Yay, my second Majora's Mask story and a pretty dark one this time.
You can find the first story on this account too.
The story calls "We aren't friends, or are we?" by that way, so if anyone wants to check it out, I would be very happy.

Come to me Fairy boy

The fight against Ganondorf, the day when he had brought peace back to the kingdom of Hyrule, had long been passed and Link still couldn't believe that he, the once lonely Kokiri, the one who had been an outsider for all his life, had now become the hero who had banished the darkness and all evil from this country and who had banished Ganondorf into the deepest depths of hell.

All this still seemed so surreal to him; almost like a dream, but he knew that it was not a dream, that this had happened for real and that he was now a real hero.

After the fight against Ganondorf, he had been sent back seven years to the past, so he could catch up on his childhood that had been stolen from him.

Link had been glad to live a normal life at last, but the initial joy had quickly disappeared when his companion, the little fairy Navi, had left him. He had known that this day would come, that he and Navi would say farewell, but when the day had come, the farewell had hurt more than any sword thrust could ever do. Navi had become a good friend in all this time and Link had closed the little fairy into his heart. The farewell was all the more painful when their paths had parted in the temple of time and when he was all alone again.

At first it wasn't so bad for him, for he had won many good friends during his journey through Hyrule. He had become the blood brother of a Goron, had met Impa, one of the legendary Sheikah, who had been a good ally for him. He had met Malon and whenever he thought of her, his cheeks blushed a little. Even if he wouldn't admit it, but deep down in his heart he knew that he felt more for Malon than just friendship. Then there was the Zora Princess Ruto, whom he had saved from the stomach of Lord Jabu Jabu and who had inevitably appointed him to her husband when they had later met in the Water Temple. And then there was still Princess Zelda...

All these memories made the young Hylian almost burst with pride and joy at the same time.

Even Mido had improved over time and he had apologized for his bad behavior towards him, after Link had broken the curse of the Forest Temple and that meant a lot to him, because he remembered how mean Mido had always been to him.

All this was now past and Link could begin to live.

But the initial joy faded a bit more with every new day and eventually it gave way to loneliness once again.

A loneliness that Link hadn't felt for a long time, but it hit him like a sword blow again and tore deep wounds into his soul that were worse than anything he'd ever felt before, because when Zelda had sent him back in time to catch up on his childhood, the memories of him were also erased from the minds of all those whom he had met on his journey. No one would remember him or his heroic deeds. For all of them he would be the little boy from the Kokiri Forest. No great hero of Hyrule, who had brought peace to this land.

And in the end, even his little fairy had left him and he was completely alone in this great world once again...

He could hardly bear the loss of his friend and still couldn't believe that their paths were now separated forever.

When the young hero could no longer stand these thoughts, he decided to saddle his horse and ride into the lost woods to look for his friend. If he didn't do that, he knew that it would drive him mad.

He was aware that a trip into the lost woods was dangerous without a fairy that would lead him and he knew what would happen when he walked into these woods, but he had to do it; he owed his little fairy that, after all she had done for him.

And the dangerous search was worth it, to find the only friend who still remembered him and his deeds as a hero...

He had started his new journey the very next day.

When he went on his way, the sun had just risen and a wonderful warm breeze had greeted him.

But this had changed when he had entered the lost woods.

Here the sunlight hardly came through and darkness that ruled over the forest.

He shuddered and he had trouble to calm his mare Epona down, as the horse was aware of the danger that lived within these forests, but Link managed to soothe her, so they could continue their journey.

For hours he rode through the woods, looking for Navi everywhere, but he didn't find a single trace of his friend.

Hours became days and days became weeks and still he couldn't find any trace of his little fairy and slowly he lost all hope to see her ever again.

In the evening of another day Link settled down to rest with his mare.

Epona rested slightly away from the tree against which he had leaned.

A warm fire crackled in front of him and gave him warmth, but Link hardly noticed it. He stared blankly into the blazing flames and was lost in his thoughts.

Above the forest a thunderstorm was gathering and he noticed it only when the first lightning turned the night into day for a short time and when the raindrops began to soak the ground beneath his feet.

The lightning followed a loud thunder, which scared his horse so much that Epona raised her head. A nervous snort came from her nostrils and Link noticed too late what was going on and before he could react, the next thunder scared his horse so much that she run away in fear.

"Epona! DON'T!" he shouted after her, but it was too late.

His horse disappeared in the darkness of the lost woods.

And then, he was all alone...

For hours he was looking for his horse.

The rain was mercilessly going down on him, drenched his hair and clothes and the cold that the storm brought with it made him shiver. The torch he held in his hand barely gave him light, as the fire continued to fade because of the rain.

When the last light, which would lead him through these forests, had been extinguished, he collapsed in the midst of the forest. He sank to his knees and buried his face into his hands and let the tears flow, which he had held back for so long.

Now he had no one at his side anymore.

Navi had disappeared and Epona as well and he no longer knew where he was and whether he would ever find the way back from the lost woods.

It was hopeless and he was lost...

He didn't know for how long he ran through the woods without orientation.

He had also lost all sense of time, for the sun hardly brought light into this part of the woods and so it was almost always dark.

Somehow Link had grown tired of running and so he settled down next to a tree, sat down and buried his face into his arms, which he had placed on his bend up knees and he let all his hopelessness out of himself and cried as he had never cried before.

He couldn't tell for how long he sat there.

It was an eerie silence around him.

No animals were heard; only the sound of rustling leaves, as the wind passed through them and the patter of the rain drops was the only thing that came to his ears.

When he heard the voice for the first time, he thought it was just his imagination, but when the voice repeated and when he could hear it much clearer this time, he raised his head. He wiped the tears from his eyes and searched his surroundings, but he couldn't see anything or anyone to whom this strange voice might belong.

When he was almost sure that he had just imagined it, the voice repeated itself and this time it was so loud that Link's body jumped.

"What are you doing out here, my boy? And so alone?"

Goosebumps was rising on his whole body, as this dark voice spoke to him. His body tensed and his hand went automatically to his sword, which was attached to his back.

"But my little one…Let your sword rest. I will not harm you."

Link took all his courage and answered the voice.

"Who are you?"

"Who I am? Well, this is not so important. Rather, I'm interested in who you are and where you come from. I've never seen anyone like you here in these woods."

Link didn't answer.

He remained tense and continued to look around, but no matter how hard he was trying, he could see nothing and no one.

"You don't seem to be very talkative, aren't you?"

The dark voice seemed to come from all sides, seemed to be circling around him and the young Hylian didn't like that at all, but he tried to show courage and he stayed where he was, because if he would get up now, he wasn't sure if he could hold back his panic any longer.

"If you want to know who I am: I am the one whom they call the Hero of Time," he finally answered.

Loud, malicious laughter came from the darkness to him, making him tremble heavily.

"You? The Hero of Time? Hahaha this is too funny! How can a young child like you be the Hero of Time?"

Anger rose inside the young hero's body and he clenched his jaw tightly.

"Just look at you, little one. You are lonely and deserted, sit here in the dark forest and no one is by your side. You're completely alone and you don't look like a hero to me; with tears in your eyes and a heavy heart in your chest. This is not how a hero looks like. That's how someone looks like, who has turned his back on the world and who has no hope left in his heart."

Every single word felt like a thousand of needles at once, but Link had to agree with the eerie voice, for it was not wrong with what it said. He was lonely and felt abandoned by all his friends and he had the feeling no one would care about him any longer and inwardly he was sure that those who might have remembered him would have long since forgotten him.

Even Navi...

These thoughts were enough to let the tears running over his cheeks again and before he could prevent it, they wetted his face once again.

"Ohhh my little one. Don't cry. I am here and if you wish, I will stay with you from now on."

Although the voice was deep and dark, it obscured his sense of danger and let him hope again.

"Would you really do that?"

His own voice sounded in his ears, as if was coming from far away and as if it would no longer belong to him.

Then he saw a movement in the darkness.

Far in front of him, he saw a glow that was slowly approaching him.

Two bright yellow eyes broke out of the darkness, came over to him and the closer they came, the more Link could recognize the shape. But...it was not a human who came to him.

It was a...mask?

The mask hovered in the air, slowly approaching him and he shuddered as he looked at it.

It looked at him from two huge yellow eyes.

Horns adorned its sides and its head and it was decorated with ample color and patterns.

A mask that Link was supposed to be afraid of, but the voice that came out of the mask still enveloped him in that fog that deceived all his senses and made him blind to the danger that was now right in front of him.

"I wouldn't just do that, my little one. Together we are strong. And I'd make sure you'll never be lonely again. Forget all those you called your friends... "

The mask now floated right in front of his face and its gaze almost pierced his soul.

"...and let me in. I will be your new and your only friend. We will have a lot of fun together, trust me."

Tentacles loosened from the back of the mask and stroked Link almost tenderly over his cheeks and his head.

"You say you are the Hero of Time and maybe that is the truth you are saying, but I still see only a hero caught in the body of a child. I can look into your heart and I see darkness and despair in it. But I can make sure that the darkness will disappear from your heart. What do you say, little one? Do you want me to stay with you?"

Link didn't respond, only stretched his hands out to the mask and carefully stroked his fingertips over the surface. The mask was flawlessly worked out and radiated a power that he couldn't resist; no matter how hard he tried. His lips twisted into a dark grin and he didn't even notice how his own eyes started to glow in an eerie red as the dark side got the upper hand in him.

"Yes. I want that…"

And these words sealed Link's fate.

The tentacles wrapped around his head and the mask turned around, so that the inside of the mask was facing Link's face and then it came slowly closer to him

"So be it...Hero of Time. We will have a lot of fun together..."

When the mask touched his face, Link thought it would tear his soul out of his body. Pain spread across his face, which slowly wandered through his entire body and let him scream as the power of the mask tore his soul apart bit by bit and slowly made him to the mask's marionette.

His screams of pain echoed through the dark forest for a long time in that night, mingling with the malicious laughter of Majora, when his mask took possession of the young hero who once saved Hyrule.

But soon this hero would destroy the land which he had saved and those whom he once had called his friends would tremble with fear if they would only hear his name; Majora's mask would make sure about that.

And Hyrule would shatter under his power and hatred…

The End

Author's note:
I have been thinking about such a story for a long time and I finally found the time and motivation to write this one down.
I love the game Majora's Mask so much and I was always thinking about what could have happened to Link if he would have met Majora's Mask instead of the skull kid getting the mask. I mean if you see how Ocarina of Time ends, I could totally see this happening. And that's why I don't like Zelda at all. She may had good intentions for Link by sending him back to his original time, but I think she made matters so much worse for him by doing that, since nobody would remember Link as the great Hero who saved Hyrule anymore. I can only imagine how broken he is in the inside and how sad his life must have looked like when Navi has left him (and I still have no clue WHY Navi left him in the end of OOT!) and when he was left all alone again and when he made his journey into the lost woods. And we all know what happens there if you enter these woods without a fairy...

Oh and as for a certain scene in this one-shot: If you ask yourself why Link's eyes turned red in the end of the story: I have thought about Dark Link, since he is a part of Link's soul and if you have followed my little Dark Link series on here, you will remember Dark's words that he will always be a part of Link and that he would take control over his soul, once Link gives up on everything (and since Link traveled back in time, Dark Link would still be alive so or so). That's why I made his eyes turn red at the end. As if to say that the dark side, aka Dark Link, takes over his soul now ;). (I hope this makes sense to you).

Soooo how do you like this idea?

I have also written a similar one-shot like this, only featuring the Fierce Deity Mask instead of Majora's Mask and if there is interest, I will upload this one too.
But you have to tell me that guys. I am not able to read minds, you know?