The sages and the remaining sailors watched as Ganondorf flew into the horizon and Link chased him from below. They disappeared over a rise five minutes after they had set out. Zelda continued to stare for a few more minutes before her gaze saw the bodies of some of the Hylian soldiers.
"We have suffered a great loss." She said, ending the silence.
"Indeed we have," her father said.
"I am sorry that we brought this upon ye." Teri said, her head hanging heavily.
"No need to apologize," Zelda said, facing Teri, "We agreed to assist you, knowing the danger that was to come. The one who should be apologizing is Count Secras."
"But he has paid for his crimes." Her father added.
"Not all of them," Raru said, "He has released Ganondorf, who has taken the orbs of Hesra. And he still bears the Triforce of Power."
"And he broke my wrist." Ruto muttered.
"Let me see that." Saria said, gently moving Ruto's hand.
"What is this Triforce?" Gerud asked.
"It has the same purpose as your orbs." Impa explained, "It keeps the land of Hyrule in balance. It was a gift of the gods that created this land: Din, Farore and Nayru. It is said that whoever claims the Triforce will be granted a wish. If the person is of pure-heart, Hyrule will follow a path of enlightenment and prosperity. If the person is an evil heart, Hyrule will plunge into darkness."
"Several years ago Ganondorf managed to reach the Triforce." Raru continued, "But seeing that he was evil, the Triforce broke into three pieces: power, wisdom and courage. Ganondorf managed to retain the Triforce of power and devastated Hyrule for seven years until the bearers of the other Triforce pieces were reunited."
"I guess that Link bears the Triforce of courage." Teri said.
"Exactly," Raru confirmed, "And Zelda possesses the Triforce of wisdom."
"But returning to the problem at hand," Ruto interrupted, getting to her feet, "Ganondorf has the orbs and the Triforce of power. It should make him invincible but he now seeks this mask that Count Secras mentioned."
"Only one mask that I can think that would suit Ganondorf, but Link burned it two years ago." Zelda said.
"What mask is that?" Gerud asked. Teri was the only one to detect a hint of fear in his question.
"Majora's Mask." Zelda replied. Gerud's eyes widened.
"Fire can burn it, but cannot destroy it." Gerud said.
Ganondorf was flying over Termina now. He had lost Link back in Hyrule, just before entering. Ganondorf had dove below the tree line and twisted and turned between the trees. Link tried to keep up, but it was hopeless. Epona, who refused to be left behind, could not keep up with the Dark Lord. Which meant Ganondorf had plenty of time to claim his prize before Link picked up his trail again.
Or so he thought. He was about to enter the highlands of Termina when he heard the snort of a horse and the cry of man urging the beast on. Ganondorf spun around and saw Link's green hat in the distance. His face twisted into an ugly snarl as Link closed the gap between them. Ganondorf knew he was slower than Link now that the hero had tapped into his powers. He needed to slow the little one down.
With a wave of his hand, Ganondorf summoned an army of Staflos; skeleton warriors with a fierce need to kill the living. There were fifty in all. Praying that it would hold the hero off, the Dark Lord headed into the mountains.
Link was not at all surprised to see the Staflos appear. However, Epona was quite startled. She reared up just as one of the skeletons grew from the ground in front of her. She caught Link by surprise, throwing him off with tremendous force. He landed face down behind her. Link managed to raise his eyes just in time to see Epona run away.
"You're becoming more of a coward in your old age!" Link cried after her. He rose slowly to his feet, brushing the dirt off of him as the un-dead army encircled him.
When they were in striking distance, Link drew his sword. The first line of Staflos charged. To Link, they appeared to be moving an inch every minute. He had plenty of time to focus some of his magic into his weapon. The sword glowed blue, then orange. As the enemy moved in for the kill, Link extended his arm with the glowing sword and spun on one foot. The energy released from the blade destroyed the majority of the Staflos. When the energy dissipated, only four remained.
They were not fazed by the sudden destruction of their comrades. They were, in fact, quite angry. They leapt into the air and dove at Link. But the Hero of Time used one of his new powers. Walls of stone rose up to protect him. He could hear bones break as the Staflos crashed into the walls. Link walked around one wall and found a headless Staflos. It swung widely. Link blocked one of the blows, pulled his sword over his head and cut the Staflos vertically in two.
The other three still had their heads on. However, one was missing an arm and the other two were missing a leg. Link charged them and with three quick swipes, that would have been missed if one were to blink, destroyed the last of the Staflos.
Once he was sure that his enemies remained in pieces, Link sheathed his sword and ran up the mountains.
"So you're saying Link never destroyed the mask?" Zelda asked.
"No," Gerud replied, "It has been greatly damaged I'm sure, but not destroyed."
"The mask contains the spirit of the demon Majora." Teri explained, "It was he who created the Shadow Land of Hesra. He wished for total control of Hesra but his plans were foiled by Oni, a disciple of the light."
"Oni managed to banish Majora into a mask." Gerud continued, "But the demon managed to do the same to Oni."
"If this Ganondorf finds Majora's Mask," said Teri, "We will be facing a very powerful foe. With the orbs, he will be invincible."
"Link actually fought and defeated Majora's mask as a child." Zelda said after a pause.
"How does one fight a mask?" Gerud ask.
"If someone dons the mask, the demon within starts to take some of the wearers energy." Teri answered.
"That's exactly what happened." Zelda said, "The mask turned into something called Majora's Wrath."
"I know of this." said Gerud, "It is slightly weaker than Majora himself. Still, his wrath is quite powerful. If Link defeated it, he is stronger than he lets on to be."
"I don't know," Teri said, "It was by luck that he survived his shadow."
"How do you know about that?" Zelda asked. Teri stopped, realizing she had said too much.
"We sent it." Gerud replied. Teri shot a menacing look at her friend.
"You sent it!" Zelda exclaimed, "Do you know how close you came to killing him?"
"If he could not defeat the warrior that we made, he would never have stood a chance against the Black Warriors." Gerud countered. Zelda stared at him, aghast.
"You knew they were coming." She said.
"Indeed," Teri replied, "we did. We did not want to frighten ye."
"Innocent people died because you did not want to frighten me." Zelda said. An aura of light started to surround her. Raru placed a warning hand on her shoulder. The light disappeared at his touch.
"It is too late to get angry," he said, "I believe we should be more concerned with our new problem." Zelda gave him a confused look.
"What new problem?" The sudden earthquake answered her question. The ground shook so violently that it threw them all to their knees.
"What's happening?" the king cried.
Link reached the Goron village when he felt the earth shake. He fell as the tremors intensified. A crack ran through the mountains. But the whole thing lasted five seconds. Link looked around him, making sure that the tremors had not triggered an avalanche. It was winter and the snowfall had been heavy.
When he saw that he was in no danger from any natural sources, he headed to the Goron Shrine. The guard saw him coming and immediately opened the door for him.
"Have you seen Ganondorf?" Link asked as he stopped at the door.
"Yes, he flew towards the temple." The guard answered, obviously shaken.
"Do you know of any mask that is hidden up there?" asked Link. The guard was about to answer in the negative when they felt it. At first it was barely noticeable. Link thought it was nothing until he felt it again a few seconds later. The ground was shaking and at regular intervals.
"Something is coming towards us." Link said, drawing his sword and shield. There was another rumbling step. "Something big." The guard began to tremble. Link continued to stare down the path the steps were coming from. There was nothing there yet.
"Evacuate the city." Link said finally. Without a word, the guard ran inside. A minute later, a horn was blown. All the Gorons in the village fled from their homes and headed towards the fields.
Link did not budge from where he stood. The Gorons ran or rolled around him. As the last Goron left, Link saw a shadow on the path. And then he saw something that chilled his blood more than the coldest day.
It was a monster of at least forty feet in height. It had a long snout with rows of razor teeth. Its eyes were completely red while its hide was a variety of purple, blue, red and a little yellow on its chest. Its muscular arms had long claws at the end of them and a purple tentacle attached at the wrist. Its feet had claws longer than the Master sword. And at the end of it all was a tail that ended with a scythe.
As Link debated whether or not he should run, he looked at the monster's chest again. The little bit of yellow that it had on its chest were eyes. That's when Link noticed the green on the beast as well. Link slowly traced the design that was in the skin of the creature. And when he finally saw the entire outline, the blood drained from his face and his feet were as cold as the snow around him.
"There's no way." He said. It came out as a weak whisper, but the beast had incredible hearing. It stopped when the path became to narrow for it.
"Ah," it said in a growling voice, "but there is."
"I destroyed it!" Link cried.
"No, you wounded it." the beast said. "But never destroyed it. And for your foolishness, you stand in the presence of Majon." With a great cry, the monster broke through into the village. "Kneel before me, Hero," Majon commanded, "And I may show mercy."
"I kneeled to neither of you alone," Link said, regaining his courage, "And I will not kneel when you are together."
"Then suffer the consequences of your arrogence!" Majon roared and brought his great hand down. Link slowed time, but Majon had incredible speed. Link had enough time to roll out of the way. The fist crashed into the ground. Snow and rock flew into the air. Link got to his feet. But he quickly realized that it would have been better to stay down. For as he rose, Majon's tentacle started to wiggle. When Link stood to his full height, the tentacle lashed out and hit him in the chest. The force of the blow propelled him twenty yards away into the stone -wall. He was winded, but still conscious.
Link wondered when he gravity would kick in, but he was so far in the wall that he was able to stand. Link jumped from his hole to the ground. That's when he noticed his sword was missing. As Majon withdrew his hand from the ground, Link saw the Master sword. He had dropped it after the blow. Calling the sword to him, the blade left the ground and flew towards. But it caught Majon's attention, and the beast lashed out at Link with his tentacles. The Hylian managed to catch his weapon and slash one of the tentacles, then roll under the second one.
When Link rose, he realized he stood no chance. He was not used to his new powers and they finally to take their toll on him. He could barely hold his sword. And not only was this beast a fusion of Ganon and Majora, but it had the Triforce of Power and the five orbs of Hesra. On top of all that, it had the ability to regenerate body parts.
"Thank Farore I have an emergency exit." Link said as Majon's tentacle grew back. He raised his arms into the air.
"Farore's Wind!" he yelled. A green light swallowed him up and in an instant he was gone.
After the tremors, the Sages, the king and his counselors and the remaining sailors moved into the king's throne room. There the king sat in his rightful place. Though Zelda had the seat to his left, she decided to remain standing with the Sages.
"So," the king started once everyone had entered, "Ganondorf has Majora's mask."
"Correct." Raru said.
"He found up in the mountains of Termina." Darunia said, "I can hear my people crying in fear."
"My people are also swim in fear," Ruto said, "The ones in Termina are descending to the havens they have built far and deep into the sea. The ones from Hyrule are waiting for Link."
"The people of Kakkariko village ask for protection behind the castle walls." Impa said.
"Tell them to come immediately if they want protection." The king said. Impa nodded, then fell into a trance of some sort.
"In the mean time," the king continued, "What of the Gerudos?"
"They are torn." Nabooru explained, "They do not know if they should follow me or their king."
"Persuade them to join us." Raru said, "I fear we will need all the soldiers we can get."
"I agree," said the king, "Ganondorf alone is an impressive foe. We do not need more enemies."
"Since the death of Count Secras, the Great Deku Tree has returned to normal." Saria finally spoke up.
"Good to hear, but what can the forest do for us?" the king asked.
"You would be surprised your highness." Saria said, without any threat.
The king turned to Raru, "Anything else you can do for us?"
"I shall fight," Raru said, "I also have three creatures which I have yet to release. They may be able to help us."
"Very well then," the king turned to his daughter, "If you wish to leave this battlefield, do so now."
"You are joking?" Zelda asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course." The king said, "I thought a little bit of humor would be good even in this dark time." He chuckled. Zelda just smiled.
Then the king's face grew serious, "Now, where is Link?"
In answer, the throne room doors were thrown open. Link stumbled through them, dragging his sword and shield behind him.
"You might," Link panted, "want to run." He took in one last breath, before he passed out and collapsed.