CHAPTER 30

Link screams as the Mask of Inversion has Link's body distorted to an abnormal degree, his arms becoming four legs! His legs became four arms! His head becomes a spinning ball, and his torso becomes two, one hanging from each side! The Rainbow Alliance wisely backs up from him, some preparing their weapons in case he goes hostile.

"Link...are you...still you?" Zelda says taking a step towards Link.

Link slowly moves his head towards Zelda, and walks past her towards Peach. He brushes her face with a finger. He tries to speak, but his head doesn't have a mouth

Peach sighs, and whispers into what she thinks is his ear "We didn't get much time together, did we? Thank you for doing this."

"You look so different!" Zelda exclaims.

Link turns to Zelda and examines his body. It looks like he's wearing a mix between natural scaled armor and his normal clothing.

Zelda takes Link's hand and leads him away from Peach. "Link, I promise you this is only temporary. Once we defeat Ganon, we can get you out of this transformation. I am sure the Mask of Inversion can even reverse itself." Zelda turns to the Happy Mask Salesman with a stern look on her face. "Right?"

"Oh ho, yes, yes, quite." The Happy Mask Salesman says. "The Mask was designed to come off when it neutralizes the Mask of Majora."

Link nods, still looking at his transformed body. He notices he can move his arms and legs, but he can't feel them. "The mask of inversion must have transformed Link into one of the Ancient Beings." Princess Azura speaks up.

"An Ancient what?!" Naranjo pipes in.

"Oh right, not all of you are from Hyrule," Azura says. "The Ancient Beings were created by the Gods to watch over the people of Hyrule, and to help guide us through the Ages. They are ageless beings that are invisible to our eye, but they will always assist the Hylians if ever evil comes to harm them."

"Yes. Yes" The Happy Mask Salesman says, approaching the Rainbow Alliance. "It seems I have granted you great power! Now as for the price of having me part with such a trinket to such royal Princesses who must be loaded, I'm thinking somewhere in the upper millions and-"

Link grabs the Happy Mask Salesman with all four of his hands and throws him far into the darkness of the woods! Everyone gasps, except for the Happy Mask Salesman who laughs in the distance. "Hahaha! I knew you would have such a reaction to this, but you've made your point! I wish you the best of luck on your journey! I hope you can prevent us all from suffering a terrible fate!"

The Happy Mask Salesman's laugh fades and vanishes into the shadows of the night.

"We should keep moving!" Zelda says. "We need to take down Ganon and Bowser before the next nightfall, or everything we have worked for has been for nothing."

Link nods his head. He picks up his sword and shield, seeing they're also coated in scales similar to his natural armor.

They continue forward until they reach the edge of the forest. They can faintly see Ganon's Tower in the distance.

"I think we should camp here till morning," Zelda suggests. "We can have our armies rest and recuperate."

Peach smiles at Zelda, "Thank you Princess Zelda. At dawn, we will storm Bowser and Ganon's tower! Ending the vile reign of Bowser and Ganon's tyranny!"

All the Toads pitch up tents to sleep in. Daisy props her Bob-omb cannon next to a tree and rests her head on it. "I hope Bowser and Ganonare having sweet dreams, cause it's the last chance they'll ever get one again." She pulls out a locket of Luigi from around her neck. She kisses it, closes her eyes and begins to rest.

"Finally, someone else who sees cannons as an acceptable substitute for a pillow" Naranjo says, laying his head on the side of the cannon.

Azura feels a tug at her fin. "Miss? Can I sleep with you and the big dino tonight?" Maxil asks her.

"Sure, there's plenty of room!" Azura replies.

"Thank you Miss!" The three rest up next to a tree.

Burnscar chops some giant leaves with his sword and makes a blanket for himself, Peach and Zelda observe and look at each other. They both nod their heads.

"This is nice," Zelda says. "It's just like one of the royal camping trips with my family."

"I miss the days when I could run around without a care in the world." Peach adds, frowning. "That world is gone now, even if we beat Bowser and Ganon. I'm not certain we can ever get back to those days. Not after what I...all of us...have gone through. Even if we do find Mario, how can I bring myself to face him after what happened to..."

Peach is visibly holding back tears, thinking about Luigi. "Why did I leave his hat at his grave? I should've taken it with us! It's our only keepsake of him!" She cries softly into her hands. "How am I supposed to go on without him? How can I save everyone from the evils of the universe if I can't even save one of my best friends?"

Zelda and Link watch as Peach cries. They let her cry for several minutes until she runs out of tears and sits silently. Link wraps his four arms around Peach in a warm hug.

"Peach, it's okay to feel the way you do...We all have to accept that we can't save all of our subjects." Zelda says, kneeling down to Peach. "Luigi was a good man, just like Link. He risked his life to help you many times, just as Link has for me. He would want you to smile again, he wouldn't want you to stop living your life because of what happened that day. We're all here because we lost something that is dear to us. You're right, we cannot go back to the old days. However, we can make the new ones something better for the people we serve."

Peach wipes a tear from her cheek and looks at Zelda. "Thank you, Zelda...Thank you, Link."

"Now, what do you say we get some sleep?" Zelda asks.

Peach nods her head, smiling once again. Zelda smiles too, laying down on the ground. Link has not let Peach go. He only loosens his grip so that Peach can turn around and try to wrap her arms around him. They fall asleep embracing each other.