Haunted Majora's Mask
Author's Note
Hey everyone! This is my first crack at a Fanfiction and today I guess I'm going to paraphrase a read that I bet most of you are familiar with. If you guys enjoy this give me a review. I will write another if I get 3 reviews. I hope you guys enjoy! This is rated M for explicit and scary content(in other words, a scary campfire story :3)
I had just received a N64 from a friend on my birthday, and I was excited. I had always wanted an N64, but never had the time to actually get one. There was only one problem… it didn't come with any games.
I had decided to stay cheap and started looking at games at thrift stores, hoping to find something good. I had no such luck. As I was walking home, I noticed a yard sale selling cheap stuff. It had some kinda creepy stuff, like stuff only old people had. There were porcelain dolls, dressed in weird outfits that looked like they were from the nineteen-sixties, and some weird animal sculptures.
I had noticed a small section of old games for the Gameboy and such. Hopeful thinking took my fancy and sooner than I knew what was going on, I picked up an old untitled N64 game that had "Majora" written on it. Glued to this piece of merchandise, I didn't see an old man come out of his house asking if anything had caught my eye. I guessed he was about seventy-four, and I had no second thought about talking to him.
He asked me once again if I would like anything, snapping me out of my trance-like state. I asked him how much he would like for the game I was holding. All of a sudden, his face darkened, and he said it was free if I would like to take it. I was so excited I didn't even see his change of demeanor, and I thanked him and was soon on my way home. I slightly heard him say something quietly, but I could've swore he said,"Goodbye Ben". After all that, I didn't even notice that he knew my name...
I had decided once I got home that I would immediately start reliving my childhood with the game I had just acquired. I plopped down on my couch and turned on the N64 after plugging in the cartridge. It was the moment of truth; I was thinking that it probably wouldn't work, thinking the memory chips were probably corroded, but much to my surprise, it worked! I was really excited. For such an old cartridge, it was running very smoothly.
I noticed that there was already a file saved on the game. It was named simply "Ben". I saw that he was on the final day with three out of four masks at the final temple. I felt bad knowing that he was so close to finishing the game, but was unable to finish. I decided to let the save file stay there knowing he had owned the game before me.
I made a profile under the name "Link" out of tradition. The game started out as Link riding his horse, Epona through the woods. Words popped up on the screen informing me he was looking for a long lost friend. I had decided to sit back and watch the beginning of the game, but then suddenly two weird glowing orbs appeared and spooked Epona. Suddenly a dark figure approached me.
His name was Skull Kid, and he was possesed by an evil power inside the mask he was wearing. This part of the story was normal and I sat back and watched these series of events. While I watched, I noticed something funny in the gameplay. Where my name should have been… was not my name, it was Ben's.
I thought it was just a minor game glitch considering this game was almost ten years old. I didn't think much of it and kept on playing. I then noticed that every once in a while that it would say my name, but mostly it mostly called me Ben. I then, out of frustration, deleted Ben's profile. I regretted my decision, but I couldn't fix it now.
Though now, where my name should be, nothing appeared. I was puzzled, but I didn't care much, considering it didn't affect the gameplay. I kept playing and eventually beat the first temple, therefore collecting the first mask. I was on the second temple with most of the stuff complete, but on the third day, the last day. Thinking fast, I didn't want to lose all my progress towards the second dungeon, I decided to pull the fourth day glitch. In order to pull this glitch, you need to go to the telescope guy on the third day when the moon is about to fall. As the timer is about to hit zero, you talk to him. If you pull this off correctly the timer should disappear, and you will have another day.
Chapter 2
I luckily pulled it off, but I noticed something that was not right. Instead of being back at the telescope guy, I was at the top of the clock tower. I saw Skull Kid floating in front of me. Then, almost immediately I saw a text box appear at the bottom of the screen saying "I see you've made a reservation." I recognized this text from when you go to the Stock Pot Inn and talk to Anju after making a reservation earlier.
I started to feel helpless, so, in my desperation, I shot him with my bow. Expecting nothing to happen, I was surprised when he fell backwards in midair. My victory, though, was short lived.
At the bottom of the screen, a text box popped up. What it said chilled me to the bone. It said…"You shouldn't have done that".
Knowing that none of the characters in the game never say that, I was afraid of what was talking to me. It was like it was from another world. Being an avid gamer, I knew games from the early 2000's don't update themselves.
Then, out of nowhere, Link burst into flame, screaming out in agony. Link fell over and died, and I then got the game over screen. I was terrified, yet wanted to investigate more. I then realized that I had bought more than a game. I had bought an addictive mystery.
I opened up my save files, and where my save file should have been, Ben's profile was there. I was shocked to say the least. I deleted his profile, I thought to myself. I had never seen anything like this in my entire life. I wanted to get to the bottom of this though. I hesitated, but I eventually selected that save file.
What I saw was amazing, yet very scary. I was in the same exact location that Ben's old file was. It was impossible. I had deleted his save file. I was in a state of denial. While I thought in my head, I noticed Link was bent sideways close to a ninety degree angle. Also his face was extremely gaunt, almost as if he was severely depressed. In desperation, I used the ocarina to teleport back to Clock Town.
Instead of the friendly environment and happy music, I was greeted by an empty, creepy version of Clock Town. It had all the people missing, along with what looked like a twilight version of Clock Town. All the color was missing. The only color there was the green of Link's tunic. In my state of fear, I tried to pull out my ocarina and teleport out of there, but instead I got a message from the text box again saying,"You shouldn't have done that".
Chapter 3
I was then teleported to the Great Bay, a section of the map that is mostly ocean. I didn't even select a destination. It was like the game had a mind of it's own. I walked around for a bit, exploring to see if anything else weird was happening. Then, against my will, Link put on the Zora's mask, therefore transforming into a Zora.
A Zora is a fish-like creature that is able to walk on land, yet is able to breath under water. It also has a magical ability to make a electricity shield under water, killing it's enemies instantaneously. It was my favorite transformation back when I was a kid, but this game was ruining my childhood very fast.
I noticed Epona, my horse, on the beachside. I noticed that it was facing the ocean, almost like it was pointing towards something. I knew I had nothing to lose, so I went out towards where Epona was pointing. I was about to give up when I noticed something funny in the water.
I sunk down in Zora form and used my electricity shield to spread some light at the seafloor. What I saw was impossibly creepy. It looked like my avatar, Link, underwater on a flagstone. Though I noticed some very big key differences. This figure was shorter, had no eyes, and had a really creepy smile. I remembered this figure from when you play the Elegy of Emptiness.
Though it was familiar, it didn't explain why it was underwater. In order to play the song on your ocarina, thus creating this character, you have to be on dry land. The game doesn't let you use your ocarina underwater.
Then, my Zora starting choking, I didn't realize this at first, but I remembered that Link does that when he starts drowning. I didn't believe this at first, but I realized my Zora was slowly drowning. As I said before, Zora's don't drown.
The last thing I saw was my character floating at the top of the water, while that weird figurine stayed below me, giving me that creepy eyeless grin.
Chapter 4
After all that, I decided enough is enough. I finally decided to bring back the game. Even if he didn't take it back, I would demand to know what was going on. I knew I should've done it a long time ago, but something held me back.
I walked down the street, hoping that the old man was home, but much to my dismay, I saw a for sale sign spiked in his yard. The news took me by surprise, but I wasn't done yet.
I saw that one of his old neighbors was out doing some yard work. I walked over to him and started a conversation with him. I asked him if he knew what had gone on with his next door neighbor. He replied, but I felt like he was holding some information back. He said that the man had been planning to move for a couple months and that he had been hosting that yard sale for a while.
I thanked him, but I just wanted to see if he knew anything, but I think it was just wishful thinking on my part. With the last bit of my courage, I asked him if he knew anything about somebody named Ben.
To my surprise, he nodded and said that Ben was the old man's son. He also said he hadn't seen much of him ever since he and the old man went on a fishing trip. That got my wheels turning. Images flashed in my mind of while I was playing the game, but I couldn't really piece it together.
I decided to walk home, admitting defeat. I walked into my bedroom, ready to play the game again, but I accidently tripped over a wire. It didn't give much of a resistance, but it still surprised me. I fell over and looked at what I tripped over. I saw the N64 power cable. It slowly dawned on me that the N64 was never plugged in.
To make sure of this, I turned on the N64. Much to my surprise, it turned on. I thought for a couple seconds, then decided to try and test something. I took out the Majora's Mask cartridge. I then flipped the power button, and the T.V. screen remained blank.
Scared, but intrigued, I plugged in the N64 and put in the cartridge. I turned it on and a weird high pitched scream emanated from the speakers. Desperate, I unplugged the N64. The scream ended, but the game remained on.
I sat down on the couch, ready for the unexpected. My profile had reappeared, so in my excitement, I clicked on it without reading the information. What I saw chilled me to the bone. I saw Link laying on the ground in such a way that made it look like all aspects of life had abandoned him.
I heard a creepy giggle, and I received the "Game Over" screen. I pressed continue and proceeded to the file select screen.
Where my file should've been, it now was named "YOUR TURN". I clicked on it,expecting the worse, but all I saw was a black screen. Then, after about ten seconds, a text box appeared. It said, "You've met with a terrible fate haven't you?". I recognized the text from the Happy Mask Salesman when you are turned into a Deku Scrub.
The screen stayed that way for a minute or two, then, I was transferred to the final boss room. Where the final boss was supposed to be, instead I saw the Elegy of Emptiness statue standing there, staring at me. It was like it was trying to tell me something. I decided to play the Elegy of Emptiness, regardless of me not have unlocking it yet.
I was surprised to the fact that it actually worked. I played the song, and it even said I played it, but what happened was some sort of twisted version of the statue. It looked just like it did underwater, but it didn't have any eyes.
It just stayed there staring at me, and I eventually tried to find a way out of the boss arena. I pulled out the ocarina and tried to play a song that enables me to teleport, but just as I was about to play the last note, Link was then lifted off the ground and engulfed in flame. Instead of the "Game Over" screen, I was then teleported into the underground tunnels under Clock Town.
I wasn't too worried because I knew the tunnels pretty well, but that sense of comfort was short lived. The statue also was teleported to the tunnels, right behind me too, like it was trying to catch me. A text box appeared at the bottom of the screen, and it said,"Would you like to play with me?". My first thought was," No thanks", and if you can sound scared in your own head, I definitely sounded like I was. I was now running as far as I could from that weird statue.
Despite my best attempts, it kept teleporting behind me. In my fearful state, I tried to turn off my N64. Nothing happened, until the weird statue finally reached me. A close up of the statue's face appeared on the screen, scaring me onto my bed, crying for mercy.
The game finally shut off, much to my relief. I decided to go for a walk, just to get my mind cleared. I was walking past a neighbor's house, waving to them when I fell over. Images of the game events that happened that day flashed in front of me. I had become addicted to that game, almost like it was a drug. It was right there that I knew something in my head had snapped.
I had to run back to my house, and turn on that game. The only problem was I couldn't. I was stuck in a dream-like state. I was in front of the Happy Mask Salesman, and he was asking me to get his precious mask back. I realized that maybe that was the answer to my problem: the mask. Maybe ignoring all the strange events and just beating the game will put an end to this mystery!
Chapter 5
I was now back in the real world with my neighbors surrounding me, asking me if I was alright. I looked at them and immediately stood up and started towards my house without saying a single word. I ran into my bedroom, ready to beat the game, retrieve that mask, and put an end to my problems.
I was finally finishing that second temple on my account, which had magically reappeared in my files. I was just about to beat "Goht", who is a mechanized bull that shoots electricity out of it's head for some reason and just likes to run around the arena, when my game froze.
I was furious, considering that the second temple is one of the most annoying temples in the game. I restarted the game, and I was surprised to see I was in the same exact location as I was when the game froze. The only problem was that Goht was nowhere to be seen.
Cautiously, I looked around, hoping to find Goht. I decided that Goht had disappeared from the arena and that the game thought I had defeated it.
I stepped into a blue light to teleport out of the dungeon, expecting the unexpected, but much to my surprise, everything happened as it should've. Though the character that I was freeing was not the one of the giants. These giants are what you need to stop the moon from falling, but instead of a giant, it was the Elegy of Emptiness statue.
From that point forward, I started calling that statue Ben. This statue just struck me as the perfect candidate. It was the only repetitive thing I've been seeing. Aside from that everything else was normal. The text didn't even change. I was starting to get worried because I was so used to everything not happening right.
Then, right after the cut-seen finished, I got a white screen that said,"Dawn of a New Day", with the subtext of,"IIIIIIIIIIIIII", underneath it. It was almost like a glitched version of the screen, because normally the background is black and there was never a subtext.
I was now back in the twilight version of Clock Town, in front of the the big double doors that leads into the clock. I tried to move, but my camera wouldn't follow me, almost as if it's trying to tell me to enter the double doors.
Hesitating, I finally decided to enter the double doors. I saw the Happy Mask Salesman in his normal spot, but almost immediately he started playing his organ, which he only does once at the beginning of the game. I thought maybe he would play what he plays normally, then I could leave and be on my way.
Instead of him playing the Song of Healing, he started to play what sounded like an inverted version of the Song of Healing. It was creepy and it slowly worked it's way into my head and managed to root itself there. I couldn't stop thinking about it. It finally clicked in my head that this is probably the Song of Unhealing. That's what I started calling it, but that didn't make it any better.
I felt trapped, like no one could save me. I've been writing these journal entries on nothing but coffee and self-determination. I haven't been able to sleep and it's finally taking it's toll.
Chapter 6
I've just started college, and somehow my N64 worked itself into my bags along with the cartridge. I want to go home and hug my parents again. I want to have some sort of sense of comfort, but with this game calling me back, my grades are dropping from high A's to low C's.
I've started to think that even if I beat that game, I will still be haunted by it, like a veteran of Vietnam. I had just walked into my dorm when I saw my computer on.
Thinking one of my roommates had been fooling around on my laptop, I went over to close to the window, but hesitated, looking at the site I was on. The website was called Cleverbot and it was some sort of information site. I noticed that something was already typed. It said simply,"Hello". I typed back,"Hi".
To my surprise, it typed something back, almost in a human-like way. It asked me if I was going to play "the game". I asked back,"What game?". I got another response saying,"The game". Starting to catch on, I asked back,"Majora's Mask?". I got another response that just simply said,"yes".
Thinking now, I thought it was some of those pranksters at college hacking my laptop. Trying to keep the conversation short, I said back," Look, I know this might seem fun to you, but I am in not in any mood to be participating in some stupid trolling!". I got another response saying,"It's your destiny". After his response, I got a bunch of codes that kinda looked like dates and times. I looked through them, but could make nothing of it. I tried to close the tab, but to no avail.
In that small amount of time, I instantly decided to just close the laptop. I started to back away, and almost like a response, my N64 turned on. I went back to my computer and typed to the stranger,"Did you do that?!", and in response I got,"What makes you think that?". Almost on queue, The N64 let out Skull Kid's creepy laugh. Then immediately after that the Cleverbot tab closed.
I sat down cautiously, at my N64 controller. I pressed start and and got the file select screen. I selected mine, and I was the Great Bay again. I was in the water underneath something, which was preventing me from surfacing. To my dismay, I started to drown. I frantically started mashing buttons.
My best efforts proved worthless, I got the "Game Over" screen and was transferred to file select. What I saw I don't want to even describe in the least. The first file was named "BEN" and the second one was…"DROWNED". For some reason they were both all in capitals, as if trying to send a message.
I backed away from the screen, but didn't put the controller down. I selected the "BEN" profile, expecting to be back where I was, but yet again I was at Stone Tower at Ikana Valley. I finally noticed a pattern. Every time I deleted Ben's account, I was somehow messed with. I finally got his message. He wanted me to finish his game.
I played the Song of Time to be warped back to the First Day. I teleported via Owl Statue and entered Stone Temple. I entered the temple and nearly died. It was playing the creepily happy temple. I had forgotten about this, but I remembered that it scared me a lot as a child.
I was sudden lost in my own memories, as I was now in front of my Christmas Tree in the year of 2001 and I was almost 14. I was unwrapping my N64 and I noticed my parents had hidden a game in the wrapping paper. It was the game I had been wanting all year! As you've already guessed, it was a Majora's Mask Gold Cartridge. I was at that age where I had gotten pretty good at games, but still had that sense of awe when I saw a new virtual world to explore.
I had just plugged in my new cartridge when something amazing popped up on my screen...
Footnote
Hey guys! Thanks for reading all the way through! Remember if you Liked this give me a review! Thanks guys!