Chapter Text
It had been a pleasant day when it happened (and, by extent, a pleasant evening). The sky was a deep, sapphire blue, and the sun was shining brightly. There was not the slightest sign of a storm. Perfect. Tetra’s crew had been on edge, as they had only recently set sail in search of the ghost ship. Of course, they’d heard the rumors that the ship was haunted- that anyone who set foot on its cursed deck would be cut off from the world forever. But most of the pirates weren’t afraid. Mako and Senza claimed they were nothing more than some rather outlandish lies concocted by rival crews, so they could plunder the treasure first; while Gonzo, Nudge, and Zuko weren’t afraid of ghosts at all. Niko, on the other hand, was scared out of his wits (which amused most of the crew for days on end). For most of the morning, Link was swabbing the deck. Or rather, he was supposed to have been. Instead, he opted to take a nap, and slept until the afternoon.
Tetra was walking around the deck, giving orders, when she nearly tripped. She looked down, and saw it was Link who she had nearly tripped over. Of course she did, because why wouldn’t she? He was lying down, looking peaceful, as if he had no worries in the world.
Tetra yelled, with irritation but also very faint a hint of affection, “Get up, Link, and go swab the deck!”
Link, rather groggily, mumbled out a response, too exhausted to raise his voice any louder. Tetra couldn’t decipher what he was trying to say, not that she had time to, as Zuko had called down from the crow’s nest.
“Cap’n, thar be a ship!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone on board moved swiftly to a position where they could see the ship. Niko, of course… Wasn’t exactly thrilled when he saw it, as it matched the description of the ghost ship perfectly: dilapidated, eerie, and seemingly haunted (though there was some minor debate about the latter, as some believed it was just superstition). Jackpot.
The plan was simple, really. Tetra would board the ship with Link, and then they’d plunder as much treasure as possible. It was a quick and fairly easy way to strike it rich.
…
Things are never that simple for them, are they…?
Tetra scolded the crew, demanding to know why they never tried to help her, only to find out it had been ten minutes since they boarded the Ghost Ship. She glanced at Link. She noticed the sword and hourglass that was next to him. They had come with them too… Her attention was then drawn to the fact that he was still asleep. That wasn’t surprising… But then, she wondered, why hadn’t he woken up like she had?
She decided not to fret over it; he’d wake up at some point… She ordered Gonzo to carry Link down to the lower deck, take him to the crew quarters, and put him back in his hammock.
-
Several hours had already passed by then, and Link was still fast asleep. His breathing was steady, and his body was as warm as ever. So, Tetra wondered, why was she so worried? Why did she have that damned sense of unease- that feeling as if she were on a sinking ship?
She hated that feeling.
She did she care so much, anyways? It wasn't like they've known each other for a particularly long time, unlike the crew and her...
…
Those hours turned into a day. That day turned into several days. Those several days turned into a week. That cruel week turned into several weeks, and those weeks turned into an agonizing month. No matter how long Tetra and her crew waited, Link wouldn’t wake up. Over the course of that month, Link had become increasingly sickly.
“Damn that cursed ship,” the young captain thought bitterly.
-
First came the dark circles under his eyes, followed by a deathly pale complexion.
Next came his barely perceptible breathing, followed by his faint heartbeat.
Then, a few of his bones began to protrude from beneath his skin.
-
The matter weighed heavily on everyone’s minds. Although she would not admit it, Tetra hadn’t been able to sleep at all since it began, much to her anmoyance. On several occasions, she thought she saw Gonzo quietly sobbing (after all, he had always been more sensitive than he appeared), and a few crew members whispering anxiously among themselves, discussing the current condition of their young cabin boy. She couldn’t blame them; after all, it really wasn’t a pleasant sight, especially on a fellow crewmember. Even more so, considering said crew member was a child…
-
Eventually, the gods decided to play a cruel joke on them all. His faint breathing and weak heartbeat ceased completely. They were too far from Outset Island to deliver the grave news to his family. By the time they arrived there, several months would likely have passed, and Link’s body would have decomposed long before then.
For weeks, Tetra and her crew had been making arrangements for Link’s funeral. The situation was filled with dark irony. Their youngest had been the first to pass away…
What a terrible fate…
…
On a dim, gloomy night, as a full moon hung high in the sky, glowing an unusual red as if stained by the crimson of lost souls, a sound unexpectedly came from the cargo hold- the very place where they were temporarily holding Link. At first, they thought it was just a rat, or some other creature akin to one. However, they soon realized that the sound was far too loud to possibly come from a small rodent, or any animal, for that matter. They heard stumbling, shambling footsteps coming from inside the cargo hold. This, of course, was certainly not the least bit worrisome…
Warily, all of them (apart from Niko, as, somehow, he was still asleep) made their way over to investigate. Tetra led the way, holding a lit candle, dispelling the darkness that surrounded them.
…
In the dim candlelight, they found themselves face to face with a redead. A redead that wore the face of their late cabin boy. It hissed and shied away from the light.
The monster’s skin was a deep turquoise with an ashy undertone, covered in white markings. The markings on its cheeks were crescent-shaped, with the inward-curving ends facing below its eyes. Its childish innocent eyes were red, with black sclera, and its teeth were sharp and slightly yellowed. Two of them, where the canines should have been, were slightly longer than the others and protruded even when its mouth was closed. Even so, it still retained the messy mop of blond hair that they had all came to know, and the button nose they all knew so well. Somehow, there was even a trace of baby fat left on its cheeks, too…
It stared at them.
They froze, too terrified to move.
It, too, froze, seemingly mortified and panicked, and tried to back away from them.
It wad exactly the reaction Link would’ve had…
The entire crew suddenly came to a horrible realization: that was Link.
That was Link, not a redead.
-
It was Nudge who reluctantly spoke up first.
“Hey, uh… Link. How ya feelin’…?”
Link looked away, appearing nervous. The crew exchanged glances.
“Not very talkative right now, are ya…? Tha’s, uhh… Tha’s fine.”
The silence, in truth, had become extremely awkward by that point. Tetra silently thanked the gods that Niko was asleep. Otherwise, he would’ve probably had a heart attack, giving everyone a headache in the process… Finally, Link spoke up, though his words were hard to make out. His voice was hoarse and low from a month's worth of disuse.
“… ‘m… h…ngry…”
That put all the pirates on edge.
Fortunately for them, he just wanted some jerky. Before long, Link began scratching at the wooden barrel containing the jerky, leaving scratch marks on the wood. After a few attempts, he finally managed to open the barrel and began to eat.
Tetra muttered under her breath, more so to herself than anyone else, with mild irritation.
“Great… He has claws… Can't wait to see how much damage he does to our barrels.”
It took Link a while to finish eating. He really hadn’t gotten used to those fangs and claws yet…
-
After some time had passed that night, the pirates had grown somewhat accustomed to Link’s new appearance. They spent the entire night talking with Link, asking him what he remembered (he remembered everything, thankfully, apart from the period of time in which he was suffering from that dreadful malady) and how he was feeling. They also joked about how Niko would react, and Tetra bet fifty rupees that he would surely faint on the spot like the coward he was. Everything was going smoothly until dawn.
As dawn approached, the crew noticed that Link was quick to tire. Mako claimed that redeads were likely nocturnal creatures, so it made sense that Link would feel exhausted by then. The cabin boy, who had grown accustomed to speaking again, confirmed that redeads typically don’t roam in broad daylight and tend to be active only in the dark.
There was still some time before sunrise, and Link had already gone to sleep, intending to rest until dusk. Of course, given Link and Tetra’s luck, a new problem was bound to arise. There was a narrow crack in the wooden planks, just wide enough for light to seep through. When the first ray of sunlight hit Link’s hand, it burned him, and he jolted awake, a look of pain crossing his face.
Right… He’d forgotten to mention that redeads were weak to (and mildly afraid of) the light… Something was going to need to be done about that.