The Legend of Zelda: Sky Lines

by Light Onthemayo

One hundred and fifty years after the disaster with the Spirit Tracks, Hyrule has risen to the skies. The people have made a living through the use of airships and the "Sky Lines", trails of intense wind used to aid these airships in their travels. On the eve of a fantastic adventure, a young man named Link has just been given command of his own airship...

120. The Smiling Gunner

Chapter 120: The Smiling Gunner

…

When the ships were set up late in the evening, they had been close enough together that they had heard the hulls knocking together on occasion. At one point, a barquentine that had been brought by the Moon's Shadow slammed hard into the Grand Sails. The barquentine's hull had breached, and the ballast pipes had ruptured from the ship splitting in two. As the crews of all three ships had watched it fall to the surface, attitudes had become quite grim as every observer had taken the view as a sample of what they were in for if they failed.

Eight hours later, the sight was forgotten due to boredom. Link, Line, Layna, and Irleen had spent the entire night in the Conductor. Line's whining about being bored was only abated by opening a ration pack; he started complaining about the ration instead. Layna slept. It did not bother Link too much, but he was concerned about the way she slept. She sat in a corner at the back of the boat with her knees pulled to her chest and her head rested in the corner. Link half-expected that she slept with her eyes open, but she seemed perfectly content to sleep with them closed and unaware. Line had expected that she was completely vulnerable only to be kicked between the legs on what looked like pure reflex; Layna hardly stirred otherwise. Irleen remained primarily in Link's hat (which was being held on with a strip of cloth tied tightly around his forehead), switching between sleep and awake depending on how much noise Line was making.

The sun had yet to rise, casting them in darkness that could only be seen through by a lantern hanging above them on the galleon that they hid behind. Line gave a sigh and said into the darkness, "Did I mention I'm bored?"

"About twenty times now, Line," Link replied in a low voice, hoping to avoid waking Irleen again.

"Man… what time is it?"

Link looked away from the nearby galleon. The starry sky beyond offered him very little in the way of an answer. "Gotta be morning by now," he guessed. "Cunimincus should be here soon."

"The princess talk to you lately? Did she tell you anything useful?"

Link shook his head carefully, although Line could hardly see this movement. "She's been quiet for the past few days. I hadn't thought about it lately, but… I guess I should be worried. The last thing she told us was that the ship was attacking Center Island."

"Four days ago…" Line sighed. "Feels like it's been forever."

"Yeah, I know." In the brief silence between them, Link had a thought. "I wonder if she's back to normal again."

"What? Normal? Who?"

"The princess. Irleen explained that the storm locks everything out, including time. Think about it. It's been over three months since she ate anything. She's gotta be hungry by now."

"Wow… Three months, huh? That's gotta be a record."

"If we're gonna judge records," Link said, "I'd guess that Cunimincus' crew has her beat. You know. That whole two hundred years they've spent in the storm."

"The goal was eternity," Irleen groaned from under Link's hat.

Link looked up at his brow. "Sorry," he said. "Did we wake you again?"

"I think I'm catching your insomnia, Link," Irleen replied.

"I don't think Layna has a needle small enough for you," Link joked, although he could only affect a small amount of humor to his tone. Then he switched to a serious tone as he asked, "Irleen, what's likely to happen to Princess Zelda if the storm completely disappears?"

"Just like you said, Link," she said. "She'll return to the normal flow of time, although, physically, she'll be missing three months of growth."

"Is that something to worry about?" Line asked.

"No," Irleen said. "Probably not. Compared to Cunimincus' men, she hasn't spent enough time in the storm to really miss out on anything."

"Except losing her mind," Link pointed out.

"Yeah, there is that."

Line made a strange sound. "Glad I'm not going over there. We've met our share of nutjobs on the Grand Sails; can you imagine a ship full of them?"

"I've already met Cunimincus' crew," Link said as memories of the Lizalfos and the fake princess came to his mind. "I don't have to imagine it."

"This is a pretty big thing you're doing here, Link," Irleen said. "I mean, you've taken down bigger than Cunimincus, but you haven't taken down smarter. Cunimincus didn't become the biggest threat to the Sorians for no reason."

"I know. But I've made a couple of promises. I don't plan on backing down now, not after I've come this far."

"You sure sound like you've been through a lot," Line commented. "I still can't believe some of the stuff you did after you got back. Just what were you doing before then?"

"Doing his best to make it back," Irleen said. "Although, I gotta admit, there were probably easier ways to do it."

Link sighed. "Yeah, probably. But then, I don't think we would've met everyone that we did."

"And we probably wouldn't have gotten back as soon."

"Sounds like a good story," Line said. "Start talking."

Link chuckled. "Where should I begin?"

Layna's eyes suddenly opened. "May Kyabtin," she spoke up.

Link, sitting behind the pilot's station while Line was slouched against the starboard bulwark, glanced in her direction. "What is it, Layna?" he asked.

"Manak."

"Manak?" Line asked. "What does 'manak' mean?"

"Danger," Link answered as he looked around. He saw that the sky around them had managed to brighten into a very deep purple. But his attention fell on the fact that there was not a star to behold. "Where'd the stars go?"

"I got a better question," Line said as he stood up. He pointed at the lantern lights above. "What's causing that?"

Link looked up to see that the lanterns on the neighboring galleon were suspended in a ball of light, like fairies grown to a size fifty times larger than Irleen. Link and Layna found their feet as they stared at the light. Then Link said as he looked around, "Something's wrong."

"No, really?" Line asked.

Link turned to look along what was visible of the galleon's hull. In spite of the lights, Link found that he could only see the third of the ship's length immediately near the Conductor. He could not even see the Conductor's bowsprit. He had seen this kind of thing before, but it took him a moment to remember when it was. The Iyuk Mountains. When he had climbed the mountain upon which the Horizon's Eye had fallen, he remembered that they had had to climb through a raincloud while being guided by Irleen's natural illumination.

"It's a cloud," he told them.

"A-a cloud?" Line asked, sounding a little surprised.

"Line, on the helm," Link told him as he stepped to the starboard side. Line moved quickly into the pilot's station. "Raise us slowly; Cunimincus might be nearby."

"About time," Irleen said. "An attack would get rid the boredom."

"Wouldn't be my first choice," Line said as he carefully shifted the ballast lever. "I don't get it. If the storm's here, where's Cunimincus? Shouldn't he be blowing the crap out of things?"

"We're about an hour away from the Sky Line, remember?" Link said. "Cunimincus will have to get here first." Then he turned to watch the galleon's hull fall as he commented in a lower voice, "If he took the bait."

"He took the bait," Irleen assured him as he used a hand to push the Conductor away from the galleon. "He took it."

"Hold it, Line," Link said as he rose over the edge of the galleon's bulwark. Line took his hand away from the ballast control. Link squinted, but even if the lights on the other side of the galleon's deck were not on and creating a concealing glow, he did not believe he would see any further. "I guess we wait some more."

"Aw, man…" Line groaned.

"Just stay on the helm," Link said as he started walking toward the bow. "I'm gonna check and see if the whole boat's covered; if we can't see them, they can't see us."

"Right, let's just assume that a bunch of monsters can't see us through a cloud."

"Whatever," Link replied in an irritated tone. "You complain about everything."

Link found that both the Conductor and the galleon were concealed within the cloud. And, true to Leynne's expectations, there was still some time before any action occurred. The cloud around them brightened by just a few shades. Line, while having to stand at the pilot's station, kept himself occupied by trying to remember some of the randiest work shanties he could remember and, in lieu of being able to recall the lyrics, hummed them as loud as possible to annoy Link. Layna remained on alert, her eyes always following Link as if she expected him to be attacked first. The boys had lost track of time again, neither one remembering to bring a watch along. Link could feel the tension around him. Or, he at least he assumed the tension was coming from around him. It may have just been him, though. The prospect of having to board Cunimincus' ship and fight his way through a crew of insane monsters made him nervous again.

And Line's humming was not helping. Link decided that he had had enough after the twentieth rendition of "My Timbers", one shanty which Link could remember the lyrics to and only served to remind him of Dholit's professed goal. He was standing at the mouth of the cabin when his final nerve was frayed, and he spun on Line with the intention of telling him to shut up.

Boooom. Both boys froze, staring at each other in surprise. Link's first reaction was that they might have lost another junked ship. It was quickly dismissed, mostly because it was a channel for Link's nervous energy. He glanced about as if expecting to find the source. Instead, they saw little else than the galleon and the cloud.

"Oh-h, man…" Line muttered. "Was that what I think it was?"

"A gun firing?" Link asked as he looked up at the mast.

"This just got serious, didn't it?" Irleen asked.

Link did not respond to her as he stared at the mast. He considered that, as long as they were in a cloud (and Cunimincus had yet to realize that they were here), they might actually be able to sneak a peek at the outside. The mast, being the highest point of the ship, looked to be a good place to get a clear view. "Line," Link said as he moved to the port side. "I want you to raise the boat."

"What for?" Line asked. "All we heard is a boom. Could've just been another ship going down."

"Just raise it until I holler at you to stop," Link told him as he pulled himself onto the shroud. "I'm gonna go up for a look."

"If we're gonna do this kinda stunt, we should get a crow's nest up there," Line called to him as he slowly began to raise the Conductor.

"Too dangerous," Link hollered back. He found that the shorter mast gave him the opportunity to reach out to other stays and grab on until he was able to get his feet on the yard and pull himself onto the mast. He could just barely feel the boat rise, and he looked down to watch the galleon disappear into the cloud. Then he set his eyes on where he thought the horizon ought to be. Just as shapes began to appear before him in the purple of dawn, he called down to Line, "Stop right there! Hold it!"

"Okay!" Line replied.

Link looked up again into the dawn. He could see eight points of light off to port, where the convoy had been deployed in relative position to the galleon they were hiding behind. He could make out only one vessel with any certainty: a cargo schooner that looked to be listing to starboard, making it point in a direction perpendicular to the rest of the ships. The sky was riddled with clouds like he had never seen before. Fortunately, he found that there was enough space in between that most of the convoy was visible.

Then, there it was, a black spot emerging from another cloud on the far side of the formation. Link only identified it by the tattered sails curled by the wind crossing the ships path. The fact that it looked ominous enough that Link could feel his heart stop cold for a moment gave him the proof he needed. A flash, followed what seemed like hours later by another boooooom, crossed the bow. The galleon it was firing at suddenly turned further to port with the blow it had been dealt.

The Smiling Gunner.

Link clambered over the stays and climbed down the shroud back to the deck. "It's here," he called to Line. He stepped over to the pilot's station and continued, "Maybe two points abaft the port beam. Looks like he's distracted shooting one of the empty ships."

"Damn…" Line groaned. "This is really happening, isn't it?"

"Just one pass over that ship, and then run like hell," Link told him as he moved to the port side. "Start her up to half; the bow rises if she's going too fast."

"Didn't think it was possible for this flying deathtrap to go too fast," Line growled as he tightened his grip on the engine control. He looked to starboard to find Layna bracing herself between the pilot's station and the bulwark. "Ready?" Layna's face already wore her emotionless mask, and she just turned it to Line to give him a single nod. Line turned back to Link. "How you feeling?"

Link grabbed a nearby stay and moved to better see ahead of the ship from over the port side. "I'm about to break one of the fundamental rules of being an airman," he replied. "It doesn't matter; now I know I'm nuts."

"Me, too," Irleen said from under Link's hat.

"We all are," Line said. He and Link exchanged mad grins. Then he put on a determined look as he faced forward. "Let's do this!" Then he squeezed the engine's starter plate and moved the throttle to the half-way position.

The Conductor shuddered as its engine roared to life. It got louder as the boat started to pick up speed. Link put a hand to his brow to hold his hat down. The Conductor was out of the cloud in mere seconds, and Line, now with a clear field of view, turned to port. Link pointed out what he thought was the Smiling Gunner, and Line nodded and corrected his course toward it.

The air flew by so fast that Link could hear nothing but the whine of the engine and the rush of the wind. It became unbearable to look ahead due to the wind drying out his eyes. He had to squint to make sure the Conductor was moving in the right direction. Then, as the boat continued to gain speed, the bow rose. Line did not bother decreasing speed to correct it; he was too heavily invested in getting past the Smiling Gunner as fast as possible. So he dropped the ballast and let the flow of air from beneath the boat slowly lower them until the Smiling Gunner was in front of them again. In the open air, it was hard to tell how fast the boat was supposed to be going. Halfway to their destination, though, Link got an idea of how fast they were moving when he saw that the closest vessel, the Moon's Shadow no less, was only visible for two seconds before Link had to turn back to watch the Smiling Gunner.

Both Link and Layna moved to the transom and watched over their shoulders as the Conductor screamed toward the Smiling Gunner. Line was approaching it from the Smiling Gunner's port bow. At the angle he was going, he was sure to crash into the hull before Link and Layna could jump. The excitement provided a charge of energy for Link, making him forget that any airman with the insanity to simply jump over the edge of a ship rarely ever survived. It made him forget that, if he failed, he would be plunging to an ocean an incredible distance below and would never have a chance of surviving.

Then the boat bucked at the last moment with Line's addition to the ballast. At the same time, he pulled back on the throttle, forcing the boat to almost fall level as it slowed down. Link and Layna, not expecting the change, stumbled a bit. Neither one of them could appreciate the split second they had to realize that the Conductor's port side was about to fly through part of the Smiling Gunner's rigging. They had no idea that Line skewered a studding topgallant sail on the bowsprit or smashed through the extended yardarm with the top of the Conductor's mast as they threw themselves over the transom. Both of them had failed to get a decent push off the Conductor before it was out of their reach, which left them both still moving very fast toward the Smiling Gunner's stern. Link fell through a hole in the upper topsail of the mizzenmast. He was facing away from the direction he was falling and could only hope that, with his legs extended as far as possible, he would find something to land on before completely passing the ship.

His feet found something. Most of the fall was absorbed by whatever force had allowed him to jump with so much power lately. But the moment his boots found grip on the deck, his feet were pulled from underneath. The shield on his back took the impact, but he could feel it through to his back as he slid across the deck. With a solid thud, he came to a stop at some sort of barrier. His crown throbbed where he had hit the barrier, and he fought to hold back his urge to scream in pain as his hands covered the spot. His whole head throbbed, and he thought he might have actually broken his skull this time.

"Holy shit!" Irleen shouted from under his hat. "That sounded like it hurt!"

"It did…" Link groaned. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I missed it all."

Link reached out and grabbed for whatever he could find. "I'm glad one of us did…" His right hand found what felt like part of a bulwark, and he pulled himself to his feet. "At least we made it."

"Did Layna?"

"I don't k—…" Link was about to say as he pulled his flare gun out with the intention of firing the purple flare already loaded inside. However, upon surveying the poop deck around him (and realizing that he had smashed his head on the transom), he saw that there was a small Dinolfos standing next to one of the fixed mortar emplacements (Link assumed; it was hard to imagine the upward-pointing cannon to be anything else). By "small", of course, the Dinolfos still had a whole head of height on Link. Still, it was considerably smaller than what Link had fought before, and certainly much scrawnier. The creature only wore a loincloth and was not even armed.

So when Link decided to aim the gun at the Dinolfos, he was only mildly surprised to see it run away. "Xghegex smexh!" it shouted as it charged down the stairs, its arms raised in panic. "Kwanjahxh! Kwanjahxh dagh!" A shadow dashed across the poop deck and jumped over the stairs after it. "Kwanjah—huRELK!" Thud!

"What just happened?" Irleen asked.

Link sighed and aimed the flare gun into the air. "We just lost our cover," he said. He pulled the trigger. FZZZZZzzzzzzz! "We'll have to work fast," he told her as he pulled off the headband holding his hat to his scalp. "See if you can find a way below deck; best bet's the main deck. I'll go get Layna."

"You got it!" Irleen shouted as she disappeared into the air above.

Link's gaze fell just as someone ran up onto the poop deck. At the same time, a heavy bell started ringing from somewhere on the deck below. Shouts rose into the air, and the Lizalfos who had stepped onto the poop deck glanced over his shoulder. Link immediately drew the Lokomo Sword and was across the deck by the time the Lizalfos turned around. It barely had time to reach for its pistol before Link launched an upward strike at it. The end of Link's blade sliced partway into its belly and caught the underside of its jaw on the follow-through, casting the Lizalfos' head upward. It staggered and fell backwards. Link stepped up to the edge to watch it tumble into the railing guarding it from falling over. The railing gave way, and the Lizalfos gave a horrific scream as it fell over the side.

Link looked out over the deck. A large group of Lizalfos had converged on the starboard side of the quarterdeck. Some of them were already lying dead on the ground. Layna suddenly jumped onto the head of one and grabbed a nearby stay to pull herself out of the fray. One Dinolfos used its shortsword to cut the stay from under her, but this only succeeded in allowing Layna to swing away and grab another piece of rigging hanging from the mizzen-mast. The Dinolfos who had done this was promptly whacked in the back of the head by its crewmate.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" The shout came from nearby, and Link looked down the stairs to find a Geozard screaming at him from the quarterdeck, one finger pointed in his direction. The crew's reaction was slow, giving time for Link to ready his shield. Then he charged down the stairs.

The Geozard pulled a pistol from its holster, but the pistol discharged into the deck. The Geozard did not seem to realize this as it aimed at Link and pulled the trigger. Link leapt over the last two steps and aimed a downward strike at the Geozard. His blade crushed the Geozard's skull where it hit, and Link had to jerk backwards to pull his sword out. The Geozard collapsed against the bulwark.

Link immediately turned and raised his shield to deflect a blow from a Lizalfos' cutlass. The cutlass rang off the shield, and then Link twisted to get in a jab from behind. The Lizalfos jumped backwards to avoid the strike and collided with another Lizalfos standing behind him. A red-skinned Dinolfos rounded both flailing Lizalfos with the intention of stabbing its shortsword into Link's face. Link caught the move just in time to swing upwards and deflect the incoming blade. The Dinolfos recovered and prepared to hit Link with a strong horizontal slash. Link anticipated the attack and turned again so that his shield was in the expected path of the Dinolfos' blade.

Tnk! Something bounced off the top edge of Link's shield. There was a sickening crunch, and the Dinolfos retreated with one of Layna's throwing blades embedded in its left eye, screaming in pain. As the Dinolfos pulled away, one of the Lizalfos stepped forward to deliver a hard strike into Link's shield with a small hand axe. The blow traveled through the shield, and Link's arm jerked backwards. The pain caused Link to quickly pull the shield out of the way, but he had the sword moving for a diagonal strike. The strike ripped into the Lizalfos' bare chest, and the Lizalfos spun around as it fell over. Link was leveling his arm from the strike when the Lizalfos from before came into range with its arm raised to bury its cutlass into Link's head. Link twisted to put the Lokomo Sword into a horizontal strike, and the Lizalfos took the strike to its muzzle, causing it to spin and fall as if it had just taken a right hook to the jaw.

Behind it was a Dinolfos leveling its pistol at Link. Link jumped to one side with his shield held up in an awkward position. The Dinolfos fired, and Link felt the shield jerk from the bullet hitting the steel edge. "Poxjexh!" the Dinolfos shouted as it stepped back to reload. Another charged from behind with a scimitar poised to strike. Link raised the shield to intercept the strike while hunching down. The shield rang with impact, and Link stood and flung the sword off his shield. The Dinolfos staggered, and Link stepped forward and whipped his hand in an arc directly ahead. He sliced open the Dinolfos' shoulder and near the inside of its elbow. The Dinolfos twisted to defend itself with the armor adorning its opposite arm. Link spied the Dinolfos with the flintlock aiming again, and he quickly struck the arm of the Dinolfos before him. While the Dinolfos stumbled in one direction, Link took a step to his left just as the other Dinolfos fired. The Dinolfos before him gave a jerk and fell where it stood. The Dinolfos with the gun looked surprised and fumbled the gun as it tried to move to reload. Link jammed the Lokomo Sword into the deck and reached around his back. He jerked the boomerang from its pouch and flipped it open. The Dinolfos glanced up at Link as it tried to put a load of gunpowder into its pistol. Then, once its eyes had fallen, Link threw the boomerang. The Dinolfos took the weapon directly between the eyes, knocking it off-balance and causing it to throw both its gun and its powder horn away. Link took the sword out of the deck again, performed a spectacular leap over the dead reptiles adorning the deck, and closed in to deliver a stab into its belly. The Dinolfos' body seemed to collapse over the sword, so Link picked up a foot and pushed the body away while he pulled the sword out. Then he quickly moved over to where the boomerang had landed and dropped the sword to pick it up.

"Link!" Irleen shouted from overhead. "There's a stairway in the middle of the main deck; it leads to a bunch of rooms two decks down!"

"Got it!" Link answered as he closed the boomerang. He stowed it and picked up the sword.

Then he turned to find a line of Dinolfos and Stalarmors forming between him and the helm. Behind it, Link realized that he could see the scale-faced creature that the resident of Autumn Island had described. The one who had haunted Princess Zelda's dreams.

The one Flower had identified as Cunimincus.

Link immediately charged, and the Dinolfos were taken aback. Words were shouted, and Cunimincus stepped through with a pistol in a gloved hand. He raised it to meet Link head-on.

And then Link jumped right overhead. Because on the other side of the helm was the railing that prevented crewmen from falling to the main deck below. Cunimincus raised his arm to try and trace Link with the pistol and fired only to miss Link. Link landed on the other side of the helm and jumped again. He cleared the rail and landed on one knee on the main deck below. Link caught sight of the hatch across the deck and could not help grinning to himself, having caught the surprised look in Cunimincus' eyes before leaping over his head. A couple of Stalarmors and a few Geozards were turning in response to the heavy thump they heard against the deck. All they saw was the streak of green that flew in between them as Link dashed for the open hatch.

Link jumped down to the first landing, where his shield bashed into a Stalarmor rushing around to climb the stairs. The Stalarmor stumbled backwards and hit the rail. Link turned in response to find that this Stalarmor barely wore any sort of armor. He still had to back away as the Stalarmor attempted to punch him with knuckles covered in razor blades. As the other fist came around, Link thrust his shield forward to counter the punch. The impact stung his arm and hit a soft spot on his elbow. Still, he jerked the shield to one side to find that the Stalarmor's hand was stuck to it. The Stalarmor backed up and glanced at the wrist bones still attached to its radius and ulna. Link saw a blue glow in between its teeth and raised his sword in an upward strike that clipped the bottom of the Stalarmor's jaw. Its skull flipped upward, and its jawbone detached. The Stalarmor stumbled to one side, disoriented by the sudden change in perspective. Link saw the jaw hit the landing. He flipped the sword around in his hand and thrust it into the small, glowing crystal attached to the back of its teeth. The Stalarmor fell down the stairs, scattering its bones along the way.

Irleen joined Link as he hustled down to the first deck, which turned out to be a combination of gun deck and powder magazine. He only had a moment to dread what creating a flame on this cluttered and messy deck would do to the ship before he spun and took the stairs down to the next deck. He emerged from a stairwell coming off the port side of a short hallway and, figuring that Princess Zelda could only hear the forward guns being readied by virtue of proximity, worked out which direction was the bow. He took the left and jogged along the hallway for a moment, guided by the dim lanterns hanging above.

He found one lantern which was not lit and came to a stop. Irleen stopped a little further down and turned. "Link, what is it?" she asked as she returned to him.

Link glanced into the starboard doorway. His eyes widened after they had had a moment to adjust to the dark. "This way," he told her. He stepped into the doorway and descended three steps onto another deck. It was not until Irleen followed him that he had any sort of illumination to see what was in the room.

Then he saw bars and shadows hunched behind them, slowly standing in response to his presence. "Kūl wāt?" one of them demanded.

"Sorian…" Link breathed. He could not believe it. He found them! He waved a hand at his face. "Irleen, light up my face! Hurry!"

"All right, all right," Irleen replied as she fluttered over to him.

Her glow was a little blinding, but Link was able to make out some definite shapes between the bars. "Captain Koroul!" he hollered. "It's me!"

"Līnca hōwàl…" came a stunned response. Link shook his arm out of his shield and set it on the floor. Then he approached the bars to find the lock.

"Well, we'll need a key," Irleen commented as Link looked over the lock. Then he raised the sword and fitted the tip between the door and the frame of the bars. Irleen watched as Link placed his other hand on the handle and pushed the sword to one side. The door gave a crisp snap before it opened, and Link grabbed the door to shove it out of the way. "Or you could just do that."

"Irleen," Link said as he switched the sword to his other hand. He thrust his free hand into his pocket. "I want you to explain to Captain Koroul's crew that we're here to get them out and that we have a ship on the way. I'm gonna get Zelda."

"You got it," Irleen replied just before Link retrieved her translating gem and held it out to the nearest Sorian. The Sorian gave it a confounded look before taking it. Irleen then launched into a long statement in Sorian.

Link did not stop to listen as he moved over to what he thought was Zelda's cell. He saw through Irleen's faint glow something lying on a board chained and bolted to the bulkhead. Concern compelled him to raise the Lokomo Sword again and break open the lock to this door as well. He sheathed the sword before stepping in. He moved to the side of bed and held out a hand. "Zelda?" he asked.

The figure shifted. Link put a hand on it. Another hand, skin amazingly soft and warm, touched his hand. The figure rolled over. "Link…" mumbled a girl's voice. Then, after pushing her hair out of the way, Zelda looked up at Link with wide eyes. "L-Link!?"

Link smiled at her. "Yeah," he said with a nod. "C'mon. Let's go home."

She reached out a hand and grabbed his right sleeve. She sat up and, within a moment, had pulled herself off the bed to wrap her arms around him. "Link!" she cried out. "You did it! You came!"

"Told you I would, didn't I?" he asked as she stood up to look him in the eye. He placed a hand on her back and pushed her toward the door. "Let's get going; the Island Symphony will be here soon."

The moment they stepped out of the cell, Link had the translator gem shoved in his face. "The crew thanks you for coming to the rescue," Irleen told him as he took the gem back. "And they're as eager to get off this crazy boat as I am."

"Hello again, Irleen," Zelda said.

"Yeah, how are you doing, Princess," Irleen spoke as if saying something to her was an annoying sidetrack. "So let's get the hell outta here."

"Right," Link said as he moved past the Sorians to grab his shield.

"Kòrōla!" someone shouted from the back of the room. The Sorians turned to reveal that one more Sorian was in a cell. "Kakòlot ahà ō!"

Looks moved to Captain Koroul standing near the middle of the room. Captain Koroul looked over the Sorian still in the cell. Then he told one of his men, "Apà." The airman nodded, moved to the prisoner, and punched him in the face. The caged Sorian fell backwards onto the floor and remained unmoving.

"What was that?" Link asked.

"That was the Sorian that betrayed them," Zelda explained. "I think it is safe to assume that he will not be accompanying us."

Link pulled his sword. "Okay, well," he said as he started moving toward the door, "we'll worry about it later. Let's get moving!"

Link led the group down the hallway with Zelda and Irleen close behind. The Sorians followed along, and Link was amazed to see that such a large crew had managed to fit in such a small cell. He counted at least twenty heads before giving up. About halfway down the hallway, Link heard above all the boots hitting the deck behind him the crunching of timbers. The ship shook around them. Link had never experienced it before, but it sounded as if one of the masts on deck had collapsed. He hoped that neither the Grand Sails nor the Moon's Shadow had moved ahead of Link's signal. At the stairs, Link reached out and knocked a lantern off its hook in the ceiling. He managed to catch it before it hit the deck and cradled the hot, metal fixture in his arm.

"What's that for?" Irleen asked as they started up the stairs.

"Gonna give North and Alfonzo a little help," Link replied.

"How?"

Link reached the gun deck just in time to see that the Geozards and a few Lizalfos were scrambling to load the guns. As few crew as Cunimincus had to have left, this meant that the crew would be busy preparing for a fight; they could not do anything about the fleeing Sorians now. Link turned and indicated the stairs leading up. "Keep going; the Island Symphony must be here."

"Okay," Irleen replied. She and Zelda started up the stairs, and Koroul's crew followed.

"Mbagh!" one of the Lizalfos snapped in their direction. Link turned to see it and a couple Geozards approaching from further down the deck.

Link jammed his sword into the deck and pulled the lantern out from behind his shield. "Look what I got," he told the Lizalfos with a big grin.

The Lizalfos and Geozards stopped in their tracks. It was their mistake as Link hurled the lantern at a nearby barrel. The lantern shattered at the base of the barrel, and the oil inside splashed fresh flames all over the floor around the barrel. "AHXGH, DAGH!" the Lizalfos cried out in astonishment while the Geozards flanking him dove aside. "AKUXGH! AKUXGH DAGH IMBEX!" Link took the sword and immediately ran up the stairs after the Lizalfos' reaction degraded into running circles where it stood. Crackling sound from behind him. Then, just as he reached the top of the steps—

BAM! An explosion sounded from below. Screaming followed, and smoke began to billow from the sides of the ship. Link gave the port side a solid, satisfied nod.

"Link!" Link looked to starboard as Zelda rushed back to his side. "They just jumped!"

"What?" Link asked as she started pulling him toward the starboard side by his right arm. "Who?"

"Koroul and his men!" The words jarred Link into action, and he hustled with her to the bulwark where Irleen waited. They looked over the side, and Link only caught a glimpse of movement before the last of Koroul's men were too far out to see.

Link and Zelda stared in shock at the purple ocean below. For Irleen, her silence was caused by her comparison to what had already happened to her.