AN: Here we are again, then. Another slightly shorter chapter this week, but what can you do? I'd like to thank silverheartlugia2000 for their review, and those who favourited/followed this week. I say it every week, but it means the world.
And now, chapter six. Enjoy, and if you can please do review!

6- Time to Talk

The 'safe house' Dana and Simin had scouted out turned out to be a small, rundown building just off the city's East Road. Well, it looked rundown from the outside; all boarded up windows, peeling paint, and stains. The inside was in much better repair, if a little old, a little worn, and really quite dusty. Link was pretty sure he left footprints as he traipsed inside with Aveil at his heels.

But lifetimes of traversing old, disused temples had nothing if not got him used to dust and general disrepair. It definitely wasn't worst place he'd ever stayed in. At least it wasn't damp like a Water Temple, or stifling like a Fire Temple. It did smell a little weird, but that was hardly an issue. Being near an apothecary the house smelt of strange herbs and stranger potions, under its generally dusty, musty smell.

Link crinkled his nose just a little, hoping he'd get used to it quickly.

The others were all there already, making themselves at home on the second floor where more of the windows were boarded up. Link could hear them talking, though they went quiet when he and Aveil made their way up the creaky, rickety flight of stairs. It would definitely be hard for anyone to sneak up them.

'You made it, then.' Nabooru was perched on what looked like an old, stained chest of drawers, her heels bouncing off the side of it lightly. She seemed pleased to see Aveil, but the expression quickly dropped when she looked at Link. He scowled right back before looking around at the others. Dana was sat against the far wall, Simin's head in her lap, while Kian lay sprawled in the middle of the room and Maram stood looking out of one of the only windows free of boards.

There was no sign of Ganondorf.

When he asked Nabooru she threw him a dirty look. 'He said he wanted to clear his head,' she said, scooting left along her perch as Aveil moved to join her. 'So he's gone for a walk. I assume you had something to do with that?'

Link shrugged. 'I just showed him some stuff he didn't want to see.'

'What kind of stuff?'

'Just… stuff.' Link didn't know what to say. It wasn't like they'd believe him if he told them the truth, and they already didn't trust him. He didn't need them thinking he was crazy too.

The thump of Nabooru's boots hitting the floor was loud as she slid from the chest, stomping towards him. 'What. Kind. Of. Stuff?' she repeated, suddenly angry. Link stood his ground as she approached, despite the strong urge to run that came over him. 'You've been stringing us all along for weeks. Don't you think you owe us some answers, after everything we've done for you, despite everything you did? Have you forgotten how many times you tried to kill Gan, one of our friends? Stop messing around, you haven't even thankedus once!'

She towered above him, eyes blazing, jaw set, and Link stared back at her, suddenly mute. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't think of anything to say. His throat felt suddenly tight, his eyes stung a little. Being yelled at wasn't something he was familiar with, and he felt all at once very small.

Especially because her anger was totally justified. She was right. He'd tried to kill one of their friends, repeatedly, but they'd still helped him. Sure, they'd been doing it because Ganondorf asked, but they'd still done it. They'd taken a big risk, and they'd done so much for him.

And what had he done for them? Nothing. Hadn't even offered the barest of thanks. Because he was the 'hero', because he was 'saving Hyrule'. Because that should be enough, right? He was going to save them all, someday. Sneaking him into a library could hardly compare, so why should he thank them? They should be thanking him, right? They should just be glad to help, right?

Link wanted to kick himself. Wasn't he supposed to be better than this, do better than this? Even if he hated all the memories crammed in his head, and his reincarnated soul, that soul was still the legendary hero's. He was still the hero, reincarnated, even if he hadn't technically been granted the title yet. He was supposed to be good, not prideful, not some bratty little kid who thought he was, what, entitled to other people's time and aid?

No, that had to be earned. If he really was going to save Hyrule then he wasn't going to do it alone. He never had, and he never would. Things might go differently this time-he was going to make them go differently-but the fact still stood. He'd need help, and friends, but he would have to work for that. Earn their friendship, earn their help. Not just ask for everything to be given to him, free of charge.

Nabooru was still glaring at him. In fact, all of them were looking at him. He felt trapped, pinned like a butterfly under their gazes. When he tried to speak his voice, and words, failed him. He couldn't make a sound.

'Nothing?' Nabooru was, apparently, taking his silence for insolence. 'Are you kidding me?'

'Come on, Nabooru, lay off.' Kian had propped himself up on his elbows and was frowning at her. 'Leave the kid alone.'

'No, you know what?' Balling her hands on her hips Nabooru fixed Link with the sharpest glare he'd seen from her yet. 'I'm done. I've had enough. I'm so sick of your face. Get out.'

'Nabooru!' Simin's voice was soft, but the scold in it was plain to hear as she sat up slightly. 'That's totally uncalled for.'

'Shut up, Simin,' Nabooru snapped, stepping even closer to Link. He backed up in response, quailing under her angry eyes. 'Leave.'

And so he did. A couple of the others protested, but Link was honestly quite happy to escape from Nabooru's wrath. Maybe not the courageous thing to do, especially because he still hadn't apologised or thanked them, but he didn't know what else to do. He also didn't know if she'd meant for good, or just until she'd cooled down. He hadn't wanted to ask.

So he left, scurrying down the creaky stairs and out the stiff door, not looking back. Once he was a good way from the hideout he sat down on a low wall, putting his head in his hands as he thought things through.

He needed to talk to Ganondorf. It was the only thing he could think to do. The thought of going back to apologise to the others made him squirm, embarrassed and ashamed. He hadn't meant to use them, but apparently he'd done just that, so focused on convincing Ganondorf as he'd been. They'd probably risked all sorts of trouble just coming to the city, let alone for Nabooru and Aveil to accompany them to the Royal Library.

Sighing Link ran his hands through his hair then pushed away from the wall. He needed to find Ganondorf.

It took a little while, even when Link knew he was actually in the city, but eventually he stumbled across him, sat on the fountain in central Castle Town. He was watching the clouds roll by, and didn't look away when Link sat down heavily next to him.

'What are you doing out here by yourself?' Ganondorf eventually asked after a minute or so, still not dropping his gaze from the sky.

'Nabooru got angry at me and kicked me out,' Link replied flatly, to which Ganondorf raised an eyebrow in question. Link was tempted to complain, but then it was his own fault so he couldn't, really. He said as much, and Ganondorf finally turned to look at him.

'She'll cool down. Just apologise for whatever you did and she'll probably forgive you.' Ganondorf shrugged lightly, and there was silence as his vaguely amused expression shifted into a frown.

Leaning back Link swirled his fingers through the water at the bottom of the fountain, watching sunlight flicker and bounce over the rupees people had thrown in. He resisted the urge to pick a few out, though he did dip his hand in a little further, swishing it about and watching the ripples that followed.

He wasn't going to speak until Ganondorf did.

Or at least, that's what he told himself, but when the guy still hadn't spoken five minutes later Link began to seriously consider pressing for answers.

'So your story's true.' Link just about reined in a sigh of relief when Ganondorf finally, finally broke his silence. 'It's all, honest to the goddesses, true?'

Link nodded, not sure what to do when Ganondorf ran his hands through his hair then rested his head in them. He let out a long, heavy sigh, then peered at Link through his fingers.

'Seriously?'

'Seriously.' Link kept his tone, and expression, serious, but inside he was awash with relief. Ganondorf finally believed him. They could finally start trying to change things, change fate.

Ganondorf made a low, pained sound, slumping where he sat. 'I'm really the reincarnation of the- what did you call him? The "King of Evil"?'

'Yes.' Link couldn't blame him for not wanting it to be true, but it was. They couldn't change that.

'So I'm evil,' Ganondorf mumbled, more to himself as he stretched out his right hand slightly, staring hard at the back of it. Link followed his gaze, knowing the Triforce was glowing underneath the dark glove, and spared a glance at his own left hand, also gloved, flexing his fingers a little.

'No,' Link said, after a slight delay, prompting a slightly surprised, confused glance from Ganondorf. 'You're not.' Ganondorf's eyebrows rose, his surprise increasing. 'Not right now, not…'

'Not yet,' Ganondorf finished when Link trailed off, and he pressed his lips together in lieu of an answer. 'But eventually.' With another sigh Ganondorf leant his elbows on his knees, eyes straying to some of the people passing by. Link didn't say anything, just swirled his hand through the cool water some more. It was one thing to be the reincarnation of a hero, but another entirely to be the reincarnation of an evil that had tried to destroy Hyrule so many times.

At least, Link supposed, Ganondorf didn't remember anything. He wondered how all the Ganondorfs that had come before had ended up evil, consumed by their lust for power and hell-bent on destroying Hyrule.

'But you want to change it, right?' When Ganondorf spoke again Link glanced up from the fountain, staring blankly at him in silence for a minute.

'Yes,' he said when he actually processed the question.

'And you really think you can?'

To that he just shrugged. He had absolutely no idea. But he was going to try.

Ganondorf gave him a wan smile when he said so. 'I guess that's better than sitting back and doing nothing, just waiting for things to go wrong.' He sat back, tilting his head up towards the sky. 'So what's the plan?'

Link didn't reply. He didn't have a plan. He'd been winging it since deciding to stop trying to kill Ganondorf, and now that he'd convinced him he wasn't lying, he hadn't the faintest clue as to what to do now. He hadn't thought that far ahead.

Maybe something of an oversight, he was beginning to think.

Ganondorf's expression, when he looked away from the clouds again, was unimpressed. Link resisted the urge to stick his tongue out.

'All right, so there's no plan.' Stretching his legs slowly Ganondorf leaned back, a thoughtful frown forming on his face. 'How do things normally go, then? Like, what does he- what do I do? What do you do? What usually happens?'

Mulling that over Link tried to put things in order. It varied every lifetime, but usually Ganondorf or one of his underlings showed up pretty much out of the blue, set on capturing sages or Zelda or just generally wreaking havoc in some way. They would usually gain the upper hand, which would be what sent Link on his quest to save Hyrule in the first place. He'd make his way through temples, awakening his heroic spirit, and then he'd head to Hyrule castle. There he and Ganondorf would do battle, Ganondorf usually at some point becoming some variation of the usual boar-monster, and then Link would, more often than not, seal him away. He rarely ever actually killed Ganondorf, now that he came to think about it.

When Link finally finished Ganondorf, who had listened to it all in contemplative silence, sat forward again, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Link cleared his throat softly as he waited, all the talking having made it ache a little, as well as drying his mouth out.

'Well, you've already succeeded in screwing up the order of things, in a pretty big way,' Ganondorf mused, glancing sidelong at Link. 'This time it was you who showed up out of the blue. And apparently I'm supposed to have underlings?' He snorted. 'Are you kidding me?'

'What about Nabooru and the others?' Link asked, earning himself a second, derisive snort.

'You seriously think they're my underlings? No, kid, c'mon. They're my friends.'

Link pouted, not liking Ganondorf's tone. 'Nabooru was your underling once.'

To which Ganondorf did a double take, looking about as sceptical as a person could. 'What?'

'Well, I mean, she kind of defected in the end but, yeah. She was your second-in-command once. And then she was again, when Koume and Kotake brainwashed her and shoved her in this giant suit of armour.'

'I'm sorry, what? You're making no sense, kid.'

'Oh. Well. Koume and Kotake were these two really old sorceresses who raised you one time-or maybe more times I don't know-and they magicked Nabooru to be loyal to you and put her in this huge, super tough suit of armour. And they could do this thing where they, like, fused and became this giant, really powerful lady called Twinrova and-' he was abruptly interrupted when Ganondorf slapped a hand over his mouth.

'You're babbling, kid. And you've completely lost me.'

Link glared at Ganondorf over the offending hand, though he had to admit even he could see he'd been rambling. The words had just kind of tumbled out; he hadn't realised quite how much he wanted to tell someone about everything he remembered. So far he'd just given Ganondorf the basics without going into much detail. Apparently Ganondorf wasn't too interested in said detail, though.

'I don't think you could make this stuff up if you tried,' Ganondorf sighed after a moment, which prompted Link to glare even more fiercely. Did he seriously still have doubts? Even slight ones? 'Don't look at me like that.' Finally retracting his hand Ganondorf rolled his eyes. 'It's difficult for me. You say you've got all these memories in your head, but I don't have anything like that. I've only got your word to go by and, I mean, all things considered that honestly doesn't count for much.'

'But you still believe me, don't you?'

'I kind of wish I didn't, but, yes.' Ganondorf ran a hand through his hair. 'But you've got to understand that this is all… a lot to take in. Like, a lot. Actually accepting that I could- that I'm going to turn out evil? That's a hell of a lot to ask, kid.'

Link had thought Ganondorf was handling it all pretty well, but as his voice shook just a little and something like fear flickered across his face Link saw a slight crack in the façade. The wave of sympathy that crashed down on him a second later startled him, and he had to look away.

How far they'd come in just a few weeks. He was actually feeling sympathy for Ganondorf. Ganondorf!

'So just… don't expect too much too fast, okay?'

Frowning down at his feet Link nodded, caught off-guard by his own emotions. It had to be horrible, to learn you were destined to end up as the King of Evil. He couldn't even imagine.

'All right.' When Ganondorf suddenly clapped his hands together Link jumped. 'So how do we change things? Even more than you already have, I mean. 'Cause I mean, now that I know what's going to come, maybe, then I can work to prevent it.' He frowned exaggeratedly. 'Maybe I should become a monk or something. Hole up in a monastery somewhere. Because a pious, goddess-fearing man.'

Link couldn't help but snort at that, watching a grin flash across Ganondorf's face as he did. The idea of Ganondorf, Ganondorf, doing anything like that was so ridiculous it was almost hilarious.

It would have been quite a twist on the usual proceedings, though.

'Maybe not.' Tilting his head Ganondorf was quiet for a little while, before fixing Link with a thoughtful stare. Link himself squirmed a little, trying to work out what Ganondorf was thinking but coming up blank. All he could think of were bad things-evil plans, death plots, and so on-and he had to tell his thoughts to shut up in response. This Ganondorf wasn't evil. He knew that.

He eventually just asked why Ganondorf was staring at him, earning himself a fleeting smirk before Ganondorf straightened slightly. 'I was thinking that if we're always enemies, then maybe we should trying being friends instead. That maybe we should work together, instead of against one another, for once.'

Link squinted at him just slightly. What was he getting at?

A grin spread across Ganondorf's face. 'What do you think? Join my crew?'

And Link just stared.

Do what?

Ganondorf snickered softly. 'Why are you so shocked? I didn't really take you for a goody-two-shoes. I know you're this bigshot hero, or whatever, but I'm… eh, I'm not really seeing it.'

Link's blank stare turned to a scowl. True, he probably wasn't exactly living up to the goddesses' expectations or whatever, but becoming a thief? Becoming one of Ganondorf's thieves?

It was perfect.

'Are you serious?' He leaned forward slightly, excitement drawing a grin across his face. 'Seriously serious?'

'Absolutely,' Ganondorf replied with another soft laugh. 'And here I thought you didn't like the idea.'

'It's perfect!' Link leapt to his feet, spinning to face Ganondorf as he practically bounced where he stood. 'We'll be working together, which never ever happens, and I'll be going against the whole "hero" thing. We couldn't change things more if we tried!'

'Well that's kind of the point, right?' Ganondorf stood too, slower than Link, and stretched his arms lazily above his head. Link heard joints pop as he did. 'So you're in, then?'

'Definitely!' Link paused, stilled. 'Do I have to do anything particular, or do I just… join?'

'The others'll have to agree,' Ganondorf said, grinning when Link grimaced. 'It'll be fine. Nabooru will have cooled off. Just apologise and make it up to her. She's actually pretty soft-hearted, y'know.'

Link found that hard to believe, but Ganondorf knew her better so he wasn't about to dispute it. The thought wasn't exactly comforting, but he was perfectly capable of apologising. And trying to make it up to her. To all of them, really.

It was a little reluctantly that he followed Ganondorf back to the hideout, and Nabooru's glare whenever she met his eyes wasn't softened by his slightly stammered apology at all, but overall things went better than he could have hoped. The others all agreed to let him in, though he'd need to prove himself, prove he could be trusted, before he was really in.

He was made to swear an oath, over the snickers of a couple of the others; to only steal from the rich, to not get caught, to never sell out the others if he did get caught, no matter the circumstances. To have fun, to be loyal, to be trustworthy.

Link swore, and just like that he and Ganondorf were allies. Partners. Brothers in arms. And, as he curled up on the hideout's dusty floor, listening raptly to tales of the group's previous conquests-they all seemed really excited to brag to someone, even Nabooru-he didn't regret a thing.