Collect the Masks
!Link                            Hyrule Castle

The playing field between myself and Kilton is equal at this very moment. Both of us must fight each other, all the while being brow beaten beneath the tyranny of these masks. I can only assume that somewhere beneath Majora, Kilton's consciousness is holding on.

I say assume, because without Y/N, I don't know if I would have come to as quick as I had or even at all.

Then the question remains: is there someone who can appeal to whatever sentience of Kilton persists? Or has Termina captured him completely?

Will this have to be an unfortunate fight to the death?

But the cool edge of my blade is not the gratitude I wish to award him for his friendship.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

It wasn't the crashing of bricks or the shattering of glass that reached your ears first, but a paralyzing screech that almost made your skin peel away from your muscles.

You had decided, beneath the firm grip of Link's hands holding your own, that if this was really it, there was nothing left but acceptance. You never got to own your own home nor become the prestigious historian you always studied hard to become, but you had become something even better.

Courageous.

Of course, who better than Link to be your teacher in mettle.

Link. Maybe the justice you longed to bring to the hero of time wasn't even warranted. Maybe simply by honoring his memory and finding him again, as the great hero of the calamity, was homage enough to his defamation.

This was it; you were finally giving yourself permission to let go.

But not before demonstrating one final act of valor.

Before Link could give you that strained look he normally offers you when he must assist Zelda, you were already halfway down the corridor.

Like a vulgar perfume, clay and sand lime from the gargantuan hole in the very top of one of the castle's hoardings infiltrated your nose. You masked your eyes from the falling debris and dust, seeing Zelda's shriveled silhouette on her knees with her hands folded in prayer.

The castle she spent one hundred years protecting from attack was now attacking her. You noted bits of sawdust and detritus tangled in her thick, short hair. A shawl of concrete covered her shoulders, yet as always, she remained poised. Not even the precipice of the apocalypse could rattle the queen after what she's witnessed in her many lives.

"Zelda?!"

You ran toward her, skidding on your knees and grabbing her in a way that made your body her shield.

"This is it..." she said softly. Her eyes were fastened shut, and her head remained bowed.

In the distance, the voices of guards echoed down the interminable hall.

Swirls of dust continued to shimmy around you and Zelda. Another small piece of the hoarding caved in and crashed to the ground. Zelda could feel your body flinch at the sound, prompting her to whisper, "Y/N, there is no need to shield me." In a light-hearted tone, she added, "If you could shield Hyrule from the blood moon, I'd be most impressed. But I feel now is an appropriate time to just tell you, I am proud of the tremendous growth you have displayed."

You thought of yourself as passionate, but what you had mistaken for zest you now recognized as irascibility. There was still so much about yourself that you had to learn.

But now you never would.

"I'm sorry." You held your hand over your heart. "For everything." There would never be another chance to say what was in your heart, and so you mumbled, "I was so jealous of you. Not just because of Link, but because of your purpose."

This severed Zelda's hands, which were woven in prayer, as she let out a small chuckle. She gave you a forgiving look. "How ironic, and here I was jealous of you, or of what you are, I should say. I have asked Hylia time and time again to let me reincarnate not as a royal but as a citizen, carefree with no sense of obligation. But time and time again, I am here, with this cursed mark on my hand."

You looked down and saw a small golden triangle pulsate to life as she said this.

"I exist to fight the evil known as Ganon. Every lifetime, he comes, and Link and I must join together and fight. Yet I did not account for the evil that can come from an abandoned heart. I did not account for the wickedness that lives within the human soul. But now that I have learned rejection, I understand it." There was a tinge of shame in her voice.

You remained shielded over Zelda's body, unaware that Link stood near; the only indication of his presence was his shadow, which eclipsed you both.

"No life is ever in vain." Zelda remarked as she looked up at Link.

Link looked at you from over your shoulder. "Except maybe Hoz." You could see the outline of a smile from the view of his profile.

"We are all about to die, and you are joking?"

"Sure." He responded. "Would you rather die crying? I almost did, and I would prefer it be different this time around."

"I agree." Zelda answered him, a plaintive expression clouding her face. A distant memory of a hero who was soaked in her tears and blood had surfaced, as she recalled rescuing him by putting him in a comatose state in the shrine of resurrection for a century.

"Queen!" A trio of guards, the source of the distorted voices you had heard earlier, now stood crowding around you. One of them began to speak, "Ah, she is alright. Thank Hylia. Link is-

An explosion of blood gushing from his mouth left his sentence unfinished.

In perfect synchronicity, all of your heads moved to see Majora hovering above you all.

"I want to play."

You had never heard it speak before, and it was a voice that left your skin bubbled with goose pimples.

"I said..." He balled both his fists, raising them slowly, causing the injured guard to levitate off the ground.

"I WANT TO PLAY!"

He twirled his fists as if he were wringing a soaked rag, the guard's body twisting along with the movement.

"Snap goes the body."

You covered your ears, trying to block out the sound of the guard's body being snapped backwards. He fell to the ground, his sacral area aligned with his torso and his lips left open, still holding on to the scream that would never escape.

"Crack goes the limbs."

Another guard suddenly fell to his knees, his cries suffocated by a simple disseverance of his head.

The final guard left of the three dropped his spear and began to retreat, but his iron-clad armor sounded no different than an elephant wandering through a church.

Majora slowly turned his head, amusement present in the way he folded his legs and tilted his head while he floated aimlessly in the air.

He lifted a finger and twirled it; a spectral aurora of colors appeared, the prism temporarily blocking the guard from absconding. With a howl that could freeze the very blood in your veins, blood exploded like fireworks within the air, painting the walls of the castle with bloodshed once more.

"HAHAHA! BOOM GOES THE BODY."

The guard's fresh corpse fell, blood still escaping in spurts from pockets of holes made in his flesh from Majora's refringent technique. His head seemed to turn back and forth as he scanned you, Zelda, and Link.

"I don't like tag. I want to play a game. It's called find the masks."

Majora flicked his finger upward again and aimed it at you.

Link warned with a scowl, "Don't even think about it!"

Beneath his breath, he mumbled, "Y/N, you and Zelda need to go now!"

"Collect the masks... he wants the deity mask." Your voice fluttered out like the petals of a dandelion that had been stripped of hope and were blowing in a breeze of uncertainty.

"He's looking for it." Link whispered in response. "Dammit! Why did I go and throw it to the ground like a fool!"

Zelda gently nudged the mask at you without saying anything. Thank Hylia; no wonder this woman was queen. You took it from her, murmuring Link's name.

"Yes, you look fun to play with." Majora's finger was frozen in your direction.

Link kept his shield strategically placed before him, slipping the mask from your fingers into his.

He gave your hand a gentle squeeze. "Y/N, I'm going to become him again. I must. But if you call my name, I'll return to you."

Link raised the deity mask to his face and shouted, "NOW GO!"

You and Zelda stood, hastily skirting forward, neither of you looking behind as you made your exit.

The only sound that followed you both down the hall was the sound of Majora's laughter and that of a being that called himself a deity.