Author's Note: One more chapter. If everything goes as planned, the next chapter will be the last. *whew* this has been a long journey with a lot of growing pains for me, but I'm sad we're so near the end. Yes, "we're," because no matter how clichéd it sounds, I absolutely could NOT done this without each and every one of you! Stories exist to be read, and therefore you all have given this work a reason to exist! I'll save my page-long thank you speech for the end of the story, but for now I want to say to each of you- Thank you.

Oh, as for my "plan" of one more chapter? Yeah, you all know how bad I am with planning. So don't lose hope just yet!

Review time! Those I would like to personally thank for their reviews are:

Beforethedawnbreaks- Aw yeah, Link isn't the only one who can save the day! As for your suspense- good!(?) I think that means I'm doing it right!(?)

Nupinoop296- Mmmmmmmmmmaybe :D

Burning Light and Crystal- I think a requirement for a decent Zelda game is have a difficult Water Temple? I mean seriously, have you guys SEEN Great Bay in Majora's Mask? Stuff of nightmares.

Sippurp123- Mmm, not the final temple quite yet, that's for the next chapter. Getting close though!

InkWoven- WHAT? Jk. I didn't finish it for a few years either. Though I was three when I played it first, so I guess I kind of have an excuse… Anyways, thanks for the compliment, it helps me know I'm not butchering the narrative! And… Confession time… I need to look up half this stuff too.

Kerriss-Singer-of-Light- YAY YOU WERE MENTIONED AGAIN! Yeah, I'm thankful we're out of there too.

Miano53- Hmm, that's a good idea, no fanfiction is complete without an epic climatic battle… I'll work on it! Thanks!

Guest- You, sir/madam, are very much welcome! Thank you for taking the time to review! And here, have some Chapter Twenty Nine!

Lady Fai- I've never played them either, but the clips I've seen support what I've heard. They're laughably bad.

Monster: Chapter Twenty Nine

Zelda snuck quietly through the castle, guided only by a candle and her own knowledge. She had arrived back to the iconic citadel minutes before in the cover of darkness. Slipping back into the grounds had ironically been much easier than sneaking out, a fact she intended to rectify once this crisis was over. She had reached her quarters and dropped off all unnecessary gear with no trouble, and now she was making her way into the least traveled portion of her home to look for an instrument she hadn't heard of since she was young, an instrument she didn't believe could be found until today.

Zelda had grown up hearing stories of the Ocarina of Time, of its incredible power and legacy. The instrument supposedly imbued with the blessings and energies of the goddesses that emerged from nowhere when it was needed and likewise faded into mystery once it was no longer required. Lore of the artifact was nearly as rare and hard to come by, as the very existence was a closely guarded secret by the royal family and a few select outsiders.

The Hero had been able to tell her very little of the Ocarina beyond what she already knew. He had returned the sacred instrument to the current princess of the time; its fate after and what she did with it was a secret to him. It could be anywhere by now, but both were certain it was not destroyed. It was somewhere; she just had to find it.

She stepped around a corner and knocked into a pedestal holding up a stone bust. She lunged to catch it and succeeded, but the noise still echoed down the hall from the stone. She held her breath, straining her ears for any response, but there was none. After a relieved sigh, she continued on her way, though with much more caution. In truth she would have been surprised if there had been anyone close enough to hear the noise, since she was so far out of the way, but sound traveled far in these corridors, enough to have her on edge.

After a few more minutes of tense but uneventful wondering through the hallways, she came across a promising door; a heavy portal of oak and reinforced with iron. Trying the handle, she found it unlocked but required a good amount of effort to open. Once it opened it revealed a dark library which looked as if no one had ever cared for it before- her feeble light shone on shelves covered with more dust than books. What little furniture remained in the room was pushed to the side haphazardly. The abandoned air of the room coupled with the darkness gave Zelda a palpable sense of unease.

Setting aside her reservations, she arbitrarily extended her hand to the first book within reach. Opening it caused no small amount of dust to fall to her feet and rise in her face, but she waved it aside best she could and attempted to read the forgotten manuscript. A quick scan of the first page and subsequently the rest of the book proved it was useless to her. Setting it back where she found it, she looked for a new source of knowledge to peruse.

Several hours later with dawn peeking through the mossy windows she returned the last book of the chamber on its shelf. Sleep fought to claim her body and mind, but it did nothing to numb the frustration picking at her. Not a single book in this entire chamber had any information pertinent to her or any useful information at all! What little that was legible only told of antiquated subjects or outdated data. She sunk into a nearby chair, heedless of the sooty cloud it generated. If this was a promise of things to come, it might be days before she stumbled across any leads, if any! Time wouldn't allow for any dead ends, or the kind of search finding any dead ends would require at this rate. She needed a definite source of solid intelligence.

As her sleepy eyes wandered the chaotically discarded desks and chairs, she noticed one section where the chaos seemed more ordered than its surroundings. A few minutes' worth of exertion and basic puzzling later revealed an entrance underneath the ruined furniture. There was no door, just a staircase that descended into more darkness, curving to hide what lay beyond from view. Almost without thought, Zelda descended into the shadow, blindly praying and trusting the goddesses to lead her to something she could use.

The staircase was not long, but it was winding. When it finally terminated into an open chamber, Zelda could not help but suppress a gasp. The room she entered was just like the one she had come from, but this is what it must have looked in its prime. Perfectly chiseled stone blocks made the walls, which held a few paintings and memorabilia of bygone wars and eras. The room was narrow, with only two shelves closely positioned lengthwise down the foyer, but unlike the sad imitation behind her these shelves were stocked with more books than the previous had held combines. And such books! Old, but with such beauty and grace- books bound in shiny, flawless leather with gold lettering identifying them, books that begged to be taken down and explored for their riches of knowledge.

Zelda discarded her candle, for this chamber was illuminated by small chandeliers hanging from the stone ceiling. She slowly walked down the aisle, marveling at how such a magnificent library such as this was ever forgotten! She stole glances at the bindings as she walked past them, seeing a few familiar titles but most were new to her. Titles like Epics of Lord Ghirahim and Gerudo: A Lost Culture tempted her to sit and read awhile, but she stayed on her course, drawn by an inexplicable instinct.

She reached the end of the shelves to see a pedestal resting against the far wall, flanked by two suits of armor. The armor closely resembled that of which the current soldiers of Hyrule wore, but with enough difference to identify them as tools of an older time. Approaching the book reverently, she beheld the title embroidered in silver, not gold. The calligraphy was on she had never seen before, making it difficult at first, but she was able to interpret The Legend of Zelda: The Sage of Time

Tentatively, almost giddily she opened the front cover and scanned the first page. Evidently this was a biography of a long since passed princess of Hyrule, also named Zelda, and if the title was any indication she was one of the fabled sages that assisted the Hero in his battle with the King of Evil. Every fiber of her body wanted to sink into this book and drink in every detail, but she forced herself to look for only what she needed. After a few minutes of scanning, she found a passage about the twilight years of the princess.

"In the wake of her loss, the monarch declared the country in a state of mourning for the loss of one of their best. The grieving sovereign escorted the body to the Kakariko Graveyard, where the body was laid to rest alongside the Royal Family. Not long after the funeral, residents of the Castle Town reported seeing a robed figure playing an ocarina on their way to the Temple of Time. Many believe this was the Sage of Time playing the legendary Ocarina of Time in mourning for her loss. While this has never been proven, it was the last day the beloved ruler was seen, also marking the end of Hyrule's Golden Age."

Zelda read the words with a curious feeling inside. The emotions the words elicited- sorrow, loss, pity- were all felt at a distance, but at the same time they were acutely sensed as if they were her own. Here was a recounting of a woman much like her, a monarch who shared her name of a country which shared the name with hers. Was it this similarity that caused such identification? She didn't know.

As she looked back to see who the passage was speaking of being lost, her legs became numb and her head spun. She felt as if she was falling, but she never hit the ground.

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Her eyes opened in the same place she had come to know as well as her bedroom. She looked around for who she knew would be there with her, but he was nowhere to be found. Suddenly discrepancies registered to her eyes. The shade before was a light cyan, but this chamber held a slight violet coloration. Instead of sharp, angular edges to everything there was now a softer curve. And instead of a strong man awaiting her, there was a slight, beautiful woman.

The woman was dressed in a shimmering robe much like the one Zelda wore in mourning for her suffering people during the war, but this garment was light and luminous rather than heavy and woeful. The hood was drawn up to hide the identity, but the build branded her an unmistakable woman. Zelda looked at her and felt as if she knew this woman, like she had met a friend whom she hadn't seen in years with the name on the tip of her tongue.

Zelda opened her mouth to call out to the stranger, to ask her name, but before she could the other held up her hand. Without speaking she walked until she stood just before the young princess and held out a hand. In the slender palm rested a small blue instrument with the crest of the royal family on the mouthpiece. Still not speaking, the stranger held the instrument out to Zelda, silently asking for her to take it. Reverently, the monarch did, catching a glimpse underneath the hood as she did. Youthfulness was behind her, but her beauty had yet to begin to fade. Her lips were small and slight, her chin angled to a point. The curve of the face indicated that it resembled a heart in shape.

The woman stepped back and her arm disappeared in her robe once more. Her hood raised slightly, enough for Zelda to see her mouth. The stranger smiled a sad sort of smile that bespoke of friendship, heartbreak, and farewell. A tear slid down Zelda's cheek without her even realizing it, and she raised a hand in goodbye. The stranger returned the gesture. With a flash of light, the scene vanished from sight, and that was the last she ever saw of her unknown friend.

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When her sight returned, she was standing in the library again, with nothing changed. But in her hand was the same instrument the woman had given her, pulsing with an ancient and light energy. Instantly Zelda knew this was the Ocarina of Time, but she was too confused by the means she got it to feel and victory. She had a feeling she knew who the stranger was, but how and why had she done what had just transpired? The same place but different, and her mere presence was a question Zelda couldn't fathom.

She knew that the Hero might be able to answer her questions, but something deep inside her warned her to not share this with him. She didn't know where this feeling came from, but she reluctantly decided to do as it said. The mystery that had just arisen would most likely stay a mystery until the end of her days.

But, Zelda thought as she looked down at the instrument yet with fresh eyes, it would be worth it to postpone the end of her personal hero's days. She smiled a wide grin she couldn't repress.

"Thank you." Just like she knew her inexplicable sense was right, she knew her gratitude was heard.

AN- *diabolical laugh* my plan for these characters is so evil… I can hardly bear it!

(To be completely honest I have no idea what's going to happen to these characters. Might just have them all discover a TARDIS in the Temple and send them to Equestria or something. That'd be a nice ending, right? Thanks for reading!)