Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Sonic the Hedgehog or the Legend of Zelda series; the rights of all things related to the two aforementioned series are copyrighted by Sega and Nintendo, respectively.

The Blue Blur of Termina

A Sonic the Hedgehog/Legend of Zelda crossover adaptation, by Komodin

Man, what a weird day this was…

Two months has passed since the Dark Gaia incident has transpired. After their latest victory against the nefarious Dr. Robotnik, things have been unusually quiet for Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends. With no word on the whereabouts of the infamous doctor after his last sightings deep within the Earth's crust, they've went their separate ways, if only for a little while. Child prodigy Miles Prower focused on his studies and tended to his machines in this peacetime. Other than one date with Sonic in early August, Amy Rose kept to herself, focusing on her boxercising regiment.

Sonic, on the other hand, opted for something more… adventurous. In the spirit of the situation, he decided to take an exploration tour through every continent in the world. He occasionally stopped by his old haunts, South and Christmas Islands, for a few days, to get together with his old chums. For the most part, he kept to himself, limiting his contact with his friends to a minimum.

One late afternoon in late September, he journeyed deep within the jungles of Adabat, in search for something - anything - to do. His six large quills swept lightly against each other as he jogged, making quiet hollow sounds that gave a little echo. He carried a large, bright red bag on his back, filled with various souvenirs and knick-knacks from his travels. It swung loosely from side to side, brushing against the two smaller quills on his back. The ground felt hard and solid under his red sneakers, leaving a few specks of dirt on the gold buckle and white socks.

A thick, humid fog lingered all around the dark and barren walkway, obscuring what little light that could beam down from the dense jungle canopy above. Faint calls and whistles rang out all around him; some were barely audible. Small puddles of mud and groundwater dotted the pathway, giving it a squishy feel to it.

As he trekked about, he spotted a group of large stone totem poles erected near the dirt path. He stopped in front of one and observed it. Each part of the four-tier structure bore different faces carved into its stony surfaces. The topmost part bore an exaggeratedly jovial smile. As Sonic looked the totem pole down, he noticed the expressions on them shifted from exaggerated joy to anger, to sadness, and finally to simple placidity.

"Weird…" he hummed. "Like those things from Green Hill…"

Shrugging his shoulders, he walked past the totem and walked further down the path. Similar stone arrow-shaped structures were nearby, lining the path in a way. Each structure stood in a circle of burnt ground, spewing small jets of fire around in a circular fashion. He could hear the faint sounds of a roaring waterfall off in the distance. In the near-silence of his surroundings, the waterfall sounded even louder than it normally would. A minute later, he finally arrived at a small clearing at the end of the path; Sonic came to a halt to survey the scenery.

The air in the clearing felt vaguely moist. Only a few bushes and rocks dotted the ground, surrounded by the jungle. The sky overhead was dark and cloudy, with blue flashes of lightning cutting through. Large flocks of birds, each as vibrant as the sky itself, flew overhead while making loud calls in the vacant air. As he gazed upon the overcast sky, a sickening feeling welled up in him. Not since the whole issue with Metal Sonic has the sky appeared so… ominous. Before he could think further on the sign it was apparently presenting, a loud rumble suddenly rang out around him. Sonic snapped back into attention and looked around.

Whoa, what the heck was that? Droplets began to rain down upon the clearing. At first, he thought the rumble was just a thunderclap, but then he heard the sound again, this time coming from his stomach.

"Oh." Putting his hands to his stomach, he sighed and gave a little chuckle. He hadn't eaten a nibble all day; he was much too focused on his travels to grab a bite to eat.

Perhaps, he thought, I should take a break before I head back to the village.

Looking around, he spotted a large boulder resting right in front of a tree out of the rain. Walking over to the massive stone, he leaped up and hopped on top of it. Reaching his hand over his shoulders, he unstrapped the bag from his back and set it down beside him. He reached in and took out two objects: one wrapped in aluminum foil; the other a bowl of red, sparkly gelatin sealed shut with a plastic lid. He set the gelatin beside him and started to tear apart the foil. As he opened the foil-wrapped object, a spicy scent filled his nostrils. It was a scent he was most familiar with, yet still made his mouth water every time. The aroma enveloped him as he removed the foil cover and tossed it aside.

Resting in the palm of his hands were a couple of jumbo franks, each wrapped in a crisp bun and slathered with a thick layer of chili. Little puffs of steam rose from the warm franks, lightly touching his muzzle. As the spicy aroma emitted by the twin chili dogs lingered in his nose, his mouth started to water. All he could think about was the chili dogs, biting down upon the chili dogs, savoring their every bit of flavor he could taste.

"Ah…" he muttered, letting out a sigh. "A chili dog: truly, a hedgehog's best friend. Bon appétit, Sonic…"

Come on… where is she?

He laid in wait from behind a bush on the wet grassy ground of the jungle, arms wrapped around his legs. He rested his face on his legs and sighed. His four huge, translucent wings drifted along with the strong stormy breeze. Various thoughts raced through the young fairy's mind: Where was his sister? Why isn't she here with him? Why was he even here in the first place? He wanted nothing to do with this; he just wanted to go back home.

Before he could contemplate any more on his current predicament, he heard a loud, hollow sound coming from behind. He glanced back and saw something blue from behind the bush. Piqued, he turned around and pushed some of the leaves back, careful not to make his presence known. The leaves from the bush brushed against his bare chest, tickling him ever so slightly. As he looked closer at the blue figure, he gave a little gasp.

It's him…

He saw a blue-colored hedgehog, clad in nothing but gloves and red shoes, sitting on top of a large boulder. A ray of sunshine rained down upon the figure, giving him an almost divine appearance. Two relatively long objects were in his hands, each wrapped in something that vaguely looked like silver.

As he looked him up and down, he noticed his bag sitting on the rock beside him. He closed his eyes a bit, noticing a whole cavalcade of materials barely sticking out from within. Rings, medals, keys and many others he could barely make out. From just a cursory look, he could see that the blue figure sure liked to collect stuff.

Tael watched as the blue hedgehog slowly took off the silvery material from the objects, revealing what looks like a reddish-brown stick with a whitish-brown underside. He noticed a small cloud coming from the two silvery sticks; from what he saw on the hedgehog's face whatever the smoke was, he clearly must like it. Looking at the hedgehog's gloved hand, Tael spotted a silver bracelet wrapped around the cuff, with a green jewel embedded on it. The gemstone shimmered in what little light that could pass through the heavily overcast sky. Before the fairy child could question his peculiar bracelet any more, a quiet ringing sound rang out from behind him.

"Tael, is the coast clear?"

The voice was a bit high-pitched, yet airy in tone. He looked back and saw a pair of glowing red eyes peer out from within the bush. The eyes, flanked by a braid of blonde hair, looked around before locking on to Tael.

"Tael," the voice muttered from the bush, squinted at the fairy boy. "You spot anyone yet, bro?"

Tael nodded, giving a little sigh to himself. "Yeah, Sis. You won't believe this, but I think I see that blue hedgehog guy from a couple months ago."

"The blue hedgehog?" the voice gasped. "Okay, I've gotta see him for myself!" With a blink, the eyes vanished into the bush, leaving in a quiet ring.

A few seconds of rustling later, a fairy girl, clad in a yellow dress, slowly crawled out from the bush. Standing straight, she ran her fingers through her hair, brushing away the dirt and leaves caught within it. Tael saw beads of water roll down her glowing skin, dripping down to the soft ground below. Brushing off her stockings, the fairy girl walked up to Tael, smiling brightly.

"Had a nice wash, Tatl?" he asked, making a little smile.

"A long needed one..." The girl, Tatl, nodded, ringing the bells on her braid. "Is that blue hedgehog still there?"

"Yeah." Tael nodded.

Walking past Tael, she crouched down on her knees in front of the bush. Brushing aside the leaves, she poked her head out and spotted the blue hedgehog. She stared at him and sighed.

"Oh my goodness," she murmured, her wings drooped along her back. "It's actually him..."

Poking her head back in, Tatl rested her hand on her cheek. She hummed lightly to herself, staring up towards the sky. "I wonder if he still remembers me..."

"Uh, Tatl?" Tael leaned over to his sister. She had a vacant, spacey smile on her face, as if she was off in her own world. Her eyes started to drift off in two different directions as a spot of drool rolled down from her mouth.

He waved his hand in front of her face. "Are you okay?" Tael asked, frowning. "Hello? Tatl? Are you there?"

Tatl abruptly snapped back to attention, looking around in confusion. "Huh? What happened?"

"You were zoning out again, Sis," Tael said, scratching the back of his head. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm more than alright, Bro..." She smirked. "I've just thought up an excellent plan to get that hedgehog's stuff!"

"Um, are you sure we should do this? I mean, he's busy minding his own business..."

"Why not?" Tatl asked. "He doesn't look so strong with those noodle limbs of his. Okay, sure, he trashed those monsters and that giant metal skulltula a couple months ago, but I'm certain we could both take him if he tries to fight back. Besides, he should've known better than to wander around in a dark jungle alone, anyway."

Tael sighed. "Well, I guess you're right about that."

"Exactly, little bro. Anyway, here's the plan." Tatl reached into her pouch flanking her left hip and pulled out a large dagger. "You'll stay here and play that whole "fake injury" routine, like last time. I'll go further up the path and hide in the treetops. When the hedgehog's guard is down, I'll sneak up and take him out with this. Once he's knocked out, we'll swoop in, take the bag, and get out of there before he wakes up! Got it?"

"Uh, you're sure this will work?" He looked back over at the blue hedgehog's general direction and shuddered. "I mean, he looks pretty dangerous and stuff. He trashed that metal skulltula like it was nothing! Besides, what if he doesn't fall for that trick? What if he just ignores me and move on? What if he tries to rob and takes advantage of me? What if-"

"Oh, relax." Putting away her dagger, she rested her hand on his shoulder and flashed a smile. "You panic way too much, little bro. You seriously need to learn to relax, okay? Besides, it worked before, remember?"

"Okay, I guess… as long as we don't kill him, right?"

Tatl gasped. "Of course, we won't kill him! You honestly think I would stoop to outright killing someone?"

"What? O-of course n-"

"Good. Now, hush." She rested her hand over his mouth. "He's about done with that food... you remember the plan?"

Tael nodded. "Yeah, Tatl."

"Good." She stood up and adjusted her stockings. "Stay here, do what I told you and please don't screw this up!" With a light flap of her wings, she took off into the treetops.

"Alright, sis…" Tael breathed a sigh of exasperation. "I just wanna go home…"

Finishing his lunch, Sonic wrapped up the leftovers and placed it back in his bag. Strapping it back onto his back, careful not to puncture it with his quills, he sighed.

Alrighty, then, he thought, shaking his quills,time to head back to the village for the night. Maybe I should visit the United Federation again tomorrow...

Just as he turned around to head out of the clearing, he suddenly heard a sharp, cracking sound off in the distance behind him.

He snapped back into attention and looked around, trying to locate the source of the crack. His ears twitched and pointed toward the slight shuffling and scraping near the bushes. Teeth clenched, he spotted a faint reddish-purple light emanate from the bushes at the other side of the clearing. The light hovered slightly off the ground, fading in and out of view. Sonic could only look on as the light flickered on and off, not unlike that of a lightning bug.

Huh? What's that?

He slowly approached the plant, careful not to make too much noise. His ears twitched around, eyes locked ahead. As he went closer and closer, he could hear faint whimpers sound out from within its leafy foliage. He brushed some of the leaves aside, just enough for him to poke his face through.

A little boy sat on the forest floor just a couple feet away, his knees obscuring his face from his view. The boy, clad in a purple shirt and auburn shorts, was covered head to toe in splotches of dirt and foliage. Unlike any child he saw, however, the boy had reddish-purple hair, long elf-like ears and, to Sonic's surprise, two pairs of huge, insectile wings sticking out his back, swaying lightly in the breeze. Despite his disheveled appearance, a reddish light still managed to emanate from the kid's dark purple skin.

"Hey, kid!" Sonic shouted, poking his head in through the hole. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" The child wiped his face and looked up at Sonic. His eyes, purple as the rest of his body, were a little bloodshot, as if the kid was crying for quite a while. "W-who are you, m-mister?"

With one quick spin attack, Sonic sliced his way through the hole, splitting the bush in half. "What the heck are you doing here all alone, kid?" he asked, tossing the bush pieces aside. "Don't you know how dangerous this jungle is? How did you wind up here in the first place?"

The child looked around, a weary look on his face, before shrugging his shoulders weakly. "I-I don't know, mister. One minute, I was playing in the beach, next minute... I'm here in this jungle, all alone..."

Sonic narrowed his eyes. There was just something about this kid's story that just didn't seem right at all. "Hold up," he said, folding his arms. "Don't you have any parents, kid? I don't see why they wouldn't be looking for you."

The child looked down to the ground and shook his head. "I don't have any parents, sir. They both died when I was only a baby."

Sonic's heart sank as the words echoed in his mind. With a frown firmly locked on his face, he calmly asked, "Wait, so you're an orphan? You don't have anyone taking care of you?"

The kid shook his head. "I only have an older sister, sir."

Sonic raised his eyebrows. "Okay, how old is your sister, then?"

"She's fifteen, sir. I'm only eleven..."

Sonic freed his arms and put his hands to his chin. It appeared that the child's sister - if he really had one - was missing as well. Frowning, he asked, "Okay, where have you last seen her? The beach?"

The child raised his hand and pointed at Sonic. "I think it was in the clearing, sir; further up the path."

"Alright, then, kid, I'll help you find your sister. It's the least I can do." Sonic gave a thumbs-up. "The name's Sonic: Sonic the Hedgehog! What's yours, kid?"

"M-my name is Tael," the boy murmured as he rose up from the ground.

"'Tael,' huh..." Hand to his chin, Sonic chuckled to himself.

"Hmm…?"

"Ah, it's nothing. Your name just sounds a little familiar, is all."

"Oh, okay, miste-"

"Hey, now," Sonic said, holding his hands in front of him. "Enough with that fancy talk, kid. Just call me Sonic, alright?"

"Sorry, mist-" Tael paused, and then corrected, "I mean, Sonic, just Sonic. Got it." His frown curled into a little smile.

"No problem, Tael," Sonic cheered, flashing a toothy smile. The heaviness in his heart started to ease off as he saw Tael's smile. "Now then, let's go find your sister! We should go back to the village to see if anyone knows you, alright?"

"Yeah," Tael said, nodding, "right, Sonic."

Just then, a loud, tinny voice rang out from behind them.

"Two targets sighted: one of unknown origin."

"What the…"

Sonic looked back and saw a large, metallic figure in the clearing. It had the general shape of a blue metallic man, as big as the boulder he sat on. Its torso resembled a steel-blue spinning top with huge silver buttons dotting its body. Its legs were small and stubby compared to the rest of its body; its arms, on the other hand, had large forearms. On top of its spinning top-like body was a structure that barely counted as a head: its only feature were a pair of red "eyes" that emanated a soft pink light.

Sonic gritted his teeth. "Another one of these Egg Fighter 'bots? He still has these clunkers?" He felt a slight tug on his bag; he looked back and saw Tael, with a worried look on his face once more.

"What's the matter, Sonic?" Tael said, frowning. "What's that weird metal man?"

"Nothing, it's just one of those Egg Fighter things ol' Robuttnik has lying around here. You know who he is, right?"

Tael only shook his head. "Never heard of him, si-I mean, Sonic."

Sonic hummed. "Well, I'll give you the lowdown on ol' Eggbelly later. Now, listen." He knelt down in front of Tael, taking off his bag. "I want you to take this and hide while I go take care of that badnik, okay? Last thing I want is for you to get hurt in the crossfire."

"O-okay, Sonic." He nodded and quickly hid behind a nearby bush.

Smirking, he turned his attention back to the patrolling Egg Fighter. Sucking in a breath of air, he crouched down to the ground, leaning on one knee. One hand to the ground, he looked ahead, lock on the robot. He looked carefully at the robot's every movement, the way it trotted, the way it looked around for its target. Once he was sure of how to approach it, he crouched down into fetal position. Hands over his face, he closed his eyes and curled into a ball. In one quick motion downwards, he started to spin in place.

Ready...

As he spun faster and faster, he heard a loud buzzing sound from ahead of him.

"Target sighted: Sonic the Hedgehog. Objective: Immediate Extermination."

Now the robot knew he was there.

Set…

Sticking out his ears as far as he could, he tilted from side to side, adjusting himself in the direction the buzz was coming from. A cloud of dust started to gather all around as he spun. A few seconds in, he could hear the buzz grow louder, masking the near-silent footsteps the source was making. His ears twitched; now, he was ready.

Go!

He launched forward as quick as a blur. He opened his eyes for a brief moment; first, he saw the Egg Fighter jump in panic. Next, all he saw were a few bundles of colored wires with a slit-shaped hole in front. An even louder, though brief, buzz sounded off as he went through the wires and gears. Next thing he knew, he was back on the forest ground, down on one knee and no worse for wear. Just as he started to stand up, a loud explosion sounded off from behind. The forest turned red and white as a fireball grew in size, wiping out everything in its path. Then, just as abrupt as it appeared, the fireball dissipated.

As he brushed off the dirt and soot on his body, a long metal rod crashed down next to his feet. Looking down, he reached and picked up the rod. A little hot to the touch, Sonic looked closely at it before smirking; it was the burnt remains of the Egg Fighter.

Brushing his gloves off, he scoffed, "Hm, looks like another clunker's ready for the scrap pile. Oh well." With a sigh, he tossed the rod over his shoulder.

"Th-that was incredible!"

Sonic looked back and saw Tael, mouth agape. "W-what was that thing you just did to the metal man? H-h-how did you move so fast?"

Sonic beamed, chuckling. "Oh, that? Eh, it was just the Supersonic Spin Attack, nothing special."

Tael dropped his shoulders. "B-but, what do you mean, 'nothing special'? You practically warped, Sonic! You were like a blur!"

Sonic shrugged his shoulders. "Guess I'm just that fast."

As he reached down to grab his bag, something peculiar appeared off the corner of his eye. Looking back, he saw a bright red light emanated from Tael's face. Sonic raised his eyebrow at seeing the odd spectacle. He's seen people blush before - for one reason or another - but he has never seen anyone do it so brightly.

"Hey, Tael, are you alright?" he called out.

Tael looked up, redness abruptly subsided. "Y-yes, Sonic. Why did you ask?"

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Why were your cheeks red, then?"

"I-I," Tael stammered, "think I'm just coming under the weather! Yeah, that's it! Just under the weather! It's nothing, really!"

"Uh, huh…?" He shook his head, saying, "Well, anyway, let's go find your sister."

"Okay!" the winged boy said, nodding.

Just as Sonic made his way out of the clearing, a loud jingle abruptly sounded out. Sonic jumped back and balled his fists.

"Wh-What was that?" Tael yelled.

Just as Sonic turned his head around to discern what was going on, he suddenly felt a sharp pain run through his shoulder from behind.

"Aah-!" He fell down on his knees with a thud. He put his hand on his shoulder and felt it - blood soaked onto his glove, giving it a pinkish color. His arm twitched from the sharp pangs of pain surging through it.

"Tael?" he screamed. "Tael – augh – where are you?!"

Before he could reach his unharmed arm out to defend himself from the unseen threat, he heard a hollow, breaking sound from behind, following by an explosion of pain from the back of his head. He screamed as the force of the impact sent him into the grassy ground of the clearing.

He looked up as much as he could and saw a blonde winged girl standing over him, glowing a strange whitish-yellow light from her skin. She bore a toothy, sinister smirk on her face. Her eyes, a deep red, seemed lit in flames in the glow of her aura. His vision started to dim as he tried to get a good look at the girl. Looking up, he saw a gray, tube-shaped object in her grasp. He squinted his eyes and gasped - it was the Egg Fighter piece.

What... the…?

As his consciousness faded into black, the last thing he heard was a loud cackle from behind.

"Aw, that was simply pathetic!" Tatl yelled as she tossed the metal pole aside. "Killed a giant metal skulltula like it was nothing, yet he got knocked out by that?" She sighed. "Ah well, let's see what he got..."

Tael could only look down upon Sonic. A large gash ran down his shoulder, with a small trail of blood trickling down onto the ground. A huge bump grew right on the middle of the downed hedgehog's forehead. As he looked on, a single tear ran down his cheek.

"Sorry, Sonic..." he whispered to himself, voice cracking with every word.

"Heh, you two did great!"

Tael, along with Tatl, looked around and saw a figure leaning on to a large tree.

"Well, well, well..." Tatl rested her hands on her hips. "If it isn't the Skull Kid. Where have you been, huh?"

"Nice to see you too, Tatl," Skull Kid replied, chuckling.

The Skull Kid started to walk forward. With every step he took, his head twitched and tilted from side to side then forward in a sort of mini-lunge. Stopping in front of the fairy pair, the Skull Kid lifted his mask just above his forehead, revealing his face. His skin a dark woody brown, it had a pair of solid yellow eyes and a short bird-like beak. He rested his hand on his face and adjusted his jaw, making little popping sounds with every movement.

He looked down at the unconscious Sonic, still bleeding from the wound inflicted by Tatl. "I wonder if he has anything good on him..." he murmured, his mouth contorting into a toothy smirk.

"You should check that bag of his." Tatl pointed over to the bag lying underneath Sonic. "There should be something good in there."

"Right, then. That shouldn't be a problem..."

Lowering the mask back over his face, Skull Kid walked over to the unconscious hedgehog. He crouched down and pulled the red bag from underneath him, turning the hedgehog over onto his face. With a simple tug, he swiped it right underneath him.

"Aha," Skull Kid murmured. "Let's see what's inside..."

Tael and Tatl looked on as Skull Kid opened the bag. He reached right in and rummaged through the assorted stuff. He pulled out and threw out various materials: a few golden rings; a glassy wristband; spiked metal boots; two shoes with huge springs attached to the soles; a pair of shoes with wings attached to the heels; and a couple shoes made of solid gold.

As it went on, Tatl folded her arms and stomped her feet, looking cross. "That's it?" she yelled as the Skull Kid tossed aside a stack of orange and blue medals. "Just that useless junk?"

Skull Kid shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Well, keep looking! There's gotta be something good in there!"

Ignoring Tatl and Skull Kid, Tael looked back down towards the ground, dejected from what he did. As he gazed down, he thought about his sister did to Sonic. Tears began to well up in his eyes as he thought about what he could've done. He could've shouted to Sonic; he could've stopped his sister from attacking him; he could've done anything to stop. Before he could continue pondering, a loud yell sounded out.

"Hey!"

Tael snapped back into attention and looked around. He saw Tatl, waving her hands in front of his face.

"What's your problem?" she said, glaring at him.

"Oh, nothing, Tatl!" Tael replied, quickly trying to wipe the tears from his face. "Really, I swear!"

She sighed. "Are you still crying over that hedgehog?"

Tael only looked back down and uttered, "Maybe…" Noticing the stone-cold scowl on her face, he sighed. "Yes…"

"What for?" she yelled.

He cringed a bit in response. "But, Tatl…" He slowly looked up to Tatl. Tears started to form in his eyes again. "He was so nice to me… Why did you have to knock him out like that?"

Tatl rolled her eyes and shouted, "Oh, brother, will you get over it already?"

"Haha, look what we have here!"

They both looked back at the prancing Skull Kid. He held a long, glowing object in his hand. A faint blue aura emanated from the flute, sparkling brightly even in the dark jungle.

"What the heck is that?" Tatl yelled, taken aback by the Skull Kid's display.

"It's a crystal flute!" Skull Kid replied, giggling. "The hedgehog must be one of those fancy types!"

She let out a loud squeal in response. "Ooh, ooh! What a pretty flute!" She rushed over to the Skull Kid and tried to grab at the crystalline flute. "Hey, Skull Kid, let me touch it! I wanna see!"

"Wait your turn! I wanna try it, too!" Skull Kid put the flute up to the "mouthpiece" of the mask and blew a puff of air into the flute. As he did, a loud hollow note rang out. Both the Skull Kid and Tatl giggled at the sound he made.

After looking at the downed hedgehog, Tael glanced at the flute and uttered, "Hey, can I try the flute, too?"

"You can't, Tael," Tatl ordered, glaring at the saddened child. "What would we do if you dropped it and it broke?"

"But sis-"

"No buts!" she yelled, folding her arms over her chest. "You can't touch it, and that'll be the end of it!"

"Aw, but..." He sighed deeply. "W-why can't I try it out too?"

"It's not yours, that's why!" With that, she turned her attention back to the giggling Skull Kid.

Tael closed his eyes and balled his fists angrily. Even though he loved his sister a lot, that bit of hypocrisy on her part began to wear on his nerves. Just before he could reply to her, he heard a loud whistling sound from behind. He turned around and gasped.

"Uh-oh!"

Ugh, what the heck happened?

Sonic lifted his head up as much as he could and felt the back of his shoulder. Blood still ran down from it a bit from the inflicted wound. He looked around in a daze, his head still throbbing with pain from the blonde girl's assault. He looked down and noticed most of his items were laid strewn along the nearby jungle floor.

Why is all my stuff on the ground? he thought. What the-

He looked over and saw a trio of figures surrounding his bag. Two of them were Tael and the blonde girl that struck him, with the girl yelling at the winged boy. She had long blonde hair that seems to flow down past her shoulders. She wore a yellow dress that reminded him a bit of Tinker Bell, and a pair of yellow stockings worn up to her thighs. A brown squarish pouch flanked her left hip, tied to a belt encircling her waist. Like Tael, she had two pairs of huge bluish, dragonfly-like wings; however, her's were much larger in wingspan to better support her larger figure. Further contrasting the winged boy, her skin, white as cream, emitted a faint yellow light.

The third figure was a strange imp-like creature, wearing a large red witches' hat, the crown of which lined with a ring of orange and green leaves. Red and green in color, respectively, the tunic and shorts it wore hung loosely against its near-skeletal frame, held down by a belt consisting of a series of wooden rings bound together. With its thin and twiggy frame in conjunction with its brown, wood-like skin, the figure looked almost like a living scarecrow. Its most unique feature, however, was the strange mask it wore.

Many different colors and symbols adorned its distinct heart-shaped design. Long multi-colored spikes lined the rim of the mask; four jutting out diagonally from both sides and two stuck straight up from the top like demonic horns. A series of small holes were carved into it near the mouthpiece. Its most striking feature, however, was its large "eyes." Small green irises, complete with pinpoint pupils, were painted onto the mask's sunset-colored sclera, giving it an unerring look to it.

As Sonic looked at the masked imp, he noticed a faint blue aura emanated from its hand. When he squinted his eyes to take a closer look at the blue glow, he gave a small gasp at what he saw.

My flute!

The masked imp played around with his flute, tossing it in the air like it was a doll. Tael and the blonde girl, on the other hand, were arguing amongst each other. He quickly got to his feet and glared at them, fists clenched. He reached into his quills and took out a small metal whistle. Taking in a big breath, he put it to his mouth and blew straight into it. An ear-splitting sound rang out from the whistle, scaring away nearby wildlife. The winged pair looked up in alarm and looked behind themselves. Tael shrieked and immediately hid behind the blonde girl.

The masked imp looked back at the hedgehog and jumped back in shock. "W-who are you?"

"A ticked off hedgehog!" he screamed, sending the imp back further. "What are you doing with my stuff? My Mystic Melody?!"

"The Mystic Mel - oh, um, this? Well, I - uh..." The imp hid the Mystic Melody behind his back, shaking his head. "W-what flute? I don't see any flutes around here!"

Sonic put his whistle back in his quills. "You gave yourself away!" He stomped toward the imp, nose flared and muzzle flushed a bright red color. "Don't play dumb - that's my Mystic Melody that you have there! Hand it over, now, or so help me…"

Skull Kid stepped back even further, looking around in an attempt to find a way past him. "Well, I found it lying on the ground and I just thought it would be okay! I didn't know it was yours! Honest!"

Sonic lunged at the imp, fist extended. Using his unharmed arm, he grabbed the Skull Kid and hoisted him up into his face. "I said, 'give me back my flute!' I'm not playing around!"

"Put him down, you dirty rat!"

"Huh?" Sonic looked and saw Tael and the blonde girl. Seeing her wrap her arms around Tael's shoulders took him aback a bit, until a thought struck him: why else would the kid be so hesitant with his words about his family…

"Tael!" Sonic yelled, voice rising with every word. "You were with these guys?"

Tael only looked away in response.

"So, it was a trap?" He balled his fist. "You little-!"

Just then, the masked imp shook himself out of his grasp and leaped over him. Without the leverage of the imp's weight, he lost his balance and fell to his knee. As he started to get back on his feet, the imp jumped down right on his head, sending him headfirst into the muddy ground. Landing on his feet, the imp took off into the jungle, with Tael and the girl alongside him.

"Ta-ta, rodent!" the imp shouted just as he, along with Tael and the girl, disappeared into the forest.

Forcing his head out of the mud, Sonic quickly got back on his feet. His shoulder stopped bleeding; however, the throbbing pain in his head only grew since his head got sent back into the ground. He trudged over to his bag, holding his injured arm in place. Reaching inside, he pulled out some bandages. After patching up his shoulder wound, he started to gather his remaining stuff. To his surprise, he found that his stuff stayed relatively intact - only his flute was missing. Once he gathered his belongings, he carefully placed the bag back on his back.

"Okay," Sonic growled, looking ahead. "now to find those guys..."

With that, he took off down the dirt path after the trio of thieves. The jungle seemed to meld together as he went faster and faster, dodging every object in his path. He tucked his arms in as close to his body as he could, relieving himself of drag. In only a few seconds, he managed to catch up with the fleeing thieves.

As he caught up to the pursuing thieves, he yelled, "You're not getting away!"

The imp looked back towards him and gasped. "Dang, he's fast!" the imp yelled, pointing back at him. "Hey, do something! Distract him! Hurry!"

Nodding, the blonde girl stopped in her tracks. Reaching to the pouch on her hip, she pulled out a huge knife-like weapon. Spotting her, Sonic skidded to a halt, stopping inches from the winged girl.

"Hey, rodent," the girl said, brandishing her knife. "You think you can get your hands on my friend on my watch? Better think again, buddy!"

Sonic balled his fists. "I don't have time to deal with you! Get outta my way!"

"Oh, and what if I don't? What, you're not planning on hurting a lady like me, are you?"

Lady? Sonic gritted his teeth. "Look, 'lady,' I know what you did to me back there - don't give me ideas! Just step aside, and we won't have any problems!"

The girl cackled. "Oh, my! It appears I got a tough guy over here!" She raised her knife, reverse gripped, to her face. "Well, let's see how tough you really are, then, blue boy!" She charged straight at Sonic, arms flanked on her sides.

Looking at the running girl, Sonic slapped his forehead and sighed, covering his face with his palm. Looks like I have no choice…

With his eyes locked on to the winged girl, he breathed in and prepped himself. His stance, with his arms locked to his sides, balled fists facing forwards, placed his dominant leg away from front. Just as the girl was in range, he took off like a bullet, lunging at her and grabbing her on her shoulder.

As her eyes began to widen with shock, Sonic, with one mighty swing, struck the winged girl head-on with a sharp kick in her chest. The girl flew back from the impact and right into the nearby grassy ground, with her knife plunging into the ground just inches from her face.

Righting himself from the impact, Sonic grunted. "Well, there's one problem outta the way. Now, where's that imp?"

Just as he started to take off down the dirt road, he felt a slight tap on his head.

"Hey, hedgehog!"

Confused, he looked back and saw the blonde girl. To his immediate surprise, she was clinging on to him by his bag with one arm, holding a brown ball in the other.

"Did ya miss me?"

"What the-?!"

"Surprise!"

With a mighty swing, she threw the ball right in his face. As it smashed into his face, the ball split open and emitted a huge flash of light. The light - whose intensity rivaled that of the Sun - locked Sonic's muscles in place for a split second. He could feel his pupils shrink at the sight of the abrupt light. As the instantaneous paralysis subsided, he let out a loud shriek, rubbing at his eyes as hard as he could.

"Argh, I can't see!" he screamed. "Can't see!"

In his blindness, Sonic stumbled over, out of the imp's path and went headlong into a nearby tree. At the speed he was stumbling around, he struck the tree with a mighty crack.

"I… I…"

After a couple seconds, he fell to the ground with a soft thud as the world faded into black.

Author's Note: Hello, reader!

First, I would like to thank you for taking time out of your day to read this story up to this point (unless you cheated and jumped straight to the end of the chapter, anyway). As can be seen here, this is a Sonic the Hedgehog / The Legend of Zelda crossover. A retelling of the game The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, this story chronicles Sonic the Hedgehog and Tatl's journey through the four corners of Termina to seek the help necessary to stop the catastrophic descent of the rogue moon before it destroys the world and everything on it. By now, you must probably be wondering why I'm doing a video game novelization for my fanfic. What's the point, right? Don't those things, if they don't outright die off after a couple chapters, usually wind up being little more than a dialogue-filled game walkthrough? Well, I do hope that this story will serve as one of the few exceptions to that unfortunate rule for you.

The idea that inspired this story started off like this: what if the events of Majora's Mask were experienced by Sonic the Hedgehog, as opposed to Link? How would a more talkative and optimistic character, more used to having to save the world from nefarious individuals, respond to all the doom and gloom that Termina is going through thanks to the Skull Kid's actions? How would they respond to being reduced to a position where they can do little, if at all, about it? What would it be like running around the world in an attempt to solve its problems, knowing firsthand what would occur and the precise ramifications of said occurrence should you fail? Using story elements from the original game and its manga adaptation, I will give a more action-oriented take on the game's events. However, as one of the darkest Zelda games yet, it would be nothing short than a disservice on my part not to even try to keep the general tone present.

As far as reviews are concerned, any constructive feedback is, and will always be, much you have a question, advice or concerns about the story that you wish to bring up, you can either send me a private message concerning it here or on TV Tropes. Either way, you will receive a response, so don't be afraid to ask.

Thanks you for reading and have a nice day!