Before Zelda could start heading down the dirt path into the city centre, Link said, "Wait." She stopped and turned.

He was looking at Ganondorf, frowning. "Won't you stand out too much?"

Ganondorf looked at him from head to foot, looking at his green tunic, eyes lingering on the floppy hat atop his head. Then he turned his eyes to Zelda, taking in her expensive, flowing purple dress, and crossed his arms. "And you two won't?"

"No, he's right," Zelda said. "You said there is only one male Gerudo every hundred years, and he is King. That will stand out more than strange clothing." She studied him; he was wearing his usual armor, covering him in black and gold. "Most of your skin is covered," she added thoughtfully. "You might be mistaken for a tall Hylian, were it not for your face."

"I seem to remember you telling me I look nothing like a Hylian," he grumbled, then sighed. "I suppose you have a point." He thought for a moment, and then, reluctantly, said, "There used to be a shop selling masks in the square with the fountain. Perhaps one of you could –"

"I'll go," Link said quickly, and began walking towards Castle Town. Zelda and Ganondorf stared at his retreating back.

"He volunteered very quickly," Ganondorf said, eyes narrowed.

"He was probably worried about me going," Zelda replied. "Or he did not want to be alone with you." She thought it was more likely the second one.

The two of them wandered back into the temple. Zelda walked around the hall, admiring the intricate designs carved into the walls.

"It's a shame this place has fallen to ruin," she said after some time, running her hand along the stone, tracing the shapes.

"It is exactly how I remember it. It is impressive; I was always surprised that no one ever seemed to come here. Although," he added, and she could hear the pride in his voice, "This is nothing compared to the Desert Colossus. It is too bad we did not get to go inside so you could see it."

"Perhaps we can go back, once this is all over." She kept her voice even, not wanting to betray how much the idea appealed to her. They had never spoken of what would happen after.

All he replied was, "Perhaps," and when she glanced at him, he was not looking at her. Instead, he had his head turned towards the entrance. His eyes widened a fraction. Then he lunged for Zelda, pulling her back against his body and trapping her with an arm across her ribs. He dragged them against the temple wall.

"What are you –" She was cut off by Ganondorf's hand covering her mouth. He hushed her, then murmured something in Gerudo. She felt the sting of magic, and a moment later heard footsteps.

She was glad then that he was covering her mouth, for she was sure she would have gasped audibly. A man had entered the Temple of Time. His armor was brown rather than black, and his cape was a blood red. His rusty hair was cut short to his head, and his face was clean shaven, making him look younger. Despite this, he was unmistakably Ganondorf.

The arm around Zelda tightened as this new Ganondorf entered the Temple. He glanced around when he entered, but his eyes easily slid over them, unseeing. Ganondorf's magic had rendered them invisible.

The younger Ganondorf strode into the temple, his head held high. He stopped when he reached the altar, and ran his hands over it, studying it intently. He seemed especially interested in the indentations there. Eventually he stepped away, and turned his attention to the door through which the Master Sword was resting in its pedestal. Zelda felt Ganondorf – her Ganondorf – stiffen against her back. His hand was still covering her mouth.

The other Ganondorf was now at the Door of Time, pressing his hands against it. He murmured something to himself, and his hands started to glow purple with dark magic. He directed this into the door, but the instant the magic touched the stone, it fizzled out to nothing. When he turned away from the door, his eyes were dark with frustration. It was an expression Zelda had become very familiar with.

He strode around the temple, stopping occasionally to examine something on the walls or floor. He paid particular attention to the pedestal with the Triforce marking, and tried again to infuse it with magic, but again nothing happened. He scowled and returned to prowling the temple. He continued his examination of the temple, this time of the wall against which Zelda and Ganondorf were hiding. He was coming uncomfortably close to them, but she feared if they moved away, he would hear it.

He stepped closer, to look at an engraving on the wall, but stilled. He raised his head and turned it towards Zelda. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. He took another step towards them, and Zelda's heart pounded. It was like he was looking directly at her.

The spell was broken by the sound of another person entering the temple. Ganondorf spun to look at the newcomer: a Gerudo woman with her hair tied in a high ponytail. She wore pink gloves and baggy silk pants which were tied at the ankle.

"Sorry for the interruption, my King," she said. "The King of Hyrule would like to meet with you now."

"Ah, thank you, Nabooru," Ganondorf said. "Let us go at once." He began walking to the exit, and Zelda felt as though she could breathe again.

"Are you becoming religious, my King?" Nabooru asked with a teasing smile as he approached.

He chuckled, linked her arm in his, and the two exited the temple.

Zelda felt her Ganondorf let out a long breath as the magic hiding them dissipated.

"That was very strange," he said after a moment.

Zelda pulled his hand down from her mouth. "What would he have done?" she breathed. "If he had found us."

"He – I – would probably have assumed it to be some trick of Hyrule's and killed me immediately."

Zelda shuddered. In an attempt to light the mood, she said, "You look better with a beard."

"Do I, now?"

"Oh yes. You're much scarier looki –" She was cut off by his hand returning to her mouth, and she giggled into his palm.

"Careful," he said sternly, but she could feel his laugh against her back. After a moment, she tugged herself away from him and he let her go.

She turned her gaze to the Door of Time. "What was he – or you, I suppose – doing?"

Any traces of amusement faded from his voice as he replied. "I was looking for a way to open that door. To reach the Master Sword, and with it the Sacred Realm. So that I could get to the Triforce." He looked towards the temple's entrance, a solemn expression on his face. "Nabooru must not yet have realized the lengths I would go to get it, if she is still friendly with me."

She felt an uncomfortable squeezing in her chest; from the glimpse she had of the Gerudo woman, Nabooru had been very beautiful. She remembered Ganondorf calling her formidable when he had described her before. You will not be jealous of a woman who has been dead for centuries, she told herself harshly, and instead, asked: "And to what lengths did you go? Any records I have read don't go into any detail." She glanced at him; he was determinedly looking away from her. He wandered to the center of the temple, where the altar stood.

She thought he was not going to answer, but then he said, "I learned later that to open The Door of Time, three pendants were required." He gestured at the indentations in the altar. "Spiritual Stones, they were called. The King of Hyrule entrusted them to his closest allies: the Gorons, the Zora and the Kokiri – forest spirits that took the form of young children," he clarified for her. "I needed to get the stones from them, but they were too heavily guarded to steal. So I… threatened them." A shadow seemed to cross his face. He still refused to look at her.

"The Zora used to worship a deity, a whale called Jabu-Jabu. I infected it with a parasite. The Gorons, I sealed the entrance to their food supply. And the Kokiri… I cursed their guardian The Deku Tree. After they arrested me, they told me that I killed him."

"Was that your intention?" Zelda asked.

"My intention was that he would give in and tell me where the stone was," he said with a humourless chuckle. "But I knew that it would kill him if left uncured, yes." When she did not speak, he finally turned back to her. "So, Zelda? That is the type of man I am. Does this scare you?"

She stared at his face. Did this change anything? Through Zant, he had already been responsible for the deaths of several. What did it matter if he had also killed with his own hands? Despite this, he had agreed to help her, and since his defeat at the hands of Link, had done nothing she would consider reprehensible. Perhaps she was naïve, but she had always liked the idea that people could change, and had seen it firsthand in Midna. And if the things he had told her previously about his past had been true, she was beginning to suspect that his dislike of the old king may have not been as entirely unfounded as her history books made it sound.

"I already know who you are," she said. "And I have not been afraid of you for some time."

He was spared answering by the reappearance of Link. He had in his arms multiple masks, and on his head, over his hat, he wore a pair of bunny ears.

"What is that?" Zelda asked incredulously.

"The man running the mask shop told me they would make me run faster," Link said, grinning. "But I think I got scammed." His smile faded. "He was creepy, Zelda – I think he knew I'm not supposed to be here."

"How could you tell?"

"I don't know – just the way he looked at me." He grimaced, then shook it off. "Anyway, here's one option." He held out a mask to Ganondorf with a snicker.

The mask was the face of a woman, with tan skin, red hair, and a rather prominent nose. Ganondorf took one look at it and snapped it in half.

"That cost me 30 rupees!" Link protested.

"That was a mockery," Ganondorf spat. He threw the broken mask to the ground. "Sometimes I really cannot stand Hylians."

"Alright, fine," Link said, handing over the other two masks he had with him. One was in the shape of a monstrous face, with brown wooden skin and a gaping circular hole for a mouth – a ReDead, perhaps? The other was –

"Keaton!" Zelda exclaimed. The mask was the face of a mouse-like animal, yellow with long ears tinged with black at the tips. She thought it was very cute.

"What?" said Link.

She flushed. "A character from books my father used to read to me as a child. I did not realize it was this old."

Ganondorf eyed the mask skeptically, then raised it to his face.

Zelda's lips twitched. "Well, it certainly fits your evil king image. And it covers your face."

"I feel like a fool," he said morosely.

She took the monster mask from him and put it on her own face. "There," she said. "Perhaps people will think we are going to masquerade."

He shook his head. "We had better not run into myself again; I could not take the embarrassment."

"What's that?" Link said sharply.

"Ganondorf's old self stopped by while you were gone – he did not see us," she clarified, for Link's eyes had become very wide.

"We need to find what we came for and get out of here," he said, and the three of them stepped out the temple and began walking the path to Castle Town.


The Castle Town of the past was a lot like Zelda's Castle Town, only smaller and cleaner. The city center was centered around a large fountain which was flowing invitingly. All manners of shops surrounded the street, including a building with a massive theater mask over its front door, stating Happy Mask Shop. People of all ages were in the bustling city center – a young girl was chasing a cucco down the street; a heavyset woman in a fancy gown was walking her yapping terrier dog; a young couple was slow dancing in the streets, murmuring sweet nothings in each other's ears. The woman gave the three of them a dirty look as they passed.

"Pay them no mind, my darling," the man whispered to her. "Probably just employees of that tacky mask shop."

Zelda gave them a smile before remembering they could not see her under her mask.

They wandered around the town a bit aimlessly. They should have made a concrete plan before coming here, Zelda thought, but the fact that they had been able to come here in the first place was still a shock to her. Occasionally Ganondorf would stop to look at something, shaking his head. "Just how I remember," he'd murmur.

"Should we try talking to someone?" Link asked, after they walked through another alleyway.

Despite the fact that had been their original intention, the thought of talking to people in the past worried her. What if somehow, talking to a stranger here somehow affected things in the present? Paranoia, she chastised herself.

"Yes, alright," she said in response to Link's question.

They made their way back to the main square by the fountain, deciding talking to people lurking in dark alleyways would not be wise. Zelda approached the woman with the terrier dog they had seen earlier, and tried to strike up a conversation. First, the woman claimed she had no interest in masks and to told Zelda harshly to go advertise somewhere else. When Zelda removed her mask and asked if she knew anything about a Demon King, the woman's face scrunched in confusion, and said she had no idea what that meant. The next four encounters went in a similar way.

"Anything?" she murmured to Link, who had also been trying to question people. Ganondorf had refrained, not wanted to draw unwanted attention to himself, especially with his old self being in the city. The last thing they needed was for the old Ganondorf to hear that there was an abnormally tall, red haired man in the city asking odd questions about witches and demons.

Link shook his head.

"Maybe the Demon King is not real after all," she said. "Or we have not gone back far enough – everyone has forgotten."

"If you wish to know about old legends, you should speak to the Great Fairy."

Zelda spun around. A man was standing behind them, watching with interest. He was old and stooped over, with long grey hair and a thick mustache. He wore a deep blue robe, and a matching cap on his head.

"Were you eavesdropping?" Ganondorf hissed. Zelda touched his arm, stilling him.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"They say that somewhere near the castle, there lives a beautiful fairy," the man said. His voice was low and raspy with age. "She is said to be exceptionally wise."

She glanced at her companions. Ganondorf's face was covered by his Keaton mask, but Link looked to her and shrugged. Not like we have any better options, he seemed to say.

She thanked the man and the three walked through the square towards Hyrule Castle.

"Do you know anything about the Great Fairy?" Zelda asked Ganondorf. He shook his head.

"I met a Great Fairy in the desert," Link said wistfully.

Zelda opened her mouth to ask about him for details, but was distracted by a voice. Princess Zelda… She stopped abruptly, looking around.

"Did you hear that?"

Link frowned, confused.

Blood of Hylia… Come to me…

"I hear a voice," she breathed. She continued to walk down the path to the Castle, and it seemed to get louder. The voice was female, and repeated the same words again and again. Princess Zelda, Blood of Hylia. Come to me.

As they approached the Castle, they came across an iron gate blocking the path. It was attached to a small building which appeared to lead to the other side, but a bored guard stood blocking the door. The pathway was cut through a hill, giving the impression of walls of dirt on either side.

"We need to go through," Zelda murmured. "The voice is coming from there."

Link gave her a concerned look. Ganondorf was also turned towards her; she wished she could see his face.

The guard had noticed them watching the gate and gave them a stern look, tapping his spear against the ground. They quickly turn back around the corner to hide from his view.

"We could try distracting the guard," Link considered. "But that door might be locked anyway." He tilted his head, thinking. Ganondorf crossed his arms. He had pulled the mask from his face now that they were no longer in public view.

Blood of Hylia. Come to me.

"Give me your hands," she said suddenly. Link blinked in confusion, but Ganondorf narrowed his eyes at her, understanding immediately.

"I know where the voice is coming from," she said. "That's where we need to go – I can bring us there." She did not know how, but she was certain. To find the source of the voice was to find answers.

Ganondorf gave her a wary look, but he took her by the right hand – her Triforce pulsed when he touched her. Link shrugged and grabbed her other hand. She concentrated on the voice in her head and warped.

They landed gently on a dirt path which, Zelda saw when she raised her head, was in castle grounds, past the gate. She saw another guard patrolling and tugged her companions down the path, past a sign stating Dead End, to get out of view. True to the sign's label, the path petered out, ending with a large boulder that leaned against the hillside. She stared at it, her heart beating quickly.

Come to me.

"Through there," she whispered.

"The boulder?" Link frowned.

She nodded.

He looked at her skeptically. "I could bomb it, I guess."

"Too much noise," Ganondorf said. He raised a hand, purple magic spilling from him. It pooled around the boulder, and pulled it silently away from the wall. Behind it there was an opening, and though where it led was cloaked in darkness, Zelda thought she could see the flickering of pink lights from within – fairies. The voice had stopped. She entered.


The pathway opened into a room, carved from the hillside, containing a beautiful fountain surrounded by little fairies, dancing in the dim light. Some of them flitted their way around Zelda, filling her with a sense of calm and peace. At the foot of the fountain was a Triforce engraved into the stone floor. As soon as she approached it, there was a flash of light and a woman emerged from the fountain and floated into the air above them.

She was massive, taller even then Ganondorf. She wore nothing except for vines which twisted around her body, doing little to cover her full figure. Her hair was a bright pink and floated magically in its tails away from her head.

This is the Great Fairy? Zelda may have laughed in astonishment were it not for the words the woman spoke.

"Hello, Children of Destiny." Her voice had a musical, twinkling quality to it, and had a calming effect on Zelda similar to the smaller fairies. "Blood of the Goddess," she said, inclining her head to Zelda. "Hero chosen by the Gods." She nodded now to Link, who hastily removed the bunny ears from his head. She turned her gaze to Ganondorf, who was looking at her in disdain. "And you, King of Evil." She cocked her head. "Or perhaps, Demon King Reborn." He started, eyes widening. The Great Fairy straightened, peering down at the three of them. "You should not be here, children. It is unwise to play with time."

Zelda lowered her head. "Please, Great Fairy, we came to ask for your guidance. We are seeking information about the Demon King. I need to stop his return, to save Hyrule."

"The Demon King is even before my time, child," the fairy replied. She gave Zelda a contemplative look. "The Goddesses knew you would come. That is why they granted me with knowledge."

"Does this mean you can help us?" Link asked.

She ignored him, looking to Ganondorf. "You have fallen to the darkness inside of you twice, Gerudo King. Perhaps it is an inevitability."

"What are you talking about?" he hissed.

She blinked. "Were it not for a hero – much like yourself – ", She gestured to Link, " – and for a princess – much like yourself – ", she gestured to Zelda, " – who also toyed with time, you would have already become The Demon King."

At their blank looks, she raised an arm, pink magic flowing from her. "The Goddesses want me to show you. So watch closely, children."

The magic invaded her senses and then Zelda was swept away into a vision.


She was standing in a throne room in a castle. Sitting on the larger throne was a man – no, not a man, some sort of creature. His body was covered with deep grey fur and he had long rabbit-like ears extending from his head. His hair was white and so long it fell to his feet. At his side on the adjacent throne was a beautiful Hylian woman with brown skin and blonde hair. Both were adjourned with jewelry and wore strange clothing like nothing Zelda had ever seen.

Behind them stood a young woman, perhaps a few years younger than Zelda. She was Hylian, with blonde hair cut short to her chin. She looked up, her expression pained, and Zelda's heart thumped. Somehow, deep in her soul, she felt like she knew this woman.

There was a bang at the far end of the throne room and Zelda had to hold back a gasp yet again when Ganondorf entered. But no, this was not Ganondorf – this man was even taller and broader, and his red hair was longer. His coat covered only one arm, and was left open to reveal most of his muscular torso. He was flanked by Gerudo warriors on both sides, including two with the same magic-tinged skin as him – the Twinrova, though much younger. She watched as he approached the throne and knelt before the two rulers. It was becoming clear that those two – the furred male creature and the Hylian woman beside him – were the King and Queen of Hyrule. There was an exchange of words between them and the Gerudo man, who they called Ganondorf, which ended in him swearing fealty to their kingdom, though Zelda did not miss the insincere smile on his face as he knelt. After he left, the blonde woman behind the throne expressed concerns over Ganondorf's loyalties but was brushed off by the king. The scene faded.

Then, Ganondorf was standing in the corner of a room, watching the Queen of Hyrule. She did not seem to see him; Zelda wondered if he was hiding himself by magic the same way her Ganondorf had in the Temple of Time that same day. The blonde girl from before – Princess Zelda, her mind whispered – entered the room and smiled sweetly at the queen. Then, before Zelda could understand what was happening, the princess was attacking the queen, and when she dodged, Ganondorf was there, and thrusting a dagger into the Queen's back. She slumped to the ground, dead. Ganondorf wasted no time in ripping the necklace from her neck and removed a tear-shaped gem, which he placed into the crown on his forehead. He laughed, power emanating from him, while the real Princess Zelda (for the attacker had clearly been some magic creation) sobbed.

Again the scene changed. Zelda was standing in Hyrule Field, which was overrun by flames and monsters. Exactly the same as in my visions. Except this time, she could see the source of the destruction. Ganondorf was standing at the head of the army of monsters, but he had changed. His skin had become night black and scaly. Horns poked out of his flaming red hair, and the gem in his forehead glowed with power.

Demon King.

"Eliminate this Kingdom and her allies," Ganondorf rumbled. His deep voice sent a shiver down Zelda's spine. "Leave no survivors." He raised his arm and more monsters appeared in front of him, including a savage looking Lynel with silver fur. Her vision darkened as Ganondorf began to laugh.

When her sight cleared again she appeared to be in some kind of circular stone dungeon. Ganondorf stood in its center, cornered by the King of Hyrule, along with another furred creature like him, Princess Zelda, and four others wearing strange masks – a Zora, a Gerudo, a Goron, and a bird-like creature. All of them donned tear-shaped stones similar to what was embedded in the Demon King's forehead. Ganondorf's face twisted with rage as the King of Hyrule, with the aid of the others in the room trapped him. Even with the power of all six in the room, the King of Hyrule gave his life to seal him away.

His name was Rauru, the Great Fairy whispered in Zelda's mind.

It took longer now for Zelda's vision to return to her. When it did, she was in another throne room, with another king (this one Hylian) and another princess (this one a child). Once again Ganondorf strode into the room; though this time it was her Ganondorf, looking as young as when he had come to the Temple of Time. Once again he knelt before the King and promised his loyalty to Hyrule. And once again, after he left, the princess expressed worries and was dismissed by the king.

The visions became quicker now. Ganondorf, murdering the king. Ganondorf, chasing the princess on a black stallion. Ganondorf, entering the Sacred Realm and touching the Triforce. The moment he laid hands on it, it split itself in three, one piece embedding itself into him while the others disappeared. Ganondorf used his newfound power to declare himself King of Hyrule.

What is this? Zelda thought. None of this happened!

The next vision showed Ganondorf fighting a young man who looked and dressed much like Link. It must have been a few years later, as Ganondorf looked older. His hair had grown longer, and his ears had developed a point to them. The hero fought valiantly, and Ganondorf was soon defeated. He cursed and the castle began to crumble. Zelda blacked out.

When she came to, she was in the rubble of Hyrule Castle. The hero and the princess, now a young woman, were also standing in the rubble, twin expressions of exhaustion on their faces. Ganondorf's body lie facedown on the ground. Zelda would have sworn he was dead, but then she saw the glow of the Triforce on his hand. His body began to ripple, and from him burst a monstrous boar. The hero twisted around in shock, and the two began to clash. The fight appeared evenly matched, until Ganondorf knocked the Master Sword out of the hero's hands. Then he killed the hero easily.

The boar laughed as he absorbed the Triforce of Courage from the hero's lifeless body. There was nothing left of her Ganondorf in the creature's eyes. He then turned to the princess, who was kneeling on the ground, sobbing, and extended an arm to her. Dark magic poured from his body, and from the princess the Triforce of Wisdom emerged, which the monster also took. He was cackling now. It sounded much like the laugh of the other Ganondorf after he had killed the Queen of Hyrule.

The princess' eyes became fiery, and she stood. Light burst from her. Zelda could see six other lights gather in the air around her. She stepped towards the boar and sealed him away, even as she was still sobbing over the loss of her hero.

Zelda blinked and found herself now watching a different fight. A different man, still clad in green like Link, fought the boar – the Demon King. This hero was triumphant. By defeating the Demon King, he obtained the Triforce that the monster had stolen before. He touched it, and she could hear the words he spoke, "Gods of the Triforce, hear my wish! Undo all of the evil committed by The Demon King Ganon!"

To wish upon the Triforce requires a balanced heart and an unbreakable spirit, whispered the Great Fairy in Zelda's mind. The Hero of Hyrule's wish had far reaching repercussions. Yet all it did was delay the inevitable.

The scene changed and she was watching the boar and the first hero's fight again. When the boar knocked the sword from the hero's hand, this time the hero retrieved it, and was triumphant. The boar transformed back into Ganondorf, and he enraged, he cursed the hero and the princess as she sealed him. The princess then played an ocarina and the hero disappeared.

Peace reigned in Hyrule while Ganondorf was sealed. But under his seal, as the decades wore on, he was becoming mad. And when the seal finally broke, the being that emerged was no man. The Demon King ravaged Hyrule, and when no hero appeared to fight the monster, the king's plea to the goddesses resulted in a great flood, burying Hyrule under an endless sea.

By the time Ganondorf remembered himself Hyrule was gone and forgotten.

This was the second time, the Great Fairy said. By sending the hero back to his own time, Princess Zelda – your ancestor – was able to create a third.

She saw the princess, a child again, in her courtyard. The hero entered, Triforce symbol glowing on his hand. They spoke quietly, but Zelda could make out one phrase from the child hero's mouth: "If Ganondorf is not stopped, something terrible will happen!"

She saw Ganondorf's arrest. She saw his failed execution and sealing in the Twilight Realm. And then she saw no more.

You see, child? It is his destiny to become the Demon King. All you can do is delay.

No! Zelda thought. There must be something!

Go home, Zelda. Do not come here again.

End of Part 2