(A/N: I'm so mentally involved in my own story, that I keep feeling the strain and exhaustion that the characters do. I have to give myself a break every page and a half to relax. I also apologize to any who are disappointed about the lack of humor in recent chapters. I'm not a great comedy writer, drama is more my genre. And, well... shrug I don't know what more to say.)

Link had been so stressed that he tired himself into a fitful sleep. Confident that it wasn't an attack of the corruption, Koume and Kotake let him rest.

Ganondorf sat near Link's bed, feeling a little awkward and useless. A few minutes went by, then he stood up and wandered into the back of the Infirmary. There was a small room aside, where the sisters were working. A basic computer sitting on a corner desk pulled up medical records and a small general database, while the two convened quietly over theories and possible remedies.

"I think we need an update from Observation." Kotake said. "If it's as simple as Zelda thinks it is, there shouldn't be a problem, but..."

"I know. It's more extreme, regardless. But I don't think they would have any answers. They didn't seem to be making any progress the last time we spoke with them." Koume replied thoughtfully.

Ganondorf reluctantly cleared his throat. The twin witches turned to look in unison.

"Is, ah, is there anything I can do to help?" He asked, feeling slightly embarrassed.

The sisters looked at each other pensively, then nodded to Ganondorf, both smiling.

The youngest Know-it-all brother had fallen asleep, as well. He was slumped unceremoniously against a wall, emitting quiet, buzzing snores occasionally.

The others decided to let him sleep. They were tired, too, of course, so they understood.

Zelda stifled a yawn as she stared vaguely at a computer screen.

Being holed up in a small room, constantly hailed by a barrage of anxiety, was exhausting.

"The data shows no signs of..." the oldest brother paused to yawn. "...further corruption."

"Mmm." The middle brother responded, his gaze focused on some vague point on the equipment in front of him.

Zelda tried hard to stay awake. The harder she tried, the harder it was. She propped her head up on her hand, trying to focus on the data in front of her. She'd just close her eyes for just a second... then jerk suddenly awake, and force herself to read the screen. After what felt like forever, trudging mentally through an impossible sea of words that made no sense at all, she realized she had been reading the same line over and over again.

Even Sheik was nodding off. He had been standing quietly in the corner, observing the frantic search going on and giving his opinion when it could help. Now, his eyelids drooped, and his head and shoulders found a comfortable spot on the wall as he leaned there.

Everyone had been strained awake by the whole incident. They had barely gotten any sleep for nearly 24 hours now. Everyone involved had been riding a wave of adrenaline up until now. Things were leveling out, quiet... calm...

Sheik, Zelda, and all three brothers jerked awake almost at once. Looking around, they smiled in vague amusement. Nobody blamed anyone. If there was someone else to do this job, they would have passed the torch by now to get some well-deserved rest. But nothing like this had ever happened before, so they were the only ones qualified and prepared for this kind of duty. They were the guardians, the heroes, one could say, of the cartridge.

The rest of those 'heroes' were given no such break, but they had suffered less of the strain. The sages continued on, repeating their message of security over the fuss of the residents.

"We're almost done." Ruto said with relief.

"Man, days like this are the ones that make me realize just how many people are actually in here." Darunia added in tired awe. He looked up at his shoulder, where Saria sat tiredly. Being the smallest, she had the least endurance for treks such as this. But the mission had been a success; most of the panic had been quelled.

"Hanging in there?" he asked with a smile.

Saria grinned languidly as the rhythm of Darunia walking lulled her to sleep.

Back in the Infirmary, Link slowly and blearily woke up. Something felt very wrong, and he had a haunting suspicion he knew what it meant.

"Ganondorf?" He called. "You still in here?"

In the back room, Ganondorf looked up from his current task: He was moving the furnishings in the tight study, at the bickering command of Koume and Kotake. Leaving the table askew, he walked out to see what Link wanted.

Link turned to see, but didn't bother sitting up.

"Yeah? What do you need?" Ganondorf asked as he approached.

"I know it's coming." Link said calmly.

"What?" Ganondorf grunted, confused. He reached the bedside and sat in the nearby chair.

Link cast his weary gaze on his comatose neighbors.

Ganondorf didn't need an interpretation. "You'll be fine, Link."

"Hey, I'm a grown man, I don't need that." Link assured. "I'm not afraid of this." he added.

Ganondorf gave a weak, sporting smile. "Hey, who said you were?"

"I can feel it coming."

"What, the...?" Ganondorf trailed off, then smiled unconvincingly. "Come on, you're yanking my chain, right?"

But now that he mentioned it, Ganondorf noticed that Link's pallor seemed to deepen. A cold sweat made his skin shine as the last victim anticipated his fate.

Link smiled reassuringly. "It's okay." He promised. His voice was increasingly breathy and slow. "I'm tired. I just, need a break."

And with a confident smile defying the fate he accepted, Link relaxed and closed his eyes, joining his companions in their still sleep.

Attention. System powered on. ..n. t. sta...ng....nt.

Ganondorf stared hard at him, stunned. His gaze went past Link, into nothingness. In all their years as friends, he had never known him to give in to anything like this before.

Ganondorf smiled at his own protective ignorance. He looked on as if Link would just wake up any second. He wasn't dead, anyway. Maybe it wasn't a strange coma. Maybe he was just playing a trick on him. It wouldn't be a new development...

"Come on..." his voice wavered as he tried to call Link's bluff. "You're not really..."

Koume and Kotake gently guided the devastated man away to a quiet room to take a break alone. "You go and rest. We're taking good care of him." One of them promised. He never did know exactly which. He was too strung out at the time. It was the absolute last thing on his mind, anyway. He fell into a fitful, dreamless sleep in minutes.