Arc 0: Prologue
Chapter 1: Waterfront
~Link~
Link stood tall at the Port of Lurelin, looking over the clear blue Hyrulean Sea. Despite being a local, Link couldn't help but gaze in awe at the massive, expansive Lurelin port and the many buildings and restaurants that lined the waterfront. Fisherman were lining up at piers to get the biggest and most delectable carp that they could find. The sky was clear, not a single cloud in the air, and the sun rose tall. Link was a young boy, only fifteen. He was currently dressed in a blue long-sleeve shirt with a green hoodie and typical blue jeans. His younger sister, Aryll, stood by his side in a black dress with white flower patterns on it with her hair spiraled up into two short pigtails.
"Big Brother, you do this every time we come here," Aryll said. Link turned around to respond.
"Aryll, I'm just admiring the view."
"That's not a bad thing to do, we just don't have much time, remember?" Aryll replied. "Did you forget why we're here?"
"...No." Link trailed, trying to remember exactly what they needed.
"How could you forget, Big Brother?" Aryll asked. She sighed and told him. "We need to buy three King Crabs and a large porgy for our family reunion tonight. Mom's waiting!"
Every year, Link's family would always host a family dinner party. Distant relatives from all over Hyrule, and even from outside, would fly in to meet everyone and have a nice dinner. This year, it was Link's parents' turn. Link's head filled with memories of the previous years, where he, Aryll, and his parents would fly to Castle Town or Kakariko, just to have a nice dinner and socialize with his family. He always thought of it as a hassle. Most of the people he meets at these reunions, he doesn't even know, and doesn't even try to get to know them. Normally, he just locks himself in a room and waits it out. But this time, his mother would definitely not let him. He remembered her words.
"We're hosting this year. You need to be more social, and be more welcoming. I will not tolerate you just sitting around, and doing nothing."
Link reluctantly peeled his eyes off the view and walked through the waterfront, looking for the fisherman's shop they always frequented. Soon enough, the shop came into view, with the bearded fisherman Dennis also making an appearance.
"Aha! Link! Aryll!" Dennis said, stretching his long, hairy arm. Both the siblings shook it.
"Listen, Dennis." Link requested. "We just need four crabs and a porgy."
"Ah. It's that time of the year, eh?" Dennis replied. Link nodded and waited until Dennis slapped the fish and crabs onto the table.
"That'll be four hundred rupees." Link forked over his money and waited as Dennis stuffed them into bags.
"All set!" he said. Link grabbed the seafood and waved goodbye to Dennis.
"I love Dennis." Aryll said. "He's always so nice to us!"
"I know, right?" Link replied. "It's probably because we're so frequent customers. We do go there every two weeks."
Aryll's stomach rumbled. "Big Brother, I'm getting hungry."
"We have some time for lunch. We can go to get some burgers if you really want."
Aryll nodded slowly.
Link and Aryll were sitting down at a nearby McRonald's and were chowing down on two small burgers. "This should be enough to last you through dinner, right?"
Aryll nodded again. "I can last until maybe around seven."
A McRonald's worker came out of the kitchen and turned on the TV in the restaurant, displaying the local baseball game. Castle Town vs Lurelin.
"And Guy Zannes finally makes the home run!" the announcer said. Suddenly, the channel changed to a news station.
"Breaking News!"
Link adjusted himself and stared right at the television, in shock. "What could be so important?" he asked. Aryll shrugged.
"We have just recieved word that North Hyrule has voted to secede from Hyrule."
A map popped up, showing the parts of the country that have seceded. Luckily, Lurelin was remaining with the rest of Hyrule. However, Lurelin laid right on the border between Hyrule and North Hyrule.
"This is not good." Link said, putting his half-eaten burger down.
"In addition, North Hyrule has made violent threats against the remaining parts of the country, threatening to attack and use weapons 'unlike any you've ever seen'. The King of Hyrule has made no comment on the matter. We will provide updates when they are due."
The TV flicked back to baseball, and Aryll dropped her burger.
"Come on, Aryll. We should head home." Link gathered up the crabs and fish, and led Aryll out back onto the waterfront.
"I can't believe that there would be a secession." Link muttered, while walking and looking down. "Never, had I ever heard a word of North Hyrule seceding. This was just completely out of the blue."
Aryll tugged on Link's pant leg. "What?" Link asked. He saw that Aryll had some confused look on her face. She pointed out onto the water. As Link approached the waterfront, he could make out a large ship.
"It's just a ship. They come here all the time- this is a pier!"
"Look closer." Aryll's expression became even more worrysome. Link scrunched his eyes and directed his attention onto the ship. It was a little too grey and dull to be a cruise ship, but he quickly spotted some weird fixtures to the sides. Hang on- are those missiles?
Link's questions were answered as the boat stopped and fired directly at the waterfront. Time seemed to stop as the missile struck a nearby seafood restaurant and blew it to smithereens. A storm of dust and debris was formed from the explosion, causing him to drop the crabs and cover his eyes and nose. Peeking though the gaps in his fingers, he saw almost no trace left of the restaurant except for unidentifiable rubble and several limp bodies. He held Aryll close to him as he peeked through the dust cloud towards the ocean. Three more silhouettes came into view.
"Aryll!" Link shouted, clenching onto her hand. "We have to run!"
The boat fired another missile at the shore, this time destroying a tourist shop. Two boats stopped with the first, and aimed guns and who-knows-what-else at the waterfront. The last didn't show any sign of stopping, and rammed straight into the promenade. Men in red outfits began filing out of the ship, cocking their guns. Citizens began screaming and running for their lives, but that didn't stop these merciless soldiers from grabbing and/or shooting them. Link picked up Aryll off the ground and began running home, never looking back. He approached the stone bridge that led to their neighborhood.
"The bridge!" Link shouted, pointing. He had one foot on the bridge when a missile penetrated it. The bridge collapsed as the explosion sent Link and Aryll flying. He was blasted back towards the promenade, and slid several feet after impact on the rough concrete floor. Standing up, he realized how much his body hurt. He stared at his left elbow, which had been burned from the explosion, and most likely broken from the impact. There were several friction burns across his left shoulder and back, and had several cuts and bruises all over his body.
"Aryll!" Link shouted. "Aryll! Can you hear me?!"
The only response he got was the screams of the civilians, running around like pigs avoiding slaughter. Link rested his head back down onto the concrete in despair. All of a sudden, he felt someone grip his forearm. A force was exerted, lifting Link up off the ground.
"Thank yo-" Link said, only to see that the person who lifted him up wasn't a normal citizen. It was one of the red-outfitted men.
"W-why are you doing this?" Link asked, pushing through his pain.
"Shut up." the man replied. He pricked Link's finger with a spike, and use some sort of machine to measure the blood. He stared at it for a few seconds and then nodded. "You're coming with us."
Two more men appeared out of the dust fog and placed some strange handcuffs on him. They weren't typical handcuffs, as they were made out of one block, similar to a stock used in the medieval days. However, there was a clear glass on the top with some blue light emitting from it.
"Aryll!" Link shouted. "Run!"
The men proceeded to put a gag over Link's mouth and push him towards a heavily guarded truck. Trying to use his mouth to undo the gag, he also tried to break free of the cuffs. Much to his dismay, he was helpless. He tripped over several pieces of rubble, and something he pretty sure wasn't a mannequin. Still, the men shoved him more whenever he slowed down.
"What is this?" he thought. "Why is this happening to me? Is Aryll safe? What if she's already... no. NO! I can't think like that! Once I escape, I'm coming back. I have to!"
Yet, Link complied, knowing his attempts to push past the soldiers and find his sister would be fruitless.
A/N: I really hope you've enjoyed my first chapter! So, my plan for this fic is to update every week. I already have the next two chapters written, and the fourth almost done, so I can stick to that promise for at least the next three weeks.
Edit: Don't get turned away by the short chapter. Things will progress to 3k+ words by Chapter 4 and 5k+ words by Chapter 21.