(Act/Hor)The Nightmares of Termina[T]

Hello, all. I've decided to try my hand at serious writing.

That being said, this is NOT a parody like my other thread. This is a serious story that I hope will be as entertaining enough, but is in no way a comedy. If serious stories are not your thing, this thread isn't for you.

Anyhow, this story is called...

The Nightmares of Termina

The setting is Termina, after Link has left and peace is restored. I've given it a T rating because there will be some dark themes, as well as quite a bit of violence. I'm also going to try to make it a bit of a horror story . As for the plot- well, read for yourself.

I know this first chapter is long- the other ones will be more concise.



CHAPTER ONE: The Dare

The sun was almost out of sight, yet Termina Field was lit up like a blazing fireplace. But despite the calmness of twilight, Tael couldn’t help but feel anxious and even a little afraid. He looked around nervously, and realized that he really wasn't having much fun at all.

He darted forward a foot or so. “Where could he be hiding?” he thought. He made a cursory glance to the left, and then to the right, and then sighed.

“This would be much less scary if Tatl was here too… Why did she say we had to split up? We’re never going to…” At that moment, Tael heard a rustling sound in the bushes behind him and sharply turned around, expecting to find the familiar, wooden face of Skull Kid with his mischievous, glowing red eyes. But instead he saw a Green Chuchu- a blob of water with a magic jar inside of it, lolling about aimlessly. Tatl sighed again. He let his gaze fall to the ground, and dropped his guard in boredom ever so slightly.

In that instant, Skull Kid immediately popped out of the tall grass that had been camouflaging him and hit Tael on the back! It was a light hit, which would probably hurt no more than a pat on the back, but to Tael’s light and fragile body it felt like a stunning blow and made him practically fall to the ground in pain. Ignoring Tael’s agony, Skull Kid broke out in laughter.

“I got you, Tael! I can’t believe you didn’t see me! All you had to do was look down! Ha ha ha!” Skull Kid cupped his hands to his mouth. “Tatl! I got him! Come on down!”

Tatl came zooming down from the tree branch she was in, and darted down to where Tael was. “Tael! Are you alright?” After receiving no more of a response than a grunt, Tatl cast her angry gaze at Skull Kid. “Skull Kid, you always whack us around too much! When are you going to realize that we’re not as strong as you, huh?”

“Eh, whatever,” Skull Kid said with a carefully played out act of indifference. “The point is, I tagged you before you could find me, so I get to think of a dare for you to do! Now, let’s see…”

Skull Kid squinted his eyes and gazed to the sky, as if expecting to receive divine inspiration. After realizing that it was not working, he looked around to see things that he could use as a dare. The Green Chuchu walking around by the bushes? He could make Tael steal the magic jar inside of it- but that wouldn’t be very daring.

He turned around to see if he could use anything behind him. He could see nothing but trees and bushes, and could barely see the top of the Potion Shop in the Southern Swam. Suddenly, a red balloon caught his eye. It appeared for a moment, and then seemed to hover back down. Skull Kid thought for a moment, and then realized that this balloon belonged to Tingle, the mapmaker and merchant.

Skull Kid’s eyes then glowed with immature glee, and his usually expressionless, wooden face somehow formed a mischievous and almost evil grin. He then looked at Tael, inducing a shudder of anticipation from him.

“What are you thinking about, Skull Kid?” Tael asked. “I know you’ve thought of something…”

Skull Kid grinned madly. “You know that fairy-crazed map guy, Tingle?”

“Yeah, what about him?”

“I want you to go up to him, pop his balloon, steal his maps, and then run!”

“What? Are you kidding me? That’s just mean! There’s no way I…”

“Excuse me, Tael!” Skull Kid retorted with a hint of annoyance. “I believe we agreed that whoever lost had to do a dare, no matter how mean or embarrassing it was. Now go!” Skull Kid indignantly pointed towards the Southern Swamp.

Tatl came closer to Tael and whispered in his ear. “It’s okay, little bro. Next time, we’ll win, and then we can make Skull Kid do something even worse, okay?” Tael chuckled and nodded. Tatl always managed to make him feel better, even at times like this. With a firm resolve, Tael directed himself towards the swamp and flew towards Tingle.

“Come on, Tatl!” Skull Kid said. “We’ve got to get a good look at this!”

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Tael flew onwards, trying to give Tingle as wide of a berth as possible. However, he was not successful.

“Hello, fairy! What brings you to the swamp today?”

“Er… nothing. Just heading on over to the palace to see someone about… something. And… I’m in a hurry.” Tael turned away before he could make eye contact with Tingle.

Tingle chuckled in an awkwardly high-pitched voice. “Well, I wouldn’t want to hinder you! I’ll see you later!” Tingle once again faced Clock Town, floating on his large, red balloon and scribbling something on a notepad.

Tael gulped. “Okay, Tael, you can do this… It’s not really in your nature to be mean, or be a bully, but Skull Kid dared you, and you have to prove to him that you can do it! Besides, I’m sure Skull Kid will let me return the maps to Tingle… I think…” Tael shook his head. “Okay, okay! Enough stalling! We’ll count to three, and then go, okay?”

Tael took a deep breath. “One… two…”

“TAEL! Come quick!”

Tael quickly turned to the direction of Tatl’s panic-stricken voice. “Tael! Forget the dare and hurry up! Something’s happening to Skull Kid!”

Partially relieved and partially more worried than ever, Tael zoomed back to Termina Field, where he saw his sister hovering over Skull Kid, who was lying on the ground and acting very strangely. Skull Kid’s eyes were flickering from half open to shut. His limbs were contorted and twisted to an almost unnatural state. His wooden face expressed as much agony as possible, and his whole body was flailing about as if he was on fire…

Wow, this is good... And you told me you couldn't do serious writing!

Oh and...that wasn't exactly long, as you said it was. It took about two minutes to read (maybe a little less). So if you're willing, go ahead and make 'em longer!

Thanks, you guys.

Sekal, yeah- I wasn't really interesting in writing serious stories, but then I started to read yours, and was inspired. I have yet to finish yours, however- quite a lot to catch up on.

Here's the next chapter. Tell me if I effectively did what I was trying to do in this chapter.


CHAPTER TWO: Skull Kid’s Dream

Nothing. As far as the senses could reach, there was nothing. Nothing at all.

Skull Kid blinked. He rubbed his eyes. Still nothing.

He turned around. Where there was once the ground and the grass, and the sky and the clouds, there was now nothing. Where he once heard birds singing and cawing, and his feet rustling in the grass, he now heard nothing.

He didn’t even remember how he had got here. Did he fall down a hole? He looked up. Nothing at all. Skull Kid was thoroughly confused. He looked around once more, but in vain.

Fire…

Several yards away, a fire sprouted to life. Its cause was unknown to Skull Kid, but he felt a strange attraction to it- despite it being one of his deepest fears.

What a beautiful thing. Always swirling, waving, growing, shrinking…

Skull Kid’s eyes grew wider. With every word of the strange voice, his mind drifted farther away from reality.

…consuming…

“I must be near it,” said Skull Kid out loud. His mind was surprised and a bit worried at this statement, but it was miles away from Skull Kid. An entirely separate mind, one that Skull Kid had no control of, took control of Skull Kid and made him begin to drift towards the fire.

Such a strange attraction to such an object of destruction.

“I must be near it,” Skull Kid repeated. He did not know what was happening or why he felt attracted to the fire, but his real mind was no longer in control of his body and felt practically nonexistent.

For there is nothing that can withstand the furious blazes of fire. Everything must eventually succumb to the insuperable power of the intense heat in fire. Everything burns.

Skull Kid continued to mindlessly step towards the fire. He could feel the warmth against his face ever so slightly.

Everything is consumed by the fire.

Skull Kid reached the fire. It was a beautiful beacon of light and warmth, and Skull Kid stuck out his hands to receive the warmth. Far away, he could sense that his mind was panicking, but he did not care.

Oh, young child of the forest…

And in an instant, Skull kid sharply recovered from his daze. He gasped and backed away quickly. “This isn’t right! What am I doing? I have to get out of here! I have to-

THE FIRE WILL CONSUME YOU.

The fire, once a docile, gentle source of warmth, erupted violently into the air, sending sheets of flames shooting upwards. Skull Kid flinched, and immediately turned around, and ran towards nothing as fast as he could.

YOU’VE GOT NOWHERE TO RUN TO.

While panting furiously and moving his feet as fast as he was physically able to, he checked behind him to see how far away he was. Horrifyingly, he realized he had not moved an inch. He continued to run, but the fire only seemed to get closer…

YOU’RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE.

Skull Kid put his hands to his head and screamed in fear. He sprinted as fast as he could, although his legs were already tired out. But the fire was only getting closer… and closer… he could feel the warmth press against his back like a hot iron… he could feel the heat against his legs like a red-hot poker…

THE FIRE WILL CONSUME YOU!

A flame leaped from the source of the fire onto Skull Kid’s wooden body. Skull Kid’s entire body lit up like a torch, and was on fire! Skull Kid screamed in pain and agony, and began to run around aimlessly in a desperate yet knowingly futile attempt to stop himself from burning. But as much as he tried, the fire only seemed to cause him more pain. He felt his legs give away, and collapsed to the ground.

It was at that moment that Skull Kid managed to see, despite his suffering and the blazing flames that had engulfed him, a pond no more than six feet away. Skull Kid quickly reasoned that the pond must have water, which meant an escape from his agony. Skull Kid rolled towards the pond, determined to reach there before he blanked out due to his pain, or before he was reduced to ashes- whichever came first.

…You’ve already found me?
I’m afraid so, dearie.

Skull Kid didn’t care that there was another voice. He didn’t care that he couldn’t feel his legs. All that mattered that he was only four feet away from the pond… three feet… two feet… one foot…

And as soon as he submerged into the limpid pool of water, it was as if all the pain that he had suffered had never happened. He lay there for a moment, staring upwards. He didn’t care that the pool wasn’t exactly filled with water, or that he didn’t know exactly what the pool contained. All that mattered is that the fire was extinguished, and the pain relieved.

Go to sleep, my dear.

The feminine voice soothed Skull Kid and reassured him, despite the traumatic events that had occurred earlier. He closed his eyes and drifted off into sleep…

Hmm...interesting. I wonder what's going on here...

You have a very good skill of describing.

Tell me if I effectively did what I was trying to do in this chapter.

Well...what exactly were you trying to do? It seems like there's another entity controlling Skull Kid, making him go towards the fire, and then suddenly he snaps out of it, runs away, gets burned, then finds a pond and inches his way into it, helaing himself. A struggle with some sort of evil being stopped by...somebody. That's the thing I'm wondering most-who found him? (I mean this:

…You’ve already found me?
I’m afraid so, dearie.

) Who stopped him? By the fact that it's feminine, and that word choice, and the pond, it seems like it might be a Great Fairy, making a Fairy Fountain appear to save him...or something like that.

So I guess you did what you were trying to.

Good! Like Sekal said, good job describing. I have no clue whats going on but I guess I'll find out. Keep writing. I'm sorry my coment aint as helpful as Sekal's but oh well.

I love this. I can't decide betwen this story and the parody. Mayb e I will go with this one. I love the writing stile on this one. Can't wait to see the next chapter coming. *sits and waits*

Sorry for not being clear about what I meant, Sekal. I was trying to create a mysterious, and somewhat scary atmosphere of the nightmare. And thanks, everyone.

By the way, a lot of things are going to be sort of a mystery for a while.


CHAPTER THREE: Heading back to Clock Town
Skull Kid opened his eyes and looked above him. He saw the sky, and a few clouds… He smelt the grass around him, and heard crows cawing and the wind blowing…

He sat up with a start and looked around furiously. “What? What happened? I’m okay?” He looked at his hands and his legs. Not a single burn or scar, as if what had happened was all a dream…

Suddenly, Tatl and Tael came zooming at him from behind a bush. “Skull Kid! You’re okay!” Tatl yelled. They were both breathing heavily, and seemed very frightened. Skull Kid blinked and frowned.

“Well, of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be? And what’s with you guys? You seem kind of frazzled.” Skull Kid cracked his neck and stretched.

“You were having a bad dream, Skull Kid,” Tatl said. “A really bad one.”

Skull Kid chuckled. “Yeah, I had a nightmare. So what? Was I moving around or something?”

“Yeah, and…”

“Well, it’s over now, and no damage done. Let’s just go…”

“But Skull Kid! You were moving around and flailing your arms, then you started screaming, and then you lit up like a bonfire!”

Skull Kid’s smile flattened out. “…What do you mean, lit up like a bonfire?”

“You were on fire, Skull Kid!” Tael said breathlessly. “Flames were just erupting from you like you were oil in a lamp or something! Look, there’s a scorch mark behind you!

Skull Kid whirled around. Sure enough, charcoal was left behind from where he was standing. He cocked his head and looked closer. He could recognize the shape of his body, but his upper body was bent to the left while his lower body were facing straight down, at a ninety degree angle. There was even a ring of charcoal around the whole thing. As Skull Kid examined and evaluated the strange scorch mark, Tael could not wait any longer for his response.

“Well? Do you believe us now? You were on fire! What were you dreaming about, anyways?”

“Eh… nothing,” Skull Kid responded. “Just… there was this strange voice, then a fire, and I was on fire for a while, but then another voice came and there was a pool, so I went into the pool and I was fine. It’s really not that big of a deal, anyways. Just another nightmare- I’ve had them before, you know.”

Tatl shook her head furiously. “What part of ‘lighting up on fire’ do you not understand? Nobody just literally burns while dreaming, while leaving behind a scorch mark and not having a mark on themselves! Look at you! You’re perfectly fine, but you were on fire!”

At that moment, a strong wind blew, sending shivers through the two fairies and Skull Kid, and scattering all the charcoal. Skull Kid turned towards the large stone walls of Clock town. “Let’s just not think about it too much. I’m sure it was just a coincidence, or a trick of the eye or something… And I’m tired. Let’s just go home.”

“Alright, fine.” Tatl and Tael glanced at each other, and then darted off to follow Skull Kid, who was already running towards South Clock Town.

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Skull Kid walked through South Clock town with Tatl and Tael following behind him. He was well aware of, yet indifferent to, the sudden change of atmosphere that occurred whenever Skull Kid went somewhere. Throughout Clock Town he was solely known as “that mischievous prankster who almost killed us all”, due to his unfortunate exploits while being controlled by Majora’s Mask.

It had been four months since that occurrence, and Skull Kid had long giving up the task of convincing people that it wasn’t his fault that the moon almost crashed into Termina. He knew that their close-minded attitudes made them refuse to believe that a simple mask could posses him and make him do such terrible deeds, and he no longer cared.

Conversations were either stopped or brought to a whisper, while people stared and gossiped about him. The Akindo Nut and his customer froze mid-transaction. The dog who usually romped about playfully bared its teeth and growled at Skull Kid. Skull Kid took no note of these changes and cheerfully proceeded to North Clock Town.

Along the way, he heard a strange but beautiful tune. He put his hand to his ear and listened. “What’s that sound?” he asked Tatl and Tael. Tatl took a quick glance.

“It’s those Rosa sisters. They’re dancing again.” Tatl frowned. “That’s odd, because there’s no upcoming event I know of…”

“Well, maybe they’re just feeling inspired or something. Who cares?” Tael said. “I’m sleepy, and I’m sure you guys are. Let’s just head over to our bed."

Skull Kid nodded and the three of them walked through the gate to North Clock town. The guard stolidly stood there while Jim, the leader of the Bombers gang, gave up trying to pop the large balloon floating in mid-air and headed back home, but not before waving towards Skull Kid. Skull Kid waved back. Jim and the Bombers were one of the few members in Clock Town that believed that he was truly innocent of the events that had occurred four months ago.

Skull Kid hopped up a tree, and crawled into the nest bed that he had made for himself and the fairies a while ago. He pulled the blanket over his chest while Tatl and Tael slowly settled down on branches near him. After tossing and turning for a few minutes, he slowly closed his eyes and allowed sleep to come to him.

Not bad. Once again, you were very descriptive and you still left us on a cliffhanger. Also, good word choice too. That made it all the better. I dont know what else to say so I'll just give this chapter a grade.

4 out of 5 stars.

I really like your writing stile in this story. I really like how it is going, very mysterious. I really like it being descriptive, I don't see nothing wrong about it. Keep it up. *sits and waits*