Chapter 3: The first encounter
She couldn't help but keep staring at the young boy. She didn't know why, but something about him fascinated her. From the moment she met him in the forest she knew there was something different about him that would set him apart from the rest of the world.
Then again, if what she learned is true, then where they were going he would be set apart from this world even if he were just a commoner. Where would this boy be from, Hyrule, was it? Something like that.
Tatl had only been to Hyrule a few times, all of which had been with the skull kid, and even then they hadn't gone too far out of the forest. When they weren't pulling pranks or robbing people Tatl would take the time to either play games with her brother and the skull kid or read what little there was about this other world called Hyrule.
Not many people knew of the portal and even fewer returned so the information was little and slightly vague but it was enough to satisfy Tatl. She knew the land was called Hyrule, she had seen a basic map of the land and the landmarks such as Death Mt and Lake Hylia. The rest was just description of the person's account as he traveled.
And now she was accompanying a small boy, probably a Kokiri by the way he was dressed, and for some reason he brought her hope. Could he be able to stop the skull kid before he goes too far? He seemed determined enough to chase him for an ocarina and a horse, so perhaps he could.
Without realizing, they had stopped. Not sure why, Tatl turned to the young deku boy to see what was wrong. He was staring right ahead jerking his head back and forth slightly trying to do something. It took a moment, but Tatl quickly realized.
"Try as if you were spitting the words out. Should get some sound." She explained. It took a few tries, but Link finally managed to get words out and eventually he could do enough to talk in sentences.
"That thing. What is it?" Link asked, pointing to something that looked like a deku, but also not at the same time.
It was motionless, tied to the ground. It was deku shaped but the lack of limbs and the stone cold look to the wood said otherwise. As soon as Tatl got a look at the petrified face on the motionless deku thing she knew what it was and what it meant had happened.
"Oh no."
"What?" Link quickly, yet bluntly asked.
"This is...well, the skull kid cursed you into looking like a deku, but doing it based on his power and the mask alone would be difficult. The easiest thing to do is take the life and body of a nearby deku and use it to change you so..."
"So...this thing is...me."
Tatl only nodded. This boy was different so she couldn't tell if Link was upset, angry or some other kind of emotion. Because she didn't know she remained quiet and allowed herself to be lead by the boy as he began walking again.
Link felt neither emotion that Tatl guessed, but instead began to think about what this curse may mean. Tatl had said the skull kid took the life and body of this deku and used it to make him what he is now. The body had merged with him instead of Link taking all of the body as he still had his old cap and blond hair. Did that also mean that the life of the deku was merged with him as well or was the life energy used to fulfill the curse?
A sudden slam from behind him dragged him away from his thoughts and towards the source of the sound. They had just left the end of the tunnel and behind them now stood a large metal door that refused to open in any way.
"Wh-what's going on? This was never sealed off before! Normally the insides of the Clock tower are left open for all to see, so why-"
"Clock tower?" Link said with wonder. He had never seen or heard of a clock tower before but he didn't feel like going into a long discussion about it either. He felt slightly more comfortable with this fairy around but wanted to keep the interaction to a minimum for the reason why he was more comfortable with her. Too many memories came back.
"Oh, right. You've never been to Termina before. I'll explain it all outside, we're almost there." Tatl hurriedly said.
She darted to a ramp heading up then hovered still for a moment, waiting for Link to join her. A moment later and both of them were quickly making their way up to a higher platform Tatl kept looking at.
Link managed to stay by her, but couldn't help looking around in amazement at all the cogs and wheels all spinning and grinding away. Hyrule didn't have technology like this yet so it was all new to him and with that feeling of looking into the future. Funny how that phrase fits so perfectly with Link.
Still guiding the way, Tatl flew up the last turn onto the ledge with a large oak double door which Tatl knew to lead outside. She hovered by it waiting for Link to catch up but when he did, he didn't open the door. Instead, he just stood there doing nothing. Almost like he sensed something.
"You've met with a terrible fate."
Link quickly spun around to meet the owner of the voice, discovering how easy and quick it was to spin on the spot. Light feet and a fast body. Maybe being a deku wasn't all bad.
"You, you're the happy mask man." Link stated.
"Yes." He replied. "And you are Link, the Hero of Time."
"How do you know my name?"
The happy mask man seemed to chuckle slightly. Tatl seemed confused by the whole situation already so she stayed where she was, content with just listening to where this would go.
"It's funny how you call that your name when there was a time you renounced it and what it stood for."
"How...do you..." Link stuttered.
"I am not an ordinary man who spends his time running a mask shop. No, that is merely a hobby of mine. There are...many things that I can do so knowledge of your past is not beyond my reach. Then again, I guess I should be calling it your future what with you having saved Hyrule 7 years from now."
Now Tatl wasn't the only one who was confused, but Link understood that this man knew of his time when he was a hero and of how he did it. He did not know how this man knew, but he knew and there was no point in questioning it. He decided to question something else instead.
"Why are you here?" Link asked.
"Hmm, still acting cautious are we? I am here because I need your help." Link only raised a large, wooden eyebrow in response. "I know how you think so I won't bother concealing my request in half-truths. I want you to retrieve the mask that imp is wearing and return it to me."
"You want me to what!?" Link blurted out.
"Emotion! Not a rare sight to see coming from you as of late. Then again, perhaps there is a reason." The happy mask man said, eerily calm. "In any case, yes. I am asking you to get the mask that turned you into your current form. But I have seen what you can do. Surely this is a possible task."
Link was about to protest, but then stopped and decided to mull it over instead. Here was a man dressed in a purple attire with a monstrous bag upon his back asking him to get a mask that was stolen from him with enough power to turn a human into a deku. Clearly this man could do far more than Link could in his current state so why would he ask Link to do something like this? He was useless!
On the other hand, he was right with things he had done before. He had faced dragons, invisible shadow beings and even the King of Darkness himself and won every single time! All he was doing now was fighting some measly skull kid with a mask that allowed him to do magic. Yeah, he could do this.
But...why?
What's the point? All Link wanted to do was find Navi and find somewhere to live in peace. Away from his duty as a hero and now he was being dragged back to the frontlines. Back before his destiny was complete he started the insane quest doing things no-one else would dream of doing as it felt like the right thing to do. What did he get out of it? A sense of satisfaction and good will? What could that do for him? Nothing! If he was going to do this, it wouldn't be for free.
"To you this may seem like a possible task, but as I am now it is not." Link said bluntly.
"Ah, a good point. Well then I propose this. That skull kid has taken the precious Ocarina of Time, no thanks to your fairy friend here." To this, Tatl slowly skulked behind Link until she was out of sight behind his large hat. "That ocarina can do more than open the door of time and help heal the land. I know of a song that can heal people, so it should heal you from your curse. However, you need the Ocarina of Time and it's magical properties for it to be able to work. You go out there and get your ocarina back then return to me and I shall return you to normal. Then you can go and get my precious mask back, agreed?"
"No, not quite."
"Oh? You don't think me returning you to normal in exchange for my mask is a fair trade?"
"No, I don't. I want something else as well." Link said coldly.
"And what might that be? Money? A place to live? Somewhere you can be accepted?" The happy mask man asked.
"What can you offer me?" Link asked in return, choosing to ignore the previous offers.
"I can offer you wisdom."
Link scoffed. "If I want wisdom I'll go talk to Zelda. You should know why."
"Holding the Triforce of Wisdom does not grant infinite wisdom. There are things she does not know, things she does not know about you." Link's eyes grew solemn as if agreeing. "But I do. I know why you feel so empty inside. I know what you are searching for."
Link now looked at the ground, allowing the memories of Navi to come back and of the times they helped each other get through. He missed her so much.
"It's not her."
Link's eyes shot up to look at the happy mask man again, awaiting an explanation to his new words.
"What you seek is not your old friend, but something else. I know what it is, but I shall not tell you until you retrieve my mask for me. Does this sound like a fair deal?"
Link felt enraged by hearing this man talk of what he really was searching for, and then hearing he could not know right now. On the other hand, he still felt sad about remembering Navi. He had come close to tears at the memories but the quick response from the happy mask man prevented them from arising. He felt he had no choice.
"Fine." Link said reluctantly.
"Wonderful. Now run along and retrieve your ocarina. I'll be happy to return you to your original form once you have it."
Not wanting to talk anymore Link turned on the spot, once again feeling the lightness of his body, then pushed the large doors open and allowed streams of morning sunlight to come through. He shielded his eyes from the sudden change while out of the corner of his eye noticing the happy mask man was no longer here. Was he hiding or had he just left for now?
It didn't matter as Link was now staring at a large crowd of people moving all over the place. Somehow he had gone from the middle of the largest forest to a city of some kind just by following a tunnel.
The trees were dense but not dense enough to not see a city in the distance. Where was he? How did he get here? Fortunately there was someone to ask these questions to and he was almost certain he had about as many questions wanting to be asked about him.
For the moment, though, Link was still taking in his surroundings and just by looking ahead he could already guess this was a very big city. By looking at the sun Link could tell it was early morning (but it was the evening in the forest) and already people were working. The postman checking the mail, carpenters working on a small tower and venders at their stalls.
This was a big town and he already felt lost. Time to talk to the guide.
"Alright fairy."
"My name's Tatl." She quickly put in.
"Tatl, whatever. 20 questions. Rules are simple. Only big questions count, so little questions don't go towards the final 20. Things like 'why' can be big or small. Got it?"
"You get 20, I get 20. Let's play." Tatl said firmly.
"Right, where am I? Who are all of you and why are you still with me?" Link asked one after the other.
"Geez, what kind of a kid are you to ask that?"
"I asked first. I'll answer you later." Link responded.
"Fine, fine." She sighed. "Well we're in Termina, or more specifically Clock Town."
"Termina? Clock Town?"
"Ah, right. To you it is another world lying parallel to Hyrule. Here, no-one knows about Hyrule or the religion of the three goddesses and the Triforce just as your people know nothing of our world."
Another world? Was that possible? Then again some things did make sense. Evening had turned into dawn within an hour and the forest had vanished and been replaced with a city. Also all fairies were assigned to a Kokiri, and he saw two fairies with a skull kid meaning they were not created in the forest but originated in this world. That would also explain how Tatl knew of this world and the names.
"Wait, you said no-one knew of Hyrule's existence. How do you know of it?" Link inquisitively asked.
"Well for starters, I was in Hyrule when you saw me so no duh I know about it. Second, there are a few documents of when others passed through the portal and then returned to write down what they saw. It's not much, but enough to know a basic background of your land. Don't believe me? Well I can guess from your clothing, err, human clothing that you are a Kokiri."
He didn't need proof. Knowing the name Hyrule and the religion was enough but hearing her guess of him being a Kokiri made him wish to correct her, but bad memories stopped him in his tracks.
"Your next question, who are we. Well, I'm Tatl, as you know, and the other fairy is my brother Tael. Of course, you want to know more about the skull kid, don't you?" Link silently nodded. "Well, me and my brother met him a long time ago and instantly became friends. He loved to play around and make jokes. He was the kind of guy you could spend a day with and never get bored. Then, he found that mask." Her tone now softer and sadder.
Another thing that made sense. If that mask changed him then it had powers of some kind, which would explain how a normally weak skull kid could fly, have sharp reflexes and turn him into a deku scrub.
"Look, can we go somewhere else and talk about this?" Tatl asked. "I might get emotional and being in the middle of the town might not be the best place to talk, what with everyone hearing and all."
"Alright. You know this place better than me, you lead the way." Link ordered.
She didn't reply but instead fluttered ahead in a way that said "follow me". Link did so and allowed himself to enter the slight crowd of people as Tatl dodged and weaved her way to the other side. It looked easy to do, but dekus were bigger than fairies and Link was still unfamiliar with this new form. He found her again quickly, though, so he continued to follow the fairy up some steps and into another part of the town less busy than the first.
Oddly enough this seemed like the part of town that would be the busiest. There were many shops lined against the city walls, an Inn and other varying places that would bring people over.
Must be because it's the early morning. Link thought.
It seemed obvious enough that Tatl didn't want to talk here either as she showed no signs of slowing down. Neither did Link, but it didn't stop him from taking in his surroundings and just how well they were built.
The buildings seemed a similar quality to those in the Hyrule Market, some even greater. Back in Hyrule they were good quality so as to not let the magnificence of the castle be let down or made to look superior and its owners pompous. There was no castle or anything of main significance here so these must be ordinary buildings. This surprised Link partially to see a city like this with no royalty of any kind in sight. Perhaps Tatl could explain.
Up a few more steps and a left turn under an archway led to another part of town but far more quiet than the rest of it. There were hardly any buildings here, just a few small houses here and there. The rest was short-cut grass and a small play area for kids.
This seemed obvious enough that this was the kind of place Tatl would want to go to talk and this was proven true when she flew over to a shady spot under a large tree. Link followed; taking note of how the grass felt so much more comfortable than the stone he had previously been walking on.
"Alright, talk." Link demanded, not wanting to waste time on other small talk.
Tatl was sitting on a low branch coming out of the tree so she was comfortable, but only physically. Listening to Link talk partially reminded her of the harsh tone of the skull kid with the way he ordered her and Tael and how he sometimes threatened them. Despite that she still remembered the fun loving skull kid from long ago and believed that person would someday come back. For some reason, she had the same feeling with Link.
"Well, it started about a month or two ago. It feels much longer though." She didn't know why she said that last part, but it triggered no response from Link so she continued.
"We were in the woods, playing around and waiting for someone to jump out and surprise. We found it funny so we did it often. We'd gone further than we had before, though, so I urged the skull kid to go back a bit. None of us knew our way around Hyrule so we may get lost. He wouldn't listen though so we kept on going a little further. Through the trees we all saw something reaching up, something like a temple."
The Forest Temple? Link's mind quickly guessed.
"We decided to check it out." Tatl continued "Seeing as we weren't sure if we would see it again and it looked cool. We entered to see it was just one big room. No doors or windows, just some kind of altar at the end with nothing on it. We got bored quickly so we left, and that's when we saw that weird man from earlier."
"The mask man." Link added.
Tatl nodded. "We didn't see him inside so we thought we'd jump on him and have our fun. We did so but accidentally knocked him out when the skull kid landed on that man's pack, pushing him to the ground.
"We were about to leave when the skull kid saw what the man was holding. It was that strange mask he wears now. Normally we jump on a person then run away laughing; we never stole from them. I don't know why he did then, but he picked up the mask, put it on and he's never been the same since."
Well, it didn't answer his question as he had hoped, but this seemed about all he was going to get. They're simply two fairies and a skull kid who happens to wear some kind of ancient and powerful mask. After all, if the happy mask man was out in the middle of nowhere and he had it, it had to have some kind of power even if it is small.
So, he knew where he was, what he was supposed to do and roughly what he was up against; but he still didn't have an answer to his last question. Now, though, should he ask it again or remain quiet to see if the fairy says anything else? The latter was the answer, and it did help.
"That mask allowed him to do things he could never do before. At first, when he was still himself, he learnt he could fly and used it to play with us some more, but the more he wore it the more he changed. He played with us less and less and he became quick to anger if we did something he didn't like. I was smart enough to stay out of his way and do as he said, but Tael was, no, still is too young and didn't think through what he did."
Sounds like a younger me. Link chuckled in his mind.
"A few weeks after getting that mask, we were back in the woods playing, which was a rare thing by then. He had tried to pickpocket someone in the town but was caught. I managed to stop him from hurting people, but he was still angry so he wanted to calm down by playing with us. I should have seen what was coming, but I foolishly didn't.
"Hide-and-seek, I had found a place to hide while Tael counted to find me later. Skull kid didn't want to play straight away, though, which upset Tael as the skull kid said he would. He kept on bugging him to play which was a big mistake as he got even madder and now Tael was here without me to protect him. I heard the scream of my brother so I flew back as fast as I could to see what was going on. He was lying on the ground, withering in pain. I could see the ground he lay on was black and slowly it was creeping on to him as well.
"I managed to talk to the skull kid and tell him he was sorry, and thankfully I was able to make him stop. But not before it was too late."
She sniffed. She turned her face to hide the few tears but it was obvious enough to Link and why she said she might get emotional. The funny thing was, Link was beginning to care.
"The shadow had already covered all his visible body besides his wings and he wasn't moving. I thought he was dead. Even his glow shone black. I swore to myself I would always be near him so I could protect him, but- but now..."
Listening to her croaky voice only made him care even more and he didn't even think back to the times with Navi. He was actually showing compassion and it wasn't selfish.
"So that's why you're still with me. I find the skull kid with my ocarina, you find your brother." Link said.
All she could do was nod. She couldn't speak right now and even if she could she didn't want to. She just wanted a friend to lean on, a shoulder to cry on and as if responding to it Link leant an arm out for Tatl to come and let it all out. Hesitancy had vanished as she leapt off and into Link's wooden chest letting her tears trickle down until they hit the ground.
It was a couple of minutes before she fluttered back to the branch she was sitting on and wiping her eyes of any tears still lingering on the edge of her pupils.
"Thank you." She whispered. "But now it's my turn to ask you some questions."
Link nodded then sat patiently for them.
"Alright, first up just who was that man back there? You seem to know him, so who is he?" Tatl asked intently.
"Oh, him? I don't know him as well as you think, but I do know him. Back in my world he ran a shop where he traded masks to people and liked by many people. Of course, when I first met him I thought of him as nothing more than that; a shop vendor. I was surprised he knew so much about me."
"You certainly looked it."
Link nodded again in agreement. He didn't seem to say much more after that so Tatl pressed him more with another question.
"He called you the Hero of Time. Apparently that must be some big deal or something, yet I've seen nothing about it from what I've read. What is the Hero of Time?" She asked.
Link was feeling better in a general way by talking to this fairy but if there was one question to bring him back down, it was that. He was going to answer it anyway, but he knew it was going to be a long time before he was done and he would not be feeling cheerful again afterwards either.
Better start from the beginning. He thought.
"Well, as you guessed I was a Kokiri and that is how I grew up. I wasn't very popular as this other Kokiri, Mido, kept bullying me..."
---
The mask glared down at the vast city of Clock Town below it. It could see all there was to see; the Inn, the park, the market square and all the little alleys with houses and shops crammed along side by side.
All of it lay beneath him and that's just how it liked to think.
"Skull kid, skull kid what are you doing? This isn't right!"
The skull kid turned to the dark fairy trapped within the invisible grip of his magic, the red eyes of the mask glowing.
"Isn't right? I'll tell you what isn't right!" The skull kid shouted. "Being imprisoned for 5000 years! That's what's not right!"
"Wh-What are you talking about?" Tael fearfully asked.
The mask chuckled slightly at the memory then winced ever so slightly as the memory continued. He floated up ahead a little allowing his feet to hover over the top of the Clock Tower while he looked up into the sky. He gazed a little longer, transfixed almost, then snapped out of it to talk back to the fairy.
"That is none of your...What are you doing?"
The skull kid had turned around to see Tael attempting something or other and only now had he noticed. Tael immediately stopped what he was doing to try and cover for himself but he knew he was too late and now he knew he was going to be in big trouble, especially with no Tatl to save him.
"N...Nothing." Tael said timidly
The skull kid easily saw through the pathetic bluff attempt instantly causing his eyes to glow in anger. They calmed slightly when he realized what Tael had been trying to do and realized it was nothing to rage about.
"You were trying to read my mind weren't you?"
"N-No. Of course not."
Despite being hidden by the mask Tael could tell there was a smile on the skull kid's face.
"Come now Tael, there's no need to lie to me. I can tell what you were doing. I'm curious, what did you find out? Lie to me again and I will punish you." The mask said calmly, almost friendly.
Tael was completely taken aback by this. The skull kid hadn't sounded friendly in a long time and now he was speaking calmly at a time when he should be punishing him the most. What was going on? Whatever it was, lying would not help him now so he told the skull kid the whole truth.
"I couldn't see much as you cut me off before I finished, but I did manage to see some things. I saw Termina, but it seemed like from an ancient time. 5000 years if I had to make a guess." Tael daringly said.
"You would guess correctly young fairy. You also speak the truth. Please continue."
So he did.
"I saw darkness cover the land and a strange shadow in the centre of it all. Before it could consume the entire land, I saw four giants come from each direction and stop the shadow with magic. That's all I got to see." Tael finished.
"There, you see? All you had to do was tell the truth and I won't get angry at you." Said the skull kid before turning around to look into the sky once more.
"Skull kid, can I ask you a question?" Tael asked.
He didn't move from his spot but he did reply to the fairy in a familiar harsh tone.
"That depends. What is the question?"
Tael's fear caught up to him and made him think this was a bad idea, but he had already started so he had to finish.
"Skull kid, who are you?" He shakingly asked.
Still not moving he chuckled slightly to himself before craning his neck further back and then replying to the fairy.
"You finally see what your dear, pathetic sister saw." Tael didn't say or do anything to this comment. "I am the shadow you saw in my mind. I existed 5000 years ago where I nearly achieved my goal of conquering the entire world and the worlds beyond through the portals. I am the first evil to ever set foot on this planet and that is something you should remember and fear.
"I," the skull kid continued "am Majora. The greatest sorcerer to ever exist and soon I shall be reborn to my former glory. Very soon...very soon."
The skull kid ended there leaving the poor, defenseless fairy to quiver and shake in fear at what had possessed the skull kid and of the powers he saw in his mind. The skull kid was looking up in the sky once more to see something the whole land could see.
The moon.