#unicobot

Over the next seven years, Unico Industries grew more and more. He founded the raiding of the Yiga Clan Hideout, and quietly extracted his revenge on the Yiga Clan. Meanwhile, advancements in technology meant better UnicoBots, meaning more sales. This was around the time that Thaddeus left, with nothing but a note left behind, saying, “I’ll find you when your ego has gone down.”

Beth Unico, however, was only focused on his sales and power. The UnicoBots spread across Hyrule, and the Skyview Towers were built. However, they were not his design.

Beth Unico soared across Hyrule field, shooting past ruins from the Great Calamity as the new settlement of Lookout Landing sped towards him. He flared open his wings at the last moment, stopping his fall just before he hit the ground. The spectral wings deactivated and folded up into his back, and his helmet split and became flush with his back armour.

“Purah, what in the name of Hylia is this?”

Purah, a young Sheikah woman, turned around in surprise.

“Oh, Beth! You’re here!”

“Yes yes yes, but what is this?”

He gestured to the large tower occupying the Northwest corner of the settlement.

“Oh, that! Do you like it?”

“Eh, it’s okay, the design isn’t my favorite, but that’s not what the question was. What is it?”

“Oh, it’s called a Skyview Tower. They’re going to be an upgraded version of the Sheikah Towers. Instead of doing… whatever the Sheikah Towers do, these will rely on visual scans from the Purah Pad.”

“Okay, first off, the Sheikah Towers work by projecting a scan over the entire region at once, via a subatomic particle broadcast—”

“Okay, okay, I get it, skip to the point.”

“What I was trying to say was that we do know how the Sheikah Towers work, and they work very efficiently. And second, how will you collect visual data of an entire region at once?”

“Oh, I’ll show you!”

Purah stepped up to the doors at the base of the Skyview Tower and opened them. Inside was a platform, an initiation mechanism, and a tube stretching up the height of the tower.

“It’s not functional yet, but the concept is pretty simple. Basically, we’ll hook up the Purah Pad to this cord system, then we’ll launch the person up through this chute, and they’ll collect the data as they fall.”

“You’re joking, right?”

Purah looked confused.

“Why do you say that?”

“This is the most impractical and dangerous design I’ve seen in a long time, and I’ve seen some pretty ridiculous designs. You’re telling me, that the person is launched from the ground, high enough into the sky to collect data for an entire region, while they’re falling they’ll scan the area by hand, and then they have to survive the fall.”

“Well when you put it like that…”

“Where did you even get the funds to do this? And you said these are going to be all over Hyrule?”

“Yeah, we already have five of them set up. We got the funds from Princess Zelda.”

“Of course you got the funds from her. Well, good luck with that.”

“Wait, you don’t want to help?”

“If you had told me about this before you started building, then yeah, I would have helped, but I’m not helping now. I told you, I don’t think this is a good design.”

His helmet folded up, and he flew away, back to his manor, where he had absolute control over all decisions made.

Until about a month later.

Beth Unico was refuelling his energy cells and putting together some modifications for his armour when the perimeter alarm went off. He looked out the third-floor window and saw Princess Zelda and Link approaching on horseback. He quickly went downstairs and greeted them as they came in.

Over lunch, Princess Zelda described to him an unusual circumstance happening at Hyrule Castle. The scavenging crews had reported a strange fog emanating from the lower levels of the castle, and upon coming in contact with it, many had fallen ill.

“So, I know you’re telling me about this, because you want me to do something about it, but I don’t know exactly what I can do here.”

“Well, Link and I are going to investigate it, and since the Central Control Unit is down there as well, we were wondering if you would like to come along to investigate it.”

Beth considered this for a few moments.

“What’s preventing us from falling to this same illness?”

“Link and I have already done a shallow investigation, and the gloom doesn’t seem to afflict us. As for you, I’ve heard about your… impressive armor, so I think you’ll be fine.”

“Alright, well I won’t pass up this opportunity. I’ll meet you at the entrance to the castle.”

Beth Unico waved as they rode away, then he quickly ran upstairs.

Alright, what’s the progress on the MK VI? Just about done, okay. Where’s that energy cell?

He clicked the gear on his shoulder in a pattern, which detached the bionic. He placed it on the table, and the machine he had set up reloaded the energy cells in the arm. He stepped back and screwed together the last few pieces of the MK VI.

As he reattached his arm, he couldn’t help but smile.

A framework structure of his body lowered from the ceiling, and he stepped into it. Guardian legs stretched out from the walls and clicked each piece of armor into place on him.

Despite the Mark 6 armor being the most technologically advanced and complex suit he had made so far, it could be assembled in only a few moments. It was airtight, damage-resistant, automatically stabilizing, and practically indestructible. It had a fully decked-out weapons system, and it could run for 10 hours without recharging.

Beth Unico stepped out onto his balcony and launched himself toward Hyrule Castle. He passed over the Sheikah Towers, Shrines, ruins, and towns until he landed at the gates of Hyrule Castle just as Link and Princess Zelda arrived. They dismounted, and together they advanced towards the fortress that had been plagued for a hundred years.

Beth had to consciously hold himself back from activating his weapon system while they walked through the antique hallways. The castle still held a constant reminder as to why he couldn’t relax at any moment; he had to always be cautious and ready for anything.

Then they were descending a ladder, then they were walking through stone tunnels, then they started down a stairway—

“Beth!”

He startled from the daze and saw Princess Zelda staring at him with a worried look on her face.

“The Central Control Unit is that way. We’re going to continue this way. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I’ll just…”

He quickly left her before she could question him further.

The stone walls were now illuminated by his armor, which was enough light for him to see. The metallic soles of the boots clicked against the smooth surface, which had been polished by many years of flooding. He could tell he was coming up to a large cavern by the echoes of his footsteps, but he still couldn’t see very well.

Beth charged up a small blast of energy in his hand, which he shot at a low-hanging ceiling, allowing him to pass through the narrow entrance.

Before him lay the Central Control Unit. It wasn’t as impressive as he had expected it to be, as it appeared to be just a larger model of the Central Control Units in the Divine Beasts. There were a few major differences, to be sure, but it seemed to operate by the same principle.

He stepped up to the control panel and placed his hand on it.

Nothing happened. He glanced at his hand, brought more energy to it, and then placed his hand on the control panel.

A million thoughts flashed through his head, and he fell into the small pool around the pedestal. He stood up, head spinning, and tried to open his eyes.

The control panel was now glowing, and he stumbled over to it, desperate to regain that momentary brilliance. He concentrated and then held his hand down on the control panel.

The thoughts flashed through his head, and he almost stumbled again, but he concentrated and held his footing.

The flashes of ideas spun faster and faster around him, stabilized, and crystallized. The schematics of a million projects formed in his mind, blinding him with the sheer amount of information whirling through his head.

Suddenly, the information was cut off.

Beth collapsed, but quickly regained consciousness and caught himself. He looked at the Central Control Unit and realized something was wrong.

The blue glow faded, and the ground beneath his feet started to quake. He watched in horror as the ancient architecture folded up and sank into the ground. He scrambled after it, reaching desperately for it, but it was already gone.

The cave started to crumble around him, and he sprinted out of the cave. Opening his wings wherever he could, he had no idea what was happening, but he knew he needed to get out of the castle as quickly as he could.

As he flew out of the cave and into the maze-like hallways of Hyrule Castle, the strange gloom that they had originally been investigating rose out of the ground.

As he flew off the cliff, he realized that Hyrule Castle was at a significantly higher elevation than before. Additionally, tendrils of red energy were pushing through the giant chasm that had opened up underneath the castle. Put simply, it might as well have been the Great Calamity all over again.

He spun around midair to survey the catastrophe when a tendril of the dark energy shot up from the chasm and struck his back.

His wings suddenly deactivated, and he fell uncontrollably. He panickedly pulled out an energy cell, reloaded his system, and caught himself just barely before he crashed into the ruins of Hyrule Castle Town.

He looked up, and to his horror, the defense pillars surrounding Hyrule Castle were gone. Furthermore, the nearby Sheikah Towers and Shrines had seemingly vanished.

He launched himself faster than he ever had, flying back to Unico Manor. As the ground passed underneath him, it was more of the same: a horrifying lack of anything Sheikah.

He suddenly swerved to the right as a giant stone fell from the sky, trailing green energy. He watched in amazement as more and more boulders tumbled from the heavens, lodging themselves in cliffsides and riverbeds.

After much too long a flight, he finally reached Unico Manor, and just as he landed, his spectral wings fizzled out. He reached into his pouch to restore the energy and realized that all his containers of Ancient Energy were empty.

As he looked up, the defense pillars surrounding the manor shifted and disintegrated into blue energy, which quickly dissipated. He dashed inside, but he could only watch as all traces of his technology burst into oblivion, leaving his halls barren.

He held onto his arm as hard as he could and concentrated on the smooth, metallic surfaces under his left hand.

When his arm didn’t fade, he sighed and opened his eyes to see the barren walls around Unico Manor.

He didn’t know what he expected. Barely holding himself together, he trudged towards his room, locked it, and stared at the wall in the dark.

END OF CHAPTER 4

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Beth Unico and Marilyn stepped back into the training room.

“Alright. Let’s try that thing you tried yesterday again.”

He seemingly called out to the walls: “Load training sequence G21!” and then stepped out of the room.

Just as yesterday, the UnicoBot was raised into the room, and Marilyn readied her power.

The UnicoBot dashed toward her. She reached out with her power again, and instead of pushing on it, she pulled on it.

Nothing happened. The UnicoBot continued on its path, and she quickly cast a Stasis on it to get in a few hits. Again, same as yesterday, the UnicoBot broke free, dashed away, and readied its projectile attack.

She turned around, knowing that the Sage would halt the attack. A moment later, he stepped through the door.

“What do you want me to do again? I don’t understand. I tried casting it on the Bot!”

“Just as it’s harder to cast Stasis on a living being, it’s nearly impossible to cast Recall on a living being. Just try that strategy on the projectiles. I’m sure it will work.”

He stepped out again, and the training resumed. Marilyn sighed, then concentrated on the projectiles launching toward her.

This time, when she used her power, she tried pulling on it instead. Not pulling it toward her, but pulling it through time. She concentrated on its path, willing it to go back to the Guardian instead of continuing on its path toward her. Suddenly, there was a flash of energy, and it became nearly silent.

She didn’t realize that she had closed her eyes, but when she opened them, the UnicoBot was lying in pieces on the ground. Beth Unico ran in, his eyes shining.

“That! That was Recall! See? It wasn’t so hard, was it?”

She blinked at him and then stumbled a little.

“Oh. Yeah, I should have figured that would be tiring. Come on, dinner is ready.”

As she stumbled out of the room, the air around her felt different. While Beth Unico was beaming, she couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong. She noticed a large crowd of researchers who were standing near the door, scattered as if they were afraid of her.

When she went to wipe her hands of sweat and grime, she noticed with surprise that her hand was covered in sticky Temporal Fluid. When she went to wipe it on her shorts, the Sage stopped her and offered her a rag instead, which he then put down a chute near his lab.

Whatever weird suspicions she had were resolved at dinner, where Beth explained that he collected the Temporal Fluid to test in his experiments. However, when she asked about the researcher’s odd behaviour, he waved it off as she was misinterpreting it.

After dinner, as per usual, Beth headed into his lab, which he had recently equipped with a new lock. She headed into the library to continue her studies when an anxious-looking boy tapped her on the shoulder. He was holding a small chunk of amber.

“Yes? Do you need something?”

“Yes, could you follow me, please? I have something I need to tell you.” His eyes darted erratically, as if he had just heard an Aerocuda and was waiting for it to strike.

“Do you need help? I can call for the Sage.”

“No! Don’t do that. Just, come with me, and step only where I step. Keep your head low.”

Marilyn was at first reluctant to follow someone she had never met before, but she had been longing for some kind of fun ever since she had come to Unico Manor. Also, he seemed like he truly needed help, and Marilyn was always one to help.

She crouched down from the desk and followed his footsteps carefully. It seemed like he was only staying in the shadows, and it seemed like he had meticulously planned this route for a while.

She then came to a corner, where there was a small bush, and they stopped.

“Yes? What did you want to tell me?”

Suddenly, he crushed the amber in his hand. There was a small flash of energy. He then grabbed her hand, pulled her into the bush and she felt a surge of energy.

END OF CHAPTER 3

<-Previous / Next->

Marilyn stepped into the training room once again. The door behind her closed, and a platform rose into the center of the floor. On it was an UnicoBot.

Apparently, UnicoBots were the main product of Unico Industries. They were commonly bought for defense, although they had many other purposes, such as field work, construction, and combat training.

Marilyn held the training weapon steady and then reached out with her power. As the UnicoBot activated and started advancing toward her, she cast a Stasis on it and tried to get behind it.

However, the spectral chains shattered almost instantly, and she barely had time to dart to the side. She regained her balance and then rethought her plan.

She gripped the Charge Stone on her necklace. The Sage had equipped it with some sort of strange device, which would supposedly help her use her power. She flipped on the switch, and it flared to life. She reached out with her power again.

This time, when she cast Stasis, the chains were much stronger, and they were able to hold the Guardian tight enough for her to get in a few hits.

The UnicoBot also seemed to recalculate, and then it darted away from her. It then started shooting off projectiles toward her.

She dodged several and managed to cast Stasis on a few, but it was difficult to hold them. She was about to be bombarded by them when they all halted midair.

Beth Unico stepped into the training room, his bionic arm outstretched. The gemstone, which she had learned was a Sacret Stone, was glowing with Sheikah Energy.

“I didn’t just give you that Amplifier to cast a stronger Stasis. Try something different this time. Cough cough Recall cough cough.” He winked at her.

As he left, she rolled her eyes. She had only recently learned about Recall, and now he expected her to be able to cast it? True, he had given her this weird gadget, but Recall was apparently much more difficult than other spells. Regardless, she would put in her best effort, as Beth had told her to.

The UnicoBot stuttered back to life and began shooting projectiles at her again. She dodged a few times and then reached out with her power again. This time, she didn’t try to cast a Stasis and instead just tried to push against it.

There was a flash of energy, and then she was hit by the missiles with enough force to knock her down. She stumbled back to her feet, and the Sage held the rest of the missiles back.

“What happened? I tried pushing against them.”

Beth Unico seemed truly intrigued.

“Fascinating. It seems that instead of slowing the passage of time of the missiles, you sped them up. That would mean… that you could make things move faster. Truly fascinating!”

“Ok, that’s cool and all, but I still want to learn how to cast Recall.”

“Yes, I suppose we should focus on that. I would ask Princess Zelda- er, just Zelda- to teach you, but I’m afraid she’s rather busy. I’ll try to explain it to you to the best of my ability. Come, come.”

As she followed his billowing cape out of the room, she noticed small amounts of a honey-like substance dripping on the floor. As she watched, the Temporal Fluid drained into pockets on the floor, and it was like it was never there.

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