The Legend of Zelda: Araea's Mask, Chapter 2

One thing I really liked about Majora’s Mask is how they kind of jump into the story and don’t waste too much time with tutorial stuff.

Chapter 2: Clockwork Island

Link. Link! Where are we? Huh? Something’s happening. M-My body… I’m…

Link’s eyes opened to darkness. Within that darkness were snowflakes drifting toward the ground. “Man… what just happened?” Link asked himself. “What? Hey… my voice. It’s different.”

Link sat up and rubbed his eyes… something felt off. His hands were yellowish, very skinny, and animal-like. His feet were the same, but he still had his tunic. Link grabbed the Sheikah Slate as Ayri jumped out. “Unauthorized access detected: scans read that you are not my user.”

“Huh?!” Link panicked. “What are you talking about, Ayri? It’s me, Link!”

“Illogical. My user ‘Link’ is a Hylian, and scans read that you are a Minish.”

“M-Minish?” The slate’s screen became a mirror: Link had beady blue eyes and longer, pointy ears; he sort of looked like a chipmunk. He also looked back to see a feather-like tail. “WAAAAAH!” was his only reaction.

Ayri buzzed. “Fallacy detected: my data reads that Minish are roughly half an inch in height. One of the Sheikah Slate’s special features is to change size to accommodate the user in question. But once a user has been established, it cannot change size to accommodate someone else. The only possible exception is that you truly are ‘Link’ and have transformed into a Minish.”

Link sighed in disbelief. “Wah!” he yelped in fright when a giant snowflake stuck into the ground beside him, then dodged another one.

“Master Link, due to your miniscule height, certain objects such as snowflakes have a much greater density. The sharp points of these snowflakes have the potential to puncture members of your species. It would be wise to find shelter.”

Link screamed and ran as fast as his tiny legs could. Snowflakes were falling everywhere; for a moment, Link considered drawing his shield and using it as a helmet, but he found that both his sword and shield were absent. Snowflakes were covering the field ahead, appearing as a garden of crystal spikes, but Link could follow a path in-between them. The path became a sort of maze, much to his annoyance. If this Minish form had shoes, he could probably stomp across the crystals and forget the maze, but for now, he should just be thankful this convenient path was here to begin with.

Link found himself face-planting into a wall of some sort. To his right, the wall made a turn, leading into some kind of gigantic structure. The snowflakes could no longer reach him inside, but the interior was so dark, Link couldn’t see. “Master Link, the Sheikah Slate comes with a built-in flashlight. You may use it to see the path forward.”

A light flashed on in Link’s beady eyes, catching him off guard. He faced it the other way, but the light could only shine a short distance. He aimlessly walked forward across the ice. He could hear boulder-sized droplets splashing in the distance. Link shone the light onto the ice—a gigantic fish swum up with its mouth wide open. “WAH!!” The fish rammed and shook the ice, but when it failed to snack on its prey, it began to swim around in circles.

The quaking from the fish caused massive icicles to drop from the ceiling, forcing Link to make a run for it again. The icicles were also slowly cracking the ice, so if Link hung about too long, the fish would have their dinner. Link was able to make it to a metal piece of land. The fish no longer rammed the ice and the icicles stopped. Link aimed the flashlight around and found a series of frozen gears and metal bars towering above him. Some stairs led the way upward, fit for his Minish form as it seemed.

“WAH!” Link yelped again when he ran into another Minish. The Minish was completely frozen, the fear eternally brimming in his large eyes. Link shone the ice around, finding multiple Minish in similar circumstances. “A…Ayri… these are Minish, too, aren’t they? What happened to them?”

“Scans read that they are encased in ice, resulting in their nerves being completely immobile.”

“I know THAT! But what happened here? Is this because… of that girl we saw?”

“I am unable to provide an answer to this question, and I can only deduce that the unusually cold weather has caused these Minish to freeze. You may also like to know that it is now 6:00 a.m.. The sun should now be rising over this area.”

Link could hear the shaking rhythm of footsteps coming from above. There was faint light seeping through holes at the top. “I could use a little sunlight about now.” Link continued up the stairs, leading up to the light holes. He realized this was the underside of a sewer lid, and so he climbed up through the top. (Play “Clock Town 1st Day” from Majora’s Mask!)

“COCKADOODLE-DOOOOO!”

Link felt as if he had warped to a brand new world. It was a bustling city with buildings that were taller than the ones on Windfall Island. They were so tall that the morning sun could not yet touch the city streets. Regardless, people were already out and about. There were Hylians, Gorons, Rito, white-haired figures that were sort of dressed like ninjas, as well a fish-people that looked like the late sage, Laruto. Link turned and realized that a clock tower loomed behind him, standing in the center of town.

Ayri jumped out. “Master Link, I have determined that this location is Clockwork Island. This island is a metropolis that was built in the center of a collection of islands across the Great Sea. This island annually holds the Carnival of Time, a festival that honors the New Year. Since the month is July, the festival will not be happening for six months. However, judging by the surplus of snow on the ground, it may be December and you have not adjusted my calendar.”

“Look, Ayri, I really don’t think your calendar is broken. Nothing about this snow is natural. …’Course, I can’t really do much about it when I’m like this.” Indeed, with his Minish size, he was much too small to do anything. He was an ant to the townspeople. However, it seemed that Minish townspeople were strolling the streets as well, staying far to the side where people wouldn’t step. “I guess all I can do now is ask around.”


Stage 2: Clockwork Island

Mission: Find a way to return to your true form.

Link approached an adult Minish standing near the clock tower. “Hello, young man! Do you need something?” the Minish asked. Link briefly explained his situation. “You’re… a human that became a Minish?” Clearly, he found the story a little bizarre. “Uh… well, I don’t know how to help you there. And I don’t know anyone that could help. Since we’re Minish, adults can’t see us. Only children and animals. I don’t know how much they could help, but good luck to ya.”

Unfortunately, the thick walls of snow were too big for Link to climb, so he had to follow the clear paths that the people have swept. Link stayed along the sides of the path and walked to a wide area where a puppy was scampering about. Link was intimidated by the puppy’s size, so Link kept to the side of the field to avoid its vision. He saw another Minish standing by a tree close to the dog. He made his way to that tree without being seen.

“Hello there.” greeted the Minish. He actually seemed a couple years older than Link. “Haven’t seen you around before. There sure is a lot of snow for this time of year. Until the big people clear the streets, I’ll have to take that dog around.”

“That dog? He’s kinda big, don’t ya think?”

“Yeah, big to you, maybe. Didn’t your parents ever teach you how to tame animals?”

“I only had a grandma and she never taught me.”

“Oh… Well, it’s easy. When the dog gets close enough, just jump on its nose and grab on to its fur. Then you can steer them. Here, let me show ya!” The Minish ran out and attracted the dog’s attention. The puppy trotted up and crouched down, panting happily, and the Minish hopped on. The puppy kicked about for a few seconds before settling down. “There! Like this!” He hopped off. “Now you try.”

Link nervously approached the puppy as it crouched down, wagging its tail. Link leapt onto the nose and quickly grabbed its tail. “Whoooaaa!” He was flung around when the puppy kicked its legs back and turned, but the creature settled down once more.

“See, there ya go! Most Minish can tame animals when they’re nine or something. I’ll let you take him for now if you have somewhere to be. I’m sure another one will come along.”

“Thanks!” Link tugged on the fur and rode the puppy across town. The beast had no qualms about trotting over snow; what might have taken hours at this Minish size, Link crossed the city in minutes. This dog was like a giant boat with four legs. Only difference being it traveled on land. Link made his way to the west side of town, where the park was located. Children were happily climbing the a playground or throwing snowballs. There was also a couple sitting on a bench and kissing.

“’Twas winter when we had our first encounter.” the man said. “It seems the gods have chosen to make this our month.”

“Oh, Darling… I hope the goddesses aren’t jealous of our love.”

“You are the only goddess for me, Honey.”

“Oh, God.” Link said with disbelief.

“Arf, I know it’s all they do, arf.”

“Gross. …!” Link perked up. “YOU CAN TALK?!”

“You’re a Minish, arf. Can’t Minish talk to animals, arf?”

“Uh… I guess so. Maybe you can help me. I’m looking for a way to become a human again.”

“You want to be human, arf? You’re a weird Minish. Your best chance at doing that is probably talking to him.” The dog aimed its nose at a boy walking around the snow. The boy had brown hair and wore an open black coat and hood with a blue shirt underneath. “I see his friends around town a lot. They like to sneak around and pester people for answers, arf.”

“He looks familiar… Dog, take me closer.”

“My name is Quinn, arf.” Quinn obeyed and trotted up to the kid.

The kid noticed and greeted the dog, “Hey, boy. Find a new toy or something? Hm?” The kid looked closer and saw what was on Quinn’s nose. “A…A Minish?”

“I knew it!” Link said. “Ivan, it really is you! Where are all the Killer Bees?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. My name is Evan, and I command the Bomber Pirates!” Evan drew a sword and directed skyward. “We sail the seas, exploring islands, and looking for people with problems to solve!” He slashed some frozen grass behind him. “And until recently, we’ve been dealing with our greatest mission, yet: figuring out why it’s SNOWING in the middle of SUMMER!” He stabbed the ground, Quinn jumping back in fright. “How are we supposed to cross the ocean when it’s frozen?! I mean, yeah, we can walk across it, but there ain’t no boats to protect us from them monsters! And now that old hag ain’t even lettin’ us into her lab no more.”

“What old hag?”

“What’s it to you?”

“That’s what I’M asking! I need someone who can help me, so I would greatly appreciate it if you knew someone capable.”

“You got a smart mouth for a Minish.” Evan said, folding his arms. “I kinda like you.”

“Heh heh. Thanks.” Link blushed. Maybe I should’ve ditched the silent act a long time ago.

“Tell you what: I’ll help you if you can find the other members of my crew. By this time, they’re probably doing espionage around town. Find them all, tell ’em I sent you, and maybe we’ll lend you a hand.”

“Alright, I’ll take you up on that offer.”

“Good. Their names are Gork, Sipha, Nighlo, and Meen. It’s up to you to figure out the rest.”

“Come on, Quinn. It looks like I’ll need you for a little longer.”

“I got nothing else to do, arf!”

Keeping his puppy companion, Link began to search the town further. Of course, Clockwork Island made Windfall look tiny by comparison, so playing Hide-and-Seek with (who he assumed were) the same kids was four times as difficult. “Hey, Quinn, you must see these kids often, right? Do you know where they like to hang?”

“Well, I know Gork likes to spy on the gallery. That’s in the northeast part of town, arf.” Link’s Sheikah Slate provided a map of the town, so he used it to steer Quinn toward the northeast. There was an art gallery of some sort, surrounded by a path of grass with large snowballs lined up on it. Link detected movement in one of the smaller snowballs. He made Quinn approach it. The puppy sniffed the snowball until it looked up, revealing to be a Goron child.

“Hey, don’t give away my cover, puppy!”

“Are you Gork?” Link asked. “Evan sent me.”

“He did? I guess he wants me to report back. Okay, thanks for the info.” The Goron curled up and rolled across town, his snowball growing bigger.

“Sipha likes to eavesdrop on the fishermen in the Fishing Corner. I heard they broke the ice around that area to keep fishing there. It’s in the west.” Again, Link and Quinn made their way to that side of town. There was a square-shaped pool intersecting with the sea, unfrozen as two buff sailors were fishing in it.

“Oi, what do ya suppose is with this weather?” a sailor asked.

“Must be on account of this ‘Global Freezing’ you hear the Rito squawkin’ about.”

Link could see the shadows of fish in the water, and this terrified him, remembering his earlier experience. However, one of the fish was larger and had a humanoid appearance. “Quinn, bark at that one!”

“Bark! Bark! BARK!” yelped the puppy.

The fish stuck its face out—it was actually a Zora girl. “Shoo, dog! I’m trying to eavesdrop… Hey, who are you?” She noticed Link.

“I was sent by Ivan. I mean, Evan. Go meet him at the park.”

“Oh, I see! Good luck finding the others.” Sipha climbed out of the pool and headed off.

“She was a Zora, wasn’t she? I always heard that the Zora went extinct. Well, Quinn, where do we find the next one?”

“Nighlo is a Rito, arf. I’m sure he’ll be in a tree where there’s a lot of people.”

The first place Link thought to look was in the town square. Lots of people were passing by the very tree he met Quinn. “Hmmm… Quinn, bark at that tree.”

“Okay. Bark! BARK! BARK BARK!” As Link suspected, a head poked up from the snow on the tree. A pair of red eyes looked down at the puppy, and an owl Rito flapped down to ground level. “Yaaaaawn. I was having the nicest dream, too. Meen, is that you? Hoo? Wait, you’re a different Minish.”

“Yes, Evan sent me. Go meet him at the park.”

“Hokay. Yawn, I hope he brewed tea.” With that, Nighlo flapped away.

“Hey, it’s you again!” yelled the teen Minish from before. “Was that Rito a friend of yours?”

“Wait… if he thought I was Meen…” Link said to himself quietly. He then said to the teenager, “Hey, is your name Meen?”

“Huh? That’s my sister’s name. How would you know her?”

“Well… I’m kind of looking for her.”

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re with that Evan brat.” The boy sighed. “He rescued my sister from a spider-web once and now she’s head over heels for him. She uses him to scare our classmates and make herself popular. Sigh… If you’re looking for her, I can’t imagine where else she’d be besides under his hat.”

Link smirked, proceeding to steer Quinn back to the park. The other members of his crew were gathered in a semicircle, and they looked to see the puppy returning. “Well, you found them faster than I thought.” Evan said. “But you’re still one short, Squirt. We ain’t helpin’ you unless you find Meen.”

“You wanna take your hood off and say that?” Link asked.

“And what if I don’t?”

“I’ll make this dog jump up and yank it off!”

“…Heh. You are kinda smart.” Evan took off his hood, revealing a little Minish girl in his hair.

“Brr-r-r-r-r. Evan, it’s cold! Do I have to come out now?”

“All right! All members of the Bomber Pirates are all present and accounted for! Mates, this little Minish wants ta go see the old lady.”

“You mean Dr. Purah?” Sipha asked. “Why does he want to see her?”

“Beats me. He’s got a problem or something.”

“Yes, I do.” Link replied in annoyance. “I’m a human that’s been turned into a Minish.”

“GOROK?!” Gork nearly choked in surprise. “Y-You’re a h-human?!”

“Yaaaawn… I don’t believe it.” Nighlo rubbed his right eye.

“Clearly the work of some kind of voodoo.” Evan said. “It couldn’t be more obvious that THIS is tied to the freezing of the entire ocean!”

“That’s a wild accusation to make!” Sipha exclaimed.

“I have complete trust in Evan!” Meen proclaimed lovingly.

“Do you think this ‘Dr. Purah’ person can help?” Link asked.

“I don’t know.” Evan said. “You can go ask her if you want. The thing is, her lab is on a separate island. We usually take a secret passage in the sewer to get there. It’d be kinda tough getting there on your own…”

“Why don’t you just ask Nighlo to carry him there?” Sipha asked. “He is a Rito.”

“Uh… Yeah, you got a point. Alright, Nighlo, lend the little squirt a hand.”

“Yaaaawn… do I have to?”

“WAKE THE HECK UP!” Evan angrily smacked the owl across the face. “Honestly, Purah’s island is just half a mile away! You can carry him there, THEN take a nap!”

“Okay, okay.” Nighlo withdrew an Empty Bottle and held it down for Link. “I’m ready when you are.”

I have to ride in an Empty Bottle? Link remembered all the fairies he captured. “Siiiigh… Well, bye, Quinn. Thanks for the help.”

“Arf!” the puppy barked as Link climbed into the bottle.

Nighlo stuck the bottle in his pocket and stretched his wings. He took flight above the buildings and soared to a tall, pillar-like island. (Play “Hateno Ancient Lab” from Breath of the Wild!)

“Yaaaaawn…” Nighlo’s eyes were growing more heavy. Just as he was about to land on the island, the Rito sunk.

“H-Hey! Nighlo! You’re sinking! HEY!” Nighlo crashed on a ledge at the base of the island. Knocking himself fast to sleep, his bottle rolled out of his pocket and on its side. The Minish Link struggled to push the cork off, but he was able to and escaped. “Ugh!” He passed an annoyed glare to Nighlo’s slumbering face.

Ayri jumped out. “Master Link, this island’s unique spiral geography provides us a path in which to make our ascent to the laboratory. Our second option is to wait for Nighlo to awaken, so he may carry us.”

“Yeah… not worth my time.” And with that, Link began to follow the wide, winding path. A cluster of pebbles blocked his path—pebbles that were the size of boulders. They all had two more boulders behind them, except for one, which Link was able to push aside. Link reached a dead end in the path (mountain-sized rocks that his human self could easily pick up), but there were tiny vines along the wall that led higher. Link climbed and switched between them to reach the higher path.

Link still couldn’t get very far as a large cliff with a tunnel impeded his path. Link’s tiny heart nearly stopped at the sight of a gigantic rat poking its head out. The rat was quick to pounce out, wanting nothing more than to feast, but Link flipped back, then leapt onto its nose, tugging the beast’s fur. The rat “NEIGHED” like a horse, following Link’s command as it leapt above its tunnel and scampered up the path. Link had to force the rat to leap gaps in the road with excellent timing, and they were soon able to reach the top of the island.

The laboratory appeared to be a tall, high-tech house with a gigantic telescope sticking out of the roof. Clouds began to fill the skies and snow descended. “Now’s as good a time as any to get inside, I guess.” Link spotted a tiny hole in the bottom of the lab’s doorway. He steered his rat closer, then hopped off to go inside.

The second Link entered the lab, “WAAAAH!” A massive red eyeball that enveloped the ceiling was gazing into his soul.

“Yo, li’l munchkin!” It was actually a glass eyepiece magnifying the eye, attached to a mechanical rod on the person’s head. She was a 6-year-old girl with a large head and white hair, wore a white coat with a black skirt, and her short legs had black stockings going into black shoes. Her large red glasses had eyelashes on them. “I didn’t mean to make ya go freaky-deaky! But you ain’t s’posed to be bargin’ into my crib like no mama’s business!”

“. . . . .” Link hadn’t the first clue of what this girl was saying.

“What’s up, dog? They something crazy on my face?”

Link shook his head. “Kid, I’m looking for someone named Dr. Purah. Does she live here?”

“That ain’t none of yo’ hornet’s wax!” yelled the girl, her magnifying glass moving in front of her eye again. “Now you better git before I sweep you in the… HUUUUUUU!” She made an earsplitting gasp that stunned Link senseless. “What’s that on your hip?! Is that a SHEIKAH SLATE?!”

“Wah! Hey!” The girl caught Link between her fingers and lifted him to eye level, letting him stand on her thumb as the magnifier zoomed in.

“Snap! It really is a Sheikah Slate! You can’t find these anywhere nowadays! You gotta tell me where you found it!”

“Not until YOU tell me where Dr. Purah is!”

“Okay, okay, fine.” The girl carried Link to a table and set him down. “Wait here. I’ll be right back with her.” The girl turned. Then she whipped back around with her fingers positioned like scissors over her eyes. “Check it! I’M Dr. Purah!”

“Uh… What? Those guys told me you were an old lady.”

“You must mean Evan’s group.” She shook her head. “They really need to learn some manners. In truth, I am at the ripe old age of 120! But just last week, I was visited by this girl in a mask. She hit me with some kind of dark spell. When I woke up the next morning, I was 20 years younger! And then the next night, I was 80 years old, and then 60, then 40! Now, you’re looking at the body of a 6-year-old woman.” Purah sighed. “I have no choice but to grow up all over again. If I’m ever going to fit in with society, I have to learn all the lingo that kids today are speaking. Ya dig?”

“What does this girl look like? Was she wearing a weird mask?”

“Oh, yes, as a matter of fact. It’s a purple mask with glowing blue eyes. When she walked into my lab, a furious blizzard blew in behind her, and she herself looked like she had frostbite. It was whickety-whack, yo.”

“I knew it. Dr. Purah, I was cursed by that masked girl, too. I was a human, but she transformed me into a Minish.”

“I see.” Purah drew a notepad and pencil. “‘Minish visitor appears to have identity crisis.’” she wrote.

“What?!”

“Sorry. I have a tendency to take notes on curious visitors. …You know, you never told me where you found that Sheikah Slate.”

“I just found it in the middle of the frozen ocean. Do you how much these things sell for?”

“SELL IT?!” She nearly deafened Link again. “There’s nothing more rare and more valuable in all the sea! It’s FAR too valuable to sell! How could you even THINK of doing that?! Like, it’s the BOMB, yo! Did you even BEGIN to make use of its limitless functions?!”

“You mean like its camera and information updates every five seconds?”

“Well, yeah, those, but what about its Digi-Weapons?”

“Due to unknown errors, my Digi-Weapons are absent from my databanks.” Ayri responded. “Also, Master, if you would like to sell me, I estimate you will earn a 100,000 Rupee profit.”

“Interesting.” Purah jotted a note down. “‘Minish appears to have defect Sheikah Slate.’ You know, I may have a way to fix it. I constructed this lab using the same technology as the slate.”

“Scans indicate that the laboratory’s technology is an inferior version of Sheikah Tech.” Ayri said.

Purah took a note, “‘Sheikah Slate uses snazzy remarks to make up for defective programming.’ Anyway, the problem is, my machine won’t work for a Sheikah Slate so small.”

“I’m gonna be stuck this way for the rest of my life.” Link sighed, beginning to doubt any kind of help this woman can provide.

“And thus, our Minish guest with an identity crisis sinks into a deep depression due to shame for his heritage.” Purah said, observing him through a magnifying glass. “Oh? That’s a funny looking hat you have there.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“It has a cute little bird head on it! Hee hee!”

“What?” Link grabbed the tip of his cap and pulled it in front of him. “Euh!” he yelped, realizing his cap had a beak and eyes. “That’s not what my cap is supposed to look like.” Link pulled it off for a better inspection. “WAAAAH!” In a flash of light, he sprouted back to his normal size and form, losing balance on the table and falling on the floor.

“OH, SNAP!” exclaimed Purah.

“Ow…” Link got to his feet and rubbed his head. He picked up his cap, which still had the beak and eyes. “You mean all I had to do was take my hat off? And here I thought I would have to learn a magic song or something…”

You got the Minish Cap! You don’t know exactly what this is, but wearing it will turn you into a Minish. As a Minish, you can go into small places and ride certain animals! Certain enemies and people also won’t be able to see you (unless you transform right in front of them).

“‘And thus, the gods saw the plight in the race-confused Minish and decided to grant his wish.’” Purah wrote down.

“Will you knock it off with that?!”

“Sorry! But hey, this makes our job a hundred times easier. Follow me upstairs.” Purah led Link up a small staircase to a second floor of the room. She brought him to a small device on a table that had a slot just big enough for the Sheikah Slate and made of the same technology. “This is the device I was telling you about. I designed it based off of old blueprints. It’s meant to clean up any cluttered codes in the Sheikah Slate. I call it the Sheikah 64!”

Upon closer inspection of the device, Link couldn’t help but feel there was something familiar about its design. “So, I just put the Sheikah Slate in here?”

“Of course! Put it in with a bold SNAP!” She snapped her fingers.

“Heh heh! Okay!” Link forced the slate in the S64 and- “SNAP!”

“Eh… it goes in the other way.”

Embarrassed, Link took it out and switched sides. “Snap.”

The Sheikah Slate began to glow blue as codes traveled up along it from the S64. After a few more seconds, the code seemed to pop! into scattered droplets. Link pulled the slate out as Ayri gracefully flipped out. “Databanks have been cleared. Option for Emotion Select is now available. Option for Costume Select is now available. Still unable to detect Digi-Weapons.”

“CHECK IT!” snapped Purah. “That’s what I’m talkin’ about, ya dig?”

Link opened the Costume Select on his slate. There were numerous different costumes and hairstyles that he could try on Ayri. With a smile, he gave Ayri some stacked hair, then tomboy hair, then question mark hair. He changed her dress to that of a princess, then a bikini, a dress of large leaves, then a ragged dress. “Please fit me with whatever style you believe suits me.”

“Heh heh!” Link decided to switch her back to the default style for now. Then, he curiously opened the Emotion Select. There were several expressions to pick from. Link clicked Happy.

“Hee hee hee! Well, if you would like me to be happy, I guess I will! Ha ha!” Ayri laughed. Link shared the laugh and clicked Sad. “Sniff, sniff. O-Okay, Master… i-if you really think I should, then I’ll be sad… sniff, sniff.” And she started bawling. Link frowned and clicked Greed. “Heh heh heh! I wonder if any of those townspeople are rich? You think they’d lend us a few Rupees? Heh heh heh.”

Link chuckled and switched her back to Happy. “Hee hee hee! Emotions sure feel funny, Master!”

“Heh heh! Well, she’ll be a lot more fun to play with now!” (End song.)

Ayri buzzed and gasped. “Master, my weather alert indicates there’s a massive storm coming! It sounds fun! Can we go out and see it?”

“Uh-oh. Dr. Purah, I just remembered, someone is asleep outside; a Rito boy. I think we should bring him in.” Link said, hurrying downstairs.

“Hey, my lab isn’t an inn, you know!”

The second Link stepped outside, he was met with the furious blizzard. It felt no different than the storm that swept him away before. “Grr! I can’t see a thing! WAH!” The wind suddenly increased in velocity, and Link would have been swept away again had he not grabbed onto the door.

Dr. Purah reached a mechanical claw to grab Link and pull him back in, then shut the door. “I recognize this storm from before. You won’t be able to survive out there.”

“But what about Nighlo?!”

“Rito can survive the cold. Bring your Sheikah Slate upstairs, I want to try something.” Link followed her upstairs again as Purah brought him to the giant telescope. “This is my Sheikah Scope! It can see for miles, but not in a storm like this. But I think that may change if we insert the Sheikah Slate!”

Link stuck the slate into another open slot. Purah climbed on a small stool to reach and see through the telescope. “Waaaah!” She lost balance and fell. “Boooo! That thing is so hard to move when you’re like this!”

“Let me try.” Link looked into the telescope. Despite the raging winds, Link had a very clear view of Clockwork Island, thanks to the slate’s enhancement. A small, glowing blue figure was descending onto the island. Link zoomed in and quickly discovered who it was: the frostbitten girl in the dark mask. “It’s her… and… what is she holding?” The girl was swinging a white baton. “It’s… THE WIND WAKER! Purah, I need to get back to Clockwork Island!”

“The only other way there is to take the sewer passage.” Purah replied, standing up and brushing off. “The one those little brats use.”

Link quickly grabbed the Sheikah Slate and rushed downstairs, pulling open the sewer hatch in the center of the floor. “Thanks, Dr. Purah.” Link hopped in.

“Snap!” Purah winked at the camera and made her signature pose.

That mask… it looked just like… Majora’s. But this can’t be when Link fought him, could it?


At first, I wanted to keep the ‘silent Link’ thing going, but then I just couldn’t… for more reasons than one. Also, the Minish are such an underrated race in the Zelda series, I just had to add them in this story (even though they’re very common in my main series).