I am pi2, possibly the most creative Zelda author yet! Fear me! Okay, I know I'm probably not the most creative Zelda author on the site, but I've looked over the records and only found one fic with Skull Kid as a hero, and it was discontinued and really had nothing to do with any of the games. All of the other fics have Skull Kid as a minor or supporting character, nobody really important. Even on the Survivor fics, Skull Kid is always on the team with all the bad guys! Well, I've changed that! So there. Oh, and thanks for all of the good reviews! Keep them coming! And I'm not just talking to my fans out there, I mean you! The anonymous guy whose reading right now! Please leave me a good review. Join the club! And now for today's chapter.

Chapter 13

Three days after the Stone Colossus was released from enemy hands, a bedraggled imp and his fairy walked out of the pass from Gerudo/Ikana Canyon back onto Hymina Field. Despite the fairly cheerful expression of the imp, behind the smile he held a millennium of pain and anguish, recently brought to the surface by the news of how his four oldest friends were going to sacrifice themselves for the great cause of life. However, he had recovered somewhat over the past three days and was no longer crying. He was focused more than ever on his mission. It was fortunate that even though he had a mind greater than that of most adults, he had the soul of a child, which kept him from breaking down completely. Skull Kid looked up, trying to avoid the moon. "Hey Tael, looks like the sun's setting. We'd better set up the tent. How come it took us longer to cross the desert back?"

"Probably because that lazy Poe never showed up again, so we had to find our own way back."

"Lucky for me we had my innate sense of direction and instincts." Said Skull Kid proudly.

"You almost walked into a quicksand pit."

"I knew it was there. I was just following the path my instincts told me to follow."

"Sure you were, Skull Kid. Sure you were." Skull Kid playfully batted at his best friend before setting up the tent. They got it finished and Stalfos-proofed just before nightfall. They quickly went inside and went to sleep, perchance to dream.

They headed east for three days, heading towards Romani/Lon Lon Ranch. They were not cutting northeast because it was the Peahat mating season, and their breeding ground was on a fifty-mile patch of land northeast. The Peahats would viciously attack anyone who came anywhere near the breeding ground. This unfortunately meant more travel time for Skull Kid and Tael, who knew the solar equinox was fast approaching. They only had ten days left, and the town was five days to the north, if they traveled day and night. Skull Kid wished he hadn't lollygaged as much as he thought he had, but there was no use crying over spilt milk. Besides, there was a chance they could borrow a horse from the ranch. A small one, but still a chance. As they got just outside of ten miles from the ranch, the sun was almost below the horizon. Not wanting to get caught by the Stalchildren, they quickly set up tent once more and went to sleep. What they didn't know was that not all of the Guay flying around were really Guay. Ever since Ganondorf had received his orders to send spies flying around the field, these special Guays, really darklings in disguise, had been looking for anything suspicious. One of these darkling spies happened to spot the tent, surrounded by disgruntled Stalchildren who could not get by the Stalchild repellent. The darkling spy knew that nobody would be travelling the field these days without a large group so knew this was something suspicious that had to be reported to Ganondorf at once. It turned away from the camp, memorizing the coordinates. It then activated its magic, flying across the great distance of the field in hours instead of days, making a beeline for Ganondorf's Castle. Ganondorf was having a very nice dream of torturing the townspeople to get more money from them when the darkling pecking on the window, waking him up. When he let his spy in and heard the news, he fully woke up and called the moon.

Majora rolled over, snoring loudly. Very loudly. The prisoners were getting sick of this. They had been kept awake by the demon's snores for two nights in a row. They knew he was really snoring on purpose to annoy them. Majora's snores became broken when he heard a knocking on his door. He frowned in his sleep and kept snoring even louder, telling whomever it was to go away. The knocking persisted. His snores were starting to turn into growls. The knocking persisted. His growls turned into snarls and roars. The knocking still persisted. Finally, Majora gave up and got out of bed, shuffling tiredly to the bedroom door, not noticing that he still had his stuffed griffin in one hand. He opened it as the darkling on the other side started knocking again, causing the poor shadow to accidentally knock on his master's belly a few times by accident. The darkling withdrew his hand, frightened. The darkling would not have lived to see the next day if it weren't for the fact that Majora was too tired to deal out any deaths at the moment. "What is it?" grumbled Majora, yawning.

The darkling bowed to the ground. "One million pardons, master. I am most sorry to disturb your slumber, but I had to tell you…Ganondorf wishes to speak with you." Majora snarled and slammed the door in the darkling's face. After a moment passed, the shadow realized it was free to go and went back to its "quarters".

Grumbling to himself, Majora shuffled back to his bed and sat on it. The prisoners were quite pleased to see their captor disrupted from his slumber for once. Grumbling some more while trying to keep his eyelids open, Majora mentally unsealed the barrier he had put around the moon to block communications. Ganondorf's hologram appeared. The four prisoners laughed when they saw Ganondorf, for he was in his pajamas. They were decorated with little Wolfos puppies and kitties. "Great Majora, I have very important…"

Majora blinked, slightly awoken by Ganondorf's PJs. "Ganondorf, are you wearing pajamas with little Wolfos pups and kittens on them?"

Ganondorf frowned. "All of my pajamas are still at the cleaners, along with all my best capes. Are you sleeping with a stuffed griffin?"

Majora quickly hid the griffin beneath his pillow. "No, no, of course not! Now, what is it? I have to go back to bed."

"Majora, I have news! One of my spies has finally located the hero!"

Majora was startled awake. "He has!?!?"

"Yes! He's in a tent just a little more than ten miles to the west of Romani Ranch. If you act now, you can bombard him in his sleep."

Majora grinned. "Excellent job, Ganondorf. You are a good second-in- command. Now go to sleep, and try to get your proper pajamas back before tomorrow night." Ganondorf nodded and vanished. Majora turned to his prisoners, grinning. "Well, looks like the fun has come to an end. Whoever your hero is, he is about to be destroyed, crushing your last hopes of freedom. How does that feel?" Link and Navi angrily let loose several very choice words. Majora smiled. He was surprised when Zelda and Tatl followed suit. "Why princess! Does your father know you have such a foul mouth? No matter. I must go and destroy your would-be-rescuer now. Ta-ta!" Majora conjured himself to the moon's left eye. He peered out through the enormous lens, looking down at the world. He peered at the darklings that operated the eyes. "Magnify to Hymina, a little more than ten miles wet of Romani/Lon Lon Ranch!" he barked. The darklings complied, zooming in on the specified area. "Magnify!" he yelled again. The eye zoomed in closer, showing him an even smaller area of the ten-mile area. "Damn it, when I say magnify I mean magnify! Maximum intensity!' The eye zoomed in even closer, showing Majora the top of the tent. He grinned. "Begin loading Moon's Tear Meteorite Missiles!" The darklings rushed in and out of the room, bringing back Moon's Tears from the ammunition bay. They loaded the jewels into the launch bays, the eyes "tear ducts" as it were. Majora's grin broadened. Soon the annoying hero who had caused so much trouble and killed all four of his demon generals would finally be gone forever. "Fire!" Moon's Tears were launched from the ducts, speeding through the atmosphere at intense speed. They hurtled through the atmosphere, gaining heat and momentum from the friction. The Moon's Tears hit their target area, obliterating everything for ten miles in every direction from the tent. The ranch was unharmed by the debris. When the smoke cleared, there was nothing left of the tent but a huge crater. The hero was dead. Majora laughed.

Half an hour earlier…

Skull Kid felt somebody kicking him. He woke up and saw Garo looming over him. "Garo? What do you want?" asked Skull Kid.

Garo had no time for small talk. "Skull Kid, great danger are you in. As are ranch the people at the, but a danger from different to them. Get there you must, immediately. Behind leave tent the."

Tael yawned and woke up, seeing Garo. "Wha? Garo?"

"How do we get there immediately? It's ten miles away!"

"A faster way to go you have. The mask…"

"Which mask? The Bunny Hood?" Garo shook his head. "Yeah, it looks too silly and only makes me twice as fast. The Giant's Mask?" Garo shook his head. "Oh yeah, it doesn't work outside of that one room in Stone Colossus. Then what?"

"The other mask, the one that makes you super fast." Whispered Garo.

"And that would be?" asked Tael.

Garo seemed a bit annoyed. "Mask of transformation! Goron Mask!"

"Hey, the Goron Mask makes me slower! Unless you mean…Ohhhh!" Skull Kid got it.

Garo nodded. "Correct. Now, Until next time…" He vanished into thin air.

Skull Kid got up and slapped on the Goron Mask. "Wait! Skull Kid, where are we going?"

"The ranch."

"But it's the middle of the night!"

"Garo said we're in danger, and so is everyone at the ranch. We have to hurry." Skull Kid curled up after checking his compass to point himself in the right direction and rolled towards the tent wall. He tore through it, smashing through the Stalchildren waiting outside the tent. He mowed down Stalchild after Stalchild, heading for the ranch. As he mowed them down and kept rolling, his speed increased to the point where the blades sprung out and he moved faster than a speeding horse. He covered the ten- mile distance in ten minutes, smashing through the burnt and broken fence and covering half of the distance to the farmhouse. He uncurled and saw the danger. A huge glowing ball of yellow light was hovering in the sky over the corral. Strange creatures were zipping around the farm, floating inches off of the ground. Skull Kid could not see them too well, but he could see that the creatures were dragging animals over to a beam of light emanating from the ball. None of the animals had actually been taken into the ball…yet. Skull Kid saw that several creatures were already inside the farmhouse, as could be evident by the screams coming from there. Skull Kid had to choose whether or not to go over to the farmhouse or the corral. He decided that since the creatures would probably just take them over to the corral, he should head them off. He curled again and rolled over to the corral, smashing through the fence. He saw that the Cuccos, dogs, cows, and horses were all huddled in a group near the beam of light. Surrounding them were the strange creatures. They looked sort of like Poes, but not really. They had long purple things extending to a few inches off the ground. Were they legs? Their bodies and heads were the same thing, a bulging purple ball with multiple grooves and a black face with yellow-red eyes. It had two black arms extending from either side of the head. In each being's right hand they held a glowing rod. Skull Kid took off the Goron Mask and slowly approached, hiding behind single fences in the corral. He heard more screams from the farmhouse, and then the creatures came out of the house, dragging the occupants kicking and screaming. Skull Kid knew that his only chance might be coming up. The creatures started grabbing the animals. It started with one picking up a frightened Cucco and floating over to the beam of light. The instant it did, the creature and the Cucco began to levitate into the ball of light high above. Skull Kid knew now was his chance. Tael silently Z-targeted the ball. Skull Kid fired a Bomb Arrow. It struck the ball, exploding. The ball wobbled, the beam of light cutting off. The creature and Cucco dropped back to the ground. The creatures all dropped whatever they were carrying and floated over, waving their arms in dismay. The ball started to fly away, but more explosions wracked it. Finally, it stopped floating and fell to the ground, crashing into one of the barns. It did not burn, but it stopped glowing. It now appeared to be a huge, heavily damaged, metal sphere. The creatures all flew over to the sphere wailing. The ranch occupants started to run back to the farmhouse, except for Talon, who was running over to the corral.

One of the creatures had not left. He turned to Skull Kid angrily and jabbered something incomprehensible at him. Skull Kid had no idea what he was saying. The being sighed and pressed something on its head. A second later it spoke in Hylian. "Why did you destroy our ship?" it asked.

Skull Kid blinked. "Ship? Who are you?"

"We are beings from the planet Barglebone, or were from the planet Barglebone. It blew up years ago. We are the only survivors."

"Wait, you mean you're from one of the worlds beyond our own? From up there?" asked Tael.

The alien nodded. "Yes. We came in our ship," he said, indicating the crashed metal sphere that the other aliens were mourning over, "to find a new planet to inhabit. This one seemed suitable. But then you blew up our ship!"

"Well, you were kidnapping those people!" responded Skull Kid, pointing to Talon, who was still running towards the corral.

"Oh, those were people? Sorry, we thought they were more animals. We were taking them because we wanted to do some experiments on them to see if this planet was habitable or not. The experiments would have killed them. It's fortunate that you stopped us, or they would have died. Unfortunately, now we are stranded and have no way of fixing the ship unless you have the technology to rebuild an antimatter reactor, but I doubt that you do. The ship's interior will be unharmed, but we can't leave. Even if this planet is habitable for us, we're stranded."

Skull Kid sighed. "Well, it's too late now. I'm sure Garaton is habitable for your race, but I don't see where you would fit in. Unless…"

At that point, Talon reached them, huffing and puffing. As he got there, he stopped for a moment to catch his breath, then turned to the alien leader and said, "You sir, have a lot of explaining to do! Oh, and thank you for saving us Skull Kid."

"You're welcome. But Talon, before you do anything rash like kill this guy and the others, I think there's something you should know."

Skull Kid then explained the whole situation with the aliens, then mentioned that they would be able to pay for the damages. Talon was now thoughtful. "Well, I guess I can forgive you, but I still don't see how you can pay for any of the damages. The barn is now ruined! Are you going to pay us money or something?"

The alien shook his head. "We only have technology. It could be very useful, but I suppose you want something immediate in the form of payment."

"You got that right." Said Talon.

Skull Kid interrupted. "Talon, I have an idea. You want them to pay you back for the barn right?"

"Right."

"And you, alien, you want a home for your people right?"

"Right."

"Then both of you have the solutions to your problems right in front of you."

"Huh?" they both asked.

Skull Kid elaborated. "The aliens can live on the ranch and help out as farmhands. With their addition to the workforce, your ranch will be able to produce more milk and eggs. They may also be able to find a way to speed up transportation to town when you make deliveries. In return, the aliens have somewhere to live. What do you say?"

Talon frowned. "But I can't afford to feed all these things! We barely have enough food to fill the nine of us who already live here!"

The alien leader spoke up. "Actually, my people can synthesize food from the atmosphere. We don't really eat solids or liquids, just gasses."

Talon was thoughtful. He pondered for a moment, then came to a decision. "Skull Kid, you've made up my mind. I'll let them stay on the ranch, as long as they can pull their own weight and increase revenues for us. Is it a deal?" asked Talon, extending his hand out to the leader.

"It is a deal. But why are you extending your hand? Are you trying to threaten me?"

"Uh, no, it's a form of agreement my people have. We shake hands to seal of an agreement."

"Oh. Alright then." The two shook.

Skull Kid smiled. "Well, I'd love to stay and help out some more, but I've got to be heading back to my tent."

Talon grinned. "Be back soon, will you? By the way, do you need to get to town?"

"Actually, we do." Said Tael.

"Well, Cremia will be leaving in a few days to deliver the eggs and milk to town. If you want to get to town quicker, you might want to hitch a ride."

"Sounds good to me. I'll be back in the morning to help set things up. See ya." Skull Kid turned and started heading west, but that's when he saw the shower of meteors coming from the moon, hitting the ground where his tent was. He just stared in astonishment as the Moon's Tears destroyed his tent and everything in a ten-mile radius. When the bombardment finally ended, there was only a huge crater. Skull Kid gaped. "My tent! That bastard destroyed my tent!"

"Well, now we know why Garo made us leave." Said Tael. "Looks like we're going to be staying here after all Skull Kid." Skull Kid groaned.

Three days later…

Relations between the farmers and the aliens were shaky at first, but things seemed to be settling down. The aliens had easily disassembled their ship and used parts of it to rebuild the barn. They put the rest of the ship in both of the barns, converting the upper lofts into laboratories and living quarters for the Barglebonians. They worked with incredible speed, and had completed the modifications to the barn in only six hours. They had built robots to milk the cows and to collect the chicken eggs. The aliens had also managed to repair all the other damage that Majora had done to the ranch, even finding a way to get rid of the burnt material. They had fixed all of the fences and reinforced them with some strange otherworldly metal, adding a few extra security devices as well to the animal pens and outer fence. By security devices, I mean force fields, stun lasers, alarms, patrolling robot guards, and gravity traps. Skull Kid thought the security was a little much, but then again, they were slightly worried that they would be attacked by a powerful demon. Of course, it was highly doubtful that this advanced technology would even work on Majora. The aliens had seen a little magic courtesy of Skull Kid, and were devoting some of their time to researching ways to counter magic. Aside from security, Barglebonians were also introducing certain hormones into the animal's diets to cause them to reproduce faster, while also stimulating grass to grow to feed the new animals. They had wanted to try direct genetic engineering to create better animals, but Talon had said no. He didn't want any of his horses to win a race because they had been genetically enhanced. He saw that as cheating. In a way, he was right. The aliens decided to give each person on the ranch something special. For some reason, the Gormans were interested in electrified pitchforks. Nobody was sure why, but they got their wish. Malon found that the aliens actually liked her singing, and loved to follow her around when she was singing. They were the only ones. The aliens seemed to like Malon's singing as much as the Gorons like Saria's Song, namely a lot. They gave her a recorder to tape her singing. Romani was eager to get an improved bow. It had targeting sights and homing arrows. Talon was pleased to get a vibrating bed. Ingo didn't want anything! What a surprise, isn't it? Grog was actually starting to smile, for his Cuccos were finally going to lay eggs. Mamamu Yan was getting puppies. The aliens were as good as their word, and were pulling their weight as promised. But one of the best modifications was to the delivery wagon. It now had anti-gravity pads, so the old donkey that used to pull it was retired. He didn't seem to mind. The pads allowed the wagon to hover off of the ground, and made it move slightly faster. To keep anyone from thinking there was anything wrong with the wagon, hologram projectors had been installed to generate the image of wheels and the old donkey, so anyone looking would think it was a normal wagon, albeit one moving slightly faster than usual. The new cruise control would allow the cart to travel at night without any steering from the travelers, shortening travel time. The wagon also used a dimensional expander to add extra room to the inside, allowing for a bathroom and multiple bunk beds. The addition of a refrigeration unit ensured that the delivered milk tanks and eggs would stay fresh. (It also protected them from the vulnerability of the back of the wagon, where a certain pair of brothers could break anything.) But since Cremia was slightly worried the Gormans would go turncoat and try to stop the delivery, or that a monster would attack them, the aliens installed a retractable laser cannon in the back of the wagon. At noon, Skull Kid, Tael and Cremia were ready to leave. As they got into the wagon and started hovering off, everyone came to the front gates to give them a warm send-off. As the ranch left their sight, Skull Kid walked over to Cremia, who was steering the cart using the high-tech interface console. "Do you even know what you're doing?" asked Skull Kid.

Cremia smiled. "I was worried at first, but these control's are easier to operate than old Benjamin was! Take a look for yourself." Skull Kid peered over her shoulder. He saw that the controls were easy. The aliens had made the controls user-friendly and easy to understand. The steering mechanism was a small wheel. The cruise control button merely locked the wheel in place, sending the wagon straight ahead in whatever direction it was pointing to. There was an on/off button, and another one for the holograms. A compass told them which way they were going. There was a pedal to accelerate and to brake in case of emergencies. Cremia shook her head, smiling. "This technology stuff is like a new form of magic! I think I like it."

"Yeah, I think I'll go test the laser. Wanna watch?"

"Sure, just let me turn on the cruise control." She checked the compass, then pressed the cruise control button. She turned around. "Okay, I'm all set. Let's see this thing." They went to the back of the wagon. Skull Kid hopped into the gunner's chair and looked at the control panel. It was quite simple. The panel was on a podium connecting to the rotating cannon turret. It could go up, down, or around. A plastic screen had a holographic display allowing for targeting. The controls themselves were sheer simplicity. All he had to do was aim using the holographic targeting cursor and the control stick, then fire by pressing and releasing the button on top of the stick. The longer he held it down determined the intensity of the blast.

"So, where should I aim?" asked Skull Kid.

"How about that tree over there?" asked Cremia. Skull Kid aimed at a dead tree they were passing and fired a quick shot. The tree fell down. "Try to get that Guay." Skull Kid aimed upwards at a circling Guay. He targeted it and fired another quick shot, downing the Guay.

Skull Kid saw a large rock and decided to see if he could blow it up. He aimed for the rock and pressed the button hard. A more powerful shot struck the rock, causing it to explode. Then Skull Kid had an idea. "Let's see the range on this thing." Said Skull Kid, raising the canon and aiming at the moon. He held the button down for several seconds, causing a large ball of laser energy to build up on the cannon muzzle. Skull Kid waited to see if he could charge it up any more. When it reached maximum size and intensity, he made sure he was aiming straight at the moon, then fired. The huge laser blast went rocketing off into the sky. Skull Kid turned to Cremia. "Quick, get to the controls and make this thing go faster!"

"But why"

"Just do it!" Cremia ran over to the controls and started moving, turning up the speed. As the wagon started moving faster, a Moon's Tear fell from the sky, striking the ground just behind them. More followed. The wagon was just able to keep ahead of the falling jewels, swerving to avoid incoming ones. They finally made it out of the ten-mile radius, the Moon's Tears still hitting the ground behind them. Cremia hit the brakes and turned around.

"Why did you do that?!" she asked angrily.

"Look, I really hate that moon okay? I was trying to blow it out of the sky. If you had been in my place, wouldn't you have done the same thing?" asked Skull Kid.

Cremia paused. "Well, I guess I would at that. But let's agree not to mess with the laser again, okay?" Skull Kid nodded. They continued on their way.

Two days later, they reached Hymina Castle Clock Town. From the outside, it looked the same, except for the dark cloud covering the region and the Gerudo crescent symbol placed above the drawbridge. Just above the Gerudo symbol was a crest. It was black and heart-shaped, with two horns, eight spikes, and two almond-shaped eyes. Majora's crest. The drawbridge was down. The guards at the gate were Moblins, golems fashioned from clay. They were seven feet tall, with large spears and the heads of bulldogs. As golems, they did whatever task their master assigned to them, no matter how menial. As the wagon approached, they stiffened and crossed their spears, blocking the gate. "Halt! Who goes there?" asked one of the Moblins.

"It's me, Cremia. I'm here to deliver eggs and milk."

The Moblins sniffed the air. One of them frowned. "Is something wrong with your donkey? It doesn't seem to smell quite right."

"Er…" Cremia wasn't sure what to do. If the Moblins touched the donkey and discovered it was a fake, she would be in big trouble. Fortunately, Skull Kid knew what to do. He manned the laser cannon and fired a laser burst at a tree a quarter of a mile away. The tree ignited. The Moblins noticed.

"Hey, what's going on over there?" asked one of the Moblins.

"Why don't you two go check it out? I have to go make my rounds."

"Yeah, yeah sure. Go on through." The Moblins ran over to the tree to see if there was something over there while the wagon passed through the gates.

Cremia turned around and grinned at Skull Kid. "Thanks. I owe you one." She piloted the wagon into town. Skull Kid retracted the cannon so nobody would see it then looked out the back to see the town. It was pretty dismal. Things were quite dark. Moblins were guarding every exit from town, including the path to the Temple of Time/Clock Tower. Many shops were closed down, their owners out on the streets. There were quite a few beggars. There didn't seem to actually be anyone who wasn't a beggar walking around the streets. A few shops were still open. All of the restaurants were closed as well. Cremia stopped the cart in front of a place called the Milk Bar Latte. She landed the wagon and pulled the refrigeration unit out of the back. "Skull Kid, I guess this is goodbye. I have to head home after making these deliveries, so I guess you'll be staying here. I just wanted to say thanks for all that you've done." She leaned over and gave him a hug and a kiss. "Good luck." She whispered.

"Wait!" said Skull Kid. He took out the bottle of Lon Lon Milk and the one bottle of Chateau Romani he had been given the last time he was at the ranch. "Here, take these. I don't need them." He said.

She smiled, said "Thank you," and then she went into the bar.

"I'll miss her." Said Tael.

"Yeah…" said Skull Kid. He felt slightly odd from Cremia's kiss. Why was it? It was the first kiss he had ever gotten as far as he could recall, except for kisses from his family, which didn't count. What was so different about his one? Surely he wasn't feeling an attraction towards Cremia? She was a human after all. He sorted through his feelings and realized he was just a bit anxious about being kissed by someone outside his family. If a female imp ever kissed him, he would probably feel about the same way. Not that there were any female imps, that is. All the Skull Kids were boys, and in his millennium of life he had never met a girl of his species. He shook his head, breaking himself off of that topic. "Come on, let's find a pawn shop. I've got some stuff I want to get rid of." Said Skull Kid.

He quickly located the "Curiosity Shop". During his dark years, Skull Kid has sold everything he stole to this proud store. Despite the dimensional merge and being under the rule of an oppressive tyrant, this store was still in business. As Skull Kid entered, he saw that it hadn't changed a bit. As usual, it was littered with crates and knick-knacks of some sort. He saw swords, jewelry, masks, and an old suit of armor behind the window where the guy who operated the store was. The proprietor leaned looked interested as Skull Kid came through. "Aw, hello good sir. How can I help you? Is there anything you'd like to sell? I'm afraid we're out of sellable wares right now…"

"Actually, I do have some stuff to sell." Said Skull Kid. He pulled out all ten of his bottles. One contained a Big Poe he had caught during the wagon ride. Four bottles were full of gold dust. Three bottles were empty. One contained a fish, and one more contained Vari.

The Curiosity Shop guy peered at the full bottles. "My! You have some very worthy items in here. I'll pay eight hundred rupees total for the Big Poe and the Gold Dust. I'll only pay fifty for the fairy. Hmm, he is black though. I've never seen a black fairy. Maybe I should give you one hundred…"

"Oh, the fairy's not for sale. I was just showing you what I had to offer. You can take the dust and the Poe."

The man took out a tube from under his counter, opened each of the bottles and poured their contents down the tube one at a time. He handed the empty bottles and the eight hundred rupees back to Skull Kid. "Now, unless you have anything else to sell, I'm afraid I can offer you nothing more. All of the things in crates are reserved, and I have nothing to sell to you."

"Thank you." Said Skull Kid. He left the store.

"You know he was lying." Said Tael.

"Yes I do. But I don't need anything from him. I stocked up on arrows and bombs back at the Canyon. What we need now is lodging. Mom said she would tell us what to do, but until then, we'll just have to wait." They wandered around the town, looking for an inn or hotel. Sadly, all of the hotels and inns were either closed or full up. Skull Kid didn't give up, and kept walking around the once-lovely town, trying to find a place to stay. Then he saw a small inn called the Stock Pot Inn. "Maybe they've got a room." said Skull Kid.

He walked in the front door. The first thing he noticed was that there were bugs crawling around the floor. A young woman with red hair stood behind the front desk. She looked kind of sad. She was staring at the clock on the wall, a smaller version of the clock tower. She looked as if she was thinking of something else. Skull Kid approached the counter, getting her attention. "Hmm? Oh! A visitor! My, you're kind of cute aren't you? What do you want?" she asked.

"I'm looking for a room," said Skull Kid.

"Do you have a reservation?"

"To be honest, no."

She smiled, kind of. "It's okay. We don't have any reservations. Nobody's been coming to my inn because nobody wants to taste my cooking. I guess it's pretty lousy. My husband is a much better cook than I am. He always took care of the meals." She sighed. "If only Kafei were still here…" She shook her head. "Anyway, my name is Anju, proprietor of this inn. Would you like a room?"

"Yes ma'am." Said Tael.

"Oh! Is that a fairy? I'm afraid I'll have to charge you double for your partner if he's sleeping with you."

"No problem. Money is not an object." Said Skull Kid.

She smiled. "That's not an expression anybody uses nowadays. Well, nobody except the King." She stopped smiling. "Anyway, here's your key to the Knife Room. It's the second door on the left upstairs."

Before heading upstairs, Skull Kid had a few questions. "Anju, this Kafei is your husband correct?" She paused, then nodded. "Is he dead?"

She looked very forlorn at that. "No. No, he is not dead. He is Ganondorf's prisoner. He was taken to Ganondorf's Castle when the Demon Emperor took over. He's being held hostage. If I displease the Great Ganondorf, he'll kill Kafei. That means I have to pay extra taxes, daily ones instead of just weekly. But that isn't any of your business. It's my own problem. Please make yourself at home. If you want to find some entertainment, I suggest you go see my grandmother. She's quite senile, but a great storyteller. I'm sure my son would appreciate the company. By the way, what's your name?"

"Skull Kid."

"And your friend?"

"Tael."

She wrote them down on her ledger. Skull Kid went up the stairs and unlocked the door with his key. The room was quaint, but shabby. The paint was peeling, and there were cracks in the walls that allowed noise from the other rooms to come through. Skull Kid didn't mind. It was still a room. And the bed was nice and soft. The bugs weren't really that bad. It wasn't as if they were roaches or anything. Skull Kid decided to unpack all his stuff, even though he didn't need to. He pulled his pack off of his back and took out all his spare clothes, folding them neatly on the bed. He had noticed that he had a bathroom, which was a relief. He decided to take a wash before going downstairs. After a quick shower and change of clothes, he put his dirty clothes in the laundry bin, picked up all his stuff, and went downstairs. He quickly found the correct room. It was a very nice and cozy room. Bookshelves lined the walls and a fireplace illuminated the room. There were a few paintings on the walls. A cot lay on the back wall near an end table with an open diary. Another door at the back probably led to a bathroom. Sitting on the floor was a young, red-eyed boy with purple hair. Skull Kid stared at him for a moment before realizing he looked just like Kafei had when Majora had cursed him ten years ago. The curse had been broken with the demon's defeat, fortunately. This boy was obviously their son. He was sitting in front of a very old woman in a wheelchair. She was reading from a storybook. The old woman looked up as he came in. "Oh! Tortus, would you like to come and listen to a story?"

"Um, I'm not Tortus." Said Skull Kid.

The old woman smiled. "Yes dear, I know that. You are a little imp of the forests, aren't you? And isn't that a forest fairy? I'm sure you have stories of your own to tell…" she sighed wistfully.

"Hey wait, I thought you were senile!" said Tael.

"Tael!" hissed Skull Kid.

The old woman laughed. "No, I only pretend to be senile. It's a joke that's been lasting for fifteen years now. Ever since the accident that left me in this wheelchair, I haven't been out of this room since ten years ago, when we evacuated to Romani Ranch to wait out the moon. Of course, that Link fellow stopped it all, didn't he?"

The boy seemed a little worried. "Grandma, are you sure you should be telling the truth about your mental health to a total stranger?"

The old woman chuckled. "Tortus, there's nothing to worry about. Look in his eyes! I can see he is honorable and trustworthy, aren't you?" she asked.

Skull Kid shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so."

"What about me? What do you see in me?" asked Tael.

The old woman looked at the fairy for a few moments. "I see plenty of talent, and an urge to prove yourself…yes, yes, I see a need to get out of someone's shadow. Your sister, perhaps?"

Tael was shocked. "How did you…"

"You feel as if your sister is cared about more by your parents than you are, correct? So you've begun acting a little like your sister in an attempt to become her. I suggest you drop the charade, dearie. It will win you no favor. Your parents love the two of you equally. Now come, sit! Listen to a story. I was about to tell Tortus jr. here the story of the Four Giants, his favorite tale." Skull Kid leaned forward eagerly, wanting to hear exactly how the storybooks told of that time long ago. Grandma cleared her throat and began. "A long time ago, before the four worlds were founded, all the peoples of Termina lived on Termina Field. And the giants lived with them. The peoples lived in harmony until one day the giants said, "We will take the peoples of the fields to the four worlds we have created. One hundred steps south, one hundred steps north, one hundred steps west, one hundred steps east. If any need help from one of us, all you need to do is call out, such as, "The avalanche has trapped us!" or "The sea is about to swallow us up!" and one of us will help you." And so the giants led their peoples to the respective worlds, leaving a settlement of humans in the middle, who built Clock Town. Now, there was an imp who was the friend of the giants. When the giants left to do guard their peoples, the imp was left all alone. "Why do you have to go?" he asked. "Why can you not stay?" The imp did not understand that the giants had a duty to fulfill, and he could expect them to break their oath for him. So he took out his rage and bitterness on the people of Termina. Fearfully, they cried, "Help us! Help us!" And the giants came and were very angry. "They said, "Oh imp, Oh imp, what have you done? Oh imp, leave these worlds forever or we shall tear you apart!" Realizing he had lost his friends, the imp left Termina forever, returning to the heavens. The people rejoiced and honored the four giants as their guardian deities. That is why on the Carnival of Time, we wear masks that represent the four giants, to honor them. The End." She looked up. "Well, what do you think?"

"It was as good as always, Grandma." Said Tortus Jr.

"And what of you?" asked Grandma to Skull Kid.

Skull Kid didn't look very happy. "Well, it was okay, except for the glaring omissions and errors."

Grandma frowned at him. "How do you mean?"

"That story was wrong in more ways than one. First of all, that dialogue was all wrong. Even back then, nobody talked like that. Second, the giants don't really talk at all, they bellow in their own language. Third, the lands around Termina were created long before then. Fourth and most important, the imp did not 'return to the heavens.' He went through a portal to another world."

Grandma frowned. Tortus jr. looked at him inquisitively. "And how would you know all this, dearie?"

"I should know all of this because I was there! I was the imp in the story."

The two humans frowned at him. "If you are really the imp from the tale, then you must know the secret names of the four giants. Do you?" she asked, sure that he wouldn't know. She was one of the few people who actually did know the answer to this.

Skull Kid shrugged. "Easy. Their secret names were Yllf, Ullf, Illf, and Ollf."

Grandma blinked. "That's…that's right. The only way you could possibly know that is if…" She gasped. "You are him! You are, aren't you? But this means…" She stopped and wheeled over to her diary table. She picked up a pen and a notebook and wheeled back. "Mr. Imp, I am a historian. For the last twenty years I have been retired, but have always been thirsting for the one big uncovering of ancient history that would give me one last challenge claim to fame before I die. You are that chance. Please, you must tell me your entire story. Where you came from, who your parents were, where you've spent the last thousand years, everything! And I want the complete and absolute truth! I'll be writing everything down, of course." She picked up her pen, ready to touch it to paper. "Shall we begin?"

"Can I listen too, Grandma?" asked Tortus Jr.

She nodded. "Yes, of course. Now please, begin!"

Skull Kid sighed. "All right, but it'll take a while to get every thing down. And there's a lot of angst. I suppose you will want brief day-by-day accounts?"

"Of course."

"Right. Well, it all started when the Goddess of Time…"

It took three days and a lot of endurance of Anju's cooking, but Skull Kid told his entire story. On the night of the third day, as Skull Kid finished telling of the events that had led him here, Grandma put down the quill. She shook her head. "Well dearie, that was an amazing story. I will be sure to have it sent to the Academy in the morning." She yawned. "Well, it's time for bed. Go on Tortus, Skull Kid, go to your rooms. I need a good long sleep."

As they reached the Knife Room, Skull Kid was about to climb under the covers when Tael stopped him. "Skull Kid, I just wanted to say something. When you told us your story the first and second times all those years ago, it wasn't nearly as heart-rending as this one was. And you didn't even cry at all! I want to say I'm proud of how you've been taking everything these days. I admire you, best friend."

Skull Kid smiled. "Thanks. You know, I'm getting kind of worried. Mom still hasn't called. Tomorrow is the last day before the deadline. At midnight tomorrow, the Solar Equinox will occur. We have to slay Ganondorf before then or else."

"Don't worry. She'll probably call in the morning or something. Good night Skull Kid."

"Good night Tael." Skull Kid turned off the lamp and went to sleep.

He woke up at midnight. What's wrong? He thought. Why am I up? He could hear something, his instincts perhaps, telling him to go to Grandma's room. Moving quietly so as not to wake up anyone, Skull Kid crept down the stairs and opened the door to Grandma's room. What he saw there shocked and terrified him, yet he did not scream. He could see a tall figure in a black cloak touching something on his wrist. Immediately, all the noise of the Inn, a few snores here and there, the scurrying of the bugs over in the corners, the ticking of the clock, it all went silent. It was as if time had frozen. The figure loomed over Grandma, who did not look asleep. She looked strangely awake, yet she was not breathing. The figure pulled a huge scythe from its robe. Skull Kid could see its hands, and saw they were skeletal. "Anju Wisteria the First, your time has come. You have been charged with the good deeds of reading stories to children, compiling a vast storage of historical facts, and founding the history branch of the Clock Town Academy. Your verdict is good soul. Your sentence is eternal bliss. Prepare to join your husband." The figure wound back the scythe, standing on one foot as a dramatic pose, preparing to slice into the old woman's flesh. "

No!" screamed Skull Kid.

The figure lost its balance, surprised. It turned around, showing its face. Skull Kid gasped, for there was no face inside the figure's head. There was only a skull. The skeleton frowned, sort of. "Who dares to disturb the work of the Grim Reaper? In fact, who can disturb the work of the Grim Reaper? You should be frozen in time like everyone else! Strange…"

"Why are you about to kill that old lady?" asked Skull Kid.

The figure shook his head. "Kill her? I am saving her! She is already dead. She got a severe heart attack while she was sleeping. I am merely here to make her soul depart from this mortal coil."

"Who are you to do this?"

"I am the Grim Reaper. One of them, anyway."

"There are more of you? I thought there was only one."

The Grim Reaper actually laughed. "Only one Grim Reaper? Impossible! There are one trillion solid dimensions and an almost infinite amount of beings in each one. Since each dimension has a near infinite number of worlds, and people are dying every second, how could one being free all of their souls at once, even with the power to freeze time?"

"Um…he couldn't?"

"Exactly! The Goddess of Time created us, the Reaper Corps, long ago to be the living embodiment of entropy. There is one of my kind for every species on every planet on every world on every galaxy on every universe on every dimension. There is an uncountable number of my kind. There is a Reaper for the insects that crawl around this inn, a Reaper for horses, a Reaper for Wolfos! And that's just a tiny fraction of the amount on this world alone! As you can tell, I am the Reaper for the humans of Garaton."

"Hey! The Goddess of Time made you? That makes us brothers! My name's Skull Kid."

"Skull Kid? Ah yes, I have heard of you. My brethren have been following your trail of deaths."

Skull Kid blinked. "Oh. I'm very sorry."

"Don't be sorry, the more deaths there are, the more we get paid! Relatively speaking of course. "

Skull Kid blinked. "Oh. I'm very sorry."

"Don't be sorry, the more deaths there are, the more we get paid! Relatively speaking of course. You are merely doing your job, just like I am doing mine."

"I guess you could look at it that way. So, if people are dying all the time, wouldn't you have to be in multiple places at once to get them all in time?"

The Reaper grinned. "But I can! The power to teleport, coupled with the power to stop time, means I will always get there in time. Of course, for everyone else, it doesn't seem time has stopped. And for them, it doesn't. To explain it to you would involve going into extremely advanced temporal mechanics which I am sure you don't want. I had better get back to work, by the way."

"Oh, I'm sorry I bothered you."

"No trouble, no trouble. This won't take a moment. Besides, I'm sure you'll be seeing me tomorrow night."

"Really? Why?"

"You'll be killing Ganondorf won't you? I have to be there to collect his soul."

"Brother, before you do your task, I have one last question."

"Yes?"

"Is there a Reaper for imps too?"

"No, imps and all other immortal beings free themselves from their bodies at death and either float or sink to their respective domains. This woman is a good soul, and shall be joining Tortus sr. in Heaven." He turned around, facing Grandma once again. "Oh, and Skull Kid…"

"Yes?"

"Perhaps you shouldn't tell Anju about this. And by the way, please deliver her report of your story to the Clock Town Academy in the morning. It is her last wish."

Skull Kid nodded. "I agree." Grim stood on one foot and wound back his scythe, striking a dramatic pose. He swung, his scythe making a psychic tear in the old woman's body. Instead of blood, a ball of light floated out of it. It was mostly white, with specks of black here and there, signifying good and evil. The soul floated through the ceiling. Grim touched his wrist and vanished, time restarting. Skull Kid grabbed the notebook his story was written in and went back to bed.

He was woken up late the next morning by screams from downstairs. It seemed Anju had discovered her grandmother's corpse. He decided he should go down and comfort her. He quickly showered, changed clothes, and put on his pack before going down. He found Anju sobbing over her grandmother. She turned around as he came in. "Oh…it's you…I'm sorry, but I can't do anything for you right now…"

Skull Kid shook his head. "It's nothing like that Anju. I just wanted to say that your grandmother's last wish was for me to deliver something to the Academy. I can find it myself, but I also wanted to tell you I'm checking out. I'll just go sign myself out. I also want to say…I'm sorry."

She sniffed. "Bless you…" Suddenly, they heard the sound of a small bell, the one at the front desk. Anju gasped. "Oh no! The tax collector's here! I have to go give him today's dues, but I can't…" She looked over at her grandmother's body. The bell rung again.

Skull Kid knew he had to do something. So he did. "Anju, I'll handle it. I'll pay him."

"But…no! You are my guest!" The bell rung again, slightly more urgently.

"Anju, you are in no condition to handle the taxes right now. Skull Kid and I will handle it. Go back to your grieving."

She almost smiled. The bell rung over and over. "Thank you…"

Skull Kid rushed out of the room and headed to the door that went behind the front desk. "I'm coming, I'm coming." He said to the tax collector as he came in. "now how much…" He looked at the man in front of the desk and gasped. Tael was already hiding in his hat.

The man was seven feet tall, with black armor studded with yellow gems. He had a necklace and a headband. He had greenish skin and flaming red hair. A long red cape billowed behind him. His eyes were horrible, filled with evil and hatred. It was no mere tax collector. It was Ganondorf. Ganondorf leaned over the desk and frowned. "What's this? A forest imp? Where is Anju? I came in person to collect taxes from her today so I could taunt her, and she sends a stupid imp in her place?"

Skull Kid realized Ganondorf did not recognize him. This was fortunate, since Skull Kid had helped in fighting him several weeks ago, before he was swept away. It was a good thing all imps looked alike in the eyes of men, or he would be in trouble. Besides, Ganondorf knew that he had supposedly been killed all those weeks ago. Skull Kid gulped and stammered, "I-I'm new here. I was hired to help out around the inn."

"Really? My tax collector didn't mention an imp at the front desk yesterday."

"I was sweeping the bedrooms. Anju couldn't come to pay you today because she's mourning her grandmother. She died last night."

"She did? Oh, that's terrible! I'll just have to collect extra taxes from her today! That'll be eight hundred rupees! And be glad it's not more."

Skull Kid pulled the eight hundred rupees from his wallet and handed them over, trying not to actually touch the evil king's hands. Ganondorf grinned. "I guess that'll be all then. Tell that trollop that she's lucky that I'll let the old three hundred rupees a day tax for her go back instead of just keeping it at eight hundred. I don't want her out on the streets, after all. No, I'd rather keep her in a lifelong bondage! Ahahahahahahaha!" He was about to head for the exit when he paused, whirling around to take a closer look at Skull Kid. His hand darted, snatching Tael from his hiding place behind Skull Kid's hat. Tael jingled in panic. "Ah hah! A fairy!"

"I-I-I-I-I swear I don't know how it got here." Said Skull Kid desperately.

"Don't worry, I'll just take him off your hands. I'm sure the Emperor will have good use for him! Ahahahahahahaha!" Still holding the jingling Tael, he left the Inn.

Skull Kid stood there for several minutes in shock. Then it fully registered on him. Tael was gone. His best friend. His companion. His soulmate. Without him, he could never have survived the quest. He had to save him. But how? Then, he suddenly noticed that everything was quiet. He could not hear the ticking clock, the scurrying bugs, or Anju's sobs. Time had stopped once again. Skull Kid spun around to see the Goddess of Time. "Mom! Tael's in trouble! I've got to save him!"

His mother bobbed in the air, her form of nodding. "I know. However, before you go, we need to talk. I have a few very important things to tell you. Do not interrupt, just listen. Since time is frozen, you are in no hurry. Just listen. I lied a little to you when I told you why I made you. The truth is, before I had the premonition about Majora, I was already making you. Why? Because you were an experiment. Something to study. In an attempt to understand mortals better, we were creating a being to watch and study, an immortal that would live as a mortal would. We were going to watch as you lived and eventually made something of yourself. When Majora came, you were slightly reprogrammed, but your main objective is still the same. That objective is to live. To be yourself. We have been watching you ever since your birth to see how you have progressed. We all found the main part to be sad, but you are now being true to yourself. You are living like you were supposed to, fulfilling you main instinct. It has been imprinted in your mind. To help you preserve your mortal form, we gave you limited clairvoyance, which explains your instincts. We also gave you a powerful core of magic, which will soon have its use. Do you understand and forgive me for making you as an experiment?'

"I guess so. I can see why you would, since you gods are pretty much observers, but back to Tael…"

"I'm getting to that! Skull Kid, to get Tael back and clear the way to Majora, you must kill Ganondorf. But there is only one weapon in all the dimensions powerful enough to do it. The Master Sword."

"Wait a minute! That's Link's sword! Only the Hero of Time can pull it out!"

"No. Only a great hero chosen by destiny can pull out the sword. Link is a great hero chosen by destiny, but he is not the Hero. The only reason he was ever able to pull it out was because of a fluke. It was needed. And now, it is needed again. For you see Skull Kid, you are the great hero. I forged the sword for you in the first place. It is yours. You must go get it, then attack Ganondorf. The sword is located in the Temple of Time. When you get to the Temple, you must place all the Medallions in the Altar and play the Song of Time. Let me teach it to you." She pulsed, making delightful ringing noises, like chimes. The chimes made a pattern which Skull Kid followed on his flute. "There is one other thing you need too. The final key. The Medallion of Time. Take it and place it in the altar along with the others. It will appear in your hands after I have left. Goodbye my darling Skull Kid. I love you so much." She gave him a huge hug and a kiss, then left.

Time restarted. Skull Kid looked in his hands and saw a new Medallion. It was made of solid gold. On the back was a Triforce symbol, on the front was a complicated etching. It showed a sphere in the center, with six lines leading from the circle to the top of the Medallion, and six lines with arrowheads coming towards the circle from the bottom of the Medallion. Skull Kid put it away and signed his name off the ledger. He wrote a note next to where his name had been: "Anju, you have been an excellent host. You have suffered too much and deserve better. I swear I shall rescue your husband from Ganondorf's dungeons myself. To help you fix up the inn, I have left a little surprise in the cash register." He opened the cash register and reached into his wallet. He knew a black rupee would not suffice this time. He took out a white rupee, worth one million rupees, and placed it in the register. He closed it and left the Inn. He headed over for the Temple, darting past the beggars. Not caring that the Moblins would smell him anyway, he put on the Stone Mask in a back alley and made a run for the Temple path. He dashed past the two Moblins, who stood there puzzled for a moment, sniffing the air. He ran down the path, reaching the Temple of Time. He slowed down once he reached it. It was beautiful, an unblemished mark in these dark days. It looked like a pristine cathedral, which it was, except for the large ticking clock tower extending from the back. A quiet, secluded graveyard was in the back. Skull Kid walked into the Temple. It seemed to be nothing at first but a long chamber with a very high, vaulted roof. A red carpet ran from the door to the other end of the room. The floor was covered in chessboard tiles. Even though a dark cloud covered the sky, light shone through the windows. At the back wall was the small Altar of Time. Three stairs on either side of the altar went up to a platform on the wall just behind the altar. There was also a ramp on either side, for handicapped access. On the platform was a stone door with the symbol on the Time Medallion etched on it, except that the circle in the middle was a gear. The Triforce symbol was just above it. Skull Kid could hear gears grinding and many ticks just behind that door. He slowly walked up the aisle to the Altar. There were eleven circular notches in the altar, ten surrounding a central one. Skull Kid took out each of the Sage Medallions and placed them in the appropriate notches. He then took out the Medallion of Time and placed it in the central notch. The Medallions glowed. Skull Kid took out his flute and played the Song of Time. At first, nothing. Then, the stone door rumbled open, the Triforce symbol above the door lighting up. A corridor was revealed. Skull Kid walked into the corridor and found himself in an unimaginable place. He was inside the Clock Tower. He saw turning gears, cogs, and pulleys all around him, turning the massive clock face on the wall above the corridor entrance. A bridge led over the churning waterwheel that operated the whole thing to a decagonal platform on top of a large turning gear in the center of the room. Each corner of the platform had one of the symbols of the Medallions on them. In the center, in the middle of the symbol of Time, was a small pedestal. Jutting from the top of the pedestal was a magnificent sword. It was big, properly sized for the hands of an adult. Its blade was long and silvery, glowing with an unearthly light. The hilt was made of some strange purple metal. Skull Kid walked up to the Pedestal of Time, approaching the sword. He placed both hands on the hilt and heaved, pulling the sword from the pedestal. There was a flash, and suddenly he was holding the sword in his right hand, but it was now the size of the Gilded Sword. A beautiful scabbard to match the sword was now strapped on his back. Skull Kid gazed at the sword in his hand, his sword, the Master Sword, the blade of evil's bane. He turned and left the Temple, knowing he could now save his friend.

And so ends this chapter! And it was a doozy, wasn't it? Well, tell me what you thought of it in your review and the next chapter should be up soon. The battle with Ganondorf! You don't want to miss that, do you?