Remember, this is after Majora's mask now and since the Oracle series isn't on a system that I can play (no game boy for me!), I've ignored that series for this story
-^_^.
Chapter I: Who wants to be a Mask Salesman?
With a yawn and then a grunt as he began to stretch out, Link arose from his sleeping bag to find it was still nighttime. It wasn't that he had a nightmare, but he just couldn't sleep. Perhaps it was an effect from the species masks he still had or just the wild adventure he had just a day ago. Staring at the carved picture of a skull kid and two fairies on a stump, he couldn't help but giggle slightly because Epona was right beside him, snoring as she slept quietly.
The stillness of the night was suddenly disrupted when a bush began to move behind Link. Jumping up, he unsheathed his sword. But... it wasn't the sword that he left Termina with? As he forgot the moving bush for a moment, he looked down to find the original Kokiri sword in his hands. The one he still meant to give back to the Kokiri children.
A weird, yet familiar laugh came from the bush and Link was back at attention. Kokiri or Gilded sword, it didn't matter. Anyone who had the guts to sneak up on the hero of time wasn't going to get away with it. But as the figure became completely familiar, the Kokiri sword simply fell from Link's 10-year-old hands. He waddled over to Link, his heavy bag restricting his movement.
"Ah... the young man from Termina!" He bellowed, "I have another proposition for you!"
"The Happy Mask Salesman... don't you have a shop to run or something?" Link shouted back, "I think you've caused enough trouble for me!"
"No! No! No! No trouble! No fighting! No action! No work at all!" He calmly continued as his waddle until turned into a full out, physically impossible, skip.
Link picked up his sword and unsheathed it, but stayed close to the bag of masks he acquired from Termina. Somehow, he had a feeling that the salesman wanted those for himself.
"How would you like to become much rich?" The salesman smiled wryly, "Rich as say... the one who is on your mind now?"
How did he know I was... Link thought to himself, but then stopped once he looked in his other hand. The ocarina of time was there, glowing. He didn't know how it got in his hand and now all he could think about was the Princess and how she gave it to him.
"How?" was all Link could say. The thought of being THAT rich was farfetched for a Hylian boy deep in the Kokiri forest. But if anyone could pull out that much cash, it had to be the weird Happy Mask Salesman.
"You keep one mask to remember your entire adventure with," he told him, "And I give you this."
He pulled out a giant's wallet. That was it... a giant's wallet?
"Don't make me laugh, mister, the royal family has a lot more than 500 rupees I'm sure!" Link laughed out.
"Unlimited wallet, young hero," the salesman grinned. He put his hand in the wallet slowly and pulled out a gold rupee and tossed it to Link, signifying it's real. "Since a giant wallet only holds 500, there shouldn't be anymore, right?"
"Well. Yeah..."
"Bingo!" The salesman yelled out as he pulled out another gold rupee. Link jaw nearly dropped to the ground as he caught the second gold rupee. "No trickery, but you can no do until I get my mask. Now choose the one you shall keep!"
"But I haven't even agreed yet!"
"Pick up your jaw, then decide," he nodded, "I have not all the time in the world, hero."
"But that money has to be coming from somewhere," Link said, "so now tell me where it is coming from!"
"The wallet is actually creating the money itself," the salesman nodded again, "created by the scientist Profellor of Lake Hylia."
"Who?"
"I do not have all day! Masks to sell, people to deal with!"
Five minutes and a lot of deciding later, the Salesman walked out of the forest clearing, hopefully forever, Link thought. He had given up all of the masks except the one he obtained from the Moon Children, the Fierce Deity's mask. He hadn't tried to use it yet, and he really didn't want to. The Ion form he transformed himself into left a foreboding thought on his mind. Was the mask evil or just a counter-mask for Majora's mask?
The salesman stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Link quickly.
"Before I leave... You might want to know about your fairy friend, no?"
"Navi?!" Link ran up to face the salesman, "What do you know about Navi? Is she alright? Where is she?"
"Your fairy friend is very safe, with friend of mine in fact!" he giggled, then turned around, "Leave her to her own adventure, you shall meet up soon enough!"
"We'll meet up soon en.... Wait a minute, what does that mean?"
"You'll have to see for yourself... young hero of time... tee hee hee hee..." his laughter echoed as his body suddenly disappeared in the shadows of the tall trees. Link gasped as he caught one mask that fell from his pack as he faded. He picked up the mask and looked on the back, where a little note was...
Hero of Termina...
I cannot assure your decision of your choice of mask to be true... but none the less, I will give you a little more warning of what's to come.
Love will come... but in the place you might least and most expect. Your wish of 7 years into the future shall came true but at a dark, green faced price. A guard and a creation you shall meet. Do not deny them their feast of an adventure! And finally... you will have to choose between Hyrule and the one you cannot let go... please make the right choice. Remember the head female... four does not equal one but one is stronger than 4.
The mask here is very special to me... I call it the "Dimension Mask". Those from Termina still remember you very much. You might want to visit them later, just to say hi.
Link looked at the mask carefully. All it was, was a blank mirror that didn't even show his reflection. He shrugged it off and tossed it into a pack with some other items he gained in Termina. His hookshot, the bow and a couple of arrows left over, 3 bombs, and a couple of magic beans he kept over. Whoever that salesman was that sold them to him, he was right. Those beans were really good as snacks! As he looked at the bag, he noticed the ocarina glowing yet again. Epona was strangely still asleep and he wasn't going back into dreamland... so he figured playing a little music wouldn't wake up the exhausted horse. Taking out the legendary ocarina of time, the hero of time just hoped that playing one song would bring back the Princess of Destiny into his mind...
***********************************************************************************************
Where... am I?
Link groggily thought to himself as he sat up. He didn't remember falling asleep... all he remembered was playing Zelda's Lullaby on the ocarina of time. That had to be it! But then... why wasn't he back in the forest with his snoring companion?
The hero of time jumped to his feet. As he stood up, a small clatter could be heard right below him. The ocarina of time... it was still with him? Pondering this, he didn't even notice that the area was that of a blue, cloudy sky. Just like the one he met Zelda in before.
"Then you know I'm here too, right?" a soft voice spoke from beyond the horizon of the never-ending sky, "Here, in this place, we can read each other's thoughts. It's... just the two of us."
The voice giggled in Link's mind as he started off towards the voice, but stopped when he realized that everything was all in his mind, nothing more.
"I'm guessing you want this back now... right, Princess?"
"That is not all you know... I... tee hee hee," Zelda couldn't stop herself from giggling. As much as her experienced mind wanted to keep serious, her childish 10-year-old mind wouldn't let her. "You know I like you Link... a lot."
"You like me...?"
Her delicate, pale-skinned figure appeared before Link, smiling genuinely. The smile, the hair, the dress, it was all the same as the first time he met her. Though, he was pretty much the same as well. And now the one he cared about during his adventure was actually admitting feelings for her? After all she had done to him and Hyrule? The princess discarded him as nothing, kept him in the dark about everything and now expects him to tell her he likes her? His mind wandered as little flashes of the future came to his mind. Her father would never accept him since he was just a little, technically poor Hylian. She was a grand princess who deserved so much more.
She nodded slowly and got up a little closer to him. Soon, they were just as closer as they were during the last time the two were here. But... Link backed away and held up the ocarina of time.
"You know this isn't right, Princess." Link shook his head, "I like you too... but not THAT way."
"What...?"
"It wasn't right for me to kiss you Princess...."
"But Link!"
"Please take this back now... permanently," Link clenched the ocarina once more before he tossed the ocarina in the air towards her so she'd be forced to catch it. But it just clattered to the ground instead. Unfortunately, so did a couple of tears from Zelda's face.
She couldn't believe it. How could a common Hylian reject HER? The princess of Hyrule? Slowly, she bent down and picked up the ocarina and tried dearly to smile at him. Despite the jealously she felt in her heart, she knew he was right. Getting upset wasn't going to help anything. Her experienced mind kicked in and everything else flowed easily.
"You're right, it wasn't right for us to kiss, huh?" The Princess nodded again, wiping away her tears quickly, "it was a total mistake."
Links eyes widened as she said that. Although he was glad she was thinking along the same lines as him, was it a total mistake. Could she be so heartless to reject any type of emotion as a mistake so easily? Perhaps she was just upset. That was it... it had to be. No kiss is a true mistake in life. It always means something.
"I will transport you back to the Sacred Forest Meadow so that you can live amongst the kids again like you did before," Zelda tried to smile at him, "Relax and enjoy life, you deserve it."
"I... I will Princess," Link sounded slightly depressed, not believing himself that he just rejected a Princess, "and thank you for everything."
The ocarina of time produced a smooth, moving melody that created a green aura around Link. As Zelda played the minuet of the forest, he began to feel his every being return to place he called home. He'd return to his true childhood place and start over again. A little wiser, more cunning, and a whole lot stronger. Mido didn't stand a chance now.
"But... what about Epona," Link panicked, "I can't leave her in the forest forever!"
"Epona shall return to the place she calls home as well," Zelda's voice echoed through his mind, "Keep a close eye on the Great Deku tree and Saria for me!"
The world around him faded as the green light completely enveloped him. The place he called home and the road to a normal, Kokiri childhood was only a few seconds away. The only thing he had to figure out now was how was he going to tell the Great Deku Tree about Navi and how he was going to explain his absence to the other Kokiri.
***********************************************************************************************
"Zelda... Princess of Destiny..." 3 soft female voices echoed through her mind just as she was about to leave. The 3 Goddesses of Hyrule, Din, Farore, and Nayru, appeared before her. None of them were smiling at all. In fact, Din had a slight scowl on her face.
"My Goddesses..." Zelda knelt before them and bowed her head. She knew deep in her heart why they had approached her. It was time for her to receive her punishment for the law she broke 7 years in the future.
"No one is above the law, even the leader of the sages, Princess," Din started, taking a step forward from the others, "and now you shall pay for your actions."
"Hyrule's peace and prosperity will end soon," Nayru stepped up as Din backed away, "in the form of 5 which we will allow to enter Hyrule."
"One who you know, and 4 you will not want to meet," Farore ended, "now stand and take responsibility for your actions!"
Zelda stood up shakily, her experienced mind keeping her from bursting out.
"It was predestined that you receive that piece of the Triforce, so we cannot take it away," Din started again, "So instead we will take away your leadership of the sages."
"W... what?"
"The legend of the sages is indeed wrong," Farore nodded, "There are only 7, but the sage of life is the true leader."
"Who is the sage of life?"
"That you will find out soon, but if you don't find out soon enough, Hyrule might be doomed to evil rule."
***********************************************************************************************
Author's notes: Yeah that's it. Link's back in the Kokiri forest and Zelda's confronting one problem after another.
Next chapter, Chapter II: The Storm. It's Mido's birthday! And the first of several repercussions of Zelda's mistake take place.
-^_^.
Chapter I: Who wants to be a Mask Salesman?
With a yawn and then a grunt as he began to stretch out, Link arose from his sleeping bag to find it was still nighttime. It wasn't that he had a nightmare, but he just couldn't sleep. Perhaps it was an effect from the species masks he still had or just the wild adventure he had just a day ago. Staring at the carved picture of a skull kid and two fairies on a stump, he couldn't help but giggle slightly because Epona was right beside him, snoring as she slept quietly.
The stillness of the night was suddenly disrupted when a bush began to move behind Link. Jumping up, he unsheathed his sword. But... it wasn't the sword that he left Termina with? As he forgot the moving bush for a moment, he looked down to find the original Kokiri sword in his hands. The one he still meant to give back to the Kokiri children.
A weird, yet familiar laugh came from the bush and Link was back at attention. Kokiri or Gilded sword, it didn't matter. Anyone who had the guts to sneak up on the hero of time wasn't going to get away with it. But as the figure became completely familiar, the Kokiri sword simply fell from Link's 10-year-old hands. He waddled over to Link, his heavy bag restricting his movement.
"Ah... the young man from Termina!" He bellowed, "I have another proposition for you!"
"The Happy Mask Salesman... don't you have a shop to run or something?" Link shouted back, "I think you've caused enough trouble for me!"
"No! No! No! No trouble! No fighting! No action! No work at all!" He calmly continued as his waddle until turned into a full out, physically impossible, skip.
Link picked up his sword and unsheathed it, but stayed close to the bag of masks he acquired from Termina. Somehow, he had a feeling that the salesman wanted those for himself.
"How would you like to become much rich?" The salesman smiled wryly, "Rich as say... the one who is on your mind now?"
How did he know I was... Link thought to himself, but then stopped once he looked in his other hand. The ocarina of time was there, glowing. He didn't know how it got in his hand and now all he could think about was the Princess and how she gave it to him.
"How?" was all Link could say. The thought of being THAT rich was farfetched for a Hylian boy deep in the Kokiri forest. But if anyone could pull out that much cash, it had to be the weird Happy Mask Salesman.
"You keep one mask to remember your entire adventure with," he told him, "And I give you this."
He pulled out a giant's wallet. That was it... a giant's wallet?
"Don't make me laugh, mister, the royal family has a lot more than 500 rupees I'm sure!" Link laughed out.
"Unlimited wallet, young hero," the salesman grinned. He put his hand in the wallet slowly and pulled out a gold rupee and tossed it to Link, signifying it's real. "Since a giant wallet only holds 500, there shouldn't be anymore, right?"
"Well. Yeah..."
"Bingo!" The salesman yelled out as he pulled out another gold rupee. Link jaw nearly dropped to the ground as he caught the second gold rupee. "No trickery, but you can no do until I get my mask. Now choose the one you shall keep!"
"But I haven't even agreed yet!"
"Pick up your jaw, then decide," he nodded, "I have not all the time in the world, hero."
"But that money has to be coming from somewhere," Link said, "so now tell me where it is coming from!"
"The wallet is actually creating the money itself," the salesman nodded again, "created by the scientist Profellor of Lake Hylia."
"Who?"
"I do not have all day! Masks to sell, people to deal with!"
Five minutes and a lot of deciding later, the Salesman walked out of the forest clearing, hopefully forever, Link thought. He had given up all of the masks except the one he obtained from the Moon Children, the Fierce Deity's mask. He hadn't tried to use it yet, and he really didn't want to. The Ion form he transformed himself into left a foreboding thought on his mind. Was the mask evil or just a counter-mask for Majora's mask?
The salesman stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Link quickly.
"Before I leave... You might want to know about your fairy friend, no?"
"Navi?!" Link ran up to face the salesman, "What do you know about Navi? Is she alright? Where is she?"
"Your fairy friend is very safe, with friend of mine in fact!" he giggled, then turned around, "Leave her to her own adventure, you shall meet up soon enough!"
"We'll meet up soon en.... Wait a minute, what does that mean?"
"You'll have to see for yourself... young hero of time... tee hee hee hee..." his laughter echoed as his body suddenly disappeared in the shadows of the tall trees. Link gasped as he caught one mask that fell from his pack as he faded. He picked up the mask and looked on the back, where a little note was...
Hero of Termina...
I cannot assure your decision of your choice of mask to be true... but none the less, I will give you a little more warning of what's to come.
Love will come... but in the place you might least and most expect. Your wish of 7 years into the future shall came true but at a dark, green faced price. A guard and a creation you shall meet. Do not deny them their feast of an adventure! And finally... you will have to choose between Hyrule and the one you cannot let go... please make the right choice. Remember the head female... four does not equal one but one is stronger than 4.
The mask here is very special to me... I call it the "Dimension Mask". Those from Termina still remember you very much. You might want to visit them later, just to say hi.
Link looked at the mask carefully. All it was, was a blank mirror that didn't even show his reflection. He shrugged it off and tossed it into a pack with some other items he gained in Termina. His hookshot, the bow and a couple of arrows left over, 3 bombs, and a couple of magic beans he kept over. Whoever that salesman was that sold them to him, he was right. Those beans were really good as snacks! As he looked at the bag, he noticed the ocarina glowing yet again. Epona was strangely still asleep and he wasn't going back into dreamland... so he figured playing a little music wouldn't wake up the exhausted horse. Taking out the legendary ocarina of time, the hero of time just hoped that playing one song would bring back the Princess of Destiny into his mind...
***********************************************************************************************
Where... am I?
Link groggily thought to himself as he sat up. He didn't remember falling asleep... all he remembered was playing Zelda's Lullaby on the ocarina of time. That had to be it! But then... why wasn't he back in the forest with his snoring companion?
The hero of time jumped to his feet. As he stood up, a small clatter could be heard right below him. The ocarina of time... it was still with him? Pondering this, he didn't even notice that the area was that of a blue, cloudy sky. Just like the one he met Zelda in before.
"Then you know I'm here too, right?" a soft voice spoke from beyond the horizon of the never-ending sky, "Here, in this place, we can read each other's thoughts. It's... just the two of us."
The voice giggled in Link's mind as he started off towards the voice, but stopped when he realized that everything was all in his mind, nothing more.
"I'm guessing you want this back now... right, Princess?"
"That is not all you know... I... tee hee hee," Zelda couldn't stop herself from giggling. As much as her experienced mind wanted to keep serious, her childish 10-year-old mind wouldn't let her. "You know I like you Link... a lot."
"You like me...?"
Her delicate, pale-skinned figure appeared before Link, smiling genuinely. The smile, the hair, the dress, it was all the same as the first time he met her. Though, he was pretty much the same as well. And now the one he cared about during his adventure was actually admitting feelings for her? After all she had done to him and Hyrule? The princess discarded him as nothing, kept him in the dark about everything and now expects him to tell her he likes her? His mind wandered as little flashes of the future came to his mind. Her father would never accept him since he was just a little, technically poor Hylian. She was a grand princess who deserved so much more.
She nodded slowly and got up a little closer to him. Soon, they were just as closer as they were during the last time the two were here. But... Link backed away and held up the ocarina of time.
"You know this isn't right, Princess." Link shook his head, "I like you too... but not THAT way."
"What...?"
"It wasn't right for me to kiss you Princess...."
"But Link!"
"Please take this back now... permanently," Link clenched the ocarina once more before he tossed the ocarina in the air towards her so she'd be forced to catch it. But it just clattered to the ground instead. Unfortunately, so did a couple of tears from Zelda's face.
She couldn't believe it. How could a common Hylian reject HER? The princess of Hyrule? Slowly, she bent down and picked up the ocarina and tried dearly to smile at him. Despite the jealously she felt in her heart, she knew he was right. Getting upset wasn't going to help anything. Her experienced mind kicked in and everything else flowed easily.
"You're right, it wasn't right for us to kiss, huh?" The Princess nodded again, wiping away her tears quickly, "it was a total mistake."
Links eyes widened as she said that. Although he was glad she was thinking along the same lines as him, was it a total mistake. Could she be so heartless to reject any type of emotion as a mistake so easily? Perhaps she was just upset. That was it... it had to be. No kiss is a true mistake in life. It always means something.
"I will transport you back to the Sacred Forest Meadow so that you can live amongst the kids again like you did before," Zelda tried to smile at him, "Relax and enjoy life, you deserve it."
"I... I will Princess," Link sounded slightly depressed, not believing himself that he just rejected a Princess, "and thank you for everything."
The ocarina of time produced a smooth, moving melody that created a green aura around Link. As Zelda played the minuet of the forest, he began to feel his every being return to place he called home. He'd return to his true childhood place and start over again. A little wiser, more cunning, and a whole lot stronger. Mido didn't stand a chance now.
"But... what about Epona," Link panicked, "I can't leave her in the forest forever!"
"Epona shall return to the place she calls home as well," Zelda's voice echoed through his mind, "Keep a close eye on the Great Deku tree and Saria for me!"
The world around him faded as the green light completely enveloped him. The place he called home and the road to a normal, Kokiri childhood was only a few seconds away. The only thing he had to figure out now was how was he going to tell the Great Deku Tree about Navi and how he was going to explain his absence to the other Kokiri.
***********************************************************************************************
"Zelda... Princess of Destiny..." 3 soft female voices echoed through her mind just as she was about to leave. The 3 Goddesses of Hyrule, Din, Farore, and Nayru, appeared before her. None of them were smiling at all. In fact, Din had a slight scowl on her face.
"My Goddesses..." Zelda knelt before them and bowed her head. She knew deep in her heart why they had approached her. It was time for her to receive her punishment for the law she broke 7 years in the future.
"No one is above the law, even the leader of the sages, Princess," Din started, taking a step forward from the others, "and now you shall pay for your actions."
"Hyrule's peace and prosperity will end soon," Nayru stepped up as Din backed away, "in the form of 5 which we will allow to enter Hyrule."
"One who you know, and 4 you will not want to meet," Farore ended, "now stand and take responsibility for your actions!"
Zelda stood up shakily, her experienced mind keeping her from bursting out.
"It was predestined that you receive that piece of the Triforce, so we cannot take it away," Din started again, "So instead we will take away your leadership of the sages."
"W... what?"
"The legend of the sages is indeed wrong," Farore nodded, "There are only 7, but the sage of life is the true leader."
"Who is the sage of life?"
"That you will find out soon, but if you don't find out soon enough, Hyrule might be doomed to evil rule."
***********************************************************************************************
Author's notes: Yeah that's it. Link's back in the Kokiri forest and Zelda's confronting one problem after another.
Next chapter, Chapter II: The Storm. It's Mido's birthday! And the first of several repercussions of Zelda's mistake take place.
