Okay… Apparently, this isn't the final entry. I have a few more up my sleeve that I had completely forgot about until I found them just today. Sorry for the false alarm. But there are still a few entries coming. Enjoy!

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Character- Link

Setting- Navi has just left Link in the Temple of Time alone. Now he must figure out what his next move will be.

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Courage Part 4

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Sunlight blares through my eyelids.

I squint to see properly.

The first thing I feel is relief.

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There are leaves on the trees,

The stone pathways are in one piece,

The fountain to my left is working and spouting clear, clean water.

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I look behind me…

As if to double check.

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The white stone and marble of the Temple of Time glints in the sun.

Its glass windows twinkle.

Death Mountain lies behind it, a harmless ring of smoke around its crown.

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I'm back.

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I start down the steps.

I don't know where I'm heading.

But I need to go somewhere.

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I would ask Navi…

But…

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A sharp twang of sorrow strikes me.

I stop thinking about her.

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I enter the market.

It's just as it was seven years ago.

… I mean.

Now.

It's the same as always in this time.

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I look around.

People line the stalls and crowd the cobbled streets.

The sun is reflected in the central fountain.

Dogs are barking.

I smile.

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I see the open draw bridge in one direction…

And in the other,

Up on top of a hill,

Is Hyrule Castle.

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Without thinking,

I turn in its direction.

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The cobbles soon turn to a small dirt road.

I follow it up the hillside.

The castle slowly becomes larger.

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I turn left and head straight into a cliff wall.

I have been here before.

I know my way around.

So I know exactly where the vines are.

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I climb my way up the cliff.

I cross the ledge.

I begin my way across the field in front of the castle.

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Again.

I've done this before.

Enough times.

I know where to go not to be seen.

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I climb a rocky wall and enter the gates of the castle.

I skirt around the fence, careful not to fall into the moat.

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I look up at the castle.

It's pristine and white.

I admire it for a moment.

The last time I saw it… it was not a palace at all.

It was a black and horrible tower…

Ganondorf's tower.

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I sigh as I climb up the milk boxes.

I jump across into the drain hole.

I crawl through.

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Things haven't changed here at all.

Only me.

Everything's the same.

I'm going to have to get used to being ten again.

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I don't even think about what I'm doing as I make my way through the maze.

I know where the guards walk and where I have to be to hide from them.

Before I know it, I'm outside the tunnel leading into Zelda's courtyard.

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The whole way here seemed like a dream.

I just floated along.

I didn't even think.

But now the dream has stopped.

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Why did I even come here?

What if she doesn't remember me?

Why didn't I just go back to the forest?

Why isn't Navi here?

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Panic rises inside my chest.

I swallow it down.

I take a breath.

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Something made me come here.

It really wasn't even my decision.

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I force myself to walk through into the courtyard.

My legs feel like lead.

I'm sure not floating here anymore.

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I enter the sunny open area of the courtyard.

Zelda is at her window.

Her back is to me.

Just like I remember.

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A thought hits me.

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What if I'm in a cycle?

A horrible cycle where I have to repeat everything all over again starting right now?

Oh Goddesses.

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I try to shake that thought out of my head.

But it sticks.

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Nevertheless, I clear my throat to get Zelda's attention.

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She turns around.

Her eyes fall upon me.

Her face folds into an expression of puzzlement.

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Oh shit.

She doesn't remember me.

Now I'm going to redo all that I've have done already.

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Then…

Zelda's face relaxes into a smile.

… But her eyes still hold that puzzled look.

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"Link?" She says tentatively, "What are you doing here?"

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My heart leaps.

"You know my name?" I ask, amazed.

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Her brow furrows.

"I spoke to you only two days ago, Link."

Her smile becomes nervous.

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"Sorry." I say, in shock, "I was almost sure that you would have forgotten me."

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She keeps smiling her nervous smile.

"I don't think that I could forget the job that I gave you." She says.

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Job?

What job?

I just got here.

I was just transported to this world.

How could she have possibly given me a job already?

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"You can't have gotten all the Spiritual Stones yet, have you? You only set out two days ago!" She says, perplexed.

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The Spiritual Stones?

Oh my Goddesses!

I am in a loop.

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Do I have the stones yet or not?

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I pat at my pockets.

I find nothing.

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"No." I reply.

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"Then what are you doing here?" She asks politely.

Her face is completely relaxed now.

She smiles brightly.

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"I… I don't know." I say truthfully, "I guess I came just to talk to you."

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Zelda's smile widens.

"I don't think that there's much time to talk at the moment, Mr. Hero." She says, amused.

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I enter into a shocked daze.

"Oh. Then I guess I'll just go now." I say in monotone.

I turn to leave.

"I have to… you know… get the Stones and that."

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I have to relive it all again.

I feel disembodied.

My mind reels as my body walks away from Zelda.

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"Link?" Asks Zelda.

My body turns around.

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"Yes?" I reply.

My voice sounds far away.

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"Are you all right?" She asks.

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No.

No I'm not all right.

I never will be!

I'm trapped.

I'm Destiny's fool.

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"I'm fine." I say.

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She stares at me.

Her eyes pierce into me.

"You're… different. Aren't you?"

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At once, my mind snaps back into myself.

I don't say anything.

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"I know this sounds insane. But I have a gift with these things, Link."

She sighs.

Her eyes dodge around, as if she's looking for something.

"I can… You just… I…"
She sighs again.

"You-"

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"-Feel different?" I provide.

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She looks at me, startled.

"Yes. You feel different to me. Like you're…"

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"Older?" I say, knowing that I'm right.

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Her started face becomes more intense.

"Yes. I was going to say mature. But older is closer, I think. No matter how crazy it sounds."

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"Would it be crazy of me to say that I am older?" I ask.

Her brow furrows.

"Or even… for me to say that I've already done this before."

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Her nervous smile is back.

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"I've already found the stones and gotten the Ocarina. I've already been sealed away for seven years. I've already been there. I've already been seventeen. I've already seen it all."

I can hear my voice breaking.

It sounds insane… even to my own ears.

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Zelda continues to stare at me uncomfortably.

Then:

"Oh my Goddesses," she gasps, "My dreams. How could you have found out about them? You're the hero in the future, aren't you? You came back here."

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Now I stare at her.

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"You're right." She says. "It does sound crazy. But I know you're not the same boy I spoke to two days ago, no matter how much you resemble him. You're so different. And… my dreams…"
She smiles more comfortably.

"I have no choice but to believe what you say, for I see no other way of explaining it."

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Her smile fades.

Her eyes flash with sudden sorrow.

She pulls in a shuddering sigh.

She looks at me, more puzzled than ever.

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"It was horrible. Wasn't it?" She says.

Her eyes shine.

"I can tell by the look on your face. It was horrible. You've changed so much."

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I remain silent.

Zelda keeps her eyes fixed steadily on me.

"You need not worry about having to relive it all again, Link." She tells me.

I'm shocked at first at how she knows what I'm thinking.

Then she taps at her temple and I know she's been in my head.

"The other boy… The other Link I sent out two days ago is still out there I believe. You are not him. You do not have to relive anything. This is a restarted life."

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She sighs heavily.

"Although I'm not quite sure how it works. Or how I know this."

She smiles again.

"But I do know that it's true. I trust my dreams. They have never mislead me. And that you'll just have to trust me as I trusted you."

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I can't say that I really get what's happening.

All I know is that Zelda doesn't believe that I have to relive all that horror again.

And that's enough to set me up.

I feel a smile bloom on my lips.

"Thank you, your Majesty." I say.

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Zelda laughs.

"You definitely have changed. The other you has never heard the word 'Majesty' in his life."

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A silence fills the air.

I simply look at Zelda.

She looks at me.

The stream in the courtyard bubbles softly.

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"Goodbye." I say. "I have a feeling that I'll see you again."

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Zelda smiles.

"Me too."

She waves.

"Goodbye."

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I walk out from the palace in a happy daze.

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1

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I reach Hyrule Field.

I let the ecstatic emotions filling me out.

I burst out laughing.

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I'm free.

I'm free.

I'm not in a loop.

I no longer have to fight.

Oh Goddesses thank you!

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I run over to the bridge on the river by Kakariko.

I jump in.

The water is freezing.

But I don't give a damn.

I swim around.

Still laughing.

Completely uncaring that if anyone were to pass by, I would look insane.

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Then, I hear the most eerie sound I have ever heard.

… It's my own voice.

But I'm not the one speaking.

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I swim to the bank of the river and look over to the Kakariko Village stairway.

That's where the voice came from.

I can hear a laugh…

My laugh.

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It sends an shiver down me.

The water seems almost hot now.

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Then, rounding the corner, sprinting down the steps comes…

Me.

It's me!

My eyes widen and my heart nearly stops.

I refrain from crying out.

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I'm coming right towards myself.

I can hear voices now.

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"That was harder than I expected, Navi." Says the Me.

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"Well, we have the Stone now anyway. At least we can move on. The faster we can get the Stones back to Zelda the more time we'll have." Says the Me's fairy.

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"Oh my Goddesses," I whisper to my own Navi, "Look, it's us!"

I look over my shoulder.

A harsh prang of sorrow hits me as I realize that she's not with me anymore.

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I'm going to have to try to break the habit of talking to her.

Or… rather… myself now.

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I swim under the bridge to hide from myself.

My heart is beating madly now.

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"Come on then," Comes Navi's voice from above me, "Let's go on and get the last one."

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I hear my own footsteps over my head as the Me crosses the bridge.

Then, a peculiar feeling erupts inside of me.

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I remember this day exactly when it happened to me.

When I was the one getting the Stones.

I remember crossing this bridge and heading in the direction of Zora's Fountain.

I did this… a long time ago it seems.

Before I even knew that I was the Hero of Time.

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So… If I was the one crossing the bridge then...

Was there another me under the bridge like I am now?

The 'Future' me?

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My mind reels.

It's too confusing.

I need to talk to someone.

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Not Zelda.

I just spoke to her.

I can't really go back to see her again.

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Who then?

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Saria.

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It's been too long since I've seen her.

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I wait until I see the Me enter the archway into the Zora Fountain.

I can't remember myself coming back out of there until later.

So I think it's safe to cross.

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I push myself out of the river.

I shake myself off as best I can.

Then I begin to sprint in the direction of the Kokiri Forest.

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It's late in the afternoon when I arrive.

The sun sets gold on the horizon.

All the trees glow orange and red.

It's beautiful.

But most of all…

Peaceful.

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I think that's one thing I can get used to very easily.

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I walk across the wooden bridge into the village.

No one is out at this time.

They're all inside, having dinner.

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Well… all except Saria.

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I guess there are advantages into already living something.

The fact that I know that Saria stays at the Forest Temple for days on end at this time is one of them.

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I climb he vines leading up to the Lost Woods.

I can navigate through them without even thinking now.

The glow of the sunset makes things even more stunning in here.

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Soon I reach the maze.

That too, I walk through without thinking.

I climb the stairs.

I enter the clearing of the Temple.

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The sunlight is hitting the Temple's face exactly.

It appears orange in the light.

The golden trees sway gently around it.

The grass shines brightly.

All the colours of the world are heightened at this time of day.

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I take a deep breath… to breathe them in.

The smell is wonderful.

Of moist dirt, leaves and life.

I smile.

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Saria stands, with her back to me, facing the Temple.

Her arms are wrapped around herself.

As if she were cold.

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"Saria?" I prod gently.

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She whips around.

Her arms drop.

She smiles.

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"I thought you wouldn't be back after I taught you my song."

She smiles wider.

"I guess I was being silly."

Then:

"Link? Where's your fairy?"

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This question almost brings tears to me.

I say nothing.

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Then her brow furrows deeply.

She knows something is not right.

"Oh my Goddesses, what's happened to you?" She asks.

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I stop in my tracks.

She was quicker to figure it out then Zelda was.

But then again… I've known her my whole life.

Well… the first part of it anyway.

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"I can't hide anything from you, can I?"

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She doesn't seem to be amused at all by my laid-back comment.

"Link, come and sit down now," she says, "something's wrong."

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I smile gently.

I walk over to the stump in the clearing.

I sit down on it.

Saria hunkers down by my side.

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She looks at me.

Her eyes pierce into mine.

In this way… I believe her to be more powerful than Zelda.

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Saria releases a shuddering breath.

Her expression grows worrisome.

"Oh, Goddesses." She gasps hoarsely.

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I remain silent.

I wait to see if she knows what I am now.

She swallows.

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"You're not the Link who left here only days ago, isn't that right?" She asks.

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I smile.

"Saria," I say, "you are one of the smartest people I know."

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Her expression doesn't change.

"Then how?" She asks.

Her eyes dart around madly.

I can see the beginnings of tears dance in them.

"I know that you're not the boy I saw two days ago… But you are Link. How can that be?"

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I snort laughter.

It's more bitter than humourous.

"That's funny," I say, almost dryly, "I came to you to find the answer to that."

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Saria's expression changes to puzzlement.

"What happened to you, Link?" She whispers, shocked.

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At once,

The harsh images of my past fill my head.

The ReDeads.

The fighting.

The blood.

Like-Likes.

Navi leaving me.

Ganondorf.

The forest in ruins.

The frozen waterfalls of Zora's fountain.

The dead world.

… My own death.

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"I went to the future." I say shortly.

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Saria raises her eyebrows.

She wants me to elaborate.

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"I was sealed away for seven years and I woke up in the future of this place."

I motion to the world around me.

"I had to fight for it. I saw Hyrule in its darkest hour and I had to fight for it. I fought hard."

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Saria looks into my eyes again.

She does her little trick.

She recoils slightly and gasps after only a moment of looking at me.

"Was it really that terrible?" She asks, "Was it really as bad as I am seeing in your eyes now?"

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"That and worse." I tell her.

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"Then Zelda sent you back here when you were done?" she asks, guessing from what my mind just showed her.

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I nod and smile again.

Saria is already well on her way to becoming a Sage.

She can read minds and hardly realize what she's doing.

She frowns slightly.

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"I can't say that I fully agree with her choice." She says slowly.

She looks at me sorrowfully.

"Because from what I see now… you no longer fit into this world. Not without becoming someone you no longer are."

She smiles awkwardly.

"This is the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me."

Then;

"I'm so sorry, Link."

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"I didn't think that I would fit in," I say.

I remember to back under the bridge.

With the other Me.

"Because… right now… there's another me in this time and world."

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"What do you mean? I'm having a hard time just excepting that you're different… let alone there are two of you." Asks Saria.

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"On the way here," I say, "I saw myself. Like I was when I was ten. I remember that moment in my life exactly. But I was watching the past me doing it."

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"Ah." Says Saria, thinking, "I've never heard of such a thing. Going back in time to a point where you still exist as another. My Goddesses."

She shakes her head.

"I must be going insane to be believing all of this."

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"Saria? What am I going to do?" I ask, desperate.

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She stares off into the forest around us.

"I'm… not sure. This has never happened before as far as I know!"

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She stays silent.

The wind blows the trees around gently.

They sigh.

The light is not fading faster and the once golden garden begins to become purple.

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Suddenly,

Saria snaps her head towards me.

"Link? You said you got sealed away for seven years, right?" She asks.

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I nod.

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"Then… the other you will be sealed away soon also. Then you'll be the only one of you around."

She pauses.

"If that makes any sense."

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"I'll be the only one until seven years down the road." I say dryly.

Then a thought hits me.

"Maybe… Zelda put me in this time for a reason! Saria… I think I'm supposed to stop the other Me from being sealed away."

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Saria shakes her head immediately after the words are out of my mouth.

I feel let down.

It was a great idea to me.

"I don't think that's right, Link," she says, "that other boy IS you. You as you were before your… ordeal. Did anyone come and stop YOU from being sealed away?"

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No.

Of course no one did.

But I wish someone had now.

"No." I say bitterly.

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I can't let the same thing happen to the Me.

I can't let him be sealed away.

I'll defend the Me like no one ever did for me.

"If I get to the Temple fast enough, then I'll catch the Me! I'll tell him not to go- explain everything. Then Ganondorf shows up and I'll kill him and then none of my terrible future will ever happen!"

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Saria puts a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"Link… did that ever happen when you were at the Temple?" She asks.

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I glare at her.

"No. But who cares. It will this time."

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She shakes her head again.

"No. It won't. What you don't seem to be understanding is that the other boy is you. Whatever happened to you is happening to that other you right now. Can't you see that?"

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"So?" I spit bitterly.

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"So… no one comes to the Temple to save you. Not even yourself. And you get sealed away."

She pauses.

"And what would you have done if you had seen yourself walk in and tell you not to go? Would you have listened at all?"

She rolls her eyes.

"Would you listen to me?" She asks herself, "I'm speaking as though it's already happened. I have no idea what's going on. I've never even been outside the forest."

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I let out a sigh.

The corners of my mouth are twisted into a frown.

"I'm going anyway. What do you know? I've only just explained this to you and you're acting like you know all about what's happening." I say, "This time will be different."

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"No it won't. Can't you see?" Saria demands, sounding exasperated, "You don't make it. No one is in that Temple but you and Ganondorf that day. No one comes. And although you may set out to reach the Temple, you don't. No one came for you."

She sighs.

"It hasn't even happened yet and I know that you won't change anything. It's already been decided. You've already lived it, for the Goddesses sakes. You can't change it, Link. You can't change everything. And… because no one comes, if you DO set out to 'save yourself' you won't make it. You'll die trying or something. But the fact is…"

She looks at me, her eyes doing their trick.

"No one comes."

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The reality of this hits me.

She's right.

No one comes.

Not even myself.

And if I do try… I don't make it… because in some strange way, it's already happened.

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"I may be a bit confused over this whole business," says Saria, "but I have enough sense to gather that much from your story."

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My anger fades away.

It transforms into a kind of deep hopelessness.

"Saria? What do I do?" I ask.

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Saria puts her head down.

A moment passes.

The sky is now a deep blue and I can see the first stars making their appearances.

"Stay here." Saria says.

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"In the forest?" I ask, taken aback.

"I didn't fit in here the first time around and now that I'm a real freak how do you think I'll do?"

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This makes her smile a bit.

"Just for a little while." She says, "I guarantee you that you'll think of something. You'll start thinking about where you'd rather be. Then you'll set off."

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"You expect me to just sit here in the forest while another Me marches off to his seven year sleep?" I ask, accusingly.

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"No. I'm depending on you doing it." Says Saria.

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"What other choice do I have?" I sigh.

I turn to go back to the Kokiri Village.

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"Go home, Link," Saria tells me gently as I walk away, "wherever your true home may be."

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I begin my descent of the staircase into the Lost Woods.

Saria follows.

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Okay, the next entry will be posted as soon as I can get it up. I'll try to do it quickly. It SHOULD be ready and posted by tomorrow.

Bye for now.