"Yes! We made it out alive! Ha ha ha!"

Darunia whooped into the air with his deep booming voice. Alive? Why yes, they were alive. Moments ago, everyone had been in a magical fight for their lives. Even after his physical form had been conquered, Ganon's soul put up such a resistance, that even the six sages had nearly lost their lives to him. However, as their plan had been, they waited until a moment of weakness, and opened up a inescapable portal into the evil realm, effectively sucking Ganon into it, and leaving the sages to use all the magic they had to put him in and keep themselves out. They escaped in spirit form only after they were certain he had been ensnared, and even then, they were nearly overpowered by their own magic spell.

And now, they had all made their way back to Hyrule to rematerialize into physical form. But where were they? This place was not familiar, well, not to her, at least. Was this... the mountaintop she could spy from her dream? Above them, the sky sprawled out as the sun rose over the horizon. So this was the sky? It was massive... unobstructed... beautiful. The sun's majesty combed over the land, bringing life and shine to everything its heat licked. The five sages just stood and enjoyed the sight. Five? Where had Rauru gone? Had he... she somehow knew the answer, but couldn't bring herself to think about it.

Everyone around her, she now knew as if she had all her life. Impa, the last of the fearsome Sheikah tribe, trained proficiently in martial arts. Darunia, the leader of the Gorons, and a firecracker to be sure. Ruto, the princess of Zora's Domain, with a rather flamboyant personality. Nabooru, a Guerdo thief, the only who had opposed Ganon's rule. And... and herself, Saria. Why was she here? She wasn't anyone special... and yet, she was a sage. Why?

"Alright everyone, congratulations are in order. Thanks to all of us, Ganondorf's reign has been put to an end. Go, celebrate how you see fit. I must find Zelda, and assess the kingdom's damage."

Impa turned and scaled down the mountain with an unusual swiftness, without breaking her stride. 'Mountain? MOUNTAIN!? What am I doing on a mountain?! If I leave Kokiri forest, I die! Yet... I don't seem to be there anymore. Am I... dead?' Saria's thoughts flew faster than she could process them, and she simply stared around herself. This did not look like the afterlife. No one else seemed to care where they were.

"I don't know about you three, but I'm going to throw a big traditional Goron rock party! You're all invited, what do ya say?"

"I'm sorry, I must find my father, he's probably worried sick about me..."

Ruto nodded a farewell, and walked her way down the steep slopes.

"How about you, Nabooru, hm? I'll save you a rock sirloin."

"Ew, no thanks, I wouldn't be caught dead partying with a bunch of Gorons. I'm going back to the desert to train."

Nabooru half ran away from Darunia, leaving him looking after her slightly offended, and Saria sitting on his head.

"Well, how about you, sister? Care to throw down with me and the Gorons?"

Saria said nothing, she simply stared off into the empty sky.

"Uh... Saria?"

"What?"

She snapped out of her stupor and looked at the burly figure.

"Do you want to party with me and my brothers? Us Gorons always have the best parties!"

"Uh... I'm not certain... I..."

"Hm, you want to go home too, don't you?"

"Yeah..."

He made a big, throaty sigh.

"Alright, sister. If you want to go home, I won't stop you."

He began to lift Saria off his head, as gently as a Goron could, and lower her to the ground.

"Wait!"

Saria hugged onto the Goron's heavyset arm. Maybe the reason she hadn't died was she hadn't touched the ground?

"What is it? Am I being too rough? I swear, I'm being as careful with you as I can."

"No... if you put me on the ground... I may die..."

"Die? Hahaha! That is a funny one, Saria! The ground hasn't been that hot since the last time this volcano erupted!"

The statement was lost on the dense mind of Darunia, and he somewhat forcefully placed her on the ground.

"NO!"

Saria closed her eyes and winced, bracing for whatever fate may befall her. She waited. And waited. Waited a bit more. She cracked an eye open. She still seemed to be alive. Shouldn't a bolt from the heavens have struck her and blown her to bits? Or perhaps she would wither like a flower and turn to a lifeless mess? Would she melt? She continued waiting... nothing happened... at all. She was clearly outside the forest and alive. Had the Great Deku Tree... lied? No, surely there was some explanation to this. Yet... Saria wondered if she should have tried leaving the forest earlier. Would it have worked? Could she have even... gone after Link?

"Uh... are you alright?"

Darunia thought he had offended Saria in some way.

"I... I think I'm fine. I... I must go. Goodbye, Darunia."

"Goodbye, sister! I hope you have fun back at the forest with your friends!"

How did he know she was from the forest? Probably the same way she knew everything about him. In a short period of time, things had grown very weird. She started down the mountain, only to find that she didn't know how to get down. Rocks were nothing like tree branches, they didn't bend, they were rough, and she couldn't feel any life within them. 'This may be difficult...' She put her hands down first, and once she felt they had grabbed something safe, she moved her feet down to find more trustworthy stones. She climbed this fashion most of the way down the mountain. The slope wasn't that steep, but it was more than she was used to, so she took it slowly.

'I think I'm getting the hang of this!' she mentally cheered herself on. The next stone she found, however, wasn't as friendly as the last few. She had tested it, giving it a kick before putting her weight on it, but when she released one of her hands, the stone slipped from its place in the mountain path. Immediately, she began tumbling down the mountain, taking a beating from the hard surface as she went. After a lot of bruising and cuts, she came to a stop, but she didn't have the energy to get up. 'I'm just going to take a nap... right here, right now... no one is out here, after all...'

"S... S... a... Sa... ia... Saria... Saria!"

She slowly came to, her vision was hazy, and she couldn't make out much. What she could feel, however, was that it was sweltering. 'How long have I been out here?...' She felt like her skin was on fire, and her body was melting. 'Am I dying?...' She tried to speak, only a dry grunt left her lungs. A figure hovering over her seemed to respond to this.

"Saria!... you... okay?... look... fell... help?..."

She could only make out choice words the voice said. It sounded worried, like it was afraid someone was hurt. 'Am I hurt?' The silhouette, obscured by the raging sun above, leaned close to her face. He looked familiar. It was a he, right? Slowly her vision slid into focus. He wore a simple green hat, and had orange hair. His face though... something was off about his face... it looked like it was more at home with scowls and frowns, but a smile was on it. 'He's smiling? Why?' Saria sat her head up, and tried to talk again.

"M-mido?"

Her voice was hoarse and dry, she desperately needed something to drink.

"Saria! Oh thank the goddesses, you're alright!"

"Where am I?"

"You're on Death Mountain. I think you fell or something."

"Mountain? Am I... not in the forest anymore?"

"No, none of us are! We're all out celebrating!"

Then, her memory came back to her. She had been outside the forest. She was climbing down the rocky terrain, and slipped. A terrible pain emanated from her left arm.

"Mido..."

"Yes?"

"Can you get me something to drink? I'm dreadfully thirsty... and hot..."

"Oh goodness! You've been sitting out in this heat, haven't you?! I'd better get you somewhere cooler!"

Without even asking, Mido picked her up in his arms, and ran down the mountainside. Something had definitely changed about him. Since when was he so caring for others?

"Don't you worry Saria, I'll get you cooled down! There's gotta be water somewhere..."

Author's Note

Pardon me, just filling in some back story, necessary for plot development.
The primary story will resume after the next chapter... probably.