Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time or any other LoZ properties. They are the property of Nintendo and any other owners. Nor do I own undeadpenguin37's fanart, I use it with permission.

Betaed by: Zim;smostloyalservant and Trackula.

HERO OF SACRIFICE

Chapter 1

Awakening to Strangeness

Saria, opening her eyes, realized she was floating. In water? She raised her hands and met something hard and smooth like ice. It cracked under her fingertips, and with a push, whatever held her gave way and she fell to her knees on the ground, water and shards raining around her.

Taking gasping breaths, Saria put hands to her face, pulling soaking hair from it and brushing water from her eyes. She could hear water flowing nearby, but beneath her was smooth stone. Someone was speaking nearby, and with a final loud word she could not make out, a warm feeling enveloped her. Its passing left her feeling clothes on her, and made her realize she had been naked.

"Thank you," she said, tongue thick in her mouth. She ran her hands through her hair; that light had also dried her, but still something felt off.

"Tuia? Where are we?" Saria asked. Footsteps were drawing close as her vision cleared, and Tuia did not answer.

As the bleariness gave way to crispness, she saw a Hylian man standing in front of her. Stoutly built with receding white hair, an impressive beard, and piercing eyes under prominent eyebrows. But he must be pretty short, she realized, as he hardly towered over her like most Hylians.

"I am sorry for your loss," he told her. And something in him clicked in her mind.

"The owl."

The Hylian's eyes widened, then he smiled warmly.

"Indeed, well spotted young champion."

But other things came tumbling back with that revelation. Saria grabbed her shoulders and shivered, eyes trembling.

"…Thank you for returning. I know it must have been hard to turn away from your heart's desire. You knew me as Gaebora Kapeora, one of many masks I have worn over ages watching over Hyrule from a degree of removal. My true name is Rauru, the Sage of Light, now last of a breed. A sad irony that I sought to assist you, but now I must beg you for aid."

Saria lifted her head and really looked around. They stood in a chamber so vast she could not make out the walls properly, and stars shined above as water fell from seemingly nowhere to cascade on platforms around them. The one they stood on held eight platforms, a larger center one Saria kneeled on, and seven smaller ones, all surrounded by clear water on the white stone.

"Where are we?"

"The short answer is the Light Temple. But this place has long stood at the crossroads of realms, and like the Corridor and Chamber of Time is out of step with the normal realms. It also connects the Sacred Realm to the mortal realm, or rather it did."

"Did?"

"The Sacred Realm as we knew it is no more. It has become the Dark Realm; the balance of the Triforce destructed by Ganondorf is reflected by that realm being consumed by the imbalance and the corruption of the man who holds mastery over part of it."

"Ganondorf. What did he do?" Saria pressed, struggling not to think of Tuia like she was holding onto a ledge.

"After thinking he had ended you, he attacked this temple, and slew my peers. I escaped at their behest, and Ganondorf in his pride let me go, thinking me a coward who posed no threat. I discovered there was still a chance for you to live, and so did all in my power to save you. As for Ganondorf, after conquering this temple nothing remained to bar him from the Triforce. Rather than make a wish upon it though, he sought to claim the power of the Goddesses for himself. But the Triforce is not easily mastered. Look down," the Sage instructed, and the floor under Saria started to glow in places, showing the Triforce pattern.

"Ganondorf has great knowledge of the Triforce, but lacked the wisdom to understand it. He believed at the end, after bypassing all obstacles, that holding the Triforce was a matter of might whatever its forms. But the Triforce can only be mastered by one who has the balance to master one's self, and that cannot be forced or deceived. Power, the ability to affect the outcome; without power of some form, wisdom is worthless because you cannot act on it, and courage is impotent action without power. Wisdom, to experience possible outcomes and how to avert or achieve them, but without power it avails you not, and with no courage you will not act in spite of the risks you now understand, and understanding that there are things you cannot know. And finally courage, the will to act; without wisdom, whatever your intent you will likely act to the ill as well as the good, and without power, your acts will fail to make a difference. Any one without the others is flawed, and to draw on its power a mixed blessing at best.

"The empty space between the pieces is sometimes theorized to imply a fourth segment long lost. But that is false. The completion of the Triforce, the fourth piece if you will, is a mortal who can fill that gap, uniting the three powers fully in unity. Ganondorf was utterly unable to do this, and only seized the Triforce of Power, the other two fleeing him by their very nature."

"…So what does that mean, exactly?" Saria asked. The Sage coughed into his hand a moment, thinking.

"He is far more powerful now, but not the living god he sought to be."

"Well, okay then. That's a lot to take in."

"I should think so. You have been asleep for seven years, catching up will not be simple."

"Seven years?" Saria asked, stunned. She raised a hand to her mouth, and her arm brushed her chest.

'Huh, what's my chest doing there?' Saria wondered, looking down. Sure enough, there were two noticeable bumps on her chest from under the green tunic she was wearing. She also noticed her arm was longer and thicker, her hands too. Frowning, Saria stood up, feeling her body through the clothing.

"Ah yes, much has changed," the Sage admitted. With a gesture, a mirror rose from the water in front of Saria, letting her see herself as she now was.

Saria reached out and laid a hand on the hand in the unfamiliar reflection. The hair was the right color. The eyes, familiar if different than she remembered. But the size, the shape…

"Hylian?"

"No, at least not entirely," the Sage of Light said. Saria gave him a look that let him know this was the time to elaborate.

"You did not almost die at Ganondorf's hands. You did perish. Even with the aid of the Great Deku Tree's spirit, the oddness of the corridor, and your own willingness, restoring someone dead to true life is a great task. I had to use a portion of my own life essence to reignite the spirit of life in you. As I was Hylian when mortal, the result is that you are now something typical impossible. A Kokiri-Hylian hybrid. It took seven long years for the resurrection to stabilize so I could safely remove you from the crystal. And in that time, you reached a new limit to your growth as dictated by your remaining Kokiri blood. Rather than an eternal child, it seems you are an eternal young maiden now."

He blushed as a frowning Saria inspected the bumps on her chest with pokes.

"Impa and Lulu had these things. Some other women too, right?"

"Ah, yes, many women do."

"What are they for?"

"A great ordeal lies before you, young hero. We must not dally over trivialities."

"So, save Hyrule?"

"Yes."

"Last time, I was supposed to deliver the stones to Zelda. What am I supposed to do now?"

Rauru waved his hand again, and the mirror shifted from showing Saria's reflection to an image she recognized as a map of Hyrule, even including the big lake and the desert.

"Ganondorf is the source of the evil plaguing Hyrule, so his defeat is the key to restoring balance. But he erected a fortress where Hyrule Castle once stood, warded by walls of iron and his great magics. From this unassailable position, he can sortie to do as he pleases and then return to utter safety. In order to take the fight to him, and gain the power you would need to face him now, you must purify the sacred temples of Hyrule, each guarded by a monster anointed with his malice. By purifying the temples, not only will his hold on Hyrule weaken but it will allow a new Sage to rise and take their place in this chamber. When the Circle of Sages is complete once more, we will be able to overwhelm Ganondorf's wards, and aid you in battle against him.

"What's more, each temple is being used to further Ganondorf's goals. In the Forest Temple, he cultivates the forces of decay, seeking to rot the Great Forest from within. In the Temple of Fire, he seeks to bring forth the power of the earth's blood in the form of a great monster. The corruption of the Water Temple has nearly dried up the great Lake Hylia, and as it grows the drought will spread. My gaze cannot pierce the Temple of Shadows, but he is at work there as well. And in the Spirit Temple, he seems to crush the will of his own people. Others have tried to challenge the corruption in the temples; few have returned, none have succeeded. But the Master Sword, the Blade of Evil's Bane, accepted you. If anyone can free the temples, it is you," Rauru said, pointing behind Saria. There in the water lay the sword she had pulled from the stone. It really was beautiful, Saria noticed.

"Okay, can I start with the Forest Temple? It sounds like my people need help."

"I was going to suggest that. His grip on that temple is the weakest yet; the Great Deku Tree may be dead, but the echoes of his power still hinder Ganondorf's designs in that corner of the land. Though first you had best train yourself to your body's new shape. You cannot long linger here now that you have left the crystal. To any but a Sage, the corruption of the Sacred Realm would take hold."

"Right. Let's go then," Saria said, face set.

"I'm sorry? I am not going with you."

"Huh?"

"As a Sage, I am bound to the temple. My owl form allowed only brief relief from being bound here, but raising you took a great toll on me. It would take a hundred years or a restored Circle of Sages before I could leave this temple again."

"But, I can't go alone," Saria stammered.

"…"

"I've never been on my own! Tuia! The tribe! The Great Deku Tree! I, I, I, I can't just go by myself!"

The Sage grasped for words for this situation, and found none as the hero the realm required fell to her knees, shaking and holding herself. He closed his eyes; her losses were fresh to her, and she was still a child, whatever she appeared as.

'Goddesses forgive us for placing such a burden on the innocent.'

A chime sounded in the room, surprising the Sage and making Saria glance over her shoulder. A pale glow came from the sword.

"I. Will. Be. With. You," the voice was soft and faint, but clear over the sound of the waters.

"It can't be," Rauru gasped. Saria, still watery-eyed, stepped into the waters and picked the sword up.

"Hello. I'm Saria. I'm sorry, I didn't get your name before."

"I. No. Longer… need. A. Name."

"That's silly, of course you do," Saria said, stroking the hilt of the sword, suppressing a sniffle.

"I. Am. Fi."

"The sword has not spoken in ages before ages. It has a name?" the Sage was stunned.

"She, right?" Saria said, inspecting the sword.

"Yes. I. Was. Am. A. She. I. Danced. Once. Through. Air. And. Upon. Water."

"Did you dance on the ground, too?" Saria asked.

"Yes."

"So, you're coming with me?"

"I. Do. Not. Think. I. Can. Take. A. Bodily. Form. I. Should. Not. Be. Awake. But. You. Called. Master. Grew. Beyond. Needing. Me. But. I. Sense. A. Need. I. Will. Do. What. I. Can. You. Shall. Be. Mistress. For. Now."

"Nah, let's be friends, okay?"

"As. Mistress. Commands."

"…The quests in the legends never came across as quite this awkward," the Sage muttered to himself as the sad young woman stroked her sword like a cat.

X X X

Rauru said it would be mildly unpleasant shifting back through the Corridor of Time. Saria landed on her feet and managed to choke back the vomit.

Taking a seat on the podium that had held Fi, she let the world stop spinning and reached to her belt, only to realize she didn't have a waterskin anymore. Apparently the Sage of Light had forgotten about supplies, she thought with a sigh. Nothing to wash the taste of bile out of her mouth, either.

Glancing around, the chamber looked the same; light still poured through the windows, lovely cut stone. She'd been rather worried, but the old Hylian seemed to like being dramatic, so maybe the situation wasn't quite so bad as he made it out to be?

"Fi?"

"Yes? Mistress?"

"I'm going to get up, but I've never had legs this long before, so please don't laugh if I mess up walking, okay?"

"Of. Course."

Saria wondered if her new friend would ever stop talking like that, and took an unsteady step.

X X X

Her steps were already feeling more sure as she entered the darkened and dusty main chamber of the temple. The Sanctuary was dark, the windows were intact above, but it seemed it was either night or a dark day outside. Saria noticed the sacred gems still embedded in the altar. Huh, neither the gems nor the altar was dusty, she realized.

But that was magic for another day. Taking the steps carefully, she followed the worn red carpet to the massive double doors. Someone had barred them; glancing around, she wondered what had happened to her barrier. Had Ganondorf done it? No, it was ridiculous to think no one had set foot in this temple in seven years.

Her body was even stronger now than after eating those Heart containers, Saria noted, lifting the thick wood bar from its rests with ease. It was too quiet in here, and with Fi seeming to have trouble with talking, the best solution was to find someone else, so she pushed the doors open despite the screaming hinges and stepped out into a Hyrule seven years changed.

"Root and branch!" Sara gasped, the stale air hitting her in the face as she tasted the ash on her tongue.

Desolation spread before her. It was daytime, she knew, but the sun did not shine and rain did not fall. In fact, the air was still and dry, resembling nothing so much as the bottom of the well if it had died somehow. Every building in site was broken, and the plants in the garden were withered and cracking under their own weight. Even the pools around the temple were bone dry, the stone bottoms caked with white, chalky dirt.

Nothing was moving, not even the wind. The only sound was a creaking, as if everywhere around were dried dead wood branches, ready to snap and fall on the head of a Kokiri, and unlike the forest the noise couldn't warn her to step away. It was everywhere.

"Malice. Has. Touched. This. Place. Mistress. I. Regret. It. Begins. Again. Indeed."

Saria's feet carried her forward numbly, and without thinking it as she left the temple behind, she turned to look where Death Mountain was visible in the distance.

"Oh Great Deku Tree…" Saria said. The mountain looked angry. Lines like cracks alight ran down from its peak, and the faint cloud she'd seen at times around its summit seemed to have ignited. A ring of puling, swirling, angry, unnatural red crowned Death Mountain, turning her stomach staring at it.

A word unheard from Fi broke her from too long staring as it. Shaking her head, she ran clumsily down the street connecting the temple to the market, putting her back to the evil engulfing the mountain.

She had failed, the thought echoed through her thoughts, face pale.

X X X

The city was only inhabited by the dead, undead, ReDeads to be specific. The market was thick with them, standing unnaturally rigid or curled down on themselves, a near constant moan rising from them. Saria made her way toward the gate through the alleys and through broken buildings.

While the ReDeads were not as thick as the market anywhere else, they were tucked around the city. Several near-misses came when only a fortunate moan warned her of one she had overlooked. It was impossible for her to tell how long it took, but she felt exhausted finally reaching the gate. Drawing Fi, Saria looked over the exit from the necropolis. No threats in sight, even the moaning of the ReDeads seemed fainter than it had since leaving the temple grounds. No gate of any sort, and the rotting remain of the drawbridge more or less spanning the moat.

So she really could just leave?

Saria was tempted to inspect the wall and find some other way out, but this place made her skin crawl, and her back had been cold the whole time. She wanted out and the green grass of Hyrule Field was in sight through that gate.

She stepped from her concealment and briskly began to walk toward freedom from this miasmic atmosphere.

A dry cackle dropped her in her tracks as she neared the gate.

Looking around for the source, she heard the door to the gatehouse swinging open before she saw it. From the stout wooden door emerged a man wearing a ragged white robe, with his head covered in a tattered purple cowl. A single red eye glowed in the darkness of the hood, and in his hand he gripped a dark walking stick that he tapped loudly on the cobblestones with each step.

"What's this? An uninvited guest to our great city seeks to leave?" he asked, stopping to stand squarely in the gateway.

"Great city?"

"Yesss. Glorious, is it not? So long as a city lives it must die, but a city of the dead is eternal in its glory. What a fine age to live in. When the Hylians reigned I dwelled in shadows and secrets like my dear undead, but the Great Ganondorf knows our worth and now it is we who stand front and center of the glorious new Hyrule. I am the Gatekeeper of the Dead, child. Solemnly sworn to guard the passage to the great King's esteemed capital to all but the chosen few. I know not how you entered without my leave, but I assure you that like all our King's enemies, having trespassed you will never leave. Save if you rise again in glorious unlife!" the creepy man cackled, waving his stick menacingly in the air.

Hackles rising at the danger, Saria rushed forward as he waved his stick, and by some instinct she held Fi back to hit him with a punch across the face with her free hand. He went down like a sack of potatoes, groaning and then lying still, that glowing red eye closing.

Saria clenched and unclenched her fist. With the tip of Fi, she pulled his hood aside to reveal an old Hylian man with a mangled face.

"I. Believe. He. Exaggerated. His. Role," Fi noted.

"…Guess so," Saria nodded.

She made to walk past the crazy old man but stopped, glancing back into the murky town.

Opening the door to the gatehouse, she wrinkled her nose. It didn't smell like a tomb, but it did smell worse than Maro's hut in the spring. She wondered briefly how the sloppy Kokiri boy was doing, but pushed the thought aside. Grabbing the old man's feet, she dragged him into his dwelling and closed the door.

"Why?" Fi asked.

"I'd hate for him to get eaten by those monsters."

"You. Remind. Me. Of. Master," Fi commented. Saria smiled, but it vanished, looking past the drawbridge. That grass and dirt tract area. That's where it happened.

Leaping over the gap in the broken bridge, she nearly toppled but found her feet, and ran.

She kept going until she had to stop. Taking deep breaths and blinking the spots from her eyes, she straightened up, finally letting herself smell the grass and feel a lively wind passing her by, tugging at her hair and clothes.

The world was still here, still alive, she thought, looking over the still beautiful plains and rolling hills of Hyrule's heartland. Though all the houses in sight were ruins, she noted. Turning back, she took in the sight of the sad, broken Castletown, and her eyes traveled up to the dark angry clouds over it all. Where the castle once stood was now a tower that called to mind some great weapon of stone and iron. It loomed over the town and the vast horizon, and she could practically feel that man's presence.

He killed Tuia, the thought shot across her mind, hardening her expression. And the Great Deku Tree, and so much more suffering then and since.

She was going, but she would be back, reflecting on the time of Tuia's death.

There would be a next time, and this time it would be different.

Author's Note:

Well, here we are. For starters, don't get too excited for more on this story yet. I am following some advice and taking time to draft up a good bit of the story before posting. On that front, I am already drafting chapter three. But I at least want to get through the Forest Temple before I start posting more chapters.

Secondly, I want to thank Zim'sMostLoyalServant, Trackula, and my best friend (who is not on this site) for their help on this story. Ty at my work has also been great from the start, listening to my odd ideas and as a gaming enthusiast reminding me of details of Ocarina I'd forget, along with letting me sound off on drama and comedy bits with him.

Finally, I need to call attention to undeadpenguin37. Without their adult Saria fanart to inspire me, this story would not exist. They not only gave me permission to write a story based on their art, but did some of the earliest feedback on my ideas for Saria taking leading role here.

Thank you for sticking with this strange little story so far, and as I eagerly prepare what's next, I hope you will continue to find it worth your time and maybe a little feedback so I know how I am doing.

Long days and pleasant nights to you all.