SSBM Master: Well, now it's a race. Link and Gannondorf both know that Aryll is a sage but the question is, can Link and his friends get to Outset before him? Is it already too late? Bear in mind, that even if it is, Gannondorf cannot kill Aryll until the fifth day when the sages magic is at it's weakest. I do not own any Zelda characters, items locations or plotlines.

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Chapter 6: The race begins!

Niko ran as quickly as his little feet would allow him too through the streets of windfall. A little while ago he had been below decks, grumbling about being left behind to watch the ship when who should he see arrive? His old swabbie Link! He was about to give him a hearty Niko welcome but before he got the chance to even let Link know he was there, Link quickly entered Tetras room.

Niko then decided to listen at the door where he heard Link, Tetra and some other guy whose name Niko didn't catch talk about…well Niko didn't understand some of it, but there was something about Sages, a lot of hype seemed to be an evil moblin king called Gannondorf that Link had killed…or rather not killed, a medallion seemed to be of some importance, the name Zelda had definitely popped up somewhere and he was sure he heard something about miss Tetra being a princess!

None of it made any sense but Niko was sure the pirates would be eager to hear what had happened. He ran up the stairs to the front door of the bar and started banging on it. One of the pirates opened it.

"Niko…?" he said but Niko ran past him up to the bar area.

"Hey look it's Niko," the lookout crowed. "Barkeep, get this shrimp a lemonade and a packet of Quavers!" The pirates laughed as Niko skidded to a halt. The pirates often made jokes about his size but at the moment he didn't mind.

"Guys, Guys…" He said panting. "Your not gonna believe what I just heard this guy telling miss Tetra and Link.

"Link?" The lookout said, "What's he got to do with anything?

"Hush up and I'll tell you!" Niko whispered. The pirates all gathered round Niko and listened to his sketchy but surprisingly accurate version of what had been said in Tetra's room. "…and then Tetra said that we would all leave as soon as this new guy's boat was attached to our ship."

"We can't leave yet," Gonzo, moaned "We haven't had a rest for weeks." As soon as he had said this, the bar doors opened and Tetra, followed by Link and the stranger, came through them.

"All right everyone," Tetra bellowed, "We leave in five minutes, get going! I assume Niko's had enough time to tell you all where and why." Niko made a sound, like a mouse being trodden on. She must have seen him leave the ship.

"What about him?" said Gonzo eyeing the stranger suspiciously.

"He comes along and I order you all to treat him and Link as part of the crew. I assume there are no objections?….. Good.

* * *

All in all, Link couldn't say spirits were high as they left Windfall. All the pirates were grumbling about not having enough time on dry land, Tetra's attitude changed once again when they departed, from 'Tetra' to 'Captain Tetra'! James had still felt guilty about putting Aryll in danger and had been avoiding Link's eye at the time, although now that it was midday and they had both gotten a few hours sleep, so at the moment they were getting along fine.

He of course was no exception. Gannondorf, the person he had assumed dead for the past 6 years was now all of a sudden, in power again, and to make matters worse, he was after the only family member he had left. He didn't blame James for leading Gannondorf to her, he had told Link that he only realised when he saw Tetra.

The only person who seemed happy on their departure was Niko. Tetra, not sure what to with James and Link once they had rested, had told them to do what Niko told them to do for the journey. Although overjoyed at the prospect of having two new swabbies, it soon became apparent that Niko didn't know what to do with them either as he had soon had James take the assault courses, both of which he completed first time.

"That was easy," he remarked. Link laughed at Niko's stunned look. (He had only recently managed to pass the second one!) "What's next?"

"Well…next you can…um…" Niko started to say. Link's eyes wandered round the large room under the ship's deck and his eyes fell on a pile of wooden swords.

"Hey," said Link, jumping down to the floor below and picking up two of the swords. "Why don't James and I have a little sparring match?"

"Good idea, swabbie." Said Niko eagerly. Link looked at James.

"Sounds like fun," grinned James. He was more restrained than Niko but Link could see his eyes burning with enthusiasm. He tossed the sword in his left hand to James.

"Ready?" Asked Link

"Uh…not really." James looked doubtfully at his Sword "I've only ever fought with two swords."

"All right," said Link, tossing him a second sword. "You use two and I'll have my shield as well. Ready?"

"Yeah" answered James grinning."

"3…2…1…GO!" Straight away, Link understood why James wanted to spar with two swords. As soon as Link had said go, James had begun a relentless assault on him, striking many blows to Link's shield and using a style not dissimilar to Gannondorf's. It involved a lot of spinning and few jabs.

Niko had been watching them both with a look of awe on his face and cheering every time one of them made a good move, and he wasn't the only one. Every time a pirate came below deck, they would stay and join Niko. Soon, every pirate apart from the lookout and Gonzo, who was steering were in the cargo hold watching them spar. Link even noticed Tetra cheering for him, her captain's attitude forgotten

Link's original plan was to let James wear himself out, but after fifteen minutes Link decided that wasn't gonna happen. Then he had an idea.

* * *

Suddenly Link pulled off a move James hadn't been expecting. He charged forwards, shield raised and knocked James off balance. Before He could regain his feet, James felt Link knock one of his swords from his hands. The pirates cheered and Link drew back looking confident.

"Give up?" he asked

"Not a chance" James answered. He had a surprise of his own. Link moved swiftly towards him, hoping to knock the other sword out of James's hand but before he could, James threw it to the ground and parried to the right of Link's swing.

The Pirates watched, stunned as James gave Link a sharp martial art's kick on Link's left hamstring, causing Link to stumble. Before he could turn to face James, James ducked to the floor and swung his left leg along the floor in a smooth arc, eventually connecting with Link's left shin. Link fell flat on his face and before anyone knew it, James had Link's sword prodding Link in the back of his neck.

"Look's like I win," said James smugly. "You shouldn't have gotten cocky and moved in for the kill."

"I'll have to remember that." Said Link, smirking. He gave his leg a quick shake and got to his feet.

Just then, the lookout suddenly arrived with an anxious look on his face

"You better come quick." He said urgently. "Outset's in viewing range and… well you better see for yourself." The crew followed the lookout, Link in the lead.

James's insides seemed to be made of stone. He made his way to the deck and prepared himself to see what he had brought on this peaceful little island.

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SSBM Master: Pretty neat fighting scene eh? If you liked is you'll love the next chapter. (wink wink!)