Terminan Sea
The sky was partly cloudy as twilight began to shine on the frozen sea. Link was leisurely steering the ship, sailing through the ice as if it were liquid, albeit having to maneuver around mini icebergs (the ice-cutters could only cut surface-level ice). Link decided to try outfits on Ayri, fitting her with smaller pigtails, a dress with flowers, and sandals. He set the personality to 'Playful.' "So, Link, do I really look like your sister? Huh, do I?"
"You're a spitting image, Ayri!"
"I guess this means I gotta call you Big Brother now! Do I get to pull pranks and take your toys?"
"That sounds great, Ayri!" Link said with a chuckle. He sighed and looked out at the sea. He hadn't seen his little sister in two years. They had barely spent any time together before he left, and it didn't help that she was kidnapped on his birthday. No doubt, he wanted Ayri to look like Aryll to fill in the void in his heart. "I would like to see her, too, Link." He spoke with his twin voices. "Wait, what?!"
"Hey, Link, you talkin' to no one?" Ayri surprised him from behind. "Look, we're almost there! See? It's Picori Island!" Before them was a vast jungle island with mushrooms that outgrew the trees. The ice was melted around the island, but the water was a sickly purple. "Scans indicate poisonous water surrounding the island. Our Sheikah Sailor can withstand the poison, but it's not a good place for a swim, huh?"
They sailed down a river leading into the island and parked at a dock. At first glance, the jungle had very exotic plants and large fruits growing on the trees. The fruits had the same sickly purple color as the water. "Picori Island is the homeland of all the Minish on the Terminan Sea, named after their tribal language. Sailors come here in search of the rich, organic foods produced by the Minish. At least, that's what my data says. But those fruits don't look very tasty to me, Link."
"Yeah, something is wrong here. Maybe some of the locals can tell us." (Play "Forgotten Isle 2" from Super Mario Odyssey!)
Stage 3: Picori Island
Mission: Find the Minish Village.
The way forward was blocked by a giant spider-web that was so thick, even Link's sword couldn't cut it. However, he could easily turn into a Minish and go under the web. Beyond it was a toxic river with decaying lilipads. The sides of the river had no room to walk. "Sigh, life would be so much easier if I could climb whatever cliff I felt like."
"Link, look at that big bug!" Ayri pointed left at a "giant" caterpillar with colored segments that was stretching over and back across the river. Link took a picture of it. "That's a Tropical Wiggler. The Minish have trained them to serve as 'Stoplights of the Jungle' to keep intruders from finding their home. They have the unique ability to stretch across long gaps. Hey, I bet you can use him to cross those lilipads!"
"My thoughts exactly!" Link waited until the man-size Wiggler crossed over to their side and jumped onto its nose. The happy caterpillar crossed its eyes to see the little guy and tried to "follow" him. Link stepped left and right to make him change direction. From this shore, the lilipads were too decayed for the Wiggler to step on, but there were small enclosings along the right cliff for him to stretch around to. When those ended, Link could then steer him onto the lilipads, quickly making his way up the river.
The Wiggler stretched onto a shore, and Link had to become human again to climb a short ledge. He was at a small field where a purple Chuchu was chasing a group of Minish. "Be careful, Link! That's a Toxichu. It'll burst into poison gas if you kill it."
"Alright, then I won't use my sword." Link noticed a rock by a corner and went to pick it up. He threw it at the Toxichu and killed it, the Minish outrunning its toxic cloud.
"Pici pici, piciri! PICIIII!" The Minish cheered at their savior, but Link had no idea what they were saying. To show their gratitude, they skittered over to a garden and set to work, growing giant purple plums. Of course, this purple was a natural color, and the plums weren't poisonous. Link noticed two pointed posts leading up to a new path, and the plums were big enough for him to pick up and throw onto the posts. He climbed on the shorter one and jumped to the taller, then could climb to the path.
There was a monkey swinging overhead, and it and another monkey seemed to be throwing a banana back and forth. Since the path was at a dead end, Link had to become a Minish and climb on a mushroom that would spring him up. He grabbed onto the banana and was thrown to the other monkey, and then he could drop onto a pile of banana peels. He reverted to human form, disgusted by the peels, for they were sick with the purple poison.
Link shortly arrived at another river within a gorge, with only a long, Minish-size bridge to take him across. He changed back into the smaller form and made the race across. "CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP!" A Skullfish jumped out of the river and SNAPPED the bridge in its teeth. Link screamed and fell, landing on the bonefish's head for safety. Link got between its eyes and tricked the Skullfish into following him, making it swim toward a safe ledge. Link quickly took off the Minish Cap and jumped onto the ledge. He could climb some natural stairs to reach the path.
Link discovered a strange stone with an eye symbol. "Link, look! That's a Sheikah Warp! It's designed for users of the Sheikah Slate to teleport. Hold the slate up to its eye to activate it." Link did so as the stone's eye flashed blue. The stone's lines glowed blue, as did the round pad in front of it. "You can now select Picori Island as a warp point. And you know what's even cooler? The Sheikah Sailor is designed to teleport to your location, too!"
"I gotta admit, Ayri, this is probably the best item I ever picked up."
"I'm glad you think so, Link!"
The hero walked around a snaking path before spotting a huge wooden wall, but three Tropical Wigglers stretched in the path with the intent to block him. He decided to head back so they would retract, and had no choice but to make the longer journey as a Minish. He found two Minish guards standing outside the tiny hole in the wall. "Hello there! Could you tell me what's behind this-"
"Vito!" one of the guards said. "Everyone's been worried sick about you!"
"Uh… H-Have we met?" is one of the questions Link wanted to ask.
"Ha ha! I know, we're just generic guards. You should hurry and go see your father. He'll be the most happy to see you again." Feeling totally confused, Link passed the guards and entered the giant fence. His beady eyes grew wide at the wondrous sight.
It was an entire city of Minish, who made their homes in mushrooms, trees, and shoes or other items taken from the bigger races. To a human, it had to be just a rather large garden, but to a Minish, it rivaled the size of Clockwork Island. "Oh my gosh! This is Minish Village! It's home to almost every Minish on the Terminan Sea! It's also known as the City that Never Goes Hungry, which is to be expected, because they're so tiny and all the food is so big! Uhhh…" Ayri noticed the sad faces on many of the townspeople. "But they sure do look sad, don't they?"
"Yeah, and it's probably because of all the poison outside."
"Huh?" A Minish woman took notice of them. "Master Vito! You've finally come back!"
"M-Master Vito? Me?" Link stuttered in shock.
"It's been weeks since you left to cross the frozen sea. Did you find something that could help us?"
"Um… I…" Link didn't know how to respond. "Er, uh, where's my father?" he asked, recalling what the guard said.
"The elder is in his home in the Gold Tree. You better hurry and tell him the good news."
Link viewed ahead and took notice of the gold-leafed tree in the center of the town. If his "father" was supposedly the elder, he figured that was where he'd be. Ayri walked alongside Link as they explored the vast village. With the colossal wall surrounding this place, it was clear the Minish tried to stay secluded from outsiders and live in peace. But Link felt no peace or joy from these citizens, starving from the lack of edible food.
Stairs led up to the entrance of the Gold Tree. As Link approached it, he heard the quick pattering of Minish feet behind him. "Vitooooo!" He was jumped by a red-eyed Minish with blue hair and a dress with blue and yellow grass blades. "Vito, I just KNEW you'd come back! I'm so happy!"
"W-Wait a sec!" Link broke away and faced her. "W…Wendy?!"
"My name's Nellia, silly! Wait, have you been seeing other girls behind my back?" she asked accusingly.
"W-What?! No, of course not, I don't even know a Wendy!" Really, I don't. But why did I say that name?
"I'm only joking! This is such good timing, too! My dad is inside talking with your dad. Let's go and surprise 'em together, wanna?" She eagerly raced into the Gold Tree.
"Link, I'm not sure what's going on, but it seems like you strongly resemble somebody else."
"You're right, Ayri. …And I have a feeling the real Vito is no longer around. …This is gonna be real awkward." (Pause song.)
Link entered the Gold Tree and followed Nellia upstairs. They hid behind a door and listened to two Minish. One wore a green robe and had a beard, another wore a purple robe and had red eyes. "Zaru… I can't believe you would do this." said the elder. "I would've called you crazy for trusting the Yiga Clan… but actually giving them our people to use as slaves… it's despicable!"
"Our people are dying, Ezlan. Your son has been gone for weeks and we haven't heard a thing from him. The Yiga promised us ripe fruits from their own land, but only in exchange for some of our people. I was against the idea as well, but we have to consider the entire population. Besides, if the Minish work in the Yiga's gardens, they can produce even more nutritious fruit and have it brought here."
"The Yiga don't give a damn about anyone but their selves and their demons. They'll take whatever fruit our Minish nurture and force them to eat scraps. You're doing nothing to save our tribe, Zaru! I'd rather we starve than give ourselves up to those…" Ezlan glanced to his right. Link and Nellia entered the room. "V…Vito… you've come home…"
"Father," Nellia spoke heartbroken, "is that really true? Have you been trading our people to the Yiga?"
"Nellia, I know you are still young, but you have to understand. We all must make sacrifices for the sake of survival."
"But Vito's back! He said he was gonna come back with a cure! Well, Vito?"
"…" Link felt more tense than he's ever been before. "I…I don't know what…"
He could sense the hurt look on Nellia's face, and the slight disappointment within the adults. For some reason, there was a feeling inside him that really didn't want to upset Nellia. Link shook his head and looked up more confidently. "It… might be tied to the strange weather."
"But how?" Zaru asked. "The freezing weather is indeed weird, but that doesn't explain the poison."
"The weather is because of a strange girl in a mask. I don't completely understand, but… I think she's using some kind of dark magic. If she can control weather, she can probably do other things." Like changing me into a Minish.
"And what are we to do against a sorceress of that power? Minish sorcerers such as Ezlan and myself may be formidable against common invaders, but to face someone with the power to freeze the ocean…"
"Well then… I might have one idea. …Why don't we ask some of the big races for help? The humans, the Gorons, the Rito…"
"Son, you know we can't do that. We only show ourselves to children, and only good children." Ezlan replied. "Bad children or adults will only want to capture us, just like those Yiga."
"But there has to be some good people that would help us! Even if they're children, there must be some that would be willing to fight for us."
"And where could you find such a capable child?"
"…I… may know someone very capable." Link spoke with extreme anxiety. "He's so capable, that… he can perfectly blend in with Minish as if he were one of them."
"What…What do you mean?"
Link gulped and slowly reached up to his Minish Cap. "The truth is… I'm not really Vito. I'm-"
"Master." Ayri jumped out in a peppy manner. "Need I remind you we're in a teeny-tiny house that you will immediately destroy should you remove your hat, and possibly kill everyone in the surrounding area?"
"GYAH! Right, good idea! Uh, maybe we should go outside the village."
The four headed to the back gate of the fence and exited to a vast (from Minish view) field. Link walked a good distance away and said, "Okay… here goes." He took off his hat and burst into a human teenager.
"AAAAAAAHHH!" Nellia bellowed.
"A…A HUMAN?!" the adults gaped.
"Hehehe…" Link put the cap on and returned to their level again.
"YOU LITTLE IMPOSTER! EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" demanded Ezlan.
"Wait, I didn't mean to impersonate your son! It…It's like this."
Link recapped some of the events that led up to this. "But if all that's true… where's the real Vito?" Nellia asked.
"I…I don't know." Link replied half-honestly. "But I need to find that girl and stop her before she causes anymore harm. If I can, then maybe… it can save your island, too."
"Hmm… you're a very strange boy." Ezlan said. "Yet, there's something about you. I don't believe you are an enemy of the Minish. In fact… hearing your description of the girl and her mask… it reminds me of the Legend of the Four Maidens."
"The who now?" Link cocked a brow.
"Human boy… somewhere on this island, there is an ancient temple that was built by the Minish many ages ago. It has gone untouched for a long time, but… there is a chance that it may have something to do with our decaying kingdom. It is said to be the home of the Spring Maiden, she who brings the spring to all of Termina. I have to wonder if this masked girl has done something to the Maiden…"
"You aren't thinking of letting a HUMAN into the Rain Temple, are you?!" Zaru shouted.
"Not, yet. First, he must prove his worth by fixing YOUR mistake, Zaru! You see, Human, Zaru has taken Minish to designated locations to be captured by the Yiga Clan. I want you to go out to the jungle and rescue our people before the Yiga get their filthy hands on them."
"You can count on me." Link nodded. "I-… Nellia?" The blue-haired Minish started crying, running back to town.
"Poor girl." Zaru said. "She's been upset over Vito's leaving ever since. Seeing a complete stranger that looks like him must be quite heartbreaking."
"Nellia, wait!" Link decided to chase her, and she stopped running halfway inside the gate.
"H-He…He promised me he would come back. He promised he wouldn't die out in the frozen sea. He said that when he returned, I would be eating healthy again. Was all that just a lie?!" She sniffled. "Did he go and get himself killed?!"
"What kind of person was Vito like?"
"Sniff, he was really great with animals. He could tame any beast, from the Skulltulas to the swordfish that lurk beyond the coast. He commanded a whole bunch of animals to fend off the Yiga at one point. And he was kind to all the townspeople, especially…"
"Then he wouldn't just leave you all behind. I'm sure he's out there somewhere, and one day, he's going to come riding on the biggest Gyorg you've ever seen!"
Nellia turned and could sense the undying confidence in Link's eyes. It was the very same look that filled Nellia with hope. "Sniff… Thank you, um… what was your name?"
"Link."
"Link… until Vito comes back, will you be our hope?"
"Of course I will!" Link spoke with twin voices.
For a moment, Nellia thought she saw a vision of someone else beside him. "Ha ha ha… Good luck!" (Resume "Forgotten Isle 2.")
Link re-enlarged outside the fence and ventured into the jungle once more. The path led to a poison swamp that had numerous dead trees and rotten lilipads to serve as platforms. There were three different paths around each side of the swamp. Link became a Minish and jumped a series of small lilipads to reach a tall trunk, and he could climb a vine to the top of said trunk. Up top was a familiar purple plant. "Link, this is a Baba Bud. The Minish use them as cannons for fast travel across parts of the jungle. Big people can use them, too, if you're a scaredy that is!"
"Consider me a scaredy." Link changed back and hopped in the bud. He aimed it to the left at one of the paths and fired over. The path led to an area with lots of trees enclosed by cliff walls. Link searched around the trees, but couldn't find anything of interest. "Ha ha ha ha!" He heard a laugh and looked around. He saw nothing. Drawing his sword, Link carefully searched the area behind him. He heard running behind him and whipped around, raising his shield in defense before a ninja struck his sword.
He was a slender figure in black and tan armor with a black ponytail and a mask with an upside-down Sheikah symbol, but Link only had a second to observe him before he vanished in a puff of smoke. Link was more attentive in looking for him. The Yiga peeked out of the tree behind him, but quickly hid when Link whipped around. Hmmnn… I'll have to attack him when he comes for me. Link closed his eyes and sheathed his sword, keeping only his ears sharp.
The Yiga rushed out—Link drew his sword and quickly rolled behind the assassin, dealing a Parry Attack. The Yiga recovered, but Link dealt a flurry of blows before the Yiga cried, "EEEEEHH!" bleeding from the waist and disappearing. He dropped a squirming pouch and Link went to open it, freeing a trio of Minish. The Minish bowed gratefully to the human, and Link returned it. "Here, get inside this." he requested, holding his empty bottle down. The Minish looked with concern. "Don't worry, I'll take you back to the village. I promise." The Minish saw no ill intent in his eyes and chose to climb inside.
Link returned to the swamp and made a quick trip back to the village to set them free. He made it back to the Baba Bud and used it to shoot to another platform. The trunks to his left staired up to a Baba Bud while the surface-level ones to his right led to a rock. Naturally, he hopped up to the Baba Bud—a Boko Baba popped out of the plant, ready to munch him. "Eeek! Link, it's a Boko Baba! If you get close, it'll eat you for lunch!" Sadly, it was too high for Link's sword to reach, and when he jumped to grab on its stump, the Baba quickly ate him and spat him back down.
Link had to go down, get the rock, and jump back up to throw it into the Baba's mouth. It struggled to stomach the rock, so Link could climb to its platform and behead the Baba. Link used its Baba Bud to shoot over to the northern path, but found there was no way to get across the large swamp, only a patch of soil. He decided to head for the eastern path, but the only means of crossing the poison involved trusting a row of hanging Baby Skulltulas. "Don't worry, Link! Minish are so small that Skulltulas don't find them satisfying to eat."
"That doesn't make me feel any better! Sigh… I guess I have no choice. Gulp…" With more courage than he's ever had, Link became a Minish and leapt to the claw of the first spider. He directed the spider to swing to and fro before leaping to the next one. He repeated this pattern until he reached the path. There was a patch of dried flowers that some Minish were hiding under, and the field ahead had a pond of pure water.
Link went to go talk with the Minish. "Yo, what's going on over here?"
"It's Master Vito! Don't let the Yiga see you! They're trying to use that water to lure us out." a man said.
"It's one of the only clean water sources in the jungle and we're so thirsty." a woman said. "But we can't…"
"Leave this to me." Link bravely marched up to the pond, watched by the preying eye of the Yiga. Once he was close to the water, the assassin leapt out, but Link reverted to normal and struck him. He engaged in a swordfight with the Yiga, ducking a horizontal strike before stabbing at his stomach. After some more quick cuts, the Yiga fled. The Minish knew it was safe to come out, and they pulled out a crescent-shaped bean with colored segments. "Ayri, what's that?"
"Oh, that's a Magic Bean! They can grow magical plants that can float through the air. They need water to grow."
"Well, don't mind if I do." Link stashed the bean in his pocket. He then went to get some of the pure water in his bottle. "Oh, the Minish. Uh… you guys can swim, right?" They shrugged and agreed to climb in the bottle of water. Link used a Baba Bud to shoot back over to the beginning and let the Minish go back into town. He then made his way back north, planted the Magic Bean in the soil, and watered it. It became a plant platform that began floating when Link stepped on it.
It went in a non-linear path across the otherwise linear swamp. Skulltulas dropped down as Link quickly sliced them, lest they would push him off. Eventually, the platform arrived at the ledge and parked. This led to a poisoned spring with multiple layers in the back. At the edge of the spring stood a more muscular Yiga, who turned to face Link with a katana aimed. "Ho ho ha! Well, what's a little boy like you doing out here?"
"I'm here to rescue the Minish!"
"You mean these little insects?" He raised a pouch that was squirming. "I don't really understand these creatures. They're so helpless that they came to us, begging to give them food, willing to become slaves for that very purpose. Now they have to rely on a mere child to save them, but I doubt YOU have food to offer. It's as if these little insects don't care if they live or die."
"Let them go or you'll be sorry!"
"Alright, kid. I'll play along. But I play dirty!" The Yiga Blademaster slashed his Windcleaver, and Link dodged as the very air was cut. The Yiga followed this with a flurry of horizontal and vertical slashes, Link either dodging sideways or ducking. Seeing this was going nowhere, the Yiga spun and chopped down at the ground to blast a strong gust of wind, blowing dirt up into the air. Link used his shield to block it, but forming an idea, he became a Minish before the dust cleared. "Huh?" The Yiga wondered where he went. "Heh. What a coward."
Link scampered behind the Blademaster, changed back, and dealt a forceful stab. "GAH! You little pesk!" He jumped away and got to the opposite side of Link from the poison spring, spinning his sword to unleash a gust of wind. It was slowly pushing Link into the spring, but he could crouch down and withstand the wind as he crawled toward him. Link slashed at his feet, the Yiga dropping the attack and enduring another round of strikes. He tried to stab down at Link, but the boy performed an overhead Parry Attack and chopped the mask off his face. "AAAAH!" The Yiga covered his face and disappeared, dropping the Minish pouch.
"Perfect. Hopefully, you guys are the last ones. Let's head on back." Link put the Minish into his bottle and returned to town.
From the treetops, a young Yiga watched him. "That thing on his hip… was that… a Sheikah Slate? Father must know about this…"
The Gold Tree
"That's every Minish Zaru claimed to have offered to the Yiga." Ezlan said. "Link… we can't thank you enough."
"No, we can't." Zaru said. "Because now our people will be left to starve."
"That's enough out of you, you ungrateful traitor! This strange boy has brought hope to our little kingdom. I think he has earned the right to enter the Rain Temple. If something has happened to the Spring Maiden… he will be able to fix it. There is just one problem… the temple can only be opened by playing the Song of New Growth. But it must be played by a duet using Fairy Ocarinas. Nellia has one of the ocarinas… but the only other one belonged to Vito."
"Well, what about my Wind Waker?" Link felt for his baton. "Could it…?" He felt something roundish in his pocket and pulled out a wooden ocarina. "What?"
"A Fairy Ocarina! How…How do you have it?"
"I-I don't know. I… Where is my Wind Waker?"
"Well… as long as you have it, you should be able to open the temple."
"Then let's go." Nellia spoke, surprising Link from behind him. "I'll take him to where the temple is if that's okay. And I'll teach him the song, too."
Zaru sighed. "Very well. If this boy can really bring miracles, then we'll see if he can rid the curse on our land."
After Link and Nellia exited the town, the former changed back into a human. "If it's alright, I think we'll go a bit faster if I carry you." Link offered, holding his bottle down. Nellia giggled and climbed in. She indicated where Link had to go, which happened to be across the Magic Bean platform and back to the poison spring. Only now did Link notice the lilipads leading across the spring. He set Nellia free and shrunk to her level, following her across the lilipads.
They led to a small platform with two stages. They took their place on them and faced out at the vast, lake-sized spring. "We used to go swimming here all the time… this spring used to be really beautiful. I would like for you to see it in its natural form."
"I would like to see it, too."
"Hmm… Anyway, the song goes like this. Play along with me." She put her ocarina to her mouth and played softly: for the Wind Waker, it would be left, right, up, down, left, right, up. Link thought he wasn't sure how to play that on an ocarina, but somehow, it came natural to him. Doo, doo, doo… Doo, doo, doo, doo…
The song was a peaceful melody that softened their hearts. Such tiny instruments could not be heard by humans, but the creatures of the jungle felt at peace with the echoing notes. Link's spirit came out of his Minish form and conducted their song. At this moment, a different force was playing his ocarina (and it was not the strange boy from before).
When the song ended, a huge chunk of the water briefly rose up like a hill, flowing off a humongous, ancient structure that rose out of the water. They could feel the earth shaking from the event, and were it any larger, people could feel it for miles.
But the temple was actually the size of a dollhouse and made the most minimal sound and movement. After it stopped rising, a bird casually flew down and perched on it. It tweeted and felt around the roof a bit before taking off.
Still, the sight was very grand for the two Minish. "We heard the ceiling of the temple produces an endless, gentle rainfall." Nellia said. "We promised we would enter together one day and see for ourselves. It sounds so romantic…" She closed her eyes, fantasizing it. Link felt himself blushing. "Anyway… I'll wait out here for you. I hope you come back safely."
"Don't worry. Temples are my thing." Link bravely marched up the stairs provided for him. "Still… I haven't heard anything about the stranger Purah mentioned. You'd think another human would be easy to spot. …Unless… he's already in here, too."