So this is a quick one-off 'what if' scenario regarding Hopeless LOVE- that is, 'what if' Link never actually fell into the Underground in the first place? It's just a quick one-shot, without any real intent behind it. So… yeah.

Disclaimers? What disclaimers? Go look at HL if you want Disclaimers.

The sun rose the next morning. Link was surprised. He'd half expected to not get out of that Wolfos ambush. But light spilled over the corpse-filled glade he'd tried to settle down in the previous night. Link released a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding. Too often that night, he had come dangerously close to plummeting down that hole. But fortunately, he was deft enough on his feet to keep from falling down. Who knew what savage beasts lay at the bottom of that drop. The swordsman took stock of his surroundings. The campsite had been ravaged, but everything seemed to be there, including his pouch that contained all of his possessions. Epona was gone, but he'd sent her away in the night for her own safety. The area was chock full of Wolfos corpses, blood staining the earth and the Hylian's tunic equally. On closer inspection, the wolves' bodies appeared mangy and thin. There wasn't enough meat on their bones to warrant trying to eat any of them, and he didn't have any bowls nor broth to use the organs in stew. What a shame.

Din's eye was an angry red, probably due to all the blood spilled last night. Link sighed, sheathing his blade, and grabbed his pouch. He contemplated using the Ocarina of Time to call Epona or warp back to Castle Town, having failed to find Navi- oh, Navi- but he decided against it. That damned instrument was just a reminder of everything that had happened in Termina and Hyrule. He didn't want to go back to that. He couldn't. Right?

Right?

Best to stay away from that cave hole. If he fell down into it… he would die. Curious, the ex-Hero peered over the edge. He couldn't see anything at the bottom; it was wreathed in gloomy darkness. A strange sort of thought occurred to him. Link imagined himself pitching forwards, tumbling end over end into the void below. There had to be an end to it somewhere. That meant solid ground. Just a moment of flight, then a crack, and then release. Release from all of this. Release from Navi.

Oh, how he wanted to.

But some force prevented him from just doing it. If he took this way out, then he really was unworthy of Navi all this time. And she was justified in abandoning him the way she did. Had she known that this would happen all this time? Was that why she had left? It was the only explanation that made even a lick of sense, and Navi had never been wrong before. He staggered away from the edge, suddenly breathing heavily, and tripped over the body of a dead Wolfos. He hit the ground, faceup, staring into the cloudless sky. It was an annoying blue. Navi's shade of blue.

No. He couldn't stay here any longer. If he did, he'd be driven to die.

Clambering to his feet, he ran away down the path, deeper into the Lost Woods, away from the dank cave.

!0*0!

The trees were gnarled here, and Link was very lost.

He knew this could have happened. Hell, it was half of the reason he was there to begin with. Either he found Navi or he died. Both options released him from the shackles of his own mind. The first option hadn't happened.

It never would.

He supposed he knew, going in, that he wouldn't find Navi. But instead of feeling indignant or terrified, the Hylian felt strangely calm. Death wasn't something to be feared. He'd already been scarred enough by life. It was more like transitioning from one adventure to the next. And life was one big adventure, wasn't it? Why would it have any meaning if it didn't have an end?

If there was anything he regretted… it was not staying in Hyrule, not telling anyone what he had gone through. He'd gone back for a time, mostly to give back the Ocarina of Time, but he'd been hit with a strange sort of whimsical desire to stay for a while, like he subconsciously knew he was never going to come back. Link had lasted a few months before wanderlust took over again, and he left once again for the Lost Woods.

Finality.

He sat down on an abandoned tree stump, breathed in, closed his eyes, breathed out, whispered Navi's name, and died. One final call lost in the Lost Woods.

But nobody came.