Link stood back in the Southern Swamp, looking directly at the potion shop again.
"Well, it's obvious that the witch in the woods was the potion shop manager's sister, so let's go up!" said Tatl.
"No way, Tatl. I'm not going through this again."
"Going through what again!"
"You wouldn't know. This was back in Hyrule when I actually battled both of them in the Spirit Temple."
"Yeah, you told me already, but it's apparent that they don't remember. They must have been brainwashed."
"I'm not willing to risk it."
"Link, do you want to free the giant from the clutches of the swamp or not! We can't just walk through this like it's nothing at all. If we want to get somewhere, we're going to have to do things we don't want to do, and we'll have to take some risks!"
Link didn't say anything. He looked down at his Terminian watch. It was 1:19 PM of the first day.
"Now, let's just go, okay?"
"Okay, fine."
Link ran up to the large potion shop and climbed up the ladder, despite his very low ambition, and walked in the door.
"Well, hello again, Mr. Afraid of Witches."
"Sorry, I overreacted," said Link, knowing it was not true.
"Well whatcha need? I'm all outta blue potion till I get some more from the woods."
"Yeah, well I was just in the woods, and I saw someone…hurt."
"Who?"
"She looked like you."
"What! Koume's in trouble! Oh golly-gosh yonkers!"
"Huh?"
"Here, take this and take it to her, green kid."
Kotake handed Link a bottle of red potion.
"Well, hurry up there!"
Link went ahead and exited, wondering why the lazy witch just wouldn't get off her ass and do it herself.
"Well, you heard her, let's go!" said Tatl.
"Huh?"
"Go, Link."
"Who made you boss?"
"Will you just go already? We haven't any time to waste."
Link climbed down the ladder and ran back into the Woods of Mystery, where that same old monkey ironically happened to be waiting for him again.
"Where'd ya go, mister?"
"Uh…home."
"Well, follow me!"
Link went ahead and followed the nimble monkey again, wondering what he wanted exactly. He continued to dodge those annoying razorblade turtles, because they weren't even worth wasting a blade on…if that would even work.
Well, there was Koume again, in the exact same state she was in when Link first saw her.
"You there! Do you have anything that can heal?"
"Yeah, it's right here."
Link handed her the bottle of potion.
"Oh…this is good. I can tell by the taste of it that it's Kotake's. Wow. What a delightful potion! I feel so much better!"
Koume's crystal on her forehead emanated a bright, fiery light.
"Thanks, fairy boy! In my gratitude, I would like to grant you a free swamp tour! Come over to the hut near the Termina field entrance!"
With that, Koume was off.
"Well, you heard her."
"Yeah, yeah."
Link ran out of the forest, only to be beckoned by three monkeys, who wouldn't let him pass.
"You have super powers, no?" said a monkey, "What is your purpose here? Most that come to the swamp have no specific intentions, but you, fairy boy, we can smell. We smell your ambitions, and we know you are here for a reason. We were hoping you could help us rescue our friend. He was captured by the Deku Scrubs and was thrown in prison, just because they thought he captured their princess."
"Did he?"
"No. We monkeys would never do such a thing. It was that stupid Skull Kid. We are trying to find a way to get into the chamber to free our friend. I heard somewhere that there was one solitary spring of fresh, clean water in the swamp, but we can't find it. "
"Oh."
"If you are willing, could you use your powers to help us?"
After saying that, all three monkeys ran off and out of sight. Link never even got an opportunity to really say anything else.
"What was that all about?"
"I know exactly what that was all about," said Tatl.
"…and?"
"Let me show you something."
Suddenly Link found himself floating, above some sort of Deku scrub sanctuary, and then in a private room where a rather fancy looking scrub sat, reading a book. He didn't know, but this was 8 days earlier.
"See her? That's the princess, and that's her monkey companion, Knabb."
"The princess?"
"Yes. The Deku Scrub Princess."
It was peaceful and tranquil, until…
The door bashed open and the princess screamed. It was the Skull Kid…without Majora's Mask. The mask was attached to his belt. But it wasn't only him. Tatl and Tael followed him.
"Who are you!" asked the terrified princess.
The Skull Kid did not answer. He just continued to stare at her.
"What do you want from me!"
Then, horror struck, and he donned Majora's Mask.
"M-Majora?"
The Skull Kid picked up the princess and then launched off into the sky.
"Where are you taking me?"
The Skull Kid swooped down into a temple in the middle of a crater-like hole, full of venomous water, and tossed the princess into a hole from out the back, into an even smaller room, locked in by vines.
"Why are you doing this to me?"
The Skull Kid never said a word, and just ran out, and back in the Deku palace, the King ran into the princess's room.
"Princess? Are you okay?"
She wasn't there.
"What happened!"
Knabb sat on her bed.
"Mr. King, someone came in and captured her!"
"What! No!"
"I couldn't stop them!"
The king had a hard time believing him.
"Well where did this criminal take her?"
"I...I don't know!"
The king remained skeptical.
"You lie, Knabb!"
"No! No, your majesty!
"We won't have any more of this! Guards, put this monkey into confinement until we find the princess! If we do not find her, we will find the monkey guilty!"
"But, sir! I promise you, I didn't--"
"Silence! I've heard enough!"
Then several guards rushed in and took the monkey to a solitary jail cell right beside the king's chamber and tied him up to a wooden pole.
"This is all a mistake!" said the monkey.
"Butler, form a search party for the princess and dispatch nocturnal guards all across the swamp and Woodfall, on the double!"
"Yes sir!"
Then, Link was back in present day.
"See, Link? That's how it all happened. Now, if we work together, we can free the innocent monkey and save the Deku princess, as well as the giant imprisoned within the Woodfall Temple. There is a spring hidden somewhere here, and albeit that's our key in. We just have to find the pure river."
"I see."
"So, let's go to the boat tour hut. We can get somewhere if we go there first."
"You're right."
With that, Link was off, back to the hut.
Despite Link's many hardships, things were going differently in his former home.
Back in Hyrule, things were very peaceful. Zora's Domain had returned to its original state, the forest was ridded of moblins, The Shadow Temple's spirits were at rest, and all was well. However, within the idyllic paradise laid some feelings of sadness and despair. Some people had begun to miss Link.
Saria walked outside of her Kokiri Forest household to go water some plants. On the way over to her garden, she glanced over at Link's old house. But she saw his house every day, to and from the Deku Tree and the garden, and never felt any strong feelings. But today she could feel Link, and she really began to wonder….
Nowadays, no one was allowed to intrude into Link's house, unless granted consent by the Royal Family. The house was now an official landmark of Hyrule.
As Saria looked at Link's house that day, a solitary memory hit her. The memory of the day Link got his first fairy, and stepped outside of his house, before he even embarked on his Deku Tree quest. As weird as it seemed, that was almost two years ago, with the exception of the excessive time travel through seven years. It felt like it was only yesterday…but at the same time, it felt as if it had been an eternity since that day.
Link waked out of his house and onto the balcony. He felt very refreshed and anew with Navi. This was the first day of the rest of his life.
Saria ran up near the base of the house.
"Hi, Link!"
"Hey, Saria."
"How do you like having your fairy?"
"It's great! Now I'm not the oddball anymore."
"Come down, Link! The forest awaits you!"
"Awaits me?"
"Of course! The Great Deku Tree told me to come get you; he wants to see the new you!"
Link chuckled and came down from his house, with Navi fluttering down with him.
What a great day that was, even though countless moments of turmoil and horror followed. Saria sighed and continued on to the garden. She truly missed Link.
Link could feel her. All the way in Termina. He never left. These sad feelings, however, did not get Link down. They actually motivated him, because he knew he would not have the strength he had today if he never met Saria. She was his best friend, whom he knew long before Malon, or Darunia…or even Zelda.
"What's wrong?" asked Tatl.
"Nothing. Let's go inside."
Link was already at the hut. He walked inside, to greet Koume, who was waiting for him at her little booth.
"Well, hey there, fairy kid! Thanks again for helping me out! So you wanna go on a tour? Like I said earlier, this one's free!"
"Yeah, sure."
"Okay, good! Well, the boat's gonna go all around the swamp. But I should warn you now that some parts of the swamp are dangerous, and have venomous water, so be careful."
"I will."
"Okay, then! The boat's leaving!"
Then, Link stood on the boat. It wasn't the best boat ever, but it wasn't too shabby either. But then the boat began to move.
"This sure is more convenient than lily pad hopping."
The boat moved on and on, and Link spotted a large Octorok up ahead…very similar to the one he battled long ago inside Jabu-Jabu.
"Whoa…are we going to…run in to that?"
"Don't worry about a thing."
The front tip of the tour boat pierced the octorok and killed it instantly, without Link needing to do one thing. He was rather relieved.
Then, the scene of the swamp was completely different. It looked somewhat nicer, but still maintained the same uncomfortable atmosphere. The water was purple. That could only mean that it was venomous, just like he had heard before. He knew not to touch it. All of the leaves on the trees were an unusual color, similar to the colors you see in the autumn.
There was also a waterfall to the right, with two ledges on either side of it. For some reason, Link felt that the waterfall had some significance, just like it did back at Zora's River. But he could worry about that later. Now he was just concerned about the Deku Palace, wherever that could be.
Then he saw the dock. The dock that led into the palace extended out, just waiting for Link to disembark onto it.
Then the boat pulled up to the dock and Link heard Koume's recorded voice.
"Welcome to the Deku Palace of Woodfall, where the Deku King and Princess Reign! Only Deku scrubs are allowed in. Are you disembarking?"
Link just got off, and the boat remained in the same spot waiting for him. He approached the entrance, and saw another monkey. Before he could talk to him, he ran inside without leaving a trace behind. Link began to follow until Tatl stopped him.
"Wait, Link. You heard Koume. Only Deku Scrubs are allowed in."
"Oh…bummer."
Link began to walk back to the boat.
"Link!"
"What?"
"The mask, you idiot!"
"Oh yeah…right."
Link, having forgotten about the deku mask went ahead and donned it.
"Happy now? I'm a little runt again."
"Let's just go inside."
Link ran inside in his deku scrub form. He crossed the 'moat' to see that there were two deku scrub guards.
"Welcome to the Deku Palace, the home of the Royal Family of the Deku. You may enter only into the doorway straight ahead. Do not enter either one of the side doors whatsoever."
That wasn't good. When Link didn't know why not to do something it only made him want to do it so much more, but he had to resist himself. He ran through the corridor to the doorway dead ahead.
"Hey, Link," said Tatl.
"What is it?"
"It's night."
Time had flown by Link like an eagle. It was 6:20 PM. The moon had gotten closer.
"Sorry, that was a distraction. We still have two more days. Let's go."
Link walked forward into the king's chamber.
There was a large pit in the center of a room, filled with flaming wood. The king stood beyond the pit before his throne, with an empty spot to his left. The he saw the prison chamber where Knabb was tide to the wooden post. Link looked at him.
"Hey, little scrub! Help me! They think I captured the princess but I didn't! This is all wrong!"
"I know what happened. A few of your friends confronted me. I'll do my best."
Link approached the king.
"Hello, young scrub! I'm sorry, but we are in a bit of a crisis now! I'll answer all your questions once we find our princess. That monkey over there won't tell us anything, so we're trying to force it out of him."
"But sir--"
"No, Link. Don't say anything; you might get yourself into even more trouble," said Tatl.
Link turned around to exit the chamber and was back in the main corridor.
"We have to go through another door."
"As much as I hate to say this, you're right."
"Left or right?"
"Um…I think you should go left."
"You sure?"
"No, but I trust my instinct. Go left."
"Okay, Tatl."
Link went left and saw that there was a group of Deku guards present.
"Uh-oh," said Tatl.
"Don't worry, Tatl. I've had a similar experience before."
Link approached the first guard. He knew that they would be simple, just like the guards back at Hyrule Castle way back when.
Geez…that was a long time ago.
Link easily dodged the first guard by running around a large boulder. He then discovered that there were little towers, where mean scrubs perched apex of, spitting nuts. He'll deal with them later.
"Hey, Link, to dodge this next guard, you need to knock him out with a bubble."
"Are you crazy?"
"It's the only way."
Link shot a weak bubble at the guard. Ironically, the bubble would temporarily stun the guard, giving Link ample time to run past him.
Soon enough, though, he would snap out of it.
Now, Link was in some sort of garden, where he saw a guard perfectly visible over two rows of plants. If Link could see him this easily, so could the guard.
"Gosh, these guards suck…" said Link quietly.
"Whoa! Who said that?" said the guard.
"Oh, damn it!" said Link, throwing a deku shell around him (his shield), hoping he would blend in with the surroundings.
"Suspicious noises!" exclaimed the guard to the others, "be alert!"
The guard continued to walk.
"Hey, Tatl, is it safe?"
"Yeah. This time don't speak to yourself."
Link came out of the shell and bypassed the garden…only to reach another one.
"Damn it!" thought Link.
But that wasn't the worst. He had also reached a dead end, and there were two guards. Link ran for cover behind a log.
"Tatl! What do I do now? It's a dead end!"
"There's always a way, Link. If there was nothing back here, there would be no guards."
Link peeked over the ledge of the log. The naïve guards with superior hearing continued to walk, not seeing Link.
Then, Link spotted a grotto, behind another wall.
"Tatl! There's a grotto!"
"Then let's go!"
Link ran when the guards were facing another direction and quickly dropped down the hole.
Then he was down in a simple grotto. Wait, it was not just a simple grotto. Link heard the sound of running water, flowing down a stream. He saw the secret river. Beside it sat a big fat guy chomping down on beans.
Now where had he seen this fat guy before? He saw him first back at Zora's River.
"Hey there, sprout! Wanna buy some magic beans for 10 rupees?"
"What the heck, they're sure to be helpful sometime."
Link bought them and then bottled some pure, fresh water, and then left the grotto.
He didn't want to go through the trouble of sneaking all the way back, so he intentionally got caught by one of the guards.
"Aha! You thought you could sneak past me, didn't ya? Nice try, shorty."
The guard kicked Link out immediately; out to the entrance of the palace.
"And stay out! You've got no business intrudin' in the Deku Palace! Go back to town!!" said the Guard
"What a stupid jackass," said Link.
"Link, I think you should see where these lily pads lead to," said Tatl.
There were lily pads that drifted off to the right hand side. Link couldn't leave them unexplored. They had to be there for some reason, right? He hopped on the first one and continued on to the end, being careful not to fall into the venomous water. He could now tell that these pads led to an unexplored sector.
Then he saw a patch of soil conveniently waiting for him, as if someone had specifically intended for this to happen. Link planted the magic beans, and then poured the pure spring water onto it. It grew instantly. That's why they call 'em Magic Beans.
Link went ahead and stepped upon the magic leaf, which elevated him to the upper portion of the palace, where the mean scrubs awaited him. Their stupid nuts weren't even a match to Link's incredible bubbles. The platform must've been used by Deku Scrub aerial guards, but Link had no idea who would make an airborne intrusion.
Link had an aerial view of the palace's garden from there, and no guards could see him. He felt as if he was reliving his early Hyrule Castle mission again, except this one just seemed ridiculous.
"Are you sure this is right, Tatl?"
"Of course, Link. Do you have doubts or something? We're on a roll here!"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm just kinda tired."
"Well, I guess this is a good place to take a rest, since none of the guards can see you. I don't see why it would hurt to crash until morning?"
"Are you serious? Don't you think we have some more work to be done? Who knows what they could have done to that monkey by now?"
"I don't know, but of course I'm serious! I know you're not immortal, Link! We all need our beauty sleep!"
Link chuckled.
"Thanks, Tatl. I just need to rest off some of this stress. I'll be much more energetic in the morning."
Link took off the Deku mask and lied down beside the wall and gazed up into the sky. The moon had gotten closer again. He saw weird symbols in the constellations, as if it were some sort of message. Then the symbols began to make better sense.
There was an outline of the Triforce that Link could see. It didn't just look like it. It was identical, and all of the stars shone a different, golden eminence. He could feel Hyrule again. He closed his eyes and realized that he really did miss it now. But that was behind him, and he couldn't go back now. He had to wait. Just a couple more days...