Link dug his heels into Epona's sides urging her on faster. When he saw the Gerudo camp in the middle of the field, and noticed all of the commotion in it, he kicked Epona harder. Start without me, hey? Link hoped nothing bad had happened to Zelda before he arrived.

Shing! Shing! Clang! Zelda swung the Master Sword at a Gerudo, just barely escaping a spinning slash. With the agility of a true Sheikah, she side stepped the next blow, rolled behind the Gerudo, and stabbed her in the back. Looking around, Zelda noticed all the Gerudos surrounding her were dead or dying…except for the one sneaking up on her. Zelda didn't notice the Gerudo until the Gerudo knocked the Master Sword out of her hand, hitting it far aside. Zelda looked over her shoulder to see a Gerudo on a tall horse, about to deal a fatal blow. Weaponless with low odds of survival, Zelda readied herself for the harsh blow…

…But it never came. She heard an all too familiar battle cry, the galloping of hooves, and the "shing!" of a sword being drawn from its sheath. A terrified cry preceded a muffled "thud," and Zelda turned around to see Link and Epona standing behind her, with the dead Gerudo on the ground.

"Get on!" Link ordered, tossing Zelda the reins to the Gerudo's horse.

Zelda swung onto the tall sorrel mare, realizing she would be much easier to control than Whirlwind. With this knowledge, she galloped in all directions in the camp, looking for another victim. Fiery arrows flew every which way, whizzing by her head. Tents started to catch fire, and one nearly exploded. There must have been lantern oil in that one… Looking around, though, no one was visible except for a small group of Gerudos in the middle of the camp. Zelda turned and galloped towards them, sword raised at the ready. One of the Gerudos raised a hand in a "stop" motion and gestured for Zelda to ride up to her. Zelda lowered her blade and slowed the horse down. Carefully, she walked up to the Gerudo, who said,

"We have decided to surrender to the Hylian Army, young man…if someone from your forces can defeat Ganondorf and another Gerudo in a two-on-two match."

"Very well…I know someone who will, or at least one person."

"Fetch him."

Zelda turned and rode off to find Link.

Link was enjoying a quiet moment with Epona near the outskirts of the camp when he heard the hoof beats of another horse. He looked over his shoulder to see Zelda and the sorrel mare cantering leisurely towards him. He turned Epona around and dismounted, waiting for Zelda with his horse. Zelda pulled the mare to a stop and jumped off. No sooner had her feet hit the ground than she was in Link's arms, crying.

"I've missed you so much…"

"I know, I know…" Link pulled her closer, and Zelda was almost certain he was crying too. Though the camp was going up in flames just feet away, and the shrieks of the dying filled the air just as thickly as smoke, the noise died down and the flames were extinguished for just a few minutes…to Zelda and Link at least. "I've missed you too…" Link responded, calmly gazing upon the burning camp. "What just happened…"

"Surrender…that is, if two people can take on Ganondorf and another Gerudo and win…"

Link bore an excited expression. Be still, my beating heart…a chance to see if my wish came true! "Zelda…you know I will accept his challenge, but who else will…"

"No one is man enough…"

"But are you?"

Zelda felt her heart stop.

"You want me of all people to take on Ganondorf?"

"With me at your side…anyway, look at how strong you have gotten…he wouldn't stand a chance against the two of us…"

"I guess…but it's too scary…"

"You never know what you are capable of unless you try…"

"You know," Zelda admitted slowly, "You're right…"

"So?"

"I will fight with you, even if it means my death…"

Ganondorf and Ciceria, a well known bandit from the Gerudo Desert, stood in a ring of soldiers, jeering them on.

"Come on! Come on!" Ganondorf taunted. "Who is man enough to fight me…no one? A group of pansies you are, you Hylians!" He threw his head back and laughed.

"I'm not…" Link stepped into the ring, Zelda following him at his heels. He drew his sword and pointed it at Ganondorf's throat. A chorus of "Ooooooooh" arose from the audience, along with excited whispers. Link ignored them and stayed with his eyes and sword locked on Ganondorf's throat. The triforce on his hand shone softly.

"Back again, are you boy?" Ganondorf chuckled, pushing the sword aside as if it was a branch on a tree. "And who's this?" Ganondorf glanced at Sheik. "Have we met before..?" It was posed as a question, but Zelda knew Ganondorf knew her real identity. "I know you…you're Link's boyfriend, now aren't you?" He smiled, flashing his yellow teeth to them. People from the crowd started to laugh at him, and Link wasn't able to shake off the rage.

"No…" Link replied coldly through gritted teeth, using all his strength to thrust his sword at Ganondorf's throat and bear down on his dark skin. Ganondorf looked down at him in mock surprise.

"Very well…you have made your point," He said, shoving the blade aside. "Let's get this over with. The sooner you're dead the better."

Link, Ganondorf, Nabooru, and Zelda slowly circled around the ring, never once looking away. No one broke the chain until…

SHIIIING!

Zelda had caught an unexpected spinning slash from Ciceria on the Master Sword. DANG my reflexes are fast… Even Link was surprised by her reaction time. It was like she knew it was going to happen.

For a second, nobody moved. Then, total war broke out in the ring.

Shing! Shing! CRASH! Link had accidentally run into an armored knight in the audience. He quickly shook off the dizziness from the collision with metal, but he was still seeing double. He was unable to tell which of the two figures he saw before him Ganondorf was. He knew the other one was Zelda, and did not want to take chances, but time was precious during a battle. Link wondered if he could possibly trust the triforce's power to attack the correct person in a last ditch effort. He closed his eyes and cleared his mind of everything, relying on pure instinct to guide him. Nothing happened at first, then Link felt a strong pull to his left and a burning sensation on the back of his left hand. In an instant, he knew it was the triforce guiding him. Link wasted no effort, running closer and estimating the difference, swung his sword when he guessed he was close enough. He heard a cry of pain, and felt a satisfyingly hard object being sliced away at near the end of his sword. Link felt a warm fluid spatter his face and arms, but wasn't confident of the attack until he felt the ground shake and heard a jarring thud. Knowing whoever it was lay next to his feet, Link jumped and stabbed that same person, hearing a stifled cry of pain from two people, much to his surprise. At the same time, he felt like he had been shoved aside and fell over onto the ground. He opened his eyes to see Ganondorf mortally wounded on the dead grass, and Zelda lying close by, a gaping wound in her side. Ganondorf had accepted defeat, but with his last bit of strength, he had tried to kill Link by thrusting his sword at Link. When she realized Link could not see the oncoming attack, Zelda had shoved Link out of the way and had intercepted the blow. Link saw that the other Gerudo was dying, so he wasted no time in racing over to Zelda and kneeling at her side.