A Matter of Time

I ran through the forest, tree branches slapping against my face. I had to get distance between myself and the darkness I had left behind at the temple that was now probably nothing more than a pile of rubble. I broke through the greenery into the clearing in front of the temple that lead to the pit where my ancestor had resealed the Imprisoned. I raced toward the temple where the door of time was, ready to get out of here and strengthen my sword. I was about ten feet away when I heard laughter from the pit. I went over to the edge and looked down to see Demise, standing in front of the seal that held the Imprisoned. A black smoke was drifting from it towards Demise. It didn't take me long to realize that he was taking some of his power to strengthen himself. I raced down the sides of the pit, trying to get to Demise and stop him from getting more powerful. 

He finished as I approached and turned to face me, a crooked grin stretched across his face. "I see you wanted to interrupt my little reunion with my past self. Well it's a little late for that, and I've grown even stronger than when your ancestor sealed me away all those centuries ago." He walked towards me, his sword on his back and black smoke flowing from his skin. I drew my sword and held up my shield, ready for his attack. "Why so quiet over there 'hero', to scared to speak to your superior?" 

"I'm not scared of you, only playing it cautious until I know how I can slow you down a little." I said the last part with a smirk to annoy him a little. Unfortunately it worked. He charged at me with a speed I hadn't anticipated, and I barely had time to block his hit with my shield, which cracked upon impact. I jumped a couple times to gain a little bit of distance between us. He looked at me with eyes full of rage, "You dare speak little of the Demon King? I think I should teach you some manners, you little insect." He straightened his posture and made a barrier around us so that I couldn't escape from what was about to happen. He started with using his speed to get around me and knock me to the ground. I quickly got up and regained my footing. He didn't seem to be changing his attacks up yet so I was able to start to see a pattern in his movements. He was behind me when I turned and slashed with my sword, catching him across the stomach. 

There didn't seem to be a physical wound on him, but it looked like he had just taken a canon to the stomach the way he was doubled over in pain. He looked at me and glared. He got up and charged his fists with dark magic. This time his attack pattern was more straightforward, he approached me and started swinging nonstop. When his attacks slowed I used my damaged shield as a frisbee and tossed it at his head. It made contact and dazed him slightly. I used my opportunity to strike again with my sword. With my second strike the barrier's top faded away. Demise looked at me with pure hatred and rage in his eyes. He raised his hands and started creating a giant mass of dark magic above him. As it seemed he would finish charging, I saw a flash behind him and heard him scream in agony and fall to the ground. The mass of dark magic vanished, and in his back was the Goddess Blade with my ancestor holding it firm in its place. He removed the blade and ran to my side. "Are you okay over here?"

I let out a sigh of relief, "Yeah, thanks to you. How'd you know I needed help though?"

"Fi kept saying I should come back here because someone was tampering with the seal on the Imprisoned. Turns out it was our buddy over there." He gestured toward Demise, who was getting back up clutching his side. "Don't let this victory get to your head boy! I will end this cycle of ours, and I will be the one to remain!" With those words, he disappeared in a cloud of black smoke, and the barrier disappeared. My ancestor let out an annoyed sigh, "Well I think we succeeded in making him hate us even more." 

I walked into the temple and approached the door of time. My ancestor had gone up to his home, Skyloft, and bought me a shield known as the Goddess Shield, it apparently regenerates itself overtime. I thanked him and raised my sword to the door, it glowed briefly and revealed a path to another time. I walked through and ended up in what looked like a small temple for worship. I heard a voice from behind me, "Whoah!!! What just happened Navi?" I turned to see a kid standing behind me, no older than me, holding the Master sword in front of him. A fairy flew in front of him, "No idea Link, but you look a whole lot older now. Whoah!!! Link, why are there two of you?!" The boy turned and saw me and his eyes widened to the point I thought they would fall out of his skull. He didn't look like he was going to say anything so I got the conversation going, "Nice to meet you. Link, right? Figured I would meet you later on, but this works too."

He looked confused for a moment, "What do you mean we would meet, and just who exactly are you?"   

"I'm your descendant I guess, at least in terms of spirit. I've come here to increase the power of the Master Sword so that I can rescue the Zelda in my time."   

The fairy floating next to him spoke, "How do we know we can trust you and that you aren't just one of Ganondorf's tricks?"

"Who's Ganondorf? It sounds like a longer version of Ganon, but they can't possibly be the same."

This time my young ancestor answered, "He's a Gerudo king that's taken over Hyrule by obtaining the Triforce of Power, I currently hold the Triforce of Courage, and the Triforce of Wisdom is held by a third unknown person." He looked down at the floor, "When I drew the Master Sword from its pedestal, I accidently removed the final seal protecting the sacred realm where the Triforce was hidden. Ganondorf got to it, but he wasn't worthy of the courage or wisdom pieces, so the Triforce split itself to protect its powers from unworthy people."

I looked around, "So this is what the temple looked like before it was rebuilt and then eventually turned to ruins? Gotta say that I was expecting more."

He glared at my response, "Why are you here anyway? To sightsee?"

I kept looking around, "I already told you, I'm here to increase the power of the Master Sword to save Zelda in my time period."

"How does enhancing my sword help you though?"

"Not your sword, mine." I drew my Master Sword and held it in front of me so that he could fully see that it wasn't a trick or something. The sword looked like mine, but the wings on the hilt were folded in and them gem in the center was dimmed.

"That's not possible, only the one worthy can wield it. How are you worthy?"

"I have your blood running in my veins, why wouldn't I be worthy of it?" I sheathed the sword and held up my left hand, where the symbol of the Triforce of Courage shone brightly through the gauntlet. "I also hold the Triforce of Courage just like you do. Convinced yet?"

Link: Hero of Time

    I stood there in disbelief. The man standing before me was showing me the Triforce on the back of his left hand, which also shined brightly on my own as well. "How could you be my descendant, without the ocarina you can't manipulate time?"

    "Well before our Kingdom of Hyrule existed, there was a Gate of Time and that's what I've used twice now without an ocarina."

    I looked at him confused, "What do you mean before Hyrule, the Goddesses created the land of Hyrule and the people to rule over it. When they left, they left our ancestors the Triforce. People's greed drove them to war over who would possess it. The sages sealed it away behind the Door of Time with the master sword and the three crests as keys to unlock it."

    He stopped me there, "So you're telling me you've never heard of people living on islands in the sky, I thought I was the only one that hadn't. Well that doesn't matter. What about your sword, can't you speak to Fi at all?" 

    "Who's Fi?" As if on cue, a spirit leapt out from his blade and landed lightly in front of me. "That would be me, and my past self currently resides in your sword fighting an ancient evil, which is the main reason you fight against the forces of darkness." She floated backwards and jumped backwards, back into the sword. My apparent descendant sheathed his blade and looked back at me. "Sorry about that, she can be a little forceful when she knows something. The evil sealed within your blade was released by me when I tried to fight his servant. The blade broke and I was running from the chaos in the castle, Zelda stayed behind so that we could both live on. I ran to the forest and searched for the temple of Farore, to try and find a way to restore the blade and fight back. Instead, the goddess showed herself and guided me to use the Gate of Time to find a flame to reforge the blade." He paused for a moment to let it sink in, "So you're telling me that you're from the future where the reason I fight has been released from the Master Sword and is trying to rule over Hyrule, correct?" 

He nodded. "Oh and to top it off, it seems that he is draining power from his past self to become more powerful. So if the Gate sent me here, that means he will probably show up and try to drain power from his reincarnation, which from the sounds of it is this Ganondorf you mentioned." 

    This guy was starting to worry me, he was talking crazy about seeing one of the goddesses and an ancient evil no one has heard about. I decided to leave him where he was and go search for the other sages. As I walked out of the temple, I noticed him following close behind. "Why are you following me?"

    "Aren't you going to go and find a way to beat Ganondorf?"

    "Yeah. So what."

    "I'll come with, might find something interesting to help on my own adventure."

    "Fine, but you're on your own, don't expect my help."

    He smirked at me, "What, think I can't handle myself?"

    "Of course not, you're just a crazy guy hiding out in the temple."

    He drew his sword, "How about a duel then? If I'm just some crazy guy in a temple, then an amateur sword user like you should be able to beat me no problem."

    His amateur comment really dug at my nerves, "How do you know if I'm an amateur? For all you know I could've been training with a sword all my life."

    He pointed at me with his sword, "Then draw your weapon and prove me wrong. Unless you're scared that is." I drew my sword and shield and charged at him. He dodged quickly to the left and planted a kick in my butt, sending me stumbling away. I turned to see him smiling at me with a prideful look in his eyes that said he would win this. I charged again, anticipating a dodge, but our swords met with a flash of sparks. He held his sword with both hands, giving it better support against my own. He pushed hard suddenly and our swords separated. I stood looking at him. He was only using his sword, his shield remained on his back. I Put my shield up and mimicked his stance.

    "Well it does seem you know how to handle a sword well enough, for an amateur that is." He held his smirk and took a chance to attack. I wasn't prepared for the attack, and when I blocked with my sword, I was knocked off balance. He took that chance and planted his knee in my stomach. I fell to the ground breathless.  He looked down at me,"Where did you learn to fight like this?" I looked up at him and gave a response, "I learned from the Kokiri, they raised me until the Great Deku tree sent me to Hyrule castle."

    Mentioning the Kokiri got his attention, "So you were the one that Saria knew when she lived as a sage?"

    "What do you mean Saria is a sage? She's just another one of the Kokiri." I remembered how abruptly I had left the forest and everyone behind. "Wait a second, the Kokiri, they could be in danger without the deku tree protecting them. I have to go." I got up and ran out of the temple and through the ruins of castle town and out to Hyrule field. I looked around, only seeing a desolate field with Lon Lon Ranch on a hill. I went up to the ranch which looked worse for wear. Talon, the owner of the ranch, was nowhere to be found. I went towards the center of the ranch where the horses were held to find Ingo standing outside the gates watching the horses. I approached him. "Hey Ingo, where's Talon at, I need a horse." He turned to look at me, "I don't know who you are boy, but Talon no longer lives here, and I'm the current owner of this ranch." 

    "Well okay then. Where's Malon at then?" 

    "She's probably in the barn tending to the animals like I told her to."

    "Alright, thanks. Be right back." I ran towards the barn and opened the side door and entered. Over towards the back stood Malon, tending to the horses while humming her mother's lullaby that she had taught me how to play on the ocarina. I approached her. "Malon. How are you?" She seemed startled to see a person, she was probably off in her own little world while she worked. "I'm sorry, have we met?"

    "We met seven years ago, I was heading to Hyrule Castle and you were waiting for your father to finish a delivery. You asked me to find him and tell him you were waiting for him." 

    Her face lit up, "OH!! You're the fairy boy!"

    It was a little embarrassing to be called fairy boy, but I laughed at the comment. "Yeah, my name is actually Link though."

    "Oh, yeah, my bad. Guess fairy boy is a little embarrassing isn't it?" 

    "A little bit yeah. So what happened to your father, where's he at?

    "When Ganondorf came to power, Ingo struck a deal with him to raise a horse worthy of his power. My father lost ownership of the ranch to Ingo, who kicked him out and kept me here as a farmhand." 

    "What happened to Epona, is she okay?"

    "Ingo is raising her to be Ganondorf's horse since she is the strongest and fastest horse here. Unfortunately for him, Epona is just as stubborn as she was when she met you." Her face lit up. "Maybe if you play my mother's lullaby like before, Epona will listen to you!" 

    "You sure that'll work?"

    "It has too, she trusted only you and me before, that could still be true. If you beat the horse race Ingo has set up, he'll let you take one horse. Ingo never goes back on his word, so you should be able to take Epona away from here."

"I'll try, thanks for the advice."

I ran out the door, back towards the stables where Ingo was, Malon yelled as I left, "GOOD LUCK!!" I gave her a grin and kept going. I approached Ingo again, "What do you want now kid?" 

"I want to participate in your horse race to win a horse."

"Oh really? Well then go and pick a horse, then come and talk to me." I ran off into the horse pen in the center. I took out my ocarina and played the lullaby that Malon had taught me. Almost as soon as I finished, a brown horse with a bright white mane came running up to me. Epona was obviously happy to see me, she whinnied at me and nuzzled my shoulder with her snout. "Hey there girl, you miss me?" She gave a snort in response that I assumed was a yes. I heard heavy breathing from behind me. I turned to see the guy I met at the temple, hands on his knees catching his breath. "You really know how to run you know that?" 

"Why did you follow me? I thought you would leave me alone after that duel we had."

He looked up at me from catching his breath, "Now when did I ever say that. I was just proving to you that I could handle myself. You on the other hand are still an amateur in sword fighting."

"Well sorry for being raised in a peaceful forest. Where were you raised, a knight academy?"

"Actually I was. My father was killed in combat and my mother worked herself to death. I was left with my grandmother who looked after me while I trained as a knight like my father had." I looked at the guy before me, wearing a green tunic with chainmail underneath, a bracer on his right arm, and his left hand with a leather gauntlet. He looked like a knight for sure, but his demeanor around people seemed a little rough. None of this explained anything he mentioned at the temple though. "Then how are you acquainted with Zelda in your time? If you were a knight you would have no personal contact with her."

He looked slightly embarrassed, "I actually met her as a kid before the knight academy took me in. She would always sneak out of the castle to explore, she showed me how she would sneak in and out. I used the same way to go see her after I started training and she started her classes with her mother on ruling Hyrule." 

"So you too were friends as kids, but that doesn't really give you a reason to save her. Why are you doing this for her?"

"Part of it is so that I can keep calling myself a knight and honor my family's name. The main reason I do this is to save the only girl that gave light to my lonely life. I had no friends and no parents, and my grandmother worked to keep food on the table. I would usually sit outside the castle walls and hide from the bullies that would come and pick on me." He looked up at me and smiled, "That's where I met Zelda. She had a mischievous smile on her face when she walked by me. She stopped and looked at me and asked what I was doing there all alone. I could only look at her with wonder in my eyes. She was the first person to talk to me without wanting anything from me. We became friends and met as often as possible to play."

"So you're saying you love her then?"

His face turned red, "Well, I mean, why wouldn't I? She was smart even as a kid, and when she grew up she was the most beautiful thing in the world. I can't just sit around while Demise takes over the world with Zelda held captive." I looked at the man before me. Even embarrassed, his face showed his resolve to save Zelda. 

"Then how about you and I work together to save Hyrule here and then work on getting you back to your time to save Zelda." I reluctantly held out my hand and he looked at it in amazement. "What happened to that hostile attitude you had earlier? Did my story touch you that much." 

"No, I just respect why you're doing this. I could tell that the feelings you have for Zelda are genuine. I might've been raised in the forest but I at least know when someone lies to me."

He grinned at me as he took my hand and firmly shook. I had just made an agreement with one of my descendants. This was going to be an interesting story to tell the kokiri when I got back to them. "Well if you're coming along, you're going to need a horse as well." 

"True, why don't we just jump the fence around the ranch and escape with two of them so that we don't have to win them in whatever way that ranch owner wants us to." He looked around at the horses, looking at each one to see which one he should pick. 

"I can't do that, he might hurt Malon because of it." 

"Then let's save her."

I looked up at him in disbelief, he had offered to save a person he had never known, someone he would never know. The man before me was either careless or brave, to early to tell which one he is though. "And how do you propose we do that?"

"Well…" He looked like he was struggling to think of a plan.

I interrupted his thoughts. "If you're gonna try and take her from here it won't work. She'll just come back out of concern for the animals."

"Well what if we took care of him before that?"

"I'm not killing anyone, no matter who it benefits."

"I never said we'd kill him, we could just take his prize horse, who already seems pretty keen on leaving with you. Me and you look similar, but if I disguise myself I could take some of the other animals out of the area and make him panic. In the confusion we trap him in the ranch with the horses. I'm pretty sure most of the animals here have some sort of grudge against him, we can use that to scare him into being nicer to Malon and the animals."

"Too complicated, but i think it could be useful.

I thought for a second. "What if you tried to steal a horse while I do the race. That would create a distraction to let me escape with Epona. You should be able to escape Ingo, he isn't the brightest person."

He got a grin on his face. "Now that sounds like a plan. Let's do this."

We both went to get ready. I approached Ingo while riding Epona.

"How did you tame that horse?!? She doesn't listen to anyone but Malon!"

"Maybe she only likes kind hearted people." Ingo glared at me in response. "Fine. Let's get this over with so that you can leave." I followed Ingo to the starting line of the track, which was just a path around the area the horses were kept. I glanced over to see the other guy wearing an extremely dark colored outfit with his hair tied back. If i hadn't been intentionally looking for him, I would've missed him entirely if i hadn't known he would be there. I looked at Ingo and nodded. He nodded back with a grunt and started the race. Epona took off like a keese out of hell. We raced around the first corner leaving Ingo in the dust. Or so I thought. He came racing up on a grey horse. He was cutting corners to ensure his win. If he was going to play dirty, so was I. I cut in front of him and took the corner as tight as Epona could handle. This continued for two laps. As the third lap started, I heard Ingo yell, "HEY!! Where do you think you're going with that horse?!?" 

I looked back to see Ingo chasing a man on a brown horse. I took the opportunity to jump over the fence surrounding Lon Lon Ranch, landing in Hyrule Field. I waited until I saw my companion jump over as well. His horse was every bit as graceful as Epona, but lacked the speed that she had. He came up beside me and smirked. "Well that was fun! Where to next?"

"Now we head to the Lost Woods. I've been away for seven years, and I'm worried about the Kokiri."

"You're worried about Saria aren't you?" 

"Of course I am, I'm worried about all the Kokiri." I felt my face turn red.

"Sure, keep telling yourself that, but I don't think Mido will believe who you are."

"Wait, You met the Kokiri?"

"Yeah, they were all still alive in my time. At least I know Mido and Saria were. They seemed to miss you, even Mido."

I felt a weight being lifted off my shoulders. The Kokiri were safe, but that might've been because of my actions. "I still need to make sure they're safe. I can't just take your word for it and find out later that it was my actions that would've saved them."

He smirked back, "Alright, let's go see how they're doing."

We rode towards the lost woods. I lef him through the way I knew that would lead to the Kokiri village. When we got to the bridge leading to the village the horses refused to ge any further so we dismounted and continued on foot. As we entered the village, I felt something was off and readied my sword. He obviously felt something too because he did the same. We entered the village and saw that it was infested with Deku Babas and skulltula. We quickly went to work cutting each of them down with our blades. His seemed les powerful. Looks like he wasn't lying when he said he needed to power it up. After we finished with the enemies in the area, we headed towards where the Deku Tree resided. The Deku Tree was exactly how I left it, withered and dead. "Well looks like Ganondorf beat us here. The Deku tree in this era is dead." He was looking at the tree as if he was remembering something. I took a deep breath, "We need to remove the darkness infesting this forest. We need to find the Kokiri."

"Right behind you on that. Where do we look?"

"We came in from the safest route into the lost woods. We may need to go through the dense part of it to find the source. The Kokiri are probably holding it back as best they can, but they can't block it all. That's why there were monsters in the village."

"Makes sense, but where is the--OOF!!" 

I looked over to see him get kicked into the wall by a black boot. I looked at the source of the boot to see Ganondorf Standing there with an evil grin on his face.

"Well, well, well, look what I've found. A couple of pissants trying to break the curse over the forest where the forest sage is sealed. How amusing. Looks like you were right Demon Lord, there is another ant trying to stop my plans." He said the last part to a red-cloaked figure standing behind him. "Get back Link!! You're no match for them yet!" The shout came from my descendant that had gotten kicked into the wall who was now standing with his sword and shield drawn. He looked afraid, but i couldn't tell who he was afraid of. Ganondorf, or the man with him. The red cloaked man took this opportunity to speak.

"Well, looks like you either haven't ran into my Master, or you've just been lucky enough to survive. But now look where you are, cornered by my Master's reincarnation and me. I wonder who will win." As he said the last words he transformed into a sword that resembled the Master Sword, but with jagged edges and dark energy flowing from it. "Damnit, looks like he's recovered as well. Link, be careful of that blade, it's more than capable of breaking the Master Sword. If this Ganondorf is truly a reincarnation of Demise, he should be more powerful than you anticipated. Try to call to the spirit of the sword, she'll give you pointers as you fight. I'll hold him back as long as I can!"

He charged forward as Ganondorf swung his sword. He blocked the swing with his shield which cracked from the impact. He followed up with a slash aimed at the stomach. Ganondorf easily dodged and followed up with another attack. An overhead swing charged with dark power. He held up his sword to block it. As he did a white light shined through his blade, giving the blade a holy appearance. When the two swords clashed, a shockwave sent me flying backwards. I used my sword to keep my balance. I looked on with both fear and awe. The amount of power his reforged blade had compared to mine was immensely different. Why was his stronger when mine was fully powered and undamaged? I didnt have time to think of an answer as the spirit in Ganondorf's blade came out and attacked me with a blade of his own. I blocked it with my shield, and countered with a upward slash aiming for his face. He blocked it with his free hand.

"Hmph, you think I'll let you touch me with your filthy blade. Know your place worm." He seemed disgusted with the idea of fighting me, but was doing so at the behest of Ganondorf. He teleported backwards about fifteen feet. He snapped his fingers and about twelve daggers appeared floating in front of him. He snapped his fingers again, sending the daggers flying at me from varying angles. I blocked the ones I could and dodged the ones I couldn't. Two of them ended up grazing my left arm and my right leg. The man before me smiled. "Terribly sorry for skipping the pleasantries, but I was hoping that attack would kill you, but it seems you're more than worth my time. And it seems that I was still dormant in this era so you wouldn't have heard of me." 

He took an excesively elegant bow, "I am Demon Lord Ghirahim, Pleasure to meet you Link. Now if you'll excuse my rudeness, I need to shred you to pieces now!" He made another sword appear in his free hand and charged at me. I blocked one blade with my shield and the other with my sword. "Well it looks like it's not long enough after my master being sealed to break the sword and free him. Well I guess that's what you mortals would call trial and error. It seems my power isn't enough to break the seal. I'll take my leave of this era and let the big guy over there take care of himself." With those words the sword being wielded by Ganondorf dematerialized and flowed back into Ghirahim, who teleported out of sight. Ganondorf, who was now weaponless, was fighting bare-handed against my descendant. Dark magic covered his hands, but one spot had a yellow glow to it. That spot on his left hand bore the symbol of the Tri-Force of Power. He was using it to keep pace with his opponent. I charged over and distracted him for a split second, giving my ally enough time to get a strike in. The strike landed on his side, causing him to stumble away. "I'm not done with you, just see if you can stop my phantom in the forest temple. That Sage will stay sealed, and once I find where Zelda is hiding, this world will belong to me. Try as you may, I will be victorious." After he finished speaking he teleported away. Leaving me and the other just standing there in the forest.

"Well looks like I wont be able to power up the sword here, and the two that were just here have left. I don't think I should interfere further with your quest, I'll leave and find somewhere I can reawaken the blade. I wish your Fi was able to come out and help, but it seems that she is fighting Demise at the moment. You probably won't meet her in your lifetime, but remember that she is looking out for you. Your little fairy there is probably a form of reincarnation for her so that she could still help you. Good luck on your quest, and make sure to live a life you can be proud of." With those words he cast what appeared to be Farore's Wind and left the area. I turned to the forest and heard a familiar song playing down one of the paths. That song was written by one of the Kokiri, Saria. I followed the song through the woods hoping to find her.