Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda, but I own the idea. Let me explain something really quickly. This is a sequel to the game Ocarina of Time. Just pretend Majora's Mask never happened. Also, if some of the dialogue is 'incorrect' in parts lifted from the game (as well as some spelling), sorry!
The Legend of Zelda: The Hylian Wars
Chapter One
A Call to the Future
He stood on the top of his tree-house balcony, and looked down to his beloved Kokiri forest. The leaves fell, dancing upon the wind, criss-crossing with each other as they all gently floated to the ground.
The elfin Kokiri were emerging from their homes. The hollowed out trees proved to be a good home for the Kokiri. The forest was their source of life, so it only seemed natural to take the dead trees and make them into homes.
He watched the Kokiri get to their daily routine. Though the Kokiri were small, some of them were quite an old age. The oldest known Kokiri, Genar, was already at work, weeding his private garden, looking only the age of twelve or so. His fairy fluttered around his head, muttering some things that he couldn't understand. However, it was impolite to listen in when a Kokiri's fairy is telling him something.
"Link, aren't you going to come down?"
A voice full of caring, but also annoyance, spoke near his shoulder. The voice belonged to Navi the fairy, and she was speaking to Link.
"Yes," Link sighed and rolled his eyes. "Honestly, Navi, you are far too impatient."
Link walked forward several paces and climbed down the rickety brown ladder that led from his tree-house to the ground. He jumped the last few rungs, and landed with a slight thud on the ground.
He looked around his yard only for the hundredth time that day. There was a sign, which he erected himself, which said, quite obviously, "Link's House." On the base of his old tree (an oak) was a crude drawing Link had drawn a year earlier, after his adventures. It was of him, and Navi, fighting the King Dodongo in Dodongo's Cavern.
Link quietly mused on his adventures. He remembered his adventure took place a year and a half ago. He could still remember it vividly as if it were happening right now.
The day Navi the Fairy came to him was when his adventure started. She told him the Great Deku Tree (now long since dead) had asked to see Link. He had tried to see the Great Deku Tree, but Mido, the self-proclaimed leader of the Kokiri, wouldn't let him pass without a sword and shield. He found them both. The Deku Shield and the Kokiri sword were to serve Link well. Link went to the tree, and Link then went on a quest inside the tree to find out what was in him. What he found was horrifying. Navi had called the beast Ghoma, an arachnid parasite. Using his slingshot (which he had found in the cave) and his trusted Kokiri Sword. He alone had heard the dying words of the Great Deku tree.
"Thou hast done well. For this, I give thee the Kokiri's Emerald."
The Tree had presented Link with the most beautiful emerald he had ever seen. Link had been told of the history of Hyrule, and knew he must get two other Spiritual Stones to save Hyrule from Ganondorf.
He left the dead tree, and found Princess Zelda, keeper of the Ocarina of Time. She told him a deeper part of Hyrule's history, and Link learned of the Sacred Realm, where the Three Goddesses, Din, Nayru, and Farore, lived. The Triforce was the symbol left from the point where they left, and the Temple of Time was built around it.
Zelda sent Link to find the Goron's Ruby and the Zora's Sapphire, which were immensely difficult quests. He had to go into Dodongo's Cavern with the help of a Goron, and defeat the Dodongos, which were dinosaur-like creatures. Link shuddered at the mere memory of them.
The Goron's thanked Link for this. He chuckled silently at the thought of them. They were curious creatures who, at times, looked like boulders. They could roll up into a ball and reek havoc on the surrounding area to uninformed bystanders.
Then came the Zora's. They were a spectacular sight, despite the shock of getting over their looks at first. Zora's were the fish-like creatures who ruled the Zora River. They had pale blue skin and webbed hands and feet, great for swimming. They were surprisingly graceful above the water, but needed to go into the water ever so often to keep their skin moist.
Link remembered his conversation with the King Zora, a rather large Zora. Link had asked the king if he could go into the Lord Jabu-Jabu, the Zora's fish-god. King Zora told him no, and Link when away, dejectedly. He then found a bottle bearing Princess Ruto's (King Zora's daughter) signature. He gave it to the King who gave Link permission to enter Lord Jabu-Jabu.
Inside the fish wasn't exactly a pleasant feeling. Every step he took was springy and bouncy, and he had to find two things: Princess Ruto and the Spiritual Stone of the Water, or the Zora's Sapphire. He found many interesting new creatures, his least favorite was Barinade, a huge electric jellyfish. He looked down at his belt and saw his boomerang, which literally defeated Barinade.
"Are we going to get going, Link?" Navi asked irritably again.
Link sighed once more, and rolled his eyes. "Yes," he muttered.
He started walking down the old dirt path that led everywhere in Kokiri Village. He climbed the hill that the path led up, and looked around. More and more Kokiri were coming out of their houses. In the distance, he saw a cut tree with a single leaf growing out of it. He ran towards that house.
"Saria!" he shouted, happily. "Saria!"
Even though he was running, it took him a good three minutes to reach Saria's house. She was outside, planting some flowers in her garden with loving care.
Saria was Link's best friend. She was the only Kokiri who really accepted him before he had Navi and his adventures began. She was wearing a green shirt and dress, along with standard Kokiri boots. Her bright blue eyes sparkled, and she smiled at Link. She shook some of her short green hair out of her eyes.
"Link!" she said happily, smiling at him with her white teeth. "Finally you come and see me this week!"
"Hello, Saria," Link responded, grinning. He was blushing slightly, and Navi had flown over to Saria's fairy, and they were discussing old times before the Great Deku Tree had died.
"Would you like to come in?" Saria asked after several moments of awkward silence.
"Sure!" Link said, and followed Saria up to the opening in her tree. Kokiri felt no threat to each other, and all were created by the same Tree, so they felt a sense of unity.
Saria's house had a different look than a tree. It had a rug on the otherwise dirt floor, and the rug had a nice feel to it. On the rug were pictures of Kokiri, their fairies, and, in the middle, the Great Deku Tree. Link felt a pang of sadness when he saw this, but he ignored it. He had seen greater sorrows than the death of the Great Deku Tree. "Like going away from her," he said quietly.
"Sorry? Who?" Saria asked suddenly, as they walked into the house.
"Oh, nobody," Link said, and sighed.
He examined more of Saria's house. Off to the left side of her rug was a small bed, made of dead tree boughs and a blanket of leaves, with the occasional flower in there. Link saw lilies, daisies, tulips, and a few others not native to their part of the Kokiri forest.
In the center of the room was Saria's table. The table was an old tree stump with smaller stumps for chairs. A woven cloth with colors swerving in and out on it served was on the table, and a single rose lay on it.
A little bit away from the table were two more stump-chairs, with a cloth over each of them. The cloth was the same type as the one on the table. They sat next to a side-table made from a tree, with a drawer that locked. Saria only let Link know what was in their. It was her Fairy Ocarina.
There were several windows in the tree room, and underneath one was a basin filled with water, made from a hollowed out stump. A wooden cupboard was next to it, with all of the vegetables and other foods Saria had picked over the past week in it.
It was true- Kokiri made good use of the woods.
"Would you like something to eat?" Saria asked Link, who was standing by the door.
"Sure, thanks," Link said, and watched Saria get some bread out of the cupboard, and reached into the pouch at his side.
Link pulled out several medallions, each with a different pattern on them, each a different color.
He examined the yellow one, and remembered the day he had done something no Kokiri could ever do. The day he learned he wasn't a Kokiri but a Hylian. Link had grown up.
Rauru, the Sage of Light, had given him his medallion. He made Link take an oath to defeat Ganondorf, and save Hyrule. He told him Link was the Hero of Time.
He then looked at the green medallion, and remembered who had given it to him. Saria was the Sage of the Forest, and he had awoken the Sage powers within her. He smiled, and knew she didn't know. It hadn't yet happened, after all. He wistfully remembered his Fairy Bow, and how he would never get it unless he wanted to go back into the Temple of the Forest.
He saw the red one and remembered his troubles in the Temple of Fire. Darunia, Chief of the Gorons, had gone into the Temple of Fire to defeat a giant dragon. Link ran in after him, and gained an immense hammer, which he called Megaton's Hammer. He killed the dragon, and awakened the Sage of Fire- Darunia.
Then he looked at the blue medallion, the Water Medallion. Princess Ruto of the Zora's gave that to him, for she was the Sage of Water. Link had to go through quite a temple to find her. The Longshot had helped him defeat Morpha, the beast that lived in the water.
Link's eyes lingered on the purple one. Impa, one of the last Sheika, had given it to Link. Impa was the Sage of Shadows, and he never wanted to relive the horror of the Temple of Shadows. He had gained a useful treasure, Hover Boots, magically-made boots that held him above the air for several minutes. It was a useful treasure, but, alas, gone now.
Then he saw the last medallion, the Desert Medallion. He had to go through an ordeal getting that one. The Gerudos guarded the Temple of the Desert, and Link had to become accepted in the women's band of thieves. He finally did, but had a hard time fighting Twinrova, the two twin witches.
That's when he finally saw her again. She was the one who had given him one of his most prized treasures. The Ocarina of Time, a purple ocarina with extraordinary powers. She told him it was a mistake. She shouldn't have given it to him. But now, he was the Hero of Time. He had to fight Ganondorf and save Hyrule.
The Princess Zelda had told him that. Her, with the long, flowing hair, the perfect, crystal blue eyes, and the most loving Hylian out there. That was the woman who told him that she shouldn't have given him the Ocarina of Time. Then she was captured, and Link fought Ganondorf. He learned he had part of the Triforce, the Triforce of Courage. He killed Ganondorf, then fought the hideous beast Ganon.
Zelda then sent him back to the past. He had stopped this from happening, and he needed to re-live seven lost years. He lost his Master Sword. He lost the Ocarina of Time. He lost Zelda.
Link pounded his fist on the table, and Saria turned around. "What's wrong?" she asked.
Link had a million things he wanted to tell her, but Zelda had forbade him to talk about the future to people in the past. He wanted to tell her he wanted to be an adult again, and not have to live in a child's body. He wanted to tell her he wanted to go ahead in time and live with Zelda. But he couldn't.
"Link?" Saria asked again.
"Nothing's wrong," Link said with a sigh, and watched Saria bring over the bread and milk.
The two ate in silence. Well, at least Link did. He was deep in thought about the future. He hoped that he would grow up. He was a Hylian after all, and he would grow up.
Then again, it has been a year and a half since I left Hyrule- well, future Hyrule, that is.
He sat and remembered his last conversation with Princess Zelda.
"Link, I thank you for saving Hyrule. You were truly the Hero of Time, not just a blunder on my part."
"Thank you, Princess."
"May I have the Ocarina of Time back?"
"Of course. You may have it. You may keep it!"
"Thank you, Link."
"What do you need it for, Princess Zelda?"
"I have read the scribes, and it is said the Hero of Time must go back."
"Go back?"
"Yes. You must return to the past- your present- of Hyrule."
"What? Why?"
"You lost seven years of your life, growing up into an adult. Now you must regain those lost years."
"Princess Zelda, I can't!"
"Link, Hero of Time, you have to go back. The Three Goddesses declared it. The present- your future- is safe for now. Ganon is dead."
"Princess, will I ever see you again?"
"Of course you will, Link, Hero of Time."
"When? When? I must know!"
"Link, even I do not know that."
"I'll miss you."
"Saria will be there. And my childhood self."
"Yes, but she isn't as beautiful as you."
"Thank you for the compliment, Link. But now, listen carefully. I'm sending you to the Temple of Time. Place the Master Sword back in its pedestal, and then collect the three Spiritual Stones. The Door of Time will close, and you will be sent to the Lost Woods."
"Zelda, promise me you'll call me back if there ever is a problem."
"I will, Link. I will."
The rest of the memory faded out like a dream. The Prelude of Light began to play, and Link found himself (and Navi) in the Temple of Time. He went into the room where the Master Sword's pedestal lay, and placed the Master Sword in it. He was back in time, and collected the Spiritual Stones. The door closed, and he found his way back to the Lost Woods.
"Awfully quiet, today, Link," Saria commented.
"Sorry. I was just thinking."
"About what?" she asked, nibbling on a piece of bread.
"The future."
Link felt guilty not telling the whole truth to Saria, but he did tell part of the truth.
"You seem to think of the future a lot, Link."
"I know," Link said, and sighed deeply. "I'm going back to my house now, if that's alright with you. Thank you for breakfast."
"It's fine, and you're welcome."
Link walked out of Saria's tree-house and wandered about the Kokiri Forest until he reached his. He climbed the ladder again, not paying attention to the Kokiri around him, his drawing, or any of that. He entered his house, and walked to the corner of it.
He reached an ordinary looking cabinet, imbedded in the wall of the tree. It had a lock for a key, which Link had kept on his person at all times.
"What are you doing, Link?" Navi asked, flying into the room.
"Looking at some memories," Link said, and reached into his green shirt. He felt around and found what he was looking for- a strand of silk thread. On it was a beautifully crafted key, made by Princess Zelda. She had given it to Link as a gift for when he left Hyrule's future, her present.
He inserted the key into the keyhole in the handle. He twisted it, and in a moment, it made a click. Link opened the cabinet and peered inside.
The dust of a year and a half was in there. Link sneezed, scattering the dust. Inside the cabinet were a dagger in its sheath, more like a sword to Link, a wooden Deku Shield, and a pouch. Link reached in and grabbed all three items, putting the sheath on his back and the shield on top of it.
He opened the pouch and looked inside. He knew what was in there, but he didn't want to believe it.
The Kokiri's Emerald, the Goron's Ruby, and the Zora's Sapphire sparkled in the sun shining through Link's window.
Each were lovingly crafted by their maker, with the actual stone set in a gold brace. The Spiritual Stone of the Forest had a curved piece of gold, the same that was on his shield. The Spiritual Stone of Fire had the gem separated into three triangles. And the Spiritual Stone of Water had three circles of a gem surrounded by the gold casing.
"It's been a while since I've seen these," Link quietly said to himself.
He reached in and touched one, and instantly, a voice filled the room.
Hero of Time, thou art needed once more...
Link recognized the voice. It was the voice of the Great Deku Tree. He smiled at the voice of his creator, when the room gave an almighty lurch. Navi flew into his hat, and the whole world seemed to spin. Link's vision became blurry, and he could see snatches of things, but not long enough to tell what they were.
The spinning continued for a few more moments, when it gave another lurch stopped the spinning.
Link fell to his feet, and saw he was still in his room. But it looked- different.
His things were still there, yes, but they had scorch marks and cobwebs all over them. There were several slash marks in the wall, and his cabinet no longer stood in the wall. His bed covers were in shreds, his table was chopped in half, and, worst of all, there were more holes in the wall other than the windows.
"Navi?" Link asked, but stopped. His voice sounded different. Familiar, but different.
"What?" came the fairy's muffled voice.
"What happened?" Link was still trying to place where he heard his voice before.
"I don't know. I just felt the spinning and it- Link!"
"What?"
"Your voice!" Navi's voice sounded excited, and, judging by the vibrating under Link's head, she was flying in excitement.
"What about it?"
"It's your adult voice!"
Link's head spun. "My-my what?"
"Link! You've grown up again!"