2. Power Awoken

As Ganondorf watched his brother impaled and sent flying time seemed to slow down to an agonizing halt, before him his brother had only flown a few feet through the air but he could see the hole sliced through his tunic and even where the chain-mail had been cleaved as blood hung in the air trailing back to the spear carried by the imposing monster. All traces of mirth drained from the Gerudo as he felt his body begin to seethe with rage, the very air around him like flames as his golden gaze locked onto the monster and he readied his blades. Every inch of him felt weightless as Ganondorf charged against the beast slamming his shoulder into it from the side sending it sprawling into the water just as he heard his brother hit the shore.

"I'll tear you to shreds you disgusting monster!" Ganondorf roared as the monster clambered back to a standing position to face down the red-headed warrior though it faltered briefly as if it recognized him. Taking the opening, Ganondorf surged in driving his blades down in a powerful slash but the beast's reflexes proved slightly better as it managed to roll away with only a gash in its upper arm. While the pan seared through its body the monster no longer seemed to hesitate and brought it's spear level at its side once more before roaring with enough force for the water to be pushed away and charged Ganondorf again.

Smart would never be a word anyone would use to describe Ganondorf, but deft was. Staring down the beast as it came closer he could see the blood from the wound Link inflicted finally reach the monster's eye making it wince and lose focus for the briefest moment allowing Ganondorf to shift his posture bringing one foot back enough to where the spear would miss him by an inch as it came and he used both hands to grasp the handle of his massive blade. When the beast was close enough Ganondorf crouched down and just as the spear would narrowly miss his face he lunged forward driving his blade point first up through the soft fleshy part beneath it's maw with enough force to lift both fighters from the ground. With a final powerful drive he slammed the blade into the earth beneath the river hearing the cracking sound as the monster's skull was shattered from the force of the Gerudo's deadly attack.

Once the water had turned black and brackish Ganondorf would stand, his long red hair wet with blood and water clinging to his shoulders before everything came back to him shocking his eyes wide as he began to frantically look around for Link quickly finding the blood stained green body at the edge of the water. Moving like he ran on stone rather than through water he swiftly reached his brother tearing off his own undershirt bunching it up against the wound to staunch the bleeding before he lifted Link into his arms without missing a beat as he swiftly moved through the forest using his bulk rather than the agility Link possessed to tear through the foliage keeping his brother safe.

"Don't you dare die on me Link!" Ganondorf cursed himself for the injury while his eyes were fixed ahead without noticing the golden glow that bloomed on the back of his right hand briefly before fading away. Almost instantly he could see the smoke climbing in the sky from Kokiri village urging and pushing his body harder, Ganondorf slammed through the last few saplings that stood in his way skidding along the flat ground and pausing just long enough to get his bearings from emerging from the forest. The surrounding villagers who had been going along their days all froze at his sudden appearance before a young woman screamed.

"Link!?" One woman cried.

"Oh Goddess help us..." Another gasped covering her mouth.

"Ganondorf what happened out there!?" An older farmer yelled dropping his bag of onions.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP AND GET ME THE DOCTOR!" His voice carried reverberating through the village silencing most and sending a few children scurrying to safety scared of the hulking teen. The uproar hadn't gone unnoticed by anyone in the village bringing out everyone from their homes and as large and imposing as Ganondorf was, clad in armor and powerful enough to rip trees from the earth, the sound of his mother's voice catching in her throat broke his heart and the rage left him sapping his strength as he turned to see the woman in tears and covering her mouth.

"L-Link... My son..." As if time itself had stopped, the village had become dead silent as she ran to her sons holding Link's face looking him over as her hand grabbed the bundle of cloth Ganondorf had fashioned into wrap to slow his bleeding keeping the pressure on it as the village doctor finally reached them as if appearing out of nowhere. Sound came to him muffled and distant merely following the doctor's motions as he followed him to his house and laid him on the bed before slowly stepping back.

The doctor worked fast moving the cloth away from the wound and lifting up Link's tunic and chain-mail so he would operate on the wound splashing it with a clear liquid that quickly became apparent was alcohol as the smell assaulted Ganondorf's nose bringing him out of the weakened daze but also stirring his stomach making him run outside before he fell to the ground heaving and wrenching as his stomach voided its contents into the grass. As he coughed from the bitter taste, tears filled the edges of his vision, slowly leaning back into a sitting position his golden eyes stared at the sky sending a silent prayer to the Goddesses. 'Farore, Din, Nayru... Please save my brother...'

Time seemed to stretch on forever as he waited to hear from the doctor, the clouds shifted and churned in the skies above and the color slowly shifted from blue to orange when the door finally opened making him rise to his feet catching his mother as she hugged him tightly shaking. Ganondorf feared the worst but as the doctor emerged he gave him a nod as he himself finally had a chance to get a breath of air.

"He'll live and it's thanks to you boy, if you had been minutes later he would've bled out. However the wound seemed to slice through him without missing any organs and that in itself is a miracle." With a deep breath the doctor would fish out a pipe from his coat before placing the end in his mouth and striking it a blaze to light the pipe. After a few deep drags and once his mother had calmed down enough to clasp her hands together to offer her prayers and thanks to the Goddesses a few of the men of the village usually charged with protecting the village from the rogue goblin that would attempt to attack the village came over. Their gazes would move over each of them from Ganondorf to his mother and finally the doctor before their leader, Sorin spoke up.

"I offer my prayers and apologies for young Link, Malona" While he spoke soft and earnest her son held her defensively as she wiped her tears and offered him a pained smile. Sorin's watchmen Garin and Ryu would nod their heads to her and Ganondorf before Sorin looked to the Gerudo.

"I trust from your reactions he will pull through, will you tell me what happened?" Sorin asked politely while Ganondorf's golden eyes glanced down at his mother before letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding and looking up to meet the guardian's.

"We had found and were tracking a large set of prints toward the river but when we reached it we were ambushed by the monster that had made them." He recounted the events just as he remembered them happening from his perspective closing his eyes to better immerse himself. "It was massive, bigger than me and some strange mix of a goat, man, and boar, it used a spear appropriate for it's size."

"A Moblin..." Sorin muttered as all of them stared at Ganondorf like he had just told them about seeing a demon. "Please continue..."

"It tried to charge us right from the beginning but Link could feel it coming and told me to move out of the way just as he jumped aside. After the beast was in the clear we could see it fully while it stood in the river, I ran in to attack it and Link had shot an arrow into it's face just above it's eye giving me an opening to slam both of my swords into its chest... We- I thought we had killed it, but the next thing I knew Link had shoved me back just in time to avoid being impaled on the monster's pike... He took the blow in my place... His condition is my fault..." The words seemed to choke Ganondorf's throat as he stared at the earth at his feet feeling a soul sucking weight deep in his chest, he was the big brother, the older, it was his responsibility to protect Link, just like when the bear tried to attack him.

"No." A single quiet but strong word punctured the silence drawing the Gerudo's eyes to his mother as she glared at him with fresh tears around her bright blue eyes. "He's your brother too, you know that he would be just as mad if he saw you blaming yourself for what happened."

"Your mother's right Gan, I taught Link how to use his bow and when I asked him why he truly wanted to learn how to be an archer he told me it was so that he could protect his family if he ever needed to." Sorin placed his hands on both Ganondorf and Malona's shoulders his striking eyes moving from her to him filled with conviction only a former High Knight of Hyrule could have. "Within that slacker lays more resolve than most of the knights I served with, not protecting you is against his being."

"I... I can't help it..." The red-headed teen said softly feeling comforted by both of them knowing just how much potential laid in his younger brother.

"It's of no consequence now, I trust that the monster was slain at your hand after harming your kin," This time the doctor spoke up watching the event from his door while taking slow long drags off his pipe. "Young Link will recover so don't beat yourself up, if it'll make you feel better stay the night at his bedside."

"Thank you... Yeah I'll stay with him." Ganondorf would nod to the physician before the older man went back into his home leaving the door open so he could follow. As his eyes then moved to his mother she would smile and hug him tightly.

"I'm proud of both of you Ganondorf, there's nothing more I could ask for than for you and Link to form this kind of bond despite everything." The Gerudo knew she meant the fact that none of them were related by blood but they knew it wasn't blood that made a family. After a quick peck on his cheek she would step away before beginning to head towards their home though Sorin caught her hand stopping her.

"I would like to walk you home Malona due to recent events, afterwards I'll recover your weapons and the body of the monster if that is alright with you Ganondorf." The man asked his eyes level with the red-head as he asked his permission as a gentleman would, to which he could only simply nod, Sorin was a good man that he knew and even if he was protective of his mother, Sorin wasn't a man she needed protecting from, with a noble bow to the golden-eyed teen he would move to his mother's side to walk her home while Garin and Ryu each returned to their homes.

After another moment Ganondorf would look into the doctor's home as the gold and orange shafts of light born of the twilight hour pierced the skies staining everything with color, though in this moment the outline of a woman could be seen standing over Link touching his face. A weight fell in his stomach as he rushed inside toward the woman reaching out to grab her but she vanished in the same instant she had appeared forcing the Gerudo to blink his eyes and look around for her. Though when all he found was the doctor round the corner with a bowl of soup and a blanket he let his tension fade from his form humbly accepting the meal and placing the folded blanket in his lap as he sat beside Link's bed.

"Ordon cheese and pumpkin soup, very creamy and healthy, it's a shame I don't have any salmon." The doctor commented before returning to his kitchen allowing Ganondorf to have some time to himself and a chance to eat. After a short while had passed, the teen had finished the bowl and it was immediately traded out with a full bowl courtesy of the doctor mumbling something about growing boys. The older man brought a smile to his lips feeling embraced by the people he had grown up around. After finishing the second bowl he rose to his feet and went to the kitchen where the doctor had fallen asleep at the table after finishing his food, realizing that Link was probably in his only bed Ganondorf draped the blanket he was given over the man before washing out the bowls in the sink of warm water and setting them on a drying rack, doing at least that much after everything the doctor had done. Although as he finished he heard the front door creak and quickly moved back to Link's bed where he could see the door as Sorin closed it behind him.

"Easy, returning your gear champ," With night having fallen Sorin was clad in leathers and mail giving him protection and mobility for whatever he may have found in the forest. As he rested Ganondorf's dual swords and Link's bow against the wall he also set down what looked like a wrapped package beside them. Eyeing the package for a second Ganondorf would then look up to meet the man's own gaze nodding in thanks for returning with his weaponry though the package still confused him. "We also need to talk, the body was gone when I got there."

"How is that possible... I left one of my blades in its head!" The teen growled but quickly caught himself not wanting to wake either his brother or the doctor, Sorin with a quiet gesture lead him outside into the cool night air, orange light from torches illuminating parts of the village.

"Don't worry that isn't the most troubling thing to worry about." With a deep sigh Sorin would shake his head before finally meeting the Gerudo's eyes once more. "In Hyrule we have a legend passed down from generation to generation of an evil destined to return until the end of time trying to rule the world and cover it in darkness. The minions of that evil disappear in a burst of darkness as their bodies destabilize."

"That can't be true though, you just said it was a legend." Ganondorf responded not believing him, the mere concept that an ancient evil could return to wreak havoc or even minions of darkness that were capable of dieing and not leaving a corpse.

"I know it sounds like a bad fairy tale to keep children in line, but the story of the Stalfos are true as well." Sorin hadn't expected the teen to just smile and accept the story especially after facing down a Moblin. "I believe the king needs to be notified of this I would go myself but I think it's best if I stay in case of another attack like this happens again, I'd like to ask you to go in my place with a letter of reference from me."

The news of a dark legend coming to light and now being asked to go to the king and warn him about these things happening made his thoughts swim before he finally shook his head. "I can't... Link is still out cold and I have to be here for my mother."

"Your determination is commendable Ganondorf," Sorin smiled genuinely and placed his hand on the teen's shoulder. "I hope you understand I wouldn't ask this of you if I could go without worrying about our home."

"I... Okay... I'll go for you." With a heaving breath Ganondorf conceded to the former knight knowing that his logic was sound in duty.

"Thank you, I'll have the letter ready by morning, and your request will be free of charge." Sorin smiled as he patted the Gerudo's shoulder confusing him for a moment before he remembered what he spoke of. Sorin was also the village blacksmith and Ganondorf had placed an order to have a sword and shield made for Link a short time ago.

"Oh, right. Thank you Sorin, When do you expect to be finished?" After remembering the order, he was curious of how Sorin had progressed with it since then.

"Already finished, it's in the package inside ready for your brother to open." The blacksmith grinned openly as the news shocked the teen, the order had only been placed a week ago and he figured with how much work Sorin did it would've taken him at least a month to complete it.

"That's amazing, thank you for your work. I suppose I'll be ready to head out in the morning." Ganondorf responded with a smile placing his hand on the smith's shoulder in thanks before turning to go back inside as Sorin returned to his own home. Once he had returned to his place beside Link his eyes fell to the bandaging that was wrapped around his wound and all of his thoughts began to blend together. Dark legends, minions, a conquering evil, what did it mean for the kingdom, what did it mean for Link and himself, the more he thought about it the more tired he became until he finally slipped into sleep surrendering his mind to the realm of dreams.

~X~

The sound of music was the first thing that came to him in his dreams, a slow almost sinister melody that become ever clearer the more it played until the sound boomed against him as if he was playing an organ. Second his touch came back feeling his hands dancing across keys, the feeling made it obvious that he was playing but it wasn't consciously. Lastly his sight came back showing him a grand ornate golden organ before him but the sound of a door opening made his hands stop as he slowly turned to see a man clad in green before the image flashed away.

When the white began to fade he could start making out shapes and color, a small creature like an imp floating before him with black and pale blue skin. Black shards of stone floated around it before locking onto the imp creating a surge of black, blue, and gold energy flood forth becoming a multi-armed beast that charged at him with an intent to kill and a wicked trident to do the job.

~X~

The end of Ganondorf's dream made him jump up ready to fight but there was nothing in the doctor's home that threatened, even his brother laid asleep beside him snoring like Kakarikan Boar. With a soft sigh he would sit back down rubbing his face as the sudden wake up left him still partially asleep. After a brief respite to collect his thoughts, Ganondorf rose to his feet again before collecting and sheathing his swords feeling the weight he had forgotten in that battle. His eyes then fell back to his brother and he couldn't help but smile soft before exiting the building to go gear up a horse from the stables. One in particular always stood out to him, a large black stallion easily capable of carrying him without losing it's speed. As he led the massive creature toward the road leading to Ordon he saw Sorin waiting at the gate for him with a letter pouch.

"I see you're ready for the trek, is there anything you want me to tell your mother or Link?" The smith slipped the pouch off and over Ganondorf before stroking the mane of the large steed he had chosen.

"Keep it simple, say I went to look for a salve to help him heal him." The teen replied making sure the pouch was secure before lifting himself onto the stallion's back.

"Understood, I hope to see your return soon Ganondorf, keep yourself safe." The Gerudo would nod to the man and take one last look over his village hoping for the best before turning toward the road and digging the spurs into the sides of the horse urging it to head off in a dash disappearing into the forest as the light of dawn began to break over the village.

However one shadow in particular, wore a Cheshire grin...