TO GREATFISH ISLE

The ship they sailed upon was smaller than either were used to. With little room beneath deck, they were both forced to lay out their beds up top, where the chilled sea breeze made it hard to sleep. That, coupled with the inevitable bucking of the undersized vessel, caused tensions to quickly run high.

"There's an island that way!" Navi said, just returned from one of her skyward flights. Nearly a week had passed since the events at Ryū Island. Link's leg hadn't pained him in days, though sometimes he wondered if the pain hadn't just migrated to his head. "It's not very big! It's a baby island!" Navi added cheerfully.

Link groaned and rubbed his temples. "Fine, shut up. We get it." He turned back to the sea chart Kin had thoughtfully swiped from her father's house with all the other supplies. "That must be the northern Triangle Isle," Link mused. "Which puts us about here."

Kin shrugged. "I guess."

"Could you be any less help?" Link muttered. "I'd have thought that, growing up on an island, you would at least be able to read a bloody chart." He waved a small copper instrument in her face before throwing it into the corner. "Or use a damned sextant!"

"Whoa, rein in your ponies, swordsman," the bard snapped back. "I'd have thought the legendary Hero of Time could have at least sailed a ship a hundred and twenty leagues without getting so lost he didn't know which part of the Great Sea he was in!"

Link glared at her. Just one push. One little push over the side, he daydreamed.

Kin sighed. "Oh don't look at me like that. I'm lost too. We just have to keep sailing southwest until we find it."

"We're running out of time," Link growled. "Every day that passes is another day Hyrule is in the hands of the enemy."

Another sad sigh. "Yeah, I know."

Above them, a healthy breeze pulled at the sails. They were making good time, but to where, neither of them knew.

Nearly three days later, Navi spotted another island. "This one looks like a tozego!"

"A spiked beetle?" Link wondered. "I wonder where..."

"That's it! That's Greatfish!" Kin exclaimed. "The entire island is covered in jagged spires, like the land itself shattered."

"There's no way..." Link mumbled as he loosened the extra sail. "We shouldn't be in that quadrant for another four days, even if we're going the right direction."

"It must be!" Kin nearly squealed with excitement. "There's no other islands around this area that look like that!"

Link had to admit, the prospect of a real campsite sounded good, even it if wasn't Greatfish. "Well, I suppose we ought to go take a look and make sure." He grinned, his mood improved. "Just imagine, a real fire!"

Turning, Link tried to spot the island in the distance. Laughing, Kin leapt onto his back. "I'm so sick of this ship!" she yelled out over the waves. "Land hoooo!"

Laughing, Link flipped her over his shoulder so that she dangled upside down over the side of the boat.

"Whoa! Hey! Pull me back up! Swordsman, this isn't funny!" She belayed her own words by giggling when a wave slapped up against the hull and sprayed her with water. Sputtering, she reached down and scooped up some seawater to throw at Link.

Chuckling through a face full of salty sea foam, Link hauled the wet bard back onto deck, where the two collapsed into a pile, laughing.

"Let's go!" Link shouted.

Almost as if the wind could hear them, a strong gust rose out of the north, speeding them toward the island.

The duo couldn't help but stare as Greatfish Isle erupted out of the skyline. Covered in giant, jagged pillars and canyons, it indeed seemed as though the land had been smashed apart, but as he watched, Link couldn't help but think the rough peaks and crooked crests looked like a clawed hand grasping one last time at the sky before sinking into the murky abyss. The vision made him shiver.

Kin too, must have felt unsettled, for they anchored the small ship in silence.

With a muffled heave, Link turned the two-person tender over the railing. It splashed loudly into the water, then bobbed in place, waiting to ferry its passengers ashore.

"Ready?" Link asked.

Kin nodded, some of her earlier enthusiasm gone.

Her energy was quick to return, though, as Link rowed them into the bay. Hoisting the tender above the tideline, Link gazed around curiously. The island seemed much less menacing up close.

"Ahh," Kin muttered. Link glanced over to see she had tossed aside her boots and was digging her toes into the warm sand. Grinning, Link discarded his own shoes and did the same, bright noonday sun tanning the back of his neck.

Here and there, crabs darted to and from among the dunes; they were quick to bury themselves in the sand as Navi zipped around, curiously shadowing them. Sounds of seagulls wafted down from above as the birds flew back and forth among the tall stone crags. The smell of flowered fields kissed Link's nose, almost making him sneeze.

Together, Link and Kin stood there, barefoot, enjoying the sights and sounds that swirled around them.

Eventually, they meandered away from the beach, searching out some place dry to set up camp. It seemed as though the entire island was just a series of uneven fields, occasionally interrupted by tall cliffs and dark canyons that looked like they disappeared into the center of the world. The two explorers were wary of those, especially as the chasms were difficult to spot, deftly hidden by tall grass until you had nearly fallen in.

"I don't think there's a cave or tree on this entire island," Kin complained after several hours, sitting down to finally replace her boots on her feet.

Link sighed. It did seem that way. Even Navi hadn't been able to spot anything. "Let's set up camp in the shadow of that first pillar back near the boat. At least we'll be shielded from the wind," he said.

The spot they chose was near the top of an inclined field, close against the base of the sharp overhanging peak. It was nearly twenty feet down to the beach where the tender was moored, making it a lengthy walk to retrieve the bedrolls and supplies, since Link either had to jump, or walk several hundred meters down the coast until the field again met with the beach. As it was, it was mid-afternoon before they had moved their belongings and collected the driftwood for a fire.

"Well, now what?" Link asked, tiredly falling onto his bedroll after the last trip up from the tender. "We're here. Where's this person Valoo said could help us save Zelda?"

"I'm not sure," Kin mused. She was lost in thought, absently staring out toward their clipper anchored offshore. "But I've been thinking about what he said about us going to meet his 'brother beneath the waves.'" The bard bit her bottom lip, pondering. "I think he might have been speaking about one of the other two guardians. Praise be to the guardian of water, for he is the warden of the waves," she recited.

"What, you mean like another dragon?" Link asked.

"No, I don't think so," Kin replied. "I think—well, it says 'warden of the waves', right? Valoo – a flying dragon – is the guardian of air. I think the guardian of water must be some sort of fish. Maybe a whale?"

"So you think the guy we're searching for is a talking whale?" Link said sarcastically. "Great."

Kin stuck her tongue out at him. "There's other things to suggest he's a fish. I mean, just think about what island we're on! Greatfish Isle. That can't be a coincidence."

"I guess," Link admitted with a shrug. "But how do we find him?"

"I'm not sure," Kin said. "Navi, would you be able to feel another guardian like you could Valoo?"

The little fairy floated out from Link's hat. "Maybe!" the little fairy said happily. "Or maybe not! This island feels...dark; like it's covered in fog. If I was close enough though, then maybe!"

"We'll just have to explore the island," Kin said. "Perhaps there's some sort of secret cavern or hidden loch somewhere.

"Tomorrow then," Link said. "Tonight I mean to enjoy solid ground and a warm fire."

"Agreed." Kin nodded emphatically. With a sigh, she lay back onto the grass and tucked her hands behind her head. "Tell me swordsman, do you enjoy music?"

Link laughed. "I guess so," he said, laying back as well. "I used to listen to a band called Ghostmonk back before all this."

"Ghostmonk?" Kin asked, completely confused.

"Yeah, they recorded some awesome techno tracks," Link explained, aware that Kin had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Shamelessly, he tried to sing the melody to his favorite song, complete with distorted synth and wicked drum solo.

Kin watched with baffled fascination that quickly transformed into gut-wrenching laughter. Gasping for air, she rolled around on the grass, tears streaming from her eyes. Above her, Navi broke into a long series of high pitched giggles that bounced her whole body.

"Well, they did it better," Link said, sticking out his lower lip in an unmistakable pout that put both girls into another round of hysterics.

Despite the pained looks that Link continued to shoot her direction, Kin eventually managed to regain her composure. "I think…" she sucked at the air, still fighting barely controlled laughter that bubbled in her chest. "…I would…like to hear…that for myself…someday."

Link chuckled at the image of Kin wearing his old headphones. Suddenly, his smile slipped away. "I would have liked to hear it again too," he said sadly, "But I don't suppose I ever will."

Kin watched him for a moment, then smiled. "Maybe not, but I'm sure you'll find something here that can be just as important to you."

Link tried to return her smile with one of his own. "I think you would have liked my world," he said.

"Tell me about it," Kin replied, starting at him attentively.

For a long while, Link was silent. For three years, he had ruthlessly repressed any thought of his old life, fought to forget the world that he had grown up in. It was lost to him; he could never go back, and the loss of everything familiar had almost driven him mad. Even now, he struggled to acclimate himself to the strange land he had sworn to protect.

He looked up at Kin, and suddenly felt something he had not felt in so long he had almost forgotten the sensation. He felt...comfortable. Maybe she was right. Could I really ever find something here important to me? he wondered. Looking over at his two friends, he thought he knew the answer.

Slowly, he began to unlock doors that he had long kept bolted shut. In his mind, he saw roadways filled with cars; skyscrapers that seemed to pierce the heavens; cell phones and computers; airplanes and running water. He was surprised to feel not sadness, but nostalgia.

Finally, he smiled. "What do you want to know?" he asked. Kin's eyes sparkled.

For nearly five hours, Kin asked question after question. It seemed like each answer Link gave only stoked the fires of her curiosity. He was surprised too, by which things she would accept without hesitation and which she would struggle to believe. She didn't blink an eye, for example, at the idea of flying metal birds that ferried people from place to place, but no matter what Link said, she wouldn't believe that there were such things as moving pictures.

"So you're claiming all that information was recorded on these mechanical books?"

"Computers," Link corrected.

"Computers..." Kin's tongue struggled with the new word. "And that anyone could access all that information from anywhere?"

"Pretty much."

Kin's eyes went wide as she struggled to imagine something so immense.

"I mostly just looked up funny pictures of cats."

The horror on Kin's face was too much for Link to keep a straight face, and he broke down laughing.

The bard glared at him. "You're making fun of me!" Eventually though, she couldn't help but laugh as well. "Your world sounds so...different. Exciting. Fast." She struggled to find the right word.

"It was," Link agreed. "With the push of a button, you could talk to someone on the other side of the globe. In just hours, you could travel there yourself." He paused. "But I think we lost something along the way."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure," Link said slowly. "Some basic part of our humanity maybe. People strive to explore the unexplored and explain the unexplained, but when the empty corners of the map are filled in and magic is replaced by technology...well, what then?"

Kin listened curiously.

"Since coming here, I've seen things I could never have imagined," Link continued. "Fairies and dragons and things of magic. This world has so much wonder. I think I could explore for a hundred lifetimes and still find something new in every cavern and castle. That's something I could never have done before."

Around them, the sky was beginning to grow dark. Link went to work building a fire as Kin dug some dried kargaroc meat out of their bags. Navi, meanwhile, was intently chasing away a group of deku hornets that had wandered too close to the campsite.

For some reason, Link struggled to light the dry driftwood they had collected from the beach. He struck flint to tinder again and again, but the wood refused to light. It was as if the kindling was being suffocated.

The sky was growing darker.

"Link, look," Kin murmured.

"What?" Link replied, frustrated at his ill-luck in lighting their firewood.

As darkness fell, a white mist began to appear. Link watched in uneasy fascination as it grew thicker and thicker. Before he knew it, the beach had disappeared from view. Soon, Kin would fade from sight as well, even with Navi's bright light circling her head. The image a giant clawed hand reaching into the sky returned unbidden to Link's mind.

Struck by sudden need, Link turned back to the fire. Come on! he silently urged, striking the flint again.

Whoosh. The fire leapt up vivaciously, immediately burning a hole in the fog that extended just past the edge of their campsite. Together, he and Kin let go of a breath neither knew they had been holding.

Navi shivered, making it look like she was vibrating. "The fog is bad," she said, sounding almost scared. Link didn't know why, but he could feel it too.

"What do you mean?" Kin asked. Even though she sat just a few meters away, her voice sounded muffled.

"It's bad," Navi repeated. "The fog is bad." No matter how hard they pressed, that's all she would say. Eventually, Link let the scared little fairy hide in his hat, and their party settled into a quiet unease. Link carefully fed the fire, not daring to let it go out lest he could not reignite it.

For a while, they sat in silence. At one point, Kin tried to play some music on her harp to relieve the tension, but the way the sound seemed to die on the strings only made the oncoming darkness more oppressive. She quickly gave up.

All too soon, night had completely fallen. The only light was from the muted glow of the campfire. By some unspoken decision, Link and Kin rolled out their beds together, as close to the fire as possible. It was not cold, but the duo huddled under their blankets as if the open air chilled them to the bone.

Hours passed, but Link could not sleep. Something inside him – a feeling, an instinct he had long since learned to trust – was prickling. He kept the Master Sword close at hand.

As the night wore on, his eyelids began to droop. They flickered open again, only to drift shut once more.

Half asleep, something slid past the slit in his vision.

His eyes shot open. His heart nearly stopped.

Nothing was there. Without moving his head, he studied the swirling wall of fog around them. It looked the same as it always had. Was I dreaming?

A soft, high-pitched giggle bled through the fog.

Link immediately stiffened. His stomach flipped over sickeningly, and his veins turned to ice.

Another disembodied giggle – the haunting voice of a young girl.

Link began to shiver; the fear that he long since thought he'd conquered slyly working under his skin.

Out of the fog slowly emerged a lone oil lamp. Link watched in horrified captivation as the lamp circled their camp, swinging from some unseen hand. No matter how it swung, though, the lantern flame never flickered – as if it were untouched by the air around it.

The unseen eye that bore the lantern seemed to be watching them. Studying them. Stalking them. Link could feel the specter's gaze. Every hair on his body stood on end.

One last unholy twitter, and the lantern was gone, dissolved into nothingness. Link's heart beat like a drum. Was—was that real?

He looked over at Kin.

Her eyes were wide open. Link was sure his own expression was her twin for terror. Without a word, they moved closer together, desperate for the comforting warmth of another living soul.