Chapter 16: The Decision

Link ran into the main cabin, letting the door slam behind him. The pirate crew and others looked up in mild surprise.

"There's something I gotta tell you," he announced, and sat down in a chair.

"Does it have anything to do with us going home?" Natasha asked hopefully, but Link just shook his head.

"I'm not sure if we'd be going home for a while... after I tell you."

"Oh."

"Okay then. Remember when I was gone yesterday? Well, I'm going to tell you what happened..."

Daniel was lying in bed, eyes closed, apparently asleep. Mark and Andrew were fussing over what to do at the other side of the room.

"We can't just call a doctor," Mark explained. "Then our secret would be out- and then everybody would know that there are three Marks, or three Andrews-"

"Or three Daniels," Andrew finished. "We may as well have to look after him ourselves."

"But we don't even know what he's come down with."

"Then we'll have to watch his symptoms. Meanwhile, we'll have to put off the raising of Termina."

"No, wait!" Mark suddenly said, and stood, banging his knee against the table. He clenched his fists to mild the pain a little, and slowly sat back down.

"We can still raise the place," he continued. "It doesn't really need four people, does it?" He was referring to the Goddess of Paths and Warping, who was going to help raise that land. Andrew considered this for a minute or two, his brown eyes seeming to be clouded over.

"It's going to be tough," he said, "but I think we'll work it out. We'll go by the original plans of doing it tomorrow. But Daniel will have to stay here."

"But..."

Daniel stirred a little, and groaned, drawing the attention of Andrew and Mark to him. He opened his eyes slowly.

"Am I dead?" he croaked.

"No," Andrew answered, after looking at Mark in confusion. Daniel groaned again, and shifted his position in the bed.

"That's discouraging... just now, I was with the Goddess, and she was showing me around heaven..." he replied, sighed, and closed his eyes.

There was silence for a couple of minutes.

"Okay, we'll just go ahead and do it tomorrow," Mark whispered to his brother, and he stood, banging his knee against the table again. Andrew sighed and shook his head, also stood, and grabbed his coat from the hook.

"Where are you going?"

"Out."

"Out where?"

"To get lunch." Andrew stepped out of the cabin and closed the door quietly behind him.

The entire group inside the cabin was staring at Link in stunned silence. Link stared right back at Tetra from where he was sitting on a wooden stool, waiting for her to say something. After all, she was the leader of this "voyage"...

"Well, I was planning that we go back to Feather Flats today," she slowly said, as the others watched her. "But I suppose saving the world from these... people... is more important than giving back the Golden Talon."

"I don't want Termina to be raised!" Aryll cried out.

"And I certainly don't want to be the only Rito girl left on these seas," Natasha added. Quill reached over from where he was sitting, and put his hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"I still want to continue my career as a postman. And I'm sure Natasha wants to experience that as well-"

"HEY!"

"So, it's settled then. We watch Andrew- who is acting strangely- since he may be one of the sorcerers. Does anybody remember the legend with the raising of Termina?" Tetra asked, and the others shook their heads with a grim look. "No? That's okay, we can ask one of the villagers, or Martha the mayor. Should we get started, then?" Everybody cheered in response.

Tetra chose the people who would come along with her to search for Andrew, and follow him around the town. The others would stay on the ship.

Naturally, she chose Link, Aryll, and Natasha.

They stepped outside and chose to wait in the alley between the cafe (which Link was getting tired of seeing by now) and another building. They sat down and waited for Andrew to pass by.