Dawn of the Second Movement: Moonfall

The first thing he felt was pain.

Other sensations followed. The smell of grass, of rain. The sounds of it, and coughing, but it was muffled, as if from far away. The feeling of hard ground beneath his back, the soreness in his muscles.

And the smell of burned flesh.

Hazen sat up, groaning softly, and looked to his left to see a hunched shape, pale white hair, limp with rain, and another figure beside her. He glanced up, finding Hazen watching them, and said, "Hurry, she needs bandages."

His words registered slowly, but when they finally sank in, Hazen's heart dropped. He dug through his bag and scrambled over to Tessen, who snatched them up as fast as he could. In the few seconds they were exposed, the bandages were soaked, and he pressed them gently to Saval's face. She whimpered softly, stiffening under Tessen's touch, and he shushed her gently.

Hazen swallowed, forcing himself to look away, get their bearings. It looked like where they'd started, the field in Irene's Hyrule. But--

"This is different," Irene murmured, suddenly at his side. Hazen jumped, not hearing her approach, and glanced at her. She was pale, and she looked exhausted, but there was an alertness to her that hadn't been there before. And . . . was she glowing?

"What's different?" Hazen said stupidly, thinking he was looking right at it. Irene met his eyes, and lifted her hand, cocking her head a bit. Her hand glowed faintly before a jet of water spewed out with far more force than usual--such that it sent her stumbling to the ground with a shout.

Hazen pulled her up to her feet, and she gazed around the field with wonder. "It's so much more powerful here," she said, and he saw the realization dawn in her crystal blue eyes. "There's magic here!"

"Will it make your spells stronger?" Tessen asked, supporting Saval. He'd torn his cloak off and draped it over her shoulders, pulling the oversized hood over her face. She was bowed, totally unlike her usual self, and the sight made Hazen's stomach turn. He stepped forward, reaching out, but she shied away. "Saval," he pleaded.

"What happened?" Irene asked softly, staring at Saval.

Tessen's voice was heavy. "The mask attacked her right as we were leaving. It looked like it was targeting her specifically."

"The arrows," Hazen murmured. "She kept hitting it with ice arrows."

There was a moment of silence, and Hazen tried to alleviate it internally. Well, at least we know the mask has a weakness, he thought.

"Let's find some shelter," he sighed, taking Irene's hand. There seemed to be a path already worn into the field, so they followed it all the way to a . . . curious structure.

"Is that a . . . telescope?" Irene asked, a brow crooked.

"I guess so," Hazen muttered. "D'you think anyone lives there?"

"You want to find the person who lives in a giant telescope?" Irene deadpanned.

"Considering it's the only sign of life we've encountered so far, we might as well."

"We've been here for three minutes, tops. I'd rather find an actual house."

"Says the witch who lives in a hut," Hazen snapped.

"At least it's not a bloody telescope!" Irene shot back.

"Guys, stop," Tessen called. "Fighting ourselves is the last thing we need to be doing right now. Let's just find out if anyone lives here, and if so, we'll try to figure out where we are."

Hazen and Irene glared at one another a moment more, noses brushing, and the witch turned on her heel and stormed off. Hazen rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath, and followed her. He drew his sword just in case, and kept an eye out behind them. He wasn't about to be caught between a possibly-insane native and a murderous mask.

They made it to the telescope fine, but a tall fence surrounded the premises, and up close, it was even more strange. It glittered a deep violet, was carved with what looked like constellations, and seemed to be shaped like a dome. The telescope wound around a pole from the top of the dome and stuck out almost garishly.

"Nothin' for it," Tessen muttered, releasing Saval and gripping the fence. He hauled himself over it, hopped down on the other side, and turned. "Saval, come on."

Hazen was really growing concerned. His friend, usually so lively despite her coolness, was silent. She kept her face turned away as she pulled herself up the fence, clambering over the side, and as she lowered herself down, a wind shook her hood slightly. Beside him, Irene stiffened.

Hazen tried to see, but Saval kept her head down and turned swiftly to burrow into Tessen. "Saval, please," Hazen begged, pulling Irene to the fence. "What's wrong?"

"I'm fine," she said, but her voice was small, and insincere.

She walked toward the dome, towards the door set into the side, and Tessen followed, holding her close and whispering in her ear. Whatever he was saying, Saval didn't react to it.

When Irene landed on the other side, Hazen climbed over, and in a short few movements he followed the group as they headed for the door. "Swords at the ready," Hazen said, and Tessen drew his Eightfold Blade. The swords they'd borrowed from Link's inventory were still strapped to their belts, and Hazen hefted his silver blade, breathing deep.

Irene lifted her hands, blue sparks flying, and opened the door. Hazen darted in first, but lowered his sword a moment later. "Uh, yeah, I don't think we need these here," he called, sheathing his blade.

"Why?" Irene poked her head in, her shoulder brushing Hazen's. Her brow went up, and her hand fell. "What the hell is this?"

"Why are all these places so fucking weird?" Hazen muttered, stepping in. The interior of the observatory was lit up a dozen different colors, all bright pink, purple, blue, yellow. The group stepped into a large room with a raised portion of the floor in the middle, creating a rut of sorts between it and the walls. The walls themselves were deep blue and covered with constellations. And there was music playing from . . . somewhere. Hazen couldn't tell.

They stepped forward and saw a old man standing on the top of the platform, dressed in what looked like--

"A dress," Irene said flatly.

"A robe," Hazen corrected, with a twinge of annoyance. The witch simply rolled her eyes.

Casting his gaze to the ceiling, Hazen approached the old man. He seemed to be looking through the eye of the telescope, but he turned when Hazen stepped onto the platform. "Ah, friends of the Bombers, are you?" he said, smiling. "Hmph . . . you seem much better mannered than the one from the other day."

"Uhhh," Hazen said, very intelligently. He was glancing back at Tessen when the old man said suddenly, "He said he'd break all my instruments, and steal my Moon Tear! The nerve of him. Why, I bet he's causing trouble right now."

"Sir, I just really need to know--" Hazen began, but the old man seized his shirt and yanked him toward the telescope.

"Will you look through the telescope?" the old man asked, his eyes shining kindly. Hazen sighed and relented, shutting one eye and hunching his shoulders. The image was blurry for a moment, but when he focused it resolved into--

"Trees," Hazen said. "Is that what I'm meant to be looking at?"

Tessen and Irene snorted. Rolling his eyes, Hazen adjusted the telescope upwards, following the old man's instructions. "Find the moon, up, up."

Hazen angled it a bit higher and groaned.

"What is it?" Tessen called.

"What do you think?"

"Fuck," Tessen muttered, clutching Saval closer. "What's it doing?"

Hazen squinted. "It looks like it's . . . dancing. Wait, no--it's like . . . stuck onto something? Looks like a bunch of sticks."

Irene gasped. Hazen jumped, banging his face into the scope, and whirled. "What? What is it?"

"That vision!" she exclaimed, and she almost looked excited. Her mouth split into a smile as she spoke. "Remember? When my Gram healed you, we both had that vision, and there was the mask, and the moon, and something made of sticks!"

Hazen jerked his eyes away from her lips and nodded, suddenly on the same page. "And this is what it was . . . could this be--"

"And remember what Sahasrahla found in his books?" Tessen added, his own excitement growing. "That Majora was from a world where the moon was falling?"

"You think this is that world?" Irene asked. "This is Termina?"

"Why would the Doors drop us off in Termina, though?" Hazen asked, his mind racing. "Could it be trying to tell us something?"

"What if we need to do something here?" Irene suggested. "Like find some kind of weapon, or--"

"Or maybe--"

The last few weeks had trained the four of them to recognize slight sounds, and so they ducked instinctively when the sound of something falling hard and fast outside filtered into the observatory. It was quickly followed by a crash, and the whole building shook with the impact.

"What was that?" Irene shouted, stumbling to her feet.

"It's the mask!" Tessen yelled, pushing Saval to the side.

"Outside!" Hazen rose, drew his sword and dashed to the door. He burst through and covered his face against the smoke. With a swipe he cleared it and raised the blade defensively, but nothing came at him. Then Tessen was there, and they covered each other's backs as they turned, searching the skies, the forests, the field outside.

"We're not safe here," Tessen decided. "If this is the mask's home, then--"

"Then what? We can't leave," Hazen argued, before relaxing. The mask wasn't there, at least not at that moment. "If this is its home, then this could be our chance to find out what exactly it is, and why it's trying to kill us. Plus, it's not like we really have a lot of control over this."

Tessen didn't answer, which was answer enough. But he kept his sword sheathed when he called the girls out, while Hazen crouched to see what had crashed down. It wasn't the mask, and it wasn't a missile of any sort, at least it didn't look like one.

"What is this thing?" he muttered, picking up the rock. It was scalding hot, and he dropped it with a hiss.

"Looks like a stone of some sort," Tessen said, leaning over to get a glimpse. "What do you think it's for?"

"Not thinkin' about that," Hazen answered, taking the cloth Tessen tore from Saval's cloak. He wrapped it around the stone, wincing at the heat, and lifted it. "Where do you think this came from?"

"The sky, I would assume."

Hazen rolled his eyes at the deadpan statement. "No shit. But it doesn't look like something that comes from the sky."

Tessen scowled. "How would you know what comes from the sky and what doesn't?"

"I don't," Hazen snapped, "but--"

"You may think you're the smartest person alive, but you don't know everything," Irene added, making Hazen groan loudly.

"Will you two just shut up and let me--"

A soft laugh shut him up instantly, and the three of them turned to look at Saval. She'd raised her head, her amber eyes crinkled at the corners the way they did when she smiled, really smiled, and--

"There you are," Hazen breathed, grinning, and wrapped her up in a hug. She laughed again when he lifted her up and spun her, and when he set her down, there were tears in her eyes.

She wiped them away. "I'm sorry," she said. "I haven't been me lately, I just . . ."

"It's all right," Hazen said softly, noting the way her fingers curled around Tessen's. "You don't have to apologize for anything."

"And you don't have to hide, either," Irene added, brushing Saval's hair from her face. "This doesn't change who you are."

Saval's eyes were glistening again. She bit her lip, and nodded. She swallowed and pushed back her hood, exposing her face entirely. Her hair fell over the right side in soft waves, and she brushed it away from the other side to fully expose the burns.

Irene traced the edges with a feather touch. "It'll scar," she said, confirming what they'd all thought.

Saval looked conflicted for a split second, but her expression smoothed. "That's fine. What is it father always says? 'It's not worth the danger if you don't get a few scars out of it'."

Hazen snorted. "My father, too."

"They are twins, after all," Saval joked, and the four of them laughed. Tessen quieted first, his face taking on a softer expression, and he pulled Saval close.

"You're still the most beautiful woman I know," he murmured, stroking her hair. "No matter how many scars you have."

Her eyes burned, and she buried her face in his shoulder. She didn't have to look to know that Hazen and Irene were grinning like fools, and sure enough, when she raised her head, they were indeed.

"So what now?" Saval asked, already beginning to feel better. "We're in Termina, the mask is nowhere to be found, yet at least, and we have a rock from the sky."

Just then the door opened, and out stepped a ten-year old in a green tunic, golden hair matted with sweat and a blue instrument in his hand. He blinked at the assembly, his blue eyes flicking from face to face to the stone in Hazen's hand.

There was a moment of complete silence as everyone took in what this meant.

"Who are you?"

What a question. "We," Hazen answered, "are . . . not from here."

"I know."

Hazen's next words fizzled out, and he cast a glance towards his friends. "How do you know?"

"Because I know everyone who lives here," the kid said, completely serious.

Hazen gave a hesitant laugh. "Uh . . . right. I'm sure it feels that way, but you can't possibly--"

"It's entirely possible, especially here," the kid interrupted. "And it is true. There aren't many people who live here. If you lived here, you would know that."

For a second Hazen just stared at the kid. Then he glanced at the instrument in his hand, and jerked his chin. "Where'd you get that?"

The boy's eyes narrowed. "My friend gave it to me," he answered, but there was a tremor in his voice.

"Who?" Hazen pressed.

"Why do you want to know?" the boy demanded. "Who are you? How did you get here?"

"You'd be surprised," Tessen answered, casting a warning glance at Hazen.

"Try me," the boy said flatly.

Irene stepped forward. "Why don't we do this somewhere else," she suggested, smiling at the boy. "We're actually in a bit of trouble, and we're tired."

At this, the boy sighed deeply. "All right. What do you want in return?"

"Umm." Irene's smile faltered. "I'm sorry?"

The boy frowned. "This isn't a fetch quest?"

"A what now?" Tessen muttered.

"It doesn't matter," Hazen stepped back in. "We just need somewhere to rest, and if you can help us with our problem, then we'll help you in turn. I have a feeling we've got the same issue, anyway."

Tessen and Saval shot Hazen a sharp glance. Hazen simply nodded, knowing the boy's sharp eyes were watching the exchange. He turned to him, and wasn't surprised when the boy didn't try to pretend innocence. "So will you help us?"

The boy--Hazen was going to refer to him as 'Link', just on a hunch--was still suspicious. "Don't you want to know what my problem is?"

"If you want to tell us, you can," Hazen offered.

Link observed him for another few moments, his small face still so young and yet full of things a child should never have seen. "That," he finally said, pointing up above them.

The four turned their faces skyward, and took a step back, and another. Link watched their eyes widen with a shadowed gaze, listened to the soft curses. It really was a monster, he considered, but after countless days of being under its shadow, growing every second, he'd become numb to its horror.

"Are you sure you still want to help me?" Link asked softly.

The oldest boy, he thought, the one with golden hair in a ponytail, swallowed before answering, all without tearing his gaze from the Moon. As if he was preparing to look at it for much longer than this moment. "It's not a matter of want. We have to help you."

"Why?"

Hazen finally met his gaze. "Because if we don't, then more worlds than just this one will die."

I spy with my little eye the plot???? Perhaps. *shrugs* I hope you're enjoying this! Haha I enjoyed writing it but time travel, not the easiest shit to write. If you feel I've missed anything or if things don'tline up, please tell me bc I guarantee there's at least a few things I missed lmfao. Enjoy the double chapter today!