Outside Saria Town

Death Mountain was covered by an ominous purple fog. It had been such a way ever since an explosion rocked the mountain half an hour ago, but unlike most people, Bagu was no fool. In his fifty-seven years, he had never forgotten what had transpired three decades ago, for the same darkness that envelopes the border between North and South Hyrule was the exact same as it was when it began in his youth.

Saria Town was the frontline for Ganon's campaign for North Castle, as he had risen from the mountain then as he has now. He remembers the carnage the town suffered as Ganon's minions rampaged the civilians, whether they were trying to fight back or escape. Luckily, the young Bagu had indeed escaped, able to ride to Mido and Rauru Towns to warn them of the coming evil. Though Mido was unaffected (Ganon remembering his Gerudo roots, many suspected) and Ganon would succeed anyway getting to the castle, having Hyrule's Army slowed him down.

It wasn't until he met the saved Princess Zelda that he would realize how big a contribution he had made to save Hyrule. His warning allowed King Daphnes and Princess Zelda's plans to unfold, but had he stayed and fought in Saria, there might not be a Hyrule, and he wouldn't have led the rebuilding efforts for the town in the following seven years.

It wasn't until after Link saved Zelda from the sleeping spell that Bagu left his job at Saria and joined Link's personal band of warriors, which is how he met Error, Rusl, Impa, and a recently promoted Auru. He served the Hero of Hyrule faithfully until the day Hyrule fell. He returned to Saria after hearing of the queen and hero's deaths, unwilling to serve the surviving King Vatis. Like many of his friends, he tried to live peacefully under the king's rule. Eight years ago, when Rauru fell, any allegiance Bagu had to Vatis was gone, and for the past eight, he had constructed the Resistance along with his former allies and the children of his passed friends.

But never had he expected to witness the same event he had in his twenties once more. The war for Hyrule had just gotten worse, for the Demon King had arisen again. Vatis, Vaati, whatever he wanted to be called was bad enough.

"General." Bagu kept his gaze on the mountains but shifted his body to acknowledge Admiral Linebeck's presence. The seaman walked to the soldier's side, looking up to Death Mountain and the sea of fog that made it barely visible. "What is going on up there?"

"...He is."

Linebeck, being Hyrulean himself, didn't need more words to understand. "Great Din, I thought it was the Imperials again."

"For the first time, I wish it was the Imperials." Bagu sighed as he turned to the disassembled Resistance camp. Once more, they were on the move. "What's our status?"

"Hyrulean forces are ready at your command. Labrynna and Holodrum are already on the move, per the orders of the Oracles. Calatia, the Alliance, and the Phantom Isles will march with us."

"Hytopia?"

"Will meet us along the way. They have the shortest trip to Darunia."

"Hmm. Well, let's catch up to the Labrynnians. Nayru and Din are going for their king, and we have a princess to save."

"Yes, sir." Linebeck saluted the general and left him behind. Bagu turned around and returned his gaze to the mountain, where he knew Ganondorf and Midna were on, rubbing his thumb on the cold Gossip Stone around his neck that hadn't lit up ever since Zelda revealed her plans for Rauru Town. "Please be safe, you two...and Auru, Error, please be alive."


Midna

The purple haze surrounding Death Mountain was still visible from the edge of the Lost Woods. To Midna, it was another addition to the pile of worries she carried with her the last few days. Ganondorf will be alright, she constantly assured herself. The Prince of Thieves had always survived the impossible. Today would be no different.

In her hand was the second fragment of the broken mirror, the smooth black surface partially reflecting Midna's face. She was one step closer to returning to her homeland. She had her people's power, the Fused Shadow as Zant called it, though she still didn't trust using it. Vanquishing Phantom Zant was the one time she was angry enough to; though when Vaati "killed" Ganondorf, she would have considered it had not the other Sages stepped in. She also had her people's royal blood, making her a princess of a place she never has seen or heard of until recently. In a way, she was like Zelda.

Placing the fragment away, Midna shook off the shiver coming down her spine as she turned away from the distant mountain and the filled lake the Demon resides in. She decided that, in waiting for Ganondorf to return, she'll meet up with the Kikwi that reside in this part of Hyrule. It had been nearly two months since Ganondorf and Midna were last here, and much has changed since they entered the Demon.

But as she walked deeper in the forest, the shiver that once occupied her spine had spread to her torso and upper parts of her limbs. It was hot, late; the war began in late winter. The Lost Woods, as Midna knew during her many adventures here, was always unnaturally warm, even during the coldest parts of winter. The chills creeping through the woods, however, was strange...almost as if it was caused by Midna's herself.

Or someone else.

Midna stopped, drawing her sword and attentively searched the grove she had just entered. As she scanned the area, she could see the grass around her turn from warm green to icy white, and it slowly crept up to her before stopping a foot around her. Midna, however, was unimpressed with the display. "We don't have to fight."

An amused, disembodied laugh. The frost climbing up the surrounding trees. Midna, despite the lowering temperature, held her ground. "We don't have to fight, you say? Midna, it is only but natural that the lovers and sisters of a man must fight each other."

"Maybe, but tell me, Kotake, why are you alone? Where's my brother and Koume?"

An echoing scoff. "I don't need them to fight you. I'm powerful enough to fight you, to fight Ganondorf, and to kill you is what my father wants."

Midna now turned to her left, spotting the cold-hearted Princess of Thieves...and the Imperials. Kotake had one scimitar in her hand, leaned her body against one of the frosted trees, displaying the curvy, hardened body Midna expected of Gerudo women. Ganondorf, as a man, was not as sculpted as the women in Mido Town or the one before her, but he was nevertheless physically a strong man. She wondered which attribute the Gerudo cared more about, looks of beauty or looks of strength. Koume, at just 15, represented both as well as a princess should. "Why do you serve Vaati? Why call him 'father'?"

Kotake laughed again, pushing herself off the tree as she stepped into the glade. "I owe him my life, don't I? As for the 'father' thing...well, Vaati is more of a father to me than Malladus ever was. The old Gerudo King never cared much for his twin daughters, not as he did the 'miracle' he named Ganondorf. You know that one Gerudo male are born every century, but in his twenty-eighth year Malladus had a son, conveniently months before Vaati took over. The first child of Daemon and Sage Gerudo blood, the true King of the Gerudo, that's what Ganondorf was heralded as. Koume and I, born three years later, never got the same attention as our brother. Same blood, yet different love. All the training, all the teachings, all the honor, all the royalties, it was for Ganondorf, while Koume and I struggled with our powers. I, being the youngest, was even more in my siblings' shadow even though I managed to do things before her. But once we were taken in by Vaati and Veran, I lived as I should've in Nabooru Town. I became a princess and I had a mother and father. So you ask why I will fight and kill my brother? It comes to one simple fact: I hate him, for all he is all that Malladus loved, and all that Malladus loved must fall. And anything that Ganondorf loves must share the same fate. Mido Town, Mareeha Riju, the Resistance...even you."

Midna sighed as she raised her sword, ready to do battle with the youngest of the Dragmires. "You know, Ganondorf loves the both of you so much he's willing to try and redeem you two...but I'll do him a favor and spare him the pain of hearing you speak."


Ganondorf

The flaming sword, had it been seconds faster, would have smashed Ganondorf right on the spot. Had the residue of flames not been limited to the vertical line the sword made an impact to the metallic floor, Ganondorf would be racing for his life against a wildfire. Fortunately, neither was the case, but that did nothing to comfort the prince. His earlier pride had been squashed by Ganon's opening move, and as the battle progressed, it got lower and lower.

The abomination had no visible weakness, not like the giant eyeball of Gohma or the sensitive ears of a Molduga. Not even the Sword of the Sages, blessed with divine power, impacted Ganon much. That led Ganondorf to aim for the monster's head, but that required an opening, one that Ganon wasn't just going to allow easily.

It was hard for him to accept it, but Ganon was too powerful...in this pure form of hatred and malice. Had he been a man or a beast, maybe Ganondorf could match up. Maybe if he had the Triforce of Power, the current fight could be manageable. Yet he was outmatched in size, power, abilities, and, surprisingly, speed.

Ganondorf struggled as one of Ganon's glowing weapons-a blue pincer-contested with his sword, in an effort to not be cut in two. Once more, Ganon's immense strength was overwhelming. He felt his back push up against a wall, his strength wavering as the tips of the pincers closed in on him, sinking slowing in his shoulders. The prince tried his best not to make a noise louder than a pained groan, but as the pincers tore through skin, tissue, nerves and muscle, Ganondorf found his voice nearly impossible to contain.

"You showed promise to be the next me. You have my old name, my likeness, my raw power. But your swaying morality has blinded you. You should have killed Midna. You should have taken the Triforce. You should be on the throne."

The pincer was removed, Ganondorf fell to the ground nearly lifelessly. He sat against the wall, staring at the monstrosity Ganon had become. He never wanted the throne, besides his rightful one. The Hylians could rule themselves to hell as long as the Gerudo were not involved. There was only one moment he considered it, and that was before he sacked Parapa Palace..no, he even said such things to Midna, that they could rule together. But he had never felt that way, not even now…because both times he was highly under Ganon's influence. "No...you wanted the throne. Ganon, you wanted to use me as a proxy to rule Hyrule. I would be the face, but you'll be the voice. Your power rose quickly in the last eighteen years, possibly ever since Zelda's parents took you out. But your body was another issue. It was not buried, it was eradicated to the very last bit. You can't rebuild that alone. But once you found out how much a disappointment I was to you, you turned to this technology. However, I think the form you present yourself now was rushed just to face me."

Ganon hadn't attacked his downed opponent yet, instead glaring down at the injured prince. Ganondorf didn't know why the monster hadn't killed him yet, but it was a quick thought in passing as he continued to speak as his golden eyes met Ganon's. "I had only one desire for five years, and that was to bring down the Imperials. At first, it was a selfless desire. But after Calatia, I selfishly thought we couldn't compete. That's why I took your offer, even after all I did to deny you. I selfishly attacked the Yiga, and it nearly cost me the leader of my people. I selfishly needed the Triforce to fight Vaati. I selfishly gave up my life to save the others, not because I cared, but because I was quite ready to die. I hated the person I had become, and that person was you!" Ganondorf pushed himself up as Ganon stepped back, telekinetically calling the Sword of the Sages to him. "I have a single selfish desire left. My sisters live, but before I save them, I will kill you. For making me fight Midna, for making me lose Riju, for making me nearly bring Hyrule to further darkness in Rauru, for cursing my people, and for the man that once held the name Ganondorf Dragmire before me, I will kill you!"

Ganon chuckled as he rose his torso up. "You haven't felt it yet, have you? The dark power swelling inside you? Your chains have been broken, princeling." Ganon attacked with the pincer again, Ganondorf blocking with his sword. However, unlike last time, Ganondorf wasn't faltering, not as much as he did earlier. His shoulders, formerly wounded, held up stronger than before. With newfound confidence, Ganondorf pushed back the pincer, only for Ganon to continue to laugh. "You have unlocked the power that I brought forth within you. You are now worthy of your name. But let's see if you are truly able to defeat me, Dragmire." Ganon rose up, and with a mighty roar, a red aura surrounded him. It was a similar shielding technique Ganondorf had used before, which meant that as long as the Prince of Evil was surrounded by it, the Prince of Thieves couldn't attack.

Ganondorf, however, was not undeterred.