Chapter One

"Cheers!"

Everyone was celebrating and having fun. The Celestial Spirits really did know how to throw a party.

Erza looked to see Natsu chugging some sort of sake, then spitting it in the air followed by him setting it on fire.

It was then that the Spirit King spoke, "If we're all going to get shitfaced… I think I should seal some of your magic. I wouldn't want to wake up and see half my kingdom frozen."

Everyone laughed, before agreeing.

Erza instantly felt pretty much all of her armors were no longer accessible.

The party continued and everyone was having fun. She was meeting many celestial spirits, but then one of them caught her attention.

It was a small ball of light, and it seemed to be floating around.

Is… Is that a… Fairy!

Erza couldn't believe it!

"Do fairies really have tails? Do they even exist...? Like them, this place is an eternal mystery... a never ending adventure!"

Erza stood there gaping at the small ball of light. She wasn't positive it was a fairy, but she would always be left wondering. She couldn't risk that.

Then she realized what would happen if she found out whether fairies were real, and if they even had tails?

No… Nothing would change; Fairy Tail will always be Fairy Tail.

With her dilemma resolved she left the party and followed the blue ball of light.

It was flying pretty fast, and it seemed in a panic. Erza followed still. The Celestial Realm was huge! Erza didn't know how many spirits resided here, but there were many!

Finally the ball of light stopped, and a door of light appeared before it. Erza was running quickly, and saw the ball fly through the door.

Oh no! It's being summoned! Erza tried to stop herself, but she had been desperate to chase the ball of light and now it was too late. She fell in through the door and landed right on her head.

Erza awoke with a splitting headache. I didn't drink that much.

She struggled to remember what happened when she heard a growl to her left. Turning her head she saw a wolf like creature, and behind it was an entire pack.

Tittania tried to access one of her stronger armors, along with a couple dozen swords, but that's when she realized that most of her armor had been sealed!

The entire pack was closing in on her; however, she showed no fear. Wolves would smell fear on me like if it was seasoned bacon!

Erza went through her inventory mentally, thinking over what weapons she still had. A couple armors that weren't suited for the woods, a couple swords and other random weapons.

I guess a regular sword will have to do.

She walked away slowly, pulling on her sword that was at her hilt now. One of the wolves swiped at her, but she dodged it; however, the next wolf was already slashing at her. She hacked at one, before turning to the others. Jumping backwards and to the side were her only defenses.

These wolves are strong, but they put too much strength into their swipes and are left defenseless.

With that in mind, she dodged before stabbing one in the back. A howl was let out by the wolf before it fell. It worked. She then turned to see the other wolves ready to continue this fight.

She felt beads of sweat go down her head. I'm getting a work out? She wasn't sure why she was sweating; if her magic was sealed maybe her strength was weaker.


Fwosh.

The arrows flew from his bow at his enemies. The string of his weapon almost sounded like music, as if it wasn't a bow, but a lyre.

Epona rode, and rode hard. There were monsters everywhere, only slightly off put by Link's arrows. In front of him a Moblin was frozen, spear aimed towards them, ready to strike. It was not a difficult jump for Epona at all. Together they kept on trekking towards the Kokiri Forest.

I can't fail them. I won't.

Those were the only thoughts that went through Link's mind as they rode. A group of Stalfos were getting too close, but a rapid succession of light arrows vanquished them on sight. He pulled out some carrots to feed Epona as she rode on.

He could see an Iron Knuckle up ahead, but he didn't have time. Pulling on his mare's reins, they avoided the beast and travelled a bit further.

Taking a detour would make the trip longer, but fighting an Iron Knuckle head on would take even longer. Epona could definitely make up the time they lost on the detour.

Finally the entrance to the forest could be seen, but it was blocked by a tree trunk. Link smiled at that.

He headed towards the gate and jumped off of Epona's back. Pulling out his Master Sword he attacked the Stalfos and Wolfos that were at the gate trying to claw their way in.

There were at least a dozen of the foul beasts, but Link managed to defeat them on his own. Finally the last of the skeleton warriors fell, nothing but bones.

"Hey Sprout, mind letting me in?" The trees started moving making way for him and Epona to come inside. He had just walked inside when he noticed the bridge was down. A precaution, in case the Deku Sprout couldn't hold the gates. He looked down to see the Lost Woods. No ordinary person without a fairy could ever get out of there. Let alone a mindless beast like a Moblin. Link hopped on his horse and whispered to her, "Ready girl?"

Quickly backing up, he gave Epona a running start and they jumped the gap like nothing. Smiling towards himself, he fed Epona one last carrot before mounting off.

The jump was not a big deal for his beautiful mare. A horse like Epona could jump twice as far.

As he walked inside he saw that thankfully the forest was not overrun by monsters; however, all the Kokiri children were running around with buckets of water heading further down the village. He followed them and could see Mido at the top of a rock, still not as tall as him, barking out orders.

"Hurry! We have to keep the Great Deku Sprout well fed so that he can protect our gates!" Then he turned and saw Link with Epona in tow. "Hey!" Link looked across to Mido, and nodded, "What do you think you're doing with that horse! You can't just bring a horse in here!"

Link looked at Epona, and then looked towards the gate.

Mido, understood and scratched his head a bit sheepishly. "Oh right… Well I guess for now you can bring your horse in here."

Link was about to say thanks when from a cliff a fairy came flying down screaming.

"Link!" He turned hearing his name and was surprised. "Link! I'm so glad you're alive!" He forgot about everything as Navi crashed into him. He enveloped her in a gentle hug as she wailed into him. "I'm so sorry I left. I should have stayed longer." He patted her gently, "I thought…" He kept soothing her, "I thought you died!"

He whispered to her, "It is okay Navi. I'm alive."

Then he heard small footsteps. "Link…?" He looked to the side to see Mido had wandered near him. "Is that really you Link?"

The young Kokiri looked up at Link with disbelief. Link looked at Mido and finally said, "Yeah Mido… It's me. I guess…" He stopped for a bit, "I guess you were right Mido… I'm not a Kokiri after all. I grew up."

Mido ran at Link and then kicked him in the shin. "Link! You're such an idiot Link!" Before the young Hylian could do anything, the Kokiri continued, "It doesn't matter if you're father was Hylian and your mother was Gerudo!" Before Link could correct him, he went on, "It doesn't matter if you're brother is a Goron! Or if you're wife is a Zora!" Link was surprised that those were actually part true, "Link… Deep down inside, you will always be Kokiri too!" Mido enveloped his leg in a hug, and before Link could hug back all the other Kokiri children ran out to hug him as well. There were tears in everyone's eyes.

Link hugged them all, "I'm so glad you're alive and okay. I was worried, that I wouldn't make it in time like last time." The last time he emerged from the Temple of Time, Kokiri Forrest had been overrun by monsters. They were like that for moments before finally breaking away.

"You should talk to the Great Deku Sprout, he will be glad to see you're alive." Mido spoke up.

As the two walked together, the young Kokiri finally asked, "Is… Is Saria okay?"

Link answered quietly, "She's okay. You know, she's a Sage now?"

Mido laughed, "She's special isn't she."

Link nodded, "She always has been. Right now she's with the other Sages trying to summon the goddesses to see if there's any way to stop the havoc that is going on outside."

Mido kept silent. They continued to walk before they stood before the Great Deku Sprout.

"Link, you're alive!"

"Yes. I'm glad to see you were able to keep those things away."

The Deku Sprout let out a laugh, "Don't underestimate me."

"I'm glad everything is fine, are you in particular need of assistance?" Link didn't want to seem rude, "I mean… this wasn't really a house call. Everyone is in panic outside so I was wondering if you needed anything in specific."

The Deku Sprout asked quietly, "What happened out there?"

Link seemed to consider giving a short answer, but even Navi had flown out of his cap and looked questioning. "After I defeated Ganondorf, Navi said she would travel to the Celestial Realm to recover some health. It was only me and Sheik- I mean Zelda, leaving the castle, when it erupted. From the wreckage came Ganondorf's true power, he was a foul demon. Ganon is what he called himself. With Sh-Zelda's help, I was able to kill it too, but before it died, it unleashed the Triforce of Power into every single one of his underlings."

Mido, Navi and the Deku Sprout took a gasp. "As of now, I could only briefly help fortify both Kakriko Village and scout Castle Town for a few survivors."

Deku Sprout nodded, "Well looks like you're busy, but if I could request something?" Link answered yes, and he continued, "The gates will be fortified, but every time my tree branches snap or something similar, I hurt, so if you could go back in time and plant trees at the gates, when you come back I'll be able to have grown the trees. I need you to do this, but other people are also a priority."

Link tried to think it over. "I think I can do it, I'll head over to the Temple of Time and travel back and plant them. When I come back nothing should have changed so I'll be able to pick up where things left off."

Mido saw that Link was moving on and followed right behind, "Let me see you off Link."

The Hylian smiled, "Sure. You can meet my horse, Epona."

As Mido rode on Epona a bit, Link remembered something he had borrowed. Pulling it out from his pouch he went up to Mido, "I brought back the Kokiri Sword. Since you're like the leader, I guess I should give it to you."

Mido from atop Epona, looked at Link, "Keep it! As a reminder that you're a Kokiri! Who knows, you might need it sometime."

Link smiled, "Thank you."

Navi flew out from under his hat, "Link! We need to go soon!"

"Sure, sure." He pulled out his ocarina, "I hope Epona can stay here?"

Mido nodded and then listened to Link as he played a couple of notes, and then started glowing and disappeared.


Erza was lost. She had no idea where the exit was. Everywhere she walked looked the same. Every once in a while she felt like she was being watched too. It wasn't a feeling of hostility, like when she ran into the pack of wolves. It was different. She would turn and turn and run and sprint and even cut down bushes and scrubs, but nothing and no one were ever in sight.

Honestly, it was getting to her. She tried to stay calm, but she had no idea where she was. She saw a pond, and it seemed like the same pond she had seen at least a dozen times before. She even saw the same flowers she had cut before. She headed towards the pond and she found a rock, and almost afraid she looked under it. There they were! The same flowers she had cut and placed under the rock where there; however, when she turned to look at the flowers she previously cut, they were there as if nothing had happened!

I'm going crazy!

She looked and the pond looked normal, no sign of anything happening. She turned around and left. She had taken four steps when she felt it again. A presence was behind her. She turned quickly, but nothing had changed.

She stood there staring at the pond for minutes before she decided to keep on walking, but that's when it happened.

The pond let out a bubble.

Bloop.

She headed straight for the pond, and inside was… a boy?!

She looked at him and wasn't sure what to think. He didn't look like he had ordinary clothes, it looked like could have been made of leaves and bark. On his face, hiding his features was a mask. She was about to talk to him, when a dart flew at her. She jumped back in time to avoid it. Soon came another dart, and another and another. She kept dodging them, even allowing the young boy to get out of the water. He stood atop of a rock, and she stood tall away from him. The skull kid, had a flute in his hands, pointed at her. She didn't know whether to take him seriously or not. He was a boy, but his darts weren't toys. While Erza pondered what to do, the boy turned around and ran. It took Erza a moment to comprehend, before she chased after him.

"Wait!"

Her cries were moot; the Skull Kid didn't want to stop. He ran then dove into the grass. Erza stopped herself before the slightly taller patch of grass. She pulled out her sword and cut away at the grass. When it was done she realized the boy actually did dive into the grass; however, inside the grass were holes.

Should I follow him into one of these holes?

She wasn't sure what would happen, or where she would end up, but then it occurred to her that she was in fact lost.

If I'm lost, and I have no idea where I'm going, what's the difference if I fall inside this hole, it won't change the fact that I'm lost or not.

She decided to go for it, and jumped into a random hole, hoping she would end somewhere, anywhere, other than these dreaded woods.


When he first reached the Temple of Time, Link was ready to place the Master Sword back on the pedestal and go back in time to plant the trees; however, he heard a faint noise. It was a dim noise, but it was also a familiar noise: it was the clash of a blade against flesh! It had come from outside. Turning away from the pedestal, Link followed the sound of sword on flesh.

That was how our young hero ended up fighting hordes of the dead. The things were everywhere. Their horrid screams piercing the heavens. Anguished and sorrowful, yet there was no time to feel pity for them. A moment's hesitation could cost one their lives. The faltering of one's blade would allow them to paralyze you with their screams: the screams that filled one with terror. Our young warrior knew this.

"Heyah!" The Master Sword slashed downwards at one of the ReDeads coming at him from in front. As the monster fell more gathered around it and started feeding off of it.

He ran around the corner and saw her. She was standing there in a skirt with two short blades in hand. The young woman ran around them and slashed as much as she could. It was a group of 10, yet she showed no fear and kept attacking. He was so transfixed he wasn't able to make out the movement of the creatures as they neared him. When he was finally able to turn, he simply stared in horror as the ReDead screamed at him; the cry of the creature once again paralyzing his entire body.

He grunted in pain as sweat accumulated around his forehead. He was desperately trying to get his body to move before the abomination reached him.

Then the young woman came running in again; her footsteps light, but focused. The female carried herself with the presence of a warrior. She jumped up in the air and slashed downwards slicing the head in half.

Instantly the feeling in the pit of his stomach ceased. Before he could thank her, or she could ask his name, he muttered quietly, "Follow me."

Turning around and heading back the alleyway, the woman had little choice but to obey.

As they reached the place where he had previously been recovering, he turned to see her effortlessly keep up with him. He gave a small smile. Once they were put he looked at her, "Want to leave this place?"

She looked skeptical, but nodded. He held out his gloved hand, and she grabbed it. He pulled out his ocarina, although the woman did look at it oddly, before playing a melody. They started glowing and then teleported away.

When they landed the woman kneeled over and retched whatever substances she had eaten that day. He looked away as she wiped her mouth. Finally she looked up at him, before looking around. They were in a temple.

"Why are we here?!" She snarled pulling out her sword.

The warrior looked at her; she was still slightly unsteady from the teleportation. Although she wasn't stable, her sword was ready to cut. He idly wondered where the shorter swords had gone, but now wasn't the time to ask questions. He quickly jumped a step back and pulled out his shield.

"We're in the Temple of Time."

"Why are we here?" Now she was stable. He didn't want to get in a fight, but if he did, he should have attacked her while she was stunned.

"This a safe place. The walls of this temple are protected by ancient magic preventing the creatures from getting in." They stared at each other. He wondered if he should pull out his sword, but decided not to, as a show of good faith. "Why are you wary of this place?"

She didn't answer him immediately, but after a few seconds she spoke, "When I awoke, I was here. I fought tooth and nail through hordes of those things for hours to get away and discover a way out of here." Looking around, "Now you bring me back here? It's like I didn't even accomplish anything!"

He tentatively put his shield away. "I only brought you here so we could talk in safety." He looked around, "This place… This place is sacred. I would appreciate it if you put your sword away."

She slowly sheathed her sword, but it stayed at her waist.

He walked up to her and extended his hand, "My name is Link."

She took his gloved hand, and shook it, "I'm Erza Scarlet."

He looked at her, "Like your hair."

Her eyes widened slightly, but then she smiled melancholic, "Yes, like my hair."

He took notice, and made sure to keep in the back of his mind. "Anyways, I can't believe you're still alive. I had discerned that there was no more life here." He moved towards the steps and sat on them, as she did the same.

"What happened here?"

"What do you mean? Aren't you one of the citizens of Castle Town?" He looked surprised.

She quickly replied, "Uh… I was in this temple the whole time, I hadn't gone out before and when I did, everything had changed."

He knew she was telling the truth, but it wasn't the whole truth. Link was tempted to pull out his Mask of Truth and make her tell him, but he wanted to gain her trust. A warrior like her could come in handy.

"It happened a couple days ago. After a fight with a demon lord, Ganon, the Seven Sages of Hyrule tried to seal him into another dimension. However, the stubborn fool unleashed his power unto the world. As he died, his essence was spread to all of his vile underlings throughout the world." As he saw her surprise at words like, demon lord, sages, dimension, and even Hyrule, he knew she wasn't from around here.

"After that, the remaining people of Castle Town that Ganon had enslaved had been quickly attacked and turned into the monsters you see out there. The Sages were weakened by the attack and the hero who fought Ganon was unable to stop the creatures from killing the people."

Erza noticed that his hands had curled into fists, and wondered if his family had been in Castle Town.

"Anyways, the entrance to this city has been sealed, hopefully keeping the monsters inside and stopping them from spreading." He looked at her again, "For that reason, even if you had managed to cut your way out, you would have unleashed the creatures into the rest of the world, it's a good thing I found you."

Erza looked a little embarrassed. She wondered if she would have cut up the exit, and decided she probably would. After all, Fairy Tail was known for causing destruction, and she was one of their strongest members.

"I apologize. I merely wanted to leave." Then she realized, "If we're here, then how will we leave?"

"I can teleport us to certain areas." Looking up at the roof, as if looking at the sky he said, "It's about time I head back anyways."

"There's somewhere we can go back to?"

That cemented the fact that she wasn't from around here. "Yes. Before Ganon had taken complete control of Castle Town, some of its citizens were able to escape to a village." He looked at her a little more intently. "Maybe a friend of yours was able to escape there."

She looked at him, He knows! "Right… Anyways, these sages of yours: where would they reside?"

"They live in the sage realm." He pulled out his Ocarina, and Erza visibly paled. "Don't worry, it gets easier the more you do it."

Link lied.


Erza looked around and an eerie feeling came across her.

"I know this looks bad, but this is unfortunately the easiest place we can come to." Link replied.

"A graveyard?" Erza exasperated.

Link deadpanned, "Yes." He took a few steps and headed straight, "Don't worry, the village is up ahead."

She followed behind him and finally took full notice of his appearance. He walked poised and carried his sword and shield on his back, contrary to his waist like her. He had tall boots that reached near his knees. White leggings underneath what seemed like a skirt, atop of a green tunic. He wore a brown belt around his waist, with fingerless gloves that reached his elbows, much like her gauntlets. She also noticed that around his waist was a small leather pouch. Finally, atop of his luscious blonde hair, snuggled around his cute pointed ears, was a green cap that looked like something she would wear to sleep.

Physically she could tell he was her age, maybe a year or two younger; however, she wasn't sure about mentally. She could tell he was a seasoned warrior. His handshake was firm, his voice low as if not used often, his arms were well-built and his eyes spoke of experience. Yet there was a certain charm to him, which made him look boyish.

Soon they reached what seemed like a gate, and then an entrance to the village. It was a small village, Erza could tell. As she looked around she could see it was packed though. There were people everywhere! She wasn't sure what to make of so many people.

Link kept on walking and reached an inn. She followed behind him as he entered. People nodded their heads in his direction, and he would nod back.

Talking to the inn keeper he spoke up, "How are things going?"

The burly bald man, who was in charge of the inn, looked up from his seat, behind a desk, and spoke, "Not good." He pulled out a clipboard and continued, "I'm trying to find shelter for everybody, but there's not enough room. Already I've prioritized children and women to the couple inn's we have and the elderly to go to the homes around. The villagers have miraculously stuck together, and helped out, but there are many who are getting angry."

Erza looked at Link and decided to walk toward the bar of the inn which was adjacent to the entrance. She managed to hear conversations from the people, and one of them particularly made her pay attention.

"I'll be the one to say." He looked a little drunk, but continued, "Things were better under Ganondorf!"

The three people who sat next to him tried to get him to lower his voice as murmurs were going around the room.

"Some so called hero that guy turned out to be!" The drunk persisted, "Yeah, they got rid of Ganondorf, but at least that thing wanted to rule the world. What kind of world would he rule if there was no one left? He knew he needed us, but now that he's gone, who keeps in check the monsters? The Sages? The Hero? We're worse off than before!"

A hand reached her from behind.

"Hey, I found you." It was Link.

Erza turned and nodded, "Yeah, I just wanted to catch up on events."

He gave her a weak smile, "Things aren't looking too good huh?"

She shook her head. "What are the people going to do?" She wanted to go home, but at the moment, all she could think of was all the people in pain and suffering.

"Well, hopefully the hero can get his act together and do hero stuff right?" He gave a small chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess." She didn't really know what to say. "How many people are there here?"

He scratched his chin a bit, "I don't know, around 6,000?"

Erza's eyes bulged! "That's a lot! Especially for a village!"

He nodded. "Yeah, unfortunately more than ¾ of Castle Town has fallen to those things." He looked down. "There are currently around 20,000 of those things locked there."

Erza didn't know what to say. An entire kingdom had fallen to that plague! What a frightening thought.

"Anyways, I'm sorry to stick this on to you, but I'm going on a short trip regarding supplies."

She wasn't sure why, maybe it was her nature to help, but she quickly replied, "That's fine, I'll come along."

"Really?" His eyebrow rose a bit, "I was going to simply tell you to wait."

"I don't feel like waiting." Then she gave him a mocking smile, "Plus, without me, those things might get you this time."

He laughed sheepishly. "Heh, there's no way those things can get the drop on me again."

She laughed at his bravado, "Anyways, when are we leaving?"

He turned around and headed towards the door. "I need to check up on a couple more things," He put his hand into the pouch around his waist and pulled out a key, "Here's the key to a room. Unfortunately, it's not really a room, and more of an attic. You can find it at the top." Before she could reply, he headed towards the door.


Link had left to the gates of the village. There were a small troop of knights on shift, and probably a couple sleeping in tents nearby. He headed towards the leader, "Sir Williams," he shouted ahead.

The knight in question walked towards the hero whilst removing his helmet, "Master Link! How was your trip?"

"It was eventful. I found a survivor." Link could feel a smile come from the knight's face. "Although, not much else. As usual, the ReDeads, are still immune to the power of the sun."

The older knight looked down, "Things aren't going well here either." Link's ears twitched at that. "Morale has gone down. People are fearful and want to leave, but we can't allow them to. Many want to return to Castle Town and look for relatives, but…"

Link couldn't help but sigh at that. "How are the barriers? Scott has informed that we are running low on water, and food supplies."

Williams' hand went to the nape of his neck, "The barriers won't hold out much longer. A week or two, if we're lucky; the couple dozen soldiers left are all that will stand between what's out in the fields and the villagers."

Link pondered what to do. "I'll head to the mountains tomorrow morning, see if I can get the Goron's to give some of their boulder to us." Williams looked as if to protest, but Link cut him off. "It's their food source; we can't just take it without asking."

"At least take a couple men with you!"

"No, if anything were to happen to the barrier, you would need all the men you could get to keep the villagers safe." Link then as an afterthought added, "Plus, I have a new companion, who managed to survive alone in Castle Town for who knows how long."

A whistle left Williams' mouth, "Mighty impressive. He must be good with the sword."

Link turned and headed off, but not without adding, "It's a she."