FicWad

 Chapter 11: The Fight Scene
"There you are, my dear," Impa said as she turned down the bed. "Everything's ready for bed dear."
Zelda peered down at the documents on her dresser. "I'm not ready for bed yet, Impa."
"But dear, it's extremely late, you've been up trying to discover this mystery for hours. Maybe a fresh start is the thing you need," her caretaker said in a motherly tone.
"Maybe, but I'm not ready to give up yet tonight," she said resolutely. "Thank you though, you can leave."
Impa folded her hands, with a worried expression on her face. "Well, all right, you can blow the candles out when you're ready. Pleasant dreams, dear."
"Good night, Impa."
The corpulent housekeeper shuffled out of Zelda's room, sadly and quietly shutting the door behind her. Impa meant well, but she still thought of Zelda as a child. That irritated her to no end, but Impa had been with her all her life, so it was hard to get mad at her. Tonight, her mind was already in analyzing mode, and sleep would interrupt her thought flow. She walked over to her dresser and looked down at her three documents. These three, little documents that seemed like three pieces of a puzzle without a picture or the 997 other pieces. The first was a payroll account for the vizier for last year, combined with his listed expenses. Looking at it superficially, there was no discernable pattern, unless you combined the dates with the charges. Every two weeks, Noktwor withdrew no less than 50 rupees from his expense account. No charges in between that. Rather unusual behavior, but nothing incriminating, obviously. The only thing Zelda was suspicious of was if Noktwor was using the money for work-related activities and not skimming off the top.
The second most important paper was the vizier's time-off sheet. This listed all his sick days and vacation days. Or rather the lack thereof. Despite all that had happened, the vizier had only taken one day off in the past 2 years. Even through the bout of Mountain Flu they had, the one where everyone was sick, the vizier had always shown up to the palace on time and well. Again, not really incriminating, but still suspicious.
But the third document was the most important. It was a carbon copy of a letter to the mayor of Kakariko village. Basically, it was a request to have a shipment of weapons, mostly spears, to be taken from the city's armory stockpile and delivered to the palace. Now, the royal palace had the right to take supplies from its smaller principalities, as long as they paid a fair price for them. But as far as she knew, the palace was in no shortage of weapons, if not spears and polearms. Plus, they were in peacetime, and no threats loomed on the horizon, so stockpiling arms seemed unusual. But the most leery element was the tone of the letter. Counselor Noktwor seemed threatening and condescending to the mayor, and also indicated that this wasn't the first time he had made this request. Such conduct was unbecoming one of her advisors she kept in trust.
But the frustrating part of it was these three documents didn't make sense together. Zelda picked up her hairbrush and turned away from the dresser. As she ran the comb through her hair she wished there was some guide she could use to tell how they might be connected or even if they were connected at all. Something that told her 'you need these seven pieces in order to solve the mystery'. Pacing along the floor, brushing her hair, she tried to connect the pieces. Maybe the vizier was trying to sell the weapons on the black market. The lack of vacation time indicated that maybe it was something he needed to be here everyday for. The organized crime syndicates in Hyrule were ruthless - miss a shipment, miss a finger. And there would be no one in the castle he could trust to carry out in his possible absence. Maybe a good way to see would be to send him out on a liaison mission. That did not explain the expense account though. Of course that could have been nothing.
A knock sounded on her door. Probably Impa again. "Come in."
Counselor Noktwor opened the door and entered the room, dressed in his formal clothing. Zelda was quite surprised and a little scared. "Princess, I apologize for the lateness of this visit."
"Is it important?"
"Extremely." He meandered forward, closing the distance between them. Zelda suddenly felt very vulnerable in just her nightgown. "It has come to my attention that you have been investigating the disappearance of the pendants as well as my collection of investigators."
"Yes," she tried to blurt out confidently.
"My advice is for you to drop it. My team will uncover the pilferer. And you are delving into things that are better left undelved." He closed the gap completely, coming nose-to-nose with her. His intimidating height left Zelda forced to look up at him. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stop it. Do I make myself clear, Princess?"
"Clear."
"Good then. Enjoy your sleep, Princess." The counselor spun on his heel and vacated Zelda's bedchamber, shutting the door behind him.
Zelda stood there, feeling very cold and weak. Somehow the gaze from that man left a chilling tremor up her spine. Her only response was to tuck under the covers of her bed and douse the light, snuggling deep under her covers. She really wished Link was here right now.

Mega Man perched on hands and knees close to the edge of the magic barrier, trying to analyze it. Link opted to sit back against it, biding his time until an appropriate moment to strike arose. Until then, he was gonna take this opportunity to rest. The thugs were plotting in a corner about what to do with them. They had taken the pair to a nearby ravine, somewhere between where the desert started and the plains ended, as they could see patches of grass poking through the sandy drifts. A charred fire pit was set in the middle, indicating this was some sort of secondary hideout for them, and that they weren't going anywhere for a while.
Mega Man turned back to Link. "Are they going to try and kill us?" he asked.
"Don't know. Kill us, hold us for ransom, eat us."
"Eat us!"
Link laughed to himself at his little joke. "No, they won't eat us. I don't know what they're going to do with us." Link wasn't particularly worried. After taking on the black wizard Ganon, a band of thieves was a minor inconvenience. Plus he already had the pendants, he just needed to deliver them back to the castle. "Did you learn anything from your topical sensors?"
"My what?"
"You know, your specko-analyzer."
"Oh, no. This material doesn't seem to register on my scanners. It's like it's not there, or it's not made of anything. In fact, the only way I can tell it is there is by touch or normal sensors. What is this composition?"
Link shrugged. "I don't know. It's magic. It's a magic barrier. I can see it just fine."
"It's not magic. Magic doesn't exist."
Link wasn't sure whether to laugh or be insulted. His homeland was founded on magic. It was one of the cornerstones of their existence. "I've got a bag full of magic powder that'll disagree with you."
"Magic is either a clever illusion or science that hasn't been understood yet."
Link shrugged. "Well, I understand that it works for me. Maybe you can't see the magic because you haven't been trained to look for it."
"I don't see how that's possible."
"Well, that's magic."
Link wrapped it up as one of unctuous mafioso came up to the trapped duo. He had a greasy goatee and a sash holding a sword at his very round waist. "What's your deal?" he asked Mega Man.
"I don't understand the question."
Two others came up behind him, trying to add to the intimidation. "What are you? Are you even human? You're obviously not from around here and you're not a monster."
"My body is composed of a mechanical and electrical device that looks like a human being and performs various complex acts of a human being, being computationally programmed through use of circuits and wiring to automatically perform complicated tasks."
"All right then... jus' wot does that mean?"
"Ah, who cares. Just tear off that armor of his, Rono."
"No, you fool, 'e 'as the strength of ten men!"
"All the more reason to get that armor."
"Get that cannon on his arm too. Could be useful."
Mega Man instinctively covered up his arm cannon.
Rono, the beefy leader scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Listen up, punk," he said to Mega Man. "You're gonna do as we say, or else your friend Link is gonna get it."
Oh, no. They had him. Mega Man couldn't allow another human being to come to harm like this, but he also couldn't disassemble himself. It was his worst nightmare - a conflict of the laws of robotics. Other machines and androids had completely lost their programming cohesion over such conflicts and had to be destroyed. "I can't take this off. It's me."
"Gus!" Rono snapped and pointed at the barrier. Gus waved his hands and the cherry barricade disappeared. Immediately, another brute grabbed Link by the collar, dragging him up, and held a knife to his neck.
"Grrck Don't do it, Mega Man," Link murmured.
Mega Man could feel conflict bubbling in his brain. His thought processes were getting jumbled and confused, commands running into each other. "You don't understand. I can't just take it off. It's a part of me," he pleaded. "I can't self-disassemble."
"Then I can do it for you," he said as he withdrew a long saber.
"Hey, what's that?" someone from the back yelped out.
Everyone turned and saw a little buzzblob waddling into the ravine, wide black eyes looking around curiously. "Wot th'?"
"Cute little bugger." Gus said. "Hey, little guy." He reached down to pet him.
The buzzblob furrowed its eyes angrily and sent a huge jolt of electricity into his body. "AaAaAaAaAaAaA!" he screamed and flew back several feet, smoke coming off his crispy head.
Link seized the opportunity and elbowed his captor in the stomach. He let his grip on the knife relax, as Link spun around and flipped him over his shoulder, rendering him unconscious. Withdrawing his sword he said, "What's the matter? Never seen a buzzblob before?"
"Get him!"
A rush of mobsters came at Link. Using his free hand and inertia he scaled the wall a short distance and came crashing down on the onslaught. He picked out his boomerang and slung it at the nearest one, knocking him out. Another to his right came at him with a billy club. He dodged the first two downward thrusts and parried with his sword. He noticed another slinking up behind him. Link quickly lunged forward, hitting the one ahead of him with his sword-filled fist and kicking the other in the stomach with his boot.
Meanwhile, Mega Man had dashed out of the range of the melee at the other end of the ravine. The buzzblob wobbled over to him, with a seemingly gleeful expression on his face. "Aah, go away. No, you hurt me," he said, shooing his arms. The buzzblob continued coming. Mega Man climbed a waist-high outcropping of grassy ledge to escape.
The rotund Rono came towards him, swinging his saber wildly. "I'll have your goods one way or the other. No one gets away from the Card Club."
Mega Man, desperate for an escape tactic, looked down at the buzzblob with puppy dog eyes, who was soulfully trying to totter to him.
He sat one knee on the ground and looked at the little green monster. "Hey, you wanna help?" he said, tapping into what he might say to Rush.
The blob blinked. Assumably that meant yes.
"Okay, then, go get him," he said as he pointed to the Don. "Sic him, boy!"
The buzzblob slowly toddled towards the mafioso. He easily backed away and took out a throwing knife to do away with him. "Your little pet won't do any harm to me."
Mega Man saw this and quickly thought of a plan. He switched his weapon system from default to Thunder Beam. His blue color faded to olive and yellow, and his Mega Buster's inner circuitry shifted around quietly. He pointed at the buzzblob. "Hope this works." He fired and three arcs of electricity soared into the sky, into the ground, and forward.
The beam hit the buzzblob, causing a yellow electric aura to glow around him with a mechanical sizzle. Its eyes shot open from surprise and shock. After the initial blast, it seemed to recover with no harm done and sternly looked at the beefy threatener. Rearing its head back he whipped forward and shot a burst of lightning at him.
The man dropped his weapons and froze in his tracks as white tendrils of power danced over his body. The green monster stopped the attack, leaving him cross-eyed and smoking, black soot covering his face as he swayed back and forth.
"Errr... check, please," he said as he tumbled backwards, fainted.
Link defended himself as best he could. They were starting to become too much for him. Each knick and pot-shot in his side was starting to make him succumb to weariness even more. He felt his back touch the craggy cliff wall and swung his sword in a desperate measure to make them back off.
"Hey, Link!" Mega Man called out as he made a 'come here' motion with his hand. "Draw them over here."
Link couldn't see what he was planning over their heads, and didn't know how he expected to wade through this crowd. Gripping onto determination and his boomerang he slung it out blindly, pushed off the wall, and used his shield to block for him as he barreled through the mob like a bullet, screaming at the top of his lungs.
The mafia gave way and Link found Mega Man standing on a ledge with the buzzblob in front of him. "Get behind me," the robot shouted.
Link, using his forward momentum, jumped up and flipped over the buzzblob and Mega Man, landing on the ledge behind them. The thieves and thugs tore after them.
Mega Man held up his arm cannon and aimed it at the buzzblob. "You'll get a charge out of this," he said as he fired.
The buzzblob cheerfully absorbed the electricity, gathering it with his own and fiercely fired it out at the crowd just as they approached. The light around them flashed like a light bulb and they all collapsed on top of each other, wisps of smoke billowing up. They were all out cold or groaning from immobility.
"Now that's playing with power," the blue bomber said.
"Shocking," Link responded.

"Roll, I need your assistance," Dr. Light said. Roll noticed Dr. Light struggling with a piece of scaffolding. She quickly rushed over and picked it up for him. Dr. Light gave his best effort to help, even though it was barely needed.
"You should be resting, Dr. Light," she chided. "The police department will be here shortly. They can conduct a full search then."
"I couldn't possibly rest, until I find out what Dr. Wily was searching for." He looked where the boulder was. Nothing but pebbles. He sighed.
"There's got to be an easier way about this. Perhaps there is a pattern."
"All right," Roll set herself to thinking. "So far the rooms where we've not seen damage have been industrial - the labs, the laundromat, the bathrooms."
"Ah, but not the master bathroom. We know that was searched."
"But not destroyed."
"Hmm..." Dr. Light thought. "Then they've all been rooms where humans go. Wily didn't want any of my technology I was building." He stepped over a broken girder as he mulled through the path of destruction. "Most curious. Although I suppose we can rest easy, knowing none of my technical secrets have fallen into his hands." He stopped in his tracks. "Wait, that doesn't make sense. What could I possibly own of greater value than my technical secrets?"
"Even if what he wanted wasn't technology, why wouldn't he even make an effort to try and get some?"
"Ah, never underestimate the unstable mind. Trying to track its logic is like trying to track the flight path of a house fly." Dr. Wily was an interesting paradox indeed - a man of mechanics and logic, yet crazy as a loon. How he made his genius creations was beyond anything he could understand.
"But you have many human items in storage. Surely he would have gone down there, if he was searching for it," Roll continued. "But he didn't. Which means-"
"Which means he may have found it before he got that far. It must have been up here somewhere. Perhaps on display. Perhaps-" He gripped onto a side of wall that gave way in his hands. A low rumbling sounded for a split second and suddenly the ceiling above rained down debris.
"Dr. Light!" Roll started to run for him, but was cut off by a huge chunk of scaffold. Dust spurted up, obscuring her view.
"Dr. Light!"
Next Chapter: Medical Emergency