Zelda Art MM: Untitled <Lulu and Zora Link>

[Hylian_Monolith]

[[SPOILERS! If you haven't played past the Great Bay region of MM, read no further. This also never could have happened, but that's what fan-fics are made of... What if?]]

The last Indigo-Gos concert was probably the best yet. There were odd events leading up to it, but it was worth all the trouble. The citizens of Clock Town loved the performance, and it was really a highlight of the Festival of Time. Now the concert was over. The festival continued almost past midnight, and just after the very end, Mikau asked for a word alone with Lulu.

Nobody really suspected anything. Mikau and Lulu had been together for who knows how long. It was perfectly natural for couples to want some privacy. But a far graver concern was on Mikau's mind than a bit of alone-time with his sweetheart.

They walked all the way back to the shoe of the Great Bay. They laughed and chatted about this and that, who had the best mask and the expression on Tijo's face when a Hylian child tried to eat his drumsticks, but Mikau wasn't as into it as usual. As they reached the coast, Lulu asked outright what was dragging him down. "Nothing," he responded weakly.

"Come on, Mikau. You know I know you better than that. If something's wrong or if you have a... problem..." Oh, giants forbid he loves another girl..." Then just tell me. Please."

Mikau kicked a rock on the path. "Can it wait until we reach the beach?" "Well, all right..."Lulu sad reproachfully.

The pair walked to the shore. Just before he reached the water, Mikau fell to his knees. " Mikau! What's wrong?" Lulu ran to his side, wrapping a steady arm around his shoulder.

"Lulu... I... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I never told you..."

"Never told me what?" Lulu said fearfully.

Mikau looked into her violet eyes remorsefully. His voice was filled with grief and remorse. "I'm not your Mikau, Lulu. I guess you could say that I'm... I'm just a fake. A faux. I took his place to... to help you, but more for...my own reasons..."

"I--I don't understand."

Mikau hangs his head and starts shaking. Lulu murmurs comforting words and holds him gently, but he pulls away. "I mean...it's a long story. You see... do you remember when the Gerudo Pirates stole your eggs?"

"Yes, I do... I lost my voice around then, right?"

"Well, Mikau--the real Mikau--tried to find them... and he was caught by the pirates. They...they tortured him...and when I found him...he was almost dead. And now..."
The shock on Lulu's face as she realizes what happened is clear, as is the horror. "He's dead...he lived just long enough for me to hear his story, and..." Mikau begins shaking again. A tear leaks out from beneath his closed eyelids. "I'm not Mikau, Lulu. I'm just... a boy in a mask."

Lulu shakes her head slowly, fear and grief haunting her face. "I... I still don't understand. If you're not Mikau.. then who are you?" Another possibility occurs to her, and her face darkens. "Please don't tell me this is some kind of sick prank, Mikau!"

"It isn't! I can prove it! I know you don't like it, but--"

"No! Just stop it, Mikau! I swear--" Then something caught her eye. A fishbone guitar. Mikau's guitar. It was propped upright in the ground next to a wooden marker.
It looked like a grave.

"Mikau, you've really taken this too far..." But the unbearable truth hits her lie an electric shock, and she seizes up, eyes blurring. Suddenly, she stops All signs of sadness leave her as she turns on the fake Mikau. " Who do you think you are?! Mikau dies, and out of the blue you just start pretending to be him! What kind of person are you? How long have you been fooling me? And it's not just me--Evan and Tijo and Japas, everyone! How could you do such a thing?" Angry tears flow freely down her cheeks now. The Mikau impersonator is stuttering and stumbling, trying to hold up against her vicious words. Finally, he just pulls screams "I can explain it! I'm not Mikau, but I don't mean any harm! See, watch this." He shoved her away and reached up to his jawbones, pulling at them... No, he's pulling something off of it. He's taking off his face. The Zora doubles over in pain, but continues to pull relentlessly. He digs his fingers beneath the skin and rips something way. Lulu is paralyzed, watching, as he screams in agony and completely removes his face...

A bright flash of light blinds her...

Then the Zora isn't there anymore. In his place is a far smaller shape, all in green with a long cap, hunched over the ground as if catching his breath after a marathon.

Just a boy in a mask...

The golden-haired Hylian youth raises his head angrily. "Now do you believe me?!"

[[more to come]]

 

[Hylian_Monolith]

[[Time to finish this!]]

Lulu is paralyzed with horror. "Mikau..." she whispers under her breath.

The boy's harsh gaze softens minutely. "I'm sorry for what I put yo through. It was dishonest, but... I had my own motives. I should have just left."

"No, no, I--I' glad you came." Lulu sniffs and tries to stand up straighter. "If you hadn't , I would never have known...just how hard he tried..." She breaks down and weeps again. The child can only watch. Then Lulu tenses, and raises her head without warning, a new anger fueling her. "How?"

"How, what?" the boy answers in confusion.

"How is it that you put on a mask that looks like a Zora and suddenly you're Mikau? You even acted exactly like him! How?! And if he just died when you found him, like you said, then how can you do it so well? Even when we're alone! How did you do it, or are you lying to me again?" Her eyebrows are furrowed deeply, her fists clenched tightly. Despite the tough front, her deep grief is clear. The boy remains solemn. He slowly pulls out a holed instrument--an ocarina. "There's a song I know... it will take a person's sorrows and put them into a mask. He'd almost died, so I played it, and he was gone... This mask contains his spirit."

Lulu slowly held out her hand, and the boy reluctantly gave her the mask. She held it, then fell to her knees and cradled it, shuddering. She has no tears left to run. Finally, she asks, her voice shaky, "What...song did you play... to make this... happen?"

He puts the ocarina to his lips. "It's called the Song of Healing... I guess it's more of a spiritual thing." Lulu is unresponsive, hollow of all emotion. He plays the song, and Lulu slowly stills and closes her eyes. Then something unexpected happens. He has a strange vision.

In it, Lulu is swimming through a blank expanse. Mikau reaches from behind her, laying his hand on her shoulder, then taps her neck. She nods. Evan, Tijo, and Japas appear, too, and they touch the ground and walk towards their unseen destination...

The boy realizes his mistake only too late. His eyes widen in fear. He drops the ocarina on the final notes, screaming "NO!", but it's too late. Lulu, still holding the mask, disappears, and another mask appears next to Mikau's. The boy shakes his head, disbelieving. It occurs to him that she wouldn't have died if she hadn't been close to death already... but either way, he killed her.

Link takes one deep breath in. Lets it out. Then he picks up his ocarina and walks off towards Clock town.

Tijo, Japas, and Evan never see Lulu or Mikau ever again. The morning tides, lit red by the rising sun, came in and carried the masks away...