Note: I can't begin to tell you how eager I've been to get to this part. It's one of the places my mind has always gone to, when I think about this story. I recently read an interview, from an author I respect, who talked about how he skipped one part of his story in the middle (due to its emotional intensity), and came back to it later to write it before it was published. I would be tempted to do the same thing here, but since a story published on this site involves continuous updates, I would have to forsake chronology.
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.
Chapter 35: Realm of Shadows, Part 1
The sky was a shimmering mixture of red light above him. The ringing noises vanished, and the golden light subsided to reveal a bright new reality. Link was standing on top of a lone platform hundreds of feet in the air, looking around as water fell from the sky in large columns. It poured into the sea of clouds surrounding him, obstructing the ground from view.
He dropped the hand he'd used to shield his eyes when he realized where he was. The brown creature was far off as the other one had been; its body was a round head perched on legs with long, lanky arms. It was hard to make out much else about it from such a great distance, and the light, clouds, and water separating them didn't help, either.
Its voice did not take from the beauty of the land surrounding Link. The deep, majestic singing relayed to him the same song the other one had. Link instinctively drew his ocarina to play along; their songs combined to form a duet as soothing as the milky clouds and warm sky. When the singing was done, Link returned the ocarina to his belt, with his wide, blue eyes reflecting the serenity around him. "You're the protective guardians, aren't you? The ones from the story?"
His voice seemed almost empty compared to the surreal nature of the world around him. The creature responded nonetheless, though its voice was hard to make out. "Guardians."
Link nodded his head, balling his hands together. "I'll free the rest of your brothers from the other temples, as soon as I save my friend."
The giant responded by singing, but the song was solemn. Link didn't quite understand the change in tone, but the clouds and sky began to vanish before he found out what it meant.
When the light faded, he found himself in the dead of night, with brown, green, and gray surrounding him under a bright, starry sky. The world seemed more alive than it ever had before. Probably because I just came from the giant's dream world, he thought. Though, the return of spring was just as responsible. The air was alive with the smells of life and warmth. The ice and snow were gone, as far south as he was, marking his location by the mountain smithy's cabin just beside him. He thought the same must be true for what lay further north.
He smiled to himself at the lush grass surrounding him; the tall pine trees were no longer plagued by blankets of white. He heard water rushing nearby, and the sounds of insects teemed within the waters. There was no longer a desolate wind blowing over death. Life had returned to Snowhead. The tektite cave was still where it had always been, and Link noted the bodies were no longer scattered about the lawn as they had been when he left.
A light was on inside of the cabin, smoke climbing from the chimney to scrape the beauty of Termina's final nighttime sky. Though the world was about to end, the purple and red – the clarity of the world around him – was all stunningly gorgeous. In death, the land dazzled its inhabitants with a swan song of beauty, though it was as chilling as it was wondrous. Link heard the bells of Clock Town ringing, and the smile faded from his face.
How long was I asleep?
The moon was no longer in the sky. It hovered over the town at the center of this land, with its back to Snowhead, mere hours away from destroying everything that drew breath. Though he was still exhausted from his battle with Goht, the hairs on the back of his neck stood tall. The eeriness of the cool night quickly replaced the wonder of spring.
His eyes were wide as they beheld the moon hovering over Clock Town. This valley was just high enough to peer over the mountain walls separating him from Termina Field. He took one booted step forward, slightly numbed with panic when he realized how little time was left. Before he ran to snake down the mountain pathway, however, he turned to Zabora's house. Link ran up the stairs and threw the door open, stepping into the room.
The small man was sitting on the couch to the right, as he had been before, and the giant with his hammer slung over his shoulder was behind the counter. "Ugo-oh!"
The 'shaddup' Link expected to follow did not come. The blacksmith appeared depressed as he sat there, with his arm in a sling. He looked up with sad eyes to see the boy step into his home. "You...," he said distantly, appearing surprised.
Link looked at them uncertainly. The giant had his massive helmet on, though the slit was still there for him to peer through. They were both waiting for him to speak, and so he did. "Yes. Is my sword done?"
Zabora merely stared him. The boy wasn't sure he'd actually heard what he said. "Where's your fairy?"
Link didn't say anything at first, and his expression darkened. "She was taken from me."
"By a man in a black cloak?" Zabora continued to stare at him, eyes shining. Link's expression darkened even further; suddenly, he felt anger. "With the face of a ReDead?"
"How do you know about that?" Link took several steps closer to the blacksmith, who cringed back on his couch defensively. The boy stopped when he saw this, realizing he must have faced the monster, too. "It... came by here?"
"He. It was definitely a he. And he was looking for you. You and your fairy."
"It could speak?"
"Yes. It sounded like a normal man, though. But it wasn't." The blacksmith gestured towards his injured arm, and Link glanced at it in acknowledgment.
"I need to find him before the moon...," Link trailed off, looked up at a clock hanging near the window. 1:34. "It'll land in Clock Town in four and a half hours."
"It's going to kill all of us, isn't it?" Link wasn't sure how to answer that. He could only look at the blacksmith sadly. There's no way for me to stop the moon this cycle. He knew this man's fate no matter what the outcome for Tatl was.
"I don't know. But I can try and save Tatl before my time's up." There was a pause; he tried to find something comforting to say, but he couldn't. So, he moved on to business. "Did you finish my sword?"
Zabora didn't say anything initially, looking down before back up. "Yes, and we can't make a sword stronger than it. No matter how many times you use it, it will never lose its edge." Link unsheathed his Razor sword and laid it at the desk. Gabora pulled another sword out from behind the counter to lay it in front of him. "You'll be needing a new scabbard as well."
Link was impressed. The blade had been infused with the golden dust, shining brilliantly with only a few patches of glistening silver amidst the diamond shaped spots of gold. The tip was sharpened and as brilliant as the rest, and the handle had a white grip mixed with red. The guards were pointed and aesthetically pleasing; the weapon was as deadly as it was a piece of art.
He held it in his hands carefully, laying it down to take off his shield and scabbard. His new sheath was a dark red, and was attached to his back. His shield went over it as soon as it was secured. Link wrapped his left hand around the handle of his new weapon, holding it in the air in front of him to examine.
"The Gilded sword." Link liked the weight of it, sliding it into its new home and hoping he wouldn't have to use it in the near future.
"Would I be able to buy a health potion before I go?" Link asked, still feeling weary from his Snowhead Temple adventure. "I have plenty of rupees."
"I don't think rupees mean anything anymore," the blacksmith said, adding a sincere look. Link nodded, taking the potion the giant handed to him and drinking half of it almost instantly. He let out a deep breath once he was done; it burned, but was revitalizing. He placed the bottle into his bag and looked at Zabora one last time. "I hope you find your friend," the blacksmith bid him.
"Ugoh ugo ugo!"
Link stepped into the spring of Snowhead, sprinting now for the passageway leading out of the mountain. I'm on my way, Tatl. Clock Town seemed to glow from his position, becoming a village alive at night as much as it was dead. The fireworks had long ago stopped, and the clock face was now the roof of the tower through which he'd first arrived.
When he reached the wall he would have to climb down to begin his journey back, he realized the brown winter clothing on him was no longer needed. The heavy coat and pants would weigh him down; the warmth of spring made them unnecessary. He threw both off, now in only his green tunic, as he always had been before. Link took his hat out of his bag and put it on top of his head, turning to climb down the wall.
He landed on the rocky trail, turning to run.
The clock tower, he reminded himself. The mask salesman had to be underneath it. Otherwise, he would arrive there only to have wasted these last few hours. Maybe, if not at the clock tower, he would run into someone on his way there. Maybe he would find the Skull Kid, or the cloaked ReDead figure, Tatl herself, Tael, or maybe even the mask salesman. Something had to happen to lead him to his fairy.
But somehow, he knew deep-down inside it was futile. His journey to Clock Town would be unhindered, and he would make it there only to find the room underneath the tower empty, with no one to help him.
No, that's not true. He refused to believe it. Someone had to be there... someone... He couldn't lose her. Not again. Not after all they'd been through.
Link recalled being trapped underneath the trick floor in Woodfall, when he and his fairy, separated from his ocarina, had awaited death.
I just wish I could have met this Zelda, or at least gotten you back to her, she had said to him. Both of them had known the moon wasn't far off.
Well, you know what, Tatl? He fought back tears when he remembered his response.
What, Link?
I think... I know... that I'm glad I'm here with you right now.
The first tear fell, but Link wiped it away quickly, shaking his head and not slowing down his pace. No. No tears. Not yet.
Tatl had then run her fingers through the dust on the wall, drawing a crescent moon with two diagonal lines back-slashing through it. It had been a symbol from some old written language the Skull Kid had known, and it had meant love.
Link had to save her. Losing her was not an alternative. She was all he had left. The only friend in all of existence who hasn't died or abandoned me.
He reached into his bag and applied his goron mask, rolling much swifter than he had been running and not slowing down.
What do I do now? What do I do now?
Tael flew back and forth nervously. His ball of light was bright and purple as he remained hundreds of feet in the air, over the spot where he and Link had first made eye contact that cycle: the gorge that had once housed dodongos. The moon was dangerously close, and the fairy knew it wouldn't be long before it destroyed Termina.
What if that dark sorcerer was lying? What if he won't let Tatl go? What will Tatl and I do after everything's destroyed? What if I can't survive the moon, and it kills me anyways, even though I'm all the way up here?
Tael was far too afraid to get anywhere closer to the ground, not wanting a wave of fire to catch him unaware and end all of this prematurely. He was determined to survive, and had made his deal with the dark sorcerer to do so with his sister.
Tael was still floating aimlessly and nervously when he saw Link. The boy was far down below, climbing the rock wall to exit the gorge and reach Termina Field. Tael stopped for a moment, looking down at the boy he'd abandoned. The fairy was far too high for Link to see him, but that didn't stop Tael from being amazed at his reappearance. Some how, he had come back out of Snowhead alive. He wondered if he had freed the giant.
Tael thought the answer was yes. He wondered if he should go down and say something to him – join him even. He was curious as to how hostile Link would be towards him, since he'd abandoned him and caused him to sleep much longer than he'd intended. Tael knew the dark magic from the cave would have him out cold for a while, but he'd had no way of being able to wake him after he left, as bad as he'd felt.
I had to.
Or had he? Would he still be alive, had he followed Link? If he joined him now, would his chances of survival increase? His chances of being reunited with Tatl...?
No.
He had made his choice. Tael merely watched from above, as Link crawled out of the gorge and ran the last bit of his journey to the city underneath the hovering moon.
He's brave, for going back in there, with that thing right above it.
He suddenly remembered what his sister had been shouting from inside of the ReDead faced man's cloak.
... warn... don't... trap... -ock Town...
A trap. In Clock Town.
Tael hesitantly went to fly after Link, but stopped himself. If there was a trap waiting for him, it probably involved the creature with the ability to completely control his enemies. The fairy knew Link didn't stand a chance against that, and also knew that he didn't want to follow the boy into his grave.
And so Tael waited, nervously eying the moon and not sure what to do.
Link dashed through the northern gate. The guard was not there to stop him, and neither was anyone else. He passed across the empty, grass field, an emotional pang of nostalgia somewhere within him for finally being back in Clock Town. But this is not my home.
The moon completely blotted out the sky. The ground quaked, and Link nearly fell flat on his face. He quickly regained his footing. He knew it must be somewhere in between three and four right now, as the sunrise wasn't far away. Link knew the moon was closer than it ever had been before, without the Skull Kid tampering with its descent to make it fall sooner. The past two times Link had climbed the tower, a spell from the imp had caused it to come down at midnight. Now, it had been left alone to fall at sunrise.
He came out of North Clock Town to see the back of the clock tower. Link ran down the ramp and around, until he was in the plaza of South Clock Town, where so much had happened. This was where Anju and Tatl had both died, and the Skull Kid had started his chase towards the sewers. This was where he had almost died, after falling the length of the tower.
The wooden observatory built by the carpenters was standing tall, and Mutoh, the carpenters' leader, was in front of it. He knew the angry man never believed the moon would fall, even now. But he remembered that he'd run in fear, all the same, once the clock tower had actually come crashing down.
"Come to enjoy the carnival?" he asked. "It's about time someone had enough sense to worship the gods respectfully. No one else is here." Link noticed the same. All of the shopping stalls were abandoned. Even the guard manning the South Clock Town gate had fled. "Did you bring masks?"
"Four," Link said, after a moment. He knew it was a tradition for all those celebrating to wear homemade masks the night before the carnival. But the streets were deserted, as he knew they would be. Link was currently standing in between the man and the clock tower doors. He looked at the heavy wooden things, as decorated as they were. He was afraid to open them and find nothing on the other side.
"Someone's eager." Mutoh looked up at the moon, shifting uneasily before looking down to repress the fear that had momentarily overtaken him. The ground shook and the bells rang, and Link looked at the clock to see the time. 3:52. The light at the top of the tower continued rotating, passing over Termina and its abandoned fields.
Link took a deep breath, turning from Mutoh and walking to the clock tower doors.
"Where are you going?" he asked. The carpenter sounded almost afraid to be left alone.
"Under the tower."
The big, burly leader of the carpenters looked up. The moon was headed to crash directly into it.
"But no one goes under there," he said.
"That's where I came from," Link said. "Get out of here as soon as you can. Maybe you can find shelter before it comes down. It will as soon as the clock strikes six." He was just in front of the doors now, giving into his fear a moment longer by turning around.
"Hah!" Mutoh exclaimed, feigning laughter. "It's not going to fall! Cowards! All of you! If you're gonna fall, then FALL all ready!"
Link sighed, turning back to the doors' smooth, wooden surface. He placed his hand on the wood. It was warm.
Link looked back at the moon, and at the tiny stretches of sky visible just above the town walls. The sky really was red there. The bells rang with no one but the two of them to hear. Clock Town on the final night was easily the scariest place he had ever been. Aside from the Skull Kid's cave.
The boy turned back to the door. Please. Please let the mask salesman be behind here. But his gut still told him he would not find what he was looking for. His heart was in his throat as he pushed the doors open, clinging to a memory of Tatl as he stepped inside.
The wooden beam sticking up through the floor was still turning, as were the other cogs in the tower. He hadn't been here since he'd been healed, and yet it kept going, as if the moon was not about to knock it over. Water was rushing from far below; the wooden platform he stepped on was a large stage, hidden in the darkness of the tower.
Across the room, leaning against the railing, was the mask salesman.
He was much taller without his heavy pack of masks slung over his shoulders. The bag was up against the wall to his left. His upper-class, purple robes still adorned him, with his red hair dark in the tower. The nighttime light shone through openings somewhere up above, and so Link allowed the door behind him to slowly creak shut. His back was to him. The man was peering over the railing, seeming deep in thought.
Link smiled broadly, but the smile faltered when the man did not turn to greet him. He must have heard him enter the room. Link walked down the stairs regardless of his failure to react, stopping when he was beside the turning pole. The mask salesman still had not turned around.
"Oh, you?" He spoke without facing him. His voice was as cheery as it had been in previous encounters. Then, the mask salesman finally turned, with the robes swishing at his feet. His eyes were squinted, as they always were, with a smile smaller than usual on his face. He appeared much more menacing without a crooked back. "Were you able to get Majora's Mask back?"
The turning of the wooden wheels and the running water was, at first, the only thing to answer him.
"No," Link said. He forgot why he had come here for a moment, but then remembered that he had in the hopes that this man knew where Tatl was.
"You still haven't done it?" he inquired calmly, taking a couple of steps away from the railing. "I keep telling you that if you don't get it back soon, terrible things will happen. Only two hours remain, but time is not eternal. Please make the most of your time."
Link's face must have shown his disbelief, because the mask salesman's smile faltered slightly. "What am I supposed to do... in two hours?" The salemsan didn't respond. "The moon is literally bigger than this entire town. How am I supposed to stop all of us from dying, in two hours?" He knew the mask salesman knew, but he wanted him to say it. I want you to admit that you know I'm traveling back in time.
His response was cool and calculated. Link almost missed the emotionally unstable man he had been on his last visit. "Surely you should be able to do something." Link was in awe at how gracefully he continued to avoid his questions. "Believe in your strengths... Belie-"
"No." Link shook his head. "I know you know about my ocarina. And I'm not even here to ask why you pretended you didn't. I just..." Link paused, before making himself go on. "I need to know where Tatl is."
"Tatl?"
"My fairy. Someone took her, and I don't know who, but you... seem to know things. Do you... know where she is?" He realized how foolish the questioned sounded, and was almost ashamed for asking it. But this man knew things he shouldn't have been able to, so he'd been hoping against the odds.
"Why would I know where your fairy is?"
Link knew that response had been coming before he'd even said it. "I don't know. You just, seem to know things."
"I just, seem to know things?" he repeated, mocking him. Link wasn't sure why the atmosphere felt so dark. He was tempted to leave, to just turn around and run back through the clock tower doors. Despite the instinct, Link kept his feet planted. "Did you forget why you're here?" Link didn't say anything, but the mask salesman spared him of having to.
"You're here to bring me Majora's Mask. That was the favor I asked of you originally when we first met. I kept my end of the deal by healing you, and you... well, you didn't. So, tell me, Link. Why would I do you another favor, when you still haven't paid me back for the first one?" Link opened his mouth for words, but couldn't find any. "Besides, as I reminded you, the only reason you're still here is to bring me the mask. You're not here to save fairies. There'll be another one waiting for you after you play your Song of Time, just like this one was.
"... Sorry to be so rude, but I'm a very busy fellow, and cannot dwell here much longer. I need that mask, and saving that fairy would just be a distraction. There isn't enough time for you to do anything about it, anyways. You must play the song, and continue your journey. The new fairy will be just as dutiful as the last."
Link only half-heartedly took in his words, however. When the mask salesman had stopped squinting, revealing his eyes more so than he had before, something about them called his attention. They were dark eyes, but they were shining brightly as he spoke. They were familiar; he was recognizing something about them that he never had before.
He remembered his trek along the trail towards Snowhead. He had saved Gorbus, and the goron had accused him of having Darmani's face. Link had held the goron mask in his hand, staring down into it. No, it's not a face. It's just a mask, had been his response. Just a mask... just a mask...
The creature with the face of a ReDead. He had been so close to having the revelation before the second avalanche. The face of a ReDead. Not a face. Just a mask. Both times the ReDead creature had taken control of him, he'd seen a pair of eyes behind the dark, empty pits of the ReDead's. Appearing to be beneath the surface of the face. The mask.
Those eyes were shining back at him now.
"It was you..." Link backed away slowly, with his blue eyes wide in fear. His heart fluttered wildly in his chest. The fear was no longer just a suspicion. "You kidnapped Tatl."
The mask salesman's eyes widened at the accusation. He seemed taken back, caught off guard; for a brief moment, Link saw real emotion in his face, not the charade he had given him in all of the visits before. "What?" was all he managed to stammer.
"You're that thing with the ReDead face!" Link exclaimed, standing tall when he realized he'd caught him off guard. "Except it wasn't a face, was it? You tried to hide it with your hood and cloak, but I still saw your eyes. It was just a mask."
The mask salesman looked at him blankly. The two stood across from each other silently, with the noises of the tower as active as they always were. Another earthquake occurred, and the foundations of the tower groaned for the first time.
He smiled, laughing softly to himself in the way he always did, and his eyes squinted again. Link's bravery disappeared as soon as it had come. He'd had the upper hand for only a moment, but the mask salesman appeared perfectly capable of creating his plans impromptu. He put his hands behind his back, looking away as he paced, with his eyes squinted again as the facade of happiness returned.
"I was known in Hyrule as the Man of Many Faces, or the Man without a Face, the Dealer of Faces, the Mask Thief, the Dark Sorcerer... but none have sounded quite as stupid as Thing-with-the-ReDead-Face. It's amazing how much easier people fear you when they don't know your name."
Link realized he didn't, even then. The mask salesman was still just that. The boy stared at the man across from him angrily, hoping he was hiding his fear, and trying his best to read the face of the figure who'd stolen his friend.
"This doesn't change anything, really. I would have appreciated you remaining as dull as you've always been, as you can always trust the hero type to be. I was hoping all of my secrets would die with Tatl."
"Where is she?" Link asked, lacing his voice with the threat building in his hands. His mind went to the Gilded sword he'd just acquired.
"You're an even bigger fool than I thought if you think I'd tell you that. I wasn't lying when I said the only reason you were here was to get my mask. If you know what's best for you, you'll turn around and leave... and come back once you've slain the imp."
"I'm not bringing you the mask," Link said, pacing himself to remain across from the mask salesman. The spinning pole was between them the entire time. "Not now that I know who you are."
"Oh, you know who I am?" the dark sorcerer inquired mockingly. "Do tell then. Because it seems to me you've merely removed that mask to find another!"
"You don't know what Majora's Mask is capable of if you want it brought to you," Link said. "It infects... anything that comes in contact with its magic. It slayed an entire fortress of pirates. It killed the witches in the forest, and laid siege to this whole town."
"I'm aware," the mask salesman said. "At least for that last one. I was there." How? Link thought to himself. How could this man possibly know so much and be everywhere at once? A million questions buzzed through his head, but the mask salesman continued talking. The two of them were no longer circling each other, ending in the spots they'd begun. "Besides, my magic exceeds anything you've seen before. I can control it."
"That's exactly what that tribe all those years ago thought, too. Koume and Kotake told me. They sealed it away into some distant realm, thinking they were rid of it for good. But it escaped. It overcame their magic and broke out. And now all of these terrible things are happening. It has to be destroyed."
The mask salesman stopped abruptly. His face appearing confused, momentarily. The smile soon returned, however, and he laughed lightly again. "Broke out? Escaped? You really don't know anything, do you? What gave you that silly idea?"
Link tried to respond, but stumbled over his words, now confused himself. "What are you talking about? The mask is here, isn't it? It had to have broken out."
"My dear boy. Termina is the dark realm the mask was sealed away to."
Link's mind tried to process it, as his gaze fell to the floor. He was at a loss for words. Understanding slowly came to him, and he saw all of the pieces, and suddenly they were falling into place. No... that's not... That can't be true...
"No...," Link breathed, shaking his head.
"Yes," the mask salesman said, nodding his head swiftly as he took a step forward. "Haven't you wondered why no one here knows of Hyrule? Haven't you stopped to think about why there are so many familiar faces, but none of them remember you? Weren't you curious as to why no one ever leaves here, and is scared of the knowledge waiting for them on the other side of the borders?
"It's because they're scared, Link. They're afraid of the truth. Deep down, they know they're nothing. They know that if they look deep enough, all they will find is a shadow, because that's all they truly are. These people are merely husks of people from other words, because that is all this place is: a realm of shadows."
Link's head was swimming with all of the things Tatl had said. She'd been so frightened, telling him all the things the cave had told her. She said the walls had told her she was nothing, a shadow, nonexistent. Anju had never heard of Hyrule, and didn't understand how anyone could have come from outside of Termina. They had all looked at him so queerly when he'd stumbled out of the clock tower doors for the first time.
"The witches obviously didn't care what the mask would do to the inhabitants of this realm. They thought it would be safely stored away here, and knew that blood could not be spilt where only shadows strolled about."
"And you want to free it?" Link inquired. Part of him still denied what this man claimed was Termina's true nature, but there were other things he needed to know.
"I want its power," the dark sorcerer explained. "And you should, too."
"Why would I want anything to do with it?" Link asked, expressing his revulsion. "After all the terrible things it's done to these people, after learning all the things it's capable of..."
"These aren't real people, Link," the mask salesman told him. "Stop pretending they're something they're not."
"I love her!" he yelled. Link felt his face turning red.
"Then your love is misplaced. A shadow doesn't have a heart."
Link shook his head, smiling to himself in anger when he thought of what to say next. "Yet you're trying to bring one out of here, aren't you? Majora's Mask is the most dangerous shadow here."
"Majora isn't a shadow! Are you soft in the head? Have you been listening to anything I've said? You, me, and that mask are the only things here that are real. Everything else out there is merely a magic trick!"
"It doesn't matter what Majora is. It's still going to destroy you if you ever take it from here, and all of Hyrule, too."
"No, Link. Majora isn't going to destroy all of Hyrule." He said it as if he knew something Link didn't, with some terrible truth hidden behind those eyes. Link looked into them and wasn't sure he wanted to know. The boy's eyes were already starting to water from all he'd learned thus far, but he had to fight it back. He couldn't let this man know how weak he was...
"The prophecies I've heard are all about to come true. Not long from now, the great evil that you were so certain you had vanquished will rise again, and it will destroy Hyrule." Link could only stand and listen; all hope was leaving. "A great flood will wash all you've ever loved away, and Hyrule castle will sit at the bottom of a great sea. Nothing can stop it; every man, women, and child who lives and breathes will drown.
"Nothing except Majora's Mask. The demon residing within that mask has power unparalleled by anything throughout history. When I get it back, and control it, maybe some of us will stand a chance. The alternative, if the mask is left here untouched, is death."
Link recalled the paintings he had seen within the Skull Kid's cave. They had been of Hyrule, and a great wave was crashing through to claim the lives of thousands...
"You don't understand..."
"I understand," the mask salesman said. "I understand that if we leave it here, it will escape Termina on its own accord. You made it through the cave, Link. Now, tell me; what did you see on the other side?" Link didn't reply. His brow remained furrowed, with his eyes angry. He knew that the dark sorcerer already knew the answer. "What you saw was the mask's doing. You see, the Skull Kid is not the only creature to find the mask in its possession. History is repeating itself over and over again, in this realm of shadows; what you saw on the other side of Snowhead is what the mask intends to create with the moon.
"One way or another, Majora reduces the land around it to ash. Slowly, it has destroyed every land within this realm... until only this one remains: Clock Town and the areas in each cardinal direction. Once the moon falls, Termina's destruction will be complete, and the mask will finally have a way to leave this realm, after generations of imprisonment. Now, we don't want that, do we? The mask would be much more useful aiding the cause of the living; that could happen if I were to bring it out on my terms. The monster meant to drown Hyrule will be nothing compared to the wrath Majora would unfold, were it to enter the world on its own."
"Which is why we should destroy it," Link said. "You wouldn't be able to control it."
"Do you think I decided to do this overnight? Do you think this plan is something I haven't dedicated my life to? You have no idea how much thought I've put into obtaining this mask, how much time and effort it has taken to find Termina, to figure out how to get here, to figure out how to get you here."
"Why can't you just get the mask yourself? If you think you're going to be able to control Majora, then you should be able to get it on your own."
"I tried," he stated, as simply as that. "No matter what, every time I take it, something happens to make me lose it. I don't dare put it on or use its power until I have it back in Hyrule, but carrying it out – I'm foiled every time. Maybe a freak avalanche separates me from it, or a storm rips it from my hand... or a skull kid robs me...
"The tribe that sealed the mask away here was very particular with the spells it placed to guard it, and made it near impossible to get it out. Their magic has prevented someone like me from ever walking out of here with it. But you... someone like you... a hero. You were the only one who that magic would elude. They never thought the likes of you would find your way here to take it. Rightfully, they only worried about the threat a sorcerer like me could pose."
Link took it in, glancing down at the floor as he thought. The mask salesman had been the simple piece tying it all together. It was him; every string pulled had been by his command.
"But...," the boy began, swallowing. "I rode into that hole and fell. That's how I got to Termina. I found it." But even as he said it, he knew it was a lie.
"I'm sure that's what you remember," the mask salesman said. "That's what I wanted you to remember, you and the Skull Kid's fairies. I brought them under the clock tower to the place where I knew you would appear, by offering the imp something he couldn't refuse: your ocarina. He played his part, even though I knew you would eventually need the ocarina back... But he didn't need to know that."
"So... that's it then?" Link inquired, looking up. He wondered how well his eyes were reflecting the sadness always ever-present in his chest. "But why did you have to take Tatl? Why did you just take her from me and leave me in the snow to die?"
"I didn't leave you there to die," he said. "That goron was coming. If I killed you, that would waste all the preparation it took to getting you here. While you're capable of walking out of here with the mask in hand... getting you here is a different story. It is a realm of shadows; it's not meant for people brimming with life, hope, and love... optimism. I had to take those things from you to bring you here.
"And for you to get your job done... well... I need to make sure those things keep their distance from you. Falling in love with the shadows here is dangerous; they're not real, Link. How many times do I have to tell you? Your positive emotional attachment to Tatl puts everything in jeopardy. But taking away things you loved wasn't enough. I had to make you choose to leave them behind. That's why I didn't kill Tatl.
"By playing the Song of Time, and abandoning her even though you know she's alive, to save your own life, you render yourself into one of the shadows around you. But, importantly, one that can retrieve the mask, and bring it back. You had to be an emotionless husk to come here, and you must become one again, so the darkness will drink your sorrow and betrayal like a cup of tea, and make you my servant."
Link stared at him, aghast.
"I wouldn't be having this lovely chat with you if I wasn't trying to waste the last bit of time left in this cycle. There's no way you can save her, Link. You have no idea where she is, and there's hardly two hours left."
Link didn't say anything, staring at him blankly.
"So, tell me, boy. What is your love for that shadow worth? How selfish are you, to treasure your own happiness over the lives of everyone in Hyrule? You must let her go, for you cannot hope to obtain the mask with any emotional flaws. I'm just trying to help."
I'm just trying to help. The mask salesman had said the same thing to him, while he'd been crying in front of Zelda's tombstone.
Then, Link's bright eyes flashed. The boy looked at the dark sorcerer with a horrific expression that the mask salesman hadn't been expecting.
"Did you..." Link found the words hard to conjure, choking when they caught in the back of his throat. He looked down at first, and then back up at the dark sorcerer before him. His head shook, nostrils flaring. "Did you kill Zelda?"
Only the sounds of the turning pole and the water filled the silence.
"I did what I had to. To save Hyrule."
Once again, the wooden wheels working busily and the swishing liquids were the only sounds.
Link screamed, sliding the sword from his scabbard and running at the mask salesman. The dark sorcerer appeared to have been prepared for such an attack, however. His hands gracefully reached into his robes and pulled out a mask. In the same fluid motion, it went over his face, and Link caught its design a moment before he put it on. It appeared to be rather bland and featureless: a rock with crude eyes and a mouth carved into it.
As soon as it touched his face, the mask salesman vanished, and Link stopped short, having been moments away from slashing him to bits. He looked around to see where he'd disappeared to, but found him no where. Link listened closely for some sign or sound, but there were only the sounds of the clock tower.
"I'm not sure you realize exactly who you've crossed swords with." The mask salesman's voice came from his left, but when he turned to look, he saw nothing. "You will do what I ask of you, Link. This would have been so much easier if you had just left when I told you to."
The boy spun around, sword held in front of him, breathing in and out heavily as his heart continued to hammer.
Then he saw the mask salesman, back against the railing where he had first been. He was wearing the ReDead mask.
Instantly, the blood in his veins froze, and Link lost all movement. He was forced to stare into the black pits, but this time the dark sorcerer was not wearing his black robe, hood, or gloves. The boy felt himself trembling terribly, with the pain causing his muscles to ache, as it always did. "You are nothing but a pawn. Tatl realized that. Tatl resigned to the fate I gave her."
Link's left hand twisted backward terribly; his golden sword flew from his fingers and bounced off the floor behind him. He was unable to grit his teeth in pain, or even look away, forced to stare into the fake eyes of his attacker. His lips trembled, tears pouring openly from his eyes.
"You will get me that mask." Link was forced to his knees. His legs painfully bent downward as the masked salesman walked towards him. "Even if I have to walk you up that tower myself." With each word, one of Link's limbs was twisted awkwardly out of place, as if to emphasize each time that he had complete control of him.
"I can't kill you, but I can make all the emotional pain you've felt physical." He continued approaching Link, now only steps away from him. "Remember how powerless you feel. Remember how out of control you truly are. I'm always in control, even when I don't wear my mask. You're nothing. Maybe when I'm done with you, I can turn you into a mask, too, and you can join the collection." The ReDead face was now just in front of his own; the mask salesman bent down so their noses were practically touching.
"I own you," he whispered softly. "Navi learned. Tatl learned. Tael learned. Anju learned. Zelda learned." The mask salesman saw a spark in Link's eyes at the mention of his beloved, and the sorcerer's smile became even more twisted from behind the mask. "The poison I slipped into her water racked her with pain. Did I tell you she writhed in agony in her final moments? It was so cleverly done; not even the caretakers thought to question whether or not it was actually a disease."
He bent down beside Link's ear now, whispering so softly, it might have been the wind. "She screamed for you. But you weren't there to save her."
When the mask salesman pulled himself back from Link's ear, he found that he wasn't looking into dark blue eyes. They were bright purple.
The dark sorcerer raised an eyebrow in confusion, but suddenly found some invisible source striking him in the stomach. The mask salesman flew backwards, across the room, mouth wide and 'o' shaped as he slammed into the railing on the other side. He quickly looked at Link, who was getting to his feet, as he scrambled to his own. Even though he looked into Link's now purple eyes, the boy was not under his control. Some how, he was fighting the mask's effects.
That's impossible.
"Where's Tatl?" Link asked, but the voice was not his own. Anger was etched into every line of his face, as his purple eyes bore at the enemy across from him dangerously.
"I... I...," the mask salesman was suddenly sweating nervously. He threw the ReDead mask off onto the floor, hoping direct eye contact would help. "I... I don't know... I gave her to the Skull Kid... please... She's not dead... You don't understand..."
Link began to move his arms in circular motions, as if preparing to do something. The mask salesman's eyes widened even further. His eyes were no where close to squinting, and his mouth was no where close to smiling.
The tower shook as another earthquake traveled across Termina.
"... It's Hyrule's only hope!... Every one's going to die... I had to! Link, listen!"
But it wasn't Link who was listening.
He pointed his fingertips at the man in the purple robes, and a purple bolt of lightning was born at their end. It struck the mask salesman directly in the chest, and he spiraled over the railing, falling down below and out of sight.
The earthquake ended.
"She screamed for you. But you weren't there to save her."
Suddenly, Link was not under the tower with the mask salesman. He was on a beach, looking at the ocean rocking back and forth across the sandy shore. The night sky was beautiful, with the stars reflected in the waters underneath. He turned his head involuntarily to his left, and there was Tatl.
She was in a bottle that rested in a rather deep, sandy trench with a rocky, dirt-packed bottom. The fairy looked sad, sitting at the bottom of the bottle and hardly even seeing as she looked out at the world.
Then, an earthquake shook the beach. Tatl hardly noticed, watching the waves crash but not appreciating their beauty.
The earthquake ended, and suddenly, Link was standing. He blinked, confused. He looked down at his hands to make sure he was actually there inside of the clock tower, but looked up to see that he couldn't find the mask salesman anywhere. Link was breathing deeply, and felt the odd, pleasurable feeling of satisfaction from the scar on his chest. The boy, shakily, approached the railing on the other side of the tower and looked over.
The mask salesman lay on the ramp far below, mouth agape. His arms and legs were at awkward angles, and he didn't move. A scorch mark was burnt into his chest, with the clothing there disintegrated as well.
Link's hands released the bar he'd clung to as he shook. He was now alone; only the sounds of his heart beat and breathing accompanied him, alone with the dark deed he'd committed. Link's mind went to what he saw while possessed by the dark magic and realized what it meant.
He instantly ran for his sword and then the clock tower doors, flinging them open and running into the South Clock Town plaza. Mutoh was gone, but he hardly noticed. Link ran to his right, towards where he knew Termina's beach lay, to the west. The town bells rang with every footstep he took, as the final minutes until the end of the world ticked away.
He coughed, blood coming to dribble down his chin onto the wood. The mask salesman shuttered; the pain was surreal as his only working hand gingerly touched the wound he'd suffered. His left arm was broken and his legs screamed in pain, but it was the lightning bolt that would kill him.
He groaned as he put out his one working arm to drag himself along the ramp. His purple robes were soaked with his own blood, sagging against the floor as it ran out all around him.
I have to make it to my masks. I have to make it to my masks, or I'll die.
He shook terribly as he crawled, but he wasn't sure if he would make it.
What have I done? The mask had infected the boy. If Link ever returned to Hyrule, or he failed to stop the imp...
Then all of the worlds will end in fire.
He had to survive. The mask salesman pulled himself up another inch along the slope, fighting the excruciating pain.