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...

122. Cunimincus, Demon Captain

Chapter 122: Cunimincus, Demon Captain

…

The laughter became wilder and louder in pitch. Link had never seen someone laughing mad before. He had to admit that it was a little frightening to see a lunatic fall into hysterics like that. He took another step backwards, wondering if this would end soon.

Cunimincus laughed until tears fell from his eyes. Then the laughter weakened, and he dropped his arms to his sides. He remained sitting on his knees in a pool of his own blood. How he had not died yet was what Link assumed to be some type of magic. Link felt that he was done fighting because he was just staring into the distance somewhere toward the bow. So Link lowered his sword and glanced in the same direction. Now that he was paying attention, he could feel the deck shake with another powder explosion. The entire forecastle was engulfed in smoke, and the area around the hatch had caught fire. It was a wonder the ship was still in the air; such a fire would have sent any Hylian airship to the surface in minutes due to the heat causing the ballast to fail. But Link had to remind himself that the Smiling Gunner was likely being suspended by something other than Loft Steam. The Island Symphony waited on the starboard side of the main deck, and Layna and Zelda were crossing to the Island Symphony on an improvised boarding plank. He caught sight of Leynne firing the musket at a Geozard that was running after them.

Link began to walk away, too tired to make a run for his ship.

"Mbeg imbex fixt nwadexh." Link stopped mid-step and looked over his shoulder. Cunimincus was watching him, although his head was lolled off to one side. His voice came out venomous as he continued, "Bvax zhaxgh tuug asuxgh bwevxh. Xghezhashoxghen shahxghax. Xghezhashoxghen tahxghk. Asu xghezhashoxghen fahxgh. Tahx mbeg zoxh… Zhashoxghen tahvi mbeg."

Link sighed. "I don't wanna kill you, if that's what you want," he said. "I just want this to stop. Captain North and my dad will be happy to take care of you, though."

Cunimincus chuckled. When he spoke, he had lost all hostility in his voice. "Salaihm imbex mbeg. Qopexht aswuk bvax tuqoghl mbeg. Bwevxh keq xiwaxh asu xgheimbex naxghem du zhet xheg ende sokwem zoxh mbuxgh." He paused to chuckle again, and Link could only respond by casting a confused look at him. "Salaihm imbex bwevxh. Slegh mbeg jahghnjeku. Xhaghis asu mbuxgh qopexht.

"I… be… not… Kunimincahs…"

His accent was horrid. So when Link had finally managed to work out in his head what he had just said, his eyes widened. If this was not Cunimincus as everyone had thought… Link started across the deck again. He bent over to swipe up his hat while still moving.

BAM! The deck gave a great jolt. Link nearly fell onto his face, just barely saving himself on his outstretched arm. He turned his head to find that the creature that was not Cunimincus had fallen over onto his face, staring at Link. Fear suddenly surged throughout his body. That had not felt like a powder keg blowing up; having served on the Grand Sails for five years, he knew exactly what it was like when something bashed into the hull of a galleon.

"Faxghon Kunimincahs, zhashoxghen asu nji," the creature, which Link took to be Cunimincus' second-in-command, said. Link slowly stood up and tried to listen to what it was saying, despite the fact that it was only speaking Esmond. "Shoxghant soxgh jigh mbuxgh tahxghk. Bvax suknjihjoxghen mbuxgh abuk." There was a pause, and the creature's eyes suddenly shifted to look up at Link. "Mebv debwahxgh?" His mouth managed to twitch itself into a smile.

"Haihlin bwevxhen shoghaighe." Then he gave a dry chuckle before the last bit of life left his eyes.

BAM! Link staggered at the jolt, and he looked across the ship to the bow. BAM! His eyes fell on the forecastle. BAM! There! The deck just moved. Timbers far across the deck could be heard cracking apart from where Link stood. He had to get to the Island Symphony, but he was frozen in place by fear. BAM! The ship pitched to starboard, but it was not enough to send Link tumbling that direction. He caught movement from the deck of the Island Symphony. The deck crew were calling to him, most of it completely inaudible as the main mast started splintering under its own weight. They waved at him to run for it. Link replied by waving them off with his shield, trying to signal that they should get moving before something bad happened. He remembered his flare gun and switched his sword to his opposite hand so he could pull it out of its holster. BAM!

CRNCHH! The ship pitched forward. Link had to adjust his stance and switched his sword back to his left hand so he could stab it into the deck. But he was too late, and his boots slid across the deck. He saved himself from a bad fall over the front of the quarterdeck by raising one foot and catching himself on the railing. Bam bam! Bam! Ba-bam bam! Link looked backwards toward the poop deck. A door in the front had been busted open by the corner of a desk, leaving the door hanging by only one hinge. Cunimincus' second flipped over the railing and joined the rest of the crew as they slid down toward the bow. When the pitching finally stop, Link guessed the ship to be angled about forty degrees downward.

"HRYAAAAAARGH!" The ear-splitting screech shook every bone in Link's body, the sound resembling a calling bird-of-prey mixed with the roar of a wild beast. When he stopped cringing at the ringing of the sound in his ears, he looked up. The entire forecastle had been destroyed, and the masts had fallen forward, held to the ship by their shrouds now that most of the standing rigging had snapped.

Then he noticed the flapping sound and looked up toward where the forecastle was supposed to be.

What he saw had a wingspan wider than the length of the largest ship he had ever seen by two-fold. Its body, fully stretched out in the air before Link, appeared to be about the same length as the Island Symphony next to it. It had a beak that looked like it could hold a hundred men. "HRYAAAH!" it cried out, revealing teeth inside its beak that could not be any larger than Link. Its entire body looked like a large shadow against the purple hue of dawn.

"Oh, crap…" Link muttered to himself.

But then, he watched the enormous bird fall out of sight. Link could not see beyond the demolished end of the ship, and the smoke from the burning decks below further obscured his view of the surrounding sky. Even the Island Symphony was steadily becoming hard to see. Most noise just seemed to end; all Link could hear was the timbers of the broken ship creaking around him. He had to move from his current spot, but he was sure he would never be able to climb up to the poop deck. If he could just see the deck crew, they might be able to signal the Island Symphony around to get him. From where he stood now, he could only see the forward masts. He started walking between the rail and the deck away from his ship, hoping that the distance would allow him to view the deck over the smoke. He kept his sword and shield in his hands; it seemed like the thing to do now that there was a large bird on the loose. However he would signal his crew, he would have to do it fast. If that bird returned, it would definitely want to strike the Island Symphony.

When he turned back around, he found that the Island Symphony had risen above the smoke in order to find him. Bracing himself on the deck, he waved his sword in the air to get their attention. At least two people on the deck waved back, but Link could not tell who they were.

"Hryaargh!" Link immediately looked out at the open sky. The bird had risen above the altitude of both ships and was now turning toward them. Fearing for his crew, Link started frantically waving them off. He could not let the bird sink the Island Symphony just so they could try to rescue him. It was hard to tell if they got the message or if they could even see the bird coming. Link watched the bird and prayed that his crew would abandon him for now. "Hryaargh!" the bird cried out, its form growing as it dove toward the two ships.

"HRYAAAARGH!"

In the final moments of the bird's dive, Link realized something so disturbing that his whole stomach turned into one large knot.

The bird creature did not care about the Island Symphony. It was diving right at him!

BOOOOM! "YAAAAAAH!" Link cried out as the bird's whole weight crashed into the remains of the Smiling Gunner, tearing the ship apart around him. Link was weightless for a moment, and in that moment, he saw that the bird had aimed itself so that its mouth would ensnare Link once it hit. He had a close-up view of how the bird's pointed teeth would extend out of the fleshy masses just inside both upper and lower jaws. Beyond that was a black pit that he was sure he did not want to go into.

The way the bird had landed put Link close to the teeth on the right side of its jaw, and he managed to wrap his left arm around a tooth near the back of its mouth. His body flipped around hard, and he just barely got his other hand around the tooth to help hold him in place. Ahead of him, he saw that a large section of deck had become wedged at the front of its mouth. Wind, saliva, and splinters swirled around him, forcing Link to squint to avoid getting anything in his eyes. The wind caused most other sound to disappear.

The bird jerked, and Link was able to plant his knees onto the bottom of its mouth. The wind died down a bit, allowing him to hear the planks of the deck ahead creak and groan. Then he saw the deck start to give way, its edges slowly disintegrating under the bird's jaw pressure. The teeth above him would come down at any minute. If he let go, he could fall into its throat. If he did not let go, he would lose his arms and would certainly fall down its throat.

Link then had a radical idea and started pressing his feet into the soft flesh under him, trying to find some kind of traction. The deck started making more noise, causing his movements to become frantic. But his boots kept slipping, and he could not pull himself up to stand against the wind.

The jaw was closing in. The deck was almost destroyed.

Then Link found grip on a rigid surface to his left. He quickly pressed himself against the tooth so he could stand.

CRCH! The deck was gone.

And Link, now on his feet, thrust the Lokomo Sword up.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Link was deafened by the bird's shriek, his hearing reduced to an obnoxious ringing for a minute. The shriek also caused his head to cloud, as if he had been struck hard on the skull. He used his right hand to keep himself steady on the tooth due to his unstable footing. As his head began to clear, he looked up to find that he had stabbed the sword into the fleshy gums of the bird's upper jaw. Fresh, red blood started leaking from the wound and dribbling down the length of his sword.

And the sword gave off a faint glow. Link was not sure if he was seeing it right, if maybe it was just a reflection of light from somewhere outside. Then he watched as the blood simply burned away against the blade, cleaning it instantly. The sight amazed Link. He never realized that the sword had that kind of power.

The mouth around him began to quiver, and Link had to brace himself against the bottom tooth to keep from slipping. The bird must have been jerking its head from side to side next because Link felt himself get tossed left and right. He pressed one boot against the hard ridge nearby and tried to keep himself wedged between it and the tooth to keep from being thrown out. This allowed the bird to close its jaw more, but it still appeared as if it was not willing to go all the way. It must have been in serious pain if it would not finish crushing him.

Link tried to look out the sides of its mouth. The best he could see were clouds; there was no sight of any airship except for splinters of the Smiling Gunner littering its mouth. He could not signal because he was still holding the tooth, unable to reach for his flare gun still holstered on his back. Irleen's bomb gem was useless without her, and he could not think of anything else with him that would be useful in this situation. As the bird went back to simply flying, Link found he had to adjust his stance to keep from falling over. Overall, he thought this was a very crappy situation.

Then he felt the bird roll a bit and turned to look back out the front of its mouth. A ship was framed in its teeth. With a deep pang of dread, Link realized what this bird was about to do. Wind suddenly rushed into its mouth, and Link dared to let his grip on the tooth go so he could hold his shield up to defend himself. He ducked his head behind the shield and braced himself.

WHAM! The concussive force was astounding as the bird dove into the ship's weather deck. Bang! Pang! Pieces bounced off Link's shield hard. One particularly strong hit caused the shield to strike him in the head. He reeled, dropping his defense. Then next piece to hit spun him, and he was looking down the bird's throat again. A large chunk of metal narrowly missed his head. Instead, it struck his shield. The shield was painfully ripped from Link's arm, and both it and the metal chunk flew into the bird's gullet. Boards began pummeling Link's back, and he folded his free arm behind his head as his only means to protect himself. His other arm took about as much punishment, but Link's grip was tight. Jagged edges of wood tore at his clothes. His sword arm, being bare, was subjected to a number of slashes and punctures that drew blood. When the torrent died down and the bird had come out of its dive, Link looked up to find that his arm was almost unrecognizable.

"Link!"

"Agh!" Link hollered, surprised by Zelda's voice. Then confusion set in, and he looked around. "Zelda?!"

"Link!" she shouted in his head again. "Oh, thank the Goddesses you are still alive! Where are you?"

"I'm in this crazy bird's mouth!" Link nearly screamed. "How are you talking to me!?"

"I have found a way to speak to you without sleeping," Zelda replied.

"She's really talking to him?" a male voice asked. Link almost did not hear it over the wind; it was as if the voice was coming from a distance. It sounded like Flower. How was he able to hear Flower?

"Do not be so concerned with it." A female voice. High-pitched. It must have been Irleen. Her voice sounded a little clearer. "We have other matters at hand."

"I'm not sure who's talking," Link shouted, "but she's right! What the hell is this thing!?"

"Irleen," Zelda asked, "what is this gigantic creature?"

"That is Cunimincus," Irleen replied.

"What?" two men on the other side asked, sounding surprised.

"It is what?" Zelda also asked, her tone just as shocked.

"It's what!?" Link screamed, his tone definitely panicked.

"But what about scale-face?" Flower asked.

"As I recall, that was Cunimincus' second-in-command, Scaleblade," Irleen replied. There was a pause in which Link could only hear the wind. "Surely, you did not think that the conquest of the skies would be left to a ship full of flightless creatures."

"Oh, hell," Link heard Leynne say. "It's heading foh anotheh vessel."

"Link!?" Zelda cried out.

Link turned to see that there was another vessel in Cunimincus' sights. "Aw, crap…" Link groaned.

Then he screamed, "SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF THIS CRAZY BIRD!"

Wind rushed in again as Cunimincus dove for the ship. Link turned his head away and covered up with his free arm again. WHAM! All sound failed as Link felt boards whack his head, back, and arms. About the only comfort he could find out of this was that his legs were not taking the same beating.

Something much heavier than a plank struck Link's lower back. "AGH!" he cried out. The impact made his stance falter, and he had to release his sword to catch himself on the tooth. Once he realized what he had done, he thrust his right palm into the pommel of the Lokomo Sword just as the jaw around him came closer to shutting.

"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" Cunimincus screeched, further deafening Link. Still, Link found his footing again and slid his hand up the handle until he had a good grip on the sword again.

His hearing was slower coming back this time, the ringing so much more prevalent in his ears. When it finally cleared, he heard Zelda crying, "Link! Answer me!"

"I'm still here!" Link shouted back, although a little weaker this time.

Zelda gave a relieved sigh and said, "He is alive."

"Leynne, look!" Irleen shouted on the other side.

"Oh, damn!" Leynne swore after a moment. "Floweh, signal Nohth to hold fih; Link's still in that thing's mouth!"

"Got it, Boss!" Flower replied.

Link noticed a shift in the light as Cunimincus flew and looked out. Somehow, the purple sky had darkened around him. "Zelda, what's going on?!" he asked.

"He has flown into the clouds," Zelda replied. "We cannot keep him in our sight."

"He's probably going into hiding while he finds a way to get Link out of his mouth," Leynne said.

"What're we gonna do, Leynne?" Link was surprised by the voice; Line was there with them.

"I don't know," Leynne admitted. "I don't suppose theh's a regulation regahding the commanding officeh being eaten by a massive bihd, is theh?"

"He is not dead yet," Zelda told him, her tone firm.

"I'm not worth it!" Link shouted. "If Cunimincus escapes, he's gonna kill a lot of people!"

"Link…"

"For all their sakes, shoot down this stupid bird!"

Zelda was silent for a moment. It gave Link a bit of time to readjust his position in Cunimincus' mouth before he had to listen again. "Link is willing to sacrifice himself," she said.

"No!" Link heard Line shout. "We can get him out! We just need a chance! You can't just shoot your captain out of the sky, Leynne! Let me go get him in the Conductor!"

"Dammit, Line, if I have to make it an order, then it's an order!" Link screamed.

"Li—… The captain has made it an order, Mister Leynne," Zelda told them in a grim tone.

"Ohdeh oh not, Line's right," Leynne replied. "We don't have the means to shoot Cunimincus down. Nohth firing on him has probably given away that theh ah ahmed vessels in the area; he'll eitheh keep his distance oh attack in a way in which they couldn't retaliate."

"Maybe we should shoot Layna at it," Line suggested.

"Tell somebody to smack him!" Link snapped.

"Someone please discipline Airman Line," Zelda said, sounding exasperated.

"Ow!" Line shouted. Then he wailed for a moment before saying, "Oh, c'mon, Dubbl! What the hell!"

"Listen," Leynne said. "We need accuracy, and we need distance. Is theh anything on the otheh ships that can achieve what we need?"

"Are you kidding?" Flower asked.

"Link, is there some weapon that could possibly work?" Zelda asked in a low voice.

Link tried to think as Cunimincus shifted his jaw, trying to get him to stumble. Cannons would require the ship to catch Cunimincus at the perfect moment, and that would never come if he saw the Moon's Shadow and the Grand Sails in the sky. Leynne looked quite accurate with that musket he modified, Link realized as he remembered the Lizalfos Leynne had shot with it. But Link doubted that a lead shot would do much harm to a gigantic bird. And either weapon required Cunimincus to come within strike range of a ship. It was no good because Cunimincus might sink the ship before a damaging round could be fired. Link could feel himself beginning to despair. If they could not come up with a plan, Cunimincus would surely escape his storm and cause devastation a hundred times worse than what he had done to Autumn Island.

Then Link had an idea. As he remembered the assault on Autumn Island, it occurred to him that there was one weapon with a peculiar enough nature that it just might be the answer they needed. "Zelda!" he called in opposition to the wind. "Zelda, go to my cabin! Hurry!"

"Why?" Zelda asked.

"Do it!" Link shouted at her.

"Mister Leynne, where is the captain's cabin?"

"Huh?" Leynne replied. "Uh, theh, undeh the quahtehdeck. Why?"

"Wait a moment," Zelda told him.

Cunimincus shifted his jaw again, this time a little faster. "Oh, stop it, you dumb bird!" Link snapped, kicking the fleshy region around its bottom tooth.

"Link, I am here," Zelda said.

"Okay!" Link said. "There's a footlocker at the end of my bed! Open it up!" Link heard the faint click of the footlocker's latch being opened. "You see that bow in there?!"

"The Bow of Light…" Zelda breathed. "How did you…?"

"It doesn't matter!" Link shouted. "Look, I think you should be able to use that to shoot Cunimincus! I don't know what kinda effect it'll have, but it's better than nothing!"

"There are only a few arrows here," Zelda said.

"Find Twali if you have to! She'll have more!"

"But Link," Zelda huffed, sounding as if she was speaking while she was walking. "No one has successfully used this bow before."

"I have! And if a knucklehead like me can make that thing shoot arrows made of light, then a princess who makes miracles happen should be able to do it!"

"Okay," Zelda said. "I'll try."

"Try what?" Leynne asked her.

"Link wants me to try using this bow to shoot Cunimincus," Zelda explained to him. "Where is Cunimincus?"

"I can't tell," Flower said. "First he's port, then off our bow, then back to port. The bastard won't stop moving."

"Link, the clouds are proving a problem," Zelda said. "We cannot find Cunimincus."

"Hang on!" Link replied as he reached around his back for his flare gun. He had to push the barrel against his leg to open the breach. Then he held the gun between his forearm and his ribs so that his fingers were free to try prying the spent shell out. "C'mon, you stupid…" He glanced at the nearby tooth. Noticing how narrow this tooth was, he grabbed the gun by the barrel and jammed the open end of the barrel onto the tip of the tooth. This knocked the shell loose, and Link turned the gun over to let it fall to his feet. He gave an exhausted sigh as he began to realize that his right arm was becoming tired. He placed the barrel of the gun under his chin and lowered his head to hold the gun against his neck. He felt around his gun belt for a shell and pulled the first available one out. The green ring around the outside along with cloud-like design on the side of the shell indicated that he had pulled a green smoke round. It would probably be the best contrast to the sky outside, so he loaded it. Then he closed the breach and took the gun from under his chin. "Tell them to look for green smoke!" he shouted to Zelda as he cocked the gun against his trousers. He aimed into the corner of Cunimincus' mouth, figuring that firing it outside would fool Zelda's aim while firing it down Cunimincus' throat would not yield the smoke trail he needed to make. He fired.

The smoke round's usual hiss was lost in the howl of the wind. Link watched the white trail jam itself into the corner of Cunimincus' mouth, right in between the backmost tooth and a fleshy area which held the round firm. The white smoke sputtered, and then green smoke started spewing out the side of Cunimincus' mouth.

"RUH?" Link was grinning mad at the sound of Cunimincus' confused grunt, although just that short sound still managed to hurt his ears. He shoved his flare gun back into its holster.

"There he is!" Flower shouted.

"Take the shot, Zelda!" Link hollered.

For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then he barely heard Zelda whisper, "I am sorry, Link." This was followed by another, longer pause. Link began to worry that Zelda might not have been able to fire a light arrow as he had expected.

"YAH!" Link suddenly cried out when he felt a sudden warmth pierce his left thigh. He looked down.

He was a little upset to find that a shaft of light had hit his leg. "YOU SHOT ME!" he screamed.

"Wha-what!?" Zelda cried out.

"YOU SHOT ME! IN THE LEG!"

"I… I shot the captain…" Zelda muttered to herself in a stunned tone.

"You what!?" a number of voices cried out at nearly the same time.

"I-I'm sorry!" Zelda told them. "I-I was so focused on the fact that I would be killing him… I-I must have aimed at him on accident!"

Link found that he could safely put his hand around the shaft and pulled it out of his leg with little effort. "Well don't shoot me!" he shouted while Zelda was drowned in a tumult of complaints. "Shoot him!" To emphasize his point to himself, he threw the arrow into Cunimincus' gullet. Cunimincus gave a sharp jerk in response, and Link placed his left hand on the sword to support it. Link could feel his feet beginning to slip again as Cunimincus started shifting his jaw around. "Hurry! I just threw that arrow down his throat; it's pissing him off!"

Another wait later—

"RAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" While Link had gone deaf again, he had the feeling that he was spinning and tried to keep himself jammed in Cunimincus' mouth as long as possible. When he finally figured out his orientation, he realized that he was spinning. Cunimincus was rolling in the air, although for what reason, Link could not guess. He hoped that it had been in response to Zelda firing a light arrow at him; it would confirm Link's hunch that it would do damage to him where other weapons would not. His hearing returned, but the spinning made it hard to determine what was being said among his crew. It sound like Leynne was hollering at someone at one point.

"RAAAAAH AAAAAAGH!" Cunimincus screeched again. This came out strong enough that, on top of being deafened again, Link felt himself suddenly being thrust toward the front of Cunimincus' mouth as Cunimincus began to roll in the air again.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Link screamed as he was flung out of Cunimincus' mouth and into the open sky. His flight was short as he then fell against something solid. He began sliding and grabbed whatever was running between the fingers on his right hand, his left hand still gripping the Lokomo Sword. His hold slipped for a moment as he felt a powerful wind try to scrape him off whatever surface he was holding.

It took him a moment to realize that he was on Cunimincus' back. He was so large that Link would have mistaken him for a deck coated in black paint if he had not been so keen on his surroundings. Green smoke was still spewing from his mouth further ahead. The fact that Link could see the entirety of his wings indicated to him that he was probably somewhere near Cunimincus' tail. Ahead of him, he saw that, while almost a perfect sheet of black feathers, there was a large knot in the middle of Cunimincus' back. Link flailed about as he tried to replace the Lokomo Sword on his back. Once his left hand was free, he took hold of Cunimincus' feathers.

"Zelda!" he cried into the wind as he began climbing forward on the feathers. He thought he heard a response, but the howl of the wind made it hard to hear. The wind was also causing his eyes to tear, and he had to squint in order to maintain any sort of sight. "Zelda! Listen! If you can hear me…" He paused to catch his breath. "There's a lump on Cunimincus' back! Right between his wings! Shoot him there!" Again, it sounded as if she had said something, but he could not hear it. He continued to climb as he waited to see if Zelda had heard him. He paused to get the end of one feather out of his face.

"RAAAAAAAAGH!" Link suddenly grabbed this feather as he found himself begin to lift off Cunimincus. He kept his grip tight as Cunimincus bucked underneath him, his flight interrupted by a shaft of light protruding from the underside of one wing. His legs bounced against Cunimincus' back. Cunimincus managed to settle back into a gentle glide, although Link could feel a subtle wobble in the way he flew.

Another shaft crossed Link's vision as he crawled forward. Amazingly, it struck the knot in Cunimincus' back from Link's left, and then it bounced away into the air above him. The shot caused the feathers covering the spot to break away, and Link buried his face into Cunimincus' back to avoid being hit in the eyes. He resumed his climb.

Then he felt Cunimincus angle upward. Fear flooded Link's body as he realized that Cunimincus had emerged from the clouds. If he was rising in the air, there was a good chance he was about to attack another vessel. His mind flashed with the sight of the ship being crushed under Cunimincus. He felt as if he could see the crew tumbling out of the sky, falling to their dooms.

Leynne. Cale. Dholit. Flower. Layna. Twali. Biluf. Gold. Lilly. Sello. Lawrence. Dubbl. Lidago. Lwamm. Helo. Harley.

Zelda. Line. Even his father.

Jaw set, Link willed himself forward against the protests of his bruised and bloodied arms. Cunimincus was still climbing, the beat of his wings bouncing Link against his back more. Link could not quit. He would not quit.

Even if it would take him along, he would kill Cunimincus.

Link was finally close enough to find that the knot in Cunimincus' back looked like a large rock with green light pulsing through its cracked surface. A fresh streak had been formed on its surface, about where Link guessed that the light arrow had bounced off. He did not know whether this would work or not, but he freed his left hand to pull the Lokomo Sword out. He waited until Cunimincus had come to a leveler position.

Then he bashed the stone with the blade.

"HRYEEAAAAGH!" Cunimincus shrieked, the higher pitch making it sound like he had experienced some genuine pain. Link swung the sword backward and then bashed the stone again. "YEEEAAAARRRGH!"

Cunimincus then started flapping hard. Despite this, Link's body lifted away, revealing that Cunimincus was beginning to fall. He kept a firm hold on Cunimincus' feathers and looked at the stone as he rose above it. The stone had split in two, revealing a green, throbbing, fleshy mass underneath.

Link positioned the tip of the sword above it. Then he thrust as hard as he could manage.

POW! Link's grip on Cunimincus' feathers was broken by a soft burst. Light spilled out of the flesh, blinding Link for a moment. He gave a grunt as he collided with Cunimincus' body, and then he was simply falling head-first. He looked up to see Cunimincus' form ball up as it began to fall behind him. Cunimincus approached fast, and Link thought they would collide.

Then, as Link watched Cunimincus' limp form fall past, he was suddenly struck with a wild sensation. The feel of the air around him numbed. Cunimincus was no longer passing Link's altitude; it appeared more like he was keeping level. All sound had ceased. Link stared in confusion at Cunimincus for what seemed to be just a few minutes.

You, creature. Link was shocked at the thick, deep voice that suddenly invaded his ears. I know that you can hear me. I am using the last of my strength to communicate with you, as I have always done with my executive officer. You were on the smaller vessel we destroyed after we captured the Sorians.

Link wanted to ask how he could tell, but his mouth just would not work.

I recognize your fear, your form. I first gazed upon you when you entered the storm. You should have been dead when your ship fell from the sky, and yet you have returned and taken the lives of myself and my crew in the span of a single morning. A lesser creature would have stayed down. A lesser creature would have accepted survival and moved on. Why is it that you returned?

Link tried to explain that he knew Cunimincus was killing people, or that they were being killed because of his crew. Again, he could not get a word out.

Were you angry with the deaths?

Angry? If anything, Link had despaired. He got angry whenever he thought that it might happen again.

Were you ordered?

How would anyone have ordered Link? He had been separated from everyone he knew.

Then why? Cunimincus asked, his voice calm and yet commanding. Why would you return to the sky when you knew the danger? Why would you purposely pursue my crew and slaughter them?

Link did not have to ponder the answer. To him, it seemed natural to return to the sky kingdom. As if he had had a duty to perform.

Duty? Cunimincus then paused. When he spoke again, he had a horror in his voice that Link thought he would never have heard from a creature of his size.

Oh, shit. Of all the people to sail against in this age…

Link was surprised by Cunimincus' reaction. Was there something he knew that Link did not?

In the next instant, Cunimincus had fallen away. The wind had returned, deafening him and reminding him that he was still plummeting to the surface. Link was not sure what to think anymore. Somehow, things just seemed to complete themselves. Cunimincus was no longer a threat. The Smiling Gunner was gone along with its crew.

Then he realized that there was still Irleen. He began to feel guilty. He had promised to take her home. And so far, all he had taken her to was misery and loss. Even his attempt to rescue Koroul and his crew had failed. Where did the crew go? Did he somehow know that the Sorians had left, like Lutock?

He started wishing for something to happen. As he watched the sky around him brighten, he wished there was some way to stop his fall. The horizon would rise soon. He closed his eyes in anticipation of the impact below.

Then, among the wind, he heard what sounded like a voice. He could not make out any words, but he thought he recognized it. He opened his eyes, curious if he could find the source or not.

"LINK! STOP FALLING AND GRAB MY HAND, YOU IDIOT!"

Naturally, Link still could not make out Line's voice over the howl of the wind. But as Line held his hand out to Link, he made his intentions very clear. Link did not question why Line was falling with him. He just reached his hand out, and they clasped each other at the wrist.

Line turned his head and, using his opposite hand, tugged on a rope. Link then realized that the Conductor, somehow falling backwards, was right behind Line. Layna was hanging onto the structure around the pilot's station. Line pulled Link and himself closer to the Conductor. Layna then hooked her foot around the ballast control lever and tugged. The Conductor started turning away as it leveled itself, and it pulled Link and Line along. It slowed its fall enough that Link and Line hit the deck near the transom, laying them both flat on their backs. Both boys looked up at the clear blue sky above while the Conductor eventually stopped its fall. Link was stunned; he could not believe that had happened.

His concerns were alleviated when Line reached over and smacked his arm, reminding Link that he was covered in bruises. "You're an idiot!" Line spat.

Link burst into laughter that quickly died down as pain registered across most of his body. As he settled down, he said, "You're an idiot, too."

"Yeah, I know," Line said with a chuckle. "How the hell are we still alive?"

Link sighed. "I'm done being an idiot for the day. Let's go home."

…

End Arc 3 of 3.