born to be (wild and free)
word count: 13.67k || warnings: canon typical violence
summary: You're aware of the effect he has on you, but you can't afford feelings during a war.
Your hand is glowing.
That's never quite a good sign, but you're in the caves with Calamo right now, and you see a shard that's glowing and practically screaming for you to collect. You want to, but you also realize that maybe the smartest decision isn't necessarily to pick up glowing items while in a cave. That doesn't seem safe. You're stupid, not stupid— wrong word.
Calamo, on the other hand, does not care for such trivialities.
"No, I really don't think that— Calamo. Calamo what are you do—"
You wince as the glowing stone that Calamo's just picked up flies out of his hand towards a construct on a pedestal, and you wince.
"I was gonna use that!"
"It flew out of my hand on its own!"
The two of you brace yourselves as a beam of light emerges around the unpowered construct, energy from the shard powering the machine as it comes to life, eyes meeting yours. You don't even notice that your sword is half drawn until he looks at it, and you set it back in as he blinks at the both of you. He's eerily human looking. He's just human-looking enough that it unnerves you. Maybe there's something fundamentally wrong with the way you're wired, though. You think he almost looks handsome. Maybe it's the hair. Okay, you have problems.
"Woah, bud! Who might you be?"
The construct looks at Calamo, and you flip through your field notes. The chances of you having notes on something like this are miniscule, but who's to say that the original owner of the book hadn't gotten it? It'd been a gift before you started your travels by your master. Maybe she bumped into one. She was old as hell anyway.
The construct tilts his head at you, and Calamo waves his arms at him.
"I know they're pretty, bud. You gotta tell us what's going on, though."
You note the fact that your hand is glowing through your glove. Seriously, can it stop? It's already weird enough that your hand can react to things like this and craves things like it's a separate entity or parasite, but can it stop glowing when you're trying to read the journal?
You hold your hand over the journal as a light instead.
"Forbidden constructs." You read. "Can be used for light or darkness. Be wary of them as they were the ones to eliminate the Zonai race. They are powered by either light or darkness."
Calamo hops twice as you bend down to show him the page.
"Please note that they are sentient. Some are capable of speech while others aren't. If you wish to— oh my god when does she get to the point— To add a voicebox, use the same machinery as regular constructs. Most forbidden constructs have quite the humor." You pause. "I'm not gonna ask why she knows that."
The construct looks at the two of you, and Calamo taps you twice as the two of you turn around to discuss what to do with the construct.
"I vote we bring him along. He looks strong."
"I vote he comes too." You nod.
The construct looks around, eyes locking in on the shades outside as the two of you are busy discussing.
"Wait— wait, wait he's—"
The two of you chase after him.
"God, give me a break." Calamo sighs.
You follow behind slowly, blade drawn as you watch as the construct annihilates the horde of monsters outside.
Hylia. That was hot.
You blink at the construct, though, digging through your bag.
"Wait, wait!" You call for him as he continues on. "Construct, one minute. Please. It'd be better and safer to travel as a group. We can get you clothed and stuff. It should give a little more defense."
"Like this." You pull out robes from your bag (when the hell did that get there), and the construct lets you drape the fabric around him. You loop the grey pieces of fabric around his waist and tie them at the shoulder point and fasten the fabric with a belt. You're surprised you have extra clothes out of all things, but you don't question why in Hylia's name your master had sent you with extra clothes. Whatever. Not your problem if she wants to toy with you a little before you get formally promoted. You finish it with a little hood made of the extra scarf you had laying around.
The construct nods at you, and the three of you look up at the chasm above.
"It's probably safer to go up right now. The depths have been. Scary." You sigh. "There are more monsters on the surface right now."
Calamo shudders.
"Alright. Calamo. How do we get up there?"
"Can you fly?" Calamo stares at the construct, and you tilt your head.
"How would he—"
The construct nods.
He shifts. His arms move downward, and he forms wings on his side, an empty circle with an unlit fire on his backside as you pause. No way in hell you won't fall off of it. Actually, even better. No way in hell you'll survive that.
"How does this even work. I can't sit on his back while he flies I might hurt his wings." You blink.
The construct shakes his head.
"You're strong enough?"
He nods.
"What if he just carries you?" Calamo hums.
"I'd get in the way of the arms. I'd be in the line of fire if he were to fight." You deadpan. "He'd need regular rockets and a wing on top of his head instead of what he's formed as right now."
"Can't you just tinker him?"
"A construct that has no instructions in my book? I'm not suicidal." You scoff. "Can't I just try and get on? He's powered by a shard of the master sword."
"The what?"
"Sword my master forged in order to become a proper swordsmith. Please?"
"Say less."
You get onto the construct's back tentatively, and Calamo joins you as the construct takes off. You cling on for life. Oh. Oh Hylia. This is terrifyingly fun. Terrifying more than fun, though.
You realize halfway that you aren't going to fall if you sit right, and you relax a little as Calamo does too.
"I gotta say, this is really fun."
"It is." You hum in agreement, glancing around as you make a landing on the ground. You dust yourself off from all the stuff from the cave as the three of you notice some red in the corner of your eyes.
"Ya see that, bud? Bad news — those are shades."
The construct looks at them, and you flip through your book.
"Ancient globs of evil that show up and attack people whenever the land's not doing so great." You read.
"And I guess those two're the ones controlling 'em?" Calamo notices the two women on the side not being attacked. "That's nothin' we wanna be apart of, I can tell ya that."
You watch as Calamo starts to turn on his heel the other way.
"Ya ask me, we're better off just sittin' back and lettin' this—"
You laugh as the construct starts heading towards the fight.
"Uh, bud? Where ya goin'?"
"Sorry, Calamo. Our new friend wants to fight, and I'm never one to turn down a good swinging." You follow behind the construct, and Calamo makes a sound in protest.
You hand the construct a sword, and he tilts his head at you.
"For the fight. Shades are weak to it."
The two of you rush into battle, swords drawn as the shades notice the new presence in battle. They don't target you as much, but some of them try swinging at you anyway. It's fine. It's not like you're incapable of fighting back, but you're a little unused to it since Calamo prefered taking the pacifist route and just avoiding all the enemies and running when he could. Too bad the new addition to the group seemed to think the exact opposite. Well, not that you mind. It's cartharic to get to farm your own materials for your swords.
The Knight Construct presses a hand to your back to push you behind him, blocking a hit as you wince.
It's the hottest thing you've seen since you'd seen yourself in the reflection in the water— kidding. It's attractive, though. The way he protects is impressively attractive. You hand him a sword, and he jumps in for the kill as you block a hit behind the two of you. Calamo manages to land a hit while you're blocking, and you find another weapon in your arsenal.
Eh. A boomerang works.
You swing, but you also let go since by logic it's supposed to swing back to you. Hypothetically. You'd found the schematics for it while digging in your master's trashed ideas bin. One swordsmith's trash is another's treasure you guess. You jump back to dodge another monster's attack, and Calamo hits a handful of bomb flowers at the shades. The boomerang takes out anything in its way as it loops back to you, and Calamo ducks.
"Hey! Watch it!"
"Forward! I see them!" You call.
The construct jumps, and you take the chance to ride the tornado sent your way, sending you to the top as you catch the boomerang, holding it as a sword as you slam down on the masked figure. A Gerudo Captain, or something. You're not certain. It's enough impact to send her backwards, and the construct follows up with a rocket from his arsenal. You jump back when the second one moves to hit you, and the woman from earlier meets her weapon halfway.
"Cal!"
"Heard ya."
Calamo throws a bomb flower your way as you swap to a wooden bat, blowing it your opponent's way as she's staggered again.
This time, you go in for the kill. She seems pretty battered up already, and you swap back to the boomerang as you successfully send one of them retreating.
"Last one."
The construct finishes the last one, freezing the woman as he blows a final hit with the sword you'd handed him, and she yells about reporting to Ganondorf as she retreats and returns on her way.
He hands you the sword back once he finishes, and you take a look at the blade.
"Nah. You can keep it. It's bad to be unequipped." You pat his shoulder twice.
The woman, Ardi, you find out, looks down with a discouraged reaction as Calamo hops onto your back.
"Why did you save us?"
"I've been wonderin' the same thing myself." Calamo points at the construct. "But my bud here's got a mind of his own. Couldn't stop him if I tried. And trust me, I did."
You let Calamo do the talking, taking a look at the Gerudo spears that you'd grown used to seeing around, observing its materials. Not enough, but the fact is that you'd have to replicate something the opposite of it if you wanted to create a sword worthy of rivalling the Master Sword. A shame you aren't nearly as talented, though.
"C'mon guys. We're out of here."
You notice the spear in Calamo's hand, and you look away from the weapon you had previously been considering bringing with you. Shades don't drop anything of use other than poes, and you don't really need the poes. There's diamonds part of the embedding on the Gerudo spear, though. You keep that information to yourself, running alongside the construct as you jump off the cliff for him to catch you with Calamo.
You're off to find Calamo a place to put down roots — which is what you'd say if you weren't sitting on the back of a construct who rushes head first into combat against evil.
The construct has other plans though, soaring right towards the blood moon as Calamo yells at him to turn back and stop "playing hero". A shame for the korok, though. You like the kick of adrenaline a little too much. It was kind of fun to swing the swords you had gotten used to making your whole life.
"Drop me off on one of the platforms. I'll meet you both at the end."
The construct nods, spinning upside down to drop you off as you pull out your proper sword.
No point in playing cool here.
You make quick work of the constructs. Red-eyed. Usually they'd be for protecting you, but they're going around killing whoever they want, and if you remember anything from your mentor, well. They can always be used for spare parts if you kill enough of them. You wonder if your mentor's the reason you turned out this way. Whatever. You clear the ones on the ground that the construct leaves behind during the flight, glancing above at the Gleeok that the construct has so wonderfully decided to take care of all on his own.
You glance from below, debating how bad you want to use you bow.
Eh. The construct has it under control.
Instead, you start a fire and start cooking with the orb of a Zonai pot you'd shoved into your pocket space. An orb that forms into a pot once you take it out. You're sure Calamo and the construct don't need to eat, but you do, and it's tiring. You're hungry because you're consistently fighting. You wonder if your master knew everything before throwing you into the deep in to fend for yourself with a Korok and Construct. You're grateful enough that you had managed to pack enough food, but you're running out. You're burning too much energy and don't have enough downtime to eat. You're also too worried about getting food on the construct to eat while the three of you are in the air.
You get a couple bites in when the construct finishes the Gleeok, sword slamming into its final eye with a crunch as Calamo sits in the air, and the two of them land for a moment so you can eat. The construct faces towards Hebra, and you deadpan as he forms his wings.
"I'm finishing my meal before we move. You're not moving. We aren't moving."
He puts his wings back, looking away.
"I need a breather." Calamo groans, planting face down in the stone as the three of you sit by the fire until you finish eating. It's a lot, really. He plays coy and pretends he doesn't understand half of the stuff that you and Calamo say but he's pretending. He's powered by the Master Sword, which in itself has a millenia old spirit sealed within, and if that isn't enough, the page you didn't read to Calamo in your master's diary details just how conscious these constructs are. It's shocking how sentient they can grow to be according to your master. You check the journal a second time about his entry before you make any more assumptions, though.
If the current state of your friend says anything about it, he might be play fighting with the two of you any day now.
You flip open your master's journal to the page on the Gleeok, writing down anything new you'd noticed. You're surprised she didn't write anything absurd. It's a relatively tame log compared to the others. Nothing fun to say about them other than the fact that they come in three elements and suck to fight. The construct made it look like nothing, though.
You finish eating, laughing when Calamo complains about his nap being interrupted.
"Just knock out on the construct's back." You pause, turning to the construct. "We really need to name you."
The construct blinks at you and forms his wings, the two of you hopping on.
Dessert can wait.
He starts flying towards Hebra of all places, and you wince at the sight of the snow. You're not sure if you have a warming elixir or any food that could keep you warm. You remember the last time you were in Hebra. It was not a pleasant experience despite literally everything else. The scenery was so nice, but it was hard to appreciate when you're practically freezing your skin off. You thought you were going to die.
To no one's surprise, Hebra is fucking COLD.
Your teeth chatter as the construct hosts a fire on his hands, helping you warm up as you dig through your items to find clothes that would suit the weather. Contrary to popular belief, you aren't built for this kind of weather. You're not a korok. You don't know how Calamo hasn't frozen to death yet. Your teeth are chattering despite the fire keeping you warm.
"Hey, Raphica!"
Calamo greets the Rito that have just come to visit you guys, and your teeth chatter as you finally pull out clothse warm enough for the weather. Cold cold cold cold cold!! Whatever you'll take the title of weak it's cold as hell and you're not trying to get hypothermia before you dethrone your master as best swordsmith. Whatever. You could warm yourself with your hand like it's intended use, but you haven't told anyone just why you have a hand capable of glowing through a glove yet, and you intend to keep it that way.
"Swordsmith."
"Oh, Raphica." Your teeth chatter as you finally get the god forsaken clothes on your body. "Sorry. It's cold. As Hebra is, you know? Gimme a moment to warm up."
"I can see that."
The construct tugs at the scarf around him, and you hold his hand in place. It's fine.
"How'd you two meet?" Calamo hops once.
"Bows." You point at the bow on him. "Not me, though. A friend. He was looking for a bowyer in my early years of apprenticeship."
You exhale once your skin finally warms up, thanking the construct as you turn around to properly face Raphica.
"Sorry. It's cold."
"Not a worry. How'd you find your way back here? Last I heard, Tabantha and Hebra were off the list of candidates." He turns to talk to Calamo, and you start a proper fire to try and warm up faster.
The construct helps you light it, and you thank him with a slight nod.
"Say… how would you and your… friend like to help us take back Hebra?"
Your neck snaps to look at Raphica, and you have an awful feeling that the construct is gonna start walking head first into fighting like he always does.
He does.
This, time, though you let Raphica know you'll be at the end of the forces so you can keep an eye on things. The reality is that you're simply too tired and cold to try and fight. Yes, the adreneline would get your blood pumping and in turn you'd be warmer, but it's not ideal. It's really horrible.
You stay in the back of the team. Everyone else can do their proper things. You're too cold to do anything. Instead, you light fires by places you've conquered, pulling out a flameblade to burn anything that interrupts your downtime. Most of the forces are wiped clean by the construct and Raphica's team. You get to enjoy your little downtime to eat a little more. You have a bad feeling about where you'll be headed next, so you want to rest while you still can.
Halfway into the fight, your hands start itching to beat a couple of monsters, so you take the loss and pop a cold resistant elixir, pulling the flameblade with you as you catch up to the group, clearing out any monster that wasn't killed along the way to recapture the land.
"Construct!" You yell, sword in hand as he opens his hand for it.
Much easier to fight ice with fire.
His arm extends to swap swords with you, and you crack a ruby at the core of the sword as it extends, fire flying as the construct finishes the Ice Hinox. Late to the party, but it eased everything up. The hinox dies within a couple more swings, and when he collapses, you pick up a toenail and tooth. The monsters have such strange drops now that you think about it. You help Calamo refill on firefruit in the process, checking the Rito's wounds as Raphica discusses with Calamo what their next move is. You notice the construct point towards Death Mountain and you debate staying in Hebra. Hm. The frozen cold or the burning heat. Both sound equally horrible, really. Well, too bad. If your travel companions want to go somewhere then they'll go.
"We're—"
"Before we go." You turn to Raphica. "Could I get a bow?"
"Still collecting materials?"
"It might teach me something new." You laugh. "I could rework it."
"Alright." Raphica hums. "Take mine, then."
"What about you?"
"I have a spare back at the camp." He nods.
You take the bow from him, frowning.
"I'll sent for the bowyer once all of this dies down."
"If it dies down" He grins.
"You insisting that my buddy over there can't single handedly one shot Ganondorf?" You quirk up a brow at the Rito.
Raphica laughs, patting your shoulder as he hums.
"The construct is staring holes into me. I think he wants to run while it's still hot at Death Mountain."
"It's always hot at Death Mountain." You sigh, hopping on his back as you wave. "See ya in a bit!"
"See you."
You pop open a heat resistant elixir and hand an extra to Calamo while in the air.
"Didn't know you were close with Raphica."
"Huh? Oh, no. A friend makes the Rito bows so I've seen him in passing. Besides. He's very charismatic, and I'm not immune to an attractive guy doing attractive things." You laugh.
Calamo turns to look at you, leaf turning a golden orange as you laugh.
"Nothing suspicious. Promise."
"Uh huh. So. What do you like about him?"
"I don't think my preference in literally anything should be relevant right now." You raise a brow. " The Gorons needs help."
"Ugh, we're gonna go either way. We should get to know each other."
"Calamo. You've seen me butt naked in a lake before. I think we're beyond getting to know each other."
"That sounds horrible without any context."
"I've seen you without your face on. We're definitely—"
"I get it!!" He yells.
You snicker, glancing at the journal in hand as you read up on the Death Mountain section. It's mostly evolved monsters, though. You stay on the ground since you value your life, but you tell the two to save you a piece of the big guy in case he was made of some kind of different lava or rock. Always important to have something to cling onto from the enemies. Calamo had been kind enough to save you a wing from the Gleeok when they had been fighting it, and saving you a horn. Now that would be helpful.
You swing around with the Gorons to destroy the monsters, though. The iceblade is shockingly fun to play around with. It isn't as nice as the flameblade, but the steam that forms when it makes contact with the monsters is enough to confuse the monster before you swing hard enough to kill it in one strike. You really ought to look in a mirror sometime has swinging the sword caused your muscles to develop or something? You don't remember being this strong at all.
You regroup with the other two as they land with the rest of the Rito, and you watch as the construct points the spear towards the Gerudo Desert in a matter of minutes. Seriously, break is over, you guess. You chew on the skewer someone had made during the fire and stare at the construct. Your poor breaks…
"The Gerudo Desert?" Raphica raises a brow.
"That' what im assumin. I mean look at him." Calamo sighs. "We barely catch our breath after cleanin' up here, and he's already got his eyes trained somewhere else. By the way, bud, That thing you're pointin' is supposed to be mine, remember?"
You laugh.
"We'll go wherever ya wanna go, I promise." You hum. "Best put it down since it's Calamo's anyway. I can always craft you a new spear."
The construct turns to look at the two of you.
Calamo huffs. "Promise."
You pull out a proper spear from your collection as the construct looks at it.
"A Gerudo spear, huh? Interesting way to communicate, I have to say." Raphica hums.
"If he's really set on the desert, it's probably 'cause that place is crawlin' with monsters." Calamo steps to the side, and the construct takes the spear from you.
"It's my only one, so be sure to keep it safe." You rest your hand on the inside of his elbow, and he nods.
Raphica asks Calamo why he can't just let the construct go on his own, and you turn your head.
"Cuz we found him, so it's our responsibility now I guess… he also makes farming material super easy."
"Besides, who knows what kind of trouble he'd get into if I wasn't there keeping him on a tight leash!" Calamo justifies, and you meet eyes with Raphica, shrugging.
The construct has his eyes stuck on you.
You notice when you turn, and Raphica gives you a look that you do NOT to see.
The Gerudo Desert is crawling with Gibdos, which you get to read delightfully in the journal about how brittle and fragile their bones are but how incredibly strong they are when fused or merged with a sword. It's thrilling to read on, but it's only a quick look before you're thrown down with the construct and Calamo to fight alongside the Gerudo you'd encountered earlier while fighting the shades. It's fun, really. They're weak to electricity so you throw the construct a lightning blade before he's rushing off into battle. You stay with the electric spear to work alongside Ardi. She's very pretty, you have to admit. You aren't weak to a pretty face either. The face cards on Rauru's team is really starting to make you falter. A shame you're here to make a sword and not make. You're not finishing that sentence.
The Gibdo hives are pretty easy to clear up for the most part, and when you catch up to the construct, you team with him as you combine the weapons, boosting him up to slam the lightning down on the boss. It's harsh enough of a strike that the Boss Bokoblin dies near instantly, and the construct lands with a gentle slam on the ground as the rest of the team finishes clearing out the vicinity.
You collect the spoils and go around asking everyone you know for their spoils — just one, you tell them. Anything that you didn't get to collect, you collect bit by bit. It's great in retrospect, and you're thrilled at the haul. Gibdo bones were annoying to deal with since they were so brittle, but they seemed to be harder during the battle. You wonder why, but you don't ask.
Calamo sits on the outside with the construct as you go around collecting the items, grinning when you come back with an armful of just about everything grotesque one could imagine. You throw it all into your pouch, and you note down everything you had picked up for the day. In the corner of your eye, you notice the princess — er, Zelda, you believe her name was, walk over.
"To be honest, I was hoping to thank you for everything you've done for us."
You look up from your journal— holy shit she's pretty too.
"Hey, I know you! You're the princess of Hyrule or somethin', yeah? Should be gettin' something good outta this!" Calamo grins, and you smack him gently.
"It's an honor, princess."
"Oh, no. I'm nothing more than a distant relative really." She laughs. "By the way, is this construct your travelling companion?"
"Pretty great, right?" The korok huffs, putting out his chest as he grins. "We woke him outta a real deep sleep, n' we've been best buds since."
"You woke him?"
"There we were, lost on our journey in the deepest darkest cave you've ever set eyes on. Before I knew it, We'd found ourselves in a creepy old room — when I noticed a little shard shinin' on the ground." Calamo moves his hands slightly. "A guy like me knows treasure when he sees it, and my buddy over here wanted to keep it so we could forge a sword out of it, so I did what Id o best: went n' snatched it right up. Then all of a sudden, this guy just… yanked the thing clean outta my hand. Next thing I knew, he was already up n' comin' to life!"
"He's a handful, dragging us into places with monsters so he can clear it out, but at least he doesn't boss us around." You pause. "That's Calamo's job."
"You must be a travelling companion as well." Zelda nods.
"Oh, this is my swordsmith buddy. They're out on an adventure to make a sword." Calamo nods. "They're the greatest swordsmith to ever exist. Who even thinks to combine elements with blades?"
"Oh, Calamo. You flatter me." You laugh. "I'm looking for materials to forge a sword with. I've been traveling with Calamo to find materials from monsters we defeat to forge a legendary sword. We were there in the cave together and now here we are."
"A legendary sword…" Zelda mumbles quietly. "Have you heard of the Master Sword?"
You tilt your head at her. "The blade forged by the goddesses? The goddess sword?"
Zelda's eyes light up. "Yes! It appears your companion here is hosting a piece of it."
"Ah, no wonder I wanted to take it." You hum, tilting your head at the construct. "It is a shard, though, That must mean the sword has broken?"
"It… is complicated."
It's not that complicated. A shard of the sword probably traveled back in time with the princess when she came here. Your master had told you that a princess who came from the future was here and brought an anomaly with her when she arrived. Then, next thing you knew, the queen was dead and you were being booted to the surface to forge a sword. What the hell? But, you will say that you didn't leave without a thing or two. You have the original Goddess Sword somewhere in your arsenal — stole it from your master — which means the shard in the construct is technically not from your time. It's from the future. It's. It's weird. You don't want to talk about how you stole the Goddess Sword from your master and found out it was the Master Sword later on. You're not responsible for what you do while spiteful. You stole the blade while pissed at your mentor, so it's technically not your fault. Whatever. You stay gaslighting yourself.
"The construct technically hosts a shard of the master sword, but as far as I am aware, my master has the exact blade somewhere in her arsenal." You nod.
"That means my theory was right!" The princess gasps, getting closer to the construct. The construct stays still, but straightens his back a little so his chest is a a little further from her.
"Zelda, you musn't go any closer." Rauru speaks.
You take a step back with the construct, nodding at Rauru as he explains the construct's origins. You'd known, and so did Calamo, but the reality was the neither of you really thought of the construct as someone who would kill the two of you. You'd been there when he rushed head first into a hoarde of monsters in the cave without anything on. It was actually insane how bad this man wanted to kill all monsters and nothing else. His control over his limbs made sure that he never injured someone who wasn't evil either.
Zelda comes to the rescue, though, justifying that a shard of the Master Sword was fueling him, so he has to be good.
Calamo butts into the conversation Rauru and Mineru have to possibly get paid back for your service as you flip through more of your master's journal. You note the monsters you've fought already and the ones you haven't quite seen, and you note down their drops. You've been lucky to pick up some items from the monsters, but none of them seem strong enough for you to seal darkness inside. You might have to steal a thing or two from your mentor or even tweak the Master Sword that you're borrowing, but it's something you keep in mind. You're uncertain what you'd want. The Zonai swords aren't very sturdy or durable. Sooner or later, the construct might shatter the one he has.
Not that he would, but you worry nonetheless.
"I do have an idea…"
"Oh, yes!" You snap out of your thoughts. "Perhaps knighting him would be a good way to pay us back."
"You do not desire anything?"
"No." You shake your head. "The Zonai are mighty, yes, but your weapons break easily."
"It is true." Mineru nods. "If you require anything, do let us know. I have a collection that may be of aid to you."
"That would be lovely to see once everything dies down." You beam.
"If it dies down."
"It will." You hum.
Rauru lets you know that he will host a knighting ceremony for the construct, and you nod. You're not sure if the construct knows what being knighted means, but it's fine either way. The three of you knock out in your tent for the knight, the construct watching you both fall asleep before he looks out of the open flap for the rest of the night into darkness. The ceremony would be untraditional, but it didn't matter. All you and Calamo cared about was getting the construct some new clothes and maybe an upgade or two on his gear.
The construct is knighted, officially titled the Knight Construct, to which Calamo gives him a fistbump and you crush him in a hug, chattering his ear off about how exciting it was. He gets new clothes, an upgraded sword, and you explain to him the schematics of his new sword, teaching him how to maximize his use out of it. It's quite the ceremony, and a lot of the allies bring him charges to keep himself fully charged up in battle and maximize his energy cell, which you had helped him expand a little with Mineru's help.
You watch on the side with Calamo as he accepts everyone's gifts, a little shaken up from everyone's excitement and fawning.
When he finishes, he has enough Zonai crystalized charges to power a small town.
You laugh, showing him how to power up the extra tidbits you had added to his collection of weapons as the three of you traveled.
You hand a new pouch to Calamo while you're at it too.
"What's this?"
"Bottomless bombs."
"What." His leaf goes white.
"I have a couple hundred bombs in there."
He gawks. "Oh, speaking of."
He hands you a pouch, and you blink at the items.
Zonai items. A piece of everything that he could go around snubbing. You hold a hand over your heart with a frown.
"Oh, Calamo. You'll always be my favorite."
"It's a competition?"
"Not anymore." You pat his little hat, digging through the items. A handful of them would be good. Some of them are fragile but strong — you can always melt down the material to create something better. You're sure one of those abilities you've absorbed with your hand can come in handy.
The construct steps up to you, staring at you as he offers a charge, and you laugh,
"It's alright." You hum. "You'd use those much better. I have a small upgrade for you anyway."
He takes back the charge, and you tap his cheek gently.
"This should be sturdier." You hand him a sword, and his eyes focus on the blade. "Shouldn't break on you. Also, would be much more helpful to fight against gloom-based enemies."
You'd made him a new blade in the short time it took to prepare for the knighting ceremony with fire from your forge, and you show him how to place the gemstones you'd prepared into the sword slot to reflect the different elements. Ruby for fire, Topaz for electricity, Sapphire for ice, and Opal for water. You also let him know that the diamond can be fused to the sword as well, increasing the attack power.
He stares at you, nodding.
You laugh.
"You don't have to offer me anything in exchange."
He stares at you blankly, putting away the sword before he holds your forearms, staring into your eyes as he presses his forehead to yours.
You don't wanna know where he learned that.
"Thank you." You hum. "You've become quite affectionate lately."
Calamo stares you down from the side, and you laugh.
"I think he has a crush on ya."
"I'm not sure if he's that sentient."
Calamo's face turns red.
"I think you have a crush on him."
"Hylia forbid I'm weak for a pretty face." You grumble.
The construct tilts his head and stares at you.
You beam back.
At night, people retire and rest up, and you set up bedroll and a tent by the construct and Calamo, and you knock out in bed. It's hard to sleep in the desert, though, and you find yourself a little thirsty as you step outside, grabbing your flask of water as you open the tent. The construct stares at you as you blink up at him, and you pat the space next to you as he sits down next to you. It's quite cute. You dig through your weapons as he goes over how to switch elements with his new blade, and you hand him another stone you had bumped into. It's a strange one, and you technically sanded down a shooting star, but it should fit into the slot and let him use light-based attacks.
He tries it once in the tent, and the two of you get flashed by the sheer light that comes out of the blade with the insertion of the star. You take a moment to recover from the light as you rest a hand on his shoulder to ground yourself. He doesn't react, pressing one of his hands over yours instead as you squint to adjust. You decide on the spot that you aren't doing that again.
The construct squeezes your hand.
"I'm fine." You laugh. "Just very bright. I'm glad it works. It's better to use that stone against shades."
The construct nods, pausing when he senses something, stepping out of the tent as you follow.
A jet of red flies through the air and slams close to the resting grounds, everyone hiding behind the Gorons as he puts up a shield, and you glance at what's just ruined the night in the camp. You don't think it's good news, and the second you lock eyes with eyes that are red instead of teal, you think you start to understand something.
You walk forward, raising a brow at your reacting hand.
Holy shit. You are not immune to the construct fucking agenda.
The Knight Construct beats you to it, though, walking through the crowd as it parts for him perfectly.
"N-no way you're actually thinking of fighting that guy, right?!" Calamo panics, and your lips perk up into a grin.
"The fight is yours." Rauru pauses. "If you would have it."
You glance at the Knight Construct walk closer to the strange construct, and you wave your hand at the retreating group.
"We'll catch up with you all later!" You pull out a lightblade, humming.
The construct slips the star into his blade, white enveloping the sword as you give yourself a moment to get used to the brightness.
"Woah, where'd that come from?"
Calamo glances at the blade, and you laugh.
"You got lightfruit?"
"Yes."
"That should be enough to stun him." You pause. "I wonder how bad he is. If our Knight is anything, then I'm not expecting an easy battle."
The battle is rough. Calamo gets scratched up a ton and the construct gets roughed up around the edges too. You pant while holding your sword, watching the construct go at each other, and you decide that it's probably more worth it to find a blade that can actually beat this guy. The construct can only hold on for so long. You have a blade that can, technically, but it's. You're not the right wielder for it, so you can't really guarantee that you'd be able to defeat the forbidden construct.
You pull out the master sword, and the construct locks eyes on you. There's a beat of silence as he knocks your construct back, and the two of you stare each other down as he stays in place. Reading his body language, he's about to pounce, and you aren't strong enough to block or dodge fast enough, so you opt for the coward's way out — you start chanting your mentor's language.
Your blade glows.
He lunges — and you swing.
The impact of the blade cuts him in half clean, the construct letting out a garbled sound as you take a step back. There's another beat of silence between the two of you as you go quiet, making sure the construct won't move, and then you relax a little. You put the sword back, breathing heavily as you exhale in relief.
The forbidden construct powers up again, and you start the chant as your eyes widen in fear, the construct halfway to you already, hand reaching for your throat as you scream.
Your construct works faster, though, hand flying for the construct's neck as he tackles him to the ground, their energies fighting as the Knight rips at pieces of the construct, blade formed in his hand as he twists to crush the other construct's core.
You can hear your heart hammering in your chest, but you find the courage to break from your trance and draw your own lightblade.
The forbidden construct breaks free from the Knight, lunging at you again.
You have something he wants gone.
In an act of desperation, the forbidden construct throws his blade at you, tearing up the side of your glove, and knocking out your sword before he's dragged back to the ground by your construct.
You hiss.
Not deep enough to leave a wound, but enough for it to cut your hand out. You'd get scolded for it, honestly.
Ugh. Whatever. It's not like this construct can reveal anything to Ganondorf.
You tear the glove off and jump.
Calamo stops as he notices your hand glowing, and you aim at the forbidden construct's core, forming a hand out of fire for further reach. The Knight Construct jumps off just in time for your extended hand to twist around the malice and force it into an orb under the heat of your hand. The malice burns your hand, but it's not beyond saving as you rip the core out of the construct's chest, pieces of him clattering and falling to the ground. The fire from the malice embeds itself in your finger, and you pant.
"Hearth hand." You shake your hand with a frown as Calamo stares, maybe even gawks — er, something along the lines of gawking. His face turns orange. "I'm glad it works."
You collect some of the pieces of the construct with your free hand so you can replace and buff and fix them up for your construct, and Calamo and the Knight take a moment to collect themselves.
"Is that what your hand does?"
"It's technically a forge, but I've gotten creative with its uses." You heave.
The orb glows red in your hand as it shakes, and you let go before the malice can hurt you further.
The red breaks free from your grasp, and you watch as it soars off with bits and pieces of the other construct. Not everything, but just enough that it should be able to form a new body. It's annoying. You collected a kneecap some arm and leg pieces and a jawpiece. Nothing else, but it's enough to fix up the Knight if you need to.
You notice an eyeball on the ground, and you take it.
Ah. This'll be helpful.
The Knight Construct stands, and you glance at the tattered clothes and scratched zonaite.
"I'll fix you up, but we'll have to regroup with the others first." You nod. "Not a word about the hand."
Calamo hops over and pulls your hand down to observe, face turning red at the malice on one of your fingers.
"No more." He huffs, looking up at you. "The flame is eating you."
"Of course."
You pull a new glove over the arm, climbing onto the Knight Construct as the three of you regroup with everyone else.
Rauru welcomes you all back, and Calamo does the talking as you excuse the construct and you so you can fix the guy up. You'd collected tons of pieces of the other constructs when you had been fighting them around the Gleeok. It was plenty to work and piece together to fix up the construct. Only issue is that you'd need to be up in his bones, and well. He's kind of cute and you're kind of messed up. It's only a problem if you can't act normal.
"Is this alright? Well, I don't even know if you can give consent." You wipe down the damage on the Knight Construct, replacing parts with the ones from the other construct or forged ones as you check to see if he can feel any pain. He doesn't, instead choosing to watch your every move. You fight back the flush that threatens to break past your skin and your racing heart, but alas. You too are only made up of chemical reactions.
"Aren't ya a little too close?" Calamo raises a brow as he hops over.
"I kind of have to be up in his bones if I want to replace his damaged parts out in the wild." You switch pieces of him out with newer ones, and you glance at the shard in his chest.
"Besides, I get to observe his shard up close." You mumble, and you lean back slightly to check the rest of his parts, and he sits still as you turn around to check his back pieces.
"I'm gonna pull the fabric." You nudge the fabric off his shoulder to check the rest of the parts, and you find a dented piece on the underside where his chest would have been if he were human.
"It's really weird to see him shirtless after so long." Calamo mumbles.
"Now you're just making it weird." You roll your eyes, popping out the piece from his chest as you replace it with a newer one.
"I'm makin' it weird?! You say that t' my face!"
"You're weird." You stick your tongue out at Calamo, and he spins and faints over, the Knight Construct's eyes staring in concern.
"He's being dramatic." You finish popping his rib into place, letting him adjust his tunic before you mumble a prayer.
"Alright. Leg time."
You PRAY there isn't an extra appendage down there. You don't need to know what weird kinks the Zonai were into if they were into anything. Well, you know there isn't anything. He was butt-naked when he fought that first hoard of monsters.
Thankfully he's flat down there, just a plate where the pelvis would usually be. He has two limbs, and you excuse yourself as you check the core joint and his limbs, holding them up as you check the underside.
"Alright. Now it's really gettin' weird." Calamo complains.
"I can't have sex with a construct, Calamo. He can't consent to it. Besides. He's just zonaite down below." You hum. "Flat. Not even a hole."
"No way in Hylia I needed t' know that."
You shrug. "You were there before we gave him clothes anyway."
The construct averts his gaze, and you blink owlishly at the revelation that the robot can feel embarrassment. Oh. Oh my god. Right. He's sentient. You're going to kill yourself.
"I'm gonna go walk into a Gleeok's mouth now." You hide your face from embarrassment, and Calamo raises a brow at the sight of you and the construct looking away from each other.
"What. Don't tell me you two actually—"
"No!" You cry. "Can we please set up for the night?"
Calamo knocks out on the nearest tree stump, and you set up a bedroll next to him in a tent. You're not against sleeping on the ground, but it won't kill you. You knock out after a while, glove still on. It's a shame. You would've liked to keep it out, but something tells you that it's better to keep it hidden now. Well, if you hear Rauru's voice, you'll just pretend you didn't.
The group heads to the depths the next day. They stay back to take care of the monster on the surface as they send your group of three to the depths to clear the way first. You aim rockets from the construct's back as he ducks and dodges past all the monsters that he needs to. You only need to clear the entrance of the monster camp, and that should be pretty easy for the construct. You're starting to think that the guy can clear anything after literally tackling the other construct away from you.
The Knight makes quick work of it, clearing out the landing path for everyone to come as Calamo complains about the wounds he's gotten from battle. The dark isn't exactly as forgiving as the light when you're a korok.
It's peaceful enough when the three of you aren't beating the monsters to the ground, though. The Knight Construct does the majority of the work, and Calamo's a good fighter, but for the most part, you clean the two of them up if you're free enough. You usually sustain the least injuries. Maybe you're just too good — you take that back you nearly got killed a couple days ago.
The depths are slightly more lit up around the monster camp the three of you are waiting at.
"I'm beat." Calamo groans, and you press sap into the little wounds he's received. "I don't know how you stay untouched."
"Stealth is a great skill to have." You hum. "Besides. They can't get me if I don't get noticed. Unlike our lovely hero here."
The construct turns to look at you, and you grin. "Wouldn't have it any other way."
He nods, going back to tending to the fire as Calamo complains.
"Oh, bud over there suffered quite a strike in the fight. Might wanna check his knee."
"Good to know." You turn around with a snap, and the construct tenses in his actions. "Hiding wounds?"
The construct looks to the side, and you sigh.
"If you don't want me up on your ribs I can call the princess too and have her do it—"
The construct gives you an even more panicked look, and you give him an exasperated one.
"Then you're next."
He sulks.
Nevertheless, you find yourself between his legs with his robe undone, popping out a rib piece and polishing the rest of his parts as he stares. Just looks at you. There's an expression his face that he shouldn't be able to make, and yes, maybe you're beyond saving if you want him so bad that it makes you look stupid, but you can't help it. You find a sword fragment in a construct once a blue moon, and good heavens. It's insane how horrible it is for a person's psyche. Your psyche, really. You doubt anyone else is psycho enough to want a construct. Well. Can't judge.
The construct leans back slightly and spreads his legs wider so you fit better, and you raise a brow at the spreading.
"How thoughtful of you."
He nods.
The knee is next, and he bends his leg as you take out the knee piece to a new one. You make a mental note that you'll need to make more replacement parts. The knees aren't exactly something they mass produce anymore. You're using the pieces you collected from the malicious construct that Ganondorf failed to keep. Ha. Serves him right. Jokes on him for trying to use a duplicate of Zelda to unleash arguably the worst evil you'd seen in a while.
Calamo stares into your soul through the cracks of the construct, and you keep things professional as you finish fixing up the last bits of him. You give him a little polish at the end, and he hands you the extra spoils you didn't have the bag space for earlier. You thank him with a gentle grin, and he seems to hesitate for a moment.
"What's up?"
He pushes his jawpiece forward to press to your cheek, and you flush with warmth almost immediately.
It's a kiss. He's trying to kiss your cheek. Hylia alive you're going to faint.
"Calamo! What have you been teaching him!" You press your hands to his chest, nudging him off gently as he stares at you.
"What'd the kid do now?"
"What do you mean?!"
He rests his head in the crook of your shoulder, and Calamo blinks at you.
"Stop groomin' my pal!"
"I didn't!"
"Who's teaching him all of this…"
You sigh, patting the robot as he pulls off of you, tilting his head.
"It's sweet." You hum. "But I don't think we're romantically involved at all for you to me doing that."
The Knight Construct tilts his head.
"That's something you do to someone you like."
"I'm starting to think he isn't oblivious he's just playing stupid."
You sigh. "I like my men however they want to present themselves or whatever."
"Bar is in the depths."
"Bar is lower than that. Bar is in Ganondorf's ass."
Calamo goes speechless, staring at you as you laugh.
"Thank you for holding the forces back."
You jump in your skin at the voice of Rauru, hopping away from the knight construct as the rest of the team meets up with you all. The group captures the rest of the outpost, and the second you lock eyes with those awful gloom hands you have a feeling it was why your mentor needed you to be here. It feels personal when you're jabbing your lightblade into the gloom's eyes. You wonder where this need for blood is coming from, but you don't fight it. The princess holds her own rather well.
When you jam the final of your hits into the eye and it shrivels up, you remember that you technically have your mentor's notes.
"I can't believe y'er checkin' your notes mid-battle." Calamo huffs. "What'cha readin'anyway?"
"Gloom hands. Ganondorf's shadow." You hum. "I thought they looked familiar. This might be generational distaste."
You notice it's the final entry, and when you flip the page, you realize there's more. A slip of paper falls out, and you pick it up as your construct slashes something emerging behind you.
Phantom Ganondorf.
You jump back, book tucked away with the slip of paper as you draw your own blade.
You were wondering when those hands would form that ugly shadow.
"Fun times!" You grin, pulling out a blank sword to test. You hold down on the handle, letting the malice spread from your finger to the blade. "Let's see how this fares."
The shadow tears into the blade as you stab it, blinking curiously as it shrieks at the malice that's countered by the malice in your sword. Ah. So it does work. You jump back as the phantom screams, part of him that you had stabbed into now missing. The Knight appears behind you as you hold out your hand, swapping blades with him as he goes in for a flurry rush, the phantom eventually shriveling up as the two of you go back to your original swords. You glance at the dark matter left behind and the Gloom Sword left on the ground. Your eyes sparkle when you pick it up.
The group frowns at the simple battle, and you scratch your cheek, giving the construct all the credit.
You read up on the final note left written by your master. A prophecy — not strange considering that it's her, but it's written in a language she had drilled into you ages ago. You read over it slowly, letting everyone else set up camp and rest for the night and it hits you. Your master knows this. Your master sent you this way because she— seriously, does she have a savior complex by proxy or something that's literally so rude of her to send you on something that she could have solved in literally three seconds.
Still, you finish reading her letter with all the details of what's going to happen. Unwilling savior, or whatever. You could just let the knight that Zelda speaks so fondly of deal with it ten thousand years into the future, but your knight would have to die and Calamo gets sawed and turned into an ancient tree stump after he sets roots next to the construct and you're nothing if not a selfish freak so you guess you have to figure out how to make that blade, like, yesterday.
Also, great time to be a thief.
"Knight." You step over to the construct, and he glances at you. "Can I borrow you really quickly?"
He steps over to tend to you, tilting his head as you grin.
"Mind starting a fire with your hand?"
He complies, and you check around you before pulling off your glove to press your hand to it. He retracts the flame out of habit, but your other hand flies up to grasp his forearm to hold it in place. It's a test, truly. You want to see if the flame will be enough to seal the malice you had stored earlier from the hands.
It isn't.
The malice still glows after burning with his fire, and you click your tongue. It worked better with the fire you'd stolen from your master, but you steal the fire from the construct's hand anyway, a new color glowing on one of your finger as you hum. Now, both malice and light exist in your hearth. You'll take advantage of it while making your sword, then. For your friends' sakes.
The construct frowns at the move and pulls your hand in for an inspection.
"I'm alright, Knight." You hum. "I promise."
He pulls your hand up, checking to make sure that everyone else is gone before pressing your knuckles to his mouthpiece.
You flush with warmth at the action, and he helps you put the glove back on afterwards.
"You're very sweet, my Knight." You brush a thumb over where his cheekbone would be, and he leans into your touch, eyes staring into yours.
Rauru notifies the group that there will be a final celebration before everyone breaks into their groups, and you take the chance to talk to the king.
"I will be leaving for a little to forge my sword." You nod. "I understand that it is crucial to have everyone on board at the moment, but my sword may play a key part in sealing Ganondorf for good. In the case that nothing works out, I want to be able to create a sword that seals evil."
"Not the Master Sword?"
"No. That is in my master's possession right now." You hum. Lie.
You remember the second you hopped out of the skies into the depths like it was second nature before your master had screamed after you to return her sword. It was to study it, but reality was that you had to know what to outdo in order to outdo it. A sly trick, but you're sure it's not the first time your master has threatened to throw you around for a little roughhousing or "proper" training. Horrible, horrible. Evil work from her, but whatever. As long as you win in the end.
"I am required to make a sword for my initiation as a swordsmith of the gods." You nod. "Which means I must create a blade, and I plan on creating something that will absorb the malice that Ganondorf spreads. My deadline is the day that you plan to ambush Ganondorf.
"Quite an ambitious project."
"Yes, but my master has faith in me, and that is all that matters." You hum. "I will gift the Knight one final gift before I leave. I shall leave after the celebrations."
Rauru nods.
"You are quite fond of him."
"Very." You laugh. "He is quite cute."
"I suppose so."
You finally get some food into your system after so long, eating with the rest of the group as you entertain questions, catching the princess looking at the construct. You wonder if she misses her knight or she likes the construct the same. You're not one to fight. Well, not that you would need to. You don't know what happens anyway. Since when were you so territorial anyway? You don't own that poor construct. Sure, you call him yours, but more in the way that it's you and Calamo's pal than anything else. Truly
The Knight catches the juice that starts sliding down your wrist from the skewer, and you thank him as he stares at the drop of oil on his finger. You hand him something to wipe it off with, and he does. He stares at his finger for a little longer and moves his hand up to wipe at the crumbs on your cheek.
Okay, now he's just getting weird.
"Thank you." You hum. "You don't have to, though."
He blinks at you. You think he'd be frowning if he had a mouth.
"It's not that I don't enjoy being taken care of by you." You correct yourself. "I appreciate the help, but I don't think we're like that?"
He blinks at you slowly one last time before everyone else starts hounding around him again.
He's very fond of you, contrary to popular belief. You feel it too, and Calamo doesn't shut up about how affectionate he's been getting with you — not when the Korok gets a laugh out of every time the construct learns something new to show affection. You swear the other soldiers haven't been teaching him anything good. Who has time to romance or flirt when it comes to life or death? You most certainly don't. He's cute, but all the romance stuff can come after you make sure he doesn't pass away in battle like he's fated to according to the journal. You fear for his life and refuse to admit you like him until then.
Like is too weak a word, yet love is too strong an emotion you are allowed to experience at war.
You finish packing your things while the construct watches you, and you let Calamo know you're off to finish your original quest. You'll meet him at the end of his, and you're certain that he'll become a fine hero from the stories. Maybe he'll even go down in history and establish his own forest. Visiting Calamo in the future would be great. A future where he doesn't get chopped.
Calamo puffs up his chest and grins, but you let him fall asleep before you actually do leave.
"Knight." You whisper, bags finished packing as he watches you. Calamo's knocked out nearby on the ground, and the construct steps closer to you.
You know what kind of a sword you're going to forge, and you want to equip the Knight Construct with a gift before you leave. He's been lucky to avoid all the battles going in clothed as little as he is, so you want to leave him with a proper upgrade. It's barely any place to be making upgrades, but his next move would have to be up in the skies, and then you fear that he will be seeing the other construct. Well, not fear. If the fight goes how it ought to, then your Knight is going to die. You do not want that.
"Will you sit with me?" You hum. "I have a final upgrade for you before we part."
He listens, sitting down as you blink slowly, reaching for his robes.
"Is this okay?"
He nods.
You can feel him staring at you as you pull the robes from the upper part of his chest and show him a circular clasp.
"This goes in the circle of your chest to protect your core. The Master Sword is not invincible. It's why a piece traveled to this time with Zelda." You whisper, and you lock one on both sides. "I want you to survive this time. I don't doubt the other construct will be stronger this time. Stay alive for me, won't you, Kni?"
The Knight Construct blinks at the name, and he nods gently, hesitant. He leans in gently, and when you don't move, he presses the nose part of his jawpiece to the corner of your eye, as if comforting you. You close your eyes, relishing in what warmth you can take from the situation before the future that your master had written in a foreign language becomes your reality. You do not know how this will end now that you are here. You know only what you can do.
When he pulls away, you rest your hand on his forearm, voice lowering.
"I have a sword for you, but you must not use it unless it is to finish the other construct for good." You whisper. "I had stolen the Goddess Sword of my master. This will ensure the death of the construct you must fight. You need not chant like I did. Your core is the same source as it."
The construct looks at the blade you've handed him — glowing blue with the same light as his core, and he presses his forehead to yours, staring into your eyes as you close your eyes and breathe.
You must have faith.
"Channel the power of the blade instead of your core. It works the same, I promise. It shall not fail you. It. It can't."
The construct presses his cheek to yours, and you breathe to steady your heartbeat.
"Stay safe."
He nods, and the two of you let go of each other as you head off.
You're halfway away from him before you hear running behind you.
The construct pulls your arm as he locks you in an embrace, squeezing as your heart races in your chest. He looks up at you, and you turn around slowly to meet eyes with him. You can feel your heart shaking in your chest, and you hesistate to press a slow kiss to the corner of his eye to the zonaite. You hold him for as long as you can before you have to go. You do not know if he will survive. He's always been one to protect everything except himself. You only hope that he'd learn to protect himself now too. You want to return to him. You want him to come back to you.
He presses his mouthpiece to your lips, and you jolt in surprise, holding a hand between your lips and his plate before he can actually make contact. Your skin feels like it's on fire and you can hear your heart skittering in your chest. He's learning tricks and you're not sure from who but it's not good for your poor heart. You want to kiss him, but you can't. It hurts you just as much as it hurts him.
There's a flash of hurt in his eyes before you squeeze him.
"After the war. After the sword." You pull your hand down slowly. "Come back to me, and we can be what we want."
He squeezes your forearm, pressing his forehead to yours one last time.
You know what he wants to say even if he can't.
The blade you've decided upon works fundamentally differently from the one made by your master. A demonic sword, truly, but you have access to the fire the demons own. The monsters' fire isn't enough to defeat evil, but it's powerful once properly managed to both dispel and repel evil. Your master would despise that you are using a forbidden fire for something that is for good, but it is a sword you must make. The gloom blade is enough to work off of.
"You're here." Your master glances at the materials you spread out on the table. "And if you fail?"
"I will not." You glance at the materials. "I need the fire of the devil."
"It will take a long time."
"I will finish it in time."
You ignore the rest of her words, starting on the sword and melting the materials. It's a strange combination, and there's enough malice in it that it would kill the average person who tried to hold it. A shame, though. You never feared things like this. Your poor arm was proof of it. The sword burns and burns in the fire, and you wait forever for the blade to be formed. It's a dull red compared to the brightness of the master sword, but that's only because you're only halfway there. It's ambitious and you wonder if it will cost your hand or even arm, but alas. Beggars can't be choosers. All you can do is plan to rip out his secret stone and leave a slot on your blade for the power it emits.
When you light a flame from your finger — the devil's flame, you catch a reflection of your own eyes in the red. The malice stings your finger the longer you use it, but you light the fire anyway and seal the blade. You seal it with a second firing from the Master Sword's flame you had stolen from your construct.
You hope he's okay.
You're no seer. You can't guarantee you'll win.
You can only find out.
When the sword finishes, you don't bother saying goodbye to your master. You know how the trial goes. You're supposed to become a swordmaster now that you've finished forging your own blade. It's the easy part of the trial, but making it in time is what you're really being tested on. You can only hope they managed to hold Ganondorf off long enough for you to stab the guy. You really want to stab the guy. It's so much more personal when he sent a copy of your beloved Knight to kill him and succeeds in taking him down with the other construct in what is supposed to originally happen.
"Apprentice."
You stop to your master's voice, and she laughs.
"Your Knight is on the field once you complete your trial."
You run through the fields in the depths, ignoring the enemies on the way and taking the hits of gloom. The light from your construct's fire guides you. Maybe a little desperate on your end, but this sword determines whether or not fate pivots from its original plan, and you aren't one to bet on what little chances you started with. You aren't one to listen to whatever has been written in the books for you. The fact that you found out is enough for change to snowball into place.
You break through the defenses on the outside and slow to stare at the door to the room.
The sages are all on the ground. In a last-ditch effort, they throw their weapons at Ganondorf, which he dodges, and Zelda sends them in time reversal, which Ganondorf dodges as well. You're hidden well enough that you're able to go undetected as you watch Rauru do the same to stab his hand through Ganondorf.
"That pride will be your downfall!" Rauru yells, hand slamming into Ganondorf's chest, and you stand at the door of the arena.
You walk slowly, the power bursting from Rauru's hand unaffecting of you as you continue to step closer and closer, your finished blade drawn in a hand that is no longer gloved. Your hearth has completed its building, and you are left with a destiny that is yours alone to decide. In this life, you choose your knight even if he passes. There will be an eternity that passes before you get this opportunity again.
It's red. It glows the same red as Ganondorf's malice, and there's this bordering manic steadiness in your eyes. You do not know the fate of everyone here, only what you can do to change the tale to include you. You are the outlier, so you alone shall change the fate of those who have to die.
Oh. How valiant of you.
but you are no hero — just a child of the skies.
"Say hello to Hylia for me." You mumble, stabbing the blade through Ganondorf's back. You stab through Rauru's hand with your blade as you twist to lock, and Ganondorf screams from pain as you push the sword up with your hand. It would have been nicer if you could've finished the blade to rival the Master Sword, but sealing away a demonic entity with a blade didn't sound half as bad. Besides, you use the blade as leverage as you reach up for the secret stone with your glowing hand, ripping it from his head as it drains his power. The choked garble he lets out is more than enough confirmation that your blade was capable of sealing him for good. You hold onto the handle, ground shaking as the secret stone you've ripped from him is jammed into the slot you'd made for it, and there's a brilliant glow.
The red absorbs harshly into the blade, the light emitting from the metal stronger and stronger before it envelops you. You do not fear it, since you have your hand and faith in a blade you've created. You think you hear a scream from the depths of the blade as your hand glows, and finally — finally, the blade stops glowing as Ganondorf is now missing alongside Rauru's hand.
For a moment, there's a fear that you had failed.
Rauru stumbles back with a missing hand, and you stare at the blade that's been dyed red with malice, Ganondorf's body now reduced to nothing.
The spirit stone sits in the middle of the blade, and you hold the edge to the side as you exhale, falling on your ass with a sigh. Your own hand burns from the malice, but it's not horrible. It's fixable, though it'd take a heavy scolding from your master and a while on the healing goddess's hearth.
"Thank Hylia."
Everyone holds their breath as the sword shakes on the ground, and you give it a smack before it goes back to its dull red.
Swordsmith of the Gods
You look up at the voice of your master, heart hammering in your chest.
Congratulations on becoming a swordmaster.
"It's over." You exhale. "He's sealed."
Everyone collapses and exhales, and you leave the sword on the ground as your body goes on autopilot, walking over to Rauru, pouring an elixir on his hand as the wound closes up. You have people to heal. You have a mind to distract. You do not know if your friend and knight have survived the fight. You have to distract yourself.
"Sorry. Your hand's in there too." You mumble.
Rauru shakes his head.
"Ganondorf is gone. That's all that matters."
You wrap his wound, and everyone else around starts getting up and supporting each other as the sword sits on the ground.
"I'm sure there's a way to restore your hand." You hum. "Some research, or even a construct hand."
Zelda stares at the sword in disbelief, and you hold a hand out to stop her from touching it.
"Best let me handle the aftereffects of that. Wouldn't want him possessing you." You hand her the elixir instead, and she goes around to tend to everyone's wounds. "The blade is unstable, dare I say it. It was enough to seal Ganondorf, but I do not know if it is enough to keep him sealed without sealing him with the flame once more. He will not escape, though. Not for the next thousand years, at least."
"Swordmaster."
You turn to look at Rauru.
"Go find your friends."
You listen, nodding as you take two steps back before you start running through the cave to the surface. You have to find them. You have to find Calamo and Kni. There is no guarantee that your knight survived his own battle. The end of Rauru was supposed to come at the same time as the knight, and you pray to the skies above that the sword was enough to keep him alive. He has to be alive. He must. It terrifies you beyond saving.
The surface is quiet when you emerge, and you run towards the fields, glancing around the castle as there is nothing, and you notice a fading trail of dead grass as you follow it. They have to be there. Calamo and the construct have to be where the malice was spreading. It was truly one of the worst fights you had read in the journal. Your master had never been wrong, but you emerge out of trees and glance at the small dell.
You hold your breath.
There is a construct on the ground, but because there is no source, you can't tell who it is.
You hope it isn't your Knight.
"Bud!"
Calamo yells your name from the other side, and you rush into his arms as you finally exhale, tension making you shake as he hugs you. You exhale and shake, trying to stay strong as you can't find the voice to pop the question. Did your knight survive? Did he shatter a blade you had stolen so he would be safe instead of his own core? You do not want to know. No. You must know.
In the distance, you meet eyes with the familiar shade of teal, and you let go of Calamo as you yell.
The Knight Construct stands in the distance, the shard of the master sword in his chest untouched.
The construct opens his arms for you, which you spring into.
It feels like eternity in a moment, and when your arms wrap around his neck, his arms lock around you in response.
He holds you, cheek pressed to yours, dirt all over him, and meets you halfway.
"You lived." You whisper. "I did it."
He nudges his jawpiece to rub against your cheek, and you break into a sob.
It's an ugly cry, and sometimes you still think it was embarrassing that you had cried so hard, but you sob into his chest, weight of everything that had been crushing you alive coming down to bury you. You feared you would be the one to bury your companions, and you would have to watch the memory of them fade with history. One day, when you would pass too, the memory of them would have gone up in ashes, and you would have cried hard enough to forget it all. The guilt of not being able to save them would have eaten you alive.
You cannot do it. You couldn't. You pray your master would forgive you for changing a story that was never yours because you had grown attached. You too are flawed.
"What will I do with you?" You whisper into his shoulder, laughing. "You hold a piece of the sword that is supposed to be one of one."
He runs his hand up and down your back, squeezing gently as your breathing returns to normal.
He presses his mouthpiece to your the corner of your eye, catching a tear before he rests his forehead on yours for a moment.
You press your lips to the same place he did, and he hesitates while glancing down at your lips. He hesitates for a long time, just staring, and you cut him the trouble of having to figure out to ask, pressing your lips to where his would he if he had one, eyes fluttering closed as he squeezes you. You can feel your heart pulsing up to even your throat, and you're first to pull back, skin flushed with warmth as he nuzzles into your collar. You wipe the saliva that's on his mouthpiece and he presses the eye on his forehead to your nose.
The construct rests his head on your shoulder, and you give Calamo a sheepish smile as he huffs.
"What? No sad tears for me? We've known each other longer than we've known him, you know?"
You sniffle, widening your arms for the Korok as he jumps into them.
"I'm glad you're alive." He whispers, shaking slightly. "Kni here kept looking towards where you would have been with the rest of them while fighting. I was worried that meant you died."
"I'm happy we're all in one piece." You whisper. "I don't want to get my snot onto you."
"I can wipe it off. Call it sap."
"You sap." You can't resist the joke, and you cry to your heart's content as Calamo hits you.
"Says you!"
It's a lot. It's heartbreaking, truly, but everyone you love is safe, and it's finally over.
The construct moves to rest his head on your shoulder as you watch the rest of them emerge from underground, and you close your eyes.
It's over.
Finally.
