The Legend of Zelda: Child of Time

by Ri2

Skull Kid has finished his quest and defeated Majora. He has learned his true purpose for existence and became, for a brief moment, a god. What will happen now as he is returned to the forest? Finished! R+R!

11. Scaling the Stone Colossus

Hiyee! Me once again. Sorry about the length of the last author's note and the title of the chapter. I couldn't think of anything better, I swear! Now, on to the Colossus! Oh by the way, Skull Kid won't need the Elegy of Emptiness. Why? Because I hate it! Not the tune itself, but what it does! Those statues are just plain creepy.

Disclaimer: ugh.

Chapter 12

Skull Kid and Tael stared in awe at what was on the far side of the enclosure. Jutting from the rock formation was a massive, gigantic pillar of rock. A monolith, a tower, a colossus. It was the Stone Tower merged with the Stone Colossus. However, it looked more as if the tower was placed atop the Colossus. A narrow stone bridge leading from the base of a pi- shaped rock led up to the mouth of a huge statue carved into the face of the colossus, just above a door at the base of the colossus. The statue was big, with the body and form of a Gerudo woman's upper body. The outstretched hands merged into the rock on either side of the statue. The face was the only marring feature. Instead of that of a Gerudo, it was the face of the strange monster that is carved into most of the pillars and stone blocks around Ikana. The mouth was wide open, and the path led from it, like an extremely long tongue. Skull Kid had to make a decision. He could either go in through the main door or he could take the high road. After a few moments, he chose the high road. He walked to the base of the pi rock and started up the path. The whole thing looked like it could crumble at any moment, but was sturdier than it looked. He reached the mouth of the hideous statue. Shuddering, he went inside and found it was even more amazing. He was standing inside of a huge, hollow shaft that went thousands of feet up and went miles down. Skull Kid could not see the bottom. What was cooler was that the Spirit Temple interior was still there, but with no walls! All the rooms and now-wafer thin floors were there, but no walls, except for the fabled Wall of Death, which still exited. Skull Kid saw he was right above a twisting bridge that went over two huge stone blocks that were set in the floor but did not fall that led to a huge platform. Stairs led from the bridge to the floor, which was around a huge statue much like the one outside, except this Gerudo was intact and sitting, her legs crossed. Also, a cobra slithered up the statue's body, merging with the head to form a Gerudo with a cobra's hood. Except the statue had no face. In its place was a large indentation with a metal grating that had a door behind it placed in the middle of the indentation. There were two empty ledges floating in midair on either side of the statue, neither of them wobbling. Two platforms were on the near end of the room as well. Both had staircases winding to higher platforms which led to more rooms. Skull Kid looked down and up and around and saw more and more of the Spirit Temple interior. He looked straight up and saw the many ledges and blocks of Stone Tower. All of the ledges were wafer-thin as well. He knew the true temple was at the very top, meaning a very long climb. It would be made worse by the boulders constantly raining down from above. Right in front of Skull Kid was a floating block that looked like those weird blocks normally found in Stone Tower, except it seemed to have a crescent moon and star carved into it as well, the Gerudo standard. The block looked just in Skull Kid's jumping range. He made the leap, grabbing onto the block's edge. He pulled himself up and saw another block, which he jumped to as well. In front of that was a platform hanging by chains from the Spirit Temple's fourth floor. Jumping to that, Skull Kid saw one more block on the other side of the platform. Skull Kid jumped to that then wondered what he had to do now. He looked at the grate and had an idea. Using his hookshot, he pulled himself over to the grate, which automatically retracted, allowing access to the door behind it. Skull Kid walked across the small platform behind the statue, noting the pillars and empty throne. He walked down the narrow bridge behind the throne and entered the next platform, which was quite larger. It was square, with five towering blocks decorated in serpent carving jutting from the floor, four clustered around the sides of the much bigger middle block. Skull Kid climbed up the handholds on the middle block and saw that he had reached the far wall. There was a switch on the platform. He stepped on it, causing one of the floating blocks to move to a new, higher position. He looked around for a way to get to the next level. He saw a higher ledge, also wafer-thin, with a hookshot target. He grappled up to it and saw a switch. He stepped on it, sending another block up. He looked to his right and saw another higher ledge with a hookshot target. He grappled up to it and found he was level with the two floating blocks, which led to another ledge across the chasm. Another switch lay in front of Skull kid. He stepped on it, sending the last block to the new bridge. Skull Kid jumped from block to block, finally reaching the next ledge. There was nothing on it. To his right was yet another higher ledge with a hookshot target. He grappled to it and saw a switch. He stepped on it. One of three blocks stored in an empty wall moved out and floated to a new position. Skull Kid looked up and saw another hookshot ledge. He grappled up and hit the switch there, activating another floating block. He saw boulders rolling out of the walls, so he knew he had to be careful. There was a higher ledge jutting far out of the wall with a hookshot target, but the target was a little out of range. Skull Kid had to move awfully closer to where the boulders came out before he could grapple to the ledge. It was level with the two floating blocks, which led to another platform on the other side. Skull Kid stepped on the switch near the edge, activating the last block in the bridge. Skull Kid jumped across to the platform and grappled to a ledge on his right. Surprisingly, there was no switch. He saw another ledge all the way in the middle of the way across the chasm with a target right at the edge. It was fortunate that this was a long ledge. Skull Kid walked to the edge of it and fired his hookshot, hoping the target was in range. It was, barely. He climbed onto the ledge and saw another hookshot target on a higher ledge just above him. He grappled to it, then grappled to the last platform, which was on the back wall but just in range. The ledge had three switches, and was directly across from the final platform. Skull Kid looked across and saw the temple entrance. It was a huge misshapen head, colored obscenely. Its mouth was the door. The tongue lolled out to the edge of the ledge. Its eyes were hollow with torches in them. Two huge torches flanked the entrance. The top of the tower was in sight, the walls ending just above and around. The last three blocks floated right in front of the ledge. Skull Kid stepped on the switches in this order: middle, right, left. The blocks rearranged themselves, forming a bridge to the temple. Skull Kid jumped from block to block, finally reaching the tongue, which he was able to grab onto after the final jump. He looked down from the tongue and saw something strange on its edge. It looked like a red jewel in a gold setting that made it look like a scarab. He climbed up the tongue and ran through the mouth, entering the Stone Colossus Temple. He was in a large courtyard. The back wall had a huge carving of a monster's head. A shallow pit lay in the center of the courtyard, with a ladder leading gown into it and a platform rising from it. A bridge led from the platform to a door in the back wall, but there was no way to get to the platform. Strangely enough, there was a locked door just underneath the bridge, but it did not touch the ground. Rather, it touched the bridge's underside, making it an upside-down door. Real Bombchu scurried about and a couple of Dragonflies buzzed through the air. Skull Kid was able to kill the enemies with Tael's help, giving him unfettered access to the courtyard. Skull Kid looked up and saw that leading from the ceiling of the corridor of the temple entrance was a bridge that went up and connected with two horizontal bridges that went over the two other doors in the room. A ledge from the bridge on the right led to an inaccessible door that was right above the door on the right wall, since it was all upside-down. There was a fenced-in ledge with a switch to the right of the left bridge, and another ledge with a door on the back wall straight ahead from that. It was quite confusing to figure out why the temple builders would have put inaccessible doors and walkways in the temple. Skull Kid decided to take the door on the left side. He did and entered a small maze-like room. A corridor went straight ahead to a fake-looking wall. To the left of the fake wall was a branching corridor leading to a switch. Opposite the switch was another branching corridor that went further down and led to another switch. On the left and right sides of that corridor were two more corridors. The one on the left turned to the right and led to a huge Goron switch. The one on the right led to an alcove with one last switch. To the left of that switch (on the west wall, since this temple faces the west. But think of it as the north wall, direction-wise) was a large Iron Gate with a courtyard behind it. Real Bombchu scurried around the small maze. Skull kid easily disposed of them then stepped on the switch to the left of the fake wall. Nothing happened. He got off the switch and it reset. He decided to try the fake wall. He blew it up with the Blast Mask and found several crates. He picked up one of the crates and placed it on the switch he had just tried, holding it in place. He then went to the right and stepped on the switch there. It did not reset when he got off of it. He then turned on a Goron to pound the Goron switch, then took off the mask and stepped on the final switch. The gate opened, allowing access to the courtyard. He saw that there were a few Dragonflies and Guay. He dropped them with his crossbow then looked around. Just above and straight ahead, on the right wall, was a ledge with a door on its underside. A normal door was on the right wall, but it was locked. On the back wall, far to the left, was a staircase. On the left wall, inaccessible, was an upside down staircase with a ledge and Deku Flower just above it, also upside-down. There were two patches of dirt on the ground. One had dead plants, the other was empty and cracked. On a hunch, Skull Kid blew up the patch with a bomb, revealing a hole. Skull Kid decided he should take the stairs instead of just jumping in. He took the stairs and found himself in a tall square room. The solid ground ended a few meters ahead, from there lava covered the distance to the back wall. Two Armos statues faced each other on the solid ground, clay vases on either side of them. Four Armos sat inert in the lava. Two Skull Kid's right was a high ledge with nothing on it. An upside-down staircase was just beneath the ledge. Just past that was another upside-down door touching the ceiling. An upside-down alcove was just across from that. The hole Skull Kid made in the courtyard led down here. A sunbeam shone through. At the back of the room, in the lava, was a large block with a sun face on it set into the wall. Skull Kid recalled Link saying that these blocks were destroyed by sunlight. He walked into the sunbeam and reflected light with his Mirror Shield onto the sun block. The instant light touched the block; it vanished in a flash of blue light, leaving behind a treasure chest. Skull Kid put on the Goron Mask and walked across the lava to the chest. He opened it to find…a Compass! He put it away and wondered where the key to open the door upstairs was. He decided to try killing the Armos. With a few Goron Punches, Skull Kid was able to kill each Armos, causing them to explode. Once all four were gone, a treasure chest appeared. He opened it, finding…a Small Key! He hated these things, but said nothing. He put it away and headed back upstairs. Once there, he took off the Goron Mask and went through the locked door. He was in yet another courtyard, this one filled with water. He was on a ledge that ran along the left wall of the room. Across the way, on the right wall, was another ledge, this one with a treasure chest. The ledges were too high to climb up to from the water, sadly. Four mines dangled from chains in the water. A door underneath the ledge with the treasure chest led to another room. A Dexihand was attached above the door. A bridge went across the middle of the room, linking the west and east walls. There was no way onto the bridge. Each side of the bridge ended in a door, but they were currently inaccessible. There were two upside-down doors on the bridge's underside. Blocking the door on the east wall was a large hunk of metal. Skull Kid decided the only way he was going to cross this room was as a Zora. He donned the Zora Mask and started swimming towards the treasure chest ledge. Just before he reached the ledge, he performed a dolphin leap, rolling onto the ledge. He opened the chest and found…a Small Key! He targeted the Dexihand from the surface and shot it with his boomerang fins, killing it. He dove back into the water and walked through the underwater door and through a corridor. He found himself in a tall square room, beneath a bridge on the surface of a pool of water. There were a few ledges and a single underwater alcove beneath the bridge on the surface, but there was nothing else of interest in the pool. He swam to the surface and pulled himself onto the bridge, taking off the Zora Mask. There were three skylights on the ceiling, sunbeams coming through each one. One of them was directly over the bridge. At the end of the bridge, to Skull Kid's right, was a corridor with a tall ceiling. To Skull Kid's left was another door, this one locked. He went down the corridor. It immediately curved right, ending in a sun block preventing further movement. There was a strange mirror in the corner where the corridor turned. It looked sort of like the scarab thing outside the temple, except this one was bigger and a mirror. It had no reflection. Staring into it, Skull Kid saw this. "What kind of mirror is this?" he asked.

"This is a magic mirror made of a weird kind of glass. If you shine light on it, it absorbs the light instead of merely reflecting it. When you stop shining, it sends all the light out for a short amount of time, depending how long you shined light on it. You can probably use it to destroy the sun block over there." Said Tael.

Skull Kid walked back to the Sun Beam and reflected light onto the mirror. It glowed. Skull Kid shone light onto it for a few minutes then stopped. A beam of light shot from the mirror. Skull Kid ran over and stepped into the beam, deflecting the sunlight at the block with the Mirror Shield. The block vanished, revealing a door and an alcove. Skull Kid checked the alcove and found a treasure chest with…the Dungeon Map! Skull Kid put it away and went through the door. He found himself back in the main courtyard. He went back into the room with the weird mirror and unlocked the door on the other side of the bridge. He was in a rectangular room. Right in front of him was a rusted switch. In the middle of the room was a diamond-shaped pillar with a weird mirror on each side. Another weird mirror was placed on the wall to the left of the pillar. A sun block was set into the black wall. Black Boes and Nejirons were scattered around the room, and rushed to attack Skull Kid. As the enemies came close, Skull Kid had an idea. He pulled out the Gigaton Hammer and waited for them to get close. When they were in range, he hit the switch with his hammer, activating it and sending out a wave of fire that engulfed the enemies. The Black Boes vanished into black flame, and the Nejirons exploded. As a result from the activation of the switch, a hole opened in the ceiling above Skull Kid, letting sunlight in. Skull Kid saw he now had a method to get rid of the sun block. He reflected a sunbeam towards the bottom right mirror on the pillar, charging it up. He waited for several minutes, then lowered his shield and ran over to the beam of light now emanating from the mirror. He stood in the beam and reflected sunlight towards the mirror on the wall, knowing he didn't have much time. As the light from the current mirror faded, Skull Kid ran over to the beam of light emanating from the wall mirror and quickly reflected it towards the sun block. The block vanished in a flash of blue light. Skull Kid ran through the door behind it. He was now in yet another courtyard, but this one was different from the others. He was standing on a platform rising from the ground, which was completely covered in lava. There were several metal gratings on the wall and running over the lava. A thick wall went through the wall on Skull Kid's left and went through the lava, stopping near the far wall. It seemed Skull Kid would have to cross this expanse of lava. A window in the wall allowed him to see his destination, the platform on the other side, which had a door at its far end. However, the platform had no ladder, meaning Skull Kid could not just walk across the lava as a Goron then climb up. He noticed a Deku Flower at the edge of his platform and suddenly realized what he had to do. The problem was, he could never make it all the way around the wall using the power of a single Deku Flower. Then he saw the pipes rising from the lava. Gusts of hot air rose from the pipes. Skull Kid suddenly saw his way across. His Deku Scrub body was light enough to be carried along by the gusts. If he flew into one, it would allow him to fly farther, like it was another Deku Flower. However, he would have to be very, very careful. He put on the Deku Mask and burrowed into the flower. He popped out and flew for the nearest pipe. His flower power was running out. He ran out just as he got over the pipe, dropping, only to be buoyed up by the hot air, allowing him to fly to the next pipe. He did this twice more before finally landing on the platform. He pulled off the Deku Mask and walked through the door on the platform. He was in a square room with a hole in the ceiling. On the left wall was a barred door. There were two upside-down doors as well, one on the left wall, one on the right. As Skull Kid stepped forward, iron bars sealed the door behind him. He looked behind, then around him, trying to see where his opponent was. Then he saw movement through the hole in the ceiling. Something was on the roof of the temple. It jumped down, allowing Skull Kid to get a good look. It looked like a Garo, but bigger. It had purple robes that were not as worn as the Garos. Its swords were flaming. It had a golden mask over its nonexistent face. "What are you?" asked Skull Kid.

The creature chuckled. "I am Garo Master, former leader of the Garo ninjas! I have been assigned by the great Majora to guard the treasure of this temple. And guard it I shall. Prepare to die!" Garo Master lunged at Skull Kid. Skull Kid blocked. The Garo Master backflipped and started hopping around. Whenever Skull Kid tried an attack, Garo Master blocked it with his own swords. Finally, the ninja swiped outwards with his swords, almost hitting Skull Kid. Garo Master kept charging, swiping his blades. Skull Kid kept backflipping away. Finally Garo Master jumped high in the air vanishing. Skull Kid saw a shadow appearing over him and jumped out of the way as the Garo Master performed a downward thrust. While Garo master was temporarily not moving, Skull Kid performed a jump attack, tearing through the cloak. Garo Master flipped away surprised. "Perhaps I underestimated you…" he muttered. "I should have taken that offer of enhanced power I was offered. Well, I know I will now. Before I leave, I give you a clue: To activate the blood-stained emblem outside of this temple, shoot it with the object in this temple that flashes like concentrated sunlight." The Master bowed. "Until we meet again…" He threw a Deku Nut to the ground. When the smoke cleared, Garo Master was gone. The bars over the doors retracted.

A treasure chest appeared in the middle of the room. "Huh, I thought that would be harder." Said Skull Kid.

"Ditto. You don't think we should be worried by what he said about getting stronger?" asked Tael.

"Naw, I'm sure we can handle him. Come on, let's see what cool weapon is in that chest." Skull Kid walked over to the chest and opened it, finding…a shield? "Hey, this isn't a weapon!" He looked at the shield. It was different than any shield he had ever seen before. It looked slightly like the Mirror Shield, but only because it was round and had a face engraved on it. However, instead of a grimace of despair, it had a refreshing grin. It also had these weird twisting metal rays extending from the sides. Actually, it looked a lot like the sun faces on the sun blocks, but happier! The mirror part of it had no reflection, just like the weird mirrors from before. As he held it in the sunbeam from the ceiling, it started to glow slightly, turning golden. "Huh? What's happening to this thing?"

"Skull Kid, the way that the shield looks like a sun and its reaction to light…this confirms my suspicions. This is actually the legendary Solar Shield!"

"The what?"

"It's a shield made from the same glass as the weird mirrors from before. It absorbs sunlight, or any bright light such as sparks or high- intensity fairy light for that manner, and is stored up inside of the mirror. If you will look on the back, you will see three things: a gauge, a small squeeze handle for where your hand would be if you slipped your wrist through the normal handle, and a knob with three settings. Is the gauge pointing to the smiling sun face?"

"Not yet."

"Then leave it in the sunlight for a moment until the glass turns golden." They did. A few minutes later, the mirror turned golden, making it look like a sun face. Skull Kid picked up the shield and flipped it over, seeing that the gauge was now at maximum. "The gauge tells you how much energy is in your shield. You can pull the handle to release some of it. Go on, try it!"

Skull Kid took off his Mirror Shield and placed the Solar Shield on his arm. He walked outside of the sunbeam and aimed for a point on the wall. He squeezed the handle, causing a beam of light to come softly from the surface of the shield. "Cool!" He released the handle and the beam stopped.

"Careful now. If you hold the trigger too long, you'll use up all your light. If you're using it in a dark place, that's bad. The gauge tells you how much light you have stored up. You should make sure it's fully recharged now. Go on, recharge it!"

Skull Kid shrugged and did so, holding it in the light for a moment. What's the knob for?"

"That changes the settings. Right now, it's set on 'beam.' The second setting is 'ray.' With that, you can concentrate your light into a powerful laser. However, it uses up more light than the beam setting. The last setting is 'blast.' With that one, you can unleash all your light in a single blast, obliterating your enemy if it is shadow-based or normal, or damaging and stunning if it is something stronger. Laser hurts and stuns too, but not as well. It's really better for smaller enemies, not bosses. Oh, and if you're out in the open, the shield will recharge itself as long as you're in the sun. Moonlight doesn't count. Got any other questions?"

"Can it absorb an enemy's energy attack?"

"As long as it's bright."

"And lasers?"

"No, lasers it just reflects. It also reflects fireballs or ice attacks. Anything else?"

"Yeah, what do I do with my old Mirror Shield?"

"Well, since the Solar Shield can still do all the things the Mirror Shield did except reflect, you can just leave it here."

"Well, if you say so." He picked up the Mirror Shield and put it in the chest the Solar Shield had been kept in, closing it. "I hope it helps any other adventurer who comes through in the future." They walked through the door and the deep corridor with a metal grating bridge across it and found themselves back in the courtyard with the bridge and the hunk of metal blocking the door on the other side. As Skull Kid approached the hunk of metal, it suddenly got up! It unfolded into a large purple monster made of metal. It had two legs and two arms. Its upper body was a huge, single blue eye. It started stomping towards Skull Kid. "Tael, what is that?"

"It's an Eyegore. Its eye is its only weak spot. You have to stun it with something bright, then shoot it with something sharp to kill it. It may take more than one hit though."

"Something bright, huh? Well, target that thing and I'll give it something bright!" Tael targeted the Eyegore. Skull Kid raised his shield and fired a sunbeam at the Eyegore. Since it was just sunlight, it had no effect. Eyegore kept coming. Skull Kid quickly changed the setting to ray and fired a laser at the Eyegore. It reeled back, its eye yellow. Skull Kid shot the eye with his hookshot, damaging the metal monstrosity. It roared and went back to coming towards him. Skull Kid fired another laser followed by his hookshot, damaging Eyegore again. He did this four more times until Eyegore sat down, trembled, and exploded. The bridge clear, Skull Kid walked through the door and found himself on the previously inaccessible platform in the front courtyard. He knew he had to get back outside the temple to activate that scarab thing just beneath the entrance's tongue. He jumped into the shallow pit and climbed out using the ladder. He was back at the top of the Stone Colossus. He jumped onto one of the blocks and turned around. He lowered his shield, aiming for the red jewel, and shot it with a sunbeam. There was no visible reaction from the jewel itself or a sign of any effect at all, until the entire tower shook. Skull Kid had a sudden jolt from his instincts telling him to jump to the ledge, now. He jumped. As he did, his gravitational rotation changed in midair, twisting him around. He missed the ledge completely thanks to this and was now starting to fall towards the sky. He quickly pulled out his hookshot and fired it at a gap between the entrance's teeth. The grappling hook lodged, pulling Skull Kid up to the mouth. Skull Kid crawled into the mouth, gasping. Tael looked anxious too.

"That…was horrible!" said Tael.

Skull Kid gasped. "You…don't…need…to…tell…me." He recovered. He peered over the edge of the mouth and quickly pulled away, shuddering at the thought of what almost happened. "That Garo Master was trying to kill us!" he exclaimed. "If I ever see him again, I swear…" He cut himself off. He pulled out the Dungeon Map and took a look at it, surprised to see extra rooms on it. "Hey Tael, I think I've found out why all those upside-down doors were in the temple. They were for this. They meant for the temple to be flipped like this! No, the temple itself isn't really upside down, is it? It's more like our gravitational attraction to the planet's core has been reversed, nearly flinging us into space. Since we saw a lot of courtyards and skylights, now that we're upside down, if we fall of a ledge or bridge, we'll die. I wonder if the gravitational shift has affected anything inside the temple."

"I'm sure that different enemies are out now and any water is gone. Also, rooms with lava will probably still cling to the ceiling, but lava will drip down from the main mass. We'll just have to be careful."

Skull Kid nodded. "Well, let's get this over with. Come on." They walked into the temple. They were now on the three-way bridge. Skull Kid looked to the forks on the right and left. The fork the right had nothing but crates and the fenced-off ledge, plus the other ledge with a door. The courtyard floor was far above them. The locked door under the bridge would be accessible, if there was a hookshot target on the platform's edge, which there wasn't. The fork to his left led up and onto the wall, where it became a ledge with a door on it. He walked across the bridge and ledge and went through the door. He found himself in a corridor blocked by a sun block. He shone a sunbeam on the block and it faded. Once the block was gone, Skull Kid saw he was in the corridor where he had gotten the Dungeon Map, but on the ceiling. He walked down the corridor going right and found he was back in the room with the skylights and the pool. However, there was no pool. It had apparently all gone out through the skylights when gravity had reversed. Each of the three skylights now served as vents for hot air, just like the pipes in the lava courtyard. Skull Kid had been in too much of a rush to get to the surface last time, and now saw something extra in the room. Above the three vents, on the back wall, was a covered bridge that went along the wall. The bridge was covered on all sides, so the only access was through the doors in the rooms they connected from. There was a ledge with a few crates and a Deku Flower outside the left end of the bridge. There was a hollow alcove atop the covered bridge. The old bridge was a bit above Skull Kid's head and out of reach. It had a Deku Flower growing from the middle of it, on the top. There was an alcove on the end of the bridge at Skull Kid's end, but there was nothing in it. There was a corridor on the other end of the bridge, the one that led to the courtyard with the Eyegore. Skull Kid was not sure how he could get up onto the bridge until he saw the Deku Flower on the ledge right in front of him. He donned the Deku Mask and burrowed into the flower. He popped out and flew over to the vent on the left. It lifted him higher, allowing him onto the bridge. He dropped down and started walking across when a mask-wearing Hiploop attacked him from behind. It rammed into him, almost knocking him off the bridge. He quickly turned around to see the Hiploop preparing to charge. Skull Kid quickly ran down the bridge, the Hiploop hot on his heels. He made it to the corridor. For some reason, the Hiploop stopped chasing him and went back to patrolling the bridge. Relieved, Skull Kid went down the corridor, following it to the right. He was now back inside the courtyard with the pool. Of course, there was no water anymore. It had all fallen away. Skull Kid did not want to leave the corridor, as there was no ledge. Near the end of the corridor was a switch. He tried stepping on it, but nothing happened. Then he remembered that Deku Scrubs were too light for switches. He pulled off the mask and stepped on the switch. A treasure chest materialized in the alcove back at the other end of the bridge. Skull Kid walked back down the corridor, returning to the former pool. The Hiploop saw him and charged. Skull Kid quickly took out his Hookshot and used it to pull of the Hiploop's mask. Then he shot it twice, killing it. He walked to the other end of the bridge and opened the chest, finding…a small key! He sighed and put it away. He looked up and saw a ledge with a locked door on the right side of the room. It was very high. Skull Kid estimated that the vent on the right was the only one that would take him to the door. However, he would have to be careful, since hanging mines surrounded the ledge. Skull Kid put on the Deku Mask and spat a few bubbles at the mines, causing them to swing. He timed his bubbles, making the mines swing at different times, causing them to collide and explode. Once the ledge was clear, Skull Kid burrowed into the Deku Flower and flew off into the vent. It carried him up to the ledge, where he dropped down and unlocked the door, going through it. He was in a wide corridor with lava on the ceiling. There were two pits in the floor. Lava kept dripping down from the ceiling. Skull Kid was safe since he was just inside the door, but there seemed to be no way to cross. Then he saw the scarab ruby switch on the other side of the room, above the door. He pulled off his Deku Mask and aimed his shield at the switch, trying to send a sunbeam at it. Unfortunately, it wasn't strong enough, the distance was too far. He switched to laser and tried again. This time, he hit the jewel. Gravity was turned back to normal. Now Skull Kid could easily walk across the lava. He put on the Goron Mask and crossed the lava, then pulled off the mask at the other end. He shot the jewel with a sunbeam, reversing gravity again and allowing him to go through the door. He was in a square room with a movable stone block and a door on a platform at the other end, just like his own door. The floor was grooved, as was the ceiling. Iron bars sealed the door, and a scarab jewel was over it. There was a hole that looked like the block could fit into it in the room's upper-left corner, near the door. Skull Kid saw he would have to flip gravity multiple times while moving the block before it would get into the hole. I won't bore you with the details, but eventually he did it. His light gauge was now at one-third, but he did it. The door was unbarred, and he went through. He immediately realized that he was in the room where he had gotten the compass. The hole that he had blasted on the ceiling, which was now the floor, still had sunlight shining through it. Lava dripped down from the ceiling. Skull Kid looked around and suddenly noticed that scattered around the room were several familiar- looking blue tiles. Oh no he thought. Iron bars sealed the door behind him. One of the tiles glowed, and a strange figure emerged from it. It looked like a Wizrobe wearing a suit of armor like an Iron Knuckle. Its staff was more like a battleaxe with a flaming tip. "Tael, is that a Wizrobe?"

"Sort of. It's an Iron Wizrobe, basically just a normal Wizrobe in a suit of armor in an attempt to protect itself. It's really quite easy. All you have to do is reflect the fireballs it throws at you back at it. Once the metal vest is gone, all you have to do is shoot arrows at its unprotected torso to kill it. I'll target him, you shoot."

The Iron Wizrobe cackled and vanished back into the tile. It popped up moments later and started dancing around. "Can't I just shoot him now? While he's dancing?"

"No."

"Couldn't I just use my laser?"

"Well…hey, that might work! Try it." Tael flew up to the Iron Wizrobe, who was about to throw his fire spell. Skull Kid quickly set his shield to laser and shot a laser at the Wizrobe. The laser pierced the Wizrobe's armor, coming out the other side. The Wizrobe screeched and thrashed, making the damage worse. Then the power ran out on the shield. As the laser cut off, the metal vest fell off, followed by the rest of the Wizrobe's armor, all of which burned up in blue flames. The blue, ugly magician burned up in purple flames, followed by the tiles. The door unbarred. A hookshot target appeared above the ledge that had had nothing on it originally. Now that Skull Kid's gravity was reversed, he could go through the staircase on the ledge. But first, he had to do one more thing. He walked over to the hole in the floor and held his shield over it, absorbing the light. Once it was completely full, he grappled up to the ledge and went down the stairs. He was back in the courtyard above the Compass room. Or was the proper term below it? Hard to say. He was on a ledge with a Deku Flower on it. There was a ledge at the far side of the room as well, with a door and another Deku Flower. Poes floated about aimlessly. Skull Kid turned into a Deku Scrub and burrowed into the Flower. He popped out and flew to the ledge, avoiding the Poes. Once on the ledge, he saw that he could actually reach the gate that led to that small maze. He burrowed into the Deku Flower and popped out, flying to the upside-down gate. He went inside it and took off the mask. He saw that strange new enemies were floating around the room. They looked like statues of knights, with shields embossed with the scarab symbol that had been used throughout the temple. Tael recognized these as Death Armos. There was an easy way to kill them, which he explained to Skull Kid. Skull Kid put on the Stone Mask and walked near one of the Death Armos, which did not notice him. Aiming carefully, he hit the scarab symbol on the Death Armos's shield with a sunbeam. The Armos flipped over, now upside-down. Skull Kid then took off the Stone Mask. The Armos grunted and launched itself into the ground, destroying itself. Skull Kid repeated the process with each Death Armos until they were all dead. A treasure chest materialized on the ledge with a locked door. It looked dangerous, but Skull Kid made it back using a rolling jump. He opened the chest and found…a small key! He went through the door and found himself back in the courtyard with the bridge. The bridge was now far overhead, and had a new Eyegore on it, a more aggressive one. It clomped back and forth on the bridge, firing lasers at the ground. There was a ledge underneath where the door from the corridor leading from where Skull Kid got the Solar Shield. Mines surrounded it. It had a Deku Flower. At the other side of the room was a ledge with a Deku Flower and a door. Skull Kid was on a ledge with a Deku Flower and a door on his left, at the back of the wall. This was the door that was directly adjacent to the fenced-in ledge that he had seen back in the entry courtyard. Skull Kid considered going through that door but decided to check out the door on the far side of the room first. He turned into a Deku Scrub, then blew up the mines by making them swing into each other. He then burrowed into the flower, popping out and flying to the ledge beneath the bridge. He burrowed into the Deku Flower there and made the flight to the other ledge. Finally, he reached the door and went inside. He was now inside the covered bridge in the room that had the Dungeon Map. There were a couple of Blue Bubbles flapping about. Skull Kid took off the Deku Mask and killed both Bubbles with a few blasts from his Solar Shield. He ran down the bridge and went through the door at the other end.

He was in a medium-sized square room lit by torches. A door sealed by iron bars was at the other end of the room. As Skull Kid stepped forward, iron bars sealed the door behind him. One by one, every torch went out. Then, from the corners of the rooms, armored bats came, gathering into the center of the room, forming a large mass. When the bats moved out of the way, Skull Kid saw that many of them had combined to form a new monster. It was floating a few feet off the ground and wearing black armor, much like an Iron Knuckle's. It wielded a huge twin-bladed scythe. Its three eyeholes glowed red. It had a scarab jewel on its breastplate. The remaining bats swarmed around the monster, protecting their monster. The armored creature started floating towards Skull Kid, who was actually a bit scared. "Tael, please tell me what the hell this thing is!"

"It's an Iron Gomess. Like a mix between an Iron Knuckle and a Gomess. You have to defeat it the same way as you would a normal Gomess, except this will take longer. You might run out of light."

"I'll just use brief sunbeams. Nothing to worry about." As the Iron Gomess came closer, Tael targeted the monster. Skull Kid fired a brief sunbeam, scaring away the bats. He quickly ran forward and performed a jump attack on the scarab jewel. The monster convulsed and nearly decapitated him. Skull Kid backflipped away as the bats returned to their master. Skull Kid shot another sunbeam and performed another jump attack on the jewel. He repeated the process until the Iron Gomess's breastplate broke, revealing its torso. It was now weaker, but faster. Despite the Iron Gomess's increased speed, it was still no match for Skull Kid. He kept up the process of sunbeam and jump attack until finally, he won. The Iron Gomess was engulfed in blue flames, vanishing. The remaining bats fell to the floor, dead. The torches relit. The doors unbarred. Skull Kid panted and took a quick swig of Lon Lon Milk before going through the door at the other end of the room. Skull Kid was in an anteroom with an ornate treasure chest. Knowing what was awaiting him, he opened the chest and got…the Boss Key! He left the anteroom, went back through the room where he had fought Iron Gomess, went back through the covered bridge, and was finally back in the Eyegore room. He flew across the chasm as he did before. At the other end, he took off the mask and walked down the ledge to the door. He went through. He was on a small ledge facing another ledge. This one was fenced- in, except for the side facing him. There was a switch on the ledge, and a Death Armos floating around it. Skull Kid held his shield over the sky, letting the sunlight recharge it, then he hit the Death Armos's shield with a sunbeam, flipping it. He performed a Rolling Jump to the ledge, attracting the Armos's attention. It slammed into the ground, killing itself. Once it was dead, Skull Kid stepped on the switch. Several hookshot targets materialized on the edge of the higher platform in the middle of the room, allowing access from many angles. Skull Kid grappled up with the nearest target and pulled himself onto the platform. He walked over to the locked door at the end of the platform and opened it with his last small key. He was now on the bridge across the courtyard that used to have a pool. The Eyegore stomped towards him, firing lasers. Skull Kid kept his shield raised, switching it to laser as he walked towards the Eyegore. It kept firing lasers, only to have them deflected. When he had an opening, Skull Kid shot the monster's eye with his laser, following it up with his hookshot. After several hits, the Eyegore sat down and exploded. Skull Kid ran down the bridge and went through the door at the end. He was back in the corridor that led from where Garo Master had been. However, he was now beneath the narrow bridge and saw that there was more to this room than he had thought. There was a huge metal grating box in front of him, with a single open end. There were two spiked logs rolling along the box, one on top of it, and one inside it. There was a hookshot target far beyond the box, on the ceiling. A crystal switch was inside the box. Skull Kid shot it with his hookshot. A hookshot target materialized over the box, this one close enough for him to grapple onto. He pulled himself up to the top of the box, just after the spiked log rolled past his landing point. As the log reached the edge of the box and stopped, it began rolling back. Before it could roll over him, Skull Kid used his hookshot on the more distant target. He expected there to be a platform beneath him. There wasn't. He fell, screaming to the bottom of the corridor. Fortunately, it wasn't really that long a drop. When he hit bottom, he looked around. Just behind him was a Beamos, unaware of his presence. In front of him was the door to the Boss! He unlocked it with the boss key and went inside. He was in the room where he had fought Garo Master. There was still the hole in the ceiling, but now it was on the floor. Before going through the door on the other side of the room, Skull Kid recharged his shield by holding it over the sunlight emanating from the hole. He went through the door that was at the other end of the room and was in a very large circular room with a mammoth sunlight with a giant piece of glass covering it in the floor. In fact, the only actual floor was a small ledge that went around the perimeter of the room. Another scarab jewel was at the end. Before shooting it, Skull Kid looked up to see where he would be going. He gulped. He saw that there was no ceiling to this room. It was a shaft leading to a place he could not quite see, for it was quite far away. He moaned, knowing he would have no choice but to shoot the switch. Reluctantly, he did. When he hit the jewel with his sunbeam, his gravity shifted again, reverting to attraction to the planet. As he flipped right side up, he fell, feet first and screaming, into the shaft. It was very, very, very long drop. It seemed like he was falling for hours. He passed by many carvings on the walls as he plummeted, all of them depicting symbols that looked like the scarab jewels. After falling for a while, Skull Kid decided that this shaft must go down the entire depth of the Colossus. That meant that when he finally reached the bottom, he would go splat very hard. After another while, he noticed something else, too. He wasn't turning or twisting in the air as he fell. He was always falling feet first. That meant there must be some magic in this shaft, just like the rest of the temple. He wondered if this magic would slow down his impact so he wouldn't get hurt. He looked down and saw he was almost at the bottom. He must have fallen miles. He looked up. Despite the great distance he had fallen, he could still see the light quite clearly. The shaft was just that big. As the ground rushed closer, he closed his eyes, bracing himself for the impact. After several minutes passed and there was no splat, he opened his eyes. He was on the ground! He was safe! He fell to his hands and kissed the ground fervently, desperately happy to no longer be falling. Once he was done, he got up and looked around. He was standing on a big stone platform with an unreadable symbol on it. He looked up and saw the shaft and the sunlight shining down on him. He looked around and saw he was in a huge, and I mean HUGE cavern. The ceiling was a mile above and the ground covered at least three miles. The floor was covered in sand, no, the floor was sand. It was like a tiny desert. Giant pillars and ziggurats littered the area. He looked around some more. "Tael, how come you didn't say good-bye to me while we were falling?"

"Because I doubted you were going to die. I didn't think that the builders would have gone to this much work just to let anyone who got this far die. I was sure you would be fine, and I was right."

"Ah. Hey! What's that over there?" Skull Kid was pointing to a nearby pillar. It looked like it had something chained to the middle of it.

"I'll find out." Said Tael. He flew over to the pillar. A moment later he came back. "It's Nabooru! She says that the other guy is right behind us."

Skull Kid turned around and saw another pillar with something chained to its middle. "That must be the new Sage. Please see who it is."

Tael flew over to the pillar. A moment later, he came back. "I, I can't believe it. Who would've that that he'd be a Sage!"

"Who? Who is it?"

"The new Sage is…what's that noise?"

They could both hear a rumbling. Then the ground started shaking. And then, one of the ziggurats exploded as something erupted from the ground beneath it. A second something erupted from the sand nearby. The things writhed out of the ground. Skull Kid and Tael stared in awe. The thing that had emerged from the ziggurat was a one thousand-foot long centipede. It was multi- segmented and flying through the air. Each segment was one fifty feet wide. It was red with a blue belly and yellow legs. Its tail ended in a large tuft with a yellow stone. The head of the centipede was large and elongated, with two great horns curving from either side of its head. It had a mouth filled with sharp teeth, flanked by two twitching mandibles. Above the mouth were three great green eyes. The monster flew through the air with great ease, along with the other centipede that had emerged from the sand, which was exactly the same as the other one except it was blue. Both demon centipedes burrowed back into the ground. Seconds later, they both erupted from the ground again, heads only, to peer at Skull Kid. The red one stared for a moment, then chittered, "Well sister, looks like we have an intruder. Shall we eat him?"

The blue responded, "no, no, how about we just maul him to death instead?"

The red thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, alright. I guess that'll do."

The two sister demons roared and burrowed back into the ground. Skull Kid looked around anxiously, knowing they could pop up anywhere.

TWINMOLD: DEMON INSECTS

Skull Kid looked to his right as Red erupted from the ground nearby and started twisting through the air, heading towards him. Since she was looping in the air and moving very fast, Skull Kid knew he would need careful aim. He pulled out his crossbow and shot an arrow at Red's head. It hit, but did no damage. Her carapace was too hard. Skull Kid was suddenly knocked off his feet as Blue erupted from the ground behind him, barely missing him. The two demon insects twisted through the air, returning to the ground when their tails were starting to get close to the surface. As they both burrowed back underground, Skull Kid saw he had a shot at Blue's tail just before it went back into the earth. He fired an arrow. It hit, but still did no damage. As the two demons began to prepare to pop up somewhere else, Skull Kid knew he needed a new strategy. He got one. He pulled the Giant's Mask out of his pack and slapped it on. He suddenly felt excruciating pain as the transformation took place. He felt every bone in his body growing larger. He closed his eyes to blot out the pain as he screamed. When the pain stopped, he opened his eyes to find he was now five hundred feet tall! He could take on the demon sisters now! Tael watched in awe from the big stone platform. As Red erupted from the earth, Skull Kid ran over to where she was coming out of the ground and waited. Just when her tail tip came out, Skull Kid stabbed with his sword, hitting the vulnerable tail. A little purple blood spurted out and Red shrieked, writhing for a moment as she was already heading back into the earth, making sure that her head and tail were never above the ground at the same time. When Blue erupted from the earth, Skull Kid ran over and followed her twisting body. When she headed back to the ground, Skull Kid stabbed her head before it burrowed. Blue screeched and spurted a little purple blood. As her tail eventually reached the point, Skull Kid stabbed that as well. A moment later, both Red and Blue popped their heads from the sand. Red hissed. "That hurt my tail!"

"You think that hurt, he stabbed me in the head and the tail!" complained Blue.

"This is like what that Link kid did ten years ago!" chittered Red.

"What do you suggest that we do to prevent what happened last time from happening again?"

"How about we show him our true form?"

"Yes, that'll show him!"

The bugs cackled and flew out completely from the sand, twisting in the air. They flew closer to each other, flying through the loops caused by each other's coils and forming a complex knot. They squeezed each other's bodies, like some kind of hug, until they actually started sinking into each other's skins! The two sisters screeched out some sort of incantation. There was a flash of light, and there was something new in place of the two insects. It looked like Red and Blue, but there was only one of it. It was purple, and five thousand feet long, one hundred feet wide! It opened its jaws and laughed. "Puny imp! I am the demoness Twinmold, the harbinger of your doom!" Skull Kid saw that he was now too small to fight the boss. He wasn't sure what to do. Then, the ground shook, and Twinmold erupted from the ground beneath him, trying to bite into his leg! She barely missed, but succeeded in hurting him a lot by slamming into him. As she writhed through the air, Skull Kid got to his enormous feet. He saw Twinmold heading back towards him, not caring that her body was fully exposed. Skull Kid raised his shield, aiming for her face. He switched the shield to blast and squeezed the handle. The shield's surface glowed and fired a massive blast of light at the demon, striking her full on. She screeched and fell to the ground, shaking the earth. Skull Kid ran over and performed multiple jump attacks on her head. She recovered and swung her head wildly, knocking Skull Kid into one of the pillars before taking back to the air. He groaned and pulled himself to his feet. Twinmold hadn't even bled from that attack! Her carapace was too tough for his dagger at this size. Then he had an idea. He pulled off the Giant's Mask, returning to his normal size. Twinmold saw this and rushed forward, her jaws wide open. Skull Kid quickly reached into his pack and pulled out Twinmold's Mask. He slapped it on. Nothing, at first. And then…he suddenly ballooned, growing again. But not just to a hundred feet. When he was done, he was one thousand feet tall! Twinmold recoiled, surprised. Back on the ground, Tael jingled eagerly. Twinmold recovered and prepared for a new attack. Her green eyes glowed before firing a massive triple energy blast at Skull Kid. He raised his Solar Shield, absorbing each lethal blast and recharging his light meter. Aiming at Twinmold's head, he fired another blast of light. This time, it not only stunned her, but it hurt. A lot. As purple blood gushed from small ruptures all over her body, she fell to the ground with another earth- shaking thud. Skull Kid ran over and performed a dozen jump attacks on Twinmold. As the demoness recovered, Skull Kid was already hightailing it away from her. She burrowed back underground. Skull Kid didn't know where to look out for the next attack. She would probably strike from below. As the ground beneath him started to rumble, his instincts kicked in, telling him what to do. He carefully stepped away from where he had been standing and held his dagger, point down, right over where he had been standing a second ago. Twinmold erupted from the ground, impaling herself up to the hilt on Skull Kid's dagger causing purple blood to spew everywhere. She screeched in extreme pain. Skull Kid quickly pulled the dagger out of Twinmold's face as she burrowed back into the ground. A second later, Twinmold emerged from the ground once more, twisting and writhing in the air as purple blood gushed in torrents from her eye. Apparently Skull Kid had pierced her brain. The demoness froze in midair. Then, starting with her tail and working its way up, every segment of her body exploded. Her head, the only segment left, fell, imbedding itself into the ground. In a moment the head was gone as it burned up, returning to Hell. A portal appeared back on the platform where Tael was. Skull Kid carefully stomped over to one of the pillars that a Sage was chained to. He carefully nudged the pillar, lowering it closer to the ground. Then he grabbed the pillar with one hand and cut the chains with the other. The Sage fell to the ground and stood there for a few seconds, probably saying thanks. Then the figure ran for the portal. Because he was so big, Skull Kid couldn't tell whom he had freed. He repeated the process with the other Sage, then stomped over to the platform and took off the mask, returning to normal. Tael flew over to him.

"Skull Kid, that was…I mean, it was…I can't think of the words to tell you how cool you are!"

Skull Kid smiled. "It was nothing Tael. I just did what had to be done. Now come on, let's get to the Chamber so we can get the last Medallions and find out a little more about our next objectives." The pair went into the portal, finding themselves back in the Chamber of Sages.

Rauru was on his platform as usual, smiling proudly. On the Spirit Platform were Nabooru and…the Poehunter! Who would've thought that he'd be the last Sage? Rauru gestured towards Nabooru, showing her she could now make her little speech. She cleared her throat and began. "Kid, I have no idea who you are, but I want to say thanks. It was pretty boring being chained to that pillar with nobody to talk to, since this other guy was all the way across the room. I don't have any messages for you to give the girls, but I do want to make all the hard work you've done up to you. So take this Spirit Medallion as your reward, since you're too young and of the wrong species for the other reward I would normally give you." She smiled and raised her hands. There was a flash far up, and the Medallion came twirling down from the ceiling. Skull Kid caught it and examined it. It was orange, with the Triforce symbol on the back and what looked like a Yin-Yang symbol on the front. Skull Kid put it away and turned to Poehunter.

The Hinox cleared his throat. "I'm really not sure what to say. I never would have thought in a million years that I would be a Sage! Who would have known that the Stone Tower was actually built by the Hinox race and not the ancient people of Ikana? I guess this explains the Beamos and Eyegores…anyway, I want to thank you for saving my life. Since I don't think you'll be wanting one of my ghosts, take this Solar Medallion instead." He threw the Medallion in the air. Skull Kid caught and examined it. It was tan, with a Triforce symbol on the back and the symbol of Stone Tower/Colossus, the scarab jewel on the front. Rauru cleared his throat, getting Skull Kid's attention.

"Skull Kid, I would like to thank you for all that you've done. However, I am not the one to tell you what is next. I will leave that up to someone else." He smiled. "That person is waiting now. I will send you to there." He raised his arms. There was a flash, and nothingness.

And then…Skull Kid and Tael blinked and looked around them. They were back in the Chamber of the Crystals! Surrounding the platform they were standing on was something new. It was the Four Giants. Skull Kid saw his oldest friends and grinned. The giants bellowed, looking happy to see him. The Goddess of Time was hovering above him. "My darling son, you've grown so much in the last few weeks. I'm so proud of you! But now you must face your most difficult challenge yet. Before you can even hope to confront Majora, you must slay Ganondorf. You must head for Hymina Castle Town as fast as you can. When you are there, I shall eventually contact you to give you more details on your mission. Any questions before I send you back?"

"Actually mom, I do. How come the Sages couldn't summon the dragons at previous solar equinoxes? Why does it have to happen now?"

"Two reasons. First of all, for the first time in centuries, all six Sages are fully awakened. Also, the four weaker ones have secondary Sages to help lend power to the summoning. Impa and Rauru, representing the two stronger elementals, need no secondary for they're own summoning. But there is another reason as well. The four weaker dragons cannot be brought back to life without the sacrifice of four strong beings. Since four strong beings have not been available for a sacrifice, that is the other reason this has not been attempted before."

"So who'd you get to play the part of sacrifice?" asked Tael. There was a silence. The four giants looked strangely saddened for some reason.

Skull Kid suddenly realized why. "No…you can't mean…"

"I'm sorry Skull Kid, but it is." Said the Goddess of Time sadly. "The Giants have willingly volunteered for the sacrifice."

"But…but…but why?" asked Skull Kid pleadingly.

"Because it is their duty." The giants mumbled in agreement.

"But…but…but…but why can't they stay? Why do they have to die? Can't some other powerful beings do this?" he asked desperately.

The Goddess of Time looked very sad indeed. Of course, since she was just a ball of light, it was kind of hard to tell. "They are the only ones who can do it, Skull Kid. They are the spirits, the living embodiments, of the four temples of Termina. Just like the dragons were the living embodiments of the six temples of Hyrule. Now that the lands have merged as well as the temples, the guardians must merge as well. I'm sorry."

The room began to fade away. The giants bellowed their farewells. "No! No! You can't do this! Please…please no! No! NO!" Everything went white.

Tael and Skull Kid rematerialized outside Stone Colossus, at the base of the statue's tongue. It was twilight. All the Leevers seemed to be asleep early. Skull Kid took a few steps forwards and fell to his knees. He lay there, crying for several minutes as the sun went down and the stars started to come out. "Skull Kid?" asked Tael, unsure of what to say to his best friend. "Skull Kid, are you…"

Skull Kid pounded the ground with his fist. "My friends…my oldest friends…and they're leaving me…again…this is the third…and final time…" His eyes filled with tears, he looked to the sky, at the grinning moon. His beady eyes, still full of tears, were now full of anger and rage. The thousand years of shame and misery he had gone through, his thousand years of petty thievery and far too much angst, was rising to the surface. Every memory of that awful millennium replayed through his head, bringing more tears to the surface. He looked at the moon, grinning down at him mockingly, maliciously. How he hated the moon. How he hated the being in the moon. That being had caused him almost more pain in a single month at the end of the thousand years then he had faced throughout that entire millennium. Did he hate his mother, the Goddess of Time, for forcing him into this? No, she was only doing what was right, to preserve the lives of billions, no, trillions, definitely more than that. Did he hate the giants for leaving him once again? No, they were only doing their duty, the duty dictated to them when they had become guardians, when they had sworn to the Oath to Order. He hated the being in the moon. He hated the being that had caused so much suffering throughout eternity, the being who had done so much to Hymina, the being who was the reason for this quest in the first place. He hated the demon Majora. Still crying, Skull Kid shook his fist at the moon. "F*** you," he said, "F*** you. I swear, on my own blood, on my own soul, that I will kill you demon. I swear I will see you pay for what you have done to this land and its people. I swear I will see you pay for what you have done to my friends. I swear I will see you pay for what you have done to me. I swear I will banish you back to Hell myself. I swear your death, demon Majora. I swear it." Still crying, not saying a word to a worried Tael, Skull Kid set up his tent, crawled into his sleeping bag and closed his eyes. Tael flew in, not sure what to say. He decided not to say anything. He flew onto Skull Kid's hat as always, and tried to get some sleep. But he was too sad and worried for his friend to start snoozing. Skull Kid eventually cried himself to sleep around midnight, his dreams filled with nightmares of demons and giants.

Well, another chapter is finished. And I tried my hardest to make this ending as sad as possible. You may cry for Skull Kid if you wish. But I promise things will get better. As Skull Kid took an oath, so do I. This story will have a happy ending.