A/N: Forgot to properly introduce myself. I'm Zehro and welcome to Majora's Mask: Retold. The sequel to Ocarina of Time: Retold.
Vicky: Genius, you haven't even FINISHED Ocarina of Time, yet.
Zehro: And this is my, somewhat annoying, co author, Vicky.
Vicky: Don't you think you should wait before you release another story?
Zehro: Oh, whatever, I'm doing it anyways.
Chapter 1: Down the Rabbit Hole
*THUD*
"AGH! I think I fractured my epidermis!"
Link slowly stood up after falling for about ten minutes. Though he fell from a very far height, his landing was still a bit soft. Link looked down to see what he had landed on. He saw a strange kind of flower. It had pink petals and a giant hole in the middle of it. Suddenly, a bright light shone from in front of him, and he heard that laugh again. He looked up and saw the skull kid, with his two fairies, laughing at him. Those eyes pierced into Link's soul as the Skull Kid spoke.
"What's with that stupid horse of yours? It doesn't listen to a word that's said to it!"
Link rolled his eyes. "You gotta be gentle with her, smart one. Hopping on her back scared her, and you were riding her pretty aggressively."
Link couldn't see it, but the Skull Kid was rolling his eyes. "Whatever. There's no point in riding a thing like that, so I did you a favor and got rid of it." He laughed again.
Link's eyes went wide. He balled up his fists and shot the Skull Kid a dirty look. "That horse was a present from my friend! I'll KILL you!"
"Aw, boo hoo. Why the long face? I just thought I'd have a little fun with you..."
"You think this is fun," Link questioned. "This is what's fun to you? Is stealing things from people really the only way that YOU can have fun? Read a book, get a girlfriend, watch a poster, eat a bug, or something."
Skull Kid put his hand on his chin. "Hmm... a girlfriend, eh? Well, there was that one redhead from the ranch that sometimes comes by the forest..."
Link lunged forward in an attempt to attack the skull kid, but the two fairies held him back. "LEAVE MALON ALONE! I'LL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF IF YOU TOUCH HER!" Skull Kid shook his head. "Oh, come now... do you really think you can beat me as I am now?" One of the fairies slipped, letting Link go. Link pulled out his sword and swung it at the skull kid. Skull Kid conjured a psychic blast and blasted Link back against the wall. Link fell to his knees, in severe pain. Skull Kid was REALLY angry now.
"Fool!"
He began to shake his mask side to side, sending off terrible shockwaves. The fairies moved out of the way as to not be affected by the shockwaves. Link took full on damage. His whole body started to hurt as Skull Kid mentally tortured him. Link let out a scream, only to be silenced by Skull Kid's laugh. Link fell to the ground, sent into the magic induced dream.
In his dream, Link was surrounded by total blackness. He could hear the faint rustling of leaves somewhere. Minutes pass and he realized that it was all around him. Link blinked once and a bunch of Deku Scrubs had surrounded him. Link couldn't find a way out. Everywhere he looked, there would be a Deku Scrub blocking his way.
As soon as he found an opening, Link ran away as far as he possibly could. But it was no use. Everywhere he ran, he saw the Deku Scrubs chasing him. He looked behind him and saw a giant Deku Scrub chasing him. Link tripped and braced himself for his demise. Then, everything went black.
Skull Kid leaned forward to get a good look at Link. Link slowly opened his eyes. Somehow, he felt... different. He looked down into the water in front of him. He was shocked at what he saw. His hair had become straw-like, his eyes had turned orange, his skin was now wood and his mouth was permanently frozen in an 'O' shape. Link shook his head, knowing that this couldn't be happening. He let out a cry of agony. Skull Kid simply laughed at him. "HAHAHAHAHAH, now THAT'S a good look for you! You'll stay looking that way forever!"
The door behind Skull Kid opened and he slowly started to drift away. Link picked himself off of the ground and sprinted at full speed towards Skull Kid, only to have the yellow fairy stop him.
"S-S-SIS!"
*THUD*
The fairy turned around and found the door closed. She let out a surprised DING and flew to the door. "Whoa, whoa! Hey! Skull Kid! You left me behind! Hey, come on! Open the door! Wait for me! I'm still here! Tael, you can't just leave without me!" She tried to bust down the door multiple times, but it was no use. She let out a depressed sigh. Shortly after, she perked back up. She turned bright red and faced towards Link.
"YOU!"
She flew right in front of Link and screamed in his face. "If I wasn't dealing with you, I wouldn't have gotten separated from my brother! Well, don't just sit there, Deku boy! SAY SOMETHING!" Unfortunately, he couldn't say anything. His vocal cords were removed, so he couldn't speak. The fairy gave him a confused look. "...W-why are you looking at me like that?" The fairy turned slightly pink. "Is there something on my face? In my teeth?" Link shook his head. The fairy turned red again. "Will you stop gawking at me and just open the door?!" Link crossed his deku arms and turned around, not wanting to listen to the fairy anymore. She sighed. "Please? Come on, a helpless little girl is asking for your help." The fairy turned back to the door. "Oh, Tael... I hope he'll be alright on his own..."
Link rolled his deku eyes, turned back around and walked to the door. He lifted the door, somehow, and walked in, with the fairy following him. The fairy turned around in amazement. She wondered how a little deku scrub could have opened a giant door like that. She didn't even notice Link walking down the hallway and into the other room. She fluttered her wings and flew as fast as she could after him.
"Hey! What're you doing?! Don't just leave me back there!"
Deku Link crossed his arms and turned away from the fairy. The fairy sighed. "Listen... uh... that stuff back there... I'm sorry." Link uncrossed his arms and partially turned back around. The fairy flew up to is face. "Take me with you!" The sudden gesture made Link jump back a bit. He gave the fairy a confused look. "You want to know about that Skull Kid, right?" Link nodded. "Well, I think I may have an idea on where he's going." The fairy held out her tiny hand. "If you take me with you, I'll help you find the Skull Kid, deal?" Link scratched the back of his wooden head, showing that he was unsure. The fairy flew back up to him. "Please?" Link let out a Deku Sigh and shrugged his shoulders. He shook the fairy's tiny hand, forming a 'hopefully temporary' team.
The fairy smiled. "Good! Then it's settled. You and I are gonna be partners until we catch the Skull Kid. I'm Tatl. Nice to meet you, or whatever... What's your name?" The Deku gave her a confused look. Tatl mentally facepalmed herself. "Oh, right. You can't speak. Oh well. Now that we've gotten things straightened out, can we stop messing around and get out of here?" Link hung his head. He knew this was going to be a long day.
As he prepared to continue forward, he stepped on something soft. Looking down, he saw the same kind of flower he had landed on a while ago. He was intrigued and bent down to get a better look at the flower. Without warning, a branch came out of the flower, grabbed Link by the head and pulled him in. Tatl floated over the carnivourous plant. "Uh oh..." Soon after, Link launched out of the plant, ripping some of the petals from it and glided over to the other side. Tatl flew over to him when he landed.
"Wow... I'm not sure how you did that," Tatl started, "but that was amazing. You had better watch out for those. Those are the carnivorous Deku Flowers. Oddly enough, they only eat Deku Scrubs." Link sighed. "Really would've liked to to have known that earlier," he thought to himself. The two of them entered the next room. This room was a bit more complex. On each platform, there was a Deku Flower and large trees littered the room, blocking many paths. Link used each of the flowers to his advantage, even getting a few Deku Nuts along the way.
Tatl stopped him halfway through. "Hey, over there. What's that?" Link focused his attention on the small tree near the large tunnel. Using the flowers, he flew over to the beginning of the tunnel to get a better look at the tree. "It's strange," Tatl started, "but the way you look right now kinda looks like this tree." Link took a closer look. She was right. It's appearance looked very much like him. The tree's eyes were hollow and it's mouth looked just like Link's did. "It looks all dark and gloomy," Tatl continued. "Almost as if it could cry any second... How sad..." Link slowly walked away from the tree and entered the large tunnel before him.
The room around them seemed to spin as they went through the tunnel. Link teetered from side to side and Tatl had trouble flying straight. Both of them felt like they would lose their balance pretty soon. In the distance, they heard a soft tune, almost lighthearted, but somehow foreboding. As soon as Link and Tatl got to the end of the tunnel, two doors slammed shut behind them.
Link rushed over to the edge, where the water was, and puked wood shavings. Tatl flew right beside him and threw up pixie dust. Link collapsed on the floor, spitting out garbled words that didn't make sense, since he was a Deku Scrub. Tatl flew up to the nearest ledge and sat down to rest. "Ugh... oh man... I feel so dizzy..."
"Took the words right out of my mouth," Link thought. Tatl flew up to his head and knocked on his forehead. "Hey, no time for resting. Come on!" Link turned over to his side. Tatl sighed. "Look, I know you don't want to go because you feel sick, but come on, you want your stuff back, right? And you want to get back at Skull Kid for turning you into a freaking Deku Scrub, right?" Link nodded. Tatl flew up and pulled his hair. "Then let's go! We haven't got all day!" Link let out another sigh and stood up. Then threw up again.
He slowly made his way up the ramps, trying to hold onto the railings. "Ugh! Really sucks not having any freaking hands," Link thought. "Or apposable thumbs." He finally made it up the ramp and to the main floor. He didn't know where he was, but for some reason, he had expected to see someone there, waiting for him. Link shrugged and walked up to the giant doors. Tatl was following closely behind him. Suddenly, she let out a surprised ding. After she dinged, a creepy laugh came from behind the two of them.
"You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"
Link spun around and came face to face with a very slim man with red hair and a very creepy smile. He had a backpack that looked WAY too big for him. The backpack itself was filled to the brim with masks. Link recognized this person instantly. "Hey... you're the guy from the Happy Mask shop in Castle Town," Link tried to say, but only coming out as a garbled mess. The man nodded his head. "Why, yes I am, young Deku." Link jumped back a bit. "You're wondering how I can understand you, correct?" Link nodded. "Well, that's not important.
Link slowly walked towards the salesman, with Tatl hiding behind his head every step of the way. "I own the Happy Mask Shop. I travel far and wide collecting masks." Link rolled his eyes. He knew this already. The Happy Mask Salesman narrowed his gaze at the young Deku Scrub, squinting his eyes far more tighter than he possibly could. "However... during my travels, a very important mask was stolen from me by an imp in the woods." Link's eyes widened. He knew exactly what he was talking about. Tatl peeked out of her hiding spot a bit at the mention of the 'imp'. The salesman's look became more sincere. "Ah, so you DO know who I'm talking about."
"Now, don't think of me as rude, but I've been following you." Link backed away slowly from the man. "I don't think it's rude," Link tried to say. "I think it's creepy as f-." The salesman nodded a bit. "Yes, it kind of is." Link kept his distance from the salesman. Tatl went back to hiding behind his head. "Why have you been following," Link tried to say. The salesman put his hand on his chin and straightened his posture. "I know of a way to get you back to your Former Self."
All of Link's attention was now focused on the salesman. Tatl even flew out from behind Link's head. "Woah woah," she said, "you're saying you know how to change him back to his old self?" The salesman nodded. "Why, yes, I do. And it's very simple. All you have to do is get the precious item that was stolen from you. Then, I will turn you back to normal." Link jumped up and down in excitement. Tatl just rolled her eyes and just floated beside his head.
"In exchange..." Both Link and Tatl froze in place. The salesman held out his arms. "All I ask is that you get my precious mask, that the imp stole, back for me." Link exchanged a look with Tatl. The salesman gave a confused look. "Is it not a simple task? It should, by no means, be a difficult task." That reassured Link. He decided he would do it. "However," the salesman continued. Link froze in place, just as he was about to accept. "There is one... small thing." Link and Tatl gave the salesman a confused look. "You see, I am a very busy fellow, and I must leave in three days. I would be very grateful if you could get the mask back for me before my time here is up."
Link shrugged his shoulders. "Should be simple enough," he tried to say. "I'll do it. I mean, how hard could it be to get one mask in three days?" The salesman bowed to Link. "Thank you. Well then, I'm counting on you." Tatl tugged on Link's hat, signalling that it was time for them to go. Link rolled his eyes and walked up the steps to the giant door. With a heavy push, he opened the door and went outside.