Legend Of Zelda Fan Fiction ❯ The Legend of Link: Lucky Number 13 ❯ A Couple's Union Pt. 04: The Pirate Prince ( Chapter 23 )

Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda or the cast. They're all property of Nintendo. I just own the perverted mind and ideas to do this to them. As always, if you don't like long drawn out fan fics stop reading now because it only gets longer.

Story Info: This story is through Link's point of view [mainly]. For you Zelda heads out there, I'll say this; he doesn't get her in this one. So, if that news disturbs you stop reading. The following also contains large quantities of angst and a couple, if not a few characters will be of my own making. Without any further interruptions, I present to you, The Legend of Link: Lucky Number 13.

Chapter Twenty-three

So, here we are about an hour or so later. The compound is abuzz with the news of me and my yet to be named or seen opponent. Nabooru and Tasca have taken their seats high in the lookout tower, while I've been told to come out on the second bell toll. Nah, I'm not nervous, quite the opposite actually. I'm anxious to test myself. I've also decided to forgo enduring this trial without pain, more so to see if I can actually still survive a beating and put on a decent show like back at the castle games. Okay, not a beating, but to see if I could still survive a battle without unyielding power backing me. Call it a personal bet if you will. This person thinks they're strong enough to kick Ganon's ass, they have to be some sort of a challenge and I need one.

*Dong*

The crowd outside explodes into a volley of cheers, which is weird. Listen to the name within the cheers…

"Ganon! Ganon! Ganon!"

Didn't Nabooru say this was Tasca's son? Then why in the hell would she name him after that nut? You'd think after everything he put them through that'd be the last name anyone would give their child. Well, I guess if he's this popular with the ladies, he must not be that bad. Then again, he could be some sort of wizard protégé and have them all under his… right, calm the paranoia.

*Dong*

Looks like I'm up. Walking out of the housing tunnel, I emerge and walk to the center of their fortress grounds. Silence. Gee, I can't even get one cheer, even after keeping the moon from crushing them. Ungrateful bunch of… Across from me, I can see my opponent looks to be in fighting condition. About six feet tall, looks like he could take a punch, brown eyes and did I mention, he-more or less-looks exactly like a twenty-year-old version of Ganondorf? Well, I guess there's more to a name after all.

"Did you know about this?" I ask Nabooru mentally.

"I'd be lying if I told you I didn't," she responds directly. "He's the main reason Tasca never came back-a few of the other's started planning to kill him when he began to look… and act like Ganondorf. So rather than let him die, she chose not to return once word spread that Ganondorf was dead."

"So, Ganondorf has a son?"

"Not exactly-Tasca was involved with a soldier in Hyrule's military (his name escapes me at the moment) and Ganon's his son. However, Ganondorf did 'choose' her at the time-unaware she was with child already-and as so, figured the boy to be his. He named him and since she couldn't openly refuse this knowledge-lest they both be killed-she agreed with his claim."

I look up at the tower, where Nabooru looks down at me stoically. Nodding to one another, I reassert my attention to the man twenty or so feet in front of me.

I hope this doesn't mean if we have a son he'll look like that. God, I can't even imagine my child having that face… ugh. Eeew, he makes my damn skin crawl. Maybe I'm being a little too hard on him, after all, he is deep brown instead of green, and his eyes don't have that mad glint like Ganondorf. A barehanded display, I notice, looking at his tapped fists. Deciding to skip the open magic act, I slip my hand into my tunic, where I make my usual gauntlets appear. They're a little larger of course, but they should be adequate for the occasion. I casually buckle them up to my elbows, flexing my fingers to loosen the material up some.

"Gentlemen, this fight is to continue until one of you is either: The first to score thirty uncontested blows, unconscious, dead or admits defeat…" Tasca announces, which sends the crowd of fifty or so Gerudo women into a hush. "…Also, weapons are within certain crates, reach one, and use it at will. Now, you may begin when ready."

Well, here's hoping that this isn't too big of a squash job…

We meet at center ground in front of the tower, where I extend my hand in a show of good sportsmanship. All right, I'll assume the snorting mouthful of spit on my boot is the best he'll do for me. He looks up at me with a sneer, only to falter upon the sight of my eyes. I use this against him, burying a solid left hand into his stomach. Immediately, I telegraph his head-butt. Come on… fuck.

"Shit!" I think, once I realize the actual attack was a blade in his braided ponytail. The surrounding Gerudos explode in an uproar seeing their warrior draw first blood, making me stumble back in surprise as the small nick below my left eye bleeds openly. I shake it off and begin to bounce back and forth, time to stop stalling. We circle each other, slowly drawing nearer, and he's slowly moving into position.

"So, the great Hero of Time can bleed." Ganon mocks as I step in and deliver a quick series of jabs. He evades them all, backing up with a smirk of true arrogance. "Oh, come on, I know you can do better than…" Maybe he isn't a pushover. Ah-ha! He glances toward the women, not realizing that his back is nearly against the wall. I take my chance, catching him completely unaware and lifting him off the ground with my shoulder. His lungs dispense their air, as I take hold of his vest and begin the pummeling.

"You were saying something about bleeding," I reply smugly, yet stressing each word with a punch that draws a copious amount of blood from his mouth. Damn I miss this. Ganon's squirming to get his vest out of my left hand, ultimately giving up. I draw back for the finale punch and… "Ah… fuck!"

Uh, without the godly gifts a kick to the balls hurts like fuck! I fall over mid-swing growling in pain, as he takes the brief pause in the action to shed his purple vest. I still got in fourteen shots to his two.

"Looking good, Ganon!" One of the women shouts, followed by a bevy of cheers, whistles, and compliments to his physique. He looks at me lying here, surmising that I'm still immobile.

"Yep, still down." He thinks, watching me continue to writhe in pain. I'm coming around, though barely, but I continue to play coy.

The various whistles and shouts of the women continue to sway his attention causing him to take the time to smile at-in his mind-what were to be any number of women he could have at any moment. Maybe if they'd all shut up he could hear his mother telling him to look out, as I stagger to my feet and begin to disrobe. However, his applause was short-lived, replaced by a shocked gasp. Deciding not to risk my own defeat thanks to this stupid tunic, I think I'll get rid of it… and him. I begin to rip at the sleeves, making it into a net of sorts. Oh, god, this guy is too…

"HA! Now, that's a body!" Nabooru's voice echoes through the silent building. Her voice draws his attention, as he turns and narrowly ducks my ill-fated attempt to block his vision with my makeshift net.

"Thanks, honey…" I mumble, as we begin to circle each other again. He growls and rushes in, performing a nice spinning heel-kick, which misses my head by a mile.

Well, my ploy to blind and attack him failed, great… fantastic even. Wait, can it be? My little trick is embarrassing him. No, no, wait, he thinks I have a better physique than his. I would laugh, yet he tries another lame-ass roundhouse and nearly beheads me. Ah, but my jab connects dead on with his kidney.

"Ah! Son of a bitch!" He screams, surprising me by landing an elbow to my jaw, and quickly following up with a volley of unblocked kicks and punches. I stumble back, sparks of light jading my vision as I finally pick my arms up and begin to block.

"Ganon! Ganon! Ganon!" His people cheer, as I manage to block a total ten of his twenty-two punches. Fifteen to fifteen and I rush him with an uppercut that lifts him clear off the ground, sending him stumbling backward. His back hits one of the tower legs, as he tries to shake off the cobwebs. I move in for the kill, delivering precision punches that get me nothing… Goddamn it!

"Sit still!" Okay, it's a stupid request, but I hate missing what's in front of me!

"Mistake one," he says, ducking my right hand and grabbing it. "You use your hands too much." You know as he twists my wrist like this, I can't help but agree. I take three stiff punches in my exposed side, biting my tongue to hold the pained grunt back.

"Uh!" I finally release, feeling the tremendous force of his elbow crash down against the back of my neck. Great, my vision just went black under the force of his knee bashing into my damn skull. I grunt in frustration, walking a thin rope between conscious and unconscious. "Shake it off… Shake it off," I repeat groggily, as the ground comes back into focus.

"Nineteen to sixteen, Ganon," I manage to think, watching a pool of blood form on the ground below my leaking face. Red blood: how long has it been since I last saw that? Through blurry eyes, I see the knee coming again, and manage to counter with my left hand by palm striking the open ribs in front of me.

"Come now, don't tell me you're running out of energy already." He follows the mockery with a kick to the back of my exposed knee, which causes me to drop. "Ladies, get those pictograph boxes ready, because here we have the great Hero of Time kneeling before one of your own." All right, enough is just enough. Yeah, but what else is there left to do? I either get beat by this pompous ass or break it. I really hate to lose, so… Gritting my teeth, I make another one of those stupid sacrifices.

*Crack*

Ganon's eyes pop in surprise at the sound of my wrist breaking, though under my power instead of his. Unconsciously, he lets my wrist go, watching me kneel. I've broken my own wrist. And the real eye-opener in Ganon's mind is the fact that my face-despite the blood leaking from my nose, mouth, and beneath my eye-only changes to the tune of a wrinkle in my brow. No verbose screaming or wailing about the wrist, just a look of intense concentration. What can I say? I actually get a rush out of intimidating people.

"Time to get serious," he thinks, just as my curled over body vaults upright into a back-flip/kick combination. "Ah." He hits the ground, but immediately gets back in a ready position.

"Twenty to eighteen, you," I state plainly, before using my left hand to strike his open throat. "Twenty to nineteen, you."

Ganon lets out a strangled gasp, stumbles back, and out of desperation, manages to slam one of the smaller crates into me. It was empty though. Technically, it counts against me, so he is still in the lead. He needs a chance to catch his breath, which sends him climbing up the ladder towards his mother's box seat. How touching, running off to mommy.

"She still can't save you," I mumble, before giving chase… and getting a kick to the head, earning me a three-hit deficit, and a fall to the granite ground. "Some… *Cough* honeymoon." I grab a wooden rung and use it to propel me to my feet, pushing the bloody strands of hair out of my face while listening to an argument above me.

"Don't stop now, boy! You're ahead, finish the job!" Tasca shouts, watching her son run by her out onto the free-swinging rope-bridge. I bet he'd love to finish the job, but his throat can't open and allow him a breath of air, thus he collapses. Thank goodness, because I'm slow to get up this time around. Fatigue, pain, blood loss and climbing this ladder is like solving the Water Temple blindfolded.

"Eleven more and we win, Hero," Nabooru says, moving aside so I could make it through the crawlspace. I don't respond though, channeling the energy to speak into more fuel for the fight.

On the bridge, my senses are telling me that Ganon's throat is finally loosened enough to swallow air. I know the pain is immense, but I know he knows that if he stays down any longer he'll lose face among his potential brides, and that doesn't sit well. Cast in the shadow of his body, I see him retrieve a knife from his waistband, as he hears my plodding footsteps.

"Time for the kill," I hear him think, never aware that I'm invading his mind and his plan. Springing to his feet and hurling the medium sized object with a deadly accuracy, I recall that I'm too weak to dodge.

"This is gonna hurt," I remind myself, bracing for impact.

"Gotcha!" Ganon shouts in a rasped victory cry. The knife embeds in my left shoulder to the hilt. A broken right wrist, and a knife in my left shoulder that makes my left arm useless unless I want to risk "permanent" injury, the fight is won in his eyes. However, I'm a man of many talents…

"Great," I sigh, in a surprisingly clear voice (to him) considering how I look. I slowly remove the knife from my arm, and fling it between Ganon's legs without the use of my hands. A fairy boost of energy should do the trick. "Let's finish this."

Ganon immediately grabs his knife, and then he pauses, feeling a great percentage of his strength return. He smirks, thinking it was of his own doing, not realizing the fairy's trace of energy I left in it was what upped his strength. The bridge shakes as Mr. Pirate runs in, swinging for blood.

I'm down by four hits at this point, if I recall. So, I think it's time to begin my offensive. I swing purposely high with my left hand, which Ganon expectantly ducks, but ah, he got that knee to the side of the face though.

"Twenty-three to twenty you." I mutter, jumping over Ganon's low swinging blade hand, landing a solid kick to the dazed youth's head… then a knee, and a punch, and an all out kick to his stomach. "Twenty-four to twenty-three, me." Oh, I'm on a roll now.

Ganon has fallen onto his back, but in frustration, uses his momentum to flip into a standing position. Come on, now. Kicking that slow with his left leg, he must think I'm an idiot.

"Ow!" I again, mumble, having taken the bait of catching his leg, which led his right foot to the back of my head.

"Twenty-four, ah!" He screams, as I stomp his outstretched leg. The risk in such a move wasn't worth the gain, as Ganon again has to fight me from his back, a clear disadvantage. One stomp, two stomps, three stomps, four stomps, all against his stomach or head and now I'm one a way from victory.

"Shit," I say through clenched teeth, as my missed stomp sends my damn leg straight through one of the planks that compose this bridge. I get this close to something, only to have it screwed over by a rotten piece of wood. Why am I remotely surprised?

"Ganon! Ganon! Ganon!" The crowd cheers again, though this time not swaying their hero.

"My turn," he whispers, leveling off a punch into the back of my head followed by three more and a kick. Twenty-nine a piece and my fucking leg is still stuck in a crack… what a sad way to lose. I hear him closing in after his break to chat up the spectators on the roof behind us. I will not lose! To hell with this, I use pure strength and remove my right leg, which cuts deep into the muscle. Good thing Saria isn't still making my leggings, cause these things are beyond repair. Oh, yeah, I've exposed some damaged flesh of my thigh muscle, which of course gets a cheer from the bloodthirsty women. I

"The next person to score one hit wins!" Tasca shouts, watching her son stalk me.

"Can we go till one of us is unconscious?" he asks suddenly, knowing that he has a better chance of me passing out from blood loss than he does of getting the clean hit. I'd commend his request, but my mouth is too tired to move. Using the remainder of my strength, I drag my leg under me and manage to stand fully upright without wobbling. Hell, I'm pondering using a blast of energy to finish this fight…

"As you wish," Tasca confirms in favor of her son. And isn't that just dandy? Heh, cheating bunch of…

"Give up," I state, more than ask. Ganon, with his swollen and bloody face, simply spits a mouth full of blood out for a reply then cautiously begins his approach. That's the way I want it though; defense rather than offense after all, it was always like this when I won, right? Even the crowd falls quiet, as Ganon edges closer, jabbing with the knife to force me back against the wall at the other end of the bridge. Well, it seemed like a good idea, until he threw the knife again. Ah, but his accuracy has declined. I dodge left, though barely, considering the width of the bridge, allowing a familiar tingling sensation to flow through my chest. Interesting that he'd decide to drag this out, because that would've been his crowning victory shot right there.

"Tell me, did you know about that?" I mentally ask my wife, slightly amazed and highly annoyed that the man threw a Ganondorf-like burst of energy. "I mean, I just want to know if he's going to pull a rabbit out of his ass next or something."

"Uh, I forgot to tell you, Ganondorf taught him some of his sorcery." Nabooru looks at her friend in annoyance, as she smiles at her son. "You didn't say magic was permitted!"

Tasca smiles even wider and adds, "I never said it wasn't, either. Now finish him off, Ganon!"

The crowd begins to chant for their hero again, as he starts summoning another of the purplish-black hued blasts. In a part of his mind though, I can tell he feels a little cheap exhibiting the power taught to him by a murderer of so many. Yet delving deeper into his psyche reveals Adara's warning ringing in his ears: "This man isn't to be trusted. He possesses some form of magic that allowed him to move our entire ship back inland with a single thought. Be careful…" This was as careful as it gets, because he figures if I've been holding back, I certainly wouldn't hold back now that he was so close to victory. I hold the ropes for support, wrinkling my nose as the smell of my burned flesh penetrates it.

"One more and I win," he says with a slow smile, watching the power flow through himself into his right hand. Heh, if only he knew…

"Do you really think that can knock me out?" I ask in sarcastic banter, sounding more like a man with an invincibility complex than anything else.

"Of course not," he replies with a deceptive smile. "It will kill you though." He begins to laugh, as I stand unfazed by this revelation.

I let a rare battlefield appearance creep across my face as well-more commonly known as a smile to most people. I can tell it unnerves him. If it's magic he wants it's magic he'll get.

"Problem? Seems your little hand went out." I say it casually, though bestowing a very readable fixture on my face.

I watch Ganon's face twist in confusion, then suddenly snap toward me. A slow nod confirms it; I've just stripped him of his powers.

"Impossible! Ganondorf was the strongest there was," I hear him think. "But even he couldn't take the power a person possessed."

I feel his fear begin to rise all of a sudden. The reality that I possess this type of power makes him panic, because if I could mute what was inside of him, what was inside of me? Unknown-he doesn't know what's inside the freak in the black tights. He just knows that this fight hadn't existed this long because of skill. It was just for show. At anytime I could've extinguished him, and that makes his ego fall even more. Ganon was so caught up in how and what ifs until I had come to stand right in front of him.

"Die!" He yells, punching fiercely, yet accurately. Despite the pain though, I block, parry, and evaded all of the close quarter attacks until he slows to a stop and gasps for air. Now it's my turn to go on offense again. My flurry punches meet similar fates, and the crowd screams their love for it. As we both began to wear down again, an idea spawns to me: "Use your legs."

Uh-oh, I hear the same idea whispered from his mind-this can't end well. Our attacks were mid-movement ending with our left knees hitting the other in the right side. The force of our collision is intense, sending us both over the opposite rope railing… all the way to the granite fortress floor. I work my arms and legs furiously, barely turning onto my back before smashing into the ground with a sinuous splat.

"AAAAAAH!" I hear Ganon land with more of a crunch, mere fragmented seconds after I made a similar noise.

"The… the first man to his feet is the winner," Tasca says hoarsely, trying to hide her concern for her son as well as Nabooru does for me. Although, Nabooru's lack of concern comes from the simple fact of what I am, yet the profuse amount of blood that pours from me does concern her though.

"Want to go down and see how they…" she freezes mid-sentence, as Tasca jumps from the tower to the ground. Nabooru follows, noting the distance down wasn't so bad pending you landed on your feet. Of course, we went down like flailing dolls, so she figured Ganon was finished for the day… as do I.

"Maybe I do have a masochist streak in me," I think to myself, lying in a pool of blood emanating from where the back of my head split open like a melon. It would be all too easy for me to flip that magic switch in my mind and sit right up, yet I want to know: Can I really get up? Could the Link from Kokiri get up and stand in triumph without a magical helping hand? In other words, I'm going to get up to prove that you need a lot more than a fancy spell to be the Hero of Time. Nobody's chanting for Ganon, so I'm assuming that he's having the same trouble. Thus, I finally begin to move.

"Look, Link's moving!" Wow, and here I thought no one knew my name. I slowly rollover to my stomach, feeling each of my rib pieces stab at me. Disorientated, I begin to paw at my blood soaked eyes. I'm aware everyone is watching me, silently hoping I fall, but my left knee holds, and I push off with my injured right leg. I stumble backward, then forward, before finally draping my arm across my side and standing as tall as I can. The disappointed sigh let's me know that I've "won", yet the lone laughter of one Gerudo woman certifies it.

"What took you so long?" Nabooru runs toward me from my right, leaping onto me in joy.

"AAAAAH!" Guess I should've told her that I could feel pain and the blood is real. She backs off immediately, breathing frantically. "Body… hurt…" That's short for, "I think I've broken every rib I have and my spine may be ruined."

"You… you let him hurt you?" she asks in surprise, looking at the wealth of bruises and scratches my new body has gained. "Why?"

"Fair fight," I gasp, still short of breath from everything prior. "People wanted… a show… gave… them one." Hmm, though my right eye is beginning to swell, her face doesn't look like a happy one.

"What the hell do you mean show? This isn't for entertainment! The objective was to finish your opponent off as quickly as possible, not toy around torturing each other." Gee, now she tells me. I just got my ass handed to me for the past two hours for nothing. Well isn't that a… relax, breathe.

"You… couldn't…" Why the hell am I still panting? Pausing, a take a deep breath to rejuvenate my abilities and my body. My skin illuminates for a moment, before the pain ebbs into nothingness. "You couldn't have told me that before? I thought this was like those displays at the castle. You know, draw the fight out for the crowd's enjoyment." Well, their enjoyment and so I wouldn't exactly embarrass him. At least it looks like he had a fighting chance, as opposed to getting beat with a punch. I guess that was the wrong thing to do though.

Nabooru's eyebrow begins to twitch… uh-oh.

"What kind of sick people are they? The point of this isn't to go for distance, you simply go in, make the kill, and get out." She sighs and then adds: "I suppose I should take the time to explain our customs to you more clearly."

I nod my head, simultaneously removing all of the blood and sweat from my being. Some king I turned out to be, beating someone up, and prolonging the experience for my not-so-bloodthirsty audience. Blah if I had a sword I would've tore him a new one. Hell, you can't even call my little exercise in being fair, fair. After all, I damn sure wasn't going to let him kill me if he'd gotten the chance. Speaking of someone…

"Where's Ganon?" She looks at the massive crowd of Gerudo behind us, which silently confirms that he didn't get up. "Let's go see if we can help him."

Nabooru nods, still giving me an annoyed glance. Starting from the back of the crowd, the women reluctantly part for me. Solemn, quiet, stoic-all words that come to mind looking at the sea of more or less identical faces. Reaching the center of the group I see him; he's face down and surrounded by a gigantic pool of blood. He hadn't been fortunate enough to turn himself over as I did; he fell headlong into the ground. Tasca is trying to save face by not showing her emotions over this, where as Adara looks at me with a mix of hope and disgust.

"Don't touch him!" Tasca snaps, stopping me before I kneel completely down to him. I respect her wish, extending my hand above him to let it fix the damage I've done. Everyone gasps in surprise, as an orb of light drifts from my palm into his broken back. The darkened blood on the ground begins to shrink in diameter, moving back into his system while his body openly twitches in response.

Seconds later, a muffled coughing breaks the tense silence. He's alive: No broken bones, and no cuts. A fatal misunderstanding corrected as if it were a simple case of saying, "I'm sorry for stepping on your foot." I must admit, if you'd told me three years ago I'd be reviving someone whom even favored Ganondorf… I probably would've tried to kill you. Yet here I am, reversing death into life again. Nah, it's surprisingly easy to do it actually. You see first you…

"Son of a bitch, I'm not your toy!" he growls, leaning back on his thighs. Not even, "Thanks for bringing me back from the dead"? He shakily stands, testing himself for injury. Now his eyes turn to mine, burning with intense frustration and embarrassment. As the silent staring contest continues, I feel hostility beginning to grow within me. I save his miserable life, yet all he can focus on is the fact I drug out a fight. I know I'm going to lose it. "What, you don't think I'm strong enough to take a few of your little fairy magic spells?"

You know it was cute when Malon referred to me as a fairy boy, but now the 'fairy' prefix is really starting to annoy me.

"Listen you little shit, I made a mistake. I called myself doing you a favor by not kicking your ass before the match even started. If I 'tried' there wouldn't be enough of you to feed the fish with." My emotionless voice stops, leaving Ganon with my equally expressionless eyes boring a hole straight through him. I can't form sensible words anymore, so I think I'll just shut up.

I turn away from him and the crowd to get my tunic, because I simply can't deal with this. Ganondorf's embedded too deeply in my system to even try and keep my temper in check with a look-alike. And I know I'm probably freaking Nabooru out with my behavior too. Relax… breathe… I can get past this.

"What makes you think I'd be so easy if you were really trying? In fact, I demand a rematch! No kid gloves, I want this to be for real." Oh, so he wants to stomp with the big fairies… wait that didn't come out right. I repair my tunic with a though, then slip it on over my head. I acknowledge his comment (finally) by silently appearing directly in his face. The suddenly skittish women brush back in surprise, yet he stands defiant. Oh, I'm going to enjoy this…

"Are you sure?" I ask very slowly, just hoping he says yes. He nods… excellent.

"AAAAH!" he screams in near blood curdling register, as my skull smashes into his like a Goron dropped from the moon. Like I knew I could head-butt him that hard into the wall… heh. The sound of his bones breaking anew rings fresh in my ears, but I can't even begin to care. He oozes slowly down the red wall, trailing a thick coating of blood from his fractured skull. His body collapses into a heap, yet he tries to stand. Slowly he stands, futilely summoning his power.

I warp to his pained body. Before he can react my fist sinks into his stomach until I feel his spine on my knuckles. A strangled gasp comes out of his throat, as I remove my hand and allow him to fall to the ground. Ganon curls into a ball, pathetically whimpering like the freakish dog that he is! I smile, using my boot to lift his chin towards my face. Eyes filled with tears he begs me in silence, but I can't hear him. I can only kick him straight into the air as though he were my wayward ball. Higher and higher, his body exceeds the height of the highest wall, yet I don't care. My anger is only partly sated, though, as I allow him to fall screaming back to the stone ground only granting him the courtesy of life instead of the death a fall from that height would warrant.

"What's wrong? You said, you wanted the real thing," I say with an amused indignation. I stand over his body, listening to the group behind me try to make a plan. I flash a look to them as if to say, "Try, please try."

I focus on Ganon again, as he tries to pull his way up my boots. Again, I smile, looking at my left fist before extending my fore and middle fingers up, which hoist Ganon like… a puppet. Oh, isn't that amusing? I stare at him for a moment, trying to decide just where I can hit him. Ah, his jaw. I draw my right hand back, before swinging forward and breaking it with a sickening crunch, as teeth fly from his mouth like loose rupees from a Giant Wallet. He can't do anything but bleed and make bloody sloshes. Having enough of this, I point towards one of the tower legs. His body flies off like an arrow. The scream he makes from the impact sends a surprising and almost euphoric rush through my system. I let a chuckle slip, admiring the sinister tones in my own voice, as that green prick drips off that wood like the festering shit that he is.

"What, no witty little comments Ganondorf? Get up! Get the fuck up!" I scream directly in his face, picking him up roughly his shoulders to face me. I level my knee into his stomach then, smiling sickly as he gags. I take a handful of his hair and use it to smash his skull no less than four inches into the thick wood. I hear a scream from behind, as Adara steps up to save him. Touching, but I can't let her interfere. She drops mid-step, asleep at my bidding. Ganon's eyes peer around wildly, as I drop an elbow into his mouth spraying a mist of his blood onto my being.

"Hmm, so warm… so bitter is his blood," I think as I spit the sprinkles of it from my mouth. I sit him on the ground now, at a semi-loss of what do next.

His body falls limply against mine bleeding profusely all over my now black tunic. As I prepare to blast this bastard back into the underworld, he whispers, "I-I-I'm not… Ganondorf…" He slides to the ground, silent… dead… again. Reality slowly begins to invade my distorted tunnel vision, revealing what has actually happened. I turn around to inspect my surroundings, almost as if I'm trying to remember where I am. Nabooru stands with the others, a look of sheer horror and tears on their faces.

I let him get to me, didn't I? Ten years removed and I still can't shake him. Looking down, I see Ganon's visibly dented head from where my skull touched his. A fatal blow in itself, but I held the strings of his life together like a truly sick puppet master. Heh, it was almost bound to happen. I should've just walked away, but he wouldn't stop picking with me… always picked at by those stronger than I was. So it seems almost fitting that I'd snap and begin to take my revenge against someone who resembles one of my tormentors. I have no words to make up for these actions; I can't even begin to fathom an apology good enough.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, as the world around me suddenly fades as though it was colored sand blown from a sheet of black paper.

Reversing time, I bring things back to where the first fight would begin. The second bell tolls and I come out, Tasca makes the same announcement. Once she finishes, I hit Ganon with a small amount of magic, and he collapses in a heap. I stand and wait for him to get up, yet knowing, he won't. Fight over. As the ladies shout their distaste for me, I walk back into the tunnel ashamed for my prior actions and sit upon a loan crate to reflect on them. Yeah, I know, it'll get easier with time.

But what if it doesn't? If I control every aspect of my life, what happens if I never learn exactly how to control that? What if I live forever and every person who resembles him makes me lose it? Never mind the fact that my wife is probably scared shitless of me. Oh, come off it. I was scary when she fully realized what I was-now I'm probably the silver-haired Ganondorf incarnate in her eyes. No, I didn't allow the time stream to erase her mind as it did theirs.

I made a deal with myself that I'd make myself as open to her as she had to me that day on the cell. The temper problems, cold sweats, nightmares, and the all around fucked up mental imagery that drives me-they'd all be there for her to see. I'm not perfect, and though it may seem that way externally, I see that I have a lot of things I still need to deal with inside. For better or for worse, right? Well, I hope today's lesson in psychosis is as bad as it gets. Resigning myself to contemplation mode, I begin to unbuckle my gauntlets as the women outside noisily move back to whatever they were doing before the fight.

"Shall I bother to ask you what that outburst was about," she asks, from the doorway. Well, it isn't the nicest voice she's ever spoken to me in, but I'll take what I can get at current.

I turn to face her calm façade in the doorway and say, "No, but I'll go ahead and tell you the answer anyway. He looks too much like him to begin with; not to mention when he started yelling at me after I saved his life like that. I couldn't deal with it…"

Silently, she walks over and hops atop the crate beside me. Good sign… I hope. For a while we simply stare at each other in the muted light. In my opinion, she doesn't seem all that upset with me, but as usual, you can never tell what Nabooru is thinking about from her outward appearance.

"Perhaps this was a bit of a giant step, but I can't pretend I didn't enjoy watching you do that." Huh? Enjoyed it? "Don't look so surprised, Hero. When I first saw him while Tasca was showing me around, I nearly lost it myself. The same face from all those years ago… with my mother… that was really the only reason I wanted you to fight to be honest. Every bone you broke, every kick you landed, it all felt like some form of vindication to me. Then when you said you were letting him hurt you… ugh, that's what upset me."

I can't really put into words what I'm feeling right now, although it is somewhere along the lines of shock and relief. However, there still is the question of why. "Then why let me fight in the first place? Did you want me to flip out and hurt him like that?" Her head nods, leaving my mouth open like a floodgate. "Why? I know it isn't the face alone… or is it?"

"Simple, he was an arrogant little shit when Ganondorf was alive. He was about ten when you defeated Ganondorf, and by then, he was turning into a miniature version of the monster. Ganon used to make life a living hell for some of us with the base sorcery taught to him by his 'father'. Of course we couldn't do anything about it because he (Ganondorf) was quick to kill those who rose a hand to his precious son. Once you'd killed him though, things were different. His magic was strong, but not strong enough to contest all the rage we felt at some of his 'tricks.' So, don't mope around in here feeling bad about anything you've done today, because he thoroughly deserved it in my book." Nabooru slides her arm around my waist, giving me a small squeeze of encouragement.

Funny how she has that affect on me, till even when I think I've made a complete ass out of myself, she includes something to make me feel better. I place my arm around her and give her a kiss on top of her head in thanks. "You aren't just saying this to make me feel better, are you?"

"Since when have I given you an answer that was to make you feel better?" she asks, poking me in my ribs playfully. I stoop my head to her ear and begin to whisper about everything from this morning, which makes her let out an embarrassed giggle. "Okay, okay. When else haven't I given you a direct answer?"

"In the field that night when I asked you about Zelda." Shit, open mouth and insert one foot for classified idiocy. Think man, she's getting pissed… "Wait, no, you answered that too. So, you've always been straight with me, regardless of emotional drawbacks."

"Nice save, Hero," she says, flashing the mischievous smile that lets me know I've made it safely out of hostile territory with her. Hmm, think I can get away with a kiss now? Blah, who asked you anyway? Stealthily, I approach the target and it's firm, yet soft lips… only to hear the pitter pat of footsteps encroaching on us. "Oh, no you don't. Finish what you started." Okay, note to self: Nabooru doesn't mind public affection in any form, seeing as her tongue against the roof of my mouth is starting to make dumping them all in the ocean a reasonable idea.

"Break it up you two," Tasca says dramatically with a smile that indicates she doesn't remember what happened. Ignoring her for a few more seconds, Nabooru finally parts from my mouth and bends forward to flash her friend a smile of victory. Standing up in time with my wife, I turn and notice Ganon leaning heavily on Adara. Why am I not surprised? No, not by how they're looking at me. Let's just say that I had a feeling there was something beneath the surface with those two. "Well, boy, don't just stand there. Give it to him."

Dislodging himself from Adara's arm, the singed warrior walks over to me and pulls out… the same knife he threw into my arm?

"As Prince of the Gerudo Pirates of Great Bay, I present to you, King of the Hylian Gerudo Thieves of the Haunted Wasteland with this blade to signify your nation's supremacy over my own." Whoa, and here I thought I'd get the big steak or something at dinner. I take the ornate weapon from the slightly bowed Ganon, before deciding to give it b… okay I'll keep the knife. From the intent way Nabooru is watching this exchange, I can tell this is a tradition that means a lot to her.

"Don't get used to it," he says, raising from his bow to stare seriously at me for a moment. "Next time, I won't leave myself open for such an attack."

"Fine, because next time, I won't hold back." Almost for intimidating after-effect, I illuminate my eyes, which makes the three foreign Gerudo gasp in shock. Yes, I'll really use enough power to blow up everything in existence if we ever fight again. Of course, I'll be holding back, you gimp. What, I'm an idiot? No, you're an idiot. Fuck me? No, fuck you! Easy, easy let's settle down.

"Are you ready to go home?" I ask Nabooru, who's currently reveling in their fearful glances.

"In a minute," she says, motioning Tasca to follow her outside. Great, now I'm stuck here with the open mouth crew. Adara's pissed because I crushed her potential boyfriend's pride and some of her own, where as Ganon is standing here trying to piece together where I get my power.

*Sigh* The fun of mind reading.

"So, you're the possessor of the Triforce of Courage?" No, I'm the possessor of sheep and the killer of coconuts, of course I am.

"Yeah," I reply stiffly, managing to stifle the sarcasm. Say, this'll be a good time to get everybody off my back about this power thing since he knows about the Triforce. "Actually, I have the whole Triforce." I lift my left hand, which I extend a little power through to light up the long since faded Triforce symbol. Ganon gasps, yet Adara blinks in confusion.

"What's this Triforce thing," she asks, noting her comrade's befuddled grunts and noises, "is that the thing you were telling us about when you and your mom first came here?"

"Y-Y-Yeah… no wonder I lost!" His shout echoes through the small hallway, as Nabooru and Tasca comeback to investigate. "No one told me he had the whole damn Triforce! Gan… uh, he told me years ago that whoever had the Triforce would be unbeatable! And to think the idiot in tights… that's what he called you sir, not me, has it! Mom, how could you send me out there against him? I never even had a chance!" Everyone blinks in subdued confusion, except for Nabooru and Tasca.

"You never said he had the whole Triforce, Nabooru!" Tasca whines, whilst my wife smiles impishly.

Nabooru comes over beside me to stop, saying, "And I never said he didn't, either. I told you we were stronger."

"If it makes you feel any better, your head didn't explode like I originally planned." Yeah, so I'm lying out of my ass to make them feel better and appease the guilt in my stomach. Or is it to make them paranoid? Adara and Tasca both close in on his skull inspecting it for timed explosions, I guess. "Relax, if it didn't explode already, it isn't going to now." Skeptically, they back away eyeing us both cautiously.

"So that's how you did it…" Enter Adara the puzzle solver, and now we have, "That Triforce thing, it let you move the whole boat back inland!"

Overstating the obvious make Link…head… go boom! Sorry, sorry, I'm just ready to leave and all of these questions and answers are annoying me. Huh? Well, I suppose you're right. If I had kept a lid on it in the beginning no one would be the wiser. But then again, I'd still be out to sea miserable. I guess I'm just substituting the lesser of two evils. Hold on for a second…

"Anyway, if you're ever in Hyrule don't hesitate to stop by…" Yes! Nabooru's wrapping up the conversation, while Ganon is explaining the history of the Triforce to Adara. Now if we can just make it out of here before…

"I'll have the women prepare the ship…" Tasca begins on cue.

"I got it!" Okay, that came off as sounding a wee bit anxious. Dismissing my outburst, Nabooru turns and hugs Tasca goodbye… hmm, wait a minute. Now is it my imagination or does Nabooru seem shorter? I thought so. Nope, I didn't pay any attention to it at the house. What the in the hell is this? I guess I've gotten used to towering over people until everyone seems physically small to me, but this is kind of alarming. Even Adara is taller all of a sudden, what the fuck have I been looking at? Well, now that you mention it, a few of those others seemed a little too tall. Talk about a lack of attention span. I was too busy torturing someone? Oh, that's just funny. You're a regular laugh riot you sack of…

"Well, if you two have your own vessel, I guess I'll just wish you a safe journey." Tasca finishes with a skeptical look as Nabooru walks over to stop beside me. I loop the knife through my tunic's belt, and wave goodbye to the three watching us. Vessel, she said, ha! I concentrate on the target island I was so abruptly removed from and…

"You two make an interesting couple," I say through the warp to Adara and Ganon, which they respond to with a quick bunch of stuttering. Kids these days…

"That is just… so…" Nabooru stutters, as the world comes into view where we started.

I must admit when the world around you melts away and then fades back in, only you're miles from where you started… it's just… wow! Okay, so the amazement wastes itself on me. But it was cool back in the day, especially when matched up against walking all over the damn place.

"What are you thinking about?" she asks perceptively, noticing my odd silence.

"Nothing much really, I'm wondering why they're all so tall," I say after a silent few moments, watching the waves roll in… and Nabooru push out of my embrace.

"Oh, this again," she says in that way. Eh, what the hell did I step in now? I just wanted to answer the question, not start anything.

"Did I say something wrong…?" Okay, so maybe she just wants to take a walk right now. In the meantime, let's break down what I said: "I wonder why they're all so tall." No, I'm still missing the offensive part in all… of… this… WAIT! Shit, fuck, awe, here we go again!

She probably thinks I was going to make a joke about her height again, fuck! I'll make a long story short. A few months back, I made some irrelevant (or at least I thought so) joke about me being the tallest person wherever I end up living. Then I said something about how the ladies who I'd freed from Twinrova were at least there now and I wouldn't stand out so much. Huh? Right, right, you probably didn't notice at the wedding.

Anyway, those ten or so apparently had an adverse reaction to the witch's magic, and grew inside of their suits to make them fit. They're about six or so feet tall and that's where the comment came from. Nabooru stormed out of the dining hall in a rage, but absolutely refused to tell me why. Matter of fact, all of the shorter women took on very piss-poor attitudes towards me after that. You'd almost think they wanted to be mindless servants in hot armor with the way some acted. I've got to apologize before she broods on this for too long. Yeah, yeah, I'll be back in a minute… hour… a few years, whatever.

Author's Note: Stay tuned, weird shit abound in the next chapter. And possibly, the creation of Xena… nah, I'm just kidding. Then from there, we go really, really out there. Woo! Hoo!