Dammit, Siravant. Stop posting more and more stories before your other ones are finished, you idiot. And amount of homework done so far: zilch. Inspiration's a douche.

Chapter One: Discovery

Tails didn't exactly know why he had felt compelled to start digging around the ruins he had just found today. It felt as though something had drawn him here, something that needed to be found. For some reason, he had been drawn to a specific spot in the ground. Tails couldn't help but think for a moment how strange this was, but immediately dismissed it as his intuition as his shovel suddenly banged against a hard wooden surface.

Tails let out an exclamation of surprise as he jumped into the hole he created to loosen the dirt around what he had just found. Strange, Tails thought to himself as he cleared away the dirt from the treasure chest. It's almost as if I knew exactly where to dig, even though I've never been here before!

Using his twin tails to propel himself out of the hole with the chest in his hands, Tails dropped it on the ground and tried to open it. Predictably, it was locked. No matter. Tails was always prepared for this sort of thing. He removed a lockpick from behind his ear and began fiddling with the chest's lock. After a few minutes, Tails heard a satisfying click as the chest popped open, freeing a layer of dust that had collected around the edges.

Tails excitedly lifted the lid and peered inside to see what he had found. It was a mask. It was heart-shaped, mostly purple and red but with various colorful tribal markings all over it. Two green spikes jutted out from the top, while four more ran along each side. A pair of large, fiery-orange eyes with green irises stared back at Tails.

"A mask?" Tails wondered aloud as he reached in and gingerly picked up the mask.

It seemed to be made of metal, not wood, and yet it was extremely light. The moment Tails touched it, he felt a jolt of energy surge up his arm, making him drop it in surprise with a yelp. Tails stared at the strange mask, rubbing his tingling arm. "Okay, that was weird," he whispered to himself.

He warily picked the mask back up, expecting another jolt, but none came. Relieved, Tails began inspecting his newest discovery in more detail. It seemed to be in pristine condition; not a scratch on it. The eyes looked unnervingly realistic, capable of burning into a Mobian's soul. Tails shoved his trepidation aside with a fervent shake of his head. "Aw, it's just a mask," he said. "Nothing more. Maybe I should try it on and see what I look like."

He didn't see any strings on the mask but put it on his face anyway. Surprisingly, the mask fit snugly on his face. Tails fished a mirror out of his backpack and gazed at himself. He had to admit, scary as the mask looked, he looked rather ridiculous wearing it.

"Boo."

Tails jumped in alarm at the unexpected voice, dropping the mirror, which miraculously didn't shatter once it hit the floor. "W-Who's there?" Tails nervously demanded.

"Nobody here but us rock pillars," the voice answered sarcastically.

"I'm not stupid, whoever you are," Tails retorted, glancing around. "Rocks don't talk."

"Maybe not," the voice replied. "But there's something in here that does. I wonder what it might be…"

Tails gritted his teeth. This disembodied voice was mocking him. "Alright, show yourself!" Tails demanded.

"You're not as smart as you think you are. If you were, you'd notice that you didn't hear my voice until you put me on."

"Put me…?" Tails trailed off, finally understanding. "Wait, the mask is talking to me?"

"Bingo. You get a gold star."

"This is too weird," Tails murmured. "A talking mask. Now I really have seen it all."

"I bet you're also wondering how it seemed you knew exactly where to find me."

"…A little bit."

"When I sensed your presence entering these ancient ruins, I used what little power I had outside of my prison to draw you to my resting place. A little game of hide and seek, if you will. It's been a long time since I've played a game."

"You like games?" Tails asked, curious.

"Immensely."

"Why were you buried here?"

"I don't know. Some people just don't like playing with me."

"I bet you were pretty lonely, weren't you?"

"Thousands of years in complete and total darkness. Alone. Friendless. Nobody knew. Nobody cared. You know what that's like, don't you?"

Tails blinked in surprise as he realized the mask was referring to his life before he had met Sonic, when he was an orphan living out in Green Hill. "How did you know?"

"I can see your memories, Miles Prower. Funny name, by the way. Miles per hour, heh heh."

Tails laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, I know. I just prefer to be called Tails, though."

"A fox with two tails. Curious. Are you perhaps aware of a creature called a Keaton?"

"Keaton? No."

"A fox with many tails. Yes, I can see it now. You carry the blood of a Keaton. But it has thinned out over the millenniums, hence why you only have two tails when the creatures of legend had three."

"I see. Well, I think I'll take you with me. I've got lots of friends you should meet! I think you'll settle right in! I wanna learn more about you while I'm at it, uh..."

"Call me Majora."

"Majora? You kinda got a funny name yourself!" Tails laughed. "You know, you've missed out on a lotta stuff, being stuck inside that box. Oh boy, have I got stories for you!"

"I always like a good story."

"Well…"

And Tails spent the whole trek back to his house telling Majora all about Mobius and his adventures with his friend Sonic the Hedgehog. The mask listened on in silence, taking in all the new knowledge about the world. One thing became quite clear to the mask: Hyrule was gone. The Triforce was gone. The Golden Goddesses were gone.

If the mask could smile, it would have made even Shadow shiver in fright.

It was late afternoon when Tails reached the house he and Sonic shared, and he was still talking to the mask. Sonic was outside in the front lawn, cooking hot dogs on the grill. He was dressed in a comically-large white chef's apron splotched with grease that was boldly adorned with the phrase "Kiss the Cook."

Hearing Tails's voice, Sonic looked over towards him. "Hey, Tails!" he called out, waving. "Hey, what's that on your face?"

"Oh, Sonic!" Tails cried, using his tails to quickly propel himself over to his waiting big brother. "I found this in some old ruins today!"

"A mask?" Sonic asked. Although he wouldn't admit it, the mask's eyes were so real-looking they freaked him out a little bit. "Looks kind of tacky, don't you think?"

"Tacky?" Majora repeated in Tails's head, slightly offended.

"I think it's pretty cool," Tails answered, taking it off. "It was buried in the ruins, and I dug it up. Guess what? It can talk too! But I think I can only hear it talking if I'm wearing it. Its name's Majora."

"A talking mask, huh?" Sonic said, raising an eyebrow.

His first instinct was to just blow it off as an overactive imagination, but Tails never really had that to begin with. Then again, there was that one time he went on an adventure with a talking sword, so a talking mask wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibilities for him anymore. "Well, anyways, you think you could help me out? Could you go inside and take the chili off the stove?"

"Chili dogs for dinner, huh?" Tails quipped with a smug grin. "Why am I not surprised?"

Chuckling, Tails went inside and took the chili off the stove as Sonic had asked before heading down into his workshop in the basement with the mask. "Let me show you around my workshop!" Tails said excitedly, putting the mask back on so he could communicate with it.

"An interesting assortment of machines you have here," Majora complimented.

"You should see Eggman's," Tails laughed. "Oh boy, he has made some of the weirdest machines to try and get rid of us!"

"Ten years of failed plots and wasted resources," Majora stated. "Gotta give the man credit for stubbornness."

"You'd think after all this time he would've learned his lesson and quit trying to take over the world."

"Oh, so he's one of those. Taking over the world, where's the fun in that? All that paperwork…"

"I know, right?"

"Perhaps I could be of use."

"No offense, but…you're a mask. What can you do?"

"You'd be surprised. Perhaps you recall the jolt of energy you felt when you first picked me up?"

"Yeah?"

"What if I told you there's more where that came from?"

"Hey, Tails! Dinner's ready!" came Sonic's voice from upstairs.

"Oh!" Tails started, taking off the mask. "Sorry, I gotta got eat dinner. I'll be back in a bit."

Placing Majora's Mask on his workbench, Tails ran up the stairs to join his big brother for dinner, leaving the mask to contemplate its situation. Majora did not sense any lingering regrets in the young fox's mind. Manipulating his mind was going to be more complicated than usual. That made him even happier. He always liked a challenge. And on top of that, his sisters and brother were long gone, the people having long since forgotten about them. Without worship, they were sure to have faded. But he remained. In an ironic twist of fate, the very thing that was meant to keep the God of Evil under eternal lock and key was what allowed him to survive his brethren's fitting demise.

There was nobody left to intrude on his fun. Majora would rise again, using the Keaton descendent as his new pawn. And this time, no one would stop him.

Tails returned to the workshop about half an hour later, eager to resume his conversation with Majora. He wasn't surprised; the fox had inherited his ancestors' thirst for knowledge, and Majora had baited him. His passion for learning was something the mask could work with. It was time to make the fox play right into his hands. Tails stuck the mask back over his face and couldn't contain his curiosity any longer. "So what was that you were saying about helping us out with Eggman?"

"You may not realize this," Majora answered with a wicked, unseen glint in the mask's eyes. "But by wearing me, you have obtained a great power, one that can be used for anything. I can teach you how to move mountains, freeze oceans… even awaken the dead."

Tails listened with rapt attention. "If you have a goal, I can help you reach it. If you have a problem, I can help you solve it. If you have an enemy…I can help you crush it."

"How can you do that?" Tails asked.

"I'll give you an example. See that pile of junk over in that corner by the stairs?"

"Yeah?" Tails answered, glancing at the junk pile in question.

"Point at it. Picture that pile in your head."

"Okay…"

"Now picture it exploding."

Almost on reflex, Tails's mind immediately imagined the junk pile going up in smoke. Suddenly he felt energy rush down his arm and out his finger, igniting the pile in a shower of sparks and debris. The explosion caught him by surprise, causing him to stumble back in surprise at where the pile used to be.

"Whoa…" he gasped in awe.

"Tails! You alright, buddy?" Sonic asked as he burst into the room, eyes wide with worry.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, Sonic," Tails answered, straightening up. "I…I think I understand what this mask is."

Satisfied that nobody was in danger, Sonic let his guard down. "Yeah? What is it?"

"It's…a weapon."

"A weapon?" Sonic repeated, confused, as Tails removed the mask from his face.

"This mask…it's like a Chaos Emerald, but it's slightly different. Its power output is different from an Emerald's."

This information slightly unnerved the two Mobians. "Well, as interesting as that sounds, if I let you test it, you'll be up all night, and I ain't letting you do that," Sonic said. "Go on and get ready for bed."

"But it's only eight," Tails replied.

"I know, but it's been a while since Eggman showed his face last, and I want everybody to be ready when he does."

Tails sighed as he put the mask back on. "Okay, Sonic."

"Killjoy," Majora grunted.

"Hey, that's not nice, Majora!" Tails chided as he headed up the stairs.

Sonic followed him out and turned off the light as he left, glancing at Tails's mask. There was no denying it; something about that mask put Sonic on edge. Tails had a knack for making friends, but Sonic always worried about him making friends with the wrong sort. And something about that mask gave Sonic a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

The mask lay on Tails's bed as the young kitsune brushed his teeth and gargled. After he was done, he ventured back into his room and picked up Majora's Mask. "Now, where should I put you so you won't get lost with my other stuff," he mumbled to himself, looking around his room until he saw a spare nail embedded in the wall above his bed. "Ah, here we go!"

Tails flew up to the nail and hung the mask up before settling into his bed for a good night's sleep. "'Night, Majora," Tails bade, shutting his eyes.

Majora's eyes gazed down silently at the sleeping kitsune, contemplating whether he should invade his dreams and give him a nightmare, but decided not to. He needed to win the kitsune's trust before the real fun could begin. But there was someone else who was ripe for a bad dream.

From the moment Majora had heard his name, Majora disliked Sonic the Hedgehog. He may not have been his brother incarnate like the other Heroes of Hyrule, but he had the same determination and kind heart, the kind that made Majora gag. He would be lots of fun. He could make it as nasty as he wanted and the hero would try to dismiss it as just a regular old dream.

"Time to play."

6