Author's Note: All characters and settings owned by Nintendo, of course. This is a bit of an interpretation of what happened after Ocarina of Time, before the sages sent Ganondorf through the mirror of twilight, sort of integrating OoT: Master Quest. There are 23 chapters currently planned, so I hope you're in this for the long haul! Thank you for reading, and reviews are always welcome!
Chapter 1: They Remembered.
The rising sun illuminated the Kokiri forest, its rays warming those among the trees. A small boy woke, shaken by a terrible nightmare. He jumped out of bed, panting, looking around his small tree house. Just a dream... He took a deep breath and climbed down into the Kokiri village. Halfway down the makeshift ladder, a glowing blue ball began to circle his head. He gasped in surprise, losing his grip on the ladder. Navi unleashed a jingling giggle when he landed flat on his bottom. He grinned from ear to ear. "Navi!"
"One and the same!" She whirled around him a few more times before hovering at eye level.
"But that means..." He gasped again. "The Great Deku Tree! The Princess!" Link took off running towards the Great Deku Tree's grove, Navi faithfully in his wake. He bumped into Mido on his way, leaving the Kokiri Boss spinning behind him. "Sorry!" Link turned his head and shouted, "Not a dream! Have to stop King of Evil!"
When he reached the Great Deku Tree, the forest guardian's mouth was already wide open, and Link rushed inside.
Beware, my child. Not all is as it once was...
The ominous tone of the booming voice in his head sent a chill down Link's spine. As he entered the main hall inside the Great Deku Tree, he knew exactly why. As fast as he could pull out his Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield, a swarm of keese were upon him. After he had dispatched all the attacking keese, Link stood there, panting. That... definitely didn't happen before. I'll have to be more careful... He took a deep breath and ran off, determined to retrieve the Kokiri Emerald and stop Ganondorf before the King of Evil could begin.
Hours later, the Hero of Time emerged from the Great Deku Tree. He was battered, bruised and exhausted, but victorious. He slipped the large gold-embellished emerald into his pack, and took off running for the exit of the Kokiri Village. He could feel Mido glaring at his back as he exited the Great Deku Tree's grove, but Link kept running, determined to reach Hyrule Castle before Ganondorf. As he came to the wooden rope bridge leading out of the forest, he stopped and began to dig through his pack. He cursed to himself; the Ocarina of Time wasn't there.
"Remember?" Navi spoke as he continued digging. "Princess Zelda used it to send us back here! Of course you wouldn't have it." Link grumbled wordlessly and continued digging through his pack. Finally, reaching his arm in almost to the shoulder, his fingers brushed what he had been searching for. He pulled out the fairy ocarina, keeping it in hand as he began running again. "Link? What's that for?" Navi hurried to catch up to her partner.
Link threw her a sideways grin and kept running, cutting across corners in the road, headed for a small bump on the horizon. Assuming everything is still in the same place... it should only take a couple of hours... As Link began to tire, he felt a warmth from the back of his hand. Looking down, he saw the triforce mark emitting a faint glow, energizing him as he ran. He frowned. If I have my piece of the triforce, then that means Ganondorf already has the triforce of power... I've got to hurry! Link redoubled his efforts, relief washing over him as Lon-Lon Ranch came into view. Navi jingled like a bell above him, realizing what the ocarina was for. Link swung around the corner of the fence, rushing in through the large gate protecting the ranch. A young girl with red hair was singing to a chestnut foal. She looked up when she heard Link's footsteps, then stared for a moment at Navi. A thoughtful expression crossed her face, and she smiled widely.
"Hey there! You... look familiar. I'm Malon! Welcome to Lon-Lon ranch!"
Link waved at the girl, grinned, and brought the ocarina to his lips. As he played Epona's Song, Malon's eyes grew wider, and Epona rushed to his side, nuzzling his face.
"Wow, fairy-boy, Epona sure likes you! She normally won't even let someone approach her!"
Link patted Epona's neck and gently ran his fingers through her mane. "I... I need to borrow Epona. It's for the good of all Hyrule!"
Malon giggled. "Well, if Epona likes you that much, you must be trustworthy. If you happen to go by the castle... try to find my father. Good luck! Treat her well, fairy-boy!"
Link hopped on Epona's back and gave Malon a mock-salute. Navi quickly ducked under Link's cap and they were off. Link leaned forward, holding on to Epona's neck as she ran at a full gallop. He smiled, and whispered in her ear "I missed you, girl. I didn't think you'd remember me."
The foal mare tossed her head to the side as if to say "Silly boy, how could I forget?"
Riding Epona, Link quickly closed the rest of the distance between himself and Castle Town. The sun was starting to hang low in the sky, but he managed to get into the city before the drawbridge was closed. He hurried north, leaping off Epona, and quickly dodging past the guards, until he reached the side sewers of the outer castle wall. He spotted Talon, Malon's father, napping near the moat, and stopped for a moment to wake the man. Taking a deep breath, Link snuck through the small hole in the wall, emerging in the castle courtyard. A sense of urgency pounded in the back of his brain as he meticulously avoided the guards, reminded by the rising sun that time was running out. Finally, he reached the small alcove where Princess Zelda was already waiting. Just as before, she was perched on the stone platform at the top of the small staircase, peering into the throne room.
The young princess gasped and turned around as Link rounded the corner. "The boy from the forest..." She glanced up at Navi, then back at Link. Her eyes unfocused as 7 years of memories rushed into her mind. She staggered, and Link rushed forward and braced her against himself to keep her from falling. She looked up at him, dark wisdom filling her eyes. She remembered. "We must warn my father." She stood tall, threw her shoulders back, and grabbed Link's wrist. She strode quickly past the guards, Link jogging to keep pace, and none dared to stop the precocious child. She marched right into the throne room, where the young Gerudo King and his honor guard were already meeting with the King.
"We need to cement this precarious truce between our peoples. It has grown... fragile... in the years since the war." The King of Thieves stopped speaking as he heard the throne room doors open. He spun around to see what the interruption was, and Zelda spotted the glowing triforce symbol on his right hand.
Everyone turned with the Evil King, and all eyes were on Zelda and Link. King Harkinian scowled as he rose to his feet in front of the throne. "What is the meaning of this?"
Zelda gulped, summoning all her courage. "As you know, father, I have been having prophetic dreams." The king cleared his throat to show his displeasure in Zelda's openness about her visions. "These dreams have foretold a great period of darkness all across Hyrule. They have told of a messenger from the fabled Kokiri, sent by the Great Deku Tree himself." She cast her gaze across the room, meeting the eyes of each person present. "This is that messenger."
"This is preposterous!" Ganondorf turned back towards the King of Hyrule. "Surely you don't mean to entertain these children." His female guards began to speak to one another in hushed tones.
Link dug into his rucksack, biting his lip and producing the Kokiri Emerald. The Gerudo silenced. Every Hylian in the room gasped. The King of Thieves slowly turned back around. The young boy, clad in green, held a glowing stone above his head. A large emerald in a gold setting, hovering just above his hands and rotating of its own accord.
King Harkinian cleared his throat, and Ganondorf turned back around to face him. "It seems, my friend, that there might be some truth to this matter. Let us move to a more comfortable chamber to discuss this new peace treaty of yours. Impa!" The white-haired Sheikah appeared in a puff of smoke, flanking the throne. "Would you kindly see to these children?"
Impa nodded curtly, and strode quickly to where the two children still stood. Placing a hand on the napes of each neck, leading the children out a side door. Link tucked the emerald away while they walked. The older woman led them down winding corridors, ending in Princess Zelda's antechamber. "Now," She said, sitting them down on a couch, and standing across from them, "Tell me what's going on."
Zelda looked at her feet, and held up the back of her right hand. Link kicked his legs nervously, holding out his left hand for Impa to see. Zelda licked her lips. "The triforce has split, Impa. Ganondorf has the triforce of power. I possess that of wisdom, and Link is the bearer of courage." She had tears in her eyes as she looked up at her nursemaid and mentor. "The ocarina of time... it sent us back to our childhood. We remember what will happen. We wish to prevent it. We wish to prevent disaster."
"Hmm. Elaborate." Impa nodded slowly.
"The Gerudo attacked. They invaded Castle Town." Zelda's lip began to tremble, and link put his hand on hers. "You and I..." Zelda took a deep breath. "We fled the castle; went into hiding. Link was sealed in the Temple of Time for seven years, until he could properly wield the Master Sword." Impa walked over and sat down next to her charge, wrapping her arm around the Princess, who was nearly in tears. "There was no one to stop him. Ganondorf took over the kingdom. He destroyed everything. In the end, we defeated him, but only just. Hyrule was... dead. That was when I used the ocarina." Zelda buried her face against Impa, crying openly now.
The Sheikah slowly rubbed Zelda's back, whispering in her ear "Shh, it's all right now, dear. None of that has happened yet." Impa pulled a kerchief out of nowhere and dried the princess' tears.
Zelda sat up and composed herself as well as she could. She looked up at the Sheikah, her desperation evident in her features. "Impa, we cannot let Hyrule fall."
Impa smiled softly. "We shall not let that happen. I will advise your father. You two wait here." She stood and quickly left the room, the door closing behind her.