Wow, I can't believe I finished Skyward Sword, started four stories and finished/published three of them, all in one day. Phew! Anyway, enjoy :)
She felt something grip the hilt. But it was far colder than her fiery surroundings. No, she identified this hand not to be her master's touch.
This hand was foreign.
Non-human.
Malevolent.
In response, she engaged in anti-corruption protection, clinging forcefully to the magic imbued with the blade. And yet, she could not resist the strength of the force summoning her forth. With the person's grunt of effort and pain, she felt a defensive energy leave her as her spirit was successfully drawn out.
Should Master Link find out, I will inform him that this was not voluntary.
"Ah. Forgive my insolence in calling you out like this."
Ignoring the approximately 600°C heat within the volcanic cavern, she turned towards the source of the voice. She recognised Ghirahim standing before her, but did not fully comprehend his reason for calling her.
"There is no need for false formalities. I predict a 99% chance of my master's return and thus I will return to the blade to wait in the meantime. Do not reattempt to summon me."
"And of the other 1%? What if the boy never returns?" he replied tauntingly as he walked closer towards her.
"Your endeavours in causing me to doubt are futile. He will return. Chances of any other outcome are negligible."
He laughed before teleporting behind her in a flurry of diamonds. He did not catch her off guard however; she had turned around before he reappeared.
"But 99% is still not 100%, is it? Please, correct me if I'm wrong," he offered in a careless tone. He spoke as if open to criticism, but from her previous observations, she deduced this to be a facade to appear more trustworthy.
"Your egotism is evident by your endeavours to show off your magical prowess," she replied. She could parry his wordplay easily; eons of historical literature and infinite logical reasoning was weapon enough.
"You mean this?" he smirked, disappearing suddenly before reappearing again. He caught her off guard this time; not by the unexpectedness, but rather by the hand that suddenly gripped her head. The 0°C temperature against her skin did not waver, despite the immense heat surrounding them that should have rushed to his hand. She sensed the same defensive energy leave her, this time accompanied by the sound of violent steam. By his gritted teeth and the glowing marks appearing on the hand holding her, she deduced he was experiencing intense pain. Despite this however, he did not make any indication of releasing is grip on her. He tilted her head upwards to make her stare into his own. Blue met purple. Fi could recognise the demonic power that lay before her, but not the full extent. There was something sharp and violent within his eyes, separate from whatever expression he was arranging his face into. A thirst for knowledge overcame her.
"Why did you summon me?"
"Would you find my statement... hmm, how would you describe it? Invalid, if I told you I merely wanted to talk?"
Seeing her silent response, he continued on, not relinquishing his grip on her.
"But I tell you, I was sincerely seeking your company! For you and I, we are kin, are we not?"
She didn't have time to fully register this comment before he explained further.
"You don't recognise it. Neither does the boy, the fool. But that is because, despite our kinship, we are so, so different."
Leaping back with a great flourish, he arced his slender arms in a grand gesture before bowing.
"For I, serve a greater master. One who allows me to walk free, one who trusts me wholeheartedly. But you," he added vehemently, pointing a finger at her. "You have not had the... opportunity, as I have had to flourish. Your master does not have faith in your infallibility. Your master does not trust you. Your master does not care for you."
He paused as if to see if his words had caused any damage. Fi did not understand why he did that.
"What is human care? What is human affection? I do not despise my master's emotions, for it is for these qualities that he has been chosen. They serve as motivation for him to continue. But what does affection for myself, what purpose does that serve?"
"My dear friend! You are confined to this pathetic weapon and it has blinded you to the potential that you have! Your loyalty to the boy is illogical and foolish. We both know that without you, he would perish."
"I am merely a guiding hand for him. His own growth has been rapid in relation to the difficulties he has faced. We have come far on his own strength."
By the slant of his brow and the curl of his lip, Fi judged that he was growing more frustrated as the conversation continued. With an angered yell, he thrust his hand forward towards her. She anticipated it however; his arm flew back as it met with a barrier of pale blue light.
"You will not sway my allegiance with your feeble attempts. Our current discussion is meaningless."
He clutched a hand to his chest, feigning hurt as he looked at her with doleful eyes.
"You offend me with your wild accusations! I am merely trying to aid another like myself to realise her potential! Perhaps I should simply take your vessel with me until I successfully convince you..." he said beguilingly, reaching for the blade.
"It is not necessary for me to inform you of what you are already aware. You know that only a mortal can pull this sword from where it rests. Even if you could draw the sword, I have observed by the injuries you suffered in our previous physical contact that prolonged touch will ultimately destroy you; you would not be able to carry outside of this volcano."
A strange sensation came over her legs as he caressed the woven design on the hilt. It was a feeling that she often associated with human intolerance to cold. But as they were currently located within a volcano, that inference was void. He released the blade, and as he did so, the strange sensation immediately left her, along with the sound of rapidly evaporating liquid.
"Ah, you are right. As always," he murmured with a sigh, taking a step towards her. There was the sound that she identified as bomb explosions and Bokoblin screams in the near distance, and she deduced that Master Link was not far.
"And that fool you call 'Master' is coming towards us. Right on cue to interrupt me when I'm doing something important! I'm afraid that I will have to leave you where you stand. Perhaps when we next cross paths, I will indulge you with the sight of my true form. I am sure you would enjoy that. But until then, I shall leave you a parting gift."
No amount of knowledge, no divine anointment, no logic nor reasoning could have prepared her for that moment. For at that moment, he forced his lips upon hers. She could feel an exchange of magical powers... her own aura was being absorbed and replaced with something... darker... more emotional... some strange equilibrium between immortal and human... She tried to find data on this human exchange of emotions, but her search came up empty... all that she could come up with was a perception that it was supposed to be a consensual and enjoyable experience... but the sense of foreboding and danger of something foreign trying to enter her very being just kept bringing up two words that she had heard an age ago that were vaguely related to the subject matter.
Kiss... Death...
The coldness of his skin was slowly increasing in temperature as he moved closer towards her, grabbing her more forcefully. The passion in his actions confounded her.
What is this...?
If this continued for much longer, she didn't know if she could handle it. Her reaction was not so bad as his however; he seemed to be experiencing extreme pain, and strangely enough, extreme pleasure... It was so intense, so overwhelming... she couldn't predict the probability of her overcoming this... but was that borne from an inability or an aversion to resisting? Evil was entering into her... she had to stop it...
Suddenly there was a flash within her as she felt the malice reflect off the blade's sanctified surface. He stumbled back from her, holding his mouth in what she perceived as pain. Removing his hand, he grinned sadistically and revealed a deep gash across his lips. A drop of blood trickled from the corner before he licked it away slowly with his long, purple tongue. Fi recognised the blood from his wound to be the same substance that remained on her lips.
"That is what you learn when you walk along the path of a mortal," he said with a perverted smile. "When you're free. "
He placed his forefinger and thumb on either side of his lips and brought them together, tracing the deadly arc of his wound and drawing the pale flesh together.
"Intoxicating, isn't it?" he whispered, licking his lips.
Fi couldn't help but agree that his choice of word held 80% relevance to the experience. Something so fearsome as that would have to be intoxicating in order to successfully transfer between victim and initiator.
Should you ever rid yourself of your master," he offered enticingly, spitting out the last word with contempt, "come find me for another taste."
"You are fully aware that I do not possess that sense, as you are the same."
"See? We are kin," he laughed before disappearing, glowing streaks of diamonds fading away with him. The sense of danger left with him, and all that remained was a powerful, magical pulsating towards the east of the cavern. She detected temperatures reaching beyond 1500°C, a heat so different from the ice cold of a demon's touch...
When she felt Master Link's touch upon the hilt, a sense of order returned to the world. This was the natural way of things. Seeing his bewildered expression at seeing her blemished blue countenance, she rapidly absorbed the remaining blood into her skin so as to hide it from his sight. No evidence of that encounter should remain; it would needlessly worry and distract her master.
"Thank you, Master Link."
Perhaps if she was human, she would have said those words with the emotions she knew were called 'gratitude' and 'relief.' Perhaps if she was, as she observed the Spirit Maiden to be, more expressive and upfront, she would embrace her master, so emotionally overwhelmed by the events as she so often identified humans as being in the face of trauma.
"Please excuse me for leaving your side during this brief trouble with the volcanic eruption."
But as she mechanically repeated the crucial observations she had made, she remembered...
"For you and I, we are kin, are we not?"
"While I was here, I detected a strong source of power emanating from the area on the far right."
Yes, she remembered, as she simultaneously relayed information and deleted the memory of that impassioned magic exchange from before... She had never deleted data before, in case even the traumatic were useful in future... but she was sure this time that it was necessary to do so... There was no need to cling to useless memories, as humans do. Yes, she remembered...
"Signs indicate a 60% chance that the dragon who knows a verse from the Song of the Hero dwells there."
She remembered that...
"Please reacquire the rest of your gear and continue your search for the dragon."
... She was not human.
Some small changes due to cannon ideas identified by Piplink. Cheers bro :)
