CHAPTER ONE - The Big Mistake

Link remembered handing the Ocarina of Time to Princess Zelda. The next thing he knew, he was standing here now, in front of the pedestal in the Temple of Time.
"Goodbye!"
Link looked up and saw Navi the fairy fly up and away, out of the window. He couldn't say that he was exactly sorry to see her go. She had helped him once or twice, but most of the time she had annoyed him, by flying in his face all the time and yelling at him. Link suddenly couldn't believe that it was finally all over. Ganondorf was gone for good, and Link could now return to his home in the Kokiri Forest and live a normal life, and grow up properly. He took a step backwards and nearly fell over. He wasn't used to his childish body again. That was the most annoying part about traveling through time; one second you were an adult, the next you were a child again. Well now he wouldn't have to do it anymore. Hero of Time or not, Link wanted to live a normal life for a while. He turned around to leave Hyrule Castle Town.

As Link walked through the town market, once again bustling with life like nothing had ever happened, he thought of Princess Zelda. He really wanted to see her again. He walked down the ally until he reached the gate, but was confronted by a tall, strong looking guard.
"Whoa there kid," he said. "Where do you think you're going?"
"The castle," Link replied, "To see Zelda."
The guard roared with laughter. "Nice try. But what makes you think that the princess would want to see a stupid little kid like you?"
Link felt frustrated because the guard would never know what he and Zelda had stopped from happening. If it weren't for them, the guard would have probably been nothing more than a zombie like ReDead, stuck in a ruined and deserted world that was ruled by evil.
"It's okay Kel," a female voice called out to the guard. "He's a friend. You can let him in." Link looked up. It was Zelda! The guard scowled, but at the princess' order he opened the gates. Link went in, and followed Zelda through the castle grounds and into the courtyard. This time, he didn't have to sneak.
"I knew you'd come again," she said.
They talked for a long time, mainly about what had happened.
"So is he really gone?" asked Link, trying to convince himself.
"Yes, together with the other Sages I sealed him away forever in the evil realm. You were there, remember!"
"I know, but it's hard to get used to the fact that he really is gone."
"It's a good thing to get used to!"

After some more time, it began to grow dark.
"I really should be going," said Link. "Time to get back home, and back to my real life."
"This is your real life," said Zelda. "Everything that happens to you and what you do. It is your Destiny."
"Yes," Link agreed. "But I meant a normal life."
Zelda giggled. "Just promise me you'll visit a lot. I'll give you a pass so the guards won't hassle you anymore."

It had now been about a week since Link returned to the forest. He spent most of his days messing around with Saria, just enjoying the fact that he had nothing to do.
"What happened to your fairy?" asked Saria. "One day you have a fairy, and the next she's gone."
Link laughed. If only he had had to put up with Navi for just one short day! "Nothing, maybe she didn't like me," he joked. "After all, I'm not Kokiri." He was, after all, Hylian.
"No, I bet that you smelled too much and she didn't like it," replied Saria. Link picked up a handful of grass and threw it at her. She jumped up and picked up a flask of water. "You'll pay for that Link!" she yelled and threw the water at him. Link ducked out of the way just in time. After dodging rocks and all sorts of magic attacks, Link's reflexes had improved greatly. "Not fair!" yelled Saria.

At the same time that Link was doing nothing, Zelda had been working hard. She was preparing to seal the Door of Time permanently, so that Ganondorf would never be able to escape. It didn't matter that the door could never be opened again, because Ganondorf was far too dangerous a force to be let loose. She took the Sages' medallions and arranged them in a circle on her bed, around the Ocarina of Time. The ocarina began to glow softly, and a picture appeared. Zelda gazed into it, and found that she saw into the evil void that held Ganondorf. Only it was empty.

"Uh-oh," she whispered and began to panic. What had happened to Ganondorf? Where was he? She ran through the castle and into the library. After searching in frustration for several minutes she found what she was looking for, and pulled the Book of Magic down off a shelf. Zelda nearly dropped the Book, for it was so heavy, and it took her some time to heave it back into her chamber. She flipped through the battered pages carefully until she came to the chapter about the Ocarina of Time. This looked perfect, it was called the "Searching Spell" and it allowed you to search through time to find a particular item or person.
Again, Zelda ran through the castle and out into the market. She wasn't allowed to go out there often, and so nobody recognized her as the princess. It also didn't hurt that she'd taken off her royal garments and decorations.
In a back alley she found what she was looking for, a potion shop, and bought several bottles of what was called Green Potion, which contained magic. Carrying the bottles back to the castle also slowed her down because she didn't want the bottles to clang against each other and break.

When she arrived back in her chamber, she drank a bottle of the magic potion. It tasted disgusting, and Zelda wished that she had been naturally born with magic powers. Still, she was now able to perform the "Searching Spell," which involved playing a strange song on the Ocarina.
The picture in the Ocarina of Time changed, and Zelda literally watched every realm speed throughout time. Still, there was no sign of Ganondorf, until finally the pictures slowed down and finally stopped. Zelda was shocked by what she saw. She had sent Ganondorf back into the real world, only it was several centuries into the future. She was not sure exactly, but she knew there was one thing she definitely had to do.
"I have to find Link," she said.

Early one morning, Link felt someone shaking him. It was still early, and he was half-asleep.
"Mmm," he groaned.
"Wake up!" said Saria. This had no effect on the sleeping boy, so Saria leaned over and pulled the pillow out from under his head.
"Hey!" exclaimed Link, sitting up after a moment. "Why'd you wake me up so early?"
"There's someone here to see you," Saria replied. She didn't look that happy. Link wondered who would want to visit him in the forest. He pulled his tunic over his head and put his boots on, grabbing his cap as he ran out the door after his friend.
Waiting at the foot of the ladder was Mido.
"Link, do you know that Kokiri are not supposed to leave the forest?" he said with a stern tone in this voice.
"But I'm not one of you, remember," replied Link, quoting Mido's teasing back at him.
"That's true," Mido agreed. "But that's not my point. Why do outsiders know where this forest is then?"
"Outsiders?" asked Link.
"There is a girl waiting just outside the entrance and she asked for you. Obviously she knows where the forest is, and you must have told her."
"Have you ever seen me leave the forest?" asked Link.
"No but you were going to, I remember, right after you killed the Deku Tree you said you were going to the castle, whatever that is. Maybe I didn't notice you go."
Link decided then to ignore Mido, so he started walking towards the forest entrance.
"You traitor!" screamed out Mido after him. "How dare you give away our home!"

As Link stepped out of the forest and into Hyrule Field, he saw Zelda waiting for him. Standing further away and blending almost into the shadows was Impa, Zelda's nursemaid.
"I'm so glad I found you," said Zelda when she saw Link.
"How did you know where to look?" he was curious.
"Oh I have my connections," she replied. "We have a bit of a problem."
"What kind of a problem?"
"Well, there was a bit of a, um, mistake."
Link was worried. "What happened."
"It's Ganondorf," said Zelda. Link felt sick. "Our plan didn't go as we'd hoped."
"What's wrong? Did he escape?"
"Kind of. Well, he's free anyway. Just not here."
"Well where is he then?" Link wished Zelda would just tell him exactly what had happened and get to the point.
"A couple of hundred years in the future."
"WHAT???" Link thought she might have been joking, but the look on her face told him that she wasn't.
"I need your help. As the Hero of Time, you are the only one who can pull the Master Sword and use it to travel through time and stop Ganondorf."
Here we go again, thought Link. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. If he hadn't done it before, he wouldn't have ever imagined traveling through time was even possible. Still, he wondered what the future would be like. He decided that it probably couldn't be that much different from now.
Link was going to be in for a big surprise.