Wind Waker: A Different Wind, a Different Quest!—Act II
Chapter 1: He's Back! The Government is On the Move!
"Happy Birthday, Link!" The crew shouted as Link slowly rolled over on his bed. They were in the main bunker of the Forsaken Fortress, which they had taken for themselves. "How does it feel to be 14 now?" Navi, who was now taller and more developed as a person, asked. She was Link's exact age (fairy magic) so she was now 14 too.
"It's alright, but I'm dying to get back to sea." Link replied. Link himself had grown up. He was taller, his face more defined, his hair slightly changed, and his entire body was more muscular. "It's been almost two years since he broke my back."
"I know, Link, but you gotta know, you were lucky to even survive that. Your back was completely shattered." Makar, who hadn't changed much other than growing a little because he is a tree, said. "I barely was able to fix you. I didn't even think you'd walk again."
"Yeah Link. Most people don't make a comeback from that." Gladius, now 16, answered. "But Makar says we can leave tomorrow." Link slowly stood up, a gauntlet on one hand and a ring on the other. On his back was his sword, sheathed and sharpened by Gladius. He walked over to the wall, looking out of the window. The sea was calm, cool, breezy. It called his name.
"I can't wait to go back."
"Well, good. We should go check the progress on the ship. Medli and Russell are watching to make sure they do it right and actually work." Gladius replied. Link, now in blue clothing, walked by his closet that they had built. He opened it up to reveal multiple colors of his outfit, ranging from the three primary colors to every other color.
He reached in and took out his blue hat, placing it on his head nicely. "Alright! I hope they've made it well enough." Link and the others walked out of the bunkers and out into the shipyard. There, a large ship was under preparations. Many bokoblin left over from the Forsaken War were hard at work building the ship.
"Oi! Link!" Russell, now somewhat more developed and hairier and taller, shouted. He turned into a Kargarok and flew down to meet them. "Happy Birthday!" Russell was now 15, and he had shown it. In most countries he was now an adult, like Gladius. "The ship building is going well, and in fact it's mostly done. They have to finish putting the sails up and putting furniture inside. They're finishing up the kitchen now."
"It's taken them a while but we're finally almost done with the ship!" Medli, now much taller and more developed as a person like everyone else, said. They had been there for about a year and eight months now, completely making Link's journey 2 years long as of today. Tomorrow would be the two year anniversary since he left Outset.
While they were at the Forsaken Fortress, Cyrus' defeat by Link spread all around the world, especially the navy. A 12 year old boy defeated the strongest man in the Great Sea. What else would he be capable of?
A navy captain demanded that Link's bounty be raised. Over the time they were gone, Link's bounty, as well as Navi and Gladius', grew. Link now boasted a 50,000,000 rupee bounty, and Navi held a 23,000,000. Gladius had a 37,000,000 bounty. The news of Cyrus' defeat came from an escapee crew who had left the Forsaken Fortress during the fight. They made it to Windfall and then were caught by the navy, who allowed them to tell why they escaped.
They explained that "Green Hat Link" had barged in, challenging Cyrus to a fight. It resulted in an all-out war that the escapees felt like would end in their doom, so they left. They described most of the fight, and were there to witness Link's final blow on Cyrus, killing him. They had finally sailed away as the war came to an end.
The news quickly spread, shocking the entire world. The navy was going to go attack Link, but heard that the bokoblin also said that they saw Link's back break. Assuming he was dead, they didn't bother to go and attack. Instead, they had much bigger plans in mind.
Over the last year and a half, many islands in the East Seas banded together to form one giant government, calling it the "Eastern Government" (the government and navy are different. The navy is just a water-based power developed by the world. It required no peace treaty or alliance. It was just developed by the world as a small, non-ruling power only used to stop piracy). However, this spread through the east seas with some islands accepting the idea and becoming part of the government, but some had also rejected it. Those that rejected the offer had two options: accept soon or face the wrath of the Eastern Armies.
It appeared that over the time Link was gone, the East Seas had either united or were in constant war with one another. With multiple islands attacking another multitude of islands, it resulted in a bloody civil war. With the advancement of ships these days as well as the creation of the new weapons known as the "Pistol" and "Rifle" (named after the creator respectively), wars and battles were much quicker and much bloodier.
Along with the union of multiple islands in the East Seas, many ambassadors traveled to the other seas to ask if they would wish to join. Traveling to the north, they found a good clump of islands that joined. This happened roughly six months ago. No longer was it the Eastern Government, but the "Unified Government". The north started to ask other islands to join, and declared war on any who declined the offer.
With the north and east declaring war and unifying, the rest of the world grew worried. If they declined, they would die. If they accepted, they gave up their freedom to a higher power. Many were worried. And in fact, half of the Great Sea has been asked to join at this moment, which is why Windfall Island had a much larger problem than sending people after Link.
While the world was either unifying or rebelling, Link and his crew were mounting to sail out again. It was the next day. During their down time, about nine months ago, a small crew from the west returned to the Forsaken Fortress, unaware that Cyrus had died. They sailed right into the fortress, and were confronted by Gladius. Gladius asked them why they returned, and they said that they had finally gotten a compass for Cyrus. They would finally be able to set out and find maps to lead them to the Second Earth. Gladius told them Cyrus had died, and quickly took them all out. Now, they had a compass to lead them to the maps.
With pure luck and the hard work of the bokoblin, they were finally ready to set sail for their new adventure. This adventure is known by all as "Death's Venture." It was very dangerous, and so many people died that only those who sought death itself would be able to go on. Or, if they simply didn't fear death. Which is why many pirates set out for it.
Link, during his downtime, also came up with a name for his crew. No longer would they be nameless. On their new ship, on Death's Venture, they would be known as the Red Lion Pirates, named after Link's first ship, the King of Red Lions.
Finally, after gathering up food from the fortress and finishing the ship, Link's crew was off. They sailed slightly southwest, hoping to reach the West seas. Finally, they were off the fortress. They were on the seas once more, sailing on Death's Venture. It was around this time that their compass, a light bronze color, started to react and pick up a signal.
"Hey, Link! We're going the right way! Our first island is picking up!" Navi, who was up on the mast in a small little area, yelled down.
"Alright, good! When will we be there?" Link asked. Navi took out Link's telescope and looked forward, trying to find an island.
"I can't see anything at the moment, but it may be about 2 or 3 days before we reach anything." Navi replied. "You should go and check out the rest of this ship. They did a magnificent job." Link nodded and walked around the ship, inspecting what was built. He walked inside to find a marvelous kitchen with a large dining room table. In the corner of the room was some stairs, which led down. Walking down, he found a long hallway that led from the back of the ship up to the front. On the right side of hall was a door that led into the men's quarters. Inside there were multiple hammock type beds with blankets and pillows, and then on the left side of the room was a door that led to the bathroom. It was a large bathroom with a great bath and a toilet. It even had a cleaning station.
The girls' room was on the right with effectively the same things. In the following rooms were cannon rooms, packed with cannons and cannon balls they had stolen. Coming back up to the surface, Link quickly walked to the front of the ship. He stood on the head, which was a giant brown head modeled after the King of Red Lions.
He sat down and laid on his back, like he had done for the past year and a half. Finally, it seemed, he was at peace. He was back out on the open waters with his friends, waiting for more adventure to unfold. After a few hours, it seemed he was about to get what he wanted.
"Link!" Navi shouted. "Island dead ahead!"
To be continued…