Chapter 16

There was an uncomfortable silence as everyone thought on Dark Link's commentary. There was unspoken truth to them that Link did not like.

"Regan, where's your puzzle?" Yugi asked turning his attention back on Regan and changing the morbid subject.

Link followed and watched the girl shuffle her weight back and forth sheepishly. "With Nile, I'll be good for an hour or so before I have to go back to it…"

"How's she doing?" Ryou asked and Regan smiled slightly. Link noticed something in his tone and smirked slightly unable to hide his findings. The white-haired teen liked the girl in the medical ward. He thought about how their relationship was like before Nile got a body and frowned. Up to this point, the girl was a spirit and now, Ryou probably was happy at the circumstances, but at the same time… spirits were less likely to get hurt. Just another person that could get killed, again.

"She's good, her fever has dropped since being stable, according to the doctors, but we really need to find something to stabilize one of us when we start going our separate ways to do things."

"About that," Atem started like it was breaking news to a kid that their favorite treat was sold out. "We've decided that you are probably best to stay here and do research…"

"Why because I kinda look like a younger version of Zelda?" Regan asked glaring. Link figured she had seen the painting they had all seen when they walked to the war room of Zelda and her father when Zelda was a bit younger. It surprised him on how fast she put things together. Inhumanly fast. "You can't just think I'll be sitting around while you guys are out and about! It's-"

"You're staying in Castle Town." Seto ordered cutting her off like a hot knife. Link was surprised at the sudden tension that filled the room. He was almost afraid to breathe. "You still haven't fully recovered from your injuries from the last parade and it's possible that someone here will use you like they want to do back home."

"But-"

"But nothing." Seto finalized with a glare. "You're staying put until I say you are able to defend yourself properly and the situation is more clear. Got it?"

She looked ready to argue, but she sighed after looking at everyone at the table then back to her brother. "I got it, Seto…"

"Good." She frowned at his words before a smirk appeared on her lips as she walked passed Seto and sat next Dark Link, purposely moving her chair closer to him. Seto sighed as Link prepared for the shadow to attack out of instinct. Why would she place herself so close to a ticking time bomb? "Regan…"

"Hmmm?" She answered as she looked over Ryou's arrangements.

"You're going to make Yugi jealous…"

Regan didn't turn to him. "Hardly, Yugi knows that I love him more than he could possibly know. But if I'm not doing that, what could I possibly doing?" the girl's smirk only grew as Seto didn't reply. Using her brother's fear of her being near the shadow was working extremely well as the man fidgeted. Link really wished she wouldn't, but then again, she seemed to get on his good side really fast, which seemed like a feat none of them had accomplished besides Electra, but it certainly wasn't in a matter of hours. Maybe there was something she saw that none of them did. "Are these your battle formations, Ryou?"

Ryou turned to her and realized she was looking over the board. "Um, yea…"

"They're great, though it's not just sanitation you have to be concerned with either. With the units placed like that, it's possible for someone to teleport in the city and keep all the citizens inside the walls while monsters attack from all directions."

Link looked at the board and back to the girl, he didn't even think about their enemies' teleportation skills. These kids perhaps could help end the uphill battle, but he also knew theory wasn't practice and Kalysta, Dean and Vaati were never grounded by theory, so far.

"What do you propose we do then?" Ryou asked continuing the back and forth brain storm. He wasn't going to interrupt as he figured he wouldn't have much to add.

"If we had time, create safe road out of the city possibly maybe into the castle court… but that's a lot of people out there from what I've seen. Maybe a special guard on the inside, very trained professionals disguised as citizens or something..."

"Like, each having a shop or something at the beginning and of end of each section of the city? Trained enough so they can challenge whatever comes and can cause enough of a stir between the people and the visitor that they can't create a crowd controlled scenario."

"Yes! Exactly, and maybe have it a gender bias or neutral… there aren't many female recruits I've noticed, just Electra, Delilah and Ashei."

"A female special force?"

"I doubt it would even cross their minds of females having set shop while in reality, they're keeping watch." Yugi added. "History has pointed out that females can do secret missions in the open better than men have."

Link looked at the map as Ryou grabbed several units in a different color from the box in front of one of the Hylian generals and placed them at the corners and gates in each of the sections across the city. It looked like one of the best ideas they had in months. "What do you think?"

"I think it will work…" Jerom stated, finally adding his opinion to the council. "And we can use your positions to formulate evacuation plans. The only problem is: can we get enough females to join for this plan?"

Ryou shrugged. "Depends on how much courage they have and if they like living. But we shouldn't advertise that we are looking for militants either." He looked back at the map. "Someone in civilian clothing-"

Regan started putting up her hand and he sighed. "Other than you, and see who, if there is someone, working at these stations who would to like to participate."

"Not tonight though." Link finalized standing from the table. The meeting had grown long enough and they had a solid plan, they could work out the fine details in the morning, and when he wasn't around. There were other things he needed attending to, like sleep, and the plan didn't need his insight anymore, not that he ever had much to say to the plans. He was only ever there to give details on the types of monsters that were running about and their weaknesses. "We've had a rough night after that raid and the people need rest."

"You mean you need rest." Dark Link corrected mockingly. "Right?"

"You are just-" Link wanted to say a handful of words that would not be appropriate with anyone at the table except the two of them, in a room, where no one could hear him or stop them from murdering the other. He held his cool and ignored the dark version, he wasn't going to let the shadow win their game tonight. He turned to the queen and hoped she agreed with him on ending the meeting. "Zelda?"

"That's enough for tonight. We can pick this up later on in the day if something else occurs." Zelda agreed taking a quick look over the map. "This concludes the council."

The other personal in the room left quickly leaving Dark Link, Zelda, Electra the other world group and himself at the table.

"That seemed like a total waste of time." Seto stated. "Seriously, we could have cut almost the whole thing if those fools would have stopped arguing."

"I didn't see you try and stop them, Seto." Atem told him.

"That's all they have been doing recently…" Zelda explained before Seto could make a remark. "But, perhaps that will change now that the stress of dealing with a set plan is gone."

"Perhaps…" Ryou said to no on in particular as he looked over the map again, Link looked over the map as well. There was something missing, but his tired brain couldn't think of what it was. But whatever it was, he hoped that it wasn't going to keep him up all night, he needed the sleep badly, regardless of how much mocking Dark Link pulled. A small squeak went through the war room and Link turned to the source to see Regan finishing a yawn. He couldn't help but smile as it reminded him of a cat. It was cute. "Sounds like someone is tired."

"But I already slept…" The girl complained holding her breath like she was trying to avoid yawning again.

"You napped for only a few hours," Yugi told her as he stood up from his chair. "Maybe you should head back to the puzzle for now?"

"Ha-ha, no way in hell am I going back to that part of the castle."

Link looked at her in confusion. What was wrong with that part of the castle? Last he checked it was homely like, as homely as the royal medical ward could be, but homely nonetheless. Were there ghosts or something that he didn't notice before? "Why not?"

"You're still scared of hospitals, even after the last few months?" Ryou asked and Link felt like that was a silly thing to be afraid of. Spiders, fine. Snakes, no problem. But hospitals? That made no sense.

"Yes…" She muttered looking away from everyone in shame. Her face was slightly red in what he guessed was embarrassment. "And this one is the same as all the rest…"

Ryou huffed, but Link guessed that even after freaking out over her partner's wellbeing, she refused to spend time with her, the room that Nile was in was apparently the last place Regan would stay. A lot like the boss room in Arbiter's Grounds would be for Electra for the rest of time.

"Wait, time out…" Dark Link asked looking at Ryou and the others for an explanation. "Are you saying the pipsqueak here, the most injury finding person in the room right now other than Peter Pan and yours truly, is afraid of hospitals? The place where you go to get better."

"Don't forget probably the most accident prone." Yugi added. Link noticed her flinch under the accusation, but she didn't turn her attention away from the shadow.

"A little slow on the uptake there, D-Link." Regan mocked in annoyance.

"Did you just-" Kaiba started before he started laughing, the look on Dark Link's face was a mix of confusion and insult. "That's hysterical."

Regan gave a small smile and Link looked over at to see if Seto was going to be alright. He hadn't expected such hysteria to come from the man, if any at all. Perhaps they were all very tired. He noticed Ryou look out the window behind Dark Link who started to ask what a D-Link was. Link ignored him, not that he had an answer since he didn't know what a D-Link was either and wondered what the Ryou was thinking. He looked in distraught, but Link left him to his thoughts. There was nothing he could figure out without him sharing to the rest of them.

He turned to the rest of the members around the table and found that the rest of the members weren't going to fill in the shadow on what he was asking. "Where do you guys prefer staying for the night?"

"Preferable not the hospital wing." Regan answered. "And I'm sure Seto wants to have a room near me."

"I would, and I'd appreciate it if you gave her a room with the loudest door and preferable without a window or access to the ground." Her brother agreed. "Perhaps one with two beds, it would be best if Nile and Regan were kept together as much as possible.

"Atem and I aren't too picky, wherever is available, but close to the others." Yugi answered as Link turned to him. Atem nodded in agreement and he turned to the last person in the room.

"Ryou?" Link asked turning to their main strategist who seemed to still be in thought.

Ryou jumped slightly, coming back to reality. "Sorry, did you ask something?"

"Just wondered if you had a preference for sleeping…"

"Anywhere with a bed or a sofa." He replied with a shrug. "Actually, if there is a room close to a library that would be great."

"There's a room just above it." Zelda told him and he nodded. "Do you need anything else?"

"No, that's more than enough." He thanked with a small bow. "I'll work with Regan on finding a possible location for the Minish."