Return to Termina

Long ago, before the disastrous reign of Majora's Mask, there was already evil in the land of Termina. A powerful warlock virtually had the world in his clutches. Then, four powerful beings from another world depleted his strength and armies to virtually nothing. The only thing the dark one had now was a cursed beast and he used his dark magic to seal the four beings in masks and scattered them to the four corners of the land. Now, the time has come for them to be released, but the warlock will NOT make it easy. His plan is already unfolding.


It was another beautiful day in Hyrule. The birds were singing and there were hardly any clouds in the sky. The sun was shining like a yellow rupee and Link was resting under his favorite tree in his favorite place-right in the middle of Hyrule Field. He was half asleep and could’ve sworn he saw a cloud that looked like a heart, but then something changed. It turned into Majora’s Mask and then split in half. Link blinked at the sight of this and sat bolt upright. He rubbed his eyes and checked if the cloud was still there, but it had just mysteriously disappeared. He decided it was nothing and decided that he would lean back and get a rest. Link lay back down, pulled his hat over his eyes, and went right off to Dreamland.

Link found himself in a big, black nothingness. There were no stars in the sky, not even insects in the air. Then all of a sudden, a pair of red eyes came up close enough for its forehead, if it had one, to touch his. Link leapt back in surprise and reached for his sword, but upon further inspection, he found it wasn't there. Suddenly, another pair of red eyes came out of the dark until there were five pairs of them. Link didn't know what they were, but he did the only thing he could do when there was nothing he could do. He ran for his life, but the creatures were either too quick or he was too slow and they pounced. Link turned in surprise and braced himself for injury, but it didn’t come. The beasts didn’t hurt him, but seemed to go inside him.

Link inspected his body and didn’t see any bite marks, bruises, and didn't even feel a broken bone or even a scratch. Suddenly, he heard a scream and whirled around to see Zelda in on the ground. He gasped, but saw that she was still breathing, but Link had to make sure. He reached out his hand in an attempt to touch the injured princess. But then he heard a faint chanting of some unknown language. The words sounded something like this.

"Ajh-tay Nay-u Yem-oo-ae Sep-shun"

Link didn't even have time to register what was going on when a large, scaly hand seized his head. Link could just see through the gap between his fingers and saw a humanoid dragon made of pure gold and burning orange eyes. This dragon then spoke in a deep, sharp growl.

"And now the light will become the dark!"

No sooner had the dragon said that when the limp body of Zelda changed into that of a kind of beast with red eyes, knife-like teeth, and razor-sharp teeth. Link didn't have time to recognize it when the beast leapt into the air and attacked him with a snarl.


"Zelda!" Link screamed as he woke with a start.

Link's heart was pounding like a jackhammer and he looked around. He saw no beasts, red eyes, dragons, or any other sort. He touched his face and, after a bit of reassuring, he sat back down with a sigh.

“So, you’re awake.” A voice said.

Link nearly jumped a foot off the ground and found he was face-to-face with Rauru.

“Rauru? But you’re supposed to be dead.” Link said, trying to find an answer.

“Ganondorf did NOT kill me. He merely sealed me away for the past 5 years. Without the power of Majora’s Mask, his power got cut short of sealing me away forever.” Rauru informed.

“Oh, thank goodness. Did you see my dream?” Link asked.

“Does Ruto have a crush on you?” Rauru asked.

“You did, didn’t you?” Link asked, slightly embarrassed by his comment.

“Yes.” Rauru replied, “And before you ask, no. I don’t know what your dream means.” Rauru added quickly.

Link put his arm down and closed his mouth.

“Well, I better get going now. Goodbye.” Rauru said.

He took a few steps back and vanished in a flash of light. Link scratched the back of his head and turned around. Another flash appeared and Link whirled around to see Rauru again.

“One more thing. I need this back.” Rauru said.

He reached into Link’s sack and pulled out the Light Medallion.

“You no longer need this as the true Light Sage has returned. Also, because I have returned, Zelda is free. You can see her anytime you want. A smile spread across Link’s face and he jogged off to the castle.

“Gets him every time.” Rauru said, mentally chuckling to himself.


Universes away, a yellow fairy was racing all over the place in fright. It looked like she had just woken up from a nightmare full of carnage. Although if it involved carnage, it was exactly like what she was seeing.

“What do I do? What do I do?! I know! I’ll go for Link, he’ll know what to do!” Tatl said in panic.

She got a good start and hurried off to the clock tower, but she was unaware that two shady figures were watching her. One was on all fours like an animal and was snarling like one, too. The other was on two legs and was tall, muscular, and armor-plated. The taller one laughed before giving a single command.

"You know what to do." The shadowy person said.

The beast obviously understood this command and bounded off for places unknown. Then, a large red flash of light that seemed to be made of flame with glowing yellow eyes burst right in front of the dark person.

"Stop this RIGHT NOW! Leave the Hero of Time out of this!" It roared.

"Worried about our little hero, aren't we? Well, if there's something you can do about it, I'd like to see you try. You are no more than a spirit, Fire Guardian, and you have no physical contact in this world." The shade reminded.

"Yes," This so-called Fire Guardian said, "But I won't need physical contact to destroy you."

The shade laughed before asking, "And just how will you do that?"

"You'll see." The fire guardian said, its eyes narrowing.

Then, in a flash of red light, it vanished completely.


Tatl followed a trail that led up to the same tunnel Link went down so many years ago and soon found herself in a strange world. It looked a little like Termina, but there was just something different about it. It was obviously less technological than the world she knew; even the air was different. However, Tatl knew that she was on a mission; she knew of Link’s stories through Hyrule and raced off to the nearest castle she could find.

Link was enjoying his time with Zelda. They were in the royal garden looking up at the sun and laying back. Once or twice, Link and Zelda rolled around in joy through the flowers. They were almost done with their fun, when something like a pinball smacked Link hard in the head.

“OW! What in the name of Din was that?!” Link shouted.

He massaged the spot furiously and looked around to see Tatl zooming around like a bird that was trapped in the castle. Zelda squinted at the strange sight and then saw it was a tiny ball of light with a pair of insect-like wings.

“Is that Navi?” Zelda asked.

“No. It’s an old friend of mine. Her name is Tatl.” Link informed.

“Oh, that fairy that helped you in Termina?” Zelda asked.

Zelda had heard plenty about Tatl, but had never actually seen her.


After a few minutes of fluttering around, Tatl saw the face of her old friend and zoomed close to his face. She stopped so suddenly, that had she gone any further, she would have hit Link again.

“Link…it’s terrible! People…killings…MONSTER!” Tatl said in fear.

Link was growing tired of this nonsense and put Tatl into a bottle and she immediately piped down.

“Now I’m going to let you out and I want you to tell me what’s been going on. Understand?” Link asked.

“Uh-huh.” Tatl replied.

Link took the cork off and Tatl hovered out. She took a deep breath and then continued.

“Link, people have been going missing in Termina. There are pools of blood and dead bodies in the field and there have been sightings of a strange beast.” Tatl informed.

“WHAT?!” Link asked in disbelief.

Termina was like a second home to Link and he had friends there as well. If anyone was going to save this land, it was going to be him.

“What kind of monster would do that?” Link asked, angered.

However, before Tatl could even answer, Link got up very suddenly

“You can answer me later. C’mon, Tatl. Let’s head for Termina.”

“Don’t think you’re going alone, Link. I’m coming too.” Zelda informed.

Link turned around in confusion.

“But you have royal duties to attend to.” Link told her.

“Don’t worry. If I leave Hyrule, my duties are in Impa’s care.” Zelda informed.

“Well, if I say 'no', you'll just keep bugging me until I do. So, all right. Let’s go!” Link said.

Link went back to his house to fetch his sword and shield, then he went to Lon-Lon Ranch for food and drink on their journey. As soon as Link got Epona, Tatl lead the way and they were off to a far corner of the Lost Woods.

Universes away, the shade smiled.

"He took the bait."


Link and Zelda rode through a very misty part of the forest. Some parts of the wood looked the same as another, but Link seemed to know his way.

"Are we there yet?" Zelda asked, a hint of complaining in her voice.

"For the twelfth time," Link paused for a while, holding back the urge to shout. "No." he finished, calmly.

"OOH! LINK! THERE IT IS!" Tatl said as she zipped around the remnants of a huge tree.

Zelda and Link got off Epona, but just before Zelda could pop a question, someone leapt right out of the tree's branches.

"Well, Long time no see, Link." The person said, in a slightly cackling voice like a raven that swallowed helium.

Link rolled his eyes and said, "Hello, Skull Kid."

The Skull Kid wavered his head back and forth, laughing. Then, he went up to Link and spoke again.

"Well, I see Tatl gave you the news of the killings. I must warn you this, there's a..."

Link simply walked past and said, "Yeah, we heard about the monster. Just make sure Epona gets down there."

Link entered the door and Zelda saw him look at a gaping hole in the ground.

"You've got to be kidding..."

"No, I'm not. Now let's just get this over with." Link said as he held Zelda's hand.

However, just before Link jumped, something stirred in his mind. It seemed to be a man's voice, but it was abnormally high-pitched and had a slight vibrating tone in it.

"Help us..."

Link rubbed his temples, but came back to his senses because Zelda spoke.

"Link, what's wrong?"

Link snapped out of it and answered, "Nothing. Nothing's wrong."

Link took Zelda’s hand again, and leapt down the hole.


A rainbow of colors flashed around them in the shapes of masks and swords alike. Then, as soon as it had begun, it ended and they both landed on soft ground. Link followed the path and was eventually inside a large tower.

Link pushed open the large wooden door and said, “Welcome to Termina, Zelda. This is Clock Town.”

Zelda was amazed at the sight. Link introduced her to all the people in town and vice versa. However, Link didn’t forget what he came for.

“Tatl, when have these disappearances occurred?” Link asked.

Tatl popped out of Link's hat and screwed up her face in deep thought. Then it hit her.

“Hmm…They all happened at night when the moon is high in the sky.” The yellow fairy informed.

Link nodded and went outside into Termina Field. Zelda was also amazed at this place. It looked a lot like Hyrule Field, but had some differences. The moon, which was once falling, had gone back to its original state and orbit and it no longer looked like a monster.

“Link, shouldn’t we be trying to find what’s been killing those people?” Tatl asked.

“We don’t find it. We let it find us.” Link informed.

Tatl forced down a hard gulp and flew away with a quick, “You’re on your own, pal.”

Link and Zelda still had some time before nightfall, so they went to the ocean, the mountain, the swamp, and the canyon. Zelda loved the views and the different places and would’ve loved it even more if the disaster to come never happened.

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