The hallway they walked down felt as long as the one leading into the Lizalfos prison, but it clearly wasn't. Linebeck, first down the hall, paused before it ended and allowed the others to pass him. The room was nondescript, lit by a number of lanterns. Link peered around, and Ghirahim dropped the equipment bag on the ground. Everyone collected their weapons and support items in case danger was encountered.

It was still cold, so the warm Rito garments stayed on. Once ready to continue, Ghirahim took the bag back. "Do you think this'll be like that weird prison near Zora's Domain?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Midna mused. "Who knows." She looked around the room, leaning her spear against her shoulder. "I'm not seeing any doors, but what about that over there?" she asked, pointing at a slightly risen circular platform.

Link stared at it and walked over. The moment that both of his feet were on it, light shined from underneath it, and Link stumbled as the platform began to slowly rise up. The others sprinted over to join him, and they huddled in the middle as it slowly rose up to the ceiling of the room, which opened up to allow the platform through.

"Th-this doesn't seem to be any kinda of technology," Linebeck whispered, searching around the room, walking around the platform before Ghirahim tugged him away from the edge. "It's probably all magic," he muttered, staring around. "If we keep going up like this, I'd assume we might end up in the peak of a mountain."

"We might find the source of the quakes that cause the avalanches," Link exclaimed, jumping to his feet. He looked up at their possible destination, only finding darkness. "We're rising pretty quickly, don't you think?"

"That's good," Ghirahim muttered, rubbing his shoulders in an attempt to warm himself up. "The suspense is killing me." He drew his saber and distanced himself from the group in order to shadow box.

"I wonder why the Rito never found this," Link mused. "Do you think the snowstorm revealed it? It was on the map, so it's probably not new."

"The storm might've disrupted the snow that was covering it," Midna said. "It seemed like a small opening when we walked down. Or, maybe, the Rito do know about it, but they didn't find the doorway. Either way, we have no backup, so we'll need to be careful."

"Obviously," drawled Linebeck. "Link, test out that shield."

"How?"

Linebeck waved his hand. "I dunno. Spar with Ghirahim or something. Just test out the shield at some point." Glanced sidelong at Midna. "My next project might interest you," he told her. "Providing I get out of this alive."

"We'll protect you like last time," Midna murmured. "How's your shoulder, anyways? You seem fine enough when practicing your archery."

"It fully healed soon after we got to the village," he said. "I'm fine."

Link ran a hand through his hair and got to his feet. "At least you can maybe protect yourself."

"I had a knife last time; I could protect myself just fine."

Ghirahim grimaced. "You almost died. We're all lucky that I unlocked more of my magic then. Speaking of," Ghirahim snapped his fingers, a trio of knives appearing in the air. He pointed a finger at Link. "Shield up. Let's start with this."

Link nodded and held up the shield, fingering the trigger on the grip. Once he flicked it, four limbs of sort folded out from the circular center, connecting on both sides of the middle, and the same blue energy from his sword filled in the space between the limbs and the center of the shield. It was a swift movement, happening in practically under a second. Ghirahim snapped his fingers once the shield was ready, and Link brought it up to defect the knives. They slammed into the shield and disappeared. "It works!" Link beamed, holding up the shield.

Ghirahim and Link sparred while the platform slowly rose and managed to get in a few rounds before the platform abruptly stopped. The lights from underneath them dimmed until they were unable to see at all, fumbling in the darkness. "We're all still here? Right?" Link asked.

They each called out, letting the others know they were there. "Do we have a lantern?" Midna asked.

Linebeck flicked his lighter on, doing little to illuminate their surroundings but managing to pinpoint his own location. "I stole a few fire arrows from Revali. They give off a bit of light. Ghirahim, they should be in the bag."

Ghirahim mumbled something to himself and withdrew a bundle of glowing fire arrows. They were bright enough to shed an orange glow on Ghirahim's face and torso. He handed one to everyone. "Is this platform touching the sides of this shaft?" He asked, slowly walking towards the edge. They were closed in, with no opening back down.

"...Now what?" Linebeck asked, doing his best to mask the quiver in his voice. "I-is there another doorway or something?"

"We're looking," Link said, joining Ghirhaim in his survey of the platform's edge. "There's no way down, so there might be another doorway, like how we got here." Link hand his hand along the wall as he walked. It was smooth and cold, like the doorway in the ravine. "Have you guys found anything interesting?"

"There are some markings over here," Midna called out. The others clambered over to her, peering at white shapes carved into the otherwise smooth stone, five horizontal lines and four dots in varying spots.

"That's music," Linebeck explained, pointing to the dots. "Four notes." He withdrew his hand and the others glanced at him. "...Maybe we've got to place some kind of music? The first note is a concert G..."

"Wonderful, I'll go grab the instrument I definitely brought, then," Midna snapped, her voice scathing. "Even if this is the answer, we're dead in the water."

Linebeck's face went red and he opened his mouth to respond, but slowly closed it, his eyes darting around, as if trying to find something other than Midna to look at. "I... I don't want to die here, o-okay? We don't h-have any ideas?"

Ghirahim stepped back from the group, his lips forming a thin line. He didn't say anything. The short-lived anger fizzed out of Midna's eyes and she sighed, letting her arms fall to her side. Linebeck shifted his weight, starting to shake. Link awkwardly cleared his throat. "I'm a robot, we know this. Do you think it's possible for me to reproduce sounds I've heard, Linebeck?"

Linebeck blinked. "N-no. I ran a bunch of tests when I f-first found and repaired you, and the only sounds you're a-able to produce are things like your voice." Link quietly cursed under his breath, earning a few surprised looks from the others. Linebeck stumbled back over to the writing on the wall, holding his arrow up to it. "It doesn't specify instrument."

"So?" snapped Ghirahim.

Linebeck hesitated, then asked Ghirahim, "Can't you whistle?"

There was a stunned silence that lasted for a few moments before Ghirahim muttered, "I don't know how to whistle specific notes."

"I bet I can help you with that," Link chirped. "I was able to tell what notes were played when I passed people playing instruments. In Rito village. I could probably help you figure out what notes you're whistling."

Ghirahim opposed the idea at first, but, within a minute, he and Link were huddled near the music while Linebeck and Midna lingered a few feet away. Link made Ghirahim whistle a few notes, and they were soon screwing around, working less with a set procedure and more acting under trial and error. It took under five minutes, though, and once Ghirahim finished whistling the four-note sequence, the platform trembled under their feet. The measure of notes glowed for a moment, and a doorway slid upwards.

"Fantastic, my idea worked!" Linebeck exclaimed, hanging back until everyone else had walked through. It was yet another hallway, but much shorter than the one before. A cold breeze blew in their faces as they walked, but the light at the end was too dim for it to lead outside. "Of course we're only going deeper down this rabbit hole," Linebeck muttered under his breath, now more angry than scared.

"Hang on," Link murmured, holding out an arm. His companions halted. "Do you guys hear that?"

They all went dead silent, even going as far as to hold their breath. There was, at first, nothing but the sound of howling wind. Then, faintly, the sound of wooden chimes. Many, many wooden chimes, filling the silence. Link glanced back at the others and cautiously drew his sword. He slowly advanced further down the hall, and the four them froze at the end. The hall opened up to an enormous room, with numerous other doorways and ledges. Wooden chimes hung from the underside of the ledges, and various broken and rotten instruments lay in the room. Wind rushed in through circular openings in the mossy cobble walls, and dim light emanated from various paper lanterns.

The chimes clacked against each other once again, slowly building into a cacophony of wooden sounds as the wind agitated more and more formerly stationary chimes. "Loud," Midna grumbled, clapping her hands over her ears. Link grimaced at the noise, and silently thanked Hylia when it all quieted down. Silence reined once again, but they froze when the sound of three notes echoed through the room.

"What was that?" Ghirahim asked. "Sounded... like a string instrument."

"That was a biwa," Link murmured, peering around. He paused as three more biwa notes echoed out. "I don't think any of these broken instruments can play notes like that. I doubt we're alone."

Without waiting for the others, Link hopped out of the doorway and down onto the ledge just below. He walked over to the edge and peered down. This was the lowest ledge of five. A chill ran down his spine as he stared down into the yawning void below him. Linebeck walked up by Link but let out a strangled yelp and stumbled away from the edge.

"There's nothing down there," Link murmured. "Falling would mean death."

More biwa notes, then the chimes clattered again. Link grimaced. "Let's check out one of these other doorways," Midna shouted over the noise. She pointed to the nearest one on their level and starting jogging over. The others followed suit, and despite his self-regulating temperature, Link appreciated the extra heat that entered his body.

They clambered up and into the hall, pushing and kicking aside the broken instruments. "This is like an old music hall- Didn't either Komali or Revali mention an old music hall?"

"Yeah, they did," Ghirahim responded, staring at Link. "They said that it was lost to time and that no one really knew where it was. Holy shit."

They clambered into the hall, finding it to be short and leading to an old wood door. Midna pushed it open, and a freezing breeze blew out at them. Ghirahim growled and gathered his cloak around him as he walked into the room. "Damn mountain. I hate it there. Can't wait for Goron City and Gerudo Town."

Link joined the others in the freezing room, finding it to be filled with rusty chairs and stands, all shoved into a corner with more and more broken instruments. Dusty boards leaned against the walls. The group wandering around the cold room for a few moments, and decided it was pointless. They emerged back out into the main room, greeted with the noise of the wooden chimes, followed swiftly by more biwa notes.

Link let out a slow breath. "Are we going to Gerudo Town?"

Midna scowled. "Yeah, that's the most important question right now."

A quick glare was exchanged between them, and Linebeck groaned. "No need to fight. We might go to Gerudo Town, we might not. Depends on what we'll do after we get the last pendant."

Link hesitated, then asked, "Don't you have Gerudo ancestors?" The moment he shut his mouth, Midna and Ghirahim adopted expressions of a hare in the jaws of a wolf. Linebeck's exasperated glare signified that he was the wolf. "Did I say something wrong...?"

"I told you lot to drop that theory," Linebeck snapped. "We have no kind of evidence, and it's stupid."

Link frowned. "I thought that you knew that they mentioned that to me?"

"Yeah, but I thought you took it with a grain of salt."

"This isn't important!" Link sighed, peering around. Despite his disengagement from the conversation, it continued behind him.

"It's a stupid theory," Linebeck shouted, his irritation only getting worse.

"Yeah, it's just a theory based on how you look-"

"Shitty evidence, if you ask me. Who gives a shit if I'm above average height for a Hylian- so are you lot! Damien's Hylian and he's a bit above average!" There was a pause, and Midna and Ghirahim seemed to begin to respond, but Linebeck interrupted them with, "Now that I think about it, he offered to come with us today."

"Do you think he followed us?" Link asked, whipping around.

"No, I said that he'd be safer at the village. He's got stuff to work on anyways. Forget it, forget it," Linebeck muttered. He looked over at Link. "Anything of note?"

Link shrugged. "Hard to tell." He paused as the chimes filled the room with noise, then slowly went silent. "I don't see a way up, but there's space for a stairwell over there," he said, pointing to a break in the bottom ledge along with the one above it. "I think we've got to get there somehow."

"Makes sense," Midna mused. Then she beamed. "I could try and see what's up there using my shadow-walking magic! There are plenty of shadows around here, and, hell, I might be able to find something to help you guys up."

"It's too windy," Ghirahim countered. "With the wind, the lanterns keep swinging around and moving the light. What happens if light hits you when you're in the shadow?"

Not even a second after Ghirahim spoke, the wind blew through the room, jostling the chimes and the lanterns and making the light dance around the room. Midna's smile fell away. "...Right. Damn."

"I'm sure we'll figure something else out," Linebeck muttered. "We've got two more rooms. Let's split up to get this over with. I'll go with Link, we'll take the hall just over there," he said, pointing at a hall with some light coming out from it.

Link wasn't sure if he was relived or irritated that the next room was practically the same as the first. The same broken chairs and instruments and fallen boards. "I mean, this is an old abandoned music hall," he muttered to himself, trying to stifle his anger. "Ghirahim and Midna had better have found something interesting."

"I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary," Bellum mused. "Otherwise, we would have something worth taking out of here."

Linebeck scowled. "Nice. It's a waste of time. Let's get out of here..." He started to storm out of the room, cursing under his breath. The door slammed closed before he reached it, startling him so badly that he stumbled back and fell down.

A howl echoed through the room, and Link whipped out his sword and shield as a wolf-like creature appeared in a puff of smoke. It charged at Link without much warning and slashed at him, the long black claws practically sliding off the shield. Behind him, he heard Bellum screech something about 'wolfos' along with the sound of Linebeck scrambling away. The thing howled again and reared back to attack once more, and Link lunged forward, fluidly activating his sword and thrusting it into the beast's chest. It let out a mournful howl and dissipated into smoke.

"I thought that wolfos were just myths," Bellum hissed, rushing over to Link and circling his head. "They're monstrous wolves, as you saw. It would be cool to command an army of them." Link gave the AI a bemused smile.

"Are you alright?" Link turned to Linebeck. They both flinched as the door to the room reopened, reminding them of the loud chimes.

Linebeck got up, dusting himself off like nothing happened. "D-did that thing drop anything?"

Link shrugged, inspecting the spot where it died. "Doesn't look like anything... oh!" He picked up a small item. "Looks like a gear," he said, showing it to Linebeck, who took and pocketed it without a word.

Meeting back up in the main room, Ghirahim and Midna showed off another gear, slightly larger than the one that Link and Linebeck found. They pondered over their use, pacing to the sound of wooden chimes and occasional biwa notes, until Midna had them converge at the gap in the platform. She had found a pair of small holes in the wall, each matching the shape of the gears. They gave the gears to Link and stood back while he carefully fitted them into the holes. Nothing happened for the first few seconds as he slowly backed up.

A quiet click sounded out, followed by the sound of stone grinding against stone. The wall above the gap seemed to shift, and a staircase slid out in front of them. Link blinked. "Nice." Midna clapped him on the back and started up the stairs. Link waited until everyone else was ahead of him before walking up, his sword and shield at the ready. "Linebeck and I ran into a monster in our room."

"You wait until now to tell us?" Ghirahim hissed.

"I assume you two didn't deal with the same problem?"

"We just saw the gear on a table," Midna said, peering around the second floor. She waited until the wooden chimes quietly down, and the biwa notes accompanied the cold of the wind. "Now, then. We have four doors this time," she said, point at each of them. "Should we do one to a room?"

The vote ended up being three to one, and Link gave Linebeck an apologetic shrug. There was a doorway for each of the walls, and no gap like the lower floor had- there was no way up to be seen.

Link walked slowly down his short hallway, finding what a room that was a far-cry from the music rooms from before. It was small, a large stone block set in front of him. He checked every corner of the room, finding that only the stone block was the only thing of note. Curious, Link pushed his shoulder against the stone, leaning his weight against it. It shifted inwards a few inches. "So, there's space behind it," Link mused to himself.

He stepped back, and threw himself against the block, shifting it further, then stamped his feet into the ground, forcing the block to continue moving forward, through a doorway. After pushing far enough, he spotted an open space between the block and the wall, an opening into another room. Link slipped through the gap and found himself in an oddly foggy room. A distant howl caught his attention, and he prepared himself for battle, but nothing burst from the fog to kill him. Three other doorways led out of the foggy room, and he silently waited until he was sure that he was safe.

The wooden chimes were the only thing that Link could hear, and he walked through the left doorway. For a moment, he felt as if he was floating through nothing, then entered another foggy room. With a shock, he recognized the stone block he had pushed. A marking on the ground with a single line caught Link's attention. He stared at it, then around the room. The fog made it impossible to see into the next rooms. Could it be that there was only one correct answer, with the others sending him back to the beginning?

Link sighed to himself and walked through the doorway in front of him. He braced himself for the weightless feeling but continued walking until he reached a similar foggy room. This room's floor had a marking with two lines. How many rooms was he supposed to go through? No monsters had apprehended him so far, but he heard yet another distant howl. Ignoring it, Link went through the right hall and found himself back at the beginning.

Through the doorway in front of him... then the left hall. No weightlessness, and he found a room with three lines in the floor. This was going to take a while, Link realized, groaning to himself. At least he could perfectly remember where he went.

Trial and error was the name of the game; Link didn't bother to stop moving, sprinting through doorways and repeating the correct path if he made a mistake. Four, five, six, seven lines in the ground passed beneath. He reached eight and sat down for a bit. He wasn't getting tired, but he just needed a moment. Another howl, this time followed by a scream. It was too far away for Link to figure out who it was, but he leapt to his feet and continued sprinting through the foggy rooms.

Nine lines, ten, eleven- the twelfth room was not foggy, and the doorway he burst through was immediately closed by a door sliding down from above. Link let out a raspy exhale, falling to his knees. He was now in a fairly small room, slowing his breathing and allowing his body to fix his temperature. He'd forgotten about the wooden chimes and the biwa notes when traversing the rooms, and now heard them once again.

Dragging himself to his feet again, Link stumbled through the doorway in front of him, and reentered the large room they first entered into. For a moment, he was scared that he was back on the second floor, but realized he was now on the third. He hadn't noticed walking up any kind of incline while traversing the fog maze. Magic, probably. He was alone on the third floor, waiting for the others. Their rooms would most likely send them up to the third floor as well.

More howls in the distance, followed by the wooden chimes being rustled by the wind, and Midna stumbled out from one of the doors, which slammed closed after her. He dashed over to her, and she grabbed tightly onto her shoulders. "Someone screamed, who screamed?" she rasped, her eyes darting around. "Are you the only one up here?"

"I haven't seen the others. It might've been Linebeck, I kept hearing wolfos howls while I got up here."

"Damn it," Midna hissed. "I was the one dealing with wolfos," she said, holding out her right arm. A trio of cuts decorated her forearm. "I didn't scream, though."

"You had to fight wolfos? I was in some weird foggy maze."

"Goddesses, that sounds so much more pleasant than those flea-bitten bitches."

"It was disorienting," Link muttered, refusing to elaborate. "We should keep an eye out for the others-" Linebeck stumbled out from one of the two remaining doors, falling over and dropping his bow. Link and Midna sprinted over to him the moment the door slammed closed.

There was no blood to be seen, but they rushed over to him nonetheless. "Are you alright?" Midna asked, reaching him first. "We heard a scream on the way up here, we're not sure if that was you or Ghirahim."

"Wasn't me," Linebeck rasped, clawing at his bow and deactivating it. "Dealt with some traps, though. I hate this place. I hate it. I wish I was back at Rito Village. I wish I'd let Damien come with or something. I don't want to die in here." He sat up, shaking, and muttered, "How're you two?"

"Good," Link sighed. "At least you're unhurt, right?"

"I'm fine. What was with those howls?"

"I dealt with that," Midna mumbled. "So, it was Ghirahim who screamed."

"Do you think he's alright?" Link asked, looking over at the last doorway. "You'd think he'd be the first one out." He clipped his sword back to his belt but kept his shield out as he stood. "What if he gets killed?"

"I doubt that'd happen," Bellum muttered, Linebeck repeating his words out loud a few seconds later. "With that knife magic and his general skill, it might as well be impossible."

"Good point," Midna sighed. "For now, until he shows, how about we look around? There are less chimes, thank Hylia, but it's still loud..." She paused as biwa notes echoed. "Someone must be playing that. It's too irregular and varied."

"I'd bet money that we might have to kill whoever's playing it," Linebeck declared.

"Bold statement," Link mused, watching the last door.

Ghirahim burst through the last door, sprinting over to the others. It was clear that he was being chased by something, made even cleared by a large silhouette, visible beyond his door. It reached the doorway, looking like an enormous black wolfos, but the door slammed closed just in time. Ghirahim fell to his knees, panting. "I w-would've killed that damn thing if given the chance." He took Link's outstretched hand and allowed him to help him up.

"You screamed?"

Ghirahim scoffed at Link. "Maybe. I'm not hurt, though. How about the rest of you?"

"I've got a cut, but everyone else is fine," Midna said. "Now what? I can't figure out what we need to do next."

The four of them stared around. All four visible doorways were shut, and there were no other ways up or down. The chimes rang out, and wind chilling them all to the bone before it calmed and allowed them to warm back up. Link sighed and started to pace the third floor, running a hand against the walls. "Let's look around. There has to be something." The others nodded and started to inspect the room like Link was. Midna kicked at the ground and Ghirahim mimicked Link with the walls. Linebeck sat where he was, idly peering around and allowing the other three to do the work.

Link was starting to feel as through their efforts were futile when Linebeck stood up, reactivating his bow. "Hey, what's wrong?" Linebeck didn't answer he, silently nocking an arrow and bringing his bow up to aim. "What, is there a keese or something?" The arrow was let loose, and Link followed its path with his eyes, spotting what Linebeck was aiming at- an odd eye-shaped painting on the wall far above them. The arrow sank into the canvas and the painted eye shut itself, and a door opened right next to Midna.

"Nice aim," Midna mused, staring at Linebeck. "You and Revali managed to get some work in between all those arguments?"

"I got better in order to spite him," Linebeck declared, walking past her. "Let's get this over with. C'mon."

It was yet another hall, to no one's surprise, but it was the shortest of them all. They found themselves in a dim room, two other doorways leading away. The left doorway had a drawing of what looked to be a wolfos above it, while the other looked like a measure of music. Linebeck immediately neared the right doorway.

"We don't know is that's safe," Link burst out, causing Linebeck to pause.

"It's an old abandoned music hall," Ghirahim snapped. "This was created most likely by the Rito, and then tainted by evil magic. Honestly, I think he'll be safe. Are you okay with going that way alone?"

"A-alone? Well y-yeah, of course. If the three of you all want to go down the same hall." Linebeck crossed his arms, leaning against the doorway. "Well, you three go ahead down your hall, then. I hope we'll be able to meet back up at the end of these."

"Do you want one of us to go with you?"

Linebeck scowled and turned, walking though his own doorway. "I'll be fine on my own, don't you tru-" His words were cut off by the doorway closing up.

Link grabbed both Midna and Ghirahim by an arm and tugged them down the other hall, ignoring as the door shut. "For his sake, we'd better be quick."

Bellum hovered a few feet in front of Linebeck, checking for traps or danger ahead of him. "It was a stupid idea to do this alone, you know that, right?"

"Shut up. I can defend myself, I got better with archery. Ghirahim gave me my quiver. Would it kill you to have some confidence in me?" Linebeck ran a hand along the wall as he walked to the bright end of the tunnel. Bellum exited the tunnel before Linebeck. "Is it safe?"

"Looks like it, you should be fine." Linebeck nodded and jogged out the tunnel, slowing to a stop once he saw it. "Yeah, this is pretty weird," Bellum sighed.

The room they found themselves in was large and rectangular in shape. In the middle of the room was a maze of sorts, inaccessible to Linebeck as it was covering by a ceiling of glass. He was able to walk around a walkway at the perimeter of the maze. Bellum remained close to Linebeck, staying close to the engineer.

Linebeck jogged around the perimeter of the maze once and stopped by what he assumed to be the beginning of the maze- a room with a number of surprisingly intact instruments laid out on a table. "What the hell is this..." he mused to himself, leaning over the railing.

"Hey, check this out," Bellum shouted, having wandered a few feet away from Linebeck, looking at something on the wall. "Looks like more music."

Linebeck nodded, inspecting the three lines of music. "That's a treble clef chromatic scale," he said, running a finger along the rising and descending notes. "Looks familiar." He walked along the wall a little further, then paused as he found another scale. "...Another chromatic scale. Alto clef- so it's concert pitch."

"What instrument is the first one for, then?"

Linebeck tilted his head to the side, thinking to himself. "...Looks like a B-flat clarinet chromatic scale. I knew it looked familiar; Damien's showed me the sheet music. He's had me learn the piano chromatic scale to play along with him, remember?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Is there any more music carved into the wall?"

"Lemme check," Bellum sped away, doing a quick lap of the room. "Doesn't look like it," he chirped once he returned. "Just these scale thingies."

"Fantastic," Linebeck muttered. "Any doors out?"

"We're stuck-" Bellum paused and whipped around to face the maze. "Do you hear that? Like a door opened."

Linebeck rushed over to the railing. The pair of them stared down at the beginning of the maze, where a familiar trio entered. Link, Ghirahim, and Midna looked confused and unaware of their watchers.

"Go down there," Linebeck ordered. "I'll talk through you. Let them know I'm here and all that." The AI complied, flying down and phasing through the glass ceiling, surprising Link. "Can you see through the glass?" Linebeck asked, Bellum repeating his words a few moments later.

Link was stunned for a moment, then spoke. Bellum zoomed back up and repeated what was said, "He can see though the glass." Linebeck waved down at them. Only Link waved back. The others were busy inspecting the room. "What do you three see down there?"

"Just a bunch of instruments and a door," Link answered. Bellum seemed a bit miffed to be used as a mouthpiece for the two of them.

"Anything interesting about the door?"

"...There's a bar of music on it. I think I need to play that music for the door to open."

Link started to go through the instruments left on the floor and picked up what looked to be a flute. "Don't use that," Linebeck quickly shouted, realizing what the chromatic scales meant. "Use a clarinet! It's a bit shorter than a flute and made with black wood!" Link seemed to sigh and swapped the two instruments out. "Can you read the music?"

"Yeah, It's just four notes in common time."

"Sharps or flats?"

"They're all naturals."

Linebeck nodded to himself, and didn't respond. After a few moments, Link lifted the mouthpiece to his mouth. Link played out the four notes, and the door slid open. They walked through the door triumphantly, but Bellum momentarily flickered. "Something's wrong."

Linebeck leaned over the railing, frowning. "Well, tell me if you can figure that out. Head down there and help me give them directions to the next door."

"Fine, fine."

"Thanks. Tell them to go right."

Link followed the directions without question, holding the clarinet loosely at his side. "Tell him to hold the damn clarinet correctly, or else he'll break it," Linebeck hissed, and Bellum repeated his words. Link shifted his handle on the instrument. "Better. They need to take the second left, then the third right."

The directions were followed smoothly, and Link played the music on the next door. The door slid open, and both Linebeck and Bellum realized what was wrong. The glass ceiling was slowly sliding down, the process sped up as the second door opened. They hadn't noticed before since it had been a slow crawl, but it was now visibly moving.

"Should we-"

"No, just tell them to be faster," Linebeck rasped. "Let them figure it out on their own. They need a right, a left, two more rights, and the third left." Bellum complied and relayed the instructions down to Link and company.

They clearly hadn't yet noticed the ceiling, but they froze one the third door opened up. The ceiling was falling rather noticeably now. After a moment, they started frantically speaking to each other, none of which Bellum decided to repeat to the engineer. "Tell them to hurry up!" Linebeck snapped.

The urgency was obvious as those in the maze were now sprinting, and Link was now tripping over notes in his newfound panic. Still, he got through the next door, and the ceiling slid down faster than before. Their running made it harder for Bellum to keep up and issue Linebeck's orders. The AI was practically screaming after them, hoping that Link would hear him.

It didn't look like Link was in earshot. He led the other two to dead ends and whipped back around. At best, he heard snippets of what Bellum was screaming. Linebeck gave up, falling to his knees, still grasping at the railing. "Idiots, they're idiots... Bellum, just ignore me. Get them through the maze."

There was a faint noise of agreement from Bellum, and he managed to catch up with the others. Linebeck watched hopelessly, as the glass ceiling slid down inch by inch. It started, what? Thirty, thirty-five feet above them? It had to have been twenty feet now. While Link reached and played in front of the next door, Ghirahim summoned and flung a number of daggers up at the glass. They just slammed against it and disappeared without making so much as a small crack.

Three more doors. Link opened the next one, so that left two more doors. There was a door out of the maze, but what about above the maze? Linebeck stood up, deciding that their fate was no longer his problem. The only door that he and Bellum had seen was the one leading in. While checking the walls, he hadn't seen a second door. Maybe it would be impossible to see until it was open, like the door into this place. A howl echoed through the room, and it had the same effect on Linebeck as the cold wind did.

He withdrew and activated his bow barely a second later, backing up against the wall and surveying the dim room. Most of the light came from the brightly illuminated maze. To someone like Link or Midna or Ghirahim, a wolfos would be no problem, just another monster, but that was because they had some kind of prior training in battle. Linebeck was just some skittish engineer with a week's worth of practice with a bow and a knife stowed just next to the arrows. He could still hear Bellum's instruction, and even managed to pick up the faint sound of the glass grinding against the wall as it slid down. Another howl echoed through the room, and a white wolfos appear on the other side of the room.

Terror swooped down and engulfed Linebeck's mind and he felt himself freeze, all thoughts outside of those about survival wiped from his mind. Link wasn't there to protect him, no one was. He trembled all over at the wolfos circumnavigated the room, nearing him, and, despite the cold, Linebeck felt a hot flush wash over him as he started to sweat. His breath came in and out in short, uneven bursts, and he forced himself to stumble backwards, suddenly dizzy as the monster neared him.

Linebeck reached back at his quiver, but his hand shook so violently that he knocked all of the arrows out. They all clattered to the floor just as Linebeck's legs gave out, the wolfos close enough for him to see slobber dripping from its mouth, the jaw hanging open, all of its yellow fangs on display as it lurched towards him on two legs. The claws on all of its paws were black and curved and as long as Linebeck's forearms, the color a striking difference from its snow-white fur.

Linebeck abandoned the idea of the bow as nausea forced bile up his throat, and he groped for his knife, ripping it from his scabbard. The knife slipped from his sweat-soaked hand, and the blade sliced his palm, but the pain was lost in the fear that numbed Linebeck's senses. He kicked at the floor as the wolfos swiped at his feet, and he grabbed the knife back up, holding it out. The blood from his palm dripped down and stain his shirt and vest, and the wolfos swiped again, the claws on its left paw sinking deep into Linebeck's left leg.

Linebeck cried out, redoubling his efforts to escape as the wolfos clamped its jaws down on his leg. Blood poured from between its teeth, and Linebeck was now gasping for breath, propping himself up and repeatedly kicking at the beast's head, his heart hammering in his chest. The wolfos let go of his leg after a particularly nasty kick to the eye and let out another howl. Linebeck winced at the sudden blast of hot air and help ups his arms to shield his face from any of the wolfos's flying drool. Goddesses, he hated dog's breath enough when it was just from a small domesticated puppy- this wolfos's breath was downright putrid, and it took all of Linebeck's self-control to not vomit.

The agony that radiated from his leg made him lightheaded, and he barely reacted in time when the wolfos snapped at his head. Linebeck forced himself to roll away- his knife slipping out of his grasp- and his breath caught in his chest as more pain jolted up his body. The wolfos snapped at him against, this time clamping its teeth around Linebeck's metal arm, which he'd held out in a desperate attempt to protect himself. His prosthetic only transmitted tactile sensations, not pain, but he felt horrible enough when the wolfos managed to sink its fangs an inch into the metal.

The knife was laying only a few inches away, in a small pool of his blood. Both Linebeck's chest and throat were tight and breathing suddenly became painful as the wolfos forced his arm closer to his chest. One of its hind legs stamped on his abdomen, its horrible claws scoring gashes in his side. Linebeck clawed at the knife, reaching across his body for the weapon, and managed to drag it a few inches closer. His left arm, with a screech of metal, bent inwards, surrendering to the wolfos's weight, and it dug more claws into his right shoulder.

Linebeck's breath came in short bursts as he dragged the knife closer, feeling as though time had slowed. The wolfos let go of his prosthetic, his coat sleeve all torn up. For some reason, Damien came to mind- and more panic and fear flooded his senses. He couldn't die. Not now. Not now. Not like this. Linebeck kicked at the wolfos's underside. Not like this. He abandoned the knife and clawed desperately at its throat. Not before- The overgrown wolf lunged for Linebeck's neck. He went limp, giving up. That was it. All he could hope for now was that it was a quick death.

The wolfos froze not even half an inch away from his neck.

The monster hovered silently over Linebeck for a moment more, then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Once the smoke was gone, Linebeck turned onto his side and retched, unaware of Midna retracting her spear, which had pierced the wolfos's heart a moment before. Linebeck lay on his side, shuddering, feeling feverish and lightheaded as blood gushed from his wounds, creating a sizable pool around him. The frantic conversation that sprang up around him turned to white noise, and he was left with his thoughts for a few moments. Just thinking about Damien had given him more of a will to survive, just then. Linebeck passed out before he could untangle his desperate thoughts.

"I-is he dead?" Link whispered, staring down at Linebeck. They'd finished the maze only a minute prior, and Bellum had screamed at them to go and help Linebeck but didn't explain why. The clarinet had been abandoned. The scene of the wolfos mauling Linebeck had made Link's knees go weak until Midna sank into the shadows to avoid detection. Ghirahim was ready to intervene right when Midna reappeared and killed the monster. Now, she crouched at Linebeck's side, shifting him onto his back.

"H-he's alive, just out cold," Midna said. "Ghirahim, get out the medical supplies. We need to patch him up, and fast. It's a good thing we got here when we did... We need a lot of bandages," she said, taking the bundle of bandages that Ghirahim handed to her. "Link, you pick up his stuff and bring it over here. Make sure to get all of the arrows."

Link shakily nodded and stumbled over to the blood-soaked arrows. The feathers were painted red and dripping, and Link's hands trembled as he collected them. "N-now what do we do?" Ghirahim and Midna were quickly wrapping Linebeck's wounds. "Do you guys think he'll need stitches?"

"Probably," Ghirahim drawled. "Of course he couldn't protect himself. One of us should've gone with him. Idiot..." His tone was disdainful, but the tremble in his voice suggested otherwise. He tied off some bandages around the wound on Linebeck's leg. "How's his arm looking? Do you think he could fix that?"

Link gathered up a bundle of arrows and turned his gaze to Linebeck's left arm. The sleeve of his coat was ripped up, and the forearm of his prosthetic was bent inwards at a sharp angle. Bellum hovered lethargically over Linebeck's chest. "How's the damage to his arm?" Link asked him.

"The metal's bent, but none of the wires are broken. He'd just need to remedy the bend. I'm more worried about the other damage, though. If he dies, then I'm dead. Plus, Damien will hunt you lot down if anything else happens to Linebeck."

Link laughed nervously, tucking the arrows back into the quiver. Midna unbuttoned Linebeck's shirt and pulled it away from the gash in his side, and slipped the sleeve off his right shoulder. Ghirahim handed her more bandages, and she got to wrapping up his shoulder. "His aim with the bow is much better, but it still doesn't seem like he can properly defend himself just yet. Link, ask Bellum if he knows what happened."

"I didn't see anything," Bellum admitted.

Link sighed, picking up the rest of the arrows. He picked up Linebeck's knife. "He looked like he dropped his knife," he said, peering around for the sheathe. "Where does he keep this?"

"Back of his belt, just hold on to it," Ghirahim muttered, tying off the last of the bandages. He sighed heavily. "Who's gonna carry him?"

"I'll do it, you did it last time," Midna muttered. "I'm not going to button his shirt back up or anything. We need to see if we need to replace the bandages." She hoisted Linebeck up, her right arm under his knees and her left hooked under his shoulders. His head rested against her shoulder. "Good thing he doesn't weigh too much," Midna muttered.

Link awkwardly slid the knife back into the sheathe and rubbed his hands together. "...Now what?"

"We keep going," Ghirahim sighed. "We don't know of a way out of here, so let's just keep going."

With Linebeck now properly patched up, they walked down the corridor that had opened up, connecting the maze and the observation floor. The glass ceiling was now flat against the ground of the maze. "I wonder what would've happened if I didn't use a clarinet to try and open those doors?"

Ghirahim shrugged. "Maybe nothing." He sauntered across the room, towards a rusty metal door. "This is... different than everything else we've seen here." He closed his hand around the handle but stopped. Five biwa notes rang out, louder than ever and seeming to come from behind the door.

"The biwa player must be past this door," Link observed, standing beside Ghirahim. "...Does any of this have to do with the avalanches?"

"Who knows, but, right now, we need to get out of there," Midna said. "If we run into a fight, you two handle most of it until I find a safe place to leave Linebeck. Just open the door."

Ghirahim nodded and pushed the door open. Its hinges creaked loudly, due an obvious lack of use. Link walked through first. The others followed, and the door shut behind them. The room was eerily similar to the final room in the prison at Zora's Domain.

"The columns," Ghirahim mused, pointing to columns at were placed a few feet away from the wall, lined up at the perimeter of the room. "Midna, you could leave Linebeck behind one of those. Avoid that... box in the middle," he muttered, glancing at the wooden structure in the middle. It was just a large cube of birch wood, as far as they could all tell.

"We can't be too careful," Midna mused. "I'll hold onto him until we know what's going on. Link, go check that thing out."

Nothing was said as Link slowly approached the wood box, apprehensively taking out his sword and shield. Just as he got within three feet of the box, the wood seemed to melt away- Link jumped back, and four biwa notes loudly rang out, originating from what had been in the box. Once the wood was melted away and disappeared, a skeletal figure stood in the middle of the room, not looking entirely Hylian with long, black hair that covered their face. In their hands they held a biwa and its pick.

At first, Link almost let himself relax- then the figure shifted their arms, and he caught a glimpse of a red gem on their chest. The figure tilted its head to the side. Then, with surprising agility, they lunged at Link, playing a single resounding note. Link deflected the kick by simply raising up his shield, but he didn't expect the black vine-like tendrils that shot out from the biwa itself, curling around his shield.

Link cried out, stumbling back, and the tendrils were severed by a few of Ghirahim's knives. The demon surged past him, sword at the ready. Ghirahim slashed at the biwa player, but they played two notes and a shimmering barrier of sorts halted Ghirahim's attack. Not wasting a moment, the reedy biwa player played a sequence of notes and black tendrils sped towards both Ghirahim and Link, and the room itself began to violently shake.

Link managed to cut the tendrils away, slicing through them like they were made of paper, while Ghirahim loudly cursed, the tendrils curling around his arms. Behind them, Midna loudly cursed, then shouted, "I bet this bastard's been causing those avalanches!"

"Keep Linebeck safe," Link yelled, sprinting over to cut away the tendrils binding Ghirahim. The shaking of the ground almost forced him to fall over as he ran. The biwa player stood in place, their head tilted down, and played three notes. Tendrils shot out from the biwa again, but outwards from the figure in all directions. Ghirahim shoved Link back, the two of them just barely managing to dodge. Link stumbled away, keeping his eyes on the pale figure.

"Playing notes causes these attacks," Ghirahim rasped. He summoned more knives with a snap of his fingers, but they never reached the biwa as a barrier was rapidly summoned. "Those barriers are going to be a problem," he hissed, getting to his feet. "Let's test something out- attack it from behind. Go!" Shoving Link in the opposite direction, Ghirahim sprinted to one side of the figure.

Link mirrored him, shifting both hands onto his sword's grip. They both kept their distance from the figure, who didn't move aside from the twitching of their head. Out of the corner of his eye, Link spotted Midna leaving Linebeck by the door, and withdrawing her spear to join the fight. Once Ghirahim was directly across from Link, the two of them lunged at the figure. They jumped high enough to dodge the tendrils that shot out, and the figure seemed to pause, and then played two notes. A pair of barriers appeared and halted the blades.

Link and Ghirahim practically slammed into the barriers and fell into the tendrils, which rapidly curled around their bodies. They were surprisingly strong, binding Link's legs together. He managed to slice through them with ease, but Ghirahim was having a more difficult time, his sword rubbing against the black ropes. Link fell to the ground and scrambled away. Midna surged past him, sprinting at the figure. She halted her advance by Link and threw her spear at the biwa player's chest.

The tendrils immediately withdrew from Ghirahim, and the figure stood, frozen. The spear would've skewered them through the chest if they hadn't shuffled a step to the side. Midna scowled but stayed frozen where she stood. She thrust out a hand, motioning for Link not to move, and then made a motion to tell him to stay silent. She turned to Ghirahim and did the same motions. He froze as well, gritting his teeth.

Midna's spear clattered on the ground, and the figure twitched. They played a singular note and a tendril shot out at the air around the spear. After a few moments, the tendril withdrew, and the figure shifted their weight. They played three notes and the tendrils shot out and them, hitting nothing. Link's eyes widened in realization.

The biwa player was relying wholly on sound- they couldn't see. Link slowly got up, holding his breath. Unfortunately, despite being a robot, Link still needed to breathe to continue to function, so he had to move quickly. His sword and shield were both still out. Moving his feet would inevitably cause sound. Midna's boots had metal on the bottoms of them, and Ghirahim, despite being a careful mover, could do nothing about any noise his cloak would make. Link could be quiet, but it would be difficult to be silent while approaching the figure.

Link placed one foot in front of the other, and a sequence of notes was played. The room shook, and Link fell over. The player sprinted over to him, playing more notes. Both a barrier and black tendrils shot out, dragging Link closer. Midna retrieved her spear and ran to him, but Ghirahim sheathed his sword and abandoned the two of them. Anger flashed through Link's body, and he squirmed against the tendrils that rapidly covered his arms.

Midna cut away at the tendrils, but the biwa player played another series of notes. The room shook again, and more black vines curled around Midna's spear, leading up to her hands and arms. "What does that bastard Ghirahim think he's doing?!" she spat, watching him sprint away from them, trying to tug her arms away.

The tendrils wrapped around both of Link's arms and made their way onto his shoulders and down his back. They unpleasantly scratched his synthetic skin, creating rips that he could do nothing about as they traveled further downwards and up to his neck. The tendrils tightened painfully. Midna was wriggling ever so slightly, and something in her eyes indicated that she realized something. She froze, and then disappeared, melting into the shadow that the figure made.

Jealousy surged through Link's limbs along with pain as the black vines tightened like vices. Midna reappeared behind the figure, free from its tendrils, and thrust her spear at their chest again. Two notes, and a barrier halted her attack. The gem in the biwa player's chest was practically on display, mocking Link and the others' failed efforts to shatter it. Agony enveloped Link's mind. Something- multiple somethings- snapped as the tendrils compressed his body. For a moment he was able to suppress a scream, but the black tendrils stabbed into the body and began to rip him apart from the inside. The scream forced its way out.

The biwa player flinched at the sudden noise. Midna shouted as well, terror written all over her face. And, as noise distracted the unseeing figure, an arrow sliced through the air and embedded itself deep in the gem. The force behind the arrow shattered the gem, and an inhuman roar emanated from the figure, rising above the screaming of Midna and Link. The tendrils dissipated as the figure screamed, but the damage was done. Link fell to the ground, broken and trembling.

Ghirahim stood in front of a still-unconscious Linebeck, the mechanical bow in his hands. Link tried to say something along the lines of a thanks, but it only came out as a pained gurgle. The biwa player's instrument crumbled away, and the figure fell to its knees, shuddering, letting out a low groan. Smoke billowed from both the shattered remains of the gem as well as the figure's mouth, and it slowly crumbled to dust. Link shuddered, a wave of pain rushing through his body.

Midna rushed over to Link's side while Ghirahim stuck with Linebeck. "Damn it! You'd be dead if you were human..."

He was unable to see the extent of the damage, but Link could barely feel his limbs. Ghirahim stumbled overed, carrying Linebeck in his arms. "O-oh shit..." Ghirahim whispered. "We need to get out of here! Just gather Link up and let's leave- a doorway opened up back there. Hopefully, Revali might find us."

The doorway that Ghirahim spotted was opposite the one they entered through. Each of them carrying an injured friend, they stumbled through the doorway and up the staircase that was beyond it. Link was barely conscious. He could feel his arms and legs limply swinging around but could do nothing to stop it. He couldn't even move his head. The only thing he could do was inhale and exhale and move his eyes around. His breath caught in his chest as it occurred to him that the tendrils had most certainly ripped him apart.

The blast of cold air made Link cough. Midna carried him outside into the snow with Ghirahim. The sky was bright and cloudless. "We're close to around halfway up the mountain," Ghirahim guessed. "Can you see the ravine from here?"

"Yeah, down there. Thanks for, uh, saving our asses back there."

"No problem. How'd you get away? There weren't that many shadows."

"S-something happened while I was trying to get away. I think light shined over the shadow I was in, and I thought about moving behind that biwa player, and I was suddenly there. I think I might've accidentally teleported."

"Damn it. Teach me how to do that. Isn't that about the limit of your powers?"

"I still need to practice manipulating things, like how I can make small things levitate. But we need to get Link and Linebeck back to Rito Village. If we're lucky, Revali or some other Rito will spot us and help us out." Midna glanced down at Link. The robot could only manage to blink up at her. "How are you holding up? You've practically been torn up..."

Link opened and closed his mouth, no sound coming out. He realized just a little too late that he couldn't smell anything, and his sense of touch was fading. All he could do was mouth the word 'hurry'.

"That's all I needed to know," Midna breathed. "We can't waste any time," she said, this time speaking to Ghirahim. "We need to get back as fast as we can."

Link attempted to let out a sigh and manually switched himself off. Staying awake for the walk back would amount to nothing.