A\N: Bet you never thought I'd do Eventide Island, did ya? WELL I DID. Sort of. It's different.

Been waiting for us? Link asked, glancing at Zelda and Ganondorf.

"Since when is nothing waiting for us?" Ganondorf muttered. "Something is always waiting."

"Right you are, Demon King," a voice said behind the trio.

All three immediately turned around, coming face to face with an older man wearing a yellow robe with white markings and sleeves.

Ganondorf narrowed his eyes at the man, taking in the white mustache and bald head. Why did he seem so familiar?

"Rauru?" Zelda asked, surprised at the sage's appearance. "Why are you here?"

Rauru. So that was why he was familiar. One of the Sages from the Era of Time.

"The Sacred Realm is well-guarded, Your Highness," Rauru murmured. "I was told by a voice that I was to wait here for the ones of legend to arrive."

He stroked his chine, eyeing the three in turn.

"Though I didn't expect this. Playing at being the hero now, are we, Ganondorf Dragmire?"

Ganondorf gave a growl.

Zelda set a hand on his arm to calm him before she gave a slight scowl at Rauru. "He's not who you think he is."

"A Lizalfos cannot change its camouflage."

Zelda bit her tongue so she wouldn't tell Rauru he was wrong about Lizalfos. They could change their camouflage in all technicality to suit their enviornment.

Rauru cleared his throat. "Anyway, you three are free to take the challenge the island and I offer or leave."

We can just leave? Link asked, appearing suspicious of how easy that was.

"Of course." Rauru nodded. "This island holds a subterranean temple that will offer you a prize should you complete its trial."

"That sounds easy enough," Ganondorf said.

They had done a lot of temples. What was one more?

"But," Rauru added, holding up a finger. "The island requests that you give up what you have become accustomed to using during your journey."

"Huh?" Zelda asked, tilting her head. "What do you mean?"

"The items that you have become comfortable with using are the Master Sword, the Light Bow and Arrows, and…." Rauru locked gazes with Ganondorf. "Your humanity."

Ganondorf gave a short laugh. "Yeah, we're leaving."

"Gan," Zelda murmured.

"I'm not going to let him turn me into Ganon because some island says so."

"If you're worried about rampaging, I still have the song." Zelda set her hand on Ganondorf's arm. "I trusted you to go easy and slow with me last night, so now I ask that you trust me."

Ganondorf looked away before he sighed. "All right. I trust you."

Zelda smiled, hugging Ganondorf's waist.

Rauru watched their interaction blankly. "Are you all in accord?"

Link looked at Zelda and Ganondorf. When he saw their expressions, he nodded.

"We are," Ganondorf muttered.

"Excellent." Rauru snapped his fingers.

The Master Sword disappeared from Link's back. When Zelda tried to summon the Light Bow, she found she couldn't. Beside them, Ganondorf shifted into Ganon, more annoyed than his companions.

"Find the three keys to open the temple's door," Rauru said. "One lies atop Koholint Point, one with a gold Moldorm, and one among the monsters set up along the eastern shore."

Link nodded while Zelda rubbed Ganon's arm.

Rauru disappeared, leaving the three alone.

"Where do we start?" Zelda asked, glancing around to see if she could spot anything that told them where to go.

Ganon gave a low rumble as he also looked around. Even with his height advantage he couldn't se much above the trees that grew along the island. Rearing up onto his hind legs, Ganon glanced around.

The rocky tower to the back was possibly Koholint Point. A patch of open area sat in front of it with a small cliff that held a tiny monster camp. To the east he saw the other monster camp, four Bokoblin in a makeshift tower.

Carefully dropping down, Ganon gestured to the east.

"Eastern monster camp?" Zelda asked.

He gave short nod.

Sounds like a plan, Link said, shouldering his bow.

Without the Master Sword he would have to rely on long range attacks while Zelda relied on close range with her short sword.

Ganon let Zelda and Link take the lead as they neared the monster camp.

Wood slats and large bone pieces wrapped with fiber enclosed the trunk of the tree.

He could easily destroy the four Bokoblins that guarded the lookout, but didn't want to take all the glory.

One of the archers caught sight of the three first and was about to alert the others when it was silenced by an arrow lodging in its throat.

Ganon watched as Zelda took the lead, running up the stairs to meet one of the Bokoblins that was coming down to investigate.

Link shot down another archer that was aiming at Zelda.

A noise caught Ganon's attention and he looked behind him.

The golden head of a Moldorm was poking up out of the ground nearby. Between its pinchers was a shiny key marked with Nayru's symbol.

As Ganon stared at it, the Moldorm appeared to laugh at him before disappearing beneath the ground.

Ganon glanced at Zelda and Link to see that they were still occupied with the Bokoblins. He began to search for the Moldorm, deciding to take care of it on his own.

As he neared the clearing, the Moldorm popped up from the ground again.

Ganon tried to pounce on it but it ducked underground again.

A nip at his heels signaled where it was and Ganon turned around, swatting at it and missing.

Growing annoyed at the Moldorm's little peek-a-boo game, Ganon stuck his muzzle into one of the holes the Moldorm had created, blowing a blast of fire to smoke the monster out.

As he predicted, the Moldorm leaped out of the ground with a shriek. Before it landed on the ground, Ganon caught it with his claws and slammed it down, squashing it.

I don't like games, he thought as the Moldorm disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"You got another key?" Zelda asked as she and Link approached Ganon.

Ganon nodded, gesturing to the key the Moldorm left behind.

"Nayru, huh?" Zelda murmured as Link picked the key up. "We got a key with Din's mark."

So the last key must be Farore's mark, Link said, looking towards Koholint Point.

Getting to the top would usually take some climbing, but Ganon lowered himself to allow Link and Zelda onto his head. On his hind legs he reached the point's top and allowed Zelda and Link to take care of the three Bokoblin and one Moblin camped at the top.

With the last key in hand, the island rumbled.

Ganon looked down to see that a door had appeared in the face of Koholint Point.

"This must be the temple door," Zelda said after Ganon helped them to the ground.

The door had three empty slots, each marked with a different symbol.

Link matched the symbols with the correct key.

The keys turned on their own, unlocking the door which slid open, revealing an area large enough for Ganon to walk through.

The three walked past the threshold, torches along the walls springing to life all on their own.

The room they came into had three enormous boxes along with markings on the floors. A second ledge held two switches. While Zelda looked up at the upper area, figuring a way to get up there, Link tried to move the boxes but found he couldn't with their size. Ganon gave a low grumble before he lowered his head.

Zelda looked at him then at Link. "Ganon has the solution!"

Link returned to the other two and climbed onto Ganon's head.

Ganon let the two off on the upper ledge and without prompting they stood on the two switches that were there. The switches caused the markings on the floor to become raised, creating their own switches. Ganon used his tusks to slide the boxes onto the correct switches and once all three were in their place, a door to the next room opened.

"I see," Zelda murmured as Ganon helped her and Link back to the ground. "We have to use Ganon's strength for the solutions."

Ganon gave a low grunt. At least he could still be useful in the temple.

The next room held a ball attached to a heavy-duty metal chain, a grated door on the left wall that held a small box within it, and a square indent in a door at the far end.

How do we do this one? Link asked while Zelda looked around.

"Perhaps….the ball and chain can be pulled down and it opens that grate?" Zelda suggested, pointing to the ball and chain then grated door in turn.

Ganon decided to go ahead and try her suggestion, grabbing the ball with his paw and pulling it down.

As she predicted, the grated door slid up, allowing access to the box.

Link entered the small room, picking up the box and making his way over to the door with the indent. He slid the box into the indent and it clicked into place.

Ganon released the ball as the door to the third room opened.

"This isn't so bad so far," Zelda said. "We've been in harder ones."

Don't jinx it, Ganon thought with a roll of his eyes.

The third room held what appeared to be two statues. One was complete while the other was broken into pieces.

So, we just put the statue back together? Link asked while Zelda looked at the intact statue.

She nodded. "It appears that way."

Ganon stared at the intact statue, noticing that it appeared to be of the Golden Three. Looking at the broken statue, he picked up a piece then set it onto the stump.

The piece melded itself with the statue's base, showing that he was right with his choice.

With that settled, Ganon slowly repaired the statue, each right piece fusing to show he was right, until the statue was complete.

Once it was finished the statues sunk down slightly into the floor and a door to the fourth room opened up.

The fourth room appeared to be much like the first room with three boxes and an upper ledge. The upper ledge this time was higher than the first and even on his hind legs, Ganon couldn't reach it.

How do we do this one? Link asked, staring up at the ledge.

"Well…" Zelda looked at the floor but didn't see any sort of marks that told her the boxes needed to be put in a specific spot. "Perhaps…the boxes are to be balanced on his head and we use them to get to the ledge?"

Ganon gave an annoyed huff at the suggestion, snorting.

"We can at least try it, can't we?"

With a low grumble, Ganon scooped the boxes into a stack then carefully pushed them up onto his head. Link and Zelda got onto his back and held on as Ganon once again tried to reach the upper ledge, this time positioning himself so that the boxes were right below it.

With the combined height, it was just enough for Zelda and Link to carefully climb the boxes and hop onto the ledge.

The ledge held two buttons which they pushed. A door opened up, leading to what was hopefully the last room.

Once Zelda and Link had returned to his back, Ganon dumped the boxes onto the ground, shaking his head before heading through the doorway.

The last room they came into was empty except for a pedestal holding three items that looked like gemstones. One was red, one was blue, and one was green.

After Ganon let them onto the ground, Zelda approached the items, picking up the blue stone to inspect it. "It has Nayru's symbol on it."

Link picked up the green gem, noticing Farore's symbol.

"Those are very special stones," Rauru said, appearing behind the pedestal. "Din's Power, Nayru's Wisdom, and Farore's Courage are all said to be created from the tears of the Golden Three."

"What do they do?" Zelda asked, looking at her gemstone.

"They're barriers to protect the holder from harm. A fire, ice, and wind barrier."

How do we activate them? Link said, shaking his gem.

"Keep them on your person at all times and they'll activate when you need them most."

Of course, nothing was easy.

Ganon gave a low grumble as he rolled his eyes.

"Ah, yes. I did make a promise, didn't I?" Rauru murmured, snapping his fingers.

The Master Sword appeared on Link's back and Ganon shifted back to his human form.

Ganondorf scowled at Rauru, snatching Din's Power before walking away.

Zelda sighed, not expecting any sort of thank you from the redhead. She gave a quick bow. "Thank you, Sage Rauru."
Rauru gave a slight nod. "Be careful on your journey, Your Highness."

He watched as the three left, rubbing his chin.

"I hope you'll be prepared for the future."

The sun was beginning to set by the time the group returned to Lurelin.

The Zora had patiently waited by Eventide Island for the three to return instead of leaving.

Zelda was grateful for that. The Zora didn't have to stay who knew how long for them to return.

"You get anything interesting for your trouble?" Bazz asked while Link began to make dinner for the group.

Zelda showed her gem of Nayru's Wisdom to the Zora. "Just this."

"You all got one?" Mipha questioned, taking the gem to inspect it closer.

Ganondorf nodded. "Yeah. They're some sort of barriers."

"Like shields?" Sidon gasped. "Can you show us?"

"They apparently only activate when we need them."

Mipha hummed. "So perhaps during battles?"

"Or hours of need," Bazz said.

"I suppose we'll see," Ganondorf muttered, glancing up at the sky.

It wasn't quite dark enough yet and the moon had yet to make an appearance.

Zelda saw his concern and slid closer to him, setting her hand on top of his.

He glanced at Zelda and she gave him a reassuring smile. He smiled back, shifting their hands so he held hers, giving it a squeeze.

If something happened during the blood moon, he trusted that Zelda would do something to stop it as quickly as possible. He also hoped that all he would have was nightmares.

The Malice was weak enough from the cleansing springs that it couldn't possibly try anything, right?

Let's have some fun, shall we?

Zelda woke up to the smell of smoke. At first, she thought it was because someone had started a fire outside for warmth or to cook something, but then she heard the panicked screams.

Throwing the covers off, Zelda quickly glanced around the inn to see that no one was there. Hopping out of bed, she rushed out of the inn, freezing on the wooden porch when she saw the source of the smoke.

Lurelin was on fire. The embers from the flames were crackling into the sky, mixing with the quickly fading red streaks left behind by the blood moon.

The villagers were scrambling around with buckets of water to try and douse the fires. The Zora and Link were helping them.

Zelda glanced around for Ganondorf and soon spotted him on the beach nearby, staring out at the ocean. She ran over to him, grabbing his arm. "Gan, what happened? Why is Lurelin on fire?"

Ganondorf glanced at her and Zelda immediately put distance between them, the Light Bow coming to her hand. Ganondorf's eyes were completely black save for the orange slit of pupil.

The burning of Lurelin was the Malice's doing.

Ganondorf smiled as he turned to face Zelda. "What? You don't like what I did to the village?"

"Let Gan go," Zelda hissed, firing a Light Arrow at Ganondorf.

To her surprise he caught the arrow mid-flight and though it burned his hand, he twirled it.

"I don't think I will this time." Ganondorf threw the arrow back at Zelda who scrambled to avoid it. "Hyrule will burn, starting with this pathetic village."

Something caught Ganondorf's attention and he turned slightly, catching the pole of a spear that had been aimed at him. He scowled at Bazz who was pushing against his grip. "What do you think you're doing, you stupid fish?"

Bazz grinned. "Haven't you ever heard of a distraction before?"

Ganondorf narrowed his eyes at the Zora before he turned to look at Zelda just as she fired another Light Arrow. This time it hit its mark: his right shoulder.

With a scream, Ganondorf shoved Bazz back, grabbing the arrow's shaft as he fell to one knee.

Zelda cautiously approached Ganondorf, keeping an arrow nocked just in case the Malice hadn't been driven back. "Gan...?"

Ganondorf glanced up and Zelda was relieved to see his golden eyes.

"Thanks," Ganondorf muttered, slowly getting to his feet.

Bazz left the two alone, resuming his job to help put out the fires.

Ganondorf looked at he village which was slowly being saved by the villagers' desperate attempts. "This is my fault."

"It was the Malice, Gan. Not you."

"I still let it overtake me."

Zelda grabbed his arm. "It wasn't you, okay? Don't blame yourself for this."

Ganondorf glanced at her somberly but nodded. He left to help the villagers finish putting out the flames,

Zelda wasn't sure if the villagers were aware of who had started the fire, but she was certain it would be safer for them to leave once the flames were out.

And that is exactly what the group did. Once the fires were out and the village was deciding how best to rebuild the damaged house, Ganondorf and the others left on their horses or on foot.

They made their way towards Akkala and even though he didn't complain, Ganondorf kept the arrow in his shoulder, partly out of fear the Malice would return and partly out of repentance.