Gosh darnit! Consistency is just a concept that I don't seem to grasp! I am SO SORRY for this taking so long, guys! I mean, between life and writer's block (which was really bad for this story) and working on Blood and Spirit, I have been at odds with this one. I mean, I have an idea of where I want to take it, but its just forming everything into words and working out all of the details and everything. Sigh... Oh well, enough excuses. Here we finally have another chapter so hooray! Before we begin, I just wanna thank everyone who has reviewed/followed/favorited! Luv you guys and ur patience with me! XD

Chapter 4: Shadows of the Past

"Sometimes, shadows from the past can become shadows of the present."
-Aang, Avatar: The Last Airbender

"Miss!" Gonzo's bellowing voice rung out throughout the lower decks of the pirate ship as he knocked on the door to the captain's quarters. "Miss Tetra!"

"What?!" the pirate girl responded harshly from inside her room, growling in frustration to herself at the complete and utter lack of peace she often got. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she rolled off her plush couch and stood up, a sour look already on her face as she hastily swung the wooden door open to see Gonzo and Nudge standing right outside. "This better be important!"

"W-we were just worried about you, Miss," Nudge said somewhat timidly, noticing that she was even more livid than usual, but about what had set her off this time, it was hard to tell. "You haven't come out of your room since last night when you came back from Outset. Did you see something there that-?"

"No," Tetra said abruptly, averting the questioning gazes of both pirates since she knew this was a blatant lie. "I didn't see anything. The only reason I went to that abandoned island on my own was to scout out for treasure. Nothing more. And if any of you start spreading rumors that I was there for anything else than that, then you'll be off this ship faster than you leap off of it!"

Nudge and Gonzo exchanged a glance, knowing that Tetra certainly was acting her old surly self. Under most circumstances, it would have been a welcome shift, especially considering her normal, reclusive ways of the past five years, but it was quite puzzling to see her act like this now, just after returning from the place where she and the hero had first met. But all the same, they didn't outright question her about it, sensing that they were already treading on thin ground with her as it was.

"Well?" Tetra scowled at the two older pirates, crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently. "Are you two just going to stand there and stare at each other all day or are you going to go back to work!?"

"Miss…" Gonzo said with concern, despite the harsh tone she had used with both of them. There was something that all of the pirates mutually understood and that was that even when their captain was in the most hateful of moods, they would still respect her no matter what. After all, she had proved time and time again that she was more than deserving of it. "We just wanna know if you're doing alright lately is all, yeah? You know we all care about you more than anything else in the world and-"

"And if I'm not happy, you're not happy. Yeah, I know," Tetra sighed, remembering the mantra she had come up with for her crew ages ago. "Listen. I'm fine, ok? I've just been a little on edge lately. That's all. Probably because of the recent shifts in the winds and currents and things like that. You know how those sorts of things have always tensed me up. Now I know what you're all assuming and no, I haven't been thinking about… you-know-who that much anymore." The pirate girl frowned at this second lie, knowing that her mind had been on nothing but Link for the past five years, but she maintained her authoritative front with ease. "So you have nothing to worry about, alright. Get back to work, both of you. I have some maps that I have to looks over, so leave me be."

Tetra even managed a small, though rather half-hearted smile to reassure the two men, who both nodded in compliance with their teenaged captain's orders. The pirate girl shut the door behind them as they sauntered off and let out a large sigh of aggravation. Though she had no qualms about lying to most people, she hated having to lie to any of her crew members, the six people who trusted her leadership with their lives. But all the same, their worries for her were not unfounded. She had spent the entire day locked up in her room, something she had not done in weeks when she had been trying to force herself to recover. But after what had happened on Outset last night, she had every reason to board herself up in her quarters as she tried to make sense of what she thought she had seen.

She had stayed up all night after fleeing from Outset, unable to sleep after what had happened. Her mind was still racing with a million thoughts at once, but surprisingly she had hardly shown any form of reaction to it at all. Tetra knew that if she were to let her emotions get the better of her now, she would probably be driven even deeper into insanity than she already most likely was. At the very least, she was glad that she was able to rationalize and logically uphold the belief that who she saw in the ruins of the battered island that night had not really been Link, but rather some apparition of him, or something like that. There was no way that it truly had been him. Was there?

The pirate captain shook her head to clear it as she flung herself across her plush red sofa once more, gazing up at the image of her mother that hung above it. She wished that she had the presence of someone wise, like her mother had been, to help her think all of this through. Trying to separate what was reality from what her faltering mind conjured up was far from easy, especially since her emotions were pressuring her so much on this matter. The last thing she wanted or needed was to lose her mind now, when she had just started to finally get over it and move on with her life.

However, there was still a part of her that wished, no matter how ridiculous or outlandish it seemed, that the vision of the hero that she saw last night truly was him, somehow returned from his watery grave. She couldn't help but close her eyes and let a small smile cross over her face as she envisioned the Link that she had seen hours ago, no longer a child, but an adult such as herself. She hadn't really thought about it until now, but he had been quite handsome, yet at the same time, still so familiar, still so inviting, still so much like her Link. Perhaps, if she hadn't been so stunned in shock and fear upon seeing him, maybe she would have let her emotions take over for her. Maybe she would have ran into his strong arms, embraced him for the first time ever really and tell him how much she had truly missed him and needed him for the past five years. And maybe, if she had just a little more of the courage she knew he always used to have an abundance of, she would have clung onto the hero she trusted more than anyone else and maybe, just maybe, she would have met his lips with her own, not even caring about the scars left in her own heart.

Tetra opened her eyes wide the moment this thought entered her mind and she sat up, shaking her head once more. Stupid! She scolded herself, a scowl crossing her features as she realized just how much of a girl she was being. Of course, she was a girl, but she hated acting like one. It made her appear as weak and shallow, two things that, for the sake of her reputation, she could not allow herself to be. It was strange though, especially since she had never once had such frivolous thoughts as romance on her mind before. What about seeing Link again like she had last night had brought such rare notions about?

The pirate girl rolled her eyes at the rush of red warmth that filled her cheeks and pushed her mind away from such thoughts as she sprawled out on the couch once more. She was glad that, at the very least, she was hadn't spent any more tears over the situation since the previous day. Tetra knew that had to account for something, and hopefully that something was her finally moving on and returning to her old self once and for all. But at the same time, she had not lied when she said she was feeling on edge. Even before the ordeal of the previous night, she had been feeling uneasy as of late, and it had had nothing to do with the winds or currents. She couldn't really put a finger on the source of her inner tension, but she knew it was a feeling of dread, almost as if she could sense that something dangerous was coming up on the horizon. Tetra let out a tired yawn as she tried to figure out if her premonitions were founded or not. But since she was somewhat exhausted from getting no sleep the previous night, she decided to place those thought to the side for the moment as she allowed sleep to claim her, hoping that maybe it could chase her anxiousness away.

Tetra stood on the battered beach of Outset Island, just as she had the previous evening, the dark night skies above bereft of the moon and stars. The pirate captain found that she was alone, her ship nowhere to be found within the surrounding seas. Much to her dismay, her dagger was not strapped to her waist as it usually always was which meant that she was defenseless against anything that could be lying in wait on the shores of the abandoned island.

She glanced around tentatively, wondering how she could have made it back here as she noticed the disturbing, eerie feeling lingering throughout the area. She could have easily passed it off as a result of the emptiness of the run-down village, but she had a feeling that there was something more to it. And it was something that she didn't really want to stick around to find out what it was.

The girl clenched her fists at her sides as she began to slowly walk down the length of the shore, keeping a careful eye out for anything suspicious. However, she stopped in her tracks and stood completely silent and still when she noticed the sudden shift in the winds, which had grown from a slight breeze to a steady gale. Tetra took a somewhat uneven breath as she took another glance around, frowning up at the sky as she watched it grow even darker. "What in Din's name is going on here?" she muttered to herself under her breath, wishing more than ever before that she had a weapon of any kind with her.

"Princess Zelda…"a quiet voice suddenly called out, startling the pirate girl. Tetra, as much as she still hated being referred to by that title, knew that they had to be referring to her.

"Don't call me that!" she snapped back stubbornly to the unseen voice, refusing to let it get the better of her and cause her to show any form of fear. "My name is Tetra, not Zelda!"

The voice simply laughed somewhat twistedly in response to her outburst, and when Tetra heard it clearly, her eyes widened at its sound. Perhaps she was just hearing things, but she could have sworn that it sounded exactly like-

"Who are you?!" the pirate girl barked harshly to the blowing winds, pushing the insane notion out of her mind. It couldn't be him; she had never heard him laugh so coldly and heartlessly, as his had been a laugh of full of life and warmth. But if it wasn't him, then that begged the question: who was this? "What do you want?" Tetra barked at the voice, wishing she could see where it was coming from so she could deal with what she knew to be a threat face-to-face.

"I don't really need you…" the voice said darkly, and it still sounded so much like him that it sent a chill down the pirate girl's spine. "I need him… And you're going to help me find him…"

"What?!" Tetra shouted in confusion as the winds began to blow more violently. "What are you talking about?! Show yourself!" A sudden flash of lightning bolted across the black skies and in its wake, she could see that an obscured figure had joined her on the beach, standing afar in the distance several feet away from her. Their back was turned to her, but the girl sucked in a deep, shaky breath when she saw how familiar the shadowy silhouette was. Part of her wanted to flee as she had last night, but she found that she was unable to resist the unnatural attraction that was guiding her to him.

The closer she got to the shadowy figure, the darker the world around her started to become. Her breath caught in her throat as her chest tightened, her eyes growing wide and unfocused, almost as if she had been placed under some sort of trance. She still couldn't make out much about the figure, despite the fact that she was only a few feet away from him now. All she knew was that he was slowly dragging her into the shadows where it seemed to dwell, hoping to claim her for no doubt some nefarious purpose. And she had just about fallen into his intoxicating grasp when a sudden crash rattled her entire world, shattering everything in sight all at once.

"Miss Tetra!" the pirate captain could hear one of her men calling out to her worriedly as she groggily opened her eyes to find that Gonzo and Nudge had returned and were standing over her as she lay on the floor for some reason.

"Huh?" Tetra mumbled as she pulled herself up into a sitting position, cringing at the sudden burst of soreness in her arm. "What happened?"

"We heard you shouting and so we came to see if you were alright, Miss," Nudge explained with a frown. "When we burst in here we found that you had fallen off of the couch and were rolling around on the floor, having some kind of nightmare. Are you alright?"

"Nightmare?" the pirate girl asked, rubbing her aching head as she remembered the ominous dark presence that had haunted her dream. "Uh… yeah… I'm fine… No need to worry."

"Do… do you wanna talk about it, Miss?" Gonzo asked hesitantly, already bracing himself for Tetra's harsh answer.

"Um… No…" Tetra said calmly, her brows furrowing in thought and reflection over her nightmare. "Like I said, I'm fine. Now, off with both of you. It's getting late."

"As you say, Miss," Nudge and Gonzo saluted to their captain and headed off, but not before giving her one more worried glance.

It was only after they left Tetra alone once more that she began to panic. Without even thinking, she started pacing around the room, her eyes wide and her breathing tense. Without a doubt, what she had just dreamed of bothered her deeply. The black skies above Outset, the raging winds, the foreboding presence of evil; all of those things seemed gentle and bright when compared to the two most ominous parts of her nightmare: the shadowy figure, for one, who had almost drawn her in with its seductive darkness, and most of all, that voice. She still couldn't get its familiar sound out of her mind as its strange words echoed in dissonance: "I don't need you… I need him… and you're going to help me find him…" Tetra had no clue as to what they had meant by that, but whatever and whoever they were looking for, she knew she wanted no part in helping them find it.

With a tired sigh, the pirate girl sat down on the edge of her bed and placed her hands into her head. It seemed as though, no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't be free from the horror that filled her mind. The shadows of the past haunted her continuously, and it was becoming increasingly obvious that she wouldn't be able to escape them. At least not on her own. But unfortunately for Tetra, the one person who she knew would be able to help her chase away her own fears was not only gone, but it was the fact that he was gone that was causing her such terror in the first place. Shaking her head, the pirate captain flung herself out on her bed, hoping to sleep once more, and dreading the nightmares that no doubt awaited her still.

However, despite the fact that Tetra lay awake in bed for what seemed like hours, sleep would just not come to her. She had even tuned out her racing thoughts to listen to the comforting sounds of the ship creaking, something that usually always lulled her to sleep, but it was no use; she was just too restless. And so, deciding that she needed some fresh air to clear her head, she rose from her bed and headed above deck. The crisp night air was refreshing the moment Tetra breathed it in and so she took the liberty of walking a lap around the empty deck, glad for the peace since all of her men were no doubt asleep at such a late hour. Her mind flashed back to many familiar nights that happened over five years ago, when she would come above deck late at night in a similar manner, seeking clarity and finding Link wandering around, seeking the same thing. It was through such private encounters that the two of them had gotten to know each other better and had grown to be close friends. The girl couldn't help but smile sadly as she fondly thought back on their diverse conversations, some humorous, some deep, and some even tearful. Of course, Tetra had never seen Link cry before; rather, in those rare cases, she had always been the one to cry and he had always provided her a shoulder to cry on. He had always been there for her, but in the end, she had not been able to be there for him. He had never failed her once, but she had ultimatly failed him and it had cost him his life.

The pirate captain fought back tears as she stood against the railing and looked into the deep fathoms below. The reflected stars glittered in the water, as did the large shadow of the pirate ship itself. Tetra tried to find peace in the relaxing sight, but found that she was unable to as she wondered if she would ever really be at ease ever again. Every day was a struggle for her, and it was quickly becoming a struggle that she would no longer be able to keep up. How long would it be before she lost her sanity completely?

As Tetra stood there in silence, listening to the sound of the ocean waves lapping against the ship, she failed to hear the figure creeping up behind her. Normally, she was perceptive and able to catch onto almost anything using her acute, well-developed senses, but even the pirate captain was unable to anticipate what was sneaking up behind her. It was only as the hand clamped over her mouth and the arm wrapped around her thin waist that she realized she wasn't as alone as she thought she had been, but by then it was too late. She tried to scream as the figure pulled her back away from the ship's railing, but their grip over her mouth was too strong for her to even get a sound out. Since they were restraining her by both of her wrists, she was unable to turn a see who had suddenly attacked her, much less retaliate against them. But she struggled nonetheless, throwing her pegged leg up behind her in an attempt to kick them. The figure was quick to grasp onto her false leg and pull her to the ground roughly, causing her to hit her head on the hard deck on the way down. Pain exploded through Tetra's vision as she struggled to remain conscious, knowing that whoever her attacker was most likely planned on subduing her in one way or another.

The figure finally removed their hand from over her mouth as they pulled both of her wrists behind her back and kept her pinned down to the ground with a strong foot, but before she could cry out for help, she felt the cold edge of a sharp blade lightly touch the back of her neck, wordlessly telling her to remain silent. Tetra's heart was racing as she looked straight ahead, unable to turn her head back to see who had so easily overpowered her. However they were, they certainly had formidable strength as well as stealth, giving the pirate girl every reason to fear them and their no doubt wicked intent.

"W-who... who are you?" Tetra finally worked up the nerve to whisper, her voice breathless and uncharacteristically timid with fear.

The girl's eyes widened in shock and terror when she heard the same dark voice that had just spoken to her in her dreams, whispering softly in her ear, its immediacy and familiarity chilling her to the bone. "It hurts that you don't recognize me after only five years, Tetra," he said smoothly, though the pirate girl could easily detect the clear malice in his tone. "I'm someone you know very well…"

All of the fear that filled Tetra's heart was suddenly replaced with rage upon hearing this bold claim. "You're not him," she growled, glaring straight ahead though she wished she could direct it up at him instead. "He's been gone for five years and he's not coming back, so you can just forget this right now."

"Gone?" He laughed coldly, his grip on her wrists tightening. "Don't be silly. I'm right here, with you… And if you'd like, then I'll never leave you again."

"Please, do leave then," Tetra scoffed, rolling her eyes in ire. "And never come back. I don't know what you think this is or who you think you are, but I'm done playing these stupid games. Now leave me alone already!"

"I don't think you get it, 'princess'," he said with cruel sarcasm. "The game is just beginning. Just think: I could take you with me so easily right now and you'd be helpless to do anything but sit and wait until he comes after you. But luckily for you, now is not the time yet. But it will be… soon…"

The pirate girl found that she was unable to hold her curiosity back any longer. "What do you mean he'll come after me?" she asked bitingly, though she had a feeling that she knew who he was referring to. "Who are you even talking about?"

"Sorry," he said with a dark laugh. "Still too soon to say anything yet. But like I said, you'll find out soon enough. Too bad that by then, both of you will be far too late to stop me."

He laughed wickedly once more as Tetra finally felt his firm grip on her wrists diminish. The weight he was pressing on her back was lifted as was the blade he was holding against her neck. The moment she regained movement, the pirate girl rolled around to see who had been holding onto her but when she looked up, all she saw were the starry night skies above. She cursed under her breath as she shakily rose to her feet and looked around the deck, but he was nowhere to be found. Part of her was admittedly relieved that he was gone, but she had an unshakable feeling that he'd return to antagonize her again soon. The pirate captain ran a hand through her blonde bangs as she realized that she had way too many questions and way too few answers.

Of course, after what had just happened, Tetra had every reason to be afraid. Her life was no doubt in great danger; the vague threats she had just been given were clear proof of that. But what frightened her the most was not what she had just been told by that mysterious, shadow-obscured figure that was haunting her in both her dreams and in waking. No, what frightened her the most was that certainly she was quickly starting to lose her grip on reality. She realized that she was getting to the point that she could not differentiate what was real and what was not. Her sanity was slipping away from her and with it would go everything else. Tetra closed her eyes and hung her head in defeat as she realized that she was quickly cracking from the inside out. And it would only be a matter of time before she shattered completely.

So, there you guys have it! Our first real foreshadowing chapter! Darkness is gathering on the horizon, is it not...? I can't wait until the full plot finally blossoms and we're certainly getting close! But, for now, I think the next chapter will go back and forth between Tetra and Link, catching up with both of them and throwing more foreshadowing on in there. So that's pretty much it for now! please don't forget to REVIEW! They inspire me! Until next time!