Chapter 5: The Day of Reckoning
Night of
The Final Day:
-12 Hours Remain-
Tatl stretched her arms above her head and yawned the biggest yawn she had ever yawned. Her and Link had been on the balcony for FAR too long, and was ready for the door to open so they could confront the Skull Kid. She checked her watch. Only a few more minutes until it was time. She flew in front of Link. He was fast asleep, barely snoring. He looked so peaceful, even IF his face was frozen.
"Wake up, you little shit!"
Tatl lifted up Link's eyelid and kicked his eye in. He let out a cry of pain and bolted up, ready to attack whatever was in front of him. "Wh-who's there?!" Tatl rolled her eyes. "Who else would be up here with you at nearly midnight, genius?" Link used his good eye to get a good look at the fairy in front of him. "Why did you do that?"
"To wake you up. If I hit you in the face, I'll just hurt my hand. You're made out of wood, remember?"
"That doesn't mean you can kick me in the EYEBALL!"
Tatl was just about to say something but was cut short by the sound of explosions. Both of them looked up. Fireworks had decorated the skies with red, blue, green, yellow, purple, orange, every other color until it looked like an artist's palette. The clocks on the Clock Tower ascended up, up, up until it stopped. Then, dropped. The Carnival had officially begun.
At that moment, the door to the tower fell, revealing stairs behind it. Link ran up the stairs with Tatl following behind him.
The Skull Kid remained silent as the two heroes ascended the stairs to the top of the Clock Tower. He turned and faced the two with Link's Ocarina still in his hand. The purple fairy flew out from behind the Skull Kid's head.
"Sis!"
Tatl perked up. "Tael! We've been looking everywhere for you two! Thank goodness, you're safe..." Tatl turned slightly red. "Hey, Skull Kid. You got some explaining to do. But first, how about you give us the mask you're wearing back?" Tael flew forward a bit. "Sis! Swamp! Mountain! Ocean! Canyon! The four that are there! Quick! Bring them here!"
Skull Kid immediately hit Tael to the ground. "Don't speak out of line, you idiotic fairy!"
Tatl instantly turned red. "Tael! Skull Kid, do you still think you're our FRIEND after that?!"
"Who needs friends?!" Skull Kid snapped. He turned to the fairy on the ground. "Even if they were to come, they wouldn't be able to handle me. Just look above you." Skull Kid was right. The moon was dangerously close to colliding with Clock Town. Just a few more minutes and Termina would be nothing but a memory. Skull Kid turned towards Link. "Well, if it's something that can be stopped, then try and stop it!"
Skull Kid lifted his hands in the air and let out an ear piercing shriek. The air started to become dense with unimaginable power. Link's fears were confirmed. The Moon was falling faster.
Skull Kid laughed his head off in front of the Deku Scrub as he held the Ocarina of Time very loosely. Link readied himself then charged after him. Tatl stopped him. "Wait!" Link froze in his tracks. "What?" he asked impatiently.
"You're just gonna charge and attack him?!" Tatl silently shouted. "Are you insane?!" Link shrugged. "Do you see any other way of fighting him?"
Tatl pointed to the mask on Skull Kid's face. "That mask ring a bell?" Link took a closer look at it. "Well, duh. It's the same mask that transformed me into this... thing," he answered, referring to his altered form. Tatl shook her head. "No, no, no! Look closely!" Link sighed and concentrated on the mask even more. That's when he recognized it. That mask was the same mask that was on that balloon that Jim was trying to pop! Tatl gave Link a look. "Well?!"
Tatl couldn't see it, but Link was smirking on the inside. "I think it's time for some target practice..." While the Skull Kid laughed at them, Link blew up a magic bubble and launched it towards him, hitting the Skull Kid right in the face, causing him to drop the ocarina. "Ow!" he shouted. "That hurt, y'know!"
Before Skull Kid had a chance to grab the ocarina again, Link dove in, grabbed it and held it close to him. The next thing he knew, all of his memories of princess Zelda came flooding back to him.
"...and then, after we do a super attack on the monster waiting down below, we'll dive into a lake full of blood until we-"
"Uh, Zelda?" Link interrupted.
"Do not interrupt me when I am talking about the Lake of BLOOD!" she shouted.
Link cringed when Zelda yelled at him. "As I was saying..."
"Zelda," he interrupted again.
"Shh!" Zelda shushed him. "Anyways, once we get to the other side of the Lake of Blood-"
"Zelda, I'm leaving Hyrule!
That shut her up almost instantly. Zelda dropped the piece of paper and stared at Link like he was completely insane. "W-What?"
"I have to leave Hyrule," he repeated.
"But why?!"
"It's a... personal matter, Zelda. I guess you could say I'm already preoccupied with a quest of my own."
"Link, you can tell me..." she told him. Link sighed. "I just... have to find someone. An old friend."
"Oh..." Zelda looked almost like she was about to start crying, but she stayed strong. "How long do you think it will take?" Link scratched his head. "It could take a while." Zelda hung her head. "I see... very well... I'll wait until you come back then. Just, please, be safe?"
Link nodded. "I will."
Link proceeded to walk out of the courtyard. He hated having to lie to Zelda, but he didn't want to go on ANOTHER life-threatening quest. Especially if he didn't have Navi.
"Wait, Link!"
Link froze in his tracks, only to see Zelda running up to him. "Link... before you leave... take this." She held out the sacred instrument they had both used during their adventure. "Take the Ocarina of Time with you. I have a feeling that it'll be much safer with you."
Link took the ocarina from her and put it in a special pouch. "I'll take good care of it, princess. You can count on me." Zelda smiled then gave him one last hug. "Be safe, okay?" Link hugged her back. "Of course, I will."
"And... come back to me." Zelda kissed his cheek. Link turned a light shade of red. "I will, Zelda. I promise." And with that, Link walked out of the courtyard.
"Link! Link! Snap out of it!"
Link shook himself back to reality with Tatl flying right in front of his face. "This isn't the time to daydream right now! The world is coming to an end!" Tatl looked up at the sky and shouted as loud as she could. "Help! Someone! Goddess of Time! We need more time!"
A lightbulb appeared over Link's head. "That's it! Time!" Tatl shot him a look. "What?!" Link took the ocarina and held it to his lips, only to have it turn into a bunch of horns. Tatl turned green. "When did you get that instrument?"
"I dunno!" Link shouted. "I just need to play the Song of Time and we'll be fine." Tatl turned red instantly after he said that. "We're supposed to trust our lives to a SONG?! That's it! I'm partnered with a madman!" Link didn't even acknowledge that comment. He took a very deep breath and blew into the horns, playing the Song of Time as loud as he could so that it rang throughout the tower.
The moon was mere seconds away from colliding, with Skull Kid laughing maniacally. Then... everything froze. The Skull Kid stopped laughing and moving, the Moon was no longer moving, not even the sounds of everyone outside was heard. The only thing that was still moving was the young deku scrub and his sidekick. Tatl was the first to speak up after everything had turned still. "W-What's going on?" she questioned.
Suddenly, her pupils grew wider and wider until she was sure her eyes were as big as dishplates. Same with Link. Tatl flew back to Link, not able to see straight and clutching her head while a high pitched noise rang in her ears. Same with Link. Soon, they both saw the moon moving away from the Clock Tower, along with Skull Kid making weird motions. They began to feel very dizzy, to the point where they couldn't stand up/fly straight.
Link fell to the ground, though it felt like he was falling into a giant chasm. The whole world turned completely blank with clocks surrounding the hero, followed by the faint sound of the Song of Time ringing in the background. Link started to have random flashbacks. He saw himself being thrown off of Epona in the Lost Woods by Skull Kid. He saw the Skull Kid in that room, right when he had turned him into a deku scrub. Finally, he saw the Happy Mask Salesman, smiling at him very creepily. Then, everything went black...
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Dawn of
The First Day:
-72 Hours Remain-
~South Clock Town~
Link's eyes immediately snapped open. He looked upwards towards the sky. Tatl caught this and flew over to him. "What? What is it? Do you see something?" Link was a bit confused. He felt as if someone or something had told him that he had a certain amount of time left. He turned around and looked at the door. Could it have been the salesman that said that? Tatl caught his gaze. "What? The salesman? I know, he gives me the creeps. That mask salesman was the..." She paused for a little bit. "Sorry... just thinking out loud."
Tatl blinked. "Wait a minute... I'm getting a strong feeling of Deja Vu..." That's when a lightbulb appeared over her head. "Wait a minute!" She looked around Clock Town. Everyone was acting normal. She flew outwards a bit and looked up at the moon. "Th-the moon! It's... back where it was on the first day!" Link ran to where she was and looked up to the sky. True to her word, there was the moon. Exactly where it was three days ago. "D-Did everything..." Tatl look another look around. "...start over?"
That's when the fairy shot a look at Link. "You... what are you?! T-That song... That instrument..." Tatl let out a ding. "That instrument! Link, you have your instrument back! That means that you can turn back to normal now, just like the mask salesman said!" Link let out a sigh of relief. "Well then, let's get going!" he tried to say, only to have it come out as a garbled mess. Link covered his mouth hole. Tatl gave him a look. "Oh, don't tell me you can't talk again..." Link shrugged his shoulders. Tatl sighed. "Oh well, let's get to the salesman, I guess..."
Link nodded and pushed over the heavy wooden doors.
"Well? Were you able to recover your precious item from that imp?" the salesman asked them. Link dug into his pocket and pulled out the ocarina. The salesman smiled even wider, grabbed Link's shoulders and shook him back and forth in excitement. "Oh! You got it! You got it! You got it!" The salesman let him go and walked over to the piano in the corner of the tower. Weird. Link didn't even notice it there the first time he met the strange man.
The salesman sat down, cracked his fingers and turned towards Link. "Listen closely. Play the song that I am about to perform and remember it well..." The salesman began to play the same tune Link heard when he was in the twisting tunnel, except this one was louder. The salesman performed the entire song from start to finish and Link followed along as best as he could, hitting very few sour notes. Soon, he was able to perfect it. As soon as Link finished the song, though, the horns disappeared and he began to feel dizzy, like he did when he played the Song of Time. Except that this time, he felt a burning sensation all around his body, especially his face. Then, everything went black.
Link was back in the space where he had seen the giant deku scrub at. The enemy kept pushing Link over, getting more persistent every time. That's when Link decided he had had enough. He took his fist and punched the deku scrub as hard as he could, sending it way off into the distance. Link stood up and smirked. "See ya!" he shouted. Then, the world went white.
Something dropped in front of Link as soon as he found himself back in the tower. He looked down and picked up the foreign object. It was a mask, shaped like a deku. Did that mean...
Link felt himself all over. He could move his fingers, he could touch his skin, he could move his mouth, his hair wasn't made of grass anymore... he was back to normal. The salesman smiled. "This song is a magical song that heals evil magic and troubled spirits, turning them into masks. I'm sure it will be of assistance to you in the future." He pointed to the mask. "That being said, I will allow you to keep this mask." Link smiled, picked up the mask and stored it in his Infini-Pouch.
"Now that I have fulfilled my promise to you," he continued. Link looked back at the salesman. "Ahem, please give me back that which you promised me." Link just stared at him blankly as the salesman held his hand out in front of him. He didn't dare say a thing. He had completely forgotten about what he had promised the salesman in return. Link sweatdropped and put on a nervous face. The salesman's smile slowly started to disappear.
"Don't tell me... my mask... you did... get it back... didn't you?"
Link very slowly shook his head. The salesman's face was no longer happy. He actually opened his eyes and stared straight at Link. If he hadn't seen things far worse than that, Link would probably be traumatized. The salesman grabbed him by his shoulders, lifted him up and shook him violently. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!" He dropped Link then grabbed his head. "If you leave my mask out there, something terrible will happen!"
Link backed up a bit. "What are you talking about?!" The salesman calmed down a bit before proceeding. "That mask... Majora's Mask... it is said that an evil and wicked power is bestowed upon the one who wears it... According to legend, the troubles caused by Majora's Mask were so great that the ancient ones, fearing such catastrophe, sealed the mask in shadow forever, preventing it's misuse. But now, that tribe from legend has vanished, so no one knows the true nature of the mask's power... but I feel it... I went to great lengths to get that legendary mask. When I finally had it... I could sense the doom of a dark omen brewing. It was that unwelcome feeling that makes your hair stand on end. And now... that imp has it..."
The Happy Mask Salesman started to make weird movements. "I am begging you! You must get that mask back quickly or something horrible will happen!" Link backed up just a little bit more. "I'm begging you! I'm begging you! You must do it!" This was he first time Link had ever seen an adult break down and beg to him before. "Alright! Alright! I'll get your mask back! Just stop begging me!" The salesman stopped and looked back at Link, eyes still closed. "Really? You'll do it for me?" Link rolled his eyes. "Not like I had much of a choice." The salesman regained his posture. "Thank you, Link. You'll be fine. Surely, you can do it. Believe in your strengths... believe..." As soon as he heard the mask salesman say his name, he darted straight out of there.
Link leaned up against the owl statue next to the tower. "Okay, how did he know my name?" He thought. Tatl sat down on his shoulder. "That mask... Skull Kid uses the power of that mask to do those terrible things..." She stood up and flew right in front of him. "Well, whatever it takes, we've gotta do something about it!"
Link scratched his head. "Swamp... Mountains... Ocean... Canyon... those things the other fairy was talking about..." "Those are just outside of town. One for each compass direction," Tatl pointed out. Link rolled his eyes and stood up. "Well, isn't that convenient. What do you think he meant by 'the four who are there?'" Tatl shrugged. "I have no idea. Tael always skips the important stuff. Let's just go and find out. Let's head to the swamp, first." Link shuddered. "We had better not find any ogres out there..."
Tatl blinked. "...the hell's an ogre?"