Chapter 1: Disaster; a Stranger Within a Strange Land
Scour for the Lost Companion Arc
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.
Featured Music: "File Select" - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask OST. Chapter Briefing.
"Opening Demo" - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask OST. Scene 1 (First Half).
"Theme of Chase" - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask OST. Scene 1 (First Half).
"Majora's Theme" - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask OST. Scene 1 (Second Half).
"Clock Tower" - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask OST. Scene 3 (Second Half).
"Happy Mask Salesman's Theme" - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask OST. Scene 3 (Second Half).
Having rescued the country of Hyrule in a previous time now forgotten to him, Link uses the six months in his newly-regained youth to reforge the friendships he once had in his earlier adventure. He grows close once more to such names as Malon of Lon Lon Ranch, princess Ruto of Zora's River and even his country's royal family itself. Although the shocked Zelda's pleas were unheard of by her father, Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, he at last relented in the face of sheer undeniable proof.
The mark of the Holy Triforce of Courage itself.
As plain as day on the back of his left hand Link proves himself a herald of the possible future that their land portends. With this foresight in hand king Daphnes acts on their foreshadowing knowledge and squashes the Gerudian insurrection before it can even lay foot. With an entirely new series of events playing out within the kingdom of Hyrule, Link can only speculate to the endless forms of possibilities that Zelda's sacrifice in the previous time has allowed them.
With this in mind, and with his duties completed to the royal family he once served, the former Hero of Time at last begins to prepare; a truly secretive and personal excursion for himself. A search for the oddly forgotten guardian fairy that saved his life on countless occasions, by name of Navi. A tiny little cerulean pixie that, in spite of her great effect in history's events, appears to be strangely missing from Hyrule's minds. Indeed when Link questions even his closest companion, Saria of the Kokiri Forest, not even she recognises the name.
Puzzling, to say the least.
Even while in a new timeline completely the determined Link is still fiercely adamant in finding her; with great preparation he looks into not only upgrading his weaponry via Biggoron's smithing techniques and to bring another companion with him, Epona of Lon Lon Ranch, he elects to look deeply into his own past. A knowledge he has gone without for all eleven years of his physical and yet more spiritually.
'Firbrand'.
At last the formerly unknown orphan of the Kokiri Forest has uncovered his forgotten family surname and a fitting one at that. Although the woman who bore him appears to have passed on, on the very day of the Hyrulean civil war, her long blonde hair and even her captivating looks are inherited by her young orphaned son. Indeed even his father, seemingly a perished knight in the civil war, apparently has had his great sword-fighting technique passed down.
It is with only with these very gifts that he has inherited does he stand to face his greatest challenge yet.
Scene 1
"Easy, girl."
Link's half-nervous laugh managed to put the small colt he rode upon at ease; as he made certain Epona was thankfully calm he turned his blonde-haired head and cerulean-shaded eyes up around in quick search and examination.
All around were huge teems of trees as far as the eye could see.
He sighed through his nose and furrowed his brow; a mixture of frustration and puzzlement.
I hate these woods, he thought.
They all look the same no matter how far I go in.
"Well, besides the Sacred Forest Meadow I guess..."
It was only when he caught what sounded like bells fast-approaching from his sharp-left that his combat senses kicked in.
Who's that, he thought.
I can't see a-
VRP
In a single movement a pair of fairy-like entities seemed to appear as if from nowhere.
"Woah!"
NEIGH
Screaming in similar surprised shock, the small horse yelled out as she bound upward in such an abrupt fashion that it managed to knock the wide-eyed Link back-flipping off.
THUD
"Hngh...!"
Although he was conscious barely a few seconds after falling, the former Kokiri could barely stand before falling under a light coma.
Almost as if waiting for this however, a suspicious figure indeed very slowly materialised from the foggy darkness of the Lost Woods, a malicious laugh on its lips. Oddly, it appeared to be a figure that Link would have easily recognised from his former adventure.
A Skull Kid.
Seemingly admiring the pair of pixies' work the Skull Kid rose up his small left hand to lift up the mask he wore; a terrifying picture indeed. Spikes jutted out from its lower sides, all multiple colours that strangely seemed to match one another. The front was a frightening mixture of hellish-red and deep-indigo, two horns projecting upward from its heart-shaped face. Its yellow eyes truly gave it an unsettling appearance that would put shakes in even the near-unflappable Hero of of Time.
Strangely, however, its design did not look quite so foreign.
"Hah!" The Skull Kid laughed, a grin hiding behind the raised mask he held. "You two fairies did great!"
Almost as if reacting to his praise the two guardian fairies of question, one a bright milk shade and the other a deep-magenta, both hovered over to rejoin him.
"I wonder if he has anything good on him..."
As he waddled his little wooden steps forward he narrowed his eyes behind the frightening mask he reset upon his face, appearing to notice something.
"H-Hey..."
"What's wrong? Is everything okay?"
"Y-Yeah...," the nameless Skull Kid shot back to the frowning purple-shaded fairy, as if speaking to a brother. "I think I... recognise him... but it'll be okay."
He reached forward with his little foot and narrowed his eyes beneath the disguise he wore, putting effort into his attempt.
"Ngh!"
The shut-eyed Link's body flopped quietly onto his back, still seemingly unconscious. His courage returning to him, the Skull Kid leaned down and began to search through the pockets of Kokiri Tunic.
"Skull Kid maybe we should just-"
"Sh!" The mask-wearing hooligan shot over his shoulder, his tone an annoyed one to match. "I didn't ask for your opinion Tatl!"
The cream-coloured pixie gained a very small shade of red to signify her growing frustration.
But she chose not to voice it.
At last the Skull Kid stood back up to his feet, turning 'round with widened eyes to raise up the holy azure-blue of a royal instrument. The moonlight of the Lost Woods around them lit up the Ocarina of Time in his hands; a truly beautiful sight at that.
"Wow...!"
The Skull Kid blinked up at it. "What is it, a harmonica?"
The unknowledgeable child lowered the instrument to his lips underneath the mask he sported and blew through it, producing a soft note. He laughed in response.
"What a pretty ocarina!" The purple-coloured fairy exclaimed out, eyes widened beneath his small frame. "Hey, Skull Kid! Lemme touch it; I wanna see!"
THUD
"No Tael!"
"Ow..."
As if a little brother wincing from being struck by his elder sister, the little Tael shrank back in response as the milk-shaded fairy loomed overhead.
"You can't! What would we do if you dropped and broke it? No way!"
"Aww but... big sis... why can't I touch it too?"
"Ngh..."
In a pained grunt the gasping Link pulled the upper half of his body up from the grassy ground beneath him, cringing in great physical agony. The floating Tatl and Tael were very quick to take notice, both pinging their wings fairly loudly as if to notify the playing Skull Kid. The firmly-frowning Link stood himself up to his feet and narrowed his eyes forward.
The Skull Kid gasped, swinging his masked head 'round, eyes widened beneath it.
An extremely uncomfortable silence descended upon the group of five; the standing Link leaned his head to the side in his hardened glare, none too appreciative of having his gear mugged. The Skull Kid darted his head down to the Ocarina of Time within his possession and, noticing he held it out in the open, very quickly darted it behind him out of sight.
"I'm only gonna warn you once," the narrow-eyed Link began in a hard-growling glower. "Give it ba-"
Before he could even reach forward to take the precious instrument back from him the Skull Kid, with incredible agility indeed, leapt skyward before suddenly landing roughly on the neighing Epona on the youth's right.
Oh no, the watching Link thought, his cobalt eyes widening in rapidly-growing horror.
Thinking quickly he leapt up to grasp at the laughing boy's left leg and, very soon, found himself dragged savagely across the Lost Woods.
"Hngh...!"
The ground felt like sheer fire as it tore through his already weathered clothing and it was only when they were beginning to approach what seemed to be one of the woods' many clearings that the Skull Kid grunted as he pushed the youth off his leg.
"N-No!"
THUD
"Agh...!"
The sound of the Skull Kid's childish and yet somehow demonic laughter echoed on as he rode off into the wooden trunk before him.
Get up, the lying Link thought.
The pain doesn't matter, you've gone through far worse, he told himself.
Get up!
He forced himself back to his feet and, with great anger driving him on, he set off toward the trunk he last saw the group of thieves take off in. Stepping in his eyes darted around in search for them and, as he had half-expected, he could not find them; instead he clocked a series of wooden platforms, each one higher than the last and all seemingly leading to a second chamber. Without another word he narrowed his eyes and set off a second time, his deep-cobalt eyes set on the chamber before him.
"W-Woah..!"
One of his greatest weaknesses, as always, managed to take him; as he rushed himself into the room he struggled to stop himself as he fast-approached the edge of the new room's cliff. His eyes widened and his body very slowly began to lean further forward downward.
Oh no, he thought.
His body flipped forward as he finally gave out and let vent to an echoing exclamation of shock and surprise.
Oddly, as he dropped through the endless abyss below, he appeared to clock what seemed to be symbols floating through the air.
THUD
He grunted as he landed rather unceremoniously upon something oddly soft.
Thank Din, he thought as he turned his re-opened eyes down on his saving grace.
It was then however that his eyes widened in shock when he saw it.
What is that, he thought.
An odd kind of flower-like form stared back at him; like something from a storybook.
"Ha-ha-ha..."
CLICK
Link gasped, stumbling to his feet as he rose up his left arm to block the sudden cascade of light that threatened to blind him; floating ahead of him appeared to be the oddly hovering Skull Kid.
How is he doing that, he thought.
Last I remembered Skull Kids in these woods didn't have this kind of Aegir.
"Hey! What's with that stupid horse of yours?! It doesn't listen to a word that's said to it..."
The listening Link, shocked, narrowed his eyes as he awaited his next words.
"There's no point in riding a stupid thing like that, so I did you a favour and got rid of it."
A malicious laugh echoed out his similarly nefarious-sounding words, making the listening Link widen his eyes.
Has he killed her, he thought, panicking very quickly.
Malon, I'm sorry.
But not as sorry as he's gonna be.
"Man! Not even a smile!" The masked assailant grinned behind his disguise before continuing. "Hah... I see; you think you can stop me don't you?"
The listening Link glared forward; his patience was very quickly run through and, with it, he reached back for the reforged Kokiri Sword laying across his back.
SHIING
"There's no way you can stop me... not with how powerful I am now," the Skull Kid grinned, a somewhat premature victorious grin plastered behind the unsettling mask he wore. "Fool!"
CRIK-CRIK-CRIK-VRRRRR
The deeply-reverberating sound of what seemed to be crackling began to echo out from his mask as he shook his similarly floating head from side-to-side; an incredible Aegir appeared to be manifesting from it and, as the sound drew closer, so did the aura of negativity and hatred.
It was unlike anything he'd ever felt before.
Even the spiteful Kage Narumono's power and acrimony had some kind of comparable quality to a human.
This kind of heinous enmity was of an eldritch and unknown nature; a kind that truly chilled the wincing Hylian all the way to the boots he wore. The sound, as well as the bitter Quintessence with which it was carried, began to fill the young boy's figure until eventually it encompassed him. His consciousness very shortly faded when the sound of the Skull Kid's malicious laughter echoed on out.
–
2
CRIK-CRIK-CRIK...
The standing Link gasped, swinging his blonde-haired head 'round in sudden search and shock.
Where am I, he thought.
CRIK-CRIK-CRIK...
The immediate nearby area around him appeared to be a forest of some kind.
Was it all a dream? Am I in the Kokiri Forest, he thought.
CRIK-CRIK-CRIK...
Before he could even react in time to it an untold number of Deku Scrubs materialised as if from nowhere; his azure eyes widened and he gasped as he swung his head around, a sudden unhealthy bout of claustrophobia seeping in.
Just run he thought.
He turned tail and rushed back the way he seemingly came, near tripping with the abrupt and sudden movement he gave himself. The youth lowered his head and brought his small hands up to rest upon his forehead; still aching terribly.
Behind him a gargantuan-sized Deku Scrub loomed overhead, its scratchy rattling filling the former Hero of Time's small and pointed ears.
When he awoke the small and shallow pool of water below him gifted him with the reflection that he shrank at.
In spite of all of his courage and even in spite of the Holy Triforce's choice with him, he could barely manage to look at himself in the water's reflection; he was now, somehow, a monster.
A tiny Deku Scrub.
With his new similarly small voice-box he exclaimed as loud as his new little lungs would allow and, watching from his spotlit front, the Skull Kid turned his head back and laughed.
Just as before.
"That's a great look for you!"
Link, his new amber-like eyes, shot them up half in rage and half in horror.
"You'll stay here, looking that way... forever!"
With that, the Skull Kid utilised his seeming godlike powers of floatation and hovered back the way, his infuriating laugh following closely behind him. Tael was quick to pursue his companion, left only by the milk-shaded Tatl; as the narrow-eyed Link leapt out from the odd flower he stood on to give chase, the little guardian fairy knocked her small and bright body against the gasping Deku Scrub's head, successfully downing him as she did.
"S-Sister!"
FWIP-DROOM
The cacophonous boom of the huge and vertically-opened hardwood door echoed out through the chamber intensely, successfully garnering the pair's attention; as Tatl 'rounded her wide-eyed shock on the door behind her, her little form pinging in similar surprise, she zipped forward to the fallen door and began to knock her tiny frame against it in some saddened attempt to open it.
"N-No!"
As the frowning Link got back up to his feet he used his new smaller hands to dust himself off, his amber-shaded eyes watching the situation, not without some satisfaction.
For once, I thought...
I don't feel guilty about that.
"Tael, Skull Kid; no!" She exclaimed hopelessly, her body smashing desperately and sadly against the door to no avail.
The watching Link resisted the urge to laugh.
I was raised better than that, he thought.
No matter how badly my situation looks at the moment.
"You!"
Almost as if sensing his very inward and silent thoughts, the floating Tatl swung her body 'round to eye the new Deku form behind her, a small shade of angered red overtaking her.
"If I wasn't dealing with you then I wouldn't have gotten separated from my brother!"
Her exclamation, so angry and so heated, could only make the listening Link grin.
Shame I can't express it like this, he thought.
"... Why are you looking at me like that? What, is there something stuck on my face? You little freak!"
Oh she didn't just call me that, he thought angrily.
With little more regard for her Link merely huffed as he simply marched past her, not even a word out in response.
"H-Hey!"
Link merely narrowed his eyes as he marched toward his new enemy's last seen position and the chamber's exit.
"Where are you going?! W-Wait!"
FWIP-DROOM
Just as before the huge hardwood door boomed out loudly as it dropped behind the small Deku Scrub; unbeknownst to the frowning Link, the little Tatl had just barely managed to follow through after him.
"Good goddess that was clo- hey!"
The vindication for his pettiness was hardly one of substance but it carried him through nevertheless and with little guilt at that.
He felt worse for accidentally stepping on a Cucco let alone being called a horrible name.
It was wrong, he knew.
But it was how he felt.
One of my many weaknesses, he thought in a slow-growing grin.
"D-Don't leave me behind!"
FWIP
He resisted the urge to roll his gold-shaded eyes and, sure enough, there she was; the bright ringing that her little form gave off was a loud indicator as to her abrupt movement. This time she chose to hover directly in his line of sight, as if to confront him; his grin very quickly dropped in favour of an annoyed frown and he folded his shrunk arms, a mirror into his dislike for the guardian fairy.
"S-So u-um...," she began, a kind of wavering tone in her soprano. "That... stuff back there...," she started again, turning her cream-coloured form away from his interrogative eye, as if in shame. "I... apologise."
Her words managed to surprise him this time; he rose his wooden-like eyebrows and even dropped his arms; a sight that didn't go unnoticed by the little pixie.
"S-So take me with you!"
She had moved a little closer to stare directly into his amber-shaded eyes, as if finding her correct moment to press him with her request. His eyes narrowed in scrutiny, unsure.
"You wanna know about that little twerp that ambushed you, right?"
His eyebrows rose up a second time, his curiosity piqued.
"Well, I just happen to have a very reliable idea of where he might be going."
The listening Link's eyes drooped in annoyance.
I don't like how she's talking to me, he thought.
It was very matter-of-factly and childish.
Not unlike that of myself, he added somewhat guiltily and silently.
"Take me with you... and I'll help you out. Deal?"
Link inwardly groaned, his eyes very slowly hovering away.
I don't have much of a choice do I, he thought back in retort.
She's my best chance in turning human again.
"Yeah... all ri-"
"Good!" Tatl interrupted him with her pinging echo; a confident grin evident in the tone of her words. "So then it's settled! I'll be your partner! At least until we catch up to that little twerp, Skull Kid."
Link found himself raising a single eyebrow as he leant his head to the side, listening intently.
"The name's Tatl! So, uh... it's... nice to meet you, I guess. Or whatever you're supposed to say."
The silent Link couldn't help but chuckle very quietly to himself, a kind of amused grin hidden behind the anatomy of his new face.
She's not quite Navi, he thought.
But maybe she can lead me to her.
–
3
BURST
"Easy..."
The gasping Link twitched the frown hiding behind his new Deku body as he hovered very slowly through the air, a pair of odd flowers hanging in his two similarly floating hands.
Strangely, they appeared to be gifting him with the power of flight.
Not quite so powerful as his recent enemy however; a kind of very temporary and slow forward flight...
But it was enough to progress forward.
Having received some Deku Nuts from a nearby treasure chest he counted himself rather lucky; he was fairly thankful to find something familiar within this strange and disturbing dimension. It was only when he approached the end of the huge clearing marked with trees however that the similarly flying Tatl pinged out loudly, as if to gain his attention. He gasped as he dropped down next to her, eyes widened.
"Come on!" He exclaimed, this time in annoyance. "I could have fallen! That's dangerous!"
"Oh stop complaining!"
The Deku Scrub's amber-shaded eyes drooped in annoyed narrowing; a comical kind of irritation that appeared to be setting the scene for them.
"I couldn't help it!" She added before swivelling her little form around, as if to shine her cream-shaded light upon the sight awaiting them. "Looking at this... anyone could get surprised."
He soon dropped his scowl when he took in the oddly-shaped tree that stood before them and the reason for her outburst. Sure enough, it was disturbing enough to look at; a kind of twisting tree that looked ominously like himself.
"H-Hey..."
Tatl's worried voice made him swivel his eyes 'round in response.
"It... it kinda looks like you..."
Yeah, thanks for that, he thought back sarcastically.
As if I needed to be reminded.
"Come on...," he urged quietly, turning to leave toward the large tree-trunk chamber on their right. "We're losing progress."
"Y-Yeah..."
Strangely, the pair of adventurers found themselves twisting and turning, not unlike that of a previous experience.
And not one the sick-feeling Link remembered very fondly.
The last time this happened, he thought...
Was in the Forest Temple way back in Hyrule.
So then where are we now?
His thoughts were soon swiftly answered however for when he and the flying Tatl stepped through the end of the long and winding hall before them, a pair of huge steel halves formed a door behind them. The little Deku Scrub, eyes widened, could only swing his messy blonde-haired head 'round.
No turning back, he thought.
I need to get that Ocarina back.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say his life depended on the very notion.
"Come on!"
Not one to argue, even in spite of their original meeting, the listening Link merely nodded as he stepped forward to join her. Lying covered in moss and other such roots to his immediate left appeared to be a cog or gear of some kind.
Is this a windmill of some kind, he thought.
"Urgh, I don't have the brains for this."
Sure enough, as if to mock his very silent thoughts, a simple waterwheel splished and splashed in the pond of water resting ahead. As he stepped around to the waterwheel's side he soon found it linked to a rather curious-looking mechanism that subsequently led to a simple-enough wooden bridge walkway, winding and all. Even as it wound incessantly 'round, the frowning Link found the similarly slowly spinning mechanism that was linked the waterwheel below as he ascended to the top at last.
Resting at the foot of the chamber appeared to be a small set of stone stairs leading to a large pair of hardwood double-doors. An odd kind of symmetrical symbol appeared to be etched across them; fire-red and leaf-green designs lay before him.
"Up here!"
He needed no further encouragement.
Stepping forward, the little Deku Scrub ascended the stone steps as quickly as his small body would allow him. As he reached out for one of the doors' fronts a voice stopped him.
"You've met with a terrible fate..."
His amber-shaded eyes widened and he spun around, shocked. Tatl, similarly surprised by the voice's sudden appearance, pinged loudly before swinging her cream-coloured body 'round. The interruption appeared to be but a simple man of all things and a Hylian one at that.
Don't I know him, the frowning Link thought to himself.
More importantly...
How the hell did he just suddenly appear like that?
For what felt like the longest time there was no other presence felt here other than Tatl's; a fact he bolstered with the Aegir sensing ability he began to stimulate with.
Just as quickly and abruptly as he voiced those words...
"Haven't you...?"
Did his very presence itself appear on his sensors.
"How is that even possible?"
His worried thoughts were soon overtaken however when he took in the short man's appearance. Seemingly of little notability, he was dressed in what appeared to be simple merchant clothing; a long purple-shaded waistcoat that went well with the shirt and trousers he wore, as well as the similarly coloured pointed shoes on his feet. A pair of golden bracelets, similar in colour to the brace resting just under his chin and over his shoulders, sat well upon his wrists in his conjoined handed stature. His short brown hair, simple enough, was combed over to one side, as if for professionalism's sake.
And, lastly, an absurdly large traveller's bag was adorned on his back, filled to the brim with masks.
This was the Happy Mask Salesman that he once remembered from his travels in Hyrule.
So what was he doing here?
He couldn't help but flinch when he felt the oddly-fleeing Tatl hide behind him, strangely fearful of confrontation.
He hadn't known her very long but that's unlike her, he thought.
"I own... the Happy Mask Shop stationed in Hyrule Castletown... perhaps you've heard of it?" The man spoke, a kind of disturbing and unsettling wide smile plastered over his somehow darkened exterior.
There's something weird about this guy, the narrow-eyed Link thought to himself as he slowly descended down the stone steps he once walked up.
The smile seemed forced, overdone.
Almost as if he were merely trying to fit in somehow.
"Y-Yeah...," the frowning Link answered him, a small nod. He winced at the new whiny sound of his voice; something that would take getting used to. "I've seen it."
"Ah! Wonderful!" The man nodded in understanding, his eyes oddly shut in his widened smile. "It would appear that, you and I, share a common foe..."
"Is that so?"
"Oh, quite so!" The Happy Mask man smiled on sagaciously. "Were you ever assaulted... by an imp in the Lost Woods?"
If you already know then why the hell are you asking, he thought.
He chose, this time, to remain silent; his own kind of answer.
"Now... don't think me rude, young one..."
Link furrowed his brow.
"But I have been following you..."
The former Hero of Time's senses stuck up, as if for combat.
"For I know of a way to return you... to your former self." He finished, his grin somehow seeming even more malevolent than before; he rested his left hand under his right elbow, his right fist resting softly under his top lip, as if in thought.
Link's eyes narrowed, half in suspicion and half in desperation.
I have no other real leads here and this man clearly knows a lot more than he's telling me, he thought.
I have to do this.
"I'm... listening."
"If you can recover the precious item that was stolen from you... then I can return you to your original form."
The standing Link glared forward, unsure. "How?" He demanded.
The grinning Happy Mask Man merely widened his grin, even if by a little, in response.
Link's frown twitched within his new Deku body, half-disappointed and yet somehow relieved. "Figures..."
"But in exchange..."
The listening former Hero of Time rose his eyebrows, curious.
"All I ask... is that you recover the precious mask that he also stole from me... you may have already seen it."
Oh I've seen it alright, the listening Link thought to himself.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha!"
The salesman's laugh, so sudden and yet so high-pitched, could only make the young Deku Scrub near jump in response; the taller man turned his body straight up, a laughing grin upon his expression, as if puzzled somehow.
"Is it not a simple task?" He asked, running his left hand across his chin as if in rumination. "Why... to the former Hero of Time...,"
Link's eyes widened, his senses sticking up again.
How-?
"It should be by no means... a 'difficult' task...," the salesman claimed, a knowing smile on his expression. "Except..."
Oh what now, the young boy wondered silently.
"The thing is... I am a very busy fellow," he claimed, leaning his posture forward as he always seemed to like to, joining his hands together as always. "And I must leave this place... in three days."
Three days, the listening Link thought.
Why?
What's happening in three days' time?
"How grateful I would be if you could bring the mask back to me before my time here is up..."
The man's words, though spoken with a veiled sense of concern and goodwill, were oh-so-obviously full of knowing and deceit.
How does he know I'm the Hero of Time, the former Hylian thought to himself.
Only the royal family know about that.
"Ah... but you'll be fine I'm sure...," the salesman chuckled as he nodded, rubbing his fingers together, as if in thought to the inevitable profit they would make together. "I see you are young... and have tremendous courage."
Maybe not as much as I wished, the little Deku pondered on worriedly.
"I am sure you'll locate it fairly quickly... believe in your strengths... young Link...,"
Again the listening Deku Scrub could only widen his eyes, his shock and surprise at meteoric levels. The Happy Mask Salesman's grin loomed over him, as if pressuring him somehow. When he re-opened his mouth to finish his sentence the demonic look in his eye betrayed the veiled sense of good he attempted to convey.
"Believe..."