A/N: The prologue is done in 3rd person, but the rest of the story will be done in 1st person, swapping between the perspectives of Link and another who has yet to be introduced. I will let you know at the beginning of each chapter whose perspective you are reading from, so be sure to look for that. I hope you enjoy my story. R and R appreciated.

Prologue:

He rifled through the notes that were left behind looking for the final clue to the sword's location. He only had a limited amount of time before the Gerudo discovered the bodies of the missing sentries. Twinrova's, that is, Koume and Kotake's research was not well kept. It looked as if the files were just thrown together haphazardly. He had no doubt that once the twins were banished, that the foolish Gerudo locked away the research without even bothering to look at the valuable knowledge that was contained within.

There was mention of ancient magic that was far more powerful than the fabled Hero of Time was said to possess. The power to travel through time was amazing to be sure, but there were spells that would allow individuals to travel to alternate planes of existence. However, the power that this individual was looking for would allow him to not only free his master, but also defeat the Hero of Time.

He could hear the guards outside the building. Judging from the shouts, it had been discovered that the sentries were missing, but they had not been discovered. He still needed to hurry, however, before they really started to search.

As he shifted some papers to the side, he saw something promising. He scanned through it quickly, and then held up the paper in triumph. This was it! This important document not only contained within the legend that was the key to his master's release, but also the location of all three legendary blades. The latter drew his attention as he noted where the swords were hidden…

One was in the Temple of Time…

One was hidden away deep in the Shadow Temple…

And the last one was…

He scowled at the location of the final blade. The Sacred Realm! There was no way he would be able to retrieve the sword. Nor would he be able to seal it away!

He could hear the shouting outside increase in volume. The bodies must have been discovered ahead of schedule. He started gathering the important papers together as he pondered his dilemma. He could do nothing to the Sword of Evil's Bane for obvious reasons. But if the sword that was hidden in the Sacred Realm was allowed to continue existing, then all of his plans would be for naught…

As he was sticking the papers in his bag, he realized that he forgot to pick up one of the papers. As he reached for the page with the spells for dimensional travel, it suddenly dawned on him. He did not need to get rid of the sword!

He just needed to get rid of the one who was supposed to wield it…

And these spells were the key to finding this wielder.

With a resounding crash, the door was broken down.

"Stop right there!" said a very angry Nabooru.

She already had her twin blades drawn, and several Gerudo were rushing into the room behind her. The robed man laughed as shadows seemed to flow towards him. Nabooru sprung forward with a spinning slash, but her blades only slashed shadows as the laughing man vanished…

*** The Legend of Zelda***

***Ocarina of Dimensions***

Chapter 1: The Hero of Time Returns

Link:

"Link! Look out!"

The Great Fairy's Sword was already in my hand as I jumped to my feet. I quickly scanned for the threat that Navi warned me about. It took a moment for me to realize that I was in my Kokiri tree house and that I had just woken up from a dream. This was not the first dream I had about her, but they had grown more infrequent recently. It had been seven years since I had put the Master Sword back in the Temple of Time. Seven years since Navi had left me, never to be seen again. I still held out hope that she might come back, but…

With a sigh, I sheathed my sword. Judging by the light coming from outside, it was time to get up anyway. I quickly stretched to help wake myself up, then I stepped outside.

The village had already come to life, meaning that I must have slept in. There were several Kokiri running about, followed by their fairy companions. Though there were some Kokiri performing various chores to help with the upkeep of the village, it appeared to me that most of them were preoccupied with play. Before I could climb down the ladder, I noticed Saria making her way towards my house.

Ever since the rest of the Kokiri found out that I was not actually one of them, they had treated me differently. It was not like they were mean to me or anything (they still allow me to live in the forest after all), but it seemed that they would often grow quiet whenever I approached (and it was rare for one to start a conversation with me). This behavior got worse when my body started getting bigger. Mido, the self proclaimed village leader, would often just avoid me, like I had a plague or something (last time I checked, aging was not contagious). Saria, however, did not treat me any differently.

Saria usually greeted me first thing in the morning. It often did not matter when I got up. Be it early or late, I could see her running down the path towards my tree house with a smile on her face…

Except today. She was walking very slowly, and she seemed to be deep in thought. It looked as if something was bothering her. Her fairy was following close behind her, looking concerned (as concerned as a fairy can look anyway). Saria rarely, if ever, looked this upset, which was a cause for concern for me. I leapt down from the tree and rushed over to her.

Saria saw me coming and she quickly changed her expression to a cheerful smile.

"Good morning, Link," she said as she looked up to me.

"Morning," I said, "Is something the matter?"

The cheerful expression on her face vanished almost instantly. She looked down at her feet as if to collect her thoughts before looking back up to me.

"It's nothing. I've just been having this strange feeling lately."

Her fairy seemed to droop down at this. I frowned, and then asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's nothing important," she said, putting on an obviously fake smile.

She saw the look on my face though, and sighed, "Sorry. It's just that, I've had this feeling that I've forgotten something really important."

"Like what?"

She was starting to look frustrated, "I don't know exactly. It feels almost like…" she struggled for a minute, trying to find the right way to describe what she was thinking, "…the land was covered in darkness, and I was partly responsible for saving it."

She sighed, "I know it sounds kinda specific. Maybe it was a bad dream?"

I remained silent while I listened. Years ago, when I first set out to find Navi, I visited Zelda to say goodbye. At the time, she had mentioned that even though we had only recently met, she felt as if she had known me for much longer. We had grown close during that time so I just assumed that she was referring to that. But now, I have to wonder if the Sages of this timeline were more connected to the alternate timeline than I had originally thought.

Saria shook her head as the smile returned to her face, "As I said, it's just a feeling. Do you have any plans for today? Maybe we can hang out."

I shook my head, "Sorry, but I was going to go to Hyrule Castle and visit Zelda today." It had been a few weeks since I headed that way. It would be good to see her again.

Saria nodded, "Well, be sure to have fun. And don't worry," she added when she saw the look on my face, "I'll be all right."

As I made my way out of the forest, my mind kept going back to what Saria had told me. When I had returned from the alternate timeline, I had found that I was the only one who knew anything about what had happened (including my quest for the emerald, ruby and sapphire as a child). None of the sages had retained any knowledge of what happened (well, none of the sages I talked to anyway: I figured that it was a blessing that Ruto did not remember the engagement or me). Yeah sure, times were definitely peaceful. Ganondorf had been captured, and, last I heard, he had been executed. With no threats to Hyrule, I was free to explore without the worry of a great evil hanging over my head. I was even able to meet Zelda for the first time (again).

Not that I never worried in these seven years. During one of my earlier searches for Navi, I had stumbled onto Termina, a world that was threatened by an ancient evil (not to mention a big freaking moon!) that had many people who mysteriously resembled people from Hyrule. I had talked to Zelda about it after I eventually returned, but neither she nor Impa knew anything about Termina (and the Happy Mask Salesman claimed to have never been there). It was there that I had gotten the Great Fairy Sword. At the time, I had to wield it in two hands, but in the last few years I had grown into it, and could now hold the sword as well as a shield.

As I was walking, I thought about what Saria said. I began to wonder if I should ask Zelda if she had feelings related to the alternate timeline. Not that I could ask her directly without her thinking I was possibly crazy.

I was just starting to come out of the forest when I looked up. Sitting in the branches of a tree at the edge of the forest was someone I had not seen in years.

"Hoo-Hoot! It's great to see you again Link! It has been a while"

The giant owl, Kaepora Gaebora, was sitting in the trees. His head twisted all the way around (something that had always creeped me out) before righting itself again.

The last time I saw Kaepora was in Termina. He always seemed to appear whenever I was in need of guidance. If he was appearing now…

"Hello Kaepora," I said as I walked up to the tree he was in, "What brings you out this way."

He took a few seconds before he responded (which was strange, because he had always been rather chatty), "I'm sorry, but Hyrule may be in need of your assistance once again."

Once again…

"What do you mean by that?"

He let out a soft hoot that sounded kind of like a sigh, before he answered me, "You are not the only one who remembers the dark time of Ganon's reign hoo-hoo."

I was stunned. I was not sure if I should be glad that I was no longer the only one who remembered, or worried about what this all meant, "Is it Ganon? Has he returned?"

Kaepora Gaebora shook his head, "Unfortunately, I can not reveal any more. You must go to the Sage of Time straight away."

"Sage of Time!"

Zelda!

"But…"

"Don't worry," Kaepora said, "by the time you get there, she will remember everything that has happened."

Many questions were starting to buzz around my head, "I don't understand. How is this possible? Why now?"

Kaepora shook his head, "I don't know why, but it started with the break in at the Gerudo Fortress."

"The Gerudo Fortress!" I exclaimed.

I still remembered how hard it was to get through the fortress undetected. Of course, times were tougher then than they were now, "Maybe I should head over there first to investigate."

Kaepora shook his head with a quick hoot, "That would not be advised hoo-hoot. The Hero of Time must rise again. It is of the utmost importance. I'm sorry, but I must be on my way. I have a mission of grave importance, and I don't have much time."

With one last 'Hoo-Hoot', he flew off. I ran off after calling after him to wait, but he flew out of sight.

Well, that was extremely frustrating. I barely even got out of the woods, and the peace I had grown so accustomed to lately may have already shattered.

"Well," I said to nobody in particular, "I guess time is of the essence."

It had been a few months, but I figured that since I needed to get to Hyrule Castle quickly, I needed to call for Epona. I pulled out the instrument that I always carried with me: the Ocarina of Time.

After I had returned from Termina, I had offered to give the royal family heirloom back to Zelda (I may have used it a lot, but it still belonged to her). Zelda had insisted that I hold on to it. She said that, for some reason, she felt that I was meant to keep it.

I played Epona's Song, and it was not long before I heard Epona making her way towards me. To my immense surprise, she was not alone. A very familiar red-headed figure was perched on top of her which caused me to smile despite the situation.

"Well, how are you doing today Malon?" I asked trying to hold back a laugh at the confused expression on her face.

"Link!" she said, more than a little surprised (not that I blamed her), "I have no idea what just happened. I was just taking Epona out for some exercise when she suddenly quit listening to me and headed over here."

I chuckled, but quickly turned serious, "Sorry, but something's come up, and I need to borrow her for a little while."

"Oh. So that explains it," she said as she patted Epona's head, "She always did respond quickly to your call."

It had always been a topic of much discussion between me and Malon. Though Epona always liked it when Malon sang it, it did not have nearly as strong an effect as when I played it on my ocarina. The song was a magical song, and I had found that you need an instrument of some sort in order to really exploit the magic (I had tried using a piece of grass once, but could not get the tune right).

I was broken out of my reverie by Malon's next comment, "Well, I don't mind you borrowing her for a little while, but I seem to be in a bit of a pinch."

I could immediately see the problem. I had never completely understood how the song works, but no matter where I (or Epona) was, she would show up immediately. This meant that Malon was several hours away from home (and that was by horseback). There was no way that I could just leave her here.

"Um… I could drop you off at the Ranch," I said, a little sheepishly I might add, "I'm heading to the castle, so it wouldn't be a problem."

She quickly shook her head though, "It's an emergency right?"

She looked expectantly at me, so I nodded my head.

"So you should just take me with you," she said with a grin.

"Don't you have work today?"

She shook her head, her grin widening, "Dad actually got up early for once and is doing all of my chores. He gave me the day off."

Talon… working! Now that was a scary thought.

I decided to keep that thought to my self though, and said instead, "Well, if you're sure…"

She responded by scooting back in the saddle and patting the spot in front of her.

I shook my head, a small smile on my face as I walked up to Epona. She nuzzled me affectionately and I rubbed her head. I then swung up onto the saddle. Epona reared back in her excitement, forcing Malon to grab onto me.

"Let's go!" I shouted, and with a loud 'Ha!' I urged Epona into a gallop. Next stop, Hyrule Castle.