A Selfish Hero

~ Funshine XD

Warning: It gets a little gory, about mid-way.

It was a selfish thing to do, he knew. He shouldn't have left everyone, shouldn't have given up. But he did. Some hero he was. Not that he deserved the title anymore. What kind of a hero abandoned their duties and obligations for their own selfish reasons? That's just what he was; selfish. A selfish coward who should be dead by now. Whether it be by dying gallantly fighting Majora or if he died trying to get to the dreaded mask, he wasn't worthy of living. Selfish, selfish, selfish.

Link laughed wryly. He was just a kid, wasn't he? Even after saving Hyrule, he was not obliged to save Termina. It wasn't his job. No, a small voice inside him nagged, it is your job. Link scowled to himself as images of previous battles worked their way back into his mind. He shut his eyes trying to focus on happier things, but there wasn't a whole lot he could think of considering his circumstances. Failures and victories, friends and enemies, battles and scars mashed together in his head, flashing before him. No, the voice repeated. He had seen too many things, done too much to blame it on innocence. He no longer had the innocence of a child, though he still was one. Was he no better than the monsters he fought, then? Link clenched his fists. He was no hero. He killed more than he saved, and what did he have to show for it?

"LINK!" Tatl yelled with an exasperated sigh. Though they had only been in hide out for a short time, Tatl had forgotten Link was part deaf almost every time she had tried talking to him. When the moon collided with the ground there had been a loud bang, a sonic boom, she had guessed. Everyone within ear-shot must have gone deaf, but Link was lucky, and managed to get away with only slightly impaired hearing. That was assuming there were still survivors, which she highly doubted. Of course, Link was protected to some degree, as the Bomber's Hideout proved to be quite strong. Tatl couldn't quite say the same about the others, but now wasn't the time to be telling Link that when he could see for himself. The young boy opened his eyes and stared up at his companion. Tatl sighed. He hadn't even known she was talking to him the first few times she called his name. "Do you think it's safe to go out now?" The toxic gases must have dispersed by now, and their food stores were running low. They needed to restock and face whatever damage they had allowed to happen. It wasn't going to be pretty, but they needed to see it sooner or later. Tatl hoped and prayed to every deity she knew that Tael was okay.

Link stood up, soundless. He hadn't talked much before; ever since she teamed up with him he seemed to be very quiet and secretive. He always had this vacant, not-quite-here look in his eyes, almost as if he were mourning someone, though Tatl couldn't figure out whom. Now, he remained nearly mute. Tatl wasn't sure if it was because of shock, guilt or because he was nearly deaf, but she wasn't going to push for answers. She had learned long ago that he wouldn't answer them.

Link stood in front of the dark hallway that lead outside, not sure if he was ready to see what was outside. How long had they been in here? A day? A week? A month? Around the twentieth time he had turned back time; cheated Hylia – though he wasn't sure he still found solace in those cursed goddesses because of all they had put him through, let alone the ancient goddess of Time, who had undoubtedly been cruel to him – he had lost count. Time had lost its meaning to him, now just a mess of ocarina notes and falling. Falling through time; Hylia's sick way giving him all the time he needed, when really he had no time at all. If that was meant to be a blessing, another gift from the goddesses to aid him, he would have died of laughter. But, he supposed, there were worse things than death, and the goddesses had an awful way of reminding him: By making him live. Time was useless. Why should it matter when he could reverse it indefinitely?

Tatl flitted around, as if she were pacing. She looked as impatient as he felt, but he couldn't bring himself to do the simple task of stepping outside. Selfish, he thought. Little things like this built up until he was a selfish hero, or was it just him jumping to conclusions again. He couldn't tell. His time here in Termina had driven him insane.

He would always hear the clock ticking, mocking him, reminding him that he didn't have any time to spare, that he couldn't afford even one moments' rest. He would hear the twisted, half-mad laughter of the Happy Mask Salesman in the back of his mind, his sadistic grin jeering at him when he closed his eyes. Cries for help, people screaming in terror, the gut-wrenching shrieks of those he was too late to save, bolted him from his sleep. But maybe it was just him being selfish again, wanting to rest while others needed his help. Even the once comforting tinkling of a fairy aggravated him, every chime reminding him of Navi. The whole reason he left his home in Hyrule, was to find Navi. And instead he was here, in this goddess forsaken land. Navi. Link resented the name now, as he did many things. He hated the masks, too, the remains of those who had once lived that he was made to wear. To parade around, wearing dead people's faces… Link laughed again. You would think a hero had more dignity than that. But then again; he was no hero. The goddesses made sure of that.

He would always play the ocarina when time ran out (which was often) to be sent back to the beginning of the three days. The exact same place, exact same time, exact same Mask Sales Man staring at him when he awoke. And he hated it. He wanted change, needed it. He grew accustomed to it, eventually, though each rewind of the clock made him more and more resentful. He hated himself. He hated his life. He hated everything now. So he gave up. Selfish, selfish, selfish.

"Well, aren't you going to go out?"

Link snapped from his thoughts and opened the door. He couldn't contain the gasp of pure shock that involuntarily left his lips. He wasn't sure how bad he expected it to be, but he didn't think it could possibly be this bad. The once beautiful, vivid land that had been Clock Town was demolished. Grey chunks of rock were strewn everywhere, the brightly painted walls knocked to the ground as if it were a card tower blown over. He stepped forward, glass, rock and dirt crunching underfoot.

"This is terrible!" Tatl exclaimed, rapidly darting around the wreckage. Link's jaw dropped open as he scanned what used to be east Clocktown. This was all his fault, all his fault. His fingers scrambled for the ocarina, instinctively searching to correct his mistakes. But, of course, in a fit of rage, he had previously smashed it and sent the pieces plummeting into East Bay, taking the remaining three days to ride across Termina to Clock Town, intending to be crushed along with the town. But Tatl had insisted he take refuge… Now he'd have to live with the guilt. This was no escape. The town was a wreck, a waste land. There was no way anything survived.

"No…" he moaned, the gravity of the situation hitting him. "Oh, no, no, no, no!"

This couldn't be happening. What had he done? What had he done?!

He could smell smoke mixed with the scent of rotting bodies, and he retched. Discoloured smog swirled around, undoubtedly poisoning his lungs with every breath. Chunks of broken buildings and other debris littered the floor, some dismembered limbs reaching out from underneath. Thick, acidic clouds covered most of the sky, but some red bled out from between them. It was eerily quiet, save for the moan of the undead.

"You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"

The boy spun around, instantly met with a devious grin. Tucked underneath one of the salesman's arms was Majora's Mask. Link wasn't going to ask how he even managed to get near the damned monster. If he could have done that all along, why did he allow for Termina to be destroyed? As if discussing the weather, he continued. "It seems the moon has fallen. But, as long as I got what I wanted, I suppose it's quite alright."

Link flew into a fit of rage. "Alright? Alright?! You're going to justify what I've done? You're saying this is okay?! It's not okay! Look at what I've done, just look! I was supposed to save Termina, but I was so stupid, and look what happened. I'm a murderer! I killed all these people. I failed my duty as a hero. I -" The boy panted, frustrated tears pooling in his wide eyes. Tatl hovered uselessly, shocked at the sudden outburst.

If anything, the deranged mask collector's grin grew. "I suppose the goddesses made a mistake. They misplaced their trust. Honestly, to choose a little boy to carry out their dirty work?" He shook his head in mock disappointment. "Oh, it seems we have company."

Link spun around hopefully, but saw nobody. When he turned back to question the salesman, he was gone.

Tatl landed on Link's shoulder. "Link, do you realize what we've done? The whole of Termina… How… How could we let this happen? My brother… He's still out there somewhere. What if he's dead, Link? Oh, goddess, what if he's dead?! What am I supposed to do now?!" The fairy girl sobbed, the only sound in the dead silence.

Link wanted to comfort her, wanted to tell her he knew exactly how she felt, but something in his peripheral vision caught his attention. He realized only moments too late that it was a ReDead.

"Tatl, get out of –" The creature let out a piercing shriek, and Link's entire body froze up. Sheer terror overtook Link when the creature launched itself at him. He screamed, muscles refusing to work when he needed them most. The monster latched itself to him and screamed again in Link's face. He could smell the decay, see the rotting skin, sunken glassy eyes and feel its murderous intent. It was no bigger than he was. Limp purple hair clung to its scalp. Kafei…

"Ugh, get off of him!" Tatl yelled, flying at the undead, full force. More ReDeads emerged from the fog, slowly clambering towards the Hylian. Five bandana-sporting ReDeads approached. One bit down on Link's leg and he screamed. Several more grabbed him, letting out their paralyzing screams. The grabbed at any available part of the boy, biting down and ripping him apart.

Link cried out. Was this the way the goddesses were punishing him for not following their will? Why were there so many people left in Clock Town, anyway? Didn't the guards evacuate them? His vision began to blur, and he faintly registered that Tatl was screaming. One ReDead that resembled the head carpenter far too much grabbed the fairy and smashed it within his palm. He threw the limp body to the side and turned towards the boy, annoyances aside.

Pure agony filled Link's every waking moment, and he hoped that his shaky breaths were his last ones. He couldn't stand this any longer. This was worse than death. It was pure torture. He was being killed by the very people he had saved time and time again. But then again, he had also killed them.

Fingernails dug into his skin, pulling off entire sections. Link collapsed, and the hungry deceased piled on top of his body, further shredding his tunic and attacking his abdomen, intestines spilling out. They were eating him, he realized. He let out a hysterical laugh that sounded more like a groan. Dazedly, he noted that his left leg, knee down, was dismembered and thrown to his far right. Faraway, another shriek sounded, and the ReDeads all stopped their assault. The shrill sound cut through the silence again, and they got up and moved robotically towards the sound. There had been another survivor.

Waves of agony washed over his body, and Link moaned. He couldn't survey his damage even if he wanted to. Not that he wanted to. His body was on fire, and he could feel his crimson life force pouring out in large amounts. He supposed it was what he deserved. It was his job to ensure this wouldn't happen, but he let it. It was all his fault. Tatl had been right. He wasn't a hero, but he shouldn't have stopped trying. Tatl… Where was she again?

He felt nauseous, but he swallowed the bile. His vision began tunneling, and he heard the Mask-man's laughter. The white-hot agony dulled to a throbbing, pulsing pain.

"Yes, a terrible fate, indeed."

He felt himself slipping, fuzzy vision giving way to darkness.

And was it selfish of him to hope that he'd never wake up again?

A/N: I don't know what to say about this other than I was listening to the Attack on Titan soundtrack. I've had this idea rolling around in my head for a while, but I never wrote it out. Actually, I didn't even write a plan for this, it just sort of... wrote itself? I've read loads of stories about the insanity that Majora's time-travel feature brings Link, and this is just my take on it. With a little horror.

I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave some feedback, my inner author lives off of that stuff. :)