Zelda sat patiently in the main room with her hands folded nicely on her lap. On the outside she was poised and graceful, but she was becoming increasingly more irritable.

Where are they?! she wondered impatiently. They said they'd only be an hour. It was an hour five minutes ago! Boys can be so reckless. And of course Cia isn't going to do anything. Perhaps she's evil and I just don't know it. …Nah, I'm just being paranoid.

She looked to her right at Volga's towering figure. His arms were crossed and his gaze was fixated squarely on the wall across from them.

"Wouldn't you like to sit down?" Zelda asked with a smile. "I can go get another chair for you."

"I'm fine," was the simple reply. The queen frowned at his stoic demeanor. She let her royal posture fade as she slumped back in her seat. How boring! The only person to hold a conversation with was the most silent person in the group. The cogs in her mind turned as she struggled to think of a topic.

"So, uh, how did you and Cia meet?" she asked hopefully.

Volga was silent for a long time before he answered. "She approached me in Eldin Caves where I lived. At first I resisted, but she was very…persuasive." Upon seeing Zelda's expression, he added, "Get your mind out of the gutter! She wouldn't take no for an answer and kept fighting me. I admired her strength."

"Really?" Zelda tilted her head curiously. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

The dragon knight shifted his weight. "No."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

The queen sighed in disappointment. "Fine. Don't tell me. I'll figure it out on my own."

She tensed at the sound of a portal opening in front of them. Cia and the three Links poured out of it in high spirits, Wolf Link especially. Zelda's mind was going to suspicious places again, but after recalling Volga's words she pushed the thoughts away.

"Why, hello, Princess," Young Link greeted happily, taking her hands in his. "You're looking especially beautiful this night."

Zelda couldn't help but smile at his compliment. "Everything went well, I presume?"

"Better than well," Cia grinned at Wolf Link. "We got exactly the information we needed. The enemy is storming our temple full-force in a week's time. We have exactly seven days to prepare. We need all the help we can get."

"They're bringing everyone they have?" Zelda frowned. "But there's so few of us…"

"The only thing we have to worry about is the officers," Volga explained. "If we ignore the foot soldiers and just go for them, the battle should be over within an hour or two."

"Not only that," Cia added. "But Ghirahim will summon thousands of monsters to assist us. So we won't be at a disadvantage."

Wolf Link nodded in approval. "Sounds like a plan."

"Now, if that's everything, I'm friggin' tired," Young Link yawned, stretching his arms. "I could sleep for the entire week!"

Cia giggled at his comment. "Very well. We should all get some rest. We have quite a while to prepare."

Even losing so much as one hour of sleep effected the Links significantly. Sky fell asleep at breakfast, Wolf nodded off in the middle of a conversation with Zelda (which he wouldn't stop apologizing for once he woke up), and Young Link was oddly…out of it. Of course, the obvious reason for that would be the Fierce Deity's Mask taking advantage of his drowsiness, but no one could know that.

"What's the matter, Link?"

Cia had approached him while he was eating lunch in the dining area. He was picking out the lettuce in his sandwich with a grimace.

"It's nothing," he replied. "I'm just…worried."

"Worried?" Cia repeated. She sat across from him at the table. "What is there to be worried about? We're doing fantastic."

"Yes. We almost have victory in our grasp."

Young Link resisted rolling his eyes. The Fierce Deity was being especially annoying today. "I'm just wondering what the enemy's doing. We have that crystal ball, right? Why not just use it to see what they're planning?"

"I'm one step ahead of you," Cia smiled with a wink. "I've been checking on them every so often, this morning including. Nothing's changed. They're still doing the same plan."

"Such fools."

"For fuck's sake…" Young Link rubbed his forehead to ease his steadily building headache. "O-Oh, not you, Cia. I'm just worried…"

He felt Cia's hand brush his messy bangs. "There's no need to feel that way. Everything will work out fine, I promise. I can see what the enemy is doing any time I want, so there's no need to be suspicious. We'll win. I swear."

Young Link looked up at her from his lunch and grit his teeth, not out of anger, but trying to keep himself from showing his sadness. He wasn't worried about winning, being corrupted about the mask, or even about his grandson. He was worried about going home. He was covering it up with talking about the enemy and all, but once this ended, he was back to wandering Hyrule Field, more alone than ever. That would be a worse fate than anything he'd experience so far. He knew what was, what was to be… So what was the point of living the rest of his life if he knew how things were going to turn out? But he had no choice but to continue living; if he didn't have a child someday Wolf Link would never exist.

And yet, death didn't faze him. In his time in Termina, he had burned to death multiple times when the Skull Kid kept stealing his ocarina. It just didn't matter anymore. What did? He could only hope the enemy was dumber than they looked (and that's pretty dumb) so this war could be drawn out for as long as popular.

After all, once he was alone again, the Mask had every opportunity to corrupt him completely.

"Okay, here's the plan," Lana announced. The main officers were all gathered in their base and Lake Hylia, some completely focused and others… "Midna, could you please focus for two seconds?!"

The Twilight Princess crossed her legs in midair and frowned, her gossip with Ruto cut short. "But I already know the battle formation. Hell, I helped you make it."

Lana rolled her eyes and looked back to the notes she held in her hands. "Anyway, Midna is going in the front with Link and Zelda. You guys will storm the entrance. Then if they try to escape, Fi will delay them at the west exit. If they go east, Darunia will be there. Ruto will be at the south. It any of them leave through an alternate way, show some kind of signal to alert the rest of us and we'll be on our way. As for me, I'll be watching over everything from a highpoint at the entrance. Since I'm not able to fight well because of my leg, Impa will be there to protect me. Any questions?"

Impa instantly raised her hand from the back of the room. "I have more of a request than a question. I have a feeling Cia kidnapped Agitha, so keep an extra eye out for her while you're all searching for the Master Sword."

"I hope she's safe…" Zelda sighed worriedly. "She's been gone for so long."

"It's okay!" Proxi piped up, resting on Link's shoulder. "Link's gonna save her. Right, Link?"

"Of course," Link grinned with a hint of arrogance. "Cia's monster can't get past me. I've defeated thousands already."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Midna scoffed. "One of you is going up against another three. Plus Cia. Plus Volga. Plu-"

"Alright!" Link made an attempt to smack her out of the air, but she formed the end of her hair into a hand and punched him in the back of the head, causing him to land face-first on the hard floor.

"Link!" Zelda gasped. She knelt at his side and tried to shake him awake while Proxi fluttered around in a panic. "Midna, why did you do that?"

Midna just grimaced at the question. "He tried to hit me, so I did the same thing. Why aren't you getting mad at him too?"

"It's a bit difficult to scold someone who can't hear you," Ruto teased. Midna raised her giant fist again, but this time Darunia pick up the Zora princess and set her aside.

"Ugh…" Lana slapped a hand to her forehead. Here she thought things couldn't get any worse with the army, but apparently it could. "We have six more days, people! We have to prepare. So go out to do some training."

The group, excluding Impa, grumbled in disappointment as they headed out for the training yard. Darunia slung Link over his shoulder on the way out, with Zelda inspecting the hero for any significant harm done.

"Hey! Hey, Volga! Hey, hey! Whatcha doin'? Need help? Have a girlfriend? You banged her yet? At least reached second base? Hey! How come you're on fire-"

"SHUT UP!" The Dragon Warrior hit Young Link upside the head with his pike. The young hero fell back on the grass and rubbed the red spot on his head.

"Volga!" Cia shouted from the area she was training with Wolf Link. "I thought I told you not to hurt him."

"But…" Volga started to argue, but Sky Link's expression told him to stop. Though Sky couldn't blame him for trying to shut Young Link up, the Dragon Knight had quite the temper. The Hero of Sky sometimes found it his duty to keep things calm and he gained the reputation of being the pacifist of the group. However, Volga had given up in training with a hyper partner and decided to do his own thing, driving Young Link to boredom.

Anyway, it was the afternoon and their army decided to train in the rose garden. Cia was paired up with Wolf, Volga with Young Link, and Sky with…ugh…

"Slave, pray tell what you're looking at," Ghirahim huffed, leaning on the hilt of his black sword. "I thought we were supposed to be training."

Zelda, who was sitting on the steps at the entrance to the temple, spoke up, "Ghirahim, please don't be hard on him. You know how he feels about you right now." Once she said this, she turned to Young Link. "Come train with me. It's not polite to bother Volga."

"But I was just asking some questions," Young Link argued, over-playing his childishness. Zelda walked over, took his hand, and led him farther into the garden where he couldn't annoy anyone.

"Oh, good, that nuisance is gone," Ghirahim sighed in relief. "I was about to run him through."

Sky Link glared at him harshly. Granted, he kind of asked for this since no one else wanted to pair up with the Demon Lord and he volunteered (he didn't want to force it on anyone), but this was too much! He couldn't wait to get back to Zelda back at the Sealed Temple. He couldn't help but think about how she was doing. They were the only ones who understood what the other went through and how they felt. Groose had a taste of it, but that was nothing compared to investigating countless temples and going into a slumber for thousands of years. Plus, Groose didn't have to deal with-

"Am I just invisible now?" Ghirahim ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. "What's the point of having a slave if it doesn't obey? Ah, well. I suppose I'll just control your thoughts."

"Don't."

The Demon Lord slowly turned to Wolf Link with an expression of disapproval. "Hm?"

"Are you deaf?" Wolf Link snapped. "You heard me. Don't."

Cia looked from Ghirahim to Wolf Link worriedly as their staring contest continued. Sky Link simply stood to the side awkwardly, not sure how to interrupt their silent argument. Little did they know, Young Link and Zelda were crouching in the rose bushes, ducking into a hiding place once they heard something entertaining.

"Oh, Link is so dashing when he gets angry," Zelda mused, her hands on her red cheeks.

"He gets it from his old man," Young Link grinned conceitedly. "I can't believe he saved the entire world and yet no woman got him laid. My princess, your kingdom has quite the problem."

"Yes, I know," she sighed. "I must apologize. I wish I had a lower social status so Link and I could be together, but it's not to be. Perhaps when he gets older…"

"You're the queen!" Young Link placed his hands on his hips defiantly. "You don't have to follow anyone's rules. You make the rules! Plus, what's more romantic than a princess marrying her hero? Nothing, that's what. And you guys are kind of already married since Sky is gonna marry his Zelda."

Zelda's face turned bright red at the idea. Already married to Link? How odd. But how exciting! "You're quite right, Young Link. I don't have to follow anyone's rules. Not even my advisors'."

"Now you're getting it, Princess," Young Link grinned. "You don't- Oh. The show's starting."

"What show…?" Zelda peered through the thorns of the roses. "I don't see any…. Oh, Link don't kick him here!"

"That's right, Demon Douche!" Young Link laughed manically. "You don't mess with the power of the Hero of Twilight! Yeah!"

"Oh, dear, he's quite protective, isn't he?" Zelda placed a hand on her cheek as she watched Wolf Link slam Ghirahim's head into a wall. Cia began to try and hold him back, but he easily shook her off. By this time Sky Link was frozen in place, completely unsure of what to do.

"Lana won't be any match for my grandson," Young Link smirked. "If she doesn't pass out from his good looks first, she'll go out from his pure awesomness. Hell, I'm pretty sure he can turn guys! The soldiers in Lana's army won't stand a chance."

Zelda frowned at the chaos going on in front of her. (Wolf Link was now attempting to punch Ghirahim in the face, but the demon kept dodging him.) If this was what the next week would be like, she wasn't too sure they would get anything done.

*I'd like to take a moment to apologize for not updating often. ;_; Writing is becoming more of a chore than it should be with all these chapters out of my comfort zone, but it's getting easier. Just a forewarning: these next few chapters are likely going to be mostly filler. We'll get a bit of important info, though. I'm not too sure yet. Things might change, so be sure to keep an eye out for the next chapter! ;) Also, for those of you wondering where Agitha is, she's off finding bugs. Again. Don't worry, she'll be back. ^^

k bye.*