Link wasted no time in escaping the castle. That was the plan he had set in his mind now, but he did not forget about the true goal here - to defeat Zelda once and for all. That couldn't be done while the castle was crumbling, though.

The ceiling above him cracked, and that was his signal to run faster. He didn't know where the hell he was in the castle, but he had to escape before the entire building went down on him. Then what would happen to Hyrule? It'd most likely be destroyed; yes, that is what would happen.

Dodging large obstacles on his way out, Link had managed to almost get crushed into tiny little pieces almost four times. The ceiling wouldn't stop crumbling, until the entire top floor finally collapsed above Link. He stared up at the destruction in awe, almost in a trance. Quickly, he snapped himself out of it and looked to and fro for an escape. There was nothing, though.

But there were windows. Link shuffled over to one of the broken ones, ignoring the feeling of the glass underneath his brown and grimy boots. He looked out that window and felt panic begin to arise in him once he saw how far the ground was from him.

Glancing over his shoulder, he was very surprised to see Ganondorf running over to him. Link kept his grip on the sides of the floor length window, continuing to stare at Ganondorf as he was panting heavily.

"Link...the Master Sword...you need that...before you can defeat-" Ganondorf was cut off by a loud crashing noise, and the two of them looked over their shoulders to see that the roof was quickly falling in a straight line, and now approaching their location.

"I'll find somewhere else to escape. You, go find the sword! It's in a forest, I think," Ganondorf instructed while Link stared at him quizzically.

"What? How do you know it's there?" Link asked and Ganondorf placed his hands on Link's back.

"Don't die!" Ganondorf shouted, using all his strength to push Link off the edge of the large window.

Before the roof could collapse on top of Ganondorf, he swiftly moved to the side and began to make his way to the first floor of the castle. He jumped through a large hole in the ground and reached the second floor, knowing that he would only have a short amount of time to find the entrance to the first floor before the ceiling above him crashed down.

Meanwhile, Link was screaming as he plunged to the ground. He knew he wouldn't be able to survive the fall - who would? Only someone who is immortal or had the ability to feel no pain would be able to survive this fall. And Link possessed none of those qualities, so he was already saying goodbye to his life.

Before he could hit the ground, he shuffled around his pouches in search of something - anything - that could possibly help him survive this.

Whipping out a small rag he had in one of the pouches, he raised it to the sky as a way of using a parachute. But that obviously didn't work. The fall was a tat slower now, but even if he hadn't brought out the rag, the fall would've been the same impact.

Thinking fast, he put the rag away and prepared to grab something else. But he landed a treetop instead, feeling his body ache and his bones crack. Hopefully they weren't broken.

He leaned upwards in the tree, coughing and inhaling a rained drenched leaf. Link spit the leaf out and confirmed that he hadn't broken any bones, thank Hylia, but he was still aching all over.

Link groggily stood up, feeling the harsh rain pelt against his cheeks and soak into his green tunic, which was more of a dark green color now because of the rain. His hair was damp and stuck to his face, which felt very uncomfortable and Link never enjoyed this feeling.

Taking one step upwards, Link broke the cluster of branches he had been sitting on top of with just both of his feet. He shrieked as he fell through the tree, the sharp edges of the branches cutting through the fabric of his tunic and even scratching up his arms and legs. He crashed abruptly to the ground, feeling the cold rain smacking him all over and some drops seeping into his fresh wounds.

He shakily got back up onto both of his feet, moving some of his hair aside since it had clustered up on both sides of his cheeks. Link stared at the castle, watching another large strike of yellowish lightning strike the building and obliterate whatever was in its path.

Then he began to wonder - where the hell did Ganondorf go?

Now was not the time to worry, though. Ganondorf had said that Link needed to retrieve the Master Sword, and that was located in a forest somewhere.

And Link had a strange instinct that the forests he was talking about may be Faron Woods. Link was born in the Ordona Province, as we all know, and he had only explored Faron Woods once before he moved to Castle Town. His parents were alive then, and they went into Faron Woods often. When the passed away, Link was only in his teenager years and decided it would be best to move to Castle Town, a more busy and bustling town compared to the small village of Ordon.

Link began to run, getting as far away from the castle as he could. Once he had made it to the central area of Castle Town, a large lightning strike struck the middle of the fountain in he center. Link stared in horror as the water began to flood out, watching the remaining townspeople begin to run for their lives. He decided he should do the same before he drowned.

The Hylian man got stuck in the water as he began to escape, and it reached up to his waist. Managing to escape the clutches of the water, Link had escaped Castle Town and was on the west drawbridge. The water trickled under his feet, running outside of Castle Town, and the rain pouring down didn't make this any better.

Peering out into Hyrule Field, the draw distance due to the rain was terrible. Link couldn't see a thing. The farthest he could see was the large stone gate that signaled to travelers that they were entering Castle Town. And that wasn't very far.

Link whipped out the map, quickly deciphering it before the rain drenched it completely. He figured out where Castle Town was, but before he could pinpoint how to get to Faron Woods from there, the old and frail map dissolved in the rain and melted to the ground.

Link let out a frustrated groan, walking towards the large stone gate. Rain made sloshing noises from under his brown boots, and the rain seeped into his boots, leaving an uncomfortable feeling there.

"Hey!"

Only hearing the voice in his head, Link stopped walking and stared straight ahead at the gray blobs of nothingness, watching the rain pelt down.

"You're trying to get to Faron Woods right?" the small and perky voice asked, a voice that was smooth at the same time and reminded Link of someone. He had never met anyone with that voice though. It sounded familiar, is all.

"Yeah, but first of all, who are you?" Link questioned the girly voice, and she sighed.

"I guess I was expecting you to forget. We met in your last life - I was your best friend, Saria," the voice, who Link now knew belonged to a girl named Saria.

"I was a Kokiri girl, but I'm also the Sage of the Forest. Ruto called upon me to return, and it seems that Hyrule needs my help one more time, which I'll gladly help with," Saria explained. "Anyways, you need to get to Faron Woods. To find the Master Sword, right? I'll take you somewhere that's moderately close to its resting place."

Link nodded, closing his eyes and awaiting to be transported to Faron Woods. In all honesty, he wasn't expecting this to work - this could all be a joke, right? Who knows?

But next thing he knew, Link was in Faron Woods, sitting in the muddy grass and laying against a tree. He stood up and noticed an old and moss covered wooden ladder perched up beside the trunk of the tree, leading up to a small and cozy looking home. A treehouse.

"What's this?" Link questioned and Saria just sighed.

"Something from your past life - you need to focus on finding the Master Sword though," Saria replied.

"This isn't Faron Woods, though. Where even are we?" Link inquired, examining the large trees around him and the small and very dim specks of light that floated through the air.

"Well, this place has been long forgotten; abandoned now. But, years ago, this was the Kokiri Forest, where I grew up," Saria explained shortly. "The Master Sword is in a forbidden area in Faron Woods, but if you listen to me, I'll lead you to a shortcut. It's easier to reach the resting place this way."

"Okay...I suppose I'll take your word for it," Link murmured as a reply, thankful that Saria was speaking telepathically to him and she could easily hear his small voice.

As they walked through the abandoned Kokiri Forest, Link gazed at the worn down and wooden houses. They resembled small tree trunks and had faint red and white paint slathered over some areas, and Link assumed that those colors were faded now and that they were vibrant hundreds of years ago.

Small white dots floated through the air, making the feel of this area feel magical, as if this was a whole other world separated from that of Hyrule. Link tried reaching for one, but it floated past his fingers every time.

As Link entered a large tree trunk, as per Saria's instructions, he heard a faint and old tune being played from very far away. It sounded almost familiar, as if he knew the tune once, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was or what it meant.

"These are the Lost Woods," Saria perked up, then sighed in annoyance. "You're supposed to follow your ears. Find the tune and make your way closer to the end. But the song isn't as powerful as it used to be..."

"Okay...so what now?" Link inquired, looking to his side and noticing that a hologram-like figure stood beside him. He assumed it was Saria, with her short posture and petite body, green clothing, green hair, and her elvish ears that everyone in this land was gifted with.

"This is what I looked like," Saria explained shortly, looking over at Link and forcing a grin.

The rain around them began to fall harder, making it almost impossible to see anything a yard away from where they stood. Link was already drenched in rainwater, feeling incredibly uncomfortable as it sept into his shoes and other clothing parts.

Saria didn't feel anything, however, since she was one of the Sages and was not mortal anymore. Her soul would live on forever, but she had long abandoned her mortal body years before.

"Follow me - I know where we have to go," Saria quickly said, snapping Link from his cloudy thoughts and letting him renter reality.

The green haired Sage began to walk in specific directions, quietly humming the familiar tune to herself. Moss hung from the large trees that grew in many spots around them, and the grass was pale and thick, almost reaching Link's thighs. Those wispy, white magical particles were slowly disappearing the further they got into the woods.

Saria smacked her lips as she looked ahead, seeing the almost completely demolished structure ahead of them. She had been here before, and so had Link, but that was hundreds of years ago for both of them.

"This is the place," Saria breathed out, walking down the broken stairs and helping Link avoid the large cracks in them. "The Temple of Time."

"Oh! I've heard about this place before!" Link exclaimed at hearing the familiar title. "The Hero of Time once walked this grounds, right?"

Saria sadly nodded. "Yes, that's right." She didn't want to reminisce on the past right now, so without a word to signal Link, she began to walk up the stairs that lead to their destination.

Link had been caught up in examining the Temple of Time's ruins, wondering what the temple looked like hundreds of years ago before it turned out like this. He assumed it was grand and gorgeous, but now it was destroyed. It held a certain beauty to it, still, with the trees growing proudly around the walls and some leaves entering the windows.

He snapped out of this trance and ran up the stairs, seeing Saria staring at the pedestal before them.

And there laid the Master Sword; the blade of evil's bane.

"This...this is the real thing, huh?" Link murmured his question, taking steps closer until his feet stood right in front of the pedestal.

Saria nodded and grinned slightly. "Only the chosen hero of the goddess can pull the sword," she explained, clasping her hands together. "Let's see if you're really the chosen one."

Link nodded, carefully grasping the blueish colored hilt of the sword. He took in a deep breath, overthinking the consequences of what would happen after he did this, and then finally began to tug it out. In all honesty, he was expecting more of a fight to pull the holy sword, but he effortlessly yanked it out of its pedestal.

Holy light encased the silvery parts of the sword, bestowing its light and incredible powers to its new owner. Link saw the hilt flash blue for a moment, but it quickly returned to normal and he assumed it was just his eyes playing tricks on him.

"You really are the new hero," Saria said breathlessly, staring at the Master Sword in awe. "Link."

He waved it in the air, smiling slightly and whipping it around. It was lighter than most swords and was surprisingly easy to carry and use. He put it in the sheath on his back, noticing that even that had changed to a suitable size after he had claimed the sword.

The rain didn't stop and only got worse. A large strike of lightning, probably worse than the others, struck down moments after Link had sheathed the sword.

And then the faint smell of fire traveled over into the Temple of Time.

"Link, you need to get back to Castle Town," Saria warned him, staring at the dark skies worriedly as they brewed into an even darker shade. It was almost pitch black, but with a dark hint of purple outlining each cloud.

"I can't make it there in time!" Link shouted at the Forest Sage, turning his heel and trying to get to the entrance of the Temple of Time as fast as he could.

"You're right," Saria mumbled in thought. A lightbulb lit up in her head. "Rauru can take you there, just like I took you here."

"Rauru? Who's that?" Link asked.

"The Sage of Light!" Saria replied happily, seeing the figure of the man mentioned before appear beside her. She waved to him with a happy smile on her face, then looking at Link with determination in her blue eyes.

"I have faith in you, Link. You can save Hyrule from Zelda!" Saria reassured him.

"You have to," Rauru pitched in, concentrating on his powers, to summon forth his ability to transport humans. "It's the only way that the balance of the Triforce can return to what it once was."

Saria waved goodbye to Link, and he no longer saw the trees of the forest, and was now standing outside the crumbling Hyrule Castle, hearing loud screams of pain, terror, and agony fill his ears.

It was a disturbing sound, hearing people screaming as they met their deaths, but he had to prevail.

He had to.

--

A/N: long chapter I know. oops.

enjoy reading ya fricks and pls vote and comment and stuff because that makes my poor soul happy :))

-Katy