A/N: Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

A Pair of Time

Chapter 55- Requiem of Spirit, Part 2

Desert Colossus; Day

The ground continuously thirsts for rain even though none has mercy for it in ages. Only seven years from now would a mysterious person appear and summon the sky's succor with a play of his angelic harp. The desert will have to wait for that day. But for now, its parched atmosphere continues to ache, under the overseer of the torturous sun. Hot and dry are the land's signs, as are any other desert's characteristics.

The ambiance suddenly becomes disturbed as scattered pieces of light soar through the air. Its destination is the untouched platform on the far side of the valley. Once it reaches there, it disembarks its passengers: a boy, a girl, and a fairy. After they materialize onto the platform, the light fades away, finished with its duty.

"Here it is, fairy boy!" Malon spreads her arms out to emphasize. "The desert!"

The first thing that comes into Link's mind is, "Hot." He wipes away a sweat drop, already starting to pour out in the intense heat.

"Yep. Get used to it, because I am."

The second thing is, "Nice desert. But… wow." Link stares at the Colossus with an awed expression. "Your description of the Colossus was way too weak!"

"Well, I did say it was too hard to describe it in words."

"Goddess, that's beautiful… and that statue there is the desert goddess, I suppose?"

"Yep. The Sage sure did a great job carving that out."

"And the Spirit Temple's in there?"

"Yes, I told you already!"

"Hmm…" Link shrugs, then steps off the platform. Unknowingly, the ground shakes as disturbed Leevers crack open their way up. Three pop open the sand, surrounding Link. "Oh… no…" He puts an arm out against his face as they plow straight at him, but a whirring sound catches his attention. A strange aura of high degree is then felt, and the air around him quickly cools. Three SRINGS are heard, and Link opens his eyes to see what happened. A blue barrier surrounds him, and the Leevers outside the shield retracts back into the ground in defeat. Bemused, he turns around to find Malon inside the aegis with him, grinning.

"Always careless, ain't ya, fairy boy?"

Link coughs in slight embarrassment. "Explain."

"A bit of Nayru's Love." The redhead reveals a crystal with a blinding blue light coming from the center. "There's a Great Fairy nearby, and she gave me this. Makes a strong shield for a while."

"… Useful." Link nods slowly.

She scoffs. "Aren't you glad I save your butt?"

"Yes…"

"Well you sure don't sound like you're glad."

"Would it really matter?"

"Yeah! Say it like you mean it!"

"… Or?"

Malon hastily tackles him, fearless now without her seventeen-year old hormones. "Or that!"

"Fine…" Link grunts as he stands. "I'm glad."

"Glad you're what?"

"… Glad that you SAVE me from the Leevers."

"Much better. No problem at all."

"To tell you the truth, it wa-"

"Must ya always say the opposite of things…?" she mutters.

Spirit Temple

"How the hell can I get through this damn hole…?" A Gerudo in a white desert outfit and a long ponytail mumbles as she keeps eyeing the tunnel on the left side of the anteroom. "It would take a kid to go through… but there isn't one here."

Footsteps and voices seize her attention, and the Gerudo draws her scimitars towards the sound. The noise halts too upon the intruders hearing her.

"Show yourself!" the Gerudo demands.

A boy armed with a held wooden shield and a small sword paces forward from the cover of the stairs, with a girl behind him aiming a slingshot.

"Eh? Hylian children? What are the likes of you two doing here?"

"About to ask you the same thing," Link replies tartly.

"Hah, kid, you think you're a threat?" The Gerudo snickers. "Sorry to say, but that dagger of yours isn't what you would call deadly."

"Who are you?" Malon requisites in the same tone as Link's.

"Questioning me, are you?" The Gerudo points one of her scimitar at them. "You're in no position to impose authority over me. But, out of simple generosity, I will tell you. I am Nabooru, one of the top-ranking Gerudos of her tribe. I'm a lone wolf thief."

"Nabooru…? Are you… second-in-command of the Gerudos?"

"I am, Hylian girl. Now I demand to know your name!"

Malon pauses, then speaks slowly with a cautious voice. "My name is Malon… That's all you need to know."

"Who's your boyfriend here?"

"It's Link," the boy answers sternly. "Just a friend, not her boyfriend. Now, enough introductions. What are you doing here?"

"Aren't you rebellious. If you were any older, I would have slit your throat. But you amaze me, kid." Nabooru withdraws her weapons. "Let's settle this politely, shall we? Put your weapons away, and see if there's no reason why we can't work this out like reasonable people." Steadily, if not warily, the Heroes of Time sheathe their arms. "Now, the one who came here last must explain first. What you two kids doing in a place like this?"

"To see the temple," Malon hastily answers.

"Is that so? Don't fool me. I may have spared you, but I will not do with dishonesty."

There is a hesitation for a moment and Malon quivers in her spot in frustration. Finally, Link speaks out, "We're looking for the Sage of Spirit. The only way we can find that person is to purify this temple so that it can awaken the Sage."

Another pause is followed, then Nabooru bursts into laughter. "The Sage of Spirit? Purify the temple? Awakening? Kid, I may not know what you're talking about, but you sure have a funny imagination to think these up! Ha ha!" She ceases, gazing at the two. "Is that why you're truly here for? Because I can assure you I know nothing of what you're talking about."

"It… It is…"

"Sure, kid, purify the temple to awaken whoever it is. If this is the reason why you're here, you're wasting your time."

"But…"

"Whatever, kid. Say, you two, you got good timing to come here! Can you do me a favor?"

"What do you want?"

"Wait a minute, I want to ask you first; you wouldn't happen to be some of Ganondorf's… followers… would you?"

"Followers?"

"Yeah, this got something to do with him."

"Well, what if we are?" Malon responds, trying to gain control of the situation. "What if we follow Ganondorf?"

"Wha ha ha!" Nabooru laughs again. "Don't try to act cool, kid. I was just asking! A kid like you could never be one of Ganondorf's followers!"

"If you could excuse my friend here…" Link cuts in. "We're not in allegiance with him. Personally, we hate him."

"Uh-huh!" Nabooru nods in satisfaction. "You've got guts. I think I like you two."

"What about you?" Malon questions. "How do we know you're not loyal to Ganondorf? You and he are after all Gerudos."

"Ha, don't get me wrong, kid. Though we're both Gerudo thieves, I'm completely different from Ganondorf." The Gerudo waves a hand away in strict emphasis. "Ganondorf, with his followers, stole relentlessly, not only from rich men, but from poor women and children. He even killed people!"

"We know." Link nods. "We… We've seen his work. It's… part of the reason why we hate him."

"Ah, poor you. Gutsy, but I sympathize with you two." Nabooru gives a small headshake, then goes to the main point. "Kids like you may not know this, but the Gerudo race consists only of women. Only one man is born every hundred years…"

"That we already know. This generation is Ganondorf's, right?"

"Yes. King of the Gerudos, Ganondorf. Ah, but I wish it were not so. The man disgusts me, with his outrageous ways and ambitious desire for power. Even though our laws say that lone male Gerudos must become King of the Gerudos, I'll never bow to such an evil man!"

"So, you ain't for Ganondorf?" Malon asks.

"Haven't you been paying attention? I despite my King!"

"Oh… so… um, that's good…"

"Well… anyway… about that favor…" Nabooru scoots away from the tunnel. "Will you two go through this tiny hole and get a treasure that's inside?"

"Sure," Link agrees. "What do you want us to search for?"

"The Silver Gauntlets… Keep this in mind, you two; don't even think about taking the treasure for yourself! It won't fit little kids like you. I want you to be good kids as you are and give them to me!"

"The gauntlets…? Why?"

"See that block over there?" She points at the silver obstacle, the same from seven years later. "Can't move that without them gauntlets. A large section of this temple contains that needed item to get to the rest of the building. It takes a kid and an adult to get through this place."

"Okay… why do you want to go inside the temple?"

"Ganondorf and his minions are using the Spirit Temple as a hideout. Only the Silver Gauntlets will allow me to sneak deep into the temple. Once there, I'm going to steal all the treasure inside and mess up their plans! How about it? Will you do it?"

"Well, we- Hey!"

Malon quickly drags Link off to a corner. "Why do you always decide things like these without my consent?" She scowls at him.

"I wasn't going to decide. I was about to ask for a moment to ourselves to think."

"Really…? Oh… uh, sorry. But you still kept doing the same thing those other times!"

"What other times?"

"Uh, how 'bout sending me off into the Gerudo's Fortress by myself?"

"Well, you didn't have a better plan, so it was unanimous, right?"

"Going down into the Well?"

"You consented for that."

"Yeah, after I nearly cried for you!"

"Look, back to the main point. Should we go in and get Nabooru the Silver Gauntlets?"

"I would because she wants to mess up Ganondorf's schemes. However, when she said she also has plans to steal all the temple's treasure, that got me kinda fixed."

"Me, too."

"Greed."

"Maybe not," Navi said as she exits Link's head. "Gerudos steal to keep themselves alive. I believe Nabooru's stealing to serve her people."

"Navi, this ain't food we're talking about! This is real treasure, gold, jewels, all that stuff!"

"Well… maybe she'll distribute them to the poor?"

"I highly doubt that."

"But look at it this way, Mal," Link interrupts. "Do we really have any choice?"

"What do you mean?"

"If we just ignore what Nabooru wants to steal, we know that she wants to thwart Ganondorf here, right?"

"Uh…"

"And if she can help us get through this temple, we'll be able to awaken the Spirit Sage, no?"

"But, she-"

"I know if we say yes, Nabooru will steal the treasures, but it'll allow us to stop Ganondorf. Remember, Mal, awaking the Sage of Spirit and stopping Ganondorf is our top priority. Just let Nabooru do what she wants and let us get on with our quest."

"… Oh, fine." Malon sighs, then treads over to Nabooru.

"Interesting fairy there, Link." The Gerudo stares at the bright, floating entity. "You a Kokiri or something?"

"No."

"Hmm." She crosses her arms. "So, have you two decided?"

"Yes…" Malon pauses for a moment. "We… We're gonna get the Silver Gauntlets for you."

"Thanks, kiddos!" Nabooru winks at them. "Us three, let's give Ganondorf and his followers a big surprise, shall we?"

"Sure," the girl forces the word.

"Hey, hey! Don't be all like that! Ha ha, you didn't think I'd forget about you when you would get these gauntlets for me? If you can successfully get them, I'll do something great for you!"

"Something great?"

"It's a surprise."

"Well, what happens when we don't retrieve them?"

"One of two things could happen. One, I know you wouldn't be successful if you didn't come back out by the end of the day, because plainly it means you're dead or lost forever. Two, if you do come back without the gauntlets, then you're dead anyways. How I would accomplish that, you don't want to know," Nabooru explains apathetically. "Now, get going. I'll be waiting here."

The Heroes of Time hesitantly gulp, then start crawling through the tunnel. As they disappear, Nabooru chortles, but unknowingly to what. She glances around the room, aware she is being watched. By whom she has no clue.

In a chamber far off from the one Nabooru is in, two hideous faces keep gazing at the Gerudo through a descrying pool of purple liquid, letting cackles fill the air as they see their opportunity unfold.