It was a sunny day. The seagulls were cooing overhead, the waves crashed against the S.S. Linebeck, and all was at ease. Link and Linebeck had gotten a step closer to finding Tetra, which made Link excited. He'd be able to be with his friend again in due time. Link looked out into the ocean and saw what looked liked a pointed fin coming out of the ocean's ripples.
"A gyorg ..." He thought to himself. Gyorgs are known as the killing machine's of the sea. Not a single human has ever survived an attack from one. Link shuddered and remembered why he was so excited. Tetra. He shook off the evil feeling of the nearby gyorg and paid attention to his surroundings. Linebeck and Ciela were below deck. He figured she was yelling at him as usual and Linebeck was steering the boat; as usual.
Link sighed, 'When will we get back to Mercay Island?" He asked himself. There was suddenly a large wave that crashed into the side of the ship. Water spilled onto the deck, making the surface of the ship slippery. The water went below deck to where Linebeck was.
"What's going on up there, kid?" He called out.
"Nothing, a wave just crashed into the ship." Link responded. Ciela flew above deck to see if Link was alright.
"Where's Linebeck's manners!? Are you alright, Link?" She asked.
"Yeah! I'm fine! It's just some water." He replied.
"That's good." She replied.
Another wave crashed into the side of the ship, and the water flooded the deck once again. Followed by the wave, a fierce wind blew through, and took Link's hat right off of his head. Link reached into the air, but it was out of his reach. The hat fell into the water, and Link reached outward to grab it.
"Link! Be careful!" She said anxiously.
"I'm fine!" Link replied. He almost had his hat. He managed to grab it.
He sat down on the deck and began ringing the water out of it.
"Link, it's just a hat. You could have fallen overboard." Ciela said.
Link shook his head and put the somewhat wet hat on his head. "No, it's not just a hat. It's more than that." If Ciela had a head, she'd be cocking it to the side. "What do you mean?"
"Before I left with Tetra, I used to live on an island far away from here called Outset." He explained.
"Outset Island ... it sounds familiar."
Link nodded, "I lived there with my little sister, Aryll, and our grandmother. My sister had been kidnapped and I was to set out with Tetra to find her. My grandmother gave me this outfit and cap because it was a custom for boys on my island to wear this when they came of age. It's really special to me." He explained.
"I see. Well, then I-"
Ciela was cut off by the boat being tossed up because of large waves. She yelled below deck, "Linebeck!"
"Shuddup you stupid fairy!" He yelled back. Link laughed. He always found them fighting to be quite amusing. Once again, another wave landed, but this time, it sent Link flying into the ocean.
"Link!" Ciela yelled.
From below deck, Linebeck called out, "What happened?"
"Link's been thrown overboard!" She responded. Link raced to the deck and looked out. They couldn't see him anywhere. Perhaps he was drowning?
"Kid!" Linebeck called out. After a few seconds, Link emerged from the water, gasping for breath and coughing.
Ciela sighed, "Oh thank goddesses ..."
"Kid, whaddya doing!? Get your butt back on board!" Linebeck called out angrily.
Ciela rammed into the side of his head, "Jerk! It's because of your steering that we hit those current in the first place!"
Link sighed, and began swimming back to the boat. Linebeck and Ciela kept arguing, like some sort of old couple. Link shivered, thinking of that. 'Ew' He thought in his head. He had almost reached the boat when he felt a nudge at left arm. He glanced over, and saw a fin next to him. It was a gyorg! He became still, as to not provoke the monster. Ciela gasped, "LINK!" Linebeck looked out and his eyes bugged out of his head. Link turned to them, wide eyed, and not knowing what to do. Suddenly, the nudge became more fierce. Link yelled, and tried kicking the monster in the nose, but that made it angrier. The shark took it's massive jaws and sank into Link's arm. Link screamed out in pain and the ocean turned a dark red color.
Linebeck began to tremble.
"Shit, Ciela, what do we do!?" He asked.
"Get in there and save him!"
"YOU CRAZY!? THERE'S A GYORG IN THERE!" He yelled back at her.
"JUST GET IN THERE!" She said pushing him close to the railing of the boat. Linebeck flopped over, and before falling into the ocean yelled, "I CAN'T SWIM!" The sound of the splash scared away the gyorg, and when Linebeck resurfaced, he began flailing his arms about.
"Don't do that! You'll attract more of them!" Ciela called out. Linebeck was able to somewhat stay afloat and glanced around for Link. He managed to see the kid swimming at him, one arm in the water, bleeding, and he had the other helping him towards Linebeck. Although in much pain, Link kept swimming. Linebeck grabbed a hold of the boat, and when Link was close enough grabbed onto him. He pulled them both onto the boat.
They both laid there on the drenched deck. Linebeck sat up, "Kid are you- Oh goddesses ..." Linebeck's eyes widened. He looked over at Link, and his left arm was still there. Barely. It was left by a single strand of skin. He gulped.
"Ciela, what do I do ..." He asked.
Ciela was too shocked to say anything, and Link was petrified. He was too much in shock to feel any pain or realize what was going on. Linebeck took off his blue trenchcoat and wrapped what was left of Link's arm upward from the dangling strand.
"Ciela, talk to me! He's just a kid! Do I leave his arm there!? It's just dangling, do I -." He put a hand to his forehead and sighed.
"We need to take him to the nearest island." Ciela replied suddenly.
Linebeck stood up, "That's Mercay Island." He bent down and brought Link below deck, setting him on one of the bunks. Link looked over at him, "Linebeck ... whats going on ...? I can't feel my arm ..." He said.
Linebeck looked down at Link's nearly severed arm. It was covered in his coat which was becoming drenched in blood.
"Ciela, stay with him, I'll get us to Mercay." Linebeck said walking to the wheel.
"Linebeck, you're acting really brave ... which is strange ..."
He sighed, "I'm not gonna let Link's blood be by my hand. I won't let him die when he's under my care."
"You can be a good man ... when you think right."
"Shut up."
They had reached Mercay island within ten minutes, and they had given Link to Oshus. They had been there since late morning and it was almost midnight. Linebeck and Ciela waited in the main room of Oshus' house, while he was in another working on Link.
"I never knew old man Oshus was a doctor." Linebeck said leaning against the wall, with his arms crossed.
Ciela relaxed on a nearby table, "He's taken it up in case there was ever an emergency on the island."
Linebeck looked down, "Well, it's a good thing he did."
The duo heard the door open and they both looked at Oshus.
"So, grandpa, how is he?" Ciela asked.
Oshus smiled warmly, "He'll live."
Linebeck and Ciela collectively sighed in relief.
"But," Oshus added, "His arm was barely attached to the rest of him ... I'm afraid, I had to sever it ... and it was his dominant arm."
Linebeck looked down sadly. "How could I let this happen to him ... I know I can be selfish, but look where it got him ..." He mumbled.
"Ciela, I wish to talk to you." Oshus said walking away. As he passed Linebeck, "Linebeck, you can go see the boy. He's conscious, but barely."
Linebeck nodded, "Thanks, Oshus." He walked into the room, and saw Link covered in bandages, but mostly they covered his shoulder and the stub of what remained of his arm. He still wore his green clothes, but they had rips in the seams from the gyorg's rough skin. Linebeck pulled up a stool and put it next to Link's bed. He sat on it, glancing at Link's severed limb. He had his eyes closed; he had probably fallen asleep.
"Hey, kid."
Link opened his eyes and looked over, smiling slightly, "Hi ..." His smile broke though, "It's not there ... is it ...?" He asked. Linebeck rested his elbows on the mattress and relaxed his head in them, running his own hands through his hair.
"Agh, kid, I'm sorry ... Sorry for what happened to you. If I had paid better attention to how I was steering, maybe you wouldn't have fallen off. I'm a worthless old man and I couldn't even save you, and right now I'm your caretaker."
"No your not. I'm not any of your business." Link replied, "I just came along and needed your ship. You don't need to look after me."
"Link, you're what, thirteen? I don't care if your just borrowing my ship, you're still a kid and need to be looked after."
Link remained silent, feeling he was now a burden on Linebeck.
"But anyways, I'm real sorry Link. I know I seem like a mean jerk, but right now, seeing you like this- I feel horrible!" He added.
"I know ... Linebeck?"
"Hm?"
"Sorry I made you go out of your way to com-"
"No, Link. Don't be sorry. I had to keep you alive." Linebeck smiled, "You have a friend to save, no?"
Link snapped back into reality and jumped up quickly, but then flinched as his wound re-opened.
Linebeck sighed angrily, "Kid, relax, we'll go get Tetra as soon as you're healed." He forced Link to lay back down. "Now look, your wound opened back up!" He said angrily. He walked over to the bedside table and found more bandages. He unwrapped those that were around Link's stub, and as he pulled them off, he stared in disbelief.
"Damn kid ..." Linebeck whispered.
"How bad is it ..?" Link asked.
Linebeck looked at the bite marks, the stitches, and where the blood had started seeping out. He began wrapping the bandages around it again. "It ... could be worse ..." He lied.
"I don't see how ..."
"Trust me kid, it could be ..."
"How am I suppose to use my sword now? How am I gonna fight?"
"Just train yourself to use your right arm." Linebeck bit the bandage and pinned it, securing it around Link's arm. "There."
"Linebeck, how long until we leave?"
Linebeck shrugged, "Ciela, Neri, Leaf and I are waiting until you're fully recovered. Even if it takes months."
Link shook his head rapidly, "No! We need to leave soon!"
"Link!" Linebeck yelled.
Link cringed and Linebeck ruffled his hair, "We're waiting. No buts about it." He got up and walked out of the room, and Link turned away facing the wall. It felt weird that he couldn't bring his left arm over. Everything was going to be different now.
