FEVER PITCH

When Link awoke the next day, it was to a fire in his leg. The gunshot wound had continued to swell and was now pushing agonizingly against the makeshift bandage. He couldn't help when a begrudged moan escaped between his clenched teeth.

"Good morning, Swordsman," Kin muttered drowsily as the sound woke her.

"'Morning," Link replied, masking his grimace. There was no reason to worry her.

They spent the day rowing in shifts. In the endless, rolling seas that surrounded them, it was impossible to tell if they had moved at all, but a few trips skyward by Navi assured them that they were, in fact, nearing the mysterious island – if not very quickly.

"When will we get there?" Kin asked, a hint of desperation in her voice. Link looked at her sideways. Weeks of captivity had left her malnourished and weak, and to be honest, he was not much better off. He had packed a full rucksack of provisions, but it had been lost in the escape. If we don't reach land soon, we might just die from exhaustion, he thought.

"Hmm...tomorrow? The day after? Do you think they'll have butterflies? I've never seen a butterfly!"

Link almost smiled; Navi sure didn't seem worried. Kin didn't even giggle. She barely seemed awake – resting after her most recent turn at the oars.

A loud splash shook both of them out of their reverie.

"What was that?" Kin asked.

"A fish, probably," Link replied. "And dinner, I hope." Link took his bow from the bottom of the dinghy, nocked an arrow, and fell silent, peering into the waters around the ship.

Quiet. The sea playfully tickled the hull of their rowboat.

A sudden flash of silver scales shone out from just below the surface. Navi immediately flew to the disturbance, illuminating Link's prey. In one smooth movement, Link drew the bowstring back to his ear and...stopped. His eyebrows drew together in confusion. He thought he could see a...face...staring back at him from beneath the water – a face that shone silver-blue. Whatever it was seemed as curious about him as he was confused of it. A seagull cried overhead and, in a flash, the figure vanished. Link slowly released the tension on his bow as Navi fluttered back to the boat.

Kin let out the breath she had been holding. "What happened?"

Link didn't know how to respond, so he shrugged. "Got away."

Pushing out her bottom lip, Kin closed her eyes and lay her head back. "Well why didn't you jump in after it, swordsman?" she teased, "I was ready for a nice seafood dinner."

Link stuck his tongue out at her and returned to the oars. He suddenly felt very dizzy. Sitting down, he realized that he could no longer feel his left leg below the knee.

Navi floated toward Kin and landed lightly atop her forehead. The bard's eyes fluttered open. They looked at each other for a long moment.

As Link watched on, he knew that his two companions were forging a connection that would never fade, and he couldn't help but wonder what Malon would have thought of his new friends.

Friends. The word caught him by surprise. Even before he became the Hero of Time, there weren't many he could have called friends.

Link smiled.

I wish Malon were here. His smiled disappeared as his heart turned over in his chest. For the first time since Mother Isle, he allowed himself a moment to think of the Great Fairy's words. Malon was dead, and yet – if what Venus said was true – she could yet return. How could that possibly be true? She's dead. Even Zelda couldn't save her.

And even if he were to find some way to bring her back, Malon's body was trapped nearly two thousand years in the future. The Ocarina of Time had been the instrument of his journey backward through the ages, but only one with an incredibly strong aptitude for magic could use the Ocarina such as Princess Zelda had, and even she had not been able to travel to an exact point in time – they had arrived nearly a century after she intended. Link couldn't use the Ocarina without Zelda, and he sourly doubted that the princess would risk leaving her people without a monarch just to go on a likely futile jaunt through time.

But Venus had been clear: Malon was not yet lost to him.

The future was shrouded in uncertainty, and deep inside his gut, Link knew that nothing would be resolved until Vaati was destroyed. But to do that, Link had no choice but to follow the Great Fairy's direction and investigate 'The Sands of Time' – whatever that was. Link snorted under his breath; she could have at least told him where to start looking. Link closed his eyes and thought through the options left to him. He came to the same conclusion as he had so many times upon the Biri: his first responsibility was to return to the castle and take Zelda away – take her somewhere safe. Hopefully she would know more about The Sands of Time. Then, once the princess was safely hidden, Link could search out the Sands and destroy Vaati.

"Seems simple enough." Link chuckled vindictively, knowing full well that nothing was ever so easy.

"What did you say?" Kin asked, glancing in his direction. Navi was floating aimlessly about the rowboat – apparently their moment had passed.

"Nothing," Link replied, shaking his head. "Just talking to myself."

"Oh no!" Navi said, nearly blinding Link as she zoomed toward his face. "You're going crazy too!"

Kin mouthed 'too' to herself as if she were trying to understand the word. Link laughed aloud and swatted the little ball of light away from his nose.

"I'm fine, ya pint-sized lightbulb," Link said. Another surge of dizziness surged through him. He put his head in his hands.

"You alright, swordsman?" Kin asked, having seen him swoon.

"Yup!" Link chirped up, lying with a smile. His leg burnt like the sun that was just beginning to dip below the Western horizon. "Just tired. Let's call it a night, and get back to it tomorrow."

With eyes half lidded, Kin nodded. She was asleep within minutes. Soon after, Link slipped into darkness as well.

The darkness overtook him.

The next morning, he didn't wake.