Living in a sword could be considered a very interesting experience.
In some ways, it wasn't that different from the houses humans used. In fact, in those was it was better than anything they'd come up with so far. The place kept a constant, pleasant temperature, removing the need for fickle fires or bulky blankets. There where places to rest; a great, lace-lined bed and a comfortable armchair, which kept themselves pristine and sweet-smelling. There were even windows with which to view the outside world, not stuck in one place but actively shifting across the walls as needed. All of this and more where divided into different rooms, just as they would in a normal house. If the humans of Skyloft ever developed dense housing towers like Lanayru, but with slightly worse technology, one of their homes might of look similar to this.
At that moment though, it may as well have been a dirt shack.
Fi lay sprawled out on the bed, cloak cast up behind her. Face frozen in position, she stared up at what passed as the ceiling, eyes blank. In her mind, however, her fingers where dancing, sifting through the entirety of her programing for any hint of "it"
Scanning commonly accessed areas for Resource Allocation Error 1.0. That is what she'd officially taken to calling "it", that pesky flaw that had been a plague on her efficiency all day. Every time she watched Master, every time she should have been profiling his enemies or analyzing the environment around him, it seemed to pop up and distract her, rerouting her attention to less vital aspects. For hours now, she'd been trying to hunt it down with cold efficiency. Master is the only one standing between Demise and the world… he must not be burdened with a flawed tool. She may not have known what it was, or how it got there, but Hylia would never have put it there; it was detrimental to her duties…
But… something from the back of her head prodded. It feels so good.
The scanning shifted to the back of her mind at that, bringing something else to light… embarrassment. I exist to assist Master… insubordination does him no service. She'd been feeling like this ever since she'd done the unthinkable; made a request. Only flawed tools burden their users. Her body warmed as they went along, chest tightening and body shaking… programed feedback for failure, not doubt. She'd wasted no time in fleeing into her home when Cana ran into those Bokoblin. So bravely fighting through the pain, so brilliant in the way he'd solved that slope, so kind in the way he'd put up with her neediness. He deserves better than what I've given him so far… he deserves perfection.
Area Scan Complete. No threats detected… the search shut itself off automatically after the notification, returning her perception to the great wall of files that made up her memory banks. Each process was a waterfall of sorts, visuals and code flowing down in a constant stream, accessible by a mere touch. Some were glowing brightly with teal energy, others where dark and dim, but all made a light humming sound, just auditable. She found it calming, for some reason; a sign she was still functioning properly. She reached into one of the streams, feeling the data slid over her hand with a strong pulse of power, tenderly brushing the one file she cared more about then any other; the golden letter of her core directive… the last words of her mother.
"Deny him nothing; he will be your Master, the man around which your whole existence will revolve. You will aid him on his quest to defeat the Demon."
The embarrassment began to fade with this, mind resettling itself into her ideal state. Her face physically unclenched, body stopping the light squirming that had been afflicting it. I will be perfection she directed herself, levitating herself off the bed and out of the room, prepared to face the world once again…
Then she felt something along her outer thigh, the firm touch of Master's grip, and the warmth of a welcome request.
End all remaining Data Scans. And with that quick mental command, she gracefully exited her home.
"Just look at this thing bud!" Gorko gestured excitedly to the great metal block. "This is one of the biggest finds I've had in months!"
Cana paid close attention to the goron, goddess sword hanging loose from his hand. It had taken him hours to get this deep into the woods; hiking his way through miles of trail, crossing blades with a few more Bokoblin, and climbing another huge hill, and managing to get chased across a narrow ledge by bees, propelled by pure adrenaline. His greatcoat was slashed in half a dozen places, the cuts themselves mostly patched up from the heart flower pulp by now, a few welts from the beestings on his leg, and obviously starting to build up some swet; his left arm was now arguably the part of his body in the best shape. After all of that, it was nice to see a friendly face. "It is pretty cool," Cana nodded, turning his eyes to the strange object. "Except… what exactly is it?"
"I've been calling them Goddess Cubes." Gorko managed to calm himself down a bit. "According to the ancient texts, the Goddess put them here herself! Isn't that wonderful?" There was a distinct passion to his speech. It was the sort of way Strich used to talk about bugs, extremely interested, but not the point of being obsessed. " But I'm sure it pales next to the wonders she put up in the sky! There must be hundreds of these there."
"Well, we have things like these," he responded cryptically. Gorko just seemed so happy over this... and he'd really didn't want to think about Skyloft right now. "It just wouldn't make sense if these things were just sitting here to take up space. I mean, they obviously mean something." The smooth reflective surface reminded him of Fi… did they have something to do with her?
Gorko shifted his weight as he answered. "Of course there's a reason! The texts say they're here to help the hero of legend!" A ray of sunlight came through the trees, dancing red on the corner of the stone. Then, a moment later, the color was gone… was it just his imagination? "There was a little chant about it, if I recall." His meaty fingers went up to scratch his head. "Now, what was it again... Ah yes!" He paused for a moment to clear his throat, the loud noise startling a nearby bird, who flew up into the air. "Summon forth the light from a heavenly blade, and may that sword's master receive aid. A real brainteaser."
Of course, Cana found the solution almost immediately, quickly thinking over the short rhyme. "Seems pretty simple to me." He gave a short nod as he lifted up the Goddess sword, just to normal height. "You don't mind if I take a whack at it, do you?"
"Knock yourself out," Gorko shrugged. "I've already tried beating on this thing. Whatever its made of, it doesn't even dent. Just don't hurt yourself, ok?" The big guy took a few steps back, taking the opportunity to sit down and rest his legs.
Cana then lifted the sword up again, pointing the tip towards the sun. He could almost imagine how silly he looked for those first few seconds, like her was preparing to downswing a rock. Then, the energy started to build into his arm, surprising him with its intensity. The warmth that had come when he'd done this in the sky was replaced with an invigorating blaze, banishing the aches and pains of his treck in an instant, the distinct glow on the blade stronger than even. Gorko simply looked at in in a sort of enraptured awe, for that single second. Then, in downward blow, Cana let the power fly, the arc seeming to sink into the surface of the cube, sinking from the surface into the core. Then, with an almost heavenly sound, that core showed itself, feeding off the cube, before the pure radiance ascend, gone in a mear moment.
"Amazing," they both said at the same time. It had been so beautiful… like an angel, almost. Gorko quickly jumped back to his feet, running over and investigating the spot where the cube had been. "What happened?" He asked expectantly. "What on earth did you do?"
"Um," Cana struggled for an answer, his face blank. "To be honest, I'm just as baffled about what happened as you. I expected something completely different." Like what? The cube spinning around? What an interesting sight that would have made.
"But… I've got to solve this." Gorko's looked turned serious as he lifted up a chunk of dirt, looking deeply into it and running it through is fingers with care. "I mean, what made this happen? Where did it go? How did the… but look at me, taking up your time." He stood up, shaking his head. "You still haven't found that girl yet, have you?"
"I'm working on it." He stated defensively. "It's not as easy as it looks."
"Calm down buddy," Gorko raised up a hand calmingly. "I wasn't accusing you of anything. I was just trying not to keep you too long."
Cana blushed slightly at that. "Sorry," he stated genuinely, sounding slightly sad. "I'm just a big high strung at the moment. Nearly getting killed will do that you." He finished with a weak laugh, keeping his eyes locked with Gorko's.
"Well, I'll just let you go then. Just remember to find me when you've got her, alright? I'm not letting you get away before I get my questions answered." He laughed alongside Cana, before giving him a wave goodbye and returning to the ground… for a second. "Wait," he called after Cana had turned away. "Think fast."
Cana turned around only to see something fly through the air towards him. Reflexively, he raised a hand to block it, whatever it was bouncing soft and harmlessly off his hand. Looking to the ground, he saw the projectile was a fresh biscuit, well made and flakey. " I usually keep one of these around for when I need a break from rocks, but you'll need to keep your strength up if you're going that way." With a toothy grin, he went back to his work, the spark in his eye readily apparent.
"Thanks," was all Cana could think to say as he picked up the biscuit, stowing it away in one of his pockets. "I'll just see you around then." With that, he turned his attention to the great building before him. He kept his eyes moving as he went, keeping alert for anything else that might want him dead, but the overgrown tower just loomed too large to ignore. It looked too out of place among the trees; stout and grey, despite the vines and lichen over it. It even smelled different; musty among the freshness of flowers and fruit. The strangest thing, however, was the door. It was massive, big enough for five men, golden surface tarnished but slightly with the wear of ages. It had an even stronger presence to it then Elder; not just large, but evil, striking a bit of fear into him.
However, if he was going to get Zelda back, he didn't have much of a choice.
"Come on out Fi," he gripped the hilt of the blade tightly. Sure enough, she leaped from the blade and into the air, her surface outshining the door and a small smile on her face. Her presence seemed to remove some of the seriousness from the situation, a little more secure in his own ability. "You called Master?" She asked, head bowed in service.
"Hey Fi," he greeted her, returning her smile. "You've just been in there a long time. I wanted to make sure you're ok."
"My current structural integrity is 100% Master." She lowered herself down, hovering just above the ground, eyes level with his chest. "I've been involved in routine maintenance." She took a close look him, before the expression on her face changed to concerned. "You've appeared to have sustained some damage. Is it currently causing you any discomfort?"
Cana's smile grew wider as he held Fi's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I can take a couple of scratches." With that, he turned to the door, giving it a good push. "Strange," he mumbled when it didn't open, trying again, this time a little harder. No matter how hard he pushed, the door refused to budge.
Fi placed her hands onto the door, fingers curving gently as she floated, light electrical jolts pulsing through the door. "Master, analysis shows this door is protected by a form of locking mechanism." She turned her head to him, looking into his eyes.
Cana looked back at the door with deep interest, running his hands over its surface, looking for anything. "Interesting," his brain grasped onto this new puzzle, excited by the challenge. He ran over each part of the door, jiggling the gemstones, tracing the details… but try as he might there was no hole. If there's a lock, there has to be a key somewhere her reminded himself, walking about to view from different angles, Fi never far from his side. But if they wanted to keep people out, it would have be somewhere not so obvious. Someplace bent on killing wouldn't think to look. He ran a finger up the door, following it higher and higher… and then it clicked.
Backing up, he finally was able to see it. Nestled in a nook in the ceiling, was an obvious switch. It was all so obvious; that's why the Kikwi Elder had given him a slingshot. He slipped one of the bullets into the pouch, the old motions slowly coming back to his bind, as he pulled the elastic sinews, closing one eye as he aimed. It was so satisfying to see the stone shot up, bumping against the switch, and watching it rotate into place. The grinding of gears came from the masonry, the door pulling itself to the sides, opening up the dark, root-lined tunnel behind.
"That was pretty easy don't you think?" he congratulated himself before looking back to Fi, who hovered about a foot to his left.
"I did not doubt your success at any point Master." Fi bobbed there, still. "I was only glad that I was able to serve you."
The tunnel greeted him with a thick, wet smell, condensed water dripping from the ceiling and onto the stone steps, the glow of the florescent mushrooms fading into a hazy darkness. One could almost mistake it for a mouth of sorts, with the poor masonry on the sides sticking out as teeth. Of course, he'd known this was coming for some time now… and to be honest, it was far more exciting then scary.
"Well Fi, let's got get Zelda." He confidently took the first step onto the stairs, looking forward seriously as he drove himself into the darkness, the last of the sunlight now hidden behind the rising stairway.