Disclaimer: Do I really need to say it? *gets death glares from disclaimer people* Ok fine. I don't own WW, Zelda, or any of these characters. There happy now?

A/N: Yes! It makes me happy to see that some people are still reading and reviewing. Mark my words, if I get even more, I'd be the happiest person alive :) And I wouldn't mind if those who are still reviewing to go back and review the chapters you might have not reviewed in( you don't have to, but like I said before, it would make me faint with joy). This chapter took long to get up cause of the editing (stupid Word makes me have to format it!). But none the less, I think the humor side of me must have emerged when I wrote this chapter (plus this spot in the game was just too funny to make serious anyways *winks*). Enjoy. ^.^

Chapter 4: Enter the Forsaken Fortress

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Late evening came. The moon rose high into the sky, casting its pale glow over the vast sea of glass. A few misshapen clouds hung in the sky's wake, hoping to block its endless reach.

After a few more hours of night-time sailing on calm waters, a dark island soon began to appear above the horizon.

Being the first to spot it, Zuko was ordered to inform the captain as soon as their destination was in sight. He pocketed his telescope and crawled down the ladder to pass on the news. After telling Tetra, she sent him back to the nest and headed for the lower deck to inform Niko and Link. She climbed down a flight of steps and entered a reasonably large room that could have only been the cargo bay. It was obviously where they kept their food, supplies, ammo, exedra, but it was also the room where training took place.

Tetra stood in the doorway and stopped to watch for a few seconds. Niko was all the way across the room, shouting commands to Link who was not too far away from where she was standing. From the expressions on Niko's face, Tetra could tell that he was enjoying every minute of the training.

"You have to jump kid!" Niko shouted from across the room. "What are you, afraid of heights or something?"

Link shook his head and replied. "No it's not that. It's just that...it looks so far." He looked down from where he was to the level below him. It looked pretty far down from his point of view. "Are you sure I can make it just by jumping?"

Niko shook his head, apparently disappointed in him. "Just jump with all your might and grab the rope. It's that simple!"

Link frowned. "But what if I miss?"

Niko slapped his forehead. This might be harder than he thought. "Just try it! It's not that far down."

Link planted his feet. "Well...ok then."

With a good running start, he leapt at the hanging lantern in front of him, arms extended. He managed to grab the rope easier than he thought he would and began to swing back and forth, clinging to it so he would not slip off. As he swayed, he glanced at Niko and then at the floor.

"So...now what do I do?" he called.

Before Niko could answer him, he suddenly started to smell something...like something was...

"Burning?" he thought.

Link looked down. His eyes grew big and he yelped in a high-pitched voice. The bottom of his tunic was dangling in the lit lantern...and it was starting to catch fire!

He kicked his legs frantically to try and put out the flame while still clinging to the rope...but it wouldn't go out! He quickly glanced in all directions. Seeing no other quick solution, he quickly released his grip on the rope and fell a good seven feet down to the floor. He didn't bother to get up and immediately started to roll around on the floor to put out the flame.

A grin appeared on Tetra's face as she was witnessing this moment. She couldn't hold it in for long and soon she began laughing.

Niko was also cracking up at the site.

"Hahahahahaha! Oh I knew you would be a laugh, but I didn't imagine you would be this hilarious swabbie!" Niko chuckled loudly so Link could hear him.

Link stopped rolling all over the place after having put out the small flame and sprawled his arms and legs over the floor, breathing a sigh of relief that he didn't become a human candle. Upon hearing Tetra, he looked over to see her sitting on the upper level, kicking her feet with her head thrown back in laughter.

He really didn't see the humor in all this...but instead of getting angry, he got caught up in the moment and began to laugh right along with them.

Tetra slowed her laughing and looked down at him with a half smile. She hadn't laughed like that in a long time; at least, not since her mother was kidnapped. It felt good to finally have that feeling again.

But almost as soon as she had started, she tried to catch her breath and get serious. They really didn't have time to joke around like this, so she stood up. After moving a couple bangs from her eyes, she crossed her arms and shouted above the laughing.

"That's enough!" she proclaimed. Link and Niko immediately stopped, sensing the seriousness in her tone.

"We are nearly there. We won't be arriving for another hour though, so you better start getting serious. Both of you!" she scolded as she glared at both of them.

Niko hung his head while Link looked at her, puzzled by her sudden change in mood. Just a few seconds ago, she was actually showing signs of happiness...but now she changed into a ticking time bomb.

He scooted back a little when she locked eyes with his.

"If you really want to save your sister..." she said harshly, "...then I would suggest you stop fooling around and learn whatever Niko is trying to teach you." She put her hands on her hips. "I doubt you'll even get through the first door without screwing up somehow..."

Link was hurt. She hasn't even seen him in action yet and was putting him down before he even got off the ship.

Tetra quickly turned around to go back on deck and spoke.

"Niko, I expect you to train him hard. Don't show any mercy to
him."

Niko looked down at Link. "Aye-aye captain."

Tetra began to walk away and stopped.

"Oh and Niko..." she said. "Once the kid is gone, you're going back to being the bottom rug, got it?"

Niko got a sorry look on his face and hung his head again. "Yes Miss..." he uttered pitifully.

With that, Tetra walked away.

A half hour went by. No one on deck uttered a word during this time, focusing more on what they would encounter once they arrived at the fortress. The place didn't hold good memories for the crew. They shrugged it off though, knowing the rumors they heard were untrue. Well...almost everyone thought that.

Tetra, being the person she was, always took everything seriously. She did not like to take chances, thinking everything always had a severe punishment if it was taken lightly. She wanted to make sure nothing would go wrong.

"Soon..." she thought. "As soon as we reach that island, I can finally settle the score with that bird...for what it did to me and my mother." Putting a hand to her hidden necklace, she secretly vowed to fulfill this oath. She wouldn't know how though, until they reached the island.

Another half hour went by before the ship finally reached its destination. Upon seeing the island, Tetra's first thought was to land as soon as possible without getting spotted. This idea went out the window though, once she saw how guarded the place was.

"Shoot!" she exclaimed. She leaned over the side of the nest. "Gonzo!"

The runner of the wheel looked up.

"I want you to pull us up to that mound of rock over there." She said, pointing to a large pile of rocky earth sticking up out of the ocean like a sore thumb. "Get as close as you can to it. I don't want us to get spotted."

"Aye-aye, Miss Tetra." He saluted as he began to steer the wheel in many directions.

Tetra looked down at Nudge. "I want you to go fetch Link. Tell him we arrived and to hurry and get up here."

"Yes Ma'am." He said, walking towards below deck. She watched the door he went through until he came back with Link rushing at his heels. She could tell he was anxious to start his mission.

Nudge walked away before Link could ask for directions and the boy stood there and scratched his head, not knowing where the pirate leader was.

"Hey! Link!" Tetra shouted.

Link paused, hearing her voice. He looked everywhere but up to try and
spot her.

Tetra rolled her eyes. "Up here!"

He then looked up and finally saw her. In a rush, he quickly climbed up the ladder, only to find her staring him down with her hands on her hips.

"It's about time you got here." He muttered as she glared at him and
raised a questioning eyebrow. "What were you doing with Niko anyway?"

"Uh...well...umm..." he stuttered. He had promised Niko he wouldn't tell anyone what they did. He scratched the back of his neck and looked to his side.

By the look on his face, Tetra could tell he was hiding something...she figured she knew already.

"Don't tell me you were playing some stupid game...for treasure...were you?" she scolded, eyeing him suspiciously.

Link quickly looked at her, amazed at her guessing skills. "I...uh..." "Oh I hope I don't get in trouble..." he thought.

Tetra rolled her eyes. "Well whatever...just look over there will
you?"

Link lifted his head as Tetra tilted her head to her right.

"That..." she continued. "...is the cursed isle known as the Forsaken
Fortress."

Link looked to his left to see a dark and gloomy looking fortress full of searchlights and strange guards of some sort. He walked next to Tetra and pulled out a telescope he got from his sister for his birthday. He peeked through the finder and examined the place up close. He couldn't see his sister anywhere unfortunately.

Tetra continued to speak while he continued to search.

"So the rumors are true..." she uttered. "This place has taken a completely new turn since I last saw it. It use to be the hideout of a no- good group of pirates we use to compete with in the past." She paused. "But they were just small time...now the place looks pretty dangerous."

Link wasn't paying too much attention to Tetra, and while he peered around the fortress, he suddenly spotted the giant bird sleeping in a huge nest near the peak of the fortress. The creature gave a big yawn that even made him yawn and then fell back asleep.

"Ah I knew it!" Tetra proclaimed. "Look!"

Link didn't look up to see where she was pointing and tried to search for whatever it was on his own.

Tetra frowned at him and yanked his telescope in the right direction.

"By that window. Do you see it?"

"Yeah." Link said. Through his sister's telescope, he could see a bunch of sea gulls flying around a single lit window.

"I'll bet you anything that's where they're keeping your sister." Tetra stated. "It doesn't look too hard to get to either."

Link kept seeing beams of light crisscross his view. He pocketed his telescope and used his own eyes to spot the sources and saw a hoard of searchlights, some watching the fortress for intruders while others searched the outskirts of the water around the place.

"You think they have enough searchlights down there?" he questioned sarcastically.

Tetra shrugged. "It does look like the place is under heavy guard doesn't it?" This struck a thought to her.

She stomped her foot and crossed her arms. "Shoot! This won't work. We'd be spotted before we could even think of landing there!"

Link looked at her. "So...how are we going to get in?"

Tetra hung her head and thought. Her previous plan was to sneak in and overtake the place with their catapult, but they were obviously not going to get close to the place without them knowing they were there. So much for getting revenge on the stupid bird...

Then her thoughts turned to Link. He was here to save his sister, and he was totally oblivious to her real intentions. So she figured...why not help the kid rescue his sister, then come back later to reek havoc on the fortress. Sounded good enough...but how would they go about getting the kid over there without getting spotted?

Tetra hummed to herself. There had to be a way to get over there without being spotted! There just had to be!

Suddenly an idea struck her mind. She lifted her head and eyed Link with the most mischievous look on her face.

Link didn't like the look she was giving him. "Umm...you thought of something I take it?"

"Oh yeah." she replied with a smirk. She quickly headed to the ladder and climbed down to the deck.

"Hey, wait up!" Link called after her. She was already on deck and talking with Gonzo by the time he got down. Then she suddenly sprinted below deck.

As she pasted him, Tetra called out. "Go where Gonzo is and wait for me. I'll be right back." Then she was gone.

Link wanted to know what the heck was going on, but chose to listen and walked over to Gonzo. After a minute or two went by, Tetra emerged from below deck and ran up to them.

Link tapped his foot. "So when can I hear this plan of yours?" he asked impatiently. He wanted to get in and get out with his sister in hand as quickly as possible, and here this pirate was taking her sweet little time with the whole ordeal.

That same grin he witnessed in the crows nest appeared on her face as Tetra spoke. "You'll know soon enough, kid." She said with a sinister grin.

Link frowned at her. The look was creepy enough so why can't she tell him this plan of hers?

"Ok kid," Tetra said. "I can see you're in a rush so I guess we can
begin."

Link nodded his head with satisfaction. It was about time.

Tetra stepped aside and motioned to a barrel that was sitting next to
her.

"First off, you got to get in this barrel." She instructed.

Link scratched his head. "That's it! That's your plan?" he questioned.

"I'm not finished giving you instructions yet, kid. Just get in the barrel!" she said sternly.

Link squinted at her. "I have a name you know." he stated as he walked up to the wooden barrel. He grabbed the edge and tried to pull himself up. Not having enough strength to pull himself up all the way, he dangled on the edge a bit and tried to push himself up the rest of way with his feet.

Tetra watched him struggle for a moment, then reached up and secretly put something in his pocket. He was too busy trying to get in the barrel to notice this. He stopped and looked down at Tetra.

"Umm...A little help here please." He said sheepishly.

Tetra rolled her eyes. If this kid couldn't even get in a barrel without help, then what are the chances of him surviving in a place like the Forsaken Fortress? She shrugged at the thought as she grabbed the bottom of Link's boots. With a quick shove and a slight yelp from Link, Tetra lifted him up and he fell, head first, into the barrel.

As soon as the sound of Link hitting the bottom was heard, Tetra motioned for Gonzo to pick up the barrel and move it. Senza walked up and helped him put it on a slightly raised platform at the bow of the ship.

Link grumbled a bit as he rubbed his head and shifted around inside the cramped space to find the top. He poked his head out and picked Tetra out. He scowled at her.

"Thanks for the help..." he mumbled to her with low-slit eyes.

She smiled. "Don't thank me just yet kid." She smirked as she pointed
downward.

Link had no idea what she was taking about, but looked down anyways. His eyes grew large when he realized what the barrel he was in was sitting on.

"A catapult!" he shouted. He suddenly caught the hint that they were going to fling him over to the fortress using their cannonball launcher. "But I thought we were all going!"

Tetra raised an eyebrow. "You thought all of us could fit in that thing?" she joked. Link frowned at her, obviously not liking her plan or her joke.

"Look kid..." Tetra explained, as Senza and Gonzo started to aim the catapult. "This is the only way we can get you in there without getting spotted." She held her head up and smiled. "Don't worry...we pirates do this all the time."

"You hurl people onto islands on a regular bases?!" Link remarked with shock in his voice.

Tetra laughed.

Link didn't find this funny and tried to crawl out of the barrel on his own. He was quickly pushed back down by Gonzo. He kept resisting and struggled to try and escape this crazy bunch of pirates. Maybe he could swim over there or something!

"Stop struggling!" Tetra commanded. "This is the only way!" She crossed her arms. "For someone who claimed to do anything to rescue his sister, you sure are doing a great job of keeping your vow."

This must have struck a cord with him since Link stopped struggling. He looked down at Tetra with a sorry look on his face.

Tetra turned to Gonzo. "Is everything ready?"

Gonzo saluted, meaning a yes.

Link's expression shifted to a worried look.

"Stop worrying kid." Tetra reassured him. "We'll launch you
good!"

Link's expression didn't change as Tetra began to count down.

"3..."

Link tried to keep a straight face and look brave.

"2..."

He shut his eyes tight to prepare for lift off.

"1..."

Before Link knew it, the barrel was hurling through the air faster than a paranoid fish being chased by a shark. He could only watch as he was getting ever closer to the...wait...wasn't he suppose to be launched into the window?

He gulped. Then why was he heading for...a wall?!

He suddenly started screaming as loud as he could as he came closer to impact with the solid rock.

CRASH!

The barrel splintered and broke into a thousand pieces, leaving a vertically sprawled Link flat against the walls surface. He blacked out upon impact and slid off the wall into the water below. The cold liquid must have snapped him out since he resurfaced to catch his breathe. He floated there for a second, submerged his mouth, and began to blow bubbles.

That's the last time he'll take advice from a pirate!

He swam over to the closest spot he could crawl up to and climbed out of the water, thankful that he actually landed in the water than the hard ground.

"Now I'm all wet!" he thought. He began to rig his outfit and squeeze it dry. "Thanks a lot, Tetra..." He sarcastically stated out loud.

"Your welcome."

Link jumped at hearing a response to his comment. Did he just hear Tetra's voice? He looked around, but could not see her anywhere.

"Tetra? I thought you were staying on the ship!" he yelled in all
directions.

"Shhhhhh!" Tetra's voice hissed. "Check your pocket."

Link reached into his pocket and felt a rounded object inside. He pulled it out to find that it was some sort of glowing gem wrapped in the form of a necklace. He stared at the pretty object as it glowed a bluish color. Then it began speaking to him.

"Heh...I slipped this stone into your pocket before we fired you over there." Tetra said. "It's no ordinary stone either."

"I can tell." Link stated while examining the stone. "It's not every day a rock talks to me."

He heard Tetra laugh. Then her voice became stern. "You may not have realized it, but once you hit that wall, your sword slipped out of its case and fell all the way at the top of the fortress."

"What?!" Link exclaimed. He reached behind him to check, and sure enough, his sword was not in its sheath. "Aw great! Now I'm unarmed..." Link mumbled.

"Sorry about that...I guess my aim was off by a little..." she paused. "...but the look on your face! Priceless!"

"Hey wait a minute..." Link exclaimed. "How did you know I lost my sword when I hit the wall YOU aimed me at?"

"You don't have to be rude about it." Tetra scoffed. "If you must know, I can hear and see what you are doing as long as you're in range." She paused. "...and obviously you can hear me back."

Tetra raised her voice. "Listen up though. I need this back once you save your sister so don't go losing it, ok?"

"Uh...sure." Link uttered. "So do you have any suggestions as to how I should get up to where my sword is?"

He could hear Tetra as she pondered his question. "Walking is always nice." She joked.

"Tetra! Come on, I'm serious!" he said, slightly annoyed by her attitude in such a serious situation.

"Ok Ok sorry!" Tetra replied firmly. "Since you don't have a sword then you're going to have to rely on stealth until you get it back. That won't be easy with all them searchlights around there. Do you see anything you can use to sneak around in or something of the sort?"

Link took his eyes off the stone and looked around. "All I see is a couple small pebbles, water, and two barrels."

"A barrel? Great! Get under it." Tetra commanded.

Link frowned at the stone.

"This isn't another prank is it?" he questioned suspiciously.

"No!" she replied angrily. "I'm totally serious! You can use that barrel to conceal yourself."

Link humphed. "And how do you think I will see where I'm going from under it, huh?"

"That's an easy one." Tetra replied. "I'll guide you."

Link hung his shoulders.

"Oh yeah...I'm doomed."