"Link... I thought you said we would be mining..." Zelda asked curiously. She and Link had been sitting on a hill just a short distance away from the Akkala Tech Lab for what had felt like hours. Link, sitting peacefully, stayed silent as he looked up towards the clouds. Zelda couldn't help but frown a bit. What on this earth could he be thinking about?
"Link... Link!" Zelda called out, getting tired of waiting for Link's unlikely response from her first statement. Link's eyes darted her direction before he sighed.
"I guess there is no safe way of doing this..." Link mumbled as he stood, dusting himself off as he turned to face the still sitting Zelda. He frowned as he watched her look up at him, her arms tightly crossed.
"I hate when you do that," Zelda said with furrowed eyebrows. "You could at least respond when I say something to you..."
"Sorry, sorry," Link said loftily, raising his hand up in a simple apology. "There's just... ugh. There's something I need to teach you before we head to the islands. And it's not particularly a... safe... thing to learn."
Zelda stood, also dusting herself off as she gave Link a curious look.
"What do you mean, Link? I've hit a rock with an axe before... I'm sure it can't be too complicated." She said doubtfully. Link however shrugged.
"Yeah that's true, however it's not the 'hit it with an axe' part I'm worried about. It's more the enemies I'm worried about there. You need to know how to defend yourself." Link said, putting his hands on his hips. Zelda raised an eyebrow.
"What enemies are there? Please don't tell me it's a Lynel..." Zelda said worriedly. Link shook his head as he stretched.
"No, but it's just as bad... arguably," Link said.
"Link, stop beating around the bush and tell me what I'm supposed to learn here!" Zelda said, trying to get to the point. "I'm going to have to learn about it sooner or later, and you trying to make it worry proof isn't getting us anywhere."
Link raised an eyebrow at Zelda's sudden firing at him.
"Alright then. I'll show you," Link said. Link took a few steps over and waited. Zelda, curiosity showing in her face, watched. What was he waiting for?
Link brought his fingers up as he began quietly counting down from five. The moment the final finger went down, he took one step back towards his original position as a blue beam shot past him. The beam rang as it passed as Zelda's eyes grew wide at the sudden attack.
"Was that a Guardian beam?" Zelda asked loudly as Link walked back towards her. Link nodded.
"You see that rock over there?" Link asked, as he pointed down the pathway that led up towards the Akalla Tech Lab. "There's an old active Guardian body that keeps returning every Blood Moon. The islands are watched by Guardian Skywalkers. They will try and shoot down at us, and there's not a lot of fighting room on those islands. So..."
Link went into the Sheikah Slate before dumping a group of Traveler's Shields onto the ground.
"You will be learning to defend yourself against them."
Zelda stared down at the lump of shields on the ground before looking up at Link.
"I'm going to be... what?" she asked nervously.
"Defending yourself. In particular, getting used to blocking Guardian lasers," Link said as he picked up and inspected one of the circular shields. "I will obviously be there to defend you... However, if there's any time to learn about guardian beams and how to defend against them, it's now. If anything I should have taught you a while ago..." Link added on, remembering the battle with the guardian he had fought alongside Zelda a few weeks ago.
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Link said, holding out the shield to her. "It's dangerous. But... I know you said you wanted to get strong. And I know you'll eventually have to face one someday."
Zelda looked down at the shield, her arm shaking just a bit. However, the battle with the Guardian and the Lynel flashed in her memory. Zelda grabbed the wrist to her shaking arm before taking a deep breath. She reached out and took the shield from Link's grasp.
"Alright then..." Zelda said as she put the shield on her back. She had left her Spiked Lizalfos Shield back in the lab with the rest of her things. Link took a short breath, praying that he wasn't making a large mistake, and turned towards where the old Guardian had shot from.
"Alright. There are multiple ways of dealing with Guardians," Link said as Zelda shifted to his shoulder. "The first way is firing Ancient Arrows at it, the second way cutting off it's legs and bashing it until it stops working, and the third way is parrying its beam back at it."
"What's a Guardian Arrow?" Zelda asked curiously. Link smiled as he pulled out an arrow from his quiver.
"I'm glad you asked. This right here," Link said, pointing to the oddly shaped arrow in his hand. "... is an Ancient Arrow. This is an arrow that can pierce their armor and damage it much more than any bomb arrow could. It can also be used on other enemies. It can destroy them in one shot, sucking them into who knows where."
"Really... It's positively fascinating of Robbie to create such a weapon with Sheikah technology," Zelda said excitedly as she thought back to the battle with the Lynel. Link had shot something at it that caused it to vanish. Was that the power of an Ancient Arrow?
"Has it ever crossed your mind to ask Robbie where the monsters go?" Zelda asked. Link shrugged.
"I never really cared to be honest," Link said. Zelda shrugged in return. That was something to study with Robbie later.
"Well why don't we just shoot the Skywalkers down with Ancient Arrows, then?" Zelda asked. Link shook his head, prepping his Hylian Shield in case their training went wrong.
"I'd rather not have to pay Robbie thousands of rupees for just a few arrows. They are expensive from him... which is why we are doing this." Link said, prepping for the lesson. "This is only if you are by yourself, with no Ancient Arrows. If we ever run into a Guardian, until there's a better way I can teach you, please only block. Never try to parry, Zelda. One shot and you're done. Instantly."
Zelda gulped at the sound of that. One miss, and it's an instant death.
"Luckily this is a weak Guardian. It's old and its beams aren't as powerful. They are still strong enough to kill you, but you should be able to block them. Your shield will break. Again, only do this if I am not there to save you. Now, copy what I do."
Link began showing Zelda the stances for blocking, how to maneuver around with her shield up, so on so forth. It didn't take too long before Zelda seemingly got the hang of it.
"This same logic applies to other enemies as well," Link said as he lowered his Hylian Shield. "While I don't want you to parry, since we are on the topic I might as well teach you. When a beam or an enemy is about to attack,"
Link unsheathed the Master Sword, holding it high as if he were about to strike Zelda.
"You want to move your shield in a way that will deflect the oncoming attack. You want your momentum to cancel out their momentum."
Link brought the Master Sword down as he slowly did a parry motion with his shield.
"It has to be properly timed," He said. Link once again brought the Master Sword high, and very slowly brought it down towards the Hylian princess, mimicking an attack. "Around here is where you want to do the motion. Go on, try it on me."
Link, just a bit faster, brought the Master Sword down as Zelda replicated Link's movement, knocking the blade away. Link grinned with pride.
"Good! Not hard at all, right?" Link said with a smile. Zelda shook her head smiling back."
"I believe this is a bit simpler than many of the other lessons you've given me," Zelda said. "It seems it could be quite useful in the future."
"Yes, well again, you aren't doing this to that Guardian down there. You will simply be blocking in order to get used to the blast." Link said, sheathing his blade. "Which we should start right about now. All right... you think you can do this?"
"Of course... I've got quite the teacher in front of me." Zelda said with a nervous smile. Link nodded, though sweat dripped down the side of his face.
"Alright then... Go ahead and stand here. The Guardian will aim and then fire. Just. Block." Link said. Zelda shifted a bit in place before walking to where Link originally stood. There she saw it: the blackened Guardian down below, sitting peacefully with its purple lights flashing around it. It didn't take long for the Guardian to notice Zelda perched on the hill. Immediately the Guardian flashed blue as its red beam locked onto Zelda. Zelda's chest rose and fell as the Guardian continued to aim. She heard the beeps coming from the Guardian getting faster and faster before Zelda closed her eyes.
The moment the Guardians beam could be heard, Zelda felt a tug at her tunic collar as she was pulled out the way. The beam shot past her into the sky as Zelda collapsed on the ground. She looked up to see Link, a bit of worry in his eyes as Zelda brought a hand to her chest.
"You closed your eyes," Link said as he placed a hand on Zelda's shoulder. "I know it's scary, but you would have been blown away..."
"I know, I know, Link, it's just..." Zelda stuttered out through breaths. "It's nerve wracking. It's new... it's... it's a Guardian. An awakened Guardian. The same things that took you away from me..."
Link frowned. This was a different type of fear from Zelda. The past was still in the back of her mind. Of course a Guardian wouldn't be just like any other monster. An awakened Guardian had a bit more of an impact on Zelda.
"Zelda... I..." Link said before sitting next to her. "I know it's hard to think about that back then. They probably aren't easy to face after what happened a hundred years ago. But... I'm not going anywhere. They won't take me away from you again. And I won't let them hurt you. Ever."
Zelda, with slight tears in her eyes, looked up at Link as he gave her a small smile.
"You'll always be with me, right?" Zelda asked. Link nodded.
"And you truly believe I can block that beast's attack?" Zelda asked. Link smiled as he nodded. Never again would he underestimate her. As worried as he was about her, Link did know that she was strong. Zelda nodded as she stood. She took a deep breath before standing in place yet again.
All she had to do was hold the shield and maintain her stance. That was it.
The guardian from below glowed as it's blue eye locked onto Zelda with it's red beam. Zelda stood ready. As the beep grew faster, so did Zelda's heart rate and breaths. However, even with the fear, Zelda did not look away. The beam fired, colliding with Zelda's shield as Zelda stumbled back. She felt the full force of the beam shiver down her arm, however she stayed strong as the beam redirected, crashing into a nearby tree. Zelda stumbled back as her Traveler's Shield fell to pieces. She crashed to the ground as she tried to catch her breath from the excitement.
"You did it!" Link called out with excitement. However, the red beam locked on to Zelda's body yet again. Zelda gasped with fear, not having another shield on her as the Guardian shot another beam. This time, however, the beam collided not with Zelda, but with the brilliant blue Hylian Shield. With a small yell, Link deflected the beam back towards the Guardian, destroying it with a single blast.
"See?" Link said with a grin towards the still sitting Zelda. "I'll always be at your side. And you... you are stronger than you believe."
Zelda, surprised at the amazing feats of speed Link had shown just a moment ago, smiled at the knight in front of her. No words could come to her, however the feeling of safety filled her heart. Link never failed to amaze her, and he always remained by her side. No matter what.
"Do that if any of the Skywatchers attack us and they lock onto you at the islands... All right?" Link commanded. Zelda nodded.
"Of course," Zelda said. With a nod, Link stood, reaching out for her hand.
"Well then, shall we be off?" Link asked. Zelda's smile grew even wider as she stood, taking the knight's hand.
"Absolutely."
...