Chapter Text
Link couldn't believe how happy he was to finally be leaving Hyrule for somewhere more exciting. He, Lana, and Volga walked through the supposed portal to Termina without hesitation, and Link was heavily anticipating what was on the other side as they were swallowed by a bright light. It's not that Link didn't love Hyrule. He did, especially the beautiful Princess Zelda. What he couldn't stand were the clean-up duties. Every day there was something else that needed to be fixed. The first week of peace was fine, when Zelda was sending him off on different missions to pick off enemy troops who dwindled around Hyrule. Since then, however, he found himself with a hammer in his hand instead of a sword. He was growing restless. He was supposed to be an adventurer, not a soldier bound to the security and construction.
The light from the portal cleared, and suddenly, Link knew that he had not dressed properly for the weather. It was freezing cold! He looked all around him and saw nothing but snow and ice, and around the sky, he saw mountains…which were lower than they were. The portal had apparently taken them to the top of an extremely high mountain in the dead of winter. Link didn't even know of anywhere like this place in the Hyrule he was familiar with.
"Sh-sh-sh-should we m-move on?" said Lana, as the wind whistled in their ears. Link was wearing long sleeves, chainmail, trousers, and a tunic which kept him mildly shielded from the icy wind, but realized that Lana was completely exposed to the cold. Apparently she had no idea where they were going to end up either.
"Get us out of here!" came a muffled voice from within Link's cap. Proxi was using it to shield herself.
Link quickly unraveled the scarf he wore, and gave it to Lana to at least give her a chance at withstanding the cold. She accepted it cheerfully through chattering teeth, and quickly wrapped it three times around her neck.
"What are you doing?" asked Volga. He was eyeing Link and Lana suspiciously. He didn't look as if the cold was bothering him in any way. "You shake as if you've not eaten in a week."
Is this guy for real? thought Link, shivering from the sheer ice that seemed to penetrate his boots. He looked at Volga and noticed something extremely odd. Around his feet, there was no snow. It had melted.
"What, you've never felt c-c-cold before?" asked Lana, astounded. "Give me a break! Why don't you share some of that hot stuff with us!" She stood as close as she possibly could to Volga without touching him and a wide smile broke across her thin lips. "Ahhhh…see if you can make your heat range wider!"
Volga looked indignant, but he obeyed the white sorceress. Link suddenly felt the warmth of a glowing fire around his form and immediately stopped shivering. It was an amazing relief. Proxi left the confines of Link's hat to enjoy the heat with them, as the snow around their feet melted away. "Well, then, where do we go?" asked the fairy.
"Lana?" Link asked, looking at her. She was still wearing his scarf, but he didn't ask for it back. They might get separated from Volga somehow.
"Well," she started to say, "I guess we need to avoid Vaati as much as possible until we find the Fierce Deity's Mask, but I can feel a dark presence around here already. He may have already begun his attack on this unfortunate place. I think we just need to find a way down." Link could also feel the darkness beginning to overtake the land. It was much like when Cia's power had crippled time, only without the obvious time fractures. Where was Zelda's light when you needed it? Link missed seeing her already.
Lana seemed to pick up on what Link was feeling. "Don't worry, we'll be back in Hyrule before you know it!" she said, smiling. It was always such an innocent smile. Link always enjoyed it whenever he got to see it, which was depressingly little lately. Only, she was wrong about one thing. He didn't really miss Hyrule.
"Yeah, sounds great!" said Link, pretending to agree. He wanted to make sure this "trip" they were on lasted for as long as possible.
"Are you two finished yet, or are we just going to stand here?" said Volga. He didn't look at all to be in the mood to wait around. The fiery impatience began to shine clear through.
Link nodded at him. They really did need to get going before Vaati ruined the place. At least they could fix any problems that he was bound to make, but they had to do so in stealth, so that he wouldn't know that they had followed him. "Sorry, you're right," said Link.
"Well, first thing's first, we need to get out of here, wherever we are," said Lana, walking outside of Volga's ring of heat. She peered over the landscape, and quickly she gasped at what she was looking at. She looked over at Link, and asked, "How long was I unconscious for?" Link hadn't realized that no one told her. They left so quickly that he was surprised Lana was even on her feet without even a meal.
"Eight days," said Link, walking out into the cold to see what she was so surprised about. He was also taken aback by the dreadful sight. There seemed to be a village at the bottom of the mountain, where the snowfall didn't reach. Well, what used to be a village. The buildings all seemed to be caved in on themselves, and dead figures, indistinguishable from this distance, seemed to line the streets. "Eight…days."
It was unbelievable that in such a short time, Vaati had completely wiped out an entire village, sparing none of the beings who had made it their home, for who knows how long. Eight days. What else had he done in that time? "Lana, how quickly can you get us down there?" said Link, not wanting to waste any time by walking.
"Hold on, get c-c-closer to V-volga," she said. It was a combination of cold and sobbing that had caused her stammering. Link walked back with her into Volga's heat shield, and Lana captured all of them in a magical circle. Link felt as though his own head was being swirled around in a whirlpool when suddenly they were standing in the midst of the destroyed village.
The village looked even worse, standing in it. There were swords, shields, clubs, and other weapons laying around. Bones of stalchildren littered the place, and Link was even more horrified when he saw the bodies of the gorons. Many of them were decaying, but as the goron physiology was made up primarily of rocks, it didn't reek. Their skin was crumbling, and their blood was stained around them on the floors. The buildings themselves were covered in battle scars, many doors destroyed, and the windows themselves caved in.
Link saw Lana walk to the body of a small, goron child. He couldn't have been more than ten years old (by Hylian reckoning, as gorons did age much faster), and whatever killed him was indistinguishable amongst his crumbling form. She fell to the floor and started weeping. Link couldn't bear the sight of it either. He walked over and sat next to her kneeling form and sat as she cried.
"I would send us to a point further back in time to stop him," said Lana, looking at Link with her tear-filled lilac eyes, "but we wouldn't be able to do anything to stop him. We've locked our point in this time period. We can't go to another now. If we did, time would be broken for Termina, unless the goddess of time herself gave us the power to do so. I don't think she's too pleased with me at the moment, to be honest." She placed her hand on the body of the goron child. "Please, forgive me."
Link didn't know what he could say. "Lana, if it wasn't them, it would've been someone else," said Proxi, floating to the two of them. It wasn't as cold in the village as it had been in the mountains.
"But it's all my fault!" Lana shouted. "If I hadn't been so stupid! If I hadn't thought that I could've stopped him by myself! If I had simply trusted you!" she looked even harder at Link, tears streaming from her eyes. "If I hadn't…" she trailed off, closing her eyes, turning herself away from Link.
Link didn't understand how she could possibly blame herself for everything wrong that had happened. He opened his mouth to try and say something, but before he could, Volga had stepped in front of him, lifting the sorceress off of the ground. He had suppressed his heat, though from this distance, Link could feel it.
Volga placed Lana on her feet, and bent over to look her in the eyes. "Do you know how many innocent lives I have stolen? How many people saw nothing but flames as their last sight, because I was told to do it?" Link was shocked to see any kind of confession come out of the dragon's mouth. He didn't even fully trust him to be around Lana, much less lecture her. "Do you think I blame myself?"
Lana stopped her whimpering and met the dragon warrior's silvery gaze. "N-no," she managed to say.
"I do," said Volga. "Every day I do. I allowed myself to do it, even if everyone says that Cia forced me to. Had she told you to kill, do you think you'd have done it, even under her spell?" Volga stood tall, and placed his hands on his helmet and lifted it off. He still had black markings around his eyes, which ended in sharp points, but the rest of his face was a surprise to see. He still seemed to be in his prime, yet it seemed that he had seen several lifetimes. His hair was wild and black, and his eyes beneath the markings were cold and gray.
"N-no," said Lana, looking into his eyes.
"How can you possibly blame yourself for lives you never took?" said Volga. Link's respect for him began to skyrocket, even if he wasn't sure about trusting him.
"I can't," she said, taking the end of Link's scarf and wiping her tears with it. She looked at Link, "I hope you don't mind." She smiled faintly, looking around the landscape. "I'm going to bury them, at least, so they can return to the earth as they love to do."
"I should've come sooner," said Link. When he'd heard that Lana was at the Gate of Souls, he put off seeing her. He was trying to spend time alone with the Princess, although it seemed almost impossible for him to do so while she was so busy with ordering people around. He had planned on visiting Lana, as he really did enjoy being around her, but it was only when he had gotten bored of Zelda's new orders.
"What?" said Lana, walking towards him. "You didn't do anything wrong, I mean, you saved my life!"
"More like you saved mine," said Link, remembering how she'd taken the poison away from him. "I should've visited you, maybe you'd have told me about Vaati."
"Probably," she said dismissingly. "We all have times we regret. I... can't just sit here feeling sorry for myself. Thank you, Volga. Vaati's the one who has to pay for what he's done." She walked up to Link and hugged him. He felt good as her arms wrapped around him, though he didn't quite understand why. "Just protect me here. You told me you'd always help, so now's the time to prove that." She left the embrace and pulled out her Sorceress Tome.
What followed was one of the most beautiful things Link had ever seen. Lana walked into the middle of the entire village, which was on an elevated rock formation. Around her were several holes which had been broken, leading into the homes below, though she paid them little mind. Link saw her clothes transform. What was once the attire of a playful mage was now the attire of a goddess. She had on what looked like a crown made of silvery cloth, and the dress of the same material which reached down to her calves. Her hair that was once blue was now white, and her silver shoes were heeled. She raised the Sorceress Tome to the air, and there was an extremely bright light that emanated from it, swallowing the entire scene.
When the light cleared, Link saw the bones of the stalchildren swirl like tornadoes and completely vanish from sight. The bodies of the gorons stayed put where they were, but they were all glowing. Several tears left Lana's face, and floated around to the groups where many of the gorons were laying. Lana began swaying in a dreamlike motion to direct the flow of her magic, and the tears each expanded into magic circles which swallowed the bodies of the gorons. When the bodies were all surrounded, each one compacted into a small ball of light, and Lana directed them to a small clearing, where they all began to shoot into the ground, though none of them broke it; they simply phased into it. Where every goron soul touched the ground, a small tree, shaped like the wings of the Hylian Crest, sprouted, each with different engravings written in Hylian.
Lana had performed a burial for all of them. Link thought it was the most beautiful, yet tragic thing he had ever seen. He walked to the new graves, as Lana finished with the last of the goron souls, and looked at one in particular. It had the goron's own name written across the wings of the crest.
Link had heard about Lana doing this before, after each battle, but he had never stuck around to see it until now. The fact that Lana even had this kind of power was amazing to Link, and he realized how he had severely underestimated her all of this time. I guess being the Guardian of Time really did mean something, he thought. She was part of Cia, after all.
As Link was admiring the new graves, Lana walked up behind him, startling him. She was back to wearing her former clothing, though her hair was no longer in the ponytail she usually kept it in. The waves of blue hair reached down to her waist. "It's not as good as when Zelda does it," said Lana. "All I could ever manage were graves of trees. Zelda was always able to make it specific to the species, like gorons would get rocky patterns, zoras would get something like crystalized water, stuff like that." Link saw that she still had dried tears on her face, though she had on a slight grin.
That was surprising to hear. Link had never even seen Zelda perform a burial like that. It was apparent that Link really needed to start paying attention to more than just fighting the next villain. Lana stood there in front of him, admiring the graves with her lilac eyes. There were clouds which overshadowed the sunlight, making the mood seem gray, but the feeling of absolute peace had been brought on by Lana. "That was amazing," said Link honestly. "I've never seen anything like that before."
"Oh, Link," said Proxi, knocking him on the head. "That's because you always leave while everyone else cleans up!" There was a tinge of guilt he felt at the statement.
Lana smiled at Link, who simply smiled back. I guess there's more to her than I realized, thought Link. Volga was sitting around the steps which led to another area, watching them as they stared at the new graves. His helmet had been placed back on his head.
"Hoo hoo! Look at what we have here!"
Link was startled by the sudden unfamiliar voice which reached them. He looked around to see where it came from, and what he saw utterly shocked him. It was an enormous owl, with what appeared to be massive eyebrows which slanted above his face, connecting to his beak. Link immediately drew his sword to combat the newcomer, and jumped in front of Lana, his shield in front of them.
"Long time, no see, Link," said the owl. "Or, I guess you've never seen me, but I know your history all too well, Hero of Legend." Link didn't like the idea of someone else who had stalked him across time, not after what Cia had done. Technically Lana was part of that, but he didn't see it that way. There probably wasn't anymore spying going on.
"Who are you?" said Link, pointing his sword at the owl who had perched himself on a signboard which simply seemed too small to support his weight.
"Kaepora Gaebora," said the owl. "I don't mean to startle you, but I was wondering if this land would be blessed by the presence of another hero, such as yourself, given all that has been happening. It seems Majora's Mask has taken itself another host, though this time, a more brutal host who has no interest in simple destruction. I know it's probably none of your affair, but I believe you know of your responsibility to stop him?"
"Of course we do," said Lana, beginning to tie her hair back up in the ponytail. She placed the feather hairclip on it to keep it firm.
"Splendid, now let me tell you what you should do," began the owl. "There's…and…gorons...placing….Majora's Wrath….zora….Tingle….to do….not….to be…. and did you catch all of that? Should I tell you again?" Link hadn't paid attention to a single word the old owl spoke, but he dreaded the idea of having to listen to him again.
"Yes, we got it all," said Link. He just didn't want to go through that boring old voice all over again, but he was also sure that at least Lana had paid attention. He looked and saw that she had completely passed out on the floor, fast asleep. How long was that owl talking? he thought.
The owl nodded and began to fly away before Link could get a chance to ask where they needed to go, but at the same time, he was sure they'd be able to figure it out. They were left alone, and the sun behind the clouds had begun to set, and darkness was settling. Link looked down at Lana, who was sleeping peacefully within Volga's expanded heat shield. She looked so cute, as she breathed heavily in and out, exhausted at the day's work. He decided it would be best if he woke her up, as they had no time to lose.
Volga walked to Link. "Do you know what the owl said?" he asked.
Link shook his head, as he placed his hand on Lana's shoulder and started gently shaking her to wake her up.
"I didn't catch all of it," said Volga, "but he said there was a small skirmish going on near our location. Apparently it has something to do with some a secret power which the gorons kept hidden. Perhaps it's the Mask we're searching for, so I suggest we go quickly." Volga reached down and picked the drowsy Lana off of the ground and set her on her feet.
Lana swayed a bit from side to side, but she shook herself awake. "Ugh, wha'd I miss?" she stretched herself, clearly having gotten a good sleep. Link seriously wondered exactly how long he had been waiting there while the owl spoke.
Volga looked a bit annoyed at the two of them, who seemed so relaxed at the concept of continuing their journey into Termina. Lana looked back around them, seeing that they were preparing to trek up the staircase and go to the next location. Link was very unsure of what they were to do, even after going to the supposed skirmish. They didn't even know what to do in Termina, especially to find the Fierce Deity's Mask.
"We leave, now," said Volga walking up the stairs which led to a narrow pathway through one of the mountains. Link and Lana followed him. Link kept his sword drawn, unsure of what they would encounter.
They walked through the path in the mountains, and the scene which was being played out before them was indeed a sight to behold. Apparently not all of the gorons were killed by Vaati. In fact, it looked as though hundreds of them made it out alive, and were battling with an enormous horde of goblin-like creatures, the likes of which Link hadn't seen in Hyrule. They were ugly, green, and carried curved swords and clubs with spikes.
The landscape itself was green, though it was overshadowed by the clouds and the darkness, as the sun was going down. There were a few small islands which were connected by bridges surrounded by a small lake. On each island, there were gorons, clad in iron armor, with rocklike weapons battling with the goblin creatures. The goblin creatures were also being assisted by groups of four-legged spiders. Link knew exactly which team to support as he charged into the fray to help the gorons. Lana ran in right behind him, causing the grass on the first small island to grow rapidly and tangle themselves around the goblin creatures as the gorons continued to pummel them with rocks.
While Lana tripped them with her tangles, Link sliced them with his sword. Their green blood stained his magic sword as he fought through their advancing forces. New spells erupted from the pages of Lana's tome, in some places the goblin creatures blinded by shadows, and others swallowed by water. The gorons didn't seem to question their inclusion, in fact, they were rallied by their support.
Where they needed to be was across the bridges, bolstering the goron forces. It didn't take Link much effort to carve his way through enemies to reach them. There were no keeps or other war rooms in this place. Their strategy had to be simple: kill or incapacitate every fighter on the enemy team. Link wondered if the gorons even had their own commander, so he found one of the bigger ones (traditionally, goron leaders were the largest of the bunch), and tried his luck. "Are you in charge, here?" Link asked, cutting the legs off of a few of the spider-like tektites.
"Our Big Brother is near the entrance to the track, up that hill!" replied the goron. Link nodded and ran across the next two bridges, Lana following close behind him. Another enemy of which Link had never seen appeared in front of him again. It was a wolf that stood on his hind legs to swipe at its foes with his razor sharp claws.
Link swung his sword at the enemy, but was shocked by the resilience of the dog's arms as it shielded its body with them. It seemed as if they were blades in and of themselves. Link continued this assault until he realized that there was no hope in taking it down that way, then switched his strategy with roll around it. The wolf's maneuverability was equally impressive, spinning to match Link's roll and moving where he moved. It was thrilling to fight an opponent with defenses as sharp as the wolves, but there was no time to waste.
The wolf suddenly burst into flames. Link looked expecting to see Volga, but only saw Lana with her Tome open and hand outstretched towards the wolf's now burning body. "Hurry! I'm fine here, just get to the Big Brother!" She turned and cast a wave of lightning at another group of the tektites, completely frying their bodies.
Link ran across the last bridge, and dashed up the hills which led to another cave. The hills were steep, but Link was able to push through by sprinting up. There was a large group of gorons battling with the wolfos, and Link thought he recognized a large figure using a giant hammer as a weapon. This goron wasn't the Darunia who Link had met in the Era of the Hero of Time, but he sure did look like him. He had the wild hair, but lacked the spikey beard which set Darunia apart. His arms were like tree trunks, and the way he moved his hammer was like a steam engine plowing through the creatures with ease.
Link reached the top and cut at the backs of the wolfos who were giving the gorons a hard time. He and the gorons managed to beat down the rest of the wolfos that surrounded them and earned themselves a respite. From this point, Link could see the rest of the battlefield. The lake was now teeming with the bodies of tektites, wolfos, and goblin-creatures. The last few of the enemy were being picked off by Lana, but Link couldn't see Volga anywhere nearby. Now where'd he run off to? thought Link.
Link was suddenly captured in an embrace that he thought would cause his own death. He felt his joints all pop, and he couldn't breathe. "Brother! You came back!" shouted a goron voice. He was let down and turned to face his attacker. It was the Darunia look-alike, a smile spreading far across his face.
"Sorry, who are you?" asked Link, realizing that like the owl, Big Brother must be mistaking him for the Hero of Time. "I don't think I am who you think I am."
"HA HA! Good hearted like I remember," said the goron.
"Look," said Proxi, shaking in the goron's face, "he's not the Hero of Time or anybody you could know. He is a Hero, but not from this age!"
The goron looked from the fairy to Link, and continued to smile. "My mistake, brother," said the goron. "But you look so much like the boy who played my lullaby almost ten years ago. I remember him well!"
"What do we call you?" asked Proxi.
"You can just call me Big Brother!" said Big Brother, smiling as he did so. He placed his massive hammer on the ground. The rest of the evil army was retreating, Lana pushing them back with her new magic.
"What were they all doing here?" asked Proxi, referring to the evil army. "And how are so many of you gorons still alive? We saw your village back there, and it looked pretty beat up."
Big Brother's face turned to a frown as quickly as a flash of lightning at the mention of the village. "Some freak in a mask destroyed my village and drove us into hiding in the mountains a few days ago," said Big Brother. "And then he sent this army to try and take the weapon of the Hero which we've kept here for him."
Down the hill, Lana was now performing another burial. She was dressed again in the beautiful silver clothes that she had worn earlier that day. "What weapon?" asked Link, turning his attention back to Big Brother.
"Well, our brother had a very nice Gilded Sword that he used here in Termina. Made from our special Golden Powder! Truly an unbreakable weapon," said Big Brother, proudly. "I felt that the sword was too short for a grown man, so in the case he ever came back, I had ordered an adult size version for him for if he ever came back! Come with me! And bring your pretty friend along with you!"
It didn't take Lana long to finish and join them. She quickly came up the hill to meet him outside of the cave which led to who knows where for the gorons. "Have you seen Volga anywhere?" asked Lana, whose blue hair had already been tied back up in a ponytail. "I didn't see him during the entire fight!"
"I have no idea," said Link. "But these gorons have something to show us in that cave."
Lana smiled at Link again, which caused him to feel warm, as if a small fire was smoldering inside him. "Sure! We'll worry about Volga later. He's not very social anyways," said Lana. She added with a whisper, "Just get me in some serious trouble again, he'll come running."
Link chuckled at the comment, now wondering what Lana had done to earn Volga's trust. It must have been her who saved his life after he received that mortal wound those months ago. He and Lana walked into the cave after Big Brother. Link was expecting it to be dark, with no source of light. He couldn't have been more wrong.
The place they'd walked into was massive, with mountain ranges surrounding them on both sides. There were torches all across the landscape which illuminated the many gorons who had taken refuge there. This was clearly a place they could find refuge from any intrusion, as long as enemies couldn't simply fly over.
"Mr. Fairy!" shouted a rather disturbing voice as he followed Big Brother to one of the caves. "Do you remember me?" Link saw the owner of the voice and was completely put off by it. He was at least in his mid-forties, but he was really short, and he was wearing a skintight green suit which was pointed on his head with a red speedo and belt to top it off. He also had a clock necklace which was displaying what Link was sure was the wrong time.
"Proxi, please," said Lana, indicating that she speak to the disturbing man. Proxi flew over to the man who was out of place among the gorons and spoke with him.
Link and Lana continued to follow Big Brother into another small cave in the side of one of the mountains. "I want to give the sword to you, brother," said Big Brother. "I have no use for it, and I've got a feeling you'll need it." In the cave, there was nothing but rock furniture and torchlight.
Big Brother told them to wait in a room alone while he went and retrieved the blade. Link was never one to deny free gifts.
He stood in the main room with Lana. Neither of them said anything, but it wasn't the kind of awkward silence that happens among two people who aren't familiar with each other. It was peaceful, natural even, to be standing with her without having to say a word.
Big Brother returned to the room with a sword that practically equaled the length of the Master Sword itself. It was sheathed, but the hilt was impressive to say the least. "I know you're here to stop that masked freak, even if you aren't the same Hero I knew," started the goron. "So take this. It is the most durable and sharp blade you can possibly find in all of Termina. Well, unless you happen to have a Great Fairy owe you a favor." Link took the sword respectfully from the goron's rough hands.
"Thank you," he said, keeping it within its scabbard. "Can you tell us anything about the Fierce Deity's Mask?" Link knew that he had to ask this goron. They had no other leads on which they could go.
Big Brother looked him in the eyes. "I don't know," he said. "I try to stay away from things like that, but I might know someone who can help you if you need to find your way around Termina."
Just then, the green clad man burst into the room, while Proxi was repeatedly ramming into his head. "Help me!" shouted the man.
"Here he is," said Big Brother, laughing at the comical scene with Link and Lana. "Tingle, the man who has maps to everywhere you could ever need to go!"