A/N:

This one took a while both to initially write and also to edit.

This chapter leans on the violent side, so warning for some extra blood and death contents, as well as some mildly sensual content in the italic sections.

The moment the Sheikah threw him into that cell, something in the back of Linebeck's mind snapped.

He was already panicking, his sense going haywire and his heart hammering painfully in his chest, but Bellum didn't stop talking; he hadn't stopped talking since Linebeck was grabbed in the first place, vocally constructing a new plan and reminding him over and over again what tools he could use. Linebeck dragged himself into the corner of his cell and breathlessly sobbed until the panic subsided.

They'd dragged him all the way through the castle, into a hidden chamber that he'd never found in all of his snooping 200 years ago. Linebeck's skin burned where they'd touched him, and once he regained his composure, he realized a few things- he was uninjured, his knife was still clipped to his belt, and the wire from behind his left ear down to the base of his neck was in perfect condition.

The mere thought of that little bundle of wires being severed sent a shiver down his spine. At least they were reinforced with more than just rubber insulation.

Bellum continued to talk, and Linebeck listlessly followed him with his eyes, too exhausted and overwhelmed to process what he said. After nearly an hour of ceaseless babbling, Bellum paused. "Hey. You drifted off. How long have you been ignoring me?"

With a shrug, Linebeck mumbled, "Sorry. I'm just...drained." He sat slumped against the wall and sighed. "...What were you saying?"

"If Zelda talks to you, I can record what she says. Worst case scenario we'll have a ton of footage, but the shadow will let slip the truth at some point."

"And if I die? You disappear when I die. Everything will be lost." Linebeck drew his legs in and hugged them close to his chest. "How far can you go? I don't think we've tested your range in a while-"

"Up to 20 meters. Now, shut up for one second. Zelda said to your face earlier at the party that she needed you alive. They want you for your engineering skills. I doubt they'll kill you. You have information, too. So long as you keep your mouth shut through all of this, it should turn out okay." Bellum floated down and practically settled down on top of Linebeck's knees. "And you can talk to me. I bet they'll send some Sheikah in here to beat you up or whatever, so while that sucks, you have your knife. You can defend yourself and possibly even kill a few of those bastards."

"...Maybe." Linebeck sighed and pressed the back of his head against the wall. "Now what, though?" He stared listlessly at the ceiling, then slowly, shakily got to his feet. "I'll try the lock," he mumbled. He tugged off the glove covering his left hand and slid the lockpicks in his metal hand out of their hiding places.

The lock to the cell was large, and while Linebeck couldn't get a good look at it, Bellum could. He quietly instructed Linebeck as he slid the lockpicks into it and maneuvered them around. He worked for a few minutes, mostly feeling it out before trying to unlock the door, but he leapt away from it as he heard a door slam. Linebeck quickly jammed his lockpicks back among the wiring and cords of his hand and tugged the glove back. Bellum remained outside the door. "...It's a bunch of Sheikah- and Zelda! I'll start recording."

Linebeck mutely waited in the corner and stiffened up as Zelda and her small group of Sheikah stopped in front of his cell. He felt like some of the kittens he'd seen in the city shelters; small and shivering, though, this time, what was staring back at him wasn't at all going to be friendly. Zelda's eyes were cold. He didn't even pay the Sheikah any mind- they were nothing compared to the quiet malice in those eyes.

What made him truly sick, however, was the glimmer of triumph amidst that malice.

They stared at each other for a moment, and Zelda murmured something to the Sheikah group. They nodded in response and moved away. Linebeck watched them leave and violently flinched when Zelda cleared her throat. "Well. It seems we've finally pinned you down. In all honesty, I expected that you'd be the hardest to trap, but here we are."

"...How could I be harder to trap than the people who can use magic or properly fight?"

"Because you're more like a cornered rat. We can never face off on equal footing and you know this, so you're paranoid and make yourself out to be slippery and hard to catch. I never expected you to come to me. It seemed to me that you would constantly be running away from me." Zelda peered down at him. "I expected you to be more scared than you are."

Linebeck smiled weakly. "I did win, though. I took down the power grid; that was the whole point of this."

Zelda scowled and Linebeck winced. "And? You can no longer reach your friends. You aren't leaving this cell until you give us the information we need and agree to work for us." She gave him a thin smile. "So?"

"...If I take that job, you'll just kill everyone I care about and end the world. There's no point."

"But then you'd at least have something to do with the rest of your life other than rot away in this cell, hm?"

"Well, this way I've got time for daydreaming, so maybe I'd rather stay here."

Zelda narrowed her eyes at him, then sighed. She motioned to the side, and the Sheikah returned. "Search him."

The cell door opened, and Linebeck flattened himself against the wall as the group of Sheikah neared him- three of them, he frantically counted while Bellum cursed loudly. Two of the three rushed towards him and grabbed his arms. Linebeck stared at the third Sheikah with wide eyes, kicking at the floor to keep his back to the wall. The third Sheikah crouched down in front of him, narrowing his eyes at him, then looked back at Zelda, who only shrugged. "I'm not touching him," she retorted. "He must be hiding something, that's what I called you for. You decide where to search."

The Sheikah nodded quietly, and turned back to Linebeck, shuffling closer to the struggling engineer. Linebeck's heart skipped a beat as the Sheikah reached at his mouth, the mere feeling of the man's gloved fingers further fueling the feeling of nausea that was building up in his body. The Sheikah pried his mouth open, and the moment he stuck more than one finger in, Linebeck clamped his mouth shut. The Sheikah hissed in pain and managed to get his fingers out, but didn't react in time to dodge a kick to the crotch.

While the Sheikah in front of him recoiled in pain, Linebeck managed to jerk his left arm free. The Sheikah at his side tried to grab him again, but Linebeck sank the razor from his index finger into the palm of their hand and wriggled his other arm away from the third Sheikah. He coughed, scrambling away into a different corner and stared wildly between the reeling Sheikah and at a very displeased Zelda.

It would be much easier to use his knife, but Linebeck wasn't about to risk letting Zelda see it. She was the one he needed to hide it from, because she was the one who wouldn't be bothered by it. In the few moments he had before the three Sheikah cornered him again, he ran through a few ways to hide the knife, and ultimately decided that trying to hide it within one of his prosthetics could work; they were skeletal enough in design that he could just slide it between two rods and hope that the wires would keep it in place.

The Sheikah reached him again, and he clamped his metal hand around the first arm he came into contact with and squeezed. His fingers slowly constricted the Sheikah's wrist, crushing the bones at a sloth's pace while Linebeck did his best to fend the others off with only one free arm. He released the crushed wrist partly because he felt the bone snap, and partly because one of the other Sheikah socked him square in the jaw and nearly knocked him out.

He punched back, and when he missed and just barely grazed skin, he drew his hand back and settled for clawing at faces. One of the Sheikah reached too far and he kicked them in the crotch, then threw himself at them as they fell back.

Linebeck clawed at any part of the Sheikah's body he touched, the smell of blood reaching his nose while he heard the pained whines of the man whose wrist he crushed and of the only other Sheikah still on his feet. The one beneath him grabbed him by the shoulder and as nausea shot through Linebeck's system he lurched forward and, his coherent thoughts blending together into a single idea, bit down and tore a chunk of one of the Sheikah's ears off. He spat the flesh out, barely registering the metallic tang of blood in his mouth over the fear that was slowly overriding his other senses. Linebeck's hands found the Sheikah's face and his thumbs found their eyes and he felt bile rising in the back of his throat as desperate hands clawed at his chest.

His thumbs were covered in blood and fluid and the Sheikah below him was no longer moving and the only uninjured Sheikah managed to haul him away. Linebeck stared up at the ceiling as the Sheikah threw him to the ground. At the edge of his vision, he could see Zelda. His eyes flicked over to the two Sheikah that were still moving. The man with the crushed wrist was inching towards the cell door, and the woman above him was now cracking her knuckles.

Linebeck scrambled into a sitting position and felt saliva fill his mouth when she grabbed him by the ankle and tugged him closer to her. She hooked an arm under one of his armpits and hauled him over to a wall, holding him against it with a hand on his shoulder while she resumed searching him, unbuttoning his vest. Linebeck barely moved, his heart hammering in his chest as the Sheikah began to unbutton his dress shirt. He retched, felt his stomach heave, and jerked himself out of the Sheikah's grasp.

She tried to grab him again, and he vomited on her shoes.

Linebeck coughed up what bile remained in his mouth. The Sheikah woman didn't move for a few moments, but as Linebeck tried to sit up, she grabbed a handful of his hair and jabbed her knee into his nose.

"That's enough!" Zelda roared. The Sheikah woman froze and turned to face her, and Linebeck shoved himself back against the wall and cupped his hands around his nose. "This isn't going anywhere, and he managed to kill one of you," snapped Zelda, and the Sheikah woman stiffly nodded. "Come back out here and take the body with you. Bind your wounds and clean off your shoes. What did you find?"

The Sheikah quietly walked away from Linebeck and lifted the corpse with the gouged-out eyes. "...I didn't see anything, but it's clear that he's hiding something. I would suggest trying to tear those prosthetics off."

Zelda nodded and opened the door for the Sheikah, then shut and locked it again. She shot Linebeck an inscrutable look, then strode away. Linebeck didn't relax until Bellum showed himself and quietly murmured, "No one else is in the room. You're alone."

Linebeck slowly nodded. "...I don't think my nose is broken."

"That's good. Do you think they're going to bother cleaning the cell for you?"

"Probably not." Linebeck sniffed and winced. "I didn't think I'd be able to kill one of them. I suppose it's good to know that it's possible." He shuddered and sighed. "I can still feel their hands on me."

"I recorded whatever Zelda said, so I suppose it's a start." Bellum hovered around in a small circle, then floated down onto the ground, like he was lay on it. "At least you're not alone."

"This isn't much better than talking to myself."

"Because you're not! And you'll probably get a few chances to vent your frustrations by killing a few of those Sheikah bastards."

Linebeck said nothing in response; he slowly reached behind him and unlatched his dagger from his belt and lethargically studied it. He opted to keep it in its small scabbard and set it down by his feet for a few moments. Bellum watched with feigned curiosity while Linebeck sighed and then began rolling up the leg of his pants past the knee on his prosthetic leg. While Linebeck carefully brushed aside wires and fit the dagger in between the metal mimicry of bones, Bellum dryly muttered, "You don't think that'll ruin a few wires?"

Linebeck let go of the dagger once he was sure it was snug in its hiding place, then took off his boot and sock and wiggled his metal toes and rolled his ankle. "Everything's working fine. It's in the scabbard, too. It'll be fine." He replaced his sock and boot and carefully covered his leg back up and groaned, wiping away the blood leaking from his nose. "Eugh."

"You killed one of them and crushed another's wrist to dust- I'm impressed they didn't break your jaw and then some!"

"Zelda's probably told them not to kill me," Linebeck mumbled. He gingerly buttoned his shirt and vest back up. "Doesn't mean they can't feel me up or whatever. That party was anxiety-inducing enough, and then getting manhandled and practically groped... I hope the others get me out of here soon. I don't think I could handle this for too long." Linebeck clutched his shoulders, and his expression softened ever so slightly. "I hope Damien got out alright."

Bellum flickered and rolled his eye. "Of course he did! I'm sure he'll be back with Link and Ghirahim and Midna and they'll all kill Zelda and save your sorry ass for like the fiftieth time in these past three months like the damsel in distress you are!"

Linebeck smiled weakly. "Doesn't mean this isn't a horrible situation to be in."

"Yeah, but there's a light at the end of this tunnel and you just need to focus on making sure that you can reach it."

Linebeck curled his lip. "Fair. I supposed I might as well make this fun for myself."

For the next few hours, Linebeck was completely alone. Bellum talked with him for a few minutes, then hovered outside the cell door to check for anyone who showed up. Every so often, Bellum would report the hour, and Linebeck listlessly sat in a corner, studying every nook and cranny of the dark cell. His only saving grace was that the temperature of the cell wasn't too hot or too cold. The area wasn't fully silent, either; every so often, he could hear the drip of water or a very faint creak of other cell doors.

Six hours after he was thrown into the cell, Zelda returned with a pair of Sheikah. She stared down at him, then frowned. "You appear to be awfully patient."

"Usually, unless I'm waiting on other people. What do you want? You're interrupting my daydreaming."

Zelda curled her lip and motioned to one of the Sheikah at her side, who slid a tray into the cell. Linebeck eyed it, then glared up at Zelda. "What's that?"

"Food. Do you want it or not? There's water, too, see the cup?"

"That's too close to the bars. I don't trust you three."

Zelda rolled her eyes and flicked her wrist. A small gust of wind blew the tray away from the cell door, nearly flipping it over. Linebeck stared at the tray, and almost didn't notice the two Sheikah shuffling off to the side. He looked back up at Zelda- the shadow. "Who taught you your magic? Or are you just using magic that Zelda knew?" Bellum silently appeared at his side, and he was relieved that Zelda showed no sign of acknowledging the AI. "Do these Sheikah guys know that you're little more than some shadow puppeteering a dead woman's corpse?"

Zelda stared at him, not even moving while the Sheikah guards glanced at her, and Linebeck reached for the tray of food. He quickly snatched the cup off the tray, just in case she actually flipped it this time and deprived him of the water. He took a small sip of it, inwardly wincing at the stale taste of it. "...What? Come on, say something."

Finally, "I have been the ruler of Hyrule for 200 years now. Only the highest members of my Sheikah guard know what I am, and I intend to keep it that way, even if I must eradicate most of Hyrule to make sure the charade still stands. I need that damned Master Sword, and this time I can't afford for you fools to lock yourselves and it away again." Zelda lifted a hand and tapped at one of the cell's bars. "...This magic is my own, if you must know. The only thing I share with that long-dead girl is her body."

Linebeck set the water down and tugged the tray closer. "So, you don't have her memories? What do you remember about me and my friends from 200 years ago? Some of that stuff might be important."

Zelda narrowed her eyes down at him. Linebeck only shrugged and turned his gaze back down to the food. For all he knew, it was the best he was going to get; a slice of bread, what looked like a few strips of dried meat, and a small pile of carrots and grapes. He'd seen worse in the city prisons, and he'd gotten by on less while working. He idly picked at the bread while Zelda slowly began to speak again. "...I have gleaned all that I need from the files that the Sheikah kept on you four.

"The notes weren't detailed, but I can remember some details. Link, our hero that you managed to raise from the dead seems to have a bit of a temper, though it seems to have recently cooled. He was good at his job and a bit naive. Ghirahim... I remember him from ages past, but those memories are fuzzy, so I'll focus on 200 years ago, where he agreed to help you due to his lack of memories and ended up as your personal guard. Midna used to date Zelda, held some position of power within the Twilight Realm, I suppose. The three of them are uninteresting to me and easily disposable.

"You're the one who interests me. Surprisingly skilled with engineering and robotics from a young age, and you've managed to bring a man back to life, which appears to be your sole magical proficiency. When I asked you to become the royal engineer, I wasn't just trying to trick you; I meant it. You would be useful to us, and I would gladly pay you for your services."

Linebeck rolled his eyes. "You've told me know that you'll be ending the world, so pass. Besides. I work the best in an unhealthy mental state, and that's not something I want to slip back into. Almost nothing I make ever lasts too long or is fully safe. I'll wait until my friends find me and kill you, alright?" He tore the bread into small chunks and placed bits of dried meat on them. "I'm not going to help you."

"Then I'll have to convince you. Based off your files, sending in groups to search and rough you up should be enough to break you. You're an interesting person- what do you have to hide? You fought pretty hard against being searched. Don't you have a knife? What about those goggles of yours?"

"They're back at home," Linebeck responded. "Why? Want to break them in front of me for some reason?"

"Just curious," Zelda sighed. "Enjoy yourself, I suppose."

"I will. Lots of free time in a room by myself. What are you going to do with your free time?"

"I'll figure out how to make you bend to my will."

"Nice! What'll do you when that fails?"

Fury twisted Zelda's features. She threw a hand out and a ripple shot through the air, colliding with Linebeck's chest and throwing him against the wall. She turned to storm off, and despite the sharp pain in Linebeck's ribs and the growing ache in his back, he laughed.

As it turned out, each meal was the same; bread, dried meat, and a handful of carrots and grapes. In the long stretch of silence that followed the posting of the guards, four more meals were delivered, each eight hours apart, and Linebeck wasn't allowed to keep the tray or cup for longer than thirty minutes. Part of him suspected that the small meals were typically meant for most prisoners within the castle, hence the bland selection. The idea was probably to weaken prisoners with the small portions, but Linebeck didn't end up feeling any worse. The biggest difference was the ache all over his body from that initial search.

Though exhaustion slowly crept up on him, Linebeck refused to try and get some sleep. He paced the cell and checked his prosthetics out of the view of the pair of Sheikah guards, both of whom moved so little that he wondered if they were just statues. Finally, once Bellum announced that it had been a day and a half since he'd been captured, Linebeck did his best to get comfortable in the corner of the door and laid down.

He laid on his side and watched one of the guards. Bellum hovered at the edge of his vision. For the most part, Linebeck had spent his free time waiting for the guards to move, wondering what was going on outside the walls of the castle. Part of him had predicted that he would be saved within the day, but it seemed more like he would be in that cell for longer than he anticipated.

Linebeck stared at one of the guards for a moment longer, then sighed and rolled over to face the wall. "I bet their training is hell," he grumbled.

Bellum made a noise akin to a sniff. "I bet. Especially compared to the Yiga training. Damien made it sound like fun when he told you about his training. Didn't say anything about standing in place for hours on end. You'd think they'd at least need to use the bathroom."

"...Yeah. I'm going to try and get some sleep."

"Well, good luck with that. I'll let you know if they move."

Linebeck eventually managed to drift uneasily into sleep. He dreamt sparsely, and his dreams were all mercifully meaningless.

He snapped awake to the sound of Bellum shouting in his ear and the creaking of the cell door's hinges. Linebeck forced himself up into a sitting position, groggy and barely aware of who was entering his cell. He was in the middle of a yawn when hands grabbed his arms and roughly tugged him to his feet. The icy feeling of those hands cleared his mind instantly, and Linebeck immediately began his second feral struggle against the Sheikah who were sent to search him.

The initial struggle went well for Linebeck; he broke a few fingers and even resorted to biting the arm of one of the Sheikah, but it slowly slid downhill as he realized that there were more Sheikah from before. He was shoved onto the ground and held down, at least two Sheikah on each prosthetic limb as they attempted to pull them from their sockets. Five other Sheikah glared down at him.

Linebeck tried to reach for his knife and one of them socked him in the jaw. While his heart raced, Linebeck stared up at the ceiling, waiting for the tugging on his prosthetics to lessen. Once they let go of his arm and leg, cursing the technology that they didn't understand, he kicked one of them in the face and scrambled backwards, restarting the violent struggle.

Linebeck cornered himself and covered his head with his arms. There wasn't much he could do against them all at once. They swarmed him and dragged him out of the corner with little effort, even as he clawed at their arms and struggled, furiously kicking at them and managing to break one of their noses.

They threw him onto the ground and kicked him whenever he tried getting up. Linebeck attempted to roll over onto his side, but they forced him back onto his back, tugging at his vest and tearing his boots off. He kicked out more furiously, his heart hammering in his chest. Though he couldn't slow most of the Sheikah, he struck one of them in the jaw with his prosthetic leg, sending them falling back, clutching at their mouth and howling in pain.

Linebeck stared up at the ceiling, doing his best to zone out as fear began to make him tremble all over. The pain that occasionally shot through his limbs kept him from properly focusing on the ceiling, and he weakly lashed out while they continued to search him; the only mercy was that they weren't taking all of his clothes on, just feeling for anything abnormal. His knife was hidden between the wires and bars of his robotic leg. If they found it, then he was justified in killing them.

His shaking became nearly painful when the Sheikah finally stopped; they stood and one of them gave him a harsh kick to the ribs. Linebeck rolled onto his side and crawled over to the nearest corner once he heard the door slam shut. Bellum faded into sight, but Linebeck ignored him, slowly pulling his vest and boots back on. "...I should've killed at least one of them."

"Maybe you should have."

Linebeck nodded stiffly. Even his neck felt sore. He shuddered, his skin still crawling, and nervously glanced over at the door. "Goddesses, if that stupid shadow shows up at any point soon... Maybe I should've paid a little more attention when I watched Ghirahim spar, huh?"

"The others taught you some stuff. Besides, you're cornered. No time for tactics or anything fancy." Bellum did small circles in the middle of the cell. "Maybe kill a few of them next time. Make it worth my while, pay them back for what they've done to you so far."

Linebeck laughed weakly. "I'll think about it. Ghirahim did teach me some stuff in the past, I remember a few small knife tips." He smiled fondly. "I badgered him into giving me a few lessons. Partly because I wanted to learn, and partly because I had a thing for him when I was a teenager, remember?" He shifted onto his back, grinning over at Bellum. "Hanging out with him in the castle was fun. ...Damn that shadow, ruining everything..."

He was left alone for the rest of that day, the same sparse meals slid in and taken back once he finished. Bellum noted the passing of the hour, and Linebeck quietly paced the room at midnight.

The next day was quiet, but he decided to finally amuse himself to pass the time. Linebeck stretched in the corner, eyeing the two unmoving Sheikah guards at each end of the cell opening. "Hey," he finally called out. "You two still alive? Frozen to the spot? Or am I talking to a pair of robots?" Neither of them reacted. Linebeck sniffed, then exchanged a brief glance with Bellum. "Tough crowd."

Linebeck dragged a foot across the floor for a moment, checking for pebbles or loose stones. Coming up with nothing, he shrugged to himself and stalked over to the cell door, grabbing onto the bars. For the first time since they were stationed, the Sheikah guards moved, peering over at him. "How stiff are your joints? It sucks in here, but at least I move." They both glared at him, and he gave them the best fake smile that he could manage. Every part of his body ached.

He got no response, and the two Sheikah looked away. Linebeck cursed under his breath. "You guys were bad 200 years ago, but sheesh." He rubbed his hands and up and down the bars he gripped, then reached a hand out- the Sheikah guards clearly weren't expecting him to reach out, since the one he grabbed the shoulder of flinched. It was hard to move his arm side-to-side, but he was skinny enough to shove him arm out up to the shoulder and tug the nearest guard close. There wasn't much resistance, not until the guard seemed to gather his bearings.

Linebeck let go of the guard and withdrew his right arm as fast as he could, but the guard snatched his wrist. Fear shot thought Linebeck, and he mentally chastised himself for not realizing that these Sheikah guards probably had no qualms with injuring him. The Sheikah's grip was too strong for him to wrench himself free. Panic bubbled up in his chest, and pain soon followed with a loud, wet crunch. He fell back as his wrist was released, limp and on fire, the pain intensified as it smacked against the bars on the way back in.

Linebeck collapsed on the floor, wriggling away from the door and holding his wrist close to his chest. He could feel the bone poking against his flesh and a fresh wave of nausea rushed though him; he made the poor decision to take a look at the damage. Linebeck barely registered that his hand was not supposed to be that far offset from his forearm before he began retching. Bellum muttered something in his ear that he didn't process.

Pain radiated from his wrist, and every time he moved it slightly, a fresh wave of pain halted any action he planned to take. He lay on the floor of the cell, writhing in pain until he managed to force himself into a sitting position. Linebeck huddled in the corner of the cell once again, wrist clutched to his chest and his eyes glued to the cell door.

"You're an idiot," Bellum growled. When Linebeck barely reacted, the AI moved into his line of sight. "Did you think that would go well?"

"I don't care," Linebeck mumbled. "Leave me alone."

Hours dragged by, and Linebeck fell into a sort of daze, slipping in and out of consciousness in conjunction with the pain from his wrist. Trays of food and water were slid into his cell. Bellum, when he caught him awake, reminded him to try and eat, but Linebeck kept his wrist to his chest and refused to move. Eventually, when he managed to tune out the pain, Linebeck slid uneasily into sleep.

He dreamt, distorted fragments of memories appearing out of order, taking the place of the usual nightmares.

When he next woke, the guards were gone and his wrist had been put back into place and wrapped in a makeshift cast. Linebeck held out his bound wrist, too scared to risk moving it, and sat up. Bellum appeared at his side. "When did- what happened while I slept?"

"Zelda showed up and yelled at the guards when she saw your wrist," Bellum reported. "They were either fired or killed. Later, she came back with a few Sheikah and they fixed up your wrist and left you alone. They didn't search you again; I think they think that you've got nothing to hide. They set your wrist, the shadow used some very minor healing magic, and they wrapped it up. I imagine you didn't wake up at any point during that because you've been so exhausted recently. You were out for a few hours. It got boring, and I shut myself off after they fixed your wrist."

"They... fixed it," Linebeck quietly repeated. "Guess that shadow doesn't want me with a ruined wrist. How courteous. How many meals did I miss? I feel worse than usual, and it's not just the pain from my wrist, I think."

"Three. You slept through an entire day."

Linebeck let out a short whistle. "Shit... and still nothing? No one's tried to find me? N-no news about that?" He smiled weakly. "Have you tried going through the walls, listening for some kind of gossip?"

"I have," Bellum mumbled. "None of your friends have made any notable move towards the castle."

"Oh." Linebeck rested against the wall. "Oh. Okay." He let both of his hands rest on his lap, a jolt of pain shooting from his wrist. "I bet they're busy planning stuff. How long has it been?"

"Four days now."

"Great." Linebeck attempted to make himself comfortable. "Was there anything about the Yiga at all?"

"Well, yeah. They've been sending patrols into the city to get people out and to harass the Sheikah. They are probably planning something, but none of your friends were seen. Not even Damien."

"...He got out, right? When I made him leave. Maybe he's just recovering, like he's injured." Linebeck sighed. "I miss them. Haven't really... been separated from them like this for so long. Even locking myself away for work, they check on me and try to drag me out of my room and into the city for little tournaments and to make a bit of money and sometimes just to see Damien again. I wonder how many little carvings he's done since we met...? They're a bit creepy, aren't they? The carvings he did of me?"

"A little bit. You guys should spend more time together once you get out of here."

"Mh-hm. After I reconcile with the others. I still owe them more apologies. Did I properly apologize to Ghirahim about getting upset with him months ago, when he nearly made me have a panic attack? I guess I just flared up at him and shut myself away, didn't I? Never really got to explain anything. Damn it..."

"Hey, we aren't dying down here, got it?" Bellum made a sound akin to a scoff. "They don't want you dead, anyways. If they wanted you dead, they wouldn't have fixed your wrist."

"...Fair point." Linebeck shifted and pulled his legs closer to his body. "They're just going to wait until I agree to work for them? Or until they end the world." He peered down at his injured wrist. "How long do you think I'll be kept in here for?"

"Until you're saved," Bellum muttered.

Linebeck sighed and closed his eyes, hoping to again find sleep. Better than wallowing in despair. His wrist ached, but it wasn't unbearable.

What were the others doing? Going on little patrols? Picking up smaller missions to complete? Was Ghirahim busy sparring, was Midna in the middle of a session of potion-making or practicing her magic, was Link out fighting some of the Yiga? Was Damien injured and resting? Unhurt and planning yet another siege? Surely, they all intended to save him. He owed them for his past behavior and he really didn't want to go out with unpaid debts weighing on his conscious.

While he didn't sleep, he reflected on his memories, staring up at the dim ceiling. Ghirahim had tried to teach him to fight so many times and really only even managed to give him knife tips. The demon's ability to vaguely sense Bellum led to the AI frequently tormenting him out of boredom, sometimes making it difficult for Ghirahim to get stuff done.

Midna was more patient, but not by much. They occasionally made potions together and she helped the most when he cooked but didn't really interact much in the way of sparring. She more often looked after him like how Ghirahim did 200 years ago, perhaps some lingering impulse carrying over from their talks 200 years ago.

Link probably cared the least, and for good reason. Linebeck sighed. Aside from occasional acts of affection, he was never really too kind to Link.

Footsteps echoed from down the hall, but Linebeck didn't move any more than his head as they approached. He stared at the bars, then at Zelda once she stopped behind them, dressed casually. "Hey," he called out. "How's it been, planning the destruction of Hyrule?"

Zelda stared at him, then down at his bound wrist, then back up to his eyes. "Come here."

"Huh? No. I don't trust you."

"Come here. I wish to discuss your possible role as my royal engineer."

"I don't want to. Piss off and let me sleep." Linebeck tried to move himself onto his side, but couldn't find a comfortable position immediately. "What are you doing here, anyways? I'd assume you'd be busy planning stuff and whatnot."

The shadow narrowed its eyes. "I don't see why Zelda put up with you 200 years ago. As far as I can tell, you were just as insufferable when you were initially hired."

At that, Linebeck paused. He stared at the thing pretending to be Zelda, then asked, "You don't have her memories, do you?"

No response.

"I mean, you shut yourself away for a while after initially possessing her, almost like you didn't want to get caught for not knowing shit. You never really bothered with trying to mimic her personality either."

Zelda stared at him with steely eyes. Linebeck smiled and managed to shove himself to his feet. "If you had her memories, you'd know this is futile. Just send in more of your Sheikah punks for me to kill while you stall your death at Link's hands."

"You would do well to regard me with at least a little bit of respect, Lancrester."

"Again with the last name- I really don't hold much respect for you; hell, I have more respect for myself than I have for you, and trust me, I don't have that much respect for myself. You're just some shadow, pretending to be a dead woman and taking the longest possible route to destroying the world." Linebeck stumbled over to the cell door, letting his right arm hang limp at his side as he grabbed onto a bar with his left hand. "What kind of hobbies do you have?"

Zelda eyed his robotic fingers. "Reading, primarily. My magic and fighting capabilities require little practice."

"What room do you typically use as your bedroom?"

"The royal bedroom, of course, the same one that Zelda used when she was alive, of course."

"Ah, the one with the nice closet. You know, the last time I saw it, it was pretty dusty. How often do you go in there?"

"What- when was the last time you've seen that closet?"

Linebeck shrugged. "A few days ago. During that party." He grinned. "Damien and I ditched that party and decided it would be more entertaining to make out in your closet."

"You-" Sudden fury filled Zelda's eyes, and before Linebeck could react, she reached through the bars and grabbed a handful of his hair. She tugged him against the cell door, pressing his face against the freezing metal bars. "You insolent little bastard; you and that Damien brat deserve death."

"Wh-what about Damien c-constitutes you calling h-him a brat?" Linebeck growled, beginning to shake.

"Because the two of you are a pair of childish rule-breakers," Zelda sighed. She reached her other hand in and grabbed the dangling earring in Linebeck's right ear. "I figured you two would cause trouble at that party; I wasn't expecting you two to blow the power grid and make out in my closet. A double offense, impressive." She tore the earring out of his ear.

Pain shot through his skull and blood started to drip down his neck, and Linebeck stared with wide eyes at the bloody earring in Zelda's hand. She brought it close to her eyes, inspecting it. "This is Zora-made, isn't it? Good quality, though wasted on someone like you." She pursed her lips and slid it into her pants pocket. "You're not one for subtlety, are you?" she mused, reaching back in and toying with the small rings along the top of Linebeck's ear.

Linebeck's good arm shot out between the bars, aiming for Zelda's eyes, but she easily stepped just out of range. Unable to move his arm very fsr side-to-side, Linebeck let out a frustrated growl, instead reaching for her hand in his hair. Zelda tightened her grip and pushed him away, then shoved him against the bars harder than before. She leaned in, hissing, "Don't try anything, rat. I know magic, remember? I can't kill you, but I can still punish you."

Linebeck grabbed a handful of her hair just as she stopped speaking. She jerked away on reflex, but he kept his fingers tangled in her hair.

Zelda twisted enough to get a look at his hand tangled in her hair and rolled her eyes. With her free hand she deftly grabbed one of his remaining earrings and tore it out of his ear; Linebeck yelped and tore his own hand from Zelda's hair. She smoothly moved on to the next earring, then the next, ripping them out and collecting them in her hand while blood dripped from the ruined skin. Zelda regarded the earrings in her hand as Linebeck let out panicked gasps. "No subtlety, none at all," she sighed.

She withdrew her hand, but Linebeck reached out one last time, this time managing to claw at her face. Surprised fear washed over Zelda's face, and Linebeck activated both the lighter and the razor in his fingers, stabbing her in the cheek and pressing the small flame of the lighter into her skin just below her eye. Blood dripped down her face. For a moment, Zelda didn't move.

Linebeck began to grin, and Zelda gave him a strange look, not even flinching. Finally, shadow lashed out and punched Linebeck in the face with more strength than seemed possible from the body it was using, sending him stumbling away from the bars with blood streaming from his nose. He collapsed at the far side of the cell, not even seeing Zelda check her wounds and walk away, pocketing the rest of his earrings.

Once again, Linebeck was in a haze of pain, and he barely heard the cell door open not even five minutes later. Bellum shouted loud enough to cause feedback in order to force Linebeck to defend himself from the newest wave of Sheikah.

As far as he cared to recollect, the encounter was a bloody blur; Linebeck managed to focus on fighting back against the Sheikah, using them as a way to vent his frustration and misery. With Zelda clearly in a different part of the castle, Linebeck took his knife from its hiding place and even with only one usable hand managed to slit the throat of the first Sheikah who got too close.

Linebeck made a mad dash for the cell door but found it locked and was torn away from it. He wriggled away and buried his knife in the stomach of one of the Sheikah holding him, managing to force his way back up and finish them off. The other Sheikah quickly became wary; they kept their distance, but Linebeck rushed at them anyways.

Eventually, blood stained the sleeves of his shirt. At some point one of the Sheikah managed to tackle him from behind, holding him in place with his arms pinned to his sides. He let out shallow, strangled gasped, wriggling and realizing a little too late that he was far too weak to compete against the Sheikah's strength. Linebeck kicked out, catching a second Sheikah in the crotch, and threw his head back into the first's nose, a wet crunch and the arms around him loosening signaling that he was successful. He didn't give either of them time to gather their bearings before killing them, too.

His mind was buzzing once it was over, and he stumbled over to the corner, making sure not to trip on any bodies and slipping his knife back into its hiding spot after cleaning it off. Linebeck sat with his knees up to his chest, staring out at the rest of his cell. Bellum was silent. A few times he glanced back at Linebeck, but they both knew that the pain in his eyes didn't stem from any feeling of remorse.

A metallic stink slowly began to fill the room, and Linebeck shoved himself further into the corner and buried his nose in his arms. He'd checked each body before returning to his corner, and none of them held the keys to the cell door. Linebeck glowered at the hinges of the cell door. He doubted he would have the time or the fuel to melt the hinges with his lighter.

After a few minutes of pondering his escape, Linebeck sighed. He could just wait for the next group of Sheikah. He could try escaping whenever they opened the door to enter. Better than nothing.

Bellum started to talk, but Linebeck waved a hand, indicated for him to stay quiet. "Not now," he murmured. "I'm thinking about Damien now."

The AI let out a short scoff and Linebeck almost laughed. Having his memories back only made Bellum funnier. What had he been doing, some lonely kid in the outskirts of Hyrule city, building whatever came to mind, ending up with modified eyes and a personal AI? Even past the loss of his memories, locking himself in to work for hours on end before inevitably collapsing and having to be revived by the smell of coffee, rinse and repeat. Linebeck typically only left to buy supplies during the occasional city visits and only developed a habit of sticking around for a few days after he met Damien.

He and Damien hung out for hours on end once they got comfortable with each other, talking while they worked and quietly exploring part of Hyrule city they hadn't bothered to check out before. As a result, Linebeck became more willing to hang out with Midna and Ghirahim, even though the first few weeks were full of trial-and-error regarding what his aphenphosmphobia would allow him to comfortably do.

In his cell, Linebeck set his chin on his arms. Bellum remained silent but stared quietly at him. Finally, Linebeck felt a dull, burning pain in his upper leg, and stretched, glancing down to see that there was a long gash on his leg.

Hm.

It had stopped bleeding seemingly a while ago and didn't appear to be deep.

Oh, well.

Linebeck returned to his reminiscing.

His mind immediately went back to the night of the ball, when he and Damien snuck out of the party.

Linebeck glanced back, tightening his grip on Damien's hand. "Don't worry. Bellum's checking ahead of us, there's no one around." He gave Damien a small smile and stopped in the middle of the hall, tugging him closer.

"Sorry," Damien mused. "It just feels weird to be in here, after spending years planning how to break in." He wrapped his arms around Linebeck's waist, tugging him closer, staring up at Linebeck's face to watch for his reaction. "I'm glad you're the one giving me a tour."

Twitching in reaction to the contact, Linebeck shrugged. "I mean, at this point, who else is going to guide you around the castle? And, uh, hold on until we find Zelda's room, alright? I don't want to literally get caught with my pants down in the middle of a castle hall."

Damien laughed nervously. He backed up and removed his arms from Linebeck's waist. "Sorry, sorry. Have you... been in Zelda's room before?"

"Well, yeah. I lived in this castle for a few years before getting my memories wiped, and I spent a fair bit of time exploring. Zelda did let me in her room a few times for little meetings. I think Zelda wouldn't mind if we made out in her closet to spite the shadow. She and Midna would sneak around the castle to do similar things, back when she was... y'know, alive." Linebeck took Damien's hand again and started leading him down the hall. "I miss her sometimes."

"...I bet. Hard to imagine what she was like after only knowing the current Zelda." Damien peered around at any paintings or windows they walked by. "Pretty deep into the castle, huh?" He picked up the pace, walking adjacent to Linebeck. "Makes sense, I guess. Queen gets the nicest room."

"Yeah, it's really nice. I think you'd like it." Linebeck led Damien up a set of stairs, climbing higher in the castle. They walked for a few more minutes, eventually reaching a pair of dignified, immaculately painted doors. Linebeck nervously looked up and down the hall, then grabbed one of the door handles. He paused. "I hope Zelda doesn't come back to haunt me for this. Or haunt you, for that matter."

"We'll be fine."

Linebeck sighed and pushed the door inward. They both momentarily stared into the nearly pitch-black room, and Linebeck's eyes adjusted the slightest bit to allow him to see the outlines of furniture. "Stay close to me, I can see the closet," he murmured. Damien's arms wrapped around his waist once again, and the pair of them carefully stepped into the dark room, slowly closing the door behind them. There was no time to admire the royal bedroom, so Linebeck hurried over to the closet across the room and opened the door, wincing as the hinges squealed. "Dammit," he grumbled.

"It's fine, it's fine," Damien breathed, half-pushing Linebeck into the smaller room. "We've only got so much time."

Linebeck let out a small chuckle, finding the back wall of the closet as Damien shut the door. "More room than I expected," he reported. "All of the clothes are on one side, so we've got space." He watched Damien rub at his eyes, blinking hard in the darkness. "I'm over here," he whispered.

"I know," Damien murmured. "I can see your eyes." He walked over to Linebeck, then reached up and held his face in his hands. "Your eyes are always so much brighter than I expect."

Linebeck tried to come up with a response, but the thought was lost as Damien tugged him closer and pressed their mouths together. Linebeck wrapped his arms around Damien's shoulders and held him tightly, shutting his eyes as they kissed. Damien tilted his head slightly, then pulled back after a few seconds. Linebeck smiled faintly at him. His skin prickled where Damien touched him, but there wasn't enough fear to make him want to stop.

Damien clutched at the front of Linebeck's clothes, then muttered. "Goddesses, your lips are so chapped."

At that, Linebeck couldn't help but let out a short bark of laughter. He hugged Damien closer and managed to rest his chin on top of his head. "Sorry, it's not really something I think of fixing." he sighed, then pressed a kiss to the top of Damien's head. "You smell nice."

"I took a shower earlier, remember?"

"Mhm." Linebeck felt Damien pull back one more time, and he watched him peer up at him. "What?"

"Just..." Damien licked his own lips. "Gotta do something about that, I mean... your lip is split in a few places, come on! Here-" Damien kissed him again, this time his lips wet against Linebeck's. They were practically standing in the middle of the closet, but Damien gently pushed Linebeck until his back made contact with the wall. They parted for a moment to breathe and check their surroundings, then returned to the kiss.

Linebeck's hand drifted up and found Damien's ponytail, undoing it and letting Damien's hair hang past his shoulders. "Hey," Damien muttered, pulling away. "I thought my hair was nice like that."

"It was." Linebeck gently raked his own fingers through Damien's hair, playing with strands that were just a bit out of place. "But it looks nice when you let it down, too. Here, let's try this..." He clutched the front of Damien's shirt and guided them both down, sliding down against the wall until he reached the ground. "I've never made out before, but I can only assume being closer to the ground would be less awkward and more comfortable for us."

They both shifted a bit, Linebeck sitting up against the wall. He watched Damien try to situate himself, then asked, "Have you ever made out with anyone?"

Damien shook his head. "Nope."

Linebeck laughed. "Me neither. Might as well figure that out, right? No one's watching and we're in the dark. Perfect time to make fools of ourselves. Comfortable yet?"

"Give me a few seconds, I don't want to be sitting on your legs or anything, but I think kissing at an angle might not be very fun..."

"I can turn my head, you're fine there."

Damien, sitting to the side of his outstretched legs, frowned to himself and then shrugged. He kissed Linebeck again, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. Linebeck slid his hands down to Damien's sides, leaning more into the kiss as he got more comfortable with it. Damien's hands moved similarly, finding their way down around Linebeck's chest, tugging them close enough that Damien was practically laying on top of him.

Linebeck gently began to untuck Damien's shirt, shifting slightly as Damien managed to move closer. By the time their chests were pressed together, Linebeck turned his head to break the kiss. "T-too close," he muttered. "Back up a little. That's too much touching." Damien made an apologetic sound and backed up. "How about... not much more than your hands and your lips? That's about as much as I can handle for now."

Damien gave a small nod. "Right. Let me know when you want to stop, then. I'll just... keep a hand on your chest, if that's fine."

"Go ahead. You've got no problem with me slipping my hands up under your shirt or anything?"

"Sure." Damien straightened up and untucked the rest of his shirt for Linebeck. "How much time do you think we have?"

Linebeck shrugged, setting his hands on Damien's hips. "Maybe an hour, give or take a bit. Trust me, if we start to outstay our welcome, Bellum with be sure to let me know."

"Well, let's get back to it." Damien leaned forward again, and Linebeck met him halfway with a kiss.

A loud bang jerked Linebeck back to reality. He blinked to clear up his vision; for a moment, he panicked, but Bellum hadn't yet warned him.

Still, when his eyes adjusted, he saw Zelda behind the door.

They stared at each other for a moment, and Zelda finally shook her head and walked off. He sighed once her footsteps were gone. Only then did Bellum appear. Linebeck glanced over at him and scowled. "I thought you were going to keep an eye on things for me."

"She didn't say anything, and you were having a nice time reminiscing, so I kept quiet. I dunno what she wanted, since she didn't say anything. She just looked really pissed off."

"Mmm. My leg hurts. So does my ear, but my leg feels terrible." Linebeck shifted uncomfortably, hesitantly touching the wound. He hissed in pain. "D-damn it." He peered at it, slightly opening the tear in his pants to assess it properly, then let out a shaky sigh.

Bellum hovered down to get a look at it and, much to Linebeck's surprise, let out a sound akin to a whistle. "That's going to get infected, all right. Too bad there's no way for you to clean it off."

Linebeck groaned and slumped against the wall, not even bothering to respond. At some point, he fell asleep, and didn't bother to ask Bellum how much time had passed when he next woke.

A tray of food sat by the door, and Linebeck quietly picked at it for as long as he was allowed. The cut on his leg hadn't been tended to. Once left alone for long enough, Linebeck gingerly unbuttoned his shirt and checked himself for bruises and other smaller cuts, finding more than he remembered getting.

He could only assume that a few days had passed before the cut in his leg became truly infected, and at that point he became too afraid to look at it. On occasion, Bellum would take a look, but never said anything.

A small group of Sheikah entered the cell one day while Linebeck was back to reminiscing, and the creak of the door's hinges snapped him perfectly awake. He shoved himself to his feet and rushed to the still-open door but was easily shoved away by the last Sheikah that entered. In hindsight, trying to rush the door as the Sheikah entered was a stupid idea.

That encounter was over surprisingly quickly, but Linebeck came out of it with sore limbs and a new cut across his stomach, and all of the Sheikah that entered ended up leaving alive as well. It seemed like they were just there to beat him up. He collapsed in the corner again, his older, most likely infected wounds burning as he moved.

When Linebeck next woke up, he had a fever. His wounds were bandaged but had long since bled through the bindings. A tray of food was set into the cell, and Linebeck lethargically dragged himself over and ate what he could at a slow pace. The day dragged on, and the next day was just as slow as he huddled in the corner. His wounds burned and itched and the fever made him sore and uncomfortably warm.

Hours dragged by, and Linebeck gave up on fighting back, too weak and pained to effectively defend himself. Each encounter felt hazy and dreamlike. Everything had come falling down so quickly after his wound became infected; when it came down to it, Linebeck decided, there wasn't much that any lone human could do against a nasty fever.

One day, suddenly, not a single Sheikah swung by to harass him. He didn't get any meals, and things were dead silent for a long while. Linebeck let his mind drift, too tired and sick to move from his corner, ignoring how Bellum kept flying out beyond the door to check the hall. Linebeck sighed, wincing at how his chest ached. Focusing on his pain and exhaustion would do nothing for him. The shadow had probably decided to let him rot.

Linebeck returned to his past reminiscing. He never did finish recalling his and Damien's time during the party.

Damien hummed a few notes to himself, then went silent. After a few more seconds, he hummed again, a similar melody. He shifted, setting his chin on Linebeck's shoulder. Linebeck, running his fingers through Damien's hair, smiled. "Are you trying to work out a piece of music?"

"Maybe," Damien mused. "One piece I've been thinking of picking up, but I'm not sure." He leaned further against Linebeck, his arms loosely wrapped around Linebeck's waist. Damien's shirt and jacket had been lost somewhere in the dark room, and he shuddered every so often as Linebeck ran his fingers up and down his spine, the jagged edges of his nails scraping against his bare skin.

"I think we should think about trying a duet," Linebeck whispered. Damien let out a small hum of interest. "There was a piece I was working on 200 years ago, the piano part for a piano and clarinet duet. I bet we could find the sheet music, if you'd like to try it out. Otherwise, we could find another duet."

"That sounds nice," Damien mumbled. He pulled his arms back towards himself and reached up to find Linebeck's hand in his hair. He grabbed it, gently intertwining their fingers, and brought their hands down to rest in Linebeck's lap. "Once this is all over, I'll bet the Yiga will have a lot less to do, so I should consider getting more serious with my musical abilities." With a small huff, Damien muttered, "You know, the clarinet is pretty underappreciated. It doesn't get a whole lot of time to really shine in music. The flute and saxophone and trumpet get all of the praise but clarinet has a really nice sound."

"Mh-hm. And I'm sure there are some pieces with a great deal of emphasis on clarinet." Linebeck couldn't help but smile. "Maybe you're biased, and it makes you think that not enough respect is paid to it, right? In the sort of way that since you can play and are familiar with it, you're a lot more prone to noticing it in music. I can't really say the same, since piano is in a lot of stuff."

Linebeck ran his fingers down Damien's spine one last time and then set his hand flat on Damien's back. "I've really managed to drag myself away from that habit of locking myself in my workshop for hours on end; I'll definitely be able to make time to practice with you when we find the time."

Damien sighed and moved so that he was practically laying across Linebeck's legs. "That sounds nice. I'll probably take a break from carpentry after this, too, since things will probably be too chaotic for there to be any decent business." He stared into the darkness, then shifted onto his back and stared up at Linebeck. "My eyes have adjusted to the dark so I can see your outline, but your eyes are still so bright in here."

"That makes me easy to find, I suppose," Linebeck replied, hesitating and then laying his right hand on Damien's chest. "And finding your way around by feel is just fine, too, right?"

"Guess so." Damien reached up and looped his arms around Linebeck's neck, tugging himself closer to him. "Do you think we've got just a bit more time?"

"For what?"

Damien hesitated, then kissed Linebeck one more time, briefly. "…Depends on how much time we have. Where'd my shirt go? I don't want to forget it when we have to leave."

"Uh. Somewhere to my left. Hang on let me see if I can't find it..." Linebeck groped around in the dark for a moment, eventually finding the discarded clothes and handing them back to Damien. "Here."

Damien nodded mutely and sat off to the side, squinting at his clothes. He put the shirt and jacket back on after a minute. "Well. That was nice."

"Yeah, nice," Linebeck mused. "Hey. After all of this, no matter what happens between now and the shadow's death, I want to spend at least three days in the city with you. See what it's like. Just... get away from work and all of that and just spend some time with you. The others can come and go and visit and do stuff with us, but... just you and me for three days."

Damien sighed. "Yeah, we can find time to do that." He stood up, shoving aside some of the hanging clothes. "We should probably get going, check for patrols and the like. We... got a little loud, there. We should ditch this place and do some kind of surveillance."

"Not a bad idea." Linebeck shoved himself to his feet, finding the closet door and pushing it open. "Let's go make sure the others will be safe."

Footsteps echoed from down the hall, and Linebeck dragged his eyes up to the cell door. The shadow stood there, staring down at him with Zelda's eyes. "Hey, it's been a while," he croaked. "You're pathetic, I've decided." Linebeck smiled as the shadow's glare intensified. "You've spent the last 200 years pretending to be a dead woman, and I'm sure you're pretended to be hundreds of other people just because there's barely anything you can do on your own. All you can do is flit around and mimic people; you literally have no substance unless you steal what others have."

"...And? I've come this far. I either take over others' lives or shape myself after them for as long as I can manage. What's your point? I can see you're on the verge of death now. This is how you want to spend the last few hours of your life?"

Linebeck shrugged as well as he could manage. "You've got personality, mentality, everything intangible, but what's the point if you have no physical substance of your own? Everyone else has shape to their identity, and all you have in some shadows and a burning desire to end the world or something. You're a sad thing." He went silent and thought for a moment. "All shadow, no dust. Pathetic."

The shadow stared at him for a long moment, then sighed. "You really are of no use to me. Dust and shadows, shadows and dust… it really doesn't matter when the world is going to end in a matter of days."

"…Fair." Linebeck winced as pain suddenly emanated from his left shoulder and right hip; he did his best to keep his expression as one of bored disinterest. "You look like you're in a hurry."

"Maybe I am. Have fun dying. You're burning up so badly that I think I can feel the heat over here." The shadow stared blankly at him for one last minute, then it smiled. No emotion shone behind Zelda's eyes, and Linebeck shuddered as, for a brief second, he felt that he was truly looking at a corpse.

But that's what he'd been looking at the whole time, right? Nothing but a corpse. Linebeck tried to sit up, but his arm buckled underneath him. The shadow laughed and walked off, leaving him bleeding and feverish on the ground.

The footsteps leading away from his cell eventually stopped, and Linebeck found the strength to stand up after a few minutes. Every step hurt and his mind was foggy, but he managed to reach the cell door.

"You're exhausted and feverish and still bleeding in a few spots," Bellum suddenly snapped, reminding Linebeck of his existence. "Better to wait until someone finds you. Something's obviously going on in the castle."

"I need to follow her," Linebeck mumbled, reaching through the bars. "Gotta do something." He switched all of his robotic fingers around, sticking the magnet and the razor into the keyhole. He'd tried picking it in the past to no avail, but now he had time to fiddle with it for a while.

After a minute, Bellum floated and began inspecting the inside of the keyhole, muttering advice and suggestions every so often. Linebeck's mind grew foggier as minutes dragged by and his fingers began to shudder ferociously, but after what felt like an eternity, a faint click echoed from the keyhole. Linebeck froze, staring at the opposite wall until Bellum whispered, "You can leave."

Linebeck moved his hand down to the doorknob and quietly fumbled with it for a few seconds. He finally managed to turn it, and he stumbled forward as the door swung outwards. While Linebeck slid arm out of the bars, Bellum zipped away to check the halls. "…Is it clear?" Linebeck asked once the AI returned.

"It is! We can finally get out of this damned hellhole-"

Linebeck's feet dragged against the ground, and he ignored Bellum's words. Zelda had gone down the hall opposite of where he'd been dragged in. There had to be some worth to be found in following her, as weak as he was. Each time his foot connected with the ground, a spike of pain shot up his leg. He felt blood trailing down his arms, his legs, his chest, reaching the ground and dripping on the floor.

He tripped and collapsed to the ground. But there was now a door in his view, made of Sheikah material and dimly illuminated. Linebeck's own shaky breathing felt painfully loud in his ears, drowning everything out as he dragged himself towards the door.

The light at the end of the tunnel… Linebeck would've laughed if he wasn't slowly developing a splitting headache. Something was going on in the castle above him- either he was feeling the faint vibrations from an immense commotion, or he was shaking that badly. Still, he dragged himself forward, leaving a trail of blood.

"I don't think you'll be able to make it," Bellum murmured. "I… you're barely awake. You can't stand- Don't even bother trying." The AI's voice cracked as he spoke.

Linebeck hesitated. Even since he created Bellum, he'd never heard his voice crack, or at least wasn't awake to hear it crack.

"…I'll be fine," he mumbled. "They'll find me."

"But-"

"They'll find me. They'll find me." Linebeck quietly repeated the words as his thoughts began to blend together and it became harder to focus on the door in front of him, barely feet away, now.

Footsteps echoed down the hall for the fiftieth time since he'd been thrown in those dungeons.

Linebeck ignored them as his grip on consciousness began to slip, bleeding and feverish on the ground. The footsteps grew closer. His fingertips brushed the door. He twitched weakly as phantom pains began again, a low throbbing where his left arm and right leg used to be. The pain continued as he fell out of consciousness, and were the last thing he felt before being enveloped by nothingness.