One year later

Ganon swung again, another of the lizard creatures falling to his blade. He backed up, breathing heavily. All around him, soldiers of Hyrule castle battled the Lizalfos and Bokoblins that had tried raiding a small town. The little creatures weren't tough by any means, but there were a lot of them. Slowly, they had been able to thin the monsters to only a dozen or so, but the soldiers had grown weary and their movements sluggish.

Ganon felt a familiar pressure at his back. Link had put his back to Ganon's. The big Gerudo could feel Link's exhaustion, but he was firm in his stance. Ganon reached back with his free hand and touched Link's shoulder. His small friend relaxed ever so slightly at the touch, his fighting stance deepening. He was ready. Ganon shifted his grip on his sword to a two-handed grip. Power surged through him and he shouted a wordless battle cry just as Link did and they charged back into the ranks of monsters.

In a matter of moments, the creatures had all been destroyed and Ganon surveyed the carnage, making certain that there were no more enemies still standing or twitching. He could still feel power rushing through him, that power feeling much like adrenaline. The back of his right hand felt warm and he flexed it, wondering if he had injured it and the pain hadn't yet registered. He didn't look at it though. Instead he turned to find Link. Link was panting, his hands on his knees, sword held carefully to the side, as he tried to catch his breath.

Ganon moved over to Link's side and placed a hand on his back. "You alright?" Link simply nodded. Ganon nodded as well and then looked around again. All of the the other soldiers that they had been fighting with them were beginning to circle them, swords raised defensively. Ganon frowned. They were facing them.

This wasn't a protective ring.

These men were preparing to attack.

Ganon carefully adjusted his grip on the sword he still held. "What is this?" The ring around him and Link tightened. Ganon felt Link stiffen and knew that the soldier had finally noted the odd behavior of the soldiers. He straightened, preparing for another battle despite his obvious exhaustion.

One soldier finally spoke. "Queen Zelda has ordered that any who are found in possession of the Triforce of Courage or Power are to be apprehended and brought to her immediately. I recommend you come with us and not put up a fight. We don't want to fight you." Ganon was shocked. He knew about Zelda's obsession with finding all the pieces of the Triforce.

Ever since her father had died, not long after creating the Gerudo Treaty, Zelda had rapidly descended to borderline madness. She was constantly angry, regularly demanding more taxes from the people. When the over-taxed citizens of Hyrule couldn't pay the taxes, Zelda would, on a good day, order their arrest. On a bad day, she would order the offender to death. Those days were becoming more and more frequent. Ganon didn't want to find out what Zelda would do to those in possession of the other two pieces of the Triforce.

Ganon stepped closer to his friend. "Link?" He heard the smaller man's breathing slow from the breathless pant it had been a moment before to a more calm rhythm. He seemed to be gathering strength from somewhere. The back of Ganon's right hand pulsed gently. Finally, Ganon looked at it.

A pulsing, golden Triforce glowed on the back of his hand. Two of the triangles were dim, but the top triangle, the Triforce of Power, glowed brightly. The energy flowing through him pulsed along with that symbol. Ganon grimly took up his sword again. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Ganon had known that he would receive the Triforce of Power. Ganondorf, Lord of the Gerudo, always got the Triforce of Power. And usually he was the bad guy.

This time would be different.

"I'm afraid that Queen Zelda will have to ask nicely before she is handed the Triforce. I haven't heard her say anything nice recently." The soldiers all tensed as Ganon spoke. It immediately became clear that, despite the Treaty, these men had never come to fully trust him. Behind him, he heard Link grunt and Ganon could imagine his determined nod of agreement. Whatever happened, Ganon had at least one friend in all of this.

The soldiers seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then they began to move in again, collapsing the circle around Ganon and Link, making it tighter and tighter. Letting this circle get too small was a poor decision, so Ganon charged forward, swinging at the soldiers with the flat of his greatblade. He didn't want to kill any of these men. He heard Link shout his wordless battlecry and turned to see him defend aganist one of his own men, also with the flat of his blade. What had Hyrule come to? Soldiers attacking their own commanding officer?

The fight didn't take long, but it wasn't bloodless either. The soldiers weren't trying to bring them in without bloodshed. They used their swords for what they were designed for. They slashed at both Link and Ganon, drawing blood on both of them. At one point, Link fell to one knee, his side bloodied. He was breathing hard and looked to be on his last life. Ganon roared in fury and stepped in, knocking two soldiers aside with his massive strength. They went flying and the rest of the soldiers who weren't unconscious, scrambled to leave. None of them bothered to check and see if their fallen were alive.

Ganon was breathing hard, and he felt blood running down his chest, arms, and thighs. They had nicked him a few times. He ignored his own wounds, however, and turned to see to Link. The smaller warrior had braced his fist on the ground, his sword lying forgotten at his side. His shield was still looped around his other arm and that hand rested on his knee. He looked ready to fall over though.

Ganon knelt beside him. "Are you alright?" Link shook his head and then grimaced in pain. Ganon moved over to the closest unconscious soldier and searched his pockets. He found a few Rupees and some other random nick nacks, but not the bandages he was looking for. He left everything in the man's pockets and continued searching, keeping half an eye on Link as he did. Finally, he found some basic bandages and took them from the unconscious captain. He returned to Link and carefully laid him on his back, lifting his tunic to see the side wound.

It didn't look good. The wound looked deep and would likely need professional attention. Ganon began bandaging the wound, but thought furiously about what to do after that. Link needed help, but where should they go? Hyrule Castle was the obvious choice. They had the best physicians there as well as the guard medics, but they couldn't go there. Not after this. Gerudo Valley? That was a long way off, and Ganon wasn't totally sure that Link could make that trip. But he couldn't leave his friend behind. He wouldn't.

The bandages used up, Ganon carefully helped Link sit up. "Careful. Do you think you can walk?" Link grunted, but started to push himself up to his feet. Ganon didn't try to stop him, but instead helped him rise unsteadily to his feet. Link wobbled and gripped his wounded side with one hand, but he didn't fall. Ganon picked up his sword, sheathed it, and then picked up Link's sword and shield. He almost handed them to Link, but then decided otherwise and held onto them. His own leg throbbed and he knew he should probably rest, but he didn't want to be here when the soldiers woke up. Link seemed to agree, because he started limping off to the south, away from Hyrule castle. Ganon followed, his longer stride easily bringing him to Link's side despite his own limp.

They had traveled for maybe a mile when Link's strength finally seemed to give out completely. He collapsed to the ground, grunting as his fall made his wounds flare up anew. Ganon lowered himself heavily to the ground next to Link, his own wounds burning fiercely. He honestly wasn't sure they would be able to get far enough from the castle to escape Zelda's greed or wrath. She wanted the Triforce and Ganon was certain she would do anything to get it.

There was a sudden puff of dark smoke and Impa appeared before them. Impa was a Sheikah, tall and slim, with long black hair pulled into a tight braid. She wore her stealth uniform, the crying eye of the Sheikah emblazoned on her left breast, over her heart. Impa eyed the two of them for a moment, Link breathing heavily on the ground, and Ganon resting on one knee, his hand on his sword.

Impa lowered the mask concealing the lower half of her face. "Ganon, Link. You two look awful."

Ganon smirked and let go of his weapon. "Yeah? It hurts about as much as it looks too. What do you want Impa? Shouldn't you be with Zelda?"

Impa studied him stoically for a moment. "I was. I went ahead to scout things out for her."

Ganon stiffened. "Went ahead? Zelda is come here? In person?" Zelda never left the castle. She always sent her soldiers to carry out her orders. And Impa always stayed by her side, trying to give some reason back to the young Queen. But Zelda wasn't weak. She had the power of the Triforce of Wisdom, and she knew how to use a sword. Ganon could probably match her, but in his current condition it wouldn't be easy, and Link…

Impa watched him passively as his emotions ran across his face. "Ganon, you can still get away before Zelda arrives. But Link is too badly injured to flee quickly enough to escape. If you were to try and carry him, he could die."

Ganon grit his teeth in frustration. "I know that. But I'm not going to just leave Link to Zelda. She isn't the person she used to be. You of all people should know that!"

Impa's expression didn't change. "I do know that Ganon. And that is precisely why I suggest you leave Link to me. I swear to you that he will not be harmed, and that he will recover. But if you don't leave now, Hyrule has no chance of survival. Ganon, we need you. We need your strength, and that ironclad resolve of yours to survive this. Something is wrong with Hyrule. You want to prove to the world that your predecessors don't define you? Well this is your chance. Leave Link to me, and get stronger. Become strong enough, courageous enough, and wise enough to defeat the evil that has corrupted Zelda's heart."

Ganon stared at her. She couldn't be serious. This plan was crazy! But in all the time Ganon had known her, Impa had always taken her job seriously. She was willing to make any sacrifice that Hyrule and Zelda needed in order to help them thrive, including giving her own life if it were necessary. But Ganon didn't want to leave Link behind. He wasn't the type to simply abandon a friend in need. And right now Link needed him.

"Go."

Ganon spun to face Link as the smaller man spoke. "I can't leave you like this! Zelda might kill you in order to get your Triforce! I'd never forgive myself if that happened because I left you behind."

Link slowly rolled over to his back and looked up at Ganon, his face and blonde hair streaked with blood and dirt. He looked determined. "Go."

Ganon grit his teeth and clenched his fists. He opened his mouth to speak, but Impa stepped in. "We don't have any more time for this. Ganon, I swear to you, on my honor and my life, that Link will not be slain so long as I live. Link and I can see things from within the castle and learn how to help you. You need to become stronger, mentally and physically, before you can defeat Zelda."

Ganon growled in frustration, but it seemed that he wasn't going to win this fight. "Then what do you suggest I do?"

Impa turned east, toward the mountains. "Go find my people. My father, Antik, is the leader of the Sheikah tribe. Tell him I sent you and about what happened here. He will help you, but I warn you now that he will not trust you. He is stuck in tradition, and the Sheikah have always resisted Ganondorf's influence. You will need to prove yourself to them."

Ganon nodded understanding and then turned to Link. "You be careful and take care of yourself Link. I'll come back to the Castle and I'll get you out of there. I swear it on my life." Link grinned up at him and shook his head mockingly. He reached up and gave Ganon a weak shove. This would have been funny in any other circumstance, seeing how even at full strength Link wouldn't have been able to budge the much bigger Gerudo. But rather than make him laugh, this only made Ganon want to cry. Stoically, he fought back the tears and rose to his feet, leaving Link's sword and shield on the ground beside his friend. He teetered slightly and then turned to face the east. He had a long journey ahead of him. "Impa. I'll get stronger, and then I'll be back. Take care of things until then, got it?"

"Of course. Just don't take too long. We are all counting on you now Ganon."

Ganon started running toward the distant mountains, ignoring the pain from his wounds. He looked back once to see Impa standing guard over Link as his friend sat in the gently blowing grass, watching Ganon as he moved farther and farther away.