Overlord of the Land Chapter 6: High Seas War Games, a legend of zelda fanfic

There's good times, great times, and then there's REVIEW ANSWERIN' time.

Ri2: Venus was fun to write. Glad you like my interpretation of her. And what about the evil table? Zelda's got evil pottery and floors before (See: darn near every 2D Zelda game... and some 3D ones), a table isn't so farfetched.

?: Boss idea? Out of frickin' nowhere! Initially, the suit of armor WAS the boss, but then I thought it was too obvious (a sentiment I expressed through Tetra), so I thought "let's throw them a curveball." As for the name, that took me hours, but I finally settled on Mesaballeon, which is a contraction of two spanish words: Mesa (table), and caballero (knight). So essentially, its name in english is "Knight's table". Further proof that naming is not as awesome if one has to explain it.

The Legend of Zelda:

Overlord of the Land

Chapter 6

High Seas War Games

"So, Link..." Tetra began. " Have you ever wondered how life would be if we hadn't crossed paths? If you didn't choose to become a great hero? If I decided not to continue with my mother's pirate crew?"

The setting couldn't be better. An idyllic prairie served as the backdrop for the adventurers' resting place. The grass felt soft and gentle to the touch of their bare feet. The air brought a calming breeze across their faces, with their hair fluttering in rhythm. The white cotton clouds floated gently on the skies, slowly transforming into different and oftentimes amusing forms. In short, the overall place could best be described as perfect. Here, Link and Tetra lay one beside the other, looking straight at the pristine blue sky and letting their thoughts wander about with the breeze.

"I mean, I know you were shoehorned into this whole hero business, what with your sister and all... but what if that never happened, you didn't need to become a hero and you had the golden opportunity to stay in your little island with your family. Have you ever wondered that?"

Link's eyes raised up, as if trying to look straight at his forehead, deep in thought. Tetra's musings have given him much food for thought. All he had done, he's probably done instinctively and without much way for second thought. In light of this new angle, though, he sat up on the ground indian-style and looked over at Tetra for a while. Sensing his gaze over her, Tetra turned slightly to the left and supported her head on her hand to give Link her undivided attention.

"Well, I..." Link began to bring his thoughts in order to answer his blonde companion. "I think I would rather..."

"DIE!"

The sudden distorted voice and bleached stare in Link's face came as a perturbing shock to Tetra. She had no time to stand up and scurried backwards in a sitting position, instinctively trying to get away from a hollow-eyed Link who stood up and was slowly walking towards her. He unsheathed his sword and prepared his shield as he made his way towards Tetra.

"Link, what are you doing?" Tetra questioned as she kept trying to find a way to distance herself from the apparently possessed guy in front of her. As a last-ditch effort, she appealed to her rank to have him desist. "As your captain, I order you to sheathe your sword. I said now, Link! If you don't stop now, so help me, you'll walk the plank." Her words fell on deaf ears, as Link crept further ahead, gripping his sword tightly and readying his arm for a stabbing motion.

Tetra tried hard to gain some distance from Link despite the mobility disadvantage, but unfortunately it was for naught, as her back bumped on a large tree, stunting her movements long enough for Link to catch up to her. The young captain looked in shock as the scenery surrounding Link changed from the peaceful shades of green and blue to the horrific vortex of crimson red and pitch black, whereas Link herself turned into darker and darker shades, until only his vacant stare was recognizable among the darkness behind him. Helplessly frightened, Tetra shut her eyes tightly and prayed it wouldn't end tragically.

"I... WOULD... RATHER..."

*GONG!*

"I... I would... I'd..."

*GONG!*

"I... I... I... I... I... "

*GONG!*

Tetra opened her eyes at the sound of the third gong to only find herself laying down on her bed, facing an aged wooden wall. It was another one of those. Those weird "thoughts" she's been having. Ever since she's accepted her destiny (so to speak), her dreams have shifted from the hide-and-seek variety to a more grim tone of death, and basically all of them have starred Link and herself for some strange reason. If she remembered something from the ancient Hyrulean book, it was said that her female ancestors often had prophetic dreams. The recurring dreams before lead her to her encounter with the Goddesses, so could these recurring dreams lead her to something? Should she even think about it now? She decided not to give it further thought.

After all, a more pressing matter has presented itself.

"ALL HANDS ON STATIONS!! READY YOUR WEAPONS!! PREPARE THE CANNONS!! KEEP THE WIND ON OUR SIDE!! DO NOT LET THEM OVERBEAR US!!"

Gonzo barked out a myriad of orders to a rushing crew, half of which still barely understood what the deal was all about in this otherwise gorgeous moonlit night. Niko and Mako were charged with sharpening the sabres and loading the guns with bullets, while Zuko and Nudge rolled the kegs of gunpowder to the cannons and outfitted them with the explosive powder and cannon balls, and Senza took over navigational duties. Gonzo was no exception, tightening up all support ropes and sails to make sure no mishaps happened during their flight, all while making sure everybody else finished their jobs.

During this chaos, Tetra emerged from below deck, finding no time to change from her red nightgown and resolving on merely bringing her blue vest and her weapons. Immediately, she dashed over to her second-in-command to be updated of the situation.

"What's going on, Gonzo?" Tetra inquired.

"We're being chased, Miss Tetra! Pirates, perhaps under employ of someone else!" Gonzo attempted to explain amongst his preparations. "They've already fired the first shot against us, but no structural damages so far. We've had no time to prepare, which is why I ordered a hasty retreat until we were fit to counterattack!"

"Hmm... Well done, Gonzo." Tetra complimented his crewman's quick thinking. Looking around the deck, though, she couldn't help but feel that something was amiss. "So... where's Link?"

"Atop the crow's nest. He's apparently preparing for some sort of 'aerial attack', whatever that means."

Tetra wondered what exactly did 'aerial attack' mean as well, but for the time being, it was best to just leave him be. "All hands report!" came the order from the young captain. Without hesitation, the 6 members of the pirate crew sounded off, some coming out from below deck, barely finishing the proper preparations to the line of cannons. "Grab your blades and your flintlocks. We're not going to run anymore from some cowards who use the night to try and behead us. We're going to fight, and we're gonna teach those shallow-water pirates who we are!" Tetra's short speech roused massive cheering from the crew, who picked up their sharpened blades and raised them up in excitement. "Senza, return to the wheel! Zuko and Nudge, man the cannons! Gonzo, Mako and Niko, stay above deck with me and help me greet the visitors!"

"Ooh, boy!" Niko exclaimed, his short body barely able to contain his excitement. "Our first all-out battle in a good while. I can't wait!"

Before they were anywhere close to the enemy ship, Tetra decided to take care of one last piece of business. "Link!" She shouted right at the ship's crow's nest. "How are you doing up there?" Immediately, Link peeked out and, bomb in hand, waved at Tetra quickly to confirm he was all right and he just as soon disappeared from view. At least Tetra had an inkling of what he thought of doing, considering the bombs.

"All right, team. Get ready." Tetra commanded as she joined up with the group responsible for first defense on the port side of the ship. "Do not attack until I give the signal, got it?"

"Captain Tetra!" A sudden gruff voice ringed out in a mockingly inviting tone, which Tetra found all too familiar, much to her chagrin. As the rival ship slowly met theirs side by side, the visual in front confirmed Tetra's worst fears. It was him alright.

"Captain Mendoza. Didn't expect seeing you here." Tetra answered, feigning interest in this most disgusting-looking old 'friend' of the seas, so disgusting-looking in fact, that Tetra actually lowered her gaze to avoid eye contact more than out of fear or respect. No more words came out of her mouth, but she kept mouthing some words at regular intervals, almost as if...

"So what is the young, inexperienced, girl pirate playing as so deep in the ocean? No, wait, let me guess. By the looks of your clothes, you were in the middle of a slumber party." Mendoza took no time or consideration in throwing a verbal jab at Tetra.

Twelve seconds, Tetra counted. It was a new record for the insulting, dirty, overweight, ragtag, unkempt captain to throw one of his usual insults at her. "Oh, just the usual. A little plundering, a little sailing... you know, living the freedom of the pirate life and not selling myself out like others." She snarked right back in a quick remark.

"Oh, is that so?" Mendoza did not lose his pace in the exchange of remarks. "Well, this may just be a coincidence, but I was charged to find a bounty for a ship and crew that was giving trouble to a certain local government. It was a red ship with a lone mast in charge of 7 or 8 pirates, commanded by a female. Haven't you heard of them? They're giving a good reward for them."

"Too bad. I don't know." Tetra retorted, brandishing a firey gaze and a sly grin at the hairy captain.. "But don't worry. If I find out anything, I'll make sure to not tell you."

"Well, that's too bad." Mendoza said, his tone becoming more serious as he went on. "Because had you cooperated, I might not need to send you first class to Davey Jones' Locker."

Tetra did not respond. She knew precisely what came next, especially coming from a face so familiar to her. She grasped the hilt of her sabre tightly in wait for the rival captain's next move. Mendoza, on his part, was signaling for his pirate crew to join him, the likes of which outnumbered the Great Sea crew 4-to-1. Despite the odds, Tetra and her crew did not take one step backwards, instead having their eyes fill up with more determination to stand their ground.

"What? No snappy remark from you? I'm disappointed." Mendoza commented, vaguely stifling a chortle, while the rest of his crew just flat out laughed. "I must admit, that firey look in your eyes... it's almost cute... Just like your mother. All bark, no bite."

"I'm not cute." Tetra replied with a noticeable scowl, her eyes narrowing down on the target before her. "And don't you dare speak about my mother, you ogre."

"Aw, did I hit a nerve?" Mendoza openly mocked. "Do I have to remind you how did you inherit your position from your dear mom? Or do you still keep it clear in your head?"

It took a great deal of determination for Tetra to remain on her position and not jump the gun. Still, she did not make a move, for she knew the moment she lost control was the moment they would lose to Mendoza.

"Well, that's good." Mendoza said. "I would feel bad at shooting you down with those horrible memories in your head. Oops, too late. Oh, well." With those words, Mendoza slipped within the shielding of his crew, becoming invisible to anybody on the opposing side. Before they knew, a scream came from Mendoza's ship, and a lowly pirate was launched from the very middle of the ship right to the Great Sea crew. The crazy-looking lanky shirtless man flailed about wildly, not really aiming this sword at anybody in particular, just trying to find a way to land safely.

"Trampoline! Now!" Tetra ordered. Gonzo and Senza raised their arms to welcome the scrappy pirate in them, only to shoot him back up and straight overboard through the starboard. Tetra acknowledged the nature of the first attack and decided to hold off no longer. "No holding back, guys! Attack!"

The foursome jumped right on the guardrail, brandishing their sabres and ready for any forthcoming attack from their rivals in piracy. True enough, from within the mess of men, Captain Mendoza ordered his crew to attack mercilessly at their bounty. The first wave tired to enter the ship, but were promptly stopped by the Great Sea pirates' fast reaction, and were dumped on the gap between ships. No sooner had they defeated them, another wave jumped in and knocked Tetra's crew clean off the guardrail to land face up on the top deck. The crew quickly recovered, just in time to avoid being impaled by thrusting swords going their way.

Once he was up, Senza had immediate troubles handling the enemies. As if by magic, four pirates ran and ganged up on him and gave him grief, but he was quicker than most heavy classes, and managed to disarm the lot in a manner of swipes. He then took out his gun and shot right between them, sending them running and producing much laughter for him.

Gonzo's sword skills were not as great as Senza's, but his battle strategies didn't exactly needed them, anyway. He led a group of enemies in a chase through the insides of the ship until finally ending up in the cargo hold. Before the pirate foes could react, he cut the ropes holding the myriad of barrels, and kicked off one that served as foundation, effectively trampling the foes under them.

For Mako and Niko, however, things couldn't get tougher. Niko had his low height and agility on his side, making it easy to slip right below the enemies intact (with... painful results), but his strength was severely lacking, and most of his time was spent trying to locate his sword after it got flung away and fight. Mako was worse off. Not being too used to hand-to-hand combat, he had barely managed to slip past some pirates before being trapped on the stern. It didn't help that he was quickly spotted by the enemy. His bravery was commendable, considering how he raised his sabre defiantly, but he knew deep down the most he could do right now would be scratch someone's arm before being offed himself. He decided to set his weapon in a defense position and brace himself for the incoming strike.

*CRASH!*

"OW!" Niko exclaimed upon crashing and skidding away with Mako. "Gotta learn to brake on time... Mako! Are you doing good?"

"Not too much." Mako quickly explained. "I can't get a leg up."

"Man, if I could just be on equal fighting conditions with them." Niko lamented. He then remembered his current condition, and an idea quickly popped up. "Mako, launch me up!"

"What?"

"Launch me up! Trust me!" Niko hurried his comrade, raising his leg so Mako could grab it. Without much to go on, Mako did as was told, and heaved Niko as far up as he could. His strength was just enough to get Niko above the foes' heads, allowing him to use them as makeshift stepping stones.

"So how does it feel being stepped on? Hurts your ego and your skull, don't it?" Niko mocked the group of pirates who, shocked, couldn't react properly to a half-pint stomping on their heads as they were a random turtle.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!! This is exactly why I became a pirate! Take that! And that! And THAT!" Niko exclaimed, completely overjoyed at his higher hand in the battle, grinning like an idiot as he kept on stomping pirates on their skull.

Mako saw what Niko did and was content. His happiness did not last, however, when he noticed he was still trapped with a couple of pirate enemies ganging up on him. Feeling this was too easy a target, one of the pirates pulled out a rope and started enveloping Mako in it. "So who's in the mood for a spinning top game?" the one pirate said to the rest, inciting laughter from his comrades. He then pulled on the rope and made Mako spin around and around wildly. However, they forgot that Mako was still holding a sabre, which he involuntarily held fast as centrifugal force made the blade spin at the edge of the Mako-tornado, severely cutting up the pirates right down to size, starting with the one who inadvertently gave him the advantage.

"Great work, Mako!" Tetra shouted.

"Eh... Thanks! I guess..." Mako responded hesitantly. "You're doing great too... I guess."

Tetra was indeed doing good. As the captain of the Great Sea pirates, she was the prime target of almost every blade against her ship, and she had to call to every bit of her agility and strength to keep them at bay, and so far, she was doing a good job. Before she could react, she was surrounded by a group of pirates, yet she saw he opportunity and ducked right as they threw their swords at her, effectively blocking each other out. Afterwards, she maintained her back to the mast while locked on a heated exchange with some of the pirates. Even though the mast helped avoid back attacks, the swarm of pirates crossing swords with her and trying to swipe at her were proving too much a pressure for the young captain. Fortunately, Senza was always close to bail her out.

"Are you okay, Miss Tetra?" Senza asked. Suddenly, his question was met by the business end of Tetra's flintlock aimed directly at his shoulder... or so he though. A shot rang out, but Senza did not feel anything. Instead a singular cry of an opposing pirate made the large bearded man turn around to see he was one second away from being cleaved had Tetra not intervened.

"NOW I'm ok." Tetra answered.

""Miss Tetra! They're presenting their cannons!" Mako announced. Tetra gestured at Senza to the door and they pushed and heaved their way past their foes and progressed all the way below deck. She stuck out her head to where the cannons were to see Zuko and Nudge working hard at getting them all ready. "Nudge! Zuko! Prepare to fire on my mark!" Tetra ordered right before leaving as she entered. Recognizing the urgency of the orders, Zuko walked to a rope dangling in the side and pulled it, opening the cannon windows while Nudge pushed the cannons out to make them stick out properly.

Back on top, Tetra, Mako Gonzo and Senza converged on the bow, attempting to take the battle to Mendoza's ship. "Come on, guys! Time to give Mendoza a house call!" Tetra announced, preparing to jump over to the large ship next to hers. Before this could happen, a large vibration rocked the boat so violently, it made half the people standing on the ship stagger and fall to the ground.

"Fire all cannons! Counterattack!" Tetra shouted, assuming the cannons from Mendoza's ship already fired. Obediently, Zuko and nudge lit up the cannon fuses and let the cannons fire, despite not having stabilized completely. The result was a rather mismanaged attack that barely scrapped the opposing ship.

"Great. Now what?" Tetra said, noticing the counterattack was less-than-effective.

"Miss Tetra! Behind you!" Gonzo screamed, a desperate tone governing his voice. Tetra turned just in time to see Captain Mendoza in all his girth standing right behind her, aiming his gun against her at point blank range.

"What a shame." Mendoza lamented in his usual mocking tone. "I had hoped you would learn from past mistakes, but I guess that was not enough. Goodbye, girl." He cocked his gun, pointed it at Tetra's forehead, and...

*BANG!*

*THUD!*

"And THAT'S why fatsos like you never get anything done right!" Niko said from atop Mendoza's belly after throwing his weight at the bulky captain, making him miss his target by mere inches before flopping down on the floor, creating another violent vibration.

"Niko!" The Great Sea pirates shouted in unison at witnessing the unlikely hero's actions.

"The one and only!" Niko declared, dropping off a wriggling Mendoza who was trying to stand up.

Tetra decided to take this opportunity to flaunt her victory over the ever-confident Captain Mendoza. "So, Mendoza. What do you have to say about this young, inexperienced, girl captain that just kicked your butt?"

"I say..." Mendoza uttered, still struggling to get up from his turtled position. "... I say you've underestimated me, girl. Rain of fire, now!"

Shocked, Tetra quickly turned around to see how Mendoza's ship was outfitted with at least 3 catapults and were being loaded with tough mesh balls ignited on fire. Before she could issue a command, the catapults were triggered, shooting the fireballs straight up, and it looked like they were going to land on Tetra's ship, and she had no defense against this. Unless...

"LINK!" She shouted desperately.

Immediately afterwards, several ice-covered arrows shot out from the crow's nest, nailing the fireballs in midair and turning them to dust and smoke. Upon seeing this spectacle, all the pirates in both ships looked up in awe, with Mendoza's group in clear disappointment for their failed plan. Link then popped out of the crow's nest for a second and, Hyoi pear in hand, waved at his comrades, then slipped back to his preparations.

"You know, Link. Whatever you're doing, you better do it now." Tetra, mildly annoyed at the green-clad boy up the crow's nest for his apparent lack of cooperativeness, shouted at his to hurry up. These little preparations were getting a little long in the tooth, ad if there wasn't any progress, she swore she would...

"What is that music?" Mendoza wondered. Indeed, there was a faint trace of music running through the air, an event made even weirder by the fact that there was nobody in the vicinity playing any sort of instrument. How could they anyway, for they were all engaged in battle until just a few moments ago. Everybody... except Link.

On top of the crow's nest, Link had set up a grand collection of Hyoi pears attached to bombs, and proceeded to use his Wind Waker baton to conduct the Command Melody. This majestic melody summoned all the seagulls near the ships to fly to where Link was.

"Seagulls?" Mako questioned the sudden appearance of a large flock of birds coming to rest right on the crow's nest. Looking intently, it looked like the seagulls were eating atop the ship's main mast. "Why is Link feeding birds at a time like this?"

Then, the seagull took to the skies again. This time, however, they were carrying a small bomb on their beaks as they grabbed wind beneath their wings. Unlike their arrival, it seemed like their departure was more synchronized, and they ere flying in a set pattern. Everybody looked in awe as the seagulls began making rounds above the two pirate ships, with their bombs precariously clutched on the beaks. Finally, the seagulls seemed to have settled on Mendoza's ship and were waiting for some sort of signal.

Just then, the enchanting music died out.

*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*

(Behold my special effects!)

"Abandon Ship!"

"Recover anything salvageable!"

"Where is Francis? Francis!"

"Captain Mendoza! The ship can't take it anymore!"

Slowly but surely, Mendoza's ship began to lose the defining traits of a proper ship. The mizzenmast was cast down, breaking other masts in the process. The lush bowspirit went down in one strike. The top deck's floorboards went flying, leaving the lower decks exposed for any further bombardments. In the blink of an eye, Mendoza's ship went from majestic to one cannonball shy of sunk.

"M... M... My ship!" Mendoza weeped for his once-beautiful ship being turned to nautical scrap. "This is... impossible! How did you... how did he... with the seagulls... and the bombs... and..."

"I think the proper way of saying it would be... 'I say you underestimated me, Mendoza', don't you think?" Tetra smirked at the dumbstruck pirate who simply sat down and stared at his ship nonstop.

Finally, one word slipped out of Captain Mendoza's mouth, one word that changed the course of this whole fight:

"Retreat!" Mendoza shouted. Getting to his feet as quickly as he possibly could, he rushed out of Tetra's ship and jumped to the wreck of his old ship, followed by the rest of his crew, regardless of the ship's condition. No sooner had the last man entered the battered ship did they lift the only good sail remaining and made a painfully slow escape.

"This isn't the last time you've heard of me, kid!" Mendoza swore as he made his retreat.

"Yeah, well why don't you turn back and finish what you started, coward!" Tetra retorted right back, unable to hide her mocking tone in her voice.

Senza stood beside Tetra, staring at the slowly retreating opposing ship, with a curious look adorning his face. Finally he braved to ask. "Is it really ok to let them go, Miss Tetra?"

"Who said I'm letting them go?" Tetra answered, pointing over at their very own catapult on the bow, where a hard-working Gonzo loaded a barrel of explosives. "I'm just waiting until Gonzo finishes."

No sooner had Gonzo prepared the catapult and turning it to aim at the runaway pirates did Tetra give the silent order. Gonzo let the barrel fly, heading straight to the damaged ship. The display of oranges and yellows that followed was so intense that for the briefest of moments it pierced right through the darkness, rivaling the light of the sun.

"That's awesome." Niko exclaimed as the spectacle did a terrific job at taking his breath away.

"And that's that." Tetra declared, dusting off her hands clean. "What do YOU think of that, Mendo... ZAUGH!" She suddenly shrieked at the surprising sight of Link standing right by her. "When did you get down from..." She didn't even finish her sentence when Link pointed over at the grappling hook tied at the top of the crow's nest which he used for a speedy climb down. "... Oh, just forget it. After all, you did pull off that bombing attack quite beautifully."

"What about me? What about me?" Niko demanded.

"Well, of course, Niko. You're a real life-saver." Tetra complimented the small pirate with a smile and a pat on his head. "In fact, I want to thank you all. I know that, ever since my mother died and I took charge, things haven't been exactly the same." In a rare reversal from her usual snarky attitude, Tetra fidgeted around trying to find the right way to explain what she wanted to say. "I've tried to keep this band together... and I did some things I didn't think I'd do... but you were always there... I guess what I want to say is, you guys are great. I'd be nothing but a captain of a bunch of planks were it not for you."

"Miss Tetra... don't worry." Gonzo replied. "We've said it before, and we'll say it again: We've got your back. They would have to kill us twice before we betray you or leave you alone."

"That's right." Nudge agreed.

"True..." Zuko concurred.

"Yep." Niko joined.

"No stopping us." Senza said. Among the heartwarming moment, though, a large yawn escaped his mouth, giving a clear sign of his tiredness. "But right now, who's stopping us from a well-deserved rest?" He began walking to the door leading below deck slowly as he began fiddling with his weapon-filled belt, but before he entered, he made a final declaration. "I call top hammock."

"What?! No way!" Niko complained as he rushed to the door. "It took me months to get the top hammock! No way you're getting it today!"

"Then run for it!" Nudge challenged the other two, joining the rat race to the end.

"Wait! The top hammock has the est view out. I want it!" Mako said, running behind the mob.

"That hammock is owed to me, by thunder!" Gonzo attempted to calm the rousing group by calling ranks on them.

"Oh, bother..." Zuko sighed, then slowly walked below deck.

Tetra watched as her crew members started acting like children fighting for their favorite toy. She had no real reason to try and stop them, for she knew they would eventually work it out. Also, she was tremendously tired herself, despite putting up an impressive fight just moments earlier. It was high time to call it a night. Except a stray hand that came to rest on her shoulder stopped her.

"Link?" Tetra wondered, seeing that the young adventurer had not yet gone to sleep. "Did you forget something?"

Link did not answer. For whatever reason, he simply stood there staring directly at Tetra's face. There was something about her complexion, her radically tousled hair, her crystal clear blue eyes... it just enthralled him. He found himself lost in this trance-like state, and for a moment there, he just didn't want to leave. Still, common sense got the better of him, and he snapped out of his trance. Thus, with a gentle pat on Tetra's shoulder, he quietly bid himself goodbye and proceeded to walk away.

"Link!" Tetra beckoned, complete with an outstretched right arm as if trying to grasp him and keep him around. Link turned around just in time to see this small spectacle right before Tetra let her arm limp out her right side. "I... I, uh... thanks."

Link answered his partner's heartfelt appreciation with a giggle and a wave before hastily disappearing into the insides of the ship, leaving Tetra alone with the star filled night. Tetra felt thoroughly confused. She didn't even know why she stopped Link or what was it that she was about to tell him. It was as if her mind shut down for a second and something other took over. This was uncommon for the young woman, having been born and raised in a world that teaches you to be rough or be dead, to let anything overtake her rational thought and quick action for an awkward moment. It wouldn't be right for Tetra the Pirate to succumb to such frivolous... emotions, maybe? She wasn't sure herself.

The only thing she was sure of that night was that she fought hard, not just for her survival and for her crew and ship, but also for the honor of the previous captain of that ship. Before she retreated to her quarters, she took one final glance to the heavens and whispered softly.

"I hope you're proud of me, mom."

"Sir! We have a situation." The soldier broke the breaking news to the Emperor of Waarheid, who hasn't even set foot on his office that morning.

"Speak, newly appointed sergeant of the 8th division." Dante commanded.

"Some pirates have washed ashore at the break of dawn. They look like they've been hanging to makeshift rafts for a long time and some of them look badly injured." The sergeant unloaded the piece of information to his Emperor. He took a deep breath before releasing the stinger of it all. "The captain appears to know you and insists you grant him an audience."

"What?" Dante instantly exclaimed. He tried, at least for his public image, to associate with scum like pirates as little as possible. There were only a few who would do such a bold claim out in the open anyway... perhaps only one. "Sergeant, take me to these pirates. I shall speak with their captain immediately."

Surprised, the sergeant did not understand to what extent this could lead. He knew better than to belay an order straight from the Emperor. "Y... Yes sir. This way."

Dante and the sergeant walked out of the grand mansion that was their headquarters and headed off to the dock, where a group of soldiers were holding on to the injured pirates at gunpoint. Not that they would try and escape, considering most of them were too hurt to walk straight, and even those who could walk had injuries of their own to deal about. And right in front of the pack of soldiers was...

"Dante!" Captain Mendoza cried out. His great hairy self was covered in bumps and bruises, his clothes were tattered to the point of showing clear views of his massive girth, some of his beard was singed and his overall position before the Emperor was simply pathetic. "Tell your goons to back off. Tell 'em I was workin' for ye! I tried an' I tried to beat that stupid girl senseless, but she up an' covered us in explosives. She's still out there, and if you can get me a better ship, I'll sink 'em before they even have a chance to breathe!"

Dante merely looked down at Mendoza with contemptible, rage-filled eyes. Not only did this two-bit pirate failed to finish his job, he had the gall to wash up in his country and plead for mercy. "I know you." Dante spoke, bringing a sudden smile to Mendoza's face. "You're Captain Mendoza, the infamous pirate. You're a wanted man, you know. Accused of pillaging, plundering, mass destruction, slaughter, larceny, and who-knows what else. It would be my pleasure to furnish a fresh jail cell for you and your lackeys."

Mendoza's smile suddenly dropped upon hearing these dooming words. Back when they spoke, they seemed so buddy-buddy, he thought he could take advantage and ask him for another chance. He had been outplayed in his own game... and the price he would pay might be really nasty.

"Soldiers, throw these criminals in jail and throw away the key." Dante ordered the group just before turning his back on his once-partner. Seeing Dante walk away like he was the king of the world filled Mendoza with rage, and he swore right there that so long as he still had a breath of air in his lungs, he would seek to avenge that betrayal.

"General!" Dante called for the general in charge of the operation at the docks. "There is still another group of pirates I am deeply worried about. It's the ragtag gang that was in this very city just a few days ago. I want naval fleets doing rounds every hour on the hour. They cannot touch Waarheid alive again!"

"So... Why are we back on Waarheid?" Niko asked after walking deep into the woods south of where they left their ship northwest of the city.

"I told you already!" Tetra shouted, losing patience with the swabbie's constant questioning. "Because the Compass is leading us here. There are more pages of the book here, and we need to find them. And if the last place was anything to go by, there will also be plenty of treasure."

"Ooh! That's good enough for me!" Niko said, complacent on the prospect of having some fresh treasure on his hands.

...some time later...

"The treasure's not good enough for me anymore!" Niko shrieked, noticeably shaken by the sudden creepy shift in the woods' environment.

"Don't be a crybaby, Niko." Senza said. "It's all just a bunch of misshapen tree branches under odd lighting. Nothing to worry about."

Niko, despite breathing hard and beginning to drop cold sweat, nodded in agreement to his large partner's words, deciding to repeat them like a mantra. "There's nothing to worry about. There's nothing to worry about. There's nothing to worry about. There's nothing to worry about. There's nothing to worry... AAAAAAUUUUUGGH!!!"

Suddenly, Niko was right in front of the largest, darkest structure within the darkened woods. So large, dark and filled with creepy branches, that the poor pirate almost fainted in shock.

"Is that... a tree?" Gonzo questioned, taking a step back to attempt to take in the dark visual as much as possible.

"So they hid a couple of pages inside a tree?" Mako inferred. "It's ironic, because paper comes from trees. You have to cut down trees to make them into paper, but that very product of man is being guarded by an incredibly large tr..."

"Not helping the creepy vibe, Mako." Niko said, covering the short intellectual's mouth to make him stop talking.

"Regardless, this is our next destination." Tetra declared. "But first, we have to get some shut-eye. I say we camp right here."

Thus, everybody pitched their tents and settled in to catch some sleep. Before long, everybody was already deep in slumber... everybody, that is, except two people.

"Link... do you think this place is haunted?" Niko blabbed on to his tent partner, much to Link's sleep-deprived dismay. "I mean, I don't want to scare you, but I've heard these places are usually where witches and wicked spirits live... or we could be sleeping right on top of an ancient burial ground... or what if some wolfos appear at night a gnaw at us while we sleep? But what if..."

**To Be Continued**