A/n: This chapter has been revamped.

Disclaimer: Hot chocolate.

Chapter 54: Bittersweet

"It's all finally over."

Zelda's voice was very quiet, almost sad, as she spoke. There was a hint of exhaustion in there. The look on her face was tired, worried, and, beyond that, there were shadows of what the party could describe as guilt ridden. Despite the defeat of Ganondorf, the area around them was still dead. The air was stale now and the scent of smoke lingered in the air just enough that the party could catch it every time the breeze blew. And the breeze was chilly now, toying with everyone's tattered, ruined clothing. Zelda had mostly turned away from them after announcing there were still things to explain and she had her violent-blue eyes locked on the sky above her. Day was breaking and the sky, while still brown and cloudy, was starting to clear, just a little bit, with small traces of the sun peeking out from behind the clouds.

"Zelda?" Link asked. "Are you okay?"

"…." Zelda didn't answer. Instead, she shut her eyes and turned to face the party. When she opened her eyes, she studied them very carefully. The party didn't question her actions, letting her do whatever she needed to do to pull herself together. Zelda looked at the state the party was in and felt guilt sweep over her once more, an emotion she was trying to set aside. Link stood in front of the group in the center and the look in his eyes was pure, genuine concern. Despite how serious he had acted earlier or everything that had happened, there was a distinct innocence to them still. But he looked like a mess and no other word could describe it. His hair was all over the place, dry blood was caked on scratches on his forehead and cheeks. His tunic was ripped up in so many ways. One of his sleeves was hanging off, the other torn in two. His white underclothes were ripped apart, he was missing the gauntlet on his right hand. Blood from forgotten wounds stained his clothing everywhere.

The rest of the party didn't look any better. Everyone's clothes were torn or destroyed in some fashion. Katara had given up taming her long hair, letting it blow loose in the breeze, though she struggled to keep her top from hanging on her lopsided from the destroyed straps of one side. She noticed now that Joey was missing a sleeve completely and that Kurama had a huge tear in the side of his shirt. They all looked positively exhausted but, yet, they were so patient with her. All of them had almost died but they didn't rush her for an explanation or say anything out of line. Instead, they stood there quietly. Honestly, she figured, they were all enjoying the silence after such a long battle.

"I apologize for taking so long." Zelda walked forward, stepping away from them. She brushed her skirts nervously and shut her eyes again.

"Take your time." Joey said. "I don't think we're complaining about having some peace and quiet."

"I'm just…I'm just contemplating my next move." Zelda linked her hands in front of herself, looking back up at the sky. "I had all my plans set in place long before the final battle but I realize now that none of those plans seem fair…or right anymore now that I know all of you better."

"What are you talking about?" Aya asked.

"Hmm…" Zelda hummed, turning back around to the party. "The plans I had no longer mean anything. At least, most of them."

"…What do you want us to do?" Link offered, stepping closer to the princess.

"Well…." Zelda trailed off for a moment. "There are a couple of more things to go over. First, there's the final step of our plan…"

"There's another step to this plan?" Joey asked, surprised. "I mean, this was a huge plan to begin with. I can't believe we ain't done yet."

"Link must secure the Master Sword back in its pedestal and we must seal up the Door of Time. That will be final seal on the Sacred Realm." Zelda turned.

"It'll be weird not having the Master Sword anymore but I'll give it up if it makes everything easier." "Link smiled sadly.

"I will be honest with you." Zelda turned around. "I had originally planned on reclaiming the Ocarina of Time from you all and using its power to send you back to the past."

"Why on earth would you do that?" Joey leaned forward, shocked, but got a jab to the ribs from Katara and whispered scolding to behave.

"I assume you'd send us back to the past to finish out living the rest of our childhoods and adolescence." Kurama put his hands in his pockets. "It would be your way of trying to give us back some of the time we have lost."

"But we've already invested so much into this journey. And we've spent most of it as adults." Aya turned to Kurama. "What's the point?"

"You guys, for a while, were children in adult's bodies." Navi sat down, tired, on Link's head. "You spent so much of your journey in your adult forms, though, that your minds and powers have caught up to that. Sending you back now would like throwing war-scarred veterans into the bodies of children. It would be weird and misplaced."

"Maybe, selfishly, too, I was scared after I looked over the plan again." Zelda sighed. "You all are the first friends I'd ever had outside of Impa. Sending you back in to your pasts would remove the only friends I'd ever had. I'd be all alone. Beyond that, though."

"Zelda…" Link frowned.

"Beyond that, though, what's the point? Why emphasize their importance and have them do all this stuff and then send them back in time where they won't be here to really keep an eye on it? And you'd risk splitting the timeline. What, there will be a timeline where that whole mess can be undone by the party's knowledge…" Navi explained slowly. "But then there would be this side of the timeline where they're not here to intervene if something goes wrong."

"You see why I discarded my plan." Zelda sighed again. "But there was no other way I felt I could give you anything. This has been a thankless job so far. All you've done until now is suffer…and I feel like I've done nothing to make it better for you. This is my entire fault in the end. I was so unprepared for what entering the Sacred Realm really meant."

"We forgave you for all that, though." Katara lifted a hand. "None of this is really your fault, Zelda. None of us could see this coming."

"But then, I realized as time went on, there was one other detail that made all of this so much worse for you all." Zelda looked off to the side sadly.

"What could make this worse?" Joey asked honestly exchanging a brief look with Kurama that no one else saw.

"I wonder if a couple of you may have already figured this out…" Zelda looked up at them, her eyes serious.

"Does it have to do with the five of us?" Kurama inquired.

"Yes. I know you know what I'm about to say already." Zelda looked him in the eye. For a moment, the two held each other's gaze before Kurama slowly shut his eyes and gestured for her to continue. "I have something important to inform you of."

"…" The five Spirits exchanged looks with one another. Link looked back at them, his face slowly fading into a frown of his own.

"As the Spirits, you all hold the very important task of protecting the Sacred Realm. And the Hero of Time…" Zelda started. "As such….well….making sure the Sacred Realm never opens again…is a job that you all and Link must do together."

"You're telling us that we will never be able to go back to our worlds, correct?" Kurama concluded.

"…Yes." Zelda nodded slowly. "Ensuring this never happens again means always having you six here, together. Even if it means that this task will be carried down by your bloodlines in the future, or by other chosen ones in the future beyond that, then it means that your presence here is necessary."

"I…I can't say I didn't see that coming." Katara looked down at her feet. "I denied it for a little while, but I realized during that last battle that there was no way we'd be allowed to leave so easily."

"Kurama figured it out before the rest of us did." Aya put her hands behind her back.

"…" Kaori shut her eyes.

"I guess that seals the deal." Joey put his hands behind his head, craning his head up to look at the sky clearing above them. Slowly, the sun was forcing the clouds apart and the sky was fading from the ugly brown it had been before.

"I had figured that was going to be the outcome a long time ago." Kurama said.

"A very long time ago." Aya agreed. "Having all that time to prepare doesn't make it easier."

"Guys…" Link sniffed back some tears and looked off to the side.

"Yeah. No matter how much thinking I did about the possibility, it doesn't change the fact that there was a whole life I left behind suddenly." Joey said. "I left my sister and my friends behind without warning, without a goodbye or anything. I was an entirely different person then, it seems."

"My brother, my grandmother, Aang…all the rest of my friends." Katara sighed, fighting back some tears of her own. "Even if it was only briefly, it would have been nice to let them know I was okay. All those years of them worrying and they'll never get an answer."

"My parents, my brother…" Aya sighed. "All the other friends I had, the rest of my family. Even my pets. All of that is like a distant memory now. I'm with Kat. There's no way for them to know I'm okay."

"Mom and Dad and Grandma…" Kaori said to herself, wiping some tears away with the back of her glove.

"I think the guilt and feeling of abandonment will be something we'll have to live with." Kurama said quietly. Even he seemed upset despite having predicted the news long before its announcement. "I don't think any amount of thinking or wishing is going to change that. No matter how content we've become with our lives here, it doesn't change the fact that we all had people we will never stop missing."

"Heh, even you seem a little upset, Red." Joey pointed out.

"Of course I am." Kurama turned, answering honestly. "I loved my mother very much. I cared very much about my friends on that world, about my stepfather and stepbrother. It wasn't the longest list in the world, but everyone on that list I feel guilty for abandoning. I'll spend every day feeling that guilt for leaving my mother behind."

"…" Link walked back towards the group. "Guys, I'm so sorry. I feel…I don't know what to do. I'm sorry."

"Don't be, Bud." Joey turned.

"Only the Goddesses can initiate true world travel." Zelda said. "And they've only ever done it once, with you all. I swear if there was a way for me to allow you contact with your loved ones, I would allow it in a heartbeat. I know all too well the pain of loss. It's been my wish to never make anyone experience that same feeling but I've failed in that regard, too. I wish not to keep you prisoner here."

"Hey, it's not like I hate it here." Joey lifted a hand, stopping Zelda. "I'm never going to stop missing my sister or my friends, ever for the rest of my life. But you all have become just as important to me as them. After all the shit we've been through, all the fighting and laughing and near death experiences, I could never replace you guys either."

"Exactly." Katara agreed, linking arms with Joey. He stared at her in surprise before smiling softly and letting her continue. "It took me a lot of mind games to figure that out. I'll miss my friends and family forever but you all have become so important to me. You all are very dear friends to me now. Just like my loved ones from back home are irreplaceable, so are you guys."

"Yes. You guys are my closest friends right now." Aya smiled. "It sucks that I'll never see my family again. And I'll struggle with that for a really long time. I've been struggling with it. I was really close to them, but I'm not alone here. And at least Kaori came from my world. We understand what the other is going through. We knew each other's families really well."

"Aya summed it up." Kaori chimed in. "I love you all. At least we aren't alone here?"

"We aren't alone, so don't look guilty Link." Kurama turned. "We promised you before we were helping you of our own volition, not because we were told to. That's the truth."

"Alright." Link nodded his head. "I'll help you guys in any way I can! Just tell me what I need to do to make it easier for you. After all, we aren't going to be saving the world anymore!"

"Are you guys okay with staying here, in this timeline, then?" Zelda asked.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere else." Joey crossed his arms. "I'm done with dramatics."

"Hyrule is a mess. May I ask you all one more favor?" Zelda turned away.

"What is it?" Link asked.

"I can't do this alone." Zelda stared at the ruins of the castle with narrowed eyes. "It will take a lot of my time and power to restore this country back to its original glory. Slowly, the evil cloud that had descended upon this land is leaving us in Ganondorf's absence. I anticipate that this world will be completely purified soon. But I can't rebuild this country by myself."

"Zelda, we all planned on helping out. Right, guys?" Link glanced at the group for confirmation. They all nodded.

"We've gotten this far." Kaori said. "We can't let you do everything alone from now on."

"I appreciate it so much." Zelda smiled.

"You're one of us as far as I'm concerned." Joey patted her on the back and she jumped a bit in surprise. He grinned. "We never formally told you to welcome to the club, though."

"I'm…one of you?" Zelda put her hands on her mouth.

"Well, part of our job is protecting you, too, right?" Joey glanced at Kurama, who nodded. "So, you might as well hang out with us."

"Yep!" Link smiled widely at her. "Welcome to the party!"

"Thank you all so much." Zelda's eyes were glistening. "Thank you….thank you!"

"Eh, not issue." Joey backed off. "What now?"

"Can our plan involve new clothes at any point?" Aya asked.

"Let's put the Master Sword back in its pedestal and lock up the Door of Time again. After that, let's figure out what to do." Kurama said, earning a nod of agreement form Link.

"We have to put whole new lives together." Katara said between a yawn. "We can't be random travelers forever." With that, the party started towards the Temple of Time.

Seven Months Later….

"Just a little more over there!" Zelda's voice yelled out. She stood atop of a makeshift stage of sorts, made out of some leftover rubble and she was holding some papers in her hands. She looked considerably less royal than normal, with her hair swept back and some more comfortable, though still royal-looking, traveling clothes on. The only piece left of her elegant ball gown outfit was her Triforce earrings. She pointed a gloved finger at some workers moving some rubble. "Perfect! You all are doing wonderfully!"

All of this progress in just seven months…To think that destroying Ganondorf would restore so much faith in the citizens?

The Castle Town was going to need a massive makeover and Zelda had written down plans for everything they'd needed to do. In the recent months, she'd felt a new surge of pride and confidence and she thrown her whole being into rebuilding Hyrule. Fueled by Link's optimism, which she swore was contagious; she decided that she would build a bigger and better Hyrule, even if it took her whole lifetime. She rallied the people, many of whom were still in Kakariko Village and she'd contacted all of the main races to ask for their aid. She'd even contacted the Gerudo, with the help of the group, who seemed to be on good terms with them. She'd tracked down what remained of her father's royal council and old members of the military that still existed. After many sleepless nights, rousing speeches and endless planning, the country was finally moving forward.

Everyone else did a lot to aid me but I'm glad I let them go and do their own thing for a while. They dedicated so much of their time to helping Hyrule. They deserve it.

The group had helped a lot in the early stages of planning. Link had dropped the Master Sword back into the pedestal and closed the Door of Time back up, reclaiming the Spiritual Stones in the process. He'd also returned the Ocarina of Time back to Zelda and settled for using his old Fairy Ocarina to continue playing music when he wanted to. In the process of getting into the contact with the other races, the group had helped her, splitting up to redistribute the Spiritual Stones back to their designated races and checking on all of them. All of them had been thrilled to discover that Zora's Domain had thawed and most of its people had survived their suspended animation. The Gorons had put their government back together after losing Darunia when he became a Sage and the Deku Tree Sprout was slowly growing, even if he wasn't close to being a full-fledged tree. The Gerudo were even in the process of reworking their government in the absence of Ganondorf's oppression.

It had taken what felt like an eternity but the world was slowly patching itself up.

Unfortunately, the group's anonymity in the whole ordeal had vanished as well. They were a very recognizable group and, through rumors and observations by others of their actions, they had become known Hyrule-wide as the heroes who saved Hyrule from evil. Becoming so famous was one of their reasons for ultimately splitting up for a while, though she figured the other reason was for them to finally have some alone time after so long traveling together. The six of them did need to put their lives back together, or really, find lives at all.

I'm content in their absence. I know they will return to help. They always keep their promises. In the meantime, I have to work as hard as I can. I promised them and Impa that I would try my hardest. It's all I can do now.

"Alright, everyone!" Zelda yelled out to a crowd of workers beneath her. She stopped for a moment while they all turned their attention to her. It was warm and the skies were bright and clear with not a single cloud in the sky. All she saw was bright blue. Slowly, color was returning to the world. "We'll break for an hour for lunch to build our strength back up and then we continue our work!" There was a cheer of relief from the volunteers before they all scattered around the area.

"It took so long but finally, finally, we've made progress."

Meanwhile…

"Wow!" Link threw his hands in the air and shut his eyes, basking in the warm sunlight and letting the breeze toss his hair around. "The weather is great! Lake Hylia seems so beautiful now that not everything is so overcast!"

"I think it's even prettier now than when we were kids." Kaori agreed, sliding up next to Link to observe the huge lake. "Maybe I'm just appreciating it more now."

"It helps that the Zora are functioning again." Navi commented, sitting on Link's head, like always.

"We've been traveling for days just to get to this point!" Link started down the hill towards the shoreline. "It's so awesome traveling without being on a time crunch. I can't believe how much I didn't appreciate until now." Link traveled around before settling on a good ledge. He held his hand over his eyes to block the sunlight, scanning the area before pointing his finger and walking, single mindedly towards whatever ledge he had chosen.

"How long do you plan on fishing?" Kaori followed him.

"For a little while." Link plopped down to the ground without warning and began removing his boots. The party had to invest in all new clothing after everything was said and done. Link had settled for another green tunic, one almost as simple as his old one aside from a lace up design up the front, and he was able to salvage his boots from his previous attire. He had just cleaned them up and was insistent on using them again. He'd gone for black underclothes this time that were just as form fitting and he settled for darker brown gauntlets with black laces up the side. He even had a hat in the same style. In place of the Master Sword, he'd gotten a new sword of a simpler design, though still used the Mirror Shield from the Spirit Temple. He set both off to the side, too, as he readied his fishing supplies.

"Well, we do have to meet everyone else at the Lon Lon Ranch for that party, right?" Kaori sat down next to him, removing her own boots. Purple was still Kaori's preferred color and it showed with her dark purple jacket, now long sleeved with white buttons down the front. She wore a simple white and pink shirt, tucked in casually to form fitting light blue pants that tucked into dark brown boots. Instead of a high ponytail, she'd tied her hair back with a ribbon at the base of her neck.

"We can relax for a little while, though. Old fairies like their naps." Navi plucked the hat from Link's head and bunched it up on the ground to make a nest for herself. Link didn't seem to notice or care. The fairy leaned back in amusement, staring at Link set up the fishing pole he'd rented from the shop nearby, and cast it into the water.

"Navi, why did you decide to stay with us?" Kaori asked, glancing down at the fairy. Navi was silent for a few minutes, musing over an answer before she spoke.

"Eh, I originally planned to go back to the Deku Tree Sprout." Navi said. "I mean, my orders were only to help the Hero of Time do his thing. But I don't like following orders, anyway. Besides, what can they possibly order the guide fairy that helped the Heroes of Hyrule save the world to do? I'd have a lot of status now and I didn't want to deal with it."

"I'm glad you stayed." Link shrugged. "Things wouldn't be the same without you."

"That's the other reason I stayed." Navi laughed. "If I left you kids alone, who knows what trouble you'd get into? You need Mama Navi around to keep you in line."

"I'm still figuring out what it is I want to do." Link said quietly, staring out over the water. "I guess I can't be normal anymore since we're famous and stuff. And I did promise Zelda to help her out, but I don't know what to do after that."

"Yeah, I'm glad we get to travel around for a while but I'm not sure what to do, either." Kaori laid back onto the grass, staring at the sky.

"You kids don't have to rush to any answers." Navi sat up. "You guys have your whole lives ahead of you. Besides, you all haven't really talked to the other four or Zelda in seven months. You might get some ideas at that party tonight. Everyone is going to be there."

"Yeah, even the Kokiri!" Link's eyes were practically glowing with excitement. "It's the first time they've been out of the forest in centuries. Now that everything is safe, it's okay. Mido and all the rest of the Kokiri are coming."

"Darunia's son and all the Gorons, all the Kakariko villagers, the Zoras, the Gerudo…We'll see Malon and Talon and Ingo again after all that time away from them. Zelda is going to be there. And, if they got the memo, the other four will be there, too." Kaori mused.

"The other four better be there." Navi shot. "It's taken seven months to get this country to a point where it can actually celebrate its freedom from Ganondorf. You all are half the reason we're celebrating. Aren't we guests of honor or something?"

"That's what Zelda said but I'm not sure what that means." Link studied a small fish he caught before tossing it back into the water and casting again.

"It means we're special guests and are really important, I guess." Kaori shrugged.

"Whatever it means, we're going to party and have a ton of fun!" Link cheered. "Until we have to leave, we'll fish. I'll talk to a bunch of people tonight. Maybe I can figure out what I want to do."

"You've got plenty of time." Navi glanced between the two. "After saving the world, I think you're afforded some extra time to put your lives together."

"Man, it feels great to beat the others here." Joey wiped some sweat from his brow.

"We got here yesterday to help Malon set up since we were in the area. We had nowhere else to be." Katara rolled her eyes, holding some decorating supplies in her arms. "Technically, we cheated."

"Ah, cheating or no cheating, I'm more punctual than Red for once and I'm going to bask in this victory." Joey pointed to himself and continued hanging up decorations. Malon had insisted they relax but the pair felt guilty given the work load and had finally convinced the ranch girl to let them help.

"It'll be nice to see everyone again, though." Joey held his hand out for another decoration and Katara wordlessly handed him another. "After what felt like an eternity traveling together, it's been weird not having them around."

"It was nice to get a little peace and quiet, but I see where you're coming from." Katara giggled. "It'll be really nice to have a reunion."

"I doubt Link and Kaori have their shit together." Joey commented sarcastically, climbing a ladder. Joey's new outfit wasn't drastically different from his old one, at least in terms of basic style. He'd loved his old black jacket, but went with a red one with black trim this time with black and red fingerless gloves worn over it to the elbows. He wore a black, sleeveless shirt, almost identical to his old one, and black pants tucked into a pair of shin-high boots, partially laced up. In a swift motion, Joey tossed his jacket and gloves onto the grass and continued his labor.

"No, I doubt it." Katara sat down on a nearby table. She'd been working all morning helping Malon with food and was affording herself a little break. Katara's outfit was a bit less showy than her first one but still as functional. She wore an off-the-shoulder blue dress with a black, halter-style top underneath that. The skirt was long and split up both sides, but she wore black tights this time with dark brown boots that went a little above the knees. Her long, fingerless gloves had survived the fight with Ganondorf, as had her grandmother's necklace. She still wore her long hair in a braid.

Joey and Katara had traveled to the Gorons and Zoras to return the Spiritual Stones and offer aid. Their travels between the two had brought to Katara's attention how many people needed help. In the aftermath, a group of able-bodied and well-educated individuals, including Marius from the potion shop, had gotten together to discuss creating a charity group, of sorts, that would travel around and help people in need, which there were plenty of in the aftermath. Katara had gotten involved and led the planning of it, alongside Marius, and the group was set to leave on their travels in two weeks' time. Katara was established leader of the group. She was very excited.

While Katara had done that, though, Joey had become involved with the goings on of Kakariko Village and had become something a local role model to the youth there. Joey had decided to move to Kakariko and stay there to open a training facility for younger people to learn how to fight and defend themselves. Joey had contacted Kurama in the seven month separation and asked him for his help on the project, and now the two were partners and would run the facility together. The idea was a popular one, and one he'd run by Zelda just in case, and she was thrilled.

"We've put ourselves together. Basically, most of Link's life has been saving the world." Katara smiled. "I think Link and Kaori will continue working alongside Zelda. They both seem pretty dedicated to helping her."

"Do I smell a love triangle brewing between the three of them?" Joey said mischievously, looking down at Katara from the ladder he was on.

"If Link even really pays attention at all…Who knows?" Katara laughed out loud. "Kaori may have a crush on him or something, but I can't tell with either of them. Link is so….nice to everyone it's hard to tell."

"Eh, Bud's kind of dumb when it comes to this stuff." Joey shrugged. "I'm not concerned, though. They'll figure things out, eventually. Whether or not Link stops being oblivious to the two obvious crushes Kaori and Zelda are forming on him is a whole other story."

"I don't think there's any rush. Link's maturing so fast." Katara shook her head. "Besides, that kind of thing just sort of happened with us. I wasn't planning it."

"It's been a struggle." Joey waved a hand. "Red and Aya are a lot better at it than we are."

"Those two are much more subdued about it. When it's not the topic of conversation, you can barely even tell." Katara said.

"Is that it for the decorations?" Joey asked, climbing down.

"Yep." Katara stood up. "It's almost time to meet the group outside the ranch, though. We can take a walk until the time comes."

"Sounds good."

"How did the meeting go?" Kurama asked, leaning against the tree near Kakariko's entrance.

"The plan is a go!" Aya hugged him and Kurama returned the gesture, clearly expecting it. "I know that this kind of stuff is the last thing on Zelda's mind but it's important right now."

"What prompted you to ask Kakariko's mayor about trying to build a better school, anyway? You've been secretive about that." Kurama lifted an eyebrow.

"I wanted to be a teacher on my world." Aya explained. "If I can't be a teacher there, I want to be one here. I've got a lot of work to do, though. Until the preparations for building a better school are complete, the headmaster of the schoolhouse here in Kakariko agreed to take me on as an apprentice. We'll work on the planning together, though Zelda gets the final say."

"Joey's plans for a training facility are all on their way to being complete, too." Kurama pulled some papers out of his bag and held them up. Aya flipped through them casually. "All the paperwork is done. We're good to go whenever Joey wants to start it."

"This is perfect." Aya leaned into Kurama. Aya was wearing a white button up shirt with black and yellow designs, buttoned down enough to not show off too much of her chest, thought it was hard given how curvy she was. She had a black and yellow shirt, somewhat poofy and to her knees, and a pair of a black, heeled boots with yellow heels and swirling patters on the front and a black vest over that, tailored to fit around her chest and fit slim against her waist. She also had a pair of long, black gloves again, fingerless this time, worn to her upper arms and decorated with bracelets on her left arm. Finishing the outfit was a yellow headband and a black choker necklace. "I like Kakariko. I'd like to stay here."

"As would I. It's peaceful here." Kurama smiled. Kurama kept it simple, like he usually preferred to. He wore a different green jacket, one that this time had a white design on the left side. He wore it partially unbuttoned; only fastening the middle part, and the rest of the jacket naturally flared out to his mid-thigh. He wore dark blue pants tucked into simple brown boots, slim fit with only slight heels. He wore a white button up shirt, with another black shirt under that. "I'm glad we're on the same page."

"When do we have to meet the others?" Aya grabbed Kurama's hand and started pulling him towards the entrance. Without fighting, Kurama let himself get dragged along patiently.

"Now, I suppose." Kurama remarked sarcastically. Aya just shot him a look back and stopped at the bottom of the staircase. Without much warning, she leaned upwards and kissed Kurama. He was only somewhat surprised by the action and, though it was a quick kiss, he responded.

"I was testing to see if you'd let me do that. It's been a million years since the Fire Temple." Aya said sheepishly.

"Circumstances are far better here, so I was far more welcoming to it." Kurama shrugged. "Not that I was against it back at the Fire Temple, either."

"What does this mean for us?" Aya asked. "We didn't even really run it by each other. When everyone agreed to split up, we just kind of went off on our own."

"To be honest, I figured it'd end up that you and I would go off on our own when established we were splitting up." Kurama admitted.

"Well, Joey and Kat are together. And I think Kaori followed Link." Aya said. "Everyone went off into our usual pairs anyway." The two were riding their horses now and were galloping quickly through Hyrule Field.

"I guess splitting into pairs felt natural to us. Now that we're not bound by responsibility, we have the time to really get used to this world on an even more personal level. It's our home now." Kurama said.

"We're definitely making the best of it." Aya called out. "Hey, I think I see Joey and Katara."

"Hey!" Katara started jumping up and down. "Kurama! Aya! Over here!"

"Kat! Joey!" Aya ran up on her horse. The two were waiting outside the entrance of Lon Lon Ranch. She hopped off and launched right into Katara's arm in a big hug. Kurama hopped off as well and reluctantly returned a fist bump Joey offered.

"Where are the two doofuses?" Aya looked around.

"Late." Katara rolled her eyes. "Joey and I got here yesterday to help Malon out."

"Guys! Guys! Guys!" the four turned around and Link practically launched himself off of his horse and straight onto Joey, where they both toppled over.

"Whoa, Bud, don't kill me." Joey sat up, rubbing his face.

"Sorry." Link was too busy grinning to really feel bad.

"Everyone!" Kaori jumped down and offered Aya and Katara hugs.

"How's everyone doing?" Joey asked, pulling Link off the ground. After that, Link assaulted everyone else in the group with hugs.

"Great so far." Kaori said. "We'll have to catch up over food here in a bit. I'm sure we all have a lot to go over."

"Well, they have a lot to go over." Navi said, sitting on Kurama's shoulder. "We haven't done much of anything."

"That's not a bad thing." Kurama put his hands in his pockets. "Is Zelda meeting us here, too?"

"I let her know. She said she'd be here." Link looked around.

"She's running a country. Cut her some slack on the time." Navi remarked.

"There she is!" Katara pointed and waved. Zelda ran up on a white horse and climbed down, only to get assaulted by a three-way hug from the girls.

"Zelda!" Link waved enthusiastically.

"I'd imagine we're needed inside. We need to ask Malon about what being guests of honor means." Kurama said in an amused tone.

"Yes! I've gone over the plans with Malon already." Zelda clapped her hands together. "Come now! Let's get you all situated. No more work when we get in there. Let us handle everything else."

"I can't sit still that long. We have to be able to help somehow." Link frowned.

"Bud, we saved the whole world. We can sit down and relax for a bit. We'll catch up on what we've been doing while they get everything ready." Joey put an arm around Link's shoulder. "Besides, Kat and I have been forcing our help on Malon and Talon all day. They've been begging us to sit down."

"Okay." Link nodded. "I want to hear what you all have been doing!"

"Patience is a virtue." Kurama lifted a finger. "Let's figure out what we're doing first. Then we'll catch up."

"This way everyone!" Zelda waved them inside the ranch. "The party is going to start soon! You all have to be in position!"

"Oh, specifics." Aya started walking. "This is a pretty big deal."

"Coming!" Link started running, cheerfully kicking up grass with his running. The rest ran after to catch up with him.

After a long journey, the heroes had earned their party, their break, and their new travels. It was time for them to close one chapter and start another one. Fate no longer completely dictated all their movements. They were free.

A/n: It really is bittersweet finishing this chapter. I've got some touch up work to do on the previous chapters. I know there are some grammatical things I can fix that I found going over them. I often consult previous chapters to preserve continuity or refer to direct lines or something. I've caught some stuff I missed when I was rushing. Nothing drastic is going to change. I have no plans to rewrite anything. The story is going to stay as is. I'm just going to do some polishing. After that, I think I'll be done with fanfiction for good, really. Unless the spark hits me for another one shot or something, I think I'll be done for a while.

This chapter was reworked from the ground up, though. In terms of how important I laid the Spirits and Link out to be in the chapters leading up this, it felt nonsensical to stick to Ocarina's original ending and have them sent back in time. I wanted to go for something different and kept them all there in the timeline they were living. I also did a little time skip and set up basic ideas of what they all would be doing with their lives and tied up some loose ends. That being said, I shot in the final piece of evidence that Kurama and Aya were, indeed, canon by my books. I said what the hell and made Joey and Katara "canon" as well. I like leaving it up in the air with Link, since he's so innocent and see his relationship with Kaori right now as a trusted, platonic friend. I purposely threw shippy hints out with both Kaori and Zelda, so you're free to do whatever you want with them.

Oh, and Zelda ascended from her guest-star status and more or less became one of the gang.

It's a long chapter, but it's a worthy epilogue, I think. Better at wrapping things up than the original, which was awkward and very rushed. Rushing the plot was my special talent as a teenager, I guess.

That's all folks!