Operation: MASKED, Part 12: Captain Cheren

Chapter 12: Captain Cheren

Tortuga Island

"Now disembarking on Tortuga Island, where pirates are free to be pirates!" Rusty Pete exclaimed as Cheren and Melissa stepped off the sailboat and onto the shore. The island seemed to be mostly jungle-populated, but this shore area had several wooden crates, viewing platforms, and poles with pirate flags blowing in the wind under a gray, cloudy sky. "We're not one of the richest communities; unless of course you're a pirate with gallons of gold hidden somewhere safe (hiccup). Now, I've got somewhere to be, lad and lass, but just follow this road here and you'll make it to the Groggy Whale; that's Tortuga's renowned bar (hiccup). Okay, then. Off you go." With that, the impish henchman sailed away over the island.

"Arrr... wee Nerehc picked a decent hiding place, aye?" Cheren spoke, still in Slag's form.

"I just wish it could've been Candied Island. You know, for Candy Pirates." Melissa replied.

"A minor setback, lassie. We shall scavenge this cesspool of flora and have Nerehc's mischievous rump keelhauled."

"Do I have to put up with you talking like a pirate the whole way?"

"Arrr, I think this body may have a few wee pints of bad grog in it, it does."

Melissa sighed. "Let's just go." (Play the "Pirate Base Themes" from Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction.)

Stage 17: Tortuga Backpass

Mission: Make your way to the Groggy Whale.

The two started off in an open area, but the path ahead was sealed with a large, wooden door. The door was connected to two watch towers, each with pirates guarding at the top. Cheren became a human and went to the left tower while Melissa took the right one. The pirate on Cheren's tower noticed Melissa on the parallel tower and attempted to shoot her with a turret. Cheren was able to climb up to his position and stab the pirate in the back, taking him out. The other pirate looked over to see this, but was unaware when Melissa snuck up behind him and knocked him over the edge with a S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R.. They both pulled levers on both towers which unroped the gate, allowing it to slide open.

They both jumped to the ground and followed the newly opened path. They walked up a hill and reached a cliff where wooden platforms led across a chasm. They jumped the first couple platforms and encountered two pirates, who tried to attack with swords, but they knocked the two over the edge. The next platform was further and had a drawbridge standing up, but Cheren shot the rope that held it up with an arrow. They crossed the bridge and reached a platform where a large, rectangular crate sat in the way. Cheren turned into Captain Slag and used his enhanced strength to push the crate forward, eventually pushing it into a hole where it fell on a lower platform, creating a bridge to cross to the next platform.

He became a human again to move easier as they crossed the rest of the walkway. They reached a path in between two walls of a cliff, finding a wooden door with a robotic pirates' skull. When they approached the skull, it instantly shot its fiery eyes open. "'EY! No entry unless yer a pirate! Now SCAT ye filthy fleshling!" the skull shouted as it opened its mouth and shot a stream of water at Cheren's face.

"Grrr." Cheren grumbled as he slipped on Slag's Mask and became the chubby captain. Wiping the last bit of water from his face, he approached the skull again.

"I thought I told ya ta… Oh. Alright, dance the jig, and ye may pass." At this, three robot pirates appeared from a puff of smoke, as well as a disco ball. The right one took off its head and twirled it on his finger like a basketball, and Cheren followed his movements, becoming dizzy as a result. The left pirate was doing a mix of the moonwalk and the Egyptian dance, and as Cheren mimicked him, Melissa was holding back giggles. Cheren shot her a glare while following the middle pirate's frontward flip, in which he ended up falling on his butt. He got up as the four finished the dance by doing a belly-bump, in which Cheren's weight bounced the other pirates back. "AH ha ha! Miraculous as always, Captain!" the skull said before opening the door.

The two walked into what appeared to be a robot pirate camp. Several robots were roaming about the area, and they saw the two in the center polishing guns. The two operatives glanced around and saw the other pirates wielding guns as well. The pirates in the center then turned to notice them. "Ahoy, Captain! Welcome back! Hey, what's that kid doing with you??" he asked as they raised their weapons.

Cheren quickly grabbed his friend by the arm and yelled, "Yarr, this sea lass be tryin' to escape with her matey. Be on the look out fer the other scallywag, lads. This wench be comin' with me."

"Aye, Cap'n. We'll shoot him so he's crippled!"

"Yarr, there be plenty of armed guns around here." Cheren said quietly. "I'd best not transform into a human 'round these lads."

The two looked across the camp to see another wooden gate sealed by two towers. Even if they could climb the towers, they would likely be spotted, and Cheren couldn't climb in Slag's form. However, Melissa indicated the cannon that was on another nearby platform. They couldn't climb the ladder without Cheren being spotted, but they noticed a large crate a few feet away from the tower, which Cheren was able to push and block the pirates' vision from the ladder. They hid behind the crate as Cheren turned back, and were able to climb the ladder without being spotted. There were other crates on the different levels of the tower, so they were able to stay out of sight as they climbed to the top.

There was a pirate sitting at the cannon, but Cheren took it out by stabbing it while its back was turned. He then took control of the cannon and took aim at the parallel towers beside the door. He fired the cannon at both towers and took them out, allowing the wooden door to open.

"Oi, what's goin' on up there??" Cheren peeked down to see a squad of pirates climbing the platform, so he quickly turned into Captain Slag again before they arrived. "Everything alright here, Cap'n?"

Cheren took Melissa by the arm and said, "Yarr, this little wench be tryin' ta shoot up our base camp!"

"Arr, forget holding her, let's shoot 'er, Captain!"

"Hoi, there, lads: instead of shootin', why not some jumping jacks?"

The pirates exchanged confused looks. "Jumping jacks, Cap'n?"

"Loike so." With that, the chubby pirate-boy jumped and smashed through the floor with his bottom, taking Melissa with him. The entire platform collapsed as a result, knocking all the pirates out. Cheren pushed the rubble off of them and grabbed Melissa's arm as he ran as quick as his heavy weight would allow. "Come on, lass."

They proceeded along a path between more trench walls, where they had to jump some cliffside ledges to cross a chasm, in which Cheren had to turn back. There was a wall of flames emerging from flamethrowers on the wall, but Cheren was able to block them with his shield, with Melissa having to get behind him. They jumped to the next ledge, in which the wall of flames was coming from the ground. Cheren couldn't hold his shield down and protect them for long, so he had to turn into Captain Slag and lift Melissa above his head as he crossed the flames, his robotic body impervious. However, he noticed that the thermometer on Slag's belly was increasing, so he had to cross the flames quick.

Once they were through, Cheren kept holding Melissa as they reached a field of small flames. They noticed a few gaps in the field as they stretched to the other side. Cheren kept Melissa above him as he crossed the field of flames, quickly moving from gap to gap and stopping in each one to let his body cool down. They were close to the end, but it was too far to walk before Cheren's body became too hot. However, they noticed another open spot close to a walkway, which Cheren trudged over to and tossed Melissa onto the walkway. The Gilligan girl hurried over to a switch on the walkway and pressed it, making the flames disappear.

Cheren became a human again to move faster as they followed the path between two rows of jungle trees and shrubs, still encased between trench walls. They soon reached another large, wooden gate, which seemed to have no way of opening it. However, they found a sign designed like an arrow that read, Washed up shore junk. It pointed down a path to their left, so the duo followed and found an enclosed area, finding a small junkyard of items that were apparently washed ashore. Along one of the walls were two levels of stacked crates. There was something on one of the boxes, however, that caught Melissa's eye.

"Hey, check it out!" Melissa perked up as she picked up a small toy car from one of the boxes. "It's an old 2x4 spy car! Our scientists used to make these for eavesdropping and quick getaways. Too bad they stopped making these."

"How would anyone fit in that?" Cheren questioned.

Melissa then grabbed some kind of remote control from the crate and said, "Watch.", before aiming it at herself and shrinking herself down to the car's height.

"Whoa!" Cheren was surprised.

"Yeah, but everyone thought it was easier to send in regular spy-cams." Melissa replied in a squeaky voice as she got into the car. "But it'll help us! Give me a boost, will you?"

Melissa got the toy car and shrink ray! With these, she can experience the life of a mini racer as she speeds through pathways otherwise too small to enter! Just make sure no one steps on you!

"Just wouldn't be an adventure without a shrinking item." Cheren sighed as he lifted the small car onto the ledge of the crates. The mini Melissa drove the car across the thin ledge and up a small, wooden ramp to reach the top of the next line of crates. She then drove through a tiny gap between the crates, where she found a hole in the wall. She drove through and found another pirate basecamp, in which the pirates were all wielding guns.

On the other side of the camp, two pirates were guarding an opening in the tall fence, and Melissa believed the gate's lever to be behind it. There wasn't anything to hide from the patrolling pirates except for a few small stones and tall blades of grass, and Melissa was small enough to do so. As the pirates walked by, she had to drive by them slowly so the buzzing of her toy car wouldn't hit their sound-sensors (or robo-ears). When she made it to the two pirates at the fence, it looked a little dangerous to drive by their legs. However, she noticed the barrel beside the fence's opening and drove through the small gap between it and the fence, successfully driving past the pirates.

She drove past a couple more crates before reaching the lever. She got out of the toy car and re-expanded herself to flip the lever, and the gate where Cheren waited opened up. "'ey, who did that?" one of the pirates asked as they all noticed the gate open. They got their guns ready and slowly approached the area where Melissa was. The girl shrunk herself again and drove her car into the small gap behind the crates.

When Cheren peeked in, he saw the lot of pirates looking into the fence passage, thankfully not noticing his partner. He turned into Captain Slag and approached the pirates from behind, using his large sword to quickly slice them all. With the pirates defeated, he changed back to normal and watched as Melissa drove out from behind the crates, re-expanding herself and putting the toy car in her pocket. "When this is done, I'm writing a letter to have these reinstated." Melissa commented.

"I know someone who'd benefit from 'em." Cheren replied. They looked to the far end of the camp and saw some stairs leading to another closed gate. There was a tiny hole in the fence on their left, so Melissa shrunk down to drive through it. She found a lever and re-expanded to flip it, then shrunk again to come back out. The gate slid open as Melissa re-expanded beside Cheren, joining him as they went up the stairs. There was a tiny, thin ledge that led to a higher platform. Melissa shrunk herself as Cheren set her and her car onto the ledge to drive across, while he could only grapple onto it with his hands and climb his way across.

There were some Snapdragons hiding in holes above the ledge that were trying to snack on Melissa, who had to park in place to avoid them. When Cheren climbed his way over, he took his sword and sliced the creatures. Melissa was about to keep driving, but her way was blocked by Cheren's giant fingers. "Um, do you mind?"

"Ugh." Cheren sighed and released his right hand's grip, allowing Melissa to keep driving. She parked and waited at the end of the tiny ledge, waiting as Cheren climbed over and dropped off onto the platform, helping his friend down. On this new ledge, they found a long, zigzaggy wooden balance beam that led across the chasm, leading to another path. Cheren could easily get across in Kateenian form, but there were rows of flamethrowers blowing fire over the balance beam. Instead, Melissa drove across on her own using the toy car.

When she came to the flames, there was room for her to drive underneath them, but there were tiny platforms moving up and down, alternating between the odd-numbered and even-numbered platforms. She waited for each one to go down before quickly driving onto it before the current platform could lift her up to the flames. She made it through and progressed along the path, having to slow down and make the many tight turns. She came to a part where buzz saws were cutting through the path, but she waited for them to cut by before driving ahead. She made it to the platform and re-expanded herself to press the switch, causing all of the hazards to shut down. Cheren transformed into a Kateenian and was easily able to cross the balance beam with no problem, joining his friend on the other side.

They followed another path between trench walls and came to another trench, standing on a ledge over a river below. A strange wind appeared to be blowing down the trench, so Cheren gestured for Melissa to hold on to him as he got out his Pirates' Sail. They jumped over the edge as Cheren threw it open, using it as a parachute to glide across the chasm with the wind blowing them along. Several large stones were falling from above, so they had to swerve left and right to avoid them. They kept sinking a little lower, but there were whirlwinds coming from the river, which they used to blow their selves up higher.

They kept gliding across the river before they eventually reached an open area, where a metallic tower stood in the middle of the river, and several whirlwinds were active at different altitudes. Cheren and Melissa had to drift around the area and flow upward using the many whirlwinds. As they did so, some strange, merry-go-round-like music started to come from the tower, and Rusty Pete's voice could be heard over intercom.

"Good afternoon, lads, this is Rusty Pete with another installment of Pirate Radio! We have a very special guest on the island today: all the way from a parallel dimension's parallel dimension, Demon Prince Nerehc EiznekCm Onu! He's having a few pints of soda at the Groggy Whale right now, so 'e couldn't be here. In related news, this week's winner of the weekly rum-chugging contest is Sea-Salt Sally. We are expecting another miraculous victory from her as soon as she is out of the hospital. Today's specials at the Groggy Whale today are Pawtucket Patriots, fresh from the lush fields of Chumbaland, and purified spring water; laced with our own ingredient of LSD."

The doors to the Pirate Radio slid open as Cheren and Melissa peeked inside. They were in a storage room, and the door straight across from them was open, giving them the visual of two pirates, along with Rusty Pete at the control station. On the floor, there was a glass, zigzaggy path that protected a set of long, colorful wires. On the right side of the storage room, a pirate was trying to fix the wires in one of the open spots on the glass. Cheren quickly snuck over and impaled the robot in the back, knocking it out. "Better get small for this one." He whispered. Melissa set her toy car down and shrunk herself to climb inside. Cheren turned into Captain Slag and walked into the control room while Melissa began to drive across the wires underneath the glass.

"And here ta give us today's weekly pirate news, Captain Romulus Slag!" Rusty Pete exclaimed, seeing Cheren enter the room. "So, Cap'n, give us the newest news of the sea!" The skinny henchman handed a paper to Cheren and whispered, "Just read what's on this paper, lad."

"Um..." Cheren held the paper in his left--and only--hand as he skimmed with his robotic eyes. "Ehh, Captain Blackstar opens 'is new Delinquents' School of Piracy, for young laddies and lassies who want ta take the exciting loife of a pirate. Peg-leg Percy wins the world record for most gallons of gold stuffed inside of a whale, and Eyepatch Ean starts a debate on whether or not we should think up more fancy pirate names."

As Cheren spoke, Melissa was able to safely drive along the wires beneath the glass, avoiding the pirates' attention. There were some parts in the wires that were broken and gave little sparks, and Melissa had to wait for the sparks to die down before she was able to cross safely. She eventually made it to a tunnel beside the door that led to the next room. She was still under the glass, but she had a view of several floors and chairs, in which pirates were conversing.

"And there he were, a bulky man of orange, frizzy 'stache, and white labcoat, herding the 'orde of moose 'cross to the other side of the jungle."

"What's a lot of mountain moose be doin' on a tropical island, eh?"

"Oi dunno. Reckon 'e was runnin' a secret slaughtering house there. Wa'n't near as weird as what I saw on that one island. Massive monstrous creatures roamed the jungle, hungry for prey. They looked like dinosaurs they did, but nay, they 'ad the form of human munchkins, and rather than eat each other, they assaulted with wee balls of spit, and fingers wet with saliva, as they attacked the lesser, weaker ones o' the species."

"Are ye sure ye didn't just stumble upon a kiddies' playground?"

"Oi couldn't actually tell. But 'oever had a mind to think up such strange creatures, Oi wouldn't want teh see 'is face."

They didn't pay attention as Melissa drove under their noses. She found the opening in the pathway and was able to drive out from underneath the glass, driving back on the floor. The pirates still took no notice of her, and the sounds of their talking drowned out the buzzing of her car. She drove along quietly to further avoid their attention as she drove toward the door, which had a convenient box beside it. She was able to hide behind the box and re-expand herself without attracting attention, proceeding to push the red switch beside the door.

When the door slid open, the pirates immediately took notice and walked over to investigate. Cheren was able to enter the next room and slice away all of the pirates he could using Slag's sword before they could spot Melissa. When he finished, they turned back at Rusty Pete, who looked away and said, "I didn't see nothin' (hiccup)."

"Oi, Rusty Pete!" Cheren spoke up. "If this be where you were comin', woi not take us with you?"

"Well, that's no way to get adjusted to your body then, is it? A pirate must be ready for anything. It's in the code (hic)."

"Is that REALLY part of the pirates' code?" Melissa asked, suspicious.

"Oi dunno (hiccup). Anyhow, the Groggy Whale isn't far. Just take the teleporter pad to reach its back passage." He indicated the small, circular pad on the side of the room. Cheren and Melissa exchanged a shrug before the Gilligan girl stepped on first and teleported, followed by the chubby pirate boy.

They were warped to a pathway between two rock walls and kept going until they found an old pirate waiting behind the stand of a small, wooden bomb shop. "Ahoy, Captain! How be you today?"

"Ayy, the day be fine, ehhh…" Cheren glanced at his nametag, "Bombbag Bobbery. Wow, we really do need better pirate names."

"Aye… On your way to the Whale, are we?"

"Aye, 'tit be so."

"Dude, wrong word, wrong sentence." Melissa told him.

"You're out o' luck, Captain. A landslide blocked the way into the backdoor, there's no way in. Reckon the monsters musta did somethin', eh?"

"Worry not, matey." Cheren said, raising his hook hand. "For Oi have me the wee explosives to solve such a query."

"Ay, I'm afraid wee explosives won't cut it, Captain. The only thing to bust them boulders'll be Powder Kegs. You're the only one strong enough to lift these blokes, so the task is yours."

"Well, toss me a bludger, then."

"So it be. But ta make sure ya have the skill like you used to…" The old pirate walked to the back of the shop and used all the strength he could to lift a large barrel with a skull and crossbones on it, as well as a long fuse. He dropped the barrel onto the stand before taking a match and using it to light the fuse. The keg then started to make a ticking sound. "There! Just get teh the landslide 'fore the keg explodes and everything will be crikey, eh?"

Cheren held the Powder Keg above him with both hands as he began trudging across the path. There were a few small flamethrowers sprouting fire from the ground, so Cheren had to toss the Powder Keg over them before he could step through the flames and take the heat. Melissa was able to jump the flames herself as Cheren picked the keg up and continued. There were giant, swinging axes swinging across the path, and buzzsaws that moved side-to-side in the ground, but Cheren narrowly avoided them and kept his grip on the keg. They came to a part in which a long distance of the path was covered by small flamethrowers. Melissa saw the tiny pathway in between the flames, so she shrunk herself down to carefully drive through. She reached the other side and re-expanded herself to flip the lever that turned off the flames.

Cheren moved as fast as Slag could as the keg's fuse kept getting shorter. He reached a long gap in the path with a dark chasm, and the gap was too long for him to throw it across. However, on the other side of the gap, a trio of monkeys were gathered on a wooden, square platform held up by rope, which Cheren saw was one end of a large balancing scale, with the other platform above his head. There was a ladder on their left, so Cheren set the keg down and became a human as they climbed onto the wooden platform where the scale originated. Cheren tossed his Bananarang down over the path ahead to lure the monkeys away, causing their platform to lift up, so that both were at equal height with each other.

Melissa then jumped down onto the platform on their end and pushed it down at level with the keg, so Cheren jumped down and pushed the keg onto the platform. They quickly climbed back up as the platform was now kept down by the keg, which started to tick slightly faster. They hurried to the other platform and noticed the large crate on the scale's ledge. Cheren turned into Captain Slag and used his strength to quickly shove it onto the other platform, pushing it down, and lifting the previous one at level with the ledge. Cheren walked onto the platform—with it withstanding his weight due to the heavier box on the other one—and picked the keg up, carrying it across the ledge to throw it down to the path.

They dropped down onto the path as Cheren picked the keg up again and carried it faster as they trudged up a small hill. From the top of this hill, they had a view of the back of the bar down below, with the landslide blocking the path. Cheren quickly trudged his way down the rest of the path, successfully reaching the pile of boulders as the keg's ticking increased. He dropped it at the base of the landslide as he and Melissa hurried backward. The ticking went on for a few more moments until it was gone in a brightening and loud explosion, and the pile of boulders looked as if they were never there.

When the explosion cleared, the operatives had a view of the staircase that led down into the bar's backdoor. "Okay, remind me to tell the others we should start making bombs like that." Melissa stated. "Pack those things full of orange juice and Common Cold will be healed in seconds!"

"Yarr, only if yer wee kiddie arms can manage such a task." Cheren remarked at her as Melissa gave a look of disbelief. "Now, come, lass. Let us get ourselves wasted on soda and hopefully other safe essentials they 'ave for us kids." With that, the duo stepped down the wooden staircase and entered the bar. (End song.)

Groggy Whale

When the two entered the Whale, they were met with the sounds of rapid-playing accordion music. The brown-colored bar seemed really broken down, lots of broken bottles and tables littering the floor, and the only light coming from small lanterns around the walls, making the place seem pretty dim. The bar was loaded with filthy, choppily dressed pirates, some of them robots, while others were human. Cheren and Melissa searched around the bar and walked forward. "Ahoy, Captain Slag!" an old, human man called from the bar's stand. Behind him were several barrels with different drinks labeled on them.

Cheren turned to him and greeted, "Ahh, a good day to ye…" he looked at his nametag, "'Drunken Joshame'… ay." He shook his head. "What be today's special brews?"

"You have any sodas?" Melissa asked excitedly.

"Aye, a special Mountain's Brew for the little lass." The old man said, tossing her the lime-green can. It looked to be a Mountain Dew can, only a lighter green color with the design of fizzy bubbles. Melissa gave a wide smile at the can, which she assumed to be a pirate version of Mountain Dew.

"And for you, Captain, a pint o' your favorite grog?" the bartender asked, pumping the drink from a barrel into a large jug before holding it to Cheren.

Cheren gave a nervous look at the jug. While it is something Slag would drink, he didn't think it would be safe for him at his age. "Arr, no thanks, Joshame. I'm, eh… workin' off a sloight illness. Methinks I'll have me one o' hers."

"You sure, Captain? You've never turned down a grog before. Why, your body practically runs on the fuel."

Cheren stared at the drink and gave it a second thought. He remembered the battle he had with Slag, when he drank the grog and used it for firepower. While he was in Slag's form, the drink shouldn't hurt him TOO bad, right? "Oi, whoi not?" With that, he took the jug of grog and had a drink.

Moments later

"WAAAAAAARGH!" The accordions played louder and faster as Cheren waved his large, red jacket around in the air, holding his jug of grog in his would-be hook hand. "10 jugs of grog once sat on the wall, 20 more rounds will SOON take the fall! DRINKS all around, me mateys!" His fellow pirates gave roaring cheers as he shouted.

Melissa only stared with disbelief as she drank her Mountain's Brew; which, for some odd reason, made Melissa feel a little more lightheaded the more she drank. She then stood up and approached her bulky, raving friend. "Hey, Cheren—BUUUURP… you think… you think we-sha get ta findin' this Nerehc…" Melissa dizzily asked, sounding out of breath.

"Oooooh yah…yah…" the drunken pirate searched around. "Le's-a…le's-a searchin' downstairs…" The two approached the balcony fence above the lower floor of the bar, where they spotted the Negative himself. "Ah-HOYYY!"

Downstairs, Nerehc was also drinking a pirate-themed soda, sitting on a bench as he spoke to his henchman, Pablo with a drunken expression. "I-I-I think-I think weech need ta-need ta, save more rainforests."

"Señor, creo que puede haber tenido demasiadas bebidas. (Mister, I think you may have had too many drinks.)" Pablo said.

"PFFF, ahh, youuu—I-I can't understand a-a word yer sayin'; BUUURP."

"OI, Nerehc!" The Negative turned around at the sight of a drunken Captain Slag at the stairs. "Oi've got me a bone to-...mmm, BUUURP, pick with you."

"Slaaaag..." Nerehc drunkily wobbled over with a goofy smile, leaning on Slag's metal belly. "Howzit goin' buddyyyy..."

"Wot? ...Oh-I'm-I'm not Slag. Oi'm..." he took off his mask and changed back to a human, "mmm, Cheren..."

"Ohh, Cheereeeen..." Nerehc slumped over a little, still wobbling drunk. "Buddyyyy ya FOUND me..."

"Thaaa's RI-ight..." Cheren hiccupped a little. "Now I—I am gonna... mmm, BUUURP, 'scuse me."

Nerehc started to laugh hysterically. "Ho-ho-hooo man!"

Cheren laughed hysterically along with him. "I-I'm sorry man!"

"Tha' was WILD, YOOooouuu," Nerehc's upper body slumped downward, but he tilted his head up with a wide, drunk grin, "Chereeeeeeen..."

"Mmmmmm," Cheren's mouth stretched just as wide, "Nereeeeehhhc."

With that, both opposites laughed hysterically, leaning their hands against the other. "WHOOOOA." Melissa toppled down the stairs just then, colliding with Cheren's back to hold herself up, holding a can of soda in one hand. "Bo-oy, Cheren..." Melissa started to wobble drunkily as well, "I dunno whats-is in this soda... but I li-i-i-i-i-ke it."

"Nnah-nah; nah, I dunno whats he say about that groggy stuff, tha's stuffs is... mmm, pretty good." Cheren stuttered.

"Boy, tha's-a; tha's-a what YOU say." Melissa told him.

"Tha's what YOOU saay?" Nerehc wobbled.

"Ah-Ahright-I give." Cheren admitted. He wrapped his arms around the two and uttered, "L-Let's go and… mmmm, have a sit-sie down, eh?" With that, they wobbled over to one of the tables with a circular bench, plopping down with Cheren's arms still around his friend and enemy.

"So, what's—what's-a with you and-uh, hers an' such?" Nerehc asked.

Cheren and Melissa glanced drunkily at each other. They laughed hysterically once again, banging their hands against the table. "Naah, nah, she-she-she's all 'IIGHT." Cheren stuttered.

"Man, he's a-he's a-he's a WHOOpee…" Melissa stuttered.

"Nah, but mes and her, is-isha-isha naaah." Cheren drew out, still keeping a mischievous look. "Naaah, but she-sa gots the heels for me."

Melissa kept her teeth clenched to her lower lip as saliva shot through it from laughter. "Maaan, you-ja—you-sa know you-you wan-don."

Cheren looked at her drunkily, "Well, maybe you-ja-sa want-a the wan-don from me, hon-jon."

"NOOoo, nooo," she leaned in closer, "you-ja knows you wants it."

He leaned in closer, "Maysh bes we BOTH wants it."

"I-sha nohn-nohn wantsh it 'less you do."

"Well den I-sh wantsh it, yoush wantsh it."

"MMMMmmm…" Melissa moved in closer, a silly look plastered on her drunk face. "YOU silly!"

"Noo, YOU…" Cheren moved closer with an equally silly look. They both stared romantically drunk into each others' eyes before embracing in a long, romantic kiss.

Nerehc's mouth grew into a wide, goofy smile, struggling to hold back hoarse laughter as he fell onto the floor. Pablo walked over to Nerehc's unconscious form and shook his head in disbelief before beginning to drag him away by the arms. As one of the robo-pirates walked by, he noticed a cell phone slipped out of Nerehc's jacket pocket. He picked up and observed the cell phone with curiosity, stuffing it in his pocket and sneaking away.

Cheren and Melissa kept embracing in their kiss as Cheren slowly fell backward, eventually falling unconscious with Melissa lying romantically on top of him.

Somewhere else on the island

Miyuki/Majora sat in a dark cave alit by emerald-green crystals, along the edge of a river as Miyuki's feet dipped in the pure, dark-blue water that reflected the light of the glowing green crystals. He raised her bare feet out of the water and stared at them as they sparkled from the light and dripped wet. "Such beautiful skin… in all my years, I've forgotten what it's like to have flesh. Even with my being, she feels what I cannot. I am only a piece of solid stone. Having to use this girl's body for life force. Ahh, if only our souls could be as pure as her skin…" The sound of footsteps caught his attention. He glanced over at the cave's entrance, where a shadowed being stood. "Well, if it isn't my employer…"