"The Destiny Stone"

Disclaimer: Zelda=not owned by me. And that is that.

*****

Author's Note: Back from the sabbatical, full of turkey, loaded with leftovers, and ready to start writing…that is, in-between all the standard tests, exams, projects, not to mention seasonal chores. It's coming, people. Honest! :P

*****

"The Destiny Stone" — Chapter 8: Aboard the Alicorn

Link smirked as he circled Timbre, who stood nervously on guard. Both of them had their swords out, although Link didn't bother with his shield. This was a practical lesson, after all. The Hylian smirked, trying a simple side-stroke at his friend.

CLANG.

Timbre blocked easily. Even he would've noticed that coming. Backing up a step, he furrowed his brow. Link just laughed over the sound of the ocean. The two stood on Hyrule's easternmost shore, the small boat upturned nearby. The lonely sound of surf washing along grainy sand, mixed with the sound of the wind blowing and seabirds crying made for an odd, yet acceptable training ground.

Link smirked, and attempted the exact same side-stroke, only this time from the left.

CLANG.

And then from above-

CLANG!

Link scowled slightly. Timbre seemed very well able to block any sort of attack, but instead of striking back, as any swordsman should have, he merely went back to his on guard, staring intently at his opponent. From the side again-

CLANG.

And Timbre took another step back, much to Link's annoyance.

"Why don't you strike back?" the Hylian asked.

"Cause you'll just block," Timbre gritted his teeth. Apparently those vibrating blows were still doing a number on his hands. Link wasn't sure why it bothered his friend so much, but it wasn't something he could help, just get used to.

"Well, of course," the Hylian said in a drawl. "I'm not just going to let you get me, you have to trick me into letting my guard down." After a moment he added stingingly. "You aren't going to win many fights by just blocking, you know."

"Alright…" Timbre bit his lip and lunged forwards, loose sand flying up from his heels.

CLANG CLANG!

Timbre yelled aloud as he found his sword easily knocked out of his hands, which were aching again from the impact. Link smirked and leveled his sword at his disarmed opponent's throat.

"Not good enough. Now you're disarmed. What would you do now?"

Next moment, Link found himself flat on his back in the sand, the wind half-knocked out of him by the more than hundred-pound bulk of the giant lupine currently pinning him to the ground. One of the wolf's massive forepaws was restraining his left hand (and sword hand) by the wrist, pushing it down heavily into the sand. Link found his grip on the sword loosening, but that wasn't what was currently bothering him. What was bothering him was that Timbre's other forepaw was across his neck, slowly pressing down and cutting off his windpipe.

"Gak," the Hylian choked. "Off!"

Slowly, Timbre growled and let his friend up, who sat up, wheezing a little. Massaging his offended throat, he glared at his friend. "What the heck was that all about?" Link said angrily, one eyebrow furrowed.

Timbre reverted to human and smirked. "Well, you asked me what I would do, so I went ahead and did it. Well, if it had been a real fight…I wouldn't choke, I'd probably bite-"

Link swallowed, trying not to think about that too much.

"Besides, wasn't I trying to catch you with your guard down? Think I did pretty well."

Link coughed. "But…I didn't mean like that, I mean, that's cheating."

"Cheating? I'm just using my natural ability." Timbre furrowed a brow. "What do you ask a Goron when you're swordfighting with him?" The youth suddenly went in-character, his voice reaching a small mocking falsetto. "Excuse me, but you'll have to stop being so impenetrable. It's cheating otherwise."

Link scowled. "I meant to get me with the sword. I know perfectly well what you're capable of when you're- whatever, you need to still work on your swordfighting skills." He pointed at Timbre's weapon, which was currently lying half-buried in the sand, point down.

"But you were expecting that." Timbre pointed out. "People aren't going to be predicable in real combat, not if they can help it."

Link just grumbled.

"Anyhow…if you wanted to know, if anything four-legged tries to pin you down like that," Timbre said quietly. "What you do is kick out with your two back legs. If you're good at aiming, you can catch your attacker in the stomach and throw them off you."

"Hey, who's teaching who here?" Link demanded sullenly.

Timbre blinked, and sighed. "Fine, sorry." He looked up, the wind blowing his black hair gently. "We should get going soon, you know."

"Yeah," Link agreed. "But first, I want to put you through a few more lessons."

"Fine." Timbre stood up and retrieved his blade.

*****

"Hello."

"Moo!"

Aka squinted into the moist brown eyes set into the furry black and white bovine snout, twisting his head curiously to one side. "Is that all you can say?"

"Moo," the cow agreed, slowly chewing, though it didn't bother to move. Its four large hooves were planted firmly on the ground, though its tail swished from side to side like a pendulum. Aka watched the tail go back and forth, slightly mesmerized. Back…and forth…and back…an-

"Aka! Stop *squeak* tormenting the lower life-forms!" Benz yelled over as he waddled along the field encompassing Lon Lon Ranch. The grass came up past the short creature's knees, and it irritated him slightly, making him grumpy. "There's a *squeak* building in the distance there, see?" The Deku pointed at the small structure.

At the moment, both of them were in the middle of a large fenced-in part of Hyrule Plain. Unlike the deadened look of the wilds, this place looked cared for, and therefore the grass was slightly less brown and rustly. But even this couldn't totally cheer up the desolate landscape. Near the building, there was a stretch of cut grass, what once might have been a track of some sort.

Aka looked at his cow friend sympathetically. "Poor thing, it looks pretty famished."

It was true. Although the cow wasn't in any danger of complete starvation, it wasn't exactly plump either. The bovine continued to chew its cud slowly, mooing quietly to itself now and again. Either it wasn't scared of the Skull Kid, or it just didn't care.

Benz groaned. "Aka leave that poor thing alone and *squeak* come this way, already!"

"Ok…" Aka pouted, patted the cow on its soft bristly nose, and started towards the Deku. He waved sadly at the cow as he left. "Bye, Moo-moo…"

"Moo…"

Benz just grumbled as Aka drew even with him. For every two of the Skull Kid's steps, he had to take four, as his stumpy little legs moved in a blur. "Why do you insist *squeak* on poking everything we find?"

"Cause I've never seen the outside world before," Aka murmured. "I'm curious."

"That doesn't *squeak* mean it's alright to go prodding things!" Benz exclaimed. "What if *squeak* that thing had been dangerous?"

Aka didn't bother to answer. Benz was quicker on the retort than he was, and would never readily admit to being wrong. In fact, Aka was still frustrated that Benz insisted the statues had been stolen. He'd seen them come to life, and he'd explained to Benz time and time again that there hadn't been any illusion magic to confuse them. Of course, the Deku had pointed out that it could be a new, unfamiliar type of magic. So it was in a frosty silence that the two approached the building at the other end of the field, which was in reality not much more than a barn.

As they approached, someone exited the building, carrying a pitchfork. Aka and Benz halted, not sure whether this was supposed to be a threat or not. As the figure drew closer, they discovered it to be human, adult, and female, with long red hair and an apron over her simple country frock. Her face was furrowed in a slightly confused expression as she leaned on the pitchfork.

"Hello?" she asked quietly.

Benz and Aka blinked, and moved forward. Benz shyly hid behind the taller Skull Kid. "Er, hi," Aka stammered after a moment. Adults made him nervous. They were just so much taller than he was, after all. "Sorry if we're intruding…"

The redhead blinked several times. "Hmm…you're a Skull Kid, aren't you?"

"Er…yes ma'am…" Aka murmured, scuffling a foot on the ground. "M'name's Aka."

Benz peered from behind the Skull Kid. "I'm *squeak* Benz."

The lady laughed. "Well, aren't you two just the cutest things? Are you lost? I've never heard of a Skull Kid outside the forest. I'm Malon, by the way."

"A pleasure, madam." Benz managed a half-clumsy bow, nearly tripping over his own cape. "We aren't lost, we are *squeak* looking for someone. Maybe more *squeak* than one."

Malon looked slightly confused by this. "Who? You're not Ganondorf's, by any chance?" The farm girl suddenly looked slightly pensive. "Because we've paid our taxes already-"

"Oh no!" Aka said, looking disarming. "We're not bad guys, we're here to save the w-oof!"

Benz elbowed his companion in the stomach. "Hsst!"

Malon made a neutral sound.

The Deku laughed nervously. "We're *squeak* simply looking for some items of ours that were *squeak* stolen."

"Oh dear, you poor kids," Malon said, her expression going from concerned to sympathetic. "Do come in a moment, maybe I can help," With a whirl of red hair, she turned and walked back towards the barn. "Don't be strangers, now!"

"Come on!" Benz urged, pushing Aka in front of him. "You heard the lady."

Malon led them inside the barn door, which creaked quietly as she pushed on it one handed. Inside, it smelled strongly of warm dry hay, a kind of musty, but not overly unpleasant scent. Aka grinned a little, finding some of the stalls occupied by cows. Benz sighed and shrugged as Malon leaned the pitchfork against the barn wall, along with some other farm equipment.

"I've got some fresh milk, if you two are hungry," the redhead offered, handing them a jar each. She smiled sadly. "It's genuine Lon Lon milk, though it's not as good as it used to be…"

Aka was polite as he sipped the proffered drink. To him it was delicious, and seemed to fill him with new energy. "If this is what you consider not god, then what you consider good must be really divine!" he exclaimed, not having to exaggerate too much.

Malon's sad smile seemed to become slightly distant. "Yes, back when I was a little girl, not only was the milk delicious, but it could practically heal wounds, like magic. But ever since that storm ten years ago…" she paused, and the nostalgic look slowly faded from her eyes. "Ever since then it's like the life's slowly drained out of the land…Nothing works the way it used to, it's like the world gave up. And it's all because of Ganondorf."

Benz fumbled with his milk jar. He too had discovered the energizing properties of the milk. "Sorry to *squeak* hear that, ma'am…"

"I'm just glad someone appreciates our hard work…" Malon looked grateful. "We get so few townspeople visiting anymore, even though Dad and I work ourselves so hard to keep the ranch running…" She laughed suddenly. "I'm sorry to bore you like this…"

Aka looked serious. "No, it's alright, really."

"Now you two were robbed, you say?" Malon looked thoughtful. "Ooh, I hope it wasn't any of those scoundrels that work for Ganondorf. He has an elite squadron of Gerudo thieves that sometimes roam the countryside…what was stolen from you?"

"Two swords and a *squeak* shield," Benz hiccupped. "But they left everything else alone."

"Odd," Malon furrowed a brow. "From what I've heard, the Gerudos would've taken everything."

Aka blinked. "Well, if it weren't robbers…" he smirked at Benz and started talking, much to the Deku's exasperation. "You haven't seen two guys running around with swords by any chance?"

"Um…what do they look like?"

"Well, they're both kind of tall, one's got spiky hair and the other one dresses like a forest dweller. Er, we've been looking for them too."

Benz tried to save the situation. "We think they *squeak* might have stolen from us."

Malon shrugged. "Sorry, but I haven't been out lately, so I haven't seen anyone. Dad might know, he makes deliveries to the towns sometimes. He's gone to Kakariko today, actually. I just stay here and mind the farm while he's gone."

"How 'come?" Aka asked, curious.

"Well, if I weren't here, then this entire ranch would be overrun by Wolfos in a heartbeat. Ever since the land started to die, they've gotten worse, and the sight of the cows drives them insane."

Benz shuddered.

Malon was about to say something else when a loud bang from one of the stalls startled the three of them. Malon scowled daintily, turning towards the noise. "Epona!"

An answering whinny came from the stall in question, and a roan and white equine head rose, an irate look in the horse's large hazel eye.

The Deku blinked in surprise. "Eep!"

"Oh don't worry yourself," Malon said. "That's just Epona. She's a bit wild sometimes but she's nice enough when she feels like it. Right now she's just grumpy 'cause I'm supposed to be feedin' her, right Epona?"

The mare snorted.

The farm girl stood up and lifted a bundle of hay over one shoulder. As she strode off in the direction of Epona's stall, Benz pulled Aka close.

"You think she's *squeak* bein' honest with us?"

Aka shrugged, taking another swig of milk. "'Course I do. She's awful nice, isn't she?"

Benz nodded. "Yeah. Hope she can help us out some more."

Malon dusted her hands off as she walked back to them. "Where you two stayin' right now?"

"Er," Benz stammered.

"Well, we've been in trees, mostly, ma'am," Aka said. With a shudder, he tried not to remember the previous night, where hungry Wolfos had circled their tree all night.

Malon furrowed a brow. "That won't do at all! You two're welcome to stay here for a bit, should be okay with Dad if you stay in the loft."

Benz nodded vigorously. Anything was better than being slavered over by Wolfos (which the Deku considered large and very vicious dogs-ugh!) while stuck in a tree. "Yes ma'am!"

"We could help you around here if you wanted," Aka offered shyly.

"Hate to sound relieved, but that'd certainly be very welcome," Malon said. "Epona's not the only one who needs feedin', after all…"

*****

"Know any sailing songs, Timbre?"

Link seemed in high spirits as they cast off, a good wind meaning they were able to hoist the small craft's single sail. The Hylian breathed in the salt air with a vigor, standing. There was something to be said about the ocean, he thought. The motion of the ship as it skimmed gracefully further and further away from the shore was almost like a rocking cradle. For some reason, the Hylian found this comforting.

His companion, however, looked a little less than eager to go sailing. "Ugh," Timbre grunted. He was currently slumped, sitting bent almost double, with his chin resting on the edge of the vessel. He was wistfully staring the opposite way, where the shore of Hyrule was still visible in the distance.

"Aww, cheer up Timbe," Link said. "What's eatin' you?"

"Nothing," Timbre grunted, not even noticing the mispronunciation of his name. "Just feeling a bit under the weather, that's all."

"Don't tell me you're seasick!?" Link nearly split a side laughing.

"I just like a steady ground underneath me," Timbre said, annoyed and still staring backwards. "Nothing wrong with that." He lapsed into quiet as he zoned out, still gazing wistfully at dry land. How long would it take them to get to Termina, even if the winds were on their side? He wondered idly if their food (mostly fruit and a few leftover nuts from Kokiri Forest) would last that long. Although, they could always try their hand at deep sea fishing-

With a jolt, Timbre lifted his head, blinking. There was a dark four-legged figure standing on the shore, which had definitely not been there a moment before. It was too far away to really tell, though-

"What now?" came the Hylian's voice.

"Saw something on the shore," Timbre said quietly.

Link looked concerned. "Wasn't a person, was it?"

"No," Timbre said, looking back at the Hylian. "Don't think so, anyway…"

"Maybe you're seeing things."

"Maybe," Timbre echoed, sounding unconvinced.

"Probably just from the seasickness," Link commented idly, his gaze still fixed on the open ocean.

Timbre shrugged, and looked back to shore, but whatever had been standing there was gone.

*****

Later that day, the easternmost beach appeared to be empty, even the small figure of the boat and its passengers had disappeared from the sea's horizon. The winds blew sea grasses listlessly about, the windblown sand uncovering bleached shells and bones while burying others. However, the beach was not empty.

A single caped figure cut a startling contrast to the natural setting as he stared quietly out to sea. Chiron turned his gaze scornfully down at the footprints and scrapes that could only mean one thing. The footprints headed straight into the water, and the telltale scrape of a boat being cast off was as clear as day. His quarry had fled to sea. He'd spent the better part of two days tracking the two criminals, and now this. He'd first discovered their trail just outside of Castle Town, had followed it past Kakariko Village and Zora's River, only to have it end here. But why? Why were they fleeing Hyrule? It was almost like they knew he was actively following them-

Chiron's brow furrowed in annoyance. This was getting more and more aggravating. He'd left Pedro back at the castle with explicit instructions should he be away for long. At the moment, it appeared that this would be the case.

Without a second glance, the youth suddenly strode boldly into the sea, his colorful tunic becoming a startling shade of blue as he did so. He did not stop at waist height, or even shoulder height. He kept walking, even as his entire spiky head was underwater. As he submerged, a translucent bubble seemed to surround his head, allowing him to breathe without choking on seawater.

It took a moment or two to orient himself to the nearly weightless feeling of underwater swimming, but even then, Chiron knew it was no use chasing them as he was. Even with a breathing aid, there was just no way he would be able to catch up to a boat.

"Therefore," he murmured to himself. "I shall require assistance." While Twinrova had ordered him to complete his mission alone, he did not consider persuading wildlife to aid his cause as going against the deal. Asking Ganondorf's servants to do his work was one thing. Convincing others to do it was an entirely different matter.

He'd been educated once in the delightfully dangerous creatures that inhabited the oceans separating the coasts of Hyrule and Termina. As he floated in the water, Chiron put a hand to his chin, contemplating the largest and worst of these sea monsters. There were several, he thought to himself idly, letting the current take him along. Giant squids-no, too intelligent, he thought. Whales-no, they weren't savage enough. Sharks-maybe, but he wanted something…bigger. Suddenly, the answer seemed to come, from somewhere outside of him. Snakes.

"Ooh," Chiron said aloud as he concentrated on weaving magic. Luckily many of the spells he knew worked better underwater than they did in the air.

Tentatively, Chiron reached out with a spell that Koume and Kotake had taught him, a spell that could persuade unintelligent monsters and the like to listen to his suggestions telepathically. He targeted the spell, looking specifically for 'snake,' and hoping that there was one close enough to shore to reply.

It took him the greater part of twenty minutes, but finally he felt a second consciousness touch his own. It was a simplistic collection of thoughts, mostly instinctual urges. Find food, it hissed. Eat and grow larger. Eat or be eaten.

Chiron smirked. Good food, find on surface, he nudged the huge serpentine mind, his own eyes closed to keep out distractions. Floating in husk of dead trunk, he explained, hoping the sea snake would recognize a boat. Boat. Destroy it, two good foods inside.

Good foods on surface? The snake had trouble connecting these two concepts. Apparently it avoided the surface whenever necessary.

Good food, eat, grow strong, Chiron continued persuasively.

Surface. Find 'boat.' Destroy 'boat?'

Yes, Chiron thought, smiling.

The snake seemed to hum as it took up a new mantra. Destroy boat, eat boat. The serpentine mind was suddenly joined by a second, which didn't take too long to take up the mantra itself. Apparently the sea snakes could communicate.

"Good," Chiron said to himself. "With any luck, one of them will manage to find those fools." He'd really hoped to get revenge on them himself for causing him trouble with Twinrova. Then again, Chiron thought with a smirk, being torn apart by sea snakes didn't sound like a very pleasant way to leave the world.

*****

The waves weren't about to stop rocking, much to Link's chargrin, as he watched the lupine form of his friend groan again. Even as a wolf Timbre managed to look considerably ill, as he listlessly flopped at the bottom of the boat, legs curled up under him and ears folded back as far as they would go.

"You just don't have your sea legs yet," Link assured him. "You'll feel better eventually."

Timbre groaned again and shifted position moodily, curled under his trenchcoat like it were a precious blanket. Link sighed, as his conversations had been rather one-sided so far. It was hard to get answers when your audience could only growl in reply, after all.

"Well," Link said finally. "We want to save the world, right? And to do that, we need the Sword."

"Grr." One of Timbre's ears flickered, and Link took that for a 'yes.'

"And to do that we need to find the piece, and to do that we need to get to Termina. And currently this was the only way. Unless you'd rather swim there, of course."

"Mrr." Timbre squeezed his eyes shut, and his ears went back again. Link could only guess what he meant by that, although it was probably just another wave of seasickness.

They'd been underway for most of the day, now. As they were headed more or less east by the sense of the Hylian, they were also sailing into darkness. The western sunset was behind them, throwing the journey ahead into uncharacteristic darkness. It almost felt to the Hylian that they were leaving the light behind, forsaking it to plunge into the darker, unknown reaches of the horizon. With a sigh, Link turned his blue eyes towards the source of the ever-present pull. He glanced down at his left hand, which was still bearing the triangular mark like a tattoo. He idly wondered what awaited him and his friend in Termina. Hyrule had certainly changed, so it was inevitable that Clock Town and the surrounding countryside would be just as altered.

Link's eyelids slowly drooped as he leaned against the makeshift mast. As long as the winds carried him to the east, he was content, and the rocking of the waves, and the sound of them slapping gently against the ship was quickly making him feel sleepy. Even the occasional whine from Timbre couldn't stop him from dropping off.

It was closer to true night than dusk when Link woke up again. For a moment, his eyes strained to see in front of him, then the Destiny Stone's glow lit up the area. Timbre lifted his head, his eyes eerily reflected in the dim light. The wolf's ears were standing straight up, swiveling from side to side as if trying to catch a distant sound.

Link peered down at the Destiny Stone. Maybe it was his imagination, but it felt like it was vibrating slightly. Or was that rumbling coming from…somewhere else?

"You feel that too?" Link asked his silent companion, who slowly nodded. That rumbling was slowly and steadily growing louder. Link stared upwards. It was slightly cloudy, but he couldn't see any thunderheads. Confused, he looked down at the Stone.

"Is that rumbling…bad?"

The Stone quickly turned green, and Link cursed softly. "Great. What is it?"

Link groaned as the Stone decided to answer in rhyme:

The sea is deep with secrets kept,

Within her fold countless tears have wept,

But more than sorrow claims from there,

There's danger in the waves; beware.

"Well, that's nice and comforting," Link grumbled as Timbre looked on, amused. Apparently the wolf's seasickness was temporarily forgotten in the light of the current situation. Timbre growled in confusion as his sensitive ears suddenly picked up the rumbling, increasing to their direct right. He glanced nervously over to his right, and Link understood the gesture.

"Uh…something tells me we're not the only ones out tonight," he said carefully.

As if on cue, their entire boat suddenly lurched. Eyes wide, Link clutched the sides of the boat as it rocked crazily back and forth from the slight impact. A loud splash and a hiss told him that he was only too right about company. Wincing, he dared himself a glance in the direction of the noise.

The sight that greeted his eyes made the blood drain from his face, and quickly. A huge serpentine head, which was easily ten feet long, slowly lifted itself from the sea, cascades of water running down in slimy droves from its wet snout. It hissed quietly, and its jaws sagged open slightly, revealing several rows of needle-like teeth, each easily longer than Link's arm. As the head rose higher, Link noted that the creature's neck was flattened like a fish, rather than rounded and tubelike like a land snake's. He recognized the monster as a sea snake, as did Timbre, who growled with his ears back.

It would be a long time before either of them forgot the experience they'd had in the deep grotto off of Great Bay. That particular area had been home to half a dozen of the giant ocean-dwelling serpents, with huge black staring eyes. A sea snake was bad news. They weren't very intelligent, but they were rather hostile, as this one had proved already. But Link had never heard of one breaking the surface, as this one was now. It was clearly having trouble staying upright, as its flat body was ill suited to surface gravity. It flopped from side to side several times, hissing in frustration until it was balanced. Then it glanced down hungrily at the boat.

"Uh-oh…" Link said, as Timbre whimpered. The Hylian drew his sword, feeling at the same time that this was going to be rather useless if the snake attacked head-on. There was just no way he could keep off a hundred-foot-or-more long serpent from overturning such a small boat, especially if he happened to be in it. And he didn't relish the hungry look in the sea snake's eyes, at all.

The snake drew it's head slowly down, as if curiously investigating its meal. It half-roared as it drew it's head level with the small ship, and Link got a blast of snake breath that smelled horribly foul, like rotted fish. "Uggh…" the Hylian's face twisted into a grimace.

Then the snake decided to nudge the boat gently.

"Aaah!" Link yelled as the boat nearly capsized from the impact, miraculously managing not to drop his sword. Timbre hunkered down at the bottom of the boat, whimpering again.

"Well you're no help!" Link snapped at the wolf. Then again, there wasn't much anybody could do, anyhow. That snake was playing with its food, and they were providing it with a lot of entertainment at the moment. Link wondered how long it would be before it got bored, and decided to just end everything.

Oh well, he thought recklessly, might as well teach it that the food can bite back. As the snake's head lowered in the direction of the boat again, Link readied his sword. As soon at the ugly brute's snout was in range, Link struck out with the sword, point aimed for the very tip of the serpent's nose.

The sea snake screeched, drawing its head back sharply, and losing its equilibrium in the process. It hissed balefully at the boat as blood seeped from its injured nose. It wasn't horribly injured, but it apparently had a very sensitive snout, and now its ire was raised. Link gulped as both of the black fishlike eyes oriented furiously on him.

The snake focused, and swung its gaping jaws at Link.

SNAP.

Link winced as the mast snapped cleanly in two beside his head, feeling fortunate that the snake's aim was bad. Surface combat did not goad well for it, although it made up for most disadvantages with sheer bulk and size. The snake's tailtip suddenly flickered out of the water, and caught the bottom of the boat with a smart tap.

This time, the boat was clearly thrown out of the water, only to hit the ocean again with a wet smack, luckily right side up. Link stumbled and fell into the bottom of the boat facefirst. Timbre scrabbled, and managed not to fall overboard, clinging fretfully to the pitiful stump that was left of their mast.

Link groaned, and opened his mouth to swear, only to get seawater in his mouth. The Hylian's eyes snapped open, as he suddenly realized what this meant. A quickly growing puddle, originating from the bottom of the boat, greeted his vision. His questing fingers found the problem, a large crack in the boat that the sea snake's tail had punctured in flinging them. "Oh no," Link groaned, looking at Timbre. "It holed the boat! We're gonna sink!"

Timbre blinked, and looked appropriately concerned. Then, he turned his head upwards, ears back as a loud hissing roar suddenly sounded from directly above them. The sea snake had reared its head, and now stared, jaws gaping, down at the crippled vessel, from twenty feet above them. It was going to strike directly downwards, and probably bite the boat in half.

Link took a deep breath, threw out his chest, and readied his sword. He wasn't going down without giving that snake a few scars to remember him by. "Bring it on!" he yelled recklessly at the angry sea monster. Timbre snarled a couple choice phrases that were probably along the same line.

The sea snake was in mid strike when something heavy impacted it from its left. The snake's head was thrown back with an audible snap. It screeched again, an eerie high-pitched wail not unlike a banshee's. It lost its balance again and hit the water with a wet smack. The resulting wave caused a new wash of water to leak into the boat, wetting the wolf's paws and dampening the Hylian's boots to the ankle.

"What the-" Link spluttered, and Timbre stared at where the snake had disappeared, ears cupped forwards. Next moment, there was an explosion of frothy seaspray as the snake emerged, grappling wildly jaw to jaw with something that matched it's bulk. Marine screeches echoed through the air, making Link cringe. The snake's attention had been completely diverted from the boat and its two occupants as it struggled to grapple with its unknown assailant.

Timbre grunted, and deliberately sat on the leak, attempting to slow the water. It did help, to a degree, although he was getting hopelessly wet in the process. Then again, waterlogged fur was a lot more desired than a sinking boat.

The two grappling sea monsters broke apart, and the snake screeched one last time before turning itself away from the boat and its attacker. Apparently it had lost the fight, and therefore the right to the boat as a snack. Link swallowed. Out of the frying pan, into the fire. They'd been saved by a second sea monster, only to be subsequently eaten by this one instead.

However, this new arrival didn't attack. As it drew itself close, it purred quietly, sounding exactly like a massive aquatic cat. Timbre blinked, and his ears perked forwards. "Mrr?" the wolf growled questioningly, his waterlogged tail waving slightly.

"You can-are you talking to that thing?" Link asked suddenly. Timbre turned his head towards the Hylian and nodded deliberately. The sea creature drew itself close enough for the Destiny Stone's light to identify it.

It had a large greenish blunt snout, more lizardlike and scaly than the snake's, that was crowned with a dark brown, leathery mask-like horned 'helmet,' apparently the head's natural protection. A handsome aqua-colored fin sprouted crest-like from the top of marine animal's head, and this was framed by two smaller fins growing out of sides of its head, where ears would normally be. Under each large dark eye was a dark black line. The rest of the creature's body was underwater, and hidden from view.

"That's a sea dragon," Link said quietly, as one large intelligent eye leveled and stared directly at him. Sea dragons weren't very common, to find one here was just too much of a coincidence. They were intelligent creatures, and generally shy. In fact, Link had never seen one in person before, only been told about them by Ty and Nick. Why this one had decided to be friendly to them was beyond him.

With a squelch, the boat's buoyed form suddenly dropped several more inches. Even with Timbre blocking the leak, the boat would inevitably sink before too long. At the rate the vessel was filling-Link stopped his train of thought right there, not wanting to know. They'd be swimming all too soon as it was, and he didn't want to think what would happen if the snake came back.

The sea dragon suddenly purred again, and Timbre grinned in his wolfy fashion. "What're you so happy about?" Link snapped. "We're gonna be swimming before too long."

Timbre blinked at the Hylian, and inclined his head towards the dragon, which was bobbing merrily in the water alongside them, nudging the boat with its nose playfully. Unlike the snake's playful nudges, the sea dragon seemed more aware of its strength, and didn't endanger capsizing the crippled vessel. Timbre pointed his nose at the dragon, then stared down at the boat, inclining his head in a pantomime of a shoving motion. The wolf's pantomime went on several times before Link finally spoke up.

"That thing wants to help out?" Link blinked.

The wolf nodded, and the dragon suddenly pushed its long snout under the boat. With a flick of its powerful body, they found themselves practically rocketing forwards, in a more or less easterly direction. Link whooped as the practically skimmed over waves, glad that they weren't stranded, but still confused as to how long the sea dragon planned to carry them like this. They were still days away from Termina, and even with speed, their boat would never be able to last that long.

For several hours, Timbre and Link enjoyed the ride, the wind whipping into their faces pleasantly as they flew continually towards the black, invisible horizon. Above them, through the haze of clouds, they could spot some stars, and the moon, which was waxing and more than half-full.

"Wonder how long this dragon's going to push us." The Hylian murmured idly.

Timbre gave a furry shrug. He was still blocking the leak, so hadn't bothered to change form. Either way he'd still be damp. He yawned loudly, and Link quietly agreed. Both of them were just now feeling rather beat, as the shock of the snake's attack had drained them both of most of their energy.

All through the night their dragon friend pushed them, and both of the boat's occupants dozed, not comfortable enough to actually sleep. The easternmost horizon was slowly lightening as they both stared sleepily forwards. Timbre was beginning to feel a little stiff, but didn't dare move in case the boat began to leak even more.

The dawn and inevitable sunrise, which they were being thrust towards was certainly picturesque. The rosy sky was going from a low light orange to sky blue, and the glare of the sun on the horizon made them both squint sleepily, averting hooded eyes. However, Timbre caught something foreign and dark on the horizon, and peered.

Link's head snapped up as his friend woofed sharply. The Hylian yawned, and looked up. He rubbed his eyes, not sure at first whether he was dreaming or not. But the dark shape remained. In fact, he could count the number of sails on the vessel-

"That's a boat!" Link yelled hoarsely. He turned his head towards the dragon. "You're taking us there?"

There was an answering purr, which Link took to be a 'yes.' Link sat back, wistfully thinking. "Aah, wonderful. We'll be able to rest up a bit really soon." Link hoped the sailors were friendly, at least.

Timbre nodded. The small ship soon grew in size, and its finer details became clear. It was a double-masted ship, not gigantic, but not puny either. It was a handsome looking ship, with pure white sails, as they stared at in profile. The ship was headed in more of a southeast direction then they were, it's prow bobbing proudly to the sinusoidal motion of the ocean. It was making fine headway, as the wind's direction had changed subtly during the night. Link was close enough now that could clearly see the ships figurehead and flags. The figurehead wasn't the standard lady or mermaid, like he would've thought, instead it was a carved equine figure with jaded black eyes, wings outspread in a ornamental way, going along the sides of the ship. No, wait, it wasn't a horse, it had a horn. A unicorn then. A flying unicorn. Odd thing for a figurehead, Link thought. A flag flew at the very bow of the boat, just above the figurehead. It was a flag Link recognized at once.

"That's the Volcanian seal," he said. Timbre woofed an affirmative. Ships bearing the Volcanian seal were rare, even ten years ago. Then again, so much had changed since then that maybe Volcanian vessels were now commonplace, although it seemed no coincidence that the dragon brought them to such a boat. Volcania was known as the homeland of most draconic species, after all.

The dragon slowed its drive as they closed within ten yards of the boat. Lifting its head clear of the boat, the dragon raised its wet slick head and honked loudly. It was almost a mournful sound, but it did the job of getting the attention of several people on deck. They waved back, yelling, although the distance rendered their voices incomprehensible.

Link waved back. "Hallo!!!" he yelled. "We're in a bit of a pickle, can you help us out?"

One of the figures on deck gave some kind of signal, and the dragon nodded and honked again. Before Link or Timbre could protest, it thrust its snout under their vessel, and flicked its head sharply upwards. Wolf and Hylian found themselves flipped high in the air, launched with accurate precision towards the deck of the large vessel, their own boat now empty, but still not capsized in the water.

As they both arced down towards inevitable impact, Link yelped. His last conscious thought before hitting the deck and blacking out was rather simple: Wow, this is going to hurt.

THUMP.

Timbre looked around in a daze. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he knew he was dreaming again, but this didn't seem to get across to him completely somehow. It was like he was watching the memory from a third person point of view.

Slowly, the scene coalesced. It was nighttime, and the group of friends was camping out, sleeping underneath a large tree in Hyrule Field. Camp outs like that were common, and Timbre had always enjoyed sleeping under the stars anyway. At the moment, everyone was asleep, except for two figures that leaned against the trunk of the tree, staring upwards. The smaller figure was the ten-year-old Timbre, huddled a little in his trenchcoat. Sitting next to him and looking so much taller and wiser was Ty's older brother Kasumi, a gray-haired young man of twenty, who had mournful, intelligent eyes.

The two had been talking quietly amongst themselves, and had just recently lapsed into a slight bout of silence. Then suddenly, Kas spoke his mind, not something he offered too often.

"You know…you remind me of Nick."

Timbre blinked. "Who?"

Kasumi looked as if he were going to lapse into silence again for a moment, but then he took a deep breath and spoke again. "You see…Nick was Ty's best friend back in Volcania…"

Timbre looked down.

"They were inseparable…they were like brothers." Kas chewed his lip.

"Oh." Tim couldn't think of anything else to say.

Kasumi's voice became even quieter. "Then there was an explosion…Volcania…the land is violent like that…there are eruptions…and it…well"

By the look in his eyes Timbre knew what Kas meant. "I take it Nick didn't survive that explosion…" he murmured.

Kasumi shook his head. "Ty made it, though…he swore he would never make that close of a friend again, just so that he could lose them…"

Kasumi then spoke no more, but Timbre didn't really want him to. It was probably difficult for him to say such things anyhow. Dream Timbre watched the scene quietly, sitting on his haunches. Of course Ty hadn't refused new friends, although Timbre had tactfully never mentioned Nick then. He'd thought he would have kept his knowledge of Nick a secret forever, until he unexpectedly showed up in the midst of trouble. Apparently rumors of his death had been just those, and wildly untrue. The scene faded, and a new one took its place.

Everyone groaned, sitting up and assessing damage from the battle that had just so recently ended, in the middle of Termina Field. There were a good number of cuts and bruises all around, although nobody was seriously injured. Not enough to stop them from standing, anyhow.

Chiron sat up slowly, rubbing his head. Kat and Kafei followed suit. Link retrieved his sword and sheathed it. Ty was already up, although Kas and Sond sat nearby, still stunned. Ty was staring unblinkingly at a cloaked redhead, whose messy hair was held back only by the thick hair band circling his forehead. The hood was currently pulled up so that much of his face was hidden, although this couldn't hide the horizontal black marks under his eyes, or the scar that cut across his left cheek.

Volcanians had rounded ears, unlike Hylians, and each was born with dark lines under his or her eyes. Ty and Kas had them themselves, and apparently they recognized the figure, who despite his disguise, appeared to be not much older than Ty.

The cloaked figure didn't say anything at first. Then, he took a deep breath. "Guess' I go'ta go…Thi' is n' place fo' me…I dun' know 'body anyway." With that, he simply picked himself off the ground and began walking away.

Dream Timbre watched his younger self jump up in a flurry of trenchcoat, idly wondering if he really had been that short. "Hey!" Young Timbre yelled at the retreating figure. "You're not even gonna introduce yourself or anything?"

Ty just shook his head, his tail twitching. "That's not his way…but he should stay…" Timbre shot Ty a quizzical look, as the cloaked figure sighed, but didn't stop.

The ten-year old Timbre scowled. Maybe if he introduced himself, he thought, this person would stay. He ran up to the figure, drawing himself up. "Well, my name's Timbre Neiro Kaleo Aileir Kuroshiro Corva Lyaconus Firral," he said importantly. His friends raised an eyebrow, hearing their friend spout out his full name in one breath. Timbre smirked. "Uh, call me Tim for short."

Kat rolled her eyes, and Kafei smirked. "…little people need big names, I guess…"

Kafei's voice slowly faded with the memory. In retrospect, it was obvious that Nick had come to help, but had felt somewhat awkward to be reunited with a friend who he'd thought gone, especially when he was in the midst of a group of new friends who were total strangers. Timbre remembered everything clearly, how Nick had become the newest member of their group, although grudgingly at first. He hadn't even offered his name until much later. Even though Timbre had known who he was, he'd been careful not to let on. Eventually, Nick had made friends with everyone, and everybody had grown rather attached to Nick, even his little quirks like his odd Volcanian accent and slight obsession with spicy food.

Timbre jolted awake as his surroundings gave a lurch, and he immediately wished he hadn't. His entire body seemed to have a dull ache to it, and he dimly realized this was probably due to his sudden impact with the ship's deck. His eyes were still closed, but his ears perked up automatically. His nose wrinkled. Wherever he was right now, it smelled salty, a kind of mixture between dank musty hay and dried fish. Not exactly a pleasant combination. A slight rocking motion told him he was probably below decks, aboard the mystery ship they'd spotted.

Timbre was unable to control his tail as it thumped dully against wood. He opened one eye, and saw he was currently lying on his side on a bed of old straw. It wasn't a cabin he was in, it looked more like a barn stall than anything else, maybe one that held livestock or supplies.

The wolf groaned, though it sounded more like a growl in his current form. His eyes traveled towards the door, which clearly had a latch that unlocked from the outside. No problem there. It was a half-door, wooden on the bottom but nothing but metal bars on the top, showing him a view of the below decks beyond. All he had to do was change form and-

With a funny jolt, Timbre discovered he couldn't change form. He tried again, and oddly failed. It was a strange feeling, hard to put into exact words. The best way he was able to describe it in his mind was like a threshold, a threshold of change that was currently blocked by an invisible impenetrable wall. He 'probed' against this wall, finding it solid and unyielding.

Frustrated, he tried again, 'slamming' against the block. He immediately wished he hadn't, as his entire body seared painfully as if it had been slammed against a real wall. He muffled a yelp, desisting. The horrible pain subsided, though his limbs started to ache anew. Groaning, Timbre opened his eyes again, still unable to change. This could mean only one thing.

Groggily, he rolled to his paws, for the first time aware of something heavy around his neck. Something metallic clinked, and Timbre reached out with a curious paw. Sure enough, he found a chain leading around his neck. It was attached by a heavy iron ring to the far side of the 'stall.' Silver, too, he thought. No wonder I can't change.

Still, being collared…"Of all the undignified…" Timbre caught himself in mid-growl, perking an ear to movement outside his prison. There was a shifting sound, and then he hear two male voices, that were talking in low tones.

"Jus' checked, an' that thing's woke up." A first voice sounded, gruff and sandpapery.

"Mmmaye, better go tell th' Cap'n, then, mate." The second voice was higher pitched, but just as rough. Timbre perked another ear, hearing two sets of booted feet clomping off, apparently towards the stairs that would lead them up on deck. The wolf mentally noted what direction the sounds faded in, in case he'd need to know later.

"Now, to take care of this," Timbre murmured, glaring down at the chain. No way he was going to allow anyone to subject him to this kind of humiliation. He had his pride, after all. Most animals would waste their time, and strength, on pulling, straining themselves to the end of the chain. But Timbre knew better. Running his gaze down along the shiny metal links, he discovered one where the link's welded seam was clearly visible, and somewhat cracked. All he had to do was break the seal, and bend the weakest link back a bit. Then he'd pull on the chain.

Grasping the chosen weak spot in his capable jaws, Timbre got to work.

Link awoke to slightly less squalid surroundings, although he found himself surrounded by a dozen men, each with a weapon drawn. One moment Link was blissfully unconscious, the next his eyes had snapped open wide, unable to count the various pointy objects aimed at his face. There were at least three swords, half a dozen daggers, a hook, and even a few sharp metallic objects that Link couldn't identify.

"Uh," he stammered. "Mornin'?"

"Mornin'," a voice echoed him, the owner of the voice blocked by the pirates.

"Hate to sound rude," Link mumbled, well aware of the danger, "But, might I ask where I am?"

"You'm in th' Cap'n's cabin," the accented voice said without hesitation. Link blinked, half-unbelieving. He recognized that voice. Maybe it had been a little less deep last time he'd heard it, but still-

"Uh, can I speak to the Cap'n, if I may?"

"Y'speakin' to 'im righ' now," came the glib reply. Several of the men laughed, but the voice halted them. "Y'can stan' down, 'ee ain' in any position t' hurt anyone." Link realized that his sword and shield were gone. As was the Destiny Stone, he thought with a lurch. He suddenly missed its weight upon his chest. He'd been getting used to it.

The pirates, who were obedient enough, withdrew their weapons and stood back respectably, allowing Link to sit up and view his surroundings more clearly. Link grimaced, feeling rather achy, especially on the head. He must've hit the deck pretty hard to be knocked out like that. "Ugggh," the Hylian groaned, opening his eyes properly and looking around.

He was sitting in a nautical-styled bunk, practically just a slot in the wall, though it was clear he was in the Captain's cabin, is it was the only bed in the room. Woodworked and shiny polished edges ran along the cabin, as the room tapered off slightly at one end, finishing with several larger porthole windows. Out of the windows, Link could see the wake of the ship as it bobbed on the ocean, meaning the cabin was located at the stern of the boat. The room was sparsely decorated, with a small dark table grafted in the center of the floor, surrounded by carved wooden chairs. A nearby desk had nothing on it but a few loose leaves of paper and a feather quill. On most available shelves were books (ships logs, perhaps?), rolled parchments (maps and charts?), and other written material. However, Link was more interested in the figure that sat at the table, quietly sizing him up.

Link was now able to see the Cap'n for the first time, now that his view was unblocked. He was a very familiar face, everything from the crazy red hair, to the green-hued eyes, to the old pink scar that carved a jagged circle across the left cheek.

Nick?! Link mouthed, but all that came out was a kind of half-groan. Even the two black marks under each of the redhead's eyes were familiar, Link thought. In fact, he realized with a funny suspicion that he was the only Hylian in the room at the moment. The rest of the men were also Volcanians. Nick was seated nonchalantly in one of the chairs, backwards and with a casual air. He leaned forward slightly, and the chair tipped in response. Despite the boat's rocking, he kept his balance. In his right hand the redhead twirled his trusty dirk, another very familiar sight. Looped around his left gloved wrist, dangling innocently on its chain was the Destiny Stone.

"Wha-" Link started, but he was cut off by the redhead.

"Ahm Cap'n Nicoli, Nick t' me mates." Nick grinned fearlessly. "Welcome aboard th' Alicorn."

*****

Wow, a chapter without a misleading name! *celebrates* Well, now that I've returned, I'll be able to write chapters again. I went nearly a week without writing anything, although I did get many good ideas during break. Woo. Next chapter's gonna be another nautical one…it's embarrassing, how I had to go bookmark a page of nautical terms so Nick will sound like a real sailor…which he is, if you hadn't noticed. Woo. Hope you weren't too confused by that flashback. Like always, read an' review, and I'll do the same for you! Hey, that rhymes!