Chapters 5 through 9 were written by Redbrush, not by me. He adopted the story when I abandoned it a while back, but since he has disappeared from ffnet I have taken the reigns again. All other chapters are written by me, with some brainstorming help and suggestions from Kenju.

"You wanna let me in on what it was about then, kid?" She leaned to her side, slightly leaning on him and grinned tiredly as they sat together in probably the only shady spot for miles, underneath a small formation of rock. He eyed her for a second, observing her lighthearted and seemingly carefree nature. He had never really gotten to know Nabooru personally, only exchanging a bit of conversation with her. She seemed to strike him as identical from his alternate timeline: only now, he was closer to her age- she treated him differently, for obvious reasons. He found himself to enjoy the change of heart he'd been recently receiving from the majority of women he'd encountered- unlike a lot of them, Nabooru was friendly. "Venting about this kind of thing helps, depending on what's the matter."

"... I don't want to talk about it." He didn't like to be negative, but there was truth to his words. Her smile died out a little bit. He noticed the slight depression in her mood. "It's a sensitive subject."

"I wont push it, then." She took her support off of him and fell to her opposite side, laying in the warm sand. It was likely less than pleasant, Link thought. A small, weak sigh emitted from the female next to him. It had occurred to him that she was likely as exhausted as he was. Maybe not as emotionally strung out, but physically, probably. He hadn't a good night's sleep since he arrived. Given this was the second day he had been here, but everything that had happened in such a time really took a toll on him, physically and emotionally.

He took a note out of her book leaning his head back, resting his eyes, enjoying the cool spot. Well, it wasn't cool, but compared to the rest of the desert, it was a much needed break from the constant heat.

"I didn't see you at the negotiations yesterday. Considering the importance of a mission like this, I'd figure someone of your ranking would be there." Link said. It wasn't that he wanted to break the silence, but more-so he didn't want to take the company he had for granted. It was nice to converse when he had the chance to, which really wasn't that much.

"I wasn't. Only time I ever visit the Fortress is when I come by and need a place to rest..." Link looked down at her, watching her play with sand and stare at it boringly. "I'm kind of our link to the other lands and civilizations, you could say."

"How so?"

"I used to be a lone thief. I defected from my people whilst they were under the rule of Ganondorf." She said simply. There was little to no emotion to her words- as if she hardly cared. "Since his absence of the throne, I came back and undertook membership again. I never really liked being tied down to that place, and since my level of skill is so high, I was granted sort of a 'independent agent' kind of status."

She fiddled with some of the jewelry on her arm. "I really don't have much of an official ranking, so I chose to wear clothes of the White. Decorated to my liking, of course."

"... I see." He smirked a fragment, pondering how much of that jewelry she had stolen, how much was even hers.

She noticed the movement on his lips and chucked small stone at his arm playfully. "What's so funny, pointy-ears?"

"Nothing, in particular." He opened his eyes and looked down at her. "It's just nice to talk to someone that I can get along with, is all."

"Not liking the girls back home, are you?" She raised an eyebrow at him. His smirk grew at the question.

"I don't have anything against them, but being here on business is depressing. Knowing that sooner or later, I'll have to have negotiations and leave. It's nice to be in a community that I can relate with, despite all the complications that have been occuring."

"I guess so. I'd imagine Hyrule doesn't have many guys like you, huh?"

"Don't get me wrong, I love my people and my homeland. But it's frustrating, the number of stuck-up diplomats that I have to put up with."

"I could imagine it would be." She rose to a stand, and offered her hand out to the Hylian looking up at her. "But we have ground to cover, and I don't wanna lay around for too long. Makes ya lazy. Get up, kid."

He sighed and took her hand, letting her help him to his feet. He collected the things he lay to rest on the side.

"... So, that's the Mirror shield?" She looked at his back, staring at the red trimmed shield.

"Seems like it." He was careful with his words- making sure it sounded like it was the first time he had wielded the shield.

"Looks pretty foxy, if I could say so myself." Link turned and rose an eyebrow at the girl posing in front of the mirror, effectively complimenting herself.

...

"Nabooru! Oni! A pleasure it is to see the two of you!"

Link rose his head and looked in the direction of the voice. He hadn't been paying much attention- so it seemed he reached the point where the Poe had guided him to. He instantly recognized the voice. The painful rhyming gave it away instantly.

The Poe that had guided him earlier manifested itself in front of the two of them- it's signature creepy grin included. It kind of put him off- especially considering the fact that it wasn't so... friendly, he'd suppose, last time. It simply guided him to the temple. That was it... but now, interacting with this strange ghost, he didn't know what to feel. He was grateful, of course, but that didn't stop him from thinking this thing was any less odd.

"Likewise. Listen, we're kind of here on business., so we kind of have to run."

Link studied the ghost in front of him curiously. Nabooru was able to interact with it, as well, it seemed. Was that how she got back and forth from the temple? Probably so. He couldn't think of a reason for the Poe to single him out.

"Is the Fortress where you'd like to go? Ah, of course it is. You'll let me escort the two of you, I hope?"

"Mm... yeah, I suppose. We could use your help. We just need to get back to the shrine- and we can handle ourselves from there."

"Very well, I shall proceed! The two of you follow me, and you'll arrive in one piece!"

Link had still found himself astounded at the friendliness of this Poe. Every one he'd encountered tried to hinder him in some way.

"Sounds good to me. Lead the way, then." The thief had motioned with her hand towards the direction they had all came from. The Poe had immediately started back, and again, got a nice, healthy lead on the two. Nabooru had felt herself comfortable walking, though, and didn't hurry after it.

Link took note of this and did the same- she had likely much more experience with it than he had. He looked ahead and saw the Poe look back on the two and frown, obviously upset that the two weren't racing behind him, and slowed down to their pace, but still had a lead on the two, as if it may have expected them to burst ahead any second. It reminded the Hylian of a little kid, in a way.

It was a rare occasion, but Link had found himself in a genuinely good mood, after witnessing the child-like nature of this spirit.

"Something else, isn't he?" Nabooru's voice had reminded him of her presence.

"He's different from your average Poe." Link turned his head towards the thief next to him.

It was a strange feeling, but Link felt almost... at ease, wandering about the desert with the thief at his side, guided by this Poe. A part of him felt a sense of familiarity... no, a, sense of home, walking through the wastelands. He was still relatively new to the scene, to all of this, really. It was all so foreign to him, but at the same time, it really wasn't. He couldn't describe it... but either way, he felt comfortable here.

The three of them continued towards the shrine, making relatively good time. The sun was nearly set, something that Link felt kind of odd. Traveling all that way and back, plus the time spent at the temple, felt much longer than just one day's time. He stared at the sun with a curiosity, almost speechless, looking back on everything that had gone by in the past few days.

It didn't seem like two days ago, when he arrived here and saved Samiyah, Abia, and the rest of that group. With all that had gone by in these two long days, he'd developed a relatively strong sense of attachment to the desert sand and it's people. He could relate to them.

He sighed quietly, keeping his thoughts to himself. It wouldn't do him any good to get comfortable here, though that was initially the last thing on his agenda. He would never have imagined that he would grow a sense of comfort in this fierce desert. That would only make his mission that much harder. He didn't want to have any kind of bias when it came to negotiations, even if they had this new bias against him, after discovering just who he was.

Though negotiations haven't been going all that smoothly, thanks to.

"... So, what do you plan on doing if you score this membership card? Gonna stick around for a while?" Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts almost immediately. That last question was... less of a question, and sounded much more like an assumption, as if she too thought he kind of liked it here... Was he that easy to see through? They'd just met.

"I have a home in Hyrule."

"I see..." She sounded slightly depressed- she had just met him, so it was likely that she was just anxious for conversation. "Shame. I could use some company out on these kind of missions- that was pretty impressive back there, ya know. I've been around this place three or four times in my time here, and nobody pulls those kinds of stunts as fast as you..." She paused briefly, giving him a suspicious eye. "Do you have any kind of previous experience at this? The whole infiltration gig?"

"I've cleared enough dungeons in the past to build up some knowledge, if that counts."

"You were asleep when I came back. You must have been waiting for a while."

"I told you I was practiced in stealth. You knew that before meeting me."

"Mm... Doesn't explain much, but I think I like you." She shot him a warm-hearted smile. He felt almost flabbergasted- he'd made another ally, along with Aveil and Gabooru. Being social wasn't his thing really, yet here he was... Maybe things were going to turn his way for once? The last few days at the Fortress hadn't rolled over well, but it seemed that might turn around soon.

Or, you know, they might not.

Link frustratingly exhaled as he struggled to keep up with the Gerudo maiden speeding through the desert winds, darting past the flagged beacons- he had a feeling that she wasn't even looking for them. It was likely that she knew the path by heart. Unfortunately, he wasn't so lucky. He at times lost in her in the sandstorm, often having to stop and navigate through the sand, struggling to find one of the markers.

Still, he was rather impressed with her. She moved throughout the desert with almost doubtful speeds. If he wasn't busy with trying to make his way through the wasteland at her rate, then he'd be able to appreciate having a (slightly) easier guide through the desert.

The travel was much less aggravating than the nuisances- on his way to the Temple, he'd seen almost no potential threats. He was caught off guard when charged by that first Leever- he still managed to defend himself, but none the less he found it surprising. After one, came two more, and so on.

He wasn't used to this type of combat. Multiple enemies, he could easily handle. Multiple enemies that are ingrained into the ground and required him to keep his regular pace of movement in the troubling desert sand and raging storm, he could not easily handle.

It helped to view it as training than anything else- he still had that rematch with Aveil and it was likely that their fight would be in conditions similar to this one, minus the sand in his face.

It wasn't until much, much later that they managed to make it back to the Fortress- and Link had a feeling that this was mostly Link's fault. He had a tendency of wanting to clear out every monster he'd seen. It helped him think the world was safer, though multiple times he had to remind himself that slaying these monsters would do little good. On a few occasions, Nabooru had found herself stopping and waiting for the Hylian behind her. But then again, it was kind of to be expected. He hadn't nearly as much experience at this as her- and this had him thinking. He wondered what he would do without her- she did a good job of guiding him, and night travel would have been much more dangerous, or at least he thought. If evening was this bad, then he didn't want to find out what it was like at the later times of night.

The over-sized gate to the desert was in his line of view. He could see it. A wave of relief washed over him as he realized that this was the final stretch to safety. But then, at the same time, he felt a slight tinge of nervousness as he remembered what he was told this morning, for at least the third time today.

"Only a Gerudo or a God can pass our membership test."

He knew he had some explaining to do but it would definitely be hard when he himself didn't know what to make of the case. He really doubted he had the blood of a Gerudo, and he didn't want to find out anything relating to the Deity that helped him defeat Majora.

The two approached the gate, and as if on cue, the gate began shook lightly. He wondered how long scouts have been watching him- he wasn't sure how far they could see, and he was curious as to how long they watched him when he first headed out this morning.

The gate before them rose, opening surprisingly quickly for something of it's size. As it rose, Ladina, and several other Gerudo women of the Purple, stood waiting by the gate. It was the same place they had sent him off. He doubted that they had been waiting for him, but then again, he also doubted that they suspected him back alive, given the conditions they had just sent him out into.

But there was always the chance he was looking into it too deeply. He sighed as him and Nabooru walked under the gate, and into their fort. He originally thought that coming here would help serve as a vacation of some sort from the Hylian council, but all it had been doing is adding loads of more stress onto him. He needed a break, desperately.

"Nabooru, what is the meaning of this!" For the first time, Link had heard the old woman yell. She glared at the thief next to him as her and the group behind her approached the two.

"What's the matter?" Link could tell that Nabooru was resisting a grin. Her expression was bright, though he suspected that she was faking innocence.

"He was supposed to travel to and from the temple alone!"

"Well, I asked for his help. It was only natural we came back together."

He felt out of place as the two women bickered at one another. He wanted to speak up, but he knew it wasn't his place and would only make matters worse.

"You seem to think that this isn't a big deal. Do you know who we're dealing with, Nabooru?" The girl in question rested a hand on her hip as she looked at her senior with a lack of interest, much to Ladina's dislike. "I don't think I need to tell you."

"You're right- you don't. Because it's not some kind of big deal. He got to the Temple by himself- isn't that proof enough?"

"How am I supposed to believe this? And on that matter, how am I supposed to know he has the strength to make it back, as well?"

"It's not like I carried him. He got through the sandstorm once- and he did it again."

"That's not the point of the test, though!" Nabooru looked up at the sky briefly, as if taking notice of the sun's position in the sky.

"Listen, I need to go report to Aveil. If you still doubt him, look at his back. That's proof enough." Nabooru walked past her senior, and turned to wave Link a goodbye. "Later, kid."

He watched the girl walk off into the Fortress. He did notice one thing different about her clothing that contrasted the white's- the baggy pants weren't so baggy. He almost blushed as he watched her leave.

Her figure was almost hypnotizing- much like Gelbooru's, despite her agent-like status. Much like any of the White's, actually, since they weren't as active as the soldiers. He felt entranced as he watched her figure, mesmerized, his eyes blankly observing her rhythmic movement.

Staying here really wasn't good for his spiritual health.

"Your back, Link?"

He nodded at the older woman before him, reaching around his shoulder and removing the Mirror Shield from his shoulders, letting it's bottom drop to the ground as he held it.

"... Hm. I'm assuming that you recovered that by your lonesome?"

"Yes. Nabooru asked me to help her infiltrate Twinrova's nest and get the item key to defeating them."

"Very well." She nodded, and motioned with her hand for the girl behind her to leave. She nodded before rushing off. "This is where I would normally grant you membership, but considering your case, I'll have to hold off on that until some things are sorted out, and I don't trust you with it until negotiations are final. Just because you have the endurance, strength, and spirit to be one of us does not mean you may. You've yet to earn it. I will, however, allow you to hold onto the Mirror Shield until I get orders from my superiors, as a reward for surviving the test."

He nodded again. Being able to go about his business without escorting would have be nice. He had suspected something like this would happen, anyway. He still, more or less, had Aveil's favor for him, and even then he didn't necessarily need the membership card, despite it being nice to have.

Off in the distance, he spotted the girl of the Purple returning with his escort party. "I'm sure you could use the rest, so I sent her to retrieve your escorts so you may retreat to your quarters until we figure out what to do with you."

He didn't like the way she worded that, but he was fairly confident that he wasn't going to be executed. The test that they just put him through was proof of this.

Or, that could have been a way to kill him off as well. Executing a Hylian ambassador wouldn't help the relationship between the Gerudo and Hylians, so it could have been an attempt to fake innocence.

He'd worry about it after he got some sleep.