CHAPTER TEN

"I had such an amazing time there, Red Lions!" I exclaimed, the boat probably very sick of me blabbing on and on about what happened.

"Wonderful!" he said, a hint of weariness in his voice.

"And then that little Korok, Makar,..."

"You do know where we are going, do you not?" asked the King of Red Lions, obviously trying to change the subject.

"Uh...no, not really."

"I know where the last pearl is located, and this time I promise it won't be as difficult to get."

"Oh yeah! Faore's Pearl!" I said, "So, where is it?"

"On the island upon which you were born."

My eyes beamed-I could feel it.

"You mean..."

"Yes," Red Lions replied, "Outset Island."

"All right!" I shouted, jumping up and down.

"Oww...stop that," demanded the grumpy boat.

I sat down giggling to myself.

* * *

We'd sailed for hours, until suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw...Tetra's pirate ship.

"Hey look, Red Lions," I said, pointing to the humongous ship, "It's Tetra and the pirates!"

I got out Aryll's telescope and peered that way.

"It looks like they're up to no good," I said.

"How surprising..."

"Let's follow them!"

"But Link, we must locate the next pearl!"

"Come on, Red Lions," I whined, "a little detour won't kill us!"

"Fine, but very fast we must be, for time is running out!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

I heard the King of Red Lions sigh before we continued, following Tetra and the pirates.

* * *
We followed the troublemakers to Windfall Island; I hadn't been there in a long time.

"See what they're up to, Link," said the King of Red Lions, "You must be quick, for we must find the next pearl."

"I will."

I got out of the boat and swam to the shore of the island village. As oppose to the normal, bustling state of Windfall, only the sound of chirping crickets could be heard.

I sighed and began looking for signs of the pirate. Then, behind a dark corner, I saw an eerily familiar looking girl clad in dirty rags.

"Excuse me," I said, "have you seen a large ship around here with pirates on it," laughing to myself at my stupid sounding question.

The girl looked at me. "Get out of here!"

I was mildly taken aback at her abrupt rudeness. "Sorry."

I continued walking into town, but before I had gotten too many paces away, the girl turned and ran in the opposite direction.

She didn't look to be up to too good. I decided to run after her.

Quietly I crept, making sure that she didn't hear me. Suddenly, she stopped.

Uh-oh, I thought, I better hide!

I leapt into a nearby bush, just barely dodging her line of eyesight.

"Who's there?" she loudly whispered.

I had to think fast. I cleared my throat. "Meow..." I called, doing my best to sound identical to a cat.

I heard the girl sigh, turn around and begin running again. I got out of the bush and began pursuing her again. Once more, she stopped, turned around and made sure that nobody was around. Luckily, I hid behind a tree just in time. The cat and mouse detective game continued until I could no longer see the girl, but I could hear her moaning and groaning as if she were struggling with something.

I peered around the corner I hid behind and saw what she was trying to do-open a safe!

I snuck up behind her and grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around to face me.

"Ah!" she shouted, struggling to get free of my grasp.

"What are you doing?" I demanded.

"None of your business!" she said, "who are you?"

It was then that I recognized her-it was a rich girl named Mila who lived on Windfall Island, who had been trapped in that cell with my sister! But what was with her ratty clothes.

"I'm an ally of justice!"

"Wha...!" cried Mila, "okay, but please don't tell the police. I'll spill everything if you'll just listen!"

"Fine."

"Well not too long ago, I was kidnapped and taken to the Forsaken Fortress. My dad spent every Rupee he had to get me back. We'd been the richest people on this whole island," lamented the girl who must have been about my age, "We were devastated, my dad lost his work and now I have to work for a scoundrel's pay for that rat, Zunari. And worse yet, that formerly filthy, poor girl Maggie is now filthy RICH!"

I nodded, urging her to continue her story.

"Well, I really need money to support my dad and myself, so I came to steal this."

The girl twisted in the combination to the safe and opened it up, taking out a bottle inside.

"You really should knock this off," I advised, "just follow you heart, and things will come out okay."

Mila peered into my eyes and I gazed back into hers and we both started laughing at how corny that was.

"Thanks..."

"Link."

"Thanks for coming to save me from trouble." She began to run off, but turned around, tossing me the bottle. "Twice."

She did remember me!

Her figure disappeared in the darkness and I grinned, all of a sudden remembering what I had come for.

I went back to the edge of the island and decided to keep on my search for Tetra.

As I walked, I heard...something from a tiny shop on the island's edge. Wasn't that the Bomb Shop?

"Let me go," was I thought I deciphered from inside the shop. It was time for me to check out what was going on.

I tried to open the door. Locked. I knocked. "Let me in!"

"Umm...cough...cough...we're closed at the uh...moment. Please come later!"

I smirked. Niko couldn't fool me for a second. I had to find another way in there. I looked around the side of the store and spotted a piece of land, only accessible by a thin strip of land. Ah, how familiar. This reminded me of the Forsaken Fortress and how I had to sidle to get to the other side of a thin strip. Here I went!

I pushed myself against the wall and began to sidle, sidling all the way to the other side. I reached it and snuck behind the wall. The muffled noise became louder and louder; I had to find a way in...

Then, I came up with an idea. I gave the weeds that grew up the back wall a firm tug.

Just go for it!

So I did. I grabbed on to one part of the weed, then another. Climbing my way up to the top of the shop.

"Perfect!" I exclaimed, having seen an opening, just the size for me to crawl through. On my hands had knees I got and quietly crawled trough.

* * *

"Hurry up, already!" cried Tetra. "Have you gotten all the bombs?"

Niko's face looked completely perplexed. "There are way too many for us to take, Miss Tetra!"

Tetra sighed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, please." She glanced upward and I shrugged back more so from my position high above on top of a cabinet. I hoped she hadn't seen me!

"Take as many as you can and let's head out before we get caught!" Tetra's brisk, cold accent proving she meant business. I finally noticed the Bomb Shop owner struggling to get free of the ropes and gag that bound him.

"But Miss Tetra!" complained another pirate, Gonzo, "I'm so tired."

"And I'm hungry," complained Niko.

Tetra let another sigh, louder than the first. "Fine, we're leaving first thing in the morning!"

The two others heaved a sigh of relief.

"I'll be in my cabin back on board," proclaimed the stern tomboy, "Remember, FIRST thing in the morning!"

"We know," the others monotonously mumbled.

Tetra walked out the front door and slammed the door behind her.

"Aye, aye, that girl is a pain in the..."

"You know," said Niko, cutting Gonzo off, "I think I forgot the password!"

"How could you have, I told you an hour ago!"

"Yes, I know," Niko replied, "but you know how picky the girl is about the password. She could know that it's us and still refuse to open the bloody door!"

"Plankton."

"What?"

"I said plankton," Gonzo repeated, "That's the password."

Plankton, I thought.

"Right!" Niko reaffirmed, "Plankton. I got it."

"Come, let's get ourselves back to the ship. We've got to leave very early."

The two pirates picked up their two large bags of stolen bombs and stumbled out the front door. I climbed down from my point of hiding and landed on the floor.

"I've gotta get to that ship!" I announced out loud, running out the door. Oops! I forgot about the Bomb Shop owner, still tied up in there. Well, he'd have to wait!

Rain discharged from the heavens above, dousing me instantly. I ran across Windfall Island looking for any sign of the ship.

"There!" I shouted to myself through the roar of the rainstorm.

I spotted the gallant ship from a distance and didn't stop running, climbing and jumping until I got to the door of the ship.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

"Password!" a pirate yelled from behind the door.

"Plankton!" I shouted back.

The door slowly opened up, Niko's plump face there to greet me.

"Hey, kid!" he exclaimed, "You're alive!"

"Why wouldn't I be?" I said, smiling.

Niko laughed in return. "Come downstairs, I've got something for ya!"

Ah yes, another of Niko's crazy rope challenges awaited me. Easy to pass they were, and on the other side he was shocked.

"How do you pass so fast?"

I laughed, "I've been practicing!"

"Well, I'll give you what's in here as a reward," he said, stepping aside to reveal a treasure chest.

I opened it up, and, amidst the green aura, I was able to pull out a Bomb Bag, complete with thirty bombs, each no larger than a tiny rock inside.

"They're tiny," I noticed out loud.

"Yeah!" said Niko, "but they sure can explode!"

RRRRRRUUUMMBLE!!

My charm went off! I picked it up.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Uh-oh, it was Tetra!

"I-uh, umm..."

"You're trying to steal the stolen-and right under my nose aren't you?"

"No, no, I was..."

"No excuses," Tetra interrupted, "you know what, I'm feeling generous today, so I'm gonna let you have those. But believe me, you didn't get ALL our bombs!"

"Thanks, I guess."

"Mention it. You owe me big time, scallywag."

Niko gulped. "Okay this time I really mean it, don't tell anyone, especially Tetra, that I gave you those bombs."

"Don't worry, Niko, I won't."

The pirate smiled. I think he mouthed good luck, but I know I whispered thanks back to him.

I left the boat on which I had had so many adventures, running to see my boat, and head out for the final pearl.