BEN Drowned is the infamous ghost that haunts a Nintendo 64 cartridge of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, his soul having attached to it after the night of his horrible murder. If you take possession of the game and try to play it, BEN will immediately make his presence known in and outside of the game. One of the save files bears his name. The game will glitch and behave unlike anything any experienced player has ever seen. His eyes will haunt your very dreams. Within weeks, the game is right back where it started with the man it was bought from, and within weeks, he'll have sent it off with yet another unsuspecting player. Some seek out the cartridge, unaware of its curse, simply seeking a trip down memory game with one of the most chilling, atmospheric Zelda games in the series. Some seek out the cartridge to see the haunting for theirselves, never prepared for terror of BEN Drowned. Little do any of these players know, his goal isn't to haunt them eternally or destroy their sanity- all he wants is to expose the truth behind his untimely death. To see justice served to his killer. But for that to happen, people have to see the clues laid before them as they play his game and listen to his story. ... So. Will you listen?

To understand BEN's story, we need to start at the beginning. Long before he was murdered, long before he took his new name, long before the father was a part of his family.

Ben's biological father died when he was very young. Really, the only reason he could remember his father's face is because of the pictures of him his mother refused to pull off the walls.

But more importantly, he remembered that face because it followed him into his dreams. Almost every night, he dreamt of walking through a big, dark house, the floor creaking under his feet, always watched by strangers he never recognized, strangers that made him scared.

He always had to keep walking until he found his father, who would then take him by the hand and guide him back to the door. When he crossed the threshold to the outside, he woke up in his bed. If he was particularly unlucky, he'd doze off soon after and end up right back in that old house.

His mother would always insistently reassure him that they were just dreams. "Your mind was making up all those strangers you saw, don't worry."

This explanation brought little comfort with it, but with no reason to consider his mother may be lying, Ben simply accepted that it was the truth. Soon after, the dreams mysteriously stopped and he was able to sleep peacefully.

Neither Ben or his mother ever forgot about those dreams, but she refused to humor any mention of them and begged him to stop bringing them up.

She kept mum herself for years, until one day at her place of work when the subject of ghosts had been brought up. Her coworkers talked about messages from the beyond, their validity, if any of them had personally experienced any such thing... Something she couldn't explain compelled her to share her own story.

"When he was five, Ben started having these terrible nightmares about what he thought were ghosts," She began. Everyone fell silent as they turned to her. "He said the dreams always started with him walking through this old, scary house. Everywhere he went, there were strangers watching him and trying to talk to him, except he couldn't understand what they were saying. Sometimes they would leave him be, other times they would chase him. But no matter what, he would-"

She faltered, closing her eyes tightly. "He would always find his father waiting for him in the house. His father had been dead for a whole year at that point. Ben was never even allowed to see the body- I didn't want him to remember his father that way- yet... He could always tell me every detail of how Allen looked. His suit, his hair, his face and- and the stitches across his throat."

"Prim, I- I'm so sorry," One of her coworkers murmured. All she could do was turn her head.

"It's okay. I the one who should be sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."

After that, she remained silent. The others left her be, shifting the subject to something lighter in tune and not noticing when, soon after, another coworker pulled Prim to the side.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Prim," He said, frowning deeply. "I know just how you feel. I lost my own love no more than three years ago, and I... Haven't been the same since."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything I could do to help you, Mat?"

"Well, I- I wanted to ask, does Ben still dream of that house? Of your husband?"

Prim stiffens, shaking her head quickly. "No. No, of course not. He stopped dreaming of that ever since I took him to a child psychologist and got him some treatment for the trauma he'd been through."

"Oh, I see. I'm glad to hear he's better, then." She couldn't help noticing that Mat seemed... Disappointed. But before she could ask about it, he bid her goodbye and left to return to his own work.

But that's not to say that was the last time they spoke. Mat visited Prim more and more often at work, then they began meeting after work hours, each time their conversations growing warmer than the last, until one day the white-hot words, "I love you, Mat," scorched in the air.

This wasn't news to Ben, who was twelve at the time. Over the course of the year, Mat and Ben had been introduced and given the chance to bond just as often as Mat had with Prim. By the time Prim had said "I love you," Ben was ready to say, "Welcome to the family."

For two years, they lived as one happy family.

Then, everything changed when Mat did. Seemingly out of nowhere, he grew reserved around Prim, distant and uninterested in her- sometimes it seemed like he was almost resentful to be around her. Unsure of the cause or what else to do, Prim simply decided she'd try giving him some space but occasionally try to connect with some meaningful dialogue. It never worked.

Interestingly, Mat's behavior towards Ben was the complete opposite in every way. He was far more open and communicative with the boy, completely interested in him and his hobbies and always willing to listen to Ben talk about school, his friends or his latest gaming obsession: Majora's Mask.

Ben did try to inquire into why Mat was treating Prim so differently, but his concerns were dismissed with a... Tolerable excuse. "Alright. But if you ever need to talk, Dad... I'm here for you. You know that, right?"

It all came to a head the night Ben and Mat were walking to the former's school, which had decided to hold an extra credit astronomy class that also bled into a mass overnight. Even though Ben didn't care about the sleepover, he was interested in the astronomy and had already promised his friends he'd make an appearance.

Since it was starting after dark, Prim hadn't been comfortable with Ben going alone but couldn't drive him there herself- she had a late meeting to attend at work. So Mat volunteered to take him, and reasoned that the walking would give them more time to see the stars.

They decided to take Ben's usual path to school. It was quiet and there weren't many lights out that way- in fact, hardly any at all. It was a country road that curved beside a huge lake that glistened like diamonds in the moonlight.

"The stars look pretty nice out here," Ben remarked, staring mostly at the sky but occasionally passing a wary glance towards the lake.

"Mm-hmm. And it's very peaceful here, I can see why you choose to come this way every morning."

"Yeah, it's nice and quiet. Of course, every so often some idiots in a red pickup scream by, but I can spot their approach from miles away by now."

"I'm not surprised- you have very good senses and instincts in you, Ben. Which reminds me..." Mat slowed to a stop, waiting for Ben to do the same before continuing, "I wanted to ask you a bit more about your ghosts."

Right away, the boy heaves a soft sigh. "This again? I- Dad, you know how much Mom hates me talking about this stuff."

"I do. But, Prim isn't here right now, is she? I promise that whatever you say, it's just between us."

"... Fine. What did you want to ask?"

"I'd like to go over the basics again, to start. Tell me what you remember."

"It's not much," Ben briefly tugged off his beanie, dragging his hand through his bangs. "I just remember flashes of that old house. The sunken faces of some ghosts. The suit my other dad was wearing- but I can't remember his face. I still need pictures to remember what he looked like."

Mat simply hummed, brow furrowed in deep thought. "And you say you haven't have any dreams since Prim took you to the child psychologist?"

Ben fell silent, his gaze drifting away as he began to fidget- an unusual sight, he was a pretty hard kid to rattle. Mat's interest spiked.

"You have, haven't you?"

"I- no. No, not that I know of. I just- agh, I don't want to say..."

"Please, Ben, tell me!"

He glanced up at his father, green eyes full of unease. Then he let them close, mumbling, "I can't really remember anything from around that time, but- but I don't think it was a child psychologist she took me to. The images in my head- they're more like a room illuminated by candlelight, with one round table and a string of beads. A- A rosary, I guess?"

"Do you think she took you to an exorcist?" Mat asks, receiving an uneasy shrug. "But they couldn't have taken your ability to interact with ghosts, right? If you tried, you could-"

"Dad, enough!" Ben interrupted, shaking his head and shooting the other a look. "You're freaking me out, okay? No more talk about ghosts, or those dreams, and definitely no more talk about starting it all up again!"

"But-"

"No, no, no. It's just not safe! When- when I had those dreams, I literally could not wake up until I crossed the threshold out of that house!" He let out a shaking breath, wrapping his arms around himself in a tight hug. "And this time, I don't know if dad will be there to show me the way back."

"Please try to understand, Ben. I need you to do this for me, I- I need to see her again."

"Her who?"

"My wife. My dead wife."

Ben's eyes widened, then his brow furrowed in confusion. "You were married before Mom? I- I didn't know, Dad, I'm so sorry."

"She was taken from me before her time, and ever since, I've been a shell of my former self. If I could just see her again, then I could be whole. But there's only one person I could trust enough with such a thing- one person I know would never trick me. And that's you, Ben,"

Unfortunately for Mat, he wasn't too swayed by that. In fact, he seemed far more uneasy than he was before, and hesitantly asked, "Is this why you've been so cold towards Mom?"

He sighed heavily, rubbing his temple. "Yes, it is. I will be the first to admit that it's not fair of me to take my feelings out on Prim this way, but- but can't you see that I'm at the end of my rope?"

"Is this the only reason why you married her to begin with?" Ben pressed, his eyes narrowing as he went on. "Did you ever really care about us at all?"

"Of course, Ben! I swear to you, I love you so, so much. My life wouldn't be as bright as it is now without you."

"Then if I do this for you, are you going to stay? Or are you going to leave us and never come back?"

"..."

Ben seemed genuinely taken aback by the lack of reassurance, feeling his eyes sting and blinking furiously. "So you've just been using us all along?... Fine then. Fine, and forget you." He let out a pained hiss, turning on his heel and treading forward along the path. "Pack up your stuff and get lost, Mat. And you can just forget about coercing me into contacting your wife- I doubt she'd want to talk to you after what you've done!"

"Get back here, now!" Mat screeched, and the sound of running footsteps turned Ben's blood cold. He whipped around just in time for the man to grab his arms, clutching them in a painful, vice-like grip that seemed so unnaturally strong. "You. Are not getting out of this, Ben," He snarled, ignoring the way the boy writhed in his grip and kicked at his legs. It seemed like all feelings except rage and desperation had been purged from his body.

"Let go of me! Let go! LET GO!"

Unbothered, Mat shoved Ben hard enough to make him lose his footing, then began to drag him towards the lake. "If you won't help me willingly, then I'll just have to make a new path to my wife!"

"Wha-?!" Ben realized where he was being dragged to and felt his heart stop in his chest, kicking his heels into the ground to try and gain a foothold to no avail. "No, wait, stop! Stop, stop!"

He wasn't stopping. Mat simply huffed and snarled, unrelenting as he dragged Ben closer and closer to the lake. As the dirt path turned to the grass at the edge of the lake, tears welled up in Ben's eyes.

"Please, Mat, please! I- I'll do it, just stop! STOP! No, no, NO!"

Mat hefted Ben off of the ground, his grip almost strong enough to break bones, and glared him dead in the eyes.

"I'll do it! I'll do what you want, please just let me go! I won't say a word about this to anyone, just- please!" He begged, hyperventilating between choked sobs. "Please, I don't want to die!"

For a moment, Ben thought he saw sympathy in those dark eyes. Maybe he would get out of this after all...

Or. Maybe not.

Mat's scowl deepened, his teeth bared as he growled out, "Neither did she. And yet, she had to die anyway. No one gave her any mercy, so why should you have any?!"

"You said you loved me," Ben croaked out.

"I love her more."

With that, Mat had nothing more to say.

Ben couldn't even scream as the lake engulfed him, his mouth filled by water far too fast. He thrashed and kicked against the cold tendrils tangling around him, but it was no use. He could never swim, and no miracle was coming to save him from this terrible fate.

"You're not supposed to be here," A quiet, strange voice whispered.

When Ben opened his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of a man in a suit who had one hand held out towards him. Silently, Ben accepted the gesture and allowed the man to help him to his feet.

The floor creaked underfoot as they made their way through the dark house. Every strange figure Ben saw paid him no mind except for one- a woman with black tears spilling from her eyes.

"She'll never be able to look at him again," Said the man in the suit. Ben looked back to him, confused. "She knows he's just as horrible as the one who killed her."

He decided it would be better not to ask. Not when they were arriving at that familiar, somewhat comforting door. The man let go of Ben's hand to open the door. Like always, Ben stepped crossed the threshold without question, fully ready to wake up.

The sound of an ocarina whistling off-key startled him awake. He climbed to his feet and turned, finding that a pesky imp was toying with the blue ocarina in its hands. There was a mark on the ocarina, three little, yellow triangles stacked in a way that made one big one.

Seeing that snapped him out of his daze, and almost on instinct, he glared silently at the imp. The fairies hovering over its shoulders startled on seeing him awake, their bell-like cries of alarm causing the imp to whip around.

With a start and a yip, he hid the ocarina behind his back. Obviously, Ben wasn't duped, and lunged to catch the imp and get back his property.

And that's where things spiraled out of control. Ben's horse was stolen and hidden away from him, he was cursed to become a Deku Scrub, and when the imp had finished torturing him, it left behind one of its fairy companions and left him with no choice but to take her along. (She didn't seem bad in her heart, but she wasn't quite good, either.)

They traveled until the silence turned to the churning of wooden cogs, guiding them into the inside of a chilling clocktower. There waited a seller of masks, happy only in name, who knew how to free Ben of his prison and promised to do so should the boy find the mask that the imp stole from him.

For three days, Ben toiled to get the mask to no avail. At the end of the third day, he saw doom barreling towards him and the town he was in, but was not powerless to stop it. With the snap of a toxic bubble, the imp dropped his lost ocarina, and Ben was able to recollect the song that would take him back to day one.

With the ocarina now in hand, the mask seller was able to teach Ben the song to cure his curse.

The moment the last note echoed through the air, Ben's cursed form fell away to reveal an entirely different one. One with the grayed skin of a corpse, tears of black ooze, and red irises set into black sclera.

With a sob, Ben collapsed to his knees. "He really did it. He really killed me. I- I'm truly dead... I'm the ghost now."

Even to this day, the people of Termina have never forgotten the howl of sheer agony that shattered the peaceful air that dawn.

"Don't forget, little hero," The Happy Mask Salesman hummed, staring down on the stricken boy. "You only have three days to get my mask and save this land. You can't waste time mourning, can you?"

"..." Slowly, Ben pushed himself up onto his hands, breathing hard. "Is- is this real?"

"As much as I wish I could say it wasn't, it is. If you're in denial, then go outside and look to the sky."

Because then I'll see the moon? He picked up the Deku Mask, feeling the texture of wood under his fingers, and climbed to his feet. Dazed, he trudged outside of the Clock Tower, raising an arm to shield his eyes from the bright sun until they could adjust. Then... He lifted his gaze skyward.

The moon once again glared down at him, furious and pained all at once.

As Ben stared up at it, he brushed his thumb across the rough wood of the Deku Mask, forcing his body to acknowledge the sights, sounds and feelings until he could finally accept them. Feeling lightheaded, he slowly lowered himself to the ground and covered his eyes with his hands, letting out a shuddering breath. The black ooze dripping from his eyes was eerily warm, feeling like static to the touch.

Before too long, he was snapped out of his daze by Tatl headbutting his shoulder. "Alright, no more sitting around! We have to stop Skull Kid and save my brother, remember?!"

"Ah! Right, right. Sorry." He stood, glancing down to brush off his tunic only to pause as he realized he was wearing it. That- that's right, if I'm the one saving Termina, then... Then that means I'm Link. He looked himself over, taking in his tunic, hat, boots- even his golden-blond hair, a stark difference from the pale-blond hair he had when he was alive. I'm literally Link, from head to toe. But wh-

Before he could keep questioning it, Tatl gave him another headbutt to the shoulder and chimed at him angrily. Ben nodded quickly, then he took the first step forward to truly begin his quest.

The quest to save all of Termina.

With so many playthroughs in Majora's Mask under his belt, Ben had no problem at all undertaking this quest. He could solve every puzzle, complete every sidequest, beat every boss, all with complete ease.

"Huh. I guess the Happy Mask Salesman wasn't lying when he said you were a great hero!" Tatl once remarked, fluttering around Ben. "Good, then! That means we can save everyone with no problem!"

Despite himself, Ben couldn't help smiling as he gave her a nod. "Yeah!"

With every region he restored, Ben found his burdening lightening more and more, found that he was becoming able to smile and laugh again. He found himself growing more thrilled to take on each mission that came his way.

When the time came to face Majora itself, Ben was ready. With the Fierce Deity's Mask in hand, he fought the monstrous creature and emerged victorious. The curse of doom was purged from the land and Majora's Mask was safely returned to the Happy Mask Salesman.

The moment Ben was able to hand it over, the visage of death haunting him faded away, leaving behind the visage that everyone else saw- the form of the hero. The form of Link, with warm skin and lively blue eyes.

Everything had fallen into place. All that was left was for Ben to mount Epona and set off for new horizons, searching once again for the disappeared Navi.

Then he found himself right back in the forest he started in.

W- What the?... Why am I here? What happened? Am I- am I stuck in a time loop?

Something felt different about it this time. Namely, the fact that he could hear the faint, muffled sound of a woman crying.

With that realization, he found that there was dread pooling in his gut.

After the Skull Kid stole Epona and bolted off, Ben tried to chase after but found his body was frozen, unable to move of his own accord. The only motion he could make was an idling motion, tapping the toe of his boot against the dirt and shifting his equipment.

"Oh, i- it must be me in control now," The crying woman murmured, and Ben felt his heart lunge straight into his throat.

Mom... I never thought I'd hear your voice again.

Ben found himself pressing onward, his body moving under the control of his mother. It was strange not having any control of his own limbs, but he couldn't bring himself to mind when it felt like they were playing the game together. If only it were so, and he were there with her and she wasn't in tears...

The game progressed like normal as Prim played, occasionally making mumbling in concern for Link and Epona, until they reached the Clock Tower.

When they were met with the Happy Mask Salesman, the game began glitching- Ben could tell by the broken, digital buzzes echoing around him and the way the Happy Mask Salesman occasionally froze in place.

The game cartridge and my N64 were in perfect condition before I died, though. Why is it doing this? Ben wondered, listening as his mother began to fret and check on the game system.

"It doesn't look like anything's wrong with it," She mumbled. "But maybe I should stop playing now. I- I don't want to break it..."

But before she could turn it off, the glitches ceased and the Happy Mask Salesman began to speak,

"I own the Happy Ghosts Shop. I travel far and wide in search of ghosts... During my travels, a very important ghost was taken from me by an imp in the woods."

"Ghosts? I suppose I can see now why Ben was so interested in this game."

Except, this isn't the real dialogue. He found himself lightheaded, his breaths shuddering softly as they left his body. He's a mask salesman. And there's no glitch in the world that should change that. So- so why has it changed?

"So here I am at a loss... And now I've found you. Now, don't think me rude, but I've been following you..." In a blink, he shifted into a pose where he cradled his chin in his hand, a score of music playing in the background to follow his tangent- except, it was different- slowed down and lower pitched. "... For I know a way to return you to your former self. If you can get back the precious item that was stolen from you, I will return you to normal."

He reached out to the the boy, continuing, "In exchange... All I ask is that you also get back the precious ghost that the imp took from me."

At that request, Ben felt his stomach drop.

"What? Is it not a simple task? Why, to someone like you, it should by no means be a difficult task."

Unprompted, Tatl swooped out from underneath Ben's hat and rang furiously, snapping, "That doesn't mean it's not dangerous! Who will be there to help him find the door out again?!"

"The- the door?" Prim choked out, finding that this dialogue hit too close to home for comfort.

"Please try to understand. I need to take the risk. I need to see my precious ghost again."

"Who exactly is this ghost?" Tatl questioned, speaking for Ben where he could not.

The Happy Mask Salesman clasped his hands together, chuckling quietly. "My wife."

The game itself was the only thing keeping Ben on his feet at this point.

What's going on? What's going on? Why is the game doing this? There's- there's no way I changed the game just by inhabiting the cartridge!... Right?

"During my travels, my wife was taken from me by an imp in the woods. All I ask is that you get back my precious wife that the imp took from me. I need to see her again."

"Will you do this for me?"

A Yes/No box popped up. Ben went stock still as he heard his mother suck in a deep breath...

Then she selected no.

The Happy Mask Salesman's face twisted in anger. "You. Are not getting out of this, BEN."

"B- Ben?!" Prim cried out, shocked. She hadn't named the character that, she simply left it as the suggested "Link."

He lunged at Ben, grabbing him by the shoulders. Everything went black.

Ben let out an ear-piercing scream in his real voice.

When his sight returned, he was on his hands and knees. He could feel the Happy Mask Salesman's glare boring through his skull.

"Now, no matter what may happen, I'll know for certain if my precious ghost is out there or not."

"H- How could you do this?..." Tatl whimpered, lowering herself to Ben's cheek and nuzzling against it. Ben could only let out a low, shuddering breath.

"Because she's all that matters to me."

Slowly, Ben raised his eyes to look at the Happy Mask Salesman. The man still glowered at him furiously...

Then he heard his mother shriek in horror, shoving himself off his hands only to realize they were human hands in grayed skin. Meaning that the game- or maybe the Happy Mask Salesman- forced him back into his true form.

No, I- I never wanted her to see me like this! He felt his body beginning to shake violently.

"Ben," She called out, and he startled to attention. "Ben, wh- what happened to you?"

"You believe it's really me?" He asked the darkness around the Clock Tower, climbing to his feet as Tatl nestled into his neck, shaking with little jingling noises.

"I don't know what to believe..." She sighed, sobbing softly.

Ben felt a pang of grief in his chest, letting his eyelids slide shut as the black ooze began to flow faster from his eyes- a facsimile of tears.

"I'm so sorry, Mom. I never wanted you to see me like this, I just- I wanted you to remember me as I used to be before- before I drowned."

"Who did this to you? Please, I- M- Mat never saw who did it, they knocked him out before he could!"

"Tch, Mat said that?" He shook his head, opening his eyes and glaring at the Happy Mask Salesman. Not the true target of his hate, but a suitable substitute for now.

"Ben, don't tell me-" Prim cut herself off, her voice choked with horror.

Slowly, the boy nodded. "It was Mat who did this to me. He murdered me, just so he could prove that ghosts exist."

"Because he wants to see his wife again..."

"After that, I woke up in the game. I became a ghostly version of Link, yet- yet you're the only person who's ever seen this form. The people here see nothing wrong."

"I'm so sorry this happened to you," She sobbed, crying even harder. "I should have never gotten involved with Mat! Th- this never would have happened if I had realized what a monster he is!"

"... It's too late for me, but there's still time for you, Mom. Do whatever it takes to save yourself from him."

"I will. I promise you, I-"

Ben heard the sound of a door creaking open, but it wasn't in the Clock Tower. It was outside of the game.

"M- Mat," Prim whispered, her voice sounding faint.

"I knew it wouldn't take you long to make contact, Ben," Mat hummed, ignoring Prim completely. The hero bristled furiously, glaring at the Happy Mask Salesman with his teeth bared. "And now we all know the truth of the afterlife. Ghosts are real, and they can speak just as well as the living. She can speak just as well as I can."

"She'll never be able to look at you again," Ben hissed, narrowing his eyes. "She knows you're just as horrible as the one who killed her."

Mat fell dead silent. Then, his rage turned so visceral that even the Happy Mask Salesman reacted, his expression distorting in fury as Mat snarled back, "How dare you? HOW DARE YOU?!"

"It's the truth and you know it! You looked me in the eyes and told me that you wouldn't show me mercy because the one who killed your wife didn't show her mercy! How could you ever be any better than them?! You're a cold-blooded murderer!"

"Is that really what you think? Then... Why don't I show you just how cold-blooded I can be?"

The Happy Mask Salesman grinned. Ben felt the blood drain from his face.

"Mom, get out of there," He whispered.

"Wh- what?"

"RUN!"

He heard the sound of the controller dropping to the floor and Mat fighting against Prim. He heard his mother fighting against a murderer and realized there was nothing he could do to help her, his heart stopping in his chest.

Paralyzed, all he could do was listen as the fight reached its climax with the sound of a blade piercing flesh... And Prim letting out a bloodcurdling scream of agony.

Everything fell silent. Then, everything went black as the game was shut down.

Several weeks later, after Prim's death had been attended to and Mat had diverted any suspicions from himself, he finally had a chance to contact Ben alone. He booted up the game and selected Ben's old save file to bypass the opening cutscenes.

It opened up at the save point outside of the Stone Tower Temple, yet there was no sign of Ben- or even Link- anywhere on screen.

"There's no point in hiding from me, Ben. Show yourself," Mat called out, but for a moment, nothing happened.

... Then the game began glitching violently, a field of static and colored bars clouding the screen as a loud, painful whine sounded. Mat clamped his hands over his ears, only moving them when the visuals returned to the screen, leaving him at the top of the Clocktower.

And he was confronted by the furious face of the Happy Mask Salesman. He yelped, dropping the controller in his fright, only to grow confused when he heard a familiar, mischievous giggle.

The Skull Kid?

Collecting the remote again, he began to pan around the top of the tower, the movements of the camera slowed by an unknown force. It circled around the Happy Mask Salesman, only stopping at his back when Ben could finally be seen, with the Skull Kid hovering at his shoulder.

Ben stood with his back towards the screen as he waited for Mat to make the first move.

"Well, he we are again, Ben," Mat said to him. "How about you stop stalling and we talk, instead?"

He was ignored.

"Tch." He glanced at the remote, then at the screen, wondering if he could force Ben to move closer. To his surprise, when he tilted the joystick down, it wasn't Ben who moved, it was the Happy Mask Salesman. This isn't right. Is- is Ben changing the way the game is played? Can he even do that?

It seemed so. And it seemed that all he could do about it was bring his new player character closer to his goal.

The Happy Mask Salesman creeped closer and closer towards Ben and the Skull Kid, growing slower and warier with each step until finally, Ben vanished from sight...

Only to reappear right in Mat's face, outside of the game.

"AHHGH!" Mat threw himself back onto the floor, his heart pounding as he stared up at the ghostly apparition before him, all-the-more terrifying thanks to the spiked, colorful mask he wore with ominous eyes glowing red.

The Skull Kid cackled at him from within the game, eerily aware of when Mat was afraid.

"You shouldn't have done that..." Ben growled out.

"W- What are you going to do? Kill me?

"And finally let you see your wife? Absolutely not."

Mat grit his teeth and let out a hiss, but immediately lost his nerve when the blade of Ben's sword brushed against his throat. The eyes of the mask glowed accusingly.

"Don't misunderstand, Mat. There is nothing I want more than to tear you limb from limb so, so slowly, listening to you scream bloody murder while I dangle you over the cusp of death, yet never let you die."

The man swallowed hard, letting out a shuddering breath. Then, to his surprise, Ben withdrew his sword, sheathing it and pulling off his mask. "But I refuse to stoop to your level. I refuse to become a monster like you. Besides... There are other ways to punish you for your crimes."

"Like what?"

"I'm going to make sure you live a long, long life. But you will never know happiness ever again. You'll never have friends, wealth and you will never see your wife. You will only have your memories of her as you wither away into nothing. I'm going to make you pay for hurting my mother for the rest of your life."

Ben glared down at Mat, red eyes biting as he snapped, "I want you to be just as miserable as I am now that you've taken everything from me! My father, my life, my mother- you went a step too far, and now you're going to suffer for it!"

Mat gave him a funny look. "I seem to recall your father having been dead before I married into the family."

"I'm talking about you, Mat. You were my father, you meant so much to me because I loved you! But- but..." Ben choked back a sniffle, the black ooze spilling from his eyes fluidly. "But despite what you said, you never loved me. You never loved us. You fixated on what you lost instead of what you gained. And then you decided to murder us for it? How... How could you think your wife would ever forgive you for this?"

Mat didn't respond. He didn't know how to.

Ben let out a heavy breath, treading over to the window of his bedroom and staring out at the street. "I want you to feel all the agony I do. I will make sure that everyone who touches the game knows what you did. You can try to pass the game off to everyone in the world, but you'll never get rid of me, I'll be right back. You can try to destroy it, but I won't let you."

Almost as though on cue, Mat lunged right for the N64, aiming to grab it and smash it to the floor.

Before he can even get close, a fleshy, thick tendril wrapped around his neck and slammed him to the wall, pinning him there.

"W- What the-?!" Mat scratched at it blindly, hearing the Skull Kid cackling as Ben stepped back into his line of sight.

He wore the dark mask once more, but instead of a sword in his hand, he held some kind of whip that formed the tendril holding him in place.

"Don't. Test. Me," He hissed, the eyes of the mask bright with fury. "I couldn't stop you before, but that's changed. Now there's nothing you can do to stop me..." He cocked his head to the side. "And it's all thanks to this mask. To Majora's Mask."

"Majora's Mask," Mat echoed, his heart stopping as he finally realized why the mask was so familiar.

"You finally noticed. Now I have the power to send the moon crashing into the earth. Limitless, nightmarish power, and complete control over it- Majora has no way to infect my mind, no way to puppeteer me into using this power for evil.

"From now on, whenever innocent blood is spilled, it will be my mother's blood. And you'll find me there, fighting against the murderers and monsters just like you."




Meskhenet was approached by a gleaming gold Coatl, whose body seemed to glitch and fritz in unnatural ways. "Hello, my name is BEN. My mother and I were both murdered by the father, who pretended to be innocent."

"I work restlessly at unveiling the truth, even as a ghost... I don't know how well I'm progressing, though, so I must ask you: What do you see within me?"

A small coo had left the Imperial, curling her tail around her body as she "gazed" down upon the Coatl through her blindfold, already beginning to speak out of his fortune that he had been looking for...

"You've come across a terrible fate, haven't you? Alas, a terrible fate that will no longer haunt you. A prosper within the mind and body, or lack thereof... With what is your desired craft, it will continue to grow at a rate you yourself had no idea of achieving. Grow, but with caution. Perhaps, it is because of a powerful artifact you have within your possession."

(Fortune above from the awesome Sickened!)