Well, after having a story canceled, maybe this new one might compensate for that!

Wind Waker was always my favorite Zelda game ever since I first saw it and played it. This game has a lot of charm that I don't know well how to describe it. Yes, I think this has even more charm than Ocarina of Time, and not to mention that it aged really well, especially when it comes to the graphics. It was this game that made me love Link's cartoony version, most commonly known as Toon Link, being my favorite version of Link ever. He was one of the first Links to actually develop a personality, which definitely is some good character development.

Because of my intense love for the game, I decided to include my Zelda OC to join Mario and his friends in this adventure!

I hope you enjoy! ;)

Chapter 1: A wish come true

A few days have gone by in the Mushroom Kingdom since Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, and Toad's adventure in Hyrule where they helped Link, the Hero of Time, in his journey. But would that adventure really be their only one? Let's find out…

Somewhere in Toad Town, there was a rented house made out of cobblestone with a yellow roof. It was the only non-mushroom shaped house in the town and no one seems to mind it at all. Living inside this house was a teenage girl playing The Wind Waker HD on her Wii U, as she finished it just now and was watching the post-credits cutscene.

Who was this girl, you may ask? It was the Zelda fangirl, Luka.

"Ah, the fourth time I've finished this game!" she relaxed. "And that's only the remastered version! If I count the original version, that's actually the seventh time!"

Luka is a huge fan of the Zelda series, with her favorite game being The Wind Waker. She absolutely loves the charm of the game's characters, the music, gameplay, and specially the story, since it has some ties with Ocarina of Time, another Zelda game she likes. No doubt why she has all these Wind Waker-themed accessories on her (a Joy Pendant, a Wind Waker pin and a bracelet with the three pearls of the Goddesses).

After the cutscene ended, Luka turns off the Wii U and leaves the house.

"Hmm, now where should I go to relax?" she wondered, until the perfect place came to her: "I know! I should go to Cheep Cheep Beach!" she then makes her way there. "After all, the world of Wind Waker has a lot of beaches! *sigh* If only I could be able to enter it… It'll be amazing!"

Unknown to her, the mysterious sorceress was hiding nearby and heard what she said at the end.

"You wish to see the Great Sea with your own eyes, huh? I can make it come true!" the sorceress thought before proceeding to follow Luka without being detected.

Meanwhile, at Cheep Cheep Beach, the group of five mentioned at the beginning were all having a good time at the beach: Mario and Luigi were relaxing at beach chairs, Peach and Yoshi were playing volleyball, and Toad, wearing his Captain Toad outfit, was digging the sand in search for treasure.

Interesting enough, speaking of different outfits, Mario was wearing a short-sleeved version of his shirt as well as Luigi, while Peach was wearing the dress she wore in Super Mario Sunshine.

"You know, I just can't stop thinking of something…" Mario mused.

"What makes you say that, bro?" Luigi asked.

"I wonder if that sorceress will someday let more of our friends see Hyrule as well. I mean, Daisy can be sometimes busy running over Sarasaland, but that still doesn't stop her for someday joining us."

"Oh, don't sweat it. I'm sure she'll get to join us in an adventure in Hyrule someday."

"Still, I feel bad for her." Peach came in after she and Yoshi were done playing volleyball. "She really wants to go on an adventure, but she always has something to do back at her kingdom. And the fact that she never misses any of our kart racing and other sports events, or even our party games doesn't help."

"Hey, at least she got to know what we've been through." Yoshi stated.

"Yeah, and the sorceress was probably nearby, so she could fulfill her wish." Toad added.

"Excuse me…" suddenly, Luka came to them, making them almost jump. "Is this Cheep Cheep Beach?"

"Yes, it is." Peach replied politely. "Are you new here?"

"I am. So, who are you guys?" they told Luka their names. After that, it finally hit her: "Oh! You're the defenders of the Mushroom Kingdom! It's so nice to meet you in person!" she beamed in excitement.

"Um, you're welcome…" Luigi replied sheepishly. "And who are you?"

"I'm Luka, and I love anything Zelda-related! Wind Waker, especially!"

"…What?" Toad tilted his head, as so did the rest of the Mario cast.

"Oh, yeah. First, you do know what a gamer is, right?" everyone nodded to her. "Well, I happen to be a Zelda gamer. And Wind Waker is my favorite game of the franchise."

"Oh, okay, we get it now." Mario said. "So, does that mean you know which game was based off from the adventure we just had? In that adventure, we helped Link earn the title of Hero of Time."

"I do! That's Ocarina of Time!" Luka quickly responded. "Gosh, you guys are so lucky; I really wanted to be there too!"

"Right… Wait, what was that Wind Waker you just spoke of?" Yoshi asked.

"Glad you asked! I happen to have a replica of the scroll that tells the story from the beginning of the game!" Luka reaches into her pocket and pulls out a scroll, as the sorceress was watching while hiding behind the palm trees, eyes perked up when she heard Luka's last sentence.

"Wow! It looks very old!" Toad exclaimed. "Are you sure this is a replica?"

"Yep, it is! Do you want me to read it?"

"Yes, please!" Yoshi nodded.

"Good! Ahem…" Luka cleans her throat before proceeding to read:

This is but one of the legends of which the people speak…

Long ago, there existed a kingdom where a golden power lay hidden. It was a prosperous land blessed with green forests, tall mountains, and peace.

By those descriptions, the Mario cast could easily tell that it was talking about the land of Hyrule.

But one day a man of great evil found the golden power and took it for himself… With its strength at his command, he spread darkness across the kingdom.

Now it was very obvious that it was referring to Ganondorf. The Mario cast still had chills when hearing this name.

But then, when all hope had died and the hour of doom seemed at hand… a young boy clothed in green appeared as if from nowhere. Wielding the blade of evil's bane, he sealed the dark one away and gave the land light.

The Mario cast immediately smiled at that, knowing very well that it was now talking about Link.

This boy, who traveled through time to save the land, was known as the Hero of Time. The boy's tale was passed down through generations until it became legend…

What the Mario cast would hear next was something they would not expect at all.

But then…a day came when a fell wind began to blow across the kingdom. The great evil that all thought had been forever sealed away by the hero… once again crept forth from the depths of the earth, eager to resume its dark designs.

…No. That didn't just happen. How did the seal on Ganondorf break?!

The people believed that the Hero of Time would again come to save them… But the hero did not appear. Faced by an onslaught of evil, the people could do nothing but appeal to the gods. In their last hour, as doom drew nigh, they left their future in the hands of fate.

What became of that kingdom…? None remain who know.

The memory of the kingdom vanished, but its legend survived on the wind's breath. On a certain island, it became customary to garb boys in green when they came of age. Clothed in the green of fields, they aspired to find heroic blades and cast down evil. The elders wished only for the youths to know courage like the hero of legend…

"…And that's the end of it." Luka finished reading, rolling up the scroll before putting it away. "Judging by your looks, you did not expect the story to end like this, right?"

"…I don't understand…" Peach whispered. "From what I remember, Zelda and the Sages sealed Ganondorf at the Sacred Realm… How in the world did it break?!"

"Fellow heroes…" the sorceress suddenly stepped into the scene, startling everyone.

"Ack! Don't sneak up on us!" Luigi exclaimed.

"Who are you?" Luka asked.

"Forgive me. I'm just a simple sorceress, the one who sent Mario and his friends to Hyrule to assist the Hero of Time." the sorceress replied.

"Hold on… Her voice sounds somewhat familiar…" Luka thought.

"Say, who are you supposed to be?"

"Oh! I'm Luka, a huge fan of the Zelda franchise."

"Nice to meet you." the sorceress giggled before getting serious, "Anyways, you all want to know why the seal on Ganondorf broke, is that correct?" everyone except for Luka, who already knew the reason, nodded. "First of all, do you remember the last words Ganondorf just said before he was sealed away?"

"Not really…" Toad frowned.

"He said, 'Someday…when this seal is broken… That is when I will exterminate your descendants! As long as the Triforce of Power is in my hand…'"

"So, are you telling us that the seal on him was supposed to be broken someday?!" Mario asked.

"I'm afraid so… I also don't really understand why either."

"Then what happened to Hyrule after that?" Yoshi asked worriedly. "Did Ganondorf actually manage to rule over it?!"

"No, he didn't." the sorceress assured. "However, let's just say that something unnatural happened to the kingdom after the gods made their decision that would decide its fate…"

"Really? What was it?" Peach asked.

"Well…" we couldn't see it, but the sorceress had a playful smirk on her face as the group was unaware that she was secretly creating a golden gate… right underneath their feet as they all immediately fell in. "I'll let you all discover for yourselves!" the sorceress chimed. "And Luka, I hope you like what I'm giving for you!"

Meanwhile…

Outset Island, a series of two islands connected by a wooden bridge. It is said that this was the island where the old tradition was held. The island was mostly peaceful, with a grand forest on one side, and a small village on the other side.

It was currently morning, as we can hear the sounds of waves on the water and see flocks of seagulls flying everywhere. On a certain house, we can see a young blonde-haired girl wearing a light-blue flower-patterned dress standing at the entrance as a few seagulls landed next to her.

"Big Brother!" the girl called out loud before running across the shore as no one responded. "BIG BROTHER!" she called out again, but was met with the same result. "Oh, where could he possibly be?" she thought as she brought out her telescope and looked through it. "Hmm… I'm getting a feeling that he must be… up there!" she ran over to the island's only lookout.

At the top of the lookout, there was a sleeping young boy at the age of 12. He had blond messy hair, thick black eyebrows, and large cat-shaped eyes. He wore a long-sleeved blue shirt with a white lobster pattern on the front and back and waves going around the waist area, gray bracers, orange pants, and gray slippers. He was, of course, Link.

"Big Brother!" the girl called out as she was at the stairs, looking at Link through her telescope.

"Mmm…?" Link mumbled, waking up and looking at the stairs, only to find no one there. Lazily, Link got up and stretched his arms, knowing already that he cannot sleep all day.

"I knew you'd be here!" the girl chirped as she was somehow behind Link.

"Wah!" Link jumped, turning around. "Aryll, don't startle me like that!"

"Hee hee hee! Looks like I had to be your alarm clock once again!" Aryll giggled. "See, this is my FAVORITE spot to gaze out at the sea. When I play with the gulls, I call it 'Aryll's Lookout.'"

"Yeah, I know that…" Link groaned woozily.

"So, do you remember what day it is today?"

"What day?"

"…You're still half asleep, aren't you?" Aryll sighed. "Did you forget?" Link said nothing. "Big Brother, it's your birthday!"

That sentence was enough for Link's sleep to go away as his eyes widened in surprise. How could he forget his own birthday?

"That's why Grandma has been waiting for you to come back to the house! She's been waiting for a while now… It's a good thing I came to find you!" Aryll exclaimed as Link was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "You should probably go home and see what Grandma wants, don't you think?"

"Uh, sure." Link replied and went down the stairs. Once he made it to his house, he goes inside and calls out, "Hey, grandma?"

"Up here, dear." Link's Grandma replied from above. Link then climbs up the stairs to meet up with her as he noticed that she was holding a pile of folded up clothes. "I've been waiting for you, Link."

"Sorry I took so long." Link apologized before eyeing curiously at the pile of clothes, but when he looked closely at them, that's where it hit him: "*sigh* Grandma, are you also following the island's tradition? I'm not into that kind of stuff, actually…" he spoke unamused.

"Oh, Link…" Grandma chuckled heartily. "Please, try these on." she hands the clothes to Link, who begrudgingly accepts them. "Time certainly flies… I can't believe you're already old enough to wear these clothes."

"Grandma, why is it that we also have to follow the tradition?"

"Don't look so disappointed, dear one! Just try them on."

"Alright…" Link sighed as his grandma turns around to give him privacy to change.

"My dear grandson… today is a day to celebrate! It is the day that you become the same age as the young hero spoken of in all the legends. You only have to wear them for one day, so don't look so down. Be proud, child!"

"Why should I? I see no point in doing all of this."

"…You don't seem to really care about that old legend too much, do you?" Grandma sweatdropped. "In the olden days, this was the day boys were finally considered to be men. They were taught the ways of the sword to prepare them for battle with their enemies. But we don't live in such an age any longer… Our ways are in the ways of peace. Nowadays, I suppose Orca is the only one on the island who still knows anything about swordplay." she then glances at a fancy-looking shield hung at the back wall. "Hanging the family shield on the wall as decoration is another tradition that has been carried down from those days. Does all this make sense to you?"

By that time, Link has finished changing into his new clothes. His outfit consisted of a green tunic with a light-green long-sleeved undershirt, a brown belt with a gold swirly buckle around his waist, white tights, brown boots, and finally a long and pointy green floppy cap was adorning his head.

"They look a bit too hot to wear today…" Link thought as he looked at his new clothes, still with an unhappy expression. "Okay, grandma, I'm done." Grandma then turns around.

"Well, isn't that nice, Link? They suit you perfectly! A perfect fit!" she smiled.

"I guess…" Link shrugged mentally as his expression changes to a neutral one.

"Alright, tonight I'm going to invite the whole town over for your birthday party, so I'd better start getting ready, shouldn't I? Your grandma is going to make your favorite soup for you tonight! Mmmm! I just know you're looking forward to it!"

Link's eyes perked up the moment his grandma talked about his favorite soup; it was the best thing he ever ate in life! That seemed to lighten him up at least.

"Now, go get your sister. She must be waiting for you."

"Okay. Thanks, grandma." Link said and left his house.

Outside, he made his way back to the top of the lookout, where he saw Aryll playing with the seagulls.

"Sis, I'm back." Link smiled as Aryll turns around, at which it caused the seagulls to fly away.

"Ah! 'Hoy, Big Brother!" Aryll replied. "Did Grandma make that outfit for you?"

"She did."

"But wow… You look like you'd be too hot in those clothes…" Aryll frowned.

"Don't even tell me…" Link sweatdropped.

"I guess they're pretty neat, though! So, anyway, Link… Can you close your eyes and hold out your hand? Just for a second!"

Link nodded and did as he was told, while Aryll gently places her telescope on his hand.

"Okay! You can open your eyes now!" Aryll said. Link opens his eyes… and was surprised to see his sister's telescope on his hand. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"Aryll… That's your telescope, isn't it?" Link asked.

"Yep!" Aryll chirped. "So? Well?! Do you like it? I'm letting you borrow this special gift just because you're my big brother! Aren't you lucky?! Hee hee hee!"

"You didn't have to…" Link chuckled.

"Ooh, why don't you try it out! Right now! Try looking over at our house from here!"

With that, Link looks through the telescope and zooms in to his house. But then, something nearby caught his attention: he saw a Rito postman in front of a mailbox, possibly about to make a deliver… until he looked at the sky alarmed and started flailing his wings crazily.

"The postman looks kinda weird… What's he doing?" Link thought. It was at this moment that Aryll looked up at the sky and saw something that made her scream and snap Link out of his thoughts:

"AAAAAHH! LINK! THE SKY! LOOK UP IN THE SKY!"

Quickly listening to his sister, Link shifted his gaze at the sky and nearly gasped at what he saw.

There was a giant bird, who appears to be carrying something in its talons. No, not something – someone! It was a person! Then, two cannonballs zoomed past the bird, so Link looked to the source of them and saw that they came from… a pirate ship.

There were a few pirates on board, as more cannonballs were launched from a catapult at the ship's front. Unfortunately, all of the shots were missing the bird as it flies off towards the island. That is, until one cannonball actually manages to hit the bird square on the jaw, causing it to lose its grip on the person it was carrying. Link then watched the person, who appears to be a young girl around his age, fall straight down into the trees at the forest on the other side of the island.

"Link, this is so terrible! That girl fell into the forest! She needs help!" Aryll panicked. "…But it's too dangerous for you to go in there without something you can use to defend yourself with!"

Link had heard little about the forest, but he knew that it was filled with vegetation, mostly grass and trees. But if what Aryll was saying that it was dangerous, especially when a huge bird just came to this island and that it could come back at any second, he was sure that by going there without a weapon of sorts, he would be at mercy.

Without hesitation, Link assured Aryll that he would take care of this and left the lookout again, but this time, he went directly to Orca's house, since he heard from Grandma that Orca was the only one currently on this island that knows swordplay.

Somewhere else…

"AAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Toad and Luka screamed as they came out of the golden gate that showed up on the sky above a certain dark and gloomy fortress island and were falling towards it.

However, this place was heavily under guard, filled with searchlights all over the place. Because of that, the group landed on the floor where most of the searchlights were, and since they all had a hard landing and thus didn't recover quickly… one of the searchlights found them as all the other ones focused on them as well, and then the sound of an alarm came before everything went black.

A few hours later, when the group came around, they weren't outside anymore; instead, they were inside a prison cell, which had a table with some chairs, a few barrels, and an empty bookshelf with a pot on top.

"Owch…" Yoshi groaned. "That was harsh…"

"At least my backpack softened my landing…" Toad said.

"I swear… something is wrong with that sorceress." Mario remarked. "First she acts serious, but then later she acts all playful! I don't get this at all!"

"Uh, guys… I don't mean to change the subject, but… are we in JAIL?!" Luigi exclaimed.

"Oh my goodness… We are!" Peach gasped as everyone looked around.

"How in the world did we end in here?" Toad asked. "And also, where are we supposed to be?"

"No way…" Luka silently gasped, in a way that she seemed to recognize her surroundings. "This place… This… is…"

"Luka, you okay?" Yoshi asked as everyone else glanced at Luka.

"OH. MY. GOD!" she suddenly yelled. "I can't believe it! We're in the Forsaken Fortress!"

"Forsaken Fortress?" the Mario cast asked in unison.

"Guys, don't you know what this means?! We're in the world of The Wind Waker! This is the best thing EVER!"

"Wait, seriously?!" Mario's eyes widened. "We're in the world of your favorite game?"

"We are! Oh, I've always wanted to see this world with my own eyes!" Luka fangirled.

"Right…" Luigi sweatdroped. "Well, that's good for you, but… how do we get out of here?"

"Do not worry, everyone!" Luka winked. "I've played this game a lot, so I know exactly what to do!" she then climbs the table before leaping off to the top of the bookshelf, where she pushed the lonely pot to reveal a small passage. "Ta-dah!"

"Oh! There was a secret passage hidden behind that pot!" Peach exclaimed.

"Looks like we'll have to leave it to Luka to guide us out." Mario chuckled.

They then crawled into the passage, taking all of them out of the cell as they began to venture around the Forsaken Fortress with Luka as the guide.

Back with Link…

After obtaining a sword, the Hero's Sword, and practicing some swordplay with Orca, Link was ready to venture out to the island's forest, the Forest of Fairies, where the girl who was captured by the huge bird fell in. First, he had to slice some trees blocking the path leading to the top of the island, and then cross a wooden bridge with two missing planks in the middle where he had to jump over to finally reach his destination.

Most of the Forest of Fairies consisted of grass, trees and dirt, as well as some fallen tree logs that could help Link navigate this place further. Immediately upon entering the forest, Link spotted the girl, who was unconscious and hanged on a tree branch by her blue jacket. She wasn't that far away, so at least he wouldn't have to do a lot of walking.

Just then, when Link reached the area of the forest where the girl was, he heard a strange sound as he looked up at the sky to see two Kargorocs dropping two Bokoblins that landed right in front of him, so he stood ready to fight them.

The two Bokoblins lunged towards Link to attempt to kick him, but he rolled out of the way and slashed them away. He did the same strategy again to defeat the two beasts.

Shortly after the two Bokoblins were defeated, the girl finally woke up… and freaked out immediately since she noticed that she was far away from the ground. She begins to panic, wobbling so much that it eventually made the tree branch snap, and she fell to the ground.

"OOOWWWWCH!" she cried.

Seeing what happened to the girl, Link quickly runs up to her to see if she wasn't hurt. The girl had tan skin, dazzling blue eyes, and blond hair tied up in a bun. She was wearing what appears to be a pirate outfit: a lavender shirt, a blue jacket, a red scarf around her neck, white pants, and brown sandals. A cutlass and a pistol were attached to her hip and she had white tapes on her wrists.

"Hey, are you okay?" Link asked as the girl glances at him, but she was looking more at his outfit than his face.

"Wow. What's with that getup?" she asked.

"Long story…" Link sweatdropped. "It's part of my twelfth birthday."

"Well, whatever. And to answer your question, I'm perfectly fine. So, where am I…?"

"This is Outset Island. I'm Link, by the way."

"Hm, nice to meet you, I guess. Now how did I… Oh, that's right! That giant bird came and…"

"Miss! MISS TETRA!" suddenly, a voice yelled as the pair looked back at the forest's entrance to see a man running up towards them and stopping in front of the girl, apparently named Tetra. "Oh! Oh, thank… Thank goodness! You're safe!" he panted. "When I saw you get dropped on this summit, I thought for sure you'd…"

"Summit?" Tetra asked, interrupting the man. "So that bird dropped me on the top of a mountain? Well, wasn't that nice of it!" she then turns to leave. "Well, don't just stand there! LET'S GO! Time to repay our debt to that bird in full!"

"But, Miss… What about this boy?" the man asked, directing to Link.

"Don't worry about him. Come on!"

The man follows Tetra, leaving Link just standing there. How could Tetra dismiss him like this? After all, she owes him one for saving her. Hold on, maybe she doesn't know that? That could be a possibility since Link didn't get a chance to interfere in the conversation.

Well, he had to leave anyways so he also exited the forest.

When the trio was back outside, a voice immediately caught their attention:

"'Hoy! Big Brother!" it was Aryll, who was standing at the other side of the bridge waving happily at her brother.

"Aryll!" Link beamed as Aryll starts to make her way to the other side.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the same bird from before comes in swooping down towards the bridge, going directly for Aryll as Link noticed that and his eyes widened in shock.

"ARYLL! LOOK OUT!" he yelled.

Too late: the bird eventually grabs Aryll with its talons, flying away into the distance with her.

"BROTHER!" Aryll cried out.

Link couldn't believe it; he had failed to save his sister hadn't he seen the bird coming down earlier. His Big Brother instinct kicked in, and he involuntarily runs to the direction the bird was heading, sword in hand. Only that he forgot that he was standing on top of a cliff and couldn't fly… so he ends up plunging down, and he would've had fallen into the water below if it wasn't for Tetra grabbing his free hand nigh immediately.

"Uhhn! Stupid kid! Get ahold of yourself!" Tetra growled as Link was struggling from her grasp. "She's gone. There's nothing you can do."

Knowing that she was right, even though he wished she wasn't, all Link could do was stare at the bird carrying his sister away until they were gone.

"Sis… I'm so sorry…" he whispered sorrowfully.

What a horrible birthday this turned out to be…

To be continued…

Oh ho, yes! Starting off strong!

Next time, the Forsaken Fortress! Until then! Please review!