Chapter 3

Sunrise Over Clock Town

Everyone squinted in the bright light outside of the dark room. Tatl flew ahead of the group, looking up at the sky.

"Oh, it's morning! I thought it was close to nightfall a while ago," she said, scratching her little fairy head.

Eddy scoffed, "Big deal. I want my money back!"

"Now, now, Eddy," Double D began, "We will find your 'cash' soon enough. But first, we need to find this Skull Kid fellow. Now where could he be?"

Double D scanned the area around him. They seemed to be in some sort of large plaza, with lines strung from building to building, displaying colorful flags of all sorts. The town seemed to have somewhat of an old-world feel to it, and most of the buildings' roofs were made from straw. Construction workers were hard at work, building a small structure in the middle of the plaza, and setting out torches. Behind them was a massive stone tower with a strange looking clock ticking at the top. He now realized what the water powered gears had been for, and marveled at its sheer size.

Tatl shrugged, "Not sure. He's been acting weird lately, now that I think about it. So I don't think he's going to be around any of our usual hideouts. The only thing I can think of is to ask the Great Fairy. She'd know where he is. She knows everything."

"There's a Great Fairy here, too?" Link said.

"Great Fairy? Are you kidding me? This better be a joke," Eddy said.

Tatl looked at both of them with bewilderment, "What do you mean? Of course there's a Great Fairy here! Come on now, let's go find her!"

Ed laughed, "Double D, do you think the fairy will give me the comic book I've been wanting? Do you think so?"

Double D sighed. It was going to be a long day.

They left the plaza, and broke off onto a side street. There seemed to be more people here, pushing and shoving through crowds trying to get to various shops and restaurants.

"Gah, why do tourists always have to be up so early?" Tatl said, easily maneuvering through the thick crowds.

Link felt helpless, trying to push through the crowds and keep up with everyone, being as he was eye level with most people's' hips now. He also found it hard to walk on his flat wooden feet, which clonked awkwardly on the cobblestone street. He let out a frustrated squeal as a burly man nearly sent him flying backwards. He met eyes with Double D for a brief moment, who was struggling to use his new body as well.

Double D had never seen anything like this place. He made his way onto a larger street, where stalls were set up off to the side, selling all sorts of spices and clothing. He passed a large treasure chest shaped shop as they made their way into a larger plaza. Two entertainers stood in the middle of a crowd, juggling several little red balls between themselves, telling jokes all the while. Another man with a sign stood outside of a shop, calling out to the crowd:

"Honey and Darlings' Shop! Come on in! We're having a bombchu special! Will you be the next winner?"

Ed pointed at the shop, "Oh boy! Can we go in, pretty please?"

They ignored him and pressed on, passing a large building called the 'Stock Pot Inn'. An angry looking man with a mustache waited outside, tapping his foot impatiently.

Eddy passed a small child with a bandanna. His shirt had a '3' painted on the back. Eddy looked happy that someone was shorter than him, and placed his hand on the kid's head, moving him to the side.

"'Scuse me there, small fry," he said, grinning slyly.

The kid rolled up his sleeve, "Hey buddy, watch it, will ya'?" he snapped.

Tatl shot a glance in Eddy's direction, "Hey, try not to pick a fight with the bombers, we're in a hurry!"

Ed looked excited by another stall selling carnival masks, and ran over, practically drooling at the mouth as he eyed one shaped like some sort of monster.

"You want this one kid?" the old shopkeeper said.

Ed nodded.

"That'll be fifty rupees!" the man said, holding out his hand.

Ed looked confused, "Rupee?" he repeated.

Tatl flew between them, looking very annoyed, "Come on, you big oaf! We don't have time to stop at every little shop on the way over! Besides, fifty rupees is such a rip off! Let's go!"

Ed let out a small, "Aww..." and reluctantly followed after the fairy and the rest of the group.

Eddy's eyes gleamed as he glanced back at the stall owner, "Fifty whatsits? For some crummy mask?"

He noticed a mother and her child approach the stall, and give the man some shiny jewels in exchange for a mummy mask.

Eddy's eyes bugged, "Wow, that guy must be rich! I could make a killing in this town!" he said excitedly, rubbing his hands together as he hurried to catch up with the group.

They made their way through a series of less-crowded alleyways, and came out into a large grass field. A playground was situated in the corner by a large tree, and off in the distance, was a cave dug into the hillside. A few people sat on park benches enjoying the weather, but for the most part, this area of town was rather devoid of people.

They passed a kid in a red bandana, desperately trying to pop a balloon floating a few feet away with a blow gun.

"Good luck with that one," Tatl muttered.

Tatl led the way into the cave, and everyone made their way to a pool of water with ornate stone pillars holding up the cave wall. Tatl gasped in shock.

"Great Fairy! What's happened here?" she cried.

"Oh dear," said Double D.

Floating above the water were several fairies. They all had abnormally large heads, with little wings on top keeping them aloft. They milled about above the fountain with seemingly no purpose.

"Sheesh, some 'Great Fairy'," Eddy said, looking quite bored.

The sprites spoke in unison, "Please, hear my plea! The Masked Skull Kid has shattered me and one of my parts has gone missing! If you could return the missing link here, I could return the favor!"

Link nodded, "We're on it."

Ed was in the back of the group, shaking with fear. He pointed at the fairies, as if trying to warn the others about them.

Eddy gave him a look, "What's with you?"

"It's the plague of Zarna!"

Eddy punched Ed, sending him flying backward into the wall, "Put a sock in it!" he yelled, his voice shaking the walls of the cave.

Tatl growled, "Stop acting like idiots, I have to find my brother! Come on, let's go!"

They all left the cave, back into the bright sun. Double D looked at the sky, and noted it was probably an hour before noon. He sat on a park bench, accompanied by Link and Tatl. Ed and Eddy stood in front of them, mainly listening.

"So, where should we go looking for the missing, er, fairy?" Double D said, mainly directing the question at Tatl, since she wasn't foreign to the land.

Tatl shrugged, "Not sure. It could be anywhere, really. I guess we'll just have to start looking."

"How about we split up? To cover more ground?" Link suggested.

"An excellent idea!" Double D's Deku voice squeaked, "We could go in two groups, that way we won't get lost. Who will go with whom?"

Eddy nudged Ed, "Me and Lumpy here will go."

Link glanced at Double D, "We are both Deku."

Tatl nodded, "It's settled. I'll go with the big one and shortstop, since smarty pants and sword boy could probably hold their own."

Eddy growled, "Why I oughta-"

"Alright gentlemen, and lady," Double D said, cutting Eddy off, "We shall meet back up at the base of the clock tower in two hours!"

"Okay, we'll cover West and East Clock Town," Tatl said, "and smarty pants ("It's Eddward,") and... Link there will cover North and South, which would be this area and the Clock Tower area where we first were. Everyone got it?"

"Buttered toast!" Ed yelled goofishly. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Great, now let's move!" Tatl said, leading Ed and Eddy down a side street.

Link sighed, "Well, we might as well look around this area a little more closely."

"I have no qualms with that idea, sir," Double D said, hopping to his feet.

Eddy walked nonchalantly behind Tatl while Ed stared with amazement at every single stall they passed. Tatl seemed to be on the lookout for the fairy, a job which obviously didn't interest the other two.

As they stopped to investigate an area, Eddy pulled Ed aside, "Look monobrow, we're gonna ditch this annoying light bulb, and we're gonna run some scams!"

Ed giggled and twitched with excitement, "Oh boy, oh boy, Eddy! Does this mean we get to buy jawbreakers?"

Eddy nodded with a wicked grin, "I bet they have some great jawbreakers here. Now, come on, let's get outta here and-"

Tatl landed on Eddy's shoulder, "I heard that!"

Eddy grinned sheepishly, "Aw, naw, we were just talking about finding that, uh... whatchamacallit! Yeah!"

Tatl smirked, "No, I heard about the scam..."

Eddy's stomach sank. There was no telling what the fairy would do.

"...and I think it's a great idea! Me and Skull Kid used to do stuff like that all the time when we needed some spare change. Come on, it's the big festival! The tourists are as gullible as they come these days!" she said, flying off, motioning for them to follow.

Eddy and Ed scurried after her, as Eddy whispered, "I'm starting to like this firefly!"

Double D and Link once again found themselves navigating the streets of Clock Town, working their way towards the southern district. The crowds were mostly concentrated indoors now, taking shelter from the midday heat in shops or restaurants.

Link glanced around, "I still haven't caught sight of that thing. I wonder how the others are doing?"

Double D shrugged, "Hard to say. Ed is a bit... well, you've seen him. And Eddy is about as immature as they come. We can only hope the fairy is keeping them in check."

"She better be," Link said, "because I doubt the fairy will be anywhere in that southern area by the clock tower. I mean, if we didn't see it before..."

They cut through the eastern side of town the same way they had come, and Double D grabbed Link's shoulder, making him stop. Link noticed they were standing in front of a large, official-looking building. Double D was staring at the sign.

"Drats, if only I could read that language," Double D said.

"You can't read that?" Link asked.

Double D shook his head, "I did a little reading in Spanish and French to be prepared for my foreign language courses, but other than that, I'm not too good with other languages."

Link sighed, and read it aloud:

"Mayor's Residence, official residence of the mayor. Open to the public from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m."

Double D took a step towards the ornate door, "I say, a figure of authority could perhaps point us in the right direction! How about it?"

Link shrugged his wooden shoulders, "I suppose we may as well check and ask."

Double D held the door politely for the boy, who shuffled past. They entered a large lobby, with a orange carpet adorned with splotches of green, blue, and yellow. The walls were painted a brown color, with swirly traditional markings on the wall behind the front desk, where a clock much like the one on the clock tower turned. Double D found the space very well done.

"Oh my, the subtleties of the room make for an aesthetically pleasing experience," he said, admiring the potted plants.

Link gave him a weird look, and made his way to the front desk, where a bored looking girl with green hair sat reading a book.

"Hmm...?" she said, looking up from the pages after they stood there for a moment. "Welcome. Do you have any business?"

Double D nodded, "Yes, we were going to inquire about a certain missing person whom we have been assigned the task of locating!"

She stared at him blankly.

"What he means is," Link said, "is that we're trying to find a lost person."

The secretary nodded, "Oh. Well, the mayor seems to be having a meeting right now, I think. Over there to your right is Madame Aroma's quarters. I think she's dealing with a missing person thing. Or I thought so. Go ahead," she said, leaning back; getting lost once more in the pages of her book.

The two scrubs made their way down a hallway, and passed through a wooden door. On the other side, a fire burned brightly. A very large lady wearing a yellow dress reclined on a couch, sipping from a small cup of tea. On another couch, was an even bigger person, who managed to get a gasp from Link.

Link inspected the second person closely. They were a large bloated fish person who resembled that of a koi. Could it be...? No, there were some slight differences from the person he knew.

"Oh my, are you two on a field trip?" she asked Link and Double D.

The fish person spoke, "Are the fins damp, lately?" they asked with an almost tired voice that had a slight hint of haughtiness in it.

"Excuse me?" Double D said sheepishly, taken aback by the fish.

"Are the fins damp lately? It is an expression used by us Zora. I'm sure if you told your teacher at Deku Elementary that, she would be quite impressed," they said, reaching over to pour a cup of tea.

Double D scratched his head, "Well, you see, we aren't exactly here on a field trip. A person to whom we are acquainted recently-"

Link sensed Edd was already losing the woman, and cut him off, "We're looking for a missing person."

The large woman's eyes brightened with recognition, "Ah ha! My person finder must have sent you two here as undercover agents of some sort! Yes, now that you mention it, I do have a certain person who needs finding!"

Link and Double D exchanged glances, a look of excitement in each other's eyes.

"You see," the large woman continued, "My son, Kafei, has recently turned up missing, and it has had me worried sick. I have been searching all over town for him, hiring the best person finders in the land... you must have been sent by a professional I contacted recently. So, do you have any leads?"

"Excuse me for just one moment, ma'am, we have urgent matters to discuss," he said, pulling Double D aside.

The lady nodded understandingly, "I am sure, being that you are working under such a highly established private investigator."

"What do we do?" Double D hissed with urgency.

Link thought for a moment, before speaking, "We might as well play along. You never know when something like this might come into play later on. Trust me, I've been in these situations before."

Double D nodded, "Alright, but don't do anything foolish."

They both turned to face the lady, "No ma'am," Link said, "I haven't gotten any leads as of late. But I will keep my eyes open. What does the missing person look like?"

She nodded, "Hm, yes. He is about this tall," she said, holding her hand at about six feet off the ground, "And he has long purple hair. I'm sure you will do well to find him."

Link nodded, "Yes, we will certainly keep our eyes peeled, Mrs...?"

"Madame Aroma, you may call me."

"Yes, well, thank you for your time, Madame!" Double D said, turning to leave before he dug himself any deeper into that mess.

They left the Mayor's Residence, and started once again traveling towards South Clock Town.

"That went well," Link said, kicking a broken glass bottle down the street.

"Now we have two missing persons we must locate," Edd said, thinking back to remember if he had ever seen a person with long purple hair.

"I suppose so. I'm not one to let stuff like this go unsolved," Link said.

"I agree. It is our moral duty to locate and find this young man before any harm could be brought to him," Double D declared as they finally arrived at South Clock Town.

They searched the area around South Clock Town, careful to avoid a certain stray dog that eyed them with hungry eyes, before meeting up at the base of the Clock Tower.

"This is hopeless," Link groaned.

Double D sighed, "I had hoped this quest would have been a bit more simpler. I suppose we will have to wait for our friends to return here."

"I suppose so," Link said, resting his arms on his knees and his head on his arms.

Double D scanned the surrounding area one last time. The fairy had to be here somewhere. He searched every area of the plaza, before hopping to his feet.

"Eureka!" he shouted triumphantly.

Link looked up, "What is it?"

Double D pointed. Off in the far corner of the plaza, hidden behind an empty market stall, was a flight of stairs leading off to a narrow alleyway.

"One last place we can check," he said excitedly, hobbling as fast as he could towards the stairway.

Link hurried to catch up with him, and together they navigated a narrow winding dirt path between two large buildings, before coming out into a courtyard. There was a wooden bench, and a tall tree giving the area some shade. A steady flow of water cut the courtyard into two areas of land, which were connected by a small wooden bridge. Off in the far corner was a door leading into a building. But that wasn't the interesting part.

There, floating above the water, was a fairy identical to the ones the Great Fairy had been broken into. They rushed to the waters edge and began to call the thing, trying to get it to come to them. But it continued to float, as if it did not know they were there.

"What do we do?" Double D asked.

Link looked at the water, "Well, we're made of wood, and every Deku Scrub I've ever seen was never one for swimming, so I don't think it'd be wise if we were to go for a swim. It's not close enough to either of the banks or the bridge to reach out and grab... I don't know what to do," he said helplessly.

Double D searched frantically for another option, before his eyes spotted Link's flat, almost paddle-like feet. He bent over to examine them.

"What are you doing?" Link asked.

Double D finished looking at the feet up closely, and stood up, "We can still reach it! If my judgement is correct, you should be able to bounce on the water's surface by using your flat feet!"

Link shook his head, "No way that would work. You must be crazy."

"No, I am about ninety six percent positive!" Double D said reassuringly.

"I'd rather have a hundred," Link said, glancing nervously down at the water.

"Please, just try it. This seems to be what our feet were made for!" Double D said with a pleading look in his eyes.

Link sighed, mulling it over for a moment, "Alright, I'll do it... If this goes wrong, though..."

Double D shook his head quickly, "There is almost no way this will go wrong, I'm sure of it. Just don't stay on the surface too long, or your feet may absorb the water over time."

Link shook his head, "That's reassuring."

With one high pitched war cry, Link jumped from the bank. His flat feet slapped the water, and instinctively he hopped back up, giving an excited cheer. Double D pumped his fist into the air.

Link took a second to get used to the hops, and made his way awkwardly towards the fairy. When he was close enough, he grabbed it, and hopped across to the other side, letting go one last cheer.

He scurried back over to Double D's side, who gave him a high five.

"Wow, that was pretty good thinking," Link said, stuffing the fairy unceremoniously into his tunic pocket. The fairy made no attempt to escape. It remained as docile and oblivious as it had been before.

"Well, we better wait for our friends' return at the base of the tower so we can head back to the cave," Double D said.

They sat back at their old spots, and looked around.

"Strange," Link mused, "they should be here by now. What's taking them?"