The end of the long stairwell opened up to what was perhaps the deadest, quietest, and grayest space Link had ever seen. It looked to be a massive facility that housed great technology and buzzed with activity in its former life. Now, the walls were cracked and crumbling. Everything was covered in sand, dust, and cobwebs. Every time Link's leather boots tapped against the cold metal ground, its echo bounced from one end of the room to the other and back again several times over, emphasizing the profound emptiness. Save for a handful of small spiders, Link was very much alone, and the loneliness was tangible in the cold, dark space. Were it not for the sunlight beaming through the entrance above, it would have been pitch black and impossible to navigate.
Link wandered for a while, noticing that the center of the room had no floor, resulting in a massive, dark abyss that Link wouldn't dare get too close to. He looked around for anything to help him navigate the enormous facility. He paused and stood in silent thought for a moment. The silence, however, was interrupted by what sounded like an electric spark. It immediately caught Link's pointed ears. Looking behind him, he could see small waves of electricity flowing on a nearby wall. He took a slow, cautious step closer and was met by dozens of red, beady eyes. Before he knew it, yet another horde of electric Keese attacked, encircling their green-clad foe. With only the light of the electricity coursing through their wings to guide him, Link had some difficulty overcoming the horde, and found himself being zapped more times than he cared for. Once they were defeated, he noticed a lever on the wall where the Keese had been. It was completely rusted. It took significant effort to get it to budge. When it finally did, Link heard the loud clank of metal bars retracting, revealing a nearby side room, inside of which was a large timeshift stone. Link struck it and watched in amazement as the entire facility was transformed before him.
The decayed holes in the walls were patched at once. The layers of dust and sand vanished, as if it had never existed (technically, it hadn't yet) and Link could feel the rush of electric energy surging through the facility. Further away, enormous lengths of conveyor belts began moving, carrying rocks, precious stones, and other items in rapid succession. The massive room was now alive and booming with action. Platforms were flying through the air, machines were working, and best of all, Link could see his way through. He traveled the length of the room taking in all of the sights and sounds until a peculiar object gave him pause. An orb was flying through the air in his direction. Link studied it closely as it hovered just beyond him. Then, without warning, it opened on either side, revealing two sharp-looking objects, which were promptly propelled at Link. He dodged both, but as they hit the ground, they burst into flame. It was clear these weapons could cause decent damage. Link readied his sword and waited for the machine to strike again.
When it did, Link flung the sword at the projectiles, causing them to explode before reaching him. He then aimed his blade at the center of the machine, and in one smooth motion, split the orb in half. It crashed to the ground in a heap of ruin. Fi called out to him from inside the sword.
"Be on your guard, Master. More of these devices are inbound."
From high above, five more of these machines flew down and surrounded Link, each with its projectiles at the ready for assault. With great agility, Link blocked several of the projectiles from one direction with his shield, and deflected the others with his sword. Those that were deflected soared back to the orbs, exploding them on impact. Link turned his attention to those that remained. He destroyed two with the sword. The final one dodged out of the way and shot another projectile at Link, which he hit it right back, finally destroying it. The burning shards of metal smelled strongly as he walked through the wreckage, a bit more cautiously than before.
He needed to cross a series of conveyor belts to reach the other side of the room. Upon approaching them, he couldn't help but to feel a sense of hesitance, as they were moving far faster than he originally thought. There was also a gap between the floor and the belts. One misstep would send him plummeting to his likely demise. He drew in a deep breath and held it until he felt ready to leap over to the first moving path. The moment his feet touched the moving surface, they were swept out from underneath him, and his body came crashing down onto the belt with a loud and jarring thud. He shook his head to reorient himself, unaware that he was drawing close to danger.
"Master, observe behind you," Fi warned from within the sword.
Three beams of pure electricity flowed in front of what appeared to be a long, dark drop. If the electrical currents didn't kill him, the fall would likely finish the job. Link made a mad dash to outrun the moving path, however, he quickly realized that he was inching closer and closer to the electricity, to the point where he could feel its warmth on his back and the hairs on the back of his neck stood erect. He threw himself over to the second moving path, going in the opposite direction, causing him to fall again, painfully smacking his chin on the rubbery surface of the belt. In a matter of seconds, he was once again drawing close to another deadly drop and another trio of electric currents. He ran against the flow of the belt, dodging large rocks, gemstones, and shards of metal. The electric currents were nipping at his heels when he finally threw himself off of the belt and over the gap. His body rolled onto the hard, unforgiving metal ground before skidding to a stop. A groan escaped his throat, though he was relatively unhurt.
Before him stood a heavy metal door. Inside the next room, he saw a large treasure chest. On either side of it stood long, tiered pillars, and behind it sat a big, bulky statue with two sad, solemn faces carved into it. Link carefully approached the chest, but just before he reached out to open it, his ears picked up the sound of small bursts of electricity coming from the two pillars. Then, plumes of dust fell from each tier as they began rotating. Lastly, a bright blue light appeared at the tops of the pillars, locking onto their intended target. They were Beamos. Link swallowed dryly, waiting in grueling anticipation for the twin Beamos to strike. From their glowing eyes, they both shot piercing, hot beams of energy, filling the room with the mephitic smell of burning metal as their energy beams cut through the floor, inching towards Link from both directions. He tried to evade them, but to no avail, as they were unrelenting and unceasing. He then raised his shield to block the beams. The metal shield was quickly warmed, its heat radiating onto Link's face from behind it. He knew it would not hold for long. Fi spoke out from the sword.
"Master, I have new information for you."
"Go ahead Fi," Link replied, straining to keep the shield raised.
"The metallic shells of these machines are likely impenetrable."
"I gathered that."
"However, the areas that are uncovered are vulnerable."
Link looked as best as he could, observing that each Beamos had two areas where their electrical wiring was exposed.
"Additionally," Fi continued, "their weak points appear to be the areas from which they are firing their lasers."
With this knowledge, he quickly plotted and executed his own attack. First, he rolled to the side of the left-hand Beamos, putting himself out of the other's range. Before the cylindrical foe could turn its laser toward Link, he sliced through its lower exposed point. It stopped shooting as it fell in on itself, allowing Link to reach and cut through the upper exposed section. Now its eye was level with Link. It turned and readied itself to fire its energy beam once more, but was stopped short when Link plunged his blade deep into its socket. The machine sparked, whirred, and then finally came to rest, smoke billowing.
Link darted toward the second Beamos, which shot its laser at him once more, striking him on the shoulder. He fell to the ground, grasping his shoulder and wincing in pain.
"Master, the Beamos' laser beam has left a considerable burn on your left shoulder. Proceed with caution."
It charged up its laser once more. Link managed to scramble to his feet just in time, avoiding a direct hit. He outran the laser for a time, but then, the Beamos quickly turned and fired the laser in front of Link, forcing him to come to a jolting stop. In a daring move, Link charged forward and then slid on the ground. The laser missed the top of his head by mere inches. He flung the Goddess Sword as hard as he could across the Beamos' exposed body. It collapsed in on itself and tried to strike again, yet Link was faster, cutting through the second exposed section before driving the blade through the Beamos' glowing eye. Both now sat in heaps of smoking, twitching ruin.
He rotated his shoulder to work out what was left of the burning sensation before finally turning his attention to the chest. Inside, he found a most peculiar item. It had a long spout and a large, jar-like chamber. It felt hollow and somehow sacred. Its tan, teal, and red color patterns reminded him of the Ancient Robots. Despite how long and wide it was, it was surprisingly lightweight. He peered into the spout and saw only emptiness.
"Any ideas, Fi?" he asked.
She emerged and inspected the item as Link held it out to her.
"Yes Master, this device seems to harness the power of a divine wind."
"Wind?"
"Precisely. The ancient civilizations called this item a gust bellows."
He continued to fiddle with it until suddenly, a powerful rush of wind burst forth from it, almost knocking him over. He had no clue what use such a device had, though he would learn soon enough. Link turned and tried to leave out of the door, but four metal bars rose from the ground, sealing it off. Link immediately drew his sword, preparing for the worst. He heard the distinct sound of crackling rock behind him. Turning to meet it, he saw that the two-faced statue, an Armos, was coming to life. Link swallowed dryly. How was he going to best this bulk made of solid stone and metal? Before Link could devise a plan, the Armos lurched forward with surprising agility, crushing the now emptied treasure chest to splinters. Link's breath caught in his throat as he imagined himself in the chest's place. He tried to ready himself, and yet was caught off guard when the Armos jumped forward once more. It shoved itself into Link with such force that it knocked the air from his lungs and his body to the floor. Additionally, the Goddess Sword also fell from his grip, landing a distance behind him.
Unsure of what else to do, Link grabbed the gust bellows and aimed it at the statue. A powerful burst of wind came forth and, to Link's amazement, the statue stopped in its tracks, and one of its mouths began to open.
"Master, the wind from the gust bellows is triggering the statue to open. I am ninety-seven percent certain this is caused by the rotation atop the statue. Please observe."
Link saw two large metallic flaps spinning in the gusting wind. Keeping the gust bellows fixed on the armored statue, Link rose to his feet. With a loud clank, one of the statue's mouths fully opened, revealing a diamond-shaped switch inside. As quickly as he possibly could, Link sprinted to grab the Goddess Sword and struck the switch with it before the mouth could close. The statue let out a strange, echoing roar and went into a fit of rage, lunging this way and that in an effort to crush Link into complete oblivion. Each time it crashed to the ground, it did so with such force that a powerful vibration knocked Link off balance. He fought to stay upright as best as he could, but he lost his footing as the Armos came closer. One more leap and it would surely crush him.
He managed to roll out of the way at the last possible moment. Rising back up to his feet, he aimed the gust bellows and summoned the sacred wind. The Armos stopped its rampage immediately as the wind turned the mechanism on the Armos' head, and its second mouth began to open. Link saw another diamond switch inside, but there was something else resting on its tongue; a long, golden object. It reminded Link of the keys used in the Skyview and Earth Temples.
The Armos' mouth snapped open. Link knew he had a short window of time to slash the diamond switch and grab the key. He hesitated for a moment before taking action. Little did he know, that second would cost him dearly. He flung the sword, splitting the diamond switch. He then reached out with his free hand and took hold of the key. But then, without warning, the Armos' second mouth snapped shut with Link's arm still inside. The boy let out a primal scream, as did the Armos. The bulky statue twitched and shook as it slowly met its demise. Link tried to pull his arm free, knowing that there would soon be an explosion of malice, but no amount of pulling availed him. Instead, Link turned his head and braced himself for the inevitable.
When the Armos finally burst into a cloud of malice, Link was thrown back, his body scraping against the hard metal floor before finally coming to rest against the wall. He coughed as the malice in the room slowly dissipated. Fi emerged from the sword and examined Link, who remained on the floor, clutching his arm.
"The bones in your arm have taken damage, however, they remain intact and should heal properly." She tilted her head curiously. "Were you able to retrieve the key?"
Link hoisted himself on an elbow, opening his hand to reveal the shining, golden key.
"... Well done, Master."
Although Fi could not convey human emotion, Link felt in his heart that if she could smile, she would in that moment. Returning to the previous room, he searched for any sign of where he needed to go next. He observed the platforms moving through the air and over the seemingly unending pit in the center. He could see that, on the other side, there were a series of doors similar to the ones X told him about the night before, which could be opened with bomb flowers. Link crept over to the edge of the floor and peered down into the dark hole. A dry gulp showcased the nervousness he felt. Setting this aside, however, he waited for one of the moving platforms to come near, and, after saying a quick prayer, leapt over to it. He lowered himself to one knee to keep his balance while the platform carried him across the center of the pit. He then had to jump to a second platform, which he did with no issue. When jumping to the third platform, however, Link timed his leap incorrectly, and missed the platform as it moved away.
His heart stopped as he felt himself at the mercies of gravity. He stretched out his unhurt arm and caught the edge of the platform by the tips of his fingers. A small whimper escaped from his throat as he looked down into the black abyss, in which he would certainly meet his death if he fell. With what strength he could muster, he pulled himself up.
"Master, your heart rate has reached a critical level."
"Yeah, I... I don't doubt that," he replied breathlessly.
At last, he made it to the other side of the room, at the end of which was a large door sealed by massive iron bars. Turning his attention to the three smaller doors, he used a nearby patch of bomb flowers to open them, and immediately found himself perplexed. Behind the first door, there was one diamond switch. The second door housed two more, and the third housed three. He tried hitting them in order, but the switches reset and nothing happened. He then tried in reverse, and this yielded the same disappointing result. Fi came forth and offered her assistance. She carefully studied the area while Link continued trying any combination he could think of.
Finally, Fi turned and noticed the far wall behind them.
"Master, please observe."
Link turned and, in his frustration, was unable to understand what Fi was calling his attention to. There were numerous diamond switches painted on the wall that had no obvious meaning.
"What about them?" he asked.
"Look closely at the pattern of the diamond switches."
Link squinted his eyes to see a little better. It was then he noticed that the diamonds were painted in an arranged order, which he then followed with his sword slashes. Finally, the puzzle of the switches was complete and the iron bars in front of the large door fell. Using the golden key he had retrieved from the Armos, Link entered the next room. The area was tall and seemingly empty. Four brick walls surrounded him, and the center of the floor was nothing more than a large pit of sand. Link pushed his arm into it and felt no solid ground underneath. He brought his hand back to the surface, letting the grains of sand trickle from his open palm, and let out a long, flustered sigh. His shoulder and forearm were both throbbing from their various injuries, and his heart was sinking. There did not appear to be a way past the outside wall, as X had said. In that moment, he felt he would be trailing behind Zelda forever, never to be of any actual aid to her. He thought he heard his own sigh echoing throughout the room, but as he listened more closely, he noticed that the echoing noise was actually a heap of sand that was moving.
"Master, I am detecting a considerable amount of malice approaching beneath the sand," Fi said from the sword.
Link stood tall and drew his weapon, immediately feeling his pulse quicken. His deep green eyes focused on the moving sand. Whatever it was covering, it was large and swift. Link readied himself as best as he could. Then, with a piercing screech, a horrible monster called the Moldarach burst forth, throwing sand in every direction and filling the room with its bone-chilling battle cry. The beast was long and had two massive pincers. Its tail came to a deadly point, and it had more legs than Link cared to count. Its lone eye at the center of its face locked onto Link with the fiercest gaze. Link froze, unsure of what to do or how to defeat this massive beast.
The Moldarach quickly grabbed Link by the leg with its pincer and lifted him into the air with dizzying force. Hanging upside down, Link managed to plunge the Goddess Sword into the Moldarach's claw, cutting through its tough, dark shell. It released him, and he fell headfirst into the soft yet heavy sand. He emerged with a gasp and immediately began sifting through the sand in apparent desperation, for he had dropped the Goddess Sword in the fall. His heart skipped a beat as he caught a glimpse of the handle, yet before he could take hold of it, the Moldarach grabbed him again. This time, it wrapped its claw around his upper body, taking his shoulders and chest into its powerful grip. It squeezed tightly. The air in Link's lungs was expelled in a pained and scared scream. Link felt that at any moment the Moldarach would crush him completely. He could feel his arms and shoulders burning with pain. He held his breath, trying desperately to hold on to what little oxygen remained inside of him.
Then, when it appeared that he was doomed to be crushed, from the sand there came a brilliant ray of blue light. It stunned Link as well as the Moldarach, which released Link to shield itself with its pincers. Link plummeted to the sand and was once again submerged.
"Master," Fi called telepathically from the sword, "I am summoning you to the power of the sword. Follow the light and the sound of my voice."
Link dug himself out and gasped for air. The light from beneath the sand was still visible, though not as blinding as before. He crawled through the sand as best as he could, racing to meet the light. The Moldarach, however, positioned itself between the sword and Link. He looked up just in time to see it raise its sharp tail, which was dripping with a thick, black, venomous liquid. It plunged its tail into the sand. Link rolled out of the way, evading its tail by only an inch or two.
"Four meters straight ahead, Master."
Link rushed forward as quickly as he could, though the sand slowed him considerably. The Moldarach gave chase and once more took hold of Link's leg. It dangled him high up into the air, dizzying and disorienting him. Despite this, Link managed to take hold of the slingshot bestowed upon him by the Kikwis. He pulled it back and launched a seed directly into the Moldarach's eye. It shrieked and let Link fall to the sand below. By now his stomach was in knots from the constant rising and falling.
"One meter to your right, Master."
Link fought through the sand and at long last came to the light. He threw his hands into the sand (perhaps a bit recklessly) and was able to take hold of the Goddess Sword, though he was given no time to celebrate. The Moldarach swung its massive claw and made a direct hit. Link went soaring through the air, being stopped only by the brick wall. Another yelp of pain escaped him as he hit the wall and crashed to the solid floor. The back of his head pulsated terribly, blurring his vision with each throb. Reaching back, he felt blood in his hair. At that moment he knew he needed to fight for his life. Anger, adrenaline, and fear coursed through his veins. All of the aches and pains in his body seemed to go numb. The sounds around him were dampened by the beat of his own heart raging in his ears. Mustering what strength and courage he had left, he lifted himself from the ground and ran to meet the Moldarach head on.
He raised his sword to the sky, charging a skyward strike as he ran forward. Skidding to a stop on the edge of the brick floor, he flung the sword diagonally, sending the powerful energy beaming toward the Moldarach's left pincer. It sliced completely through, and the severed pincer fell to the sand while the Moldarach cried bitterly. It raised its right pincer and sent it crashing down upon Link, but he managed to evade it once more. With an impassioned shout, Link cut through its second arm, dismembering the pincer. In a final desperate attempt, the Moldarach flung its tail this way and that, trying to run its venomous stinger through him. Link dodged left and right, making his way closer to the monster's lone, menacing eye. With a mighty push, he sent the blade straight through. The Moldarach unleashed a long and loud cry of defeat, then it shriveled up into a lifeless shell before dissolving in a cloud of malice.
The room was quiet for a time, save for Link panting heavily as he allowed the wave of fear and anger to pass over him. The aches, pains, and complete exhaustion from all of his battles returned with a vengeance. He wanted to fall into the sand, though by sheer will, he kept himself upright. Then, room began to rumble. He felt the sand beneath his feet giving way, though he was not sinking into it. The sand itself was sinking lower and lower and lower, taking Link with it. He descended a far distance before his feet were at last met by solid brick, and the rest of the sand was pulled into what appeared to be a drain. A large door stood before Link, and he promptly entered.
The next room was pitch black, except for a lone timeshift stone inside an old, rusted mine cart. Link struck the stone and watched its brilliant blue light travel down the length of the room, which seemed to have no end. It revealed a long hall with massive statues of the Ancient Robots lining either side. It was perhaps the most awe-inspiring place he had seen yet in his entire journey. He climbed into the cart, which carried him slowly to the other side. Link allowed himself to enjoy the long ride there. Something about the room felt sacred and safe. The large statues looked as guardians watching him pass between them in safety and peace. Finally, he came to a stairwell and could see the light of day shining from above. Drawing in a deep breath, he ascended the stairs, praying to find Zelda outside.
