Link of the Dead
Chapter 10:
Or at least they thought it was a miracle...
"What was that?" asked Aryll.
There was a loud rumble. The whole basement began to shake.
"An earthquake?" said Link.
Another loud rumble. This time, it was so intense that pieces of the ceiling began to break off and fall. The quakes grew louder and stronger, and the clumsy Redeads began to fall over. Link managed to stand up and ran to where his sword was. He successfully killed all the Redeads.
"What's going on?" said Tetra.
"I don't know!" said Link, "But we gotta get out before this place caves in!"
"Beedle," said Aryll, "You saved my life..."
"Aryll," began Beedle, "Take care of your brother. And Link, take care of your sister."
"Come on, Beedle," said Tetra.
"It's no use," muttered Beedle, "I'm going to transform and you'll kill me anyways. Just leave me here to die."
"Thank you so much for everything," said Link.
"Here," said Beedle, handing Link a small card, "My complimetary ID."
Link smiled.
"Goodbye..."
With that, Link, Tetra and Aryll ran out of the corridor and headed down the passages. The rumbles grew stronger and the pieces of the ceiling that fell were growing larger. Some nearly crushed Link.
"Come on!" said Tetra, "We gotta get out!"
"We'll never make it to the all the way down there," said Link, "We'll have to go to the back room!"
"But..." began Tetra.
"It's a risk I'm willing to take!"
The trio ran, hand in hand, towards the passage that initially brought them down there. They followed the circles that Link marked into the walls. Eventually, the staircase was right in front of them. Barely dodging a huge chunk of ceiling that fell in front of them, Tetra, and Aryll climbed the stairs as Link activated the switch to open the door. Link managed to climb his way out as well. When they emerged in the cabana, they saw quite a sight...
"Oh my God," said Link.
It was morning, but still dark outside. The cabana that once stood on the beach had now been completely destroyed. Furniture had been blown to pieces and walls had collapsed. It was like a hurricane went through. Every single Redead that had swarmed the cabana was either dead or mutilated. Link walked through the carnage. Tetra and Aryll slowly followed. They were in complete shock.
They eventually arrived at the shore, where they saw someone waiting.
"Him," said Link, suddenly stricken with anger, "How dare you show your face here again!"
The man standing at the shore was Old Man Ho-Ho.
"Oy, Link," said the old man, "Did you miss me?"
"What the fuck are you doing here?" demanded Link, "And where the fuck is my boat?"
"Right over there," said Ho-Ho, calmly.
Link turned around and saw his boat parked at the shore. There was a large object sticking out of the boat.
"What is that?" asked Tetra.
"That," replied Ho-Ho, "Is a cannon. I sailed to the nearest town and had that little baby installed into Link's boat. Then I came back and blew the living hell out of every goddamn Redead on this island. I must admit, though, I didn't expect every Redead to have crowded around the cabana at once."
Link had no idea what to say.
"So," began Aryll, "You saved our lives?"
"Did I now?" said Ho-Ho, "Well, that's good, I guess. It's a miracle you guys lasted this long. I assume you're the last ones left?"
Link thought for a moment about Beedle down in the basement.
"Yeah," he said, "That's it..."
"Great," said the old man, "I guess now you want your boat back."
"You knew," said Link suddenly, "You knew about the curse and you knew the story of Lasar was real."
"Of course," said Ho-Ho, "The only reason I came to your party was to put an end to the curse by killing those Redeads. I guess you can say I was sort of 'undercover'...Old Lasar was an aquaintance of mine, and after barely escaping this island, I was the first person he came to. I hid him for the time being and used your party as an oppurtunity to travel to this island and see just how bad the situation was."
"Then you faked insanity so you can get Link's boat," said Tetra.
"Of course," said Ho-Ho, "I needed a weapon, and nothing kills Redeads better than bombs. Of course I wouldn't have had to resort to all that charade if Tetra's ship hadn't been destroyed by the storm."
Link did not know how to feel at that moment. He was angry at the old man for taking his ship and playing him the whole time, but happy that he saved their lives.
"I don't expect any thank you's," said Ho-Ho, "Just wanted to let you know what I was up to and that my mission is complete. Now, Are you planning on leaving or would you like to stay?"
"Um," said Link, "I guess we're leaving..."
"If you want the cannon to close up," began Ho-Ho, "Just push the button on the side of the turret."
"Thanks," said Link.
"Aren't you coming?" asked Tetra.
"There isn't room for me on the boat," replied Ho-Ho, "Besides, I see you guys built yourselves a nice raft and I wouldn't want it to go to waste, Ho! Ho! Ho!"
"Well," said Link, "Good luck to you then."
"No," said Ho-Ho, "Good luck to you. Oh, and when help finally arrives, I'll be sure to tell them you left."
Link, Tetra and Aryll got onto the King of Red Lions and began to sail away from the Oasis. As they did so, they waved goodbye to Old Man Ho-Ho. Link could not believe that he had survived such an ordeal. All of his friends were dead and his cabana destroyed, but Link was happy knowing he made it out in one piece. Link watched the Oasis fade in the distance and thanked the gods he can finally rest without having to worry about being attacked by a Redead.
The sun was rising. Aryll was fast asleep and Tetra and Link were talking.
"So glad to be outta there, huh?" said Link.
"Yeah," said Tetra, "When we get to Windfall, there's so much I need to get done."
"How will you manage?" asked Link.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean all your pirates are dead and your ship is destroyed. What will you do now?"
"I guess I'm gonna have to settle down for now. But as long as I have you, Link, I'll be okay..."
The two then kissed each other. They made out for several minutes.
"It's so beautiful..." whispered Tetra, "The sunrise, I mean."
"Yeah," whispered Link.
"The first thing we should do when we get to Windfall," began Tetra, "Is rent a hotel..."
"Sounds good to me," said Link, "My fiancée..."
As they sailed off into the horizon, Link fell asleep. Tetra slowly pulled off her glove and stared at the small bite mark on her wrist before falling asleep as well...
The End?