Return to Termina

Link and Zelda had no sooner gone down to the ocean when suddenly, Link saw Kafei caught in a net trap. He was suspended in midair on a trap near a coconut tree. Zelda stifled a laugh at the awkward situation while Link looked up.

"Uh, a little help here would suffice..." Kafei said as he dangled through the air.

"Hold on, Kafei. I'll get you down." Link said as he began climbing the tree.

Link had barely gone a few moves up the tree when he heard Zelda scream. Link looked down to see Gerudo pirates surrounding her with spears. Link then felt something sharp jab him in the thigh and actually rolled to the other side and fell on the sandy floor.

"What's going on here? We're not intruding!" Link said as he got to his feet.

If the gerudos were listening to him, they obviously weren't listening. One simply pointed her spear at Link's throat.

"Hey! Point that thing somewhere else!" Link said, shoving the spear away.

Link then found out that he had gone too far. The gerudo thrust her spear at Link, who sidestepped it and wrenched it from her grip. The woman shrieked some curse I won't mention and tried to get her weapon back. Link simply took the spear and tripped her with it. The other gerudos responded almost instantly with the fall of their sister and charged. One stayed behind to keep an eye on Kafei, Anju, and Zelda.

"I didn't want to do this, but you give me no choice. You want to take my friends? You'll have to come through me first." Link challenged.

In a split second, Link leapt backward as a spear hit the ground right where his foot was a second ago. He spun on his heel and smacked a gerudo across the side with his new weapon. He also planted the tip of the spear in the ground, bent it back a bit, then released it. The spear ended up whacking a Gerudo in the face like she stepped on a hoe. One charged with its spear brandished, but Link took his own spear and slid under her legs before kicking her in the back. Another Gerudo raised its spear to whack Link with, but the hylian was too experienced a fighter and blocked it with his own spear's shaft. He then jumped as another Gerudo thrust a spear at him and landed behind her on his hands. He then seized her with his legs and threw her away, regaining his own balance in the process. He bent back the spear and used its swing momentum to launch himself at an attacking Gerudo and kick her in the stomach. He repeated the process, only this time, he went the other way and brought a fist into his opponent's chest.

All the gerudos were down, but Link heard footsteps in the sand and wheeled around with his spear. However, in a lightning fast movement, Link was holding half a spear in each hand. It was a gerudo with a pair of swords in each hand. Normally, Link would have fought, but the moon hadn't risen and given the choice, he couldn't wait it out. He put his hands in the air as the gerudo crossed her sabers like scissors across his throat.

“In the name of Aveil, the pirate queen, you are under arrest.” She said, coldly.

"What do you want with me?" Link said, remaining calm, but dead-serious.

“That’s not exactly my business, kid. All I know is that Aveil has issues with you for kicking her all over the place a few years ago. Get him out of here.”

Link hardly knew it was coming. In a split second, there was a glancing blow on his head and then the world went black.


Link's eyes fluttered open to find that it was evening. It was very dark, as a cloud was covering the moon.

"Man, for a bunch of pirates, those ladies can pack a punch." Link said as he let his eyes adjust to the dark.

When he could see clearly, Link found out he was in a dungeon no bigger than a bedroom. He silently got up and saw that the door and window was barred. So much for escape. He heard a groan and Link turned to see Kafei on the other side of the cell.

Link went over to the purple-haired person and asked, “Are you alright?"

Kafei lifted his head; he had obviously been hit on the head. He clutched the spot as he slowly stood back up.

"Yeah. Unless you count a headache as okay." He moaned.

"Wait a minute..." Link said, surveying his surroundings, "Where are Zelda and Anju?”

“I don't know. For all I know they could be in the cell next door. But if they are, then they must be quiet." Kafei said as the pain slowly drained from his head."

“WHAT?!” Link said in anger.

Kafei put a finger to his lips.

“SHH! They’ll hear us.” Kafei whispered, "We may be in a cell, but those gerudos are real night owls."

“Oh, sorry.” Link apologized, "But how in the name of the gods will we get out of here?"

Link kicked the cell wall, which only resulted in a throbbing foot. As Link clutched it, holding in a yell of pain, he then noticed that the brick had definitely moved. It wasn't much, but it had moved.

"Hey, Kafei!" Link hissed, "Come over here and give me a hand."

Kafei went over to Link in time to see him pop out a brick and gently place it behind him. Kafei then got an idea.

"Looks like the pirates forgot to turn out our pockets. Look what I've got." Kafei said as he pulled something out of a pouch on his belt. It was a chisel and before Link knew it, he and Kafei were slowly picking away at the bricks' cement. Soon there was a big enough hole for them to crawl through. Link went first and combat-crawled through the hole. The smell of the sea soon told him they were outside again.

"Finally, fresh ai-WHAT THE?!" Link said as he saw where they ended up.

The nearest surface for them to land on was a ten-foot drop. There was a bump on his foot and Link heard a familiar voice scold him.

"Hey, Link! Come on!" Kafei said, he had obviously bumped his head.

"Okay...this is going to be close." Link said as he wormed his way out of the hole.

He fell for a few seconds, but rolled on contact with the ground to absorb the blow. Kafei had heard it and almost backed away.

"Are you sure about this, Link? I don't like a headfirst drop." Kafei said, nervously.

"Just drop free. I'll catch you." Link assured him.

Kafei slowly wiggled out of the hole and then fell. Link caught his friend and gently placed him onto the ground. However, Kafei was still a little shocked from the fall.

"You okay?" Link asked.

"I'm fine. I just think I'll sit down and shiver for a while." Kafei said, aiming to sit down, but Link caught him around the arm and stopped him.

Link immediately took off to look for Zelda and Anju while still holding onto Kafei’s arm. Kafei skidded as he was being pulled forward.

"The things he'll do for love." Kafei said as he tried to regain his balance.

"What was that?" Link asked.

"Nothing."


Link and Kafei snuck through the fortress with ninja-like stealth. Well, Link did. Kafei was simply following his lead; Link had obviously done this before. The inside of the fortress was a real maze, but if Link navigated the Lost Woods, he could navigate this place. Link was about to turn a corner when he stopped and grabbed Kafei by the shirt before pulling him back.

“What are you doing?” Kafei hissed, "Zelda and Anju are in there somewhere!"

Link shushed Kafei and pointed in the room ahead. It had several Gerudos in there, most of which were sharpening their weapons. There was a door, but it was on the other side of the room. There was no way they could get through it undetected.

“We can’t let them see both of us." Link said, remaining at the corner he almost crossed.

Kafei thought for a while. Then, he got an idea and began to move forward. Link seized him by the arm and pulled him back again.

"Kafei, what on earth do you think you're doing?" He hissed.

"It's part of a plan. I'll lead them away while you go find Zelda and Anju.” Kafei informed.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Link asked cautiously.

“Positive.”

“Okay...Good luck.”

“You too, Link.”

The gerudos were chatting nonstop about the capture of Link and treasure. So they were least expecting Kafei to leap from around the corner and shout something.

“Hey, ladies! I heard your mother was a fisherman while your father was a marlin!” Kafei teased.

The gerudos turned, completely surprised at this and raised their sabers in surprise.

“Hey! It’s that purple-headed kid! Get him!” A gerudo in green commanded.

Kafei sped out of the room, maneuvering away from swinging cutlasses and out of the room, into the fortress outside.

When the room was clear of guards, Link made his way to the door on the other side of the room.


"OH, COME ON!" Link cursed under his breath.

The door had led right back outside to a different part of the fortress. He looked around and saw nothing but Gerudos, Gerudos, and Kafei, who was being chased by Gerudos. Link infiltrated the fortress with stealth to match an assailant, but suddenly dropped to one knee with a sick feeling in his stomach. The moon was close, but the sickness didn’t stop him from doing what he had to do. He got back on his feet and continued on his path, avoiding any guards that weren't trying to catch Kafei.

After sneaking here and hiding there, Link soon came across a door he had never seen before.

"Was that always there?" Link said as he crept into it.

The door led to a room with a giant skull and crossbones symbol. But instead of bones, they were cutlasses and the skull looked surprisingly reptilian. Underneath the skull and crossbones symbol was a prison of sorts, which held...

"Anju?" Link asked.

The little girl which was once Kafei's wife looked up, surprised, but quickly smiled as she saw Link. However, that smile quickly faded as she saw something Link didn't.

"Link! WATCH OUT!" She screamed.

Link spun around and there was a Gerudo at the door. Normally, Link would have whipped out his sword and shield at almost blinding speed, but upon investigation, he didn't have them.

"Man! I feel naked without my sword." Link muttered as he saw his opponent.

The gerudo was wearing a mask that fit its face tightly, so Link couldn't identify its facial features. She was dressed in purple garbs that covered her whole body, which was odd for a Gerudo, and had a pair of cutlasses strapped to her back. Like all Gerudos, her hair was red, but if Link looked at it in the right light, he noticed that it didn't seem...natural.

Link then noticed that there was a window in the room and would look out it when things were getting dicey.

"Now what are you doing sneaking around our fortress?" The gerudo asked, fingering her cutlasses.

"To take this girl home. She has nothing to do with you." Link said, remaining calm, but dead serious.

"Wrong. When she's older, this girl will be working for us. And I can't let you take away a recruit, can I?" She said, actually taking her scimitars out and pointing them at Link like accusing fingers.

"You can try and stop me. At least...NOW." Link said, his pupils turning into slits.

Link looked out the window and saw that the left half of the moon was a crescent. He whipped off his shirt and began a new transformation.

Rather than hair, Link began to grow tough, scaly skin the color of acid. A long, muscular tail sprouted from his body and coiled on the floor like an actual serpent. His neck also lengthened slightly and his face stretched into a more reptilian look as razor-sharp fangs grew where his canines used to be. The fangs were lemon yellow and dripped with a yellow liquid, which was obviously venom. His fingertips also sprouted long, black nails as his new mouth flickered out a forked tongue with a sharp HISSSSS. Link was now a humanoid snake with a constrictor’s tail and a cobra’s fangs. NOW he was ready for a fight.

“Looks like the odds have evened up a bit.” Link said, but he only emitted a few hisses.

The Gerudo roared a battle cry as Link charged as well with a bloodcurdling hiss. She got her blades ready and so did the other one. The Gerudo charged at Link and lunged with her scimitar, but Link proved too flexible and simply curved his whole body away from the swing. This obviously ticked the Gerudo off, because she swung again and again with almost lightning speed. Link swerved away from the second strike, but the third caught him across the chest and left a large gash. It didn't really matter, because the wound simply healed over in seconds. The Gerudo charged again and spun in midair, becoming a living saw-blade in the process. Link simply got down on all fours and slid away from the blade tornado with the speed of flowing water. The gerudo turned and threw her cutlass at Link, who simply ducked under it. He swept the ground with his tail only to see his opponent jump over it and swing at him again. She missed as Link leaned backward so far, he almost touched the ground with his head.

"Is this really the best she can do? Why'd the pirates hire her if she's not the best fighter?" Link thought as he straightened back up.

The Gerudo had just charged again, but Link dodged again by jumping clean over her. The Gerudo roared in anger and threw her cutlass at the snake-man, who caught it in midair. Link took a look at the scimitar and pointed it at the Gerudo. It wasn't the type of sword he was used to, but it would work. He'd fought with all kinds of weapons and this wasn't the weirdest of them.

The Gerudo charged with her remaining scimitar, but Link parried the attack. He then drew his sword back and struck the gem on the mask's forehead. The gem cracked and she began acting a little weird. Then for the first time, she spoke in a different voice.


“Huh? Where am I? How did I get here?” She asked.

The Gerudo looked around and screamed when she saw a massive snakelike creature wrap its tail around her. The snake hissed in rage and its tail was slowly constricting her. She instantly recognized the tunic, but couldn't speak as the words were squeezed from her lungs.

“Link! Stop! That’s Zelda!” A girl's voice shouted.

Link paused and turned to Anju, who was gripping the bars of her cell. Link stared unblinkingly at Zelda, seeing as Snakes didn't have eyelids. He, very carefully, moved the woman closer to him and took off the mask. It was Zelda under the scarf!

Link immediately released Zelda, dropping her to the ground. She gasped for breath and Link began apologizing in hisses. Unfortunately, the princess had no idea what he was saying.

"So that's your new form? Ugh, why did it have to be a snake?" Zelda said.

Zelda had never liked snakes. In her childhood, she would often sneak out of the castle and some of the boys in the market would chase her with either fake or real snakes. It had happened since she was eight years old and had left her traumatized since.

Zelda had barely gotten back to her feet when another Gerudo pirate appeared in the room. Link unleashed a hiss that made Zelda's skin crawl. THIS was the pirates' boss: Aveil. She had a few issues with Link, seeing as he managed to chase several pirates out of her room with a swarm of angry bees.

“You may have gotten the best of our newest warrior, but that’s going to change now.” She said, her arms folded across her chest.

Link was about to attack when he noticed that this woman had a large, white gem on a necklace. It was giving off a small, but immediately noticeable glow. Perhaps THIS was that pendant Kafei mentioned in the Stock Pot Inn. Acting on instinct, Link made to grab at the necklace, but Aveil simply moved away.

“What are you doing?" She asked in a demanding tone.

She then noticed that Link's bright yellow eyes were focused on the white gem around her neck. She fingered it, then smiled as she drew a large scimitar.

"Oh, so you want this? Come and take it then” The pirate taunted.

Link hissed in anger and turned quickly to meet the pirate. The female simply jumped away with speed to match a Sheikah and attached another mask to Zelda’s forehead. This mask had the same jewel as the last one and Zelda screamed as she was brainwashed again. When she stopped, Zelda picked up the two scimitars and began wielding them with much better skill than before. She became a living saw blade again, but this one was MUCH faster and Link only barely slithered away. When Link regained his balance, he struck at the mask with his fangs only to miss by a mile. Zelda simply backflipped away from the strike and seized a nearby chain. Link swung his tail at her only to miss again and Zelda lassoed Link with the chain she nabbed. Link struggled to get free, but couldn’t wriggle out. She tied Link up good, he'd give her that.

"OH! If I was a REAL snake, I could have gotten out of here by now." Link thought to himself.

Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation flow through his body. He felt as though his limbs fell asleep, then turned to see them vanish into his body, as did the bottom part of his tunic. His whole body became no more than a head, a spine, and a LONG ribcage. He had turned into a real snake and slithered through the ropes with relative ease.

Link turned and saw the look on Aveil's face: one of complete surprise. After snickering to himself, he resumed his humanoid form and made to tackle Zelda again. She jumped, but she walked RIGHT into Link's trap. He turned on a dime and wrapped his thick tail around Zelda’s midsection and her arms. Now she couldn’t use her scimitar due to limited movement.

"Glad that's taken care of. But what about Aveil? If only I could remove that necklace..." Link thought to himself.

Link suddenly acted on a whim, turned to Aveil, and opened his mouth. A burst of a strange, yellow liquid shot out of his fangs at the Gerudo pirate’s necklace. At first, she screamed, but the venom was harmless to her. However, the same couldn't be said for the necklace's chain, which melted like taffy. The large jewel fell to the floor and Aveil scrambled around trying to get it. Link simply kicked it over to Anju's prison. The redheaded girl caught it as it slid between the bars and the most amazing thing happened. Upon touching the gem, she began to glow like the moon outside. When the light cleared, she was an adult again. It was a good thing for her, because walking around in clothes that were several sizes too big wasn't good for her.

Link shot venom at Zelda’s mask, which melted, and set her back down. Aveil narrowed her eyes at the serpentine hero and whipped out her scimitar.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" She screeched as she charged.

Link wasn't worried. He struck with his fangs, which caused her to stop, but then wrapped the rest of his tail around the pirate. It was at this time that the Gerudo realized that she'd been suckered. With a heave from his large tail muscles, he threw the pirate at the wall, knocking her out.


Link stood there with his arms crossed and hissed in disgust at the pirate. He then turned around to Anju's cell and spat the venom at the bars. The bars melted away and Anju walked out, her dress and sleeves unrolled to fit her instead of a child. Then, a cloud happened to move in front of the moon and Link underwent the painful transformation again. Thankfully, all those times transforming had made him used to it and he had toughened up a bit.

Zelda came to and saw Link in front of her.

“Link? What am I doing here and why am I wearing this?” She asked.

“Ah, let's not worry. Let's just get out of here.” Link explained.

He had no sooner said that, when Kafei returned, unharmed. However, he did look like he had run a mile.

“Where are the guards?” Link asked.

“Taken care of.” Kafei said with a mischievous smile.

Somewhere in the fortress, a few Gerudos were out cold with a few wooden crates on top of them. One got up, but another box fell on top of her and knocked her back out.

Back at the place Link battled Aveil, Kafei noticed that Anju was back to normal.

"Hey, how'd you grow up so fast?" Kafei said, his eyes wide.

"I think it had something to do with this jewel." Anju said, handing it to Link.

“We have to get out of here.” Anju said as she got up,.

“THAT’S IT!” Kafei exclaimed, looking as though he had just found the Triforce in Hyrule.

“What?” Zelda asked.

“That’s the Moon Pearl. If Link uses it, he’ll be able to control the moon’s phases.” Kafei reminded.

Zelda smiled at the thought of Link not having to turn into a beast every night. NOW, they could avoid the full moon like Dracon had advised.

When Kafei finished, Link was standing in the doorway.

"Can we get going now?" Link asked.

"Oh! Sorry." Kafei said as he scrambled after Link.

Kafei got Anju and they all snuck out of the fortress, following Link's guidance of course. The exit was underwater, so Link had to handle it. The cloud that blocked the moon moved away and Link underwent the painful transformation back into a snake.

"Still not used to that." Link hissed through the snake's mouth. He was glad no one could understand him.

Link dove under the water and, with some help from his muscular tail, pried the wood away. It was a good thing snakes were good swimmers. Zelda, Kafei, and Anju held onto Link’s tail as he led them through the water.

They soon reached the shore and Link hissed in a tone similar to “Finally! We’re out!”

Kafei tapped Link on the shoulder and the snake turned around. Kafei was holding out the Moon Pearl, fully grown again and back into his adult clothes. Link grabbed the jewel and paused for a while.

"Do you know how to work that?" Kafei asked, tilting his head.

Link shook his serpentine head.

“Aim it at the moon and concentrate on its phase.” Kafei explained.

Link nodded and would have closed his eyes, but couldn't. He saw a small, silver beam fire from the jewel and touch the moon. Slowly, as though a lunar eclipse was happening in slow motion, the moon’s left crescent vanished and Link changed back into a Hylian. He was VERY tired after transforming twice, but he was okay. Zelda was overcome with joy and embraced him in a hug that nearly crushed his ribs. When Zelda let go, Link quickly caught his breath. He was finally in control of everything.


In a dark fortress in a storm, Goldra pounded his fist on the arm of his throne.

"So, Link has found the Moon Pearl. Who'd have thought it?" Goldra growled.

"B-but, your majesty," A reptilian servant stammered, "What if someone else is behind this? We have to find out."

"Fine. Send in my camouflage agents to search Clock Town." Goldra said, dismissively.

"But sir," the reptile stammered, more furiously this time, "If he were to come back sooner, we could have no-"

The last thing the lizard saw was a pair of massive fangs coming straight at his head. A monster of sorts had ripped off the reptile's head. A few more servants nearby had seen the whole thing and the monster turned back into Goldra with blood staining his lips.

"Anyone else care to share your brother's fate?" He threatened.

After a bit of inaudible murmuring, the servants sped off as fast as they could. Goldra grinned.

"I guess not."

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