Chapter 2: Dangers of the Sea

"Hey, Miss Tetra! Where are we going again?"

Tetra turned to Zuko, who was in the crow's nest on top of the ship's mast. He's supposed to be keeping watch. Tetra thought rather annoyed. "How many times do I have to tell you? We're going to Windfall to find a swordsman."

Zuko nodded, "Oh okay, Miss Tetra. Methinks I forget, yarr." he added, chuckling. He scratched his sideburns and took up watch over the seas with his telescope again. Tetra wondered how he could have forgotten when she told him five minutes ago. The pirates were all to their duties. Mako was scanning the seas on the lower deck. Senza was watching the ropes to the sails and the front of the boat, he wiped a sweaty hand on his purple shirt. Nudge was assisting Senza, Gonzo was steering the ship and Niko was in the basement tending to the laundry. Tetra kept her eye on about everything else and made sure that the pirates were doing their duties and not goofing off.

The wind was quite strong that day. A good breeze always pleased Tetra. This one was especially comfortable because it did not have the tendency to sneak down your shirt and freeze your skin, but instead, whipped past and left you cool despite the Sun's continuing heat waves from above. The sea itself seemed rather relaxed, the boat still creaked as it floated upon the waves and rocked back and forth, but it was no need for any worry.

"I hope we can find a swordsman." Gonzo mused out loud in order to catch Tetra's attention, "Though I always thought Windfall was more peaceful than that." he added as he turned the helm a bit, his purple headscarf tie flapping in the wind. Tetra's blue eyes wondered over to him.

"It is." She answered sharply, making Gonzo jump, "These swordsmen always go to Windfall as a place to pick up supplies and brag to each other about their skills until the registration opens."

"But, didn't it already open, Miss?" Gonzo asked.

"Yes, but I'm sure there will be latecomers." She replied, a smile growing quickly on her face, "And one of those late boys will be our late boy." Her smile turned into a grin and Gonzo swallowed.

Whenever Tetra started talking about controlling someone or manipulating someone, she always used 'we', 'our' or 'us'. In reality she was talking about herself, no one on the ship could manipulate like she could. What guy could resist a quick wink or cute smile from Tetra? It seemed to Gonzo that no man that he ever met was able to say 'no' to Tetra. She even kept him and the other pirates under her whim with similar tactics.

While it sounded a bit disturbing, there were times when the pirates always tried to increase their favor with Tetra. After all, there were some times when she was the only girl they came in contact with for days, maybe even weeks. Tetra knew this very well and knew the pirates would never get too desperate, so she used this 'starvation' to control them. If that didn't work, she would resort to demoting them and getting angry at them. And there were times when, the pirates agreed, that they deserved it.

However, Tetra was unaware that the pirates listened to her and obeyed her, primarily because her plans and ideas had always worked and not only gained a fair amount of wealth for the pirates, but also had kept them from getting captured. There were certain rules that she placed on the pirates that they just didn't agree with, but they knew it was probably for a good reason.

On the horizon, the pirates could see the dark shape of Windfall Island in the distance. It was a few miles east from the mainland and was one of the smaller islands. However, Windfall was popular place for sailors and travelers because of its clean inns and generous hospitality. Even Tetra, the leader of the Terror of the Seas would find a welcome there, even if it was not a warm one.

"'Hoy Miss!" Zuko called out, sounding a bit alarmed, but before he could finish, Tetra cut him off.

"Yes, I know Windfall's ahead of us." Tetra said, with an annoyed voice, "Now keep your eyes open for any Royal Family of Hyrule military ships or dangers lurking in the sea."

But Zuko was not alarmed about Windfall, "That's not what I'm talking about, Miss Tetra, look to the northeast! There be a whirlpool ahead of us." Tetra made a sigh of annoyance and pulled out her own telescope. She pointed it and looked out to the northeast. Sure enough, there was a whirlpool.

But this did not alarm Tetra, for it was a fairly small whirlpool, "I see it!" She called back, squelching her annoyance, "But it isn't anything to worry about, Zuko. I'm sure Gonzo can easily avoid that." she added throwing a wink at Gonzo, "I've seen bigger ones, anyone who gets trapped in that must have serious problems."

She put her telescope away and stretched. The nagging feeling overcame her that she had just jinxed someone by saying that, but Tetra pushed the feeling aside. Ha! She thought, I don't believe in that stuff! People only screw up because they make a wrong choice, not because I said so.

But Zuko was still uneasy about the whirlpool, "But,what if it gets bigger, Miss Tetra?", Tetra was about to yell at him, but she breathed in and exhaled, calming herself slightly, she turned and looked at him and smiled, her blue eyes shining, "I mean," he continued, "It could get large enough to engulf the ship. I've heard about those, nasty little things... Perhaps we should turn around?" Tetra waited patiently until Zuko was finished and then breathed in.

"Zuko..." She said seductively, "Don't worry about it, if it does get bigger, we'll have plenty of time to turn and avoid it." Zuko looked down at her and looked as if he was about protest again, but Tetra winked at him and smiled, "It's nothing to worry about, just keep watch for any enemy ships, mmkay?" She let herself bounce a bit, she knew she had won when she saw Zuko's face flush red. He did not say anything else and returned his duties.

The pirates continued their journey to Windfall, its shape was beginning to become more definite and clear as they got closer. Tetra began to wonder if it would be a good time to call a meeting to introduce the rest of the plan when Senza walked over to her and poked her on the shoulder.

Tetra did not respond immediately, she was still musing, but Senza waited patiently for a few moments. Normally, he would have waited longer, but something about the sea was bothering him and he tapped her on the shoulder again. Tetra turned to him, not angry, but surprised: Senza was looking tense and worried, something that did not happen very often with Senza. Because of this, Tetra, herself was becoming a bit anxious.

"What-what's wrong, Senza?" She said, trying to sound commanding, but a note of slight uneasiness managed to escape her lips, "You look like you are about to have a panic attack."

Senza nodded, "I know it is kinda outta our way, but, erm-", he scratched his head and looked nervously out to the sea, "Someone's caught in that whirlpool!" he finally blurted out, unable to control himself. He pointed to the whirlpool that Zuko had mentioned earlier.

Tetra looked out in that direction, she could see a small ship,but she couldn't make out anymore. "Help!" She heard someone calling from the whirlpool, "help!" A sudden lurch in her stomach told her that she needed to help, but she could not do so. It would waste too much time and they needed to get to Windfall while the wind was still strong.

"There's nothing we can do." Tetra said slowly, making Senza's jaw drop, "I don't like it, but we must get to Windfall soon, we don't have much time left." Senza looked as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out. They had somehow gotten stuck in his throat.

Although Tetra had said it like she had made up her mind, in reality, she wanted to take back her words. Guilt stung her senses, it seemed cruel to leave someone helpless in the whirlpool and yet Tetra kept trying to convince herself that whoever it was would be able to get out of it. But she knew it was a lie.

"'Hoy, Miss!" Zuko shouted, "the whirlpool's gotten bigger! Look at them waves, mateys! That poor kid in there is goin' need some help, he is!" he added rather anxiously, looking through his telescope.

The word struck a nerve in Tetra, she spun around and called out to Zuko, "Did you say that was a kid!?" Zuko looked down at her and nodded. The lump in her stomach grew. She turned back around in a blur and pulled out her telescope to see for herself.

A small blue boat was trapped in the whirlpool. Zuko was right, the whirlpool had increased in size and the waters were rushing faster around it. It almost seemed as if its increase in strength was for its small victim. As she zoomed in on the boat, she saw a boy in green clothing, struggling to hold his small boat together. The scene touched a nerve in Tetra and she had the urge to do something that she would never have done normally.

"Miss Tetra?", Gonzo called out to her from the helm, "Do you want me to go around?" He asked, keeping his hand on the helm. Tetra removed the telescope from her eye and looked down, then she turned to look at Gonzo.

"No!" She shouted calmly at him, "I want you to move as close as possible to the whirlpool and circle it!"

"But... Miss...!" Gonzo protested.

Tetra glared at him, she did not have time for this, "Just do it." She said venomously, "And make sure you don't go in it."

"Aye-aye!" He replied, looking rather shaken, turning the helm swiftly to move the ship closer to the whirlpool. Tetra turned to Senza and Nudge, who were trying to avoid her gaze.

"Senza, Nudge! Get some rope and a hook together and get out the crane!" Senza and Nudge obeyed her silently, they opened up some doors on the deck and brought a large brown wood crane, which they normally used to dig up treasure out of the sea. Senza and Nudge attached a hook to the rope and reeled in it. "Bring it over to the edge and extend it a bit upwards." They did as they were told. It was strange for them to be saving someone, but as soon as they got closer they saw why.

Everyone could see the boy clearly now. His face was filled with fear and he was franticly trying to keep his boat stable. The boy looked to be about Tetra's age and the pirates figured, while Tetra might not stick out her nose for an adult, she might try to save someone who was closer to her in age. They knew this because Tetra told them about a similar experience she had when she much younger. The pirates figured that she may just be trying to make up for that mistake.

"Extend the crane over the whirlpool," Tetra commanded, "lower it so he can reach the hook." As soon as that was done, Tetra motioned to Gonzo, "Move a bit closer, Gonzo!", Gonzo turned the ship closer to the whirlpool and began to circle it. The waves lashed out dangerously at
the hull, as if the waters were trying to grip it and pull down into the watery depths.

Tetra cupped her hands and yelled out to the boy, "Hey, kid!" He did not seem to notice, so she tried again, "Hey, kid!!" She yelled a bit louder. This time he noticed and began franticly waving at them while trying to maintain the boat. His worst fears started to become a reality as a loud snap sounded. The mast for his boat snapped away in the wind and slammed into the pirate ship's hull. The boy's face became panic-stricken, his ship was now at the mercy of the spiraling whirlpool.

Tetra began to get worried, one of two things could happen if the boy got pulled into the center; he could be dragged down to the bottom and drown to death, or the force of the center would shoot him out and either slam him into the pirate ship's hull or send him out to sea. Either way, he would die.

Tetra called out to him again, "Grab the hook!" the boy looked at her, a bit shocked and hesitant, but a fierce wave shook his boat and changed his mind for him. She turned to Senza and Nudge, "Extend it more!" they did so and it soon was within the boy's grasp, at least, it was in his grasp once he swung around to the pirate ship's side.

His boat came around towards the pirate ship, everyone was tense and unmoving. Some asked silent prayers to the goddesses. The boy amazingly managed to keep his vessel from overturning, despite the violent waves rushing against him and drenching him in water. He stood up, getting ready to grab the hook as he came around.

The hook swung in the wind, the boy reached out as far as he could, but the hook seemed to taunt him as it swung away from his hands. With one quick movement, his hands reached out and grabbed the hook, smiles passed on all the pirates' faces, but it was to be short-lived.

Hearts all fell as the boy's hands slipped off the hook and he fell back into his boat. He was getting close to the center and as far as Tetra could tell, he had one last chance before the boat shattered, it looked extremely battered and too worn to last much longer.

Tetra called to extend the crane a little more, the rope was beginning to strain. He's going to make it, she thought anxiously, trying to comfort herself, He's not going to die. The wind slashed into everyone's face, forcing them to squint. Howling, the winds flew with powerful force, threatening to topple the small boat over, while the violent waters toyed with the idea of snapping the boat in half.

Tetra grinded her teeth as she watched. She felt so helpless and she wanted the boy to make it safely. She had almost died herself to a whirlpool when she was younger, she was lucky that some fishermen had been passing by and managed to pick her up before she was swallowed by the waves.

The boy came around again and the tension mounted. Hearts were beating loud and at incredible rates as everyone watched. The waves were even more violent this time around, almost as if the sea were trying to murder him, as if the boy had done something to offend the waters and he did not deserve to live.

However, the boy struggled with the seas and surprisingly, maintained an excellent balance on the boat. The hook came up and this time he jumped, as if he knew the boat wouldn't make it. His hands grasped the hook and the pirates held the smiles until they were sure.

Ahead in the whirlpool, the small blue boat hit a rough wave, immediately shattering the boat in half. The back half came flying into the hull of the pirate ship and the front spun around on the current and was pulled under the waves, just like Tetra had predicted. A tense moment passed as Nudge and Senza, feeling the pull on the crane, began reeling it in.

Tetra called out to Gonzo to move away from the whirlpool and soon it was silent except for the calm breeze, the twisting sound of the crane being reeled in and the sputtering and coughing of someone who was dripping wet. After all her worries, it was music to Tetra's ears to hear the signs of life.

Everyone seemed to stop what they were doing at once, they came onto the main deck to watch as the crane pulled a boy, dripping in the strangest clothing they had ever seen. He was wearing a green tunic and white pants and a cone-shaped green hood. He was still coughing and sputtering after the ordeal. The pirates all examined him strangely as they had never seen anything like him before. Nudge and Senza reeled the crane in a bit more, placing the boy above the deck. Tetra smiled at him.

"'Hoy there, kid." She said, "Are you okay?"

He did not respond, he just held onto the crane, shivering heavily and staring at Tetra, his green eyes began to give out, and then shutting abruptly. He suddenly lost his grip on the crane and fell to the floor completely unconscious.

Tetra gasped, she looked around franticly at her pirates, "Gonzo!"

Gonzo leapt up and rushed to her, "Get back to the helm and turn us toward to Windfall. Senza, Nudge, put the crane back and dry this boy off and get him into my bed."

"Eh?", Nudge said, a bit surprised, "Your bed, Miss Tetra? Ahem! But, I thought no one was allowed in your cabin." Tetra's eyes twitched dangerously. She was getting fairly annoyed.

"Just do it!" She yelled at them, making them jump, "Or this kid'll catch a nasty cold. Now, get to it before I decide to force you to."

Senza and Nudge saluted her shakily and took the boy inside the cabin.

She waited for a moment, trying to get the boy out of her mind. As the leader of the pirates she had to keep focus on the task at hand, she had to make sure that they made it to Windfall.

"Miss Tetra?"

Tetra turned around. Gonzo was looking at her with a concerned expression on his face, "Is there something wrong?" He asked, even though Tetra knew he was just asking to initiate conversation, he could tell that she was worried about the boy.

"Oh... I'm just worried about the time we lost." She lied unconvincingly. But Gonzo did not reply immediately. Tetra stared out to the seas, trying to distract herself. She searched the seas for something pleasant, something that would make her forget what just happened.

But her thoughts kept wondering back to the boy. After all, she had been saved in the nick of time, what if they had failed to do so with the boy? Tetra remembered the look on his face; weak, helpless and deathly white. She had hesitated, all for time, for the plan. An innocent life was hanging by a thread and it was all for that stupid Ocarina. Her hesitation may have ended that boy's life, his short life.

With the immense pain of guilt upon her spirit, Tetra was considering throwing herself upon the outstretched claws of the waters when Gonzo suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

"That kid must be pretty strong. He looked like sharkbait to me, but the way he handled that boat was pretty impressive." Although he spoke as if he were musing to himself, Tetra knew Gonzo was trying to cheer her up, "I'm not sure I could've handled the boat like that." Tetra saw him grin out of the corner of her eyes, "I'll bet he'll be alright."

She said nothing for awhile. She was processing Gonzo's words. He was right, the kid was strong, he could have easily survived such a catastrophe. But his deathly white face and those dim green eyes kept coming back into Tetra's mind. It was the image of a dying person. She fought with herself over and over again until she finally spoke.

"If he dies... I'm responsible." She said, speaking her mind.

Gonzo paused, looking off to the sky, "I wouldn't know about that, Miss Tetra." He said consolingly, "When a good pirate finds a piece of Fool's gold. He doesn't go and throw it away in the Sea. He learns from it, learns the difference between it an' the real thing, and he never regrets it." He smiled.

Tetra smiled, that's Gonzo, alright. She thought to herself, tough-talking, sounding and even looking, yet he's a softy at heart. She sighed, "We won't know until he is revived and that could take days."

"There's a doctor in Windfall." Gonzo replied, "I heard rumors that his potions are excellent for reviving the injured or the weak..."

"I know..." Tetra murmured, "It'll take up our time, though." She felt a pang, there you go again, caring about the time! It's not like the boy's life is actually important, is it!? She thought angrily to herself.

"Maybe Mako has got something for the poor kid?" He said, "It wouldn't hurt to check."He added, shrugging. Tetra looked at him, looked at the waters, she felt a bit better now, her spirit's weight seemed lighter and the concept of killing herself in the Sea seemed strange, almost ridiculous. She looked over at the door to the cabin, pausing and then finally moving towards it.

She went inside, there she saw Nudge and Senza surrounding the boy, Mako had entered without Tetra's permission, but at this point, the tough pirate capitan could care less. She walked over to the left side the bed and looked at the boy. His hood had been removed and placed on the bedstead, his limp body and face seemed almost devoid of life and his skin was clammy and cool.

Even Niko was there, his beaver-like face was covered in concern and excitement at the same time. Obviously, Niko had never seen such an occurrence as the whirlpool, nor had he ever seen anyone pull off an escape from such a natural disaster. She turned to Mako.

"How is he?" Tetra asked after a moment. Mako looked up at her, his face grim, she feared the worst. Mako, had clearly given the boy a full examination as she could see that the pirates had placed his belongs on Tetra's desk next to the bed. hanging on the the bedstead, Tetra could see the boy's pointed green hat.

"He's not cold, Miss Tetra." Mako said, Tetra made a sigh of relief, but Mako continued with some bad news, "but he's extremely weak. If we don't get him some 'vittes soon, he might not make it."

Tetra sat down on a stool next to the bed, she looked at the boy and she saw herself and she was overwhelmed, he could not die. If he did, Tetra could not forgive herself. Frustration overcame her as she watched the boy and she hoped they were getting closer to Windfall.

§

Link was swimming. It was a vast sea, nothing for miles and miles around and he was in the middle of it. Link thought it was day, there were blue skies, but for some odd reason, there was no sun. The water felt warm and Link did not get tired. He did not know why or where he was swimming, but he knew he just had to get somewhere. Suddenly he stopped, he heard a familiar voice.

"Big brother!" He turned around and around, and then he saw it. In the middle of the sea, there was a small piece of land. There he saw his sister, Aryll, who was beaming at him, "Come on, big brother!" She said, giggling and waving at him. His heart gave a bound.

Link laughed and swam towards Aryll at full-strength. He had to get to her. That was all he knew. He already missed her so much. Closer and closer he got to the land. As he swam, Aryll kept cheering him on. She was bouncing like her usual self. Link pushed harder and he finally reached the land.

He stretched out his arm, and his hand touched the grass, but as soon as he did, he knew something had gone wrong.

Immediately, the water and the skies went dark. A large wave came up under him and swept him away from land, he immediately tried to swim back, but wave after wave of water kept coming and pushing him down. Water flushed into his lungs, he found it difficult to breathe.

Suddenly, Link felt himself flung back towards Aryll, his hand touched the soft grass again and he sighed in relief. He was going to pull himself up onto the land, when suddenly, the tide increased and pulled him back into the waves.

Aryll seemed not to notice this, she kept calling after him and smiling and giggling. She kept cheering him on towards home as if it was something he could accomplish Suddenly, Link began to spin, he was trapped in a whirlpool like before, he could not get out, no matter how hard he tried and he was washed under the waves.

He opened his eyes, he was under water. The water was still pushing down on him, so he could not get back up. Then, he saw something in the distance. Someone with golden hair. At first, he thought it was Aryll, but a closer examination proved him wrong. It was a girl he had never met before.

He could see her shining blue eyes, her golden hair was curled upwards into a spiral on top of her hair. Her skin was well-tanned and she wore a cute red scarf around her neck. She was really cute and curiosity rose up in Link, he began to swim towards her. For some strange reason, she was laughing.

She winked at him, and then she began to change, large sideburns began to grow on her face, her eyes shrunk, her skin became darker. She began to become clouded so Link could not make out the features and as she changed, her laugh transformed and suddenly Link realized that he was not looking at a girl anymore.

It was a man. A dark, wicked looking man, whose laughter sent strong shivers through Link's spine. Fear gripped his body and Link franticly tried to swim up, but the water kept pushing him down. The laughter, the water, the man, his eyes were glowing wickedly. The man reached out malevolently with thick brutal-looking hands, attempting to grab Link. He opened his mouth to scream but water rushed in and the most foul taste entered in his mouth as everything went dark, the laughter still echoing in his pointed ears.