The city was a busy as it had been when Link first visited, and the group found a hotel to stay at before anything else. It was nicer than the last, with four beds and a fair amount of space in the room. Link brought along both swords and his pot lid, and Linebeck had created a cheap pair of gauntlets and greaves for the fighting. Link had asked if they were sturdy, and Linebeck let him know that they would last, but would be cheap to remake.

With an entire day of free time on their hands, Midna offered to spar with Link in a nearby park, and Linebeck and Ghirahim would go and register Link for the tournament. Ghirahim and Linebeck left with little ceremony.

"Would you say you're as good as a fighter as Ghirahim?" Link murmured, tugging the gauntlets over his hands. He clipped his metal sword to his belt, leaving the holo-sword (Ghirahim named it) in the bag Midna would bring. "He's pretty fast."

Midna shrugged. "He's amazing with a sword, but he's a one-trick-pony. That's really all he can fight with. I can use an array of weapons, just none as well as he does with the sword. I'll give you tips on fighting against other weapons." She had her stronger spear on her back, along with a wood-cutting axe. A wooden sword was set in the back with the rest of their equipment.

Link frowned at the wood sword. "When'd we get that?"

"Linebeck is... friends with a carpenter down the street."

"He has friends aside from you guys?"

Midna grimaced. "That guy's really the only one. He knows people, but that's it. That carpenter- his name's Damien- is his only friend in the city." She zipped up the bag. "You good to go?"

Link held up the pot lid and frowned. "Should I just carry this?"

"For the time being. We'll get you somewhere to put it at some point. Break it if you'd like, we can get another one."

Midna led Link out of the hotel and through the streets. Link stared around at the people they passed once again. Many robots, many humans, many others. A diverse city indeed. "Where's the coliseum in relation to the entire city?"

"To the south east of the castle. Close to the lake, I think you saw it while we were crossing the bridge. It's a big, circular building with banners and flags and statues at the top. The area can be altered by Sheikah technology- similar to what Linebeck thinks you're made of. That sword he found is Sheikah, though. If we're questioned, the cover story is that we bought it from some guy with a bunny hood in the marketplace."

The park they found a humble, an expanse of grass and trees. Midna found a clearing for the two of them and dropped the bag on the ground. Link unsheathed his own sword with mild hesitation. "Should we just start, or..."

Midna dropped her spear to the ground and took the axe in both hands. "Nope. You'll be introduced to your opponent, so you'll get a countdown before fighting. I'll start when you do. Axes and most other two-handed weapons are heavy and strong, so dodging and getting in some fast attacks is the way to go. It'll split your crappy little shield in half, so save that for spear or sword fighters."

Link nodded and kept it with the bag. He gripped the sword with both hands. An axe. He had no reason to underestimate Midna. With an axe, she might go for attacks in a straight line, easy enough for him to dodge. He bent his legs slightly, peering around the clearing. No. It was a duel. Running and hiding was the worse strategy. No longer waiting, he sprinted at Midna with his sword down at his hip, parallel to the ground.

Midna blocked his first attack, and he hopped back as she swung horizontally at him. The weapon's weight forced her to hesitate, taking a moment to bring it back to a ready stance. Link took his opportunity and lunged at her again. She could barely block, and staggered back, but Link proved to be faster, and his blade was at her throat in moments.

Midna smiled weakly. "Your speed is your advantage. Anyone is going to be slow with a heavy weapon. Never underestimate a robot with these. They were probably built to handle heavy weapons. You are fast and skillful, but don't get cocky." She dropped the axe by the bag and withdrew the spear.

The pot lid was sturdy-looking. Linebeck had added thin metal strips on the back, and an iron handle next to the wooden. It was light. The night before, Ghirahim had commented on how well Link handled it, a true complement. Followed quickly by a compliment to his own shield-less style. While Midna checked the balance of her spear, Link examined the weapon. It was about five and a half feet long, so if he wanted to get close, he could try forcing her spear off to the side with his shield.

She let him know that she was ready, and Link ran at her without waiting. She immediately swung at him from the side, forcing him to hesitate and jump back. The fight soon became repetitive, Link attempting to get close and Midna easily forcing him away. She was skilled and fast with the spear. After about a minute, Midna began fighting back; she was advancing towards him and making more attacks. Link blocked most with his shield, trying to inch forward when getting the chance.

The frustration boiling in his chest spilled over, and Link sprinted at Midna at full speed, shoving her spear away with his pot lid and slashing at her chest. She ducked to the side and slammed the spear shaft into Link's side. "We're going to do this again until you beat me," she playfully announced, and Link heavily sighed.

Linebeck sat with his legs neatly tucked under the bench. Ghirahim folded up the flier and stuffed it into his pocket. "How's your day been?" he asked, glancing sidelong at Linebeck. His expression was blank, and his goggles covered his eyes. He held a lit cigarette between two of his fingers. Dimly, Ghirahim was aware of the invisible AI fluttering about.

"Normal. Link woke me up and told me that he had a dream last night. He was walking through a grassy field until he woke up. Boring, but it's something."

Ghirahim nodded thoughtfully. The district they found themselves in was quieter, a few people passing by. It was quiet. After registering Link for the tournament, they sold a few trinkets and bought some sewing equipment. "How have you been feeling?"

"Tired, mostly. It's nice to have something to work on, but it's mostly just seemed like a distraction from other stuff."

"What other stuff?"

"Shit, I don't know. How have you been?" Linebeck's voice had an edge of irritability, and lifted the cigarette to his mouth.

"Oh, I've been wonderful," Ghirahim purred. "The other day, some people recognized me from a few sword fighting tournaments I'd been a part of! It was nothing but empty flattery, but it was certainly appreciated."

"Mhm."

Ghirahim's ears twitched. Bellum had said something. The corners of Linebeck's mouth curled up for a moment. He scowled to himself but held his tongue. "Do you dream when you sleep?"

"Sometimes."

That conversation slammed into a wall from the start. "...What do you think you were like back then? Before losing your memory?"

"Less numb," Linebeck began. "I was probably still an engineer. I doubt I was too happy, though, since something had to cause my aphenphosemphobia." He pulled his legs closer to the bench as someone walked a bit too close. "I want to get my memory back at some point, but I'm scared of what that might reveal." He shuddered. "For all we know, we've been through some deeply traumatic things."

Ghirahim pursed his lips. "Good point. I think I was a guard for someone. I jsut have this... aimless sense of loyalty deep in me. I know its loyalty to someone, but I'm not sure. I decided to project it on you and Midna."

"Your way of showing loyalty is pretty dickish."

"Continuing on. I bet I was some kind of warrior, traveling the world and challenging opponents. I wonder if I was famous! I bet all kinds of people fawned over me and asked me to teach them and guide them... I must have had legions of followers!"

"Curb your ego," Linebeck muttered. "We lost our memories a little over a year ago. If you had followers prior to then, they would've tracked you down." He shifted and leaned over a bit. "I doubt it matters, though. I feel like we've been given a second chance at something. To be different people, live different lives, but something at the back of my mind keeps nagging at me that there's something I must do, something I left unfinished."

"Me, too," Ghirahim whispered. Linebeck's gaze snapped onto Ghirahim, swiftly jerking his goggles off his eyes. Surprise lit the lines in the whites. Ghirahim had noticed that certain emotions made them glow. "Yeah. I usually have this instinctive, visceral feeling that I was unable to finish something monumental."

"You think Midna feel that, too?"

"Yeah. The three of us woke up in the ruined facility, a trio of amnesiacs with a need to finish something." Ghirahim sighed heavily. He leaned back and watched some people walk by, to the fountain down the road. "Strange, eh?"

Linebeck mimicked Ghirahim's lean and peered up at the sky. "It's a nice day today."

"It is," Ghirahim murmured, watching a flock of birds fly off ahead. "Hey."

"What?"

"If Link wins-"

"When he wins-"

"-what do you'll think we'll learn with Zelda? I mean, we might be able to access the castle library at the most, so Midna and I might be able to figure out what we are. We could learn the truth about back then."

"Don't care. I want the prize money."

"You're so damn superficial," Ghirahim snapped.

"I like money. This should not be a surprise to you." Linebeck sighed and set his jaw. "The thing about what we can learn if we meet Zelda is interesting, though. You guys have more of a goal, though."

Ghirahim shrugged. "We do. We always have. You just... seem to want to get a lot of money and keep working on your projects. You're pretty aimless."

Something flashed in Linebeck's eyes. He was silent, then smiled. "You're right. I should probably come up with a better goal, huh?"

"Obviously."

"Damn. Got any ideas?"

Ghirahim grunted. "Well, what do you want to do."

Very slowly, Linebeck glanced over and placed his hand on top of Ghirahim's. "No idea."

With a sharp, surprised inhale, Ghirahim froze and began to curl his fingers around Linebeck's hand.

"Don't," Linebeck whispered. "This is as much as I can do right now, and it still takes a few moments for the fear to go away."

"Sorry."

"I don't have many ambitions beyond getting rich. Let's keep it at that for a bit."

"I feel really lucky that I can't sweat," Link gasped. His sword slipped from his hand. Midna laughed weakly and let her spear drop. "You're so good with a spear," the robot whispered. "Thanks for sparring with me..." He sighed and swayed, falling into a sitting position. "I need a break."

"Will do," Midna dropped into a crouch. "You did well, but you've got to work on it." She smiled. "You're fast and quick to dodge, but you get frustrated. Try and cool down. Be more observant. Had you been human, there would be a number of bruises in your side." She laid down in the coarse grass and let out a long exhale.

The sky was clear, but a faint yellow tint added an unnerving background. Birds flew away ahead, and a squirrel dashed down a tree and away from the clearing. The number of animals in the city parks compared to the number of animals he'd seen in the junkyard was, unsurprisingly, much more. Not only was their diversity in the citizens, but in the wildlife, too. On the walk to the park, Link had seen at least five different types of bushes. The general life in the city was much better than outside.

He sat up. "Hey, Midna?"

"Mhm."

"Do you think it would be possible to clean up the junkyard?"

"Oh, totally. We could use the metal to create new homes, melt down into parts and tools, all kinds of stuff. Quite honestly, this city is small. We can walk from one side to the other in under an hour. We usually reach the junkyard soon after the forty-five-minute mark when on the way here. It's not that big, and somehow in a perfect circle. People already take parts from it. We patched up the Rain Keep when we first found it using junkyard parts."

"That's cool," Link mused. "Does Ghirahim drink? You guys have mentioned that."

Midna nodded. "He does. It's not an addiction or anything, and it's usually to celebrate or for the sake of relaxing. I join in, but I keep track of it. Linebeck's not actually old enough to drink, remember? He hates it, anyways. We've never figured out why, but he's always very antsy around drunk people. More often than not, when Ghirahim and I head out to a bar to celebrate, he stays behind."

"Does Linebeck smoke?"

"Yeah, but not often. Usually when the rest of us are gone. He claims it helps him work. I can't claim otherwise." She pulled herself into an upright sitting position, legs crossed. "You up to do some more sparring? When we finish up the sword sparring, I'll take you to meet a few of my friends."

A nearby bird cawed, making Link pause. "Sounds good." He got to his feet, acutely away of his artificial heartbeat for a moment. He didn't think about it often. It sped up during action, slowed down when sleeping or in rest, reacted to his fear. It was much like his lungs and intake of breath- designed to be as humanlike as possible. Only it was encased in unbreakable material. That made sense. The heart was important, perhaps his was fragile.

Sword gripped in his left hand, Link circled Midna, the two of them facing off against each other. Midna's wooden sword was longer than Link's, but she had no shield. Out of the corner of his eye, Link was aware of some people glancing their way. He erased any emotion from his face, just to be safe.

This time, Midna lunged at him. Her sword connected with his shield, and his shoved it outwards at the moment of contact. Midna stumbled back and danced away when he slashed at where she had been and thrust her blade at his stomach. Link shuffled back and twisted to properly face her, and they traded a trio of quick blows before jumping away. Link sprang at her again and attacked whenever he saw an opening. Midna's defense was surprisingly solid, and she fended away his attacks with ease- whether or not her ease was fake was beyond him.

A crowd slowly gathered while they struggled. This wasn't like Link's fight with Ghirahim- the demon had obviously held back, there had always been something just below the surface that Link knew he couldn't defend against. He and Midna were fighting with nearly all their might. Midna was right, she wasn't as strong as Ghirahim, but she had more talents.

Splinters dropped off Link's makeshift shield. The rope and metal handles rubbed into his synthetic skin. Sensors in the back of his mind predicted Midna's moves, but she was too fast even for the tech he'd been created with. She moved with grace and savagery, managing both brutality and dexterity to dodge and weave around Link's defenses, and then bash her sword roughly against the pot lid's wood.

Link's skill and overall speed met her head on. His skill clashed with her brashness, the calculated attacks versus impulse swipes and smacks. His quick feet and reflexes against her twisting and dodging. Dents appeared in the sword Midna gripped, and her attacks had left force behind them, but they were closer to hitting him. Link stumbled back in the grass and took the full brunt of her next attack on his shield. A chunk on the top was dislodged and sent flying away. The broken part of the shield distracted Midna for just a moment, and Link shoved back and her and stopped his blade inches from her neck.

He was panting when he rasped, "I win. Good fight."

"I was distracted," Midna shot back, and poked him in the stomach with the sword. "But, yeah. Good job. I'll have Linebeck get the shield fixed by Damien. Sword, too, since this thing is really nice, but it's pretty dented right now." She dropped it on the ground and backed up.

The crowd watching nearby didn't clap, but they stared for a few more moments. Link returned his sword to his scabbard and let the pot lid fall on top of the sword. The crowd dispersed as Midna collected the both of them and packed them into the bag. Link picked up the bag for her and followed her back to the inn. "Are you going to introduce me to any of your friends?"

"Nah. I'll do that later. I have some errands to run, anyways. The others should be back at the inn by now, and Linebeck will have to leave to get this stuff back to Damien."

They jogged up the stairs and found their room, and Link dumped the bag on his bed. He wordlessly greeted Linebeck and Ghirahim, who, as Midna had predicted, had returned first. They weren't interacting, and barely reacted to the other two.

Midna pulled the sword and pot lid from the bag and tossed them at Linebeck. "We messed these up pretty bad. I'll bet Damien can get these fixed up by tomorrow, eh?"

"I hate you. You had this for like three hours. Damien put so much hard work into this sword, and you just banged it up in under a damn day."

Ghirahim lazily glanced over. "Yeah, that's impressive. Well, we signed Link up, so we're good to go. I'm going to run out and collect some stuff for equipment maintenance in a bit. Midna, do you have any errands?"

"Ah, thank you for asking, I do!" Link opened his mouth, but Midna cheerily said, "Link should stay here and rest." The robot deflated and collapsed onto his bed without a word. "Well, then," Midna shouted, her red-yellow eyes lighting up. "Let's just go and do what we want. Curfew should be around ten. Link can keep track of the time and call us out if we're late."

"I'm not your personal clock," Link whined.

"You're the most accurate time-teller I've ever seen," Linebeck mumbled, shifting the equipment in his arms and started on his way to the door. "I won't be long."

He left, and Ghirahim didn't look up as he muttered, "He didn't take any money with him."

"Who cares?" Midna left soon after. "He's friends with the guy."

"Oh. He could do a favor," Ghirahim murmured with a sly smiled. He paused, then muttered, "Oh, right. Aphenphosemphobia."

The sun was already lowering itself to the horizon as Ghirahim found his way to the equipment store near the coliseum. It was nameless, the sign having been burned off by a stray fire arrow. A number of fights often occurred nearby. Ghirahim had been a part of a number of them. The owner of the shop never truly cared. If anything, he egged the fighters on. Ghirahim waved to the guy behind the counter, and Vaati aloofly waved back. He was reading a book with his arms crossed on the table, a bit of black grease on the sleeves of his purple cloak.

The shelves of oil and grease and small whetstones and magic tomes went up to Ghirahim's shoulders while he browsed. He picked out a number of whetstones, setting them on top of the shelf while he looked for a bag. Vaati idly pointed at a pile of baskets in the corner of the shop. "What do you need the whetstones for?"

"I've got some swords to sharpen. You know that robot that my cyborg friend fixed up? We're entering him into the tournament, and we need to keep his equipment good." Ghirahim spilled the whetstones into the basket, and then picked up a random tome. He held it up. "What does this do?"

Vaati glanced up and shrugged. "You tell me? I collect stuff for the fun of it. Show it to me." Ghirahim left his basket on the shelf and handed it to Vaati. The shopkeeper shrugged. He rubbed at the black marking beneath his red eye. "Looks like a wind tome. I think I've already mastered this one. Are you trying to figure out your magic prowess? Good idea," Vaati mused, handing the book back.

"Thanks," Ghirahim murmured. "Is it okay if I come over for more tutoring during the tournament?"

"Sure." Vaati sat up a bit straighter. "I'd be happy to." He paused, then smiled. "A few people have asked if we're brothers or something, with our hair and everything," Vaati said, pointing to his own purple hair that hid his right eye. "I'd say that we're close friends."

"Yeah," Ghirahim purred. "Linebeck makes fun of me for it. Right about now, he should be with that carpenter guy that I thiiink he might be dating." He left the basket on the counter and returned to the shelves.

"You think?"

"The boy's got aphenphosemphobia. He's never kissed anyone. The carpenter is usually very busy. But they seem pretty close." Ghirahim crouched down and picked out a few small tools and metals. "If they are dating, good for him. He's the only one in the group with that."

"Does he seem happy?" Vaati asked, glancing up from his book.

Ghirahim shrugged. He walked back over to the counter and slid the metals into the basket and pushed it over to Vaati. "This is all I want. It's hard to tell if he's happy or not. He usually seems content around robots and his work, but otherwise, I don't know if he really feels anything. He's a good liar."

Vaati nodded and added a few small bottles of wax, oil, and grease. "These will be free. The rest of your stuff it about fifty rupees each."

"That's a discount," Ghirahim muttered.

"Yep. Just give me the money. I'm like, halfway done with this book and it's great. I appreciate your visit, but we can really talk during the tournament." Vaati took Ghirahim's money while he turned the page of his book.

"Oh, thanks," Ghirahim muttered. He took the items out of the basket and started to leave.

"You can take the basket if you'd like."

"I don't need it, don't worry." Ghirahim hesitated, then turned back. "Hey."

"What?"

"Mind if I stay for a bit? I wanna show you what I've learned I can do with magic. I keep forgetting to do that." Ghirahim hurried back to the counter. Vaati closed his book with transparent interest.

The shopkeeper watched intently as Ghirahim held out his hand. A small cluster of flickering diamond shapes appeared and floated. "I don't think it does anything," Ghirahim muttered, "But this is the newest thing I've learned to do."

"Pretty lame for demon magic," Vaati yawned. "But, I'm proud of you! I hope you manage to figure everything out. What else can you do?"

Midna sprinted down the bridge, only ten minutes since exiting the inn. She ran pretty much the entire way, and the pair of red-haired Gerudo women were easy to find, taller than everyone around. Midna regularly found herself to be taller than nearly everyone in the city, but the Gerudo were taller than most everyone but the Zora. A theory shared between Midna and Ghirahim was that Linebeck must've had some Gerudo in his genetics, with his height and dark skin.

Midna skidded to a stop a few meters away from the women and sauntered up to them. "Hey."

"Ah, hello," Urbosa smiled. "Good to see you again, Midna! But we did see your little sparring match with that boy earlier."

"That was an exciting fight," Nabooru added. "You friends with that kid or something?"

Midna shook her head. "Nah. He's actually a robot that Linebeck found and fixed up. He's pretty intricately designed and made to fight. We entered him into the tournament this afternoon, so consider watching his fights!"

"I was planning to watch either way," Urbosa mused. "Revali and Ashei teamed up pretty recently and made a robot for the tournament as well, and the thing seems pretty sturdy. I can't wait to see them fight..." She sighed. "I do hope you guys win, though. I know you've been dying to meet Zelda, and even temporary access to the castle could perhaps help you figure out what you are. Revali's in it for the fame, and Ashei just wants to test out their robot."

Nabooru walked up and playfully punched Midna in the shoulder. "I'd like to face off against that guy pretty soon, though. How does he fight against spears?"

"It's rough for both sides," she admitted. "He's good with a sword and shield; it' probably what he was created for." Midna glanced off into the lake. "We've had a pretty fun two weeks, though. We're all occupied with the robot at some point every day. Linebeck locks himself in the workshop pretty much all the time now."

"Remind him to eat at some point." A few other people were on the bridge, but no one was listening to their conversation. Urbosa leaned in slightly. "Remind him to take care of himself in general. Last time I saw him, he looked like hell."

"He always does," Midna groaned. "Besides, he's lively enough. A bit grouchy, but you get the idea." She shot a sidelong glance at Nabooru. "On the other hand. How's Riju?"

"She's going to the tournament with us," Nabooru responded. "She's pretty excited. Riju's usually so busy with the animals she takes care of, so the time off will be good for her. We've tried to get her to let us work on some days to give her time off, but Riju is pretty tied to her job. At least she's got Buliara with her to help."

"You guys have jobs, right?" Midna asked with clear skepticism.

"I work part-time with the guards of the city," Nabooru dryly answered.

"I teach sword fighting," Urbosa offered.

"Ah. I'm unemployed. Technically, all three of us are. It's fun."

Urbosa scoffed and playfully tousled Midna's hair. "Well, good for you guys. Ghirahim's been tame, right? If you need, I can knock some sense into him."

"I don't need any help, but I'll keep you in mind," Midna grinned, backing up a few steps. "Well, it was nice talking to you two real quick. I'm on a time limit here. I've got... maybe three hours left? Oooh, do you two have some time? We could take a walk and get some dinner. I'm broke, though. One of you will have to pay."

Nabooru made a show of rummaging through her trouser pockets and pulled them inside out with a dramatic sigh. "Me too. Looks like you'll have to pay, Urbosa."

The little bell above the door let out a small chime when the door was pushed open. Linebeck shut the door with the heel of his foot, both arms carrying the sword and pot lid. Bellum peered around the nondescript shop, a few items out for display and a lantern hanging from the ceiling. No one was behind the counter, but they both heard a cheery "Give me a moment," from the room in the back.

Linebeck tugged the goggles down around his neck and deposited the items on the counter. He waved at the man who exited from the back room. "Hey, Damien. They screwed their stuff up again. Sorry."

Damien frowned at the sword, holding it up. "Damn. Did this thing get banged against metal?"

"Repeatedly," Linebeck sighed. "Sorry."

Damien quickly shook his head. "Oh, it's alright." A content glint appeared in his green eyes. "I don't get too much work in general. I can work that lid into a good shield if you need, too. I'll need about seventy rupees for both."

Linebeck rummaged through his pockets and tossed fifty on the counter. "This is all I could steal from Ghirahim before he noticed."

"You stole this?"

"I'm not above theft. I can make up for the rest with a kiss if you like," Linebeck nonchalantly offered. Bellum hissed something in his ear about being weak.

Damien raised an eyebrow as he looked over the pot lid. "I'd appreciate it, but can you do that? I don't want to bother you much, and I know that even as little as putting your hand on another causes stress."

"Exposure is a way of fighting against a phobia," Linebeck stated, leaning over the counter a bit. "It'll have to be quick. Why are you worried? I'm the one with the fear."

Damien sighed, but he smiled fondly. "Fair point. I trust you." He left the items alone and glanced at Linebeck. "No other touching?"

"Nope. I'll have to initiate it to minimize the anxiety."

"Fine." Damien gathered the items up in his arms with ease. "In the back. I can fix these up by tomorrow morning, but I assume you have some specifics in mind." Linebeck tilted his head to the side but followed Damien into the back. The back half of the shop was technically Damien's home, a small but homey little apartment.

Damien dropped the pair of equipment on a table with wood shavings and turned to face Linebeck. "Go ahead, the rest of my payment." Linebeck nodded stiffly and carefully and briefly kissed Damien on the lips. His hand came up and the tips of his fingers brushed the carpenter's jawline. It lasted long enough for Damien to lightly kiss him back before he flinched away. "You good?" Damien asked, unable to stifle a slight smiled at Linebeck's flustered expression.

"Y-yeah, I managed. You can get to work. I-I'll watch for a bit, if you'd like."

"Oh, please." Damien turned and set out the sword. "I might need to carve new stuff entirely, if that's alright."

"That's uh, not extra charge, right?"

"No, your company is enough." Damien slid the makeshift weapons away. "Make yourself comfortable while you're here. Want any tea? We can make it a sort of date."

Linebeck nodded, and Damien set up a kettle on his small stove. He crossed his legs on the stiff couch, peering around at the room. Most of the furniture was wooden. Self-made. A number of wood figures and statues were lined up on the many shelves and tables. Linebeck removed his goggles entirely and tossed them on the table in front of him. Bellum squinted around, and muttered, "Shitty little place. Kinda creepy."

"Shut it," Linebeck snapped. "You've been here before, and we both know that he loves his work." He paused. "It is a bit stuffy."

Damien returned with a pair of mugs, and Linebeck asked, "Is your fan broken? It's a bit warm."

"Yeah. You can have a look at it if you want, I left it on the kitchen table. What's Bellum think?"

"He's talking shit, as usual."

"Ah. Tell him he can shove it."

"Do not," Bellum hissed when Linebeck turned to him.

Linebeck took his mug and carried it with him to the kitchen table. Damien watched him from his worktable in the living room, a new plank of wood ready to be carved. The fan was simple, a common model, made of iron and tin with sharp fan blades within a cold webbing. Linebeck peered at the wires trailing from the bottom. It was intended to be hooked up to a sort of power source- most common sources being cheap lighting magic reserves. There were rumors that the Sheikah had a limitless type of power source, but there was little evidence.

"It sparked the other day," Damien offered. "The wires snapped. Didn't last long."

"I can make you a better one," Linebeck declared, looking over the fan. "It'll be easy. These things are shit." He left the broken machine on the table and walked over to where Damien began his work. He was slowly carving out a new sword, a larger and flatter piece propped up against the wall for the shield.

Damien was hardly focused on his work, but his hands glided over the wood with the knife with mild ease. Linebeck was tempted to remove his coat because of the warmth, but Damien left the top half of his shirt unbuttoned. At the right angle, the symmetrical scars on his chest were visible. Linebeck peeked at Bellum out the corner of his eyes, finding the little AI staring at the Hylain. After a moment, Bellum muttered, "This guy's definitely suited to his work."

Linebeck shrugged and sniffed at his tea. "You've known this guy as long as I have. Nothing is new. Shut up." He glanced around the room and took a sip of the tea. Most of the carvings were of people; Linebeck actually recognized a good number of them. He sauntered over to one of the higher shelves and narrowed his eyes at a line of four carvings. "You've carved me a few times?"

Damien cleared his throat. "You're a good subject."

"Aw, you even added those lines in my eyes! That's pretty accurate, holy shit."

"That was hard. What are the words on your goggle strap? The next one I'm doing has you holding the goggles and I want the words to be right."

"The words are 'Pulvis et umbra sumus'. I left my goggles on the table if you want to see the spelling."

"Thanks," Damien said, his voice followed by the sound of footsteps. "How long are you staying for?"

"'Til around nine. I've gotta be back at the inn by ten. I entered that robot I found into the tournament; promise me you'll watch it. He'll be using your shield, so feel free to carve a logo or something in," Linebeck muttered, turning and returning to the couch. "Just, y'know, nothing crude."

Damien laughed. Linebeck collapsed on the couch with a smile. Bellum growled quietly, and muttered, "This is so stupid."

"Hush and let me have some fun. He's my friend."

"Boyfriend."

"Yeah, that."

(A/N)

I'm probably going to start adding small author's notes to a few chapters.

The fact that I got a five and a half thousand word chapter out in about four days impresses me. If only I could do that all the time.

If anyone is wondering, Damien is an OC of mine.

And, since I haven't actually said this yet, I appreciate all the reviews and follows and favorites so far! Just the fact that people are clicking on this amazes me.