Chapter 2: Anju

The door to one of the rooms of the Stock Pot Inn creaked open as a man stepped forward, stretching as he awoke himself. The man had the build of a circus ringleader, rotund but good posture. His legs seemed to taper down at his feet. The outfit was that of a Shakespearean clown, white leggings, which were tapered as per his legs, a brown tunic with purple, flashy sleeves, and a large, frilly collar. He had a very rectangular face, with very short, brown hair, along with a long moustache that came to a point at each end. He made his way down the stairs and to the main room of the inn.

"Good morning, Mr. Gorman," Anju spoke at once from behind the counter. She was a beautiful woman having long red hair that ended at her shoulders. Her eyes were rather large and seemed to sparkle a sapphire blue color. She had an average build for her body, being skinny but not purely skin and bones. She wore a white long-sleeved shirt which she had rolled up to her elbows along with a sleeveless brown vest which buttoned down the center. She had a blue skirt on that ended a few inches above her ankles, having a design around the trim that looked like silver flames. She also wore a white belt made of cloth and a pair of red high-heeled shoes. She gave a bow, "How are you today?"

"Splendid, splendid," Gorman spoke with a smile. "And you, my dear?"

"I am well, Mr. Gorman. How is your troupe doing?"

"Remarkable," Gorman spoke ecstatically. "The Rosa Sisters are preparing a new dance, the Twin Jugglers are practicing their juggling and comedy even more, and Guru Guru himself is even focused on preparing a piece of music for the Rosa Sisters' dance."

"Amazing, sounds like the entire troupe is coming together."

Gorman nodded. "I'll be heading out myself sometime around half passed nine."

"Ah, that's right; you have a meeting with Madam Aroma, don't you?"

"Yes. She wanted to discuss something about my show. I can't wait. I've been planning and striving and fighting for this chance for many years, and now, finally, my dream comes true. I get to be the beginning act for the Carnival of Time! I may yet complete my dream!"

"And what dream would that be?" Anju asked curiously.

Gorman cleared his throat. "That's personal matters, Miss Anju."

Anju blushed. "Oh, please, Mr. Gorman, you don't have to be so formal."

"You say that, yet you refer to me as 'Mr. Gorman'. My dear, if I don't need to be so formal to you, then you have no need to be so formal to me, either." Gorman smiled brightly.

"But it is polite…"

"And that is why I refer to you as 'Miss Anju', because it is polite." The clock on the wall chimed nine and Gorman smiled as he looked up at it. "Another half an hour should do fine. I don't want to be too early. Waiting outside the door for an hour would be rather boring."

"Why not eat some food while you're waiting? Breakfast is always a good way to start a morning. It gives you the energy you need to continue through the day."

Gorman laughed. "Well, I'd have to decline that offer, unfortunately, I have several affairs to deal with before I head out."

"ARGH!" a female voice shouted and a door slammed shut rather loudly. From the upstairs rooms came a woman dressed in a white leotard that had a few red designs on the edges of it. She had dark red hair that she had pulled up into a small ponytail and she wore a sort of red eye shadow.

"Rosa, is something wrong?" Gorman asked.

"This dance is impossible!" Rosa shouted at Gorman, getting right in his face. "You want it to be flashy, to be spectacular, well damn it all, we're just plain out of ideas! We've tried everything we can think of, and nothing, I mean nothing looks good!"

"Well, surely you can figure something out-"

"No!" Rosa shouted and growled. "My sister and I are done thinking for right now. We have been working on this for three days straight as it is. We are stopping to rest before we get back into it, understand?"

"Certainly…I don't see any reason that you can't stop to rest, as long as the dance is ready…Do keep in mind that we have only three days…"

Rosa sighed. "I know…" she took a step back and leaned against the wall. "I just…don't know what to do…"

Gorman smiled and walked up to Rosa. "Don't worry, dear. Everything will fall into place. The gods will give you the inspiration you need, right when you need it most."

"But we need it now…"

"Are you trusting in them?"

Rosa sighed. "Not really…"

"Maybe that is why?" Gorman shrugged. "You must trust in them and have faith. They will give you the inspiration you need."

Rosa sighed. "Maybe you're right…I'll go talk to my sister…" She stood to her feet and headed off, heading back up to the top floor rooms of the inn.

Gorman gave a sigh. "Things are beginning to fall apart…" he spoke more to himself then to anyone else. "Can this really be done?" He turned his attention back to the clock. "Close enough…" he spoke and left the inn.

. . .

"Oh, Anju, what are we going to do?" a rather large woman asked. She had her crimson hair up in a bun and was wearing a white shirt with green pants and a green jacket over her shirt. "You're wedding is just three days away, but Kafei hasn't been seen in a month!"

"I know…" Anju spoke as she stared out of a nearby window. Her face showed overwhelming sadness. "He'll show up, though, I know it…he promised…"

"Some people don't always keep their promises, though, Anju…"

"Kafei will!" Anju protested. She then sighed and turned back to looking out the window.

"How do you know Kafei hasn't run off with some other woman?"

"Because I know Kafei…he wouldn't do something like that…"

"Then what do you think happened to him?" the woman asked as she stepped close to Anju.

"I don't know, but he will show, I know it…he just has to…" The bell to the inn door rang and Anju looked up quickly. "Welcome to the Stock Pot Inn, how can I help you?" she asked with a smile, then noticed who it was. The man who had just entered was dressed in a white outfit with a red bag on his back and a red hat on his head. This was the Postman, which was also the name everyone knew him by.

"I have a letter for an Anju," the Postman spoke.

"For me?" Anju questioned. The Postman reached into his bag and pulled out a small letter in a red envelope and handed it to Anju. At once she let out a loud gasp. "Where did you get this?"

"From the postbox," the Postman spoke rather plainly.

"That doesn't help me!" Anju protested. "Which postbox?"

"The postbox somewhere."

"Ugh!" Anju shouted and grabbed her hair. "I need to know where you got this letter from!"

"Post Office Privacy Policy states I cannot convey that information."

Anju looked down and gave a sigh. "Right…" she closed her eyes a moment before opening the letter. She watched as the Postman jogged out of the inn and her eyes returned to the letter.

"Anju, what is it?" the large woman asked.

"Mother…this letter…it's from Kafei…" Anju spoke after a moment.

"From Kafei?" Anju's Mother cried, as if in horror. "What does it say?"

"I…I can't say…" Anju spoke then pocketed the letter. "I'm sorry." She gave a bow to her mother. "For now, just trust me."

Anju's Mother folded her arms and gave a sigh. "Very well…but I still think that Kafei is nothing but trouble…I mean, who the hell disappears a month before their own wedding without any kind of warning or explanation?" She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, in either case, you're doing a good job manning the inn, so keep it up." She turned and walked away and Anju turned back to the counter then gave a sigh.

"Kafei…" Anju spoke as she pulled the letter back out and began to read through it once again.

. . .

"Kafei…" Anju spoke as she stared at the ceiling of her room. "Can I really meet you? Will you be able to explain everything?" she turned onto her side and looked at the letter lying on her stand next to her bed. She then looked up at the clock, noticing the time. "It's almost two…"

Anju tossed the blankets off of her and dressed, then stepped out into the inn that was her home. She then began to make her way down the stairs into the main room of the inn.

"This will break her heart!" Anju's Mother shouted and Anju quickly hid behind a wall.

"I know…for Kafei to do something like this…I can only hope it's not true…" a female voice spoke and Anju gasped.

"What's happened?" Anju shouted, jumping out from behind the wall. She now saw who her Mother was talking to. It was Madam Aroma, the wife of the Mayor of Clocktown and the mother of Kafei.

"Anju…" Madam Aroma spoke as she looked at Anju. "Kafei…he might be…at Romani Ranch…"

"What's wrong with that? Cremia is a friend of ours…"

"He may be cheating on you with her…"

"What? There's no way that he-"

"Anju…he went missing about a month ago…" Anju's mother spoke up. "Also, Cremia's last visit was a month ago. That could mean that Kafei went with Cremia…"

"No…I don't believe it at all…" Anju spoke as she stepped back, completely mortified by this news. Tears were again trying to come to her eyes and she fought them back as hard as she could. "He…he would never do something like that…"

"There's no denying that it's a possibility…"

"I won't believe it!" Anju shouted and rushed forward, throwing the door to the inn open.

"Anju!" Anju's Mother shouted, then gave a sigh of defeat. "Well…now she's definitely unhappy about this…"

Anju continued to run once she was out of the inn, making her way through Clocktown until she reached the small pool that many referred to as the Laundry Pool. It was here that she stopped, still attempting to fight back the tears. In front of her was a small bell on a post, and it was here that Kafei had asked her to come in his letter. He had said that if she rang the bell, he would appear and explain everything. However, she didn't have the courage to do it and she sat down on a nearby bench.

"I don't understand, Kafei…what's going on?" Anju asked before closing her eyes. "Why did you disappear? Are you really coming back?" Tears rolled down her eyes and she quickly wiped them away, but it wasn't enough. "No…I'm not going to cry…I…I refuse!" she looked back up at the bell then dropped her head into her hands. "Why? Why can't I ring the bell? I just want to see him…I want to be with him…why did he disappear on me like this?" It was as if revelation hit Anju and her eyes went wide. Her body shook as she tried to fight back the tears once more, but the thought in her head made her desire to only burst out into tears even more.

"It's…because of me, isn't it?" Anju asked herself. "Cremia…she's so much more beautiful than me…and she's so much nicer…Would it be really that hard to think that he might have fallen for her?" She shook her head trying to get the thought out of her mind but it was useless. "Kafei…please tell me none of this is true…please tell me…that it's all a big misunderstanding…" the tears returned with a vengeance, and all she could do was hide her head in her hands, unable to stop her crying.

"AUGH!" a voice shouted rather loudly and Anju quickly looked up to see a small Deku boy tumbling down the hill that led to the Laundry Pool. Quickly, Anju rushed over and caught the boy before he tumbled into the water that was actually rather deep to a Deku boy and would certainly have drowned him if she hadn't saved him.

"Are you okay?" Anju asked as she held the Deku boy in her hands. The boy nodded, not sure how to react to this new turn of events. "What's going on here?" Anju looked up, seeing a rather small, shaggy dog running towards them. "Bruno!" she shouted and the dog screeched to a stop. She glared at the dog and the dog cowered. "What did I tell you about attacking Deku?" Bruno whined a little. "Leave this boy alone. Shoo!" Bruno yipped as he rushed away.

Anju sighed and knelt down and picked the Deku boy up. "Oh dear, Bruno looks like he did a bit of a number to you…I'll take you back to my home and patch you up." She smiled and the Deku boy just stared up at her. He gave a small smile before slipping out of consciousness. With that, Anju quickly made her way back to the inn where she threw the door open rather roughly. "Mother! Fetch the medical supplies, quickly!"

"Oh dear, what happened?" Anju's mother cried as she quickly grabbed up a small bag from nearby, rushing out to the front door of the inn.

"This poor Deku boy was being chased by Bruno."

"Where's his family?"

"I don't know…but Bruno chased him into the Laundry Pool…I saved him from being drowned and then he slipped out of consciousness…"

"Oh dear, let's get him bandaged up quickly then." Immediately they set to work on bandaging the Deku boy's wounds. It only took a few minutes, and after that they took the Deku boy up to Anju's room. "I'll go man the inn, you keep an eye on this Deku boy."

"I will," Anju spoke with a nod and her Mother turned and left. Anju sat down on the bed next to the Deku boy and gently stroked his hair. It took only a few minutes after that for the Deku boy to awaken. "You're awake," Anju spoke with a relieved smile, "that's good."

"Wh-where am I?" the Deku boy asked as he rubbed his head, slowly sitting up.

"You're in the Stock Pot Inn."

"Stock Pot Inn? Where's that?"

"In Clocktown, you do know where Clocktown is right?" The Deku boy shook his head at Anju's question. "Oh dear…that's a little strange…well, don't worry about it. Do you know where your parents are?"

The Deku boy stared at Anju for a moment, and then looked away. "Umm…well…you see…I don't have any parents…"

"No parents?" Anju asked, blinking in confusion. "Then…you're by yourself?" The Deku boy nodded. "Oh dear…that's terrible…tell me, what's your name?"

"L-Link…"

"Link? That's an interesting name for a Deku…Where are you from?"

"Umm…Hyrule…the Kokiri Forest to be exact."

"High…rule?" Anju asked, tilting her head in confusion. "I'm afraid I don't know any places with that name."

"You don't know Hyrule?" Link asked, giving Anju a confused stare. "Where am I then?"

"Well, the land you're in is called Termina. It…it means just like it sounds…we've had a lot of problems in our land…and some people believe our land is doomed so they started calling it that…"

"That's terrible…" Link spoke, looking down.

"In either case, you're in the town in the center of Termina called Clocktown."

"I can honestly say I've never heard of this place before…"

"Well, how did you get here?"

"I…was looking for a friend…she left me after our last adventure…These two fairies appeared and attacked my horse…then a Skullkid stole my horse and ran off with it…I followed him, and I ended up here…"

"Quite a story…but…how were you riding a horse? You're just a Deku boy, aren't you?"

"I…I haven't always been like this…" Link spoke and sighed as he closed his eyes. "When I finally caught up, the Skullkid used this weird mask to transform me into this…"

"So, then, what were you before?"

"I was a Hylian…"

"A Hylian? What kind of creature is that?"

Link looked Anju up and down for a moment. "Umm…Hylians look a lot like you do…"

"Really? Interesting." Anju put her hand to her chin as she thought for a moment. "Well, what are you going to do now?"

"I was going to try to find that Skullkid, see if I could get him to turn me back…"

"I see…" Anju stood to her feet and put her hands on her hips. "Well, you're not going anywhere right now. You're pretty badly beat up. What all have you done since you've been here?"

"Well…after I got turned into this…I had to fly through a cave using a bunch of flowers…I found this really weird tree there…kind of looked like it had a face…"

"Sounds like a dead Deku…"

"What?" Link asked, his eyes wide in shock.

Anju sighed. "When a Deku dies, they turn into trees…"

"Could magic transfer a soul from a creature into a mask?"

"Possibly, why?"

Link looked down. "Because…the tree looked a lot like I do now…"

"That's…really sad actually…" Anju sat down next to Link and sighed. "Well, don't worry yourself over it, there's nothing you could have done to save the Deku, okay?" Link nodded. "What else have you done so far?"

"Well…after that…I walked through this winding path…it led me into the clock tower…"

"A path into the clock tower…from somewhere else?"

Link nodded. "When I turned around it was gone…so…maybe it was a portal?"

"Perhaps…" Anju put her hand to her chin. "In either case, please, go on."

"After that, I began to journey a bit in the town…I visited the Great Fairy in the North and she was split apart into a bunch of little fairies because of the Skullkid…so I tried to find the missing fairy and met the Bomber Gang. They put me through a test to find all five of them…I did manage it…but it took me a while…After that…I went to meet the Astrologer…and then…"

"And then?" Anju asked curiously.

Link nodded. "And then I ran into the dog…It beat me up a good bit…but…that's because I tried to fight it, instead of running away right away."

"I see…well, you're definitely courageous."

Link rubbed the back of his neck. "I would hope so…I was once the Wielder of the Triforce of Courage."

"Triforce of Courage? What's that?"

Link blinked in confusion for a moment. "Umm…nothing, it's not important," he spoke, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I see…" Anju smiled and picked Link up, setting him on her lap. "Well, since you're pretty much stuck here until you heal, and you don't have any family, you're free to be part of ours."

"Y-you want me to be part of your family?" Link asked.

Anju nodded. "Yes."

"Th-that's…very nice of you…but I really need to find that Skullkid."

"Oh no, you're not. You're not going anywhere until you've fully healed."

"But they're just scratches!"

"Scratches, huh?" Anju touched one of his wounds and Link screamed in pain. "You may have been a Hylian before, but your body as a Deku can't take as much as a Hylian body can. That dog did a good number on you, it's going to take a couple days for you to heal." Anju turned to look out the window. "Unfortunately…we might not have that long…"

"What do you mean?"

"This is probably a dumb question…but did you happen to look at the sky while you've been here?"

Link shook his head. "No…should I have?"

Anju picked Link up again and set him at the window. "Look up."

Link did as he was told. "WAH!" he shouted and began to squirm. "Wh-what is that?" High above the town was a massive brown orb. Small craters could be seen all over it, and it was as if the orb had a massive face upon it as well. Two glowing red eyes could easily be seen, along with a rather large nose and a terrible grin. It looked as if it was poised to destroy.

"That's the moon…people think it's going to come crashing down on us."

"Wh-what?"

Anju sighed. "It changed like that sometime a couple of nights ago…the moon is threatening to come crashing down on us…no one is really sure how long we have until it crashes…"

"That's…terrible…" Link looked down for a moment, then made a fist and looked back up at Anju. "I can try to stop it. I'm a hero in my land, I'm certain I can do it."

Anju smiled but shook her head. "No, it's ok…you need to heal, and this is our problem anyway."

"But…I'm here now…and if there's no way out of here, it's my problem as well."

Anju sighed. "I guess you have a point there, but regardless, you have to heal first. You can't do anything as you are."

"But I can't just let Termina be destroyed!"

"I know…" Anju sighed as she looked up at the window. She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment before she turned back to Link. "Just promise me you'll come back at night, ok? I'll even give you a key to the inn. This is your family now, okay? So at least stay here during the night."

Link thought for a moment, and then nodded. "All right."

Anju smiled and hugged Link. "Be careful out there, little brother."

Link blushed at those words. "I-I will…" Anju pulled a small key from her pouch and handed it to Link. Link then turned and hopped up to the window. He looked out for a moment then flicked his wrists and two flowers seemed to grow from his hands. He hopped forward and the wind caught him, letting him gently float to the ground.

"Good luck, little brother," Anju spoke as she watched Link head off.

. . .

"Ok, Anju, we're leaving tomorrow for the ranch," Anju's mother spoke as she looked down at her. Anju was currently sitting on her bed, her face hung low looking down at the ground. She looked sad, defeated, without purpose. "Cremia will take us in. After all, she is your best friend, right?" Anju's mother stayed silent a moment before speaking again. "Are you listening to me?"

"I wonder if it's true…that Kafei is at Cremia's…" Anju spoke suddenly.

"There's only one way for us to find out about that," Anju's mother spoke. "We'll have to go there and find out ourselves."

"But what if he is?" Anju asked, quickly looking up at her mother, worry showing on her face. "What if…" she looked back down, returning to her almost depressed expression, "…what if he is there…and he really has left me for Cremia?"

Anju's mother sighed. "Cremia needs strength from a partner as well as funds and such that she could obtain easily from Madam Aroma. Why…I would say it's almost certain he's there."

"But, Mother-" Anju quickly shot her head up to protest, but her mother waved her hand in front of Anju's face.

"If he is there, I'll give him a good smacking." Anju's mother made a motion to demonstrate this. "Also, it means you're better off without him. After all, how happy can you be marrying a man who would run off just before his own wedding? Why…you'd be miserable!"

Anju looked back down in defeat. "But…in his letter…he said he would definitely be back…"

"Come back to what?" Anju's mother protested almost instantly. "Isn't this town going to be crushed by that moon in the sky come the morning after tomorrow? There won't be anything left for him to come back to!" She sighed and sat down on the bed next to Anju. "Dear…for now, just focus on staying alive. Once we're all safe…then we can focus on the more important things."

"Yes, Mother," Anju spoke and Anju's mother wrapped her arms around her daughter. The two stayed in the embrace for a few moments before deciding it was time for them both to head to bed.

"Have you seen Link?" Anju asked and her mother shook her head. She sighed and took one last glance out the window, searching for her new brother before lying herself down and falling asleep.

. . .

It was the final day. The moon was destined to fall the very next morning, and there was nothing that could be done to stop it. "Grandma," Anju spoke as she opened the door to a large study. "We're leaving."

"Oh, is that you, Tortus?" an elderly lady asked as she looked up at Anju. She sat in a wheelchair as her old age had left her unable to walk. In her hands was a book, one she seemed to read day-in and day-out.

"Grandma, it's me, Anju…" Anju spoke as she stepped over to her.

"Oh my, silly child, you really are such a bother. You're even thinking you're someone else now."

Anju sighed and stepped over to her grandmother and grabbed the back of the wheelchair. "We're going to Romani Ranch for shelter. Come on." Anju wheeled her grandmother out of the study and out into the inn.

"Is everything ready?" Anju's mother asked and Anju nodded. "Good, then."

"What about Link? Did he ever show today?" Anju asked as she looked around worriedly.

"No, Anju, he didn't…I hope that boy is all right…"

Anju nodded and began to wheel her grandmother out the door. She turned her gaze off to the east, and for a split moment, she thought she saw a faint bit of green. She quickly began to look around, but she saw nothing. "I must be seeing things…" she spoke and began to push her grandmother once more.

"We need to hurry, it's already sunset, and the ranch is quite a ways away," Anju's mother spoke as they made their way out of Clocktown and into the southern field. They quickly made their way through the field and down the path known as Milk Road. At the end of Milk Road was a man with a large pickaxe, rubble was all around, showing he had been working for quite some time.

"Making your way to the ranch?" the man asked and Anju nodded. "Got this done just in time then. There was a big boulder blocking the way. Best be hurrying now. That moon doesn't look to friendly."

"Thank you," Anju spoke and wheeled her grandmother forward and down the remainder of the path, soon reaching the ranch. They quickly made their way down to the house where Anju knocked rather fiercely.

"Anju?" a woman asked as she opened the door. She had rather light brown hair that ended at about her waist and she wore a white shirt with a purple skirt that went down to her feet. A brown belt was around her waist while a yellow tie was around her neck. "What is it?"

"Cremia, we've come seeking refuge from the moon."

"Oh dear…" Cremia spoke, looking away. "I'm afraid…my ranch is doomed as well…when the moon hits…there won't be anything left…"

"Then nowhere is safe…" Anju spoke as she looked down and Cremia nodded.

"But, please, by all means, come in…" Cremia spoke, opening the door open wide and stepping aside. "Just…do me a favor…don't say anything about the moon…I don't want my sister to know…" Anju nodded and she wheeled her grandmother inside with her mother following soon after. "Romani! We have guests over tonight!" she shouted up the stairs.

At once a young girl came strolling down the stairs, looking rather blank. She looked exactly like Cremia, but about seven years younger. "Who are these people?" Romani asked.

"They're our friends – Anju, her mother, and her grandmother," Cremia spoke.

"It's good to meet you…" Romani spoke and gave a bow. Cremia sighed.

"What's wrong with Romani?" Anju asked.

"A few days ago, she was going on about how something was going to come to the ranch three days before the Carnival of Time and steal our cows away…She made herself a bow and was practicing shooting arrows…I thought it harmless, so I let her continue, even though I didn't believe it at all…and then…two nights ago…they came…Ghosts…or something…they appeared, riding on a beam of light…They attacked the ranch, destroyed the roof of the barn, and stole our cows away…"

"That's terrible!" Anju cried.

Cremia nodded. "Romani tried to protect the cows…I…I don't know what they did to her…but she hasn't remembered anything since…not even her own name…"

"I'm sorry…" Anju's mother spoke and wrapped her arms around Cremia. "Now, I have to ask…is it just you're family here?"

Cremia nodded. "Of course. Other then my brother, Grog, who is tending to the Cuccos, it's just me and Romani here…why?"

"Kafei…has disappeared…" Anju spoke and Cremia gasped. "We didn't know where he went…rumors circulated that maybe he came here…" Anju looked down. "Maybe…he had run off with you…"

"Never!" Cremia shouted. "I may love Kafei, but I know how much he means to you, and how much you mean to him. Why, if he came here and suddenly confessed his love to me, I'd smack him a new one and kick his ass out! Cause if he's going to come here suddenly when he's already due to be married, then I won't stand to be with a guy like that."

Anju nodded. "I…I thought so…but…I didn't know…" The ground beneath their feet began to shake rather suddenly and Anju quickly opened the door to the ranch and looked out. Her face showed horror as she watched as fire engulfed the moon as it continued its decent. The massive orb was about to come crashing down, and there was no time left.

. . .

"No!" Link shouted as he stood before the clock tower, staring up at it. The tower was beginning to crumble as the moon was making its descent. "I can't stop it…there's nothing I can do…I can't…" He fell to his feet and grabbed his head. "Three days! I had three days, and I couldn't do anything! Not a god damn thing!" He slammed his fist into the ground as tears came rolled down his cheeks and onto the ground. "I have to stop this…I have to…there has to be something I can…"

Link looked back up at the moon and he felt as if the orb was staring back at him. He saw it now, something he had not noticed before. A look of sadness upon the face of the moon, as if it didn't want to do what it was doing. He could sense that the moon was doing everything in its power to not fall, but the powers that were dragging it down were just too much for it.

The clock tower buckled under the stress of the moon and collapsed to the ground, sending debris flying everywhere. Link put up his hands to block the debris from his face, as if hoping it would be enough to keep him alive. The moon's great weight began to push upon the earth, and dust and debris were quickly lifted from the ground and sent flying all around. The walls of Clocktown burst apart and Link's final vision was of the fire from around the moon striking the ground, causing a massive release of energy that sent Link flying back, screaming. It was then that all went dark.

. . .

"You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" a voice asked and Link swore he recognized it. Darkness still covered his vision, but he could hear sounds, almost like the sounds of gears turning. Slowly, his eyes managed to open once more, and his eyes went wide when they adjusted enough to see around him. He was now in the clock tower in the center of Clocktown, but it was not the ruins of a tower like he had anticipated. Instead, the tower was whole, as if nothing had ever happened to it. "Oh well, we all fail sometimes. You know what they say, 'if at first you don't succeed, try try again.'"

That voice…Link turned and, much to his surprise, he found himself staring at the man he had met the first time he had been here, the salesman that owned the Happy Mask Shop. "Well, are you going to just lie there all day, or are you going to go fetch the precious item that was stolen from you? After all, you only have three days."

"Three days?" Link asked and turned, noticing Tatl was floating next to him. She seemed as lost as he was. "There's no way…something must be wrong…" He quickly got up and thrust the doors to the clock tower open and his eyes went wide when he noticed everything had reset. The moon was high in the sky, signaling there were still three days left. "There's no way…Didn't we see Clocktown get destroyed just now?"

"I swear we did…" Tatl spoke then shook her head. "Whatever, I don't care, this gives us three days to get that ocarina back from the Skullkid, let's go."

Link nodded. "Right…" he looked back. "But…exactly who is he? That…Happy Mask Salesman?"

"I don't know, Link…but I don't think we'll ever find out…"