AN: Alright everyone, here it is. I finally have my ideas straight and am ready to continue the saga. This story is the sequel to The Other Half of a Hero. Again, like before, there is going to be male/male romance. A few things to point out. A few people got it in the last one; There was no Navi because Dark was her replacement. In this one, there will be no Tatl or Tael for the same reason; the role of Link's Partner is taken, making Tatl unneeded. There will also be no Tingle just because i hate his guts. Also, for those who have played the game, Clock Town is a fair bit larger then you might remember in the game. I think that's it...
A Hero Unbroken
A Personal Journey
In the land of Hyrule there echoes a legend. A legend held dearly by the Royal Family that tells of a boy… A boy who after battling evil and saving Hyrule, crept away from the land that had made him a legend. Done with the battles he'd once waged across Time, he embarked on a journey. A secret and personal journey. A journey in search of a beloved and invaluable friend…
"Please. I need to go after him. You know better than any just how much he means to me."
Link stood alone with the Princess Zelda in her favorite garden of the castle as she listened impassively to the circumstances that prompted such a sudden request for a long leave of absence. Not that she could deny him. How could she when he was the only reason Hyrule was still a kingdom worth speaking of? It wasn't just him of course, but his partner and shadow and lover. That last part had been… rather hard to stomach when she first found out.
After all, she'd spent seven years secretly fantasizing over this boy with the most beautiful piercing blue eyes she'd ever seen only to find out that he was secretly in love with another boy. And not just a boy but an exact replica of himself; so close they could and frequently did pass off as twins. She still couldn't help but snort every time she saw Link and Dark flirting together, especially when it involved words like 'cute' or 'beautiful.' What kind of narcissism must it take to have the audacity to compliment the physical attractiveness of his lover. They were mirror images of each other! Nayru save her if it didn't reek of a secret superiority complex.
Still, the fact that she'd never picked up on the slight differences between the two was all the more proof that Zelda, wise and benevolent ruler of Hyrule was not a people person. Or perhaps, the many conflicting emotions that contributed to the mental crafting of her secret crush Link were more then the princess could comprehend. Either way, it was clear that even if she forbade the savior from leaving, he'd simply vanish in the night on his own. Antisocial or not, Zelda wasn't stupid. She had no delusions that she had any power over him. That was more then proven on the night he defeated Ganon and flagrantly ignored her orders to save his dying lover.
She still dreamed about it sometimes. True, that was on a different timeline but she still dreamed about it, as though the two Zeldas from the two different timelines had fused together into one being, so she knew… She knew she'd been completely wrong and Nayru never hesitated to throw that failure back into her face as a kind of tough love wake up call.
Link shivered, his blood slicked hands sliding along the hilt of his sword. Through the pain and tear hazed vision, the color was slowly returning to Dark's skin even as it drained away from the pale blond. The spread winged hilt pressed up against his ribs and Link took a deep breath to steady himself. Fully impaled on his sacred sword, there was only one place left for it to go. Crimson eyes widened as sapphire ones closed and Dark watched his partner collapse with an agonized scream in a fountain of blood.
That memory continued to haunt the princess up to that very day and would continue to all the days of her life. Laying a white gloved hand on the ledge of the waist high window, Zelda shut her eyes momentarily while waiting for the sudden dizzy spell to pass.
"Very well… I have no right to stop you but… you have my blessing. I want you to take this with you and when you see Dark, tell him I was sorry," and with that the princess handed over the Ocarina of Time. The light blue instrument was a treasure of the Royal Family but despite that, Link had been the one to carry it at his side and truly give it the use it deserved. Otherwise it would remain in a vault in the Castle Treasury and probably never see the light of day again.
Link and the princess actually had quite a lot in common. Zelda reflected on this thought as Link walked out the grey stone archway towards his room to gather whatever supplies would be needed for this trip. "We both have a deep rooted sense of justice, both bear a Triforce and both put up a cold exterior to keep others away. Perhaps I was just a foolish girl. Even if did achieve a relationship with him, how could it be anything but the cold distance we have now. I have to admit, I'm a bit jealous of Dark. He makes you smile like I never could. If this is what you need to do then good luck Hero, and may the Goddesses smile on your journey."
Though he never got to hear the Princess' confession, Link got the idea from her gift. The Ocarina of Time was her way of saying everything was alright between them; no hard feelings. Her acceptance really meant a lot to him and as he saddled Epona, he realized that he would probably end up missing her. It wasn't until after he was outside with his horses hooves echoing loudly against the cobblestones that he realized, "She said 'when' I see Dark, not 'if'"
Smiling lightly, Link kicked his heels and galloped off into the distance on his trusty steed Epona.
-Three days later-
"I think… I must have gotten soft," Link panted to his horse. Wandering through a seemingly endless forest of drably uniform trees and dense fog, he didn't think he could find his way back if he wanted to by now. The same grey pine bark on the closely packed trunks was all he'd seen for the past two days and the strain of staying awake was starting to get to him. No way was he going to sleep in someplace so dangerous.
For all Link knew, there was some malevolent spirit haunting the woods and just waiting him to fall asleep so it could pounce and abduct him for some kind of dark resurrection ritual where…
"Stop it Link. Get a grip." Stupid overactive imagination. Maybe just a quick nap couldn't hurt. After all… If there was anything waiting out in the dark woods, he'd have found out about it by now. Dropping the reins for just a moment to yawn and stretch his stiff shoulders, the last thing Link saw was an eerie h face with glowing yellow eyes leaping up at him with a feral battle cry.
Startled by the sudden attack Epona reared back, throwing her unprepared rider from the saddle to crash into the hard packed dirt. Rolling to his feet Link lunged forward just as the strange creature dropped into the saddle. Surprised by the unfamiliar weight, the already nervous horse bolted for safety and Link just barely managed to grab the stirrup before his frightened horse took off, dragging the body of her master through the dirt.
Sticks, rocks and clumps of dirt pelted the Kokiri and the contact with the rough ground left patches of shredded skin all down his front. Link grit his teeth, trying to pull himself up but his fingers slipped off the leather loop and he rolled to a stop, dazed.
Looking back, Epona noticed her master laying on the ground and skid to a halt. The strange creature who was riding her, a ragged creature with stick like proportions almost like a living scarecrow were it not for the face. Wild and exotic, the heart shaped purple face sported a mane of short yellow spikes. Giggling with a high pitched echoing voice, the creature hopped off Epona's back and hobbled over to search through the unconscious Link's pockets where it found the Ocarina of Time.
Tilting its head from side to side it placed the blue instrument to its lips and played a single note before collapsing in a fit of giggles. Another toot on the Ocarina and it fell over like that was the funniest thing in the world. Biting back a groan, Link got to his feet glaring daggers at this little imp that mugged him. As soon as the boy was on his feet the imp stiffened and leapt straight up in the air, coming back down on Epona's back and letting off a high pitched scream, startling the horse into movement once more.
"Damn you, get back here with my horse!" Link yelled, running recklessly through the fog after his runaway mount. The trees were just starting to thin out and he saw her run through a tunnel of wood like those that allowed passage through the roots of the giant trees in the Lost Woods. Snarling, he ran through the tunnel after her, his boots thudding heavily against the wood… and then, nothing.
Link's eyes widened as he realized that there was no ground beneath his right foot, that he was standing on the edge of a precipice and nothing he could do would stop him from tumbling down into the dark abyss below.
As he tumbled through the darkness, Link's tired senses made out the strangest things. Faces, that or masks; hundreds of them just floating out in the darkness. Some looked happy, some looked sad and many of them looked oddly familiar. They laughed and cried and stared all to the loud ticking of a clock echoing through the darkness.
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick…
The sound of the clock went on and on, counting the seconds spent falling through the void and suddenly it was gone leaving Link sitting dazed and confused on a strange pink flower out in the middle of a shallow pool of water. Two bright spotlights shone down from overhead, illuminating the imp as it levitated in midair. Now that he was actually able to get a good look, Link saw that the grotesque purple face was in actuality a mask.
"What's with that stupid horse of yours? It doesn't listen to a thing that's told to it. There's no point in riding something like that so I did you a favor and got rid of it." Just like it's laugh the imp had a high voice that seemed to echo, clawing at the insides of Link's ears.
But Epona… Gotten rid of? Did that mean?
Gritting his teeth, Link glared and drew his sword against the hateful spirit who didn't so much bat an eye at killing an innocent animal for no reason.
"Aww, Boo hoo. What's with that face? I just thought I'd have a little fun with you… I mean come on. Do you really think you can beat me as I am now?" Leaning back, the Imp casually crossed one leg over the other and started shaking its head side to side.
All it took was one look into those glowing yellow eyes and Link was hooked. He couldn't look away no matter how hard he tried; his body was frozen in place as a woody rattling sound filled his ears.
Suddenly, he was standing out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by an angry mob of Deku Scrubs that slowly converged in him, adding the rustling sound of their orange autumn leaves. Deku. All he could see, hear, smell, taste, feel was Deku. It engulfed him, swallowing the boy whole like an ocean wave crashing down over his weary mind.
When he finally came to, Link felt very different. The same room as before greeted his waking self and when he got closer, the spot lights cast the shadow of a broken Triforce on the ground, as though the three pieces were no longer in unison. More then that though, Link simply didn't feel like himself anymore. It was like waking up the first time after drawing the Master Sword out of the pedestal to find himself suddenly in an adult body. Except this time… colors all seemed tinged with grey and the scent of dry leaves and pine needles along with all the other smells of the forest were suddenly gone. On the other hand, his sense of touch seemed a lot more sensitive.
Trying to figure out what was going on, Link leaned over the edge of the pond to look at his reflection in the still water to find himself staring back into the dull black eyes of a Deku Scrub. This wasn't like last time. This was worse! "Wh-what!" Link began and then stopped upon hearing his voice come out in a childish squeak.
Taking a deep breath, Link waddled towards the door and promptly tripped over his own feet. He lay there in the dirt, trapped in an unfamiliar body and rapidly losing hope. What a rotten way to spend my Birthday. Still, I'll be alright so long as I do not panic.
After several calming breaths, Link pushed himself up to try walking again. Taking it slowly this time he eventually worked out how to move on his stubby little legs. It ended up being more of a combination hobble and scurry but it got him around and rather quickly too.
Through the door, he scurried down a long tunnel, soon coming out to another drop off. Another door waited on the other side and a series of pillars interspersed across the chasm would have made it possible to jump across were he still in his normal body. But alas, he knew that the first pillar was far too distant for his short Deku body to make it if nothing else because his ability to jump was now nonexistent. With no tools to help him out and no partner to cheer him up, the Hero of Time was again faced with a discouraging problem.
Sighing, he sat down on a single pink flower much like the one that had cushioned his fall down into this hell hole only to stop and give the flower a second look. A hole was opening up in the center to create a tunnel and he could feel the minute ridges on his palms reacting to the flower as though it were drawing him in.
Deciding to take a chance, Link crawled into the flower and let its dry warmth envelope his body. The flower chamber felt dusty with pollen but at the same time comforting enough for Link's tired body to relax, lightly gripping the flower stems that slipped down into his hands and as soon as it did the flower spat him straight up in the air. Trying very hard not to panic, the rational part of Link's brain marveled at the Deku's ability to feel such small details like the rising air current against his skin. The two pink flowers in his hand actually started spinning against the air current, allowing Link to twist his body and float on the breeze towards the first of the large pillars that spanned the fissure.
On that platform was another of the strange pink flower and again Link climbed down into it feeling slightly more prepared when it shot him into the air. The slight draft flowing through the room carried him with his pink flower helicopter over the bottomless pit to the next platform. They all had those same pink flowers and Link had no problem working the breeze to get where he wanted to go until the very end. Just as he was getting close to the ledge by the door the breeze suddenly died, leaving Link franticly kicking his legs trying to move the last few feet. It almost worked had the flowers in his hands not suddenly collapsed leaving the Deku plummeting with a startled scream, just barely catching the edge of the ledge.
Even grabbing the ledge, Link almost dropped into the abyss anyways; his Deku body ended up being a lot heavier then he'd guess. Sitting on the edge of the platform he realized it was because his short squat body was actually made of solid wood, just like the tree waiting to greet him on this last platform. It looked almost like a person the way the knots were arranged… a sad person, perpetually sitting on the verge of tears.
Leaving the tree to run off down the tunnel, Link's head started spinning as he came to a strange hallway that actually twisted sideways. He'd seen these before in the Forest Temple and walking down them always messed with his head. The walls twisted one way and the path twisted another and he tripped several times running down it but soon Link was back on solid ground.
A shallow but fast rushing stream turned a series of water wheels that connected to a system of poles that ran up through the ceiling. Walking slowly up a wooden ramp, more turning gears and cogs and a large rotating pole in the middle told Link that whatever it was went up higher but no further stairs, ramps or ladders indicated how to get up there.
"You've met with a terrible fate haven't you?"
Link spun around to face the speaker then frowned, recognizing that fake smile and perfectly plastered hair as the man who ran the Happy Mask Shop back in Hyrule. Much as he wanted to ask what the man was doing all the way out here, Link was still thoroughly embarrassed by his squeaky Deku voice. Fortunately the man decided to explain on his own.
"In my travels, I had a very important mask stolen. So here I am at a loss. And now I find you. Actually, don't think me rude but I've been following you, for I know a way to return you to your former self. If you get back the precious item that was stolen from you I will return you to normal. In exchange, I also want you to get back the mask that the Imp stole from me. The only thing is, I'm a busy man and I must leave in three days. Please have the mask back by then."
Link frowned, trying to process all that information. The Happy Mask Salesman had this kind of ability to move from one position to another without actually moving. Though he looked dishonest, Link knew him to be a decent person and so decided to help out. There was only one way out; a large pair of swinging wooden doors. Link pushed his way out and stared, awestruck.
After three days of riding through nothing but forests and using flowers to fly to this ramshackle building, he walked out the doors and into the middle of a bustling city. The low droning buzz of many people talking at once filled the air, punctuated with vendors shouting their wares for passersby to sell. Back towards the wall, a group of workmen carried lumber and tools to construct some kind of scaffolding. Turning back around, the building he'd just left turned out to actually be a large clock tower stating that it was currently 6:00 in the morning, but that wasn't what caught his attention.
High in the sky sat a giant moon with an angry looking face carved into its surface. It looked so close, as though it were going to come crashing down onto the town at any minute, and yet the townspeople calmly went about their lives. Never mind the giant moon glaring down on them like some dark god gazing with dissatisfaction upon the race of mankind.
Trying not to look too much like a gawking country bumpkin, Link trotted through the crowd looking left and right for any sign of that imp as well as taking note of his surroundings as any good Hero would do. Much as he wanted to take in everything, Link frequently found his eyes roaming over to rest on the taffy apple stall. Sadly, empty wallet would not allow for buying snacks.
Come to think of it, Link realized he hadn't the slightest idea what Deku Scrubs ate. Now he definitely couldn't afford any snacks because he had no idea what might accidentally kill him if he ate it. Sighing and keeping out of everyone else's way, a small grey dog ran up to Link wagging its tail. "Aww, hi there… doggy?"
As soon as it smelled him, the dog's hackles rose and it growled, baring its teeth. The crowd parted and most people stopped what they were doing to watch a Deku Scrub run screaming down the street with a grey Scottish Terrier chasing after him.
He finally lost the dog in an den of narrow alleyways running between buildings and the exhausted Deku slumped against a wall. It was several minutes before a voice snapped him out of his depression induced haze. "Hey, you alright? If you've got a problem, the Bombers can help."
Link looked up at a little kid with a blue cap talking to him, "Plenty of problems. Do the Bombers break curses?"
"Curses? Nope, sorry. We're not that good. But hey, maybe the Great Fairy can help."
Finally, things were looking up. A Great Fairy would definitely be helpful. "Yes, I think I'll try that. Is she close?"
"Uh huh. She lives up on the north side of town. C'mon, I'll show you," the boy offered and Link gladly jumped up and followed after him.
True to his word, the Bomber took him through the streets of the city to a less populated area that looked more like a park then the metropolitan areas further south. "She's in that cave right over then. Well, see ya around."
Smiling to himself and thanking the boy, Link trotted through the short clipped grass, chuckling at the irony that after so many times of finding Great Fairies in the most obscure places, this one would literally be nothing more then a walk in the park. Once he got inside the cave however his laughter came to an abrupt halt.
Instead of one Great Fairy, a group of smaller ones floated aimlessly over the shallow pool of water, their golden aura glinting off the bright ivory pillars. "Oh young one, hear our plea. The masked Skull Kid has broken us into pieces. Please find the one missing fairy and return it here."
Walking back out of the Fairy Fountain Link mentally chided himself for getting lax. Did I not learn this well enough in my last journey? Anything that can go wrong does go wrong. It happens without fail. This is my punishment for being enthusiastic.
For the next several hours Link wandered the city just getting a lay of the land. The city, Clocktown he learned it was called, was fairly large; slightly bigger then Hyrule Castle Town. Still, it was difficult to get lost with the Clock tower as an ever present reference point.
The city itself was very simply divided up into four main sections; North, South, East and West. The south section of town where he'd started off held the clock tower and was the central area where most the festivities were taking place. Of to the west was what he would have assumed to be the bad side of town were it not for the trading post and post office located there. The trading post he assumed would be some dark ramshackle place for under the counter deals. Instead, as soon as he walked in he was greeted by the familiar music that played in the background of every single store across the country of Hyrule. Strange, he'd always figured it was a Shop's Union thing…
Over on the east side were the main tourist attractions. Second largest next to the south section, the east side had many different game parlors, restaurants as well as several hotels. Much as he would have liked a room, with no money that wouldn't happen. So, with no food and no sleep Link was running off nothing more then sheer will power. It had served him before and would serve him again.
Oddly, there was also one of those pink flowers positioned near a balcony of an in called the "Stock pot."
After spending all day wandering around, night was fell rapidly and the exhausted Link didn't think he could stay awake any longer. "Maybe being a Deku isn't so bad," he mumbled, climbing into pink flower and letting the flower pollen coat his body. If he didn't grab the stems then the launch reflex wouldn't activate and so Link spent the night in a cozy little floral cocoon.
It was around 5:00 when he woke up, panicking with waking up in an unfamiliar place where he couldn't move but the memory slowly came back and sighing he grabbed the stems and pulled. The flower shot him into the cool early morning air and what should he see but a single golden fairy floating trapped in a bubble suspended in midair. "Well, that was easy."
Link hovered over the bubble then let go of his 'flower copter' to drop to the ground, taking the bubbled fairy with him. It took a few times getting lost on his way to North Clock Town but Link eventually arrived in the lightly wooded sector and the short ramp in the distance that would take him to the Great Fairy's Fountain.
His wooden feet clacked noisily along the bright white tiles that lead to the fountain itself where Link tossed in the bubble, watching it pop as soon as it touched the water. Reunited the fairies converged down into a single point and the Great Fairy rose out of the water, whole and complete and letting out her signature ear splitting laugh.
"Thank you kind young one, I am the Great Fairy of Magic. Thank you for returning my broken and shattered body to whole. It was the Skull Kid that did this to me. I thought he was helping me and I grew careless. All I can do is give you magic power."
The Great Fairy flipped over, taking on a very suggestive position on all fours to display the generous cleavage hidden behind nothing but thin trailing tattoos that covered her body. Why she had to act all seductive to a Deku Scrub was beyond Link's ability to grasp.
A column of light shone down from the ceiling and the feel of magic once more entering his body overwhelmed the Deku's senses like the heady scent of too strong perfume. It made his head spin but oh, did it feel right to be able to sense magic again.
At the end of the battle to save Hyrule, it had taken literally everything Link had to offer to save his partner's life. Every tool he possessed, his magic, his very life itself and while he had survived, his body remained depleted of the additional stamina he'd built up over the course of his journey. Physically, Link was nothing more then an ordinary thirteen year old kid.
"The astrologer outside town might know of Skullkid's whereabouts. If you return to your former self, return to me and I will aid you further," and with one last mad cackle, the Fairy sank back down into the waters of the fountain again.
Back outside, Link took a deep breath, savoring the feel of magic welling inside him. Slowly, he let the breath out but was surprised to see the magic forming a bubble at the end of his little wooden snout. Panicking slightly he aimed his head back and sneezed, sending the bubble flying off into the distance to pop a large purple balloon floating over the park. Panting lightly, Link sat down trying to figure out why having magic made his snot bubble up like that. Deku Scrubs couldn't be allergic to magic could they? The Goddesses would be getting some very angry prayers if that was the case.
"Hey, you're the one who popped it! Not bad for a Deku Scrub." The new voice sounded oddly familiar and he looked up to se a kid with a red cap coming toward him.
"Oh, I'm very sorry. The Great Fairy told me I should talk to an astrologer who lives outside town. Do you know where I can find him?"
"Sure do. My name's Jim and I'm the leader of the Bombers. We've got a secret way to get to the observatory but you need a password. I might tell you what it is if you pass my test. You ready?"
Link sighed and nodded. Somehow he knew something like this would end up happening. It always did. Murphy's law at its best…
From a string around his neck Jim pulled a whistle and just a short minute after blowing it, four other bombers in matching blue and white shorts came running up to stand in a single file line. "Alright, if you can find all of us by tonight, I'll tell you the code. Ok? Everyone, Scatter!"
In less then ten seconds, the regimen of child vigilantes completely vanished from Link's sight, leaving him to wander the city in search of them.
The first he found in a back alley on the west side. It was sheer luck that got him coming up on the bomber from behind. A quick tap on the shoulder and the started boy spun around, stomping angrily. "Shoot, you found me!"
Traveling down a narrow road towards South Clock Town, Link kept his eyes peeled and soon found what he was looking for; a blue cap moving through the crowd. It wasn't all that hard to sneak up on him either. The real challenge started in East Clock Town. The first boy he came to was sitting out in the open, waiting for him and as soon as Link came into view, the Bomber was on his feet and running away.
For Link, running wasn't all that much of a problem but the agile bomber was well used to playing tag and the Deku spent several minutes chasing him in circles and almost catching him several times before the Bomber ran up a flight of stairs towards where the eastern gate of the city was. Worried that he might try to leave the city, Link put on a burst of speed and tackled the Bomber, hazarding a sigh of relief until…
"CUUUUCCCCKKOOOOOO!"
At the highest point of the eastern section, a second Bomber stood on the edge of a drop with a flailing chicken over his head and just as Link started running the boy jumped, using the chicken to hover over to an isolated patio on an inn that couldn't be reached for the ground. Pausing for a smug smile, the boy turned and walked inside.
Getting down on ground level, Link eyed the door. The first thing to come to mind was that the Bomber probably had some way of knowing when someone opened the front door so he'd use that as a signal to slip out the back… but…
Smiling a little to himself, Link walked over to the pink flower and used it to shoot up into the air and land on the Stock Pot Inn terrace and slip in the back door. As expected, the Bomber was sitting patiently at the top of the stairs, caught totally unaware of a threat from behind.
West, South, East… North. Snorting lightly, Link headed off to North clock town and indeed, there was Jim, standing casually off to the side.
They just watched for a moment, each one sizing the other up before racing off at the same time. Jim headed for a bank of waist high weeds that Link's short little body wouldn't navigate through well, but Link didn't follow him. Instead, he ran the opposite direction to climb into the pink flower near the Fairy Fountain and launched into the air.
Cautiously, Jim poked his head out of the weeds and walked out into the open, spinning in circles to see any attack as soon as it happened. It allowed him to keep an eye on every direction but up.
"Tag."
"Gyaah! Where did you? … Never mind."
Sighing, Jim gave another long blow on his whistle and the other four Bombers lined up and turned around. Each had a number on his back to show the passcode.
"53412. The entrance is in East Clock Town," Shaking his head regretfully Jim added, "If only you were human. Then we could give you an original Bomber's Notebook."
The initiation finished, the five Bombers went back to their respective activities, leaving Link alone to trudge back to his flower in front of the Inn. As he headed back, a large group of people happened to be passing the opposite direction and Link had to stand aside to wait for the crowd to pass. From the bright harlequin costumes and gaudy accessories, he assumed it was some kind of performing arts group, and yet amidst the crowd was a moving smudge of black that almost looked like…
But no, he'd worry about that later. First, he needed sleep and badly. He'd been without for the past week and only a few hours simply wasn't good enough. Much as he could stretch out his needs, he couldn't just wipe them out. Sooner or later his exhaustion would catch up with him and Murphy's Law stated that it would happen at the worst possible moment. Best not to tempt fate again for that had happened once before and it had cost dearly.
Back inside his flower, Link curled up on a bed of pollen. Had he been human, it would have been extremely stuffy, but having no nose, he wasn't bothered at all by it. It was actually kind of nice…
The next morning, Link popped out of his flower and dropped the copter stems almost immediately. The alleyway to the observatory would be guarded night and day by a Bomber guard. There was a brief exchange as the guard verified the password and Link was headed down into the sewers of Clock Town.
A sudden burst of stale air assaulted his nose at the end of the downward sloping passage. A torpid stream of sewer water flowed down a canal. To the left it ended in bars but the passage continued forward… somewhat. The space to move forward was completely flooded with only three platforms extending out of the water to hold torches that burned with a black oily smoke.
He didn't really want to swim through that… but on the other hand, he'd trudged though and mapped out a whales intestines on a three day journey before so it couldn't be much worse. Gingerly stepping into the water, he was surprised to find that his porous wooden foot would float… kind of, as long as he didn't put too much weight on it. Taking a few steps back, he ran towards the water, skipping over the surface like it was hot coals on his bare feet and the next think Link knew, he was out on a platform in the middle of the sewage river with nothing but his feet wet. "Maybe being a Deku has its perks."
Link grinned and hopped from island to island, soon making it across to continue down the corridor.
It was just like coming into Clock Town for the first time; A long walk through a dingy hallway and suddenly he was in the middle of civilization. Sparkly metal instruments glittered at him from all over and a chicken watched the intruder from inside a small cage. A spiral set of stairs ringed the outer wall, leading up to a giant telescope poking through the domed roof pained over with images of stars and their constellations.
Standing with his eye to the lens of the giant telescope stood a white haired old man in blue robes. Now Link was positive; he'd seen this man before. Back in Hyrule, he used to wander the Castle Town Market deep in thought. Though they'd never talked, his slightly eccentric appearance always stood out. "Oh, hello. Another friend of the Bombers?" the old man asked pleasantly. Clearly he didn't recognize Link but then, being a Deku Scrub, that was understandable.
"Yes sir. I was told by the Great Fairy that you might know where Skull Kid is?"
The astronomer snorted, altering the angle of the telescope to point towards Clock Town. "Yes… The last 'friend' the Bombers brought turned out to be nothing but a hooligan. He threatened to break my instruments! Yes, there he is now, standing on top of the Clock Tower. I have no idea how he got up there. The top of the tower doesn't open until midnight on the night of the festival… tonight. You seem like a much nicer boy then he is. It's a good thing he didn't find out about my Moons Tear. It fell into my front yard a few days ago. Nice things always come after the bad. Would you like to hear the story of the time traveling scarecrow?"
Politely declining the offer, Link excused himself and ran back through the sewers to emerge in the bustling section of East Clock Town during a traffic rush. Stuck in his narrow alleyway, Link could do nothing but sit back and wait for the crowds to thin. Again, pale skin, black hair, red eyes strolling through the crowd… But he was too far away to do anything and just as before, as soon as the crowd passed, he was gone…
Going back out to South Clock Town, a glance at the giant Clock Tower put the time at 6:00 in the evening. Sighing, Link ran off to North Clock Town to go digging around in the weeds looking for money. Tall grass almost always had a few rupees hiding in it. Digging through the weeds got him a good ten rupees and Link's stomach grumbled persistently but sadly, he had no idea what to eat and experimenting so close to when he would go up and take on Skull Kid would not be wise.
"Take on Skull Kid with what? Snot bubbles?" Sighing, Link flopped down on his back and immediately gasped. When had the moon gotten that big? Surely it wasn't so huge when he arrived…
In spite of the great angry moon slowly bearing down on the world, the throngs still milled the streets in their bright gaudy outfits and glossy masks formed into fantastic shapes. Everywhere was music and dancing in the streets with vendors tending their stalls to sell to the short lines of people who waited their turn to by snacks or beverages or whatever that particular vendor was offering. Most of the people who weren't dancing stood around the smaller tower that had just recently been constructed and held lines of streamers and festive paper lanterns. Still, an undercurrent of something hung in the air. Hesitation? Uncertainty? No, it was more like fatalism. These people who danced their hearts out in the squares of South Clock Town did so with a knowledge that they had no chance to live. In this, the impending apocalypse, the townsfolk had nothing else to do but to eat drink and be merry for tomorrow they would die.
The moon… For the first time, Link really realized just the kind of perilous situation he was in. Had he but known a few days earlier he wouldn't have spent so much time on trivial things. All he could do was try to get the mask back for the Happy Mask Salesman so that is what he determined to do. After all, if Link was going to die, it might as well be in his own body.
Still, there were a few hours left to kill so he made his way over to East Clock Town. Stopping at the Bulldog inn, Link waited around for a bored looking teenager to walk up to the counter. "Can I help you?" he asked, obviously irritated to be dragged away from whatever he was doing.
"Yes, could you tell me if you have a reservation for a Mr. Dark?" Shamed as he was of his squeaky childish voice, Link at least wanted to get some closure.
"Dark… Dark… Nope, no one like that here."
"I see. Thank you…"
Back outside, Link wandered around, looking for more inns to try asking at. "I know I saw him somewhere around here…" Sadly, the next three inns ended with the same result. One building he tried ended up being a bar and Link was promptly shown the door. That left only one inn left, the Stock Pot. The person at the desk, a plump matronly woman with frizzled red hair answered. "Well hello dear. How can I help you?" she asked with a pleasant smile.
"Could you tell me if a Mr. Dark is staying here?"
She hesitated, torn between not wanting to give out information and having to resist an innocent little Deku Scrub. "Please? Big brother promised he'd buy me a taffy apple."
That did it. Unable to resist the boy's wiles, the woman scanned the roster for a moment before tapping a spot on the page. "Why yes we do. Room 207 up on the second floor."
With a quick thank you, Link ran up the stairs, counting down the rooms til he reached 207 and hesitantly pushed the door open only to find a dark empty room there to crush his hopes. "Damn it… I know you're out there… somewhere…"
Night was quickly falling as the Deku tottered his way over to West Clock Town, the least explored section of town to look for Dark. The narrow streets seemed more or less deserted save for a few people, one of whom Link also recognized just like the astronomer. Sitting in front of a large safe sat a girl with straight cut dark, red hair and patched green clothes. Back in Hyrule Castle Town, she'd often sat underneath the stairs of the Bombchu Bowling Alley. What was she doing here?
"Hey there little guy, you come to open a bank account?"
Link looked around, surprised she was talking to him. The girl he knew was blind. Indeed, stepping closer, this girl had the same milky white eyes so how could she know? Still, a bank account. What could it hurt if the world was ending soon anyways? "Alright. I only have ten rupees though…"
"Ah, that's no problem. It's good to start saving with whatever you've got. Now just come over here so I can stamp you with my special ink…" A quick thumb print on the forehead was all it took but Link felt the magic in it. It was just a recognition spell; a passive bit of energy that would allow the blind bank teller to recognize him if and when he came again.
"Alright, you've got ten rupees saved up. Be sure to save up lots more and come back cause I've got a prize for the best savers!"
West Clock Town was mostly deserted and North had little more then lovers spending their final hours in a more comforting atmosphere. East Clock Town had groups of entertainers with plenty of people standing around laughing and watching jugglers and fire breathers and a pair of dancing twins but no Dark…
That left South Clock Town which was packed with people. Short as he was, Link would never find his lover in this giant mass of people. But then, he didn't have to. Just a moment after arriving in the south section of town, fireworks whistled, lighting up the night sky with brilliant bursts of colors and showers of sparks that had the crowds cheering for the pinnacle of the festival.
Sliding along the wall, Link made his way towards the Clock Tower as the wooden slats in the center platform dropped down to form a staircase. Several people had to stop and glare down at the Deku Scrub pushing his way through the crowd to make it to the ramp leading up to the stairs.
As expected, waiting at the very top of the Clock Tower hovered the frail body of Skull Kid, staring down curiously through the malevolent eyes of his mask. "So… You've come to try and stop me again have you…. Hero of Time? I know who you are. The Grand Savior of Hyrule. Do you think getting lucky in one journey makes you worthy of being a Hero? You think that one success and you can take on anything? Well look above you. If it's something that can be stopped, just try and stop it."
Throwing its head back, Skull Kid let out a harsh echoing command of magic, screaming to the moon and the moon answered the call. Its dull angry eyes lit up and the giant mass of rock began growing closer and closer, as though whatever force had been holding it back vanished, allowing the moon to go into free fall.
Stuck in the body of a Deku Scrub, Link attacked the howling Skull Kid with the only weapon he had. A thick green bubble formed as big as he could make it and sent the bubble of magic flying up at his enemy. The attack didn't seem to hurt the Skull Kid so much as startle it. The force knocked him back only a few inches, but unbeknownst to the flying Imp, the Ocarina of Time fell out of his pocket to clatter to the ground.
"You only have five minutes. What do you plan to do?"
Only five minutes? With no weapon that could harm this creature and only five minutes before the moon came crashing down to obliterate the town, Link honestly had no idea what to do, but still he refused to give up. Running forward to grab the Ocarina, as soon as he touched it a memory from his former journey flashed through his mind. Nayru's voice echoed as though she were actually speaking to him.
"Hero of Time, you shall have the power of time at your aid to use that which you have earned. If you should have need of the Goddess of Time, speak your prayers and I shall listen."
Dropping to his knees, Link shut his eyes, offering up a silent supplication to the heavens. In his mind, Link saw the form of the Goddess Nayru, her body of burnished gold glowing radiant as the sun. Walking through the blackness, her sapphire eyes narrowed as she explained what to do.
It was simple, so simple. Trying to take out his Ocarina, Link instead found himself wearing large brass pipes but somehow, he instinctively knew how to play them. Six notes, only six to play the Song of Time that had originally opened the door to the Divine Realm where the Hero of Time laid ahold of the sacred Master Sword. The notes echoed out over Clock Town, loud, harsh, brassy and correct.
Something grabbed ahold of Link and the world faded into a white blur with nothing in the back ground save the ticking of a clock as once again, Link fell through the flow of time to a destination unknown.
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick…