Link was abruptly woken up by a trio of sharp knocks on his bedroom door. He sat up, checked that the Master Sword was where he'd left it, and opened the door. He blinked, then frowned at Linebeck, who still had a hand on the doorknob. "...I thought you and Damien spent the night in the city. You guys didn't come back last night."

Linebeck handed him a plate of pancakes. "We did spend the night at the city. And we came back early. We made breakfast. I'm going to work on making you some armor and improving Ghirahim and Midna's weapons." He turned to leave but halted. "By the way, Damien and I talked about a possible plan for fighting against the Sheikah; We want to cut the Sheikah off from their labs and then disable the city's power grid. There's a good chance that they're using my design for the power grid, so I'll handle that if that's the case. You and the others will probably be helping with cutting the Sheikah off from their labs."

Between the pancakes and the plan, Link needed a few moments to fully wake up. "H-huh? A plan? R-right, the Yiga were coming up with one. I was planning to just spar with Ghirahim today." He peered down at the plate of pancakes. They seemed to be blueberry pancakes, though lacking a fork. "I- I'm gonna need a fork."

"Obviously. Come on, you're the first one I woke up. We're still making more for everyone else." Linebeck led Link down to the kitchen and pointed out the window. "It's still a bit early. We used the blueberries that had been growing outside and refilled the potion dispensers."

Link nodded idly, searching through drawers for utensils. "How was the city?" He glanced briefly at Damien, standing in front of the stove and periodically prodding the circles of batter in the pan. "I've only been to the city a few times. What did you guys do?"

"We mostly spent time at my place," answered Damien, "but we did visit an animal shelter and wandered around for a bit. The city's pretty empty. Utensils should be in the far-left drawer. Anyways, the rest of the Yiga have been getting people out of the city. We've convinced a lot of people to trust us so far, while the others have been convinced by friends." He thoughtfully paused. "...Right now, our odds are great if the ball is scheduled a few days from now. We've got some Yiga working on bombs that should make it impossible for the Sheikah to reach their labs in the castle, we've got details maps of the castle, and I've sent a message to Ganondorf about Linebeck looking at the current design of the city power grid."

"That's good," Linebeck mumbled. "I'll go and wake the others up."

"Sure. I'm almost done with their pancakes, and the next batch will be for us, alright?"

"Got it. Bring mine to my workshop, I'll start working once I wake Midna and Ghirahim."

"Be sure to take a few breaks while you work."

Linebeck gave Damien a quick thumbs-up and left the kitchen area. Link hopped up onto the kitchen counter, fork in hand. "Do you have any plans today, Damien?"

"Not really. I've got plenty of free time, and I wouldn't mind if Ganondorf called me to do a quick mission for him. If anything, he might set up a meeting with me and the rest of the black-scarfed generals to talk through strategies." Damien flipped over the pancakes, then gave Link a quick look. "How're the pancakes?"

"G-give me a moment." Link awkwardly cut a bit off the pancake and shoved it in his mouth, uncomfortably aware of the way Damien was staring at him. Mentally squirming, he took note of the tartness of the blueberries and the texture of the pancake itself and swallowed, coughing momentarily and managing to say, "I-it's good. I like it. Good blueberries. You didn't need to stare at me."

"Sorry. I just wanted feedback. I'm not a very good cook. Linebeck's a good teacher, at least, and he's the one who made the batter. For a guy who lives alone, I don't know much about cooking."

"Have any of the Yiga helped you with cooking?"

"Only when I spend time at the hideout. They don't interfere with my personal life too much, unless it's to give tips with flirting or whatever. The other generals are really invested in my relationship with Linebeck and it gets annoying, if not endearing." Damien rolled his eyes. "Ashei doesn't know much about flirting and Ravio views it as a puppy love sort of deal, and Mipha doesn't have any experience with romantic relationships with men, so they aren't great with help." He lifted the pan and slid the new batch of pancakes onto a plate. "If you're going to spar with Ghirahim today, I recommend going to the hideout with him. Actually, take Midna with you. I can send you guys there. It would be a good idea."

"I'll consider it." Link idly cut his pancake into sections, glancing to the side in time to see Midna and Ghirahim. "Good morning! Linebeck and Damien made pancakes."

"We heard," Midna mumbled, yawning. "Damn, it's early. Did you guys want anything other than to show off the pancakes?"

"You guys should hang out with the Yiga today," Damien brightly replied. "Do some training and get ready for whatever might come. I can take you guys to the hideout whenever you're ready."

"Give us a few hours, then," Ghirahim said, peering at the pancakes. "I'd love to test out everything I've learned so far, and I'm sure Link has no problem with getting a hang of the Master Sword again."

Practically shoving Ghirahim out of the way, Midna made herself a plate for breakfast and muttered, "I just hope this ball thing isn't anything too fancy. In my memory, balls have been extravagant bullshit. None of us would have any kind of clothing that would be appropriate, and I'm surprised Linebeck is even on the preliminary list since he looks like he could be a distant relative to the opossum."

"Don't be rude." Damien elbowed Midna, then poured more batter into the pan. "But you do have a point. Royalty and the like are usually pretty picky with who they invite to events. Mipha and Revali getting picked is obvious, since Mipha is royalty and Revali is renowned for his skill. High-ranking people and those who are notably skilled are obvious choices. Of course, Link would obviously be invited as the hero, Midna is the only Twili in Hyrule. Ghirahim and Linebeck are more reserved, even while known, so it's a little strange that she'd invite them as well, since not very many people like them as much as Mipha or Revali or Link."

"But at least he's invited with us," Link piped up. "Can't people who are invited bring someone extra along with them? Linebeck'll probably bring Damien, and I can bring... uh... I'll think about it."

"You should bring a member of the Yiga," Damien grumbled. "Unless enough Yiga end up being invited or brought along. Anyways. You guys should get ready to go to the Yiga hideout for practice. That should be what you guys focus on until the ball... you don't need to worry about outfits or how you act. When the date of the ball is announced, it should be easier to find out what kind of clothing is acceptable."

Link frowned to himself and decided to quietly finish his breakfast, choosing to stay quiet while the other three discussed the day. He cleared his plate, set it aside, and collected the Master Sword from where it was in his room. Returning to the ground floor, he hesitated and then walked down the hall off to the side. He passed by the doors to the bathroom and the storage room, pausing at the end of the hall in front of the door to Linebeck's workshop. He briefly knocked, then stepped back.

Linebeck opened the door a moment later. His goggles were down over his eyes, and Bellum hovered over his shoulder. The AI was the one to speak first. "What? He's busy making stuff for you." Linebeck moved to wave him away, but Bellum continued regardless. "Besides, aren't you going to go to the hideout? I heard Damien bring that up. Sounds like a good idea."

"You guys are going to the Yiga hideout?" For a moment, Linebeck's confusion was aimed towards Link, then he turned to Bellum. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You're busy," Bellum muttered. "It was only a minute ago, anyways. Don't worry, you won't be left alone, Damien's sticking around. Plus, you've got that lizard."

Leaning forward and holding onto the door frame, Linebeck muttered, "Well, anyways, if you guys are going to go, get going soon. I've started working on your guys' stuff. Have fun with the Yiga or whatever." He grinned briefly. "Whether the ball is tomorrow or next week, you've got to prepare to lie about your memories; tell the others to work on that, too. Can't let Zelda know that we know she isn't who she says she is."

"I'm sure I'll be fine. I'm a robot and all that. I don't think I'll have a problem lying."

"If you need help, I can teach you. Again, have fun."

Link gave Linebeck a half-hearted wave and left him to his devices. He met up with the others, who were already getting ready to visit the Yiga. Without bothering to speak with them, Link belted the Master Sword on and sat back to watch everyone else get ready.

Damien transported them into the Yiga hideout, bid them a good day, and disappeared before they could respond. Link had hoped to ask Damien about his plans for the day, but it didn't take him or Ghirahim and Midna long to find out that Ganondorf was busy with something outside of the hideout, probably planning to discuss the city power grid with Linebeck. They made their way through the hideout's hallways until they found a Yiga in uniform and asked him where Ashei or Mipha were located.

They found the pair of Yiga generals in the hideout training rooms, sparring with a group of other Yiga. Neither Ashei nor Mipha were dressed in their uniforms, and neither used their Yiga weapons. Mipha deftly disarmed an overeager Yiga with her beautiful Zora-made trident, while Ashei backed her up with a long, thin blade. The group of sickle wielding Yiga that opposed them rushed towards them, though Mipha continued to disarm those who got too close and Ashei dashed forward to meet them and would've killed her targets had they not been training.

The round was quickly over, sickles littering the ground and defeated Yiga kneeling before their victorious generals. Mipha stepped forward and said something to the Yiga, who all nodded and collected their fallen equipment. While Mipha continued to speak with the Yiga, Ashei slid her sword back into its scabbard and walked over to Link and his friends. "You three are here to discuss the plan? Or is it for practice? Damien sent a message that you would be coming today."

"We can do both," Midna offered. "Ghirahim and Link can go with you; I'll train with Mipha. What's Ganondorf up to?"

"He should be getting ready to talk with your engineer. If you wish to train with me, we can meet in the next room over. Mipha has been waiting for you, Midna. Enjoy your training session." Ashei held out an arm to Ghirahim and Link and walked off to leave the room. The two of them gave Midna a wordless farewell while they followed after Ashei, leaving her to talk to Mipha.

The other Yiga left the room as well. Midna was suddenly very aware that she was alone in the room with Mipha, and the Zora Princess was quietly walking over to her. "Well, I suppose we should spar first. How have you been doing?"

Midna blinked, then reached back and gripped her spear. She held it with one hand and let its inactive tip scrape the ground. "It's been a strange... two or three days. Can we please just spar? I want to hear the plan, too." She shifted her grip on her spear and added, "When we go to the ball. Could we consider it some kind of... date? I've been meaning to ask Linebeck and Ghirahim to help me figure out that kind of stuff, but they're not here now and I figured it wouldn't hurt to try and ask you out when there's a royal ball just around the corner. I-if you're comfortable. I'll be... honest, I'm not fully sure how old you are."

Mipha blinked at her, then burst out laughing. Midna felt her face flush, and she looked away. "I-I'm sorry, I at l-least need to know that. Y-you look like a teenager, but I know that the Z-zora physically age at a m-much slower rate..."

"I'm 24," Mipha finally answered, grinning. "I'm a bit short, even among Zora my age. I'm still a bit taller than Link, though, which is a good feeling. I've spent most of my life training my spear skills, and the Yiga recruited me when I was just 19. I've been one of Ganondorf's black-scarfed generals for the longest; Damien is our most recent addition to the team, actually, but Ravio's the youngest since he's still 17."

"Is Ashei the oldest?"

"Yes, she's 27. I believe Ganondorf may be 30, we're not entirely sure. He tends to be a bit secretive about his own personal information." Mipha idly twirled her trident in a circle and point the sharp tips at Midna's chest. "Well, are we going to spar or not?"

Midna blinked, then lifted her own spear, touching the spearhead to the longest trident tip. "Yeah. I won't use any magic, to make things fair. Anything new happen recently? I feel like we've been gone for months, though I know it's only been a few days."

"You... you four got your memories back, didn't you? Damien... implied that when he gave his report earlier today. No one else in the Yiga knows, just Ganondorf and the rest of us generals. I assume that's why it feels like a long time, you guys got years of lost memories returned to you. I... assume that would mess with your perception of time, at least a little."

Midna grimaced. "Well, we all relived every missing memory all at once, so it feels like it's been years. It's hard to sort everything out, but it's not like my more recent memories have been muddied." She jabbed her spear forward, and Mipha immediately swung her trident up and a loud clang echoed through the room as their spearheads clashed together. The two of them jumped back and began circling each other. "We're all handling the memories pretty well, except Linebeck, but I don't want to share his secrets."

Midna rushed forward and thrust her spear out, and Mipha lunged to the side and thrust at Midna's spear; she caught the shaft between two blades of her trident and forced it to the ground. "So, you guys uncovered some uncomfortable stuff," Mipha asked, stamping a foot down on Midna's spear. "Is he alright? Are all of you alright?"

"Could be better." Midna switched her grip on her spear and aimed a kick at Mipha's face. She held back, but it was still enough to get the Zora to stumble, freeing her spear. She whipped it around and slammed the end of her spear's shaft into Mipha's back. Midna froze, watching Mipha stumble forward with a small cough. "Did I hurt you? Sorry, I'm only just now realizing that I have a lot of new pent-up anger, and I might be unconsciously letting it out on you..." Midna set her spear down and helped Mipha straighten up. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, no... I must admit, you're better than I expected, better than when we last fought, even if that little 'spat' we just had only lasted a few seconds." Mipha rolled her shoulders and stooped to pick her trident back up. "Let's try that again, but better. I promise I'll focus more and be a better opponent." She rolled her shoulders and gave a still-concerned Midna a gentle grin. "I underestimated you a bit; It won't happen again."

Midna shrugged. "As long as you're alright. So. This ball. Will you consider being my date?"

Mipha lifted her trident and inspected it as if disinterested. "Well, we're both on the initial list, so we can't invite each other. But sure." She smiled again, meeting Midna's eyes. "Let's discuss while we spar- properly, this time."

Link held out the Master Sword, staring quietly at it. He could see Ghirahim warming up with Ashei out of the corner of his eye but paid them no mind. The Master Sword was certainly thinner and more golden than it looked in any of the history books, but it had also looked that way 200 years ago. Then again, even in the books, the Master Sword seemed to look at least slightly differently depending on which legend it had been used in.

Still, it had never been seen as thin and golden as it was as Link inspected it in his hands. The blade still looked strong, and the guard and hilt were still elegant. Perhaps the change was brought about by the sword reacting to how Hyrule had changed. Link swung the sword once and let out a long breath. A few other Yiga were in room, but all of them seemed to be there to spectate the sparring between Ghirahim and Ashei.

They were simply facing off against each other, occasionally exchanging a few quick blows. It actually seemed half-hearted; they otherwise just shifted their feet and their handle on their swords, glancing Link's way or over at the spectating Yiga. Link shifted from foot to foot, waiting to join the sparring match or for plan discussion to begin. So far, he hadn't heard too much, and it seemed like most of the normal Yiga weren't in on the plan.

Ashei, seemingly pleased, held up a hand. Ghirahim halted and lowered his sword. Ashei then gestured for Link to join them. "Ghirahim needs little practice. He's in a good place, and adept at magic. I wish to test your skills, and then we can discuss the plan. Ganondorf will soon get a chance to talk to Linebeck and discuss the power grid; that's his plan alone. You'll help with the initial plan."

"Cool. Still no ball date?"

"Not quite yet. But we're all watching for who can and can't go, working around it." Ashei slid her sword into its scabbard. "You and Ghirahim and Midna will each lead a group. There are six entrances to the Sheikah labs in Hyrule Castle. The other three groups will be led by Ravio, Mipha and I. Damien will be with Linebeck when he goes to disable the power grid, and Ganondorf will be left to fend off Zelda with the rest of the available Yiga."

Link let his arms relax, allowing himself to let the tip of the Master Sword to hover a few inches above the ground. "Will we be using bombs?"

"Yes, of course. Linebeck will not be creating them, though, we've decided."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Ask any of the three people that spend time with him; He's not good with explosives, just robots and mechanical systems, things that rely on kinetic and technical push and pull to work, nothing that could genuinely cause him harm while being created. I've been told that he's good with everything but explosives and traps."

Ghirahim dramatically drew aside the hair covering his left eye and allowed it to fall back into place while he spoke. "The most input he had with the temple of the sword was with designing and adding to that maze that Midna went through, along with the identification system and the doors. The rest was left to Yiga engineers." He gave a small smile. "Ashei tells me they have a few of their own engineers and mechanics, such as some guy named Gondo. My friend, Vaati, is also offering magical reinforcement."

Link nodded curtly. "Have you guys been getting more people out of the city? And... I assume that the other guys in here also know about the plan."

"Yes, they'll be part of the groups," Ashei confirmed. "These thirty Yiga will each be split up into the six groups, so they need to hear the plan too. Who ends up as part of your team doesn't matter; they're all skilled."

"Tell us the plan already," Ghirahim sighed. "I don't care about their skills. I'm a good enough fighter on my own."

"The plan won't be set in stone until we get the date and schedule for the ball. Ideally, the group leaders would leave to explore the castle during the ball, meet up with their teams, and set the bombs at the designated places. We expect that the groups will be met with force from the Sheikah. Meanwhile, Linebeck and Damien will be briefed on their plan, which should include them traversing the castle to find the source of the power grid. They will be on their own so that they can remain stealthy." Ashei gave the two of them a pointed look. "Any questions?"

Both of them shook their heads, and Ashei nodded. "Good. Let us spar. I need to make sure you two are up to snuff."

Link blinked. "You're not going to test Midna?"

"That's Mipha's job, along with relaying the plan. Ready your swords. I'll take you both on. Magic allowed. I won't be holding back."

Linebeck kept his eyes trained on Ganondorf's heels while they walked. Damien was a few steps behind him, and his footsteps were quiet on the hideout's tatami floors. They passed a few clocks and doors and even other Yiga, but Linebeck didn't bother looking up for longer than a few moments. They were walking a path that he'd walked 200 years ago, and the familiarity made him uncomfortable as he realized that they were heading further into an emptier part of the hideout.

"Is- is this part of the original hideout? In my memories, it was much smaller." Linebeck finally looked up, finding that the walls looked faded. "...There aren't too many Yiga down this way, either." He glanced over his shoulder, checked that Damien was still there, then looked at the back of Ganondorf's head. "...Right? This is an old part, right?"

"Yes, this is the original hideout building, but it's not the only original part. It's just that we've taken good care of every part except this one."

"Why let this part decay?"

Ganondorf sighed. "This is where we keep old, old blueprints. Stuff that the engineers from 200 years ago gave us. Some of them might be from you, which is what we want to check. We also have the most recent power grid blueprints. We'll find the old power grid blueprints and compare and contrast and figure out our chances of blowing the system."

Linebeck nodded quietly and rummaged around in his pockets. He slowed himself to walk next to Damien and held up his nearly empty pack of cigarettes. Damien shook his head, and Linebeck shrugged, taking one out for himself and lighting it. "This is my one for the week," he muttered. "That's good for slowly stopping, right?"

"I think." Damien rolled his shoulders. He wasn't wearing the Yiga uniform, choosing instead to wear some of his casual clothes he usually wore while doing carpentry work. "I'm your date to the ball, right? I'm not automatically invited, but you can bring someone." He gave Linebeck a small smile.

Linebeck rolled his eyes and elbowed Damien in the side. "Of course you're my date. Why wouldn't you be? I need someone to keep me from ditching the whole thing."

"And you can help spread the word that I'm in a relationship," Damien muttered. "I get too many regulars who ask me out. I'm tempted to put one of my carvings of you on the front counter, but I guess it's weird to anyone else."

"It's weird to me, honestly. But everyone needs a hobby." Linebeck backed up to avoid getting elbowed in reply. "I'm kidding, don't worry, don't worry, I draw pictures of you in the margins of my work. It's still a little weird, though." He gave Damien a small grin. "You should teach me how to make wood carvings, so I can make little statues of you!"

Damien rolled his eyes. "Sure, sure. I'll start seriously teaching you once this is all over; I'm sure we'll have more free time after this is settled. Maybe we should go on a long date or something, or we can just... relax."

"Yes, once this is all over, we'll have time to rest," Ganondorf mused. He slowed and opened a metal door, stepping aside to allow Linebeck and Damien to enter first. "It's a bit dusty. You should find a light switch next to the door."

Damien flicked on the lights, and the light from the hanging lanterns illuminated the small room. Linebeck coughed, waving a hand through the dust-filled air. He took his cigarette out of his mouth with the other hand, and glared at Ganondorf. "I don't think the last three generations of the Yiga have been in here," Linebeck managed to say before another coughing fit. "Goddesses! You guys ever dust? I bet there's fifty-year-old mold in here."

"So dramatic. I assign volunteers each week that clean this room. You'll find week old mold at best." Ganondorf strode past Linebeck and pointed at a shelf, the only thing that didn't look over a century old. "Damien made that. It's also where we keep our blueprints. Find the one for the city power grid."

Damien nodded briskly, walking over and beginning to sift through the papers. Linebeck frowned. He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced around. "That's it? One shelf in a dusty old room? If it works, it works." He walked over to and sat on the edge of the lone table in the room, watching Damien sift through a disorganized pile of papers. "...What if we fail? What then?"

"We die," Ganondorf simply said. "Along with the rest of Hyrule, I assume. Zelda- or, rather, that shadow- needs to shatter the Master Sword in order to release Demise."

Linebeck frowned, inspecting his burning cigarette. He snuffed it out on the wall. "What about Ghirahim? He served Demise way back when; what'll happen with him?"

Ganondorf grimaced. "I doubt he would be spared. Based off the old legends, he wasn't even treated too great by Demise even after he summoned him. While the rest of us are wiped out, there's a good chance that Demise might torture him for fighting against him." He crossed his arms over his chest, watching Damien. "...But our chances of losing are pretty low. At least, if you all die, someone can take and hide the Master Sword in the temple of the sword. It remains unlocked until the sword is returned."

"Yeah. I know. I designed the place."

"Ah. I didn't know." Ganondorf ignored Linebeck's bad-tempered scowl, instead grinning as Damien held up an old blueprint. "You found it. Lay it out on the table so we may look at it."

"It seems a bit... fragile. I'll be careful." Damien set the paper on the table and unrolled it Linebeck and Ganondorf peered at the blueprint over his shoulders, staring at the surprisingly well-preserved map of the city and its power lines. "Detailed. Wow." Damien tilted his head towards Linebeck. "Do you remember drawing this up? Or was it someone else?"

"I drew it. Took me a while. It was soon before we found out that Zelda was no longer herself. I had been working on Link and the power grid at the same time. It was... hard, all things considered. But I did it, y'know?" Linebeck frowned to himself. "I didn't think that much of anything I wrote down back then would've survived. Oh, well, this is exactly how it was in the past." Linebeck paused and glanced to the side to see Bellum appear.

The AI silently floated down to the blueprints and studied it. "Yeah, it's exactly the same. Magic, probably. I remember when you drew this, too. Took a while, but you managed to keep your hands steady." Bellum floated back over to Linebeck and hovered over his shoulder, in his usual spot, and went silent.

"It's... no different," Linebeck said. "Do you guys have a blueprint of the current power grid?" He stuffed his hands into his coat pockets, staring at the blueprints while Ganondorf walked off to sift through the pile again. The Yiga leader returned and laid a second blueprint on the table above the first. "Th-that's the current power grid?"

"Yes, this is a copy of the blueprints that had been printed three months ago. They create new blueprints periodically so that the Sheikah has fresh copies. We got the original copy soon after I became leader of the Yiga, and it was surprisingly easy to steal." Ganondorf smiled at both of them in turn, then at the two blueprints. "Lucky for us, these two are identical."

Linebeck couldn't hide the grin that spread across his face. "Perfect," he breathed. "Give me some time to look at these more closely- are there any records of materials being swapped out? The plan was for these to be built out of normal metals. Of course, I only need to focus on blowing the plant within the castle, but everything needs to remain unchanged for my plan to work."

"You already have a plan?" Damien asked, smiling in an amused manner. "I assume you've had this plan from when you first drew this grid up."

"Of course! Especially since I was in a shaky mindset, I was already leaving holes and thinking of ways it could be torn down." Reaching and rolling up the pair of blueprints, Linebeck held them in the crook of his arm and looked sidelong at Ganondorf. "I'll study these for the rest of today; if there is anything I need to know, I'll be back at Rain Keep. Probably with Damien, if he wants to help me out."

"Of course, I want to help you," Damien sighed. "I'm part of this two-man team that we've set up for this, right? I don't have anything to do here," he added, giving Ganondorf a smug look. "See you tomorrow, I suppose."

Ganondorf shrugged. "Well, have fun. Good luck, come up with a good plan."

"We will," Linebeck called over his shoulder, he and Damien already out the door. "I'm not going to tell you my full plan! If we've got a mole, we're screwed!"

The floors became more vibrantly colored as Linebeck and Damien returned to the newer parts of the hideout, and spotted Link, Ghirahim, and Midna all waiting in the auditorium. The trio spotted the pair almost immediately and jogged across the room to them. "Hey," Link cheerfully called out. "We heard about our plan! What about you guys?"

"We're working on it," Damien admitted. "But we've got a lot of hope!" He sat down at one of the nearest tables and looked around the crowded room. "...Lots of new people, huh? I guess we've been doing a good job getting people out of the city. Those damned Sheikah probably don't even care."

"I'm sure everything will go smoothly," Midna chirped.

Linebeck raised an eyebrow. "You seem happy. Get that date you wanted?"

Midna shrugged, glaring back at him. "Yeah, but that's not what I'm so happy about. We're so close to ending this! We can finally rest easy once we kill Zelda. With Link and Ghirahim and the rest of the Yiga, it should be a breeze, huh?" She sighed. "The ball should be fun, too. I'm looking forward to it."

"I'm not," Link mumbled. "I'll probably get swamped by people who want to brag about being able to talk to the chosen hero." He opened his mouth to continue, but someone jumped onto the stage at the end of the auditorium and held up a lantern, which flickered on and off twice, getting everyone's attention. Link turned to Damien. "That's how you guys call meetings?"

Damien shrugged. "It works. Now, listen."

The Yiga set the lantern down and tore her mask off. "THE DATE OF THE BALL HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED!" She paused, as if waiting for a response, then continued. "IT WILL TAKE PLACE THREE DAYS FROM NOW, ON THE FIRST OF NEXT MONTH! A PRINTED LIST OF ALL INITIALLY INVITED GUESTS WILL BE SHARED WITH YOU ALL SHORTLY! THE END OF ZELDA'S REIGN IS NIGH!"

A cacophony of cheers and triumphant roars erupted in the auditorium. Link, Ghirahim, and Midna joined in, while Damien only grinned brightly and Linebeck clapped his hands over his ears. Still, he tentatively smiled over at Damien. His laugh lost in the shouts and muffled by Linebeck's hands over his ears, Damien tossed his arm around his shoulders and pulled him close, cheerfully watching the other Yiga's celebrations.

As the cheering settled down, the five of them made their way through the crowd and went their separate ways to prepare for the ball.