One Day More: Majora's Mask part 28

   Link wakes up on the ground outside of Clock Town restored to his original form.  Tatl and Tael are flying overhead and Link looks over to see the freed Skull Kid talking with the Four Giants.  It turns out the beginning of this whole mess was when Skull Kid thought the giants had abandoned him.  They had gone to each of their realms to protect and maintain order over Termina, but Skull Kid imagined they had forgotten their friendship.  As the Giants make clear Skull Kid is forgiven, they walk back to each of their lands and fade away.

   Skull Kid comes to understand the value of friendship and wishes to befriend Link since he put him through so much trouble.  Skull Kid then realizes that Link is very similar to the boy who taught him a song in the woods a while ago (that's because they're the same boy who taught the song).  Then out of nowhere, the Happy Mask Salesman appears holding Majora's Mask in his hands.  He says the evil power has now left the mask for good.  For a while I thought he was distraught about this, as though he wanted the power.  However, with further consideration, it suggests he will not have to guard the mask anymore.  It doesn't change the fact he's still creepy, but it makes it less unsettling that he gets the mask in the end.  The Mask Salesman tells Link that all the masks he has given away have been returned to his possession.  He also notes that Link's victory is in all the happiness he spread in getting those masks.  The Happy Mask Salesman ends by saying just because two friends part company doesn't mean they will never be able to meet again.  He says the power of friends to reunite rests entirely in those friends and that no distance can separate two people for long.  With these remarks, the Salesman begins to walk away before disappearing into thin air.  We may never know who he really is, some think he was one of the Ancient Ones who created the mask seeking to protect it from the weak.  With the end of the legend of Majora's Mask, he too fades into memory.

    Tatl, apparently not good with goodbyes, tells Link there partnership has ended as both have come to terms.  She then reminds Link rather callously that he has business to deal with in his world and that she, her brother, and the Skull Kid have a festival to celebrate.  As Link hops on his horse and rides off, Tatl quietly thanks Link for everything he did.  Tatl and Tael seemingly embrace (hard to say, they're both represented as balls of light with wings) and then the camera shows what happens through the rest of the day.

   The Indigo-gos and a host of others perform in Clock Town, gathering a large crowd.  The King of the Dekus makes peace with the monkey he had tried to kill.  The spirits of the dead in Ikana are laid to rest, and the man who Link helped escape the curse of the mummy goes outside with his daughter to greet the new day.  Cremia watches as Romani demonstrates her skills with a bow.  In a gathering of all the people of the town as well as the ranch owning sisters, the wedding of Anju and Kafei takes place formally at the gates of the city.  Sadly, those souls that aided Link were not brought back to life, as seen in Mikau's vacant spot on the stage with his band and the Deku Steward crying over the dead tree Link saw at the beginning of his journey.  Finally, Link is shown riding through the Lost Woods of Hyrule once again on Epona.  He rides with a downcast look, but at least he rides towards a patch of light filtering down from the trees.  As he moves away from the scene, a wood carving on a tree trunk shows Link, Skull Kid, Tatl and Tael, and the Four Giants as Saria's Song is heard one last time.

   And here ends the legend of Majora's Mask and the Hero of Time.

Goodbye

Majora's Mask Unmasked: Majora's Mask part 25

    Link ascends the Clock Tower quite like he did when he was the tree child.  This time things are different. Link has moved heaven and earth to prepare for this showdown.  He has three spirits to aid him, and an assortment of masks gathered from everyone he helped along the way, not to mention a much better repertoire for the Ocarina of Time than when he last saw the Skull Kid.  Skull Kid and Tael say all the same things they did last time.  When Skull Kid starts calling the Moon down, the sun begins to rise over the horizon.  It's a new day for an ending world.  Link can turn back time like last time, but instead he plays the Oath of Order.

      The song is so fitting for the moment where everything is falling apart.  The speed at which the moon is coming in is shaking the ground apart and the draft of wind is tearing leaves from the trees and throwing debris.  Then upon playing this song, the four giants materialize out of the lands they guard.  They walk with even steps toward the moon and then reach up all at once to catch it before it crashes down on Clock Town.  After some struggle to keep it from falling, the moon ceases.  The sun has risen.  It's a new day.  

      Though a new day has come, the darkness has not yet passed.  Before victory can be claimed, the Skull Kid screams in pain before going limp.  Then the eyes on the mask begin to glow, and Majora's Mask begins to speak on its own.  It casts aside the Skull Kid for his failure, and begins to hover around on its own.  Majora's Mask has life of its own.  Though there are other dark artifacts like Majora's Mask including the remarkably similar in appearance Fused Shadows from Twilight Princess, this is the first one to display sentience.  Without a motive, care, or emotion, the mask travels up into the moon.  The moons eyes burn brighter as the mask says it wishes only to "consume everything."  The moon begins to bear down even harder and the giants struggle to hold it up.  

     While this is going on, Tatl expresses that she wishes to punish the Skull Kid for performing the crimes against the world and its inhabitants.  She is stopped by Tael who tells her the Mask is the real evil that must be dealt with.  Given no other option, Link must travel up into the moon by way of a strong gust leading into it.  If he cannot stop the moon, everything he has done would be for nothing.  Tatl tags along as this team prepares for whatever hell awaits them inside the belly of the beast.  For all who don't know what's coming next, this is probably the moment that digs at people the most.  I can guarantee confusion, shock, and absolute terror.  Tread lightly as we go into the depths of hell itself.