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 77 - Ichigo

The obelisk powered down with a quiet whirr, the glowing runes fading away and leaving only the smooth—only slightly scarred—black shiny surface. The image in the middle of the floor disappeared as well, leaving Sheik alone in his improvised laboratory.

Sidon hadn't been appreciative of the various tools and increasingly large piles of scrap and spare parts accumulating in his bedchambers, but he had relented in asking Sheik to move it elsewhere when Sheik had pointed out the only other place he could possibly work with this would be in Robbie and Purah's lab...and no one wanted that.

It'd leave the Domain in ruins.

Sheik leaned back in his chair, letting the feeling of triumph fill his entire being, grinning to himself.

"I'm the fucking best," he told the empty room smugly.

You are, Stabby agreed, his words scrolling quickly across the output log. So quickly it could only mean he was excited.

"You sure about that outfit, though?" Sheik asked.

I am, Stabby confirmed. I really like it! It's what the others wear!

"I mean, sure, but...you could literally wear whatever you want, whatever you can imagine...and you choose that?" Sheik shook his head. His little brother had the strangest obsessions. "Are you sure?"

Brother, I love it!

The string appeared slowly now, word by word, which meant Stabby was annoyed. Which was hilarious, because Stabby was sunshine incarnate as far as Sheik was concerned, only rivalled by Sidon whenever his exuberance hit peak levels.

"All right, all right, I yield," he said, standing up and stretching, relishing in the sound of his vertebrae popping. There were distinctly different sounds from the artificial ones compared to the real bone ones. An interesting thing in itself, but...damn. Just being able to stretch was a good reason to have a body in itself. The feeling was just...unmatched. Maybe it was because he'd felt trapped inside the slate but stretching made him feel free.

I know what you mean, Stabby agreed.

"I'm sure we can find a way to get the Shrine of Resurrection back up and running again," Sheik said, fully knowing what the answer would be. "Build you a body—"

DON'T WANT ONE

All capital letters and no punctuation. Yup, no point trying to punch through that brick wall. Not even with his freaky arm. But then, Sheik was nothing if not stubborn. And he was the fucking original.

"I'm pretty sure you're not liable to accidentally or unwillingly stab someone, kid," he said, pacing around the room. "Not really something you do without intent, you know? Plus, you don't have that fucking pig in your head telling you what to do anymore, so..."

DO. NOT. WANT. ONE.

"Spare me stubborn baby brothers," Sheik muttered, rubbing his eye and, after a moment's hesitation, lifting his eyepatch to scratch gently at the golden wires poking into his skin around the artificial one. It was oddly satisfying, if slightly unnerving because what if one came off? "I'll ask again in ten thousand years, shall I?" he asked.

The answer will be the same.

"We'll see." He put his tools away, idly going through some of the latest data gathered from the Network. Nothing out of the ordinary, which was fantastic. "Register anything interesting?"

Nothing of interest, Stabby replied.

"Good, then maybe we can—"

The door burst open and, once again bypassing every single bit of security that poor Bazz had set up in the interest of protecting his prince, Paya ran inside, panting. For a moment, Sheik was worried that they were under attack again, but the huge smile on her uncovered face made him think otherwise.

"How do you keep getting inside?" Sheik asked. "This is a restricted area, you know."

"Sh-Sheikah," Paya replied matter-of-factly, taking a moment to catch her breath.

"And why are you here now? You've already kicked my ass once today, thank you very much!"

"Th-They're here!"

"Who?"

"G-Grandmother and the rest of the c-clan! Come on, y-you need to h-help bring in their things!"

It was an ingrained reaction to knowing his aunt was nearby, and Sheik was, like so many other living things, a slave to his instincts. He'd been worried, like the rest of the clan, and now, knowing Impa had finally arrived at the safety of the Domain, there was only one thing to do.

He made a break for the closest window.

He'd mapped out the escape routes the moment he'd seen the room the first time and knew where to go. There were no balconies below this window, just a straight shot into the lake under the city. From there, it was a simple matter of letting the current carry him along to safety.

A hand with a grip like a vice clamped around his ankle as he was scrambling up the windowsill, mercilessly holding him in place.

"Wh-Where are you g-going?" Paya asked. Her lips were locked in a happy smile, but that all too familiar and terrifying crease had appeared between her eyebrows. "D-Don't you want t-to see Grandmother?"

"No!" Sheik wailed. "I don't!"

"T-Too bad, you're g-going to!"

"Can't you just tell her I died?!"

"No!" Paya replied cheerfully, yanking him off the windowsill and onto her shoulder. She didn't buckle under his weight. Her knees barely moved at all. "C-Come along, now!"

"I don't want to! Please don't make me, Paya-nee!"

Stay strong, brother!

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one in mortal fucking danger!"

"F-Face your f-fate with dignity, cousin!"

Sheik could only wail as he was carried by his treacherous sadist of a cousin to meet his end.

"Hmph, at least some young'uns still understand the art of being polite," Impa said, looking up at Sheik with an unimpressed glare.

Behind her, Link and Sidon were among the many people currently helping the surviving Sheikah clan members unload their carts. Sheik could only give them a hateful stare. Lousy traitors, he vowed to take terrible vengeance upon them later.

Sheik stared back at her, wondering what it was about this tiny, wrinkled potato of a woman that terrified him so. It wasn't so much about what she said or did, but more the sheer aura of terror she somehow managed to project with barely any effort. It was an aura that promised anyone within its influence that she could, if she so chose, annihilate them in the most painful of ways with no hesitation.

Get her close enough to Ganon, and Sheik was certain Impa could send the thing crying for its mommy within seconds. As it was, he was very glad she was on their side.

Not so thrilled about being adopted by her and, thanks to the familial bond, subject to her discipline. Paya-nee must have had a terrifying childhood.

"Well?" Impa asked. "Are you going to stand there gawping, or are you going to help your family?"

"I'm going to help," he said through gritted teeth.

The Sheikah, on account of being on the less numerous groups in the allied forces, were moved into one of the lower sections of the city. This on account of their willingness to, more or less, shove as many people as physically possible into a room and insist they were perfectly fine with the arrangement. They were offered lodgings elsewhere, but that would mean breaking the clan up.

And that was just not on, it seemed, as Sheik watched three or more families moving into a single (albeit quite large) room, making themselves surprisingly comfortable.

"Our numbers are few," Pikango had said, cradling his side due to a fractured rib acquired on a scouting trip. "Fewer now, after the attack. Impa does not want us separated."

"We're in the safest place in all of Hyrule," Sheik replied, carrying the older man's painting supplies and setting them down next to his futon in the corner of the room, a necessity due to the increasing occupancy of the barracks. "Surely she doesn't think the Yiga would be good enough—or stupid enough, at that—to try and get to us here?"

"Logically, no," Pikango said, shaking his head. "But even Impa isn't immune to irrational fears, especially after our sanctuary was torn apart. She's just like you and me."

"Bullshit," Sheik said, snorting. "That woman isn't afraid of anything, least of all a bunch of banana-obsessed idiots in tacky, red suits."

"Maybe you'll understand when you're older, kid," Pikango said with a good-natured smile, knocking his shoulder into Sheik's, not at all unnerved by his new body. Had barely even blinked when told the story, even.

Sheik glared back. "I'm oldest godsdamned person in this city," he said. "If there's something I don't understand, then no one else does either."

Pikango didn't answer, only chuckled and ruffled Sheik's hair.

It didn't feel nice.

It didn't.

"Now then," Impa said, having cornered Sheik minutes after the Sheikah had been settled into their new, temporary home, "I believe it is time for me to meet this invisible friend of yours."

"Pardon?" Sheik said.

"The one whose body you now occupy, nephew," Impa said, poking his knee with the blunt tip of the bladed cane she had taken to carrying around now that her mound of pillows was nowhere be found.

The thing was a damned hazard, sharp as a fucking razor, and she used it to point and poke and illustrate things, but everyone around her didn't seem to mind. Granted, her movements were accurate and controlled, but she was still, as the poets would say, old as shit. At some point her muscle control had to degrade, and Sheik would hate to be in her vicinity when it did.

There'd be few survivors, and even they would be missing a few pieces of anatomy here and there.

"You mean Stabby?" Sheik asked, taking a step back to get out of Impa's poking range. She stepped forward, continuing her merciless prodding. "How the hell am I supposed to do that?"

"A little bird has whispered in my ear that you have been working on a little restoration project," Impa said, smiling. "I'd very much like to see it."

"Can't trust anyone to keep their mouth shut these days, apparently," he grumbled. "Fine. Give me a few hours, there's still one last thing I need to fix."

There wasn't anything left to fix, really. What he really needed was time to convince Stabby not to shut himself down to escape the inquisition the old woman intended to bring down upon him. Honestly, Sheik wouldn't blame him if he did.

"You have three," Impa said decisively and marched off.

I don't want to meet her, brother, Stabby said, his message popping up immediately in Impa's wake. Please don't make me.

"Sorry, kiddo," Sheik said, genuinely apologetic. "But I'm not really keen on finding out what'll happen if we don't arrange this meeting. But hey, at least you can escape whenever you want. I'm the one who's going to be stuck in a confined space with her. You have it easy!"

...I did not think of that. I will do it, brother. For you.

Sheik sighed in relief. That was easier than he thought. "Thanks, Stabby," he said.

It's good to know I can leave whenever I want. Unlike you.

Sheik growled.

"Fucking brat!"

Later that day, Sheik found himself standing in the middle of Sidon's chambers, the restored projection stone placed on the floor in front of him, the surface covered in glowing runes that slid across it like running water, bathing the room in a bright blue glow.

He hadn't expected such a big audience. Link was there, naturally, along with Sidon. That had been the anticipated number of individuals present, because this entire thing had been for Sidon in the first place. How the fuck Paya-nee, Pikango, Impa, Purah, and Robbie had managed to threaten, bargain, or sneak their way to a spot as well was beyond his understanding.

Robbie, in particular, was the absolute worst addition to this crowd.

Robbie was inside his bedroom. Where he slept. Where he was supposed to feel safe. This was absolutely intolerable.

The only thing that kept Sheik from tossing Robbie out the window was Purah's promise that she'd keep him in check. Which didn't count for much since he highly doubted she'd be able to keep herself in check. Impa, however, had put her foot down. Purah might have been the older sister, but even she cowered under Impa's firm gaze.

"Well? What are we waiting for?" Robbie said, his voice about as pleasant as nails on a chalkboard. "Get on with it!"

"I'm booting it up, gnome," Sheik snapped. "It's not an instant process."

"Yeah, Robbie!" Purah said, her eyes wide and taking in everything that was happening in front of her. Sheik took immense pleasure in how annoying it must be for her to not be able to see what was going on in the communication stream between Sheik and the stone. "Don't rush Sheiky! Even you know working the OS isn't always a snappity-snap!"

Sheik gave Impa a pleading look. "Will you reconsider letting me throw them out the window?"

"No, nephew," was the uncaring, unfeeling reply from the matriarch. "Get on with it, please."

"I am so excited," Sidon said quietly to Link. "I still cannot believe there are two Sheiks."

"S-Stabby," Link reminded him. "That's his n-name."

"Oh, right. My apologies."

"Hmph, I'd be surprised if the thing works," Robbie muttered to Purah. "He has all the sophistication of a sledgehammer, and an equally gentle touch."

"Shh," Purah hissed. "I'm trying to see if I can pick up the data stream." She was looking down intently at a glowing device in her hand. "Now distract him while I set up a man in the middle attack."

"Wh-What if it is h-hostile?" Paya asked, kneeling at her grandmother's side. "How c-can we f-fight it?"

"I'm sure your cousin has it all under control," Impa said soothingly.

"If not, I have bombs," Pikango added cheerfully.

Between the inane and annoying conversations filling his ears, the infuriating poking at his defences by Purah's clumsy hacking attempts, and the stone's refusal to boot up its routines, Sheik was ready to blow.

"Everyone shut the fuck up or you're all going out the window!" he shouted.

You forgot a punctuation mark in the boot routine, Stabby's message said. I fixed it.

Well aren't you the helpful one, Sheik thought, fighting down a twinge of annoyed jealousy at his little brother figuring out such a simple programming error faster than him.

The room fell silent as the stone's glow increased in brightness, and a solid beam shot out of the obelisk's tip, moving faster than a natural eye could see, drawing the image Sheik had helped Stabby construct over the past few days. Within seconds, a glowing, three-dimensional projection of Stabby stood on the floor, wringing its hands uncomfortably. He was dressed in a child-sized version of the Sheikah robes, his big eyes blinking nervously as his gaze darted around the room.

The hum of the projection stone died down, the glow of Stabby's projection dying down a little, but the image remained unbroken and perfectly legible.

The room was completely silent as every eye focused intently on the little AI, who very nervously raised one of his hands in a tiny wave and said:

"Hi?"

And then the room erupted into chaos.

Sidon was the first to move, his eyes wide (and his arms equally so), falling to his knees on the floor in front of Stabby and trying to give him a hug.

Link stood just behind Sidon, cooing over Stabby's outfit, a big stupid smile on his face.

Robbie and Purah appeared to be caught up in an impromptu wrestling match as they both tried to beat the other in reaching Stabby first, already shouting out questions, their voices intermingling into illegible noise. Thankfully, they remained mostly stationary on the floor, the wrestling quickly devolving into a slap fight.

"Why can't I hug him, Link? Why can't I hug him?!" Sidon wailed, his arms fazing through Stabby's image, to the prince's immense distress.

"L-Look at the r-robes!" Link cooed.

Upsetting and mildly disconcerting, but not the disaster he'd expected. Sheik dared to look in Impa's direction and found the old potato looking very amused at the spectacle. Next to her, Paya's eyes had gone wide and wobbly, her hands covering her mouth as high-pitched noises escaped from her mouth.

Pikango, too, looked amused at the chaos, but he also had a paintbrush in his hand, using the blunt end to measure the scene with his thumb.

I want a copy of that painting, Sheik thought.

The event was taking its toll on Stabby, however, who looked immensely uncomfortable under all the attention, and Sheik supposed he had to step in.

"That is enough, everyone!" Impa's voice cut through the noise like a hot knife through butter. "Back away, you are scaring the poor child."

There was no disobeying that tone. The room fell quiet immediately, and the space around Stabby immediately cleared. Sidon was the most reluctant to move away, his hands opening and closing impatiently.

"He looks just like you, Sheik," the prince said in awe. "A tiny, little you..."

Paya made another high-pitched noise. "The ch-cheeks," she said, her words muffled by her hands. "Squeeze..."

"Hmph, a bunch of unruly children, all of you," Impa said, her cane tapping against the floor as she approached Stabby with a calm, serene expression on her face. "Hello, little one. I am Impa, leader of the Sheikah. Who might you be?"

Stabby looked uncertain, but eventually dipped into a bow, just like he and Sheik had practiced. "An h-honour to meet you, Mistress Impa. I-I am S-Stabby." He turned to the others in the room, bowing to them all in return.

Sheik didn't fail to notice the minute twitch in Impa's calm expression at the sound of his name. "I have heard much about you, little one, and it is a pleasure to finally meet you. Might I ask, how did you come by that name? Did you make it up yourself?"

Oh no, Sheik thought. This wasn't going to end well. Before he could sound the alerts to Stabby, however, the AI replied happily.

"No, my brother gave it to me," Stabby said, pointing at Sheik, who couldn't help but feel that Stabby might as well have accused him of genocide, given the look Impa shot him right then.

"Hm, well, I'm certain there is a reason for giving you such a, hm, pointed name," she said, giving Sheik another look. "However, if I am to adopt you and make you family, I would prefer to give you another name. A proper one."

Stabby blinked in confusion. "Adopt?" he asked.

"Yes," Impa said kindly, nodding. "After all, I have adopted your brother as my nephew. That makes you my nephew as well, if that is something you want?"

"Hang on, that's it?" Sheik asked, his jaw dropping in outrage. "One look at him and he's in? While I had to go through psychological terror!? What the hell?!"

Stabby flinched, and Impa gave Sheik the coldest look yet before giving Stabby the motherliest smile she could muster.

"Well, little one? Would you like to become a member of our clan? Become our family?"

Stabby looked uncertain, tapping his index fingers together in what appeared to be a nervous habit. Sheik had no idea where that had come from. Must have picked it up from someone.

It was not cute. Not at all.

"Do I have to give up my first name?" Stabby asked quietly.

"Of course not," Impa said. "You can have two names. The one from your brother, and one from the clan."

"I didn't get a new name," Sheik muttered. "Where's my name?"

"I've got a few names for you," Robbie said. "They all begin with sh—"

"Yes!" Stabby said, interrupting the scientist. "I mean...yes, please." He even looked embarrassed at his outburst. Little shit was taking to emoting like he hadn't been born just a few months ago. "I'd like a name, please."

"That makes me very happy, little one," Impa said, smiling. "Now, what shall we call you...hm..." Her eyes fell closed, deep in thought.

For some reason, the tension in the room rose to unbearable levels as everyone held their breaths, waiting for the matriarch to make her decision. Even Sheik found himself incredibly tense. He failed to see what was wrong with the name Stabby (he gave incredible names and nicknames, after all), but if Impa was going to such lengths to include Stabby in the clan...well, he was intrigued.

And not at all jealous.

"Ichigo," Impa finally said, opening her eyes. "Your name is Ichigo."

Stabby's image grew brighter, but not nearly as bright as the smile that came to his lips. "Yes!"

It was the final straw. No one was able to contain themselves anymore, and the chaos erupted once more as everyone clamoured to meet and congratulate Stabby—er, Ichigo...er...Stabbygo?—on his new name and family, enthralled by the little AI.

"Everyone stop moving, you're ruining the composition!" Pikango barked, nearly falling as Purah and Robbie attempted a flanking manoeuvre through his legs, though they were thwarted by Impa's cane tripping them up.

"T-Told you th-there was n-nothing to w-worry about," Link said, having sidled up to Sheik's side in the confusion. There was no stopping Sidon from attempting to hug the kid again now, and he just needed to tire himself out. "Th-They love him."

"Hmph," Sheik said, deciding Stabby could get himself out of this pickle. "I didn't get a new name."

"D-Did you w-want one?" Link asked.

"No, but I would've liked the option!"

"I'll c-call you whatever y-you like," Link said, his lips twisting into a half-grimace, half-smile that Sheik knew meant incoming trouble. "S-Screamy."

"I'll show you screamy, you little piece of—!"

It took a while for the excitement to die down, and by the time Sheik had managed to convince the intruders to leave (that is, by screaming at them until their eardrums could take no more, with the exception of Impa who he respectfully asked to vacate the premises), night had fallen.

"Gods, what a bunch of vultures," he said with a tired sigh, falling back on Sidon's bed...which was unoccupied, because the other two were still busy cooing over his little brother's image. Which was better than having Sidon run away screaming in terror at the fact that his lover had a tiny, artificial clone, but still...

"...and you can do that all by yourself?" Sidon asked, having listened to Stabby-Ichigo's lengthy explanation of how much control he had over the Sheikah Network. "That is most impressive!"

He was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of Stabby, who'd assumed an identical position, and the two were having a, frankly, adorable conversation as they got to know each other. For all his scepticism towards meeting Link, Stabby seemed to take an immediate shine to Sidon. Link didn't seem to mind, though, sitting beside Sidon and throwing in a word or two here and there.

Then again, Stabby had never...well, stabbed Sidon, so there was no potential conflict to be had there. And the initial distrust between Link and Stabby had evaporated on their first meeting anyway.

Thank the gods Link wasn't someone to hold grudges.

"Well, almost," Stabby said, looking bashful. Little shit had even figured out how to simulate blushing. That had been Sheik's trick, damn it! "I need Sheik's permission to make big changes."

"Just as a safety measure," Sheik said, sitting up. "It's not like he's a prisoner in there. I just double-check whatever he's trying to do and then approve it as long as it's nothing dangerous."

"Oh, that is good to hear," Sidon said, looking relieved. "I would hate to learn that you feel trapped, Ichigo...or do you prefer Stabby?"

It was hilarious, hearing that name coming from Sidon's mouth because, as with everything he said, it sounded so...happy. Exuberant.

"Either, Your Majesty," Stabby said, beaming up at the prince. Sheik could practically see the Zora's heart melting inside his chest. "I like them both."

Sheik tried not to feel like his heart had just been stabbed with a jagged, freezing blade at that. And here he'd thought his little brother had adored the name Sheik had given him when he was a little more homicidal.

"Please, call me Sidon," the prince said. "We are, after all, not mere acquaintances."

"Okay, Sidon," Stabby said, nodding.

Sidon's heart melted a little more, his smile bright enough to light the world as a second sun.

Sheik couldn't help but grin at that. Relieved, that the meeting had gone so well, especially after Sidon's initial confusion and thinking that Sheik had been talking to himself in fits of insanity...or split personality, at least. It hadn't helped that Sheik had laughed so hard he'd nearly passed out from lack of oxygen when he'd been told.

At his relief, however, fatigue came over him. His artificial parts were fully charged thanks to another battery from Robbie's private store (which he had not stolen, just borrowed, thank you very much!), but the biological parts of him were complaining about the day's exertions. He yawned, his jaw feeling like it was about to come off.

"Hm, p-perhaps we sh-should call it a d-day," Link said, never failing to notice Sheik's crashing. "It's b-been a l-long one."

Stabby looked disappointed but nodded. "I understand. Can we speak more tomorrow?"

"Well," Sheik snarked, "aren't you suddenly feeling sociable? I thought you just wanted to hide in the Network all day?"

Stabby shook his head. "I like talking to you and Uncle Link and..." he glanced up at Sidon, whose face lit up, nodding eagerly. "Uncle Sidon?"

That's it, Sheik decided, closing his eyes. That was the cutest damned thing he'd ever see in his life. There was no point in looking at anything else ever, because that was just the epitome of adorable.

After many promises to speak more later, Stabby's projection faded away, the blue glow finally leaving the room, overtaken by the light of the coral instead.

Sheik was barely aware of movement around him on the bed, until a warm finger poked at his cheek.

"Sh-Sheik, y-you need to m-move," Link said. "The c-covers..."

"Don't wanna," Sheik said, jutting his lower lip forward in a pout. "Lift me."

"You're t-too heavy."

"Come along now," Sidon's voice said, a pair of strong hands sliding under Sheik's back and lifting him up, positioning him between Link and the prince. "It's been a long day, has it not?"

"You can say that again, Sharky," Sheik said without opening his eyes, nuzzling into the nearest warm body. "And for once it didn't end in disaster."

"I'll say," the prince said, chuckling warmly. "I had not expected to have a nephew by the end of the day, that's for certain."

"C-Cute, isn't he?" Link asked.

"So sweet he makes my teeth rot," Sheik intoned. "Must be protected."

"Agreed," Sidon said. "Good night, my dears. Tomorrow is yet another day."

"Another day of getting the shit beaten out of me by Paya," Sheik grumbled. "Night Sharky, Link."

"N-Night Sidon, n-night Screamy."

"What the fu—"