Zelly's two eyelids slowly opened and looked at him, and he could have shouted for joy, but he didn't want to startle her. Zelly's brow furrowed, and she frowned, much like her mother did. "Daddy?" she said uncertainly.

"Yes, it's me, sweetheart. I'm here, you're safe!"

"You look . . . different."

"Huh?"

She patted his face. "You're all . . . brighter-er. Daddy, are you going to turn light like Mommy?" She sounded disappointed.

Shadow tried to figure out what she meant as she touched his head and hair and face. Then she scrunched her nose and pulled her hands away. "EEEEEEEW! Daddy, are you a fish now? You're all slimy! That's gross!"

Shadow wiped his face with a hand and looked at it curiously. Sweat? Then he stared at his hand. Then brought it closer to his face and turned it around.

Lines. Fingernails, VEINS . . . fingerprints!

He clenched his fist and his knuckles lightened. He set Zelly on her feet (she was glad to get away from sweaty daddy!), and stood to look himself over. His skin was almost the color of red clay. It seemed far too red to his eyes that were accustomed to dusky skin, and it wasn't a reflection from the crag-covered land around him. He crouched to Zelly's level. "My eyes! What color are they?"

Zelly blinked, then put two fingers on her cheeks, pointing to her own eyes. "They're red like mine, Daddy."

She straightened and fussed with his hair. "And my hair?"

"It's still black. You're like that red Goron that gave me candy at my birthday party last year. But he had white hair."

Shadow would have kept trying to puzzle it out, but his black clothes were becoming stifling. He shielded his eyes and looked up at the huge sun.

"Are we in the desert, Daddy?"

It didn't look like the Gerudo Desert. "I think so . . ." It's going to be hours before nightfall, and we don't have any water. Shadow took off his cape and outer tunic and cap. He discarded the latter two, and used the cape to make a makeshift shield for Zelly from the sun. He held it over her head as they walked.

"It's hot," Zelly expressed with gumption after only five minutes.

If this is Gerudo Desert, we shouldn't be too far from the fortress. "Just a little longer, honey."

However, after fifteen minutes of wandering around cliffs, there was no fortress, and he couldn't hear the sound of Gerudo River at all, despite the windless day. He recognized nothing. Where are we?

"Daaaaaddyyyyyyyyyyy . . ."

Shadow picked her up and carried her. She didn't seem to mind his sweat-soaked clothes any longer.

When searching found no fortress or any structure anywhere, Shadow began to look for places he and Zelly could hide until the sun went down. And yet, he doubted he would last very long even then. "Zelly, listen to me. Even if Daddy falls down, I want you to keep walking, okay? . . . Zelly?"

"HALT!" There was a shuffling noise, and a shadow in front of him, onto which a slender, cloaked figure landed in a crouch. In a moment the figure stood and pointed a flashing sword at Shadow's face. "What are you doing wandering this desert?" It was a firm, feminine voice. Her brown cloak was ragged at the edges, and dusty, and a hood and mask covered her face, letting only her eyes be seen.

The voice was unmistakable, and those blue eyes he'd know anywhere. "Zelda?!"

The eyes squinted. "My name is not Zelda." She proffered her other arm. "Give me the child."

"What? Why?!" Shadow held Zelly closer to himself.

"Hand her over now and I will spare your life!"

"Please! I think she's sick, she won't wake up."

The sword wavered. The woman nodded her head to her left. "This way."

Shadow wasn't sure he could trust this woman but he didn't know what else to do. He walked in the direction she indicated, aware that the sword tip was still aimed in his direction. As they got closer to the cliff face, he realized that a small section of it was not in fact rock, but cloth painted to blend in. The woman drew the cloth aside with her sword and ushered them both in.

It was a small room carved out of the cliff side. In the back a small cavity had been dug out of the floor, and a small trickle of water fell from the ceiling and into it. Shadow hurried to it and set Zelly down next to it. He brushed her hair out of her face and dipped his other hand into the pool.

The water was cool. He did his best to get some into Zelly's mouth and tried to cool her off by wetting her face. He felt cold steel on his neck again.

"Get away," the woman said. She was holding a pack of some kind. Shadow backed away on his knees. The woman sheathed her sword and knelt down. She picked Zelly up.

"Wait, what are you—"

She set Zelly into the pool of water, clothes and all, putting her head on the side to keep it out of the water. She then splashed water all over Zelly's head and face, wetting her hair completely. She continued to do this while she struck up conversation. "Trying to give her water already. Idiot."

Shadow didn't know how to take the insult. Instead, he simply said, "Thank you for helping us."

"I am not doing this for you. Where did you come by this child?"

"She's . . . she's my daughter."

The woman suddenly stopped to glare at him. "You expect me to believe she's yours?Do you think I am an idiot?"

"Uh . . ." Shadow looked at Zelly, then at himself. They did look completely different.

The woman left Zelly's side to draw her sword again. "What are you Ikanan scum planning? What could you possibly want with a town girl?"

Shadow raised his hands and backed off, but not far as he hit the side of the small room. "I . . . what? Who ARE you?!"

"Who is SHE?"

"She is my daughter. Her name is Zelly. I'm Shadow."

Zelly gave a tiny moan. The woman gave Shadow a warning glare and returned to Zelly's side. She inspected Zelly's face, and Zelly's eyes opened momentarily. Some surprise crossed the woman's face. Her voice considerably calmed down as she said, "She has your eyes." She chose now to take off her hood and pull her mask underneath her chin. Now that he could see her properly, Shadow found that although she shared Zelda's structure and eye color exactly, the similarities ended there, from the way she carried herself to her facial expression. Her skin was as dark as Shadow's, and her hair was a rich brown.

Shadow breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes. She gets everything else from her mother, though!" He attempted a chuckled.

Now the woman stared at him strangely. "Where do you come from, 'Shadow'?"

"Uh, Hyrule?"

She shook her head. "Never heard of it."

"Please, I have no idea where we are. We've . . . been on a long trip."

"Why on earth did you come here?"

How would he explain this in non-shadow dimension terms? "We were being chased, and I just sort of went in the direction that would get us away . . . and here's where we ended up."

Her sword was resting against her knee, a much more relaxed hold. "Either you are lying and this is an elaborate trick of Igos du Ikana's . . . or, you might be telling the truth."

"Did you say Ikana?"

"Yes. Have you heard of it?"

"Yeah . . . long ago. Are we in . . . Termina?"

She nodded. "How do you know of it?"

Termina. Link had traveled there years ago, before he had married Malon. Of course, HE had fallen through a hole in a tree and ended up there magically. Shadow had gotten there magically as well, it seemed. He remembered Link had mentioned that Termina was an alternate universe to Hyrule, and that most Terminians were exact twin versions of Hylians. But they all had different names.

"A friend of mine came here once. His name is Link, have you heard of him?"

Again, she shook her head. "Such strange names . . ."

"May I have yours?"

She didn't answer immediately, but to Shadow it seemed not to be because she was reluctant to tell him, but because she seemed out of practice introducing herself. "Sashira," she said, emphasizing the first syllable. "Of the Garo," she added hurriedly.

"Sashira. It's nice to meet you, Sashira." Shadow remembered that the Garo were a lost tribe of ninjas in Ikana Valley who had been the sworn enemies of the Ikana kingdom. "Why did you think I was under the orders of Ikana?"

Sashira blinked. "You look like them. The Ikanans."

"I do?" What was this, another trick of the Goddesses? Why did he suddenly look like this race from another dimension? Why couldn't he just look as he always had and STOP changing?!

"Yes, your hair, your skin, your eyes . . . your face. When your daughter wakes up . . . I can lead you out of Garo country tonight, but if you get caught by my kin there is little I can do for you."

"You can't explain this to them?"

"They are . . . difficult to convince, to say the least. You will need a disguise. I will return for you at sunset."

Zelly woke up about an hour after Sashira left. Sashira had told him how to care for her while she was gone. "Is it bath time?" she had asked first, not fully conscious.

"Uh, yeah, it's bath time. After she had awaken more fully, he pulled her out of the pool and wrapped her in his cape. For a moment, Shadow considered making a run for it and hoping for the best, but he realized he still had no idea where to go. So he decided to wait.

As she promised, Sashira came for them at sunset. "This is my father's mask. It will allow you to see the pathways of the Garo without trouble." It didn't look any different from her own mask and outfit, he thought as he put them on. She pulled the hood down over his face. "Don't let anyone see your eyes." She had also brought a sling for Shadow to carry Zelly in, and a small Garo cloak for her as well. "The same goes for her. We should leave now. Perhaps we can reach the edge of the territory before the others have awakened."

"Why are you helping us? If your people are so against it?"

Sashira paused at the entry and looked back. "My father . . . is a very tolerant man." She left.

Shadow followed her, Zelly situated comfortably against his chest.