After the Master Sword II

by tir-synni

Disclaimer: Usual goes. Nothing is mine. Not the characters, nothin'.

A/N: This part kinda leads into the last part of the trilogy. There's one last section after this fic, and then the end of the trilogy. I hope everyone likes it. Review!

After the Great Bay Temple

            Even with all of his power, Link had been unable to save him.

            Link stared at Lulu's sad face from unfamiliar eyes. Her pained, but accepting face greeted him, but he could not accept it in return. She knew it was not her lover to whom she was speaking. She knew her lover was not coming back.

            Link whispered softly to her before turning around and walking to the edge of the small isle. The look in her eyes...it hurt so much.

            With an alien grace, Link dived into the water. The third temple was won, the third mask acquired, Lulu had her voice back. He should be happy, he knew. He was getting closer to the end of this quest, and Majora's defeat.

            Lulu had known Mikau wasn't coming back.

            Link shook his head wildly in the water, almost swimming into a rock. No! No, it was different. Things were different. Sheik wasn't dead, and neither was he. His original quest wasn't a failure yet.

            Breaking the surface, Link walked the rest of the way to shore. Before him, the moon glowered dangerously, growing ever closer to the town, but Link only stared disinterested at it. As he had before, he would turn back time. The moon would go back to its original position. Mikau would be dying on the beach. Lulu would remain silent, despairing of her eggs and her lover.

            In Mikau's form still, Link collapsed on shore. He stared blankly at his waiting pony. In his mind, swirling over and over again, he recalled Mikau's face as he dragged him ashore. He recalled Lulu's face as she realized the truth.

            "Sheik...." he whispered, bowing his head. With one vicious motion, he tore off the Zora mask, riding through the pain as his body transformed. Shivers wracked his child's form, and he sat there, oblivious, in the surf.

            He recalled Sheik's face as he bade him good-bye.

            "What are you moping for?" a shrill voice demanded. Link shook his head quickly and looked up. He had forgotten about Tatl. "We still have one more mask to get! Stop pouting and move!"

            Link swallowed thickly. Raising his head, he stared at the frantic little ball of light. She reminded him of a faery he had once known, one that usually hung around the Great Deku Tree. He could not recall her name.

            The youth took a deep breath and stumbled towards Epona. Again, he would turn back time. Again, he would resume his quest. This was his quest now.

            Not Sheik.

~~~~~

            Link could not look away from Anju's placid face. The small room shook as the moon fell above him. He could hear the clock outside dinging a warning of the time. If he did not move soon, he would not have the opportunity to restart the three days and resume his quest. Link was aware of all this, but he was still enraptured by Anju's face.

            Time was running out, and Kafei was not here yet.

            I have made my decision. I will wait for him.

            Tatl fluttered nervously above his head as she sensed the vibrations of the coming moon. She, like him, knew death was coming. However, Link was faintly amused to note that she had yet to yell at him about the quest. She was waiting just as anxiously as him for Kafei to appear.

            Is this what love is? Link thought, staring at the patient girl. She is going to die, and even if Kafei appears, the curse will still be on him. But she's still waiting for him. She's prepared to die with him. Tears stung Link's blue eyes. This...devotion. But in the end, it means nothing. They both know that the moon will fall!

            Finally, Link tore his eyes away to stare out the window. Out there, Lulu was standing silently on her little isle, her lover and her eggs torn from her. She still did not know the truth. And even if she did, did it truly matter? Mikau was still dead. He was not able to change that.

            Two couples...both Mikau and Lulu had been so accepting, each on different sides of death. If Kafei makes it in time, they are both still dead. They shall simply be dead together. Are they so different? Am I so different?

            Tatl flew past Link's head to the window. The boy didn't have to see her to know she was looking around frantically. Still, the normally noisy faery did not say a word as she flew back to him. Link quietly raised his hands, and she flew into the comfort of his grasp. Lightly, he cupped his hands over her, providing her with a mediocre of warmth.

            Again, Link raised his eyes to Anju. The girl noticed his gaze and smiled gently at him. Link looked away first.

            I have made my decision. I will wait for him.

            I made my decision, Link thought, looking out at the moon once more. I left Sheik to save Hyrule. That was my decision. Mikau, Lulu, Kafei, and Anju all made their decisions based on themselves and their loves. They did it selflessly.

            Maybe...maybe that is love.

            "Anju!" a voice cried out, breaking the silence. Three heads turned to see Kafei, still in child-form, dart into the room. Anju stood.

            "Kafei!" she cried, dropping to her knees.

            Link watched the pair quietly, aware of the room's tremors growing violently. Against his will, he found himself smiling.

~~~~~

            It was the first day once more. Kafei was running around in his mask, Anju was waiting desperately for word from her fiancé, Lulu was waiting on her isle, and Mikau was dying on the beach.

            All this occurred to Link as he walked out into the sunlight. Tatl was flying around his head, commenting on how the pair had looked, but as usual, Link was tuning her out. Silently, he stared at the moon above.

            I think...I think I'm beginning to understand now.

            Link closed his eyes for a moment before walking forward. Still chattering--or was it lecturing? Link no longer knew--Tatl followed. Link ignored her.

            I think...I know what I must do, Sheik. He recalled how Sheik had looked, laying there on the small isle in the middle of Lake Hylia. Something that had not truly occurred, but lay trapped in his memory nonetheless. When I left you, that was an act of love. I did it with your happiness in mind. I do this with your happiness in mind once again, as well as everyone else's.

            Link sucked in a deep breath and raised his head. He had better prepare. He had one last temple to deal with.

            I suppose...this is what...love means.

            Like Mikau and Lulu understood....

            Like Kafei and Anju understood....

            I think...I understand.

            Above him, the moon glared mockingly, but Link didn't care. He knew what he had to do.