A/N Hello all! This story is my first story upload on this site, so please write some reviews! This story mostly follows Zelda (minus this chapter) and is post- Twilight Princess. Link talks, and this story also includes Midna, who as well all know as lost forever at the end of Twilight Princess D: (this is explained in later chapters) I'm also considering using characters form the other Zelda games, such as Ghirahim or Dark Link. Let me know what you guys think! Should I include them? Also I haven't played Twilight Princess in a few years and just started playing again recently, so please let me know if there are any inaccuracies. I wrote this chapter and then realized I had Link on Epona in the Gerudo Desert! Shows how long it's been! Gosh Link, you can't just launch yourself out of a canon on Epona! (Do you know how upset Ilia would be!) Anyway, thanks for reading! :)
Link awoke to Renado gently shaking him. He peered lazily out of one eye, shielding his other with his arm from the harsh candlelight coming from Renado's hand. A look of panic was plastered on the shaman's face and instantly Link became alert. He sat up, the thin quilt he had been using lay forgotten on the floor.
"What is it Renado, what's wrong?" Link asked, itching to know what had the shaman so worked up.
"It is the princess, she's gone!" Link stood immediately.
"What do you mean? Gone where?"
"She's disappeared completely. We've searched all of Kakariko Village, but she's nowhere in sight. She did leave this, however." He held out a piece of parchment and Link grabbed it uneasily. It was an unopened envelope addressed to him in the princess' thin writing. He opened it and read it to himself.
Link,
I've had a terrible vision. I believe it to be a message from the goddesses. Ganondorf has done something terrible. In a last-ditch effort to destroy Hyrule he created an alternate universe before he perished by your hand. I think he is using it as a way to regain his strength. If he becomes too strong he will enter back into our world. I need you to go to the sages in the desert, they know what to do. I'm headed there now, but by the time you get there I will be gone. I plan to enter this new universe and hold off what's left of Ganondorf's wretched soul until you are able to reach us and destroy him once and for all.
Give Renado my thanks for housing me these past few months while my castle is rebuilt. I wish I could wake you but I fear that if I wait even a moment longer it will be too late. It is my hope that you have a safe journey. Please, find me.
Zelda
He stared blankly at the letter for a long time before slowly bringing his eyes up to meet Renado's. He had a look of concern on his face.
"She's gone to the sages. She said she's had a vision about something Ganondorf is planning." Link said quietly.
"Ganondorf? But didn't you-"
"Yes. She feels as though a part of his soul still lives and she's gone to search it out."
"Why didn't she tell anyone? Why didn't she wake you, at least?" Link pondered the question for a moment before replying.
"She said it was urgent, and didn't have time to wake me. But… I am just next door. She had to have passed this inn to go to the sages. I do not understand…" Realization struck Link as hard as a fist to his stomach. "She knows something will happen to her, so she's gone alone. Goddesses she might be-!"
"Dead." Renado said grimly.
"I must leave immediately! Renado, if anything happens to me-"
"Say no more. I will personally make sure word gets back to Ordon, and that the children are safe." He bowed slightly to Link who did the same. Once upright, Link grasped his shoulder tightly.
"Thank you." Renado nodded once, motioning toward the door with a long sweep of his arm. Link bolted, jumped down the few stairs leading to the door of Elde Inn, and mounted Epona. He spurred her immediately and was off toward the desert.
The journey had taken him a few days, even with riding Epona hard, he hadn't made it to Arbiter's Grounds in the time he had hoped. He wondered how fast Zelda could travel on horseback using the lean horse she had brought from the demolished castle. His chest fluttered when he saw a set of small footprints fresh in the sand at the foot of the stairs and eagerly made his way into the ancient temple. The path for him was quick, he had done it many times before and it was easy to get over quicksand with his grappling hook. He wondered how the princess had gotten past such obstacles, but then remembered her telling him of her ability to teleport short distances.
He reached the top of the temple after what seemed like a lifetime. He was met with a catastrophe. The ghostly sages were in a huddle, weeping. Black smoke appeared to be seeping out of the edges of the altar that once held the Mirror of Twilight, and long claw marks scarred the earth in front of the stone stairs to the altar. He approached the sages, who looked up excitedly once they had spotted him.
"Thank the goddesses!" One of them cried.
"What has happened?" Link demanded.
"The princess was here only a few hours ago, she told us of her vision. We attempted to reach this alternate universe Ganondorf has created but, oh- the worst thing has happened! A large black hand, much like the ones seen when this land was covered in twilight, reached out of our portal and grabbed the poor princess. We attempted to stop it with our own magic, but it was useless. Then, you will never believe what happened." Link took a step closer to the sage, urging him to go on. "The mirror was- it started glowing. The same magic used to create the hand began to radiate from that altar. Then, the Princess of Twilight stepped out." Link's eyes widened in surprise.
"Midna? But our connection to her was lost!" Link exclaimed.
"She sensed the danger, and used every fiber of her being to each us, if only for a moment. She used her power to fight the hand. It dropped Zelda, and she landed pretty hard. The Princess of Twilight ran low on energy however, and the hand grabbed Zelda once more and disappeared. The Twilight Princess gave us her blessing that she would follow Zelda and watch over her."
"I can't believe this. She was really here? I must follow them, you understand, don't you?" Link proclaimed, taking another step closer to the sages.
"Yes, yes of course. We will open the portal for you, but we cannot guarantee your safety. Understood?" Link nodded once in response and made his way over to the large claw marks on the ground, where he assumed the portal had been opened. The sages formed a semicircle and used their power to reopen the portal. It looked exactly the same as the portal to the twilight realm, Link noticed. He allowed the hand to reach out and grab him, then, there was complete darkness.