PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
Clock Town
Day 3 – 10:00 AM
Link and the girls moved through town, still fresh from the night's sleep and breakfast at the ranch. It was nice to have soft, warm beds to sleep in, though the doting Cremia still insisted that Link wear that rather frilly and pink nightgown of Romani's to bed and at breakfast in the morning before his bath, with Romani (and, once they saw how cute he was in it, Homura & Miyako) happily going along with it; the young boy sighed as his cheeks tinged pink. At least it was comfortable…
Led by Tatl's mysterious 'Pointer Spell', the trio entered the mayor's office. In a side room on the right, they found a plump woman with a rather outrageous hairstyle.
"Oh dear," she said, "are you kids on a field-trip? …Or is one of you the expert person-finder I hired? Yes, yes, I say, you have the face of a pro, young lad. The characteristics of the person I want you to find… I want you to find my son, Kafei. You know him, don't you?" Link and the girls shook their heads. "You don't? Really? He disappeared about 10 days or so ago. It's terrible! I'm so very worried… I can't get food down my throat, and I've lost five pounds. You haven't anything, though? Oh dear… Well? Could you look for him?"
Link nodded.
"Oh my, of course. You are an expert. Well, I'm counting on you!"
The trio exited, asking around but getting no answers. They entered the Stockpot Inn, nodding to the front-desk lady's greeting as they sat down in the lobby.
"This is gonna take a while" Link said. "Where are we supposed to find this 'Kafei' guy, anyway?"
"You're looking for Kafei, too?"
The young woman at the front desk called them over. "I have a request" she said. "Kafei… I have a clue that could help you find him. Follow me to the kitchen."
Link and the girls followed the young woman through the inn, heading into the kitchen at the far end. She took a few minutes to write something down and seal it in an envelope, and then turned to the trio.
"My name is Anju" she told them. "Earlier this morning, I received a letter from… him. Strange, isn't it? Getting a letter from a missing person… But there's absolutely no mistaking it's from him! It's clear… to me… Please! Here is my reply to him; please put this in a postbox, and follow the postman. Once he delivers the letter, you should be able to meet Kafei. Please tell him that Anju is waiting for him."
"He is… special to you?" Homura asked.
Anju blushed. "Yes…" she replied softly and sadly.
"W-We'll get it done" Miyako said.
-Break-
Southwest Clock Town
Day 3 – 3:00 PM
Homura, Miyako, Link, and Tatl moved along the rooftops, trailing the red-hatted postman. Now, as he entered a small out-of-the-way area near a stream in the southwest corner of town, he rang a bell on a stick by the little bridge, and a few seconds later a door in the corner opened up. Out of it walked a child around Link's age, if not a little younger, wearing a kitsune mask.
"Look" Homura said. "The hair on that boy… Doesn't it look familiar?"
"T-The postman's giving him Anju's letter" Miyako said.
"Let's get down there" Link said. "But… that boy seems a little reclusive; he might run."
"You two, grab onto me" Homura ordered. "We'll be waiting inside for him."
She froze time and leapt down with her fellows, walking past the frozen boy and postman and into the house, moving up the steps and having a seat amongst the boxes and the little bed inside. Soon, the masked boy returned, shocked at seeing intruders. He focused his gaze on Link.
"Green hat…" he murmured. "Green clothes… Anju wrote about you in her letter. It seems you are looking for Kafei. …Can you three keep a secret?"
Link and the girls nodded. The boy sighed and then removed his mask… revealing a very young version of the young man featured in the picture that the mayor's wife had shown the group.
"…Kafei?" Homura asked. "How are you a child?"
"I was transformed into this form by a strange imp wearing a mask" the de-aged Kafei replied.
Link frowned. "Skull Kid…" he growled. "He's been wreaking havoc all over Termina the past few days. We've been cleaning up after his messes as best we can."
"Hmm… I'm not hiding because of my current appearance, however" Kafei said. "When I was turned into a child, I went to see the Great Fairy in the shrine near the North Gate… But on the way, my precious mask – a wedding ceremony mask – was stolen from me by some prancing man with a big, obnoxious grin on his face! I know my fiancée is worried about me… but I can't go out yet. I made a promise to Anju that I would bring that mask."
He reached into his pocket, pulling out a pendant of orange, silver, gold, and blue. "This pendant… Give it to Anju. And please, keep this whole debacle a secret."
-Break-
Stockpot Inn – 3:15 PM
"Did you meet him?" Anju asked as she saw Link and the girls enter.
Link nodded, and pulled out the pendant Kafei had given him. Anju gasped, eyes lighting up.
"That's Kafei's… That's definitely Kafei's T-Thank you! Thank you so much! …W-What happened to him?"
"He… made us promise not to tell" Link admitted. "Suffice to say, though, that his disappearance was not his choice. He's not hurt, though, if that's what you're wondering."
"Thank goodness… All right. I'll wait for him. I believe in him…"
-Break-
Kafei's Hideout – 3:45 PM
Link and the girls headed back to the hideout, entering and heading upstairs. However, Kafei was nowhere to be found. In his place was the owner of the 'Curiosity Shop', a balding man wearing a dull-orange vest over a blue shirt.
"Hmm? You the green-hat kid?" he asked. "I got a message from Kafei. I've known him since he was real little… But when he showed up as a 9-year-old a few days ago, I didn't know what I was seein'! But all it took was one glance at that Keaton Mask he was carryin' for me to realize it was him. I gave him that mask a long time ago, when he was still a tot. Didn't know he kept it that well for so long… Anyhoo, a customer came to my shop last night. Now Kafei sees 'im, and he goes red and goes runnin' after the guy. The guy's a regular; a greedy thief, named Sakon. I think he's from Ikana Village…"
-Break-
Ikana Canyon – 5:15 PM
Following Tatl's spell, the trio was led to a pile of rocks against a far wall. Behind it, they found Kafei.
"I found him, Link" the de-aged boy said. "There's a hideout behind that big fake rock wall" he pointed to a somewhat unnatural-looking side of rock nearby. "He's using the place to keep his stolen goods; his name's Sakon. I followed him here earlier, from the shop. Only Sakon can open it; the only way in is to wait for him to show up. I'm going to wait; he will show up…"
"We'll wait, too" Link replied, taking a seat.
And so, they waited, keeping a constant vigil, watching for their thief. Finally, after nearly three hours, a man in a dull white shirt and shiny blue pants came prancing along from outside the canyon, heading up toward the rock door; Kafei growled upon seeing him. Sakon walked up to the door, and a few seconds later it swung open, allowing him inside. Link, Kafei, and the girls clandestinely followed him in. Upon getting inside, Sakon seemed to have vanished.
"Ah! Look!" Tatl pointed to a glass case up ahead. "There's a mask! It looks kinda like the Sun…"
"That's it!" Kafei said. "That's the ceremony mask!"
"Wait!" Homura cried. "Don't get closer! This is too easy. Let me do it…"
From outside observers' perspective, Homura 'flickered' and vanished, and in an instant she was standing next to the glass case (which had been carefully cut open), with mask in hand.
"One can never be too careful" she said as she handed the mask to Kafei, who clutched it to his chest.
"Alright" he said. "Let's get back."
As they left the cave, however, the ground seemed to darken. From the unnatural shadows rose a horde of dark creatures, the likes of which Link and his group had been fighting their stay here – swarms of Keese and other flyers, ReDeads, Armos Knights, a few Wizzrobes, and countless others.
"Where the hell did they come from?-!" Miyako explained.
"We have to get back to Clock Town before it's too late!" Kafei said, hiding behind the young warriors.
"Then we'd better get to work" Homura replied, her aura flaring as dark runes appeared on her forearms. "Stand back…"
She gave a short war-cry, and charged.
-BREAK-
Clock Town – 11:50 PM
The fight back to the Clock Town had been long and brutal, making their way around or through countless ambushes by the Skull Kid's underlings. Homura and Miyako had done most of the fighting, leaving them somewhat tired, but they pressed on. Finally, with the face-bearing Moon worryingly large and low in the sky, they returned to town, hurrying for the Stockpot Inn. They moved upstairs, following Kafei up to the employees-only lounge, and entered.
All was silent as Kafei approached Anju, who was seated on a bed, holding a moon-themed mask. As he drew close, he pulled out the Sun's Mask. Anju gasped, moving forward and getting down on her knees.
"We promised…" Kafei said softly. "We promised to… exchange these masks on the day of the carnival… And the curse that the Skull Kid placed on me will not stop that. Anju… I'm sorry I was late…"
As understanding dawned on her, Anju gave her de-aged fiancée a teary smile. "Welcome home, dear…" she whispered.
They came closer to each other, touching the masks together, and she then pulled him into a close hug, holding him tight.
"The oaths have been exchanged…" she whispered, sniffling. "Link… You and your friends are our witnesses."
Anju and Kafei turned their heads to look at the young heroes from afar without breaking their embrace.
"Take refuge…" Kafei told them. "We are fine here. We shall face the dawn… together…"
"…Yes" Link replied. "Yes, you will." He turned to Homura and Miyako. "We've done all we can, girls. ...Let's head to the top of the clock tower, and end this…"
The two Puellae Magi nodded, and the reunited couple watched as Link confidently drew his sword, Homura her crossbow, and Miyako her hammer. The trio made their exit, setting out to put an end to the cycle of suffering.
-SCENE BREAK-
12:00 Midnight
Three people and a fairy stepped up onto the roof of the Clock Tower. Straight up was the face-bearing Moon, frighteningly close and growing closer by the minute. And floating several feet above the center of the roof was an imp-like being, wearing a brown and green outfit with pointed shoes and a large dull-red hat, and on his face was a bizarre-looking mask, vaguely heart-shaped with several large spikes sticking out in all directions, with a face of reds, blues, and purples, and yellow eyes.
"So that is the Skull Kid and the Mask of Majora…" Homura murmured.
A small purple fairy fluttered out from behind the Skull Kid. "Sis!" it – he – shouted down to Tatl. "Swamp, mountain, ocean, canyon; hurry. The four who are there… bring them here…"
"Don't speak out of line!" the Skull Kid shouted in a distorted voice as he smacked Tael aside. "Stupid fairy!"
"Tael!" Tatl cried. "That does it! I won't let things go the way you plan them to!"
"Whatever. Even if they were to come now, they wouldn't be able to handle me…" The imp let out a deranged little giggle in his tainted voice. "Just look above you… If you think you can stop it, then go ahead and try!-!"
And then the Skull Kid threw his head back and let out a call, a piercing psionic shriek that reached up into the heavens. The moon overhead began to approach at a much more rapid pace, plummeting toward Clock Town. But Link did not panic; instead, he pulled out the Ocarina of Time and began to play a slow, low melody, the magic of the spell-song reaching great distances as it raced out in all directions. The Skull Kid, realizing with horror what was happening, charged at Link, but then Homura got in his path and blasted him point-blank with a powerful shockwave-pulse of magic. He was knocked back a fair distance, landing on the roof and going still.
From the four cardinal directions, the quartet of guardian deities materialized. Their footsteps shook the earth as they converged upon Clock Town, taking position beneath the plummeting moon. As it drew close, they raised up their hands as if to catch it, and unleashed their divine power. The moon shuddered as it attempted to force its way down through the powerful magic that the Four Giants were hitting it with, but before long the wayward celestial object came to a halt, held in place by the entities' power and strength.
"They… They did it…" Tatl said. "We did it!"
"Tatl!"
"Tael!"
The two fairy siblings fluttered around each other in celebration.
"Thank goodness we made it in time" Tatl said. "I can't believe how much damage the Skull Kid has caused! Does he have any idea how much pain he's brought about?-!"
"Wait, sis. Please… don't be too hard on him…"
"Why are you protecting him?-! Even after how much he smacked you around!"
"He was lonely…"
"He was trying to destroy the damn world! That is not the same as a lonely child! We can't allow that!"
"The power of the mask made him do it. It was too much for the Skull Kid to handle."
"It's 'cause he doesn't know his place! On top of having a weak will and having no strength of heart… he's a fool!"
"Certainly, he had far too much weakness to use my power."
Everyone turned to face the center of the rooftop, where the mask affixed to the Skull Kid's head floated a few feet off the ground, the Skull Kid's unconscious body dangling from it. The spikes sticking out from the mask's edges wiggled around.
"A puppet that is broken and can no longer be used is but garbage to be discarded."
Tendrils emerged from within the mask, traveling down and wrapping around the unconscious Skull Kid's neck and upper body. There was a sickening tearing, cracking sound as the body was spun 180 degrees. The mask came loose, letting the Skull Kid's body fall to the ground.
"What… What the hell are you?" Tael whispered in horror.
"…I am Majora."
"The mask?" Tatl said, incredulous. "The mask is the bad guy?-!"
Majora's Mask then flew upward, vanishing into the moon. The moon's eyes glowed yellow and it began to force itself down, the four Giants visibly struggling to hold it back.
"Aaah! This is bad!" Tatl panicked. "Let's go back! Let's go back! Hurry! The Song of Time! The Song of Time!-!"
"No" Link replied. "We've come too far. We have to finish this."
"Aw, come on! Don't tell me you're going up there! That's suicide, Link!"
"So was invading Ganondorf's castle" the boy replied. "I can't let this entire world perish! I'm going to put a stop to this!"
"Well, you can count me out! I don't have a death wish!"
"Then I'll go!" Tael said.
"What?-! Tael, you're all I have left! There's no way I'm letting you get yourself killed up there!"
"Look out!-!"
A blast of dark magic had been fired down from the moon while everyone was busy arguing. Link looked up just as it neared him… and crashed against a shimmering blue magic barrier. The caster of the technique emerged from the flare of light, fluttering down in front of Link, whose eyes widened in recognition and surprised joy. He'd spent so long looking for her, and now…
"Good to see you again, Link" Navi said. She looked up and around. "Just like old times, huh?"
Link had a big smile on his face as he nodded. "So what now?" he asked. "I know it's been a while, Navi, but… ready to take on a diabolical ultimate evil again?"
"Sure! I got my game face on! …Well, if I had a face. Anyway, let's do this!" She turned to the others. "I'm sorry, you girls, but I can only transport one person at a time. Link and I will have to do this on our own."
"It's alright" Homura replied. "We'll remain here, in case we are needed."
"Cool. Okay, Link, you ready?"
Link nodded, and Navi flew over to him, taking her old favorite perch atop his hat. In a flash of blue light, Link and his old companion vanished.
-Break-
Unknown Location
Unknown Time
Link opened his eyes to find himself in a large… 'room'. There were swirling psychedelic colors on the walls, floor, and ceiling, and mounted on the far wall was the Mask of Majora, seemingly dormant. The pre-teen Hero of Time drew his blade, as he & Navi advanced slowly and cautiously. As they neared the center of the room, the four masks that Link carried from the four Temple bosses emerged from their subspace storage, floating over to the walls on either side of Majora's Mask, mounting themselves there with two on each side. Then, Majora's Mask lit up and detached from the wall, moving forward. As it did so, it grew in size until it was as tall as Link, several long tentacles/tendrils extending from its rear side.
Demonic Artifact – MAJORA'S MASK
The giant mask slowly floated toward Link, and then turned on its side and flew at him while spinning, its spikes letting it act as a flying buzzsaw. Link barely managed to duck and roll out of the way, and shot the Mask with a Light Arrow before it could reorient itself. The monster-mask shuddered as it took damage, then turned to face Link and fired a continuous laser beam. Link used his Mirror Shield to deflect the beam, angling it so it hit the Mask, and then rushed in and dealt a jumping slash to the entity.
Majora's Mask pulsed with dark power, and the four temple-boss masks detached from the walls, flying around and firing energy blasts at Link. The young hero managed to hit the Odolwa Mask with two Fire Arrows that brought it down, and then deflected another beam from Majora into the Twinmold Mask, destroying it as well. The Goht Mask charged at him, but Navi cast a Shield spell that it smacked into, being stunned by the unexpected impact and leaving it open to a slash from Link that dispatched it. Finally, the Gyorg Mask tried to attack Link from behind, but he spun and hit it with an Ice Arrow. As it fell to the ground, frozen, he struck it with his sword, shattering it.
Majora came flying at Link again, buzzsaw-style, and the boy hero used his shield to block the spinning tackle, being shoved back a bit by the momentum before he then bashed his shield forward, knocking Majora's Mask back and allowing him to land a combo of blows with his gilded sword. The evil mask lashed out with its tentacle-tendrils, battering at Link's shield and forcing him back. However, Navi hit it in the face with a light-flare spell, stunning and disorienting it, allowing Link to launch a withering counterattack, a flurry of heavy blows with his sword. He finished with a Spin Attack that sent the demonic mask clattering across the floor.
The mask floated up, bulk forming in back. With a strange sound, a long, spindly leg of sorts instantly formed from the lower-left corner of the mask, followed by another on the other side. Similar arms formed, and then from the top sprouted a head that seemed to be almost entirely just a single large eye with a pair of pointed horns. The… creature made a few odd little noises as it danced around.
Bizarre Entity – MAJORA'S INCARNATION
The thing that Majora had transformed into skittered around with surprising speed, leaving an afterimage in its wake. Link was on guard but confused; the being's movements seemed completely random. It came at him doing a strange squatting dance, but when he swung his sword it ballet-twirled away, avoiding the blow. He rushed at it, but it moonwalked out of his range. Then it began hopping around while firing a rapid barrage of energy blasts at Link; he bit back a curse as he rolled to avoid some, using his shield to block the others. Majora giggled insanely at the boy's discomfort and annoyance, and then began moving around again. This time, however, Link drew his bow and, with expert timing, fired an enchanted arrow at Majora. The creature let out a surprised shriek as it fell over onto its face, and Link wasted no time in closing in and slashing at it with his sword. He managed to deal a few solid blows before Majora got back on its feet and skittered/danced away again.
Majora's Incarnation pirouetted to dodge another arrow. Link pulled out and put on his Zora Mask, and tossed a double Boomerang Fin-Blade. Majora dodged one, but got clipped in the head by the other, stunning it long enough for Zora-Link to rush in with electric barrier surging and tackle the entity, following up with a barrage of punches. After a few seconds of punishment Majora kicked him away, and Link removed the Zora Mask and brought his shield up in time to block another barrage of energy blasts. Link then donned his Goron Mask and rolled at Majora's Incarnation, which dodged. Goron-Link kept moving, however, rolling along and sometimes bouncing off the walls, building speed and momentum. Majora watched, confused, as the transformed hero continued to pinball around the room, getting faster and faster. Then, Goron-Link abruptly changed course, going straight for Majora. The gangly abomination barely got out of the way in time. …And then, Link bounced off the wall behind, came back before his target could react, and slammed full-force into Majora's back. As the entity was sent skidding across the floor, Link uncurled and used what momentum he had left to land a devastating Fire Punch that hammered the Incarnation into the floor so hard that it bounced.
Majora's Incarnation let out a screech of rage as it unleashed a pulse of energy that knocked Link away, while also undoing his transformation. The entity got to its feet, and its body began to change. Its arms and legs grew and shifted, going from spindly little stick-limbs to solid and muscular. The mask-chest changed in color and pattern, while bulking out with what seemed like muscle. And its head had now transformed into a demonic visage, with glowing yellow slit-eyes beneath the single larger eye on its forehead, along with a mouth full of fangs. It truly looked like something straight out of Hell now. Majora formed two huge, thick whips from its forearms, and roared as its power flared.
Eldritch Daemon – MAJORA'S WRATH
Majora fired a barrage of energy blasts at Link, who dodge-rolled and shielded to withstand them. The instant Link moved to lower his shield and stand up, however, he saw Majora already rushing at him with frightening speed. Link took a whip blow from the side, sending him tumbling across the room; he jabbed his sword into the ground to arrest his uncontrolled movement, wincing as his side throbbed from a blow that would've crushed every rib on that side of his body had he not been reinforced with the Goron Elder's defensive-magic boost. The boy growled as he drew and fired a Light Arrow, impacting Majora in the center of the chest, but it seemed to not do too much damage; the beast snarled and fired another wave of energy bursts, and Link ran to the side, narrowly dodging them.
The instant Link had dodged the last bolt, however, Majora appeared in front of him, and for Link time seemed to move in slow motion as the beast's clawed foot came at his face… only for two flashes of light to Link's right to precede a kick to Majora's face from a leg clad in black diamond-pattern stocking that sent the monster hurtling into a nearby wall. A second later, a barrage of sharp icicles struck Majora, piercing into its body. Link looked over, and saw Homura standing by with Tatl hovering overhead, and Miyako with hammer at the ready and Tael perched on her shoulder.
"You came…" Link said.
"Yeah, yeah, they guilt-tripped me" Tatl grumbled. "Don't expect me to make a habit of it…"
Tael giggled. "You were worried sick about Link, sis."
"SHUT UP, TAEL!-!"
Majora let out a furious roar as it got back on its feet, the ice-spikes embedded into its body being forcefully ejected. The monster swung one of its huge whips at the trio, but Homura activated her forearm-device's shield function, and it projected a circular magic rune-shield around six feet across that blocked the hit. Link quickly charged in and dealt a series of blows to Majora with his sword, pushing the demon back and wounding it. Miyako jumped in over Link, landing a crushing blow with her hammer that sent Majora flying. The demon managed to land on its feet, however, and fired a burning laser beam from the large eye on its forehead. Link used his Mirror Shield to deflect it long enough for Homura to land a flaming kick into Majora's side, scorching it and knocking it aside, forcing it to cut off its attack. The demon then snarled as it grabbed her by the leg, swung her around, and tossed her clear across the room; Miyako caught her and put her down on her feet.
Link shot Majora in the face with a Light Arrow, and the beast howled as it reeled back, covering its face. He used the opportunity while the demon was stunned to dash in and deal several more blows before being forced back. The distraction, meanwhile, had given Homura to cast Flagrantia Rubicans, the wave of flame slamming into Majora and scorching the demon's body. The monster charged and fired a large blast of destructive energy at Homura and Miyako, only for Link to step in the way and, with perfect timing, swing his enchanted sword and strike the energy ball, knocking it right back at Majora, who couldn't get out of the way in time and took it head-on.
When the smoke cleared Majora was obviously wounded, growling under its breath as it staggered. Then it roared, its evil aura flaring, a burst of wind racing out from it. Its whips crackled with dark power, and its eyes glowed red. The demon took a deep breath and then breathed/spat out a barrage of razor-sharp shards of solidified dark magic; Miyako launched her own ice shards, impacting and neutralizing some of them, while Link and Homura used their shields to block the rest. Majora swung its dark-energized whips, but Homura's arms glowed with Magia Erebea runes as she planted her feet and caught the appendages, and then with a mighty heave she swung, yanking Majora off its feet and slamming it into a wall. Immediately she started launching magic bolts at the downed entity, while Link fired Light Arrows as fast as he could, and Miyako conjured and fired ice spears. The onslaught heavily damaged Majora, who was unable to escape it.
After the barrage ceased, Majora struggled to its feet. Its whips had been blown off, its left eye was gone, and it had multiple other wounds all over its body. The demon snarled as it bared its claws, focusing on Link. The boy in question readied his sword. After a few seconds, the two charged each other, Majora letting out a roar and Link's sword faintly glowing with power. They met in the middle and made their strikes. After a second, a small gash appeared in Link's tunic… and a bright flash slashed across Majora's body. The beast screeched as it floated off the ground, light pouring out of its wounds. The demon's body rapidly disintegrated, and a wall of light raced out, enveloping everyone…
-SCENE BREAK-
A shining light enveloped the evil moon. The townsfolk below, having come out of hiding, watched in awe as the face-bearing rock vanished in a beautiful burst of light, leaving a shimmering rainbow in its wake. The four Giants relaxed, their burden lifted. And just outside the town walls, a flash of light deposited three young heroes and three fairies. They were tired, but they were happy.
They'd won. Majora had been utterly destroyed.
The next thing Link knew, he was swept up into a hug by Cremia, the young woman holding him tight and nuzzling him. Romani pattered up soon after, joining in the hug, and Link finally allowed himself to relax, leaning against Cremia as he all but crashed from the adrenaline leaving him.
Then, the four Giants' calls sounded out, as – with Majora's taint finally, fully gone – they cast their magic. Inside the town, little Kafei's body glowed and grew, as he was rapidly returned to his normal age. Link's Deku, Goron, and Zora Masks floated out and up, light converging on them that soon became too bright to look at. When it faded, a little Deku scrub stood beside Darmani and Mikau, all three very much alive and whole. Finally, the Skull Kid's body floated up, the Giants' magic flowing into it, returning life to it, and the now-exorcised imp opened his eyes once more. Their task done, the ancient guardian entities vanished into thin air, returning to their realm.
-SCENE BREAK-
Day 4 – 9:30 AM
Link relaxed in the 'front yard' of the ranch, while Cremia, Homura, and Miyako were supervising Romani's archery training a little ways away. His side was still a little sore and bruised from where Majora's blow had landed, but nothing was broken and he was healing fairly quickly. He'd been fairly exhausted in the wake of the battle, and had collapsed asleep the second Cremia laid his head on the pillow in the room he & Romani shared. She had let him sleep in a little this morning, and… he blushed faintly as he remembered her holding him in her lap and hand-feeding him, though it had been very comforting.
Link was brought back to the present as a small, controlled rift appeared about 60 feet off the ground nearby. He and the girls looked up as an armored figure flew out aboard some sort of bizarre flying craft. It flew down, the craft vanishing as the figure landed, the motes of light that the craft burst into reforming into a key-like weapon in the figure's hands. The blue and silver armor vanished, revealing a young woman around Cremia's age with blue hair.
"Hello, Aqua" Homura greeted. "Thank you for coming. I trust you've read the incident report I sent?"
"Yes I have" the young Keyblade Master replied. "Are you ready to go?"
"Almost" Miyako replied. She then turned to Link. "Aqua c-can get us back to your realm – to Hyrule. Then, we'll h-have the dimensional coordinates of both Hyrule and Termina, and can s-set up ways to travel between them. We can forge one such link between t-this ranch and your home back in Hyrule, if you want. That way, you won't really have to part with the people here."
"…Setting the link up in Kokiri Village might not be a good idea" Link replied. "The Kokiri aren't used to outsiders. I'll talk to the Princess, though; I'm sure Zelda won't mind if we find a place in Castle Town or thereabouts!"
"Please be careful, you three" Cremia said. "Whatever happens, know you have a place here if you ever need it."
"We will" Homura said, with a small smile. "Thank you."
Before Link could say anything else, Romani came up to Link and hugged him tight, and he returned her embrace a moment later, feeling her relax as she leaned against him. She looked up at him, her cheeks pink.
"I don't care if people are watching…" she whispered.
Then she leaned in and kissed him. Inexperienced he may have been, but Link did his best to return the kiss, and was rewarded by a quiet, happy little moan coming from Romani's throat. The two kids' faces were red as they stayed connected for a few moments longer before slowly breaking apart. Romani giggled softly as she looked into Link's eyes.
"You better get going before Big Sis and I decide to keep you here forever, Link" she said quietly. "See ya soon, I hope."
Link, still in a slight daze from the kiss, nodded as he slowly, reluctantly stepped back, Romani holding onto his hand for as long as she could. He walked over to where Homura, Miyako, Aqua, Navi, and Epona were waiting.
"Tael and I will help out here for a while" Tatl told them. "And then we'll go look for the Skull Kid; maybe being de-masked and brought back from the dead will have changed him…"
Aqua gathered her magic, and then stabbed the tip of the Master Keeper into the ground. A crown-shaped magic rune appeared at the group's feet, power surging up as it prepared for the jump. The two groups waved good-bye to each other, until a flash of light enveloped Link's group, carrying them back to Hyrule.
-CHAPTER END-
Notice that it says "Chapter End", not "Book 23 End". There's still more coming. Next Time: Hyrule