It is so great to be back. Sorry I took so long to get back on track, but that's life. But enough about that, let's get things going.

DISCLAIMER: The following is a non-profit fan-based parody. The Legend of Zelda is owned by Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Eiji Aonuma. Please support the official release.

Link watched as his home became a tiny speck on the horizon. He had never been away from Outset before. The thought that he may never return threatened to force itself into his mind, but her pushed it away when Tetra called out to him.

"Hey, Link!" she said.

"Hmm?" Link muttered.

"Get down below deck! You'll get in everybody's way if you stay up here!" Tetra barked.

Link wasn't in an arguing mood, so he simply nodded and made his way across the deck towards the door leading inside the ship, opened it, and entered.

The first thing he saw was one of the pirates, Nudge, standing in front of a doorway on the opposite side of the room. Then he noticed the stairs, extending down in front of the pirate and leading towards the ship's hold. Link walked over towards the stairs.

"Hold up, kid. There's a rule you should be aware of. Nobody, and I mean nobody, is allowed in Miss Tetra's quarters, except Miss Tetra herself, of course. If I catch you in there, you'll be thrown over the side of the ship before you can say 'oops'. We clear?" Nudge warned.

"Crystal." Link answered.

"Good. Now get moving." said Nudge.

Link wandered down the stairs and entered the hold. He was immediately accosted by another pirate.

"Heh heh, hello there, swabbie. I am Niko, and as of today, I am your superior. Lucky for you, the deck was already swabbed before my sudden promotion, so we'll move on to the next part of your initiation." said Niko.

"Initiation?" asked Link.

This was certainly news to the green-clad boy.

"As the new swabbie, you have to go through initiation, and it's up to the former swabbie, in this case, me, to walk you through it. Now, let's begin." said Niko.

He walked over to a switch on the ground and stepped on it. Several platforms suddenly raised out of the ground across the hold.

"Your test is to cross these platforms and reach the doorway on the other side." Niko explained.

With a grunt of effort, the short pirate leapt across the short gap between the raised entrance to the hold and the first platform.

"As you can see, it's quite simple to jump between them. However, simply jumping won't cut it the whole way through." Niko continued.

He then leapt off the platform towards a farther one, but before he began to plummet, he had grabbed onto one of the ropes used to hang the torches that served as a light source for the hold.

"You'll have to grab onto the ropes and use them to swing across the gaps." Niko explained.

Niko swung his legs back and forth until the torch was swinging with him, then at the apex of the torch's forward swing, he dismounted, landing on the far platform.

Niko quickly finished the rest of the obstacle course. Not a moment later, the platforms descended and the switch Niko had stepped on reset itself.

"Oh, right, I should probably tell you, the platforms don't stay up forever. If you take too long, they'll go back down and you'll have to start all over. Don't worry if you can't finish it on the first try. Why, even I, Niko, couldn't do that, nope. It took me a year, and it'll probably take you just as long. Well, start whenever you're ready." Nico finished.

Link wasted little time stepping on the switch, raising the platforms once more. He began jumping across them, using the ropes when needed, until at last he jumped from the last platform to the other side of the hold where Niko was standing.

"WHAT?! You've finished it already?! I-I'm...proud to have you as...as my...as my underling!" Nico exclaimed.

Link rolled his eyes.

'I wonder if it's alright to give him 'that'. No one really seems to care about it and I doubt I'll get busted.' thought Niko.

"Alright, swabbie," Niko announced, standing aside so that Link could see through the doorway, "I've decided to reward you for completing the test so quickly. The chest in the storage room contains treasure, and it's all yours. Just...maybe don't mention it to anyone?"

Link pondered this for a moment. He had a feeling that Niko didn't exactly have the authority to give him treasure, and stealing from pirates was definitely not a smart idea, but on the other hand, the brunt of the punishment would likely be on Niko's head, so perhaps he should take the chance after all.

His mind made up, Link stepped towards the chest and forced it open. Reaching into it, he pulled out a small, purple bag with a face on the front. Lifting the flap on the top, he peered inside and saw that the bag was empty.

Link turned to Niko, his eyebrow raised in an accusatory manner.

"I didn't say the bag would have anything in it. We haven't had the chance to use it! It's a spoils bag. It's used to carry battle spoils. You know, important things that your enemies drop after you best them in combat?" Niko explained.

Link shrugged in response. Tetra's voice cut through the silence.

"Link! Get up above deck right now!"

Link turned to leave the storage room.

"Seriously, don't tell anyone I gave you that bag. I may not be authorized to give out treasure to people." Niko warned.

'I knew it.' thought Link.

Link made his way back across the hold, climbed the stairs, and exited the door to the deck of the ship.

"Miss Tetra is waiting for you in the crow's nest." Gonzo informed Link had stepped outside.

Link nodded affirmative. He proceeded to the ladder that lead to the crow's nest and began climbing. Upon reaching the top, he was greeted by Tetra.

"There you are! What were you doing all this time?" Tetra interrogated.

"Uhh-" Link started, but he was cut off.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter. Look over there." Tetra pointed her finger to her right.

Link turned his head and saw their destination, the Forsaken Fortress. The structure was huge, with pathways and doors leading in every direction. Searchlights were everywhere, and cannons covered the walls. The pirate ship was hidden behind a large rock, with the crow's nest having just enough height to allow a view of the fortress.

"I wonder where they're keeping Aryll." he mused.

"You're her brother, you tell me!" said Tetra.

Link gazed at the fortress, trying to think of where his sister might be being held.

"Right there!" he suddenly exclaimed.

"Where?" asked Tetra.

"That window with the flock of seagulls flying around it. Aryll always had a way with seagulls. They seemed to flock to her like butterflies to nectar. I'm positive that that room is where she's being held." Link explained.

"That's all well and good, but there's one problem. The whole place is awash with searchlights. They'll see us before we even get anywhere near it. If that happens, all those cannons will start firing, and we can kiss out butts goodbye." Tetra agreed.

'Hmm, what to do?' she thought.

Suddenly, Tetra's eyes widened and she let out a quiet gasp. She had an idea. She gave Link an unseen wink.

Link barely had time to register the pain as the butt of Tetra's cutlass was bashed into his head and he fell unconscious. When he came to, he noticed two things. First was a dull, throbbing headache, Second was that he couldn't move his limbs. A feeling of panic washing over him, Link glanced down only to be met with the sight of wood. He was stuck in a barrel. He heard Tetra's voice addressing him.

"Oh good, you're awake."

Link took in his surroundings. He was still on the ship. He saw Tetra and a few of her pirates standing around him. For some reason, Link was at eye level with the taller pirates. Glancing back down, Link realized that the barrel he was inside of was perched on the ship's catapult.

"What do you guys think you're doing?!" Link screamed.

"Relax, kid, we're pros. We're gonna launch you good!" said Gonzo.

Now Link understood. Glancing behind him as best he could to see the trajectory of the catapults launch, his suspicions were confirmed when he saw the Forsaken Fortress.

"Are we ready?" asked Tetra.

The pirates nodded. Tetra drew her cutlass and stepped forward, towards the rope holding down the catapult.

"You wouldn't!" shouted Link.

"Three!" Tetra counted.

She would. Tetra grinned cheekily and continued her countdown.

"Two!"

"I swear to the goddesses I'm going to get you back for this one day, Tetra." Link grumbled, pouting.

"One!"

Link braced himself, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth.

Tetra cut the rope, shooting the catapult forward and flinging the barrel, and Link along with it, flying.

Tetra and her crew watched as Link flew off towards the fortress. Gonzo gave a sarcastic good-bye wave. Tetra reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, blue stone.

'Be careful, Link.' she thought.

Tetra snapped out of her thoughts.

"What was that about? Get a hold of yourself, girl. Any more of that, and you'll start thinking you actually care about him." she said to herself.

Link screamed as the barrel zoomed towards the wall of the fortress. His scream was cut off as he slammed into the wall. The force of the impact caused the barrel to burst apart.

Unfortunately, it also jolted Link's sword from it's sheath, sending it flying a few feet away where it landed on a small platform jutting out from the side of the structure.

Link vaguely remembered thinking about how screwed he was without a weapon as he plummeted to the water below.

Hope it was enjoyable. As always, thanks for reading, and until next time, I have been TheLoZKing, signing off.