Chapter 4: The Memories Restored

(Shantae's house)

Shantae was on the second floor on her house looking out the window. She put her hand over her head and shook it a bit.

Shantae- Can't he just take a break from it for one minute…?

On the first floor, Link was constantly trying to help Aryll remember something from her past.

Link- How about the Master Sword? It once belonged to our father. You used to laugh when I said I would one day be the next warrior to wield it.

Aryll just sat there with that expressionless look on her face.

Link- Uh…what about your telescope? It once belonged to you and you said it was your greatest treasure as a child.

Then Shantae walked down to the first floor.

Shantae- Give it a rest already, Link! Seriously, it's almost midnight and you haven't stopped since we brought her to my house. If her mind was functioning normally, I'm sure she would be fed up with all of this like I am.

Link put the telescope on the table and turned to look at Shantae.

Link- I'm just trying to see if I get spark any memory she might have. Like how seeing my sword moves against Risky Boots made her think of our father.

While Link and Shantae were talking, Aryll looked at the telescope and some memories of her as a child playing with that telescope appeared in her head.

Shantae- Well, it's starting to get annoying and we could all use a good night's sleep. I must insist you wait until morning before continuing this.

Aryll- Treasure…

Then Link and Shantae saw Aryll pick up the telescope.

Link- She's remembering the telescope!

Shantae- That's good, but I still say we get some sleep for now.

Suddenly, they heard a loud booming sound coming from outside.

Link- What was that?!

Then Sky rushed into Shantae's house with a worried look on her face.

Shantae- Sky, is Risky Boots attempting another pirate raid? Even after Link recently destroyed her sword?

Sky- You wish! I giant flying monster is attacking Scuttle Town! It looks like a giant bird with a metal mask actually.

Then Wrench in his giant form fell from the sky and crash landed in front of Shantae's house before shrinking back to his regular form.

Sky- WRENCH!

After Sky rushed to help Wrench, Shantae turned to look at Link again.

Shantae- Link, you mind helping me out again?

Link- A giant bird with a metal mask…that sound way too familiar to me!

Link and Shantae were heading out the door when Aryll got up from her seat and was slowly beginning to follow them.

Link- No Aryll! It's too dangerous!

Shantae- What my friend is trying to say is maybe it would be safer for you if you stayed here until we get back.

Aryll- …ok…

After Link and Shantae left Shantae's house, Aryll then continued to follow them out of the house.

(Scuttle Town)

The town was being smashed by the giant bird like in a Godzilla movie. It was capable of knocking down several buildings with one swipe of its wing. Bolo stood on the roof of a nearby building and tossed a few bombs at it. The giant bird looked up and saw the bombs explode in its face. Then the bird stuck its head from the smoke and grabbed Bolo with its beak before chucking him into the air, too high into the air. Luckily, Shantae in her harpy form flew up and caught Bolo before he could hit the ground. Harpy Shantae brought Bolo back to the ground, landed where Link was, and changed back to her regular form.

Link- No doubt about it…that's the same flying bastard who kidnaped Aryll when we were kids! He must be looking for her again!

Bolo- That would make sense, because I saw that bird going through the rubble of one of the buildings it destroyed.

Shantae- You'd better get about of here, Bolo. This could get dangerous.

After Bolo left, Link and Shantae turned their attention to the giant bird.

Link- You might've gotten the upper hand when I was a kid, but I'm stronger now and I have the Master Sword! You won't take my sister again!

Then Link fired a sword beam attack and it hit the bird from behind. Then the bird turned around and saw Link and Shantae.

Giant bird- (SCREECH)

Shantae- I think you've made it mad!

Link- Good. Now I can kick its ass!

The giant bird charged for them and they barely managed to dodge. Then the bird flew up into the air again.

Link- Crap! We need to bring that asshole to ground level if we're gonna take it down!

Shantae- Leave that to me.

Then Shantae turned back into her harpy form and flew up after the giant bird. Once she was above the bird, she transformed into her elephant form and stomped on its back. The giant bird got really mad and tried to grab Shantae with its beak. Shantae turned into her mouse form and became too small for the bird to find. Then the bird felt Mouse Shantae biting down on its flesh.

Giant bird- (SCREECH)

Then the bird began to shake wildly in an attempt to throw Shantae off its back. Mouse Shantae changed back into her regular form and began clinging for dear life. And one of Shantae's eyes were starting to tear a bit.

Shantae- Since when did this turn into a ****ing rodeo?!

Then Link's clawshot was wrapped around the giant bird's claw so Link could pull himself on the giant bird's back too. Then Link struck the bird's back with the Master Sword.

Giant bird- (SCREECH)

Shantae- Link, why did you come up here?

Link- You were taking too long to bring this bird to ground level.

Shantae- Unfortunately, now we're both in for one hell of a ride!

Then Link saw the giant bird glare at them before turning its head back in front of it. Then the bird began dashing around like crazy. Even going upside-down to try and get Link and Shantae off of its back. Link and Shantae held on tightly until Link pulled on one part of its back and the bird suddenly curved in that direction. Then Link saw a large clocktower close by.

Link- Shantae- I hope Scuttle Town won't mind getting a new clocktower.

Shantae- Link, what do you mean by that?!

Then Link pulled on the bird's back again and drove it into the clock tower. It not only caused the bird to crash, but it also wrecked the clocktower and caused Link and Shantae to crash to the ground as well.

Shantae- That…(cough)…was a bit rough…

Then the giant bird crawled out of the wreckage of the clocktower, but it looked like it was in bad shape. It's right wing looked broken a bit, limiting its flight capability. And the mask it wore split in two, revealing the bird's face. It attempted to fly, but with its bad wing, it made it difficult for it.

Link-We've managed to cripple it! That's a good start.

Shantae- But that that thing is still dangerous!

The giant bird flew up as much as it could and flapped its wings at Link and Shantae. The flaps were so strong, it created a strong gust of wind, almost like a tornado. Link quickly put on the iron boots to weigh him down, but Shantae was almost swept away into the air. Luckily, Link quickly grabbed her hand.

Link- I got you!

Then the gusts stop and Shantae pointed behind Link.

Shantae- Link…

Link looked behind him and saw the giant bird had move in closer and was about to try and ram its beak into them. They managed to dodge, but Link had a bit of trouble before he took off the iron boots.

Link- Damn it! I forgot how much those boots impede my movement!

Then Link saw the bird had its beak stuck in the ground. Link took the opportunity to strike bird with the Master Sword. Link performed a sword spin attack and hit the bird in the face where its mask used to be and the bird screamed in pain. The bird quickly got its beak out of the ground and smacked Link back a bit with its wing. Then Elephant Shantae rammed into the giant bird's leg from behind and fractured the bone a bit. Then the bird grabbed Elephant Shantae and threw her at Link. Elephant Shantae managed to change back into normal Shantae before she crashed into Link and were both knocked to the ground. Link got up, dusted himself off, and glared at Shantae for a bit.

Shantae- Hey, at least you weren't hit with an elephant.

Link- But couldn't you have turned into something lighter? Like your mouse form? That way, I could've caught you instead of both of us getting hurt like that.

Just then, Aryll suddenly walked into the frame.

Shantae- What the?!

Link- Aryll, what are you doing here?!

Aryll- Something calling…something…from my past…

When the giant bird saw Aryll, it immediately shifted focus to Aryll as it reached out to grab her.

Link- NO!

Link tried to swing the Master Sword at the bird again, but the giant bird swung its wing at Link and knocked him to the ground. Then the bird grabbed Aryll in its claw and tried to take off. However, because of its crippled wing and fractured leg, the giant bird was struggling to get airborne. Which gave Link enough time to get back up and rush up to them. While the giant bird was still close to ground level, Link jumped up and reached for Aryll.

Link- ARYLL!

Aryll looked down and saw Link reaching for her. When she saw this, she was immediately brought to the flashback of when they were kids and Young Link was reaching out to her as she was being taking away. Then the expression on Aryll's face changed as she reached back to Link.

Aryll- LINK!

A similar situation to when they were kids, only this time, Link was able to grab Aryll's hand before she was out of reach.

Link- Aryll…did you just…?!

Aryll- I did, big brother! I remember everything now!

Link almost began to cry when he heard Aryll say that.

Link- You don't know how happy that makes me. However, we'll have to put a pin on this family reunion.

Then Link stabs the giant bird in the leg with the Master Sword. The bird screamed in pain and let go of Aryll. Then Shantae created a mini twister to help Link and Aryll land on the ground smoother.

Shantae- Good to see your sister has her memories back.

Then the giant bird landed right in front of them and was glaring daggers at Link and Shantae.

Giant bird- (SCREACH)

Shantae- This guy doesn't know when to give up!

Link- Aryll, I know we just got back together, but you need to find a safe place to hide while Shantae and I deal with this?

Aryll- Sure thing, big brother. Link…be safe.

Aryll left to go hide somewhere.

Link- Don't you worry, because I will.

The giant bird tried to peck at them again, but Link and Shantae got out of the way. As the bird was pulling its beak out of the ground, it saw Shantae with her hands placed together in front of her body and both index fingers were pointing at the bird.

Shantae- Simmer!

Then a stream of fire was shot from both of Shantae's index fingers and it hit the bird in the face, causing it to back up a bit.

Shantae- Link, now's your chance!

Then the giant bird looked up and saw Link above it, charging the Master Sword for an attack.

Link- You took my sister away when I was a child…now it's your turn to feel the pain you put me through, you bastard! This one is for Aryll!

Then Link struck the bird with a Triforce Cut and it went right down the middle vertically. Link was now standing on the other side of the giant bird and both backs were facing each other. However, there was a glowing line going all the way down the bird's body where Link hit it with the Triforce Cut and there was energy from the Master Sword sparking from that glowing yellow line. The bird quickly coughed up a little bit of blood before it weakly flapped its wings into the air a bit. It managed to fly a few feet above the ground as the bird made one last screech into the sky. Then the glowing yellow line separated both halves of the giant bird's body before it exploded into black smoke.

Link- I can't believe it…

Shantae- You did it, Link!

Link- No…we did it, Shantae.

Then Aryll rushed in and hugged Link.

Aryll- Big brother! I can't believe I didn't recognize you like that.

Link- That's ok, Aryll. The important thing is you're back, safe and sound.

Aryll- Is that the Master Sword on your back?

Link- It is. And you used to laugh at me when I told you I would be the one to wield it after father.

Aryll (half-jokingly)- Does father know you're using his sword?

Link- Oh…about that…father is no longer with us. He was killed by the dark wizard, Ganondorf many years ago and left me with the Kokiri's until I was old enough to claim the Master Sword.

Aryll- Oh…I see…sorry to hear about father…

Shantae- Sorry to break up this touching reunion, but we still have a lot of questions that really need answering.

Aryll- Link, is she your girlfriend?

Link- WHAT?! Of course not! Shantae is just a friend of mine! And it's because of her I was able to find you after all these years!

Aryll- Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Shantae- Still, we need answers. Like about that symbol on the back of your hand.

Link- Or what caused you to lose your memories like that?

Aryll- It's a really long story and honestly, I don't know where to begin.

Link- That's ok, Aryll. We've got a lot of catching up to do anyway.

(The outskirts of Scuttle Town)

Ganondorf was still standing on that hill as he watched Link and Shantae destroy the giant bird.

Ganondorf- Oh **** that Link! He keeps getting in my way and now he has that genie girl backing him up! God damn it! At this rate, I'll never get capture that girl!

Then Ganondorf heard voice speaking behind him.

Mysterious voice- So, you're interested in the girl too?

Ganondorf- Who's there?

Ganondorf turned around and saw Risky Boots standing behind him.

Risky Boots- My name is Risky Boots, in the flesh, and I am the captain of the Tinker Bat pirates. I know that girl carries some kind of incredible power with her, but you seem to know more about it than I do.

Ganondorf- If you must know, it's the power of the goddess, Hylia.

Risky Boots- And who is this Hylia?

Ganondorf- She's the goddess who the Hylians worship. She created all of Hyrule, the three Triforce, and that damned Master Sword which is the only weapon that can destroy my dark magic! But with the power of Hylia herself at my command, I can conquer Hyrule without the need to take Link and Zelda's Triforce of Courage and Wisdom in addition to my Triforce of Power.

Risky Boots- Interesting. Listen, I have an offer for you. What do you say about working together to capture that girl?

Ganondorf- Work with you? HAHAHAHAHAHA! You must be joking! I am the dark lord of evil, the all might wizard, Ganondorf. I wield more dark power than you can possibly imagine. Why would I waste my time with you?

Risky Boots- Link constantly kicks your ass the same why that half genie runt wrecks my plans. Trying to take both of them on at once…hehehe…face it, big boy. You need me if you want to take them both down.

Ganondorf- (Grunts) Fine, but you answer to me, understood?

Risky Boots- Whatever. As long as you agree to use the power of that goddess to help me conquer Sequin Land after you've conquered Hyrule.

Ganondorf- Fair enough.