"Come on, Link! We're almost there!" yelled Princess Zelda. Her long blonde hair fell slightly ruffled down about one third of her back. Her white gown, decorated with a blue and red Hylian coat of arms, showed much dust. She was walking backwards, holding onto the railing of the bridge in the castle's main room. Link came running onto the bridge, holding both his sword and shield ready for battle. When he caught up to Zelda, she turned around and ran with him towards the entrance. The two of them escaped the castle just before an entire balcony came crashing down right in front of the castle's front door. Stones and dust were ejected from the collision. By the time the first of these stones landed on the ground, Link and Zelda were already approaching the dark haired man at the edge of the stone platform.

"It's you again!" Link exclaimed as he recognized the man.

Michael, about to respond with a sarcastic and/or vulgar comment, reconsidered upon looking at the princess's face. "It's me," he said calmly, offering an elusive smile.

"Who are you?" Zelda inquired.

Link's eyes narrowed. "I thought—"

"I was," Michael hissed. Facing Zelda, he asked, "Well, princess, do I look familiar? I know it's been a while, but I think I at least deserve some recognition. I have gone through a lot to uphold my promise to you."

Zelda's jaw slowly dropped. Confusion consumed her expression. "You can't be Michael," she said. "You can't be my old tutor, the man who was banished from the castle seven years ago for insulting the royal family."

Michael continued to study her face, searching desperately for signs of aptitude, but in fear his search was in vain, he opted to say nothing. The black haired man simply nodded.

"Why did you come back?" Zelda muttered softly.

"Huh?" Link asked.

Michael, ignoring the hero, lowered his head. A strong breeze tossed his hair. "I told you seven years ago that I thought you were wrong in summoning Link to collect the three spiritual stones. I disagreed with your judgment then, and I disagree with it now; however, I did make you a promise to look out for Link from a distance and see to it that he does not get into trouble." Michael did not look up after saying this.

"Wait! What did you do to insult the royal family?" Link protested, anxiously trying to find a way into the conversation.

"He made a very disrespectful comment to Ganondorf using really obscene language when he was a respected member of my father's court."

"I called him a pathetic cunt with the aspirations of a twisted child, if you're really interested in knowing," Michael responded, grinning. Zelda gasped. Michael's grin expanded.

Link noticed a faint smile appeared on his face for an instant. The Hylian hero tried his best to resist his urges to chuckle at this stranger's obscenity. Picturing that man saying such a horrendous remark to Ganondorf, a very intimidating individual, made this resistance difficult. Link barely managed, giving only a small and short lived smirk.

"So what now?" Michael asked, finally lifting his gaze off the ground. "The castle is collapsing, and Ganondorf didn't come out. Did you defeat him?"

Link nodded.

Princess Zelda smiled. "It's finally over, Link. With the master sword, you defeated the evil sorcerer Ganondorf and brought peace back to Hyrule!"

Link smiled.

"I am sorry you had to go through all of this, Link," she continued. "If only I would have known Ganondorf would have followed you into the Sacred Realm on that day seven years ago. I am so sorry you had to suffer so much because of this."

Michael rolled his eyes after making sure the princess was not looking at him.

"Now, Link, you must go return the master sword to the Temple of Time and return to your time. Return to where you belong. Hand me the Ocarina."

Link began to reach for the ocarina, but Michael walked right between them. He put his hand in front of Link to stop him. "Wait! I don't understand this, Zelda. Maybe you can clarify this a little."

"Oh?" Zelda squeaked.

"Seven years ago, against all advice you got, which was not just from me, you sent Link on a dangerous mission to gather the three spiritual stones for the purpose of protecting them. Is that right?"

"Yes," Zelda chimed, trying to look past Michael at Link, who was silent.

"With the stones were strewn across Hyrule, though, wouldn't they be very hard for a sociopath like Ganondorf to obtain?"

"I guess so." Zelda put her hand on the side of her chin.

"He tried to get them. He tried to get both the Zoras and the Gorons to give up their stones by threatening their lifestyles. I went to both their cities and saw for myself! He failed! He didn't even come close. Both the leaders of the Gorons and Zoras laughed in his face. The truth is that he was unlikely to get either one of them, let alone both, and even if he did get one of them, what good is one spiritual stone? Someone from your father's court could have easily helped the Gorons and Zoras after Ganondorf's attempts to sabotage their villages, or townships, or whatever the hell they've got."

"You can't address royalty like that," Link protested.

Without even turning to face him, Michael lifted up his hand in Link's face and snapped, "You're out of your element, Link. Shut the fuck up."

Zelda gaped, but when she saw no change in Michael's stern and confident expression, her mouth sunk to a frown. "What are you saying?"

Michael stared right into her eyes. "I'm saying, Zelda, that having poor Link gather the three stones was actually, from a logical standpoint, increasing the odds of Ganondorf getting into the Sacred Realm. You had Link gather the stones for Ganondorf! Simply following Link into the Temple of Time seven years ago is not what I would call an intricate plan. Any idiot could pull that that off. "

Zelda leaned to her left side and looked at Link before lowering her head. "I know Link should never have had to go through all of this. I feel really bad."

"You're missing my point, Princess, and probably on purpose," Michael snapped. "Your bad judgment is what allowed Ganondorf to waltz right into the temple and literally grab the triforce. Had you thought about the consequences of your little plan before freaking out over your dream and sending Link on his quest, things would have been much different."

That was it. Zelda stamped her foot. "Don't talk to me like that!" I am the princess of Hyrule! Did you really come back here just to scold me like a child?"

Michael shook his head. "No, Princess, I came back here to check up on you and see that Link was safe. I'm just taking advantage of this fine opportunity—"

"Wait. Didn't Ganondorf storm the castle before I went into the Temple of Time with the three spiritual stones?" Link inquired.

"Yes! That's right! My father surrendered before Link returned with the spiritual stones!" Zelda agreed with much enthusiasm.

Michael stepped aside, forming a triangle with them. "That's a moot point. He knew what you were doing, Link. He knew it was a short matter of time before you had all three stones. He knew that he would soon have the triforce, which was obviously necessary to his maintaining power over Hyrule. Zelda, There is no way he would have

betrayed your father if he wasn't confident that the stones were on their way." Michael sighed. He could see in Zelda's face that she was furious with her, but he could only read sadness in her eyes, which were on the verge of shedding tears. Time to calm things down. "Zelda, when I tutored you, I could tell right away that you were a smart girl, but intelligence doesn't protect us from foolishness. Believe me, I know this from personal experience. You made a very costly mistake, and you can't take it back by sending Link back to his childhood. It won't change anything. He will still be alone."

Zelda gazed vacantly into Link's blue eyes. The anger from her voice was gone. Now, only sorrow and confusion remained. "Uh, what do you think, Link?"

Link shrugged. "I think it makes sense for me to get those seven years back."

"Can you tell me why you think you should go back in time seven years?" Michael probed.

"It just seems right."

Zelda gave a faint smile. "Well then, if that's what you want, then…"

"Wait!" Michael yelled. "That's a pretty poor reason."

Zelda glared at the dark haired menace. Michael read her eyes. Why are you doing this? What right do you have to interfere like this?

"I think, Link, that you really don't know what you want, because you have never taken the time to think about it yourself." Link looked confused. Michael continued. "Now that you have left the forest, you have no place to go. No place to live."

"I guess not," Link offered.

"Even if you could return to the forest, it would do you no good. You already understand that you don't belong there. You are different, and the Kokiri are incapable of understanding you."

Link nodded. Michael now had his full attention.

"This adventure of yours has left you as a wanderer; a lost soul; a drifter. I don't know if you plan to leave Hyrule, or if it would even be in your best interest, but either way, it would be easier for you to get by as an adult, rather than a lone child."

Again, Link nodded. Zelda gaped. Seeing that reaction, Michael smiled.

"Now you have my opinion. Consider it before you decide to go back seven years, as if this never happened. It did happen, and that fact can never change." Michael turned to face Zelda. Smiling, he bowed. "I apologize for being harsh and rude to you, but for whatever its worth, I only interfered because I care. I did really enjoy working with you on your studies seven years ago, and I vowed to watch out for you and Link. That is what I am doing. Whether you believe it or not, you are still young, naïve, and idealistic, and that is not meant as an insult. I am twice as old as you, and I know how grave the consequences can be for making bad choices at your age. I would give my hands...my legs...my everything to go back and right my wrongs."

Zelda gave no response. She looked down and shook her head. After a full minute of silence between the triangle, Link took initiative. "Zelda, I made my choice."

(Joanne/Link)

Link sighed. "She was murdered. Nabooru was found by some of her guards stabbed to death in the Haunted Wasteland behind the fortress."

"Who killed her?"

"Many of the Gerudo claimed to see Michael lingering around the fortress on the day before Nabooru's body turned up. As a friend of Nabooru, I was summoned to go to the fortress and help them investigate the murder. Many of the Gerudo were quick to blame Michael because they never liked him."

"What did they have against Michael aside from the fact that he was a man? Did they not like his involvement with Nabooru?"

"They didn't trust him when Nabooru first confessed to liking him. Three days before she turned up dead, she confronted him with her feelings and he rejected her. She was heartbroken and—"

"Whoa! Slow down!" Joanne raised her hand and stuck it towards the hero's face. "Nabooru actually made a move on Michael?"

"Yes, they were friends since the end of my quest. He would never open up to me about their friendship, but Nabooru came to me after he rejected her."

"Why did he reject her? Did she tell you?"

Link blinked. "Please, let me explain. This will be easier if you save your questions." Joanne nodded, keeping a stern eye on the Hylian. "Michael and Nabooru became very good friends very quickly after my quest. They began spending lots of time together. At first, it was just afternoons, but it didn't take very long before they were spending entire nights together. Michael warned her that although he really liked her, she should not get too involved with him, because he would only hurt her in the end. She refused to believe him, insisting that a true pure love should be able to prevail, and couldn't believe that he rejected her when she asked him about the possibility of marriage. She summoned me to meet her in the Spirit Temple, and she told me about how much the rejection hurt. She was crying the whole time. I had never seen a Gerudo cry before, much less over a man."

"No kidding," Joanne muttered. "I thought they were all lesbians." Link's face displayed no smile. "Sorry."

"All of the Gerudo noticed their leader's pain and blamed Michael, who they already thought of as a bad influence. When Nabooru turned up dead, they blamed Michael immediately and asked me to confirm it."

"But you didn't possibly believe them, did you? I mean, you knew Michael, right? You knew he wasn't a murderer—"

"I didn't know," Link interrupted. I knew Michael was not a violent person. I saw that he was always very kind and generous around me, but I didn't know him. He kept to himself so much that—"

"That's bullshit!" Joanne shouted.

"Do you want me explain what happened or not?" Link asked in a frustrated tone. "Now I know that it was a mistake. I thought you wanted to hear it from me. It's not easy for me to tell this story."

Joanne took a short while to collect herself. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes, and then she proceeded to give the most delicate of smiles. "I know. But it's not easy to listen to either. Please continue," she requested in a warm voice.