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Thank you and please enjoy

The Legend of Zelda: Interloper of Time

-Chapter 33-

-Last Time-

After mulling over her words for a moment, Naruto nodded in understanding and quickly swapped his hammer with the sword. "Makes sense I guess. You ready to go Fi-chan?"

"Energy reserves at highest safely manageable levels, casting air filtration enchantment." Fi said as a slight distortion of air rippled around the whiskered blonde. "Enchantment successful, ready to proceed."

"Alrighty then, wish us luck." Naruto said before going back through the illusionary wall, leaving the greenette and two fairies nothing to do but wait.

"…You two up for some go fish?" Saria asked while pulling out a deck of cards from her pouch.

-And Now-

"Ugh, this place is disgusting," Naruto muttered as he carefully stepped around several half-rotted corpses of humanoid-ish monsters, which wasn't easy since the only source of light was the gentle glow that was emanating from Fi since it was too risky to use a torch. "Hasn't the Sheikah ever heard of proper hygiene?"

"The state of the bodies suggests that these creatures died just over seven years ago," Fi stated as she looked over one of the beasts, a reptilian creature with cobbled knight armor. "It is highly likely that they were part of the group that killed the original sage of shadows, scouts based on their armor design. The Sheikah probably aren't even aware these are here."

"Fair enough," Naruto said before gagging as his foot sank into a puddle of decayed monster flesh on the ground. "How much time do we have left Fi-chan?"

"Forty-seven seconds Master."

"Kuso, we better hurry back." Naruto said as he turned around, not wanting to risk running out of time mid tunnel.

"I agree Mas… Master I am detecting untainted oxygen twenty feet from our current position." Fi suddenly cut herself off as her head snapped forwards, with Naruto following her gaze with a raised brow.

"You sure Fi-chan?" Naruto asked when he saw nothing but dank dark tunnel stretching on into the distance.

"Positive." Fi stated confidently while floating ahead, before vanishing from sight as the air rippled like water.

"…I hate illusions." Naruto muttered as he followed after the sword spirit through the reveal fake tunnel and found himself standing inside a mazelike room with gruesome distorted faces carved into the walls.

"They are most irritating," Fi said with a frown as she glanced back at the 'wall' behind them before taking a deep breath. "The air within this room is pure enough to breath safely so we may continue our exploration, I shall send Mistress Saria, Navi, and Elia a telepathic message about our discovery so they don't panic."

"Okay… wait, you can do that?" Naruto asked as Fi went completely still for a moment and the whiskered blonde could swear he heard a soft musical tone play briefly. "I thought you could only talk to us mentally when if we were in contact with the Master Sword."

"That is true for two-way communication, I am still able to send messages but I will not be able to receive any response." Fi explained, getting Naruto to nod in understanding.

"Ah, well good to know," Naruto said while giving the bluenette a hug. "Great job Fi-chan, now let's see what we can find around here."

"…Indeed master." The sword spirit said before the pair began to explore the room, with Naruto pulling out the Lens of Truth to look for any more illusions. However, if you looked very, VERY, closely, you could just make out a slight purplish tint on Fi's cheeks as she searched for anything important.

Direct physical contact was something the sword spirit was still pretty unused to as every other being she'd ever met generally went out of their way to avoid touching her, which was only natural given she was both a spiritual entity and a divine creation. Even Link, her old master, despite being a thoughtful and kind man, was reluctant to due much more than give her a brief pat on the shoulder.

Her new master on the other hand acted the exact opposite, always happy to show his appreciation without even a second's hesitation, whether it be a hug, pat, or other such thing. Hell, he was even willing to give her a massage* once when she asked him to.

At first it hadn't been that big a deal for her, figuring that it was just a brief phase that he'd eventually settle down out of and act like the rest.

…But he didn't.

If anything Naruto became even more affectionate as time passed and it was starting to make Fi feel increasingly bashful and confused.

Why did he treat her so differently? Should she do something similar in return? These questions and many more passed through the sword spirit's mind as she occasionally glanced at the source of her bafflement.

She was tempted to simply ask Naruto himself, as that would be the fastest way to get the answers she wanted, but the moment she opened her mouth to do so she was cut off when she and Naruto were forced to dodge out of the way of a pair of black and purple clawed arms that shot out of the shadows and tried to grab them.

"What the hell? Are those Infinite Hands?" Naruto asked as he quickly got out of the arms reach.

"Negative Master, those are floor-masters, an artificial version of the wall-master created by magic to act as guardians." Fi stated while watching the smoky limb retreat into void like shadows on the ground. "They grab any moving object that intrudes in its territory and teleports them to a set location, generally outside the place they are set to protect."

"So they basically just throw you out?" Naruto asked with a raised brow, getting a nod from the sword spirit. "Weird, that seems a bit tame to me. Don't the Sheikah usually go for something more… excruciatingly deadly?"

"True, though it may be prudent to add that there is a roughly fifteen percent chance that those who are teleported by a floor-master end up incorrectly reconstituted after being transposed."

"In simple english please, Fi-chan."

"There is a moderately small chance that you will be turned inside out if they catch you Master." Fi stated, making Naruto grimace slightly at the mental image that popped up is head.

"Okay, that sounds more like what I was expecting," He muttered, jumping back a bit further when one of the arms tried to grab him again. "Can we kill them?"

"Yes, but it is tricky, like I said they only emerge once something enters their territory so dealing with them at a safe distance is… what are you doing Master?" Fi asked upon noticing Naruto pulling out several bombs and shortening the fuses on them.

"As Saria-chan would put it, something really stupid." Naruto said, lighting the fuses and rolling them towards the floor-masters, who promptly shot out of their little hidey-holes to grab the foreign objects, before dragging Fi behind a wall and covering his ears.

*BOOM*

"…Did it work?" The whiskered blonde asked after a few seconds, him and the sword spirit curiously peeking out to see the results of his 'plan'.

"It would appear so," Fi said as they saw several holes blown into the stone floor with bits and pieces of the demonic hands scattered about, slowly fading away into nothing. "Though I believe Lady Impa will be most displeased that you set off explosive devices within the temple."

"Meh, we can just say the monsters did it." Naruto said nonchalantly as he walked out from cover. "Let's go, knowing our luck there are plenty more uglies where those came from and they'll probably be attracted to the noise."

Sure enough, Naruto hit the nail right on the head as the pair were assailed by several more Floor-masters, swarms of Keese (Fire, Ice, and Regular varieties), Skulltulas, and even a Like-Like. The most irritating monsters to deal with though were the Redeads, as the zombie-like monsters travelled in small packs and would freeze Naruto in place with their screams whenever they spotted him.

Thankfully though, after the first few encounters Fi figured out a simple way to deal with that by coming up with a modified version of her air filtering spell that stopped any sound from reaching Naruto's ears instead.

And that's not even counting the numerous amounts of deadly traps, irritating illusions, and mind-boggling puzzles that would have left Naruto stumped if not for Fi's help.

"Man, these guys either got advice from the Zora on how to make a temple super fucking irritating, or vine versy." Naruto muttered as he dragged a large stone block into a specific indent on the floor, causing it to glow briefly while a nearby doorway was unbarred.

"I believe you mean vice versa master," Fi corrected, making Naruto stick his tongue out playfully at her. "But I do agree with your deduction, much of the trap mechanics and spell work is very similar. Though I'd say it was Sheikah who assisted the Zora as these designs appear much more finely tuned and constructed, suggesting prior knowledge and skill for such creations."

"Goody, now I know who to send the thank you card to for all the bruises and near-death experiences." The whiskered blonde said sarcastically as the went through the door, before groaning in annoyance when it locked shut behind them, leaving them in a large circular room with a large stone coffin in the middle. "Great, either we found yet another puzzle, this was some kind of trap and we just fell for it, or we're about to get attacked by some horrifying monster."

"Be weary master, I sense a powerful monster awakening within that tomb." Fi said while eyeing the stone coffin wearily.

"Oh so a fighting challenge," Naruto said with a grin as he drew the master sword. "Finally something fun."

Right after he said that, a black aura caused the top of the tomb split down the middle vertically before each half slid off to the sides, allowing a corpselike creature to slowly rise with an eerie moan. It was at least nine feet tall, wrapped in old yellow bandages and pits of broken armor, and held a massive sword that was also covered in wrapping.

"You look like a tough one, Fi any info on this guy?" Naruto asked as the monster slowly stepped out of its tomb.

"It is a Redead Knight, a stronger variant of Redead that are said to be born from the corpses of high ranking soldiers who died in dishonor. Supposedly they will spend the entirety of their existence waiting for a worthy challenge in order to satisfy their thirst for bloody combat." Fi stated factually, earning a dry look from Naruto.

"Interesting, but I was looking more along the lines of strengths and weaknesses, not a history lesson." He muttered before cringing as the monster released an ear-splitting shriek, freezing him in place. 'Like maybe the fact he can make me freeze up with a scream just like the other Redeads.'

"My apologies master, I will be more concise in the future." Fi said, kicking the Knight back when it got too close, buying Naruto the few seconds he needed to shake off the petrifying scream.

"How about you start now?" Naruto suggested, clapping his hands over his ears when the mummy started screaming again. "And could you start up the muting spell again while you're at it?!"

'Done Master,' Fi told him mentally as the whole world seemingly went silent for the whiskered blonde. 'And to put simply as you prefer, the Redead Knight's main flaw is that while they have incredible strength, they lack mass to properly use it, so they compensate with heavy weaponry which in turn slows them down. Be cautious if it ever relinquishes its weapon though, as while its speed will increase immensely without it weighing the monster down.'

"Got it, thanks Fi!" Naruto said as he charged the mummy, slashing it across the chest several times before Fi sent it stumbling back once more with a harsh kick to the face. Not wanting to give it a chance to recover, Naruto quickly reclosed the distance and slashed again, only this time aiming for the legs.

With a single clean cut he sliced through the Redead's desiccated flesh, causing it to fall over with a silent shriek… well silent for Naruto anyway. As soon as it hit the ground, Naruto pounced on the monster and speared it through the head.

"Okay… that was way easier than I expected." Naruto said, pulling the sword free as the Redead shriveled up even more then before and dissolved into a pile of dust along with its sword. "Guess I'm finally getting the hang of this hero stuff."

'Master, you may want to turn around before you start patting yourself on the back.'

"Oh don't tell me…" Naruto muttered as he followed Fi's advice, just in time to see three gaps opening up in the walls just like the tomb, revealing three more Knights, two wielding regular swords while the third had another massive greatsword. "…Oh son of a-"

With speed far greater than the last one, the two smaller sword wielding mummies shot at Naruto and Fi, attacking from both sides at once.

"Whoa! You weren't kidding Fi-chan, these guys are ridiculously fast." Naruto said while trading blows with the Redead on the left, only barely able to keep up with the insane speed of its strikes.

'Of course not Master, I would not joke about such a matter.' Fi said, having a little bit less trouble with the right Redead as she floated circles around the mummy, using quick hit and run attacks to whittle it down.

"It's a figure of speech Fi-chan, I didn't really think you were-Yikes!" Naruto yelped as he jumped back to avoid the broadsword that almost sliced him in two, curtesy of the third Redead. "Right, forgot about you."

Now stuck in a two on one fight, Naruto found himself completely on the defensive as the faster Redead would rain down a fury of blows on him until the slow one could swipe at him. Struggling under the double assault, Naruto's mind ran a mile a minute trying to figure out how to deal with these monsters.

"Let's see how well you guys like the cold." He muttered, ducking under yet another heavy swipe from the slow Redead before countering with a wide swing of the master sword, the blade encased with a chilling mist. As with every other attempted counter-attack, the faster Redead tried to block to protect itself and its slower brethren.

This time however, the instant its blade met Naruto's, the rusted metal of the sword was flash frozen and shattered to pieces. Disoriented from the unexpected destruction of its weapon, the mummy was unable to protect itself or its companion from the rapid series of slashes the whiskered blonde delivered onto them.

However, much to Naruto's surprise, while the blade itself hurt them, the ice magic it was imbued with had almost no effect other than lightly freezing the wounds.

It wasn't too much of a problem though as he was still able to finish the now weaponless one off by lopping off its head by the time the slow Knight managed to slice at him again. Then, after dodging the slow but powerful attack, he slipped inside the remaining mummy's guard and sliced with all his might.

Skidding to a stop a few feet behind the monster, Naruto twirled the master sword dramatically in his grasp before sheathing it, a grin forming on his lips as the Redead fell to the ground in two pieces, split perfectly from head to groin. "And that's how it's done."

"Well done Master, now would you please lend me some assistance?"Fi asked as she kicked her opponent with enough force to send it tumbling back several feet, only for it to pick itself up with nary a scratch a few seconds later."It would seem that blunt force trauma is extremely ineffective against these monsters."

"You got it, heads up." Naruto said while pulling out a bomb and lighting the fuse. He tossed the explosive towards Fi who promptly swatted it at just the right time to lodge it into the Redead Knight's pelvic area.

Seeing this, the monster freaked out, dropping its weapon in favor of grabbing the bomb, but was unable to pull it out as it had gotten entangled with its bandaging, and a few seconds later it was nothing but a pile of dust after the bomb exploded.

"Okay, please tell me that was the last of those things." Naruto begged Fi as the smoke cleared.

"I believe so master, the room has unlocked itself." Fi said, the silencing spell ending mid-sentence, allowing Naruto to hear the sound of the metal bars on the door rising.

"Great, then that means can get out of-*Clunk* Gah! The fuck!?" Naruto exclaimed when something hard suddenly landed on his head. Picking the object up, the whiskered blonde blinked when he found himself holding a small wooden chest. "What the heck? Where did this come from?"

"It appeared above you shortly after the last Redead Knight was defeated, likely summoned upon their death as the reward for clearing this trial." Fi said, before pointing to the eroded remains of a platform sticking out of the wall just above where Naruto was standing. "Though I do believe it was originally supposed to land upon that shelf there and not atop your head."

"Ugh, well, whatever is in here better be worth dealing with those mummy wannabes and this headache," Naruto muttered, idly rubbing the already growing lump on his noggin for a moment while flipping the chest open curiously. "Ooh, shiny."

Reaching inside, Naruto pulled out a purple rupee, a small silver key, and metal fragment of what appeared to be the Sheikah clan symbol. Putting the first two items away in his bag, Naruto held up the broken eye piece up and looked it over carefully. "Fi-chan, any idea what this is? I doubt it's just a hunk of scrap like it seems if it was this well guarded."

"I agree with that deduction master, though I am just as puzzled as you are upon what it is for. Perhaps it will be revealed as we explore further into the temple." Fi suggested, making Naruto sigh in exasperation as he pocketed the mysterious object.

"Greeeeat, more stuff to figure out," He grumbled, walking back to the door with a tired gait. "Let's go Fi-chan, this seems to be as far as this tunnel goes so we better head back and try the other one. Besides, I'm starting to worry about the girls."

"I'm sure they are fine master, Mistress Saria, Ms. Navi, and Ms. Elia are quite capable of taking care of themselves. As long as they stayed within the main chamber, the odds of them being in any danger is less then twenty-three percent." Fi said assuringly.

"Fi-chan, they could have a zero percent chance of being in danger and I'd still worry about them, it's just how I am." Naruto said with a shrug before pulling the sword spirit into a one-armed hug. "But thanks for trying, it's appreciated."

"Of course… Naruto."

-End Chapter-

AN: Okay, just to be absolutely clear, Fi's bashfulness in this chapter isn't love, it is as I explained simple her being unused to Naruto's constant affectionate attitude since I honestly believe that since she is basically a divine relic (and sort of a ghost), most people would be highly opposed to actually touching her in any form.

That was what I was originally going to leave it at… but some of you have been asking (read: demanding) me to add Fi to the pairing so I'll put this out there, if you really want her as part of the pairing either review or PM #FxN. If I get at least thirty requests by the time I'm done with the shadow temple arc then she'll be added, if not, then it's not happening. Thank you for reading and please review.