Chapter 2 – Ticking Away

Deku Link stood directly outside the clock tower in South Clock Town.

"Okay, Link. We aren't exactly sure where the Skull Kid is, so I think the best solution is to go visit the Great Fairy in North Clock Town," said Tatl.

"All right," said Link.

Before going anywhere, he decided to take a look around. There were numerous workmen all over the place working on some sort of structure about 100 feet before Link. What was it they were building? Link had no idea.

He began to walk.

The weather was nice, and the temperature was brisk and comfortable. Link looked up at a staircase on the right-hand side of the town walls. There was a young boy with long, purple hair running down the stairs, wearing the Keaton Mask. This caught Link's eye very quickly, having seen that mask before back in Hyrule. Had that child stolen the mask from the salesman? Link approached the boy to try and talk to him, but the boy did not respond. He continued to walk as if a little deku scrub with a large green hat was not jumping in his face and placed a letter in the mailbox. After that, he just ran back up the stairs.

Link decided not to follow, because it would be rather pointless. He just continued exploring. He saw a large doorway leading...out, but to where?

Link tried to run out the door, but the soldier guarding the exit would not let him.

"Whoa, hold on a second, sprout! I can't just let a young Deku Scrub like you run out into the field without any accompaniment by an adult. It is far too dangerous for you to go out unequipped. Go find your parents and bring them here if you want to go out."

Link was rather surprised, since no one had stood in his way like that before. It frustrated him, very much. So, Link walked around the town again. He did not know exactly what to think; back in Hyrule, everyone treated him as the hero he was, but here in Termina, he wasn't even allowed to exit the town walls without a parent!

He spotted a large, yellow flower again, similar to the one he had used before in the cavern.

"I know, I can fly myself out of here!" thought Link.

Link ran over to the flower, and up to it, but before he could get completely on top of it he heard the call of another Deku Scrub. Had he gained the unique abilities only possessed by the Deku Scrubs? Maybe. Link was too afraid to touch the flower, since he had not known what other scrubs could do yet.

The other Deku Scrub appeared to be flying, with a helicopter-like flower atop his head. He was carrying two large bags. It seemed he was returning from doing business. He hovered above the flower as Link got out of the way, and finally landed.

"Sorry, sprout. This is my personal space and I can't just allow any outsiders to use it."

"Well, can I just give it a try?"

"I never let anyone just 'give it a try'. This is my personal space. But... it's almost time for the carnival, and I'm feeling a little lucky. You look like a worthy kid! Listen, there's this magical stone I've heard about recently. I'm pretty sure it exists somewhere. If you find this stone for me, I'll grant you permission to use this flower."

"What stone?"

"The Moon's Tear."

"The Moon's Tear?"

"All I was told was: Make the moon cry."

The confused Link had no idea what he was talking about. Suddenly, Link spotted something in the sky. It was like no other thing he had seen before.

The moon. It was... enormous. Not only that, but it seemed to be glaring at him. It frightened him.

"Tatl!"

"What is it?"

"The moon! Look at it!"

"I know."

"Why is it so close?"

"It's the Skull Kid's fault. After he got that terrible mask, he started to do horrible things. About a week ago, he put a spell on the moon, causing it to very gradually fall. If his plan went right, it will crash in three days, just when the mask man said he was leaving, so we can get out of here in time."

"Oh my..."

The skull kid ran about Termina field at night without Tatl and Tael, wearing Majora's Mask. He was doing a disturbing dance and letting out a cackling laugh. He looked up into the sky. He let out an ear-shattering scream of terror, sending shock waves of hatred and evil out in every direction. He was calling Majora, and Majora responded.
The mood began to fall. It came closer and closer, and grew an unfriendly face. The moon was perfectly aligned with Clock Town's Clock Tower.

"On the night of the Carnival of Time, Termina will fall!"

"The Carnival of Time is on the night of the third day," said Tatl, "we've got to get out of here by then."

"Get out of here? Shouldn't we try and stop it?"

"How, Link? No offense, but you're just a puny little Deku Scrub! What authority do you have?"

"Once I recover my ocarina, I can do anything."

"Link, let's just go to the Great Fairy."

Link ran back in the direction of the Clock Tower, and went behind it to North Clock Town. North Clock Town was nothing but a grassy area with a pathway, a tree, a large balloon with Majora's Mask on it, and another exit guarded by a soldier.

"It's through that hole up there!" said Tatl.

Link spotted a hole in the western wall of North Clock Town. It appeared that one had to fly to make it up there. It's not like anyone from Clock Town was allowed to just prance into the fountain. There was a conveniently placed Deku Flower waiting for him by the northern wall. Some other scrubs must have put it there for their own use. Link burrowed into the flower and blasted off to the fairy's fountain up above. Running inside, he felt nostalgic for the Great Fairies of Hyrule who had helped him immensely in his quest.

"Hear our call!" said the fairies, "we have been shattered into pieces by the terrible Skull Kid! Please find our one missing fairy so we can become one again!"

"Where is your missing piece?"

"Isolated within Clock Town! Find the fairy and bring it here!"

Link ran outside.

"Okay, so we just have to find the missing fairy," said Tatl.

"Yeah, but where?"

Link just continued to explore, hoping he would eventually run into the fairy. He saw a young boy firing a blowgun at the large balloon with Majora's Mask on it. He approached him, hoping he would be of some help.

"What do you want, little scrub? Can't you see that I'm practicing with my blowgun? If you want to practice with me, get your own. Otherwise, beat it, scrub!"

"Wow, what a jerk," said Tatl, "Whenever you return to your original form, throw a bomb at him or something."

"I'm going to go explore a little bit more," said Link, "maybe later."

Link ran over to East Clock Town, hoping to find something else of interest. Upon entering, he spotted a small building to his left. Overcome with curiosity, he decided to enter without even checking to see what it was.

It was nice on the inside. The floors were carpeted, and it was nice and cool. A secretary sat at the front desk ahead of him in the lobby.

"Hello, young scrub! Visiting from the swamp, I take it? This is Clock Town City Hall. The Mayor's office is to the left, but he's in a meeting right now..."

Link nodded. He thought he'd go check it out. He was going to be out of Clock Town in a couple of days anyway. The secretary knew she shouldn't let him in, but, for some reason, did not try to stop him. Link walked into the office.

Inside the office was Mayor Dotour, two Clock Town guards, and two other residents. They were all talking about an apparently serious matter that had just recently arisen. They were so caught up in conversation that they didn't even notice a scrub enter the room.

"Mr. Mayor, we have got to declare a mandatory evacuation in the next couple of days. The moon is getting closer!" said one of the soldiers.

"You're crazy, Viscen! Do you really think the moon is going to fall?!"

"No, you're crazy, Mutoh! Just go outside and look up! The moon is extremely close!! Do you really think we should stay in town and just let it fall on us?"

"I just don't know what to s-" said the Mayor.

"Mr. Mayor! You need not worry. The moon may appear to be falling, but I can assure you that no such thing would happen!"

"Nonsense! You are in denial again! Have you noticed how many tourists are in Clock Town? Very few! Usually at this time of year, the town is sprawling with tourists!" said Viscen.

"I'm not in denial! I'm realistic! You need to go back to training school in Ikana Canyon!"

"Well, I just might be heading back to Ikana in a couple of days if that moon gets closer! No way I'm staying in town."

"Fine, you cowards! Go! I'll stay here and do the carnival myself!"

"Are you mad, Mutoh?"

"Listen, listen. We must stay calm about this," said Mayor Dotour, "we must be patient, and wait. If the moon does in fact get closer by tomorrow, I will have no choice but to call a mandatory evacuation of all of Clock Town."

"Are you serious, mayor?"

"Of course he is! You need to snap some sense into yourself! When the moon falls on Clock Town, don't come whining to us! We warned you!"

"Cowards! All of you are cowards! I'll never leave town!"

"Fine, then! Stay! I'll go back to Ikana Canyon and tell everyone else to take refuge in a safer place! Some may even leave Termina!"

"Viscen, listen to me. Do you remember that time about a year ago when someone claimed that aliens invaded Romani Ranch? Did that really happen?! Of course it didn't! That girl Romani is delusional! We even had to send Clock Town officials down there to search the area right before last year's carnival, which significantly delayed construction of the carnival's festivities. Do you want something stupid to happen like that again?"

"You just aren't listening!"

"Hey, little scrub, what are you doing in here?" asked the Mayor.

They finally noticed Link had entered the room. Everyone stopped talking. Link did not say a word.

"Is it this crazy down at the swamp? Is there such a fuss being raised at Deku Palace?"

"I-I'm not sure," responded Link.

"Well, let's hope not. They shouldn't go through the trouble we're going through."

"Yeah..."

"Well, I'm leaving! I've got work to do, for the carnival!!" yelled Mutoh as he exited the room.

"Mr. Mayor, Mutoh is being irrational. We must call for an evacuation of all residents at once."

"I will... but what about Kafei?"

"My best guess is that Kafei has already left town. He was probably one of the first to conclude that the moon was coming and decided to flee."

The mayor sighed. "Okay. I'll send out the notice tomorrow morning. However, the gate guards must not let any unaccompanied children out of town without adults. Termina Field has gotten much more dangerous recently, and kids shouldn't be wandering around unattended."

"Yes, sir."

Everyone exited, except Link.

"I can't take this much more. You should go back to the swamp, scrub. It will probably be much safer there, anyway," said the tired mayor.

Link exited the room and the building, exasperated over the stressful conversation.

"I should go back to South Clock Town," said Link.

"Whatever suits you."

Link ran back to South Clock Town. He ran up and down the alleys basically looking for anything interesting.

He passed the tower on the right side, and something caught his eye. It was a statue, of an owl. It looked somewhat like Kaepora Gaebora. Had he followed him to Termina? There was a small inscription on the stone...

Ye who hold the sacred sword, leave ye mark.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Link.

"When you get your sword back, hit this statue, duh!"

"Oh, it seems to be directed at me..."

"Link, it's already twelve noon! We don't have time to lollygag! Time's wasting!"

"You're right. Let's just keep going."

Link ran back into the center of town and up the stairs of which the keaton mask boy ran down. He headed for the entrance to a sector of town. There was a woman walking the opposite direction, yelling, "Kafei! Where did you go to, Kafei?"

"Who's Kafei?" asked Link to Tatl.

"He's some boy who mysteriously disappeared a few days ago. He technically isn't a boy, though. He was a grown man, but the Skull Kid cursed him and he became a child again. His wedding was supposed to be after the Carnival of Time, but no one can find him now. It's very sad."

"Wow."

"Yeah..."

"I sure hope he grows back."

"Well, the curse causes him to stay a kid forever, like a Kokera, or a Kukkemi, what was it?"

"Kokiri."

"Yeah, like a Kokiri. And he can't become an adult again unless the curse is broken. How to do it, I don't know."

"Weird..."

"Yeah...let's keep going. This is the Laundry Pool."

Link ran down to the little pool. There was a frog beneath the tree and a pathway on the other side. Link spotted a lone fairy hovering over the water.

"Hey, Tatl, is that the fairy?"

"It looks just like all the other ones, so my instinct is yes. Get it."

Link hopped onto the water and began skipping on it. He claimed the fairy and jumped to the other side to safety.

"Mr. Deku Scrub, please return me to the Fairy Fountain in North Clock Town," said the little fairy.

"So, let's go," said Tatl.

"What's through that door?" asked Link.

"Oh, that door over there? I dunno, probably a back entrance to a shop or something."

"Oh, might as well not bother."

Link scurried to North Clock Town, where the great fairy's fountain was. He was hoping that she would be of some help on his journey. Tatl was somewhat nervous, though... especially since she betrayed the Terminain fairies by joining the Skull Kid...

Link saw the hole again and launched up into it. He scuttled into the lair. He could see all of the yellowish fairies aimlessly fluttering about.

The lone fairy flew out of Link's hat and into the cluster. Suddenly, all of the fairies merged in a brilliant beam of light, spawning the great fairy. She was big and beautiful, just like the one from Hyrule Castle.

"Oh no! It's the Great Fairy of Clock Town!!" said Tatl.

"Oh my..." said the fairy, "what... what happened?!"

Tatl hid behind Link.

"My body... it was shattered. Shattered by that kid in that ugly mask... I can faintly remember..." Right then, the fairy spotted Link... "You! Was it you who put my body back together?"

Link nodded. However, as he nodded, Tatl fell out of his hat.

"Why, thank you so much! You are such a noble scr-- Tatl?"

Tatl's heart sank. "...yes?"

"Is that you, Tatl?"

"Yes..."

"You're not with that child anymore!!"

"Yeah..."

"But you were with him when he... blew me to smitherines..."

"Great Fairy, I tried to stop him."

"You couldn't stop him from doing it?"

"No... If I did, I think he would do something really bad to me."

"Is that so?"

"Well, if you did stop him I could have saved you and unmasked that twirp!"

"I'm...sorry, Great Fairy."

"Ah... I understand. At least you aren't with him anymore... Now, young scrub, I must give you a reward for repairing my body."

"Oh, don't sweat it, miss," said Link.

"Nonsense! Here's a gift for you! You won't be able to find this anywhere else!!"

The fairy opened her arms widely. There was a large flash of light. Suddenly, Link felt more...powerful.

"Link, you've been blessed with a magic power meter! They Great Fairy of Time invented this! Okay... it isn't actually a meter but it's a magical power endowed unto you by the fairies. Whenever you drink magic potion, your power is replenished and you can do amazing things! They only give it to the noble ones who deserve it!" said Tatl.

"What are you talking about, Tatl? I've had a magic power meter since my quest in Hyrule. The Great Fairy atop the mountain gave it to me..."

"Actually, I think you lost it in the woods. The Skull Kid probably messed with it."

"Damn it."

"Well, that doesn't matter now, because you got it back."

"Actually it does matter. I had more capacity before."

"Well-- okay..."

"Thanks, Great Fairy!!"

"Now, go, young scrub! When battle has made you weary, come back and visit me!"

Link ran out of the fountain and the mean boy firing darts at the balloon was still out there. He discovered that he could now shoot magic bubbles out of his sprout. The darts from the boy's blowgun seemed to not be strong enough to burst the balloon. So, Link gathered up a bunch of energy, and fired a bubble at the balloon.

Boom!

The startled boy stopped and looked around.

"Whoa! Who did that! I know it wasn't me."

Then he looked at Link.

"Was it you, scrub?"

Link nodded.

"Well, scrub, what are you trying to do? Show me that your spitballs can pop my balloon?"

"Uh... sure."

"Well, what do you want from me?"

"I want you to help me find the Moon's Tear."

"Moon's Tear? Never heard of it, sprout! But I know of a place where people find mysterious stuff like that!"

"Tell me."

"No so fast, scrub! It's in our hideout! We don't allow outsiders to walk in there without first passing a test!"

"Okay, what is it...?"

"Bombers! Line up!"

Suddenly four other young boys who looked just like the balloon boy ran up out of nowhere. They were all dressed the same, and had numbers on their backs. They were numbered 1 to 5.

"We're all going to hide in random places in the town! If you find us all by tonight at midnight, we'll give you the password to the hideout!"

"Oh, damn. Not another stupid game," said Tatl to herself.

"Bombers! Go!"

All five of the boys ran off in different directions, until Link lost track of them.

"I hate these stupid games we have to play! We don't have time for this! It's already six o'clock!"

"This town is small. I'm sure finding them won't be hard."

"I sure hope not."

So, Link began to look for the boys. First, he stayed in North Clock Town, running around in every direction. He spotted a pillar with a slide beside it. He approached the pillar and saw Bomber #4.

"Yikes!" yelled the Bomber, running off.

Link began to chase him.

"This is ridiculous..." thought Link.

But, finally, Link caught him. The tired boy sat down and said, "okay, you got me, four more to go."

"See, Tatl? That was so simple!"

"Yeah, we can only hope the other four are that easy."

With that, Link continued on, to East Clock Town. He hadn't seen that part before yet. He ran down the stairs to catch Bomber #2, who began to make his way down to South Clock Town. Fortunately, Link caught him, too.

"Augh, you got me. Have you found anyone else already?"

"Yeah, number 4."

"Oh, three to go."

Link saw another boy standing atop a building. He was holding a chicken in his hands. Why? Link ran back up the stairs and up another flight to reach the roof. Right as he did so, Bomber #1 jumped off and flew for a few seconds via the chicken.

"Smart, yet pitiful," said Link.

"You got me already? Aw, man!"

This was way too easy for Link. He was way too experienced for a little child Hide-and-Seek game. With that, Link headed for South Clock Town.

It appeared no bombers were here, or were they hiding? No, they aren't smart enough to do that. Link went back to the Laundry Pool, and no one was there either.

"Hmm, wonder where the other two are."

"Check in West Clock Town."

So, Link ran over to West Clock Town, another unexplored sector.

There was one bomber, right as he entered. It was the balloon boy, bomber #3.

"Aah!"

The boy began to run.

"This crap is so tedious!" said Link.

The boy ran all the way up to the top of West Clock Town, where there was bomber #5! Luckily, Link caught both of them with ease.

"He's already caught us all! And it's only ten o'clock! We need to find better hiding places! Oh, well. Come up to North Clock Town."

Link ran back to North Clock Town with the bombers. They all stood together in a line.

"So, boys. This little scrub found all of us. Should we allow him to be a member?"

"No way! No scrubs allowed!!" said the other four bombers.

"Well, you heard 'em, sprout."

"So you mean that we did all of this junk for nothing?!" said Tatl.

"Here's the combination, scrub!" said the bombers, just then.

Each bomber turned around, one by one, with numbers on each of their backs. The combination was '43512'.

"There, that's it!" said the head bomber.

And with that, all five of them walked off.

"The bomber's hideout is in East Clock Town!" said Tatl.

"Okay, let's go," said Link.

Link scurried over to East Clock Town. It was 10:30 PM. He saw another little bomber standing before ht entrance.

"Hey, scrub! I can't let you in if you don't know the combination!"

"43512!" said Link.

"What? How did you--? I don't see how a scrub like you got it, but I guess I gotta let you in... be sure to check out the observatory! There's alotta cool stuff there!"

Link ran in down the narrow alley and into the hideout. It looked like the town's sewage system, except the water was clean. He skipped across the little pool to the other side, where there was a pathway. Suddenly a Skulltula fell down from the ceiling. It greatly startled Link. He hadn't had any encounters with skulltulas since his quest in the Forest Temple. Good thing he knew how to defeat them in an instant. When the spider turned around, Link fired a bubble at its tender back, killing it.

Link continued on into the next room, where he saw a large balloon with Majora's Mask on it-- the same one the bomber boy was trying to pop. Link popped it easily and scaled the ladder leading to the observatory.

The observatory was the best part. It was colorful, decorative, and very interesting. He saw a scarecrow standing in a little stand on the side.

"Pierre...is that you?"

No response.

Link remembered the Scarecrow's Song from Hyrule, but couldn't play it since he was missing his ocarina. This was rather unfortunate. He just continued on into the main room, where an old man stood, gazing into the telescope.

"Well, hello, little boy! Did you come to see the stars? They look great tonight! I spotted something strange seemingly dancing atop Clock Tower. I can also tell that the moon has gotten closer, significantly. Would you like to take a look into the telescope?"

Link gazed into the telescope and looked around. It was amazing! He was actually getting to see Termina Field and what was beyond! Something new lay in each direction. He saw the canyon in the east, the swamp in the south, and the mountains in the north. The ocean was behind Clock Town, so he couldn't see that yet. However, he did see some figure moving atop Clock Tower, so he took a closer look.

It was the Skull Kid. The Skull Kid was dancing atop the tower. It was a rather strange sight. Then, the Skull Kid looked up at something... at the moon. So, curiosity persuaded Link to do the same. Link looked up at the evil looking moon and saw something fall from its eye. It was the same thing the scrub from town mentioned! It was a tear of the moon. Suddenly, the stone crashed outside.

On one day when Majora's Spirit stands apex the lands, all fate will align. It is a sign of ending, no more, and trouble. The calling of Majora stretches out into different dimensions, worlds, and times, only a true hero can stop he terror. On the day Majora is called, a stone will fall. On the day Majora is called, rights will wrong. On the day Majora is called, the Moon will cry one tear.

"Whoa! Did you hear that? It must have been one of those falling stones again!" said the astronomer.

"Go check it out!" said Tatl.

Link ran outside to see the stone. It was a beautiful, glowing blue stone sitting directly outside the observatory in Termina Field. It was the Moon's Tear. Link picked it up, and felt it's power running through his veins. It was rather hot, but not too hot to touch.

"We got it! Let's go back to town, now!" said Tatl.

Link ran back into the observatory, and headed back to Clock Town through the quiet hideout. He was getting very tired, and really wondering if he would ever be able to become human again.