Author's Note: And here we are once again. I probably should have uploaded this last week, but I have the attention span of a ferret. I apologize. I'm trying to stay a certain number of chapters ahead of what I've got posted, so at least things shouldn't be too delayed by my easily distractedness. I know that my chapters are fairly short, but in the end, I think the sheer number of them will make up for it.
Anyway. Some basic development between these two. Enjoy.
And, as always, the fanfic muse feeds on reviews, so please feed the muse.
I don't own Legend of Zelda or any characters therein, and I'm not making any money off this. No suing.
"I hope you don't mind that I'm going to call you Link. I simply can't think of you any other way."
Link nodded. "Fair enough. I actually kept that as my first name. I guess you won't mind me calling you Gannondorf, then."
There was an undefinable look on Gannondorf's face for a moment. "Actually, I'd prefer it. Not, of course, in front of any of my business associates."
Link shrugged. "Yeah, it would kind of confuse everyone if we suddenly started going by different names. So. Getting down to business. What's this Stone of Ages?"
Gannondorf passed a folder to Link. "You might have heard that I collect certain artifacts. Most, if not all, are items of a magical nature, usually powerful. Many date from the age of Hyrule. The Stone of Ages is one of them. It was one of the treasures of the Gerudo." He shrugged. "It turned up after my time."
"Okay... I kind of figured, about the collecting... I mean, I got some of that stuff for you." Link flipped through the file. "Which, by the way, is a really weird thing for me to say."
"It's strange hearing it from you."
Link grinned as he continued looking through the file. "So, yeah. I know what I got for you. I didn't have anything to do with this Stone of Ages. What's it supposed to do?"
Gannondorf shrugged. "It was never used, so there are only legends about its powers. Some say that it was a counterpart to the Ocarina of Time, which, of course, you are familiar with. Some say that it gave whoever possessed it the power to bring the past to life, or even rewrite time itself. All that I know for sure is that the Gerudo thought it too dangerous to ever use."
"Oh, that's always fun. So it's gotta be bad news. What about the thief?" Link handed the file back. "What do you know about them?"
"Only that whoever it was knew the right kind of magic to appear invisible to cameras." Gannondorf cued up the camera feeds showcasing the rolling glitch. "And that whoever it was knew exactly what they were after. That was the only thing disturbed. Considering that, in the way of all major artifacts, it actually doesn't look like all that much and that it was displayed right next to a pile of rupees, that says quite a lot."
Link nodded. "Someone knows what it is, and wants to use it. Not a good sign. What kind of security do you have? Besides guards and alarms. Any traps, spells? You know, old school stuff."
"Enough that you'd have had an interesting time getting to it." Gannondorf considered for a moment. "Actually, I could show you. You're practically the only person in the world that would appreciate the collection properly, anyway."
"Huh? Really?" This was really throwing Link off. He was not used to Gannondorf even being civil to him, much less treating him as a peer. "I'd... I'd like that, I think. Haven't seen much stuff from Hyrule recently. It's gotten... kinda hard to find." He shrugged. "It would be good to look at the security anyway. Did anyone else know about the Stone?"
"Just the Oracle Foundation. I contracted with them to obtain it in the first place."
"And if they were behind it, you never would have got it in the first place." Link nodded. "Maybe they can get a lead on who else might know. They seem to know everything else."
"Ah, I see you noticed that too."
