#of course in this timeline Ingo couldn’t take over the ranch cuz Ganondorf never went into power

[smilesrobotlover]

Whumptober day 25- alternate prompt- betrayal and also drugging lol

Ok guys this is where whumptober begins to have a plot, so buckle up cuz these last few days are gonna be a lot (except for day 26 that has no connection to this lol). Anyways I had so much fun writing this, I hope you have fun reading it. Talon is a joy to write.

Warnings: drugging and kidnapping

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The men searching for the heroes were in a busy town one second, then plopped in the middle of an open field the next second. Talon was dizzy and tried to reorient himself while Ammon placed a steady hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t throw up Talon,” he said, and Talon only gave a thumbs up. The other men chuckled as they recovered from the sudden change in scenery, and Leon looked around the field.

“Where are we?”

The others looked around, none of them recognizing the area. Talon expected the same thing for him, but he actually recognized some of the scenery. The fence along the edge, the trail that leads to the castle, and most importantly, Lon Lon Ranch. It stood proudly in the distance, practically begging for Talon to come home. He almost started crying right then and there, and the others looked at him in confusion.

“Talon? Is everything alright?” Leon asked, eyeing where he was looking.

“That over there is Lon Lon Ranch! That’s my home! It’s just over there!” Talon exclaimed, unable to mask his excitement and relief.

“Well what are we waitin’ for?” Rusl ran to Talon’s side. “Let’s get you home!”

Talon started running to Lon Lon Ranch, with the others closely behind him. Talon was practically bursting with joy as he got closer to his home. The smell of hay and horses already hit his nostrils. His daughter’s beautiful singing already filled his ears. Oh Malon…

I’m almost home, sweetie.

Talon ran through the entrance and glanced at the sign above the horse pen.

“Some place ya got,” Rusl muttered, looking at the house and barn. Talon frowned. Something wasn’t right. He looked at the sign again and gasped.

“‘Ingo’s Ranch?’” He read. “What the heck?”

The others looked at Talon in confusion, and he simply pointed at the sign, a baffled look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Benji asked. “Is this not your ranch?”

“No! I mean, yes, it is! But it’s supposed to be called Lon Lon Ranch, not Ingo’s Ranch!”

“Who’s Ingo?”

Talon turned and glared at the house. “He’s my colleague. He’s helped around the ranch for years. I don’t know why his name is suddenly plastered all over now.”

The men all gave each other worried looks, and Ammon stepped up.

“Maybe it’s because you went missing, and so the ranch’s ownership went to him?” He suggested, but Talon shook his head.

“That still ain’t right! Even if somethin’ were to happen to me, the ownership of the ranch would go to my daughter Malon! Not Ingo! I—“ fury built up inside Talon and he balled his fists, marching to the house. “I have some questions I need to ask him!”

The others followed Talon as he burst through the door, and he saw that Ingo wasn’t there. He frowned and marched over to his office, where Ingo sat, counting rupees.

“INGO!” Talon shouted, a little too loud, and the man jumped ten feet in the air, spilling rupees everywhere.

“T-Talon? You’re alive? I-I mean,” Ingo stood up and smoothed out his fancy looking clothes, the look of surprise still on his face, “you’re alive and well! Oh what a relief—“

“Why do you look so surprised to see me?”

“Oh! Uh, well,” Ingo sat back down and relaxed his posture, “you went missing, we all assumed you were dead.”

“So you stole my ranch and changed the name?”

“You were gone! What was I supposed to do?”

“Give it to my daughter!” Talon got close to Ingo, “where is she?”

“Where is who?”

“Malon!”

“Oh! Malon! Uh… she’s uh…” Ingo looked around, sweat pouring down his face, but he took a deep breath and gave Talon a smile. “She’s in her home.”

Talon stepped back and let out a breath. Of course that was where she would be. Talon had a new home built within the ranch, a home where Malon and Link would’ve had room to raise their baby on the way (and where they could play their music without disturbing Talon). The farmer turned around and left the office.

“Wait! Let me take you to her!” Ingo called out to him.

“Good idea, that way we can deal with the property of the ranch, and give its ownership back to me!”

Ingo scoffed. “This ranch shouldn’t belong to you.”

“It’s been passed down the family for generations Ingo, of course it belongs to me!”

“Well you never did anything with it! All those years, while I worked my butt off you just sat there sleepin’ the day away! This ranch would’ve failed if not for me!”

Talon glared at him for a moment, but he didn’t defend himself. “Well then, it sounds like it’s time to give the ranch to Malon then,” he said, and turned around and kept walking. Ingo growled and caught up to Talon.

“Now you listen here, I— WAH!” Ingo jumped at the six men standing awkwardly in the dining room. Talon had almost forgotten that they were there, waiting for him. “Who are these people? What is that?” Ingo pointed at Kass who made an offended expression. Talon sighed and put his hand on Ingo’s shoulder.

“They’re my friends, Ingo. Now come on.”

Ingo huffed and spun around, marching out the door. Talon looked at his friends who all had varying expressions of confusion and worry.

“Y’all can just stay here, I’ll be right back,” Talon assured.

“Are you gonna be ok?” Ammon asked.

“Yeah, yeah I’ll be fine. Just wait right here.”

The men nodded and Talon turned around to follow Ingo. As they walked to Malon’s house, Talon’s emotions kept running rampant. He was furious, worried, irritated, but most of all, he felt betrayed. Talon had worked with Ingo for years now, and for him to turn around and do something like this? It hurt. Link’s warnings echoed through Talon’s head. Link never liked Ingo. He always said that he was a selfish and greedy man, and that someday he was going to betray him and try to steal the ranch. Link had always said bizarre things, but this in particular made Talon upset. Ingo was his friend. He would never do something like that. But in the end, Link was right, and Talon felt hurt by it.

They entered the home and Ingo marched right in, heading straight for a door in the kitchen.

“Malon?” Talon called out, excitement to see his little girl practically eating him up inside. Ingo hovered near the door, then shrugged.

“She’s probably down in the basement,” Ingo muttered, looking around nervously, “she uh, she tends to go down there a lot.”

Ingo opened the door and went down the stairs, and Talon followed. He observed the small set of stairs as they went down. He rarely went into their home, let alone their basement, so this was all new to him. Ingo opened another door at the bottom and gestured for Talon to go in. The farmer narrowed his eyes at the dark room, only lit up by the setting sun. He went inside and looked at the tidy room.

“Malon?” He called out, seeing no signs of life in the room. Suddenly, something pushed him harshly into the room, and Talon fell to the ground. He looked up and saw Ingo shut the door, and Talon’s heart dropped at the sound of a click. “INGO!” Talon shouted and tried to open the door, but it was locked. He heard Ingo’s maniacal laughter from the other side, and Talon banged on the door. “Ingo! Let me out!”

“No! I’m never gonna let you out! I fought hard to get this ranch, and you are not going to ruin it!”

“Ingo… I… I trusted you! My whole life I trusted you! How could you do this?”

“Because I deserved the ranch! Not you, not your stupid daughter, and not that twat of a husband!”

Talon felt his blood boil at the insults thrown and he banged on the door some more.

“You’re gonna regret this! My friends will know what will happen and they will get me out!”

Talon heard Ingo swear on the other side of the door. He must’ve forgotten about them, which was good, there’s no way Ingo could win against any of them. They were all so much stronger than Talon could ever be.

“You should’ve stayed on the other side of that portal thing, Talon, it would’ve made everyone’s lives easier,” Ingo said, in a dark tone.

“Portal? What—“ Talon gasped when he remembered the portal. The portal that led him to the others, the portal that took him from his home, the portal that he was shoved into… “Ingo, you pushed me in that portal? Were you— were you trying to kill me?”

Ingo didn’t respond, and Talon banged on the door. He heard footsteps going up the stairs, and Talon knew that he was alone.

“INGO! Get back here! Where’s my daughter? Ingo!” Talon banged on the door but it was in vain. He was trapped here, his ranch gone, his daughter missing, and his friend… no longer a friend. Talon stepped back, feeling weary from all that’s happened. He slid to the floor, despair creeping up as he curled up. He prayed that the others would find him, they were his only hope now.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“They’ve been gone for a while,” Linebeck commented, looking out the window as the sun began to hide behind the horizon.

“They’re probably arguing some more, that got pretty heated back there,” Rusl glanced at the door where the two men stormed out. “I don’t like leaving him alone with him.”

“Talon will be fine, that Ingo guy sounds like a wimp,” Ammon assured, tapping the table with his finger. Rusl sighed.

“A wimp that took control of his beloved ranch.”

The room grew silent, and the men continued to wait, until the door opened, and Ingo walked through, looking angry.

“Oy, where’s Talon?” Ammon asked, and Ingo tensed up.

“Uh, he’s… dealing with paperwork. To give the ownership to his daughter,” he said in an unsure tone. The men all glanced at each other, confused at his nervous stance. “In fact, he’s gonna be a while, would any of you like some milk?”

Rusl hummed. “Milk wouldn’t hurt.” The others only grunted in response.

“Splendid! I’ll bring out some milk! And uh,” Ingo stared at Kass, “do you… do you need a bowl or—“

“A regular cup will do,” Kass huffed, and Ingo nodded, disappearing into the kitchen.

“Uh, no offense Kass but how will you drink out of a regular cup?” Linebeck asked. Kass glared at him and the sailor quickly looked away. “Never mind.”

It was silent until Ingo came in with drinks. The others slowly drank the milk while Rusl chugged his.

“Mm, fresh milk, there’s nothin’ better,” he muttered to himself, but frowned. “Though, this tastes a little strange.”

“What? You’ve never had cow’s milk before?” Ingo asked, looking more nervous.

“Oh, no, I haven’t.” Rusl stared at his milk. “I’ve only had goat milk.”

Ammon leaned forward. “I have had cow’s milk, and I do think that this tastes a little weird. You sure it’s not spoiled?”

Ingo’s nervousness melted into offense. “Of course it’s not spoiled! I always keep track of that stuff! How dare you assume that I don’t!”

Ammon raised his hands defensively and leaned back into his chair. “I never liked milk that much anyways,” he mumbled, going back to sipping the milk.

“Well I think it’s delightful,” Kass said, setting down his empty drink with Linebeck staring at him in shock. “Thank you for the milk, Ingo.”

“Er, you’re welcome.”

Leon set his half empty cup and crossed his arms, glaring at Ingo. “How long is Talon supposed to be?”

Ingo looked at all the men, chuckling darkly as they all took sips of the milk. “Oh, not long, do not worry.”

The others glanced at each other again, weirded out by his attitude, but they returned to the drinks, hoping that Talon would be back soon.

~~~~~~~~~~

The room got darker as the sun disappeared behind the horizon, leaving Talon feeling even more hopeless. Surely the others would’ve noticed his disappearance, right? Surely they would’ve come for him now, right? Ingo wasn’t tough enough to go toe-to-toe with the men in there, even Linebeck could easily win against Ingo if it came to it. But still, it all worried Talon too much. Ingo was desperate to keep the ranch to himself, and that made him dangerous.

Talon sighed and rested his head in his hands. Nothing worried him more than Malon though. Malon was tougher than Talon could ever be, but with her pregnancy, Talon knew that she couldn’t do as much as she used to. Where she was concerned Talon, since he had no idea where she could possibly be. Was she somewhere on the ranch? Locked up in a hidden place just like Talon? Was she kicked out? Alone and homeless while trying to deal with her pregnancy on her own? And what worried him the most, did Ingo do anything to her? Surely with Malon here, she would be a threat to Ingo, and if Ingo went so far to try to kill Talon, would he…?

Talon whimpered at the thought. He couldn’t live with himself if anything happened to Malon or the baby. He was so excited to be a grandfather, and was so excited to see Malon and Link being parents. If Ingo ruined that… Goddesses, Talon wouldn’t be able to control himself. Anger bubbled inside his chest as he thought about everything that happened. He wanted to beat Ingo senseless for what he did, but with him locked up in the basement, there was nothing he could do.

The anger went away and Talon slumped. If he was only a little bit like the others, he’d probably be strong enough to get out on his own. They were all so strong, capable, and smart. Even the ones that didn’t fight were cunning in their own ways, using the skills they were good at to their advantage. But Talon had nothing. He was slow, scared, and lazy, just like what Ingo said. Adventuring wasn’t meant for him, he only slowed the others down.

Talon laid down and sighed. He could sleep, that’s what he always did when he was stressed. But for some reason, since being on this adventure, sleep didn’t come to him so easily anymore. Talon tossed and turned, thoughts churning in his head that was driving him mad. The thought of Ingo betraying him, the thought of him ignoring Link’s warnings about him, the thought of Malon, alone and scared, thinking that he was dead…

Talon shot up. He couldn’t take this anymore. His baby girl needed his help and he had to stop feeling sorry for himself. If he wanted to be like the others, then he needed to act like it! Talon stood in the middle of the room and hummed.

“How am I gonna get outta here?” He mumbled. Everything was neatly put away and shoved against the walls, so Talon didn’t see anything he could use. The windows in the room were too tiny for Talon to fit through, so that was out of the question. He looked at the locked door and observed it. It was just a regular door, but maybe… he could bust it open?

Talon started to tear through the boxes, trying to find something that he could use to break it down. He eventually found a big hammer and figured that it would do the job. He marched up to the door and slammed the hammer against it. It didn’t break, but it definitely left a mark. Talon huffed and continued hitting the door, finally breaking it off its hinges. Talon let out a huff, set the hammer down, and grabbed a pitchfork.

“I’m comin’ Malon!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rusl groaned as consciousness began to return to him, along with pain. He lifted his head and hissed as his neck ached something awful. He didn’t realize he was sleeping with his head hunched forward, but now that he thought about it, why was he sleeping with his head hunched over? Rusl reached up to rub his neck, but found his movement limited, and he was wide awake when he realized what was happening. His hands were tied together in front of him, and a rope was wrapped tightly around his chest, pinning him to a column. He looked around frantically, noticing his tied legs as well. Oh no…

“Hey look, Rusl’s awake.”

Rusl looked to his left where Ammon and Linebeck sat at the same column, tied up the same way he was. He looked to his right and saw Benji and Kass in the same predicament.

“Wha— Leon?” Rusl called out, and he heard a grunt behind him.

“I’m right behind you,” he heard the first knight murmur. Rusl was slightly relieved, but he looked down at himself again, worry creeping up again.

“What happened?”

“That lunatic drugged us,” Linebeck explained.

“Tied us up in the barn, he did a really good job at it too,” Ammon added on, wiggling his wrists slightly.

“Wh— but—- why? What purpose will that do?” Rusl still couldn’t wrap his head around this. Was this Ingo guy stupid or crazy?

“You missed his whole evil speech,” Benji started, his hands gesturing dramatically, “he wants the ranch to himself and said that Talon was a danger to that. Apparently with us here, we could help Talon steal his farm from him or something like that.”

“So… he’s holding Talon somewhere?”

“Unfortunately, that seems to be the case.”

Rusl groaned and bumped his head against the column he was tied to. “What can we do? We have to save Talon!”

Ammon shrugged. “There’s not much we can do right now. Unless someone is somehow able to slip these ropes, we might just have to trust that Talon can save himself.”

“But Talon… he’s not a fighter.”

“I mean, neither is Ingo,” Linebeck commented, “I’m sure if Talon had to face him, he’ll be fine.”

Rusl groaned again. He hated sitting here doing nothing while his friend was in danger, and he was sure the others felt the same way, but there really was nothing he could do. The ropes were too tight for him to just slip out of, and Ingo seemed to have stripped everyone of their weapons. He supposed that the only thing they could do was to trust Talon, and hope that he could at least save himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Talon grumbled as he left his own home. Malon was nowhere to be seen, and even stranger, his friends were no longer waiting in the kitchen. It seemed that everyone was gone from his ranch. Except Ingo. Talon had seen him rushing from one place to the next, grabbing things left and right, before disappearing into the home where he probably went to sleep. Luckily, he seemed to be distracted so much to the point where he never noticed Talon, even when the farmer was right in the open. With Ingo resting in his home, it gave Talon the freedom to investigate the ranch. He checked every building, finding nothing of Malon and his friends. Malon missing worried Talon, but his missing friends worried him even more. They wouldn’t just abandon him, he knew that much, but he didn’t know why he didn’t see any of them. It was impossible for Ingo to have done something to all six of them, but then again, Ingo somehow took over Lon Lon Ranch, so Talon supposed there was more to Ingo than he realized. When Talon finished investigating Malon’s house again, he realized that he never checked the barn, and before he could run to it, he heard grumbling.

“Stupid… what do I do? What do I do?”

Talon ducked to cover and saw Ingo mumbling to himself as he walked to the barn. Talon waited until he went inside before he followed, being as quiet as he could. He slowly opened the door and saw Ingo babbling to himself. Rage took over Talon and he swung the door open, charging at the man who stole his home. Ingo yelped as he was knocked to the ground, and Talon pulled him up and slammed him against the wall, surprised at how light he was.

“Why, I oughta beat you senseless, Ingo!” Talon yelled out, threatening to punch him in the face.

“W-wait! Talon! Calm down, let's talk about this!” Ingo begged, and Talon grumbled, gathering his shirt in his hands.

“Where’s my daughter? What did you do to her?”

“Nothing! I swear!”

“You better not be lyin’!”

“I’m not! I promise! Malon wanted to stay in the ranch! She wanted to take care of the horses, but I didn’t let her! I kicked her out!”

“You kicked her out? Why?”

“Because she’s pregnant! Come on now, I couldn’t let a pregnant woman do the hard work of a farmer! I’m not that cruel.”

Talon rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah, you’re not cruel at all. Except for the fact that you pushed me in that portal hoping that it would kill me, you kicked my pregnant daughter out of her home, you betrayed my trust, and you stole–” Talon gestured to the barn but gasped when he saw all six of his friends tied to columns, all watching him surprised. Talon tightened his hold on Ingo and started shaking him aggressively. “YOU KIDNAPPED MY FRIENDS? What is WRONG WITH YOU?”

“Mercy! MERCY!” Ingo yelled out as he was shaken. Talon stopped and glared at Ingo.

“You’re insane, Ingo, I can’t believe I trusted you! I can’t believe I never trusted Link when he warned me about you! I… agh…” Talon looked down, ashamed. He had so much to apologize to Link for. Talon shoved Ingo into the wall and grabbed his pitchfork, slamming it into his loose clothes against the wall. Ingo let out a shout when it went in, and looked surprised when there was no pain. “Don’t move,” Talon said, and grabbed one of his friend’s swords. He walked over to Linebeck and Ammon, who were smiling at him.

“Talon, I’m so relieved you’re alright,” Ammon said.

“Yeah, we were worried about you,” Linebeck added as Talon cut the ropes around them. “That was awesome. I almost wished you punched the guy.” Talon waved it off and focused on cutting the ropes. “Are you alright?”

Talon sighed. “I don’t know, I’m sorry y’all had to get roped up in this. Literally.”

Linebeck snorted slightly, then let out a sigh of relief when the ropes were cut. “Thank goodness, those were starting to cut off my circulation.”

Talon didn���t comment on it as he cut the ropes around their hands, and the two men went over to Ingo. Linebeck lingered near him while Ammon grabbed his own sword to help Talon untie the others. Once they were all freed, Talon went to send for a town guard. Ingo didn’t belong here anymore, and Talon just wanted this to be over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The town guard arrived a lot sooner than Talon expected. It was early in the morning, with the sun just barely peeking over the horizon. The guard was writing down all the information about Ingo, while the others stayed back.

“Oh come on, the things I did weren’t that serious!” Ingo whined.

“I dunno how to tell you this sir, but kidnapping, attempted murder, and stealing are pretty serious crimes.” The guard deadpanned. He grabbed Ingo and gave Talon a slight bow. “Thank you sir, I’ll make sure he’s taken care of.”

Talon gave him a nod, and watched as the two started to head to castle town. Rusl and Leon came up behind Talon, both resting a hand on each shoulder.

“Are you alright?” Rusl asked, and Talon only sighed.

“I don’t know, I’m really tired and… I just… Ingo was my friend.”

“I get that,” Leon patted his shoulder. “It’s not easy to have someone you care about betray you like that.”

Talon shrugged and rubbed his eyes. “I think I’m gonna get some sleep before I go out lookin’ for Malon.” Talon turned to his home, with the other two following him.

“Do you know where she is?” Rusl asked.

“I’m not sure. She could be in Kakariko, or castle town, or even Gerudo for all I know.”

“Gerudo?” Leon frowned. “Why would she be in Gerudo?”

“Well… her mother was half Gerudo, so I’d imagine that they’ll be her only support right now.”

Rusl and Leon looked at each other in surprise.

“I didn’t know you married a Gerudo,Talon.”

“Half Gerudo, but yeah, she was a wonderful person, Malon is so much like her in more ways than she’ll know.” Talon smiled at the memory of his daughter. Her beautiful singing voice, her inhuman strength, her strong will and love for horses, those were all traits her mother bore.

“It sounds like you really love your daughter Talon,” Rusl said softly with a smile. “I hope you can find her, safe and sound.”

“Me too…” Talon paused before the door and turned around. “Um… would y’all mind comin’ with me? I don’t really wanna be alone.”

Leon and Rusl looked surprised, but they quickly smiled and nodded their heads.

“Of course Talon.”

Talon smiled and entered his home, ready to rest his weary mind.