Welcome to my second story here folks! If you're familiar with my writings, you'll know that I try to leave most of my ramblings at the bottom. Since this is a new story however, I want to go over a few things. First: I own none of the properties that will be used in this story. Second: This is not the second story I wanted to get out, but you know how it goes. One minute you're working on a story, the next you got a plot bunny dancing around your head that just won't leave you alone. This is that plot bunny.

Initially it was only two games, but then I got to thinking and I liked the idea of doing more with it. What games you ask? Read through and find out. Hint: Aside from the LoZ stuff, everything else being added is from Capcom. Currently there are two games, but I am looking to add a third, though not on its own, it'll be attached to one of the others.

So without further ado... enjoy the story.


Legend of Zelda: Demons and Gods

Chapter 1

Part 1: Memories

End of an Era…


.xIx.

Link breathed heavily as he stared at the gargantuan monstrosity before him. If Ganon had been a Calamity before, what would he be called now? First he was a cloud of Malice and rage, next he was technological horror, now he was some kind of dark beast whose size could only be rivaled by the divine beasts.

His leg twitched in pain, a reminder that even with his unique skills and abilities he was still able to be caught off guard. Though it was only a slight graze, it still hurt. Those guardian beams were no joke and Ganon decided that he just had to have one as one of his arms. Really, he should have expected it. He spent far too much of his time at the beginning of his journey dodging those mechanical fiends in fear of that weapon. Maybe Ganon saw fit to instill some of that fear back into him during their first clash. A clash that Link had won.

Now, now Ganon was this giant boar in the middle of Hyrule Field. The beast let out an enraged roar that shook Link's very existence. It turned its monstrous head towards him, their eyes meeting. Within those now vibrantly red eyes Link saw pure hatred directed at him. It felt almost like a physical force weighing down on him, nearly forcing him to his knees it was that strong. Link stood defiantly against it. If Ganon felt hate towards him, then Link would counter with his righteous anger.

It was then that he felt the familiar sensation of Zelda's telepathic connection with him tickle the edge of his mind.

"Link, I entrust you with the Bow of Light – a powerful weapon in the face of evil. You may not yet be at a point where you have fully recovered your power or all of your memories… But courage need not be remembered… For it is never forgotten."

As she spoke those words, he saw a light form above him and a golden bow began to descend from the heavens. It landed a short way away, between him and Ganon. There was a silent pause for a moment, Ganon's and Link's eyes on the golden bow. That moment ended as Link burst into a sprint towards the weapon granted to him. Ganon reacted shortly after Link moved, roaring in rage and began to lumber forward.

Though he wasn't sure that it work, Link whistled hoping that his horse was nearby. Lady Luck appeared to be on his side however, as he heard a familiar neigh and hoof steps coming from behind him. It wasn't long before his horse Ebony was by his side. With practiced motion, Link reached up and grabbed the saddle and fluidly kicked his legs up and over.

"Hyah!" Link urged his steed. Ebony, the first wild horse that Link had come across in his journey. Named for his jet black coat, marred only by a diamond shaped white spot on his forehead, Ebony had proven a faithful companion. Link was glad that he was here in what was sure to be the final clash. Ebony seemed just as eager to see this monster beaten as he started galloping even harder.

While Ganon was large and slow, for some reason or other Zelda had placed the bow closer to him than Link, meaning that the beast was far closer to the bow than Link felt comfortable with. For every step Ganon took, it took Ebony several to travel the same distance.

"Come on boy! Faster!" he urged. Ebony seemed tapped though, as he tried but failed to increase his speed. Link thought through his options quickly and decided that he could try something. He pulled out his ancient bow and a bomb arrow. Aiming carefully, he loosed the explosive at Ganon. A couple short seconds later and he cheered as the arrow exploded as it hit Ganon's left eye.

Though he doubted he caused any actual damage to the beast, it served its purpose as Ganon threw his head back and roared, his forward motion stopped. Though Link only slowed the beast for but a second, it gave him more than enough time to reach the bow before Ganon did. He steered Ebony to go a bit to the left as he leaned far to the right. Nearing the bow, he reached out and felt as the golden weapon impacted his hand. As soon as he felt his grip lock on it, he leaned back up right in the saddle and compelled Ebony to turn. Just in time as Ganon arrived, his giant hoof barely missing the two.

He quickly steered Ebony around the giant beast and gained some distance. Once he felt he had safely gained a few seconds, he turned in his saddle and pulled back the string on his newly gained bow. The golden cord glowed as he drew it, a shaft of light appearing as he did. He found a spot on the giant beast and loosed the arrow of light. It flew true, striking exactly where it was aimed. So imagine the young hero's surprise when the arrow did nothing, seemingly hitting some kind of field just above Ganon's flesh.

"That energy covering Ganon's body is called Malice. None of your attacks will get through as he is now…"

Then how was he supposed to injure Ganon then? Why give him a weapon when she knew it wasn't going to do anything? Link shook his head. No, there had to be a plan.

"I will hold the Malice back as much as I can, but my power is waning. Attack any glowing points that you see!"

Zelda's words rung through his head, renewing his resolve now that he knew what the plan was. He thought carefully about how to proceed. He obviously had speed on his side, big as Ganon was right now, that surely hampered his mobility. Weak spots, Zelda said to watch for glowing points; that had to be what those were.

Judging from what he was told, she was going to try and push it aside, allowing him to fire an arrow through the weakened points. From the sounds of it though, Zelda's powers were weakening with every passing moment. Meaning she probably had to build up her power before she could make Ganon vulnerable. So he just had to buy time until then, or rather… survive.

Survive until he could act. He could do that.

A torrent of pinkish flames erupted in front of him and Ebony, causing the steed to rear back in fright. Link just barely managed to avoid being thrown off the saddle. Link watched as the flames died down and followed the path they had made back to their origin. Really, he shouldn't have been surprised as the flames led back to the mighty maw of Ganon. The beast let out a low rumble as it glared back at him.

Survive. Right. Ok, it might be a tad tougher than he originally thought.

Once again the two found themselves staring hatefully at one another. It was only the low rumbling from Ganon that Link spurred Ebony forward. Just in time too as another burst of flame flew past. These flames seemed to be hotter than the burst before as he could feel the updraft that the heat generated.

Ganon was already charging up another attack and Link urged Ebony forward. The horse needed little incentive and ran, several strides ahead of the next fiery beam. Link was starting to notice the pattern, just how many seconds it took for Ganon to power up his attack and how long it took to travel. So long as the monster did nothing surprising he should be fine.

… Well now that was just asking for trouble.

Thankfully, Ganon didn't appear to glean his inner thoughts and continued his onslaught of predictable attacks. He managed to spew out two more fiery strikes when Zelda spoke again.

"GO!" he heard her say as several points of light appeared all over Ganon's hide. The spots were fairly large at first, but Link noticed that their size were quickly shrinking. He didn't have much time. Spurring Ebony forward, he once again drew the Bow of Light. His first shot once again hit true, this time having a noticeable effect as it struck Ganon.

A roar of pain echoed throughout Hyrule field as Ganon stumbled a little. Link felt a surge of confidence go through him, encouraged by the results of his latest attack. He quickly found the next glowing point and noticed that it was much smaller than it had been a second ago. Not wasting anymore time, he lined up his next shot and released. Not even bothering to see if it hit, he already had his next shot prepped and released. He repeated this three more times. Of his six shots, he heard Ganon roar in pain four times, meaning that his last two shots must have been too late. The weak points were gone.

Looking back at Ganon, Link saw that the beast was hunched over and breathing hard.

"It's working!"

They were winning. Now it was only a question of how many more times they had to go through this. Link decided that he had enough of those fire breaths though and directed Ebony to go behind Ganon. Given how slow he was, Ebony was more than capable of getting them into the creatures blind spot. Not that Link felt that Ganon wasn't aware of where they were, but Link highly doubted that Ganon could use that attack of his from behind. Goddess, he hoped that it couldn't be used from behind.

His tactic proved effective though, Ganon tried to turn to get them in his line of sight, but Ebony proved too fast for the beast to keep up. Link managed to stay behind Ganon long enough for him to hear Zelda again.

"Hurry, Link!"

It was at this moment though, that misfortune decided to rear its ugly head as rain started to poor down. Rain, the bane of Link's existence, always showing up at inconvenient times and ruining his day chose now of all moments to appear. In this case, limiting how far he could see. At the distance he was from Ganon, he could just barely make out the bright glowing marks on him. It wasn't' enough for him to get a bead on though. He would have to get closer. Still, while Ebony moved into a better position, Link tried to see if he could nail a target. He loosed an arrow and was met with disappointing silence, the arrow didn't hit. Even worse, the bright spot quickly vanished, Zelda's powers were fading faster. She must have known that though as rather than all the lights blinking out at the same time as they had before, he saw that each of the lights began to fade in sequence.

"We're so close."

Again and again he tried to land a shot through the rain, only to have each shot miss as it obscured his vision far too much. It was then though, that he saw the last point of light underneath the massive hulk. Oh, Ebony wasn't going to like this.

"Hyah!" he yelled as he steered the black horse to go under Ganon. Ebony resisted, but a sudden crack of thunder from behind them seemed to convince the horse more than Link had been able to. They were soon passing by the last glowing spot and Link fired off an arrow. It hit true, drawing yet another roar out of the beast. This roar ended differently from the others though. Rather than dying out, it grew louder and louder, reverberating the air. It was then that Link began to notice that the rain was dissipating as the dark clouds turned a menacing red.

That… couldn't be good.

Distracted by the sky changing color, Link failed to notice that Ganon now had the hero squarely within its sights. It was only when the beam was nearly right on top of him did he finally notice. He barely had time to spur Ebony forward, but it was too late. While he barely managed to avoid getting hit directly, the same could not be said for his shield. The beam clipped the protective armament with enough force to rip Link from the saddle. The hero was hurled several feet back, thankfully the awkward spin from the clipped shield threw him out of the way of the beam, though he landed hard. He heard more than saw Ebony gallop off in terror.

Though he was hurting, he could already feel Mipha's healing power work its magic on him. Though he wouldn't be lying on the ground, he also wasn't going to be at one hundred percent. He stood with a little trouble and noted that his shield had been ripped from him and he lost his grip on the golden bow. Where those items were he didn't know anymore and while he felt they could be found easily enough, he just didn't have the time at the moment. He looked towards Ganon and saw that the creature seemed to be reveling in the fact that it finally hit him. It let out a couple of snorts and grunts that Link could only presume was it laughing at him. Why wouldn't it? He no longer held the weapon that had injured it so. Without Ebony, Link wondered if he would be able to dodge another blast. Ganon didn't think he could.

Still though, Link had done a number on the beast. He could see the wounds he had inflicted, each one oozing the black and red substance. For the third time, the two foes stared each other down, this clearly being the last time they would do this. Though Link still had trouble with his memories, something about this moment felt… familiar. As though he and Ganon had done this before.

He didn't have much time to dwell on that though as he once again felt Zelda's presence.

"Link! Look up there!"

He did, probably even without her prompting. It was hard to miss as a large slit opened up on the back of Ganon's neck, revealing a large eyeball.

"That's the very core of Ganon's being! Do what you must, Link!"

But how? He lost sight of the bow she gave to him, surely she had to have known that. What else could he do? He wasn't exactly giving into despair just yet, but his options weren't exactly numerous right now. It was then that he felt another familiar presence make itself known. He may have lost his shield, but the Master Sword had remained firmly on his back. Of course, the sword would always be with him, now that they had been reunited. Partners. The sword wasn't about to let Link face this final battle alone.

Now he just had to find a way to use the sword against Ganon. Earlier in the chamber below the castle was one thing, here he doubted that he could reach above the hoof. He looked around and saw the charred grass around him, he looked up to the mouth of Ganon. An idea formed. It was reckless, it would probably get him killed if he didn't pull it off exactly right, but it was something. He just had to wait.

He didn't wait long.

Ganon had been charging up what had to be the strongest beam that he had yet to unleash, relishing the fact that Link was defenseless before him. Link had to time this right.

In what felt like an agonizingly long time, Ganon finally shot out his attack. A beam as thick as a tree flew forward directly towards the Hylian, who stood and watched as it came. Just before it reached him though, he acted. Time slowed for the hero as he moved to the left. Even in this strange world of slowed time, Link could still feel the heat coming off of the beam. He saw as the remaining grass burst slowly into flame. His feet soon touched back down and time resumed back to normal, the beam flying past him. It no longer mattered, as he got what he needed from it, the super-heated flames.

Not wasting any time, Link whipped out his paraglider, catching the updraft created by the fire. As this fire was burning hotter than any flame he had seen, the draft was powerful, yanking Link quickly into the air. Before he reached the zenith of his ascent, he released the glider and used his momentum to fling himself towards Ganon. Shortly after he let go of the glider, he drew the Master Sword from its' sheathe and angled his descent.

Ganon didn't seem to understand what was going on as it was attempting to track where the hero had gone. By the time it spotted him though, it was too late. Link already was in position and had the Master Sword in a downward thrust, aimed for the giant eye on its neck and assisted by gravity. Letting out a final shout of fury, Link braced himself as the sword sunk deep into the core of Ganon. Once again, time slowed for Link as the sword made contact. Using this, he prepped himself as he knew what was coming.

Sure enough, Ganon reared back in agony. Link used this motion to launch himself from the beast. Seeing as how he let go of his glider though, he was pretty sure the landing wasn't going to be all that great. Unless…

He looked towards the ground and tried to feel for that strange ability of his. It was weak, but he felt it. Time slowed. Not as much as before but it would do for his needs.

'Revali…'

It seemed that the spirit of the Rito champion heard his prayer as a strong gust of wind burst beneath Link. Without his glider it wasn't enough to catch him, but it was enough to slow his fall. It still hurt when he landed and odds were good that something broke, but at least he was conscious and, more importantly, alive. Though, if he was being honest, knowing that Revali could claim to have saved his life hurt more than the broken bones.

He turned to face Ganon and watched as the beast roared in rage and saw as a glowing light came out of it and fly into the sky. The light descended to the ground in front of Ganon with it shortly falling as its limbs gave out. The light died down, revealing Zelda to be its cause. Much like Link had, Zelda stared down the creature and it glared back, hatred present in its eyes. It tried to stand, most likely to attack but failed to do anything more than shuffle a little bit.

Zelda began to radiate brightly again and Ganon's body began to break down into mist. Rather than dispersing though, it condensed back into the boar like shape that Link had first seen it in. It rose into the sky where it let out another rage fueled roar before circling around and bee lined straight for Zelda, who calmly watched it. She raised her hand and her light grew even brighter, stopping Ganon in his tracks.

The light erupted, growing outward in a large brilliant sphere. Ganon was drawn into the orb of light, being pushed against it as grew roaring the whole time. The sphere grew larger and larger, drawing even more of Ganon into it. And then, it collapsed into itself, creating a small shockwave before blinking out of existence.

Ganon was gone. The Master Sword came flying from the point where the light vanished and landed blade first into the ground near Link but not close enough for him to get to it in his current state.

Link struggled to stand. He found that none of his limbs were broken, though he took note of the fact that he was having a hard time breathing, mostly like due to a broken rib or ribs. That and his back felt like one giant bruise. Good thing he had something to distract him from his pain. The blood red sky began to fade back to its natural color as the clouds began to disperse and the sun shined through. Once he was back on his feet, he turned to Zelda. Without looking at him she began speaking.

"I've been watching over you all this time… I've witnessed your struggles to return to us as well as your trials in battle. I always thought – no, I always believed – that you would find a way to defeat Ganon." She turned to face him. "I never lost faith in you over these many years… Thank you, Link… the hero of Hyrule."

She looked at him expectantly as she held her hands together. "May I ask… Do you really remember me?"

Link looked down. He knew this was going to happen, dreaded it even. "I… I don't"

"You… haven't regained your…" she couldn't finish.

He could only shake his head.

Zelda's triumphant smile turned into a sad frown. To Link's surprise though, it quickly vanished.

"Then we shall both work to get them back!" her features now hardened with determination. She took his hands into her own. "We'll do this, together."

Link stared at the princess, the face that he saw every night in his dreams. What was she to him? He knew he was her bodyguard. He knew that she didn't particularly like him for a time. He knew that they eventually became friends. But all of that he learned through old journals and stories from others, he remembered none of it on his own. He remembered very little actually, a thing here, a thing there. None of it made any kind of sense to Link. Perhaps with the princess's help he could start to make sense of everything.

He gave a firm nod in response along with a slight smile. She returned it with one of her own as she let go of his hands.

"Then that is what we'll do. But first, there's something I want to see."

They stared up at the front gates of the castle, Zelda wanted to look upon the castle before they made their way towards Kakariko village. He stood silently by her side as she took in everything that was around. While she wore a sad expression, he could tell that there was something else beneath the sadness. Determination. Despite everything she had been through, she was still willing to work towards a better future, even if she had earned a good long rest. And he would be by her side for all of it. Nothing was said between them as they turned from the castle to be on their way.

As they walked away, floating near the castle was the spirit of King Rhoam. He watched as the two heroes walk away. Around him were the four champions, all also watching the two. They watched for a short time before the champions vanished as one, followed shortly by Rhoam. Their purpose was served, their lives avenged, it was time to move on. As if sensing their passing, Zelda and Link stopped in their tracks and turned back to the castle, staring at it a final time. It was time to move on.


.xIIx.

"Hmm?"

"What is it my queen?"

"…Something has… changed."

"Ah, you felt it too. I wondered."

"It's as if a great darkness has been removed from this world."

"… That means the status quo has been disrupted. Things will not remain as they have."

"No. I suppose not."

"What do you wish me to do your Highness?"

"Find out more about this. I shall peer into the crystal to determine where it is you need to go."

"I think I have an idea already about that. Though the clarification would be of great help. I would be embarrassing to show up and be wrong."

"It would do you good to be knocked down a peg every now and then you know."

"I have been around a long time my queen, what you mention has happened quite often."

"So then, where is it that your gut tells you to go then?"

"Hyrule."


.xIIIx.

The man stood triumphant atop the mighty tower. He had done it, finally he had achieved what he had set out to do. Only a few more steps until he met his final goal; godhood. First, he had to complete the ritual to open the way to another world; the demon world. He watched as the basin of blood lowered itself into the dark mandala, a red eerie glow spread out from it. Surrounding him were grotesque statues, parodies of their divine origin; angels chained and tortured.

"He plucks the threads that make us dance, finger and toe!"

The tower trembled slightly at these words.

"We surrender in joy to the lowest of the foul and rank; we submerge through darkness, rancid filth."

The dark statues began to rise, lifted by macabre serpentine hooks behind them.

"Hour by hour, we move downward, ever closer to Hell, in a slow steady gait."

The statues fell, stopped by the chains that bound them. They hung silently, the wind causing them to shift and sway slightly.

"Now, let the world resonate! Sloth! Gluttony! Greed! Envy! Lust! Wrath! And Pride!" he spoke, his hands outstretched above his head.

The statues began to swing violently of their own volition, the clanging sound proving their purpose as bells. They rung loud into the evening sky. There was no rhythm, no choir, only ringing as the bells tolled.

"A bell of chaos that tolls human desires! After two thousand long years, the once sealed gate to the Demonic World will open!"

The clouds above began to swirl into a vortex of malice as he finished his latest sentence. An orange glow appeared within the eye of the storm and it spread out above the tower.

"Destruction! Carnage and Despair!"

The sky rippled and a distortion of reality reached out of the vortex and began to descend towards the towers' top.

"Let your insti-!" he started, only to be interrupted by a large tremor resonating through the tower. "What?"

The distortion stopped a short distance from making contact with the tower. It hung there for a moment before it began to retreat back towards the sky.

"What!? NO!" the man ordered to no avail. The sky quickly returned to how it once was, cloudy and depressing, but no longer demonically glowing. The tower shook again, more violently than the last. The statues began to fall from their chains as they landed back into their original positions. The tower was now shaking nonstop, by looking out over the edge the man could see that it appeared to be lowering back into the ground from whence it came.

"No. No no no… I worked too hard for this to happen! I sacrificed so much! My humanity!" he screamed to no one in particular. It had to have been them, there was no other explanation. He knew he should have killed them when he had the chance. When they were weak from battling each other. But no, he let his impatience get the better of him. Not just that, but he thought that his victory was assured. So what if he left them alive? They would be no match for him when they finally caught up. That was the plan at least.

Whatever happened to make the tower retreat back to the underworld had to have been big. But what? Well, he didn't exactly have time to figure that out now did he. With the tower vanishing and his plans ruined, he really had no reason to stick around. Especially if any of those three survived and found him present. Best to be gone if, no, when they showed up. He hadn't underestimated them yet, he wasn't about to do so now.

"Hmph, until next time, sons of Sparda…"

The tower shook again as it neared its final stages of descending back into the ground. The man was already gone before the top of the tower leveled with ground. A mighty rumble sounded as the tower at last finished sinking back into the earth, leaving rubble in its wake. Surrounding where the tower once stood were the ruins of an ancient city, devastated even more now with tower's passing.

The city itself had no signs of anyone living there, the ruins grown over and abandoned for centuries. The only signs that anything had been there were the recent damage done to the surrounding area. Strange holes in tight groupings. Slash marks on stone. Horrific weaponry lying next to equally terrifying eviscerated bodies.

It looked like a warzone. Bodies left and right, some in better shape than others, most killed by either being riddled with holes or cut in various ways. Some encased in ice, some shredded by unknown means, others burned by fire and lightning.

A rock shifted, followed by another. A gloved hand rocketed out of the ground. It felt around until it could find a suitable handhold. Once it did, it began to push and shove as it drug the body it was attached to out of the rubble.

A young man shoved a boulder off his back as though it were nothing as he pulled himself up. Covered in dust, he looked down at the long coat he was wearing and noted the thick layer of dirt and grime. A quick shake dislodged most of it and he finished up with a few quick pats to clear the rest. With the dust gone, his coat proved to be blood red and most of his right sleeve was missing. He finally ran his hand through his disheveled hair, revealing it to be pure white compared to the grey the dust had made it.

He looked around, noting the destruction around him. He looked up to the sky, taking in the scar in the clouds the vortex had left behind. Finally, he looked off into the distance, almost as if he were tracking something only he could sense. A devilish grin appeared on his lips.

"So that's where you went. Looks like this party isn't over yet." He reached down and pulled free a macabre looking sword, its blade long and its hilt a ribcage and horned skull with glowing red eyes. He slung it into the leather holster he had on his back. "Seems I have a bit of traveling to do. Just you wait you clown bastard, I'm not done with you yet."


.xIVx.

A gentle breeze wisped by, causing a pink petal to tickle the girl's cheek. She looked around, confused on how she had gotten to where ever she was now. She tried to look around to get her bearings only to find her sight limited by the walls of rock to her sides. She could see the soft orange glow of a sunset coming from the way ahead of her. A comforting feeling was also coming from that direction, she decided that had to be the way to go and began walking.

Pebbles crunched under feet as she made her way towards the light. Though she had felt nervous at first, she now started to feel more at ease with every step. After what seemed like minutes, though it could have only been a few seconds, she stepped out of the shade of the rock walls. She blinked a few times, allowing her eyes to adjust to the bright orange setting light.

Looking around she found herself atop a mountain peak if the surrounding lands that she could see were of any indication. In front of her lay a small pond, its edges surrounded by the same pink petals that she saw earlier. A cursory look around revealed their origin, a large ancient gnarled tree. As she watched another breeze blew more petals from its branches, a few of them making their way to her. They circled around her, dipping and weaving as if excited by her presence, before the wind took them away.

No longer nervous, the girl stepped forward toward the pond. Reaching it, she knelt down and took a handful of petals. While she didn't lift them to her face, she didn't have to as their fragrance reached her senses and further calmed her. She let them drop back to the pond's surface as she stood back up.

The sun had set even more, the sky going from its orange coloration to twilight blue and purple. This rose a little confusion, surely it couldn't have been that long, it's only be a few minutes. It was then that she noticed that she was no longer alone on the mountain.

They appeared out of nowhere complete silent. Despite that though she didn't fear them. She had heard tales of these creatures though she had never seen one before. They at first glance appeared to be rabbits, but a closer inspection proved this to be false. While their bodies matched up with that thought, their heads did not, resembling that of an owl. Their fur was bright blue with lighter accents around their face, paws, and tail. There were also two golden feathers that sat atop their heads, furthering the resemblance to rabbits.

Blupees. There were hundreds of the creatures surrounding her and the small pond, their bodies emitting a soft glow. While to light from one wouldn't have been enough to see by, given their numbers though the entire mountaintop was alight with their radiance.

Glancing down she saw that a curious blupee, a young one if its size was anything to go by, had moved closer to her. Kneeling down, she held out her hand and didn't move, allowing the blupee to catch her scent. It moved closer cautiously sniffing the air every couple of seconds, until it reached her hand. Giving her a final sniff, it seemed to come to a conclusion and began rubbing its cheek to her palm, giving off content chime-like purr as it did so.

This was soon followed by every other blupee making the same noise and she could feel the vibrations in her teeth. Nearly as soon as they began though, they stopped. The silence felt more deafening than she would have thought. This thought was quickly discarded though as another idea hit her, why did they stop?

No sooner did she think that when she felt a presence behind her. She turned slowly not wanting to startle whatever it was that was now there. Just before the presence came into her line of sight, she shut her eyes, terrified of what she would see. Once she was completely turned, she held her eyes shut only for a moment longer before realizing that she had nothing to fear. She slowly opened her eyes.

Standing in the crag that she had originally walked out of herself was a creature that she had only heard of in myths and legends. It was the size of a horse, had fur the same color as the blupees, had two of those owl faces surrounded by its mane, and the same golden plumes on its forehead. It radiated the same glow only much grander. More than the glow though, it also radiated a sense of peace and majesty. The Lord of the Mountain.

She could only stare awestruck at the incredible being before her as it walked past her, the blupees parting to allow it passage. It soon was standing in front of the tree of pink petals where it turned around and focused its gaze upon her. Without being told or gestured in anyway, she began to walk to the tree as well, its eyes on her the entire way and she was soon beside it.

A quick nod of its head, it turned to the tree and she did as well. Before she could even contemplate about what they were doing, the tree pulsed and began to glow. Unlike the Lord and the blupees, this glow was a mix of pink and purple. It pulsed again, the glow growing a bit brighter. It did this a few more times, each time its light becoming a bit stronger. It was only after a couple more pulses did she realize that something was speaking to her.

'…me…'

"What? I can't… I can't hear you."

'…nd me…'

By now its glow was as bright as it appeared it was going to get, each pulse now bringing about a purple mist. The voice however struggled, not always growing when a pulse happened but not completely disappearing either. She walked closer to the tree in hopes that maybe doing so would allow her to hear the voice better.

'…ind me…'

'…ou mu… find m…'

"I don't understand!"

'…eek out…is moun…nd me…' it struggled to say, seeming to grow more desperate to have its message understood. Something finally clicked for the girl as comprehension dawned on her.

"Find you? You want me to find you? This mountain is where I'll find you?" she asked.

A feeling akin to one letting out a sigh thrummed through the air, the voice glad that its point had gotten across. That wasn't the end of its message though.

'…ion of Hyr…e'll know this pla… nd m…'

The glow of the tree began to dim as it spoke those last words. Apparently its time was up as the next words it got out were even weaker and harder to make out than before.

'…t's not ove…nothe…kness will ri… to rep…alamity…non.'

With those words, the glow vanished and everything began to go dark.

She tried to ask more questions, but found that she couldn't speak, her words dying in her throat. Her vision grew darker and she felt her legs wobble as her strength left them. Before she could fall to the ground she felt something at her side that steadied her. Looking, she found that the Lord, for some reason she now knew that it called itself Satori, come to her side.

Though she gained no other knowledge, she did feel a sense of peace and her panic faded away. The darkness came, but thanks to Satori she knew it wasn't a danger to her. It was merely her…

Zelda awoke with a start, her heart beating fast and her breathing heavy. She groaned as she rolled over on her less than comfortable cot to check the time. The hands of the small clock confirmed that she had once again woke up some time before the alarm in the device was supposed to go off. Sighing, she flipped her legs over the side of the cot and prepared to get up.

Before she stood up though, she reached into the drawer of the bedside table and pulled out a journal. Opening it to an unmarked page, she got a quill ready only to pause as soon as the tip touched the paper. This was becoming a common occurrence for the princess, more than she cared to admit. For the past few weeks now she found that she would awaken from whatever dream she had been having, only to find that she couldn't remember anything about it. She had thought that having a journal nearby would allow her to try and write what she could remember before it passed out of her memory. This proved fruitless however as the dreams quickly erased their presence from her knowledge.

For one who prided herself for her outstanding memory, Zelda was annoyed to no end that her dreams abandoned her as easily as they did. With a huff she put the journal away, hoping that next time she would be able to remember details of the dream that kept waking her up. Seeing as how she wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep anyway, she decided to get ready.

She was soon garbed in her field outfit, something she knew would cause Impa to complain. The aged Sheikah had been on her to dress more appropriately. By that she meant the stuffy dress that required the assistance of at least two handmaidens to put on.

She supposed that it was more about what wearing this outfit meant more than wearing a dress suitable to her station, as when she wore this outfit she was usually working. While she understood where Impa was coming from, it wouldn't do at all to let everyone else get their hands dirty while she sat around and did nothing. What kind of ruler would she be if she wasn't doing her best to rebuild as well?

Stepping out of her tent, she shielded her eyes as the morning sun shone brilliantly over Hyrule field. She may have awoken early but the rest of the camp had been up for what had to be hours now. Several workers hurried around accomplishing various tasks. Workers passing by smiled and waved upon seeing her, most seemingly reinvigorated after doing so. While Impa may have found their behavior unfit in the presence of royalty, Zelda herself didn't mind. She never liked the rigid rules that she had to adhere to growing up in the castle, it was one of the many things that caused her anxiety during her training. Not only was she expected to awaken her powers and still learn how to run a country, she had to learn all the etiquette that was expected of a princess. One would have thought given the situation they were dealing with, those rules would've been set aside for the time being. It made her feel all the better that the people of Hyrule now didn't really follow royal decorum, being without the royal family for the past century.

Zelda sighed in annoyance with herself. It wouldn't do to dwell on the past, it never helped and proved more detrimental than anything else. Bitter memories and all that. On the subject of memories, she looked around trying to find the one person whose memory was still shaky at best. Alas, she didn't see that person she was looking for. Seeing a passing worker, she flagged him over.

"Excuse me, but have you seen Link anywhere?" she questioned.

The worker stumbled a bit having been directly spoken to by the princess, though he recovered quickly enough as he happily answered. "Ah, Sir Link is over by the food tent. He was asked to assist with cooking breakfast by the cooks over there."

A quick thank you from Zelda and the worker was off again.

'So that's where he is. I should've known.' she thought to herself. It really shouldn't have come as a surprise, her knight was known for many things and his cooking knowledge were one of the more popular skills. He'd been asked many times during their time here to help keep everyone fed with the ingredients they found in the surrounding area. All it took was one look at what they had and Link could put together a meal out of the most innocuous of items.

She grimaced though when she remembered a time when he had experimented with an unknown herb. Nobody had enjoyed lunch that day.

It seemed she had a bit of a trek ahead of her though as the mess tent was on the other side of the camp. Not that it was all that far really, but given her status, many would insist that she didn't have to go all the way over. Though, it wasn't the distance that bothered her. Seeing as how Link wasn't present, that meant that there was a Sheikah warrior or three hidden away somewhere out of sight, but having full view of her. It was the only way that Link would willingly leave her side.

While she didn't mind having Link by her side near constantly, she couldn't say the same for the Sheikah guarding her in his absence. Unlike her knight, the Sheikah were the ones who most adhered to rules of Master and Servant. Also unlike Link, they expected her to behave as a princess should. Given that they reported everything she did to Impa, she couldn't help but feel a little resentful towards them. She knew that it was unreasonable given that they were only following orders but still. One would think given everything she had been through that Impa would allow her to relax a little.

It wasn't like she was shirking her responsibilities, in fact she was adamant about seeing to the reconstruction of Caste Town and the royal palace. So what if she wanted to have a more active part in it? She knew Impa meant well, but Zelda had no intention whatsoever of going back to feeling like a bird in a gilded cage or any kind of cage for that matter.

As she walked through the camp, she watched as the many workers began to organize and set about to more important tasks for the day. She saw as one group broke off to carry lumber over to a nearly complete building, an inn if its appearance was anything to go by. Next to it were several completed building as well, some of which had people going in and out of them. One was a bakery, another a tailor shop, yet another having an open entrance with smoke calmly billowing out of it, the blacksmith's. There were others, though they didn't appear to have anyone inside. Made sense as they were shops that had yet to be assigned to any merchants and wouldn't be until the town was further along in its reconstruction.

So far the town was about one fifth completed starting with the centermost section. While some had argued that the homes be rebuilt before the rest, the majority had won out by having the infrastructure and businesses brought back first. Besides, they needed more people to show up to live in the homes first. Right now they really only had the workers and guards that they could scrounge up. While many had volunteered to help in the rebuilding of the town, most had to be turned away from actual construction work as they simply lacked the skills necessary to assist.

As with any large work group though, many smaller civilian camps sprung up on the outskirts of the main camp, offering services that weren't available. There were the regular stuff, food stalls, and basic services; entertainment such as singers, dancers, and storytellers. Though there were also some things that she wasn't comfortable with, the gambling, fighting arenas, and… other services. She knew that these things were normal, but she had never been so close having been either in the castle or in the wilderness.

Still though, it was amazing what had been accomplished in only a few months. The roads had been repaired, plumbing was in place, now all they needed were the buildings and people. Both were well on their way and soon the town would be as thriving as it was in her memories.

Maybe then Link would…

Zelda sighed again. Her knight still hadn't remembered everything. He recalled a few snippets of his life before the Shrine of Resurrection, but no more than that. Mostly some memories about the fallen champions and from when she formally inducted him as the Champion of Hyrule. She grimaced at that memory as she remembered that was when she wasn't on the best of terms with him. While she knew that he knew they were close, he didn't know the full extent of their relationship.

How she wished he would remember. May then she could tell him her true feelings. Right now she felt that telling him that would only confuse him and bring him undue pain. As it was, he really only saw himself as her kind of friend and loyal bodyguard. He would go to the ends of the world for her and though she was flattered at that, it wasn't in the way she wanted him to.

Though she had to admit, she wasn't sure how he would react to her confession even if he did have his memories. Though they had become close friends during their journey to unlock her powers and she had come to care for him as more than a friend, she wasn't sure if he felt the same way. And she wouldn't know, not until he regained his memories.

It wasn't an impossible hope as he had remembered some things already with more coming back to him every day. He would excitedly tell her about whatever mundane memory had come back to him out of the blue, usually related to whatever task he had been performing at the time. He still lacked memories about certain things though, such as memories of his parents and his childhood. Zelda was just as frustrated about this as he was as she had no knowledge about that time in his life. They had never gotten around to talking about his younger years. She knew a few things, but those he had already found on his own.

Like how he was originally from Hateno Village and the house that he had bought turned out to be his former family home. That had been an emotional day as she was there when he found his named carved under the stairs. While he didn't break down, he did excuse himself for a few hours as he worked through his thoughts upon discovering that. While she had wanted nothing more than to comfort him in his time of need, she felt it would only confuse him more.

It always threw her for a loop knowing that the greatest warrior of Hyrule was also its most vulnerable citizen. She figured that must be why he dedicated himself as much as he did. So long as he was doing something and being useful, he didn't have time to think about the gaps in his memory. Why he dedicated so much of himself to her even though she secretly wished he would relax more. She knew that doing so would cause him emotional turmoil, but he wouldn't be able to help anyone if he exhausted himself with his constant diligence.

Speaking of diligence, she had arrived at the mess tent during her musings. It didn't take her long to find Link amidst the others, his bright blue tunic sticking out from the various tan and brown work clothes of everyone else. His gaze was fixed unwavering on a cooking pot in front of him, several others surrounding him with their plates ready and their mouths watering.

After what seemed to be a small eternity, Link finally pulled the pot from the cooking fire and removed the lid. Steam bellowed forth in a large plume, engulfing the champion as well as anyone close enough. Cheers erupted from the workers as the repositioned themselves into a line with only minimal fighting for a better spot. Though Zelda hadn't seen what was in the pot, she could smell what he had cooked from where she was. The aroma of Link's mushroom omelet danced around her nose as she made her way closer. While it wasn't her favorite dish, she couldn't deny that even this meal smelled absolutely divine. It was no wonder so many workers were excited that the champion was cooking this morning.

Now that the meal was cooked though, Link was shooed off by one of the servers after being handed a couple of lidded plates. Link gave the server, a girl of around sixteen, his trademark smile eliciting a blush and shy smile from her. Zelda couldn't help but feel a little jealous at that, though she quickly shrugged it off. This wasn't the first time this has happened and it certainly wouldn't be the last. It was hard to deny that Link was popular, especially with other females. Saving Hyrule would do that. It didn't help that Link was considered fairly handsome. Zelda of course knew better than anyone Link's desirable traits and not only because she spent more time with him than anyone else.

Still, it irritated her to no end that so many girls made themselves known as soon as he showed up anywhere. She couldn't blame them but still, she didn't want anyone to move in on him before his memories came back.

She wasn't able to dwell long on these thoughts though, as Link had spotted her and made his way to her side quickly. Noticing this, she quickly found a spot at one of the many tables and sat down. He soon arrived with their meals, which he laid down on the table. He took a seat across from her.

"Morning Princess." he greeted.

This soured her mood somewhat. She had asked him repeatedly not to call her princess. Until some semblance of government was restored, she wasn't the princess. She was simply Zelda, no matter what anyone else said. The workers understood this, why couldn't Link and Impa along with the rest of the Sheikah? Why did they have to be so…

"Princess?"

"Oh, sorry. Lost in thought."

"You had another dream, didn't you?"

She sighed. "Yes. And just like last time and the time before, I couldn't remember the details. They vanished as the stars do when the sun comes out."

"So poetic." he teased. "You practice that?"

She puffed her cheeks and shot him a glare. "Well excuse me for being well read."

Another smile. "I'm only kidding Princess. I know you're frustrated about not remembering. I can relate."

Zelda knew that he was being genuine with his words, but she still felt as though she had been mildly slapped. Not by his words, but by the realization that they brought. She couldn't believe that she would complain about not remembering something so mundane to the one person whose memories continued to evade him.

"I… I'm sorry Link. I didn't think about…"

"There's nothing to worry about, I know." He stared off a ways. "It's slow, but my memories are coming back. Honestly just wish the ones that did were more relevant. I actually remembered that I would go out into the wilderness with my dad. Still can't remember his face, but I remember he's the one who taught me how to scavenge for food and taught me how to cook. Really thought it would've been my mom to do that."

"Still nothing about her?"

He thought for a moment. "There's… something. I can feel her presence, but I still haven't been able to remember a face or voice. I know she was proud of me and that she loved me, but no actual memory of her."

Zelda said nothing to that, instead focusing on the meal before her. As she thought, while it wasn't her favorite, it still tasted amazing. Link followed suit and dug into his own and ate with gusto. It seemed though, that their peace wasn't meant to last.

A worker came running from somewhere shouting at the top of his lungs. "There's someone coming! Big caravan! Out from Hateno! Doesn't look like any of ours!"

Zelda had to respond to that. She was well aware of just about everything that happened in the reconstruction of the town and she knew of no caravan that was supposed to be arriving anytime soon. Whoever these people were, they were unknowns and potentially dangerous. A quick look at Link told her that he thought along the same lines. He got up and pulled out the sheikah slate from his belt. He fiddled with it a few seconds before a magnificent sword came into being in his hand. He slung it on the harness on his back and turned to the princess and gave her a quick nod. He was ready to go.

She returned his nod and started out to meet with this group of people. She walked out to the rebuilt front gate of Castle Town and halted, waiting for the caravan to arrive. It wasn't long, they soon rounded a corner and picked up their pace upon seeing that they had a welcoming committee. Zelda was soon able to pick up details about the group. Namely the fact that they definitely weren't geared for combat, mostly at least. She could make out several armed guards, even though they looked ceremonial, she had been around Link long enough that she could tell that these were seasoned warriors. They surrounded a lavish carriage of curious design. It looked strikingly similar to something the Sheikah would make, elegant but simple, though the design work on it was gorgeous.

Behind the guards appeared to be what Zelda recognized as an entourage. Several people managing loaded up carts, of what she couldn't say. Even more people were behind them, more guards and servants to cycle out she had to guess. Before too long they pulled up several dozen feet away from the gate. A lone man came forth, dressed in pure white robes, his hair tied up tight.

Looking closer Zelda was surprised to see that he did not have the long pointed ears of a Hylian, they were short and rounded. She had heard of humans like these but had never seen one before as they rarely traveled into Hyrule. Her curiosity grew the closer he got.

He stopped mere feet from her, opened a scroll that he had prepared and spoke, "Greetings from the Eastern Empire! I am here to announce that Queen Himiko of Sei'an City would like to request an audience with whoever is in charge here!"


And scene!

So the games going along with this unofficial sequel are going to be Devil May Cry and Okami. Specifically DMC 3: Dante's Awakening (mostly because it's the earliest in the timeline and I don't have to worry about everything else.). I have a third one in mind, but like I said before, it won't be standing alone, it'll be merged with one of the other two. What that story is is just going to have to wait.

This story will be Zelda/Link, and mostly this first part is going to focus on Link recovering his memories along with a few other things. Zelda's focus is going to be more on rebuilding Hyrule Kingdom, but that won't be all.

Not much more to say here this time around as I usually fill up space down here by responding to reviews. Feel free to ask questions, I'll answer to the best of my ability. So until next time, please read and review! Lostbasin out!