Like Father, Like Son

by Coffee_trash_and_i_need_sleep (I_need_Coffee_and_Linkeduniverse)

Summary:

After being on the road for long, the chain was sure they knew each other by now. There were secrets but obviously they know each other personalities well. Legend was a salty veteran who was tired of always being on adventures, Wind was a childish pirate captain who love good soup and a good story and Warriors, the pretty boy captain of the hyrule army with a heart of gold...
Or so they think...
Warriors has been keeping secrets, one near and dear to his heart....he didn't grow up in hyrule, but a harsh desert, and fought a monster that wore family's face.

Notes:

Guess who's alive, probably won't be for long considering holidays are trying to kill me at work, but at least schools over.
Yep, getting back into this.....I abandoned the fandom a long time ago due to mental health reasons and I'm slowly getting back into it. Which means I might be revamping old works as well.

This will have multiple chapters...you honestly don't think I would miss an opportunity for a reveal right?

Chapter 1: We know War, Right?

Everyone in this group was odd, that was pretty much expected, they all held the hero’s spirit, the holders of the Triforce of Courage. If they weren’t a little odd, then there would be alot of room for concern.

They were unsure what really set them on the adventure, but it was becoming apparent that they learned more about each other and their own worlds. Sky seemingly laid back and warm mirror his home of skyloft perfectly, the Traveler was skittish and very resourceful and considering the monster running around his home it was no surprise he was more self reliant then the others.

Then there was the Captain, the one who was lovingly nicknamed War.

Almost all the others thought they had him figured out once they met him and learned of his story. He was one of the faceless soldiers from the hylian army, it was just by pure luck this teen with no family was the holder of the Triforce of Courage. The sudden rise to being captain and finding the Master sword made him a bit egotistic but his quest quickly fixed that.

So to most of Links, War was a pretty boy with a heart of gold underneath. A little prideful at times, sometimes more focused on his looks but overall a good heart and willing to help others at the drop of a hat.

Which is why the more time they spend around him, the more they question their original assessment of their fellow hero.

It just started one day, just another day of travel and fighting monsters. Most were just resting, Sky was trying to practice for a bit to which War, being the captain that he was offered to spar with him. This got the attention of most of the group, as the last time anyone fought Sky it was the Rancher, who ended up with a sword pointed to his throat. Some like the Vet placed bets on how long War would last, Champion got out his sheikah slate and got ready to take some pictures.

However the fight didn’t end up like the Rancher’s, their swords clashed for a few minutes, both moving fast and land hits. However it was over when War ended up behind Sky and jammed the hilt of his sword into the other hero’s spine sending him tumbling to the ground.

“Whoa.” Some of the other heroes muttered as Sky tried to crawl back up to his feet.

“You're taking too long.” War informed, seeing how the other Links looked at him he quickly corrected himself. “Your reaction time after your swings, you take too long to recover, an enemy could easily end you.”

“Geez…” The smith of the group said.

“Spoken like a true knight.” The Vet said.

War ignored the comments and held out his hand for Sky to take and helped him off the ground.

“I didn’t say that to make you feel bad. I just want you to know so you can be prepared.” War offered. “These monsters have shown they will do whatever it takes to win.”

The two dusted off after the spar, still friends of course. Yet this wasn’t the last time this behavior was seen, each time one of them went up to fight War, he would quickly find a way to disarm them and tell them their weak spots. This wasn’t just with sparing, he went up to the eldest of the group, lovingly nicknamed the old man or Time sense he refuses to tell them his age, who never spars with the boys. War quickly made a mention of a weak point in Time’s armor and that he either needed to fix it or change how he fights to cover it.

It wouldn’t have been too off to be fair, after all that what a captain does right? Look after his men, see their weakness and force them to improve. However this was different, both Time and the Sailor could tell, after all they were around him during his war. Time saw how War focused on his teammates, how when others would spar, War would stare and observe.

The way War watched, it reminded Time a lot of his Zelda, the eyes that were constantly three steps ahead, accounting for everything.

The group however quickly realize they may had read the captain wrong.

It was originally the Veteran, nicknamed Legend by the Sailor, who started the nickname ‘pretty boy’ for War. And it was no shock as to how that nickname came to be.

War was very self conscious about how he looked, early in their adventure he would take Time’s mirror shield and use it in the mornings. He would look over his face, straighten his hair, and general grooming habits. It was not surprising that he always seemed to have a picture-perfect uniform, no hint of dirt or anything. He did this all with a carefree smile.

However it slowly started to change, Time noticed it first (of course he did) but soon everyone picked up on it. Suddenly he didn’t have his carefree smile when he looked at himself in the mirror, instead it was replaced with a harsh frown, the one a toddler gives when they have to do something they don’t want to do. The compliment people would pay to him, once War would reply with a flirty compliment, now he replied with a polite smile that would quickly vanish to a frown once the person stopped looking.

Legend was wondering if it was because of his teasing, Time wondered if it was because he wasn’t taken seriously.

It was no surprise War was a strategist of the group; he could seemingly predict behaviors in battle and where an attack would likely take place. However, if he had a map, it was like he could see into the enemies' head…...which brought the group to today.

They had been brought to Wild’s world, by a portal. Thankfully unlike pure wildness or in a camp of enemies, this time they appeared by Hyrule castle. They were quickly ushered in by the knights of hyrule and led to a room. They were greeted by a short haired Zelda who gave Wild a giant hug upon seeing him, as well as the four champions Wild had told them about, Riju, Yunoboo, Sidon and Teba. Currently they were all around a map of hyrule, talking about the attacks the traitorous Yigas have been doing.

War wanted to join in on the conversation but a few of the knights stopped the group, making comments on the hero’s appearance before Zelda ordered them aside and allowed the group to see the map.

“We can’t seem to locate the Yiga's hideout. We know they must have been close to the Gerudo desert when they stole the Thunder Helm otherwise, they would have been caught.” Zelda explained. “But besides that, we don’t have any leads.”

The champions began to talk amongst themselves while the knights threw out ideas. The links did the same as they looked over the map, most just gave a shrug as they looked at the map, but War's eyes narrowed before he pointed to a spot on the map.

“Here.” War stated matter of factly, causing most everyone’s talking to stop.

“Why there?” Teba asked, confusion edged across his face. “That is nowhere near the major attacks.”

“But it has a major source of trading and access to the roads close by.” War countered as he drifted further down the map hitting the pins. “They wouldn’t place their base so close to their fights. They would pick a trade route they could easily have access to, to slip in and out. It is also close to the Gerudo desert, not unreasonable that a spy with sticky fingers could make it back in a night.”

“His line of reasoning does make sense.” Sidon offered.

Zelda gave a quick look to see Wild sign a ‘he’s right’ to her, causing her to let out a sign of relief before she spoke again. “Well now knowing the whereabouts of the Yiga the next question is what action to take next?”

The group went back to talking over each other, War was silent for a moment before turning over to Riju asking about the crops in her kingdom. It was an odd time for such a question, but she informed him they did all their growing at an oasis which was their main way of getting food that wasn’t from trading. War absorbed the information and gave the young gerudo girl a nod showing he understood it all. Eventually the chatter died down and one of the knights spoke up again, saying “Why don’t we ask the Pretty boy his thoughts?” with a snarl.

War glared at the man however before he gave the man a verbal lasing, Zelda spoke up again. “What do you think we should do?”

“I think the answer is very simple, Princess.” War said.

“And what exactly is your simple answer?” One of the knights replied with a sarcastic tone.

“Starve them out.” War said, his tone colder than ice.

The suggestion seemingly froze everyone to the core, either from the tone or just the cruelty of his suggestion.

“What?” Zelda muttered.

“It’s simple.” War said as he picked up a knife from the table and stabbed it on the closest stable. “If you shut down the roads, all transportation leading in and out. Given the environment they will starve if lack of water doesn’t get them first.”

“You can’t do that.” The knight screamed out.

“You can and you should.” War replied. “Their attacking and killing random civilians, if you take away resources, they will become desperate, they will get sloppy, eventually infighting will begin and a surrender will come. It is the best soluti-”

“Absolutely not!” Zelda cut off the hero as he explained.

“But-” War started to say.

“No, even if they are enemies. They are still people, what your suggestion is inhuman, barbaric. Something only a monster like Ganon would think up.” Zelda yelled.

“Zelda, pleas-” Wild started to say.

“You're right.” War voice said softly. “Apologize princess.”

It was the sudden shift, the icy confidence to a soft almost sorrowful tone that got everyone's attention. War had taken a step back, now staring down at his shoes.

“I am used to the way my kingdom functions. During the war it was drilled into us that we couldn’t show mercy to our enemies, not when we were actively fighting, we must do anything to win. I can see now what mindset that brings, apologizes for making you witness it, princess.” War says as he bowed to Zelda. “I’ll remove myself from your sight.”

Just as quick as his shifting tone, War had turned and was quickly out the door, leaving everyone behind in a stunned silence.

“I…i didn’t mean…” Zelda muttered. “...his world, is it that bad…?”

The group looked around, trying to find someone who had the answers before the Sailor, sometimes called Wind, finally spoke up.

“Yeah, it was.” Wind said. “I went to his world by accident during the war….there was never a rest, it was just never-ending battles.”

“It’s easy to see why that mindset would form, especially against a dark force like Ganon.” Time added.

“He fought Ganon?” Zelda asked before her words sunk in. “I shouldn’t have made that comparison. I need too-”

“Zelda, it’s ok. You don’t have to apologize for what you feel.” Wild offered and the others nodded in agreement.

“Cub is right.” Twilight offered.

“It is strange, War is no stranger to criticism when it comes to his plans, I wonder what set him off like this.” Time muttered.

“Maybe it’s cause he showed his ass in front of the princess?” Legend offered with a laugh at first before it shifted to worry. “I wonder what’s up with him.”

War marched through the castle like a man on a mission, his eyes glanced over the many doors and hallways, it was so familiar but different. The hero yanked open a door, a quick glance around revealed no one was around, likely just a spare room to hold weapons. War quickly shut the door, locking the door and shoving a barrel full of spear in front of the door, blocking it with its weight.

Now once War realized no one would be walking in on him, he walked over to desk; he bunched up his scarf and stuffed it into his mouth, to muffle his scream. After the scream, he quickly fell to the ground, tears flowing down his face.

‘Something only a monster like Ganon would think up.’ Zelda’s words range in his mind.

Ha, if only she knew…

War thought back to the time of war, how his Zelda, clad in armor, agreed with the strategies he offered, despite how brutal they could be at times. They were at a war with Ganon, there wasn’t room for mercy. He remembers how he first offered the strategy of ‘starving them out’ to a group of traitors that had isolated themselves on a barren plane. How Zelda agreed with a smile and asked him where he got his knowledge on war strategies.

All Link could do was close his eyes, allow the tears to fall as his memories began to run.

“Link, run it again.”

Link lifted his head from the table, glancing up and he saw the deep skin and bright red hair that belonged to the Gerduo king, Ganondorf. The normally messy mane was pulled back, now cleanly in a braid. He glanced down at the boy, where most would expect anger or hatred, his expression held a softness though it was mostly covered by annoyance.

“Do we have to?” War said, his voice matching his young body. “Can’t we do something fun, like spar? How is looking at maps supposed to help?”

Ganondorf's expression shifted to amusement before he spoke again. “Power and courage can only get you so far on a battlefield. In times of war, where our people’s lives are on the line, you must think ahead. Run it again.”

War flinched at the words, glancing down at his hand, the triforce of Courage sat surrounded by scars. Where the young boy had foolishly tried to burn it off, much to the dismay of his adopted father. The boy let out a sigh before he stood straight up, getting a better view of the desk and map that sits on it.

“Another civilization that lives in the desert has declared war against our sisters. Their main kingdom is here, their bases for weapons are here, and the roads leading out as well as in are here, where would we strike?” Ganondorf asked, as he gestured to the map, showing Link where each important place was.

Link’s face shifted into a frown, causing Ganondorf to chuckle, as the boy stared down at the map, his mind racing through many different possibilities before he spoke up again.

“What about their food? And their water source?” Link asked.

“Their water source is over here.” Ganondorf said as pointed to a source further up the road. “It’s also where they also grow all the food, anything that isn’t traded for gems that is.”

Link thought for a moment before speaking. “We could starve them out, if we cut off their travel, trapping them in their palace they wouldn’t have any way to get food and water. Eventually they would have to surrender for the good of their people…..or their people would rebel..”

“Excellent Link!” Ganondorf said as he reached over and ruffled the boy’s blond hair. “That's what I would do as well. It would make for a quick war with the least number of deaths.”

“For us…” War added. “No telling how many people will starve and die because of this plan…”

Ganondorf's face shifted to a frown as he grabbed Link’s face making his son look at him. “You have to remember in times of war you cannot be merciful, you must hide that heart of you-”

“Yeah, yeah, hide your heart away. You have to make the big decisions to insure your people don’t suffer, you have to do stuff you don’t want to do to make sure others don’t die.” Link said as he pulled his face away. “You say that every time we do these exercises.”

Ganondorf frowned for a second. “One more example, and then we can spar.”

“Really?!” Link turned around, jumping up from his chair in excitement. “You promise?”

Ganondorf let out a few chuckles before nodding a ‘yes’.

“Alright, what’s next?” Link asked with a bright smile.

They went back to the desk, as Ganondorf laid out another map, as he began to explain the key components of the next battle.

However as happy memories began to fade, it began to be replaced by a battlefield. The smell of death and iron clung to the air as Link found himself looking up at a familiar figure. His casual wear was gone, replaced with the ornate armor he wore into battle, his hair now it’s loose mane, only kept out of his face by a crown. The Gerudo stared down at the young boy, a powerful sword rested in a teens hands as a blue scarf fluttered behind him.

“It’s me, remember me!” Link cried out. “Lay down your weapons, we don't have to fight…..Father!”

Ganondorf let out a cruel laugh, causing the young warrior to catch his words.

“Your pleas will do you no good, hero.” Ganondorf spat out.

Link looked up; he stared into the Gerudo warrior’s eyes. He looked for a hint of his father in those golden eyes, even hatred, disappointment, sadness, just something that hinted that the man was still in there.

All Link saw in those golden eyes, that once held warmth and love was emptiness…

Just emptiness….

A loud knock on the door startled War out of his thoughts.

“Captain, are you in there?” Wind childlike voice echoed through. “Zelda wants to apologize by bringing out food, we want food!”

War quickly got up, whipping away his tears and moving the barrel. He opened the door and was greeted by Wind, Time as well as Legend standing on the other side.

“Hey,” War said, forcing a smile. “Sorry about that, I needed a quiet place to gather my thoughts.”

“It’s fine if you wanted to pou-” Legend started to say before Time shoved him aside.

“Are you alright, War?” Time asked. “You can talk to us, you know that?”

War glanced into Time’s one blue eye, looking to see the warmth it held.

‘It’s your job to carry that burden just as I must carry mine.’ Ganondorf's voice ranges in his ears. ‘You must make the decisions no one else will make, you must be the one to fight when no one else will, that is your job, as my son.’

“I’m fine.” War lied with ease. “Let’s get something to eat.”

Chapter 2: War's hyrule

Summary:

The group ends up transported to War's hyrule, what will they find there....

Notes:

Welp I'm alive, even though 2025 wants to start by trying to kill me.

There was loud chatter, there always was around dinnertime for the Gerudo, the tables had many different types of fruits and meats, some obviously had been traded for as it was near impossible to find fish in the desert.

“Are you alright my King?” One of the gerudo women asked.

Ganondorf was sitting at the table but his mind was focused more on the papers in front of him rather than the food. Otherwise he would have noticed his blond haired son trying to reach across and grab the turkey leg.

“I am fine Nabooru, what do you want?” Ganondorf asked not looking up from the paperwork.

“Really? Cause your food is seemingly under attack by a little child.” Nabooru commented, causing Ganondorf to finally turn towards his food.

Link realizing he might be caught quickly pulled his hand away and turned to look at the others at the table, whistling like he hadn’t just tried to steal. Ganondorf of course saw but he just let out a chuckle, pushing his plate towards his son. Link’s eyes lit up as he took a big bite out of the food, causing Nabooru to shake her head.

“That little one has the appetite of a Molduga.” Nabooru said before turning to Ganondorf. “You're stressed, I can tell.”

“You don’t need to wor-” Ganondorf started to say.

“I will worry, so tell me what’s going on. Or do I need to force combat to make you admit it.” Nabooru threatened, causing Ganondorf to let out a sigh.

“These attacks, these wars that have been fought.” Ganondorf signed out. “We don’t have much in the way of valuable resources, we do not hold any artifacts from long ago. It feels like these attacks are a punishment, as if the gods are punishing me by making me fight. And that all this fighting will eventually push me over the edge….let that monster take over…”

Ganondorf glanced at his hand, the triforce of power glinting back at him, a voice whispering in his ears.

“What about the medicine?” Nabooru asked.

“It’s working, but it’s slowly losing strength.” Ganondorf admitted.

“Why haven’t you said anything?” Nabooru asked, her voice lowering to a whisper. “We can get you stronger ingredients and-.”

“The rest will realize what is happening, and we’ll soon have a civil war on our hands.” Ganondorf said before grabbing Nabooru’s hands. “Nabo, promise me. That if I lose this fight, promise me you will protect Link, you’ll send him away, and protect him till your last dying breath.”

Nabooru looked over to where Link sat, he seemed absorbed with playing with turkey bone, not listening to a word the adults were saying. So much innocence left in his little blue eyes.

“I promise.”

…..
..
.

“Link, hey War!”

War was suddenly yanked from his thoughts, looking around the table seeing the other heroes all in versa conversation, as well as princess Zelda and her champions.

“Are you alright, War, you seem distracted.” Time asked.

“Yeah, you haven’t even noticed Wind trying to steal your food.” Legend added.

“Hey!” Wind said as he quickly pulled his hand away as if War would bite it off.

War let out a laugh before pushing his plate towards Wind and saying, “I’m fine, just not as hungry as I thought I was.”

Wind immediately lit up and began to eat the food, causing Time to raise an eyebrow but eventually the chatter resumed. War did his best to seem like he was interested in the conversation, trying to stamp down any emotions bubbling up to the surface. He promised himself, when he held his dying father that his emotions died that day as well. It’s as Sprite used to say, ‘there’s no point in dwelling on the past, it’s already happened’. War sighed before taking a sip of his drink, wondering if it would be impolite to ask for alcohol.

Goddesses above can they just move on from this subject…

The group ended up universe hopping again, this time after spending the night in the castle. They appear somewhere in a grassland, looking around they could see signs pointing to the castle, or death mountain but those were in a lot of their worlds, so that certainly didn’t help. They were able to find some sort of signage, War quickly recognized the writing.

“We’re in my hyrule, probably about a couple miles away from Lana’s place and about a half day’s travel to the castle.” War informed. “None of the pathways should be blocked unless something happened while I was away.”

“Aren’t you glad to be back, War?” Wind asked with a smile.

“I’m sure he is. His fan club should be happy about his return.” Legend snarked, causing War to make a face but ultimately chose to ignore him.

A snarl-like sound ripped the boys away from their thoughts. A monster, a lizalfos, ran close by only to be knocked down to the ground by Twilights arm. The others drew out their swords, ready for a battle.

“Mercy!” The lizalfos cried out.

All the heroes were stunned and stopped their attack; out of every monster they have fought they never spoke especially not clearly.

“What did you say?” Hyrule asked out of shock.

“Mercy! Please!” The lizalfos cried out. “No harm to you, looking…looking…”

“Looking for what?” Legend snarled out and pointed his sword closer at the monster.

“Master’s son!” The creatures cried out. “Master requested we protect his child but he’s missing.”

“Master’s son?” Four mimicked.

“Please, the only person they serve is Ganondorf.” War commented.

“Yes, yes, our master. He asked us to look aft-” The lizalfos words were cut short by a sword cutting its head from its body. The creature fell over dead before disappearing into dark magic.

“WTF, War!” Legend screamed out as War casually took out a cloth, cleaning his blade off.

“What? That thing was clearly lying, trying to get us to let our guard down so its buddies could attack.” War explained. “Besides, even if Ganondorf had a son, he would have fought alongside his dad during the war.”

“The child might have been too young to fight?” Time offered.

“Then Ganondorf was a shit dad leaving his son alone to go battle .... actually, that does make sense.” War muttered.

“Either way shouldn’t you be worried, a child of Ganondorf out for revenge.” Twilight offered.

“It has to be a lie.” War said. “Ganondorf would have mocked about a possible child coming for revenge, this is just coming out of nowhere.”

“Maybe we should talk with Lana?” Time offered, causing War to look at him like he was insane. “Just to be on the safe side. If there is a child, we also need to know if he’s a threat or if he might be hunted by these monsters.”

“Ugh fine, let’s waste our time and Lana’s by going to her and asking a stupid question instead of doing something productive with our time like hunting down that dark Link.” War said sarcastically.

The others were about to say something until Sky stepped in and spoke. “Isn’t it better that we go to Lana, even if we’re wrong, she can still point us in the direction of dark Link?”

“Ugh fine.” War grumbled out. “Follow me, I’ll lead you to Lana’s.”

War walked ahead, as the group followed behind, Legend and Time were further in the back.

“What crawled up his ass?” Legend muttered to Time.

“Maybe it’s a bad memory?” Time offered. “He seems determined that there is no child, maybe he already got rid of the enemy?”

“But the monster said it was a child.” Legend countered.

“Remember what War said, during war time there is no mercy.” Time replied. “Might be why he’s trying to act like it doesn’t exist. That would be a burden one would bury.”

The two remained silent through the rest of their trip, eventually they ended up at the small house that Lana used so others could ask questions. War knocked on the door, saying he needed some help, he didn’t expect Lana to open and pretty much freak out like a fangirl. She went to all the heroes, shaking their hands, expressing her excitement for meeting them.

“Sorry to interrupt your excitement Lana, however we have some questions involving some enemies.” War said.

“Oh, ok, come in, come in.” Lana said quickly ushering the nine heroes into her small house, completely unassuming but you wouldn’t want the random passerby to know she was the sorcerer in charge of time. “What can I help you with?”

“We need help finding d-” War started to say.

“We need help finding Ganondorf’s son.” Four quickly said.

“....what?” Lana said, causing War to bury his face in his hands with a groan.

“We ran into a monster on the way here, it said it was looking for Ganondorf’s son.” Time explained. “We’re worried that he might come after the captain for revenge, or possibly he doesn’t know, and he’s being hunted.”

“Hmmm…” Lana muttered as her brows furrowed. “I’m unsure, I can’t remember if Ganondorf has a son.”

“See I told you this was a waste of ti-” War started to say.

“While I can’t say for sure about his son…I think…I have a memory about Ganondorf.” Lana admitted.

“What? Why was this never brought up?” War asked.

“I believe it was one of Cia’s memories, you know the half I only got back after the war.” Lana hissed back before her voice lost its venom. “I can show it to you all if you want.”

War opened his mouth to say something, but Wind quickly shouted over him “Yeah show us!”

Lana just nodded before the room slowly faded to show the memory. The group watched in stunned silence as a male gerudo, one who had made many of their adventure's hell begged the sorceress on his hands and knees. The words that slipped through his mouth were pleads, begging for anything, even death, anything so his tribe wouldn’t have to suffer because of the monster taking over him. Cia tried to protest at first before the man, Ganondorf pleaded, if not for world’s sake, then his son, who didn’t deserve to see his father turned into a monster. Cia finally agreed and told the man she would shatter his soul and seal it across time, and the man replied with a thanks and a smile.

The scene slowly faded back to reality, much to everyone’s shock.

“It seems he did have a child…” Lana said sadly. “I would recommend checking out Ganondorf’s old palace, it’s likely where his son will be, or at least some clues to where he could be.”

“Seriously? We’re on a mission from Hylia to stop Dark Link. Why are we wasting time on this?” War argued.

“War.” Wind muttered.

“Soldier, we should do this, this son of Ganon.” Time said with a shuttered. “He could be the source of what’s going on. Or he could be a target, either way we need to investigate.”

“Fine whatever.” War said in frustration. “So, we take a week marching into the gerudo desert to hunt down a ghost. He’s probably not even still alive.”

“He’s alive, there is still some of Ganondorf’s magic in this world, he probably put a protection spell on his child.” Lana informed. “I could give you an artifact, before sending you to the warp points, it would allow you to see the child’s memories once you get back to his home.”

“We would like that, maybe we can catch an idea of if this child will be an enemy.” Time said, War ignored him messing with the collar of his shirt, of course when Lana produced a blue stone, War quickly took it.

“I’ll hold onto it.” War quickly said. “Let’s get this over with it, the sooner we finish this the sooner we can continue our real quest.”

The other heroes looked toward Time who just nodded to them. Lana led them over to the warp pad, and with a flash of blue light, they were gone. As they disappeared Lana began to search her memories and time itself, but it seems like Ganondorf’s magic was still protecting his child, as trying to bring up pictures or the child's location just produce a dark stain so no identifying features could be soon.

‘Please don’t be our doom.’ Lana's thoughts range out as she prays to the goddess.

The heroes exited the warp point, thankfully they didn’t get the normal headache that typically comes with transportation. War let out a sign before pointing in the direction of the gerudo palace, which wasn’t too hard to figure out since the desert stood out close to the grasslands.

War led them and was silent unlike his normal talkative self. Of course, if War didn’t want to talk, the others would happily fill up the silence instead.

“You know I never thought I would see the day that Ganon begs.” Legend said with a laugh.

“It was strange. Seeing that horrible man so human.” Time added.

“Honestly, it was kind of what’s the word for it, like cathati- something. Seeing him powerless for on-” Hyrule started to say.

“Will you shut it!” War yelled out taking the others out of their conversation.

“What?” Hyrule started.

“What’s wrong for you, are you seriously feeling pity for Ganon?” Legend asked.

“No, never. But what you seemed to be forgetting is that the man you're all chatting and laughing about wasn’t Ganon.” War said. “That was a man, scared as his body was taken over by a monster, and begged for help from the only being he could probably think would help him, and accepted his death, and you’re all laughing about it.”

“Hey!” Legend started to say.

“War, you know we don’t mean it like that. Ganondorf has always been a manipulator, that could have been-.” Time started to say.

“Don’t start with me, I know my history.” War said with a grumble before he let out a sign. “It’s unnerving to see the puppet he used, so full of life and emotion.”

There was a moment of silence before War spoke up again. “I apologize, during battles I told myself that Ganondorf was nothing but pure evil, but after seeing that…a being of pure evil wouldn’t beg for death to spare their child emotional pain.”

“I apologize for being insensitive.” Time said, giving Legend a slight smack causing him to apologize too before Time spoke up again. “This is all new to us.”

“Yeah, War, your hyrule is weird.” Legend said in a causal tone, causing War to laugh and the rest of the group to follow.

War was thankful for the laugh; it made it easier to disguise the tears.

Notes:

Please leave thoughts and comments, they inspire me.

Chapter 3: Palace of an old Prince

Summary:

The group finally come up to the old gerudo palace, looking for this fable son of Ganon.

Notes:

Sooo I'm back. I took some headcanons for this, like War scarring his face after the war because of Cia, some functioning for of PTSD and some magic that he often refuses to use.

I hope you like the angst, let me know your thoughts.

The laughter died down and they soon began their march in the desert. It was surprisingly calm, no monsters, no gerudo trying to attack them for daring to invade their kingdom. It was just quiet. It didn’t take long for the palace to appear through the sands, a color nearly causing it to blend in if not for the decaying plants that decorated it.

“It looks like my gerudo town.” Wild commented.

“No monsters or anything…”Hyrule added.

“This place has been dead for a while, it was abandoned even before the war, we sent soldiers in but they found nothing.” War stated, “And we’ll probably fine nothin-”

“Hey what’s that?!” Wind said, pointing to one of the many windows.

All the other heroes crane their heads up to see what he was looking at, War opens his mouth about to brush off the concerns as fabric or a trick of the light. However the protest died as he quickly saw a shadow moved through the frame of the window, someone or something was in the palace.

“Is that the prince?” Four muttered.

“Let’s check!” Wind said as he rushed the door and began to pull on it.

Despite Wind’s might, the door wouldn’t open, eventually his hands slipped and he fell flat on his butt. Twilight went over the doors, grabbing the handle as well and pulling, yet they wouldn’t budge, the rancher only stopped when he heard a pop from his fingers.

“Ow.” Twi grumbled. “It’s not opening.”

“Maybe we need a key?” Hyrule offered.

“There’s probably something in the surrounding area that will unlock it.” Legend offered.

“Let's check out those pillars.” Twilight said, pointing to the old ruins leading up the door.

The others nodded in agreement, well everyone but War.

“I’m going to keep looking at the door, see if there's something we missed.” War offered.

The group nodded and began to explore the surrounding area, thankfully it being in a desert and most of them wore greens and bright colors, they weren’t going to get lost like when Hyrule and Wild wandered off.

War stood by the massive door, pretending he didn’t understand the decoration on the door. Of course War knew what exactly they meant, it was the reason the others had no luck with the door. Hell with all the symbols, War doubt a Lynal running at full spend could break the door open. War felt a smile creep onto his face, his grandmothers work no doubt, those two witches would protect the palace till they croaked.

A loud explosion caught War’s attention as he turned to see Wild holding one of his blue bombs, as Wind and Four were pointing at a piece of old rubble. It was just something that had been destroyed by time, not a secret entrance like the others thought.

War swallowed bitterly, he could either ignore what was going on as the other links destroyed the place trying to get inside. Or he could just open the door and let them in.

‘Family forgive me for what I’m about to do.’ War thought bitterly as he grabbed a ruby gem on the door. There was a hum as the gem looked through the hero, looking for gerudo blood or a blessing from the family before a loud click was heard.

War pretended to be confused as he grabbed the door handle and yanked, it easily opened.

“Hey, it's open!” War yelled out getting the rest of the group attention.

The group rushed back, baffled as the stone door was opened. Twilight spoke up, “What did you do?”

“Turned a gem.” War said with a shrug.

The other links replied with a shrug, it made sense, War never really talked about any dungeons or exploring, so it made sense he would just stumble into something, they’ve all had their fair share of walking face first into the solution.

The group took out their weapons, getting ready for a possible fight as they entered the room. They weren’t greeted by any monster, or even a giant statue like most temples. It just looked like an average palace room. Wild half expected Riju to appear over the railing and greet them with a bright smile.

“No monsters, no signs warning you to leave.” Legend commented.

“It definitely doesn’t feel like a temple or dungeon.” Hyrule added.

“Again, because it isn’t, all we know is this was a gerudo palace, but it’s always been empty.” War replied.

“Still, we should stick together but stay on your toes.” Time ordered. “I’m sure the gerudo placed some sort of security behind.”

All the others nodded in agreement before they slowly went forward, into what was likely a waiting room before the throne room, open space, lots of windows. Something where people would obviously wait to meet the royal in charge.

The group wandered around, looking around the room, breaking some small pots and other items, likely looking for gems or keys. As Hyrule quickly found out the door to the main throne room was locked.

War took a deep breath, allowing his magic to go out but just enough as to not alert his teammates. Just enough to figure out what protections have been placed; he doesn’t want anyone walking into a death trap after all. The palace was familiar, warmth that welcomed him home as he saw where the traps were located, and which ones were activa-.

Ok, that was odd.

War swore he felt one of the traps deactivated and another one reactivated, the one his father never activated sense it was a pain to clean up after.

And then it happened again.

War felt his heart clench, something was turning on and off the traps, something else was in this palace.

However, the warrior couldn’t panic, at least not with the group around, as they quickly called him to continue to explore. War bit down his panic and focused on protecting the group.

According to Legend, this place is a very boring dungeon. Most couldn’t argue with him, there weren’t really puzzles or something like that. There weren't even any monsters that Ganon would have placed to protect it. Right now, they were just exploring the unlocked rooms, Legend was cursing the fact they can’t seem to find any keys. War was breathing a sigh of relief as most of the rooms that were locked were the ones that had traps in them.

It was by luck that with Wild and Hyrule messing around they found another room, a bedroom. Of course, the nine heroes decided to crowd around the small room, because the heroes had a curiosity that was stronger than survival apparently.

“This had to be the prince’s room, right?” Four asked.

The others nodded in agreement, the bed was definitely too small to belong to someone like Ganondorf, but the jewels, the embroidered on the bed, even the weapons that decorated the wall were just too nice.

“Just how young is this prince?” Hyrule muttered as he pointed to the door frame. There were line carvings on the side, slowly getting taller and taller before stopping right below Hyrule’s chin.

“Probably just a child. Like younger than Riju.” Wild commented.

“Welp hopefully that means Ganon couldn’t mold him into a monster.” Legend spat out.

War had slowly stopped listening to the group as they tore up the room, at least for his own sake, otherwise seeing carelessness go through this stuff might reduce him to tears. So, War took a deep breath, only secretly slipping a journal off the vanity into his bag. He knew the others had slowly begun to learn how to read each other's hylian, with varying success, and that was a risk he didn’t want to take.

War caught his reflection in the vanity mirror and just stopped to stare. He looked hylian, clear as day, his skin had a darker farmer tan then most of the other heroes, which most just assume came from working on a farm or outside. The expensive looking earrings could be written off as a familiar heirloom left to the poor orphan.

He brought a hand up to trace the scars that dance across his face, wounds he had told everyone had just been close calls in the war, not something he had done by his own hands. The only one who knew was Zelda and the young Link that joined him on his adventure, Sprite, as he called him. One refused to talk about it, and the other was gone. War always hoped when the world hopped, they would find Sprite, the little gremlin who he called a brother, his last family.

Family….

If he had never left? If he had been stubborn enough to escape and come back to the desert. Would Cia ever have gone after him if he hadn’t met Zelda? I mean she wouldn’t have had the princess as competition. If she did? If she started a war just to get to Link, would his father actively fight back? Or would his father have given him to her, an excuse to get rid of the one who would spell his downfall? If the world had given him to Cia, how many people would have been spared to go home to kids? A fair number of generals had already pointed out the war was his fault, what if they just had allowed one person life for millions? Would he still have all this blood on h-?

“-ar? War?” Time voice called out, as a hand grabbed his shoulder. War jumped a bit as he was brought out his thoughts. Concern danced across Time’s face as he spoke. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine, Old man.” War quickly replied.

“Are you sure? you're staring off like during one of your episodes. Didn’t even notice when the other’s started to leave the room.” Time said.

“Oh.” War muttered. Those episodes were something the group learned about during their adventure; most assume it was War reliving battles. They weren’t as bad as Wild, who was dead to the world until they ended, at least War could be shaken out of his unlike the champion. War realized Time was staring at him, so he spoke up. “Where did the others go anyway?”

“They found some keys; they want to explore more.” Time explained. “Your hair is caught in your earring.”

Time didn’t wait for an answer as he quickly reached over and untangled the red gem earring. War quickly thanked him before both went to join the rest of the group.

Thankfully some god was merciful as they began to explore more, of course it didn’t reveal any monster, gems or anything of real value besides the gems they found decorated the place. Nothing that normally comes with a dungeon, once again boring most of the boys in the group.

“Wait! Who’s that!” Hyrule yelled out drawing his blade. Starting most of the Link to react and reach for their weapons.

The figure was at the end of the hall, dressed in gerudo clothing. However, his face was hidden by a piece of cloth, hiding any features like a Sheikah. The figure quickly ran, and heroes chased after him, through the halls of this labyrinth-like structure. Eventually they rounded the corner to see the figure dive into a door and slam it behind him. Wind ran into the door, before quickly gathering the small keys he had gathered to unlock it.

A part of War’s magic screamed at him as the door clicked.

“Wind! NO!” War screamed out.

The captain rushed forward as the door clicked open and Wind pushed in. War grabbed Wind by the back shirt and flung him back. The others opened their mouths to scream at War only for it to die in their throat as a blade came down on the doorframe, destroying the door and Wind if he stayed there.

“Hylia’s tits!” Legend screamed out.

“Don’t just run into rooms! You don’t know what traps there are!” War yelled.

“Chill captain, this isn’t the first time there have been blades when we open doors.” Hyrule said.

“Well, the blade nearly took off the sailor’s head.” War said.

“It’s strange, this is the first trap we’ve come across.” Hyrule offered.

“Huh, where did he go?” Wind said as he stuck his head in the room, not at all scared of the fact a blade nearly ended him.

As the group decided the room was now safe despite War who was still panicking about traps. They all moved in, again nothing of true value or interest, but they did find some small keys.

This sort of became a pattern, they would find lock doors and explore them, trying to find a key to unlock the throne room. Of course there were traps, that War somehow seemed to sniff out better than most of the dungeon veterans they have. In fact, even when traps seemingly spawn in safe room’s he seemed to know. That wasn’t the only thing, Legend commented that War either had a map he wasn’t telling them about, or he had a great memory, as he was keeping the boys from going in circles. Twilight quickly brought up that on a battlefield he probably had to memorize the layout of stuff very fast.

The figure appeared again, in fact he seemed to be the only sign of life in the palace, if only to mysteriously disappear and lead the group into trap filled rooms. Which was slightly annoying, or at least according to War, running around a person that clearly wasn’t there was wasting time.

They stopped back in the room just off the throne room yet again, however this time Wind had taken this mirror or something that belonged to Time and looked around the room with it before pointing to the wall.

“There!” Wind said, and seemingly like magic, it became very noticeable that the wall had been bricked up, making it likely weaker than the others. “Let’s blow it up!”

The others nodded in agreement, Wild had taken out his slate and produced one of the glowing blue bombs. However, War tried to rack his brain to remember exactly what was sealed away behind that wall, it had to be something important right?....it might have been…

‘Is that the dungeon? Where father tried to bind the darkness away? Where his grandmothers practice magic? Fuck’ War’s thoughts screamed.

War immediately reacted, running up pulling Wild back by his shirt causing him to drop the slate and his bomb disappearing.

“No absolutely not, you're not bombing this wall.” War practically growled out.

“War, seriously moved, we need to get behind this wall, otherwise we won’t be able to move forward.” Legend said.

“No!” War screamed out, he felt a wave of magic as he moved his hand, causing a wall of ice to incase the broken wall behind him. Screw the possible frostbite, he can’t have them going down in the toxic place.

“Woah!” Hyrule said.

“Captain, been holding out on us.” Twilight commented.

“Come on War, we need to get down there.” Wind tried.

“There is nothing of value down there. It’s too dangerous, we’re leaving it sealed.” War stated in a commanding voice.

“But we need to, it’s the only way we’re going to find and get to the prince.” Four tried.

“No, we don’t.” War said.

“Ok, what’s wrong with you? You've been against us since the start, arguing and keeping us from going forward.” Legend yelled out.

“We’re chasing ghosts, I’m not going to lose other because we're chasing a ghost.” War said. “This prince is nothing more than a ghost story, a phantom.”

“How are you so sure? How are you sure this person isn’t Ganon’s son?!” A voice yelled out, at this point War couldn’t figure out who.

“Because I AM!” War screamed out.

As soon as the words left his mouth, War wished for nothing more than to take them back. The shock of them had caused the bickering and yelling of the group to delve into complete silence. War brain ran a mile a minute, he needs to react, he needs to do something.

“Alright, haha, nice joke. Seriously I know shock is used to get attention but don’t even joke about something like that.” Legend said.

Yes, that was a perfect out, all War had to do was react, just laugh along and admit it was for shock. But he couldn’t, he tried so hard to find his voice, but it didn't respond. It was like the spell Nabooru placed on him when she took him from the desert. He tried, War tried, but all he could do was open his mouth and nothing came out. He clenched his fist in frustration.

“It’s not a lie, is it War?” Time said getting the group's attention. “You killed the lizalfo, insisting the prince isn’t real. Getting into this palace, you seemingly know your way around and have avoided every single trap…..that ice magic you just did, it’s the same signature as Kotake.”

“...is that your base for the theory?” War was finally able to squeak out. He needed to deny this, he has too.

“No, you also told me.” Time said.

“What? But I never told anyone ot-” War started to say before he realized he had just all but confirmed the truth. He swallowed the words, remembering who he had told, the little hero he had come to see as his brother. “Sprite, you little shit…”

War just finally allowed the tears to flow down his face, a race of emotions mixed through, relief that this secret was finally over, happiness that Time is Sprite, anger for his secret being out, fear about what the others would think. All the emotions came in an unblending mixture that only tears seemed to relieve.

“Wait, it’s true?” Hyrule asked, fear hitched in his voice.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Legend practically snarled out.

“When the fuck was, I suppose to do that? Should I just have casually dropped that the demon that tormented all of us is the father that raised me over breakfast one day?” War snarked back.

“You should have said something about being raised by a monster.” Twilight yelled.

“Pup!” Time said.

“He wasn’t always a monster.” War said through tears. “I know the monster he turned into; I had to watch as it hollowed out my dad and wore his face into battle! But that wasn’t him.”

“Are you defending him?” Hyrule asked in disbelief.

“But I understand where my Ganondorf was coming from.” Wind offered.

“Still how on earth can we trust him? Knowing he was raised by that monster?” Legend yelled.

“Legend!” Four yelled out.

“ENOUGH!” Time screamed out. The loud booming voice caused the arguments to die. “War has helped us throughout this adventure, and if he wanted us dead, he would have let the traps in the place finish us off. He is a hero like all of us, I remember him bringing Ganondorf’s head as proof of his death.”

“Please don’t mention that.” War said, whipping away his tears.

“Still. I’m unsure about trusting him, especially since he considered the man his family.” Legend growled out.

War pulled out the memory stone, holding in front of him with determination.

“I’ll let you see my memories. And then you can judge me.” War offered. “But just know, I have never and will never betray you all…not after killing Ganon.”

Notes:

yeppp, next are the memories.

Hope you enjoyed, let me know your thoughts, comments or suggestions.

Chapter 4: Memories of Old

Summary:

The boy's finally get to see War's memories.

Notes:

Have you ever been so inspired that you literally couldn't do anything else? That was me with this chapter, I wanted to show War's memories and hurt the boy even more.

About to start school again so don't expect chapters two days apart.

Hope you enjoy.

The other Links stare out War has he held the memory stone, just waiting for him to make a wrong move, like an injured rabbit in a pack of wolves.

“You had to have known early on, what did he do, kidnap you?” Legend asked, anger still tinged his voice.

War did reply but just tightened his grip on the memory stone and held it close to his heart. A mist seemingly exited the stone and began to fill the room, many of the hero’s took out their weapons as if expecting the fight. However the mist wasn’t poisonous, it slowly shifted taking shapes, forming a memory.

The scene was in a desert, as the sound of sand crunching under feet was heard. It became clear, and a small child, maybe about five years old, walked through the sand. The child crossed his arms tightly, his breath fogged in front of him, showing the harsh coldness of the desert at night.

It took the hero’s a second to realize it was War, a very young war, walking through the desert with bloody feet. Naturally eventually the boy fell, not being able to walk further. There was a figure, holding a torch, that must have seen War fell, as if rushed towards the collapsed boy.

The visually in front of them shifted, the desert warped into darkness, a voice was heard.

“A child out in the desert at night? It’s barbaric, no parent in the right mind would do something like that.” A male voice said.

The child finally opened his eyes, revealing the bedroom the group had seen before. However in place of a vanity and cabinets there was a table and two chairs, with two figures sitting on them. War let out a whimper catching the two adults' attention.

The group let out a gasp as they realized it was Ganondorf, however their something off, he was missing the cold stare the demon king was normally known for, now he just held a worried expression.

“Your awake little one.” Ganondorf said, the memory slowly translating the gerudo to hylian. “Are you hurt?”

The boy just started with a lost expression. The female gerudo quickly rushed to the boy’s side, shoving a potion in his mouth and forcing him to drink. After finishing off the red potion, the tiny War finally had the strength to push himself to sit up.

“Why are you in the desert little one?” Ganondorf asked, concern edged across his face. This time he spoke in hylian so the child could understand.

“Mama, hates me….left me here.” War said softly.

Ganondorf's face shifted to an unreadable expression before he softened, he reached a giant hand over and rested it on the boy's head. “Well, you are welcome to stay here. My mothers have been bugging me for a grandchild for them to spoil.”

Ganondorf just smiles, causing the worried expression of War to slowly fade into a warm smile.

“So, he just found you?” Legend’s voice just pierces through the mist.

“He must have done something for you to notice his nature.” Twilight voice echoed out.

War shook his head ‘no’ but it’s not like any of them could see. The mist began to shift again, scene after scene. They could see Ganondorf by the child’s bed, he was talking about something, but no one could really understand it. Eventually the boy got better, and Ganondorf began to take War out of the room, at first carrying him before the child got better to talk on his own. It just felt so real, sometimes War would put stuff in the demon king’s hair. He would do that child thing where he grabbed father’s hair and wouldn’t let go. Other times the child would follow the taller man like a shadow. If the man wasn’t Ganondorf, it would probably warm the heart of the heroes.

“When did you find out?” Four voices called out.

The room swirled again. This time two more figures, War was sitting on the table seemingly playing with a knife. Ganondorf walked by, taking the knife before leaving the room. The two gerudo women's faces shifted to a frown, they looked older as most of their once red hair was now a snowy gray.

“I don’t know what’s his problem, he was playing with weapons when he was three.” The woman with the blue gem said.

“Kotake and Koume, Ganondorf’s mothers.” Time’s voice broke through the mist, letting the others know.

“All protective, you would think the little one will break at the smallest breeze.” Kotake said.

“I wonder about-...Sister, look at his hand.” Koume said, grabbing her grandson in her arms and taking the boy’s left hand, she held it out showing the gold triangle to her twin.

“The triforce of courage.” Kotake said as she took a closer look at the boy’s hand.

“What should we-..We need to take a step out, little one. Be good.” Koume said as she put the boy down and quickly left the room with her twin.

Of course, the little boy, once left alone. Ran up to the door and tried to open it, however being too small to reach the handle, he ended up placing his ear to the door to listen.

“We need to get rid of him.” Koume said. “He had no idea he’s raising his enemy. How many times has that cursed hero taken away our son.”

“But Ganondorf loves him so much.” Kotake replied. “He might not grow into the hero.”

“He has that triforce, he will harm our son!” Koume yelled.

The young child's expression turned to fear as he backed away from the door, he looked at the back of his hand, the Triforce of courage glowing clear as day. War wiped away his tears, glaring at the mark of the hero on the back of his hand. He glanced back at the desk where his grandmothers were working, a piece of hot metal resting on the table. He walked up and climbed up onto the chair, he looked down at the piece of metal before glancing back at the mark.

The young child placed the back of his hand onto the metal however they didn’t hear the scream as the mist quickly shifted. The mist quickly changed, this time the child was sitting on a chair, his left hand now covered in bandages. The twins from before now were hovering next to the boy.

“What do you mean he’s hurt?!” Ganondorf’s voice screamed out.

Ganondorf marched through the door, anger coming off on him as he locked onto his son before glaring at his mothers.

“What exactly were you two doing? Allowing him to get ahead of something to burn himself.” Ganondorf practically growled out.

“It was just for a moment.” Koume tried.

“It's for the better, the boy had the triforce of courage, burning it off might hav-” Kotake started to say.

“Shut it!” Ganondorf growled at. “Anything hurting my son should not be celebrated. And you!”

Ganondorf turned to glare at his son, Link refused to meet the man’s eyes, staring at his feet.

“What were you thinking?!” Ganondorf yelled, worried clearly in his voice. “What possessed you to place your hand on a hot piece of metal?”

Link refused to look at his father, even when he grabbed his arm, the boy’s eyes stayed glued onto the floor. Ganondorf's expression shifted from angry to tiredness, he just let the boy go and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The boy just brought his legs up, to curl up into a small ball.

“What a hypocrite we raised.” Kotake said as she glided next to Link, wrapping her arms around him.

The two women held and comforted the boy, and the world began to shift once again. This time as the mist cleared, it revealed the palace this time clouded in darkness. A young War walked around; his hand still bandaged as he held a candle trying to navigate in the dark. It’s obvious that it had only been a day or two since the burn. Link turned the corner and there was Ganondorf, he was sitting at a desk, a candle burning as papers laid scattered across.

“Link?” Ganondorf said as he spotted the child.

The young War froze in place, as if expecting to be scolded, he waited for anger from the older man. However, Ganondorf didn’t express any anger, he just looked tired as he put down his pen and reached down before saying. “Come here.”

The little boy slowly walked up to the man, who quickly picked him up and placed him on the arm of his chair. There were a few minutes of silence, Ganondorf offering a plate with snacks on it to the boy who meekly took one.

“Are you angry?” Link's small voice croaked out.

“No, no I’m not angry.” Ganondorf said. “My mothers chewed me out ... .I did something similar.”

Ganondorf quickly grabbed the fabric that covered his arm, it quickly revealed a similar Triforce, this time marked at the top, showing a triforce of power. It was surrounded by scars, some were burns, other blades.

“This mark shares a fate, a horrible fate leading to destruction, I wanted so badly to get rid of it, yet it always stayed.” Ganondorf said as he looked down. A piece so many bearing his name did horrible things to get, yet now he hated the sight of it on his skin.

Link slowly reached over and placed it over Ganondorf 's scared hand, seeming to grab the Gerudo King from his thoughts. He looked over, a sad smile spread across his face as he brought a hand up to play with the boy’s hair.

“Look at you, I’m trying so hard to be good, yet I can’t even protect my own child inside my palace.” Ganondorf said, finally allowing tears to flow down his face.

Ganondorf let the tears flow silently, however the child on the arm of his chair didn’t allow that. Link slowly shifted, resting his head on the man’s shoulder before he spoke. "I think you're good, dad.”

It must have broken Ganondorf’s heart as his arms immediately circled around the small boy, holding him close as if he was the most precious thing in the world and the smallest wind would make him fade again. The man wept into the blond hair, begging the boy to be strong and to be safe.

“He knew…” Hyrule’s voice whispers through the scene. “He could have killed you then, but he didn’t….”

“But he didn’t.” War’s mirrored back.

“He must have done something while you were growing up, right?” Legend said. “He couldn’t have been good.”

War squeezed the stone yet again, allowing more scenes to appear.

The environment began to shift much more rapidly. First it showed Ganondorf and Link going about their daily lives, somewhere funny like Ganon holding the young boy away from his grandmothers during an argument. There were some fun ones, like Link braiding Ganondorf’s hair, the young boy trying to sneak a fluffy animal in despite his father’s annoyance. There were a few times where Ganondorf acted one way and Link immediately went to mimic it, which caused the two witches to cackle.

Eventually the scenes began to show War growing up. As he got older, they soon saw moments of War playing, pointing out places on a map. War got taller, he started to spar with Ganondorf, immediately they noticed that all the weapons were blunt so as neither were hurt. Every victory from Link only earns smiles and praises from Ganondorf. Some shifted showing time’s Ganondorf was angry, but it was seemingly never at his son, even for the stupid stuff he did. Most times it was with someone else, Ganon often placed himself between Link and whoever he was pissed at. When Link got to his teens that’s when they saw the first assassination attempt. An assassin with an arrow tried to kill Ganondorf to which a fault shot buried the arrow in Link’s collarbone, Ganondorf of course quickly killed the assassin and quickly began to tend to his son. It swapped again; this time Ganondorf jumped in front of a spear blade to protect his child. Every scene that switches, only strengthens the proof that Ganon once cared for War.

“When did he start to change?” Time asked.

With the question the mist shifted once again. The first thing the group immediately noticed was the darkness that surrounded the triforce of power on Ganon’s skin. It’s like malice seemingly cracking through his skin. The man just glared and tightened the fabric covering it.

“Dad, there you are!” War said rushing to the man’s side, he was wearing traditional Gerudo clothing, with some bigger pieces, likely to protect his skin in the heat. “I have a few ideas about the enemy, you see when we go-.”

“We? There is no we.” Ganondorf stated.

“But these people just attacked us? Kill our sisters out of nowhere and you're going to let them get away with that?” War asked horrified.

“I said nothing about letting them get away with it. However, you will not be part of it, you will be staying here.” Ganondorf said.

“Really? Dad I’m not a child anymore, you can’t keep me here.” War argued.

“Oh, I can, and I will.” Ganondorf said walking away from the child, causing War to chase after him.

“I look like the enemy, I can go in and they will have no idea, I can play the role of a lost traveler.” War offered.

“Absolutely not, you're staying here.” Ganondorf ordered.

“Dad, please.” War tried.

“No.” Ganondorf growled out.

“Why won’t you liste-” War started to say, as he reached for his dad’s arm. The young warrior was completely unaware of his father’s eyes, his normally orange eyes shifting to a sickly yellow.

“I said NO!” Ganondorf growled as he took back his hand and struck War.

The sound was pretty deafening, War was now back into a wall, holding his face as blood dripped out of his broken nose. Ganondorf's eyes shifted back to orange as horror overtook his face.

“Link.” Ganondorf said as he rushed over, stopping before he wrapped his arms around his child, he didn’t deserve to do that. Ganon just ripped off part of his sleeve and quickly put it to his son’s face, trying to stop the bleeding. “I’m so sorry.”

War only let out muffled words, as Ganondorf quickly called for some of the healer to look after his son, as the boy was led away. He could hear the king of the Gerudo’s calling for a woman named Nabooru.

The mist shifted back once again, waiting for another memory.

“When did you see him again?” Four asked. “Was it worst?”

The world shifted around them yet again, however instead of the palace or some place similar like the desert instead the world shifted to a bloody grassland. Many fallen soldiers litter the ground, making every step squishy. War let out some deep shaky breaths as he tried to slow down his heart rate. There were deep heavy footsteps, and War looked up, raising his blade, before he finally spotted the enemy.

“Dad?” War asked softly.

Ganondorf looked down at the young boy, however the group immediately noticed something off. Ganondorf pose wasn’t the normal relaxation, he didn’t immediately rush to gather War up into his arms, something he always seemed to do. No, he just looked at War with sickly golden eyes, a small smile on his face.

Then he took the spear he carried and stabbed War in the chest.

The mist quickly disappeared, War held the stone tighter, his breath coming out in panic shakes.

“That was the next time you saw him?” Four asked horrified.

War allowed one tear to fall before he allowed another memory to flood his mind, allowing more of mist to flood out. The scene shifted, a similar scene from before, there was a smell of blood yet there were no bodies.

They were all greeted to the sight of War stabbing Ganondorf through the heart with the Master sword. Ganondorf let out a groan of pain before he fell back, War didn’t pull back, holding the sword firmly in place. Ganondorf 's eyes shifted from yellow back to its normal orange, going wide as it was like everything was catching up to him.

“Link?” Ganondorf croaked out before spitting out some blood. The man shakingly brought up his hand to cradle War’s face, as it was trying to remember. Tears welled up in Ganon’s eyes before they leaked out. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I hurt my little boy.”

War eyes widened before he just closed them, as if trying to ignore the words, but he let some emotions through as he slowly brought one of his hands up to place it over his fathers.

“I’m sorry, I’ll come back…I’ll find a way to make it right, you shouldn’t have to fight. My little baby, I’m sorry, so sorry…” Ganondorf croaked out.

War scrunched up his face trying to stop listening as tears began to spill out. As the life drained from the Gerudo King, War yanked out the Master sword, grabbing it with both hands and swung it back, ready to take the man’s head.

The mist quickly disappeared, the group looked to see Legend in front of War, his fingers around the memory stone.

“It’s ok…you're ok, you don’t have to show us.” Legend softly said. War allowed Legend to slowly take the stone from his hands. War arms quickly wrapped around himself, as if that would provide comfort. Legend stared into War’s eyes, filled with understanding as Legend spoke. “I’m sorry, Link.”

War let out a cry, a heartbreaking sound that wounded the others as the warrior finally allowed his emotions out.

Notes:

Let me know your thoughts. They help me write.

Chapter 5: Everything's good...right?

Summary:

The others have seen War's memories now time to confront what's in the palace.

Notes:

ok, sorry it took a while but I'm having a hard time writing so I'm finally done.

War burst into tears, bringing his hands to cover his face, no one could blame him, not after what they just saw.

Legend quickly wrapped his arms around the taller hero, his hand still clenching the memory stone as he moved War to rest on his shoulder. As more sobs came out muffled, others began to join, Hyrule walked around to the side where War doesn’t wear armor and put his arm around Warrior and Legend. Much to Legend’s annoyance. Twilight quickly joined, hugging War and trapping the warrior in a huge hug circle.

Time eventually saw War try to wiggle out, so the older hero walked up and pulled War out of it, only to wrap his arms around the soldier in a hug.

“I’m sorry.” Time apologized, he didn’t even know what for, for letting the secret out, or for War having to kill the man that once raised him.

War let out a few sobs and sniffles as he tried to stop the tears before he spoke “You weren’t supposed to grow up, you lil shit, when did you get so big?”

The words got many of the heroes laughing including Time as he finally let War go. War brought his hands up to each side of Time’s face cradling it. Time allowed it, he always hated when War did this when he was smaller. But now looking at the soldier’s memories, seeing how much his father did this and how much comfort it brought him, he decided not to protest.

War eventually pulled away, drying the tears from his eyes.

“He really loved you.” Wind’s voice piped up.

“I liked to think he did.” War muttered softly.

“But he sent the monster to protect you, right?” Wind asked.

“Fa-” War started to say before he stopped and corrected. “Ganondorf wasn’t in his right mind until I killed him. He would never be sane enough to give out an order to protect his son.”

The group was silent as the weight of the words set in.

“That means that something is after you and knows enough about Ganon to know he had a son.” Time said.

“And whatevers in here is part of that.” Legend added.

“Probably. Maybe it just knows that one of the heroes is Ganon’s son, but not which one.” War offered. “It’s setting off the traps figuring the real son would avoid them.”

War let out a grumble as he brushed some of his hair out of his face.

“Then it’s likely hiding in the throne room, it has that big lock on it.” Hyrule said.

“Yeah, a room we can’t access because War won’t let us in the dungeon.” Legend countered.

“The dungeon is where grandmas practice their magic, if the elemental isn’t harsh enough it’s also where dad would try to bind away some of the malice. I can’t imagine the cursed magic down there.” War hissed back.

“Then how the hell are we supposed to get to the throne room?” Legend asked.

War didn’t say anything, just began to mess with his tunic before he brought out a necklace underneath his collar. He began to fiddle with it, almost like a puzzle before it clicked and shifted, revealing a key in its place.

“You had the key the whole time!!” Legend screamed out.

“Of course I had a key, I was the prince after all.” War said casually as if it was the most natural thing.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Legend says exacerbated.

“Again, I couldn't exactly say anything before. Consider it payback for wrecking my old room.” War said as if it was the most casual thing ever. The other heroes flinched at the words; some suddenly became really interested in their shoes. As War went over to the lock, he suddenly noticed the others expression and quickly spoke up. “I’m not upset, I’m fine with it.”

The others didn’t say anything as War walked up to the throne room door and began to unlock it.

“Are you sure you want to go in there, War?” Time said. “You could stay back?”

“I’m a hero, aren’t I? I can handle this.” War said as he unlocked the door. His tone however wavered, and while he might not have said it, the others knew they would be there to support him.

The door clicked open and everyone walked inside, their hands hovering over their weapons just to be safe. War went first and the others followed after him. The room reminds Wild a lot of his gerudo town, a tall throne made out of stone was at the far end, easily too big for someone like Riju. However, the throne wasn’t alone, a smaller one sat over by the side, a red fabric draped over it.

The others looked around as well, trying to see if anything was off, looking for the hint of where their enemy could have gone. A sudden shift of the winds causes the room to be flooded with more light. A gasp escaped War, causing the others to draw their weapons before seeing what he was looking at.

It was a painting, likely commissioned by Ganondorf as the king was in full armor and wearing a crown. However, the king didn’t have his normal cold glare, instead he had a warm smile. In his arms was a small child, perhaps a toddler, with golden hair, practically engulfed in a red scarf, happily smiling in the man’s arms.

They all stood silent as they stared at the picture, ignoring the tears that were trying to escape War’s eyes.

“Which one of you is it?” A sharp voice said.

The group jumped at the sudden sound turning towards the source. It was the figure from early, wrapped in gerudo clothing, floating down from the top of Ganon’s old throne. The clothing fell away from the floating man, his features looked so average as he turned and looked at the painting. He turned back to the group with a glare.

“Which one?” the phantom growled out as his face shifted to each one of the heroes. “Which one is the Master's missing son?! Tell me!!”

Finally, the person screams, dropping its disguise revealing a sort of phantom, somewhat shaped after the gerudo king War had once called father. It pulled its hands up, magic swirling around them.

“Scatter!” Time barked out.

The group quickly followed the order, just barely missing the dark lightning that was struck down. Wild reacted the fastest, pulling out his bow and launching an arrow at the phantom, actually hitting it. The Phantom grunted in pain and fell to the ground, Legend was able to get a few good hints in before it floated back up.

“I just need a bit of your blood and magic, don’t you want him back?” The phantom said.

Warrior froze but while he was still the other continued to fight. He was just barely able to react to avoid being hit.

The battle was brutal, the phantom attacked enough, always seemingly trying to draw blood, but never enough to kill. The group dodged the attacks, trying to avoid being struck by the phantom before swinging at the monster.

It honestly didn’t take long, considering there were nine heroes and only one Phantom. War was the one who struck the final blow. War felt his skin crawl as the Phantom looked up at him, giving the same sad smile his dad once did, as the phantom gripped the soldier's wrist holding War’s sword.

The phantom faded quickly, leaving the room empty besides the heroes. Hyrule quickly rushed up to War, grabbing his bloody wrist.

“I’m fine, I’ll live.” War tried to protest.

“You need healing.” Hyrule protested.

“I’m fine damn it; others are more injured than me! Let go!” War barked out. He wasn’t wrong, Wind and Wild had gotten hit by the phantom and were sporting much nastier gashes.

“But-” Hyrule started to say.

“I’ll look after him and make sure the idiot doesn’t pass out.” Time said earning a ‘hey’ from War. “We should probably make camp soon; we’ve had a tough day.”

“The desert will just bring a chill.” War muttered.

“Then should we set up camp inside?” Twilight asked.

No one replied right away, they just looked at War as if waiting for his response.

“Why are you all looking at me?” War asked.

“This place is technically yours, you should-” Twilight started to say.

“Oh, great Hylia above! Don’t start with this, just set up camp.” War said with a sigh before he walked over to the smaller throne.

The others didn’t say anything, probably just to give the older hero some time. Wild went over to the fireplace, lighting it. This room was well protected, not like anything evil would crawl out and try to hurt them.

War walked over to the smaller throne picking up the red fabric that draped over it. The hero balled up the fabric before burying his face in it. Slight tears peaked out of the corner of his eyes, and he felt the familiar texture.

“It’s the same one in the picture.” Time commented as he walked next to War.

“It was his originally, it was part of formal wear according to grandmothers. They said I love that piece of fabric so much, would grip it and refused to let go. Eventually he just gave it to me.” War said with a slight laugh. “Hey Sprite.”

“Huh?” Time replied.

“I want to be honest with the group. If they ask about anything, you can tell them.” War replied.

“War.” Time started to say.

“They're going to hound me or they're going to be too nervous to say anything and go to you. So, I’m giving you permission to tell them everything.” Warriors admitted. “Everything, the good, the bad, the ugly. You have my permission.”

“Are you ready to tell them?” Time offered.

“Honestly no, but I don’t think I have a choice in the matter.” War said with a bitter laugh.

“I could always chase them off for you?” Time said, ruffling the soldier’s hair causing him to let out a squeak, which just cause Time to laugh.

The two just laugh before going back to the group, seeing their camp set up which was seemingly bedrolls in the throne and Wild having to move to actually cook over the fireplace. They all gathered around, most of the sensitive topics were danced around, with the others just opting to talk about their homes, or weapons or anything that wasn’t War.

War laughed and tried to focus on the other heroes, their smiles and their happiness and ignore his gut that was screaming at him that something was wrong. That’s right, they were all right, everything was good.

 

…

..

.

Somewhere far away from the desert, two older gerudo women looked over the body of their son. Bags sat under their eyes, sleepless nights trying to get back the son they had raised. A dark spirit quickly rushed in, the last ingredient they needed.

Ganondorf opened his orange eyes with a gasp.

Notes:

Let me know your thoughts and ideas, it might motivate me to write.