Chapter 1 The Return of the Hero

Link trudged through the mud as he gradually made his way back to Hyrule. Ever since Termina he hadn't been able to make it back. He sighed as he shifted the red cloak on his shoulders and felt the Great Fairy sword on his back. He walked along the mud covered path recently made by the rain from the night before. Link had visited many lands after Termina. But that was the place that still haunted him.

The recurring days, everyone forgetting him and having to get to know him again, only for them to forget again. It was maddening. He was happy when it had finally ended. He finally made friends with all the townsfolk there and the farm girls. But he didn't want to stay too long. The place just gave him nightmares.

He travelled after that roaming the seas. He ran into the continent of Licadonia, a nice harbor community. They didn't have a king or a princess. They lived under a system of rules and laws governed by a judicial house. Link had liked it that way and the people were happy to have him there. They had bought him a small house after he had saved a crew of sailors after their ship was struck by a storm.

He lived there for years, hunting and helping anyone that asked. But the nightmares still followed him. Sometimes he wished that the princess had just erased his memories when she sent them back in time. Now he lived with all the haunting things he had seen in his other life. He had to live with all the redeads, skulltulas, the whole fight with Ganondorf and the death of many of his friends. He always had felt alone, even when he was surrounded by people that came to care for him.

But they weren't Zelda, or Saria, or Malon, he missed them all so much it ached. As he grew he changed out the weaponry he carried. He had gotten rid of all his younger weapons, the slingshot, boomerang, deku shield, and the kokiri sword. He had kept the fairy ocarina because it always reminded him of Saria but the rest he had sold. He couldn't keep all of the masks he had acquired in Termina. The only masks he had held on to were the goron, zora, deku, and fierce deity masks.

Link had tried to wear the fierce deity mask often. But it tended to make everyone around him afraid. So he kept it tucked away in his bag. But the thing that was probably pulling him the most was the Triforce on the back of his hand. It had started glowing a few months ago and he had to know why. His garb had also changed over the years.

He wore a white undershirt overlaid with a chainmail shirt and his torn and overused kokiri green shirt. He wore a torn red cap with a golden Triforce symbol on the back. His brown boots and white pants covered his feet and legs. Link had lost many things and people in the past. The worst was in the War of Fire in Licadonia. He had lost many friends in that war.

But he also lost his beloved horse Epona. If he ever made it back to Hyrule, Malon would kill him. He was sure all of his friends would kill him. They said they understood that he was going to look for Navi. But to stay away for seven years, he was sure that all three of them would want to kill him when they saw him again. He dragged a hand through his muddy hair and looked up at the dark night sky.

"I don't even know why I'm going back. I said that I wouldn't. I didn't want to trudge up all those memories," Link said aloud as he stopped in the middle of the road. "Oh well it's dark I might as well set up camp," he said as he went over into the trees and found a spot of dry ground. He gathered some dead wood from the ground around him and dug a hole in the ground. He cast dins fire and set the wood aflame.

He took off his hat and shirts to dry them in front of the fire and lay back next to it. He sighed as he looked up at the sky. He never did find Navi. He lost a lot more than he had ever gained by leaving. He had grown up that was true. He had learned much more about women and the world that he would ever have if he had stayed in Hyrule. He just wished that he could have taken someone with him.

But everyone had wanted to stay and he never made it back. It was just him alone. Well him and Faore the goddess that watched over him. But she didn't talk to him. He just felt her protection. Link sat up as he pulled on his bag to take out some food.

His ears perked up when he heard a branch crack to his left. He took out a dagger and threw it in the direction of the sound. He heard a squeal as he ran into the woods with a deku stick as a torch. He walked up and saw the knife imbedded in a girl's skirt. He sighed as he crouched down. "I'm so sorry.

I thought that you were a threat. I'm not used to having anyone around," Link said hurriedly as he pulled the knife out of the ground and looked up at the girl. She had long brown hair and a scared look in her eye. Great I scared the crap out of her. Now she's going to run Link thought as the girl quickly got up and ran away into the night. "Wait, it's not safe out there!" Link yelled but she was gone.

He sighed as he walked back to his campsite and put the knife into his belt. He sat down with a thud and pulled a Cucco leg that he had caught from a Cucco the day before. He cooked it over the fire and ate in silence. He lay down with his sword right next to his head and went to sleep.

Darkness whirled around him as he looked around the dungeon floor. Link quickly jumped up as Ganondorf's quick strike barely missed his head. Link quickly pulled the master sword out of its sheath and began the dance of death with the King of Evil. Blade rang against blade in the tower of the evil king. Ganondorf made a quick jab and impaled Link on the end of his blade. He gagged on the blood that rose from his throat as a scream struggled to leave his mouth.

Link woke up with a start and swiftly swung his blade as he woke. He looked around and saw nothing in the fog covered morning. The sun had just barely risen and Link could only hear the chirping of grasshoppers. He sighed as he put his sword down and took a few deep breaths. Oh well I'm awake now. I might as well get moving Link thought as he got up and pulled on his dry shirts and armor.

He put the Great Fairy sword back in his scabbard and put on his hat as he walked out into the morning. He pulled out a thin dry slab of beef and chewed on it as he slowly made his way through the forest path. He could tell he was getting close to Hyrule because he could feel the magic flowing through his body from the forest. He continued his journey well into the day as he continued to follow the path. Link had learned his lesson on not following the path in the Lost Woods. That's how he ended up in Termina in the first place.

Link took out a bottle and took a big swig of the water it contained. He gasped in delight at the cold sensation running down his throat. He felt better than he had in years being around Hyrule but he still remembered the future, all the things that he had said. The things he had said to Zelda.

"Link you did it! You defeated the evil King Ganondorf," Zelda said as link smiled.

"Yeah, now we can continue our lives and be happy. Zelda look I…" Link started as she raised her hand.

"Link we can't. I just don't have those kinds of feelings for you," she said as he sighed.

"How long have you known?" he asked as she sighed looking around in the white clouds they hovered in.

"Since the Water Temple. You were so determined to look for me and I saw the look you had in your eye. Link we're just really good friends. I don't want to change that, and I couldn't act on it even if I wanted to. I'm the princess. You may be the Hero of Time, but that means nothing to anyone apart from the sages and I," Zelda said as he frowned.

"But here everyone would know. But, I guess you just don't have those feelings for me," Link said as she frowned.

"I'm sorry Link. But I need to set this straight. I'm going to send you back so you can live the years that the Temple of Time took from you. That I took from you," she said as she held out her hand. Link sighed and gave her the Ocarina of Time. She played the song of time and everything reversed.

He was back in his house in the kokiri forest. He remembered everything about his future, every haunting detail. Then Navi left him, she said he didn't need her anymore. But he did. He did need her. So he got Epona from Malon and left in search for Navi.

If she had really wanted him to live those years again she would've made him forget. But that was one thing he learned from Termina. The flow of time doesn't affect him. That's how he remembered everything even though he kept going back in time. So now he lived with the nightmares. All of the people in Hyrule blissfully unaware of what almost happened to them.

He talked to Saria about it but Saria was in reality just a child. She may live forever like all of the Kokiri. But the downside was she couldn't understand what he had been through. Her mind couldn't comprehend it. So he lived with the nightmares. He sighed as he continued his walk.

Five Moblins suddenly surrounded him and he took his sword out in one swift motion. These are Ganondorf's men. What are they still doing here? Link thought as they attacked. He blocked two swords one with his sword and the other with his mirror shield. He swung his sword deftly and beheaded the Moblin in front of him and quickly swung it backwards blocking the other sword. He slammed the Moblin to his right in the face with his shield stunning it as he rolled around to the left swinging his sword upwards as he split the Moblin in half.

He looked at the three remaining Moblins as one charged him. He flipped over it his sword swinging downwards as he split the Moblins head in half. He landed on the ground and blocked an overhead strike with his shield and stabbed the same Moblin. He charged the last Moblin with a yell as it tried to run. He jumped into the air and slicked down splitting the creature in half as he landed. He sighed as he put his sword away and looked at all the green blood around him.

I didn't think there were any Moblins left. But I guess they ran into the forest after Ganondorf died Link thought as he put his sword away and continued his trek through the woods. He continued walking until he finally made it to the edge of the woods. He smiled as he saw Hyrule field. It was larger than he had remembered. The green field stretched out in front of him as he looked around him.

He had come out closer to the lake. I want to go visit Malon first. I need to explain what happened he thought as he walked out into the dense field grass. He walked until he came up to the stone wall that surrounded the ranch. He struggled to go up the walkway that led into the farm. She's going to kill me.

But I have to see her. I have to tell her what happened. She loved that horse he thought sadly as he walked up into the ranch. He saw the old yellow house to his left and the corral to his right where they kept the horses and the cows. He sighed as he reluctantly trudged to where he knew Malon would be, in the middle of the pin that housed the horses. He really did miss her.

He saw her first standing in the center of the pin singing like she always did. Her beautiful voice had always soothed him when he had been here as a child. She stood in a white skirt and top embroidered in pink. She always did wear girly colors. He had teased her for that when they were younger. But she looked so beautiful now.

Her long red hair flowed down to her mid back. She almost looked like the older girl from the ranch in Termina. But Malon was more beautiful. He sighed as he slowly trekked towards her. He knew she was going to kill him. She saw him coming and smiled as she started running towards him.

He smiled as he saw her excitement. "Link!" she shouted as he ran up to meet her. He grabbed her and held on tight as he rested his cheek on top of her head. It felt so good to hold her again. He sighed as he thought about how angry she was going to be in a few moments. She nuzzled her head into his shoulder as she moved to look around him.

"Link… Where's Epona?" she asked slowly as he sighed and let her go.

"Malon you should sit down," Link said slowly as she pushed against him.

"Link where's Epona? Where's Epona?!" she shrieked as she started hitting his chest.

"Malon…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he said sadly as she continued pounding into his chest.

"No!...No! She's alive I know she is!" she said as he let her go.

"Malon…" he started as she could hear the pain in his voice. She stopped and looked into his eyes. She saw the horrible pain in them.

"By the goddesses Link, what happened to you these past seven years? And what happened to my horse!" she shouted as link grabbed her hands.

"Malon please! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Link said as tears filled his eyes. She looked up and him and cried as her legs fell out from under her. They crumpled to the ground as Malon gasped and began to cry in his arms. He held her tight as tears slid down his cheeks and into her hair.

"Oh goddesses! Epona…Epona!" she cried as he held her tighter in his arms and she clung to his tunic. He held her tightly against him until she took a long sniff and moved away from Link. He grudgingly let her go. He liked having her there in his arms. He hadn't held anyone that close in seven long years. "Ok let's go inside.

Its dinner and I have to make it for all of us. You can tell me over dinner with my dad. I'm sure he'd want to know. He loved that horse too," Malon said as she stood up. Link followed her into the house and was greeted by a very happy Talon.