Chapter Text
Blue light.
Soft, blue light.
Link began to open his eyes to this light. His mind was fuzzy, and his own name seemed to elude him. He didn't know where he was, either.
The noises of water dripping off of his body into the pool below him snapped Link back into reality. He took a moment to breathe in the air here. It was heavy and presumably dusty, as Link made the observation of dust piling up in corners of the room. The entire room seemed to be rather intact despite how heavily coated in dust it was. Intricate patterns of stone covered the walls as dim, orange lights glowed.
And in front of Link laid another person. A human being. Their body laid over the pool he was in. It was positioned as if they had laid there, their head resting on their arms as they waited patiently for him to awake. Link took a moment to study their face. They had a red marking of an eye on their forehead and their eyes stayed closed. Link hesitated before deciding to gently poke their cheek.
They didn't stir. The only response Link was able to get was their head tilting more into their arms, as their long, white hair dipped into the water. Their hair was just as unkempt as Link's felt. It needed to be washed, and more than likely, cut and then brushed out. This reminded Link that once he got out of... wherever this was... he needed to at least clean himself. The water he had been in could have all sorts of unclean things in it.
"Link..." A voice called out. It was a woman's voice. The person in front of Link didn't move, nor did their mouth open.
"Link." Who was talking? Link looked around to find their voice to no avail. "My time to instruct you is short... but the pedestal beside the pool, there, the slate will guide you."
Link did a double take of the room and noted that the pedestal mentioned was indeed there. And he also knew his name now. Link. That had to be him, right? Nobody else was around and alive.
"Please, Link... hurry... my power is waning," the voice said weakly. Then it faded away after it's final statement, "Hyrule needs you, I need you..."
Who was speaking to him, Link wondered. But with not much more than another thought on getting out of here, Link stepped out of the pool. He walked over to where the dimly light pedestal stood, pulling a tablet of sorts out of it. It was considerably lighter than Link thought it would be, and he had to balance himself again after preparing for a heavier weight.
As the slate began to glow blue, Link looked back to the person laid by the pool. They still hadn't stirred. But as Link observed them more, he noticed that their left arm and both legs seemed to be the same mechanics and materials as the slate he held. He took a few steps towards them, getting closer to examine their arm specifically.
The person began to shift as their body reacted to the slate. In a broken, monotone voice, the person began to speak. "Activation started."
Link jumped back as they spoke, regaining his composure quickly after as the person slowly rose to their feet. It was another woman, not any taller than him. Her hair was half put up into a bun, and half put down. She also had sideburns intricately tied into a circle, but they were slowly falling apart as the bands holding them seemed to be breaking from age. Her forehead still bore the red marking, and her eyes were a deep shade of blue. Her clothing was little to none; all she had was a torn bodysuit. Her mechanical body parts were the same as the mechanics around them, but she was, very clearly, originally human. Her face seemed to remain unchanged by mechanics, and by time.
Link paused for a moment as he took the time to look himself over. He also had near to no clothing. All he was wearing was boxers.
"Konai," the woman said. Her voice remained broken and without a tone. It would sometimes repeat a sound or skip one entirely as she continued to speak. "That is my name. Konai."
Link opened his mouth, but he found it hard to speak after being asleep for what he could only assume to be some time. He coughed before managing to get out the words, "My name is Link."
Konai tilted her head as she studied Link. Something clicked in her head as her eyes landed on the slate in his hand. "I see you have the Sheikah Slate. I... can't quite remember much, but my name and what that slate does remain untouched. Thankfully."
"What does it do then?" Link asked, studying the Sheikah Slate more closely. He blinked in surprise as the screen sprung to life with color.
"You're looking at the map right now." Konai came over, putting a finger on the screen. It switched to what was simply put, a binocular mode of sorts. "If we can get out of here, I'll show you how to use this."
Link nodded and began to walk around, looking at the door that was closed off. He glanced at Konai, who was already beside him, and tried opening it with his hands.
Konai stood there for a moment before shaking her head. "Hold the slate up to the door. That should open it."
As Link opened the door for real this time, sunlight peeked through from another door above. The sound of birds chirping made Link sigh with relief. He wasn't far from the outside world-and neither was his new friend. But when Link turned to look at Konai, he realized she was no longer beside him.
"Link! Look at what I found!" Konai tried to jump up as she held a worn-down shirt out. Her legs were stiff and hard to move with the time she'd spent shut down. She looked down at her legs, squinting before trying again. And again. And again. It took her a few tries, but once she got her legs to start moving a bit better, she jumped up and down.
Link held back a laugh as he came over, studying the shirt. He didn't know what was so funny, really, it was probably the adrenaline rush from being so close to freedom. "It looks too small for me. It would fit you better... not to mention, your bodysuit looks like it's about to fall apart."
Konai looked at her suit before avoiding Link's gaze. She held her arms close to herself in an attempt to hide her body better, face turning red. She nodded in agreement and then spoke, "I would appreciate the shirt, yea..."
Link handed the shirt over, turning his back to Konai as she put it on, just incase anything happened. He jumped when he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders, quickly spinning around. Konai burst out laughing as she pulled her hands back, adjusting her shirt to move it down a bit. She then spun around, still smiling. "Do I look better now? With a shirt on?"
Link just nodded and did his best to not point out her only bottoms were the bodysuit she had. But he also did a double take of the mechanics on her legs and wondered: how would she even wear clothing on her legs? One leg was entirely mechanical, and the other was knee-down mechanics.
Konai studied Link's face for a quick second before kicking open a nearby chest that hadn't been opened. She pulled out a pair of trousers that were just as worn out as the shirt, if not more. Her smile grew wider as she held up the trousers. "Here! You can wear these since I get to wear the shirt. Depending on what environment we're in, we might be able to make more clothes soon. Or find them!"
Seeing Link without as much as a proper pair of pants didn't seem to bother Konai. She simply waited for a response with a small, never-fading smile. Link was almost a bit offput by how much she smiled despite the state she was in, but relented and put the trousers on. They were uncomfortable, itchy even. They didn't quite go down to his ankles and they were too thin to do anything other than cover him up. Konai handed Link a pair of shoes as well, which were considerably more comfortable than the trousers he had.
"Do you see up there?" Konai pointed at the wall in front of her and Link, with a small window of light at the top. "I took a moment to study how we could leave while you put your clothing on. I think it's easy enough to simply climb out. My arm is too rusted over and un-oiled for me to do anything though."
"I could try and pull you up," Link said as he thought. Were the mechanics she had worth something? Surely she could get banged up a bit.
Konai tapped her fingers against her mechanical arm as she hummed. She stayed in this position for a while, her humming skipping and cutting. She wasn't in any pain, it seemed, but whenever her voice skipped or cut she twitched. Link watched her quietly in what he could only assume was either curiosity or terror. Once he realized the twitching wasn't going to stop, he waved a hand in front of Konai's face. He grew worried when he didn't get a response and waved his hand again, deciding to speak up. "Are you alright?"
"I guess pulling me up isn't a bad idea." Konai blinked a few times before putting a hand on her face, her voice much more broken than before. It calmed down to a more mild breaking and splitting after she took a moment to breathe. "My head hurts, sorry."
"It's alright. I understand," Link said as he smiled. His head didn't hurt, but his body was getting accustomed to moving again. He must've been asleep for a while for his muscles to be so small and... weak.
Konai took a few steps back to give Link room as he remembered he was supposed to be climbing. Link jumped up onto the wall after finding a good place to get his footing, making his way up to the top with little trouble. He reached down and grabbed Konai's hands as he spoke, "Find somewhere to put your feet and then when I pull you up, jump from there."
Konai did so after some considerable trouble, jumping up as Link pulled her onto the ground above. None of her mechanical body was scratched up thankfully, but Konai herself had crashed to the ground pretty hard. She stood with a quiet groan, dusting herself off.
"You alright?" Link brushed a few blades of grass out of Konai's hair, then a few leaves.
"No need to worry."
Link nodded and together, him and Konai walked out of the place they'd awoken in.