HE WEPT for the better part of his journey to Windfall. The island was mercifully close. To his utmost gratitude, his talking boat kept its mouth shut.

When he finally came to the dock on the shore of Windfall, he anchored the boat and grabbed up his sodden cap and his satchel.

"Where are you going?" the King said as Link climbed onto the dock.

Link didn't answer. He just wanted to be alone.

The streets of the island were vacant. The people here had the sense, unlike him, not to stay out in the rain. He plodded up the main street of the island, the street having become slick, and full of puddles.

Link accidentally stepped in a deceptively deep pool of water, and grumbled at getting even more soaked.

He saw a building with light flooding out its unshuttered windows, and he could hear the sound of people enjoying themselves. It was the cafe that was built on top of Zunafari's street stall.

It annoyed him, and hurt him deeply, to see other people have so much fun, when he had been completely broken since the moment those fletching pirates landed on the shore of his home.

Link had nothing better to do, so he walked up the stairs and out of the rain. He dropped several green rupees on a small meal of fried fish, and walked to a table. Link could see the eyes of many people in the restaurant resting on him. He was sure he heard some of them snickering about his clothing.

He still had a good amount of rupees left. Maybe he'd buy something more normal to wear. His food arrived, and he reveled in being able to have a proper meal for the first time in weeks.

It wasn't the best skippyjack he'd had, but the meal was certainly better than having to drink water out of a tiny island spring.

Link laid back when he finished. He was tired. Very tired. Not tired physically - he hadn't done much more than sailing today. No, he was tired at a deep, mental, and emotional level.

He'd given his all, and had his hope leveled multiple times since Aryll was kidnapped. Now, he grappled with what he knew was true. He'd never see her again. And after his failure, he didn't want to see his family again either.

The complete and utter disappointment they would have waiting for him was worth enduring the crippling loneliness that he felt inside.

He didn't know what to do. Maybe he'd hire himself out as a deckhand on a ship. Whatever he did, he knew that he couldn't muster up hope in himself to try to save Aryll again though. It was just too much.

To have something built up, and then have it utterly razed to the ground... his dreams had been burned like useless kindling in a fire.

He did not deserve to wear the clothes he was wearing. He was not a hero. He was just a fourteen year old boy, who was obsessed with pointless knowledge about stars that benefitted no one.

He bowed his head down onto his folded arms, fighting the tears that kept threatening to flow once more.

"...we're goin' to this place called Outset Island ya' see, interestin' place..."

Link raised his head. He listened carefully for the sound of the voice.

"...an' we been there before, but now we know there's quite a pretty sum of rupees hidden on the island."

He turned towards the sound. It was a bearded man, talking to someone at another table. It was one of Tetra's pirates. And they were going back to Outset. They were going to rob his family and friends.

"...now they don' need me for special operations," the pirate said, "they asked me to save a table for em', now they're gettin' all armed at the shippin' shop and ready to blow that place back to old Hyrule."

Link was not going to let that happen. He got up from his table, walking carefully down the stairs, trying to avoid grabbing the pirate's attention.

When he got outside, he found that the storm was just about rained out. It had slowed to a drizzle. He ran for the other end of the island where he had seen the nautical supply shop. He had failed to save Aryll, but at least he could save the rest of his family from these fletching gerudos.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

As he got closer, he heard some commotion from inside the store. The pirates weren't simply buying supplies, they were... well, being pirates.

He quietly snuck around the back of the store. He heard the sound of talking inside, though he couldn't make it out. Looking up, he saw that on the roof of the store there was a window to the inside.

Link gripped the wet edges of the worn brick wall, and slowly made his way up, making use of a large growth of ivy to climb. He pulled himself up onto the roof, and getting down on his stomach, pulled himself up to the window.

Link peeked just close enough to see most of the pirate crew, including Tetra, who was pointing her gun toward someone.

"I won't stand for this a moment longer!" the stranger said, "you've had the moral indecency to hold up my store, and -"

"Yes," Tetra said, sticking the barrel of her pistol into the man's nose. "Thank you for reminding me. This is a hold up."

She motioned to her gun with her free hand.

"I just thought this would interest you," she smiled, "this in my hand is a nice, Goron made flintlock, that I've named Nayru's cunning."

She rotated the weapon in her hand, admiring it.

"I've named it with wisdom in mind," she explained, "because I don't believe in having to make my point more than once. A gun should be accurate enough to hit the first time."

Link swallowed.

"I... I... I...," the shopkeeper stuttered.

"We understand," Tetra smiled, "that you are attached to your wealth and your merchandise, but we'd like to be attached to it as well."

The shopkeeper stammered again, and Tetra responded by turning the wheel of the pistol into place. For a moment Link tensed, thinking she'd fired the gun, but she had just cocked it.

"I submit!" The shopkeeper gave into fear. "Take all you want!"

Tetra smiled in satisfaction, keeping her gun elevated as the man began to unlock a safe behind him.

"You've made a wonderful investment today my friend," Tetra commended, "a man who's alive has much more potential for money making than a man who's dead."

"How many cannonballs do you think we'll need Tetra?" One of the pirates asked. Gonzo, Link remembered.

"Enough to punch a hole in the side of a cliff," another pirate said... Nudge.

"We need to strike a balance between opening the cave on Outset and causing it to collapse," Mako said, "if it collapses it could destroy Nayru's Pearl."

"I don't care how many cannonballs we grab!" Tetra exclaimed, "we aren't gonna use em' all in one go!"

"That is true," Mako said, pushing up his glasses.

Nayru's Pearl.

On Outset?

The shopkeeper suddenly ran for the front door with a sack of rupees in hand. Tetra thwarted the portly man's attempt at escaping, snatching his rupees in the process.

"We don't charge for our services," Tetra said, "but I appreciate your generosity."

The shopkeeper's protesting was stifled by Nudge gagging him and tying him up.

"You're a big boy ain'tchya?" Nudge teased as the man struggled.

"Maybe that'll teach ya' ta' quit scammin' your customers!" Niko sneered at the shopkeeper.

"We're pirates Niko," Nudge said, tying a knot tight around their prisoner, "why would we care about that?"

"Gotta' hold out for the common man," Niko answered, "not everyone has the skill to be a pirate."

"And in your case," Zuko remarked, "just enough idiocy to be entertaining."

"Hey!" Niko said, "just you wait, I'm gonna be somein' great someday, and -"

"Can it boys!" Tetra stifled their talking, "let's get outta here."

She turned to Nudge as the others walked out the door. "Take our spoils and put them on the ship. And remember... those rupees stay in the bag."

"Ohh," Nudge whispered, "but sometimes a few happen to fall out and into my pockets..."

"But I'm not sure I'd notice if that happened," Tetra joked as she turned around.

Nudge laughed and Tetra slapped him on the back as he walked out the door.

They walked out, leaving the shopkeeper tied up. As Tetra walked out, she looked behind her, and then....Up.

At Link.

He quickly pulled his face back from the window, hoping that Tetra hadn't seen him. He rolled over onto his back.

They were after Nayru's Pearl, and it was on Outset. He was going to have to get there before them. The King of Red Lions had a small swivel cannon on it. He needed to get some of their stolen cannonballs.

Link climbed up on the higher tier of the roof and saw Tetra walking up the road with the other pirates.

"Senza better have stayed at our table," Niko said.

"I second that," Zuko agreed.

"Are we gonna stay the night?" he heard Gonzo say to Tetra.

"Probably," she replied.

Nudge walked off towards their ship, separating from the rest of the group. Link carefully got down to the ground. And looking off into the darkness, he saw the faint silhouette of the pirate ship.

After running back to the docks, he stealthily sailed the King of Red Lions over to the backside of the island, where he reached into his satchel and threw his grappling hook over the ship's railing.

"Good luck," the King said.

As he climbed up to the top, he listened quietly for a moment, and determined that the deck was empty. He watched for several minutes to make sure that Nudge had left, then he made his move.

Coming onto the ship, Link ran quickly for the door to the lower deck.

He went inside and down the stairs, then ran down the length of the ship.

Inside, the cargo hold was illuminated by the faint light of the oil lamps. He found the large collection of cannonballs, and grabbed a sack of some of the smaller ones. He hoped they'd fit in the cannon on the King of Red Lions.

As he ran up the stairs, he paused for a moment at the landing.

It was the door to Tetra's cabin.

And it was open.

Did he dare?

He did.

Link walked into the room, and was surprised at the rather homely feeling to it. There was a bed, a study desk, and a wardrobe furnishing the cabin. Large faded maps adorned the wall.

Surprisingly, there was a bookcase next to the bed. Link shamefully realized he'd assumed the pirates other than Mako were unable to read

Even more surprising however, was that he saw a certain book on Tetra's bed. An old, worn copy of the Codex of Time.

He placed his bag of ammunition on the floor, and picked up the book, examining it.

There was the sudden metallic sound of a flintlock pistol locking into firing position.

"Link of Outset, you're a dead man."