In their green forest the Kokiri watched the plants slowly turn brown and shrivel up in the throes of some unnatural death while their fairies grew dim and weak. The children of the Great Deku Tree began to whisper fearfully.

Inside the stone walls of Death Mountain, Darunia, Leader of the Gorons and Brother to Link, felt his home begin to shake and shudder from something that wasn't entirely volcanic. The Gorons began to wail with dread.

As Lake Hylia began to cool to an unusual temperature, King Zora heard his people speak quietly of the small chunks of ice forming within the waters of their domain. They apprehensively awaited the inevitable.

One by one the children of Kakariko village began to awaken from their nightmarish slumbers, crying out to dismayed and startled parents. They watched hopefully out their windows for the sun to rise.

Granny sat within her home of brick and wood, listening to the frightened weeping of the children. She sipped halfheartedly on a glass of lemon tea, studying the embers that remained from a now dead fire. Amidst the chaos in Hyrule she tried desperately to act normal as she prepared her heart for the end.

Talon of Lon Lon Ranch called hopelessly to his horses as they beat wildly against their stalls, whites showing about their eyes while some mad panic overtook them. The habitually placid cows mooed in terror, battering the shed around them with small, sharp horns. Even the chickens that Talon so prized, squawked and flew into walls with a ferocity they had never before displayed. The rancher puzzled away in silence.

All of Hyrule was in an uproar, death and destruction seeming inescapable, attacking all at once to hinder any defenses the people of the land may have tried to put up. And in the calm eye of this raging tempest was the Temple of Time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Malon had waited patiently outside the Temple, unaware that the rest of Hyrule was falling apart around her. At the moment all she knew was that Link had been in the Temple for quite sometime, and that he had still not returned.

"What if he doesn't come out? Should I go in against the Goddesses wishes?" she said quietly to the empty courtyard, "Would they let me?"

It was during her silent musings that a strange feeling began to creep along her spine, a subtle warning that had saved her from angry horses and deadly animals more than once.

But the warning had been too late; his shadow had already fallen across the cold stone floor.

"So it was the Temple of Time."

His voice alone made her blood turn to ice and her skin crawl in revulsion. She had heard it clearly only twice before and had fervently hoped never to hear it again. She didn't want to turn around, didn't want to tempt Nayru's daughter, but she turned anyway, slowly, clutching the fairy ocarina to her chest like it was her life line.

He stood in the darker shadows of the night, red hair in odd contrast to his dark olive skin. He was looking past her, at the doors to the Temple, a peculiar mix of awe and triumph lighting up his face.

"The legends were true." Ganondorf's voice was unusually soft, "The Spiritual Stones of the Three will open the door to the Triforce." A grin turned his mouth upward, a smug smirk of victory, "It is mine."

"No."

Ganondorf frowned at the word and then at the little girl who had said it. "No?" he asked, piercing gaze locked on her petite little face.

"No." Malon repeated, her body trembling but her voice strong, "I won't let you."

The King of Thieves raised an eyebrow at her impudence, both amused and agitated by her attitude. She was too small to truly believe she could defeat him, he wondered who she thought she was deceiving. "I don't think you have much choice." He growled finally, pleased to see her shaking increase slightly.

"I think I do." She replied, knuckles white from holding the fairy ocarina so tightly.

"Enough of this nonsense." He growled, moving toward the Temple, hand extended to push Malon aside when she came within he reach. "Move."

The young girl's eyes grew dark with anger as a gale rose up before her; a quick word from her lips sent the strong winds forward, slamming into the oncoming thief with a bone-crushing force. He was sent head over heels only through the air, eyes wide with astonishment, only to end up sprawled in a heap on the rocky ground.

Malon quickly turned toward the Temple, knowing very well that Ganondorf was more stunned than hurt. He had been taken off guard by her retaliation, but she realized that she would not be so lucky a second time.

"Ganondorf is here," she cried into the Temple, trusting her voice to carry far enough to reach Link. "You have to hurry!"

White light exploded from inside the Temple and Malon realized that she was too late, Link had already opened the Sacred Realm.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Link leaned forward, grasping the hilt of the Master Sword in both hands, surprised at how warm it felt in the coldness of the chamber. He sent a silent prayer up to the Goddesses and pulled it out.

"Ganondorf is here!" Malon's voice echoed from the Temple doors, "You have to hurry!"

Link tried to let go of the sword but his hands were frozen around the hilt, refusing to let go. A circle of blue magic surrounded him and then shot upwards, toward the ceiling, hitting it with a burst of pure white light. Link blinked furiously as his eyes watered from the sudden whiteness of everything, trying to adjust in order to see more clearly around him.

Waterfalls fell from a black void at the top of the Realm, pouring down into lakes and ponds all around him. He stood on lush green grass, surrounded by plants of all colors and sizes. Several of them he recognized, heather, monkshood, roses, while others he had never seen before. Ancient trees of all kinds stretched up toward the darkness, growing huge even though there was no sunlight. One tree in particular stood out among the rest, its bark the color of burnished gold, shimmering so brightly it almost blinded him when he looked at it. The tree made the others around it seem insignificant, its own boughs extending into the infinite night sky.

Link sighed, looking around for unicorns or dragons or anything out of the ordinary, expecting something more than a golden tree. The Sacred Realm was more normal than Hyrule, the young boy realized sadly, there just wasn't much to it.

Sensing his disappointment, the Master Sword let out a few sharp whistles, which Navi immediately translated. "This is only one small part to the Sacred Realm," she explained, looking cautiously around as she spoke, "This is where Farore's son dwells."

"So what do we do?" Link asked quietly, taking a step forward, "There isn't much-" He trailed off, and Navi, raising a small eyebrow, turned to see what he was so interested in.

At the base of the Golden Tree was a black spot that the fairy had seen when they had first entered but had not paid much attention to.

"Yeah, black dot, so what?"

"It's moving."

"What?!" Navi looked at it more closely and saw that it was indeed shifting. "What is it?"

"A monster?" Link quested, taking a few steps closer, dragging a righteously angry Master Sword behind him, "I can't fight with this sword."

He blinked as the black dot yawned suddenly, showing a small pink tongue and a few sharp teeth. A pair of almond-shaped green eyes opened and stared at him for a moment before the thing rose and walked toward him.

"You're late." The small black cat informed him, stretching its legs out, "You took so long I decided to take a nap."

Link turned to his fairy who appeared just as flabbergasted as he, "I thought cats were just supposed to say meow." He whispered to Navi, but the cat heard him anyway.

It sniffed, small black tail flicking back and forth agitatedly, "I could meow but then you wouldn't understand me, would you?" it growled, staring at him with its unnerving eyes.

Link shook his head no, so the cat began to clean its paws, "Well then, let's just stick with this language." It yawned. "Now I imagine you have questions."

"Who are you?" Link questioned before the cat had stopped speaking, "What are you doing here?"

The cat gave him a look annoyance, "I am Chronos, servant to Lord Time, and I am guarding his part of the Realm until he returns."

The Master Sword began to whistle but a sharp look from the cat silenced it immediately. Navi looked at the cat suspiciously but Link had already begun a new round of questions, "Where is the Triforce? How do we seal it from Ganondorf?"

"I'm afraid your friend, Ganondorf, has already arrived." The cat replied, calmly cleaning its face, "He is currently searching for you in a different part of the Realm."

"Wonderful." Link sighed, "Has he already found the Triforce?"

"No." the cat, had spied a bug in the grass and was watching it closely, "But he knows where it is."

"Well where is it?!" Link yelled, patience running dangerously low.

The cat jumped slightly, hissing in annoyance when the bug crawled into a hole and disappeared from sight. "Are you always this enduring?" the cat growled, "Or are you just feeling particularly hotheaded."

"Just tell me where the Triforce is." Link said exasperatedly.

"What in this room stands out the most?" The cat inquired, looking smug.

"A talking cat?" Navi questioned, looking a bit self-satisfied herself, "Or is that normal around here?"

The cat opened it mouth to display rows of needle sharp teeth, "I haven't munched on a fairy in a millennium or so," Chronos took a step toward Navi, "I've forgotten what they taste like."

Navi let out a soft yelp and disappeared into Link's hat. "Don't let him eat me!" she shrieked into his ear.

Link ignored her, turning toward the Golden Tree, "I guess you mean the Triforce is in there?" he questioned, looking at the pouting cat.

"Bravo." Chronos cried out mockingly, "You aren't quite as dumb as you look."

Link resisted the murderous feelings that arose, and instead said, "What do I do to seal it from Ganondorf?"

There was a sudden loud noise and the ground beneath their feet began to shake dangerously. The cat looked unpleasantly surprised, "That bastard isn't supposed to come here yet." He growled, turning toward Link, "I don't suppose you could fight him."

"I could." The little boy disagreed, trying to lift the Master Sword off the ground, "If this wasn't so heavy."

The cat sighed, looking dejectedly at the dark sky, "Well you were right Kali, are you happy now?" it snarled, "It'll have to go as you planned, like always."

"Kali?" Link asked, once again getting Chronos' attention, "Who is that?"

"Forget it." The cat replied, glaring up at the sky for a moment before turning back to Link. "It won't matter in a minute."

"Wha-" Link watched in amazement as the symbol of a Triforce appeared on the cat's head, glowing brightly.

"We were too late." Chronos said quietly, green eyes turning golden, "Or too early, really."

The young Kokiri felt dizzy, and the ground rushed up to meet him as he fell, unconscious to the ground. His hat tumbled off his head, revealing that Navi too had fallen under the spell the cat had cast.

"They will sleep for seven years." The cat said quietly, shaking his small head, "It doesn't seem right Kali."

"Have some faith in me, Brother." A soft female voice rang out, echoing across the Realm, "I think I know what I am doing."

"I should hope so." The cat retorted, then grew quiet again, glancing at the sleeping face of Link, "What of the girl?"

"I'm afraid Ganondorf hurt her more than I had anticipated." The voice of Kali replied sadly, "But she will heal."

"Will they remember each other after seven years?" Chronos asked, tail swishing about the green grass.

"I can only help them find each other, Brother." She said quietly, voice fading away, "I cannot make them remember."

Another earth shattering sound rocked the ground as Ganondorf came another step closer to the power he sought, to the Triforce he had waited so long to grasp.

The cat walked up to Link slowly, casting another spell and watching as the boy and the fairy disappeared to a different part of the Realm, protected by magic so ancient even The King of Evil would be unable to find them.

"I hope it hurts." The cat growled before he too transported to a safe area, "I hope you scream in agony."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hyrule fell into darkness, and the people into despair, thinking their royalty had abandoned them and their Goddesses had shunned them. Unaware that both watched their fate sadly from some distance away, waiting, hoping, and praying.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Author's Notes: Yeah, well, that stunk. I think I just want to get this whole childhood thing over with so I can move on with the story. Honestly, 13 chapters and I have gone about six hours into the game. *sighs* Perhaps I should just dump this little project, after all, people must have a hell of a time trying to find a story line in this heap of weirdness.

I've already started on chapter 14 and I'm also beginning a fanfic on Final Fantasy 7. It will probably end up a Tifa/Vincent, (Cloud pissed me off with that whole Aeris thing.) but I'm not quite sure yet. My muses tell me it's something I must do, but my brain simply won't comply.

Thanks to all those who took the time to review last time, those little comments are, very seriously, the only things that keep me going at this time.

Until next time.

-- Alanna