Disclaimer: I don't own the Zelda series or any of its characters; Nintendo and the series' creator Shigeru Miyamoto do. So don't sue me or anything.

This was a story that I had completed on 6-15-2005, and I'm now adding it to this archive.

So Link continued to wait in his spot high up in the tree, watching out for the Wolfos that would come along at any moment. On a nearby farm, livestock had been slaughtered by a Wolfos for over a week, and Link, being the nice guy he was, agreed to do something about it. That Wolfos would be sure to pass through this part of the forest to get to the farm. But he had no idea WHEN the Wolfos would come, so here he sat, waiting for it to come along...

Growing tired of waiting, Link looked up and stared into the starry night sky. There was a full moon out tonight. But of course, this moon didn't have a scowling face, glowering at everyone down below with fearsome red eyes as it fell ever closer. No, he had solved that problem over... just how long had it been now?

Link thought back to years past, when he had first learned of his destiny as the Hero of Time. He vividly remembered getting caught up in the struggle for the Triforce. His spirit got trapped in the Sacred Realm for seven years, and he awakened to find himself a fully-grown man, with a whole land being conquered by Ganondorf and crying out for his help. With Princess Zelda's help, he beat the King of Evil and had him sealed away in the Sacred Realm. Afterwards, he was returned to his original time. But he left Hyrule after that...

It was only weeks later that Link found himself caught up in a more dangerous adventure. That one Skull Kid from the Kokiri Forest had gotten his hands on a powerful relic called Majora's Mask and made his way to an alternate world called Termina. The mask housed an evil spirit that corrupted the Skull Kid and made him cause all sorts of trouble, the worst being causing the moon to crash into Earth within three days. Link had to relive the same three days over and over to release the Four Giants, the protective gods of Termina. They stopped the moon from falling, while he went on to beat Majora's Mask once and for all.

That had all happened years ago. Since then, Link had grown up naturally, instead of being a child who suddenly found himself in an adult body. He had travelled long and far in those years since he saved the world... twice. But he never found himself in any other situations like when he fought against Ganondorf and Majora's Mask. To be honest, he was finding life a bit too boring...

Absent-mindedly, he rummaged through his supplies bag. Yes, he still had them - the transformation masks he had gotten in Termina, which allowed him to turn into a Deku scrub, a Goron warrior and a Zora musician. They had proven invaluable in Termina, and he still used them from time to time. He had also held on to some of the more useful masks he had found in Termina, like the Stone Mask, Bunny Hood, Mask of Truth, and...

Huh? I still have the Giant's Mask? Link thought to himself. Most of the other masks he got in Termina he later sold or gave away, yet for some reason, he held on to this one, even though he had only been able to use it once. And how long ago was that?

Link had sort of lost track of time over the years, but now that he thought about it, he guessed it had now been over seven years. That meant, his past self that had travelled into the future, had defeated Ganondorf months ago, and...

Link's train of thought was rudely interrupted by a sonorous howl that resounded throughout the forest. No doubt that his quarry had finally arrived. Link looked down from his perch and, sure enough, there was a Wolfos running along the forest trail toward the farm.

Under the light of a full moon, that Wolfos was an insanely easy target, impossible for Link to miss. He took out his bow, powered up an ice arrow, and let it fly. Link's shot was right on target, freezing the Wolfos solid. Link followed up with a normal arrow, and its frozen body shattered to pieces. A quick, painless death; Link was in a good mood tonight.

That sort of life had been lonely, though. He had made some friends, sure, but none like the good friends he had made in Hyrule. He didn't even have a fairy companion anymore; he never did find Navi, and Tatl had left him almost immediately after the crisis in Termina had passed. And at one point he even had to let Epona go, so that she would find her way back to Lon Lon Ranch in Hyrule. More and more these days he found himself longing for the friends he had made in Hyrule, both as a a child and as a time-travelling adult. Darunia and his fellow Gorons, all the Kokiri he grew up with, Nabooru's Gerudo tribe, Ruto and her father, Malon, Impa...

Princess Zelda...

Link walked to the river's waters and took a good look at his reflection. There was no denying that he now looked exactly like he did when he fought Ganondorf that time. The only differences were that he had the Great Fairy's Sword and the Mirror Shield from Ikana Castle instead of the Master Sword and a Hylian Shield. Other than that, he looked just like he did when he travelled forward in time seven years.

His thoughts soon returned to Hyrule itself and all the friends he had made there. For a long time, he had wanted to return, but he knew that he could not. The three goddesses of Hyrule came to him in a vision one night shortly after he saved Termina. They told him that he couldn't return to Hyrule during the seven years his past self had been in stasis within the Sacred Realm. The flow of history had to remain undisturbed; Ganondorf was to be defeated when his past self reemerged after those seven years as the Hero of Time, with Princess Zelda at his side helping him, and not before then. The goddesses forbade him from returning to Hyrule any time before that and interfering in any way.

Link had grudgingly accepted their decree, and simply travelled anywhere else he could find. But travel as he may, he couldn't find the peace of mind he was sure a return trip to Hyrule would give him. He even returned to Termina a couple of times, but it just wasn't the same. It was Hyrule he longed for, and the people who lived there. Especially...

Once again, his thoughts turned to Zelda. It was funny, really. He had only been with her for a short time, but out of everyone he knew in Hyrule, she was the one he thought most about. It was the same way after waking from seven years of slumber, too. Throughout his adventures through Hyrule as an adult, the one thought that kept popping up in his mind was finding Zelda and making sure he was safe. And to find out that she was with him all along in disguise! And when she helped him battle Ganon and seal him away... only his climactic battle with Majora's Mask was more vivid in his memories than that.

And after all this time, he still wondered why he was so obsessed with finding Zelda, even though he had other problems like saving the Gorons from Volvagia and stopping the curse that had imprisoned all the Zoras in ice. Was it because maybe he thought of her as more than a friend...?

Link looked up and out at the expansive waters of the flowing river, and made a decision. He reached into his supplies bag again, pulled out his Zora Mask and put it on, transforming him once again into Mikau. Wasting no time, he dived into its waters and followed its current out into the ocean. I've had enough of waiting, he thought decisively. It's been over seven years now. Ganondorf is gone, so there's no reason why I can't go back. And so, Link headed out into the vast ocean, searching for the way that would lead him to the waters of Lake Hylia, leading him back to Hyrule.

And to Zelda.

Zelda took her rag and wiped the sweat off her face. Good thing she decided to wear simple work clothes; in this weather, she would likely die of heat stroke in her dressy, royal get-up.

Trying to ignore the heat, she got back to her work. She had decided to take part in rebuilding the market town, to show how serious she was about restoring Hyrule to its former glory now that Ganondorf was gone. She was essentially the ruler of Hyrule now, and felt it was necessary for her people to see her working to do just that.

But on hot days like this, she really regretted it.

Sighing, she grabbed another big, long metal rod and dragged it over to the foundation of the house she was rebuilding. Then she took her big brush and dipped it into a ceramic pot containing a silvery-white liquid, and proceeding to apply the liquid to the end of the rod with her brush. After that was done, she stuck the rod into the foundation where the wall was to be constructed. Then she went for another rod to repeat the process.

The metal rods were to serve as a skeletal structure for the wall once it was built, which would make it sturdier than the previous buildings the town once had. Zelda was determined to not only have Hyrule restored to its former, prosperous state, but to make it even better than before. Having better-built houses and stores would certainly help.

Zelda dipped her brush in the pot again. She stared at the resplendent liquid within. A marvelous invention, this stuff, which was given to her by Nabooru, who called it 'metaldissolve'. The stuff slowly ate away at metal, and by using it the way she was, it turned the bottom parts of the support beams into putty, allowing them to settle and reshape into the spots they were stuck in, making them even sturdier. The stuff also helped greatly in clearing out the ugly remains of Ganondorf's tower that still lingered after its collapse.

After sticking the support beam into the foundation, she surveyed the site. About ten more, and then she could get to work with the masonry. By the Goddesses, this was taking her forever...

"Still at it, I see," came a voice from behind her. Zelda immediately knew who it was; Impa, her nursemaid and dear friend. Zelda stood and turned to face her, and immediately caught the disapproving look in her eyes. Impa hated how she was pushing herself to get all the work in the market done.

"Yeah," she replied indifferently. "There's still a lot of work to be done here. I want this town rebuilt as quickly as possible."

Impa shook her head. "It isn't really necessary to push yourself like this. No one really expects you to do so much. And besides, we've got plenty of help already." Impa gestured behind her, where a Goron was busily working at another building site. With his strength, he had no problem with setting up the support beams and laying down brick, stone and mortar. He was doing it in less than half the time it was taking Zelda.

In the months after Ganondorf's defeat, an unprecedented sense of unity had flourished in Hyrule, with all the races helping each other to rebuild their societies. The Gorons helping to rebuild the castle and castle town was but one example. Nabooru and her entire Gerudo tribe had been lending a hand to the Zoras in restoring their ruined home, for one thing. The Gerudo under Nabooru had also opened up to the rest of Hyrule like never before. And in many ways, so had the previously-reclusive Kokiri, providing lumber for use in Kakiriko Village, among other things.

"So you see, Princess," continued Impa, "there's no need to work yourself to the bone. With the Gorons and the other workers here, we'll get the town done in reasonable time."

Although she would have welcomed getting out of the blazing midday heat, Zelda shook her head, refusing Impa's advice. "No, I can't stop. I'm basically queen of Hyrule now. It's my duty to help my people," she said, returning to her work. She tried to ignore the stares from Impa she could still sense, but she wasn't having much luck.

"You still blame yourself, don't you?" Impa asked her solemnly.

Zelda stopped dead in her tracks. Impa was absolutely right; she still did blame herself for Ganondorf's rise to power. She was the only one she had ever told this to besides Link.

"That's why you're so insistent on doing all this work by yourself, isn't it?" Impa went on. "It's almost as if you're trying to punish yourself."

Zelda just stood there for a moment, completely silent. What Impa had just said did seem to make a lot of sense. "Yeah, I do still blame myself," she said at last. "If I hadn't been so arrogant, tampering with forces I didn't understand..."

"You did what you felt necessary," Impa said suddenly, cutting her off. "You knew what Ganondorf was plotting and tried to stop it. Besides, ever hear the saying 'Evil thrives when good people do nothing?'"

Zelda had to admit Impa did have a point. "I guess your right, but if I hadn't sent Link to find the Spiritual Stones, and then gave him the Ocarina of Time, he wouldn't have opened the Door of Time, and..."

"Ganondorf was a crafty and clever man," said Impa, interrupting Zelda again. "I have no doubt he would've managed to open the door without Link. But at least you tried to stop him. And if it weren't for you, Link would never have beaten him seven years later."

"That's just it," said Zelda sternly. "I really wasn't able to do anything without Link. I had to disguise myself all those years and wait for him before I could really do anything. Some help I was to my people, huh?"

Impa said nothing. It was clear to her that Zelda could not be reasoned with at the moment, for she was still far too resentful of herself. "Just don't overwork yourself," she said as a last bit of advice, then turned and walked away.

This left Zelda alone with her work again. Before long, she was done with the support beams and finally was able get started with the brick-laying. Focusing on her work, she tried to block out her turbulent thoughts. But it was useless. Her argument with Impa had brought up the one thing that had been foremost on her mind lately. Or rather, the one person: Link.

In fact, it seemed he was always on her mind ever since she met him on that fateful day over seven years ago. His cute boyish looks and that crazed determination in his eyes were forever engraved in her memories. She remembered well how she instinctively knew he was the one she could trust to help stop Ganondorf. And then when he re-emerged a few months ago, how he had transformed into a handsome young man, ready to take the fight to Ganondorf. Even when Ganondorf had captured her, she knew in her heart Link would come and beat him. And then afterward, when she had to send him back to the past...

She had known him for only a short time, but it still felt as if they were lifelong friends. But she did only think of him as a friend, or was there more to it...?

Oh Link, she thought to herself as she continued laying bricks. Where are you right now? Will you ever come back?

In an instant, all that changed. A lone Zora leapt out of Lake Hylia's waters and onto the land. The Zora's hand then went for his face...

An instant later, Link was standing where the Zora had been standing, holding a mask that looked like a Zora's face. Link took a good look around him, and said aloud the one thing that was on his mind: "It's good to be home."