The Twinrova were dead.

Kotake and Koume, their bodies split from the massive Gerudo giantess they had transformed themselves into, lay now apart from each other, their hands outstretched as if to touch fingertips. The fire was extinguished, the ice was melting.

It was over.

Link leaned on his sword, face written with relief and pain. His tunic was heavy and wet from the melting ice, his back burned from the fire spell that had struck him. He was protected from the worst of it, but the heat had still made its way through the tunic and he was already blistering across his shoulders.

"Good job, Link." Navi said, landing in front of him and splaying out on the ground. She was just as exhausted as he was, trying to distract the witches as Link aimed his arrows. Link's heart had sunk at one point when an ice spell had struck the fairy straight-on, but she had recovered quickly and seemed no worse for wear. Himself, on the other hand, had lost feeling in his left foot and was afraid that when he took off his boot he would be met with frostbitten flesh.

There was a flash of light that caused Link to squeeze his eyes shut. When he opened them again, he saw that the witches were disintegrating into black smoke, following suit with every other enemy the man had encountered in his lifetime. He watched as they vanished, their bodies leaving nothing but ashy black stains on the ornate stone. He felt his head swim. It was time, as it had been in every other temple, and he knelt on the floor, waiting for the blackout to overtake his consciousness.

~o~

Link opened his eyes to that strange place between wakefulness and dreaming. He felt stronger than he had before, but his vision still swam as he picked himself up from the cool ground and straightened his back. The sages were around him, in that bizarre, pulsing room, floating on their pedestals. Rauru, Saria, Darunia, Ruto, Impa, and now…

"Nabooru."

"Hello there, boy." Though her posture was confident, she smiled sadly.

"I am glad to see you unharmed."

"I am disappointed to see you grown." she replied, a laugh in her voice. "If I had known this is how you would mature, I would have fought harder against the witches at the first."

Link blushed fiercely, but stood straight.

"You still would have been disappointed." He said, feeling his heart beat fast. He reminded himself that Ruto, the Zora who had once been his betrothed, was standing within earshot, but what could he do? He knew in his heart that they would never actually marry, and now it was confirmed. She was a sage, after all. She wasn't even on the mortal plane anymore… it was like he had killed all of these people.

"I know your heart belongs to another." Nabooru nodded. She fixed her gaze on him, "but I have grave news for you."

"Grave news?" he asked incredulously, "Isn't that what my whole life has been? I have never hoped for my own happiness."

"In that you were wiser than I. I have seen the future, dear boy. Though I do not know how. I know the fate of your ranch girl."

Link swallowed hard and felt his fists clench at his side.

"I do as well."

"Is that so?" Nabooru raised an eyebrow at him. Link lifted his head, squaring his shoulders.

"I was granted visions in the Shadow Temple. I was offered many versions, as the spirits within the temple tried to find the most hideous things to fill me with. I have seen every outcome, every possible thing that could happen to Hyrule, and to Malon. I have done my best for her, and am content with whatever fate awaits us."

"You will leave her with the Gerudo, knowing what might happen?"

"I will."

Nabooru narrowed her eyes for a moment, then smiled softly. "There is a reason you carry the Triforce of Courage, young one. Very well. I will gladly add my power to yours. May fate be kind to you, and to us all."

~o~

She was deeply asleep. Her hair was splayed out on the pillow, red as fire. The dark blue clothes the Gerudo had given her were strange to see her in, but beautiful nonetheless. They had even managed to talk her into painting her face. Her eyes were kohled and a shimmer of blue swirled on her eyelid. She was beautiful. She had always been beautiful.

"The Forest Warrior returns to us." The soft voice startled Link and he turned, facing the red-clad Gerudo.

"Not for long." Link said, glancing back at Malon. "I-"

"Have business elsewhere?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Link merely nodded. The woman motioned for Link to follow her and turned around. They walked through a series of rooms until they came to what Link assumed was the main dining area. A long table sat in the center of the room, wooden benches lining each side. She bid him to sit and approached with a bowl of stew.

"It is long, this part of your journey, and you may not receive home comforts again," she sat opposite him and pushed the bowl forward. He glanced first at it, then the woman, and nodded.

"How do you know?"

"I was visited last night," she said, "by Nabooru."

"Oh yes?"

"It was a vision, the likes of which I have not had since she was taken seven years ago. The witches' spell was broken, but now she is trapped in a different manner, is she not?"

Link slurped the soup, not meeting her gaze. What was the difference between dying and waking as a sage? Only one, as far as he could see. The sages had lent to him their mortal power. In a way, he had devoured those people. "She is woken as a sage, and as such is no longer part of this world."

"That is what I thought. Are you prepared to use her sacrifice?"

"I am."

"And what of Malon?"

"I..." Link trailed off. Would the Gerudo not keep her? Was that really what Nabooru had been trying to tell him? "What of her?"

"Why have you come back?" The woman raised an eyebrow and leaned forward. "You have strength enough for this task. Why return to this fortress?"

"I... I needed to see her again."

"Why did you not wake her? "

"I wanted to see her in secret. She cannot know I was here."

"You love her. I know you do. Why do you then torture her, and yourself, in these ways?"

"I am not free to give myself away." Link said, raising his face to meet her gaze. "If I was master of myself then there would be no question of it for me. I would have taken her from that ranch and left Hyrule. But that was never an option. I belong to Princess Zelda. She wields me... like a butcher with a cleaver, and when my purpose is fulfilled I'll be cast aside."

"Zelda cares so little for you? Her salvation is riding on your back. She cannot have her best warrior broken."

"This dance is one that has been performed before...I see the same depth of Zelda that others see in me. She knows the past and believes I cannot fail."

"And you?"

"I see the mortal in myself that Zelda cannot. My soul may be old, but the body it inhabits is just the same as any that walk the Earth. It is physical, it is fallible. I am scarred and bruised. I've been broken and abandoned. I ache for normalcy, but know I am not meant for it."

The woman nodded softly. "Loyalty is certainly something that the Gerudo understand, but we are careful to keep each other safe. This usage of your by Zelda… it seems reckless. How many times have you seen the flash of death before you?"

"Many." Link replied, setting aside the empty bowl.

"I do not condone what has been done to you, and I do not understand why you allow yourself to be used in this way. Whether destiny or duty, it has been mishandled." she stood from the table and took the bowl in her hand, weighing the empty dish between her palms. "Zelda believes she is doing what is best for her people, but ignores those who are destroyed in the attempt."

"It is for the greater good."

"There are better ways. A leader is allowed to be selfless for her people. She should never demand selflessness of her allies. But, there is a reason I rule the Gerudo and not the Hylians." She gave a shrug. "So, you have seen Malon and have eaten your fill. You cannot say that the Gerudo withheld their assistance in your final mission."

"I thank you for it." Link said, returning the woman's sly smirk, before standing from the table.

"Link…" she spoke again as Link reached the doorway, causing him to pause. He turned his head to look at her.

"She will do well here." she said after a pause. "So do not let concerns for her safety plague you. She is home."

"I know." Link said, smiled, and disappeared through the door.

~o~

Link carried within him an ancient soul. Older than Castle Town or Kokiri forest, older than Lake Hylia, older even than Hyrule. His part in history was a small, but critical one, which would lay the path for countless heroes after him. In the same manner, they would carry forth this soul within their own prone, mortal bodies. In the same way they would be slaves to the destiny set forth for them by the goddesses. Their decision to break apart the triforce set it in motion. He wondered if the other two players in this dark dance felt the same as he did. The same helplessness. Surely they must, they carried equal parts of the burden as he. They were puppets just as he was.

His life had been planned for him from the first. It was all inevitable. From the death of the Great Deku Tree to the beast that had taken over Ganondorf's physical form, a hideous pig-demon dripping black effluvia from his writhing snout. Link was meant to wake to Navi that morning all those years ago, just as he was meant to deliver tonight's final killing blow, sending Ganondorf's power away from the world, back into the sacred realm in an an effort to safeguard Hyrule. For now. It was always temporary. It was temporary in the previous attempt, this would be temporary, the next time would be temporary. It didn't matter, it never mattered.

Zelda stood over him. The sun was shining behind her through the parting clouds, lighting her hair like a halo. She held out a hand, and he took it. He studied the scene for a moment. His raw flesh, mottled with dirt and blood, grasping her pristine white glove. In fact, all of her was pristine, from her gown to her shimmering gold jewelry. She had been kidnapped, trapped, ran down a crumbling tower, and watched the battle between Link and Ganon, and was still pure and clean.

Link was furious.

She would take credit for the battle. He knew she would. She would claim to have safeguarded the Master Sword when it had been swept from his grasp. The blow had shattered his wrist, forcing him to fight with his opposite hand. She would claim that it was her power that had stopped Ganon long enough for Link to deliver the final blow, but it wasn't so. It was the other sages. It was everyone whom Link had loved or helped, and all he had destroyed in the process. Everyone he held dear, everyone who had given their power to him to aide the mission. Rauru, Saria, Darunia, Ruto, Impa, Nabooru…

But not her. It was a small voice, soft in the back of his mind, and it comforted him. No. Not her. She was safe. She was with the Gerudo. The fierce band of women who knew nothing but loyalty. They would keep her safe. They would do the things for her that he could not. He had loved her most, and he had assured her future. That was enough for him.

"We've done it." Zelda said, her voice low. "He's gone."

"For now." Link replied.

"Yes." She cast her eyes to the ground, taking in the smears of blood and grime that coated the broken stones. Ganon's body was dissolving into black smoke.

"What is left for us now?" Link asked, feeling his legs shake under his own weight. He was weak. so very weak. He wanted nothing but to lay on the rubble and fall asleep, but a part of him knew that if he did that he wouldn't wake again.

"This is my fault." Zelda said and Link looked at her in surprise, but said nothing.

"This is my fault…" she repeated. "I was so young… I had so many grand plans, but I did nothing but open the Sacred Realm to Ganondorf. And you… I didn't think-"

"This wasn't your fault. Princess." Link said. She looked into his eyes for a long moment, then nodded.

"If I didn't know better, I would have thought that you carried the Triforce of Wisdom."

"Wisdom comes in many forms. Recognizing… and accepting your past.. is one." He dropped his head, a small smile playing at his lips. "We have lived many lives, you and I, but each has been its own. This is no different."

"You are right." Zelda said. "But… I think I know a way I can fix this… for one of us."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…" She pulled out the Ocarina of Time, brushing her fingers over its cool surface. "I am the Sage of Time… I can… I can send you back. Link… I think I can send you back in time. It will repair the rift… Ganondorf will stay in the Sacred Realm and it would close the Door of Time… forever. As if it never opened..."

"But… what about what we've done? What we've accomplished here?"

"My rash decisions have destroyed more than they have saved… I can see that now. I do not know the fate of those who have lived through the things we have done in this timeline… but if I send you back it will create another. One where the Triforce of Power is safe… and… you will live a normal life."

"Will I… will I remember everything?"

"I cannot say." Zelda said, her face turning red. "Time is an intricate thing… it is impossible to know all the outcomes."

"And what if I stay?" Link asked.

Zelda looked him up and down and sighed. "I don't think you'll survive the night."

Link looked down at himself, realizing she was right. He was coated in blood, most of it his own. His ruined left wrist lay twisted at his side. Several broken ribs ground together with each heaving breath. A sharp pain throbbed deep within his body, and even now the edges of his vision were spotting with black. He shook his head and steeled himself, flashing the princess his trademark mischievous grin.

"It's worth a try."

Zelda nodded and brought the Ocarina of Time to her lips.

As the white light surrounded Link, bleeding between his eyelids, shining like a halo around his body, and the too-familiar press of the shredded years pulled him into the abyss for the final time, he allowed himself to call into the void. It was not a wordless cry, not a plea to the goddesses, nor a curse of his fate.

It was a name.

The only name that mattered.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this! Reviews are always welcome. Thank you!