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ink re-entered the world of his childhood, the Master Sword locked once again within the pedestal, closing the ninth gate to the Sacred Realm. He knew that Ganondorf Dragmire, the Evil One he had fought in his erased future, had been sealed within the Sacred Realm as soon as he returned. He slowly walked out of the Temple of Time, and as he passed through the Door of Time that he had once opened, it slowly closed. The three Spiritual Stones he had collected slowed their rotation on the table before him, eventually coming to a stop. All of a sudden, before Link's very own eyes, a small flash of light filled the room, and the three gems were gone, presumably transported to new owners in Hyrule.

Link's first thought was of Zelda, as she would be the only person in Hyrule to have understood what had happened. He left the Temple of Time and ran to the castle. Once again, Link sneaked amongst the Hyrule Castle guards, using the very same unprotected route as he had taken before, only it was somewhat easier this time, as fewer guards guarded the castle due to Ganondorf's merciless attack on Hyrule Castle Town.

Link met Zelda in the same palace courtyard within the walls of the grand castle. Zelda rushed out to great him with open arms, and she immediately asked if he had survived his journey into the Sacred Realm. Link relayed his story to Zelda as she listened attentively, and Zelda told Link of her escape from Ganondorf after she threw the Ocarina of Time to Link.

It threw Link a bit, however, when Zelda asked for the Ocarina back, as she needed to do her duty and protect the Sacred Realm. Link was about to tell her that he didn't have the Ocarina, but before he could speak, Zelda had rummaged through Link's bag of weapons and pulled out the Ocarina from within. Surprised, Link told Zelda that he had given it to her in the future, and didn't have it when he came back, but as he spoke, both he and Zelda realized that his coming back had changed history, and thus Link giving the ocarina to Zelda in the future never happened.

After meeting with Zelda, Impa escorted the young Link out of the castle again, and then he headed for the Lost Woods and his homeland. There he greeted his old friends, and most importantly, had a joyous reunion with his best friend Saria. Though Saria knew nothing of what had happened to Link ever since his meeting with the Deku Tree long ago, Link told her his entire adventure. Though some parts of it, especially the changing of history part, confused Saria, Link still managed to capture her interest throughout the entire story.

Link went back to living in the Lost Woods in his treehouse. Having been outside the woods on a grand adventure, Link became a celebrity to the Kokiri, and they included him in everything they did, as if he were a natural Kokiri. Link, however, didn't just spend time with just the Kokiri. Link would leave the Woods from time to time to visit some of the friends he had made on his journey. The most frequent of his outside visits was with Zelda. They'd spend days at a time at Hyrule Castle, since it was a good distance away from the Woods, and the King delighted in Zelda finding a friend, even if her friend were a commoner. On rare occasions, Zelda would even visit Link in the Woods, and they would spend the day with the Kokiri.

Of all his friends, though, Link spent the most time with Saria, and their friendship, once thought to be lost to time, sparked up once again. They would walk together out to the meadow in the Woods to spend time together, playing their ocarinas, chasing the Deku Scrubs, playing games, and swimming in the forest pools. Link lived like this for about a year and a half.

One day, however, Zelda came to the Lost Woods alone, looking a little sad. Link ran over to her and asked what was wrong. She told him that she had had a vision of his departure of to another land, doomed to destruction unless a Hero intervened, and possibly doomed still. Zelda cried a small tear and put the Ocarina of Time in Link's hand, telling him that he would need it in the journey ahead of him. They hugged for a brief moment, sharing their fears, hopes, and friendship unconsciously before heading back for the castle.

Link immediately went to tell Saria the news, and she was a little saddened as well, but she kept telling herself that Link would be safe, and so that eased her concern slightly. Saria and the other Kokiri quickly made up some weapons from the wood of trees, and they let him use the Kokiri Sword once again. Link also went to the ranch in Hyrule Field, owned by the Lon family, and borrowed a horse named Epona for his journey. Finally, after a tearful goodbye, Link departed from the Kokiri Village again, this time, vowing to come back.

Not knowing where his journey would start, he rode off into some unknown section of the Lost Woods on his horse. The woods around Link were quiet, almost too quiet for Link's liking. With a start, a figure jumped out, scaring Epona. Epona sped off, Link holding on as tightly as possible, but eventually Link fell off and lost consciousness.

When he awoke, he saw a small Skullkid with two faeries floating over his head. It appeared to Link that the Skullkid had taken most of his items, including the Ocarina of Time itself! Link looked around and saw Epona nearby, apparently less frightened now. Link started to get up, but the Skullkid felt his rustling and quickly jumped around. Link looked at the Skullkid only to find a strange, purple mask on his face, a mask that emanated evil. The Skullkid leapt onto Epona and she started running again, with Link running as fast as his legs would carry him.

Link followed the Skullkid into a cave, where he eventually fell down a gigantic crevasse. He hit the ground on a pile of Deku leaves, softening the fall enough to ensure Link's survival. Link looked up and saw that Skullkid with the mask floating in the air, tossing the Ocarina of Time in his hand. With what seemed to be a smirk, the Skullkid cast a spell upon Link.

Link felt the waves of darkness all around him, and as the spell hit him, he began to feel sick to his stomach. He knew something was being done to him, but he didn't know what. All he could see was an eerie darkness with occasional glimpses of Deku Scrubs surrounding him completely. Once the blinding darkness lifted, he saw his reflection in a small brook within the cave. He had been changed into a Deku.

The Skullkid flew out of the room in a flash, but one of his two faeries, named Tatl, was left behind. Desiring to rejoin her brother, Tael, she reluctantly joined the small Deku to find her brother. They crossed a long room with an even deeper pit, passing by what appeared to be a statue of a Deku along the way. Following this, they passed through a set of metal doors, which closed behind them after they walked through. Link ran to them to try to pry them open, but they appeared to only open up from the other side. Wherever he was, he was trapped.

Eventually, Link and Tatl came across what appeared to be a modern structure with water running under it. Just as they were about to climb up the stairs and exit out the door above them, a mysterious man carrying several masks appeared behind them, and Link was shocked to know that this man knew his name and plight. The man offered Link a deal to restore him to his proper form and world if he could obtain the infamous Mask of Majora for him within the next 72 hours. Though Link imagined it an almost impossible task, he had no choice but to take up the offer.

Link, still as a Deku, walked out the door of what was a tall clock, similar to the windmill back in Kakariko. His deadline had started...