Chapter 1:

Rude Awakenings

The Legend of Zelda Series is owned by Nintendo (and Koei Tecmo shares ownership with Hyrule Warriors, or something)

"Talking"

"Thoughts"

"Demon/deity speech"

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Deep in Faron Woods, a figure lay peacefully under a large tree. A butterfly floated by the figure- a young boy actually, with fair skin and blonde hair- landing on his nose. The child scrunched his nose, trying to shake the insect off subconsciously. When that did not work, the boy reluctantly woke up, and swept the butterfly away. The boy stretched, yawning as he did so. Smacking his lips, he reached to his side to grab something, frowning when his hands came up empty. He lazily turned his head, and then widened his eyes in shock when he saw his arm. He quickly stared down at his body, patting it down with the hope that it was an illusion. It was not.

"I am a child!" he frantically thought, "Why am I a child?!" Looking at his surroundings only increased his growing anxiety. The last he remembered, he lay in bed with his wife in the afterlife.

Then, he took a long, deep breath. "Calm yourself Link…Panic will not help the situation at hand". He took stock of where he was and what he had on him. The woods felt magical, like Kokiri forest in his youth, but weaker. As though the inherent magic of the land was stoppered at the source.

He wore an unfamiliar purple tunic (lacking, to his dismay, a matching hat), with a pouch on his belt. Opening the pouch, he blinked at the sight of the masks he collected in Termina; even the Fierce Deity's mask.

Searching deeper into the satchel revealed a bow (but no quiver), a boomerang, a bomb bag (with bombs), a longshot, a hammer, and, most surprisingly, the Ocarina of Time. Upon seeing the royal heirloom, coupled with the mask of a god, Link was convinced that someone of great power brought him here.

He scowled, "If this is another 'divine prank' someone is losing a limb". He would take no part in whatever scheme he was summoned for. He had done his duty, twice over in fact. Moved past his regrets from his mortal life. He had finally reunited with his loved ones after centuries of purgatory. He did not need to deal with whatever plot was occurring.

Just then, he felt a dark, vaguely familiar presence heading his direction. He quickly scrambled up the tree he was next to, to avoid whatever was on its way. He waited, high in the trees. The dark presence came into view, and what he saw sent Link into a spiral of panic, fear, and worry.

The Skull Kid, wearing Majora's mask, looked behind him. "Stupid girl, ruining my fun. So what if I kicked a few cucco 's around, the feathery demons deserved it, right guys?" He turned the two fairies, Tatl and Tael, his closest friends, who merely floated silently in front of him. Skull Kid burst into laughter, "Good one Tael! They probably are her only friends!"

Suddenly, he stopped laughing, tilting his head to the side, "…Is someone there…?" Link tensed, and pressed himself against the trunk of the tree. Slowly, the Skull Kid floated around the tree, scanning his surroundings. Then, from the bushes to his left, a couple of cuccos leapt out.

The Skull Kid scoffed, pulling out an ocarina, "I would have thought you stupid birds learned your lesson". He blew a quick note into the ocarina, and Tatl and Tael were surrounded in bright lights, and rammed into the cuccos, sending them flying into the distance. Skull Kid snickered, "Come on you two, might as well go see what the crazy lady wants to yell about now". With a twirl, Skull Kid flew to the north, Tatl and Tael close behind.

Link's mind was racing, "What is going on? How could Majora possibly have power, I thought it was all dispersed? And why on earth would Skull Kid wear it?" He shook his head, "No, something is wrong, under no circumstance would he ever go near that mask again, nor would Tatl and Tael be with him while he was under its influence". He started to climb down the tree, "No matter, my friends are in danger, and I need to help them". He reached the ground, and started to follow Skull Kid, "Hold on, he mentioned meeting someone…who could it be?" He pulled out the Fierce Deity mask, staring into its blank white eyes. He could put it on; destroy whatever stood in his way. "No…this requires a more cautious approach". He swapped out the mask for his Keaton mask, securing it on his face (after all, if it worked for Kafei, it would work for him), and turned the opposite direction, to find this girl that ruined Skull Kid's 'fun'.

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As he walked deeper and deeper into the woods, he felt divine magic along with the dark magic. He surmised that it must have been this era's hero, or the current incarnation of Princess Zelda. Although, considering how powerful the magic felt, it was most likely both together. "Strange," he thought, "for what purpose would the princess be away from the castle…refuge perhaps?"

He heard some bushes rustle from his left, and quickly hid behind a tree. He cursed whatever being sent him here, he did not have a proper weapon to defend himself with (except perhaps for the hammer, but that would be too slow), and he did not want to transform into another race at the his relief, the figure that emerged from the foliage was a young woman in a green cloak, a gold medallion hanging from a chain on her neck, and…crossbows attached to her boots.

The girl frowned, turning her head from side-to-side. She pouted, "Ahh, I was sure the way out of the forest was this way". She grabbed the medallion, and opened it up (Link deduced it was actually a compass), pulling out a map as she did so, muttering to herself "Did I make a wrong turn?"

Link decided to approach the girl. After all, her medallion bore the insignia of the royal family; she must be important to someone. Plus she has a map and compass, so at the very least he could gather his bearings and quietly leave her should the need arise. He moved forward slighlty, a twig snapping underfoot. With practiced ease, the girl dropped the map and compass, grabbing and aiming her crossbows faster than most could follow, "Who's there?" She asked, her eyes narrowed and hard.

Link inwardly nodded in approval, she had good reflexes; outwardly, he held up his hands in a defensive manner, and slowly stepped towards her.

Upon seeing Link, in his all his four foot six inch glory, she lowered her crossbows, her eyes softening considerably. "Ooh," she cooed, "Sorry kiddo, didn't mean to scare you".

Link resisted the urge to snort. He cleared his throat, mustering a scared façade, "I-it's okay miss. C-can you h-help me? I'm l-lost".

The girl smiled, and brought her hands to her hips, "Of course. That's what the Legendary Hero does!" she exclaimed, her head titled slightly to look towards the sky. "My name is Linkle. What's your name little guy, and why are you wearing that mask?"

Link was glad he wore the mentioned mask; otherwise she would see that a small frown on his face. Whoever this girl was, she was obviously raised on the belief that she was the Hero reborn. However, his expert sensed peered into her soul, and she simply did not have the Soul of the Hero chosen by the gods…still, just because she was not chosen by the gods did not mean she could not be a great Hero in her own right.

He then remembered that she asked for a name. He gulped, "My name is…Shade…And I, uh, I like masks".

She nodded, a smile once more on her face, "Shade…that's a nice name! And a cool mask too!" She turned her head, "But, where are your parents?"

Link did not have to fake these emotions, "I-I never knew them".

Linkle gasped, covering her mouth with a hand, "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

Shade waved his hands on front of him, "It's, it's fine. But I am lost," he looked down at his feet, "My village is, it was-I" he started to stammer.

Linkle moved forward, gently placing a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, it's okay," she said soothingly. "I'll help you find your village, ok?" Link nodded shyly. "Now," Linkle straightened, "Do you know where your village is".

Link feigned looking around, while in reality he pinpointing the holy energy he felt. He was able to determine it was a mile or two west of them. He pointed in that direction, "Over there, I think".

Linkle looked down that direction. After a moment of concentration, she broke out in another cheerful smile, "All right! Let's get going!" She skipped ahead a few steps, then turned around, "Come on Shade! It'll be alright".

Link walked forward with a smile. Linkle was certainly a perky child. Still, the sooner he could banish Majora, and possibly (definitely) strong-arm whatever or whoever summoned him into sending him back to the afterlife where he belonged, the better.

A/N: So, I just beat Hyrule Warriors (all around good game), and I was a little, I don't know, disappointed I suppose, that Young Link was shafted as a character. Don't get me wrong, his move set is cool, phenomenal even (of course, it would be better if his other transformation masks were available as weapons, but I digress). Anyway, I just started to think, what if, in response to the massive holes Cia was tearing in space-time, the titular Hero of Time was brought in to assist the current era's heroes. I don't know if this will go anywhere, at the moment this is just an idea that wouldn't leave my head. Be sure to leave a review. Later.

(P.S. Continuing the story).