Chapter 12

He ran through the darkness as fast as he could, the Master Sword drawn and his trusty Hylian Shield on his right arm. He heard laughing all around him. He skidded to a stop and looked around, trying to find the source. The laughing grew louder, and louder, and louder. Suddenly, the image of Ganson formed in front of him, smirking at him.

"Hello, Brother," he sneered.

"You're not my brother," shouted Link.

"But he is," replied another familiar voice coolly. He turned around to look at the source of the voice behind him and he felt a terrible pain in his chest. He gripped it and collapsed onto his knees, breathing hard. He looked up at Ganson and Ganondorf, who were laughing maniacally down at him, their eyes glowing red. His vision went blurry and laughing grew louder.

He quickly sat up in bed, eyes wide, skin pale, and sweat dripping off his face. He frantically looked around, breathing hard, then finally calmed down after realizing he was in his room in the company of Impa, Zelda, and the king.

"Where are they," Link asked shakily in-between breaths.

"Calm down, my boy," spoke the king. "You had a nightmare."

"Boy, did I ever..."

"Are you okay," asked the princess worriedly. Link frowned, looking down at his hands clutching his bed sheets tightly.

"No...No, I'm not okay...Ganondorf's free because of me, I just found out that Ganson's my brother, how can I be okay after knowing all of that!?"

"Link, calm down. None of this is your fault. You're being too hard on yourself," replied Impa, trying to calm her friend.

"I...men aren't supposed to cry...heroes shouldn't be scared..." The king scooted over to Link and pulled him into a hug, letting the boy cry into his robe, rocking him back and forth gently like he would his child, frowning, watching him cry many years of unshed tears.

"Men do cry, Link, and even though you have the Triforce of Courage, that doesn't mean you have to be fearless of everything," explained the king soothingly. "We know how you must feel."

"And the king's right. Men do cry. And they don't faint, they pass out," stated Impa. The king gave Impa a dirty look, but his look softened once he realized she was trying to cheer Link up.

"Everything's going to be okay, don't worry. We're here for you."

"You're not alone, Link," stated Zelda comfortingly, trying to hide back tears of her own. Tears for her friend.

Chapter 13

The next few days were hard on everyone in the castle. The guards were training hard, preparing for any and all attacks on the castle. Impa guided their practices while Sheik resided with her, supervising. Impa also comforted the "sheikah" whenever she needed to. Sheik desperately wanted to be with Link to help cheer him up, but his place was with Impa and the troops at the moment.

Link was having a hard time coping with the fact that he had an evil older half brother. The king stayed with him constantly to offer guidance and a shoulder to cry on if needed. Link was like the son he never had to him, and he felt it was his duty not just as a king, but as a "father" to be there for him. Despite Link's depression, he continued to train to help get rid of Ganondorf once and for all. The king watched him train in the courtyard one day.

"You're doing quite well, Link," stated the King. Link wiped some sweat off his forehead with the back of his gloved hand and looked at the king.

"Thank you," exhaled Link, short of breath. After taking a water break, the king drew a sword of his own.

"Care to spar?" Link looked at him in disbelief. "What's the matter, boy?"

"I can't fight you, Your Majesty. What if you get hurt?"

"Never you mind about that."

"Well, okay..." Link got into a ready stance as did the king. The two charged at each other and clashed swords. They jabbed, slashed, swung, jumped, lunged, parried, and dodged each other quickly. Link was amazed at how well the old king fought.

"Pay attention to the fight! Ignore everything else around you! Focus on your opponent!"

"You think I don't know that already!?" The fight continued on for a few more minutes until the king knocked the Master Sword out of Link's hand, pointing his sword at the surprised Link. The king then lowered his sword and sheathed it, signaling that the fight was over. Link walked over to his fallen sword, picked it up, and sheathed it.

"Your thoughts distracted you from the fight," explained the king calmly.

"I just...I just can't stop thinking about Ganson," sighed Link, lowering his head sadly. The king walked over to him and placed his hands on Link's shoulders.

"Look at me, boy." Link looked up at the king with watery eyes. "Ganson is your brother. You can't change that. And you are not your brother. You are Link. You are the Hero of Time. You are the bearer of the Triforce of Courage. Nothing anyone says or does to you can change that."

"I know..."

"I can't expect you to kill your brother. That would be too much for you. Try to find a way to persuade him to join our side.

"But how?"

"That I can't tell you. You must find that out on your own." Link frowned, lowered his eyes in thought, then looked at the king again with a determined look.

"I'll find a way. You can count on it."

Chapter 14

Link set off early the next morning in brighter spirits. He was going to find his brother, and he was going to try and convince him to join the good guys. He asked around for any clues as to where he might have been, but no luck. He was walking around Hyrule Field when dark clouds started forming. Link looked up at the sky and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"It's him," Link thought. At that moment lightning struck the ground a couple yards away from him, causing Link to shield his eyes from the brightness. When he unshielded them, there stood Ganson, scowling at him. His scowl soon turned into an evil smirk.

"So, come to surrender yourself, Hero," sneered Ganson.

"I need to ask you something, and it's very important."

"What is it, Blondie?" Link ignored the insult and continued.

"What was the name of your mother?" Ganson blinked.

"What kind of question is that?"

"Just answer it."

"Brenda Hyla. What's it to you? Your mother was probably a twig or something, having grown up in the Kokiri Forest. Or even a speck of dirt."

"My mother was Brenda Hyla." Ganson's eyes widened. He then backhanded Link roughly, causing Link to stagger a bit. Link then looked at Ganson evenly, seemingly unphased by the slap.

"You lie! You are the enemy! You can't be my brother!"

"I didn't want to believe it either at first, Ganson, but it's true. You're my older brother. Our mother never wanted anything to do with Ganondorf." Ganson's eyes started to water a bit.

"You mean my father....He--" Link cut him off and just nodded, knowing what he was going to say. Ganson felt warm tears streaming down his face, then looked Link over. He had the same eyes as him, as their mother, only Ganson's eyes were hazel. Their skin was the same light color, but not pale. Their ears were the same, except Link had small, silver hoops in them. Even their noses were the same. He took a few more steps towards Link, then hugged him and buried his face into his shoulder, sobbing. Link hugged back as well, feeling tears form in his eyes again. "Brother! Little brother! I never thought I'd see you again!"

"See me again? What do you mean?" Ganson held Link out at arm's length and looked down at him. He opened his mouth to say something, but then it started pouring rain again. They then heard hoof steps, then saw a black horse riding towards them. On that horse was none other than Ganondorf. He stopped at the brothers and looked down at them, grinning.

"Well done, my son," started Ganondorf. "You found our enemy." Ganson stepped in front of Link as if he were protecting him, then glared at Ganondorf.

"You're the enemy, Father! How could you do what you did to our mother!?"

"It's simple: I needed an heir."

"You monster!" Ganson then fired a dark blast at Ganondorf. The Gerudo simply raised his hand to block it, then fired a powerful blast at Ganson, sending him flying back, crying out in pain. Link quickly rushed over to Ganson to make sure that he was okay and helped him stand, Ganson leaning on Link for support, wincing.

"Be grateful I didn't kill you, boy. Now step aside or you'll share the same fate as the Hero of Time."

"I won't let you kill my brother!" Ganondorf's eyes widened slightly in surprise. His offspring was related to his arch nemesis!? Before he could say anything else, multiple throwing needles were thrown at him and his horse. He looked off in the distance and saw Sheik and Impa standing there. He then turned his horse around and galloped off.

"You haven't seen the last of me!!" Impa and Sheik quickly rushed over to Link and Ganson.

"Are you all right," asked Sheik worriedly. Link nodded, then quickly caught Ganson as he collapsed.

"Ganson!" Link cried out.

"We need to get him to the infirmary at the castle," stated Impa. Link nodded, scooped Ganson into his arms, then the three quickly ran to the castle as the rain grew harder.