Chapter 1: Prologue

It’s many months after Link got the job done in Termina. Link has found a way back to Hyrule immediately when the moon had stopped falling. He is going to an old friend’s. He hasn’t seen her in many months and decides to take his time with his visit. He’s now at Hyrule castle, he knocks on the door, and Impa answers.

“Well, we haven’t seen you in a while.” Impa said with some joy, “Uhh…yeah.” Link replied, “Can I see Zelda?” He asked, “Go ahead. You don’t appear to be a big threat. Go ahead.” With those words, Link ran up to Zelda’s room, knocked on the door, and was let in on a great reunion. When Zelda saw that Link had returned from Termina, she almost leaped for joy! She ran at Link, reached her arms out, and they both ended up in a great hug. It was so happy for Zelda that Link could’ve sworn he felt a small tear on his chest. “Something wrong?” Link asked, “Nothing. Nothing’s wrong.” Zelda said in an almost whisper. After their talk, they went to all kinds of places in Hyrule. They went to Kokiri forest, and Link got to spend time with his old friend Saria. They went swimming in Zora’s Domain. (Princess Ruto chased Link all over the domain.) They went to the Market and played games at the Shooting gallery and Bombchu bowling alley. They went to Lon-Lon Ranch and rode horses. (Link got his favorite, Epona.) It was a great day and it lasted for two years. It was hard to think about anything bad…even Ganondorf. Little did they know that the two most evil beings in Hyrule and Termina were going to unite in an attempt to destroy Hyrule and all who oppose them.

                                                   Chapter 2: It Happens

            Miles away from Hyrule, the Happy Mask Shop owner was still on his way from Termina. A heart-shaped mask with spikes and big, orange eyes was on his large sack. The owner was so over come with glee, he didn’t even notice the eyes on the mask suddenly glowed with a glare of evil. He didn’t even notice that the mask had removed itself from his sack. After it detached itself, it floated away on Link’s trail as if it knew Link had tread on this exact same ground.

            Universes away in the Sacred Realm, a chain of the seal was growing weaker and an evil man’s strength was growing. This man was Link’s archenemy-Ganondorf Dragmire. “Yes! I can feel my power returning!” He shouted with confidence, “This time, I’m not going anywhere because the Sage will be missing. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” The sages knew this too. In the Realm of Sages, A man with a white mustache in orange, yellow, and red robes appeared to be getting weaker. This man was Rauru-the Sage of Light. He wasn’t going for a while. However after two years, he was getting very weak and needed help. He turned to one of the few people he could trust: Link and time was running short.

A whole world away, Link was awakened and a light engulfed him. A few minutes later, he was in the Realm of the Sages. When he came to, Rauru was in front of him. Link was a bit delighted, but then Rauru spoke in a weak voice. “Link, there’s not much time!” “What do you mean?” Link asked worriedly, “My time as a sage is almost over.” He said, “What?! Rauru! You can’t die!” Link shouted, “Don’t worry about me, and just go! Find my replacement.” He commanded with more rapid breathing, “Go, and take this with you. Guard it with your life!” He commanded, and with one final move gave Link the medallion of Light. After that, He vanished in a flash of yellow light. At the exact same time, a portal opened up and a Gerudo man stepped out. As soon as Ganondorf stepped out and met face-to-face with Link, Link had been teleported out to safety.

Link ended up in bed with sweat running down his face. Just to be sure the whole thing was real, he reached in his pocket and searched for the Medallion of Light. Suddenly, he felt something heavy and hard in his hand. He pulled out the medallion and realized the horrible truth-Ganondorf HAD returned. He immediately got on his tunic and hat, got his shield, and got out his trusty sword. After that, he was on his way for supplies. He stopped at Lon-Lon Ranch and got Epona, he went to Kakariko for a bite to eat, and then he was on his way to the castle, determined to save this world he called home.

When he was near the castle, the medallion started vibrating in his pocket. He took it out and it was glowing a bright gold. Then, right before his eyes, a transparent Rauru appeared. “Link, my replacement is in that castle.” He told Link, “Who is it?” Link asked, “You will find her by following the medallion. When it glows nonstop, you’ve found her.” He advised. Soon he started dissolving into blue dust. “Rauru! Don’t leave me!” Link shouted, but was too late. Rauru was gone. “What’ll I do for the rest of this?” Link asked himself, “I will always be with you.” Rauru’s voice sounded in Link’s head. Link knew what he had to do now. He kept the medallion close in his hand and entered the castle.  

Getting into the castle was no problem. He was the Hero of Time and the guards respected him. Therefore, he could enter the castle at will. The guards noticed him and gave him warm, “Hey, Link” or “Hello there.” Link waved to them and continued. He then noticed that the golden medallion was flashing. He was very close now.

The medallion started flashing more frequently and vibrating slightly. As he neared Zelda’s room, it flashed faster and faster, and it vibrated harder and quicker. Soon, he found Zelda and this time, it glowed and didn’t stop. Soon after, Zelda was a little bemused. “Link? What are you doing here?” She asked. Link didn’t answer, but held up the light medallion, almost instinctively. Zelda instantly knew what he was holding. “Is that…the Light Medallion?” She asked. Suddenly a beam of light emitted from the medallion and shot right at Zelda’s forehead. She looked a little surprised, but then her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she stood there in a kind of trance. She didn’t even notice she was falling.

 In her mind there was a large room that had a rainbow of swords in the middle. They were in the colors of green, red, blue, gold, purple, and orange. She was standing right in front of the golden sword and had no clue where she was. “Where am I?” She asked curiously, “And how did I get here?” “You are in the legendary Realm of the Sages. If I am correct, you will be the one to pull the Sword of Light from the pedestal.” A voice told her. She nodded, grabbed the Sword of Light, and pulled with all her strength. The sword came out as if it were lighter than a feather. Then, a golden light engulfed her and the room was filled with bright light.

When the light cleared, she woke up with Link by her side. She had fallen into his arms. “Are you alright?” Link asked, “It’s okay, Link. I’m fine.” She replied. When she got up, Link noticed she had a sword in a scabbard strapped to her back. “What’s that?” He asked. Zelda felt around her back and felt something long and hard. She felt for a handle and pulled the sword out of the scabbard. “So it wasn’t a dream.” She said, “Link, we must find the other sages. Ganondorf has returned with a new ally.” Link nodded and without further hesitation, they made their way out of the castle.

                                                   Chapter 3: Bargain

As Zelda and Link searched for the other sages, two evil beings were about to meet. Ganondorf was still at the desert, but someone or something was about to give him a chance in ruling Hyrule and it was floating right down the same path Ganondorf walked, even following the tracks. It was as though he was Ganondorf recalling a memory when he was actually following his brain patterns.

A strange mask floated out of the lost woods and right to the first place of Link’s archenemy. At the desert, Ganondorf was slowly gaining strength when something spoke to him. “You seek to rule this world, don’t you?” Ganondorf looked around with an annoyed look on his face. “Who’s there?!” Ganondorf yelled in the darkness. He heard a quiet laugh and the laughter changed into the same voice. “For someone who’s the King of Evil, you sure are impatient.” Ganondorf was getting VERY ticked off about this and snapped. “SHOW YOURSELF!” He demanded. The mask didn’t laugh, but simply said, “If you insist.”

The mask appeared in front of him. At first, Ganondorf didn’t know what to make of this thing. He quickly realized that this was the voice that was speaking to him. “Who are you?” the King of evil asked in an annoyed tone, “I have ruined the lives of many, I nearly destroyed the land of Termina, I am Majora’s Mask!” The mask said in a cold voice, “What do you want?” Ganondorf asked, “I want to assist you in taking over this world. I have issues with Link and anyone who is friends with him.” Majora implied, “You do?” Ganondorf asked, “I’d sooner see my power drained than see Link live. So what do you say?” The mask said in a calm demeanor, “You’ve got yourself a deal!” Ganondorf said. With that, the mask attached itself to Ganondorf’s chest and melded its mind with Ganondorf’s mind. Ganondorf’s eyes turned the shade of Majora’s and spikes emerged from his arms. The two evils of Hyrule had united!

“I will create creatures for you, but you will have control over them and give them more strength.” Majora added. With those words, five figures appeared. They looked like monsters, but were as black as shadows. “It will take time for my power to seep into these things. Only a few years worth.” Ganondorf informed the mask. “It will be worth every second.” Majora said patiently. With a glare of the large orange eyes, the monster shadows were sent to a realm to gain strength. “Don’t get too hasty, Majora. We don’t want to attract attention. For now, we must act like we don’t even exist. When the time comes, we will rule this land with an iron fist!” Ganondorf quickly informed. “Link will soon cease to exist and the world will soon be ours!” They said together and after that, they emitted an evil laugh.

                                                   Chapter 4: Growing Up

            Zelda and Link were on their way to the Kokiri Forest. The second sage had to be found, and they knew just where to look. They went to the forest and searched through the Lost Woods for the sage of the Forest Temple. They eventually found the Sacred Forest Meadow and there was Saria sitting on a tree stump, playing her ocarina. She stopped playing and a smile spread across her face. “Hi, Link! I see you’ve brought a friend.” She replied in a friendly manner, “Hello, Saria.” Link said, but he wasn’t full of happiness, but a bit of worry and relief. “I need to do something for you.” “What?” Saria asked as she slightly tilted her head, “I need to do this.” Link said while holding the medallion. The beam of light from the Light Medallion focused on Saria’s forehead and she went into the same zombie trance Zelda was in a few hours ago.

She was in the exact same place where Zelda was, except she was near a sword with a green hilt. It had emeralds the size of cucco eggs and what appeared to be metal vines crafted into the handle. “Is this some kind of dream?” Saria asked, “As the prophecy says, you must pull the Forest Sword from the pedestal.” A man’s voice spoke, “Well, here goes.” Saria said anxiously. She grabbed the sword and pulled it out. She looked down and saw that a green aura was surrounding her and that everything was vanishing into a white light.

Shortly after the white light vanished, Ganondorf finally spoke with Majora’s Mask. “Majora…” Ganondorf ordered. Majora came into focus in Ganon’s brain and answered, “Yes, Ganon?” Ganondorf’s smile widened and he said, “The time has come. After all these years, we will begin our attack.” If Majora had a face, it would definitely be smiling from ear-to-ear. “Let’s see…who should we send in?” Majora asked in the usual evil demeanor Ganondorf looked over the creatures and pointed to a rather large one. “You there! Go to the forest and slay Link and anyone who stands in our way!” The creature growled like a gorilla and vanished into the shadows. Ganondorf then said, “Now is the time to make ourselves known. Use a magic copy and send it to meet them.” Ganondorf commanded. Majora only said two words, “Very well.” A quick focus and they were glowing with a dark aura. They were going to strike quickly and decisively.

A green light covered Saria’s body like some kind of glowing constrictor and then she woke up. She looked around and saw she was back in the woods. A second check and she saw Link and Zelda were gone. Had something terrible happened “Where am I? Was everything before just a dream?” she thought, “My legs are killing me. I have to get up.” She did and saw a deku scrub. As it looked at her, it backed away and eventually ran away. She was a bit confused. Why would a scrub run away from her? She was no threat to them. “I have to find Link and Zelda.” She thought as she hurried away. After she ran through the Lost Woods, she ran to her house. Surprisingly, she got there much faster than she normally would. “Wow. I must’ve gotten faster.” She thought. Normally it would take her fifteen minutes to get to her house, now she got there in ten. She walked into her house and she saw a green-clad person and a girl with a gown. The two people turned around and what Saria saw nearly made her faint.

Link was a bit taller than she was, but he looked different. So did Zelda. “Saria? Hey, Zelda! She’s awake!” Link said, “You just vanished after I shined that light on you and you didn’t show up for a long time.” Saria was confused. What in the world were they talking about? “Link, she doesn’t know.” Zelda explained, “Get a reflective object like a mirror or water.” “What in the world is going on here?” Saria said, but then she clapped her hands over her mouth. Her voice changed! Link returned with a mirror and took the cover off. What Saria saw amazed her. She was no longer a little girl, but a beautiful young woman. Her hair was no longer short, but elbow-length. Her clothes were now too small for her. So she asked for a bit of privacy. A few minutes later, she had special clothes made for her by the Deku Tree. She saw a sword in scabbard strapped to her back and had a lot of questions to be answered. “How long have I been asleep?” She asked quickly, “You’ve been asleep for seven years.” Link answered, “Seven YEARS?! I can’t age while I’m in the forest.” She said in surprise. Suddenly a flash came from the Medallion of Light and Rauru’s spirit appeared in front of Saria. “Do not be afraid, Saria. You were simply too young to wield the Forest Sword, so your spirit was held here for seven years. You were momentarily turned mortal and you did age. The sword you pulled was one of the Sages’ swords. Zelda pulled my sword out and is now the sage of light. Ganondorf has returned and is working with an unknown evil. You must find the other sages.” Rauru said. After those words, he vanished.

“I now know my duty. Let’s go!” Saria demanded, “Going somewhere?” A voice asked, “Ganondorf?” Link asked, “In a manner of speaking.” Another voice replied, “Huh? Majora’s Mask?” Link wondered. Suddenly they saw Ganondorf hovering in the air with Majora’s Mask attached to his chest and glowing orange eyes. Saria almost screamed in terror from the sight. Rauru was right. Ganondorf returned with a not-too-extreme makeover via the mask. “I think one of my servants will toy with you for a while.” Majora said through Ganondorf’s mouth. Suddenly, the earth began to quake and with a great crack-a huge monster came out and gave a loud roar. “Meet Majora’s Gigas!” The monster had massive arms, huge muscles, purple skin, spikes coming out of his neck and wrists, and gigantic fists as large as curled gorons. Ganondorf and Majora spoke as one and said only two words: “Kill him.”

Without warning, Majora’s Gigas launched his massive fist at Link, but the hero of time easily evaded it. Link turned to face his opponent, but surprisingly, he was gone. Link then noticed the large hole in the ground. Suddenly, Gigas burst from the ground and raised both fists in the air and attempted to pound Link into the ground like a nail. Link again evaded it, but didn’t have enough time to go after Gigas again. Link remembered that Light Arrows worked on Majora and Ganondorf. However he didn’t have any. So the best he could do was dodge the giant fists of Gigas. He struck with his sword, but all he had was a giant’s knife and it didn’t work. “How am I supposed to defeat this guy? My sword won’t work on him!” Link thought angrily as he dodged yet another fist that would have squashed him like a cockroach.

Suddenly a blinding light was shot right at Gigas. It was a light arrow! The arrow struck Gigas in between the eyes and the monster clutched the spot like a bee had just stung him there. “Where’d that come from?” Link asked himself. He then looked behind him and saw Zelda wielding her sword upward and it had a burst of light on the point. Behind her was Saria with the legendary Fairy Bow made by the Kokiri. As Link watched, she aimed an arrow, fired it through the light and hit Gigas in the chest. “Where’d you get that?” Link asked in amazement, “I don’t know, but I felt that I would need it and…there it was.” Saria answered. Majora’s Gigas was about to pound Link into the ground when suddenly, the medallion emitted a light that engulfed the hero and he vanished. Gigas’ only result was punching the ground and nothing more. Link materialized in the temple of time and was right behind the door of time with the Master sword was in front of him. He knew what he had to do and he pulled the sword out of the pedestal. The sword glowed with the power to repel evil as a blue aura encircled Link.

After he pulled it out, he was transported back to the forest meadow.

Zelda and Saria were stunning Gigas, but they couldn’t do it forever. Zelda was getting tired from summoning up that much magic and Saria was running out of arrows. Soon, Link was at the fight and when a light arrow was fired, he leapt into the air and stuck his sword in Gigas’ forehead. Rainbow-colored blood gushed out of the spot Link’s sword hit and the sword was still sticking out of the monster’s head. Gigas fell to his knees, made his final breath, and disintegrated into a purple mist. Miles away in the Sacred Realm, Majora felt the presence of Majora’s Gigas vanish. “NO! He recovered the Master Sword! The two sages realized their true power!” Majora shouted in anguish, “It doesn’t matter, we can still win.” Ganondorf replied, “Their next stop will be the Fire Sage. Send your monsters to the temples and get them ready.” The king of evil demanded, “Right away.” Majora obeyed. A glow of his eyes and another monster lay in wait at Death Mountain like a lion about to pounce.

            “Somehow, we beat it.” Saria said, “That was only a taste of what’s coming.” Link warned, “We can’t stay for long. Next stop is the Sage of Fire.” Zelda said, “Off to Goron city then?” Link asked, “You know it.” Zelda replied. After that, they were on their way.

                                                   Chapter 5: Boiling Hot

They knew where they had to go. If they wanted to see Darunia, they had to go to Death Mountain. They had to stop for supplies first. They stopped at Lon-Lon Ranch for food and transportation. If they wanted to go far, they needed something faster than their simple feet. Malon greeted her friends by giving them horses. (There was a special green one for Saria.) After they got their horses, they were off to the mountain. At Goron City, the Gorons easily recognized Link. They knew what they had to do for the friendly rock people. After Link talked them out of a goron hug, they entered Darunia’s chamber and were greeted. Link couldn’t avoid the Goron Hug from him and felt his spine bend. “Link! I missed you so much! How can I repay you for taking down that dragon?” The Goron boss asked, “Stop trying to break me in half.” Link answered, “Deal.” Darunia answered, and with that, he dropped Link. “Hmm? Am I seeing things or is Saria all grown up?” Darunia asked as he furrowed his eyebrow. “I’ll explain later.” Link said as he put his vertebrae back into place. He then pulled out the Light Medallion and pointed it at the big goron boss. Darunia looked puzzled when he saw the medallion. He only had enough time to say, “Wait a second…” before a beam of light aimed right for his forehead and Darunia went into a trance.

He was right in the Realm of Sages in front of a red sword. It too had egg-sized gemstones embedded in it, but instead of emeralds, they were bright red rubies. Its blade was wide and had bright orange metal. Darunia looked at the other swords and saw the forest one was missing. “Darunia, I want you to pull this sword out of the pedestal. If you do, you will be able to fight the Evil that plagues the land alongside with Link.” A voice said, “Well, whatever you say.” Darunia replied, and with one hand, pulled the sword out. A swirl of red light and he was back in Goron City. “Link, I had the most peculiar dream. I dreamt I pulled a sword of the fire temple out of a pedestal.” Darunia said, “Um…Darunia? That was no dream. It was real.” Link explained. Darunia felt his back and for sure pulled out a sword that was a little too small for him and, right before his eyes, it grew to the size of the Giant’s Knife. “Whoa! How’d that happen?” Darunia asked, “Magic. What else?” Saria answered.

Then, in a strange turn of events, Ganondorf/Majora appeared in a mixture of colored smoke and flame. Darunia saw it as a threat and popped his knuckles. “Ah, The sage of Fire. How good to see you. I think you’ll find my next servant as your fiery grave and demise!” Ganondorf/Majora taunted. As they watched, the rock underneath cracked, revealing lava, which melted the rock like an ice cube. Suddenly the lava took form and turned into a giant, reptilian creature. Its lava skin was hot and in every color of the rainbow. It had Majora’s sign on its helmeted forehead, glowing red eyes, four arms ending in claws as big as steak knives, and razor-sharp teeth. “Meet Majora’s Malevolence!” Ganondorf/Majora shouted. Saria noticed the temperature in here was rising and it was almost as hot as the Death Mountain crater. “It’s too HOT! I can’t take it!” Saria shouted, “Sorry, Link. I can’t help you now.” With that, Saria ran out of the mountain and decided to wait for them. “How am I going to fight this monster without arrows?” Link asked. Suddenly a jet of rainbow-colored flame shot out of Malevolence’s mouth and nearly burned Link to cinders. Link dodged it just when heat grazed his toes. Just when he hit ground, a tentacle came up to meet him and tripped the hero, burning him in the process. Link’s hadn’t fought an opponent with this much heat since Volvagia, but this was nothing compared to the dragon. It wasn’t just going to spew flames, but use tentacles like fiery chains and shoot lava and fire. Suddenly, something bright hit Malevolence in the head. Link looked up just in time to see it happen again. Zelda was producing a light spell from her sword while Darunia put his fist in the light, jumped into the air, and slammed his knuckles into Malevolence.

However, the punches were only stunning Malevolence like the light arrows did with Gigas. Link thought for a while and remembered his fight with Volvagia. “Darunia! I need the Megaton Hammer!” Link demanded. Darunia took out the heavy hammer and tossed it to Link. Link caught it and almost fell to the ground. After a minute of getting up, Link gave the signal that he was ready. Darunia gave Malevolence another “Light Fist” and when he was stunned, Link smashed the beast’s head with the Megaton Hammer. The creature shrieked in pain and clutched its head. Link noticed that the helmet was cracked and wasted no time in smashing it with the hammer again. The creature turned to whip Link away, but the Hylian proved too quick. When Link hit the lava monster two more times, Malevolence decided to take things into his own hands. Link was about to jump again, but when he was close, Malevolence caught him in the midsection with his claws. Link ended up with four gashes in his chest and fell back. Link knew that Malevolence wasn’t going to let him get anywhere close to his lava body. So Link pulled the hammer back and chucked it at the creation’s helmet. The mask-like protection was smashed off and shattered like glass. Its face was dragon-like and had a glowing rainbow sphere right where the nostrils should have been. “Whoa. No wonder he keeps that on. He needs to see if he can get a makeover.” Zelda muttered to herself. Link could hardly blame her.

Malevolence’s attacks were becoming more voracious. It was spewing rainbow fireballs all over the arena, restricting Link’s movement. Just when Link moved away from another fireball, a wall of fire surrounded him. “Oh no! I’m trapped!” Link said in a hoarse whisper. Suddenly, someone shouted, “Link! Use this!” Someone tossed something through the flames toward him. It was a goron tunic, and Link quickly slipped it on and went through the flames. He felt like he got sunburn, but nothing worse. It was Darunia who saved him. “Brother, I have a plan. I’ll lead his attention away from you and you can hit him with your sword. If you can get that sphere on his snout, you can win.” Darunia demanded. Link understood and nodded. Soon their plan was in action. Darunia got in front of Malevolence with his fire sword in his hand. He was striking him to no avail, because his fire sword couldn’t affect a fire creature. The creature batted the goron boss away like a baseball and Darunia ended up with a bleeding lip. Zelda tried her luck, but Malevolence was on to her. A spew of rainbow fire forced Zelda to defend with her light sword. Link then noticed the way Zelda was holding her sword, pointing right at Darunia. Link noticed a few arrows on the floor. Link picked them up and thought of who did it. “Saria. Thank you.” He thought. He then turned to Zelda and asked, “Zelda, I need you to keep that pose with your sword. Think you can hold it?” Zelda nodded in approval and then Link turned to Darunia. “Darunia, hold your sword and tilt it toward the orb!” They both did what they were told and prepared. Link whipped out his Fairy Bow, took careful aim, and fired an arrow at Zelda’s sword. It ricocheted off Zelda’s sword, bounced off Darunia’s sword, and pierced Malevolence’s orb. The magma beast howled in pain and clutched its nose. The arrow was sticking out of the rainbow sphere, but wasn’t in all the way. Link didn’t hesitate for a minute. He ran over to the creature’s front and stuck his sword into his sphere. This one went all the way into the sphere. Malevolence screeched in agony as his body stiffened into a rainbow colored rock. After he was completely petrified, he disintegrated into powder. “NO! This hero is going to destroy us one at a time at this rate!” Ganondorf/Majora shouted. Luckily, Ganondorf remembered the Sage of Water and sent it there silent as a ghost.

Three sages down and three more to go, the group couldn’t stop now. “Next stop is the Sage of Water.” Link informed, “Sorry, Link, I gotta sit this one out.” Darunia said, “Huh? What’re you talking about?” Saria asked, “I swim like a stone.” Darunia replied. Link then nodded in acceptance and said, “Very well. You can wait in Goron city for us to return. We’ll pick you up when we deliver the water sword.” Darunia shook Link’s hand and nearly broke it. Soon it would be time to get wet and take the plunge.

                                                   Chapter 6: Shake It Like A Snake

Darunia decided to wait in his room at the bottom of Goron City. Sometimes, he couldn’t resist humming Saria’s Song. By the time he finished, he was dancing like a monkey.

Link and the others were heading a few miles East-to Zora’s Domain. There they would find Ruto-Sage of Water. Link had been dreading this since they began looking for Darunia. Ruto always had a crush on him and it was just annoying. When they got there, she was nowhere to be seen. They asked her father-King Zora where she went. “Hmmm, Ruto? Last I saw her, she was off to Lake Hylia for a good swim. She said this place was a little too cramped.” The King said in his rather deep tone. Link bowed and said, “Thank you, your majesty.” After that, he headed off.

Luckily for Saria and Zelda, Link knew just what to do. He located a small cave at the bottom of the small pond in the domain. So he took Zelda’s hand and dove in through a small cave. Saria followed them. A few seconds later, they reached the lake. Link decided to swim around to relax, while Saria and Zelda searched the shores. Link was floating on the surface of the water, when all of a sudden he opened his eyes and saw a big pair of purple eyes looking down at him. Link screamed in surprise and plunged below the surface. After that, he surfaced and got a good lungful of air. He looked around and saw Ruto giggling at what he did. “Hahahahahaha! Did I surprise you, Link?” She asked cheerfully. Link caught his breath just when Ruto had a very dreamy look in her eyes. Link slowly began to back away, but Ruto followed him. Finally, Ruto said what Link had been dreading, “We’re both nineteen. Will you marry me now?” She then puckered her lips and Link swam like a maniac trying to get away from the zora princess.

Saria tapped Zelda on the shoulder and they turned around to see Link out of the water, running for his life. “Hey, Link…” Saria began, but Link ran past them before he said, “Talk later. RUN NOW!” The two ladies stared at the Hylian running past them and then turned just in time for Ruto to screech to a stop. “Oh, I see Link brought friends.” Ruto said. She then eyed Saria and cocked an eyebrow. She inspected her and finally asked, “Who are you?” Saria almost fainted and answered, “I’m Saria. Do you know any other green-haired girls?” Ruto fell backwards in surprise and asked, “Saria? I thought Kokiri couldn’t age, but you sure sprouted. What happened?” “I became mortal for seven years due to magic. Long story.” Saria explained. At this time, Link decided that Ruto stopped chasing him and came out of his hiding spot. “Link, you know what to do.” Zelda advised. Link nodded, took the medallion out, and aimed its light at Ruto. The beam struck her in the forehead and she went into a trance.

She was in the same place Zelda, Saria, and Darunia went. “Huh? Am I dreaming?” Ruto asked, “Ruto, you must pull out the Sword of Water if you’re to stop the evil that looms over Hyrule.” A bodiless voice told her, “Why the water sword?” She asked. With that, she went over to a different sword and tried pulling it out. However, it was like trying to lift two tons and she didn’t get anything done. After trying over and over again, she finally sighed and said, “ I guess the water sword is what I have to go with.” She said as she went to the blue sword. It wasn’t bad looking either. It had egg-sized sapphires and a dolphin curled over the hilt. She put her hands on it and it felt light as a feather as she pulled it out. After she pulled it out, a blue light surrounded her and she was back in Lake Hylia with Link, Saria, and Zelda looking down at her. “I don’t need any explaining. I know I got the sword, look.” She quickly said as she pulled the sword out of the scabbard.

Suddenly, the water started moving and it formed swells. Then a giant, multicolored, snakelike creature with spikes down its back reared itself out of the water and it had a false incarnation of Ganondorf/Majora hovering over the water. “Allow me to introduce Majora’s Serpent. Serpent, meet Link, and Link, meet your doom!” Ganondorf/Majora said evilly. He then added, “I hope you enjoy Serpent being larger than life.” Before he vanished. Majora’s Serpent hissed and spat as something bad happened. The water was disappearing from the lake as though the giant snake was absorbing it like a sponge. And then, right before their eyes, he grew to the height of a school bus and was as wide as a redwood tree. His eyes were as big as basketballs and his teeth were as long as a human arm. His massive body stretched from one side of the lake to the other. It emitted a large hiss that seemed to scream, “DIE” and began its assault. It struck at Link only to miss by a mile and Link ended up in the mud hole that was Lake Hylia. The giant serpent began slithering all over the dried up lake at incredible speed in an attempt to wrap its crushing coils around Link. However, Link was too agile and was more than smart enough to stay away from the snake’s body. It struck at Link again, but Link quickly rolled out of the way. The giant snake struck again, but Link met it with an upward strike from his sword. Blood gushed out of the cut on his mouth, but the serpent was only stunned. Link wound up for another strike, but a rainbow liquid squirted out of the snake’s arm-length fangs and hit Link in the arm. The liquid burned like fire and made Link clutch his arm in agony. Link paused too long and the serpent whipped him away with his tail. Just when the serpent was about to devour Link, it hissed in pain as something whistled past Link and hit it in the eye. Saria had used her bow and hit the massive snake in the eye. However, the bow had about as much effect as Link’s sword. After the snake recovered, it gave Saria the same result that it gave Link. Saria ended up crashing into Link and Link ended up with the wind knocked out of him.

The serpent struck again and headed for Ruto this time. Ruto instinctively crossed her arms and a blue light appeared. Ruto then held up her sword and stuck it into the serpent’s nose. Usually, it wouldn’t have any effect, but this effect sure did. The snake didn’t hiss, it screeched in pain when the sword cut his nose! The blue light had shocked the snake with electricity. Serpent was knocked back a bit, but it shook itself loose and struck again. Ruto gave the same result, but it didn’t really harm it. Zelda tried a light blast, but it didn’t prove effective on a creature of this size and it probably felt like a bee sting. The snake turned and wrapped its tail around Zelda rather than whipping her away with it. Link had gotten Saria off and rushed to Zelda’s assistance. He took the Master Sword and stuck it right in the snake’s back. The snake didn’t drop Zelda, but did draw its attention away from Ruto so she could shock it again. That was enough to make the snake drop Zelda. However, she was over thirty feet from the ground and the impact would NOT be pretty. Link sprinted as fast as he could, sometimes rolling away from rainbow liquid to the thrashing tail. In a matter of seconds, he reached the front of Serpent. Just when the snake struck at Link, the hero leapt onto the snake’s head and up toward Zelda. He caught her in midair. He landed on his feet and got Zelda to safety. Just when the snake tried its luck again, another arrow struck Serpent in the nose. Link realized that he would have to use his head to get the best of this monster.

Soon Link had an idea. “Ruto! Fire water at his skin and then shock him!” Link shouted. Ruto shot a look of confusion and asked, “Won’t water make ugly here stronger?!” Link just stared back and said, “NOW!” Ruto shot water and drenched the snake without further hesitation. The water hit Serpent with the same force as a geyser. Before the massive snake could absorb it all, the zora princess sent electricity at the snake. Because water conducts electricity, the force of the electricity doubled in strength. The snake screeched at the top of its lungs as the electricity flowed through its body. It then fell to the ground and couldn’t absorb any more water due to weakness. When the serpent wasn’t moving away, Link moved in and forced his sword through the monster’s forehead. The giant snake screamed in pain, shrunk to the size of an anaconda, regurgitated water into the lake like a blocked up waterfall, and skeletonized. Ruto smiled and hugged Link. “We did it!” She shouted. Before Link had time to escape, Ruto had landed a big, soggy kiss on his cheek. “OH, MAN! I’m going to smell like fish for a week.” Ruto released Link and Link did the best he could to wipe the zora smooch off. After trying for at least ten seconds, Link recollected himself and ordered, “C’mon! We gotta get Darunia and head for the Sage of Shadows.” They then hurried off to the next phase of their world savior mission.

                                                   Chapter 7: Kidnapping

After Majora’s Serpent was slaughtered, Ganondorf/Majora was frustrated! “Grrrr! With every sage he awakens, the boy gets stronger!” Ganondorf growled, “Don’t forget it isn’t over till it IS over!” Majora said calmly, “A lot to say from an evil arts and crafts creation.” Ganondorf snapped, “SILENCE!” Majora shouted, “The next sage is the Sage of Shadow. I’ll send a servant to head them off.” A glow of his bright eyes sent another monster to a cliff just outside the graveyard.

            Link, Saria, and Ruto went back to Death Mountain to meet Darunia. Darunia met all of them with a good hug, but when he came to Link, he virtually broke his sworn brother in half. When Link was released, he asked, “Wait. How come they get a gentle squeeze and I end up with my spine virtually broken?” Darunia shrugged and said, “Women are delicate. What can I say?” Link had the ‘That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard’ look on his face. Link put his vertebrae back into place (again) and they all headed back down the mountain.

When they got to the graveyard, they saw Impa standing near a grave. Ruto looked VERY uncomfortable in this place, because of the same reason you do. After Link pried her fingers off his shoulder, there were red marks on it. Link went up to Impa and tapped her on the shoulder. Zelda’s attendant looked a little surprised. “Link! You startled me.” She said, “What are you doing here?” Link asked. Impa looked back at the grave and answered, “THIS is my husband’s grave.” Link looked a little shocked. He never really thought Impa was once married. Then, something struck him. “Wait. If you had a husband, why didn’t you have a kid of your own?” Impa remained quiet for a while. She then answered, in a very quiet tone, “We tried. But…” She sniffled, but held back the tears. “I couldn’t have children. I was completely sterile.” Link felt so bad for her. He now knew why Zelda was so important to her. He pitied the Sheikah survivor.

Link finally came back to reality and rummaged for the Light Medallion. “I need to do this.” Link said. But before he could get the chance, a giant, multicolored, lizard-like creature sprang from the cliff to the graveyard. It had six legs, a horn on its nose, and a blade on its tail like a scorpion stinger. It looked at Link, growled, and then turned its attention to Impa before leaping after her. Link tried to get in the way, but the reptile was too quick and trampled the hero. It grabbed Impa in its jaws and sprinted into the Shadow Temple, leaving Link with a mouthful of dust and a large imprint in his front. The monster got away and there wasn’t much he could do now.

 “HAHAHAHAHA! How does Majora’s Sauros feel to you?” Ganondorf/Majora asked. Link drew his sword and stood to face him. That only made Ganondorf/Majora laugh harder. “You never cease to surprise me, boy. The only way for you to get her is to go through the trials of the dead. But don’t worry. When my pet’s through with Impa, you’re next.” With a snap of their fingers, they vanished into thin air. Link kicked a tombstone through rage, but regretted it after he felt the stinging sensation in his big toe.

“What do they mean by ‘Trials of the Dead?’” Darunia asked. Link just shrugged. “I don’t know.” Ruto replied, “You got me.” Saria also replied, Zelda remained silent. Link stood staring at Zelda, puzzled. “Zelda?” Link asked, “Not now, Link. I’m thinking.” She quickly said. Link scoffed and said, “Sages.” After a minute or two, Zelda finally understood. “Link, I’ve heard of The Trials of the Dead. Impa said they were a shortcut to the Shadow Temple underground.” She said in triumph. Link nodded and called everyone. “Everyone, I need all of you to move a tombstone. If you find the one we’re looking for, give a signal.” “EW! You want us to virtually go grave digging?” Ruto asked as she stuck her tongue out. Link then countered by saying, “You WANT Ganondorf and his less-than-amusing partner to rule Hyrule?” Ruto winced at the thought and immediately got to work. Darunia moved a stone, nada. Ruto moved a stone, zilch. Zelda moved a stone, nix. Link moved one only to find a blue rupee. He quickly pocketed it and moved on. Unfortunately, someone did find the right one and it would lead to the ultimate test of courage.

Saria moved a tombstone and found a surprise. She screamed in terror as a skeletal hand reached out, grabbed her leg, and began to drag her down into the tomb. She began clawing at the ground, but only succeeded in prying up dirt. Darunia heard her cry and grabbed her outstretched hand. He pulled with every ounce of goron muscle, but it wasn’t enough. The hand was much stronger than it looked and the goron boss ended up going down the grave she fell in. Link heard the cries for help and peered down the hole. “SARIA! DARUNIA! Are you down there?!” He called, but no answer came. Link decided that he would go down there and rescue his friends from dire peril. He was about to jump when he felt a hand grip his shoulder. He turned around to see Zelda with a look of worry on her face. “Link, please don’t.” She pleaded. Link took her hand in his and had a look of encouragement on his face. “I’ll be fine. If I don’t come out until tomorrow, get yourself to safety!” The hero of time told her. Before he left, Zelda kissed him on the cheek. After that, he plunged into the hole in the ground. Who knows what danger his friends were in?

                                                   Chapter 8: The Trials of the Dead

            Link fell and fell until he felt his feet touch solid ground. He also heard the crunch of bones and saw the assortment of Hylian and animal skeletons. He began to feel sick to his stomach, but quickly realized his duties and hurried on. He quickly followed the network of tunnels in a desperate attempt to find his friends before who-knows-what happened.

Soon he found a metal door and opened it. Inside, he found 3 ReDead with Saria and Darunia being held hostage. All he had was his sword, so he drew it and prepared for anything. A ReDead approached him, but Link’s razor-sharp sword easily cut through the zombie’s gummy hide and he beat it in less than three strikes to the neck. The ReDead’s head bounced as it hit the floor and the body’s knees buckled under the weight. “One down, two to go.” Link said to himself.

Link was about to go for another one, when all of a sudden, there was an earsplitting scream and he couldn’t move. All he could do now was move his eyeballs to look at what happened. The ReDead were slowly lumbering toward him, mouths gaping for human flesh. Link was going to die, but then a voice spoke. “Leave them!” This voice was deep and strong and as Link looked up, he saw a person made of bone staring down at him on a hovering throne. Instantly, the ReDead stopped in their tracks and tunneled back underground. The skeletal thing snapped his fingers and Link became un-paralyzed. After he recovered from the ReDead experience he looked at the figure. “Who are you?” Link asked, “I am the king of the dead.” The skeleton replied. After those words, he got out of his throne and walked toward Link as though on invisible stairs. “What do you want?” The King asked, a fleck of curiosity in his voice. Link finally got a look at the skeleton’s face. There were eyes in the sockets, but they were clouded and lifeless. Some patches of dead skin still clung to his skull. Link began to feel even more sick, but he still looked the king in the eye. “I only want the Kokiri and the Goron back. I don’t want trouble.” Link answered. The King could see the uncomfortable look in Link’s eyes. His emotionless face would have smiled a rather wicked smile if he could. “You may have your friends back if you pass the test.” The skeleton told him. He hovered off the ground with a finger pointing into the darkness. “I want you to go through this tunnel. It will contain your worst fears. If you come out without cowering, your friends will be released and I will lead you to the Shadow Temple. However, if you fail-You and your friends will join the dead.” He informed the hero. Link looked a little uneasy about this, but realized that the safety of the sages and his friends were far more important than simply being afraid.

“Okay then.” Link answered, “Right this way.” The skeleton said as he beckoned toward a door with a large, black python on it. Link opened the door and boldly stepped through it. At first, there was nothing. Then he saw a burning land with arrows dotting the landscape. He wanted to do something, but knew his duty and kept walking forward. A few minutes later, he saw the Kokiri Forest and saw many Kokiri with arrows in their backs and a blank look of fear in their eyes. Link decided to keep moving. His pity would have to wait. After the forest incident, he saw a helpless Goron being devoured by a fiery dragon! Link was sweating a little, but remained calm. A few minutes later-Zoras frozen in blocks of ice showing no signs of life. A few minutes later-Gerudos were being sucked in quicksand struggling to get away. A few minutes later-Hyrule Castle was in ruins with the King’s severed head in the window. A few minutes later-Ganondorf was rising out of the wasteland that was Hyrule. A few minutes later-The moon was going to slam into Termina. A few minutes later-Zelda was motionless on the floor with blood trickling down the side of her head. Then, when Link couldn’t hold any more, it stopped and there was the light of day.

“So, you made it through.” A voice said. Link whirled on his heel and saw the king of the dead right in front of him. He would have grinned as he asked, “Tell me, were you afraid?” Link was beginning to sweat. He had been scared. He was afraid he would lose everyone he cared for. He hung his head and shamefully said, “Yes. I was afraid, but I knew my duty.” The king was a little surprised and said, “So, you were?” Link shamefully nodded, but the king didn’t order ReDead to take him away. Instead he said, “Many people have made it through here and claimed they weren’t afraid. You were willing to admit your worst nightmares frightened you.” He put a skeletal hand on Link’s shoulder and continued. “You know the bravest warrior is not the one who fears nothing. But the one who is willing to FACE his fear.” Link felt very relieved and his spirit strengthened. The king hovered above the ground and put a hand over where his heart used to be. “Because you faced your worst nightmares and were brave enough to admit you were afraid, I will set your friends free.” He said kindly. He snapped his fingers and Link’s friends were on his sides. Darunia on his right, and Saria on his left who both had a look of joy on their faces. Then Link asked, “Where is the Shadow Temple?” “It’s right behind you.” The bony monarch replied. Indeed, the entrance to the Shadow Temple was right behind him. Link looked at the Undead King and knew that if the corpse had his face, he would surely be smiling. Link quickly remembered the promise he made to Zelda. “Wait, I have a promise to keep.” He looked down and saw Zelda sleeping near the tomb he moved. Link leapt down from the cave and got to Zelda. Slowly, she woke up and saw Link in front of her. A great smile spread across her face and she embraced Link in a big hug. Link took Zelda and Ruto through the path he went. Strangely, the king of the dead was no longer there.

Soon they were in the Shadow Temple. It wasn’t a very pleasant place, full of skeletons and spooky stuff. Its walls even had skeletons in handcuffs and skull lit torches. Soon, they came across a giant room with Sauros. Behind it was Impa in chains. The massive lizard was licking Impa with its forked tongue, but then it caught scent of Link and whirled around to meet him with a snarl like an enraged leopard. “Sauros, it’s dinnertime! Devour these infidels!” A voice shouted and after that command, Sauros leapt across the room toward Link. Link managed to roll out of the way and Sauros smashed into the wall. Its red eyes could be seen closed in pain. The tail zoomed toward Link, but Link blocked it with his sword. He swiped his sword at the creature, but only put a gash on his tail. It was probably about as painful as a pinprick. Sauros whirled to meet Link and its tail caught a piece of him. Link clutched his arm and almost ended up with teeth running through his torso if something hadn’t whistled past and caught Sauros in the side. Saria had launched an arrow, but with a single movement, Sauros pulled the arrow out with one of its four arms. It then launched itself at Link again and Link swiped with his sword. This time, it caught the lizard across the nose and a gash went past both nostrils. Link followed up with another strike that cut through its nose horn.

“I have to get Impa the sword. You guys hold him off.” Link commanded as he avoided another tail swipe, “Okay then.” Saria responded. When Link started toward Impa, Saria got out the Fairy Bow and fired another arrow at the creature. It hit him in the nose and he grunted in surprise. A single swat from its massive claw sent Saria to the floor before five large claws cut her stomach open. Sauros turned to see Link heading toward Impa and scuttled after him. Darunia saw this and balled up a fist as he charged the lizard. When Sauros was 10 feet away from Link, something slammed into his back. Sauros turned in order to get a good look at his attacker. He then took the non-blade part of his tail and smashed it into Darunia, sending him into the wall with such force that he left an imprint in the stone. Sauros was about to devour Darunia like a meatball when something blue sparked him. It left a shiny burn on him, but it didn’t slow him down. He turned to see Ruto fire more electricity and dodge it. He then scrambled after her, which unfortunately let him draw his attention away from Link.

Link managed to free Impa from her binding chains and shown the light on her forehead. She was transported to the Realm of the Sages and was in front of a sword with, not emeralds or sapphires, but amethysts. It had what appeared to be the Sheikah eye in the place where the blade and hilt met. The hilt edges appeared to be made of amethyst as well, unlike the others, which had steel. “Impa, you must pull the sword of shadows out of the pedestal now!” Rauru’s voice demanded. Impa nodded and pulled the sword out. A purple light surrounded her and she was back in the Shadow Temple with Sauros. Link was by her side while the others were distracting the giant reptile. “Where’s Zelda?” She asked desperately. Link pointed over toward the battle just in time for Impa to see Sauros pin Darunia with its tail, Ruto under one foot, and Saria under another. Before she knew it, the lizard had grabbed Zelda in a free hand and pulled the struggling princess toward its gaping jaws. Seeing that lit a fire inside Impa and righteous fury was let out. Link went ahead to leap into the air and completely sever the massive reptile’s hand. It was still clutching Zelda and Link had to cut off its thumb in order to free her. While the thing roared in pain, Impa planted her sword into Sauros’ forehead and the amethyst blade immediately started glowing purple. Sauros’ roar in pain increased to the frequency of a plane taking off as he started shrinking. “What’s happening?” Link asked, “Her sword is draining Sauros evil soul of power. He’s weakening!” Zelda explained. Impa’s sword had indeed done the job. The lizard was no bigger than Link now and Link took the opportunity to shove the Master Sword through the creature’s heart. He gave his death rattle and evaporated into rainbow-colored dust. Impa gave Link a little smirk and said, “Now will you choose to harass Zelda?” Link scoffed and Ruto was glad to see the light of day again.

Somewhere miles away, Ganondorf/Majora felt Sauros’ presence leave. “NO! My chance of ruling Hyrule is going to be ruined at this pace!” Majora shouted, “YOUR chance?” Ganondorf asked with a cocked eyebrow, but Majora ignored him. “I’m going to destroy Link and the place he calls ‘home’!” Majora continued, “Hold on a second! You said we could rule this world side-by-side!” Ganondorf shouted. When Ganondorf said those words, Majora was silent. He remained like this until a few minutes later. “We still have two more chances. If we fail them both, our plan is history!” Majora covered quickly, “I’ll send my strongest servant after Link and the sages!” Ganondorf looked rather puzzled and thought, “I don’t trust this mask. If he tries to overthrow me, he’ll wish he hadn’t done it!” A flash of his orange eyes and a humanoid creature vanished and reappeared in the room of Twinrova. Where it immediately began a bit of redecorating with…mirrors.

                                                   Chapter 9: Break Time

Link and his friends were very exhausted after the battle with Sauros. “Whew! THAT was hairy. If I don’t eat something, I’ll die!” Link said with his stomach. Zelda stifled a laugh, but stopped when Link gave her the ‘evil eye’ Impa saw this and thought about how much Link and Zelda would still act like kids even though they were nineteen now. After a minute of stopping herself from laughing out loud, an idea sprung into her head. “There’s an inn not too far from here. We can rest here for the night.” Link agreed on this and went through the graveyard back to Kakariko village with friends close behind. Impa pointed out the inn and they went in and got a room. Link inspected the inn and then asked, “Wait, where’s the food here?” Impa pointed next to the building and said, “There’s a restaurant next door. Help yourself.” Link ran inside and stuffed himself until the food almost came out of his nose. Everyone looked at Darunia. When he noticed this, he said, “So he has a thing for food. It’s a…” “I understand already, Darunia.” Saria said in an “I knew that” voice. Everyone else decided that they needed a bite to eat and would head out to Gerudo Desert in the morning.

That night, when Link got to the room where they were staying, the only one there was Darunia. “Darunia, where are the others?” Link asked, “In the bathroom. Personal hygiene.” Darunia answered, “Why aren’t you taking a bath?” Link asked, “Two reasons. One: It’s occupied and I’m not too comfy around naked women, and Two: I hate water.” Darunia answered. Link made a face at the thought of what it would be like…although he wouldn’t mind seeing Zelda. Luckily, he decided to change the subject before he went a little TOO far. “Where are your ears?” Darunia slowly looked at Link and simply answered, “That’s one of the many things that should remain a mystery.” After changing the subject so many times (They lost count at three), Link stretched and went over to another room. “I guess I should get ready to hit the sack.” Darunia smirked and said, “Finally, you thought of something wise.” Link glared at his “Sworn brother” and said, “Maybe I can talk to Zelda about you accompanying her in a bath.” Darunia winced and said, “Sorry about that.” Link got to his bed, strapped off his sword and equipment, took off his boots and hat, and settled down to bed. He was pulling the blankets over him when he could’ve sworn he heard a splash even through the walls of the bathroom. He also heard someone say “Ruto! You bathe in a bathtub, not do cannonballs in it!” Just then, Link noticed Saria’s clothes over near the door and quickly turned away from the door just when the doorknob turned. He even mock snored to fool everyone. Luckily, Darunia had left the room.

Link barely slept that night. Too much was on his mind and he couldn’t stop thinking about what happened. Saria had just aged seven years yet her mind didn’t exactly mature. Now she knew how he felt when he was sealed in the temple of time for the exact same time. By the time his eyelids drooped, it was midnight. Yet he seemed to ask these questions in just a few seconds.

                                                   Chapter 10: Just Deserts

            Morning came in what seemed a few minutes. Link found himself in his bed, still very tired. After all, he did go to bed at midnight. He got up, stretched, and flopped out of bed. Everything seemed to be on autopilot for Link as was almost every morning. He got his boots, equipment, and hat on before he went downstairs for breakfast. He ate some Cucco eggs and some warm soup before going back to his room. After a good glance outside of the village, Link noticed someone outside. It was Saria. She was perched up on a wooden fence, staring out at the village and watching the clouds. She was drifting through a sea of thought when someone spoke from behind her. “Saria? What are you doing out here?” Saria flinched and turned to face Link. Before she turned, she wiped her eyes and continued. She shrugged with a casual, “I dunno. I just wanted to see the sunrise that’s all.” Link then asked, “Why way up here?” Saria cringed in thought and said, “I just wanted to enjoy it by…well, myself.” Link nodded and said, “Okay. I understand. Now c’mon. We’ve got to get to the desert soon.” Link then hopped from one side of the roof to a lower level, and finally landed on the green grass. Saria sighed. She had come out here for another reason. She wanted to be alone, but for a different reason. However, she couldn’t tell Link…yet.

When the time was right, the sages were ready to go. They had to find a way to the desert and went their separate ways. Link and Zelda shared Epona, Impa and Saria got their personal horses, Darunia curled into a ball and tumbled away, and Princess Ruto jumped into the river and said she’d meet them in Gerudo Valley. Link and Zelda rode far to the west of Hyrule and got to the bridge. Strangely, the bridge was cut and there was no other way across. Link had done this about a million times; he did it without warning Zelda so that’s why she was rather scared after this. Link started backing Epona up a bit. “Link? What’re you doing?” Zelda asked, “Nothing, just hold on. HYA!” Link answered and gave Epona a good slap. Instantly, the horse galloped as fast as she could and leapt clean over the canyon! When Link pulled it off, Zelda was gasping for breath. “Whew! I can’t believe you pulled that one off!” she said, “I’ve done this before, so don’t try this at home.” Link warned, and he was off to the Gerudo’s fortress.

When he got to the edge, he tied Epona to a tree and went toward the fortress. The Gerudo saw him and put their spears in the way. “Where do you think you’re goin’?” The guard asked, “Who’s the girl?” Zelda shuddered as a blade nearly touched her, but Link had it covered. He showed off what appeared to be a membership card he got from them. The Gerudo lowered their spears in recognition. “Oh, it’s you.” They noticed. They bowed in respect and Link did the same thing. “The girl is a guest of mine, and there will be others. They will be a goron, a girl with green hair, a zora, and a sheikah.” Link quickly informed them. The Gerudos nodded in approval. “They will pass, too.” They lifted their spears and opened the gate for Link and Zelda to pass.

A particular Gerudo led them to a chamber in the fortress for guests and said, “This will be your humble abode. Enjoy.” She then strode off to get some food. The place wasn’t half bad. It had a large amount of desert decorations from tapestries to scimitars. “Wow. I may consider living here.” Link said in amazement. He thought for a while and then shook his head. “Nah.” That night, the tent folded open and the familiar face of their favorite Kokiri. “Huh? How’d you get across the bridge?” Link asked. He had jumped over a chasm and Saria was right here. Saria shrugged and replied, “Well, the bridge was out all morning, but the workers got to building for hours. It was up the next morning.” Link blinked a few times and said, “I always knew they were fast.” Saria sat next to Zelda and then looked at Link. “Uhh…Link? Do you think you could leave us alone for a while?” Link was a little confused, but he replied, “Sure thing.” He then left the tent and lay flat on his back, looking at the stars.

Saria looked at the floor, her eyes somewhat gloomy. Zelda didn’t like this. Whenever she saw that one of her friends was sad, it made her sad too. She slid toward Saria and put an arm over the Kokiri’s shoulder. “Saria? Is something wrong?” Saria sniffled, but managed to keep herself from crying. She looked at Zelda with watery eyes and answered, “Yes.” Saria leaned closer to Zelda, her eyes beginning to overflow. Zelda calmly said, “It’s okay to talk to me. I’m like your big sister. Now, what’s the matter?” Saria kept herself from crying once again and said, “Well…It-It’s about Link.” Zelda raised her eyebrows and asked, “What about him?” Saria’s voice was beginning to break up. “I-It’s just that…I loved Link. I thought I would always have enough time to tell him, but it’s too late now. He’s gone for you completely.” Zelda scooted closer and pulled Saria into a hug. Saria couldn’t hold it back anymore. She cried like she hadn’t cried in a LONG time. Link could hear it outside, but remembered his promise to give them some alone time.

Zelda felt very sorry for Saria and she tried her best to soothe her. “I’m sorry, Saria. I didn’t know you held his heart. I didn’t mean to steal him from you…” Saria had stopped crying and gave a small grin, but her eyes were still watery. “It’s okay. Just keep him happy. If he’s happy, then I am too.” Saria didn’t feel a lot better, but some of the weight was taken off her back. “I feel a little better, but I don’t think it’s all gone.” Zelda put a hand on Saria’s shoulder and said, “Telling me isn’t the half of it. If you want it all gone, you have to talk to Link face-to-face.” Saria nodded in approval.

                                                   Chapter 11: Mirrors

The next morning, Link heard someone arrive and went to check it out. Darunia had arrived and said, “I’m here!” He then gave Link a painful pat on the back. A bewildered second later, Link realized that he was half-buried in the sand. “Uhh…Little help here?” He asked. He then began the long struggle of trying to heave himself out of the sand. It took five or ten minutes, but he eventually got out of the sand trap. He then glared at Darunia and the goron boss rubbed the back of his head. “Okay. Note to self: No pats on the back in the desert.” The look on Link’s face seemed to say, “You got that right.”

Some time into the afternoon, Link heard a very singsong voice and recognized it all too well. He was about to make a run for it when Ruto collided with him. Fortunately, she tripped and her arms missed Link. Link took the opportunity to scramble to his feet and race away as fast as his legs would carry him. “Don’t worry, Link. She’s a zora. Before long, she’ll dehydrate…” Link looked over his shoulder and saw that Ruto had brought a canteen of water. As Link watched, she continued to pour it on herself and then refill it with water magic. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Link cursed as the zora princess continued to pursue him. Luckily for Link, someone warned, “Stop chasing Link or the world will end as we know it.” That got Ruto and she stopped chasing him. Apparently, Impa arrived shortly after Ruto. Link turned and gave the thumbs’ up to Impa, who smiled at that thing that had happened a few seconds ago.

When everyone was together, Link spoke with the white-garbed Gerudo. “Excuse me, miss? Do you know where we can find Nabooru?” The Gerudo dipped her head in thought and snapped her fingers after a few seconds. “You’ll find her in the Desert colossus near the oasis.” “Thank you, ma’am.” Link quickly added. They then started their perilous journey through the great sandstorm. It was especially hard on Ruto. Sand was getting all over her and drying out her wet skin. She had to frequently form water in her canteen and pour it on herself. “WHY did it have to be a desert?” She whined out loud. Link gave her the ‘EVIL EYE’ and the fish lady immediately shut her trap.

They struggled through the haunted wasteland to the strange rock formation that was the Desert Colossus. When they arrived at the oasis, Nabooru was nowhere to be seen. “You gotta be kidding me.” Link said to himself. He turned and commanded, “Split up.” The other sages did so. She wasn’t in the secret cave, in the palm trees, not even around the desert. When they thought they looked everywhere and just about gave up, they found her. She was inside the Spirit Temple and looked very happy to see Link and the other sages. “Well long time no see, kid.” The sly Gerudo commented, “Yeah. It’s been…7 years, I believe.” Link answered, “What’s been happening, kid?” The two continued on in a conversation that seemed to last all night. Zelda rolled her eyes, but caught herself from screaming. Nabooru was something like an aunt to Link. When the two were in a pause, she then spoke. “Link, just do it.” Zelda whispered in his ear. Link’s expression changed to realization. “Oh. I almost forgot.” He said as he fumbled in his pockets. After a while, he found what he was looking for and held up the light medallion. “Hey, is that…” Nabooru started, but a flash of light caught her in the forehead and she stood there like a zombie.

She ended up in the realm that all the other sages had been. The sound of Rauru’s voice sounded for the final time. “Nabooru, you will pull the sword of the Spirit Temple from the pedestal. This is my final request, DESTROY GANONDORF AND THE MASK THAT BEFRIENDED HIM!” These were Rauru’s last words.

Nabooru, without further ado, found the last sword. It looked more like a scimitar with citrines and the face of a woman in the middle of the hilt. She grabbed the curved sword and yanked it from the pedestal. An orange flash and she was back in the spirit temple. She woke up looking into a pair of big blue eyes and sat up so quickly, she nearly collided with Saria’s nose. Link looked ready to explain, but Nabooru instinctively knew what happened. “Link, I know what we must do. We’ve got to find Ganondorf and a mask.” She told Link. Link looked rather surprised, but regained his look of confidence. “Alright then. Let’s go!” Link commanded. He was about to turn to leave, but then a voice sprung as if from nowhere. “HAHAHAHAHAHA!” Link froze and said, “Oh no.” He saw this coming and quickly drew his sword. “You cannot face me until you pass my final test. Come out, my servant!” Suddenly, the room where they were lit up and the walls were covered in mirrors. One mirror swirled like water and out popped a strange creature. It had a toad-like head with four horns similar to a goat’s and teeth like a bulldog’s, but a human’s body with clownish garbs in every color of the rainbow. On its body was something that looked like a door. “Meet Majora’s Divine!” Ganondorf/Majora shouted. When he finished, the clownish creature cackled, stuck out its tongue, and blew a raspberry. Link found that VERY annoying and it made him want to get this over with QUICKLY. “If you somehow manage to defeat it, I’ll meet you in Hyrule Field.” With a snap of his fingers, Ganondorf/Majora vanished.

Suddenly, without warning, the creature attacked by swiftly running around the room trying to slam into anyone in his way. Impa couldn’t use her sword’s magic, because the darn clown wouldn’t stop moving. It also made her vulnerable and the creature delivered a sharp kick that caught Impa across the face. The sheikah was knocked unconscious and was momentarily out of the picture. Zelda raised her sword and created the substance all dark beings hate: light. Saria whipped out her bow and fired an arrow through the light at the monster. Divine had been waiting for this and eagerly opened the door thing, revealing 3 mirrors. The mirror had 3 blurred images, but the arrow was heading straight into the middle one, which happened to be Link’s back. When the arrow hit the mirror, it disappeared into the mirror like throwing a stone into water. Then Link felt a pain in his back and bent forward. The arrow had caught him right in the back, but since he was good, the light arrow didn’t hurt him. He grabbed the arrow and painfully pulled it out. When Link was in pain, Divine gave a cackle and blew another raspberry. Saria ran quickly to Link’s aid and inspected his wound. “Sorry about that.” She apologized. Link looked up and sarcastically said, “Oh, don’t worry. No harm done.”

When it became apparent that Saria wouldn’t be trying again, Darunia decided to give it a try. He ran over to Divine and tried slamming his fist into the beast, but it was like punching water. Darunia then felt something collide with his face. His own fist was sticking out of another mirror and the goron boss ended up punching himself. He fell to the floor with a huge black eye and the look of a beat-up guy. Ruto wielded her sword and fired an electric beam at Divine. He opened the mirrors and, instead of reflecting an image, the electricity bounced off one mirror and back at Ruto. She ducked and the energy ended up blowing a hole in the wall. A second sooner and she would have been a fish filet. Saria tried her luck again after tending to Link’s wounds and fired an arrow at Divine’s right mirror. This time, the image was Divine’s back. The arrow pelted in the back and he cried out in pain. Link then got the idea and soon a plan was made. Zelda was about to fire a light beam when Link shouted, “Not yet!” Zelda looked a little surprised, but did what Link told her. She then saw that the images were clearing up a bit. When Divine’s outline was clear, she fired and the beam caught him again. Divine screamed in pain and Zelda then understood and told everyone this strategy.

When Divine was beaten up a bit, he forgot about his mirrors and began running around like a chicken. Saria fired an arrow only to miss by a mile. She ended up getting slammed by a pirouette and knocked to the ground. Link was solemnly reminded of Majora’s Incarnation, but Divine was far quicker and possibly more annoying. Every attack they threw was either avoided or intercepted. Then the turning point: Saria fired an arrow, but fired it ahead of Divine so that he ended up walking right into it. The bolt caught Divine right in the leg and he ended up tripping. As Divine struggled to get up, Link took this time to dash over to Divine and stick his sword into the beast’s back. The clownish creature howled in pain, every one of its mirrors broke, and it skeletonized. After a brief checkup on Impa, they found she was okay. They would go for him when she recovered.

Miles away in Hyrule Field, Majora felt the presence of his fifth soldier leave. “NO! That was my last soldier. I never imagined this kid to be so powerful. When I conquer this place, I’ll eradicate all swordsmen!” Majora said out loud, “What do you mean ‘you’?” Ganondorf asked. Then Majora’s Mask had some silence, but Ganondorf soon figured it out. He decided to wait, though to see if Majora was doing what he thought he was doing.

                                                   Chapter 12: Final Showdown

Link knew what Nabooru had said before and all of them went out of the desert into Hyrule Field. They saw something from miles away: A dark cloud hovering over the middle of the field. Link took a deep breath and said, “It’s time to do or die.” Zelda held his hand and said, “Your friends are with you, Link.” Link looked to his right and saw that Zelda was now dressed in the Sheikah garbs. He didn’t blame her. After all, the battle for Hyrule was about to begin and she would have to fight now. Link smiled and would have kissed her, but he decided not to do this at the moment. The fate of the world was at stake and they were all that stood between Ganondorf and the Triforce or the world.

What they saw nearly made them faint. In the middle of Hyrule Field, the ground was pitch black and the sky was a deep red. Standing right in the middle was Ganondorf/Majora with their arms crossed. “I’ve been waiting for you, Link.” Ganondorf/Majora said, a broad smile spreading over their face. Link took a step forward, a bold look on his face. “I think its time I got rid of both of you.” Link snapped at them. The evil beings snorted in laughter, but quickly regained themselves. “We’ve seen you bark, now lets see you bite.” Ganondorf/Majora snapped back, “If I destroy you, the sages are next. When that happens, you’ll never seal me away again! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” He informed. He then threw off his cape, revealing dark armor as red as half-cooled lava. “Now let me show you TRUE power!” With that, he raised his hand into the air and fired a rainbow-colored beam at the sages. They all managed to jump out of the way just before the land they were standing on turned into a small crater. Ganondorf/Majora laughed as they scurried away. “You can run, but you can’t hide!” The evil beings taunted, “Now!” Link shouted and Saria fired an arrow through a beam of light from Zelda’s sword and it hit Ganondorf/Majora in the face. The two grunted in surprise as the arrow collided with the two’s face. It didn’t hurt much and it felt more like a little bee sting. They were momentarily stunned and Link took this time to slash the two with his sword. It did very little to them; it only scarred their scarlet armor. They shook it off and the evil ones tried a different tack. The spikes on Ganondorf’s arms fired at them, hit the ground, and produced purple lightning. It ended up wrapping around Link and electrocuted him like an electric eel. Link held a scream in pain behind his teeth and fell steaming to the ground. Ganondorf/Majora was about to try again when Darunia balled up a fist at the same time when Ruto produced an electric barrier. Darunia put his fist into the barrier, it got electrified, and he slammed it into the evil beings. They grunted in surprise and fell backwards. They were all obviously much stronger than they looked. This was a little problem for them. Ganondorf/Majora raised a hand and a boulder rose from the ground and hurled itself at Link, who had to leap his entire height to dodge it and prevent his spine from being snapped. But the minute he landed, another rock was already coming for him. This time, he launched himself to the side. Just when he regained his balance, there was a rock that he couldn’t dodge. He shut his eyes and braced himself. It didn’t come. Darunia held out a fist and had obviously smashed the rock into pebbles.

“Well, you can face one of us, but how about these?” Ganondorf/Majora said. Out of the shadows came five more Ganondorf/Majora’s. “Oh no, there’s six!” Saria said with surprise. The six each drew a different weapon: A mace, a dagger, a broadsword, arm blades, a battleaxe, and a dual-sided sword. A war cry was sounded and all six were off against someone different.

The six Ganondorf/Majora’s had split up for different people with different weapons. The one with the dagger was going after Saria and was beginning to take advantage of her. “What’s the matter, little girl? Had enough?” He asked maniacally, Saria simply pushed herself further with the forest sword and continued. The one with the mace had gone after Darunia and were doing battle with massive sword against the spiked sphere. However, the sword was far lighter than any mace and was being forced back a lot. “Give it up, Gravel brain. You make better Dragon chow than a warrior.” Ganondorf/Majora teased. Darunia simply growled and pushed harder against his opponent. The one with the broadsword was trying to force his sword at Ruto and filet her if he got the chance. “You’ll make a fine snack for my beasts, they’ve always wanted a fish fry.” Ruto electrified her sword, but the metal blade just absorbed the electricity. Nabooru had drawn the spirit sword and a scimitar to do battle with the arm blade wielder. This Ganondorf/Majora was skilled because he could block blades just by moving his arms in the way. “For someone who calls herself a Gerudo warrior, you disappoint me.” He taunted. Nabooru swung again only to meet another arm blade. “Surely you can do better.” The battleaxe warrior was hacking at Impa like a tree, but missing all the time. Unfortunately, Impa had about as much luck. “You call yourself Zelda’s guardian? No wonder she left you!” Ganondorf/Majora insulted. The worst of all was Link and Zelda. They had to take on the sorcerer with a dual-sided sword and terrifying skill. He had both of their attacks blocked and/or evaded. One time, he knocked Zelda out like a light with his iron boot and was left with Link.

Link, without thinking, grabbed Zelda’s light sword and he got the Master Sword ready for action. The two swords glowed when they touched each other and looked like they were gathering energy. Link aimed them at the Ganondorf/Majora he was facing and a bright beam erupted from it. It went right through the one he was fighting and Ganondorf/Majora disintegrated. At the same time, all the others disappeared as well. Link had taken a few blows while he was fighting his opponent and he had a bloody nose and some blood was coming out of his mouth as well. “Huh? Where’d he go?” Link asked, “Right here…” A voice said. Link whirled around only for Ganondorf/Majora to grab him around the neck. “I’m going to kill you for this!” Ganondorf/Majora barked as he tightened his grip. Link was losing air and fast, but something whistled through the air and hit Ganondorf/Majora in the back. It didn’t hurt him, but Ganondorf/Majora did turn to see who’d do such a thing. He soon wished he hadn’t.

                                                   Chapter 12: Betrayal Unveiled

Another arrow whistled through the air and went into Ganondorf/Majora’s wrist, causing him to let go of Link. Impa pointed her sword at Ganondorf/Majora and it started absorbing the power the two shared while Nabooru stuck a sword into the evil ones’ chest. Normally, it would separate the two, but it had to be all the way in. So Link took the chance, got up, and kicked it in further until it was all the way in. “NOOOO!” Ganondorf/Majora shouted as they were separated. Ganondorf’s eyes changed back to their original color, Majora’s Mask separated itself from the King of Evil’s body, and the spikes on Ganondorf’s arms vanished. “NO! Victory was going to be mine!” Majora shouted, “What do you mean ‘Yours?’” Ganondorf asked. His eyes then scrunched in anger as he finally realized what was going on. “Wait! I get it now! You were planning to ditch me as soon as we defeated Link!” Ganondorf shouted. Majora just floated there, not saying a word. He knew he had been found out and started talking again. “You’re right. Now I guess I’ll have to destroy you!” Majora shouted and when he said that, Ganon put his limbs together and a blue light engulfed him. At the same time, Majora’s Mask was sprouting limbs and a head, blood was pumping through a newly formed musculature system, and tentacles appeared in place of hands. Ganondorf was reborn as the fierce beast Ganon, and Majora’s Mask had turned into Majora’s Wrath! Both let out an earsplitting roar and went for each other.

Ganon slammed into Majora’s Wrath and began punching him in every place he could find. While Majora’s Wrath had his tentacles wrapped around Ganon’s throat and began strangling him. “You and I made a deal!” Ganon roared, “That’s the thing about promises-I never keep them!” Majora’s Wrath snapped. Then the two tentacles grabbed Ganon’s massive body and tossed him away. Majora then took his tentacles and wrapped them around Ganon’s throat again, but Ganon had a clear strength advantage. He grabbed the tentacle and gave it a good jerk that pulled Majora into an uppercut. Majora then sent a pulse of magical energy through his tentacle and Ganon howled like a wounded wolf. Majora’s eyes resonated with power and all of a sudden, a huge blast erupted from his eyes and struck Ganon in the face. Ganon released Majora’s tentacles and planted a huge hoof in the dark being’s chest. Majora released Ganon and they were once again face-to-face. Ganon then produced a pair of battleaxes and began to swing his arms like a windmill. Majora wasn’t worried and the tentacles began to change. They had turned from organic material to a kind of organic metal. They weren’t whips, but swords. Ganon had a slight disadvantage; Majora had a clear reach advantage, but that didn’t slow him down. He swung his battleaxe strong enough to sever any sword, but Majora raised one and the axe blade was blocked without shattering. The two were in fierce sword combat. In one movement, Majora swung his sword and knocked the battleaxe out of the piggish creature’s hand. Ganon didn’t seem to mind, though. Because the minute the axe landed in the ground, Ganon charged and tackled Majora. Before he was tackled, Majora had swung his sword, but he had just been slammed when he swung upward. Ganon then returned to a fistfight with just one horn.

Link and the sages watched the titans clash as they wrestled around in a test of strength. “Zelda, if this keeps up, Hyrule will still be destroyed.” Link quickly informed. He was right, because as they fought, anything in their way was trampled and destroyed. They couldn’t get close to use their swords otherwise they’d get caught in the crossfire. “If we can’t destroy them…” Ruto said in deep thought. Suddenly, inspiration struck. “Wait. What if…” Impa wondered. She then whispered something to Zelda and she nodded and continued the message. “I think it just might work!” Nabooru finished. Link heard the plan, but they needed something to help the two stand still. Link slowly walked over to the battling titans and said, “Hey! Over here, you cretins!” Ganon and Majora paused their scuffle and looked at Link. That was just what they wanted. Because Zelda and Saria did their Light arrow combination. Both were struck with one and froze in their tracks. Now that the battling giants were frozen, the sages seized their chance. They took their swords, leapt at Ganon and Majora, and planted them in both their foreheads. However, there were only five sages without Zelda. Therefore Ganon was subdued, but Majora seemed to be moving in slow motion. Zelda knew what she had to do and, with her Sheikah skill, leapt into the air and planted the light sword down Majora’s forehead. Then Majora was immobilized. “Link! Plant the Master Sword into the ground!” Zelda demanded. Link nodded and planted his sword right in between the two beasts with a grunt. A white portal opened up and swallowed the two giants. Somewhere in the void of the Sacred Realm, the two are still said to be fighting. “Now look what you’ve done!” Majora blamed, “How many times do I have to tell you? Don’t play in someone else’s world!” Ganon barked, “You weren’t ruling it! You were too busy fighting ‘Heroes.’ I never get what I want!” Majora shrieked. They would continue beating the crud out of each other until that portal was opened again.

                                                   Chapter 13: Back Where They Belong

When Ganon and Majora’s Wrath were sent away, Hyrule Field changed back to its normal way. Then a blinding light engulfed Link and the sages and they were in the Realm of Sages. The pedestals of the swords were still there and a voice spoke. “Congratulations, Sages and Link, you have sealed away the great evil of Hyrule. Now you must put the Sages’ swords back into the pedestals.” The voice said, “Well, that’s the end of that. I’ll be seeing you, kid.” Nabooru said. With that, she put the sword back, an orange light surrounded her, and she was gone. “You’ve turned into a fine young man, Link.” Darunia complimented as he put his sword back and was gone, too. “You’ve done well, Link. I should make you a member of the Hyrule Family.” Impa said as she departed, “Come visit me in Zora’s Domain, Link.” Ruto suggested as she disappeared, “I’ll see you later, Link.” Zelda said as she too left. Link had walked up to the center where the Master Sword should be placed. He was about to put it back in when he noticed that no green light had shone. He turned and saw Saria looking away and her head was dipped. “Come on, Saria. We have to go back.” Link said. But then Saria turned to face him.

Saria wasn’t too happy; in fact she looked very sad. “Saria? Something wrong?” Link asked, “It’s just…you’re growing up and there’s nothing I can do. Remember when Zelda and I asked for a bit of privacy?” Saria asked him, almost crying. Link could clearly see that she was unhappy about something. He nodded, but he never said a word. “Well, it’s just…I loved you.” Link looked a little surprised at this. But it increased when Saria continued. “I hoped I would always get the chance, but Zelda came into your life.” Link felt very sorry and said, “I…I never knew you felt that for me.” He hung his head. He now felt like he failed Saria and made her like this. “I guess the reason I never took notice is because we grew up together. That’s why I don’t love you like I love Zelda. You’re more like a sister to me. But remember this. I still love you and I’d feel terrible if something bad happened to you.” Saria finally let it out. She collapsed into Link’s arms and Link pulled her into a hug. After a minute or two, Saria stopped, but her eyes were still somewhat watery. “Thank you.” Link smiled. “Now let’s go back.” Link said and he held Saria’s hand and they both put their swords back into the pedestals. A pair of lights and they were gone.

When Saria woke up, she felt her face and her hair. She felt different and she raced for a mirror. She saw that she was back to her normal self: no sword on her back, short hair, and everyday Kokiri clothing. There was a knock on the door and Link was at her front door, smiling. Saria smiled as she ran over to Link and hugged him.

                                                   Chapter 2: Decision

A few weeks have passed after Ganondorf and Majora were banned to the void of the Sacred Realm. Saria was relaxing at her house and began thinking of what Link had said when she was going to put the sword back. It warmed her heart very well, but she couldn’t escape one thing.

She took a small image from a drawer. Link had brought back a Picto box and had snapped a picture of the two when they were sitting together. “How long will it last, Saria?” A voice in her head asked. She looked around as though someone had actually spoken, but quickly realized she was just thinking. “Do you really think Link will want to take you into knighthood or on his honeymoon?” The voice continued to torment her. “Link is growing up. And there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it.” It was almost like Mido was telling an awful truth that couldn’t be avoided. Just when the voice was going to speak again, there was a knock on the door.

Saria quickly put the pictograph back and sat back down on her bed. She then called, “Come in” all the while, hiding depression. The door swung open and Link came in. “Hey, Saria. I was wondering if I could ask you something.” Saria’s face lightened and she said, “Go on…” Link straightened up and asked, “Zelda and I are going to the market to go Bombchu bowling. Want to come?” Saria hung her head suddenly and she said, “No thanks.” Link’s expression changed to curiosity. He then sighed and asked, “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s wrong?” “Nothing.” Saria said in a monotone. She then continued without letting Link continue. “I’ve decided that I’m never leaving this forest again.” Link suddenly stood up and it nearly startled Saria. “What?” He asked, his temper beginning to rise, “What if Impa, Ruto, Darunia, or the other sages need you?” Saria shook her head and replied, “I’m never leaving the forest.” Link rolled his eyes and said, “I guess I should go get Zelda to help us again.” Saria didn’t feel herself stand up as she said in a half-yell, “There’s nothing wrong with me.” She looked Link right in the eye. Link was a few inches taller than she was, but the look on her face made her seem like a giant. “Don’t you get it? If I stay here I won’t have to watch the ones I love die.” Link’s temper was slowly rising as he said, “Saria, you’re not a goddess! You’re a child of the forest! YOU…ARE…A PERSON!!!” Link’s body was burning like a furnace, but Saria didn’t even wince. She simply glared at Link again and said, in a cold tone, “Get out of my sight. I have a future.” Link’s anger rose yet again. “To do what? Be separated from the world and never be loved again?!” He asked angrily. He then turned to leave, but added, “Some life” before he left. Zelda was outside waiting for Link. “C’mon, Zelda.” Zelda was a little surprised that Saria wasn’t with him. “But what about Saria?” Link walked past her and said, “She’s not coming with us.”

                                                   Chapter 15: A True Friend

Saria sat back down on her bed, very disgruntled. “Why can’t he understand?” She asked herself. After silently pouting for a while, she was caught between emotions. She didn’t know whether to stay put, go after Link, or simply cry. All she did know was that this thing didn’t make her feel better. It made her feel worse when she wanted the exact opposite. All she could say was, “What am I doing?”

Mido had secretly been watching from a bush and saw the whole thing. “Finally, Saria’s as good as mine now!” He said to himself. Just then, he raced off to find some good flowers that Link would always get her. Now that Link was out of the way, she was as good as his.

Saria remembered something that happened when the Deku Tree was still alive. The great plant had told them all this. “The one thing that truly grows over time is a friendship. It develops as you grow and changes from a simple childhood thing to a deep feeling. Sure, your friend has problems. But you have them too. No matter how long the amount of time is, a friendship never dies.” After remembering that, she left her house and headed for the Lost Woods. She stayed near the entrance and watched the doorway from the forest. Link walked through and got up into his treehouse for a good night’s sleep.

When he got up that morning, he remembered that he had to do something outside the forest. He was about to leave when he heard a familiar voice. “Link!” Link turned around just in time to see Saria coming for him. “I’m coming with you!” Link was so surprised that he didn’t have enough time to react. Saria collided with him like a cannonball. “Saria?” Link asked, since that was all he could ask from having the wind knocked out of him. After a while, they managed to straighten things out. “You changed your mind?” Link asked, confused. Saria nodded and also added, “I’m right, Link. I can’t stop you from growing up. But I wouldn’t miss it for the world! I’ll be right by your side.” Link suddenly realized what she was talking about. “Saria, you’re leaving the forest?” Saria nodded and quickly answered, “I want to share the joys of growing up, marriage, and having kids. I can’t let you have all the fun, can I?” They went through the tunnel and came across the bridge where they said their first goodbye. “Well, Saria. This is the spot where we went our separate ways. I hope you become a beautiful young woman.” Saria hugged Link and said, “Don’t worry. I will.” They then left the forest and went their separate ways.

Back at the forest, Mido saw the whole thing. He fell to his knees and screamed at the top of his lungs. “NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”

                                    The end

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