The Legend of Zelda, its characters and locations are all property of Nintendo. Any and all OCs and original locations belong to me unless specifically stated to belong to someone else.

The Voice
Chapter 53 – Hollow Bones

Sheik was sweating. Or, he would be, if he'd had a body.

Instead, the internal fan of the slate was running on full blast, producing a high-pitched whine that spoke of its struggles to keep the hardware cool. According to the sensors monitoring the slate's internal temperature, it was a losing battle. At this rate, the slate's fail safes would activate sooner rather than later, shutting it down in order to protect its components from heat damage.

And that would be the end for Sheik, one way or another, as it'd leave him completely defenceless and at Stabby's mercy. He had no idea what the impostor was planning on doing once it got its hands on him, but he highly doubted he was in for a good time. Either it would destroy him right away, or it would possibly take him to Ganon to be...well, he had no idea.

And frankly, not knowing just made it all so much worse. He couldn't afford to lose. He couldn't.

But he couldn't relent, either. Stabby proved a tough nut to crack. Unlike its clumsy hacking attempts, the defences that kept Sheik out were robust and well-programmed, specifically hardened against several of the methods Sheik had attempted thus far. He'd yet to find a single approach that would work, and he was running out of time now that Stabby's brute-force attempts had picked up steam, its login attempts now numbering in the thousands every second and increasing exponentially as it dedicated more and more of its resources to the task, knowing Sheik was struggling.

So, Sheik had forced to multi-task, utilising several different vectors, hoping to overwhelm Stabby's firewalls and other defences, hoping that it'd run out of memory or use up all of its processing threads so it couldn't dedicate enough power to keep Sheik out. Problem was, Stabby's internal components were far more powerful than Sheik's (which made sense, given its bigger chassis), and Sheik had been forced to dedicate more and more of his resources to his hacking attempts, and that was causing the rather dramatic rise in temperature. No luck thus far, however, and Sheik was definitely running out of time.

Even his protective shield was running on borrowed time—being locked out of Naboris meant he couldn't draw on the Beast's extra resources to keep himself safe. Not that it'd matter once his emergency protocols kicked in—when the slate shut down, so would the shield.

Whoever designed the damned slate shouldn't have skimped out on the processor cores, he thought bitterly. Otherwise I'd have this clown down and out by now.

His sensors told him the slate's internal temperature had risen by another degree, bringing him one step closer to the emergency shutdown. Two more degrees, and he was finished.

Link had been gone for a long time now, if Sheik's clock wasn't lying to him. At least five hours, or more. He'd rather hoped the Hero would be back by now, but he knew that was wishful thinking. Link had been at death's door when Sheik had sent him away, and even if Mipha had managed to heal him right away, Link would definitely not be in a state to jump back into the mess right away. And even if he had, how would he get back into Naboris? The entry ramp was closed, and every other entrance was too high to climb, even for him.

Unless Link had learned to fly at some point without Sheik noticing, he doubted he'd see the Hero anytime soon. Sure, there appeared to be mountainous cliffs around them, but Link's equipment had been scattered every which way during the fight against the Blight, including the paraglider, which lay in a sad heap near the entrance to the tumbler area.

The Master Sword, too, had been dropped unceremoniously when Link had decided that exploding himself with a bomb had been the best solution to the problem. Granted, it had worked, but had also reduced Link to a bloody pile of meat. How he'd even managed to stand back up after that was a mystery to Sheik. It certainly showed that, even if Link claimed otherwise, he was Hero-material. Constitution like that isn't granted to just anyone.

The Sword, though...Sheik was surprised Stabby had just ignored it, immediately focusing on him with the precision of a laser beam. It was almost disappointing, that Stabby didn't try taking the Sword. That would've been amusing to see, if Link's description of how the Sword reacted to being touched by anyone other than him was true. Then again, Stabby had treated Link more like an obstacle than a target, so perhaps anything related to the Hero was just a secondary objective to the slate.

Eugh, he'd wasted too many cycles thinking about this. Internal temperatures had risen by another half degree in the meantime.

Come on, he thought, launching another multi-faceted attack on Stabby's firewall. Just show me one chink in your armour, one hole the fence...

To his annoyance, Stabby refused to just roll over and show its belly. Instead, it continued its brute-forcing. By now, Sheik couldn't even count the number of log lines his attempts produced in a single second. All he knew was that it was too damn many.

Rude, Sheik thought.

My, my, you're working hard.

Who the fuck said that?

Diverting a precious thread to his camera, Sheik was greeted by the same view he'd closed it to hours before. Stabby, sitting in a meditative pose on the floor in front of Naboris' mainframe, its blade (still covered in Link's now-dried blood) clutched in one hand. Its eyes were closed to, seemingly paying no heed to its surroundings. If it had, it would've noticed the air shimmering right next to it, somewhat shaped like a person...a really tall person. And broad, judging by their shoulders.

You mustn't give up now, little Sheikah. You must continue to fight! Do not let this creation of Ganon's defeat you!

The voice had an ethereal quality, and something that sounded like an echo kept its words repeating over and over. It was vaguely feminine, and firm.

In any other situation, the "little" comment would've infuriated him, but right now Sheik was too focused on his battle with Stabby to do so...and he was getting quite tired, as well—a symptom of his rapidly draining resources.

"Who are you?" he asked.

I am Urbosa, the voice spoke. Champion of the Gerudo.

"Oh," Sheik said, unsure of why he was surprised in the first place. "We've been looking for you. Me and Link."

I know, Urbosa said, her head dipping slightly. It was odd, seeing a vague impression of a person made of light doing that. I apologise for not being able to help you. This...creature was suppressing my presence, preventing me from even speaking to Link. It is only now, with it so focused on fighting you, that I am able to take this form. It is strong, however, and I fear I cannot speak much longer.

"I figured as much," Sheik said, really wishing he had a body right now so he could Stabby right in its stupid face. Er, his stupid face. Which was only stupid because it wasn't on his body, or...er...

I was surprised, when you and Link arrived. I was not aware the Sheikah Slate had a function that let it speak. I realised soon after you are much more than that, however.

"Fascinating as I must be to you," Sheik said, "this isn't really the time for a QA session, is it? Do you have any advice on how I can beat this fucker? Any way you can help?"

He hadn't really meant for this tone to be so biting, but the frustration he felt at this challenge leaked out anyway. Luckily, Urbosa didn't seem too offended. Maybe she was as frustrated about this situation as he was.

She must have been, right? She'd been trapped in Naboris for a century, after all, with no way of affecting or interacting with the world.

...it must have been so boring!

I have no way of interfering with the creature, Urbosa said, no small amount of anger making its way into her voice, which shook with from the effort it must have taken her to even maintain this vague form. If I had, it would already be history. It is taking everything I have to even be able to speak to you like this.

"Right, well, I suppose you could cheer me on, but I'm not sure how much help that will...be..."

As he spoke, Sheik found it. A chink in Stabby's armour, so minuscule he wouldn't have noticed it if he weren't looking so closely. On a micro scale, it was probably just a transistor failing to switch on or off at the correct moment, likely as a result of the sheer amount of resources Stabby was devoting to its hacking attempts, the power it was forced to draw from its batteries, and how many threads it had to devote to ward off Sheik's probing.

From an outside perspective, the moment was over and done with on a timescale imperceptible to any organic being. For Sheik, however, it might as well have been an eternity. It was exactly what he needed. The moment was over, but now he knew where to focus his efforts. All he needed was to concentrate his attacks elsewhere, forcing Stabby to draw more power, divert more threads...

Another half-degree increase in temperature was registered. He was on his last legs, by now.

Sheik waited a cycle, and launched his next wave of attacks, probing Stabby's defences in a far more direct manner than before, hoping to provoke a reaction that would...

Yes!

The same transistor must have failed to react fast enough again, exposing another—for all intents and purposes—mile-wide hole in the wall that was Stabby's main line of defence. It was just a matter of pretending that he was just an innocent little packet that was filled with absolutely vital information that Stabby's OS desperately needed...

He was in!

...or, he was past the firewall. That didn't mean he had full access to Stabby's systems or anything like that. It just meant Sheik had a foothold, and that his attempts at penetrating deeper into the system wouldn't be rejected outright. Now the real work could begin!

...only, he was running out of time.

Are you all right, little one? Urbosa asked. You went very still.

"I've made progress," Sheik said. "But I don't think I'll be able to finish in time. Its defences are strong, and I've only just gained access to its shell, a little piece of its memory."

A little piece of its memory, in this case, being an absolutely huge section of random-access storage that dwarfed the slate's by an embarrassing degree. This thing could hold the slate's entire contents, and then some. It made Sheik angry, knowing that a subpar intelligence like Stabby's had access to resources like this, and he was confined to the slate, which might as well have been a brick compared to this.

I see, Urbosa said. Sheik had a feeling she didn't really understand what he was talking about, but it was nice to have someone to talk to during this...travesty of a battle. The Slate sounds...tired, she observed.

"Running out of resources," Sheik explained. "And very close to overheating. When that happens, it's game over for me."

And Hyrule, if Ganon gets his hands on you.

"His"?

That was the first time Sheik had ever heard someone refer to Ganon as someone rather than something.

"I don't know what it wants with the slate," Sheik said. "But it can't be good. If I had the ability, I'd self-destruct right now, but fail safes are preventing me."

That is not an option, Urbosa said firmly. A true warrior does not give in while they can still fight. Do not give up!

"I'm not!" Sheik exclaimed...but also not knowing what to do. He was but half a degree away from overheating and shutting down now, and he still only had a sliver of Stabby's RAM to fiddle with. If he'd had more time, he could probably find some way of swindling his way deeper into the system, maybe disguise himself as some benign process that only by coincidence needed access to Stabby's shutdown protocols...

"But I'm running out of options and time," he added. "I don't know what to do. I'm powerless, stuck here."

Urbosa didn't say anything for a while, the shape of her head looking from Sheik to Stabby, and then back to Sheik. She crossed her arms, cocking her head to the side.

Do you have to do it from there? she asked.

"What?"

You said you were powerless from your current position. Need you be there?

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever...wait..."

An idea came to him, and he wanted to slap himself silly.

It was a monumentally stupid idea, of course, but wasn't that just the norm at this point? If it failed, all would be lost...but then, so it would be if he didn't try something!

"Biggie, you might just have saved the fucking world!"

B-Biggie?!

Teba jerked awake, his neck immediately telling him he'd fallen asleep in a very bad position. Opening his eyes, he saw Riju giving him an apologetic look from across the small fire they'd made.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you."

He shook his head—regretting it immediately as his neck continued to feel like someone was poking needles into it. "Not at all, my lady," he said. "I shouldn't have fallen asleep in the first place."

He cast a glance towards the darkened alcove of the ruined Shrine entrance. Link was still dead to the world, his chest rising and falling with steady, gentle breaths. That was a relief. They'd moved him there and wrapped him up in blankets once the sun had gone down to protect him from the chill. The rest of them had taken to sleeping in shifts two at a time, the other two keeping watch in the meantime.

Teba had been on watch with Ayla, while Buliara and Riju had slept. Buliara was still gone, snoring like a...well, bull, a short distance away from the fire. Teba had yawned, and Ayla had told him to take a short break by the fire, and he'd been lulled into sleep...

"Please, call me Riju," she said, looking into the fire. "And I don't think you can be blamed for your exhaustion. You have trekked all across Hyrule in a matter of days, after all."

"I still fell asleep on guard duty," he said, shaking his head. "A shameful display."

He looked around, spotting Ayla sitting on a sand dune not too far away. She noticed, and waved cheerily at him, not a trace of anger in her gesture.

"Link said you were intense," Riju said with a small giggle. "I thought he was joking."

Teba frowned. "I understand Link has been talking about me to quite a few people," he said. "I am almost afraid to ask just what he has been saying."

"Only good things, I assure you," Riju said. "He's very fond of you, that much is obvious. Said you saved his life during your attack on Vah Medoh."

"As much as he saved mine," Teba replied, feeling a warmth in his chest at being told Link was fond of him. The feeling was mutual. He had only known Link for a short time, and yet the Hero had definitely left a lasting impression on him. "And my people's," he added. "Without him, the Rito would still be languishing under Medoh's attacks. I don't know how much longer we could have lasted."

Riju nodded slowly. "I didn't quite believe him at first, when he appeared in my palace," she said. "Dressed like a vai, claiming he was the Hylian Champion everyone thought had died a century ago...I thought it ridiculous."

Teba remembered his own first meeting with Link. He'd hardly believed the scrawny-looking, pink-skinned thing could even bend a bowstring, much less hit a target the way Link had. He'd never been so glad to be proved wrong.

"His story...is rather ludicrous," he said, giving Riju a conspiratorial smile. "But...he has a way of showing there is more to him than it seems. And that is before you factor in a certain...er..."

"Loudmouth?" Riju suggested, grinning. "If Link is strange, Sheik is downright bizarre."

"And yet, they make a good team," he said, hoping Sheik hadn't made too much of nuisance of himself. "He keeps Link's spirits up, in his own way. Gives him something to focus on when everything threatens to overwhelm him."

"So it would seem," the Gerudo Chief said, nodding. "I find him a bit grating, to be honest, but also...entertaining? Did you know, the first thing he said to Buliara was to give her a nickname?"

"He has that habit," Teba said, refusing to divulge his own moniker of Tweety. "I assume that is why Ayla called her Slagathor when we first met?"

"Indeed," Riju confirmed. "Bul was not amused. Now, however, I think she has gotten used to it. Even finds it funny, even if she'll never admit it. I certainly do."

"And your nickname?" Teba asked. He refused to believe that Sheik hadn't given her a name as well.

"I'd rather not say," she said, grimacing.

Teba was almost tempted to attempt guessing it, but the way she pouted tugged right on his paternal instincts that told him mocking children just wasn't on. Instead, he changed the subject.

"What convinced you that Link was the Champion?" he asked.

Riju rested her chin in her hands, poking at her lower lip with her pinkies in a seemingly unconscious way. It was adorable, but he kept his mouth shut.

"It is hard to say," she said. "I suppose I wasn't convinced he was the Champion until last night, when he told me of his memories...of what he could remember of Lady Urbosa. It wasn't much, but what he could remember and spoke of definitely matches the things we already knew about her. He had the Sword that Seals the Darkness, of course, but I definitely knew Link was someone out of the ordinary when he accepted my request to recover the Thunder Helm, save my people who'd been captured by the Yiga, and, if possible, kill Kohga, the leader of the Yiga. Anyone with any sense of self-preservation would have turned my request down immediately and walked away. Link didn't."

She chuckled a little.

"However, the first two tasks were accomplished by the last person I expected to do so—Kiro, a Yiga defector. He accomplished what I tasked Link with, stealing his glory, in a way...but at least Link took out Kohga." She spat into the fire. "May the bastard burn in hell."

If that was true, then Ganon had lost a powerful ally. Teba didn't know too much about the Yiga as a group, but the loss of their leader surely had to throw them into disarray for a while, meaning the Hyrulian army had one less obstacle in their path, and fewer enemies to meet on the battlefield.

He wondered if Link and Sheik had mentioned said army to Riju yet, and if she would be willing to commit her own soldiers to the force.

Ah, but that was a topic for later, when Link was awake and Sheik was safe and sound, rather than alone and facing an enemy wearing his face.

Teba glanced towards the mountains Vah Naboris had disappeared in according to Riju. Was Sheik still fighting? Had he already defeated his foe, and was now waiting for Link to return? Or had he lost?

He shook his head. No, Sheik was too strong-willed to give in so easily. His stubbornness knew no bounds, and even when left with no other options, Teba had a feeling Sheik would find a way to delay the enemy, dragging it out for as long as possible, knowing Link would be on his way.

"He'll be all right, Teba," Riju said suddenly, looking at him, her green eyes almost sparkling in the firelight. "Sheik can handle himself, I'm sure of it."

He nodded, smiling. "Forgive a father for worrying; it is unavoidable."

Her eyes glittered with amusement. "So, you are a bird dad after all."

He hesitated. Well, it was hard to refuse at this point. He'd already pretended to be Link's father once, in order to help him during a panic attack, and he couldn't deny that a certain feeling of fondness welled up within him whenever he looked at the Hylian, the same sort of fondness he felt when looking at Tulin.

And where Link went, so would Sheik, and so the feeling naturally extended to him as well.

Well, I seem to have acquired a pair of non-Rito chicks, he thought. Bird dad; that's me.

Saki would be laughing herself silly, if she were here. Well, she was the one who'd started grooming Link out of nowhere, so there!

"I knew it," Riju said smugly.

He gave her a mock-scowl. "Careful, or I'll adopt you as well, my lady."

She giggled. "You'd have to fight Buliara first."

He cast a glance at the broad back of the warrior, shuddering. "I'd rather not; I wouldn't last a second against her in a straight fight."

"You could distract her with a kitten," Riju suggested. "Nothing calms Buliara down like cats, especially baby ones."

"I'll remember that if I ever find myself in the ring with her," he said gravely, nodding.

Riju nodded back, face just as serious. "I would hate for Link to lose his bird dad to a one-sided custody battle."

Teba broke first, chortling, and Riju followed suit moments after.

"Glad to know you guys are having fun while I'm stuck watching an endless expanse of sand all by my lonesome," Ayla said with mock annoyance as she returned to the fire, kneeling by it and warming her hands. "Nothing to report, bird dad," she said.

"What's her nickname?" Teba asked Riju, nodding towards Ayla.

"You know, I don't think Sheik's given her one yet," Riju said, giving Ayla a curious look. "Why is that, I wonder?"

"I'm just too awesome," Ayla said immediately. "Giving me a nickname would be unfair to everyone else. Sheik knows this and has decided to not tip the scales even more in my favour."

Teba gave her an unimpressed look. "Or there's just too much to comment on that he doesn't know where to start," he said drily.

"That must be it," Riju said, nodding sagely. "I suppose even masters like Sheik are overwhelmed by some challenges."

Ayla glared at them both. "Either way, I'm safe," she said. "Link doesn't have a nickname either, you know."

Not one he uses in public, at least, Teba thought, glancing at Link again, relieved to see him still breathing. He had no idea how Link and Sheik acted with each other in complete privacy. Was Sheik exactly the same, or did he tone down the abrasiveness once he was alone with someone he trusted?

"We should wake him soon," Ayla said, giving the sleeping Hero a worried look. "The longer he sleeps, the longer that thing has to...do whatever it needs with Sheik."

Teba looked to the horizon, relieved to see that it was lightening a little, meaning dawn was approaching.

"A little longer," he said. "Let him sleep a little longer. Sheik is strong, and Link will need to be as rested as possible before facing the creature again."

"You're going with him?" Riju asked.

"I am," he nodded. "He will need me to fly him to Naboris...and I'm not letting him go back in there alone after the way he returned the first time."

"We'll follow with our sand seals," Riju said, pointing to the strange, bulbous creatures they apparently used for travel. "You can help us inside if you haven't defeated the creature by the time we arrive."

Teba found himself nodding in agreement, knowing better than to speak against the Gerudo Chief. However, he could already feel phantom pain developing in his back at the thought of carrying Buliara, who was many, many pounds of pure muscle. Honestly, a fully-equipped Link had been pushing at his carrying capacity already.

We'll have to finish the fight quickly, he thought. Or my poor, hollow bones will never be the same.