Chapter 1: The Skullkid
"This makes me so happy!" the Skullkid shouted as he rolled along the ground, a big smile on his scarecrow-like face. His big red eyes looked up at four large giants that were surrounding him. The giants were massive, having a large head that seemed to be the majority of their body. They had green hair that was groomed to the sides with long green beards. From the sides of their heads, where their ears should have been, they had two large arms, while connected directly to the bottom of their heads were two massive legs.
"We are happy that you are happy," one of the giants spoke as it looked down at the scarecrow-like creature at its feet.
Skullkid slowly stood to his feet, brushing off his robe that was made of leaves and ended at his short and stubby legs. "What can we do now, huh?" he asked, excited. "This is the first time I've had any kind of friends before."
"Whatever you want to do," one of the giants spoke as it bent down, reaching its hand out.
Skullkid quickly hopped on the giants hand and it rose him up. The creature was so tall he could see over the wall of Clocktown that separated the town from the rest of Termina Field.
"Everything looks so small from up here!" Skullkid shouted, even more excited now. He waved down at the citizens of Clocktown below. "I'm so glad I met you guys." He hugged the giant's hand, and the giant smiled as it looked up at the others.
"We are happy that you are happy," one of the other giants spoke and from there the five resumed playing their games.
. . .
"Citizens of Clocktown!" one of the giants spoke as it stood in front of Clocktown, its voice booming out loudly. "We have all come with a very important message for you all." The Citizens of Clocktown stopped in their tracks, staring up at the giants high above them. Each was eager to hear what their guardians had to say.
"For some time, we have guarded Clocktown against all of your enemies. Termina, now, is at peace, however. As such, we guardians are no longer needed. However, we shall not completely forsake you. Each of us will take one hundred steps in each direction. We will then lie there in wait for the time when we are needed once more. Should the time come when we are needed, call out to us and we shall appear."
"Wait!" Skullkid shouted immediately. "Y-you can't leave!"
"I'm sorry, little one," one of the giants spoke as it turned to the Skullkid. "This is how it must be." The giant turned to the others and gave a nod. They opened their mouths and sang a beautiful song as their last gift to Clocktown. With that, they each turned, stepping away from Clocktown. One went a hundred steps into the north, towards the mountains; another took a hundred steps south, towards the ocean. The third took one hundred steps to the west, into the swampland of Woodfall, while the last took one hundred steps to the east, heading to the Ikana Canyon.
"Wait…" Skullkid spoke as he huffed himself up. His body began to shake as he found himself void of friends once more, for this wasn't the first time. He had come from the Lost Woods, and there no one would be his friend. He had found his way to Termina, and here he had found friends with these giants, but now, they were leaving him? They didn't even care? They wouldn't stop, no matter what he said? His sadness turned to anger. "Fine then, then I'll just be by myself," he spoke and turned, heading off into the swampland.
. . .
"Ha ha ha ha ha! Take that!" Skullkid shouted as he tossed a small Deku Nut forward. It struck the ground next to a young girl and exploded into a flash of light that made the girl scream.
"Get away from us!" an adult woman shouted, but the Skullkid just grinned.
Another Deku Nut shot out of the Skullkid's hand, striking right next to the adult woman this time, which made her jump back. "Come now, my friends!" he shouted and pulled out a small flute made of wood. He blew into it and at once, seemingly from out of nowhere, four puppets fashioned similar to the Skullkid appeared. Though they were puppets, they had no strings, and were commanded by magic. The Skullkid began to play his flute and the puppets shot out through Clocktown.
The Skullkid began to laugh as he watched the puppets causing chaos – destroying shops and attacking innocent citizens. "Yes, my friends! Go out and create chaos and mischief!" he shouted and began to laugh once again.
"Imp!" the Skullkid heard someone shout and he turned. There stood a man dressed in a suit of purple armor with gold trimming. A spear was in his hand and his helmet had a golden crest of a mask upon it.
"Yes?" the Skullkid asked.
"I command you to leave this town, now, or face the wrath of the Guards of Clocktown."
The Skullkid growled and blew his flute once more, causing four more puppets to appear in front of him. "Get them, my friends!" he shouted and the puppets shot forward. One of them quickly struck the guard in the face before he could react, and the rest surrounded him quickly. The guard growled as he stabbed one of the puppets with his spear, but it did nothing as it was made purely of wood. The Skullkid laughed once again as the puppets pummeled the guard, beating him senseless until he was left on the ground, completely unconscious.
The Skullkid smiled as he stepped over to the guard and began to check through the man's pack. However, he found nothing of interest in the man's pack and stepped away from him. "Let's go, friends! Let's have even more fun!"
"The guards can't even stop him…" one of the Clocktown citizens spoke. "What do we do?"
"There's only one possible option…" a man in a purple outfit spoke. He pulled out a small ocarina and looked up into the sky. He closed his eyes and began to play into the ocarina. The Skullkid turned when he heard the song, his eyes rather wide. He grabbed his head and began to scream as he flailed all around.
At that moment, there was a loud sound, as if a great voice was calling out in response to the song. The ground began to shake and the Skullkid began to flail about even more as soon three other voices called out in response as well. It took only a minute more before the giants stepped forward from their lands and towards Clocktown.
"Th-they came back?" Skullkid asked as he looked up at the giants that now surrounded Clocktown.
"What is going on?" one of the giants' voice boomed out.
"This imp has been causing trouble in our fair town of Clocktown!" the man in purple spoke. "He has refused to leave no matter what we have done, and our guards are no match for his wooden puppets."
The giants roared loudly and the Skullkid quickly ducked his head between his legs. "Skullkid!" one of the giants shouted, his voice booming over the entire area. "For your evil deeds, we hereby exile you from Clocktown!"
"N-no!" the Skullkid shouted, looking back up at the giants.
"You have caused trouble, and you do not belong here as such." One of the giants reached down and picked the Skullkid up by the back of his robe. "Now, get out of here!"
"H-how can you be so mean?" the Skullkid asked, tears now forming in his eyes. "We were friends…we played together…"
"Get out now…" the giant spoke with no remorse in his voice and flung the Skullkid away. He crashed into the ground not too far away. He was unharmed, but dazed. "If you return, we will take even more drastic measures then this."
"I…I hate you!" the Skullkid shouted as he stood to his feet. "I hate you all!" He then rushed off, running into the swamplands of Woodfall.
The giants stopped for a moment as they turned to look at each other. They shook their heads, and then looked down, sadness showing in their face. "We now return to our individual lands. If you have need of us again, simply call out to us once more." They once again sang their song as they turned away, returning to their individual homes.
. . .
"H-how could they be so mean?" the Skullkid asked as he sat under a rather large log. His legs were pulled up to his chest, and he had his face buried in his legs as tears flowed from his eyes. "We were friends…first, they left me…and now…they come back just to yell at me and throw me around? Do they really not care for me anymore?" There was the sound of thunder and the Skullkid looked up. Rain began to pour down, and he turned back to his legs. "Now it's raining and cold…"
The Skullkid began to shiver as he continued to cry, but little did he know, not far away, two small fairies were making their way towards his location.
"Tael! We need to find cover!" the yellow, female fairy spoke as she looked around.
"But where do we go, Tatl?" the purple, male fairy asked as he flew up to his sister.
Tatl turned and pointed towards a rather large log. "There, if we go under there, we'll have protection from this rain." Tael nodded and Tatl quickly grabbed her brother's hand and flew as quickly as she could towards the log. She pulled a quick ninety degree turn as she shot into the log and sighed with relief. "We made it…but we're soaked…" she looked down at her outfit, which was composed of, what looked similar to, a yellow, strapless bikini.
"Well, at least we're safe from the rain here, and we can dry off here as well."
Tatl nodded and quickly threw off her outfit. "Best at least get out of the wet clothes." Tael nodded and pulled off the pair of purple pants that composed his entire outfit. "We'll just have to wait out the rain…" She flew forward, looking out of the log and staring up at the dark clouds above.
"Sis!" Tael shouted and Tatl quickly whirled around. "Who is that?" He pointed to the Skullkid that still had himself curled up and was still crying.
"I…don't know…" Tatl slowly flew forward, stopping only a few inches from the Skullkid. "Hello…" she spoke. "Is something wrong?"
The Skullkid sniffled as he looked up, now seeing the small fairy in front of him. He jumped back quickly. "Don't hurt me!"
"H-hurt you?" Tatl asked. "How would we hurt you? We're just fairies…"
The Skullkid blinked for a moment, and then rubbed his eyes to clear the tears. "Wh-who are you?"
"My name is Tatl, and this is my brother, Tael. What's your name?"
"S-Skullkid…"
"Is something wrong? You were crying just a moment ago…"
"M-my friends left me…not only that, but they yelled at me and threw me around…" The Skullkid tried to push the tears back and keep himself from crying.
"That's…so sad…" Tatl frowned and looked at Tael. "We'll be your friends if you want. You don't need those mean guys if they're going to do that to you."
"Y-you will?" the Skullkid asked, his eyes going wide with excitement.
Tatl smiled and nodded. "Of course! Isn't that right, Tael?"
"Of course! We'll definitely be your friends!" Tael spoke up.
"T-thank you." The Skullkid reached forward and hugged the two fairies, who smiled and returned the embrace.
When the rain finally cleared, the Skullkid, Tatl, and Tael all headed out from the log. They spent the next several days playing around in the Termina Field, making fun of the slime creatures called Chuchu, or even playing pranks on the Bombchu. Time passed quickly, and soon a traveler from another land made his way to Clocktown.
. . .
"Termina Forest," a man spoke as he walked through a dark forest. Upon his back was a massive bag filled with masks, and even more masks were dangling from the back of the pouch as well. He had short red hair and a funky face. He wore a violet shirt with violet pants and a violet jacket over it all. "It's actually kind of spooky here…"
"BLAH!" Tatl shouted as she suddenly popped up from behind a tree, jumping directly in the man's face.
The man screamed and stumbled backwards. When he regained his balance, he turned to move away from the fairy, only to have Tael fly into his face and scream as well. This sent the man reeling back, slamming into a tree behind him. The tree shook a little and a Deku Nut dropped from the tree, striking the man in the head, exploding in a flash of light. The man staggered forward a moment before collapsing to the ground, falling unconscious.
"Great job!" the Skullkid spoke and smiled as he made his way over to the man. "Wait…this guy…he looks…oddly familiar…" After a moment, he shrugged, not being able to figure out where he had seen him before. The Skullkid then opened the man's pack and his hands began to shake. He felt a dark presence inside of the man's pack, and it only peaked his curiosity.
"I don't know, Skullkid, should we really be stealing from people?" Tatl asked.
"It's fine, it's fine," the Skullkid spoke, quickly blowing her off as he began to search for the presence he was feeling. His body began to shake as he dug deeper into the man's pack, and his eyes went wide as he pulled a mask from the pack. He felt a dark presence pouring from the mask now in his hands.
The mask was heart-shaped in form, but it had several dark colors on its edges, almost like dark runes. Two blood-red eyes seemed to glow on either side of the front of the mask, and the mask seemed to peer into the Skullkid's soul. One the edges were several spike-like lengths that were painted with a mix of several dark shades of yellow, red, and green.
"What…is this?" the Skullkid asked as he stared at the mask. "This mask…it feels…so strange…" He turned the mask around, noting that the eyes seemed transparent from the back. Slowly he raised the mask to his face, and as it touched his face he screamed, feeling a surge of power flow through his body. He collapsed to his knees, panting heavily and Tatl quickly flew to his side.
"Skullkid, are you okay?"
The Skullkid gave a deep chuckle at first, but it then extended out to a deep laugh. "Yes!" he shouted, his voice now deeper than before. "I can feel it…the power surging through my body!" He stood to his feet and laughed once again. "This power…is unimaginable!" He turned and shook his head and one of the trees distorted in an instant, twisting into a knot.
"Sk-Skullkid?" Tatl asked.
"Yes?" the Skullkid asked as he turned to look at Tatl.
"Are you…okay?"
The Skullkid nodded. "Never felt better. This mask…it's giving me power…at long last, I can have my revenge against those who I once called friend…let's go." He turned and his feet seemed to lift off the ground. Tatl stared for a moment before looking to her brother, a look of fear on their faces.
"I guess…we should just…go with him…" Tael spoke before biting his lip. "But…I'm scared…"
"So am I, Tael…so am I…" Tatl spoke before flying forward. The two stuck with the Skullkid as he made his way first to the swampland of Woodfall.
"Let's test this mask's power…" the Skullkid spoke and he began to shake his head once more. At once, the water that formed a small river in Woodfall shifted to a dark purple, becoming deadly poison. He laughed as he flew forward to the Temple of Woodfall, where he entered and faced the first of his foes.
There, inside, one of the giants slept quietly. The Skullkid shook his head once more and dark power gripped the giant. A dark tribal mask appeared implanted itself onto the giant's face. The mask then seemed to spread out from there and corrupt the giant's body until he was transformed into a tall warrior, wearing the tribal mask upon his face and wielding a large sword and shield.
The Skullkid laughed loudly at this. "Yes! This power is amazing!" he shouted before twirling around until he was facing the entrance to the temple. "Three more." He flew forward and Tatl and Tael had to fight to keep up with him. The Skullkid traveled from there to the mountains next, transforming the giant there into a mechanical masked goat, which then brought forward a terrible blizzard upon the mountain range.
The third he touched was the giant in the ocean, transforming him into massive fish which brought up a terrible storm in the ocean. Finally, he headed to the Ikana Canyon, where he threw upon the doors of the Stone Tower and transformed the giant there into two massive worms known as Twinmold. Darkness swept out from Stone Tower after that and corrupt the land of Ikana, turning its denizens into terrible undead.
"This has been so fun!" the Skullkid spoke as he began to float into the city of Clocktown. "Let's see what kind of fun we can have here, shall we?"
"Skullkid…I really don't think we should be doing this kind of thing…" Tatl spoke.
"Nonsense! It's just a bit of harmless fun!" Just as the Skullkid finished his statement, he found himself hitting something, causing him to float backwards a little.
"Watch where you're going!" a man shouted as he looked at the little imp. "Wait a minute…what is a child like you doing out this late? You should be in bed!"
"I don't have a home," the Skullkid spoke rather blankly.
"Well, whatever, just get out of my way." The man pushed the Skullkid aside and began to walk forward.
The Skullkid growled at this and raised his hand. "You…I curse you!" he shouted and shook his head. Dark magic gripped the man and he felt himself changing. His height was the first thing he noticed changing as he seemed to shrink. He felt his face change some, and suddenly he felt younger, about twelve years younger. He had been turned into a child.
"What…what did you do to me?" the man shouted as he whirled around to look at the Skullkid.
The Skullkid laughed. "If you had been nice to me, that wouldn't have happened. Now you're stuck like that!" The Skullkid looked up and shot into the air.
"Come back here! Turn me back!" the man-turned-boy shouted, but Skullkid did not respond. Instead, he just flew up to the top of the clock tower and began to float over it.
"Darkness has befallen Clocktown. Let's have a little more fun, shall we?" he looked up into the sky. He let out a rather high pitched scream as his head shook. It was then that the moon itself was transformed. A massive dark face appeared upon it, with blood red eyes peering down at Clocktown. "Yes! Now, the moon shall fall, and all of Clocktown shall feel my wrath!" He laughed once more and looked down as he watched the citizens of Clocktown running in fear.
The Skullkid then turned to the forest once again. The mask was telling him that someone was coming, someone he needed to see. He quickly flew forward, flying deep into the forest where he found a small horse slowly making her way through the forest. Upon her back sat her master, a young boy, no older then twelve. He was dressed in a tunic the same green as the forest, and he had a long, pointed hat that flopped down behind his head. His blonde hair showed from the front of his hat, and his pointed ears stuck out from the sides of his hat. Strapped to his back was a small sword along with a shield, both designed specifically so that the young boy could wield them with ease. His head was aimed down, his eyes closed, as if wanting to admit defeat.
"Let's have a little fun with this one, shall we?" the Skullkid asked his two fairy companions.
"But Skullkid…" Tatl began before getting a glare from the Skullkid. "Right…" she sighed and looked forward at the boy.
"Strike the horse; make it throw the boy off."
"Right…" Tatl became serious and grabbed Tael's hand. The two flew forward, keeping themselves hidden at first.
"I just don't know anymore…" the boy spoke as he sighed, holding Epona's reigns tight. "Epona…do you think I'm being foolish?" Epona neighed in response, as if saying no. "But…she left so long ago…and I haven't seen her in so long…I don't even understand why she left!" He fought back tears that threatened to pour from his eyes. "She could have at least said something…but she just left…"
Epona neighed once more, as if trying to comfort the small boy who gave a sigh in response. "I miss her…I just wish she'd come back…even if for just a minute…just long enough to explain why she left…"
Suddenly, there was a sound like the fluttering of fairy wings. The boy's sapphire eyes quickly opened and his head darted up, searching the area around him. "Navi? Is that you?" he called out, but he heard nothing. His eyes continued to search around, his heart hoping that he hadn't just heard things. "You heard that noise, didn't you, Epona?" Epona shook her main and the boy looked back down. "Yeah…it was probably my imagination…"
There it was again, the sound of fairy wings. This time it sounded even closer. Link's eyes slowly moved up, examining the forest around him, once again hoping to see something. "Now!" a female voice shouted suddenly Tatl and Tael appeared seemingly out of nowhere. They charged forward, striking Epona in the face which made her reel back. The boy screamed as he felt himself fall from his mount, striking the ground behind him hard and knocking him unconscious.
Quickly, Tatl swirled around Epona, hypnotizing her for a single moment so as to calm her down. She then turned, giving Tael a high-five. "We did it, brother," she spoke with a smile.
"Yeah, Tatl," Tael spoke with a smile. "That was fun."
"Good work, you two," the Skullkid spoke as he held his mask up to better examine the knocked out boy.
"You're going to steal from him now, aren't you, Skullkid?" Tatl asked as she looked at the boy.
"Of course. Just look at him, he's got to have some interesting stuff." Skullkid placed the mask upon his face and began to walk towards the boy.
Tatl sighed and folded her arms over her chest. "But Skullkid…we really shouldn't do this…Scaring people is one thing, and it's fun, but then to turn around and steal from them? Plus, I think we might have hurt this one…"
"Don't get snippy with me!" Skullkid shouted as he turned to Tatl, the eyes of the mask seeming to glow brighter with hatred. Tatl cowered back a bit and her brother flew to her side.
"Sis…don't anger him…" Tael spoke.
Tatl sighed. "Tael…" she spoke as she looked to her brother. "I don't mean to…"
Skullkid turned back to the boy and grabbed a small pouch off of his side. When he opened it, he noticed that the magic of the pouch allowed the boy to stick many large items inside of it and still allow them to fit. "What do we have here?" He reached into the pouch, pulling out a small, blue, sweet potato-style ocarina. Upon the mouth piece was a silver band, and upon the band were three golden triangles, all placed together to form one larger triangle with a small triangle shape missing in the center. "Impressive," he spoke and held the ocarina up.
"Wow! That ocarina is beautiful!" Tatl spoke as she noticed the moonlight was shining off the ocarina in just the right way to give it an almost magical look to it.
The Skullkid lifted his mask and pulled the ocarina up to his mouth. He blew into it, and he sensed an almost magical feel as he played different notes on the ocarina. "Let me give it a try!" Tael spoke up quickly.
"No, Tael!" Tatl shouted, putting her hands on her hips. "What if you drop it and break it, huh? Then what will we do?"
"I wouldn't do that on purpose!"
"Doesn't mean it wouldn't be possible for it to happen."
Tael folded his arms across his chest and he pouted. "You can be so mean sometimes."
Tatl shook her head and wrapped her arms around her brother. "I love you, Tael, I don't want you to do anything stupid that could cause you trouble or hurt you."
"Oh…my head…" the boy spoke as his eyes slowly opened and the fairies quickly turned to look at him. He slowly sat up and the Skullkid quickly pulled the mask down to cover his face. "Who are you?" he asked as he looked at the Skullkid before noticing the ocarina in his hand. "Give me that back…"
The Skullkid looked down at the ocarina, then hid it behind his back. "Give what back?" he asked.
"That ocarina behind your back."
"I don't have an ocarina behind my back."
The boy stepped back, as if getting ready to pounce. "I'll say it one more time. Give me that ocarina back."
"I don't have an ocarina."
The boy had had it and he leaped forward at the Skullkid, wrapping his arms around him to hold him down. As if by magic, the Skullkid slid out of the boy's grasp then landed upon Epona's back. Epona reared back at this sudden strike on her back and rushed forward in fear. "Epona!" the boy shouted and he growled. "Get back here with my ocarina and my horse, you bastard!" he shouted and rushed forward. He pushed against the ground with his legs and leaped forward, managing to grab onto one of Epona's legs. He held on tight as his horse continued to run forward in fear, before the Skullkid forced her to turn sharply, throwing the boy off of her leg.
The boy growled as he stood to his feet. "Damn it! I have to get that ocarina back…Zelda will kill me if I don't." He quickly drew his sword and rushed forward in the direction Epona had run, noticing the forest seemed to close off around him, leaving them only one direction to go. That direction led to a large log, and he rushed forward with all of his speed. It was there, inside the log, that the ground ended suddenly and Link pulled himself to a stop on the edge, but it wasn't soon enough, and he was unable to maintain his balance, causing him to fall.
As he fell, lights that seemed to be in the form of different faces seemed to float passed him. When all finally went dark, he felt himself land, rather safely, upon a large flower. He stared at it for but a moment before two lights seemed to turn on in front of him, aiming down like spotlights towards the Skullkid, who now seemed to float in front of him. "Where's my horse?" he shouted, noticing Epona was nowhere nearby.
"I did away with it," the Skullkid spoke. "What use is a horse if it won't listen to a single thing you say?"
The boy growled, gripping his sword tight. "I'll make you pay for that…"
The Skullkid laughed. "Do you honestly think you can take me as I am?" His voice seemed to deepen as he spoke those words. The boy took a step back and the Skullkid began to rock his head back and forth. Magic seemed to flow through the mask on his face and the boy suddenly felt himself gripped by magic. He screamed in pain as he felt like he was being transformed and a vision flooded his eyes.
The boy stood in a dark room with nothing around him. The only sound was that of the Skullkid's mask shaking. Suddenly, he found himself dropped into a large group of wooden creatures that surrounded him in an instant. They pushed and prodded him, and the boy couldn't help but feel afraid. "What's going on?" he asked as he tried to step away from the wooden beasts. "Get away from me!" he shouted but the creatures just moved in closer. "Stay away! Don't come any closer!" They grew closer still and the boy turned, darting away as quickly as he could. "Leave me alone!" he shouted as he ran.
It was then that the ground began to shake, as if something massive was making its way towards him. He stopped in his tracks, turning towards the source of the quake. He could now see one of the wooden creatures making its way towards him, but this one was not normal. It was at least twice his side, which meant it was at least five times the size of one of the normal wooden creatures. He screamed and stepped back, tripping on seemingly nothing. He closed his eyes and the vision ended.
The Skullkid stopped shaking his mask and a smirk came across his face. "Oh yes, you look much better like that." The boy opened his eyes, then looked forward. A small puddle of water lied at his feet, and when he looked into it, he could see his reflection. He had been transformed into one of the wooden creatures, a Deku Scrub, His hat had stayed atop his head, and his tunic had formed a small pair of shorts around his waist.
"Wh-what have you done to me?" the boy shouted.
The Skullkid laughed even louder. "Yes! I think I'll keep you just like that! Stay here in that form forever!" He continued to laugh as he floated backwards. Tael noticed this and began to follow, while Tatl seemed to stare at the boy.
The boy roared and rushed forward. "You're going to pay for this!" he shouted before being knocked in the hand by Tatl.
Tatl laughed and turned around, sticking her butt in the boy's face rudely. She then turned back around and blew him a raspberry. "S-sis!" Tael shouted suddenly and Tatl whirled around just in time to see a massive wooden door come slamming down in front of her. The door had separated her from her brother and the Skullkid.
"Tael!" Tatl shouted and she quickly flew towards the door, slamming her fist against the door. "Hey! Whoa! Skullkid, you can't just leave me here like this! Come on, open this door!" She knocked on the door a few more times, but it was to no avail. She growled and turned around, looking at the boy. "You!" she shouted and flew into his face. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have gotten separated from my brother!" She punched the boy in the face, though it barely phased him. "I demand you open that door for me at once!"
The boy just seemed to stare at her, taking in her form as he looked through the glow. The fairy had long, waist-length blonde hair, and her eyes seemed to be yellow, though that could have easily been from the glow around her body. He noticed a pair of bell-like earrings upon her pointed ears, and aside from those, she wore nothing else. "What? Why are you staring at me like that?"
The boy looked away. "There's no way you're her…" he spoke. "She was blue and nowhere near as obnoxious."
"What the hell are you saying?" Tatl shouted and once again punched the boy in the face.
"Never mind…I'll help you get through this door, but I've got a score to settle with that Skullkid, so you're on your own after that."
"Fine, whatever, just open the damn door!"
The boy walked forward and pushed against the door. He then pushed up and the door slid up. He and Tatl quickly walked through before the door came back down behind him. The boy continued to walk forward, noticing the path ahead of him seemed to be in the form of a long log. When he reached the end of it, he found himself staring at a large cavern. "Now where the hell do I go?"
"Hey! Wait!" Tatl shouted and the boy turned around. "Look…you said you were after the Skullkid right? Well, he and I are good friends, and my brother is with him as well. So, how about this? Let's team up, I'll show you where to find the Skullkid, and after that, I can be with my brother, and you can do…whatever…Sound fair?"
The boy shrugged. "Whatever…"
"Awesome! My name is Tatl, by the way."
"Link," was the boy's entire response.
"Link, huh? Interesting name. Anyway, I'll show you how to get through here." Tatl flew forward and Link followed her close behind as they made their way deeper into the cavern. "The exit should be over…Whoa!" Tatl stopped as she noticed something strange in front of them. There was a small tree-like object not far away, but upon it was a Deku-like face. The tree's face looked hopelessly sad, as if it had lost everything.
"What's this?" Link asked as he looked the tree over.
"I…don't know…it wasn't here before…" Tatl spoke as she looked it over. "It looks sad, though…"
Link nodded and touched his hand to it. It was as if memories from the tree flowed into his mind at that moment. He saw a small Deku boy that looked almost exactly like him standing before the Skullkid. "You'll never see your Princess now," the Skullkid spoke, his voice very deep. "For all of the trouble you've caused, I shall take your soul." The Skullkid began to shake his mask like he had done to Link, and the Deku screamed. He felt his soul get torn from his body then placed within the mask the Skullkid wore. "Now stay like that forever!" the Skullkid laughed and flew off, leaving the boy's body there.
"What?" Tatl asked as Link broke out of the vision and looked up at her.
"The Skullkid did this…" Link spoke, then looked back at the tree. "He doesn't care who he hurts, just as long as he gets his way…" Tears formed in his eyes and he fought to keep them back. "I can't let anymore of this happen…I must stop him…Skullkid must pay!" He slammed his fist into the ground and growled. "Let's get out of here."
Tatl nodded slowly, noticing the anger in Link's voice and actions. There was more to his anger then just the Skullkid, and she could tell that easily. "Let's go." She turned and flew forward, the two made their way deeper into the cavern until they came upon a long hallway. As they rushed through it, Link felt like the hallway was swirling around him, and when they got out, Link found himself in a large room.
The room looked like the inside of some sort of giant clock. A massive, wooden pendulum swung in the middle of the room, and gears could be seen all around the room that made the clock move. Link slowly climbed a set of stairs that led up a floor or two before reaching a flat platform that led to a large set of double doors. "Where is this?" Link asked.
"Clocktown," Tatl spoke. "Once through those doors, you'll be in Clocktown."
"Clocktown?" Link stepped forward and rose his hands to push on the doors.
"You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" a voice spoke and Link stopped. He turned, his eyes falling upon a rather tall man. The man had rather short, fire-red hair along with a rather crooked face. He wore a purple robe the covered him to his knees, and under the robe was a pair of purple pants. The top of his robe seemed to be covered in gold plating of some sort, while the bracers on his arms also seemed to be fashioned out of gold. A large pack was upon his back, and on the outside of the pack several masks could be seen hanging from it.
"Who are you?" Link asked, stepping back against the doors.
"Who I am isn't important. All you need to know is that I own the Happy Mask Shop. As such, I travel far and wide in search of rare and valuable masks. During my travels, a very special mask was stolen away from me by that imp…you call him Skullkid, I believe. As such, I am now here at a loss, but luckily I've found you." The man's grin seemed to widen and Link became nervous.
"Now, don't think me rude, but I've been following you, and I know of a way to return you to your true self. If you can get back the precious item that was stolen from you, then I can aid you in returning to normal. I only ask one thing in return."
"And what would that be?" Link asked, rather monotone.
"The mask that was stolen from me, I want it back. So, in return for returning you to your normal self, I want you to get my mask back. I imagine such a task should be quite simple for you."
"But I don't even know where he is, let alone know anything about this form I'm in."
"Oh, but for someone like you, it shouldn't be difficult for you at all! Yes, in fact, I'm quite certain that you'll have no trouble at all. There is, of course, one exception."
"And what would that be?" Link asked, folding his arms.
"You see…I'm a very busy fellow…" The man turned to look away. "I have only three days here. I must leave before that, as such, you must bring it back to me within that time."
"Three days? Are you kidding me?" Link shouted.
"Is something wrong?" the man asked, looking back at Link with a curious look.
"Even if I don't sleep that only leaves me with seventy-two hours at most! There's just no way I can do that!"
The man chuckled. "You can, just believe."
"Oh yeah, sure, believe…if I just believe I can do it, I'll have no trouble, right?" Link spoke sarcastically.
"But of course! If you believe, you can do anything."
Link growled. "I'll see what I can do…but if I can't, then too bad for you." He turned and pushed open the doors to the clock tower, stepping out into the town before him.