Meanwhile, high up in Skyloft…
Tink!
Tink!
Tink!
Link caught the blue rupee, the one he'd been flicking up repeatedly, and turned it over in his fingers. He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment, his muscles loosening some more. His bed felt no cozier, even with his whole back up against it. The day he first got that rupee looped through his mind once, more akin to a dream than a memory. That was from how pure and simple it seemed compared to his current situation. The sun was shining, he was still a young kid, and Zelda was still by his side. She handed him the very rupee he held now — his very first gift from her and his very first rupee in his wallet. Back then, all he cared about was being happy.
Not to say he didn't care these days, but… he simply had no time. Or energy. Or willpower.
The past two days had been nothing but rigorous training, from the second he was conscious to the time the first star appeared. A full hour after curfew for everyone else. He would hack and slash in rhythmic patterns at several logs, each barraging him with only seconds to breathe between. At times, his father, the one mainly supervising his training, would spar with him personally. Each time, he hardly made it past the first round, usually losing by the time the second one started. Or the start of the third, if he was lucky. And these days, he was anything but. Especially considering what would happen soon.
By the time the sun rose, he would have to descend into a bright pillar of green light, leading down to the Surface to find Zelda. Other than childhood memories, regrets, and the occasional insult at Groose, one thing looped through his mind every night: The plan. Everything he'd been told, everything that had been prophesied, and the sword that he was destined to carry on his back. The sword sworn to wipe out evil for all time to come. So legendary and sacred that only his hands, its sheath, and its stone could respect its presence.
He spared a glance at it as it leaned against his door, the sheath already gathering dust. The very sight of it upset him, for two main reasons. One was rather obvious: All of the 'fate' and 'destiny' shit. He wanted a life beyond boring nothingness, but not this! He wasn't cut out for saving the entire damn world from a monster he'd seen in his dreams! And yet, here he lay, about to be sent into a pillar of holy light he created by putting some dusty tablet into some dusty square. The world was magic, and he was supposed to embrace that in TWO days?!
…And, more importantly and permanently…
Fi.
Fwoom!
'Speaking of,' he thought, sitting up with a reluctant grumble and staring at the new source of light in his dim room. There stood the robotic girl from his dreams, who he now knew as Fi. She maintained her look — one icy blue head with an icy blue half, with the rest draped in golden-lined purple attire. It was very outdated in terms of fashion, and that was all he knew about it. Her glow was no warmer than her expression, permanently locked in an indifferent, disinterested look. "What?" he asked, staring back at her with the same indifference.
"As part of my mission," she began, instantly receiving a stifled groan in reply, "I am to check on you before important events in your journey." She floated in front of him, looking down like a disappointed parent. Despite being an artificial intelligence (as she called it, expecting him to know what the hell that was), he knew the vibe. "Your mental state is more important than your physical one. As such, keeping it up to the mission's expectations is key to ensuring the Spirit Maiden's safety."
"Sure," he flatly answered, lying back down. He reminded himself something very important about Fi that would define their dynamic: If he did only the bare minimum, he'd be fine. And that included only vaguely comprehending what she said. To add to the disrespect, he returned to flicking his prized blue rupee up and down. "I'm fine," he muttered.
…
'Oh, great, she's going to read my mind again." The eerie silence reminded him of Fi's tendency to never let anything be. And, more importantly, to never let anything be general.
"Your body language, tone, and other external forms of expression are showcasing 39% stress, 39% anticipation, along with 5% discomfort, 7% anger, and…." He raised an eyebrow at her, surprised she hadn't instantly defined every last one of his thoughts. Sure, she wasn't Hylian like everyone else, but she was smarter than anyone else. There was no way she couldn't define everything… and yet… here she was. Head tilted, quiet beeps and boops coming from her body, and not a word leaving her lips.
Beep…
Tink!
Beep…
Tink!
The loop of ambience repeated for a minute, only broken when the torches and candles outside his room were blown out. Only then did Fi actually choose to speak. "It is an emotion I am unable to define," she said, her tone only a little less flat. "It is a blend of… pleasure… happiness… and… memories, if I am correct. What do you call that feeling?"
"…Nostalgia?" he answered, his voice pitch rising at the end of the word, sliding smoothly into a yawn. It was odd to hear something he thought so simple broken down into something even more basic, down to a child's understanding. But the confusion distracted him from his bitterness toward… well, everything.
"And what is… nostalgia like?"
"It's… like admiring old memories." He sat up, pushing the rupee toward her subconsciously. His interest in this conversation had peaked, so far. "You… sort of… forget everything bad about those times… and look on the bright side." He looked at the rupee in his hand, flipping it up and resting it between his knuckles. Fi's gaze traced it as he showed it to her, more intentionally this time. "Tell me. What is this?" He knew the answer he'd get, down to the last word of her sentence. Or, at least, he knew how it would end.
"It is a blue rupee, equal to five green rupees. I believe your kind would understand what that is." She floated to his side, sitting at the opposite end of the bed, her legs neatly crossed. She was still floating a little, but it was better than her awkward, silent, intimidating lean over him. After all, it was the first time he'd seen her get close to sitting. "Why do you—"
"Why do you ask?" he finished, a smug smirk on his face. Fi remained indifferent, but the very brief and small step ahead of her still boosted his ego. "Well… this rupee is special."
"No." His face fell, upset that his point was interrupted. It was an unwelcome surprise, certainly. "That rupee is identical to all models produced before and after."
The disappointment in his eye oddly faded, his exhaustion melting away his hard shell. Right now, he didn't want to be firm, upset, or more stressed than he already was. For this fleeting moment… this one night before he had to face the stupid fate that awaited him… he just wanted to be a little softer. Prideful, still, but soft. He sighed and frowned, mostly with pity. "You don't understand sentiments, do you?" The last time he heard this softness in his voice was when he had his last heart-to-heart with Zelda, even while he was shouting.
"Sentiment? No. That is not a feeling I have registered."
He nodded, looking out through his window, the starry blue sky bringing out his inner thoughtfulness. "Well… this rupee… Zelda gave it to me," he explained, glancing at Fi. "It was her first gift to me, when we were kids, and… I still keep it here. It's probably going to be the one thing I take down to the Surface… just to remind me what I'm fighting for. To remind me that she's out there. That… one damn day… I'll find her and save her." He smiled at her, the dark spots beneath his eyes not distracting her from his determined smile. "That is what sentiment is. It's a little thing where a pointless object becomes something we fight for. A part of us. A reason to keep fighting."
A minuscule, negligible, but still noticeable flicker of emotion appeared on Fi's face. It was too brief to tell what it was, but he knew there was something. "I see. I also sense that your overall mood has uplifted, which will be useful to your mission. I suppose that is my mission complete, then." She looked toward the Goddess Sword, her form slowly fading.
…
"Fi?"
She stopped, looking at him from the corner of her blank eye. "Yes, Master Link?"
"…Thank you."
She paused, tilting her head but not fully looking at him. After a moment, filled with the beeps and boops coming from her again, she looked at the ground and nodded. "It is just my job, Master."
Despite her words…
Despite her tone…
She smiled faintly.
Watching her return to the inside of the Goddess Sword, however that felt, put him at ease. Not with relief that this annoyance was gone, for once. Instead, it was this odd feeling of… acceptance. There was no use denying something that was set in stone a century ago. This was it. He could finally make something of himself. And, by Hylia, that was exactly what he planned to do. With Fi and the Goddess Sword on his back, he would cut down evil and raise it skyward, announcing himself as the hero of the world!
…Or something.
He was still trying to figure this whole thing out.
But all of that was for tomorrow.
He lay back down on his bed, taking in a deep breath and smiling at the roof above his head.
'Something worth fighting for…' he thought, the warm void of unconsciousness consuming him one more time.