Note 1: Never sail through a rainstorm!

Linebeck was in a good mood. The sun shone brightly, the wind was in his hair, the seagulls soared beside the ship, and crazy Jolene was nowhere in sight. After Link had to battle her a few days before, Linebeck seemed to be on edge, maybe even paranoid. But that was the past, for today was a beautiful day indeed.

Was a beautiful day.

As Linebeck gripped the wooden ship wheel he peered at the blue horizon before him. A rarely seen smile was on his face; they were making good timing for Molida Island after trying to find the Ghost Ship within the fog (despite the fact that they found an angry woman instead). Even the kid was happy, and though Linebeck would never admit it in a million years, he was glad to see the shrimp be all smiles. Oh, it was smooth sailing…until the blue horizon suddenly mixed into a darkened grey.

It started as a drop.

There was a tiny drop of water; Linebeck felt it land right on his cherry red nose, and as he watched the seagulls turn away from the ship, he knew something was wrong.

"Hey kid." Linebeck furrowed his brow at the weather as Link ran to the upper deck.

"Yeah?" He asked innocently.

"Kid," There was another drop of water, and Linebeck murmured cautiously, "Remember what I told you about storms?"
"You mean the emergency procedures?" Ciela piped up.

"Yeah Sparkles," The drops became more and more frequent, "The emergency prodecures. Kid, go weigh anchor."
"Are you kidding me?" Ciela shouted, "How do you expect poor Link to lift tha-"

All of a sudden lightning streaked the sky, along with the roar of thunder rumbling in the background. Rain began to downpour on the ship, and Linebeck's eyes widened as he noticed the ship was slowly bobbing up and down on the unstable waves. The green clad hero beside him immediately ran to the lower deck and began dragging the heavy anchor toward the edge of the ship. Linebeck's hold on the wheel tightened as he flung it furiously to the right in an effort to steer the ship away from the apparent danger.

"Kid, hurry up with the anchor!" He shouted as the waves toyed with the ship dangerously. Link had the anchor almost to the edge of the ship, however as the ship rocked back and forth he was pulled backwards by the force of gravity and let go of the anchor.

"Argh!" His attempt to steer the ship away was fruitless; the only way the ship would make it through the storm was if that anchor was dropped into the ocean. The frantic captain let go of the wheel and ran down to the lower deck, causing the ship to lose control and begin twisting through the storm. More lightning fired across the clouds as Linebeck grabbed Link and they both tried to get the anchor to the edge of the ship once more. The raging seas were shaking the ship dangerously, causing the duo to lose their balance and fall once again.

"AAH!"
The waves did a juggling act with the ship and tossed both of the passengers overboard, along with various barrels scattered on the deck. Linebeck flailed in the air before plunging into the sea, and panic set in as he surfaced and gasped for air as he thrashed around in the water. What was happening to the ship? How was he going to get back on? Was he drowning? Where was the kid? Oh no, what the heck was happening?

"Kid? Kid! Kid, where are you? Sparkles! Answer me, damn fairy!"

But despite his cries, the only thing Linebeck saw was a half-wrecked ship being carried away by the waves and the eerie clouds looming above him.

Link was nowhere in sight.

…

His eyes opened slowly.

He had woken up to the calming sounds of the ocean and the salty taste of the air floating through the rather large porthole on the wall next to the bed. He had no idea where he was, which irked him despite the fact that he had gotten an amazing rest. What happened? Why was he here?And why was he in some old clothes? Linebeck pushed the questions back and layed down on the soft bed to stretch. He had to admit; though he could not remember much he knew he got a very good sleep.

He had actually…relaxed.

The first thing he noticed about the room he was in was the numerous treasures and knick-knacks decorating the walls. Whether it was jewelry, ships in bottles, treasure maps, or swords, they were all hanging upon the walls like prizes. Various paintings had been hung up as well however Linebeck had no energy to focus his blurred vision enough to see what was depicted on them. Beside him, on a nightstand, were a tiny portrait, various empty potion bottles, an unlit lantern, and a bowl of seashells for decoration.
Linebeck groaned.

The door creaked open. Linebeck dragged himself into an upright position to catch a glimpse of his caretaker.

"GAH!"

Linebeck nearly jumped from the bed as the shock jolted his eyes into a fully awake mode. The person walked up to the bed, causing Linebeck to grab the covers as if they would shield them from the approching person. It was a beautiful young woman with dark brown hair pulled up into a pony tail, exotic eyes, a deep tan, and a pirate outfit.

"J-Jolene."

"Hello, Linebeck."

The woman acknowleged his presence without threatening him; now Linebeck knew something was wrong. Why was he in Jolene's care? Was he on her ship? What was she doing with a new bottle of red potion within her hand?

"W-what am I doing here?" He asked. She glaced at him with surprise momentarily flashing across her eyes.

"You don't remember?"
"I…," Linebeck cluctched his forhead in thought, "I remember a giant storm…and floating around in the ocean…"

There was a moment of silence as Linebeck attempted to recollect every last detail. Meanwhile, Jolene popped the bottle of red potion and handed it to him.

"Drink it." The woman commanded. Linebeck stared at the bottle for a moment. Should he take it? This was Jolene; if he remembered correctly, the last time they met she wanted to kill him.

"N-No."
"Linebeck," The words were spoken with restrained annoyance; "These potions got your health back from your half-drowned state. If you don't drink it I will personally shove it down your throat." With that she tossed a glare his way, causing him to tremble slightly.

"B-but I'm alright now…I don't really need to take potions anymore…" Jolene sighed angrily, closed the potion bottle, and threw it at Linebeck.
"Fine! Don't take it! But you'll be sorry when you catch the flu from floating out at sea for so long! Don't come crying to me when that happens!" Linebeck picked up the bottle from the bed, twitching slightly as he uncorked it. It looked alright; maybe Jolene wasn't trying to knock him out. After all, she would have just left him in the sea if she really disliked him. He took a swig of the potion and made a sour face.

"Still making your own potions?" Linebeck threw a glance up at Jolene, who crossed her arms and huffed. Long ago, when he was sailing with her, they had talked about their pasts together. Although the memories were now hazy from all of the years that passed, Linebeck could have sworn Jolene said she was once an assistant in a potion shop where she studied medicine. The skills she obtained were certainly useful when being injured out in the middle of the ocean.

"It's not bad," He took another sip and murmured, "You've improved on the flavor."
After he finished off the cherry potion, the sea captain placed the bottle on the table next to him and positioned himself so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed. Jolene lifted an eyeb row.

"What do you think you're doing?"
"Well, since I'm okay, I might as well go find my treasure dog."

"Your what?"

"Link."
"The little blonde shrimp that sails with you? What happened to him?" Jolene's voice became slightly more anxious as she gazed at Linebeck expectantly.

"I dunno. He probably fell off of the ship like I did. I couldn't find him in the stor-OUCH!"
Jolene was fuming as her hand collided with Linebeck's cheek. Oh, she knew what he was doing! What a big jerk! Just when she thought he was finally going soft by letting some kid sail with him!

"W-What the hell was that for?" He gripped his stinging face and glared furiously at her.
"Shut up, Linebeck! That kid put his life on the line to protect you from me before, and when he gets lost out at sea for goodness sake you just casually say 'oh, my poor treasure dog' like it doesn't even bother you that he's in danger! All you were looking to get out of him was the treasure! I can't believe you played that kid for a fool just like you did to me!" She stopped and took a deep breath as her face was crimson with anger. Linebeck had, once upon a time, betrayed her for treasure. And now, he was using that poor little kid for treasure. Even though Jolene fought Link, she had much more respect for him than she ever will have for Linebeck. Link had courage, which was more than anyone could say for the pissed off man sitting before her.

"Why should I worry about Link? He goes into crazy dungeons and temples all the time! I have complete faith that if the kid is strong enough to fight giant monsters, he can make it through a storm." Stay calm, Linebeck! This is Jolene, remember? He hoped that she didn't want to kill him at this point, because if he played his cards right he could sail with her until he found Link.

"You better hope you can find him! If I find out that you used that kid for treasure, I'll wreck you Linebeck!" She began picking up the empty potion bottles on the nightstand. Maybe she should just smash one over that inconsiderate captain's head and call it a day.
"Jolene."
"What?" She said sharply.
"C-Can I…stay on your ship?"

The brunette she-pirate whirled around to face him.

"Excuse me?"
"J-Just until I find Link!" Linebeck squeaked under her gaze. Now that she thought about it, she should keep Linebeck on the ship. Not only can she force him to do the chores, but she can also make him take responsibility for his actions and find Link. Knowing Linebeck, he would probably just get drunk rather than search for the kid if she dropped the guy off on an island.

"You can stay, Linebeck," He let out a breath of relief, but it was cut short, "Only if you clean the ship and do all of the chores while we go find this kid!"
"A-Alright."

There was a pause in the conversation as the potion bottles clinked together when Jolene picked them up. Linebeck took a look at himself; he still had his pants, but the white shirt with puffy sleeves that covered his torso seemed unfamiliar.

"It's yours. You left it here…when you left me." Jolene caught him staring at his clothes. She still had some of his old belongings in a chest in the basement of the ship.

"Oh. Um…Thanks." He shifted uncomfortably within the awkward atmosphere, but a sudden pain within his shoulder caused him to cringe. His muscles began feeling sore as he moved around more often. By now, the nightstand was cleared of clutter, and Jolene shot a look at the wincing man.
"Where should we start looking for this kid?"

Linebeck sighed. How was he supposed to know? It was almost impossible to find one little boy in all of the oceans! Perhaps they could go to the various islands and ask around? But even then, they wouldn't know. Link could have been out at sea for days. If only Linebeck was telepathic or psychic or somethi-

Wait. Psychic?

"The Isle of Ember! We can go ask the fortune teller Astrid!" Linebeck smirked, "We'll find Link in no time!" Jolene nodded.

"Fine. I'll set a course there. But the moment we find Link, I'm dumping you off at Mercay." She turned to leave, but before she opened the door she spoke, "By the way, I want my bed back. There's a hammock set up in the lower cabin. I want you out before nightfall."

And with that she disappeared.
Linebeck groaned. He can only hope that his ship wasn't too wrecked and that Link would appear.

…With some treasure.