Chapter 1

"With each rewind upon the clock,

Another 'now' is under lock.

But unlike mice who hide and wait,

These streams, they bite, they fight, they break."

–

The rooster crowed exactly at seven, cawing out over the din of hammer pounds and beleaguered grunting. Exactly seven, the heavy door of Clock Town cree-aked open and slammed contemptibly behind a small boy who shouldn't be able to move it. At exactly seven, the young boy stretched and scratched at his hat, his eyes overlooking the busy carpenters building their proud parapet.

Which he had seen countless times already. Not that he really cared anymore. He had luckily not seen it fall yet, though he knew how and when. He had not seen the thick wooden posts snap like twigs and crackle into oblivion simultaneously under the flaming weight of destruction. He had not seen the proud, tall buildings crumble over the entire square beneath the largest grin in existence, a grin that haunted his sleep almost as much as-

"Chop Chop, Link. We've got a schedule." A yellow spark flitted from his hat and circled his head expectantly. He shook himself, then nodded. There's no point dwelling on it, he thought. A smile slowly traced upon his lips as he began walking. Though he knew that the tower would fall, just like the surrounding buildings would in approximately seventy-two hours, he knew that it also never happened. And with each new step, each new mask, and each new adventure, he was on his way to making a new future for this place.

"Hopefully a permanent one," Link mumbled. A curious chime from his fairy friend made him clear his throat.

"Okay, what's our next destination, Tatl?"

"Well, we got the mask from the Great Bay this last time, so now our next one is in the canyon, according to Tael's...uh...riddle thing."

Link nearly tripped. "Whoa, really!? We're almost done? So soon?" He laughed incredulously. The sound echoed strangely off the walls of South Clock Town; the citizens strolling paused briefly to glare at the green stranger, as if to say The moon's falling, ya nitwit! What's there to be so happy about?! Link slowed to a shuffle.

"Really, why so surprised? We've gone through tons of three-day cycles, I've lost count! It's about time we finally made some headway." Tatl ferociously whispered.

"Well..." There was no good way to respond. Sure, it had been a while since he had left Hyrule, since he had stumbled into this adventure, since he had a decent night's sleep, since...

But all of it had felt natural, normal. With the familiar faces and places, it just felt like being in Hyrule again. With each adventure complete, the Song of Time rewound the clock, and a new adventure began. Perhaps he had lost track of time, himself.

"h-Aaauugh! Nevermind! Let's just go!" Tatl sighed exasperatedly. Link nodded and headed off toward East Clock Town Square.

Maybe this will be the last adventure! The last time I'll have to play the Song of Time. Link slowed as he mused. This realization left a hollow sensation in his limbs, almost as if he didn't-

WHAMP!

The townspeople paused again, this time to chortle at the foolish traveler. Who trips in the middle of a near-vacant town square? Link wondered the same thing as he pulled his throbbing face off the pavement. Tatl failed to hide her giggling "Whoa, man. Pay attention! You'd think you would know this block like the back of your hand."

Link sat up, wiping his bleeding nose and lip on his sleeve. What DID I trip on? He wondered. There was nothing there a second ago. He glanced over his shoulder.

A large slab roughly three feet by four feet lay beneath his leg. He winced as he pulled his leg in and crawled to the stone." I swear this wasn't here before."

"Yeah, right. You just don't wanna admit you were daydreaming. Come on, we've screwed around enough, lets go save Tael!"

"Hold on, have a look at this.." Link motioned the fairy to come back.

"By the Giants, you are SO-waiiiit a minute...!" Tatl swirled back to Link's side.

It looked like it could have been a hunk off of a white fireplace. The charred surface and cracked structure hid any sign of exact age.

"Why IS this here? Why does this look so familiar..." Tatl asked idly as she hovered over it's surface. Link scowled at the rock as he brushed the soot off it's surface.

Suddenly, Link flinched. He scrambled away from the slab so quickly he smashed into the wall of the Square. Startled again, he gazed slowly above him, at the wall ornately decorated for the Festival of Time. He glanced back at the slab's painted-green swirls and it clicked. "That's not just any rock, that's debris-

"-from the Moon Crashing!" Tatl squealed as she fluttered to his side. "That's part of Clock Town! That's part of THIS. BUILDING! BUT HOW?! BUT WHY?! ITS NOT TIME YET! IT'S NOT-" Link snatched the fairy out of the air, silencing her shrieks. He stuffed her into his hat and bolted for the Eastern Gate before the townspeople could register the source of the disturbance.

–

rrrrr-RRRRrrrr...rrrr-RRRRrrrrr...rrrrr-RRRRrrrr

The Grinding was a constant companion to The Traveler as much as his vessel. Through thick and thin, the Grinding would always lead his entrance and always follow his exit. It was the sound of new adventures and an encore of triumphant victories.

It meant the brakes were stuck. Maybe.

–

"Look, I'm sorry for doing that, but you were gonna make a scene."

Link peered down into his hat, where Tatl pouted silently.

"Look, I think you're absolutely right. Something is definitely wrong. But the best thing we can do is go to the Canyon and collect that mask."

Slowly, Tatl floated out of the hat. "Yeah. Lets finish this..."

Link nodded and pulled his hat back on. Walking briskly up the steps he exhaled slowly.

This may HAVE to be it. This might be the last time I CAN use the Song of Time.

–

Another beeping echoed in the brightly-lit chamber. It was answered by a smirk and a swing.

"ooh! Whats this? Some sort of time stream disturbance." Buttons tapped, switches flipped. "MMM...looks like some sort of... knot is growing. Could pack a punch there-Wow, haven't seen one of those that bar mitzvah! Where IS this party? Hnnn..."

More buttons mashed. A ding, a strum. Numbers and words streamed across the monitor at a breakneck speed; graphs flashed imperceptibly; more chiming.

"Odd! Doesn't seem to be in a normal galaxy! Perhaps a periphery universe? Haven't been to one of those since that one Bat Mitzpah. Blimey! Would you look at the SIZE of that thing! 'practically swallow that universe whole! Wait is this~" Cranks turned, nobs pulled, anticipation rose.

"Oh YES! Un-ex-PLORED terr'tory! YES!" The Travler skipped around the control panel, his high-top sneakers squeaking in time to the Grinding.

" Lets go! Lets go help 'em out at-er...Term'ena?" The Traveler slammed down a lever. He grinned widely as the rhythmic Grinding began to speed and churn.

Yes. Lets go make more friends!