Hey all! So, I got this idea and just had to write it...type it...down. I know I still have my two stories, "Little Link" and "So Close, And Yet So Far," and those will be my main focus still as the week passes. But I wanted to post this story to tied you over till tomorrow when I get he next LL chapter up. If you guys like this story or this story idea, let me know in a review! I would love to keep writing this idea when one of the other stories finishes. Anyways, hope you enjoy!

"What is it?"

The four Champions surrounded Zelda and Purah as they tinkered with their newest find from an ancient Sheikah dig site. Their eyes examined the object with equal parts curiosity and caution. While the Divine Beasts were modeled after animals, this one was certainly not. No, it was modeled after Hylians. From the surface, one could not tell any difference. It had blond hair, bright blue eyes, was an average build, maybe on the shorter side height wise, and looked roughly seventeen years old. It looked Hylian, sounded Hylian, and felt Hylian. Peeling back the "skin" however, revealed how far from Hylian it was. Underneath its outer layer ancient circuits carried blue energy across from part to part, powering the marching. Its insides gave off a faint blue glow, another clear marker of its true identity.

Purah turned towards Urbosa. "Well, the ancient Sheikah built this in case Ganon rose and no hero appeared to pull the Master Sword and seal the darkness. It was their fall back in case that ever occurred, which thankfully for them, it did not. Unfortunately for us, however,..."

"It is the situation we currently face, yes." Zelda finished, continuing to fiddle with the controls of the Sheikah Slate. "So, we found him and dug him up, hoping he could take the place of our absent hero."

Revali eyed the machine carefully. "Is it dangerous? Will it turn on us if we try to use it?" Revali didn't trust the machines as it was. He was a master archer, and they wanted him to control a massive stone bird? A waste of his abilities as far as he's concerned. And now, they have the audacity to bring a machine and pass it off as the true hero? He found the whole situation ridiculous.

Zelda shook her head. "It has the same chance as the guardians and Divine Beasts turning on us. We should be perfectly safe." Purah glanced over at Zelda's Sheikah Slate, seeing how much progress she had made. With a few taps in the right places, Zelda finally managed to pull open an interface for the construct that lay before her. "I got it! Now let me see if I can connect to it." Zelda tapped the connect button, and a blue flashing light appeared on the "beings" right temple.

After a few moments, the machine's eyes opened, his gaze turning to meet Zelda's. "Link complete. Hello, how may I assist, princess?" Zelda grew a skeptical look. How did he know she was a princess? Before she could ask, the answer came to her. "The only one who can awaken me are the monarchs of Hyrule or a princess. So you must be either. Probability also stated you were likely a princess, due to your outfit bearing the royal crest and your young age."

Zelda eyed the being suspiciously. "What is your name? Is there something we can call you?"

"Yes, my creators gave me a title to be referred to by. I am the Hylian Emergency Replacement Operative. You can refer to me as that." The creation explained. The entire time, the automaton only ever held a neutral face, never once deviating from that face.

"So...H.E.R.O.? We're supposed to call it hero?" Revali scoffed, turning away from the odd construct. "I am NOT calling it hero. It's far from a 'hero', just another piece of technology. Just like those guardians and that Slate of yours." Revali approached the machine, looking it directly in the eyes. "A tool."

The construct didn't respond, merely keeping it's vision locked on Zelda. She eyed it warily, before deciding to question it further. "What is your purpose? Why did the Sheikah create you?"

The H.E.R.O. came back to life. "I was designed to serve as a replacement in case the CHOSEN HERO failed to appear in time to stop GANON from his destruction of Hyrule. In the case of this event, I will activate and follow the will of the current PRINCESS, fulfilling her orders to the best of my abilities. Considering my activation, I assume the CHOSEN HERO has not appeared. What are your orders?"

Zelda took in the information as she paced about the room. So it was here to help against Ganon. That still left many questions. Could it wield the Master Sword? What good was it against Ganon? How effective was it? Could it go out of control? She stopped, turning slowly to the machine. "Do you see the four beings wearing blue cloth?"

The machine scanned the room, taking notice of each person. "Presence acknowledged. Daruk. Goron Chief. Current Pilot of Vah Rudania." His gaze shifted to Rito Champion. "Revali. Rito Marksman. Current Pilot of Vah Medoh." His eyes scanned the Gerudo in front of him. "Urbosa. Gerudo Chief. Current Pilot of Vah Naboris." His eyes landed on the last Champion in the room. "Mipha. Zora Princess. Current Pilot of Vah Ruta."

Zelda nodded. "These are our chosen Champions to pilot the Divine Beasts against Ganon. Were you alive...umm...active...back then? To see them in action? If you had knowledge on how they operate and how effective they were against him it could greatly improve our chances."

H.E.R.O. shook his head. "No, the chosen hero had awoken back then. I was not active for Ganon's last attempt, but I do have information about the event logged in my data banks. I'd be happy to assist in providing instructions on how to operate the Sheikah creations."

Zelda bit her lip, obviously slightly annoyed by his answer. Here he was, a talking entity from the Sheikah, and it wasn't even there at the last Ganon uprising. She sighed, shaking her head. "Well, it can't be helped then. We'll just have to survive on what you can provide for us. Is there anything else we should know?"

The construct sat still for a moment before speaking again. "Yes. While I am a construct, I can suffer permanent damage from outside forces. My skin is organic, meaning it operates much like your skin. Any damage will appear on its surface, and will need to be repaired later. Secondly, I will need to be linked with any operatives I shall be working directly with. When linked to a person, I can then follow their orders and assist them."

Zelda nodded thoughtfully. A robot with skin? Seemed useless, but it did lend itself to it being approachable. It also wouldn't stand out too much. As for the "linking," at least that meant she didn't have to go everywhere with the construct. "I would like you to connect with the 4 Champions. That way you can assist them in understanding their Divine Beasts and help them in their endeavors."

H.E.R.O. nodded. "Then I shall establish connections with each pilot, as per your orders." Its eyes glanced scanned the room. "Daruk. Link established. Urbosa. Link established. Revali. Link established. Mipha. Link established. Links established, registering new commanders."

"To you, it's Master Revali, and you'll always refer to me as such." Revali growled.

H.E.R.O. nodded. "Name registered. From now on, 'Master Revali' shall be your registered name. Does anyone else wish to change their names in my database?"

"Lady Urbosa." Urbosa curtly added, turning back to Zelda to discuss things further.

"Lady Mipha for me, please." Mipha tried her best to be polite. Revali rolled his eyes.

"You don't have to be polite with the machine. It doesn't have feelings. Watch." Revali approached H.E.R.O. And proceeded to knock on its head. "See? Empty. Nothing."

Mipha shook her head. "I apologize for my companion's actions. He can be a bit...abrasive sometimes."

The construct shook its head. "No trouble at all. I look forward to working with all of you, Master Revali included."

Revali glared at Mipha, then the robot, before storming off in a huff as Mipha giggled at his anger. Daruk approached Mipha as Urbosa and Zelda began fiddling with the Sheikah Slate. Daruk eyed the machine warily. "Hey, uhh...H.E.R.O.? I need to make sure of something before we can start working together."

The constructs blue eyes brightened, turning towards Daruk. "Yes, Daruk? What can I assist you with?"

Daruk's eyes narrowed. "I need to give you the ultimate test. The best way we Goron's know how to truly trust people: what's the best food in all of Hyrule?"

H.E.R.O. ran through its data banks, selecting all available files on Gorons. Favorite colors? No, that's not it. Most feared creatures? Doubt that they would want to eat them anyways. Where was it? After hours of looking, he finally found it. Of course! It's quite logical, a Goron's favorite food would be mineral based. As such, the file on Goron diet would be under the shared Goron/Geological section. After finding the file in question, it turned back to Daruk, replying instantly to his question. "A Sirloin Rock Roast, of course. Found only in choice mines directly from Death Mountain. No other food quite compares." He stated matter of factly.

Daruk grinned wide. "Good enough for me! You said it without any hesitation! That's gotta mean something good about ya, I can feel it!" Daruk smacked the construct's back, expecting him to bowl over. Instead, his hand slammed into a being as tough as a Goron, causing his hand to come to an abrupt stop. "Woah ho! You're made of tougher stuff! I'm liking this guy more and more!"

Urbosa glanced over from Zelda's work. "He isn't a voe, Daruk. He's a machine, remember? I don't think it's proper to refer to it like it's a person." Urbosa clicked a button on the Sheikah Slate, causing H.E.R.O. shut down. Urbosa waited for a few moments before powering him back up. "See? Just a tool. Nothing more, nothing less."

H.E.R.O. looked around, noticing Mipha and Daruk in front of it. "Oh! Greetings, Daruk and Lady Mipha. It is a pleasure to see you once again. How may I serve you?"

Daruk grimaced. "Ya know H.E.R.O., you don't have to always, ya know, 'serve us.' Sometimes we just want to, ya know, talk?"

H.E.R.O.'s eyes brightened, his posture more rigid. "Of course. What would you like to talk about? I have vast data banks that contain information on a variety of topics." Daruk shook his head, struggling to grasp the terminology to machine had chosen to use.

Mipha giggled lightly. "Never mind, H.E.R.O., maybe we'll discuss queries another time."

Zelda looked up angrily from her work. "Are you all done toying around with the ancient piece of Sheikah technology? Can I please get back to work on him?" Mipha and Daruk shot a quick glance at each other. Poor Zelda had been feeling the pressure as of late. With her father pressing for her to awaken her powers through prayer, along with the chosen hero never appearing and pulling the Master Sword, the world felt like it was collapsing on her. The discovery of H.E.R.O. was a miracle. They still didn't know everything about it, but anything at this point was a plus. Daruk looked like he was going to say something, but Mipha shook her head. Zelda didn't need someone to point out how stress...

"Princess, you seem stressed. Your blood pressure is elevated and your muscles are tensed. I suggest finding a quiet place to calm down, possibly consume a calming cup of tea."

Mipha's eyes snapped to the unwitting construct. She tried to discreetly shake her head, warning their new automaton ally the danger of his interference. "Excuse me? Who are you to tell me I'm stressed! You are in no place to be questioning my mental faculties!" Zelda yelled back. Mipha sighed.

H.E.R.O.'s eyes widened. "I offer my apologies, Princess Zelda. I did not mean to offend you. I was simply offering my assistance in calming you dow...

"I AM CALM!" Zelda yelled as she stomped her way over to the construct. "You got that!? You are not to contradict me! I am fine!" Zelda let loose her pent up stress, pouring it out into the one thing she didn't feel bad about dumping it on.

H.E.R.O paused for a moment, before nodding its head. "Status acknowledged and updated. You look fine to me. Absolutely nothing wrong." Zelda huffed, turned away, and made for the door.

She shot back a glance at everyone in the room. "If anyone needs me for some actual work, I'll be speaking to my father about the progress of the replacement. Don't manage to break it while I'm gone." With that, she slammed the door.

There was a quiet pause, everyone struggling to find the words after Zelda's outburst. "I do not mean to contradict her, by she does not seem 'calm' nor 'fine'. I would like to suggest ways she could return back to a calmer state."

Mipha shook her head. "No, don't do that. I know it seems, er, illogical, but it isn't what is best for her right now. It isn't what she needs."

Daruk rubbed his chin. "I think she just needs somebody ta listen to her."

"She needs a shrink." Revali jabbed from the back, earning a scowl from all parties, save for H.E.R.O.

"She needs someone to be there for her. To listen to her problems, and not offer solutions. Just to be a shoulder to cry on, to let out her feelings." Mipha offered.

The construct looked over to her. "My skin does not get wet, allowing for me to be an excellent object for someone to..."

"No." Urbosa said, shaking her head. "No, that's not the point." Urbosa sighed. "I'm going to go after her. She needs someone right now. Someone to talk to and vent. And while I do appreciate you all, I think I might be the best fit for it right now."

Mipha and Daruk nodded, waving as she left the room. Revali rolled his eyes. "Well, once everyone as finished their feelings session, come find me." And with that, he left.

Mipha and Daruk let out a heavy sigh. While they appreciated the other Champions and their talents, sometimes their abrasive personalities were exhausting.

"I think my first day is going quite well" they both looked over at H.E.R.O., scanning his face for any sign of emotion to match his words. Finding none, they shook their heads, clearly finding something funny with the construct' s description of his "first day."

"Well, H.E.R...H.E...Ugh, I'm tired of saying that constantly! We gotta give him a better name! Something easier ta say, anything!" Daruk complained.

Mipha nodded. She understood his plight, and the construct's name was fairly annoying to say, even if you shortened it to just the letters themselves. And 'hero' was just too informal. She lost herself in thought, trying to come up with a good name for their new robotic ally.

"Shall I log Urbosa's and Princess Zelda's relationship as 'allies' or 'friends'? For ease of filing, I will just label it as both. Link established between Princess Zelda and Urbosa. Shall I set up a link for you too as well?"

Mipha's eyes lit up. "I know just what to call him!" She turned back towards H.E.R.O. "We'll call him...Link."