Hey readers! Chapter 111 is finally here! This week, Link tells the tale of his adventure during the events of Ocarina of Time!
This will merely be a heavily summarized version of the tale, albeit with some extended scenes to focus on the plot points important to my story and my portrayal of Link's character.
Flashback - Ten years ago
"Hello! The Great Deku Tree has called for you to come meet him! Please wake up!"
"Uuugh..."
"...HEY! Can the future of Hyrule really depend on a lazy boy like this?!"
"Whas that loud noise...? Stoppiit..."
"Grrrrr... HEY, LISTEN!"
"Aaaahhhh!"
A young ten year old Link went falling out of his bed and onto the wooden floor of the tree he lived in as his house. He yawned out and wiped the sleep from his eyes, before looking up to see a small little glowing fairy floating above him.
"Bout time you woke up!" the fairy said, "You're kind of a sleepy-head, aren't you?"
"Huh? Who're you?" Link groaned.
"You can call me Navi, I was sent here by the Great Deku Tree to be your guardian fairy! Your name is Link right? Pleased to meet you!" the fairy said happily.
"Uh, yeah, you too?" Link said in astonishment at the fairy before him.
As a resident of Kokiri Forest, he was often picked on by the boss of the village Mido as not being a 'true' Kokiri due to not having a fairy like the others. Thankfully Saria was always on hand to defend Link when he was bullied. But now it seemed he was finally given a fairy of his own, so he was happy to finally feel like a true Kokiri.
"Listen, the Great Deku Tree wants to speak with you about an urgent matter, we better get moving!" Navi said, flying circles around his head and then flying out of the house.
"Wonder what it wants...?" Link asked, following Navi out.
As he walked outside, he heard the familiar shouting. It was his dear friend Saria running up and waving at him with a bright smile. She had looked after him since he was a baby and the two had been best friends since.
"Yahoooo! Hi Liiiink!" Saria called out.
Saria and her fairy companion Faete were enthusiastic about Link finally having a fairy of his own, and even more surprised when he told her he was given the honor of speaking to the forest's sacred guardian.
"Well you better get going right away then!" Saria said.
"Yeah, I wanna thank him for entrusting Navi to me." Link grinned.
Link soon arrived before the Great Deku Tree, who told him about a great evil from the desert known as the Demon King Ganondorf, who had apparently cursed it's body with a life-draining monster. He asked that Link enter inside of it and destroy the parasite infecting it.
With the help of Navi's guidance and the Kokiri Knife he obtained, Link was able to strike down the Gohma monster that was cursing the tree. He was soon transported out and found himself before the tree again, where it had some bad news for them.
"Though your valiant efforts to break the curse were successful, I was doomed before thou started..." the Great Deku Tree admitted.
"W-What?!" Link exclaimed in horror.
"Hey! You're joking right?!" exclaimed Navi, "Then what was the point of sending Link inside?"
"T'wast merely a test of thy strength and courage. But I am certain now thou has what doth take to save this land from darkness." the Great Deku Tree stated.
"Oh no," Link whispered sadly, "Then you're really gonna die...?"
"Indeed, but allow me to pray pardon a legend to thee, of what the demon king Ganondorf seeks..."
The tree then told Link that Ganondorf sought an ancient power, a gift to the Hylians from the golden goddesses Farore, Din and Nayru after they created the world, the sacred golden triangles known as the Triforce, said to grant a wish to whomever touches it.
The Great Deku Tree asked him to go out into Hyrule and put a stop to Ganondorf's evil plan, by first meeting with Princess Zelda out in Hyrule Castle who would give him more information.
"But, I'm a Kokiri!" Link spoke out in panic, "Won't I die if I leave the forest?"
"... …" the Great Deku Tree paused, "Do not fear, for thou shalt have safe passage. Go forth, and please save this land... Now, taketh this..."
Appearing in Link's hands from a flash of light was a brilliant green jewel encased in gold.
"This is the Kokiri's Emerald... the Spiritual Stone that the demon king wanted so much... that he cursed me to claim it..." the Great Deku Tree said.
"... ...o-okay." Link nodded, putting the emerald in his pocket, "I promise I'll put a stop to this Ganondorf, and make him answer for what he did to you!"
"Thank thee young one... and thank thee Navi for aiding him... The future of this land rests in both of thou..."
"I entreat ye... Navi... good... bye..."
With that, the Great Deku Tree, forest guardian of Kokiri Forest withered and paled, it's lush green leaves turned brown and started to fall off, until the tree was completely lifeless.
"...no..." Link trembled at the sight of the dead tree, "I couldn't do anything to save it..."
"... ...i-it's okay Link, you did everything you could. Now how about we go to the castle and meet this princess it mentioned?" Navi said. They turned and went off to leave, but not before the fairy took one last look back at it and spoke sadly, "Good bye... Great Deku Tree..."
After Link announced to the Kokiri what had happened and that he was leaving to avenge the Great Deku Tree, the kids were understandably all very upset, and Mido was absolutely furious with him for 'letting' the tree die, but Saria was encouraging for him to go on.
"Here Link, I want you to have this." Saria said, handing him an orange wooden ocarina, "No matter how far apart we are, we'll always be friends, and I want you to have this as a reminder of that."
"Thanks Saria..."
Link had a sad smile on his face, having to leave his home so soon after getting his fairy, but understood Ganondorf had to be stopped. He bid everyone goodbye and ran off out of the forest.
As the kids were all waving good bye, Saria stood and watched, feeling worried for his safety, as well as having a strange concern deep down inside her...
Link took a step out of the forest, he was amazed at how wide and vast Hyrule Field was. As he walked out into the field he was stopped by an owl named Kaepora Gaebora who told him about the path he needed to go to get to Hyrule Castle. Link wasn't sure just who this owl was, and he talked way more than the young Kokiri cared for, but took his advice and set off.
He soon arrived in Hyrule Market Town, shocked at the sight of so many tall and older-looking people, even seeing old men with mustaches like the Great Deku Tree had. The town was bustling and lively, along with a faint cheery tune playing throughout. He got to see the stores that sold supplies and even weird masks, as well as some game parlors like a shooting gallery and a Bombchu bowling alley.
Link soon arrived at Hyrule Castle, but after initially getting kicked out by knight guards, but thanks to the help of a small child named Malon, he managed to find a secret passage through a water way. After evading some guards in a garden, he soon arrived at a secluded courtyard where he came to meet a young blond girl in a purple dress.
"W-Who are you? How did you get past the guards?!" the girl spoke in a panic, but then she noticed the green clothes he wore, the fairy floating around him, and the green emerald he was holding out to her, "Oh, it's you! You're the one from my dreams! Then you must be the one who can help me!"
"Your dreams...?" Link spoke, recalling the very night before Navi showed up to him that he had a terrifying dream of a stormy night where he saw a girl much like the one before him being led off on a horse, and a demon man staring down at him, he had wondered just what it all meant...
"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Zelda, princess of Hyrule!" the girl smiled brightly. She was so pretty to him that he was at a loss for words, until Navi made him snap out of it.
Zelda went on to tell him what he needed to do to stop Ganondorf. He had to recover two more of the Spiritual Stones; the Goron Ruby owned by the goron chief, and the Zora Sapphire owned by the zora royals which were needed along with a certain instrument to open the way into the Temple of Time where the path to the Triforce was.
"The demon king, he's after our family's treasure; the Ocarina of Time."
Zelda expressed concern that Ganondorf was plotting something big soon, but she wasn't wasn't sure exactly what, and she couldn't convince her father the Hyrule King to understand the situation, as the Gerudo King had supposedly swore loyalty to him. She could only count on Link to obtain the rest of the Spiritual Stones so that they could stop Ganondorf's plan.
Link was escorted out of the castle by Zelda's nanny Impa, the last of the Sheikah clan, who directed him to go to the Goron's home for Death Mountain, and Zora's Domain where the sapphire could be found, before she disappeared in a flash of ninja arts.
After Link came to Death Mountain, he met the Goron's leader; the Chieftain Darunia. At first he was short tempered, but after playing a song Saria taught him he was in a much better mood and told him that Ganondorf had blocked off their food supply. Link was quick to clear out the monsters that were keeping them from it, and Darunia considered him a sworn brother, handing him the Goron's Ruby as thanks, but Link was then forced to retreat from the threat of a mighty Goron hug. Between them and the King Dodongo, he wasn't sure what was more dangerous.
After that came Zora's Domain, where Link found out that the zora Princess Ruto had disappeared within the belly of their guardian Lord Jabu Jabu. After getting inside the creature Link found out she regularly plays inside of the creature's belly for fun, and was searching for her mother's lost heirloom. The two worked together (or that is to say, Link escorted Ruto by carrying her) through the fish guardian's belly and found the sapphire, taking down an evil parasite that was making the fish act strangely in the process.
Link was happy to have saved the Zora's guardian after failing to do anything for the Great Deku Tree, and Ruto wound up giving him the sapphire, telling him that her mother wanted her to give it to the man who she would marry. Link didn't understand what she meant by that, but he finally had all three stones, so he set off to meet Zelda to find out what to do next.
"Hee hee, that Princess Ruto girl was sure sweet on you!" giggled Navi as she and Link were on their way to Hyrule Market Town, "You really know how to hook a fish!"
"Eww, stop talking weird like that Navi." Link stuck his tongue out, "Come on, we gotta go see Zelda!"
As the two approached the bridge however, the clouds overheard started to grow dark, and they heard a powerful explosion from inside the town.
"What was that?!" Navi exclaimed.
"I dunno, but Princess Zelda and Ms. Impa might be in trouble! Come on!" Link said, pulling out his Kokiri Knife and running towards the town.
But just as he approached the drawbridge, a horse came running out. He turned to see Princess Zelda being carried off on horseback by Impa, the young girl quickly threw something through the air that splashed down into the moat.
"Huh? What happened?!" Link asked, "Where are they going?!"
"Uh, Link? Behind you..." Navi spoke in a small voice.
Link felt a horrible chill creep up his spine, as he turned and looked up in horror at a tall man sitting atop a black horse. He had tanned skin with a greenish hue to it, and striking red hair, and wore a suit of heavy black and red armor. He glared down at Link as a crash of lightning went off in the sky.
"It's... him..." Navi spoke in fear, huddling close to Link.
"G-Ganondorf..." Link whispered, recalling this very moment from his dreams, now realizing it was a premonition like what Zelda said before.
"You boy, there was someone that came by on a horse just now, where did they go?" spoke the man with a powerful and intimidating voice.
Link gulped at the fearsome man before him, but nervously brought up his knife, "A-As if I'm gonna tell you that! I'm going to make you answer for what you did to the Great Deku Tree!"
"...heh heh heh... so you must be the one." Ganondorf smirked, raising up his hand and firing off a blast of dark lightning, which stunned Link and made him fall to the ground in a daze, before Ganondorf rode off to track down Zelda and Impa.
"Hey! Listen! Wake up already Link!"
When Link woke up, he saw Navi buzzing over him. Upon seeing he was conscious, she flew down and embraced him as much as she could with her tiny fairy hands.
"Oh thank the Fairy Goddess Venus, I thought you'd never wake up!" Navi said.
"Ugh..." Link groaned, he looked up at Hyrule Castle Town to see all the damage that had been done to it, "No... we were too late..." as he thought about his situation with the Great Deku Tree before...
"Hey Link, check this out!" Navi said, flying over to a blue object on a rock in the moat.
Link recovered the object, revealing it to be a shiny blue ocarina, and along with it was a note lodged inside of one of the air holes. Thankful the note didn't get too soggy from falling into the water. He pulled out the note and started to read it.
It was written from Zelda, in case something should go wrong. She told him to use the Ocarina of Time along with the Spiritual Stones and a melody called the Song of Time written on the note to open the door in the Temple of Time, and claim the power that laid in there before Ganondorf could.
Link ran into the town, seeing the market area heavily damaged, and there were bodies of dead Hylian knights who were probably slain by Ganondorf and his forces. Even the nice mask store he had worked for a brief part time job had been heavily damaged.
It pained him to see the town in such a state, but made his way over to the Temple of Time where he set the stones in their proper places, and using the Ocarina of Time, played the song needed to open the Door of Time.
Inside, Link and Navi saw a single object in that room. It was a long shining blade with a blue handle lodged in a pedestal, and with the insignia of the Triforce engraved on it.
Navi spoke out, "T-That's it! The Great Deku Tree told me about that, it's what Zelda must have wanted you to get! The blade of evil's bane!"
"The Master Sword!"
"Wow..."
Link slowly walked up to the sword, staring down at it. He looked up to Navi who nodded, and Link gripped the handle, with a mighty yank he managed to pull out the sword. But just as he did he felt the room engulf with a powerful bright light, as a strange flight of stairs appeared before him. At the top of the stairs was an opening that led to some strange place, and he could see far off in the distance that there were three triangles glowing brightly...
"Huh...?" Link muttered in confusion, before he suddenly felt a dizzy sensation, and he collapsed.
"Link? Are you okay? Are you still hurt from befor-" but Navi too felt dizzy and collapsed by Link's side.
As Link laid on the temple floor, he heard a dark laughter, and looked up faintly to see the Gerudo King Ganondorf standing there.
"At last, I finally found it. Thank you so much boy for assisting me. Now nothing can stop me!"
Link couldn't move a muscle, and only heard Ganondorf's powerful laughter until he fainted, but not before he briefly saw what appeared to be another figure reaching out to him...
When Link regained consciousness, he found himself in a strange blue fountain room. It had been engraved with six colored symbols around him, and standing before the lad on the yellow symbol was an elderly man in a yellow robe.
"What's goin' on...?" Link groaned out, not aware right away of how much deeper his voice sounded now, or that this person looked unusually short to him for a grown up.
"So you've finally awakened, chosen one." spoke the man, "Allow me to introduce myself and tell you what has happened, I am Rauru, the Sage of Light."
Rauru explained to Link that he was the owl that had been guiding him for a while since he left Kokiri Forest. They were now in the Chamber of Sages, a place within the Temple of Light.
The Master Sword worked as a sort of key to a place called the Sacred Realm, where the Temple of Light was. The Sacred Realm was also home to the Triforce, and Rauru told regretfully that Ganondorf had gone into the Scacred Realm to take the sacred triangles while Link was unconscious.
"S-So you say Ganondorf got the Triforce after all?" Link exclaimed.
"Unfortunately yes, I was only able to save you in time so that he wouldn't destroy you." Rauru said.
The light sage explained the power of the Master Sword was too much for Link to properly use at his young age, so he had been put into a coma for seven years until the day came that he was ready to wield it.
"WHAT? Seven years?!" Link exclaimed, he looked down at himself to see he was no longer a mere child, but a grown adult like those had met in Market Town and Kakariko Village.
"Wow Link! Just look at you! You're so big now!" Navi said excitedly.
"This is crazy..." Link stammered, he looked around and noted other symbols like the one Rauru was standing on, "So... what do I do now?"
Rauru went on to explain that there was five temples throughout Hyrule like the Temple of Light used to draw power to the Master Sword. The other ancient sages like him that had originally built those temples tried to intervene against Ganondorf during the seven year time, but he destroyed them all and cursed the five temples with monsters.
"In order to defeat Ganondorf as he is now, we will need a new generation of sages to assist me." Rauru said, "By clearing out the evil in the temples, it will allow them to hear the call and join me."
Link and Navi were suddenly engulfed in a bright light as they were transported out of the temple.
"Now go forth young one, and follow your destiny!"
The next thing Link knew, he was back in the Temple of Time with Navi. He started to run, but found his footing a little shaky from being so much taller and being asleep for seven years. He also noticed he was too big to be able to use much of the equipment he had as a child.
"You okay there Link?" Navi asked.
"Yeah, I... just need some time to get used to this." Link said.
"Time is the only thing not on your hands, Hero." spoke a mysterious voice, as Link turned to see a strange man in ninja garbs and a hood, playing a handheld harp.
The man identified themself as Sheik, a ninja of the Sheikah tribe. Link was confused as he had heard Impa was supposed to be the last one, so he was a little cautious of the man before him. Sheik told him to travel to the Forest Temple in the Sacred Forest Meadow to awaken the first of the five new sages. Link was even more confused about how this guy even knew what they were trying to do, but didn't have much other leads, so he went along with it.
When Link left the Temple of Time, he was horrified by what he saw. The town that was once bustling and full of life was now completely destroyed, and there was a giant demonic castle hovering over a lava pit where the once grand Hyrule Castle stood.
"Oh my goddesses..." gasped out Link. His body was shaken at all the destruction and carnage. He saw the tattered remains of skeletons and corpses that laid about on the ground. He could have sworn he recognized the outfit of one of the bodies as someone who had ran a store in town.
"No... all these poor people..." Link whispered.
"Link, watch out!" exclaimed Navi, Link looked up to see a zombie-like creature known as a Redead lunge at him with a terrifying shriek, so he took the Master Sword and cut it down. He stared down at the dead monster and then looked to the blade, astonished of it's power.
He saw some of the corpses were giving off strange dark energy, as they took on the forms of Redeads, alerting Link they were just going to keep coming, so he fled out of the town with Navi following him.
Link stepped out into Hyrule Field and gulped, his body was shaking and there was tears in his eyes. Just the thought that the town's people were wiped out by Ganondorf's power shook him to his core. He couldn't do anything to save them, just like he couldn't do anything to save the Great Deku Tree...
"Link, we gotta get to the Lost Woods!" Navi said, "The Kokiri might be trouble!"
"R-Right!" Link nodded.
He then had a thought and pulled out the Ocarina of Time, using it to play Saria's Song to see if she was okay.
"Link... Link this is Saria, can you hear me?"
Much of Link's relief, she was able to speak to him and glad to hear from him again. It turned out there were monsters coming from the Sacred Forest Meadow and were attacking Kokiri Forest, so Saria had gone to the Forest Temple to try and do something about it. However, she found herself trapped by the monsters in there.
"Link, please help me! I'm scared!" Saria pleaded out, before the signal was cut off.
Link knew he had to save Saria and the others, and went to running off toward Kokiri Forest...
Sure enough the village was under attack by Deku Babas and Deku Sprouts. Link used his sword to cut them all down, with Navi acting as a scout to help him along the way. He came across some Kokiri folk, but oddly enough they were all still as small as he remembered them as a kid. They didn't even seem to recognize him as he was now.
Link eventually found Mido in the Lost Woods. Still as stubborn as ever, he wouldn't let him pass to get to the Sacred Forest Meadow until Saria came back. Like the others, he didn't believe who Link was from the way he looked, so Link played Saria's song to him as proof of his friendship with her. Mido then asked with tear-filled eyes to the man before him to save Saria, and Link assured him of it.
Upon entering the Forest Temple, Link searched for Saria, taking out monsters and avoiding traps. He had some close calls, and the dark eeriness of what was supposed to be a sacred place was unnerving him. After arriving at the end of the temple he confronted what appeared to be Ganondorf, but was actually a ghostly copycat called Phantom Ganon. Using the Fairy Bow he found in the temple he defeated the creature, and Ganondorf cast it into a rift between dimensions as punishment for losing.
Shortly after that, Link was engulfed in a bright light and found himself back in the Chamber of Sages once again. Then appearing from the green symbol was the familiar sight of his childhood friend Saria, looking just as she did the day he left.
"Saria! There you are!" Link said excitedly, happy to see her again. He was about to run up to hug her, but saw the sad expression in her eyes.
"Link... you made it... and you saved me just as you said you would..." Saria said, her voice shaky, "And thanks to you destroying that monster I was able to awaken as the Sage of Forest."
"You were the sage?!" exclaimed Navi, wondering where Saria's own companion fairy Faete was now.
"That's right... I was the one who inherited the will of the Forest Sage that was killed by the demon king." Saria said, "Sorry I didn't tell you before, but I didn't even know until the temple was cleansed."
"This explains that feeling you had that the temple would be important to us." Link said, recalling something she said to him back when she taught him her song, "Well either way, you're safe now! Come on, let's get you back to Kokiri Village, Mido and the others are waiting for you!"
But Link's words were met with brief silence from his friend. Tears started to form in Saria's eyes as she spoke out to him with a sad smile.
"I'm sorry Link, but I can't go back. I can never come back there..."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Link asked, "Come on, quit kiddin' around! I came to the temple to bring you back home!"
"No Link, as a sage I'm not allowed to leave this place. I just knew we couldn't be together in the same world... and it seems our carefree lives together are over." Saria spoke, "As the Forest Sage, I now have to devote myself to my duty, help you defeat the demon king, and bring peace to Hyrule. It is my destiny..."
"But Saria-!" Link shouted, with tears of his own starting to form in his eyes, before he was engulfed in a bright light. He heard Saria speak out to him one last time before he left,
"Remember Link... I'll always be... your friend..."
"So... Saria's never coming back, huh...?" Mido spoke sadly, his head hanging down after hearing from Link what had happened. The young man was already devastated by losing his friend, but seeing the pained look in Mido's eyes just made it feel even worse.
When Link returned to the village, he saw the plant monsters were now completely gone, and the kids were able to leave their homes. As relieved as he was that most of them had survived, there turned out to still be a least a few causalities of the monsters, making him feel even more guilty...
Feeling extremely tired, Link walked over to his treehouse and gazed up at it. His bed was probably too small for him to sleep in there at this point. He wondered if Mido would mind if he borrowed his bed for a night.
"Hee hee... you're an adult, aren't you?"
Link felt a creeping sensation from behind, he turned and looked down to see a blonde haired Kokiri girl staring up at him. He recognized her as Newua, a rather friendly and adventurous girl.
But now looking at her, there was something very off. Her once bright eyes were lazy and dulled, and the goofy smile she'd give the others was more creepy...
"You shouldn't be here, you don't belong here adult... you might just whither and die like the Great Deku Tree did... I'd love to watch... hee hee hee..."
Link was shocked, he had never seen Newua act like this before. Talking to her fairy companion, Link and Navi came to learn she had witnessed the deaths of a number of her closest friends, and has distanced herself from everyone. Link was horrified by hearing this,
As Link went off to check in on the others, he heard her say, "All adults who come here become Stalfos... will you become one too I wonder...?"
Link gulped and shook his head, before going off on his way.
Link and Navi approached the remains of the Great Deku Tree, seeing it was now rotting away. Link stared up at the giant tree, wishing he could apologize for allowing the Kokiri to suffer like this while he was gone...
But then growing out from the ground and knocking him on his rear was a small round sprout creature. It turned out to be the Great Deku Sprout, the successor to the Great Deku Tree. He was able to be born because of Link destroying the evil in the Forest Temple.
The sprout thanked him for helping Saria and defeating the evil, then explained to Link the reason why he had an adult's body now while the Kokrii were still kids. It was because he wasn't a Kokiri, but actually a Hylian. A dying woman had arrived in the forest with a baby in her arms, asking the Great Deku Tree to protect him.
"I'm... not a Kokiri...?" Link asked, his body shaking at this truth.
"That's right! You're Hylian, and you were always meant to depart from this forest!" the sprout said cheerfully, "Now leave this place and go pursue your destiny!"
Link was at a loss for words; in just a day's time, he had lost so much... Saria disappeared forever, he had been told in the kindest way possible that he was basically banished from Kokiri Forest, and not even the children recognized him anymore...
He said nothing else, and walked towards the exit to the forest. Some Kokiri kids were curious about where he was going, and asked him where Saria went off to, but Link didn't so much as respond.
One kid tugged at Link's arm to try and get him to notice them, but he suddenly jerked his arm away from the kid, knocking them to their rear. Link looked down in horror at the boy, seeing he had small tears in his eyes from how he was treated, and Link found himself running out of the forest, vowing never to return to the place that was no longer his home...
"Link wait!" Navi shouted, following after him.
She caught up to Link at the entrance to the forest as he was gasping out. After everything he learned, and everything he lost, the fairy wasn't sure just what to say or do to comfort him.
"Link... are you going to be okay...?" Navi spoke.
Link simply stood motionless with his back to Navi. The only thing on his mind was Saria's last words to him before they parted ways...
"As the Forest Sage, I now have to help you defeat the demon king and bring peace to Hyrule."
Link grimaced, recalling the evil smile of Ganondorf when he confronted him seven years ago at the castle town drawbridge, the arrogant laughter he gave when Link had collapsed in the Temple of Time, and all the pain and death Link had experienced since he came into the future...
"...Link?" Navi asked.
Link then brought up his fist and punched a large indent into the side of the giant log that led into the forest. He pulled out his fist and walked off silently. Navi looked with alarm to see the large hole left by just a single punch, but continued following him.
The young Hylian needed to rest for a while after his adventure in the forest, so he went to Lon Lon Ranch to rent a room for the night. He had known Talon and Malon since he was still a child, so he was looking forward to seeing how they were doing.
When he arrived though, he found out the ranch had been taken over by an irate ranch hand he had met there before named Ingo. He at some point during the past seven years chased Talon out of the ranch and was working the other ranchers to the bone to satisfy King Ganondorf, including that of Malon.
Malon herself had grown into a beautiful young woman. She was happy to see Link again, while he himself was happy to see another familiar face. She told him sadly that Ingo was planning to give her horse Epona to King Ganondorf as a gift. Link's thoughts turned to Saria and Mido, before he assured Malon he would not allow her to lose her friend.
Link challenged Ingo to a horse race around the ranch to win Epona, and while it took him a while to get used to horse riding by Malon's instruction, Link was eventually able to out perform Ingo's own horse riding skills and won. Ingo was devastated by this loss, realizing Ganondorf could have his head for this, and escaped the ranch.
Malon was overjoyed that Link took back the ranch, and it wasn't long after that she was able to get Talon to come back from Kakariko Village and take over things once again.
"Thanks so much Link, you saved our ranch! You deserve something from little ol' me!"
The ranch girl gave Link a soft hug and a gentle kiss on the cheek for his valiant effort. As happy as it made Link feel for her to hold him like that, it got him feeling rather strange for some reason...
That night Link was resting on a bed in a guest room Malon provided him with. He was in deep thought about everything that had transpired since he came back to Hyrule. There was a knock on the door to his room and Malon came in with some new bed sheets, and she was wearing a light sleeping dress that showed off her figure.
"Here Fairy Boy, I got you some clean linen!" Malon said cheerfully, "Mean ol' Ingo was keeping the good stuff to himself, hope I got all his old man stink off from 'em!" After she laid out the sheets, Malon glanced over seeing that at Link was currently just his tights and blushed heavily, "I-I better get to bed, have yourself a good night, okay?"
"Y-Yeah, thanks..." Link spoke.
After Malon left, Link got into bed and tried to get to sleep, but he kept feeling strange sensations from deep inside him. He kept thinking about how pretty Malon had become, how soft she felt when she hugged him, that jolt of happiness when she give him an affectionate kiss, not to mention the way her body looked in that sleeping dress just now...
"Link, you okay?" Navi asked, looking up from resting on the pillow beside him.
"It... hurts..." Link groaned out, "Navi, why does it hurt so much down here...?"
"Link? Did you get injured from the horse race?" Navi asked, looking under the covers, only to quickly shoot right out from them, her blue shining body instead turning red, "W-What the heck is going on down there?!"
"It's so painful... why is this happening?" Link asked with tears in his eyes, he reached down at the area between his legs, "How do I make it stop?!"
"I don't know!" Navi exclaimed, "What caused that to happen?! Did you get stung by a bee or something?"
"I don't know... I... I..." Link gasped out. His mind wandered to Malon again and all the strange feelings from before, until he suddenly felt a huge amount of relief and sighed out, "Whew..."
Link fell right to sleep shortly after that. Navi wasn't sure what to make of it, and just went back to sleep on the pillow herself.
"Are you sure you don't wanna go back and tell her?" Navi asked the next morning.
"You kidding? I'm not gonna tell her I wet the bed!" Link said in embarrassment as he rode on Epona towards Kakariko Village.
'I dunno if that was wetting the bed...' Navi thought to herself.
Link just focused on getting to Death Mountain, where he had seen an ominous vortex over the volcano. He had concern for the fate of the Gorons, and his sworn brother Chieftain Darunia...
Upon arriving at Death Mountain, he found out that the Gorons were all gone except for one child. His name was Link, and was apparently Darunia's son! He told Link about how Ganondorf had the Gorons all taken to the Fire Temple to be fed to the fire dragon Volvagia. Link decided to head out there immediately to go save them.
When Link got to the temple he ran into Darunia, who was looking for the Megaton Hammer that could be used to destroy Volvagia. The two ventured through the depths of temple, freeing Darunia's brothers as they did, and eventually found the Megaton Hammer. Using that and the power of the Master Sword, Link and Darunia took down the might dragon Volvagia and drove out the evil in the Fire Temple.
Before they could celebrate though, Link, Navi and Darunia were engulfed in bright light, and the next thing Link knew he was back in the Chamber of Sages, only to find out the new Fire Sage was Darunia.
"Brother Darunia... you too?" Link asked sadly.
"Looks like it, who'd a thought a big lug like me could be a sage?" chuckled Darunia, "I guess this is what they call destiny."
"But... what about your brothers, and your son?" Link asked.
"... ...ah they'll be alright. My son's a big boy, I'm sure he'll be fine now thanks to you!" Darunia said smiling, though Link could very faintly see small tears in his eyes as he spoke out. But before he could reply, Link found himself engulfed in light again and sent back to Hyrule.
Back in Death Mountain, Link told everyone the news about Darunia. Surprisingly his son and his people took it pretty well, but the Gorons were always an optimistic if somewhat naive people, and it didn't even seem the Goron child understood that his father wasn't coming back.
Navi saw the distant look in his eyes as they walked down the mountain path out of Death Mountain, "Hey Link, you gonna be okay...?"
Link said nothing, looking down at the Megaton Hammer in his hand that Darunia entrusted him with. He thought of the happy but naive smile on Link-Goron's face... then found himself thinking of the arrogant grin and laughter of Ganondorf once again...
He clenched the handle of the hammer, before Link brought back the weapon and smashed it into a nearby boulder, reducing it to stone pebbles.
"L-Link..." Navi spoke out in shock.
"Let's just go..." Link whispered, walking down the road.
Link and Navi soon arrived back in Kakariko Village where they ran into the mysterious ninja Sheik, who told them about their next destination being Zora's Domain. Before Link could inquire about just who Sheik was and why he was helping them, he quickly disappeared again with his ninja arts.
The two deiced to stay at an inn in the village before heading off to Zora's Domain. As they were having supper, Link overheard a conversation from two patrons about what had happened seven years ago. Apparently Ganondorf had attacked the castle with his army during a banquet. Many were killed including the Hyrule King, as well as a number of noblemen and ambassadors.
Link gulped his food down, finding himself thinking about Princess Zelda. In the brief moment when he saw her escaping on a horse with Impa, he had seen the fearful look in her eyes. He wondered if she was okay, or if she had been...
"..."
"Hey Link?" Navi spoke up.
"What's up?" Link muttered.
"You didn't finish your carrots." Navi pointed out on the dinner plate.
Link stared down at the untouched carrots and shoved the plate away, "Don't want 'em. I hate cooked carrots." he said sticking out his tongue.
"Oh just eat them! They're good for you!" Navi scolded.
"Why don't you eat em then?!" Link retorted.
Two patrons of the inn both sweatdropped seeing the grown man in green clothes fighting with a fairy over carrots.
"Oh no, not them too!" Navi exclaimed.
Upon arriving at Zora's Domain, Link and Navi found the once beautiful water cavern was completely frozen over in ice. Link grimaced as he saw the frozen bodies of the Zora people encased in the strangely red tinted ice, including that of King Zora himself.
Out of fear of his friend Ruto, Link went out of the lake area behind King Zora and saw with horror that Lord Jabu Jabu was now nothing more than a skeleton at the bottom of the frozen lake, and Princess Ruto was nowhere to be seen.
"No, Ganondorf managed to kill the zora's guardian after all..." Link said sadly, he thought about his quest back when he was a child, and how he managed to save Jabu Jabu before...
His fist trembled as he thought about Ruto, and when she gave him the Zora's Sapphire. He brought back his fist and pounded it into the marble floor of the grounds, making a large dent in it.
"L-Link?" Navi spoke.
"I swear, if that stupid Ganondorf did something to Ruto I'll... I'LL...!" Link shouted out, only to get splashed by some water by Navi.
"Link snap out of it!" Navi said, "You're scaring me!"
Link blinked at the small fairy for a second, before he shook his head, "S-Sorry... let's just go try to find Ruto." he noted an ice cavern nearby and went to check it out.
He didn't find Ruto right away, but eventually found a strange blue flame that he could bottle up and use to melt red ice. He was able to use it to free King Zora from his imprisonment, but the fire wasn't strong enough to melt all the ice in the domain. He learned from the zora king that Sheik had actually been the one who saved Ruto from being trapped in the ice, and that his daughter had gone to the Water Temple at Lake Hylia to stop the creature that caused all of this. Link was worried for Ruto, and set off to go help her.
Upon arriving at Lake Hylia, Link and Navi saw it was completely drained of water, but at least it provided them a way to get into the Water Temple easily. It didn't take long for Link and Navi to track down Princess Ruto. She had grown into a beautiful zora woman who still had her bulbous head, but her figure was curvy in all the right places, with her fins flickering with water from the pool she had emerged from. Link couldn't help but stare at her, feeling a strange sensation like back from when he was around Malon not too long ago...
"Link, it's so good to see you again. I could expect no less from my fiance." Ruto said with a smile, "But right now we have bigger fish to fry, so to speak!"
"Right." Link nodded, as he, Navi and Ruto explored the depths of the Water Temple, fighting off the monsters within to save the zoras.
At one point, Ruto split off from Link to go find the Big Key to the Water Temple's upper rooms where she believed the monster behind the red ice was hiding out in. By her suggestion, Link and Navi went to find something in one place that could help them navigate the temple easier.
The young hero and fairy eventually arrived at a strange eerie room. There was a heavy mist in the air, the ground was drenched in shallow water, and there was a lone dead tree in the center.
"What the heck is this? Looks like we're outside in a bog." Link said, looking down at his shadowy reflection in the water, only to then hear some iron bars come down behind him, blocking off the door.
"Guess it's a trap." groaned Navi.
The two wandered around the room to find a way to escape, looking out for any kind of threat that might attack them. As Link walked past the tree, his reflection rippled a bit in the water, and seemingly disappeared.
Seeing there was nothing on the other end of the room aside from another locked room, Link turned back to check the other side, only to see a strange dark figure leaning against the lone tree. Their arms were folded, and while it's body was completely like that of a shadow, they had a very familiar looking appearance. It looked like Link, only with red fiendish eyes.
"What the heck is that?" Navi asked, "It's like some kind of dark you!"
The being said nothing, but unsheathed a dark blade that looked like the Master Sword, pointing it at Link and narrowing it's eyes.
"Dunno what it is, but I guess we're going to fight it..." Link spoke, pulling out the Master Sword.
Link and the dark lookalike came at each other and clashed their swords. Link swung at the Dark Link's legs, but it jumped into the air to avoid him. It swung down at Link, forcing him to backflip away. He thrust forward with his sword but the dark one stood on top of his sword's blade before kicking Link across the face.
"Gack!" Link shouted as he was quickly slashed away by the Dark Link.
Link stared at the sinister grin on Dark Link's face, before getting angrier. He charged out and started swinging his sword more recklessly than before, but he just wound up making more mistakes with the way he attacked. Dark Link took advantage of this and got some easy hits before knocking him down again.
"Ouch! Ow ow ow!" Link cringed from the pain.
"Link, you're going in too carelessly, you gotta focus! You're too ang-!" Navi paused, "Wait... that's it! I think I know what that thing is, it's called a Shade!"
"A Shade?" Link asked gasping out.
"It's a spiritual creature born from the negative emotions of a person." Navi spoke looking down at the water Link was standing in, "Normally they're harmless, but Ganondorf must have created this cursed water to influence it!"
"Ganondorf again..." Link groaned, using his shield to block a swing from the Dark Link, but was knocked away.
Thinking about Ganondorf started to get him angrier, Link ran forward and swung his blade, but Dark Link evaded it. Link tried swinging as fast and hard as he could to get even a strike, but Dark Link easily read his attacks and knocked him down again.
"Ugh, darn it!" Link shouted.
"Hey Link, wait a sec! You're not going to get anywhere fighting this thing like that! I didn't want to say it before, but you've been flipping out lately!" Navi said, "And I think that thing is feeding off of your anger!"
"My anger...?" Link asked.
"Listen, I know you're angry at Ganondorf, and I can understand why after everything he's done to you, but I think he's taking advantage of it!" Navi said, "He must have created this Dark Link from a Shade inside of you in order to kill you with the darkness inside your own heart!"
"Then what should I do?" Link asked dodging an attack.
"If it's a reflection of your negative emotions, then you gotta hold those emotions back! I know it's hard, but you have to remember what's important! This isn't about killing Ganondorf, this is about saving Hyrule!" Navi shouted.
Link blocked a swing of Dark Link's sword with his shield, closing his eyes and thinking about what Navi said. He thought about Saria and Darunia once again, but when his mind tried to focus on Ganondorf for making them have to leave him, he did what he could to block it out...
Dark Link did another swing but Link blocked it off and countered with a quick swing to injure the shadowy being. As Link fought, he focused on Mido and King Zora, and their saddened faces. He thought about Link-Goron's optimism, and rather than feeling angry, he felt compassion towards them all... He wanted to save everyone...
As Link continued to fight, the Dark Link was taking more blows from his attacks. He didn't even give Dark Link a chance to counter, and the shadow creature was having trouble drawing strength from Link's negative emotions. Dark Link swung down his sword in attempt to cut Link in half, but the Hylian thrust his sword forward and managed to impale the dark creature right in the chest.
"Way to go Link!" Navi exclaimed.
Dark Link groaned out in pain of the blow, before suddenly disappearing into nothingness. Link let out a sigh of relief as he sheathed his sword. The two saw the strange effect on the water was gone, and it was just a plain stone room like the others.
"So it was all an illusion." Navi spoke, "Great work! You fought off the darkness in you!"
"Yeah... I did, didn't I?" grinned Link.
There was a glittering light in the center of the room, and a large treasure chest appeared there. Link opened it up to find the Longshot, a device capable of hooking to various structures to allow it's holder to get to high places.
"Alright, we found it!" Navi cheered.
"Hey Navi? Thanks." Link smiled, "Thanks for helping me remember what I set out to do."
"Hee hee, no prob Link!" Navi nodded, "I'm just glad you're back to your usual self!"
"Yeah..." Link said, he looked up with a grin on his face and determination in his eyes,
"And when I do go confront Ganondorf, I'm going to do everything in my power to completely defeat him, so that Saria and Darunia can complete their task and come back to Hyrule again!"
"Alright! That's the way to think!" Navi said, as the two left out the door to meet up with Ruto.
When Link and Navi left the room Ruto showed up with the Big Key to the temple in her hand. The three continued to explore through the temple to find the source of the evil in it.
Sometimes Link would have to hold Ruto in his arm to get them around by the Longshot, and he was feeling those strange sensations from before with her when he did... something about the way he held her was different from when he carried her back in Jabu Jabu's belly, but he couldn't quite figure it out...
Soon enough they confronted the monster behind everything, the water demon Morpha. Link and Ruto fought against it, Link using the Longshot to yank out it's core while Ruto shot at it with some watery kicks. It wasn't long before Link brought down the Master Sword to finally destroy it, and the water that made up it's body evaporated.
"Alright Princess Ruto, we did it!" Link said.
"Ohohohoho! Of course my darling!" Ruto laughed, "With our strength brought together we can-!"
But before anything else could be said, the three of them were engulfed in a bright light. Link found himself once again in the Chamber of Sages, and he saw his 'fiance' Ruto standing before him, sporting a knowing smile.
"Ruto... y-you're the water sage?"
"You did well Link, as expect of my darling husband-to-be!" Ruto paused and frowned a bit, "Though I suppose I can't quite call you that anymore as I am now."
"..." Link found himself at a loss for words, "Ruto... I..."
"Say no more my love. I know it was important to us, but I regret to say we may have to postpone our marriage... indefinitely." she said with her eyes closed, "I'm sorry, but I have to remain here as the Sage of Water, it is my destiny after all..."
Link stared downwards, feeling very conflicted about what she said. Usually he felt awkward about Ruto's forward attitude with him, but there was something nagging at him in the back of his head about it. Ruto did assure him some surprising news, telling him that Princess Zelda was still alive somewhere out there, before he was cast out of the chamber...
The next thing Link knew he was standing out at Lake Hylia again, only now the lake was filled with water. Sheik also showed up, he congratulated Link on his and Ruto's accomplishment. Though something about his words somewhat bothered Link, they sounded more strained than before for some reason... He went ahead and told Link to meet him over at Kakariko Village later before vanishing.
Link went to visit Zora's Domain, seeing the red ice was starting to melt down now that Morpha's curse was gone. He broke the news to King Zora about what happened to Ruto, and naturally the king took it pretty hard. Link could emphasize with him, after what happened to Saria and Darunia...
"Hey, look at the bright side Link!" Navi said as they both left Zora's Domain, "Uh, at least you don't have to marry Ruto anymore, right?"
"Y-Yeah... I guess so..." Link spoke. He thought about the zora girl once again, and the last moment in the chamber when he saw her smile, which he could tell was forced, "..."
Navi was worried, expecting Link to snap again despite what she warned him about Dark Link. But this time instead of being anrgy and smashing something, he just looked... sad.
Link started to walk off down the trail to Kakariko Village, and Navi could only follow after him as she heard him repeat some words to himself,
"I'm going to save this land... I'm going to save Hyrule... I'm going to help everyone..."
"...and I'm going to free my friends..."
And that ends things for now, with three temples purified and three sages awakened, Link has to push forward. But after his initial anger from before being replaced with a deep sadness, can he make it through his quest with the same gusto? Stay tuned for next week!
This was a pretty tough chapter to write after all the happiness the characters have experienced throughout the story. Granted this is all in the past and Link prevented it from happening, but it can still be painful to write and read. It was necessary to write though, as it's important to establish Link's feelings about what happened in this dark future.
As always, leave a like, follow, comment or just send a PM at your leisure. Your feedback is always encouraged!