Chapter Nineteen
This Time Will Be Better
Pain. A constant, burning pain centered in the middle of Linebeck's back. He hung within a limbo of unrelenting blackness, and a hazy vision of a dimly lit room and a shadowy figure that seemed to change shapes.
What didn't change, was the pain. Linebeck felt like his back was being flayed with a burning, rusty and dull knife. Often in his haze of pain, Linebeck found himself wishing for death, wishing that Ciela and Link hadn't been so quick in saving him. He would find himself babbling for someone to just end it already.
One such time, Linebeck seemed to make out a sword during what seemed to be a peak in the pain and had started to reach for it, intending to finish the job for Bellum. A rough and calloused hand grabbed ahold of his wrist. Gently, but firmly, the hand replaced Linebeck's hand by his side.
"There will be none of that now." A voice firmly stated, in a no-nonsense tone.
Linebeck only muttered swear words and placed curses upon the person before sinking back down into blackness.
Linebeck blinked, and he suddenly found himself standing at the top of the stairs of the Brante household. The pain was gone, but everything was eerily silent. Stepping forward, Linebeck was hit with the sudden sickly sweet stench of death.
Linebeck retched, covering his mouth with one hand and staggering back from the top of the steps, trying not to lose the contents of his stomach. He failed.
Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Linebeck hesitantly approached the steps again. Staring down into the darkness, Linebeck called out, "Mom?" In a trembling voice.
No answer and Linebeck tensed up, knowing that he had to go down. Body feeling like lead, Linebeck began making his way down the steps, heart hammering in his chest.
The further he descended into the darkness, the worse the smell of decay and rot became. Placing the crook of his arm over his face did nothing to block out the thick and cloying smell in the back of his throat.
Unexpectedly, the step Linebeck had just placed his foot on gave way, sending the captain screaming down the wooden stairs. Crashing in a tumbled heap at the bottom, Linebeck remained curled up for several moments, riding out the tremors of pain from the trip, eyes squeezed shut.
When his eyes opened back up, his mother's decaying face greeted him.
Linebeck screamed and stumbled to his feet, eyes seemingly glued to Marlene's corpse. He backpedaled away, expecting to hit the stairs.
Nothing came and darkness descended upon the captain, obscuring his vision. Linebeck froze, not wanting to meet anything creepy in the darkness.
"Little bro…" Echoed out of the darkness.
Linebeck twisted around seeing a figure that looked like Linette illuminated an indiscernible distance away.
"Net!" He cried, starting toward the figure. As soon as Linebeck began moving toward her, she stepped into the darkness. "Linette!"
"Linebeck, he's going to kill me!" A desperate cry, sounding on the verge of tears.
The figure flitted into Linebeck's line of sight on his right side. He swore and changed direction, increasing his pace. "I'll find you! Just keep talking!"
"It's too late."
Linebeck pinwheeled to a stop, one at suddenly appearing at the bow of the S.S. Linebeck and two, at the sudden change in Linette's voice.
"You're too late."
Linebeck spun around on his heel and felt his knees go weak at seeing Linette.
Or what seemed to be Linette.
Her clothes hung in tatters on her skeleton frame, betraying numerous cuts, marks and bruises. Mud and questionable dark stains decorated the fabric and her skin. Her hair was in bloody and dirty knots, clumps missing from her skull. Skin being pulled over Linette's bony frame, looking like it would rip apart at any moment. And where her eyes should have been, only dark holes greeted Linebeck.
"Linette…" Linebeck whimpered. He started to step forward. Linette screamed and he cowered back, flinching at the unholy screech.
"You didn't look for me! You didn't fight for me! Now, when faced with your sins, you cower at my feet." Linette sneered. With each sentence, Linette advanced further upon Linebeck.
"I tried! Goddesses, Linette, please I tried! I never gave up on trying to find you!" Linebeck pleaded, trying to look at Linette but some weaker part of him kept his gaze trained on the deck at her bloody feet.
"You tried!" Linette cruelly parroted back. "Were you trying when you were drinking yourself stupid?!"
Linebeck flinched back, eyes pinching together. He curled his arms over his head, chanting silently "Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop!"
"LOOK AT ME!" Linette screamed, before flying at Linebeck. Her hands clawed at his, snatching them away before digging her cracked and dirty nails into his face, wrenching Linebeck's face to face her's.
In the end, Linebeck screamed himself out of the limbo.
He thrashed for a few moments, getting tangled up up the bedsheets. He felt hands on his shoulders, keeping himself from struggling any further.
Linebeck stilled, head turned toward an unfamiliar wall, lying on his stomach, chest heaving. The burning pain returned, but at a much more manageable level. He felt tired and worn out, like he had been tossed around in a hurricane.
The hands left Linebeck's shoulders. "Welcome back to the land of the living." A gruff voice said.
Linebeck groaned and tried to push himself off the bed. His back spasmed and Linebeck back to the bed with a pained grunt.
"Hey, hey easy now." The voice said. "You don't want to be pushing yourself after being in and out of it for the past few days."
Linebeck turned his head to see a burly sailor with a scar under one eye. Linebeck suddenly became distinctly aware of the fact that he was lacking in the clothes department. However, at the moment, Linebeck couldn't find himself to care.
"Where am I?" Linebeck forced out, staring at the sailor.
"You're on Miss Tetra's ship, the Hyrulian Dragon." The sailor replied.
"What happened?"
"What do you remember?"
"Not much." Linebeck rasped out, throat feeling like he had been gargling sand.
The sailor took notice and reached toward a side table, which had a clay pitcher and cup, a small satchel, and medical bandages. "Well, after you passed out and fell into the water, we all sorta froze for a few moments. Link was the first to react, leaping into the water after you. He got you back onto the ship. Once we laid you out on the deck, that's when you started screaming and babbling random nonsense." The sailor winced, picking up the pitcher. "Course that got Link right stirred up."
The sailor poured out the water. "Two of us had to restrain him while we handled you. We noticed you had some strange discoloration on your back. So we wrangled off your jacket and shirt and found it looked like someone had attacked your back with a knife, scooping out your skin and muscles. Center looked like it went down to the bone. When we started examining it, as soon as we touched it, you started bleeding."
The sailor set the cup on the small table, before helping Linebeck sit up. Linebeck kept the sheet up over his waist, trying to maintain a small shred of dignity. Now with Linebeck sitting up, the sailor handed the cup to Linebeck.
Linebeck took the cup with a muttered thanks, beginning to sip it slowly.
"Well, after that, Nudge swept you up, brought you here, and we've been watching over you, making sure you didn't kneel over on us." The sailor sat back down on the stool he was sitting on when Linebeck woke up. "You've been out for over two days now, with the worst of the bleeding being the first night."
Linebeck choked on the water. "Two days?"
The sailor nodded. "Link's been right worried about you, especially since she wouldn't let him watch over you."
"How come?" Linebeck asked, frowning.
"You were in a sorry state, practically near death. With the screaming, babbling for death and bleeding of blood and some strange purple goo, we all thought Link shouldn't be exposed to that." The sailor let out a heavy sigh. "Link can handle many tough things, more than his fair share and more than the normal adult can handle. However, one thing Link hasn't been able to handle is how to take care of himself when people he is very close to are severely injured. If we hadn't forced him to do work around the ship, he'd probably be sitting outside the door right now, waiting for news on how you were doing. Actually tried that the first night before Miss. Tetra had me carry Link off to the sleeping quarters."
Linebeck stared down at what little water remained in the bottom of the cup. "Probably should go let him know that I'm awake now so the damn kid will finally rest." He drained the cup.
The sailor gave a chuckle. "Probably should. Do you feel up to some walking? This isn't the best of place to reunite with, plus the sea air would do you some good."
Linebeck's back had settled to a dull throb, so moving around didn't seem like too bad of an idea. Also, his whole body felt stiff and locked up from lying in one position too long, along with the excess thrashing his body was unfamiliar with. Linebeck gave a nod, showing his agreement.
The sailor nodded back. "It'll be good for Link to see you on your feet. My name's Gonzo."
"Captain Linebeck Brante." Linebeck returned. "But you probably already know that."
"Kinda hard to miss when Link is screaming it at the top of his lungs." Gonzo admitted, causing Linebeck to internally wince.
"Now, before you go anywhere, I need to bandage that back of yours. Before, your back was bleeding so much, we would be taking off the bandages as soon as we were putting them on. But once the bleeding slowed down, you would thrash around so much, we couldn't get you calmed down enough."
"That bad huh." Linebeck said.
Gonzo only nodded, standing up to pick up the gauze and bandages on the side table. He gestured to the stool he just vacated. "Once I get your back all bandaged up, you can get dressed and we'll go find Link. I believe he's up in the crow's nest at the moment."
Linebeck slowly stood up, keeping the sheet wrapped around him to maintain some form of dignity before shuffling to the stool and sitting down. Looking back to the bed he just vacated, Linebeck suppressed a shudder at seeing the dark red stains on the bed and sheet.
Gonzo began wrapping the gauze around Linebeck's midsection. "This will scar very interestingly." He commented.
"Oh?" Linebeck replied, not really wanting to dwell on it anymore.
"Yeah, in the shape of an eight pointed scar." Gonzo lightly touched near the ends of the star points, all emanating from Linebeck's midsection. "What got you anyway, to cause that much damage without you noticing?
Linebeck subconsciously reached up a hand, rubbing at the small cut on his neck, remembering the feeling of Bellum attaching herself to his back and taking over him, knowing that along with the physical scarring, what had occurred will have long term mental scarring. "Not up for discussion." He bluntly stated, dropping his hand.
"Alright then." Gonzo said, falling silent afterwards.
Once finished, Gonzo placed what little gauze remained next to the small satchel. "As your previous clothes couldn't be saved, Link went down to your ship to retrieve a change of clothes." He pointed to the bag. "I'll be waiting outside. Once dressed, we'll go let Link know your back to the land of the living." And with that, Gonzo left.
Ten or so minutes of slow dressing later, now clad in his normal attire, minus his vest and ascot, Linebeck reached back into the sack for his jacket, only to find the bag empty.
Linebeck blinked and looked around, seeing if the garment had been hung up somewhere else but the navy blue jacket was nowhere to be seen. A sinking feeling enter Linebeck's chest as he remembered Gonzo's words about his previous clothes being unsavable.
"It's just a jacket…" Linebeck tried to tell himself but it didn't help. That jacket was made by his mother and was one of the few links he had with Marlene that he took with him. The fact that it was gone hurt harder than Linebeck would care to admit.
Shaking his head, Linebeck made his way to the door, wanting to let Link know that Linebeck was back on his feet. Stepping out of the room, Linebeck registered just how airless and repugnant the room was compared to the air just outside the hallway. Quite frankly, the room smelled like death.
"Good to go?" Gonzo asked.
Linebeck gave an affirmated, not bothering to ask about the jacket, knowing he would only get questions that he really didn't want to give answers to.
Following Gonzo up the top deck, Linebeck squinted in the bright sunlight, having spent the last few days in dim light. Once adjusted, the young man breathed in the scent of the sea, allowing it to filter out any remaining scents of blood and rotting meat.
Looking up, Linebeck squinted at the crow's nest, spotting a familiar figure clothed in green. Cupping his hands around his mouth, Linebeck bellowed "Oi, Kid!"
Link whirled at hearing the familiar voice. He leaned over the railing of the crow's nest. "Linebeck!" He cried out, a grin splitting his face. He raised up a hand to wave wildly at the captain.
Linebeck gave a snort, raising up a hand to wave back at the kid. Linebeck's hand and expression withered when Link chose to leap over the railing and begin plummet to the ground.
"Link-" Linebeck's yelp was cut off when Link pulled out a giant leaf and gently floated the last five feet, safely landing on the deck. The boy ran over to Linebeck, apparently not noticing the turmoil he just put the captain's heart through. "You finally woke up!" Upon reaching the captain, Link threw his arms around the captain's midsection, holding on tight. Right where Bellum left her mark on Linebeck.
Linebeck let out a pained cry, curling into himself. In a flash, Link was off him.
"What happened?" Link exclaimed, eyes wide with worry that he hurt the captain. "Are you alright?"
Linebeck forced himself to straighten back up, wincing when the movements tugged at the wound. "I'm fine, Kid. Just be more careful with those hugs of yours. A big chunk of my back was taken out."
Link nodded his understanding but made no movements to hug Linebeck again, looking wary.
Linebeck studied the boy before heaving a sigh, rolling his eyes upwards. Reaching out an arm, Linebeck dragged the boy into a one sided hug.
"Look, just because I spent the last two days napping, doesn't mean you gotta treat me like glass." Linebeck muttered.
Link laughed and returned the hug, making sure to keep his arms upright instead of circling Linebeck's body. The captain placed one hand on the boy's head, and wrapped his other arm around the boy's shoulders.
They remained that way for several minutes, Link leaning his head against Linebeck and Linebeck allowing it because he wasn't a monster. The kid just spent the last few days worried over whether or not Linebeck was going to be okay, right after having to watch the captain nearly kill himself so he wouldn't hurt Link anymore.
Plus… it was nice. Being able to let his guard down and take solace in the fact that there was still people that cared about Linebeck's sorry ass.
"When did you become so affectionate?" Link said, his words muffled by Linebeck's chest.
"Bah!" Linebeck spat, with no real venom behind it. He pushed Link away by his forehead. "I'm simply making sure that my cabin boy was alright! Nothing more!"
"Right." Link drawled. His amused expression suddenly snapped to a realization and remembrance. "Oh!" Link took off past Linebeck, running toward the door that led to the lower levels. Linebeck stared after the boy, wondering what got into him.
When Link returned, he was carrying a folded up bundle of fabric to his chest. Link stood in front of Linebeck, holding out the bundle. "This is yours."
Linebeck took the bundle and let it unfold out in front of him, revealing that Linebeck was holding his precious jacket. Linebeck stared at it, open mouthed.
"In all the confusion, it had been tossed to the side." Link explained, beginning to rub the back of his head. "I managed to get most of the blood out of it. Gave me something to do while…." Link trailed off, hand falling back to his side.
Linebeck swung on his coat, letting the familiar weight and feel of the jacket settle the unpleasant feelings in his chest. Looking back at Link, Linebeck suddenly felt his throat lock up on him, knowing that due to this kid, he still has some ties to his mother.
"Thank you, Link." Linebeck sincerely stated. He reached out a hand to swipe off Link's cap and ruffle the locks underneath, earning an indignant 'hey!"
But underneath Linebeck's hand, Link beamed at Linebeck.
…
Due to the severity of his wound, Linebeck soon found himself under orders that he was to remain with Link, Tetra and crew until it finally healed. Linebeck protested it at first, saying that he had worse wounds and was able to take care of himself then. (A blatant lie, that soon withered under the full brunt of Tetra's skeptical glare.)
They soon came to a compromise. Linebeck could remain on his ship, so long as Link stuck with him and he had to follow the pirate ship wherever it went in search of a land to become New Hyrule.
Another reason Link had to remain with Linebeck was so the captain's bandages were changed. As much as he didn't want the kid to do so, Linebeck had to admit that he wouldn't have been able to properly re-bandage himself.
However, now knowing that Linebeck would be okay, Link remain calm during these moments, often remembering how Linebeck would patch him up all the time during the quest and that now it was his turn. The points became a moment of peace between the two, before starting their days,
All of that resulted in Linebeck returning to his isle of birth nigh on almost twenty years after Marlene smuggled them away in the night.
Of course, Linebeck wasn't going to tell anyone that Outset was were he was born and if circumstances had been different, would have been raised. That part of his past would remain well under lock and key, thank you very much. None the less, it was a strange feeling stepping onto the deck and gazing at the island where his mother grew up.
Linebeck didn't have much time to reflect as a voice called "Hoy! Big Brother!" and Link leaped off the S.S. Linebeck, laughing in giddiness. Looking up, Linebeck found the cause of Link's happiness.
A young blond girl, around the age of eight, stood on the beach and before Link swept her up into his arms, twirling her around, Linebeck couldn't deny the family resemblance.
The pair became unbalanced and they fell to the sand, still laughing and giggling. A strange squeezing sensation erupted in Linebeck's chest and the captain had to look away, thankful for the fact that the pirate crew hadn't deboarded yet. Then, after composing himself, Linebeck walked over to the brother and sister, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"If you're quite finished." He drawled, bending over Link's head.
"Big Brother, who's this?" Aryll questioned, looking at Linebeck. She rolled to her knees, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"This is Captain Linebeck." Link introduced. He got back to his feet, helping Aryll up before brushing off the sand on his clothes. "We became friends during my journey." Link gestured to Aryll. "Linebeck, let me formally introduce my sister, Aryll."
"Nice to finally meet you, Seagull." Linebeck said, smirking. "Your brother never seemed to shut up about you."
Aryll giggled, but soon grew serious. "Big Brother, where were you these past three months? Granny and I were really worried when we weren't getting any letters from you!"
Link looked a bit ashamed. "Sorry about that, Aryll. I tried sending letters, I did. But I was in a different world that needed my help."
Aryll gasped. "A different world?!" She proceeded to rattle of several million questions by the second, all of which Link promised to answer after letting Granny know he was okay. Aryll immediately began tugging on Link's sleeve, trying to drag him up to their house.
As Linebeck followed them, he noticed that a few of the older residents were studying him a bit too closely for the captain's liking. Keeping his head low, Linebeck quickly followed the siblings inside.
A couple of hours later, Link, Linebeck, Aryll, Tetra and her crew were all crowded around the table where empty soup bowls and cups rested. Almost everyone was engrossed in Link's telling of the quest, the only ones not really paying close attention was Linebeck, Tetra and Link's grandmother, who was sitting by the fireplace, sewing some project.
Linebeck watched Link, studying how the kid would tell the events with such a flair, somehow managing to make the ordinary facts extraordinary without any embellishments to the truth. But when Link would playful begin interacting with his sister, Linebeck would find himself gripping his clay cup a tiny bit too tight, Linette on the forefront of his mind.
Soon, Linebeck excused himself, giving some non-committal excuse that he needed some air. Once outside, Linebeck leaning over the balcony railing, ignoring the protests in his back.
He knew it was wrong to be irrationally angry at the kid, but seeing them there, Link having been able to rescue his sister in such a shorter amount of time, it twisted the bitter knife of feeling like a failure deeper into Linebeck's stomach.
"Looking at you is almost like looking into a mirror."
Linebeck nearly jumped out of his skin, whirling around to face the source of the voice. Link's grandmother stood a few feet back, holding a picture frame to her chest.
"I beg your pardon?" Linebeck asked, raising an eyebrow at the woman and pushing away from the railing.
Granny chuckled and walked so she was standing beside Linebeck before speaking again. "You really look like your parents, Linebeck."
Linebeck felt his mouth drop open wide. "How-" He stuttered out before trailing off.
"I knew your parents. In fact, I was your mother's midwife when she was pregnant with you and your sister." Granny explained, a wistful smile on her face. "When your mother left with you and Linette… Quite frankly, I never expected to see any members of the Brante Family again."
Granny held out the picture frame to Linebeck. He took it slowly, eyeing the old woman, before looking down at the image.
Captured in time was Marlene, himself and Linette looking around one year old, and a man Linebeck didn't know, but judging by the man's eyes, looked like Link's father. Marlene was holding Linette while the strange man was holding Linebeck. They all looked happy, crowded together.
"The man is your mother's very good childhood friend, Adren." Granny explained. "He's also my son-in-law and Link and Aryll's parents."
Linebeck found himself nodding, still staring at the image. "Who would have thought that their kids would have become friends as well…"
"Who would have thought indeed." Granny echoed, her eyes sparkling with old lady knowledge.
When Linebeck finally looked up, Granny was disappearing back into the house.
Leaning back against the railing, Linebeck looked down at his one year old sister, before looking out across the sea, into the setting sun.
"I swear, Linette. This time will be better. I'm back on the right track and nothing will cause me to get that bad again. I will find you, Linette. I will."
…
Annnnnnd that's a wrap on the flashback chapters. From here on out, the last four chapters is based in present time. While I am glad to have these over, (since I was basically flipping between different versions of the same character.) it was quite enjoyable to explain more of Linebeck's backstory and get in some foreshadowing for future plot points.
But for the chapter, We got a more behind the scenes of what Bellum's poison does to the person, rather than the outside perspective we got with Ciela. Plus some brotherly moments between Link and Linebeck (who at this point of their life have no fucking clue about) plus Linebeck swearing that he'll find Linette and stay on track.
Next chapter, the aftermath of Jolon's death and what has all come to light…
~Roses