Hello! Sorry for the short delay! Had a bit of writer's block! Enjoy!
-Joost

The Fierce God Given Life
Chapter 13: Walking Alone

Link and Tatl were making their way through Ikana once more. After his bout against the King and the mysterious new song under his belt, Link decided to actually explore the death-ridden area more thoroughly. He found that the Great Fairy Fountain was close by, so it'd be easy to get their later on, but there was a little, unsuspecting hut that caught his eye.

Walking in, Link was met with a familiar face. That fellow with the staff that was sitting on the ledge cliff before. But his voice seemed different. He couldn't tell if this man was the same person, or something else entirely.

"Eee-hee-hee…" The spirit chuckled. "Ikana Kingdom was founded on this land, stained with a history of darkness, drenched in blood…"

The four spectres behind him cackled ominously as he spoke to Link. The Hero of Time could've sworn he had recognized them from somewhere. He didn't have time to think about the prospect; the spirit sitting before him spoke up again.

"Even now it is a place were troubled, regretful spirits gather. If you are seeking the one who is stronger than you are, you may find strength here…" He gazed behind himself. "…from a group of spirits plagued by lingering regrets."

He turned his eyes back to Link. "If you have faith in your skills and might…" He paused.

"…then try saving these wandering spirits." An invisible grin formed. "Yee-hee-hee…"

Another three weeks passed. Link was growing ever more comfortable in Termina, and comfortable with himself. He and Romani held hands more often, he hugged Anju and Kafei regularly, and he tried to stop wearing his gear everywhere. It was hard at first, especially with the occasional feeling of being watched, but for the past three days, his sword remained in his bedroom.

However, today, he needed to wear his gear. It was time for another milk delivery today, and the ranch sisters decided to go out during daylight instead of risking it all in the dark of the night.

"See anyone up there?" Skull Kid asked the sisters who were sitting at the front, his staff and Link's bow were constantly at the ready.

"Nothing yet!" Cremia replied. While she did have to drive the carriage, she was still able to keep a keen eye alongside her sister. The boys returned their gaze to the back again after her response.

Luckily, the squad was able to get to Clock Town without incident once again. While Cremia handled the payment with Mr. Barten, Link and Romani helped with getting the milk down the stairs of the bar. Cremia still had things to sort out, so she let the trio head off on their own for an hour to relax. She needed some relaxation too.

Romani and Link walked around town, the jingling of rupees nearly drowning out their own thoughts. Skull Kid did what he usually did and hang out with Jim. He was doing his best to repair their relationship, as well as his relationship with the entire Secret Society.

"Grasshopper, Romani's bored!" Romani whined. She liked the sound of rupees, but now it had gotten annoying. She wanted to find something to do with her 'boyfriend'.

"Wanna go to the Inn and read?" Link asked, a meek smile on his face. He knew Romani loved it when he read to her. She was always happy to hear his voice for a long period of time. After all, he usually didn't talk much.

Link took Romani's eager smile as a 'yes', and the two turned around and towards the Stock Pot Inn. Anju was out doing laundry, and Kafei was manning the front desk.

"Hey dad!" Link said cheerfully. Kafei's beamed at his words; his heart was always warmed when Link called him 'dad'. "We're going to read!"

"Alright. Have fun, guys." Kafei was surprisingly chill to let the two kids be alone in a bedroom for an extended amount of time. Little did he or Link know, Romani wanted to explore something she had read in one of Cremia's books with her best friend.

As soon as Link fetched a book and laid down on his bed, Romani tackled him and pinned him down.

"U-Uh…" Link's face flushed as he could only stare at his best friend, who sat above him. She straddled his hips and her fiery hair pooled beneath them. The two were taken back to when Link was recovering from his battle against Gomess. They were in a very similar position when he finally woke then. Link could only stutter as he tried to form some semblance of a sentence to respond. But he failed.

"Romani… really liked when you visited…" Romani began.

"So… So did I…" Link's stutter started to go away. Kafei decided to go upstairs to check on Link, but he was stopped when he heard something on the other side of Link's door, it just being a crack open.

"It was nice… sleeping together…" Link said, trying to keep his cool. Kafei's face went pale. Surely that could NOT mean what he thought it meant, right? His feet wanted to move, but he couldn't force himself too. His own curiosity got the better of him. "M-Maybe we could do it again… sometime?"

"Romani think's that'd be a good idea." She moved her face closer to him, and Link placed his hands on her hips on instinct.

While Romani looked like she was the one truly on top, on the inside, she had never felt so nervous. She was embarrassed just to have snuck and read one of Cremia's books, let alone try and reenact a passage from it. Link's face was still as red as a tomato, but his instincts told him to keep his hands where they were. Technically, he still had part of the conscious of an eighteen-year-old.

Kafei moved closer to the door and was able to get a look inside. When he saw Romani sitting on top of his surrogate son, he couldn't restrain himself any longer. He barged in and only had one question. "What on earth are you two doing?!"

Link and Romani didn't look flustered, however. In fact, the innocent looks on their faces relieved Kafei. They didn't know what exactly they were doing, but they were still in a suggestive position.

"Romani was just having some fun with Grasshopper!" The ranch girl's ecstatic demeanor helped lower the tension a bit, and Link's nod added to the effort. Kafei was a little relieved, but his paternal instincts wouldn't release him from their grasp.

"A-Alright… But you two probably shouldn't… y-you know." Kafei tried to explain what was so fundamentally inappropriate about how the two were sitting, but they eventually got the message.

Romani got off of Link, and Kafei gave his son a knowing look before leaving. Link was responsible enough to know what his expression meant, right? After a little while of actual reading, Romani got bored once again. She took a look around Link's room before spotting something under his bed.

"Hehe, this looks like you!" Romani said with a smile, holding something up. Link didn't think much about her comment until he turned to look at what she had in her hand. Once he did, he never acted so fast. Swiping the Fierce Deity's Mask from Romani's hands, Link chucked it far under his bed where it belonged.

"What was that for?!" Romani's face grew mad. She wasn't used to Link acting so… strange.

"Hey… what's wrong?" Romani put her hand on Link's shoulder and met his eyes.

"I- I'm sorry… I just didn't…" Link mumbled. He had to tell her, right? He knew he did. He opened his mouth to try and say what he wanted to, but he couldn't bring himself. He just looked at the floor.

"Hmmm… Oh, I know!" Romani knew her friend was feeling down. She took his hand and brought him to his feet. "Let's see your other masks!"

Link smiled at her. He did quite like when Romani and he played with his other masks. A memory of his last visit to the ranch went to his head, and how much fun they had with the masks he had brought.

Romani went to the table and picked up Link's bag. She fished around in it before pulling out the Troupe Leader's Mask. The way to shed eternal tears was a little humorous to her. The two messed with the masks for a while until Romani cleared off some of the papers and notes that lay on the table and found three more masks.

"Oh hey! This reminds Romani of the Zora band!" Romani pointed to the Zora mask and then held it up. Link once again froze.

Mikau.

Lulu.

The families of the dead. He never told them of what happened to their loved ones like he originally planned, all the way back during the Carnival of Time. Link's silence continued to concern Romani. She had a hunch there was something he wasn't telling her. She didn't have time to ask, as Cremia entered the inn lobby and shouted for her little sister.

The two departed from town without Link this time. Cremia was confident that there wouldn't be anymore attacks after two shipments without problem. Thankfully, she was correct, but the last conversation Link and Romani had left them on a sour note. She wasn't mad at him, just… concerned.

Link was left in his bedroom feeling bad for a number of reasons. Acting so weird with Romani, lying to her, and the masks. He stared at the Zora, Goron, and Deku mask for a long time, until a new resolved came into existence. There was something he knew he had to do, right now. He had let it slip his mind before, but he wouldn't let it happen again.

Strapping on his gear but leaving his item bag on his table, Link was about to leave the inn when Anju opened the door. She just came back from the Laundry Pool.

"Oh… Link. Where do you think you're going?" Anju asked. She immediately saw his sword, shield, and bag on him. Link just grew red at her question.

"I have something I really need to do… I promise I'll be back by dinner!" Link pleaded. Anju thought about it for a moment. He hadn't gone out in weeks now, except to help with the most recent milk delivery. But all that could culminate her thoughts was his gear and why he may have needed it right now.

"Fine… But you better be back by dinner, young man." Anju warned. Link gave her a quick hug and left in a sprint.

"He's been acting so weird today…" Kafei said from the stairs, arms crossed.

"What do you mean?" Anju asked. Once her husband explained what he caught Link and Romani doing, and how Romani left the inn while not in the best mood with Link, her motherly concerns grew more and more.

She just hoped he'd be back when he promised, or there'd be hell to pay.

Already on his way to the Great Bay region, Link knew he had to lay Mikau's spirit to rest first. He dismounted from Epona and let her relax, deciding to go the rest of the way by foot. He didn't notice the area in front of the guitar that was mounted in the sand was dug up.

He swam all the way to Zora Hall from the Cape. Entering Zora Hall, his presence wasn't acknowledged for a while as other Zora rushed all over the place, worry having loomed over all the inhabitants for a while. Link spotted Lulu and the rest of the Indigo-Go's by the main stage, all conversing together. After a brief pep-up, Link mustered the courage to approach the group and finally reveal what he had been burdened with.

"Excuse me?" He muttered. When he wasn't noticed, he repeated himself until he caught the attention of the Zora band.

"Oh! I apologize, but we are not allowing paparazzi here at the moment…" Lulu thought she was just talking to a simple child, but Link didn't move.

"O-Oh… I'm not paparazzi… I'm here to tell you all something." Link stated. His arms trembled, holding the Zora Mask behind his back.

"We don't have time for that, kid. We're busy!" Evan barked.

"It's about Mikau…" Link finally said.

With that name, almost everything went silent. It was like every Zora in the hall heard him. They all stopped, Lulu and the band immediately turned their attention to him. Sensing all the eyes upon him, Link's nervous demeanor returned, with force. His voice was hardly audible when he tried to say what he knew about the Indigo-Go's bandmate.

"Mikau… is gone." Link muttered. Lulu's expression shifted to pure confusion. Her normal, soft tone was replaced with a stern, emotional one.

"Boy… This is not a joke. I don't know what you think you're joking about… but Mikau is far from 'gone'…" Lulu said. She didn't think this stranger was funny in the slightest. "We couldn't find any form of a body…"

Lulu's voice choked up when she said those last few words. Her emotional state was in shreds after all this time. Now, with this boy making these statements, she felt anger well up inside.

"That… That's because, he's here…" Link held out the Zora Mask. He didn't dare put it on his face. He couldn't bring himself to do so again. The soul within had earned its rest. "I-I'm sorry."

"He died while trying to save your children. He was wounded when I found him. I tried to heal him, but I was too late… B-But he gave his power to finish what he started." Link explained. He knew it sounded insane, but he couldn't lie.

"What…?" Lulu took the mask and gazed into its eyes. Albeit wooden, deep down she recognized it. But she simply couldn't come to terms with what was being presented right before her very eyes. Her own will couldn't, nor could her fellow bandmates.

"How…" Lulu couldn't find the words she needed. Her soul felt like it had torn to pieces by now.

"How DARE you?!" Lulu said, hate lining every word that exited her mouth. She held the mask at her side, and with her free hand slapped Link in the face.

She had no idea who this boy was, or who he thought he thought he was, but she refused to accept something like this, even if the proof was still in the palm of her hand. The Indigo-Go's gave Link their own death stares. The red mark across his cheek stung, but he didn't say a word. He just lowered his head and made his way to the exit of Zora Hall. Every single Zora just stared at the boy as he departed.

It was just turning noon, and Link was on his way to the Goron Village. While his admission to the Zora hadn't gone well at all, he still hoped the Gorons would be more accepting.

The top of the mountain was entering summer now. The birds flew across the sky, tweeting to their hearts content. The bees made their way from flower to flower. Goron Mask laying in his bag, Link walked through the mountainside. Past the Wolfos, Guays, and Tingle, he got to his desired destination. The door to the Goron Shrine was open, surprisingly.

"Ooo! A Terminian!" The Goron Elder's Son was sitting on the raining at the top of the statue of Darmani when he spotted the visitor. Link was taken aback for a moment when he was addressed as a person hailing from Termina, but he took it with pride when he thought about how he did live here now.

The little Goron rolled down to greet Link, shaking his hand enthusiastically the moment he stopped. Link's nerves were calmed at the hospitality.

"Ah, a visitor. Welcome to Goron Village." A voice came from above. The Goron Elder. He made his way down to Link, although not as quickly, and shook his hand just as his son had. "What brings one like you all the way out here?"

"W-Well… It's about… Darmani." Link gazed at the statue of Darmani III. The expressions of kindness faded a bit from the two Gorons before him.

"Huh? You know where Darmi is?!" The Elder's Son exclaimed. His mispronunciation of the Hero of the Gorons was adorable, but Link's mood was lowered by the face of the elder.

"Darmani has been missing for some time… If you have any information on where he may be, please tell us." The Elder pleaded. Link dreaded the effort of taking out the Goron Mask to present to the two of them.

"I- I'm very sorry… but, Darmani has perished…" Link didn't mean to sound so forward. His anxiety was kicking in now, and his ability to talk was starting to leave him again.

The Gorons looked at Link and the object in his hands with disbelief, much like Lulu had before. Link's embarrassment and shame couldn't be matched by anything on the planet. The Elder's Son took the mask from the hero's hands and looked at it. After some time, a waterfall of tears emerged from his eyes.

"No… Da-Darmi can't be dead!" The little Goron cried. His father kept the little one's voice down, but his own disbelief almost made him fail. Just like the Zora, they couldn't accept what they saw with their own eyes.

"Darmani… Was killed when he was blown off the trail to Snowhead Temple. He wished for me to assist his soul in reversing the winter brought upon this place…" Link said, taking off his hat. His eyes were filled with sorrow, and he nearly anticipated what would happen next.

The Goron Ender's Son could only react in anger. He went over to the boy in the green tunic and stomped on his boot as hard as he could. Link reeled back in pain, holding his foot, before the Elder brought his son aside. He returned to Link.

"I apologize for my son… but… I am unsure how to- "He thought about Darmani for a moment, memories of his dear friend flooding back accompanied by a feeling whiplash. He couldn't look at Link, and just made a gesture with his hand. Link knew he wasn't welcome anymore.

Without another word, Link left the region, shame befalling him once again. His mental state had been thoroughly shattered, but his conscience told him of one more soul that he had to put to rest. One where he had no idea about any family.

In the catacombs of Clock Tower, Link found the little tree. The tree that Tatl told him reminded her of his form when he first arrived.

Link knelt to the shriveled-up sprout and placed the Deku Mask at its feet. There was a long, deafening silence as Link tried to muster up something to say, even if there were no ears to hear it. A tear rolled down his cheek when he tried to imagine what the poor Deku had been through before being confined to Link and then put within the mask.

"I- "Link stuttered. He buried his head in his palms. The irony of feeling the most connected with a soul he had never met overwhelmed him. "I'm so… sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't have met you… to have given you any kind of solace before you were met with this fate."

"It's alright…" A voice responded. Link raised his head to look around. The voice's source made himself known. The Deku Butler emerged from the entrance just feet away from the boy.

"My son thanks you, Link." The Butler said, his voice calm. "I'm quite sure he does."

"W-What?" Link asked, dumbfounded. He wiped his face to relieve himself of his tears. "Your… your son?"

"Yes… When the Carnival of Time was underway, I found my way down here, and I was reunited with my son." The Deku Butler explained. His voice was not weary. He already came to terms with his loss, and he knew someone else needed to come to terms with all that had been lost as well.

"I assure you… it's okay." He concluded. His face was a breath of fresh air for Link. "Come with me. I wish to show you something."

Link rose to his feet and followed the Deku Butler. They walked out of Clock Tower, out of town, and to the Southern Swamp. Their entire journey was without words, just them in silence. Only when the pair reached the Deku Palace did one of them speak.

"I made a memorial for my son…" The butler showed Link the cross planted in the ground by the entrance to the Palace area, just by the dock. "This was the last place I saw my son. Right before he hopped onto a boat and out into the world…"

Link just looked from the speaker to his subject. The cross was small, but it had some words etched into it.

"'May you find your way home one day.'" The Deku Butler read for Link, knowing he was gazing at the sentence carved onto the object in the ground. "The day the moon was supposed to fall, I felt a wave of familiarity wash over me."

"I knew my son was home…" The Deku Butler finished. A single tear was shed from his wooden complexion. Link knew what the words and the Butler's comment knew now. Link and the Deku Butler just stood in front of the grave, honoring the fallen. Not just the son of the Butler, but all of them.

"I am alright with his passing, my friend. I have faith he is resting comfortably…" The Butler explained. His own voice wasn't of anger, sorrow, or despair. It was of a tone lined with hope. He truly didn't know what had happened to his son, but his instincts as a father told him that he was at peace. He accepted the circumstances.

"Thank you, Link." The Deku Butler said, and then he left back to the palace without saying anything else. Link looked back at the grave. His sadness of before was gone and took a seat before the monument. He hesitated this time but placed the Deku Mask just in front of it. He knew it would stay there.

After some time of reflection, Link stood back up and left the Swamp. His emotions were calmed. He hadn't felt the best with how he handled the explanations to the other families, but they would find their solace one day. Link inwardly thanked the Deku Butler before he was in view of Clock Town once again. The sun wasn't even close to setting! His confidence finally returned; he would explain his bizarre attitude to his family the moment he got home, now that he felt a lot better about himself. And most definitely to Romani. She deserved it the most. A smile finally made its way onto his face. A smile that he needed.

Link was almost about to reach the clearing and break out into a sprint, when he was clobbered upside the head and fell to the ground unconscious. There, he was dragged away, towards the east. Ikana.