Author's Note: Thank you to anyone who's read or reviewed my previous works. Also, a special thanks to Post Rapture (thanks for the help), Kokiri Tales 4, Moonfall, and the highly anticipated Majora's Mask, which have each inspired me to begin this new epic. And please READ and REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!! This may be something really special, and I'd really love some feedback.


Chapter 42

Link just sat there in the dungeon cell, waiting for General Dore to come in and interrogate them. Interrogate them about what, he had no idea. He looked to his right to see that Malon was just looking outside, Zelda was fixing her hair after all those hours of wearing the hood of Sheik, and Saria was sleeping. The poor forest girl was so hurt by what she saw, that she cried herself to sleep.

"Well, so much for this idea," Zelda finally said. "Now how do we stop the war?"

"I don't think there's any way this war CAN be stopped," Link said hopelessly. "Nobody seems to want to listen."

"A way out sure sounds good right about now," Malon said.

"Yeah, I'd love to be outside this dark dungeon right about now," Link agreed.

"No, I meant out of this stupid dimension," Malon clarified. "Has anybody forgotten that we don't belong here?"

Link thought about that. He had been so wrapped up in trying to end the Hylian Civil War, that he forgot he wasn't even supposed to be here. This wasn't where he belonged.

"I know we don't belong here, Malon," Link finally said. "I just thought we were put here for a purpose. And I thought that purpose was to end the war. Maybe when the war's over, whatever brought us here will bring us back."

"But there's no way to end the war," Malon frowned. "You said it yourself, nobody wants to listen."

"There has to be something we haven't tried," Link said. But it was no use. Link couldn't think of anything else to do. Appealing to the Kokiri was his last hope, but that seemed to fail miserably.

Suddenly, the door to the dungeon flew open. Standing there was General Dore.

"Ok, are we ready to begin the interrogation?"


Chapter 43

Link stared a hole right into General Dore as he approached their cell, and he in turn stared one back into Link. Saria had woken up and walked to Link's side. Malon and Zelda were now standing behind them.

"Well, ask away!" Link snapped.

"Ok, now you claim that you came to Hyrule Castle to ask us to end the Hylian Civil War," Dore began. "But we know that's not why you're really here, is it?"

"Of course that's why we're here," Link responded. "We know you have the power to stop it."

"Oh, please," Dore said coldly. "You can't expect me to believe that. Everyone knows how much the Kokiri hate the Hylians. If we didn't hate them, we wouldn't have kicked them out of Hyrule Castle Town. Everybody knows that we'll always leave the Hylians high and dry, so don't give me that lame excuse."

"What lame excuse would you like me to give you?" Link asked smartly.

Dore pulled out a baton and swatted Link's hand. "Don't be cute! You know exactly why you're here! It's because you're here to free HIM, aren't you?!"

"Him?" Link repeated. "Who's him?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" Dore shouted. "You know who HE is! And you're here to release him to unleash on our world again! Well, your plan failed!"

"What plan?" Link said, getting frustrated. "We were just here to ask for an end to the civil war."

"Enough!" Dore shouted. "I won't allow you to release HIM! So tomorrow, you four will be executed!"

Suddenly, the dungeon door flew open…but there was no one there.

"Hmm…the wind," Dore muttered. "Where was I? Oh yeah! Enjoy your last hours in this world, for tomorrow you shall all be executed." Then General Dore stormed out of the dungeon.

But then an unseen, yet familiar, voice called out. "I thought he'd never leave."

Just then, much to all their amazement a Kokiri girl appeared out of thin air. But it was more than a Kokiri girl, it was Princess Saria. She walked towards the cell and observed the four prisoners. Then her eyes stuck on the Forest Sage Saria, and she gasped. Link saw why. The two girls looked exactly alike.

"You…look just like me," Princess Saria said. "Then…it's really true."


Chapter 44

"What do you mean?" the Forest Sage Saria asked. "What's true?"

"I…had a dream. It was more of a prophecy," Princess Saria explained. "And in it, I saw four strangers…and one of them looked just like me." She looked up at the other three. "And the rest of them look like you. In my prophecy, I saw four strangers fall in from what looked like a portal."

Zelda's eyes widened. "You saw us come in through a portal?!"

Princess Saria nodded.

"Finally, somebody who can help us," Zelda said. She looked at the little princess. "At least I hope you can."

"I'd love to help you," Princess Saria said kindly. "But who are you?"

Zelda introduced herself. "My name is Zelda. The four of us came from another universe." It was clear that they were no longer traveling incognito.

"Another universe?" Princess Saria asked curiously. "Is that where the portal came from?"

The Forest Sage nodded. "We all come from a world just like this one, except there a lot of differences. In our world, Zelda's the Princess of Hyrule. And me? You probably know me. I'm Saria."

The Princess Saria still marveled at her parallel self. "You look so…different. Where are you from?"

The Forest Sage Saria smiled. "In my world, I'm the Sage of the Forest. And I live in the Forest Temple in the Lost Woods with my friends."

"You have friends?" Princess Saria asked. "You really have friends?"

The Forest Sage frowned. "What do you mean? Don't you have any friends?"

Princess Saria hung her head down. "Actually, no. I've always been nice to everyone and that includes anyone outside our boundaries. And that bothers a lot of the others. In fact, because of how I am, they're always mean to me. I've just always believed that we should use our power to help others, but nobody cares what I think. Nobody here likes me."

"That's so sad," the Forest Sage said. "You mean not one person has ever been nice to you."

"Well, sometimes there's Mido," Princess Saria answered. "But he gets so much pressure from everyone else, that he hardly ever talks to me anymore. But there was one…his name was Sodo."

The Forest Sage Saria's eyes widened. "Sodo? I didn't see him there. Where is he?"

Silence.

"I don't know," Princess Saria finally said. "He was the only other boy who believed in helping the world as much as I did. But when the Kokiri started becoming more and more apathetic, Sodo threatened to leave. Since nobody cared, Sodo just disappeared one day. Nobody's seen him ever since."

Silence.

"That's so sad," Malon said. "I know in our world, Saria and Sodo are almost inseparable…oh, I'm sorry. I haven't introduced myself. My name is Malon."

"Nice to meet you, Malon," Princess Saria said a little more cheerfully. "I thought I heard of a Malon somewhere."

"You must mean that Frihad radical leader," Malon clarified. "I'm nothing like that in our world. I've just been a normal farm girl living in Lon Lon Ranch."

Princess Saria then looked up at Link. "And who might you be?"

"Just a friend," Link said modestly. "My name is Link."

At those words, something went off in Princess Saria. She gasped and quickly stepped back. She almost stumbled over in utter fear.

Link didn't understand this. "W-Was it something I said?"

"You aren't going to hurt me, are you?" Princess Saria asked. She was absolutely petrified. "Please don't hurt me. I'm just a princess, please don't kill me."

"What's wrong?" Link asked. "What did I do?"

"He's not going to hurt you," the Forest Sage Saria tried saying. "Link's our friend."

"F-Friend?" Princess Saria asked. She tried to pick herself up and cautiously approached Link. "You…really aren't going to hurt me, are you?"

"Of course not," Link answered. "Why are you so afraid of me?"

Princess Saria took a deep breath. "A few years ago, a great evil was unleashed in our world. He nearly destroyed everything and almost took over Hyrule. He was of Hylian heritage and was raised by the Hylians. That's why the rest of the Kokiri refuse to involve themselves in any matter involving the Hylians. He was so evil, that no one dare speak his name.

"His name…was Link, the Villain of Time."


Chapter 45

Link felt like he had to lie down. He felt completely woozy after what he was just told. The evil one that everyone told him about. This evil one that destroyed Kakariko Village and nearly took over all of Hyrule, this evil one…was Link.

"I-I'm sorry," Link said. "But did…did you say 'Villain of Time'?"

Princess Saria nodded. "I'm sorry if I was a little edgy, but everybody in Hyrule fears the Villain of Time. Even with our powers, the Kokiri wouldn't last five minutes against such an evil."

"How did you get those powers?" the Forest Sage Saria asked curiously. "None of the Kokiri in my world can turn invisible."

"Really? It just comes natural to us," the Princess Saria answered. "No one can explain it, but somehow all Kokiri are born with the gift of invisibility. It's a wonderful gift, it really is. But Dore and his army have only used our invisibility to get the drop on people and assert our power. If we could all use it more wisely, maybe we could end the civil war. But nobody cares."

"Princess Saria, can I ask you something?" Zelda asked.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Do you know how we can get back to our world?"

Princess Saria frowned. "I'm sorry. Of everything I saw in my prophecy, I didn't see how I could get you back. I didn't even see how you all got here."

"Can you tell us everything you saw?" Link asked.

Princess Saria took a deep breath. "I saw…myself. I was out somewhere outside of Zora Forest. And then I saw a giant portal open up. And out of the portal…fell you four. Then when I turned around, I was outside of Hyrule Castle. Then…I saw another portal open up and out of that portal fell two other men."

"You saw two other men come out?" Zelda asked curiously. "That might mean we aren't here alone. Princess Saria, what did they look like?"

Princess Saria took another deep breath. "One of them…I didn't get a good look at him. He had a head of black hair and looked to be in his twenties. The other one looked very mysterious. He was completely covered in a shawl and all I could see were his eyes. He looked like a wizard."

Zelda gasped. "Drekkin! And Knigma! They're here too!"

Link grew confused. "So those two creeps are here too?! How did THEY get here?"

"I'm guessing the same way we got here," Malon tried answering.

"What else did you see, Princess Saria?" the Forest Sage Saria asked.

"I…saw those two men…and a mask. I…couldn't make out what the mask looked like. But then I found myself in Kakariko Village. And I looked up…and I saw Link, the Villain of Time. He came close to me and I saw right into his face. It looked…completely evil…there was something different about it. Then…he was gone. I looked around and I saw I was in a cave. I peered outside to see the Sacred Forest Meadow in the Lost Woods. And I turned around…and saw Sodo. He told me…to be strong…that he was alive…and he had all the answers. Then the prophecy ended."

Link tried to absorb everything he just heard, even though he still couldn't shake off the shock of being this world's Villain of Time. But what did this all mean? Why were Drekkin and Knigma taken in by the portal? Why were they here? What was that mask Princess Saria was talking about? And what did Sodo have to do with any of this? Then Link got an idea. An idea he should have had a long time ago.

"Zelda?" Link asked. "Do you have the Ocarina of Time?"

Zelda shook her head. "No. It's back at the castle…MY castle."

Princess Saria's face brightened. "You mean this?" Out of her dress, Princess Saria pulled out the Ocarina of Time. They caught a big break, for the mystical instrument existed in this world too.

"That's the one!" Zelda said cheerfully. She glanced at Link. "What do you have in mind?"

"I think I've pinpointed the place Princess Saria saw in her prophecy," Link explained. "She was in a cave, looking outside to see the Sacred Forest Meadow. She was in the center of the Sacred Forest Meadow. I know where that cave is. And if Sodo knows the answers like that prophecy said, then we'd better go find him. And now, we'll be able to take a shortcut."

"A shortcut?" Princess Saria asked.

"You mean you don't know?" Zelda grinned. "I guess that's one thing we have that you don't."

"What do you mean?"

"The Ocarina of Time can be used to transport us to different places in Hyrule," Zelda clarified. "And one of those places is the Lost Woods."

Link smiled at the little princess. "Thank you for everything, Princess Saria. You've made everything so much clearer for us."

"Wait!" Princess Saria pleaded. "Can't I please go with you?"

"Why would you want to go with us?" the Forest Sage Saria asked.

"Please, let me help you," Princess Saria continued. "I've been so voiceless here for so long, but I want to change that right now. I'm going to do what all of the other Kokiri should be doing and that's doing what's best for Hyrule."

Saria looked up at Link. "Link, can't she come with us?"

Link was about to speak against it, before Malon answered for him.

"Sure. You can come, Princess Saria."

Link groaned. "Malon, can I see you over here?" Link brought Malon to a corner of the cell. "Why do you always do this? This could be dangerous, especially if Drekkin and Knigma are out there somewhere. She can't come."

"Yeah, and why not?"

Link turned to see that Zelda was standing right behind him.

"Zelda, she can't come with us. It's too dangerous…"

"…For a defenseless princess, right Link?" Zelda finished for him.

Link saw where she was going with this. "Zelda, that's not what I meant."

"Maybe I'm not a little Kokiri girl," Zelda continued. "And maybe I'm not the princess in this universe, but I can relate to what this Saria's going through. She wants to risk herself for the sake of her kingdom. Frankly, if I were in her shoes, I'd do the exact same thing, and I'd hate it if some overprotective pig like you were trying to stop me!"

Link had a hard enough time arguing one-on-one, he couldn't win an argument against both Malon and Zelda. "Fine, she can come with us!"

Link walked to the center of the cell and saw the Forest Sage Saria and Princess Saria standing side by side. It was a strange sight. They really DID look alike.

"Are we ready?" Zelda asked. As they all nodded, she proceeded to play the Minuet of Forest. And when the song was over, they were all transported. Obviously, the rules of the Ocarina of Time still applied to this universe.


Chapter 46

At first he thought he was dreaming, but Knigma rubbed his eyes and what he saw was indeed real. It was Lake Hylia, but literally hundreds of Hylian homes were set up above the surface of the lake. As much as he was relieved that they narrowed down the Mask Shop owner's whereabouts, they still weren't through by a long shot. Especially since there wasn't a boat anywhere in sight.

"Well this is just great," Knigma said, showing signs of frustration. "This could take us forever!"

"Will you relax?" Drekkin groaned. "We've come this far, we're not quitting now. Or are you afraid of getting wet?"

"I didn't sign on for a swim session," Knigma growled. "But apparently, I'm not going home until I do, so let's get started."

Knigma and Drekkin dove in and began swimming to the first place. It looked to be a huge shop. Knigma recognized it as the bazaar. They surfaced out of the water and walked in, but were quickly stopped by a huge man wielding a bow and arrow.

"Hold it!" the bulky man shouted.

"Whoa! Don't shoot!" Knigma shouted.

The burly man examined the two intruders and put his bow down. "Knigma? Gee, I'm sorry, Knigma. I didn't recognize you."

Knigma was confused. Somehow, this guy knew him. So he figured he'd play along. "Uh…you should be sorry. Why you realize what you could have just done here? You could have killed me and my friend here."

"My apologies, Knigma," the bazaar owner said. "I wouldn't have wanted to accidentally knock of the leader of the Forsverers. But what brings you here? And who's your friend?"

Forsverers? Knigma didn't know what he was talking about, but he played along anyway. "Yeah, you definitely don't want to kill the leader of the Forsverers. I've come to ask a favor of you, sir. My friend, here, wishes to find the Happy Mask Shop. I was wondering if you could point it out for us. We need to speak with the owner, Yeddop."

"The Happy Mask Shop?" the man repeated. He pointed out east. "Sure, it's the second to last one down that direction."

"Thanks. We owe you, buddy."

"But Yeddop's not there."

Knigma was ready to explode. He was almost shaking in frustration. "He's not there. Then where is he?"

"He left town for a few days, hoping the civil war would calm down," the big man answered. "Fat chance of that happening. But he should be back tomorrow. He won't be too happy that the war isn't over. Maybe it'll get him to finally choose a side."

Knigma's curiosity finally overtook him. "Look here, buddy. My friend's new in town. Could you tell him just what we're fighting?"

"But you're the leader, Knigma," the man said confusedly. "Wouldn't it be better if you told him?"

"Yeah, but I just want to make sure YOU know," Knigma said in his charismatic way. "Call it a test."

"Uh, ok," the big man began. "We're fighting those loser Frihads because they're the ones who took in that Hylian kid who eventually unleashed his evil on all of us. And we're going to kick them out as a punishment for refusing to listen."

"He may be a little confused," Knigma interrupted. "Just who's the Hylian kid you're talking about?"

"But…his name is so evil, it cannot be spoken in these parts," the large man said.

"Well make an exception," Knigma said. "Just this once, for informational purposes."

The big man took a deep breath. "He is Link, the Villain of Time. His evil was like no other."

Knigma grinned. "Thank you, sir. I'll be sure to remember you."

Having said that, Drekkin and Knigma dove into the lake to swim to the Happy Mask Shop. He couldn't believe what the bazaar owner told him. That kid in the dress was evil in this universe? What could be weirder than that? Next thing, someone will tell him that Princess Zelda is a farm girl. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that the search for the Happy Mask Shop was over. Now all that was left, was to wait for Yeddop to come back.


Chapter 47

She was all set to go. After all the threats and rocks, Zelda had had enough. The farm girl couldn't bear this any longer. The warring Hylians wanted her to choose a side, so she would. The only thing was, she didn't know which side to choose.

She tiptoed down the stairs, as to not wake up Ganondorf. Pofrigitio, Hyunia, Jenz, and Avaida who had just returned from their trip to the desert and were already asleep. Maybe if Zelda just picked a side, the Hylians would stop harassing everyone at the ranch. At least that's what she hoped.

As she left the ranch, she looked back. It might be the last time she saw the ranch. For now, Zelda would be involved in a war she doesn't want to fight.


Comments? Feel free to review below or mail me at HyruleKokiri13@hotmail/aol.com