"Hold it!" Mido suddenly yelled. Link and Navi looked up in surprise; Mido held the stick towards Link. Navi automatically stood up in defense of him, pushing the stick away and getting nose-to-nose to the boy.
"What do you think you're doing, Mido?!" She yelled as she stared at him with blue-flaming eyes. Link blinked in surprise. This couldn't have been Navi. One, she was visibly human and two, she was obviously not too much serene…
Mido simply stepped away from her and then in front of her. He held out his hands, becoming a wall between Link and the Kokiri.
"Look, I don't know who you are, but you've done more damage then you could ever imagine!!! You… you get out of here!" He yelled then swung around, smacking Link's cheek as he did and slicing it with a broken piece. He grabbed Navi's arm, who stood shocked by his words. At his glare, the Kokiri scurried to their own homes. Mido let out a sniff and glanced at Link over his shoulder, his eyes piercing. "But I warn you, for this, you are an enemy of the Kokiri. So don't come back, yeah?"
In a green flash, Mido ran to the old tree that once housed Link himself. With Navi first, the two climbed up the ladder. As they reached the top, Navi looked back at the two men. As Mido opened the door, he grabbed Navi's hand again and the two walked inside the house, shutting the door with a thud. Link's eyes slowly dropped down the tree until his eyes met a white drawing on the stump. A picture of a boy with a sword fought a giant dragon, and next him was a fairy. However, a new hand had also drawn a 2nd figure, a small female with a bow behind the boy, in his defense. Link's eyes searched the ground further, until he saw a sign that read in Hylian: "Navi's (and Toriee) house". Link felt water hit his cheek, which mixed with the blood from the wound Mido had given him. Sheik looked upwards.
"It's raining. We should take cover, least we-" his voice cut off as his gaze returned to the still-kneeling hero. The teen's hands gloved hand now covered his face, which occasionally let out a sob. Sheik's expression slowly dropped as he quietly stood behind the crying champion, rain slowly drenching the both of them.
Rain occasionally dripping though the backwater wooden planks, though the ground stayed it's usual moist feel. On one side sat Sheik, staring forward with piercing red eyes. He sat with one leg extended and the other folded close to his body with one arm wrapped around it while the other held him up against the wall. Across from him, under the entrance to Hyrule field, Link sat upwards in the fetal position, his head buried in his arms and knees. Under the bridge, Sheik watched the boy curiously from under dripping golden hair. He had never seen the hero in this mental state of mind, whimpering and crying like the boy he had seemingly left behind. Taking a deep breath, he stood up before Link.
"Enough of this. You are a solider of Hyrule, a hero of time, and the royal guard to the princess. You acting like a child!!" Sheik yelled. Link didn't look up.
"I don't c-care."
"Why is this concerning you anyway?! You have not been to that village for 7 years! Did you expect them to welcome you with open arms?" Sheik yelled; Link was still. "The children you once knew can never grow the way you have. Until there time has come, they will stay as nothing but immature, adolescent children!"
"Shut up!" Link yelled as he jumped to his feet. He grabbed Sheik's embalmed collar, smacking him against the wall under the entrance to Kokiri Village. He held up a clenched fist, his red-stained eyes and face now visible. His eyes and cheeks were burned with tears and rain, and his teeth were clenched..
"Go ahead then. Hit me. Strike down something else that considers you a friend." Link's fist shook in midair as he glared at Sheik's unmoved, pale face; the only thing unseen was obviously his frowning mouth. Though the rain came in a rhythmical downpour over them, the only received water seldom hitting the two. After a moment, Link let out a yell and let go of Sheik. He backed away, hitting the wall across from his original position with a hallow sound.
"It… it's just that… Ever since we changed the future… After Navi left… I was searching for her. I looked everywhere… even in different dimensions… just to find her! And now… it's been 7 years! She was right in front of me… and I didn't recognize her! She… she was right where we met… and I don't even know why she looks the way she does!!!"
A voice laughed. "How funny. You can't even recognize those who you hold dear?"
Link and Sheik's heads swung to look at the direction of the voice. Before them, sitting on a stump, body drenched from rain, sat a yellow fox. Behind it waved three flowing tails. It covered it's mouth with one paw as it laughed.
"Who… what trickery is this?!" Sheik yelled.
"No trick. I'm merely helping those in need." Said a voice behind him. Sheik and Link swung around to see the slanted eyed fox was now behind him. It tossed its head, attempting to remove excess water. "Such weather, yes? How sad, that it is the result of a friend's sadness for one that may be losing another!"
The Fox laughed again, causing Sheik to grit his teeth. "Who are you? What are you?!"
"I am Keaton, the demon fox. Please to acquaint you, Sheik; the last of the Sheikah and alternate ego of Zelda, princess of Hyrule; and Link, Hero of Time whom was raised in the forest as a fairy boy and wielder of the Triforce of Courage."
Link and Sheik looked in shock at the fox, which merely cocked its head playfully. "Silly humans. Of course I know whom you call yourselves, though I am nothing more the a forest fox. I have come to assist you in your travels, and I may… or may not… know the locations of the shards you seek."
"I… have heard that fox demons are only trouble makers." Link said, quietly. "Are… you Good or Evil?"
The fox laughed as it stood, walking to one wall and to the other as it's tails flipped playfully in the air. "Well, that would of course depend. I am neither. But then…" he paused. "What is 'good' but simply the evil of the 'evil'?"
"W-what?"
"O ho ho… I suppose you may… or may not… understand it time, yes? Now then, would you like me to indulge you in telling you why it is that your fairy has appeared as a Kokiri?" The fox turned and made its way though the rain, in the opposite direction to where it had appeared. It jumped on a platform, and towards the wall. It looked at the vine-covered cliff, flicking its tails. It paused, and then glanced over its shoulder.
"Come quickly, humans. The barrier will not be held long enough for you to Shilly-shally."
Link nodded, taking a step forward. However, a hand on his shoulder held him still. He looked back at Sheik's eyes, which looked at him through a forest of blond and white.
Link sighed. "Look, I know we have a mission, but this is very important to me. Navi was one of my closest friends, and losing her was like losing a hand or something. I… even gave up looking for her after becoming Captain of the Guard. Please, Sheik… just let me at least talk to her."
Sheik paused then nodded. "Of course."
The two then ran from under the bridge and to the Kitsune. It watched them, and then spoke. "Very good. Now then, the barrier was relatively weak, for reasons you may soon see. Link, please enter first."
"E-enter…?" Link asked. The fox let out a laugh. It suddenly pushed the boy with one tail towards the wall. Stumbling, Link fell forward. He held out his hands to catch himself on the wall, but his arms slipped through. He looked around in alarm to see he was in a black tunnel, with multicolored crystals. He took a step forward to see a pillar of light appear before him and open to reveal a meadow.
He looked back just as the black moved like waves and Sheik stumbled through. He blinked in alarm as he looked around and at Link, and the two turned, waiting for the fox, but swung around at a laugh. However, the cave was empty.
"Oh ho ho…. You see? Now, I must leave. I have business to attend to. We may… or may not…. Meet again, yes?"
At the last words, the fox laughed and then there was only silence. Link and Sheik looked around in curiosity, wondering where the fox had led them. Looking at each other and nodding, the two walked forward and exited the cave. Now opened before them was a meadow shadowed by trees. The only light was from lanterns lit around them and forest spirit particles. Before them was a large tree where light shone from the inside. Connecting to it was a bridge to a 2nd smaller stump. All around the meadow were more makeshift buildings, similar to those in Kokiri village.
"I… I know this place…"Link murmured. "It's… the Fairy Village!"
Sheik turned to him in surprise, but was cut off by a gasp from a light green fairy that suddenly flew by.
"H… A… WWWHHHOOOAAA!!!!" The fairy suddenly shouted. It turned around. "E-e-everyone!!! Come look!!!"
In an instant, fairies surrounded Link and Sheik, all floating around and seeking to look at the two new beings. They all began speaking in a blur, making their conversations inaudible unless directly listened to. Though Sheik seemed shocked by the situations, Link was surprisingly ecstatic.
"This is so cool!!!'
"I've never seen an adult before!!"
"What are your names? Tell us!"
"Why are you all in bandages? You're covering your face, silly!"
"Hey, stop pushing! Just fly higher if you want to see!"
"That's enough already." The fairies instantly parted the way as a tall woman nearly bare with dark brown hair stepped forward. She had a sweet smile on her face as her light eyes gazed down at Link and Sheik.
"Link, why have you returned to the forest?"
"Fa-Faloria…" Link murmured as looked up in wonder at her. She smiled, putting an hand under the boy's chin. She tilted it up slightly, gazing at him with golden eyes.
"You have grown since you last came to this place. Do you remember?"
Link gulped, then nodded. It had been about 13 years ago, at the Festival of Sky Lights. The Festival that celebrates the day when the night sky would turn rainbow colors and the fairies and Kokiri would spend a night in the Fairy village together. He remembered it so well as it was the day he had first met Saria, back when he was nothing but an innocent 4 year old.
"I… I came b-back because… uh…" Link stammered. He wondered why it was difficult to speak to her, as she appeared almost as a mother to the Kokiri. Perhaps it was that he was ashamed to have left without a word, and acted as a nervous son facing his worried mother 13 years later. But Faloria was still, a sweet smile on her slightly parted lips.
Faloria let out a light laugh. "Do not worry Link, you may tell me in time. Right now though, I must leave you, as there is business I must attend to." She called over her shoulder to the fairies. "Children, please treat Link and his friend here to a meal, I'm sure they are hungry."
"YYYEEAAAA!!!!" The fairies yelled as they once again swarmed Link and Sheik. Faloria smiled and practically floated her way back to the main tree.
"Okay so… You're Mint, you're Reni, you're Eli, you're Aero, and you're… uhh…." Link said as he looked at the light green, two yellow, one blue and one light cyan fairies in front of him.
"Link! My name is Ayio!!!" the cyan fairy yelled in frustration.
"And I'm not Mint." The green one said.
"I am. Aero is Aero." One of the yellow fairies said.
"Wait, I thought you were Eli…." Link said as he rubbed the back of his head and leaned against the wall. He now sat on the ground with a large leaf mat in front of him, which was covered in different fruits available for the two humans to eat. Sheik sat next to the hero.
"No, I am!" the blue one said.
"Okay, okay… so Mint is yellow…. Ayio is blue… Eli is blue too… Reni is green… and Aero is…yellow?"
"No!!!" the fairies yelled in unison. Link laughed nervously as he took a bite of the pear he held in his head. Beside him, Sheik let out and angry sigh. Several fairies swarmed around him, all giggling as they decorated the boy with flora. His hair was now crookedly out of his face and covered in different flowers. His mouth was now visible, as the cover had been taken off in the confusion. Sheik's anger slowly rose as he clenched his fists in his lap.
"Oohh…. This one's pretty, put it behind Mister Sheik's ear!"
"His hair keeps falling down in front of his eye!"
"Put more honey in it then… Another rosebud here and here…"
"Mister Sheik, you should smile more, you would look pretty!"
"Doesn't Mister Sheik look like a lady when he puts his hair back?"
"Hey, yeah! And he's a pretty girl too!"
"Mister Sheik, don't you think you look pretty?"
"Mister Sheik!"
"No, Miss Mister Sheik."
Giggles went up and Sheik suddenly shook his head, scattering a few flowers.
"Enough!" He growled, causing the fairies to be instantly silent. They whimpered under his angry gaze until he let out a sigh and rolled his eyes under closed eyelids. "…Fine…"
The fairies let out a cheer and returned to decorating the boy. He let out and experating sigh, but his eyes shot open and he turned to look at Link. The hero looked at him with questioning eyes, mouth now full with the last edible remnants of the pear.
"Did you not hear it?" Sheik hissed to avoid curiosity from the still present fairies.
"Hear wh-at?" Link said, his mouth still full.
"The laughing. The Fox from before, I heard him laughing."
"My name is Keaton, boy. It is rude to call someone by their species, is it not?" A voice suddenly said. Link and Sheik's eyes shot forward to see the fox sitting but 2 feet in front of them, on top of the mat. The fairies let out gasps as they all either scattered, hid behind the boys, or merely froze in fear. The Fox paused and then laughed at himself. "Oh ho ho, I am a contradictory one, am I not?"
"You. What do you want?" Sheik said as he lifted himself up on one knee. The Fox laughed.
"Do you plan to attack me, hmm? An innocent fox that merely helps those in need? Not very kind, Sheikah boy." Keaton laughed. "All this time, do you think you should be seeing the Fairy Queen Faloria? Did I not warn you not to Dilly Dally?"
The fox laughed as Link and Sheik exchanged looks. "He's right. We need to see Faloria as shown as possible. This is merely a branch on our mission, we can't get distracted for too long." Sheik muttered. Suddenly a scream of a male shot out throughout the forest. Link and Sheik turned in alarm to the direction of it, though even more fairies around them fled in panic. The Fox let out another laugh.
"You see? The more you wait, the more people get hurt…"
"Keaton!"
"Hmmm…?" The fox smiled with his fangs as Link turned and addressed him.
"Wh… why is it that you are helping us? And…. What's going on?" Link asked nervously.
Keaton shrugged. "Do not ask me, for I am just a lowly forest fox." He let out another laugh and slowly disappeared until the fox was completely faded away. Link and Sheik looked at each other when suddenly a second scream rang out, this one female and more aggressive.
"He is right, we have no time to waste." Sheik said as he and Link rose to their feet and ran towards the main tree.
Link turned the corner of the Tree and stopped suddenly as he reached a doorway made of wood. It was a dark russet shade, and was stained with pictures of different colors of fairies. Sheik stopped a few feet below Link, on the downward platform of the wooden stairs that spiraled up the tree. Link paused, leaning close to the door and listening with an ear to the timber.
"-tl, please try to calm down. I promise you will not be hurt."
Link's eyes darted down to Sheik as he heard the voice, who held a defensive position. Sheik looked at Link through his still decorated hair and shook his head. Link's ears returned to the sounds inside as a 2nd voice rang out.
"No WAY! I am not going to listen to whatever you have to say! I plan to protect my brother from the likes of you!"
Link's hand shot for the door and pulled in open. Sheik's eyes widened.
"Shut the d-!" Sheik tried to yell but as Link turned to face him something smacked against his chest. Having the wind knocked out of his lungs, he dropped to the ground with a sound thud, grabbing whatever had hit him in his hands. He let out a gasp of pain as his back collided with the wooden ground. His eyes still shut; Link felt something struggle in his hands. He opened his hands, letting whatever it was free. He slowly opened his eyes but suddenly a brilliant gold light shone directly in front of his eyes.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Link blinked in confusion as the fairy came more into view. The fairy suddenly jumped and made a jingling sound as a second voice called after her.
"T-Tatl!!!" Link sat up and rubbed the back of his head. He let out a groan, shook the hair away from his face and looked back up at a short Skull Child dressed a red cloak and hat, whose features was clearly visible on his pitch-black face. Beside him, a small dark purple fairy shook, hiding halfway behind the boy's head. Link blinked in surprise.
"It's… it's you…" Link stammered. The Skull Kid was silent when suddenly Faloria came around the entrance to the tree.
"Ah, Good. Thank you so much for catching little Tatl for us, Link."
"Link!? No way!" called a voice in Link's ear. Link turned to see the little yellow fairy had hid behind the boy's neck.
The Hylian suddenly felt a weight on his chest and was pushed even more to the ground. Link looked up in surprise as the Skull Kid now stood on top of his stomach. Surprisingly, the boy was very light, lighter then Link had thought. The Skull Kid leaned forward and began letting out little sniffing noses. Link stared upwards in surprise and suddenly the boy let out a laugh.
"It is him! I couldn't forget that smell, not in a bazillion years!" The Skull Kid laughed. Suddenly the fairy went in front of Link, shaking slightly.
"You…. You…" She suddenly shuddered. "You JERK!!! How can you just come here without us knowing!!!"
The Fairy suddenly bopped Link on the head three times. Link blinked in surprise.
"Tatl…? Is it really…?"
"Of course it's me, you moronic Shrimp!" The Fairy yelled, but then nestled against Link's chin and collarbone. Link wrapped his hands around the fairy, attempting to hug her. Slowly, as Skull kid had stepped away, Link rose to his feet. Skull kid looked up at him in surprise as he released Tatl and held her in his palms.
"You're taller then I remember."