Author's Note: It will surprise some of you (and will probably not surprise some of you at all :P) that this is actually my favorite version of the ending. If Navi has to be taken out of the picture, I think the most satisfactory way to avoid her completely betraying their friendship is if she leaves like this. This chapter also delves into my headcanon about fairies a little.

Timeline: Adult; Ganon battle

Theme 10: Breathe again

Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed through the sky as the battle raged on. No rain fell from the roiling clouds overhead to extinguish the fire that ringed the battleground. There was a pent-up tension in the very air, like the entire world was holding its breath, waiting for the outcome of this final duel.

This was it. There would be no turning back. No mistakes. Ganon—man no longer, but a twisted beast with hooves and horns and a long, swishing tail—bellowed with rage and swiped at Link with twin swords, both as long as Link was tall. Link darted back and forth, dodging Ganon's attacks as he tried to find an opening to strike.

Navi fluttered overhead, keeping an eye on the battle below. "Duck!" she yelled as Ganon swiped again, and without hesitation Link dropped to the ground and rolled forward out of the way. "To the right!" And Link immediately danced to his right, narrowly missing Ganon's stomping hoof.

The last battle had been Navi's greatest failure. Ganondorf had actually managed to push her aside, keep her trapped and unable to help Link. Now, she was determined to fight back with everything she had. There was no way she would let Link down this time. Even as she yelled warnings down to Link, she kept an eye out for possible weak spots. Every monster they had ever faced, from pitiful Deku Babas all the way to the crazed and extremely powerful Twinrova sisters, had some fatal flaw. Some weakness that would cause their downfall. Ganon would be no different.

And then, as Ganon lashed his tail angrily when Link danced out of range of his swords yet again, she saw it: A pulsating, greenish-blue spot in his lizard-like tail that glowed as if it were the center of all his magic. Or his life. "Link!" she yelled over the rumble of more thunder. "It's his tail! Get his tail!"

Link didn't make the mistake of glancing up at her or letting her words distract him. In fact, he didn't make any mistakes at all. He moved with grace and speed acquired from years of fighting the most fearsome creatures in all of Hyrule. He waited for Ganon to attack again, then rolled right between his legs and stabbed Ganon in the tail.

With a howl of pain, Ganon whirled around to face him, but Link held his ground. Keeping the tail pinned to the ground with his sword, he flung up his shield to block one of the enormous swords. With his left hand, he let go of his sword's hilt and pulled out a single Light Arrow, jabbing its tip steeped with holy magic right into the wound. With a blaze of blinding light, the magic ate away at Ganon's evil flesh like acid. The beast roared with agony.

And stabbed his other sword straight through Link's side.

Ganon staggered, fell, and writhed on the ground. Zelda rushed forward from the sidelines, encasing the monster in a cage of golden light. But Navi barely noticed any of that. All she could hear was the little gasp that escaped Link as the blade went all the way through his body, and the crunch as he fell to the ground. All she could see was the puddle of red staining his green tunic far too quickly.

"Link!" Navi hovered closer, gaping in horror at the thick blade that pinned her friend to the ground. "D-Don't worry, we'll get you better right away, just hold on!"

She looked down at the jars hanging from his belt, but they both knew they were all empty. The potions they'd stocked up on in Kakariko Village were all gone by now. Link had been fighting so long, with barely even a moment of respite, let alone a chance to refill his supplies.

"N-No..." Link choked out, and to her alarm he laboriously rolled himself over and struggled to sit up.

"Don't move! You'll just hurt yourself more..."

But he wasn't listening to her. He pushed himself onto his knees, braced himself on the Master Sword, and grasped Ganon's blade with his other hand. Despite her protests, he clenched his teeth and wrenched the blade out of his side. More blood gushed out, despite the hand he pressed against the wound. He kept his eyes fixed on Zelda, who was straining to hold Ganon down. The hideous beast was wounded—perhaps fatally so—but he still fought to break free.

"Link, please!" Navi hovered helplessly at Link's side as he pushed himself to his feet, leaning heavily on his sword. She couldn't stop him, couldn't help him, couldn't even press a hand against his wound to help stop the bleeding. She was tiny and useless.

The burning fire of determination in Link's eyes said that he knew he was going to die. He was bleeding out, and he didn't have much time left. But he was going to take his enemy with him. He staggered over to Zelda's side, blood dripping from his fingers and splattering on the ground with every jarring step. Zelda watched him with wide eyes as he approached and raised his sword.

The hero lifted his sword to the heavens, and the clouds overhead broke just enough for a tiny sliver of sunlight to touch the magical blade. The blade came crashing down on Ganon's head, and the King of Evil was thrown into the abyss that had borne him.

But Link collapsed to the ground, the last of his strength spent. Zelda caught him, tears streaming down her face. She settled his head in her lap, but his eyes were already fluttering closed. Her gloved hands were covered with his blood. His skin was beginning to turn grey.

"Princess...isn't there anything you can do?"

Sobs shook Zelda's shoulders as she bent over him, pressing her forehead to his. "My magic is spent!" she cried, gripping his hair with bloody fingers. "It took every...every ounce of m-my power...just to..."

Was this it? Was he just going to die here? His sword, covered with Ganon's black gore, lay to one side. He'd lost his hat at some point in the battle. He'd gone so still and silent, so unlike the Link she knew. The boy who never gave up, who never let anything stop him. He was supposed to keep picking himself back up again, no matter what monsters he faced. He was supposed to be able to enjoy the world he had saved. It wasn't supposed to end like this.

"No," she said with quiet conviction. She looked down at her two glowing hands. She might be tiny, she might be useless when it came to fighting and protecting the people she loved.

But she was a fairy.

In large, looping spirals that gradually grew faster and faster, Navi flew over Link, letting the magic encasing her body cascade over his wound like glowing snowflakes. As a blue fairy, she had never done this before, and she didn't have the same reserves of power that a red fairy would. But she prayed to Nayru that it would be enough.

"You have to live again," Navi murmured as the tissues knitted together again, torn muscles and ripped organs healing like new. "Breathe again. Smile."

Link's eyes opened again, and they focused on Navi as she continued to pour every ounce of her power into Link's body. As he realized what she was doing, his eyes widened and his mouth opened in protest.

Navi could feel her body fading away. Her vision was tunneling, and all sounds were muted. She knew this was the end for her—she wasn't a red, so she couldn't just come back from this. But she didn't regret it for a moment.

The last scraps of her body sank through his chest into his still-beating heart. "Do it for me."

At last, the rain began to fall.