Link loved the Great Bay of Termina.
It was really an ocean. It extended out well beyond the horizon, but were you to cross over, you would find yourself in another land full of violent people. It was an inhospitable place that had gone to war with Termina several times in the past. A hundred years earlier, the two lands were close allies.
Then the revolution happened.
What was once referred to as The Divide lost its identity. It was now referred to as "Oceania" by all. Its citizens were near brainwashed by its government, a body so obsessed with control that it felt the need to control the past, present, and future.
Link was not a brilliant boy. Even he, however, saw the problems of Oceania's government. It would collapse within the next hundred years.
And yet, Link was fighting just as much for Oceania as he was for Termina. If the moon hit, the world ended. Not just Termina.
He wondered as he sat upon a floating dock on the water. Would those a land away even see the moon right now? Did they have any idea how near they were to Armageddon?
He steeled his nerves as he watched. The large rock had come far closer. It seemed to be inching ever closer at a more noticeable pace now.
Down below, the fireworks had long been going off. It almost seemed that Clock Town was attempting to escape fate by use of the small rockets. Hope was dashed as nothing changed but the proximity of the moon to the town.
Link watched with sadness as the fireworks, initially going off in such a frenzy that Link wondered if Majora herself felt concern, slowly tapered off. The people were resigning themselves to fate.
He wiped a tear from his eye. Just a few hours ago, he had visited the ranch on the outskirts of town, just off Milk Road. He'd made a habit of assisting Romani, the girl named after the Ranch, in destroying mysterious invaders that attacked the ranch in the night. Dark they were, and golden eyed. They wished to abduct the cows for unknown reasons, and would take Romani too if they had the chance. He never let it get so far, but he just knew.
He knew because when he first met Romani and her older sister, Cremia, it was the final day before calamity. The younger girl's eyes were almost lifeless. She spoke in a slur and kept grabbing her head as if it were killing her. It was a far cry from the happy, go lucky bubbly girl he'd had the pleasure of meeting in another time. An earlier time.
A better time.
All such times, however, had one thing in common: the moon hanging just overhead.
As it was, he'd been invited to have some supper with the girls and their guests: Anju, her mother, and her grandmother. It was a veritable feast with laughter and good times, but Link recognized it for what it was.
A last supper.
When the other guests had retired for the night (they gave tearful farewells and hugs to the girls and Link, for they knew they would not be waking up), he was alone with Romani and Cremia.
"Sister, can I please try some of the Chateau Romani? Please?"
Cremia blinked. Chateau Romani was the ranch's special blend of milk. It was almost like alcohol. Cremia swore it was magic, and because of its ability to get its drinker potted, was limited only to adults. Romani had tried to ask for it on a few occasions before, but never really made a fuss when Cremia said no.
Hmm? And what dream plays itself for this one?
Cremia looked to Link, then to the window. She shut her eyes in sadness, then put on a fake smile and looked to her sister.
"Well, okay. Just this once though. And then I want you to clean yourself up and go upstairs."
Romani lit up.
"Oh, thank you sister! I promise that tomorrow I'll do all the chores you assign me. Promise!"
Cremia, who was at the counter filling a glass with Chateau Romani, wiped a tear away.
"I'm sure you will, hun."
All was silent for a few moments.
"Romani?" asked Cremia. Her little sister looked to her. Cremia set down the glass in front of her and gripped her shoulders.
"I want you to know. No matter what happens, I love you. I love you so much. You're the best sister I ever could have asked for. You made me proud every day. I only hope I was even a percentage as good to you as you were to me."
The notes of finality in her sister's voice did not carry over to the childish ears of Romani. All she heard was gushing, and she gave the dismissive wave of her hand.
"Stop it, sister! You're embarrassing me in front of Grasshopper!"
Cremia gave a chuckle. Or was it a sob? She nodded.
"Forgive me. I'm just so blessed to have you. Now, drink your milk and go up to bed. My bed. It's yours for the night."
If Link never lived to see happiness again, he would go out knowing he saw it that night in the face of that little girl. She was positively beaming. In record time, she drank the offered milk and ran off to the stairs.
"G'night, Grasshopper! And you too sis! I'll see you tomorrow!"
With that, the girl hopped up the stairs. Stairs that would not be standing in the morning. Stairs that she would never again trot down.
When the door to the bedroom upstairs shut, Cremia began to sob silently. Link was unsure how to respond. He approached and put a hand on her arm and patted it gently.
He was unprepared when she turned to him and wrapped him in a great bear hug. She sobbed into his hat for precious minutes.
Child, let me in. Please.
When she was done, she set him down again.
"I'm sorry, kid," she said in a raspy voice. "It's just... she doesn't understand what's going to happen tomorrow. She sees the evidence but it's too terrible to comprehend for children. I'm not even sure you see the writing on the wall. Maybe you too don't understand what's going on. I won't take that from you any more than I have by breaking down like this before you."
She wiped a stray tear from her cheek.
"If you need a place to spend your night, you are welcome here. Romani took a shine to you, and come to think of it, I have too. You can stay in our room as well."
Link eyed her silently, as if to ask, "And yourself?"
She smiled, her eyes reddened from crying.
"I'll stay up. Someone's got to spend the night with Anju. Her wedding was to be tomorrow evening."
She gave a sigh. "I wonder where Kafei is..."
Link knew. He had seen it in a previous time, and on this day, he was not able to assist Kafei. He hated it. Link wanted to help everybody. He was the kid who freely gave up his own supper in Hyrule to the poor, and for much of his journey, Link was far from wealthy. Far be it from him to eat when the destitute before him starved. Being unable to help Kafei in this three day cycle hurt him. He had been knocked unconscious by a wolfos and woke up far too late.
Link did not give away Kafei's whereabouts as it would have caused chaos and disharmony among the people there in their final moments. Kafei decided that his final resting place would be the Stock Pot Inn, within the room he was to re-unite with Anju in. As it was in memory, he and Link had retrieved his special mask just a little bit too late.
The damnable thief that stole it had it hidden deep within his base inside a crate. One of many. There were hundreds of crates within his hideout and Kafei and Link spent near five hours that day searching before they found it. Link would stay behind for a few more minutes to try and confront the thief, but he seemed to disappear in there.
Let me in. Allow me to ease your mind.
When Link made his return trek to Clock Town in that cycle, it was about three in the morning. The moon was so close overhead that the rumbling from the earth was frequent. Dust from the lunar surface and rocks blanketed everything in a fine layer, and it continued to fall like a nasty snow storm. Link saw one puppy in town square; once vibrant and full of life, it was now motionless with red trickling from an ear. Nearby lay a large lunar rock with red staining its surface too.
Let me in, strange one.
He had no time to stop and give comfort to the guards who were trying hard to remain stoic in the face of doom. The rest of the town was nearly vacant. Only a few remained now.
He found Stock Pot Inn in a dark East Clock Town. The torches lighting the town had gone dark. There were no stars to light the sky up. They were obstructed by the moon. Some houses in the district were vacant now. Doors and windows were left open and Stock Pot Inn was no exception. Link entered the darkness, accompanied only by the light of his fairy companion, Tatl.
She lit the way up the steps to the final rendezvous room for Kafei and Anju.
For a fleeting moment, Link felt a sense of relief. There appeared to be two bodies in the room. Kafei stood before a woman in a wedding gown wearing a mask.
His heart dropped into his stomach when he saw the truth.
Kafei was there, yes. He was cursed into the form a child, but was otherwise unharmed. In his hand he carried a mask of his own; the mask he and Link had worked so hard to get back.
The other person was not a person at all. It was a mannequin. A mannequin that happened to be tailored to the same height and dimensions as Anju. The woman herself was nowhere to be found. Kafei did not take his eyes away from the mannequin. He was not crying. He seemed to be almost smiling.
"Isn't her bridal dress lovely?" he asked.
Link took a few more steps into the room. Kafei turned his head slightly.
"We promised each other when we were children that we would marry on the day of the Carnival of Time."
Link spared a look at the bridal dress, and then looked back to Kafei. Kafei's hand gently traced along the fabric.
Let me in.
"...But my promise... I couldn't keep it."
Link may not have then known a whole lot about romance and love, but even he could recognize the resignation and heartbreak in his voice.
"Go now, kid. You have done much for me, and though I may not have been successful on this day, I owe you a debt of gratitude."
He looked up at the statue's face once more.
"I will await the end here. You go back to that thief's hideout. It may just survive the morning. Don't be sad for me. If we may not marry in this world, then perhaps we will in the next."
Kafei's head bowed again.
"Rest in peace, kid."
There was a flash of light, and Link was back on the floating dock. The sun was about to rise, but that was not the cause of the light. Any clouds nearby retreated or were vaporized instantly as the moon kissed the Clock Tower.
"Kid? It's now or never. You need to play that melody!"
Link's eyes took on the strength of a cat's. He saw the Ocarina in the water, far below the waves. He might be able to retrieve it, but he would never be able to turn back the clock in time. The moon had already hit.
"Tatl, I apologize," he said softly. She was no longer with him. He looked up as the sky turned red. The heat was beginning to get to him. There was another flash, and he was blind. In the distance, he could hear an echoing boom rapidly fading up.
At last! Enough of this!
All at once it was over. The horrible sound was gone. The heat was gone. The feeling of foreboding was gone. Everything was gone. Say what you will about Majora, but at least she made it quick.
There was the chirping of birds. Link no longer felt himself rocking with the floating dock.
He dared open his eyes again.
He had not died. He was sitting upon the beach now. The sky was pink, but not red in a blaze. The moon no longer towered overhead. He saw it, a speck in the sky now compared to what it had been just moments ago.
There was one with him. He turned his head, and saw her. The one Fluttershy had told him of one night before bed. The one she uttered a prayer to in the night, imploring that his dreams be kept peaceful.
Luna, the Princess of the Night.