This is chapter one of the rewrite of this story. I'm rewriting this for a few reasons, chief among them is the fact that I am just unsatisfied with the way this is going. It feels rushed and cluttered. Also, my grammar is... atrocious. I want to go back and see what I can do with this to make it better. This may lead to inconsistencies between chapters that have been rewritten and those that have not. Consider this your warning. I will try to work quickly to rewrite all the chapters, but I make no promises.

I do not own the Zelda franchise nor do I get any sort of reward or gain from writing this story.

Otherwise, read and enjoy, and don't forget to leave a review.

"Midna" Talking

'Link' Thinking

(Scene)

Link and Zelda landed on Hyrule field, having just been warped out of the castle by Midna, who was determined to fight Ganon herself. All was quiet for a second, and Link felt hope flare for a second that Midna had succeeded without difficulty.

Then the beacon of power for Hyrule's ruling family, visible from nigh anywhere on Hyrule field, exploded in a shower of dust and stone, likely taking most of Castle town with it. And this is where our story begins.

Link heard Zelda cry out beside him as a thousand years of Hyrulian history was wiped out in an instant as the castle exploded. He could almost picture her tears, but he didn't turn, because he was staring across the plains, horror written across his face. A cloud of dust had risen up, but Link could feel him there. Ganon had survived.

Link felt the realization hit him like a back hand from a Darknut. If Ganon was still alive, did that mean that Midna failed? Or did he escape somehow?

When the dust cleared, all answers were given, as Ganondorf was revealed, now in his Gerudo form, atop a dark horse with glowing red eyes. In his right hand he held a glowing white sword, giving off radiant energy. And in his left he held Midna. From the distance they were out, Link could just make out the blood trickling from her mouth.

He felt rage spring up inside him, the likes of which he hadn't felt since the day the bulbins had kidnapped his villages children, but even that fury barely held a candle to the fury he felt at seeing Midna in such dire condition. However, mixed in with that fury was an unholy amount of fear. 'Just how much power does Ganon have?' Link thought helplessly. He'd never seen anything like the power of the fused shadows that Midna wielded, and Ganondorf had not only defeated it, he looked no worse for wear.

As his rage and fear fought out to see which would win, keeping him paralyzed, Ganondorf had apparently decided to begin things. He lifted his left hand, putting Midna in front of him. Link could only watch as she began to wake up, and cried out in pain. Behind him, he barely felt Zelda grab his bow out of his pack, and begin praying. Midna was lifted higher, now at eye level with Ganondorf. The Gerudo prince lifted his sword, placing it lightly against Midna's throat. She began to scream, the sound reaching Link's ears as if she were right next to him. It was obvious the light energy in the blade was too much for Midna's body, having been created by dark magic.

"MIDNA!" Link finally let the scream tear itself from his throat. Rage overpowering his fear, he spun and ripped his bow out of Zelda's hands, absently noting, in some dim part of his mind, the golden arrow already nocked and ready. He pulled the string, fury pounding through him, energy pouring off of him, and the tip of the golden arrow turned black as pitch. Aiming quickly, he let the arrow fly, watching as it sped off almost faster than the eye could track, hitting Ganondorf's right shoulder. Unfortunately while it succeeded in making him drop Midna, it caused his hand to jerk first, and instead of cutting her throat, it cut open her stomach, causing it to flare white before red exploded out of her. Ganondorf glared at Link, ripping the arrow out of his shoulder, and urging his horse into a gallop.

Link took off running, his fury making him discount the foolishness of the action, and when he felt he was at the appropriate distance, jumped as high as he could in the air, twisting his body to try to take Ganondorf's head off.

However, Ganondorf easily dodged the desperate attack and countered by slamming the flat of his blade as hard as he could into Link's unprotected side, sending him flying off to the side at an impressive speed. Link hit the ground, kicking up clouds of dust as he skidded across the ground, coming to rest in a patch of dirt about seventy feet from where he started. He tried to stand up, but the pain in his side took his breath away. 'Shit, I think he busted a couple of my ribs.' The best he could manage to do was pull himself onto all fours. He looked around, trying to spot the dark Gerudo.

He finally managed to find him, but as it turned out, the horrors he was to witness in the twilight weren't quite finished. Ganondorf had grabbed Zelda by the throat, lifting her up to eye level with him, his horse behind him. Zelda was choking, that much was obvious, as she struggled to try and loosen his grip. Ganondorf just laughed at her struggles, and tightened his grip suddenly, crushing her throat in his hand. Her eyes bugged out, and she opened her mouth, but could no longer scream. She started to turn blue, then darker. Quicker than he would have thought, she stopped moving, and he knew she was dead.

'It's... It's my fault. If I hadn't taken the bow, and acted so rashly, she would have been able to defend herself.' Link's mind went blank with guilt. A burning started and he could almost hear her voice, whispering to him. 'Wait... I can hear her.' Zelda's voice spoke in his mind, whispering to him.

"Link, now is not the time for this. You must defeat him. You must avenge me, avenge Midna." Link's eyes flashed. 'But I don't know if I have enough power.'

"Alone, you don't. That is why I am going to give you my power." Suddenly, Zelda's body glowed from beside Ganondorf, and Link became aware of the fact that Ganondorf was yelling.

"And now, the Tri-Force of Wisdom is mine, by right of conquest!" The insane Gerudo began to laugh as Zelda's body glowed brighter, the light obscuring the bruises that Ganondorf's hand had left on her neck. Suddenly, it was over, the absence of light where there once was making the plains seem even darker than they were before.

Ganondorf roared and turned on Link. "Where is it? Where is the power that I rightly deserve! I killed that bitch, her power should be mine!" Link didn't answer. Couldn't. He was too busy having a conversation with a dead woman in his own mind.

'I don't even know how to use your power Zelda. And there's not enough time for me to learn.'

'That's not true. You can do this. Just let my voice wash over you. Relax Link. Relax and let the power guide you. There's a reason why it's called the Tri-Force of Wisdom.'

Link was loathe to give over control of his body, but he really had no choice. As the power swept through him, he mused lightly that it was slightly like when he was pulled into the twilight. More power than he could ever imagine flowing through his veins, but just like a river, he could no more control it then the very air itself.

And then the knowledge came. Of exactly how to direct the flow. Of how to manipulate the river to go in the direction he wanted to. He felt it mixing with the latent power of the Tri-Force of Courage in his left hand, and suddenly the knowledge of how to manipulate that power also came into his mind. Images of the past wielders of this power flashed through his mind. He thought he should feel fatigued, that the knowledge should be more than one mere mortal could take. But he didn't. It felt natural, as if he had been born with the capability to understand these things. Other images flashed through his mind. Of a time long forgotten. Of a barren world. Of feelings of... incompleteness. Of emptiness.

He also saw other places, but he pushed the memories away. There would be time after he killed Ganondorf to go through these memories. For now he had to fight.

He snapped his head up. Anger, tempered with knowledge, shown from his eyes. The very air seemed to shimmer around him, only enhancing the wild look in his eyes. The look of a very hungry wolf looking at it's prey.

"Ganondorf. You have committed atrocities against humanity itself. You have committed crimes against the royal family. You have committed murder, pillage, genocide and thievery. You are being judged under the goddesses watchful eyes. What have you to say in your defense?" The normally very short spoken boy said in a voice that seemed to echo loudly, despite the words coming out as barely a whisper.

"And who is my judge? You? How many lives have you ended in your journey to me? How many lives has the blade in your hands ended? I say this in my defense. The goddesses betrayed me. They manipulated me, manipulated us all. What I have become, I became of my own free will, to strike back at my betrayers. Every death I caused lie only on their hands. Every drop of blood is stained on them." Ganondorf shouted at Link. "Enough words boy. I will have that power you possess now. And with it, I shall have my shot at revenge!" Ganondorf's words surprised Link enough that the crazed Gerudo was able to get into close range with him. There Link was at a marked disadvantage, his body not built as strong as the insane Gerudo's. Link blocked three shots with his sheild before he was able to get out of range of Ganondorf's swings, and even then he never had a second away to breathe, let alone use his new knowledge to come up with a plan.

The swipes came again and again, but Link either dodged or blocked. It wasn't long before his shield arm become almost numb from the Gerudo's blows, but he pushed through it to keep blocking, knowing it was either that or die. He just needed one opening, and he could turn this around. But it seemed useless, even if there was an opening, Ganondorf was moving too quickly for him to exploit it.

But even as he almost let despair doom him, he saw it. Ganondorf's arm swung just a little to far out, and for a brief second his guard was down. That second was all Link needed.

With a shout unlike any he had ever uttered before, Link swung his blade, the tip of the blade missing Ganondorfs elbow by half an inch. However, the sharp wave of magic behind it did not, cutting through the Gerudo's arm like a knife through butter. The evil prince screamed as his arm flew through the air, the sage's blade of light flying through the air. Link dropped his shield and caught the glowing blade in his left hand.

As soon as he felt his hand close around the blade, he twisted on the ball of his foot and swung the bright blade of light, hitting Ganondorf flatfooted from his last dodge and the pain he was in. The blade tore the demented thief open, blinding light flying from the wound. Spinning with the blow, Link was able to stabilize himself before Ganondorf had even fully registered how much pain he was in. Not one to let such an opening pass him, Link jumped at the Gerudo, and buried the master sword into his chest.

'It's not enough. He's survived it before. I have to finish it NOW!' Link thought frantically. He thought of everything Ganondorf had done, supplemented by the memories from the Tri-force, and white hot anger spread through him. Dropping the one remaining sword in his possession, Link through out his hands, forcing every bit of power he could spare into his hands.

From the palms of his hands roared a fireball made of such a bright white fire that it lit up the plains as far as the eye could see. Link, despite being at the center of it could see perfectly as the fireball hit Ganondorf right in the middle of his chest, pushing around and past the body to the ground below. Once it had no more room to push down, it erupted, sending white flames into the sky in a pillar as large around as any tree Link had ever seen. He was sure all of Hyrule could see the magnificent flames.

Then all of a sudden it was over. The flames were gone, the light was gone. All that was left was Link and a large crater, and around that crater a lot of dead grass from where the heat had sucked all of it's moisture away. The Master Sword was laying in the center of the crater, no sign of blood or anything to assume that he had just killed the Gerudo Prince. Link's hand began to burn, and as he turned it over to look at it, the third piece of the triforce birthmark on his hand began to glow, and Link knew it was over.

'MIDNA!' His thoughts screamed to him, and he looked around frantically. Maybe there was still a chance. He had all this power now. Finally locating the hill Ganondorf had rode down from, Link took off running, pushing everything into his legs to try to get to her. When he found her, he saw a sight that would haunt him until the day he died.

She was lying there, a pool of her own blood surrounding her. She looked like she had when she was light poisoned not even three months ago. There was a small stream of blood coming from her mouth, running down her chin to touch the ground below her neck. Her eyes turned to look at him, and he burst into tears from what he saw there. There was no anger, no blame. Even though he blamed himself, she didn't blame him.

"L-Link... I'm sorry..." She rasped out.

"Midna, don't talk, save your strength. We'll find something to help you. Maybe a fairy or..."

"Link! Cough cough "gah... Link, I'm so so sorry. But... I'm too far gone for that." She reached out for him, and he picked her up, sending a jolt of pain through her. She touched his face and smiled though. "Link, I..." Her body was wracked with coughs. A single tear rolled down her cheek. "I..." Another tear joined the first, as her eyes began to dim. As she shut them for the final time, her voice came out, like a whisper in the wind. "...See you later." Her body went limp, and Midna, the Twilight Princess, died in his arms.

(Scene)

Authors Note:

And there we go. I have two ideas with this. So my loyal reviewers, while I struggle, and struggle very hard, to get the next chapter out, I'm going to ask you. Should I rewrite the time travel story, or switch to an entirely new plot? I ask because I'm not sure I can use the time travel idea to the fullest, but I'm willing to try. Either way, I may post this as a totally different story, using this base, and take it a different way as well. I have an idea about a completely different story, that will tie into all my Zelda stories (Assuming I make more than one). So if someone would like to help me iron out ideas for that, It'd be appreciated.

As always, don't expect a particularly fast update, but know that I WILL try.