Chapter 9: Reunion

Gazing through Zuko's spyglass, Tetra scarcely believed what she saw. The graceful wings of a butterfly were splayed in green against an off-white canvas that served as the main sail for the approaching medium-sized vessel. If that wasn't enough to tip her off as to the identity of the owner, the gold and green accents adorning the ship erased any and all doubts. She'd only seen this ship once before, but the story behind it was so comical she could never forget it.

It had been a joke. The ship that drifted on the horizon hadn't been constructed for any purpose besides appeasing a pirate captain's try hard girlfriend who was much too young for him anyway. The story behind the pair was actually quite ironic. The girl fell in love with him first and, being the audacious thing that she was, approached him one day while his ship was docked at an island. The pirate had played along with it, most likely thinking he could take advantage of the girl and collect a handsome sum for her return in the same breath.

However, the girl turned out to be very charismatic and what started out as a game in the eyes of the pirate captain soon transformed into something tangible. His feelings bloomed and his crew would testify to him being driven mad because of it. He even went as far as to build a ship especially for her, as a "token of his affections," but secretly hoped she would take the ship and get out of his life since he was finding it harder and harder to resist her. To say she was overjoyed with the gift would be a serious understatement. The girl was so elated, she took the ship for a test run with assurance from her lover that it really wasn't that hard.

Unfortunately for him, he was right. It wasn't hard. In fact, the girl had a special knack for sailing and, best of all, finding treasure. She returned with both her faithful sister and a few precious gems. That was the only proof the pirate captain needed that the two of them were destined to be together. He had set her free, and she'd come back to him, even better than before.

As fate would have it, the two of them got into a heated argument one day, over what, no one knew, and the girl stormed off with all the treasure she'd ever brought him, her sister, who she claimed to be the only reliable person on the Great Sea, and the ship he had given her. She never did return.

When it became apparent that the girl was lost, the pirate group, which had never been very impressive even prior to the girl's interference in their lives, disbanded, going their separate ways. That had been years ago, and Tetra still laughed about it with her crew, as the other group of pirates had been their rivals at one point, thinking themselves high and mighty because they'd turned an old fortress into their base.

Until now, Tetra had had no reason to ponder the whereabouts of the girl. She'd been so unimportant, in fact, that Tetra had forgotten her name.

"Tetra!" Kid's voice startled her, causing her to almost lose her grip on the worn telescope.

She whirled around, pointing the spyglass at his chest in a way that would have been intimidating had it been a sharp edged weapon rather than a weather-worn telescope. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"I wasn't trying to sneak up on you," Kid objected. "Listen, Zelda's on that ship!"

"Is she?" Tetra mused as she returned Zuko's telescope to him and turned to survey the ship cutting through the waters towards them in one smooth motion. "That's convenient."

"No, it's not." Kid disagreed. "Do you know whose ship that is?"

"Do you?" Tetra countered, glancing at him over her shoulder.

"Yeah. It's Jolene's."

"And how do you know Jolene?" Tetra wondered, genuinely curious as she swiveled on her heel to face her best friend. She hadn't recalled the name of the girl until Kid had uttered it.

"Wait … you know her too?" Kid asked.

"Yes, but I asked first, so answer me," Tetra commanded. "How do you know her?"

"Linebeck and I got ambushed by her too many times to count when we were sailing from island to island," Kid explained.

"Why would she ambush you?" Tetra inquired, her brain hurrying to piece it all together.

"Because she hates Linebeck," Kid supplied. "So … how do you know her?"

"Remember that no-good group of pirates I told you about that had made the Forsaken Fortress their hideout a long time ago?" Tetra asked, waiting briefly for the young hero to nod before continuing, "Well, Jolene was the girlfriend of their captain, and since we used to compete with them, we saw quite a bit of each other."

"Weird. I wonder how long she was trapped in the Realm of the Ocean King," Kid commented.

"All I know is that she disappeared a few years ago and that group of pirates went their separate ways shortly after," Tetra told him. "It doesn't really matter anyway. She's out now and we need to confront her to get what we want." She stepped past Kid so she could reach the ladder and began her descent from the crow's nest.

"Wait! I don't think it's going to be that easy," Kid protested, trailing after her but unable to match her swift pace since he was hindered by the Master Sword clutched in his left hand. If he was going to carry it around he might as well ask Link for the sheath.

"Oh yeah? Trust me, Jolene's a pushover. As I said, she knew pirates. She wasn't actually one," Tetra informed him as she released her hold on the ladder and free fell the last couple feet to the deck.

"She did pick up a thing or two by being around them," Kid notified her, reaching the deck a few seconds later.

Tetra crossed her arms over her chest, unconvinced. "Are you trying to tell me she made herself a pirate with a crew and everything in the time she spent in the Realm of the Ocean King?"

"Sort of…" Kid said.

"Okay, so no big deal. I've still got her beat." Tetra turned on her heel, strolling towards the helm. "I'm actually a pirate." She had the feeling that Kid wanted to say more, but she didn't let him.

"Gonzo, there's a ship up ahead and we're going to cut it off, got that?" Tetra announced as she approached her first mate with Kid in tow.

"Don't cut her off," Kid advised, "Her ship's equipped with torpedoes."

"I'm not scared of her weapons," Tetra declared, turning to address Kid, hands set firmly on her hips.

"You should be. Those things are powerful. Trust me, if you cut her off, there will be a hole in your ship," Kid insisted.

Tetra bit her lip, thinking. Jolene hadn't been a force to fear years ago, but that had been years ago. She hadn't encountered the woman since, and, because of the dramatic time difference between the Realm of the Ocean King and the Great Sea, she supposed it was possible for Jolene to become an actual threat. Then again, Kid had only been ambushed by her because of Linebeck's presence. Tetra was sure that there was a story, probably just as entertaining as the one she knew, behind Jolene's enmity towards the cowardly captain. Since she was not Linebeck, Jolene shouldn't hold any grudge against her. In fact, she would be surprised if the woman even recognized her.

Tetra shook her head. "She won't attack us because she has no reason to. In fact, she's indebted to us, or at least to you, because if it wasn't for you defeating Bellum we'd all still be trapped in the Realm of the Ocean King. Besides, we're just going to ask for her to hand over Zelda. It's not like we're asking for much." She moved towards the port side of the ship, leaning on the rail and turning to the horizon expectantly. It would take some time for their ships to be within communicating distance but she didn't mind.

"Tetra, I really don't think it's going to be that simple," Kid said, leaning on the railing beside her.

"Why not?"

"I don't know. I just have a feeling," Kid replied.

Tetra contemplated this before saying, "A feeling isn't good enough. Give me solid proof she'll attack us."

"Give me solid proof she won't," Kid answered cheekily. "It's not like she knows that we're the reason she's not still in the Realm of the Ocean King, and even if we told her we don't have any actual proof." Tetra restrained the urge to slap him and settled for shooting him a glare instead.

"Face it, you're just refusing to admit that you're wrong for once," Kid stated, his eyes on the ocean. Then recognition alighted on his face as if his mind had just registered the words that had come out of his mouth. "I didn't mean it like that," Kid hastily amended, trying to put out the fire he'd just started.

"Oh yeah? What'd you mean then?" Tetra challenged him, straightening her posture and regarding him with one of her most menacing gazes.

"Uh…" Kid trailed off, looked to the floor as if he'd find an answer that would spare him emblazoned into the wood, and then took off running. Tetra was quick to give chase.

After running around the deck once, spurred on by the calls of encouragement from her crew, Kid realized he didn't have any chance above decks and opted to escape below, throwing the door open. Tetra caught it before it could close and slipped inside, racing after her prey who was already on the stairs.

She was just barely fast enough to witness Kid veering around the left-hand corner to descend the next flight of steps and this gave her an idea. Wasting no time, Tetra bolted down the first flight of stairs and rounded the opposite corner Kid had, intending to meet him in the middle of the preceding deck. She didn't, however, account for Link and Niko who happened to be making their way up the same flight of stairs. With a couple surprised yells and a curse, the three of them tumbled down the stairs, cushioning each other upon impact.

"Get off!" Tetra ordered Niko, who had landed halfway on top of her. Niko hurried to comply and Tetra was pushed to the side a second later.

"Don't push me!" Tetra yelled, throwing a glare at Link.

"You're the one who pushed us down the steps!" Link pointed out, sitting up and wincing a little as he did so.

"Only 'cause you were in the way!" Tetra countered.

"Why were you running in the first place?" Link wanted to know.

"Because I need to kill Kid," Tetra declared.

"Okay, I think you need to calm down," Link observed.

"And I think you need to shut up and stop telling me what to do," Tetra shot back, getting to her feet and looking around for Kid despite knowing he would have taken her misfortune as an opportunity to escape.

"What are you two fighting about now?" Niko wondered.

"He said I was too stubborn to admit I'm wrong for once!" Tetra exclaimed, still outraged by the statement.

"Really? That's it?" Link deadpanned. "Isn't that kinda stupid to be fighting over? I mean, no one can be right all the time."

"They've fought over stupider things," Niko interjected, instantly regretting it when Tetra scowled at him disapprovingly.

"It's not stupid," Tetra refuted, crossing her arms over her chest as if it would help her maintain her position on the matter.

"Stupid or not, you can't kill him," Link informed her, finally getting to his feet. Then, as if he hoped the inquiry would distract her, he asked, "Are we close to whoever has Zelda yet?"

"Yes, we are," Kid answered him, stepping into the room from the doorway of the next room where he'd apparently been hiding. "And Tetra's going to get us all killed."

"I am not!" Tetra cried indignantly.

"Are too. If you're going to cut her off, she'll sink us," Kid argued.

"Who?" Niko asked, curious.

"Jolene," Kid supplied and Niko's eyes widened.

"Not that Jolene, Miss?" he inquired, turning to Tetra for confirmation.

"Yes, that Jolene, but she was never a threat before, now was she?" Tetra reasoned.

"But her ship is rigged with torpedoes now!" Kid exclaimed, seeming frustrated, "That's what I've been trying to say this entire time."

"Torpedoes?" Niko repeated, sounding frightened.

"What are torpedoes?" Link interrupted them.

"They're like…" Kid trailed off, searching for the correct phrase, "underwater bombs. Basically it's like launching a bomb out of a cannon but it travels in the water instead of the air and they're really fast."

"Do we have torpedoes?" Link wondered, his tone hopeful.

"No, we have bombs and a catapult," Tetra replied, "but we're not going to get attacked by her. She has no reason to be hostile towards us."

"She does if you choose to cut her off," Kid claimed. "That's a blatant challenge." The scowl that crept onto her face was automatic and only deepened when she realized her friend was correct. If she cut off Jolene, it was a sign that she wanted something and wouldn't leave without it. While this was true, Tetra knew being so straightforward could sometimes backfire. Even if she had weapons of her own ready to be launched at the other ship, if Jolene dared to turn to violence, she realized they wouldn't be able to hit Jolene before she struck them. If a shot was fired, Jolene's would definitely be the first to hit. Then again, who's to say flanking her would be any better? If her entire ship was rigged with the underwater missiles then it wouldn't matter how they approached her.

Tetra shook her head, holding her position on the matter and refusing to release it. "So what if it's a challenge? The way you're talking, she'll try to hit us either way."

"I said she might, and you're not going to be helping matters if you challenge her like that," Kid proclaimed, matching her stubbornness in their dispute with his own. "Besides, she can only fire torpedoes from the front of her ship."

"Well, why didn't you start with that?!" Tetra fumed, heading for the stairs. She left the three of them behind as she stomped up the steps, thoughts raging wildly in her head. There was no purpose to their recent quarrel. All Kid had to say was that Jolene's range with the new weapons that outfitted her ship were limited to the bow. She would have agreed with him in an instant.

With a huff of irritation, Tetra threw open the door and emerged on the deck, making a bee-line for the helm.

Gonzo!" Tetra called to capture her first mate's attention. "Change of plans. We're going to flank the ship."

"Aye, Miss," Gonzo responded immediately. "Do you know whose ship it is?"

"Jolene's," Tetra responded, as she ascended the short flight of steps to the helm.

"What? The same girl that caused Bora's crew to disband?" Gonzo exclaimed, shocked.

"The very same," Tetra confirmed.

"Should be interesting to hear her story, yeah?" Gonzo commented, the majority of his attention on steering the ship.

"Gonzo, we're not approaching her to ask her where she's been all this time!" Tetra glowered, crossing her arms over her chest in disapproval. "We're asking her to hand over someone she has in her possession."

"Who?"

Tetra waved a hand in dismissal. "There's no point telling you, now is there? You won't believe me."

"Why do you think that?" Gonzo wondered.

"Because you didn't believe us about the ghost ship," Tetra reminded him.

"But that's different, yeah?" Gonzo said, his tone urging her to agree.

"No, it's not," Tetra said, her tone clipped. She refused to engage in an argument she'd had with almost every member of her crew at some point after the ghost ship incident. The same questions and reasons were raised in defense as to how it is, or isn't, possible, so she wasn't going to waste her breath.

Her first mate didn't seem to feel the conversation was dully repetitive, and Tetra would have been roped into the dispute against her will if it hadn't been for Mako stepping through the door that led to the lower decks when he did. Swiftly closing the distance between them, Tetra was grateful to turn her attention to other matters. Namely, their supplies.

As she reviewed the list Mako presented to her, she couldn't help but become cross. They had deliberately overstocked last time since they were expecting to carry an extra passenger for a week in which Aryll would be visiting her big brother. The fact that the three of them had been absent meant that the rest of the crew had lived like kings in the time they'd been gone, extra shares and all. Suffice it to say, there was little left of anything.

"Give me a few minutes to write up a list," Tetra told Mako, raising her eyes to meet his. "When that's done I want you to calculate how much of everything we'll need for two extra people."

She didn't wait for Mako's confirmation, knowing it was a given, and made her way to her room. She was sure to close the door behind her, as she valued her privacy. Besides, she needed time to think on her own, alone. Gods knew she hadn't gotten much of that during her time in the other world.

Allowing the familiarity of her room to embrace her, Tetra sighed and settled herself down at her desk. Never did it feel so good just to be sitting down in her cabin! Taking out a clean sheet of paper and a writing utensil, the young pirate captain began her work, referring to the record of supplies Mako had so diligently recorded whenever she became stuck. The task rendered her in such a state of near relaxation that she nearly jumped out of her skin when a voice interrupted the almost complete silence of the area.

"So, this is your room?" the Twilight Princess wondered in a matter of fact tone.

"Midna," Tetra said curtly as she bent down to retrieve the quill she'd accidentally dropped.

"You say my name as if you're disappointed to see me!" Midna exclaimed, her tone reaching for hurt but not quite getting there.

"I'm not. I'm busy, and I didn't invite you to come in here so you shouldn't even be here," Tetra replied, her voice flat.

"Are you still sour about that incident a few days ago?" Midna speculated.

"What?" Tetra asked, her confusion quickly being replaced with the recollection of memories. "Oh, that. No, I'm not mad about that anymore." She was a bit surprised to hear herself utter the words, and even more surprised to realize it was true. In all honesty, the incident itself, and the anger associated with it, had dissolved over the last few days. Of course, that isn't to say that if Midna ever slapped her again she'd be okay with it, but she was allowing this particular event to slide.

"Good." Midna drifted closer to Tetra's desk, making it apparent she meant to stay, although Tetra suspected that had been the Twili's intention all along.

"What do you want?" Tetra asked as she attempted to resume her current objective.

"Conversation," Midna answered her. "It gets really boring hiding out in the shadows."

"You don't have to do that," Tetra pointed out. "My crew can deal."

Midna giggled. "Your crew is an interesting bunch." Tetra hummed in agreement and the Twilight Princess continued, "But I don't think showing myself to them would be a good idea. Especially that Niko guy. He seems a bit too jumpy as it is."

"Do what you want," Tetra told her friend, her eyes on her work, "but know that if they do find out about you or see you that it isn't the end of the world."

"I know, but everything's already complicated. Why throw myself into the mix? Besides, I like observing from the shadows. I learn a lot."

"Like what?" Tetra inquired, suddenly skeptical. What did Midna know, or think she did?

"Well, there's a lot more that goes into running a ship than I thought," Midna began, "and your crew's laughably disobedient when you're not around."

"I wouldn't call disobeying my restrictions on the alcohol my crew consumes laughable. No one can function properly if they're drunk."

This statement didn't seem to move Midna. "On another note, they respect you and I dare say they're a little afraid of you as well. Now that I think about it, it's almost like you're running a mini kingdom already!"

Tetra stopped mid-stroke, and raised her head to address Midna. "Well, I'm not. This isn't a kingdom, it's a pirate ship. It's run completely different."

"Okay, so maybe kingdom isn't the right analogy," Midna amended, "but it's at least like running your own castle. Each person has an assigned position and you give the orders which they are then obligated to follow."

Tetra shook her head vehemently, dropping her eyes to the paper on her desk filled with her own scribbles. "I don't want to talk about that."

"I know," Midna said with such compassion that Tetra couldn't help but look at her, "but you'll have to face it sometime."

"Sometime doesn't need to be right now," Tetra declared, angling her chin in a stubborn manner.

"Okay," Midna relented as Tetra turned her attention back to her list. "But if you ever want to learn the ways of a royal feel free to ask me. Or Zelda, but I imagine I'd be a much more fun teacher than her."

"I'll think about it," Tetra said, only half serious as she added another item to the already quite lengthy list. She didn't want to think of being a princess or anything other than a pirate captain for that matter.

To her relief, Midna dropped the subject. The Twilight Princess then began to tell her exactly how incompetent Link was on a moving ship, which prompted Tetra to add her own observations, and before she knew it she found herself laughing and cracking jokes with Midna. She had no idea how long their conversation lasted or how in the world she managed to finish writing up the list of supplies but somehow she did. As she rose to leave her room with the completed list, Midna slid into her shadow with a quiet giggle. Tetra made sure to replace the smile on her face with a neutral expression before strolling out of the ship's innards.

She found Mako on the deck and handed him her list. Leaving him to calculate the numbers, Tetra checked on the rest of her crew to confirm that they were doing what they were supposed to. In the couple instances they weren't, she immediately got them back on track with a swiftly barked order and a well-placed glare.

She had just sat down on the portside railing to watch for Jolene's ship when Mako approached her with the completed list and a concern.

"Money," Mako stated. "We don't have much."

"Tell me something I don't know," Tetra invited as her eyes scanned the updated list.

"Not to be disrespectful, Miss, but how are we going to pay for it?" Mako wondered. Then he added as an afterthought, "Are we going to pay for it?"

"Of course we're going to pay for it," Tetra rolled her eyes at Mako's implication, "We may not have the money but my counterpart does."

"Your counterpart?" Mako repeated in a tone that suggested he thought her inane.

"Kid tried to explain it to you. It's not my fault you laughed in his face," Tetra said nonchalantly, her eyes on the paper in her hand rather than the knowledgeable pirate in front of her. "But don't worry," she said, glancing up at him, "once she's on board, we'll clear up everything."

"Is there any chance the clearing things up part can come sooner?" Mako inquired.

"Nope." She wasn't sorry for denying him information. It served him right for not believing them. Besides, she didn't have much of a choice. Without all their proof in one place, it'd be hard to convince them.

"Okay, well, is there anything else you want me to do?" Mako asked, knowing he wouldn't get anywhere by prying.

"Yes. Go figure out exactly how much money we have and report back to me when you're finished," Tetra replied absentmindedly as her attention drifted to the swabbie threesome that had decided to show their faces on deck.

Kid was the first to reach her, an apology in his eyes which she blatantly ignored. She didn't care for his apologies. They were redundant and never meant much. What was the point of saying sorry? The word wasn't magic. Kid seemed to believe it was and she humored him in retaining that belief as she accepted the apology with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"What's that?" Kid wondered, his eyes latching onto the piece of paper in her hand.

"See for yourself," she invited holding the paper out for him to take. She watched his emerald eyes widen as he skimmed it, Niko coming to peer over his shoulder. Link made to do the same before realizing he couldn't read it.

"What is it?" Link wondered, glancing between her and Kid in hopes that one of them would be able to provide him with the answer.

"Supply list," Kid said without looking up. "A very big supply list. Are you sure we need this much?"

"Yes," Tetra answered simply, whisking the list out of his hands before he could question it further.

"How long is it supposed to hold us?" Link asked.

"A week," she replied, folding up the paper and slipping it into her pocket.

"A week?!" Kid exclaimed in disbelief. "No way. That much supplies should hold us for longer."

"Not if there's ten people on the ship," Tetra pointed out. "I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but two extra people make a difference."

"I know but I didn't think it'd be that much," Kid confessed.

"It's not as much as you think," she assured him with a sigh as she hopped off the railing.

"How long are you staying?" Niko inquired, looking to Link expectantly for the answer. Tetra suspected he was asking so he knew how long he'd be able to enjoy having two underlings to boss around, although in terms of social status Link and Kid were both above him. On the pirate ladder, though, he was their senior.

"I don't know," Link admitted. "It depends."

As the three of them chatted about the duration of the visit and argued over which would be better, a prolonged one or a fleeting one, Tetra weaved amongst the working members of her crew in order to confirm that they were all informed of the plan to flank the upcoming ship. Nudge complimented her on the wise decision which only prompted her to hurry away from him before the small detail came up that it hadn't been her original one. Even though she knew he could most likely sense this from her hasty retreat, he didn't make the effort to track her down, for which she was grateful.

As her personal advisor, Nudge had a knack for interpreting body language and behavior so he could discern a person's feelings just by looking at them. Tetra, while a hard egg to crack for most, was very easy for him to read and it was for this reason she didn't like striking up conversation with the man, as it almost always provoked the discussion of her emotions and how she had to gain better control of them.

Personally, Tetra thought she controlled them just fine. She made sure that they never overwhelmed her, and if one of them tried she'd always replace it with something else. Of course, that "something else" tended to be anger, and she knew Nudge would argue that that wasn't what he meant by controlling her emotions, and he knew that she knew it too.

She became so wrapped up in both her task, and her own thoughts, that they didn't release her until Jolene's ship was almost upon them. Her stroll around the deck became a hurried run as she jogged from post to post, making sure the sails were being lowered and the message was being conveyed to the other ship that they were stopping to chat.

When the two ships were parallel to each other, Tetra hopped onto the railing to secure her jurisdiction over the vessel.

"'Hoy! I'd like to speak with your captain," she proclaimed to the few men on board the neighboring ship. There weren't many which caused her to suspect that the majority of Jolene's crew was left behind in the Realm of the Ocean King. She watched as they all exchanged uncertain glances, clearly lost about what to do. Tetra couldn't help the smirk that crawled onto her face. Getting Zelda back would be all too easy.

She planted her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows as if to say, "Well? I'm waiting." The men seemed to be familiar with this stance, as they instantly leaped into action, one of them disappearing below decks and the others busying themselves while stealing furtive glances her way.

The woman that emerged on deck wasn't the one that was engrained in Tetra's memory when provided with the name Jolene. As she approached the side of her own vessel, Tetra noted that the woman still held herself in the same confident manner and her strides remained akin to the swaying of the waves in the ocean. However, the bracelets of gold lining her arms and the copious amounts of makeup adorning her tanned face was new. Actually, she seemed more confident than before, as if all her intrepidness and seductions had finally provided her with profit. Jolene looked more than just a couple years older, and it was just then that Tetra realized, she was.

"Hmm ... now who's this?" Jolene hummed, her painted almond-shaped eyes narrowing as she surveyed Tetra from head to toe. "I feel like I should know you."

"That's because you do," Tetra informed her.

"Do I?" Jolene mused, leaning on the railing of her ship in thought. After a few moments of sweeping her eyes over Tetra's ship, a spark of recognition alighted in her eyes and she straightened. "Ah, yes. I remember now. You're a sea rat."

"And from what I've heard you are too. Not to mention you were dating one before so you must not mind them very much," Tetra returned, a smug smile playing on her lips.

Jolene made a choked noise that Tetra could only interpret as half of a laugh. "I forgot the tongue on you. Such cheek. Terra, was it?"

"Tetra," she curtly supplied before changing the subject. "Anyway, I didn't stop for a chat."

"Oh? Then what did you stop for?" Jolene wondered.

"I have reason to believe you have a friend of mine in your possession, and I don't think it's unreasonable for me to ask you to hand her over."

"You don't think it's unreasonable," Jolene repeated, leaning on the railing of her ship as if she was settling in for a long conversation. "Well, sorry to disappoint, but it's not quite that simple. I'm not just going to hand you my prisoners willingly."

"Prisoners?" Tetra asked, her brow knitting together in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"Are you daft? I said prisoners and I meant prisoners," Jolene declared as if Tetra was particularly slow.

"But-" she wasn't able to utter her full, puzzled protest before no one other than the princess herself emerged on the deck of Jolene's ship, icy eyes clearly searching for an escape.

Whirling around at the disturbance, Jolene turned her back on Tetra just as another person slinked out from below decks.

"By the goddesses…" Tetra spoke softly under her breath as soon as she recognized the other "prisoner."

"No way," Kid breathed from somewhere behind her.

Linebeck. Of all the people she'd never thought she'd see again, he was right up there with Jolene. The fact that they were both right in front of her at once was almost too much to bear with a straight face. Tetra would, in fact, be amused by the display if Jolene hadn't thrown the term prisoner out into the sea-salted air.

"Don't just stand there!" Jolene snapped at the gawking members of her crew, "Restrain them!" A brief scrabble later and two of Jolene's men were assigned to each prisoner, effectively dashing their plans of escape.

Tetra's gaze met Zelda's in an instant and she allowed her eyes to convey a silent message to her counterpart. 'Use your magic to break free,' she willed the princess, 'and I'll help you get on my ship.'

Unfortunately, the two of them weren't as in sync with each other as Kid and Link seemed to be, and the message to fight back was lost before it reached Princess Zelda. She knew the princess had magic. Where was a conveniently strong gust of wind to knock her captors off their feet or a burst of fire to singe their fingers? Or better yet, why didn't she use that teleportation magic of hers to hop over to safety?

Tetra could devise a million questions that she knew she'd receive no answers to, so she broke eye contact with her counterpart, biting the inside of her cheek in frustration. Why didn't they have a special type of connection? Their souls were the same, were they not?

"You're crazy, woman!" Linebeck shouted as Jolene sauntered closer to him.

"Says the man that thinks hiding in a crate will spare him from my wrath," Jolene shot back. "I'll never forget what you did. And to think, you have the gall to try it again." Linebeck sputtered, trying to come up with a cohesive response, and Tetra took her chance to intervene.

"Look, Jolene," Tetra interjected, causing the pretend she-pirate to whirl around to face her, "I don't know what is or has gone on between you two, nor do I care. I just want her." She pointed to Princess Zelda to make her request as clear as possible. "After that, I'll leave you to it."

"W-what?! Wait a minute!" Linebeck objected, "You'd really leave me with her?!"

"That's what I just said," Tetra clarified.

"That's not a good idea, Tetra," Kid spoke up.

"Yeah! Listen to the kid. He's sensible," Linebeck added. "Besides if it wasn't for me you'd still be a statue."

Her hands clenched into fists. She wanted to punch that snarky look off his face. She couldn't though because he was right. If he hadn't carted Kid around on his ship, she would never have been found, much less saved. She owed him this. But only this. If it was any consolation, she could have her men dump him in the ocean after she got Jolene to hand him over. The prospect almost brought a smile to her face and she relaxed her battle-ready stance in resignation.

Tetra sighed. "Alright, Jolene. It's gonna work like this: You free both of them and allow me to take them off your hands. Then you can go on your merry way. If you refuse to comply by the time I get to zero, I'm going to board your ship and take them by force. I wouldn't recommend letting it come to that."

"Oh? And why not?" Jolene wondered, her curiosity as fake as her title.

"Because I'm a pirate," she replied simply.

"You do realize that those kinds of threats don't scare other pirates, right?" Jolene inquired.

"Yes, but you're not even a real pirate so my threat stands," Tetra declared matter-of-factly.

"What makes you think I'm not a real pirate?" Jolene wanted to know, sounding insulted.

"For one, you don't fly the flag," Tetra pointed out, gesturing to Jolene's ship. "For another, I don't recognize you as one."

"Then I challenge you to an official pirate duel," Jolene proclaimed, sticking out her hand to seal the arrangement.

"That won't make you a pirate," Tetra glowered, keeping her hands exactly where they were.

"It will when I win," Jolene shot back.

"You won't win and neither will I because we're not doing it," Tetra declared.

"Aww, what's the matter?" Jolene cooed, an expression of faux concern creasing her features. "Scared you'll end up like your mother?"

It was ridiculous really. Words held no substance and yet these particular ones stole the breath from Tetra's lungs. It was a punch in the stomach and for a few seconds she was frozen. This wasn't just about getting Zelda back anymore. This was personal.

Tetra met Jolene's smirk with a stormy stare. "I'll accept your challenge … as long as you agree to my conditions." The woman made a go-on motion with her outstretched hand and Tetra continued, "When I win, you'll give both of your prisoners to me along with all of their belongings and you won't pursue us."

Jolene contemplated the offer a second before nodding once. Tetra reached out to grasp Jolene's hand but the woman swiftly snatched it away before she could make contact.

"What?" Tetra huffed in annoyance.

"I was just thinking," Jolene began, clasping both hands behind her back. "When I win, what do I get?"

"You get to keep your prisoners."

"Yes, but that doesn't give me much incentive," Jolene pointed out.

"It should be plenty," Tetra argued.

"It's not," Jolene informed her in a sing song voice.

Tetra knew she didn't have much to offer. Therefore, she wagered the only thing she could think of that Jolene could possibly want. "How about, if you win, I'll give you all the rupees we have," Tetra proposed.

"No," Jolene stated, without taking a moment to consider it. "I don't need your money. I have plenty of my own."

"Then what do you want?" Tetra asked tersely.

Jolene's eyes lit up and instantly Tetra knew she'd made a mistake. And a vital one at that. There were rules to deal making and the rage that still coursed through her from the fake pirate's earlier words clouded her judgement. Never, ever, ask your opponent what they wanted. It was like throwing a person a wild card in a card game. You couldn't get it back unless they chose to give it back and no one was stupid enough to do that.

"I thought you'd never ask," Jolene smirked as Tetra bit her lip, internally kicking herself. She was so dumb! "Let's see, I want…" As she silently cursed herself, Tetra watched Jolene's narrowed eyes survey her ship, searching hungrily for something she wished to be hers. But as the seconds inched by, Tetra realized that no matter what Jolene chose as her prize, it didn't matter because she would never get it. She wouldn't win after mentioning her mother's death in such a disrespectful manner. Tetra wouldn't allow it.

Suddenly, Jolene's delving gaze came to a stop and she finished her sentence with such certainty that Tetra suspected she'd known exactly what she was going to pick as soon as Tetra made her the offer. "The little boy in green."

"What?" Kid wondered. He sounded thoroughly confused so Tetra assumed he hadn't been paying much attention until just now. That or he was genuinely puzzled as to why Jolene would want him at all. To tell the truth, Tetra was too, but not enough to ask.

Without missing a beat, Tetra extended her hand and said simply, "Deal." Jolene clasped her hand tight, a smile gracing her scarlet lips.

"WHAT?!" Kid and Link exclaimed from behind her. She didn't so much as glance at them for she was concentrating on what Jolene was saying.

"I challenged you so we'll fight on your ship and you'll be at the point of disadvantage. We each have a minute to choose our weapons and a ref from each of our crews. Time starts now," Jolene said, releasing her hand and turning her back on her without waiting for a response.

Tetra did likewise and nonchalantly hopped down from the railing. Immediately she was crowded by both Link and Kid, but she quickly ducked past them. She didn't have time to argue with them about her decisions.

Instead, she addressed her crew which were gathered in a loose half circle, waiting expectantly for her orders.

"Gonzo I'm choosing you as my ref," she announced.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You've never done a duel before," Nudge spoke up, indicating he didn't think it a wise choice on her part. Normally she would take his words into consideration but at the moment they were nothing more than dust to brush off. No one insulted her mother and got away with it.

"It doesn't matter that I haven't done it before," Tetra stubbornly proclaimed, "I know the concept and the rules. I'll be fine."

"But what weapon are you going to use?" Mako wondered.

"My dagger," Tetra responded, "What else would I use?"

"I don't know. I'm only asking because you don't have your dagger," Mako pointed out.

She let out a small gasp of alarm and instantly felt for the hilt of her trusty weapon that was supposed to be at her hip. Her fingers only met the empty sheath.

Zelda. She still had it. Silently cursing her counterpart for the second time today, Tetra turned to Niko. "I'm borrowing yours," she informed him, snatching the swabbie's dagger from its sheath. It wasn't like he ever used it anyway.

"Don't fight her with a dagger," Kid pleaded as he came to a stop beside her. "You can't beat her like that."

"Watch me," Tetra invited, without sparing him a glance.

"Don't worry. Even if she loses we're not going to give you to anyone," Link spoke up in an attempt to ease his counterpart's anxiety.

"No, if I lose we'll have to give him away," Tetra corrected him.

"Why?" Link wanted to know.

"Because we made a deal and there are rules for these things, ya know?" she tersely explained.

"Since when do you follow the rules?" Link demanded.

"Did I say rules? I meant code," Tetra amended. "I've never broken the code."

"Code?" Link wondered, obviously suggesting that she elaborate. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to explain the pirate Code of Conduct to him so she could do nothing more than snap at him to be quiet. Of course, he was never one to be bossed around easily by anyone, especially by her, and it seemed that his being in her world, on her ship no less, didn't change their relationship at all.

She would have been fine with it if it wasn't for the fact that Link's protests were echoed by Kid's who she supposed became more confident as his counterpart continued to oppose her.

"Would you two shut up?" Tetra requested, shaking her head at their objections as if they were the most ridiculous things she'd ever heard. "I know what I'm doing. Stop your complaining and have a little faith in me, 'kay? Keep it up, and I might just lose on purpose."

"You wouldn't do that," Link stated, spotting her bluff just as she'd expected him to.

"Of course I wouldn't," Tetra confirmed, rolling her eyes at his predictability, "but unless you have something helpful to contribute to the discussion do me a favor and keep your mouths shut."

Kid barely took a second to absorb her words before launching into a brief explanation of Jolene's fighting style. From her best friend's experience, Jolene relied solely on offensive maneuvers that packed a punch. This would typically make her job easy, but Tetra had a feeling Jolene's fighting style had to be different for duels. They wouldn't have much space to exchange blows. Nonetheless, she allowed him to finish before posing the question that was rolling around in her head.

"And where have you fought her before?"

"In the Realm of the Ocean King?" Kid replied slowly as if he wasn't sure of the answer himself.

"No, I mean, how large was the area you were fighting in?" Tetra rephrased her inquiry.

"Well, it was inside of Linebeck's ship," Kid recalled, "so it was a good sized space."

"Then what you just told me is irrelevant," Tetra announced.

"How?" Kid wondered, "Aren't you fighting on deck?"

"No. We're fighting on the bowsprit," she informed him, "so unless Jolene's a heck of a lot stupider than I think she is, she won't try to charge me."

"You are in the disadvantageous position since she challenged you," Mako observed as Kid balked at her earlier statement. "She just might try it to push you off."

"Yeah, but if she charges me she risks slipping herself, and then it won't matter who has the advantage and who doesn't," Tetra pointed out.

"Where exactly are you fighting her?" Link interjected, clearly confused as to what a bowsprit was.

"Time's up!" Jolene's voice replaced Tetra's as she opened her mouth to respond. She swiveled around on her heel just in time to see the gutsy woman leaping the small gap between their two ships with one of her crew members in tow.

Tetra eyed the scimitar Jolene held proudly at her side, assessing it. From what she could tell, it wasn't fake. In fact, it was crafted with precision and the metal appeared to be well-maintained.

Tearing her eyes away from the gleaming weapon, Tetra led the way to the front of her ship, throwing an order over her shoulder for everyone else to stay put. Of course this didn't stop them from following to get a better view of the action, so she felt inclined to send another comment their way dealing with interference. There would be none unless foul play from the other party was involved.

The chosen refs took their places and, casting a final warning glance at Link to do nothing but watch, Tetra hoisted herself up onto the bowsprit, finding her balance almost immediately and traveling out just enough so Jolene had room to get on the rounded beam of wood as well.

"Ready to lose?" Jolene asked, leveling her weapon at Tetra with a smirk.

Tetra bit back a retort as she readied her borrowed dagger and stared directly into her enemy's eyes, wishing looks could kill. She knew by now that losing her temper in a fight wouldn't produce the desired result and vowed to keep as cool a head as possible. Knowing herself, it wouldn't be easy.

Before she knew it, both referees were counting down until the duel would commence.

"Three." She became more conscious of the beam she was balanced on and memorized its motion. As long as a rogue wave didn't come along she'd be okay.

"Two." The smug look on Jolene's face said that she'd already won, but Tetra knew better. The woman before her was nothing but a fake. She had to pretend to feel connected to the real world. It was pathetic. She acted as if gloating about her nonexistent victory would cause it to be true.

"One." She knew better than to get cocky and overconfident until the right moment. Sure, Jolene may be pretending to be a pirate but that didn't necessarily mean she had no fighting skills whatsoever. If there was anything Tetra had learned about battling, it was that you never underestimated your opponent.

"Duel!" Jolene thrust forward with her weapon as soon as the word was uttered, forcing Tetra to back up if she didn't want to be impaled, which she most certainly didn't. The faux she-pirate smiled at her small success, as if Tetra's backing up assured her victory. That was the thing about gloating. It left you wide open.

Tetra darted forward, aiming for the opening Jolene so kindly provided for her. The she-pirate managed to dodge it, taking a risky hop backwards. She moved in for another strike, concentrated on Tetra's left side. Bringing her own weapon to bear, Tetra blocked the attack, the sound of metal striking metal resonated around them.

If it wasn't for the distinct sound Jolene's blade made when sliding off of her smaller one, Tetra would've never known another attack was coming. She just barely managed to reposition her dagger to protect herself before Jolene made another attempt to hit her. Her reflexes were fast, she'd give her that much.

Tetra fell into the rhythm of the battle, blow for blow, as she tried her best to retain her position. It was difficult to refrain from backing up as the strikes Jolene forced her smaller weapon to block were filled with power that sent shockwaves up her arms with every clash of metal.

Jolene suddenly changed tactics, lowering her weapon to take a swipe at her legs. Acting on instinct she'd gathered from other battles, Tetra performed a backflip, realizing a second later that she didn't have as wide a space to land as she normally did. Miraculously, Tetra managed to keep herself aligned with the bowsprit. Unfortunately, her right foot slipped upon landing.

Her opponent didn't waste the opportunity to attack, and Tetra couldn't help gasping as she brought up her weapon within a second of regaining her balance. With no time to steel herself for the blow, Tetra stumbled back, nearly losing her footing again.

Tightening her grip on the dagger, Tetra jabbed forward, taking the overconfident woman by surprise as the tip of the blade almost met the bare flesh of her stomach. Jolene nimbly dodged, backing up a step and readjusting her stance.

There weren't many stable positions to choose from on the bowsprit. Due to its narrowness, they were both forced to stand with one foot in front of the other so every step was a chance for disaster. Tetra had known this before she'd started, of course, but she'd never had to maneuver quickly on the long wooden beam.

Taking an extra second to confirm she had a solid position, Tetra took a few light steps forward, concentrating on how she distributed her weight. She slashed at Jolene's side only to be met with a meager form of defense. In fact, Jolene must never have paid much attention to defensive maneuvers because she was using the wrong one for the situation. Tetra didn't complain and swiftly slid her dagger through the poor attempt at defense.

Jolene immediately recoiled as the metal met her skin and tried to leap to the side, only to discover that she couldn't. Victory was so close that Tetra could almost taste it. Her enemy was off balance, floundering for something to provide her with stability as she only had one foot on the beam. Whether out of spite or desperation, Jolene grabbed the nearest thing for aid which just so happened to be Tetra's arm, still extended from the attack.

Being bigger than she was, Jolene's lack of balance caused her own and Tetra didn't even bother to pull her arm away. Instead she scrabbled back, seeking footing and holding her breath as if it would grant her luck. Fortunately, she managed to find her center. Unfortunately, she helped her enemy steady herself as well.

Gratitude apparently wasn't in Jolene's vocabulary, or if it was, she didn't feel the need to show it to Tetra, for she hit her with the flat of her blade as soon as she'd regained her balance.

"Wouldn't want you to attract Gyorgs when you fall." Jolene smirked in explanation for her choice of attack as Tetra stumbled backwards, both from the sting of the blade and from loss of balance.

Unable to right herself, Tetra fell backwards. She let out a small noise in fright, but managed to stay balanced on the beam while on her back.

"What do you say?" Jolene crooned, pointing the sharp tip of her scimitar at Tetra's throat, "Forfeit now, and I won't toss you into the ocean."

"Yeah right," Tetra scoffed. However disadvantageous her position was, she was determined to win and decided to take a risk to turn it to her favor. Bracing her hands above her head, while being mindful of the dagger clutched tightly in her right, Tetra tumbled backwards and onto her feet, successfully kicking Jolene's weapon out of her hands and into the sea in the process.

Jolene, off balance now and fuming at the loss of her weapon, rushed at Tetra, intending to push her off and go down with her. Tetra didn't like that idea and elbowed the haughty woman in the ribs as she passed, throwing her completely off balance. Thankfully Tetra was close enough to grasp the line that was securing the mast to the ship and managed to keep her balance as she watched Jolene fall off the bowsprit and hit the water.

The cheers from her crew members were so loud that they drowned out Jolene's scream of frustration as she surfaced. Satisfied, Tetra quickly, but carefully, balanced her way off of the bowsprit and onto the more stable area of the ship.

"See? I told you I could do it," Tetra said indignantly, addressing Link.

"Sorry I doubted you," Link apologized, sounding, to her, only half sorry. Nonetheless, she didn't push it. At least he hadn't pointed out that she had almost lost. Trailing behind Kid on the way to the portside railing, Tetra watched as a thoroughly drenched Jolene climbed out of the water with the aid of the man that she had dubbed as her referee. He sure was fast on scrambling off of her ship.

"My prize?" Tetra called over to draw the attention of the salt-water soaked woman on the neighboring ship.

"Ugh, fine," Jolene relented, a disgusted look painting her face. "Release them and return their things." The sailors designated as guards hastily complied with their captain's request, relinquishing their hold on the former prisoners and returning anything they'd confiscated.

Princess Zelda wasted no time in strolling over to the railing of Jolene's ship, head held high to regain any dignity she may have lost in the time she'd been separated from them. Link, as the gentleman he strived to be, stepped forward to help the princess hop the small gap between the two vessels, taking her hand in his to support her.

"I'm a free man!" Linebeck asserted as he leaped across the small gap to her ship unaided and unhindered by Jolene's crew.

"You're a dead man next time I see you!" Jolene called in his wake.

"Shove off, woman!" Linebeck retorted, employing the use of a controversial gesture to support his words.

"Don't think this is over. I will have my revenge!" Jolene pledged, her eyes darting back and forth between both Linebeck and Tetra as if she couldn't decide who she hated more. Tetra had just put her to shame in front of her entire crew and Linebeck, well … he must have done something equally awful to deserve the glare she was driving into his skull.

Jolene then stormed off in a huff with her measly crew, and that was when everything exploded into chaos. Apparently, the addition of two new occupants on her ship was enough to cause everyone to go absolutely insane as they tried, in vain, to figure out the identities of those they didn't know so they could gauge whether they were threats to be dealt with accordingly or friends to be welcomed.

Tetra looked to Kid, hoping she could find some sort of assistance in regaining order. He was fond of doing that. Unfortunately, he was currently being used as an armrest by the cowardly sea captain and wasn't in a position to do much more than pout.

Sighing, she assumed her typical haughty stance, hands set firmly on hips and mouth turned down in a disapproving frown. She then sucked in a breath and screamed, "QUIET!" stamping her foot on the deck for good measure. Nearly everyone was startled into submission by the volume of her voice and those that weren't quickly caught on.

Once all voices were silent, Tetra whirled around on her crew. "You lot should know better than to go screaming your heads off whenever someone new comes aboard! Use your brains for a second. If they were dangerous I wouldn't have let them on the ship." The men shrank back a bit as they acknowledged their mistake and Tetra continued her scolding. "Honestly, Linebeck here couldn't hurt anyone if he tried and-"

"That's not true! I fought off a squid monster before. Tell 'em, kid!" Linebeck exclaimed, nudging Kid forward as if to encourage him to speak up.

"Uh…" was all Kid could get out before Tetra interrupted him.

"Try telling someone who cares. As I was saying," Tetra indicated the princess with a wave of her hand, "she's also harmless … mostly."

"Who is she?" Nudge asked.

"She is Princess Zelda," Tetra declared, pride wriggling its way into her tone as she realized that her crew couldn't address her as such anymore.

"Princess? Ha," Linebeck scoffed, using Kid as an armrest once again, much to his chagrin. "If you're a princess where's your crown? Don't they have those?"

"Linebeck!" Tetra shouted. "Do I have to remind you that you're on my ship and I'm a pirate and this is my crew and my debt to you is paid so you're only still on board because I'm feeling generous?"

"Oh yeah? Well…" Linebeck trailed off, as a few of the more intimidating members of her crew shot him some sharp glares. "Uh, never mind."

"Miss, how can she be Princess Zelda if you're Princess Zelda?" Mako wondered, adjusting his specs.

"I was just getting to that. She … they," Tetra corrected herself, gesturing to both Link and Zelda, "are from a world that runs parallel to ours, so she's my counterpart and Link is Link's counterpart."

"Since when were you a princess? Come to think of it, since when were you a pirate?" Linebeck interrogated her. He then looked down at Kid. "Why don't you tell me these things, kid? Especially the one about there being another you. To think, all this time I could have been making double! We'll have to start treasure hunting right away to make up for lost time…"

"You're not taking those two treasure hunting at a time like this!" Tetra exclaimed in exasperation. "We still have a demon to kill!"

"Then by all means, go kill it. But hurry up. The treasure's waiting," Linebeck ordered her, making a shooing motion with his hands.

"It's not that simple," Tetra scowled, crossing her arms over her chest indignantly. "We still have to find the guy. He's here somewhere."

"So … there really is a demon?" Senza wondered.

Tetra sighed. "Look, it's like this…" The young pirate captain began to relay the tale, to the best of her ability, to those gathered around her. At first, she'd strived to keep the story short but it ended up taking far longer than she'd intended since she'd realized once she'd started that the more she omitted, the more questions she'd be forced to answer at the end. Still, she left the more sentimental sections, such as discovering she was a fallen goddess. They didn't need to know that to understand what they'd gone through in the past two weeks. By the time she was done, an awed silence enveloped the entirety of her crew. Linebeck, however, wasn't impressed.

"All that and no treasure?" Linebeck demanded. He shook his head. "What's the world coming to?"

"Not everything's about treasure, Linebeck," Kid piped up.

"I know that," Linebeck replied in a tone that suggested otherwise.

Linebeck's greediness aside, she had to admit he was right. They had been looking for treasure and nothing had come out of it except a power hungry demon and some broken tiles.

"Look," Tetra interrupted them, "there was no treasure. Deal with it. I just assumed it was a treasure map. Now we know it wasn't."

"I have a question," Mako spoke up. Tetra granted him permission to speak with an inclination of her head and he continued, "If those two," he pointed to Kid and Link, "have the same name then how are we supposed to differentiate?"

"That's easy," Tetra declared. She gestured to Link. "Call him Link and the other one Kid. That's what we've been doing."

"The other one?!" Kid exclaimed, hurt in his tone.

"What's the problem?" she wondered.

"Well, first of all that's rude," Kid pointed out, "and second of all, we're in our world now so shouldn't I get to keep my name?"

"No, because most of the people here never use your name," Tetra countered. "You have tons of nicknames so let people call you whatever they normally do and have them call him Link."

"If he wants to be called Link then I don't care," Link spoke up.

"Yeah, but what would we call you?" Tetra asked. She took Link's hesitation as an answer and stated, "Exactly. Don't worry about it. Practically everyone here has some different name for him anyway."

She heard Kid mutter something under his breath about not all of the nicknames being very nice. While she had to agree in some cases, she didn't care to comment on it. Kid had tough skin anyway and the names had never really bothered him before. Why should they now?

"You never explained him," Gonzo pointed out, indicating Linebeck with a nod of his head.

"Oh right. He's-"

"The greatest captain to ever sail the seas!" Linebeck proclaimed proudly, puffing out his chest.

"Full of himself, as you can see," Tetra continued as if she'd never been interrupted.

"We met him in the Realm of the Ocean King," Kid added. "He helped me save Tetra."

"But you two were only on that ship for ten minutes, yeah?" Gonzo recalled.

"No! The Realm of the Ocean King is a separate place from the Great Sea. It's another world like the one we just came back from, only it doesn't exist in the same time frame as our world does," Tetra explained. Judging by the expressions dominating the faces of her crew, she hadn't managed to completely convince them yet, but she didn't have time to waste on arguing the matter.

"Anyway…" Tetra whirled around to face Linebeck. "I'm more curious about your side in all of this so … what's your story?"

"Ah, well…" Linebeck began slinging an arm around Kid's shoulders and causing the poor boy to fight for his lost balance due to the sudden weight forced upon him. "The seas have been rough since you two have been gone."

"The short version," Tetra glowered. "Please."

"Bah … fine," Linebeck relented, straightening his posture and crossing his arms over his chest. "I was just minding my own business as usual, and then your princess friend appeared out of nowhere. Since I was distracted by her I didn't realize that Jolene was close until a torpedo hit my ship." There was a pregnant pause followed by an exclamation of despair. "MY SHIP! Oh no, oh no, oh no…"

"We'll help," Kid volunteered, putting on a reassuring smile for Linebeck's sake.

"No, we won't," Tetra said, her arms crossed adamantly over her chest and causing Kid's smile to fall. "We have things to do, and they're much more important than finding a damaged ship."

"Maybe to you! That ship's my whole life! I can't lose it," Linebeck argued. "Besides, if you don't help me get it back then I'll just have to stay here."

'Or we could drop you off on an island,' Tetra thought. The only thing that stopped her from uttering the words was the way Linebeck talked about his ship. She knew he'd used a wish to bring it back once when he could've easily wished for endless riches instead and bought a million ships. That action in itself told her that Linebeck's ship was as much home to him as her ship was to her. She couldn't deny him that any more than she could deny it to herself. Tetra sighed in defeat. "Where is it?"

"Four-eye reef," Linebeck replied.

"Wha-four-eye reef?! That's completely out of our way!" she exclaimed in outrage.

"What is our way again?" Kid wondered.

"First we're going to Windfall to stock up on supplies, then Dragon Roost for information," Tetra announced.

"You can get any information you need at Windfall. Everyone likes to talk there," Linebeck cut in.

"Tch … like I trust gossip," Tetra scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Dragon Roost has the hard facts. Why waste time speculating about what could be happening when we can just get a straight answer?"

"So when you're done all that you'll help me get my ship back?" Linebeck asked her.

"Maybe," she answered him. "It depends on what information we get from Dragon Roost." She felt an argument brewing so she added, "If you can't wait, then feel free to swim there. I can easily arrange that right now."

"On second thought, take your time," Linebeck encouraged her, inching away from the railing slightly as if it would help distance him from the water.

Even though she managed to subdue him, Linebeck's response reminded her that she didn't have time to waste on hours of sailing. Ghirahim had been here for a few days prior to them arriving. That gave him plenty of time to adapt and come up with a plan. If he hadn't executed it yet, he was executing it any minute now and that meant danger for everyone, not just those brash enough to sail the Great Sea.

The problem was cutting down time. She couldn't just magic her way to Windfall. 'But Kid can,' she realized. It took a second for the idea to form and another to confirm it was a good one.

Turning to Nudge, she ordered, "Go get Kid's boat from the hold." There was the briefest moment of hesitation but Tetra doubted anyone else could see it.

"You have a boat?" Linebeck wondered.

"Yeah, a sailboat," Kid confirmed, a puzzled expression on his face as he turned to Tetra.

"Oh, I get it!" Linebeck exclaimed. "You're going to send the kid with me to retrieve my boat."

"No," Tetra said, nearly laughing at how quickly Linebeck's eagerness evaporated. "I'm sending him ahead of us to Windfall so he can get our shopping done."

"But … I never do the shopping," Kid protested.

"You'll have a list," Tetra reminded him. "That's really all you need besides money, but Zelda said she'd help with that and…" She trailed off in thought. "You may want to take someone with you to help you carry stuff. Other than that, we'll meet up with you in a few hours."

"If you want to get there fast I can just take your ship there," Kid offered.

"Absolutely not," she declared, crossing her arms over her chest to discourage any attempts at persuasion. "You don't have the finesse for moving big objects across the sea." Cyclones weren't a favored mode of transportation for a reason. They had a tendency to throw things. It didn't matter so much when they were small things but large objects suffered. Thanks to her best friend, they learned that the hard way a month ago when he swore he could get them to an island faster. He did, but they spent a week repairing the ship afterwards.

"Second time's the charm?" Kid suggested sheepishly.

She smirked. "It's third time's the charm."

Kid considered this before trying again. "Everyone deserves a second chance?"

Out of her peripherals she could see Nudge coming back on deck with Kid's boat. "Make sure you distance yourself from my ship before you leave and when you get there don't forget to change the wind direction," she added, making sure to ignore his hopeful tone.

"Hey! I've seen a boat like that before," Linebeck commented, redirecting their attention to him.

"You have?" Kid wondered.

"Course I have! You have too. We stopped by it remember? The Prince of Red Lions?" Linebeck explained.

"Oh yeah … I remember," Kid admitted, his tone suggesting he'd rather forget the incident. Tetra personally didn't recall anything about a Prince of Red Lions, but she found that she was glad she didn't. It sounded like a mock up version of the King of Red Lions. Judging by Kid's reaction, it probably was.

The next few minutes were spent in hurried preparation. Mako reported back to her with the estimated numbers, which were surprisingly less damaging than she'd expected. Tetra still requested that her counterpart pay for it, since she'd promised that she would. Meanwhile, Kid was trying to decide who to bring with him. Tetra and her crew were off limits so that narrowed it down to Linebeck, Link, and Zelda.

Linebeck insisted he would be more help if Kid didn't know where to find something while Zelda chose to pull the logic card and urged Kid to allow her to accompany him since she had the money in her possession. Link claimed that if he went with Kid, he could help him carry more things than Linebeck or Zelda could. While Tetra didn't doubt this, she detected that the main reason Link wanted to go was so he could escape her ship. He didn't seem to be a real fan of the ocean. Unfortunately for him, there was no true escape from it. No island was big enough to forget it existed.

In the end, Kid chose to take Link with him, just as she'd suspected he would. She bet he could sense how antsy Link was to get onto solid land as she did. It was almost funny, mostly sad. Now she'd have to figure out how to deal with the nagging of the other two while they were gone. Ah, the joys of sailing. She had a feeling she was about to rediscover them in the next three or four hours.