Author's notes: So this chapter's the prologue/intro to this fic, it's fairly similar to the beginning of the game but with my own twists on dialogue and such. This A/N may get a little long but it contains important information about the fic so to best understand the fic, please read it. Link and Aryll's parents went to sea on an important trip and were killed by pirates. Link was told about this, and as such is very afraid of pirates. This complicates things, since when his sister is kidnapped, his only way to save her is by traveling with a crew of pirates...
PROLOGUE: The Worst Birthday
Link smiled as he looked out at the sea from the watchtower. Today was his 12th birthday. He was wearing the green outfit his grandmother had made for him, looking around with the telescope his sister had given him. It was such a nice day, although a bit hot to be wearing the clothes he was.
Just then, his sister screamed. "Big b-brother! LOOK! That bird has a girl!"
He looked up at the sky where she was looking, and gasped. Sure enough, a giant bird was flying nearby, a girl in its claw. A ship was shooting at it, and managed to strike it. To his shock, she fell into the forest. "S-someone should go save her!" Aryll gasped. "Link! Link, you should go try to save her! Doesn't that guy Orca have a sword? Haven't you been learning from him? Go get that sword and help her!"
He nodded, jumping down from the ladder (he'd done it enough that he knew how to cushion his fall), and ran off to Orca's house. The old swordsman was practicing when Link entered. "Orca!" He huffed. "I need a sword! A girl just… she was… a bird was carrying her off, and it dropped her into the woods, and…"
"And you wish to go save her," Orca nodded. "I understand. Take it. I know you won't misuse it."
"Thank you!" Link bowed in thanks and ran off toward the path that led up to the woods.
Who would have ever thought that this kind of thing would happen? Outset Island, his home island, was usually such a peaceful place. And on his birthday, of all days… it was strange, to say the least, all of this. He'd never known giant birds like that even existed.
He cut through the small trees that blocked off the path and continued on his way, his head nearly spinning with all his thoughts. What was happening? Why? Why here? Why now?
Entering the forest, he sighed and cleared his head. No good would come from panicking. He spotted the girl up in a tree, hanging by her vest. He should probably get there before she fell. So he headed on the path that he knew would take him there.
He stopped in his tracks, though, when he saw a strange creature he'd never seen before lingering around a stump. He'd been in this forest several times before, but he'd never seen anything like that. It had a somewhat pig-like face, dark grey skin with a bluish tint to it, beady eyes, and a stick in its hand like a weapon. Stick against sword… he charged at it.
A few swings and stabs, and the monster being fell over dead, exploding into a purple cloud, which revealed a green rupee when it cleared. He picked it up and continued on.
The next clearing seemed empty, until he heard birds crying overhead, sounding like no birds he'd ever heard before. He looked up and froze for a moment. Two birds that looked a bit like smaller versions of the one that had carried the girl dropped two large pig-like beasts into the clearing with him.
They were almost comical looking, their tiny legs being much too small for their huge bodies, yet somehow they still managed to stand and walk. He wasted no time in drawing his sword and fighting them off, which was fairly easy once he disarmed them of their spears.
It seemed to take forever before he reached the girl, and by the time he did, she'd woken up and fallen from the tree branch onto her rear. "Owww…!" She groaned, standing up and looking around. "Where am I…?"
He approached her, and she turned and looked at him. "…who are you? And what's with those clothes? Wait, no, that doesn't matter… yeah, where am I?"
Before he could say a word, a man ran into the woods, calling, "MISS TETRA!"
The girl, apparently named Tetra, looked at him. "Oh, Gonzo."
"Thank goodness you're alright!" Gonzo was obviously worried about Tetra. "When that bird dropped you on this summit, we thought you'd…"
"Summit? That bird dropped me on top of a mountain?! Well, wasn't that nice of it… come on, Gonzo, it's time we show that bird not to mess with pirates!" Tetra took off. Gonzo soon followed, but not before glancing at Link, who for a moment stood still, frozen. Then he followed too, wanting to get back to his sister and grandma.
As soon as he stepped out of the forest, he heard Aryll call out, "BIG BROTHER!". He looked over to see her on the other side of the bridge, waving at him. He waved back, and she started to walk over the bridge to him.
She didn't make it. Out of seemingly nowhere, the bird came back, swooped down, and grabbed her in its claw before flying off. "BIG BROTHER! HELP!" Aryll cried.
Without thinking, Link dashed forward… and fell off the cliff. Tetra caught him by the wrist. "S-stupid kid, are you trying to die?! She's gone, you can't do anything now!"
Whimpering, Link just hung there, upset as he watched the bird fly off with his sister.