Majora's Mask: The Legend of Gabourri
By Endgame
Pre-Story Note:
Hello. This is my third Zelda FanFic. My Previous two were New Hyrule and The Hero of Time (which has been deleted) This story is NOT meant to be a direct recap of Majora's Mask. Trust me, I know how boring and unoriginal that is. This story will explore Link's thoughts, as well as other people's thoughts, and deals with some of the side quests. I will say now, that most of the newer material doesn't really appear until chapter 5 or 6 (notice I said MOST), but please... don't skip to them. Thanks.
Prologue - Termina's Legend
Deep within the heart of Termina was a man... not just a simple resident of the area but a hero. A hero who saved Termina from turmoil and destruction generations ago... a hero who's chief goal was to end the ongoing threat to the land and save the people of Termina. Now known as an icon... one who's legend will be passed down for generations to come.
Not Link.
No, this hero lived years before Link. This hero has a different legacy...
Gabourri.
Gabourri was a Terminian man, born and raised in Clock Town. At first, his life was just like everyone else's. He took up a job as a mask salesman at age 20. He collected rare masks from around the land and sold them off for a living. He loved what he did.
But one fateful day... a monster began to plague the land of Termina. A monster whose origins are unknown. A monster known by all but only seen by one: Majora. Majora was an evil being who dwelt within the unknown depths of Termina. Over a course of several weeks, each sect of the land was plagued by the malevolent monster, whose chief goal was to destroy. Destroy everything. No one knew why.
Most people were too afraid to attempt to stop the chaos. They were afraid that Majora would kill them. It even reached the point that the entire land of Termina gave up all hope.
But not Gabourri.
Gabourri was the only one who really knew of Majora's power. One day while traveling the land, he spotted the mask in the field. How it got there, no one knows, although several theories were proposed. Gabourri remembered to keep the mask secure and hidden from any outside forces, so none could continue Majora's work. After a certain point, Gabourri had enough. Up until then, he had trained to be a Terminian warrior. A true hero he was. One day, he decided to use the mask to call Majora to face him. Being the bold and evil character he was, Majora confronted Gabourri at midnight during the annual Carnival of Time, atop the Clock Tower. No one knew what was going on up there.
Gabourri decided he'd had enough of Majora's games, and he'd taken a step too far. Gabourri drew his sword, ready to battle the beast. Majora expected to beat him, but he had no idea how great of a warrior Gabourri was. The two had a long and gruesome battle atop the tower, that even lasted several hours. Gabourri used his sword to weaken the beast, but it was simply not enough to do him in. Majora's strange techniques were equally as painful. Gabourri even almost lost hope for a while.
But, at the last straw, just as the sun began to rise over Termina, Gabourri delivered the final blow into the heart of Majora, where the sinister mask lay. The beast began to flail and release a terrible shriek that could be heard across the land. Most people were terrified, but they were also unaware of the great thing that had happened.
After several minutes, the evil beast fell to the ground, dead. Gabourri stood beside the carcass with one foot upon it, claiming his victory.
The people of Termina saw the sky become blue again, and had an inner notion saying that the beast had been defeated. Cheers and celebrations were heard throughout Termina on that day, from the Zoras on the islands of Great Bay to the spirits dwelling within Stone Tower. From that day on, Gabourri was known as Termina's hero.
That morning, a young Deku Scrub warrior scaled Clock Tower and played a melodious song atop the tower with his Deku Pipes. The legendary song symbolized victory, freedom, and prosperity. Termina had lived in great peace ever since that day, and Gabourri's legend was passed down to the following generations. Many people say that Gabourri's spirit lives on, but it is a known fact that his legacy will be remembered.
People were well aware of the recent accomplishments, and were joyous of the end of plagues around the land. Little did people know that these evil actions would one day be mimicked by an imposter. Little did people know that although Majora was destroyed, Majora's Mask was not. They could only hope that such things would not happen again, especially after the hero passed away. If such a thing were to happen, they would have to rely on another hero. Not just any warrior. Not just any hero.
A hero only chosen by destiny.
Chapter 1 – A Lost Day In Time
Hyrule. The prosperous land brought to peace by the defeat of Ganon. Hundreds of acres of pastures, lakes, deserts, rivers, and forests. The hero's final mark cast a blessing upon the land so that evil forces could never break the spell.
One fateful day, after the defeat of Ganondorf, the hero of time was obligated to return the legendary Master Sword to its pedestal and close the Door of Time for good, so that no outside forces could gain access to the Sacred Realm or the Triforce. However, on that day, the hero gave up one of his most precious possessions: time.
With the Ocarina of Time in his hands and the Master Sword in his equipment, he held all of time in his hands. But now, since the sword had been laid to rest and the ocarina returned to the royal family, the gift of time was gone. As months passed, and as the seasons changed, Link saw himself growing older. He realized that he was not a Kokiri, but a true Hylian. He was no child. But since these things were no longer with him, he was forced to move on, and live his life. However, the hero did not want to live the dull life of a village person, but he wanted to explore the lands.
The princess of Hyrule was overcome with guilt and felt that the Ocarina of Time truly was the hero's possession, after all he had done. With possession of the Triforce of Courage, the hero surely deserved something else: the legendary treasure of the Hyrulean Royal Family... the Ocarina of Time. Not because he defeated Ganondorf; Not because he released the six sages; Not because he was the one warrior with the master sword... but because he was now a true member of the Royal Family...
Now that Link had the Ocarina, he had more power, despite the fact that the master sword had been laid to rest. But with the enchanting power of the ocarina, Link still held time in his hands, and held the power to overcome the threat of time... especially once he left the only land he was familiar with. But Link was not born to stay where he was brought up. He was born for adventure, and was destined to be the hero of time, and to be remembered as a Hylian icon for the centuries to come.
One day, Link left the land of Hyrule in search for more adventure, but no more peril of beasts dwelling within cursed temples. He left behind his friends, the seven sages, and the only place he could call home. The only place the Ocarina of Time had any significance. On the day Link departed from the land, time stood still. There was no day, and there was no night... Time itself recognized its hero.
The day time stood still... the day the hero departed... the day not remembered by any but one... a lost day in time.
It was quiet. It had been several hours since Link had begun his journey through the forest. The silence of the woods was so peaceful and almost tranquilizing after what Link had been through in the past. It seemed like only yesterday when Link and Zelda banished Ganondorf to the realm between dimensions.
Link continously pondered the concept of Ganondorf's banishment. For him and Zelda, as well as the six sages, the defeat of Ganondorf was an epic event that seemingly shook the world, but to everyone else in Hyrule, it seemed as if only Ganondorf had just "disappeared". However, soon after his defeat, the entire land of Hyrule was at peace and everyone living there was celebrating the defeat of the evil king. Everything was just perfect. Unfortunately, the Door of Time had to be closed and Link had to return to his original form. After that, everything had gone back to the way it was before, except Ganondorf was gone.
It was very strange. After Link closed the Door of Time and began to exit the Temple of Time, he glanced at the three Spiritual Stones. He realized that he had actually just put them there in actual time.
But that didn't matter. Ganondorf is gone, Link is the Hero of Time, and Hyrule is now at peace. Link now had an engraving of the Triforce on his right hand, symbolizing the fact that he is, indeed the Hero of Time. That was the way he could prove it. So, Link's legacy will live on in the land of Hyrule.
Nonetheless, Link was leaving alot behind. Zelda, Saria, Darunia, the rest of the sages... Navi had decided to stay in the forest and tend to a new, young, orphaned Kokiri child. Link was relieved that Navi found something better to do that to follow him to Termina.
Link could not see the sun because of the thickness of the trees in the deep Lost Woods. He looked around for a little while. He saw the freshness of the woods and smelled the fragrance emitted from the redwood trees.
Link then looked back in the direction of Hyrule. He could no longer see the path. Hyrule was behind him, and a whole new place lay before him. Link turned around and looked forward. He saw a light in the distance. Now, this light was not the sun. It was a light coming from some sort of hole. Link continued to wonder what it was, and slowly proceeded on Epona.
There was a sign by a tree on the right. Link squinted so he could see the writing:
LOST WOODS:
You are now LEAVING Hyrule.
Now ENTERING the uncharted Lost Woods.
Continue heading NORTHEAST towards Termina.
Not much help for him. He continued on his journey through the forest, still pondering on memories of Hyrule. How he had loved life after the defeat of Ganondorf. All of Hyrule was at peace and every race, even the Gerudos, were celebrating. Link missed it, and even wondered why he wanted to leave in the first place.
But, there was no turning back now. Link knew, however, that he would return to his home one day. Just not now. After several minutes, Link heard a dinging noise in the air. He looked around, startled, since it had been the only noise he had heard in hours.
Nothing.
Link saw nothing in every direction. He simply disregarded the noise and continued on. The noise rang again. He heard the sound that Navi made. A fairy sound.
"Navi?" said Link.
It was not Navi. There was no doubt in Link's mind. It sounded similar to Navi, but he knew the true sound of his own fairy.
Ding!
He heard the noise again. Finally, Link began to get frightened.
"Epona…what is that?"
Then, he heard another noise.
"Come out, you coward!" exclaimed Link.
Bam!
Link screamed as he was knocked off of Epona. He hit the ground very hard and was knocked unconscious. Two fairies then hovered above Epona. One was whitish yellow, the other was purple. They seemed to be looking at Link.
"Good job, you two!" said an unseen voice.
It was a little boy. The boy was short, and possessed scarecrow-like features. He had ratty, worn out garments, a farmer's hat made of red straw, leather shoes, and a pair of gardening gloves. The child was wearing a strange looking mask. The mask was shaped in a heart with four spikes coming out from both sides. The colorful mask gave a menacing gaze to anyone looking directly in its eyes. The boy's footsteps sounded like dead leaves crunching in the fall. The boy ran over to the unconscious Link and began to ransack his arsenal. He found few things of interest to him, since most of Link's items were left in Hyrule.
"Junk, junk, and more junk!" said the boy, scattering the items on the ground.
Then, the boy found Link's most treasured item, the Ocarina of Time. He picked it up and began to look at it in a perplexed way.
"I wonder what this is," said the boy.
"See what it does!" said the white fairy.
"Can I play it?" asked the dark purple fairy.
"No, Tael! You'll break it!"
"Oh, no I won't, sis!"
He put the mouthpiece up to his mouth and played a C note. The sound of music from the sacred instrument seemed to startle the boy, as if he had never heard the sound of music before. The sound from the ocarina seemed to have awakened Link. Link slowly opened his eyes and looked around, having no idea what had just hit him.
Did that dirty kid just touch the sacred instrument passed down by the royal family of Hyrule?!
Link saw the child playing with the ocarina, facing the opposite direction. He stood up all the way, and began eyeing the boy.
"I've seen that kid somewhere before..." Link thought to himself, "What is he doing here?"
The two fairies did not seem to notice. Link was careful, and did not make too much noise, but began to proceed forward. The child did not hear his footsteps. Link then made a quick lunge for the imp.
He missed.
The child turned around abruptly and saw Link. Link gazed deep into the mask and was almost possessed by the eyes of it. Somehow Link recalled having seen the bizarre mask before, but he could not recall where. Was he having déjà vu?
The child leapt upon Epona and let out a fierce scream. The terrified Epona launched her front feet off of the ground and began to sprint, having no idea what was going on.
"No!" said Link.
Link quickly lunged forward and grabbed hold of Epona's back leg as she was running. Link constantly scraped the ground and screamed.
"Give….me…back…my ocarina!" Link screamed.
The sinister child just laughed as the horse continued to run. Link's sides were becoming very painful, and he began to lose his grip to Epona's leg. Link's hands slipped off of the leg and he fell, rolling four time on the forest ground. Epona ran off until Link could see her no more.
Link was very uptight, and began to panic.
"My…horse…my ocarina…my weapons!" exclaimed Link, "all gone!"
Link saw that he was closer to the hole he had spotted from afar now. He ran up to the hole and on inside, since all other ways were closed off.
The hole was dark, just as he expected. But the dark began to get darker, and darker, until it was pitch black. Link extended his arms out in front of himself, but he felt nothing but air. The temperature slowly dropped, and Link began to walk faster, begin overcome by fright.
Suddenly, Link's step went too far, and Link found himself falling down some sort of abyss. It became so dark that Link fell unconscious again. He felt like this was all a dream and he would wake up any minute back in Hyrule.
But that wasn't true...
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
He continued to fall, and even saw eminent lights in the infinite distance. He saw an image of a Goron, just like the ones from Death Mountain. He also saw a constellation-like image of an ocarina. A Triforce, a Zora, a shield, a Deku stick, a boomerang, and Deku scrubs. He thought he was hallucinating. Strangely many of the abstract images looked like Deku Scrubs. As a matter of fact, most of the images even began to turn into the face of a scrub. A scary, enormous image of a Deku Scrub then appeared directly before Link's eyes. Link was terrified, and tried to run away. Many small scrubs then began to chase him, making horrific crackling noises as they ran. Link covered his ears and continued to 'run'. He continued to run without stopping, ever.
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF NAYRU IS GOING ON?!?!?!"
Link opened his eyes. He had landed. He looked up to see how long the fall was, but he saw nothing but a ceiling above his head. He was standing atop a large flower, in front of a large puddle of pure Zora water. The child wearing the mask stood on the other side of the puddle, laughing and tossing the ocarina up into the air.
"Ha! Young Kokiri boy! You are foolish for exploring uncharted sects of the Lost Woods! And as for that horse of yours... she wasn't doing a thing I asked her to do, so... I got rid of her!!"
Link gasped.
"I pity thee, fairy boy. Take a look at yourself."
Link looked down at the still water. He saw a small, innocent Deku scrub, with a large hat, tiny boots, and orange eyes. It could not be him. Link looked at his hands, and discovered that it, in fact, was him. The sinister child had turned him into a Deku Scrub. Link let out a Deku Scrub shriek, as the child just laughed evilly.
The boy began to walk on out the door behind him. The purple fairy followed him, but the cruel white fairy stayed with Link and beat him.
"Ha! Stupid little boy!" said the fairy.
The door slammed shut.
"Stupid lit-- the door?"
The fairy fluttered over to the closed door, and there was an uncomfortable moment of silence.
"Guys! You forgot about me! Wait up! Don't leave me in here!"
The cruel fairy looked back over at Link.
"Hey, deku boy, come over here!"
Link walked over to the door knowing that the fairy was sucking up to him just to get the door open.
"Well, don't just stand there! Open the door!"
Link opened the door and walked through, but the child and the other fairy were nowhere in sight. He continued to run into the next room, which had a large flower planted into the ground, and the door upon a ledge on the other side of the room. Link stood upon the flower.
"If you want to fly, you can burrow into the flower and blast off," said the fairy, "it's a scrub technique."
Link quickly burrowed in the flower, and suddenly blasted off. He was flying! He was flying via two spinning flowers in his hand. He proceeded into the next room. It was a room falling into nothing, with assorted islands in certain places. He flew over to those just as he had flown before, towards the door to the next room. It reminded Link of the Forest Temple.
Before entering the next room, the fairy stopped him.
"Hey, look, about what happened earlier…I'm sorry, and if we work together I can help you return to your original form."
"I accept your apology."
Link did not really accept her apology. He just did not want to raise tensions when he had such a bigger issue at hand. He knew she was just sucking up to him until she could get back to the masked kid.
There was a tiny tree on the ledge beside Link. It seemed to take the look of a Deku Scrub, but it was completely stationary and gave a depressing, lifeless look.
"It's a scrub that's been petrified. I wonder what could have caused it. It could have been the Skull Kid for all we know. Once scrubs are petrified, they are stuck as trees forever. How sad…."
"The Skull Kid?"
"Yeah."
"That's his name?"
"Yeah."
"Oh…I remember that name from Hyrule."
"Oh. I've lived in Termina all of my life, and I didn't meet him until he came here."
"Oh."
"What's your name?" asked Link.
"I'm Tatl. What's yours?"
"My name is Link."
"Well, Link. Let's go on into the clock tower."
"Clock tower?"
"Yup. That's where this leads."
Link walked on into the next room... He could feel time slipping through his fingers at this point. It felt as if he was traveling to another dimension... a dimension of time different from that of Hyrule. It felt... strange.
He saw a flow of water before him being pushed by a waterwheel. He heard the repetetive noise of the wheels.
Ka-chunk…ka-chunk…ka-chunk.
There was a staircase. Link had no choice but to proceed up the staircase. He walked up a couple of flights until he beckoned a door. It was a very large door.
"That's it. That's the door to South Clock Town," said the fairy.
Link walked over to the double doors, and the he heard a voice from behind him.
"You've met with terrible fate, haven't you?" said the voice.
Link turned around, startled.
Is that who he thought it was? Link immediately recognized the man. It was none other than the Happy Mask Salesman from Hyrule Castle Town! But, what was he doing here? Link logically guessed that he was doing nothing other than business selling masks in Termina.
"Please do not take this as rude, but I have been following you, and I saw what happened back in the forest."
"You... you followed me? What are you, some kind of stalker?!" Link thought to himself. "Oh... I honestly can barely remember anything that went on back there," he said.
"He did it, didn't he? Was the person who did this to you wearing an odd-looking mask?"
That... that mask. What exactly is it about that mask? Something about that creepy mask tends to unsettle me.
"Well, my young friend, that was Majora's Mask. That's a mask I've been trying to recover for years, ever since it was picked up and put into a wandering spirit's hands. That mask possesses many evil, yet powerful qualities."
That mask... Majora's Mask...
Majora's Mask is known for being the root of all evil within masks. The colorful patterns symbolize the many sinister acts and possessions by the mysterious, evil, and unknown figure, Majora. Hundreds of years ago mask salesmen discovered the mask lying in a patch of bushes in the Lost Woods shortly after the unexplainable disappearance of Majora. After the mask was found, a variety of plagues had begun to occur, because of Majora's control through the powerful mask.
The terrified mask salesmen knew what was going on, and had to find a way to get rid of the mask so it could no longer torment innocent and lonely souls. One mask salesman, who eventually became a Terminian warrior, by the name of Gabourri came up with a solution to banish the mask in the gap between dimensions and seal it in a chamber of fire forever, so it could fall into the hands of evil no more. He stepped where no warrior had gone before, and defeated Majora, the mysterious beast that lurked within the depths of Termina, thus banishing the mask forever.
One day several centuries later, the gap between dimensions was permanently cut off by the evil works of Ganondorf. The mask fell from the gap and landed in the exact same place it was found by the mask salesmen centuries before. No one knew what happened, though. Luckily, it was retrieved by a Hylian mask salesman who knew of its power, and who decided to keep it from any outside forces.
When exploring through the southern end of Termina Field on a business trip, the mask salesman was ambushed by the lonely child. The salesman fell unconscious as the imp began to ransack his things. He found many masks that did not interest him, but the power of Majora's Mask compelled him, and sucked him into the evil dwelling within it. The child stole the mask and kept it for himself, wearing it and inheriting the power of the evil Majora, unknowingly changing for the worse...
Every…
Single…
Second…
"Now, I will make a deal with you. If you recover that instrument that was taken from you, I will show you how to return you to your original form. However, I would like something in return. Please get the mask that I am looking for and return it to me. That can be our deal."
How do you know about the Ocarina of Time?
Link nodded, reluctantly.
"Now, I must leave here in three days, so please, try and get it before then. I will be waiting right here for you. Good luck."
"Let's go," said Tatl.
"Out there?"
"Yes."
"Well, what exactly is out there?"
"It's Termina. It's where the Skull kid, Tael, and I live. It's very nice. That door leads to the central town of Termina."
"Do you know how long we may be out there?"
"Well, you heard him! You have to get the mask back in three days. After that, I don't know what will happen..."
Link sighed, "okay then."
Link was so ready for another adventure, but didn't want to have any ugly encounters like he did back in Hyrule. He could only hope that he would have no trouble getting Majora's Mask and reclaiming the ocarina.
He could only hope...