Under a night with the moon blocked out by a heavy cover of clouds, Link desperately ran, carrying Zelda’s bloodied body in his arms, hearing her gasping and panting ever fainter as the blood drained from her body despite the best efforts of his hasty bandaging, the thick rain pouring down on them unable to wash away the bloodstains on his clothes as he struggled onwards. The defeat of Ganon was meant to be a joyous moment, but his reunion with Zelda had been spoiled by a mortal wound she had suffered in the process, leaving him not even a second to celebrate before sprinting over to her to try to save her one last time, without a single thought in his head about the fate of Hyrule beyond her.



After treating her wounds as best he could he sought medical help as quickly as possible, but even the best doctors of Kakariko Village had no choice but to regretfully inform him that there was no humanly way possible to repair her shredded body. And so, with no other options, he left as quickly as he came, teleporting himself directly to the place where his journey in Hyrule a hundred years later had started: the Shrine of Resurrection. Still dripping as he arrived, he rushed over to the bed that he had awoken in, gently placing Zelda down into its waters in the hopes that it might do something, anything to make the princess open her eyes once again, barely breathing at this point. He held her hand for a few seconds, wondering if, in the even that it worked, he would ever see her again in his lifetime. Then, he started up the machine, deciding that he could die happily knowing that she was safe. Perhaps he’d be lucky and meet her again as a withered old man like Impa.

Such compromises were running through his head as Zelda was submerged, but as the machine finished analysing her body and began to get to work, there was one problem: the machine itself. The resources the shrine had were already exhausted by Link’s resurrection, and in the current era, there was no way to replace them. Even at the time, such a miraculous process was the height of Sheikah technology, and not one that could be done easily. Reviving a single person was a long and arduous process, hence the hundred year turnaround, although Zelda was in slightly better condition than Link had been at the time. Her heart was still beating, and not all of her vital organs had failed, giving the machine time to run through its backup options.

Unable to repair Zelda’s body, the machine chose its only other option: if the body was broken, simply replace it. With this in mind, Zelda’s body began to shine, glowing bright blue as if she were about to teleport away. Standing over the bed, Link backed up slightly to avoid interrupting it, but still had a clear view of the strange phenomenon that was altering Zelda before his very eyes. He expected her to be sealed away, yet his Sheikah Slate, linked to the machine and updating him on the process, showed what appeared to be an indicator of progress, one that was well underway already.

Sheikah teleportation technology allowed the body to be deconstructed and reconstructed, which was roughly similar to what was happening to her. Her internal organs were deconstructed, removed, and replaced with mechanical equivalents, her red blood replaced with a neon blue fluid that coursed around what was becoming her new body, her heart replaced with a black iron organ designed to replicate the process. Her bones became a series of metal pistons and parts, her nervous system an elaborate series of wiring. Her brain, treated most tenderly, was preserved as best as possible, implanted with a Sheikah computer to control her new functions. With the groundwork laid, the outer shell began to be constructed, Zelda’s changes now becoming plainly visible to Link.

Parts of her body faded in one by one, Link being taken aback when instead of delicate pink flesh appearing, he only saw hard, shiny plating to serve as a sturdier replacement. It started at her toes and began to work its way up her body, a thin but intense blue line panning upwards and following the transformation. While it seemed initially perfectly humanoid save for being made of metal and decorated with yellow trim and glowing spots like all Sheikah technology, once it passed her knees it became clear that she was becoming humanoid only in shape, large doll-like joints appearing to provide articulation for her knees and hips as they faded in, filling in her otherwise human shape. It scanned upwards, with her hips being as feminine as ever, but connected to her legs by two large ball joints, the trim resembling a leotard with its harsh division between torso and limb.

Her torso was metal forged in a feminine shape, yellow and blue lines running down it in the stylings he was used to seeing on the murderous Guardians, her breasts represented by two circular mounds made to resemble the style, glowing blue underneath from the power generator in her chest. Her arms faded in, once again with doll-like joints at the shoulders, and elbows poking out through sleeves that resembled elegant gloves befitting of a princess, with ornate trim to emphasise the effect, although once again reminding Link of a doll that could have its parts tugged out by an overly enthusiastic child simply by pulling hard enough. Her fingers were an elaborate series of tiny joints to allow her a full range of motion, while a glowing circle on her palm suggested some sort of weapon for self-defence like the lasers the Guardians boasted. Finally, the line reached her neck, foregoing the practical exposed joints of her limbs and closer resembling a normal human neck.

Although her body had a robotic design to it, the machine seemed to realise the importance of keeping her face as human as possible, and so when it too began to fade in one inch of glossy black flesh at a time, he felt a sense of reassurance as he recognised Zelda’s face, familiar yet unfamiliar thanks to the machine’s doings. It faithfully recreated her facial features, although her lips were almost as black as the rest of her. Her head at first seemed bald, only to light up, with shining neon hair that seemed almost transparent serving as a replacement for her gold locks. It seemed almost like it was projecting to create the illusion of hair, although he dared not reach out and touch it to see if it were like the hard light of the ancient Sheikah weapons.

With her eyebrows and eyelashes almost etched into her, the machine beeped, announcing that it was finished. Link was dumbstruck, looking down at the robotic Zelda before him. That was it? Already? Done in a mere few minutes? He wasn’t exactly about to complain about Zelda seemingly being healed now rather than in a hundred or more years, but he had assumed that this strange form she was assuming was perhaps some sort of shell to preserve her body, merely a quirk of the shrine he was unaware of due to being the recipient last time.

And yet, before he could even truly formulate his thoughts, Zelda’s eyelids flickered open wide, piercing, glowing blue eyes staring up at him. Link’s throat went dry, not knowing what to say. He could only stare at her until she made the first move, her metal lips opening in a perfectly human manner.

“Beginning start-up programme.” She uttered in a monotone voice that was unmistakably Zelda’s, turning stiffly upright, clicking slightly as her neck swivelled to the left and right to scan her environment. It stopped on Link for a few seconds, sizing him up before she placed a hand on the side of the bed, ignoring Link’s hastily extended hand to climb out herself.

“Zelda, are… are you okay?” Link finally asked, unsure of what else to say. Was this strange Sheikah doll really Zelda?

“Inquiry will be confirmed after system diagnostics. Testing system capabilities.” Zelda said again in the same strange voice, moving her arms around and flexing each finger and toe, her movements going from jerky and robotic to

“Diagnostics complete. My cybernetic body is in full working order.” She said to the stunned hero, her expression perfectly neutral as she stared directly at Link’s face. “Worry is unnecessary. I am fully functional.”

“That’s not really what I’m worried about.” Link said, grabbing her metal hand. “How do you feel? Does anything hurt?”

“I feel… strange.” Zelda said, her monotone voice containing just a hint of uneasiness. “Many things about this body are unfamiliar. Fortunately, my systems are designed to automatically compensate for lack of user experience.”

“I don’t really get it, but the important part is that you’re alright.” Link hugged her, not seeing Zelda’s eyes widen as it pierced through her dulled emotions.

“Warning: acts of physical intimacy may be uncomfortable from now on.” Zelda said, sounding as awkward as she could in her current state.

“I’m just glad that you’re safe.” Link only hugged her tighter.

“Worrying about my safety is unnecessary. I am fully functional, and have been provided with several self-defence functions.” Zelda explained, Link simply laughing in response.

“What’s with the robot act? You’re still the same Zelda under there, right?” Link asked, Zelda looking very slightly flustered.

“This is not an act or jest!” She complained. “To smoothly operate my body’s new functions, my computer is handling most of my brain’s functions. Emotions are difficult to simulate simultaneously. In time, efficiency should improve.”

“Well, I’m sure we’ll figure it out as we go along.” Link said cheerfully. “In the meantime,why don’t I show you around Hyrule? I’ll come up with some excuse for anybody who sees you.”



“I would like that.” Zelda said, curling her lips into a smile. She had only the fainted tinge of the emotion, but was determined to match the appropriate expression to her face. She took Link’s offered hand once again, the clouds clearing as they walked out of the shrine together…