Disclaimer: Don't own any of it!!

Wow. So many people have asked me to write Majora's Mask... I'm still thinking about it. I'll probably do it over the summer when I finish the "first draft" of Ocarina of Time. Yes, this is still a WIP. I only have two more chapters to write!

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Chapter Three
A Beloved Old Friend

Link was facing a monstrous foe: an evil fire dragon known as Volvagia. He was standing on a medium-sized island, surrounded by a lake of lava, and it was blazingly hot. If it hadn't been for the specially made Goron tunic he was clad in, Link would've long ago passed out from the heat.

From the side island, Link heard a Goron shout out, "He'll kill you, too!"

"Link, now!" Navi wailed. "Shoot the arrow!"

Link had been prepared to fire the arrow for some time, but he couldn't let it fly. The heat was causing drops of sweat to fall from the Hero's forehead and it was the torridity that was making it harder for him to concentrate. He was still in his fighting stance, holding the bow and arrow; he hadn't fired it yet.

"What are you doing?!" Navi yelled again. "Hurry and shoot!"

But Link couldn't. He stared at the snake-like dragon. Then he relaxed his arms, dropping his bow to the side and letting the arrow fall to the ground. But Volvagia wasn't like Link; its goal was to destroy the Hero of Time.

Link saw Volvagia's mouth open and gasped as he saw that it was attacking with fire.

"Link! Move!" his fairy screamed. "Get out of the way!"

Link covered his face and stumbled backward, having no idea that he was already a few feet away from the edge. He felt his foot slip from him and toppled off the rim of the island. He was falling towards the lava! The last thing he recollected before he slipped out of consciousness were Navi's frantic shouts of, "Link, no!" He saw a lithe figure standing at the edge of the island as well...

* * *

Link slowly opened his eyes. He breathed in deeply as he heard soft music being played, soothing his headache.

He smiled and said ever-so-softly, "Music... A harp."

Link slowly turned his head to the right a saw a thin-looking person playing a lyre. This stranger had a cloth covering his lower face and his hands and fingers were riddled with bandages, including his lower legs.

Link sat up and said weakly to the man, "Who are you?"

"I am Sheik," the foreigner said as he paused his playing. "I am one of the last of the Sheikah tribe."

"Sheikah tribe?" Link questioned. He had never heard of them before. But his head hurt too much to really think about the subject. He glanced around, taking in his surroundings; he was in a Goron City infirmary. He looked down at himself. Link's clothes and face were charred in certain places and he had a bandage on his left cheek.

All of a sudden, a small floating light entered the room. When it spoke, Link realized it was Navi. "You're awake! Are you okay?"

Sheik said from his ledge, "If you hadn't been wearing those Goron clothes, you would be dead."

Link recalled the figure standing at the rim of the platform... "Are you the one who saved me?"

Sheik stood up slowly as he said, "It would have been a shame for the Hero of Time to have died. And the one to slay that wicked dragon is only you."

Link blinked in shock. "He's...not an evil dragon..." he said quietly.

"In order to break the spell on the dragon," Sheik countered, "you've no choice but to kill it."

"Don't say it so simply!" Link yelled at the Sheikah. "No matter what, I'll make him remember...!"

A low rumble sounded outside, near the core of the City. When it stopped about a minute later, Sheik said, "It's coming."

Link stood up and grabbed his Master Sword and Hylian Shield. He followed Sheik out into the main section of the small metropolis. In the side of the stone wall, lava was pouring out of a huge crater, courtesy of Volvagia: the dragon was well on its way.

"At this rate, if he continues to act violently, then Death Mountain will erupt," Sheik told Link. "And that's not all; Kakariko and Hyrule: everything will become a burning wasteland."

As Link was staring down at the destruction, he remembered the first time he had seen the cute and small dragon on sale in the Market, seven years ago.

"He was there," Link whispered lightly. "In the market..."

* * *

Link walked slowly through the busy Market, looking with huge and curious eyes. Before he started to go and find the Spiritual Stones, he had decided to look around the shops. A red dragon sitting soundly in a cage caught his eye. He ran up to it and read the price: seventy Rupees. Link couldn't resist; he paid the salesman his money and now he was the proud owner of a baby dragon!

Once they were out in the middle of the Field, Link tried to coax to youngster out, saying sweetly, "Come on out, little guy. I won't hurt you."

Slowly, he came out. He certainly was adorable! He had large red eyes that matched his thick scaly skin. But its looks were deceiving: no sooner had Link reached out to pet him, the dragon bit Link on the tip of the boy's finger!

"Ouch!" Link snapped back. "I helped you with what little money I had!"

But it wasn't listening as the baby's next action was breathing fire right into Link's face. Of course, he wasn't old enough for his flames to inflict real critical damage, but they still burnt Link's forehead and cheeks. Link, being very agitated and angry that he had wasted his savings, dropped the creature and walked on, leaving it behind.

Soon, however, Navi fluttered down and whispered to Link, "The little guy's following you."

But Link just turned up his nose in disgust and walked away. When he stopped for his evening meal, Navi whispered, pointing behind a rock, "He's still there." Link turned around and, sure enough, the hungry baby was present. Link felt a little remorse for his previous actions.

"Hey, you want some?" he offered a portion of his dinner.

The dragon crawled over to Link and, to the boy's shock, swallowed the whole loaf of bread that Link held out! He wasn't supposed to take it all, just a little! Link stood up and started chasing the nuisance around the campfire. All of a sudden, Link's dragon turned back around a breathed out fire, but he wasn't aiming for Link. The dragon had just destroyed a monster that was stalking Link from behind!

"Hey," Link said kindly as he knelt down next to his protector. "You saved me..." The boy thought a moment; then said, "Are you lonely, all be yourself?"

Scooping the dragon in his arms and holding him above his head, Link laughed, "From now on, you and I are friends forever!"

* * *

"Link, the volcano's going to erupt!"

Link woke up from his memories as he felt strong earthquakes in the ground. Volvagia, Link's pet dragon, reared its ugly, mutated head through another crater, causing more lava to spew out into Goron territory.

Link stood defiantly at Volvagia. "It's me, Link!" he hollered. "Remember?"

Volvagia held no sign of the memories long past as he again breathed scorching fire in Link's direction. As the Hylian dodged the flame, he realized he had no choice but to slay it.

He whipped out his bow and loaded it with an arrow. He aimed for Volvagia's eye and shot the projectile with perfection. When the arrow hit and stunned the dragon, Link unsheathed the Master Sword and leaped high in the air. With a heavy heart, Link sliced off the head of Volvagia, both lifting the curse and killing his friend.

Link landed nimbly on his feet and stared at what he had just done. As he was sadly looking at the head, it slowly disintegrated.

He felt awful as he let a solitary tear roll down his left cheek. He could feel his heart breaking inside.

* * *

"So," Ganondorf said. "Volvagia failed?"

"Yes, sir," Sheik replied on bended knee. "However, there is a bit of good news, sir. The Hero of Time is at a loss having slaughtered his old friend. Now would be a splendid chance, while his guard is down..."

Ganondorf intervened, "Do you still not know Zelda's whereabouts?"

"Nay, we've tried all sides."

"Capture the Hylian and that Princess with haste," Ganondorf ordered. "You must not let those two meet by any means!"

"I'll be on guard," Sheik said, bowing his head in respect.

"Thank you, Brother," Darunia, the newly awakened Sage of Fire, said to Link. "On behalf of the entire Goron race, thank you. But," he stopped, eyeing Link with sympathy, "it seems it was a tough time for you. Why don't you stay here and rest a while?"

"Thank you for your generosity, Darunia. But," Link looked at the Sage with anger in his eyes, "I cannot forgive Ganondorf."

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Well, I must say, that when I first read this, this chapter was a new idea! What about you peoples?

Well, namárië, mellyn nin, as sidh!! (Elvish for "Farewell my friends, and peace!!)