Groose, Link, Fi, Ghirahim, and Cheeb stood, looking up at the volcano. Smoke poured out of its top, and the ash was slowly falling to the surface. Beyond the glowing embers jumping around in the air like fairies, a grave danger loomed. Peering through the dancing fire, Groose and the rest of his party could spot a large army of Bokoblins. Their feet stomped in synchronized order, plodding against the rocky terrain. Their organized ranks filed down the side of the volcano, advancing at an alarming rate.

Groose looked to Link and nodded. Without exchanging so much as a word, the two stepped to the front of the group and began their march upwards. Groose grabbed the hilt of the Master Sword, and Link wrapped his hand around the hilt of his own sword. He raised his shield to his face to block some of the ash that plagued the air surrounding him.

Ghirahim grinned, perhaps a bit too maniacally for comfort. But nobody would see him. He grinned, a smile twisting his expression as he summoned two light swords, their blades clean. For now. Ghirahim's morals had changed, but his penchant for bloodshed still lingered in the air.

Cheeb simply let out a long sigh. Cheeb knew the plan. Cheeb didn't like the plan.

A small, rat-like creature scurried across the barren ground. His feet pitter-pattered on the rocky coverage, echoing through the largest chambers of the cave. He carried a certain golden relic, and was eager not to displease his master.

His worrisome nature was accompanied by a small, squeaking voice. "Where, where, where to hide it…" he repeated to himself, over and over again. He darted down hallways and peered into various caverns, illuminated by fire and brimstone. He kept going, racing to the end of the hallway, eager to find a hiding spot.

As he entered the final room, located at the end of the hall, he found a rather startling sight. Two dragon statues were intertwined around a single pedestal, wrapping around the entire room. The statues were gargantuan in size, and extremely detailed. Each and every scale was carved and polished to perfection. It created an elegant sight for those who were in the mood to appreciate such art. The Demon Chief was not in such a mood.

He quickly darted in between the dragons and hopped up onto the pedestal. He laid down to rest, wrapping himself around a staff that was lodged in the pedestal itself. He felt the warmth of his surroundings begin to take a heavier effect on his body. Eventually, the rat drifted off to sleep, confident in his hiding place.

Groose used his boot to slide various Bokoblin body parts down and off the blade of the Master Sword. "How're you holding up over there, bro?" he called, jokingly.

Link deflected a misplaced Bokoblin's strike with his shield, and struck another monster with his sword. The Bokoblin's arm was severed completely, and Link watched as it fell to the ground, screeching with pain. "Good enough." Link called back. "What about you, pretty boy?"

Ghirahim snapped his fingers, and a plethora daggers appeared. He rapidly spun around, sending them flying into the enemy ranks. Countless Bokoblin felt a sharp pain pierce their skin as they howled and cried. "I'm holding up pretty well myself. They don't present that much of a problem, do they…" he trailed off.

Cheeb continued crawling to the back of the Bokoblin ranks, mainly unnoticed. Carrying a torch and with some bottled red solution from Alakai tucked into his Power Band, he felt a growing sense of uneasiness. Fortunately for him, Cheeb saw the end of the lines. Quickly racing ahead, he found himself outside of the enemy ranks. He proceeded to prop up his torch using his feet. Grabbing the bottle from Alakai, he pried off the cork stopper with his beak, and doused the torch with the solution. The torch head soaked up the liquid and remained dormant for a few seconds, before popping to life with a spark. Cheeb held up the torch and began to bounce up and down, the fire on the end bobbing with it.

Fi began to glow from within the Master Sword. "Master Groose," she called, "I sense that Cheeb has successfully appeared behind enemy lines. He has lit his signal."

Groose looked over at Link, and Link looked back at him. Signalling him to come over, Groose was eager to show him his plan. Link nodded, and quickly cleared his surroundings with a spin attack. He made his way over to Groose and stood at his side during the quick pause in battle.

"Hey Link, did you know that Cheeb's Power Band is magnetic?" Groose asked.

Link was caught a bit off guard, but he responded, "...No. Why?"

"Watch this."

Groose held up his hand, which was covered by Coarstle's Glove. With a quick wave of his fingers, Link watched as a small fire began to rise in the distance. As the Kikwi slowly began to rise, Link looked towards the hordes of approaching Bokoblins, and he smiled.

The approaching army was caught off guard with an attack from behind. Groose brought down his hand and began swinging it around wildly. A small Kikwi wrecking ball began to tear through the enemy ranks, smashing into groups of soldiers. Bokoblin after Bokoblin fell unexpectedly as Cheeb slammed his body into them, throwing punches and kicks as fast as he could.

Cheeb watched as he tore through the enemy ranks. He began cheering with glee at the sight of the Bokoblins fleeing and beaten. "All you wounded," he screamed at the top of his lungs, "and those of you who can, pick yourselves off the ground! Hurry back! Tell your leader you'll need more men!"

"Okay, calm down…" Groose said, patting Cheeb on the back. Cheeb looked around and realized that all the Bokoblins were either dead or running for their lives. "You did good, buddy."

Cheeb felt a bit of vomit in the back of his mouth after being thrown around like a ragdoll, but he choked it down and grinned. Link and Ghirahim soon joined the two.

"I think we're clear to go at this point." Ghirahim said, motioning to the now-empty mountainside of Eldin Volcano.

Link threw his sword into its sheath and fastened the shield on his back. "Looks like we've got a path to the top. Let's get moving."

The group began their ascent to the top of the volcano, moving off of Ghirahim's prior directions. There were two pieces of the Triforce left, and one of them was located nearby. Groose and his party just had to find it.

"Stand down, you worthless twat." the masked antagonist called out to the final Demon Chief. The slender figure dashed back and forth in the rafters high above the robed villain and his cohort, the Robokoblin.

"Why should I, huh? This is my piece of the Triforce, for me, given to me, entrusted to me by Demise himself, right? That's right! It's mine, mine mine mine mine mine!" The monster let out a gleeful giggle as his light footsteps echoed through the dungeon's empty halls.

The monster spoke at an abnormally fast rate, making it hard for the Robokoblin to keep up with the Demon Chief's speech. His thermal sensors were flickering on and off with signs of life as he desperately attempted to locate the enemy within the darkness. Though he stood still, he could still sense the immediate danger that he and his companion could be in, assuming that the masked man of mystery next to him accidentally set the Demon Chief off.

The masked villain sensed his partner's tension, and took note of it. "Demise is a fool and merely an obstacle to your own success. Why are you so eager to obey him?" he asked.

The footsteps stopped as the currently hidden Demon Chief thought to himself. "Well, that's an easy question, at least, an easy question I would think it would be, yes yes yes it is! Why, if someone under Demise were to disobey him, the consequences would be grave, grave indeed. Especially for those of us bound to him by blood, those of us descending directly of Demise's demonic blood, those are the ones who shall suffer most if Demise is left unsatisfied by our duties…"

The Demon Chief went on to run his mouth past that, but the masked man had stopped listening far before that. He had the monster right where he wanted him. The Robokoblin charged up a single laser beam, and released the charged energy directly at the rafters of the dungeon. A sandstone beam collapsed and rubble fell, but no body.

"Ha ha, you thought that would get me, didn't you? Well I'll tell you this much, it's going to take a lot more to trip up the fastest Demon Chief alive. You can't heed the spee-"

The Demon Chief's body descended from the shadows above, its neck cracked from the masked man, who had teleported behind him. The masked villain gently levitated to the ground behind the falling body, a thin, sleek, black vessel. As it hit the ground with a soft thud, it immediately dissipated and revealed a glowing Triforce piece. The Robokoblin grabbed the piece and added it to their collection. To their knowledge, there was only one piece left, and a certain group of rather persistent irritations would most likely be waiting for them at the source.

"And so falls one more Demon Chief… that makes seven pieces collected. Only one last piece to be taken, and it looks like these guys are going to tear each other apart in the process."

Demise was watching the affair in Lanayru happen from the comfort of his own office, as he had with most other portions of the story. He propped up his head on his desk with his hand and let out a long sigh.

"Oh, Demon Chief number seven, what a disappointment you turned out to be. I remember you and Ghirahim being close, too. Quite the close bunch all of you used to be, honestly… where has the time gone?" Demise continued talking to himself, "Demon Chief number seven, you were so quick and cunning, you had all of your assets and your strengths just like back in the day, but similar to the other six in your place, you fell. They all fell, and I know eight will fall, too."

Demise's thoughts were interrupted by a sharp buzzing. He snapped out of his daydream and pressed his finger down on his intercom.

"Demon Lord Demise?" a feminine voice relayed over the speaker.

"Yes, what is it?" Demise replied.

"There's a woman in the lobby saying she's here to clean at your request. She's saying her name is… hang on… Henya? Yes, Henya. Do you know her?"

"Send her up." Demise leaned back in his office chair. With all the bad news he'd received today, at least he was finally going to get all that dead Hrok off of his office carpet.

Demise let out a drawn out sigh, hinting at his frustration. There were already three parties involved in this struggle, including himself. If worst were to come to worst, and Groose wound up with the complete Triforce of Wisdom… that wouldn't be satisfactory. Demise wasn't sure why, because the rules of the Triforce honestly change from game to game, making it very confusing.

Leaving the fourth wall shattered, Demise stomped on the broken pieces, grinding the fourth wall into a fine dust.