Chapter 7: Of Fishes and Fairies
"Link! Wake up already!" a distant voice shouted. By the sound of it, the owner must have been trying to get through to him for quite a while if the impatient tone was a reliable indicator. It wasn't by choice that he ignored the voice. Most of his consciousness was still struggling to catch up to him, as if he had traveled halfway into the tunnel that the voice was trying to call him out of and the rest of him insisted on lingering at the entrance. He had no concept of time, so he didn't know how long he laid immobile and unresponsive. It could have been no more than a few seconds or it could have been as long as an hour before he gradually became aware of the hard surface beneath him and the heat that seemed to be trying to cook him alive.
Link cracked open his eyes, disoriented by the brightness of the sky and the birds circling above with mewling cries that irritated his head. Then, just like that, he remembered. He shot up into a sitting position so fast that he made himself dizzy, but he was too focused on his new-found fear to notice for more than half a second.
"Finally." Link turned to see Midna with her arms crossed over her chest in exasperation, "Do you want the good news first or the bad news?"
"Will the good news make me feel better after hearing the bad news?" Link asked.
The Twilight Princess considered it for a couple seconds before saying, "Not really."
"Then it doesn't matter which one comes first," Link sighed, feeling defeated already.
"Okay then. The good news is, the song worked," Midna informed him with optimism as she gestured to their surroundings. Link threw a disinterested look over the landscape. His indifference quickly transformed into awe as he came to the realization that what stretched out before him wasn't land. It was water. Endless amounts of it sloshing in big waves like a child was trying to carry a bucket of the universal liquid and couldn't help spilling it over the sides. The only difference was that the ocean didn't get any smaller the more he admired it. If anything, it got larger.
"The bad news is, the others aren't here," Midna added before he could fully appreciate the sea before him. Suddenly, the expanse of heaving water didn't seem all that appealing.
"Is this island inhabited?" Link wondered as he got to his feet.
"What is that?" Midna questioned him, pointing at something on the ground behind him. His own inquiry momentarily forgotten, Link followed Midna's finger to the sloped rock he was standing on. A bronze tile glinted in the sunlight. As far as he could tell, it had been broken off from a larger piece, but that wasn't what piqued his interest. What caught his attention and held it was the letters engraved into the damaged tile. It was the written language that he was used to.
From what he could decipher through the scratches marring the surface of it, there were only two letters: "R" and "U". He suspected that there was another letter following the "U", and probably another preceding it, but there was no more than a chipped line after the second letter. It could've been anything.
"That's weird," Link muttered, kneeling down to inspect it further, "Why would something like this be here?"
"Maybe it's wreckage from something?" Midna proposed, leaning over his shoulder to get a closer look. By the state it was in, Link didn't doubt that. What he wanted to know was where it had come from. Unfortunately, he didn't have access to that information.
"I don't know," Link said, standing up, "but we have more important mysteries to be solving."
"Like figuring out where the others are?" Midna inquired.
"Exactly," Link replied as he drew the Master Sword from its sheath. "Fi, can you determine where everyone else is?"
Fi materialized gracefully before him, the breeze that was present didn't seem to ruffle her attire as it was doing to his. "It is possible for you to employ your dowsing ability to search for the missing members of your group," Fi announced. He was grateful that he at least had Fi. Until she had mentioned it, the ability to dowse had slipped his mind.
"Right. Can we search for Tetra?" Link requested. Out of everyone, he knew that Tetra was the only person that owned a ship, so if he could find her, they could work together to find the rest of them.
"One moment." The sword spirit bowed her head slightly before picking it back up and continuing, "Master, I have set Tetra as the dowsing target. Be aware that Zelda and Tetra share the same aura so there may be interference."
Link nodded to show he understood, and Fi disappeared in a shimmer of lavender. The Master Sword pulsed faintly in his grip. Moving farther up the rocky incline, he was momentarily distracted by the land in front of him which stretched out in such a way that it formed a star. Boulders, some larger than others, stood proud and immovable at all the soft points except for one. Grass grew wild and untamed in many areas with only pink and white flowers to break the pattern. He could also discern a few scrawny trees that barely nurtured any leaves on their branches. The largest one was in the very middle of the island, surrounded by a circle of tropical flowers. However, it didn't even begin to measure up to half the height of the trees in Faron Woods.
"I'm going to take a wild guess and say this place is uninhabited," Link predicted, putting a hand on one of the smaller boulders that were scattered around the island as he ventured a little closer to the center in an attempt to see the other side.
"What was your first clue? The overgrown vegetation or the fact that you can basically see from one side to the other?" Midna quipped.
"Both." Link shrugged as he began to sweep the sword from one side to the other in an effort to get a reaction. He did get one, but it wasn't the burst of purple light he'd been expecting. Instead the blade remained almost neutral as he held it steady. Link experimentally walked in the indicated direction and was pleased to find the pulse strengthen a bit as he strolled between the two largest boulders. He moved past the second one to find nothing but ocean. Farther left of the horizon, he could distinguish a dark shape rising up out of the water that he assumed was another island. However, after lining the sword up with the structure, the small reaction he'd managed to coax from it died.
Moving the blade back to the direction in question, Link found that he couldn't get much more of a response no matter which way he repositioned the sword or which direction he chose to approach it from. Fully aware of what a small reaction meant, Link didn't let it bother him. For all he knew, the sword was directing him to Zelda instead. Abandoning his current location, Link walked around the island with the sword held out before him which prompted Midna to comment on how stupid he looked. He told her that if it got them off the island, he was willing to endure the embarrassment.
However, it didn't seem that his suffering was worth it, for the only other response he could coax from the dowsing feature was even more miniscule than the last. It didn't matter which one was Tetra anymore. They were both far away which meant he wasn't going to be getting off this star-shaped island anytime soon.
Link sheathed the Master Sword with a heavy sigh and sat down beneath the tree in the middle of the isolated piece of land. It was the only thing large enough to provide him with sufficient shade from the sun. Unfortunately, the large, sheltering leaves did nothing to prevent the humidity in the air from crowding him.
"I'm so hot," he complained, leaning back against the trunk.
"Don't flatter yourself. Eee hee!" Midna giggled, lounging in the air.
"That's not what I meant," Link refuted.
"Uh huh. Whatever you say," Midna replied in a tone that implied she didn't believe him. Link didn't bother trying to convince her that he was being serious since he knew that she was only teasing him. He tilted his head back so he had a nice view of the branches above.
"Hey, Midna," Link said, an idea forming in his head, "What if we made a raft?"
"How do you plan on doing that?" Midna wondered, curious.
"Well, I could cut off some of the branches using the Master Sword and-" Midna interrupted him with a laugh.
"I'm pretty sure that's an insult to the Master Sword," Midna remarked, "Besides, even if you did manage to make a raft, I don't think you're going to be getting very far with those waves." Link couldn't help feeling disappointed when Midna pointed that out. She was right. He could barely navigate the rapids of Zora's River in a well-constructed canoe. On a poorly made raft in those swells, he wouldn't last more than a minute.
His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten anything today. The position of the sun told him it was around noon. Link could only hope that Kid wasn't stranded on some deserted island like he was, although, being an islander himself, Kid would probably be faring better than him anyway.
Abandoning the mercy of the shade, Link wandered towards one of the many steep edges of the island so he could view the vast sea. He wasn't used to the way that the water was divided from the sky by a barely visible line on the horizon. They looked so close to each other, almost as if they could touch if they both tried hard enough. The sky was one of those things that he never expected to change. It would be familiar no matter what. However, Link was finding that that particular assumption of his was incorrect. In this world, the sky was more noticeable with its bright turquoise hue and swirling wisps of cloud. Whether that was a result of its illusive proximity to the ground or not, he couldn't say.
In the distance a fish jumping out of the water caught his eye which gave him an idea that his stomach seemed to agree with even if his nose protested being so close to the ocean. The fragrance of salt permeating the air was beginning to sting his nose, but there wasn't much he could do except try his best to ignore it. He'd get used to it eventually, or so he hoped.
Link dug out his fishing rod from his belongings. The coral earring he'd received from Prince Ralis was still attached to it, serving as a hook. After his adventure, he'd attempted to give it back, but the young Zora had insisted he keep it, so he had. As he had found, it was useful for catching more than just Reekfish.
Link attached some bait to the fishing hook before finding a spot on the slick rock to sit where the waves couldn't quite reach him. He then cast the line out towards the area of open ocean that he recalled seeing the jumping fish in. Almost immediately he was rewarded with a bite which surprised him. Usually it took a few minutes. Then again, where there was one fish, there was probably a dozen more in a large body of water such as this.
As he reeled in his catch, he met no form of resistance. It was almost as if the fish was willingly swimming towards him. Much to his irritation, the fish got away right before the hook broke the surface. Link could distinctly see the dark shadow of the small fish just beneath the water, mocking him. Before he had time to wonder why it wasn't swimming away as fast as possible, the fish surfaced and looked at him curiously with eyes that belonged on the face of a human. Link was too startled to speak but the creature bobbing up and down in time with the rough waves seemed to have it covered.
"Keh! That's what I'm talking about!" the specimen proclaimed with joviality, "I was starting to think there was only one type of bait out there. Thanks for proving me wrong! Think you can do me a favor and tell all your buddies to start using this premium brand of bait instead of that other stuff?"
'It's a fish and it's talking to me,' was the only thought Link had at the moment. Talking fish? Since when was that a thing? Never once had it been mentioned that there were fish in this world with the capability of human speech. Then again, he wasn't positive it was a fish. It looked like one in every aspect except for the face which appeared vaguely human with a defined nose, wide lips, and round eyes.
His facial expression must have been portraying the exact degree of his astonishment more than he thought, for the creature spoke once again. "What's the matter? Never seen a fishman before?" Link shook his head, the ability to blink, and speak, temporarily deserting him. The fishman chuckled and continued, "Nothing to be scared of. I won't bite anything except bait. Though if I'm feeling hungry enough…" the strange creature laughed and waved an orange fin the way a human would wave a hand in dismissal when Link's gradually relaxing expression defaulted to uneasy. "Nah, I'm only messin' with ya. Keh, keh! So, what did you need?"
"What did I need?" Link repeated, dumbfounded.
"I've never been given a ride to anyone quite like that before so there must be something you want to know. Or were you just being nice and letting a humble fishman have some unique fun? I'm not objecting either way, mind you," the fishman explained.
Link decided to milk this for all it was worth, for it was obviously a gift from the goddesses. He had so many questions and here was someone, or would that be some fish? offering to give him answers.
"Can you tell me where the nearest inhabited island is located?" Link inquired.
"If by inhabited, you mean an island with folks like yourself, then there are two. Tingle Island and Windfall Island. They're both, more or less, the same distance away, though I personally wouldn't recommend Tingle Island. I usually stay around in these waters, but sometimes I get word from my brothers. From what I've heard, some mighty strange people live there, but what do I know? I'm a fish. And that's all the info I've got for you!" The fishman started to duck underwater again, and Link scrambled to his feet.
"Wait!" he called out before the fish creature could fully submerge himself. He stayed on the surface and eyed Link in annoyance. "I have some more questions."
"Think this is a free service, do you?" the fishman startled him by the clipped tone he used, "Well, let me be the first to tell you, it's not. See, being a fishman isn't easy and it's hard to come by grub, especially good grub. That little exchange we just had? I was only repaying you for the meal you provided me with."
"What if I gave you more?" Link asked, wondering how he ever got to be bargaining with a fish in the first place, "Will you answer my questions then?"
"One piece of bait equals one answer," the fishman stated, "Deal?"
"Deal," Link nodded eagerly, already pulling out some more bait. He threw a piece into the water which the creature quickly gobbled up. "Is there any way off of this island? Besides a boat?"
"Huh? Were you shipwrecked?" the fishman wondered.
"Something like that," Link agreed.
"That's unfortunate. Sorry to tell you this, but unless you can grow wings, you're out of luck," replied the fishman who immediately submerged himself in the waves as soon as he was finished speaking.
Getting the hint, Link threw out some more bait and waited for it to be consumed before posing his next question. "Would you be able to go to one of the nearest inhabited islands and get someone to send a boat out here or something?"
"That would take me hours, and there are many predators in this sea that I'd rather not tempt by swimming around and advertising myself as a free meal. I know the safest parts of these waters, and I'd rather stick to them," the fishman answered truthfully.
"Would you do it if I gave you all the bait I have?" Link queried, ignoring the small part of him that urged him to stop feeding the talking fish. For all he knew, feeding this particular species of fish could make them grow into huge man eaters.
"No," the fishman responded without taking a moment to consider the offer, "Although, if you're feeling generous, I wouldn't mind taking all that bait off your hands."
"Can you point me in the general direction of one of the inhabited islands?" Link requested as he held up another morsel of slimy bait that the fish creature he was conversing with seemed to adore so much.
The fishman was more than happy to deliver with the promise of food and, after Link tossed him the tidbit, he gestured a fin to the distance and proclaimed, "See that island all the way out there? That's Northern Fairy Island. To the south of here, over that way," the fishman gestured to the best of his capabilities to indicate which way was south, "is Mother and Child Isles. To get to the nearest inhabited islands, you want to go straight between those two, and then you'll be near Spectacle Island where you can choose to go east or south to civilization."
"Okay, thank you," Link nodded absentmindedly as he fabricated a crude map of the islands in his mind's eye. The fishman let the next swell consume him. Link watched the shadow linger in the water expectantly, waiting in hopes of something that would never come. When Link didn't make a move to grant the fishman's wish, he turned tail and swam away.
Suddenly, Link wasn't hungry anymore as he realized that, while he'd still been ignorant to the truth of his catch, he'd had full intentions of eating it. Reeling in a fishman, however, was an excellent method of involuntarily surrendering all ties to one's appetite, which was precisely why Link stowed away his fishing rod and bait and made the short trek to the middle of the island.
"Well, that was interesting," Midna commented as soon as Link was shaded once again by the tree's leafy canopy.
"More like terrifying," Link corrected her as he leaned against the trunk of the tree, his attention only half focused on the conversation. A plan was beginning to take form in his mind and the more he thought about it, the crazier it sounded, which could only mean that it was something only someone like him would dare try and, perhaps, be capable of pulling off.
"So fish people like Zoras are okay, but people fish like that guy are something to be feared," Midna mused in an attempt to decipher his logic. The fact that Zoras didn't feel compelled to attach themselves to the end of fish hooks for enjoyment, seemed to have slipped the Twili's mind. Zoras were also refined, and civilized. He wouldn't have had to feed one in order to obtain directions to the nearest source of society.
'What if that fishman is the equivalent of a Zora in this world?' The thought hit Link like a brick. That was impossible, right? Aside from the couple human-like qualities the fish possessed, it was nothing more than a fish living in the ocean. A small fish, in a very, very large pond. It was nothing like the Zoras, but then again, the Great Deku Tree had told them that the counterparts of people could vastly differ from each other. There wasn't an organized society of fishmen, were there? If there was, Link prayed that he would never stumble upon it.
A strange sound startled him into scattering all thoughts of fishmen and their possible affinity to the Zora race. It was faint, just barely registering over the shushing of the surf swelling over the sloping rock that shaped the island and the screaming seagulls dancing with the wind above. A mocking, da dink, da dink, found its way past all of the other nonsense and into his ears.
"Do you hear that too, Midna?" Link asked, wondering if the sea air was starting to have a strange impact on his senses. Midna tilted her head to the side, listening.
Suddenly she gasped, her eyes widening in surprise as they fell on something behind him. "Watch out!"
Tensing into a battle stance almost without thinking, Link's hand found its way to the hilt of the Master Sword. As he turned around, he pulled the sword from its protective royal blue and gold cover and aimed the gleaming blade chest high. While his reaction was good, his aim could have been better, for the creature behind him was quite short in stature.
Link jumped back as it thrust its three pronged weapon at him. The hostile creature appeared to be a monster, unlike the fishman he'd managed to glean information out of for a small price. After quickly assessing its devil-like features, he executed a horizontal slice, aiming lower this time. The monster seemed to only have sights for the offensive, for it didn't make any attempts to parry or evade his attack. The Master Sword sliced cleanly through the creature which disappeared in a swirl of purple and black haze, as if it had never been.
Da dink, da dink. Link whirled around to find three more of the monsters, all of varying hues.
"Where are these ugly things coming from?!" Midna exclaimed, hovering higher in the air when one of the approaching monsters tried to prick her with the end of its pitch fork.
"Better question: what the heck are they?" Link wanted to know, putting an end to the demonic creatures before him. They weren't the prettiest sight with oversized teeth protruding from the upper lips of their wide mouths and squinty green eyes fixed into their flat, scale-shaped heads from which large ears and twin horns sprouted out of the top and sides.
Link had been expecting Fi to appear and offer her priceless information like she normally did. For some reason, the sword spirit didn't feel inclined to intrude on the situation. When more of the odd monsters showed up out of seemingly nowhere, Link urged Fi to provide him with some advice.
"Master, I have no records of this particular enemy," Fi announced.
"Finally something you don't know." Midna grinned deviously as if she'd discovered Fi's weakness at last.
"Midna, that's not a good thing," he reminded her. Then addressing Fi as he fought off more of the creatures, "This isn't an enemy made by Ghirahim?"
"There is a ninety-six percent probability that these creatures originate solely from this alternate world," Fi calculated, "You have defeated seven of this particular enemy. From what I have observed, these creatures lack strength and rely on numbers to overwhelm their prey. They appear to be agile and capable of climbing over various surfaces. Much like their intelligence levels, their endurance is low and a minimal hit from any weapon will easily dispose of them. Nonetheless, I advise you to deal with them individually so they don't encircle you, Master."
As Link took a quick survey of his surroundings, he noticed that the creatures were attempting to close in on him. Taking Fi's suggestion, Link attacked the nearest monster that was trying stab him. One of the little devils attached itself to his leg and he hastily shook it off only to accidentally stumble into one of the other monster's three-pronged weapon. Link distanced himself from the pitchfork before it could embed itself into his side and do actual damage. He then disposed of the cackling owner of the weapon and turned to intercept another monster.
It didn't seem to matter how many he killed. Their quantity seemed to be as endless as the ocean circumnavigating the small island that he'd become prisoner to. In the span of time he'd been fighting, he'd also been constantly moving to ensure he wouldn't become ensnared in a circle of the persistent creatures which meant he had no protection from the sun and, in turn, the heat. While he was tiring, the simple-minded monsters kept coming, merciless. If he'd had a choice, he would have backed out of the fight since he knew that he'd be overcome by their numbers very soon. Unfortunately, there was nowhere for him to go. The best he could do was distance himself from the main horde of them as much as possible. The result of this action of his, caused him to become mystified.
A few laggards remained with him, rather than with the main mass of monsters, and he swiftly ended their pitiful existence before noticing what the others were doing. Instead of approaching him, they were retreating. At first Link thought they were going to crawl back into whatever hole they'd came out of, but he was wrong. As he observed them from afar, the creatures headed down to the very edges of the island and hopped into the water where they dissipated into thick clouds of smoke that quickly faded into the atmosphere. The fact that the group of monsters didn't hesitate to commit suicide, in fact they seemed almost eager, unnerved him.
"That takes care of that, I guess," Link said slowly, not willing to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"For now," Midna added mysteriously.
"Why do you have to say that?" Link wondered as he trekked back to the tree and slumped to the ground, attempting to catch his breath.
"Because it's probably true," Midna informed him as she blended with the shadows. He didn't doubt that. In fact, he didn't doubt that the whole island belonged to the little buggers, but did that mean that Ghirahim was responsible or someone else? As far as he understood from the stories Kid had told him of past adventures, the Great Sea was in a time of peace, so why were monsters present? Shouldn't they have all disappeared once Kid and Tetra defeated Ganon?
"It doesn't matter if they do come back," Link concluded, "because we're getting off of this island."
"How are you planning on doing that?" Midna inquired, her tone almost mocking as if she didn't believe he actually had a plan, or if he did have one, she knew it wouldn't work.
"With the Zora Armor," Link informed her.
"Link, take a look around! This is the largest body of water I've ever seen and you want to swim across it? Those islands are so far away, miles in fact. That armor might let you breathe underwater and swim faster, but it won't give you endless energy. You'll have to rest sometime."
"That's what the islands in between are for," Link declared as he pulled out the Zora Armor from his belongings.
Midna shook her head. "Do what you want, but I bet you won't even make it to the first island." Before he had a chance to retaliate, the Twilight Princess disappeared into the canopy above where the natural light of the sun was filtered through leaves before it struck the ground.
About a minute after he'd begun to don his Zora Armor, Midna called down to him, "I see a ship!"
Link immediately stopped what he was doing and swept his eyes over the ocean in front of him. When he didn't see anything, he circled around the tree in an attempt to see the ship Midna had spotted.
"Where?" Link asked when giant blue swells were the only things that greeted his eyes.
"Eee hee hee! Made you look!" Midna taunted from somewhere he couldn't see.
"Midna, that's not funny," Link glowered, resuming the task of putting on the complex armor.
"Maybe not for you," came the nonchalant reply. He didn't bother responding and instead began to put on the flipper-like boots which were much flimsier than they looked.
"Hey! Look at that, there's a boat!" Midna exclaimed, sounding surprised. Her act wasn't going to fool him this time.
"Link!" she insisted when he didn't respond, "There's a boat."
"Midna, how stupid do you think I am?" Link said without bothering to look up, "You're not tricking me again with that."
"How stupid I think you are doesn't have anything to do with this," Midna stated, "But since you asked, I think your levels of stupidity know no bounds. After all, you're stupid enough to completely ignore me when I say that there's a boat right there!"
"Have you ever heard of the boy who cried wolf?" Link wondered.
"You are a wolf," Midna pointed out.
"Only in the twilight," Link refuted, "And I'm not talking about me. I'm talking about a children's story. In it, there's a boy-"
"Ooh, I would never have guessed that one!" Midna interrupted, giggling.
Continuing as if she'd never said anything Link explained, "and his job was to guard a flock of sheep. He was bored, so he decided it would be fun to trick the villagers into thinking the flock was being attacked and yelled about a nonexistent wolf. Every time the villagers would come running and every time there would be nothing there. Eventually the people stopped believing him. When there really was a wolf no one bothered to answer his cries and the wolf scattered all of the sheep as a result."
"And the moral of the story is…" Midna trailed off expectantly.
"Stop lying to me," Link said flatly.
"Really now? Because I think it's, 'start believing me before that boat passes us,'" Midna retorted, floating down to where he could see her.
"Mmhmm," Link hummed, not willing to put forth the effort of entertaining her any longer.
"Fine. Don't believe me," Midna shrugged casually, "Just review the ending of that little story you just told me. How did it go again? Oh yeah, after all the lying he did, the boy was telling the truth!"
Link sighed and glanced up for a second, intending to let his gaze drop back down to his current task when he didn't see anything but a gloating Midna and the bare sea. That intention was erased as soon his eyes found a moving object in the water. It was hard to see at first due to the fact that he was sitting down and the choppy waves were creating hills of blue which obscured his line of sight for a few seconds. When the water briefly settled, he could see it. A boat guided by the hard work of three figures. From this distance, Link couldn't distinguish details but that hardly mattered. It was a boat with people in it, and that was all he needed to know.
Hastily slipping his other foot the rest of the way into the other blue boot, Link hurried down to the water and dived into the first swell that came, taking note of the lukewarm water that closed over him like a giant blob of a fist.
The water stung his eyes with a vengeance as he opened them. This was nothing like swimming in fresh water where the initial sting faded after a few seconds and the visibility spanned a few feet in every direction. Here, in this ocean, he could barely see a foot ahead and the salt was burning his eyes with more ferocity than he thought possible.
Trying his best to ignore it, Link resurfaced and eyed the writhing sea to discern his target. After a few heart-pounding seconds during which he'd thought the boat and its passengers had capsized due to the massive swells, he spotted the small watercraft. He pulled the navy blue fabric over the lower half of his face before letting the next wave take him under. Propelling himself through the water in a similar fashion to a Zora, although he could never quite match their majesty or speed no matter how hard he tried, Link swam against the undetermined current in order to reach the individuals that would be his saviors.
The boat wasn't as far as the islands in the distance, but it wasn't very close to the star-shaped isle either so every now and then he would resurface to confirm that he was traveling in the correct direction.
"Hey!" Link shouted in greeting once he was close enough for the boat's inhabitants to see and hear. As they rowed closer to him, Link's earlier excitement began to fade a little. He wasn't normally one to judge people by their appearances, but in this case he couldn't help inferring more than a few things.
The men were garbed in similar outfits. In fact, the only difference he could discern about their choice of dress was the color scheme. Their almost identical faces led Link to believe they were related but he knew better than to assume so he didn't say anything as they rowed closer to him. He was sure to note that only two of them were rowing while the one in the front seemed to be along for the pleasure of the ride. How pleasurable it was to sit in a boat being buffeted by waves from every angle, Link didn't know.
"Huh? What have we found here?" The man sitting at the bow of the boat inspected him with the type of scrutiny that was usually reserved for unique specimens such as works of art or old pictographs. "Sir! Are you, perhaps, a fairy? Though, I've never seen a blue one before…"
Choosing to leave the answer to that particular inquiry hanging suspended in the air for the time being, Link changed the subject slightly. "Look, I've been sort of ship wrecked at that island over there for a while and since you have a boat I was wondering, if it's not too much trouble, would you be willing to take me to the nearest populated island?"
The way in which the man before him spoke, and the fashion in which they all opted to dress, caused Link to be wary. He'd met plenty of strange people in his many travels, but this man and his companions may have just won the nonexistent award for most peculiar. He wasn't inclined to trust them. In fact, his conscience advised him to go back to the remote Star Island, as he had unofficially dubbed it, and wait for some other ship to happen by. However, the chances of that occurring before he expired of dehydration, or deprivation in some other form, was unlikely, so he was left with little choice but to go with what was provided.
"Of course! But first, we've been looking for something that came off of the tower we call home. We're sure it was carried this way by the current," the little man in the queer green bodysuit proclaimed. If Link had to guess, he would say that this was the leader of their party.
"You didn't see anything really big and orange out here, did you?" another chimed in, this one dressed in two different shades of pink.
"I still can't believe a nasty storm like that ravaged the island," the final man, in white, muttered off to the side as Link shook his head in response to the former's question.
It was apparent that the man hadn't intended to advertise the comment for he was startled when Link asked, "What storm?"
"Oh, it was a really strange storm. I mean, we're used to storms but I've never seen a storm quite like that before," the one in pink informed him, "See, it came out of nowhere and was strong enough to damage our tower which has held up against everything brought upon it ever since my twin built it when he was ten."
"When did this happen?" Link wanted to know. Did Ghirahim have the power to cause a storm like that? Considering the fact that he possessed the Triforce of Power now, Link didn't doubt the prospect.
"Today. Just a few hours ago, actually," the white garbed one answered, "Why? Did a crazy storm blow past here too?"
"No, I was just curious, but do you really think the piece that broke off was carried this far already?" Link wondered as he treaded water with some difficulty.
"Most definitely, if not farther," affirmed the man in green, "The current is strong today, and it has carried us most of the way here."
"So you haven't seen anything of the sort?" the man wearing pink asked with evident apprehension in his tone as if Link's response could either save him or condemn him. "Big and orange? One side hollowed out?"
"Sorry," Link apologized, "I haven't noticed anything like that around here."
"Onward then!" the pink clad man proclaimed, picking up his oar and gesturing for his companion in white to do the same, "We must find it quickly before the current carries it beyond the sea's borders!"
"Wait!" Link exclaimed, "Is that a no on the ride then?" As much as he didn't trust this new group of people, he was desperate enough to go with them. After all, they had something vital that he didn't. A boat.
"We must find the missing piece of our tower first," the one in the pink bodysuit declared, "My twin brother won't let us back on the island until we find it."
"Is that really such a bad thing though?" the man in white mumbled, his levels of enthusiasm surrounding the search apparently the same as Link's. Link, however, could manage to find some semblance of enthusiasm in the search since helping them would most likely get him to a populated island which would, in turn, put him one step closer to finding his missing companions.
"Maybe I can help you look for it," Link suggested, "I'll search the other side of the island and let you know if I see anything."
"Will you really? That would be wonderful! Do let us know if you find anything!" the guy in green called after him as he began to swim backwards toward the relative safety of the island he'd awoken on. After hearing the reply, Link let the waves wash over him and pulled the fabric that filtered the water into oxygen for him over his face.
Swimming back to the island was less difficult than making his way out to the small boat if only for the fact that it wasn't a moving target. The large swells took him most of the way up the jagged side, so he didn't have to trek up to the flatter expanse at the top. Even if he couldn't yet believe that Hyrule was really somewhere beneath this large plain of writhing blue in waterlogged ruins, he could believe that the islands were once mountains. This one, at least.
"So you're really going to help those weirdos?" Midna wondered.
"Those weirdos have a boat," Link reminded her as he dug out the Hawkeye from his belongings.
"Fair point," Midna shrugged, "Hey! You should have asked those guys if they know Kid or Tetra."
"Why? Even if they do know them, it's not like they'll have any more of a clue of their whereabouts than we do," Link said, putting on the mask and searching the distance for a speck of orange. Among all the blue, it shouldn't be hard to find.
A couple minutes later he spotted something vaguely orange near the tiny island in the distance that appeared to be a huge shell rising up from the ocean. After stowing away the device, Link slipped back into the water and made his way back to the boat propelled by the strange threesome he'd met earlier. Once there, he informed them of his discovery, and they left at once, promising to return for him when the desired object was in their possession.
Link watched them row away vigorously. How the little boat didn't topple and deposit its queer passengers in the large swells, he would never know. Returning to the now familiar island, Link changed back into his regular clothes since the swimwear was, surprisingly, capable of absorbing more heat.
"Well, one thing is for sure, this place is very different from the world we know," Midna commented as they both settled beneath the large tree in the middle of the island to await the return of the vessel that would take them to civilization.
"Yeah, now I know how the others felt," Link replied, "This world is something else." Despite how unfamiliar it was, he couldn't help but notice some similarities with his own world. For instance, the short, but wide, cylindrical shadow of an island on the horizon that the fishman had dubbed Mother and Child Isles shared most of its designation with a pair of rocks located in Zora's Domain. He had no idea if Reekfish surrounded the isles, but he assumed that a similar type of fish inhabited those waters due to the name.
As for the three men that he'd met, they reminded them vaguely of Purlo, the green one especially. Not only did they share the same odd manner of dress, but a deceitful vibe that urged him to get as far away as possible also enveloped both men. Link knew the owner and creator of the STAR Game, Purlo, and that man was definitely on the list of his least favorite people. However, Link doubted that the man in this world, was a con artist as well. After all, not everyone's counterparts were exactly alike. Take Tetra and Zelda for instance. It was almost impossible for their personalities to get any further apart. The only thing they actually had in common, besides their souls, was the fact that they both had royal blood flowing through their veins. For his sake, Link hoped that none of those men were really sharing a soul with Purlo. Even if they were, he reflected, there was probably a way for him to beat them at their own game just like he had the underhanded proprietor of the STAR Game.
When the threesome returned an unmeasured amount of time later, Link met them at the steep, rocky shore. Nestled between them all was indeed a large orange object. It appeared to be made of wood and the paint slathered on it had faded into a lighter hue with time. The hollowed out interior appeared to contain several built in shelves that, if turned the other way, could have made the item into a suitable boat.
"Aha! I knew it!" the man in green cried with ecstasy, standing up in the boat, indifferent to his brothers', Link was fairly certain they were all related, distress when the craft swayed even more precariously in the frothy waves. "Those clothes! You are a fairy! Just like I long to be…." Here the man trailed off with a wistful look in his eyes, but he quickly snapped to attention as a fresh thought reanimated him. "Sir, are you perhaps related to the other fairy I met?"
The man was swaying side to side in anticipation, unable to contain his excitement. For the second time that day, Link was rendered speechless. Him? A fairy? Fairies were miniature, elusive sprites with wings. Aside from the Great Fairy, he'd never actually seen a single fairy that resembled a human, size and all. He could hear Midna snickering within his shadow, and he would have attempted to discreetly shush her with a conveniently timed cough but there was no need.
"My apologies, Mr. Fairy," the man in green bowed his head sincerely, "I should have introduced myself first. Tingle is my name and I've been saving up funds to search for the fairy folk, such as yourself. Now I've met two so there must be more. There are more of you, aren't there? Where do you and your kind live? I must know!"
Still confused and uncomfortable with the situation, Link could only assume that Tingle was speaking of Kid. Why had his counterpart neglected to mention vital things such as fishmen and this Tingle character before?
"This other uh…fairy you met. Is there any chance his name was Link?" he asked tentatively.
"So you know him? Wonderful!" exclaimed Tingle.
"Do you have any way of communicating with him?" Link dared to inquire.
"You want to send him a message?" Tingle wondered.
"Yes." Link nodded in confirmation.
"In that case I have just the thing!" Chanting, "Tingle, Tingle! Kooloo-limpah!" Tingle threw confetti into the air, first to the right, then the left, before spinning around and doing at little hop forward that nearly tipped the boat and produced even more multicolored pieces of square paper. "Become an item!" He then performed a small backflip and reclaimed his previous spot.
After this odd display, Link found himself holding a green glass bottle that was molded into the shape of Tingle's head. A scroll of parchment was nestled inside which was sealed in the bottle with a bulbous red stopper.
"Mr. Fairy, this is a Tingle Bottle," Tingle announced with obvious pride, "With it, messages put in this bottle can be sent to fairies the world over! A communication of minds! Hearts beating as one! Truly splendid it is!"
Link doubted the object's credibility, but decided that it couldn't hurt to try. Removing the stopper, Link took out the scroll of paper and unrolled it to find a pencil conveniently inside. Due to their differing written languages, he knew that whatever he wrote wouldn't be understood by his counterpart or anyone else in this world. However, it would probably never reach Kid anyway, so Link humored himself in writing, 'Help me,' on the thick piece of parchment, before rolling it up and placing it back in the bottle which he capped off with the red stopper provided.
"What now?" he wanted to know.
"Now, throw it anywhere you like," Tingle instructed.
"Whatever you say…" Link played along, winding back his arm and throwing the green bottle out into the ocean. It bobbed in the waves for a couple seconds before disappearing.
"Whoa! Where'd it go?!" Link wondered, shading his eyes from the sun with a hand, thinking that its rays had somehow impeded his sight and caused his eyes to stray from the item. Even when the hills of blue leveled out momentarily, the bottle was nowhere to be found.
"It was sent to your fairy friend," Tingle informed him. Link thought it more likely that the bottle had been overwhelmed by the roughness of the sea and claimed by the waves to be added to the devastation of ruins that supposedly riddled the ocean floor. "Are you ready to go, Mr. Fairy?"
Inwardly cringing at the form of address, Link reluctantly nodded and climbed into the boat. It was just barely big enough to accommodate another person with the object that Tingle and his comrades had retrieved tied securely to the middle of the craft with ropes.
As they pushed off from the island and took to the open sea, the others introduced themselves as Ankle and David Jr. The latter of which warned him in a hushed voice that, due to his being shipwrecked on Tingle's island one unfortunate day when he was seventeen, he had been forced to work for the fairy-obsessed man ever since. The white-garbed man need not say anything else, for Link fully understood the implication and began to dread his decision to go with them.
Then, remembering whose counterpart he was possibly speaking with, Link asked quietly, "Are you pulling my leg?"
"No, sir," David Jr. whispered back as he rowed, "I really was a sailor once upon a time. That all ended when I was shipwrecked and awoke in this horrible uniform."
"If you hate it so much why don't you just leave?" Link wondered. Did Tingle really have the power to imprison the man on a single island and have him cater to his every whim?
"I've asked myself that many times and the answer still eludes me. It's not like I don't have a place to go, I was born on Windfall and spent most of my early years there, but ever since Tingle landed himself in jail for stealing something, I'm scared that they'll assume everyone who wears this outfit is a troublemaker and I'll be imprisoned next," David Jr. confided sadly.
Link let the conversation peter out there, knowing that he'd only learn more things about Tingle that he'd rather not the longer it went on. In fact, he was certain that the message he'd intended for Kid was no longer a joke. If he hadn't meant it while writing it, he definitely meant it now. He needed help. Unfortunately for him, the field of roiling blue surrounding him offered no assistance. If anything, it condemned him to being confined in an enclosed space with one too many insane people. He was starting to miss the star-shaped island inhabited by those devilish monsters. At least they could be disposed of.
AN: My deepest apologies to everyone. I know I haven't updated in quite a while, but please bear with me. Now that school is a daily part of my life again, I don't have many opportunities to focus on writing this story which makes me so sad because I really do love it and there are many more plot twists in store. We've barely begun, trust me. That said, I also know it's been a little slow so far, but I need to get character development out of the way sometime and we're pretty much out of that zone now and entering the crazy plot again so that's something to look forward to in future updates. :) For now, school is my main priority. It's not a particularly fun one, but it's a necessary one, as we all know. I'm also taking an online creative writing course this year so I have to write short stories for that which will take away my time and imagination that would have otherwise been reserved for this. Be that as it may, I'm not going to officially announce a hiatus. I don't know when I'll be able to publish the next chapter, but it's about halfway done so I'm hoping it won't be too much longer. In short, just be aware that my weekly updates vanished along with summer vacation, so it may be once every two weeks from now on or once every month depending on my school workload. Either way, I promise to keep working on it as much as my busy schedule will allow so you'll be able to enjoy it as soon as possible. Thanks for understanding. Have a great day!
~Hylia
