The Legend of Zelda: Restoration Age

Dungeon Chapter 6 - Drop In the Bucket

 ...and headed immediately for the edge of the pit. He swung over the side, dropping down two floors below before the skulltulas even noticed him there. Walking around the rim, Link walked into the room with the waterfall in it, aimed his bow at the switch tucked behind the water, and let the arrow fly. As expected, the floor of the pool dropped out and all of the water that had been flooding the room now dropped down to the pool below, filling that pool to the brim, spilling over the edges and out along the channels.

Link leaned over the edge for a moment, looking at the the room underneath him. The large floor switch was below at the center of the room, but it had barely moved an inch as far as he could tell. Link watched as it climbed back up to its full height, water being suctioned off to fill the remaining empty pool and pulling pressure off of the switch.

Taking a step back, Link realized there was only one third left in this temple before he would have to deal with that plant thing hanging from the ceiling. Flexing his grip around his bow, Link turned and walked back out of the room. He scanned the ledges and crannies of the pit, hoping to see any lost pile of arrows, or anything that might come in handy fighting that beast. He wasn't sure an old sword and magically appearing bow was going to cut it. He found a hand full of arrows, but nothing to restock himself entirely.

As Link walked around the edge of the pit, Link realized he was stalling. His legs were dragging, and his heart rate had started to increase. Putting two fingers to his neck, Link assured himself of that fact.

Breath, Sayre, he thought, rocking his head back to exhale. That didn't help as he faced up at the maw of the creature, still idly sleeping above. He jerked his head back down and pushed open the door in front of him.

It was the first pool Link had encountered. The target in this room was also the simplest to find, as it wasn't hidden at all, extended out on a bar over the pool itself, central to the whole space. Link paused for a moment, taking another deep breath as he stared down that switch. His fingers fidgeted on the drawstring and Link waited to pull the weapon back.

"Hesitation is how people die."

Link's hand snapped off the bowstring, the cord twanging as it bit over the back of his hand. He held the sting up to his mouth, pressing his lips down on it as he scowled at the ceiling.

"Do not dry fire your bow. Doing so will damage the structural integrity of the weapon."

"Thank you for the archery lesson," Link replied, pulling an arrow out of the quiver. He twisted it between his fingers before laying it over the bowstring, though he couldn't bring himself to draw the arrow back just yet. He was two steps away from being out, three if that big ugly had to be dealt with. But the possibility of fighting that thing...Link wasn't sure he could handle a fight like that.

Drawing back the bow, Link took his time aiming. "I have a question for you."

"So long as it is within my permission to answer, I will provide an answer for you, Link Sayre."

"Do you want me to die in here?" Link asked. Two fingers curled around the feathered end of the arrow, the other three drumming over the string.

"I do not want you to die, Link Sayre, I am simply prepared to act if such a tragedy occurs. The world must continue without you, and I will need to minimize the damages." Link felt a retort on the tip of the tongue, but the computer was quicker, "You find my programming to be destructive, and so you have chosen to believe that I am at odds to your survival."

"No one else has thrown me into a monster infested dungeon and told me to fight for my life," Link returned, letting go of the arrow. Or other people's lives, for that matter. Link lowered the weapon as the floor opened. A weak spray splashed up from below, but with no additional water flooding from above, the pool was relatively shallow. Certainly not enough to push that switch in the center pool. Link grimaced at the switch before turning away from the room and pushing on the door.