Just as Link was feeling particularly low and alone, he experienced an unexpected encounter. Through some magical force unleashed by Majora's Mask, Skull Kid passed through an inter-dimensional portal and made the leap from Termina to Hyrule. Unfortunately for Link and his trusty horse Epona, he and his steed became the unwilling targets of Skull Kid's mischief.
Skull Kid threw Link from Epona, stole the Ocarina of Time, and led the young hero on an extended chase. Link had just lost one friend, and he wasn't about to lose sight of another. His loyalty to Epona was so strong that he followed Skull Kid all the way through the inter-dimensional portal and found himself in the odd world of Termina.
Link was able to catch up with Skull Kid, but Epona was nowhere in sight. To add insult to injury, Skull Kid jinxed Link by imprisoning him in the body of a wooden, plant-like creature called a Deku Scrub.
Forced to cope with his strange, new form, Link the Deku Scrub also had to deal with a newly-forged alliance with Tatl. The fairy was separated from her brother by the careless actions of Skull Kid, so she reluctantly agreed to guide Link through Termina -- where everyone was a stranger, yet each individual looked like the twin of someone Link
had met in Hyrule.When Link opened his eyes, he immediately sensed that something was different. He lay in the Chamber of Sages before Rauru, sage to the Temple of Light. Rauru explained that Link was, in fact, the Hero of Time, but when he had pulled the sword from the stone, he had been too young to wear the mantle. His spirit was contained in the temple for seven years until he was able to wield the Master Sword and dispel the
evil from Hyrule. Link felt his face and looked down at his hands. He was no longer a little boy; he had become a man.
With the aid of Sheik, protector of Hyrule, Rauru explained to Link that it was his destiny as the Hero of Time to gather the power of the sages and seal Ganondorf in the Dark World he created forever. Link accepted his fate, and toiled ceaselessly to reach his goal. While gathering the power of the sages, he perfected his battle techniques and learned how to travel through time to revisit the Hyrule which existed when he was a youth.
Link eventually gained access to Ganondorf’s lair, and challenged the dark ruler to a final battle. During the struggle which ensued, Ganondorf's twisted use of the Triforce's power transformed him into Ganon, the true King of Evil. In the end, Link made up for his youthful mistake by striking Ganon down. The magic of the seven sages was then used to seal Ganon within the dismal landscape of the Dark World.
After ensuring that princess Zelda was safely returned to Hyrule Castle, Link once again travelled back through time, on this occasion for the last time. It would not be the last time, though, that he laid his eyes on the evil visage of Ganon, King of Evil.
When Hyrule was created by the three goddesses at the beginning of time, there were certain side effects of its creation which Din, Nayru and Farore did not anticipate. As the three holy women breathed life into the world and chased away Emptiness, their potent breath slipped through tiny cracks in the folds of space and created millions of alternate worlds in the process.
The goddesses were not upset by this. In fact, they were quite amused at the possibility of watching millions of dramas unfold rather than just one. Each world, they noticed, shared common elements but also differed in major ways. One of these worlds, called Termina by its inhabitants, is where the legendary tale of Link's second great adventure began...
On a dark and dreary afternoon, a lonely Skull Kid sat at the base of a tree and cried about his pitiful position in life. With no friends to talk to, he sat there weeping as a steady rain soaked his clothing and dampened his spirits. He was beginning to think that he would never cheer up when two feisty fairies named Tatl and Tael happened to buzz by.
The two fairies, who happened to be brother and sister, decided that Skull Kid would make the perfect playmate. This greatly improved Skull Kid's mood, and the three became fast friends and were immediately inseparable.
The happy times lasted for a long while, but eventually things took a turn for the worse. One day, Skull Kid borrowed an interesting mask from a travelling Happy Mask salesman. He didn't mean any great harm -- and perhaps he even intended to give it right back -- but little did Skull Kid know that the mask he had just swiped was the legendarily wicked relic known as Majora's Mask.
When Skull Kid tried on Majora's Mask, he was instantly overcome by the evil power of the disguise. Skull Kid had always possessed a mischievous spirit, but while wearing the mask his pranks became more hurtful and mean-spirited. Tatl and Tael were worried about Skull Kid's behaviour, but they couldn't resist tagging along with Skull Kid to see what he would do next.
Back in Hyrule, Link had just defeated Ganon, King of Evil. After travelling through time to return to his younger days, Link set off on a personal mission to search for his missing fairy friend, Navi. Although he was proud of his accomplishments, his soul felt empty without his loyal friend Navi to share in the victory.The centre of the parallel world was Clock Town, where a towering clock reached into the sky. Link quickly learned that Termina was in great peril due to Skull Kid's trouble-making ways. Everyone's life was in a state of disarray, and the very moon was on a collision course with the world. Link discovered that in three days, that the moon would crash into Termina and kill every last inhabitant.
The first to greet Link when he arrived in Clock Town was the Happy Mask salesman whom the Skull Kid robbed of Majora's Mask. The mysterious businessman struck up a deal with Link: If Link could find his Ocarina and use its power of time travel, the salesman would return Link to his original form, lifting Skull Kid's Deku Scrub curse.
Link was able to recover his Ocarina, but he had still not found Epona. Also, after learning of Termina's troubles he decided that he had to do something to halt Skull Kid and his unruly actions.
Using the power of magical masks like he had never seen before during his adventures in Hyrule, Link was able to assume the identities and powers of other characters like a Zora and a Goron. Though he put forth a heroic effort, three days was simply not enough time to right Skull Kid's many wrongs and stop the descent of the moon.
Link used his Ocarina to relive the same three days again and again, and was eventually able to change the courses of people's criss-crossed lives. After facing many tests of strength and courage, the Hero of Time was even able to free Skull Kid from the evil power of Majora's Mask and quiet the wrath of Majora itself.
Once again, unfortunately, he was unable to share his victory with Navi.
At this point, it was no longer necessary for Link to relive the three-day cycle which he had come to know so well. His spirits were lifted by experiencing new days and nights, but deep in his heart he was still saddened by Navi's disappearance.
Link had many more adventures in the land of Termina, but eventually his heart led him back through the inter-dimensional doorway to his homeworld of Hyrule.