Greetings once again! I'm currently making this like JUST after I published chapter 2. But don't expect chapters to come out that quickly, I'm just far too eager to write this.
So, I really hope you enjoy, and please review my work once you've finished reading, it means a lot that you guys would do that.
Now, onto the story! This chapter is moreso a "fluff" part. Not much in the way of the development of the Fierce Deity, but just a thing I want to make to build up the world of Termina, and a certain other part of this story.
-Joost

The Fierce God Given Life
Chapter 3: You Can Rest Now

It was a new day.

Link heard the neighing of Epona. Opening his eyes, he was greeted by Tatl and Tael.

"Aah! He's awake!" Tatl exclaimed.

Link sat up, shaking his head. He felt a major headache, but it subsided as soon as he saw Skull Kid standing in the clearing nearby. He, Link, Tatl, Tael, and Epona were in Termina Field. It was day. The moon had vanished from the sky.

Skull Kid was looking up, to the four giants. There was a moment of silence between everyone, as Skull Kid mustered up the courage to finally speak.

"You guys… You hadn't forgotten about me?" Skull Kid said, tones of regret lining his voice.

The giants responded, but Link couldn't understand them. However, Skull Kid did. He lowered his head in shame, trembling.

"You still thought of me as a friend?" he said, whimpering. Tatl and Tael flew to his side. They didn't say anything, and the giants began singing their song, as they returned to their places in Termina, the ground shaking at their steps. Skull Kid did not watch them leave, still hanging his head low.

There were a few minutes of silence, until Skull Kid looked back at Link.

"I thought they didn't want to be friends with me…" he said, looking out into the distance. "But… They hadn't forgotten about me."

"Friends are a nice thing to have… Heh, heh."

Looking back at Link, Skull Kid said, "Could you be my friend, too?"

He then walked towards Link, causing Epona to faulter back in caution. The little imp sniffed Link curiously, and then giggled as a thought entered his head.

"Eh-hee-hee… You have the same smell as the fairy kid who taught me that song in the woods." Skull Kid said, causing a memory to return to Link.

"I know, I know! Let's do something!" Skull Kid chirped. Before he could finish his thought, the Happy Mask Salesman appeared out of nowhere, holding Majora's Mask in his hands.

"Oh… so the evil has left the mask after all…" he said, before looking back at Skull Kid and Link, who both turned their gaze to the salesman.

"Well, now… I finally have it back." He said with his trademark smile, the expression never changing on his face. He then continued with a chuckle. "Since I am in the midst of my travels… I must bid you farewell."

He strolled along, going between the imp and the Hero of Termina, the boy in green watching him as he walked. Skull Kid was once again trembling in shame, his actions that started this whole chain of events racing through his mind.

The Happy Mask Salesman soon stopped in his tracks and turned around, only a few meters from the group.

"Shouldn't you be returning home as well?" He spoke, who exactly he was talking to remaining a mystery. His words had an unknowing effect on the boy in green, causing him to freeze as he pondered the mans' question.

"Whenever there is a meeting, a parting is sure to follow." He continued. "However, that parting need not last forever…"

"Whether a parting be forever or merely a short time… That is up to you."

Link was still thinking, those words adding more and more to the boy's thoughts.

"With that, please excuse me…" The Mask Salesman finished, before he started his walk again. But he soon paused and turned around again. "…But, my, you sure have managed to make quite a number of people happy."

This made Link snap out of his trance, scratching his neck in embarrassment from the Salesman's complement.

"The masks you have are filled with happiness." He stated, as Link noticed that in his bag, all his masks had returned. "This is truly a good happiness."

And after that, the Happy Mask Salesman left, fading from view, Majora's Mask in his possession. It would be safe.

"Well, both of us have gotten what we were after…" Tatl said, making Link think more about if she was right. "So this is where you and I part ways, isn't it?"

Tatl spoke quickly, almost rushing this goodbye. Link recognized that part of her. Over time he realized she was never able to express her feelings well. That part of her was something the two friends had in common.

"You know… it was kind of fun." She remarked.

Then the group heard the cheers. Everyone had returned to Clock Town, and the celebration had begun. Tatl looked at the nearby entrance to Clock Town and chuckled. But when she looked back at her friend, she grew stubborn again.

"Well… it's almost time for the carnival to begin… So why don't you just leave and go about your business? The rest of us have a carnival to go to." She was rushing again, but Link nodded his head, hesitantly.

Epona trotted to his side without him needing to call her, and he sat atop her. He looked back at the others, gave them a nod, and he set off on Epona.

"Link!" Tatl said.

And Link stopped.

He turned his head and brought Epona back.

"Thank you." Tatl said.

Link looked at her for a moment, and then everyone else. And then he got off Epona.

"I… Look, I wish- "He stammered, Tatl taken aback a bit by Link talking to them all. Link composed himself and started again.

"I want to stay. Here. In Termina." He explained. "What he said, about a parting… It got me thinking."

Tatl and the others watched in wonder as Link finally, for once, left his shell he so often hid himself in.

"I think Hyrule will be ok… Without me." Link looked at his left hand. Even the boy himself was a little shocked at how he was thinking. But, it's what he wanted. "Without the third Triforce, there won't be any danger to Hyrule… and I… don't want to have a parting with Termina."

Link had a meek smile on his face and Tatl flew over to him, leaning on his golden bangs while giving off a cocky grin.

"Well fine then! It'd be nice to have someone as dumb as you with us during the carnival!" She chirped, embarrassment growing in them both as Skull Kid and Tael laughed. The squad then started on their way to the entrance to Clock Town.

Soon enough, the Carnival of Time was in full swing. Music, dancing, games, everything one would expect from such an event. Everyone was wearing masks, and they were all happy. All around the land of Termina, there was rejoice. The moon vanished from the sky, the curses had been lifted, the ever looming dread had finally gone. In the Southern Swamp, there was no poison water to be seen, the Deku King was calm for the time being, and the Woodfall temple stood cleansed. In Snowhead, the Goron races where on, all celebrating, eating their rock sirloins and dancing the day away. For Great Bay, however, there were almost no Zoras. They all were on their way to Clock Town for the big show the Indigo-Go's were performing, leaving the Gerudo Pirates free reign over the sea, but they did not set sailing, most members electing to stay and think for a little while, their leader soon joining their endeavor after a quick attempt to patrol failed humorously. All throughout Ikana Canyon, for once, there was no death. The former king was able to rest at last, and Pamela and her father rejoiced, greeting the new day with an embrace.

Everything was alright, and Link was content. He strolled through Clock Town with Tatl, Tael, and Skull Kid, although he received no praise from the folks in town for his deeds. And he was ok with that. All he strived to do for Termina had finally been done, this moment of peace throughout the land was reward enough.

It was only when he needed to perform with the Indigo-Go's did Link need to don the Zora mask again. He planned that after the festivities, he'd finally tell the families of the fallen what had truly happened to their loved ones. He wanted to finally give them peace, both the souls within the masks, and their families.

As he played, he looked out at the crowd of fans. He knew all this applause and cheers were not for him, but the soul of the Zora warrior. He made sure to remember that as he played his best. Link saw the Gorman Brothers in the crowd, and they were talking with the Gorman Troupe leader. They showed expressions of relief as the three brothers finally caught up after so long.

Link even saw Cremia and Romani in the crowd. He waved to them, but hardly expected any kind of response from them, as they didn't recognize him as a Zora. He was happy to see them out and about.

After the show, Link reverted to his Hylian form and approached the ranch sisters.

"Grasshopper! You're here!" Romani exclaimed, almost jumping for joy at the sight of her friend. Link made sure to greet the two with a smile.

"Oh! Hello Link. Glad to see you here." Cremia said, at first a little surprised by the tone of her voice, but then she wore a smile. But when Romani start to go towards Link, Cremia followed closely behind. During the carnival, she made sure Romani kept beside her, as Romani tended to wander off, always curious. Today was no different, it being Romani's first time ever in Clock Town for the Carnival of Time.

"Sister and Romani just watched the Zora show! It was so awesome, Grasshopper! Where you there, Grasshopper? I didn't see you." Romani was practically bouncing off the walls just with the excitement of her voice alone.

Link spoke up. "Yeah, I was there."

"Well good!" Romani said, nodding slightly towards the boy in green. "A hero should be able to enjoy something like this!"

Cremia chuckled. With all Romani's talk of "ghosts" and how she and her new friend, whom she only referred to as "Grasshopper", had beaten them, Cremia was somewhat eager to meet this mystery person. However, she was more surprised to see none other than Link was this person. But she did remember how Link helped in protecting her milk shipment just two days earlier. With this, and finally finding out this Grasshopper fellow was Link, she was evermore astonished at how well this boy could help others.

The conversation between Link and the ranch sisters was brief, as they didn't have anyone watching over the ranch, and they were just on their way back to the carriage to head home.

Link waved goodbye to the sisters when they left, and reentered Clock Town.

The boy was then blindsided by the sight of Kafei. The man he was so used to seeing as a young boy, was back to normal. He was fairly tall, even leaving Tatl in a state of shock as he walked about with Anju. Link decided not to bother them for now and went back to festivities with Tael and Skull Kid.

Hours passed while the group had fun. Link even entered a game in which contestants had an hour to widdle a piece of wood into a mask for the Carnival. Of course, Link won, finishing his mask in just half the time. The mask was a nice shade of orange and yellow, adorned with roundly cut edges and a goofy face. He gave it to Skull Kid, as usual, without a word, his face conveying all he needed to. Link wanted to let the Skull Kid be more comfortable around masks after the last one he wore wasn't the best.

As the events spanned into the night, the celebrations never halted. The citizens of Termina were still filled with joy. The group of friends were getting tired, however, and Tael elected to find a place to rest until the next day, which would be the wedding day of Kafei and Anju. Tatl, Tael, and Skull Kid insisted Link join them in the woods for the night.

"Come on! You'll like it! The weather's nice and we'll be able to look at the stars!" Tael tried to convince Link, but to no avail.

"I'm sure Anju and Kafei would let us all stay in the Inn." Link said, countering Tael's proposal to sleep outside. It's hardly that Link thought it wouldn't be nice, but that he wanted his new friends to be safe.

"Well, YOU can stay wherever you like, you stick in the mud." Tatl barked, annoyed at Link for being such a square.

"You sure you guys will be alright?" Link stated, and then was met with a resounding "Yes" from the three in front of him.

Link left without saying anything else, hopping on Epona and trotting away towards Milk Road and beyond, his destination being Romani Ranch. Skull Kid watched as his friend left, lifting his new mask up to see more clearly. After a while he returned to his fairy companions to finally get some sleep.

Soon, Link finally reached the ranch. He hoped that the sisters were still awake, since it was about 9 at night, and the ranch closed at 8.

Link put Epona in the stable, no need to tie her to a fence. He was sure she wouldn't wander off. She didn't even have a saddle, showing just how much she trusted her keeper. He approached the main house and knocked on the door. It took a moment, but Cremia opened the door and saw Link.

"Oh, hello again, Link! What brings you here?" Cremia asked the boy.

"I was wondering if I could stay... stay the night. I- I just wanted to make sure you guys were alright here." Link stated, looking down a little bit. Where was this shyness coming from?

Cremia looked back into the house, seeing her little sister put a few dishes away, since they had just finished up dinner not half an hour before.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about food or anything. I'll be fine." Link said with a smile. He heard Romani put the dishes on the kitchen counter and anticipated the dilemma. Luckily, his words eased a tense Cremia, sighing in relief.

Link was let in, and removed his gear and propped up his sword and shield by the door. He rarely took them off, so he hadn't been the most careful setting them down. Romani heard the distinct sound of clanking metal and turned her head, her face brightening up as soon as she spotted the green tunic.

"Grasshopper!" She said, rushing over to Link. "What brings you here?"

"I- Well, I just wanted to hang out, maybe stay over tonight." Link smiled. He felt so strange talking to Romani now. It was odd, but Link pushed the thoughts aside and focused on her. Her and her amazing red hair.

"Oh, alright! It'd be nice to hang out, Grasshopper! I'll lend you Romani's bed!" Romani exclaimed, but when she spoke about the bed, Cremia immediately blushed and asked to talk to Romani alone in the other room, leaving Link to his own devices.

Link looked around the room, finally able to take in the hominess of the place had now that he wasn't saving the world. He simply walked around the room in silence and enjoyed the crackle of the fireplace.

When the ranch sisters finally returned, they decided to let Link sleep out in the main room of the house. After a few minutes of insisting he'd be fine sleeping on the pay that was pitched in the corner of the room, Cremia resolved to get an extra bed for the house in case Link ever visited for the night again.

After some time, the three grew tired. Link and Romani enjoyed telling each other stories by the fireplace, Cremia happy to let the two young kids express their imaginations. Only when the fireplace was just a pile of flickering embers and candlelight was the only thing illuminating the room did they decide to get to bed.

Link laid down on the hay, getting comfortable. There he realized that this was actually the first day he had felt like everything wasn't falling into chaos in a long time. The only thing keeping him awake now was some lingering thoughts he still had about his battle against Majora. And more importantly, the powerful mask that was still sitting in his item bag across the room.

He didn't let this bother him too much and drifted off into sleep.