Chapter 63: Ghost Island
…
Link stood over the decapitated corpse of the Dreamweaver. How it had happened, he could not be sure; he was not holding a weapon.
Clouds began building around him, blocking out the blue sky. His stomach knotted as he realized that something was happening when it should not. The clouds darkened as they writhed around him. A single figure emerged from the clouds.
A Sorian girl with dark skin and black feathers. Link glanced down at her feet to see red forming a puddle around her. When she raised her arms to operate something she had pressed against her chest, he saw that the red liquid was dripping from her wingtips. Link's eyes moved to the object to see that it was the Dreamweaver's device.
And the person who was holding it, sporting a wide, psychotic grin and an undertone of madness in her large, amber eyes, was Janni.
"I love you, Link," she told him. "You don't have to be killed." The knot in Link's stomach twisted harder, the insinuation behind Janni's tone indicating he was about to be killed anyway.
The clouds started molding themselves into solid objects. The multi-legged arthropod with razor-sharp mandibles, the metal-plated Dinolmos, the floating skulls, a whole horde of Ghini, legions of Goriya—all manner of creature he had encountered in the Dreamweaver's dreams. Including the Slayer Spirit, Illusomorph, Dark Link, the legless colossus with its stone-covered fist… a glance upward revealed the black world that was Narka hovering far overhead, body still shrouded in shadows.
And Link caught sight of a pair of its hands ripping the Island Symphony in half. He could not be certain, but he thought he heard his crew's screams in the distance.
"You have no crew to save now, Link," Janni said.
Link quickly reached over his shoulder for his sword. When his hand found nothing, he reached for the rigging knife on his hip. However, he could not even feel the clothes on his body. A quick glance down revealed that he was standing completely naked.
Janni clicked her tongue. "Feeling a little exposed, Link?" she teased him. Link looked back up to see that she was almost within arm's reach. "Don't worry."
Link glanced over her shoulder to see her monsters suddenly charge at him.
"You won't feel for very long."
Link quickly reached forward to grab her. However, his arms simply went through her. She disappeared in the next instant, leaving Link to stare at the eye of the arthropod. Link realized with horror that, as close as he was to the eye, it meant that his head was right in the path of its closing jaws.
Kon kon!
"Gyah!" Link cried out as he jolted awake. He reached up to grab the creature's mandibles only to find empty air between him and the deckhead.
Wham! The door to his cabin slammed open, the sound startling him into sitting up. "Captain, ah you all right?!" Leynne asked in a panic.
Link gripped the edge of his bed and just breathed for a moment to calm himself down. "It's okay," Link said as Leynne stepped to the foot of his bed. "I'm okay."
"Bad dream?" Leynne asked, his own panic abated. Link just sighed and nodded. "I'd expect that foh a while; we've all been through nightmahs."
Link nodded again and turned to stand up from the bed. "You need something?"
"You asked to be infohmed when we weh on approach to Obeeta. I'd've thought that the jolt coming out of the Sky Line to be enough to wake you."
Link leaned his head back and clenched his eyes shut against the urge to yawn. "I guess I had something else on my mind," he told Leynne. "I'll be out in a moment."
"Okay." Leynne then turned and stepped outside, giving Link a glance of the evening sky before closing the door.
Link took a moment to let the nightmare's shock wear off. He wondered if Janni had made that nightmare. However, in the next instant, he dismissed the thought as paranoia caused by the Dreamweaver. He relieved himself and dressed. He also decided to take the Sorian sword with him. Not that he was concerned that he would be attacked, but, now that the Dreamweaver was dead, he wanted to be cautious if the Obeetans were going to react to the ship's presence.
He stepped out into the evening, the setting sun burning the ship's starboard side. Lwamm and Ray stood at the bulwark to his right to watch the sun's final moments. Link stepped out from under the quarterdeck and crossed the main deck.
His footsteps as he ascended to the forecastle alerted Leynne and Gold to his presence. "'Ave a look, Cap'n," Gold told him, pointing toward the bow.
Link heaved a sigh and asked, "Something I should know?"
"Just that it doesn't look like the island we left behind," Leynne said.
Link gave him a confused look before turning. Then he strode forward and descended to the beakhead, trying not to notice Hunter using the head nearby. Obeeta loomed in the distance, half of its underside illuminated by the setting sun while the rest of the island was almost a featureless shadow on the horizon.
Then Link saw what they were talking about. While there was no mistake that this was Obeeta, the island had definitely changed. This was inevitable, considering Link had forced the Dreamweaver to collapse his tower when he rammed it with the Conductor. Then he remembered that, when they had first approached the island, there had also been a large spire of rock underneath the island. Quite noticeably, that spire was also missing. How much of that had been rock, and how much had been the Dreamweaver? Considering the extent of the mines and the technoworks, it brought about a better sense of scale and made it plain why getting rid of the Dreamweaver's miasma would cause the island to lighten.
And there was one other thing that Link realized. He recalled dread in his stomach the first time they had approached the island, a feeling which had built as they had explored. Now… Link was almost numb, just about as indifferent to the island as if he was approaching any other port in Hyrule. Was this because he knew the Dreamweaver, the largest threat to the island, was gone?
Link returned to the helm a moment later. "You're right," he told Leynne. "It doesn't look the same. That's how big the Dreamweaver was."
"Indeed, it does seem to clarify its physical appearance," Leynne agreed with a nod. "Howeveh, I've the sense that I have neveh set foot on this island befoh."
"I got the same feelin'," Gold said.
"Do you think it means anything?" Link asked. Leynne only shrugged in response. So, Link asked Gold, "Think you can find where we moored last?"
"Soon as 'Un'er gets off the 'ead," Gold replied.
"Already am!" Hunter called from behind Link.
Gold leaned to one side to address him, "Get that rock out?"
"Shut up, Gold!"
"Rock?" Leynne asked.
"Got a li'l bored earlier, so me and Stan dared 'im tae eat the rock out o' one o' the old ration bags," Gold explained, grin still strong on his face.
Link groaned. "Would you guys stop doing that?" he said.
Gold shrugged and said, "We were just tryin' tae ligh'en the mood, Cap'n."
Link wanted to berate Gold. His words, however, failed, mostly due to a wave of fatigue. He had to remind himself that he had killed the Dreamweaver just this afternoon and probably needed a little more rest before chewing out his crew for going back to their stupid pranks. So, he gave a sigh and turned back toward the bow.
A few minutes later, during which Link had moved to the back of the forecastle and leaned against the railing, Hunter stepped onto the forecastle and approached the helm. "Captain, we didn't leave anybody on the island, right?" he asked.
"Misteh Hunteh," Leynne replied while Link just shook his head, "we almost left ouh captain on that island. Unless he says othehwise, the only ones on the island should be Obeetans."
"Why?" Gold asked, beating Link to the question.
"Well, it looks like there's two people standing on the edge of the island," Hunter explained.
Leynne peered past Gold's back to Link. "Pehhaps not so unusual," he then told Hunter. "With the Dreamweaveh's waning control, it seemed as if the Obeetans weh inclined to come out of seclusion during the day. It should hahdly come as a suhprise that they would ventuh out so fah."
"Lieutenant, I don't think these two are Obeetans."
Leynne raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"They aren't wearing hoods, and I saw faces."
Link and Leynne traded looks again. Then Link pushed away from the railing. "Where?" he asked.
"Edge of the island, about where we're docking."
Link glanced past him at the island, trying to think of an appropriate response.
"Yeh want me tae find 'nother spot, Cap'n?" Gold asked.
Link turned to him but still paused to give the idea some consideration. "No," he replied. "Proceed as ordered. Leynne, grab Cale and get a headcount. If everyone's here, get your rifle."
"If it isn't one of us," Hunter asked as Leynne gave a sharp nod and set off, "who could it be?"
"Maybe a couple of Obeetans," Link replied.
Link tried to maintain a face of calm command as he returned to his cabin. However, he could quickly feel anxiety setting in. He was afraid that Janni had been lying once again, that the Obeetans actually had a chance to return to normal once the Dreamweaver was dead. He remembered "Logan" from some time ago, and it started twisting his stomach as he recalled Line and Cale's revelation to him. What if people like her returned to normal to discover that their families, their children or babies, were missing? Link found he had to pause and try to let the thoughts pass before he became too worked up to step back outside.
Link emerged onto the main deck with the Sorian sword on his back. He could feel a subtle shift in the deck and glanced out to starboard. How long had he been in his cabin? The Island Symphony was moving to dock. Leynne was already standing at the starboard bulwark with a rifle pointed over the side. Hunter also stood nearby with a hammer in one hand. Link strode over to join them and look over the side.
There were a pair of people standing on the edge. They wore cloaks like the Obeetans, but they had left their hoods off. What Link saw was confusing. One bore patches of hair of different colors and length; the other, feathers which did not match one another nor appeared to be in any specific pattern. From where he stood, he saw that their skin was mottled across many ranges of color as if someone had melted different colors of wax together. At the very least, they appeared whole. Link could even see bare feet touching the ground.
"Who are they?" Hunter asked.
"Well, as you can see, they ah not ouh crew," Leynne replied. He looked at Link. "Ideas?"
"I don't know," Link said. "Hail them."
Leynne let the rifle rest against the bulwark so he could cup his left hand around his mouth. "Ship to shoh, ahoy!" he called out. No response. The pair simply stared at him. "Ahoy!" Leynne repeated. Neither answered. Leynne turned and shrugged to Link.
"Okay, then," Link said. "Let's get out the plank and see what they do."
"We're not moored yet, Captain," Hunter spoke up. "Chief Flower didn't get to do his rodeo thing."
Link gave an irritated look. "Okay," he said, "try tossing them a line. See if they'll at least tie us up."
Leynne turned toward the bow and hollered, "Twali! Tixudhan sanath!"
"Ay'a!" Twali called back. Link watched as she heaved one of the mooring lines at the shore. However, neither figure moved to catch it, allowing the line to simply fall over the edge. Twali shrugged and started pulling the line back.
"Okay…" Link said as he watched the two on the island. "They won't answer us, and they won't tie us up. What next?"
"Shoot 'em?" Hunter suggested.
"Hahdly a reasonable option, Misteh Hunteh," Leynne told him, his tone annoyed. "They have done us no hahm." Then he turned to Link. "But we do need a way to tie up the ship."
"Captain?" a voice asked from behind. Link also felt a hand touch his shoulder at the same time. Link turned to find Layna standing behind him. "Mijoydhiysan zasufn 'inoy."
Link gave her a confused look before turning to Leynne. "I… cannot be cehtain," Leynne said, "but I suspect she is volunteering to go ashoh."
Link saw Layna nod. "Are you sure? That's… that's quite a jump…"
To his and Leynne's amazement, Layna actually grinned. It almost seemed smug, as if she was amused by what she perceived as naïveté. She calmly walked past them and crossed the deck to join Twali. Twali gave Layna the rope. Then, Layna stepped onto the bulwark. Within the next second, she had leapt from the edge. The men watched as she sailed through the air and landed on the solid island well beyond falling over the side. She then turned and started wrapping the rope around the nearby bollard, her eyes flickering between it and the two figures further away.
Link glanced at the figures to see that neither one turned in acknowledgement of Layna. So, Link said, "Let's get the boarding plank up here. We'll see what our friends ashore do then."
"Aye, Captain," Leynne replied. "Twali, hixwuman 'an 'ita!"
"Ay'a!" Twali called back. She quickly strode to the nearby fore-mast and beckoned Lwamm to follow her below.
"I can't really get over how dangerous that girl can be," Hunter said as he observed Layna standing watch over the bollard.
"Actually, by Layna's standahds, that was quite safe," Leynne replied. "I would imagine, had she not been heh, we might've asked you to pehfohm that jump."
"Yyyyeah," Hunter droned as he peered at the gap between the ship and the shore. "I'd've told you to take a flying leap over the other side."
Link and Leynne relocated to the gangway toward the stern and opened it. Lwamm and Twali returned shortly after and, with Hunter's help, laid the gangplank in place.
Link waited for Leynne to aim his rifle at the pair standing on the island. Then, he slowly walked down the gangplank with one hand on the hilt of the Sorian sword. Both figures kept their eyes trained on him as he descended. One even took a step back so as not to obstruct the other's view. Link thought it was a strange movement; it was as if the figure could not move any faster than syrup, nor was the movement any more than simply sliding a foot just a hair's breadth over the ground. Once Link was on the island, he glanced up to double-check that Leynne was still pointing the rifle. Then Link approached them.
Just as the one that had stepped backwards, Link watched them slowly turn their whole bodies toward him. Link stopped a moment, but they simply finished turning with no other motion. Link continued until he was standing just out of range of a sword strike.
And he discovered that their patchwork appearance went beyond their hair and skin. Neither one even had a symmetrical face; the Sorian in particular looked to have a lop-sided jawline favoring the left. Link was close enough to see that their eye colors were not even consistent. The sclera were fine, almost perfectly white. However, their irises looked like they had had paint splattered directly on their eyes. Blues, browns, greens, reds (on the Sorian-looking figure)… Link could not discern which color was supposed to be a base color; their eyes were simply every shade of color he had ever seen. Both of them had blank expressions on their faces. It was not the same as Layna's "Kill Mode" expression; rather than suppress outward emotion, Link felt as if they had no emotions to show.
Link dared a glance up at the ship. Then he told the two figures, "I'm Captain Link of the Island Symphony."
To Link's surprise, both figures smiled. Relief. That was all that Link could read from the expression, the impression of a burden finally being lifted from their shoulders. They slowly bowed their heads to him.
Then, Link watched as they two faded out of existence. Peaceful. Silent. Link slowly let his hand drop to his side as he perceived Layna staring at him with a perfect reflection of his surprised look.
Link drew in a breath after what felt like hours. "I should be used to that by now…" he mumbled to himself.
"Hey, Captain!" Hunter hollered. "Can we shoot 'em now?" Leynne lowered his rifle and turned to show him an irritated glare. Link looked up at the ship to also deliver a response.
He promptly forgot what he was going to shout when he saw both Irleen and Janni standing at the bulwark next to Hunter. Instead, he decided to board again and ask if they had any opinions.
When he stepped back on the deck, Leynne stood nearby with the butt of the rifle on the deck and the barrel in his hand. Hunter was sitting against the bulwark, watching his superiors. Irleen and Janni stepped around him. "Well?" Link asked them.
"Probably about as complete as any life we've seen here," Irleen told him. "They were still fragments, but they just… sorta pulled themselves together. It wasn't gonna last long."
"So, what was the point?" Hunter asked, tapping the hammer against the inside of the bulwark.
"An existence as fragile as theirs didn't really have much of a message," Janni said, her tone largely indifferent.
"A fragile existence," Link repeated. Something in his head clicked, and he asked, "Were those… were those the Obeetans?"
"What was left of them," Janni replied.
"What was the message?" Leynne asked. "They did not appeah to say anything."
"They didn't," Link confirmed. "They just smiled and vanished."
Irleen raised her eyebrows with intrigue. "Seems to say quite a bit," she told them.
"Have you always been the romantic?" Janni asked her.
"Why?" Hunter asked. "What does it mean?"
"Well, I may be just a romantic," Irleen said, shooting a smug look at Janni. Janni turned her head away and shrugged in indifference. Irleen continued, "But I'm inclined to believe they were thanking you, Link."
Link glanced at the island once more. His heart gave one final, audible thump before settling down. Then he found himself smiling. "Okay, then," he told his crew. "The nightmare's over. Time to get to work."