"I am the God of Balance.
I strive to bring order to all that my power can touch. It is inherently in my nature to bring equality to all of creation. Good and evil, life and death, love and hate, all must be evenly proportioned to each other.
However, there is a problem with this. Life in itself is chaos, all matter and energy constantly moving and changing, however little or great the motion may seem. At best, creation can be described as having a dynamic equilibrium. A constantly changing harmony.
You see my problem. All of creation can never be brought to complete balance, for it must always change. Good and evil always duel each other, creating and destroying their followers. Life must change if it is to survive. Emotions change simply on a whim. These things differ simply because it is in their nature to do so, just as it is in my nature to try and balance.
So you see, it is impossible for all of creation to be brought to balance. Creation is chaos, something which I can never bring balance to.
I am Oni. The God who was forgotten as a demon. Why?
Because I strove to bring an end to all creation.
Do not get me wrong. People, if they remembered me, would view me as evil. I am not. I am not good either, obviously. At best, I can be described as neutral.
I see it in your eyes. Why, if I am a god, am imprisoned here? Why am I so powerless?
Because of the other gods. Because of Din, Nayru and Farore. And Majora. You are looking at me strangely. It is a surprise to you, no? That the strange, colourful mask once wielded by a skull child is in fact a god. Well, he is. However, he too was sealed by the goddess, albeit far later than I was imprisoned. That was because he is the God of Evil. The sister goddesses believe firmly in non-interference, Majora does not. And so, in a duel in the sacred realm, the sisters defeated him and sealed him away in a mask. They erased much information about him in both the realms of the living and dead. The mortals of the realms then forgot that he was a god, and so he lost power.
Another why, you ask. Well, gods cannot exist as gods without believers; that is why the souls of those who believe in gods are fervently protected once they have passed from the world of the living. The gods that they believe in protect their souls until the soul has decided to be, and is, reborn. The three sister gods, however, share their believers, for a believer of one will no doubt believe in another. Those who do not believe in gods are simply reborn until they do so.
When we gods are forgotten or are no longer believed in, we lose most of our powers. This happened to both I and Majora. However, people still knew and believed in Majora, even if not as a god. They believed him a powerful spirit, and so he came to be.
But unlike Majora, I am no longer known at all. No being, dead or alive, knows about me but myself and the gods that sealed me away. Sometimes, I doubt even they remember me. The sister goddesses and Majora did their work well when they destroyed all knowledge of me.
All physical traces of me were obliterated. Tales written and spoken were erased, even my very image was changed. You know of the legends of the heroes of Hyrule, do you not? I see that look on your face! Yes, their very image was based on mine, although more friendly by far. That way, all the surviving tales of a being with a tunic, a strange hat, and a mighty sword were all assimilated into those tales of the heroes. I even came into contact with one of those heroes once. A skull child, lonely, had donned Majora and Majora used him to try and bring about the end of a realm called Termina. Had he done so, people would have recognized him as much more than a spirit, perhaps even a god, and Majora would have again reigned as a god alongside his sisters. But, one of the heroes of Hyrule came to the rescue, as so many would phrase it.
This hero fought many battles and wielded the powers of numerous magical masks. Upon his final encounter with Majora, which took place very near my place of imprisonment, Majora tried to seal him in a vision and stop the hero in his tracks. He might have succeeded, too. But, in seeing such a duel, I became filled with the slightest hope that I too may become recognized as a god again. I interfered with the dream which Majora had placed the hero, and gave the hero a mask which would grant him a small fragment of the power which I had wielded as a god, the only amount I had left.
The hero completely obliterated Majora with it. He assumed my form, and Majora was quickly defeated. Seeing the hero take my form, he became enormously subdued after his defeat, terrified. I think he let himself regress for years after that, content to stay a weak mask if it meant avoiding what he perceived to be my wrath.
The hero, alas, was also frightened of the power he'd gained. He took off my mask and left in the same room that he had defeated Majora in, and has since forgotten it completely after being reincarnated several times.
And so, my bid to regain power ended up only dissolving Major's attempts and restoring the so-called peace of Termina.
I am all but powerless, sealed in the realm contained within the moon. So I was for the longest time, so I thought I would stay. Completely forgotten.
I am rather surprised you found me. You must be quite the powerful sorcerer," finished the great deity, "so, humor me this; what is your name?"
The boy stood staring at the deity with great suspicion. Then he turned and seemed to completely ignore the former god, musing to himself.
"So, the land that I was in was Termina. What an interesting discovery, Termina..."
Oni snorted at the sorceror's disrespect towards him. Then he blinked, "Ah, you did not know that the land below this moon was Termina? I thought that you were from there, sorcerer."
"No, I am not. I am from Hyrule. I had heard that there was an alternate realm to the great kingdom, one that I had hoped would be without a hero. It seems the stories were correct. Termina, the alternate world to the land chosen by the gods. Well, the sister gods anyways. If what you said is even remotely true, then I suppose that this place, Termina, should be called the land hidden by the gods?"
The deity smiled, "Yes, I suppose that would be correct. Termina is a world created to reflect Hyrule, but also a realm to house me, to attempt to keep me sealed away from the true land should I ever escape somehow. Majora being sealed here too was merely a matter of convenience for them."
"I never did like those damn goddesses anyways," said the sorcerer, his spiteful eyes reflecting much well-entrenched hatred. "You pray to them to help you out, and they completely ignore you. You ask them why you were born the way you were, or why others treat others the way they do, and they won't spare you so much as a glance," spat the boy, some sort of memory appearing to surface just behind his harsh demeanor.
The deity would have easily been able to see what that memory was if he had only known the child's name. So again he asked, "What is your name, child?"
The child swelled, even daring to stare down the deity in his pride. It was a rather valiant effort, but completely ineffectual against Oni.
"I am Vaati, the Sorcerer of Winds! I am the greatest wizard to have ever lived, and your pitiful attempts at fooling me will not work. God? Hah! GODS DON'T EXIST!" roared the child.
The moment Vaati said his name, Oni was able to see into his mind. Vaati was completely unaware as Oni searched through each and every one of his memories, through the times from he was born an albino, raised in an orphanage, hated by every child he came across for his colour. Despite his sharp mind, he was looked down upon by young and old, even by the master who had taken him in as an apprentice, the master who had created the object by which Vaati had finally risen to power. Up to this point, he had prayed fervently to the gods for salvation and mercy, but none ever came. In the end, Vaati had realized that no one would ever help him, and so designed to gain power and further his own ends without regards for anyone else.
Oni continued to search, seeing how Vaati had abandoned the gods the way they had abandoned him. They had never listened to him, and so he had come to the conclusion that they did not exist.
Honestly, who could blame the boy? He himself had never known his sisters to be particularly involved with anything other than their own plans.
The boy was not evil. Nor was he good. He was simply twisted by the ways of the world, his heart beaten and broken down so much that it had become warped and crooked when it tried to heal. All through his life he'd been misunderstood. Except for now, where the eyes of the great deity could see more than even the boy knew himself.
Vaati had grown as silent as Oni, glaring at the deity for being ignored, "I said, I am Vaati! Sorcerer of Winds! I don't care if you foolishly believe yourself to be a god, but I will not put up with being ignored!"
"So, you were drawn to the moon by a strange presence," the deity noticed mildly.
Vaati seemed shocked that Oni knew why he was there. "How did you know? I demand an answer!"
"I see, I see. You came to Termina, and felt the barest presence where it should not be, so you came to investigate. What a fearless child you are!"
Enraged, Vaati stared wordlessly at what he viewed as an impudent fool. What sort of being, with the illusion of being a god, had the right to treat him like he was nothing? No one should ever look down at him!
"How dare you ignore me? I shall punish you for your mockery of me!" Vaati screamed. He transformed at once into his most awesome form, great, shadowy wings clawing at the air and a single, bloodthirsty eye glaring at the seated deity in front of him.
Oni had to admit, the form the child took was certainly most impressive. Especially when one was the sole focus of the monstrous thing. But, he was not scared in the least. He recognized the bloodthirst as similar to his own, caused by anger for being treated unjustly. The child lunged at him, ready to tear apart the deity without a moment's regret or mercy.
"Child, you are like me," said Oni. Then, with a simple wave of his hand, he reversed the child's transformation. The boy was sent flying by the force of his own attack, barely missing Oni as he passed over his head. He hit the white floor hard, skidded against the ground. When he finally stopped it took several minutes for him to get up. He was shaking visibly, bruised and scraped. He favoured his left leg, avoiding putting weight on it. He gawked at Oni with his eyes wide and his mouth dry.
"H-h... how...?"
Oni remained seated, apparently in mid-air. Once again, like many times before, he looked around at his surroundings.
White, pure white, surrounded him. As was his nature, every part of creation that he could bring under his power was destroyed. True balance reigned in the inner world of the moon, his prison for countless ages come and gone.
"Child, were you not listening earlier? I am one of the gods that exists beyond the reach of mortals. I am of the same origin as my sisters, who watch impassively at their chaotic creation, the world. Your power is great, but nowhere near mine. And names are powerful, more powerful than you might know, especially in the hands of a god."
Vaati whimpered in pain, but valiantly stood up again. He faced Oni with a scowl, "So what? You admitted yourself, you are weak without a believer! No one believes in you, and so I shall take your power and your place!"
The child charged again, not bothering to transform. Oni quashed his efforts again. And again and again, until the child could no longer stand without crying in agony.
Oni was sad for the boy. How cruel his sisters were, to create such a being only to throw him out in the cold. To give such a young creature the gift of life and turn it into a curse. This was another reason why they had sealed him away; they did not want to face up to the atrocities they were committing against their own creations. Oni understood the idea of the way all of creation worked. He was at terms with the facts that things change. But his sisters let that small amount of change run far too rampant by separating themselves from the world.
The child was hallucinating. He had fought so hard that he had lost much blood. It stood out in stark contrast to the white of the world around him.
"Don't... don't look down on me! Bastard! How dare you...? How dare you...?" he sobbed.
"You have seen my power child. Tell me... do you believe in me now?" Oni posed to the boy, even though he already knew the answer.
The boy continued to keen, "Why, why are you so unfair? Why do you have so much power... why are you so much stronger... Why? Despite all my effort, why?"
"I am a god, child." Oni answered.
Vaati's proud, cold eyes now showed defeat. Not even the heroes he'd faced had defeated him so soundly, so easily!
"I believe in you," grieved the sorcerer.
Oni, for the first time in as long as he could remember, smiled. He reached out his hands, and despite the distance between him and the boy, picked the boy up from at his feet. He placed him on his lap in a fatherly gesture. At once Vaati's wounds were healed. He was still dazed from the loss of blood, but was even more confused at what the great deity was doing.
"My one believer," Oni whispered fondly.
"Wait... I am a believer? Does that mean...?"
"Yes, Sorceror of Winds," announced Oni, "I have regained my powers."
"You used me!" Vaati struggled in Oni's lap, "you used me you used me you used me-!" screeched the boy, another ghost of his past surfacing behind his frantic vision.
Oni placed his hand over Vaati's eyes, and the child was silenced instantly. When he took his hand off, it was revealed that the boy was asleep.
"How is it that someone like you could be so much like me? How is it that the affairs of the mighty gods could be reflected in the lives of the smallest mortals?" pondered the great deity.
Without knowing why, the normally impassive deity felt compassion towards the small bundle curled up in his lap. Their hair was the same, white and gleaming. A small mark was on his face, at least the part that could be seen from behind his large bangs. Pale skin. If it were possible for a passer-by to appear in the realm of the moon, they might have thought the two were father and son.
Oni considered what he would do once he left his prison. It was not beyond him anymore, in fact it would be quite easy. After his long imprisonment in the moon, his opinion on things had changed, fairly considerably. He no longer wanted to destroy all creation. In fact, in hindsight, he had been rather selfish in thinking that was what should be done. He'd had no right, when his sisters and brother created life and matter, to take it away. His goal of complete and utter balance had gone way too far, and he even realized that he'd probably deserved what he'd gotten. In fact, although it pained him to think it, he should probably go apologize. Still, it took him a while to work up the nerve. So long, in fact, that the child awoke before he had made up his mind to go.
He shuffled sleepily, his eyes blinking open. Vaati was befuddled, glancing around the white realm with confusion. He started when he realized that he was still on the lap of the great deity, but before he could comment on it Oni sent him back to sleep. The fierce god marvelled at how innocent the child looked in his slumber. Then he set him gently on the floor, and with a wave of his hand a portal appeared. He stepped through it, sealing it behind him carefully. This time, the child would not awake until he commanded it.
As he looked away from the portal, he noticed the scenery. Unlike his own realm, the palace of the goddesses was lush and colourful. Statues and plants of assorted design decorated the ornate stone halls and gardens, terraces and libraries apparent as he passed them to reach his sisters. He finally met them in a great hall, where they were apparently discussing the latest development in their chosen land.
"So that nasty little sorcerer, what was his name, Vaati? He seems to have disappeared for no good reason," scoffed Farore.
Din smirked, "Well, whatever. It's not like your hero can't deal with him when he returns."
"It may be advisable to at least find out where he went, though. Then again, there's really no need to bother, I suppose. Too many realms to search through for such a trivial matter," added Nayru.
The goddesses continued their discussion, their beautiful figures shaking with mirth every so often. Oni simply watched, wondering when they would finally notice him. It took a good few minutes before Din turned to leave for a bath.
She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the intruder. Her perfect face showed anger as she demanded, "Who are you? Who dares to intrude upon this sacred hall!" Nayru and Farore, startled, turned to view the proceedings.
Oni mentally rolled his eyes. So they had forgotten him.
"I am dismayed that you do not recognize me, sister of power," Oni calmly replied.
Din gave him a strange look, suddenly falling back with a shriek when she finally remembered his nature.
"ONI! Brother Oni!" How?"
Her sisters immediately stood, preparing almighty spells to defend against their warrior brother. There was a reason it had taken all of his siblings to subdue him.
However, their caution was unneeded. Oni held up his hand in a gesture of peace. "Relax, sisters, I mean you no harm. Nor your creations, for that matter," he stated. The sisters kept their spells up, disbelieving.
"And why should we trust you, after what you had tried so long ago?" Nayru inquired.
"I've seen the light, as some would say. I no longer wish to bring supreme balance as I had earlier. I also came to recognize my mistake in trying to destroy what was created by you and Majora. For that, I apologize."
If the sisters had looked surprised upon recognizing him, it was nothing compared to their expressions now. Oni decided to humor them a little.
"I've spent far too long alone and isolated from everything. I've realized that my existence is much more hollow without anyone or anything but my sword to share it with. I see that that is likely how you feel about your creations too. So, if you would grant me a request, I shall leave this hall and never come back. Nor shall I tread upon your chosen land."
"And what is that request?" Farore asked tentatively.
"Termina, and all contained within it."
His sisters did a double take. They glanced at each other, then at him, then huddled together to discuss. In a short time they continued their conversation with him.
"Very well. You may have it. Never disgrace our halls again!" boomed Nayru.
Without further ado, Oni had vanished back to Termina. He smiled to himself; His sisters had agreed to his request rather readily! No doubt because they thought it an easy request. How happy they must have been to hear that they could be rid of him so cheaply!
But, rethought the great deity, it was not as cheaply as they had thought. Oni looked down at his new realm from high in the heavens, looking for something. Because of his divine power, he found it almost instantly. He went to it, the citizens of Termina none the wiser to his ploy.
There it was, buried beneath centuries of dirt and sand, no doubt hidden by the man who'd found it to prevent its ill use in the future. He parted the sea of sand, picking up the colourful object.
His brother was not happy to see him. "Oni! What business do you have outside your prison?"
Oni said nothing, simply taking the mask with him as he returned to the realm within the moon. His brother's aura reeked of disapproval, but he said nothing. After all, he still feared the power of his fierce brother.
Vaati was still asleep upon the barren ground, slumbering peacefully despite his inner pain. Oni dispersed the power that kept him asleep, amused at the sorcerer's response.
The boy scrambled bolt upright, his eyes shifting around rapidly in search of Oni. Once he found him, he glared at the fierce god will all the hatred he could muster.
"You! Don't dare treat me like that!" he growled, seeming to inflate with anger.
"Sorcerer, the residents of Termina know not of you, correct?"
Vaati stopped, suspiciously glancing at the god. "Correct...?"
Oni smiled, "That is good. Sorceror, I give you Termina. There is no hero here to stop you from taking it and ruling it. Nor is there any memory of you to stop you from starting over, having a new life and forging new bonds. I give you the freedom to choose your fate. Now, go, and live in Termina. I will not interfere in your affairs. However, I cannot guarantee that, if you return to Hyrule, the goddesses will leave you alone as well."
Vaati was flabbergasted. His mouth gaped as he beheld the divine being before him, trying to comprehend the judgement given to him. He had no idea how to react. Oni, still smiling, put his hand on the child's shoulder.
"Now go, little one. Go enjoy your life, however you choose to live it."
And with that, Oni dismissed Vaati from his realm. The sorcerer was now in Termina somewhere, no doubt trying to figure out where the hell he'd just landed. Oni took out the mask from where he'd stashed it, letting his brother take his true, animalistic form.
"Why are you doing this?" asked the God of Evil, genuinely curious.
"For too long I've been alone in my prison. Bored, without purpose, wondering what I should do. Now Majora, if I remember, you were always the one who liked to play games."
Majora's armoured body perked with interest, his tail whipped and his long hair swayed excitedly.
"It has been ever so long since I played a game, brother," grinned the god maliciously.
"Then I shall be the deity of good, of order, truth and compassion. You shall be what you are best, a god of evil, of chaos, deception and cruelty."
The decorated beast smiled, "This sounds like a very good game, brother. Shall we begin?"
Oni smiled, wondering why he'd just put himself into this situation, "Yes, Majora, let us begin."
(A/N) Well, this came outta nowhere. I'm honestly surprised at myself. Too many fanfics and online mangas later, you get ideas and you'll come up with something like this, I guess. I'll list the fics I can remember, the ones that gave me some inspiration for this;
The Gerudo Wars, on by UndyingNephalim (major influence here, on Majora being a god)
Legend of Zelda, Majora's Mask Manga Seriously good stuff here
The Tale of Despereaux Sort of stole the "broken heart grows back crooked" quote from here
Treasure Island Liked the "be rid of him cheaply" quote, mind you I altered it a lot
A few more by Fleets (no that's not the title, there's just several stories that she wrote about Vaati that converted me to a Vaati fan) on
And, uh, I think there might have been a few more but I can't remember them...
For those wondering about Majora's appearance near the end, then I would suggest looking up images from the Majora's Mask Manga. The author of that story created an original side-history, if you will, about how Majora's mask was created, and I used the creature featured in that story as the base for his appearance here.