Back to the Forest

The spinning finally ceased, Link looked at the ground to steady himself. It seemed farther than it was before. He caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection of his sward. He was taken back. Staring back at him was a young man of 17. He looked down at himself to find he was taller, and more masculine.

He had strawberry blonde hair and intense blue eyes.

"Young one. Venture out into the field. See the hell that has overtaken this once beautiful land." The voice came out of nowhere, but it told Link about what he has to do.

" I'll do what I can, but are you sure that I am the person you are looking for?" he asked the unknown voice.

" Who are you… talking to? Oh my GOSH! Your old… well older! Wow!" Navi cried. Link explained what he has to do to banish the darkness that slowly creeps across the land. " Are you sure you can do all that?" she asked

" I've gotten this far haven't I?" he looked at her questionably and she nodded in response.

"What you need it a horse!" she cried indicating the young Epona horse that he had befriended when he was younger… and that was only a few hours ago. He walked out of the Temple of time with his head held high until he found what had become of the town.

The Re-dead overran the town. The castle was blackened by soot that flew every which way. He snuck past the Re-dead and ran out the castle gates.

It as late at night and he decided to sleep in the stables at Lon Lon Ranch. He entered the secluding fence only to see that the Ranch had also been overrun by Gannondorf's evil. He decided to check for any sign of his old friend, Malon.

Link walked into the stables and saw her sleeping in too corner. He wondered why she wasn't in her bed in the house. She stayed huddled up until she heard someone stepping close to her. She grabbed link's foot and pulled, causing him to fall next to her.

" Hey Mal," he said rubbing the back of his head.

" Who are you?!" she asked with stress in her voice. Link remembered that he hadn't been to see her in "seven years". He looked at her hoping she would recognize him. He wouldn't know what to say if she had asked him where he had been.

" Fairy boy? Link? Where have you been?" 'oh crap. What do I say now?' he asked himself.

"Traveling…" he stated looking down at the floor.

" Traveling." She stated monotonously. " You have been traveling while all of this happened? What were you thinking?" she yelled at him, but he asked her to keep her voice down.

" I wanted to get away, I had no idea that this would have happened!" he said. " I just want to go to sleep, truthfully."

" Sleep in your own house! It's still there!" she shouted, still angry that he wasn't there to protect her from Ingo.

" Please Mal, Just this once. Besides, I need a horse. So why not stay here and buy one in the morning?" he asked her as-a-matter-of-factly.

" Because, I don't own the ranch anymore. Ingo does, and he doesn't sell the horses. But I'm sure you could bet on something and get one." She said. She Looked up to find pleading eyes looking down at her. Malon Rolled her eyes and sighed

" Fine, you can stay here, but you have to sleep on the other side of the barn, or better yet, in the shed!" she said nervously.

Link got up and walked to the other side of the barn and lay down on a pile of hay. He never liked the smell of the barn; it always smelled like, well, horse crap. He looked around the barn. It was still the same, but he couldn't find the red horse he wanted to buy.

He soon drifted into sleep and his thoughts escaped him. That night he had dreams of what happened the day before. He had been through a lot, and now he was all of a sudden an adult. He didn't know if he could handle it. 'Wait,' He suddenly woke up. ' How could I grow up, if I am a Kakori?' he asked himself. He shook the idea out of his head and saw that malon was already awake and cleaning the barn.

Link finally struck a bargain with Ingo, and got the horse he had been looking for. Once he got it, however, Ingo closed off the gates, sealing him within the once lovely ranch. Epona just started to gallop toward one of the gates. Link thought she was insane, but seeing that she could jump higher than most horses, so he let her take control.

Before he knew it, they were out of the ranch, and perfectly fine. He looked toward the forest. Link prayed that the forest wasn't covered in shadow. He couldn't imagine it. Everyone in peril. Saria. Saria, he thought about her, she would still be a child, she might be in trouble.

He looked down at himself. Had seven years really passed in a blink of an eye? Link hadn't realized that since he had passed the years, he had disappeared from the world for seven years. All of his friends had to suffer while he was undergoing the transformation.

He trotted Epona toward the woods, soon discovering that she wouldn't set foot out of the boundaries of the field. Link slid off of he back and slowly walked into the forest…his home. He slowly crossed the bridge, praying it wouldn't snap from the years.

Link slowly came to a halt and gazed around the peaceful and hazy atmosphere. He was glad that the Lost Woods hadn't changed. It set high hopes that the forest might be the same.

He looked ahead and strained his eyes trying to see into the forest before entering. Link took a deep breath and entered the mists that lead to the forest. He looked around and his heart dropped. The forest, his home, had been overrun with terrible monsters.

They all had twisted and deformed faces. Some lashed out at him, only to get sliced in half. Though there was no point in killing the horrible beasts, for they just grew back.

Link soon wandered over to a house that seemed to have some normal life in it. He lightly tapped his knuckles on the door and waited for a response. He heard footsteps step up to the door and a peephole opened at the top of the door.

A girl's face could be seen.

"What do you want?" she asked harshly. Link soon recognized her as one of the triplets.

" I can help! Let me speak to Saria!" he half shouted. The girl withdrew a little startled by his voice.

"S-S-S- Saria is gone. She went into the lost woods to try and find a way to stop the monsters…" she stuttered at first, but regained confidence.

" You let HER into the LOST WOODS?!" he shouted, fear was starting to build.

" Y-Yes, b-but I t-tried t-to s-stop h-her!" she said shakily.

" FINE what ever, I am going into the forest, I will come back with Saria." He shouted and turned toward the forest. He stopped and decided to pray at the base of where the Deku tree once stood.

So? How do you like it? It's shaping up nicely, my plan is going perfectly rubs hands together and plasters an evil grin on Please review! I won't continue until I have 5 reviews! Unless you know

can't wait… yeah