My Failure
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Zelda. That honor belongs to Nintendo. Forgive me if I twitch with jealousy.
Warning: Gore.
Link had traveled far and wide across the land of Termina, trying to save this parallel world. The moon was going to fall and destroy Clock Town in three days. The skull kid who had stolen Majora's Mask cast a fierce spell to ensure the doom of this world. And as usual, Link got caught up in trying to save people he didn't even know. Some may say he has a hero complex, but all he really wanted to do is go home and find his old friend, Navi. And apparently, saving Termina is the only way.
Link had saved three out of the four giants. He'd been to the Great Bay Temple, the Woodfall Temple, and the Snowhead Temple. He loed to swim as a Zora, but the Great Bay Temple was by far his least favorite. Gyorg, the boss, was a huge fish. He had fangs and he was very creepy. He also hated having to travel to Pinnacle Rock and fight all those sea snakes in order to save some Zora eggs.
He was now was traveling with his horse, Epona, to Ikana Canyon. The land of the darkness and evil; once a proud and noble kingdom, now filled with the walking dead who harbor their secret regrets and Ikana's blood-stained history. As he came to a sheer cliff, he saw a man. The thief who stole the bomb bag from that poor old woman in Clock Town. Sakon. He tried to coerce Link into letting see his sword; only for a moment. Link wisely declined.
To cross the cliff he froze two Octoroks, making the a solid platform to walk on. Then he used his hookshot to pull himself from ledge to ledge, tree to tree, on the cliff's surface. He made it safely to the other side. Then he activated the owl statue warp point and bought a map from Tingle.
He tread cautiously, he was now officially in the land of the dead. Link came upon a house surrounded by Gibdo. He skillfully killed them with the blade of his Gilded sword, but he knew he didn't have much time before they would return. He knocked on the door; there was no answer. He tried opening it, and it was unlocked.
The house seemed to be deserted. Link walked slowly into the living room when all of a sudden he heard a horrifying noise. Moaning, somewhere between fear and pain, seemed to be coming from the basement. Someone... Or something wanted to get out. Link tried to pull open the basement door, but it was stuck. A very old door, it needed a bit of prying before it fell ajar.
The basement was dark, he could not see a thing, but the moaning grew louder. Link was afraid, something he wasn't often. He sensed movement behind him. Whirling around, he encountered a pair of yellow, glowing, vacant eyes that seemed to be moving closer to him.
He panicked and drew his sword. Link aimed a fell, blind slash at the creature. A piercing wail of agony sounded in his ears, gurgling from the throat of the beast. There was a soft thud, and now those vacant eyes at ground-level and unmoving. Relief washed through Link and he felt around for a source of light. He found a lantern to light the room with a fiery glow. He turned back to the creature he'd slain, only to realize that it wasn't a beast; it was a man.
The man was partially covered in in bandages like a mummy; a Gibdo. He lay on the floor, chest and throat slit open. Blood poured out, staining the wooden floor, creating a pool around the man. Link shuddered in horror at what he'd done. He killed a human. Someone he should have protected.
Just the he was jolted back to reality by a shrill scream. A little girl was staring at the man with wide eyes.
"Father?" She cried, tears streaming down her face.
She looked back up at Link, anger and fear alight in her eyes.
"You did this?" She screamed.
Link was frozen, he could not speak. The little girl ran upstairs, crying. Link suddenly gathered his senses and followed her. She ran out of the house and Link followed her. The Gibdos had come back just like Link had predicted, but the little girl didn't seem to notice. She just kept running. Link shouted for her to stop, but she didn't. A Gibdo's hand came up out of the ground and grabbed her ankle. She screamed. She fought against it's hold in vain. The other Gibdos circling the house started to make their way toward her. She continued to scream even as the dead creatures ripped into her flesh.
They sickeningly pulled her limbs off and gouged her eyes. They clawed at her bit by bit; eating the flesh and blood they pulled off. Link could only stare at the gruesome display before his eyes. The beasts had finally finished their feast of the poor young soul, then - and only then - was the little girl silent. Link shook and cried. He cried like he never has before. Two innocent people died... and he was responsible. It was his fault. The Gibdos fled to the soil; where the dead sleep.
Link stayed in that spot for two days after. The Gibdos hadn't come back in that time. Probably having been satiated. As he sat in despair, struggling with his failure, he heard soft music coming from a cave behind the house. Something was drawing him to it.
Inside the cave he saw skulls and bone fragments on the edge of a small pool of water. Just then an apparition appeared before him. The spirit looked hostile as it glared at Link.
"I am the composer, Sharp. I used to write music for the Royal Family of Ikana."
He glared at Link even more.
"What is one so full of life, as you, doing here? This is a place for the dead with painful sorrows. Unless... you wish to join the ranks of the dead?"
Sharp smiled maliciously.
"Very well, listen to this song by the composer Sharp, and join the dead!" He growled.
As the harsh tune began to play, Link collapsed; dying, though he did not try to stop it. Slowly and painfully, Links life was ripped away from him. Bit by bit. It was torture, but he felt it was just. It hurt like knives cutting up his internal organs. He coughed up blood and lay in a fetal position. Soon he breathed his last breath; becoming on of the walking dead who harbor their secret regrets.
That night the moon fell.
~Fin~
