REVIEW ANSWERIN' time. In Esperanto where available:
Trickster's Imagination: I already answered you privately... but if you haven't yet started, you might just wanna read my profile first.
lilgreenfox: Word of warning: Fanfiction (dot) net does bad things to our URLs. Just look how I had to write the URL of this very site. And if it's deviantart you're talking about, I already found you anyway. As I said to Trickster, though, read my profile first if you haven't started yet.
u00dfrady: I feel honored you gave me your very first review on this site. I am glad you've enjoyed my fanfic, and I'm glad to hear your DSi browser worked properly for it. But must you really be against romance fics? (This one isn't romance FOCUSED, true, but it has its moments.) Anyway, I think you might be one of the few who actually get some of my references and shout-outs. I try to sprinkle them everywhere, but most just pass them by. (BTW: Yeah, reviewing can feel weird at times, but I always appreciate it. And you did well for a 2-inch keyboard.) I WILL finish this one, even if it's just for you.
Anon-a-moose: HOLY THROWBACK REVIEWS, Batman! Chapter 4? All right, at that point there was supposed to be confusion, but I thought I made it clear later that it was the eccentric Miyahon that was speaking as he was tailing Link and Tetra. I guess I don't make things clear enough, then. (that's the second time somebody points out something like that, and...)
The Legend of Zelda
Overlord of the Land
Chapter 14:
The Mind of a Sea Dog
The rough pirate's grip was strong. His big, meaty claws grabbed hold of Link's tunic with great relentless force, and his brutish manners meant that the young lad was dragged helplessly across the hard, wooden floor. He kept sniggering nonsensically, apparently finding joy where Link could not see it, which that was pretty much enough to alert and disturb even the most sturdy of people. And despite the man's strength and total lack of tact, Link was completely taken by surprise when the attack began. His thoughts then moved to Tetra, and he hoped that she was alright, considering her disadvantaged condition. He also thought what kind of dirty trick could these pirates have used to take down six people in one fell swoop.
"'Ere's another 'un." The gruff pirate announced to his partner, throwing his green prisoner right on a wall with great force. "Found 'im inside some boxes. Prolly hidin' as soon as 'e heard us, the coward." Link rubbed his head in an attempt to subdue the sudden pain coursing through him, though the psychological sting was not so easily nursed. He thought of defending himself, but he was unfortunately unarmed, and he knew he was no match for the abnormally large brutes he had the misfortune of being with at the moment. Thus, he thought it smart to just lay low and hope for a chance to slip away soon.
"Guard! Guard!" A loud female voice rang inside a large rank cell deep in an unkempt lower deck of a large ship. The blond-haired girl grabbed a tight hold over the cell's bars, with fury flushed in every part of her face, and her eyes darting everywhere for the slightest sign of movement. Tetra was incarcerated alone, completely cut off from any of her crew members. What was worse, she had no tools or weapons to try and escape, and they even ripped her sabre away at the first chance. "Guard! I demand attention! What do you gain keeping me here? Why are you doing this? Where is my crew? And why can't I get a decent meal here?" She shouted angrily, kicking a wooden plate with a stale piece of bread and a cup of water. "... Cowards."
"Yer bein' a pain in me ears, lassie." a sudden gruff voice rang out from upstairs. It was the all-too-familiar voice of Captain Mendoza, the most steadfast rival she's had yet. The lumbering, overweight pirate made his way down to the rickety cell where Tetra was locked up on. "I wonder how yer guys can stand ye. It's like a tone-deaf siren triyn' to sound important or something."
"Mendoza..." Tetra scowled upon seeing the disgustingly unkempt captain. The man's unchecked black-and-gray hair all over his face (whether it was simply turning gray or a nasty case of dandruff, she didn't know nor cared to figure out), bloodshot red eyes, severely yellowed teeth and misshapen nose was enough for her to avert her eyes and prefer to look at the floor or the wall. "You haven't changed a bit. I see every word that comes out of your mouth is filled with venom, as usual."
"And yer still as ignorantly sassy as ever." Mendoza responded. "I'd hold me tongue if I were you. Yer in no position to be spoutin' off nonsense an' insults."
"I'll stop insulting you when you stop being a coward and attack us at the worst possible moment." Tetra spat out instantly. "But since old habits die hard... I'm sorry, you old, ugly, murderous swine who'd sell his own mother for a rupoor."
Mendoza gasped mockingly. "How rude! My mother was worth at least 20 rupees." he said.
Tetra looked squarely at Mendoza's mug and wondered if he was being serious or if it was another ruthless jab at her. She groaned loudly at the mere thought and walked over to the lone chair in the cell. "Witty. Really witty." She said, deadpan. "I wonder if he's paying you extra for the hurtful remarks."
"Who?" Mendoza asked.
"Don't play stupid!" Tetra snarked. "It doesn't take a genius to know that you've been following me around recently because that dimwitted dictator Dante decided to destroy detractors like me. You're under his employ and you're not even questioning why he wants my head on a silver platter. What if he wants you dead next? You ever thought of that?"
Mendoza's gaze turned dead serious after this statement. "Ye really know nothin', eh, lassie?" He pulled up a nearby box and sat right in front of the cell bars. "That Dante feller is more rotten than a sack of dead rats. Has no honor code, that man. Ye know how much he's paid me? Nuttin'. Not a miserable doubloon. To top it off, he threw me in the clinker, as if he never knew me."
"He seriously put you in jail?" Tetra asked amid chuckles. "Poor Mendoza, you must have felt so betrayed."
"It ain't funny, ya know." Mendoza retorted. "I don't think I have seen such a selfish, contemptible man in me life."
"Then I'd like to introduce you to a mirror." Tetra interrupted.
"Yer really getting' on my nerves." Mendoza said. "Look, I know what that Dante feller hid when he talked to me about the bounty, but I wanted the treasure so I accepted. In hindsight, it prolly wasn't too wise to jump the gun, so to speak."
"No way." Tetra said mockingly. "I wouldn't believe it."
"Yer lucky I actually want ya to hear this before I'm done with ye." Mendoza said, with a clear tone of annoyance in his voice. "As I told ye, Dante had me locked up when I went to him again. I was there for about a week an' a half, and then some commotion happened. As I heard it, some delinquents were running amok, makin' a mockery of Dante's military, and they even set off a bomb in the middle of the street. Afterwards, one of those delinquents went to the dungeons and blew up a couple of walls an' disappeared with some of his buddies, but before me an' my crew could get out, the soldiers stopped us. They were about to rebuild the broken walls, but a whole 'nother commotion happened when someone went on and blew their wall-buildin' stuff. Dante was furious, and in that fury, we managed to escape and commandeer this ship. Sure, she ain't pretty, but she handles beautifully."
As Tetra heard more and more, her eyes widened like a pair of saucer plates and her mouth opened to a slack-jawed gape. Realization his her like a ton of bricks when she slowly pieced together what Mendoza's story meant.
"Got it yet?" Mendoza said, with a more dark pleasure in his factions. "I got it immediately, girl. And I brought you here to thank ye. Thank you for letting me, your bitter rival, escape from prison."
Link looked around carefully. The pirates still held him prisoner, but so far they hadn't moved him off the cargo hold yet. Apparently, they were waiting for some sort of order to move him someplace else. This either meant they were working with each of his shipmates one by one, or that they did not see him as important, and they only needed the go-ahead to plunge him in the ocean. This was definitely the worst moment for Link to remember how bad a swimmer he really was. It was so bad that he couldn't stay afloat for more than two minutes. It was so bad that Niko actually beat him in a swimming contest he so very foolishly agreed on. It was so bad he actually dreaded falling to the water, despite living two whole years on the high seas.
Whatever the reason, Link had plenty of motive to try and find a way out of this situation. If only he could get close to a crate, he could find something heavy or helpful to fend off the intruders. Thus, he took the opportunity that his captors were looking away and began to move so very slowly while pressed against the wall, making sure he made absolutely no noise, and he began inching closer and closer to the crates in the wall. He only needed to get close enough to reach into a crate, and he'd be in business.
"Hey, you!" The gruff voice of the pirate froze Link in place. Link was so fixated on the nearby crate, he did not check if they were looking at him at the moment. He turned his head slowly, only to see the same pirates, still showing him a clear view of their backs, and waving over to someone beyond the cargo hold. "Duke! You get any news yet?"
"NO!" A less rough, but still coarse voice of a man outside of the hold shouted. "I told ya, when it's time, I'll tell ye. Now stay put."
"I swear, that Duke's gotten so bad since he got ascended to first mate." The other pirate in the room commented.
"Ye better not go 'round sayin' that unless ye wish an early retirement, if you know what I mean." The first pirate warned him. "Duke's on Mendoza's good list, and if he says yer a traitor, then yer a traitor."
Noticing how the invading pirates were busy in this exchange, Link decided to take the opportunity to slide slightly faster than before, until he disappeared from view behind a couple of crates. Now that he was there, all he needed to do is find something that could help him work his way up the ship. He carefully took the lid off an open crate and slid inside to take a look. He found a cardboard box with some tattered maps... maybe he could trick them into thinking they were looking for treasure... a sword hilt... definitely broken and useless as a weapon... a couple of porcelain souvenirs... what were these doing in a pirate ship was beyond him... his Phantom Hourglass... so this is where it went... and a whip. Link did know there were whips somewhere in the ship for flogging prisoners and as punishment, but he didn't know where. He didn't know a lot about whips, but if he could handle the grappling hook, he could probably work this whip.
"Hey..." One pirate called the other. "Where'd the kid go?"
When Link heard those words, he knew it was now or never. He needed to take action, and he needed to be swift and precise, or risk getting caught again or worse. He took the whip and exited the crate without being seen, and scurried between the crates and the barrels to remain hidden for the time being. In the cracks between crates, Link could see how the invaders were looking intensely for him while muttering darkly about how could they mess up so bad and how Mendoza would feed them to the piranhas. Finally, he settled right beside a stack of barrels held by some rope and held his whip tightly. Then he waited, for he only had one shot.
"Come on, he didn't leave this place, so he oughta be here somewhere." The gruff pirate said to his partner. They began searching every nook and cranny, getting on crates and looking around gaps, moving ever closer to Link's position. Link, however, expected this, and let the whip loose, holding it only by the handle. Then, he saw one of them pass dangerously close to where he was hiding, meaning the pirate was probably right in front of the barrels.
[CRACK!]
Link cracked the whip on the barrel's fastening rope, making it loosen and yield to the sheer weight of the wooden cylinders. Helped by Link's tremendous effort in shoving them, the barrels started tumbling away and rolling wildly all over the cargo hold. The unfortunate pirate in front of the pile was crushed underneath the wooden avalanche, and his partner did not fare much better, hopping over a few before becoming overwhelmed by the sheer force of the barrels' speed and weight. When the last barrel stopped rolling, the two captors were laying unconscious on the ground, pinned down by several barrels. Link knew he had very little time. He rushed out of the cargo hold and made his way into the cabins, where he left his sword, shield and several items that were sure to help him.
Tetra sat on the lone chair inside her cell. Her factions displayed the utter spite she felt upon herself, considering what she had inadvertently done. She rubbed her temples vigorously trying to find even a semblance of calm, despite her mind tossing and turning wildly and unyielding to leave her be.
"Don't feel too bad." Mendoza began, a mocking tone of gratitude adorning his voice. "Ye were lucky we know each other. Were I a total stranger, I couldn't be able to properly thank ye."
"Shut it." Tetra quickly shot back. "To think I helped you, of all people, escape." She then turned to face the wall opposite the cell bars as to not look at Mendoza's disgusting face. Still, the feeling of sheer disgust did not leave her. It was more than just the guy's face that bothered her: it was his blubbery frame, his dirty mind and his underhanded tactics, his sheer lack of respect and dignity... all these things painted a horrific stomach-turning scene in Tetra's mind that she could not let go. "If I could, I'd throw you right back."
"But ye can't, can ye?" Mendoza answered.
"And I'd wish you would just shut up and leave me alone." Tetra added, extending her fingers as far as she could in exasperation.
Mendoza sighed crudely but somewhat sincerely. "Now, lassie, we're rivals. We butt heads every once in a while. Yes, ye gonna have some sort of resentment 'gainst me, but ye look at me like I got scurvy all over me skin or somthin."
"Well..." Tetra began, with some sort of a sarcastic chuckle. "How convenient must it be for you to forget everything that you've done, right?" She then turned to face Mendoza again, and her face was locked in absolute disgust and hatred.
"Everythin' I did? What have I done to ye?" Mendoza quickly started to defend himself. "That is, except showing ye how experienced pirates work and upstagin' ye in several plunders and treasure findings. I've yet to try somthin particularly bad to ye or yer crew since ye became captain."
"Huh... of course. I knew you'd say that." Tetra said, retiring her gaze from Mendoza once more, preferring to look at the floor. "You conveniently forget what happened before I became the captain. When my mother was still alive. You were nigh ruthless then."
"Ah... the golden years." Mendoza began to remember with a bit of nostalgia in his factions. "Takes me back, ye know. Yer mother was a real captain. Dominant, precise, strategic... all the things ye lack. Maybe that's why we clashed so much. Great people are bound to clash often, methinks."
"Yeah, I remember that." Tetra said. "But still, that's not what I'm talking about."
"Then what, girl?" Mendoza questioned, feeling livid at the lack of a proper answer. "Do ye think I betrayed her or somthin? Ye know I was once buddies with yer mother and we even split the loot evenly when we worked together, but ye have to understand that times change. Me men were getting' restless every time the loot was thinner so we had to cut ties, and when the inevitable came... WHAM!" He accentuated his position by stomping on the floor. "And just like that, we went from ocean buddies to bitter rivals. Aye, just like that."
"And that gave you license to do what you did?" Tetra asked, inadvertently raising her voice.
"Now, now, lassie." Mendoza tried to ease Tetra's tension. "I know me own life more than ye think, and I know I did many things I'm not proud of. I definitely went down a few times and battled Madam Jacques ship-to-ship over stuff like treasure and bounties, but at the end of the day, ye can't undo what ye did. I wish I could, too. Madam Jacques was a great ally, and..."
"I know that!" Tetra interrupted, her anger and disgust growing at every word heard. "I know about what you thought about my mother, and how things went sour over some trifling treasure thing. If it was just that, I'd probably think similarly of you, despite you being an unkempt pig who treats his crew like last week's news. But there's something that I just can't understand about your actions."
"What? What? Spit it out, for Din's sake!" Mendoza demanded.
Tetra stood up, still not turning to face Mendoza, and instead preferring to look straight at the wall. "If you thought so highly of my mother, despite being rivals and enemies, and if you wished you could go back to being good friends, as you so put it, then why did you do it?"
"Do what? What did I do?" Mendoza asked, looking rather lost in the conversation.
"And you still deny it! You still deny having anything to do with it." Tetra exclaimed, speaking through clenched teeth, as if trying to calm her rising fury. After a short while, she turned fully towards Mendoza, with her head pointing diagonally down, though her eyes were leering darkly straight at him. Her eyes were starting to water, though she did her best to hold off any tears, and she turned her hands into fist as to avoid any unnecessary shaking. "You're the one. You did it. You killed my mother."
Body pressed against the wall. Shimmy up left and right, making as little noise as possible. Sneaking a peek around corners to see if any hostiles are nearby. Link remembered all these tactics he had previously used in similar situations when he had no other viable options to get through a place, and he worked his way around the pirate ship perfectly because of this. So far, though, he had encountered no opposition and he had a pretty clear shot at the cabins, where his precious items were. He looked all around as far as his eyes could see, and when he confirmed there was nobody around, he made a mad dash towards the cabins.
He soon realized how foolish a choice he made. There were at least four rival pirates in the cabins, and it was obvious they were rummaging through the stuff, as some were playing with the sabres and were lugging around bows, bombs and flintlock guns. And, unfortunately, they all saw Link barge right in.
"Hey!" one pirate shouted. "What're ye doin' here? Who let ye loose?"
Link did not answer. He merely steeled himself as he gripped the whip's handle tightly and waited for any of the pirates to make the first move. "Not talkin' eh?" The one pirate questioned. "Well, o quiet one, I will make ye squeal." The gruff sailor rushed over to Link, blade drawn, ready to cleave the young hero with it. Link foresaw this and cracked the whip right at the pirate's hand, making the tall man wince in pain and drop the sabre as he rubbed his wrist. Taking this opportunity, Link whipped the pirate over and over, getting on every part of the man's chest, leaving the guy squealing as he tried to cover himself from the punishment. Quickly, Link put the pirate out of commission, leaving the guy's comrades stunned... but far from discouraged, the trio became enraged and pulled out the weapons they stole and set to give them good use. Seeing this, Link grabbed the dropped sabre and used the whip to retain some distance between him and the rest, and as soon as the opponents looked out-of-sorts, Link stepped forward and began whipping them, effectively taking away their guns and other weapons. In a desperate attempt, the three threw themselves at Link at the same time as to overwhelm him. Link however, stepped out of the way at the last second and let them knock out each other.
Link recovered his sword and shield, as well as equipping himself with bombs, bow and arrows, the Magical Glove, the Chained Lance, Roc's Father and some Deku Nuts. He sidestepped the unconscious group of pirates and let himself out of the cabins and headed upwards.
"Link! I knew it was you!" A familiar voice rang from some unknown place nearby Link's position. The green-garbed kid looked around, but saw nobody around. "Psst! Up here!" Link heard the voice again, and followed its instructions to look up. When he did, he noticed a faint glint from a pair of glasses. "I knew I heard you giving those rowdy pirates a good what for!" Mako said excitedly.
Link looked confused upon seeing his comrade hidden within the ship's wooden walls and ceilings. "Oh, you may be wondering how I got here." Mako guessed correctly. "Well, when Mendoza's men ambushed us, I ran underneath Miss Tetra's bed. There's a hole in there where a small person could fit and sneak perfectly around the ship. Thing is, the place between walls is very tight, and as it stands, I think only me and Niko could fit inside. I mean it, don't risk it." Then, the glint of Mako's glasses disappeared, leaving Link feeling oddly inconclusive. "Hey, what are you doing?" Mako suddenly reappeared and reprimanded Link. "Get going already! The rest of us must be somewhere here or on Mendoza's ship. Tetra's sure to be there as well. I'll try to meet up with you later." And with those words, Mako disappeared for good.
Link continued around the ship, and decided to check over Tetra's room to make sure the important items, such as the Goddesses' Compass, the Ancient Hyrulian Book and the map of Waarheid, were all right. If what those invaders did on the cabins was any indicator, he worried at what they could do to Tetra's important documents.
Link suddenly skidded to a halt and hid behind a wall. Just as he saw Tetra's room, a big, burly guard was standing right in front of it, blocking the way in. Where exactly did Mendoza find all these big and burly men, Link wondered. However, he hoped they all shared yet another trait: their dim wit. He pulled out a Deku Nut and lobbed it toward the guard and waited for a moment. Before long, a bright flash shone right by Link, and he knew the trap worked. He walked right to Tetra's room, passing the static guard on the way, and began rummaging through her desk and seeing if the important stuff was there. The map of Waarheid was there, and he took that as a good sign. He kept looking around, and though he found several maps, books, and instruments, he somehow couldn't find either the Compass nor the Ancient Book. He looked everywhere: on Tetra's wooden chest, on top of the beams, behind her bed, inside the desk's drawers... but still no sign of the more important items. Link then figured someone must have taken them away, and he needed to take them back if they ever wanted to finish their quest.
Just then, another pirate entered Tetra's room. He wasn't buffed up like the res, but rather tall and lanky. His face looked very deviously menacing, and a stupidly long smile was plastered on his bearded face. "Well, lookee here. Fresh meat." The pirate talked in a coarse voice, clearer than the other invaders. Link recognized the voice immediately as the one who was talking to his original captors at the cargo hold. This was Duke, Mendoza's First Mate. "I dunno how ye got away from those dead-brained men, but yer little adventure ends here."
"Look, kid..." Mendoza began slowly, after recovering from the shocker of his life. "I had tagged ye as irresponsible, hard headed, inexperienced, and too young fer this. But I never thought of ye as unreasonable... 'til now." Mendoza then stood up from the box and started pacing about. "Yer mind must be really screwy to have come up with such an incredible story like that. Me? Killin' yer mother?"
"It's true, though." Tetra interrupted. "You had the reason, you had the way, and you had more than enough opportunities to pull it off. I though it over for some time, and there can't be any other option. You were my mother's most stubborn rival, and you must've harbored some deep hatred for her, and when opportunity knocked..."
"Let me stop ye right there, missy." Mendoza raised his hand to cut in. "Are ye tryin' to say I offed Madam Jacques 'cause of a bounty? Granted, it wouldn't surprise me if at one point there were a bounty for her head, but don't ye think that was an odd way to try an collect a bounty? Yer not seriously thinking I could've collected a bounty with no carcass to show. Think! Use that space between yer ears for a second an' consider the events around yer mother's death." Mendoza sat back down on his box as he motioned Tetra to sit as well. Tetra did not respond, instead preferring to wait on the unkempt captain's explanations standing up, looking at him with a thoroughly contemptible leer.
"Now, here's how I heard it." Mendoza began. "Yer mother was poisoned, was she not? There's a problem already. Look at me. Do I look like the kind to poison someone behind their backs? I'd much rather see them eye-to-eye an' off them with me own hands."
"The poison could work as a deceptive ploy." Tetra reasoned. "It would be a probable way to steer the finger away from you."
"Even then, where would I find such a slow poison?" Mendoza shot back. "It was a slow poison that took days to take effect, as I heard it. Do ye know where ye could get that poison? I don't. I dunno how to make any poison, either. I told ye, I'd much rather take me enemies by me own hands. Do ye see now the folly in your accusation?"
Tetra kept looking at Mendoza with all sorts of dangerously venomous looks, but she did not want to speak. She recognized there was something within Mendoza that she had not seen before... there was an air of sincerity about him. "Now, say I got some poison and used it on 'er. Why would I even let 'er go after that? I've yet to see a bounty where I could just show up and claim "I got 'im" without so much as a morsel of proof. There just ain't one. I'm sorry to disappoint, lass, but I'm not the one yer looking fer."
"You're right... I do feel disappointed." Tetra remarked. "For a second there, I thought you had gotten smart. Now, remind me again where did I ever mention a bounty? Did I even mention a specific reason for you to act upon? I only said you must've had a reason, whatever it was. And if you think I buy that poison bull, you got another thing coming."
"Well, it's true." Mendoza retorted, beginning to raise his voice for the first time in the entire conversation. "If ye don't wanna believe me, then it's yer problem, but at least, for this one moment I can stand in front of ye with a clean conscience and tell ye I had nothin' to do with yer mother's death."
The sudden unquestionable conviction in Mendoza's words came as a shock for Tetra. She had not expected to see the overweight captain come forward in such a fashion, defending his posture as if someone were attacking him personally. She lowered her gaze to the floor as she took a moment to analyze what he was telling her. It was tough to wrap her mind around the possibility that all this time she was wrong and all that effort she put into this might have meant nothing.
"Then who?" Tetra asked. She raised her face, only to show how it had degenerated to a desperate gaze. "Who did it, then? If it's not you, I don't know anybody else who's still alive that could be. Who killed my mother?"
Mendoza looked straight into Tetra's desperate gaze, and for some strange reason, he could not turn a blind eye to her. "Look, if it'll make ye stop yer whinin', I can tell ye what I know." he said. Tetra looked straight to his face apprehensively, but still somewhat curious at to what he had to say. "Now pay mind that not even I know fer sure if this is accurate, but maybe it'll help ye." Mendoza stood up from his seat and began pacing around the room again, waving his hand about in an attempt to remember as clearly as possible. "It be around four years ago or so when I heard it, the tales of a great curse that befall on those that make a deal with dark entities. It was on a lone docking bay on a faraway island that seafarers often choose to ignore where I heard it, that these curses oftentimes seek those in desperate need of somthin', playing with them and makin' them feel safe 'till it's too late, and then, slowly and surely they seize the life force from their victims, and then, only their lifeless bodies remain. And as I heard it, there are two entities workin' the curse, prolly to this very day."
"Interesting." Tetra said as she paid attention to Mendoza's tale. "But I don't understand what does this have to do with anything."
"Well..." Mendoza began, looking more and more mischievous than before. "What do ye know about two old hags?"
Link almost had no time to draw up his shield before Duke went in with a lunge. Link successfully pushed him back and began to distance himself as he tried to come up with a counterattack. Link tried to pull out a decent weapon, but every time he tried to, Duke lunged forward and stopped him just short of getting on the offensive. Link tried his best, but Duke was just behind him every time, and he just couldn't catch a decent breather. And the worst part was, Link somehow felt Duke was only starting with his agile offensive.
Duke saw an opening and decided to run with it, swiping lower than usual and aiming for the green hero's legs. Link, seeing this, stepped back just in time to avoid the swipe and somehow managed to clumsily fall on top of Duke's head. Link quickly got up and noticed he had the opportunity he wanted so much, so he quickly pulled out something out of his bag before Duke could get back up and retaliate.
"Why ye stupid little kid." Duke sneered ad he stood back up. "Ye think yer so great now, no? Methinks yer just wet all over." Duke then noticed the object that was pointed at his direction and was forced to stifle a laugh. "What are ye gonna do with that? Tickle me to death?"
Before Link could respond, he took a good look at what he had in his hand and groaned when he found only Roc's Feather. Duke was already getting his crazy smile again while he prepared his blade for combat, so Link had no choice but to use what he had in hand... and he jumped right to the ceiling, far above the reach of Duke's blade. Link took this opportunity to finally unsheathe his sword and gain an advantage on this fight with the Roc's Feather's unpredictability factor. He jumped left and right like a mad monkey, leaving Duke's agility in question as the lanky pirate appeared to have a difficult time catching up with him. Then, Link went in for a strike, pointing his sword forwards as he jumped sideways towards Duke... but then the invading pirate blocked him right in mid-air, making him stop and drop to the floor.
"What? Did ye really think ye could be better than I?" Duke taunted. He even allowed Link to stand up before continuing to run his mouth. "Yer really stupid. There's a reason I am first mate. Ain't a soul that's beaten me. I would LOVE to see ye pull a fast one on me... What're ye smilin' for?" He questioned when he saw Link's face transform into a satisfactory smirk. "Yer not takin' me seriously. I oughta show ye what... is somthin' burnin'?" He asked. Then, smoke began to rise from around him. When Duke looked down, he was strapped with at least five bombs whose lit fuses were slowly shrinking. Duke's horror-stricken face was a contrast to Link's casual actions,who was leisurely covering himself with his shield while he looked rather satisfied with himself. The last thing Link saw or heard of Duke was his high-pitched scream as he dashed out of Tetra's room trying to get the myriad of ropes off him.
For all the confidence Link had built up during these past encounters, he was completely unprepared for what was waiting for him beyond the door. When he entered the top deck, he was immediately face-to-face with a swarm of pirates that sprawled all the way to the opposing ship, hooting and hollering wildly. On his own ship's mast, Link could see two men tied up, bound and gagged. Link gasped as he noticed they were Gonzo and Zuko, beaten and battered but still conscious and struggling to free themselves. He wanted to help them... but first he needed to get past the invaders.
The gruff pirates began to run towards Link, but he was prepared with his bow, his arrows and his Roc's Feather, and he immediately jumped out of the way before anybody could reach him. Link took hop after hop after hop until he was hanging from under the crow's nest, and proceeded to take aim with some deku nut-armed arrows. After a few shots, more than half of the invaders were sprawled on the floor unconscious, while the rest were either running aimlessly with no idea what they were doing or simply jumping ship and shouting something along the lines of "I'm not paid enough for this." Only a brave duo stood their ground, holding on to crude shields and swords and withstanding anything Link could throw at them.
Then, Link jumped down to the ground and cut the rope holding Gonzo and Zuko with one swipe. He then ran around the deck and delivered his comrades a pair of fresh blades, and pointed in the direction of the two remaining invaders on the ship. "Okay, Zuko. Time for some revenge." Gonzo said, a mischievous grin growing on his face.
"Sweet..." Zuko responded, his eyes narrowing on the opponents in front of him. The gruff pirate looked at each other, double-guessing their decision to stand tall against them. Eventually, though, they considered the condition of their opponents, and charged straight ahead. Suddenly, Zuko emitted a loud, shrill yell as he swiped his blade around the air expertly and quickly. He then jumped right at his opponent's face and made him drop on his back, to which Zuko followed through with a series of wild punches to the face followed by a good slice on the man's gut. The wounded pirate barely managed to get Zuko off him before finally sliding back behind his partner.
Then, Gonzo whistled loudly, which was Zuko's signal to return from the attack. "I suggest you take your partner here and leave now." Gonzo said to the still healthy pirate. "Or should I tell Zuko here to continue his attack?" He then pointed to a ripe and ready Zuko craving for a second round. The pirate got the idea and grabbed his partner and, throwing their arms around each other's necks, wobbled out to Mendoza's ship and took the first longboat out.
"All right. That's that." Gonzo stated, cleaning his hands while he turned to see the bulk of the top deck only to see a bunch of unconscious pirates. "Looks like we'll need lots of rope. Zuko, would you?" he asked, to which the short baggy-eyed guy promptly obliged. Gonzo then faced Link with a smile on his face "We'll take care of things here, Link. Go to Mendoza's ship and find him. He'll certainly know where Miss Tetra is. That's the fastest way to end this, I'm sure."
Link nodded and ran to the ship's starboard, making a running leap towards Mendoza's ship and managing to hang on to its railing by his fingers. Once on the top deck of Mendoza's ship, he quickly pulled out his sword and shield to avoid any sort of surprise attack. He looked around, but after finding no opponents, he quickly made his way to the ship's lower decks.
"That's ridiculous." Tetra sneered. "I can't believe I actually let you go on with this."
"Ye wanted t' know what I know." Mendoza defended his position. "I just told ye. Take it as ye want, but I have no reason to misguide ye here."
"Riiiiight." Tetra said. "So there's supposed to be two tiny old witches, even smaller than me, flying around the Great Sea wreaking havoc and stealing people's souls. Is that it?"
"I know ye find it hard to believe, especially from me mouth." Mendoza reasoned. "But I'd say nothin' like this like it be the truth if I didn't feel it to be true. Those two hags? I've seen them with me own eyes. It was four years ago on a bar in the rugged northern island of Frelon, a place only pirates and gutsy merchants frequent. Sure, I never saw them fly meself, but they had their brooms, and even walked like they didn't use their feet much. Wobbling about they walked. An' their faces... how could ye describe them... oh, I'd say scary beyond all reason."
"So you say you saw, you say." Tetra said, musing over the sensational story she was just told. "I don't know. Flying hags, being purveyors of death and misery? That doesn't sound too plausible in my book."
"And what is ploosible in yer book?" Mendoza retorted. "Think back to the last time somthin happened that shouldn't have. In fact, last I heard of ye, ye were claimin' yer crew took down a ghost ship that haunted the western seas and harbored not two, but four hags of their own. Can ye honestly stand there an' tell me me own story ain't ploosible?"
Mendoza had a point, Tetra thought. Her recent travels haven't been exactly what you'd call normal for any pirate crew in the world. In these past months alone she's been involved in battles against a walking table, animated skeletons, dog-faced soldiers, huge blue plants, an oversized owl, a huge wall-crawling worm and a large bee among others. She couldn't outright dismiss a pair of flying witches as too far-fetched for her liking. Believing it was not the problem, though.
"Besides, I got a picture someone took." Mendoza added, pulling out a bent and ragged picture out of his vest. The picture was stained and tattered, but it was clear where it counted: a pair of black blots that seemed to sprout legs, floating among puffy clouds high above the seas. "I say nothin' like this like it be the truth if I didn't feel it to be true."
"You said that 3 minutes ago. You're not good with meaningful echoes, are you?" Tetra retorted. "Anyway... s-say you're right. What good does knowing this now will do to me? Is there any use for me now, considering that those two must be so far away?"
"Ye really are thick-headed, aren't ye, lass?" Mendoza said. "Have ye been keepin' up with the latest stuff while runnin' around playin' hero? These hags... they've been sighted on Waarheid!"
Tetra's eyes widened in shock, and her color dropped from her face as she let it all sink in.
"Ye seem to understand where I'm goin' with this." Mendoza continued. "Whatever it is those hags seek, whatever curse they're pullin', whatever happened five years ago... it seems it's not over yet. I'd be wary if I were ye."
Tetra was speechless. Her body was running colder by the second. Her feet started to fail her, forcing her to sit on the floor and crawl backwards on the floor. She darted her eyes around as though she expected to find some sort of refuge or answer inside the rank prison she was in. Things clicked in place, but she did not want to. Whoever those two witches were, she could at least figure out as much: All that has happened to her in these past months was no coincidence. Her mother, apparently, was just the beginning. They were going after her.
"B... b... b... b... but... why?"
"Yer askin' me? I'm as clueless as ye in that." Mendoza replied. "Maybe they get a sick enjoyment outta it. Maybe ye have somthin' they need, somthin' ye don't even know ye have. I mean, they went after yer mother first. Does that tell ye nothin'?"
Just then, Tetra's thoughts turned from terrified to confused. She had become so busy in this talk, she had forgotten the situation she was in. "B-but... you're keeping me here. If those hags really are after me, then my being here puts you and your crew in direct danger. So why are you doing this?" Then, her mind thought something rather ridiculous. "You... You aren't thinking of protecting me, are you?"
"You're right! I'm not." Mendoza shouted, amidst stifling laughter. "Why would I ever protect ye? Yer right, having ye here is a danger fer me if the hags are indeed looking for ye... if they only were in to kill ye. Something tells me they need ye alive, otherwise, they would've gone and offed you long ago. So you see, yer not just a prisoner in me ship." As he uttered each word, his face began turning more and more sinister, as he relished on his master plan. "No... Yer a special prisoner in me ship. Yer my safety net. Should those hags ever try anythin' on me, or should I think I am on any danger, yer gonna be the first thing on the barter list. Or how 'bout this? I could actually talk to those hags, maybe, if yer as valuable to them as we think ye are, then I could make off with a hefty treasure as a trade."
"Y-you..." Tetra trembled and tittered as she became exposed to the true depths of Captain Mendoza's lack of humanity and disregard of others. Still, she did not desire to expose any weakness to such a despicable man. "You... really think... I would... allow you to use me... as some sort of bait or bounty?" Teeth clenched, eyes narrowed, visibly labored breath... Tetra's surge of hatred renewed. If there were no iron bars between them, Tetra would've already launched herself at Mendoza's lardish frame and given him a beatdown, regardless of her obvious disadvantage. "You don't know what you're messing with. You think I've been running around doing trivial matters? Do you think you know about what I've faced more than me? If these hags do exist, and if they are indeed trying to get me, then you can rest assured they will not try and barter with you. They will kill you if they get the chance. You're just a stepping stone in their way, an insignificant blockade they will sweep away if the need arrives. How do you suppose to make them not kill you on sight? How are mere bars going to keep them away from me, and how are mere cannonballs going to keep them away from you? Don't you see? You were never any good with these plans, were you? Chances are, either my crew will find me and free me before you make off with me, or if you ever do escape, the witches will finish the job. And you, oh mighty Captain Mendoza? You will be forgotten, like so many cowardly sailors have been already, and when the book of great sailors and pirates is written, you will only appear as a statistic, with no redeeming, stand-out points... at all."
Mendoza's body communicated his uneasiness and thinly disguised fear while he was listening to Tetra discharge with everything she had. He was sweating profusely and he held his arms up as if trying to defend himself from the verbal beating he was being subjected to. At every word, he realized more and more how full of holes his plan had been. So much as a single mistake could potentially end in disaster for him.
"One chance. You have one chance." Tetra continued. "Let me go. Don't chase after me afterwards, and I won't chase after you. Do you understand?"
"That's... quite an idea ye defused there." Mendoza stammered as he shifted towards a wall where some sacks were piled up. He pushed the sacks away violently and revealed a large lever behind them. "Ye forgot one part, though. Me new ship has some tricks up her sleeves. She's big enough to handle five of yer tiny ship easily. Also, ye never wondered why yer cell was so big? Or why was yer floor lower than mine?"
Tetra shot her eyes downward quickly as soon as he said that. Not a moment too soon, Mendoza pulled on the lever slightly, making the floor on Tetra's feet shift and rumble. Then, the floor exposed a break in the middle and began to tilt inwards, revealing an inner pool underneath the cell. Inside the pool, many raving piranhas thrashed about on the water's surface, stirred by even the slightest item that fell through the crack. After seeing this, Tetra climbed her way upward to a cell wall, seeking safety.
"I think ye see me point." Mendoza said smugly, making a full recovery to his usual disgusting self. "I've always said yer trust in yer crew was gonna be yer downfall. They will rather let you in there than risk having ye fall to a gruesome death. The hags need you enough not to kill ye yet, and I only need to give them a demonstration like that to barter with 'em." Mendoza took a moment to relish on Tetra's complexion, which featured a mixture of hatred and fear. "Personally, I'd tell ye to get comfy, but I think yer chair is about to become piranha bait."
Link's trip through Mendoza's ship has so far been uneventful. It was almost as if the bulk of the crew was used to storm Tetra's ship, and they stupidly left this whole ship unattended. He felt, however, that there was supposed to be somebody here. After all, he had yet to find either Senza, Nudge or Niko anywhere, so he figured they must be somewhere inside the ship's lower decks. So far, however, there was no sign of life. Furthermore, the sheer size of the ship made him confused so much he inadvertently walked into the same cabin three times while trying to find the way further down, where he guessed Mendoza could have Tetra imprisoned.
Then... a thud.
"That was ace!" a voice rang from across the hall Link was on. It was not a familiar voice, but he took this as a lead and began walking towards the source of the voice. Eventually, there was a room emitting a faint candlelight, and Link peered inside in the stealthiest of ways. He could not believe what he was seeing: what seemed to be the two bulkiest pirates in the entirety of Mendoza's payroll were playing some target game with a large target crudely painted across the wall... and the playing pieces were Senza and Nudge. Link had to clasp his mouth close to avoid emitting so much as a peep as he witnessed the sick game the pirates played, who made it a point to launch the tied up and battered prisoners head-first on the painted wall.
"That's 100 points! I'm winning." One of the bulky pirates proclaimed, laughing as if they were playing a mere innocent game.
Link had to act quick. He knew the fate of his comrades depended on whether or not he concocted his moves properly and consistently. He saw how little arrows he had left, so he decided to try something else. He then pulled out the Chained Lance.
The bulky pirates were chuckling it up as they saw how beaten and barely conscious their prisoners were. They probably felt so very proud of themselves fro thinking up a perfect way for making them very quiet... which is probably why they didn't notice the large metallic lance flying between them and affixing itself on the wall in front of them. By the time they noticed something was wrong, it was too late: the wooden wall had been pulled clean off its frame and landed squarely on the large duo, knocking them out cold. Link took this quick opportunity to run and cut his partners loose.
"Oy, my head." Nudge whined as he finally was able to nurse his battered body with his hands. "I'm gonna need some serious healing time after this."
"Link?" Senza wondered as he squinted and tried to focus on the green blob in front of him. "I... can't see you well yet. My head's throbbing too hard. Link, listen. I heard Miss Tetra was taken way down, to the brig. Mendoza may also be there as well. Don't get confident with him, he's a devious one, that Mendoza."
Link nodded and began to walk out of the room. Before leaving, though, he reached for some spare rope on the corner of the room and tied the pirates so much not even their oversized muscles could help them escape anytime soon. He also gave Senza and Nudge a pair of blades he found on the room's wall, just in case they needed them. And with those preparations done, he disappeared from the room.
"My head just won't let up." Nudge kept whining. "I just hope this ends soon."
"Don't worry." Senza assured him. "Link's not the child that first mounted our ship. He's grown a lot. I daresay that he's starting to become a man."
"... Okay, now you're being delirious." Nudge commented.
Meanwhile, Link was finally making strides downward after finding the way to the lower decks. As before, there really wasn't anybody guarding the place, which made it obvious that they focused too much on getting the prize and they neglected the home front. He made it to what seemed the cargo hold, and the amount of treasure laid bare all around would be a real temptation for any regular person seeking to get rich off some pirates. Link, however, did not desire such distractions, as his mind was set on one thing and one thing only... Rescuing Tetra.
Finally, after going down a large rope ladder, he saw what looked like a few jail cells... and a patch of blond hair. There she was... Tetra was within a few steps of his reach. Still, he began approaching slowly and carefully, since he knew there was still one person he needed to see, even though he was nowhere to be seen. As he approached, it looked like Tetra had not noticed him, instead focusing on something in the middle of the floor. Better that way, he thought, so he could get the jump on the ringleader easier.
He then noticed that his footsteps were too heavy-sounding for him.
"Yer too predictable, boy." Mendoza declared from right behind Link just before socking the green hero squarely in the jaw and knocking him down a ways. This garnered Tetra's attention, who could only watch helplessly as the horrifying events unfolded in front of her. "Coming in here to save your beloved captain... who would've thunk it? Of course, I'll have a good talk with the idiots who let ye loose, but that's beside the point. Ye must have a lotta guts to make it here like that. But yer not gonna get past me. Ye have none of yer flyin' friends to help ye today, and yer fightin' alone." Mendoza then picked Link up and lifted him by the neck collar to see him face-to-face. "Yer too scrawny-lookin' to put up much of a fight. Why should I bother with ye?"
Link immediately gave him the answer when he touched Mendoza's arm with his right gloved hand, making Mendoza feel a severe burn on his arm and forcing him to let Link go. As soon as he hit the floor, Link hopped back a few paces and drew his sword and shield, readying himself for a fight against the large pirate captain. Despite his preparation, though, Mendoza simply laughed the hero's efforts off.
"I'll admit, ye got guts, kid." Mendoza conceded. "Why, ye could made a nice addition to me crew. What do ya say? Leave her and work for me? I'll bet ye saw the cargo hold on the way here. Just think of all the treasure ye could get by joinin' me. With yer guts and me guidance, we'd be unstoppable! What do ya say?"
Link did not even hesitate for a second. Instead, he gripped his sword tighter and steeled his gaze straight at Mendoza.
"Well, ye had yer chance." Mendoza said. He then pulled a long cutlass from his sheath and readied himself for the fight. "Now ye better be ready to fight for what ye desire."
Link wasted no time, and launched the first attack against Mendoza. He jumped and met Mendoza at eye level with his sword rushing ahead of him. Mendoza, however, skidded backwards quickly and blocked with his cutlass, pushing Link back as well. Despite this setback, Link recovered quickly and tried to pressure Mendoza with quick slices and stabs. Mendoza, however, showed his expertise with the blade by blocking each end every one of Link's attacks. No matter what kind of new or made-up way of striking did Link use, Mendoza was always ready with a block and a counterattack. It got to the point where Link could attack less and less, and he was using his shield more and more. Mendoza's moves became quicker still, leaving Link with very little opening to strike and forcing him to hide beneath his shield and step back.
Then, Mendoza twisted his cutlass in such a way that Link could not comprehend it fully, until the cutlass struck his shield in such a way that it flew away, right behind a few tumbled-over sacks. Relieved of his shield, Link had to resort to running backwards to avoid Mendoza's relentless advances, while trying to block moves with his sword (something he was not prepared to do at all).
"What is it, boy?" Mendoza taunted as he advanced further in. "Ye were ready to fight not too long ago. It seems ye need more practice than what ye know. Too bad yer not gonna get it in time." Right then, Mendoza threw a quick stab at Link... and the green-clothed hero instinctively grabbed the blade with his right hand.
The cutlass burned up intensely, making Mendoza squeal in pain and drop the blade to the ground. He took a few steps back, bewildered as to why he was being burned up by that boy's hand alone, and tried to quickly find a way to counter that perceived advantage. Link noticed Mendoza's reactions, and took a quick glance at his right arm, which was outfitted with the green Magical Glove. Then, it hit him. He was finally starting to comprehend the extent of the Magical Gloves' powers, and he was just about ready to use this to his advantage. Link began walking forward to Mendoza with his sword in his left hand and his gloved right hand outstretched. Mendoza tried to put up a strong face, but every time that glove was anywhere near him, he could feel an intense heat emanating from it, making him sweat a lot and suffocating him, forcing him to walk backwards for shelter. Eventually, Link cornered Mendoza on a wall and gave him no quarters, which led to Mendoza trying to find anything that could help him defend himself from this menace.
And then, he found a lever.
"Link!" Tetra's panicked shout distracted Link for all of a second. It was too late, however, and Mendoza pulled down on the lever completely, which activated the false floor under Tetra's feet in its entirety. Link was just in time to witness Tetra fall down and away from his view. The piranhas thrashed on the water wildly in raving expectation... but somehow, the big splash did not happen. Instead, the excitement of the piranhas began dying out, and they even began to quiver in fear.
Suddenly, the entire brig was flooded with an incredibly bright white light, so bright it exposed every hole and imperfection in the room's walls and floors. The source of the light began raising from the hole in Tetra's cell. It looked like a woman dressed in a long fancy dress, with her hair flowing around even though there was not even a breeze in the area and reaching all the way to her legs, and a gaze that appeared to pierce right through people's minds. The woman raised her arm, and a great force forced the cell's door open with such strength that the door flew off its hinges and to the wall.
Upon seeing this showcase of power from the woman, Mendoza dropped to the floor and tried to scurry out to the nearest exit behind him. Unfortunately for him, he hit a corner to which he could not escape easily, so all he could do is look straight at the self-glowing woman and hope she didn't want to go near him.
The woman began walking in the air and out the cell. When her feet finally touched the floor, her glow began to dim, and it was just enough to allow Link and Mendoza to see the rest of her features. The woman had long, flowing blond hair, deep and piercing blue eyes, a pair of light blue gloves that combined with her pink, white and blue design of her sophisticated and detailed dress, she was adorned with several pieces of golden jewelery, the most striking of which was a golden tiara with housed a red stone in the very middle of it.
Link, halfway stupefied at the events happening in front of him, could only point at the woman silently, as if he comprehended who she was, but could not bring himself to say so.
"Boy..." Mendoza whispered to Link, but as each word escaped his mouth, his voice became higher and more desperately strained. "Don't tell me... Don't ye dare tell me... Is that... That couldn't be! Is that really YER CAPTAIN!?"
Link nodded slowly, confirming Mendoza's worst fears. That woman in front of him was indeed Captain Tetra, who had somehow not only survived her encounter with the piranhas, but also found some previously untapped great power which allowed her to pull those impressive stunts. Worse even for him, Tetra began eying him with the most stern, piercing gaze he's yet experienced in his life, and she then began to walk over to him.
Link noticed how utterly frightening Tetra looked inside her eyes, and decided it best to simply step back and not interrupt her for the moment.
"Captain Mendoza." Tetra began, commanding a more authoritative and firm voice about her as she approached the frightened man. "All your life has been full of deceit and lies. You have led a truly miserable, pathetic existence, and I have no doubt in my mind that there are people in this world that would love nothing more than to get their hands on you and submit you to a proper retribution. Up until a moment ago, I was one of those people. However, I truly believe that you did not have a hand in my mother's death. I am willing to forgive you and let you live, under one condition. You will leave me and my crew alone, and you will never again face us at all. Should I ever put my eyes on your pathetic and selfish being, I will be forced to put you to justice... and I will show you no mercy should we ever cross paths again. Do you understand?"
Mendoza nodded silently, evidently too afraid to even open his mouth.
"I would also advise you against using that shield against me." Tetra pointed out, surprising Mendoza and his futile attempt to fight back using Link's lost shield. "And to make sure you fulfill your end of the promise..." She said as she knelt to Mendoza and grabbed him tightly by his neck with one hand for a few seconds, which made Mendoza scream in pain. When she removed her hand, a strange mark that resembled a wing had been permanently burned into Mendoza's neck skin. "You shall carry the mark of your shame for the rest of your life."
With those words, Tetra stood up again and, without taking her piercing eyes off Mendoza, stepped back from him and gave him time to remove himself from her presence. Mendoza didn't need further hinting, for as soon as he could find the strength within him, he got to his feet and ran as fast as his stumpy feet allowed him, all while covering his burned-in mark with his hands.
Finally, Link decided to approach Tetra and assess her situation. When he got close enough, though, Tetra turned her gaze to him and showed she had yet to shed her stern and angered look from her. The fact that the room remained brightly lit from her glow served as a reminder of her tremendous power. Still, Link inched closer to Tetra, determined to regain the old Tetra he knew so well. He was already so close, but her radiant power was definitely something extremely daunting to fully withstand, and he understood how Mendoza thought it frightening. At this proximity, Tetra remained unsurprised and unchanged, so Link did the first thing that he could think of... He extended his arms and wrapped them around Tetra and held her in a tight embrace. For a few moments, the power irradiated from Tetra's body as well as the light seemed to heighten tremendously, but Link didn't even dare to lessen his embrace... not yet. For a few moments, Tetra's powers ran unbridled, and the ship even began to rock and rumble, as if threatening to fall apart due to the sheer power she wielded, but eventually, the light began to dim out, the surge of power turned weaker and weaker, and everything began to retread back into Tetra. As the light fully dimmed out, Tetra's intricate dress also vanished, leaving her with her old pirate clothes, though her hair remained loosened up and flopped down as if it lost some life.
"Link... I..." Before Tetra could say another word, her eyes began feeling heavy and her feet failed her, forcing Link to tighten his grip to avoid having her fall to the ground. It seemed using such tremendous power had tired her beyond belief and she couldn't handle it, so she couldn't help it slip into unconsciousness.
"No way! I don't believe it!" Gonzo exclaimed loudly as he stopped his hammock from rocking.
"Miss Tetra... She really turned into Princess Zelda right in front of you and Mendoza?" Mako wondered, still finding the tale rather tall to believe.
Link nodded furiously, hoping that his comrades would understand him and know that there was no reason for he to trick them about something like this. It seemed that convincing the lot in the cabins was going to be tougher than he thought.
"Guys... why is it so hard to believe... ?" Zuko interjected. "Miss Tetra... was pooped when Link brought her... and Menzoda... he got whoever was left of his crew... and ran the opposite direction from us. It all fits, doesn't it...?"
"I just thought this ability of hers was something she could control better, and she could call it whenever she needed it." Gonzo commented.
"Or conversely, I thought those powers represented a more political standpoint." Mako added. "She IS the princess, after all."
"Well... I guess that whatever it was, we will probably not understand now. Not like this anyway." Senza interjected. "Those questions are better left for another time. Meanwhile, I think it's best to let Miss Tetra sleep... and to get some rest ourselves. We've had a long day."
"Oh wait." Mako said before anybody even dared lay down. He then took a bag from his stuff and handed it to Link. "Here. I thought you should hold on to this for now." Link looked inside the bag and saw the Goddesses' Compass and the Ancient Hyrulian Book neatly arranged. "They were hidden inside the wall right by Miss Tetra's bed, and I carried them with me to prevent Mendoza's men to make off with them."
For the briefest of moments, Link felt a mixture of astonishment and lividness, but it eventually subsided. These important items were safe, and that's all that mattered, despite the way they were secured. Link thanked Mako with a quick handshake and went to his chest to set the objects along the rest of his items.
After that final exchange, everybody went to their hammocks to get a good night's sleep. The night had fallen some time ago, and until that moment, some of them were forcing their eyes open to catch the details of the events.
"You know... now that we're here..." Zuko muttered to Gonzo. "I can't help but think... We're missing something... something important..."
"... Nah, it's probably noth..." Gonzo began, but then he got that feeling, too. He shot up from his laying down position and began scanning the cabin to try and see if there was actually something that was wrong with that picture. Then he saw it... an empty hammock. "NIKO!"
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"Guys? GUYS!"
Niko' voice had turned hoarse from calling his comrades. He had been tied up to the ship's bowsprit as if he were some common figurehead, and so far nobody had tried even checking there for signs of life, so he had to resort to yelling at them, but so far his efforts have been fruitless.
"GUYS! I'm over here! In front of the ship!" Niko kept yelling despite his throat hurting. "Please, guys! If you're ignoring me on purpose, it's not very funny! I'm cold, and that weird man-faced fish has been staring at me for the last hour or so!"
"Keh!" The man-faced fish retorted. "You're going to treat me as if I were some common fish? Why you have no manners, now have you? I am the great chart-writing Fishman... or at least one of his cousins. And I'll have you know that we've been working for generations with fellow lost sailors so they could find their way back home, and we even helped the legendary hero once when he didn't even had a working chart in his pocket. So with that in light, you should..."
"Oh, that's just great." Niko sighed as the Fishman kept rambling about. "I'm being berated by a talking man-faced fish. Could this get worse?"
"I heard that!" The Fishman shouted.
**To Be Continued**
A/N: Some sad details on my MV on my profile page.