A/N:

Not much to say here, just one instance of especially bad language.

The first half of this took the longest to write, everything past that point took only a few days. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long.

The hideout's auditorium was as loud and crowded as ever, filled with cheering as members of the Yiga took off their masks and greeted friends and family. In the crowd, Link spotted most of Ganondorf's generals. Mipha was clear across the room, happily reuniting with a small, red-scaled Zora that he assumed was her little brother. Ravio was in the middle of a crowd of younger-looking Yiga, seemingly telling a story. Ashei had found Revali, the two of them separated from the rest of the crowd, sitting on their own.

Link smiled to himself. It didn't take long for him to find Ghirahim and Midna again, and they found a table to wait at. "Goddesses, that was fun, if you ask me," Link chirped. "Though it was awkward, I enjoyed the party, and it felt good to finally stick it to those Sheikah bastards." He set the sheathed Master Sword on the table, smiling pleasantly at it. "It... feels good to use this again."

"Those damned Sheikah all have a death wish," Ghirahim grumbled, rubbing at his leg, his hand coming away red. "At least we seemed to have dwindled their numbers a bit more. I'm going to need this cut looked at in a bit, though. I'll give it to them, the Sheikah are pretty fast when they want to be."

"You got lucky," Midna sighed, standing with her back to the group, watching the surrounding crowd. "They got me a few more times. Cut across the ribs, they got me on the arm, they even managed to get an arrow into my back, which I had to pull out. Stopped the bleeding with some magic."

"You know healing magic?" Link asked, sitting up.

Midna shook her head. "Nope. I just set up a small barrier in front of the wound to keep it from bleeding too much. I need to find a healer. How're you doing? Looked to me like Linebeck's gonna need to do some repairs." She looked over her shoulder, giving Link a brief glance. "Not as bad as I thought, but you'll need work. You know about the arrow in your shoulder, right?"

"Yeah. Hard to miss."

"Well, looks to me you got your abdomen torn open- I see some broken wires. Damn it, where are they? Damien can be easy to miss in a crowd, but Linebeck usually sticks out."

Ghirahim crossed his arms, glaring around. "They probably are late, even though they're meant to be the first ones back."

"Give them a few more minutes. It's crowded in here, and they might be waiting for more people to leave. Linebeck's not good in crowds, right? It's too easy to brush up against or touch other people in a crowd." Link set his feet on his chair and stood up on it. "Give them some time."

"Five minutes, and then we're hunting them down," Ghirahim conceded.

Three of those five minutes dragged by, and a sizable chunk of the crowd had left, either to get their wounds checked in the infirmary or to celebrate in a quieter room. Link had his arms crossed, tapping a finger against his synthetic skin, and Midna frowned to herself. "I'm... not seeing them. Well, I'm not seeing Linebeck. I might've spotted Damien a few times. Hard to tell..." She scowled, then tilted her head to the side. "I keep thinking I see Linebeck's coat being held by someone. Maybe I'm seeing things, since he's protective of that thing."

"Maybe Damien's holding onto it for him," Link suggested. "While he's dealing with wounds or something. Let's go see who that it anyways, better than just sitting here." He hopped off his chair and, after a moment of waiting for Ghirahim and Midna to join him, strode into the crowd.

They didn't have to do much pushing and shoving, and most people actually moved out of their way. With less people in the room, it was quieter and easier to spot the flash of blue that Midna had mentioned. Whoever was holding it- which they all quickly realized was indeed Linebeck's coat- was only shuffling around in one area.

Link reached it first- he hesitated, then smiled at Damien, who only gave him a blank look in response. Most of the others nearby were turned away, and it looked like most people hadn't noticed him anyways. Perhaps because he lacked a Yiga mask or any indication of him being a highly ranked member of the Yiga. He didn't even look entirely like himself; his face was covered in what appeared to be soot and slight burns, and his arms were similarly burnt, some of his hair blackened and frizzy like he'd been caught near an explosion. A large, deep-looking gash on his right leg that started mid-thigh and stretched and curled around down to the bottom of his calf was still oozing blood. One of his shoulders had what looked to be a puncture stab in it, and a litany of smaller cuts and wounds covered the rest of his body. He tightly clutched Linebeck's coat to his chest, and the engineer's scarf was loosely draped around his neck. Link tried smiling again as Midna and Ghirahim reached them, and Damien turned and attempted to limp away.

Ghirahim grabbed him by his uninjured shoulder and turned him around, giving the burnt and injured man a frown. "Hey. Good to see you. You look pretty banged-up, but the infirmary will have to wait for a moment." He backed up, hands on his hips, and looked around. "So. Where's Linebeck? Is he off getting wounds tended to or something? He never lets anyone touch his coat, much less his scarf." Ghirahim laughed to himself. "Well, you guys did a good job! We didn't lose a single person during all of that." He glanced over to Midna. "Right? I thought I heard people going on about how not a single person was taken. Maybe that person Link saw was just some overly-rowdy ball guest being taken care of."

Damien let out a shaky breath, head tilted down. He took in rapid breaths, sweating from what Link assumed to be anxiety. He seemed to be staring at the floor, maybe at the coat in his arms. Somehow, he'd managed not to get any of his own blood on it.

Midna blinked, and nervously shifted. "He's- he's not too badly hurt, is he?"

Damien blinked a few times in rapid succession, starting to tremble ever so slightly. "I- I don't- I don't know. I don't- I can't-" He quickly rubbed at his eyes. "I d-don't know. I'm- Leave me alone. I n-need to get ready." He turned again, beginning to stumble away, but Link grabbed his arm. "L-let go of me," Damien rasped, his voice shaking and weakening. "I... need t-to go back... he needs me..."

"Where is Linebeck?" Link asked, keeping an iron grip on Damien's arm. "What happened when you guys blew the power grid? You... seem pretty anxious, just based off how badly you're sweating. Linebeck is the only one who knew how to ruin the grid, so he was with you when it was destroyed, and you got out-"

"I fucked up," Damien rasped. He tried to tug his arm out of Link's grip, and settled for sitting at a nearby table, head still down. Link tentatively let him go. Damien brought one hand up to his face, rubbing at one eye with the heel of his palm. "I- We- we got caught up, decided to stop some Sheikah from spreading the word o-of you guys messing everything up. Linebeck helped me, once he was done s-setting everything up."

"So, by then you had destroyed the grid?" Midna titled her head to the side. "Did get injured or-"

Damien shook his head. "He hadn't destroyed the grid by then. We f-fought off the Sheikah, but one of them shot a weak bomb arrow at me. I used one of the other Sheikah as a shield and the bomb killed them, but it burnt me. Set some of my clothes on fire." He paused. "Destroyed my Yiga amulet. Our way out." He shuddered, pausing to gasp for air. "Whoever blows the grid gets caught- the Sheikah made a beeline for it, and I'm sure you noticed."

"You- you had to make a run for it?" Midna grimaced. "Explains why you're so damn injured. It's a miracle you made it out, if you were running from the power grid. What about- what about Linebeck?"

"He- he made me leave alone. Once the amulets were burnt up, he made me promise to get out. H-he gave me his coat a-and his scarf and went on his own to ruin the power grid. Th-that way I wouldn't be caught, only the person who ruined the grid. Th-they got him." Tears gathered in the corners of Damien's eyes. "I- He- A-at the ball. Zelda- she talked to us, or r-rather just to him. Sh-she asked him to become the royal engineer. S-said that i-it would be bad for her and the Sheikah if he d-died. So he thought th-that even if he got caught, they w-wouldn't kill him."

Link froze. Those Sheikah he'd seen, dragging someone through the halls- "I saw him. I saw him getting dragged away, and I didn't do anything."

"T-there was nothing you could do," Midna stammered, eyes wide. "Right? I mean you didn't recognize him, and y-you probably would've been attacked, too, if you tried to help..." She shuddered, glancing down at Damien. "We should've acted. Tried to help... even if we were risking our own necks- but we didn't know that it was Linebeck or even that it was possible to help."

Link felt himself tense up. Damien sat with his head down, trembling, his breathing ragged and shallow, looking much paler than usual. Link found himself expecting an enraged outburst, but as more people left the auditorium, he became more aware of Damien's quiet sobs. None of them moved, and no one else in the room seemed to notice until Ganondorf made his way through the crowd to meet them. "Ah, there you all are. Damien, we have... a meeting... soon." Ganondorf narrowed his eyes, then turned his confused and concerned gaze to the others.

Ghirahim shook his head with a grim expression. "We did what we wanted, but lost Linebeck in the process. I suggest that we add saving him to our list of things to do." He glanced down at Damien, then gestured to the man's wounds. "Besides, I'd say he's a bit too banged-up to be doing much of anything right now."

Damien shoved himself to his feet just as Ghirahim began to speak again. Tears streamed down his face and his voice shook but he still stared wide-eyed up at Ganondorf and rasped, "I'm fine. I can go back, send me back to Hyrule Castle. I can save him. I need to save him- I failed to properly keep him safe and it's my fault that they might k-kill him." He whipped around and grabbed at Ghirahim's cloak with his free hand, his own blood-soaked right leg practically buckling underneath him. "I'm fine, it's all just a bunch of scratches. I'll lose half my limbs before I let anyone take Linebeck- I can go and save him, I'll even take some teammates." Damien glanced over at Ganondorf, an almost feverish smile on his face. He sniffed, rubbing the tears out of his eyes and smearing blood on his face. "I can go. Give me Ravio or something! I'll go save him. I'll kill Zelda, too! It'll be easy! All we need to do now is, that, right? Please, I can't just leave him. I can't just fail him again." He let go of Ghirahim and tried to reach Ganondorf again; this time, his injured leg fully buckled and the fell to the floor, dropping Linebeck's coat. He quickly shoved himself to the side, his blood dripping onto the floor rather than on the coat.

Link bent and picked up the coat while Damien began to cough. Linebeck's coat was heavier than he expected, and it took him a moment to gather it all up and set it on the nearby table. Midna kneeled down next to Damien, then shot back up. "He's coughing up blood, and his skin is cold," she tersely reported to Ganondorf. As he stooped to pick Damien up, Midna nervously added, "H-he might be in shock, or going into it."

"We need some healers over here, quick!" Ganondorf shouted, and a small group of Zora rushed over to them within moments, led by Mipha. The Zora princess reached Ganondorf's side first, the others lingering around, all of them staring at Damien, gasping for air in Ganondorf's arms. "Mipha, there's a good chance he might be going into shock. He's lost a lot of blood and has begun coughing up blood. I need you and your best healers to treat him as quickly as you can and prevent him from moving around too much- He tried to get me to allow him to return to Hyrule Castle before collapsing. Do not let him make his wounds worse. I will need you to stay behind a moment longer, Mipha, so someone will need to carry Damien."

A tall male Zora stepped out from the group and Ganondorf wordlessly transferred Damien into his arms. Damien coughed, eyes wide and still glued to Ganondorf. "Please... I need to help him! Y-you're just g-going to let them k-kill him? T-torture him?! I-I'm fine, please..."

"Take him to any open medical wing room," Mipha quickly ordered. "Actually, preferably one that we use for surgery. Using only magic will most likely complicate things. Hurry!" The Zora nodded and hurried off. Mipha watched them go, then turned back to Ganondorf, giving Link, Midna, and Ghirahim momentary glances. "I don't think I've ever seen Damien so badly injured before. He seems frantic, too- what happened? Weren't he and Linebeck supposed to just teleport out of there once done?"

Ganondorf shrugged, and Link nervously piped up. "Damien told us- his amulet got burnt up when they intercepted some Sheikah who were going to blow our cover. Linebeck made Damien go back alone, since only he could blow the power grid and without an immediate escape, whoever ruined it would be caught immediately. Linebeck... got caught by the Sheikah, and I assume Damien had to fight his way out of the castle." Link hesitated. "He's pretty torn up about failing to... save Linebeck, I assume. We s-saw him getting dragged away on the way out but couldn't help."

Mipha crossed her arms with a frown on her face. "I'd heard that a few of the others had seen a ragged-looking Yiga cutting down every Sheikah in his way... Damien doesn't usually go out of the way to attack every Sheikah in sight, and as reckless as he's been in the past, he's never wanted to keep going after getting so wounded." She sighed sadly. "With the context, though, it makes sense. His devotion to Linebeck borders on zealotry. Someone will need to keep an eye on him until he recovers, or else I'm certain he'll try to save Linebeck until he dies."

"I'll keep him company," Link volunteered. Midna and Ghirahim both gave him incredulous looks, but he continued. "Since I'm a robot, it'll probably be harder to get past me if he tries to go after Linebeck, and you two are both injured. I just need some relatively minor repairs and I still function perfectly. I can talk to him about Linebeck if he wants, since I've both got my memories and I've been able to speak to Bellum."

Ganondorf sighed. "We don't really have time to deliberate about this. I'll hold the meeting soon. Ghirahim, I would appreciate it if you came in Damien's place. Midna, we'll be setting up teams to get the remaining citizens out of Hyrule City soon, and since you have roots in royalty, I would assume you would be helpful."

"...Sure. I can sit still for a bit," Ghirahim mumbled.

"I'll gladly help, sure," Midna mused.

"Then I will notify you two when you're needed," Ganondorf sighed. "I hope, for the sakes of you and your friends and the rest of Hyrule that Linebeck is alive. With what he's managed to create, we can't risk losing him in any way." He gave them all a brief nod and walked off.

Mipha set a hand on Link's shoulder. "When Damien is stable, I'll send someone to lead you to his room."

"Right. Thanks."

"No, thank you. Many of us here like Damien, and, by extension, Linebeck, so I hope that any future rescue missions go well. I... can't say that I exactly like him, but I've briefly spoken with him and I want to get to know him better, and Damien clearly loves him for a reason. I'd hate for him to die or otherwise be lost. Thank you for offering to keep an eye on Damien. We're all going to be busy in the coming days."

"...Good luck to us, then," Link nervously replied. Mipha nodded and walked off, leaving the three of them alone with Linebeck's coat on the table.

Ghirahim collapsed into one of the table's chairs and laid a hand on the coat. He tugged at it until he found a sleeve and held the end of the sleeve, the folded-over blue-and-white cuff in his palm. "...We're not very good at our jobs, are we?" From Link's perspective, Ghirahim's expression was covered by the curtain of white hair covering half of his face. The demon sighed. "Again and again. History likes to repeat itself, huh? We all delve into danger and despite our best efforts, he leaves it with injuries of all kinds." He let out a harsh laugh. "With the exception of that hellish hinox battle and the temple of the sword, Linebeck's gotten badly injured almost every time he's dragged along with us." Ghirahim laughed again, sounding much more strained. "Goddesses, that's always been my job, right? I couldn't keep him safe 200 years ago, we all can't keep him safe now."

Midna sat in the chair next to Ghirahim, setting a hand on his shoulder. "...There was nothing we could do this time around. He... chose to be left behind, from the sound of it. I think he understood what he was risking, all to make sure our plan was successful. He protected us this time, I suppose." She removed her hand from Ghirahim's shoulder and set it on the coat, carefully running her hand over it. "...We're going to need to take care of his coat and his scarf until we see him again. I guess Damien took the scarf with him, so Link might have to grab it."

"Let's keep them in his room," Link suggested. "Back at Rain Keep." There was no protest from Midna or Ghirahim. "...He probably wouldn't want us messing with them, anyways. I could ask someone to send me there to drop the coat and scarf after checking up on Damien."

"Good plan," Midna mumbled. "I recommend leaving the coat with Ghirahim for the time being, though. I dunno if it's a good idea to take the coat in when you go to see Damien, with what state he's in."

Link nodded, handing off the coat to Ghirahim. "Fair point. So. Well. Um. I'm going to try and find some engineers to patch me up, so... see you guys later."

Midna remained with Ghirahim for a few minutes longer. Ghirahim kept the coat in his arms, carefully turning it over and checking for bloodstains or cuts or... anything but found that it was miraculously pristine.

He found the pockets and slid a hand in, finding little more than lint, but Midna quietly reminded him that the inside of the coat was lined with pockets as well. They both laughed briefly when Ghirahim suggested that they might find a few items that had gone missing over the past few months in the inside pockets. They stopped laughing when the first thing they found was a small cat figurine that had seemingly disappeared from Midna's room three months prior.

Nearly every pocket had some kind of little trinket in it, and each item they found they set on the table. The little cat statue was joined by two different packs of cards, a compass that doubled as a timepiece, a small bag of pencils and pens, a small photograph of Linebeck, Midna, and Ghirahim in the city (Ghirahim remembered the context of the picture well; it was taken soon after Linebeck won a small robotics competition soon after they woke up), a folded-up map of the city, a wallet, a folding knife, and a photograph of Damien. The rest of the items had all been taken from Ghirahim or Midna sometime in the past. Midna idly sorted the objects around while Ghirahim checked the remaining pockets.

"Not much else," he sighed, setting the coat back down. "A bit neat how it looks like he managed to get each pocket to close up with a button and some string, but what do we expect. He managed to bring Link back from the dead without any kind of magical training."

Midna started slipping each item back into its pocket. "Speaking of, I'm curious to see what kind of magical potential he really has. Providing he's capable of tapping into it any further than accidentally and briefly unlocking it while highly unstable. We gave him the job of making a new body for Link, so it's a good thing he turned out able to actually revive him. We should try and see if he's able to use it on command, and see what the extent of it is, providing that he's capable of controlling it at all."

"He might be, he might not be." Ghirahim stood and stretched, cracking his neck. "It all depends on whether or not we ever see him again." He scowled and set his hands on his hips. "I've got half a mind to just raid the castle again tomorrow, but those Sheikah are said to work fast. For all we know, they're setting all kinds of traps for us."

Midna drummed her fingers on the table, a troubled look on her face. "Hey. Ghirahim."

"Yeah?"

"The shadow... it knows who we are, right? Even if it doesn't know that we have our memories back."

"Well, yeah."

Midna frowned. "Zelda asked Linebeck to become the royal engineer during the party. She must need him for something."

Ghirahim hesitated. "...You think he'll be kept alive?"

"Most likely, or at least until he's done whatever they want him to do."

"...Do you think they were lying? Just so they could torture him for information and then kill him? Do you think they wanted to get him to come to them under a false sense of security just so they could kill him and quickly examine his prosthetics and the like?"

Midna drew in a long breath, running her fingers through her hair with her eyes closed. "...That's a possibility, but there's little we can do right now but hope that he'll still be alive and savable when we next see him." She smiled weakly. "He's stubborn and clearly has a few screws loose, so I think he's got a chance of somewhat fending his captors off until we find him."

"Still."

"Don't you have a meeting to get ready for?" Midna grumbled. "Have some hope about all of this. Let's just... do something about all of this." She picked up and tossed the coat at Ghirahim. "See you in a bit. I'm going to get my wounds looked at."

Ghirahim watched her leave then stared morosely down at the coat in his arms.

"...Where did you guys decide to put his coat?" Ravio quietly asked. He hadn't even bothered to properly greet Ghirahim when he finally entered the meeting room, but Ghirahim didn't mind.

"I'm keeping it in my room for now. Hanging from a hook and all that. That's how he's usually kept it when not wearing it." Ghirahim quietly shut the door behind him and took a seat at the table, the only thing of note in the surprisingly small room. Only Ravio and Ashei were present. "Where are the others?"

"Ganondorf is preparing something, I believe," Ashei answered. "Mipha may still be tending to Damien. I don't think anyone else was too badly hurt, so Mipha should be here once Damien is stable; you're his stand-in, I assume?"

"...I guess. What are these meetings usually like?"

"We talk about confidential stuff. Plan everything out. Ganondorf usually calls these meetings if secrecy is needed or if things have gotten chaotic." Ravio began to drum his fingers on the table. "Damien attends these meetings the least. Shouldn't be weird just because he's not here. He started skipping them due to being on missions, then because it collided with time he planned to spend with Linebeck, and then he's started to blatantly skip them for little to no reason."

"...And he's still a general like you guys?"

Ashei shrugged. "He's skilled. Black-scarf generals aren't replaced until they die. He's just not as... interested, I suppose. The recent dip in his attendance rate might be due to his increased involvement in the affairs of you and your friends, Ghirahim. Do you enjoy being around him?"

"Sure, when he's not obsessing over Linebeck."

"Mhm. It gets to be a lot. He's rather overprotective."

Ghirahim nodded, then straightened up. "I heard they had a fight over that, though, over Damien's overprotectiveness. I think that means that Damien's going to try and back off a bit. Providing that he ever gets a chance to."

Ravio averted his gaze, frowning to himself. Ashei sighed. "It is unwise to try and return to Hyrule Castle without scouting it out first. Even uninjured, had Damien launched an immediate rescue mission, I doubt it would've gone well. I think this meeting will be used to discuss what to do now, in relation to the second siege of the castle, scouting for said second siege, and how to handle the unexpected capturing of Linebeck by the Sheikah."

All three of them flinched as the lock on the door clicked, and Mipha walked into the room. She gave them all a short nod, walked over to her seat and collapsed in it. She was unaware of the others' intent stares for a moment. "Hm? Oh. He's stable. Physically. Resting, now, I've sent someone to let Link know."

"That's good," Ghirahim muttered. "Let's hope he can stay in one place for a bit."

Mipha only shrugged. "That's all up to Link, really. Now, is Ganondorf still busy?"

"Let's give him a few more minutes," Ravio decided. "We don't know what the meeting's about, but we can still talk about what to do now."

Ashei straightened up in her chair. "Right. Well, I think we should use our evacuation teams to scout out what the Sheikah are now doing. Obviously, we'll have specific teams to watch the castle, but the evacuation teams can be used for checking Sheikah within the city itself. Based off some reports I've heard from Yiga watching the city since the bombs, people are nervous and trying to get out anyways, so I should hope that being helped by the Yiga may help them accept what's going on. We'll need to make it public that Link is supporting us, and I'm sure that plenty of people already don't trust the Sheikah."

"How can we be sure that we'll get enough support?" Ghirahim asked, frowning. "I mean, most people are told that you guys are the ones causing all of the trouble. Bombing the castle won't do much to help. We weren't even on your side until you practically dragged us in and then getting our memories back."

Ravio set his jaw and shifted in his seat. "It's going to be tough, especially once we're done with Zelda. A lot of people believe that this is another case of the typical legend, the hero and the queen teaming up to defeat the wielder of power, even while the other two parts of the Triforce have yet to show themselves. However, you and Link and your friends only need to focus on killing Zelda. We can handle the rest once she's gone."

They all went silent as the door opened once again, and Ganondorf finally entered the room. "Did you start without me?"

Ashei reached over and pulled out the chair beside her. "We've only started discussing strategy. We don't even know what this meeting is really about."

"Fair, since this is a topic that's been kept a secret for a long time. Once we're done here, the only people you can tell about this are Link, Midna, Damien, and Linebeck, if he ever returns. This can only become public knowledge after Zelda is dead." Ganondorf nodded to Ashei, accepting the chair she's pulled out for him.

"Then, well, um, what's the big secret?" Ghirahim shifted in his seat.

"Has Link every told you and the others about what happened after that monster siege on Death Mountain? Ravio followed him and ended up destroying a large red gem that had been spawning the monsters. I'm sure you're familiar with these gems. The wolf in Zora's Domain and the biwa player near Rito Village?"

Ghirahim flinched, jolting up in his seat. "How do you-"

"Linebeck told Damien who told us."

"H-he wasn't even conscious to see the fight with the biwa player."

"And I'm sure one of your friends told him anyways. Either way, after the battle in Death Mountain, Ashei and Ravio returned to the hideout with a fair number of shards of one of the gems. But that's besides the point. One of our oldest goals has been to figure out where the missing pieces of the Triforce have gone. One answer was simple. The Triforce of wisdom was secretly split in two. The Zora guard one half, and the other half his hidden deep in the forests east of the city. However, we still don't know where the Triforce of power is."

"What are you studying the gems for?"

"To figure out the source of their power," Ganondorf replied. "They are capable of creating dangerous monsters and are what keep them alive. We've seen the Sheikah experimenting with them in the past, though I believe that Zelda planted these gems in those dungeons to force the other races to require more help from her and the Sheikah. What I called this meeting for is to dicuss the locations of the Triforce of wisdom and the gems, but I suppose we should now take into consideration the fact that the Sheikah now have Linebeck in their clutches. We all know that he's a skilled engineer, so there's a chance that he may be used as leverage as a hostage, or they may attempt to get him to create something for them. Either way, losing him to the Sheikah is an unexpected wrench in our plans."

"So, we'll rescue him, right?" Ghirahim tersely asked, leaning forward. "I mean, you're planning to free everyone that was abducted anyways, right?"

"Of course. And we'll do our best to get Linebeck out along with them. The scouting missions that Midna will be helping with are to plan for the next attack. If you'd like, we can assign you to a few scouting missions as well." Ganondorf briefly regarded each of his generals and Ghirahim in turn, then sighed. "We're almost done with this mess, and we have certainly turned a fair number of the people of Hyrule against us."

"That's your problem," Ghirahim mumbled under his breath. "Not ours."

Ganondorf frowned. "...Well, that is all I needed to say. This meeting is over. You may continue with what you were doing before."

Link hesitated outside of the room. It was quiet. Maybe Damien was sleeping. He didn't really want the meeting to turn into a confrontation.

He took a deep breath and entered the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. The room was dimly lit, smaller than he expected. Damien was awake, and, to Link's surprise, was idly whittling away at a small block of wood. "I thought you'd been sleeping," Link admitted, easily catching Damien's attention. "How are you doing?"

Damien shrugged. "Good. They were able to do some kind of blood transfer and then stitched everything up and added some healing magic. I dunno. I was out cold the whole time. But I'll be stuck in bed for a bit, so they let me do some wood carvings for the time being." He shifted a bit. His feet were propped up on a few pillows, and his right leg was tightly bound with bandages. Link could see some bandages around his arms and shoulder under his shirt. On the table next to his bed was Linebeck's scarf, carefully folded up. Damien noticed Link staring at it and mumbled, "I folded it up after I woke back up. They'd kinda just left it on the table. The best I can do right now is make sure his stuff stays tidy. How's his coat?"

"Ghirahim brought it back to his room with him. Ganondorf ended the meeting with his generals about half an hour ago. Apparently, what he wanted to tell you guys was that the Triforce of wisdom is split in two, one half with the Zora and the other half hidden in a forest."

"No idea about the Triforce of power?"

Link shook his head. "No idea." He strode over, looked around the room and spotted a desk with a chair across the room. "Mind if I sit next to you for a bit?"

"Go ahead."

Link pulled the chair over, and Damien went back to glumly whittling at the wood. "What are you going to carve?"

Damien shrugged. "I'll figure it out. I just need to do something with my hands."

"You seemed kinda... sad, I guess. I was thinking you'd still be all riled up and recklessly ready to go, no offense."

"None taken," Damien mumbled. "Mipha talked with me for a bit once I woke up, so I've been thinking for a bit. I haven't been all too nice to you, have I?"

"I'd say you definitely reserve your kindest behavior for Linebeck. You've been better, though, I think."

Damien grimaced. "Yeah. I guess."

"You... guess? About what?"

"I don't feel like I've been as good to Linebeck as I guess I've been thinking." Damien sat up and jabbed at his block of wood, sending a small chip of wood flying.

Link frowned. "What do you mean? The only time Linebeck's seemed unhappy with you is when he's mentioned you being overprotective."

Damien dropped the wood and his small knife onto the plate. "Exactly! And we argued about it and I just- I won't deny that I'm obsessed with him. I love him, but maybe to an unhealthy degree. I carve little statues of him, get his help on projects, I decide that I do all of my work for his sake. Meanwhile Linebeck... he has his work, he has you guys, he has interests outside of me and our relationship."

"I mean, you made that shield for me that one time, and fixed up that sword-"

"Because Linebeck asked me to."

Link sighed. "Okay. Your carpentry. You still work that job. Why do you work commissions for other people? Why did you pick up that job in the first place? I mean, you're doing wood carving right now. It seems to me that you do have a hobby for wood carving."

Damien peered down at the blocked of wood, frowning at it. "...Fair point. I've... always liked doing things with my hands, so I suppose that drives my work."

Link beamed. "There we go! Even if you are obsessed, you have a chance to step back and find some hobbies outside of your relationship. When Midna and Zelda dated way back when, I remember that potion-making was Midna's passion, and Zelda had just about nothing to do with it. I mean, I'm not perfectly sure why you and Linebeck are planning to prolong any kind of real commitment, but it seems to me that you two and using that time to resolve any of your serious problems."

"...Like what?" Damien smiled weakly. "Like my overprotectiveness?"

"Yeah! You can use this time to temper that. Linebeck's got issues to get through, too. He's still pretty rude, and his sense of morality is a bit messy. I mean, he didn't seem to be too worried by the fact that you've killed people for your job." Link timidly shrugged. "I'm no expert, but I've got my memories back, and Linebeck had a weird amount of wisdom regarding healthy relationships when he was a teenager. Probably since he always enjoyed romance novels but also understood good and bad behaviors. He's not very... empathetic, but he's good at recognizing good from bad."

"Do you think he's still alive?"

Link's smile faltered. "I mean... why not? He's useful to the Sheikah. Killing him would be a waste." He reached out and set his own hand over Damien's. "Don't worry about that while you're recovering."

"I... I-I don't really know how to stop being overprotective," Damien suddenly blurted. "I'm so w-worried about him. I so badly w-want to go and help him and k-keep him safe, I h-hated seeing him injured after those dungeons and I've always hated seeing him g-get upset by the flashes of his past that he did see. E-ever since the first... I guess real hint that something was really wrong with his past I just... wanted to make sure he would stay safe and unhurt."

"I mean, wanting for your partner to be safe and happy is nothing weird." Link tilted his head to the side. "But you take it a bit far. I think that letting Linebeck go off on his own in Hyrule Castle was a step in the right direction. The problem with your overprotectiveness is that I think it comes off like you don't trust him to handle himself."

Damien's face reddened. "Damn it."

"At the same time though, I think the way you two acted at the ball proves that things are a bit better. I mean, you clearly trust him in an intimate context, trusting him to let you know what he's alright with. If he didn't think you trusted him in that context, I don't think he would've agreed to make out in a closet. The biggest issue just seemed to be that you're a bit overprotective, but you have the time to fix that, and Linebeck's proving to be better at handling himself in a fight. And once that's fixed, you two need to work on sorting out your feelings on murder and general violence." Link straightened up. "You are good to him, and it's good that you guys have realized and addressed the fact that you've sometimes crossed a line. It's clear that you care about him, and cares just as much. I mean, if you saw him react badly to what was most likely a shrouded memory of trauma and decided that you hated seeing him in pain so badly that you began to devote yourself to keeping him safe, then you clearly care. You just need to take a step back. Maybe, if- when you see him again, you two can talk about what kinds of protection you're okay with. Establish some new boundaries."

Damien sighed, falling back against his pillows. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind, thanks. I just... I dunno. It feels weird. Maybe because this is my first time being in a romantic relationship and it's just been... going really well. Just... that night when he was freaking out over snippets and hints of trauma just... I guess I kinda snapped or something." He frowned to himself. "It's definitely my fault for letting it go out of control. I mean, I'm in a position of power within the Yiga, you'd think I'd be a bit more self-aware with how I treat others. I'm really sorry for getting rude with you guys over Linebeck, and I ought to properly apologize to him about my overprotectiveness."

Link nodded. "Yeah. That's a good idea. I hope you can recover in time to be part of the group that finds him. I'm sure that he'd be glad to be saved by you."

With a sheepish grin, Damien picked up his knife and wood block again. "Yeah... He's gotten irritated with my overprotectiveness before, but he also definitely enjoys having someone to protect him." He laughed briefly, and Link chuckled along with him. "I mean, he's got no problem calling for help during muggings or other attack and then letting everyone else handle it. I guess it's just when I try to handle everything for him."

"Yup. And even if you're not the one to find him, I'm sure he'll want to see you anyways."

"And if he's dead..." Damien sighed. "I'll figure it out. I can't control what happens. I'll do anything to keep him safe and alive, but it wouldn't hurt to plan for the worst." He shifted as best he could in the bed and sighed, whittling at the wood again, though now more slowly and thoughtfully. "...Thanks for keeping me company and talking with me. I appreciate it." Damien let his head fall back against the pillow and smiled at Link. "It's about time we actually tried being friends rather than acquaintances. I mean, it's about time. I've seen your internal organs and everything. I'm the one who helped figure out what that writing on your back says, or at least one translation of it."

"Hah, yeah, I forgot about that actually." When Damien rolled his eyes, Link sat back in his chair with a sigh. "Well. I'll stick around in here for a long as I can. I don't need to eat or anything, but I might switch off after a while." He idly looked around the room, the sounds of Damien's knife scraping against the wood being the only thing to break the silence. "Kinda drab in here." Link looked back at Damien and quietly regarded him. "Are you growing your hair out? I thought you had an undercut or whenever when we first met."

"I'm growing it out, yeah. Realized that the undercut looked a little stupid. I'll let it get to shoulder length and pull it into a ponytail and trim it once it gets too long."

"Good plan. A bit more sophisticated than Linebeck going with whatever he had when he first woke up with the others." Link laughed briefly, then shifted to sit up straighter. "Get some good rest. I'll give you any updates as they come in. Midna left the hideout a bit ago, heading out with an evacuation team." With a final sigh, Link stood up.

Damien's hand shot out and grabbed Link's wrist. "Don't go. Please." His eyes were suddenly wide, almost fearful. "Seriously. I need something- someone- to keep my mind off of things. Just- tell me stories from 200 years ago."

Link tilted his head, then sat back down. "...Sure. Well. About a week before everything... ended, while the sword temple was completed, Linebeck, Midna, and Ghirahim wrote some messages. I never saw them until we got the sword back, but they did write little notes to me, which were put in that temple." He shrugged. "Honestly, I believe they were last minute things, posters with their titles and some hasty writing on them. Linebeck's said lots of sarcastic stuff, things you'd expect, but he also mentioned that he was glad that he learned to avoid death with robotics and that he hoped to learn to value his own life more." Link paused. "I... think he managed to do what he wanted. He's seemed a lot better in that regard."

"He has," Damien mused. "Do you think you ever met Linebeck before you he got hired by Zelda? You might've seen him in the streets as a child and never realized."

"I might've, but based off a few pictures we managed to see, I don't know if I would've properly recognized him. He didn't go out too often when his father was around and was shy afterwards, and though he is darker due to Gerudo lineage, he was paler as a child." Link shrugged. "Not as pale as me, obviously, but y'know. Probably enough that I wouldn't connect the dots until he made it obvious."

"I wish you four had managed to save pictures."

"We'll be heading back into the castle, and I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to check out old rooms. Maybe some of the pictures are preserved, who knows?" Link sat back and peered up at the ceiling. "What else can I tell you about him... he had a Rubik's cube that he played with a whole lot. I'm sure he solved it a bunch of times, too, though it ended up seeming like something for him to idly fiddle with rather than solve."

Damien smiled faintly. "I figured he might like some kind of puzzle thing. I mean, when we go on dates or hang out around the city, we tend to check out small bookstores or little pawn shops, and he always gets distracted by those ring puzzles or, well, yeah, Rubik's cubes." He chuckled to himself. "I thought about buying one for him, but that just felt strange. I'll reconsider it."

"You should buy one for him, then!"

With a wider smile, Damien playfully punched Link in the shoulder. "Well, we've got to save him first, right?" He dropped his smile. "...We have to. You'll have to tell me who was dragging him away. I'd love to kill them with my own hands."

"I'll let you know if I recognize them," Link quietly promised. "Now, what other stories would you want? I knew him for a while, you know, so I think I've seen a lot."