A/N-

MY FIRST LEGEND OF ZELDA FANFIC EVER! -dies-

Okay. I have no idea where this came from, except from my brief freak out with Z about how Ganondorf in Twilight Princess looks freaking BADASS as opposed to funny and pointy, as usual. XD That, and my constant squealing over Link. ...But that's a given. -cough- ANYWAY! This is Inexplicable Development, which is EXACTLY what it was when the idea popped into my head. Warnings? Probably just swearing, gore, wrongness of all types. ...There's an O.C. in here (currently nameless), as well.

Oh, given that I just mentioned TP, THIS is Ocarina of Time, since I technically have only finished OoT and MM, but I've played bits of WW, TP, ST, PH, OoA, and OoS. XD So MANY.

Please review - I know, same old, same old, but this is a HUGE chance for me, since I wasn't really planning on posting this. What the heck, may as well stick my neck out there, right?

His footsteps were strangely muffled – he imagined the dark forces Ganondorf had just used to banish Phantom Ganon...somewhere, still lingered to some degree. He scooped up the gleaming Heart Container, holding the crystalline form up to watch the faint light stream through.

"Come on, Link!" He just nodded, ignoring the bobbing light above him. If he squinted, he'd probably be able to make out Navi's indignant form, hands on slim hips, tiny, brilliant eyes narrowed in frustration at him. He winced as wounds he didn't remember getting twinged, and pocketed his prize, yawning as he stepped into the blue light.

"Wait – Link!" He whipped around even as a snarling sound, followed by a sharp crack, ripped the heavy quiet, and the blue light he was accustomed to using to leave dungeons went dark, and he was thrown hard onto stone.

Definitely not the Chamber of Sages – move! He rolled out of the way of the sword and moved to his feet, unsheathing his sword and holding his shield in front of him unwaveringly in one fluid motion. His eyes were still adjusting to the darkness, but he could hear the creaking, and sighed.

Stalfos. "Damn it." He spun the sword lightly, loosening his grip on it and moving to the side, feeling an odd, wry grin forming on his face. The creaking got louder, and he heard the whoosh of air as the sword came down to his left. He turned and jabbed the Stalfos Knight in the spine, reversing his motion at the last moment and coming back into a backhanded slash that severed the skeletal enemy's spine. His eyes adjusted completely to the gloom just as another knight executed a clumsy jump attack. He sidestepped it and kicked it forward, forcing it further off balance right before he decapitated it. He eyed his handiwork critically right before it disappeared completely. He was becoming a little too comfortable with this; he wondered exactly what would occur once he defeated Ganondorf. Would he be able to find a new life in a peace he'd created? He sighed and rolled his shoulders, thanking the goddesses for the adrenaline coursing through him, keeping his mind off the discomforts that would normally be gnawing at him while he licked his wounds at Lon Lon Ranch, before heading off to his next challenge. He paused, feeling a strange prickle go down his spine.

"Navi?" Nothing; no bobbing light, no shrill scoldings for not being more careful – nothing at all.

Where am I? He sighed and strode forward, silently filling in the rant he was sure he'd be subjected to by Navi when they were reunited. He was in a large corridor; nothing too complex, no puzzle to solve. Just go straight, either way; I landed dead center, there's got to be something around here. The first door, to the right of where he'd landed, was locked. Left it is. He continued at a leisurely pace – what was the point of tiring himself out when he had no idea where he was or what was around the – he barely leapt back as the Beamos' beam ripped across the carpet at his feet, leaving a smoking trail.

Corner. A lobbed bomb and the infuriating statue was dealt with, along with three more behind it. They really hadn't changed much since he was eleven.

"Their range just got better." He probably should stop talking to himself, but without Navi, his mind was all he could rant to.

"Great." The next room revealed a total of five Lizalfos – a welcome relief to the eerie silence. He launched into the first, startled foe with relish, felling it with a jump attack and moving into a spin attack with the next breath, throwing three of its allies. Din's Fire dealt with those three, and he turned his attention to the squawking survivor. He stared at it for a moment, wondering how he ever could have taken these things seriously; it was like Ganondorf had transplanted a Cucco into a lizard's body, given it the ability to walk on two legs, and gave it armour and weapons.

Unbelievable. He decided to break the rules and hurled his sword into it. It went down easily, and he calmly retrieved the Master Sword, silently apologising for sacrilege. The next three rooms were empty, but ominous tones – from an organ, if his ears weren't deceiving him – filled the air, getting louder as he climbed spiraling staircase after spiraling staircase. He eventually came to the conclusion – three staircases later – that this was in fact Hyrule Castle – or rather, the perverse image Ganondorf had warped it into. There was a brief sting of doubt in his mind; he hadn't released the other five Sages, and he had literally just woken up a few days ago – did he stand a chance against the self-proclaimed King of Evil? There was something, perhaps pride, that shoved that thought away and assured him that he could do this; he was the Hero of Time, and Farore forbid he forget that.

The final door was somehow colder than the rest of them; he pushed it open and stepped inside, eyes immediately searching for his nemesis. The organ music had stopped a few rooms prior, but he could tell this was the room from which it had been produced.

"Ganondorf!"

"You don't need to yell, kid." He fought the urge to grit his teeth – don't screw up your dental over him! – and stepped further into the room, eyes locking with the malevolent yellow gaze of the Gerudo king. Oddly enough, he wasn't smiling – or smirking, or grinning. Most of the cockiness he remembered from his brief encounter with the man seven years earlier didn't seem nearly as prevalent. His arms were crossed across his powerful chest, a slight frown on his dark face.

"You shouldn't be here." The blonde hero stopped in his tracks and gaped.

"What? You pull that cocky little display in the Forest Temple, drag me here, and now you have the nerve-" He yelped when the taller man swept past him, a sword materializing from out of nowhere.

"Who the hell are you?" Link pivoted to glare at the king and paused upon seeing the newcomer, seated – for lack of a better word – above the door, one leg crossed over the other, examining his nails, as if he was not seated in midair before two of the most – if not the most – powerful men in the world. He yawned, covering the motion almost daintily with a small hand.

"Good. You didn't try to leave. Granted, I locked the doors, but I wouldn't put it past you to try to shatter them when you realised you couldn't locate a key." He stood, still in midair, and moved forward, descending as if on an invisible staircase, walking past them until he was on the floor.

"Put those away – unless you intend on fighting one another, you won't need them." He paused, twirling on one foot to face them again.

"Then again...perhaps that would be best. Mother certainly didn't say how I was supposed to do this, only that neither one of you could die. A pity – if I could dispose of one or the other, the Princess would be that much easier to destroy. Damn destiny bond." Link stopped and sheathed his sword, backing up now, eyes narrowed.

"Who are you?" The man wrinkled his nose.

"My identity is conveniently irrelevant – honestly, I had hoped to bypass the usual questions. Just because yours is a goddess often associated with secrets, does not mean you are to bear them." He rolled his eyes and produced a translucent silver triangle, face impassive.

Can this get anymore surreal?

"Now, I'm sure you'd both love to know what this is, who I am, the meaning of life, and who will win this idiotic war of yours; I'm sure that's quite important to your little Princess too. I, however, have another agenda – and you are going to make it happen." He held the triangle up.

"I'm about to alter your little quest a bit – nothing too drastic, but it'll force some changes. Now, to make sure neither of you will do something I'd have to kill your for – namely, trying to break out of this little trial I've put together, I need something from both of you." He was a few feet from the door and he couldn't move. Typical. The back of his hand was burning, but his mind felt fuzzy, and he was dizzy.

Take a deep breath – this will be over in a moment. The man nodded once, and the burning suddenly stopped, before he closed his fingers around the triangle, a small, bland smile appearing on his face.

"Back to where you came from, then. I'll be back in a few months, perhaps." He disappeared in a whirlwind of light, his breathy laugh echoing even as two swords sliced the air he'd been standing in. Link barely leapt backwards himself when Ganondorf turned on him, spinning the sword lazily as he stalked him across the room.

"Wait! Wait, don't you – ack! – want to know what he did to us!" He rolled under the next attack and yelped when the world twisted and snapped back into place outside. He was standing on Hyrule Field – and Ganondorf was trying his damnedest to decapitate him.

"Kid, I don't give a fuck what he did to us – I get rid of you, and the Princess is dead either way."

"Link!" Never before had he been so happy to hear the bell tones of Navi's voice. He stumbled backwards and winced – the adrenaline that had been pushing him through the castle earlier was gone, and he was having a hell of a time standing up straight, let alone blocking and/or dodging Ganondorf's attacks. He started when he felt energy course through him, and barely noted the shining pink form in the corner of his eye before he was again dodging a blow from Ganondorf.

Faeries. I love faeries so much. He pulled his sword in time to block an overhead strike from Ganondorf and force him back, whipping the shield forward to hit him in the face, blinding him long enough to deliver a blow to his legs.

Stun and incapacitate him, then finish him off. He was slightly surprised when Ganondorf stepped back and leaned out of the way of the strike, his own attack glancing off Link's shield.

Get behind him. This failed as well; in turn, he found himself sporting an ugly slash across his upper right arm. The back and forth continued, almost as if choreographed, both combatants sporting equal amounts of wounds. A particularly well aimed backhand caused Link to stagger back, holding his hand to his jaw, hissing oaths under his breath as he panted, struggling to draw more air into his lungs, despite his battered ribs. His shield was somewhere near Lon Lon Ranch; they were nearing Gerudo Valley. He skidded in the gravel, spinning to the side and barely managing to miss the slice to his back. He stopped moving completely, breath coming in harsh pants, eyes narrowed on his opponent. The black armoured Gerudo wasn't fairing much better; he had several slashes across his face, his left arm bore a deep cut that had probably severed muscle, and he had an arrow buried in his right thigh from when Link had decided to stop using his shield. His nose was broken – Link had managed to successfully slam his shield into his face twice, the first time cutting his jaw and the second hitting him square in the face. Navi fluttered above him, frantic.

"Link! Please, we can run now – you don't need to do this!" What an odd thing to say. He straightened, blowing sweat damp blonde hair out of his eyes.

Of course he did. He charged, ignoring Navi's scream, slamming into Ganondorf with as much force as he could muster, not even feeling the pain of the sword coming across his chest, right before he almost ran him through. Almost. He skidded to the side a moment too early, the sword slicing across the Gerudo's side, and slammed him into the wall, staring into his amber eyes, barely registering the taller man's hot breath across his face, right before the world surged and he was suddenly back in the castle – in chains.

"You bastard! Get your ass back here so I can kill you properly!" The Gerudo just stared at him, hand loose around the hilt of his sword. Link swore and struggled against the chains, screaming threats and expletives, eyes practically glowing with fury. Ganondorf slowly stepped back, and then turned, limping out, barking an order to a pair of Stalfos standing at the door before it slammed behind him, cutting the furious Hylian's screams off behind him.

A/N: O.O -fear- REVIEW, PLEASE! ...Not much to review ON, but a couple words will make all the difference. XD