Disclaimer: the Legend of Zelda isn't mine it's just a cool story that I'm borrowing from Nintendo.
The Lost
On a very small island, surrounded by a light fog and the dim blue light of the water temple, was a very ragged and dead looking tree. By that tree sat a boy about eighteen years of age. He wore a smoky black tunic with a white undershirt and off-white tights. A similar, but darker version of the Master Sword and Hylian shield clung to his back. Underneath a long smoky cap lay long silver hair which framed his pale white face. Shining out from behind his long strands of hair were a set of bright ruby eyes. The name of the boy was Aaron.
Aaron put his head down, sending his soaked, tangled bangs falling even further down his face and drip onto his clothes which were also soaked because of the inch of water that filled the large room. Loneliness crept over the boy, for there was no one with whom he could talk to. However, the boy was used to this feeling, loneliness was the only feeling he had ever known. This room was the only place he had ever been. Aaron had been here for as long as he could remember; he had never been able to escape this wretched place. The room had two large doors, one on each side of him. In the front of the room, the door had a large, heavy chain that was attached to a huge padlock. Unfortunately, he had no key or lock pick with which to open it.
In the back of the room was the other door. This door had large iron bars in front of it that looked impossible to open. Magic was probably the only way to open them. This made escape impossible, therefore he was held captive. An innocent prisoner, he was held like an evildoer, even though he had done nothing wrong.
Standing at the shoreline of a dried up lakebed was another boy. However, this one was in a royal blue tunic with the white undershirt and tights, a Hylian shield and the real Master sword clung to his back. A tiny, powder blue fairy was hovering about him and occasionally landing on his long blue hat that brought out, and brightened, his long golden blond hair which hung over a pair of wild sapphire eyes. These he used to stare into the vast dry lakebed.
The desert like appearance, as well as the nothingness, left a strange feeling of loneliness followed by an even stranger feeling of distant longing.
Suddenly a small voice was heard from the little fairy as she spoke to the young man. "Hey, Link!" she yelled.
Link looked up and replied, "Yes Navi?"
"This lake, it wasn't dried up before, was it?" asked the fairy, worried.
"No," came Link's reply.
"I didn't think so." said Navi with a short sigh.
Link threw a small smile at her and walked into the barren lakebed without another word.
Aaron stalked his room, like usual. He was bored. There was never anything to do. The boredom drove him mildly insane, which caused him to talk to himself, due to there being no one else there to talk to.
"Shesh! Would it kill someone to at least throw a book in here?" Aaron jokes to himself. "I'm bored outta of my freaking mind in here!" He then walked back to the tree, pulled out his sword, and started slashing at the already scarred tree. He pretended like it was some sort of foe, threatening his domain and homeland of his imaginary world. It was just something he did often to keep his mind off of the total boredom.
In the middle of the dried up lakebed, was a deep pond. At the edge of the small pond was Link, who was sitting down in the clay and putting on a pair of iron clad boots that the young Sheikah, Sheik had given him.
He then jumped up and did a quick dive into the pond, swimming to the bottom.
"Hey, Link! You know you don't have to hold your breath, right?" Navi quickly informed Link.
Link blew the air out of his lungs, causing little bubbles to flow up out of his mouth and to the top of the pond. Navi giggled, thinking how funny her friend looked at that moment.
Link was actually surprised at the fact that his tunic really did help him breathe underwater. Amazed, he breathed in and out, causing more little bubbles to flow to the surface. Navi to only laughed more, and than she suddenly gasped, "Uh, Link!" in surprise.
Link then turned around to see large iron bars blocking the entrance. He himself was surprised as well, to find a blockage to the temple. He studied the bars, following them from the bottom up until his eyes fell upon a large metal switch. He smiled, pulled out hookshot his from his pouch, and shot at the switch.
The switch turned from grey to yellow and the door opened. Link walked inside with Navi following behind.
Aaron gave up on his imaginary world, figuring that playing out the same scenario over and again was bound to get boring. For at this point, pretending was just as boring as pacing, so he just sat down. Putting his head into his hands, he leaned up against the tree. He then let out a long, loud sigh because when you're stuck in a boring room your whole life, you don't even have something to reminisce about.
Link stood at the locked door, fiddling around in his pouch for the key. After a few seconds he found the key and stuck it into the lock. A strange, nagging yearning came to him as he applied the key to the lock, making him almost desperate to reach the other side.
Aaron watched as the chain of the padlock suddenly fell from the door and onto the floor with a loud clang, which caused him to jump. The knob of the door turned. Curious, but even more afraid, he hid behind the tree. He was not sure of what was come.
A boy that looked almost like him walked into the room, the only difference's were that he looked a tad younger and he had blond hair and blue eyes instead of the silver hair and red eyes that he himself had. The other boy was also followed by a small blue fairy.
The boy walked past Aaron, not even noticing him. He left a short trail of ripples behind him along with the echoing sound of wet footsteps that were mysteriously not drowned out by the water but instead amplified by it.
Aaron watched as his strange twin walked by, to the end of the room where the barred door stood. He wasn't quite sure what to think of this newcomer; was this guy a friend or a foe? Who was this lad and why was he here? Was he too sentenced to live in this cursed room, or was he one of the ones who had sentenced him there?
Aaron then looked back from where the stranger came. Seeing the door unlocked, he got up to run for it, however before he could even step off of the island, a set of bars slammed down in front of it, causing Aaron to once again duck behind the tree.
Link saw that bars blocked the door and turned, as he did so he heard a loud crash. He turned to face the door from which he came. There where now bars blocking that door as well. He than scanned his surroundings. Looking for something, anything, that set off a form of warning. That's when he turned to face the mysterious tree on the little island, studying it for any form of hidden secrets. He saw that sitting in the shadow of the tree was a young man in a black tunic who wasn't much older then himself.
"He, he looks just like you," informed Navi a little shaky.
Link just stared at him.
Aaron stared back.
Darkness met light, and ruby met sapphire.
Link suddenly pulled out his sword, causing Aaron to rise to his feet and almost simultaneously do the same.
"It, it's like he is you!" cried Navi, now very frightened.
Aaron studied his opponent carefully, watching every move he made, hoping he could learn from him. His true, real opponent.
Link didn't know whether to attack or not; he wasn't quite sure if this was a foe or some strange, scared kid who just happened to have similar features as himself. It was than that Navi began to yell, "Link, It's a trap! No, it's a test to see if you can beat yourself!"
Link looked up at Navi, his wise fairy friend, than back to his opponent. Trusting his friend he nodded, and than attacked.
Aaron ran for it, only to be stopped by an iron barred door, and he looked around. Both doors had iron bars blocking them now. He saw the boy in blue coming up fast behind him; he ducked away from the wall and past Link.
Link swung at Aaron as he was trying to escape from him, leaving Aaron no other option other than to swing back, causing steel to meet steel. The clanging of the metal on metal was defining, causing them both to quickly drop their swords and plug there long, sensitive ears. As they both were sure that the ringing had died they both lifted their blades from the ground and continued their epic battle.
Aaron was surprised to see how good a swordsman he really was, for all he ever used his sword for was to smack an imaginary foe, or in real–life a helpless, dead tree.
Link thought little of this guy, trying to reassure himself that it was just another challenge of courage and strength he had to overcome. The fighting of a darker him. Little did he know that this was actually another person, and that the little voice in his gut was right. But he refused to listen to it. It was Navi who had to be right, she always was before. So he listened to her, not knowing that this was someone he would mourn the loss of if he had met him outside this cursed temple, and maybe even before his journey began.
Link swung his blade again, this time hitting Aaron in the arm, causing a long gash of red to leak out of his opponent's undershirt and drip into the water on the floor. His opponent yelped in pain, but kept fighting. This surprised Link a little, but that is because he had no idea that his foe was fighting for his life, even though he really had nothing to live for. Aaron's hope was that maybe if he beat this guy he'd win his freedom, for his mind was made up as soon as this kid attacked. He was a definite foe.
Aaron slashed at the guy, but he just kept blocking with that shield of his, putting up a wall like defense that annoyed Aaron. Aaron then just looked at the kid and lowered his sword to his side, hoping to agree on some sort of truce, but that was not to be. Link stopped hiding behind his shield and was now, once again, trying to slice Aaron with his blade. Aaron just backed up until his back was up against the tree. He was now scared out of his mind, believing that it was here and now that he would die, but to Link's–as well as his own–surprise, he gained a bit of adrenaline that gave him the strength as well as the courage to cry out and jump up, trying to freak his opponent out. Unexpectedly however he landed on the other boy's sword. Shocking his foe even more, as he reacted to Aaron's strange maneuver with a face full of utter fear, and confusion most likely wondering how that was even possible. A small question came to Aaron as well but he went with it, raising his own blade and sliced at the boy's face. Slicing off a bit of his hair and leaving a gash on his forehead.
Link let out a yelp as he dropped his sword and covered his face, causing Aaron to fall to the ground as well.
Aaron quickly picked himself up off of the ground, and picked up the Master Sword that was lying at his feet. He then held it up along with its counterpart and walked over to the still distracted hero. He then took a swing with the Master Sword managing to hit Link in the torso, leaving a long ragged and painful gash on his side.
Link then screamed and fell to the floor, holding his injured side, blood streaming onto his hands as well as the floor from underneath his fingers. The shallow film of water began to turn pink from the red liquid. Aaron stood over him, still holding his, as well as the darkened version of the Master Sword up to Link's neck. A devious expression was painted across his face.
Link, looked up at the similar face with utmost fear, with his mind now working overtime. Suddenly with a quick movement of his leg he managed to kick the dark sword away from Aaron. Then seeing the boy's sudden surprise, he grabbed the fallen sword and swung it aimlessly at his foe, managing to hit him in the leg knocking him down in shock and pain. Link then quickly jumped up and grabbed the Master Sword back from Aaron, and then he planted it into Aaron's heart.
Aaron screamed in agony and pain, feeling as blood and his life left his body. Thinking he had failed, but then again he had nothing to live for anyway so it didn't matter to him, in a way this was the freedom he dreamed of. He let out a small smile as he watched the room and Link fade out all around him, and then into eternal darkness.
Link watched as the light faded out of Aaron's eyes, as well as the smile that just appeared on his face. Suddenly he heard the sudden familiar scraping as both sets of iron bars lifted. He then looked down at the young man's body as well as his sad, cold red eyes, eyes that were burning with life only moments before. They are what caught him off guard the most. He never once before in his journey had to kill something so human, so familiar, and for some reason he felt that he was somehow connected to the guy. But then again, maybe Navi was right, maybe it was just a trial thrown if front of him from the goddesses, preparing him for what was to come. Ganondorf was in fact human after all, maybe they thought he couldn't kill another Hylian, truthfully they were right. It hurt, badly too, not physically, but mentally. Ganondorf was a monster for sure, but this guy? Who was he. Maybe he was a monster too, maybe he was just a mindless creation made to kill him, but what if he wasn't? What if his friend was wrong?
Feeling remorse for the guy, he bent down over the corpse and closed his eyes, not sure if the guy was real or fake, but still, it was respectful to. He than got up off of his knees, looked at the body one last time and slowly, dragging his feet through the bloody water, left the room with that strange feeling of hurt in his gut, like he had just killed someone in cold blood.
Navi saw that Link was hurting and said, "Link, don't worry about it, it was only a test and you won. He probably wasn't even real. He was only a shadow to show the darker side of you. Now we must press on, for you have the whole fate of Hyrule on your shoulders."
Link nodded, but looked up at Navi, "But it felt so… so real."
"Don't let it hurt you Link, it may have been meant that way just for that purpose."
Link then just nodded and put his head down, picturing that fight once more in his head, trying to figure out how it was so real if what Navi said was true. Then again, what if she wasn't? Link just let out a sigh and slowly carried on with his quest.
The Final Showdown
Link, who was now clad in green, walked up flight after flight of stairs. Strange organ music came from above. When he finally reached a door; he opened it, expecting the worst. Quietly, he slipped through the opening. Link saw that in front of him was Ganondorf playing the eerie tune on the organ. Above him, in the pink crystal, was Zelda.
Suddenly he felt a strange tingling sensation on the back of his right hand; he looked down at it, finding the Triforce of Courage symbol glowing out from underneath his glove.
Then the Triforce of Wisdom on the back of Zelda's right hand began to glow. The Triforce of Power on the back on of Ganondorf's right hand followed.
Ganondorf began to laugh as he got up from the organ and then said, "The Triforce is reuniting; soon the goddesses gifts of power, courage, and wisdom will belong to me!"
"You'll have to fight for it," screamed Navi with a sudden burst of outrage that was new for her.
Link quickly gave her a strange look but then turned back to Ganondorf, slightly scared and discouraged.
Ganondorf laughed than raised his hand. A blackish purple beam shot out at and surrounded Link.
"Link!" Navi screamed, "I can't get near you; the barrier of darkness is way too strong."
Link ignored her; instead he was focused on Ganondorf, attempting to stare him down.
Ganondorf suddenly gave Link an evil grin, the dark barrier was suddenly removed, and the whole room became dark. Ganondorf walked to the center of the room and then began to hover above the floor.
Link ran to a corner of the room. Ganondorf took a quick dive and pounded the floor, sending it falling. The only parts of the floor that remained up were the surrounding edge and the center pillar. Ganondorf threw his hands up into the air, creating a ball of light that appeared between them; he tossed it in Link's direction.
Link wasn't expecting of the blow and it hit him square in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground. Electric shocks shot up through his body, forcing him to clutch his chest and break out into uncontrolled spasms as well as cry out in pain.
"Link" Navi cried, she still couldn't get near him; she was forced to watch her best friend as he was being tortured and slowly killed. But what bugged her most was that she couldn't do a thing about it. She started to cry, creating small crystalline tears to run from her eyes onto her palms.
Ganondorf laughed.
Link, who had finally stopped seizing, got back up onto his feet. He now watched Ganondorf intently, preparing himself for anything.
Ganondorf threw another energy ball, but this time Link was ready and he swiftly pulled out the Master Sword and swung it to hit the ball. It flew back into Ganondorf's direction. Ganondorf swung it back and Link did the same. This repeated on for awhile until Ganondorf got cocky and missed, causing him to get hit with his own energy ball.
Link pulled out his bow and shot out a couple of light arrows, carefully aiming them at the evil usurper king. Ganondorf was hit several times and finally fell to the floor, bursting with an unhealthy amount of light for one of pure hatred and darkness.
Link, trusting his judgment as well as the Pegasus boots he had received in the shadow temple, jumped over to the evil man. Before he reached the central platform though, his boots gave out and he was left hanging at its edge. Struggling, and holding on with all his might, he slowly was able to shift his strength into his arms and pull himself onto the platform. When he finally was fully on the platform he stood up, pulled out his sword, and walked over to the helpless looking Ganondorf. Link held the blade of evil's bane to the king of evil's neck. However, before Link could kill him, Ganondorf asked a small but almost complicated question that at first Link didn't totally understand. "Are you a murderer?" he asked Link, his orange evil eyes fully glaring into the sapphire sea of Link's.
But Link just stared back at him blankly.
"Are you a murderer?" Ganondorf asked again, but this time with more rage and frustration in his voice.
Link still gave him a blank stare.
"Ha! You think you're perfect, don't you, Hero? But you're not, Hero. In a sense, you're just like me."
"I'm nothing like you!" replied Link in a short tempered yell.
"Ah my boy but you are, you have killed same as I have, you are highly motivated to take back Hyrule, just as motivated as I was to take it." The smile on the king's face grew more devious as he realized, just how much he had stumped the poor boy they called Hero.
"No, I'm not the same, I've only killed monsters, you've killed innocent people, and I'm not trying to take Hyrule I'm trying to save it from the evils you put it through." Link whined back.
"So you do think you're perfect then. So my inkling was correct, yes. Don't you know that even though the monsters may be at my bidding that they too have souls and families?" Ganondorf held the smirk onto his face as he watched the young boy think, and then he added, "Also, don't lie to me and tell me you've never killed the innocent, for you killed your own brother. Or was he just another monster to you?" He then asked, this time quickly making the smile vanish from his face and distaste in his voice.
"Wait?" Link replied in shock. "I, I had a brother?" Link then asked, feeling his heart fall onto the ground.
Navi suddenly gasped, her tears suddenly gone.
Ganondorf than started to laugh his evil laugh, and replied, "The noble Hero of Time, a murderer! Nothing but a cold blooded killer, just like his enemy, now, tell me my boy what makes us so different?"
Link didn't answer; he couldn't, it was as if his heart had taken his vocals, and anything else left of him when it hit the floor. All he could do was stare blankly at his rival's face.
Ganondorf laughed once more, "So you agree than, that deep down you yourself are evil, that as of human nature, you want, hate, lie, and sin. You do all those things you and our entire race claim as evil."
Link then shook his head, slowly getting his thoughts back on track, and in a sudden fit of rage he took the Master Sword and sunk it into Ganondorf's heart of black.
Then he replied, "What makes us different is that I fight for peace, justice, and right; all the things you want were born to destroy, and now even your own people despise you."
Zelda then walked up behind Link, putting a calm hand onto his shoulder causing him to slightly jump in surprise. She smiled at her Hero and then said, "Ganondorf... What a pitiful man. In the end he really got what was coming to him."
Link, who had sunk back into his own little world replied "I, I had a brother, he must have been the boy in that strange room in the water temple. It, it's the, the only other male human other than Ganondorf that I, I have slain." Suddenly Link covered his face in shame as he collapsed to the ground in a human heap, tears now falling from behind his hands as he laid there helplessly sulking.
"Link!" Navi screamed as she gently landed on his shoulder, "I, I'm so sorry, it's just that, that I, I didn't know, Link, I really didn't know!" Navi apologized desperately.
Link, still blubbering, turned to face Navi, he then sadly replied, "It, It's okay Navi, I didn't know either, it's nothing to hate yourself over."
' But Link, it's my fault, I told you, I, I told you to. You know I did. You trusted me Link, and like a pawn you believed me, even though you felt something was wrong in your heart, you followed what I had to say, the one who you believed was always right because I am your guardian."
Link then sat up, sill staring sadly at his little blue friend. "Navi, I don't blame you, not at all, I blame myself for listening to you. but it's not because you were wrong, you believed you were right, knowing it was your duty to aid me. You told me what made the most sense to you. It's truly my fault, I refused to go with my gut and spare him, he could have been a great ally on my journey this far, but now, now I'll never know. And now I'll never get to know the closest link to my true family."
Zelda then bent down and put her hand on Link's shoulder, faking a small smile she said, "Link, don't blame yourself, overall it's my doing. I'm sorry I dragged you into this, Link, really I'm so, so sorry. It's just that I was so young, I didn't know any better. I thought I was doing the right thing."
"We've all made mistakes here," replied Link, faking a smile of his own.
That's when the castle suddenly began to shake. A frightened Zelda quickly looked back at Ganondorf and then cried, "Link! Navi! We must flee! Ganondorf is using the last of his power to tear down this castle; he's hoping to crush us in its ruin." Zelda, setting the example, began to run. This caused both Link and Navi to follow their princess down the perilous, winding ramps and various rooms filled with different types of evils.
As they finally reached the safety of the ground, amazed that they had made it just in time, had not been crushed by the rapidly clasping castle, they embraced each other into a tight hug. They were both thankful to have made it alive. Link than looked to Zelda and smiled, it was the first time in a long time since he had truly done this, Zelda returned the smile as they both watched as the dark castle collapsed in front of them.
Then, out of the silence came a loud bang. Causing, both Link and Zelda to jump. Zelda than looked to Link, Link looked back at her and than he said "I'll go check it out." Link than began to walk into the ruins of the fallen castle, but Zelda quickly held him back. He stopped and looked back into her powdery blue eyes, "Link!" she then said, "I want you to be careful alright?" Link nodded as the strange noise came again.
That's when Ganondorf popped out from underneath the debris and rubble left from the fallen castle ruin. An eerie greenish yellow glow surrounded him, slowly transforming him into a large, hideous, almost pig-like beast that had a long colorful tail and was covered head to toe in black and green scales. A bright red mane ran down his back and surrounded his ugly face, which consisted of two glowing, pupil-less yellow eyes and a big snout. On his forehead was a large pretty golden gem that shone even brighter then his hideous evil eyes.
Zelda shrieked as a wall of flame popped up in front of her and surrounded the battlefield. Link turned to see what all the fuss was about and he too was now frightened knowing for sure that this had to be dealt with now, for once again he had no ways of escaping.
"Link," Navi suddenly called out from above, "He can't keep me away this time, this time we'll fight together!"
Link shot her a quick smile and nodded, than he turned back to the beast now known as Ganon. This new form wielded two very large swords that were easily larger then the Hero, he swung them in the direction of the young hero, causing him to duck. The beast swung again but this time he knocked the Master Sword out of Link's hand. It flew over head and landed beyond the wall of fire.
Link sighed loudly in frustration, quickly strapped his mirror shield back to his bandolier and than pulled out his biggoron sword. He than started to swing at the beast's scaly armour, but this got him nowhere.
"Hey, Link!" Navi yelled, "Shoot him in the in the head with a light arrow then strike his tail! I'm sure that's the reason why they look so odd on him Link, they're his weak points. Link, now!"
Ganon quickly turned to the blue fairy and lifted one of his oversized swords to swing at her. Navi screamed as she tried to duck, but she was too late and all went silent.
"Nooo!" cried Link in sudden agony, but it was already too late. He watched as her little body hit the ground, a large red gash that seemed to almost cut her in half crossed her tiny midsection, which was now covered in the red liquid along with her crumpled wings. The blue glimmer of her skin quickly faded as she laid there dead.
A small tear fell from Link's eye, as he watched his best friend lay there, lifeless. He then turned to Ganon, an almost canine-like glare came across his face as he grinded his teeth and let out a snarl, now he was very pissed! Still glaring at the beast, he reached into his quiver that was strapped to his back and grabbed his bow along with an arrow of light. Quickly he nocked the arrow and carefully aimed it straight at the golden gem that laid between Ganon's eyes. Letting go of the string of his bow he shot, hitting his target spot on. The malevolent beast let out a horrible scream. "Bull's-eye!" cheered Link who was doing a small victory dance as Ganon fell to the ground, making a loud echoing thud.
It was then when the blazing wall of fire dropped.
"Link over here!" yelled Zelda excitedly; she was a ways behind him holding the Master Sword. Link quickly ran over to her, kissed her cheek and took the sword from her with a grin. She gave a small smile back as she than placed her hands on both his shoulders and swung him to face the battle field, she the shoved him towards it. As Link walked dejectedly back to the field, the firewall arose once more and Ganon was standing once again.
"Don't you ever freaking give up?" cried Ganon angrily, "It's not like you have anything left to live for."
Link just let out a small laugh and then replied, "The problem with your theory Ganon, is this isn't just about me, therefore I do have something to live for."
"Like what?" Ganon asked, crossing his arms like he was really interested in what the boy had to say.
"Hyrule!" replied Link simply.
"Hah, you're nothing but a fool!" laughed Ganon.
Link, who was still angry with his opponent, grabbed an arrow out of his quiver and shot at his target of Ganon's face, but this time he missed. "Damn it!" whispered Link to himself.
"Hah hah you missed me," laughed Ganon mockingly.
Link just growled at his foe and in anger, grabbed another light arrow out of his quiver and took aim, shooting at his foe once more, this time hitting him square in the gem. Ganon bellowed out a horrible scream and covered his face, which was throbbing in pain. Link, who saw that Ganon was distracted by the painful blow, took this time to put his bow away and quickly somersaulted underneath the beast. As he stood up behind him, he jumped up onto the swinging, psychedelic tail. He straddled it to keep himself upright, and then carefully took his hands off of it to unsheathe his sword. Slightly losing his balance, Link grabbed the tail once more with his empty right hand as well as wrapped his legs even tighter around the tail, trying to regain grip. When he was sure he wasn't going anywhere, he sliced at the end of the tail with his sword. Another scream of pain came from above and the tail began to flail. Link dug the blade into the tail and held onto it for dear life as he became a flag flowing in the wind as the tail flailed about. Finally he couldn't hold on much longer and he flew off, landing with a painful thump and an "umpfh" onto the ground, that was followed by an even louder rumble as Ganon fell to the ground.
Link pulled himself off of the ground and slowly walked over to the fallen Ganon. As he passed the tail he ripped the Master Sword out and listened as Ganon let out another horrid screech. Link then paced over to the head of the beast and shook his head with pity and disappointment. Ganon just scowled back as Link than held the Master Sword up to Ganon's face. "So!" the hero asked the beast, "How is it that you know about my brother?" Ganon looked up at Link than roughly replied "Don't you know? My people kidnap children all the time. Usually for enslavement, but sometimes we torture them or kill them, it's all depending on the circumstance. Let's take your brother for instance; we kidnapped him when he was only a couple of months old, when he was old enough to walk he became our slave. Well that was until he turned ten, before he started questioning everything we told him to do, and then that little twerp started to deny us, so as punishment we just locked him in the water temple."
"So you tortured him by locked him in a room for most of his life, having absolutely nothing to do, forcing him to become completely bored out of his mind which most likely drove him totally insane, just because of him not wanting to be your godforsaken slave?"
"Precisely," Laughed Ganon with his devious grin.
"Why you evil son of a..."
"LINK!" Zelda screamed, causing the hero to quickly turn his head toward her, "Good goddesses boy, Just kill the evil demon already!"
Link nodded, and turned his face back towards Ganon's, but this time with a face of utter hatred. Link, who was now glaring into those evil, yellow eyes of the horrid beast, jammed the Master Sword into that cracked golden gem that was still brightly shining between Ganon's eyes.
Ganon gave out a beastly cry as golden light poured out from the shattered gem and showered him. Then it was combined with another source of pure golden-white light that caused Link to turn and face this new source of light to see Zelda collapse to the ground. Link, who was in a sudden state of panic ran over to her, dropping onto the ground himself and asked, "Zelda, are you alright?"
"Yes Link, I'm fine, Link we must finish this, once and for all! Are you ready to help me Link?"
Link nodded in assurance as he stood up and towered over her.
"Then lend me your hand hero!" she stated as Link gave her his hand to help her up. She took it with both of hers and lifted herself, when she was finally back on her feet she released one hand off of his and squeezed the other tightly, and gave him a look of reassurance. Then she yelled at the top of her lungs, "Sages, now!"
Six colored lights appeared in the sky then, descending upon Ganon, and sending him into a pit of total darkness of the cursed nightmare realm in which he had created when he touched the golden relic of the goddesses. The swirl of color then turned to a flash of light, causing Link to close and cover his eyes. When he finally reopened them, he saw Zelda standing in front of him, looking really depressed. Link then looked around himself, noticed that they were both standing on a cloud. He turned back to face Zelda and asked, "Zelda what's the matter?"
Zelda looked up at him and simply replied, "Link, give me the ocarina." Link, confused, handed it over to her. "It is time I get you back to your original time. I must get you back to when you belong, how you belong."
Link solemnly nodded, but then said, "Zelda wait!"
Zelda gave him a strange look, "Link? What's wrong?"
"I love you," he said as he kissed her cheek, "How can you leave me like this, when I have done so much? I, I just wanna be with you. I don't want to go back, I just want you."
Zelda sighed and then replied "Link, I understand how you feel," she then turned her face away and blushed as she said "Link, I love you too, but it has to be this way. We have to go back. To truly seal away his evilness, we must abolish this time and create anew. Link we'll still be together but we'll be in the time before this all happened. No one but us will remember what happened. We'll have all our old friends back Link; you'll have your best friend Navi back. Link, you could save your brother."
Link was taken aback by that, all those friends he had lost because of Ganondorf he could suddenly once again have. But something else bugged him, "Zelda, will I still have you?" he asked with tears coming to his eyes that he quickly tried to hide by wiping them away with his sleeve.
Zelda just nodded with a smile, "Yes Link, I'll forever be yours." She then put the Ocarina of Time to her lips and began to play the Song of Time.
Blue lights than began to dance and swirl as Link closed his eyes. He could feel as his body began to change and transform back into that child he once was before he had entered the Temple of Time for the first time.
Back Seven Years
Link opened his eyes, he was back in the Temple of Time, and he was ten years old again. With Navi, who was once again hovering above him, "Navi!" he cried out to her with utmost joy. The little blue fairy just looked down at him and smiled. Link then went to touch her but his hand went through her, as if she where a ghost. Link suddenly froze, trying to figure out what was wrong.
"Link," she sadly cried, "I love you, you know, but, but it's just that we can't live in the same place any more. I must go back to Kokiri forest. Link I don't really belong here anymore."
"What do you mean?" asked Link. "Why don't I just go back to Kokiri with you?"
"Because you can't go back to Kokiri!" cried Navi back.
"But, but all my friends are there." whined Link.
"You don't belong there Link, you're not a Kokiri, you're a Hylian, you know that; you belong here Link!"
That is when Link started to cry. "I'll miss you," he sobbed.
"Trust me on this Link, I'll miss you too," cried Navi as she gave him a tiny smile.
It was at that moment that Navi flew up and out the window that shone over the Master Blade that Link had once wielded. Link cried as he watched her leave, staring a long time at the window with a deep feeling of loneliness and emptiness. He felt as if he was lost.
A young eleven year old Aaron dressed in black sat in a blue, dim lighted room that had a random island with a dead tree in the center of it as well as an inch of water on the floor. He was lonely as he sat against the tree, watching the locked door and hoping that it would open. He was desperately hoping that the Gerudo people would let him free. He was tired of this bleak room, and he wanted out. He had been stuck here for a year with no one to talk to and he was bored, lonely, and dog tired of not owning dry clothing. He let out a sigh, wishing to the great goddesses for their help.
Link stood in the Temple of Time, wondering what he should do now. His journey was done, the Doors of Time made sure of that when he walked out of the sacred chamber and they closed behind him. Also he had found out that the place he had once called home was no longer a place that would accept him. He let out a long sigh as he walked out of the temple and sat on its steps. He thought, What am I to do? I'm now an adult that was trapped in the body of a child.
Nothing interested him anymore, that child like fun now seemed so petty. He was a warrior of peace, but when there is peace what is a warrior supposed to do, especially in such a useless body.
It was than that he remembered Zelda's offer, that she would love him forever, and that he and her would be together, forever. And than something else came to him, if Navi was alive did that mean his brother could be alive too? He than remembered another thing Zelda had said, "Link, you could save your brother."
He then quickly pulled Saria's fairy ocarina out of his pouch, curious if it would work with the warp songs like the Ocarina of Time had. He than put the fairy ocarina to his lips and played the Serenade of Water like he had many times before, and like the times before the familiar little magic blue sparks surrounded him and he disappeared.
Aaron paced his room, than all of a sudden he heard a noise. He quickly turned his head to the face the locked door, which was suddenly thrown open and in walked a very young boy clad in green.
"Hello? Hello?" called the child.
Aaron, who was taken aback replied, "What, what do you want, who are you!"
The boy who was dressed in green slowly walked over to Aaron and cautiously held out his hand. "Uh, hi my name's Link, what is yours?" Link asked, not really sure what to say.
Aaron excitedly grabbed Link's hand and replied, "Hello Link my name is Aaron. Why are you here Link?"
"Well," Link replied "I was told that my brother was here and so I came to meet him."
That was when Aaron's jaw dropped in shock and said, "Wait, I have a brother? And you're him?" Aaron then jumped onto Link's shoulders and squeezed him into a very tight hug.
Link smiled and hugged him back. "Yeah I guess you do," Link then laughed and said, "You know, you look just as shocked as I was when I first found out, but unfortunately I didn't have anyone to hug."
Aaron smiled than asked, "So where are our parents, where do we live, goddesses I hope its better than here, hell any place is better than here."
That was when Link gave Aaron a sad look. "Aaron, our parents are gone, our mother died saving me and I have no idea what happened to our father."
Aaron returned the sad look as he pushed off of Link and then asked, "So, than where do we stay?"
Link looked up deep in thought, and then answered, "I have a friend that may let us stay with her."
Aaron looked at the door which now had a set of bars on it and than turned back to Link and asked, "And how do you plan to get out of here?'
Link turned to look at the door, seeing the large iron bars that blocked their escape. Link just smiled than he wrapped his arm around Aaron, pulling him close to him. Then Link pulled out his ocarina and played the Prelude of Light. This caused little yellow sparks to surround them as they disappeared out of the dimly lit room.
Suddenly they appeared in the Temple of Time. Link then let go of Aaron and turned to face his newfound brother. He then reached into his little pouch on his belt and pulled out a small black book, which he then handed to Aaron. "Aaron, I want you to have this, it's the journal I kept my adventures in. It was with me every day on my journey and I have finally finished writing it. It's the second most precious thing to me besides my ocarina and I want you to have it."
Aaron just gave him a strange look, "I can't."
"But I want you to," Link then said to him, "It would mean the world to me if you took it."
Aaron then took it from Link's hand and smiled. "Link, I'd like to thank you, I don't know what I would have done if you didn't come to save me. I, I don't really know what to say."
"Say nothing." Link said with a smile, as he than grabbed Aaron's hand and tugged at his arm, trying to pull him out of the temple.
"Come on, I have someone for you to meet." Aaron walked after him, still being dragged along, clutching the book that his brother had given him as if it was the most precious item in the world, and to him it was.
As Aaron walked through Castle Town, he was excited and amazed by each little thing, like the many little shops, people, music, games and much, much more. He and Link even got pulled aside a couple of times to try some of the games or to try out the newest fads and fashions. Link even purchased some of the things for him, he even got Aaron his own little pouch to hold it all in, but he refused to place the journal inside, using the excuse that he just wanted to hold it some more.
Aaron could tell that Link was relieved when they had finally squeezed their way through the many crowds of people and had reached the entranceway to the small field in front of the castle. Standing at the corner of one of the buildings that was used as a column to the little field stood a cute, red haired girl that Aaron figured Link knew. The dead giveaway was when he walked over to her and began to chat.
He watched his brother and the girl, at first she seemed a little confused but then she seemed to quickly warm up to the guy and handed him something. After a small wile of them chatting Link finally walked back over to Aaron, "So," asked Aaron, "aren't you gonna introduce me?"
"Uh, maybe later," Link replied, "I still have someone more important for you to meet." Link said as he than pushed Aaron through the entranceway, causing Aaron to start running.
"Ha, ha, bet you can't catch me," Aaron said teasingly, playfully frolicking away, causing Link to start chasing him.
"Oh yes I can," Link screamed back as he started to chase Aaron, making Aaron run even faster, looking back every so often to be sure that Link wasn't too far behind him, but far enough to not catch him. As he ran, he yelled some more provoking words back to Link, making his brother try even harder to catch up. That's when Aaron, trying to really show Link up, started to run backwards. Ignoring Link's warning, thinking that it was Link trying to distract him, ran into a huge iron gate that he didn't see because of his foolishness. He was quickly knocked down by the sudden pain in his back and head, and landed in a human pile in front of the gate.
Link ran to him worried, "Aaron," he asked, "Are you alright?"
Aaron just nodded as he reached out to Link asking to be helped up. Link simply grabbed it and got Aaron back onto his feet, and dusted him off. It was then that Link just burst out laughing, "Oh Aaron, you should have seen your face," he laughed, "When you suddenly hit that gate. I, It was just, just so-"
"So, what?" Aaron asked in a deadpan, giving Link a look that could kill.
"You just looked so funny," Link simply replied, now falling on to the ground and rolling around in the dirt, seeming to be having some breathing issues because he was laughing so hard.
Aaron just stood there watching him with his arms crossed and an annoyed expression on his face. He then just shook his head, shot Link a dirty look, and walked away in the opposite direction of the gate.
Link saw as Aaron walked away which made him quickly jump to his feet and go after him, "Aaron wait" he yelled, causing the boy to stop and turn.
"What do you want now, to make fun of me some more?" asked Aaron, still annoyed.
"No, it's just that was just kinda funny." Link replied sadly, afraid to lose his brother again. "I'm sorry," Link then apologized.
"You best be," Aaron said with an all too familiar devious grin, as he ran back and shoved Link into the gate jokingly. Link just shoved Aaron back, which made Aaron tackle him started a wrestling match that was quickly ended by a loud whistle that belonged to the guard who had been standing there watching them.
"Okay boys! Split it up, and take it elsewhere. There shall be no fighting on castle grounds." the guard said sternly.
Both Link and Aaron looked up at him, pushed themselves up off of the ground, and dusted themselves off.
"Yeah you heard me boys," the guard than rudely stated, "I said skedaddle. Now shoo."
Link just gave the guard a strange look and studied him bottom to top. Then he crossed his arms and strutted over to him saying, "Dude, do you even know who I am? No one tells the Hero of Time to just 'skedaddle'."
The guard, just looked at him and laughed, "Hero of Time my foot!"
Link just scoffed, "It's true."
"Yeah, and I'm the King of Hyrule." The guard joked back.
"But you're not." Link simply replied back.
"Exactly!" stated the guard, now crossing his arms to prove he had won the argument.
"Can you just let us through the gate?" Link than asked holding out a shiny, purple rupee, causing the guards eyes to light up as he snatched it and opened the gate. "Anything you want Mr. Hero," he laughed as he stashed the rupee quickly into his pocket.
Link silently laughed at the guard's reaction as he pulled his brother close, putting a finger to his own lips. Aaron nodded as Link than dragged him past the other guards that were standing near by. Aaron gave Link a questioning look, but Link replied with a whisper that confirmed his suspicions. "No, we're not supposed to be sneaking around here, but this is where my friend lives and she promised me a place to stay."
Aaron threw him another questioning look and than blurted, "Wait your friend's the-"
Link quickly covered Aaron's mouth and quickly jumped behind a tree. "Shut up, and yes!" He hissed into Aaron's ear. Aaron just nodded, showing that he understood. Link gave him the thumbs up sign, signaling "good" and peered around the tree making sure the coast was clear. When he saw that the guards were once again oblivious, he dragged Aaron back out and over to the brick wall and signalled for him to climb. Aaron, just listened to him and went up the wall with Link closely behind.
When they were both on the other side, Link dove into the moat without a second thought and started to swim down the stream. Aaron looked around and saw another set of guards, now understanding why Link did that. He then shrugged his shoulders and followed Link in, swimming across the bottom not wanting any chance of him getting caught. He also collected the many rupees that people had thrown in for wishes, figuring that they may come in handy later. He was just mindlessly collecting when his head bumped against something hard. He looked up, seeing that a small metal grate blocked his path. He looked around, worried; what was he to do now, and where was Link?
"Psst!" Link sounded from above, making Aaron Look up from his watery world. "Up here," Link then whispered. Aaron gave him a puzzled look as if to ask, "How?" Link then walked over to the mud bump on the side moat and waved for Aaron to climb up it.
Aaron swam over to it, and with Link's help was able to make it up successfully, shaking himself off when he got fully out of the water. Link laughed at Aaron's weirdness as he slowly walked over to the random sleeping guy that was in the middle of the walkway. Link then reached into his pouch and pulled out a cucco that Aaron guessed was what that pretty girl had given him. Aaron then watched as Link got close to the man's face and pulled the tail of the poor bird, causing it to let out a loud, "CUCCOOOO!" that made the man jump out of his skin. "What in tarnation?" he yelled in shock.
Link just laughed and said, "Your daughter's over in Castle Town waiting for you, you may want to go find her before she lets you have it."
The man's eyes got real big, and ran off.
Link than turned to Aaron, "Hey, help me with these crates, you grab that one over there and slide it onto mine, I'm gonna push mine in front of those stair things over there, by that drain."
Aaron nodded and grabbed the crate. He wasn't sure what Link was planning with them, but he knew it had everything to do with finding that friend of his.
When the crates were in place, Link climbed on top of Aaron's crate and jumped over to the ledge with the drain. Link then waved for Aaron to follow and crawled through the drain. Aaron quickly caught on and did the same.
On the other side of the drain were even more guards that they had to get through. Luckily, though, Link was a master at this and safely dragged him past the oblivious guards and into a grand courtyard, with a girl about their age, staring through a window at the other end.
Zelda was sitting looking though the window into the castle from the courtyard. She was just kind of sitting there, daydreaming as she watched her father do his job. Truly lost in thought when-
"Hey, Zelda!" she heard someone call.
Zelda turned, and gasped when she saw Link. She quickly ran to him and hugged him. He hugged her back and gave her a peck on the cheek. She just giggled and kissed him back, but on the lips.
A grunt came from behind Link which made her look over Link's shoulder, realizing that Link had brought a friend. Someone who was very similar to Link, but taller, also he whore an all black tunic instead of the forest green of the hero's. "Who's your friend?" she asked Link simply.
"Oh, well that's my brother, Aaron." Link replied happily.
"Oh!" said Zelda. "So this is the lad you talked so much about finding?"
Link nodded and wrapped his arm around his older brother, "Sure is."
Zelda threw the newcomer a smile and Aaron threw one back with a wave. Zelda than started to laugh, and than said "You know something, you two are one-of-a-kind."
Link smiled and replied, "I know, and he is the most important part of me! For the lost part of me is now found, and for him it's the same."
Aaron nodded in conformation. "Yes. The lost is now officially found, and together our journeys will be unstoppable."
"Too true to that, bro!" Link said, giving Aaron a high-five, which made Zelda roll her eyes and sigh, "Boys!"
I would like to thank Lady. uchiha .18 and gwendolyndark for beta reading this story also i'd like to thank andrhats for the critique
Please leave a review, it is much appreciated