The silence in the waiting room was shattering. Darkin sat next to William, each giving one another a nervous glance now and then. Lilly sat solemnly on Darkin's shoulder, saying not a word for the first time since they'd escaped from Parapa. A couple of open chairs in the room lined the walls, and a table in the middle of the room was covered in magazines.

Magazines... As if anyone waiting in the E.R.'s waiting room would be clear-headed enough to concentrate on reading. The three sat in worry for hours on end, the silence becoming too much for either of them to bear. The room was bright white, and yet it felt so dark inside. It was not knowing that was the hardest thing about waiting. Finally, William broke the silence.

"I'm stepping outside for some fresh air. Let me know if the doctors give you any new information about the Captain."

Darkin didn't take his eyes off the floor, but responded in a low tone, "... Yeah. Will do."

The Rito heard the man's footsteps lead to the door, and the sound of the door closing brought silence once more to the empty room. Darkin's eyes were locked with the tile floor as his mind raced over several possibilities. His mind weighed down with several possibilities, he found it hard to avoid the painful brain-wracking headaches that had been ailing him lately. Suddenly, the door to the emergency room opened, and a couple of doctors appeared from them. Darkin stood up immediately, Lilly fluttering into the air. The doctor on the left wore glasses, and had neatly cut blonde hair. His white outfit was white, while his colleague's outfit was a dark royal blue. His colleague, draped in blue, had sharp eyes, and high cheek bones. His hair was an auburn color, and his ears were pointed out of Hylian descent.

The tension of the room was thick like mortar, and before Darkin could demand answers, the man in the blue began speaking.

"Sir, let me begin by saying that the Zora is going to be fine."

Darkin and Lilly both visibly relaxed as a breath of relief escaped them both.

"Although your concern for him... It isn't normal. You said you found him floating with wreckage out at sea?" The doctor eyed the Rito suspiciously. Darkin suddenly remembered the story that they'd told the doctors. In case the news of Parapa ever reached Everbreeze, they didn't want to be considered accomplices. They would surely be outlawed.

"I care for all living things," replied Darkin with a smile. "As do you, Doctor... Or did you become a Polygenesist for another reason?" The Rito added.

The doctor's suspicion seemed to have evaporated at that moment. "You recognized the Blue garb, did you? You're knowledgeable. Yes, I became a Polygenesist because I care for Humans, Gorons, Deku, Zora, Gerudo, and Moblin alike. It matters not what form life takes, but rather that the life is lived to its fullest and healthiest. That said, the life you saved would not have lasted long without your help. The Zora was poisoned with a very unusual poison...

"The reason it is rarely used is because it takes a longer than desired time to kill. Assassins prefer faster working poisons. For royal executions, a slower poison is preferred so that the law-breaker on death row have time to reflect on his wrong choices. The poison fits a strange niche that dates back centuries. It is of ancient Gerudic descent. Far ancient, since they were called the Geldo."

Darkin's eyes narrowed. Hm... No surprise there. "Tell me more." Darkin stated firmly.

The doctor on the left shifted his glasses. "The poison is called Redgero. It was a toxin used to make blood rush to the head, and numb the primary function of the brain. It was used to subdue prisoners on death row, and if the execution method was to be hanged, the toxin had an added effect. The blood rushing to the head would cause eyes that were already swollen from suffocation, to bleed profusely. In ancient Geldo society, bleeding eyes were a symbol of the greatest treachery. It is theorized that this came to be because of the constant battling between the Geldo and the Sheikah. The symbol of the Sheikah was a bleeding eye, and so it meant great dishonor to those of the Geldo."

"Alright Fudo, enough," interrupted the doctor in blue. "They didn't come here for a history lesson." The man in blue then turned to Darkin and Lilly, and bowed to the both of them. "My apologies for my assistant. He is quite the history buff as you can see, and he tends to lose track of the task at hand." Fudo quickly stood up straight and bowed repeatedly. "OH! OHH!! I'm sorry! I got carried away. Please, esteemed Master, continue." The Polygenesist sighed deeply. "I told you to just call me Degan. Honestly..." He looked Darkin in the eye before continuing.

"In any case, it's a strange toxin to use... Especially in this day and age. I hadn't even the foggiest idea that the recipe to the poison still existed. It would certainly be a historical breakthrough. Wherever the Zora was poisoned, it could have been an isolated island somewhere on the ocean where these ancients still exist, untouched by the hand of modern science and magic."

Fudo's eyes were shining at the possibility. "OH! OHH!!" He cried out again. "Brilliant deduction, Master Degan! We should send search parties out at once! Sir Rito, where did you say you found the Zora?"

"FUDO!!" Screamed Degan as he waved his fist threateningly at the assistant. "That isn't our department dammit! Stay focused!" He sighed at his intern's impudence. "Honestly, sometimes I think you'd rather be a historian than a doctor..." Fudo hung his head in a deflated agony. "In any case, I've never worked with Redgero before. It appears however, to be a very simple poison. Although not lethal, if left untreated, it can cause some brain damage. The Zora should be fine now that he's in our care though. As the #1 doctor under the Chief of Medicine here on Everbreeze, I'll be tending to the Zora personally. Although it won't be cheap, we'll see that he has a recovery as quick and painless as possible."

Darkin's eyes widened. The #1 under the chief? But he looks so young... Impressive.

"Money isn't an issue," Lilly called out from above the men. "We'll pay whatever it takes."

Degan's eyes fixated on the fairy. There again... The appear to care far too much about this Zora... Something isn't right here... "Alright, well, he'll stay the night with us. There's a large hotel not far from here, you can check in there for the night. Tell them Degan sent you, and you'll get a special discount. One of my dearest friends owns the hotel in partnership with her father."

Darkin smiled, and extended a feathered hand. "Thanks doc. For everything."
Degan smiled back, and shook the Rito's hand vigorously. The way you worry about this Zora, Rito... There's something more... He stared up at the fairy, and noticed the emotion in her eyes. Your story... Something doesn't seem right... Darkin turned and strolled towards the door. "C'mon Lilly, let's go tell Will the good news!"

Degan watched the crew as they left the building, his eyes narrowing at the two of them. Something is wrong here... and I'll get to the bottom of it.

A lot had happened recently. After filling William in on the details, the three of them got a good night's rest. The next morning, Darkin woke up first, and got out of bed. Lilly was sleeping on the windowsill, and William was all tangled up in his blankets, still out cold. The Rito looked around the hotel room, gathering his senses as he moved towards the bathroom. After cleaning up a bit, he exited the room, and made his way down the stairs. The hotel offered a free breakfast to people who stayed, and he was starving.

Looking back on it, I can't remember the last time I ate... He thought to himself as he reached the cafeteria. One boy who worked there was still preparing everything. He was brewing coffee when he spotted Darkin. "Oh, hi! Early bird eh?" He smiled. He was wearing the red uniform of a bellhop, and the little red hat. An embarrassing outfit really. Still, he was bright eye'd and bushy-tail'd for the morning, and it was a bit of a refreshing attitude.

"Oh... Ha..." He muttered, still not in the swing of things. He grabbed a bagel and dropped it in the toaster. The small of the toasting bread reached his senses, and brought him to further attention. He took a stick of cream cheese, and unwrapped it as his bagel popped. After making his bagel, he grabbed a pot of coffee and sat down at one of the many empty tables. He started eating, and thinking back on yesterday.

Man, what a day... I wonder if the Gerudo dogs followed the scent... Or how Taint is doing... I'll wake the others before I visit.

"Did you sleep well?" The boy asked. Darkin nodded. "Like a log. I needed a rest like that, thank you." The boy nodded. "Our pleasure. Can I get you more coffee?" Darkin looked down at his mug. It was already gone. Darkin shook his head. "No thanks, I'll get it myself." He got up and made eye contact with William, who was turning the corner. "Good morning, Darkin. Already eating?"

"Yeah, he was feeling peckish." The boy commented. Darkin closed his eyes. Early morning puns annoyed him slightly, but he ignored it. "Yeah. Thought I would get a jump on things. Lilly?" William moved to the coffee machine and poured a cup before taking a seat. The Rito proceeded to fill his own cup as William responded. "She woke up shortly after I did. She flew out the window to go see Taint. She's so worried..." Darkin sat down, and took a sip from his mug. "Yeah... I think she truly loves him." William shook his head, "It's a shame..." Darkin raised an eyebrow at this. "How do you figure? I think it's cute." William closed his eyes, "Well, they're entirely different... I'm sure the captain wants a real woman... Not someone who can sit on his thumb..." Darkin finished off his bagel before responding. "I don't know, William... Love can surprise you." He smiled, William rolling his eyes.

Suddenly, Lilly came buzzing through the hallway. "GUYS! GUYS!! THERE ARE SOLDIERS ON THE PIER!!" The two stood up urgently. "No! So fast! Lilly, how many?"

"A boatload! That Gerudo guy is with them!" She responded.

William and Darkin took off for the door, Lilly right behind them.

* * *

At the hospital, they busted through the door and rushed to the receptionist. "Ma'am, we need to check our friend out of the hospital. Something urgent has arisen, and we need to leave." The woman looked down at her papers. "The Zora right? The one with Redgero, or whatever?"

"Yes, immediately!" Lilly chimed in.

"Alright, alright... Let me go notify the doctor."

She stood up and walked to the back. William ran towards the glass double doors, watching for soldiers. "We're clear so far... Jeez, she needs to hurry though." Darkin paced back and forth waiting for her return. Suddenly, Dr. Degan appeared with a clipboard in his hand. "Your friend is alright. But I'm afraid we can't let him leave."

Darkin folded his arms. "All due respect, you don't have that authority without the proper paperwork. We need to leave now."

Degan smiled. "I'm afraid that won't be possible. Your 'friend' happens to be a pirate. A seafaring criminal that has a bounty on his head by the mayor of Parapa."

William gritted his teeth. "So you..."

"That's right", Degan replied. "I'm a firm supporter of justice. I sent for the soldiers that you no doubt have noticed. They'll be here any time. You won't be leaving here without chains around your wrists."

"We'll see!" William cried out as he shoved Degan to the ground, and busted through the doors. Darkin and Lilly hurried after him, looking through each room for their captain. "Captain? Captain!" William cried out room after room.

"Hey!" Came Taint's cry from a nearby room.

"I'm in here!!"

They ran into the room to see him tied down to a table. A doctor in the room turned around, only to receive a hard punch to the face by William. Darkin undid the restraints with precision cutting magic, and the Zora sat up.

"I said I wanted to leave," he said. "But they told me it wasn't my decision. Crazy right?"

"Taint!" Lilly cried as she fluttered to his arms. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!" Taint smiled warmly. "I'm fine. I don't know where they put my weapons..."

William interrupted, "We don't have time! The man the drugged and hanged you is on the island right now, and he's headed this way! We need to get out of here!" Darkin nodded. "You have plenty of money for new weapons. Let's get out of here!" Taint nodded and followed his friends out of the room. "Let's take the back way out. The soldiers will be headed for the entrance." Darkin stated as he moved down the opposite direction of the hallway. A few twists and turns, and they found the fire exit. They opened the door to find no resistance on the other side. "Quickly. Let's circle around to the pier." William called out as they hurried along the edge of the island.

* * *

Encountering no resistance so far, they rounded the corner to the pier. That's when they saw it. Their ship was on fire.

They stood staring at the ship as flames engulfed it. The sails were pillars of smoke that reached towards the skies above. In front of the ship stood the Gerudo man with several soldiers behind him.

"There you are." He called out to the Zora. Taint stared at his ship. All of his treasures... All of his findings. Gone in fire. He clenched his fists in anger.

"Oh... Oh no..." Darkin muttered as he observed the scene. "We're in big trouble now... we're stuck..." William leaned over to the captain. "Your call... What do we do... Do we fight? Or do we surrender..."

Taint stood staring at the men that stood near his boat. More soldiers appeared behind them, filling out the docks. "Arrest them." Stated the man. The soldiers moved towards them.

"Heeeeyy!" Came a deep call from a boat at the docks. "Over heerrrreee!"

The group glanced at the only other boat that was docked. A Goron stood on the only other boat in the docks. "C'mon!!" He screamed.

The crew looked at one another, and shrugged before taking off for the boat. They hurried onto the deck, and the Goron pulled the boarding planks from the pier.

"Leep! Hit it!" Called the Goron to the little Deku who stood on deck. The little wooden woman turned and cast a mighty wind spell on the sails, propelling them forward so fast that Taint lost his footing, and fell flat on his back.

"Stop them!!" He could hear the man screaming from the pier. Curse words followed as they sailed away. "How fast..." William noted as they cut through the ocean. The Deku woman wasn't letting up on the gas either. She continued to push wind into the sail until they were far out of reach. When she let the spell die down, the noise left with it. The Goron walked along the deck. He was wearing a bandanna with a skull on it, and carried a giant war hammer on his back. The hammer was bronze, and had a spike sticking out of the top. The Zora gulped at the sight of the grizzly looking weapon.

"Taint the Zorrra." Called the Goron as he smiled.

"I've hearrd of you. You'rre my herro!"

The crew stood in silence. Finally, Taint responded, "Oh... Wow... Well, thank you! You saved us! You and your friend both."

The Deku bounced over to the Goron, and placed her delicate little hand in his giant Goron hand. "We'rre morre than frrriends... This is my girrrlfrriend forr 6 yearrs running! And we're honored to have saved you. I became a pirrate because of you!"

William, Lilly, and Darkin all turned to stare at the Zora. His face was turning red.

"Back when you won all those tourrrnaments in easterrn Hyrrule. I was one of yourr biggest fans! When you became a pirrate, I did too... I can't believe I'm actually meeting you herrre."

Darkin's expression changed. Tournaments... Eastern Hyrule? It had just occurred to the Rito that he had little clue as to who the Zora was before he met him. William nodded happily. "I'd expect no less, honestly."

Taint smiled. "Well, I'm alive... I guess that counts for something... But my ship..." Taint shook his head with a heavy heart.

"You can have mine." The Goron responded. "On the condition that you let Leep and I join your crew."

Darkin's jaw dropped. A brand new ship. Free.

Taint smiled. "Wow... All of this... I... I don't know how to thank you... What's name, newest crew member?"

The Goron squee'd like a giddy school-girl, and tightened his fists. "Name's Rip Slaughtersteel."

"Wow, what a name," Lilly remarked. "You look strong!" The Deku nodded. "And I'm Leep Softbound. I'm an experienced Wind mage, and I can put wind in the sails when nature denies it."

Darkin smiled. "Wind magic is very helpful. It's the magic that I'm least talented in. Strange for a Rito, I know, but it doesn't come easy to me."

The Deku looked at him more closely. "Golden feathers... Oh, Farore... You're... You're Darkin!!" She cried out as she hopped around him excitedly. "You're like... Huge in the magic community! Oh my goodness, and you're part of Captain Taint's crew?! How lucky am I?" She hopped up on Rip's shoulder, and pumped her tiny wooden fist in the air. "Yes!! We're going to be the best crew ever!"

Taint nodded happily.

I lost all my treasures... But there's so much more to be found... A new ship. Two new crew members... Maybe starting over... won't be so bad.

He smiled. "Okay! As first order of being Captain here, I have to give the both of you pirate code-names, for anonymity's sake. Rip Slaughtersteel, your codename is Tank. And Leep, you're Cedar. The Goron looked like he was about to explode with excitement. "TANK!! OOOHH! WHAT A COOL NAME!! LUCKY ME, WOOHOO!!" He jumped up with happiness, Leep holding onto him tightly.

"Tank. Cedar. Meet the crew by their code names!"

Darkin stepped forward. "Nice to meet you both. My name is Darkin, and my code name is Quill."

William smiled widely, "Hey, I'm William, but I go by Hazard.
Lilly landed on Taint's shoulder and nodded to the newcomers. "I'm Lilly, and they call me Willow.

Taint put his thumb to his chest. "And I'm Cap'n Crowjack. Glad to have you two!"

Darkin walked up the Goron and sized him up. "Pretty risky for a Goron to be a pirate. Not something we see often. One slip and you're done for."

He nodded with a Goron smile. "I know. I can't help it though! I do so love the sea." Darkin looked over his shoulder at the Deku. "Same goes for you, Cedar." She shook her head. "I carry a Deku Leaf that the Great Deku Tree gave me. If I fall, I can open it, and use wind magic to... Well, basically fly. Darkin's eyes widened. "OH! Now that's an impressive little maneuver!" She blushed. Being complimented by her hero wasn't something that happened every day.

"Oh, hey!" Tank interrupted. "I've got a rreally neat cove that nobody knows about! It's underr New Peaktop. It's a cave wherre I storre the trreasure I find. It's also wherre Leep and I- Oh! Sorry! Cedarr and I live! We can head therre now and get you all room set up if you'd like!"

Taint smiled widely, "OH, COOL!! I already have a home, but a base of operations sounds fun! Yeah, let's head there!" William shrugged his shoulders. "I'm officially an outlaw now... Might as well get a home where I won't get arrested."

Darkin's eyes widened. He just realized it. He might be an outlaw now. He cursed silently to himself. That's what I get for being friends with a pirate... What a mess... I can hear Dogura laughing at me already... He glanced at Taint who was smiling energetically back at him. He couldn't help but smile back. Ah... He's not such a bad guy...

William stared silently at the Goron and the Deku. His mind went back to what Darkin had said earlier... Love... I guess it can surprise you. Touche, Darkin...

"Captain!" Tank called. "Permission to take the wheel?"

Taint gave him the thumbs up, "Granted!"

The Goron hurried up to the wheel, and steered them towards New Peaktop.