A/N:

This took so much longer than I expected, but simply because I wanted to be careful with this one.

Warnings for implied attempted sexual assault and attempted suicide- nothing is explained with any measure detail, only referenced and implied.

A warning for a few instances of especially bad language.

I genuinely recommending going back and reading at least a few chapters (if you want) just because it's been a while.

I'm pretty sure this will be the longest chapter in this whole thing.

This three chapter intermission has been going on for a bit, and then we'll get back to the main story.

Anyways, enjoy!

The first moment was full of agony and misery- the cause of which was beyond his fuzzy memory, just out of reach.

The next was pure nothingness- Link was nothing but a drifting consciousness in the void.

It felt as though only mere seconds had passed when Link felt his hearing and sight returned. He could feel a mouth, within it a tongue and teeth, and he was dimly aware of a nose.

Still, he could feel nothing below his jaw. He couldn't move anything, either- he couldn't open his eyelids, move his jaw or tongue, or try to twitch his ears. All he found that he could was remain unmoving and listen.

The first thing he noticed he could hear was the steady ticking of a clock. Then, soft snoring, coming from what Link assumed to be across the room. It was a familiar sound, but Link couldn't quite place it. He wasn't sure how much time passed by the time he started hearing muffled sounds of doors being opened and closed, and people briskly walking by whatever room Link was in.

He drifted in and out of consciousness, and slowly slipped away.

The next time he was aware of his surroundings, he could still hear people walking around the room, but someone was moving around inside the room. Focusing his hearing, Link heard a footstep, then the sound of a crutch hitting the ground. Footstep, crutch. Footstep, crutch. The person with him was injured, Link decided. Broken leg, probably.

There was quiet muttering. Two voices, talking back and forth. An argument. One voice steadily became louder, before there was a shouted string of curses, and something shattering. Soft speaking, apologies, and a knock on the door. Someone entered the room, and Link suddenly recognized two of the voices as the new visitor spoke. His voice was smooth, gentle, cautious, without any of the edge it usually had.

"Are you... holding up alright? It sounds like you broke something," Ghirahim softly murmured. He sounded apprehensive.

"What do you think?" The response was strained, clipped and harsh. Misery underlined every syllable. His voice was hoarse. "I'm busy. Zelda's got you on damage control, right? Piss off and go get rid of those robots like she told you." There was an agonized desperation to Linebeck's voice, and the barbs in his words seemed forced, all so he would be left alone.

Something was wrong, it was obvious to Link by the time Midna swung by.

"How's... he doing?" Her voice was just as apprehensive as Ghirahim's. "It's been a month, now... How are you?"

"How do you think we're doing?" Linebeck growled. A chair was shoved back, and the crutch was dragged over. It sounded like he forced himself to his feet. "Go away. I don't want anyone's help. I'm... making progress. I-I don't know if I can get him to come back, though. I've g-got a lot to do."

"Ghirahim told me about how you snapped at him earlier."

"Yeah, so? What are you gonna do, punish me?"

"...If you need help, you can tell us."

"I'm the engineer, I don't need your damn help!"

"...We can tell that you're not well. It's not hard to tell that you're working yourself to the point of sickness, not to mention you're fraying your own mental state."

"Why should you two care? Go away. You lot told me to work on this, so that's what I'm doing. I can handle myself just fine."

"Linebeck. You're in no state to be working without any kind of help-"

"Go away already!" There was a rapid shuffling, and the door was slammed shut. It then sounded as if Linebeck was leaning against the door, then slid down to the ground. "Goddess fucking dammit," he hissed to himself, the words laden with more despair than anger.

"They're just trying to help," a strange, unfamiliar voice chimed in. "At the very least, you should get some food. You could ask a passing servant to get you something."

Linebeck quietly agreed with the unfamiliar voice, and he eventually managed to catch a servant just outside his door and asked them to get some things for him.

Link could only assume that days passed by in between his drifting in and out of consciousness. Things seemed... shattered between Ghirahim, Midna, and Linebeck.

Linebeck almost never left the room, and the scent of cigarette smoke had started to become a constant whenever Link woke. There were times when Link could hear Linebeck across the room or working extremely close to Link. He seemed absolutely miserable- cursing at the slightest mistake, snapping at anyone who offered help, even completely breaking down and sobbing in the opposite corner of the room.

Ghirahim was always nervous when talking to Linebeck- he tried to be kind, occasionally snapping back if Linebeck was too abrasive. He offered help, but always danced around specifications, so Link could barely figure out what was going on. Whenever he mentioned Midna, his words were angry- Link could discern that the two of them had argued about something and had a falling out. Ghirahim was apparently working on disposing of all of the Sheikah's guardian robots and had been assigned to watch over them at nearly all hours; that or visiting the Yiga.

On the other hand, Midna visited the least. Zelda had apparently assigned her to be a near-constant guard for Ganondorf, and the only times she visited Linebeck, it was on the way out after having visited the Twilight Realm. She was as nervous and kind as Ghirahim, but sometimes slipped into mocking Linebeck for refusing any help. She caught onto the cigarette smell and snapped at him for picking up smoking.

Link wanted to ask what was going on, but he could still feel nothing below his own mouth. Everything felt wrong, and he wasn't even sure if he was awake. Everyone talked as though Link wasn't in the room with him, but they talked about bringing someone back. Were they talking about bringing Link back? Had he died at some point? If so, then why was he stuck, sightless in Linebeck's room?

It took hours of silently listening in to figure out who the unfamiliar voice belonged to.

"...You should get some sleep," the voice muttered while Linebeck was working. Since Link had first woken up, he'd noticed small changes about his face, but couldn't place them. The strangest change, though, was the fact that he could automatically mentally recite what time it was, and he knew that he was right. It was nearly midnight when the sleep suggestion was brought up.

"I'll be fine," Linebeck responded, his words slurred. "I at least want to finish up the wrist."

"This is a stupid schedule- focusing on Link during the day, then the prosthetics at night. You're going to get yourself hurt."

"Why should you care, Bellum?" Linebeck drawled. "The three of them can't talk or interact with you. The best you get is the fact that Ghirahim has a general sense of what you might be doing. They're barely your friends."

"This isn't about them, it's about you not dying. You can work faster if you're well-rested. Stay up any longer and you'll start hallucinating."

"Fine. Whatever."

Though he was glad to know who was talking, knowing that he could now hear Bellum- Linebeck's personal AI that should only be seen or heard by Linebeck- only made Link more confused.

He didn't get any definitive answers until was proved to be three months after he initially woke up. Link was able to listen into a heated argument between Ghirahim, Midna, and Linebeck. At first, Linebeck even didn't seem to be a part of it.

"What have you done? Run away and either hide by Ganondorf's side or in that damn Twilight Realm. Oh, I know Zelda told you to do that, but are you really just going to lie down and let her give you orders like that? You're not even going to try to ask her for free time? It seems to me like you don't even care about Link."

"Shut up, Ghirahim! It's not like you're any better, breathing down the Sheikah's necks. You're not even trying to fight off monsters at this point! At least I'm doing something to try and keep the Triforce holders safe."

"Oh, for the love of- After that damn fiasco with the guardian, nothing's really popped up. The Sheikah are our only concern right now! Besides, I think you ought to have a talk with your beloved queen of Hyrule; I don't even know what she's doing! I've barely seen her out of her room, and when she is, she's just wandering around. Won't even let anyone talk to her."

"I-I don't control her, you know! Goddesses, why are we even arguing about this... Linebeck! Are you even listening? What the hell are you even doing over there? I thought you would be working on something, not just screwing around with that damn Rubik's cube."

"What do you want me to do? I'm waiting for materials right now."

"Yeah, that and you've been working yourself into a fit. Every time we check up on you, you practically bite our heads off. Midna and I have been itching to have a decent conversation with you, but you just curse us out and slam the door in our faces before huddling up in the corner and smoking whatever you think will help your nerves."

"Are you serious?! Forget not caring about Link- It's clear as day that you don't give a damn about me. Who cares if you've offered help; it's too obvious at this point that you're ignoring everything else. Zelda's not talking to you, Midna doesn't have time to talk, Ghirahim's not doing his job- Why should I give a damn? I haven't slept in days. I haven't eaten in days. Nor do I want to. I can't think straight anymore, I'm in phantom pain every other hour, and everyone in this damned kingdom might as well be breathing down my neck, expecting me to revive Link!

"Yes, I know that I can make robots within days. But you two have no right to chide me for taking over three months with this. Link fucking died. He was killed, blown to bits. The only things we could fully recover was his goddamn brain and heart- and I'm doing everything I can to keep those alive. Do you understand just how hard it is to transfer a person's consciousness into a robot? I need to keep his organs alive in this robot, and I need to make him a body that can operate as a human's. I need to make it so that all five of his senses are active, so that he was move like any other living Hylian, and make it so that he's still the same person. You guys want me to make it so he can still use the Master Sword and still hold the Triforce of courage. I need to do so much coding, make sure he looks human enough to let him fit in, but also make him, well, a robot. I've already managed to code in an internal clock, but I've got so much more work to do.

"Not to mention that I've got to work on myself, too! Link got killed, sure, but I got caught in that damned blast, too. You two can't imagine how hard it is to get back to work right after losing a whole arm and a leg. I can barely move around, I can hardly work correctly, and I'm still trying to simply cope with having lost half my limbs. Until I get my prosthetics finished, I can't do too much to bring Link back. I have so much on my plate, so you can hardly blame me for being a bit high-strung! If the two of you just came here to yell, then get the hell out."

Link couldn't feel the rest of his body but knew that he would've felt a chill down his spine. So he had died. Killed by that guardian. Killed in the same blast that cost Linebeck half his body. Just the simple thought of Linebeck having to struggle through the ordeal of missing two limbs made him feel sick - he and Ghirahim and Midna had put forth so much time and effort in order to keep Linebeck safe, to give him some kind of security that he wasn't offered as a child at his father's mercy or while living alone in the city, and the one time they couldn't do anything, he was torn apart.

The argument sparked back up, and it wasn't long until Linebeck, Ghirahim, and Midna were all practically screaming at each other. Link so desperately wished that he could move and speak or at least open his eyes, to give them some sign that he was alive, that Linebeck had managed to transfer his consciousness, to give them some kind of hope. But he could only silently listen, trapped in what he could assume to be the beginnings of a robotic body.

Eventually, the argument fizzled out and Ghirahim and Midna stormed out of the room, leaving Linebeck to his devices. It didn't take long for him to fall into another miserable episode, muttering to himself while Bellum curtly reassured him and told him to get back to work.

Weeks dragged by after Link finally figured out his situation. He was constrained to Linebeck's room, but he barely missed anything important. Linebeck was making slow progress on his prosthetics, and even slower progress on Link. Based off Bellum's commentary, Link's skeletal structure was complete, and what Linebeck needed to finish was all of the wiring, support, tactile sensors, fake organs, and safe capsules for Link's heart and brain. Things like an exoskeleton and Hylian features were the least of stressed engineer's worries.

Still, just hearing Linebeck repeatedly spiral into despair and panic tore at Link's heart. He was so angry and so miserable all at once, shouting and snarling at anyone that tried to help as if he were a feral cat, the breaking down as they left, cursing himself and being unable to get any work done. On his good days, when no one bothered him and he'd gotten rest, he worked tirelessly on Link and his prosthetics.

Two more months passed, and Link slowly felt feeling seep through the rest of his body while Linebeck worked on him. Midna and Ghirahim had been visiting him less and less, until it got to the point where Midna hadn't swung by in two weeks, and Ghirahim had only made three visits in that same time. Bellum was Linebeck's main source of social interaction at that point, but, as Linebeck worked on Link, he quietly muttered, "I hope you're awake."

He'd never spoke directly to Link before- probably because he didn't think it was worth it. But Linebeck seemed to be at his wit's end and sighed before he spoke. There was a silence after his words. Then, "If you are, then I assume you've been awake since I made the capsules for your heart and brain. They should be safe. I've... got then both connected to each other with a few wires, and I'm setting up a system that'll mimic the circulatory system to keep your heart beating. Give it a few more days, and I'll have all of your tactile sensors set up."

Linebeck set down some tools. Link listened closely to the noises that followed and managed to pick up a faint whirring noise. He heard two different tools picked up, each a bit far from each other. Had Linebeck finished his prosthetic arm? Link wished he could at least ask. Linebeck had seemed in slightly better spirits.

More and more feeling spread through Link's body throughout the next few days, until he was aware of his entire body. His positioning depended on what Linebeck needed from him; most of the time, he was laying on a table with a tarp over him but would be sitting up or standing if Linebeck needed to get some work done. Linebeck spent a lot of time fiddling with wiring and parts in Link's chest. He placed fake organs in Link's chest along with his heart, idly explaining that it would help Link feel as human as possible and would work to conserve energy- he'd figured out how to make it so that most of Link's electronics could be powered by the intake of air.

Link wasn't surprised that most of the castle scientists had become jealous of Linebeck.

Things seemed to be looking up for the group when Linebeck called Midna and Ghirahim to his room and showed off his progress on Link, and confirmed that he had created working prosthetics, which he would continue to work on. The air between the three of them was still tense, but there was no arguing. Ghirahim seemed friendlier to Linebeck, Midna more willing to talk to the others, and Linebeck allowed them to stick around just a bit longer.

Link felt warmth in his chest, hearing that Linebeck seemed to be in high spirits after the meeting, shakily voicing his hope that things would be smoothed out once Link was successfully brought back. Even Bellum, who'd come off as curt and surprisingly mean, sounded hopeful.

Days dragged by while Linebeck focused on working on Link, and one night, he was absent from his room after extensively working on Link. After Linebeck left his room nearly an hour before, Link found that he could open his eyes. He found that he could open his mouth, that he could twitch his limbs and move them. Link drew in a long breath- it felt the exact same as it did when he was still... human.

Linebeck's mirror was covered with a sheet, so Link peered down at himself. He shuddered, seeing a skeletal, wire-covered body, with sharp-looking toes and fingers. The fake organs in his abdomen were held in place with the same beams and poles that stuck out on his limbs. Link took a tentative step forward, glad that Linebeck had left him standing. He stumbled over to the covered mirror and drew the sheet off.

The mirror was shattered. Link peered around and found that the shards of mirror glass were being kept in a sack on Linebeck's desk. Link shuddered. He couldn't remember when Linebeck had broken the mirror- it must've been soon after he lost his arm and leg. Which arm and leg had he lost? It must've been limbs on opposite sides, otherwise he probably couldn't have functioned with a crutch.

The papers strewn about on Linebeck's desk were sketches of Link's robot body, and of a pair of robotic limbs- a left arm and a right leg. Mystery solved, then. Link supposed that it wouldn't have mattered which arm Linebeck lost, since he was ambidextrous- and he immediately felt bad for assuming that losing one arm was better than losing the other in any situation.

He wandered around the dark room, acutely aware of the silence. There were distant footsteps, and that was all Link heard for a while. The footsteps quickened, and then there came distant, panicked screaming. Link's hand shook as the shouting continued for almost a minute, and he stumbled over to the door, hands fumbling. All of a sudden, there came a sharp, high scream, cutting itself off, and then two sets of rapid footsteps echoed down the hall.

Link's hand slid on the doorknob, but he managed to shove the door open just in time to see Ghirahim dashing around the corner.

Moonlight filtered in through the castle windows, lighting Link's way as he shambled down the hall, feeling the carpet beneath his feet, and the soft wind on his wires and tactile sensors.

Around the corner near the hall with Link and his friends' rooms was a long corridor leading to the astronomy tower- it was mostly unused, and Link had only been there a few times. A number of small alcoves lined the walls, but Ghirahim, sprinting out the corridor into the moonlight, looking like nothing but a pure white figure in the moonlight.

Link almost tripped over the carpet and was suddenly aware of a dark stain on the ground in front of one of the alcoves. It shone in the moonlight. Link stumbled over to it, cringing as a musky, metallic stench greeted him as he stopped and stared down at the half-dried blood. It was streaked on the cobblestone floor, leading further into the small alcove. The smell was becoming unbearable, and all of the hope that Link had previously felt was quickly lost to the reek of the blood.

Laying in the alcove was a dead body, slick with blood. For a short moment, a morbid sense of relief swept through Link- the dead person lying in front of him was a woman, so Linebeck must still be alive. And then a feeling of horror replaced that relief the longer he stared at the corpse.

At first, the shadows obscured her face. At best, Link could see the knife, hilt-deep in her throat, and other haphazard stab wounds dotting her chest. She wore the tunic and breeches of a castle guard, wearing leather boots and no gloves. Link's eyes adjusted to the shadow, and he froze up, seeing the pool of black hair under her head.

He didn't know her name, but Link knew that he was staring at the dead body of the woman who'd been practically stalking Linebeck.

Link felt bile rise in his throat, but knew it was nothing but a mental sensation. He staggered away from the foul-smelling corpse, down the hall. That was Linebeck's knife in her neck. He was safe, right? Ghirahim would get to him. Why had he killed her, though?

Link had nearly made it outside, glancing across the roof, seeing a pair of huddled figures near the edge, when a hand planted itself on his uneven shoulder.

Shivering, Link turned, facing a disturbed-looking Midna. He opened his mouth, and his voice was metallic and unfamiliar. "...Midna? Wh-what's going on?"

She stared at him with melancholy eyes. Link could see that hundreds of questions swam around in her mind, but all she could force out was, "Y-you should go back to Linebeck's room. You're not... complete enough." They both flinched as a wail sounded from outside. Link tried to turn, getting a glimpse of two figures, one of the two grasping for the other. There was another agitated shout, and Midna tugged Link out of the doorway. "Go back to Linebeck's room," she growled.

Link waited in Linebeck's room. Sitting in the darkness, then the dim light, then the sunlight as hours passed. He feared what would happen if someone entered the room, coming across Link's half-finished robotic form, so he resigned to laying on the table and covering himself with the tarp.

Curious, Link reached around his neck- he'd felt an odd, very slight pressure there every time he'd woken up. His finger cause on a small switch, which he accidentally flicked. He shut himself off.

He soon learned how to turn himself back on while shut off, and then spent the next week waking up and falling asleep, waiting for something to happen, waiting for someone to visit him, for Linebeck to return and finish fixing him. In Linebeck's closet, Link found a long cloak, hung up next to a line of dress shirts. He took it down and wrapped himself in it, meaning to hide his revealed wires and circuitry.

Not long after Link wrapped himself in the cloak, the door was gently pushed open. He flinched, tugging the hood over his head. Ghirahim peered in and narrowed his eyes at Link. "...You, uh... Link?"

"Y-yeah. I don't have a face," Link admitted, recalling seeing his own metal, skeletal face, still unnerved by his lack of skin. "So I'm hiding like this. W-where's Linebeck? I've been waiting for him to come back."

Ghirahim's already pale face somehow got paler. "H-he's not w-well. He's been in the medical wing f-for the past few days."

"Was he injured? And why'd he kill that woman? I found her dead body when I heard that screaming a few days ago."

"I-it's really complicated. H-he wants to try and work on you some more, but he's n-not very stable right now."

"He's not?"

Ghirahim gulped. "W-well... he's fully g-got aphem... aphenphosmphobia now. The f-fear of being touched. H-he won't let anyone get near him, a-and he..." He trailed off. "I-I'm going to get Midna."

Link gently pulled the door closed and returned to the table, wrapping the cloak tighter around himself. A small glimmer of relief burned in his mind upon hearing that Linebeck was alive, but he couldn't deny that it was clear that something was wrong.

It didn't take long for Ghirahim to return with Midna. There was still obvious tension between them, but they seemed exhausted. Link loosened the cloak around him, and let the hood fall from his head. "...S-so, what happened?"

Midna, sitting at the desk, gave him a long look, then glanced away. "He brought you back," she murmured. "...Amazing."

"I think he brought me back when he, uh, hooked my organs up to this body." Link smiled, then quickly went back to having a straight face. "I look creepy, don't I."

"It's helped by the fact that you don't have your old voice right now," Ghirahim mumbled. "Linebeck said that if he brought you back, he would wait until he reconstructed your face before giving you the right voice."

"Sounds like a good idea," Link weakly responded. "F-for when he... gets better. He will get better, right?"

"He should get physically better," Ghirahim sighed. "But he n-not very stable. I... They've got him alone in part of the medical wing, and the workers have been needed me to help take care of him... His paranoia and fear of being touched is making it hard to them to help him, not to mention that the castle guards don't know what happened, so they just think he got tired and killed her."

"Why did he kill her?" Link asked, hugging his knees to his chest. "I had heard screaming that night... she didn't seem to be injured aside from the stab marks."

"She was barely injured at all," Midna sighed. "All of the stabs were from the front... she had no bruises or scrapes, nothing to imply that she'd been jumped or had been defending herself before her death. She was the one who attacked him; Linebeck was only defending himself."

"So, it's self-defense. Everything can be cleared up."

"It's not that simple," Ghirahim muttered. "It's a lot messier than that. Yes, she attacked him, we've told people that. But there's no motive we can come up with, and if we give them the true story, people aren't going to believe us. They're just going to think that we're trying to fabricate a scandal to justify Linebeck killing her, even if his bruises are evidence that-" Ghirahim cut himself off, looking sick.

"We saw this coming," Midna hoarsely whispered. "Despite everything, I'd hoped that his new condition would make her leave him alone."

"What happened?" Link quietly asked, his voice low and cautious. He already had a creeping suspicious of what had happened, but a part of him still desperately wanted to hear otherwise.

"She attacked him," Midna snapped, her voice laden with more misery than anger. "She tracked him down and attempted to assault him. Linebeck was almost r-" As Ghirahim had, Midna cut herself off, letting out a strangled whine. "...A-and he killed her. He defended himself, and now half the castle wants him convicted for rightfully defending himself, and no one believes the real story. They'd seen him act harsh and rude to everyone he knew and decided that he'd be willing to kill someone that bothered him."

"He isn't coherent enough to argue otherwise," Ghirahim mumbled. "He's... mixed-up. That night was a blur for him. He doesn't remember it in detail, which is for the best, but he's unsure whether or not she's dead. All he knows about that night is that he can trust me."

"I saw you going out to the roof near the astronomy tower," Link quickly breathed. "Why were you out there?"

"Because Linebeck was out there," Ghirahim rasped. "I had to get him away from the edge. Thankfully, he trusted me enough to give me a chance to get him away from the edge, b-but he didn't let me touch him. I had to hold onto his sleeves to keep him close... He'd probably be dead if I hadn't been patrolling this part of the castle that night."

Link slid off the table, standing stiffly in front of it, staring at the carpet, the woolen patterns swimming in front of his eyes. "I-I want to see him," he croaked. "I want him to know that h-he brought me back."

Ghirahim and Midna exchanged a look, and when Midna peered back at Link, there was pain in her eyes. "I think he'd want to see you," she admitted. "I haven't been able to see him too much, though. He's... he seems to be afraid of women now, so he won't let me get too close. He trusts me more than women in the knights or among the scientists, though."

"O-oh..." Link grimaced. "Y-you three... you guys had a falling out while I was gone, didn't you? I could hear you guys arguing before I properly woke up. It... sounds like things are at least a little better between you now."

"Yes, well... things are going to be difficult now, though." Midna sighed. "But all we can do right now is try and support him. Poor guy... he's been through so much, and there's not much we can do to help him directly."

"You said he can't remember exactly what happened," Link mused, branching off from the initial conversation. "But he's got Bellum with him. Can't he just ask Bellum what happened? That AI should have access to all his memories, right?"

"I've recommended the idea," Ghirahim sighed. "But he's still too shaken to try it out."

Link frowned. "How do you think he'll feel if he finds out that he managed to bring me back? He talked to me while working on me. He really wanted to succeed, especially since you three had some kind of, uh, disagreement."

Midna groaned. "And I still feel bad about that... I was my fault, really. I... yelled at Linebeck and Ghirahim for not trying to save Link. Zelda actually didn't contact us for a few days after, and that made me angrier. She sent me to help with the Yiga, but Ghirahim asked to be put in to watch the Sheikah- we all practically split up, leaving Linebeck to work alone in his. The other engineers ignored him. They gave up the moment they heard what happened- they thought it was delusional of Linebeck to try and bring you back."

"Yeah." Ghirahim kicked at the rug. "They brought materials he asked for but brought snide comments and mockery along with them. I'm not surprised that Linebeck all but became a shut-in. They tried to break his Rubik's cube at one point," he mused, jabbing a finger at the scuffed item, sitting on the bedside table. "I don't think they know how much he likes that thing. Either way, I heard that it got a bit nasty."

"But can I see him?" Link asked, leaning forward, hiding his irritation. "We can sit around and discuss how screwed up this situation is, or we can check up on him and let him know that he did something right."

"We'll see if he's well enough for it," Ghirahim snapped. "Until then, we should try and check to see if you can still use the Master Sword or if you still have the Triforce of courage."

"O-oh, yeah, that's important."

"He's been keeping the sword... somewhere in here," Midna mused. "Linebeck promised that he had a good hiding spot for it, and then didn't tell us what that spot was, I doubt he's trusting enough to let us know."

"I could ask Bellum," Link decided.

"None of us can see him," Ghirahim sighed. "I can sense him, but that's not enough to-"

"I can hear him now," Link protested. "I bet I can see him, too. I'm a robot now. I'm sure Linebeck gave me eyes and ears that make it so that I can see Bellum too. I could ask him some questions if Linebeck will let me. I can ask where the sword is."

"It wouldn't hurt for us to get a clear answer for everything." Midna tilted her head to the side. "Ghirahim, you can go and ask Linebeck if he'll let Link visit him- tack on the suggestion to finish him up, too. He's a bit creepy looking without any skin. Link, I'll gladly take you to meet Ganondorf again. We can test whether or not you still have the Triforce that way."

Link remained wrapped in the ill-fitting cloak as Midna led him through the passageway into the Yiga hideout. She was silent, so Link was free to let his mind wander.

"How's Ganondorf doing?" Link quietly asked as they emerged into the main room of the hideout, adorned with Yiga banners and posters of maps and Hyrulian life. "Does he, uh, know that I died?"

"Everyone knows that you died, but not everyone knows that you've been brought back. Until Linebeck gets you fully fixed up, though, you probably shouldn't show your face for a while."

"I know," Link grumbled. "But I think I look better than those things that Linebeck made for fun when he wasn't in the middle of a big project."

"Well, he's put a lot more time and care into building you. The biggest problem with his usual work isn't the programming or the structure, but how they don't look very nice."

They met with Ganondorf in the man's private room- it was clear off the bat that Ganondorf was anxious about something. Midna and Link sat at a desk across from Ganondorf, and Link waited until he was asked to remove his hood. The Yiga leader stared at Link's face for a moment, then quietly whispered, "I did not think it was possible to bring back the dead, much less without the aid of magic."

Link looked away. "...Based off what I heard before my body was finished, neither did Linebeck or the others. But he did it anyways."

"I thought that I'd heard that he'd killed someone. What happened?"

Link stared down at his feet, and Midna hesitated. "It's... he wouldn't be happy if I told you. But just know that it was an act of self-defense."

"I won't pry," Ganondorf murmured. "And I'm busy trying to figure out what's the matter with Zelda and, well, everything. Ever since the news that Link was killed got out, things have become eerily calm. But you need to check something, correct? Here." Ganondorf held his right hand out. Link's own left hand glowed slightly, and both of their hands briefly showed their parts of the Triforce. "Amazing," Ganondorf breathed. "He was able to transfer ownership of the Triforce as well. Can he still wield the Master Sword?"

"We're looking for the sword actually," Midna admitted. "We gave it to Linebeck for safe-keeping, and then he hid it somewhere that we don't know of. Ghirahim should be asking him now. And... yes, Zelda's been acting strangely." She glanced briefly at Link. "She's listless and... cold. On the other hand, there have been less monsters."

"Linebeck wants to see you," was the first thing Ghirahim said to Link when they returned. He then turned to Midna and, in a hushed tone, said, "He's been keeping the sword in a thin compartment built into the side of his wardrobe; you should be able to get it out from the back." Midna nodded and left the two of them standing in the castle hallway.

"How's Linebeck?"

"Better, now that he knows you're alive," Ghirahim sighed. "I think he's remembering that night a bit more, though. Won't let anyone touch him, and he panics if someone does actually make contact with him. But he does want to see you. He even had me bring a bunch of his supplies down to the medical wing so that he could work on you to some extent-"

"H-he finished his prosthetics, right?" Link blurted. "I, uh, heard that he was working on some, and I suspected that he'd finished them..."

"He did finish them," Ghirahim brightly responded. "He can move and feel with them perfectly, too, and managed to make it so that it's impossible for anyone but him to take them off. They're pretty skeletal-looking; they actually look half-finished, but Linebeck says that he's finished with them- his prosthetic fingers even have small tools on them, he's really making the best of this whole situation."

"Oh, that's good!"

"He's well enough to make stupid jokes, too. While he was talking about the prosthetics, he made a joke about having engraved a smiling face on his kneecap- it was a lie, but he had me fooled until he actually showed me."

"Yeah, I, uh, guess that joking around might be a good sign."

The medical wing was dead silent and just about completely empty. Ghirahim quietly explained that Linebeck was at the end of the wing and led Link past the rows of beds. At the end of the line of beds, Linebeck sat upright in his own bed, blankets wrapped around his shoulders. He seemed to be reading a book that was laying open in front of him. It wasn't until Ghirahim loudly cleared his throat that Linebeck noticed the two of them. "H-hey, Ghirahim. Wh-who do you have with you?" He tugged his blankets tighter around himself. "That's my cloak, I think."

"It is," Ghirahim replied.

Linebeck silently regarded Link for a moment longer, then handed Ghirahim a small slip of paper. Ghirahim carefully took it without making any contact with Linebeck's fingers. He unfolded it and gave a short laugh. "Very funny. How are you, by the way? I brought Link."

Linebeck's eyes clouded with confusion. "Link. Link? He's wearing my cloak? Of course, who else... Let me get my tools."

While Linebeck reached under his bed and withdrew a few boxes, Link elbowed Ghirahim and whispered, "What was on that note?"

"None of your business, just a note in that code we made a few years ago."

"You guys started using it?"

"We've started needing to keep more secrets from people around the castle, so it's been very useful. Take off your cloak in a second, so Linebeck can work on you."

Link nodded, and silently watched Linebeck sort his tools and materials on the bed. "...I haven't slept in a while," he loudly mused, hesitating over a box of synthetic cloth. "Bellum says that I might remember things I don't want to when I go to sleep. Does Link know about the incident?"

"It wasn't your fault," Ghirahim softly replied.

"Okay. Have Link take my cloak off. I don't want him touching my stuff." Linebeck moved to roll up his sleeves but halted and instead set his hands on the bed. His left hand, the prosthetic, was bronze-colored and skeletal.

Link shrugged the cloak off. Linebeck stared wordlessly at him- he even looked unimpressed. He then turned to Ghirahim. "You said I managed to bring him back?"

"Y-you did," Link replied, his voice unsteady. He froze up while Linebeck turned his cold gaze back on to him. "I've been awake for a few months now... I heard about what happened and how you guys had a bit of a falling out and about how you talked to me while you worked."

Linebeck blinked. "So you were brought back when I attached your remaining organs."

"I think. I still have the Triforce of courage."

"That's good," Linebeck mused. "Move around and stretch and all that shit. I need to see how your machinery moves around before I cover you with skin."

Link nodded stiffly, doing as he said. He felt a distant soreness in his limbs, but it never intensified. He rolled his shoulders and bent over with his palms on the ground and moved his jaw side-to-side. The only time he faltered for longer than a few seconds was when he saw a vaguely monstrous figure flicker into existence by Linebeck. When it started quietly speaking was when Link realized that that was what Bellum looked like- some kind of... thing with five tentacles and an eye in a sharp-toothed mouth.

Just like the actual demon, then. Link had seen the drawings, and he didn't think that Linebeck would model his AI to look exactly like it, but that was none of Link's business. He stretched and did short exercises until Linebeck told him to stop.

A cold dread wormed its way into Link's metal stomach as Linebeck ordered him to sit in front of him so that he could sew synthetic skin onto his face. He said nothing and kept stiller than a statue, but that cold dread only spread as he was allowed time to study Linebeck's movements and his vacant eyes.

The engineer's formerly precise, calculated hand movements were now shaky and uncertain, and he hesitated more than once while securing a square of skin below Link's left eye. He flinched away if he made prolonged contact with Link. Out of morbid, almost cruel curiosity, Link reached out and gripped Linebeck's wrist. Linebeck's eyes immediately dilated, and his breathing became shallow and ragged. He trembled and tensed up, eyes locking on Link's face until Link carefully let go.

"I'm sorry," Link quickly whispered, predicting a stream of expletives aimed his way. "I just... I'm sorry."

"Do you want me to finish you or not?" Linebeck harshly asked, his words clipped and unsteady. "Don't touch me."

Of the others, Link wasn't even the most trusted. Ghirahim was the only one who he regularly hugged or trusted, while Midna was just a little bit lower than that, while Linebeck didn't even let Link into his room.

But Linebeck did kiss him on the cheek that day in the desert. And Link was disproportionally proud of that. He doubted that would ever happen again.

Link flinched as Linebeck began wrapping synthetic skin in and around his ears. "Has Zelda come to visit you at all?"

"No. I heard that she's been acting strange. Besides, I'm sure she's busy making a case against me to punish me for murder."

"I told her it's self-defense," Midna called, surprising everyone. She was standing a few beds away, carrying the sheathed Master Sword. "But I'll probably need to reach out to everyone related to keep you out of trouble."

Linebeck flinched away when Midna neared the bed. Midna hesitated, then passed the sword over to Ghirahim. "...We need to test if Link can still use the sword," she mused. "I can't use it." She held up her hand, showing a burn in the same pattern as the Master Sword's grip. "It did this, plus it was too heavy for me to lift it." She let out a short laugh. "Good thing that you're allowed to carry it while it's in its scabbard."

"Stupid magical rules," Ghirahim growled, passing the sword over to Link. Linebeck scooted back while Link ran his hands over the scabbard. "Whatever. Try it out."

"Well, I've still got the Triforce of courage..." Link experimentally wrapped his hand around the sword's grip, and carefully slid it from its scabbard with ease. "That's good," he muttered, and slid the sword back into place, setting it aside.

"Yes, well, now that that's out of the way, I need to finish what I'm working on," Linebeck snapped. He snatched up another square of synthetic skin and waved Ghirahim and Midna away. "Leave. I'm not even done with his face yet."

Link silently paced around his room. How long had it been since he'd last been there? He left the Master Sword on his bed and immediately went for the mirror. Linebeck had finished- he'd covered all of Link's body with the synthetic skin, so, as Link peered at himself in the mirror, he could almost forget that he was a robot. Linebeck had even created synthetic hair, giving Link the exact same hair that he did while he was still human. His eyes were the same shade of blue, his hair the same dirty blond, but it was all fake. Linebeck had adjusted his voice box so carefully that he managed to perfectly replicate his prior voice, with Link's help.

The idea for the next few days was that Link would hide away while new clothes were designed for him, and while the others resolved the legal scene. In the night, a box was left outside his door with a green tunic and trousers, no different than his clothing before.

Link admired his new clothes in his mirror, and the next morning greeted him with a box of more clothes, and he spent his time sorting and putting them away in his wardrobe. He had no real need for sleep, but after staying awake for three straight days, Link shut down. When he next woke, he was delirious with happiness that sleep recharged whatever it was that powered him. Linebeck's sketches implied that the power source was a modified, improved version of the usual Sheikah crystals- one of his bigger projects.

However, the crystal that was powering Link seemed to be especially effective if it could be recharged with nothing but inactivity. There seemed to be an upper limit to the charging, though- Link left himself shut off for a week, then could still only stay up for roughly three days. At least an increased or decreased amount of activity didn't change that three-day limit.

Once happy with what he'd learned about himself, Link donned the green tunic and secured the Master Sword onto his back and left his room. He knew that Linebeck was still in the medical wing, recovering from wounds that weren't just physical. Ghirahim had shifted his focus to trying to investigate what caused the sudden slow in monster appearances. Midna visited Link the most, as she kept close to the castle, deciding to investigate Zelda and her altered behavior.

Almost immediately, he ran into a distressed Midna. She was disheveled, her eyes wild. She practically crashed into Link outside the library, and gripped him by the shoulders, staring into his eyes. "Something is very wrong with Zelda. Something very, very, very wrong."

"What do you mean-"

Midna didn't give him time to get an answer; she grabbed onto his sleeve and dragged him down the hallway with her, not giving him the option not to follow her. "Linebeck's doing better," she briskly began. "And Ghirahim's willing to meet with us. We need to talk in the astronomy tower- no one ever goes up there, so we'll be safe and private. We can't let any of the Sheikah follow us. Hell, we can't trust the Sheikah period."

"What's going on?" Link hissed between his teeth, catching up with and walking adjacent to Midna. "I haven't seen any of you in a week, it's been about four months since I've done much of... anything."

"Something went wrong soon after you died," Midna growled. "The three of us didn't notice for simple reasons- Linebeck became extremely reclusive while he worked on you, and Ghirahim and I were ordered to keep moving between missions and assignments. We're the only ones who could've questioned what she was doing with the Sheikah, and she's kept us busy with wild goose chases. They've started researching something, and Zelda's setting up for some kind of ritual. I asked her about it- she said that it would help locate the shadow and eradicate it, but I've found no evidence to back that up. Something's wrong. Zelda's not herself..." Midna trailed away, and her eyes glistened. "I don't think she's herself. We can't trust her anymore."

As the grip on his sleeve was removed, Link silently slid his hand into Midna's, intertwining their fingers. The rest of the hurried walk through the castle halls was forlornly silent.

All it took was two questions asked to a lone knight, and Link and Midna learned that Ghirahim was down in the training grounds. They knew that Linebeck was still more-or-less confined to the medical wing, so they decided to collect him last.

Ghirahim was furiously tearing into what looked to be the latest of a long line of training dummies, and his current subject looked very close to joining the rest of its ruined comrades. Ghirahim's cloak was folded up on a bench off to the side, abandoned as Ghirahim sliced up the training dummy with both his sword and his magic. Barely a moment after Midna and Link enter the training grounds, Ghirahim paused what he was doing, turning to peer at him, barely even panting. "You need me?"

"Gather your stuff up," Midna tersely replied. "Come with us. We need to talk."

Ghirahim nodded shortly and quickly packed up, the ease with which he agreed surprising Link. He'd been expecting a short argument, but it seemed that Ghirahim was expecting the conversation. Link gave the demon a smile, getting the same expression in reply. After hardly a minute, the three of them set back off through the castle.

In the medical wing, Linebeck was tinkering with a small box. He didn't notice the three of them at first, focusing on his little project and the books that were laid open on the blankets. He flinched when Midna snapped her fingers to get his attention. "Wh-what?" he asked, venom hiding the quaver in his voice.

"Are you well enough to come with us to have a talk? You're not in trouble, and it's nothing that you should really feel too anxious about." Midna paused. "Well. It's about Hyrule's fate and all that, but... you get the point."

Linebeck stared blankly at Midna. Then, he gently set his tools down and shut the two books, and reached back, pulling his new coat over his shoulders. Link blinked, quietly happy that he'd finally get to see it, and was pleased to see that it fit perfectly alongside Linebeck's scarf and vest. On the other hand, the addition of a sleek black glove over his prosthetic hand made Link wince. He could get glimpses of the prosthetic leg, but, of course, it was always covered by pants and a shoe.

Without another word, Linebeck joined the others, Bellum silently hovering above his shoulder. His gait was unsteady- like he had either not walked in a while, or he was still not quite used to his prosthetic leg.

Not a single word was spoken on their way to the astronomy tower, and a feeling of unease leaked into Link's thoughts as they began to skirt around any Sheikah they came across- avoiding detection to the best of their abilities. Thankfully, almost no one ever ventured up to the floor where both the groups' rooms and the astronomy tower were placed.

Heavy clouds hid the sun while they walked out to the astronomy tower. Link peered nervously up at the dark sky. "Looks like it'll rain soon. Will that mess with your prosthetic?"

"It's, erm, aluminum, wrapped in rubber, then painted fiberglass. It's not made of any bronze, just the wires. The non-Sheikah parts of you are made of the same stuff. I don't think it's the most effective way to make it not conduct electricity, but it works."

The four of them climbed up to the small room at the top of the astronomy tower, and Linebeck checked it for recording devices of all kinds until he let them know that they were perfectly alone.

"What did you want to talk about?" asked Ghirahim, shutting the stairwell door. "Is it about Zelda? She has been acting odd recently."

"Yeah, and so have the Sheikah," Midna mumbled. "I feel like we need to start preparing for the worst. Something's happened to Zelda, and now she's got the Sheikah working on something suspicious."

Linebeck's eyes were wide with fear. "You think they might be trying to destroy Hyrule now? I-if that's the case, shouldn't we tell Ganondorf?"

"We will," Midna reassured him. "In a bit. He's busy right now. But let me just talk about what I've heard. Zelda's been acting strange, not wanting to talk to us much- she didn't even care that much when I told her that Link was brought back. The Sheikah have been busy on secret projects and all, and the guards have been stationed outside their doors. They're working on something top-secret."

"Maybe the shadow got to her," Link mused aloud.

The air between the four of them seemed to freeze. The four of them exchanged horrified looks, Midna looking the most upset. Link would've regretted voicing the theory if it weren't so terrifyingly possible. Link shifted from foot to foot, peering down at the floor. "I-I'm sorry for suggesting that."

"No," Midna grumbled. "You might be right. I'll keep an eye on her... but if that's the case, then the shadow's taken over the Sheikah, too. Those guys are loyal to a fault. No matter what, we should prepare for the worst, now."

"What's the worst?" Ghirahim tersely asked. "I mean, possessing Zelda and taking control of the Sheikah is pretty damn bad."

"How about the end of the world?" mused Linebeck. "I feel like it wouldn't hurt to make... something that can make it so that only we can access the Master Sword, should Link need to get rid of it. Or something to at least make sure we can survive stuff. I think we've got time to do that if we can get help from some Yiga."

"Wouldn't hurt to prepare for the end of the world," Link rasped. "But what about the, uh... legal stuff?"

Linebeck shot Link a withering glare, while Ghirahim and Midna both shifted. "We'll talk about that after this," Midna decided. "Do we have more to discuss on this topic?"

An uncomfortable silence was her only response, and the four of them exited the astronomy tower, and walked through the rain back into the castle.

They met in Linebeck's room- Link was kept outside to act as a guard. Inside the room, they discussed possible courses of action as Linebeck grew more and more agitated and distressed until they brought Link back into the room.

Linebeck sat on his bed, wrapped in his blankets and pressed up against the wall. "If they want to arrest me or something, then they're idiots. It was self-defense and locking me away is a waste of all my skill."

"Maybe that's what they want," Ghirahim hissed. "After all, if the shadow is in charge, then it would be in its best interest to get rid of us. Hell, we might as well just ditch the castle if this is what we're up against. I'm sure the Yiga would be more welcome at this point."

"Ganondorf believes that Linebeck acted in self-defense- I'm certain he'd let us stay with the Yiga," Link added. He glanced at Midna, expecting her to support his idea, but she only frowned.

"...If we abandon Zelda for the Yiga, then the people might get worried. We're still their heroes, remember?" Midna scowled to herself, tapping at the desk near her. "The best we can do it try and work against Zelda without her knowing. Here's a possible plan: Link, you can't help us with this. You're the hero, the one with the Master Sword, yadda yadda. If you dip under the radar, people will panic and Zelda and the Sheikah will know that something's wrong. Ghirahim and I have more wiggle room, Ghirahim more so than me. I'm the Twili ambassador at this point, royalty on par with Zelda. I can disappear at times, but not for long.

"Ghirahim, you might as well spend every other week doing anything you can to get Hyrule out of this mess, killing monsters or at the very least inspecting the Sheikah and Zelda if you can. Linebeck is the freest of us all, I should hope. Things around you are obviously very messy, and if push comes to shove, I think it would be the least shocking to the people if you seek asylum among the Yiga. Zelda cares about you to the least, now- I asked her. She barely seemed to give a shit when I told her what happened. You can be our last chance; try and work on something that will save us even if everything goes to hell."

"Lucky for you, I've already got some ideas down that vein," Linebeck muttered. "I can get started right away, but I'll definitely need a lot of help, since all of my ideas are pretty big."

"What's your first idea?" Link asked.

"Somewhere to hide the Master Sword," Linebeck sighed. "Somewhere to keep it safe in case you need to get rid of it, and somewhere only the four of us can access."

"Why would I ever get rid of the Master Sword?"

"What if there comes a time when you're incapacitated, and the Master Sword needs to be kept safe until you return? You're a robot now- You effectively can't be destroyed, so you can't be killed if you're incapacitated, but what about the Master Sword? It can be stolen by anyone with bad intent, and for it to be truly safe, it'll need to be kept in a secure area. The Lost Woods and Temple of Time can't be used, since those are well-known Master Sword locations. As Midna said, we need to be prepared for the worst, and the worst would be a mixture of your being incapacitated and the Master Sword being stolen. On the other hand, you're the only one who won't die of old age anymore, so I'm planning to make some kind of... stasis thing. The Sheikah have a prototype of one- I'll steal their blueprints if needed."

"You're planning for the end of the world, huh?" Ghirahim gave Linebeck a small smile. "Not a bad idea. We should get started... I've got a chore in a bit, anyways."

"I'll leave and tell Ganondorf about our plans," Link offered.

"I'll come with you," Linebeck rasped. "I need to recruit some Yiga to help me." He pushed himself off his bed, motioning for Link to follow him out of the room. "You two do whatever, just don't cause problems for me."

All the way to the monorail stations, across Hyrule Field, and into the Yiga hideout, people stared at Link and Linebeck. Initially Link, assumed it was because people were surprised that their hero was now a robot, but he quickly remembered how realistic he looked, and that Linebeck was on the cusp of being convicted of murder. Thankfully, though, once they were among the Yiga, the suspicious glares stopped. It was difficult to tell if the news from the castle had been relayed to the Yiga ever since Zelda changed, but at least Ganondorf knew.

They practically made a beeline for the Yiga leader, asking the black-scarfed generals about his whereabouts, and finding him in the Yiga lab. Linebeck approached the Gerudo man without a moment of hesitation and cleared his throat to get his attention. "I need to talk with you, Ganondorf."

The man blinked, then smiled slightly. "...Sure. Good to see that you're well enough to be up and about. No need to explain the situation with Zelda, Midna went ahead and sent a messenger just before you got here-"

"Cut the crap. I need to get started on some pretty big projects, just in case shit hits the fan. I don't have time for pleasantries or anything. Link's here because-" Linebeck cut himself off, grimacing and clutching at his left arm. "W-well, it doesn't matter. I need to get started on this stuff, and I'll need as many Yiga scientists as you can spare."

Ganondorf shot a surprisingly nervous look at Link, who shrugged. "For the sake of Hyrule, it's a good idea if you go along with his ideas. Even if he is a bit rude."

Still grabbing at his left arm, Linebeck shot Link a nasty glare. "Fine. You can leave if you want. I don't want you around anyways, if you're going to be grabbing at me and shit."

Link opened his mouth to shoot back with a scathing reply, but Ganondorf spoke before he had a chance. "I can tell things are... tense between you two. Link, I'm sure you're needed at the castle. Linebeck, I'll allow you to enlist a few of our engineers and scientists. Are... you hurt?"

"Phantom pains. None of your business. I'll get started right away. Where can I work? Where can I stay? It's a bad idea for me to go back to the castle, so I'm sticking around here."

The next few weeks passed peacefully to anyone living withing Hyrule's cities and settlements, save for the news that Linebeck had disappeared from the castle. Zelda seemed furious, be she made no move to confront Link, Midna, or Ghirahim about it. The Sheikah, however, did question them a number of times. Every time they tried to get answers from Ghirahim, he challenged them to a duel, promising answers if they beat him.

The Sheikah had stopped bothering Ghirahim after he beat one of their most skilled leaders senseless. Once they left him alone, Ghirahim split his time between spying on the Sheikah and visiting the Yiga to check on Linebeck's progress.

Midna spent a lot of her time dodging around and handling her duties from the Twili realm. She accompanied Link on most of his missions but seemed distracted each time. It got to the point where her thoughtlessness started hindering Link's progress, and he gently told her that he'd be fine if she went back to the castle.

"N-no, I'll stick with you-"

"You're hurt," Link protested. "Besides, it's not hard to tell that the whole mess with Zelda has you miserable. You should go back to the castle, or even take some time off in the Twilight Realm. Get some rest. Please." Midna began to respond, but Link cut her off, gently murmuring, "I'm serious. I have no idea how much this is hurting you, but it's clear that it hurts. I can't imagine what it's like, to have someone that you love act like a stranger. We're all still recovering from so many things, and the rest of you need some kind of rest. Please. I can handle this on my own. It's simple- I just need to get rid of one more monster camp."

Midna sighed heavily, and slowly nodded.

Upon returning to the castle, Link dropped off his equipment in his room and found Ghirahim down in the library. "Spying on some Sheikah?" Link quietly asked. "This top floor of the library is pretty good for that."

Ghirahim handed Link a small square of paper.

Link frowned, unfolded it, and briefly smiled upon recognizing their old code. His smile faded once he read it. "I need to leave?"

"Just for a little bit," Ghirahim hissed. "So Linebeck can finish what he wants to do with you. Besides, Midna and I need to do a bit of extra snooping, and having you briefly dip under the radar should have the Sheikah on a wild goose chase."

"Fine," grumbled Link, shoving the note into his pocket.

"Linebeck's staying in a room by the Yiga labs. Even some of the Yiga themselves don't know where he's staying... seriously, be careful. The Sheikah have been turning all of the Yiga away whenever they get close to the castle."

Ganondorf personally led Link through the Yiga headquarters, and it wasn't hard to tell that something had the man on edge.

"Have the Sheikah been... too rude?" Link asked, wringing his hands. The simple fact that they were avoiding most of the other Yiga had him nervous as well. "Things seem tense."

"We... need your help. I-I'll give you more details once you're done with Linebeck."

"Trouble with the Sheikah?"

Ganondorf stopped in the middle of the hall and sighed. "Zelda's cut us off. We're getting less jobs and less supplies from Hyrule City. Not to mention, the Sheikah have been treating us like we're suspicious. I'm worried that they might be trying to pin some kind of crime on us and get the rest of Hyrule to turn on us. I can't say anything against it, either, since Zelda has more support than us Yiga, and with our messy history... All we can do right now is lie low. I was hoping that you could try and convince some of the other Hyrulean towns to continue supporting us."

Link frowned. "Sure, I'll help."

Linebeck's room was at the end of the hall that they stopped at. They knocked on the door and waited almost a minute before the engineer opened the door, peering at the two of them with eyes that made his sleep deprivation obvious. "Oh, good," he rasped. "This should be quick. You can leave, Ganondorf."

The Yiga leader simply nodded, leaving as Link stiffly entered Linebeck's room. He was mildly surprised to find that Linebeck had somehow managed to gather most of his belongings from the castle without being seen at some point. Link sat at the familiar desk, but Linebeck shook his head. "On the table. On your stomach. I'm going to inscribe a message on you back."

"...Why?"

Linebeck shrugged. "Just in case. As a way to... Listen, I have my own reasons."

"He's sentimental," Bellum drawled. "Go along with it. I understand why he's doing it, and it is hard to express through words."

"Fine. I assume you need my shirt to be off?" Without waiting for an answer, Link tugged his tunic off and lay on the table.

"I'm going to write two different messages," Linebeck sighed. "In the Sheikah language. One that can be read easily, and the other that requires more scrutiny. You remember telling me about how the Sheikah language allows that stuff?"

"...Yeah. It was soon after we met."

"This won't take long. When we're done, I actually want to head back to the castle and pick some stuff up, if you want to help me out with that."

"I can do that."

"Shut yourself off. This might actually hurt you."

Link and Linebeck snuck into the castle through the docks. Link ran ahead with Bellum following, checking for Sheikah. A few times, Link had to convince a member of the castle staff to leave the halls in order to help Linebeck get to his room without confrontation.

Once they reached the usual hall with their rooms, they paused right in front of Linebeck's room. From the sound of it, someone was rummaging around in Linebeck's room. Link stiffened while Linebeck seemed more than ready to run. The door swung open, and they found themselves face with an anxious-looking Ghirahim. "Oh, good. We were about to go looking for you two. Come in."

The two of them shuffled in and were met with the sigh of an equally anxious-looking Midna. She ran her hands through her hair, giving Ghirahim a slight nod as he shut the door. "...Linebeck, how goes the progress on your projects?"

"Pretty good, Bellum was able to help me finish the blueprints today, so construction is beginning."

"Which project is this?"

"Both, but we've placed priority on protecting the Master Sword-"

"Shift your focus to perfecting the stasis machine," Midna coldly interrupted. "That damned shadow- seems to be pulling out all the stops now." She let out a shaky breath. "She destroyed the Mirror of Twilight. I can't go back home now. Hyrule and the Twilight realm are... you can't travel between them anymore." She listlessly peered around, then brushed her hair out of her face. "...Ghirahim overheard some Sheikah talking about turning Hyrule against the Yiga... and something about a ceremony almost be complete... it's too late. We underestimated how quickly this damned shadow can work."

Link flinched as if he'd been struck. "We're too late?"

Midna nodded, her eyes grave. "We might be. Our best course of action might be perfecting Linebeck's stasis project and trusting the Yiga to do the rest if we cannot. Either way, we should try and stop Zel- the shadow. I hope we could save Zelda."

"How would we do that?"

"I... don't know, Ghirahim. I couldn't find anything on how that would be possible."

The four of them silently stared at each other. Midna then looked over at Linebeck. "You need to head back to the Yiga and tell them what they now need to be working on. Go- the quicker you get there, the better. I brought some rope. Go out the window if you need, find a member of the Yiga to teleport you there." She held up the mentioned rope, getting an incredulous look from Linebeck.

A abrupt knock at the door made Linebeck's decision fro him; he snatched the rope away from Midna and he and Ghirahim tossed it out the window. It was cloudy out, dark enough that Linebeck could possible sneak out of the castle grounds without being found. A Sheikah guard opened the door just as Linebeck crawled out the window. Midna quickly sat on the bed in front of the rope, and Link managed the briefest glanced out the window before sitting next to her. The lanky engineer was not-so-carefully shimmying down the castle wall, jumping the rest of the way once he was two-thirds of the way down. Link winced, seeing his legs buckle underneath him, but he quickly shoved himself to his feet and began to dash across the garden.

The Sheikah guard gave the three of them an odd look, then stood with her back to the door. "What are you all doing here? I'd heard that Link was supposed to be on a short mission."

"I got back early," Link quickly explained. "What do you need from us?"

"Zelda wanted me to let you know that the ceremony is almost ready."

"The... ceremony?" Midna raised her eyebrows, leaning forward a bit. "We haven't heard about this before."

The Sheikah guard blinked. "Y-you haven't? Zelda said- you should go and talk with her, then! She said that you already knew about it."

"Then she's been lying," Ghirahim growled. "Where is she?"

"I-In her study, down by the library. By the by... have you three heard any news about Linebeck's whereabouts? Zelda is furious about his disappearance, and I thought you guys would know where he is, being his friends and all. We've still got to deal with the fact that he killed someone."

"It was self-defense," Link sighed. "Is Zelda free to see us now? We'll head down to her study right away."

"Good. I hope things turn out alright, even if your friend's missing, now."

Zelda's study was a small room, hidden behind a bookshelf in the library. She stared at Link then longest before sighing. "You three haven't been able to locate Lancrester?"

Link blinked, hesitating. "O-oh, you mean Linebeck. You can use his first name. And, no, there's been no news. What about this ceremony, though?"

"We haven't heard of that yet," Midna added. "And... Why did you shatter the Mirror of Twilight? That was an incredibly valuable and important tool, currently the only way to get to and from the Twilight realm... It was downright irresponsible and disrespectful of you to destroy it without consulting me!"

"It was necessary," Zelda coldly responded. She turned away and looked over at Ghirahim. "Demon. I want you to begin investigating the Yiga. They've attacked a few of my Sheikah recently, and I fear they may be returning to their old ways. And Link. I need you to help me find the Triforce of wisdom. I... know that I used to wield it, but... It's gone missing. Someone stole it from me in the dead of night a few weeks ago. I need it for the upcoming ceremony to seal away all of the evil in Hyrule."

"That's what the ceremony's for?"

"Yes, Link, I thought you all knew of this. I need you to stick around the castle for a few days. I may need you for the ceremony. I'll explain once Midna and the demon have left."

Link drew in a weak breath, hearing his friends trudge away. They left, leaving him to stare at the face of the woman whose consciousness no longer inhabited her body. The shadow was a good actor, but it clearly didn't have all of Zelda's memories and didn't care to perfectly copy her personality. The door shut. "The Master Sword is needed for the ceremony."

"...Why?"

"The ceremony draws from its immense sealing power in order to seal all evil in the land. It can be done without the sword, but, of course, it's more dangerous that way."

"I'll consider it," Link gruffly responded. "I'm a bit worried about finding Linebeck."

"Why? He's hardly been kind to you. He might be dead for all you know. Besides, you report to me, to the crown, before all else. You're helping with the ceremony."

"You've never been this harsh before, Zelda," Link mumbled, allowing a concerned tone to creep into his voice. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine. Leave. I'll see you in a week."

Within a week, everything managed to fall apart once again.

On the first day, Zelda and the Sheikah officially waged war on the Yiga, pinning the accidental guardian malfunction on Yiga interference.

On the second day, Ghirahim withdrew from the castle, refusing to help the Sheikah, instead helping the Yiga relocate and hide.

On the third day, Ganondorf was murdered. The only hope borne from his death was the promise that he'd hidden away his Triforce of power, and that his son would be able to lead the Yiga in his stead once old enough.

On the fourth day, Midna left the castle. She had an argument with Zelda, dangerously close to screaming out that she knew of the shadow and that Zelda was gone, but she stormed off without having given anything away, teary-eyed and heartbroken.

On the fifth day, Linebeck promised that the stasis project was nearly finished- that it was being built on top of the new Yiga hideout. It was well hidden as a decrepit building, a few miles outside the city. With the help of nearly all of the Yiga engineers, progress was fast enough that it would be ready by the end of the week.

At the end of the sixth day, the Yiga began evacuating their hideout. Only a few engineers stayed behind to finish up the stasis project. Link was stuck helping Zelda, but a Yiga soldier managed to sneak into the castle.

"Do you know what this ceremony is?" The Yiga quietly asked, keeping his mask on what he huddled in Link's room. "There is no ceremony to seal all evil in the land- that's simply impossible."

"I think it's something to summon Demise," Link growled. "The reason that Zelda needs the Master Sword is so she can destroy it, I bet."

The Yiga shook his head. "No. Zelda needs the Master Sword because a successful ceremony requires the sacrifice of the hero, alongside the power of the full Triforce. The hero must be in possession of the Master Sword for it to work, but Zelda doesn't have the full Triforce. As it is now, the only thing that the ceremony will do is destroy half of Hyrule. Zelda could destroy half of Hyrule, then use the lack of people and heroes to search for a new hero and the full Triforce. She's no longer going to try to summon Demise; she's going to remove most roadblocks and make the second attempt successful."

"Then you should get out of here," Link shouted, springing to his feet. "Leave! Escape! Where are my friends? I heard they're helping out with putting the final touches on the stasis machine. We can escape with you-"

The Yiga, opening up the window, shook his head. "You four won't be able to escape. You will be caught in the blast- Zelda's performing the ceremony early tomorrow morning and is being strict with who leaves the city. We Yiga can hold on to the Master Sword for you if you fall. We'll complete the facility to protect it. Your friends are on the way here- they don't know what's going on. You four only have a few hours- you need to escape the city with them and make it to the stasis facility. Please. For the sake of Hyrule."

Link exited the castle out the window alongside the Yiga. The two of them escaped the castle grounds, and the Yiga quietly let him know that his friends were waiting for him on the bridge over Lake Hylia, in the southern district of the city.

On the way to the bridge, the streets were eerily silent in the dim light of early morning. None of the monorails were running, and not a single building had its lights on.

Link ran as fast as his legs would take him, and nearly stumbled and fell once he finally stopped, falling into a brisk jog once he reached the bridge. His heart seemed to skip a beat as he counted four people on the bridge, and he reached up for his sword when he caught a glimpse of golden hair.

"...Zelda," he simply said once he was close enough. Midna and Ghirahim both had their own weapons out, pointed at Zelda, while Linebeck glared at her from behind the two of them.

Zelda lethargically glanced back at Link, then back at his friends. "It seems you three may have known where Linebeck was all along. I suppose it doesn't matter whether or not you knew and were lying. You four will come with me to help with the ceremony- you want to help Hyrule, don't you?"

Link set his jaw. "You clearly think we're idiots."

Zelda whipped around, scowling at Link. "It's an easy assumption to make. You're the only one I need, so I don't care what happens to your friends. It's for the good of-"

"Cut the shit," Link snarled, carefully sliding his sword a few inches out of its scabbard. "We know that the ceremony's bullshit- you're just trying to destroy Hyrule now that you can't reach the Triforce parts."

Zelda narrowed her eyes. "Very well, then. You're clearly more of a problem than I thought."

A breath caught in Link's chest, watching Zelda raise her hands, and he relased his sword and dashed past her. Grabbing into Ghirahim's wrists, he hoarsely begged, "Run. We need to go!" The four of them wasted no time in sprinting away from Zelda, hopefully out of the range of her magic.

"What's that spell?" Linebeck rasped, staring back at Zelda, black fog gathering around her hands.

"I've never seen that before," Midna weakly admitted. "But it's bad news."

They hadn't even reached the end of the bridge when Zelda flung the magic at them; it flew too fast for them to outrun and slammed into each of them with the force of a lynel. Link stumbled, collapsing to the ground, and the four of them lay on the ground, groaning for a few moments.

Midna was the first to her feet. "We... need to run... Linebeck! Is the... stasis machine ready?"

Trembling as he allowed Midna to drag him to his feet, Linebeck shrugged. "I-I think. I can't remember too well. But, yeah, we should go there... But Link can't go in it-"

"We can deal with that later," Link shouted, standing back up. "Ghirahim, get up! We need to go."

Zelda- more rather, the shadow- didn't pursue them out of the city. With the streets as empty as they were, it wasn't hard to book it out of the city, but by the time they reached the city edges, Linebeck was lagging behind.

"Keep up!" Link cried. "Hyrule depends on our survival! We can't let ourselves be killed by whatever Zelda unleashes!"

"I'm not a fucking high-end athlete like you bastards!" Linebeck shouted in response. "I was assigned to engineering these past five years!" Still, he got to catching up with them, even if he seemed like he was about to pass out.

They slowly made it into Hyrule field as an hour passed, and knew they still had a few miles to go before they found their chance of survival. They could barely afford to stop, but took a single, tense minute off to let Linebeck check his robotic joints and catch his breath.

All four of them were ready to collapse as they reached the stasis machine: a small, dilapidated-looking metal building, it's door just barely clinging to its hinges. While the others caught their breath, Linebeck staggered over to the building's door and practically wrenched it off its hinges, bluntly gesturing for them to follow him inside.

Once in the shelter of the building, Linebeck choked out, "I think th-that spell, uh, is screwing w-with our memories or s-something. Everything is h-hard to recall, and that's good for some stuff but not a-all of it."

"Definitely," Ghirahim responded, hands to his temples. "But we can deal with that later... whenever that is. How do these... pods work?" He squinted at the three boxes in the middle of the small room, all three of them looking uncomfortably like coffins.

"They activate when you l-lay in them," Linebeck answered. "W-we tested them with some Yiga, and it halted any of their changing- we had a few injured Yiga lay in them for a few days, and their injuries didn't change. It should knock us out almost immediately, and it's solar powered. Seriously, g-getting help from, like, half the Yiga r-really sped up progress."

Linebeck and Ghirahim were fully ready to enter their pods, but Midna hesitated. "We're losing our memories. What's the point if we wake up and don't remember anything?"

"I-I don't know," Link responded. "B-but, still, you guys should take this chance." He drew the Master Sword and held it out, staring at its gleaming blade. "As long as the Yiga can retrieve this sword and hide it away safely, we've still got a chance." Link flipped the sword around in his grip, holding it with the tip to the ground. "Are we sure that this will keep you guys safe?"

Linebeck staggered over and grabbed onto the part of the sword's hilt above Link's hand, almost using it to hold himself steady. "What's the fun in knowing everything? Besides, even if these don't protect us and d-don't hold us in stasis, you'll still be alive."

"When... will you guys wake up?"

Linebeck smiled weakly and shrugged. "Good question. We'll wake sometime before you do- these are directly connected to you. They will wake us at least a year before you do, if we're ever out that long." He reached with his prosthetic hand and grabbed Link's shoulder, staring into his eyes. "Well, if we're going to be specific, it's connected to you through me. We're connected, ever since I had to make your new body." As they stared at each other, the unnatural lines in Linebeck's eyes flashed, and Link knew that his eyes flashed as well. "Memory or no memory, I should hope that you and I would at least know that there's some kind of connection between us."

There was a deep melancholy and an even deeper terror in Linebeck's eyes: he wasn't at all accepting of their predicament. Link felt his hand jerk for a moment and found that Ghirahim and Midna had grabbed the remaining length of the Master Sword's hilt, just as fearful. "W-we don't have much time left," Link rasped. "I can tell things are fading faster... I can't remember anything before the castle, now. You guys get into your pods... I'll try to get as far from the city as I can."

The four of them stared forlornly at each other for a moment longer, then stepped away, Link sheathing the Master Sword. "See you guys sometime in the future," was all he managed to choke out, and he turned and stumbled out of the building.

Link wasn't sure how long he'd been wandering for before he heard the explosion. He turned, the Master Sword's scabbard in his hand, and found Hyrule City engulfed in a dome of pure white. It expanded rapidly, tearing through Hyrule field. Link was roughly halfway across the field, and the explosion reached him in moments, ungodly heat engulfing him and throwing him to the ground, pressing him into the dirt and flinging the sword from his hand.

The storm pounded down on him, not killing him but certainly tearing skin off his limbs. Link felt pain, even agony, but kept silent and calm, waiting for as long as it took for the explosion to abate.

When it was all over, he was face-planted in the ground, buried beneath scrap and city ruins, unable to move or even look around.

With infinite, hope-fueled patience, Link waited until he heard Yiga soldiers find and recover the Master Sword until he succumbed to his exhaustion, shutting himself off just as his final memories faded into obscurity, locked within his own mind.

Once again, I do recommend a reread of some past chapters, now that we'll be returning to the present story.

This will be the longest chapter, so the next chapter will be much shorter than these past three.