36Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda.
A/N: This is my own spin on the game's back story. I'm fully aware that none of this actually happened in the games. Also, this story was conceived long before Skyward Sword. So as far as my story is concerned, the events in Skyward Sword don't exist.
By the way, this is NOT the same Hyrule from the game; that comes later.
Rise of the Evil Forces
Part 1
Chapter 1 Set in Motion
Long before the Hero of Time played the Oath to Order, long before Skull Kid became corrupted by the power of Majora's Mask, long before the Ocarina of Time was made and the Songs of Power were written, the Four Giants lived as gods in the heavens. They did not have the same form as when Link had his adventure in Termina. They were gods of human shape and form. The four brothers dwelt in the palace of their ancestors along with their sister, Majora, the maker of the mask that bears her name. Each sibling was assigned a duty: Kyo was the Guardian of Ikana Canyon and the Assistant Guardian of Termina's underworld. Bythos was the Guardian of Great Bay; Norr, Guardian of Snowhead, and Pan was the Guardian of Woodfall. Majora also served as the temporary guardian of the underworld until she found a husband from another land.
...
The fields of central Termina morphed from the deep blues and violets to a monochromatic grey. The scattered flowers reflected the moon's pale yellow, and fireflies flickered gold sparkles, painting the fields in an otherworldly glow.
"Nothing ever happens while I'm here," Majora sighed, tucking an errant strand of short blond hair behind her ear. She rolled her dark jade eyes and kicked a small rock. "I'm bored."
Off to the east, Termina's grasses gave way to bare and dusty ground. Two rows of dirt-smeared statues of grey stone—their carved grins seemed to mock her—stood sentinel to the overland canyon trail.
Lowering her head, Majora frowned as she tightened her leather vambraces. "Mother and Father think I'm a child because I enjoy making masks. But does that really make me childish?" she mused aloud. Glassy tears formed in the corners of her eyes. "My brothers understand me. They're the only ones who appreciate my masks." Majora brushed away the tears from the corners of her eyes and watched them fall wetly on the flowers embroidered on her scarlet blouse.
A sudden quaking of the ground beneath her feet ripped Majora from her musings and slammed her to the earth, knocking the breath from her body. The goddess realized to her shock that she could not move her legs. Looking down she discovered that they were trapped in a swirling whirlpool of frigid purple. The enchanted vortex was dragging her deeper into its icy clutches. In spite of her desperate struggles, she was being inexorably sucked in deeper. The chill was almost to her knees and her heart was pounding in panic. She stifled a cry at the touch of the bitter cold enchantment as it crawled higher. How could such a dark power overwhelm her so easily? As if conjured up by her thoughts, another whirlpool formed and spewed out three gigantic demons.
The first of the three was muscular and pot-bellied with tribal markings. The demon wildly waved his oversized machete and shield triumphantly in the air. "I am Odolwa!"
The second, an enormous, woolly, goat-like demon with a humanoid face, capered before Majora and shouted in a hideous voice. "I am Goht!"
"My name is Gyorg," hissed a gigantic, spiked piranha demon hovering in midair as if submerged in water.
The ground shook as a colossal parasite forced its way through the aged terrain with its pincers. The demon stared at Majora with the lime green orbs she could only presume served as the beast's eyes. "And I am Twinmold," he said.
Majora thrashed about violently, trying to keep the encroaching magic from creeping up her thighs. Her eyes lit up in fury as she glowered at the demons. "What do you want with me?" she barked.
"You know exactly what we want," hissed Gyorg with an evil leer.
She groaned as the whirlpool crept up to her hips. "If you think that I will gladly hand over my powers then you're terribly mistaken!" the goddess defiantly spat.
"Suit yourself," Odolwa replied and brandished his sword in the air.
"Hey, you there!" called a youthful male voice from behind the taunting demons. The startled demons spun around to see who yelled at them.
"Yeah, I'm talking to you!" he sneered.
Majora strained to see who this stranger was, but she could only catch a glimpse of him with Goht's hoof blocking her view. She glared sourly, unsuccessfully willing him to move out of the way.
Odolwa waved his sword dismissively. "Leave us, kid! We're busy."
The youth crossed his arms. "With what?" he sarcastically retorted. "Ganging up on a weak, defenseless girl?"
Majora's eyes grew wide. Did he just call me weak? He doesn't know what he's talking about.
Shamash, for that was the young god's name, placed his fists on his hips and said, "What's the matter? Aren't four demons up to fighting someone more their own size?"
The demons looked incredulously at each other, then turned back to the impertinent youth. "Get him!" they roared in unison and charged—leaving Majora unattended for the moment.
Before the demons had the chance to attack him, Shamash vanished.
"Where'd he go?" Gyorg yelped, looking at the now empty spot.
Shamash took full advantage of their confusion at his disappearance and materialized, hovering over Majora, who struggled helplessly inside the pool of magic. Lowering himself, he grasped her extended arms, but she had sunk in too far and he could not pry her loose.
Plunging his arms into the frigid pool, Shamash curled one arm around her back and scooped her legs into the crook of his other, holding the mired goddess as a groom might carry his new bride.
"Hang on!" he cried. Majora wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
Goht looked around in time to see Majora and her would-be rescuer making their escape from the vortex. "Look, they're getting away!" he screamed.
"Get them!" Odolwa cried, and the quartet of demons charged after the escaping gods.
Majora heard the demons and gasped. "Hurry, they're coming!"
Shamash said nothing, but gripped her tightly and exploded from the grip of the vortex. The force of their acceleration left Majora breathless. They sped steeply skyward and then the weight subsided as Shamash slowed.
"Whoa! We're really up high!" she exclaimed as she looked down. She noticed a pursuing speck that she assumed was Goht and scattering, pale blue sparks dancing above his horns.
"Hey, I think that demon down there is going to—Watch out!" she cried.
Bolts of azure lightning emitted from Goht's horns as he attempted to electrocute the fleeing pair.
Shamash dodged each of the bolts, even with the added weight of the goddess in his arms. "I'm going to have to let you go for a moment so I can catch you on my back," he panted. "It'll be easier for me to deal with the demons that way."
She shook her head, then realizing he couldn't see her gesture said, "No," with a determined scowl.
He rolled his eyes and gave a loud sigh. "I promise I won't drop you, I'm very—"
"No, I mean that you don't need to carry me. If you put me down, I can fight with you."
"Are you sure?"
She nodded. "I'm just as ready to send this scum back to the underworld as you are."
"All right, put your hands out. I'll let you drop so I can grab them."
"Okay," Majora said a bit nervously at his use of "let you drop," but she bravely readied herself.
"Here it goes!" he said as he plunged earthward.
Majora felt a moment of panic when he released her. Instinctively, she threw her hands up and found nothing but empty air. Her panic disappeared as quickly as it came when she felt his warm hands grip her wrists. She forced herself to focus on the demons below. By the time they were close enough for her attack, she had settled on a plan.
"Throw me at that worm," she called to Shamash.
The god glanced at Twinmold, then at Majora. His eyebrows shot up in speculation. "You really sure you want to do that?"
She looked up at him, an impatient frown etched on her brow. "Yes, I'm sure! Now quit asking that and just throw me! I can take him!"
With a final shake of his head, Shamash made sure he had a solid grip on Majora's forearms as he began to spin her in midair.
Majora gradually began to accelerate as Shamash spun her faster and faster. Soon she was completely perpendicular to his body.
"Ready?" he shouted.
At her nod he gave a mighty heave and released her from their aerial dance. She shot toward Twinmold with shocking speed.
Majora streaked feet-first toward the vile worm-like demon. She pulled her energy whips from her belt and snapped them to their full length as she touched the ground and went into a roll. Coming out of the roll, she cracked the energy whips, virtually filleting Twinmold's crusty carcass.
Twinmold shrieked and collapsed to the ground. The ground opened its maw and sucked the still-screaming demon back to the underworld.
Stunned by Majora's easy dispatching of the demon, Shamash exclaimed, "Whoa, those whips can send demons to the underworld!"
Majora retracted her whips and smirked triumphantly.
Meanwhile, Odolwa managed to slip around and behind the goddess as she dealt with Twinmold. Roaring his fearsome battle cry, he launched his attack. He raised his great blade above his head and slashed down, intending to bury it in her skull. But Odolwa's battle cry alerted Majora and she evaded the blade as it whistled by her head and instead buried itself into the ground. Bellowing in frustration, Odolwa struggled to yank his weapon free.
"You're too slow!" she taunted the demon. Although she avoided Odolwa's onslaught, she let herself lose track of the rest of the battlefield.
Majora was paralyzed with the agonizing sensation of needles jabbing through her body. Helplessly, she slumped to her knees and then fell prostrate.
"We got her!" Goht cried as he charged the fallen goddess with Gyorg close behind.
"No! Don't you dare touch her!" warned Shamash as he suddenly appeared between the onrushing demons and the fallen Majora, his two golden scimitars flashing under the moon.
"Move aside, boy," grunted the goat demon.
"No!" the god spat.
"Then I'll crush you!" Goht bellowed as he rose on his massive hindquarters, and from between his horns, an arc of sizzling energy amped up its charge.
But before Goht could take a step, Shamash darted between his legs and, with a mighty synchronized slash of his scimitars, severed the demon's hindquarters. Goht roared in agony as he collapsed, leaving a deep indentation in the ground. He could neither move nor defend himself. All he could do was writhe in pain and humiliation.
The god, rather than take joy in his victory, frowned in confusion. I see Goht and Gyorg, and Twinmold is already gone... where is Odol— "Augh!" An excruciating pain lanced across the left side of his back.
Odolwa waved his machete and shield in the air as he howled his war cry again.
Ignoring as much pain as he could from the gash in his back, Shamash gripped his own weapons and launched a spin attack, which Odolwa brushed aside with his shield, knocking the youth back a good two meters.
Meanwhile, Gyorg was hovering above the stunned Majora. His face split into a malevolent grin. "Say goodbye, my little goddess," he cackled.
Majora's eyes widened as she stared at his sharp, yellowed teeth and enormous maw. The needle-like sensations subsided just in time. She snatched her energy whips and quickly rolled away from the demon's reach. She did not yet have the strength to stand, so she scrambled to her knees and struck out with her whips, slashing Gyorg's side. As the giant piranha flopped to the ground, it was swallowed by the earth.
Climbing to her feet, Majora caught sight of Odolwa and Shamash tied in battle. Retracting her whips, she sighed, "Looks like I have to save the weak, defenseless boy." Wasting no further time, she sprinted to his aid. She could see that Shamash's blows were ineffectual against the towering fiend. Once the goddess came within range, she cried, "Get down!"
Shamash glanced over his shoulder in time to see Majora hurl numerous spinning energy disks at Odolwa. Shamash dove to the ground as the disks slammed into Odolwa, knocking him to the ground, stunned.
Majora lashed her whips against the stunned monster's rough hide. Like Twinmold, the fluid earth relegated him back into the underworld. The goddess felt pleased with herself, and a tight smile crept across her face as she re-coiled her whips.
Shamash's face held a look of amazement as he dusted himself off. Being a god, the gash in his back had mostly healed at that point. Then he noticed the downed Goht who was still thrashing on the ground. Pointing, he said, "You want to send him back to join his friends in the underworld, too?"
Majora followed the pointing finger. "Oops, I forgot about him." She withdrew her energy whips again and slashed it over the prostrate Goht, who dissolved into the ground.
Shamash approached Majora. "That was incredible! I didn't know you could fight like that."
Remembering his earlier taunts to the demons, Majora turned and flipped one of the whips around his ankles. With a swift heave, she jerked his feet out from under him, causing Shamash to slam into the ground with a thud.
"What was that for?" he yelped. Shamash sat up, rubbing his throbbing head.
Straddling his feet, Majora stared down at him, hands on hips, and said, "Weak and helpless, am I?" She grinned.
Shamash freed his feet, extricating himself from his embarrassing position, and stood up. "That was merely a tactic to provoke them, madam, no offense was meant."
"My name is Majora," she said with a broad smile and a slight nod. "And thank you for your help."
"You are most welcome. It was my pleasure. And I am Prince Shamash, son of Queen Devi, from the land of Hyrule." Crossing his arm over his abdomen, he gave her a small bow.
Looking closer, Majora could see that she was taller than the fifteen-year-old god by a few centimeters. She stared lengthily at his golden eyes and unconsciously began coyly playing with a lock of hair. She was fascinated with his—to her—exotic apparel, since she had never traveled elsewhere.
Majora took in his curl-toed shoes, loose cerulean pants, and the olive jacket that accentuated his developing physique. Overall, she decided he was attractive; after all, he did jump in at the risk of his own life to help her. But she thought other goddesses might not be that impressed with his looks.
Noticing the rising moon behind Majora, the god reached his arms up to stretch. "It's getting late," he commented, dropping his arms back down and allowing them to swing. "I should go home." Shamash turned away from Majora and took a few steps.
"Wait! Will I ever see you again?" she blurted out.
He paused and turned around, smiling sweetly at her. "Possibly. Have a good night, Majora."
"Goodnight..." she murmured with a little wave.
"Majora!" a familiar masculine voice barked out behind her.
Startled by the sharpness in his voice, she turned toward the sound. "Father?" she said.
Majora's father peered around to see who she was talking to, but could see no one. "Who were you speaking with?"
"Father, this is—" she said as she turned back. Shamash was gone! Where did he go? I know I didn't imagine him, she thought.
Sighing loudly in exasperation her father said, "Majora, stop playing games. Your mother wishes to speak to you about your wedding."
Her eyes widened. "My wedding?" she cried. "Since when have I been—?"
"Your shift is over," he interrupted. "Go home, Majora," he calmly instructed.
She respectfully inclined her head. "Yes, Father."
For the briefest of moments, Majora stared longingly at where Shamash last stood before returning home to the heavens.
All reviewers will receive virtual Kikwi plushies! And all flamers will feel the voodoo edition. ;)