Aftermath

[03.29.01] » by Spaces

A noise from behind the princess started her as she turned around. A gasp escaped her as she spotted a young boy in a green tunic. She backed up a bit until her back was against the walls and her lips shaped the word, "Who?"

Link's memory was fading fast but he knew there was something about the princess... He knew that she had played some part in... something. Though for the life of him, he could not remember. In the treehouse where he had come to know so well, he had awoke with a splitting headache. Arms, legs, shoulder, everything ached and he so much wanted to go back to sleep but he gathered his strength and headed outside to the Kokiri village.

There, at the foot of the steps, stood Mido, his arms folded across his chest and a look of pure annoyance acsross his face. "Where's Saria?" he demanded.

Link merely shrugged, which made his muscles sore. How was he going to make it through the day feeling like this, let alone make it down the stairs? Then the thought finally popped into his mind. WHY was he feeling this way? Searching through his mind he went back through yesterday's events... He had done a few chores that he did daily, helped clean up the yard of the know it all brothers, wandered around in the lost forest until it was time for dinner and bed. The typical day. There was no reason to be feeling like he had just ran a marathon and even if he had, he shouldn't be feeling so bad.

Mido threw up his hands, "I've looked everywhere for her! She's not home, she's not in the forest or at the Deku tree." Suddenly his eyes became wide and he whispered, barely audible, "You don't think... you don't think she left Kokiri? Do you?"

Link shook his head, the thought obviously insane. No one left the forest. That would be suicide. With less speed and excitement then usual, he made his way down the ladder to where Mido waited, still worried as he spoke. "I don't know. Saria's been acting strange lately. Especially with your..." but he didn't need to go on. Link knew that Mido was thinking about Link's banishment. Every night, Link would sit out on his little porch and watch the fairies light up the night. So many fairies and yet none would follow him... Fairies?

"Navi?" Something struck his memory. Not only a fairy but several images all at once, then they were gone. All he could remember was a fairy named Navi and the princess. He could see her face too, clearly in his mind, though he'd never met the girl in his life. Perhaps this was a dream he had in the night. Shaking his head he decided it was but Mido was curious about the blonde's reference.

"What about her?" Mido peered into Link's eyes, "How do you know about Navi?"

Link all but jumped back. There couldn't be a Navi, it was a dream, wasn't it? "I don't. It was just a dream..." But Mido didn't look convinced so Link continued. "A dream I had last night about a fairy by the name of Navi and Princess Zelda... There were other things but I can't exactly remember. Have you ever heard of The Gerudo?" Mido shook his head and mentioned that the know it all brothers might know, so they took the short trip over to their house.

Inside, the were all gathered around a table playing a game with stones. The oldest looked up when the two entered, "Geesh Link, don't you ever knock? You just come in as if you own the place." It was all in good tone, so Link nor Mido didn't pay much attention to the remark. Instead, Mido went directly over to the three and explained Link's dream to them. The same who spoke before gasped both at the mention of Navi and the Princess, though had no clue about any Gerudo.

Link frowned as they treated him as if he wasn't there in their conversation and butted in with, "Who is Navi?!"

The youngest replied as if everyone should have known this, "It's a fairy that hangs out with the Deku tree. She's never chosen a child to be with and they say she's as old as the Deku tree itself... Of course, any Kokiri would have been told that by their fairy already." It was a direct assault on Link's absence of a fairy. He heard at least one everyday, but the brother went on about Navi. "If you're havin’ dreams about her, maybe you should go tell the Deku Tree. Maybe you'll finally get a fairy!" the words showed no enthusiasm about it, only sarcasm but Link figured that was indeed the best thing to do, so he headed over towards the Deku Tree.

As he passed through the long path to the Deku tree, something once again flashed into his memory. Surprise. Fear. A plant? Instinctively he grabbed for something behind his back but only winced at the pain of moving his arm so fast and of course, nothing was there. Confused, he traveled on. A feeling of recognition followed him which he just figured to be memory. He had been down this path many times.

When he reached the Deku Tree, an image flashed in his mind. Gray, withering, sadness, emeralds. He shook his head trying to get these thought out of his head. Was he going crazy? They claimed there was something wrong if a fairy never joined you. Did the fairies know something he didn't about himself?

As he approached, the Deku Tree gazed down at him. "Link. Why dost thou come here?" A small fairy appeared through the branched of the enormous tree and caught Link's attention. She looked like every other fairy, but somehow, there was something about the way she moved, the light she gave off. Just things that were... familiar. This was beginning to annoy him but he calmly replied. "I had a dream last night and I remember a fairy by the name of Navi in it. I've never heard of her before this and was wondering if you maybe... knew... what it could mean?"

The tree made no movements, no shifts, nothing. But it paused, which Link assumed to be thinking. The fairy, he noticed, had withdrawn back into the branches of the tree. Were they talking somehow that Link couldn't hear? He strained his ear to listen but was interrupted by the tree. "Twas anything else in thy dream?"

Link gladly explained everything he could remember. Seeing the princess so clear he described her to the tree and the word 'Gerudo' he remembered. "A Male Gerudo in fact... but I don't know what this means." The atmosphere in the circle where the tree rested became a tad darker. "I don't really remember much..." he repeated what he said at the beginning of the explanation.

"Link, Thou must depart from Kokiri soon. If Gerudo be in thy dreams, they must be the key to thy past..." An eyebrow arched on the child as the great tree spoke these words. The tree slowly began to explain to Link about how he was found. The Deku Tree knew little about the Gerudo but did know that Link was not a Kokiri and perhaps, since there was only one Male Gerudo born every so often, he may indeed be one of them. If so, he could not stay in the forest any longer.

Protests were made but the Tree only became more and more certain that Link had to leave. He felt like crying but could not. How could he be kicked out of his home? He knew it may happen sooner or later if a fairy never came, but so young? So soon?

Not many were there as he left. Especially not the one he cared the most about. Saria. Through the tunnel and across the bridge. There it was again. A thought of Saria. Music. Link had to clench his teeth to keep the sad face of Saria out of his mind. Staring at him with tears in her eyes, handing him a small object. It was so real he had to stop and look around to remember where he really was. "What's happening?" he shouted into the forest. No one answered.

On his way out to Hyrule field, there was an owl. He stared up at the owl and it looked back to at him. "What are you staring at? Laughing at me? Because I'm thrown out of the forest?" he almost expected the owl to talk back but it simply hooted and continued to stare. He shook his head and sighed. "I suppose I really am going crazy. I hope all the Gerudo are crazy so I'll fit in... though the way the Deku Tree made it out, they're all women? That seems... Impossible. And crazy, so I'm sure they'll love me." He realized he was talking out loud and looked up at the own again. It was just sitting there, looking back at him.

After quite a few moments Link finally said, "You can't talk, can you?" It was an insane idea but all of his ideas were insane at the moment. The owl, of course, said nothing back. The boy nodded as if to convince himself and turned the corner to see Hyrule field for the first time in his life. How thrilling it would be to see such a place. He had heard about it before but never seen it. He turned the corner and got quite the opposite of thrill.

Suddenly, he was all but knocked over with something that he couldn't place if he tried. A horse, a red headed girl, chickens, large running fat men, windmills... a song came to mind, so clearly he could hum it. And then, once again, it was gone with the blink of an eye and Hyrule field seemed as foreign to him as he expected it to be. He dropped to his knees and shook his head. "I can't do this. I need..."

A Kokiri girl sitting at the top of a column saw the boy who had left not a few minutes ago come rushing back in. A few kids asked him what he was doing since he was banished but he quickly ran over to a yard and disappeared into a hole. A soft voice came from her, "What on earth is he doing?" she spoke quietly to herself, not expecting an answer from anywhere. A few moments later he emerged with a... a sword? Was that a sword? She watched him run across the village and enter the local store. He then emerged with a shield. Once again she muttered, "What is that boy up to?" But before she could even think about crossing the bridges to inquire, he was gone again. Towards Hyrule field.

Now Link felt like he was ready. Though how he knew that sword was there... The owl was still there and almost looked surprised as Link came out again. Link merely smiled up at the bird and waved. "I'm off to save Hyrule!" the words came but he didn't know what they meant. Deciding that he'd try to keep his mouth shut before he said something to someone who could understand, he trekked on north. The Deku tree told him to go west, to there the Gerudo all lived but he had to get something straightened out first.

Now, here he was. The princess was there, exactly as he remembered, or as he thought he remembered. He had so say something. Her glance was on his sword and shield and he suddenly felt guilty about them. "I'm not here to hurt you, I just..." Everything seemed foolish to him now. The dream, or what he thought was a dream, was gone. He couldn't remember anything about it anymore. The only reason he remembered the princess was because he had told Mido and the Deku tree about her but couldn't remember her face the way he did. Now it seemed completely new. He could have sworn that when he saw her though, he remembered her. Now he didn't. It was all happening so quickly.

"How did you make it past the guards?" she seemed frightened, yet ready to take action if anything were to happen.

Link wasn't about to tell her that her guards were idiots and an elephant could make it past them without them noticing. So he tried to change the subject. "I know you'll think this sounds crazy but I had this dream... and this feeling. I saw you last night and this fairy, without knowing who you were. And Gerudo too, whoever they are."

Her alarm doubled at the mention of the female race and he suddenly wished he hadn't mentioned them. It would be best not to tell her that the Deku Tree thought he was one of them. "It was only a dream but you were in it. And I know I've never seen you before... I guess I should go." He started to back off, feeling as if something wasn't right. Another melody played in his mind but he pushed it aside, wishing these things would all stop happening to him. But as soon as the song was out of his mind, he saw a tall and rather frightening woman in front of him. He jumped back and pulled out his sword on instinct. The princess screamed. Looking around the courtyard, there was no one but the screaming girl and himself. Had the woman been there? Ever? He felt so foolish as guards filled up the room.

Another name. Ganondorf. It screamed at him in his mind as he saw a red haired woman in the cell across from him. His sword and shield had been taken from him when he was thrown in the dungeon. And then, the name, Ganon. With the name came fear. Visions of lights streaming towards him, the floors falling, black horses, the princess's scream. It filled him up with so much fear, hate and anger at the same time he thought he would scream himself.

The Gerudo woman was named Kiseri. She had a sharp tongue and great figure. Not that Link cared much about such things at his age. But there were times now that he felt older. Kiseri was talkative enough, once he finally got her warmed up to him. "I'm not stayin’ here for very long. I'll get out, I promise you that. And I might even let you out if you don't bother me much about it. But then again, I might not, you could go around tellin’ people about it. Not that it matters, I'll be long gone before you had your mouth open. But I'll be out of here before daylight." It was just sundown now. It would be Link's first night away from Kokiri. Already he felt homesick. But he wanted Kiseri to keep talking. It was company, which he needed. He asked her a few things which she hesitated before spilling. "Well, I ain't in here because I can't sneak around. I'm a damn good thief and you tell that to everyone. They should all fear Kiseri! But if that damn guard hadn't looked up right then, I'd be home now.

"You see, I had to come here to find out what had happened to Nabooru. She just disappeared, right in front of us all, in a flash of orange light. An odd color if you ask me. So we all decide that one of us had to go tell Ganon about it, since Nabooru was second to him and everything." There was that name! And Nabooru sounded familiar to Link also. But this was beginning to become a bit too coincidental to be a dream. She continued on. "So that person was me. I didn't mind going, I'd been before. He was in the castle, talkin’ about some things with the king and those damn guards wouldn't let me in. But they're cake to pass, so I snuck in but that damn guard caught me. So they're taking me to the dungeon when I asked to see Ganon. Well! They said they had never heard of a Ganon and he'd never been around! But I knew. I knew he had left just the day before. Maybe Ganon disappeared too? I don't know but I know that things like this don't usually happen, do they?"

Link had become lost in his own thoughts. Ganon. The more she said it, the more it became familiar. Like a song, or a person's face you couldn't name. It annoyed him but he recognized the name. He looked up at the Gerudo, who was looking at him as if she expected an answer but he didn't know for what, so he simply shrugged. She started up again. "Well they don't happen where I come from..." her voice faded out again as he looked carefully at her through the firelight. First off, her hair was incredibly red. Like fire. And she had the biggest nose he'd ever seen. Also, a trait that all Kokiri had, was the long, pointed ears. She didn't have those. Link looked more like Zelda then this woman. The Deku Tree must have never seen Gerudo to think Link may have belonged to them. But one male every hundred years. Perhaps it was this Ganondorf. "Is Ganon a Gerudo?" he inquired.

She shrugged with a small nod. "Yea, though No. I mean, most Gerudo are woman. All of them except Ganondorf. Which is why he leads us." she rolled her eyes at the last statement. "But we don't much do what he says, mainly we follow Nabooru because Ganon's trying to find something called the Triforce. I think that's what it's called anyway."

Triforce? Link's head spun, his stomach tightened, all the pain that had filled his body tripled and he could smell smoke, feel this castle rumbling. Zelda screamed as he was tossed back a few feet from something. Something with eyes glowing and glaring. Pain seared his body but he couldn't give up. He had to defeat this thing...

"Hey kid!" Kiseri's yell broke Link from everything, though he could still feel a dull pain throughout his body. "You ok?"

Link nodded slowly, then looked down at himself with a bit of surprise. For some reason... he had thought he'd be taller. With a sigh he fell onto the small pile they supplied in the dungeon for sleep. It wasn't much but it was better then the hard floor. Maybe after a bit of rest, things would get back to normal. Though he doubted it.

The next morning, Link woke up, feeling a bit better. The aches had gone down, even though they were still there. The cell across from him was empty, and he guessed Kiseri's bragging's were true. Unfortunately, Link wasn't a master thief who could escape prison like the Gerudo. Because he wasn't a Gerudo. He was a Kokiri. The Deku Tree had to be wrong. After he got out of here, he'd head over to the forest again and explain to everyone that it would be impossible to belong to that race. And Ganon had already filled the spot of being the only male in the group.

The door opened and the princess entered. She waved away a guard who started to enter after her, then closed the door. Calmly and gracefully she floated towards a small chair at the end of the dungeon. Slowly she sat down, never taking her eyes off of Link. He couldn't tell what she was thinking. They wouldn't put him to death, would they?

"So you say you meant no harm." The voice was so young, yet so wise. "And yet you come here with a sword... and then draw the sword?"

He felt guilty again, though knew there was no reason. He saw that woman! She was right in front of him. But then again, he saw Saria on the was out too and she wasn't there... And the last night. It was so real. "I saw a woman." he said without thinking. What was he getting himself into?

"A woman?" the skepticism in her voice cut Link like a knife. "What sort of woman?"

He might as well tell the truth. "She was tall and had on sort of... tight clothing. She had on a lot of lipstick and these things under her eyes and her hair was short and..." But he stopped as Zelda's eyes begin to widen at the description. As soon as he stopped she flew towards the cell, grabbing hold of the bars, "What did you do with Impa?!" she shouted.

As if on cue, a guard stormed in, ready for any danger the princess might be in. But she just ran out of the cell before the guard was half-way in. With a snort, the guard left too. Link felt awful. He had upset the princess. But this was an odd thing. It seemed everyone was disappearing. Saria, Nabooru and Ganon. And now this Woman, Impa. And Link felt as if he knew them all. What was happening? Once again, Link fell to his knees, looking out the gates. This wasn't right. He wasn't supposed to be here... It seemed so dark. He wished Navi were here. Even though he didn't know her, he wished to the gods that she was here.

A tear dropped, creating a small dot on the stone floors. A young, green haired girl looked out at the Forest. Why couldn't she leave? She wanted to, to tell everyone where she was, to see everyone, to see Link. She had wanted to give something to him but the out of nowhere a green light enveloped her. The world rushed by so fast he made her dizzy and then she was where she stood now. When she tried to leave, she could not. It wasn't a physical barrier but an emotional one. Something telling her she could not leave or something would go terribly wrong. Not wanting anything to go wrong for the Kokiri, Link, The Deku Tree, she stayed.

It wasn't a bad place to stay. It had beautiful wildlife growing in it, and two courtyards joint by a well. That was where she spent much of her time. They were peaceful there. The grass was so nice and soft that she had fallen asleep that night and dreamt about Link. He had found a fairy and was living amongst the children peacefully. But then Saria left in her dream and a man with red hair came and torched the village because she left. This was what kept her there. A fear that something like that would happen. When the village was burning, the children screaming, the fairies fleeing, it woke her up in a cold sweat. She had to take a swim in the water to cool off. And now here she stood, wondering why she was here.

There was a sense of purpose, she could feel it. The word 'Sage' game to her over and over but she did not know why. With a sad sigh and wiping away her tears she sat on the edge of the temple entrance, wondering if anyone would come. She should have never left but she wanted to explore. It was in her blood to explore. The awful feeling that someone may have wandered in while she was foolishly looking around the temple kept poking at her. In hopes that the song would cheer her up, she began to play on a small ocarina.

Darunia sat down to think. Whenever he was in a situation such as this, it was always best to take time to think. And as it seemed, he had much time to think. He had been stuck in this fiery place for at least a day now. It seemed as if he had disappeared in that red light only minutes ago but he knew more time had gone by then that. There was a way out of the temple, he had been to this place before. It was behind his throne. He could easily walk out of the Temple and over the bridge to get to his throne room but something kept stopping him. He had always thought nothing, not even a brick wall could stop him but he couldn't seem to leave the temple.

Regrets of not telling any of the Gorons about the secret passage was now starting to sink in. They could come and he could explain things to him. But now they were leaderless. What would they do? He pounded his fist into the ground, creating a dent. He stood up and charged at a full run towards the throne room. He could make it. He was Darunia! King of the Gorons!

'No! You mustn't! Sage of Fire, stop! Horrible things, horrible, horrible things will happen! You must not!' The familiar thought flooded him so that he could not think. "Who are you!?" he shouted at his own thoughts, but they only continued their warnings. The king couldn't even make it to the bridge. With a heavy heart, he stomped back to the temple. To his cage.

Sleek, beautiful, blue and naked, Ruto popped her head out of the water. She had searched the temple left, right, up, down, backwards and forwards, and couldn't find any other way out then the front. She had tried to leave through that way but found herself having to turn around each time. She pushed herself out of the water and stepped up onto the middle platform, looking around. The place had began to become familiar to her, though there were so many doors and halls at first she could have sworn it was a maze. Some things puzzled her though. Like cracks in the walls that led to other rooms that she couldn't get to and three triangles at three places in the temple. They didn't seem to do anything other then look nice.

"If only my father knew about this, he'd get me out!" she complained to herself. "Not that I want to go back." she retorted. She walked around the center for the millionth time, trying to figure a way out of this. She came here by what seemed to be magic, so maybe that was the way to get out. If only those rooms behind the cracks were reachable. Those could lead out. But then again... All hope of ever seeing anyone again, even her stuffy old father, was fading fast. With a splash, she was back into the water. There -had- to be a way out!

Nabooru paced impatiently across the sand. She had been wearing it away from walking so much but couldn't think of anything better to do. How many different ways had she tried to get out of this place? A lot. Couldn't one of the Gerudo find their way here? Didn't they realized that this is the place she had gone to? She was just walking there, on business for Ganon since he was away, when suddenly, a bright orange light had encircled her and took her away. The desert flew past her until she was here, at the temple. There wasn't even anything to do at the temple because both entrances to anywhere were blocked off. So she paced around outside.

"Why don't they come and get me?" she growled. Everyone saw her disappear, so why didn't they think to look here at the temple? It was no wonder why she was picked by Ganon to lead the Gerudo aside him. But she hated that man almost as much as she was annoyed by the Gerudo. They weren't a bad group but they followed Ganon around like puppy dogs. It was truly sickening. Sure he could call up lightening and spheres of light... she shivered at his last example of power. To show one girl that he wouldn't take any lip from her, he shot one of those light orbs that send her flying right into the fortress. It left a crack where she landed and she was out for a week... But surely they could all overcome him. They weren't weaklings and anyone who thought they were was dead!

With that thought she let out a fearsome cry and shook her fist towards the sky. "Curse that damn triforce! Curse Ganon!" she hoped that no matter what pain and suffering she and her people had to go through, he had to go through it ten times over.

"So why don't you just jump down from there?" Dampe was looking curiously up at the woman he leaned down to talk to him. She had claimed that she was stuck up in that cave and couldn't leave but wouldn't explain why she couldn't get down.

"I don't know. Just standing here even, is... it's strange and I don't know how to describe it but could you please contact the princess for me?" Impa was growing impatient. Any intelligent being would understand her but this man was... well he was confused.

"I don't think the princess would like to come to this kind of place." his speech was slow and slurred. Impa had a hard time understanding him and it was obvious he couldn't understand her, so they weren't getting very far.

"Just tell them that Impa sent for her. Tell the guards. They will send one out and see it is me and then they can properly tell the princess, just -please- I need to speak with her! She may be in danger!"

Dampe scratched his head and shrugged. "Hyrule's a good and peaceful place. Don't you worry, princess Zelda's in good hands at the palace."

"You don't understand! I don't think she is, I have reason to believe something terrible may happen. You must trust me sir!" Impa all but fell off the small cliff there leaning forward to talk to him. Being so far from the temple entrance was making her dizzy and voices kept yelling at her to go back but she couldn't. She needed to contact the princess, so she pushed those thoughts aside.

"So why don't you just hop down and go to the castle? If you need directions I can tell you the way." He was clueless.

"NO! You stup... Sir... I -CAN'T- leave!" Just then, she saw it again. A purple light. It slowly surrounded her. Light and transparent at first but growing in density quickly. She looked down at Dampe who stared at her in wonder. No doubt he could see the light but soon he faded from her vision as the deep purple flooded her. It was around her, inside of her, everywhere. All conscious thought was gone.

But as an arrow flies through the air and hits it's target, she flew down, through the ground, everything going by so quickly that nothing was visible, until she landed on a great purple medallion. Looking around she saw others in a circle. It looked as if they had just arrived as well. She recognized most, except the small green haired girl and the very large man who was the only one looking as if he had been there for quite some time.

"Greetings." His voice broke the silence, then echoed through the vast space around them.

"Now where am I?" Ruto pressed her hands to her hips in a purely girlish way. Another girl seemed rather shy and surprised. She carried a musical instrument with her. An older woman looked equally as upset as Ruto, and the only calm one there, other then the older one, was Darunia. Impa frowned at the recognition of the others. Why had they all been pulled together like this? As if the old man could read minds, he answered.

"You are in the sacred realm and have been brought here because you all are the sages of the realms of Hyrule. Earth." The green haired girl blinked. "Fire." Darunia nodded as if he knew what was going on. "Water." Ruto didn't seem to notice the old man looked at her when he spoke the word. She was looking as pissed off as when she arrived. "Spirit." Nabooru arched an eyebrow as his glance crossed her. "Shadow." Impa showed no expression on her face, though understood now why the temple she was trapped in was so damn dark. "And Light." he gestured towards himself.

"So what exactly does this mean?" Nabooru was growing impatient, it was obvious.

"You are the protectors of the temples. You must guard each temple so that no evil falls apon them." He seemed content that the answer would satisfy all. It didn't.

"What evil is there in Hyrule? Or that would disturb these ancient temples?" Impa wasn't going to be stuck back with that grave keeper until she knew exactly why. As she spoke it though, Nabooru lowered her head a bit.

The man simply smiled. "None, at the moment. But we must guard them so that nothing can destroy the peace in our land."

Nabooru spoke up again, carefully choosing her words. "So we have to stay at the temples forever? No one's guarded them before us and nothing happened before us. Your wish for us to guard them only tells us that there's caution for danger."

It was a blow to something he wanted secret. "...There is caution for danger. But it's... well it's odd really." he seemed stumped in his voice, which didn't become his appearance.

The girl with green hair had been looking nervously at the Gerudo since they arrived and now she finally spoke up. "A man with hair like... well, red hair?" she turned red as everyone turned to look at her. Saria had never seen anyone so tall before... and so many of them. The only one her height was blue and didn't seem like the kind who was easily made a friend of.

The man nodded. "Yes, Ganondorf. He was a threat, I was a little cautious because he hadn't done anything against Hyrule directly. He was just a Gerudo with bite. But he had made his way into the castle. We were expecting something, someone in fact. Then, out of the blue, he disappeared. The same time you did. I can't really explain it but it must mean something..."

"So were here because some evil guy disappeared. Great! Can I go home now?" Ruto was past annoyance now. As was Impa, though she didn't show it as much as the young child.

"I do need to get back to the gorons. It's not right to leave them like this." It was the first thing Darunia had said and rose a small chatter among the others. But the man quieted them all down with a silent hush of his hands.

"I understand this is inconvenient..." the man had lost his confidence. "You must understand, something has happened and I'm not exactly sure what it is. Apparently, Ganon has been locked away into the realm of evil. But by whom? The only ones who can lock him away are you. So that leaves two explanations. Either you've all done it unconsciously, or it has something to do with time. Such as, you locked him away in the future."

"The future?" The words rung out through the sacred realm by all.

"But if it happened in the future, why does he disappear now? Why not -when- we've sealed him? And isn't telling us endangering that it may happen at all?" Impa was beginning to understand now but not fully. Ganon might come back and until this was figured out, the temples -should- be guarded. But there was still much in the dark.

"I am the Sage of the Temple of Time. At the same time you all were warped to your respective temples, a child came through the time gap, holding onto the Master Sword which controls the time. But the sword had never been removed. So it is possible he left in the future, then came back before he left the first time." Ruto and Saria looked confused. Impa looked worried, Nabooru looked guilty and Darunia just listened intently. "I followed the child and it does seem that he belongs to this world, though was banished from his own colony the day he came back. I don't believe he remembers any of it..."

Nabooru frowned, "So we should be following the kid, not stuck in the temples. I can follow him, he wouldn't even realize I'm there. If you can follow him, we should be able to!"

The old man nodded slowly. "That may be a good idea. But tell me what should happen if the temples were in trouble? Who would guard them?" The room was silent. "Nabooru -is- qualified but I'm not sure how trustworthy." She gave him a look that shot daggers but he simply ignored it. "Impa. Could you take the responsibility?" Impa nodded. "All right. I would like you all to go back to your lives but take care to stay not far from the temples. Impa, you will follow the child around. I believe he is at the castle now, I shall show him to you." They departed and the sacred realm was quiet.

It had been almost a day now that Link was locked inside the cell. Ever since Zelda had left, no one else came into the room. The only good thing about it was that things had stopped becoming so familiar to him. There was nothing he could recognize about the dungeon. No Gerudo, No fields that looked as familiar as the lost woods one moment, then as if he'd never taken a step on them the next, which he hadn't. Right?

Bright light all but blinded the boy and he shied back into the corner of hay he sat in, covering his eyes with his hand, yet trying to see who was coming in at the same time. A tall figure, well built, the face was slowly starting to become visible...

"AAH!" again! It was that woman! He shut his eyes, trying to get rid of the illusion. But she wouldn't leave. "Why? What is this?" he shouted. But the woman merely stepped towards the cell and took out a pair of keys. "Hush child. I'm not here to harm you. I'm letting you go. There was a mistake... You're free to go now." she stood there, the door open, waiting.

Was it a trap? This was the same woman that he saw before, wasn't it? Once again, his memory was fading. The name of the fairy even... that was lost as well. Well, if she was letting him go, it was better then sitting around the cell. Or was it? Where would he go? Could he go back to the village? Even if he did, without a fairy soon, he would be sent away again. And the Deku Tree said he wasn't from Kokiri... that he was found. "My things?" at least if he was going to be sent off alone, he could have something to protect himself with... Protect himself? Why did he feel so attached to it? He had never fought in his life!

"Your sword and shield? Stay here one moment." She disappeared through the door. Why was she letting him go? And why would she give a sword he raised in the presence of the princess back. Something was terribly wrong. But there she was not one minute later with his two and only possessions, other then the slingshot in his pocket and some seeds to shoot. "Here you are. Now you may leave." she seemed serious. She just stood there, staring down at him. He suddenly felt very small and realized something. The recognition was gone. Was he forgetting whatever it was so quickly? It came in a day and left... Perhaps it really was only a dream. He hoped that those types of dreams would stop visiting him then if it was.

Out through the front door, watching the guards as he left, he was soon in the Market. It was easy to get out but certainly would be as easy to get back in. So he might as well look around a bit. In the town there were quite a few shops but most were closing because it was nearing night and yet, he didn't feel tired. But everyone was heading home and... dogs? Dog were beginning to fill the streets. In the distance, he heard a wolf howl and then the sound of chains.

Quickly, he ran towards the sound to find that the gate had been closed. "No!" he ran up to the gate. "No, wait, I have to get out. Why is it shut?"

A guard looked down at him, a bored expression on his face. The tone in his voice matched the expression, "The gates are closed at night to protect the princess and the citizens from the night roamers. They only come out at night, back from the dead they say."

"Who says?"

He shrugged, "They do. I've seen them before. Hideous creatures, glowing eyes. You've never seen anything like it!"

A memory tickled the back of Link's mind but it was faint. And these hideous monsters, if he remembered correctly, weren't very frightening at all. Just small skeletons that popped out of the ground and moved like slugs... he blinked. Why? Why did he know this? But he pushed it out of his mind. He needed to get on with life. "Is there any place I could stay?"

The guard laughed and shrugged. "Not a lot of people come around here, so there isn't much need for an inn. Though in that door over there," he gestured towards the only door in sight, "He'll usually find a place for you. If not, you can use his room. He's good with things like that, rarely sleeps." he then leaned down with a chuckle, "Sometimes, I think he takes his job of being a guard a bit too seriously."

Link nodded, not seeming to get the joke and ran over to the door which he mentioned. Inside there was a guard wearing the same uniform as the first and all the guards in the castle wore. "Excuse me?" he had only had his head poked in, "I... I'm new here and the guard outside said..." but he didn't need to go on.

The guard motioned for him to come in. "Come on in." He walked over towards the end of the room and hit a stone. A door that had looked like a wall before, was now revealed as it slowly opened. "I live in there. You may thing that all of the guards live in the palace but that's not true. I have a little room in here that I occasionally sleep in. I'm not tired tonight though, so you can stay here. Just for the night though..." he then took a better look at Link. "Why... you're just a child. What are you doing so far away from home?"

Link bowed his head, not wanting to explain it all and the guard took the hint. "Well, we'll get somewhere for you to stay. But you can stay here for the night. I really should think about starting an inn somewhere here. The population's growing and more strangers come in all the time. And now a boy." He shook his head in wonder. "Well, like I said. You can stay." He took a candle and lit in on one of the torches, then walked through the dark hole in the wall. Link followed.

The room was small but almost as big as his old room. A single bed was there, a small shelf and a small chest. "You can stay in here tonight. Though I suggest you head over to Kakariko tomorrow morning. There's a few places you could stay there." The word was familiar but no images came with it. Perhaps he had just heard it before... That night, he dreamed of Kokiri. Nothing special. Just playing outside of his house with others. They made a few jokes about him not having a fairy but it was just a normal dream. He was living a perfectly normal life... Link was a normal Hylian.

The Triforce glowed on his hand. He glared at it. All the power in the world and not enough to break free of this prison. He had just been locked away and yet he had the memory of being in this prison for years. Seven years to be exact. All memory of his life in that seven years was vanishing. It turned into darkness. Blackness. Nothing. Nothing but a glowing triangle. The memory of how he came to retrieve this power was gone also.

Screaming, roaring rather, he sent a wave of darkness through the blackness. It traveled on until it was barely visible. Another bolt of electricity and then a wave. Shooting everywhere. If he sent enough power through the imprisonment, he might be able to break the seal. Somehow, he'd get out. Only one thing pulsed through his mind. One memory. He could forget the power he had. Forget his race. Forget the castle, even the last battle he had. But one thing remained. "Revenge... Revenge on Link."

Ganon hopped off of his stallion and looked up at the walls that surrounded the market. He grinned a grin that would scare the skin off any Hylian and even made the Gerudo nervous. Slowly he made his way into the market. The people noticed him at once, backing away and trying not to stare. They knew Gerudo came into the Market every once in a while but had never seen a male Gerudo. It didn't even click into their minds at first that the red hair and small ears of a Gerudo were present in this man. But he paid them no attention.

The man headed towards the castle. A guard challenged him but he claimed business with the King and Queen. He had not brought any weapons with him, knowing that would go against his story. But he wouldn't need any. His fingers tingled with power. If only he could have more... If only he could find...

The guard led him through the gates and up along the path. The gerudo gained some looks from the guards but seeing that he was with another guard eased their suspicion a bit. Ganon thought this was going along too easily. The castle, the King and Queen, The princess, so close. He could taste the power of triforce. He could see it. See the glow. It was bright... The glow? A glow around him. What was this? He saw guards staring at him. Power rushed to his fingertip, a glowing light. Lightning surged through him and he threw it towards the guards. What kind of trap was this? The light became blinding. The last thing he saw was the guard's body flying through the air, falling back and then the light empowered all. He couldn't see a damn thing! Shooting bolts through the air and surges of darkness, nothing could stop the glow. And then all was dark.

Ganon's eyes darted around, where was he? How could this be? Who could have done this? He peered into the darkness, only to find that he was accompanied by empty space. And there was only one answer in the back of his mind. One answer to all his questions. It was faint but it was there. He spoke the words, even though he did not understand them... "Revenge... Revenge on Link."

Link was up bright and early the next morning. Impa had been waiting all night in a half sleep. Her eyes were shut but she awoke to the slightest sound. A crow in the distance woke her and she watched the door until the small boy came out. She was sitting on the opposite side of the fence that led into the market, well hidden. The boy and the guard talked for a few moments, then he nodded and cheerily made his way out through the drawbridge. Impa was up as soon as he was out of site. "That boy who just left, do you know his name?"

The guard suddenly looked like an idiot, "You know, I forgot to ask him. Isn't that funny?" Impa didn't find anything funny about it at all. "You can ask him yourself though. He's headed off to Kakariko Village. Hey, you're from there, right? Maybe you can help him out. Poor kid, don't think he has a family."

Impa nodded. It was always so easy to get information out of guards. She wished it wasn't of course but was glad of it when she needed to know something. She thanked the guard and slowly waked out onto the bridge. She could see the boy, not to far away, just disappearing behind the walkway to the village. "Well, at least this way I'll be closer to the temple." she felt better about that, though wondered how such a child could be so important. She also wished she could protect the princess and not this bundle of energy. "I swear, that boy runs everywhere he goes." and she started off towards the village.

Link was amazed at the size of the village. Oh sure, the Market was big too but he had almost expected it's size. Almost knew what it would look like. That feeling was disappearing now and Kakariko seemed so new. New and big. He could hear chickens and cows, the windmill, the sound of people, not only talking but moving as well. Men ran around the village, all looking as if they had something important to do. A man near a tree at the front of the village though, claimed they were a bunch of lazy, no good workers. "If they're lazy, I'm disabled." he muttered, watching how they ran all the time.

The chickens that ran wild about the town though were not supposed to be that way he discovered. Some poor woman couldn't pick them up because she was allergic to them. So he offered to help if he found one. He found a few but three of them were hard to get too, so he put it off until later. At least most of them were locked up and not running around town.

Near the woman's house there was a graveyard with a little kid walking around. Link explored around in the graveyard until he reached the Royal Family tomb. Something pushed him towards it, towards the triforce on the ground. He hummed a melody as he approached, not even realizing what exactly he was doing when the boy spoke up. "Ooh, that's a neat song. Isn't that the royal song?"

Link looked back at the kid. "What song?"

"The song you were just humming!"

Link thought back and did hum a song. But he couldn't remember it now. "I guess."

The boy shook his head, "You're weird. Just like Dampe. He's weird too but he's scary looking!" he giggled and started to hobble around the graveyard again. "Like this!"

"I'm weird?" Link stared at the strange kid with doubt. "I probably just heard it at the castle." He assured himself quietly.

Impa was not so easily persuaded. The royal song? How -did- he know it? She had arrived just in time to hear him humming the last few bars before the kid interrupted. But it was enough to recognize it herself. And now he was staring at the Royal Tombstone. "Who is this kid?" she asked herself quietly. Just then, he turned around and went running back towards the village. Impa ducked around behind Dampe's house, watching him go by.

There was so much in the town to explore. He finally reached a gate that the guard wouldn't open. He said it was dangerous to go onto the Death Mountain trail. There were high cliffs and many people had fallen off. For some reason, Link almost expected him to say there were monsters but that was probably just remembering the other guard's statement on the skeletons. Even after Link promised he'd be careful, the guard still said no.

It was a rather fun day for link. The people were all friendly and he was invited to stay at the Carpenter's house at night. "Stay as long as you'd like!" a rather large woman invited. "We're always glad to have company." So while it was a rather loud night with five of the seven people snoring, it was still a night with others. Something he needed. Perhaps he could get used to life in Kakariko.

Saria frowned at Mido. "He left? Why?"

Mido shrugged. "He went to the Deku Tree cause he had some kind of dream. And then he ran out of here. But he got a sword first. Wow, I didn't even know that sword was there! He just disappeared, then came out with a sword strapped to his back. He bought a shield too."

"Well, do you think he'll come back?" Saria couldn't believe this. First the whole Temple thing, now Link was gone too! She hoped he didn't disappear along with everyone else. When Mido shrugged again, she decided she would ask the Deku Tree what he said to make Link bolt out like he did. He explained that he sent Link off to the Gerudo colony because he believed Link was one of them. Saria wanted to leave, to find him but couldn't. No Kokiri could leave and she had to stay behind near the temple. When she asked about what the Gerudo looked like, he said he didn't know but Link had dreams about them. This sounded logical but Saria couldn't see why the Deku Tree just pushed Link out of the forest without any proof. It upset her.

She went to the very place she wanted to stay away from. The temple. There she sat down and played her song. It always made her think clearly. She remembered that she wanted to teach it to him. If he ever had to leave, she could still communicate with him that way. She had to leave! Poor Link was out there, all alone. No family, no friends. He was only a child. The Forest Temple was safe for now. Tears running down her face, she ran to the village and out through the tunnel. A boy tried to stop her but she just pushed him aside. She couldn't let Link suffer through this! It didn't matter if he didn't have a fairy. He was still one of them.

The moment she took a step onto the field though, everything became dizzy. A wave of nausea crossed her. It was so strong she fell onto the ground. "What...?" She didn't understand it. Looking back towards where she had came from, the feeling lessened. "So this is what happens... when we leave." It took all her strength to stand up but she managed. She felt like she had the flu and would pass out any moment but she had to find Link. If he was with the Gerudo, she would go there. The Deku Tree said it was west, so that's there she began to walk, slowly but surely.

Nabooru sat in her room, twirling an arrow through her fingers, her feet rested up on another chair. She could feel the temple, feel it inside of her. The closer she was to it, the more it was there. That must have been how she'd know if something there was wrong. Nothing, luckily, had gone wrong. When she got back, all the women wanted to know what had happened. She claimed that Ganon had called her to him in a warp. They were all amazed at the power they had no idea he possessed. She then assured them that he'd be gone for a long time. He had many things to do, so they wouldn't have to worry about him. She hoped she was right.

"Nabooru." A woman bowed to her as she appeared through the doorless entry. "There's a kid here who wants to see you."

Nabooru stood, her first thought was that the boy had come. "Who?"

The woman shrugged. "A young girl. She has... green hair." she commented.

The green haired girl? What was she doing here? Why was everyone leaving their temples!? But Nabooru nodded. "I will see her. Bring her in."

The Gerudo didn't jump at the command though. "Um... Well, you see, she's sort of. She's not feelin’ good I don't think. You should go down to her, I think she's gonna faint or something." Was this what happened when they went to far from the temple? Did the old man and Impa go through the same thing? Nabooru was already pretty far from her own temple and didn't seem to feel any difference except that feeling that was there. It simply grew fainter as she moved away.

She followed the other woman out of the fortress, squinting at the light at first but quickly growing used to it. As she made her way through the fortress, she could sense the girl. A feeling of life. When she actually saw the girl, she was amazed. Before, in the sacred realm, she seemed so lifelike and energetic. But now, it was as if death was knocking at her door that very minute. A pale face, sunken eyes, the glisten of sweat covering her. "Child!" she ran towards the girl as she was about to faint right off the edge of the bridge. "You must come in. You can't stay out here like this!"

The girl shook her head. "I have to get back... and soon. But I need to find someone."

Nabooru didn't understand. "You can at least rest before you go back. You've obviously had a long journey."

Again, she shook her head, only more determined this time. "It wasn't long. Not but a day's walk. I have to go now, I just wanted to give something to Link... Is he here?"

"Link?" Nabooru looked blank, Saria's spirit fell.

"He's not here?"

Nabooru looked around, then at the bridge guard. "Did any other kids come around here lately?" When the guard shook her head, Nabooru cursed. "I'm sorry, um... what's your name again?"

Saria smiled faintly, "It's Saria. And you're Nabooru, your guard told me after I described what you looked like. Once I saw how much they looked like you, I knew you had to be here... but I didn't realized Link hadn't come here... I can't imagine why... But then again, he looks nothing like you." she coughed and laughed at the same time.

The leader of the Gerudo was confused but tried to comfort the girl. "If you'd like, I can find him for you."

Saria's face lit up, which made her look just sick and not near death. "Oh would you? Could you tell him to come back to the forest if you do... Or... no, he wouldn't. Not after being..." she sighed. "Then could you remember a song for me?" the look on her face would make even Ganon help her. Nabooru couldn't refuse.

The song was uplifting and it was obvious Saria felt better when she played it. It was easy enough to remember as well. But Nabooru wasn't about to let Saria head back off to where she lived alone and leave her for dead if she couldn't make it. She ordered two horses and their best horsewoman to accompany her. A feeling that Nabooru had done something right set into her as she watched Saria head off into the sunset on the horse. The Skeletons wouldn't bug her that way either. It was strange to do the right thing... "Oh don't start getting all mushy on yourself now." She called for a horse of her own. "If that kid's anywhere in Hyrule, I'll find him."

Link ran as fast as he could, up the ramp, past the door leading to the windmill and to the edge, where he jumped with all his might! Only to fall, once again, short of the gate and flat on his face. "How on earth do you get over there!?" he shouted as the chicken almost mocked him on the other side. He glared down at it as he stood up, dusting himself off. "I'll get you somehow." he promised it but it just clucked back at him. He stuck his tongue out at it.

Impa yawned, sitting in a window of the windmill. She had found this was the best place to keep track of him as he hopped, skipped and jumped around the village. She had never seen such an energetic boy. But she had seen him with certain attacks. Attacks wasn't a good idea but suddenly, out of the blue, he'd sit down and stare at the ground a bit. Then a bit would turn into a while. The a while into an hour. What was going through his mind at these moments? Did he know something? Did he know why they all disappeared? Of course he didn't she thought. He couldn't. Could he?

She had been watching Link for three days now. She discovered his name after listening to multiple conversations. At night, she would go back to the castle when she was sure he was asleep and sneak in to see the princess. The princess didn't understand the boy. Why would he come into the courtyard, past all the guards, then pull his sword out when he was staring at nothing? Then claim to have seen Impa when Impa had just gone away to her village because there were troubles there. At least that was Impa's explanation of her sudden disappearance. The king was upset and told her to inform them when she was going away again.

Impa asked the princess about any dreams she may have had, since the boy claimed to have one with her in it. She said she had one. There was light all around and she was an adult. There was a man who had a sword and shield but it wasn't the same as the boy. It was a man. And the shield and sword was different. But he gave her the Ocarina of Time and she played the royal song to him. And that was it.

"The Royal Song.... the child know that tune... could it be you both had the same dream?"

The princess shrugged. "I don't know Impa but I'm sort of tired... Can we forget about the boy? We'll just set out some more guards so he can't get through again, right?" It was obvious that she -was- tired, which made Impa guilty for only coming after the boy went to sleep but she allowed the Princess to go to her chambers.

That night, she made her way out of the village and to the castle again. On the way though, she saw someone moving about the market. The red hair, the way she moved, it was obviously a gerudo. And any gerudo was usually up to no good. She snuck up behind the red head and tapped her on the shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

Nabooru jumped. She wasn't used to anyone ever being able to sneak up on her. When she saw it was Impa she shook her head. "You sure you weren't born to our race?" No one moved like that who wasn't a Gerudo.

Impa frowned. Not only was a Gerudo here but Nabooru, who was supposed to be back at the Spirit Temple. "I repeat. What are you doing here? You need to be back..."

Nabooru interrupted, "I know, I know. But I'm on an errand for the Earth Sage. I need to give this to someone."

Impa's eyes widened as she pulled out an ocarina. "Where did you get that?"

"From Saria, I told you that."

"She wanted you to give it to someone? Who? They're here?"

"I don't know where -he- is but I need to find him."

"Who?"

"Link."

"The boy?"

"Yea, he's a boy."

"How'd you know his name?"

"Saria told it to me."

"How'd SHE know?"

"He's her friend, how do YOU know him?"

"He's the boy I'm following!!"

It was Nabooru's turn be surprised. "He is? Oh... I didn't know that. You mean the boy that started all of this weird temple stuff?"

Impa nodded, looking down at the ocarina. Only one thing was in her mind. The dream. "Perhaps we're destined to go along a path. The princess had a dream about an ocarina. But it was an ocarina he couldn't possibly ever get... strange." Impa looked up at the Gerudo, who was looking slightly confused. "Well, he isn't here. He's in my village. Can you make it over the gate?"

Nabooru laughed. "Must you ask?" So the two made their way to Kakariko to wait out the night until day. Nabooru had fallen asleep as the crow informed all that morning had come. Her eye blinked open and she looked up at Impa who's thoughts were far away as she stared blankly out the window. Down on the ground, far from their post up in the window, a small boy in a green tunic came out just after the sun rose. Nabooru shook Impa out of her gaze. "It's amazing you've kept track of him so long if you daze off like that. Is that him?" she pointed down to the boy who looked just like Saria in size and clothing.

Impa nodded. "Now that I think about it, he does look like Saria with that clothing style. Perhaps, I should give him the instrument?"

"No way! Saria told me to give it to him and I'm keepin my word!"

Impa sighed. The word of a Gerudo was no word at all. But she seemed determined, so Impa let her go off to give the boy the ocarina. She watched as the gerudo went into the windmill, then emerged from the door below. She gained some looks by the villagers but she paid them no attention. She headed straight for the boy. He was chopping at a bush with the greatest of ease. A few deku seeds came tumbling out as he did so and he pocketed them. He then put away his sword, took aim and shot one of the chickens square in the rear.

With a cackle, the chicken ran around and hopped off of a ledge. Link cheered and ran towards the chicken. He grabbed it and threw it over into the cage where all the others lay. The woman looked a little disappointed at the method he used to get the chicken but happy it was back. "But I'm still missing two." she claimed. He nodded, knowing exactly where they were, but having no clue how to get them. Impa almost wanted to jump down from her window and toss them over to him but that would be too much of a risk.

He turned from the chickens, only to come face to... knee with Nabooru. He looked up at her, recognizing the red hair instantly. His eyes widened and he began to back up. The woman shook her head and took out the ocarina. "A friend of yours... she asked me to give this to you. Saria."

He jumped at Saria's name. "She's ok? Is she ok?"

Nabooru didn't know. Last she saw the girl... "Yes, she's just fine." she smiled a smile that would have probably made an older man crazy. Especially with the eyes and the clothing she wore... but Link looked only at the ocarina. "Saria wanted me to have this?"

"Mmmm hmmm. She also told me to teach you a song. It goes like this." she brought the ocarina to her lips and played it. After she was done, Link seemed as if he didn't hear it. He only stared blankly at the ocarina. "I... There's... something." he was trying to remember. "I need to do... Though I don't know what." he frowned.

Nabooru handed over the ocarina. "You try the song."

A song came to him. The song he could hear in his mind. Was it the song she just played to him? He couldn't remember. He could only play the notes as he remembered... the notes that came to him. The first one was too high, though the second one was right. Then again, too high, then down again. Nabooru was about to tell him he was playing it wrong when he finished two notes, heading back up to the high note with them and a light surrounded him. "Huh?" was all she could say as it spiraled around him. He disappeared within it and it flew up into the sky.

"Fool!" The voice came from behind but all Nabooru could do was stare at the spot Link once was. "Fool! How could you loose him! Where did he go?" Impa joined up with her companion now, looking at where he was. Nabooru shrugged, staring blankly and confused at where he just stood. Impa continued, impatient. "You get back to your temple, I need to find him now! I know I should have never trusted a Gerudo."

The blow came hard and unexpected. Impa was stunned only for a second before she came back up, ready to fight. How dare that gerudo woman hit her after she screwed up the entire situation. But now Nabooru had two curved swords out, in a stance for a fight and perfectly willing to slit the Hylian's throat. "I played the song Saria told me to! He messed it up!"

Impa realized where she was and that everyone was staring at them. "Nabooru... not here. We're together in this... I'm sorry about the comment, just please, put those away."

Hesitantly, she did. The gerudo obviously had a bad reputation, there wasn't any need to make it worse. "If we're in it together, I'm helping you find him."

"You need to get back..."

"So do you! Wandering around Hyrule looking for a kid isn't staying close, is it?"

"Fine. Lets us start by contacting the other sages. If we're going to find him we might as well have all the help we can get..." Impa started off towards Htrule Field before Nabooru even had time to agree.

Link blinked. Where was he? He was standing in a huge temple-like place. He could hear a soft chanting and felt drawn to the room across the way. A large plaque was between him and the room but he didn't even give it a second glance. He walked slowly towards the room and there it was. As he expected. Things were growing faint now. Memories, thoughts of his mysterious dream, but this sword. It was strong. It pleaded silently. If only he could lift it out of the stone.

"Revenge." Ganon looked around as the words drifted through the darkness.

Darunia sat on his throne. He was ready for anything to happen and if it did, the temple was only a few steps away. Just a moment ago he could feel something. Always he could feel the temple but something outside. Calling him. Several times he was tempted to leave his throne and go to the mountain to see if everything was all right. But the gorons would inform him if anything went wrong and he needed to stay near the temple.

"Brother Darunia..." a timid shape came from the darkness of the small tunnel entrance to the throne room. "There is a large woman who wants to talk to you big brother."

Darunia frowned. It wasn't much change for the rock face but it was change enough. "Tell her to come in." Darunia remembered a large lady when they were all pulled into the chamber of the sages. The muscle on her could have made a young goron jealous. Sure enough, it was her who came in not to long after the goron left. Darunia got right to the point. "Is there trouble?" ...Trouble didn't describe half of it.

Slowly, Link's hand drew out in front of him as he touched the hilt. So familiar.

"Link." Ganon could see a man in his head. A blonde man with a Hylian shield.

Nabooru came out of the long tunnel to see a bit of a surprise. Children. There were children everywhere. All with blonde hair too! This was definitely the home of that kid who was running around Kakariko not minutes ago. But where was the one with the green hair? The Earth Sage?

"Hold it right there!" She had to look down to see who was talking to her. It was a small boy with hair in his eyes. It was a wonder how he could see anything with all that hair over his eyes.

"I'm a friend of Saria's." Nabooru suddenly realized that Saria may have never made it back. She hoped for the sake of Link, herself and possibly even Hyrule that Saria had. "Do you know where she is?"

The boy peered up at her, as well as he could with all that hair. "She's sleeping. She just got back from running around like a fool on the outside... You don't plan on making her leave again, are you?"

Nabooru felt a tinge of guilt. If she was going to force the kid to leave again, would she make it back? But if she didn't... "Oh hell, I can't have her looking around." The kid seemed amazed at the language the woman had just used. "Just tell her to look out for Link, ok?" she sighed and turned around to leave before the gaping kid had time to answer.

He put both hands onto the sword, closing his eyes. Something on his hand began to glow.

"I will have my revenge!" Ganon could feel the seal breaking. He smiled. A hideous thing.

Ruto came charging into the temple. She would have prefered traveling there by water but she could travel fast on land too. When Nabooru told her to look for the kid, she knew to look here. She didn't know how. She never knew how she knew anything anymore. No one did. Sure enough though, there was a glow coming from the far room...

The sound of the sword against the stone was so familiar to Link. Why?

"Link!" Ruto shouted when she saw the boy, or rather, the man, with the sword in his hand. As she entered the Temple, she watched as he grew seven years right in front of her! The shield on his back had grown too and slowly shaped to look like the Hylian shield.

Link opened his eyes, looking down at the sword. "I know this..." He was startled by his own voice and looked down at himself. He would have normally jumped at the sight of himself but it was right. Everything seemed right.

A blast shot through the ground where the sword once lay and a man literally flew up out of it. Link was knocked to the ground, sliding on the floor. "Ganon?" It was Nabooru. She had arrived not seconds after Ruto. After she left Kokiri, Ruto was the only one left since Impa had agreed to tell Darunia. Coincidentally, she met up with Impa and the Rock King right as she reached Zora's Domain. But now she stared at her former master as he floated there. His cape was torn, he looked like he had just gone through battle. And yet, he also looked older. At the sight of Nabooru, he flung a bolt of darkness towards the doorway that led to the main room. It created a shield so that no one could enter, or leave. Still, both Nabooru and Impa tried to get past it. They were nearly shocked unconscious at the force of it.

A figure came through the front entrance just then. It was Zelda. Only seven years older! "Impa!" she ran to the side of her friend to see that she was fine. Then she glared up at Ganon and the shield. Slowly, all three of their memories were coming back. The triforce, still split up, would eventually cause chaos among the land. It needed to be joined. So, it pushed the most courageous to remove the sword and bring back Ganon so that it could be whole again. It obviously didn't consider the consequences of bringing back Ganon to this world.

Link was quickly to his feet. It was all back now. So sudden. He checked to see if his things were where they should be. They were. The arrows, the hookshot, the hammer. It was all there. Unfortunately, so was Ganon. Above him, he was forming a ball of light so enormous it was blinding. "And now boy. I finish you off like I should have seven damn years ago!"

The shield was raised but somehow, Link knew that wasn't going to do the trick. He charged up his sword... It seemed like this had happened only minutes ago. The blast flew at him and he spun around, magic filling up his arm and spinning out through the sword. This time though, it didn't rebound back. It hit Link with full force and he was flung back into the wall. Even as he slid down to the floor, Ganon was charging up for another. Link got to his feet, raising the shield and anticipating the blow. It came and Link dodged out of the way. But it was no use. The blast was so strong, not even Link was fast enough to avoid it and the shield couldn't ward it off.

"He needs more power!" Zelda yelled. She lifted her arms and a soft pink light floated towards Link's sword.

The old man appeared behind them, as well as Saria who seemed fine for being away from her forrest. "I could tell there was something horrible going on in this temple. I was going to call you all but you're already here..." his statment of the obvious was barely heard as all watched the fight in the room ahead.

"Give him your power!" Zelda was still concentrating.

They all ran up to where the darkness blocked the fight. Link looked pretty hurt now but his sword was glowing with a faint pink light. Each Sage lifted up their arms forward and gave their power to the sword. Then as if choreographed, they all collapsed. Except Zelda. "Remember this one Link? I'll hold him, you kill him... And he'll -die- this time..." Link's sword was a bright white, he couldn't even look at it. But he kept his eyes on Ganon, who was ready to throw another blow at Link. Link had already fallen once and a fairy brought him back to full health but he was nearly down again and out of fairies.

The power hit Link like a ton of bricks, knocking him to the ground but he got up. It was painful but he got up and charged up his sword. "Ready!" he shouted and Zelda gave her last ounce of strength to hold Ganon. After that, she too fell to the ground and Ganon didn't look like he was going to be contained for long.

Link ran towards Ganon, screaming. The sword lifted up high, outshining the sun. Ganon too held a ball of light above him, though could not bring it down. He struggled with all his might but Zelda's magic held on. Link's sword came down as if in slow motion. One sharp blow...

"I will never stop, until I have my revenge!!" Ganon screamed. And then, his body was consumed with a black flame. The flame was so black, so dark and evil, Link had to stand back. It tore at Ganon's body, burning away everything in a black fire that darkened the room instead of lighting it up.

Zelda lifted her head, looking over at the room. The shield of darkness was gone. Link was standing there, staring at a pile of ashes and everyone else was beginning to wake up. "Is it... over?" The que for something to happen.

A bright light tore out of the ashes and startled everyone. Link had his sword back up before he knew what the thing was. But it shone brightly at the top of the temple. One, solitary triangle, shining brightly. Zelda smiled, and lifted her hand slowly and triforce of Wisdom floated up to join it's sister. Link looked down at his hand. The symbol of the triforce was there. The triforce of courage. He let it go. Much like he had done with the magic of the sword. It floated up to join the others.

As the three came together, the two adults slowly shrank. They were children again. Seven years younger. Only this time, they remembered everything. "The Triforce is safe." Zelda stared up at it with the gleam of happiness in her eye. The three triangles, the symbols of perfect balance, floated back down. Link backed up a little as he noticed they were heading for him but a wall stopped him from going any further.

The triforce then shot into him, filling him with power. The power to do anything. Wisdom. The wisdom to understand. Courage. The courage to go forth as his new life finally began. It lifted him up off the ground, filling him up until he could barely stand it and then it was gone. He was back on the ground feeling as he was. Only a tad bit wiser. A bit braver. And the way everyone looked at him. It proved the power he already had, even before the triforce. But Zelda moved towards him with that grace he admired before. She took his hand in hers and whispered. "Now you shall be the king of Hyrule... and rule it with perfect balance."

Link looked back down at himself. He was a child again. "I don't have to be the king right now, right?"

Zelda laughed, "Of course not. There's still to much we need to do as children! We'll live these next seven years like no one could ever imagine!" she then thought of something and whispered it to Link. "Remember, A childish mind will turn to noble ambition."

Link didn't really have a clue what it meant. But he was sure that in time, all would fall together. In time.

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