I don't know what to put here. I'll figure it out eventually.
RRRP:
Anon (FF): I'm glad you asked! I have a quick little blurb set to be published about… a month or so after TOM. It's not much- it's basically a thousand-word blurb explaining how the Hero's Shade works. It's pretty detached from TOM, so… yeah. Not really a sequel, so much as a little bow to wrap the series in. Beyond that, I try not to overuse characters too much for sequels and whatnot- just look at my Star Wars fics. That's not going to stop me from writing OoT Link more; I'm just not going to write our beloved half-skeleton cyclops Link for a very long time, and definitely not in a sequel. I'm actually in the process of setting up a very shaky outline for porting him to Smash Ultimate, but don't expect that for a few years. Or it might not happen. I don't know. Don't get your hopes up.
ChangelingRin (FF): So, you no longer turn up your nose at a Malink fic. My work here is complete.
S3731997 (FF): Thanks! Setting the story up to finish in the false epilogue removes some of the bite of the cliffhanger in that aforementioned chapter. Yeah, it was bad that Link got sent in time, but I got to clarify that the story wasn't over. That's on me.
(FF): If your name doesn't show up, blame the filters. Ganonwhoref is my favorite nickname! I would have used Ganondork, but I feel like that's a bit… overused?
This is also not the last chapter. There are a few more. I will guarantee that we're in the last thirty percent of it, though. It may or may not be Malon Time. And Ghirahim is locked in Majora's Mask… you can see where that's going.
Chapter XXVI: Scars with a Side of Salt
Ganondorf had been imprisoned, with a whirlwind investigation that lasted all of three days. It seemed that almost every day, every hour even, new groundbreaking evidence was scrounged up to further incriminate the Gerudo King. The Gorons and Zora both testified against Ganondorf, and Link would have spoken on behalf of the Kokiri had Zelda not pointed out how Ivan's lack of presence would have cast suspicion on his accusations. The Gerudo had been less enthusiastic about the capture of their king, but Nabooru had more or less rallied a good number of her people against Ganondorf, and it turned out to be somewhat successful. While the all-female warriors were still unsure of whether or not the investigation was fully legitimate, they had largely stopped worshiping Ganondorf as a god. This led to a sort of schism between the Gerudo who supported Ganondorf wholeheartedly and those who didn't, raising tensions to the west.
Regardless, Link's participation in the investigation didn't have much of an affect on him, not that he was complaining. It was nice to not have to worry about where the world was going, knowing that it Ganondorf's pursuit of power had been put to an end. In fact, only Zelda, the other Sages, and Malon knew anything of Link's exploits in the last timeline. Even the Triforce had returned to the untainted Sacred Realm, leaving the back of Link's right hand and returning to its rightful place with the other two pieces. He intended to keep it that way.
This led the Hylian to the predicament he was currently in. He had to somehow find a life outside of the Kokiri Forest in a world that was couldn't care less if he was dead or alive. There was no New Lon Ranch to default to, and he felt like he would be imposing on Talon's hospitality if he stayed at what was now just Lon Lon Ranch. Perhaps he'd get a job amongst the Hyrulean army and work his way up the ranks. That sounded appealing. It was a worthy expenditure of his problem-solving skills and his prowess with the sword, it allowed him to keep an eye on Zelda, and he could theoretically be Malon's knight in shining armor. It was unlikely, considering his what his father had done to the country. Then again, his family history had been effectively annulled, so there still was a small possibility.
Regardless of where he went in life, his current objectives largely remained the same. He had to re-distribute the Spiritual Stones to preserve the seal on the Door of Time, and he had to leave Kokiri Forest. The latter would be a bit of an issue, given how enclosed the Kokiri were. They would surely notice his absence near immediately, and he didn't want them to start bombarding Saria with questions. It would be best if he could group all of the Kokiri in one place and make the announcement that he was going away forever.
He roused himself from his musings and left his tree hut, backflipping off of his patio and digging up the trunk containing the remaining Spiritual Stones. He would return the Spiritual Stone of Fire to Darunia, and he'd put the Kokiri Emerald just below the gaping mouth of the Great Deku Tree. It seemed fitting.
He briefly told the Know-it-all Brothers to gather everyone around his house so that he could reveal his plans to depart from the Forest. Meanwhile, he approached the grove of the deceased Great Deku Tree.
"It's over," he spoke aloud, knowing the guardian of the forest couldn't hear him. "The evil man from the desert has been stopped. It took seven years, but we assured that your death was not in vain. And now, I return to you what you gave to me all that time ago. Maybe with it, I can bury everything else I've lost as well."
He pawed at the soil beneath his feet, quickly scooping out a small crevice. Gingerly, Link placed the Kokiri Emerald inside of it, but he imagined that in the stone's place was Ivan himself. Quickly, he covered the stone in dirt and rose, eyes lidding over with the fruits of his grief.
"I love you, Ivan," he managed to get out, a tear falling out of his left eye and colliding with the mound. He then turned and left the grove again, wiping the evidence away from his eyes and pulling himself together. He could mourn properly at a later time, but for now, the mask had to stay. He'd need all of his emotional fortitude to get through the rest of the day.
!0*0!
"Thank you for coming," Link addressed from atop his balcony. The Kokiri had all gathered below him, in the little walkway leading up to his patio. The Hylian took a deep, shuddering breath before continuing on. "As you probably know, I left the Forest and went to greater Hyrule as the dying request of the Great Deku Tree. I was successful, and the Great Deku Tree has been avenged.
"However, I gathered you all here to inform you that I must take leave again… and in all likelihood, I will never return."
There was a stunned silence for all of three seconds, before the crowd burst into raucous noise. They were shocked, hurt, betrayed, and above all else, quizzical. The only ones that didn't partake in the bombardment of questions were Saria, of course, and the Know-it-all Brothers. Either they already knew or had guessed that Link was a Hylian, and had to leave the forest for his own life.
Eventually, the commotion died down, and Link resumed his speech. "You're probably wondering why I have to leave again. You see, I learned something out in that world; something very important. And the truth is… when you all said that I wasn't a real Kokiri… you were right. I was never a Kokiri to begin with. I'm from outside the forest, raised here due to unfortunate circumstances. The only reason I wasn't turned into a Skull Kid was because the Great Deku Tree blessed me with protection from the forest's natural defenses. That protection wore off a bit of time ago, and now I have this to prove my point."
Link took that opportunity to reveal his Stalfos hand, and the gathered Kokiri rioted, shaken to the core by this revelation. He let the chaos run its course, making sure to observe the crowd for anything particularly worrying. The Hylian took the time to note how the Stalfos Hand, which usually extended up to about halfway between his elbow and shoulder, seemed slightly longer than he had last remembered it being, as if the corruption was still infinitesimally creeping further along his body. But that was impossible; the Great Deku Tree had prevented that on the eve of his second quest. Fortunately, he didn't see anything else of note, although he did notice that Lado, Sodo, Mido, Tido, Redo, and Fado seemed much more taken aback than the others were, which was saying something. They appeared almost remorseful. The group of bullies had always insulted Link's status as not being a real Kokiri, but it was only now that they realized how right they were.
"I'd love to stay, I really would," Link continued. "But as a Hylian, it isn't my place to live here among you. I'm no longer welcome in this beautiful place, and it's time to recognize that and take my leave before I overstay my welcome. If I don't leave the Kokiri Forest, the blessing of the Great Deku Tree will fully wear off and I'll be reduced to nothing more than a Stalfos, with no memory of anyone here or of my humanity at all. So I have to go away, and I probably won't ever come back.
"If you have anything to say before I leave, now would be the time."
Link swallowed, praying that the Kokiri would understand and wouldn't bombard him with too many accusations of betrayal and the like. They seemed rather quiet, until they weren't.
"Where's Ivan?" they all asked in unison.
"Ivan and I had to split up shortly after defeating the evil," Link lied, struggling to keep his emotionless mask on for at least a bit longer. "Because I am a Hylian, I was passively draining his life energy without even realizing it. For his safety and my sake of mind, we parted ways. We'll probably never see each other again. And I'll miss him. But I know that Ivan will always stand by me. And that's enough."
A quick moment of silence served as an interlude between the question and a loud chorus of "Goodbye, Link." The crowd then parted, allowing Link to walk between them and out of the forest.
"Hang on, Link!"
He stopped his procession, and turned to face the new speaker. "Yes, Mido?"
"I get that you have to go, but… I think I should make a statement on behalf of everyone here. I'm… sorry I didn't try a little harder to be nice to you."
Link breathed out. For the first ten years of his life, he'd dreamed of this day. Now that it was here… it felt strangely hollow. It was a petty dream, especially given the much greater relief of not having to save Hyrule again. That being said, it still made Link feel all warm and fuzzy inside. "All is forgiven."
"Promise that you won't forget about us?"
Link allowed a wholehearted grin to form on his face. "Never."
!0*0!
The Hylian made a point of checking up on a few of the villages that Ganondorf had destroyed last timeline. They were still there, blissfully oblivious to the dreadful events of the future past, as if nothing had happened. It was nice to see.
He stayed the night at a local inn, ensuring that he made himself scarce when a particularly nasty bar fight occurred that very same time. When he emerged the next morning, he learned that nobody was seriously hurt and that tensions had wound down again. Regardless, he was on the road again and making for Death Mountain.
Link also spent the early morning at Lon Lon Ranch, briefly chatting with Malon about a slew of topics that he promptly forgot about five minutes later. Ingo was the only one present at Lon Lon, as Talon was in Castletown on a milk delivery. The ranch girl revealed that today was the day that she was going up to visit Anjou for Summer's Day. Ingo was to bring her up to Castletown, and Talon was to pick her up and ensure that everything was going just fine before returning to Lon Lon himself. Now that Ganondorf had been apprehended, their plans could go on smoothly. And that was all Link really cared about.
He absentmindedly fingered the Goron Ruby as he left Lon Lon Ranch. Returning the Stone to its people was still on his to-do list. But then what? What would he do once all of the loose ends from his adventure were tied up? That was the question that still nagged him, even after all of this time. He was an orphan in a world where only a scant few people though him of anything more. He couldn't find a job that would take him seriously, because he was just a little kid if one looked on from the outside. At the end of the day, he was stranded, like a boat without a rudder. He didn't want to have to drift around aimlessly, because what sort of cruel joke would that be?
He shook himself from his thoughts and redoubled his pace. He could figure all of that out after the world was truly at peace.
The stone steps leading up to Kakariko were wet and slick. Evidently, it had rained while Link was in Jabu-Jabu's Belly or something. Idly, he noted how effective these stairs were at not only tucking Kakariko away from Hyrule Field, but also at being a choke point if need be.
Not that it would ever need to be a choke point. That was just old habits taking over for a second.
Kakariko was just as he remembered it; calm and quiet. It really was a sleepy little town when it wasn't a refugee camp. The carpenters under Anjou's father were just as lazy as they had once been, neglecting their duties in favor of prancing around Kakariko without so much as a care in the world. In that regard, Link was more grown-up than they were. Having to contemplate his own age gave the Hero an odd sense of vertigo. It wasn't important, though. What mattered was the contents of his mind and heart, not how many years had elapsed since he was born.
He took a right at the tree planted in the forefront of the village, ascending another set of stone stairs. What stood before him was the long and arduous climb to Goron City. It honestly wasn't all that bad, especially considering how he'd overcome that climb countless times before. He would have warped using the Ocarina, but he'd mysteriously forgotten all of the teleportation songs again, not to mention how Zelda had kept the Ocarina of Time after she sent him back through time. It would have been convenient, to be sure.
Link continued up Death Mountain Trail, ignoring the Tektikes that attempted to bite him. They weren't worth his time. Meanwhile a procession of Gorons were steadily streaming into Dodongo's Cavern, presumably to partake in the gourmet rocks buried within. It put a small smile on Link's face. It was always uplifting to see the fruits of his labors.
The Hylian moved against the flow of living stones and entered Goron City. It was surprisingly empty, but that made sense, given how everyone had been scrambling to the quarry. Link then leapt down to the bottommost layer and strode over the plush rug that heralded Darunia's Chamber. Fortunately for the Hero, his sworn brother Darunia was still inside.
"Hey," Link greeted.
"Oh, Link!" replied Darunia. "What brings you to Death Mountain? Are you here to have that man to man talk that we never had time for in the Fire Temple?"
"Er… no," he replied hesitantly. "I'm actually here to return the Goron Ruby to its rightful place. I've already returned the other two Spiritual Stones, and I figured it would be easiest if they were all returned to their original places."
The Goron Chief sighed. "Kid, when I gave you that stone, did I ask you to give it back when you were done?"
"Well… no, but-"
"I gave you that stone because of the heroic actions you have done for my people. It was a gift given in exchange for besting the Dodongos that infested the Cavern; to return a gift would devalue that gift. And the Goron Ruby is my gift to you. I never wanted you to give me back the Spiritual Stone of Fire."
The Goron then grinned wider. "Besides, you saved me quite the headache. A number of my brothers would occasionally try to lick the Stone to see if it tasted any better than the rocks we get from the Cavern. I'd always have to intervene, and it would generally ruin my day. Now, I don't have to worry about it!"
Link blinked, and paused for a moment in slack-jawed realization before hastily wiping the Goron Ruby with the hem of his tunic. "You couldn't have told me that when you gave it to me? Brother, I'm so betrayed!"
Darunia just laughed like a madman. "It didn't seem important at the time," he confessed. "It's not like what you didn't know hurt you."
"... I guess," Link breathed, resigning. "Thank you for letting me keep this. It means a lot to me."
"Don't worry about it, Brother. Now, about that man to man talk-"
"Hang on, Saria's calling me on my Ocarina," Link ad libbed, trying to get out of that awkward conversation. "Gotta-go-bye!"
With that, he all but sprinted out of the chamber and away from Goron City. The longer he could hang on to whatever shreds of innocence he still had, the better. Then again, there wasn't all that much that he possibly couldn't know; he'd hewn through countless monsters and had been forcibly aged up into the body of an adult, with all the strange transformations that came with it. He wasn't blind to death, suffering, pain, and the like. He knew how to love, and was able to distinguish it from mere infatuation. He was mature, and lacked the childish sense of self-importance, that innocent belief of invincibility, that so many youths his 'age' seemed to have. With that in mind, what else did he have to learn? Maybe it had to do with all those things that Ivan had acted strangely around, namely Twinrova and to some extent Malon. It wasn't important, he decided. He'd figure it out later.
!0*0!
Thick, black smoke was emanating from Hyrule Castle Town. At first, Link assumed that it was a bonfire for Summer's Day, and paid it no heed. Then, by the time he reached the foot of the stairs leading to Kakariko Village, he realized not only that Summer's Day was more than half a week away, but also that the whole town was slowly spewing this smoke. There was only one possible explanation.
Hyrule Castle Town was on fire.
The Hero of Time redoubled his pace, preemptively drawing his sword- or at least he would have, if he hadn't left it in Kokiri Forest like a moron. From across the vast expanse of Hyrule Field, he could suddenly make out a large number of specks moving around Hyrule Castle. It was difficult to make out from his distance, but some of them appeared to be battling the rest. Among the specks were these large, cylindrical objects that periodically blasted rounded things into the castle walls, causing the stone to cave away and collapse. Each time they'd fire, a plume of smoke would be released, and a group of specks would congregate around it to load another ball into it. As Link approached, the features became more distinct. There was a squadron of Hyrulean Knights defending Castle Town from the invaders, who appeared to be-
Gerudo?
Why?
Link knew it to be true, as he took note of Koume and Kotake floating above the battle. It was almost like they were watching someone. The Hylian squinted, trying to make out any reason why the Gerudo would suddenly be attacking Hyrule.
Then he saw Ganondorf among them. He was wearing his battle armor and everything. He was unmistakable, as his visage had long been ingrained into Link's nightmares. But hadn't the Gerudo mostly accepted that he was no longer their king? Why were they following him now?
What about Zelda and her father? Were they still alive? If so, how would he meet with them again? So many questions were bouncing through Link's brain that it physically hurt.
Link then noticed that some of the Gerudo splintered off of the main force and dragged one of their cylinders to face Lon Lon Ranch. They wouldn't try to shoot it down, would they?
It fired, its bullet colliding with the main tower just behind the corral. It collapsed instantly, in nearly an identical fashion to that night when Ganondorf himself brought it down. Agonizing memories coursed through him, and he was forced to take a moment to recollect his thoughts before redoubling his speed. The air was filled with the agonizing screams of whinnying horses and braying mules and the like. And then, riding out of the Ranch on a chestnut steed, was Malon and Ingo. It told Link that the Gerudo army had appeared near instantaneously, and that there wasn't enough time for the two to leave any sooner. Otherwise, they would have left long ago. Ingo was healthily paranoid in that way.
Again and again, the cannon boomed, launching shell after shell into the Ranch. With each shot, Lon Lon appeared more and more like Old Lon had in his future. And Link felt each blow deep within himself, like a hammer to his heart.
The Hyrulean defenses seemed to have fallen while Link was otherwise distracted, as the Gerudo were now pouring into Castle Town proper. The smoke intensified, now accompanied by the crackling sound of fire. It gave Link a terrible sense of deja vu, as the whole spectacle was nearly identical to that of when Demise destroyed Lon Lon. Errantly, Link whistled Epona's Song as loudly as he could before remembering that he was in the past, and that the little mare wouldn't know to respond to the notes. He took a second to castigate himself, but was astounded to see the rust-colored filly dart out of Lon Lon Ranch before stopping directly in front of him. Shrugging internally, Link mounted the horse and spurred her towards Castle Town. He would have moved to protect Ingo and Malon, but the Gerudo seemed to either not notice or completely disregard the pair escaping the collapsing Ranch.
By now, the entirety of the Gerudo forces had poured through the gateway to Castle Town, leaving a horrendous sight of strewn corpses scattered about the drawbridge. Link dismounted his horse and hesitantly walked through the ruined gate, terror coursing through his body.
The main square was empty, with far fewer bodies than had dotted Hyrule Field. Most of the bodies were those of Hyrulean knights, as opposed to civilians. The Gerudo had moved to the left side of the plaza, towards the Temple of Time. That confused Link; was Ganondorf trying to get into the Sacred Realm again? He didn't have the Spiritual Stones or the Ocarina of Time, so that should be impossible, right?
A cacophonous crack filled Hyrule Castle Town, and on instinct, Link threw himself onto the ground. When he realized that he wasn't actually dead, he scrambled to his feet and realized with a shock that the Gerudo were firing their cannons directly at the back of the Temple. That way, they could completely disregard the Door of Time and get to the Sacred Realm without any of its prerequisites. All that Ganondorf had to do was break through the walls on the other side!
Wait. The Master Sword was the last line of defense for the Sacred Realm. The blade had to be removed from its pedestal by the Hero of Time, and because Link was the Hero, nobody else could hope to lift it. In that sense, Ganondorf was still wholly blocked from the Sacred Realm, and there was no way he could win!
Link breathed a huge sigh of relief and tore away from the central square, northwards towards Hyrule Castle. Oddly, it appeared to be mostly spared from the Gerudo's wrath. That was severely counterintuitive; though under Ganondorf's orders, the Gerudo were a nation of thieves, and most of the riches were in Hyrule Castle. Why wasn't it being pillaged? It seemed like something Ganondorf would do, as Nabooru had said that he had no qualms with killing the innocent.
Speaking of which, how did the Sage of Spirit fit into all of this? She couldn't possibly be in support of the invasion. She had even helped to convince the Gerudo that Ganondorf was not their king anymore, so how could this have happened? He racked his mind for any possible reasons, and he could only come up with one.
The Gerudo must have been mass brainwashed by Twinrova, much like they had once been in the future past. That was the only possible explanation. However, that only made Link's worry for Nabooru grow. Would they figure out that she was a Sage? If they did, what would they do? Certainly, they would kill her, or at the very least imprison her indefinitely. But without Nabooru, how could they seal Ganondorf again? Link's mind raced with worries and fear as he trekked closer to Hyrule Castle.
The barricade that normally blocked the path to the castle was gaping wide open, strangely. It wasn't usually like that. Usually, Link would either have to bribe the guard or climb up the vines that nobody bothered to cut down. He wasn't complaining, as it was easy for him to sprint into the castle proper.
It looked as he remembered it, although most of the decorative suits of armor that once adorned the halls were gone now. Maybe they'd been used in actual combat. The weaponry was also gone, unfortunately, which Link was much angrier about. He had no chance of actually acquiring a sword, much less one befitting his own stature.
He heard commotion emanating from deep within the castle walls. Either it was the Gerudo, in which case he was a dead man walking, or it wasn't, in which case he had a chance to figure out where Zelda went. Either way, he didn't have anything to lose by not looking, so he progressed through the various halls in search of the sounds.
He soon found himself passing by Zelda's personal chamber before stopping, suddenly remembering something. He went back and entered the bedroom, rummaging through the room in search of the Ocarina of Time. It wasn't there, meaning that Zelda probably had it. Hopefully.
He then jumped off of the balcony, rappelling down the stone walls to prevent himself from breaking his legs. He then entered a door and found a pair of Hyrulean knights standing besides what was once an innocuous-looking floor tile, raised up to reveal a hidden passageway.
"Kid, come on! It's only a matter of time before the Gerudo come to the cas-"
A powerful wave of nausea suddenly washed over Link, and just looking at the assorted knights revealed that they felt the same thing. The air was forcibly sucked from his lungs and he felt extremely drained, nigh identical to how Demise drained him of his dark magic during their final confrontation. The Hero of Time collapsed to his knees, drawing deep gasps with every breath. The other knights looked to be in a similar state, if not worse, than Link was. His vision hazed over with dark purple, as if all of the light in the world was being drawn out. There was a rumbling of thunder, despite the lack of clouds in the sky, and the pain subsided.
"The hell was that?" one of the knights mumbled.
"You tell me, Terry!" the other replied. "Kid, are you all right?"
Link nodded mutely, still breathing heavily.
"I don't want to be hit with that again. We should get back to the group, see if Rusl or anyone else felt… whatever that was. Come on, kid. There's a tunnel to Kakariko down here."
The two knights descended down the pathway, and Link was about to follow before a searing pain made itself known on the back of his right hand. He stopped and stared at his tormented hand in horror as the visage of the Triforce forcibly etched itself into the back of his hand, glowing a bright gold that shone through his leather gloves. Petrified, Link could only stare as questions raced through his head. How had he gotten the Triforce of Courage again? The Triforce split apart when one with an imbalanced heart touched the full Triforce for the first time, with the Triforce of Courage going to Link and the Triforce of Wisdom going to Zelda. But how was the Triforce touched in the first place?
Ganondorf.
The Gerudo King must have broken into the Sacred Realm somehow. Did it have to do with the nausea? At first, Link believed it to be linked to the cycle, but that was impossible, as the knights had felt it too, and they weren't linked to Demise's curse as far as he knew. Ganondorf must have used dark magic to drain their life forces, like Utarefson, but instead of infusing himself with life, he had to have used the energy to break through the Master Sword's seal. But that raised its own question: it took more than three lives' worth of energy to break through that barrier, so why wasn't Link dead? The answer came to him quickly; there was almost a city's worth of dead Hyrulean knights and Gerudo outside. It would have been relatively simple to drain their lingering soul energy into the spell, explaining why Link, Terry, and the other knight were drained and exhausted, but not dead.
The burning light on his right hand was beginning to die down, Link swiftly covered it with his Stalfos Hand before entering the tunnel and pulling the trap door shut behind him. It would be a long walk to Kakariko.
"You guys… know Rusl?" Link asked quietly after a few minutes of walking through the cramped tunnel.
"Do you?" one of the knights replied.
"I know… of him," Link said cryptically.
"You say that like he's some kind of hero," the knight replied. "Rusl's one of our fellow knights. We were all knighted on the same day, so we tend to stick together. Sure, he's a good guy and all that, but not heroic, per se. Why do you ask?"
"No reason," Link settled, returning to their silent sojourn.
!0*0!
They soon ascended a long flight of stairs and found themselves at what appeared to be a dead end. Link was about to question the usefulness of a completely blocked tunnel when the knights walked straight through the wall, like it didn't even exist. Link didn't have the Lens of Truth to verify whether or not it was actually an illusion, but he trusted what the other knights had done, and stepped through.
It was, in fact, a false wall, and Link quickly realized that he was actually in Impa's house in Kakariko Village. Strange, that the tunnel led straight into the castle. Then again, it made sense; she was the primary protector of the crown princess, so to have a quick path to the castle was only prudent.
Link exited the building to find that much of Castle Town's population was crammed into the village, with a number of Hyrulean Knights keeping order. Link glanced around the area to find Zelda, as she was the number one priority to stop Ganondorf, but found Malon and Ingo entirely by accident.
"Are you guys all right?" Link asked after nearly ten minutes of fighting through the crowd.
"We're fine, kid," Ingo replied curtly. A bit too curtly, even with Ingo's… well, Ingo-ness. He'd seen something out there, and it wasn't just the Gerudo.
Malon also seemed terrified, although Link chalked it up to the Gerudo themselves. It was the eyes that distinguished them, he decided. Ingo had a far more haunted look than Malon did, almost like he was hiding something from her.
"We're looking for my daddy," Malon explained. "We've been looking for almost half an hour and asked everyone here, but nobody's seen him. Have you seen him?"
Oh.
Oh.
"Uh…" Link replied, unsure of how to proceed given his sudden realization that Talon was dead, Ingo knew, and Malon didn't. "I don't know… maybe he's just in the tunnel and not here yet?" He knew that was a lie, and obviously it showed on his face, because the ranch girl's eyes only narrowed.
"Fairy boy…" Malon started warningly.
Link sighed. "He's… gone. I didn't see him fall, but he must have. I'm sorry, but… your dad's gone."
Malon exhaled, a tear rolling down her cheek before she vigorously brushed it away, sniffling. "I… Okay. Thank you for not lying to me," she managed to get out.
"You're taking this better than I expected," Link said comfortingly, trying to ignore the fact that Ingo was glaring daggers at him.
"Well, if all that stuff that you told me was true, then I've suffered through worse and gotten through it all right. I can probably do that again. At least this time, I have Uncle Ingo to help me through it."
The ranch hand's expression morphed from rage to confusion.
"You're not mad?" Link asked.
"No, I'm furious," Malon revealed. "But not at you. At Ganondorf."
"No arguments there," the Hero replied. "Now, go find Anjou. She's probably worried sick about you."
At his behest, Malon darted off into the crowd, making for the cucco farmer's house in the southeast corner of the village. Ingo remained behind, gaze locked on Link.
"What the hell was that about?!" the farmer interrogated.
"Don't worry about it," Link replied.
"It's my right to worry about it when you tell my adoptive niece that her father is dead!" Ingo roared quietly.
"It was for the best to tell her now and not have to lie to her later," Link shot back. "It worked last time."
With that, the Hero of Time spun on his heel and marched into the crowd, leaving Ingo to pursue Malon in finding Anjou. Link had more pressing matters on his hands than spending time with Malon, loath as he was to admit it.
!0*0!
What seemed like hours later, he found Zelda. Or, to be more precise, he found Impa trying to keep order among the crowd and asked her where the princess was. The Sheikah then picked him up and whistled the Nocturne of Shadow, warping both of them to the entrance to the Shadow Temple. The Hero of Time attempted to memorize the song, just in case he had to use it at some point.
Zelda was gripping the edge of the small fence that overlooked the Graveyard, so tightly that her knuckles were white. King Daphnes stood close by, trying to comfort his daughter with his presence. Darunia and Ruto were also inexplicably there; they must have been contacted somehow. But how had they gotten there so fast?
They heard the commotion of Impa teleporting to the Temple's entrance, and turned to face the new arrival. At least, everyone save Zelda did. She merely continued to stare ahead, into nothingness.
"Ah, salutations once again, Link," the king greeted quickly.
He nodded in response. "What's happened with Ganondorf? I went up Death Mountain to return the Goron Ruby, and when I come down, the Gerudo are sacking Hyrule Castle."
"Two witches freed Ganondorf from his imprisonment," King Daphnes revealed. "They must have galvanized the Gerudo into attacking. Although they showed no signs of this beforehand… I must speak to the Sage of Spirit. When is she coming, again?"
"She may not be able to," Impa answered. "But her loyalties are solidly against Ganondorf, milord. I can assure you of that.
Link's Ocarina buzzed. He picked it up, knowing exactly what to do, and played Saria's Song. The Ocarina only vibrated like that when Saria was trying to contact him.
"Hello, Link? Can you hear me?" the Kokiri's voice echoed.
"Yes, Saria," Link responded. "I think the Sages are having some sort of meeting in Kakariko. How will you join us?"
"That's why I called. I figured I could use the Ocarina as a medium, given how I can't leave Kokiri Forest. I can hear what you hear, to some extent, so you don't need to bother relaying what everyone else says to me. I can figure it out."
"Alright," Link said. "Can you think of any way to get Nabooru up to Kakariko from wherever she is? The king wants to speak with her."
"Well, no," Saria contemplated. "I can't bring her to Kakariko, nor can I think of any way she could get up there in her current… predicament. But I have another solution."
"What do you mean?" Link asked.
"I figured that since I can't leave the forest, I'd need some way to communicate with everyone without having to use you as an in-between," Saria revealed. "So I started setting up a bunch of direct lines with all of the Sages. And I'm mostly done with Nabooru's, so if all goes well, I should be able to talk to her. Let me try it out and see if it works. I'll get back to you guys soon."
The Ocarina went dead, and Link put it away. "Saria's going to try to contact Nabooru somehow. And I can contact Saria through the Ocarina. She'll be acting as a relay."
Everyone nodded.
"Link," another voice choked out. He realized with a start that it was Zelda, who had stayed silent the whole time up until that point. "I… this is my fault."
"Excuse me?"
"Princess, nobody could have known that this would happen," Darunia rumbled assuredly, although the effect was somewhat lost due to the tapping of his foot to the beat of the Song. "And even if you had, what would you have done differently? There wouldn't have been time to execute Ganondorf properly. You did everything right."
"And if this is about sending everyone back in time, I think you did the right thing," Ruto said supportively. "Everything that happened here either already happened in that timeline or happened worse. Besides, like Darunia said, there's no way anyone could have predicted this."
Impa merely nodded sagely. The king followed suit.
"So… what happens now?" Link asked. "Ganondorf has the Triforce of Power, and he used Castle Town's life energy to break into the Sacred Realm."
The Sages' expressions became grim, but not shocked. Zelda must have gotten the Triforce of Wisdom on her own hand and come to the same conclusion. "Now, we wait," King Daphnes stated. "Ganondorf's forces march on Kakariko, and they have less of the Gerudo with them. But their army has been bolstered by a collection of horrid abominations that I cannot find the words to describe."
Link's mind flitted to the Maoqiu, Kumangiriza, Lynels, and Elder Skullfos.
"Kakariko is a fine bastion, as the stairs that lead up to it serve as a natural bottleneck. Even still, the odds are against us, as they have powerful magic users and the benefit of being on the offensive. We must take every pair of arms that we can get, and I must ask for all of your assistance."
"Consider it done," Darunia and Ruto agreed.
Link would have responded, but his Ocarina buzzed. "Oh, that's Saria," he stated, pulling out his musical instrument and playing Saria's Song.
"Is this thing on, kid?" Nabooru's voice echoed.
"Uh, yeah," Link said.
"Is that the Spirit Sage?" King Daphnes inquired.
"Yes, sir," Link replied.
"Lady Nabooru, could you perhaps explain to us why your people suddenly turned against us?" Daphnes demanded.
The Gerudo snorted. "You think I endorsed those old hags? Of course not! Look, Ganondorf's mothers, Koume and Kotake, collectively brainwashed the entire tribe into mindlessly doing Ganondorf's bidding. The only reason I wasn't brainwashed is because they did that to me three separate times in the other timeline, so the first thing I did when I got back to the past was set up a few mental wards to block any future manipulation spells. I've managed to break the curse on a few of my sisters, but in order to free them all, we'll need to kill at least one of the two witches. Probably both. They'll be at Kakariko to oversee the battle, so that's our chance. Is that a satisfactory answer for you?"
The king sighed, partially from derision and mostly from relief. "Yes, Lady Nabooru. Thank you."
The Ocarina went dead. Darunia and Ruto dispersed to gather their own people for the siege, but King Daphnes, Zelda, and Impa remained behind.
"Link," he boomed. "As the Hero of Time, your expertise will be needed. Will you join us in the battle?"
He hesitated. He had clawed through the interiors of two different gods for the sake of peace, not to mention an entire Dodongo-infested Cavern. When that wasn't enough, he fought through countless Temples to awaken the Sages. Then he confronted Ganondorf once and for all, ending the blight on Hyrule and ushering in an era of tranquility.
Then Zelda sent him back, and Link wasted no time in fighting for peace once again. Even when history repeated itself a third time, he had sprinted all the way to Hyrule Castle to meet with Zelda. Hadn't he done enough?
And yet, Link found that, had Zelda and the other Sages not remembered after she sent him back the second time, he still would have kept fighting, no matter how long it took, to acquire this particular outcome. The outcome with the least amount of suffering. Assuming, of course, that he hadn't committed suicide at the entrance to the Forest Temple.
Did he make mistakes? Certainly. Did he regret them? Absolutely. But not seeing this through to the end would be a much more grave error. Sure, he deserved happiness, but just like Ivan had said, so did everyone else. And there was only one way that he could give happiness to the greatest number of people.
It was then that Link knew the answer. "Of course, milord."
The Hero of Time let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and the first time in years, he felt truly content. He had accepted his failures during his second journey, but it was only now that he was able to fully cast them aside. Malon would have been proud. She probably still was.
Well, this was a chapter.
Regarding Ganondorf's new plan… well… I guess the real question is "why did he not do this in vanilla OOT?" My theory is that he's trying to be semi-subtle in OOT, so that he can kill the king and steal the Triforce in one fell swoop without giving anyone time to react. This would quell any dissent and cement his coup de grace, which is presumably why there's no Resistance like in Twilight Princess. In this iteration, though, Link doesn't cooperate, so Ganondorf has to be a bit more brutal with his methods. That involves brainwashing the Gerudo and leaching everyone's life force to get into the Sacred Realm.
NOOTTD: Saria can totally call Link. Link can call Saria, so it should also go the other way around, right?
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