Responses: (From now on I only respond to questions or something I want to comment on, it takes too much space to just acknowledge everyone)
Outofstategrl: I'll explain a bit more about the sages in a later chapter, but it's not that important, so don't worry about it. Thanks for reviewing.
Kala: Yeah, but they take longer to make when they are longer. So it all evens out…
HerofTimes: Ok, I'm going to try and answer all your questions. First of all, we can just assume Link has his "super-accessible-inter-dimensional- pocket" to make things easy. They never did explain what debt the fishman was paying, so my suggestion is forget about it. This Link DID go to Termina I guess; we just assume he made it back ok to live the rest of his life before the events of my prologue. The other Koroks won't remember him because he was never anything important to them, just someone who vanished. Midp remembers picking on him, and then feeling bad about it, and how much Saria liked him. The coliseum is actually a little reference to another story I wrote, sort of an "easter egg" for anyone who read that. Farore's Wind might be used, I'll see if it's needed. The forbidden woods might be a section of the lost woods, I don't really know. Last, the sages sort of exist, and… well, I'm going to explain that later in the story. Whew. A lot of questions. Thanks for all the reviews though, I don't mind questions.
Simbiot2.0: Hmm… I could do something like that, this story is pretty popular… I'll think about it.
"What… what has happened to this place?" The King of Red Lions gasped. Naito peered over his head towards the island they had set out for. There was a large cloud over it, and it was surrounded by a thin fog. As if on queue, it began to rain.
They coasted through the fog, docking on the beach. "It appears we are too late. Ganon has already been here." The boat said sorrowfully.
Link and Naito looked around. The island was wrecked, covered in rubble and shattered rock and trees. There were scorch marks all over. "What about that Jabun guy you were talking about?" Naito asked.
"HOY!!! Link, Naito!" called a voice. The two Links spun to see Quill fighting some winds as he glided down to them. "Here you are! I have been looking for you two."
"Why?" Naito asked.
"I… I have made a mistake. I suppose you are looking for Jabun, the water spirit? Don't worry, he was able to flee and hide." Quill explained.
"Where?" Naito asked.
"… On the island where you were born. On Outset."
Naito gritted his teeth. Quill continued, "Yes… but even if you went there now, you would not get in. A great stone slab repels all who approach it. Even the pirates' mighty ship could not get in. That is where I made my mistake. I told them everything, thinking they would know where you were. Luckily they did not break in, and oddly enough, they left your village alone completely. They are on Windfall now. You should head there immediately, for if they return to Outset they may not show the same restraint."
Naito nodded. Link thanked him. He nodded back, preparing to take flight. "What an eerie isle this is… Valoo called it cursed. I advise against staying here for long." He said, taking off with only this grim warning.
Naito ran for the boat, with Link following. They hopped in, taking their positions. "So, Jabun still lives. We should go to Windfall immediately, perhaps we can find out how to get to Jabun." The King of Red Lions said, as Naito adjusted the wind.
They set sail, and instantly realized it would not be easy. The waves buffeted them from side to side, and the wind tore through their meagre tunics. They were drenched by rain, and there was roaring wind and thunder. Talking was almost impossible.
The trip normally was about two hours. It took them four, but at least it calmed down as they approached the island. After the deafening storm, the silence seemed almost painful. They docked at Windfall, disembarking quickly.
"Oh, by the way…" The boat spoke up. "You may want to try the bomb shop over there. That would be a good place to start when it comes to destroying things."
Link nodded. "I would have had bombs myself, but I was out when I… I left my home." He covered up quickly.
Naito wasn't paying attention anyway; he was running up to the shop. Link jogged after him. Naito tried to open the door, but it was locked. "Now what?" Naito asked.
"You really want to get inside?" Link asked. Naito nodded.
"There's always a way." Link said, walking to the edge of the shop. It was perched at the edge of a small drop into the ocean, but there was a small ledge beside it. He was able to sidle along to the more spacious back area. Naito followed. The two of them climbed some ivy to get on the roof. They both saw a small tunnel that led inside, and could hear faint voices from inside.
"Bingo." Naito said as the two crawled over to it.
"Can you fit?" Link asked.
"Of course!" Naito exclaimed, getting down on his stomach. Using his arms, he pulled himself inside.
He pulled himself out the other side, finding himself on a loft above the store. He crawled to the edge, peeking down. He saw the store owner tied up and gagged in a corner first, then saw a bunch of pirates. He recognized Tetra and Gonzo, and there were four other pirates he didn't know.
"Ugh, hurry up. This guy's whining is really bugging the hell out of me." Tetra said, jerking her thumb at the store owner.
"Hey, shut your mouth ya' greedy bastard. Think of this as payback for the little monopoly you been runnin' here, yeah?" Gonzo barked at him. He cowered.
"That'll shut him up. Bet he's thinking twice about tryin' to rip off pirates."
Gonzo nodded, but quickly said, "Get back to work Mako."
Mako shot him a dirty look, and started packing more bombs into boxes. "But seriously Gonzo. That was pretty damn clever, you getting that info from the postman. I always thought you were dumb as an ox."
Gonzo looked proud. "Yeah, I just acted like I was worried about that kid there, and he spills the beans." He boasted.
"Quit bragging. Get your ass back to work!" Tetra barked. "As soon as you slackers get all this crap on the boat, we're setting sail."
"WHAT? We have to leave tonight? But… but we just got here! It's been ages since we got to relax. We need some good grub, and we got all excited about coming here. Can't we leave tomorrow? Who's with me?" Gonzo exclaimed.
"Well…"
"Might be nice…"
"Y-yeah…"
"Whatever Miss Tetra says…"
Tetra looked at all the pirates who had just spoken. "Ugh. You're all fools, you hear? You saw the island! You saw the destruction. We don't want the same thing to happen at Outset, do we?" She said.
Mako, the short guy in glasses looked at her oddly. "Huh? Not to be disrespectful or anythin' but it sounds like you care more 'bout that there island then you do about the treasure!"
"Don't be ridiculous!" Tetra snapped. "You know I want the treasure!"
Then, an odd thing happened. She slowly turned her head, and looked up at Naito and winked. He tried to back up, but he knew she saw him. He cringed, waiting for the inevitable…
"Alright, fine. You get the night. But we leave at first light, so no sleeping late! Got it!" Tetra said to the pirates.
"Aye-aye!" They chorused.
With that, they all picked up as many crates as they could carry and left together.
Naito backed out through the tunnel. Link was sitting there, waiting. "Well?" He asked.
"They leave tomorrow. We can probably steal some bombs from their ship; they're all going to town tonight." Naito explained.
"Really? Perfect. Come on, their ship is over here." Link said, hopping off the roof. The two ran over to a high section of cliff overlooking the pirate ship. Link hopped down gracefully, rolling as he hit the ground. Naito jumped down, clumsily landing with a cry and tumbling onto his stomach.
Link helped him up after rolling his eyes, and the two headed for the door leading beneath the ship. It was locked, so Naito rapped sharply three times.
"What's the password?" Squeaked a voice from inside.
"Now what?" Naito asked. Link turned around as if to leave, took a few steps, then spun and slammed into the door full tilt with his shoulder. There was a snapping sound and it swung inward. They both stepped inside to see Niko a few feet away, unconscious.
They stepped over him, and headed down the stairs to the hold. They saw crates upon crates of stuff, mostly bombs. Link immediately began stuffing them into his bomb bag. Naito found a bomb bag among the other stuff, and began doing the same. They finally filled up, and were about to leave when Tetra's voice suddenly rang out from Naito's stone.
"So. Think you're pretty clever taking bombs from pirates? You only got them because we left Niko, the eternal idiot. Well, you know the deal. We're here for the night, so you have a chance. But if you take too long, we'll go sailing right by you and take the treasure for ourselves!" She told them, before the stone grew silent.
"Come on, we have to hurry. Only a few hours before dawn, I bet." Link said.
The two of them made tracks for the boat, setting sail to the south. The seas were very calm for a while, but they soon hit a storm again. Link struggled with the rudder to keep the boat steady, Naito doing the same with the sail. Link tried to spy the moon through the clouds to see how much time they had, but it was impossible. He suddenly remembered the clock, and yelled at Naito to pass it to him. Naito tossed it to him, and he wiped the water off its surface before checking it. They had about two hours until dawn, plus however long it would take the pirates to get there.
They were hit by a particularly violent wave, and when Link looked back to the front he saw Naito was gone. He swore, looking around. He saw a flash of green go under, and dove in after it. The water was ice cold and he almost passed out from the shock. He could barely see five feet around him, but he swam forward anyway. He caught a flash of a figure and darted down after it. He found Naito struggling to get back to the surface, and he grabbed him by the wrists before towing him back to the boat. They managed to get back in without flipping, and continued sailing.
They made it just as dawn broke. They knew the pirate ship would get here much faster than they did, so they sailed around behind the island immediately. They found a large chunk of rock with symbols carved into it around back.
"So… now what?" Naito asked, realising they had no way of using bombs here.
"I'm equipped." The boat said. Suddenly a small cannon unfolded from a small area on the floor. Naito looked surprised, but said nothing and put a bomb in. It fired automatically, and the bomb slammed into the area beside the stone blocking the cave. He adjusted the cannon's position, and fired again.
Three direct hits and it crumbled. Without hesitation, the two sailed into the dark cave within.
AN: Rats. I hate writing chapters without action. Oh well! Please review.