*I do not own Legend of Zelda.*

Chapter 1

Link leaned against the side of the ship, his back to the waters. They had been out at sea for days and days and had not come across and sign of land, or other ships for that matter. Gazing beyond to the horizon, he saw dark clouds. Sighing, he glanced toward the helm where Tetra stood. A storm was coming; would she have them weigh anchor or sail on?

He didn't have to wait long for an answer. Tetra called out orders, "Set her to full sail! We make for the Isle of Ember!"

Link frowned. It had been quite a while since they had ventured there. Niko asked, "Are you sure you want to head to the Isle of Ember?"

Tetra spared him a glance, "Of course, it is the closest island to us." Turning fully toward him, she continued, "Unless you would rather we wait out the storm."

Niko cast a glance toward the storm, "No, to the Isle of Ember, it is."

Tetra asked Link, "Do you have a better idea?"

Link shrugged, "You're the captain. You decide."

He left the deck to take shelter in the cabin. Tetra rolled her eyes, "Some hero you are." Pushing thoughts of him from her mind, she turned to her pirate crew, "Let's get a move on, boys. We may yet beat the storm to the isle!" With orders given, she made her way inside the cabin to talk to Link.

When she entered the cabin, she quickly found Link asleep. She stalked toward him with every intention of waking him as roughly as possible, but she had taken no more than a step or two when Link opened an eye and asked, "Did you need something, Tetra?"

She stopped, "Link, this is no time for you to be sleeping. Get up and help out on deck."

Link shrugged, "It's wearisome. I'd much rather stay here."

"How can this be the same person who saved me?! You won't even lend a hand to the crew."

Link glanced at his hands, "I don't know about yours, but my hands are firmly attached."

Exasperated, she turned and left as she mumbled, "Unbelievable."

As soon as the door closed behind her, Link stood and peered through the window that had been above him. He didn't care much for sailing. He was more than capable of steering a ship and securing lines and sails, but he was much more comfortable on land. On a clear day of clear skies, the water would be calm and sailing would be smooth. He didn't mind those days. The horizon was beautiful and ocean life would easily be seen. Most other days he would nap, either on deck, in the cabin or, on occasion, in the crow's nest. Tetra didn't like it, but there was hardly anything for him to do on a ship. Pushing those thoughts from his head, he turned his attention to the waters. Already the waves had ceased to be calm. He doubted they'd reach the Isle of Ember before the storm reached them.

Quite suddenly, the ship lurched to the side. Link lost his balance momentarily, but was spared from falling on his face when the ship tilted back and slowly evened out once more. He hurried out onto the deck, wondering what happened. The moment he stepped outside, he heard Tetra call, "Did we hit a reef?!"

Niko was the one who answered, "It couldn't have been a reef!"

Link ran toward the railing on the starboard side and peered over. It wasn't long until he spotted what had hit them. He shouted to the crew, "Away from the sides!" Turning to Tetra, he added, "It's a Gyorg!"

Tetra stiffened. She didn't think monsters would still be roaming the seas. She hated to see what they'd encounter on land. Calling back to Link, she asked, "Link! Can you man the cannon?!"

He nodded. Sparing a glance at the creature, he saw it was coming for a second attack. Not wasting another minute, he hurried around and up the stairs toward the back of the ship. Taking hold of the mounted cannon, he carefully aimed at the oncoming creature as he lit the fuse with a match. He followed the creature and the ship jerked slightly as the cannon fired. A second later, it hit the creature head on. For a moment there was silence, but Link knew better. The Gyorg could very well be hiding beneath them. With the sky greying as storm clouds rolled in, it was becoming too dark to see much in the water.

Then someone shouted, "It's coming from the port side!"

In the silence, one of the crew had reloaded the cannon. With the cannon loaded once more, Link spun to his left, his eyes scanning the water for the creature. Finding it almost immediately, he lit the fuse. Just as the cannon was about to fire, the ship jerked violently. Something had impacted their starboard side. The cannon ball missed the creature, crashing into the waters behind it. Link cast a glance starboard, only to find another gyorg had appeared. It wasn't uncommon for them to travel in groups of two or three, but it was usually fairly easy to spot them ahead of time.

Link called to Tetra at the helm, "Tetra! You need to steer this ship clear of them!"

Tightening her grip on the wheel, she called in response, "What do you think I've been doing?!"

Link tightened his grip on the cannon to keep from voicing his thoughts. He was more frustrated that he hadn't seen the second gyorg than that Tetra wasn't maneuvering well. With the cannon reloaded once more and Tetra steering the ship around the creatures, Link took aim at the first one once again. He lit the fuse. This time, it fired without interruption and hit the creature which sank to the depths of the sea.

"It's going to ram us!"

Link didn't know who had shouted and it didn't really matter. The cannon was still being reloaded. He wouldn't be able to fire it in time. Just as the creature seemed about to come in contact with the side of the ship, a shot was heard and the creature disappeared. It reappeared some ways off, but still focused on their ship. The cannon finally reloaded, Link didn't hesitate and took the shot.

The waters were silent. Link breathed a sigh of relief. He hopped down onto the main desk and made his way to the helm. As he approached, Tetra asked, "Are you sure we're safe now?"

Link shrugged. Though his demeanor had shifted to the more uncaring front he often put up, his eyes were alert. Glancing beyond off to the ship's right, he said, "I doubt we'll have to worry about any more of those creatures for now." Glancing back at Tetra, he continued, "We're not the only ship on the water here."

Tetra looked over the water, "Friend or foe?"

Link shrugged, "We won't know until we check it out."

She glared at him, "A storm is coming and with our ship damaged as it is, you propose we head away from land?! Have you lost your mind?!"

"Hardly." When he said no more, Tetra gestured for him to continue. So he did, "It's as you said: A storm is coming. They'll likely be heading to the nearest port as well so it is more than likely our paths will cross." Casting a glance over the water, he finished, "That, and they are in sight."

Tetra followed his gaze. A ship was well within their sights. She turned back to Link, "Did you know they were there?"

Link nodded, "Someone on that ship shot the second gyorg before it hit us."

"Are you sure?" Though Link remained silent, his look said it all. Tetra thought a moment, but ultimately, her decision didn't change. They would head straight for the Isle of Ember.

Seeing this, Link shrugged and made his way back to the cabin, but before entering, he glanced at the other ship. Someone on that ship had spared them for sustaining severe damage to their vessel. He supposed he should feel relieved, but he was quite the opposite. Before, gyorg would die in just a single shot, but the two they faced did not. They were stronger. After the Ghost Ship affair had been dealt with, monsters had practically become nonexistent. He shook his head; it didn't matter much. It was likely the few monsters that survived simply adapted.

He was about to head into the cabin to nap, but changed his mind. Instead, he turned to his right and made his way down a set of stairs to where most of the crew slept and where some supplies were stored. As expected, it was dark. Link knew there was a lantern on a desk just inside and to the left and as he came off that last step, he was met with a surprise. Water.

Apparently there was a leak somewhere, likely from being rammed twice on the starboard side. The water came only halfway to his knees and was freezing. He made his way to the lantern and lit it with a match from a box that set beside it. As soon as it lit, the room was filled with light and Link was shocked to see how much water had leaked in.

Link frowned. He was nearly knee-deep in sea water and was rising. It didn't take him long to find the source of the in-flowing water. There was a hole in the side of the ship. It was maybe the size of his fist, but regardless of size, it was allowing the water to flow in. Sighing, he muttered to himself, "Tetra is not going to like this."

With a last glance around the room, he went back up the stairs to inform the captain of the ship.

Some ways from Tetra's ship, the captain of the Nightly watched. She had seen the gyorg and had given the order to fire, but had no idea if he was on the ship.

"Captain, a storm is on its way. What are your orders?"

She glanced at her first mate. "We sail for the Isle of Ember. I don't want to risk sailing in the storm any more than necessary."

"Of course." Then to the crew. "All hands, full sail! We make for the Isle of Ember!"

The captain turned to her first mate. "And Derek, why don't we pull up alongside that ship. I'd like a few words with its captain."

Derek nodded. "Aye, Captain."

*Well, this was quite unexpected. I'm not sure if I'll continue this, but I just might, just because it's a different portrayal of Link. If you think I should continue, leave a comment/review to say so.*