Note: Little shorter this time, but we are on our way forward! I plan to split Kakariko Village and Death Mountain in half as different things go on there at different times, both at points during the game, and whether it's day or night.

Plus, a little introduction to a minor character that'll have a degree of importance later.

The Skulltula House

"So, this is where you are," Gris mused aloud, gazing down at the ground, the tiled earth having already been decorated with flowers and parting gifts from those who held them dear. She glanced at the items and bouquets, a set of each parallel to each other. "Sorry," she sighed. "I don't have anything."

Before the blonde girl stood two graves, each nearly identical in shape, color, and symbols carved into the surface, save for the names emblazoned on them.

"Here lies Sharp,

Here lies Flat,

Composers of the Royal Family."

The latter portion was upon both of them, acknowledging the men's work in serving the highest members of society. Still, Gris never knew them as that. Well, technically the Princess, yet she had "exchanged" more than a few words regarding the two men to her "friend."

Sharp and Flat had always been working with the Royal Family, at least, for as long as she and the "Princess" remembered, the two musicians were originally from a far-off land that had been allowed a place in the King's Court due to their impeccable skill with both writing and playing music.

From what Gris had been "told" by the "Princess", the two men were to compose a new song for the upcoming Princess Day, yet the twin graves before the blonde girl cemented their music would never be heard from their own hands again.

"I'm sorry," Gris whispered, fiddling with her hands. "It was only after you died that the dreams started. If I had known sooner…"

The blonde was then brought from her reminiscing by the sounds of sniffling and hiccuping sobs, the girl turning around to see a shape run in through the gate of the Kakariko Village Graveyard. Oddly enough, while she couldn't entirely tell from the distance she was at, the small shape appeared very familiar.

But what was that thing with her?

Spotting a nearby shack that looked as if it had been abandoned for years, Malon finally allowed her tired body some rest, practically falling to her backside, the baby dragon still in her arms. Sparky tried to lick her face to catch the still-flowing tears streaming down her cheeks, yet she turned her head away, not wanting comfort at the moment.

No, what good would that do? She was comforted every time something like this happened, and did it do anything? Did it make them stop? Did it get people to not eye her with suspicion or scorn?

Nothing helped. Not her father's words, not Mr. Ingo's, nobody's. She hated it. All of it. But, most of all, she thought, taking clumps of the red fibers in her grasp, what she really hated was what rested atop her head. If that was gone, then maybe…just maybe…but how would she…?

Spotting a nearby handheld sickle resting against the aged wood of the shack, Malon set the baby dragon over to the side and took the tool, grabbing a large portion of her long red wave of hair, preparing to be rid of a majority of it in a few moments. And afterward, she'd just cut and cut and cut until there was nothing left. She didn't care, being bald was better than having hair of this color!

"Hey, hey, hey!" a voice shouted, the sound of shoes pounding against the earth meeting the redhead's ears, lifting her head to see a familiar blonde coming near. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Kakariko Village

"Whoa, what's with you?!" Otto questioned, rising to see the boy in green still staring him down, far from done in seemingly making his point. "That dirty half-breed, a friend of yours or something?" Link didn't answer, continuing to glower with disgust and fury. "You've got a poor choice in who you associate with if that's the case!"

Link said nothing but lunged forward, intending to make this brat eat those words. Yet before he could deliver another punch, a bellowing crow echoed throughout the entire village, and both boys looked over to see a blue rooster had been the one vocalizing. All the scattered chickens seemed to heed their blue companion's call, stopping in their tracks.

Then, their eyes centered on the two youths.

"…uh, bye!" Otto wasted no time making himself scarce, knowing well what such a phenomenon meant.

Link, however, had no idea what he was in for. Still, why did he run, the boy in green wondered. Pft, he scoffed. Wimp. Nothing to be afraid of here but some birds.

"Uh, Link?" Navi began, now seeing that a hoard of the white feathery birds was steadily approaching her charge.

The blue rooster took one look at Link and motioned a wing over his neck as if making the gesture of slitting one's throat.

"Watch out!"

Kakariko Graveyard

"What is that?" Gris questioned aloud, gesturing toward the sickle Malon had in her possession.

The redhead didn't answer at first, shocked that she had been caught, yet her surprise quickly turned into anger at having been interrupted. "N-None of your business!" she barked back. "Besides, I'm not going to need it long, anyway!"

She pulled back, ready to bring the sharpened, curved blade to the fibers atop her head, yet a hand similar to her own held the tool back, keeping Malon from finishing the job. "Hey! What are you trying to do!? Kill yourself?!"

"Why would you care either way?!" the redhead shouted, struggling to pull the sickle back away from the blonde girl.

Sparky simply sat on the ground, unsure of what to do as the two children continued their struggle over possession of the sickle, yet the baby dragon soon heard pounding steps approaching them, along with the sounds of a young child panicking.

"What the…?" Gris and Malon were brought from their dispute by a frightened cry meeting their ears, and they looked toward the source to see a familiar figure in green booking it toward the graveyard. "Link?" Gris asked aloud, about to question just what the boy was doing in Kakariko so early (not that the Princess would complain, as the boy was on track), yet he rushed right past her, seemingly in dire need to escape whatever he was presumably running from.

"Link! Slow down! Don't you dare leave me!"

Navi came not long after, garnering both girls to look to see just what was going on. And, from the looks of it, they were all in trouble.

"Oh no," Malon uttered. "Whatever he's done, the Cuckoos won't rest until they catch him."

"Then how about we make sure they don't catch us?!" Gris questioned, dragging Malon with her, hiding behind a nearby tombstone with freshly planted flowers.

The barrage of furious poultry rushed past them, all bent on getting the pointy-eared blonde that had dared disturb them. Watching them run up a nearby small hill, once out of sight, Gris stood up and began to run in the direction they went.

"Whoa, where are you going?" Malon asked. "If I were you, I'd stay clear out of their way. They may not look like it, but Cuckoos have a nasty vengeful streak."

"I need to talk to Link," the blonde girl responded. "I'll be fine. You can wait here where it's safe."

"But-"

"I really don't have time, I've got to see him!"

With that, the youth dressed in pink ran off, leaving the redhead alone, Sparky still situated by the old shed. Realizing that he was safe, Malon was about to approach him, yet then noticed she still had the sickle in her hand. Her distress had mitigated somewhat, yet the prospect of not having this accursed hair still appealed to her greatly. Thus, she resumed what she had initially set out to do, bringing the gardening tool to the waves of red that reached her mid-back.

"Whoa, hey there!"

Just before she could even start the task, a hand seized her wrist, her blue eyes darting to see a far larger figure had caught her in the act, their shape quite strange and unusual.

"Now, I've been looking for this here scythe for a few minutes now," the shape observed, viewing the tool in the girl's possession with enlarged eyes, one of which was nearly protruding from their misshapen head. "Care to explain what you're doing with it, young lady?"

Just what had he done?!

This, as well as the recounting of just how he got into this situation, replayed in Link's mind as the swarm of frenzied birds continued to give chase, clucking and crowing in fury and clearly out for blood. A part of him initially thought to bring out his sword and simply defend himself, yet then came the knowledge that he would be cutting down helpless animals. True, they were most likely aiming to tear his hair out or pluck his eyeballs from his skull, but still, they were just animals. To use such force against them didn't sit right with the boy in the slightest.

Still, he had to do something soon!

"Link!"

Looking back, he saw a winged ball of light zooming toward him, latching onto the end of his hat as she was exhausted trying to catch up. Seeing the strange object now attached to the article of clothing, some of the Cuckoos began to jump up and peck or bite at the fairy, trying to see if she was the same flavor as some of those other insects that glowed in the night.

"Hey, back off! No nibbling!"

Having had enough of this, the fairy finally managed to climb her way to the safety that lay underneath her charge's hat, although she still kept a lookout to see if the enraged birds were drawing closer, ready to tell the boy to move it, if not for her own sake.

Suddenly, in the distance, the boy spotted a structure, far taller than those found in Kakariko Village, yet it bore the same aesthetic and style. Only, it was clear the owners saw to it to make a few expansions on the already existing home. At least, they did back in the day, presumably. Now, the towering abode was embraced by twisting ivy and vines, the boards and wood composing the place ancient and rotted. Dare say, Link was second-guessing even entering this place as it looked as if it would fall apart at any second!

"Don't you dare let those things eat me!"

Still, what other choice was there? It was either that or he and Navi would be literal chicken chow. Especially Navi, she already looked enough like a bug, although Link didn't articulate this out loud.

Rushing up the steps, the boy's boot fell through the top, yet he quickly retrieved it from the broken wood and reached for the door. Turning the knob, the sounds of angry birds drew closer and closer, the boy shutting the door just in time and preventing the enraged fowl from entering.

Although, upon looking at what he had stumbled into, perhaps outside with the Cuckoos wouldn't have been so bad.

"Are we safe now?" Navi questioned, making her way out from underneath her charge's hat. "I feel their presence outside, but I assume they can't open a…door…?"

The fairy saw that Link had indeed found a haven from the Cuckoos, yet she was now more concerned as to whether or not it would fall in the next few seconds. The windows were boarded up, sealing away access to a majority of light, casting the large room they found themselves in almost near total darkness. Cobwebs and freshly spun threads of silk littered the place, attached to anything that had a corner or some sort of area that the spider could hook the ends of its symmetrical creation to, some wrapped-up insects and bugs already caught in some of the webs. The furniture of this home, Navi noted, appeared to be rather expensive and fine-crafted, much unlike the more homely feel of a Kokiri's home. And it certainly lacked the cleanliness and overall upkeep that Castle Town and the Temple of Time had, much less the rest of Kakariko.

Still, just what was this place, and why was it here? So far off from the village?

"...hello?"

The boy froze, his spine gaining a cold chill and his blood turning to ice, the sounds of creaking wood and steps making their way down echoed throughout the entire desolate abode. Seeing a nearby couch that had seen better days, Link wasted no time in diving behind it, making sure to conceal himself entirely as the shadow of a humanoid figure was seen on the wall, about to reveal itself to the small intruder and, if need be, battle with it.

Yet, instead of a monster or some other hideous creature, what met the boy's eyes was that of a normal man, similar to those that he had seen outside. With deep red hair, a green, long-sleeved shirt, and a pair of sandy-brown trousers with dark shoes, the Hylian made his way down the stairs, legs seemingly unsteady, as if he wasn't used to using them. Or rather, not used to just using two. With a few stumbles, he eventually made his way to the bottom, walking slowly and with careful consideration to the door, standing in front of the aged slab of wood, seemingly pondering on whether or not to open it.

Just then, there was a small knock on the door.

Outside

Geez, what a creepy place, Gris thought, grimacing as some grime stained her hands from touching the door. "Ew, gross," she winced, rubbing on her dress to rid herself of the feeling, about to reach for the door again, albeit with the fabric of her dress covering her hand so she wouldn't have to-

BOOM!

"Yowch!" losing her balance, the blonde girl fell to the rotted deck as the door opened, revealing a peculiar individual who shielded himself from the sunlight beaming down, as if he hadn't seen the great ball in the sky in years. "Hey! Watch where you're…"

Although, from what she saw, perhaps he hadn't seen it in years. At least, long enough to where the massive star was an object of fascination for him. "I've forgotten…" he murmured. "I've forgotten…how warm…" he passed by the downed Gris, seemingly not even noticing she was there. "How nice…the air…"

Observing him, Gris watched as he descended the stairs and unsteadily began to walk toward the town, she too rising up and watching him go off. "What the…?" she blinked in confusion but then directed her attention to the door. Or rather, she remembered just who she was following. Still, she couldn't deny that the man's behavior put her off, if not simply for how bizarre it was. Still, she wondered, did he live here? If so, for how long? "Personally," she observed, "I think this place should've been torn down ages ago," touching the knob again, she turned it. "This place is probably loaded with spiders."

Old Shack

"So, someone actually lives here?" Malon questioned, wiping her face clean of mud with the cloth handed to her by the cabin's owner.

"Eyup," an old voice answered her, the figure belonged to a bizarre shape indeed to most: a hunchbacked man dressed in worn, darkly colored (almost completely brown) attire of a sleeveless top and pants with simple socks and shoes, his face misshapen into a semi-grotesque appearance, yet it wasn't terrifying in any sense. It was merely…unusual. Still, he had already provided her more of a helping hand than anyone else in this village, so Malon couldn't complain. "It's not much of a place, but it's near work, and it's a roof over my head and a dry bed, so that's as much as I could ask for. Speaking of," he continued. "What was going on out there anyway? I thought kids knew to be quiet here around this time of day."

Malon lowered her head. "Sorry Mister…?"

"Dampe's my name, little miss."

"Yeah, Dampe," she meekly responded. "I tripped and fell."

"If that's the case, then it was mostly your face that was covered," the old man noted. "So why were you using my sickle to cut your hair?"

The redhead clammed up, biting her lip and turning her head away, as if not wishing to acknowledge what she had previously been doing. "It…it's nothing," she answered. "I don't want to do it anymore, anyway."

"Those kids make fun of you?" Dampe questioned, quickly deducing that he was on the right track. "More than that, isn't it? Your face was all muddy; that wasn't an accident, was it?"

Malon bit down harder, backing up toward the door. "Well…sorry to run, but…I've got to go find somebody," she answered, handing the cloth back to the grave keeper she had accidentally awakened during her fight with Gris. Speaking of, she was following Link too, wasn't she? "Thank you, Mr. Dampe! If you're interested, we've got a sale going on outside! Check it out!"

With that, she ran out, grabbed Sparky, and headed up the hill, trying to remember which direction the Cuckoos had gone in.

Old House

The creaking of the door alerted Link that another party had entered, the boy uncertain of whether to rise or stay hidden. Sensing his apprehension, despite her own hesitance, Navi knew that the proper thing would be to go out and check on his behalf. Making her way out from underneath his hat, she peeked from behind the worn-down couch and saw that, to her relief, there was nothing to fear.

At least, not at the present. Odd, she thought. Despite this place being a perfect location for such, she could feel no foul presence here.

Gris heard shuffling and whirled around, cursing that she didn't bring something in with her to defend herself, yet found no need as she saw just who she was looking for. "Oh, thank the Goddesses!" the blonde girl sighed with relief, rushing over to the boy in green. "I half believed that the Cuckoos had already torn you apart!"

Link shook his head no, dusting himself off and attempting to look proud and strong as if the Hero appointed by The Great Deku Tree would be taken down by a couple of chickens.

"You do realize it was the village's entire population of poultry, right?" Navi corrected him, reading his outer musings once again. "And you were practically running for your life."

Link's cheeks grew red and he huffed, crossing his arms in indignation.

"Well, what matters is that they're out there, and we're in here," Gris stated, looking around. Then, she paused.

"What is it?" Navi questioned, the girl beginning to walk around the deserted living quarters.

"Strange," she thought aloud.

"What is?" the fairy inquired.

"This place…" Gris answered. "I…think I've seen it before. Before it was like…" she paused. "This."

"What do you mean?" Navi asked, Link wondering the same, tilting his head in confusion.

Gris was quiet for a few moments, pondering on just what exactly she recognized. "It was one of the few times I was allowed outside the Castle," she whispered, although this remained unheard mostly by Link.

Navi, however, was more curious. "What was that?"

The blonde girl didn't answer, her focus on the stairs before her. She then began to ascend without a word, climbing to the upper floors of the desolate abode.

"H-Hey, wait!" Navi called out, yet the girl went on, dedicated to discovering the mystery of this place. The fairy read her charge's thoughts exactly, Link racing up the stairs after Gris, the smaller, winged woman left behind in the dust. "H-Hey! You're not allowed to leave me!"

All right, she reached the top!

Yet before she could take another step forward, a hand placed itself on her shoulder, the blonde girl released a startled yelp and whirled around, ready to swing her purse at whatever or whoever had grabbed her. This maneuver was immediately cut short upon realizing who it was.

"Don't scare me like that!" Gris groaned, sighing with relief that it was just Link. "Still, weren't you supposed to check downstairs?"

The blonde boy was puzzled. She didn't give any indication that was what she wanted.

"Well, it doesn't matter, we can do that later," she said. "For now, I've been meaning to talk to you," she informed. "Or rather, The Princess wants me to give you a message."

Navi caught up her rather speedy charge, resting on his shoulder and letting air into her lungs, stuffy as it was. "And that would be?" The fairy asked. "If I may ask, why does this place hold any interest to you?"

"Not so much me, but rather, The Princess," Gris answered. "When she was younger," she then paused. "When her mother, Queen Ambrianna, was still alive, there was a family of Nobles that made their home in Kakariko," she explained. "They threw rather lavish parties to show off their status, and one night, they hired a pair of musicians to play an experimental number."

They both came upon a room, empty and barren of any furniture, yet it was covered practically everywhere in cobwebs, following in the same fashion as everywhere else in this place. Still, this seemed like a safe enough place. Link's fairy didn't appear to sense any danger.

"And who were these musicians?" Navi questioned, still reclining on her Kokiri's larger shoulder.

Gris parted her lips to speak, yet found herself robbed of an answer, as another had stepped in and spoken for her.

"The Great Miestros of Hyrule…"

Only, it was neither Link nor Navi that had done so.

"Sharp and Flat…"

The two children looked upward, the aged, weary voices emitting from high above in the shadows of the ceiling, noticing shapes were moving from amidst the dense webbing. Only there was nothing about them that was human, let alone resembling anything with two legs.

"Oh, I remember that day…they crafted the beginning of what was to be their Magnum Opus," one of the shapes began to descend. "They said that it was for the future Princess to play when she was of age."

Before the two blonde children hung a shape with eight appendages, twisted and crooked, two of them resembling misshapen hands at the ends combined with insectoid pincers, skin, and exoskeleton meshing in a sickening harmony that shouldn't have been possible, unless it was the result of some dark, terrible magic.

And indeed, only dark, terrible magic could produce a creature so twisted yet still somehow functioning.

"But, dare I say," the abdomen, or rather, face, said, mouthpieces upon the head of the horribly disjointed arachnid moving up and down, teeth barely touching as it somehow managed to successfully convey a coherent voice. "You seem to resemble her very much, young lady."

Note: Sorry to cut it off a little short, but I'm nearing the word limit I usually reach before I run out of steam.

Rest assured, we shall be going to Death Mountain soon!

Thank you for reading, and please review!