CRASH!

"LINK!"

Tetra had just burst from the door and walked onto the main deck. There, she saw her little friend dressed in green asleep on the wooden floor.

Link jolted awake. "Oh, hello… um… Tetra…"

The young girl that was the captain of this pirate ship advanced on him angrily.

"You fell asleep scrubbing the deck again?" she cried. "That's the third time this week!"

"I, uh – I…" Link started, taking a step back. He stepped on his wet, soapy rag and slipped, falling backwards onto the wood floor.

"What is it going to take to tech you some responsibility?" Tetra continued.

Link stood up, rubbing the back of his head painfully. He was now uncomfortably aware of the crowd they were attracting. Indeed, most of the other pirates had gathered to watch the spectacle.

This didn't seem to bother Tetra. "Why, Link? Why do you even stay with us? You're not a natural pirate. You don't pull your own weight. Why do you even stay?"

Now it was Link's turn to be angry. Wasn't it obvious? Couldn't she see it? Maybe he was angry with himself. Maybe he could've tried harder to make Tetra notice. Maybe he should have tried to pull his weight on the ship, instead of being so lazy. But he was too steamed to think about that at the moment.

"WHY?" Link practically yelled at her. "You're asking me WHY I stay on the ship? Shouldn't it be obvious? It's because I…"

A million ways to finish the sentence. I want adventure. I have new friends. I like the sea…

But above all of them, one reply was the one on the tip of his tongue, the one he truly wanted to say.

Because I'm in love with you.

"Why do I stay?" Link continued instead. "Why do you think? You think I came along just to hang around a bunch of stinky, sweaty pirates?"

"Hey!" protested Gonzo. He held up his deodorant for all to see. Niko peered at the label.

"Man Stink?" Niko read aloud. "Give me some of that!"

Tetra ignored them. "Well? Give us a reason!"

"I… I… Ugh!" Link was too mad to think of a reply this time. He stormed off.

"Where are you going?" asked Tetra. Link didn't reply. Instead, he climbed down the ladder on the side of the ship and leapt into his own boat, a small sailboat, the King of Red Lions. He plopped himself onto the rough wooden bench and sat in angry silence for several hours.

Finally, he looked at the dragon-like face of his boat.

"What should I do?" he asked it.

Link's old friend did nothing but stare back at him with his wooden eyes. This was hardly a surprise. Ever since the King of Hyrule, the true essence controlling the boat, had drowned with his kingdom, the King of Red Lions lost the power of speech. It was now nothing but an ordinary boat.

Link sighed and decided to look through all his belongings. He didn't feel like going back on the ship any time soon. He'd probably ruined things with Tetra, and the rest of the crew for that matter. Maybe looking through memories of his former adventures would cheer him up.

He rummaged through his sack of items, memories returning at the sight of them from months ago.

The Wind Waker, Grappling Hook, Boomerang, Deku Leaf, Tingle Tuner (Link shuddered involuntarily), Hero's Bow, Iron Boots, Hookshot… the memories made him almost want to take off on his own again, explore the seas, defeat enemies, find treasure…

Link gazed out into the sea. It was now night, and moonlight reflected against the water, the ever-lapping waves drifting softly against his boat. What was stopping him? As long as there was an endless sea, there was endless possibility. Was there anything keeping him here?

I'm in love with you.

Anger surfaced again at the memory of their bitter confrontation that morning. Had a whole day really passed since then? Why was he wasting his time here? If he stayed any longer, Tetra would have him scrub the decks or some other dumb job. He'd saved her from the evil Ganondorf for Nayru's sake! And she was having him scrub the deck?

It was time to go.

With one final look at the pirate ship, where all his former friends and crush were sleeping, Link raised the sail and set off.

"Link?"

Tetra called softly into Link's bedroom. There was no reply. Tetra pushed open the door and looked inside, but the room appeared empty. Link's hammock was untouched. Tetra shrugged. Maybe he slept in his boat again.

Tetra appeared on the deck and walked to the railing, leaning over the side. For a moment, she felt her face go numb. Link's boat was no longer anchored to the side of the ship. It was gone. Link had left them.

Tetra was momentarily stunned at Link's dramatic reaction to their argument. She knew he'd been pretty mad, but… but this… this was…

"Good riddance." She spat.

She stormed back into her room, slammed the door behind her, and cried herself to sleep.

Link had never felt so free in his life. He felt like he could do whatever he wanted. He could defeat monsters and find treasure and explore the world! He nearly laughed out loud with the thrill of it.

However, he'd also never felt so much like a total jerk.

Glancing back the way he'd come, he started to regret what he'd done. By now, the crew had probably realized his absence. Tetra, to… how would she have reacted? Would she even miss him? Would she be joyful or angry or sad? Link could only wonder for now.

"Idiot." Link muttered. He didn't know if he was talking about himself or someone else. He sighed and stretched, reclining backwards on the bench. Slowly his eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep under the hot noon sun.

Link was awoken by the smell of smoke. The smell made him want to roll over and go back to sleep. But something else was affecting him, resisting it… Link's eyes snapped open to find his pants were smoldering.

"YOW!" Link squealed. He instinctively leapt into the cool water and immediately closed his eyes in relief. He glanced around and noticed that his arms and legs were sunburnt. He groaned inwardly. Link had been asleep under the hot sun for at least three hours.

Suddenly, the water in front of Link erupted and a snarling, yellow-eyed Gyorg popped up in front of him. Gyorgs were aggressive, shark-like sea monsters. The Gyorg's eyes lit up, and visions of a tasty lunch reflected in them.

Link snapped to attention and tried to scramble into the boat. The Gyorg rammed into the side of it and Link tumbled headfirst onto the bench. The monster swam around for another attack. Link fumbled for his bow and clumsily nocked an arrow onto it. He took aim and fired.

The Gyorg's eyes snarled angrily as an arrow embedded itself into his side. It's eyes narrowed into slits and it charged at the boat. Link tried to nock another arrow, but he wasn't fast enough. The Gyorg leapt over the side, directly at his face. Link instinctively drew his sword and slashed in an upward arc just in time. The Gyorg roared as it exploded into purple smoke above Link's head. He breathed a sigh of relief.

By now, evening was starting to fall. Link closed his eyes. This was not going as well or enjoyabley as his former adventure. What was different now? Before, he'd had the King of Red Lions for companionship. But there was something else… he missed Tetra. He was lovesick.

Link's stomach rumbled hungrily.

"Well, it can't get any worse than this." He muttered.

He blinked as lightning flashed and a torrential downpour began.

"Miss Tetra?"

Gonzo knocked softly on her bedroom door. When there was no reply, he entered silently.

Tetra was curled up on the bed, facing the other way. She hadn't moved an inch since he'd last checked on her an hour ago.

"Miss Tetra, it's almost five o'clock." He said.

"Mmm." Tetra grunted. She didn't seem perturbed that she'd been in bed since that morning.

"You haven't eaten anything." Gonzo noted.

"I'm not hungry." Tetra replied.

Gonzo paused.

"Are you still upset about Link?" he asked.

"No!" Tetra snapped, with more emotion that Gonzo had expected. She turned to face him, and boy, did she look like a wreck. "I mean – good riddance with him. I'm just… tired."

Gonzo sighed and squatted at the edge of a bed. "Nice try, Miss. I know you too well."

Tetra stared back at him for a while. Gonzo was staring back at her so… almost fatherly, that she had to smile. Gonzo took her hand and squeezed it a little.

"I know you're upset, but you were a bit hard on the little guy."

Tetra nodded… she'd thought about this all day.

"Do you think he'll come back?" she sniffled. Gonzo smiled.

"It's possible. If he does, are you going to make things right with him?" he asked. Tetra nodded. "Then I'm sure you'll see him again."

Tetra smiled as Gonzo left the room, slowly drifting back to sleep.

For Link, that night was miserable.

"This was a stupid idea." Link hissed between his teeth. Why had he left, again?

He was huddled against the head of the King of Red Lions, squeezed between it and the sail pole, trying to find shelter from the rain under the sail. It was not working.

Eventually, he fell asleep to the rhythmic drumming of the raindrops thudding against the cloth, occasionally sending small pools of rain sliding off the edge of it and splattering onto Link's face.

That morning, the sun had returned with a vengeance. The beams seemed to be twice as hot as yesterday. Link, exhausted from his rough night, struggled to keep his eyes open as his boat plowed through the waves. By afternoon, he had barely managed to fend off several seagoing attackers and waves that occasionally sent him flying over the edge of the boat. A look at his Sea Chart confirmed that he was lost.

"What?" Link shouted as he saw a familiar sight; Six-Eye Reef, a large formation of rock in the middle of the sea. It had also been the first place he'd passed since he'd left the pirates.

"I've just gone in a big circle?" Link sank to the bottom of the boat. The now-familiar snarl of Gyorgs roused him.

"You shut up." Link said, halfheartedly knocking it out of the water with the Boomerang. "It's not my fault I'm a complete idiot who can't do anything right."

What a disaster this had turned out to be. Where was the former adventurous feel from his last escapade? Nowhere to be found. Now what?

At least he knew exactly where he was. And, staring into the distance, Link made a decision. He knew exactly where he should go next.

Tetra, unbeknownst to him, had also made a decision. The next morning, she appeared on deck bright-eyed and well-rested. And she knew what to do. She had to find Link somehow.

But she was surprised to find, as soon as she emerged from her cabin, the formerly grimy deck was polished – near spotless, even! Tetra shrugged. It had probably been Gonzo, that big softie.

But as she neared the rail, she saw that it and the wheel had been polished as well. Tetra turned see the walls had been scrubbed, the cannonballs had been stacked, and even the food bins belowdecks had been organized.

"What is going on?" Tetra muttered.

She continued through the ship, finding similar surprises. Eventually, she came to the final room – Link's quarters. It suddenly dawned on her who had done all this.

Cautiously, she opened to door to find Link sound asleep on his hammock. His face and hands were streaked in mud and grime, and a broom, mop and soapy rag lay below him. Tetra smiled widely and approached him, until she was standing over the sleeping Link. He must've been exhausted, but he slept fitfully, with a big grin on his face.

Tetra leaned in closely and gently kissed Link on the cheek. Then she took the broom, mop, and soapy rag and headed out the door, closing it quietly. She didn't notice Link's smile become even warmer as he sighed and rolled over in his sleep.