AN: This chapter (the later part at least) was inspired by another song! This was one of the first scenes I thought of when I first decided to write this fic. For those of you who want to listen to it when you get to that part: Birth of A Hero by Two Steps From Hell.

Chapter 20: Family First

Link stuck around for a few days while Zelda recovered. The days that followed saw Link assisting the Gerudo in the infirmary until his skill with Hylia's Grace had improved to an acceptable level. His skill with the spell was not quite developed to the point where he could use it in battle, but he no longer miscast the spell and wasted his magic on failed attempts. Finally it was time to move on. Zelda, having mostly recovered, had started training to make up for lost time. But for Link, it was time to leave. He gave his goodbyes and departed for the market during their pre-dawn business hours to restocks on supplies and provisions he would need. With his preparations complete he started to head for the gate to the fortress when-

"Papaaaaaaaaaaaaa~"

Out of nowhere Link gets hit with a full body tackle as he looks down at the short Gerudo child in pure shock as she rambled on.

"Papa! You came to visit! Did you bring me anything? Ohhh! Aunty said I got taller do I look taller?"

She stepped away he could get a good look at her. Stunned speechless Link stared at her like a fish out of water. Her surprisingly blue eyes went wide. "Wait..." She tilted her head and squinted at him. "Who are you?"

"Calisa!"

The girl flinched as another Gerudo spotted her and stormed over. Swiftly the child raced over and hid behind the young woman despite the fact that she proceeded to scold her. "How many times do I have to tell you not to run off!" Subdued Calisa peeked out at Link from behind her caretaker as she muttered, "I thought I saw papa."

The woman went to apologize when she noticed who exactly Calisa tackled. "Oh! You must be Link." She ruffled Calisa's hair as the little girl pouted. "I can see why you thought he was your father. The resemblance is uncanny."

[...what?]

The older Gerudo bowed as she introduced herself, Link blushed as he found himself distracted by her ample cleavage displayed by the motion. Hurriedly he looked away and silently prayed that she did not notice. "Vasaaq, it is nice to finally meet you in person. After all not just anyone can beat my record in the maze of trials." Link groaned she continued with an unrepentant grin. "My name is Aveil-"

"You're Aveil!?"

She raised an eyebrow at Link's surprised that he apparently knew of her. "Sorry, ah. I actually have a message for you? Byrne says, 'Thanks for the info' and that the next time you two...uh fight? He won't use his left arm." Aveil's eyes widened as she whispered. "Sarqso."

Her posture softened as a small smile graced her features. Distracted by her thoughts she idly played with Calisa's hair as Link ventured, "So...you know Byrne?" Aveil returned her attention to him as she smirked, bouncing back to the typical Gerudo mannerism, "Yeah I've been trying to convince him to give Calisa here some cousins." Link coughed and Aveil's grin widened. "I give him info about happenings with the Gerudo. If he likes the info he gives me a handicap in our spars. If I defeat him, he's mine." With that comment her grin turned fierce with anticipation before she relaxed and continued.

"Anyways he showed up the other day and the talk of the town was you. He got worried when he heard Noboru dragged you off." Link nodded in understanding. [So that's how he heard about all of that.]

Something tugged on his shirt. He looked down to see Calisa watching him. "Where did momma drag you off to?"

Link's eyes went wide. [This is Noboru's daughter!? Wait, if I look like her father, this is Telvio's and Noboru's kid!? She is like 6 years old! At least!]

Aveil scooped her up and turned her worried scowl towards Link. "I am assuming from your expression you figured out who this is."

"Sh-she is their, b-but when? Why is...ah." he stopped. Why else would they hide their child? Ganondorf. Not only is Noboru one of the Sages, she also knows where Zelda is. Telvio is one of the wielders of the Four Sword. If Ganondorf found out about Calisa, she would be a target. One that would be extremely vulnerable, and an extremely valuable find for him.

He sighed and looked at Aveil. "I won't tell anyone. I can't promise that I will be able to refrain from teasing Telvio about it. But I won't tell anyone else"

A relieved sigh escaped her as she nodded in thanks all the while Calisa struggled to free herself. Some of her spunk returned as she asked, "Oh? Not going to tease Noboru?"

Link instantly retorted, "Nayru protect me! I may be crazy but I am not insane. I know better than to try and tease a Gerudo."

Aveil laughed as she carried Calisa away. Said child managed to climb up over Aveil's shoulder as she waved to Link. "Sav'orq! Bye Linky!"

With a shake of his head Link waved back and headed for the gate. The sun had just started to peak over the horizon. Since he could take the direct route he should be able to reach Lon-Lon Ranch a bit before dusk. From there Thelma would be able to point him in Levio's direction and hopefully to the Master Sword. His thoughts turned back to his most recent mentor. [He is bound by his sense of duty...unable to take his family and leave. Yet unable to protect them from Ganondorf due to the designs of the fate. Another reason why this needs to end.]

-x-x-x-x-

Dark clouds rumbled overhead as Link crossed Hyrule's central field. Soon after he had exited the Gerudo Highlands, ominous storm clouds had swept in from the north. So far he had yet to see a single drop of rain and he hoped that the weather would hold out at least until he arrived at Lon-Lon Ranch.

Abruptly, he was broken out of his thoughts to the thunderous sound of a stampeding horse, Link pursed his lips as he hurried to pass one of the ruined stone walls that dotted the landscape of Hyrule field.

[What spooked the horse? Maybe some traveler's mount? A horse escaping Lon-Lon isn't exactly unheard of but that hasn't happened ever since Malon was placed in charge of the horses...]

He reached the end of the wall and as he rounded it his jaw dropped when he spotted the steed. "Epona!?" His crimson mare flinched at the sound of his voice before her she stopped her charge and swiveled around so that her head turned towards him. Her eyes were wide with panic but his beloved horse visibly calmed when she spotted him.

While his horse's spirits soared, Link's plummeted. Epona was saddled. [She is too well behaved to escape leave the ranch. She might break out of her pen, but she'd never leave the ranch alone. Additionally...she only lets me, Malon, or Cremia saddle her. One of them meant to ride her. If Epona is alone, and panicked...] Something happened at Lon-Lon Ranch. Link grabbed Epona's reigns and almost immediately his steed began to pull him in the direction of the ranch. She knew something was wrong. Confirmation of his fears, not that he needed or wanted it. Swiftly he mounted as she immediately broke into a cantor before Link silently urged his horse into a full gallop.

-x-x-x-x-

As Link approached the ranch's plateau he knew whatever had happened, had to have occurred within the past few hours. Smoke hung in the air, and one of the barns were still aflame. On the plus side he noted fireline was organized and the blaze appeared to be under control. As Epona galloped up to the shattered gate Link was spotted by a survivor. Relief broke across the other man's face as when he recognized Link. He spoke up and Link edged Epona to a halt, "Thank the goddess, I was worried one of them were-"

He cut off when Link raised his hand to forestall the rancher's words. "Where is Talon?"

[If anyone has a grasp on this situation, it'll be him. Sure his girth and chronic laziness belie his strength. But once it comes to protecting his home and family he is nigh unstoppable.]

When Link noticed the grave expression on the younger man's face, his heart leapt to his throat in fear.

"I-uh, he...well, if they let him out of the infirmary then-" with a yelp the man jumped back as Link spurred Epona onwards. The man's protests failed to reach Link through the sound of his own heart pounding with fear. Talon and his girls were the closest thing Link had to a family after he lost his own. [If anything happened to them…] As Epona raced deeper into the ranch Link took in the destruction of the place he had called home for the past seven years.

Livestock still lay butchered in their pins, broken and burnt structures abound. As he continued, it quickly became apparent that not a single building was unscathed by the attack. Outside of those involved in containing fires, most of the ranchers ambled about aimlessly. Few even bothered to look over at him as Epona charged through. Some had collapsed next to their buckets as soon as the fires nearby were extinguished. As if they simply broke down once the task at hand was finished.

As Link drew close to the central manor that Talon and his family lived, he was able to catch wind of a heated argument in progress.

"Talon! Stop!"

"Get da' 'ell offa me! They need me!"

"The only thing you can do now is rush to an early grave!"

Link entered the square before the manor, and immediately dismounted as he rushed over to the mob of ranchers who struggled to restrain Talon.

Furiously Inigo, one of the head ranchers, grabbed Talon by the shoulders and forced the other man to look at him as he shouted, "They are gone, Talon! GONE! There is nothing we can do to get them back! If you can't accept that then FINE! Go get yourself killed! If you can't pull your head out your arse, long enough to realize we-" Inigo visibly faltered. Talon had stopped his struggle but Inigo continued, his voice broken, "We all lost family today. Not just you. All of us did. Of my brothers alone, two are missing and the other lies dead on the ground. We...We haven't even buried him yet."

Talon collapsed, and when Link got close enough to see the man clearly he could not hold back his gasp. Talon's right foot was missing. The bandages had come loose in the struggle and display charred skin. Whatever his injury was, they had to amputate his foot and cauterize the stump to prevent him from bleeding out.

"Talon...what in Din's name happened here?"

-x-x-x-x-Que: Birth of Hero by Two Steps From Hell-x-x-x-x-

Talon looked up and Link flinched when he met the other man's gaze. Gone was the warmth that he saw every day as he grew up. Talon's gaze was dead, devoid of everything but despair. "Raiders. Bulblins. Few hylians. Humans. They scaled da' plateau. Started fires, captured who dey could. Then they came from da' gate and grabbed everything. Ma girls." Tears streamed down his face as thunder quietly rumbled overhead and the first drops of rain started to fall.

Talon looked up to the sky, his breath shuddered before he continued, "They took 'em. Took so damn many. Our families, da' last damn thing we hav' that still mattered any. They just...took em away."

Link ground his teeth in frustration. Once again he was too late to make a difference. He wasn't here for the battle. There was nothing he could about that, however... "Don't worry."

Talon froze, as did the rest of the ranchers. The looked over at him in disbelief, at absurdity of his words and the completely calm tone he spoke them in. "In which direction did they retreat?"

"E-east." Inigo stuttered out his reply without a thought before he realized what Link asked, "Wait. Wait! You can't seriously think-"

"I'll get them back." The certainly in his tone silenced them. At that point he noticed that he had drawn the attention of everyone in the immediate area. They whispered quietly to each other, confused but daring to hope. Silently he called the Triforce. Without hesitation, and with no reservations it responded instantly. His entire body was sheathed in a golden glow as he looked back to Talon, whom stared at Link is awe.

He repeated himself, this time his voice echoed across the plateau with a distinct otherworldly quality. "Everyone they took, I'll get them back. I promi-no." He shook his head, and started again. "I swear it."

His irises changed from their normal hue to the same golden glow that coated his body. With an adjustment to his stance his crouched down slightly as the Roc's Feather shone with blinding light before he rocketed upwards.

As he soared skyward bound he passed the building, the grain silos, even the windmill in height before he flipped upside down just before he would have passed into the cloud cover. He paused midair as the hoverboots formed a platform beneath his feet before he leapt eastwards. Twice more as he fell through the air he launched himself off the platforms and accelerated downwards before he flipped and landed with a titanic impact akin to a thunderclap. The enchantment from the magic armor fused into his tunic briefly flickered into visibility as it absorbed the impact.

Before the dust could even fully take to the sky from his explosive landing, Link had already taken off. The Pegasus Boots pushed to their absolute limits as he raced onwards. Within moments he reached the crest of a hill and jumped. He had became little more than a golden comet that streaked across the sky. Soon after the ranch was no longer visible behind him, he caught sight of the raid group's camp on the horizon.

A bright flash of emerald light illuminated the sky as Link teleported into the middle of the camp. For a heartbeat all movement had ceased. The captives stared in shock, as the raiders watched in disbelief at the glowing man who appeared out of a flash of light.

The next moment was pandemonium. Bombs detonated around the camp and Link emptied his quiver in seconds. He vanished only to reappear amidst the captives. Blue magic poured from his hand as he punched the earth and cast an ice imbued version of Din's Fury. A protective layer of ice formed a dome between the raiders and their captives as Link teleported back out into the chaos.

The emblem of the Bombos Medallion formed over the hilt of his sword as green light poured off his blade. His sword exploded into a flurry of motion, as each cut sent a razor sharp blade of wind through the enemies as the scrambled. One of the bandits, lost in the grip of insane courage rushed him as the emblem flickered to red.

Link didn't even spare them a glance as his sword flicked through their body. Having cleaved clean through its body and armor the burning halves of the raider slumped to the ground as the metal near the cut glowed white hot.

The emblem flickered to white as Link stopped in place. Slowly he raised the sword as he spoke, his voice inhumanly calm. "Drop to the ground, all of you, if you wish to survive."

The light turned golden and spiked in severity as he pointed the blade skyward. Everyone flinched back from the light, even the captives chained and staked to the ground. But closing one's eyes did nothing to diminish the luminance of the sword and as it reached the peak of its intensity Link unleashed the great spin attack.

-x-x-x-x-
Song End
-x-x-x-x-

Malon watched in shock as Link appeared out of nowhere and single handedly SLAUGHTERED the bandits that kidnapped them. She could hardly believe that this was the same kind boy she grew up with, always caring and cheerful. Even through the icy wall between them she couldn't tear her eyes away from him. Then he spoke with-a-voice-that-was-not-his-own!

"Drop to the ground, all of you, if you wish to survive."

The glow that surrounded him built in intensity, while she fought against the feeling of dread the grew in her gut. [All this strength, this magic, it has to have some kind of cost...Link! Please be okay!]

The light coming from his raised sword was magnified and even after closing and covering her eyes nothing seemed to diminish its intensity. Dimly she was aware of something passed over her head, as she heard a loud crack of shattering metal from multiple locations around her. Confused by the sound, but preoccupied with trying to block the searing light she ignored the sound when suddenly, the light vanished.

She opened her watering eyes and looked around. It was quiet, the only sounds she could hear were those made by the other captives and the gentle patter of the rain as it continued to lightly sprinkle the earth. She looked at her restraints and was surprised to see that they chains were shattered. [When did Link do that? Wait! Link!] Her gaze snapped to the dome of ice that had sheltered them. The top half of the protective wall had been sheared off. Shakily she stood and approached the edge of the dome when Cremia hissed at her,

"Malon! What in Din's blazes do you think you are doin'!?"

"I...I think we are-oh. Oh gods no." Her eyes went wide as she pulled herself over the frozen barrier and ran over towards Link.

Blood stained the ground outside the what remained of their protective dome, as shattered weapons and scattered remains lay sporadically across the ground. The rain continued its light misting and steam snaked from the patches of blood and gore splattered across the ground. Malon slowed as she approached Link, her legs protested against her sudden movement after the long forced march the raiders put them through, but she pushed aside her pain.

"Link? Please Link, are you...?"

Link swayed as he turned at the sound of her voice. And she gasped at the sight of his injures. His left arm was clearly broken, and appeared to be dislocated as well. Yet somehow, he still clutched the shattered remains of his sword. Blood trailed from his nose and he squinted as he tried to focus on his childhood friend.

"Malon...?" His voice was horse yet it didn't seem to bother him as he looked past her as the others approached them. Malon covered her mouth as she realized his right eye did not move with his left as he looked around. "Everyone...? Heh, I... I did it. Just like...I said I...would..." He started to collapse when Malon took a quick step forward to catch him. His body went limp and she struggled to catch his full weight as the others scrambled forward to help her.

"Wait! Put him down! Don't pick him-stop!"

Cremia's panicked shout split the air as Malon gaped at her in disbelief, "Stop? What do you mean STOP!?"

"We can't move him carelessly! He has done this before!"

Malon's fury abated in place of shock as Cremia continued in a calmer tone, "He did something like this in Kakariko. His injuries run deep. We need to bind his limbs as straight as possible and carry him in a stretcher back to da' ranch as soon as possible! Quickly! And you! See if one of those bastards had any red potion stashed away!" She singled out one of the former captives as they all stared at her in shock. "What're you waitin' for! Hop to it!"

Her fellow ranchers scrambled across the destroyed camp to grab whatever rope and usable scraps of wood they could. Malon moved away as they set to work and quietly questioned her sister, "How-how bad is it?"

There was a long pregnant silence before Cremia admitted, "I don't know. Last time he was pretty bad off." Malon looked down at Link and nodded slowly.

"But that time, none of his injuries were visible. At all. This time...with him like that? I don't know how much worse it will be. I just… I really don't know."

Before Malon could fully process that painful revelation that threatened to break her heart, she felt someone tug on her hand. When she looked down, she saw Romani stared up at her. Her younger sister's eyes were wide with worry as she asked, "Malon? Will Link be a'wight?"

Absent mindedly she tousled Romani's hair as she replied to placate her, "He will. Of course he will."

"Cause we're here to take care of him?"

Malon instantly had a flashback to all the times Romani complained about Link's various injuries from his training. They often repeated those exact words to console the child. Yet at that time, those words were exactly what she needed to hear. Malon's gaze sharpened with determination.

"You got that right. He is going to be fine because we are going to make damn sure he recovers."

A stretcher had been assembled and reinforced so they wouldn't have to adjust it on the trip back. A dozen pairs of hands tired to lift him as gently as possible onto the stretcher. [He'll be fine.] Malon turned away from her injured friend, her eyes ablaze resolve.

"ALRIGHT YOU LOT! LISTEN UP!"

All conversation ceased at her shout. Assured she held their attention she continued with a tone that brooked no argument. "We need to move and we need to move fast. I know ya'll must be tired. Hells, I'm practically dead on my feet but we can't stay here." She gestured to Link and continued, "You all know Link. He may not have been born on the ranch, but he was raised alongside us. He always helped us, worked alongside us, and now he's bled for us. But right now, he needs our help! So we are going to push through our exhaustion, push through our pain, and make sure our brother in all but blood gets the care he damn well needs!"

Cheers rung out around her as she paused to take a breath. She glanced at her elder sister who nodded encouragingly, "Grab what you can! Help those who need it, and we'll make it back in one piece. It takes more than this to beat down the Lon-Lon ranchers!" They cheered again, even louder this time as they sprung into motion. Despite everything they just went through, they were alive when they had given up all hope. Now they had a purpose and a debt to repay. Malon spared Link one last fleeting glance before shaking her head. [Worrying won't help him now.]