The young boy stared out at the sea, clearly in another world. The ship slowly rocked back and forth as it went down the line. An older man walked out onto the deck, and saw the boy leaning on the railing.

"Hey kid, you okay?" The man placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, waking him from his day-dream. He jolted, shaking his head.

"Oh hey, Linebeck. I'm fine. I was just… thinking."

"Thinking, eh? That's something I don't usually see from you," The man chuckled.

"Was that another one of your blond jokes?"

"Maybe, maybe not. What were you thinking about?"

The boy didn't say anything for a while. He pushed himself away from the railing and turned around to face the captain. He looked down a little, frowning.

"Nothing. At least, nothing you would like to hear about."

"I'd like to hear about anything that troubles you, lad."

"No. Like I said, you wouldn't care. Just… just go back down to the engine room, please."

"Now you can't order me around, you know. I'm the one who's taking of your sorry ass." The captain swore a lot, so it really didn't faze Link too much to hear him do it. Of course, the boy never swore in the middle of a conversation, like Linebeck did. "Now tell me. What the hell are you keeping so secretive?"

"Fine, fine, I'll tell you, if it'll make you happy."

"Oh, it will."

"Okay. Well… I was just thinking… thinking about… about, well, um -"

"Just spit it out, boy!" Link's eyes widened. Well, shit. Thanks to me, the kids gonna cry, Linebeck thought.

"You don't care, do you?" Link screamed. He pushed Linebeck out of the way as he ran towards the cabin. Linebeck caught him by his left arm.

"OW! Let me go, Linebeck! That hurts!" Link tried to pull away, but the captain just tightened his grip.

"Since when did you run away from your troubles?"

"What?" Link stopped struggling and stared at the captain.

"You heard me. Instead of getting P.O.'d and running away like that, just try to explain everything again. The stumbling show you put on back there wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do. I'm not exactly one to listen to long-winded stories."

"I'm sorry…"

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry here." Linebeck released Link and wrapped his arms around him, rocking back and forth slightly. "I'm the one who yelled at you, causing you to get all defensive and shit, then I got aggressive and here we are."

Link giggled a little. "When you put it that way, you kinda make it seem funny." He looked up at the captain with the straightest face he could manage. "But it's not."

"I know, I know. So are we good then? Can I hear your story?"

Link nodded. "Um… well, I was just thinking about what would happen if something happened to us when I have to fight Bellum. I almost lost Tetra once during my travels, and I don't want it to happen again to me… or you. I don't want to lose anyone, and if I did, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself for letting it happen."

"…Nothing will happen to us. I'm not going to let that slimy beast take advantage of the situation!" Linebeck laughed, and was soon joined by the boy. "Now come on, you need to get to that… Kingy…"

"Temple of the Ocean King," Link answered. Linebeck finally released the boy, and ruffled his hair.

"Ah, that's what I was thinking. Good little Treasure Dog." Linebeck went down the stairs and into the engine room, upping the speed of the ship. Link turned around and leaned on the railing. He cares about me. That's new. Link sighed and closed his eyes, letting the scent of the sea take him to another world.