I'm trying to put this on a two week schedule so updates should be more frequent from now on
Link ran through the dark tunnel, guided only by the faint flickers of light that fell down from the city. In truth he was darting from pool of light to pool of light, hoping that he wouldn't fall into a hidden abyss. It had happened before. Link had been running haphazardly, ignoring the scarce light and focusing only on getting out of here. Suddenly the ground gave way beneath his foot and he was left floundering in a pool too deep for him to touch the bottom. That meager danger had almost been the end of him, so now he careful not to repeat the mistake.
After a long time of sprinting through near darkness, Link reached a narrow staircase. He ran up it, intending to take the ascent two steps at a time. In his haste, Link forgot about his reduced size and ended up running headfirst into the second step. After that he contented himself with carefully climbing the steps one at a time. He'd never reach the clock tower if he gave himself a concussion down here in the sewers.
Through careful effort, Link managed to reach the top of the stairs and found himself in a narrow alley. Light seemed to be coming from one direction so he headed that way. Running at full speed, Link didn't see the boy until it was too late. He charged straight into the boy's back and threw both of them to the ground. The boy shrieked as he was struck but quickly jumped back to his feet and rounded on Link.
"Hey!" he shouted, confusion and accusation burning in his eyes, "Who are you! How'd you get down into the Bomber's secret hideout? Huh?"
Link took a step back, realizing just much bigger the boy was than him.
"And what's that you've got?" he demanded, noticing the moon's tear gripped in Link's hand, "You didn't take that from the astronomer, did you? Hey! Just what are you? A… one of those plant guys… are you a Deku?"
The kid scratched his head in bewilderment, granting Link an opportunity to slip past him. The boy called out after him, but Link moved quickly enough that he had disappeared into the crowd before the kid turned around.
Link was swept along by the crowd and taken wherever the current went. At some point he found himself in a long stairway that was lit primarily by the hanging lanterns that were strung overhead. They cast down multi-colored hues along with pale white. The illuminations mingled and muddled until the whole world seemed to be made of splotches of color. Link found himself staring all around, drinking in the colors and sounds.
Something shoved against him, knocking Link of his course and sending him stumbling through the crowd. Link found himself struggling not to be crushed underfoot. He dodged out of people's way and ran with raw panic beginning to flare up inside of him. Finally he managed to squeeze his way out of the fray and was sent stumbling into the front room of a shop.
A few moments passed before his eyes adjusted from the dim but colorful light to the bright room lit by a multitude of candles, torches, and lanterns. Shelves hung on the opposite wall, holding various pieces of equipment. Pots of colored potion, bundles of arrows, even a small pile of Deku nuts. The man at the counter lazed against it, supporting his head with one crooked arm. His eyelids seemed heavy, ready to fall shut any moment.
"Uh… hey," the man murmured, "You… uh… want somethin'?"
Link shook his head and started to make his way back toward the door, but a raspy rustle made him pause.
"H-h-hey!" a raspy voice called out, "Do you like ta' dance?"
Link spun around to face the voice and found himself looking into a straw face. Black button eyes stood out like lumps of coal in a sea of soft golden sand. A stitched-in smile spread from ear to ear, or at least to where the ears would've been.
Link tilted his head in confusion, staring up at the scarecrow. "What are you?" Link started to ask, but paused before continuing, "…are you talking about? Dance?"
"Yeah, dancin'" the scarecrow exclaimed enthusiastically, "It's such a great way to pass the time. Sometimes I'll start dancing and before I know it, the whole nights gone by. And with legs as fine as yours, I bet you're a great dancer."
"Uh," Link moaned, muttering something incomprehensible and trying to slip back out of the shop. He had to get to the clocktower and find that skull kid. He needed to fix whatever had been done to him so he could find that thing he'd been looking for.
"Oh you're nervous…" the scarecrow said, leaning forward quickly and taking Link by the arm, "Don't worry, I'll start first and then you can go whenever you're ready."
The scarecrow laughed and released Link. Suddenly it began jerking and twisting merrily. Link half expected it to uproot itself in the flurry of motion. At first Link had intended to slip away once the scarecrow released him.
After a few moments of watching it, though, Link decided to wait a few seconds, that couldn't hurt. A few seconds stretched into a few minutes, and soon Link was dancing along with the scarecrow.
Time seemed to slip away as Link danced, however, he found out soon enough that he didn't care. All that mattered was the movement, the shaking and turning.
All that mattered was that he keep dancing with the scarecrow.
Hours passed and faded. At one point it became dark, as if all the light had been extinguished. Link thought he could see the shopkeeper glance at him sadly before locking up and leaving. Years could have passed for all Link knew.
He kept dancing.
After a time very close to forever had gone by, Link felt his body slowing. It did so of its own accord and within minutes the dancing had stopped. Link was standing in the shop, face to face with the scarecrow.
It laughed merrily, "Wow, I KNEW it. You're a dancer all right. Come back sometime, I'd love to get it on like that again!" With one last resounding chuckle, the scarecrow quivered and sank into the ground.
Link flinched back as the scarecrow disappeared. Before leaving the shop, he glanced over at the shopkeeper. It was a different man this time, older and more focused. Link thought he saw a small amused grin as the man shook his head slightly.
Without a word for the shopkeeper, Link left the shop and entered the crowded street again.
Link walked through the crowd, keeping an eye on the clocktower. It stuck out above the smaller buildings, stretching into the sky as it did. Link had to push against the crowd in some points in order to maintain his course, but it paid off. He was definitely getting closer to the tower. Where it had seemed distant and hazy before, it was now looming overhead.
Link walked into the square that housed the tower and looked up at it with a mixture of apprehension and disbelief. He realized there was no way for him to ascend it. Even if he had been a human, the tower was just too big.
There was no way.
Link sighed, moving as close to it as he could without falling into one of the bordering pools of water. He gazed up at it, trying to find some way he could climb the clocktower.
"Ugh, I know. If there were any way, I would. But those moon's tears are so rare there's no way I'd be able to get my hands on one."
Link heard the moon's tear mentioned and spun around. He found himself watching a large pair of Deku conversing.
"Well," one said, "I might be able to find one for you, but it depends what your price range is."
The other one sighed exasperatedly, "Anything! Money, my goods, my flight spot."
The first Deku nodded thoughtfully, "Okay, well, I'll see if I can find anything."
The other thanked the Deku as he turned and disappeared into the crowd. Link took his chance and stepped toward him. A flight spot seemed interesting, it might be useful.
"Umm, what's a flight spot?" Link asked the flustered Deku.
He glanced down at Link momentarily, then instantly did a double take. "Are you kidding?" he asked gruffly.
Link shook his head.
The Deku sighed sadly and muttered something before saying, "I can't believe your parents never taught you this… A flight spot is something we Deku can use to fly up in the air. Watch me."
The Deku turned and walked over to a large flower that seemed to be growing out of the stone. Upon reaching it, the Deku seemed to drop inside and was hidden from view. Then, with a sudden flurry of motion, the Deku launched out of the ground and into the air. Link watched, amazed, as the Deku soared above the height of the clocktower and floated there with the help of some kind of twin propellers.
Flight spots, Link decided, were very useful.
Once the Deku returned to earth, Link made his proposition. "I heard you saying how much you want a moon's tear." Link said.
The Deku just looked at him, nodding absentmindedly.
When Link procured the moon's tear, he though the Deku's eyes might pop out of its head.
Link looked down at the flower, cautiously eyeing the dark hole in the center. Somehow it managed to seem ominous and foreboding, despite being set in a bright pink flower.
Drawing in a deep breath and holding it tightly, Link leapt into the center of the flower.
It was an odd sensation, slipping into the flower. For some reason the innards of the flower felt warm. Link could feel it pressing up against him from all directions. Link could hardly feel himself breathing, though he knew he must be. The pressure increased until Link was sure he would be crushed out of existence.
The pressure receded and Link found himself floating in the air. Something was holding him aloft, somehow.
Link's mind felt fuzzy as he floated through the air. On a whim, Link looked down and saw the clocktower. His mind grew sharp at that memory and the accompanied realization.
He had to reach the clocktower. He had to reverse what the skull kid had done to him.
He had to find that thing he'd been looking for, before all of this began.
Link glided downward until he landed on the roof of the clocktower. Once there, Link waited. That was all he needed to do. Soon enough the skull kid would return to this place, and Link would be there when he did.
All that he needed to do was wait.
But as the seconds turned to minutes and the minutes to hours, Link was reminded of the night he had spent dancing instead of sleeping.
Soon enough, Link curled up behind a sun-bleached wooden box and went to sleep. He dreamed of home and a girl with red hair.
Link opened his eyes and flinched. That menacing face carved into the moon, it was no more than four dozen feet above him now. Link realized that it was somehow getting closer. At the same time he could feel himself being repulsed and drawn in by it.
Link shuddered and stood up.
He froze when he noticed the skull kid. It was floating in the air, staring down at this city. The thing's body bobbed up and down in the air, seeming to be taken on breaths of wind.
Looking around, Link tried to decide what to do. He didn't have any weapons on him, and the ground around him seemed to be barren except for… Link picked up the fist sized rock that was tucked behind the crate.
Link took aim and threw the stone with all of his force. As it left Link's hand, Link realized he may have made a terrible mistake. Whatever powers that skull kid had, they would probably be able to tear Link apart.
But the rock was already in the air, making a beeline for the skull kid's head.
At the last moment, the skull kid spun around with lightning speed and caught the stone in one outstretched hand. As Link watched, the stone turned to dust inside a clenched fist.
Link also saw something fall from the same hand, saw it drop as the skull kid reached for the stone.
It was his ocarina.
All of sudden, Link's focus was drawn to the instrument and he darted forward to catch it. As he moved, Link saw movement gathering in the air above him. Link was just a few feet away from the ocarina. He could feel energy buzzing up in the air.
Link caught the ocarina and kept running, being thrown from his feet by the shockwave. He felt bits of rubble and stone falling atop him and bouncing off. As he lay there, Link looked up at the skull kid, noting the anger and hatred in its eyes.
Pressing the ocarina to his lips, Link played a song that seemed to emanate from the instrument instead of his own mind. The notes almost produced themselves. Link obeyed the phantom urge that was flowing from the ocarina.
Link played the song of time.
Link drew himself up from the floor, pressing one hand to his aching forehead while he clenched the other tightly around his sword hilt. His whole body seemed to be quivering, though he couldn't tell if it was from anger of fear.
Spinning around jerkily, Link caught sight of Rauru standing there, watching. There was a taunting smirk that seemed out of place on the old man's face.
With a roar, Link crossed the intervening distance and struck out. His sword seemed just short of reaching flesh when Rauru disappeared. Without losing a step, Link twisted around and drew his sword up.
Something bright and powerful rebounded off the blade and shot off into the great white distance.
Link stood there watching Rauru, ten feet between them.
"I don't understand how you could do this," Link growled, his angry glare locked on Ruaru, "Torture… for the sake of torture. Why can't you understand?"
Something fierce crossed Rauru's eyes and the old man took a step toward Link. As he watched, Rauru seemed to waver and fade from existence.
A tight grip closed around Link's neck. Sharp, bony fingers dug into his skin.
A strange tingling sensation crawled through the hand and up Link's neck. Something seemed to shift in Link's head, and everything disappeared.
Link climbed the steps, feeling all too aware of the dank, clammy air around him. Setting one hand firmly on the wooden door, Link pushed it open and walked out into the bright sunlight of Clock Town.