"Robin, you know I hold your opinion in high esteem."

"Yes, Metaknight?"

"I don't think I'm comprehending this plan. It seems idiotic."

The food on the table had been long removed, replaced by several old parchments and maps. Robin stood over his organized disaster, placing utensils on the maps in lieu of other markers.

"Alright, what don't you understand?"

Peach slammed her fist on the table. "Pretty much everything?!" She snapped out. "You think somebody's controlling people?"

"Not just anybody," Robin corrected, "Ganondorf or Zelda. Zelda's having nightmares, and the nightmares are sucking others in, right?"

"I can't control that." Zelda said defensively. Robin nodded.

"I know, and you've said yourself that something is interfering with the Triforce. So, what if somebody is trying to control somebody through the Triforce?"

Fox spoke up. "This all seems a bit farfetched. Why would we assume that?"

"I've had experience." Robin said grimly. "And if an outside force is controlling somebody in the mansion, they're going to put in the effort to make sure that they're in the final."

"To get the Dragoon." Metaknight confirmed. "But it's the steps after that -"

"Patience," Robin interrupted, "Let me explain. I recieved a device that sends out strong psychic waves that can interfere with the Triforce. Whoever wins, the device will be activated." He looked at Zelda. "Sorry, princess, I can't promise it won't be uncomfortable."

"As long as it can stop Ganondorf." came her curt reply.

"Erm …" Robin coughed nervously, "Well, hopefully we can smoke out the perpetrators, so to speak." He pointed to the maps. "And this is where Plan A comes in." He motioned to Fox. "Fox, I need you to get into contact with the Cornerian army. We need a mobile outrealm gate built, and I think they're the only ones who can build it."

"Yeah, you know that it's really unlikely that we could get that past the first vote, right?"

"It can't hurt to try." Robin replied. He continued. "Peach, Bowser. I need you two to visit Rosalina, see if you can't get her help."

"Why do I have to be stuck with him?" Peach protested.

Robin rolled his eyes. "You play golf and tennis with the man, you can survive a tea party. Zelda, I need you to keep tabs on your dreams. It's obviously leading us to something, and I think it's important to figure out if it's a warning or if you're being led there." Zelda nodded, pursing her lips. "Marth, you and Peach are senior smashers here, correct?"

"Yes, as well as Samus, I believe."

"I would like access to old smasher data files, is that possible?"

Samus cut in, "It should be in the archives, it would be worth a look." Robin nodded in response.

"Perfect, the more information we can get on old smashers, the better. Maybe somebody has a grudge."

Corrin raised her hand. "This is all well and good," she began, "But what if this doesn't work, and the Dragoon gets taken?" Robin's face darkened.

"That's where these maps come in." He responded. "Zelda, you recognize these maps, correct?"

Zelda looked at them closely. "Maps of Hyrule." She confirmed. "Why do you only have these?"

"The dream I had gave me a location, which was likely in Hyrule." Robin said, "I need to figure out where it is. If you or Ganondorf ends up under someone's control, they will likely attack Hyrule first."

"Or if Ganondorf is just being-" Robin shot Zelda a withering glare, causing her words to fade out.

"... As I was saying, we'll need to mobilize fast. Metaknight, are you fine with the Halberd being our base of operations?"

"That is it's purpose."

"Neat. Marth, if we need to mobilize, is it possible for you to get us an army?"

"I can make an earnest attempt, but I will not promise anything."

"Fair enough." Robin turned to Severa. "Severa."

"Yes, dad … father?"

"I'll need you or Lucina to get Chrom to mobilize the Shepherds. Can you do that?" Severa looked down at her feet.

"... I can." Lucina glanced at her friend, who was now fidgeting in her seat. Robin opened his mouth, but thought twice about it.

"Good. Fox, I'll leave it to you to try to get some ships together for us."

"Ike can probably gather his mercenaries together, and Cloud talks about his friends as well." Peach noted.

"We'll save that for if we need to." Robin replied. He pointed to the map. "As for the maps, if my assumptions are correct, then we need to find a suitable fortress to keep the other two Triforce holders safe." He pointed to his utensil laden maps.

"The castle has perfectly fine walls and defenses." Zelda insisted.

"Ah yes, the castle surrounded by flat plains and looks rather easy to siege." Robin said dryly. "The castle would be a perfectly fine place to station troops, but we need another place as our base of operations. He pointed to his butterknife, which pointed at a large mountain. "There's a small fort here. I believe that we could utilize that."

Zelda looked at the map in shock. "Snowpeak? Are you insane?"

Robin grinned. "Your reaction only confirms my choice. Troops that attempt to attack us will be demoralized and weakened, while our troops will remain fresh in the confines of the fortress."

Corrin raised her hand again. "Um... Mr. Robin," she began, "You haven't told me what I need to do."

Robin gave her a warm smile. "Lady Corrin, I admittedly do not know of your circumstances, but from what I can tell, you have a lot of things to take care of at home." Corrin nodded, her face stony. "You should resolve those problems, then you can come assist us."

"But that could take years." Corrin argued. Fox shrugged.

"Time doesn't flow normally from dimension to dimension," he explained, "The gates here can precisely control when and where you go, so I wouldn't worry too much about time."

Robin looked over the table. "I know this is a lot to ask of all of you. I hope things don't reach the point where you have to do all this." Silence crept over the table. Clearly, the meeting was over.

As the others left, Severa looked at Corrin, her face beginning to betray her emotions. She looked over at Lucina, who was now talking to that blond ponytail-wearing-something-something. She sighed irritably. Selena? Really scraping the bottom of the barrel. She thought.

Zelda disembarked from the monorail. The meeting had gone … as expected. Robin didn't leave much up for debate, but gave everybody clear orders to follow. Zelda gritted her teeth. The only infuriating thing was Robin's insistence that Ganondorf, despite everything, might still be a good guy. A hero, even. Absurdity at it's finest. She felt a hand softly touch her shoulder. She looked to see Samus, face expressionless. The two had gotten on the monorail before the others, who wanted to spend a little time investigating the shops.

"You alright, Princess?"

Zelda shook her head. "I just don't get it. How can someone so intelligent be so dense?"

"Robin? He's just trying to make a smart play." Samus felt a finger poke her chest. Zelda was glaring up at her.

"Don't you defend him!" She snarled. "The smart play would've been to lose from round one! Now we're at the semi-finals, and even closer to disaster!"

Samus closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply. "First of all, watch where you're pointing." Zelda blushed intensely, shrinking her hand back gingerly. Samus sighed, smiling as she shook her head. "I don't doubt you for a second, but Robin seems to be the kind of person that wants control of as much as possible; and I understand that too."

"He has no trouble trusting some people." Zelda began to pout. "I've even made the effort, and I don't feel like he trusts me."

"You're not alone there, sister. I don't think he trusts either of us." Samus sighed. "But at least he's allowing us to do something."

"Oh joy, I get to write a dream journal."

"Robin didn't say this would be fun, he just said important."

As the duo reached the staircase, something caught Samus's eye. Danger signals starting wailing in her head. She immediately grabbed onto Zelda, dragging her into the shadows.

"What is i-"

Samus covered Zelda's mouth, nudging the princess with her leg. Samus shifted her body, peeking around the corner while keeping Zelda in the shadows. The silhouette she could see was unmistakable. Ganondorf was towering over someone. Well, someone might've been a stretch, it looked skeletal in nature. While she couldn't make out what was said, Ganondorf was clearly upset. Almost without warning, he grabbed the thin one, and slammed them against the wall, causing the whole room to shake slightly. Samus instinctively brought Zelda closer, tightening her grip on the princess.

It was silent for a short while, before a portal opened up, and another figure grabbed the thin one. As they walked through, there seemed to be a purplish glow that emanated from the second figure, surrounding Ganondorf. He fell to one knee, and Samus could hear him coughing. After another minute, he slowly got up, and began to drag himself towards the staircase. Samus closed her eyes, breathing softly. She could feel Zelda's sweat on her hand, and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. She could hear the Gerudo push himself up the stairs, before walking to his room. The door slowly creaked open, and was closed with a slam. Samus waited for a few more seconds, before looking down at the princess. She felt blood rush to her face, as Zelda was nestled in her bosom. Samus immediately removed her hand from Zelda's mouth and helped her up. "I am so sorry..." Samus began, before she noticed Zelda's face. She had blank smile, one that only worsened Samus's blush. She quickly batted the back of Zelda's head, bringing her back to earth.

"Huh? I'm dreadfully sorry, I got lost in thought." She said, still smiling vacantly. Samus shook her head with a wry grin.

"Well, don't expect to get 'lost in thought' very often." Samus teased. Zelda pouted.

"It was enjoyable, though." She retorted, "What was that about, anyways?"

"I'm not sure, Ganondorf was having an argument with someone."

"Someone."

"It was dark, but I don't think it was anyone from here." Samus argued. "But they did something to him. They portaled in and out of the mansion."

"That's not possible, Sam."

"I know, but it's what happened." There was silence, before she spoke up again. "We need to tell somebody."

"You think this is what Robin was alluding to?"

Samus nodded. "It seems likely. We need to tell him. And start putting his plan into motion."

"Right now?" Zelda whined. Samus shot her a confused look, to which Zelda gave her an innocent smile. "I was thinking we could share our thoughts over some tea. After we notify Robin, of course."

Samus closed her eyes tightly. This woman's gonna be the death of me.

"So you're planning on leaving?"

Lucina breathed in the chilly autumn air. The meeting had concluded, and after bidding the others farewell, had been approached by Severa. The suggestion was inaudible but clear, as the two began walking through the quieting city.

"Ugh, that sounds so callous when you say it like that." Severa grumbled, "Owain and Inigo want to go on an adventure, and you know what could happen to those two."

"And you volunteered to watch them?" Lucina had a smirk on her face. Severa's face turned three unique shades of red, which she attempted to hide within her scarf. "You don't have to give up your time for those two, they've been through worse." Severa mumbled in response, which caused Lucina to look at her friend. She was intentionally averting her eyes, gazing intently at the ground. "Severa, why are you going with them?"

Severa sighed, a frown plastered on her face. "Lucy, look at everybody. You and my dad are some sort of otherworldly gladiators now, Morgan's the new Shepherd's tactician, and most everybody else is strong, or satisfied with what they have." She walked up to a lamppost and leaned against it. "I wasn't strong enough to save my dad, and I could barely keep up with you. At the end of the day, I was just a big weight you had to carry."

"Sev-"

"Do not interrupt me." Severa's body was shaking. "I need to become stronger. Lucy, I must get stronger, so I can protect you from harm." Her breaths became more rattled by the second, "So that I can actually be something to you, something of worth, something-"

Severa felt a strike against her cheek. In shock, she looked up to see Lucina, tears rolling down her face.

Lucina struggled to speak. "... Never talk about yourself like that again!" She managed to shake out, before falling into Severa's arms. No words were uttered, as Severa and Lucina both cried openly. Finally, Lucina managed to speak up.

"Y-you're not useless, you never were." she said weakly, "I've told you hundreds of times, and I'll tell you again. I wouldn't be here without you." Lucina smiled through her tears. "I should be calling myself the dead weight, with all the times you carried me."

"... Lucy ..." Severa helped Lucina up. The princess wiped away her tears.

"I know better than to try to convince you to stay." Lucina said, warmth present in her words. "Naga knows I would be right there with you if I could." she looked at the ground sheepishly. "But you have to promise me that you will return safely, alright Sev?"

Severa blushed again. "I never intended not to, Lucy." she scoffed. "So I promise." Lucina still looked unconvinced, irking her friend. "What? Is my word not good enough?"

"Yes, but I know you. You like having an incentive to return." Lucina stated flatly. Her face beginning to turn red. Oh gods, she thought, This is just like last time. What if she- She shook away her doubts. With a smooth motion, she grabbed Severa's waist, and quickly brought her towards her.

The moment was over too quick for Lucina's taste, and when they separated, she felt a pang of fear. Severa was standing stiffly, much like before. Lucina quickly fumbled for excuses, not noticing Severa moving in. She felt her friend's hands grab her own. Lucina grimaced. Severa's hands were always so soft, unlike her calloused hands.

The two held hands for minutes, before finally finding the courage to look at each other. Severa broke the silence.

"That time, back before this whole thing started ..." she began, squeezing Lucina's hands. "You really meant that?" Lucina couldn't talk, her throat felt parched, and her face felt like a hearth, burning through whole forests of teenage hormones. She managed to nod and give out a weak confirmation. Her heart fluttered. Could this mean-

Severa quickly initiated the next kiss, fiercer than Lucina expected. There was something desperate behind it. She felt her friend grasp onto her tightly, as if something was trying to tear the two apart.

It was bliss.

After a few seconds, the two separated again. Severa, once again, had turned a peculiar shade of crimson, and Lucina was certain she looked quite similar. After a few more moments, Severa smiled at Lucina.

"I never knew how much I wanted that," she admitted, "Even when I knew that's what I wanted, I never knew, you know?" Lucina nodded, heart and head still aflutter. She felt another peck on her cheek, before Severa whispered into her ear.

"I promise I will return to you."

lol This one felt so long until I looked at the word count! It's nearly Christmas, and it felt right to get the ball rolling in two relationships in the story.

Thank you all for reading and commenting, it really means a lot to me and keeps me going.

The next chapter is being edited, but I felt like this one needed to get out there before the end of the week.