Author's Notes- This feels like a more appropriate location to talk about some of the info regarding this section of the story. This is certainly not going to be a straight regurgitation of Link's Awakening. If you want that, you can just play the game! It will follow the general direction, of course, with a lot of references that will make you go, "Ahh! I remember that!" but I will make some changes and a lot of additions. Particularly, we will be getting a lot more interactions with a few of the characters, since this is something the Gameboy game didn't really do, while some things will be deemphasized, like the fighting (which is great fun in the game, but explaining how Link goes from room to room in the dungeons is a little boring on paper). Some elements are taken from the manga by Ataru Cagiva that you may recognize (particularly a couple specific chapters later on), so I should give credit there as well, while others are completely original. Original or not, I'm not using my own characters or locales, so I don't own any of it.
While this plot is heavily derived from the game, as well as the manga, I think there's enough original here to keep you on your toes. It acts as its own story, but it's ultimately a love letter to this great and touching game. I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter Two
Images of a ship in an unremitting storm haunted Link's memory. A lost ship whose sole occupant had little hope for survival.
Link wasn't entirely sure whether these memories came from an actual experience or were merely the figment of his sleep. Whatever the case, these illusions directly bleed away to the image of a wooden ceiling. The room he was in was relatively large, as it functioned as bedroom, kitchen, and dining room; it was also very modest, much like his uncle's back in Hyrule.
After blinking for a few seconds in a dazed state, Link came to recognize that all of his senses were being assaulted. Both the taste in his mouth and the smell in the air was that of seawater. Link could also feel the softness of smooth bed sheets as he flipped to his side. His ears were able to discern the sound of not so distant seagulls.
Lastly, as he turned, Link spotted a girl sitting in a lone chair. She was facing out a window to a bright sky with her hand perched on the sill supporting her chin. From behind, the girl looked quite similar to someone Link knew.
"… Zelda?"
The girl gave a "Hmm?" as she twirled around in her chair to face Link.
"What was that you said? I'm not quite su-" The young woman stopped midsentence as her face brightened in realization. She jumped to Link's side and put a hand on his forehead.
"Oh, goodness, you're awake, Link! Are you feeling alright?" she asked in genuine concern with a soft voice.
It was, in fact, not Zelda. In hindsight, the differences were actually quite noticeable. Her hair was red, her eyes brown, and her skin tanned- not to mention that she did not have the pointed ears of a Hylian. That being said, they were females approximately the same age with fairly similar facial and body structure- even the girl's voice was reminiscient of the Hylian Princess. While Zelda wore a thin golden crown, this girl had stuck a hibiscus petal into her hair. Link decided to blame the misidentification on his health and the glare of the sunlight coming through the window.
"I'm fine… Did you just call me Link?" he moaned.
The girl laughed as she jumped across the room, rummaged through a closet, and returned dragging something metallic across the floor. After taking a deep breath, she lifted it up, nearly knocking herself over in the process.
"This shield was on the beach not far from where I found you! It has your name engraved on the back… Why is it on there, anyways? Do not recognize your own stuff without your name on it?"
Link smirked as he tried sitting up. He still had questions about how he ended up in this unfamiliar place, but stranger things had happened, so he was starting to come to terms with the situation. "I wasn't the person who had it put there. Now you can go ahead and set that down before you pull something."
The girl obliged, more dropping the shield rather than setting it down.
"Now," Link continued, "You mentioned that you were the person who found me? What happened, and who do I have the privilege of thanking?"
The girl returned to her chair and straightened her dress before speaking. "Well, I was walking along the Toronbo Shores when… actually, maybe I should introduce myself first. My name is Marin! Hi… umm… anyways, I was walking along the beach when I found you unconscious in the sand. There was some debris along the shoreline, so I'm assuming you were on a boat that sank, right? I don't know how long you were there… but you were still being lapped by the waves, which means the tides hadn't changed much, so you probably hadn't been there too long. After that, I went to go find my father to help me carry you back to our house, which is where you've been for two days now."
Perhaps the storm had been real, then. Link nodded and spun to the side of the bed to prepare to stand up. "Thanks for looking after me. Maybe I can return the favor someday. I do have a question, though. Did you see anything besides boat splinters when you found me? I'm particularly interested in finding my sword."
Marin shrugged. "Well, there was a satchel that you had around your shoulder… I have it right here in this cabinet…" The young woman went to a drawer in their kitchenette, retrieved his bag, and threw it on his lap. "I didn't really pay much attention to what else was on the beach after I found you… and wait, where are you going?!"
"To go looking for my sword," Link informed her as he slowly rose to his feet and returned his satchel to his shoulder, groaning as he did so.
"But there are monsters out there right now! It's not safe!"
Link smiled. "All the more reason to go retrieve it."
"Well, at least let me make you some food first," Marin continued to plead, taking a step back every time Link took one forward. "You won't even have enough energy to make it there and back. Don't count on me finding you unconscious again before the monsters do!"
A door to the small house opened, but the two couldn't hear it over Link's voice as he picked his shield off the floor.
"I can make it to the beach if I need to, as long as someone shows me where it is."
"Then it looks like I'm coming along too, then," said an unfamiliar voice. Link spun to see a heavyset middle-aged man with a thick moustache standing in the doorway. He set a bag he was carrying down on the room's single table before opening his arms wide for Marin to give him a hug.
"Tarin!" she cheered as she jumped into his embrace. Link looked downwards out of slight discomfort.
"How's my girl doing today, I wonder? I hope our guest isn't too rowdy now that he isn't sleeping all the time." Tarin soothed.
"Oh, he's not so bad." Marin pushed herself away from Tarin slightly so she could look him in the eye. "He is stupid, though. He wants to go down to Toronbo to go looking for a sword."
Tarin patted Marin on the head before looking to Link. "He could probably use a little something to eat, but he seems strong enough. If I escort him the way to where we found him, we should be all right. Is that fine, Link?"
Link was a bit disconcerted that everyone knew his name, and he was worried that Tarin could potentially impede his journey. As it was, though, the man was taking his side and might convince Marin to let him go, so Link wasn't going to complain.
"If that's alright with Marin, I would enjoy having your company."
Marin crossed her arms and glared at Link disapprovingly but ultimately relented. "Just try coming back in one piece, both of you."
Link smiled as he swung his shield over his back. "If it's alright with you, Tarin, I'd like it if we could leave immediately. I don't want any monster running off with my belongings."
Tarin nodded, but pulled something out of his bag and stuffed it in his mouth before speaking. Link could have sworn it was an entire mushroom that should have been too large to bolt in one swallow.
"Alright, then. I'll point a couple things out in town along the way while we're at it."
Link and Marin made eye contact as he passed by her on the way out, which for some reason caused him to clinch his fists.
Marin was right his physical condition- Link could feel his muscles stiffening as soon as he stepped outside. At the very least, he probably needed to stretch. He did his best to hide his soreness as he tried keeping up with Tarin. Thankfully, the man didn't exactly walk at a brisk rate.
"I'm Marin's father, in case you were wondering," Tarin commented.
"I suspected as much. Only reason I wouldn't say I knew for sure was because Marin referred to you by your first name rather than by dad."
Tarin laughed. "I'm not sure what that's about, either. She seems to treat me as a friend more than a daughter sometimes, but she still listens to what I tell her. Very mature for her age, you know. It's almost like she never really knew how to be a child."
Tarin seemed too occupied with talking about his daughter to actually explain all of the unfamiliar places Link was being led through. From what he could tell, he was in a small and modest village surrounded by a semitropical forest.
"What exactly is this place?" Link reminded.
"Oh! Yes! We are currently walking through Mabe Village, one of the two communities on Koholint Island."
"Koholint Island?"
"Yes, have you not heard of it? I thought we would be pretty famous for that there."
Link's eyes widened in amazement when they saw what Tarin was pointing at. The man wasn't joking.
In the distance, a long range of mountains spanned a large portion of the island. Most significantly, though, an enormous white egg with pink spots sat on the highest peak.
"Umm… what is that thing?"
"The egg where the Wind Fish is said to rest in eternal slumber. Or something like that."
"Wind Fish?"
"It's sort of like the god of the Island… our protector. As the legend goes, whoever wakes the Wind Fish can be granted a wish."
"Sounds like the Triforce," Link pointed out.
"Triforce?"
"Oh! Goodness, you're right… I wasn't supposed to tell you that. Matters could spiral out of hand if people knew it had that kind of power. Please don't tell anyone else. Really."
"I still don't understand. What's a Triforce?"
Link could help but raise an eyebrow. "… You've never heard of the Triforce?"
"Should I have?"
Link questioned the man's intelligence for not knowing something so famous, but he explained anyways. "It's made of three large golden relics given to us by the Three Goddesses. It provides the foundation for our kingdom. Whenever it is in the hands of our rulers, the land sees a time of peace and prosperity. Since I already mentioned it… the Triforce also grants the wish of whoever touches it. It's in Hyrule Castle right now."
"Hmm… sounds like a fake."
"I've touched it myself. Trust me, it works."
Tarin laughed. "What are you doing here, then? You should just keep on using that thing. You could be rich… with a great house…"
Link smiled at Tarin's basic ambitions. "Those would be wishes of greed and cowardice. You might get your wish granted, but it would cause the Triforce to break apart and could have a number of effects on the Sacred Realm. That could plunge the whole kingdom into chaos. That's why the King of Hyrule ordered that the Triforce only be used in extreme cases and that a person may only use it once to prevent corruption from working itself into one's heart."
"You keep mentioning this Hyrule place… what's Hyrule?" Tarin asked as he turned his head.
Link's mouth hung open slightly for a moment in surprise. "It's where I'm from. And it's where I need to get back to."
"You mean, off the island? Why would you want to do that?"
"I can't stay here forever."
"I don't see why not. Koholint is on the whole a peaceful place, at least once those monsters stop bothering us. The people are welcoming and the views are stunning. You know, Marin's about your age. She's never had peers before. She seemed to take an immediate liking to you. Hardly left your side when you were asleep."
"Marin seems very kind, but with all due respect Mr. Tarin, I don't think I'd stay on the island just because your dau-"
Link was cut off by his own screaming as he jumped backwards and fell onto his back in the dirt. He had just barely managed to avoid being assaulted by a large and strange creature. It was spherical, black, and had a nasty set of teeth. It had thankfully stopped just short of him.
"Tarin! Tarin! This monster is trying to eat me!"
In response, Link could hear only hearty laughter. A second later, Tarin appeared from the others side of the creature, revealing himself to be the origin of the laughing. Link stared at him incredulously as Tarin stroked the monster's metallic side.
"Sorry Link, I forgot to warn you. Got distracted by what we were talking about. This here is BowWow, a chain chomp! Large creatures, yes, but they make excellent pets! Don't worry, it won't hurt you. It's chained up, anyways."
Link grimaced as he stood up and brushed some dirt off of him.
"… Pet? Is there any other life-threatening pets I should be made aware of before we reach the beaches?"
Tarin threw an arm around Link, who was a little unsettled by how comfortable Tarin already was around him.
"Of course not, of course not! Sorry again about that. We should be there soon!"
Link shot a last dirty look at BowWow before continuing with Tarin down the road.
"We've missed much of the town already in our talking, but I can have Marin show you around later. There's a house just on the other side of those trees to our left. Old man Ulrira and his wife live there. He doesn't get out much and seems to be playing with some weird contraption all the time, but she's pretty friendly. To our right is the village library. You can find a number of books there, if you are in to that kind of thing… Those boys playing ball by it are two of Papahl's quadruplets… moving on, as this here is the sight to see..."
Tarin led Link to the edge of a small cliff, the first of a series leading down to the shoreline. The overlook was admittedly quite impressive, enough so that Link was able to put his embarrassing encounter with BowWow behind him. He tried to spot any sign of his wreckage but could see nothing on the beach other than a little movement near the water that he assumed must have been the mentioned monsters.
Tarin could tell what Link was trying to do. "You won't be able to see anything from here. We found you further down to our left."
"Is the path simple from here?"
"Pretty much."
"Alright then. I'll lead the way if you don't mind."
Tarin waved that he was satisfied and followed Link on the winding trail down. Though Link was more interested in finding his sword along with anything else that may have made it to land, Tarin still wanted to talk.
"You know, Link, you seem really confident that you can take on these monsters. Do you have any experience fighting?"
Linked smirked thinly. "You could say that."
"And you've had success?"
"Generally, yes... I've had my regrets, though."
"How do you deal with them?"
Link stopped and turned to Tarin thoughtfully. "Try not to think about them too much. If that doesn't work, I try to remember the good instead. I've made a few mistakes along the way, but I'm not sure Hyrule would exist anymore without me acting, and I would have lost a lot more. Which is why I need to get back… because the kingdom might call on me again."
Link nodded to himself and continued on. Despite a few obstacles that had to be navigated, the trip was relatively easy. There were a few monsters in the distance that appeared to be small octoroks, but they didn't bother the two.
After passing through a segment of the trail spanning a thin gap between two tall cliffs, Tarin put a hand on Link's shoulder.
"It was just down that way that Marin found you."
Link thanked him and ran ahead down to the shore. The beach was littered with splinters for a stretch of about thirty yards with the occasional larger fragment of wood from either the hull or a supply barrel. Regardless, there was nothing so large or heavy as a sword.
The more Link thought about it, the more he realized just how illogical it was to think he could find it. He kicked the sand in annoyance, but frustratingly determined that he couldn't give up. He mumbled to himself as he dug through piles of sand trying to find the blade. Tarin watched silently out of pity as well as a slight fear at Link's apparent insanity.
Link only looked up again when he heard Tarin make an audible grunt. He watched as Tarin clutched his side and collapsed onto the beach.
"Ah… ah, Link! Get this thing off of me!"
Link groaned to himself. It was nothing more than a tiny octorok that anyone should have been able to outrun that had put Tarin on the ground. Tarin had turned out to be more trouble bringing along than he was worth. It would have been easier if he had just asked for some simple directions and figured out the rest himself. Not that it mattered, though. Link was the more foolish of the two for actually thinking he had a chance at finding his sword.
Link pushed himself off the sand to go help the other man. Though he didn't have his sword, he could finish the octorok harassing Tarin with a simple kick. When Link began to walk back towards him, though, he tripped over something in the sand and nearly tumbled back down to the ground. Link looked down to identify the cause of his misfortune, which turned out to be a piece of rope attached to a small post.
Link quickly realized what it was as he pulled on the end of the rope that led out to the ocean. As he reeled it in, his sword was drawn out of the water and onto the shore. He remembered from his dream that he had tied it up just before the storm hit to help keep it from sinking in case it was thrown overboard. It was a good thing he had. Even so, it was incredibly fortunate timing in finding it- almost too much so to be coincidental.
Tarin held one hand to his rib that the octorok had shot a rock and used the other to aid his attempt to scramble away from the monster. "Link, I could really use so-."
He stopped himself midsentence as he watched a sword hurled through the air penetrate the octorok's side and launch it a few yards before the octorok tipped over dead. A few seconds later, Link approached and helped him off the ground.
"…Nice throw," Tarin managed to grumble over his pain. "Was pitching the sword really necessary, though?"
"I wasn't going to hit you," Link said with a smile, "But I guess not. Are you going to be alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, but I might need some help getting home."
Link assisted Tarin in putting an arm over his shoulder before beginning the trek back. They only made it a few steps before a strange voice interrupted them from above.
"So… you are the lad who owns the sword."
Both Tarin and Link looked up to search for the speaker. Link raised an eyebrow when he saw it was a small owl standing on a rock outcropping.
"… Excuse me?"
"Now I understand why the monsters are starting to act so violently," the owl continued in a voice that was disarmingly both similar to that of a human while also sounding slightly unnatural. "A courageous lad has come to wake the Wind Fish."
"Actually I'm just trying to get off the Island," Link replied curtly. If the owl bothered them for much longer, Link was ready to give the sword another good throw.
"But the second must accompany the first. It is said that you cannot leave the island unless you wake the Wind Fish."
"Or I could take a boat," Link mumbled.
"You have much to learn, lad. You should now go north to the Mysterious Forest. I will wait for you there."
Without further warning other than a final hoot, the owl took off from its perch on the cliff. Link looked back down to Tarin.
"Mysterious Forest? Is there anything of interest there?"
"I don't usually go all that far in. 'specially since the monsters started showing up. There are some nice toadstools, though. Might see if any of them can help with the swelling."
Link had been preoccupied enough by the owl that he had nearly forgotten about Tarin's injury. Marin wasn't going to be happy.
