[The only spoilers that this contains are the contents of the Koloktos boss fight. No other mentions of anything, other than an implication of [CHARACTER NAME SPOILER GASP] Impa's opinion of Link. But, if you haven't beaten Koloktos yet, and you want to figure out how to kill him for yourself, then you probably shouldn't read this. At all.
Kinda iffy on parts of this; let me know how I did in a review, will ya? Also, I'm clueless as to what genre this should be. Lemme know por favor! Thanks a lot!]
-REVELATION-
"Master, there is a 35% probability of success if you continue with this engagement. I suggest fleeing from this Temple and restoring your energy elsewhere."
"Fi?"
"Yes, Master?"
"There is a 99% probability of me being pissed with you if you don't shut up and tell me how to kill it."
"Your statement is illogical- I cannot cease communication and-"
"Fi!"
"...Understood, Master."
A normal day. A normal time. Just another dungeon, right? That's what I thought. At first, it was easy. Bomb-balloon fish and fire pigeons- very scary. I mean, sure; the underground torture chamber was a bit creepy, but otherwise, this dungeon was a cinch. Up until now, at least.
I had stood before the boss door with confidence, having already battled many of these so-called 'Bosses' in the past. Pshh. A lava bouncy ball, a bug, and an Elvis impersonator were hardly 'boss-like.' Heck, those Stalfos were a bigger threat.
Fi had warned me to carry lots of health-restoring potions and fairies into this fight. I hadn't listened, sure of the power of the Sword and my own innate strength. I was strong. I was confident. I was stupid.
So now, I stood before a giant automaton, forged from solid gold and fueled by all the Powers of Hell. Arms... so many arms... Each wielded a sword at least twice my size, and any doubts I had had about the automaton's strength were banished as soon as I saw it crush a pillar with a backswing of its scimitar.
I stood behind another pillar, panting. The burning sensation in my lungs was nothing compared to the inferno of pain in my side. Apparently the monster knew ballet, twirling gracefully through the air, swords slashing in a deadly dance. I had thrown myself out of the way, desperate to avoid the singing steel, but my side hadn't escaped the strikes.
It wasn't so much 'Drip drip drip' as it was 'gush gush gush.'
I grimaced, pressing my hand hard into my side. I was safe for the moment; thanks to a well timed rock, Koloktos was completely clueless as to where I was. Under Fi's all-seeing eyes, I felt safe enough to crouch onto the ground, ripping a piece of fabric from my tattered uniform and pressing a shaking hand over the wound.
I let out a trembling breath, exhaling words so quietly that only Fi could hear them. "Do you know how to kill it yet?"
There was a soft tinkling sound, and Fi's voice sounded in my ear, whispering softly into it. "Based on your experiences battling this creature and my own observations of its movements, I have determined a 90% chance that the key to destroying Koloktos lies in reaching its glowing power center, located in the automaton's navel. It appears that the only way to reach it is for you to somehow cut off its legs, thus lowering it to your level, and break open the gate preventing you from reaching the target."
I grunted, showing that I understood. I had an uneasy feeling that I knew where this was going. If I was right, then I wasn't going to be getting any rest any time soon.
"Your apprehension is well founded," she said softly, "considering your wounds. It appears that the only way to destroy it is to get hold of one of its scimitars and slice off its legs, then destroy the gate, then finally-"
"The glowing red ball." I groaned quietly. "That means I have to get back out there, doesn't it?"
She was silent for a moment, then something cool and soft seemed to graze my cheek. "Yes. There is a 5% chance of you being able to obtain a scimitar without placing yourself in mortal danger."
"Well, what else is new," I joked, trying to cover up my fear, "so how exactly do I-"
"Master, move!"
Without thought, I threw myself to the left, narrowly dodging an axe slice through the pillar inches from where my head once rested. I whirled around, fingers curling around the hilt of the Goddess Sword.
Damn. I glared at the approaching Koloktos. I let my guard down. If Fi hadn't been there, I would've been killed. Story of my life. Koloktos' hand flashed forward, sending silvery metal spinning towards me. I dodged, feeling my side scream in protest. I pressed a hand to my wet side, hearing the blood drip to the ground in unsteady droplets.
I heard the pillar collapse, but did not remove my gaze from Koloktos. That would be the last mistake I ever made.
I heard a chiming sound, and Fi's voice resonated through the air around me. "A report, Master. The remains of the pillar have blocked up the entrance. There is an 85% chance that you will not be able to retreat from this battle. There is a 100% chance that the only way to rest will be to destroy Koloktos. The probability of your success is at approximately-"
"Don't finish that," I gasped, "I don't want to know."
"As you wish, Master." She fell silent.
I gripped the hilt tighter, feeling the blood between my hands and the sword squelch sickeningly.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
I breathed deeply, concentrating on one thing, and one thing alone. Killing Koloktos. I focused all of myself on that one objective, feeling everything else slip away. I had a purpose. Nothing else mattered.
I continued to skip backwards, keeping distance between the two of us, making sure to keep a wary eye on Koloktos' long-rage axes.
My gaze lighted upon his arms, and my eyes narrowed. At each hinge, directly above a smaller red generator, lay a spinny-thingy almost exactly like the water pressure things from earlier. I gasped. The Whip!
"Cover me!" I cried to Fi, and sheathed my sword, diving for my item pouch.
"Understood, Master."
I paid her no heed, instead concentrating on finding the Whip. I wasn't sure why or how, but Koloktos had a weakness. That weakness was this Whip.
I didn't pause to consider it, how well everything seemed to fit together. As Fi constantly reminded me, I was but a cog in the Goddess perfect plan. Of course everything fit together; it was all 'according to plan.'
"Master!"
I threw myself onto the ground, hearing the axe whiz over my head. I didn't stand up, knowing all too well of the axes' boomerang-esque nature, instead ripping out the Whip.
"Rise!"
I stood, brandishing the Whip.
Koloktos' head stared at me, golden expression fixed in the same childish smile. I imagined, although it was probably just the blood loss, that the head was tilted to one side, curious. Why wasn't I running? Scampering away, like the puny little mouse I was? It raised its scimitars above its head. Run away, little mousey. Go back to your hole. This is my Temple.
I clenched my teeth. "Go to Hell, you b-"
"Now!"
I stumbled left, but... I wasn't fast enough. Too busy fantasizing about the monster's thought process, I wasn't quick enough to dodge the scimitar. I flew through the air, crashing into the wall. I collapsed onto the ground, wheezing.
"Master, you must rise!" Fi's voice... was that... was that worry I detected? I would have said something, but my lungs were crushed.
"Master, your injuries have not yet proceeded to the point of incapacitation, however you must act quickly, or else all is lost. If you rise and continue with the plan, there is still a strong possibility that you will survive!"
Strong... strong possibility? I coughed blood. That... that was the first time she hadn't... hadn't given me the precise percentage. That... that wasn't good. I was aware, dimly, of my brain shutting down. I knew, because of the darkness encroaching in upon my vision.
The floor trembled underneath me. Koloktos was coming.
"Master," she said desperately (or so the pink Loftwings flying overhead told me), "think of Skyloft, of what will happen to your people if you die. Think of Impa, do not prove her thoughts true. Think of Zelda! Think of her, and fight!" Yep. Definitely emotional. So out of character for her... I would have to make sure to tease her endlessly about this later. Showing emotion... tsk tsk tsk...
A looming shadow. A raised scimitar. A cocked, golden head.
"Master Link!"
Swish.
At the last, possible moment, I threw myself to the side. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, giving me that last vestige of power that I needed to survive. The scimitar embedded into the rock, I slashed the Whip forward, somehow managing to attach it to the strange whirly dial on the thing's elbow. I braced my back against the wall and tugged with all my might, and the arm detached, crashing into the ground.
The scimitar dropped, clanging into the ground, glittering in the torch light.
Koloktos shrieked, reeling backwards, and I threw myself forward. Catching the scimitar in both hands, I dashed forward at the golden automaton. It reared up, bringing all of its other arms back.
I screamed, slashing forward into its legs. With a shnnik sound, the scimitar sliced through the legs, and it crashed into the ground, dazed and confused.
I brought the scimitar back, bringing it crashing into the gate again and again and again, screaming for all I was worth. It busted open, revealing the throbbing red heart beneath.
I should've said something deep and meaningful to proclaim my victory, but all I could manage was "GRAAAAAH."
Piercing into the red heart, twisting, tearing, slashing, ripping, biting, bursting, until finally...
It popped. Just like that. Like a water balloon, filled with too much liquid, popped by a sewing needle. Bloop.
Clang clang clang... a scream... a child's laughter... boom...
I collapsed onto the ground, sucking desperately for air. Instead of air, I got a throbbing fire. Yay. I would have asked for a refund, but fire didn't make for good talking. Swimming... swimming in a red haze. Like pumpkin soup, only redder and stickier. And a lot less tasty. My side tingled- was someone poking it? Probably Pipit again, sneaking into my room at night to jab me playfully in the side.Go away; I'm sleeping. Chimes. Was Zelda playing music again? No; she played the harp. Zelda... in front of me, her beautiful voice crying out to me. Running towards me, her arms outstretched.
"Master Link! Master! Wake up!"
I frowned dimly. Zelda never called my 'Master.' Only Fi did that.
"Master Link, you must grab the Heart Container!" Heart... Heart Container? What? What was she...
"If you touch it, your wounds will be healed! Stretch forth your hand!"
I tried to obey the voice. I really did. But... but I was just so tired... so tired... my eyelids, already closed, sagged even farther into my skin. Slowly, bits and pieces of me receded from my awareness, fading into the obscurity that comes with blessed sleep. Sleep...
"Please! Just a few feet! Please, Master!"
The voice... it was crying. Crying... like her. Like Zelda was. I never liked it when Zelda cried. I moaned, my fingers fluttering.
"Yes! Yes! Keep going!"
My hand inched forward. So hard... my limbs felt like all the blood had been replaced with lead, weighed down beyond hope. My body was floating, floating in a sea of hot, sticky wetness. How could I do this? It was an impossible task. My hand stopped.
"No! No, you were almost there! Please! Zelda... she wants you to do this! Please! For her, if not for me! Touch it!"
Zelda... Zelda wanted me to? Then... then it must be right, right? Zelda... Zelda never wanted me to do anything but what was right. My elbow came up, and my hand brushed against something hard, and as warm and comforting as a fire in mid-Winter.
Fire burst through my hand, rocketing through my bloodstream, imbibing every pore of my body with the burning sensation of power. Energy coursed through my being, and I felt the pins-and-needles in my side fade into a pleasant tickling sensation. My chest inflated as cool air rushed into it again, brushing aside the webs of obscurity and faintness. My mind was clearing, and my body was healing. At last, I was well again.
And Fi... Fi, she saved me. I wanted to thank her, but I was so weak. My injuries may have healed, but I was still so tired. And... some of the things she said... we needed to talk about them. 'If not for me...' did she think I didn't care about her? She's been with me since the beginning, helping me. Protecting me. No matter what I was doing, I always knew that she was there, watching over me. And she was; she saved me from Koloktos, just as she did with Ghirahim, Moldarach, Scaldera, and Goddess knows who else.
"Rest, Hero." Her voice sounded from above me; it had regained its air of cool detachment. Of logistical analysis. No emotion; just thought.
"You will need time to recover from your battle with the Ancient Automaton Koloktos."
Try to cover it up all you want, Fi, but now I knew. I knew for sure. There was more to her than just that. More than just percentages and logistics. This new side of her was buried deep, and it had taken my near-death-experience to reveal it, but now I knew. It's as real as the Kikwis' inner goodness, or Ghirahim's inner... Ghirahim-ness. I knew.
"I will stand watch. Do not fear for your safety; I calculate less than a 5% chance that an enemy will attack you now. The only likely possibility is Ghirahim, and if he does appear, then be assured that I will hasten to wake you."
I snorted mentally; I didn't put it past that creep to attack me while I was sleeping.
"Fear not, for I am here."
"I know."
-REVELATION-
[Fi was there for him. And, she wasn't just a machine. She wasn't just "Captain Obvious." She cared. For those of you who've finished, you know that she did. For those of you who haven't, well, you'll understand eventually. Fi helped Link to the best of her ability, and she was with him for every moment of his experience. Every monster encountered, every gash to the side, every drop of blood spilled, every hopeless tear- she was there. Whether or not you believe she cared, she was there. Whether or not you believe she cared, Link did. Link cared about her, even if she didn't. And this made all the difference in the world.]
~Quill