Operation: MASKED, Part 22

Chapter 22: Cheren, the Fierce God

With Cheren…

The locked door brought Cheren to the Decommissioning Chamber. The four chairs sat with their backs to each other on the small platform, just like his own universe. The room seemed rather empty as he walked around, studying the device. He eyes directed to the round window, showing a view of space. He could vaguely see the Earth down left, and knew the moon was getting closer. He had to stop Majora fast.

"Weeell, weeell, well…" Cheren whipped around with a start, weapon ready as the shadow man, Benedict Uno, stepped out from behind the Decommissioner. "I must say, Cheren… I pegged you all wrong. I thought you were just some weak little boy who couldn't go ANYWHERE without his mommy. But look at yoooouu!" Cheren glared hatefully at the half-demon, smirking behind his silhouette. "You came this far and haven't even hit PUBerty. You've officially taken my annoying nephew and his naggy girlfriend and mixed an UGLY combination."

Cheren stood up straight and brushed his sword aside for a second. "I had you pegged all wrong, too, Uncle Ben. I thought you were just some lazy old drunk that's lost all meaning with life. I didn't expect you to be up and at it again. Heheh! And if THAT weren't funny enough," Father's eyes furrowed as Cheren grew a smirk, "you're still signing up with powers that are higher than you as a means to achieve something that you could never do. You're weak, Uncle Ben."

"I see you have that smug tone, too." He said scoldingly. "I would hope your generation learned better manners, but it seems they just get worse. Once Majora is through with your world, though, that's ALL gonna CHANGE. Finally, I can reMAKE a world where ADULTS RULE."

"That's the part I DON'T get." Cheren stated. "What's all this remaking the world stuff about? You can't just REMAKE a world after it's been blown up."

"You really don't know the story behind Majora, do you?"

"Uhhhh, no?"

Father shook his head ashamed. "Poor, deluded boy. They can't teach them ANYTHING in school nowadays. Oh well… I suppose it wouldn't be good for me if you knew. I can't let you get anywhere near Majora now. It's time we settle this long, drawn-out battle ONCE and for all," both opponents readied a fighting position, "and END the unholy era that BELONGED to you KIDS. AAAAAUUUUGGGHH." Father exploded with flames, filled with anger. (Play Slag's Battle Theme from Ratchet: Tools of Destruction.)

Sub-boss: Benedict Uno

Cheren dodged as the shadowy half-demon threw punches with fiery fists, running behind the decommissioning chairs to strike his uncle in the back, but Father dodged and threw another fire punch, which Cheren blocked with his Mirror Shield. Cheren thrusted his shield forward and made the uncle wobble backward. Cheren leapt for a jump attack when- "Armament!" his sword came in contact, but didn't penetrate the silhouetted man at all. Cheren looked confused and kept swinging his sword, but he was unable to penetrate the man.

Father grabbed his great-nephew by the collar and tossed him over the edge, Cheren gripping tight as he could with his fingers. "Ha ha ha ha!" Father laughed, an evil smirk on his face as he approached the defenseless boy. "I wasn't JUST laying around doin' nothin'. I've been brushing up on my skills, too." Cheren gritted his teeth and flipped back to the platform, throwing his sword against Father as the man dodged. Father's hands caught aflame as he grabbed the sword, trying to push it back. Cheren swung his foot and kicked Father's shin, the man wincing from the pain as Cheren punched him upside and knocked him on his back.

Cheren jumped on Father's belly and glared as he raised his blade, about to stab down, but Father activated his "Armament"; whatever that was, Cheren didn't know. But rather than attack him, Cheren jumped off and sliced one of the walkways with his sword. He hopped over and sliced the second walkway, then sliced the third. "Whoooa!" Father wobbled a little as the platform shook. "What do you think you're doing, Boy?"

Cheren merely shot him a glare before slicing the fourth walkway, and the entire platform fell straight down through the chasm. "WHOOOAAAAAAHHHHH-UUH!" The two collided with the platform down below, and Father became dizzied. Cheren took this opportunity to deal him a round of blows, cutting up his silhouetted suit a little. Father glared as he flipped to his feet and threw fireballs at his great-nephew. Cheren bounced the flames back with his Mirror Shield, but his great-uncle ran forward and tried to pry the shield away from him.

Cheren did a shield thrust and tried to strike his uncle, but Father defended himself with this Armament again. Cheren backed away in thought before pulling out his Light Arrow to see if it would do something. Father apparently took a slight shock, leaving himself open to Cheren's blade. He took only a few hits before he got back up and flipped away. "Little boys shouldn't be playing with swords." He stated. Father launched a storm of fireballs at Cheren, but the boy did a spin attack and knocked them away, only for Father to zip behind him and punch him down.

Cheren raised his shield when Father tried to punch him, flipping to his feet to swing his sword, but Father defended with the Armament once again. Rather than strike him some more, Cheren pulled out his M.U.M.B.L.E.R. and shot M.A.R.B.L.E.s at the four bridges holding the platform. "HEEEY-" Father yelled to stop him, but was too late as the platform fell into the abyss once again.

They crashed powerfully against the floor on the bottom, ending up in an old office. The dust cleared as Benedict was seen sitting dizzy again, and Cheren ran forth to deal another round of blows. "THAAAT'S it." Father yelled angrily, getting back up. "If I can't teach you myself, I'll need a LITTLE help! Father BEEEEE!"

Cheren turned around, and saw the Termina Father behind him. "Why are YOU the Father A?" Father B questioned.

"Just turn dragon."

"Okay." The Termina Father began to shake tremendously as he got on all fours. His hands and feet turned into claws, wings appeared on his back, and he grew sharp teeth and a tail. Father B glared at Cheren, a fiery, demonic look in his dragon eyes.

"I STILL can't believe he can do that." Cheren commented, not really fazed by the dragon's appearance. Cheren raised his bow and was about to launch a Light Arrow, but Father A punched him away from the side. Cheren recovered and glared as Father A bore an evil look and flaming fist, while the Father B Dragon hissed with malice. Cheren got up and tried to shoot Father A with a Light Arrow, but the shadow dragon leapt forward and batted Cheren away with his tail. Cheren's glasses became crooked a little as he got up to face them. He raised his sword and ran at Father B, but the dragon easily smacked him away with his tail again.

Cheren was struggling to stand up this time, feeling he may be powerless against two Fathers. But just then, a bolt of lightning shot down and struck the area around Father B, and they all looked up as Nerehc came flying down, taking a land beside his Positive. "Nerehc!" Cheren exclaimed.

"I didn't think I could trust you with this." Nerehc smirked. "Now… let me handle the mopey guy. You get the dragon."

Cheren's look became serious as he nodded. Nerehc flew overhead and shot lightning at Father A while Cheren got back up and ran at the dragon. Father A used his Armament to defend from the lightning, but Nerehc landed behind him and stuck lightning in his back. "AAAAHHHCK!"

"Heh! You may've learned Haki, but you aren't very good at it, I see." Nerehc smirked.

Father B blasted fire breath at Cheren, but he dodge-rolled sideways and ran to strike at his belly. The dragon tried to stomp on him, but Cheren ran back and shot a Light Arrow at Father B's head. The dark dragon flinched with pain, shielding his eyes, as Cheren ran behind to do a jump strike on his tail. Father B screeched, attempting to bat Cheren away, only for the boy to dodge and roll away. He raised his bow and launched another Light Arrow, stunning Father B's face, and Cheren ran to strike the tail again.

Father A was desperately trying to burn the Negative, but Nerehc was fast as he flew around, launching more lightning strikes at the shadow man. The Hylian Father was panting tiredly, his body emitting electric sparks. "Heff… what am I doing… I SHOULD be able to handle this." Father A got up straight, holding two fingers together as he faced the smirking Negative. Nerehc charged another bolt of lightning in his fingertips, launching without hesitation.

Father A was able to catch the lightning in his fingers, letting it flow across his body. "Ha haaa! Now for a taste of your own MEDICINE." Father A was ready to launch the lightning back at his great-nephew's counterpart, but Nerehc kept flying around, still wearing his cocky smirk. "Grrr, hold still…" Father A was becoming frustrated, unable to get a perfect aim. "Aha!" Nerehc faced him eye-to-eye, floating perfectly still in one place. Finally, he shot the lightning straight ahead, but Nerehc dodged immediately, allowing him to strike the Father B Dragon.

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" The shadowed dragon fell on his stomach, looking totally weary.

"Whoops." Father A looked embarrassed.

The Father Dragon sparked and shrunk down to his regular form as the Benedict B looked very dizzy. "Ooooh… I'm suddenly not in the mood for electric zap."

With the Terminan counterpart down, Cheren and Nerehc stood side-by-side at the terrified Benedict A, confident smirks on their identical faces. Father tried to throw fireballs at both of them, but Cheren jumped back and Nerehc shot upward, launching another lightning bolt at his form. In his weakened state, Cheren tried to strike him with his sword, but the electrical charge on Father's body gave him a shock. Father angrily grabbed his great-nephew and threw him against the wall, headfirst, and was about to go in for more. Once more, he didn't get the chance as Nerehc zipped in front of him and pelted him with lightning.

As Cheren got up, he drew his Light Arrow and launched, dealing another powerful shock through Father's stomach. Father fell to his knees, too weak to fight anymore, and Cheren finished him with an upward strike, sending him backwards. (End song.)

"Huff… yyooou…" Father gripped his stomach, weakly getting to his feet as he filled with more anger than ever. "All I wanted… was simple peace and HARMONY for you kids. And I wanted to accomplish that… by making a world we're you'll all POLITE and OBEDIENT… so you WOULDN'T get into trouble. But WOULD you let me? ? NOOOO. Instead… you insist on riding your bikes, busting your butts, and GETTING bruises. Well, I…I have had ENOUGH of you. Your parents… were the worst people that ever lived. You are… the worst thing that ever could've come from them. I will finish you…" Cheren's expression remained unchanged, glaring at the rage-filled uncle. "I will make you regret… EVER standing against me." Father's hands alit with flames that began to grow and grow. "All of you… when all this is done, I will make the New World. And everyone in that world will know the name of Benedict Un-NOOO! !" The flames immediately vanished as Nerehc's blade pierced his stomach from behind.

"Aaaah!" Cheren froze with shock and horror.

Nerehc wore a hateful look as he pulled the blood-covered blade out, the shadowed man falling to the ground. Nerehc wiped the blood off and said, "Well, that takes care of it."

Cheren filled with anger and hate, gritting his teeth as he approached his Negative. "Why'd you do that? ?"

"What, he was getting annoying."

"He was my UNCLE. He's family."

"So? It's not like anyone actually cares about him anymore."

"You don't get it…" Cheren sighed.

"Ahh, quit cryin', I stabbed his stomach, not his heart. See, he's still alive."

"Oooooh…" Father A held his hands over his stomach, feeling extremely sick. "Can I have some… rocky road, Mommy?..."

"Siiiigh." Cheren calmed down a little, but was still pretty peeved. "Nerehc… sometimes, I worry."

"Worry about yourself." Nerehc stated, walking over and bending down to search Father's suit. "But hey. At least we got this." Cheren looked up as Nerehc presented the Boss Key.

You've got the Boss Key! Even though it's the seventh time, it feels more rewarding than ever! This key will lead to the room where Majora waits! Get back up there and FINISH the job!

Cheren smiled and stuffed the key in his jacket. "It's a long way up." Nerehc mentioned. "You probably don't wanna get up normally. Let me help."

"Wait!" Cheren checked his map, and saw the last Stray Fairy. He checked behind the office desk and found a small chest. Inside was the final purple fairy of this dungeon. "There… but I still don't know where they go. Anyway. Let's go, Nerehc." With that, Nerehc wrapped his arms around Cheren's, and kicked on his rockets as they flew directly upwards.

With the others…

Harry and Truman's arms were locked in a shoving battle, in which the brainwashed operative was able to knock him away. He looked down and saw Melissa driving around his feet in circles, and Truman growled in anger before trying to squish her. Melissa laughed with excitement as she drove away, avoiding his feet as he chased her, but screamed when Panini's massive boot suddenly came down and stopped her car cold. Melissa tried to back up, but was stuck tight as Panini added more pressure and began to flatten the car, the windows cracking and bolts popping out. Melissa frantically climbed out the window before she was squished, but was immediately snapped in Truman's hands.

"Ahhh, the consequences of using a shrink ray." Truman smirked as Melissa struggled helplessly in his hands. "You become swifter to hit, but much more weak. I can crush you like a measly grape." Melissa desperately tried to reach her shrink ray, but Truman kept her arms from moving.

"Hold on, Dude!" Celeste tried to throw her rope and catch the Gilligan girl, but the minute she launched, Panini launched fire and burned the raggedy rope. "Awww… I didn't even get many puzzles." Celeste stared sadly at her burned rope. Immediately, Panini kicked fire and knocked the Stork girl back.

"That was disappointing." Truman said, adding more pressure between his hands. "No matter. After I'm done with you, the demons could use your squished organs for sustenance. It was nice knowing you, Lissa." Melissa's eyes widened, feeling an incredible amount of pressure flow into her head. Her skin turned blue, and she felt her head would explode at any minute. Ironic that her closest friend would be the death of her, she thought. It made her angry to never be able to take revenge on Majora for doing this to him. Not to mention, she would never see Jeremy again.

Still laying on his stomach, Harry weakly pulled out his slingshot, pulling a pellet back and launching at Truman's eye. "Ah!" the boy covered his eye, dropping Melissa, and the girl immediately took a huge breath, the hugest breath she's ever inhaled. Her skin reverted back to normal color, and as she quickly unshrunk herself, she never felt more like a balloon, never felt her organs squished so tightly together.

Melissa grabbed Truman by the shoulders and bashed her face against his, breaking his fake glasses in the process. Truman wobbled about, holding his dizzy head, as Harry ran and dealt a punch against his Delightfulized face, knocking him clean out. Meanwhile, Thomas swung his hammer at Panini, but the lifeless girl gripped its handle and pushed it back with equal strength. Kellie smiled gleefully as she skipped over, and tickled Panini's hips. Apparently the mindless girl felt the tickle and released her grip, Thomas pulling his hammer back. Kellie jumped away as Thomas swung the massive mallet, and bashed the side of Panini's head with great force, sending her sliding across the floor beside Truman.

At that time, Cheren and Nerehc returned, seeing their battle's concluded. "Hey! You guys okay?" Cheren called.

"Yeah, we're fine." Melissa said, brushing her shoulders casually. "Delightful guys were never this hard."

Cheren bent down over Panini and slipped her Bunny Hood on her head. The group also noticed a pair of glasses sticking from Panini's pocket, and Cheren pulled them out to see they were Truman's. "Quick, put those on!" Melissa yelled. Cheren quickly slipped the glasses onto Truman's bruised face, and played the Song of Healing.

Doo-doo-dooo, doo-doo-dooo, doo-doo, do-do-dooooo.

Panini's Bunny Hood fused into her body, and a mist of light flowed from Truman's glasses into his eyes. In seconds, the blond-haired boy woke up, his blue eyes back to normal. "Oh, I… What was I doing?"

"Heheh, he's back!" Melissa jumped as Celeste helped him up, with Kellie giving him a hug.

"Err!" Truman grunted in pain. "Why am I so… Ooow!"

"Well, dude, you were kinda brainwashed." Celeste answered.

"So we had to knock some sense into you." Thomas said with a playful smile.

"Oh, I… thought I felt hazy. Well, I'm sorry if I hurt you guys."

"Ehh, it's fine." Melissa said simply.

"We're glad you're back now!" Kellie smiled. "If your head still hurts, I'll let you have my Get Better From Booboos After You've Been Brainwashed Rainbow Monkey!"

The seven kids then approached Panini, the girl still peacefully asleep. "I hope we didn't hit her too hard." Thomas said.

"She'll pull through." Cheren told them. "If I know her… our next objective is taking down Majora."

"Ready when you are." Nerehc told him, already standing by the Boss Door. Cheren faced him and nodded, all operatives wearing serious looks as they joined the Negative. Cheren stuck the Boss Key into the horned lock, turning it as the chains fell loose. Without a moment's hesitation, the operatives charged in, remaining weapons ready.

"YOUR plan ends NOW, Major-…" Cheren stopped himself as they stared at the relaxed, sleeping form of Miyuki Crystal, her face snoring under her mask.

Melissa spotted the Supreme Leader, Jeremy in the corner, hurrying over to untie him. "Jeremy!" she exclaimed, embracing him in a relieved hug.

"Hehe…" he blushed.

Cheren, Nerehc, and Sector V stood over Miyuki curiously. She looked so peaceful on the soft, comfy purple bed, and the evil mask didn't look harmful at all. Cheren was about to pry the mask off her face, but was suddenly stopped by the Zoni.

"It's no use." They said in monotone.

"WHOA!!" Melissa jumped in surprise, and Sector V looked shocked, too.

"You… can see them?" Cheren questioned.

"He has fallen asleep, and escaped to the Dream World. The moon will fall here, while he is there. You must go in to stop him."

"You mean… fall asleep?" Cheren questioned. The Zoni nodded.

"Simple as that." Nerehc stated. "But I'm going, too."

"Fine by me." Cheren nodded. "The rest of you guys, stay here. Watch over our bodies."

"Are you sure?" Melissa asked. "Taking on Majora all by yourselves? I mean, what about needing at least a second person?"

"HellOOOOO??" Cheren gestured toward Nerehc, who looked annoyed. "Though I hate to say it, long as I got Nerehc, I'm all set. You guys are needed here at Moonbase. Find the masks that belonged to the other Delightfulized operatives. We can take Majora."

"If you say so." Harry said. "Just be careful, Bro."

"Bro?" Nerehc questioned.

"We're SORTA brothers." Harry shrugged.

"Hehehehe!" Cheren grinned and chuckled. "…Listen… thanks for all the help you've been to me, guys. I don't know what I would've done if I didn't meet you. I…I'm proud to have served alongside you guys."

"Man, is EVERYONE from his universal so sentimental?" Celeste eye-rolled.

"Dude, just forget about the cheesy crud and get goin'." Thomas demanded. "You gotta stop this guy before the moon squishifies the whole world!"

"But if you need help sleeping, I have pretty Help You Get To Sleep When You Have To Stop An Evil Demon In The Dream World Rainbow Monkey!" Kellie grinned.

"Heh…" Cheren smiled warmheartedly. "I'll keep that all in mind." With that said, both Cheren and Nerehc got on opposite sides of Miyuki in her bed, wrapping arms around her (and feeling silly in that position). The Zoni charged their energy and zapped the opposite operatives, and were immediately sent into sleep.

Majora's Dream World (Play "Nowhere to Run" from Rayman Origins.)

Final stage: Land of Living Dead

Mission: Find Majora and defeat him once and for all!

Of all the dream worlds the two have been two, this one was probably the ugliest. The sky was dark and filled with red, gloomy clouds. They stood on a beach area, surrounded by purplish-pink, gooey water. The only inhabitants of the beach were more of the Zombified Trolls which Cheren encountered earlier. He still wasn't sure what these creatures were. Regardless, the path ahead seemed relatively clear except for them.

Nerehc was already skiing across the beach using his rocket shoes, while Cheren had to follow him normally, slicing the Zombified Trolls that tried to grab him. There were a few gaps in the beach that were filled with the gooey water, so Cheren hopped across the sandy platforms; he didn't care to know what happened if he fell in. He then came to a spot where withered lilipads led the way across. Cheren turned into a Kateenian and jumped across quickly before the lilipads sank. More Zombified Trolls rose out of the beach ahead, so Cheren changed back into a human to slice them away. Cheren then entered a small forest area, making a few turns as the path went while dealing with more trolls.

He came to a gaping chasm, watching Nerehc slide down a slope on the other side. On Cheren's left, there was a Rearrangement Pad, so he turned into Sackboy and studied the area. There was a long, wooden plank on the other side, and a pointed stake sticking up from the ground below. Cheren lifted the board and fixed it onto the stake through the center, and it began tilting back and forth, both ends facing both cliffs. Cheren became a Kateenian again and jumped to it, carefully crossing and keeping a balance.

Cheren jumped to the other cliff and reverted to human, going down a golden staircase to a rather gold-lit town area. He saw Nerehc skiing around in circles in an open plaza, his way of 'impatiently' waiting for his slowpoke Positive to hurry up. When Cheren was coming, Nerehc swiftly skied sideways down the town street, wearing his usual cool-guy smirk. Cheren followed him, and more Zombified Trolls were coming around the corners. Cheren proceeded to beat them some more, watching Nerehc Wall Kick his way across several buildings, before going on top.

There were a few platforms that led upward, so Cheren turned into his wolf form to jump his way up. Cheren came to a large stone wall, covered in moss and leaves, with a gap that was blocked by a huge Majora block. Cheren turned into Slag and pushed the block forward, until it fell into a hole its exact size, allowing Cheren into a smaller, village area, where Troll Zombies casually roamed around. Cheren wanted to leave the lot alone, even though they slumped over to try and choke him (they moved slowly, of course), and followed Nerehc as he skied up some stairs.

The Negative boy Wall Kicked his way up some walls again, going to a ledge above. There was no other way up, except for the Hidden Leaf symbols around the walls. Cheren turned into a ninja and leaped his way up, going to join his Negative as they stood over a dusty abyss.

Before they went forward, however, they spotted a hidden path behind the wall to their left. They followed it curiously, finding a hidden door in a small enclosing. Inside this door was, to their surprise, a Fairy Fountain. The fountain was alit with purple aura, and purple Stray Fairies fluttered around it. Cheren quickly pulled out his bottle and let the Stray Fairies out. As they spiraled and joined their friends in the center, Cheren wondered what kind of fairy would show up here, and with what power?

The fairies fused in the fountain, and vanished in a purple flash. They uncovered their eyes, and nothing was there. A greyish-purple mist began to form in the center, and a pair of pitch-black, bare feet were the first to step out. Soon, the rest of the spirit's body stepped out slowly. She was shaped like the other fairies, the same long, white hair. But the rest of her was pitch-black, except there was a skeleton painted where her bones would be. Her face seemed to have no mouth, just a skull; or the upper portion of a skull, rather. They couldn't tell if it was her natural appearance, or just a jumpsuit. She had no color or life to her eyes. They were just big, white spots.

The skeleton-ish fairy stared at Cheren with its lifeless eyes. A sense of fear filled the boy's heart. With no pupils in her eyes, he couldn't tell what she was thinking. The fairy just stood there, completely silent and blank.

"…Um… do you have a name?" Cheren decided to ask.

The fairy approached him quickly, and Cheren flinched slightly. She stopped just inches in front of him, peeking her head over and observing his body. She still didn't speak or make a sound. Cheren became more creeped out by how she studied him. "…Are we going somewhere with this?"

The fairy perked, backing up as she reached behind her. She pulled out and presented Cheren a very strange mask. It looked like an Indian face; red whisker-like markings were painted on the side of its face, it had long, pointed ears, black eyes, and white hair. Cheren took the mask and studied it. No mask he's found on this journey peaked that much interest.

You've got the Fierce Deity's Mask! This mask holds the spirit of a fierce, powerful god. Could this mask's dark powers be as terrifying as Majora?

Cheren looked at the fairy again, who remained staring lifeless. She raised his right arm halfway, and gave a small, light wave before fading away. Nerehc walked beside his Positive and stared at the mask, too. "…You gonna try it?"

"I…I'm not sure." Cheren replied. Considering that fairy's creepy aura, he didn't know what the mask would do. It felt creepy just looking at it. Cheren stuffed it under his clothing and said, "Let's keep going."

With that, they walked out, and stood over the cliff above the endless chasm. There was nothing but darkness and despair below, it looked like, but a powerful gust of wind was blowing upward. There seemed to be nothing up above but dark clouds; however, they could hear the echoing roar of something metallic up above, like a ship. Nerehc kicked on his rockets and flew up first, while Cheren jumped over the edge, and threw open his Pirates' Sail. The wind caught in the sail sent Cheren flying way up high. He soon was at a level altitude, flying slowly straight as dark clouds fogged up his path.

The roaring of the ship grew louder and louder, and as Cheren cleared away from the dark-red fog, he gaped in awe at the roaring's source. Indeed, it was a ship, a giant, bright red battleship, that looked like something from the navy, only it was hovering in the sky. Cheren calmly allowed the breeze to carry him above the ship's deck, and he dropped down safely on top. The roaring could be heard across the heavens, and a dusty wind blew across the deck as blackish-red storm clouds spiraled around them, creating lightning that didn't make a sound.

Zombified Trolls walked about the deck, and didn't seem to bother Cheren or Nerehc as they walked by. They soon came to a stairway to a higher level of the ship, but it was guarded by three Zombie Trolls. The center zombie held a hand up gesturing to stop, and they did so as the zombie pulled out a notepad. He stared and skimmed down a list of people, searching intently until he reached 'Cheren Uno's name. It read 'Plus 1 guest' beside it, so the zombie humbly bowed to Cheren and Nerehc as they stepped aside.

Cheren and Nerehc stepped up the stairs, and a wide, clear path led directly to the huge door at the end. On both sides of the path, parallel rows of Zombie Trolls began to clap and dance, moaning echoey vocals as they gestured toward the door. Cheren and Nerehc merely glanced at the undead trolls confusedly. They weren't sure what they were cheering about, or what they could be leading them to. However, there were several blowing flags stationed around the deck, which bore Majora's symbol in white surrounded by red. The big, square door was bright red and had Majora's white symbol painted as well. They knew for sure, the Masked Demon was behind this door. They had no idea what to expect. Would Majora still be in Miyuki's body, or would he hold a new form, more terrifying than they ever expected? And why did Majora wish to lure them here of all places? Why the fancy entrance and location?

These questions loomed in their mind as they stood before the big square doorway. But one thing was sure in their mind: this was the final battle. They would face Majora beyond this door, and end his Operation Moonfall. The two exchanged serious looks and nodded. They gripped the huge door together and shoved it upward. The duo unhesitantly stepped into the darkness, and the door sealed them inside.

Cheren and Nerehc walked calmly and quietly, serious, focused eyes on their faces as they entered a dark, dim-lit room, in which the only thing visible were wavy auras along the wall. They came in various colors, but all had a shade of darkness. The room seemed rather wide from what they could see, and on the very other side, there was an opening in the wall, where a pitch-black silhouette sat. The duo took a careful, quiet step forward, and the room suddenly alit to a brighter color. The dark, colorful auras moved all around the walls around the flat, polished floor. The being in the opening ahead was still too dark to see, but the mask on his face could be made out.

"Good shooow, goood shooow…" Majora spoke calmly, his dark voice echoing across the vast, empty room. Without Miyuki, it was just Majora's singular voice they were hearing. "Made your way aaall the way through my fortress and chased me to the Dream World. Although, it depends on how much of this you call dreamed. Who knows what happens in the afterlife. Are we cursed to wander through dreams, or have we entered a brand new world. I guess it's how… death tortures you."

"Well, frankly, I have an idea what happens in the afterlife." Cheren spoke. "But I guess those rules don't apply here. Right? Zanifr."

Majora's body flinched. He calmed down almost right away, a smirk behind his mask. "You really should learn not to snoop around others' property. They prefer to keep things secret."

"People shouldn't have their property lying around."

"The reason I hid those was to hide the evidence. SOME people don't know how to keep their mouths shut. Even in your world, my moirail manages to keep following and pestering me."

Cheren shook his head; another term he didn't understand. "All right, Majora, this can go one of two ways. You can tell me your, or possibly a FRACTION of your, backstory, I'll refuse to care and proceed to kick your ass… OR we can skip the backstory and go straight to the fighting. In which I'll kick your ass."

"I really don't feel in the mood for explanations." Majora answered. "My only goal is to come back to my world, and take revenge on the ones who had me banished. By bringing the apocalypse to Termina, and ending both worlds, I shall finally be allowed to come back. As was written in the prophecy."

"So, Termina WASN'T your world." Cheren deduced with disgust. "It was just a disposable pawn in your plan. But what about Miyuki? If her body is left on Moonbase, she'll be killed when the moon collides with the Earth."

"That isn't entirely true. As it turns out, Miyuki has a dream self, too. At this moment, she is awake somewhere among Prospit or Derse. I shall see to it she becomes God Tier, and when such happens, she will never have to worry about death again. As long as her dream self doesn't sleep again, she will be just fine."

"I don't really understand any of this, but I don't want to right now!" Cheren stated, looking angry. "As long as Miyuki's and everyone else's lives are in danger, I'm going to stop you! And now that I've said your name, you can't really DO anything about it."

Majora looked unfazed. "It's true… by speaking one's name, you render them powerless. But you forget, you've only spoken part of my true name. As long as my surname remains hidden, I can still rain down on you with HALF of my true power. We shall let this battle decide the fate of this poor world. Let us finally see, how long the bloodline of Link and Shadows has lasted…" The shadowed body was encased in a whirl of darkness, leaving only the mask visible on the outside. The body disappeared as the darkness dispersed and flowed into the mask, its orange-green eyes sparking to life. They brimmed wide and unchanging as the mask grew many skinny, wiggly tentacles from its backside, hovering around the air as it appeared twice their own size. (Play "Majora's Mask Battle" theme from Majora's Mask.)

Boss fight: Masked Demon, MAJORA

Phase 1: Majora's MASK

The demonic mask leisurely hovered around the boss room, its spikes flapping up and down like little wings. Cheren immediately whipped out his bow and shot arrows, but the mask whipped around and blocked with simply its armored front side. Cheren ceased firing and tried to run around behind it, but Majora merely turned so that Cheren only shot his front. Nerehc, tired of watching his opposite get nowhere, flew up using his rocket feet and got behind Majora, where he charged a bolt of lightning and fired, making the demon shake with pain from the shock. Majora sank to the floor, stunned, and Cheren hurriedly ran behind and dealt some blows against the back, knocking the lightweight mask around in the process.

Majora got back in the air and faced the two with a deadly glare as darkness emerged from his form. The darkness surrounded himself in a sphere of dark, but Nerehc merely smirked as he flew behind and blasted another bolt of lightning. However, the lightning didn't penetrate the shield, and Nerehc flinched as Majora flew behind him and lashed his tentacles. Nerehc swiftly dodged the tentacles in the air and countered with his own dark fireballs, but Majora calmly absorbed the darkness and shot it back, knocking Nerehc out of the air.

Cheren watched him fall, then looked back at Majora as the mask spun into a horizontal saw blade, flying down and sliding along the ground as he tried to chop Cheren. Cheren was able to jump the mask, and at the points when the mask hovered a little, he ducked. Majora eventually stopped and hovered around the air again, likely taking a breather. Since Majora encased himself in darkness, Cheren figured, he would whip out his Light Arrow and fire one at the mask's face. The light seemed to penetrate as part of the shield cracked, so Cheren kept his aim on Majora and fired another beam, successfully destroying the front part of the shield.

The front of the mask was exposed, but that didn't matter when the front was already armored, and the rest of the shield protected the back. Nerehc shot up behind Majora and tried to throw more lightning blasts, but they still did not penetrate, and Majora wouldn't even turn to glare at him, allowing Cheren to shoot the barrier. Cheren kept firing Light Arrows whenever Majora turned around, but he whipped back around just as quickly to defend. Eventually, Majora spun around like a saw blade again and glided along the ground, aiming to hit Cheren. When Majora glided above him for a brief moment, Cheren saw the perfect opportunity to hit the dark shield, and he did. Eventually, Majora's spinning came to a stop, and for the brief moment he was turned around, Cheren shot and destroyed the shield.

Majora simply flew around casually some more as Nerehc flew up behind and launched a lightning bolt. Majora whipped around and avoided, but Cheren was able to shoot an arrow in his back as a result, and Majora sank to the ground. Cheren dashed over and dealt his series of blows, though didn't deliver that many before Majora was knocked away and recovered.

Majora hovered to the center of the room as the kids simply watched him. Majora stuck his own tentacles into his mask and began to pump some kinda substance, like blood. The heart-shaped mask grew a little more round, and the front side became puffy, while the back stayed the same: flat with tentacles squiggling around. Majora tilted over so his front faced the ceiling, and his back to the floor, so he now looked like the shape of a brain.

Phase 2: Majora's MIND

The dark, ugly brain brimmed with a light before spawning several random objects from its mind (such as fallen trees, barrels, boxes, Powder Kegs, and broken ruins), letting them scatter all over the room. He then began to use his telekinetic abilities to pick up the random objects and hurl them at Cheren. Cheren shot Light Arrows at his underside—since it was already exposed—but the brainstem tentacles swatted the arrows away like flies. Nerehc attempted to fly at Majora and shoot lightning, but he suddenly found himself caught by the brain tentacles, which pulled the struggling Nerehc in and began sucking on his form. Nerehc desperately tried to pull away, but he felt himself completely helpless as Majora pleasurably sucked his body like a tasty lollipop.

Disgusted at this sight, Cheren fired a Light Arrow and pierced the tentacles, setting Nerehc free. The Negative dropped to the ground, and when he weakly stood and threw his arm to try and launch fire, he fell to his knees, panting heavily. "My…My bending…" he panted.

Cheren stared and immediately knew, it was Majora's power to render one's energy. Cheren watched as Majora levitated and launched objects at him again, but he simply dodge-flipped to his sides. However, that last object was a Powder Keg, and it explode upon impact, knocking Cheren forward a little. It took this long for Cheren to recognize that this was similar for Sackboy's ability to alter areas. The Uno kid immediately ran around the room, and found a particularly placed box on a stage that looked like it was from Carnivilia. He climbed on and Youth Rolled at the box, breaking it and revealing the Rearrangement Pad.

Cheren turned into Sackboy and knelt on the Arrangement Pad, getting an overview of the boss room as he saw the Majora brain floating around. Majora was lifting objects and throwing them at Cheren, but Cheren was able to hold them back and cause them to drop. Cheren wasn't sure what to do, since he couldn't move objects with enough force, so he simply grabbed a ruined totem and brought it to Majora, then grabbed a random barrel and brought it to Majora. For both objects, Majora grabbed it with tentacles and proceeded to absorb it into his brain. His brain pumped and brimmed with light as he launched a swarm of energy spheres, knocking Cheren out of Arrangement Mode and sending him flying across the room.

The sack-boy gripped his head and shook as he recovered, and discovered a Powder Keg beside him. At this point, Nerehc had regained his energy and was flying mindlessly around the room, waiting for something to happen. "Nerehc!" Cheren yelled up. "Get your fire ready!" Nerehc nodded, a serious look on his face. Cheren hurried back to the Arrangement Pad and went into Arrangement Mode as he grabbed the Powder Keg and gave it to Majora. As Majora was beginning to consume it, Nerehc unleashed a bolt of lightning and struck the keg, causing it to explode and deal great pain to Majora.

Majora shook the soot off and hovered above Cheren's platform. The sack-boy was still knelt down in Rearrangement Mode, but when he saw Majora above him, charging an attack, he quickly ran off as the brain unleashed a powerful laser directly downward, destroying the platform and the Arrangement Pad. Upon destruction of the platform, a group of four round mirrors came flying out in different directions. Cheren had an idea where this was going, and he told Nerehc to pick up one of the mirrors. The Negative had to hold one in both arms seeing as they were as tall as them.

Majora's Mind calmly hovered around aimlessly as Cheren anticipated its next move. The brain brimmed with light as it released five energy balls around the room, and those balls formed into Bokoblin upon landing. The simple monsters charged at Cheren with swords raised, but he swiftly dodged their attacks and struck by, taking them all out in seconds. He heard an energy surging sound, and was surprised when Majora suddenly released a beam of energy from the top of his mind (the side with the mask's face), having turned vertically to be able to face him.

Cheren used the Mirror Shield to deflect the beam away, and he tried to redirect it at Majora, but the front part of his mind was just as armored as his last form. However, Nerehc was facing the underside of Majora, and he noticed a strange, swelling object suddenly appear by his tentacles. Nerehc charged a bolt of lightning and fired, but the brain immediately teleported, having heard the lightning charge. Majora ceased firing and turned horizontal again, the swelling area sinking back into his brain. His mind glowed as he released eight more energy spheres, which then formed into Miniblin. These monsters were more simple than the Bokoblin, so Cheren was able to wipe them out in a few simple strikes. He looked at Majora as he tilted over to face him, wiggling his tentacles as he prepared another energy beam.

Majora unleashed, and Cheren held up his Mirror Shield to defend, and the beam deflected to the other side of the room. Cheren nodded to Nerehc, gesturing to get the mirror. Suddenly, Nerehc realized what he meant (not very smart), and he grabbed the mirror and flew behind the floating brain, holding the mirror so it faced Majora's weak spot. Cheren aimed the beam and bounced it off Nerehc's mirror. It made the mirror slightly heavier, but Nerehc kept his grip as he redirected the beam at the swelling weak spot.

Majora screeched and sunk to the ground as the brain was set on fire. Cheren didn't really have the opportunity for a round of strikes as Majora was back in the air quickly. The brain simply hovered around some more, and Cheren kept his eye on him, patiently waiting for the next attack. Finally, Majora glowed and released three spheres, which this time turned into Metal Shield Fatblin. Cheren ran to the first one and hopped over its shield to begin dealing blows at its behind. At the same time, Majora was using telekinesis to pick up some of the random objects still laying around, and Cheren had to run away when Majora chucked them. He ran in front of another Fatblin when Majora coincidentally threw a Powder Keg, and the Fatblin was destroyed as a result.

Cheren ran back behind the first Fatblin and finished dealing his rounds until it was destroyed. Cheren focused his sights on the third Fatblin, but Nerehc suddenly flew behind it and dealt a blast of lightning, taking the Fatblin out in one hit. He smirked and winked at Cheren before going to grab another mirror, then flying behind Majora when the demon began charging its energy beam. He unleashed the beam at Cheren, who easily deflected it to Nerehc with the Mirror Shield. Majora immediately stopped and switched around to Nerehc, shooting his laser at him while Cheren viewed Majora's backside. Nerehc simply bounced the laser toward Cheren, but Majora floated in his path and kept in front of him so that he couldn't see Cheren.

Both boys gritted their teeth in anger, unable to see the other very well. It was then that Nerehc noticed another fallen mirror lying on its back beneath Majora, and Nerehc could vaguely see Cheren's reflection in it. Nerehc smirked at Majora before directing the beam onto that mirror, and Cheren smiled excitedly as he was able to catch the beam with the Mirror Shield. Cheren smirked as he directed the beam onto Majora's swelling spot, and the brain was set on fire again. (End song.)

"UUUUuuh!" Majora grunted, sinking to the ground and recovering as his brain stems retracted into his body. He floated to the center of the room as his face turned facing forward, and his brain started to pump again. A pair of humanoid, scaly arms appeared from his sides, and two very long, exposed legs from his bottom. His swollen brain-mask became heart-shaped again as one, tiny eye sprouted from his top. Thin string leggings appeared along his legs, a ballet tutu around his waistline, and ice-skater shoes appeared on his feet. "HooooOOO…" he squatted and shook anxiously, seemingly building up energy. "HUAH!" he sprouted up, and suddenly, the entire floor turned to smooth, solid ice. (Play "Majora's Incarnation" from Majora's Mask.)

Phase 3: Majora's BALLET RECITAL

The Masked Demon began skiing around the icy, reflective floor, gracefully dancing and twirling as he kicked his feet in the air. Cheren and Nerehc tried to run at him, but both boys immediately slipped on the icy surface. Majora performed another twirl, looking at them as he slid sideways, then skied forward in a taunting fashion. Nerehc glared and simply flew above using rocket shoes, launching quick lightning blasts at the demon, but Majora swiftly spun and jumped to both sides while avoiding the lightning. The demon suddenly skied up the wall, using only one leg, and flipped upside-down as he leaped and kicked Nerehc away, the Negative sliding fast across the icy floor upon landing.

Cheren tried to stay on his feet, but the floor seemed much too slippery. He watched as Majora slid back over to him and kicked him directly with his shoe blade to Cheren's face, sliding the boy all the way beside Nerehc against the wall. Cheren wiped some blood from his nose as he and Nerehc glared at Majora, skiing away from them. Cheren decided to try on his Wolf Mask, and surprisingly, the wolf moved fairly well across the icy surface. Nerehc kicked on his rockets and hovered above again as Cheren began to chase the demon, and Majora simply spun and twirled like a ballet dancer as he evaded. He stood and twirled on the tip of his right foot while he had his left leg bent, but then he stretched it out with the tip of his shoe-blade spiraling around.

Cheren tried to leap at Majora, but the tip of his blade knocked him back, and Majora began to ski normally again. Cheren growled at him and ran forward once again, and when Majora was about to come at him, the demon suddenly leapt overhead and skied the opposite way. He was swiftly evading Cheren, but Nerehc also kept him busy by shooting lightning at him, forcing Majora to slow down as he jumped the strikes. Cheren managed to keep up, and Nerehc stopped firing so his opposite would be able to catch him. Majora stretched his leg out and began to twirl his blade again, but Cheren simply ran under the too-high blade and got closer to Majora, before leaping and gnawing at his standing knee.

"AIEEEEP!" Majora screeched in a higher-pitched voice, coming to a slow down as Cheren chewed him. Cheren eventually let go, having yanked a part of the knee off and making purple blood drip. Majora started to ski away again, making little twirls with a leg kicked out, in which he launched energy spheres at Cheren. The wolf-boy easily jumped the spheres and ran at Majora, but before he could get a hit, the ballerina demon skied and spun right over him, going to the middle where he leapt, and performed a quick spiraling maneuver in the air before he landed on the floor, still spiraling at high speed as the force caused the ice to crack, with Majora coming to a stylish stop where he made a pose.

Majora began skiing around normally again, but when Cheren tried to move forward, he flinched when the ice cracked a little more, and he knew it would be too dangerous to walk any more. Cheren was forced to pull off his Wolf Mask and put on the Kateenian Mask, his lighter body able to stand its ground on the ice. They looked around for a solution, and Cheren noticed a strange bobsled sitting a few feet away, likely having shot out of the ice due to the quake Majora made. He hurried over as fast as his Kateenian body could, and when he got on, he reverted to wolf form. Nerehc flew down and grabbed the rope attached to the bobsled and began to pull Cheren around, chasing Majora as the demon swiftly skied away.

Majora skied backwards as he faced the operatives and began to kick energy spheres at them. Cheren had to list left and right to make his sled dodge in those directions, and Nerehc had to dodge left-and-right to avoid, too. Majora was coming to a wall, but his top eye was turned backward, so he saw it coming and made a left turn, and Cheren's bobsled bumped the wall upon Nerehc's sudden turn. Majora kept away from the walls and kept kicking energy spheres at them, but Nerehc countered with his lightning strikes and made Majora jump and twirl. Majora kept jumping so much, he couldn't see where he was going, and he ended up crashing into the wall, backfirst. Nerehc slowed the bobsled beside him, allowing Cheren to jump and bite onto his crotch, giving a few tugs before pulling off.

Majora dizzily skied to the center of the room as the ice and bobsled suddenly poofed away, and the room was back to normal. Majora recovered and ripped his tutu off, and the operatives were about to cover their eyes until they saw there was nothing underneath. Majora kicked his ski-shoes off as he bent his upper-body (which was mostly legs) completely back like rubber, and he stretched and bent sideways and front-ways as well. Majora got on all fours as his body extended a little, his arms and legs becoming a little more puffy, and he mimicked the movements of a beast as he ran around and turned totally invisible.

Phase 4: Majora's STEALTH MISSION (should he choose to accept it)

Cheren already knew to use his wolf senses to find the invisible demon, and when he found Majora, he ran at him attempting to bite, but the demon ran toward him and smacked Cheren away, then continued running around the room. Nerehc began to fire lightning wildly, but he wasn't able to hit Majora at all, as Majora simply dodged whenever a bolt came at him. Cheren used senses to see and run at him again, and Majora leaped a few feet away before running at the wolf. Cheren dodged to the side and avoided Majora's arm-swipe, and once Cheren was behind, the wolf-boy proceeded to bite into his rear. Nerehc smirked when he saw Cheren holding onto Majora, and the Negative charged a bolt of lightning and fired at where he hung on to.

Cheren jumped off so that Majora could take the shock, and the demon began to spark with electricity as he ran further away from Cheren, a little visible. Cheren reverted to human form as Majora turned and readied to charge. Cheren whipped out his bow and shot an arrow when Majora ran at him, but the demon jumped to the side and kept at him. Cheren whipped his sword at Majora when he came, but took an immediate shock from the electricity on his body, then was knocked away. The electricity wore off, and Majora was invisible again, swiftly dodging Nerehc's attack when he tried to shock him. Cheren became a wolf and chased the demon using his senses, and Majora jumped away once more before running at the wolf and attempting to swat him. Cheren jumped to the side and leaped at his butt, biting the demon once again as Nerehc fired lightning.

Majora was partially visible again, and Cheren reverted to human, anticipating Majora to charge at him. This time, Cheren put on Slag's Mask, held his arms open when Majora came, and grabbed the demon's hands in his own. Majora's arms and legs were much longer compared to Slag's, and the demon was closer to overpowering Cheren. The robot-child mustered his strength however, and managed to lift Majora above him and slam the demon to the ground. He was still electrified, so Cheren had to use Slag's sword as he dealt his round of blows, slamming his sword powerfully down on the demon.

Majora kicked back to his feet and ran away as he turned invisible. Cheren changed back to a wolf and used his senses, but he saw that Majora had climbed to the ceiling. Immediately, Majora crawled above Cheren and dropped down, pinning the wolf with his huge arms and legs and dealing punches across his head. Nerehc shot above the area where Cheren was pinned, but he missed the demon as Majora jumped off, climbed up the wall, and leaped to grab Nerehc and pull him down. He held the Negative by the legs as he spun and spun, and eventually hurled Nerehc headfirst against the wall.

Both kids shook back to their senses as Cheren used his senses to see Majora crawl up the ceiling again. Cheren ran under him, and when Majora dropped down to grab him, Cheren leapt forward and avoided, then jumped back to gnash at Majora, successfully biting his knee. He was kicked off almost instantly, Majora dodging a lightning strike from Nerehc, but the bite caused purple blood to drip from his knee. Majora was still invisible, but Nerehc could see the blood trail dripping from his knee, little bits at a time. When Majora was trying to climb the wall, Nerehc shot lightning at him, making Majora leap off the wall, but when he landed, Cheren (having reverted to human) shot a Light Arrow at the space around the blood, the powerful light making Majora brim visible. Cheren hurried over and dealt a round of blows against the demon before Majora recovered and leaped away.

Majora got on two legs and flailed his arms around as he began to run around frantically, his legs moving in a fast-paced anime fashion. Nerehc rapidly tried to shoot him with lightning, but Majora moved too quick, and Cheren couldn't get a good aim with his arrow. Majora zipped left-and-right as he ran at Cheren, pinned the boy down, and immediately pounded rapid punches. Nerehc shot lightning, but Majora jumped off and kept running around, eventually jumping up to grab and pull Nerehc down by the legs, and then rapidly pounding his face against the wall. Majora slammed Nerehc to the ground and jumped on him before running around some more. Cheren held his blade ready as Majora drew closer, and when the demon was about to grab him, he quickly slashed a spin attack and made Majora screech as he scampered away.

Nerehc saw Majora running toward him as he recovered, and the Negative flew overhead and tried to launch lightning at him. Majora zipped and dodged the attacks before launching a series of quick energy spheres, which Nerehc dodged as quick as he could, only to be knocked away by the last one. He shook back to his senses and saw Majora run around some more, flying away before the monster could run him over. Cheren had his sword ready, expecting him to come over, but the demon surprised him with another barrage of energy balls, knocking Cheren over. He got to his feet as Majora ran around some more, zipping every which way while getting closer to Cheren. Cheren rolled between Majora's legs just before the demon could grab him, and he managed to strike his legs and make Majora fall over.

Majora got up and ran around some more, jumping when Nerehc flew at him. Nerehc continued to chase the demon, not bothering to throw any attacks as Majora frantically tried to evade. Cheren smirked at their little antics, readying his Remote Control Bananarang. Cheren launched the boomerang and drove it around slowly as he tried to aim for Majora's eye. Nerehc kept chasing him around the room in circles, and Cheren kept a steady route as he managed to ram the boomerang into Majora's top eye. Majora immediately stopped to rub his eye, and both operatives smirked as they readied their swords and charged. Nerehc dealt a series of strikes in his back, and Cheren swung back and forth between the legs, before both finished with a sword impale through both legs. (End song.)

"EEEEEEAAAAAAHHHH!" Majora shot into the air, screaming with unbearable pain, before landing smack in the middle of the room. He fell to one hand and put his other on his chest, gasping for breath. "Mrrrff. MRRRFF." His voice remained high-pitched. "You are… PERSISTENT. YOU ARE… annoying." He got back on both feet, stretching his arms out as he faced them. "Had my first name only remained a secret… I would have extinguished you by now. But I'll be rid of you yet! Just wait and see! After all, I only need to extinguish ONE of you in order to win." He panted. "That's the weakness of opposites. The weakness… of TEAMS." Another breath. "You bond your friendships so well… that all of you LOSE IT when only one PERISHES. So I…" another pant, "I will end BOTH of your selves' now! HAAUU-GMM." More blood began to pump through the demon's limbs, from his left arm, his right arm, to his legs. His central body morphed to become a semi-normal, humanoid shape that matched his strengthened limbs. And atop his body, a small head with a fiery orange mouth, with the small eye on his forehead, and two spirals where regular eyes would be, emerged with a dark breath.

Majora shook with energy, forming a strange sign with his hands. "FWAPOW!" (Play "Majora's Wrath" from Majora's Mask.) Suddenly, Majora was garbed in a ninja outfit, with his mask eyes and his top eye exposed, and the next phase began.

Phase 5: Majora's KARATE LESSON

Cheren immediately wrapped on his Ninja Headband, and readied a battle stance as he glared at the demon. Cheren leapt forward, swinging his hand in a karate fashion, but the taller demon grabbed his wrist, twisted it behind Cheren's back, and then kicked the ninja away. Cheren rolled on his back as Majora leaped above him, coming down and dealing a series of rapid punches against him. Cheren held his arms in an "X" to defend, but Majora kicked Cheren again. Cheren flipped back to his feet, dodging to the side when Majora tried to punch him, and then threw a shuriken into Majora's hip. The demon disappeared in a puff of smoke, and a log fell in his place, with the shuriken exploding on it, and Majora appeared behind Cheren, wrapped an arm around his neck, and slammed the boy's head against the ground.

Majora jumped away and launched a trio of kunai knives, but Cheren jumped to the side and threw his own two kunai knives. Majora ducked and ran at Cheren, launching a series of finger-jabs that Cheren defended with his arms. Finally, Cheren grabbed Majora's wrist and bent it downward, but the taller demon sent him flying across the air. Nerehc managed to strike Majora with lightning from behind, and during his stunned moment, Cheren tossed a series of kunai into his front, dealing some damage.

Majora poofed into smoke and appeared on Cheren's left, dealing a punch, poofed to the right and dealt a punch, then appeared in front for an uppercut, flinging Cheren high into the air as Majora poofed behind and kicked him away. Cheren got back up, turning to face Majora as the demon gestured him to come forward with his fingers, in a ninja fashion. Cheren flipped backward and tossed a shuriken, but Majora rolled to the side and ran at the boy. He threw a series of quick punches, but Cheren managed to dodge every one, then crouch and kick at Majora's left leg. His own leg stopped upon contact, and Majora stared confused, not sure if the attack was supposed to work. Cheren smirked at his confusion, shooting up to grab onto his head, then flipping overhead to slam the demon's head against the ground.

Majora sat up and glared at Cheren, his one eye furrowing, but looked away when purple flames were thrown at him from his right. Nerehc smirked as he rocket-skied toward the demon, sliding on one foot while he kicked the other out and shot a flame at Majora's eye. Majora kicked back to his feet immediately, spin-sliding and grabbing Nerehc in his right hand. The Negative kicked fire up at his face with both feet before sliding away, and as Majora shielded, Cheren tossed a shuriken into his front and blew him up. Majora hopped out of the smoke and tossed two kunai at Cheren, who easily jumped back and threw two of his own. Majora side-dodged again and began launching a series of kunai knives, but the ninja-boy was able to dodge each one and counter with his own, which came in contact with Majora's, making both drop to the ground.

The round stopped, and Majora threw one last kunai, hitting Cheren in the front, but the ninja poofed into a log and appeared behind Majora to lay a kunai into his back. Majora whipped his arm behind and tried to smack him, but Cheren had ducked to the ground and proceeded to stab some kunai into his knees. Majora slouched a little, and Nerehc was given the perfect opportunity to strike him with lightning. Cheren smirked and reverted to his human form, proceeding to deal a series of blows with the Master Sword.

Majora quickly hopped to the center, desperately catching his breath. He stood up straight as his ninja outfit suddenly poofed away, and he reached his arms out and bent forward. "STRRRRIFE SPECIBI. WHIPKIND!" he exclaimed as dual brown whips suddenly appeared in both his hands. Majora continued to shake with energy, the kids watching as his back swelled, and two more arms suddenly sprouted from it, both wielding whips, making purple goo pop out as a result. His head tilted up, and the two spirals on his face opened to reveal two more eyes. His skin began molding and moving, and his head reshaped to mimic that of a round-headed, bald person. His skin nearly looked like that of a human, but still Majora's colors, and with the upper layers of skin peeled off. A creepy smile was carved around his regular, grinning mouth, and the crazy demon increased in size to fit nearly the height of the room.

Phase 6: Majora's PISSED

"WIICKAAAAAAAWWWW!" Majora screeched incredibly insanely, shaking his four arms wildly. Cheren tried to put on his headband again, but Majora immediately whipped it away. He tried to put on Slag's Mask, but it was whipped away, tried to put on Wolf Mask, but it was whipped away, tried with Sackboy's Mask, and IT was whipped away. He pulled out the Kateenian Mask and stared with doubt at the useless mask, but Majora whipped it away anyway. The crazy demon wrapped a whip around Cheren's legs and sent him flying and screaming overhead, and when Cheren landed, Majora immediately wrapped and hurled him across the chamber again.

He landed by Nerehc, who glared angrily at Majora before flying forward and launching lightning. Majora swiftly dodged and lashed his whip at Nerehc to grab him, then launched a whip over to Cheren to grab him, then began spinning both kids around the air above him in circles, causing both boys to bump their heads on the other as they whipped by. Majora was shaking his crotch as he spun them, keeping this routine for a few more moments before sending them flying away. "FWAHhooooooooOOOWAH!"

Cheren struggled to recover and rolled onto his front, coughing blood out as he tried to crawl away. Majora fastly whipped him from a distance, making Cheren stop for brief moments before he kept trying to crawl, only to be whipped again. Still on the ground, Cheren searched his clothes for an item that may prove useful. His eyes perked when he found the Fierce Deity's Mask, and stared at the white-haired mask with extreme curiosity. He put on his serious look and stood to glare at Majora, preparing to fix the mask on.

Majora looked with extreme horror and shock. "NOOOO!!! DON'T PUT THAT MASK ON!"

Cheren stuck it on his face, not giving a crap what Majora said. "HNNNNUUUGG!" The transformation immediately started to kick in as Cheren faced the ceiling, the room turning black as lightning shot up from the mask. Cheren found himself in a realm of darkness, staring up in wonder as Link floated above him in a bright blue light. The green-cladded ancestor smiled at his descendant, but Link shut his eyes tight, screaming with pain. "EEEEEAAAAAUUUUUUHH." His eyes shot open, and were now totally white with no blueness or pupils.

Cheren grunted as Link shot into his body, and pain began to surge through. Cheren's hair turned white, an armored vest appeared around his center, his clothes turned white, brown boots appeared, and the red markings appeared on his face, and his eyes were white and lifeless. He grew a few feet taller as he held the Master Sword out, the sacred blade transforming into a darker sword with see-through loops. Cheren performed a spin attack, feeling the incredible power flow through his veins. "HEAAAAUUUH!"

Majora stared nervously as Cheren glared with a fierce, deadly look. The demon shook off his fear and lashed his whip, but Cheren sliced off his upper-right arm as fast as light. "YOOOOOWW!!!" Purple blood spilled out, and Majora tried to ignore the pain and launch his lower-left whip, but Cheren sliced his arm before he knew it. "OOOOOHHH!!!" Majora tried to recover, but Cheren zapped over and grabbed Majora's head, flying around as he scraped his ugly, psychotic face all around the walls, leaving a trail of blood in the process. Cheren flew to the center and slammed Majora powerfully against the floor facefirst, then hopped away to let the demon recover. Blood dripped down his face as Majora tried to catch his breath, and the demon performed a spin maneuver and let his two remaining whips fly all over the place.

Cheren easily dodged the whips, and when Majora launched his right whip at him, Cheren caught the whip around his sword and yanked Majora over, allowing the tip of his blade to slice a line down his body as he flew over. Nerehc merely floated in the background and watched his Positive carry out this ordeal, feeling slight worry at Cheren's sudden madness. Cheren forced Majora against the wall and flew back as he unleashed a series of sword rays at the demon's front. When he finished, Cheren shot below Majora, sliced upward, then brought his sword down the middle of his front. Cheren gripped Majora by the neck and pulled him to the center, dealing a series of punches across his face.

At this time, Panini Drilovsky appeared in the boss room's doorway, watching the bloody display before her eyes. She saw Nerehc and hurried beside the Negative, who was surprised to see her. "Whoa! When'd you get here?"

"Never mind that! Is that…?" she pointed at the Fierce Deity.

"Yeah, that's Cheren." He nodded. "He put on this weird mask and he suddenly went crazy."

Panini stared in absolute horror. The way Cheren pounded Majora's face without a moment's rest, made him seem like he lost his mind. "CHEREN!!"

The godlike child paid no mind as he gripped Majora's neck and shot through the ceiling, going high above the warship. Cheren shot to the ground and slammed Majora's head with incredible force, letting tons of blood spew from his mouth. (End song.)

"Nooo!!" Panini couldn't bring herself to see him like this. She noticed something sparkle in the blood several feet away, and recognized it as the Spirit Flute. Panini hurried over and performed the song that changed him back before, the Song of Healing.

Doo-doo-dooo, doo-doo-dooo, doo-doo, do-do-dooooooo.

Cheren immediately stopped before impaling the sword through Majora's head. A warm feeling appeared in his mind, and his lifeless eyes turned to stare at his friend. Cheren looked down at Majora, the demon unconscious and nearly dead. "AAAUUU-CWOUGH COUGH COUGH!" Majora suddenly coughed blood, struggling to move. "N-NO! I-I'M DYING!" he spoke, his high-pitched voice filled with despair. "I'm dying.... I'M DYING! Cheren!" he tried to breathe, reaching for the compartment where he previously sat. "My bed… I must… die… in my bed." He huffed.

Cheren couldn't help but feel pity for the demon. Despite his injuries, he was able to reach his arm over and grab the little bed that was in his spot. He weakly pulled it over and laid it beside him, panting as he helped himself over, and laid his massive head onto the little, stone-made bed. "Okay… now…"

Cheren looked at his sword, and felt the need to grant this demon's wish. Without a moment's hesitation, Cheren forced the blade into Majora's chest, and the demon fell silent.

The blade stayed in there for a few seconds before Cheren pulled it out. Panini stared with both anxiety and relief as Cheren stepped over, the purple blood still dropping from his sword, while Nerehc stared with his usual angry-eyed look. Cheren pulled the Fierce Deity Mask off, and stared into his friend's dark green eyes. Panini tearfully ran up and embraced him in a hug, and Cheren smiled and hugged back. "Is it over?..." she asked.

"It's over." He said in relief.

Nerehc only rolled his eyes in disgust as they hugged, but the two broke away after a few seconds. "How did you get here, anyway?" Cheren asked.

"Ay don't know. Ay just woke up in this weird place." They looked at her orange jumpsuit with a bunny-ear design.

"Well, good thing you did. If you hadn't… I don't know what woulda happened."

"Hmhmhmhm!" Panini smiled joyously. "Why is it Ay'm always savin' yer butt like this?"

"Heheheh!" The three of them stared at the bloody, dead body of Majora. The demon looked so peaceful with his head lied on his little bed. "And to think… so many questions left unanswered." Cheren said.

"This guy was giving you a lot of trouble, wasn't he." Nerehc followed.

"Hey, maybe ya'll find out what ya needed to know next time." Panini smiled, patting Cheren's back.

"Yeah..." Cheren smiled at her. "But I'm glad it's over now. What do you say we go home, guys?"

"Yah!" Panini hopped happily.

"Hm, I know I'm lookin' forward to gettin' back." Nerehc smirked.

The kids turned and were about to walk out the exit, leaving their exiting battle behind them. "Hm hm hm hm heh." They immediately stopped and turned at the demon with a start. "You fools… would I be defeated that easily?" The dead body of the demon brimmed with an evil darkness. "Now that I have fallen on my Quest Bed… the time to unleash my true power has arrived." A fire of purple dark brimmed on the demon's body, and blackness began to swallow the room. "At last, I am able to go into my God Tier mode! I will have power like you NEVER imagined!"

The kids backed away slowly as a column of darkness shot straight into the heavens. A ball of darkness formed in the sky, growing larger as scaly wings emerged from the back, and two hands with whips appeared in the front. The dark sphere poofed away, and Majora's new body was revealed. He looked to be in a purple cloak with Majora's scaly designs along its skin, and a spine-like tail went down his back. The cursed mask was still attached to his face, but he had raven-black hair, with the sides of his hair spiky like the mask, and two tall, very thin horns on his head, which also looked like the mask's.

The kids stared up, not feeling too fazed by this new form. However, if this was as powerful as Majora claimed, Cheren knew he was in for an intense battle. Fi emerged from Cheren's sword, and the kids looked at her, expecting advice. "Do not fear the enemy, Master. You hold the will of Link, and the joyous feelings bestowed upon the masks you have collected. Use both powers to their fullest potential, and bring an end to the Masked Demon."

Cheren looked at the Fierce Deity Mask in his right hand, and the Triforce of Courage on the back of his left. The Triforce brimmed with a small, golden light, and Cheren could feel its energy. The masks that Cheren has collected, from his six transformation masks to his regular masks, all floated and formed a sphere around the Fierce Deity Mask. The powerful mask brimmed with a white light as the masks infused their selves into it. Cheren touched the mask gently with his back of his Triforce hand, a serious look in his face as he lightly took and fixed the mask on his face. Panini and Nerehc shielded their eyes from the bright flash, and Cheren had morphed into his Fierce Deity form, but his armor was gold as his body shined with golden light.

Cheren whipped out his Deity's Sword and shot into the heavens, leaving a trail of light as he faced Majora at equal level. The two flew off and clashed with Cheren's light against Majora's darkness, flying into the strange, endless space.