"What shrine do we head off to next?" Link asks, leaving you up to decide. You pull out your Sheikah Slate, scanning the pins you placed minutes before. Pointing to right part of your map, you motion to the pin of top of Eastern Abbey.
"Let's try that one, it seems easiest to get too," you say. "We don't have to climb cliffs or anything."
"Sounds great. Lets go!" Link replies, dashing off in the direction of the shrine. You closely follow, and nothing stands in your way up until you near the walls guarding the ancient shrine. These walls seemed to be hundreds of years old, as some sections were crumbling or gone entirely. You used these holes to your advantage and walked through.
Inside the walls, large rocks were scattered around, taller than both you and Link. In the center, a large pillar that has decayed over time sits, and not too far away from it, a strange machine rests. There were three machines like this lying around, and they all appeared to be broken beyond repair. Gears were lying on the ground next to one of them, along with some screws. A few arrows were stuck in the wall near you, and you pulled them out to use later if need be.
"These kind of look like that guardian scout we fought in that other shrine," Link says to you, looking at the machines. "Like they're made of the same materials. I wonder if these machines used to fight like the scouts?"
You pull out your Sheikah Slate as it gives off a soft beeping noise. Information about the machine in front of you appears on the screen, and you read it off to Link.
"That machine is called a Decayed Guardian. It's another type of guardian. It's weaker compared to some of the other types, however it's much stronger than a guardian scout. The decayed guardian is unable to move, and many of them have been broken to the point of being unable to work." You glance up at the guardian as you finish reading.
"I guess these ones are broken then. After all, they aren't shooting lasers at us," Link concludes, walking forward. He starts walking towards the shrine, just beyond the wall.
However, as soon as Link passes the guardian, you hear the whir of mechanical motors sputter to life. Link turns to see the guardian shift into action. The once dull machine was now glowing a vibrant pink, matching the color of Calamity Ganon. Its head turns side to side before catching sight of Link, and its eye flashes a bright blue.
Before you can utter a word, a red beam shoots from its eye, landing on the hylian. The guardian's beam is blinking slowly, the machine making harsh beeping noises with every flash. You're frozen in place until the beeping starts to quicken, the blinking of the beam stopping.
It's a targeting beam. You realize.
You regain your senses and sprint towards him.
"Link, watch out!" You scream, leaping out at him. You push him to the ground just as the guardian shoots its laser, the blue beam firing into the wall behind you. Sparks fly and chunks of rock burst into the air as the laser hits, breaking the wall into pieces. Small chips of rock rain down onto you and Link.
You gasp for air as you slam into the ground, dirt smudging onto your face. The beeping starts up again as the guardian gets ready to fire another laser, this time aiming at you. You grab Link's hand and pull him to his feet, shoving the dazed hylian towards one of the boulders you saw earlier.
"Run, you idiot!" You shout, hearing the beeping quicken. You barely make it behind the rock before the guardian fires another laser, hitting the wall only inches away from where you and Link are hiding. You shudder in fear at the thought of being hit by one as you turn to Link.
"Now you owe me," you say with a small smack to Link's shoulder. "You could've gotten yourself killed!"
Link, despite almost dying, cracked a small smile.
"I don't owe you anything. I saved you from that rock boss, remember?" He says, his blue eyes glimmering with amusement. You let out an exasperated sigh and motion back to the guardian.
"I don't know if you noticed, but you almost died. On top of that, the guardian is still out there ready to fire at us," you retorted. "We still need to get to that shrine. What should we do?"
Link thought to himself for what felt like hours before responding.
"We could just... walk around it."
You facepalmed.
"You thought for that long and all you came up with is walking around it?"
"I mean we could sneak around it maybe."
"You're hopeless," you sighed, letting out a small smile. "I guess that's the only plan we have for now, though. It's worth a shot."
You peek out from behind the boulder to see that the guardian had stopped looking in your direction. It wasn't glowing pink, either, and instead it was a deep blue color. The guardian's head was swiveling around, scanning the area for any signs of you and Link.
"You first," you say, glancing back at Link, "I'm no good at sneaking, and I want to see the best way to do it before I go."
Link nods in acceptance and crawls away from the shelter of the rock. Sneaking past the guardian, he makes it half way around and reaches the pillar. He crouches down behind it, momentarily out of sight of the guardian, and motions you forward quietly.
You crawl out from behind the boulder, trying your best to mimick Link's movements. You crawl your way around the guardian and meet Link at the pillar.
"Now all we have to do is get to that cluster of rocks and rubble over there," Link says, motioning to the other end of the wall, "and then we're clear. You ready?"
You nod silently and Link continues to sneak around the guardian. Bits and pieces of rubble from the wall scatter the ground, and Link takes caution to not kick them and make noise. However, in doing so, he stopped watching the guardian and focused more on the ground.
When the guardian turned around and saw him, he didn't notice until the targeting laser landed on him.
Stumbling to his feet, Link made a dash for cover. You took a sharp intake of breath as he tripped over one of the pieces of rubble and fell to the ground, giving up any chance of being able to avoid the laser in time.
Without thinking, you ran out from behind the pillar and grabbed your bow, dashing out in front of Link. He looked up at you with wild eyes as you stood in front of him, nocking an arrow into your bow and drawing back the string.
"What are you doing?!" Link said frantically. "Get out of here!"
You didn't reply.
The guardian's beeping quickened.
Time seemed to slow as you aimed at the guardian and released the string. The arrow sliced through the air, landing right in the center of the guardians eye. Its head spun around, momentarily stunned.
You stared, the adrenaline you had a moment before vanishing as quickly as it had come. You didn't think, you didn't move, you were frozen with shock.
Link pulled you away before you even realized he had gotten up, dragging you across the clearing and bringing you back to your senses.
"Are you crazy!?" Link was clearly furious. "(Y/N), you could've gotten injured, why did you do that?"
You look up a Link. His eyes, while filled with anger, also had concern in them as well. He was afraid.
"Now you really owe me," you teased, standing up. "That's the second time I've had to save you." You walk towards the shrine and start climbing up the last wall in your way.
Link sighs, in relief or frustration, you can't tell, before following you.
"But for real, why did you do that? You risked your life."
You shrug.
"I don't know. If I was in danger, you would try to save me, right?"
You and Link reach the shrine and activate the door with your Sheikah Slates.
"...Yeah. I would."
With that, you and Link walk into the shrine and descend into the puzzle below.