Link's fairy companion Navi is one of the most memorable elements of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. From her constant refrain of "Hey! Listen!" to her bizarre insistence on teaching Link how to perform the most basic of tasks such as opening doors and putting on boots, it is not a stretch to say that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time would be a completely different experience without Navi. However, the fairy disappears at the end of Ocarina and does not appear in the direct sequel, Majora's Mask. Her final fate has never been confirmed, leading to a number of fan theories about where she could have gone and whether she will ever reunite with her beloved human.
The Link of Ocarina of Time originally believes himself to be part of the Kokiri, a forest-dwelling race where every child is paired with a guiding fairy. At the beginning of the game, Link is teased by the other Kokiri because he does not yet have a fairy companion. Navi finally shows up to team up with Link, marking the beginning of his epic journey, as he is almost immediately thereafter summoned to speak to the Great Deku Tree to cure the elder tree of the corruption within it. Later, Link learns that he is not a full-blooded Kokiri, but rather a lost Hylian child who was adopted by the forest people, implying that Navi is a particularly special fairy because she became his companion rather than a normal Kokiri child's.
Was Link Searching for Navi in Majora's Mask?
Navi is shown flying away at the very end of Ocarina of Time, having fulfilled her purpose by helping Link take down Ganondorf and free the Kingdom of Hyrule. However, Link seemingly does not take the separation well, as at the beginning of Majora's Mask he is shown to be searching for "a friend" from whom he had become separated. Although the game does not explicitly state that friend to be Navi, many fans believe that the fairy is in fact who the Hero of Time is searching for. Unfortunately, Link does not reunite with Navi during the events of Majora's Mask, as he is quickly swept into a new adventure involving the titular mask and the parallel world of Termina.
Instead of Navi, Link in Majora's Mask instead teams up with Tatl, a brand new fairy companion. While Tatl performs similar in-game functions to Navi, she never gained the same level of recognition among fans as the fairy from Ocarina of Time. This may be because Tatl makes plain bell-like noises rather than repeating memorable catchphrases such as Navi's "Hey! Listen!," even if that made Navi a little unpopular as well. At least she was memorable. Tatl, a fairy native to Termina, is also far ruder to Link than Navi, although she ultimately thanks the hero for helping save her kingdom from Skull Kid and Majora's Mask. At the end of the game, Tatl and Link part ways, and Link presumably resumes his search for Navi, but he is ultimately no closer to finding his original fairy friend.
Link Needed Navi to Regain His Hero Status
While Link likely saw Navi as a friend after the long journey they undertook together in Ocarina of Time, his motive for seeking her out may not have been simply a desire to reunite with a missing companion. At the end of Ocarina of Time, Hyrule's timeline split in two, as one version of Link continued to live on as an adult while another returned to being a child. The child version of Link is the one who searches for Navi and serves as the protagonist of Majora's Mask. Although he is generally shown to have a cheery and playful personality, this version of Link may in fact have a darker side.
The spinoff book Hyrule Historia says of Child Link "Ever since returning to the Child Era, the swordsman has lamented the fact that he was not remembered as a hero." Because Link saved Hyrule as an adult, his child version returns to a peaceful kingdom where nobody - except Navi and possibly his horse Epona - remembers the great deeds he performed. Link may be searching for Navi because she is the only one who remembers his heroic deeds, or because he thinks that finding his fairy companion once again will allow him to go on another journey and once again be hailed as a hero. This theory is held up by Ocarina Link's appearance as "The Hero's Spirit" in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, where he is bitter and filled with past grudges and resentment.
Navi May Have Returned to Kokiri Forest
While Link's motives for searching for Navi may not have been ultimately heroic, this does not answer the question of what happened to the fairy herself once she separated from Link at the end of Ocarina of Time. One theory is that she returned to Kokiri Forest to pair up with another young Kokiri who has a heroic destiny ahead of them. This theory is popular due to Navi's connection to the Great Deku Tree, who personally sent her to assist Link at the beginning of Ocarina.
Unfortunately, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which is set many generations after Ocarina, does not provide any more information about where Navi vanished to and whether she partnered with another Kokiri child. The Kokiri race and their homeland of Kokiri Forest do not appear at all in Twilight Princess, although their inclusion was planned before the entire area was ultimately cut in development. It is possible that, had the Kokiri race appeared in Twilight Princess, Navi or a descendant of Navi could have appeared, or Link could have heard legends of other heroes who partnered with Navi following the Hero of Time's successful saving of Hyrule.
Navi Helping Link Defeat Ganondorf Could Have Been Fatal
Unfortunately, it is also possible that Navi's fate at the end of Ocarina of Time may have been darker and more final. When Link confronts Ganondorf, Navi is initially unable to help Link or even get close to Ganondorf due to the "evil waves" emanating from the Gerudo King. However, she ultimately overcomes the "evil waves" and stands - or rather floats - at Link's side during the second phase of the final battle. Some fans theorize that pushing through and helping Link used up all of Navi's energy, and that the fairy died shortly after the fight. This theory posits that Navi flew away from Link at the end of Ocarina of Time because she did not want Link to have to witness her death.
It is possible that the truth of what happened to Navi will be revealed in a future The Legend of Zelda game. The next project in the series is the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which will likely not feature Navi or any information regarding Navi because the Kokiri race and their fairy companions are not slated to appear. However, the development team could return to earlier moments in Hyrule's timeline in future games, possibly revealing whether Navi has indeed died, whether she is alive and well, and whether she was ever able to reunite with Link. At the very least, a proper nod to her fate is warranted somewhere.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is currently available for GameCube, Nintendo 64, and Nintendo 3DS.