Author's Note:

Hey, I hope ch. 3 turned out good, especially with all of that stuff I added to it. Now, this chapter is where the real journey begins, so get ready. Once again, I must say, do not think that it will be a replica of the game. I still have numerous elements I'm going to add to the story up my sleeve. This chapter marks the beginning of the Woodfall phase.

Hope you like it!

Chapter 4 – Everglades

Link and Tatl walked into the wheel room where the Happy Mask Salesman patiently waited for them. Link vividly remembered speaking to the man only a few moments ago, right before he exited the tower to go get the ocarina back. Hardly any time had passed at all.

"Psst. Hey, Tatl."

"What?"

"Do you think he knows about us going back in time? If he does it'll seem like we walked out of here five seconds ago and we're already coming back."

"I don't know. Let's find out."

"Hello, fairy boy!" said the salesman.

"Hi, Mr. Happy Mask Salesman!"

"You're right on schedule!"

"So you didn't know about us going back in time?"

"Going back in what?"

"Hmm. I guess he doesn't know..."

"Nor does he care. He just needs what he needs. However many times we do play the Song of Time, I guess it'll never really affect him."

"Oh."

"Well, did you get your instrument back?" asked the salesman.

"Yeah, I got it."

"Oh good!"

Suddenly an organ popped out of nowhere.

"Whoa! Where'd that organ come from?" asked Link.

"What?" asked the salesman.

"The organ... it just came out of nowhere!"

"I've had it here the whole time."

Link was confused out of his mind, but at the same time didn't care. He just wanted to no longer be a deku scrub. He had been one for a full three days... well, three minutes in real time.

"Okay, now I'm going to teach you a song. This song sooths the body, calms the soul, treats the wound, and heals the heart. It is called the Song of Healing."

"The Song of Healing, eh? Sounds Interesting..."

The blemishes of life
and the wounds of battle
are washed away by the sacred Terminian melody.

"Play along with me. I'll play it twice around first."

Then, he began to play. The melody was calm and relaxing. It made Link feel pure and clean. Not to mention it also made him feel lighter. What a wonderful sound!

"Okay, now you play it."

Link whipped out his Deku Pipes and began to play. He had gotten good at being able to play things by ear. The melody stuck in his head like the Master Sword in the Pedestal of Time. Then, the melody came into effect after Link played it through once. Suddenly, Link fell unconscious.

He was back in the black abyss. There were the deku scrubs again.

This time, they weren't chasing Link.

They were running away from him, as if Link had two torches in is hands. The horrid crackling noise began to fade, and Link waved goodbye to the deku scrubs, knowing that the scrubs resembled the curse, and the curse was running from him. The curse had been lifted. He was a human again.

Link awakened back in the wheel room. Then, a mask fell from his face and onto the floor. Link looked at his body again. He was back to normal. He felt his arms and his face, and knew that he was back. The mask on the floor lay there, dormant. It was the face of a deku scrub.

"Link! You're back to normal! Not to mention you have an inherent mask!"

"An inherent mask?"

"That mask! When you put it on, you'll turn back into the scrub. But when you take it off, you'll go right back to normal!"

"Neat, I guess."

Link had a steady thought in his mind that he would never be a scrub again, but he kept the mask for keepsakes.

"Now, fairy boy, that I have returned you to your original form, please give me my mask."

Then, an awkward silence fell, and Link took a tiny step back.

"What?" asked the salesman.

Link said nothing.

"You did get the mask... didn't you?"

No response.

"You didn't get it!"

Link made a nervous face.

"No! No! I need that mask back! Don't you get it, fairy boy? If the Skull Kid keeps that mask, who the hell knows what could happen? He could even make the moon fall!"

"Hmm, what a coincidence," Link mumbled.

"I'm sorry for overreacting, but I really do need it back."

"I'll get it back. You can count on me."

"Just have it to me by the Carnival of Time. That is in three days. After that, I will need to depart and head back to Hyrule."

"Yeah, me too."

"Go ahead, fairy boy. We haven't any time to waste."

Link began to walk out the big door, but before he left, he turned around and told the salesman one more thing.

"Before I go, I should tell you one thing... Keep these words in mind, always."

"What?"

"Times changes everything, yet at the same time it changes nothing."

The salesman, however, could never fathom the profundity of the statement. He had not been what Link had been through.

Link walked out of the wheel room.

"Link, I just remembered something."

"What?"

"Do you remember what Tael said up on the summit?"

"Swamp... Mountains... Ocean... Canyon... the four who are there, bring them here."

"Yeah, kinda."

"Well, I know what it means."

"What?"

In the beginning of Termina's sacred time, four immortal giants united to create the land. Each giant walked off into a respective direction, designating each sect with its own properties: an everglade, a mountain range, an immense bay, and a deep canyon. They created a world in which all geographical environments could live together in harmony. In the heart of Termina laid Clock Town, the center of Termina's spirit and citizen body.

On one unpleasant and unexpected day in Termina, the Skull Kid, with Majora's mask placed a malevolent curse upon the entire land of Termina. The curse affected every area of the land. The water in the swamp became venomous, the mountains' temperature significantly dropped, the ocean's water became more and more murky, and the canyon became infested with evil spirits of the dead. In each direction lay a resurrected monster within the temples.

Odolwa, Goht, Gyorg, and Twinmold; all monsters of the legendary evil spirit Majora. Each giant in every direction became consumed by the cruel power of the temples and were thrown into an abstract dimension, the entrance to which is unknown. The only way to free the giants was to open the portal to the dimensions, and the only way to open the portal was to defeat the beasts guarding the portals. There was no other choice. Once all of the giants are freed, the can reunite, and stop Majora from destroying the land of Termina.

Link was greatly overwhelmed.

"What?"

"That is what we must do, Link. We must free all four of the giants, and put an end to this terror."

"You know, you're right. I'm quite ready for another adventure anyway."

"Good! Now, our first destination is the swamp, and the quickest way to get there is through the Southern Gate."

Link ran forward towards the southern gate. There the guard was again, and he also tried to stop Link from exiting.

"Whoa, little boy! I can't just let you wander off into Termina field without any means of equipment or weaponry! ... wait, is that a sword I see?"

Then the guard straightened up and relaxed.

"My apologies, sir. I wasn't aware you were properly equipped. Woodfall and the Southern Swamp lie in this direction. It's become rather nasty down there, for lack of a better word... The water has become poisonous, and there might be some creepy creatures down there, so be careful."

Link walked right past the guard and into Termina Field. Little did Link know what he was about to see.

It was a large, vast field. It extended to the borders of Termina where there were nothing but thick trees. Straight ahead, he could see the jungle and the swamp. He saw a number of wooden pillars leading to the Swamp and a huge volcano-like crater coming out from far behind the trees. He looked to the left and saw that the terrain changed from grassy to rocky after several miles, and then looked to the right to see more grass and trees. As he expected, a sign lay before him...

SOUTHERN TERMINA FIELD

To the Southern Swamp - follow the wooden pillars straight ahead.
To Milk Road - Head SOUTHWEST towards Romani Ranch Gate (Beware of predator birds)
To Ikana Canyon - Head EAST until reaching large stone pillars

Thank you.

- Mayor Dotour of Clock Town

"Hey, Tatl, what's that?"

"It's Woodfall. It lies within the swamp and is where the first giant is. That purple fluid cascading down it is venomous water."

Link also saw the gate to Milk Road on his right hand side in the distance. He did not know where it led, but was not interested at this point. He began to walk forward. He also began to feel an uncomfortable humidity coming from the swamp. He didn't enjoy it. But that didn't stop him. He continued. Having done what he had before nothing could stand in his path. Not even Majora himself.

The field seemed to grow even larger as he passed through it. The closer he got to the swamp, the grassier, muggier, and hotter it got. He somewhat wished he was back in town. Link passed the pillars and then walked through some sort of tunnel-like log. It seemed as if someone put it there for him. Then he saw a large, large tree, without any leaves. There was a little drawing on the trunk of it.

"Oh, Link! Look!"

He could tell that Tatl was referring to the drawing.

"What is it?"

"It's a drawing of the Skull Kid! I remember when we made this! It's permanent fairy dust that Tael and I drew it with! Wow. That was a long time ago."

The unmasked Skull Kid skipped about Termina field with the two fairies fluttering closely behind him. They cheerfully played in the flower patches and played with the butterflies. The sun was shining down on the beautiful field and citizens of Clock Town strolled by, smiling. Tatl and Tael fluttered over to the tree and traced out an image of the Skull Kid. It made him happy.

Days passed. They turned to weeks, as the weeks turned to months, and months turned to years. Things began to change. On one cold rainy day in the field, the lonely Skull Kid sat shivering underneath the log tunnel, wishing someone was there to comfort him. The two fairies fluttered up and kept him company. Several days later, the Skull Kid found Majora's Mask behind a shrub near the entrance to Romani Ranch. The pattern was intriguing to him. It nearly hypnotized him. No one was watching, so he put it on. At first, he felt nothing, but as weeks passed, things began to change.

He never knew what hit him.

"Ugh. Good memories that turn into a nightmare. I hate thinking about it. Just keep going into the swamp," said Tatl.

Link ran on past the tree and on into the lighter parts of the swamp. Luckily, the distance from Clock Town to the swamp was not very great. It was nothing compared to the walk from Kokiri Forest to Lon Lon Ranch. He passed by a tall, dead tree infested with bats. As he ran, he could sense the stench of the swamp getting worse. It smelled like death So this was it. It was extremely humid, the water looked disgusting, and there was a very unattractive aroma in the air.

"Ugh. Gross," said Link.

He could hear the unpleasant sounds of crickets and frogs in the distance. There was a number of lily pads on the water, and an elevated hut above the sick water. It was almost inviting him to come in and get away from the sickness of the swamp.

"Should I go inside?"

"Yeah, I guess. Maybe theres help for all I know."

Link ran onto the dock and scaled the ladder up to the hut. Ironically, there was another Deku Scrub salesman on a flower to the left of him, just like back in town. He continued on inside. There was a little ticket booth forward and a large, husky man to the left.

"Hey, there sprout! Have any pictographs you wanna show me?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, you don't know about out picto gallery? If you bring back pictos of something interesting you get to win prizes! How cool does that sound?"

"Good...I guess."

Without even asking the man tossed a pictograph box at Link.

"Here ya' go! If you see anything neat, take a picto and bring it back here!"

"Will do, sire."

Link walked over to the ticket booth where there was a hole. He presumed someone was supposed to be working there. But there wasn't. There was a note instead.

Hello there!

Sorry for the inconvenience, but I've headed out into the Woods of Mystery to collect some ingredients for my sister's potion shop. There was also something else I had to check out in the woods. I'm sorry, but all boat tours are closed until I return. If you would like to embark first thing tomorrow morning, sign your name below. Have a nice day!

Koume, Swamp Tours Manager

"Koume?" said Link, "that name sounds really familiar."

"It does?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe you're just having déjà vu ."

"No, this is too big to be déjà vu."

"Hmm. Well, that's not important. We can worry about that later. Let's do more exploring."

Link walked out of the hut and down the ladder.

"Link, put on the Deku mask."

"What! Are you kidding? I hated being that puny little scrub!"

"Just for a minute, Link! Then you can take it off again!"

"Augh, fine."

Link donned the mask and painfully shrunk down to the scrub again.

"Link, Deku Scrubs can skip on water five times. You can use this to your advantage so you don't have to swim in this sick water."

"Hey, why didn't you say so?"

Link hopped about the water, on and off the lily pads.

"This is kinda fun!"

Link continued to skip on the water until he reached land again. When he got off, he took off the mask. He walked through a "corridor of stems and leaves", where he was beckoned by numerous Deku babas, which he hadn't encountered since the Forest Temple. They didn't bother him at all anymore.

After a time of walking through the glorious swamp, Link came upon another area of the swamp. It was another elevated hut, except this time it was higher, and the water was shallow. Link needed all the help he could get, so he went ahead and just climbed up the the top, and walked inside.

Then, Link let out a huge scream of terror.

"AAAAAAHHH!"

Link ran back outside.

"What's wrong!"

"Tha-- tha-- that was one of th- the wit-wi- witches!"

"What witches?"

"The ones I battled back in Hyrule at the Spirit Temple! Tha- that's one of them!"

Then, a brief memory fired back at Link.

"We'll come back to haunt you!" said the witches as their spirits floated up through the ceiling, as Link stood in the silent room of the Spirit Temple.

"They-- they weren't lying!"

Then, the witch walked outside.

"Geez, little boy, would you please not do that? It'll make me think you are afraid of me!"

Link was too stunned to speak.

"Well, what's wrong, green boy? Cat got yer' tongue?"

Link still didn't say anything.

"You'll have to excuse my friend. He's not too sharp meeting new people, especially those who... who have diamonds on their heads," said Tatl.

"Eh, don't worry about it, Tinkerbelle. If you want any potions, I'll be inside. Green Potion is on sale for only 15 rupees!"

Kotake walked back into the shop.

"I'm getting out of here!"

Link jumped off of the ledge and into the water.

"Link, would you just relax already? That witch didn't even recognize you!"

"Whaat?"

"Maybe they don't remember anything before you destroyed their spirits. There's also a chance that they had an evil spirit within them and you destroyed it."

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, whatever. I still don't want to go back in there."

"Oh, for the love of the goddesses, Link. Bow up."

"Right... I'm gonna go through that tunnel over there. Maybe it leads somewhere important."

"That's the Woods of Mystery."

"Sounds good to me."

"Link, there are rabid tortoises!"

"I can handle it!"

Link ran in without any consent. It was a maze-like forest, almost identical to the Lost Woods. There was a little monkey hopping around in the middle.

"Hey, you! Follow me!"

"Why the hell not?" Link thought, "what harm could it be?"

The monkey began to run, and Link followed him. He ran around each corner and made many turns.

"Hey, wait up!"

He continued to follow the agile simian. There were random "razorblade-spinning tortoises" everywhere. Weird. Weird indeed. But they didn't bother Link at all.

Then, Link was once again beckoned by the other witch! He was too stunned to move again, despite what Tatl said.

"You, boy in green!"

The witch was lying on the ground, as if someone or something had injured her.

"Well, don't just stand there, do you have anything that can heal?"

"Um..."

"You don't! That blasted Skull Kid has crossed the line with me, and I need some red potion to revive myself. Go back to the swamp to my sister's shop and get some potion, and step on it!"

Link just ran out. He didn't want to say anything else.

He was back in the gloomy swamp. All he could do was simply reminisce on that fateful day in which he battled the two sorceresses in the Spirit Temple. The same day he freed the sixth sage... the same day he witnessed something he would never witness again. He could vividly remember the way the mirror shield countered every attack by the witches. It was the most useful piece of equipment he had found besides the Longshot and the Fairy Bow.

"The little boy's quite a feisty one, ain't he, Kotake?"

"Indeed he is! Look at him! He even beat our decoy Iron Knuckle!"

"Tee hee! Agile and strong, yet foolish!! We'll just see how he reacts to the extreme powers of heat and cold!!"

"Prepare for battle!!!"

"You sure we shouldn't just brainwash him, like we did with that Gerudo traitor?"

"Of course not!! I'd take a much greater pleasure in watching him suffer in boiling magma or frigid ice!!"

Was it them? Were they back again to haunt him? Had they actually been revived by Majora... or Ganondorf?! Were they waiting for Link in disguise, just to pounce on him and take sweet revenge when he least expected it?

"I don't even know if it's possible to find out!!" said Link, "I guess I'll just head back to the witches' shop..."

"Might as well, Link. No point in dwelling on past experiences."

"All right..."