The Mask of Majora - Chapter 7: Savior Among the Lowly
At the sight of the gleaming weapon in Link's hands, the deku princess grew more panicky. Link's face momentarily showed no signs of fear for this creature and his feet began to shuffle-- a move to ready his tense muscles to lunge at the enemy. Yet before he could do anything, the princess grabbed at his tunic and jerked the boy hero backwards. He glanced at her with a confused look.
She shook her head. "Don't be irrational, boy!!" she hissed.
Link lowered his sword and shield and faced her. He had this troubling urge to snap back at her, but he knew better than that. Link has learned the hard way how to properly address someone with authority. "I don't understand," he said. "Are you defending that thing or something?"
The boy was completely oblivious to the Deku King's actions at the moment. The king stood in awe for the masked giant. Down on his knees, he lowered his head in what seemed to be sudden reverence. "Great Odolwa!" he cried out. He looked behind him and seethed at his guards and butler. "Kneel! Kneel, you fools! We are in the presence of this land's creator!!" At once, all dekus bowed lowly except for the princess, who fidgeted nervously.
Hesitantly, Link put his sword back on its sheath... but the ominous feeling that something bad was about to happen still lingered. He stared at the princess and then at the masked giant. The being looked like he was anything but merciful as he stared down at the deku king with a deep look of hatred. His unusual booming voice startled them all.
"You, of the lowly scrubs, have been put under my command to care for this land," he lifted his sword up high and continued to speak to the king with authority, "and to assure the proper worship of the ruler over your position." The deku king went pale. The monster did not sound very satisfied at the mention of this. Link and the deku princess tensed. An outburst was sure to come. "Yet it has been years since you have delivered me the proper sacrifice!
"And so I realized..." he seethed and glanced at the princess briefly. "...that the proper sacrifice..." Link reached for the hilt of his sword and jumped down from the shrine as fast as lightning. "...is YOU!!!"
Odolwa the masked giant raised his machete-like sword over his head, ready to strike down the deku shrine and all of the creatures that resided in it right then. But in the middle of his battle cry, he reared back until he fell backwards into the poison water that surrounded the wooden shrine. Eyes wide with surprise and confusion, the dekus all leaned over the edge of the structure, searching for their fallen lord. And what they saw was Link, standing safely away from the venomous waters on top of a rock in the middle of the brook. His sword was at hand and dripping with a strange substance.
The deku king shook his head away from the temporal trance and glanced down at the boy, flustered but gratefully. "This young boy, he has saved us from our deceitful lord," he stated with awe in his voice. His admiration did not remain for long.
Water splashed everywhere and panicked the scrubs-- Odolwa arose from the swamp waters, weapons tightly clutched and looking angrier than ever. With a loud and irate roar, he brought down his sword on the boy hero; missing Link by inches as the child jumped away and the rock he was previously on broke into pieces. Link landed on a heavyset wad of lily pads, almost slipping and falling into the water. Tatl joined his side, giving him an unsure look. "You got yourself into a real mess this time, kid!!" she said.
"I can take him, Tatl!" he said to the surprise of the little fairy. Link looked at her earnestly. "But I need some help!"
Tatl paused and followed after Link, who had to jump away from Odolwa's range before he was knocked into the water. "What are you saying?" she said when they were at a safe distance to stop briefly. "That I fight with you?? But... b-but I've never done this before!" she whined, getting nervous. Odolwa was walking in the water towards them, having difficulty because of the water that reached up to his knees.
"Please! I know you can do it!" Link said with slight despair as he glanced from the yellow fairy to the infuriated masked giant. "Just get as close as you can tell me what to do! I'm depending on you!!" Odolwa was close enough to Link and caught the boy off guard. Instead of using his sword, he rammed the boy with his shield, flinging him into the air. Tatl watched in horror.
"Oh goddesses!! Link!" she screamed. She cringed as she watched him painfully land on his stomach on top of rough stone that stuck out from the water. The largest pang of guilt she has ever felt hit her right then. He trusted her... while she unkindly trusted him back; but not showing much of a sign of gratitude. It felt horrible. But she shook out of it. 'Now is not the time to pity ourselves', she thought. 'He's counting on me...' Putting all worries aside for the moment, Tatl flew close to Odolwa and behind him. The giant was oblivious of the little fairy's presence as she worked her magic, flying around the creature. Odolwa was just a swipe of his sword away to get rid of this pretentious little kid who dared to almost end his life.
But Tatl flew downwards below the beast's knees and as her fairy essence brushed against him, Odolwa abruptly flinched, like if a stream of holy toxin entered his veins. Tatl gasped and smirked in triumph. She had found it. "Link!!" she called out to him just as he was standing up. "His shins! Go for his shins!!"
Groggily, Link stood up with determination and jumped to the closest body of land, closer to the masked giant. He exhaled as he readied himself-- and jumped at Odolwa's knees with his sword up high and a battle cry. Then the target just suddenly disappeared and Link fell to the waters. The dekus in the shrine who had all the while been watching gasped in dismay. As the butler clutched his chest, the princess paced behind him, taking notice on a sacred item that stood lonely on the deku shrine. She grabbed it and ran towards the shrine's edge, against her father's orders. She looked around until she could see Link climbing back up to a dry patch of land, parts of his body severely burned from the magenta poison. The swamp water in Woodfall was quite different from the one at the edge of the land.
Link achingly coughed out some more water that highly irritated his throat. It felt like his insides had caught on fire. He fell to his knees, supporting his torso up with his elbow and clutching his throbbing stomach with his free arm. Odolwa had jumped away from Link's attack in the blink of an eye! "Damnit, he's too fast...!" he seethed to himself. Tatl appeared over his shoulder, her wings fluttering anxiously.
"Link, are you okay? Odolwa's getting closer-- you have to defend yourself!" she urged. Indeed, Odolwa was wading closer to the boy hero, that disgusting cocky look still plastered on his mask. "Get up! We have to get away-- you can't fight him!"
He sighed. Link felt almost to the point where he could almost cry. This seemed so impossible when he had nothing but a sword and a few sticks to aid him-- wait a minute! "The Deku Nuts! I forgot I had those!" he beamed weakly and reached into his leather item bag and pulled out the two deku nuts that he had saved when he killed those deku babas. Odolwa jumped into the air once more, landing right in front of Link, his sword ready to strike him down.
"You shall bow down at my authority..." he bellowed. "Even if you are to kneel in pieces! It's time to relieve you from my presence!"
Link growled lowly and raised a hand over his head, clutching both deku nuts tightly. "Relieve THIS!!" He throws the deku nuts at his feet and they explode into a paralyzing liquid that held Odolwa in place. In advantage, Link wildly slashed his sword at the giant's legs, doing severe damage. Odolwa hollered and brought his immense sword down in vain. The weapon clanked against the hard soil. Link leaped away from the range of attack and onto a floating log, close to the deku shrine.
"Young hero!!" the princess cried out, getting Link attention. "Hurry! Finish him off!" In one swift throw, she sent a familiar artifact his way. Link caught it in time and smiled. A bow and a quiver full of arrows. Quickly strapping the quiver behind his back, he pulled out an arrow and set it on the bow. Tatl flew back towards Odolwa.
"Aim for his head!!" she cried.
And so he did. The silent arrow encroached right in between the beast's mask. For a mere second, everything was still. Link trembled as he tried to stand rigid on the floating log. The deku princess clutched her father's arm fearfully. The deku butler realized that all the while he was holding his breath. Then... Odolwa's weapons fell from his grasp and into the waters. And with an ear-splitting shriek of defeat, his rotten remains wilted into the swamp. He was finally gone.
A sigh of relief escaped the young boy's lips and the remaining royal deku guards cheered. Link plopped down on top of the hollow log and it bobbed up and down in the water. He took in a deep breath, quite pleased to inhale some good fresh air. No poison in the air. Along with the cursed creature Odolwa, the swamp's magenta venom that resided in the water disappeared. The brooks were a glorious green and blue once again. Link felt a huge satisfaction, recalling his first onslaught...
Tatl looked fazed out for awhile until her attention was set on the very spot where the giant Odolwa had liquefied away. A wooden object floated carelessly in the water's surface. Tatl's eyes narrowed curiously.
"Link... Come look at this!" she said loudly, but no alarm was in her tone. Link lazily rolled over and splashed into the cool swamp water. He swam right under the spot where Tatl hovered and he bumped into a mask. Holding it up to see, he almost dropped it in surprise when he saw Odolwa's face staring right at him. His face was embedded in the mask. He swam back to the log and sat down, still holding the strange mask as he kept his balance.
"Weird..." he muttered to himself. "I wonder what'll happen if I put it on..."
Tatl coughed and floated near Link's left shoulder. "Um, uhh... I-- I don't know about that..."
Ignoring the negative comment, Link put the mask on, expecting something like he had already seen in this strange land-- a mere transformation into another being. But he didn't feel any different. In fact, he could barely see in that mask. He shrugged. 'Guess it was no big thing,' he thought to himself. But when taking off the mask, he realized he was pretty much wrong.
The fluffy, sweet-scented clouds... the bubbly, calm atmosphere... the beautiful pastel colors... I remember this place. This was from the best dream I had in weeks! Am I... dreaming again? I looked down. I still had the mask on my hands-- but this just can't be real. It's weird. "This can't be my dream... I feel too uncomfortable."
"That's because you are soaking wet, silly."
I suddenly look up and there is Tatl. I can see a little smirk right through all her brightness. Now I know this isn't a dream... I definitely wouldn't have someone like Tatl in my fantasies...
I narrowed my eyes at her and went back to look at the scenery. "Where are we..?" I wondered out loud. If this isn't a dream... and I don't remember ever doing anything key to get here... except the mask thing--
"Oh my gosh!" Tatl's gasp interrupted my thoughts. I was about to scowl at her, but she looked really scared all of a sudden. "Look over there!" She definitely had my full attention now. I whirl around in every direction, trying to catch whatever she's looking at before it goes away. "No, kid! Over there!" she pointed to the south. Okay, I see it now... but what is it? At first, it just looked like a tree, but-- wait, those are legs!
That had to be Odolwa. "No! He's back!" I started to charge at him, but then I remembered something. I was on top of a pillar. I peeked down at the edge... the void below looked bottomless. And the monster was too far away. Maybe one of arrows would work. I pulled out my bow, but before I could do anything else, Tat got into my line of vision... again.
"Wait! I don't think it means any harm! Look!" she said. The clouds faded a little and I could see the face of the creature much better. And it wasn't Odolwa after all. His body was really different. He looked real strong but friendly as well. I calmed down a little bit, but it wasn't long until I almost jumped out of my skin. The creature spoke up in a deep long bellow... but I couldn't understand it. It almost sounded like singing.
I looked up at Tatl to see that she looked really thoughtful. Like if she was straining to listen. So I kept quiet. I stared at her all the while until she gazed back. "He says that he thanks you for releasing him from that evil spirit within the mask," she said.
I looked at her with raised eyebrows. "You can understand him??" I couldn't help but cry out. But Tatl shushed me and kept on listening to the singing giant. I folded my arms, yet I tried hard to keep my cool under all the annoyance. The giant finally stopped and I looked back at Tatl, but she still had that thoughtful look. "Well?" I asked carefully, trying hard not to sound pushy.
She hesitated a little. "Um... he said, 'if you need our help, call us'."
"'Us'? Who is us? Ask him that!" I turned, but the image of the giant started to fade away into nothingness. I ran as far as I could go on the pillar. "No, wait! I still don't understand!"
"What don't you understand?" asked the deku princess, tilting her head in curiosity.
Link blinked a couple of times before he realized he was back in the swamp, right in the middle of the deku shrine and surrounded by the royal deku family. He looked down to see Odolwa's mask gone as well. Link stuttered a bit and glanced at Tatl, who looked just as confused as he did. The princess giggled to herself and the boy hero simply shook his head. "Nothing, I just feel a little lightheaded," he mumbled back with a weak smile.
The guards parted as the deku king stepped forward. His almost murderous features when Link had first laid eyes on him were gone. His relieved look eased all of those around him as well. His put a hand on the child's shoulder and nodded knowingly. "You truly are our savior. My darling princess has told me all about it. She was kidnapped by our very our lord and placed at easy reach to you not too long ago. His diabolical plan has backfired at him in return." Link nodded in agreement and wiped off a trickle of sweat running down his neck. He was exhausted.
The princess shyly stepped up and bowed quickly. "Thank you very much for saving me and my father," she said boldly. "We owe you our eternal gratitude." Link grinned and bowed respectfully in return. Tatl jabs him in the shoulder lightly and clears her throat. Link pauses at this for a moment, but then he remembers. "Oh, yeah!" He reached behind him and unfastened the sacred bow and quiver that he had been lent. "Here, these belong to you."
Nonetheless, the deku girl shook her head and waved a hand. "No, on the contrary... this is the Hero's Bow. It is destined to be used by the liberator of the deku race... these were pretty much meant for you."
Link beamed widely. "Thanks!" he said, obviously overjoyed. He ran his index finger at the bow's arch, sketchily admiring the foreign pattern of the bow's bronze surface. He put the newly acquired weapon away and saw the guards retreating. The deku king stepped up to him once again.
"Young hero, if you wish, you may join us for a post celebration feast," he offered kindly.
Link looked at Tatl the same way a hungry child would pleadingly ogle a mother. But the little fairy girl gave him a cold look that got him to awkwardly look down at the scuff marks of his boots. "N-no, thanks," he said. "I'm on a very important mission and I can't stay for long. But thank you so much for your kindness." Accepting the boy's gratefulness, the deku king and his daughter left the shrine and walked down a ramp leading back to the palace. Link did a double take. He hadn't noticed that before... or the whopping stone temple in the middle of the Woodfall waters. "What the-- ?! Where did that come from?!?" he cried out in shock.
"After lord Odolwa's defeat and your momentary ascend to who-knows-where," said a familiar voice from behind. Link turned sharply and saw the Deku Butler had stayed behind. "The temple rose from the swamp when the poison completely cleared up. Truly magnificent sight." Link chuckled lightly. The butler smiled in return and approached the boy. "So... you're the little deku scrub from before, aren't you?" he said softly.
The young hero stuttered a little, about to oppose. But the look on the butler's eyes... he just knew. "How did you know?" Link said in a hushed tone. Now it was the butler's turn to chuckle.
"As you ventured through the palace and confirmed your unique curiosity, I could see my little boy in your place. And so was the same with your triumphant battle," he said. Link grinned and stared down at the ground for a second before looking back up at the kind deku. "What is your name, boy?" he suddenly asked.
"It's Link, sir," he said.
The deku butler took a step back. "Well, I sure hope that someday our paths might cross again. Farewell, Sir Link." Link sighed and turned to go, but the deku stopped him once more. "Wait! Just one moment... would you care to do me a small favor and... show me your alternate form... just one more time...?"
"Of course, sir." Link grabbed the deku mask and put it on. After the transformation, he was back into his deku body, shaking his rotund head from the dizziness. The deku butler simply stood there, hands clasped together and shoulders lightly shaking. His eyes glistened sadly and before he knew it, he was kneeling down, hugging the young scrub tenderly. Link tensed in surprise, but not two seconds later, he felt had the need for this kind of affection. He never knew what it was like to be embraced by a loving father figure, but this... this came quite close. He smiled on the inside.
The deku butler stood back up and left in sudden haste, his expression unseen by the boy. Tatl sighed sadly at the scene. "The poor, poor man..." she shook her head and paused. "Okay, let's get moving. We've got three hours until sundown!" she urged and started going down the deku shrine's ramp, Link following along sheepishly. They passed through a different exit from Woodfall that took them to the same entrance to the swamp in the beginning. The once uncomforting and strange swamp was now blossoming in beauty and a calm ambiance gave whoever would walk through these paths a sense of peace.
Link started walking ahead of his fairy partner and half-listened as she analyzed it all out loud. "So... the four people Tael talked about... do you think he was talking about that spirit that was sealed inside that mask?" she wondered out loud. Link muttered something incoherent, finally realizing something he should have long ago. She took that as a 'pretty sure' and smiled in a satisfactory way. "Wow, we did this all in a pretty decent amount of time! Now, just keep up that pace and save the other three!" Again, Link stayed silent, his shoulders slumped a little. Tatl frowned at this. "Hey, what's the matter?? I mean, what's to be upset about?! You just saved the entire deku race!!"
Link stopped walking and took off the deku mask. He held it in front of him in grief, recalling that little tree before entering the portal to Termina. A long awkward silence followed. "Tatl, the deku butler's son is dead," he said in a voice so hushed that Tatl had to strain to hear it.
"Of course he is," Tatl said, trying not to make it sound rudely obvious. "The deku butler told you, remember?"
"...he wasn't dead until I came here..."
The fairy stared at his back strangely. "What are you talking about?! He clearly said--"
"Tatl, don't you GET IT?!?" he suddenly yelled and turned to the guardian fairy. Tatl gasped to herself inaudibly when seeing tears forming in the child's large, cerulean eyes. "This thing is the deku butler's son!!" he said as he held up the mask to her face. His voice began breaking. "Skullkid didn't kill him! He sowed his soul into my body! And because I played that stupid Song of Healing, his soul isn't intact anymore!" He furiously wiped away the tears from his eyes, refusing to cry over a matter he could never solve. "That's why I felt so close to the butler... when I wore that mask, I felt like... he was my father."
Tatl watched the miserable kid sit on the moist ground, putting his head between his knees. "But this isn't your fault, Link," she said.
"Then why the hell do I feel so guilty?!?!" he cried.
She sighed and flew down close to the boy. Link didn't look up, though he felt the warm glow of the little fairy over his shoulder. She sat and looked down sadly. "This is something you couldn't have avoided... not ever if you were to travel back in time again," she said lowly. "I know... that the tree we saw before we entered Termina was the remains of the little deku." Link lifted his head slightly and Tatl continued. "But the Song of Healing was meant to heal a person's sorrows away. In a way... you have saved the boy as well..."
Link wasn't rabidly upset anymore, but he still felt uneasy. It was written all over his face. Tatl finally saw this was a good a time as any to get her anguish out of her chest. "Hey! Um... all that stuff I did to you... a- and your horse... I... I apologize. I'm sorry."
The boy looked at the fairy sitting on his shoulder and smiled a small, but grateful smile. "Thanks, Tatl," he whispered. That's exactly what he wanted to hear since they have met.
"Sure, yeah; just don't hold it against me, got it?" she muttered. Link shook his head with a little chuckle and stood up to stretch his arms. Without another word, he resumed his stroll out of the swamp and back to Termina field. Tatl smiled a little and looked down at her hylian partner. "Hey, if it makes you feel any better... your horse is somewhere out in Termina Field. We just let him run loose since she wouldn't play with Skullkid after she broke from his trance."
Link grinned. "That's good to know," he said. Looking up at the blue skies, he noticed the afternoon sun starting to descend. "Come on, we don't have a lot of time!" Fastening the deku mask to his belt, he sighed. These three days in Termina he had to accept that there are some things he just could not change.
To Be Continued...
A/N: Sorry about the delay, guys. I'll try to get the next chapter up before the end of the week.