Link angrily swung his pickaxe at the wall, the impact sending stone chips everywhere. Stupid Firebrand, he thought.

"The only place to work is the mine," he mocked under his breath. "Pay's good, and it's not as bad as it sounds. Bullshit!"

He swung the pickaxe again, exposing a little more of the vein of iron. A couple sizeable chunks already lay beside him. Link had been proud of it, but had seen other miners with piles three times the size.

Link swore, swinging the pickaxe again. What Firebrand hadn't mentioned was that the miners were paid based on how much iron they mined.

Link swung again, putting some venom behind it. The axe head struck the wall at an awkward angle, sending painful vibrations into Link's hands.

Growling, he swung the pickaxe as hard as he could. The axe head rebounded off the wall, coupled with a sickening crack. Link glanced down, noticing a large split running along the handle. Tossing the useless axe aside, Link glared at the stubborn iron lode.

He quickly looked around, deciding to try something. He closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to figure out what he did when Shifting himself. After a few moments, he realized he could still see the world around him, as a series of interconnected lines. Link stretched out with his mind, probing the lump he knew was the iron lode.

Concentrating, he rearranged the lines, bringing the collection of lines that made up the iron lode toward him. Yet they simply fell back into place. Link tried again. The world would submit. He could move himself, therefore he should be able to move a stupid little chunk of iron…

Link felt a slight shift. Opening his eyes, he saw the chunk of iron, free of the stone, in front of him. Grinning, he tried again, reaching out to find more iron. Although everything seemed to be made up of a three-dimensional gridwork, Link could instantly tell what everything was. He located another iron lode in this fashion, and Shifted it out of the rock.

After a few minutes, Link had a respectable pile of iron ore in front of him. Link slumped, his forehead bathed in sweat. Moving other objects proved much more taxing than moving himself.

Still, he was satisfied. Now he could justify getting a new pickaxe.

Hours later, Link exited the mine, squinting against the sunlight. He was exhausted, grimy and was pretty sure he had pulled something in his shoulder, but just over two hundred Rupees now rattled in his pockets.

He entered the city with the other miners, following the directions Firebrand had given him. Although he could vaguely remember the city's layout, he didn't trust the fragments. I'll have to see what I can do about getting those back, Link mused. If he could remember Thieves' Domain, there must be other memories buried in his skull.

Groaning, he walked toward Firebrand's house, opening the door with the key he had been given earlier. He entered freely, poking his head into Firebrand's room. "Hey Firebrand, do you know where the-"

Then he noticed the woman in the bed with Firebrand. And a lot more he didn't really want to see.

"Son of a bitch!" he yelled, shielding his eyes.

In the room, Firebrand quickly gathered the blankets around him and the woman. "Dammit, Link! Didn't you see the belt on the door?"

"There was no belt on the door!" Link yelled, still covering his eyes.

Firebrand smacked his forehead. "Awww, shit! I knew I forgot something."

He chuckled to himself. "Tell you what, come back in, say, twenty minutes or so. Baths are in the main square, by the way."

Link almost ran out of the house. Just before he closed the door, he heard Firebrand say, "So, where were we?"

"God dammit!" Link muttered, slamming the door. It was then that he noticed that he'd left the key inside. He swore again, stomping off toward the baths.

Exactly twenty minutes later, Link returned, feeling a lot better. It was surprising the morale boost just being clean gave. He knocked on the door. "Is everything okay, or should I leave again?"

"Nope. Come on in."

"I locked my key inside."

"You mean my spare key?"

"Yeah. Fine. Whatever. Let me in."

The door opened, and Firebrand stepped out. "I was thinking more along the lines of hitting the nearest bar," he said.

Link frowned. "I'm pretty sure I don't drink."

He was pretty sure, but couldn't remember.

Firebrand waved a hand dismissively. "Whatever. You will after tonight."

He turned and walked down the road. "Follow me," he called over his shoulder. "I know a good place."

Firebrand was right about it being a good bar. The food was quite good, and its beer, although Link had nothing to base it on, was excellent. After three of them, Link was sure that he didn't drink, mainly because he was getting quite buzzed.

"So, how does this city survive, if it's cut off from the outside world?" Link asked, slurring slightly.

Firebrand made a sweeping gesture with his hand. "You saw the fields and stuff coming in, right? We get food from there, metal from the mines, and anything else from nomads in the west. We're cut off from Hyrule, not the rest of the world."

"The kingdom must really have suffered then, if there's an entire city of thieves."

Firebrand glared at him. "I'm going to let that one go, since I like you. But don't mention that again."

"Besides," he continued, leaning back precariously, "not everyone here is a thief. Most of the people are either sell-swords or falsely accused. There is the odd crime lord, but it's not so much Thieves' Domain as People-who-aren't-generally-accepted-in-Hylian-society's Domain. Thieves' Domain is just less of a mouthful."

"Oh," Link said, sipping at another mug of beer. For some reason, he found it difficult to keep his balance. The floor seemed to be tipping back and forth.

Link let his mind wander, and found himself listening in on other patrons' conversations. A pair of men walked by, chatting. "So, what's old Ponzu got you on now?"

The name rang in Link's head like a gong hit with a sledgehammer. He jerked, and fell out of his seat. A couple patrons looked over and had a quiet chuckle, but it went unnoticed for the most part. Firebrand frowned at Link as he got up. "You okay, man?"

"Yes. No. I don't know." Link said, immediately sober. "The name Ponzu mean anything to you?"

"Ponzu?" Firebrand replied, frown deepening. "He's one of the more well-known crime lords here. Gained quite a following in the last few years."

"Crime lord," Link muttered, searching through the new memories that had exploded into his head. Ponzu was a crime lord then…he was the guy who-

"Oh, no," Link moaned.

"What?"

"I'm a little high on his hit list." Link said sheepishly.

"Who, Ponzu?" Firebrand shook his head. "What the hell did you do?"

Link looked away. "The first time I was here, I had an…altercation with him."

"What. Did. You. Do?"

Link winced. "Killed three of his men and stole from his artifact collection."

"Oh, shit." Firebrand said. "We're fucked."

"It has been three years," Link suggested.

Firebrand shook his head. "Won't make any difference. If there's anyone who can hold a grudge, it's Ponzu."

He slammed a fist down on the table. "Why the hell did you come back here?"

"Look, I just remembered!" Link said, temper flaring.

"Oh, so you just forgot that one of the biggest crime lords here is out to kill you?"

"Hey! It's not my fault!" Link protested. "I can't remember anything! I barely remember coming here!"

Firebrand paused, taken aback. "You lose your memory or something?"

"I think so."

"Well," Firebrand said, raising a finger for the bar tab. "That explains a lot."

Link looked over at Ponzu's men nervously. 'We should probably leave."

"Way ahead of you," Firebrand replied, tossing a red Rupee on the table. "We're gone."

Link followed him out the door, leading him into a side alley. The whole time, he kept checking over his shoulder. "Stop that," Firebrand hissed. "You draw more attention to yourself when you look all paranoid like that."

"Those two guys," Link said. "I'm pretty sure they recognized me. They gave me a knowing look when I went out."

"In that case," Firebrand replied, "We should probably move a little faster."

Link checked over his shoulder again. Three people were behind him. "We need to be gone now," he hissed. "We're being tailed."

Firebrand sighed. "There you are, being paranoid again. They're probably just…"

Moonlight reflected off a naked blade in the hands of one of them. "Crap," Firebrand muttered. "Follow me. We can probably lose them."

"I'm not taking that chance," Link growled. He moved forward and grabbed Firebrand's arm. "Don't ask any questions," he hissed.

With that, he closed his eyes, and Shifted them to Firebrand's house. They appeared in the main room. Firebrand looked around, eyes wide. "What the hell was that?" he squeaked. "How'd we get here?"

"I said no questions!" Link snapped. "Get what you need, and I'll get us out of here."

Firebrand gave him a wary look, shook his head, and went into his room. He returned a moment later with a small pack and his ball-and-chains. "Ready to go," he said.

Nodding, Link grabbed his arm and Shifted them both to the tree where Firebrand had found him. "Just one question," Link said after looking around. "Why are you sticking with me?"

"Hey, I'm in shit too!" Firebrand protested. "Guilt by association!"

"Besides," he said, lowering his voice. "Going with you is interesting. Things have been getting a little boring lately."

He looked around. "So, where to?"

Link shrugged. "I have no idea. I lost my memory, remember? I would prefer a major city, but it's entirely up to you."

Firebrand pulled out a map, studying it for a second. "How about Castle Town?" he suggested. "I've got some friends there, and Ponzu wouldn't dare go near it."

"Where is it?" Link asked, feeling uneasy.

"Right over here," Firebrand said, tapping the map.

Link studied the map. The location Firebrand had given was identical to where he had…appeared. "Are there any ruins near it?"

"Uh, no. Why?"

"Then it's been completely destroyed," Link said flatly. "The only building still standing is the castle. The remains are occupied by some very unfriendly people."

Firebrand paled. "I heard rumors…they were true?"

"Seems so," Link replied. "Any other ideas?"

Firebrand tapped a spot on the map. "Our next best option would probably be Belmange. It's another major city, and reasonably close to Castle Town."

"How far away?" Link asked.

"Twenty or so leagues, due northwest."

Link nodded, grabbing Firebrand's arm again. After a few minutes of intense concentration, he managed to Shift them to the grove.

Firebrand looked around as they reappeared. "Where are we now?"

"A grove several leagues north of Castle Town," Link replied, sagging. Shifting both himself and someone else was just plain exhausting. "I'm afraid we'll have to walk the rest of the way. I can't take us any farther."

Firebrand gave him a concerned look. "You okay?"

Link waved a hand. "I'm fine. It's just…taxing. I need to rest."

Within minutes, he was asleep.

Firebrand stayed for a moment, watching him. After a minute, he got up and gathered some firewood. After building a small campfire, he searched his pockets for matches, finding none.

After a brief bout of swearing, he looked over at Link, making sure he was asleep. Then he touched his finger to a piece of kindling. Moments later, the fire was blazing.

Firebrand sat back and watched it, thinking. He had thought he was different. Unique. Now, with Link, everything was different. What was unique became…ordinary.

One thing's for sure, he thought, tossing a branch on the fire. Things are going to get pretty interesting.