"DAMN IT!" Ghirahim shrieked, flinging his sword.

It cut right through the trunk of a tree, then another, and another, creating something like a domino effect before vanishing into thin air. The demon lord's hair was tousled, but for once he didn't care.

"WHERE ARE YOU, VALENTINA?!" he shouted at the treetops.

They had no answer for him. He gripped his hair with gloved hands, tangling it further.

"YOU INGRATE! YOU SIMPERING DOG! WHEN I FIND YOU—"

"Oh dear. Maybe I should come back?"

Ghirahim whirled to face the speaker, materializing a blade in his hand. The point stopped just short of the woman's throat, lightly brushing her tanned skin. Ghirahim observed the speaker silently, taking in the white hair, violet eyes, and revealing getup. She had a dark aura about her, a powerful one. It intrigued the demon lord.

"Is this how you greet everyone?" the woman said, her face a mask, "Or just the ones you like?"

"State your name, woman."

"Cia, and I have a proposition for you."

"Flattering, but I have more pressing issues to attend to."

Cia's mouth turned up at the corners, "What? Shouting at your subordinate? I fail to see how that's going to solve your problem. Wouldn't you like to use a more direct method?"

Ghirahim frowned.

Another long-legged enigma who knows too much about me, though this one is admittedly much easier to look at.

"And how might you know about my little problem?"

Cia shifted her grip on her staff.

"See, I used to be the Overseer of Time. I know most everything there is to know."

"Really?" Ghirahim said, interested, "So what is this more direct method you're referring to?"

"How about you put that thing away—" Cia glanced down at the blade still resting at her throat. "—And we can talk."

Ghirahim pulled back, feeling decidedly unthreatened by the woman. Her aura wasn't half so large as Majora's. If needed, the demon lord felt he could handle her.

"Very well," he said, dematerializing his sword.

"Much better," Cia smiled charmingly, "So about that proposition. I understand your Master isn't feeling terribly well as of late."

Her word choice irked Ghirahim.

Yet another high-and-mighty fool treating it like a triviality. My Master is DEAD. You won't treat it so lightly once he returns and takes his rightful place. And he WILL return. I shall see to it, even if I have to do it myself. Allies are utterly overrated.

"I might have a cure for what ails him," Cia continued while Ghirahim feigned rapt attention, "Perhaps you've heard of it. It grants the wish of whoever holds it."

Ghirahim's eyes narrowed.

"Of course I've heard of it. It was the very thing my Master sought when he still walked these miserable lands in his rightful form."

"Yes. You should be happy to know that it has been revealed and is ours for the taking."

A spark entered Ghirahim's eye.

"Oh?"

"Yes, and with a single wish I could return your Master to you. All I need is for you to help me attain it."

"I see." Ghirahim's tongue darted across his lips, his dark grey eyes shining. "And what exactly stands in your way, my lady?"

"Just a few bothersome pests. I believe you know some of them, such as the hero and his Sheikah companion."

"Oh, yes, we've had a few run-ins. It would be my pleasure to dispense with them, but perhaps to make sure the odds are in our favour, we should bring along an extra party."

Cia raised an eyebrow, "Such as?"

"My subordinate who I was screaming at just now. Valentina. She has quite a bit of promise, I think you'll find, and if you were to explain the circumstances to her, she would gladly pledge her service in return for a wish granted."

Cia seemed to be turning it over in her mind.

"All right then. I suppose in her current state she wouldn't pose a threat, and it would be such a delight to have the Valentina working under me."

Ghirahim frowned, "You know her?"

It seems my little subordinate is quite well-known among these skeeving lunatics.

"Oh, yes. In her time, she danced with gods. Come along now. I know precisely where she is."

Cia extended a hand, waiting for Ghirahim to take it. Ghirahim hesitated.

"What are you waiting for? I don't bite."

"Oh, I wasn't worried about that. It's just that Valentina might not be so happy to see me."

Cia's smile widened mischievously.

"I wonder why."

The demon lord placed his gloved hand in Cia's upturned one. In the blink of an eye, they reappeared in another section of the forest, the only difference being the presence of a bronze-haired girl. The change didn't last long however. Val took one look at the newcomers, and promptly vanished. Cia wasted no time. Her hand still clutching Ghirahim's, she teleported them to Val's new location. Val seemed shocked to see them for a second time, but she didn't stick around to ask questions. In a snap, she was gone again. Cia's grip tightened on the demon lord.

"I see what you meant," she remarked before teleporting again.

"What are we playing?" she asked once they'd caught up with Val, "Hide and seek?"

Val regarded them, her fear plain on her face.

"How are you doing that?" she demanded.

"I have a good sense of smell, sweetie," Cia said patronizingly, "Now can we talk?"

Val glanced at Ghirahim.

"About what?"

"A proposition. Ghirahim can attest that they are quite satisfying when coming from me."

Val didn't appear interested in dancing around the subject.

"What proposition?"

"It's simple: your service in exchange for the thing you want most, that being you reunited with your true master."

"You know my..." Val was stunned. "But he was sealed away. How do you mean to reunite me with him?"

"There is a relic imbued with the power of gods hidden away on Skyloft. It grants the wish of whomever holds it. I mean to take it, but I require assistance. So how about it? Serve me for a little while, and I shall grant you your greatest wish."

Val shot another glance at Ghirahim and a spark of irritation stirred in the demon lord.

Really, Val, are you so disgusted with me that you would throw away such a gift? Though, come to think of it, that's quite in your character, isn't it? After all, you threw away MY good graces.

"How do I know I can trust you?" Val demanded.

"You don't."

Val considered it a moment, then made up her mind.

"I'll do it."

"Wonderful," Cia smiled, "Now all you need to do is take my hand."

Val paused, regarding Cia's outstretched open palm warily.

"Really, you sword spirits are all alike. Just take my hand."

Val did so and in a heartbeat they were standing in the folded hands of a massive Goddess statue. Ghirahim released Cia's hand, gazing up at Hylia's stone face with a sour expression. The lifeless eyes stared back blankly.

"Ah," Cia said, "Behold, the majesty of the Triforce."

There were the three golden triangles, hovering weightlessly before them. Ghirahim's eyes swept their surroundings.

"Where exactly are those pests you spoke of?" he inquired.

"They must be more foolish than I thought," Cia said, "Leaving something so priceless unguarded. I expected more of my other half."

Val quirked a brow in confusion, "What?"

"No matter," Cia brushed it off, "It just makes things all the easier."

She extended her hand, and in answer the Triforce began to shrink, gravitating toward her open palm. Once it touched her skin, she closed her fingers, watching the golden light seeping between her digits. Then it died, and when she opened her grasp, there was nothing there.

She turned back toward her new recruits, taking a deep breath and releasing it with a gusty sigh.

"I love this feeling," she said, "Shall we be on our way?"