Chapter 35: Wisdom and Courage against Insanity
As the group followed the traveling Goron, they entered a large, wide area within the stone cavern. The Goron itself dashed onward, squashing a few more Lizalfos while causing the others to flee. But just as the Goron had made it to the other side and passed through the building, the door closed, while a barrier locked itself behind Link and the Sages, trapping them inside the large room!
"What the-?!" Rauru and Darunia exclaimed as this happened.
The group itself looked around as the area itself darkened a little, wondering what was going on, right before a spotlight was shining on the group from above.
"So, you managed to survive the lava outpost," a dark, chilling voice said, addressing the group, "too bad you couldn't prevent our conquest of Termina…"
As the group looked forward, they could see something floating ahead in front of them. It had the appearance of a mask, but it was heart-shaped with spikes on top and the sides, while at the front were two, soul-piercing eyes! It was Majora, or better yet, the MASK of Majora!
"You!" Link growled.
"Surprised to see me again? I am also surprised to see you back in the flesh as well…" Majora's Mask said.
Link's hands twitched, out of instinct moving to grab his sword and shield, but before he could even do so, a set of tendrils lashed out to the group, keeping them suspended for the time being as they struggled to get free.
"You eight have been quite a thorn in the sides of both Ganondorf and myself, hence I decided to take matters in my own hands. It's high time you'll come to understand that you are powerless to stop us, no matter how much you love to try to prove otherwise." Majora said.
"Oh yeah? You'll be eating those words once we're through with you!" Link snapped.
"Really now? I wouldn't be so sure of that. Let's see how you can do anything when you can't even MOVE!" Majora said, right before it began to shake all around, a malevolent aura emanating from the mask, striking the captured hero and promptly turned him into a stone statue, petrifying him!
"LINK!" Zelda exclaimed, right before she too was turned into stone, much to Impa's horror.
"What have you done?!" Saria asked.
"Those two simply wouldn't shut up. Might as well let you join them." Majora said, cackling as he also turned Saria into stone.
"CURSE YOU!" Nabooru snapped.
"Curse me? Funny you should say that, since I am the one who is capable of cursing people!" Majora laughed, before promptly turning Nabooru into stone, quickly followed by Ruto, Darunia and Rauru, leaving only Impa.
"What the-?! This is intolerable!" Impa said.
"Maybe so. Too bad you can't do anything against it." Majora said, before turning Impa to stone as well.
Once he was done with petrifying the entire group, Majora retracted the tendrils it used to hold the now-petrified group on.
"Heh, heh… this reminds me of the time I turned that young Deku boy into a tree and used its soul to curse that forest boy with… hopefully this will put an end to your pointless battle against Ganondorf and me…" Majora said, laughing… before he stopped as a glow appeared on the back of Link's right hand.
"What the-?!" Majora asked, just as the glow intensified… before a magic sphere appeared from it, beginning to engulf the petrified group until the bright light hid them from sight.
Creaking sounds followed, right before a dull explosion was heard, sending stone fragments all over the area. As the light shrunk after about a minute or two, the Six Sages were standing there, back to normal as if nothing happened, but the glowing sphere remained…
"Huh?! What's going on?!" Saria asked, looking herself over to see that she was perfectly fine, as were the other five Sages.
"That's what I want to know, too!" Nabooru said.
"Wait, where's Link and Zelda?!" Impa asked.
Before any of the others could answer, the entire group then heard the unmistakable sounds of bones snapping and/or twisting around, before a humanoid shape appeared from the sphere, moving in a standing position. As the light eventually faded, the group could see that there was one person standing there… whom had the distinct appearance of Fierce Deity Link and looked like him in every way, complete with Link's eyes, the prominent facial markings on his forehead and around his eyes, the lunar crest and triangle on the breast plate of his armor and the crest of the Hyrulean Royal Family underneath it, coupled with… wait what?!
"Wait, where is Zelda?!" Nabooru asked, just as Rauru spotted something glowing on the back of the Fierce Deity Link's hand… it were not one, but TWO pieces of the Triforce… the ones of Wisdom and Courage!
Before Rauru could even comment, he could see that Majora's Mask was trembling.
"No, no, no, no, NO! THIS CAN'T BE!" It howled in fear, making Fierce Deity Link growl, before dashing forward and struck the Mask with his Double-Helix Sword, severing the tendrils at its back in the process which promptly disintegrated into nothingness.
Majora's Mask was sent wobbling downward to the back, obviously heavily damaged, before it emitted a shriek that opened the door on the far side of the area, before an armada of Dinolfos and Stalfos entered the area, ready to attack, while Majora's Mask went in retreat. Fierce Deity Link narrowed his eyes, his sword beginning to emit the glow that meant that a Sword Beam was ready to be fired on the target.
"I'll try to explain things later, but now is not the time!" He said to the Sages, who then got ready to attack as well, although blinking at the fact that, while Fierce Deity Link retained his voice, it almost appeared as if there was a different pitch to it.
As the Dinolfos and Stalfos attacked, Fierce Deity Link and the Sages retaliated with great vigor, plowing through the enemy forces with ease. Their new powers did help in this as the Dinolfos were taken out with one hit (although their powered Swords and the use of their skills like the Ending Blow, Mortal Blow, Jump Strike and Great Spin contributed a lot to this) and they also had lesser trouble in dealing with the Stalfos, as they went down in about two to three strikes altogether. Several of the more unlucky Dinolfos were literally cut in two, either horizontally or vertically, just as more of them came in, this time accompanied by two Eyegores, four spear-wielding Moblins, five Ball and Chain Troopers and two trident-wielding Taros.
"Everybody, hang on!" Darunia said as he balled up, rolling a bit forward as he apparently charged at the incoming enemies, right before jumping up and smashing onto the ground with an enormous Goron Pound, crushing several Stalfos and Dinolfos in its wake and sending two of the Moblins down, right before Fierce Deity Link used his Sword Beams to down the two other, charging Moblins, in effect protecting Saria and Ruto as they tackled the Eyegores. Impa clashed her daggers with the tridents of the Taros that attacked her, turning and twisting around with great flexibility and agility to keep the two occupied, before stabbing one of them in the neck, cutting its jugular vein which killed the Taros instantly, after which Impa slashed the trident of the other in two, using the momentum to catch the creature's neck between her legs in a scissor-like motion, twisting her legs to snap the neck in question, ceasing the struggles of the other Taros as well. Rauru used his Light-based magic to disintegrate a decent portion of the Stalfos and Dinolfos to give the others some reprieve and the chance to properly recover and focus on the remaining attackers. Saria managed to trap several enemies among her vines, after which she and Ruto worked together to create a waterspout that sent them flying and crashing around the area, to the point of even crashing against other enemies. Just then, Nabooru clocked several Iron Knuckles entering the room, making her nervous, but retained her determined composure.
"We have Iron Knuckles up ahead!" She shouted.
"Got them!" Fierce Deity Link said, beginning to blast them with his Sword Beams, magically burning them to get rid of the outer armor.
Impa did her best to beat as many enemies as she could, but at times when she had some reprieve, she couldn't help to wonder what has happened to Zelda as she was absent from the battle.
"You worry about Zelda?" Rauru then asked after nailing a Dinolfos trying to pull off a sneak attack on her.
"Yeah…" Impa said.
"She's still with us, but it appears that Link somehow has gained her Triforce Piece for the time being…"
"What? Link has her Triforce of Wisdom?! But how?!"
"That is something that only Link can answer. I do not exactly know how, but I believe that this is definitely Zelda's doing…" Rauru said, just as Majora's Mask re-entered the field after Fierce Deity Link decimated the Iron Knuckles and Saria and Ruto finished off the Eyegores, while the remainder of the Stalfos and Dinolfos were finished off by the remaining Sages.
"So… you are more persistent than I thought…" Majora said, getting angry as he observed the group.
"So are you for being an obnoxious prick that takes pleasure in making other people's lives a living hell!" Fierce Deity Link retorted.
"Hmph, whatever. If you think you can take us on still…" The mask then said, before emanating a glow of its own as it apparently began to transform.
Fierce Deity Link and the Sages had to shield their eyes for a moment until the glow diminished, but where Fierce Deity Link remained serious, the Sages were either in shock or scared, as Majora's Mask became Majora's Wrath, a grotesque humanoid form with many colors littered across its body, with a face that had a third eye on the forehead and long tentacles on its hands. While the Sages were horrified at this tall, grotesque form of Majora, Fierce Deity Link was more than ready to attack.
"Now, I will make sure you will STAY dead!" Majora roared.
"Fat chance, freak, have some of this!" Fierce Deity Link snapped as he unleashed a Sword Beam to magically burn Majora, before dashing at him and used a jump attack to strike at him, slashing his leg.
Majora howled in pain as Fierce Deity Link kept slashing away at him before he recovered, ready to strike Fierce Deity Link with his long tentacles, only to be intercepted by an arrow courtesy of Saria, giving the others the opportunity to get some blows in themselves. Darunia charged up ahead with a spiked Goron Roll, dashing into Majora and slamming him against the wall, striking him a few times so that the others could come closer and deal some damage in themselves. Saria just smacked him with her sword several times, Ruto preferred the use of her Boomerang to stun him. Rauru used his Light-based magic attacks to burn him with the power of Light, where as Nabooru and Impa both used their blades as well, in effect making Majora suffer quite a beating before Majora threw the group off, growling.
Majora was heavily injured, some of its tendrils had been severed, but he was still alive!
"Don't think that this is over yet, you fools," He snarled, getting up, "you may have won this battle, but this is only a minor setback compared to what we have achieved!"
"Save your breath, maniac! You will get your dues and Ganondorf will also pay for what he has done to this land AND to us!" Fierce Deity Link said.
"Oh yeah? Then how about you come to our new castle to find out if you can do just that?" Majora then taunted.
"Oh, trust us, we will." Darunia said, slamming his fists together as he was eager to deal some pain.
"I'd love to see you try… if you even can GET there, that is…"
"We will see, you filthy animal, but whatever happens once we do, YOU will not live long enough to see us beating Ganondorf once and for all!" Fierce Deity Link said.
"Impudent fools… you haven't seen the last of me!" Majora then snapped, before vanishing altogether, leaving the group alone in stunned silence.
"Did he just… flee like a coward?!" Ruto asked.
"Maybe, or it is simply a tactic of his, as if he wanted to see what we've been capable of so far…" Fierce Deity Link said.
Saria, Nabooru and Darunia nodded at this.
"Link, what happened to Zelda?" Impa then asked.
"Hm? Oh, I'm sorry…" He said, before taking the Fierce Deity Mask off, reverting Link back to his normal state… while at the same time a glow appeared right next to Link… which then turned into the aforementioned Hyrulean princess herself, making the remaining Sages blink.
"What happened to you, Zelda?" Impa asked.
Zelda however smiled.
"Well, what technically happened is that, for a brief moment, I lent my powers to Link." She said.
"What?! But how?!" Rauru asked.
"I think these might explain it…" Link said as he and Zelda both showed their still-glowing Triforce pieces on their hands.
"I… see…" Impa said, still confused.
"What basically happened is that, while we all were turned into stone by Majora, my Triforce piece activated itself and began to envelop me in a glow, as if restoring me back to normal. This in turn engulfed Zelda as well, triggering her Triforce piece in kind." Link began.
"While Link put on his Fierce Deity's Mask as he wanted to deal pain to Majora for what he did to us, I felt that he could use some extra help with this, so I decided, much to Link's own surprise, to lend my powers to him which in turn turned you lot back to normal." Zelda said.
"How is that even possible?" Nabooru asked.
"Well, according to the legend of the Triforce, those who bear part of it have benefits of its power; it could protect them from specific curses or areas, have the curse affect them temporarily or it affects them in a different fashion. Either way, while either piece gives the wielder their own set of mystical abilities and powers, it appears that Wisdom and Courage hold an equal share of power within them; whereas Link's determination to save us and the lands around us while defeating the enemy gives him the courage to do whatever it takes to achieve those goals, Zelda's wisdom allowed her to make the right decisions to do what she feels necessary to aid others in any field, including battle and recovery. On top of that, The Triforce of Courage has proven to protect Link from evil magic to some extent." Rauru said.
The Sages could see the logic in that; it explained why Link was able to return back to normal on his own accord and, with Zelda's added power and wisdom, the Triforce of Courage could expand its own influence over to the Sages in turn.
"But how come you weren't here with us physically? We saw Fierce Deity Link with us, but not you…" Saria said to Zelda.
"Well, I have to tell you that I did notice Fierce Deity Link having Zelda's Triforce piece as well as the crest of the Hyrule Royal Family on his armor…" Rauru said.
"That was actually a bit of a mutual agreement between us, as an adaptation to my initial plan…" Zelda said.
"You see, when I wanted to transform into the Fierce Deity using the purified mask after I turned back to normal, Zelda stopped me for a brief moment, telling me that she wanted to give me her powers in order to save you and beat the living daylights out of Majora. I initially was against the idea as it would leave her vulnerable or even worse than that, something that Zelda herself was aware of." Link said.
"Which is why I decided to pull off a tricky and risky maneuver. Once I told him about this plan and that it would be certain it would help in our goals of saving you, beating Majora and keeping me safe, Link conceded and allowed me to do what was necessary to pull it off. When Link put the Fierce Deity Mask and was about to transform, I transferred my powers as well as my soul into him, which in turn caused my body to initially vanish." Zelda replied.
"So, technically speaking, you used your powers to fuse yourself with Link to give him the power needed to revive us and beat Majora?" Impa asked.
"Yes," Zelda said, "once Majora would be beaten, we would reverse this process so it would bring us back to normal, as you can see here."
Impa sighed of relief.
"I didn't know you could actually do something like that." Rauru said.
"To be honest, I was initially having some second thoughts about it myself, but it appears my own status as well as the determination of Link convinced me to go through with it." Zelda said, to which Link sheepishly grinned.
The Sages all smiled.
"At least we're fine for now…" Saria said.
"Wait, what about that Goron who wanted to guide us?!" Ruto then said.
"Oh no! Let's find him!" Link said as he moved off with the Sages in tow to the opened door, moving to the right to look for the Goron.
Moving through the stone cavern in their rush to find the Goron guide, the group eventually arrived in a different landscape, as if they had taken a detour and ended up at the coast.
"Where is he?" Zelda asked.
"Beats me; he could have rolled onward while we were busy dealing with Majora." Impa said.
"Look, I can see Zora Cape up ahead! We must have reached a different side of the Great Bay Coast altogether!" Ruto said.
"There's a path leading downward towards a small dock. Let's go, perhaps the Goron must have gone that way." Link said, hopping down to the path and ran downward.
The Sages followed Link as he moved towards the dock, with Link noticing a few boats out once they were closer to it. The area appeared to be secluded, ideal for a hermit or someone like that. Once they arrived at the house, the Goron was waiting for them.
"What happened?" The Goron asked.
"We got ambushed by Majora once you had a lead on us. We managed to defeat him this time, but he fled before we could deliver the killing strike." Link said, feeling that would be enough information.
The Goron nodded.
"You can use these boats to reach Zora Cape. Just be careful not to be spotted by enemy soldiers on the coast." He said.
"Thanks for the heads up."
"Don't mention it."
With that, the group got on one of the boats and, once it started, Darunia steered it towards Zora Cape.
Already the group could feel the effects of the cursed environment as the air seemed a bit more dense than usual and the water had regained its murky appearance. Link sighed in sadness, knowing that his efforts to cleanse this land had apparently become undone. Saria and Zelda both put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, to which he smiled, acknowledging it with a nod of gratitude. Watching this, Impa realized that the children of the group were a lot more mature than they apparently seemed in appearance. Then again, the recent events aren't something one could take for granted. Thankfully, the trip towards Zora Cape was uneventful as Link chose to go around the back, where he had to play the New Wave Bossa Nova in order to gain access to the Great Bay Temple in the far distance. Upon arriving on the back entrance, the group went off the boat and entered the Zora Hall, where the Zora people, including the Indigo-go's, the most famous band in Termina, had gathered. The Zoras saw them and, recognizing them, were elated to see friendly people around. Upon being asked why the Zoras had pulled back inside the hall, the explanation was simple; the corruption of the area as well as the conquest done by Ganondorf and Majora led them to pull back into their safe haven, but this did leave Lulu unable to go out to the Marine Research Laboratory at the Coast in order to check on her children. On top of that, the rivers now saw an expansion of their more hostile counterparts, the River Zoras, whom have attacked several of the Sea Zoras, of which Ruto was its princess, as well as other denizens, mostly for being just too close to their territory and also because Sea Zoras and River Zoras don't get along with each other as well…
"… and now you plan to put an end to the threat that Ganondorf and Majora pose?" Lulu, the singer of the Indigo-go's asked.
"Yes. We wish to bring Hyrule and Termina back into an era of peace and prosperity, the way it should have been." Princess Ruto said.
Lulu nodded at this, understanding what Ruto was getting at.
"However, equipped as you are, you may not be able to do much as it is; security has been ramped up a lot ever since word got out of you having raided some of their outposts. Fortunately, we managed to raid several items from those areas as spoils of treasure when we pulled our comrades back. I believe they will be of great use to you." She said, just as a few Zoras came, carrying a chest to the group. Opening the chest, the group blinked at what they saw.
"We've been working to prepare these items properly for you. One of which being arrows that can be combined with Bombs, creating Bomb Arrows, which can be used to detonate targets at great distances which can't be reached by either Bombs or Bombchus." Lulu said.
"That's cool!" Link said, taking the arrows as he felt that they could use them well.
"We also have Ice Arrows for you, to freeze enemies and create ice platforms on water-based surfaces."
"Sweet!" Zelda said, as she and Link took the Ice Arrows as well.
"For our Princess, we give this Medallion." Lulu then said, giving Ruto a medallion that had a lightning-bolt like image on it.
"What is this?" Princess Ruto asked.
"This is known as the 'Ether Medallion'. It can be used to strike at airborne targets due to it launching an attack in the atmosphere. Ground-based enemies or enemies that aren't directly killed will end up frozen, as if they're frozen with Ice Arrows or an Ice Rod, which is something we have here." Lulu said, taking the Ice Rod out, while Ruto accepted the Ether Medallion.
"Oh? Another Powder Keg for me?" Darunia asked, taking one.
"Not just this one; we've learned that these things have been scattered throughout Hyrule and Termina within Treasure Chests and through Goron Merchants whom have hidden themselves well. Find them to restock if you so desire." Lulu said.
"That's great to hear." Darunia said, smiling.
"Wait, is this the book of Mudora?" Rauru asked as he picked up a green book.
"I think so, it has some ancient text and translations inside…" Lulu, showing confusion.
"It is. This book is filled with Hylian lore and stories and also offers translations to text that are written in the Ancient Hylian Language… this could come in handy indeed. Where did you find this?!" Rauru asked.
"One of the villagers took this book with him as something he felt salvageable when he had to evacuate Kakariko Village. He took it with him to the Village of Refugees and hid it before he was ultimately captured by Ganondorf and Majora's Troops during the attack from the Forest outpost. Oh, before I forget, there's a smith around here that can upgrade your gloves and/or bracelets so you can push and pull heavier stuff along the way. Some obstacles may require a combined effort to move however." Lulu said.
"So that will be like everyone having a variation of the Silver Gauntlets then? Those gloves were also useful in lifting heavy objects and all…" Nabooru asked.
"In a way, yes." Lulu said, smiling.
"And what about these capes?" Impa asked, picking up a set of capes.
"These are a special kind of Magic Capes that will, when its magic is activated, will render the wearer invisible to the naked eye, allowing them to bypass certain enemies, barriers and hazards at will. However, it won't work against tougher or more intelligent enemies, against people whom have eyes that can see the truth and it drains the wearer's magic power greatly upon prolonged use; once their magic power runs out, it'll be like they're wearing a normal, old-fashioned cape and makes them visible to everyone and everything once more." Lulu said.
"Hmmm, we'll take them anyway; they could be useful to us some time…" Impa said.
"Alright." Lulu said as the items were taken by the group.
"These Bomb Arrows look really cool! We could wreck some distant havoc on enemies." Zelda said, smiling.
"Use them wisely though; despite your plans, keep in mind that Bomb arrows will combine and through that CONSUME an arrow AND a bomb together. So be on the lookout for things that can help in increasing your ammo capacity before you run out of either bombs, arrows or both." Lulu said.
"Alright, we'll keep that in mind." Link said with a smile.
Lulu nodded with a smile, before giggling as she saw Ruto spending some time with the other band members Evan, Japas and Tijo.
"So, how have things been around here?" Link then asked.
Lulu turned to Link.
"We've been holding out as best as we can. We've been working on a song whom we have decided to dedicate to Mikau, our former guitarist whom had regrettably passed away after being gravely injured by Gerudo Pirates while he tried to get the eggs they stole from me back. Although I didn't realize it at first, it was thanks to you and his spirit that the eggs, as well as my voice, have returned." Lulu said.
Link nodded, as the group decided to relax for a bit inside Zora Hall, which in turn gave them room to change back in their normal outfits, seeing as they had still been wearing the Goron Tunics during their trip through the sanctuary…