Chapter 2: Operation Zelda
Link, Mike and Jake were standing right by the old well that stood on Outset Island.
"Here we are." Jake greeted the two other warriors as they approached.
"Why the well?" Link asked his brother.
"You'll see in just a minute."
Jake reached inside one of his pockets and pulled out a long piece of wood curved at the sides into a strange circular shape. This object was called a windwaker, and Link also had an exact replica. Link was beginning to wonder if Jake was a clone of himself.
Before Jake could begin to conduct (how you "play" a windwaker), Mike began to ask Jake to explain himself.
"OKAY!" Mike suddenly lashed out at Jake. "I've had enough! Who are you really! I mean, you can't be Link's brother! He doesn't have any!"
"I've already told you!" Jake shot back. "I'm Link's secret brother, Jake! I AM Link's brother!"
"How?" Mike asked.
"Quite easily." Jake answered in a matter-of-fact way. "With Link always outside playing with the other kids, it was really easy for grandma to keep me hidden."
"But that still doesn't explain how Link never saw you..." Mike pondered.
"Oh, that's because there's a second home in our house." Jake replied as though he expected Link and Mike to believe him right off the bat. Then, realizing they didn't, Jake sighed. "If you shine triforce light on the symbol in your closet, Link, it opens up into my home."
That was another ability of Link and Jake. They could summon Triforce light to attack enemies or protect themselves. But Jake didn't have Triforce, did he?
"Okay..." Link started. "So that's why the house is so big... but how did you get outside, you couldn't have lived inside for all of your life!"
"I snuck out through the window. I'd play under the deck with my toys."
"But what about Aryll?"
Aryll was Link's sister. And Jake's... She was a cheerful little girl that loved to play with the gulls, especially Link's pet gull, gullible.
"Whenever you were outside, I'd crawl back out and talk with her and grandma."
"But why did Grandma not want me to know about you?"
"I already told you, she was supposed to be hiding me!"
Jake removed the gauntlet on his left hand and shielded it from Link and Mike.
"Link, do you remember the ancient prophesy? The one so dark that you couldn't hear it?"
"I did hear it." Link answered.
"Remember the story of the three heroes?"
"Yes..." Link answered slowly.
"Well, by legend you and Mike are the first two heroes."
"And the third?" Mike asked as he typed on a small, black shape. Link recognized it as one of Mike's tiny palm pilots. Mike always had some sort of whacked out technology at his disposal. Probably a left over device from his race of people.
"The third?" Jake asked in belief, almost laughing. "The third hero? Hahahahaha! Can't you two nut heads tell that the third hero is me!"
Link stepped back in shock. "That's impossible. Mike, if he's the third hero, then the unbelievable will happen and the prophecy will come true!"
"I wouldn't want to think of that." Mike smirked. The "dark" prophecy was that all three heroes were brothers. Not very long, but short and to the point.
"It's not you!" Link told Mike. "It's just Jake! Look at him!"
Link and Mike turned around and stared at Jake. On his face was a large, innocent smile.
"What's so bad?" Mike whispered to Link. "He looks okay to me. Just look at that smile."
"That smile looks a little too innocent to me." Link whispered back. "But I guess we don't have much of a choice.
"No, we don't." Mike confirmed. He showed Link his palm Pilot. The screen showed a single sentence. It read: Link, Mike and Jake Prophesis.
Mike had underlined the word prophesis. Link began to get dizzy and fell to the ground, out cold.
"Well, Jake..." Mike stammered. "I guess it's official. You're one of us."
"COOL!" Jake smiled a big toothy grin. "What's my code name?"
"Oh, brother..." Mike sighed to himself. "There are no code names. Just don't mess up too badly."
"Yessssir!" Jake saluted to Mike.
"Now..." Mike turned around. "Show us the path to Zelda."
"Sure thing, Captain!" Jake nodded.
Jake began to play a song on his windwaker, waving it through the air. Mike kneeled down beside Link, who had just came to, and gave him a bottle filled with a clear red liquid. "This will restore your energy." He told the drowsy Link.
"Thanks." Link thanked his companion. He downed the potion and stood up, fully revived.
"Okay." Jake suddenly rang out. "It's ready!"
Link and Mike wheeled around in surprise. Before them no longer laid a well, but instead a dark passageway leading into total blackness. A cave.
"Well?" Jake asked for comments. "What do you think?"
"I have to admit, you're not as dumb as you look." Link replied.
"That's not the sort of thank you I had in mind..." Jake scowled.
"Well?" Mike asked anxiously. "Are we going to stand here all day arguing or are we going to rescue Zelda!"
"Point well taken." Link said.
Link gazed down into the well. It was quiet... too quiet... Link could tell that something was wrong. This was the feeling he usually got when something bad was about to happen. It started in his ears, moved down to a sharp tingling in his hands, and finally to a painful shriek of pain in his toes. The triforce symbol on his left hand also began to glow. Link was left-handed.
Link stepped onto the cold, damp stone. It sent chills up his spine. He could smell the strong odor of grass and bushes above his head.
Link sighed in relief. There was nothing to worry about. It was just a well, a cold, damp well. Suddenly a black ghostly shape carrying a large broadsword flashed in front of Link. It's eyes widened as it spotted the hero. Link stepped back and tripped on a jagged stone. The Ghost, which Link now recognized as a "Phantom Ganon", a Ghost created in Ganondorf's shape, flashed back into the well, for fear that it's cover had been blown.
Phantom Ganons were beings of pure shadow created by Ganondorf's dark magic. Originally there was only a small number of these undead soldiers, used in the imprisoning war. But just recently Link had began to notice that they were beginning to multiply. Not a good sign, he had decided.
Link got up and walked back down a short distance into the dark passageway. He could very faintly see the glowing red eyes of the Phantom Ganon. Link turned around toward his two companions.
"I think it's time to get this over with!" Link told Mike. Then he turned to Jake. "Jake, I've spotted a Phantom of Ganon in the well. You know what that is, right."
"Of course!" Jake mocked, slightly offended.
"Good." Link replied. "Then you must know that they hold a triforce link to our favorite Gerudo, even though they are artificial. I want you to hold it off, but don't kill it, for obvious reasons." Then, for the benefit of Mike, "If you kill it, then because of its triforce link, Ganondorf will be alerted of our position." He drew a long breath. "And Zelda's."
"Righto!" Jake joked. Mike glared at him. Then he added, "Ummm, Right."
"Mike," Link said. "I want you to come with me. We'll have to sneak into the outpost and take care of its "Man in charge."" he chuckled at his own joke. His face fell when he saw the annoyed looks on Mike and Jake's faces. "After that's done, I'll take care of Zelda, getting her out, stuff like that. I want you to finish off the rest of the baddies while I'm doing that."
"Got it!" Mike told Link.
"Good. Is everything clear?" Link asked Mike and Jake.
"Yes!" They both replied simultaneously.
"Is everybody ready?" Link asked.
"Yes!" They both replied again.
"Then let's do this!"
Link tugged on Mike's shoulder and they both started dashing through the well. Jake unsheathed his sword and smiled at his foe. The Ghost's eyes thinned.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" Jake yelled in strength as he swung his sword very heavily. Phantom Ganon countered with a swift movement of its wrists, blocking Jake's sword and turning into a spin attack. Jake was quick to reach for his shield and just blocked the savage attack. Phantom Ganon reeled backward, surprised by his own recoil. This was Jake's chance.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Jake yelled as he lashed out at his opponent.
Meanwhile, Mike and Link continued running, twisting through cobwebs and tripping over skeletons of lost animals and people surely lost to Phantom Ganon. Suddenly a large stone wall popped up in front of them and Link had to slam on the brakes to avoid a painful collision. Mike, however, just burst through the slab of hard stone. Link stood wide-eyed at his companion. Mike just shrugged off the impact... was he even human?
"What?" Mike asked, annoyed. "Haven't you ever seen anyone burst through a large stone wall?"
"I don't believe so." Link mocked.
"Oh." Mike dismissed the conversation and continued on. Link had to run really hard to keep up with the muscular man. They trudged through a lake of deep well water, and swatted at endless cobwebs that just seemed to keep coming. All of a sudden all was dark, and Link couldn't see his hand in front of his face. He felt around for a wall, a door, anything! Soon his hand came to rest on hard brick. It seemed like a makeshift wall... Just built recently. Link activated his triforce with a flick of his hand and he shined it on the wall, slowly burning a hole through the stone.
"My turn." a voice said icily behind Link, and he was quick to dive out of the way as Mike once again came crashing through the wall. Link got up and tiptoed through the rubble.
"Mike!" Link yelled. "You almost hit me-" Mike put a hand over Link's mouth. Link looked over the burly man's shoulder and gasped.
They were standing in a large chamber lit by gently flickering torches. At the opposite chamber stood a large group of enemies, growling and snorting. They were all moblins. Link got out his telescope and took a long look at the small army. It was then that he saw the cage. It was a nasty little prison, made out of solid iron bars thrown together like a bird's nest. And in the center sat a teenage girl. Princess Zelda.
"Joy..." Link muttered to Mike. "A whole army of moblins." He grimaced as he said the word. Moblins were large pig-like creatures. They were basically the cornerstone of Ganondorf's army. They wielded long spears and were very well built. Almost a dream come true for any evil villain bent on world domination.
"How're we going to get over there?" Mike asked Link.
"I don't know..." Link started, but suddenly a voice started talking in his head. "Use your knowledge of darkness..." It faded in his head. Link snapped his fingers. "I've got it! Ummm... Mike, grab my waist and hold on!"
"What are you going to do?" Mike backed away.
"Just do it!" Link shouted.
Mike ran up and grabbed hold of Link's belt. Link began to think of hatred, and anger. Soon his mind was full of angry thoughts, enough to overflow.
"Link?" Mike asked nervously. Link looked really angry. Mike looked down. He gasped. "Link?" he asked more anxiously. A smooth, dark black substance was creeping up his legs.
"Don't worry, Mike..." A hoarse voice rasped that seemed to be coming from Link. "I'm just turning us to shadow. That way we can sneak up on the boss undetected."
"Okay..."
Soon the shadow was up to Mike and Link's necks, and Mike tried to stop it from flowing over his head, but to no avail. Link just stood there, completely content. As soon as they were both completely black, they fell through the ground like water in a deep pond. Mike held his breath, but soon realized he could breathe. He looked over at Link, but he couldn't see his friend. He looked up. The floor was a bright florescent color. Suddenly a cold hand grabbed his wrist, pulling him under the area where they could see the dark silhouette of a throne, presumably where the commander or "boss" as Link liked to call them of the army would've been sitting.
"You okay, Mike?" Link's regular voice suddenly cut the silence. Mike nervously opened his mouth, ready to scream. No scream came.
"Uh... yeah." Mike answered, shocked at his own response. He didn't think that he would ever be okay again.
"Good..." Link replied. "Right now we're sitting directly under the boss. If we emerge now, we'll surprise them big time!"
"Okay... but... how? I mean, how do we get up?"
"Oh, sorry about that. Just imagine." Link told Mike. "Here, I'll show you."
Link closed his eyes and soon he began to float up to the surface of the ground. Mike did the same... or did he? Nothing was happening. He tried again. Still nothing. Meanwhile, Link had just emerged, and was now pressed up against the wall, waiting for Mike. He was sure his friend could command the most simplest triforce maneuver. Floating through shadow-water. But then again, Mike didn't have triforce! Link almost choked on his own breath. Mike would be stuck down there forever! And Link couldn't go back down, he had drained all of his triforce energy by turning to shadow! Link was franticly trying to think up a way to get Mike back up when suddenly the ground started to rumble. Then Link remembered that they had been directly below the boss. He was in for a big surprise.
"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" A loud yell suddenly pierced the silence. Then, right in front of Link's eyes, the ground literally was torn apart by a bright red light.
Jake's sword slammed into Phantom Ganon's sturdy flesh. Dark globs of shadow flied everywhere. Jake backed off. That should hold him for a while... But with a flick of his deteriorated wrist, Phantom Ganon absorbed all of the fallen shadow. Jake's eyes widened. Phantom Ganon's eyes thinned.
"You leave me no choice..." Jake smirked. He reached into his quiver. He pulled out a bronze colored arrow. It was sleek with a small clock in the place of the point. A time arrow. This kind was unknown to Link. However, they were very abundant in Jake's alternate universe. This universe was basically the kingdom of an evil ruler named Voldark. Jake possessed another triforce power. Transportation. This was his ticket to that universe.
Jake locked the time arrow in his bow, and took aim. Phantom Ganon raised his broadsword in an attempt to block the missile, but Jake knew it was hopeless. But just as he was about to release the arrow, he remembered Link's words: "Hold it off, but don't kill it..." He reluctantly placed the arrow back in his quiver, but this was a mistake. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground, his head searing with pain. Phantom Ganon had thrown his sword, scoring a perfect ten points on Jake's head. Jake couldn't think, he couldn't do anything. He had to wait for his strength. This was a definite disadvantage. Soon he felt the cold sole of a shadow boot rest on his neck. A sword was pointed at his head. His own. Suddenly something came over Jake. He roared out in annoyance, throwing Phantom Ganon to the ground. He reached around to his extra sheath around his waist belt. He pulled out the tiny knife sized hero's sword. He hurled it like a dart. It soared through the air, coming into contact with a sturdy substance.
A bright red light had suddenly literally cut the ground in two. Link watched in amazement as Mike floated up from the rubble. He didn't look happy. All of the moblins in the room glanced in Mike's direction, horrified by the destruction. They raised their spears, and one by one rushed over to Mike, who batted them away like flies with the back of his fist, which was glowing an odd red color, similar to the bright red light emerging from the ground. Link stepped back. Did Mike cause the ground to be virtually destroyed? Suddenly Link snapped out of his thoughts and realized that this was his chance! He had to rescue Zelda now! Even the boss had went over to Mike. Link rushed over to the cage. Zelda's face lit up when she saw him.
"Link!" she exclaimed in delight. "Oh, thank you for coming to rescue me!"
"No time!" Link grunted, deep in concentration from the lock. Frustrated, he blew it to pieces with a beam of triforce. Zelda rushed out. "Get out of here..." Link told her. "Go through that hole in the wall, follow the well... You'll find my brother, Jake. He's the one with the red tunic and-"
"Oh, I know who Jake is." Zelda reassured Link. "We used to play together a lot when we were younger."
Zelda rushed off. Link scowled in disgust. How did Jake seem to know everyone that Link was friends with! Link began to run after Zelda. Suddenly Link heard the boss of the moblins cry out in pain. He glanced back at the two fighters behind him as thousands of rocks crushed the boss and Mike!
"Mike!" Link yelled in despair. He knelt down and said a silent prayer for his fallen companion. Moblins lay everywhere, most knocked out, only a few dead. Link liked this. He didn't want to seem like a cold blooded killer. Link rushed over to the pile of rubble and started to lift away boulders, one after the other. Eventually he began to make progress, but there were just too many rocks. Link fell backward, beaten, defeated. There was nothing he could do.
Suddenly, the outline of the rocks turned red, and Link ran over to safety, even though it was probably perfectly safe. This was probably due to one time in which a statue exploded in Link's face. He didn't want to take any chances. All of a sudden the rocks exploded in a shower of ashes. Link strained to look through the smoke. In the center he could see the outline of a figure walking toward him, while another lay on the ground. It was Mike. Strangely, he no longer looked angry.
"Ahhhhh..." Mike sighed as he rejoined back up with Link. "It really feels great to take out all of your anger from being trapped underground on a huge pile of rocks."
"True..." Link agreed. The two of them ran toward the handmade entrance of the chamber that Mike had graciously made for Link and Zelda. Mike ran through the door, anxious to learn the result of Jake's battle. He stopped in his tracks. Link struggled to get around, and when he did, he struggled to take in what he saw. Lying in front of him was Jake. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Phantom Ganon. Stuck helplessly in the side of its head was Jake's small but sturdy hero's sword.
"I...killed him... Link..." Jake breathed. He was badly hurt. "I'm... sorry..."
Link's rage overflowed. He gasped. Where was the princess? If she was captured, their whole mission would have been for naught. They couldn't allow that to happen. They had went through too much. Mike being stuck underground, Jake's battle (or not... Link thought in his head), the rock slide, and the army of moblins.
"Where's Zelda?" Link asked/yelled.
"There!" Mike pointed up through the well's entrance.
Link's eyes followed Mike's fingers. There, up in the sky, was the Helmaroc King. Clutched in its talons was Zelda. Link pulled out his bow and fired a fire arrow. It struck the Helmaroc King and started some of its feathers on fire. Link changed to ice. Another arrow flew into the Helmaroc King's flesh and turned it to ice. One more... Link thought. He changed arrowheads once more. This time to light. Link fired. The arrow whistled as it soared into the Helmaroc King's mask. The giant bird crowed out in pain, but it didn't stop flying. In a matter of seconds, no matter how many more arrows Link shot, it was out of sight, taking Zelda with it.
"Nooooooooo!" Link cried. He glared at Jake. "How could you kill it!" he roared.
"I... had... to..." Jake breathed. He was still lying on the ground, panting heavily.
"Why!" Link asked out of anger. "You don't even have the triforce! You could've at least led it to us! WE could've held it off! Unlike you!"
"So!" Jake argued. "You care about Zelda more than me? What a brother!"
"I never asked for you to come into my life!" Link lashed out at Jake, gripping his throat with one hand, holding back Jake's hands with the other.
"Stop this!" Mike roared at them both, causing Link to drop Jake. "Stop fighting! We can save Zelda, Link! Don't get all worked up!"
"Fine! Anyways," Link started. "He's still doomed us..."