He was standing in the desert. It was morning, late enough that the sun was beginning to warm him, but early enough so as not to be uncomfortable. His favourite time of day.

Walking towards him was a woman. She was Gerudo, and wore a simple white dress, not unlike Zelda's gift from Dohna. Though as she approached, he saw that her flowing red hair was wreathed with flames. And her eyes were not the amber that many Gerudo possessed, but an earthy brown. He saw that within them they held the reflection of mountains.

"You are Din," he said.

"I am," she said.

"Why are you Gerudo?"

"I am a goddess; I take whatever appearance I like. I thought this form might be comforting to you." She gestured out into the unending sands. "Come walk with me, Ganon."

Without waiting for a response, she turned away. Ganon felt as though he could do nothing but obey, and quickly caught up to her. He walked beside her, waiting for her to say something. For what felt like a very long time he heard nothing but the wind.

Finally, she spoke.

"All those who would seek out the power of the Triforce are precious to me," she said. "But you have always been my favourite." A wry smile came to her lips. "It has been a pleasure to watch you all this time."

Ganon felt a shock of anger in his belly. All that pain in his memories – which remained painfully out of reach – and she considered it entertainment?

"Why do I still not remember?" he demanded. "Null is gone, isn't it?"

"Yes," said Din. "Null is gone. But there is one thing you have misunderstood, Ganon. Null did not take your memories."

Somehow, he knew what her next words would be before she even spoke them.

"I did."

"You – How dare you –"

"You had gone mad," Din interrupted. "You have lived far more than the human mind is meant to live. You had been killed, sealed away and revived so many times you could no longer think of anything but destruction. You were not you, not anymore. And then you were captured by Null." She closed her eyes; her fiery hair blew in the wind. "So, I directed Zelda to find you. And yes, I took your memories. It was a kindness."

"You – why would you…"

"I could not bear to watch it. You, who had been so full of ambition, so full of power, wasting away to nothingness inside a Rift? I did not want to see you end like that." She chuckled. "My sisters were quite cross with me. We do not like to intervene in mortal affairs."

Ganon breathed deeply, trying to process her words. "But Zelda made a wish," he said. "So my memories…"

"They will return to you," said Din. "Over time. I do not think even you could handle regaining them all at once."

She turned to him, and suddenly they were not walking through the desert, but standing at the top of a mountain, looking out over Hyrule. (Dramatic, isn't she? Ganon thought.)

"So, Ganon, this is my gift to you," she said. "Perhaps what you learn in your memories will make you take up the fight again, and perhaps you this time you will win. Or perhaps that hero will cut you down. But at least if you die, you will die as yourself. In body and in mind."

She smiled at him, as if she had done him some grand favour. And maybe she had, but Ganon was not one to grovel at anyone's feet, goddess or not.

"Just – stay out my life," he said.

Din laughed. "If you wish. There is just one more thing I have to say to you."

"Then say it," Ganon said. "And leave."

"Why did you not claim the Triforce for yourself?"

Ganon blinked; this was not what he had expected her to say.

"It would have split apart – I saw it." He narrowed his eyes, seeing her smile. "You sent me that memory."

She hummed, but said nothing.

"Null's defeat was more important than what I wanted. It was going to destroy everything. Even I could not be that selfish."

She hummed again, still smiling. Then she said, "And are you certain it would have split apart?"

"What?"

"To wield the Triforce requires a balanced heart." She touched his arm. "You have always been the embodiment of power. But you have demonstrated great wisdom, in recognizing that Null's defeat needed to come first, before any of your ambitions. And you had the courage to trust in Zelda – to trust in your friend."

(Zelda was his friend, wasn't she? And after hearing her wish, he thought he might be a little bit in love with her. Or maybe he already had been.)

"What are you saying?" he hissed.

Din shrugged. "Oh, just something to think about." She waved her arm, and the mountains disappeared, his vision gone dark.

"Have a nice life, Ganon," was the last thing she said.

He woke on the ground, with his face in the grass and someone's hand on his arm. The sun was bright, even with his eyes closed, and he groaned – then froze. That was not the deep monstrous sound that usually came out of him. It was the voice of a human man.

"Ganon?" said a voice from above him. Zelda.

He forced his eyes opened, and pushed himself to a sitting position. As he did so, he got a glimpse of the back of his hand, and saw skin that was brown, not blue. He saw fingers that ended not in claws, but human fingernails. He felt a sudden lump in his throat – Zelda's wish. It had come true.

"How long was I unconscious?" he rasped.

She shook her head, beginning to smile widely. Her eyes were full of unshed tears. "Not long at all," she said.

"And Null…?"

"Gone," she said. "We did it."

"Good."

She laughed softly. "That doesn't quite fit anymore," she said, gesturing at him. He looked down – he was wearing the simple tunic he always wore under his armour, but now he was practically swimming in it. His cape was wide enough it nearly could have been a blanket.

Ugh, he thought.

Zelda looked back to his face, studying him. "You look Gerudo," she said. "I didn't think Gerudo could be male."

"It is very rare," Ganon said, for now that she had said it, he knew that it was true. In fact, he was not sure how he had not known he was Gerudo from the start. "Male Gerudo are… special." He scrunched his face, trying to recall. "I think."

Zelda's eyes filled with concern. "You can't remember?"

"Din said that my memories will return with time."

"Ah… Well, good."

"Zelda…" he breathed. "Why did you wish to return my memories?"

She did not answer for a moment. Then she took him by the hands. He swallowed, looking down – his hands were still larger than hers, but not absurdly so. In fact, he thought they fit together quite nicely.

"I meant what I said before. I want to know you, Ganon." She squeezed his hands before releasing him.

"Zelda," he repeated; he could not think of anything else to say.

"Come on," she said, getting to her feet. "Tri and Link went to go figure out where we are. Let's go find them."

She extended a hand to him, which he did not need, but took anyway.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Tri and Link had not gone far; they were at a fork in the path, looking at a signpost. Link jumped when Zelda called out to them. Tri was unfazed.

"Ganon!" they cried. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," he said. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh, well… Zelda was really scared when we were warped out of the Still World and you were lying there like that." They looked at him, contemplating. "You look weird now."

"Excuse me?" Ganon said, offended and somewhat concerned. He still could not remember his face; did he look weird?

"I am not used to you looking like this – it is weird." Tri considered for a moment, then added, "You have the same scowl, though."

"Hmph."

"Yes, just like that," said Tri.

Ganon rolled his eyes, before turning his attention to Link. "So?" he said.

Link rose his eyebrows in question.

"Null is gone. Can you speak?"

Link nodded.

Ganon stared at him, waiting. Link blushed.

"Ah – yes!" he said. "I have spent so long without my voice… I think it will take some time to get used to."

"Right," Ganon said awkwardly. There was still some part of him that was half expecting the hero to pull a sword on him. "Congratulations," he added.

Link nodded. "Er – you too," he said. "On the not being a monster anymore… thing."

"Thanks," said Ganon, feeling very uncomfortable.

"I know where we are," said Tri. "Castle Town is that way." They gestured down the path. "And Suthorn Village is that way." They gestured in a different direction.

"Wonderful!" said Zelda. "We should all go to Castle Town to celebrate! I know an excellent restaurant!"

There was little Ganon wanted to do less than go out in public at the moment. He was finding it very difficult to say no to that eager smile, however.

Link winced. "Er… Sorry, Princess," he said. "But I really just want to go home." He looked away. "And I need to show Lueberry that I'm alright."

"Oh," said Zelda, looking disappointed for half a second. Then she brightened again. "I understand. But you'll have to let me take you out some time soon! I need to thank you for rescuing me, after all!"

Link smiled. "Alright," he said.

"Then… see you later?"

Link nodded, and after being pulled into a hug, headed off down the path towards Suthorn. Once he had gotten some distance away, Zelda turned back to Ganon.

"You're coming back to Castle Town with me, right?"

"I have nowhere else to go," he said, then frowned. "But I refuse to go to any restaurants wearing this."

She grinned. "Then it's a good thing I also know an excellent tailor."

They carried on towards the castle, mostly in silence. Ganon assumed they were both thinking over the events of the day. He marvelled over the fact that he now had feet, not hooves, though he did wish he had shoes. At least the dirt path was soft under his feet; anytime they stopped for any length of time he curled his toes, relishing in the feeling. He also considered reaching over to take Zelda's hand again, but could not quite work up the nerve.

Tri, who had been resting in Zelda's hood, suddenly jolted awake.

"Tri?" Zelda said, concerned. "What is it?"

"The goddesses," they said. "They are calling me back."

"Calling you back?"

"I guess to… find out my new purpose. Now that there are no rifts."

Zelda frowned. "You aren't in trouble, are you?"

"I don't think so," Tri said. "But Zelda, I…" Their voice lowered to a whisper. "I don't want to go."

"Oh, Tri…"

"I want to stay here. I want to keep learning about the world. With you."

Zelda lay a finger over Tri's head. "Surely you can come visit."

"I do not think my new purpose will include visiting this world."

Ganon crossed his arms. "So visit anyway," he said. "Who cares what the goddesses say? Tell them you need a vacation."

"Vacation? What is a vacation?"

"It's when – oh, never mind! Just tell them that you will be coming to visit whenever you like, and there is nothing they can do about it."

"Hmm…"

"Ganon's right," Zelda said. "Though you may want to find different words to say it."

"No," said Ganon. "Those are the perfect words. You can't be too direct with these people."

"Are you really referring to the goddesses as these people?" Zelda said, shaking her head.

"Yes," said Ganon. "And don't change the subject."

"Hmm…"

"I really would love to have you visit, Tri," Zelda said softly.

"Then… I will try," they said. "But now I need to go."

Zelda smiled, though Ganon could see the tears beginning to form in her eyes. "Goodbye, Tri," she said. "Thank you for everything."

"No," Tri said. "Thank you, Zelda. Thank you for teaching me the meaning of friends, and for fun. Thank you for teaching me thank you. And Ganon," they added, moving to float in front of him. "Thank you for teaching me I want."

"Don't forget it," said Ganon. He could not say that he had particularly liked Tri, but he still found himself not wanting to see them go.

"I'll miss you, Tri," Zelda said quietly. Ganon looked away, feeling like he was intruding.

"Goodbye, Zelda," Tri whispered. "I will miss you also."

Zelda murmured something in response that he could not hear. When he looked back again Tri was gone, and Zelda was standing there with tears falling onto her cheeks. Ganon did not hesitate to pull her into his arms.

"You'll see them again," he said.

"Tri saved my life," she murmured, "When the echo of my father was going to execute me. Did I tell you about it?"

"Yes," Ganon said. "But tell me again."

So she did. Ganon only half listened to her words. The other half of his mind was too preoccupied with the thought that it was nicer to hold her without the armour, and without having to worry about accidentally poking her with claws, and that at his now smaller (though in no way small) height, he quite liked the way she fit against him.

Then he shoved this all away, because these were dangerous thoughts. But he did not let her go, holding her until her tears had dried.

"Thank you, Ganon," she said, looking up to smile at him.

"Hmph." He suddenly felt very cognizant of the fact that they were now alone. He thought Zelda may be having similar thoughts; a mischievous look came to her eyes.

"You know," she said, as she pulled herself from his arms, "I can't say that you look like what I was imagining. But I think you're even more handsome."

This is a terrible idea, he thought.

"You imagined me as handsome?"

Her mouth quirked up at the side. "Yes."

"That is… gratifying to hear, Zelda."

"I'm glad," she said, resting a hand on his arm.

Absolutely horrible idea.

"And I'm glad that you're coming with me to Castle Town," she said.

"Why's that?"

"I want to introduce you to Father."

He coughed in a way that was extremely undignified, starting to panicked now.

"That's a bit… fast, don't you think?"

She tilted her head. "Maybe you're right," she said. Then, "You should kiss me first."

He inhaled sharply. Didn't she see why this was an awful idea? Perhaps he needed to explain it.

"Zelda…" He swallowed. "My memories are going to come back to me. And I fear that they will reveal things that I do not like. About myself, and… about your family."

"Then we will greet them together."

"I…" His heart was beating very quickly. Could she tell? He hoped she couldn't. He confessed, "I was going to steal the Prime Energy from you and take it for myself."

"I know," she said, and her grin widened as she beheld his shocked expression. "You didn't think you were being subtle, did you?"

"What – Then why…?"

"I decided to trust you," she said simply.

"But…"

"Ganon," she said sternly. "Stop trying to think of reasons why this wouldn't work and kiss me, please." She paused, and for the first time he saw a flicker of doubt in her eyes. "Unless, of course, you don't want to."

He breathed in.

What did he want? To remember, he thought automatically, and to be the King of Hyrule again.

Is that what you really want?

He considered it seriously.

He wanted to finally ride a horse again, and to show Zelda how to shoot a bow while riding. He wanted to visit Lanayru to see if Condé's brother had come home. He wanted to dance to the music of the Zora band, and perhaps ask Kushara if she would teach him to play the harp. He wanted to return to Gerudo Town and greet Dohna not as a monster, but as a man. As a fellow Gerudo.

And right now, he wanted to kiss the woman standing in front of him; the woman who had given him a chance even when she had every reason not to, the woman who had treated him like a person even when his body had made so many others cower in terror, the woman who was currently looking up at him with a nervous smile and flushed cheeks and was possibly the loveliest thing he had ever seen.

Well, he reasoned, a Demon King should always take what he wants.

So, slowly, he leaned in towards her and kissed her. It was short, tentative and uncertain, the briefest press of his lips against hers. He could not remember any other kisses, but he thought this one might have been the one of his best.

When he pulled back, Zelda had a goofy smile on her face.

"That was very nice," she said. "But I think we can do better."

Then she looped her arms around his neck and pulled him for another kiss.