Chapter 2

Sleep. Waves upon waves of inky darkness. Link tumbled, tossed from side to side by unknown forces, drowning in the murky gloom. Three years had passed since his escape from the fortress, three long, long years, and yet sleep still troubled the young man. He paused. There was a change. He felt it. An ever-so-subtle change. A jagged shaft of light forked an opening in the black abyss. Link knew what that meant. He knew, and he didn't like it.

It was time to dream.

Mine. I can't believe it. It's just for me!

Seven-year-old Link sat cross-legged under the shade of an immense oak tree and gazed lovingly at his prize. The forest sunlight flitted through the gently swaying canopy of leafy branches and warmly kissed his face. In the distance he caught the faint sound of laughter and voices floating in the cool air all the way from the nearby town known only as the Kokiri Settlement. Everyone sounded so happy.

Obviously. It's because everyone was celebrating today. Eating, laughing and being generally merry. There would be fireworks later tonight, too. Link didn't really like the sound of that. Literally. Far too loud and scary.

But just right now, Link couldn't have cared less about his hometown and what they had planned for later. Now, his heart was almost fit to burst with excitement and joy.

Cradled in his lap was an apple. His apple.

Today was the Feastival Day, this year marking the fiftieth anniversary of...of...of

Something. Link wasn't quite sure what. He'd never really been that bothered.

So. Feastival Day. And, as the name suggested, the people of the Kokiri Settlement feasted, not just on food, but on gifts and merriment, too. Or, to put it bluntly, it was party time!

Link grinned. He knew that the other kids had gotten all the latest toys - the Gerudo Annihilator Replica Sword or the Goron Hammer of Justice play set - and knew that his Mama couldn't afford much. But today, for the very first time, things had been different. Today had been the first Feastival Day that she'd managed to get him anything, the first where he hadn't had to put on a brave face as his Mama had hugged him tightly, tears in her eyes, whispering "Next year, darling. Next year."

So this year he'd gotten something. An apple.

And not just any apple, He held it up to the light, one eye squinting, and admired the glossy crimson sheen. You don't get red apples like this in the Kokiri Settlement. Even little Link knew that. He didn't know what its name was, but it had to have been brought in from outside. And it must have cost a lot.

Link sighed in contentment. Most of all, it was his apple.

"What you get there, cough boy?"

Startled, Link jumped. So engrossed had he been in his gift that he hadn't noticed the two larger boys approach. Mido and Groose, Link's ever-present tormentors. Well, it was really more Mido than the other boy. Groose just seemed to tag along, bored and fascinated all at the same time.

Mido's boot crunched to a halt right in front of Link. A scatter of leaves fell lazily from above. "I said," the bulky boy spat. "What you got there?"

Link tried to hide the apple behind his back. "N-n-nothing!"

Mido kicked him straight in the jaw. Link tumbled back, stung. His mouth thrummed with pain. His head was spinning. Then, embarrassingly, Link began to heave. Throaty coughs began to clog his throat. He couldn't help it. This always happened to him. And he hated it. Hated it something fierce.

And now tears were pooling in his eyes. He hated that even more

"Don't lie to me, you worthless worm," Mido spat. "And don't you be getting your germs over me. I might catch poverty off of you."

"Just leave it, Mido," Groose said. Shafts of sunlight illuminated the thick green undergrowth beyond. "It's just an apple. We got those new Transmaskers from Termina. We can turn into anything. Let's go test 'em!"

Mido glanced at Groose, then turned to Link. "Give it to me."

"N-no."

Mido brought his boot down hard on the centre of Link's chest. Phlegm went flying from his mouth, and he was overcome by another violent fit of coughing.

"Ugh!" Mido cried, grimacing. "I told you not to -

THWACK!

Mido whirled around, rubbing the back of his head. A thick branch lay at his feet. "Who...?"

Link looked up, too. Standing atop a gnarled tree stump with hands on her hips was the new girl who had just moved in. Link frowned. What was her name...? Esmerelda...? No. Zelda...

"Oh, ho," Mido smirked, nudging a disinterested Groose with his elbow. "It's the funny talking foreign girl."

Her profile already outlined in golden sunlight, Zelda's face, set solid in anger, was quite a sight. Link had to take a few deep breaths.

Zelda wagged a plump finger. "You are being leaving him alone now, yes?"

Mido sniggered. "And if I don't? What will you do?"

Groose clutched at his friend's sleeve. "Leave it. Let's go."

Mido jerked free, then began to slowly stalk toward the girl. Twigs and dried leaves crackled and snapped under his boots. "Well?"

Zelda, undeterred, folded her arms. "Then I will be hitting you with something harder than a stick!"

"Oh, really?" Mido crept closer. His fingers were semi-flexed, almost like claws. His grin widened as he came closer and closer and -

Zelda kicked him straight in the face.

"OWWWW!" Mido, clutching his nose, stumbled back into a shocked Groose.

Zelda jumped off the stump, picked up her long skirts, then ran over to Link. The young boy, eyes wide, began to shrink back.

Zelda skidded to a halt, then gazed down at him. "We are running now."

"W-what?"

Zelda held out a hand. "We are running now. Okay?"

"O-okay."

And run they did. Over tree stumps, dodging trees, and leaping through the tiniest of gaps that only children as small as the two of them could ever hope to fit through.

When they were finally sure that they weren't being followed, Zelda called a halt. She placed a palm against a tree and doubled over as she tried to catch her breath. Still wide-eyed and clutching his apple, Link slowly began to back away. Zelda looked up, puzzled.

Link froze. His mouth dried. He could feel his limbs begin to tremble.

What now? What do I do now?

Instinct took over, and Link did what he always did when any human bar his mother got too close. "Y-you go away. Go away!"

Zelda straightened her back. "I am thinking you have a very funny way of saying thanking you."

"Go away!" Link shrieked. He could feel another wave of coughing rising, and he again hated himself for it. "Leave me alone."

"Hmm," said Zelda, not moving. She folded her arms and stood imperiously. "Why are you letting those boys be treating you like that? You must be brave. You must being strong."

"W-why did you help me? What do you want from me?"

"I am helping you because it is being the right thing to do."

She tried to take a step forward but was jerked back instantly. "Ow!" she spat as she looked down. She tugged at her foot. "Oh bother!"

Link peered at her cautiously. "What's wrong?"

Impatience flashed across Zelda's face, and Link shrank back. Seeing that, she swallowed, then softened her expression. "I am being stuck, see?" she pointed. Her foot had sank deep into the earth. "I am thinking something has my foot."

If Link's eyes could have got any wider, they would have. "Some...thing?"

Zelda tried to smile. Somewhere above a bird squawked. "Do not be worrying. There are being many such creatures in a forest such as this."

"C-creatures?" Link swallowed. "I b-better go."

Zelda's eyes expanded instantly, forming round sapphire ovals that seemed to shine with their own internal light. "You are going to be leaving me here?"

"I - I -" And then, suddenly, Link felt something click deep within his heart, felt something suddenly change. He couldn't explain what it was, and he couldn't explain to his protesting mind why, but Link slowly began to edge forward. Once he'd gotten close enough, he peered down into the hole. Sure enough some green plant-like thing had swallowed Zelda's foot up to her ankle. Link gulped.

He closed his trembling free hand into a fist. He swallowed again, then ploughed his fist into the creature. It's green jaws snapped open instantly, and Zelda stumbled free, then fell flat on her rump with a squeak.

"Oh, thanking you!" she breathed. "Oh thanking you so much!"

She moved toward him, arms outstretched. Link flinched and scrambled backward. Usually when someone approached him like that it was to deliver a blow.

Zelda watched him cautiously, a strange look in her eyes, then slowly sat back down. She seemed to understand. And for some reason that Link couldn't fathom, that made his heart swell with warmth.

A light breeze rustled the leaves overhead. Zelda's eyes dropped to his hand. "What is that you are holding?"

Link glanced down. "Oh. It's - it's an apple. From my Mama. For Feastival Day. Today."

Zelda smiled. "It is being very pretty."

And, yet again, Link felt something deep within him click, felt something else change. In halting, jerking movements, he held the apple out to Zelda. "W-would you like to take the first bite?"

Zelda's smiled widened. She reached out, slowly this time as though she didn't want to startle him, and took the apple. "You are being very kind," she said. "What is your name?"

"Healer!" The dreamscape began to blur, colours spilling, forms dissolving. "Hey, Link!"

Slowly, ever so slowly, Link's consciousness began to drag him back home.

###

Recording...

This is your Goron-Z Co. Fi-class fairy speaking. Designation: Navi. I'm the ship's pilot, engineer, and communications specialist.

Ain't I great?

I'm also the ship's eyes and ears. My job is to make a fresh report each and every day with the proviso to annotate it for a non-specialist audience. That'd be you listeners, then.

One day your life will flash before your very eyes. Probably because I've been recording every single moment. Like they say: better make it worth watching, hey?

But let's check in with Mining Team Beta-Beta-Gamma...

###

"Healer!"

The voice cut through the fog of Link's sleep, and for that he was grateful. The tar-pit of his dreams held no refuge for him. Why-oh-why did the past keep prodding him so?

"Hey, Link!" the voice called again. "Quit snoozing and get yourself out here! We've got a situation here, you snag?"

"Yeah, yeah, I snag," Link grumbled, swinging his legs out from his bed. He sat there for a moment, befuddled, then rubbed the stickiness from his eyes, flapped his mouth open and closed a number of times, and yawned for good measure. His deliberation was intentional. If it had really been an emergency, Navi would have shocked him awake with a buzz of light energy straight to the bloodstream.

Pulling on his clothes in a heartbeat, he grabbed his battered medi-gear box from the makeshift tin table by his bed, then put on his long forest-green coat. The whole shack was made of tin, with water dripping in from the rusted roof above just to remind him how temporary it was. Each of the crew had their own crude version of this very same cabin, and each was just as sparse as Link's. After all, they kept the bulk of their supplies back on the ship.

Well. There was that one thing he kept hidden in here. But it wasn't like he'd ever get to use that.

"Are you up yet, lad?" the voice boomed from the outside. "Or you happy there in the pleasure of your own company?"

"No, not really," Link grumbled under his breath. "Rather be with someone I actually like."

Straightening his coat's collar, Link stepped out into dark.

###

Designation: Link.

Race: Hylian of the Kokiri Settlement.

Function: Doctor.

Trivia: None, because all his files are strictly classified.

Nice.

###

Dark. It was nearly always dark, here in the northern-most hemisphere of Hyrule. Mining Team BBG had two constant companions: the cold, and the swirl of stars overhead. That, and the permanently rocky decor that lay stretched in every direction they looked.

Okay, I exaggerate. We've still got the lamps. We've still got some light.

And that was how Link could make out shapes and shadows in the gloom, specifically the huge shadow he presently found himself under. He looked up to see the reassuring presence of their modest ship, hovering like a silent guardian of the air, its sails rippling under the faint night-time breeze.

Spheres of light emanating from the lanterns placed on the rocky ground below illuminated the mining vessel's crimson painted hull. The ship's brass railings gleamed wherever the light caught it. Though made mostly of wood, thin rivulets of steel galvanised with light energy held her together. She was a sturdy old girl, that was for sure.

Those sails, though? The ship didn't need them. Nor did any sky boat. Another relic from the ancients. Light energy powered the huge underside engines - now laying dormant, silent and dark - and the sails were just a decoration, a nod to the past where such ships would plough through the ocean waves.

She was old, she was battered, and she was home. Link smiled. He was certain he'd finally fallen in love.

###

Our ship!

Type: Goron-Z Co. Cloud Clipper Mark I. Three decks high. The middle is the crew's living quarters. The lower is the cargo hold. We hardly ever go down there.

Designation: The Righteous Maximus.

Link chose the name. That's just how he rolls.

###

In the distance, Link spied the young girl Saria sitting flat on the ground and nursing her arm with the large form of Gortram crouched over her in concern. It was a testament to the strength of the Goron's voice that he'd managed to make his words carry this far.

Still. Even from this distance, it didn't look too bad.

Hurrying over, old habits kicked in: assess the situation, find the appropriate conclusion. He picked his way across the rocky terrain, stones veined with silver and quartz spinning away from under the heel of his boots.

"Took you long enough," the captain growled as Link dropped to a crouch.

"Sorry," Link replied. "A little tired."

"Wouldn't need so much sleep if you didn't work yourself so hard, snag?"

"I find a bit of late night digging helps clear the mind. Keeps you focussed and all that."

"There's more to life than work, lad."

Saria snorted, her green eyes sparkling. "Like there's anything else to do around here but work."

The captain ignored her. "Got something on your plate, lad? Need to share?"

"Nothing to worry about, sir," said Link.

Gortram twitched. "How many months is that now, lad?"

"Sorry?"

"How many months since I told you."

"Told me what?"

"Told you not to call me 'sir.'"

###

Designation: Gortram

Race: Goron

Function: Captain and Fearless Leader.

Trivia: Captain Gortram likes to frequent the Enlightened Bliss Beaches of the Zora, where all tastes are catered for, and all ages welcomed. The immoral and the dissolute, though, go straight to the resort's seedy underbelly to gratify their frankly quite unnatural lusts with the very willing (for a price, of course) female population.

Gortram goes to ride the children's Mine Carts.

Cute.

###

Link turned back to the young girl's wound. "Just a little cut," he said, examining her arm. "What was the drama for, hey?"

"Oh, we need drama," said Saria, sighing theatrically. "We really need some drama."

Link ignored her. "Some standard issue antiseptic lotion and a bandage should sort it." Aided by the faint, ghostly starlight and a lantern perched near some discarded pick-axes, Link peered in a little closer, then glanced up at the young girl. "Rock shrapnel, right?"

"Stop that."

"What?"

"Using your doctor voice on me."

"Doctor voice?"

"Y'know, making me feel all calm and relaxed and wanting to spill out my guts to you."

A tight smile stretch over Link's lips. "I don't do that. Anyway, see? You're fine. Back to your normal, happy self. Nothing to worry about, hey?" There was a gleam in his eye before he asked again, "So, rock shrapnel, right?"

Saria nodded, oblivious to what Link had just done. "I thought I'd add a bit of variety, y'know? So boring. Lift the axe, break the rock. Lift the axe, break the rock. Lift the ax-"

"And so-?" Link cut in, squinting at the wound. It looked clean, and the lotion was settling in nicely. Excellent.

"So I thought I'd spin the axe before digging in. Except while I was spinning, it caught another piece of rock and -"

"You got a rock shrapnel." Link patted her freshly bandaged arm. "Good thing it didn't get stuck in there."

Saria smiled. "I wouldn't have worried, anyhow."

Link arched an eyebrow, smiling. "Oh?"

" You'd have patched me up, wouldn't you? Right?"

Link's smile faded. A shadow flitted over his features. "I don't do promises."

"Ooh, serious," Saria teased. "Thanks, anyway."

###

Designation: Saria

Race: Unknown

Function: Unknown

Trivia: Saria's presence on the crew breaks every known Hylian Child Labour laws from at least the past two centuries.

Sweet.

###

Saria wiggled her fingers and tested her arm. She sighed. "Back to the old grind, then?"

"Yeah," the captain muttered. "Playtime's over, kids."

Saria's face soured. "Oh, joy."

"Hey, don't talk like that," Link replied, picking up one of the discarded pick-axe. With a heave, Link lifted the axe over his head, the dull metal spike catching a sliver of faint starlight, then brought it down hard with a hollow rocky chunk. He didn't notice the glance traded between Saria and Captain Gortram. They knew what was coming.

"We can get the job done so long as we all work together," Link explained. "Remember, we're doing the right thing. We're digging out the Zayronite Princess Midna needs to power the light energy she uses in her war effort." He gestured over toward a large pile of dark rods, a testament how much they'd retrieved already this week.

"This stuff is sensitive," Link continued as he returned to his task, "so it can only be done by hand. We're just one of many teams around this here field. We are doing our part to end this war."

Link paused, pick-axe held aloft, as he felt the captain's hand come to rest on his shoulder. "Sing yourself to sleep with that song, Link?" Gortram asked softly. "You're preaching to the converted here. Maybe you're the one who's not yet convinced, snag?"

Link's face froze. He blinked once, twice. Stung, Link wrenched his shoulder free, then went back to his work. Gortram chuckled.

Saria watched the two adults for a moment, a pensive look cast on her face, then reached over for her own axe and began to flick at it absent-mindedly. "I know what you're saying, Link. Really, I do. But this would all be so much easier if we still had our full crew."

###

Designation: Anju and Kafei.

Race: Terminans.

Function: Crack husband and wife geologists.

Trivia: Anju doubled as the ship's chef. She wasn't very good at it.

Current status: MISSING IN ACTION.

So sad.

###

"Shouldn't even be out here, that's what I say," the captain growled. He perched himself atop the flattest looking rocky outcropping. He paused, sat upon his new throne against a backdrop of slowly swirling stars. "War should've been over years ago."

Saria sat up straight. "Mmm-hmm? Talking politics now, are we? I thought we all agreed that was a no-go."

The Captain grunted. "In light of your current condition, sprog, I'm giving the rule a rest for today."

Saria beamed in response. Link paused from his digging to glance over at Gortram. "What makes you say that, sir? About the war ending?"

"Call me 'sir' again, Link, and you'll be pulling that axe right out from -" He stopped as he noticed Saria's frankly juvenile grin. The fact that she was a child didn't make his mood any sweeter. "Away with you, sprog. I promised your momma I'd be taking care of you. And that includes those little ears of yours. You'll be hearing no filth from me."

Saria leaned forward. "Yeah, about that prom-"

"So," Gortram cut in. "Like I was saying. It wouldn't have taken much to end this war."

"No, just drop a big Goron hammer on everyone, right?"

The captain ignored her. "All I'm saying is this: we've got the Master Sword."

Saria blinked. "What, here?"

Still the Goron didn't take the bait. "You get the Master Sword, right? Or the princess does. And then just skewers that rat Dragmire with it. Skewers him good. Ain't that what the sword's for, anyhow? Evil's pain or something?"

"Bane," Link corrected, softly. "You have to find him first," he added. When he noticed that the others were now looking at him with interest, he continued, "Ganondorf. You have to find him. No one knows where he is."

"Yeah, whatever," said Saria. "It's not like you've been searching for him or anything, is it?"

Link felt the muscles in his jaw tighten. "No," he said through gritted teeth. He smashed another rock with his axe. Splinters shattered in all directions. "It's not."

"Watch it with that stuff," Saria said, brushing rockdust off of her shoulder. "We've already had one near fatal accident already today. Anyway, " Saria went on, a conspiratorial gleam in her eye. "I heard something about that Master Sword. Something about the sword and the princess." She looked around in glee.

"Out with it, then!" spat Gortram. "You've got your chance to talk politics. Don't waste it now."

"Yeah, Saria," said Link, his voice dark as he continued to dig. "Tell us, please."

Pleased with her responsive audience, Saria knitted her fingers and leaned back. "Well, it goes a little like this. Apparently, Princess Midna can't even use the Master Sword anymore. Uh-huh, you heard that right. You know why? Do you?" She looked from one man to the other. "It's the sword itself. It's deemed her not worthiness."

"Unworthy," Link cut in.

"Yeah, that," Saria bit back in irritation. "Anyway, she can't even lift it. Apparently she made some really terrible decision way back when and the sword doesn't think she's got it anymore. She's not worthy. Unworthy. Whatever. It's all a big cover-up."

Gortram shook his head. "But you know all about it, do you...?"

Saria shrugged. "I read about it. I like to read."

"Where?" the captain scoffed. "The Whistleblower? That trash rag?"

"Hey!" Saria said, her cheeks tinted rose. "It's good to read!" She sniffed, then added under her breath, "Besides, The Whistleblower's got some mega-major contacts..."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Link mumbled. "About her being unworthy."

"Mmm-hmm!" Saria cried. "Look who's a sourpuss now? One minute he's all 'we've got to do our bit for the effort' and now he's the Vice-Chairman of the Princess Midna Hate Club.'"

Sweat flew from Link's brow as he swung his axe down in a rhythmic whoosh-chunk, whoosh-chunk, whoosh-chunk cycle. "Hey, they don't call her the Twilight Princess for nothing. Twilight. Darkness. It's all there in the name."

"Hey," Gortram growled. "None of that disrespectful lip from you, lad." The captain eyed the younger man. "And who's 'they'"?

"The Gerudo have to be stopped." Whoosh-chunk. "But that doesn't mean -" Whoosh-chunk. "- I have to like - " Whoosh- chunk. "- Princess Midna."

"Oh, right," said Saria. "Like you know her personally or something."

Whoosh-chunk.

"That's not what I -"

Whoosh-CRACK.

Link froze. He stepped back as his two friends scrambled up for a better look. Gortram frowned. "What in the blue blazes was that...?"

Link crouched down, scrabbling away at all the dirt and detritus. "It appears I've found something," he said in his usual quiet voice. "Something that shouldn't be - hey, lend a hand, both of you. Looks like it's stuck fast."

Three pairs of hands burrowed into the dirt to get a firm handhold on the object. Link glanced at the other two, and they both nodded back. "Okay. On three. One...two...THREE!"

With a tug and a pop of sucked earth, the thing flew free, spun in the air, then landed at the tip of Link's boot.

Saria frowned. "Nope," she said as she peered down. "Still don't know what it is."

"And what it's doing here," the captain chimed in. "I'll have to report it." Gortram looked up, noticed Link's wide eyes and shocked visage. "What, lad? You know what this thing is...?"

"It's..." Link gazed down at the small, triangular shaped object. Strange markings pocked its varnished surface. "It can't..."

###

Uh-oh.

Status: Red blob-like object just appeared at the corner of my enhanced tactical vision.

Course of action: Notify the crew.

Nice chatting with you. I'm outta here.

###

"Proximity Alert! Proximity Alert!"

The trio all snapped their eyes up to see the team's resident fairy racing toward them, drops of light sprinkling in her wake.

"What're you babbling about, Navi?" the captain growled, stepping forward.

"Listen!" the fairy cried as she came to a sudden mid-air stop in front of them. "A warp gate's just been opened. A big one. Looks like a ship coming through."

"Where?"

"Um." Navi gestured vaguely. "That-a-way...?"

Captain Gortram sighed. "That helps. Well, there's no ships scheduled today. No-one's due to pick up any Zayronite until late next week. Maybe it's a lost supply frigate."

"No." The steely ice in Link's voice made everyone turn in his direction. "It's the Gerudo." He scooped the triangular shaped object off of the ground. "They want this."

"What?" Saria and the captain cried in unison.

"The Gerudo, here?" Gortram went on. "Not likely, lad."

"Yeah," Saria added. "What's got into you? Too much digging and not enough sleep, y'know?"

Link stepped up to the senior officer. "Captain Gortram, you must trust me on this. You must. We need to get on board the Maximus, and we need to leave. Now."

Gortram held Link's gaze. He chewed the inside of his cheek as he pondered. "Gerudo?" he said, unconvinced. "Really?"

"Captain!" Navi cried before Link could reply. "The incoming ship has changed course and is now bearing down on our position. Fast."

"How fast?"

"Very."

Gortram slowly turned to the fairy. "Why do I put up with you? Why?"

Navi grinned. "Because of my sunny disposition and optimistic out-"

"Captain...?" said Link.

Gortram gave him one last look. "Alright. Let's show some haste, people. But if this is a false alarm, you've got some explaining to do, Link. You snag?"

Link smiled. "I snag."

"We'll leave the shacks," the captain barked as they made their way back to the ship. "Just climb on board the Maximus for now."

Link frowned. "In that case..." He abruptly changed direction.

"Hey!" cried Gortram, but it was too late. Link had already sprinted over to his cabin. He popped inside, a dozen anxious heartbeats passed, and then he came back out with a brown leather scabbard strapped to his back.

Saria's jaw dropped. "A sword? Really? Since when do you have a sword? Why do you have a sword? What does any miner need with a sword?"

"Questions later, sprog," said Gortram. "Up the ladder with you." His face betrayed his own puzzlement, and he threw Link a meaningful look before he barked, "Navi - release the anchor!"

They'd barely all clambered onto the deck when the ship's underside engines slowly came to life, first with a low-level whine, then a slowly increasing growl. The turbines within began to spin, pulsing with light energy. Navigation lamps - red on the port side, green to starboard - flickered to life. The wooden planks of the deck thrummed gently as energy coursed through them, illuminating every panel line, nook and cranny.

"Full ahead!" called the captain.

"Aye," Navi replied as she floated at the furthermost tip of the bow.

The small mining vessel ponderously began to drift off. Anxiety gnawed at Link. "Come on, come on," he muttered. His neck suddenly prickled. He looked up, his heart clenched in fear. And with every good reason.

"They're here."

The glistening black Gerudo galleon swooped down from the sky, its immense sails billowing, its crew screaming curses and taunts. It was twice the size of The Righteous Maximus and bristled with cannons powered by glowing dark energy.

Saria's gaped open-mouthed in awe. "A Mark III Knight-Razor..."

"Navi!" Captain Gortram bellowed. "Evasive!"

The Righteous Maximus lurched to port, narrowly missing a collision with their Gerudo attacker. Thrown to the shuddering railings by the force of the engines swooping overhead, the small mining crew screamed in terror. A smear of dark energy trailed the enemy ship, like an indigo tear in the night sky.

"Hold on, everyone!" Link cried. "Hold on!"

The Gerudo cannons fired instantly. Ropes and rigging snapped. Wood splintered on the mining ship's right flank.

Gortram roared, fear and anger mixed in his bellow. "My ship! That's my ship, you scoundrels!" Seething, he pushed himself away from the ship's edge, then cried, "Navi! Status report!"

"Well," the little fairy said cheerily as she bobbed up and down above the ship's bow. "We're outclassed, out-gunned, out-manned, have a hole in one side of the ship and are facing our imminent - and no doubt slow and painful - deaths." Navi smiled sweetly at the captain. "Other than all that, everything is juuuuust fine."

Saria began to back slowly away from the ship's railings. "Oh. Oh gosh. This is really happening! We're dead! We are going to die!"

Gortram shook his head. "Link...Link!" he called. "Lad, we're just miners. We don't know how to fight." Somewhere on the deck a broken plank of wood clattered to the ground. "What do they want with us? What should we do?"

Link stood at the centre of the deck, reflexively dropping into an old fighting stance, his gaze following the path of the starlight-speckled Gerudo battleship as it cut a graceful arc through the night sky. Massive engines throbbed with dark energy, distorting the very air around the ship and filled their ears with a deep, guttural drone that vibrated down to their very bones. Lantern light framed the ship's nameplate: Skystalker.

The battleship turned again, and the air rang raw with the ever-increasing sounds of Gerudo curses mixed with banging drums. The growl from the Skystalker's engines deepened.

Link's eyes widened. "Oh...bother."

The enemy battleship suddenly pitched downward, its steel-reinforced prow on a direct course to try and ram the Maximus.

"Evasive," Navi said calmly.

The Righteous Maximus plunged out of harm's way, her crew screaming yet again, then pulled up sharply in an uneven curve as the rocky ground came suddenly into view.

Hair and clothes still aflutter from the backwash from the Skystalker's immense engines, Link dragged himself to his feet. His ears throbbed from the roar tearing through the air. "We work together," he said at last. "And we'll get out just fine. Navi - we need a warp gate. Now."

Liquid-fast wings fluttered. "Working on it."

Link nodded an acknowledgment. Let's just hope they don't have warp-blocking tech.

The ship's fittings began to rattle. Though The Righteous Maximus was still picking up speed, the Gerudo ship had already matched its pace and had now drawn up alongside it.

"Why aren't they firing?" Gortram asked.

Link peered over at the Skystalker. The toothless and the maimed glared back.

"They don't want to risk damaging us too much," he said. "Probably because of this." He patted a pouch hanging from his belt where he'd stored the object they'd found. "Looks like they're preparing a boarding party." He squinted. "Of just one person. Don't think they rate us much, hey?"

"Why should they?" said Saria, sprinting over to where Link stood with Gortram.

Link ran scenarios through his head. Assess the situation. Find the appropriate conclusion.

He gazed down at the young girl. "Saria. We're going to need a distraction. I know you can do it. I believe in you."

The young girl shook her head in incredulous disdain. "You are so bad at giving inspirational speeches."

Link smiled. She's mastered her fear. That's what matters now.

"Captain," he said. "You're with me."

Gortram nodded grimly, heaving a pick-axe up to bear. "Aye. If this is how it ends, then let's go down with pride."

Link's returning smile was as equally grim. He shifted attention. "Navi...?"

"Still working on it. Just for you information: It may not be the most stable of warp gates. We could end up anywhere. Or in itsy-bitsy little pieces." She smiled cheerfully . "Still living pieces."

"Just...just do the best you can."

The Righteous Maximus shook as the Skystalker rammed into her side. Cackles and snarls erupted from the Gerudo crew. One warrior leapt over the narrowed gap, landing with easy grace onto the mining ship's deck. His sword slid free with a metallic whisper. A violet outline of dark energy enveloped the blade.

"Ahoy, there!" the Gerudo called. "Prepare to be boarded in the name of the rightful king, Ganondorf Dragmire!"

Captain Gortram glanced over at Link. Link looked back. "It's your ship, sir."

"Aye!" He raised his axe. "Over my rotting carcass will you board this ship, you foul Gerudo scum!"

The warrior's eyes narrowed. "Oh, this is going to be so-"

One of the deck's wooden beams creaked. The Gerudo swung to his left, brandishing his sword. Saria froze, mid-tiptoe.

"What?" the warrior spat. "Were you actually trying to distract me?"

Saria's mask of shock abruptly melted into a wide grin. "I think I just did."

"Wha - AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

The Gerudo stumbled backward as Gortram's axe bit into his shoulder. The warrior wrenched himself free, then with a feral growl he kicked the weapon out of the captain's hand, grabbed the Goron's hair with his free hand, and slammed Gortram's head into the ship's railings.

"Fool!" the interloper spat. "Your skill is to break rocks. Mine is to kill filth like you. How dare you attack me?"

Stunned, the captain lurched away. Spurred on by the hoots and cries flying from the Skystalker, the warrior moved in for the kill -

Only to find his path blocked by a sword-wielding Link.

The Gerudo smirked. "Think you can use that thing, boy?"

Link brought the blade to bear. A sparkling golden glow of light energy lined the polished steel. His eyes narrowed, blood thudded within. His foe was slower now, thanks to the captain. Slower, and still far too arrogant. Link swallowed. He had to time this just right.

Still smirking, the warrior teased an attack with a few, short jabs. The air sizzled and buzzed with crackling energy. Cheers and the thump of drums battled with the throaty roar of the two ships' engines.

Link then dived in with a sudden thrust that sent his sword clattering against his foe's. Surprised by the attack, the warrior tried to spin away, only for Link to slice in an arc that caught the man on his shoulder.

Link tensed as his foe, heaving, dropped into a new stance. The warrior wiped his mouth with his sleeve. From the calculating look in his eyes, Link knew that the Gerudo was readjusting his assessment of his opponent.

Now the real battle would begin. The energy fields enveloping each blade made their weapons feel as light as air. This would be nothing like the slow, lumbering battles of the ancients Link had read about back at the Royal Academy.

They both leapt at each other at the same instant, their swords blurring in a flurry of frantic movement - thrust, lunge, parry, whirl, thrust, deflect - faster than most eyes could follow. Golden light bled into violet.

Link, out of practice for so long, felt his left arm began to spasm and ache .There were only two ways you could win an energised sword fight against a skilled opponent, and one of those was when one person collapsed from sheer fatigue. Link pushed down the icy fear that tingled his veins and concentrated on the other way. Master Swordsmen had drummed it into both armies, training their eyes to track every enemy movement, waiting, watching, like a hawk stalking its prey. Waiting for that tell-tale moment...

There.

The Gerudo left a sliver of a gap, and Link followed through with a thrust that pierced the warrior's forearm. Sword flying out of his grasp, the interloper threw back his head to bellow in pain. Link tugged his own blade free, leapt into the air and cracked the Gerudo's jaw with a spinning kick that sent him tumbling over the ship's railings. an ever-diminishing scream marking his flight down.

Link landed in a crouch. As he stood he slowly let his sword spin, chopping air with an electric hum, before sliding it back into its sheathe. A sudden silence enveloped the stunned Gerudo crew of the Skystalker. The sails of both ships flapped in the wind.

Saria, watching from behind the safety of some grubby tied-down barrels, blinked once. And then blinked again. "Wow."

"Alert!" Navi cried, breaking the moment. "Warp gate imminent!"

Link clenched a fist. "Yes! Excellent work!"

"But I've warned you all already - it's not stable!"

"Just punch it, Navi!" cried Link.

The little fairy grinned. "Sweet!"

The glowing blue spiral of a warp gate erupted in the shimmering air in front of The Righteous Maximus's prow. Chaos exploded on the Gerudo ship as it dawned on them exactly what was happening. Urgent shouts and bellowed orders mixed with the mechanical whirr of gears and chains positioning the cannons to take aim.

Saria watched the spectacle in wide-eyed terror. "Oh boy..."

Explosive booms followed. The whistle of flying projectiles was only cut short by their crunching impact against The Righteous Maximus's shuddering hull. The ship lurched violently with each blow.

"Naviiiii!" Captain Gortram bellowed as he dragged himself upright. "They're tearing us apart!"

The fairy flew to the ship's prow, arms outstretched, her glistening wings reflecting the electric-blue light of the warp gate. As that self-same light began to swallow the ship whole, a cackling Navi threw back her tiny head and cried:

"HERE. WE. GO!"