Catz: Yes, this was supposed to be up yesterday. Sorry!
Courtney's POV
I gasped. The BEN file was back. It was on top, where the Link file should have been. The stats were not Link's anymore, but BEN's. My file was still Ben.
My heart thudded. How did this happen? Did the game still retain some memory of the BEN file? Was the Link file truly replaced, or if I chose it, would it go back to Link?
I found that I wasn't so much scared as I was angry. Me and Danny had spent a long time on that file, and now BEN glitched it all up. I knew Danny had wanted to play that when he got back, and now he couldn't.
I realized that he could play the Ben file with me, and that made me feel somewhat better.
That was, he could play it with me if the glitches didn't ruin it first. They definitely seemed worse on the Ben file than the Link file.
Well, maybe the game had just put up BEN's stats, and it was actually the Link file. I chose the BEN file, just to see.
The game immediately froze up. Usually this would have made me mad, but I was startled this time. This was because the game started making a high-pitched squealing noise. I clapped my hands over my ears, and the noise got louder. I took my hands off my ears, wincing, as I scrambled to my feet and ran the two steps over to the T.V. to turn it off. Just as I put my finger on the power button, the noise stopped. Startled, I hesitated to push the button.
"You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" flashed on the screen, as skull kid's laugh played. That scared me so bad, the laugh did. And wasn't that the message you get if the moon crashes into the Earth?
The game started loading, the mask spinning in, with the whoosh noise.
Why was it re-loading? It already did this…
I brushed it off as another glitch as the save files came up.
The Link file slot was now completely empty. I tried clicking it, just to see what would happen, but it didn't do anything. Usually, it would let you start a new game with a blank file, but this literally did nothing at all.
The Ben file was still there, and all the stats were normal, as far as I could tell. I clicked it.
I started in the same temple that I had deliberately left before.
I started to slightly panic. This was so weird! I had left here on purpose because it freaked me out that the Happy Mask Salesman was in here, and now I was back.
I was in the exact location where I had seen the Happy Mask Salesman, too. It was actually the very place I had turned and gone back, out of the temple.
It must have been just a glitch, and it wasn't that severe of one; starting somewhere you had been before instead of where you saved. And it wasn't that big of a glitch; at least, not for this cartridge.
I turned around, just a routine check for enemies and pots (for rupees).
As soon as Link had turned 180, I screamed.
Standing just a few feet behind me were the Happy Mask Salesman and the Elegy Statue, side by side.
My heart started beating fast, and I dropped the controller and physically turned around so that my back was facing the T.V., staring at the wall to try to calm down. I don't really know why I turned around; I guess it just seemed like the quickest and most efficient way to remove myself from that situation. If I had just looked down, I would have been tempted to look up.
I was really glad that I hadn't left the window's curtains open, so I didn't have too see the T.V. screen in the glass's reflection. I concentrated on breathing evenly and deeply, trying to return my heart rate to normal.
Once I had finally calmed down, I turned back to the screen.
And screamed again.
They were right in front of me now. And I mean, like, where all I could see was the Elegy statue's face and the Happy Mask Salesman's stupid hands doing that terrible animation. I immediately turned around again, unthinkingly, not wanting to see that.
I stared at the wall for a few minutes, trying to calm down. I couldn't, though.
I forced myself around, but didn't look up, instead staring at the floor. I didn't look up as I picked up the controller, turned Link around 180, and started running in the opposite direction. When I judged myself to be a safe distance away, I looked up. Link was away from there now, and I turned around again. The Happy Mask Salesman and the Elegy Statue were now far behind me. I turned around again and started running again.
I ran through a door that should have led to farther in the temple.
But I exited into Termina Field.
I had never seen this part of the field before. The game said that it was Termina Field when I first entered, but I didn't remember this part of the field. I looked around, and there was literally nothing here; just grass. No NPC's, no enemies, no freakin' trees. There was absolutely NOTHING HERE. Not even music. The T.V. was silent except for the sound of Link running.
I wandered for a few minutes, going in a straight line, knowing that Termina Field was only so long in any direction. But after like three minutes, Link was still running. There was still nothing here.
I looked in my inventory, for my map, but it wasn't there. Figures.
I was mad. So, what happened now? I couldn't stay here if there was nothing to do, if I wanted to get anything at all accomplished. If I turned of the game and then turned it back on, would Termina Field be back to normal? Of course, I wouldn't still be in Termina Field, since I hadn't saved there. But would I be in ClockTown, where I had last saved, or would I be back in that temple? Would the Happy Mask Salesman and the Elegy Statue be there, or would they be gone? Or would I be in a different place entirely? Maybe I would end up in Termina Field, just because the game had me start there.
I turned around, looking for any distinguishing features, and found none. But I did notice there were no clouds. None that I could see, anyway. I looked up, to check above me. There were none there, either. And the moon was nowhere to be found. The counter was still there, but without the moon, of what significance was it?
I looked for my ocarina, to play the song of soaring or something, but it was gone, too.
Frustrated with the lack of- well, everything- I shook the controller, shouting at the screen, "Something HAPPEN!"
And something happened.
I heard a noise behind me, and saw the Elegy statue finish a warping animation, appearing behind me. Staring at me with those empty, overflowing eyes. The screen was no longer silent, but the reversed song of healing was now playing.
I ran.
The statue kept warping behind me, the terrible song only broken by the sound of the warping animation.
I tried to think. Maybe if I stopped running the statue would stop following me. I tried it.
I could see that the statue was right behind me, almost touching Link. The music started to get louder and louder. I ran again, and the music turned down, but the statue kept following me.
I turned abruptly and ran around it. In the distance, Termina Field looked normal again. I kept running. I vaguely wondered if running in zigzags would help me avoid the Elegy statue. I figured if it didn't work for the much less-malicious crocodile, it wouldn't work for the Elegy statue.
There were some trees to my left ahead. I was fast approaching the nearest tree. I ran past it and screamed at the top of my lungs.
The Happy Mask Salesman was right behind the tree.
I veered to the right, trying to avoid any more trees.
And came face to face with the elegy statue.
I screamed. Then, once my air ran out, I heard the reverse song of healing playing.
I lunged forward, for the N64's power button. I hit it.
The game stayed on.
I screamed again, but the music got louder, competing with me. I hit the T.V.'s power button.
The screen stayed on.
I tried the volume controls. They had no effect.
My ears were bleeding. Even on max volume, the T.V. was NEVER this dang loud. I pulled the plug on the N64. Nothing. I pulled the plug on the T.V. Skull kid's laugh began playing on loop, slightly louder than the reverse song of healing.
My ears hurt, and I was scared. I had no idea what was going on, but whatever it was, it was terrifying me. This wasn't just glitches, it seemed almost…paranormal.
Suddenly, a very confusing picture made sense.
This game was paranormal. It was messing with me, scaring me, probably watching me react. That's why the glitches were so creepy and off-the-wall. That's why they were so physiologically jarring. And that's why the freakin game wouldn't shut up.
Suddenly, I was furious. Whatever it was was messing with me, scaring me, and hurting my ears.
Irate, I screamed at the Elegy Statue, "YOU FATUOUS, ODIOUS, SADISTIC, ROUGHSHOD PSYCHOPATH!
The screen went black.
I was surprised to say the least. I hadn't expected that.
As I stood there, staring at the black screen, the adrenaline started draining from me, and I was abruptly exhausted. I felt like I had just run a marathon.
I kicked the controller. It didn't do anything; I was barefoot. Then I went to bed, not putting the game away, not brushing my teeth, not changing into pajamas. I just walked on heavy legs into my room, flopped down, and was out.
One puzzle had been solved. I had beaten one level.
But that opened a whole new level.
And this one was tougher.
Catz: A nice long one for you guys. I'll try to update soon. Review, please!
