Summary: With the Great Deku Tree dead, and Link gone, the Kokiri forest falls into darkness. Saria cannot leave the forest spirits, and the children of the forest live in fear every day. Mido can no longer watch his family suffer and leaves the forest, despite the warnings that a Kokiri will die without the magic the forest had provided them.

WARNING: This is an Alternate Universe of the already confusing story line of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (the game itself already has so many time shifts). It may contain the following; Violence, gore, foul language, out of characterness, Link talking, character death, homosexual relationships, heterosexual relationships, spoilers in the cannon story, inserts of fan theories, deters from the actual cannon story, and other mature themes. I will try my best to keep the story rated for Teens, but may turn to Mature as tale is revealed.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda; Ocarina of Time, nor am I affiliated with Nintendo in anyway. This fanfiction is for pure entertainment purposes only.

It was the middle of the day when Mido stepped over the last gnarled root that separated the entrance of the Kokiri forest from Hyrule Field. The sun beamed down on his skin, heating up the wood of the Deku shield on his back.

Mido had never been this far out of the forest before. The Great Deku tree had told all of the Kokiri of the monsters that lay in wait on the outside, but so far it looked like there were none. Did Link get rid of them all?

Or had they never been there to begin with?

Either way, Mido pulled his sling shot out, a Deku seed resting in the pocket. He wanted to be ready, just in case something did want to harm him.

As he walked into the field, his eyes widened in awe. In the distance, he could see Hyrule Castle. It was so big! He had once listened to his late Father telling about how the Royal Family cared very much for all the races in Hyrule, perhaps someone there could help!

"This way, Pan," he said to his partner as they walked along a dirt trail.

The vast open field was very different from the forest. The sun felt harsher to him, with no trees to filter the light. The sounds of crows, insects, flutes, and fairy wings were replaced by different birds, a roaring river, and the sounds of horses and cows in the distance. The grass seemed dry and crisp from a lack of rain, he could see patches of dirt peeking through. It wasn't as lush or as soft as the fields of his home. The pine trees that were there were few and far between. He wasn't used to seeing such tiny trunks and needle like leaves.

Night time had crept up on Mido. He gave a tiny jump as the sun set and a wolf's cry could be heard coming from the east. He had looked towards the sound, afraid that a wolf would appear and try to hurt him, like their evil forest counterparts. The wolfos were very cruel.

"A Stalchild! Watch out!"

Pan's cries echoed in the dark and Mido could hear soft clacking noises. He turned to look and saw a deformed skeleton running towards him, its large clawed hands grabbing at his tunic.

With a yelp, the Kokiri leader jumped back. His slingshot was already loaded so he pelted the thing with Deku seeds. It seemed to do him little good.

"Mido, behind you!"

Another one had appeared, swinging at the smaller figure. One was horrifying enough, but two was enough to make Mido freeze in fear at their glowing stares.

Pan flew in front of Mido's face, ramming his tiny body into him to snap him out of his terrified daze.

"RUN!"

Mido stumbled back out of harm's way and ran. He could see torches up ahead, was that the castle?

He could hear the bones clacking as the strange creatures followed him, growling and swiping at the air. He ran faster, his lungs burning and his heart pounding against his ribcage. As he got closer to the torches he saw it was not the castle, but a wall made of pointed logs. A sign read 'Lon Lon Ranch'.

At this point he didn't care. He needed somewhere to hide, someone to help!

He was almost to the entrance when he tripped. There was a piece of wood from a wood sign that had been cut and left there. With a cry he fell onto the ground. Tiny rocks scraped at his skin and dirt flew into his eyes.

He heard the horrible noises the monsters made as they came upon him, even more burrowing out of the ground. Mido raised up his shield as they clawed at him, repelling some of their attacks. He grunted as they tried to ram into him over and over. He knew that the wooden shield couldn't last for too much longer.

He got onto his knees, trying harder to push against their swings. Between each perry, he searched his bags for the Deku nuts he brought with him. His hand grasped around one and he pulled it out, throwing into the ground.

He cried out as the darkness was cut by the bright light. The monsters suddenly went rigid as they were paralyzed in shock. Mido took the chance and scurried to his feet. He ran as fast as he could to the ranch, a slight limp in his step.

He knocked on the first door he saw, shouting and crying for help. The only response was the clucking of chickens. He looked behind him and saw that the Deku nut's effect was wearing off. The monsters were coming for him again. He ran to the other door and jiggled the knob, finding this door to be unlocked. He ran inside and saw it to be a barn.

He turned and locked the door, slowly moving away from it. The horses and cows that were resting for the night stared at the boy. Some were obviously afraid of this stranger, but others seemed calmed by his presence.

A gasp escaped the fairy and the boy as he heard pounding and clawing at the door.

"No, please.." he whispered as he backed up even more. He tripped over a pitchfork and landed in a pile of hay. He sat there, terrified as he listened to the scratching and banging.

"Goddess, please, help me!" he pleaded, praying for Farore to help one of her children.

His prayers seemed to be answered as voices where heard outside. Two men were heard shouting and running towards the monsters.

"Quick! Beat them back for as long as you can, Ingo! The sun will come up soon!"

The horses became restless with the outside sounds. They let out fierce neighs and reared up behind their pens. One stamped down so hard that it caused a shelf, piled with tools, to fall down and crash onto Mido.

Mido's vision blurred as the sharp pain in his head spread throughout his entire body. Seconds past and his body fell back and the world went dark.

"Mido!"

That melody…

The song that the Skull Kids played in the Lost Woods was ringing through his ears. Saria's song. The song that bonded them to the forest spirits.

Was he home?

"Mido wake up!"

Did he ever leave? Was this nothing but a dream?

"Please!"

Or was he dead?

"Oh no, fairy boy! Please open your eyes!"

That voice, it wasn't Saria's.

Mido slowly came to, his blue eyes opening. He blinked a few time as his vision slowly went into focus.

The first thing he saw was that he was no longer in the barn. Someone had moved him and placed him on a bed in a different building. His eyes went from the ceiling to someone who was speaking to him.

A young girl with bright blue eyes and long red hair was staring down at him. In her eyes was the spirit of a worried mother.

"Oh thank goodness, you're awake!" she said, letting out a sigh of relief. "Pa!"

Mido heard footsteps trudge up some stairs, and a rather heavyset man walked into the room. He wore patched overalls, his hair was thinning at the top but a large mustache made up for what was missing.

"Well looky here!" came the man's gruff voice. "'Bout time you woke up, Malon here was worrying something frightful!"

Mido looked from the man, over to the girl. He assumed this had to be Malon.

"Where am I? Where's Pan?" Mido asked, his voice growing a bit panicky as he noticed his partner was not nearby.

"Calm down, sonny." The man said, making the smaller boy sit back down on the bed. "You're at Lon Lon Ranch, in my house. You've been out for nearly the whole day. And if Pan is that glowy thingy that we found by you, he's in Malon's room, resting on one of her doll's beds."

Mido felt slightly better, knowing that Pan was well and was resting. But it was an unsettling feeling, not having your partner by you. Pan had become part of Mido, like a second brain or heart. Without the fairy, he felt empty.

"Now, " the man asked, "Let's get some introductions out of the way so I can get to my questions. My name's Talon, I own Lon Lon Ranch. This here's my daughter and the apple of my eye, Malon. You will meet Ingo soon 'nough. Who are you and where ya from?"

Mido cleared his throat, sitting up just a little bit. "I am Mido," he said, looking at the older man. "I am the boss, you could say, of the Kokiri, we live in the forest at the edge of this field."

"Ah, so you are kin of Link I assume?" Talon asked, sitting down in a chair. "I mean, I think I remember that lil' glowy thing of his saying that they were from the forest as well."

Mido frowned some. He was unsure of how to react to being called 'kin' of Link's. He was still angry with the boy for what he had done, for not belong. But he had watched Link grow up, he had watched him play with all his friends. He was like family, but more like the kind you fought with and wished would go away.

"I… Sorta. We're all children of the forest, so in a way.." Mido whispered.

"Anyway," Talon didn't really care too much at the time, "Why are ya all the way out here? Those Stelchilin's almost got ya last night."

Mido let out a heavy sigh. He sat up more, batting Malon's hand away as she tried to make sure he didn't move too fast. He looked at Talon and told him about the fate that had befallen his home. He told him of how he needed to find someone to help.

Talon asked why Mido didn't have a better weapon. Mido then explained that Link had taken the only sword in the forest, leaving them all nearly defenseless when it came to larger threats. Link had looked so surprised when Mido was angry about him having the Kokiri sword.

"I see," Talon said. "And this," he got up and left the room for a moment, come back with Mido's shield in hand. "This shield is not good against the things out here."

Where the symbol of the Kokiri was embedded, was a large crack. The Stelchildren had been too strong for the wooden shield.

Mido bit his lower lip, without his Deku shield, he really had no way to defend himself. His slingshot could only do so much damage, and the Deku nuts would only last for so long.

"I still need to get to the castle, surely someone there would be able to help me," Mido said, looking up at Talon.

"I don't think so, Mido was it?" Talon said, shaking his head. "It's a two day trek to the castle, and you have no way of protectin' yerself."

Malon had been very quiet while the boys talked, but she finally chimed in, coming up with an idea! "What if you or Ingo went with him, pa?"

"Hm…" Talon scratched beneath his chin, mumbling to himself. "I do need to speak to a man about a bull…" he stood up. "But, Mido still needs to learn to defend himself properly, and he's still hurt," he pointed out.

Mido was then starting to notice the burning sting in his right arm and his legs. Where he had fallen was badly torn up from the rough ground. But that wouldn't stop him. "But I-"

"'But' nothin'!" Talon barked, silencing Mido. "You're still a child, in body, you need to let yourself heal. Stay here a few days, get better, and maybe even do some training the farmers' way. If you at least do that, I'll take you to the castle and make sure you'll get help for yer village. Whaddya say?" he asked, staring down at the small boy.

Mido wasn't so sure about this. Every minute wasted was time his friends were spending in fear, possibly getting hurt! But… Him just recklessly running out there, getting himself hurt, was not going to help them. If anything it would make everything worse.

"Alright," he said softly, giving a small nod in agreement.

"Well alrighty then!" Talon said, clapping his hands once in triumph. "Now that it's settled, it's time for supper!" and with that finally cry of glee, Talon scurried out of the room, ready to see what Ingo had cooked up.

Malon let out a small giggle, still standing right by Mido's side. "Don't mind Pa, he's just very energetic to have another boy around the ranch. He always got so happy when Link was around."

Mido watched as Malon giggled and blushed when she mentioned Link. It was then he realized that this was another girl that seemed to adore Link. Somehow he wasn't surprised.

"Can I… Can I go see Pan?" Mido asked, he was really worried about the little fairy.

Malon gave him a nod. "Sure! Just be careful when you walk, you fell hard.. and you hit your head pretty hard too." She said as she carefully led Mido out of the room.

Now that he was standing, Mido could see what she was talking about. His legs hurt with every step and his head was throbbing. He gingerly touched his forehead, feeling the small bump he got when the shelf had fallen on him.

Malon led Mido to her room, showing him that Pan was sound asleep on one of her doll beds, just as Talon said.

A sigh of relief passed over Mido's lips. He had been more worried about the fairy than he was for himself. He carefully walked over to the little fairy, making sure that the golden light was still shining just as brightly as it should.

"He's not as nice as Link's fairy," Malon said, finally breaking the silence. "He said a lot of crude things to Pa and Mr. Ingo when they brought you up here."

"Pan's.. Well he's a little brash," Mido said, gently touching the fairy's wing, smiling as it gave a tiny flick. He usually touched the wing once every night, to make sure his best friend would have good dreams.

The two sat in silence, watching the little fairy sleep soundly. Eventually the sweet smell of a home cooked meal made its way into the room. Mido had never smelled something so.. Hearty. His stomach gave a loud growl.

Malon took that as a sign to drag him downstairs for dinner. He looked like he had skipped a meal or five, so he needed some of Ingo's home cooking to help fatten him up and get better faster!

At first, Mido was afraid to eat. The other man, Ingo he assumed, glared at him with the fiery hatred of a scorned nanny. But after Mido had complimented how wonderful it smelled, and thanked Ingo, the man's eyes softened. It was about time that he got some thanks.

It was the first warm meal to touch Mido's lips in a week. It was the most delicious thing in the world to him.

"You look like you don't eat a lot," Talon pointed out, watching Mido clean his plate.

"I can't," Mido said after he swallowed some bread. "We can't go out and gather food as freely as we want. I had to give up my share so the others could have enough."

"Well at least here you can have a few decent meals," Ingo said, taking a drink from his cup. "You're going to need it if we are to train you as Talon says."

Mido nodded. He was very appreciative of what they were doing. He was basically a stranger in their home, but the rancher and his family looked like they were use to helping wanderers. "Thank you, I promise I'll do my best." He didn't want to disappoint these folks as well.

After dinner was done, Malon showed Mido where he could sleep while he was here. It was a small room just down the hall from the others. They carefully moved Pan into that room, the little fairy was still so tired.

"Good night fairy boy~" Malon said as she and everyone else turned in for the night.

Mido whispered good night and just stared out in the darkness. He couldn't sleep. His nerves were still screaming from the pain he was in, and his mind was racing with what could be happening to his family. Hopefully they were all alright.

He looked over at the still sleeping fairy. The light from him causing all the shadows to gather at one corner of the room. Staring. Waiting.

Mido stared at those shadows, watching the shapes move as Pan's wings flickered. He felt calmed, knowing there could be something in the darkness, watching back.

Was this how Link felt? He did not know, and probably would never know.

Tomorrow would be a new day, the start of another adventure.

Author's Notes: Wow this took me a while to type, and I'm not completely happy with it. It feels rushed, which it was. Writer's block hit me early with this one, and I did a no-no. I forced myself to type through it. So I apologize if this is a lesser chapter, it's mainly for a filler before the rock gets rolling.

Please comment/review. I would love to know what you liked and/or disliked about this chapter. It's also greatly appreciated if you could let me know what I need to improve on or what could make this chapter/story better. Thank you!