Hello everyone, Chapter 114 is here! This week Link tells his friends a new story that took place during his seven-year journey to find Navi, shortly after the events of Majora's Mask...
Flashback - Eight years ago
A young lad on a horse rode through a dense misty forest. It was tranquil and silent aside from the sound of the horse's hooves clomping along. This was Link, back when he was the age of eleven going on twelve. He was riding on the back of his faithful steed Epona.
The little hero had just saved the land of Termina from the wrath of Majora's Mask, and after returning from there by the help of his Skull Kid friend, he was now back to his journey to find his fairy friend Navi. Epona was loaned to Link by his ranch friend Malon, and while he lost her at one point due to Skull Kid's pranks, he was able to get her back in time to stop Majora's wrath.
"I wonder where we are now Epona?" Link asked his steed, who simply neighed in response, "You think fairies might hang out in a place like this?"
Link thought deeply about Navi and everything she had done for him. He most likely wouldn't have succeeded in defeating Ganon in the dark future had it not been for her help, and he could never forget the way she defended him against Zelda's harsh words after it was all over... in a way, she was the reason for the new peaceful future of Hyrule they were in.
"I don't know why you disappeared..." Link whispered, "But I'm going to find you!"
As they rode along, Link noticed in a deep secluded area of the forest there was a faint energy glow. Thinking that it might be a hint to where Navi could be, Link rode Epona into the area, and found a strange purple portal with a black center before them, it almost looked like a giant eye.
"What the heck is this?" Link asked, gazing at what could possibly be inside, and his eyes widened.
While it was hard to make out all the details, he could see the image of the Death Mountain area of Hyrule, and a large army of pig creatures marching through it. He then saw his sworn brother Chieftain Darunia of the Gorons charging in with the Megaton Hammer, the very one they had used to defeat Volvagia in the dark future, and he was fighting off the pig creatures with it.
"What? Darunia's in trouble!" Link exclaimed. He had no idea why there was a portal like this here, but he knew he needed to help his friend, "Epona, let's go!"
Epona neighed out, and the two rode right through the portal.
"Woooooaaaahhhh!" Link shouted out, in a flash of light he went flying and stumbling to the ground, falling on his face, "Uuuggh, didn't expect that warp to be so rough..."
Link got himself up and dusted off, before taking a look around him. Oddly, instead of Death Mountain, he was in a vast grassy field unfamiliar to him.
"What happened?" Link asked, he then realized something and frantically looked left and right, realizing his trusty steed was missing, "Huh, Epona? Epona, where are you?" he called out. Not seeing her anywhere. He tried playing the song Malon had taught him to call her on his ocarina, but to no avail. The young lad slapped his forehead in frustration, "Ugh, I lost her... again!"
He looked down at his equipment and saw with dismay that a number of the tools and treasure he discovered in Termina were also lost to the warp travel. All he had left was the Gilded Sword he had tempered at a mountain smithery, the Ocarina of Time that Zelda had entrusted him with, his trusty Kokiri Knife, and two of his masks from his last adventure.
One of the masks was a yellow fox shaped one with black ear tips, known as the Keaton Mask. A friend of his from Termina had been wearing it as a disguise, and Link had been given it after he helped them out. People would often comment on how cute it was when he wore it, and it even allowed him to meet with an actual Keaton once.
The other mask was something far different, one he received from a child wearing Majora's Mask just before confronting the evil entity itself, it was known as the Fierce Deity Mask. When he put it on, the mask turned him into a tall man with amazing strength and a powerful helix-shaped sword. While it's power was enough to help him defeat a threat as deadly as Majora and save Termina, there was something about it that greatly disturbed him...
He had been told by the one who gave it to him that Majora was to play the 'hero' and he was to play the 'villain' in their battle. Link never understood what they meant by that, but as he battled Majora, he could have sworn he heard a voice in the back of his mind. It was guiding Link in using the mask's power, and speaking very strange things about control and dominance... He had other transformation masks during his journey in Termina, but he never heard voices from them.
Link was also disturbed at the mask's design, and how it slightly resembled himself from back when he was an adult in the dark future. Was it just a mere coincidence, or was there some greater reason for it? And why did that child give him this mask if it was capable of destroying Majora so easily...?
The young Hylian almost wished he had lost this mask when he fell through the warp...
"Epona! Epoooonaaa!" Link called out, still searching for his horse as he traveled around the vast plains. He tried playing Malon's song to call her again, but she didn't come, "I hope she's alright..."
As he walked along, he heard some apportioning footsteps, and turned just in time to see a young woman swiftly sprinting past him.
She was a curious type, she had short blonde hair, wore a green outfit and hood with a compass hung around her neck, and she had a pair of strong boots with what looked like miniature crossbows attached to them. She stopped in her tracks and looked left and right.
"Hmm... now where could the castle be...?" muttered the girl.
"Um, excuse me!" Link called out to the girl, making her spin around to see him, "Sorry, but have you seen a small foal anywhere around here? She's my trusty steed, goes by the name Epona."
"Epona? Doesn't ring a bell." the girl said, then put her fists to her sides and grinned widely, "But don't you worry kiddo! As the chosen hero of this land, I can help you find your horse!"
"The chosen hero...?" Link asked in confusion.
"Yep, with my grandma's compass, I can find your horse in no time!" she said proudly, "Now... a horse would most likely be..." the girl seemed to be in deep thought, until she smacked her hand into her palm, "...at a ranch! That way!"
"Wait, I didn't tell you anything else about what my horse looks li-!"
But before Link could even say anything else, she went sprinting down the road at luscious speed, leaving behind a dust trail as she did. Link noted she seemed to be running towards a forest rather then anything resembling a ranch.
"Huh, weird girl..." Link spoke sweatdropping, he couldn't really catch up to her to stop her, so he just decided to continue on his search for Epona himself.
Time past until it was evening, and Link was getting tired. It was a cool night, so Link figured he may as well sleep under the stars. He set a small campfire near a tree and settled down beside it. He wished he had his tent or sleeping bag, but it was attached to Epona, so he had to make due for the time being.
Just as Link was about to fall asleep though, he heard some stomping noises. At first he thought it was the weird girl from before, but the footsteps were much more numerous. His eyes opened up to see approaching the area was a large group of red-skinned figures in the distance like those he saw from the warp that Darunia was fighting.
They were short pig-like monsters known as Bokoblins, probably shorter then Link even. They were each carrying a weapon of some kind, anything from a sword to a club to a spear, as well as a few archers. They were sniffing at the ground and walking alongside each other like that of a vast army. Vast was a good word for it, as there were dozens, if not hundreds of Bokoblins approaching. Among the pig creatures also stood one particularly giant pig monster, a silver-skinned Moblin wielding a giant club made from wood and with a sharp-looking bone attached to it. The silver hide of the monster was an indication it was a particularly powerful one compared to those he had fought in the past.
"What the heck?" Link exclaimed. He wasn't sure where they came from, or why they were traveling together like this, but they were clearly trouble. He eyed the tree and started climbing up the back of it to hide in the branches from the monsters.
Link remained motionless and silent as they approached the area. One of the pig creatures sniffed around, and got close to the campfire. It looked curious as it touched the flames, only to screech out in pain from being burned by it. Link almost laughed at how stupid the Bokoblin was, but held his breath.
The silver Moblin itself disregarded it's minion and sniffled around more. It stared at the tree, before bringing back it's club and bashing it into the side of the tree, rocking it a bit. Link tried to hold onto the branch, but another swing caused him to fall off it and impact to the ground.
"Ooow..." Link groaned, getting up only to see the Moblin and it's small minions all staring at him, "Uh oh."
The Bokoblins all squealed out and came at Link with their weapons, so he pulled out his Gilded Sword and went into battle. He didn't have the Mirror Shield he obtained from Termina due to losing it in the warp passage he went through, so he focused on offense, fighting off the Bokoblins that came at him before they could even attack. The Moblin remained standing still, carefully observing the battle.
Link struck down one of the pig creatures in a single slash, thankful that they were so weak. Two came at him from the sides, so he slashed away one then thrust his sword backwards to hit another. A group of Bokoblins came at him from all sides, so he performed a spin attack to knock them all away.
Despite how many he taking down they were absolutely relentless; the more he destroyed, the more that attacked him, and Link was starting to get tired from their sheer numbers. One managed to slash at him, while another bashed him with it's club. Link gasped out as he saw them all coming towards him, and he realized he couldn't win against these numbers. As fought them off, he could feel a strange voice coming from his belt, specifically where the Fierce Deity Mask hung off of it...
"No..." Link muttered, "No I won't do that!" he struck down another Bokoblin but another hit him with a spear. He cringed out from the pain, and looked up to see more coming at him.
"Gotta get away..." Link groaned, he saw he had a Deku Nut with him still, so he hurled it to the ground, causing it to break open and release a blinding flash of light. The Bokoblins were temporarily stunned by the burst, but when they regained their senses, they saw their target was gone. The Moblin snarled and bashed one of the Bokoblins with it's club, destroying it for it's failure. It then sniffed the air and spotted Link running away, directing it's army to go after him.
Link ran as fast as he could from the Moblin and Bokoblins. A few fired arrows which grazed the young Hylian, but he focused on running. It was ironic after all he had been through in the dark future, even defeating Ganondorf, that he could be overwhelmed by monsters who were about as intelligent as a bag of rocks, but their sheer numbers made up for their lack of skill. An arrow shot through the air, going through his hat and sticking to a tree he past by, but Link paid it no mind and kept running.
Soon Link found himself at the edge of a cliff, overlooking a valley far below. It looked like a pretty steep drop, and he wasn't sure if he'd survive the fall. He turned to see the army approaching him. He held up his Gilded Sword in an attempt to defend himself, but the Moblin slowly came up and bashed it out of his hands with a mighty swing of it's club. Link could only watch helplessly as the sword fell down the cliff.
Link took a step back from the army, contemplating what to do. He could hear the Fierce Deity Mask calling out to him again, but he tried to ignore it. He reached for his Kokiri Knife, but accidentally took too far a step backwards, and his foot slipped on a loose bit of ground, causing him to fall off the cliff.
"AAAAAHHH!"
Link tumbled down the cliff and along the side. He curled into the ball to protect his face, and went falling further down. He hit another small cliff on the way, and went falling further. He impacted into a small hill and went rolling down it until he finally came to level ground near a tree.
The young hero weakly looked upwards at the cliff, he had rolled so long and so far down that he couldn't even see the creatures from where he was anymore. He could only hope that he got far enough away they couldn't find him. He forced himself up and went down the road to get as far away from the monsters as possible, flinching from the pain in his body.
Link wandered for what felt like hours. He figured he must have been far enough away from the monsters at this point.
He then saw light in the distance illuminated in the night, and realized it was a village. Thinking he might be able to get some help from the people there, he limped towards it as fast as he could, but his injuries were getting to him and his legs were shaking more, before he fell forward and collapsed.
"Oh... what is that...?" he heard someone speak, it was a very soothing and gentle female voice. Link saw a figure running over and kneeling down to him, reaching their hand out as he fell unconscious...
Link looked around to see he was in a strange unfamiliar void, and the ground felt grassy. Before he could even begin to figure out where exactly he was though, a voice called out to him,
'Well, you ignored me when you needed me, and look at where it got you.' the voice chuckled creepily, 'The question is, is how long can you keep ignoring me...? Heh heh heh...'
Link suddenly woke up with a gasp, looking around to see he was in a house and had been laying on a small child's bed.
"Where... am I now?" Link spoke, seeing he was now wearing a plain shirt and shorts rather than his Kokiri tunic, and all of his injuries were bandaged up, "And who did this?!"
He was about to get up, but flinched from the pain of his injuries. Just then the bedroom door creaked opened, and Link looked to who it was.
It was a young woman, probably around her late twenties. She had a slim figure, long light-brown hair, emerald green eyes, and bore a somewhat dull expression on her slightly freckled face. She was holding a small bucket with a damp wash cloth on it.
Upon seeing Link though her dull eyes widened.
"Oh, you're awake!" spoke the woman, she went up to Link and knelled down, taking his arm and looking over his injuries.
"H-Hey, what are you doing?" Link asked with a light blush from how close the woman was to him.
"...you're healing pretty well. You're a strong one." the woman spoke softly, "Let me start redressing these bandages."
The woman removed the bandages on Link's arms and used a cloth to clean at the wounds, before putting new bandages on. Link flinched from the pain, but remained quiet as he stared at the woman.
"Okay, now let's get the ones on your chest fixed." the woman said, pulling at the shirt Link was wearing. Link tried to hold it down out of modesty, but the woman sported a tiny smile as she forced it off of him. Link's blush turned redder as the stranger started working at his body bandages.
"Um... t-thank you for this... but who are you?" Link asked, "And where am I?"
"My name is Kaira, and this is Terrensoll Village." the woman said, "I found you injured just outside of town so I brought you here. I have that green tunic you were wearing before out on the wash."
"Thanks..." Link spoke in surprise as the woman continued to treat his wounds.
"So you know my name, what's yours?" Kaira asked.
"M-My name's Link."
"Link... what a cute name." Kaira spoke with a slowly growing smile.
Sometime later, Link found himself sitting at the dining table in Kaira's home. He noticed the house was very well kept, and there were three chairs at the table. He also noticed an adult's sword that was secured to one wall, wondering whose it was, as Kaira didn't look like a fighter at all.
Soon the older woman set down a bowl of soup for him to eat, and he went right to town on it.
"This is delicious!" Link said with wide eyes as he ate faster.
Kaira leaned forward on the table, her smile grew a little more at how much Link enjoyed her cooking, "Thank you, you're sweet. So where do you come from, Link?"
"I uh... come from a long ways away." Link said, trying to avoid going into great detail, he explained he was looking for his lost horse when he was attacked by some monsters.
He suddenly saw the smile of Kaira go away, and stared at him with a solemn expression.
"Monsters, huh...? Oh, you poor thing..." she whispered.
"That actually reminds me of something, have you seen a Goron named Darunia around here?" Link asked, "I lost my horse trying to track down where he went!"
"Darunia? Sorry, never heard of him." Kaira shook her head, she noticed Link had already finished his soup, and he still had some on his face. She got up and started wiping it off of him.
"H-Hey, what're you doing? I can clean myself!" Link said in a fussy tone.
Kaira's smile came right back as she saw his fussy attitude, "You're still pretty injured from before, I just wanted to help you with it."
"Uh, thanks..." Link spoke with a blush, "Um, I don't really have much money right now to pay you for all of this..."
"Don't worry about it." Kaira shook her head, "I'm just happy to have your company."
"O-Okay." Link grinned sheepishly as she handed him a pastry for dessert, which he went right into.
Once Link fully recovered, Kaira took him out to introduce him to the people of the small village of Terrensoll. They were a rather friendly group of Hylians, mostly farmers and ranchers.
After asking around, he learned the land he wound up in was indeed Hyrule, there was even a monarchy currently run by a princess named Zelda, though this one was apparently a grown woman.
'I wonder... could this be the new future we made by stopping Ganondorf?' Link thought, 'But why does the land look so different...?'
Kaira continued to introduce him to the residents, though he noticed they looked more surprised to see the young woman herself for some reason.
He wanted to get back on the road to find Epona, but Kaira insisted he stay a little longer so she could make sure he was okay. He had been doing a lot of traveling lately, so he figured a few more days couldn't hurt.
"What is it you're playing there? It's such a nice little tune." Kaira asked as she approached Link, who was sitting at the lumber yard at the edge of town, playing the Ocarina of Time.
"It's a song I learned from a ranch girl I know." Link said, "My horse really likes the song, so I'm hoping I can use it to call her here."
"That's sweet, she must mean a lot to you, doesn't she?" Kaira said with a mellow smile
"Yeah, Epona's helped me out a lot in the past." Link nodded.
"I don't mean your horse, I mean the girl." Kaira said, getting his attention.
"Ah heh heh..." Link sported a sheepish grin, "Well she is a good friend..."
"You sure she's just a friend though?" Kaira suggested with her smile growing.
"O-Of course she is!" Link said with an annoyed blush, "Jees, don't say weird things like that..."
"I'm just saying, as you grow older those feelings of friendship can become so much more over time." Kaira said distantly, "Why I felt the same way when I..." she trailed off.
"When you...?" Link asked, waiting to hear her out.
"... ...oh goddesses, I can't believe I almost said that." her smile went away and she sighed out, "Hey, are you hungry for lunch?" she asked getting up.
"Oh... okay." Link nodded, following after her.
"Well there you go kiddo, gave your knife a good sharpening." spoke an iron smith as he lifted up the Kokiri Knife from a grindstone and gave it to Link.
"Thanks for this, what do I owe you?" Link asked.
"Nah, don't worry about a fee. We're pretty peaceful people here, and I don't get to work with weapons often, so it was a nice change of pace. Looks like it got a lot of use from you!" the smith nodded.
"Yeah, it was something I got from my friends back home." Link said pocketing the knife, "Thank you mister!"
"Oh there you are Link!" the two looked over to see Kaira walking along with a basket of fruit, she leaned over and handed Link an apple with a smile, "I think I'm in the mood for ginger cucco tonight, how does that sound?"
"Sounds great!" Link grinned.
"Okay, look forward to it then!" the young woman giggled and went off on her way.
"I gotta tell you kid, it's great to see Kaira like this again." spoke the smith with a fond smile.
"What do you mean?" Link asked.
"Maybe she wouldn't want me tellin' you this, but she used to have a family." the smith said, "A long time ago she fell in love with her childhood friend and the two got hitched. A year later they had a fine healthy son. She always went around sporting the biggest smile that always brightened this little village."
"What happened to the two of them?" Link asked with a bit of worry.
"Well, when their son turned ten, her husband took him hunting in the woods for the first time. They were gone for way longer than they said they would so we formed a search party. Turns out the two of em were killed by monsters." the smith said sadly, "She still hangs onto her husband's sword as a keepsake of him and asks me to keep it in good condition."
"Oh no..." Link spoke as he watched Kaira hand out the last of her apples to some children passing by. He recalled the sword that was hanging in her house and figured it must have been the same one.
"Needless to say, after that she stopped smiling. It felt like all the life and energy she used to radiate was gone, and she pretty much isolated herself from all of us..." the smith said, "...at least 'til you showed up."
"Huh? Me?" Link asked.
"Seems like after you came here, she's been a lot cheerier, and her smile is coming back." grinned the smith, "The people are responding to it as well, and the village is going back to be just like old times."
Link stared over at Kaira, who was now getting some water from the well. She was having some trouble lifting it, and while a villager offered to help her, she politely refused.
"..." Link went running up and taking the bucket from her, "How about I carry this for you, Ms. Kaira?"
"Oh... thank you." Kaira said smiling, as she and Link went off back to the house. The smith just chuckled and nodded, before going back to his work.
Time past and Link continued to stay at Terrensoll. He was getting along well with the villagers, and he even demonstrated how to fight with his knife to the kids, it felt good to be a role model to them. Kaira herself continued to smile more and more as the days went by, and she and Link were growing closer with each day that past.
One night Link was sleeping in bed, tossing and turning. He opened one eye and looked over at a small chest drawer in his room. He climbed out of bed and opened the chest, unwrapping the Keaton Mask and the Fierce Deity Mask.
He stared at the latter mask, recalling the time when he battled Majora. As powerful as Link felt when he was wearing it, there was something about it that absolutely terrified him. While it helped Link win the battle and save Termina, the mask and the mysterious force it held haunted him for quite a while.
As Link stared down at the Fierce Deity Mask, he suddenly saw the mouth on the mask turn upwards and grin widely, shocking him, as it opened it's mouth and lunged at him.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!"
Link stumbled backwards, gasping out as a cold sweat went down his head. He saw the mask had fallen to the ground, and looked as it had before. Did he imagine what had happened just now, or...?
"Link? Are you okay? I heard you scream!" he heard Kaira call out before peeking into his room.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine..." Link spoke, though it was clear he was still shaking a little.
"Hmm." Kaira said with a skeptic look, "Come on, let's talk."
Link found himself sitting on the bed together with Kaira. She was looking over at the Fierce Deity Mask as it laid on the bedstand.
"That's a strange mask you have there." Kaira said, "You said you received it in a festival? If it's scaring you like that, why not just get rid of it?"
"I-It's kind of hard to explain. I got it from someone and..." Link trailed off, thinking to himself, 'I guess it would be bad if I let it fall into the wrong hands..."
"I see, it's important to you then..." Kaira nodded, not seeming t truly understand what Link meant. She instead took the Keaton Mask and holding it up,
"But I like this other mask you have, it's based on a mythological creature called a Keaton, it was said to tell riddles to people and reward them with great fortune."
"I've heard that too." Link said, knowing himself that it was anything but a myth.
"It's so cute too, I love foxes, and I used to love reading legends of the Keaton when I was a young girl." giggled Kaira, "Here, hold on a second."
She put the mask on over his face, and Link looked up to see her staring at him with sparkling eyes. Link paused for a moment, before bringing up his hands in a curled gesture and making small noises,
"Kyon kyon?"
"Eeeeyyyyaaaaaa!" screamed out Kaira, practically flailing backwards, before scooping up and hugging Link tightly, "Link that was so cuuuute! Do it again!"
"Gack! Leggo!" Link shouted out, feeling like when Darunia would give him his big Goron hugs.
"But I kind of miss seeing your little face..." Kaira said looking him over, "Hold on a second..." she took the Keaton Mask and adjusted it, putting it up on his head at the side, "There, now you can show off both of those cute faces everywhere you go!"
"Heh... uh, thanks?" Link said sheepishly.
Kaira suddenly took Link and pulled him back into her arms, but instead of squeezing him, she held him softly. Link hesitated a little before he leaned against her. The two just sat there in the embrace.
"You know, I love having you here Link." Kaira whispered, "If it were up to me, I'd let you stay here and look after you. Everyone in the village loves having you here, the kids get along with you so well, and I haven't felt this happy in such a long time..."
Kaira then realized what she had just said and pulled back, blushing heavily.
"Ah, oops. I didn't mean to blurt that out!" Kaira said, "I'm sorry, that was selfish of me to say!" she covered her face in her palms and muttered to herself, "Oooh, why do I keep doing that around him?!"
Link was taken back by Kaira's honesty with him. He looked up at her curiously, recalling what the smith said before about her husband and son being killed.
He thought deeply about what he had gone through in the dark future; finding out the truth about his origins as a Hylian rather than a Kokiri, which Saria aside, sort of made him feel estranged from the Kokiri folk he grew up with...
It left him wondering just where his place was in the world, and what the Golden Goddesses expected from him as the chosen hero of Hyrule. Was he expected to adventure through the land as a hero, get a home to live out his remaining days, or was he just meant to fade into obscurity? Link found himself wondered if leaving Hyrule really was to find Navi, or if he was just using her as an excuse to go out into the world and find his place in life...?
"..."
He then nodded to himself and took the older woman's hands from her face, holding them both tightly.
"L-Link?" Kaira exclaimed.
"I'll stay with you then." Link said, "I'll do whatever it takes to protect you from bad guys and keep you smiling! I want you count on me, okay Ms. Kaira?"
Kaira stared down at Link, smiling softly at the young boy. She wrapped her arms back around him and held him close.
"Thank you Link..." Kaira whispered.
That night the two slept in the same bed together, Kaira holding him the whole time. For some reason Link had a very faint thought in the back of his mind; of him being very small, and a beautiful blonde haired woman holding him in her arms, singing softly to help him sleep.
The frightening thoughts of the Fierce Deity Mask quickly melted away, and Link fell asleep in Kaira's arms.
Days continued to pass in the tranquil village of Terransoll. Link and Kaira were closer than ever after Link made his vow to her. She continued to look after him, while he did everything in his power to assist her with things she was to weak for. It made Link feel really happy to see her mood brighten with each day they were together.
Sometimes he'd think about what Epona was doing, where Navi was, that weird girl with the compass, or if what he saw of Darunia fighting the monsters was real or not.
He'd also think about Nabooru, and the promise he had made to her to meet up after seven years. Was he going to break the promise, would he even have a choice if he couldn't return to the Hyrule he came from...?
"Heeyaaahh!"
Link shouted out as he brought his Kokiri Knife down on a Wolfos that had managed to get close to the village, destroying it before it could hurt the farm animals.
"Whew, thanks for the hand Link!" spoke a farmer.
"Hey, I'm just glad to be able to protect you guys." Link grinned.
"Link, nice work!"
Link turned to see Kaira come up along with some of the village kids. The children were enthusiastic about Link defeating the wolf monster, they wanted him to play with them, and he smiled and nodded. It didn't matter to him what he was meant to do with his life, he just knew for now that he had to protect this village, and Kaira, and keep them all smiling.
He ran off to join them all, unaware of a storm that was looming overhead...
It was a cloudy day one afternoon, as Link had just finished moving some firewood for Kaira.
"Whew, that's about it." Link said wiping his brow, "What do you have for me next Ms. Kaira?"
"Oh Link, you've worked enough today as it is!" giggled Kaira, "Why not take some time to relax?"
"Alright." Link admitted he was pretty worn out from doing chores most of the day, so he went inside to change and rest.
He went to his room and rummaged through the drawers for an outfit to wear. Most of it was in the laundry, so he oped for his Kokiri Tunic. He also saw the Fierce Deity Mask among the things in his bottom drawer. Since he had no intention of wearing it again, Link wondered if he should find a way to seal the mask away so that it could never fall into the wrong hands...
But before he could even start to plan that, he heard a loud scream outside. Link and Kaira both ran out of the house to see everyone else in the village staring at something beyond the town, and Link broke out into a cold sweat.
"No..." Link whispered at the sight of something he never wanted to see again.
It was the Bokoblin army that had attacked him weeks ago, hundreds of them. They were all marching towards the village with their weapons held, ready to battle. He even saw the tall silver-skinned Moblin with them, holding it's Dragonbone Club.
"The heck? What are these monsters doing all the way out here?!" exclaimed a villager.
"What do we do?" exclaimed another, "We can't fight for beans, and it'd take hours to get a hold of the royal knights!"
Link looked to Kaira who was trembling, it was clear she was still traumatized about what happened to her husband and son. The young Hylian took a look down at the knife by his side and pulled it out, before running out at the monsters.
"Link wait!" exclaimed Kaira.
Link ran past the villagers and right up to the monsters, going into a battle pose.
"Everyone, go hide! I'll protect the village!" Link shouted, then said to the monsters, "Your fight's with me you stupid pigs, I'll make you into minced pork!"
Before any of the villagers could stop him, the Bokoblins all screeched out and attacked Link. The young Hylian battled with all his strength against the monsters using his Kokiri Knife. Despite how considerably weaker it was than his Gilded Sword, he was still pretty adapt at using his knife, and the Bokoblins were so weak they went down to it quickly, As the battle waged on, their numbers were getting more difficult to deal with though, and he wished he still had his transformation masks from his adventure in Termina, but even if he did, the power the masks had disappeared sometime after Majora's defeat.
"Hey kid, let us help you!" called out a villager.
"No, just keep back and be safe!" Link shouted, "I'll protect you!"
Link defended against one Bokoblin before knocking it back, then attacking another who tried to hurt a villager. One monster knocked him to the side, but he quickly got to his feet and cut it down. More of the creatures started to surround him and he gasped out.
"Please, Golden Goddesses..." Link prayed as he struck down another monster, "Give me the strength to fight these things! I need your support... I need to protect these people!"
Link blocked off another attack, but was smacked away by a Bokoblin's club. He forced himself up and ran at the monsters, blocking and slashing them away as best he could with his knife. He wished he had been able to find his Gilded Sword, but it had been nowhere in the area. He presumed someone picked it up at some point.
"Damnit, we gotta go something for Link!" shouted a villager.
"But we're not fighters..." said another.
"Hey, watch out behind you kid!" called out a villager, alerting Link that a Bokoblin jumped at Link with his machete.
"Please goddesses...!" Link continued to pray to Din, Farore and Nayru, as he struck back against the monsters, "Please help me... I'm supposed to be your chosen hero right? That's why you wanted me to save Hyrule... I'm begging you... please let me be a hero to them and Ms. Kaira!"
Link was about to defend against another Bokoblin, but then someone came out of nowhere and knocked away the monster with a sword, sending it crashing to the ground and disintegrating into purple mist. Link turned to see it was Kaira gasping out, holding her husband's sword with both hands.
"Kaira?!" Link exclaimed, he saw another monster come at Kaira so he smacked it away with his knife, "You need to get out of here!"
"No, I'm not going to leave you alone to these monsters!" Kaira said, she swung the sword with all her strength again to take out another Bokoblin.
As Link and Kaira were fighting off the monsters, one of the villagers stepped up, "What are we doing? Why are we letting Kaira and Link fight these things by themselves?"
"Yeah, let's go!" shouted another villager, coming at the monsters with a garden hoe.
Link saw the villagers all rush into battle and start fighting off the Bokoblins. He stared out at them, before nodding and went into battle himself. The battle waged on as the two sides went all out. The villagers lacked the strength to fight them effectively, but were able to hold their own somewhat due to the farmwork they did. The iron smith proved to be pretty formidable, and bashed away some of the monster using his wielding hammer.
Soon though, the silver Moblin grew irritated and snarled out, roaring at the villagers. It swung out it's Dragonbone Club and bashed some people away, even a few Bokoblins got hit in the process, but it didn't seem to care. Link charged up at it and evaded it's swing before he slashed and cut at the creature with his knife, though it didn't do a whole lot.
Link looked over to see the Bokoblins were starting to overwhelm the villagers more. Even the iron smith was starting to weaken.
"I need to keep fighting to protect everyone..." Link muttered to himself, "To protect my new home!"
Link ran at the Silver Moblin and managed to get more slashes and stabs against it. But the monster swung it's club and easily bashed Link away, sending him flying and skidding to the ground.
"Oooow..." Link groaned out, he was so tired from all the fighting and injuries he sustained, as he looked up to see the Moblin coming up to him. It grinned fiendishly as it brought up it's club to finish Link off...
'Hey buddy...' he heard a familiar sinister voice call out from the mask he had on his belt, 'Come on... don't you want to protect the village...? I can do that for you! Heh heh heh...'
'Forget it, I won't give in to you!' Link thought, before running up and stabbing the Moblin in the gut, making it shout out and bash Link away with it's foot. Link staggered back as the large pig monster smacked him with it's club, sending him sliding backwards. Link groaned and looked just as the Moblin was about to go in for another attack...
But then the monster felt an incredibly sharp pain, and shouted out as someone had managed to impale it in the shoulder with a sword. As the Moblin cried out, Link looked up weakly to see Kaira scoop him up and run off. He looked past her to see the villagers getting knocked away by the monsters.
Kaira brought Link to a small shed in the back of town. She opened it up and laid Link down on a soft sack of oats.
"Ms. K-Kaira...?" Link whispered weakly.
"It's okay Link, you've done enough for us. Just stay here and let us protect you." spoke Kaira, she took a nearby pitchfork and started to go out the shed door.
"B-But, wait-!" Link shouted, trying to force himself up, but fell back down.
"I'm so glad I got to meet you Link." Karia said, giving him the greatest and brightest smile he had ever seen her make as she started to close the door, "You helped me remember how to smile again, and now I'm going to see to it you keep on living, and bring more smiles to others."
"MS. KAIRA!" shouted out Link, reaching out to her as she shut the door, before she ran off to join the villagers in battle.
Link struggled to get up, but his body grew too weak from his injuries, and he fainted.
"Ooooh..."
Link eventually regained consciousness, he looked around frantically to find out what had happened. He was still inside the shed that Kaira threw him into. He didn't hear any fighting or roaring outside anymore.
"Ms. Kaira? Ms. Kaira?!"
He opened the shack door and looked outside, to see the tranquil village of Terrensoll was now heavily damaged and burned by the monsters' attacks, and the villagers were doing everything they could to fix everything.
"Hey, it's him!" the iron smith said running up to Link, "You okay there kid?"
"What happened...?" Link asked, looking around.
"Well... we somehow managed to fend the monsters off and they retreated..." the smith said, having a pained look in his eyes, "The Moblin got a pretty nasty injury from that sword Kaira owned, and it was enough to force it to leave and it's minions followed."
"That's great." Link said with relief, "So where's Ms. Kaira?"
"..." the smith looked sadly over to the medical clinic of the village, "She's over there..."
Link ran off to the clinic immediately, feeling a greater sense of dread than ever before for Kaira's well-being. When he came in, he saw the town doctor looking over someone on a bed. It was Kaira, and she was covered in injuries.
"Ms. Kaira?!" Link exclaimed, before the doctor could even react, the young Hylian rushed over to her side. She was covered in bandages, but seemed to be sleeping, and Link let out a large sigh of relief, "She's okay, thank the goddesses!"
"Yes, she took a number of blows and cuts, but I think she'll survive. I admit she's a lot stronger than I gave her credit for. She just needs rest for a good while." the doctor said, before snapping at Link, "And you need to give her some personal space!"
"O-Oh... right. Sorry." Link said, as he took another glance over at her.
He was saddened at the state she had been left in. Kaira had become someone so important to him, someone he vowed to protect, yet when it counted he couldn't do a thing for her, instead she was the one who had to protect him. He thought about the Silver Moblin in particular, that monster that caused so much pain to everyone... and for a brief moment recalled the face of a sinister Gerudo man...
"The strange thing though..." the doctor said looking to Kaira, "No matter how much she was suffering during the treatment I gave her, she was smiling the whole time..."
Link stared down as he recalled the last words she told him before she closed the door...
"You helped me remember how to smile again, and now I'm going to see to it you keep on living, and bring smiles to others."
The young Hylian took a heavy sigh and walked out of the clinic to go try and help the villagers. He saw some of them nearby surveying the damage to their homes, there was children crying out and trying to be comforted by the adults over all that had happened. After what Kaira told Link, it hurt him greatly to instead see them like this. In the end he couldn't do anything for her, or any of them...
He then looked over to see some villagers talking to each other, one of them was holding a very familiar looking green cap in his hand.
"Huh?" Link walked over to the two, "Hey, that's my cap!"
"Wait, this is yours?" one of the villagers asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I lost it back before I came to the village, where did you find it?" Link asked, sticking a finger through the hole where an arrow had punctured through it.
The villager stared down at the cap for a few moments, before his eyes widened, "...so that's what happened..." he spoke, narrowing his eyes at Link, "This was all because of you!"
"What...?" Link spoke in confusion.
"Hang on, what do you mean Nusso?" the other villager asked.
"We found this cap being held by one of the Bokoblin monsters that attacked the village!" the man called Nusso stated, "Moblin and Bokoblin have enhanced smelling ability that lets them track down the scent of their targets! They probably tracked down your scent to our village!"
"W-What?" Link repeated with growing anxiety.
"Now wait a minute, that's not Link's fault!" said one villager.
"Yeah, he was trying to save us!" said another.
"He's got a point though!" shouted another villager siding with the accuser, "Things would had been fine here if this kid had never shown up!"
"I-I..." Link started to back up as more villagers, once very welcoming and nice to him, now were staring at him with animosity after all that had happened.
"Hey, lay off Link!" said another villager, "He's just a child!"
"That child got our town destroyed, and hurt a lot of our loved ones!" shouted Nusso, "Ms. Kaira's even in a coma from what I heard! She was protecting the shed he was in instead of worrying about herself!"
"It's because of him that Kaira is suffering!"
As the once-peaceful villagers all continued to argue and fight among each other over Link, while the young lad himself was trembling from Nusso's words...
"I-I'm sorry everyone..." Link spoke, he just couldn't take it anymore and ran off, "I'M SORRY!"
Link took his cap and ran clear out of the village. Some people tried calling out to him, but he completely ignored them, as they had enough to deal with now thanks to him.
He ran as fast as he could through the fields. As tired and sore as he was, he didn't care anymore. He just had to keep running and get away from them before he hurt anyone else.
Link kept running, he knew could never go back there again, just like when he had been banished from Kokiri Forest in the dark future, he knew he no longer belonged in Terrensoll. He would never dare to show his face there again after all the pain he brought them, and what had happened to Kaira.
As he continued to run, rain started to come down from the dark clouds overhead...
The rain was getting too heavy, so Link sought shelter under a tree. He squatted down, hugging his knees and shivering from the cold weather. He wished he had been able to bring a blanket or something, but all he had with him now was the Kokiri Knife, the Ocarina of Time, the Keaton Mask that was hanging onto the side of his head, and of course the Fierce Deity Mask remained attached to his belt. He reached up to the Keaton Mask and pulled it off, it made him think to much of Kaira to wear, but it was also too important to him to get rid of.
Link looked to the Ocarina of Time, taking it and playing the Song of Time as he was taught by Zelda. After playing it, he saw nothing happened, and let out a sigh. There had been a strange phenomenon that occurred in Termina that caused him to go back in time three days when he played it, and he was hoping he could go back and fix things that had happened with Kaira and Terrensoll, but no such luck...
He recalled the words of Tatl when she was traveling with him, calling out to the goddesses for help when Majora was about to bring the moon down on Termina, when he discovered the Song of Time's secret power.
"Please goddesses, we need more time!"
As he sat there, Link wondered if the goddesses would even give him the time of day anymore...
"Ms. Kaira..."
He wasn't able to do anything to help her in the end, he had broken his promise to her. In fact, by coming there in the first place he had managed to make things worse for them all.
Link recalled the promise he had broken to Mido back in the dark future to bring back Saria, and how she, Darunia, Ruto, Impa and Nabooru all had to become sages... all because he had been too weak to completely desttoy Ganondorf and save his friends from their fates. Like then, now was still too weak to protect Kaira...
Just what would Kaira think of him when she inevitably finds out he caused all this pain to her village? Especially after all she suffered at the loss of her husband and son?
"Am I just going to keep putting people through pain no matter where I go?" Link asked himself, recalling his worries from before about what to do with his life and what the goddesses would have wanted of him, "Maybe I should just disappear, so no one can ever get hurt because of me again..."
But just then he heard some loud snorting and grunting, and he looked to his right to see an army of Bokoblins were marching by in the distance, just far enough away that he was out of sight of them. He also saw a certain silver Moblin walking along with them as well.
He noticed the Silver Moblin had a familiar-looking sword jammed into it's shoulder. It was the same sword that belonged to Kaira's husband, the one that she used to defend Link with back in the battle. He kept his gaze on the lumbering beast, as he recalled the sweet smile of Kaira... just before she shut the shed door on Link to protect him from the monsters.
Link's body was trembling, these were the monsters that hurt Kaira, and now it looked like they were heading back to the village. The people may had been able to drive them back before, but with the state they were all in when he ran away, he knew they wouldn't be able to fend the monsters off again...
As the rain poured down, Link could feel his anger growing, He recalled Navi's words about suppressing it back when he fought Dark Link in the Water Temple, he didn't care at that moment. The only thing he cared about now was that he had to stop them all.
Link got himself up and shouted out a warcry, charging at the army. Before the monsters could even react, he slashed down one Bokoblin with his knife before knocking down another one and stabbing it in the chest. The others naturally retaliated, but Link fought back with everything he had. He slashed through one pig creature, and performed a spin attack to slash away more.
One of the Bokoblins tried to run away in a panic, but Link sprinted up and impaled it in the back, killing it as a crash of thunder and lightning came down in the far distance. Link turned to the other pig monsters with absolute rage in his eyes and blood splattered on his face, making them all terrified of the Hylian child.
"Okay, who's next...?" Link spoke coldly.
The Moblin didn't bother trying to attack, as it was still in pain from the sword stuck in it's shoulder, and grunted at the Bokoblin army to fight, but they clearly didn't want to. The Moblin narrowed it's eyes and smacked one of them with a one-handed swing of it's club, destroying the creature. The others gulped realizing they had no choice, and ran at Link, only to get cut down by the Hylian as well.
As the fight continued Link staggered and gasped, he was still worn out from everything he had been through, and he had taken a few hits from fighting the Bokoblin army, but there were still many more. He ran in to fight the other monsters, but the Moblin got fed up, it snarled and managed to smack him away with a swing of it's club.
The young hero groaned out as he saw the Bokoblin and Moblin all walking towards him, but he was too weak to fight anymore.
"What do I do...?" Link muttered, he looked down to the Fierce Deity Mask. Just maybe, he could...
But as the Bokoblin all jumped at Link to finish him off, suddenly a streak of strange energy shot across the town and blasted them away. Their comrades looked around in confusion before more energy came at them and wiped them all out.
"Huh...?" Link groaned out.
He saw more Bokoblin running at him, but then a strange rectangular energy barrier shot up from the ground, crackling with electricity, before it came forward and impacted into the Bokoblin. The silver Moblin looked around as something was blasting it's minions to bits. It growled out and brought up it's club, flinching from the pain of the sword jammed in it's shoulder, but determined to kill Link anyway.
"Leave him alone!"
Before the Moblin could bring down the attack though, it was blasted in the back with a great amount of shock magic. The Moblin squealed out in intense pain, before two of the strange rectangular barriers rose up and smashed the Moblin in between them with all the force of both two walls crushing and electrocuting it. The pig beast groaned out and turned to see a figure leap high into the air and bring down a powerful sphere of magic at it.
The Silver Moblin didn't even have a chance to shout out, as the powerful force vaporized it to nothing. The sword that had been jammed in it's shoulder fell to the wet, grassy ground.
"W-What was that...?" Link whispered weakly, as a hand reached out to him.
"It's okay, they're gone now. I'm so glad I got here when I did!"
The rain was starting to let up, and a small break in the clouds allowed some sunlight to come down, as Link looked weakly up at the individual who saved him.
It was a pretty young girl with shining violet eyes and a compassionate smile. Her hair was a soothing blue, and fashioned into a side ponytail. She wore strange white sorceress' clothes, and she held a book in her other arm.
"Who are you...?" Link asked. As he started to drift into unconsciousness, he heard the girl answer,
"It's nice to meet you Link, you can call me Lana."