Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess or Wind Waker. They belong to Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto.
See! See! I told you all I'd do it...though, I think many of you hate me now. I'm such a quitter. Here is 'Déjà vu, No?' version 2, Twilight Princess and Wind Waker combined.
--
Are you sure you want to go with this?
I'm absolutely sure.
Link was starting to regret his choice to go on with this personal mission of his. The unsteadiness of the ship, the sprays of water that would hit his green tunic, the annoying gulls crying up above; he truly disliked sea. Hating it would be somewhat of a lie. It was his first time seeing the ocean; it was a beautiful sight to see. His first steps on the port were slightly unsettling, not only that, but finding boat that would be willing enough to take a sword carrying youth such as him.
Make sure you come back soon, lad.
We…hic…will miss you!
Come back safely and don't do anything reckless! This time, Link…I mean it.
It was hard leaving Ordon; it was even harder leaving Hyrule. He may have traveled through every inch of Hyrule, but it was only one kingdom. The whole world was there for him to travel through, not only that...he had to see her again. He didn't even have the chance to say 'thank you' before she left. It may be a life-threatening journey ahead of him, but he couldn't live with this feeling in the back of his mind. It was hard to get back to his normal life on the ranch with this disgusting sensation; even Epona could see the discomfort within her master. He just had to express his gratitude to her someway, somehow. He tugged uneasily at the collar of his white undershirt.
'I'll probably change later...It's hot...'
He survived in the mines within Death Mountain and lived through the Gerudo deserts without complaining. Now he notices how hot it gets within that tunic?
"So lad, where ye be headin'?"
Link's eyes looked on to the gruff looking sailor addressing him.
"I...I'm not really sure. Wherever this boat is taking me, I suppose."
He honestly didn't know where he would be heading. He looked through many scrolls and books through the Kingdom's libraries, even the royal family's collection of ancient books (with the Princess' permission, of course) to find a clue or at least a hint to get back into the Twilight Realm. The only other option to him was to search in the other kingdoms and lands across the vast sea. Many of these undiscovered places must have some sort of magic for him to use. The goddesses must have blessed other lands other than Hyrule, right? There were so many magical happenings within Hyrule, so, how couldn't there be magic in the outside world?
The sailor gave Link a kind grin.
"A traveler, eh? We don't see much of your type anymore. Hyrule be a blessed place, everyone lives a good and fair lifestyle nowadays. Easy to make a livin'."
"Ha! Why else would you think we'd sell our fish over there? Only place that even thinks of buying our fish!" Another sailor roared in delight.
Yes...Link, sadly, was on a fishing boat. They would catch plenty of rare fish in different parts of the sea and sell them. The smell just made the sea even more unfavorable for Link.
The two sailors merrily laughed as Link turned and looked towards the bluish horizon.
"Aye, but I'd be careful If I were you, laddie! Many folk have been a' missing these past weeks!" The man paused, lowering his voice, "You've heard of the Ghost Ship, right?"
Link shook his head absentmindedly as he continued to watch the waves.
"Never heard of a Ghost Ship before now."
The first sailor came right up to his face and yelled, "Never heard of the Ghost Ship?!"
Link saw as many men stopped their work and looked his direction. Silence echoed throughout the deck.
"It'd be best ye hear it now, lad! The Ghost Ship makes its entrance within a dense, dense fog. So thick, ye can hardly see past your own hand!"
"Its body be decorated with the most gruesome things, lad! Skulls, bones and even lamps carrying captured souls of innocent people! Souls, boy, SOULS! Just lookin' at it makes ya want to cry…and puke!"
"Exactly! The bow is a gigantic skull, dead it may be, but once it stares you in the eyes...Brrrrrr! I don't even want to think 'bout it, lad!"
An eyebrow rose on the blonde swordsman's face.
"And if its large hellish self comes near your ship; you're done for, lad. Never to be seen again!" the other sailor finished.
There was a tense silence on the deck, many of the other men continued to worked silently as they heard them converse.
"Does it really exist?" asked Link.
"No one really knows...they be hollow rumors amongst us sailing folk."
"Aye, but some of the tropical Zora speak of it; there have also been a few sailors lucky enough to survive...Most ships and the crew among it disappear-"
The sound of heavy feet hitting the wooden floor interrupted the sailor; they all turned to the man who stood tall in front of them. The man swaggered towards them as he took the pipe out of his mouth.
"I won't be hearing any of those shenanigans on my ship!"
"S-Shenanigans, Cap'n?" the sailor beside Link asked.
"Just as you said man, 'hollow rumors!'" He paused to chew on the end of his pipe. "Now, the lot of you...Get back to work!!"
The two sailors nodded as they ran off elsewhere. The captain came walking towards Link with an intimidating scowl on his face. He stopped right in front of Link. He sneered at the sword latched to his back
"You best be thanking me for letting one such as you on me ship, boy! So in return I hope you don't distract any of me crew any longer and that sword better stay in its sheathe," he leaned downwards to stare directly Link, "...understood?"
Link nodded with silent disgust...the man had a terrible breath.
The rest of sailors left to continue in their work. The blonde turned back to watch the gulls fly off into the horizon. He softly sighed. Flying would be such an easier way to travel...but, then again; teleporting is faster.
A gust of wind shot out at Link, stealing his green hat with it. His hand clawed after it before it escaped him. Sighing, he folded the hat and stuffed it in his back pouch. Lakes were much better than seas in his opinion now. He laid his hatless head upon his hand and continued to watch the sea move past him.
It had would be just a few hours before the blue sky was and sea was covered by a blanket of gray.
--
Many of the sailors were working ten fold to avoid crashing unto anything while they were sailing. Over half an hour the captain, against the angry cries of his crew, ordered for the anchor to drop.
Link stood anxiously near the bow. His hand instantly grabbed the hilt of his sword once he heard the heavy waves hitting the wood of the ship. He was getting too paranoid for his own good. The air wasn't just thick but had a sickening sensation. The same type when he was first pulled into the Twilight Realm...minus the wolf transformation. He could almost hear her whisper over his shoulder...
Keep your guard up now! I have a bad feeling about this place!
He gave a melancholy smile. Yeah...That's exactly what she'd say.
"There captain!! I see something!" someone cried from the crow's nest.
There was a low moan that came from the fog...Slowly, a large body came from the mist; a gigantic skull stared at Link with its big hollow eyes. Link stared back. Everyone was at panic, minus Link.
"It's the Ghost Ship!!"
"It's going to take us!!"
"Every man for himself!"
There was a loud splash.
"Stand your ground!! Get back to your stations! It's...it's just a boat!!"
Link followed the large mass as it slowly moved pass the side of the still boat and the terrified crew. A shadowy figure flew across the foggy deck of the other ship. Link's legs snapped up and pushed him off the deck onto the railing of the Ghost Ship, hoping to discover whatever was in it. A large hand caught his leg. He hung tightly as he was pulled back.
"You fool! Come back here! It'll kill you if you get on it!" the man cried.
Another man came and another latched onto Link's captured legs.
"Don't provoke it!" another cried.
"Let me go! There's something over the-" Link cried back.
The unnamed sailor tugged harder as others got behind him to bring the blonde back. Link felt his hand slipping as the ship was moving father from each other. A powerful tug was made.
Link lost his grip.
He fell head first into the cold sea water. The yells above were distorted and muted by the sound of the roaring water surrounding him. He could feel the water practically sucking him downwards. His eyes closed shut to keep salt water out as he learned how it badly it burned him. He opened his eyes slightly to see surface. His lungs were begging for the surface air. He waved his arms rapidly to get back up. Futile, as the water pulled him lower and lower to the bottom.
'I can't die this way...Got...to…reach...her...'
His burning eyes closed as he slowly began lose consciousness.
'I...have...to...see...her.'
His arms and legs stopped.
'Midna...'
He slipped to unconsciousness. If he had stayed awake a little longer he would've noticed the golden glow coming from his left hand.
--
Link felt warm.
...The ocean wasn't supposed to be warm in anyway...right? It felt firm, but soft at the same time. He winced at the burn he felt on his face. He remembered when he was a child; Llia would scold him for staying out in the sun for too long. He never once did listen to her.
"Ah!! Look, there's a guy on the beach!! Somebody call a doctor!!"
Wha… what did they say?
"Let's bring him to…"
The voices faded as he fell back asleep.
--
Link felt dry.
...The ocean wasn't dry, he knew that for sure. His eyes slowly opened to see a wooden roof top. No, wasn't the ocean for certain...but a bed. He propped himself on his elbows and swung his legs across to meet the floor. He gave a load yawn and gingerly got out of bed. Scratching his blonde hair he turned to a desk near by...all his things were put stacked nicely together…except his bomb bags? He took a few steps forward only to drop straight down to the floor below.
"Oww!!"
He hugged his face as the floor had hit him; the sunburn made the pain ten times as powerful. He rolled onto his back to see a floor right above him and ladder on the ground right by his side. Probably best to see your environment first if you woke up in an unfamiliar place, huh?
"I see your awake now! I probably should have put the ladder up, huh?"
Link still couldn't understand what these people were saying, but he could hear the person's smug tone. Couldn't they speak regular Hyrulian like normal people?
His eyes traveled upward to see a short, odd-looking man with two unequal puff balls of hair on each side of his head. The man had a scowl on his face and gave Link a weird glare. Link saw a barrel of what seemed to be bombs near the man.
"Out of the kindness of my heart I've brought you into my home, onto my spare bed, and I have nursed you back to your health. All I ask of you is how...YOU GOT THESE!!"
The man shoved Link's bombs straight in his face, shaking it to make his fury even more obvious.
"What?"
"Don't 'what' me! These are bombs are one of a kind! And made of cheap material at that!"
Link shook his head which was interpreted wrong by the man; making him angrier than before.
"I'm sorry, but I can't understand a word you're saying!"
"Would you speak correctly, boy?! This is a very important matter!! Tell me how you made this!"
Link shook his head again.
"Sir, I thank you for helping me, but I really have to catch the next ship to Hyrule!"
Link headed to the door but was stopped by a pair of small hands wrapping around his legs.
"Wah-wait!! Is it a job you want?! Please! I need to know how to create these! I'll give you a paying job! A-And a home! Please just tell how to make these beautiful bombs!!" the man cried desperately.
"Le-let go of me old man!! Let me go!"
"PLEASE!!"
--
It had been many days after Link and the odd man named Cannon came to the agreement.
Link would act as an apprentice to Cannon, learn how to make bombs, would be paid, given a bed to sleep in; in exchange for Barnes' bomb recipe.
Link had somewhat learned how to make regular bombs from Barnes. They weren't good as Barnes' originals, but were decent enough. He helped rebuild most of the ones he had lost from a…unknown accident dealing with explosions. He didn't know anything about making the Bomb Fish or the Bomblings. Thank the goddesses the man didn't see any of them.
This language Cannon was speaking to him...was a strange one. He could only understand a few words in a sentence. It was basically watered down Hyrulian. Listening was easy, but talking was the difficult part. That is how Link became known to the island, the 'foreigner'. He couldn't talk to others and if he did, he would have a distinct accent in his voice anyone could detect.
Somehow his 'foreigner' status had gotten him extremely popular with the young ladies...
Link walked slowly into town as his sandaled feet came into contact with the dirt floor. He wore his long-sleeved shirt and light brown pants that he'd usually wear with his tunic. Cannon decided that his regular Ordonian clothing was too foreign and heavy and took them from him, making sure he wouldn't wear in public.
He didn't like Cannon too much.
He walked past Killer Bees as they raspberried him and taunted him for his 'stupid' accent. Calmly, he walked up to the wooden stairs towards the café.
"Sir! Good sir! Please stop for a moment!"
Link did, indeed, stop. He turned to an incredibly short man wearing a large blue coat that looked far too hot for this sunny weather.
"Yes?" he asked.
"You see sir, I am trying to start my own little business here...but I cannot do that without the financial needs. All I have that survived during that horrible storm was..." the man finally gave a pause...an emotional pause.
Link rubbed the back of his neck uneasily. Other than the words 'business', 'financial' (Cannon always used those two words) and 'storm', he had no idea what the man had said.
"Whut you need?"
The man perked back up.
"Ah! Y-Yes! I only have one thing. If you by it, it'll serve you well, good sir. It was the only thing that survived the storm!"
Link didn't really like how much the man talked. Too many foreigner words...he was also thirsty...
"Ummm...How mooch you want?" Link tiredly dug through his back pouch. Carefully he kept in his out of sight...it was only safe the man didn't know how large his wallet looked like.
"80 rupees will do, kind sir!"
80, he said? At least he could understand the numbers correctly. Link took out four red rupees and handed it to the short man. He cried his thanks, handed the blonde a...sail?
"A sail...? A waste of 80 rupees." Link said to himself in Hylian. He didn't have a boat to use the sail...
The short one immediately stopped his river flow of tears, which scared Link greatly, and looked up to the blonde.
"Ah! You too are a foreigner, yes? Where are you from?"
"Hyrule." Link said bluntly as he walked towards the stairway with the sail under his arm.
"Hyrule? I wonder where that is..."
After the young man left a boy dressed in green came running up to Zunari asking for a sail.
--
As Link closed the door behind him, Miss Gillian welcomed him warmly and motioned him to sit down onto own the empty chairs.
"Rough day with that cheapskate, Cannon, huh, Link?" Gillian teased.
Link made out the 'rough', the 'day', 'cheapskate' and the part about Cannon. He nodded. He had to bandage his fingers after today. There wasn't anyone to buy the bombs, what was the point in making so many? He hardly was paid at that. Though, his wallet was full enough. His gloomy sigh made Miss Gillian laugh.
"Veri rough." He answered back.
She handed him a cup of what she called, 'coffee'. A bitter drink that Link only liked once milk and sugar was added. She reminded him so much of Telma...but not too much...
"I see you got yourself a sail now! Planning on leaving the island, Link?"
He shrugged; he learned in this part of the ocean shrugging could suffice for any question.
How are you?
Shrug.
How's the roasted cuccoo?
Shrug.
Do you have 5 rupees on you?
Shrug.
"Speaking of sails…I saw a kid who looked just like you a few minutes ago! He came in asking for a sail. A sail of all things! No café sells sails!" She paused and snickered at Link's ever remaining depressed look. "He had that same look on your face once he left. In fact, he even had the same face. A little Link… who had thought?"
Link took a sip from his brown mug. He made out 'kid', 'same' and 'face'...what did 'sail' mean?
"Keed…like me? When?"
"Just a few minutes before you came in! A cute kid...looked a tad dimwitted though..."
Link stared at the empty cup in annoyance...It was empty. He sighed as he paid her, said his goodbyes and left the café.
--
Link sat down on a wooden bench placed out in a perfect place for one to see the ocean. He placed the folded sail right beside him; maybe he should've just let the poor man keep it, seeing as he didn't really need it. He folded his arms across his chest and began to lie down on the wooden bench.
He closed his eyes.
--
He opened his eyes.
He then met another's eyes, Link jumped out of surprise and dropped to the ground.
"Oh! Sorry! Sorry 'bout that!"
Link look up to see an apologetic young boy dressed in a simple green tunic and long cap with...a sword and shield attached to his back, just as he did just a month ago. The boy was blonde accompanied with dark, dark blue cat-like eyes.
It was too much of a coincidence for Link.
"It okay..." Link said as he pushed himself out of the ground, shaking the dirt off his pants. "Kids," he said despairingly.
"S-Sorry! I was looking at your sa..." the boy gave a nervous pause, "Ughhh...I mean, your...'sa-uper' long ears! Yeah! You have really long ears!"
Link looked back at the boy with the same edgy gaze.
"Sa-uper long ears?" he mimicked. He could tell the boy was lying as his eyes kept drifting to the sail neatly sitting atop the wood.
"You want. No?" Link's finger pointed to the cloth.
"Uhh...I could buy it from you if you'll...ya know? Sell it?" the boy asked as he brought his wallet out.
The boy didn't have time to take any money out as the older blonde held the sail out in front of him. The child pointed to himself in question, the young man nodded. His face brightened as he carefully took the sail out of Link's hands.
"Thanks mister! I really needed one a' these! No one on this island seemed to have one to give up!" As boy held the sail close to his chest he jumped up and down happily.
Link gave a small smile and patted the boy on his green covered head. The boy reminded him of Talo back in Ordon.
"What's your name?" he said smoothly. He congratulated himself on how his accent lessened.
"Ah! My name is Link! What's yours?"
Link's blue, tamed wolf eyes widened.
This was certainly no coincidence.
--
Ah-ha! I told you all I'd get it redone! Though...I started this chapter like 9 months ago... I like this one better than the last. Too bad Link is talking...I'll start the next chapter when I feel like it. Chapter 6 of 'To the Other Side and Back' is almost done...so keep that in mind if you want to read that.