The captain of the Gerudo pirates was everything Link's mother had described him to be and more. He was very tall, probably standing a foot taller than Link. His blood red hair was combed back into a short ponytail and he wore a single red jewel on his forehead. He was wearing black battle armor, which made him look ten times more intimidating than he already was. He was accompanied by a female that looked to be a bit older than him, though still in good shape. She was wearing orange silk pants and a skimpy matching top. Her hair was a reddish-brown color, and she kept it tied back in a braid of the top of her head so that it did not get in her way. Link assumed this woman was Ganondorf's cousin and second-in-command, though he had forgotten her name.

"Well, what a surprise I have here!" he said jeeringly. "I followed you here, Zunari, so that I could finally finish you off. I wasn't expecting to see the crown prince here as well!" He smirked. "This just makes everything better and better."

Link slowly backed away from the two, carefully grabbing Mila's arm to bring her with him. He didn't have any idea what was going on, but he knew this situation was going to become dangerous. He wanted to get away without getting their attention.

Unfortunately for him, the captain noticed his movements. "No, no; once I finish with Zunari I'll have my turn with you. You stay put," he said to Link.

He felt anger flare up inside of him. "I don't take orders from you."

The captain hesitated for a few moments before unleashing his wild, evil laughter. "I see you're stubborn and feisty. I should have expected no less from a child of Tetra. I'll have to teach you how to properly talk to me just as I had to teach your mother."

Link was just about to fire back when he remembered just who he was talking to. This man possessed a weapon that was forged with a great, evil power. Link knew he would not stand a chance against it. He forced himself to hold his tongue for the sake of his life.

The captain snapped his fingers at his second-in-command. "Maylah, secure the prince while I take care of this pest," he said, referring to Zunari. "And get rid of the girl; she'll only get in the way." As the woman approached Mila, Link drew his sword and stood in front of her. He knew he couldn't take on the captain, but he was confident that he could battle this woman. She grabbed her weapons, which were contained in scabbards that were tied to a sash on her hips.

Zunari spoke up from the sideline. "No, Maylah, don't do it! Don't touch them!" he yelled. To everyone's confusion, the woman lowered her weapons and took a few a steps away.

"What do you think you're doing?" her captain shouted at her. "Why are you listening to him?"

"I am loyal to both of my kings," she replied flatly.

"Both of your kings? No. I am your king. This fool is a coward. Do you not remember how he left us? How he deserted us in our time of need?"

Link knew that could get himself and Mila to safety while everyone was distracted, but felt that he needed to listen to this conversation. Nothing that was happening made any sense and he felt that he ought to learn more; it could provide useful information to hold against the pirates in the future. The more he knew about the Gerudo pirates, the easier they would be to defeat. Link turned his head slightly towards Mila to get her attention. When they locked eyes, he mouthed the words "don't move" to her. She nodded in return.

Zunari used the pause in the conversation to defend himself. "I'm no coward," he explained calmly. "I left to save my life from your evil rampage. You would have killed me."

"Of course I would have killed you! There can only be one king, and you simply do not have what it takes."

"Don't pretend like you know anything about being a leader, Zantiki," Zunari shot back, keeping up with the argument."

The captain's eyes narrowed. "I have retired that name since I have become king. My name is now Ganondorf. Do not ever use my birth name again."

"Ganondorf? Are you serious? You really want to be associated with that name?" Zunari laughed lightly. "Dear me, that explains a lot."

"Silence! I'm done listening to you. I came here to kill you and assume my rightful position as the unopposed king of the Gerudo and I promise I will do that after I've had my fun." Ganondorf took a step back and looked at Zunari and Link with amusement. "I don't know what business you have with this man, Prince of Hyrule," he said to Link, "but he is a one of us. He's a Gerudo. He's on our side."

His words sounded manipulative rather than honest. "Is this true, Zunari?" Link asked Zunari cautiously.

"Only partially. I am a Gerudo by birth." Zunari pointed to Ganondorf. "In fact, this man is my brother. We are fraternal twins. In our culture, a male is born every hundred years and is destined to become king. The fact that two males were born has led to much confusion over who should lead our people. It was decided that we would rule together, but my brother has other ideas. He wants to rule alone. He thinks that I am small and weak and therefore unfit to be a king. He's been trying to get rid of me since we were young. He's come close to killing many times; even as a kid he was ruthless. I never stood a chance against him, being so small. I ran away when I was very young – about the same age you were when we first met – in order to safe my life."

"You are a coward," spat Ganondorf. "A true leader would face me!"

"No. I left in order to improve my skills so that I could stand a chance against. I went far north, where the sun rarely shines and rain always falls. I knew I would be safe, since Gerudo live in hot, dry climates. Our ancestors hail from the deserts, after all. As a Gerudo, I was miserable there. Dear me, I was miserable! But eventually I adapted. I traded my Gerudo clothes for fur coats and dyed my red hair black using ink to hide my heritage. I found a sword master to take me as his apprentice and let me stay with him. I remained with him for about a decade. When he passed away, I came to Windfall under the guise of a foreign merchant and honed my skills to prepare for the day when I would meet my brother again."

Link held out his sword for Zunari. "Is that why you had this sword?" he asked. "I got this from you years ago, remember?"

Zunari nodded. "Yes, that sword was given to me when I was born. I actually never intended to sell it, but I had a feeling you would put it to good use."

"Silence, Zunari," said Ganondorf. "My patience is gone. Your time in this world has come to an end." He slowly drew his sword from its case, which he kept strapped on his back similarly to Link. Link felt the evil power seep from the sword the second it was drawn. A light black smoke oozed from the sheath, and the air seemed to drop a few degrees. He glanced at Mila and saw that she, too, was staring at Ganondorf's sword. She could feel the power of the Dark Master Sword as well.

Zunari quickly dove behind his counter and came out with his own sword – a long, thin, obsidian blade. His sword, while impressive, did not compare to Ganondorf's sword that was infused with the spirit of the evil king Ganon.

"You think you can challenge me, Brother? You are a fool," yelled Ganondorf."

Zunari replied, "I've been preparing for this day all of my life. I can challenge you."

Link bit his lip. He knew Zunari was skilled, and if circumstances were different he would have been betting on him. But he knew what the Dark Master Sword was capable of. He knew Zunari would was not going to win. "Don't challenge him, Zunari," he begged. "Come with us. We'll protect you."

"Ah, I cannot do that. I must defeat my brother. I'll hold him off while you escape."

"They're not escaping," shouted Ganondorf. "Maylah, keep them here."

"No," commanded Zunari. "It's hopeless. She obeys both of us. Whatever you tell her to do, I'll cancel it out. I will not let you harm either of these two."

You could see the fires of rage ignite behind Ganondorf's eyes when he realized that Zunari was right. He sliced his sword in a rage, causing an icy wind to blow past everyone. The cold air stung Link's skin. "Don't think this is the last you'll ever see of me, Your Highness," he said, using a heavily sarcastic tone when he spoke Link's title.

"Zunari..." Mila trailed off sadly.

Link grabbed her hand and yanked her away from the situation. "Good luck, Zunari," he shouted, even though he knew it was fruitless. Zunari was giving his life for his and Mila's. He was not going to survive this encounter. He ran as fast as he could with Mila, running through the main square of Windfall and out through the field to reach the docks. He threw Mila onto the deck of their boat before jumping in himself.

The soldiers stationed on the boat heard the commotion and came running up with their spears pointed at Link and Mila. When they recognized the pair, they lowered their weapons and saluted them. "What's going on, sir?" one of them asked Link.

"We need to get out of here right now! I will explain in a moment! Please hurry!" he responded. The soldiers nodded and ran off to complete their orders.

Mila grabbed Link's arm. "What about Zunari?" she asked desperately.

Link looked off in the direction of the fight. "He gave his life for us," he said sadly.

"But... what if he wins?" she asked.

"He won't." He couldn't bring himself to look at her. "The person he's challenging is the person who destroyed Greatfish Island. He possesses terrible, dark power. He's been terrorizing this country and my family since before I was born. Zunari isn't going to make it."

She wiped her eyes to get rid of the tears that were about to fall. "He's so brave," she said of Zunari.

"Yeah. He's a hero." He turned and went down below the decks to inform the soldiers of the situation. "We need to go inside. It's safer. Besides, I'm going to have a lot of trouble explaining all of this by myself." Mila silently followed behind him.

Meanwhile, on Windfall Island, everything was silent except for the three Gerudo that were standing around Zunari's stall. Both Ganondorf and Zunari had their weapons out and aimed at the other, but neither were fighting. Maylah was standing to the side, watching but not interfering. She was a woman of tradition, and Gerudo tradition told her that both Ganondorf and Zunari were both the true leaders of the Gerudo. Since they refused to rule together, a battle to the death would show which one would be fit to be king.

"I only want what is best for our people," said Zunari. "And if that means assimilating and joining Hyrule, then so be it. If I become King, which I plan to do, I will make sure to place our people ahead of my pride. We must survive."

"You are so shameful cannot believe we both came from the same woman. I will never join Hyrule. Our people have been historically oppressed by this country. I will not let the Gerudo sink so low as to join our enemy. Doing such would be the end of our people."

"No! Having our entire people die out from lack of resources will be the end of our people! Tell me, Zantiki, how many Gerudo are left?"

"Stop using my birth name!" he roared.

"Answer my question."

Ganondorf glared at his brother, refusing to answer the question.

"There are seven of us left," answered Maylah. "All of us sail with Ganondorf on the seas. We continue our legacy as thieves by pirating unsuspecting ships."

"Seven? There were at least twenty when I left," remarked Zunari bitterly.

"There wasn't enough food," said Maylah. "Only the strongest survived."

"Stop talking to this fool, Maylah," barked Ganondorf.

"Do you see what you're doing?" asked Zunari. "You're so stubborn and arrogant that you're putting a petty grudge with this country over the wellbeing of our people. Don't you see? If we join Hyrule, we'll probably be given our own island where we can live as we please. We'll have to pay taxes, but in return we will be offered resources and defense. You'll no longer be king, but that's shouldn't matter if you truly cared for the Gerudo."

Ganondorf yelled and swung his sword at his brother in a rage. Zunari didn't see it coming and stepped back a few seconds too late. The sword missed his body but shaved off some fur on his coat. He felt an icy blast from the blade that burned his face. He stepped back, holding his face in pain. He was experiencing frostbite.

"How did you do that?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"Do you regret mouthing off to me now that you know what I am capable of? I possess power you cannot even fathom."

Zunari ignored the pain on his face from the burning cold and held his sword in both hands. He was very afraid; he did not know what power his brother spoke of. However, he knew that he had to face him for the future of their race. He had to try. His brother was leading their people to their demise, and he was not going to hide while it happened. "I told myself that I was going to face you one day, and today is that day. Let us battle." He turned to his cousin, who was standing some distance away, looking slightly anxious. "Maylah, do not interfere." She nodded.

Ganondorf made the first strike while Zunari was speaking. Thankfully, Zunari was expecting it because he knew his brother was not one to fight honorably. He twisted his sword so that his brother's strike would be blocked by his own blade. Cold air traveled through Zunari's blade and stung his hands. He winced a little.

"Do you feel the cold? That is the result of the powers that lie in my blade. You do not stand a chance."

"The cold never bothered me," Zunari remarked as he swung at his brother's side. Ganondorf was able to jump away to avoid the attack; Zunari's sword merely tore at his shirt. He quickly counterattacked with a quick thrust at Zunari's shoulder. He missed by a few centimeters. Zunari held his sword out and backed away to catch his breath. His brother took the opportunity and lunged at him with his blade aimed right for the heart. Zunari used his small size to his advantage and rolled to the side. As he came up he slashed at Ganondorf. Zunari's sword nicked Ganondorf's arm. A little bit of blood trickled out.

Ganondorf looked amused. "You landed a hit. I can assure you that won't happen again," he taunted.

Zunari did not waste breath by responding. This proved to be life-saving, as Ganondorf slashed downwards in front of Zunari. Had he not jumped backwards, the hit would have been fatal. Ganondorf followed up his attack with a flurry of strikes. Zunari was able to block each of them easily. When he saw a break in the attack pattern, he swung his sword upwards. Ganondorf was able to step back, but the sword ended up cutting his the lower part of his inner thigh, just above the knee. He groaned in pain as blood began to ooze out of the gash. Although the cut was deep, it did not damage any veins or tissues, so the injury did not inhibit Ganondorf's performance.

Ganondorf swung his blade sharply through the air, creating an icy frost that went flying from the blade. Zunari turned to avoid it, but it was so unexpected that he could not move in time. He reflexively lifted up his left arm to cover his face. The ice sliced up his arm drastically. His sleeve was soaked with blood to the point where it was dripping on the ground. The cold from the blast numbed his arm and made the pain slightly more bearable. His elbow took the most damage since it was facing the blast and was so badly injured that Zunari could no longer bend his arm without subjecting himself to immense pain.

His brother quickly swung at his head. Zunari only just managed to avoid it. The whiplash from the dodge strained the muscles in his neck, which began to throb painfully. Seeing his brother struggle, Ganondorf began to attack Zunari from every angle. Zunari was barely blocking the attacks. His injury was slowing him down, and his brother seemed to not tire at all. Additionally, the iciness from his brother's sword was affecting his body, making it feel numb. Ganondorf's strikes began to get closer and closer to hitting him, and Zunari began to fear for his life. He knew that he was not going to walk away from this battle alive.

Zunari quickly backed away and held his sword defensively. Ganondorf sprinted forward and slashed at his brother. Zunari caught the attack with his sword. Ganondorf pushed down, attempting to cut Zunari with his own sword. Zunari backed away, knowing he couldn't lock swords with his brother with only one good arm. As he backed away, his brother flicked his sword, causing Zunari to drop his sword. Ganondorf stepped on the sword and kicked it behind him. "Ah, I win," he breathed happily. He pointed his sword at his brother. "Any last words?"

Zunari knew he was going to die, and he wanted to die with honor. "Take care of everyone. Don't let our people die out. Forget about your pride and do the right thing."

"Your idea of 'right' is shameful. I won't let our strong race join this pitiful country. We must rule it. I'm ashamed you even think of that as an option." Ganondorf lowered his sword. "However, you are still a Gerudo by blood. Because of that, and only because of that, I will spare your life so long as you submit to my rule. You must join us in hopes of taking over Hyrule in the name of Gerudo. I see that you have ties to the royal family. Those will certainly come in handy. Join me, brother, and no harm will come to you."

Zunari did not hesitate. "I want no part in your scheme. You'll be the death of our people. Congratulations on being the last king."

Enraged, Ganondorf raised his sword and struck his brother across the chest. The wound was severe enough to knock Zunari unconscious almost immediately. Ganondorf knelt down and delivered the final blow through Zunari's heart, quickly pulling out his sword and wiping it off. "Congratulations on being a blood traitor," he seethed.

He turned to Maylah, who had been watching the entire scene quietly and impassively. "Throw the body in the ocean. Ideally, I'd like to have it sent to the royal family but that will be too risky. Meet me on the ship when you're done." She nodded, and Ganondorf made his way back to the ship, which was stealthily docked underneath a cliff.

Maylah was the strongest of the remaining Gerudo women, so lifted up Zunari's body with ease. She took him down the stairs next to his stall that led to his private dock. She laid her cousin down on the wood. She wanted to give him a proper Gerudo burial. She honored Zunari as a true Gerudo; she did not see him as a blood traitor. Although he was defeated in battle and therefore was deemed illegitimate as king, his words touched Maylah. She could see that he truly cared for the wellbeing of their people, even though his ideas conflicted with Ganondorf's.

Maylah removed her earrings, which were two large rubies, and placed them over the eyes of her cousin. In Gerudo tradition, a deceased person was often buried with precious gemstones because jewels were seen as fuel that would help transport the deceased's soul to the afterlife. "May we meet again in the afterlife," she whispered. She carefully placed Zunari's body in the water and pushed it so that it floated away. She watched it drift away in the currents. When it was out of sight, she returned back to the ship where she could resume her post as the right hand of Ganondorf, the one and only leader of the Gerudo.