Author's Note: Don't own anything that's from Zelda canon (obviously), but I do have OCs in here that you can use if you reference where you got them. The Gerudo language is from Iron Dune. This is my first fanfic, so bear that in mind, and any constructive criticism is appreciated. This first chapter is dialogue, original Zelda and background heavy but it is unfortunately necessary the way I have the story planned but everything should flow from there. Thank you for reading!

Chapter One

The End of an Era:

Link had known her death was coming for quite some time and had prepared for it as much as anyone can truly be prepared for death. She had trained her successor for Gerudo High Priestess extensively. She had said her farewell to her few remaining friends, Darunia and Link being foremost. Gorons were hell to kill and had abnormally long lives that offset their low numbers and fertility, so Darunia would likely outlive her by quite a few years yet. She smiled fondly at recalling her Sworn Brother. The Gorons would continue to prosper for the remainder of his rein at least, though she suspected Link would be an excellent leader as well. But even with all of her preparation, actually dying was… frustrating, to her and her companions.

In her worst fights, she at least could fight. Dying was inevitable and while she had accepted that fact, she was still not happy about it. She had resigned herself to die when facing Ganon. She had resigned herself to die when Majora's Mask forced her to use the Fierce Deity's Mask. She had resigned herself to die when she returned to Hyrule and fought in the War of the Lost and the Desert War. When she didn't, she got used to living. She had become a powerful sorceress and warrior during the Desert War, learning the arcane arts of the sages and other magic. She also became Chosen High Priestess of the Sand Goddess, with the signs of her station forever marked on her face. And while she never took a lover or consort, she had lived a full and content, if a little lonely life in the Spirit Temple (with the exception of the Spirits who became her constant companions, of course).

When she returned to the Temples after the War with her improved abilities with the sages' powers inside her, the Spirits assigned one of their own for each of the elements to be her companion and partner. They had been her one constant these long years, and she could see her death was going to hit them hard. Even Thanatos, her loyal Shadow, was beyond comfort as even he could not traverse the Spirit Realm to the land of the mortal dead. But as she began to fade away, she had a harder time focusing on them… And with the last regret of never seeing them again, she was gone.

Or so she thought. When she opened her eyes and found herself standing on that infernal blue dais in the Sacred Realm, she was understandably confused. This was not where mortals went after death… Though seeing the three Golden Goddesses answered a few questions.

Farore was the first to notice her, and she greeting Link with a smile. "It's been a while Hero."

Link cautiously nodded but spoke bluntly. "Why am I here and not moving onto the Summerlands?"

"Hyrule needs your help." Nayru stepped forward.

Wasn't that always the case? She bit her cheek to keep from voice that thought.

The blue Goddesses kept speaking. "As you well know, we cannot directly affect the course of events in after we finish initial creation. We can make appearances, grant small miracles and inspire others to achieve certain outcomes and the like. Mostly, we act through our avatars in the mortal worlds, the holders of the Triforce. Again, as you know, there are many realities that co-exist beside each other—alternate realities. In one of these realities, we have very little sway. The Ocarina of Time cracked without the Triforce ever being touched. We have next to no presence there and a war is coming, the last war that will annihilate that reality if they do not have our help. We… cannot bear to leave our children without the little aid we can offer. Mortals are to carve out their own paths, but all deserve the basic protection we give."

"So you are sending me." Link deadpanned.

"Right on." Din smirked and leaned back on the chair of flames that spontaneously appeared. "You are by far the most powerful incarnation of 'Link' any of the worlds have to offer."

"Explains why you are sending me; but why not contact that reality's rendition of myself? Two 'Links' in one world…. That typically does not bode well for either."

"She died." Link looked to Farore. "As you know… You are Hylian royalty, Zelda's presumed dead elder sibling—sisters in your case and in this one, which is odd actually. 'Link' is typically male. But I digress, she was actually killed the night the Ocarina broke—which is why we need you in this reality." She sat down and motioned for Link to do the same. Link did, joints creaking. "In your reality, the night your mother fled with you to the Lost Woods, the people who orchestrated the attack on Hyrule Castle did not get to the Ocarina. Your mother fled with you, and died from the injuries meant for you. In this reality, the Bek people got to the Ocarina and broke it, and the Queen and Link were ironically lost to the Lost Woods…" Farore paused and glanced at Din, who took over.

"The Bek are a hardy people that live on the plateau, desert and ravines beyond Hyrule Field and Death Mountain. The Bek Nation consist of tribes who are loosely affiliated with each other, though the infighting only stopped to organize that attack, at which point they were allied with the Gerudo. After the attack, the Gerudo came forward and admitted to what had happened, but the damage was already done. The Hero of Time is dead, Zelda was born and raised with no idea of her sister and the Ocarina of Time lost forever." Din stretched and leaned forward in her chair, flame-red eyes looking eye level with Link.

"So here's the deal: you will be de-aged so you will be of about ten years. You'll start out how you did originally and the handicaps that come with but you will have all your knowledge. You go in and live out your lifetime again. You fulfill your destiny as Hero of Time once more and then you never have to save the world again."

Link looked wearily at the goddesses then at her wrinkled and dry hands, contemplating the deal.

Din smirked and continued to sweeten it. "You'll have your Spirit companions and Epona again. No one knows you to be the Hero of Time. You'll have control." She leaned closer. "You can hide that you are royal, you can prove your claim to be Zelda's sister. You can become a ranch hand or a mercenary, whatever you want after you complete this one last war. That's all. Anything else that occurs you do not have to participate in. Beyond the Bek, this is your life. You won't fight this reality's Ganondorf for the Triforce. That and once this one war is completed, the other two you experienced won't happen. What say you?"

Link kept her eyes on Din as she thought, though she kept her face expressionless. After a few moments, she sighed. Not that she really had a choice anyway… "What about my weaponry and items?"

"Your items and weapons will all be where you found them in Termina and Hyrule." Farore assured. "With the exception of the Ocarina of Time, of course."

"I'll have to relearn my magic..?" It was more of a statement than a question, but a question none-the-less.

Farore nodded. "A child's body cannot physically cope with the power you currently contain. But you'll have all the knowledge; you just need time to relearn and master the spells as well as to build up your magic power."

"Very well. But I have a few stipulations." Her face hardened, reflecting the terrifying warrior she had been, eyes boring into Din's as she began her list. "I am holding you to everything you promised me now: Epona, Thanatos and the others, and about my things and magic. Especially about not being involved beyond this if that is what I wish. That and I want MY companions, the ones who have been with me the past sixty three years. I will never need for money, one way or the other. I will age as the Gerudo do. You will send me visions or other help in pointing me in the right direction to make sure things end optimally, as well as information in how this reality is different from my own. The Skulltula curse on the family in Kakariko will be lifted even without my help. And lastly I will have an adequate substitute for the Master Sword if I am unable to wield that blade, and that substitute will not be the Gilded Sword."

Farore smiled. "All are acceptable and are granted. Let me warn you though: everything was the same until you were killed. Everything after may be different. The people may be different. Those who were allies may be enemies and vice versa. People you do not expect to exist will. You need to re-forge your connections to those you were close to. You'll have to relearn your control."

"Understood," Link acknowledged.

"But to get you started… The Deku Tree knows of what is happening and can give you more information about the goings on of your new world. Use the first few years to become common-place, make friends in both Hyrule and Termina. I'd recommend that you retrace the path you took to find the Spiritual Stones, except… Do not go to the castle." She paused, obviously contemplating how best to put this. "You… still will have your High Priestess marks. We cannot interfere with another Goddesses' chosen in that aspect. While the Gerudo have made their peace with the King, they are still regarded very suspiciously and the marks will be recognized by the guards and Royal Family, possibly by some commoners. It could cause you trouble."

Link nodded and stretched. "Is that all then?" At the Goddesses' nods, she grinned. "Good. I wouldn't want to know too much off the bat, that'd make things less fun."

Nayru laughed and a smile made its way on Farore's lips. Din chuckled, "We'll be in touch."

Link nodded and then the blue light engulfed once again.

Brave New World:

Dark clouds billowed over Hyrule Castle. Gorons were fighting monsters and a brown-haired race of humans on the castle lawn. She was running through the halls, past fallen guards and attackers towards the Throne Room. She angrily burst through the doors and froze at the sight. Ganondorf was chained spread-eagle to the wall on the east side of the room, his amber eyes smoldering. Nabooru and other Gerudo that were presumably elite guards (judging by their clothing's color) sprawled on the floor around him, unconscious and also tied down. Impa was unconscious in front of the throne, in a state similar to that of the Gerudo. All of the Hylian guards were dead, sprawled around the room. On the throne, was the sorcerer, who smirked and lifted his hand to control a spell. Zelda turned around, lightning dancing in her hands, an evil smirk that looked very out of place graced her lips before she let the lightning loose.

Link woke up to Navi bouncing around shouting that ever annoying "Hey! Listen!" She groaned and sat up. "Finally you woke up! The Great Deku Tree wants to see you! I will be your escort!" She nodded and got up, and ignoring the fairy and her protests about time (hah!), took a good look at herself by peering into a bowl of water on her table.

She stared at her reflection for a moment. It was one thing to feel young again and another to see it. Her wrinkles were gone, her skin soft and supple. Her hair golden and pulled back into her traditional hat. The blood red fang-like Priestess marks under her eyes were clearly visible, and more prominent against her lighter forest-dweller's skin. Removing her gloves confirmed the Triforce of Courage on the back of her hands. Looking at her arms and torso confirmed her Goron and other tattoos were gone, which sent a harsh pang through her. She could only hope and pray that Darunia would be as close here as he was previously. She forced that thought away and duly noted the lack of sword and shield; which would likely be quickly remedied given her first time around.

On impulse, she decided to go through her enchanted satchel (which had been a gift from the Great Deku Tree a few years before she started her journey, if she remembered correctly). She stared at the Giant's Wallet, which was conveniently stuffed with Rupees. She gaped at (and felt another pang at the sight of) the broken Ocarina of Time. But the next item caused her jaw to literally drop. The Fierce Deity's Mask. She stared at it a moment. It was an unexpected, but welcome development. She could hold onto her other masks this time. She mentally thanked the Goddesses for that favor before finally leaving her house.

Immediately, she had dealt with a nostalgic conversation with Saria regarding fairies and a still-irritating one with Mido before grabbing the Kokiri Sword and buying a Deku Shield. Apparently the Goddesses decided to let her have an actual background with the Kokiri in this world, though they kept calling her Lyn... She figured that would be soon explained.

She felt her heart constrict when she saw the Great Deku Tree. She hadn't known him for most of her life, but he was still the first real parental figure she had.

"Ah, Navi, thou hast returned. Lyn, welcome." She half-bowed. "Navi, thank ye for completing this task. Ye may leave if ye wish."

"It was my pleasure, Great Deku Tree!" And thankfully, Navi left. Not that she really disliked the fairy, as Navi was well-meaning, but she was also very, very annoying.

"Thou surely wishes to get to the heart of the matter?" The Deku Tree asked. Link nodded. "Very well. Farore brought thee to me, and insisted thou raised as Kokiri. She told me of thy circumstances and history and requested we call ye 'Lyn' instead of your given name of 'Link' in case ye wished to remain out of Hylian politics. It is up to ye to choose which ye prefer. Thus, we raised ye. Now, the time has come for ye to leave us and go out into the world. Ye know what ye need to do. Art thou prepared?"

"I am." Lyn agreed.

"Excellent. Now, I believe if thou takes a look at this chest in front of me, ye will find an item useful to ye." Lyn let out a breath when she claimed the Fairy Slingshot. "Two things before ye go. A very good friend of yours, if I am not mistaken, is waiting for you just outside the clearing. Secondly… I wish you to have this." A familiar green light sprung up around the Great Deku Tree. Lyn opened her hands to have the light consolidate and form the Kokiri Emerald in them. "Take good care of it. It may be of use to ye yet." She bowed again before slipping it into her satchel. "Good luck."

"Thank you, Great Deku Tree." With one last smile, she left the clearing to encounter another very familiar fairy. Lisander started circling when she stopped, as if nothing had changed (as if she hadn't died). Wiping away a tear, she whispered a "thank you" to her guardian Forest spirit before moving on past Mido to leave the Kokiri Forest. Like her previous life, Saria stopped her to give her the Fairy Ocarina, though she did teach her Saria's Song immediately this time.

With a hug, she was off. Lyn understood why she had been warned against Hyrule Castle Town. Hylians were notorious xenophobes beyond the races they were mildly comfortable with. Even then, the Zoras, Gorons and Sheikah kept to themselves for good reason. The Gerudo were also looked down upon, but were tolerated by the males. Lyn smirked. Not so much by the females. But her marks would make her stand out, even if she was Hylian. Sighing, she decided she had been warned for a reason. She would rather not find out why, even if a Hylian Shield would be handy for her eventual climb of Death Mountain. So, she turned instead for Lon Lon Ranch. She heard Malon singing Epona's Song as soon as she stepped onto the ranch. A smile stole across her lips. Some things never changed, including their first meeting. She left the next morning, with a "new" song and friend and a heartfelt promise to visit soon as she left for Kakariko. She made a bee-line for the graveyard and used the Nocturne of Shadow to warp to the ledge, for it was conveniently out of sight for what she had planned. Using the Sun's Song to make it night also helped as he sat down and summoned the little magic in her control and her body could handle.

Now, it was pitiful compared to what she formerly wielded, but the knowledge was a great head's up. Taking a very deep breath, she focused. She only had one shot. Lisander wisely took on the form of a Kokiri and placed a hand on her shoulder. Their bond was already strong, so his presence did lend her some more energy to work with. She focused on the other five bonds and called because she couldn't stand the emptiness there one second longer, and it hadn't even been a day.

Thanatos was one of the oldest Shadow spirits in existence, in any reality. He had seen and felt many things in his life, including the soul-wrenching pain of losing a bonded mortal, but being banished to another reality was not one of them. (The combination of both was a complete upheaval for him.) But, neither was finding two people with the same magical signature, even if they were incarnations of the same person, something he had experienced. So, he made his way to the temple entrance, where he could taste the magic in the air and it had the most familiar, beautiful spice to it. Lisander jumped—as well as a fairy could at any rate—when he melted out of the shadows in Sheikah form, red eyes falling on their—his—bonded. He immediately walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, adding his power to the summons. And with that touch, all was right in his world.

The Fire spirit arrived next. Resata had the second strongest connection with their charge and he was the second closest in location, so this was not surprising. His arrival was less subtle than Thanatos', as he came in a flash of fire. He immediately placed his hand next to the Shadow spirit's and relaxed when he felt the bond.

The Water spirit Selin and Vanis of the Light appeared next, through condensation and a flash of light respectively, and added their power to their chosen's to call the last spirit. And none were surprised at all when Esani showed, looking all for the world like a Gerudo, and laying her hand on the Hylian to seal the bond. With a collective sigh, they all backed away, except for Thanatos, who let Lyn lean against him. She yawned, exhausted from spending all of her magical energy in one go. He smiled and adjusted so she rested more comfortably against him, his false body providing heat. The other spirits sat surrounding them, letting Lisander update them on the situation and Link's apparent name change. He idly listened, but stayed more focused on the Hylian in his arms. Well, at least things wouldn't be dull, he figured as he ran his tongue over his fangs. Things never were with her around.

She woke up with the sun and completed a familiar ritual to the spirits, the Greeting of the Sun. While she was technically not a Priestess, the Greeting was good for waking up, would help her focus her magic and increase her flexibility. Slipping into the first position, she let her new body get comfortable with the movements. She would need to be loose later, when she engaged in the Gerudo pastime of rock climbing to bypass the guard to get up Death Mountain. Why couldn't any of her spirits have some sort of explosive capacity? It would be much easier to go through the Lost Woods. But, she managed to somehow climb up the mountain as warping into the Crater would be suicidal at this point, even with Resata's help.

She even managed to meet Darunia and get on the Gorons' good side. It turned out the Dodongo infestation was not Ganondorf's doing, so she ended up being Sworn Brothers with Darunia the same way she had in her previous life (and finally picking up that stupid Bomb Bag…). Though 'Brother' was a bit of a misnomer beyond the gender difference. Upon learning she was an orphan, Darunia insisted on 'adopting' her as well. Not that Lyn really minded as he didn't impede her travelling. It was… nice, being close to the Goron again. Darunia had been one of the few constants in her previous life and it looked like he would be here too. For this, she was extremely grateful.

The Zoras were a little bit more difficult initially without the Lullaby but then the headstrong princess unwittingly solved her problem. Ruto, being the rebellious child she was, snuck away to Lake Hylia, where Lyn and the others happened to be fishing. It was another easy, fast friendship forged that resulted in a boomerang and a Hylian "learning" the Zoran language. Lyn had been invited to, and attended, every annual Zora Lakeside retreat ever since and was overall very popular among the aquatic race. Especially considering she kept the willful princess somewhat in check….

She made herself a fairly common face (though she did hide her face markings with an illusion) in the markets and villages, enjoying the friendships cut short by war there and often visiting her friends all over the country. She did take a detour into Termina when she was about thirteen; and that escapade ended as it had in her previous life, though she kept all of her masks this time around and equipment. Sure was sure the six bottles would come in handy, in addition to the three she was certain she could collect in Hyrule. It was until she returned to Hyrule that she ran into the Gerudo. And by ran-in, she stole the thief's wallet. Nabooru hadn't been very happy about it, but had been impressed nonetheless and took Lyn under her wing. The two were soon, pardon the expression, thick-as-thieves.

Nabooru had been exiled by her people for two years for pissing off Ganondorf and had no problems teaching the kid her people's ways, language and skills. The kid, she noted, took to it like a fish to water, soon being on par with her in everything except for weaponry in a year and a half. Nabooru suspected it was because Lyn was holding back more than any lack of progress. Before they knew it, her time was up and Nabooru regretfully left Lyn behind, with a pair of high-quality scimitars, a traditional gemstone hair-tie and the promise to get in touch in a few years. Nabooru figured her living in the Hylian world would give her valuable information on the current events and villages and that she would soon be a very important asset because of this. All of which would cause a rise through the ranks. She wasn't wrong.

After Nabooru left, Lyn polished her skills and magic, by far surpassing where she had been her second time around at fifteen, even thirty. She was at Mastery with her Sage abilities once she visited (and looted) the temples, ocarina magic and basic spells, while absorbing and mastering the useful powers from her masks. So far all but the Giant's Mask had been absorbed. Though she did put the Postman's Hat, Keaton's Mask, Don Gero's Mask, Romani's Mask, Gibdo Mask, Garo's Mask and the Captain's Hat aside, as they were useful and she could not pull anything out of them. Kafei's Mask, the Couple's Mask, and the Circus Leader's Mask were given to the Happy Mask Salesman. Kamaro's Mask was given to the Rosa sisters. The Fierce Deity's Mask was still kept in her satchel, hidden in a separate almost-pocket. Of course, her Gerudo magics were supposedly, sadly, almost non-existent. Nabooru taught her a few useful spells, but… she missed the Desert magic. She could use it, but if one of the Gerudo in the area picked up on it, she would have a lot of explaining to do and she didn't care to be stabbed or kidnapped to be trained as Priestess to the Sand Goddess.

She figured in two more years would be when the war would most likely start up, so she continued to bond and spend time with her friends, both in Hyrule and Termina. She also upped her training and took to spending more time at the Goron City, mostly talking with Darunia. It was during one such visit she received her Goron's Ruby tattoos on her upper arms from her family. She also took to learning Goron history as well as "learning" the language. While Zoras communicated with a combination of hand signals and sounds that carried underwater, the Gorons had a very complex vocal language that dealt with vibrations. So either way, as a Hylian she could only understand so much but it was enough to get a gist if it wasn't written down. It was still impressive to the Gorons and Zoras however.

She also spent a good deal of time scouting the Bek Nation beyond Death Mountain, observing the people. If it weren't for her experience at Snowhead and other less-than-welcome terrains, she probably would have died from exposure. As it was, she alternately spent time watching the different tribes, fine-tuning her techniques, visiting friends and training in the temples. She also updated her clothing. Ever since Nabooru left, with her nagging, Lyn hadn't bothered to replace her clothing and now she wanted something that would help her blend into changing surroundings a bit more. She took to wearing a black face-mask similar to the elite Gerudo guards, as she didn't care for the Bek to recognize her if they noticed she was there. She was also given a very large, dark forest green scarf/cowl from Saria to replace her hat. It covered her give-away hair, the face-mask and flowed over her shoulders. She often used it as a blanket at night as she could completely wrap herself in it. Saria had embroidered the Kokiri Emerald onto the center of the piece in a dark brown thread, a color that was hard to pick out against the dark green, especially when dirty, for which Lyn was thankful.

She replaced her dark leather boots, making them fit closer to her feet so she would be able to use them for climbing the boulder-strewn steppes and mountains. She burned the tights while manically laughing and adopted darker grey pants that tucked into her boots instead. She wore a plain leotard of stolen (courtesy of Thanatos), light-almost-grey-purple Sheikah cloth that already had the Sheikah Eye along the sternum when she acquired it. It looked a lot like what Impa wore, but without the shorts, collar and sleeves. Thankfully, over the leotard was her one piece of armor. It was an elegantly shaped plate that covered her lower abdomen up to just below her chest and attached to a matching piece in the back, covering the Sheikah symbol. While she had worn the Eye of Truth in her past life, she did not feel comfortable doing so openly in this one, due to her lack of connections with the Shadow People beyond Thanatos.

But what was unique about the armor was that it was covered with armored scales that patterned the Zora's Sapphire at the top of the piece, a gift from Ruto. The armor did nothing for stealth with its rippling gleam, but she had seriously tried stabbing and slashing through the material with her Gilded Sword and it actually bounced off the material. She also figured that the armor signified that she was allied with them, given the obvious Sapphire, which was a plus in her book. Hylians did not wear the Zora's Sapphire. Period. Bandages covered her chest under the armor, binding her annoyances down and protecting her modesty, not that she had much remaining from her Priestess days, though the scarf partially covered them anyway. She held onto the green tunic, but didn't wear it unless she was in the forest as it blended in really nicely. Around her waist, she had a wrap-around scarf whose ends hung in front of and behind her, making it look almost like a skirt. It was so dark a red it appeared brown, even from a short distance away with the Goron's Ruby stitched onto it. Her arms were always covered. She used bandages as wraps to protect her knuckles if she ever got in a fist-fight. She then covered her hands even further with chocolate-colored leather gauntlets to protect her wrists for archery. It didn't hurt that the gauntlets were spelled to prevent anyone from accidentally seeing her Triforce symbol…

However, her pride and joy was her trench-coat, also made out of stolen Sheikah cloth, midnight-black this time. It took days to do the meticulous spell-work to give it the effect of the Stone Mask. This way, she could focus on other things while remaining invisible. The torso was form fitting, with the ties closely resembling a corset in how form-fitting it was. The sleeves flared out slightly to give room for her gauntlets. The coat was cut half way down her shin and had one adornment on it: the Medallions surrounding the Triforce, with the Spiritual Stones in their respective piece, all in the appropriately colored thread on it for nostalgia's sake, on the back. She also added the Hylian crest to the center triangle of the Sacred Trio, sans the Triforce on the crest. She figured she probably shouldn't wear the crest, but she couldn't quite bear to leave the symbol from her Hero of Time days quite yet. Not to mention, no one would see the symbol anyway, whether she wore the coat or not, so found that to be fitting as she planned on hiding that status for quite some time. The hood covered her head even with her scarf and cast shadows over her face, so it was entirely unseen with her mask on. She rarely wore it, except for her stealth missions. The magic was constantly in effect and she had no desire to be always be invisible, only most of the time.

Before she knew it, another two years passed and it was time to see the Gorons for the third time this year according to her visiting cycle. It wasn't that that she didn't love Malon and training with Epona, but the girl could be too talkative so she didn't stay as long, but she came by more frequently to compensate and relax. Tying her hair into a Gerudo-styled ponytail with the tie Nabooru left her, she brushed the strands framing her face behind her ears. Before buckling the crossing belts that held her scimitars on her torso, she tied her satchel on the small of her back over her waist-sash. Adding the last belt for her Gilded Sword, she finished with hanging her shield on the assembly. Saying her good-byes to Malon, Talon and Ingo, she made her way to the City on Epona. Little did she know the shit would hit the fan when she was visiting the Gorons. After which, she'd curse the Goddesses for leaving out that tidbit of info for their own amusement.