I don't own the Legend of Zelda. If I did... xD
"Transformation" is rated "K" for mild language use and violence.

It had been two years since I left the land of Termina.

I searched every crevasse, mountain, plain, river, lake, and town for another year, desperately seeking the fairy companion that had joined me on my seven-year time adventure, and coming up with nothing, finally conceding that she, like Tatl, was far beyond my reach. After that defeating year, I ambled back to Hyrule and once again found myself completely and utterly alone, save my beloved horse, Epona. But even Epona was gone, as I had released her back to Malon as thanks for her service. She had faced way too many battles for a young foal her age, and she deserved to live out the rest of her life in peace, prosperity, and safety, only having to worry about what type of hay she was fed for breakfast.

I quietly moved in to a previously abandonded loft over Castle Town, the bumps, rude stares, and vacant expressions finally starting to unnerve me a little less as the passage of time attempted to heal my wounds. Although three years ago a young hero, a hero of only nine, saved Hyrule from its greatest threat yet, it was merely a legend to its people, a tale of folklore that was so ridiculous that it would be passed down from generation to generation but never truly believed. The friends I had made along that journey were mere figments of the imagination, as I was not even a thought in their minds, and I was unable to return to Kokiri Forest, the forest I had grown up in, the forest I called my home, because I was going through puberty. My legs ached as I gradually grew a wee bit taller, my voice deepening ever so slightly with each passing day. It was proof that I was starting to grow up, something a true Kokiri would never do. I was not Kokiri, but Hylian, and I didn't even belong in the place I called home.

It stung.

The years of constant battle and good-byes were starting to take a heavy toll on me, as I found myself randomly getting emotional and pacing back and forth in front of Lon Lon Ranch, tempted to go in, be selfish, and take Epona back so at least I could feel her soft mane and listen to her reassuring whinny. A couple of times Epona sensed my presence with a gleeful neigh, and I was forced to race back to Castle Town as fast as my still-short stubby legs could take me before she too was tempted to go on another crazy adventure. I couldn't burden Epona any longer. She deserved happiness.

Don't I deserve happiness as well?

No. Such thinking was selfish and unbecoming of a two-time hero. I knew what I signed up for when I agreed to help Zelda with her outlandish request that I couldn't possibly refuse. I knew what I signed up for when my horse was stolen from me and I was turned into a Deku Scrub. For the sake of others' happiness, it was my duty, my destiny, to give up my own.

Then why did I come back?

I could just travel from town to town, country to country, world to world as a wandering hero, helping people where I could. Such a fate would suit me and I would be able to help the maximum amount of people possible. It was the ideal choice, the best choice, yet despite going further and further away from Hyrule, I came back. It was the opposite of smart, dumb, foolish, and would bring nothing but pain, but my heart screamed louder than my brain.

I want to be by her side.

"Link...we'll meet again, won't we?"

Zelda.

The perch from my room was perfect. I could watch her safely from a distance. I had saved more than enough Rupees over the course of my travels to never work another day in my life and live comfortably, so I sat, in my room, with a telescope I had crafted myself and watched the Princess of Hyrule live her life in the castle. I knew she remembered me, I knew she treasured the bond we shared, and yet despite being back for a full year now, I never went to say even a single "Hello." One may think my actions were creepy and downright stalkerish-which they were!-but my biggest duty was to her, my Princess, and it was my job to keep her safe. There were dangers everywhere in Hyrule, and I could quietly sneak in and take care of potential threats without her even noticing. I could protect her from the shadows.

With a heavy sigh, downing a glass of milk that I shouldn't be drinking, especially not at my age, I glanced downwards towards the street. There would be no need for my telescope today, the Princess was here in Castle Town to speak to the townspeople. There was a notice on my door to attend, but if Zelda saw me...

What would she do if she saw me? Would she even react?

Zelda was giving a speech about protecting citizens and the amazing things she would do when she was old enough to be named ruler of Hyrule, the citizens all basking in their favorite Princess's soothing words. Zelda was well-liked by the people and sure to be a desirable wife sooner rather than later. The thought admittedly made me a bit jealous, as the mere inkling of a man caressing her cheek was enough to make me reach for my sword. I noticed her protector Impa was nowhere in sight, which was rather odd, and the makeshift stage was perched in front of the well at the center of the town. For a moment, I let my guard down, allowing for Zelda's gentle voice to ease my weary soul, and in that moment I didn't notice...

There was a shriek, a gasp, and a deafening roar of panic as a cloaked person in black interuppted Zelda's speech and knocked the younch monarch into the deep well behind her.

I cursed both inwardly and outwardly, vehemetly disgusted with my own lack of focus and my own shortcomings, as I should have been protecting her, and reached for my sword, contemplating my next move. No citizen moved to help retrieve her from the well, they all knew the well was far too deep, a deep pit of black, a point of no return...

I could leap from my window into the well, all in one fell swoop. But even if I did that, my little lungs had little air capacity. I did not have any of my Zora scales on me, as I had silently returned them years ago, and my Zora tunic was buried under a mess of papers and Kokiri tunics. It would take at least three minutes to sort through the mess and put my tunic on. Zelda didn't have that kind of time. What could I do?

Let me help.

I gasped aloud, never expecting to hear that voice, a passionate voice of a Zora guitar player who I had so selfishly used years ago...

Mikau?

I wanted to leave my transformation masks behind, but when I did, all three spirits angrily told me to take them with them, because if the masks were unusable they would truly die. I vowed to never, ever, ever, ever put the masks on again, simply to allow them to watch life with me. I was not about to break tha vow, not now, not ever.

Suddenly, my whole body tensed, a jolt of pain running through my veins. As if I was electrocuted by one hundred jellyfish at once, my limbs were forced to grow, grow much faster and longer than my little human body was capable of, spears jutting out of my arms that formed fins. My face was torn apart, streched beyond its limits like a human rubber band, as I couldn't hold back the natural scream of pain that escaped my lips.

I saw a beloved Zora hero strumming away on his guitar, creating love song after love song for the Zora girl he loved. I saw her race to him, sobbing of her missing eggs, and him valiantly braving the pirate fortress to retrieve them. I could feel the pain of him getting blasted, exposed to more heat than a sea-dwelling creature should ever take...

I felt my body seize and stop, and I stared into the eyes of on small little human boy. I felt the genuine hope that this child could put my aching heart at rest. As I closed my eyes and drew my final breath, I found myself waking again.

Then I saw her, the Zora girl I loved, smiling with true happiness as her eggs, voice, and hero were returned to her again. I could hear her deep relief as she assured herself that her plight didn't force me to do something reckless, something so reckless my body couldn't handle. Then I felt her soft, passionate touch as she embraced me, asking me to never leave her side again.

I would, of course, be forced to leave her side mere moments later, as the one who saved her, brought her relief, the one she truly loved was dead, and I was a mere imposter inhabiting his body. In only a few minutes, she would be forced to relive her horror, this time with no happy ending, time and time again.

Was I truly fulfilling Mikau's wish, was I truly helping Lulu, or was I simply causing them both more pain?

My deepest fears were realized as Lulu was flung from me, thrown into a black vortex of dispair. I wasted no time to rescue her, using my elegant swimming to reach her withing seconds. I felt truly at home in the water, as it was easier than breathing air...

Lulu had been knocked unconscious by the force, and I gently laid her down on the soft green banks of Zora Cape, glancing back at the island that was actually a giant turtle, whispering how sorry I was that no matter how hard I tried, I would never be able to heal the pain that stung her heart. I laid my hand on her face, caressing her softly, and relishing in the weak pulse that assured me that she still lived. She gave two coughs and looked up at me, serene eyes completely at ease, as if her comforting mother was cradling her after a nightmare. She laid her hand on me, fumbling for an invisible edge and tugging at my face...

As she pulled up on that edge, my vision was knocked askew as I fumbled to regain my bearings, focusing on the green banks that were not actually banks, but stone concrete. The girl in my arms was not Zora, but rather, a human, and surprisingly delicate at that. She opened her mouth to speak, and her melodic voice sang between haggard coughs and wheezes.

"The tragedy that befell us was never your fault. You saved us, you freed our spirits, you caused so much happiness when there was none. Now it is our turn to save you."

"Welcome home, Link."

Finally got around to playing Majora's Mask for the 3DS. (I'd played it once before.) I'm always amazed how much pain Link seems to be in when he transforms and I've always wanted to write about it, so I did. XD

Please forgive any weird formatting issues...I wrote this on my tablet. XD

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