-eight years later-

"I can't believe it," Link commented in awe, "After all we've been through and sacrificed, this day is actually here."

The entire crew of Link, Gonzo, Niko, Mako, Nudge, Senza, Zuko, Nick, Sophia, and their bold leader Tetra had gathered together for the first time in a long time. Link and Tetra had been working on diplomatic issues, the six lifelong pirates had been gathering resources, and Nick and Sophia had been out exploring the land in earnest. Now they were all watching the construction crew Nudge had assembled to begin the most crucial step of all.

"We've spent years busting our asses to get to this point, but it's here and oh so glorious!" Tetra raised a proud fist, "We're breaking the ground on our New Hyrule Castle!"

The group all let out a cheer and a toast to the construction crew that started to get the work on the future capital of their new kingdom. There were plenty of handshakes to go around until Tetra held up a hand to call for a pause in the clamor.

"Before we can celebrate this victory in full though, there's an even more significant piece of news that must be announced. Please come over here, Link!"

"What?" Niko shouted as Link approached the Princess, "The castle is the centerpiece of all our operations until now. What could be more important?"

"That much is true," Tetra affirmed as she wrapped an arm around Link and pulled him to her, "This castle should be finished in approximately six months' time and, not long after this, a child will be born within its walls.

Link froze up as any minor chatter was silenced by this revelation

"Tetra..." Link's mouth trembled, "Is it... Are you..."

"Yes, Link, it is, and I am," Tetra continued amid the growing surprise, "I'm three months pregnant will be giving birth to your child roughly half a year. For all of you, I am carrying the seed that will bloom into this land's first homegrown leader!"

The group and even the workers erupted into a rowdy applause as Link and Tetra shared a loving embrace in honor of the new life they had created together. It wasn't long before the others had to rush in and join in on the moment. Link was hauled away by Nick and most of the pirates to congratulate him on his latest, greatest conquest while Sophia had to nuzzle up Tetra and begin affectionately rubbing her still flat stomach.

"This is going to be absolutely wonderful, Zelda!" Sophia squealed, "I'll get you the loveliest maternity wear I can get my hands on. You'll look phenomenal rocking that royal baby bump. Then, of course, I'll have to throw you the cutest baby shower ever."

"Thanks," Tetra replied, "I never figured I would look good with a pregnant belly, but something tells me that once I really start growing, Link won't be able to keep his hands off of it."

"His head will probably be glued to your stomach, listening for that precious, little heartbeat," Sophia agreed with a smile before leaning in to whisper, "but since we're currently alone here, you simply have to tell me."

"Tell you what?" Tetra tilted her head

"How it was with him," Sophia clarified, "You know, that?"

"Ah," Tetra nudged her, "You mean that?"

"Yeah, that." she giggled.

"Well, if you really want to know about that, I suppose I could let you in on a secret,"

Making sure that Link was still occupied with the others before she would proceed, Tetra took on a sly, almost sinister, grin and held up her index fingers together. She began to gradually space them apart. Sophia got the message as she did this, but something seemed wrong as Tetra's fingers kept moving long after the point it felt like they should have stopped. Sophia's eyes started to widen as Tetra's hands kept going and going until they were over nine inches apart. Sophia was left gawking at Tetra's powerful visual aid for a several seconds before shaking off her shock.

"Come on, Zelda. Don't mess with me like that," Sophia frantically tried to reason with Tetra who stood firmly by her example, "Seriously? Are you really doing this? Surely, he's not... I mean... he can't be. He simply can't!"

Sophia only grew more bewildered as she looked at Link's innocent joy while exchanging high fives with his friends, but Tetra still wouldn't budge. In the meantime, their private exchange drew the attention of a certain, highly observant individual in the crowd who decided to go over and investigate.

"Damn, Sophia, what in the world could possibly be getting you so flustered? Is she having your baby now too?" Nick cracked a joke while walking over

"Nothing, it's nothing!" Sophia turned away, "Zelda's just trying to mess with my head over here."

The historian looked over to his captain who was still making her special gesture and had the situation neatly piece itself together in his mind.

"Oh, so you're actually telling her about that." Nick let out a lengthy sigh, "Sophia, I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I know so much about this, but I can promise you that Tetra's telling the truth on this one,"

"What?" Sophia gasped, "How would you know something like that?"

"A year or so ago, Link and I were exploring the mountains near a volcano and stumbled upon a hot spring. Feeling sore from so much hiking, it was only natural that we decided to take a dip in it together. We hadn't brought any spare clothes, but we figured that since we were both guys we could just go in naturally," Nick rolled his eyes, "I never could have imagined that there'd be such an enormous gap between us, but he's in a completely different league from mere mortals like me. It was a... humbling experience, to say the least."

"I see..." Sophia took a deep breath to keep her head from overheating entirely.

"I guess I should be thankful that Link was such a good sport about it though. Probably a much better one than I probably would have been," Nick laughed at his own defeat, "All he said about it was that it's not the weapon that matters, but the person wielding the weapon although in this case it felt like going against the Master Sword with a pocket knife."

"So, he's not only blessed but modest too," Sophia giggled, "What a guy."

"I remember jokingly suggesting that he should call it "The Green Anaconda". It seemed too perfect with his outfit and such."

"Wait, you were the one who came up with that?" Tetra interjected, "That figures."

"Oh no, don't tell me he actually went and used it," Nick facepalmed.

"He did and made the absolute most of it. I actually thought it was surprisingly clever for him, Guess I should've known," Tetra lowered her hands down to her stomach with a chuckle, "It was certainly appropriate though. He absolutely went wild with it, and I can tell you that he's mastered that weapon as well as any other in his arsenal. This baby is proof enough of it."

"It's actually kind of weird to think about, really," Nick was only too happy to change the subject at this point, "An actual living human being being be raised by you, Link, me, Sophia, and the rest of this gaggle of misfits. What kind of mess is this going to turn out to be?"

"The first heir to the throne of Hyrule to be born on dry land in several centuries too," Tetra reflected, "My only regret is that this little one will only get to meet one of its grandmothers."

"There's no doubt about it, Tetra," Nick clenched a fist, "This is everything your mother wanted for you, even if you still have regrets, I'm positive that she has none."

"And even if it's not through our blood, we're all part of your family," Sophia declared, "Both yours and this baby's."

"That's absolutely correct, Miss Tetra," Gonzo and the remaining crew caught wind of the weight of the conversation and came to add their own feelings to the mix, "Anyone of those would raise this child as our own if needed."

"I certainly would!" Niko jumped up.

"As would I!" Mako added.

"And I!" the rest of the pirates called out in near unison.

"And I don't think I even know the correct words to properly convey how I feel about all of this," Link spoke up at last, "I can tell you for certain that Aryll will go nuts when she hears this. No doubt that she'll be the greatest aunt in the world."

"You'll have more than enough time to thank me later, but, for now, I want all of us to share in this moment." Tetra looked to the sky, almost feeling the gaze of her ancestors from above, "I'm not sure I'll ever be able to say this as many times as I should, but thank you all, for everything, from the bottom of my heart."

They each took their time to give Tetra a sincere hug and offer their best wishes to her unborn child in their own unique ways. All Tetra could think to herself was how certain she was that this new Royal Family would be better than any that had come before it. At first glance, its members might not have a lot in common and come from a mish-mash of backgrounds and professions, but there was no mistake to be made here. They couldn't have been tighter if they were glued together. Adding another member to this circle may have seemed like a tight fit, but with their new castle now coming together brick by brick, she was sure they would find somehow find enough room. Especially since, after sharing one more kiss with her hero, she had a distinct feeling that this newest member of the family would be far from the last.

-THE END-

The sequel is up and started but has been delayed due to a long series of writer's blocks, but rest assured that this series of stories has never left my thoughts. Recently I've done a lot of editing and adding onto this story in hopes of finding inspiration for the next one. I hope you appreciate the new material. Thanks again for reading. Reviews are always appreciated.