Nine out of ten doctors prefer REVIEW ANSWERIN' time!
Ri2: Thanks. It was one of the bosses I really, REALLY wanted to write out, so I had to make it as awesome as I could.
lilgreenfox: Thanks for the words of support. I continiously strive to be better than before (and I know I have a long way to go, anyway). As for Makar... I'll admit he's not in my initial plans... but the book wasn't initially, nor was Dante, Mendoza, Venus, or a couple other things, so never say never.
NH3: Whu...? Wait... Hush. HUSH, I SAY! Seriously, though, I tried to introduce the... foreshadowing... just so "it" doesn't come out of left field, and to show that there's a puppet and a puppetmaster. And now I've said too much.
Tetra: I you love cliffhangers, you'll fall head over heels over what I have planned for the next few chapters... [insert evil laugh]
(As a side note, this is officially the longest anything (story, essay, project, whatever) I've ever written. Yay, me.)
The Legend of Zelda:
Overlord of the Land
Chapter 8
The Feel-Good Turnabout
--Last time on "Overlord of the Land"...--
"Incoming!"
[BOOM!]
"[cough, cough] We can't go on like this. Please tell me you have a strategy, Link."
Tetra and Link, completely pitch-black and covered in soot, were hiding behind the rock formations the cave-like room provided them. They did not want to remain sitting around there, but they had no choice... not when they were stuck without a plan and not much to run to, as they had been ambushed by a pair of giant, one-eyed, bomb-hurling golems better known as:
Bombarding Cyclops Brethren
Hinox Twins
Link took a good look inside his item bag for any useful things he might've packed. He turned over to Tetra with a beamy smile on his face as he pulled out... his deku leaf. "Well, I think that is nice..." Tetra began calmly before forming a dead-serious stare, "... if you want to breeze those guys to death! Come on, think!" Dejected, Link stuffed the Deku leaf back in, and rummaged blindly into the bag. Then, he hit something solid, and promptly whipped it out. "Your Skull Hammer, eh?" Tetra wondered over the massive hammer. "You know that before you get close enough and swing it to one of them, you'll have bombs exploding all over your face, right?" Link sighed and threw the hammer into the bag before trying once more. He came upon a small, light item... perhaps this was it.
"Eh... the hourglass thing? Why are you still holding on to that?" Tetra asked Link, bewildered that he would bring such a useless item to battle. Link looked at the empty Phantom Hourglass and gave an odd shrug, being as confused as Tetra.
Feeling like options were running out, Link put his head into the bag to try and see what he was trying to find. Then, a muffled squeal of joy was heard before Link pulled his head out of the bag to triumphantly hold out his bow and arrows. "Of course!" Tetra exclaimed. "You can shoot them in the eye, which will blind..." Link promptly motioned Tetra to keep quiet. Evidently, he had a better idea than that. Alongside his bow, Link had also taken out his green Magical Glove. Once he swiftly outfitted himself with the enchanted glove, he powered up an arrow with the power of ice and aimed it right at one of the Hinox. Just then, the targeted Hinox caught wind of the situation, and pulled out a bomb, ready to launch. Link shot... and Hinox threw.
[Crackle!]
[BOOM!]
"[cough, cough, cough] Next time, warn me when they're throwing more bombs." Tetra complained as she peeled herself off the wall. After cleaning her face enough, she finds herself face to face with the ugliest, meanest, most frozen golem she's seen yet. "Hey, not bad. Now he's ripe pickings for the bombchus." Tetra delighted herself in her comanion's success. "Now, if you would please do it for the other one before he rams us silly with his charge attack!" Suddenly, Link looked towards the other Hinox, who was filled with rage by seeing his twin encased in an ice prison and began using the mightiest of his abilities, and it just so happens that he decided to charge straight towards the main attacker: Link. Shaken and stirred, but not beaten, Link powered up another ice arrow and aimed it at the Hinox, while the raging golem prepared another bomb for an apparent kamikaze attack.
[Crackle!]
...
And nothing else. As Link opened his eyes, he was within inches of a frozen-in-midair bomb, which considering the scratch on its side, it must have been grazed by the ice arrow on its way to the Hinox, who stood frozen right in front of him. After asserting that the bomb wouldn't blow up on his face, Link could finally sigh in relief.
"Wow, that was close, right Link?" Tetra taunted, almost too playfully so. "But then again, it wouldn't be exciting if it weren't like that." She then began walking away from their hiding spot, leaving Link wondering how could she take things so easily. "You might wanna get away from them, you know." Tetra warned her companion, while she held a bombchu on her hands, ready to be set off. Link rushed off the Hinox Twins' side just as the bombchu was let down to run its course to the frozen golems. The explosion of the suicidal mechanical rats triggered the latent bomb nearby, making an already won battle borderline overkill, shattering the Hinox Popsicles to pieces and blanketing that particular place in the cave white with ice.
"Don't you think we were a little... cold... with them?" Tetra asked Link, with a sly look on her face. This was only met with a rather annoyed stare by Link. "Ok, ok. No more puns. I get it. [sigh] Spoilsport." Tetra whined whilst she turned away from Link in a half-pout, making the adventurous one chuckle slightly.
Just then, a Heart Container appeared from within the icy remains, accompanied by an old key. Tetra shot a sly gaze at Link, and he responded her in kind. Suddenly, dust clouds formed at an alarmingly high rate as the short but intense race between captain and subordinate took place. Link reached forward with one final leap of faith while Tetra skidded the final inches away. When the dust clouds settled, the pair found themselves holding the same Heart Container, still complete and unscathed.
"Heh... These things can be so indecisive with that whole we-break-down-except-when-we-don't bit." Tetra joked lightly, having no visible resulting change in Link's demeanor despite his usual smile. She thought over things a bit, and slowly began to loosen her grip on the Container. "Well... I think you better hold on to it, anyway. It would make things even, as far as I can tell." Tetra finally let go of the Container, filling the air with an awkward silence for a few agonizing seconds. "So... yeah... You're welcome."
...
"I'm... gonna get that key now." Tetra announced -rather weakly at that- and turned away from her partner.
'What the heck happened back there?' Tetra mentally kicked herself for her uncharacteristically odd behavior. 'Since when did I start to lose it over the most trivial of matters? A crystal heart... ha! A key... ha! I phase not for these things. And...' She slowly turned around to sneak a quick glance at her partner. It seemed awkward behavior was contagious, as the boy in green was still holding onto that Heart Container, staring at it almost trance-like, as if deep in thought. '... And then there's him. He who I am stuck with until I fulfill this destiny thing or until either of us dies, whichever comes first. Link... heh, I still remember that first day, when we were on his home island. He wanted to hitch a ride on the pirate ship so bad to try and rescue his sister... It was just too much. He was so desperate, so confused, so ready to throw it all away... and yet so c... c... Come on! What's wrong with me? Get back in control, girl, get back in control.'
Just then, a loud whistling echoed from across the cave, beseeching Tetra's attention. Gonzo crept his elongated neck into its perilous entrance. "Oy! Miss Tetra! Link! Are you alright? You're pitch black and covered in soot!"
"Why, thank you, Gonzo. We hadn't noticed." Tetra sneered sarcastically. "Now throw us a line so we can get outta here." Then, as promptly as they were ordered, the pirates threw out a rope, tightening it around a stone pillar for added strength. As Tetra was being pulled out of the room, she noticed there was something not quite right. "Link? Where did Link..." Before she could finish the question, though, Link appeared from right behind her and swiftly grabbed hold of the very end of the rope. Tetra opened her mouth instinctively, yet any anger she could harbor passed on rather quickly.
"What was it, Miss Tetra?"
"Eh... Nothing. Pull us out."
--And now we return to your regularly scheduled reading.--
Sunshine blinded Tetra as she walked into the top deck of her ship. The sun glowed radiantly, half covered by the horizon, etching a rippling golden reflection upon the sea. "It's still early." She said absentmindedly. She had just woken up, still wearing her fire-red nightgown, her hair done on a loose ponytail to avoid excessive time making her bun. After a quick survey of the surroundings, she saw nobody on the top deck with her... not that she expected to, anyway. Last night's cave raid lasted way longer than they expected to, and they returned to the ship extremely tired and unable to even take off their boots. How she, who took the full burnt of the Hinox Twins attack, could be standing up at sunrise when the others were sleeping soundly was beyond her.
Tetra took a good, long look at Waarheid harbor, so very far away from her ship. Soon, shops should open, people will leave their homes, and daily life will begin for them. Meanwhile, she was trying to bring about a massive disruption in their way of living. She thought of this, and couldn't help but wonder why was she doing this? Of the lot of people she has been able to speak to, only the odd Miyahon had shown a true dislike to Emperor Dante's ways. Sure, he's seen as a threat to Dante, but if he's had some solid proof, where is this so-called "resistance", then? Was he alone in his efforts to overthrow the empire? Was it one of his wild fantasies concocted in that unbalanced mind of his? Was he, as Dante once put it so kindly, really a nutcase? She went through these things deeply in her mind and couldn't help but wonder, even for the slightest moment, whether all that she was doing was completely worthless. All that danger, all those monsters, the book's pages spread around in weird places... The only redeeming factor was the money, and they could easily get that through other means.
Was this worthless? Were the deities playing some soft of sick game, in which she was the unsuspecting pawn, and they would be having a laugh at all of her earnest efforts?
Just then, she felt something land gently on her shoulder. Tetra looked behind her and uttered a nearly-inaudible gasp when she saw Link looking back at her, a faint but sincere smile drawn on his face. On his right hand he had a yellowed piece of paper. As he handed the folded parchment, she could feel as though Link was somehow reading her mind. Old and tattered as the parchment looked, it was also official-looking, with a worn-out seal on a corner, and amidst the muddy writing she could make out the word "Waarheid". Tetra took the parchment from Link and began to read:
BY DECREE # 13054-A
OF THE GREAT EMPEROR DANTE
RULER AND OVERLORD OF THE LAND OF WAARHEID
FROM THIS MOMENT ON, ANY AND ALL ANTI-GOVERMENT
PROPAGANDA IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN BY LAW. ANY INDIVIDUAL
FOUND SPREADING ANTI-GOVERMENT SLANDER SHALL BE
ARRESTED ON THE SPOT AND SENT TO THE DUNGEONS,
WHERE HE OR SHE WILL AWAIT HIS/HER PROPER PUNISHMENT.
Tetra reread the official looking parchment, transfixed by its design. She passed a finger through the Seal of Waarheid at the bottom-right, just to make sure it was not just painted on.
"This... this was from that Miyahon guy?" Tetra asked, raising her gaze to meet Link's. He nodded once. "How did he get ahold of... So maybe he wasn't making all that up after all."
Tetra looked back down at the piece of parchment again, checking if it really meant what she thought it meant. When she looked back up, her face had transformed into her more familiar mischievous glare.
"I think it's about time we give the Emperor another little visit, don't you think?" She said. Link beamed at her, eager to get in on the action. "Wake the others. We got some planning to do." Link nodded and made a hasty retreat to the door leading to the lower decks.
"Link!" Tetra shouted before the kid in green opened the door. Link looked back at her quickly, making her stammer and hesitate slightly before clearing her throat to speak clearly. "Th... thanks." Link chuckled -not in mockery, Tetra understood, but in understanding- and waved her off as he disappeared behind the door.
The beginning of the day for the citizens of Waarheid was pretty normal. They normally woke up, they normally set about their business, cleaning their front yards, opening stores and schools, and doing very normal-like errands. They were complacent with their normal ways, so much that whenever something that was not normal, it would stick out like a sore thumb, making all the normal citizens to stand still and take notice. This was such a day, when amidst their normal preparations, a group of decidedly not-normal people came out seemingly from nowhere, tip-toeing conspicuously toward the town square, carrying around large duffel bags of stuff. People stood, quietly staring this odd crew and wondering whether circus was in town. The smallest one, a buck-toothed dirty blond guy with a blue handkerchief over his head looked back at the staring crowd and said: "Be vewy, vewy quiet. We'we difamatin' empewows. Eh-hehehehehehehehehehehe."
Once the group had settled themselves smack-dab in the middle of the plaza, they began building some sort of cone, aiming the wide part directly at the third floor of the Emperor's office. Bigger and bigger they built...
...
"Sir?"
"What is it, lieutenant?" Dante asked.
"B... behind you, sir..." The lieutenant pointed straight at the window behind the Emperor. Dante swiveled his chair to see the large cylindrical structure raising until it almost touched the window.
"Who the... Why is this...?"
Dante made to open the window, but before he could, it was blown open with an all too known voice, magnified several times over.
"Emperor Dante!" A young woman's voice echoed disturbingly loud, briefly deafening Dante off any other sounds. "This is your better speaking! I believe you know why I am here again! I'm throwing you an open challenge, right here, right now!"
Dante creaked his head just enough to see shimmering golden locks protruding from the smaller side of the cone. He was suddenly looking back at the daring face of the girl that made an unscheduled visit to his office a few weeks ago: the young pirate captain, Tetra.
"You say that everybody here loves you!" Tetra continued. "I think differently! You say all those bad things told about you were all slander and lies! I say they hit the nail on the head pretty well! You know what else I think? I think we oughta be wondering who died and made you emperor! I think this town should reevaluate all those draconian laws you have, starting with THIS!" She then held up the parchment she had. Immediately, her crew members started plastering copies of such decree all over the walls with fast-acting glue. Some of these posters also had "Dante drools" scribbled around the edges.
"HOW DID SHE GET THAT?!" Dante bellowed at his unsuspecting lieutenant, who could do little else than shrug fearfully and try and get some cover. "What else does she know?"
"What else do I know, you might ask? Well, why don't you come down here and ask me in my face! And while we're in it, you could sign this unconditional surrender!" She then pulled out a piece of paper which simply said: 'I QUIT. Signed: _______'
"GO!" Dante yelled out, furious at this outburst. "I want all soldiers to take them to the dungeons and do horrible, unspeakable things to them! Capture them by any means necessary! I want them out of MY country! NOW!" The lieutenant did not need to be told twice and bolted out of the Emperor's office as fast as he could to relay the instructions to the rest of the soldiers.
"And now it's when the fun begins." Tetra stated to her cronies. "Be ready for the onslaught. Now go to your positions."
"Yes, ma'am!" The crew said in unison and parted to different parts.
A set of soldiers began searching the north part of the city, and in no time they had a bead on one of the ruffians responsible. It was a tall, dark-haired fellow with a soul patch. He ran from the authorities, swerving left and right across streets, until...
"Dead end!" The first soldier shouted.
"We got 'im!" The second soldier expressed in deep satisfaction.
Nudge looked at the tall wall blocking him, then back at the three soldiers inching closer to him. He had to do something... something to stop them... to stop...
Suddenly he turned around to the wall and began counting. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, red light!" Nudge turned around to the soldiers, who seemed completely frozen in his gaze. Nudge's face gave one smug twist, complete with rising eyebrows. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, red light!" Nudge looked again. The soldiers were a little closer, but froze again, this time in weird positions. One of them looked like he was about to kick his partner's gut, for instance. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, red light!" Nudge looked back again. The soldiers were closer still, yet exhibited totally ridiculous stances. Nudge decided to walk over to the one that was standing by his very tippy toes. "So you're taking ballet now, uh?" He began teasing. The soldier did not budge, though. "Inventing a new dance craze? I mean, his arms say 'big, fat gorilla', but his feet say 'nancy-boy'. Where does it make sense?"
"Hey, you!" The soldier snapped at Nudge, wiggling a fat finger at the pirate's face. "Nobody calls me a..."
"Ooh, too bad, you moved. To the starting point with you. No whining, go on." Nudge reprimanded.
"Oh, man. Grumble, grumble." The outspoken soldier muttered under his breath as he walked right to the supposed starting point.
"1, 2, 3, red light!" Nudge looked back again. The soldiers were dangerously close now. He inspected the closest one, whose fingers were twitching involuntarily, as if trying to extend themselves to grab a hold of him. "Ok, ok. You win." Nudge said, letting the soldier touch his forearm. The other two soldiers relaxed from their frozen positions and began muttering joyfully. "Ok, you go there, on the wall, and we will race to get you first."
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, red light!" The soldier yelled out and looked back. He saw his partners frozen in place in mid-armpit-scratch... but Nudge was nowhere to be found. "Now where did he go?"
"Eh... I think we were supposed to arrest him." The third soldier said. To this, the first soldier muttered darkly under his breath.
"Step right up! Step right up!" One soldier overheard the commotion coming from a street corner. An open tent was pitched up rather hastily and it had attracted a healthy crowd. Inside the tent a prize game was set up, and none other than Niko was running it. "30 rupees per game. Three chances. Toss a ring to the bottles, and if you get one, you get a wonderful prize. Consolation prizes for you unlucky ones, too, so nobody loses! Step right up! Try your skill!"
"What's going on!" The soldier pushed his way to the front and confronted the small pirate, who looked nothing less than cheerful. "Who gave you permission to run this... this thing right in the middle of the street?"
"Oh, come on. Don't be such a spoilsport!" Niko retorted playfully, earning the quick approval of those around the tent. "It's just a harmless game. And to show you, I'll let you play one game for free. Limited timed offer, while supplies last, subject to availability, not available in Holodrum, results may vary, quid pro quo, deux ex machina." Niko slammed three metal rings on the table as he kept his fast talk all across the curious bystanders.
The soldier's glare shifted between the rings on the table and Niko right in front of him, wondering where the trick laid there. Hesitantly, he took the rings, weighted them, and decided to go through with the charade for the moment.
"Ooh, too bad." Niko said as the soldier missed his first ring so badly, one would think it was aiming at the next-door window instead. "Two more. You can do it."
The soldier was suddenly looking more concentrated on the game at hand, narrowing his eyes to try and choose a plausible target. He made a practice swing, then let go of the ring for real...
"Oh, so close." Niko commented, leading to a general "aww"-ing of the crowd.
The soldier was infuriated. He could feel victory so close... but her only had one more ring to go. It was now or never. He chose a cluster of bottles in the very middle as his target. It was bound to fall on one of those, he thought. He made a couple of practice swings to prevent himself from overshooting his target. His forehead was brimming with sweat, the onlookers were looking on anxious, Niko was whistling without a care in the world...
The ring flew through the air. For the briefest of times, it looked as though it would not reach the destination, but then a loud crystal 'CLANG' proved otherwise. The ring had latched on to a bottle neck, and, spinning wildly, began it's descent. The soldier was already raising his fists in victory, but then...
[THUD!][CLANG!]
The ring began rising again. In a gravity and inertia-defying stunt, the ring rose from the bottle neck and began swerving slightly to the left. Then with another 'CLANG' and a 'THUD', the ring dropped suddenly, falling between two bottles, straight into the ground.
The soldier and the crowd stood slack-jawed at the events. Niko, standing by a lever labeled 'magnet', simply shrugged and clapped slowly. "It was a decent try, Mr. Soldier, but you win some and you lose some. But that's all right, because you get the consolation prize!"
The soldier smiled lightly at this, and held his hands forward for this prize. "One free Chomp!" Niko announced, talking out a large, round, black beast with razor-sharp teeth. Upon seeing this, the soldier freaked, which prompted the Chomp to attack him viciously.
"Well, that's all the time I have for today. I will see you some other time, and until then, keep those rings spinning!" Niko said before throwing a large smoke bomb, blinding the witnesses. When the smoke cleared, the only thing left behind was a sign with one of the posters plastered on it and a crude drawing of Dante with "Dante drools" written below.
"Hmm... I think that's her."
The lieutenant that was on Dante's office before was hiding behind a fruit stand, taking the opportunity to try a stakeout move. Luckily for him, Tetra stumbled into his field of view, and her back turned to him, to boot.
"This is real good. I'll capture the leader, and the Emperor will definitely forgive me for earlier!" the lieutenant whispered to himself. "I may even get a promotion! This is just too good."
Very quietly, the lieutenant sneaked out of the fruit stand and started walking towards a Tetra that was enjoying a cute doggy chasing his own tail. Then, he quickly pulled out his sword, alerting Tetra, and gave one mighty swing.
Suddenly, Tetra's body started glowing purple.
[TWACK!]
The sword didn't even graze Tetra's clothes. Instead, the knockback made the lieutenant's arms severely shaky, making him drop his weapon. In reaction, Tetra's face looked so venomously angry it made the lieutenant double back.
"So... thought about doing me in?" Tetra sneered. She then began shoving him at every statement. "Thought about taking advantage of my blind side, huh? Have you no shame? Have you no decency? You thought you could get the easy way out. You probably thought that I was defenseless. Nothing more than a damsel in distress, right? Wrong. I am more than capable of defending myself. But I won't turn like a coward like you. I challenge you in a battle of gentlemen, and gentle-women, with established rules, stipulated situations and plenty witnesses to ensure a clean, fair fight. Now sit!"
When he dared look away from the scowling Tetra, he noticed he's been pushed into the corner of a boxing ring, complete with stands full of watchers. Before he could react, he was stripped of all his armor and weapons, and outfitted with two boxing gloves by Gonzo.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Senza shouted through a miniature version of the large cone. "Welcome to Classic Hyrulean Boxing! In this corner..." Senza stifled a laugh after seeing how puny the lieutenant looked without his armor. "In this corner... Heh... does he even have a name? Shows how important he is to this story. Anyway... The lieutenant!"
The lieutenant got up and waved at the crowd, only to get scattered applause.
"And in this corner..." Senza began, then his voice lowered in deep respect. "A lady who needs no introduction. Kind, benevolent, and just. Among sea-dogs, she stands on top. Slow to lose her cool, and fast to aid. When it comes to a healthy and fair rule, you can always, always, count on her. Ladies and gentlemen, the heir to the Throne of Hyrule, Miss Tetra."
"Thank you." Tetra said, taking her sweet time between sipping a soft drink to react. She stood up to wave at the crowd, who corresponded in a loud cheer.
"All right, boxers to the center of the ring." Senza called, and both Tetra and the lieutenant walked up to him. "I want a good, clean fight, ok? So... I want none of this!" He said as he poked the lieutenant's eyes. "None of this!" He pulled on the lieutenant's nose. "None of this!" He twisted the lieutenant's arm. "None of this!" He gave the lieutenant a wet willie. "None of this!" He kicked the lieutenant in the leg. "None of this!" He stomped the lieutenant's foot. "And definitely, none of this!" He pulled the lietunent's ear, dragging him to the ground.
"Hmm... So let me get this straight..." Tetra said, sounding intrigued. "I can't do nothing like this..." she said as she poked the lieutenant's eyes, "... or like this..." she pulled on the lieutenant's nose, "... or like this..." she twisted the lieutenant's arm, "... or like this..." she gave the lieutenant a wet willie, ... or like this..." she kicked the lieutenant in the leg, "... or like this..." she stomped the lieutenant's foot, "... or, definitely, nothing like this." She pulled the lieutenant's ear, dragging him to the ground.
"Nope." Senza said plainly.
"And how about this?" Tetra asked as she pulled out her grappling hook and tied his legs together, pulling him and making him fall flat on his back. Senza shook his head disapprovingly. "And this one's my favorite!" She said as she pulled the lieutenant back up, only to throw herself backwards, landing on her hands and kick him right on the chin, sending him right back to his corner.
"Nope. None of that." Senza said.
"Oh, well. Just checking." Tetra answered, walking back to her corner.
Senza climbed out of the ring and sat on the announcer's table. "At the sound of the bell..." He said, and promptly rang the bell. Tetra stood up with a spring to her step, while the lieutenant wobbled up. The lieutenant had barely managed to make a few strides forward before Tetra walked to him and pulled a mighty hook to his left temple, making the lieutenant fall down like a sack of wet mice.
"1, 3, 7, 9, Knockout!" Senza quickly counted. "The winner!" He announced as he raised Tetra's arm, as the crowd cheered loudly.
"So how are we doing?" Senza asked Tetra quietly.
"So far so good." Tetra answered. "I just hope Link can deliver what he promised."
"What are those idiots doing? They're running in circles again."
Dante paced around his office restlessly, often looking out the window to see how things were going. The results were not pretty, and his rough face was already stretched to its limits given the amount of times he passed his hands through it. Seeing the window hanging around by merely one hinge (thanks to that audio blast earlier) did not help matters either.
"My head's about to burst, and I haven't even had lunch. This day has been the worst ever."
Then, there was a light knock on the office's door. "Come in..." Dante said. A small man with bags in his eyes and pronounced sideburns wearing white clothes and a white-yet-slightly-stained apron came in. "Sir... Lunch is ready... in the dining room."
"Well, it's about time." Dante spat. He quickly left the office, giving one last glance at the scene outside the window, and headed for the dining room led by the small "cook".
Just as the door slammed shut, though, Link took a quick glance down and started to lower himself from his hiding position right above the window outside the office. As he busted his way inside, he noticed that the office was incredibly bare. Outside of some chairs, a table and Dante's desk, there was nothing of worth inside. Not even a painting where one would try and hide something on. He knew he had very little time, and he needed to make progress fast. He then remembered the last time he was here, soldiers came out of the walls, so there must be a way to open them and examine the rooms beyond. He examined Dante's desk, and sure enough, there was a pedal in the floor that, when Link pressed it, it made the walls on both sides of the office move. Despite the discovery, these small rooms only housed a couple of wooden chairs and a rickety table with a half-finished sandwich. Frustrated, Link began searching every wall, thinking there would be some sort of hidden secret to it. Finding nothing, Link began pacing the room, wondering what he had missed. The surge of frustration was enveloping him: he had so very little time, and there was nothing there that would help them. All the efforts of today came down to what he could find, and so far it was all for naught. Utterly helpless, he kicked the table, trying to vent off his anger.
Then, a mixture of feelings and sensations: a sharp, throbbing pain in his toes; a deep, full, wooden sound complete with a slight dragging sound; a sense of renewed wonderment and curiosity; the realization that there was more to the office than the surface. In a sudden stroke of genius, he pulled out his sword and ripped the table's fancy dressings away. Beneath it, a giant wooden crate labeled "TOP SECRET", sitting beneath a simple oval glass top. He took off the glass top and explored the crate's contents: papers, parchments, official documents... laws. Link's eyes lit up when he realized the depths of his discovery. Now, all that was left was figuring out how to move this hefty crate.
"Over here, sir..." The squat 'cook' led Dante into a chair on the dining room and seated him quickly before disappearing behind the door. Dante sat quietly, yet impatiently, waiting for the food to be delivered, and checking the cleanliness of the utensils. Suddenly, the door slammed open and a small 'cook' with broken owl-shaped glasses came in and hurried to the table with a covered plate.
"Here you are, sir. Enjoy." the 'cook' hastily said and set the plate on the table before disappearing a moment later. Dante did not take notice of the hurried manner of the cook's behavior. After all, the stomach ruled at that moment.
"Man, I am so hungry I could eat an..." Before Dante could finish speaking, an odd tentacle sneaked out of the covered plate. Shocked but curious, Dante flipped out the the cover to find a large octorok squished inside. The octorok suddenly extended its slimy extremities and grabbed Dante in a tight squid-hug.
"ARGH!" Dante yelled as he struggled to get out of the octorok's grip. "I am SO over exotic food!"
"I've been thinking..." Senza said to Tetra, once most of the crew had reunited in their selected meeting place near a drab fountain, "Don't you think some of us... you know, the big guys, should have gone with Link and helped him? Just in case?"
"Nope." Tetra stated plainly. "I need you guys to flank me. I'm the captain, and I need my muscle close by. Besides, Link had a plan, and considering his track record, compared to yours..." She said as she shot a judging glare at her crew, "I trust him."
Just then, a light stomping sound was heard from up north. The stomping was steady and grew closer and closer. Then, out of the thick trees in the park, a large crate was hopping steadily towards them. On top of it, Link sat calmly, Wind Waker baton in hand. Whenever Link flicked the baton up, the crate would hop forward, and whenever he twisted the baton, the crate would turn in that direction. Upon seeing this sight, the pirates exchanged looks of amazement and bewilderment, mouths agape and fingers pointing weakly. Tetra was particularly surprised, so much that she could not hide her glee. It wasn't her usual tenacious smile, it was something more pure, more "childish", as she would say herself. Strange, considering nobody other than Link himself knew what was inside that crate, but Tetra, looking straight at Link, somehow knew as well. Turning over to Senza, her face slowly turned back to her smarmy gaze as she reiterated: "He hasn't failed me yet."
"You mean that's..." Gonzo interjected, pointing at the approaching crate. "How do you...? You never mentioned a crate before."
"RUN!"
The sudden shrill scream came as a shocking reminder of where they stood. Any sort of good feeling the pirates might have had immediately left them as they recognized the owner of the voice. It was Mako, running like a madman towards them.
"He's coming! The octorok didn't stand a chance! I saw it, how he blasted it! I tried to lure him off, but he's too good!" Mako made a mad dash towards the Pirates' meeting place and hid behind Gonzo, who was nearest to him. Behind Mako, a large, hulking figure approached, getting the more able members of the pirate crew on point. As it came closer, Dante could be noticed, seething and still trying to take off pieces of fried octorok from his clothes.
"That's my crate." Dante declared. "I want it. Now."
"This crate?" Tetra asked, pointing at the crate right behind her. "This crate we captured through controvertible courses of conduct? Care to cease your callous, cross crusade, could you? I don't see your name on it, anyway."
Dante pointed straight at the crate in response. Tetra turned around curiously and noticed a large sign on the crate that read: "PROPERTY OF EMPEROR DANTE. SWIPERS, NO... JUST DON'T."
Tetra turned back around, sporting a toothy grin and raising her arms in a mock-shrug. "Well... That could be any Dante. It's a pretty common name, you know. Why, in my line of work, I know at least 3 Dantes. One of them really loves to use guns and swords at the same time, the weirdo."
Dante was not amused.
"Ok, look." Tetra stated while ripping off a piece of singed Oktorok off Dante's suit. "If you have some sort of bizzarro nostalgic attachment to the crate, I won't take it from you. But if you're so stuck on a grimy old wooden box, then boy, do you have problems."
"I have a problem, alright." Dante said, staring down Tetra's skull. "And it's with you, of all things. You make a mockery of my army, you question my rule, you parade around my country like you own the place, and you think that your little parlor tricks will make me step down. You say you have me cornered, yet it is you who is trapped. I'll warn you only one time: This?" He said while waving at his scowling face. "This is nothing. You've yet to see me really angry. You wanna see me when I get really angry?"
"Try me." Tetra said. "I'd love to see you try. Because you don't even know who I am, right? Do you even wonder why I'm here in the first place?" Tetra stared up to Dante's mug defiantly, while Link, having caught wind of Tetra's words, groaned and facepalmed preemptively. "I am the heir to Hyrule's throne, called forth by the goddesses themselves." Link's stunned face said it all. He cleared his ears to see if he was hearing right, but there was no mistaking: Tetra was definitely coming to grips with her own identity. "You say you get bad when you get angry? Go ahead. I've battled worse. Can you really do better than that lousy shallow-water pirate Mendoza? Come on. Make my day."
"Why you little..."
"NO!"
The shrill cream rang out from nowhere, interrupting the tension of the confrontation. Out of an (apparently) abandoned building, Miyahon reared his head and began flailing his arms around wildly. "You will NOT take another one on my watch! Take this!" He suddenly whipped out a bomb and lit it, throwing it with tremendous force towards Dante.
And the bomb flew.
Right above Dante's head.
Overshot by roughly 30 feet.
Landing on the drab fountain.
Which was full of water.
"Nice arm." Niko commented.
"Poor aim, though." Mako added.
Suddenly, the fountain blew up to smithereens, thanks to the resilient bomb. Debris, dust and water combined to make a thick, dangerous fog that painted everything in its vicinity a thick shade of gray. There was coughing everywhere, women screaming, men yelling, and general chaos everywhere one could see. Amidst the shades of gray, though, a small, bright golden glow pierced through the fog.
"What is that?" Gonzo said, being the first to notice it.
Eventually, the whole of the pirate crew was looking towards what was once the site of a nice-looking, oddly-placed, seemingly worthless fountain. Link braved forward before everyone else, his curiosity overcoming any sense of incoming danger that the golden whatever-it-is could bring. As he began wiping it off, the golden glow became more and more apparent, until its grand color could be seen from a distance. It was a golden stone slab, similar in shape to a tombstone, adorned with the crest of the Royal Family of Hyrule (A bird with its wings around the Triforce), and bearing an inscription:
We
DIN, NAYRU and FARORE
Golden Goddesses who created and watch over the Land of Hyrule
in full knowledge that the curse brought upon Hyrule
by the Evil King Ganondorf and Ourselves to be final and irreversible
that even revival by power of the Triforce, stoic in its wish-granting, would not heal it
have chosen this vast expansion of earth and set it aside to become
NEW HYRULE
to be ruled only by a worthy heir to the Throne of Hyrule,
to be ruled only under the blessing of us, the three Golden Goddesses,
to be ruled fairly and just, under peace, for prosperity of the kingdom,
and may no deterrent prosper in their attempts to destroy Hyrule's future.
May the ancient guide of the Light Force be of help to you, Princess.
Tetra read and re-read the inscription carefully, making sure she understood fully what it meant. The shock would simply not leave her face. Her mind wandered briefly to that morning, where she was drowning in her doubts so much she seriously considered leaving the whole thing behind. Now, here was complete, tangible proof that she was not being tricked, and that everything she's been working for so far has not been a waste. Her shock slowly turned into a smile as a nearly inaudible laugh escaped her.
"This is it." Tetra whispered. "This is it!" She repeated, louder. "This is it! This is it! This..."
"This is undoubtedly proof that this is the new Hyrule, Miss Tetra." Mako said. "This proves we've been on the right path so far."
"HA!" Tetra shouted suddenly, pointing dramatically at Dante. "In your face! You probably even tried to hide this with that stupid fountain of yours, but look! Even with a point-blank explosion, this slab remains unscathed. Not a single piece broke. No dust endured on it. What does that tell you? I'll help you here. It tells you your days are counted, 'Emperor' Dante. Don't get comfy in your chair, because this?" She said as she pointed to her underlings. "This demonstration we did today was merely the tip of the iceberg. We're getting ready, and next time we get ashore, you'll have two choices, and two choices only: either submit to us and disappear forever, or be ready for war. The time for diplomacy is past. Can your vain pride hold you to the end? Or will you fall with a great and mighty thud? Ante up." She then stared defiantly at Dante with her best smug glare before motioning her crew to fall back. "And yes, you can have your stupid crate back."
Dante looked, flabbergasted yet seething, at the pirate crew parading towards Waarheid harbor, still letting Tetra's little speech sink in. "Well..." he started muttering to himself, "I think she just sealed her fate within this country." He then went towards the wooden crate and inspected it. "Harrumph... empty. Why am I not surprised?"
"Heh... full." Tetra commented, after setting sail away from Waarheid, upon seeing the pirates and Link holding seven spoils bags filled to the brim with papers. "Why am I not surprised? Way to step up your game, boys. Now, Mako, I'll ask you to sort those out, and bring me a report when it's ready. Good job today, gentlemen." And with that, she dismissed them.
Before leaving, though, Link walked over to Tetra and called her attention by clearing his throat lightly. Tetra turned over to see what Link wanted, only to be met by a yellowed piece of paper that looked as if it were ripped from somewhere. "Is this... a page from the book?" Tetra asked. Link nodded. "And this was inside Dante's crate?" She asked again, and Link nodded in kind. Tetra took the page from Link and examined it. "The Light Force... innate to the women of the... this explains what was written on the slab back on land. I'll bet anything that Dante knows a lot more than he's letting on."
Tetra turned back to Link, who was smiling at her. She then felt that a smile was creeping up involuntarily on her face, and no matter how much she tried, she could not wipe the silly smile off, so she just turned away to stare to the ocean. "Eh... thankyouLinkyoucangonow." she hastily said. Link took a good glance at Tetra's face, noticing a faint hint of red just under her eyes. He gave a slight playful chuckle at this before waving goodbye and going below deck... followed by the rest of the pirate crew.
"Yeah, just leave that there, Link." Mako said as he began sorting the huge amount of papers on his 'desk', a small wooden crate on its side so Mako could slip his feet comfortably in. Link set his spoils bag beside him and proceeded to leave... when Gonzo stepped in front of him.
"Hey there, casanova." Gonzo said with a certain teasing tone in his voice. Link did not understood what he meant by it. Nobody in the ship was named casanova, at least as far as he knew. "Yeah, Link, you. Did you think we haven't noticed what's going on between you and Miss Tetra?"
"The words." Nudge said.
"The looks." Senza added.
"The moments." Zuko commented.
"The tension. Oh, dear Din, the tension!" Niko squealed.
"Don't play dumb with us and tell us if there's something between you two." Gonzo said sternly.
"They've been alone..." Zuko said stoically.
"Have they now?" Senza commented. "What have they been doing?"
"Oh, I can't believe this is happening." Nudge said. "And I remember when she was just a little kid."
"The tension. Oh, dear Din, the tension!" Niko squealed.
As the comments were being uttered, Link's mouth opened more and more and his face turned redder and redder. He could not believe what he was being bombarded with. Questioning him about a possible more-than-professional relationship with his captain? Somehow, though, he could not deny the possibility. There was the fact that he was more or less stuck to Tetra until the destiny of New Hyrule was fulfilled, which gave them plenty of time together. Before that, there was the time he risked life and limb to find her, and then to rescue her from her stony prison. Even going back to that first time at the fairy woods, morbid as it may seem now, he could not help but stop and look up and notice how cute that -at the time- unknown unconscious girl looked.
And with every thought that reared into his mind, his face turned even redder, a feat proving more difficult by the second.
"Oh, stop it, the lot of you!" Mako's voice rang out from behind the mountain of papers. He slid out of his box and began walking towards the commotion, his eyes fixated on Link and assessing his general condition. "Look at the poor guy. He's speechless! Would you like to be hounded like that if it was you?"
"Well, I... OW!"
"Sorry, man." Gonzo said, after elbowing a willing Nudge. "It's just... well... She's our captain, but she's like family. We've seen her grow... well, not Niko, he's quite new... from a small child to the young woman she is now. We care about her, her well being, her happiness... you get it, right?"
Link nodded slowly, taking a good, nervous look around his pirate comrades. While they had mellowed out, they still sported smiles and intrigued faces. Niko's in particular had seen little change.
"So..." Senza began. "You had any plans?"
If Link's face had normalized ever so slightly in that short interim, it was all for naught, as it had turned so red you could mistake it for a tomato. Plans? What kinds of plans would Senza be talking about.
"Ever thought of doing something nice?" Niko suggested. "How about taking her out?"
"Flowers, chocolate, dinner..." Zuko added.
"If I may," Mako interjected, "You should take it a bit slower."
"Yeah, maybe start with a nice gift and a card." Nudge suggested. "You know, handmade cards are alw..."
"I meant you guys." Mako scowled at the rest of the crew, then turned to Link. "You haven't even told us anything. Do you think..." Suddenly, Mako's tongue twisted and turned into a knot, making him incapable of properly expressing his thoughts. "... Miss Tetra... I mean to say... Do you find... Fancy a... an' I..."
"I think what Mr. Flustered wants to ask is if you like Tetra?" Niko blurted out.
Link was taken aback by the question. Of course he liked Tetra... that is to say the whole experience of living at sea, under Tetra's leadership. Otherwise, he would've never left Outset Island with them after rescuing his sister and resolving everything he was mixed up on back then. It took him a short while, but he nodded to answer the question.
"But... do you like like her?" Niko drilled further.
"What is this, some childish playground game?" Gonzo said, exasperated. "'Do you like like her?' That has to be the most insipid line of questioning I have ever heard in my life, and I've heard quite a few." He served himself to a small box and sat himself right in front of Link. "Now, Link, there's no need to be ashamed when it comes to matters of the heart. Just take a moment, look inside yourself, and eventually you will know what your feelings are. It may not seem logic or to have much reason, but these things often come *snap* just like that! Now, do you believe there is something there, more deep that a feeling of gratitude or simple friendship or respect, that you may harbor for Miss Tetra? Think, and look deep, since sometimes, these things could be hidden deep, buried under the shame and silly machismo we men seem to covet, but it might just be there. Now if it isn't, we won't pursue this any further, but if it is..."
When Gonzo took a dramatic pause to look directly at Link, he was met with a vacant, lost look on the poor youth's face. Gonzo wasn't sure, But Link probably lost him about halfway through.
"What Mr. Bigword is trying to say is if you like like her?" Niko blurted out, much to Gonzo's chagrin.
Link was no less shocked about this, despite that they were already knee-deep on the subject. Before his face could turn colors other than red, he turned around to face the wall and, seeking shelter in the fact that nobody was looking at him eye-to-eye, shut his eyes for some good old introspective examination. He knew he liked Tetra's company, but was there something more? Beyond the facades, the gratitude, the work ethic, beyond the concepts of destiny and legend, beyond the forces of good and evil, deities, holy objects and anything else that might bind them in any strange way... could there be a seed? A seed that, given the time and opportunity, could blossom into something bigger and grander? A seed, bearing only one name, one face, and seeking only one type of food to grow?
Link turned back around to his still curious shipmates... but he did not say a word, nor did he nod. He merely looked everywhere but the guys' faces while rubbing the back of his neck, his face red with realization and his heart beating so hard he thought everyone was hearing it.
"I think we'll take that as a yes." Gonzo said.
Tetra was sitting on the top deck, her back to the main mast. It was unusually calm above deck, but somehow, she didn't mind it. It gave her a bit more time to reflect upon that day's actions and her next destination, as well as the page Link had given her. It was odd, in how one page held so much food for thought, and how much it could potentially impact on her quest.
Meanwhile, six sets of eyes crept from the door leading below deck, looking around for any suspicious behavior.
"Now remember what we discussed." Senza whispered to Link. "Gonzo's slowly moving the ship towards land, at which point you just need to approach Miss Tetra and lead her out, got it?"
Link nodded nervously. His mind kept running around about how weird things have turned out, considering how easy it was to stand by Tetra's side all these years, but it was becoming so very hard to even approach her at this very moment. Link gripped the door handle with such force that it was starting to creak and rattle violently.
"And don't worry." Nudge reassured the green nervous wreck. "We'll be behind you."
"One-hundred percent." Zuko added.
Link could see the first patches of land coming from the horizon. If he really wanted to do this, it had to be now. He once held the Triforce of Courage, all he had to do is remind himself how he felt as its power helped him traverse the most dangerous perils. He opened the door to the deck, sporting the best smiling, confident face he could muster, took a step out and basked on the fact that, due to the nature of it being a slightly cloudy day, the rays of the sun that edged from the clouds gave the day a surreal, ethereal tone. He slowly but surely began to strut towards the main mast, until he stood right in front of Tetra.
"Just leave the food on my desk, I'll be down soon." Tetra said absentmindedly. She then looked up and noticed it was Link standing -in a difficult-to-notice odd stance- in front of her. "Oh, Link." She said in a subdued voice, making Link's posture falter. "Did you want something?"
Link was about to hightail it out of there, but he just knew he couldn't, so he reminded himself to brave it out, just like when he held the Triforce of Courage. He looked down to Tetra, who was still sitting, cleared his throat rather loudly, and...
"What happened, man?" Nudge asked a poor, pathetic looking Link, crouched in a corner, who was trying to bury his face inside his cone-shaped cap. "You didn't even do so much as utter a whimper, and walked right back inside. Come on, Link. You have to do this."
Link responded by shaking his head furiously. He thought of the time he had the Triforce of Courage, and remembered it only truly worked when he was in dangerous situations. The Triforce of Courage never prepared him in the case he had to face a female.
"You know you're lucky she didn't follow you." Mako said. "But she's probably noticed we're heading to land, and Gonzo's going to have to answer for that. You agreed to this, so it's now or never."
Link let go of his cap as he tried to control his overacting nerves. If he was really decided to at least try something out, he needed control. He needed to have his thoughts in order. He needed to not fall to pieces and make a total fool out of himself (partial fool was okay, though). He stood up and turned towards the door, gaining confidence every step he took forward. Just was his chest was inflated with confidence and security, he touched the door handle... and it creaked and rattled violently as he deflated spectacularly.
"Gonzo!" Tetra yelled at the direction of the bridge.
"Y... Y... Y... Yes... Miss Tetra?" Gonzo answered nervously, particularly because he could not see Link anywhere on deck.
"Why are we approaching land?" Tetra asked. The question was not answered, however, as the door that led below deck was slammed open, causing a loud crash as it slammed into the wall. On the frame of the door stood Link, breathing heavily, his eyes bloodshot with a desperate look on his face, and his feet trembling at the mere idea of moving. "Eh... Link?" Tetra managed to say before Link started screaming and running at her. Before she could fully realize what was happening, Link made the briefest of eye contacts, communicating in that passing look that there was more to his actions than that raving attitude gave in, then immediately grabbed Tetra's hand tightly and continued running straight out to shore. "What is going !!!?" Tetra screamed as she was dragged off her ship.
"Eh..." Senza stood for a moment, trying to find the right words for the situation. "Do... you think he may have laid it on a bit too thick there?"
"...Maybe." Mako said.
"We stink at being cupid wannabes." Niko stated.
"No doubt." Nudge concurred.
Despite the initial bad start, Link knew almost exactly what he wanted to do: Spend some time without worrying about anything regarding their quest, the book or its pages, the New Hyrule, the ship, the sea... nothing stress-inducing. It was just gonna be him and Tetra, together. That's all that mattered for now, and he wanted to make sure of it.
They walked for a short while, going through a patch of trees, without saying a word. Link was just too nervous to even give more than a passing glance at Tetra, while Tetra was still confused, though she had an inkling by the way Link simply refused to let go of her hand. Finally, they had reached a familiar location: the clearing they first crossed to get to Waarheid a few weeks ago. It was as idyllic and beautiful as it was before: Trees were scattered about, bearing a variety of fruit; flower beds of different colors, some extending ridiculously far away; ponds glimmering, enclosed by circles of trees and bushes and housing some fishes, frogs and birds, among others... even the grass stood out with its healthy green hue and its soft touch. And to top it all off, everything was illuminated wonderfully by the rays of the sun filtered through the clouds, giving everything a golden, vivid tone.
Link took a moment to let all this sink in, letting it all work on him, making all his nerves vanish and turning his nerve-wracking face into a solid smile. Finally, he let go of Tetra's hand, if only to step a few paces ahead.
"Uh... This is nice and all..." Tetra began, while rubbing her newly-freed hand to regain some of its feeling and watching Link squatted by a flower bed. "But I still don't know why we're here. Why don't we go..."
Suddenly, Link stood up and motioned Tetra to keep quiet by holding his index finger up. On his other hand, he held a daisy flower. Slowly -almost timidly so- he raised his hand and presented the flower to her. Tetra could not help but smile as her eyes were transfixed on the bright white flower, and mouthed something that might as well have been an expression of thanks. When she raised her hand to grab the flower, though, Link pulled it back and pulled up his free hand, to let her know to wait. Link took one step towards Tetra and raised his hands towards the left side of her head. Taking a step back, he marveled at how a single flower etched to Tetra's hair brightened her face. To help her see (As Tetra kept trying to see with her own eyes), Link led her to a nearby pond so she could look at her reflection. The look on her face was absolutely priceless: the sheer childlike mesmerized smile was a total contrast to her usual rough-n-tough attitude, but her mind was just reminding her of how few times she's ever gotten a flower, and having one on her hair was unheard of. It was just a simple daisy, but to her, it was more that that.
Taking the opportunity of being so close to the local fauna, Link pulled out his bait bag and sprinkled some all-purpose bait on the water. Almost immediately, a couple of frogs emerged and swallowed the bait like nobody's business. He then passed the bag to Tetra so she could have a try at it. While not particularly interested, She took the bag and threw some bait at the water. Then, a swarm of small fishes hounded the red food in a comically cute fashion, thrashing about and jumping off the water, even causing some of the splash to catch Tetra's face, ensuing light laughter from both of them. Then, Tetra had a wild idea. Hearing the chirping of many birds around them, she looked around the nearby trees as she stood back up with a few fistful of bait on her hand. Then, with all the strength she could manage, she threw the bait up into the air. The birds must have had finely honed hearing, or they were just really attentive to what "those people" were doing, since as soon as the bait was released, birds of all kinds, from the big to the tiny, shot out from their perches to grab a piece of food from midair. The spectacle of feathers and colors -from brown to red to yellow to white to blue to gray- dancing right on top of Link and Tetra was awe-inspiring, however short it lasted.
At this point, it was safe to notice how into this Tetra was getting. Her face was a mixture of her usual devious smile and a purer, more innocent look. Though some part of her brain was constantly telling her just how inane, insipid, ridiculous and worthless all this was, another part, which grew louder and louder, simply told her to relish every single moment for all they were worth. Listening to that other voice, Tetra sped out of the pond area laughing, and turning around to tease Link by sticking her tongue at him. For the briefest of moments, Link thought Tetra was running away to the ship, but when he turned around, his worries were quelled, and he even cranked a smile as he sprinted to give her chase. When she saw this, Tetra gave a small shriek and began running away, towards the more open parts of the meadow. She ran admirably, but Link proved that all that time adventuring was not for naught, as he was gaining on her little by little. When it looked like Link was about to catch up to Tetra, though, the pirate leader just stopped and stepped to the side... while sticking a leg out. Link fell down very clumsily straight to the (thankfully) soft grass.
No sooner had Link rolled around did Tetra grabbed a hold of his right leg. Sporting a devilish look on her face, Tetra began trying to take off Link's boot, to which he started screaming in terror and shaking his head wildly, while trying to fend her off with his hands that barely reached her hair. Eventually, Tetra pulled on Link's boot's straps and successfully pulled the tough footwear off, after which she started working on his left boot. Link tried, but trying to stop such determination was an exercise in futility. Eventually, Tetra was hanging both of Link's boots over her head as a sign of victory. Link stood up, mildly annoyed by the situation, but he somehow did not care much. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he was having way too much fun to care. Or maybe it was because the grass brought up perfect comfort on his toes. When Tetra noticed that Link was not trying to chase her for the boots, her smile faded and she looked over to Link to see what was holding him back. When she approached him, Link was just looking down to her feet, seeing himself wiggle his toes through the grass underneath. Link then raised his gaze at Tetra, who looked slightly confused, and smiled.
Before long, Tetra's sandals laid alongside Link's boots beside a large rock formation, seemingly abandoned.
After climbing up a tree, Link grabbed a pair of oranges and offered one to Tetra, who gladly accepted it. They sat together on the highest branch that could sustain them, which just so happened to sport a small view to the so-called 'Abandoned Castle'. It was quite tall, by the looks of it... about three floors, if one would hazard a guess, and very comparable (for what they could see) to the Old Hyrule Castle and the castle drawings that were in the hyrulian book. The faded blue tiles on the roof looked worn from time, something that, if they could notice it from afar, definitely needed some immediate fixing if that were really to become New Hyrule's castle.
Tetra jumped down from the tree effortlessly, and deciding to take the lead again, whistled at Link to come down and follow her. After a quick trip through the meadow, they ended up at the same rock formation where their footwear lay. Tetra examined the edges where the earth met the rock carefully, until she suddenly sank lower than usual. She motioned Link to come along, and suddenly, that small dip turned into a massive tunnel. It was one of the 'rat holes' that her crew had discovered on their first visit to Waarheid. Link was well aware of where they ended up in, and gave Tetra a not-so-amused look.
"Oh, all right." Tetra confessed. "So maybe I wanna see how's the city after we left. So what? I know what you're trying to do, but I promise we won't stay long. Besides, I think I saw a place we can go to. So come on. It'll be fun."
By 'fun', Link knew that Tetra usually meant 'fun at the expense of someone else'. He knows, since he's lived it before, from being launched inside a barrel to open sea just for laughs, to having his green tunic dyed shocking pink and yellow and being forced to wear it all day. He was just thankful this time 'someone else' did not mean him, so he decided to come along and see what could happen.
After asserting that no one was actively searching for them, Link and Tetra climbed out of a loose floor tile. Strangely, it looked like nothing had changed... well, outside from a blocked-off place covered with a large wooden crate -Dante's, it seemed- where the fountain used to be. Tetra called Link over and she grabbed his hand to lead him to where she wanted to go. After running through a few side-streets and crossing the park, they ended up in front of Coco's Cocoa, a restaurant where, as the slogan said, there was a hint of chocolate and love in every meal. Tetra made to enter, but Link stopped her as he pointed to a sign in front of the shop: 'No shoes, no shirt, no service.' They both looked at each other, then took a gaze down: they were still barefooted. They thought about such a predicament for a few moments, before deciding to go in anyways.
The scent of chocolate assaulted their senses immediately after entering the restaurant, making their taste buds crave for a piece of some chocolate-infused food. They sat on a slightly out of the way table for two and ordered two cups of hot cocoa, a couple of chocolate chip cookies, two plates of breaded pork chops dipped in chocolate sauce, and a brownie (to split). Link looked greatly amused as Tetra struggled with the hot drink. Apparently, she hasn't had the opportunity to drink a lot of hot drinks in the life, considering how she gnawed on the cookie ferociously in a vain attempt to find something to cool down her tongue. When Tetra found out that Link was staring at her with a silly smile plastered on his face, she became flustered and frustrated, and decided on a whim to down the rest of the hot cocoa in one go, and then giving Link the best smug face she could give (though her watering eyes told a completely different story).
The pork chops were next. Link immediately knew what the shop's slogan was about: That pork's chocolate coating was not all over it, it merely enhanced and complemented its natural flavors and the other seasonings. The cooking was second-to-none as well, as the piece he had was juicy and tender, and any bones it may have had were meticulously removed. In short, it was... it was... it was...
Link's eyes widened. For some reason, he just couldn't eat another bite. The lone piece of half-eaten pork reminded him of another situation he had years ago with his once-neighbors on his childhood island. Suddenly, 'it was delicious' took a whole new meaning before Link's eyes.
The pair decided to save the brownie for later, and left the place after paying (they wanted to skedaddle before the waitress noticed they didn't leave a tip). Halfway through the trip out, however, they came across the back of the burly visage of Emperor Dante himself, most likely doing a follow-up on their earlier incident. Both Tetra and Link quickly reacted by jumping into the nearest back alley and squeezing up together as much as possible to avoid being detected. In the back alley, they could just see Dante talking with a few high-ranking officers, as well as some carriages, some loaded with construction stuff, others with military equipment. While they could not hear what Dante was talking about, Tetra was not really interested in it. "If only I had something to mess with him..." she lamented.
Suddenly, Link snapped his fingers, signaling an idea. It took some, considering how close they had to be, but eventually Link pulled out around three bombchus. He presented the idea to Tetra with a smile, and she responded in kind. Thus, Link wound up the first bombchu and gave it directions before setting it down. The bombchu started climbing the wall next to Link and Tetra and disappeared from view as it ran through the roof. When it came back to view, the pair cold see it approaching one of the carriages from a completely unrelated location to where they were hiding, ensuring nobody could react in time to stop it. The explosion and the debris flying were spectacular. In the midst of the confusion, Link gave Tetra a bombchu while he wound up his second one. The explosive mice climbed up opposite walls and disappeared, only to come out from very odd locations, having one of them approach Dante rather dangerously, and finally explode two more carriages. Dante's reaction was priceless, with copious amounts of swearing and incoherent yelling, making the soldiers nearby run around aimlessly. Tetra had to clasp her mouth with her hands to avoid guffawing loudly at the ridiculous manner in which Dante reacted to the explosions.
Using an equal mix of stealth, abusing the environment to their advantage and sheer luck, Link and Tetra managed to re-enter the 'rat hole' and return to the meadow they were originally. The day was coming to a close, as the sun's influence was becoming less and less, and the first star had already climbed into the sky.
"Hey." Tetra said to Link, standing side-by-side to him and looking at him sideways with a sincere, innocent-looking smile. She spoke in a soft tone so unlike her usual self. "There's somewhere I wanna go before we wrap up today. You know... If you'd like to."
There was no need telling Link twice. If there was something missing from today, it was a good finishing touch. He nodded with a smile on his face the whole way through, and then they walked side by side out of the meadow, through the patch of trees, and towards the beach.
If there was a piece of land that Tetra truly loved, it was the beach. The soft, shifting sand under her bare feet; the gentle, everlasting breeze blowing though her hair and fluttering her vest; the harmony of the cries of the seagulls and the crashing waves bringing beautiful music to her eyes... The beach was always a great source of joy for her.
"You know," Tetra started, while staring straight at the ocean, "I had a childhood fantasy once. I always dreamed of having a house by the sea, where I could always come down to the beach anytime I wanted. There I would raise my family and live happy for the rest of my life, because that's all I really wanted."
Link stood right beside her, capturing every word said by his captain with rapt attention. He felt this was a good time to lend an ear and help out as well as he could.
"This day started lousy for me, you know." Tetra said, finally facing Link. "I may look like a strong individual, full of confidence and stuff, but sometimes the doubts hound me with no real end in sight. Sometimes I look back at something I just did and wonder, 'did I do things right?' Yeah, I have my pirate upbringing and my intuition to help me, but sometimes, I just can't help but wonder."
Link nodded in understanding. He motioned Tetra to sit down in a nearby log, to which she promptly accepted.
"And then... well, you showed up." Tetra continued, rather matter-of-factly. "It's almost as if every time something's going on, you show up. Really. But you... you brightened my day. You gave me a reason to not slump on my chair one more day while I wonder what should we do next. You may not know it," Tetra said while looking straight at Link's face, "but you may have saved me more times than you think you have."
Link smiled and tried to handwave all that gratefulness, but from the looks of Tetra's slightly blushing face, This was a tough thing to simply brush aside. Eventually, an awkward silence settled in. The pair resorted to staring into the ocean and see as the stars came out of hiding one by one as the night grew darker.
"It's getting kinda cold, don't you think?" Tetra said as she felt herself shivering. She was rather ill-equipped for the cold breeze blowing about. "How about we start a fire? I'll gather some stones, and you get us some firewood." And they separated, gathering the items needed as quickly as their hands and the cold allowed them to go. When the stone ring was ready, Link set the firewood inside and started rubbing two pieces together. "Wait, you don't have your bow?You could just shoot a fire arrow inside and..." Link quickly shook his head to stop Tetra's line of thought. The only thing he brought, outside of bombchus, was the magical glove, which he was wearing on his right hand to at least protect one arm. "And you brought that glove? Well... I do hold on to mine, just in case..." Tetra confessed as she pulled out her blue glove out of a vest pocket, she decided to put in on her left hand to at least mirror Link's initiative. Seeing Link struggle with the wood was starting to get on Tetra's nerves, something she did not care to hide. "You know what, give me the wood here. I'll show you how to..."
At that moment, Tetra's left hand touched Link's right hand... and sparks flew. Lots of sparks. Magical sparks, at that. These sparks found their way to the firewood, making the fire erupt into a seven-foot tower. "Whoa." Tetra managed to sat after the initial shock of the towering flames died out. "Did... did the gloves do that?" She pointed at her blue glove for example, to which Link could only give a small shrug. He simply knew about as much as her... that is to say, nothing. For safety, though, he took off his glove and returned it to his bag.
"This might as well be one of the best moments of my life, you know." Tetra said while throwing her head back to stare directly at the stars. "Just... forgetting about everything, if only for one moment, and enjoy life. It's all been work, maintaining a ship and stuff... I can't really remember the last time I got away from it all like this." Her eyes then shifted into a thoughtful reflection as she cranked her head back forward. "Actually... I think I do. I was ten, I think, and my mother told me to gussy up for a mother-an'-daughter time on the town. I was really happy... mind you, I spent plenty of time with my mom, but most of it was learning about the ways of the sea and acting as co-captain, that kind of girlish bonding is all." She said that last bit with a sly smile creeping from the side of her mouth. "But on that day, it was not 'Tetra's mother, the pirate captain' sitting in front of me. It was simply 'mom'. She listened to my every word, and I listened to what she had to say. She made sure that day was my day, that I ended up back on the ship with the largest smile my tender face could draw. And then, when it was time to sleep, I wouldn't shut up about all the things we did. Instead of being annoyed, my mom just looked over at me with her happiest smile in a long time. She tucked me in, and before she bid me good night, she gave me the golden necklace, the golden 'A', I called it. Then, she whispered to me "I love you, Tee" and kissed me in the forehead. I said "love ya, mom" as she stood up and began walking away."
Link listened very carefully at the story, not being able to sustain his glee upon hearing such a sweet story. It was great to listen at Tetra reminiscing about happy times instead of the more troubling ones.
Then, a tear escaped Tetra's eye, and Link's glee immediately disappeared from existence.
"That was the last time I ever talked with her. She was found dead on her bed the next morning. Poisoned. Apparently, she had been given a slow-acting poison that was killing her for days."
...
"She was dying in my eyes, and all I did was smile and laugh!" Tetra's face contorted as she forced herself to maintain her composure and deny any more tears to run free. "We gave her a viking funeral, just like she wished for. I didn't cry then... I couldn't afford to, anyway. I was the new captain, after all. I had to be tough, I had to be strong, I had to prove my worth to every lyin', stinkin', putrid, back-stabbin' pirate out there, 'cause if I didn't, I was gonna get trampled under their pressure."
Link did not know what to do. There she was, Tetra, basically emptying her repressed memories in a rare vulnerable moment for her, and Link could not come up with one single word to console her. She wasn't looking towards him, instead preferring to gaze at the bright dancing stars, and he felt he should do something to try and soothe her down, but fast.
Then, his hand stumbled upon a paper bag while rummaging through his item bag. He took it out to see what could there be inside, only to find the brownie they got at the restaurant. It was a strangely large piece of brownie, roughly four inches in length, considering it's reasonably low price. He thought about the possibilities for a second, then took out the brownie from the bag and cut it in half. Link cleared his throat to call Tetra's attention, and when she turned around, he offered her the larger piece. Tetra switched between looking at Link's outstretched arm holding the brownie, and Link's face sporting a small smile, and she hung her head, letting out a small chuckle in the process. "It's almost like you know what I need to make me feel better." She said while taking the piece of brownie and biting at it mercilessly, feeling as though every bite held special healing magic to improve her mood.
After eating the 'magical healing brownies', Link and Tetra sat side-by-side on the log by the beach, staring at the infinite night sky holding myriad stars of different sizes and colors and a beautiful crescent moon. They did not speak, but at the moment, they did not need to. Being there, alongside each other, was enough for them. Link felt he was rather successful with this -as the guys on the ship called it- 'date' thing, and that seed he had unearthed from the depths of his heart could have, if not blossomed, at least rattled about to show it was alive. He felt as though he had earned Tetra's complete trust, and he hoped she felt that he was always going to be there for her. As for Tetra... she simply turned her face to face Link and said: "Thank you, Link. For everything."
**To be continued**
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**Oh, yes!**