how long have I been out?"

Everyone gasped in surprise. Viscen called out.

"Who goes there? Show yourself!"

The voice called back.

"What do you mean, Viscen? It's Impa. I'm laying down against the tree right in front of you."

Viscen cleared his throat.

"Ma'am! We found you at last. Well, we found you, but we can't see you."

Impa groaned.

"Well, that's great. Now the resistance has an invisible leader! It must have been Veran. I am such a fool! I shouldn't have let her in. Forgive me, everyone."

Valerie flew towards the tree.

"I should be able to fix this with a spell. I was taught one that should eliminate the invisibility. Give me a moment while I focus."

Valerie began to glow bright yellow after a few minutes. She then began to form a ball of white energy. She cried as she launched it towards the tree. It burst around the tree and let off a blinding white light. Everyone shielded their eyes and when they looked again, Impa was laying against the tree and fully visible. Impa glared at the fairy.

"Did you have to make it so bright? Did it at least work? Can everyone see me now?"

Viscen nodded.

"Yes, ma'am. You are no longer invisible. That spell was a success."

Impa sighed as she rose to her feet. She looked at Link's traveling companions.

"Now that we solved that problem, we have another big problem to face. Let's go back to headquarters and discuss our next steps."

Impa and everyone made their way towards the resistance building.

Link was feeling a lot better after talking to Max. He wasn't about to give up and let Ganondorf win. He was standing around in the main room, wondering where everyone went when suddenly, his friends and the resistance members walked into the building. Link smiled.

"There you all are. Where have you been?"

Viscen gave Link a surprised look.

"Hey, lad. Good to see you. We went to find Impa. After the imposter was exposed, she hid her away so she wouldn't be found easily. Luckily, thanks to a lookout's good ears, we found her.

Brad Smiled.

"Link! It's good to see you up and about and happy. Did something happen? You weren't in the best of moods earlier."

Link sighed and looked at his friends and the resistance members.

"Guys, I'm sorry. I wasn't acting like myself. I had an amazing experience talking with Max through a telepathic link and he reminded me of what I need to do."

Navi was puzzled.

"But…How is that possible? Max is dead. We all saw him die in front of you."

Link shrugged.

"I have no idea, Navi. I'm not sure how, but it happened, and he reminded me of my mission. We need to stop Ganondorf. I can't sit here and do nothing anymore, not after Veran almost took over this village."

Impa patted him on the back.

"That's the spirit, Link. I'm glad to hear you say that. This village is in danger, and we need you to find the remaining sages. Ralis told me about the Water Temple in Lake Hylia, and he thinks Ruto might be there. It might be a dead end, but maybe she knows about the identity of the next sage. I want you and your friends to travel to Lake Hylia with Ralis. Meanwhile, the rest of us need to get prepared to defend this village. A scout went to check out the orb in town and it isn't functioning properly. If things keep going like this, we're going to have to try plan b. I hope it's ready to test because we might need it."

Viscen gasped.

"A-are you sure, ma'am? I know the commander will be thrilled, but I'm not even sure if it's ready yet. He's been working on it for the past few years, but we haven't fully tested it yet."

Impa looked at the confused faces of Link and his friends. She shook her head.

"Don't mind me, guys. We'll be alright. Ralis, how's your foot feeling? Are you able to guide them to Lake Hylia?"

Ralis stepped forward.

"I can do that, Lady Impa. My foot feels a lot better thanks to the compress you put on it earlier. I should be fine."

Ralis turned his attention to Link and his friends.

"Now, let's make our way to the lake. I've got something really cool to show you once we're there."

Link and his friends said their farewells and made their way out of the village.

Impa watched them go, worry spread across their face.

"Good luck, everyone. I hope we'll be here to welcome you back once you complete your task."

Ganondorf summoned Saska, Jaska and Veran to his castle. He walked in front of them and grinned.

"My loyal servants. I have a task for you three. I want you to attack Kakariko Village and destroy the Hyrule Resistance once and for all. I'm tired of them being a thorn in my side. If you come across Link and his friends, kill them. If any resistance members try to fight back, end them. With those fools out of the way, nobody will be able to stop me. Link and his friends may have succeeded so far, but that ends now! Do not fail me. Now go!"

All three saluted. Veran smirked. She would be able to handle this herself without those two fools tagging along. Then again, if she ran out of energy again, things would get problematic. Besides, they were responsible for her creation, so she didn't outright hate them either. She turned and walked out of the throne room, along with the twin gerudo sisters.

Saska turned to Veran and grinned.

"So, would you care to teleport us outside the village, my beloved creation?"

Veran scowled.

"Don't call me that. My name is Veran. Give me a moment and we'll be there."

Veran concentrated and all three disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke. In a split second, they were outside Kakariko Village on the side of Death Mountain. Saska laughed in delight.

"Well done, Veran! Let's get this over with!"

The gerudo sister started to run towards the village, her sword drawn and pointed forward. Jaska called out.

"Wait for us, sister! We're doing this together!"

Impa was on her way to the resistance building when she saw the three enemies charging into town. Impa yelled out in distress.

"Everyone! We're under attack. Be prepared to defend yourselves!"

Impa charged towards Saska, sword drawn. The gerudo parried her attack and quickly charged a ball of electricity and tried to electrocute Impa. She quickly dodged to one side. Saska growled angrily.

"You foolish woman. Sit still so I can end you!"

Her twin sister and Veran were at her side in a heartbeat. Impa Smiled coldly.

"Three against one? No problem. Bring it on, you villains!"

Veran laughed evilly.

"So, you think you can take the three of us? Okay, but let's make things a little interesting, shall we? Jaska, guard me while I get my spell ready!"

She nodded as she stood in front of Veran.

Upon hearing Impa's shouting, the remaining resistance members ran out of the main building. Viscen gulped nervously.

"Dammit! What do we do now? Thee three look like trouble!"

Just then, Veran groaned and cast a spell at the ground. Within seconds, a hoard of undead soldiers appeared in front of her. Veran laughed.

"Try thirty against one, Impa! I bet you're scared now. Face it, this pathetic village is doomed. As per my master's orders, you are all sentenced to death. But first, where are Link and his friends? They're missing the show!"

Impa gritted her teeth. This wasn't good. She quickly glanced at Viscen.

"Implement plan b! We don't have a choice anymore. Try to gather the townsfolk and head for the graveyard I hope the commander doesn't mind the company because we won't be able to leave for a while."

Viscen nodded as he yelled through the village.

"Everyone! Resistance and villagers alike. Head to the graveyard. It's time for plan b to take effect!"

Impa backed away nervously as she reached into a pouch on her side and found a smoke bomb and threw it on the ground in front of the undead soldiers. She Turned and ran, shouting as she made her way to the graveyard.

"To the graveyard, everyone. Go go go!"

Veran and the twin sisters coughed and gagged as the smoke bomb made their throats horse and their eyes water. They stumbled around in the thick black smoke, trying to find a clearing in the smoke, but it had covered the whole village and they unable to see. Veran squealed in anger.

"Charge forward, you fools! Swing your swords blindly. You're sure to hit something eventually!"

The undead soldiers marched forward swinging their swords blindly, but they were hitting nothing. Saska coughed and gasped from the smoke.

"How can a …smoke bomb be so powerful? I can't see my hand in front of my face! When this clears, your resistance is going to be crushed, Impa. Remember that."

Impa heard the enemies struggling as she made her way to the graveyard, along with resisdents and fellow resistance members. Most of the residents had the layout of the village mapped by memory from emergency training.

When everyone made it to the graveyard, Impa walked towards the back of the large graveyard, passing row upon row of tombstones. There was a tombstone against the back wall. She grunted as she pushed it to one side, revealing a hidden passageway. She turned to everyone gathered her.

"Okay, this is it. We need to follow this tunnel for a short distance until we reach our destination. Let's go. Single file, everyone."

Impa and the others headed into the tunnel while Viscen took the rear, making sure to slide the tombstone back in place of the opening carefully so it wouldn't be discovered.

Saska was furious. Not only had the resistance blinded them, but when the smoke cleared, there was nobody left in the village. It was a diversion to evacuate everyone. But to where? She had heard Impa yell about the graveyard, but she figured it had to have been a trick. She glanced at Jaska and Veran.

"We have to find them. Ganondorf will have our heads if he hears about this. Search the graveyard and outside the fields of Hyrule. I want to know how they vanished without a trace!"

Impa and the others felt like they were walking for ages. The tunnel took several twists and turns until it finally ended at a solid-looking door. Impa knocked on it loudly.

"Commander Talon! It's Impa. Open the door."

A grunt was heard from the other side of the door as it was slowly opened in front of them and a burly, muscular man walked out. He gave Impa a puzzled look.

"Impa, what are you doing here with all these people?"

Impa sighed wearily.

"We lost the village, and we need to make this base our new home and headquarters. Is everything working like it should, commander?"

Talon nodded.

"Yes, ma'am. I've implemented all of the shiekah technology you gave me and everything is working fine."

Impa nodded.

"That's a relief. What about the barrier technology we discussed?"

Talon brought forth a big paper and placed it on a nearby table. It showed the layout of the secret base and the many rooms within He pointed at four points on the map.

"I installed those barrier generators you gave me at these four spots. The barrier is active, but invisible to the naked eye. As long as those are active, we've got nothing to worry about. Just out of curiosity, did any of you see any strange glowing spots on that tunnel?"

Viscen held up his hand.

"I saw some strange glowing on parts of the tunnel as I brought up the rear but didn't pay them any mind. What were they anyway?"

The commander smiled.

"I'm glad they aren't very noticeable. Those are traps designed to target evil creatures. There are also a couple well hidden fire traps that only activate when an evil presence is near."

Impa patted him on the back.

"I see you've been busy, commander. Well done. It's hard to believe that you are the former owner of Lon Lon Ranch. I'm glad we decided to train you and let you join our cause."

Argus patted Talon gently on the shoulder.

"Good job on that smoke bomb. That gave us the opportunity to flee and remain unscathed at the same time."

Talon laughed.

"I'm getting better at making those, am I? I'm glad I was able to perfect those. I tested some out and gave a few to Impa when I was satisfied with them. I wish I had one of those seven years ago. I would've thrown one at Ingo and stabbed him in the gut for trying to take over my ranch. That's in the past though. I just hope Malon is ok. I worry about her a lot these days."

Impa smiled in the dim light.

"Don't worry, commander. When we get ourselves situated and figure things out, we will help you get your daughter back. That's a promise. Okay, everyone. Find a room you want and make yourselves at home because it looks like we might be here for a while."

Talon grinned.

Not necessarily, ma'am. You haven't seen the whole base. For now, get some rest. I'll explain things more when you're not as tired."

Impa smiled to herself as she looked around. This base was perfect. They were right under the enemy's feet, and they were likely totally unaware. She imagined the look on their faces when they couldn't find any traces of the resistance when the smoke bomb cleared She couldn't help but snicker at the turn of events.