The Dawn of The Triforce

by jGatzB

This story was written in response to the following prompt on reddit: The most recent incarnations of Link, Zelda and Ganondorf are childhood friends. They travel together on a quest to claim the tri-force. When they succeed Ganondorf becomes Ganon, Link and Zelda deal with the aftermath.

"What would you wish for?" a voice asked from behind him.
Link shuddered and dropped his pots. He had wandered away from his uncle and become mesmerized by a royal inscription. It told the story of the Triforce, a magical artifact capable of granting three wishes. Now, he was standing over a shattered pile of pottery he had brought to sell. He scrambled to pick up the pieces.
"Oh no! I'm so sorry," she apologized, helping him to gather up the mess. "I didn't mean to startle you."
Link looked up for a moment and smiled, embarrassed, but said nothing.
The girl frowned. "My name's Zelda," she introduced herself.
Link flashed another obligatory smile, then took a double-take. He gasped, fell to his knee, and gave his best impromptu bow.
"Oh, come on! There's no need for any of that!" she giggled. There was a long pause. "Aren't you going to say anything?"
"He can't talk!" a crude voice sneered from behind. "Can you, fairy boy?" Two dapper young men entered the courtyard. "Talon, Ingo, what are you two doing here?" Zelda snapped.
"We should be asking you two the same thing," the shorter Talon chortled.
"Especially him," Ingo sneered. "Kokiri trash."
"Can't trust fairy boys," Talon added. "Look, he's already smashing our pots!"
"Worse than Gerudos..." Ingo muttered.
"I DOUBT that," a masculine voice beckoned from a distance. The four of them looked around curiously before finally spotting the source of the voice: a young man, maybe a few years older than them, sitting perched in a second-story window of the castle courtyard, slicing an apple as he spoke. He tossed it aside and dropped down to the ground, his desert garb fluttering in the wind. "Kokiri are timid folk," his voice echoed. "Even if he could speak in his own defense, he probably wouldn't. Too many manners. The Gerudo, on the other hand..." he continued, spinning his dagger in his hand. "...do not tolerate bullies."
The two young nobles shifted uncomfortably. "Courtyard's a little crowded today," Ingo said, excusing himself. "Seems like they let all manner of riff-raff in, these days."
"Seems that way," the Gerudo agreed, watching them go.
Zelda waited for Talon and Ingo to be out of earshot before hugging the boy. "Thank you. You didn't have to do that."
"People should not be allowed to act that way," he said without acknowledging her embrace.
"Still," she admitted. "Thank you, Ganondorf."
Ganondorf winced at the sound of his own name. "Ganon." He corrected her.
She leered at him. "You're still doing this?"
"Gerudo sultans choose their own names" he huffed, knocking her arms away.
"And you are not a sultan. Your father is," she corrected him. She turned to Link. "His father and mine are old friends. Ganondorf, this is..." she paused, realizing she had never gotten the boy's name.
"His name is Link," Ganondorf responded. "He came here with his Uncle to sell pottery."
The two of them stared at Ganondorf in surprise. "How did you know that?" Zelda asked.
Ganondorf motioned behind himself. "Because he's looking for him... and because he was just kicked out."

"What are you wishing for?" Ganondorf asked, sharpening his swords on one another.
Link pondered the thought by the fire, stringing his bow. He thought for a moment and shrugged, then motioned for Zelda to respond instead.
Ganondorf leered at him. "You joined us on this quest and you don't even know what you're going to wish for?" He scoffed. "Fine. I'm taking his wish."
"You will not!" Zelda laughed, closing her spellbook to slap him on the shoulder. "Three wishes, one for each of us. That was the bargain."
"This bargain gets worse every day," he grumbled. "I agreed to kidnap you to get you away from the castle so we could hunt the Triforce together. Now, we're actual fugitives. If we do find it, we'll need those wishes to make this worthwhile, so I ask you, again," he inquired, pointing his sword in her direction. "What are you going to wish for?"
The princess peered at him down his glittering blade, the firelight flickering against its cold surface. "Wisdom," she replied simply.
He paused, his eye twitching. "Wisdom?"
"You expected gold or glory? I'm a princess, remember?"
"No, but I did expect something useful."
She sighed and opened the clasp of her book again, waving her hand across the fluttering pages. "If I want to be a great sage, I have to be wise."
"Why not just wish to be a great sage?" Ganondorf eyeballed her. "I'm not kidding!"
"Fine," she rolled her eyes. "What are you wishing for?"
Ganondorf stared into the fire. "Power."
Link tilted his head curiously. "Power?" Zelda asked.
"Power, plain and simple." Ganon elaborated. "The power to rule, to fix this world."
"And who decides which parts are broken?" she picked on him, narrowing her eyes.
Ganondorf smiled. "That's why I have you two." The band erupted in friendly laughter. After a time, Ganondorf addressed Link again. "I know what you should wish for, my friend." Link looked up curiously, awaiting his response. "Courage," he continued.
Zelda scoffed, almost offended. "Ganondorf! Link's plenty brave!"
Ganondorf kept his gaze locked on Link, who looked back just as intently. "No," he continued. "He's curious. Even now he's just listening to what I have to say, waiting to see where all this leads. Just like with his bow and his arrows. Just like the day we met, with Talon and Ingo."
Link furrowed his brow, almost alarmed at his friend's tone. "Ah," Ganondorf sighed pleasantly. "There it is. There is a fire in you, Link. I know there is. I hope to see it one day, but I fear I never will. Not unless you learn that there is a difference between being fearless and being brave."

"What did you wish for?!" Zelda cried out in fear as the temple began to crumble around them. Two golden triangles still remained, but Ganondorf clutched the third, writhing in pain as his body began to twist and crack. His moaning became loud, booming, inhuman. His skin darkened. His red hair became a mane against his back. Horns sprouted from his head, and his face became like that of a boar.
Finally, his moaning subsided. "YES!" He cried. "I feel it! The power of my ancestors! The power to rule this world!"
"This isn't right!" Zelda called up to him. He towered above her, three times his original size. "I can fix this!" she exclaimed, flipping through her largest tome. "There has to be a way to reverse this!"
"Reverse it? REVERSE IT?" His maniacal laughter billowed through the crumbling chasm. "This is everything I've ever wanted. With this power, I will crush the Zora, the Gorons, the Kokiri!"
"The Kokiri?" Zelda gasped. She turned to Link. He stood at the ready, his bowstring drawn, but uncertain whether he should take aim. The two exchanged horrified glances. Zelda looked up to her friend once more. "This isn't you, Ganondorf!"
The creature took pause at these words, then turned to face her. He lowered his head, narrowing his eyes as he blew hot steam from his nostrils. "My name... is GANON."

Zelda snatched the second floating triangle from the pedestal. It glowed brilliantly in her hands and gave volume to her words. "There is no spell for this, no plan for this. Triforce, I know not what to do. Please, grant me wisdom!"
Like with Ganondorf before her, the Triforce piece merged into her skin, becoming one with her hand. She closed her eyes and felt the magical energies wash over her, permeating her body, penetrating her brain.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes, as if awake for the first time. "I shouldn't have wished for that!"
A crash rocked the temple. With his new-found strength, Ganon smashed through the giant stone door that had taken them hours to pry loose, and lumbered proudly back to the center of the temple.
Zelda turned to Link. "We can't let him make it to the Well of Time."
Link stood with his mouth agape, twisting his face in confusion. "LINK!" she said, shaking him. "Grab your Triforce piece! We have to stop him!"
"The Well of Time..." Ganon remarked, touching the heavy stone seal with his black, calloused claws. "Should I go back to the dawn of Hyrule, and become its king? Or further back, to become its god?"
PLINK! Ganon's delighted snarl twisted into a puzzled scowl. He turned and looked over his shoulder to see Zelda standing in the doorway, and Link standing beside her, drawing another arrow.
Ganon shook his head. "AGAIN with the arrows..."
Zelda frantically gestured with one hand, reading from the open tome held in the other. Link gasped as his arrow began to glow with a golden light. "Try it again!"
"Friends?" Ganon remarked in surprise. "This was the DEAL. Everyone gets one wish, and now you want to interfere with MINE?!"
"Do it." Zelda commanded. Link loosed the second arrow, which squealed like a festival firework. It struck Ganon's chest and exploded, sending him reeling with pain. "Ready another!"
"YOU!" Ganon roared, clutching his bleeding wound with one claw. "I DEFENDED you! I LOVED you! And now you stand in my way?!"
"Don't listen to him," Zelda pleaded, preparing another spell. "He said it himself; he's not our Ganondorf anymore."
"Oh, but you would listen to her, the ETERNAL hypocrite. She has her wish, but she'd deny me of mine. And what of you?"
Link trembled, struggling to keep his bowstring taught, the tip of his arrow glowing like the sun.
Ganon scoffed. "The fire is there, but you still haven't the courage. You'd hand her the reins to your destiny before daring to make a decision of your own."
"Link, please," Zelda begged him. "I know he's our friend, but we can't let him destroy Hyrule. You have to kill him, Link!"
"But I HAD courage, and now I HAVE my fire!" Ganon shouted, stomping in their direction. "And if I must kill you before you kill me, SO BE IT"
Tears streamed down Link's face, his entire body twisted in agony. He couldn't do it.
"Link," Zelda softly pleaded. "You have the Triforce piece. Wish for Courage. I beg you."
Still, Ganon stormed forward, prepared to crush the two where they stood.
Zelda rested her hand on Link's, feeling the power of the Triforce hidden in his gloved hand. "I'll help you. 'Triforce, please grant Link—'"
"TYPICAL!" Ganondorf cried, reeling back his mighty fist.
"NYAAH!" Link shouted, shoving Zelda aside. He saved her from the blow, but took the full force of it. With a single swing, Ganon sent Link reeling, his body bouncing from the ceiling and into an upper balcony.
Ganon shook his head and returned his attention to the well. "We should have never brought him," he asked as he walked away. "But, I suppose if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't even be here."
Zelda choked back tears as she pulled the bowstring tight, struggling to aim and enchant the arrow simultaneously. Years of rigorous study had betrayed her; she wasn't strong enough to draw the bow.
Ganon gripped the seal by the sides and pulled with all of his might, twisting it away with ease. Inside was a swirling torrent of blue water. Reflected within the water were images from their history, each only visible for a moment before being shredded into particles of light. Cautiously, he dipped a talon into the water, then his whole hand. When he pulled it back, it emerged unscathed. He chuckled. "With this body, I will conquer time, itself."

Link awoke and studied his surroundings. His body had somehow lodged itself in an upper alcove of the temple. His bow and arrows lay on the floor far below him, but in his hand, he still clutched the final Triforce piece.
Ganon lurched over the opening, clutching the edges in his claws. He watched moments from his life unfold, spied moments from the lives of others he had known.
"STUPID!" A voice from the well shouted. It seemed vaguely familiar. "Father?"
"WORTHLESS!" This time the sound was accompanied by the whipping of a belt. "No, I recognize that voice."
"FAIRY!" "That's Link's uncle," Ganon remarked, the scene clearly visible now, Link cowering in a corner, covering his mouth.
"Children should be seen and not heard, do you understand?" Link's uncle's words echoed through the chamber, into the ceiling, and into his heart.
"I wish..." Link thought to himself.
"Do you understand?!"
"I wish..." he mumbled.
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"
"AII-YAAAAAH!" The powerful shout came from the ceiling, and from there Link came plummeting down into Ganon's back, landing with a sickening crack.
Ganon roared in pain as blood exploded from his back. He sputtered. He mumbled. Finally, summoning the last of his strength, he spoke. "So, you finally did it?" he sighed, face down, peering into the well. "You wished for Courage?"
"No," an unfamiliar voice responded from above. Ganon's eyes grew wide. "I wished for this."
The weapon twisted in his back and pierced through to his chest. A shimmering masterwork blade erupted forth, glowing with the power of the Triforce. Ganon let loose a mad scream, then, twisting his arm behind him, gripped Link in his black claws, piercing his body with his talons. As Link screamed in agony, Ganon gave his final breath, and allowed himself to fall into the well.
"LINK!" Zelda screamed, running towards the well. She was too late. His body entwined with Ganon's corpse, Link was pulled into the swirling maelstrom. She watched in horror as the two were torn asunder by the ravages of time, their souls scattered to the far reaches of history. She turned away, unable to bear the sight. Then, gathering herself, she returned her gaze to the well.
As history twisted and churned around her, the temple itself was rife with turmoil. The ghosts of sages and soldiers flitted in and out of existence, as the walls tumbled and rebuilt themselves. Still, Zelda clutched the sides of the well, peering from outside time, inward to the annals of history. She searched for Ganon as hard as she could, hoping she might undo whatever he had done, and she found him, again, and again, and again. He had not arrived at one place in time, but at thousands, his soul churned against time like a rock in the ocean. He was never quite the same man, but he was always there, at the turn of every era, waiting for his chance to strike.
And it was there, at those key moments in time, where she found Link. He had been torn apart two, but each one of him existed in solidarity, unified by the same purpose: to find Ganon wherever he lurked and end his evil plans. In that discovery, she found momentary peace.
But then, she watched him fail. She turned to another moment in time, and watched him fail there too. At every encounter, Link was always defeated. Courage was not enough to overcome Power.
He would need Wisdom, too.
Zelda lifted herself up onto the edge of the well and felt all of time crashing in around her. "LINK!" she shouted into the maelstrom, her voice cascading throughout all of time and space.
"FIND ME!"
Zelda leapt into the well as the temple caved in, scattering herself to the wind. The well destroyed and the Triforce missing, the Temple of Time was left in ruin.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" the young girl apologized. "I got carried away with my story and I didn't even properly introduce myself. I am Zelda, Princess of Hyrule. What is your name?"
"Link," the boy responded. "My name is Link." The two paused for a moment, both gripped by the same uncertain feeling. "Link," Zelda repeated. "Strange. It seems somehow... familiar."