I just need to put in a short message and say that this will be the last chapter for a little while (though hopefully not as long as the last little while). It finishes this section of the story, so I'll start the next section when I'm confident of being able to post the whole thing fairly quickly, like I have done with the events in the Forest.

I also have a bit of a request, though. I get very few reviews on this story, and I'd really like to know what people are thinking. If you've read this far, please leave some comments to tell me what you like or don't like. I don't mean pointless comments like "It's boring", but if there's something where you really didn't like my interpretation, I'd be really interested to know that. Just the same, if there was something you thought was really good or you really liked how I adapted it to make the story work, I'd love to know that to. All (constructive) comments are welcome.

Chapter 30

Friends Forever

For a long moment, Link stood breathing heavily. The Master Sword's light had dissipated and now there was only the eerie, flickering light of the ageless torches, bouncing off the walls of the chamber. A noise from behind distracted him, a groan.

He spun, and saw Saria trying to sit up. Quickly, he hurried over to her, lifting her in his arms to check she was okay. She looked into his face and frowned.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice weak.

Inwardly, he sagged, but he tried to smile. He could feel exhaustion creeping over him now the fight was over; the adrenaline was leaving him. "I'm a friend," he said.

She sat up and put a hand to her head. "I don't remember coming here," she said, groggily.

"We're in the Forest Temple," offered Link. "You were being held captive."

"Who- Who would hold a kokiri captive?" Her voice was incredulous that such a thing was possible, and she was shaking her head, confusedly. "Wait, the forest, the creatures-"

"Do you mean the moblins?" asked Navi. That distracted Saria.

"A fairy?" She turned her gaze on Link. "You know, you do look familiar. But you can't- You're grown up."

Link could feel his cheeks colouring. "We should get out of here," he said.

"No." Saria stood. "I remember now. I came here to see what Ganondorf had done."

"You mean to the forest?" quizzed Navi.

"Yes. I felt the magic coming from this place, I knew he had done something terrible, something that should not be possible." She shook her head again. "It would still have been impossible if the Deku Tree were still alive. But the forest had no guardian."

"I will guard the forest, then," said Link. He could feel responsibility crushing him almost like a force. He had failed to save the Deku Tree and had led Ganondorf the Triforce, the two things that had allowed the gerudo's triumph over the power of the Lost Woods.

Saria smiled. "I believe you would, but I do not think you will need to. You defeated his phantom, didn't you?"

"You know about the phantom?"

"Yes, when I came here it appeared before me. I recognised that it wasn't truly Ganondorf, but then it spoke with his words. Wherever he was, I know he was aware of me."

"The same thing happened just now," Link agreed.

"I suppose then it must have locked me away. I can already feel that Ganondorf's curse has been broken, though. It should mean that the forest will repair itself. You can chop back the woods but once left untended the trees will always grow back; so it is with the magic of the forest." She turned towards the double doors, the one that led to the main chamber and the Kokiri Sword.

"No!" called Link. He moved forwards to block her way. "You shouldn't go in there!"

She moved past him. "It's okay. There's no danger now." Something in her voice made him trust her, he let her reach for the door and push it open.

The scene inside initially seemed chaotic. Link moved forward to see more clearly, readying his sword if the moblins were awakening now the curse was broken. Something was definitely happening, but it wasn't that the moblins were awakening. They were being consumed, burning with the same blue fire that had destroyed the phantom.

"Oh wow," breathed Navi.

"Oh, wow!" agreed Link. He watched as the sound of the crackling flames rose, and then he picked up a low hum. It built into a powerful chord that thrummed through the air of the cathedral; the arcane fire burned more fiercely, and then was gone. So was the entire moblin army.

"We did it!" enthused his fairy. "That means Ganondorf's army will be stopped!" Link turned to Saria.

"Does that mean the forest will be okay, as well?"

"Yes." She smiled. "The magic of the forest that would have stopped them entering these woods before Ganondorf came to power will drive them out again. They'll flee back to their dark corners where they hid before."

"Then I think it's time we should leave." He turned away from the now-empty chamber and began to move towards the exit.

"No, there's one further thing I have to do here, Link." He turned in shock at her use of his name. "Yes," she continued, "I know who you are. I didn't recognise you at first, not now you've grown up. I think I can tell you what has happened."

Link took a step closer, his heart beating faster at the idea of finally finding out why he had grown up when the other kokiri had not. "What?"

"Come with me, first," she said. She climbed the dais and stood beside the plinth, looking at him. "Will you use your sword so that we may access the lower chamber?"

Nodding, Link joined her and carefully placed the blade of the Master Sword into the space. Almost immediately, the floor quaked and they began to descend. As soon as they had stopped, Saria jumped lightly down and moved quickly to the door, going back into the room where Link had found her unconscious.

He followed her down the steps, back into that chamber. She moved to the centre of the room, where the symbol of the Triforce was inlaid on the floor. "Join me," she said, simply. He stepped forward until he was also stood on the symbol. Saria raised her arms above her and a green light enveloped them. It was a strangely warm and pleasant sensation.

Soon, the green faded to blue, and Link found that they were no longer in the little chamber. In fact, they were no longer in the Forest Temple at all. They were in the Chamber of Sages, the first place he had seen when he had awoken in this strange new world.

He was also alone. He looked around frantically for Saria; he had only just found her again and he could not bear to lose her so soon. Quickly he saw her, though. She was stood a little way from him.

The two other times he could remember being in this chamber, he had not had time to take in the wide platform on which he stood. He was in the centre of a bright, gold Triforce, and the blue platform stretched away from him. It was hexagonal, and on each of its six sides was a low pedestal, each a different colour. Link had seen enough of the land now to recognise that they were the symbolic colours of each of the six races of Hyrule.

On the green pedestal stood Saria.

"Thank you, Link," she said, her voice resonating calmness and happiness. "Your return to the forest has proved to save us all."

"Not all," said Link, remembering the kokiri he had buried.

The look on Saria's face now was sad. She did not meet his eyes. "Yes. The strength of the forest is innocence, and that innocence has been distorted. But it can be re-established. The Lost Woods will take back that which is rightfully theirs." She looked up at him. "But you won't be here to see it."

Link could feel tears welling up in his eyes. He didn't think he could bear to have to walk away from Saria again, the memory of their last parting was suddenly raw in his mind.

"It's okay, Link," she continued. "You don't have to be sad. I know that there is still much more that you have to do. Ganondorf's taint lies thick across Hyrule. And now, now I can help. You saved me from the curse, and I can awaken as one of the Sages of this land. As Sage of the Forest, I can help you to stop him."

"How?" Link asked, and his voice came out as a croak.

"I can answer that," said a new voice. Rauru was suddenly stood on the pedestal of the hylians. Link had not seen him appear, but was sure he had not been there a moment previously.

"If you can gather all six sages," Rauru continued, "We will be able to lend you the united strength of Hyrule. That power will give you the chance you need, the strength to fight Ganondorf. With us aiding you from this chamber, here in the centre of the Sacred Realm, we can draw him back into this void and seal him here. Whilst he holds the Triforce he cannot be killed, but he may be halted. Then we may seek a way to wrest that power from him."

"But it is only you who can do that, Link," finished Saria.

"You said- You said that you can tell me why I-" He couldn't seem to talk properly. "What happened to me?"

She looked away again. "Yes. I can tell you that. And I think it is time you knew the truth. As you know, the kokiri do not age, no matter how much time passes in the world outside. When we are full grown, we seem no bigger than the children of the hylians who live outside the woods, and yet after seven years you have aged and now tower over us all.

"First, I have to go back. Sixteen years ago, a war engulfed all Hyrule, so severe even the forest was not protected from its touch. Most of the kokiri know nothing of it, but there were some of us who were aware of the pain spreading through this land. Some of us who were sensitive to that suffering.

"A great battle took place near here. I came to this temple to pray to the goddesses. I was scared, unable to comprehend what was happening. The fear and anger that is a necessary part of the hylians' war caused ripples through the Lost Woods. While here, I felt a call through the trees. Leaving the temple, I was in the sacred forest meadow, looking at the stars in the dark sky, when I saw someone approach.

"She was in a terrible state. An arrow protruded from her side. Someone had entered the forest for the first time in hundreds of years, but she clearly did not have much time left. In her arms, she cradled a child. I quickly learnt what had happened: she had sought to escape the battle, trying to protect her child. In the melee, she had lost her husband and her daughter. Clinging to the child in her arms, who was not even a year old, she could think only of his safety. Somehow, her horse carried her as far as the forest, but it too was wounded. It had given out when it came within the trees.

"The Lost Woods saw she was no intruder seeking to harm those who live amongst the trees. The magicks of the forest drew her on, sustaining her, soon leading her to me. I took her to the Great Deku Tree, who saw at once what had happened, and also saw some portent for the child in her arms. There was little to be done, for she could not be saved. She gave the child into the keeping of the Deku Tree, and then she died.

"With her dying breath, she ensured we knew the child's name. She said he was to be called Link. And so this is the answer to your riddle. You have grown in years because you are not in fact a kokiri. You are a hylian."

Link's mind was reeling with this revelation. He could not understand what she meant. How was it possible that he was a hylian? He had a fairy companion, he was a child of the forest! But he knew that it could not really be denied. He had grown to a full sized, hylian body.

"Then the forest never truly was my home," he said, despairingly. "Mido was right, after all."

"No, Link," said Saria. "Mido was not right, he bullied you because he too saw that some path was ahead of you, just as I did, and the Deku Tree. Only where the Deku Tree would have sought to divert you from it in order to save you, Mido mistook the omens as signs you would be greater than he."

"If that's the case, why didn't he recognise me?" asked Link, distracted for a moment.

"He is a kokiri, and has a kokiri's understanding. While he knew you were not of the forest and could discern that there was a heavy destiny laid upon you, he could not comprehend the way seven years has changed you. And you should not feel you did not belong here. The forest welcomed you and accepted you. Even now, it takes you as one of its own. The magic is strengthening with every second of time but it allowed you into the most secret place of the Forest Temple."

"Then I must leave again?"

"Even if you had not learned this truth, do you think you would stay here? I wish you could as much as you do, but we both know that you will not be able to remain in the Lost Woods, not while Ganondorf rules Hyrule."

"No. I suppose not."

"Link, you need not worry. I will now be with you in all your journeys. You have seen the power your sword holds, but remember that no one else can access that strength. Only one worthy of the title Hero of Time is able to draw it from its slumber, so do you think any greater number can use the strength of its steel and magic? Now the strength of the Sage of the Forest will be added to that magic. I will be with you through that connection.

"And it is okay that you're leaving, because we are destined to live in different worlds. But Link, you know that you and I, we'll be friends forever. Won't we?"

The lump in his throat wouldn't let Link speak, but he nodded.

"Link," she said, sadly, "I know we'll meet again."

The blue light intensified, and then Link again found himself enveloped in that soft green light. When it faded, he was back in the chamber beneath the Forest Temple.

His second parting from Saria suddenly hit him. He collapsed to his knees, clutching at his chest, his breath coming in rasps as he fought back the tears. He would not cry, though, he refused to cry. Too many tears had been shed, and there was no time for despair now. It would make no difference to anyone.

Standing, he tried to force himself to breathe normally around what felt like a ragged hole in his chest. He left the little chamber and returned to the plinth where the Master Sword was waiting for him. Gently drawing it out, he felt the dais shake and then begin to rise, returning him to the now familiar chamber above, with its eternal torches and dark timelessness.

As he rose, he gently slid the sword back into the scabbard at his side, and faced the door that would lead him out of the Forest Temple, not wanting to wait around.

When he passed over the threshold and back into the courtyard, Sheik was nowhere to be seen, and nor was Mido. Stepping to the edge of the crumbling stairs, he reached out and grabbed the branch of the tree he had used to climb up, quickly swinging down to the floor.

"I suppose they must be in the Sacred Forest Meadow," he said to Navi. She didn't respond, and he suddenly noticed a strange, distant sensation from her through their bond. He could not tell what she was really feeling, though. He began to walk, but she didn't follow him, hovering at the level of his head. He turned to look at her, confused. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm not coming with you," she said, her voice heavier than he had ever heard it.

Her words didn't make sense to him and he frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm not coming with you when you leave the forest." She began to speak in a rush, the words suddenly tumbling from her. "I've waited to see what the forest is like, and I can see that I'm needed here. I don't think I can help you much now, not with this quest, and I need to be here to help restore the forest. The fairies are the magic of the forest and that strength is needed to repair the damage Ganondorf has done."

"But," croaked Link, "How can you stay here? I need to go, that's what everyone keeps telling me!"

"I know," and now there were tears in Navi's voice. "I know you have to go, and I want you to go. I want you to stop Ganondorf, and I know that you can now. You scared me at Lon Lon Ranch, but now I know that you'll keep fighting to restore this land. But I can't come with you. I have to restore the forest."

"How can I stop Ganondorf without you, though?" Link could not keep the note of panic out of his voice.

"Link, you will find a way. You stopped needing me a while ago, if you ever did at all. The Deku Tree sent me as your guide when you were only a child. Now we know that you're a fully grown hylian, you don't need a fairy any more."

"But I do need you!" he wailed.

"No. You don't. I'm sorry Link, I've stayed with you until now, but the forest is where I'm needed. I cannot leave the Lost Woods again."

Link could think of nothing to say. There was silence for a long time as he stood in the courtyard and stared at her. The moment was broken when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned and saw Sheik appear at the gateway.

"Link?" said the sheikah. "What happened?"

"I'm leaving," stated Link, his voice emotionless, and he walked past the other man, beginning to walk down the hill to the Sacred Forest Meadow. Navi zipped past him and stopped before his face.

"Link, I'm sorry," she said.

"So am I," he replied, "But there's nothing else to say. I have to go."

"Well, will you come back?" she asked, her voice desperate.

"I don't know. I don't know what's going to happen." It was true. He had no idea what was going to happen, and without his closest companion he didn't know how he could find out.

"I'm sorry," she repeated.

Link paused for a moment, and then forced himself to say, "Goodbye, Navi." He began to walk again, and this time she did not follow him. He had gone twenty feet when she called "Link!" again. He stopped, his heart heavy within him, and turned to face her once final time.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For everything. The time we spent together. For realising you had to do the right thing, saving the forest. I know you can save Hyrule. I believe in you." Link had a momentary vision of Zelda, when she had fled from Hyrule Castle; she had said the same thing.

He nodded, then turned away, and began to walk again. Soon, he was in the clearing and walking with long strides over the grass. When he was halfway across the meadow, Sheik caught up with him.

"What happened in the temple, Link?" he asked.

"We found the source of the curse," he answered, and again his voice sounded strangely lifeless. "It's been destroyed. The barriers of the forest are repairing themselves."

"I thought I felt it. Then we have struck a great blow against the Evil King." Link snorted. It didn't feel like anything particularly great had happened that day. There had only been more pain.

"You are not alone, you know," said Sheik. Link stopped, surprised. How had the sheikah known what he had been thinking? He looked into his enigmatic companion's red eyes. "I heard your companion say she will remain in the forest. She will still be with you, though, for the forest is now with you," Sheik continued.

Link's brow furrowed as he remembered what Saria had said. He drew the Master Sword from its sheath and for a moment, he felt what he had felt inside the temple: an invisible cord, seeming to connect him into the steel of the sword. Again he reached for it, grasped it and felt the same connection, felt the power of the sword. But now it felt different to the strength he had used to destroy the phantom. It felt tempered, somehow. Instead of glowing blue, the blade took on a very slight green light, and Link could almost see his oldest friend watching him.

"Friends forever," he murmured.

"Pardon?" asked Sheik. Link glanced up at him, and for the first time in what felt like a very long time, he smiled.

"Nothing," he said. "I suppose you're right. She is with me. Always." But he did not explain to Sheik that he was no longer talking about Navi.