Hello, thank you for stopping by! To give a brief backstory for this work, after completing Majora's Mask for the first time, I was curious about how going back in time would affect Link's psyche. As the idea progressed, I became inspired to do this short story. I really hope you enjoy it, and hopefully have the same emotional experience I had while writing this.

Of course, I do not own any of the rights to the characters or elements presented in the story. Duh.

Bells

Link didn't like this maze of tunnels beneath the well. It reeked of death, sent shivers up his spine. He approached the next Gibdo, the mummy-like creature guarding a locked door. Normally its icy stare would have frozen him where he stood, but instead it just gazed at him silently. Link didn't like wearing the Gibdo mask, but it was the only way to get past the foul-smelling creatures. He handed it a jar full of bugs before it shrieked and burned to the ground. The gates behind it opened and he walked through the door.

Tatl, his fairy companion, climbed out from under his cap and sat on his shoulder, her faint light illuminating his steps in front of him. "How much longer do we have to stay in here?" she asked.

"Until we find our way into Ikana Castle," he replied. "Pamela's father said that the secret entrance to the castle would be somewhere through this well."

"Yeah, but still," Tatl sighed. "It creeps me out. You never know what kind of thing is going to pop out and… Hey, do you hear that?"

Link listened and detected something that sounded like wind, falling and getting closer. He looked down at his feet and saw a shadow surrounding him. "Hold on!" he shouted as he dove nimbly to the side. A giant black hand fell to the ground where he had been standing a moment before with a loud crash.

"Wallmaster!" cried Tatl in fear.

Link smirked and used a jump attack to quickly dispatch his enemy before it had time to recover from the fall. He sheathed his sword and turned back to Tatl. He smiled and lifted his hat for her, and she climbed on top of his head.

"Let's just get out of here before something else shows up. I don't want to spend another moment in here if I don't have to," she said.

Link nodded and put his cap back on. "Agreed," he murmured.

. . .

The sound of bells carried far over the fields of Termina and all the way through the Ikana Canyon walls, echoing loudly and ominously. Link stood atop Ikana Castle, watching as the sun rose above the horizon.

"Dawn of the second day," said Tatl with a sigh. "Is it just me, or are these days getting shorter?"

Link stared silently off into the distance, past clock town and towards Milk Road. "I'm sorry, Romani…" he whispered. Tatl's voice snapped him back to the situation at hand.

"Link! C'mon, let's not waste any more time!" she scolded.

Link shook his head to clear it and said, "Right, let's go." The two of them walked over to the large indent in the center of the roof. The dip in the stone was covered in cracks and chips. "It looks unstable. I bet we could blast through it," he said as he took out a bomb. He rolled it into the dip and stepped back. The bomb went off, but the rocks didn't budge.

"We'll need something bigger," said Tatl. "Do you have a powder keg on you?"

Link sighed. "No, I don't, and it's only 6 am. The bomb shop won't open for another 2 hours."

"Well, we need to go get one. If you don't want to lose any more time, I'd suggest we hurry."

Link nodded and pulled out his magical ocarina. A few notes later and he was surrounded by a swirl of feathers and carried off towards clock town.

. . .

Link and Tatl ran out from Ikana castle and up to the stone tower. With the newly learned Elegy of Emptiness, they were ready to climb up to the top. About halfway up, link sat up against a wall to take a breather.

"Link, c'mon, we have to keep climbing," Tatl said.

"I'll just be a moment," he replied. "Gotta catch my breath." He rubbed his face in his hands, massaging his tired eyes. "I don't know why, but this… Elegy of Emptiness song just makes me feel sick whenever I play it, like there's a pit in my gut."

"I don't know how I would feel if I created an empty shell of myself…" Tatl sighed. "It's just… creepy."

"Yeah, but you're right; we've got to keep climbing." Link stood up and pulled out his hookshot to climb to the next level.

A while later, they had reached the top. "Finally!" Link shouted. "And look, there's an owl statue here! That's perfect!" Link walked over and struck it with his sword, causing it to spread its wings.

"Great, now we won't have to climb that tower again!" Tatl exclaimed.

Link solved the puzzle for the last bridge to the Stone Temple and hopped across. As he landed on the cliff that the temple loomed over, he stopped. The bells were ringing again. Link turned once again to Milk Road. "I'm sorry, Cremia," he whispered.

"What was that?" asked Tatl.

Link whipped around and walked towards the temple. "Nothing. Let's go," he said sternly.

"But Link, it's already the night of the second day! What if you don't have enough time?" said Tatl, trying to mask the concern in her voice. "Maybe… maybe we should go back and start at day one again. We can fly right here now.

Link stopped in his tracks and hung his head. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes tight. He sighed silently before loosening his hands and composing himself. In an instant he changed his demeanor and casually turned to face Tatl, shrugging his shoulders. "Are you kidding?" he said smugly. "I got through the Lake Bay Temple in 24 hours! I can beat this one in 36. Let's go!" He turned and strode confidently through the temple doors.

"Alright, if you say so," said Tatl hesitantly.

Link swallowed hard. He knew Tatl was right, but he had to try.

. . .

Link wiped his brow his sleeve. He'd been in some difficult temples before, but this one was tough. Really tough. It had taken him several hours just to figure out the first puzzle by placing a crate on the switch. That was way too much time wasted. Next, he had to blow a hole in the ceiling like back in Ikana Castle. Before he knew it, it had already been six hours and he'd made practically no progress at all. Now he was stuck in his Deku form, trying to ride vents of hot air. As if activating the switch to save the stray fairy hadn't been hard enough, now he couldn't even make it to the platform. He carefully aimed himself while hovering on the vent air to get as far as he could with whatever momentum he could muster.

"Easy now, Link. Make it count," encouraged Tatl, knowing how frustrated he was getting.

Link took a deep breath and leaned forward, letting the air push him to the platform. At last, he made it, just barely at that, having to grab onto the side and pull himself up. Immediately he tore off the mask from his face and lifted up his hands, screaming, "Finally! Yes!"

"Alright, Link! You did it!" Tatl danced around his head, beaming brightly as she rejoiced with him. Sadly, their celebration was suddenly cut short. The sound of bells ringing through the canyon sent chills up Link's spine.

Link sighed. "Dawn of the final day. Anju is gone."

"Anju?" Tatl asked.

"The girl from the inn," Link explained. "She's fled town with her mother. She never found her fiancé, so she and her mother have left to escape... well, that," he said while pointing at the falling moon with the hideous face. He ran his hands through his hair and sighed again. "How could time have slipped by so fast? We haven't made nearly enough progress!"

Tatl nodded in agreement. "We can still go back. It's not too late. It's never too late to play the song of time."

"No!" Link exclaimed. "We can still do this! We just have to try harder!" He walked to the next door. "C'mon, Tatl, let's go."

"Link, please," Tatl said softly.

"We don't have any more time to waste," said Link sternly. "Come with me or I'm going on without you." He began walking towards the door with a scowl on his face.

Tatl caught her breath. Link had never spoken that way to her before. "Alright, I'm coming." She quickly slid under his cap, careful not to snag any of his hair, lest she set him off. "Link…" she whispered to herself, "what's wrong?"

. . .

Link sat in the middle of the entrance to the temple, looking over his map in great detail. He'd made all sorts of marks and tallies on its faded paper over the past few hours, trying to make sense of the dungeon's bizarre layout. He lifted the paper close to his face and stared hard at the first room, then darted his eyes to the upside-down door that hung at the other end of the room. He yelled in frustration and crumpled the map, casting it aside. Tatl jumped awake from her dosing off to the side, a bit frightened. "I don't get it!" Link cried. "This doesn't make any sense! How can I go through a door that's on the ceiling? Why are there switches and buttons on the ceiling as well? Is there something I missed? An item the lets me walk on walls?" Link tore off his hat and started wringing it in his hands while he gritted his teeth.

"Link, listen, you can figure this out," Tatl reassured him. "You don't need to get upset. I'll just make it harder to think."

Link sighed and nodded. "Ok," he said. He took a deep breath and picked up the map again.

"That's better." Tatl hovered onto his shoulder. She noticed him smile as she did so. "Now, you said something about things being on the ceiling, right?"

"That's right. It's as if half the dungeon can't be accessed because it was built upside-down."

"Well, what did that Garo Master guy you defeated not long ago say before he died?"

Link thought hard for a moment, trying to remember. "Let's see… he said if we shoot that which releases golden light, which is obviously a light arrow, into a red emblem outside the temple… it would be as if the earth was born in the heavens and the moon was born on the earth. Could that mean the world would be flipped upside-down?"

"There's only one way to find out! Let's go!" Tatl picked up Link's hat and handed it to him as he packed the rest of his things.

Link cupped his hand for his companion to land on. When she did, he gently rubbed her arm with his finger, saying, "Thanks, Tatl."

"Anytime," she replied.

Link walked outside the temple and looked around. He saw nothing that looked like a red emblem. "I'll see if I can get a better view from across the gap," he said. He leaped across the stone platforms hovering in the air to reach the other side. He then observed the entrance to the temple more closely. He spotted a red orb surrounded by a golden design on the cliff face outside the temple. "That must be it!" he exclaimed. He pulled out his bow and prepared to fire. Just then, Tatl spoke up.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked. "If you flip the world upside-down, what sorts of consequences will that have on everything else?"

Link sighed. "We'll never know unless we try," he said as he let it fly. An explosion of light radiated from the jewel as the arrow struck it. The light enveloped them, blinding them. When they opened their eyes again, they gasped in awe. They sky was now beneath them and the earth hung above. One wrong step off the edge of the cliff and they would tumble into the abyss, forever falling. And still, the moon drew closer to clock town. "It's…" Link couldn't find the words.

"Yeah…" replied Tatl, equally at a loss.

Without warning, the sound of bells once again rung in the air, echoing through the canyon and reaching them in sporadic clusters of noise. Link clenched his fist. "Why? Why now when we're so close?"

Tatl landed on his shoulder and gave him a nudge. "Hey, c'mon, hero! We can do this! We've still got 12 hours!"

"It's not that, it's…" he sighed. "It's Kafei. At this point… he's given up. He couldn't find his lost mask, not that it mattered, anyway. Anju is long gone. So by now, he's probably already…" Link swallowed hard. He didn't want to finish that thought.

Tatl was confused. "But, Link, we helped them! We got them together again, right?"

"Not this time around, you see? Every time we jump back to day one, all of our work is undone. This time, we didn't help them. We couldn't help them."

"But that's what we're doing this for, right?" she asked. "To save them. To save all of them! If we finally beat the Skull Kid, or… Majora, rather, than we can undo all of the damage that's been done!" She flew straight up to Link's face and lifted his chin up. "C'mon, Link. You can do this! Finish the temple, and then we can end it all!"

Link sighed, averting the eyes of his companion. Mustering his courage, he took a deep breath and put on a smile. Even if it was forced, it seemed to help. "You're right."

"You bet I am." Tatl smirked. "Now let's go!"

. . .

Link took a swig of his red health potion and tried to catch his breath. No good, the bats were already on him again. He strafed and held his shield up to defend against the barrage of black creatures. This fight wasn't going well. "Tatl," he gasped. "I could use some help. How can I hurt this guy?"

The young fairy popped out from the relative safety of Link's cap to sneak another look at the monster before them. Shrouded in evil bats and wielding a massive scythe, Gomess was a formidable foe. The yellow orb contained in its exposed rib cage must be the weak point, she thought, but how could Link clear away the bats long enough to damage it? Any of the bats he destroyed seemed to be replaced instantly. Then it hit her! "Link, try one of your light arrows!" she commanded. "It might scare the bats away!"

Link obeyed and drew an arrow, pouring his magic into it. The tip glowed bright yellow, like the sun. He let it fly, striking his target straight in the chest. It shrieked and curled as it was swathed in light, eyes wide and skin boiling. The bats scattered, giving the opening Link need to strike. He rushed in and wailed on it until the bats returned, then retaking his defensive position. His attack had a noticeable effect on the monster. Its eyes burned wild with pain and rage, and it began to attack more aggressively. However, Link had learned its attack patterns, and used the aggressiveness to his advantage, countering its moves. Soon he had it cornered and was slashing away at the glowing orb in its stomach. Gomess screamed and howled as its body began to disintegrate. The giant scythe stuck in the ground, dropped while the monster held its head in pain. Slowly, from the ground up, it burned, leaving nothing but the yellow sphere, shattering as it hit the ground. The ground shook violently, sending Link to his knees. The gates guarding the boss key and the exit both opened. Link quickly snagged the key, than he and Tatl raced outside, just as the shaking subsided.

"What was that all about?" asked Tatl. "Was that because you destroyed the monster? Nice job, by the way."

"Thank you," Link replied with a smile. "And I think so. It can't already be-" He froze as another tremor rattled the stone hallway. "No, it can't be!" he exclaimed. "No, not yet! Not now!" He hurried back to the main room, whispering, "Please, not yet! I need more time!" Once he'd reached the first room, he dared a glance at the sky beneath him, as the temple was still flipped upside down. The moon was dangerously close to crashing now. The ground shook once again as Tatl caught up to him, out of breath.

"Link, what's going on? Is the temple collapsing or something?" she asked, breathlessly.

"No," he said, softly. "No, it's not the temple. It's the whole world. There's no time. There's never enough time."

"What are you…" She paused. "Oh no, don't tell me the moon is already crashing." The frantic ringing of bells in the distance answered her question.

"I've failed…" Link slumped to his hands and knees. "I can't… I can't do it. Not again."

"Link, it's alright!" said Tatl as she tried to comfort him. "We can just play the song of time and try again."

"Dammit, Tatl!" Link slammed his fist into the cold ground. "I said I can't do it again! I can't go back in time again! I can't put them through that all-" The ending was choked off.

"Link!" Tatl rushed to him and hugged his neck. "Please, don't cry. Just tell me why you can't go back."

"I can't let everybody suffer again," he said, fighting back the tears. "Every time I go back, I make them relive the same hell, over and over! Everybody in Termina, the townsfolk, the Dekus, the Gorons, the Zoras, everyone! Poor Anju and Kafei are left to die alone and heartbroken. The Goron elder's baby and Pamela are both left fatherless. Lulu never gets to see her children, Cremia is set upon by bandits, and Romani! Oh, little Romani, I'm so sorry!" Link broke down crying. "I'm sorry, Romani! I couldn't save you! I can't save anyone! Even if I spent all three days trying to help them, there'd be no way to save them all! I'm… I'm powerless."

The bells continued to toll. Another earthquake began.

"Stop shaking!" Link screamed. He beat his fists into the ground, again and again. "Stop! Stop it! Please!" He covered his face in his hands and fell to the ground. "Please stop," he begged.

Tatl stood in misery as she watched her friend cry into the ground. "Link, you have to snap out of this!" she cried. "We can't give up now!"

Link shook his head. "I'm sorry Tatl, but I can't take this anymore. I could never live with myself if I let them suffer again. I'm done fighting. This battle was pointless from the start."

Tatl walked right up to Link's head, mustered all her strength and then some, and slapped him as hard as she could. "What kind of nonsense is that?" she yelled.

Link's eyes were thrown open with shock more than pain. He held his already red cheek with his hand. "Tatl," he whispered.

Tatl pointed her tiny finger into his face, her other hand on her hip. "Now, you listen to me! For the short time I've known you, when have you ever, EVER given up on anything? I know it's hard, and you've been broken both in spirit and in heart, but you can't stop now! You just can't!" Tatl let the tears flow down her face in a blind flurry of emotions. "If you give up now, what was the point of all of this? Then you would have just let these people suffer over and over for nothing! If you want to end their suffering for good, if you want to save them all, then beat Majora and stop that moon from crashing!"

"But I won't be able to take it, knowing that they're suffering again," he pleaded.

"Then don't think about it, stupid!"

"But I-" Tatl slapped him again. Link fell silent. He just looked down at the ground and started crying again.

Tatl cupped her hands to her mouth. "Oh, Link, I'm so sorry!" She walked slowly up to his arm and hugged him, sobbing into his sleeve. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you so much! Just please stop crying!" She was surprised to feel herself being pulled away from his arm.

Link lifted her up and set her into his open palm. He stood up, whipped away his tears, and smiled. "Alright," he said. "No more crying."

Tatl couldn't seem to stop the tears from flowing. She was so riled up that she couldn't tell if she was crying because she was happy or sad. "I'm sorry…" she repeated.

Link lightly held her to his chest. "Apology accepted." He set her on his shoulder and pulled out his ocarina. He glanced at Tatl. She nodded.

"Just one more time," she said.

"One more time," he replied. He took a deep breath, composing himself. Then, he lifted the ocarina to his lips. The temple began to crumble around them as he played the Song of Time, that same melody he had played so many times before. As the world around him began to fade into whiteness, he took Tatl into his hands. She smiled, and he smile back.

"Thank you," he said.

~Fin

Thank you for reading! If you have anything to say, suggestions, what you liked, what you didn't, whatever, please leave a review! It only takes a moment and it really helps me! If you liked it, consider giving it a favorite or checking out some of my other work! Until next time!

~Musicfrommykeyboard