This is a rehash of chapter two, but without the no-no word. I think I want to make this story a little more kid-friendly.

Chapter 2.

The Wooden Tomb

Link fell and fell, screaming on his way down. He seemed to see pictures of various masks in his vision, and he did not recognize any of them. All of a sudden, the hole opened up into a large cave, and Link slammed into a huge flower that thankfully, cushioned his landing.

"Oww…", Link said.

He looked around, and then two bright lights shone onto the figure in the center of the room. It was the Skull Kid!

The Skull Kid was hovering in the air with his arms crossed, and his two fairies flying near his head.

"What's with that stupid horse of yours?! It doesn't listen to a word that's said to it… There's no point in riding a thing like that, so I did you a favor and got rid of it."

"What!?", link gasped in horror.

"Heehee. Aww, boohoo, why the sad face? I just thought I'd have a little fun with you. Oh, come now… Do you think you can beat me as I am now? Fool!"

The Skull Kid then began to shake his head, and laugh, and as Link stared into the two huge glowing eyes, he began to scream in pain. Pain was all that Link felt at that moment. With the Skull Kid's mask staring at him with its big yellow eyes, he felt the most excruciating pain his body ever felt. He had felt pain, of course. He had been burned by dodongo fire, frozen by magical ice, and even struck by balls of lightning, but none of those times compared to the pain that he felt now.

Link could feel his muscles hardening, feel his bones shifting. He could see himself shrinking, and felt his skin harden. As he screamed more, he soon did not take in any more breaths, as his lungs vanished from inside of his chest. In his mind, Link saw Mad Scrubs and Deku Scrubs surrounding him. They crowded around him, made it hard for him to breathe. He ran in his mind, towards the endless blackness surrounding him, clapping his hands to his ears to eliminate the rustling sounds, that was now deafening. He ran and ran, but then a single huge Deku Scrub ran after him, and he was swallowed whole by its open mouth.

When Link opened his eyes, he saw a reflection in the water at his feet. He stared in horror, as it was not his own. His reflection had a wide round mouth with small amber eyes, and a green hat and loincloth. He had been turned into a Deku Scrub! He felt like he couldn't move like he was buried inside of a wooden tomb. Link screamed in a higher-pitched voice:

"What have you done to me?!" while wildly shaking his head, trying to get rid of the face that he saw in the water.

"Hee hee! Now, that's a good look for you! You'll stay here looking that way forever! Bye-bye, loser!", the Skull Kid cackled as he flew off down another tunnel. Link tried running after him, but it felt strange. His joints felt very stiff, and he was much smaller. The white fairy wasn't helping out very much either, because she was kicking Link with surprising force.

"Hey! Take that! And that! Leave the Skull Kid alone!", she yelled.

"Oww, watch it!", Link said.

As their little scuffle was happening, the Skull Kid and Tael were floating off.

"S-s-Sis!", Tael yelled at the white fairy before a door closed, and sealed off the tunnel.

"Whoa! Whoa! Skull Kid, wait for me! I'm still here! Tael, you can't leave without me!". She flew over and began banging her tiny fists against the solid wooden door.

"You! If I wasn't dealing with you, I wouldn't have gotten separated from my brother!" She shouted with such a fierceness that it stunned Link.

"Well, don't just sit there, Deku boy! Do something! …". Link stared at her, and he thought he may have seen her somewhere before.

"Why are you looking at me like that? What, is there something stuck on my face? Will you stop staring at me and open that door for me?! Please! C'mon, a helpless, little girl is asking you... So hurry up! Ohhhh, Tael... I wonder if that child will be all right on his own?"

Link decided to finally speak.

"Why the hell did the Skull Kid turn me into this … thing?!" he yelled in a harsh tone.

"How is this even possible? Where even am I?!". The fairy sighed and began to speak more.

"Ugh, fine. The mask that the Skull Kid is wearing is what gave him the power to curse you into this form. He was just doing harmless pranks until he put that mask on. He even mugged a mask peddler to get it! As for your other question, you are in Termina. Where else would you be? Did you hit your head or something?"

Link's head was buzzing with information. He once knew a merchant who was called the Happy Mask Salesman. He had a huge collection of masks, but he did not recall seeing a mask like it in his shop. If he collected masks with this amount of dark magic… Link couldn't bring himself to think of what other masks that man may have in his collection.

"So, um, that stuff that the Skull Kid just did there... I, um, apologize... so... So take me with you! You wanna know more about that Skull Kid who just ran off, right? Well, I just so happen to have an idea where he might be going. Take me with you and I'll help you out. Deal? Please? Good! So then it's settled! I'll be your partner... or at least until we catch that Skull Kid. My name's Tatl. So, uh, it's nice to meet you or whatever. Now that we've got all that straightened out, can we stop messing around and get moving?!"

Link stood in stunned silence. He hadn't had anyone talk to him bossily in months now. It almost made him miss the way Navi used to shout "Hey, Listen!" whenever he wasn't paying attention. The way that Tatl acted was very similar to his missing sprite as well. She flashed different colors depending on her mood, but she normally stayed the same uniform color. Link calmed down, and said, "Sounds like a plan! My name is Link, by the way."

"Ok, whatever.", Tatl replied.

He and his new fairy companion crept into the dark tunnels deep underneath the earth, to find the Skull kid, and to find a way to turn Link back into a Hylian.