Ganon pulled the caravan leisurely in the morning sunlight. The others asleep as they rode on the dirt road. He stopped and raised a brow at the sight before him. A village sized campsite. A nber of people from various races, all in tarps and tents right outside the castle walls. Separated by a near bottomless trench too long to jump. The bridge to enter, was raised. A hooded figure with a strange cane waved him down. Only a large single was seen behind darkness of the hood.
"Whoa there, boy! You can lift and drag that hefty thing by yourself!?"
Ganon shrugged as he backed into the caravan.
"Lost the horses, this is faster anyways."
They laughed, the eye itself emoted like a face. The pupil moved as they spoke, as if it were the mouth.
"You're rather strong then, I believe what ya say. However, if you lot are headed to Hyrule Castle, don't even bother. They ain't letting in anyone, nor letting anyone out, no one but soldiers from the look."
Ganon shook the caravan violently. Link and Malon slammed into each other and flew into the crates stacked on top of each other. Talon landed on his head and rolled off onto the ground with a grunt as he held his head.
"Eych! Jings, boy! What's gotten into you!?"
Ganon looked down at Talon with an unintentional glare. He wasn't mad at this man, nor the messenger, but someone was for fault. Someone would feel the brunt of his wrath.
"Hey... This guy just said that Hyrule Castle is only letting soldiers in and out. You ever hear that happening before?"
"Huh? O-Only once, during wartime! That'd be the only reason the King would ever shut down the outside like that! S-Surely he'll let in traders and such for supplies."
The hooded figure shook their head.
"No sir!~ I thought they'd at least folks like us in, but they refused even my magic beans! Honestly, some people here are actually refugees... Something rank is happening in this land! But, rules are rules!"
Ganon dropped the reigns and began to walk ahead.
"Refugees from what?"
Though just an eye, it spoke with great condescendence.
"Monster, disasters, all around misfortune!~ Hyrule Castle is known for it's prosperity, but people flock to that, and that's what got the castle in lockdown... At least that's my theory."
Link leapt out of the caravan and began to run after him. The hooded stranger gasped.
"Now, now, you aren't thinking of storming in, are you? The only way in is the bridge!"
Ganon spat to the side as he rolled his shoulders.
"I'll bring it down."
Link stopped and looked up to the hooded figure.
"Mhn..."
"... Hye hye hye! What good is that broken gross sword! Look at it, no blade left, even the hilt is terribly damaged!"
"Hmph!"
Link folded his arms and stuck his tongue out at the stranger. They cackled and pointed to the side.
"Kids like you, shouldn't even play with tools like those, but we need more people like you!"
Link didn't like this man. He felt wrong. He saw Ganon enter a crowd of people, but looked back to Talon. The milkman sighed as he waved at the child.
"Go on, Link. I don't like the look on your friend's face, I hope you can calm him down."
Malon jumped out of the caravan and ran up to Link.
"Hey! Hold on! Y-You two can't just up and leave without saying goodbye, right?!"
Link continued on. The Great Deku Tree's voice echoed faintly in his mind.
"No... Never Turn Back... Only Forward..."
Link ran after Ganon and was lost in the crowd. Malon nearly gave chase, but Talon held her back.
"Oi, oi! Malon, I don't want you getting lost too now."
"Wh-What the...? How could you just let them go so easily!"
"They were never mine to lose."
She looked down and kicked the dirt.
"They were my friends... And now I lost them..."
Talon sighed. He hated very few things in this world. Hate dis no one any good, he believed, it only drove to worse things. However, even he had things he despised, no one was above such an emotion. For him, his daughter's sadness, that was it. He couldn't find it in himself to blame the boys. They were to separate anyhow, it was only much more abrupt than he'd like, but it was to be done.
"C'mon Malon. I see a few horses for sale, let's get us a few and ride back home, m'kay?"
She sniffled but nodded as she watched them leave.
"Jerks... Who needs em...?"
Link was pushed and shoved in several directions by numerous strangers. Shops were set up in the middle of roads and children ran wildly around him. Mercenaries and hired hands lazed around. From fortunetellers to blacksmiths, carpenters to hunters, even simple common folk waited around for entry. Link heard all kinds of things.
"The King's gone mad! Keeping us out here like dogs!"
"Hey, what's with Death Mountain lately? Kakiriko Village sounds safe enough but..."
"You hear about the Gerudo? Things sound like they got bad up there too!"
"Zora's Domain has really sank to the pits. No friggin water! Can you believe that?!"
"That Deku Grove sure turned to Hell since these monsters..."
"Daddy!~ Daddy!~ I-I can't find you!"
"If they lower that bridge, it'll be the end."
"I've been to Castle Town, the place is huge! All of us have a place to stay! Why aren't we going in!"
"Brother, the Hylians are selfish, we should turn back..."
He found Ganon and ran into him with a shoulder tackle. Ganon blinked and looked down at Link before he lifted him off the ground by his collar.
"There you are. Hey, see that there?"
Link looked to where he pointed. The bridge of Hyrule Castle was lowering, and soldiers began to march in a line. Link noticed from afar, the soldiers' eyes were strange, as if they weren't there. Ganon began to shove and push his way through with Link.
"Help me out here, I snagged this when they weren't looking, don't ask who either."
Ganon reached from within his cloak and pulled out a steel short sword. Link took it, held it high in the air, then held it close with a nod.
"H-Hey, don't hold that up like that! It's just a dumb weapon. Look, here's the plan... I heard that a few of soldiers stay behind to keep the unruly folk from swarming them... We just wait til the begin to raise the bridge, and hop on the last second!'
"Hhnn..."
"What? What's that face for?"
Link scrunched his face up with a gross frown. Even his eyes glanced away. Ganon scoffed as he saw the remaining soldiers enter the Castle Gates.
"Yeah well, shut your baby face. It's as good a plan as any! I don't care for these people and neither should you. I'll do you a favor kid, you don't want friends in this life, only allies and soldiers. Tools for victory, hear that?"
Ganon looked down to see Link in awe of a butterfly that landed on his nose.
"Ugh... Why do I bother...? Huh?"
Ganon saw a number of people run onto the bridge, but all were shot by arrows, some fell back and never stood again.
"O-Oh man... And the bridge is rising... They're not even going to let them get the wounded and worse... Good. This is the chance I was talking about! Patience is the key!"
Ganon waited for the bridge to reach it's apex. His cue was the archers on the walls. Once they had resigned, that was his moment to shine. They lowered their bows. This was it.
"Okay Link, let's go!"
"Uh? UWAH!"
Ganon rushed. He threw several people out of the way and leapt high into the air.
"Okay Link, use your shield!"
Link looked at him like he was crazy, but felt a strange sting, a sense. His eyes moved to the guards on the walls. They dropped their bows and brought up crossbows. Link raised his shield in defense. Arrows flew and struck the shield and bounced off of Ganon.
"Yes! I timed it just right! Take that you bleach grassbelly bums!"
The two barely made it behind the bridge and slid down it before it had raised completely. The two high fived each other with bright smiles.
"Alright, now we just have to..."
"Hm? Guwah!"
The soldiers from before had them surrounded, their weapons drawn, and faces empty of mercy. Even Ganon gulped.
"Me too, Link... But don't worry, I have a plan!"
Ganon took a few steps back. Then he turned, raised a leg, and kicked the bridge with all his might. The bridged fell hard onto the ground. Ganon turned back around and roared.
"RUSH 'EM!"
He threw Link to the side and charged the army himself. At first, many were scared to join the boy, waiting for him to be taken by the soldiers. But Ganon showed his true colors here. One punch decimated the armor of the Hyrulian Knights. Weapons tore only his clothes. Ganon however, wasn't as careless as he was with the Wolfos. Each movement took five men out. Each punch met three faces, each kick sent four flying, each throw sent ten to the air. Link then shouted out and charged from behind. A mercenary leader stepped forward.
"Darn it... If kids like them can do this, so can we! C'mon men! We're getting in now!"
Link took his place at Ganon's side and raised his shield in defense, defense for his desert friend, this was his first real fight. One mercenary looked over at them as they fought through.
"H-Hey! Check those kids out! That one's tiny, but he's actually holding his own against these trained grunts!"
A veteran scoffed.
"He's on the ropes of defense, he's not trying to attack at all, he knows he'll be in trouble if he does. He swings his sword just to parry other attacks."
"Should we help him?"
"Are you kidding? He don't need to attack. He's got that monster with him."
Ganon's face had changed. Stretched and warped, full of anger, yet also full of glee. His hair stood on end, like a feral beast. He looked like a starved boar in hunt of his prey. Each time a blade came near a vital part of his body, Link was there to defend his reckless self. Yet, as Link left himself open for attack, Ganon retaliated with protection of his own. The two began to slowly advance from sloppy thrashing, to a strange synchronized assault, a complimenting dance of war. But Link grew tired very quickly. And as he slowed down, the attacks came faster. He was grazed on his cheek, then his leg, even his tunic was torn. Ganon snarled as he glared down at him.
"Hey! What're you doing!? Get serious! I'm not your babysitter, so take care of yourself!"
Link glared back at him. The soldiers began to retreat. Ganon raised a furious brow.
"What? There's still plenty of them, they could just outnumber us, even with the help from outside..."
Two figures stepped up to the two. One, a large knight with a chain and ball tied together, the other a robed sorcerer that floated above the ground. Both wore the symbol of Hyrule, the Triforce, over their hearts.
"Great..."
The knight threw the ball at them both, and forced them to separate. The sorcerer appeared right behind Ganon. The Gerudo threw a punch, but it stopped at a yellow magic circle in the air. A lightning bolt flew out and struck the fist. Ganon was airborne and convulsed as the volts coursed through his body.
"Ugah...! M-Magic..! It had to be, magic!"
Link dodged another ball swing. The metal sphere destroyed his wooden shield as he tried to block the next swing. He felt bad. He was hurt badly. The direct force of the blow had him staggered and coughing up something red. He didn't like the taste of it. He wanted to go home now. For some reason, Ganon's eyes and words appeared in his mind.
"You're on your own! Take care of yourself! Tools for success!"
Tools... Tools tend to break. Like the Peahat, and the Wolfos, this knight was not invincible. Link began to think differently. His birthmark started to glow. Ganon was struck once more by the lightning spell. Few things actually hurt him, but magic was the bane of his existence. How he couldn't understand it made him feel dumb. As if he was something small in some big picture. Being small made him feel scared. Being scared made him angry. Being angry led him to do scary things. He found a mirror inside an empty shop and broke in to snatch it. The sorcerer reached into his robes and threw a strange ball inside. It resembled an insect. Ganon shouted from within.
"OH WHAT IN DIN'S FIRE-"
A large explosion came from inside. The sorcerer threw three more at the sight of Ganon stumbling at the window he broke in through. The balls grew legs and leapt at him with headbutts. The first two hadn't phased him, but the third struck his nose. They began to hiss, than exploded. Link saw a pattern as he ducked to escape the ball thrown at him. He rolled to the side as the chain was whipped to lash him on the ground. The knight would swing three times before trying one of three attacks, depending how far or close Link himself was. The first, and most common, was a full round spin. The second was a fake out, he'd raise the ball high, but would kick instead. Link learned that the hard way. The third and final attack was throwing the ball and whipping it back. Link's vision was blurry and he felt numb from exhaustion. The armor was simply too thick to get a hit in with his sword. However, that strange sting came again, and his eyes moved to the knight's joints. Chain mail, brittle chain mail, if he could just get one hit at the right time, then maybe he could win. He had to win. He had to know about the mark on his hand. The sorcerer stared down at Ganon, who had rolled and tumbled to the ground from the explosion. Ganon's eyes were fierce, there was no sense of defeat in them. The sorcerer chuckled behind his robed mask.
"Filthy trash, struggling to even stand from the dirt you came from, how fitting for a Gerudo like you."
"... Struggling, is the way of not just my people, but for all creatures... It's to struggle that we learn..."
The sorcerer rolled his eyes and brought his hand up with a yellow magic circle. The lightning bolt flashed, as did Ganon's hand that held a mirror, and the two met. The bolt bounced off the mirror and struck the sorcerer.
"Hgyack!?"
"That we learn how to survive. So. STRUGGLE WITH ME!"
Ganon tossed the mirror aside and sent a savage slap on the side of the sorcerer's head. His body embedded into the cobblestone of the ground. He looked over at Link. The knight raised his ball high as Link was on a knee. However, Link had himself in that position to propelled himself forward, and cut the ankle of the knight with his sword as he spun underneath him between his legs. The ankles and achilles tendons were near severed, and the knight fell on his back, the chained ball fell on his chest with a heavy thud and a remarkable dent on the armor. Link looked over at Ganon and raised his sword in triumph. The Gerudo only gave a small sinister smile and a thumbs up.
"Heh... You're not so useless after all. Uh-oh..."
Ganon frowned as he saw the other soldiers return to the swarming assault. However, a wall of sparkling light stopped them, some even hissed and hid their faces. A single horse came from an alley to the side with a woman and a girl riding on the back. A large owl followed them closely. They rode near Link, the woman reached out to him.
"Hurry! Take hold!"
Barely, he reached out with his body finally giving out, she had snatched him from the ground and into her arms. The owl flew low and reached for Ganon, but he threw a hand at it.
"Flock off, I'm too heavy for you, just go!"
"You won't find your answers here, Ganondorf Dragmire, they ride on the back of that horse."
"... Did an owl just talk? W-Wait!"
Ganondorf turned and saw the girl look back at him. Her eyes were full of fear and sadness, but that didn't catch his attention, rather the Triforce birthmark on her hand did. Ganondorf sprinted for them, and easily caught up to the horse, his face became normal as he started to calm down at last.
"I don't understand what's going on, but if some answers lie with these gals, I'll roll with it for now."
The owl nodded and began to fly ahead.
"Perhaps I shouldn't worry about you, but for what you'll do, hrm..."
The mercenaries that had watched in awe, now ran back across the bridge to the other refugees. The bridge began to raise, but it was too late, everyone had made it. People began to complain, yell and shout, all asked what had happened. The woman on the horse shouted.
"Everyone! Everyone please-"
But she had been drowned out from the noise. It was chaos.
"SHUT UP! ! !"
Ganondorf roared, grass and nearby trees faintly rustled from the wind, many shook and held their ears in silence. He motioned to the woman.
"T-Thank you. Everyone, Hyrule Castle hast fallen, and it's army possessed. I am, Impa! General of said army and only loyal member of the Shieka Tribe to the Royal Family. The king of Hyrule is dead."
There were murmurs among the gasps. A small stir began to rise, but Ganondorf snarled, keeping the silence. Impa shook her head.
"I understand the concern, but there is little done in the midst of panic. There's already a solution in order, the best course of action is to return to your homes-"
A voice shouted out."
"How can we when there's monsters all around!?"
"Don't you understand that we thought about that already!? Do you think us so self-centered?! If I could I'd slay every beast! But it's not a matter of ifs or maybes! All that matters is that we fix this, and return things to a natural order!"
Another voice called out.
"W-What of the Princess? Or anyone who lives in the Castle!?"
"The Princess, has been held in captivity, this servant girl is all that's left of the population. Everyone has turned into drones. Now then, I see a number of hired arms. I'll gladly pay all of you right now to keep these people safe as they return home."
Impa dropped a large wallet of rupees. Silver and purple rupees.
"There's no point in trying to keep this to myself when others are suffering. We all must work together, so here, from the Royal Family pockets."
She kicked the horse and began to ride away as people fell for the money on the ground. Like pigs who awaited their meal. She prayed silently that her words made it to some heads. To some hearts.
"Oi, silver hair."
"Ah-!"
Impa turned to her side and saw Ganondorf run easily match the horse despite his wounds.
"I know who that girl is. You dirtied her up, but I know your position, the Princess never leaves your side and likewise."
"..."
"I'll keep your secret, I'll even help you since I like the way you talk, but on one condition."
"And that is, boy?"
Ganondorf looked back at the Princess, clearly scared of him, then to Link in Impa's lap. Unconscious.
"You take me and him with you."
Impa glared at him, but her eyes softened at the Princess' voice, soft and sweet as honey.
"Impa... Please, they're the ones I saw in my dream, they came. Just like I said."
"... Alright, Zelda. We ride for Kakirko Village."