Author's Note: Why the last chapter? Why spend an entire chapter on the Kokiri Forest, the Lost Woods, Saria, and Skull Kid? Well, there were several things I wanted to show by Link going home. In the end, it strengthened his resolve to save Hyrule. First, he cannot live in the forest anymore. Mido will not allow it, and he has such a following that he can make sure Link can't come back. Second, Saria expects it of Link to save Hyrule, mainly because the Great Deku Tree expects it. And finally, Link and Navi are now "outsiders" to the forest. Plus, the foreshadowing of Majora's Mask was just a little tie-in for MM fans, and perhaps the base for a sequel…

And why have Link become a Skull Kid? Well, for one, see above. For two, it helped him make friends with Skull Kid. And for three, anyone who's played through OoT knows that Link technically should become one if he gets lost in the Lost Woods! So, there you go. On to Chapter 10!

A Hero's Path Chapter 10: A Hero's Welcome

The sun was setting again when they arrived in Kakariko, changing the cloud-covered sky all types of brilliant colors.

"There you are!" the guard called, running up to them. "I've been waiting for you all day, Mr. Hero!"

"Oh, it's you!" Link said to him.

"Yeah." He stood in front of them, panting. "Do you realize it's about eighteen o'clock?"

"No. I can't tell time."

"Well, where were you?"

"I went home. But I'm back now!"

"Okay. Anyway, here's your shield," the man said. He handed the metal shield to Link. As soon as it entered Link's hands it dropped to the ground with a "CLANG!"

"Ow! My toe my toe my toe my toe!" Link said, hopping around carrying his foot.

"Ooh. That looked like it hurt!" the man said.

"Well, duh," said Navi.

"I'm fine…" Link said hoarsely. Then he fell on his back, still clutching his foot.

"Are you sure?" Navi asked.

"Are you sure you want the shield?" the guard asked. "I mean it's a little heavy."

"Yeah," Link said in a whisper. "Yeah, I'm gonna need it."

"You can't hold it," Navi said.

"Not with my arms," Link said, jumping up excitedly.

"What?" Navi said.

He lifted the shield, and noticed the design on it. It was blue with a symbol of three golden triangles in a pyramid formation above a red flying bird. Link remembered seeing a similar symbol on Zelda's clothing.

"Now I'll really look like Zelda's hero!" he thought. He took off his Deku Shield, sword sheath and belt, and then strung his belt and bandoleer through the shield's arm loops. Strapping his belt and strap back on, he was able to carry the shield on his back.

"What good will that do you?" Navi asked.

"Watch," he said, and bent over, holding his ankles with his arms. The shield became a protective shield that prevented any overhead assault.

"That's your new and improved shield?" Navi said.

"Well Mr. Guard here went way out of his way to get it for me," Link said.

"Nah," he said. "It was just an hour or two of a walk, better than standing in one place. And I went shopping! Look, I got you an adult-size wallet. You know, because you said you gave yours to someone else." He handed Link a bag that was about twice as big as his old one.

"Cool! Thanks!" Link said.

"Yeah. And I got myself this neat mask!" He pulled a yellow animal mask out of his belt. "Some traveling salesman gave it to me. It's Keaton!"

"It's who?" Link said.

"You bought a mask of some weird animal?" Navi said. "I thought you were a grown-up."

"Er, I mean, it's… for my son!" the man said. "I gotta go. Bye!" The man took off.

"Oh. I didn't get to give him anything," Link said. "Hey, did he say that mask salesman went to Hyrule Castle Town?"

"Yeah. I thought he got kicked out."

"That's one weird man."

"Which one?"

"I don't know. Is anyone normal in Hyrule?"

"I've wondered the same thing, Link."

The sun set and they noticed several people gathering near a stone tunnel that went through a hill. Link and Navi went to see what was going on. As they made their way, the crowd passed through the tunnel and into a graveyard. There, a man was offering tours of the cemetery for a small fee.

Link got scared, so they didn't stay. They hurried up to Impa's house and knocked on the door.

"Go away! Get lost!" came an answer through the door. "No one allowed inside!"

"No one allowed?" Link said. "Hey, buddy, Impa gave me a note that says I can stay here for the night!"

The door opened a crack and they saw a man's face peeking through. "Show me," he said.

Link dug through his pouches and searched his belt, and his pack, and everywhere else he could think of, but he couldn't find the note.

"Is visiting other peoples houses at this late hour your idea of fun?" the man asked. "You must not have had a good upbringing. Oh well." He slammed the door on Link.

"Hey! I had a great upbringing! I had the best upbringing in the whole upbrought! Navi, what's an upbringing?"

"It's how your parents raised you."

"Oh." Then he started singing. "In a forest, far from you, there are no adults, just youths. In a forest, full of trees and plants!"

"What are you doing?" Navi asked.

"It's the Kokiri anthem!" Link said. "Do you like it? I made it. It didn't catch on very well…"

"Just stop, Link," Navi said. "Just stop."

"But that's only the first verse! There a tree, called Deku…"

"Let's go, Link."

Just then, lightning struck and rain began to pour.

"Oh great!" Link said. "Now what do we do?" He started to run for shelter, but slipped on some mud and slid all the way down the slope.

"Are you alright?" a woman called. Link searched for the origin of the voice and found a woman peeking out her door nearby.

"Yeah, just a mess," Link answered. He was covered in mud.

"Do you have a place to stay? You don't look familiar."

"No. No, I'm not from around here," he said as he stood. "And I don't have a place to stay."

"Come here."

He walked to her door. She swung the door open and revealed a large bucket of water, with which she splashed him.

"Thank you," he said sarcastically, rubbing water out of his eyes.

"It got the mud off," the woman answered. "Now, come inside, but take those boots off."

Link walked inside, removed his boots and placed them beside the door.

"Well, make yourself at home," she said. "The food isn't ready yet, though."

Link went to the bedroom and changed into his over-sized but dry tunic. With the Hylian Shield he had now gained, his sack managed to stay dry under its shelter. A moment later, several townsfolk entered the cottage and sat around waiting while the woman cooked.

"Ruthy's a looker, ain't she?" a carpenter asked Link. "Well she sure knows how to cook! She's so hospitable, too. Taken all us workin' men in to feed us."

"Oh, well that's nice," Link said.

After about ten more minutes, Ruth served up soup to all the people in her cottage. After that, the men sat and talked for a while, and played some games. Link entertained the company with the tales of his adventure, which none of them believed, but enjoyed nevertheless.

"So then, the big cucco…"

"He was an owl, Link," Navi said. "An owl!"

"Fine, so then the owl gave me a map, and said, 'this might help you with your quest. Hoot!' So I was like, 'Thanks, big cucco!' and he flew away. Too bad I can't read or else that map would come in handy."

"You can't read?" Ruth asked. "But you look about ten years old!"

"Yeah, Saria held reading classes in the mornings, but I always slept too late."

Ruth decided it was now up to her to teach this boy to read, so for several hours Ruth and Navi taught Link the alphabet and basic reading skills. By the end, he could sort of read, but not very well. Ruth offered to wash Link's muddy tunic, and hung it up to dry. Finally, they all went to bed. All the men slept on the floor of the cottage while Ruth slept in her room. Link found it quite refreshing that even with people like Mido and that man at Impa's house, some people had the decency to help everyone around them.

In the morning, Link woke up to a bright new day. After hearing his plans to journey the night before, Ruth gave him a loaf of bread to take on the road, and then rinsed his empty bottle that once contained healing potion and filled it with cool water. Changing into his freshly washed tunic and placing his muddy boots on again, he stepped out onto the damp grass of Kakariko valley. To the north lay Death Mountain, the active volcano where he would find the next Spiritual Stone. The next place he needed to go; the last place he wanted to be. A mountain that spits fire… but such is the life of a hero. With his new shield on his back and a good meal in his stomach, he started off, Navi flying alongside.

They went up the slope to the Death Mountain gate, where the guard was standing watch once again. This time he wore his Keaton mask.

"Why are you wearing that mask?" Link asked. "Didn't you say it was for your son?"

"Uh… Didn't you hear?" the man said. "It's mask day!"

"Oh, really? I don't have a mask."

"That's okay," the man said. "Most people aren't wearing masks anyway. They… forgot. Yeah, that's what it is. It's mask day, but most people forgot!"

"Why isn't your son wearing his mask, then?" Navi asked.

"Uh… Don't you all have some kind of mission to go on?" he said, and opened the gate.

"Thanks!" Link said, heading through the gate.

"Just be careful, Mr. Hero!"

"That guy's just a kid at heart," Navi said as they walked away.

"What do you mean by that?" Link asked.

"He doesn't want a job or anything. He still wants to play around."

"Yeah. He sure likes his son's mask! Hey, Navi, are you a kid at heart too?"

"What? I'm the one that's been trying to keep you focused on the mission! You're the one who's always playing around!"

"I guess you're right, but you don't have a job. Unless you count being a fairy partner." They were walking up a rocky path that headed in a circular fashion up the slope.

"Trust me, being a fairy partner is a lot of work," Navi said.

"Yeah? Well what did you do before I came along?"

"I was the Great Deku Tree's scribe, helping him write his book. That's what was in the box to Zelda. A book started a long time ago."

"A book? You wrote a book, and you call that a job?"

"Writing a book can be a daunting task, Link. However you are right. I only wrote what the Great Deku Tree told me to. He doesn't have hands, you know."

"You do?"

"Yes, I do! I'm a fairy!"

"From what I can tell, you're a floating ball of light with wings."

"That's just the magic that radiates off me, Link! I'm a fairy, and fairies have hands!"

"Okay, fine. Fairies have hands. So did you finish the book?"

"Honestly, I don't know. He was having me write the history of kings and Sages and stuff. I didn't get it all, but I learned a lot about the world. That's why I know so much to help you!"

"Oh. Well that's cool, I guess. But what would you do after the book was done? You know... if you hadn't become my fairy partner."

"Well, I was thinking of writing my own book."

"Your book would be boring. 'So I wrote the next page for the Great Deku Tree. The End.'"

"Books don't have to be about history, Link. I would write a novel, a romance story, or some fantasy adventure!"

"Like a story of a Kokiri who slew evil dragons in the Lost Woods?"

"Uh… Maybe. I was thinking more about a love story between a Kokiri and a girl from a ranch!"

"Could we not bring that up?"

"Or a princess!"

So Link once again chases Navi as the chapter comes to a close. They journeyed upward on their course up the active volcano, not knowing what they would see before the end of the day.