Flat patted her on the shoulder to ease her sudden shyness. He saw her twiddling her fingers and shifting awkwardly in place. The Composer found it cute of her, but he was very serious for her to sing for his Majesty and his daughter. Never in his life had he ever heard such an angelic voice, and he knew that it had to be shared. "Perhaps you would prefer to sing "Every Heart"?"
Nodding, Kagome nervously swallowed as he eyes remained firmly fixated onto her shoes. She heard Cathleen cheer for her and it did lessen her discomfort, somewhat.
While Flat readied his flute, it was at this point that Sharp, who was still standing to the King's left, felt something inside of him tighten and suddenly snap. What was this? His brother was playing without him? Never had they ever played a solo without the other!
The soft melody of the flute silenced the entire room as Flat dexterously played the small instrument, its repetitive song repeating every so often. When Kagome heard her cue, she embarrassedly joined in, her voice very soft but loud enough to be heard.
"Tell me babe, how many tears should I shed?
Every heart,
Every heart is not so gentle,
What shall I do?
I can never voice my loneliness,
Every heart doesn't know what to say or what to do,
I was afraid of darkness because I felt that I was all alone,
So I prayed for help
To the distant stars above,
Round and round the planets revolve around the sun,
And we always seek love and peace for all eternity,
Growing, growing woe baby we can work it out,
Look up at the sky, every star is still shining bright."
There was a pause as Kagome hesitantly looked around the room. She saw that everyone was politely listening. Everyone was smiling. Cathleen had her gloved hands clasped before her, smiling earnestly at her with bright and thrilled eyes while Link looked on with his mouth parted slightly. Kagome wasn't sure if he liked it or not, but she definitely had his utmost attention. Even if she didn't want to look at Inuyasha, she saw he was no longer stifling his laugher, but he was rather staring at her in the same way Link was.
"Show me now, what kind of smile do I see,
Every heart,
Every heart can take a step towards its dream,
All we want is everlasting happiness,
When you're ever down,
I want to hold you until we fall sleep.
One day, every heart's gonna be free and cheerful,
We'll have peace of mind,
And we'll find our way to love,
Time and time goes on, knowing we are not alone,
Together we'll live long and find some perfect peace for us,
Sometimes we'll smile and sometimes we'll cry,
Never forget to believe in yourself,
Tomorrow will never die,"
The faces of her friends suddenly came to mind during her song. She wondered how Sango and Miroku were, and even Shippo and Kirara. Were they safe?
"There is that warm heart with places on my mind,
In my earliest days
Where it was so sweet,
There are many stars that have spoken kindly to me,
They say yes,
Time's my friend I share,
Round and round the planets revolve around the sun,
And we always seek love and peace for all eternity,
Growing, growing woe baby we can work it out,
Look up at the sky,
Every star is still shining bright.
Time and time goes on, knowing we are not alone,
Together we'll live long and find some perfect peace for us,
Sometimes we'll smile and sometimes we'll just cry,
Never forget to believe in yourself,
Tomorrow will never die,"
The song ended, and Kagome finally released the breath she had been holding since her solo. After Flat had ended his flute playing, there was a round of applause within the large room, the loudest resounding from the King's mighty hands.
Flat and Kagome offered a polite bow to everyone before returning to their seats. Kagome was very flustered, especially when Link had complimented her. The Princess had started to endlessly ask her questions about the song as well as what her homeland was like.
While everyone, besides the King had gathered around to question the embarrassed priestess, Sharp, on the other hand merely turned his darkened glare upon his smiling brother Flat. No one had noticed the composer quietly slip out of the room.
After finishing his meal, Inuyasha reclined back on his hands. "Yeah, Kagome has some interesting food back in her land. Like these ramen noodles and these chips potatoes…" His mouth practically watered at the thought. It had been far too long since he had had any of her ninja food. A thought came to his mind. "I remember your mom invited me to have dinner and she had this big chunk of meat…What was it called again?"
Kagome blinked as she sipped her tea. "What kind of meat? We have different kinds. There's hamburger, chicken, turkey—"
Inuyasha interrupted her. "No, not those small, round kinds. I mean the big juicy ones," He explained, still not able to think of the name quite yet. It had been so good, especially when it was cooked and seasoned. "It was kind of tender when you cut into it. Your mom put some kind of sauce on it too…"
Kagome pondered. Something juicy, tender and sometimes covered in sauce? Could he be referring to that? "You mean steak?"
He nodded. "Yeah!" Inuyasha smiled at the thought. He felt like he could almost imagine her mother cooking him up that piece of meat. "Steak…that was good. But it still doesn't compare to ramen."
Kagome sweat dropped. "You're gonna turn into ramen…"
Link smiled at this, but he couldn't help but feel envious of Inuyasha. He knew much about Kagome's home land beyond the well of the Feudal Era, and he had even spoken to her family many times. Here Link was bound in his own world or that is Termina, and he doubted he'd ever have the chance to see their worlds.
Link smiled at the priestess. "From all the amazing things you have told me of your land, I wish I could also see it for myself." He laughed.
Kagome blushed and nodded. "Well, maybe you can. What do you think, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked as she leaned closer to her friend while Flat and Cathleen talked quietly to one another. Kagome hesitantly looked around before tugging on his hair, much to Inuyasha's displeasure. Kagome whispered in his ear. "I mean you and I can travel back in time through the well. So why shouldn't it be possible for Link?"
Inuyasha frowned. "I don't know…He is from a different world," He explained, eyeing the boy who was quizzically staring at them uncomfortably.
"Maybe the Great Fairy could help?" Kagome asked.
Inuyasha shook his head. "I don't know. We're only allowed one wish, Kagome. Don't forget. That wish is to save Termina from its curse. I don't even know if those three Goddesses would grant Link's wish."
Kagome frowned. Would it be a selfish wish? To want Link to come with them to their worlds? After all, Link was all alone in this world, unable to return to his own homeland. He didn't even have a memory of his family and he had just recently lost his beloved fairy friend, Serena… "Maybe there's a way…I don't think it would hurt to ask though."
An unexpected explosion interrupted Cathleen's small lunch party, urging startled cries from everyone inside the room. Cathleen stood immediately, followed after by the King. The noise had truly caught everyone off guard, and it brought Kagome, Link and Inuyasha back to the issue at hand.
Kagome gasped. "Oh no what's happening?" She asked aloud.
Inuyasha and Link shared a look. Was it happening? The war?
A small gasp from Kagome caused both Link and Inuyasha to look at her while the Princess had fled to her father's side because of the explosion. Link and Inuyasha saw the priestess staring at her hands in shock and fright, the sight was a little mortifying. She, as well as both of them was transparent looking, their bodies fading slightly.
"What's going on?" Inuyasha asked, also noticing that he was also fading, just like Link and Kagome.
Link frowned. "Perhaps we don't have as much time left here in the past as we had first thought," He explained in a whisper.
"But the mask isn't even here yet," Kagome explained, and they nodded in agreement. "There's nothing we can do…" She said remorsefully as she watched Cathleen stand frighteningly next to her father looking each and every way in terror. There was nothing she or her friends could do to save the princess and his majesty, or even the entire Kingdom of Ikana.
It was at this point that the double doors were thrust open, slamming against the walls as a panicked guard rushed inside to the King. Almost out of breath, he told the King of something disastrous happening outside the Palace. After which, the King and his personal Guard, Roshan left the room immediately while two guards had entered to escort the Princess someplace safely.
OOO
When Armaros had failed to back down on his intention to stop Emmett from continuing to use the demon mask, Emmett had attempted to use his powers to cause a form of distraction so he could escape, but it had not gone as planned. Armaros had seen straight through him and had conjured up a small spell to literally stop Emmett in his tracks.
Armaros's plan to retrieve the mask from him seemed almost a reality, but something strange happened. The power emitting from the demon mask had stilled him in his tracks so much so that he thought he saw the eyes on the relic glow. Emmett was immediately consumed by a strange red aura, as if he weren't in absolute control of himself, and before Armaros knew what to expect, Emmett had somehow broke free of his spell.
One after the other and quite ruthlessly, Armaros found himself dodging countless spells thrown at him from the young sorcerer. The screams of the civilians who had been protesting only recently had suddenly fled from unexpected fight, screaming frightfully.
"Emmett what are you doing?! Stop this!" Armaros cried out as he attempted to put a stop to his out of control rival. The people of Ikana were now in danger at the hands of Emmett. It seemed however that Emmett was aware of what he was doing, and because of his defiance to hand over the mask, he was embracing the powers emitting from the relic.
Armaros didn't want this. Of course he was all for having the King step down from his supremacy over the Kingdom, but never had he ever wanted for something of this magnitude to occur. He knew what Emmett was doing and he certainly realized at this moment just what the sorcerer was capable of with that dangerous mask in his possession. Armaros had to put a stop to this. If not him, then who? For all he knew, Emmett could plunge this entire Kingdom to hell in a matter of hours or worse!
"Emmett!" Armaros shouted as he once again dodged another spell. In horror, he watched as a large statue shattered on impact from the fire ball, its shards flying through the air as the citizens cried out in surprise trying to escape from their paths.
This was proving too much!
With his strongest spell in hopes of subduing Emmett, Armaros pulled his spell book from out of his sleeved cloak before opening the pages. At the same time he continued to side step away from the attacks, often times teleporting out of Emmett's reach.
"I warned you…" Armaros seethed before a blinding light erupted from his spell book. In a matter of seconds, a blast of dark energy sped directly for Emmett, and as Emmett dodged the attack, he hadn't expected for it to continue to follow him. Armaros stood there, as well as many of the people, watching as Emmett fled from the dark energy chasing after him.
Emmett jumped from roof to roof, to statue to pillar, attempting to rid himself of the annoying spell. As he turned left, he locked his gaze with the Palace that sat across the river before him. He heard the mask grasped tightly in his hand; it was talking to him; it incited him to do it, and Emmett did just that.
At the last possible instant, the young sorcerer leapt into the river to avoid the collision of the dark energy, and after re-emerging from the stream, he heard from behind impact onto the Palace.
The citizens cried out in fright and surprise at the attack upon the Palace gate as Emmett crawled out of the stream, the mask held tightly in his grasp. He turned around and smiled in satisfaction. Part of the Iron Gate had broken away and a large hole was seen within one of the walls of the Palace, smoke immediately rising into the sky.
Almost forgetting that he had been in battle with his rival, Emmett didn't expect the sorcerer to hit him from behind before it was too late. He hit the ground quite roughly and as he quickly went to pick himself up, he realized the mask was gone.
His scarlet eyes looked up into Armaros's, and he saw the triumphant smirk spread across his face. He was holding the mask. HIS mask! At that moment he would have lunged for him, but he realized his chance to steal the mask back would prove futile. Already the Royal Guards were on the scene, running towards the chaos he and Armaros had created.
When Armaros saw that the Royal Guards had arrived, he immediately hid the mask within his cloak before turning to where Emmett was last standing, but he was gone.
Armaros felt his eye twitch at this. He ran away! Well whatever the case, at least the mask was out of his reach for the moment. Yet before he could turn and explain the situation, he was suddenly apprehended by the officials, with each guard holding him by each arm while the others held their swords unsheathed before him.
The Royal Guards parted as a tall and slender amazon woman approached him, and she too had her sword unsheathed. She saw that the man was dressed in a suspicious looking dark cloak and he wore a golden crown atop his forehead. She saw how the crowd had separated themselves from the young man and as she accessed him from a few feet away, she felt great magic flooding through his veins. "Judging by the citizens reactions, are you the one responsible for this mess?"
Someone in the crowd had cried out suddenly. "I saw him do it! He demolished the statues and used dark magic on the Palace gate!"
Armaros turned to look into the crowd with disbelief. "It was not my intention to! The true culprit ran away at the last second!"
"Witnesses claim you are guilty of attacking the Palace and causing turmoil within the city!" Roshan exclaimed bitterly.
Armaros kept his glare focused onto the Royal Guard. "It was not my fault! I was trying to stop him from—"
Roshan glared. "Silence! You will be judged for your actions before his Majesty. Make no mistake about that!" Yet, before the guards dragged him into the Palace for his sentencing, Roshan stopped them and approached the young man with spiked curiosity and genuine worry. "What is this power…You have something of tremendous evil hidden away in your cloak."
He swallowed. "Yes. Please, take it and destroy it! It's caused nothing but despair, I assure you!"
The Royal Guard sent him a confused look when he said this, but she was even more confused when he was willing to give it up entirely after his arrest. "Is that so?" Though he did not protest, she searched his cloak and she felt her fingers slide across something jagged and rough. To her surprise she withdrew a strange and terrifying mask from his person, its eyes somehow piercing her soul; it left her feeling very uneasy.
"Please, burn it! Cast it away in shadow never to return to this world!" Armaros pleaded earnestly, and it only confused and worried Roshan further.
'Just what is this mask anyway?' Roshan thought. After reading the stares of the guards around her, Roshan turned her thoughts away from the mask. "Disable his powers."
The Royal Magic Users, who had been standing along the side lines, approached the young man surrounded by the Palace guards. With their powers combined, they placed a seal upon his form. After which, he was dragged towards the Palace with Roshan leading the way.
OOO
The King leered at the scene from the balcony. Beside him were his three guests, whom he had not expected to join him, but nonetheless, they watched as the culprit responsible was dragged to the Palace.
"What happened?" Kagome asked.
"It seems that the gate to the Palace has been attacked," Link explained. "I suspect magic was the source of this since the people are all positioned across the river."
Kagome squinted as she leaned over the balcony to look upon the young man or woman being dragged to the Palace. She couldn't really see what he or she looked like and she wondered if it was a Garo. Whatever the case, things in Ikana were not looking very good at all.
Eventually they followed behind the King, intent and curious as to what and who was responsible for the chaos. The King had not minded that at all, but had explained that they were not permitted to enter into the Throne Room until after the court hearing had ended.
As soon as they reached the hallway that connected to the Throne Room, the King left them to their silent musings to await the culprit responsible for the destruction of his multiple statues and his gate, not to mention the gaping hole in his Palace.
Kagome, Link and Inuyasha stood within the elaborate hallway conversing with one another. Very soon they would catch a glimpse of who was responsible. The main reason they had wanted to know what was happening was due to the fact that they didn't have much time left. The mask hadn't even been placed within the Stone Tower yet and already they were beginning to fade somewhat. Though, with the rebellion becoming more intense than it had been since their arrival, there was a high probability that the mask could make an appearance within the Palace.
Kagome turned to stare at the young swordsman next to her, who was sternly staring down the hallway where the main entrance was located. "Link…do you think it's him?"
Inuyasha blinked. "Who? That peddler?"
Kagome nodded. "After all, he was the one in possession of the mask in the first place before it was taken away from him."
That made sense, but Inuyasha wasn't entirely sure. "I don't know…"
"Let's not forget that magic was what caused part of the gate to fall. The Happy Mask Salesman, as seen before in the present time, is very knowledgeable of sorcery. You've witnessed his magic for yourselves," Link explained and they nodded.
After several awkward and tense minutes standing outside the Throne Room, they heard the doors to the entrance open with a powerful slam. They heard the rushed footsteps of the guards approaching them, and as soon as they spotted Roshan leading them, they held their breaths.
There were at least twenty armed soldiers following after Roshan, each with hardened expressions. It was no doubt that Roshan was leading them, as she seemed at a much higher ranking than most of the guards. She held her head high with much authority, and her Gerudo resemblance made her all the more menacing.
Kagome felt something ominous suddenly approaching before tugging on Link's sleeve. "Do you sense that?" Kagome asked, and when Link nodded, she couldn't help but stare fixatedly upon the object within Roshan's hands as she approached closer. "What is—"
"Majora's Mask," Link replied. "It's finally here." Even though it was great the mask was finally brought to the Palace, he was still very wary of the evil spirit within it. He was even more curious to see if the person who was caught by the guards was indeed the Happy Mask Salesman.
The priestess gasped when she heard Link say that. Her eyes immediately fell onto the heart shaped and spiked object within Roshan's hands as she passed them in the hall. Kagome shuddered at the strange power emitting from it. 'So that's Majora's Mask…'
As the guards followed Roshan, Link, Inuyasha and Kagome turned their attention to the young person forcibly being led to trial. As he neared them, his attention shifted to the floor, they each stared in astonishment.
The culprit had very familiar black hair braided along his lower back and stern eyes. He was a tall individual, at least six feet in stature and he wore elaborate gold bands around his wrists and upon his forehead where his bangs parted, they saw the very familiar golden crown where a beautiful red ruby was positioned.
They realized without a doubt that this person was not the Happy Mask Salesman. No, it was the sorcerer who had caused much turmoil to plague Termina from the very start!
It was Armaros!