Tales of Termina (A Majora's Mask mini-series) Episodes 1-10

Link unclenched his fists, feeling his heart hammering violently at his ribcage as he took another deep breath. Why was he finding this so difficult? Tatl's question filled him with an internal panic he couldn't explain. He thought since he had told this story before, it would be easier to tell it again, but once more he felt the words getting caught on the way out. Clearing his throat, he tried to continue. Maybe Tatl was right. Maybe this would actually help him feel better. He had to try, at least. "I was a Hylian, raised by Kokiri. That's all I'll say on that part." Tatl nodded, though Link couldn't see it, and simply kept going. "I was the only one without a fairy until I was ten and…I remember being so happy." He closed his eyes once more as he breathed that last sentence, remembering how his heart swelled at Navi's presence. Now he felt a sense of longing at the mental image of Navi without a hint of joy. "She was so kind, and she truly cared about me. More than just about anyone I've ever met."

It was hard for Tatl to imagine Link smiling or being happy. He hadn't smiled at all since she met him, not even when his unique brand of humor managed to shine through. It was almost like imagining a paradox in physical form, and it gave her a twinge of pity to realize how impossible it was to imagine Link with even a grin on his face. Still, she'd never admit to such feelings, at least not to Link's face. "But what happened?" She goaded, feeling as if she already knew the answer.

"She left." Once more, straight to the point. He kept his eyes shut, replaying the scene in his head as he spoke. "Without a word."

Say something you think would fit

Postman's Hat

It was funny that Link deemed this object as a mask when it didn't cover so much as an inch of his face. The red, bulky thing was merely another hat that Link once or twice wore instead of his usual green one. Still, it made others see him as a Postman. Something he is not. Does that not, by definition, make it a mask? The logic rang clear for Link, and that was all that mattered. Obtained by a man constricted by his own need to follow a schedule down to the last second, it was a mask that once carried so many burdens with it.

"That is a fine thing. It is filled with the joy of freedom." The Happy Mask Salesman had said when Link showed it to him. Link never quite realized why he would sometimes show his increasing collection to the man inside the Clock Tower. Perhaps it was to have someone who remembered him see what he had earned, someone other than Tatl.

Link had to wonder…was the Salesman right?

The hat was what trapped the Postman within the walls of Clock Town in the first place, telling him he couldn't leave. It weighed down on the man's head and didn't let him move to safety from the demonic Moon that slowly inched its way to the land below. Only when the hat was passed off to Link could the Postman finally remove the shackles of his own schedule and run away.

But…

Did that not mean that the burdens of the Postman were passed on to Link? He could feel the weight when he donned the hat, the pressure of keeping a neat and proper schedule. One that must be followed to the second. And did Link not already have a schedule? The same, three day schedule he had to work on again and again and again and again and again and

Again?

Link didn't know for sure, and in fact this was one of the masks he wore the least. Unlike some others in his collection, this mask had no powers of any sort. It simply allowed Link to look inside mailboxes without getting attention from the citizens of Clock Town. He found some Rupees inside the boxes and, while normally he would be against stealing like this, he knew that once he played the Song of Time again, the money would all return to their rightful places. Surely that didn't make it stealing anymore. Right?

"Why do you keep that ugly thing?" Tatl had asked Link as he peered into the mailbox outside the mayor's office for the first time, a small spark of childish curiosity still lingered in his mind, despite all he's gone through. It almost made Tatl uneasy whenever she actually saw Link act his age. For any other kid, peering curiously into a mailbox to see what it was like would almost be adorable. When Link did it, it was like seeing some sort of impossibility unfold. "Shouldn't you get rid of it?"

To that, Link shook his head as he stepped away from the mailbox and took the hat off, running a thumb over the bunny symbol on its front. "It was a gift. The Postman trusted me with it, even if he doesn't remember. That's reason enough to keep it."

And that was that.

Link and Tatl had despaired when they realized that no matter how many times they cleansed the Woodfall Temple and saved the Giant, each play of the Song of Time would undo all that progress made. They had hoped that the Giant itself would remain free, its otherworldly nature being able to overact the time reversals but sadly that was not so. In desperation, Link had tried five times to keep the Giant freed and safe so that he could finally move North as Tatl kept insisting he do. Maybe there was something he was doing wrong each time he ventured into the decrepit Temple and slayed the masked warrior within? He wasn't sure what, however, to do differently. On the fourth attempt, he even tried playing the Song of Healing to the mask in a vain and desperate attempt to keep things fixed. Naturally, it did nothing.

By this time, the Cycles have been repeating for over a month now, due to a few Break Cycles that Link had to take in between excursions to the South. After the fifth attempt, he decided to go back to it later. No progress would ever get made if he kept going to the same Temple over and over again and Tatl had been urging him to go North for a while. "It's about time you did what I told you to do, you worthless freak!" Tatl nastily sneered as Link made his way to North Clock Town. The tension between her and Link hadn't eased up much despite the time that had passed. Tatl's nasty comments were less frequent, yes, but just as harsh as always. She wanted to make it very clear to the Hylian that she still hated him and blamed him for getting her into this mess, despite how illogical her reasonings were. "I could have talked some sense into the Skull Kid if you didn't get us separated!" She had told him once as they resided in the Knife Chamber. "This is all your fault, you disgusting brat!"

Of course, Link let the abuse go without much comment on his part. Her words slowly chipped at his patience, but he was determined to keep his resolve. "What do you know about the Northern part of Termina?" Was all he asked in response to Tatl's harsh words. He had never actually asked her, or anyone else, about what was up there.

Tatl let out a huff of annoyance, seeming actually upset at how little her words got to Link. "It's all mountains up North." She started, easing her hostility off just a little bit to give a proper explanation. "The Gorons thrive in rocky places like that of course. It's too cold for someone like you in the winter, but it's spring now so it should be fine."

Link didn't even think as he ran towards the strange, swirling portal leading into the hungry maw of the Moon. All he knew was that was where Majora's Mask went, and he had to follow. A bright light blinded both him and Tatl, and the two of them felt as though their bodies were being stretched and pulled as whatever force was at work flung them somewhere else entirely. It took a minute for their visions to come back, and what they saw stupefied them. Within the Moon was a serene, grassy field. Lush, quiet, tranquil. Aside from the faint chirping of birds neither Link nor Tatl could see, there was no sound. The two of them could see butterflies hovering above the grass, but no living souls otherwise. In the center of the field stood a single, tall tree brimming with healthy green leaves.

What disturbed, even terrified, the duo the most was that there was a sky. One that was a beautiful shade of blue with clouds slowly drifting by. The worst part of it all was the sun. Within the Moon, a bright and cheerful sun shone from a sky that shouldn't exist, basking Link and Tatl in a warm light. "This place is wrong." Link said, breaking the near-silence of the field around them. "It's sickening…"

Tatl looked down at the boy, who was staring in open, unmasked horror at the beautiful scene before him. She felt herself agreeing, a place like this…it wasn't right. "It shouldn't exist. You're right, Link." The fairy tried to keep her voice calm, trying to be strong for the two of them. "We have to keep moving forward, though."

You really can't get over this thing?" Tatl asked as Link stood on the warm and even sands of Western Termina Field. "Not even as a Goron?"

"I may be able to, but one wrong move and I'll die." Link argued, placing a hand on the object before him in thought. If his sense of humor wasn't so dried up, Link would have almost found it funny that their quest was halted by a simple fence.

Yes, in order to reach the Great Bay area, the duo had to bypass a large, spiked fence that had been placed there. Strangely, there was no gate to it, or any way to go around, as the edges of the fence met small cliffs too high to reach. Link could probably pull himself up, but one slip and he'd critically injure himself, or even die on the sharp points of the fence. As a Goron, that risk is still there as Link really didn't know just how vulnerable the softer underbelly of the rocky creatures were. Perhaps strong enough to not get pierced, but he wasn't about to take that risk, especially given he still wasn't quite used to moving around gracefully in such a body.

"…Wait a minute!" Tatl piped up suddenly, feeling absolutely brilliant. "Anju mentioned a ranch, remember? Romani Ranch?" Tatl had been down Milk Road a few times over the years, but never ventured to the ranch or the racetrack.

Immediately, Link realized what Tatl was going for. "A horse would be able to jump this. Epona surely could have." He repressed a shudder as he wondered what horrible fate befell her. Tatl had mentioned she and Tael never actually saw what the Skull Kid actually did to the horse, as he had gone on far ahead of the two fairies at that point.

"Right…Epona…" Tatl muttered uneasily. A part of her expected Link to look up at her with an accusatory glare, but he kept his eyes on the fence. "Um…But we should be able to borrow a horse from there and jump the fence."

Nodding, Link turned from the fence and made his way to the South. "It's our only option. Let's get going."

Link never quite found out what the desert at the heart of the Stone Tower was. A seemingly infinite landscape that didn't belong, and indeed couldn't fit, where he initially found it. It was home to two massive, writing, biting abominations that required Link to become a giant to defeat. Even at that height, the boy couldn't see any sort of edge to the sandy abyss he found himself in. It made him wonder if he wasn't in some kind of alternate world or something similar. After all, that's exactly what Termina was, so how far-fetched could some smaller world within the odd, parallel location really be?

However, it wasn't the desert realm's impossibility or the gargantuan beasts that ruled it that frightened Link. At his normal size, the constantly dancing sands carried by the wind obscured much of the area around him. Even then, however, he made out what seemed to be strange structures off in the distance. Of course, he was quickly distracted by the massive worms that sprung forth from the desert sands to give them much thought. After Twinmold was dispatched of, however, the giant boy took a closer look at the structures, and what he saw filled him with a horrifying realization.

The objects that Link saw were ancient ruins of some sort. Massive, crumbling columns that rose out of the sand like petrified trees, scattered all about the desert. The ruins themselves didn't bother Link; they could easily be waved off as just an odd aspect of the strange realm he found himself in. No, it was what was carved into the pillars that made his blood run cold.

Dozens of eyes stared back at the giant, who froze in place as he stared back. Over and over, the familiar and heart-shaped image of Majora's Mask gazed at him from the ruins. Ancient carvings from a now-extinct people peering into Link's soul from every direction. He couldn't even count all the masks looking back at him, though he swore he saw a giant building off in the distance, perhaps the center of the giant temple. After all, a temple was clearly what these ruins used to be.

At that point in time, he simply returned to normal size and freed the Giant as fast as he could. It wasn't until later on, as he rested in the Knife Chamber, that he truly pondered what it all meant. He recalled the Happy Mask Salesman mentioning how some nameless, ancient tribe crafted Majora's Mask before it vanished from the folds of history. The Salesman didn't seem to know what exactly befell the tribe, but Link was going to assume the cursed mask was involved somehow. Of course, he had no true way of knowing, but it made perfect sense to him.

This brought Link to the realization that this ancient tribe was even older than the Ikana Kingdom. The dead kingdom itself was already older than Link could imagine, with thousands of years having passed since it fell for the first and final time as the boy found out from Tatl. It was a miracle any traces of it remained at all, the eternally crumbling and decaying castle left behind still standing after all these years. Most buildings were but empty shells, but even some aside from the haunting grounds of Igos du Ikana and his eternally loyal soldiers still remained intact.

This entity, this unholy abomination that possessed Majora's Mask was far older than even the driest and oldest bones in all of Ikana Canyon. Just how old was the being inside it? Tens of thousands of years old? Did it linger in the world before the mask's creation? "Tatl?" Link asked, looking over to his fairy companion as she hovered about the room in boredom. "Does the name Majora really not ring any bells to you? Any legends? Anything at all?" He felt she would have brought it up if she knew, but how could she not? She certainly knew of the Ikana Kingdom and a number of legends and facts about it.

"Where did this come from?" The fairy asked, floating towards the boy. "I know just about as much as you do, which isn't really anything."

"I see. Never mind, then." He looked back up towards the ceiling, getting lost in thought again. Link wasn't even entirely sure why he was so focused on the ruins he saw, or the origins of whatever laid inside Majora's Mask. Though, he supposed he could just call it Majora. Ever since those patterns caught his eye, all that was on Link's mind was the desert realm he found them in and how ancient the being in the mask must be. He also recalled the general shape of Majora's Mask being present in the Stone Tower once it got flipped, so even if the desert was somehow unlinked with the Ikana Kingdom, there was enough proof they had possession of the mask.

Could that mean that Majora is some kind of a god? A dark, destructive deity that sought nothing but chaos and ruin? It made Link wonder how he didn't see it before. This thing was able to pull down the Moon along with cursing the lands of Termina almost casually. Even Ganondorf with all the power he held was unable to do that. The freezing of Zora's Domain wasn't quite like causing an eternal winter within the mountains. Draining a lake wasn't as dreadful as sterilizing a large stretch of ocean. Infecting a forest with monsters couldn't be compared to poisoning an entire region and society, slowly killing all that lived there. That was all disregarding the Moon itself. Compared to Majora, Ganondorf was almost a street magician causing mischief with cheap parlor tricks.

That raised the question of what Link could do against a dark god like Majora, if that was what it truly was. It managed to seal away the Four Giants before, so would they be able to truly stop the Moon when called? Even if they succeed, what if Majora unleashed its full wrath against Link and Tatl? Could he fight against it? Was there anything in the boy's arsenal, even the Light Arrows, that could harm such a creature? As powerful as he thought he was, Ganondorf never once claimed to be a god. Not once. This was a whole new level of evil Link was faced with.

And he was afraid.

The muted sunlight just managed to shine through the twisting branches of the Lost Woods. It didn't matter how brightly the sun shone; it was never able to properly penetrate the leafy barriers of the seemingly infinite trees. Nobody, not even the Kokiri of the forest, knew just how large the Lost Woods truly were. The sole being that knew had been weakened and killed by a dark parasite two years ago. Until the new sprout formed, the secrets of the woods would be a mystery to all the world. Even the bravest of the forest spirits dared not travel too deeply into the trees until the new Deku Tree was born. There was an outsider, however, that threw caution to the wind and braved the unknown. All in search of someone irreplaceably precious to him.

Soft footfalls of a young filly were the only things breaking the silence of the forest. Slowly, the animal weaved her way through the trees as her rider gently guided her path. A young boy of twelve that donned the green clothes of the Kokiri Tribe, though he was not a member of it. He never truly was, and he never, ever would be. The boy realized this long ago, but that wasn't going to stop him from searching the woods or wearing the outfit he had worn his entire life.

"Just a bit further, Epona. We'll stop to rest soon." The boy, Link, whispered to his companion as he reached forward and gently patted her neck. "Ten more minutes. Alright?" One of the few childish quirks he still possessed was talking to Epona as if she could understand him perfectly. Just about everything else that made a kid a kid was wrung out from him long ago. Either way, the horse gave a soft snort, as if in response to what Link had said.

The two rode on in silence, Link's voice having gone hoarse due to all the yelling. Shouting Navi's name for hours on end took a toll on his throat and it needed rest. It had been over a week since the Hylian departed into the woods, looking for his long-lost Guardian Fairy. No, even calling her that wasn't even accurate. She had been his companion and friend, but she could never really be his Guardian Fairy. It made Link concerned how all the fairies he came across in the Lost Woods, the ones that would stop and talk to him at least, had no idea where Navi was. None of them had seen her in two years.

Was Navi really even in the Lost Woods at all? Link was starting to question this excursion of his, wondering if Navi hadn't perhaps gone somewhere outside of Hyrule. Why would she, though? Link realized he didn't want to think about this anymore. He stopped Epona at that moment, patting her on the neck once more. "Change of plans. We'll rest now." Getting another soft snort in response, Link got off of his companion and hugged her around the neck. "I got one apple left, you hungry?" Reaching into his bag, Link got out his last apple and offered it to Epona who accepted it graciously. "There you go…" He murmured, giving his friend one last pat on the neck and giving her a small smile.

After that, the young boy shed his gear by a nearby tree, getting ready to rest and have something to eat himself. He tried to travel relatively light, not wanting to burden Epona too much, but spending a month straight in the lost woods demanded certain precautions. First to go off was the Kokiri Sword that he had kept for so long before shedding the shield gifted to him by Zelda for the journey ahead. The Lost Woods weren't as dangerous as in the alternate timeline, but it still held nasty and unknown creatures, so those were essential. The only other weapons Link brought were his bow and a quiver of arrows, though that was mostly for hunting.

Link was a rather skilled forager to the point where it was his role in the Kokiri community. On sight he could tell whether any berry, fruit, or mushroom seen in the Lost Woods was edible or not. Still, he couldn't survive a month off of just berries or mushrooms, and fruit trees short enough to safely climb were rare in the forest. Most of the trees went up so high that their branches were hardly even visible. While eating meat was not a problem for Link, he rather enjoyed the taste of Cucco, he didn't like the actual act of hunting himself. He detested having to actually go and kill again, but if he wanted the energy to keep going, he'd need meat. Thankfully, his arching capabilities were honed enough where he could consistently kill off the rabbits found inside the forest painlessly.

With the Hylian was a bag full of different pouches for the various tools he'd need for his long trip. He had promised his friends, who had almost begged him not to go, a time limit. If one month had passed without success, he would give up the search. At least temporarily. Inside the bag was a small knife, useful mainly for sharpening sticks into spears for the occasional ponds and rivers found in the woods as well as skinning and gutting rabbits. There was even a section entirely for keeping mammalian kills in which currently held one rabbit killed less than twenty minutes ago. Lugging dead fish around was just too much, so he cooked and ate them as soon as he caught them. He had a number of bottles for getting drinking water from any river he came across, all of them being quite clean. Alongside that was a flint and steel for fires, a pocket to keep firewood he found, a blanket for him and Epona each, bandages in case of injury, and of course a change of clothes. The only item left wasn't kept in his bag, a small blue instrument clasped to his belt. The Ocarina of Time.

Sitting against the tree and next to his gear, the boy let out a shaky sigh and simply stared off ahead of him for a bit. He supposed there was one benefit to only having Epona as company. With no people around, Link was free to let his emotions out, no longer having to keep his mask up for the benefit of others. That being said, he still couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed if he got desperate in his calling for Navi or teared up a bit as he tried to sleep. Still, it was so exhausting keeping his mask in place at what seemed like every waking moment, so it was somewhat relaxing to let his true self out.

After a few minutes of rest, Link prepared to eat, getting some firewood he had stored away before getting the dead rabbit out of his bag. The boy let his mind go blank as he worked on preparing the kill for cooking, occasionally glancing over at Epona, now lying on the grass, as she stared over at her companion. Offering the horse a small smile, Link continued preparing his meal in silence.

Before long, the rabbit was cooked and Link was slowly eating his meal. It was somewhat odd to eat meat without utensils like this. The Kokiri didn't have things like knives, forks, or spoons, so all meals were eaten with the hands. When the boy moved into the castle, he was introduced to such concepts and spent two years getting used to cutting up his meat rather than tearing at it with his teeth. While an almost strange feeling, it felt good in a way to go back to what he was used to.

Once the meal was over and the fire extinguished, Link let out a small and content sigh as he leaned against the tree. A part of him was beginning to wonder if this wasn't some kind of mistake. Saria had gone out to the woods herself a number of times at Link's request in search of Navi and found nothing. What made him think he'd find anything himself? Saria searched on and off for two years, what would a month accomplish? The boy's hand ran over the Ocarina, the temptation to play Saria's Song cropping up in his head. Maybe he should talk to his oldest friend about this again? It was a good thing Zelda insisted on Link taking the instrument with him, so he could at least talk to one person whenever he chose to. The songs to warp him about Hyrule also served as a nice last resort if he found himself unable to leave the forest when the month was up.

Link's thoughts were interrupted by a flash of light from above. He looked up but saw nothing. A darting fairy? What else could it be? The boy almost called out but stopped himself. Right now, he didn't want to use his voice. He didn't want to talk to anyone. Frustration coursed through his veins like small embers at what he perceived as weakness. Two years passed and sometimes such simple things were so hard, and it all phased in and out seemingly at random. Normally, he loved talking to his friends and being with them. Then there were times where holding a simple conversation seemed like the most exhausting thing in the world to go through.

Letting out another sigh, Link decided to keep going. It was hard to tell at a glance, but it wasn't even late afternoon yet. He had plenty of time to keep going before the sun set and further searching was made impossible. Gathering his things and standing was Epona's signal to get up herself. With the Hylian on the young filly once more, the two ventured onward to the forest. Above them, the flash of light darted from tree to tree, soon followed by a second, purple light…

The time went by slowly and quietly as Epona gently marched forward. Link wasn't sure how much time was going by, but the infinite forest around him wasn't growing darker, so it was still afternoon when he seriously considered another break. Right now, he just felt so exhausted. Everything on him felt so heavy and cumbersome, even the clothes on his back were like stone weights. Link was about to get off of Epona once again when that flash of light went by overhead once more, and this time it was quickly followed by a second one! Was that fairy following him? And with a companion? The boy looked up where he thought he saw the lights go, tempted once more to call out.

Fairies were shy by nature, generally, but the sight of a child in Kokiri clothes seemed to make them more willing to come out and talk. This didn't apply to all fairies, of course. Navi was rather outgoing, always flying above Link's head as he went about the Hyrule Castle Town or Kakariko Village. As the Hylian was looking about, he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye, something closer to eye level. He didn't get the chance to even turn before Epona let out a whinny of fear and reared herself onto her hind legs. Link was so caught off guard that he instantly fell off.

The boy barely had time to let out a startled yelp before the world went black.

Link had almost felt disgust for the citizens of Clock Town.

At least, he did when he first arrived in Termina.

Hanging above their heads was the Moon. Massive and hateful with leering orange eyes, it was absolutely impossible to miss. Yet the people walked about and focused on their daily tasks and shopping and socializing and their jobs and who even cared? The Moon was falling, and the entire town would be reduced to ash and bone yet so few seemed to even acknowledge it!

How could they be so foolish? So blind to the reality set before them? A small part of Link wanted to yell at the bustling crowds that they had to evacuate, that they had to run as far away as possible if they wanted to survive.

It would have been a waste of energy, and Link knew it.

The worst part of it all was that Link wasn't free of such foolishly optimistic hopes either. During his First Cycle in Termina, he too was in denial in his own way. He refused to think about the power of the foe he had to face, the Skull Kid and the strange power he commanded that could pull down something so massive. He refused to think about the possibility of failure and that he could very well end up dead. Finally, he refused to think about the notion he could be in Termina for more than the three days assigned to him by that mysterious salesman.

All he focused on was moving forward. So he could return home.

Worse than all of that was his refusal to believe in the copies of those he had met in Hyrule. He kept coming up with excuses, each one more desperate than the last, that these lookalikes were simply coincidences or in fact the same people as the ones in Hyrule. They just so happened to arrive at the same land that Link winded up arriving at after falling into a tree within the Lost Woods. The excuses were pathetic, but he couldn't help himself.

It was when he met a man that looked exactly like Ingo did he finally accept what was going on even if he didn't fully understand it. Why were there copies here in this far-off land? Where did they come from? He never found a concrete answer to that, and eventually tried to ignore it. Yet even near the end of his adventure, the concept itched at the back of his brain.

Even long after he started on his second quest, Link sometimes tried to convince himself it was all an awful dream. He denied the reality of the situation and thought perhaps one day he'd wake up and be back in the castle with Zelda or at the ranch with Malon. Naturally, it ended in more misery and nothing else. Link felt foolish for these thoughts and hopes, finding them childish and wasteful…

But he couldn't help himself.

When Tatl started to treat him better after his fever, Link tried to pretend it wasn't happening. He tried to rationalize it as the fairy finding a new way to get under his skin. It had to be, right? Because if she was being sincere, it meant their inevitable separation would be a painful one and Link simply didn't want to get hurt again.

He felt like a pathetic, scared child.