Ok, so... um... SORRY! Sorry sorry sorry SORRY! I know this chapter took like forever, mostly because I was working on my other story so much and because I had so much writer's block with this! So I was kinda forced to come up with this chapter as I wrote it so... heheheh... But because I got a Wii U with Wind Waker HD for Christmas (oh Happy new year btw!), I was inspired by it to write some more for this and this is what I have to show for it! So thanks to everyone who has reviewed and followed/favorited! I'll try not to let you guys down again! Now, let's get started!
Chapter 3: Old Friends
"We're all living together, even if most folks don't act like it. We all have the same roots and we are all branches of the same tree."
-Huu, Avatar: The Last Airbender
The northerly night gales changed their course to blow to the northeast the moment Link used the Wind Waker to play the Wind's Requiem. Though his thoughts were still on Tetra and their failed reunion, he remembered that the pirate girl had left the magical baton behind when she had fled the island and so the hero returned to the house to reclaim it, knowing it would aid him in his travels. Link wasn't entirely sure where to go or what to do though. Upon returning to the Great Sea, his sole concern had been finding Tetra and little else. But from what little he had gathered from her, the majority of the Great Sea seemed to think that he had been dead for the better half of five years. What if all of his old friends from years ago believed the same thing as her and refused to accept that he had returned? What if his family refused to accept it?
His family! Admittedly, up until now, Link hadn't really thought too much about Aryll and Grandma, mostly because he had been so excited about seeing Tetra again. But as he raised the King of Red Lions' sail to depart Outset, fond memories of them came rushing back to them. Over the past five years he had missed them terribly, perhaps as much as he had missed Tetra. Link had expected to reunite with his little family upon returning home to Outset, but clearly they were not there, and neither was anyone else. But all the same, the hero figured that even though his meeting with the pirate captain had been an absolute failure, perhaps his sister and grandmother would accept his return with a little more warmth. Convincing Tetra was just going to have to wait.
"So…" Ciela said somewhat hesitantly, breaking the lingering silence between them as the small boat started to propel itself across the waves. "Where to now?"
Link frowned as he tried to come up with an answer for this question. Since Outset was abandoned, he had no idea where to find Aryll and Grandma now. Even from the lone island he had seen so far, it was obvious that the Great Sea really had changed over the past five years that he had been gone. For all he knew, there was a good chance that it hardly resembled the same ocean that he had sailed nearly every inch of when he was a boy. And so, the hero simply shrugged, deciding to do what he normally did when he was at a loss. "I guess we'll go where the wind takes us," he said resolutely as the two of them sailed off into the night.
The morning sun was just starting to rise over the Great Sea, painting its waters a soft shade of golden blue. As the new day began, the King of Red Lions cut through the waters at a steady pace, guided only by the wind, as it had been since Link and Ciela left Outset Island. The fairy flittered a little ways ahead of the boat, keeping a careful eye out for any nearby notable landmarks and allowing the hero to get some sleep as they sailed along. Yet even though the events of the previous evening had worn Link out to some degree, his rest was fitful, full of dreams of Tetra and how he hoped their next meeting would go. Certainly, the hero theorized, the pirate girl would come around sooner or later and see the truth. But at the same time, he wasn't really sure why she had been so frazzled upon seeing him again in the first place. It was true that a span of five long years had separated them, and during that time, much had changed. And of course, there was also the fact that she had thought that he had been dead for all five of those years, which didn't help his case much. Now, Tetra was just as cold and untouchable towards him as she had been when they first met, only now with an extra layer of bitterness. If she would only give the hero time to explain where he had went and why he had been gone so long, then maybe there was a chance that their former friendship could be repaired. If she was willing to give him that chance at all.
"Link!" Ciela's frantic cry was what woke the hero up with a start. He bolted upright into a sitting position on board the small wooden boat, the sudden motion nearly tipping it over.
"What? What is it?" he asked in alarm, looking up at the panicking fairy as she beat her wings anxiously a few feet above his head.
"I spotted a group of monsters up ahead!" she said breathlessly, flittering a ways ahead to direct his gaze to the dark silhouettes floating above the waters afar in the distance. From looking at their shapes, Link could tell that they were most likely Seahats, a pesky variety of nautical creatures that he used to encounter quite frequently during his first journey upon the Great Sea. However, the hero was perplexed about seeing them now. Almost immediately after Ganondorf's defeat five years prior, Link and Tetra had noticed that the monster population of the Great Sea had disappeared completely, and during the several months that they had sailed together, they had encountered not so much as a malevolent creature once. What, then, could be the reasoning behind their sudden reappearance now?
The hero frowned as he mused over this, but nonetheless, he took proper control of the King of Red Lion's sail once more and started in the direction of the brood of beasts, preparing the ship's small cannon as the boat propelled forward. As usual, the fairy flew a little ways ahead to scout, but a moment or two later, she came speeding back down to report something even more urgent then the monsters' initial appearance.
"I think those monsters are attacking someone!" Ciela said with horror. "They're surrounding this poor girl and trying to knock her out of the sky. Here's the strangest thing though: she had wings!"
Link's eyes widened upon hearing this, gaining a pretty good idea about who she was talking about and knowing that he had to go to the girl's rescue with haste. The moment the King of Red Lions was in range of the Seahats, the hero fired off a bomb into the cluster of five or six of them. Luckily, the blast was a direct hit, staking down one of the beasts and fending off another. However, as they got closer to the marauding creatures, Link found that he was unable to spot the girl that Ciela had told him about, but nonetheless, he got in closer, using the cannon to shot off bombs at the Seahats the entire time. The strong projectiles made easy work of most of the flying creatures, save for one, which was hovering in small circles suspiciously close to the surface of the water for some reason. It took a few tries, but eventually, Link managed to shoot the final Seahat out of the air, and it splashed into the nearby ocean, defeated. In its place however, something else started thrashing about in the waters, clearly trying to keep afloat amidst the rolling waves. "Help!" a distraught, waterlogged voice called out, desperate to get out the water before drowning. Fortunately for them, the hero didn't hesitate to sail their way and he did so, his suspicion about their identity was confirmed, much to his shock and dismay.
"Medli!" Link called out to the struggling Rito girl, who had been a good friend of his before he left the Great Sea. Though half of her was submerged in the sea, it was clear to see that Medli had grown up as well from the young, somewhat shy girl she had been five years prior into a pretty young woman, but the hero had no time to focus on that now. Rather, he leaned over the side of the boat as much as he could and grasped on of the panicking Rito girl's flailing arms. Not bothering to pay much mind to who her rescuer was at the moment and just wanting to get out of the cold sea waters, Medli attempted to give her other arm to Link, but she cried out in pain as she did so. The hero took this as a sign that it was a sign that her other arm was either sprained or broken thanks to the monster attack, and so he decided to leap into the water after her to get her out. Despite the fact that it was autumn and the salty ocean water was quite frigid already, Link ignored it as he swam to Medli's side and took her good arm, placing it on his own shoulder so he could help her stay afloat. He quickly guided them both back to the boat and helped the Rito girl hoist herself on board before he did so himself. They both took several moments to compose themselves, recovering from the shock of the freezing water as well as the strain of the whole ordeal. Medli was out of it longer than Link, as she coughed up some of the sea water that she had accidentally swallowed as she had almost drowned. Upon recovering as much as she could, the Rito girl cradled her aching arm, moaning in pain as she tried to move it.
"Oh, thank you," Medli said breathlessly as she finally turned around to face her rescuer. But upon seeing the hero behind her, she gasped in shock, her scarlet eyes widening in disbelief and slight fear. "Link… Is that really you?"
The hero gave her an amused smile, glad to see that she seemed to be taking his return better than Tetra had. "Yes, Medli," he said with a nod. "It's really me."
"But… how?" she asked, her jaw still dropped in awe as she examined him. "The pirates said that you died five years ago when you went aboard some Ghost Ship and it went down with you on it. How in the world did you survive something like that?"
"It's a long story," Link said with a small laugh that seemed to ease the Rito girl's surprise. She managed to give him a small smile in return, showing the hero that she believed that he truly had come back.
"Well should tell it to me sometime," Medli said, keeping her playful grin, though she dropped it for a brief moment as she grimaced from the pain in her arm. She got over it quickly though, which allowed the hero to take in how much his old friend had changed over the years in her physical appearance. Her red hair, though soaking wet at the moment like the rest of her, still flowed almost down to her feet in a low ponytail. Her frame, though more mature and womanly, was still slight, petite and delicate as he remembered it being years ago. Likewise, her facial features were still feminine and pretty, her bright red eyes, yellow Rito beak and dark pink lips standing out against her porcelain pale skin. She wore a grey dress similar to the one she used to wear when she was younger, only now a golden belt was clasped around her waist and from it hung a banner bearing the golden image of the Triforce, symbolizing the Rito girl's role as the Sage of Earth.
"I can hardly believe that you're back, Link…" Medli said with a small, yet happy smile, shaking her head as she glanced away from him. "We all thought we'd never see you again. You should have seen how upset Prince Komali was when he found out about your… 'death' and… well, I was pretty upset over it too. You mean a lot to all of us Rito on Dragon Roost; you saved us after all."
The hero's cheeks grew red at the compliment, but at the same time, he was glad that he had finally come across someone who had accepted his return with open arms. He had so many questions to ask the Rito girl about the current state of the Great Sea and its denizens, so many that he didn't even know where to start with them all. So, he decided to go with the simplest one he had first. "Medli," he began, catching the gleeful girl's attention. "What were you doing out here in the middle of the ocean by yourself anyway?"
"Oh, that's right!" she exclaimed, placing her palm to her forehead in embarrassment. "If I should tell anyone about this, it should be you, Link! Recently, some strange things have been happening all around the Great Sea. Storms have been striking the islands a lot harder and more frequently than they normally do, and as you could see for yourself, monsters have been popping up all over the place, both on land and sea! Why, just yesterday, a whole army of Moblins appeared on Dragon Roost out of nowhere and started swarming the place, attacking everyone! Luckily, no one was too badly hurt, but all of the Rito have barricaded themselves within the aerie and they're all scared senseless. Even the great Valoo couldn't stop the monsters from coming. They just keep showing up in huge numbers, storming our island nonstop. So, late last night, I decided that I was going to do something about it. I figured that maybe if I went to pray at the Earth Temple, then the gods would hear me and send us aid. I left before anyone could stop me, but as I was flying, I was attacked by those monsters you just defeated! They caught me by surprise and hit me in the wing, completely knocking me out of the sky and I think they sprained my arm as well. But again, I can't thank you enough for saving me, Link. We Rito can't swim at all; we're meant to be in the air, not the sea. If you hadn't come along when you did, I could have drowned!"
"Don't mention it, Medli," Link said with a smile and a nod. "I'm just glad I made it to you in time." He paused for a moment, thinking on what she had just told him about monsters appearing all over the Great Sea and it immediately made him worry. From the way she spoke, this had only started recently, but the fact that trouble was brewing on the once-peaceful ocean made the hero suspicious and anxious. And while he had a million other questions for the Rito girl, he pressed this concern on further first. "What do you think is making the monsters come back?" he asked with seriousness in his tone.
Medli frowned and shrugged. "Who knows?" she said with a sigh. "All I know is, with my wing beat up like this, there's no way I'll be flying all the way down to the Earth Temple now. And I really thought I could help my people…" She paused and shook her head in regret before turning to the hero once more, her expression lightening. "But now, maybe I don't have to since you've returned, Link. You couldn't have come back to us at a better time. The Great Sea needs your strength and courage now more than ever."
"I won't let any of you down," Link said firmly, resolved to take care of whatever presence was disrupting the fragile balance of the Great Sea. "I'll get to the bottom of this and put an end to this. I promise." After all, he had expected everything to be calm and at peace upon his long-awaited return, but now it was clear to him that this was not the case. And in light of that, he was ready to do whatever he had to in order to restore peace to the sea that he had pined to return to for so long.
"I'm glad," Medli said with a warm smile of gratitude. "This whole ocean and everyone upon it is indebted to you, Link. It's so good to know that we didn't lose you after all." She was silent for a brief moment before giving him a curious smirk. "By the way, Link," she said playfully, raising an eyebrow at him. "What were you doing out here in the middle of nowhere so early in the morning?"
The hero laughed, amused by her somewhat flirtatious manner, something that was definitely new for Medli, who used to be so soft spoken and careful in her words. "Honestly, I don't even know," he answered truthfully, allowing the Rito girl to giggle at his response. "I just came back to the Great Sea last night, and so I wanted to go see if I could find my sister and grandmother. You wouldn't happen to know where they've been living since Outset was destroyed, do you?"
Medli grinned from ear to ear with both excitement and pride. "As a matter of fact, I do," she said, clasping her hands together. "I don't know if you knew this or not, but ever since you saved the Great Sea the first time, you and your family became something of celebrities, at least among my people. I heard that while your adorable little sister was in the care of the pirates, they took her to see Dragon Roost and all of the Rito instantly fell in love with her." The Rito girl giggled brightly before she continued. "Anyway, I also heard that after the storm that wiped Outset out, most of the people who used to live there, including your sister and grandmother, moved to Windfall Island, which fortunately for you, we're only a few miles south of right now."
The girl's wide grin did not diminish when she saw the excitement in Link's eyes upon hearing this news. He was so close to seeing his family again after being apart from them for so many years. The very thought filled him elation and he could hardly wait to see both of them again.
Before Link could say a word, however, Medli broke through his train of thought with another laugh. "But I'm guessing they're not the only ones you've been wanting to see for the past five years, huh?" she asked, giving him a sly wink. "I bet you missed Tetra like crazy, right?"
The hero's excitement and joy faded slightly upon mention of the pirate girl, remembering how much he truly did miss her and even though he got to see her mere hours ago, it hadn't even felt real because of how quickly she had fled. "I… I already saw her," he said quietly, averting the Rito girl's gaze.
"Oh…" Medli said as her grin faded into a more cautious expression as she noticed his melancholy. Though she was curious about it, she could tell that it was a sore subject for him, so she decided not to press it any more for his sake. "Hey, I have an idea!" she said brightly, hoping to get off the topic and turn to something else. "Since I can't just fly back to Dragon Roost because of my wing, why don't I come with you to Windfall and then, after you've visited with your family for a bit, you can give me a ride back home? What do you say?"
Link gave her a smile, deciding to leave his thoughts of Tetra behind for the moment and turn them instead to his family. "Sure, Medli," he said with a positive nod. "Let's go."
The next hour or so that it took to get to Windfall was spent almost entirely in conversation. Medli filled Link in on many of the major happenings that had occurred over the span of his five-year absence, but interestingly enough, there hadn't been that many. The Great Sea had changed rather gradually and naturally over the past few years, in both subtle and obvious ways. But either way, the two friends were also able to catch up with one another personally, and the Rito girl even confided in the hero about her growing mutual relationship with Prince Komali, whom she spoke very highly of. Since Medli was quite curious about Link's adventures of the past five years, he told her the whole story, introducing her to Ciela and telling her all about the World of the Ocean King, how he had gotten there, his quest to save it, how he had spent his time there and how he had gotten back home. The only thing he didn't tell her about in full was his meeting with Tetra, but the Rito girl was not one to pry too much. Over all, it proved as a good chance for the two of them to reform the bond of friendship that they had formed when they first met years ago and for Link, it was a way for him to not only learn more about the current state of the Great Sea; reuniting with Medli was a way to help him reconnect with his past without dwelling on bittersweet thoughts of the pirate girl.
The sun was shining bright in the mid-morning sky by the time Link, Medli and Ciela had made it close to Windfall Island. Like Outset, the place had expectantly changed within the past five years, but unlike the hero's native home, the market island had expanded and grown. A full harbor, lined with boats of various shapes and sizes, had been built towards the island's eastern side, replacing the small dock that had once stood there. To accommodate this addition and the change it made to Windfall's already large population, several new dwellings had been built, mostly in a series of small apartments nestled atop preexisting buildings. Clearly, the island could no longer be called a simple town; it had evolved into a full scale city, the largest one upon the Great Sea by far.
"Windfall was forced to expand when more than half of the people from Outset moved here," Medli explained to Link as they approached one of the island's numerous docks. "It's kind of sad actually; aside from Dragon Roost, it's really the only island left on the Great Sea where a large number of people live."
"Why don't they just spread out to the other islands?" the hero asked, knowing that there were plenty of places upon the Great Sea that would support small towns and villages.
The Rito girl shrugged. "I guess it's because they don't really want to go off and face the unknown," she said as the King of Red Lions finally arrived beside an empty dock. She continued as the two of them hopped out of the boat and started to head up the harbor to go into town. "They feel safe here on this island. They don't know anything else and they don't really want to know anything else… Oh, but listen to me go on. Why don't you go try to find where your family lives, Link? I actually have a few errands I have to run here, so I'll catch up with you later, ok?"
The hero nodded in agreement with this plan and the two of them parted ways. Taking to the main section of the bustling town, Link came across quite a few familiar faces as he went along, all of them awed by the fact that he was somehow alive. It was clear that the pirate's had spread word of his disappearance far and wide across the sea, but most everyone accepted the brief explanation he gave them as to where he had been for the past five years. It seemed as though the only person who had not come to terms with it was still Tetra, though for what reason, the hero had no idea.
After asking around a bit, Link eventually discovered that Aryll and Grandma really did currently live on Windfall Island, just as Medli had said. According to most of the townsfolk, the two of them lived in a little apartment in the island's residential quarter, where most of the former residents of Outset lived. And soon enough, the hero found himself standing in front of the door of the small residence that he had been directed to, the place where he was going to reunite with his family after so many years of being apart.
Ciela, picking up on his hesitation as he simply stood and stared at the door for several minutes, spoke up, somewhat startling him with her bright voice. "Well?" she asked expectantly. "What are you waiting for? Aren't you gonna knock?"
"Yeah," Link said somewhat defensively, not wanting to seem too apprehensive, even though he was. "It's just… well, what if they react like Tetra did?"
"I doubt they will," the fairy said encouragingly. "I bet they'll be overjoyed to find out that you're still alive and they'll welcome you in with open arms."
"You really think so?"
Ciela nodded and with that, Link took in a deep breath, preparing for the overflow of emotions he knew would come once that door opened. And, placing any final reservations behind, including the memory of his failed reunion with the pirate girl, he knocked on the door.
Aryll hummed quietly to herself as she prepared lunch for herself and her grandmother. The girl had easily been through much in her short thirteen years, but by far the hardest blow that she had ever been faced with was the loss of her older brother, whom she had loved and idolized so much. It had been hard enough for her when he had left their former home on Outset to find adventure on the open sea with the pirate girl and her crew, but when she discovered that those same seas had claimed his life, it was too much for her to bear. Aryll had spent weeks mourning over Link, struggling to believe that she would never see her beloved brother ever again. It was only thanks to Grandma being strong for both of them, that the girl managed to make it through the heavy grief at all. Even after Outset was destroyed, the two women had each other for support, as they moved to Windfall and created a new life for themselves. They were far from well off, as their small three room apartment could show for, but they had each other, and that was enough.
But even still, neither Aryll nor Grandma could forget that their small family had grown even smaller. Even five years later, there was hardly a time that either of them simply mentioning Link didn't bring tears along with it. For the elderly woman, the pain of losing the boy she had raised ever since his and his sister's parents passed away, the boy whom she was so very proud of for all he had accomplished and the kind of person he had become, was immense in its own way. But for the young girl, she had to endure the pain of losing not just her brother, but also her role model and rescuer. He had braved untold horrors to save her from the treacherous Forsaken Fortress years ago, and yet he had met his end at sea at such a young age, only a year younger than how old Aryll was now. Needless to say, both of the women held a great sadness in their hearts over the lost hero, a sadness that would most likely never fade away with the passage of time.
The girl thought of her brother as she worked on her meal in the small kitchenette of the apartment, glancing over her shoulder to look at her grandmother, who was sitting in her chair in the living area. Since Grandma wasn't as young or as able as she used to be, most tasks and responsibilities fell to Aryll now, but the girl didn't mind. She enjoyed cooking and cleaning, and she loved to go into to the bustling, exciting town to run errands for her grandmother. She had always been happy to help where ever she was needed, a quality that, as Grandma often said, would make her a wonderful wife and mother someday.
"Lunch is almost ready, Grandma," Aryll called to the elderly woman with a small smile.
"Alright, dear," Grandma returned her warm smile with a nod, as she started to get up from her chair before the girl stopped her.
"Oh, don't get up, Grandma," the girl said, wiping her wet hands on a towel. "I'll bring it in to you."
"Why thank you, Aryll," the elderly woman's smile grew. "You're so helpful… Oh, if only your brother could see how much you've grown…"
Aryll's smile faded into a look of sadness upon the mention of the hero. "Grandma?" she said a bit hesitantly as she moved out of the kitchen and into the living area to sit in the chair beside her grandmother. "Do… do you ever wonder what it would be like if… if he were still around?"
Grandma frowned and opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, a sudden knock sounded at the front door. "Now, who could that be?" Aryll asked as she rose from her seat. The elderly woman offered to answer it, but the girl just grinned and shook her head. "No, don't worry, Grandma. I'll get it."
The girl headed for the door hastily, hardly giving a second thought as to who could be knocking, and started to offer a greeting as she opened it. "Hello, may I help-" Her words caught in her throat as she saw who was standing at the door and she froze, her jaw dropped in absolute awe as she stared at the hero in complete disbelief.
Likewise, Link stared at his little sister in amazement, stunned at how much she had grown during his absence. She was no longer the plucky little girl he had left behind on Outset years ago. Instead, she was now starting to become a young woman, something that the hero hadn't really anticipated. He realized that she was thirteen now, but she looked older than that based on her already feminine, yet delicate figure. She was still quite a ways shorter than him, but her sunshine blonde hair had grown from its former shoulder length and was now tied up in two neat braids that hung a little past her shoulders. She wore a floor-length blue hibiscus-print sundress dress, sown of the same fabric that her favorite childhood dress had been made of. Her eyes were still bright and cheerful, though with an added layer of maturity and responsibility added to them. At the moment though, the hero wanted nothing more than to embrace his dear little sister and make up for all of the years that he had lost with her. But he could find no words to say to her as the two of them simply gaped at each other, having no idea what to do next.
Aryll took in the appearance of the person before her, and she knew without question that it had to be her older brother. And though her mind was filled with millions of questions for him, she only had one that she needed answered at the moment. "Link… Is… that really you?" she asked timidly, her heart beating fast as she hoped and prayed that it truly was, not even caring how it could be possible.
The hero found that he could do little else but nod in response to her question. But he knew that it wouldn't be enough for Aryll, who had always been the kind of girl who wanted words more than anything else. "Yes," he said, taking in a deep breath as he prepared for whatever was about to come next. "It really is."
After another silent moment, Aryll's look of shock lifted into one of sheer joy as she embraced her long-lost brother and held on tight, tears of happiness starting to stream down her cheeks. "I missed you so much," she whispered as her grip on him tightened. Link, though surprised at her immediate acceptance of him, returned her hug and smiled warmly as well, not only because he was finally reunited with his beloved younger sister, but because for the first time since he returned to the Great Sea, he finally felt like he was home again.
Yay! Another chapter finished! I hope you guys enjoyed this one, even if it seemed like not a lot actually happened! But I'm glad to bring Medli and Aryll into the story, as they are going to be very important characters later on (and they're 2 of my favorite Wind Waker characters to begin with!). So, next time, I'm thinking we'll focus on Tetra for a bit and have some angst and foreshadowing (oh and for those of you who think Tetra's not really acting like her usual brash, headstrong self in this story, don't worry, she's going to revert to her usual ways in the next chapter for the most part!) and then we'll come back to Link and from there, well I am actually not sure yet. We'll see what happens as it comes along! So anyway, REVIEW and until next time!