Chapter 2

It was an understatement to say that Link slept soundly that night. Let a storm ravage the land, a volcano cover him in burning lava, or an earthquake make the ground beneath him break in two, he still would not have woken, or even stirred in the slightest.

Of course, Marin was another story.

"Get up! I don't recall you being so very lazy!" Marin whined, leaning over his bed, "Link? Hello? Get up now!" She sighed with exasperation, turning around sharply and stalking out the door.

"If my words won't wake him, I know something that will," she smirked, heaving a wooden bucket from the nearby well. She carefully undid the coiled rope, and carried it inside with a great deal of difficulty. "I'm giving you a last chance. Wake up," she whispered in a tone so soft it was not the least bit perceptible. "I tried..."

"What the hell was that for?" Link shrieked as the cold water engulfed him, drenching him from head to toe.

"You wouldn't wake up," Marin murmured innocently, letting the bucket dangle from her slender wrist.

"I'm...I'm..." he stuttered, absolutely shocked. His tunic clung to his skin and his bangs were matted to his face.

"Wet?"

Link rolled his eyes. "I'd say that's quite obvious, oh yeah, and I'm also freezing!"

"It's called drying off," she chuckled.

"Witty aren't we?"

"Why yes, now that you mention it."

"You'll be sorry, Marin...." he smiled mischievously, slightly seductively, advancing towards her.

"Get away from me..." she warned, backing up slowly. Link continued to walk towards her, unwaveringly. "I mean it..."

Marin shot into a quick trot, as she bolted out the door, slamming it behind her.

"It won't do you any good to run, I'm way faster then you," Link shouted, peeking his head out the door.

"In what way?" she chortled.

"Big mistake," Link muttered, edging towards the tree she'd ducked behind. He paused for a moment, as she contemplated her plan, waiting for her to make a move.

"Link, leave me alone! Back up!" she shooed him away briskly.

"Sure thing," he took a step backward. Marin allowed her mouth to curve into a disappointed pout as she took several modest sized steps away from him.

Link wasted no time.

"Gotcha!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms around her waist and lifting her off the ground in one swift motion.

"Let go!" Marin flailed about helplessly for a brief moment before resigning herself to her fate. "So what are you going to do? Douse me with a bucket of water?"

"I'm way more creative then that."

"So then..."she drifted off, ruminating what he'd just said. Her eyes lit up, and she began to struggle again. "You wouldn't!"

Link flashed her a naughty grin. "Try me."

"Let go, Let go, Let go!" Marin vociferated shrilly, as she continued to squirm under his grasp.

"Yeah, right," Link held her tightly, as he conveyed her towards the beach. "You might as well enjoy the ride Marin, because I have a feeling that I'm stronger then you."

"Let go of me!" she kicked at him.

"We're here already..." Link grinned as he neared the shore. It was a spectacular day. Mist rolling in from the horizon, the tart yet mellow shade of the sky. Even the subtle splashing of the waves was euphonious. "Too bad I have to interrupt it all," Link whispered to Marin, apologetically. She closed her eyes, pressed her lips together, and....

"SHRIEK!!!" Link plunged her into the water, immersing her in its morning chill. "I hate you!" Marin spat, coughing up the salty liquid between giggles. "You always have to go me one better." She stood up, flouncing away from him in a supercilious manner most unlike her. She folded her arms, stopping halfway across the beach, trying her best to look dignified despite her current, deluged state.

The two stood, saturnine, for several moments. Marin's eyes danced with the reflection of the water, somber, and still....

She cupped her hand over her mouth, trying to prevent the subdued laughter slipping from her lips. "It...wasn't...funny..." she started, "In the...least...I mean..." she blurted out, absolutely breaking down.

"So...you're laughing because it wasn't funny?" Link quipped, teasingly.

"I'm laughing because...well..." she broke off, opening her mouth once more, yet no sound coming out, as if she was muted.

"Marin? What's wrong?" Concern racked his every word.

"Turn...a...around..." she stuttered, completely frozen to the spot.

Link whirled about, unsheathing his sword, ready to battle what ever foe was nearby...

And halted right in his tracks. He'd never battled a creature ten times his size, and he didn't intend to start now.

"Two words for what to do in a time like this," he gulped, "Run fast."

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Marin's breath came rapidly, in uneven gasps.

"Then go!" Link turned towards the creature, that seemingly hadn't noticed them yet. It was a sea dragon of some sort, its back glimmering, a sleek black in color. Scales lined its body, reflecting red in the sun, yet black as well to the naked eye. It's head was huge, a mane of orange and yellow crowning it. And the eyes...a shade of blood red, piercing, even when they weren't turned towards you. He'd never seen anything like it. Not since his final confrontation with Ganondorf had he felt so much fear coursing through him. And Marin hadn't budged.

"Marin! Move it! Before it sees us!"

"I...I can't," she gasped.

"You...can't?"

"What is it?"

"I'll tell you when we're away from here. I know you're scared but if you want to live to see tomorrow you'll get out of here. Come on..."

"I just can't."

"Marin, if not for yourself, then go for me. Because I'm not budging until you decide to come with me," he stared at her for a moment, not moving, "Fine then, we'll both be eaten by this thing." And with that, Link sat down.

That was all the inspiration she needed. Marin shot down the beach, clamoring up the rocks, leaping over anything in her path, running at a speed so swift, Link could not keep up with her as she raced away.

"Tell me, how do you run so fast?" he called.

"I don't run with my feet Link, I run on fear," she gulped, picking up her pace.

They both stopped abruptly, far away from the roaring of the waves, drawing in the sharp, cool morning air. Link swallowed, trying to regain his composure as best he could.

"Well Marin, looks like you were right," Link panted.

"What is that thing? Link, I'm so..." she paused lightly, her eyes narrowing into slits, "No, I'm not afraid. I'm angry."

"You? Angry?"

"That monster could hurt my island. And I don't want it to. So guess what?" she eyed Link, a tempting smile crossing her lips.

"We're going to let it?" he tried hopefully.

"On the contrary. We're going to stop it."



Chapter 3



"From my quests I've learned many things," Link stated pointedly, "And one of them is that monsters don't travel alone. Oh yeah, and besides that, they always have a purpose."

"Really? I thought they randomly killed people," Marin grimaced, her face taut and nervous.

"No Marin. I mean it, what I'm trying to say is..." he faltered, but then spoke clearly, "I'm the reason that thing came."

Marin circled about him steadily, "Impossible. I called you here because I sensed danger."

"You called me here because you wanted me to come back."

"No Link! It wasn't that...not entirely at least..."

"Listen to me Marin! You're island is in trouble, I should know! Okay, maybe I didn't cause it and maybe I did, but the point is that we're both in trouble, as well as everyone else here. That dragon had a purpose, and I won't rest until I know what that purpose is."

"I know..."

"Here's what I think. You wanted me to come back, so you called to me from my dreams. Someone, somewhere knew that, they knew I'd return...and now Koholint's in danger. I know it's complicated, and there's more to this then meets the eye, but we'll figure it out."

Marin nodded, tracing her lips with her tongue. "I'm sorry to have caused this, Link. I mean, I've...I've endangered you, and maybe your life. If only I'd waited until a different time maybe, I shouldn't have called you at all..."

"Say it again," Link muttered.

"If only I'd waited for a different time....?" her voice drifted off, questionably.

"That's the answer to all of this. Time. This is real, and yet it's a dream. Marin, only time can get me back to Hyrule, and save Koholint."

"I can't take this..." her head was throbbing with confusion.

"Well, I'd say we should go relax by the shore, but that probably wouldn't be a good idea," Link chuckled.

Marin nodded, her expression unchanged, dark and demoralized as ever. She took Link's hand, not uttering a word, leading him outside, down to a small cove that the vast oceans could not touch. It was cool, shaded by the granite rocks above and most of all they were safe there, nothing could touch them.

"Strange..." Marin murmured, sitting down upon the sodden sand, "I could swear that it was bigger then this...the water seems to come up higher then before..."

"Are you sure?" Link asked, his face twisting with suspicion.

"I'm positive. I spend ever so much time here, I should know..." Marin cast a look downward, her eyes glimmering with a newfound fear, different then before.

"Just suppose, that this cove was getting smaller," he mused, fondling his new idea, "And just suppose that..." he drifted off, "Marin I think I know what's happening!"

"Clue me in then."

"Not yet, I need more proof first. Come on," he grabbed her by the arm, pulling her away from the cove, and out into the dazzling sunlight of the island. They hastened back to Marin's home, where Link insisted upon some string, and a sturdy branch.

"Well here's the string...but I haven't any branches around at the moment," Marin handed him a neat coil of string, frayed at the edges from its many years of uselessness.

"Then we'll get one outside. Hurry up, we don't have any time to waste!" Link exited the cabin as quickly as he'd entered, heading for the nearby forests.

Once under the woods protecting canopy, they immediately began to search for a branch.

Too short...

Too long...

Twisted...

It just had to be precisely the right size and shape.

Perfect.

"Marin! I found one. We've got to get back to the cove!" Link called to her.

"Alright, I'm coming," Marin's voice sounded across the quiet.

They made their way back to the inlet in total silence, both of their heads filled with infinite questions, and not a single answer. And yet, it was compelling to find the answer, almost as if they needed too. Link crouched down, ducking into the narrow opening. Carefully, he examined the spot where the waves just lapped the shoreline. He lay the branch across it with utmost precision, and secured it to the spot with the string.

"There you have it," he waved his hand at the marker he'd just created.

"Have what?" Marin asked curiously. She didn't see how this would help them solve any of the mysteries involving Koholint.

"I think your cove's getting smaller."

"That's preposterous," Marin said softly, almost trying to convince herself of the fact that it was so.

"So is this whole situation. But we'll know by the morning," Link yawned out the last words, enervation once more overtaking him. "I need sleep."

"Only if you promise to actually wake up tomorrow. I don't want to go through that ordeal again," Marin winced, recalling how very well, soaked she'd felt.

"I don't know..." Link grinned at her, "Okay, I guess so, but no water!"

"Agreed," Marin shook his hand firmly, and they both went back to her cabin.

"Hey, where's your dad?" Link suddenly asked, noticing that the bumbling man was oddly absent.

"Why he's out in the forest...." she drifted off, her voice lowering, "He should be back by now though. Well, he sometimes stays out for several days," Link noticed her brow furrowing in worry, but he chose to say nothing, Marin was stressed already, and didn't need to be riled up over nothing.

"Yeah, okay," he muttered agreeably, pulling off his boots and eagerly climbing into the other bed. Slumber came quickly, taking him into its grasp, smoothly, calmly, and he was asleep in a moment.

"Marin! I'm awake before you," Link tapped her repeatedly as she rolled onto her stomach, using her pillow to cover her head.

"I can't hear you," she grumbled, not yet ready to face another day as bemusing as the one before.

"We have to uncover the cause for that thing we saw yesterday," he urged her out of bed.

"Alright, I'm coming," she stretched. Another glorious day on the island of dreams. How dull. What she wouldn't give to see a billowing storm, or a cool fall of fresh snow.

Link rolled his eyes as she stayed, hidden under her many coverings. He wrested them off of her in one motion, leaving her huddled in a ball on the bare mattress.

"Did I ever tell you how obnoxious you are?" she growled, groping about for her slippers.

"No, but there's always a first time," Link sighed dejectedly, "Come on! We've got to check out the cove...."

"Stop whining. You're seventeen. Not three," Marin retorted as she stood up, rubbing her eyes, then running a seashell comb through her carmine hair. "Alright, let's go," she held open the door as Link bounded outside, as if he was a mere child half his age.

But Marin sung a different tune when they reached the cove.

The branch had vanished...

...Or had it?

Link ran his hand through the surf. Nothing. He tried again where the water was deeper. Nope. One more time, he felt about, the water enveloped his arm up to his elbow now. He pulled out the branch, which was now peeling and soaked through.

"And that's that," he thrust the branch at Marin, a look of apprehensiveness crossing his face.

"I don't understand..." she murmured, examining the stick.

"This island's sinking into the ocean. Soon, there will be no trace that it ever was. And Marin, we're the only ones who can salvage Koholint now."