Link kept the note a secret. He told no one about it, keeping it hidden in his chest cavity. Zelda had called the Sheikah after the Yiga's attack, and security was clearly tighter than before. The queen had stopped the group on the way to their room to explain to them that the Yiga had never managed to make it into the castle, and she apologized for the incident.

"Never seen a Yiga with an axe before," Ghirahim muttered. "What was he like?"

Link returned his pillow to its place on his bed. "Fast. Strong. Could've killed me, really. I'm not as good with hand-to-hand. Or well, hand-to-axe. I thought the Yiga used sickles and katanas." He grabbed at the blankets and wrapped them around himself.

"Apparently, the Yiga today are much different than they were before 200 years ago," Linebeck said. "I talked to some of the Sheikah scientists about it. According to some old documents they found, they used to be more unified, with a clearer goal. Now, they're wilder and seem to be falling apart, less of the cult they used to be and more of a ragtag rebellion." He sighed and tugged his goggles off over his head, leaving them on his bedside table.

Ghirahim pouted. "Whatever. I guess it sucks that the Sheikah obviously aren't as good as we thought, letting that bastard in." The disappointment in his voice seemed genuine. He seemed unhappy that they hadn't lived up to his expectations. On the other side of the room, Midna sat by the door. Ghirahim peered at her. "What are you doing?"

"Waiting until it's silent," she hissed. "I'm going to sneak down to the library later. Linebeck? Weren't you going to steal some stuff from the lab?"

He joined her by the door, the two of them on each side. Ghirahim scoffed and shut his own light off. "Good night, nerds. Unlike you lot, I appreciate the time I get for beauty sleep."

Neither Linebeck nor Midna paid any attention to him. Link watched them for the next few minutes, detecting occasional footsteps outside the door. It went silent just as Ghirahim fell asleep, evident from his slowed breathing. Link sat up. "Good luck to you guys," he said. "I hope you find what you're looking for."

Linebeck waved his hand dismissively. "Love you too." Midna opened the door, and they both left the room without another sound.

"Which way's the lab?" Midna whispered, walking down the hall beside Linebeck. "If we're going in the same direction, it must be near the library." She paused, glancing over her shoulder. "Actually, that makes sense."

"It's near the library," Linebeck sighed. "We'll reach it before the library. Let's just hope the outside security was the one they paid attention to." He dropped into a crouch, sticking to the walls.

Midna stayed upright. Moonlight filtered into the hall through the tall windows, and she could see small patrols on the castle grounds. "You're strange," she mused. "There seem to be more guards outside, though. What're Bellum's thoughts?"

"He thinks I'm a moron. The usual."

"Damn... I really wish I could hear and see him, too, y'know?" Midna paused at the fork in the halls, glancing down both ways. "Which way?" She peered down at Linebeck, still crouched on the floor. He looked down each way and held out his hand, the flashlight in his metal pinkie finger turning on and providing a narrow beam of light. "That hand of yours is pretty useful," Midna sighed. "Makes the fact that you had to lose an arm for it almost worth it. Left hall, right?"

"Yeah." Linebeck hopped back up into a standing position and jogged down the hall.

"No more stealth?" Midna asked, running after him, passing a number of other rooms. They halted at one corner while a pair of Sheikah walked by, then kept going. "How much farther?"

Linebeck didn't respond at first, then muttered, "Bellum thinks it'll be a few more turns. I'd say he's right." He pointed his flashlight down the hall and gestured for Midna to follow again. "To be fair, if we get caught, I doubt we'll get in trouble. I'm the one doing the thieving. You're just going to check out some books. The lab's around this corner, the library is the big double doors. See you in the morning." He jogged across the hall and tugged a metal door open.

The library was enormous- three stories with a beautiful chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It wasn't lit, obviously, but each level had a few desks with lamps. Midna located the staircases up and down and found a few maps of the place. The genres and themes of the books were split up, and Midna made notes on what parts of the library to check. A few stray pencils around the library desks worked just well for her. She circled parts of interest and set out with one of the lamps in hand.

The darkness didn't daunt her. She'd found that she'd never minded the dark. The others were less amicable to it, but not quite scared. Midna walked cautiously, kicking aside small stacks of books left on the ground. From the state of the lowest floor, it seemed that the Sheikah frequently visited the castle library, doing research or simply reading.

Many books were dusty, much to Midna's surprise. The majority of books on the first floor were story books and novels. They didn't seem to have been touched often, but she usually found a few spots where a book was obviously missing. The shelves were tall, and a few ladders were available to use, but what Midna was looking for wasn't on the first floor.

The second floor was more science related, about plants and animals and life in Hyrule. Midna trudged up the carpeted stairs and peered over her shoulder. It was far too easy to imagine a group of Sheikah discovering her sneaking around in the middle of the night. She made sure to step lightly, and even considered removing her iron-toed boots. She ran her hand against the spines of the books as she walked, the lamplight shedding an orange glow onto them. A few books she removed out of curiosity but didn't take. However, she considered coming back for a few engineering and swordplay ones.

The section on the populations of Hyrule was her first stop. Midna ignored books on the species that she knew, like Hylians, Zora, Gerudo, Rito, and the Gorons. A large book on notable demons caught her eye, and she left it on a desk. Books on unknown races piqued her interest, but those would be for if she ran out of options. Ignoring her sleepiness, Midna focused her energy on finding a book that would at least provide a hint to what she was.

Minutes dragged by with nothing to show, and Midna moved her search to the third-floor sections of magic-using entities and other kingdoms. She brought the book of demons with her. Her focus was complete, she thought of nothing but finding the right book. She didn't notice any noises around her, like the fluttering of pages or the sound of soft footsteps.

The tapping on her shoulder nearly made Midna shriek. She spun around, half expecting another Yiga attacker. Instead, she was face-to-face with Zelda. "Sorry to startle you."

Midna relaxed. "O-oh. It's you. D-didn't expect for you to be someone who wanders at night." She lowered herself down the last step of the ladder. "Welp, I'm caught. Sorry for sneaking out like this."

"Oh, no, it's okay," Zelda murmured. In her hands was a dusty book. "In fact, I was on my way to your room to give you something when I saw the light from your lamp." She held out the book with a weak smile. "I recommend that you look in this. It may help with what you're looking for. If not, then I apologize."

Midna peered at the book. The title was simple, the words 'People of Twilight' printed in thin letters. She took it from Zelda's handed and blew off some of the dust. "Looks old," she said. "I appreciate it, though." Other than the title, there wasn't much to look at. Much like Link's damaged history book. They needed to return those library books soon.

"Would you mind if I speak with you as you read?" Zelda asked, hands clasped behind her back. "I'm rather interested in learning more about this group of yours."

Midna set the lamp on a desk along with the book. She recalled Ghirahim's stiff rules from the night before they left: Don't tell them where we live, don't tell them about Bellum, keep information about Link ambiguous. "Yeah, I don't mind." Keeping secrets was a talent that all three of them shared.

Zelda pulled up another chair and adjusted the lamp light. She waited until Midna reached the table of contents before tapping a part of the page. "Chapter five. The Twili. You may find it... enlightening. How long have you known Lancrester and the demon?"

Midna frowned. "Lancrester- oh, Linebeck. A year, I think. We... don't remember anything past then."

She checked the page number and flipped through the book, a few sketches of familiar-looking symbols catching her eye. "A few of these drawings kinda look the markings on my body." She frowned. "Is this..." She froze once finding the pictures on the chapter. Draws of people who looked eerily like her- the bluish skin with black markings. The first page of the chapter was mostly drawings, but some text was pushed in a corner. The people drawn had Hylian-like features, but Midna instinctively knew that they were taller. Some had orange hair like hers, while others had other variants of yellow and red.

"Took me a while to find this," Zelda mumbled. "But I'd read it before, so it surprised me to see you for the first time."

Midna only slowly nodded. "I... may I take this back to our room? I need to... look at this more." Under her breath, she read the printed name of the race. "Twili... That's what I am?"

"I'd assume so. It says that they're talented magic-users in a different dimension. If you're truly one of them, then how you're in Hyrule in the first place is a good mystery." Zelda crossed her arms on the table. "...May I still ask you questions?"

Shakily closing the book, Midna nodded.

"Okay. What... kind of magic can you do at present?"

"I can make small things float, combine items to make potions or create small images of things I think of. Nothing fancy." Minda curled her fingers slowly. "I bet I could do more."

"What do you think of the others? Link included." Midna sighed. "Do please try and be honest," Zelda added, a hint of a smile on her face.

"Oh. Ghirahim is... interesting. He's useful for his fighting skill and willingness to prove himself better and therefore doing most of the chores, but he's a pain in the ass a lot of the time. So narcissistic. He's valuable, though. He's nice when the situation calls for it. We haven't had any problems related to the fact that he's a demon. He's not the best cook but has really good ideas. The only thing we've got to worry about with him is the fact that he's quick to pick a fight if insulted.

"Linebeck's a different story. He acts confident and a little arrogant, but he's a disturbingly good actor. He's got a few mental issues that keep us worried about him. He's in his workshop a lot and usually doesn't leave unless he really needs to, and he doesn't sleep unless he passes out from exhaustion. He's good with knives, though, for better or for worse, and he knows a lot about human anatomy, mostly for the sake of his robots. He found a lizard recently and has been taking care of it, and he's got a boyfriend that lives in the city.

"Link, the robot... we think he was made for warfare- mostly since he's a good fighter. He's real complex. Linebeck repaired him. He's... pretty nice to have around. That's really all I've got to say about him." Midna drummed her fingers on the desk. "That all?"

"Not quite, one more. What are you thoughts on the Yiga Clan?"

"Yiga... Clan?"

"Yes, that is their original name, but they seem to be ignoring the latter word."

Midna shrugged nervously. "I mean... I hate them. They cause so many problems and..." She frowned. "Why do they rebel against you and the Sheikah?"

Zelda sighed. "It's in their blood, so to speak. Based on their history, they hate the goddess Hylia and, therefore, the Sheikah and the royal family. The original members were all Sheikah betrayers, but they managed to recruit others from around Hyrule. At their core, they are evil. I worry that they're planning to release something onto Hyrule... I have reason to believe that they somehow caused the disaster 200 years ago." She yawned and leaned back in her chair. "Truth be told, I believe that your little group may help us fight back against the Yiga. Good night."

Midna nodded stiffly as the queen got to her feet and simply walked away in the darkness. An odd interaction.

She collected the book, turned off the lamp, and picked up the demon book before rushing back to the room. Link and Ghirahim were asleep in their beds, while Linebeck was inspecting ten large sheets of blue paper on the table. He didn't look up when she entered. "You found what you were looking for?"

Linebeck nodded, rubbing at the paper. "More or less. It was pretty well hidden in a safe, but metal hands don't have fingerprints, so I'll be all good. Bellum checked that no one was around and helped me figure out the code. I doubt they'll miss these- they're unreadable and were among like, fifty other papers." He rolled one of them up. "I'm going to have Bellum work on deciphering these things for the rest of the week." He paused, then muttered, "Don't whine, it's not like you have anything else to do."

Midna sauntered over to the table and laid the two books on the table. She pointed at the book Zelda had given to her. "I think I know what I am. Zelda gave me a book about a race called the 'Twili'. I look a lot like them, and they can use magic. Can you do me a favor and read this book? I need to get some sleep and I know that you care so little about your personal health that you'll stay up. Demon book, too. Might find something interesting."

Linebeck was sprawled out on the ground, out cold when they all woke. Link relayed Bellum's words to the others, letting them all know that he passed out from exhaustion about an hour before. They moved him to his bed and left him there until he woke late that night, then went back to looking at Midna's books.

While Linebeck was out cold, Ghirahim spent his day challenging Sheikah soldiers to fights and finding surprisingly good opponents. Link watched him fight for an hour before leaving to explore the castle more. Ghirahim was eventually pulled aside by the other two for lunch, and they returned to their room. Midna practiced her magic for a bit and Link talked with Bellum. Ghirahim was antsy and grabbed the history book that Link had brought along to read.

The next day was the same, but Linebeck shared some interesting finds from both books. He tossed the Twili book at Midna first. "You are Twili. That's really goddamn cool, and the fact that my voice is monotone as hell is because I've mocked by Bellum all day and putting emotion into my voice seems like too much work. You have potential to do some real cool magic. I wrote some notes down. I have no idea how you got here, considering you come from a whole different dimension. Tell us more about it when we get out of here, though." He yawned and scratched at his beard. "Ghirahim? You're mentioned by name in the demon book."

Ghirahim frowned. "Wh-what." He squawked as the book slammed into his face.

"Read." Linebeck snapped. "There's a whole chapter about you." He rubbed at his eyes and mumbled an expletive under his breath. "Hate feeling more tired after sleeping."

Ghirahim scrambled to set the book on his bed. He flipped to the table of contents and wildly gestured for the rest of them to look at it with him. He jabbed a finger at chapter ten once they huddled behind him. It very plainly read 'The Sword of Darkness – Ghirahim'. "One problem," he mumbled. "Last I checked, I'm not a sword."

"It's a book of demons, not weapons, dumbass, and metaphors exist," Linebeck snapped. "Read the damn chapter. It's pretty interesting. I have notes on it." He scratched the back of his head and collapsed into a chair at the table. "I slept through all of yesterday?"

"You were passed out on the floor and we dragged you into your bed and you were out cold all day," Link confirmed. "You got a lot of sleep." He leaned over Ghirahim's shoulder as he flipped through the book. Page after page contained detailed sketches and diagrams of various demons and monsters.

Ghirahim stopped at the chapter he needed. The first few pages were nothing but text, but the fifth offered a few sketches. A demon with black scales and hair like fire was drawn and labelled 'Demise'. The sketch next to it was very blatantly Ghirahim, albeit in a different outfit. The diamond-shaped holes were consistent in both outfits, and the red cloak the drawing had was much fancier than the tattered, stained one that Ghirahim currently wore. "What the hell?!" Ghirahim whispered, looking between the book and Linebeck.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"I dunno! What the hell is going on?" Ghirahim returned to the first page of the chapter and began properly reading. He waved away Midna and Link. "Piss off! I can't focus with the two of you breathing down my neck."

Ghirahim spent the next few hours reading, then tossed the book aside and briskly left the room with his sword. No one tried to stop him, but they all watched him leave with mild concern. Linebeck picked up the book and scowled. "He ripped a few pages."

Ghirahim stormed to the training grounds as the sun was setting. They were empty and deserted. He ripped his sword from its scabbard, which he then threw away. A number of well-crafted training dummies were at his mercy as he furiously began to tear into them, sending hay and bits of cloth flying with each swing of his sword. When his blade bit into the wood post, he moved onto the next in the line.

It didn't take long for him to demolish them all. He stood in the center of the training grounds, staring around at the piles of hay and cloth, wishing there were more to take his fury and confusion out on. Ghirahim let out a long exhale and relaxed slightly. All this anger would do him no good. He shuffled over to his fallen scabbard and picked it up, clipping it to its place on his belt.

He turned in time to watch Zelda stride into the training grounds. "Hello," he muttered, then noticed a thin sword sheathed at her hip. "What do you want?"

She only shrugged. Rather than her usual regal dress, Zelda wore a more casual tunic with trousers. The air of royalty around her still remained. She stopped a few feet from him and settled her hand on the pommel of her sword. "I was hoping we could duel." With that, she unsheathed her sword, the thin, silver blade gleaming in the dim light. "I've heard that you're very skilled."

Ghirahim scowled and shrugged. "Maybe. I apologize if I maim you, however... I'm rather pissed at the moment."

"New information can be overwhelming at times," Zelda sighed. "Would you like to go over it? I know what you've discovered, I've read the book you read." She ran a finger along her sword's blade. "I can answer some of your questions, but, in turn, I'd like to ask a few as well. At the very least, you may take your anger out on a much sturdier target."

Ghirahim sighed. "Sure." He fell into his relaxed stance, standing a few yards away from Zelda. The queen's stance was similar; she was still and clearly prepared. Ghirahim tensed up for a split second, then lunged at Zelda. He feinted to the left and thrust at her right shoulder. Zelda almost defended her left, but her sword flashed up and knocked away Ghirahim's. He hopped back and knocked away her attack.

Zelda attacked him right as he did, and their swords ended up locked against each other. Ghirahim let out a huffed and snapped, "Okay, first question. Why am I in that damn book?! It says some demon like me was the right-hand-man of some other demon that rivaled Hylia. Demise, I think it was?" Ghirahim pushed away from her with sparks flying. "Got an explanation?"

Zelda smiled thinly. "Yes. We've been keeping an eye on you since you showed up. You're a demon, yes, but one of the oldest demons we know of. Why you're even here is a mystery," she sighed. Her sword slid to the side, and Ghirahim slashed at her again, only for her to parry it and nearly put a cut in his ear. "From what I've learned, you're a servant of evil, hell-bent on resurrecting your master and destroying Hylia's standing in our world. Rumors go that you may have the ability to become a sword yourself, much like a sword spirit, but perhaps that ability has been dulled with time. After all, the legends you're involved in are from millennium ago."

Ghirahim gritted his teeth and blindly slammed his blade against hers. "Well?! Is that my past?! Is that what I've forgotten?! Then explain my instinctual connection to Linebeck and Midna! Why am I here?! Why do I have no memory of this 'Demise'?!"

Zelda pushed away from him and circled him from a safe distance. "Yet another good question. My personal theory is that you somehow returned to Hyrule after theoretically being destroyed."

"What-"

"Perhaps, with time, your loyalty to Demise has waned. After all, he has been sealed away for so long, using puppets to further his goals but being thwarted time and time again by the chosen hero."

Ghirahim lowered his sword. "Chosen hero?" He reacted just in time to block a graceful attack from Zelda that would've cleaved him from shoulder to hip. Sheltered queen or not, this strange woman could fight like hell. "What chosen hero?"

"That's irrelevant until the end of this week, don't worry. Long story short, you're a demon who seems to have turned to a new leaf after generations and generations." Zelda danced away, light on her feet and a calm grin on her face. "I'll do the asking now. You're skilled. You also have quite a bit of magic potential, like your beautiful Twili friend." Zelda huffed and shifted her stance. "It's a shot in the dark, but I get the feeling that she keeps the rest of you from causing too much trouble."

Ghirahim shrugged, brushing his cloak behind his shoulders. "Yeah. She thinks you're cute, too, if that matters."

"I appreciate it. First question... what do you think of the other three?"

"Huh." He almost relaxed, but the violent contact of their blades reminded him that he was in a fight. "Well! Midna is very reliable and impressive, despite what I might say. She keeps us together and sane. Good with potions, a good fighter, smart, keeping me from killing someone every few days. A bit mischievous, but, with Link, she's calming down in that department.

"Link's fun, a good fighter, a cool robot. A rival, maybe. Not much to say about him, really. Sorry."

"That's fine."

"Right. Linebeck... the guy's a mess, quite honestly. Old scars that we don't know about due to the memory loss, aphenphosemphobia. The whole deal. I'd say I'm pretty protective of him, honestly." He grunted and stumbled away from Zelda's blade, inches from his face, and parried her next attack. "That's all I got to say. What more do you want?" He deflected a vicious attack, sparks flying. They were now sparring in the moonlight, neither of them looking tired yet both with a thin sheen of sweat on their faces.

Zelda hopped back with a flourish, dodging a thrust. "Well. Truth be told, I don't have much to ask you. What are you plans after this?"

Ghirahim scowled. "Dunno. We haven't talked about it. We might show Link around Hyrule. We've got the time and money."

He and Zelda clashed a few moments longer, swords grating against each other until she hopped back and fluidly sheathed her sword. "You should return to your room. Thanks for talking with me." With that, she bowed and turned away with a half-hearted wave, leaving Ghirahim alone and rather dumb struck in the middle of the deserted training grounds.

Deciding that getting caught by a troop of Sheikah patrollers was an embarrassing fate, Ghirahim hurriedly sheathed his saber and rushed back to the room. Link was asleep, Linebeck was pouring over the books and blueprints, and Midna wasn't even there. "Where's-"

"The library," Linebeck automatically answered, waving his hand. "Get some sleep. We have a fair bit of talking to do tomorrow."

Ghirahim nodded weakly, now acutely aware of his exhaustion. He left his sword and scabbard on the table while he passed it but stopped by Linebeck. He placed a hand on his shoulder. The engineer's breath caught, and his dilated eyes flicked over to Ghiraim, searching his features for any hint of malicious intent. "Do me a favor. Compared to the rest of us, you're the most vulnerable. Be... be careful." He slid his hand off and stumbled over to his bed, collapsing on the mattress fully dressed.

The next day was spent trading notes, Midna and Ghirahim explaining what they now knew about themselves. Link offered his own theories and wished the two of them luck as they dedicated the day afterwards to unlocking new magic. While they huddled together in the library, making papers float and pushing their own limits, Linebeck dragged Link to the training grounds.

"What do you want?" Link whined, pacing in a circle while Linebeck rummaged through a pile of equipment in a corner. "Do you want me to teach you something?"

Linebeck withdrew a simple wooden bow and held it out to Link. "Do you know how to use this?" It was unstrung, but one of the limbs had wire tied to it.

Link shrugged, taking it from him. "Not as far as I know... I'll need to string it. If you'd want me to teach you, I'd need some time to test myself," he murmured, glancing up at Linebeck. "Is that okay?" Linebeck muttered something under his breath but nodded. Link smiled pleasantly and got to re-stringing the bow while he sulked away.

It was a simply wooden bow, clearly meant more for training than actual battle. Once done stringing it, Link picked up a leather quiver of simple wooden arrows. They were more like sharp sticks than arrows, straight pieces of wood with sharpened tips. They still worked well enough. Link found a line of cloth and wood targets and set himself a fair distance from them. He dug into his memory logs and found a known history and uses for archery, types of bows and arrows- lots of stuff he didn't necessarily find useful.

Link quickly nocked an arrow and aimed, releasing the arrow and finding his aim to be worse than he expected. He frowned to himself and tried again, missing the target a second time. He was either shooting too short or simply missing the target. After five arrows, three were in the ground before the target while the other two were on the ground to the side of it. He could use most other weapons, as proved by Ghirahim taking nights off to drag him into sparring matches, but archery didn't seem to have been programmed into him.

Link ignored as Sheikah soldiers began to train around him, moving quietly and doing their best not to bother him. He glanced over his shoulders to peer back at them, finding himself distracted by their flexible fighting style and quick movements. In a different section of the training grounds, other Sheikah were practicing their own archery, much more skilled than Link. He almost felt embarrassed trying around them.

Link sighed heavily after missing what felt like his fiftieth shot and gathered up the arrows. He returned them to their quiver and put it away, huddling in a corner and unstringing the bow. He almost felt ashamed of himself, despite knowing that most humans wouldn't be good with archery on their first try. The unstrung bow was left with the rest of the equipment and he sulked out of the training grounds, desperately trying not to be seen.

Link rushed through the halls, hoping to track down Linebeck and let him know he'd need more time with the archery, but nearly ran into Zelda around a corner. He stumbled back, feeling the color in his synthetic cheeks rise. He bit back an apology, not sure whether or not he should speak.

Zelda smiled down at him. "I apologize. I didn't mean to run into you, but I have been looking for you." Link offered a nervous smile, and Zelda tilted her head to the side. "You may speak, if you'd like. I'm aware that you can."

Link blinked a few times. "O-oh. Right. Sorry. I was told to be careful around others. D-did you need something, your majesty?"

With a wave of her hand and a sigh, Zelda muttered, "Drop the honorifics. It's enough to get them day-in-day-out from the Sheikah. We'll walk to my study, if you'd like. What I need to talk about is rather important." She sighed to herself and rubbed under her eyes. "I apologize if I seem tired... I've been having a hard time resting this past week."

A few Sheikah passed by them, and Zelda rubbed at her arm. "Walk with me, please. If you have any questions, feel free to ask." She gestured for Link to follow her down the hall, and he stumbled the first few steps, bemused.

"What do you want to talk about?" Link asked, jogging to properly catch up with her. "Midna and Ghirahim said that you talked with them, too."

"I have. Once I've finished speaking with you, I'll send you and your group off with a task, if you all can. It is an urgent matter, however. The rising threat of the Yiga has got me thinking." Zelda led Link up a staircase, peering back at him. "After all, if they can sneak into this castle with no consequence, they must be planning something."

Link nodded. "Yeah. Do you think they're planning to get rid of you? Why do you think they'd want to?"

Zelda shook her head, clasping her hands in front of her. "Well, the reason I wanted to tell you in my study is because I'm worried about spies, but I suppose you can handle yourself."

"What do you mean-"

"I take it that you may know nothing of a hero of legend and the so-called 'cycle' he is involved in along with a young woman and an evil they must stop?"

"I've read up on the history of Hyrule, but they're not mentioned..."

"Yes. My... family took it upon them to destroy evidence of their existences to try and halt any related threats, but the Yiga seem to know about it and aim to destroy me and achieve what they wish to do." She pulled open a pair of doors at the end of a hall, allowing Link to enter first. "We have reason to believe that the reason that the Gerudo are lacking a male leader is because he is the leader of the Yiga, a young man named Ganondorf. It is but a theory at the moment, but a good one."

Link frowned, glancing around the room for a moment. It was like a smaller library with a large desk and papers pinned to the walls. "Why does this leader matter? I know he's the leader, but..." He smiled weakly. "The way you said his name implied that he matters."

Zelad shut the door after her. "He does. He has an ancestor from 200 years ago- much of the evidence we've found implies that he had something to do with what destroyed what is now the junkyard. We have reason to believe that he intends to continue what his predecessor started, and the Yiga is the straggling remains of the group that wished to destroy the followers of the Goddess Hylia."

Link nodded with a worried frown. "Do you think they might destroy Hyrule again? What do my friends and I have to do with it?"

Zelda sighed. "I must tell you a short version of the legend, in order to fully allow you to understand the situation. In the time when we lived among the clouds, a... host of sorts to Hylia's spirit, a hero chosen by the Goddesses, and the general embodiment of evil had a great clash. The chosen maiden, as she has been called throughout time, was kidnapped in an attempt to awaken the embodiment of evil, as you know, and the hero stopped them. The demon, Ghirahim, or, him from a millennia ago, was the one trying to release the evil, Demise, out of his loyalty to him."

"He was... defeated by the hero?" asked Link. "Was he killed?"

"We assumed so, as he disappeared. Until recently, of course. But he is of little importance. After being sealed away, Demise forced the three of them to forever be a part of a cycle of hate, the three of them and their predecessors always to embody one of the three parts of the Triforce- the maiden with wisdom, the hero with courage, and Demise's emissary of hate with power. The hero was constantly reborn, Hylia would choose the next maiden to act as the one to wield her divine power, and Demise would try and force his hate upon one whom he deemed worthy of his ambitions. Most often, Hylia would choose a queen or princess of Hyrule bearing the name of Zelda."

"So..." Link rubbed his temples. "That would be you." He crossed his arms and stepped back a little, taking another moment to look around the room. "And... is this Ganondorf guy the next person that Demise... forced his hate upon? Is that like telling him what to do?"

Zelda picked up a stack of papers and sifted through it. "More like a slow possession. Unpleasant. It is, at first, like intrusive thoughts, and the fully takeover is triggered by the Triforce of Power, more often than not. On the other hand, the hero is oft reincarnated into the role, always going by the name of Link." Her eyes slowly met his. "Any questions?"

Link sat in the first chair he found. Taking a moment to straighten out his tunic, he slowly asked, "Are you saying that 'cycle' or... legend is taking place now? I mean... if you're right about this Ganondorf guy being who he is, and you... and me..." He let out a frustrated sigh. "But I'm a robot who was built before either of you were born?! How does that work?"

"The goddesses must've anticipated you being buried until now," Zelda sighed. "But... do you believe me? Do you wish to believe me? Because, if you do, it may mean that you may have to stop the Yiga and Ganondorf for good."

Link leaned back, rubbing his temples. "But what about you? Can't you stop him?"

Zelda strode over to Link and crouched down in front of him. "In all the legends, my role has usually been to provide support to the hero, not kill the evil. After all, the only way you can seal the evil that is Demise is to kill his current emissary with the Master Sword. I doubt you even know what that is. If you accept your role, I can guide you into becoming the hero we may need. Since nothing obvious has caught the citizens' attention, we may have time before you're truly needed."

Link gritted his teeth. "So, I have time to think this over?"

Zelda nodded with a soft smile. "Yes. Either way, I'd like for you and your friends to venture to Kakariko Village, followed by the four main races' villages as well. Let yourself be known without revealing that you may be a hero we'll need." She got back to her feet and brushed off her dress. "Put simply, you're the hero of this era, and you'd do well to work with me. We have little intel on the Yiga, so simply trying to find their base is a hassle. Going to Kakariko and the other villages will help you become stronger and understand the world you'll have to save."

Link nodded, hopping to his feet. "Right!" Zelda raised an eyebrow at him, and he shrank back a little. "I'm just a bit excited to finally have an idea as to what my purpose may be. You talked to the others and asked them questions, right? Will you ask me any questions?"

Zelda shrugged. "I spoke with the demon and Midna. I'll tell them what I told you on your final day here, so you can set off."

Link moved to exit the study, then froze. "You didn't talk to Linebeck?"

The look on Zelda's face bordered on disdainful. A strong feeling of loyalty and indignance raced through Link's circuits, but he said nothing. "Lancrester? Take no offense, but, despite his technical skill, he didn't catch my eye as much as the others. He's the outlier, being the only non-magical entity within your team. It's odd, that fact that he's just some... guy who's teamed with a demon, a twili, and the destined hero. I'll see you four tomorrow."