A Note from the Author: Yeah, my second Zelda fan-fic. This one was originally going to be just one chapter like my other one (Imposter), but because it got really lengthy and because one part was so different from the other, I decided to split this into two or three chapters; probably two, but I haven't finished yet so there may possibly be a third. Anyway, I was asked by ThatFanFicGuy to write a story involving a LinkxSaria pairing, which is terribly under-represented and poorly treated, after he enjoyed Imposter. So this is what I came up with! It's almost like a novelization of a part of Ocarina of Time in a way, but who knows; maybe this will drive me to novelize that game.

Reviews are always welcome and appreciated, and every single one will be read.

OC (c) 2009 Me
Everything else (c) 1998 Nintendo

Part I ~ The Rescue

The art gallery was cool and damp, remnants of forest fogs from thousands of years still held captive within its dark walls. The paint of many a work of art was faded and cracked, devastated beyond repair by the humidity in the air and the mold growing in the walls. They were almost haunting, the way their morbid depictions of ghosts and spirits decayed like zombies in the murk of the room. As I looked around, Navi all that lit up the abandoned chamber, I sensed something was watching.

Oh, I'm sorry; I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Link, the Hero of Time. I am a Kokiri by birth, or so I thought at the time this was taking place. Turns out I'm really a Hylian; I still can't believe it myself, considering how for 17 years I thought I was a child of the forest. But that's the truth. Despite that, the fairy I got at the beginning of my journey, Navi, continues to faithfully shine at my side, for better or for worse. She and I have been through a lot since we met. We've battled giant bomb-eating dinosaurs, sparred with a Big Octo, even stared down the evil Ganondorf. We've never had a dull moment. Perhaps at this moment, though, the experience that first comes to mind was the circumstances under which my journey began. The very same day that Navi met me, the Great Deku Tree died. It was a tragic event, but I never realized how much it would change my life. With his dying words, the Great Deku Tree, god of the Lost Woods, sent me on a quest that I am still on now. The quest to save Hyrule from Ganondorf and his minions. His death changed the forest too. The other Kokiri, my friends, looked at me with suspicious eyes. Mido, our chieftain, had told everybody I killed him; whether it was me or the arachnid parasite that I killed, I do not know. The Deku Tree kept evil out of the Lost Woods; with him dead, everything changed. Over the course of seven years, monsters invaded our village the Kokiri Forest. Monsters I was familiar with, monsters that I could kill; but it was devastating to the other Kokiri. Worst of all, the ghosts of the ancient caretakers of the Forest Temple came back to life and became possessed by evil.

The Forest Temple... That is where I am now. I loathe it with a passion, for the pains it has wrought upon me; but at the same time, its dark lumber radiates a bizarre sort of tranquility. Perhaps, if it were not a fortress of the undead, I would enjoy it. Intertwined between its mossy passages are scenic courtyards, complete with a babbling brook and shady oak trees. The sun probably once shone in onto these picturesque gardens, but the evil in the temple had brought a cloudy overcast to the Lost Woods that had lasted for days. Now in the shadows of the clouds vicious man-eating Deku Babas bigger than Queen Gohma infest the unkempt grasses of the courtyards, Skulltulas nest in the vines, and Octoroks patrol the waters. What's more, the candle-lit corridors of the temple's galleries are haunted by living skeleton warriors, floating skulls, and giant, dismembered hands that would strangle me if I gave them the chance. But that could almost be predicted; despite how wondrous the Forest Temple might have been back when it was maintained, its bloody past reeks of the undead. Saria, my best friend, used to tell me stories about it.

The Temple of Forest was an ancient relic from long ago, back when the Kokiri and Deku did not quarrel. It was built in honor of the Deku Tree, our guardian deity, much in the way that the Water Temple was built in honor of Lord Jabu-Jabu of the Zoras. It wasn't built only by Kokiri, or by Deku; it was built as a combined effort between the Kokiri, the Deku, and the oh-so-mysterious Skull Kids. It was made to house the greatest artwork in all of Hyrule. For a while it existed in prosperity, during the golden age of the Deku before their great fall. Then tragedy struck, and an art-loving Poe named Jalhalla was unknowingly shipped into the temple in the form of a possessed Shiekhah mask. He came to life and slaughtered the temple caretakers, and the museum was forever abandoned. Jalhalla is long gone, though. I don't know what happened to him, but legends tell of a temple in the mountains between Lake Hylia and the Lost Woods where the King of Poes is said to have retreated. Eerie stories of ghosts haunting the temple have been told ever since. I was once so frightened, I swore I'd never go there.

Yet I was destined to enter the old museum. When I woke up after my seven year coma, an old man named Rauru sent me on a quest to finish what the Deku Tree's had started; my mission was to destroy the evil residing in five temples scattered about Hyrule, one for every major race. A mysterious man named Shiek dropped me a second hint, suggesting I stop by the temple of the Kokiri first. I wasn't in much of a hurry at first; after all, Ganondorf had already seized power and there wasn't any reason to work quickly other than to dethrone him. But Navi soon sensed that Saria was in danger, and then I knew this would be more than I bargained for.

Saria was--and is--my best friend. Maybe even more. Ever since I was a baby she's been looking after me. She's the smartest Kokiri I know; back when the Deku Tree was alive, she used to ask him all sorts of different questions about the outside world. None of the other sheltered Kokiri knew of the rock-eating Gorons, the fish-like Zoras, the extinct Shiekhah, the all-women-sans-one Gerudo, or the proud Hylians. Yet Saria knew. And what's more, a song of her own composition became the only Kokiri-born thing to become a hit outside the Lost Woods. The Gorons love it. I love it too. Saria was always frequenting the ruins of the Forest Temple back before my coma. It was a special place for her; she was born in the Sacred Forest Meadow beneath the temple entrance. Sometimes she'd bring me to her favorite haunt too. Yet Mido always told her, "Hey baby-cakes, if you keep going where you ain't supposed ta, something bad is gonna happen." We used to wave his warnings off. But the moment Navi said Saria was in trouble, I knew what had happened: the Forest Temple had finally taken her.

As I wandered the haunted hallways of the ancient museum, the only thing on my mind was Saria's safety. If she were to die, I would not have the will to save Hyrule. Perhaps the temple would consume me too. Navi was my only comfort; Saria's song, which had long given me the ability to call her from anywhere in Hyrule, now only echoed in the darkness. I pleaded for a sign that she was still alive, yet no sign came. The ghosts of Jalhalla's four daughters possessed the best of the paintings, whispering details of her agony and tormenting me with their amusement. As soon as I got hold of the Fairy Bow (what it was doing in the temple I'll never know) I slaughtered them in rage. Joelle, who spoke of the terrible things she did to Saria; Beth, who told me about her capture; Amy, who mocked her soul; and Meg, the eldest, who described in detail the terror Saria experienced.

And at the basement of the museum I finally arrived at the featured exhibit, the room where all the most famous works of art were stored, the room where everybody wanted to be most when the temple was in function. It was here that Beth had mentioned Saria was being held. The same room where Jalhalla's old mask was displayed, where the tragedy that caused the temple's demise all began.

But anyway, where was I? Oh yes.

The only light in the stuffy room was Navi, fluttering about my head. We were both very quiet; the sense that somebody was watching was impossible to ignore. I knew that somewhere amongst the old paintings was a person; who it was, I did not know. Taking a deep breath, I summoned up all the courage I had and called, "Saria? Saria, are you there?" There was no answer. Somewhere nearby I could hear the tap of something on the tile floor. "Saria? Was that you?" I backed up a little. Things were starting to get scary. "Helloooooo? Is anybody there?" When there was no reply, I thought perhaps that I had been hearing things. "Looks like nobody's here..." I started to walk forward again. Almost immediately my foot tripped on something and I almost fell forward. In the dim light, I managed to make out a stairway in front of me. "I wonder where this will take me?" I asked aloud, beginning to ascend the stairs.

"I don't like this, Link. I don't like this at all..." Navi whispered, a sort of anxiety lingering in her voice. "Something isn't right with this room."

"Cut that out, Navi," I shuddered. "You're making me nervous."

"Don't lie to me, Link, you sense it too!"

There wasn't any use denying it. "Yeah... I guess I do." I stumbled onto the floor at the top of the stairs and started walking forward when there was a loud clicking sound behind me. I spun around and in Navi's light saw that an iron fence had sprung up, blocking me from going back down the stairs. "Uh-oh, Navi, we're trapped..."

A candelabra lit up a few feet away from us. Its flames bobbed up and down, as if the candelabra itself did not have a stable connection to the floor. Navi and I stared at it in a mixture of fear and curiosity when a voice echoed in the room. It was a very familiar voice; the voice of a Gerudo King. "Ha ha ha ha... So, young swordsman, you are alive? When we last met, seven years ago, I did not expect to ever see you again. Yet here you are. Why is it that you have come to the home I granted to the Poe Sisters? Was it jealousy? Or was it just stupidity?"

I spoke to the candelabra as if it were the speaker. "G-Ganondorf, wherever you are, listen to what I am about to say! You've misused the power of the Triforce, and for that you are unfit to rule this land of Hyrule! I have come to do what is right for all those you have tormented over these past seven years: I have come to stop you! And what's more, you've captured she who meant the most to me, my dearest Saria. I demand that you return her, or I swear I shall give you no mercy when we come face-to-face!"

"Saria? The cute little girl from the forest, the one who played that little melody on her ocarina?"

"Yes," I nodded, "that's her."

Ganondorf laughed wickedly. "Terminated."

I felt the blood boil in my veins almost instantaneously. I clenched my Master Sword's hilt tightly and drew it threateningly. "WHAT!? Come out, Ganondorf, so I can wring your fat neck!!!" Ganondorf continued to laugh. "SHOW YOURSELF!!!" I screamed. Suddenly the flames of the candelabra illuminated a face behind it. It was a ghastly-looking skull, with long bony horns sticking into the darkness and with glowing eyes the color of the candles' flames. I faltered in my stance and gulped in fear at the terrifying apparition.

"Silly child," snarled the face, its voice the same as Ganon's. "There is no Ganondorf here!" The candelabra exploded in a burst of flames and the room was lit up, revealing a circular display of several paintings of the Tarm Ruins and other places I'd never seen. A black horse reared into the air directly in front of me and I took a step back in surprise. Its hooves crashed into the floor with such force that it seemed to shake the entire gallery. On its back sat a figure almost identical to Ganondorf, were it not for the chilling skull it had for a head. "My name is Phantom Ganon," it declared, "Lord of the Lost Woods! Saria is my prisoner, and in exchange for her I shall take your life!" Phantom Ganon held out his hand and in a burst of flames a giant staff covered in spikes materialized in his palm. Before I could do anything his horse jumped over my head and vanished into the Tarm Ruins painting.

"Wait, what just happened?" I asked, looking around the gallery for the phantom. "Where'd he go?"

"Link, watch out!" Navi warned. "He's using the same strategy that Jalhalla used on the temple's guardian!"

"What!?"

I turned back around just in time to see purple flames spiraling around one of the other paintings, which depicted a clock tower surrounded by four giants. I only had enough time to get out of the way before Phantom Ganon's horse charged out of the painting and across the room, Phantom Ganon nearly stabbing me with his staff. Before I could do anything to counter, the horse entered another painting--this one of several green lizards on an island. "Navi, what the heck am I supposed to do!?" I cried.

Navi thought fast. "Legends say that the guardian was briefly able to stun Jalhalla by striking him the moment he rolled out of a painting."

"With my sword?" A ring of purple fire spiraled around the Tarm Ruins painting. I ran as fast as I could towards the painting to strike it with my sword, but discovered all too late that a fence kept me from approaching any of the artwork. Phantom Ganon's horse erupted from the painting and I was trampled, crushed between the demon horse's hooves and the hard floor. If it weren't for all the Heart Containers I had found in my journey, I probably would have died. As I weakly pulled myself up from the floor, Phantom Ganon laughed loudly and entered a painting of an egg resting on top of a mountain. "...that didn't work," I groaned.

"Try your bow, Link, fast!" Navi suggested.

"Hey, that might work..." As fast as I could, I reached into my quiver and pulled out my bow and an arrow. I pulled the bowstring back, loaded it with and arrow and looked around. I finally found the purple flames as they encircled a painting of a tower rising from some body of water. Not wanting to give the ghost another chance to rattle my bones, I snapped my fingers open and launched an arrow at the center of the flames. Phantom Ganon's horse screamed in agony halfway out of the painting and spun around back into it. It was a scream that seemed to disrupt the flow of blood in my body, and I felt sick in my stomach. It wasn't gruesome; it was unnerving. I stood where I was for a moment, petrified by the memory.

Navi brought me back to reality, if that's what you'd call the nightmare I've had to live in since I awakened from my coma. "Link, snap out of it!" she cried. "He's coming back!" I pulled myself together and drew my bow. But it was only a second before I faltered. I could see him in the painting; but not just one painting. He was there, grinning madly at me, through every single painting in the collection. Not only that, but his horse was rapidly getting closer. I could see the gleam of the horse's red eyes, staring straight into my soul. And yet as I looked around, I found it impossible to figure out if there was just one of him or several.

"Navi, I can't tell if these are fake or not!" I exclaimed. "Which one's the real guy!?"

"Link, I... I can't tell!"

Phantom Ganon had made me drop my guard. Before I could react, his laughter echoed behind me and his horse galloped past my shoulder. The poltergeist knocked me away with his staff and charged into another painting. "Having difficulties, Hero of Time?" he cackled.

Fortunately I wasn't hurt too bad, and got myself to my feet to draw my bow. "I'll just have to wait until he shows his sorry hide," I murmured. I circled myself slowly around the room, searching for some sign of what painting he'd come out of. "Where are you, phantom?" I heard a sound to my right and spun around; there was the circle of flames, right in front of my eyes. I wasted little time in piercing the emerging horse's eye with an arrow; even though I was new to a bow & arrow style of fighting, I'd had lots of time to fine-tune my aim with my slingshot before my coma and hookshot after. The horse did not turn back around after losing its eye; instead it ran around the room aimlessly, crashing into walls believing them to be portraits, stumbling around confusedly, and then coming to a running collapse on the floor. Phantom Ganon was knocked off as the demon horse's legs buckled, and lay on the floor out of breath. I walked up to him and pointed my Master Sword at his throat. "You're going to pay for what you did to Saria," I growled.

"What?" Ganon spat. "This?" I saw movement in the corner of my eye and looked up. The paintings had all begun to change; to my horror, they all became portraits of Saria screaming. The beauty of her face was distorted by the desperate terror it displayed. "It was Meg's idea; why not curse her to exist in a painting for the rest of eternity?"

"You monster!" I roared, looked around at the disturbing faces that now surrounded me. I swung my arm to slice his neck open, but with a sudden burst of energy he blocked my sword with his staff. He levitated into the air and looked down at me with ghostly malice.

"You want her?" he baited. "Then you can join her!" Phantom Ganon rose his staff and the flame-like remains of the Poe Sisters materialized around it. It then absorbed them, and began to glow a fiery purple. All around the room I heard the whispering of the undead as the shadows cast by the light seemed to seep across the walls like blood. Ghostly apparitions rose from the paintings and spiraled around the top of his staff; I felt almost like my soul too was being drawn to it. The apparitions merged into a golden ball of souls, illuminating the room in a bright yellow light that almost blinded me. Behind the light I saw Phantom Ganon raising his staff above his head, preparing to strike as he floated in the air. I had just enough time to react and get out of the way before he swung his staff, releasing the ball of souls and firing it towards me. It missed and hit a portrait of Saria. I heard her scream, and the psychopath above me laughed. "For every shot that misses you, Saria shall be brought closer to the brink of oblivion. You must choose: will you be cast away, or shall she cease to exist at all?"

I tried to think of some way out, but could come up with nothing. "Navi," I pleaded, "what am I to do? I could never let Saria die, but..." Above me I could see Phantom Ganon and the ghosts of the Poe Sisters summoning the souls of the Forest Temple again.

"Link, that orb has the capability to send things to oblivion; it doesn't kill people!"

"What's the difference!? I don't care about that right now!!!"

"No, listen! Even the undead can be sent to oblivion! That includes Phantom Ganon!"

The ball of souls was formed around the phantom's staff again. "So you mean... If I could hit him with it I might defeat him?"

"It's your only chance!"

I nodded; it was my only chance. But how would I send it back? My shield was no match for the forces of the undead... I ran out of time. Phantom Ganon launched his orb of oblivion my way once again, and this time it was going to hit me dead center. Before I knew what I was doing, I swung my sword in a desperate attempt to put up some fight before the deed was done. As soon as my sword connected with the orb, however, it bounced back towards Phantom Ganon. It took me a brief second to realize what happened, but when I did I smiled. Phantom Ganon was so shocked that he didn't dodge it in time and could only swing his staff. Unfortunately for me, that worked just as well as my sword did, and the ball began to come my way again.

I knocked it back towards Phantom Ganon once again, but he only hit it back. We kept hitting it back and forth, both knowing that whoever made a mistake first would be gone for good. With every slash of my sword, my arm grew more and more tired. Pretty soon, I knew, it would fail me and I'd be done for. My swings kept getting slower and slower, my reaction time longer and longer...

"Link!"

It happened. Saria's voice called to me from the paintings, and in that moment both Phantom Ganon and I were distracted from the ball of souls. It was only for a fraction of a second, but it was enough; and fortunately for me, it happened when the ball was going towards Phantom Ganon. The phantom only had enough time to turn and see the bright light of the souls before the ball enveloped him. He began to struggle as he began to glow yellow. "What is this?" he cried in sudden pain. "What is happening to me!? Master Ganondorf, make it stop!"

A voice, the same as his, answered from nowhere. "Silence, you fool! This was your own failure that caused this! As punishment for proving to be so worthless, you shall be forever banished to oblivion! A suiting punishment; I am only sorry that this kid had to be the one to do it."

Above Phantom Ganon's terrified screams I called to Ganondorf's voice. "Ganondorf! I warn you now, your days are numbered! Surrender now, before I have to do something drastic!"

Ganondorf laughed. "Surrender? What kind of idiot do you think I am? So you have defeated my phantom; he was a mere puppet, nothing more. When you and I battle, it won't be so easy!"

"Master, please no!" cried the phantom. "Save me, please!"

"May Majora have mercy on your soul, 'Lord of the Lost Woods.'" That was the last I heard from Ganondorf for a long time. But that wasn't what was on my mind. As Navi and I watched the flailing ghost burst into purple flames and vanish into nothingness, we wondered what would happen to Saria. She had vanished from her paintings, and all around us were empty portraits of nothingness.

"Saria?" I called wearily. "Where are you?"

Suddenly another candelabra materialized in front of me. It was held by a Poe. A ghostly white beard of leaves hung from its black face, and it was dressed in a fine suit like those I'd seen previously only in Hyrule Town Market. The candelabra was held in the Poe's right hand, while its other hand was held behind its back. Before I could speak, it silenced me. "Hush, young hero. I know what you are about to ask. Who am I? Am I another ghost here to torment you? Or am I a friend? Let me explain that I am the latter. I am Arbren, the deceased owner and curator of the Forest Art Museum; or, as you call it nowadays, the Forest Temple. Though I find it very ironic that I should turn into a Poe after being killed by their king, I have realized it was destiny. My role in this madness that is Ganondorf's reign is to bring you to the new guardian of the temple."

I was still a bit in shock. "New...guardian...?"

"The last one was killed by the Poe King in this very room. She was a Kokiri by the name of Florissa. I knew her well; she comforted me when I, a Deku cast away by my people, was found all alone wandering the Tarm Ruins. She, myself, and a Skull Kid were the original founders of this museum. Before she died, Florissa had been blessed by the Deku Tree with a son."

I felt bad for interrupting, but I had to know what happened to my friend. "I'm sure this is all very interesting, but where is the Kokiri girl who was trapped here? Is she alright?"

"She is alright; but I am afraid you will not be pleased with the circumstances."

"What...what do you mean?"

"I believe it would be best for you to find out for yourself. Please follow me; but before you do, please take this." Arbren pulled a glittering heart-like crystal from his suit pocket. "This Heart Container holds the heart of my dear Florissa. Though we were not the same race, our love continues to span centuries. I think it deserving now that you take it. May it remind you too that love not need be between two of the same species." I took it thankfully, and felt my health coming back. "Now come, young hero. Follow me into the abyss." Arbren motioned for me to follow him, and he flew slowly towards one of the empty portraits. "In here you shall find the new guardian," he explained. He then floated into the picture, leaving me alone. I just stared at the black image, wondering what I was supposed to do.

A Note from the Author: So if you didn't notice yet, I kind of put a spin on my version of the Forest Temple. I always thought Jalhalla was such an interesting character in Wind Waker, and I consider him the King of Poes. I felt that if he existed before Hyrule flooded, he'd probably be up to mischief somewhere in the vicinity of the Earth Temple. So I decided to give him a little backstory, as well as flesh out the characters of the Poe Sisters and Phantom Ganon. The characters and temples in Ocarina of Time aren't explained very well, so I thought it necessary. Also, I think my version of the Phantom Ganon fight is better (and far more epic) than Nintendo's.

Please leave a review now that you've read this; it would be highly appreciated.