Yes, I know, I am actually writing the end of Nagori, but this wouldn't get out of my head so I guess that's just the way it has to be.

Interim title:
Arachnophobia

Tetra shook her head. "Not good enough hero boy, there's treasure in there and we're going to go find it."

"No."

In the two years they'd been sailing around searching for new Hyrule, Link never told her 'no'. Well there was that time she tried to get him to posses a kargarok with the command melody, but this was different...

"What did you say?"

"I'm telling you Tetra, you shouldn't go in there..."

So the great Hero of the Winds has a weakness. This was an interesting development so Tetra asked, "Oh really, and how do you know that?"

Link shifted a little uncomfortably under her gaze.

"You've been in there haven't you..."

"Maybe..."

"So are you going to tell me Namaki or do you want me to guess?" Tetra asked and noticed that Link actually twitched as he answered.

"Spiders."

"Spiders?" Tetra asked in disbelief. When Link nodded, Tetra snorted. "Widdle biddy spidies making Linky winky all nervy wervy?" Tetra teased but paused at the look he shot her. "You are such a baby. Well, I'm going in with or without you."

"Have fun," Link said as he gave her a gentle push in the cave's direction. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

"You really aren't going in there?"

"Nope."

"Whatever," Tetra muttered. Entering the cave, she lit her oil lamp. She kept the flame on its lowest setting to conserve the fuel and walked toward the nearest opening that remained shrouded in darkness. She jumped when she heard Link call out behind her, "You might want to turn that up, they don't like the light...and make sure you keep an eye on the ceiling...that's where the big ones like to hide..."

Tetra didn't look back but did look up and realized she couldn't see a thing. She craned her neck and listened intently but the only sounds now were her own footsteps and the clatter of the lamp. As she walked on she glanced back...she couldn't see the cave mouth anymore but Tetra came to a halt when her foot crunched through something on the floor. Lowering the lamp, she pulled her foot out of the sticky mess. What the hell is this junk? she wondered as she shook the stuff off her foot.

Moving forward she noted every other step was accompanied by that weird crunching sound. A skittering sound behind her made her jump and Tetra fumbled as she slipped on the mess on the floor. Really nervous now, she pulled out her cutlass as the sounds started to multiply with every step she took deeper into the cave. A high-pitched squeak now accompanied the scratching sound and she was beginning to understand why Link didn't want to go in here.

Still treasure is treasure.

At least that's what she told herself and she recalled Link's warning about the ceiling and decided to turn up the lantern to get a better view of things. When she did, she wished she hadn't. When the light hit the walls, several things skittered away and Tetra only had a moment before the first wave rushed toward her. Spiders, a lot of them. Each the size of a small dog, she readied her blade and cut through them as they rushed forward. Tetra cried out when the few that got past her blade nipped at her ankles and that's when she saw it. All around her were hundreds of what looked like...eggs. Her passage was clearly marked by a number of crushed shells and Tetra got that sinking feeling.

Now began a frantic dash back the way she'd come. Seeing the cave opening in the distance, Tetra made her way toward it, slashing at the spiders that continued to nip at her feet but soon realized she'd taken a wrong turn somewhere. The light she'd seen instead led to a large cavern. A hole in the ceiling allowed the light to spill in from outside, but the opening was too high for her to reach. Something shifted out of the sand behind her and Tetra froze as the biggest arachnid she'd ever laid eyes on settled in front of her. Black legs stuck out of a body whose white hairs arranged itself into a pattern resembling a skull. This wasn't a normal spider...it was a skulltula. "Son of a ... I'm gonna level that fairy boy..." Tetra muttered.

Next thing she knew the lantern was knocked out of her hand and Tetra was sent sprawling across the ground. Turning herself over, she immediately held up her cutlass as she backed away from a pair of very large, glowing red eyes. Making a grab for the lantern she rolled to her left, only to see it batted away by the monstrosity that jumped front of her. The lamp clattered as it hit the nearby rocks and as the lamp dimmed, Tetra reached into her pocket and pulled out her pirate charm. She activated the stone to call Link, but never got a word out as the spider pounced and Tetra felt sick as she spun while she was quickly wrapped up in sticky webbing. The world went dark as the webbing covered her face and Tetra felt herself being hoisted onto the monster's back.

Link sat on the beach watching the tide roll out when a sharp pain jolted him upright. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the pirate charm and waited for Tetra to tell him what ever it was she wanted. At first, he thought she just want to tease him some more about the spiders. He wasn't actually afraid of the dumb things...he just hated killing them. Skulltula's always died so damn messy. Link waited a little longer then shook the stone. Nothing...then why did she?

"Aww crap," he said and glanced at the cave. He toyed briefly with the idea of letting Tetra figure her own way out. Stubborn girl should learn to listen but Link also knew Tetra only used that charm in extreme emergencies. "I'm doomed," Link muttered as he headed into the darkness.

Tetra's cutlass was wrapped up with her and about the only thing working in her favor was that its sharpened edge wasn't digging into her face. She moved her head in a nodding motion forcing the webbing against it. It was slow going but she managed to clear the stuff from her eyes and nose. At least she could look around. The giant spider was over to her right, but since Tetra couldn't move her arms very well moving her sword was exhausting.

A loud "Hiyaa," made her look toward the entrance. Link tumbled into the cavern and Tetra watched astounded as Link's sword ripped through the first line of monstrous spiders, while at the same time he lept from the ground to set himself up for the rush of those behind. How the hell does he do that? Link dispatched the second line just as quickly and for the first time the spiders stopped in their chaotic movements. It was as if the mass of critters decided in unison; this one is dangerous and as a group circled him.

Link's expression however tense did not look the least bit worried. With a shout, he thrust out his sword and the monsters backed off as his sword came alive, crackling with magic. A second louder yell escaped Link as he released the magic he'd pushed into the sword. The Hero of the Winds became a blur as the magic sent him spinning around the room, destroying everything in his spiraling path.

The spiders that survived this assault immediately broke off and skittered toward the back recesses of the cave. Still off balance, Link pulled out his boomerang, sending it careening after and dispatching those that remained. Tetra turned her head when she heard a screech that made her hair stand on end. Link's eyes shot to the roof as the giant spider that had captured Tetra dropped from the ceiling and Link barely rolled out of the way. He came up with bow in hand and loosed an arrow that caught the creature in its fat rear end. Link loosed a second but the spider didn't even slow down as it smacked into him knocking him onto his back.

It pounced again, but Link somehow managed to bring up his shield as he rolled to the left. A trail of smoke was coming from the spider's mouth but it continued its advance. Link didn't back off, instead he circled the monster, never taking his eyes off it. He was waiting for something to happen, but Tetra couldn't imagine what that could be. She saw it then, as the spider abruptly came to a halt and began to shake. Link raised his shield to protect himself from the explosion that followed and stood there dazed for a second, covered in icky looking pink goo.

Tetra snorted and realized what the trail of smoke had been. Link somehow managed to feed the over sized arachnid a bomb. A bright light at the far end of the cavern caught his attention and Link walked over to the treasure chest the light left behind. He carefully flipped open the lid and reached inside. Tetra groaned as he lifted out an orange rupee. Cheeky little twit, she thought. Still strapped to the ceiling, Tetra sighed as she shifted and remained encased in webbing. She couldn't even shout at him since her mouth was still covered.

Now Link's eyes wandered up where his wayward pirate captain still hung, he shook his head and Link walked under her a smug smile growing on his stupid face as he took out his grappling hook. After a bit more pondering, he aimed it at her let the weapon go. Tetra flinched as the weapon wrapped itself around a short outcropping covered in sticky webbing near her head. Before long, Link was right next to her, sword in hand and that stupid grin on his face.

"You alright, Tetra?" Link asked as he removed the rest of the webbing from her face.

"Just dandy."

Link set about cutting away the rest but stopped short of the webs that secured her to the ceiling. "You'll have to cut the last bit," he said and slipped his arm around her waist. Tetra shuddered as the spider goo came into contact with her skin. Tetra cut away the last of webbing and Link's grip around her waist tightened, pulling her uncomfortably close. "I'm going to need both hands to get us down," he said sounding just a little less cocky.

Tetra shifted and hesitated before she put her arms around his still sticky neck. Link put away his sword and pulled out his deku leaf, just before he released the hook, Tetra said, "You're never going to let me forget this, are you..."

"Nope."