Operation: MASKED, Part 13: Miyuki's Choice
Chapter 13: Miyuki's Choice
Groggy Whale
Cheren and Melissa had their arms around the other as they lay unconscious in the bar's closet. Rusty Pete stepped in with a bucket of water and dumped it on the two, startling them awake. "Wakey, wakey, lad and lass. Looks like you two had bit of a conk out after all that rum (hiccup)." The skinny pirate reached behind his back and pulled out a can of Mountain Brew, inspecting it closely. "I told those lads using LSD was a bad idea. 'Course, no one ever expects any kids to come here; let alone little lads who can transform into a pirate captain at will. By the way, I saved you a photo, to commemorate your first time here on Tortuga." With that, he presented them a picture of Cheren and Melissa, lying atop each other in a romantic kiss.
Cheren and Melissa exchanged a shocked, disgusted glance. "BLEEEEUUUUHH!" The two frantically began shaking and brushing their tongues off.
"Congratulations! You two 'ave officially drunken your first adult drinks (hiccup)!"
"I'm a disgrace to Kids Next Door everywhere…" Cheren moaned, the two now feeling very woozy.
"I think… I need a restroom…" Melissa moaned.
"Outhouse is outside, lass." Rusty Pete told her.
"I think I'll… step out, too." Cheren said, still holding his stomach. Rusty Pete led Melissa downstairs while Cheren limped toward another doorway, which led onto a small balcony that overlooked the jungle and coastside. The once cloudy, grey daytime sky was now clear and dark blue, with stars hanging over the heavens. The waves brushing over the shore in the distance were the only sounds aside from the still-playing accordion music inside the bar, the music now quieter behind the closed balcony door. The sound of waves calmed Cheren's mind as he sat along the balcony's edge, the boy sighing depressedly. He leaned his head against the balcony's fence as Fi emerged from his sword.
"Something is troubling you, Master?"
"Fi, I've been wondering, lately… do I deserve to be leader? Is my whole mission in rescuing Miyuki all out of… desire? After all this time, it feels like the only reason I've been trying to help her is just to… be like my mom."
"Your mother was a caring person, Master. There is no shame in wishing to follow in her footsteps."
"Yeah, but… that shouldn't be the only reason, right? To wanna help someone? It just seems too… selfish."
"I cannot say whether it's right or wrong, but you wish to save Miyuki from possible sadness. Your actions are noble, Master, even if your reasons are not."
"Yeah… I guess so. But-… what if Majora was telling the truth, and… she really doesn't wanna leave him. I couldn't just leave her… with him, can I?"
"I am unable to provide a reasonable response. Perhaps if we locate Majora and Miyuki, there is an 85% chance we could find the answer."
"But we have no idea where they are, or how to find them."
"Do not forget, I still have Miyuki as a selection in my dowsing options."
Cheren suddenly remembered this as he reached in and pulled his locket for Miyuki from his pocket. "Oh yeah! I forgot! Let's try it out." Fi jumped back in the sword as Cheren started to aim it around.
When he aimed it in the direction of the bar, it began to glow and beep a little. "Hey… I think she's close."
"I conjecture that whatever my dowsing is indicating is within the range of the island with 90% accuracy."
"Then she's here!" Cheren exclaimed. "Wow, I… We gotta go find her! I mean, after Melissa's done… throwing up."
"Perhaps until your friend settles her uneasiness, you may take this time to accomplish other missions. Use the owl statue on your right as a means of returning here."
Cheren immediately took notice of the owl statue beside him. "I wonder how he actually moves these around." Cheren said to himself as he proceeded to strike the statue with his sword. "As a matter of fact… I know just where to go." With that, he played the Song of Soaring on his Spirit Flute, and was warped away in a gust of wind.
Land of Wind and Shade
Cheren reappeared at the owl statue in the Land of Wind and Shade. From there, he made his way to the Chasm of Wind, where the whirlwinds still spiraled over the dark pit. With his new Pirates' Sail, Cheren jumped over the edge and threw it open, allowing the whirlwinds to propel him upward. He was able to safely glide over the chasm using the sail, eventually reaching the cliff on the other side. There, he saw a bunch of those salamander creatures dressed in white robes, which looked more like bed sheets. "I'm not even gonna begin to question it." Cheren stated as he walked past the salamanders, who were each pestering him to behold their robes.
Cheren walked up a small hillside and discovered a giant chest. The sign beside it read, To hold the spirit of the one who never sleeps, open this chest. Yes, to never have to sleep, all you have to do is open a chest. Real challenging, isn't it. Cheren rolled his eyes and went to open the chest. Inside, he found a rather odd mask that was nighttime-black with wide, red eyes.
You got the All-Night Mask! Wear this and you'll never want to go to sleep! Try missing your favorite midnight shows now!
"Hey… I know what to use this for!" Cheren smirked as he pulled out the Spirit Flute. He performed the Song of Soaring once again and was soon warped in a gust of wind.
Le Carnivilia
Cheren quickly found himself in the massive carnival once again. The boy made his way through the sea of tents and carnival-goers to make it back to Jigglypuff's Musical Dream tent. "Hey, Jigglypuff!" he called as he entered and saw the little round creature on stage.
"Hooooh?" Jigglypuff turned and shot a nasty glare at Cheren before turning away. "Puff-puff!"
"Come on, Jigglypuff, I'm sorry for falling asleep before. I won't this time, I promise."
"Hmmmm… Puff-puff." She shrugged.
"Okay. Sing away." Cheren instructed as he slipped on the All-Night Mask.
Jigglypuff cleared her throat and began singing. "Jiiiiggl-ly Puuuff, Jiiii-ggly Puuuff… Jiiiiggl-ly Puuff, Jigglllyyy…" With his new mask, Cheren felt more wide awake than ever. "Jiiiiggl-ly Puuuff, Jiiii-ggly Puuuff… Jiiiiggl-ly Puuff, Jigglllyyy…"
The song went on like that for a while until Jigglypuff stopped. Cheren gave a round of applause and Jigglypuff happily bowed. "Great singing, Jig!"
"Jigglypuff!" she gave a twirl.
"So, how about that mask?"
"Jiggly…puff!" as thanks, the creature happily tossed him the frog mask.
You got Don Gero's Mask! They say the leader of the frog choir once used this mask. When you wear it, the frogs might just mistake you for their leader!
Groggy Whale
Cheren warped back to the bar's balcony afterwards, stuffing his new masks into his jacket. "Ohhhh…" He looked as Melissa weakly tumbled out of the door, held standing by Rusty Pete as she still looked sick to her stomach. "I think…I think I wanna stick with regular soda."
Melissa wobbled forward as Cheren caught her. "Heheh… feeling hung over?" However, a thought occurred to his mind as he let Melissa drop. "Oh yeah! Where did Nerehc go? I almost forgot that was the whole reason we came here."
"The little lad fainted, and 'is little Mexican buddy took him back to the ship." Pete replied.
"Oh…" Cheren looked down with disappointment as Melissa helped herself up, holding her head. "Well, at least it isn't a total loss. Miyuki's here! If we hurry, we can find her!"
"That's just what I was about to tell you, lad (hiccup)!" Pete spoke up. "The lads reported and said a little white-haired girl was walkin' up the mountain… in the direction of our secret grotto (hiccup)."
"Secret grotto?" Cheren questioned. "Definitely sounds like Miyuki… er, Majora, really. That grotto must be another temple."
"It's only the most sacred place in all of Tortuga." Pete replied. "Reckon it's why all the monsters are 'ere in the first place. And why we were hopin' Nerehc would get rid of 'em for us (hiccup)."
"Well, you put your faith in the wrong place." Cheren told him. "Nerehc really doesn't have power over demons. But we can drive 'em back for you; and if we hurry up, we might stop the one who's responsible for all this. So, point us in this grotto's direction and we'll get on it."
"Not so fast, lad and lass. We don't know how that girl got in there, but the entrance is hidden inside of a cave, and will only be revealed by a special-"
"Song?"
"Um… yes. A pirate shanty. But not like any old shanty, a special one, of course. Only captains can know it… so we're in bit of a rough spot, aye? But the only other one 'o knows is an old swabbie 'o lays asleep in the Cursed Hillside."
"Uhh, Cursed Hillside?" Cheren asked, worried at the word 'cursed.'
"Relax, lad, it's just a fancy li'l name. There's nothin' real deadly… well, except for all the monsters that's been runnin' around, but you're really used to this stuff, aren't ya? Anyway, the pirate's sealed inside an old building, and the door can only be activated by three pirate guardians. Just find the three guardians and pass their trials, and the rest should be easy (hiccup)!"
"There's always gotta be three of something." Cheren noticed.
"We figured it's traditional. Anyhoo… the hillside be just up these stairs. Oi wish ye luck, Cap'n! Hiccup!"
With that, the pirate stayed behind as the two operatives went up the staircase on the left of the balcony, reaching what appeared to be the highest point of the island. There were a few shrubs and trees, though there wasn't much vegetation, and there was an excellent view of the rest of the island. "Hey, Cheren, about that kiss we had-"
Cheren put a finger over her mouth and said, "Stays between us. Don't tell anyone. Especially Panini."
"…Mm-hm." Melissa only nodded. (Play "Nights of the Cursed" from Kingdom Hearts II.)
Stage 18: Cursed Hillside
Mission: Pass the three trials and learn the song from the Ancient Swabbie.
The first small area of the hillside seemed rather empty, but when they walked to the center, they were surrounded by a pack of Leevers; strange, green spinning creatures with teeth-like spikes on their heads, that emerged from the ground. The Leevers formed a circle and moved around the duo as they closed in. "Duck." Cheren told Melissa as he drew his sword. Melissa did so as the Leevers drew closer, allowing Cheren to perform a spin attack and wipe them all out in one hit. Melissa stood up and sighed in relief as they approached a gate with a Pirate Doorkeeper on it. It took notice of their presence and gave the expected reaction.
"SOO, ye want ta attempt the trials, do ye? Well, too bad! Only pi-"
"Yeah, yeah, only pirates may enter, so HERE." Cheren aggravatingly stated as he threw on Slag's Mask.
"Oh… well, ye-"
"Do a dance, aye." He finished. A disco ball was activated as three robo-pirates appeared, each raising a sword and dancing, so Cheren did the same. He begrudgingly mimicked the right pirate as he used the sword to clean his ears. The left pirate then used it to scratch his back, so Cheren followed him, thankful that his body was metal. The middle pirate proceeded to clean his teeth out with his sword, and Cheren disgustedly did the same. The pirates finished their routine by slowly sticking their swords down their throats, so Cheren hesitantly followed. One of the pirates decided to smack Cheren on the shoulder, causing him to drop his sword down his throat. This resulted in Cheren burping out some flames as the pirates laughed.
"Ha ha ha! Gets them every time! A'ight, you can pass." The doorkeeper said as the gates opened.
"Oi hope that sword still isn't in there when I'm in human form." Cheren said, changing back to a human and pounding his stomach. He couldn't feel the sword inside him and sighed, "Okay, good."
The gate revealed a fork in the road, so the two decided to take the left path first. They had to jump across a few platforms over some piranha-infested waters to reach a small trench area. They were at a dead end with several colored seeds laying around, patches of dirt, and several tiny openings in the wall. Cheren decided to lay the seeds under random patches and water them with the S.Q.W.I.R.T.. They grew into small platforms that reached to different heights, and were shaped like small pathways. Cheren noticed each patch was under two holes in the wall, so he made the plants shrink with the poison water and reorganized them.
He was eventually able to make it so that each plant was at level with its right path. Seeing this was her cue to go, Melissa shrunk herself and drove into the opening on the ground. She went up a slope in the first tunnel that led to one of the plant platforms, used it to reach the next tunnel, and kept driving along until she was at the ledge above. From there, she was able to lower a ladder down for Cheren to climb up. They arrived at a cliff with six metal pipes, aligned in two rows of three, baring a resemblance to organ pipes. On a metal post beside the pipes was a robo-pirate's face that looked like one of the doorkeepers. The metal post was also connected to some wires, which went to a telephone pole-like device, then flowed over to a dome-shaped building.
"Well, look what be here. A wee pirate junior!" it greeted them. "And his salty wench."
"Who you callin' a wench??" Melissa yelled.
"Saucy wench. If yer lookin' ta find the way to the pirates' sacred temple, ya need ta pass our tests. 'ave anything that makes music?" Cheren showed him the Spirit Flute. "Perfect! All ye must do is match the pipes with yer own. Let it be!"
The first round was pretty simple: shortest pipe, second-shortest, third-shortest, then longest, in which the pipes made the sounds of an organ. Cheren matched these four with his flute's pipes easy. The second round was slightly longer, starting at shortest, third-longest, third-shortest, longest, second-longest, then shortest. Cheren mimicked the organ pipes, almost forgetting to blow the second-longest one fifth, but still succeeded nonetheless. Then, the third round was played: shortest, second-longest, third-shortest, second-shortest, second-longest, shortest, third-shortest, third-longest, then longest.
"Um… okay." Cheren said quietly. He tried his best to memorize the order: shortest, second-longest, third-shortest, second-shortest… third-longest?"
"OII, I've 'eard better music from monkeys 'o've drunken intelligence potion and developed such musical talent! Get 'em, Leevers!" At his command, another swarm of Leevers emerged and started to circle and close in on Cheren. The Uno son only did like last time and spin attacked the monsters when they got close. "Arrr, Ay knew we should've ordered the death beams. A'ight, troy again."
The pipes repeated the same order once more, and Cheren paid close attention. After this second try, he was able to memorize the nine notes and replay them on his flute. After successfully completing the three rounds, the six pipes began their own little show in which they played a remix of "A Pirate's Life For Me" (it basically sounded like Davy Jones's organ).
"Ahhh, very good, laddie. But I've heard better. Still, yer good enough ter pass. I'll open the lock for ye." With that, the doorkeeper sent sparks across the line of wires and reached the dome. They believed one of the three locks to be open. They returned to the beginning area and took the right path this time. There was nothing to use to cross the piranha water, but they did see a small plant with a leaf dangling over the water. Cheren used the S.Q.W.I.R.T. to make the leaf grow into a leaf-boat, which they used to float to the path.
The path led down onto a cliffside that had a great view of the jungle and sea. There was a pool up there with clean, swimmable water, with a closed gate underneath. They swam underneath and observed the gate, attempting to squeeze through the bars, but it was too tight. After a few more moments of searching, they resurfaced and swam to the ledge to catch their breath. "If you were tiny, you could get through." Cheren breathed. "Too bad that car of yours isn't seaworthy, is it."
"Actually…" Melissa thought aloud, taking out the car and shrink ray, "I seem to remember them making these for undersea missions, too." She decided to test this out as she shrunk herself and drove the toy car into the water. To her surprise, the toy car instantly retracted its wheels and took the form of a submarine, floating perfectly. "Hey, it works!" With her toy submarine, she was able to drive between the bars of the gate and swim through the tunnel. There was a slope on the other side that allowed her to drive onto land and re-expand. She pushed a switch on the other side that caused the gates to slide open. Cheren was able to swim through and join her no problem.
They found the broken body of a robo-pirate hanging on a post like a scarecrow, holding a jug in his right hand, and four tubes on both of his sides, each containing an element. On their left was a Water tube, Earth tube, Fire, then Air, and on their right was a Poison, Shadow, Psychic, then Fear tube. The tubes each had a switch beside it and had pipes connecting to a faucet above his jug. The pirate was also connected to some wires that flowed over to the building. They walked over to ask the pirate what this was about.
"Well, what have WE. A young lad and 'is wench visitin' me?"
"Why is everyone calling me a wench??" Melissa said exasperated.
"'Cause you're a soda-drunk lassie." Cheren remarked.
"I see ye be wantin' ta visit our grotto. But not 'til ye've passed the tests, that's our motto. All I be wantin' is no hard task. Brew me the drinks I desire, and pass with yer masks."
"I get you're trying to have a rhyming gimmick, but it's not working, dude." Melissa told him.
"Let us begin the first brew. A refreshing drink. Ingenious power. Terrible dreams. And don't give me a shower." Cheren looked around at the eight element tubes. A refreshing drink… he walked over and pressed the water pump. Ingenious power… he pressed the psychic pump. Terrible dreams, he knew was the fear pump. And don't give me a shower, he first suspected water, but he already used that. If he didn't have a shower, he'd be dirty, so he pushed the earth pump.
The four elements mixed together to form an oddly colored drink in the pirate's cup. He had a drink as the liquid dripped right down his gutless form. "A wee bit much on the terrible, but nevertheless: A dash of banishment. A hint of creativity. A gallon of anti-dark, to breathe life into my heart." Cheren let this riddle play through his head. A dash of banishment… the only thing that seemed close was the shadow, so he pressed that pump and let it flow into the cup. Next was the hint of creativity; obviously referring to the psychic again. The last thing was the anti-dark, and what lit up the dark, Cheren believed was fire. After pressing all of these pumps, the pirate had a drink.
"PBBFF!" He immediately spat it out. "ARR! What are ye tryin' to do, kill me again?? Troy it again!"
Cheren cursed in his mind. Which one did he miss? He was sure he had them all… he played the riddle in his mind again: "A dash of banishment. A hint of creativity. A gallon of anti-dark, to breathe life into my heart." His eyes widened: after pressing the same pumps again, he then pressed the air pump; to breathe life into his heart. Once all pumps were pressed, the pirate drank away.
He smacked his lips from the drink and said, "A wee bit salty on that, eh? Anyhoo… Two molecules of hydrogen, two more of oxygen. A wee bit of geology, shouldn't bring me pain." This riddle sounded easy; two molecules of hydrogen, Cheren knew, existed in water, so he pressed that pump. Then two molecules of oxygen was blatantly air, so he pressed that one. Geology likely had to do with the earth, so he pushed that one next. However, the "shouldn't bring me pain" part rang in his mind. He figured that hinted to put fear in as well, so he finished off with that pump.
The pirate had his drink, smacking his lips from the taste he couldn't feel. "Ehh, maybe I shoulda asked for extra hydrogen. Oh well. An inch of what makes inch, and sprinkle it with chilly. Gimme eight times the nobility, and may the morrow grant you tranquility."
Inch of what makes inch… well, that sounded like shrinking, so psychic was what came to mind. And the only thing that could freeze was water, so Cheren pressed that one second. Nobility sounded like earth… but "give me eight times of it" sounded suspicious. Cheren recalled learning about the noble gases and how they have 8 electrons… it also reminded him how complicated chemistry was. Regardless, he pressed the poison pump to see what would happen. The last bit was "may morrow grant tranquility". Well, the sun usually appears in the morrow… he tried pressing fire.
When the drink was brewed, the pirate chugged away. "Aaah, now that be a fine brew! Ahh, if only I had taste buds… oh well. Here's yer lock." With that, sparks made their way from him across the wires, opening the second lock on the dome. To continue forward, they saw a grabable ledge along a nearby wall, grabbing on and climbing around to a new pathway. The path led them to another swampy area with piranha waters, and several lilipads, which were almost lined up in a perfect path. There was a set of platforms that led to a closed gate, and they saw the lilipads led into another small tunnel. Cheren had to use his S.Q.W.I.R.T. to spray the water around the lilipads to push them into alignment. Once they were lined up properly, Melissa was able to shrink down and drive across them. She drove through the tunnel and came out behind the gate on the other side, where she re-expanded and pressed a switch.
The gate was lowered, allowing Cheren to join her. However, when Cheren looked across the swamp again, he saw there was another strange cave far on the other side. He didn't see any way of reaching it yet, so they decided to press forward. They finally reached the dome-like structure, which had three locks on its door in the shape of a triangle. The two bottom locks were turned and had lights on them, while the top one had yet to be opened. Straight across from the dome's entrance was a small radio tower with a pirate's face strapped to the bottom. In the space between the tower and dome was a flat, tiled floor with three poles with odd shapes on top of them. The tower was also shining a bright light on the dome's entrance, making the shadows of the shapes appear along it as well.
Before they were going to attempt this puzzle, Cheren spotted an Imp Poe's lantern on the other side of the area. He became a wolf to see the Imp Poe and ran to attack it. After easily tackling it, he grabbed its chest in his teeth and yanked its soul out, watching it fly away. Cheren changed back as the Poe disappeared, and they went to ask the pirate about the puzzle.
"Well, Oi see you've opened two locks now. Oi'm impressed. The melody that will show ye to the temple lies just in yer wake. After ye solve my riddle that is."
"Just tell us what it is so we can get out of this world." Melissa demanded.
"Fine, ye saucy wench. Ahem… 'A face from the past shall reveal your path.'"
They figured this had something to do with the weird shapes on the poles. They started to move the poles around the floor, keeping an eye on the shadows as they tried to make the shadows fit like a puzzle. Since the shapes were different sizes, they had to be moved to different positions. They were able to fit the first two parts of the shadow; one pole had a shape with spikes along the sides and the other had one with two spikes on the top. The last pole could only be moved left or right, so it was easy to figure out. When the last shape with eyes on it was moved into position, they saw the shadow shaped Majora's Mask.
With the puzzle formed, the third lock on the door was open, gaining them access into the dome. Inside was a bunch of old pirate supplies, and an ancient-looking robo-pirate with a long, metal beard and a cane. (End song.)
"HOYYyyyyyyy!... Did those landlubbers finally get ta sendin' the repair man?" he asked in a dry, elderly voice.
"So are you… the Ancient Swabbie?" Cheren asked.
"AYYYYEEE, yes! That be me."
Melissa looked confused. "Wait… did he actually tell us his name was the 'Ancient Swabbie'?"
"It was in the mission prompt." Cheren replied.
"The what?"
"Ayyyy 'aven't 'ad a visitor 'ere in 75 years. A few scallywags pass by… every now and again. But alas, I 'ave been left here alone. Ta guard this blasted song. Oi, whoy do Oi 'ave ta guard a SONG, anyway? I's not loike anyone c'n just TAKE it unless they'd force it outta me. But Oi still 'ave me a few moves up my sleeve, I tell ye wot."
"Well, that's why we're here, actually. We need you to teach us this song to get into the temple."
"The temple? Arrr, ain't you runts a wee bit young ta be engagin' in… PIRATE business?"
"Well, Cheren's the new captain of the Slag Pirates, and my mom used to hang out with Candy Pirates, so I guess that makes me sure-blooded!" Melissa grinned.
Cheren eye-rolled, "Listen, I'm not really big on this pirate business, but if this island of yours is going to be saved, we need to get in your temple. And I've won the right to, I bested Captain Slag. At least, I'm… assuming that's what the deal is."
"Hhhho ho ho! Yer not big on the pirate business, laddie? Yeh don't even know what pirating is about."
"If I were to guess, it's…" Cheren began to dance around as he unemotionally sang, "'We're devils 'n' black sheep and really bad eggs, drink up me hearties, yo ho. Yo hooo, yo hooo, a pirate's life for me. We pillage and plunder and don't give a hoot, drink up me hearties, yo ho.'"
"Ohhhhh Oi love that song!" the Ancient Swabbie coughed. "But ya've got it all wrong, Laddie. First off, you're way off tune. Second, pirating ain't all about the pilfering and plundering… although that stuff is really fun! Cough, cough. Pirating is about freedom! Feelin' the wind and the ocean spray on yer skin as yer ship sails away into adventure… of course, if yer a robot like me, ya only have the sailing into adventure part! Cough, huack! I figured a bunch of kids like you would be so hyped on adventah."
"Well, I know someone who is…" Cheren eye-rolled. "But some adventurers have more important things to worry about, like saving a friend."
"Ahhh, wee adventurer who inta treasure more valuable than gold, I see. Your style, kid, it's… ehh, I'm not particularly into it. Now, ehhh… what were ye here for, again?"
"The song, dammit!!" Cheren yelled.
"Does your mom know you cuss?" Melissa smirked, earning a glare from Cheren.
"Fine, ye scurvy brat! Ehhh, Oi wish I hadn't sold me pipe organ." The pirate said as he searched around his clothing. "Ah well… this mini piano will do."
The pirate took out a small electric piano and switched it to the pipe organ setting, then used it to play the pirate song, "Hoist the Colors". The Ancient Swabbie played the first part on his own, then Cheren mimicked him using his Spirit Flute. Their music seemed to echo across the island as it was reaching the ears of other pirates. The pirates stopped in their activities and began to calmly sway left and right to the peaceful song. The rugged pirate island never felt more peaceful than with these notes flowing through the air.
You've learned Hoist the Colors! This pirate sea shanty is loved by all pirates! Only captains may use this song to get into the temple!
"Well, there's my daily breath exercises." Cheren joked. "There's just one thing that's not clear: where is the temple, anyway?"
"Ahhh… come this way, lads." The Ancient Swabbie instructed, leading them outside.
"I'm a girl, you know." Melissa said.
The old pirate brought them to a cliff high over a river. Cheren gulped at how big a drop that was. "The temple's entrance is hidden below the river. The only way in is ta tempt fate and dive."
"Uhhh, when you say 'tempt fate', can I take that was 'fate is feeling merciful and gladly lets anyone who jumps into this certain death live to tell the tale'?" Cheren asked.
"Oh, I wouldn't kill ye, lad! Or would I? Hahahahaha!... This be a test for pirates, ter see if ye have the will of an adventurer. But ye have my pirates' oath that the drop will not kill ye."
A 'pirates' oath' didn't really sound like something they would trust. However, it was the only lead they had. "I'm ready if you are." Cheren told Melissa.
"On 3." She replied.
They both counted, "One: Two: THREE!", and dove headfirst into the river below.
Not too far down did Cheren THROW open his Pirates' Sail, guaranteeing a safe, soft landing as he drifted slowly toward the river. "Yeah, I'm not feeling that gutsy!" he said.
Meanwhile, Melissa fell the rest of the distance herself, yelling up, "You chicken sh-!" She splashed into the river, unable to finish her sentence.
After a few minutes of slowly dropping, Cheren made a calm, weak splash in the water. Shortly after landing, Melissa resurfaced beside him with an annoyed look. "It turns out, it was a safe landing after all. Come on, there's a secret cave below here." With that, she dove back under with Cheren following her as they began to swim through a hidden cave that led underground. They came to a wider area of the cave that had strange puff-fish enemies, called Froaks, swimming around, and a pile of rocks blocking the way forward. Since Cheren couldn't use his M.A.R.B.L.E.s underwater, he decided to ask Fi for help.
"Master, I have information to report: the path further into the cave appears to be blocked. As you have likely guessed, your M.A.R.B.L.E.s are unavailable to you underwater."
Cheren gave an angry look and gurgled something that they couldn't understand, but he sounded rather pissed.
"While you are underwater, you have the ability to maneuver a Torpedo Spin. Perhaps using one on one of the nearby Froaks to push them into the rubble will result in a probable solution, Master."
Cheren gurgled a 'Thank you' and swam to the Froak nearest the rocks. He spun his body and shot faster with enough momentum to push the exploding puff-fish into the rocks, blowing them up. Cheren and Melissa exchanged excited nods and swam through, reaching the surface before they ran out of air.
They appeared inside a dark, empty cave with several tiny water droplets dripping from above, their sounds echoing in the small area. "Is this where he wanted us to play it?" Melissa asked.
"Only one way to find out." Cheren took out the Spirit Flute and proceeded to play a part of "Hoist the Colors". After his small rendition, the flute's notes bounced off the cave walls, creating a dim, green light. Cheren and Melissa looked up and gaped when they saw all of the water on the ceiling. The tiny droplets that once fell from above were now returning upward, and the two felt their bodies being moved upward as well, as if the gravity had changed. They were forced into the water on the ceiling and began to swim through another tunnel. They resurfaced shortly, finding their selves in the entrance to the cave that was the Pirates' Grotto. (Play the Crystal Caves theme from Donkey Kong 64.)
Dungeon 4: Pirates' Grotto
Mission: Locate Miyuki Crystal somewhere in the caves.
"Wow… this place is beautiful." Melissa said, staring in awe at the cave around her. The Pirates' Grotto was rather dark and crumbled, its only light coming from the glowing emerald green crystals and tiny, glowing green fireflies drifting around the darkness. The only sounds that could be heard were that of tiny droplets hitting the ground, waterfalls in the distance, and singing pirates echoing throughout the caves.
"Yeah, it is…" Cheren agreed, mesmerized by the light from the crystals glimmering in his glasses. "No time to lose." He said, getting focused again.
Melissa sighed, "Always the serious type, huh?"
The two walked ahead and found a crystal wall, blocking their way to another cave. Cheren simply pulled out his M.U.M.B.L.E.R. and fired a M.A.R.B.L.E. to blow it open. They went inside the cave and turned a right corridor to find what appeared to be a Fatblin wielding a flamethrower. The chubby demon noticed the two walk in and proceeded to spray the flamethrower in Cheren's direction. Cheren turned into Captain Slag and easily forced through the incoming flames, reaching the Fatblin and doing away with it with his sword. When the monster was defeated, a treasure chest appeared in the center of the small room. Cheren reverted to normal and opened it to catch his first Stray Fairy, this time an ocean-blue one.
They left the small cave and walked up the path to the main area of the grotto, in which a river seemed to flow down the caverns, sparkling light reflecting off its surface. The cave was nearly pitch-black, but they could tell it stretched a great distance by all of the fireflies and emerald-green crystals. They went up the path on their left to a small corner of the ledge above the river. They found a tiny hole in the wall, so Melissa shrunk herself to drive inside, then re-expanded herself on the other side. She entered another small cave where two robo-pirates were gathered. Along the wall beside them appeared to be some circular device. "Whaddya mean ya couldn't fix it?" one of them asked.
"I dunno what the problem is, I think one of the wires came loose inside. I ain't takin' this apart, though."
"Well, how else are we supposed ta… oi, it's that brat!" The pirates drew out their swords and approached the Gilligan girl. Melissa dodged behind them and hit one in the rear with her S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R.. The other pirate grabbed her by the shirt, but she was able to flip behind him, and when he turned, she shot him in the head, knocking its robo-skull off.
When the pirates were defeated, Melissa curiously approached the circular device, noticing the opening in the side. Melissa shrunk herself down and gripped the ledge of the opening to get inside, examining the structure of the device. She found a few broken wires deep inside and used all her tiny strength to push them in alignment. Afterwards, she used her welding device to stick them perfectly together, leaving the machine's insides and dropping down to her toy car, which she used to drive back and exit the hole.
Melissa re-expanded herself beside Cheren as he asked, "So, what'd you find?"
"Nothin', just some weird, circle machine that I decided to fix. You know, now that I think about it, why don't you just shrink with me?"
"No thanks. I've had some bad experiences with shrinking."
"If you say so."
They returned in the opposite direction and followed the path on the right of the entrance, finding a stone door that blended in with the wall. It led to a room small in width, but extended up a couple floors. On their left was a small hole that led to a pathway that led up the room, in which a pirate was rolling small rocks down the slope from the top. "Ehhh. Why are we rollin' these puny BOULDERS down as a means of defense? Unless we're protectin' against mice, I don't see how anyone could get up here."
Cheren gave a nod at Melissa, who nodded back as she shrunk herself and entered her toy car. She drove it through the mouse hole and began to make her way up the slope, having to hide in small openings to avoid the rolling boulders. When she was close to the top, she drove in to a small hole that led to the top, where she re-expanded herself. The pirate's eyes widened when he turned to notice her. "Huh? How'd you get up here??" A thought then occurred to him. "Now that I think about it… how'd I get up here?" He didn't have time to think as Melissa knocked him out with her S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R..
Melissa looked around and found some kind of circular pad on the floor, with a picture of two arrows swapping directions. At the same time, Cheren found a similar pad down below where he was. When both kids stood on their respective pads, they began to glow, and they instantly swapped positions, much to their surprise. Melissa saw that she was on the bottom of the room while Cheren found himself at the top. Sensing his confusion, Fi popped out of his sword.
"A report, Master: the strange device you and Melissa have stepped in appear to be Swap Pads, designed by the pirates for switching areas with others who stand on corresponding pads. Therefore, I conjecture an 85% chance you and Melissa have switched areas when you stood on them."
"I wonder, is 85 your favorite number or somethin'?"
"True, it is a very unlikely coincidence that most of my data comes 85% accurate."
Cheren found a small, narrow cave in which the floor was covered in a river of lava, and a chest on a platform on the other side. Cheren was about to turn into Slag, but Fi interrupted him again. "A report, Master."
"Uuuuugh!"
"While Captain Slag's body is able to withstand simple flames, there is a 40% chance it can withstand the temperatures of boiling magma for long."
"Well, I guess it was good to know before I turned into molten copper. Thanks, Fi." The spirit returned to the sword as Cheren launched his Hookshot at the wooden chest to pull him over. He opened the chest and found a Small Key; but when he looked back, he didn't see any way of getting back across. He saw how close the walls were together and proceeded to Wall Jump across, and landed barely on the ledge, wobbling to keep himself from falling in the lava. He jumped back to the lower floor as he and Melissa left the room. With nowhere else to go in the main room, Cheren launched his Hookshot to a target across the river, pulling him and Melissa to the parallel path.
They headed left and climbed up some rocky stairs to reach a higher stone bridge, where a Fatblin guarded in the middle, wielding a metal shield that extended above his head. Cheren tried to run at it and leap above its shield, but the Fatblin spun around to knock him off. He climbed his way back up and whispered a possible plan to Melissa. Once again, Melissa miniaturized herself and drove beneath the legs of the Fatblin, who curiously turned around and followed her. When his back was turned, Cheren took this opportunity to strike at his exposed back, easily defeating the Fatblin in a few strikes.
When they crossed the bridge, they found only a dead end, with only a small hole located above it near the ceiling. It didn't seem like anything could get up there, and make its way through afterwards, so they decided to leave it for now. They jumped down to the lower path; on the other side of the river; and continued down the opposite way. The slope seemed to lead up a little higher as the river drew further away from their eyes. As they stared down into the pure blue river below, Cheren suddenly remembered something as he slipped on his Great Fairy Mask. The hair indeed began to sparkle, but Cheren figured the fairies could be hidden anywhere in this massive cave. He decided he wasn't gonna bother looking for them until he found the Compass.
They eventually reached a wider area where the ground was more flat, and four robo-pirates were standing around a fire, cooking something as one held up a map. "Look what I stole from the monsters, lads! It's the map we use ta navigate through these 'ere caves!"
"Ayrr, and they be usin' this map to find all our secret loot then, aye?"
"Couldn't if they wanted to. They'd need our special Compass fer such a task. But nobody but us pirates will be havin' these beauties!"
"Sounds like a plan." Cheren said quietly as he turned into Captain Slag. He approached the pirates and greeted them with a jaunty, "HELLO, lads!"
"Oii! It be Captain Slag!" a pirate exclaimed. "What'd you do with your hair, Captain?"
"Belay that. I see you lads 'ave gotten yer mitts on that handy little map thar."
"Aye, Cap'n. We stole it from the monsters, aye? We'll keep it safe 'til the monsters are long outta here."
"Ye mates couldn't be trusted with eh chopstick. Gimme the map and get yer rusty arses outta here. Leave the monsters ta me."
"Oh, aye, Captain! The monsters are all on you!"
"AYE!" With that, they gladly handed Cheren the map and bolted out of the caves.
You got the Dungeon Map! Makes a little more sense in this dungeon, aye? Use this ta search all the caves fer tasty doubloons! 'Course, it's.. useless without the Compass, as you already knew.
Cheren changed back as they crossed another stone bridge and entered a door, which led to a room that had a tiny maze path underneath some crystal glass. Seeing the small opening at the beginning of the path, Melissa minimized herself and began to drive through. She pushed a switch upon her entry, which uncovered a similar switch at the end of the maze, and a timer started, indicating she had to drive through fast. The maze seemed pretty basic; some areas had switches which Cheren had to press to alter the paths for Melissa to get through, and there were Moldorms; centipede monsters, that crept through the maze in search of prey. She was able to make it to the other switch in time, pressing it to make a chest reveal itself on the other side of the room.
Cheren went over to collect another Small Key from the chest. When he crossed back over the maze, he noticed the tiny, worm-sized hole along one of the left walls. Feeling it looked suspicious, he put on Sackboy's Mask and became the boy of yarn. He unraveled himself into a single strand and was able to slither through the maze himself. He made his way to the tiny hole and slid through, finding a secret room that contained a Stray Fairy. After collecting the fairy, he made his way back to join Melissa as they left the room.
On their right was a small path that led to a locked door, which they easily accessed using one of their keys. They found a room that was almost completely covered in emerald-green crystal, where they stood on a cliff over a vast chasm of prickly green. Several long crystals grew on the ceiling and looked like they were about to fall off. Cheren shot the top of the first crystal, causing it to drop and stick in the ground. The part that stuck up looked flat enough to stand on, so Cheren used the Pirates' Sail to glide him and Melissa over. The crystal felt like it was about to fall over, so Cheren shot another, shorter crystal down for them to glide to. He shot the next crystal down, but it was too tall to glide to. It was conveniently leaning against a wall below a Hookshot target, so Cheren latched the Hookshot to it to pull them over.
From there, they were able to glide to the ledge at the end of the room. They found another crystal wall that Cheren blew down with a M.A.R.B.L.E., revealing a hall that led to another room. This next room had a path carved into the ground, leading upward through the caves. As they trekked up the slope, a few of the crystals grew eyes and feet, coming to life as they ran to attack the kids. The S'Hards were easily taken out in one slice of Cheren's sword. They looked to their left and saw a small platform near the ceiling, with a long, skinny crystal leading up to it. They were able to climb this short crystal, finding a small tunnel on the platform.
Melissa shrunk herself and entered her toy car to drive into the tiny corridor. At the end, she found a room behind some crystal glass that had a Stray Fairy. She re-expanded herself to collect the fairy, then shrunk down again to leave the hidden room. She gave the fairy to Cheren afterwards before they continued further up the cave. At the end of the path was a cliff over a deep, dark chasm, with only a few, spread-out platforms leading across the pit, and set too high to glide to. Cheren turned into his wolf form and was able to make the far leaps to the platforms, successfully reaching the ledge on the other side.
He found a short cave with a single door at the end, which Cheren entered. The door was immediately sealed with metal bars, locking Cheren in a room that was nearly pitch-black. The only thing giving light to the room were the emerald crystals around the floor, but they only gave so much light. Cheren walked forward a little and discovered an unlit torch. Feeling it was his only lead, he decided to light it with a Fire Arrow. He then searched around the rest of the darkness and found three more torches, alighting them all. (Pause song.)
Each of the torches puffed bigger for a second as they lit up a rope hanging above them like a fuse. The room was given more light, giving Cheren the vision of a bunch of scrap metal, with a robo-pirate's head in the center, tied up on the ceiling. When all of the rope was burned, the many parts dropped with a loud bang on the ground. The pirate head sparked to life as all of the parts pieced themselves together to create one massive being of scrap metal. The scraped giant gave a distorted roar as Cheren readied to fight it. (Play the Mini-Boss Theme from Majora's Mask.)
Sub-boss: Scrappar the Salvaged
The robotic giant stomped forward as it swiped its long, electrical arms, trying to hit Cheren with its metal pipe claws. Cheren was easily able to dodge the claws as he ran further away from the giant to think up a strategy. When Cheren was out of the giant's reach, its mouth opened as red flames began to charge inside it. When it finished, it unleashed a series of fireballs around the room as it spun around, with Cheren having to quickly defend with his shield. "Fi, now's the time I could be using your help."
On his command, Fi jumped out and examined the being. "Target locked: Scrappar the Salvaged. This appears to be an ancient space-pirate from an earlier point in time, left here by his old crew. He seems to have bonded with many other pieces of scrap metal abandoned by the pirates. Similar to Captain Slag, his insides seem to be filled with old grog, which he burns to emit flames from his lungs."
"That should do." Cheren said as he dodged another round of swipes from his claws. The pirate charged another breath of fire in his mouth, but Cheren took this moment to launch a Fire Arrow into his throat, causing Scrappar to swallow it and explode on the inside, making a few of his scrap parts blow off. This process repeated a few more times as more of his pieces fell off. Eventually, his entire body fell into pieces, but the pirate didn't seem finished yet.
More pieces of scrap formed on the robot as they shaped into a large ball, with the head still in front. Four electric beams extended from it, attaching to more scrap pieces that formed four hands. It began to crawl around like a spider, shooting fireballs at Cheren as it chased. Cheren tried to launch Fire Arrows into its mouth, but it didn't stay open long enough. With its mouth still closed, Scrappar charged more heat in his mouth. Cheren quickly threw on Slag's Mask as the scrap being unleashed a powerful breath of fire. Cheren withstood the heat as best as he could in his large robotic body, but his temperatures were steadily rising. Just before Cheren reached his limits, Scrappar ran out of breath and took a moment to catch it.
During his moment of weakness, Cheren took this time to hurry around in Slag's body and rip off all of the robot's hands. When each scrap-hand had been ripped clean, Scrappar was only a ball now, and he began to roll around in attempt to run Cheren over. The pirate could only push Cheren a little bit while he was in Slag's body, but the scrap-made ball kept rolling back to add more momentum to his shoves. When Scrappar rolled in to attack the fourth time, Cheren used his strength to grip the scrap ball and was able to throw it against the wall. Scrappar rolled around and continued to try and ram Cheren, but the pirate-boy threw him against the wall two more times until Scrappar's mouth was left hanging open, dizzy. Cheren reverted to a human and, rather than a Fire Arrow, he shot a M.A.R.B.L.E. into the robot's mouth, blowing the scrap ball to pieces. (End song.)
The sounds of banging metal echoed loudly in the caves as the pieces flew everywhere, with Scrappar's head landing in the middle. "'ey…" the head hopped up to face Cheren as he hurried over. "Ye were just Captain Slag, weren't ye?"
"Um… yeah, long story."
"That mask ye used… ye must be the new chosen one."
"Um… chosen one?" Cheren asked, as if he didn't already know.
"The new captain of the Metal Skull crew, who would save our holy island when it fell ill to beings of darkness. The fact ye wear Slag's face, means ye must have bested him, no?"
"Well, yeah, but I'm not their captain…"
"Nay, it's the pirates' code! Look at you, ye've already got the workings of a buccaneer. Ye wield the sword, ye sailed the sea… and I can tell ye've opened quite yer share of treasure chests, aye?"
Cheren rolled his eyes. "Alright, fine. Then I don't suppose you'd be willing to help your captain out?"
"Arr, Ay see ye've gotten yer mitts on a Bananarang. Thems used ta be delicate pirate treasures. Let ol' Scrappar patch it up for ya, aye?" The pirate formed up a smaller version of its body before taking the boomerang and turning away, making some repairs on it that Cheren couldn't see. When he turned around, Cheren saw the Bananarang was now fixed with an antenna and other mechanical parts. He was also given a remote control. "'ere ya go, lad! Now ye'll get yer grubby mitts on treasures that were nigh unreachable!"
You got the Remote Control Bananarang! Rather than covering a short distance, this Bananarang will now fly wherever you choose it to! Reach new heights with this baby as you hit out-of-reach switches and other items! Yep, definitely a must-have for any adventurer on the go!
Cheren looked at the robot with a smile and said, "Thanks." (Replay the Crystal Caves Theme.)
The boy left the room afterwards and hurried out onto the cliffside to wolf-jump back over to his friend. However, when he got back, he saw a bunch of Miniblin strapping dynamite to the platforms he used. The little demons waved their arms excitedly, but one of them accidentally pressed the detonate button. They waved frantically before the platforms were blown up, sending them all falling into the chasm. On the other side, some armored Bulblin shook their heads in disbelief before readying their arrows, in case Cheren tried to glide across.
If this wasn't obvious enough, Fi came out to explain it. "Master, I have information to report. Signs indicate the previous way to the other side of this chasm was destroyed. Furthermore, they have troops wearing armor stationed on the other side, making it impossible for aerial travel. Their armor also makes them 80% resistant to projectiles such as arrows. I'd suggest finding another way to cross the chasm safely, Master."
"Yes, I… kinda got that. Thanks." With that, Fi jumped back into the sword as Cheren started to look around. There appeared to be a small cave in the wall above the ledge on the other side. Ready to try out his new item, he threw the Remote Control Bananarang out and used his remote to help it fly across the chasm, going surprisingly ignored by the Bulblin. He flew the boomerang into the cave and did a tight right turn to hit a crystal switch. The switch seemed to detonate some bombs above the Bulblin as the ceiling exploded, causing stalactites to drop down and take the monsters out. With nothing impeding his progress, Cheren proceeded to glide across the chasm on his sail, landing on his feet by an unconscious Melissa.
Cheren shook the girl lightly a little before giving her a rougher shake. She awoke groaning and gripping her head. "Owww… what happened?"
"You're so drunk, you got the illusion of monsters banging you to sleep. Alright, let's go."
The two left the room and returned to the chamber will all the crystal. There was a ladder that would take them onto a higher pathway, but Cheren first wanted to search around the room for any secrets. He sent his Remote Control Bananarang out to search the chasm and found a small hole within one of the walls. He flew his boomerang threw a narrow tunnel and found a hidden room with a bubble containing a Stray Fairy. He popped the bubble and caught the fairy with his boomerang to bring it back.
He and Melissa climbed the ladder and crossed the path to find a door that led to the second floor of the main chamber. All they had was a small path that led to another circular device, similar to what Melissa found earlier. They noticed its wires leading to a hole in the wall, so Cheren sent his boomerang in to investigate. After flying through another tunnel, his boomerang flipped a switch, connected to the wires, that sparked the device to life. A strange, green see-through portal appeared in the circle, and Cheren and Melissa exchanged curious glances before stepping inside.
Right away, they were taken to the room Melissa was in earlier, coming out of the other portal device. Cheren noticed another tunnel in the wall on their right, but it was blocked by a massive crate. Cheren turned into Captain Slag and used his enhanced strength to pull the crate away from its spot, gaining them access into a small tunnel with a large chest. Cheren approached the chest in Slag's body, so it was rather small to his height, and he was able to crack it open with his hook hand and grab the item inside with his normal hand.
You got the Compass! We'd give you an explanation, but we're sure Fi has that covered. …No? Alright, your loss.
The two kids stepped back through the portal and returned to the second-floor path. The compass and map indicated a Stray Fairy down below, so they dropped back to the first floor, since the area where the pirates were gathered was right below them. The map read there was a Stray Fairy in the water somewhere, so Cheren dove in on his own. He swam around in a wide, open area that the river eventually led to, in which the water wasn't that deep, but big enough for Cheren to swim in. He found a secret cave along one of the walls and swam in, shortly coming to dry land inside a secret room where a chest sat. Inside the chest was another ocean-blue fairy, which Cheren captured before swimming out of the room. The ledge where he jumped from was too high to climb, so he was forced to swim to the beginning area of the grotto, where the river was closest to the ledge.
They remembered the area where the long-shield Fatblin guarded and returned up there to toss the Bananarang into the small tunnel that was above the stone bridge. After navigating the boomerang through another tight corridor, Cheren hit a crystal switch that caused a small gate underneath the nearby waterfall to open. They jumped to the lower floor as Melissa shrunk and drove her toy car into the river, transforming it into a submarine. She drove in the newly opened tunnel and resurfaced on the other end, where she drove up a small slope that connected to the land. A group of pirates patrolled around the area, but Melissa was able to drive by them unnoticed as she made it to a lone switch. When she resized and hit the switch, Cheren watched as the waterfall divided into two, revealing a secret cave by the higher path.
Cheren went up to the stone bridge and used his Pirates' Sail to glide into the new path, which brought him to the other side of the main chamber where Melissa waited. When he dropped down onto the open area, the pirates immediately took notice of him and raised their swords. Cheren performed a spin attack when the first one ran up and rolled behind the second one to strike it from behind. The other pirate fired his gun, but Cheren bounced the shot back with his shield and hit him in the knee. When the last pirate tried to attack him, Melissa flung his head off with her S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. from behind. Cheren caught the head as it said, "For the record, we aren't this bad in combat. But we lost all our best fighters in a Davy Back Fight with-" Cheren just kicked the head away.
They found a door that led to a small room where a large structure of crystal glass sat over a chasm, with a crystal switch in the center. There was an entrance into the structure, but it seemed to be a complex maze of tunnels that eventually led to the switch. Cheren tossed his remote Bananarang into the entrance and began to navigate the maze, having to slow it down to make the tight turns. After a few fails, he eventually reached the center and hit the crystal switch. This caused another portal device on their left to be activated, but the portal wasn't quite there.
Knowing they'd have to activate another one somewhere, they left the chamber and returned to the main area. They walked up a slope on their left and used their other Small Key to enter a new door, entering a small, cylindrical room that seemed to stretch to the second floor. Above them on the second floor was a ledge, but there was nothing to climb to it. However, there were several sets of crystals sticking out of the walls. Cheren turned into a wolf and was able to leap his way up the crystal footholds, but when he was close to the top, a Bulblin shot an arrow and sent him falling back down. Cheren changed back to a human and tried to aim an arrow at the Bulblin, but it was safe above the top of the platform. Instead, Cheren sent his Remote Control Bananarang up and crashed it in the Bulblin's head, knocking him dizzy. Cheren quickly became a wolf and jumped his way up again to take out the Bulblin in its dizzy state.
The Bulblin appeared to be guarding a small cave at the top, which Cheren entered, only to find himself in a small opening on a wall in the main room, overlooking part of the river, as well as a ledge with another door on the other side. He figured this Bulblin would've kept him from gliding to that ledge from the upper pathway from earlier, if he tried to. Now that it was gone, he was free to glide there, but he jumped down to get Melissa first. Since she couldn't Wolf Leap with him, she had to minimize herself so he could grab her car in his teeth, then he was able to jump back up and bring her with him. Melissa re-expanded and Cheren reverted to human so they could use the Pirates' Sail to safely glide to the ledge across the river.
They went in the door and found a large, glittering room, where they felt a windy draft blowing upward. There was nowhere else to go in the room, so Melissa held onto Cheren as he flapped open the sail and allowed the draft to carry them upward. There were several ledges with spiked crystals sticking out from the walls, so they had to navigate around them carefully. There was a bubble with a Stray Fairy below one of the ledges, so they drifted away from the ledge, but stayed close enough to pop the bubble and evade the spikes in time. They were able to reach the top of the room and land on the platform with the door on it. Cheren put on the Great Fairy's Mask to call the Stray Fairy toward him, and he collected it before they entered the door.
They found their selves in another wide-open cave, overlooking a larger river from a high cliff. There was a ledge far down on the river on their left, so they decided to fly to it first. They entered a door that led to a room that was erupting with flames. A pit of lava lay below a metal-barred floor with flames shooting down from the ceiling, burning a tiny pathway that was below the bars. Already knowing what they had to do, Melissa minimized herself while Cheren put on Slag's Mask. Melissa drove into the opening and began to move slowly down the winding path, with Cheren having to use Slag's body to shield the path from the flames. At points, he had to step out of the flames and cool down while Melissa parked in a safe zone. They soon reached the other side where Melissa hit a tiny switch, which not only opened the exit out of her little course, it made a chest appear on a walkway above the side of the room.
They both reverted to normal form and climbed the stone steps to the walkway, finding a chest containing a Small Key. The walkway also took them around the flaming course, allowing them to jump back to the room's exit. Back in the second big room, Cheren looked at his map, seeing there was a Stray Fairy on the ledge across from them. It was too high to reach, but they noticed a Hookshot target on one of the stone beams that connected the ground with the ceiling. Melissa held onto Cheren as he launched the Hookshot and pulled them up there, and before they dropped down, Cheren threw open the Pirates' Sail to glide to the ledge. There wasn't anything on there except for a few crystals. Cheren checked the map and found the Stray Fairy was in the place of a crystal. Cheren threw a M.A.R.B.L.E. and destroyed the crystal, confirming his suspicion when a Stray Fairy emerged from it.
They checked the map again and saw there was a hidden room behind the area where they came in from; a hidden room with a single chest. They jumped in the river and swam around the chamber where the upward draft was, finding some stairs that led onto a ledge with a stone tablet, but nothing else. The tablet had this inscription:
Close ones and high ones.
May farthest come before close.
Like your enemies.
-Haiku
This riddle confused them at first, but they saw the crystal switch just on the wall across from them. Before hitting it, Cheren sent his Remote Bananarang to fly around the draft room and explore the main area. He first found a crystal switch beside another stone beam, but left it alone for now. The boomerang flew far across the river until he found another switch on the ceiling, surrounded by Keese. He avoided the Keese and hit the switch, but that's when a timer started, counting 10 seconds. Cheren quickly sent the Bananarang out again and sped it up to hit the second switch that he saw. Before the timer could reach zero, he threw the boomerang at the closest switch, hitting it just in time. Cheren looked on his map and watched as a symbol lit up near their spot, a symbol that matched that of the other portal device. Seeing nothing beside them, they peeked over the edge, seeing a crystal window in the wall beneath them.
They jumped into the river and looked up to find the portal device behind the crystal window. Since there wasn't any other way in there, they knew they had to return to the lower floor and enter the portal from there. As they swam along, they found a waterfall pouring over a spot with a hole in the river. They curiously swam into this hole, and were suddenly washed down into the first main area's river, having come down the waterfall which they opened. They got up to the upper path and used the Sail to glide into the hidden way behind the waterfall. They made it back to the room with the intersecting portal and went inside, immediately finding their selves behind the crystal window. To have a shortcut open, Cheren used a M.A.R.B.L.E. to blow open the crystal window.
The portal brought them inside a small tunnel that led to a door. They went inside, and the door was immediately shut with bars. It was another dark room, though still bright enough to see, with a very wet floor and lots of water dripping from the ceiling. In the center of the room was a very familiar orange lizard which they despised. (Pause song.)
"OIIIAAA! It's-a YOU!"
"Gekko!" Cheren glared, readying his sword.
"For a minute, I thought it was Jar Jar Binks." Melissa remarked.
"You mean 'Blinks'."
"No I don't."
"Gekko, where's your master?"
"HAHAA! I'll-a never tell! My mashta's power returnsh shoon! He shtays nicsh and shafe in hish private room. I guard the key there sho no one dishturbs!"
"Sooo he's in the boss room." Cheren figured. "And you're guarding the Boss Key."
"Uhhhhh." Gekko looked dumbstruck. "YOU-SHA NEV-NEV reach Majora! You-sha drown in de deep blue seas of blue! Whensh the cave floodsh… YOU-SHA MEET YOUR GRAVE! Hah!" At the stomp of his foot, several holes opened on the ceiling, letting in tons of water as the room began to slowly flood. (Play the Mini-boss Theme from Majora's Mask.)
Sub-boss: Swim 'Em, Gekko
Gekko jumped behind one of the columns of water as Cheren and Melissa ran behind to catch him, only to find he wasn't there. Gekko tackled Cheren from behind another column and scratched his face before jumping through another. Melissa helped them up as they kept trying to catch the Gekko, but he was quick as he hopped his way through the water, successfully attacking them. "Ugh… if it keeps going on like this, we'll drown in no time."
"Well, how did you beat him last time?" Melissa asked.
"Hmmm… okay: he can only attack one of us, so then the other person gets him quickly."
"Okay." With that, they kept their guard up and started to track Gekko again. Gekko hid behind a nearby column and jumped out to attack Cheren, but the moment he did so, Melissa quickly bashed him with her S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R.. He was knocked dizzy for a moment, giving Cheren enough time to strike him with his sword. Gekko recovered and jumped behind another column as Cheren and Melissa walked around, ready to ambush him again. Gekko suddenly tackled Cheren from behind a column and scratched him before jumping back. They walked around some more until Cheren was tackled again, but when Melissa tried to shoot him, Gekko swiftly flipped over and grabbed her head in his legs before slamming her on the flooded ground, then hopping away.
With that plan out of the solution, Cheren had another idea and turned into Captain Slag. They waited for Gekko to ambush them again, but when he did, he was unable to tackle the heavy form of Slag's body. Cheren took the lizard by the neck and threw him on the ground before jumping and butt-smashing the lizard. Gekko recovered and clapped his hands, making the water drop in and flood the room faster. Cheren quickly removed Slag's Mask as the kids were forced to float in the water. Gekko grabbed Cheren's legs from below the water and pulled him underneath, swimming toward and pushing Cheren against a wall, then swimming away.
Cheren recovered and turned to see Gekko left a crack in the wall with his collision, giving him an idea. Cheren resurfaced to get some air, then dove back in to see Gekko swimming at him. Cheren dodged down when Gekko tried to grab him, then swam far behind and came at him with a Torpedo Spin, shoving Gekko onto the cracked wall. Gekko recovered and swam at Cheren, the two engaging in an underwater wrestling fight before Cheren kicked him against the crack, then Torpedo Spun at him again. Gekko hurriedly tried to swim away before Cheren could attack him again. Cheren tried to aim his Hookshot at Gekko, but every time he fired, Gekko was able to dodge. However, Gekko was ambushed by Melissa, who grabbed and held him in place. Cheren was able to grab him with his Hookshot, pull him over, and bash his head to knock him dizzy. Afterwards, Cheren swam back and shoved Gekko against the crack one last time. (Resume Crystal Caves theme.)
The impact left a big enough crack to drain all of the water out of the room. The water stopped coming in from the ceiling and they were all on safe ground in a matter of seconds. Gekko wobbled dizzily, rubbing his throbbing head before he threw up a small, dark-pink frog. "Ahhh… takesh the key. I-ish need medic." And with that, the Gekko hopped away.
The metal bars blocking the room's exit opened, as well as the metal bars blocking the door to the Boss Chest. However, Cheren took notice of the pink frog that started hopping in place. He remembered the Don Gero Mask he acquired from Jigglypuff and slipped it on his head.
"Um, where'd you get that?" Melissa asked.
"Don Gero! Don Gero!" the frog ribbited. "It's been so long! How are you?" he hopped at each sentence.
"Um, I… am here to tell you, to go back to Carnivilia!" Cheren ordered, confused.
"Really? You want us to go back? We left 'cause we were bored. But this place is scary! I'll head back now. Good luck finding the others! Ribbit!" And for some odd reason, the frog vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Ummm… okay then." Not even going to bother asking why that happened, Cheren and Melissa entered the new door. Inside was the blue and yellow decorated chest. Knowing what was already in it, Cheren opened it, waited for the light show to end, and retrieved the Boss Key.
You got the Boss Ke—you know what, forget it, you know what it is.
The two left the mini-boss room and were able to jump back into the second main room with the window having been broken open. They checked the map and saw the only way to go was down the rest of the river, and there were Stray Fairies down there, too. They swam down the river as quick as they could, eager to finish this dungeon. They neared the end of the river, but the ledge was too high to climb to. They climbed onto a platform along the left wall and found a Swap Pad. There was also an Arrangement Pad on the parallel platform. Cheren became Sackboy and jumped over to the pad to see what he could move.
He had an overview of that particular area, and he was able to move the crystals in the walls. They noticed the crystals were in carved slots in the walls and could only move within them. He had the first crystal lay beside the platform so it was touching the ledge, allowing Melissa to shrink down and drive onto it. Cheren slid the crystal to the end of its spot, where Melissa drove onto the second one, which Cheren had to slide upward. Melissa then drove on the third one, which couldn't move anywhere, but Cheren was able to pull and stretch it out of its spot. He stretched it to reach a tiny path on the parallel wall, which Melissa drove onto and re-expanded. There, she found the corresponding Swap Pad, standing on it while Cheren stood on the other, switching places with her.
Cheren found himself on the ledge while Melissa was back on the lower platform. Cheren launched his Hookshot to grab and pull her up. The door was locked, so they used the Small Key they found. The last room was a wide hallway where an eerie gust echoed from a dark abyss. There were a few platforms over the chasm, but they were too out of reach. They saw a Hookshot target high up on the left wall, but it wasn't over anything. Regardless, Cheren launched the Hookshot and pulled them up, then quickly threw open the Pirates' Sail to float them to the first platform.
The rest of the platforms were pretty close to glide to, but they saw two Flamethrower Fatblin at the end of the hall, guarding the door. They glided their way across the platforms and reached the end, but the Fatblin immediately started blowing their flamethrowers to prevent them from jumping on. They also wielded shields, so arrows wouldn't work. They decided to head back to see if they missed anything. They did see a Stray Fairy in a bubble behind one of the stalactites above, so Cheren popped the bubble with an arrow and used the Fairy Mask to call it down.
When they returned to the start, they saw there was a monkey hiding in a small cave on the ceiling. They weren't sure why the monkey was up there, but Cheren tossed the Remote Bananarang to catch its attention. After flying by the monkey, Cheren flew it down the hall, over each of the platforms, making the monkey jump across each platform to try and catch it. He was able to guide the monkey to the end of the hall, on the ledge where the Fatblin guarded. The monkey screamed when the demons noticed and began to chase him around the area. Cheren and Melissa took this moment to make their way across again, successfully getting onto the ledge without the Fatblin noticing. Cheren proceeded to slice the Fatblin up before they ever knew.
They entered the door and were brought to the last room. All it was was just a simple staircase leading to the Boss Door. On the sides of the staircase were different layers of ground, each with a few crystals on them. Cheren studied his map and saw that one of the crystals on the right contained a Stray Fairy, so he went up to destroy that crystal with a M.A.R.B.L.E..
"And that's all of them." Cheren spoke after collecting the last fairy.
"Now let's pointlessly make our way out of this dungeon and RETURN the fairies before just fighting the boss first!" Melissa exclaimed exasperatingly.
"If we fight the boss first, we just get warped back to the treehouse after the cutscene, that's why we're doing this."
"We go back to the treehouse because you faint and we TAKE you there! Why don't you just tell me to not do that??"
"Pssh, the game doesn't let me."
"What??"
"Never mind, let's just go."
"Uuuugh! Fine." (End song.)
Outside the grotto
They hurriedly left the Pirates' Grotto and swam above the river where its entrance was hidden. They found another cave near the river's surface and climbed into it, finding the island's Fairy Fountain. Inside was a swarm of ocean-blue fairies fluttering around a cave where clear waterfalls poured in from above, the ripples reflecting off the walls. Cheren emptied his bottle of the captured Stray Fairies and allowed them to merge with the others of their kind. As they squeezed together, a ball of water encased them and floated upwards, shooting into the fountain with great force, splashing the duo.
They watched as a sword cut the bubble open, and the one wielding it was a fairy just like the others, wearing black shorts, a black bellybutton shirt, black bandana on her head, eye-patch over her left eye, and black sandals with straps that stretched up her legs. The smiling fairy girl immediately shot over to Cheren, aiming the sword at his face with a playful look.
"Arrrr, matey! Ay be Afryn! State yer name and business, er walk the plank! Ayyyy!"
Cheren stared wide-eyed, the tip of the sword just inches from his face.
The pirate fairy pulled her sword away and giggled, "Hmhm! Ay'm just kidding, of course. Ye must've seen it anyway by now. Tortuga be full of swashbucklin' miscreants, aye?"
"Yeah. This place sure is a wreck, huh?"
"Oh no, not at all, really. The spirit o' pirating be what Tortuga is all about, aye?" The fairy began aimlessly swinging her sword as she paced back and forth. "After all, pirating be so much more than plund'ring and pilfering, and getting drunk on alcoholic brews. Pirates'r men and women o' the sea. They follow where the wind blows. Wind be the Element o' Freedom, and the pirates are symbols o' that freedom." She took Cheren by surprise when she zipped over and caught his shirt collar on the tip of her sword. "And ye scallywags had a taste o' this freedom, too. Havin' yer rum-soaked party and exchanging yer bit of saliva."
Cheren and Melissa blushed as Afryn jumped away. "W-Well… I still think freedom should be limited." Cheren said.
"Aye, maybe so… when the waves of the sea blow freely, it sometimes may be best if a stone or an iceberg were to make it crash. Which is why Ay pass on to ye a gift. Hope ye put more use ta it than Ocarina did." And with a twirl of her blade, she encased Cheren in a small column of water, which seemed to flow onto his assortment of arrows. Cheren took one of his arrows and watched as ice formed on the tip.
You got the Ice Arrow! With the element of ice at your disposal, you can freeze baddies in their tracks and even make platforms on the water!
"Wouldn't it've made more sense if the fairy in the ice world gave you that?" Melissa asked.
"Well, we couldn't make the quest too easy for you." Afryn told her. "Now that that business be done… ye best be gettin' back ter lookin' for your mate."
"You mean… Miyuki?" Cheren asked, feeling anxious.
"Aye. She be waitin' for ye just beyond the door. I be sensin' the bond between her and Majora growin' stronger. When the toime comes that ye face them… ye may have ta make a sacrifice."
"What do you mean? What sacrifice?"
"Ye may find out. If the winds of fate be on yer side. Best of luck to ye, ayyye!" And with a wink and a few more sword twirls, Afryn sliced herself to pieces with the sword, turning into water and splashing back in the fountain.
Outside the grotto Boss Room
"Well… here goes." Cheren sighed, nervous about what's on the other side of the large door. If Miyuki and Majora were back there… he wasn't sure if he was ready to face him. But he had to try. Without anymore hesitating, he stuck the horned key in and opened the door.
They were surprisingly taken outside of the cave, appearing on an enclosed cliffside on the side of the island, overlooking the vast ocean under the midnight sky. Standing on the cliff's ledge, overlooking the sea, was the girl Cheren sought all this time for.
"Miyuki!" he exclaimed. "Er, I mean… Majora…"
Melissa sighed, "Come on, we both know that's Majora pulling the strings, you don't need to correct yourself every-" But at that moment, Miyuki turned around, revealing her pale, emotionless face, holding Majora's Mask to her chest. "Um… I stand corrected."
"Miyuki!" Cheren seemed overcome with happiness. "You're not wearing the mask!"
"Of course not. It's hard to breathe wearing it all the time."
"Hehe!" Cheren shook the joy out of his mind and said quickly and seriously, "Miyuki, gimme the mask. We have to get rid of it."
"No." Miyuki held a hand out, stopping Cheren before he got close. "I…I like this mask."
"But Miyuki, that mask is possessed, and if you put it on again, you'll be-"
"I know. I'm…I'm helping Majora… complete his goal."
"What?"
"He and I have something in common. He just.. wants to get back.. what he lost…"
"But he's trying to destroy the world; don't you think that's selfish?"
"Thanks to him… I've come to realize… that everyone will be selfish. In one way or another. Everyone has a goal in life they wish to fulfill. And I want to help Majora fulfill his… and take revenge on the selfish people who sent him away."
"'Sent him away', what are you talking about? And what people?"
"You ask too many questions, boy."
"AHH, IT TALKS!!" Melissa screamed.
Cheren looked surprised as well. "Hard to tell when these things are actually awake."
"You told me Miyuki was your friend… didn't you, boy?" the mask asked. "Then as her friend, you would respect her decision… and let her remain with me."
"But I… wait, you're probably just controlling her! You won't trick me!"
"There is no trick. 'Twas the very reason I allowed her to remove me. Much like your own masks, once she removes me from her face, the magic is gone. This way, I've given her a choice."
"And I choose to help him."
"But Miyuki-"
"You wanted her to be happy, right? She is happy with me… You wouldn't take her away from what made her happy, would you?"
Cheren was at a loss for words. Truth be told, it didn't really sound like Miyuki was hypnotized… which means Miyuki did want to help him. But no, he couldn't just let Miyuki go with him. He was dangerous and had to be stopped! But… the whole reason for this was to make Miyuki happy. If letting her go with a dangerous demon bent on world conquest… no, he couldn't do that! But then he…
Cheren sighed in defeat and stuck his sword in the ground. Melissa only stared at him with disbelief. "…Really? You're letting him go."
"That's what I thought." Majora stated as Miyuki placed him back on her face. "If you're really true to your morals, you'll stay away." Cheren kept his head down as the girl leapt off the edge. Melissa gasped quietly, but saw that they were safe when Miyuki levitated and calmly flew off into the night.
"Oh, come on!" Melissa whined. "After everything we went through to find her, you're just going to let them go??"
"I…" Cheren pulled his sword out of the ground and stashed it back in its sheath, "I had a moment of weakness, okay? I just…" Cheren held his forehead, beginning to walk forward, "I need to think."
Melissa followed him as she replied, "Well, beating the snot out of the boss might help you think."
The small path led to a door, which the two entered to find a massive, circular room, standing on a cliff over a wide, deep dark pool in which a waterfall poured into beside them. As they stood upon the ledge, looking down at the water below, Cheren could only feel worried. "Nowhere else to go." Melissa told him.
"There must be some way." But much to his contradiction, Fi jumped out of his sword.
"Master, I am detecting no other points of entry ahead. I calculate a 0% chance we will find what we want unless you dive into the abyss before you."
Cheren sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I… kinda got that, Fi. Thanks." With that, she returned to the sword. "Well-p… here we go. …But let's hold hands."
"Hm-hm, okay." Melissa chuckled.
With that, both held hands as they dove headfirst into the abyss. They shot below the surface and held their breaths as they began to swim, deeper and deeper into the darkness. They seemed to reach some ground, and their only way to go was a wide cave up ahead. The area became blacker and blacker as they swam, and they clutched the other's hand even tighter. The fear in their hearts continued to grow, feeling anything could snap at them any moment. However, there was something in the darkness that uplifted their hearts: a light at the end of the tunnel. A tiny, light-blue light brimmed in their eyes ahead, and they quickly swam forward.
The light seemed so far away, but it was actually much closer, and very tiny as their faces loomed close to it. They stared widely at the beautiful wonder, exchanging smiles as the light drifted away from them. They curiously swam after the light, feeling the strange desire to catch it. It kept switching from left to right, but still moving ahead of them. Trying to catch it just seemed so fun! It was also very familiar. Like something they've seen in Finding Nemo. … …Oh, crap.
"RAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" Immediately, to their extreme shock, the light flashed and expanded in size, revealing the terrifying form of a massive, vicious eel demon. It gave a deafening roar, exposing its two rows of sharp, shiny teeth. Cheren and Melissa lost a little breath from being startled by its roar. Its eyes brimmed a bright white, and large fins puffed on its cheeks. The gleaming light which lured them was now bigger and dangling at the tip of its antenna. The eel demon seemed safely tucked in a hole in the wall, with only its head poking out as it battled them. (Play Lord Woo Fak Fak's Theme from Banjo-Tooie.)
Boss fight: Masked Aquatic Predator, EELION
The two kids swam around as the monstrous eel started launching electric beams from its antenna, easily avoiding its slow-coming attacks. Cheren swam toward a stream of air bubbles near the ground to get some breath back, but had to dodge quickly as the monster gnashed its jagged teeth at him. The eel roared as it unleashed a series of electric spheres, which still came slowly, but was still a narrow dodge as they avoided them. Eelion slammed its head into the wall, causing the cave to shake as several boulders slowly sunk down.
Cheren had an idea as he stared at the boulders and quickly swam far behind one. He swam toward the boulder and performed a Torpedo Spin, and was able to knock the boulder at Eelion's head, knocking him dizzy. When the monster was stunned, Cheren and Melissa took this time to swim around it in search of any weak spots. When they weren't able to find anything, Fi emerged from Cheren's sword.
"Master, I have analyzed parts of the structural figure of Eelion. There are tiny holes on the sides of his head, which seem to serve as ears, that connect to his brain."
Cheren nodded to Melissa, who understood without them having to speak (since otherwise they would drown). She minimized herself with the shrink ray and entered her toy car, which became a mini submarine as it emptied all the water. She drove it into the beast's right ear and was able to reach the brain. She took aim and fired a few mini torpedoes at the massive organ, feeling the area shake as the monster was taking damage. She quickly drove out of there and re-expanded as Eelion recovered.
The eel demon unleashed another series of electric spheres, which the kids swam under and dodged. When it missed, the demon sucked in some breath and released a swarm of air bubbles, catching the two inside. While it did give them more breath, the bubbles were holding them in place, allowing the eel to unleash more electric spheres and damage the two. When they were stunned, Eelion slammed his head into the ground again, causing more boulders to come down. Cheren recovered in time to notice one of the boulders falling to Melissa, who was still dizzied, so he quickly swam and Torpedo Spun to knock the boulder at Eelion's head.
The monster looked a little dazed, but it wasn't enough as he growled ferociously at Cheren. It opened its mouth wide as a current formed, catching Cheren as it led straight into its mouth. Cheren was unable to fight the strong current and was sucked straight into the belly of the beast. The inside of its stomach was rather dim, but was also thankfully shallow with green water. But even though he had a moment to breathe, Cheren already felt the digestive acid burning him. Quickly, he threw on Captain Slag's Mask, using his metal form to withstand the acid.
"Arrr… only one thing this salty pirate c'n do now." Cheren thought aloud to himself. He imagined a catchy disco theme playing in his head as he began to dance ecstatically. His metal feet moved quickly on the squishy floor of the belly, shaking the room as he belly-bounced off the walls and on the floor. It didn't take long before his rapid dancing caused the monster to roar. Cheren quickly pulled off his mask and took a breath before the demon hurled him out at rocket speed. He soon found himself back inside the underwater cave with Melissa as they stared at the dizzied form of the monster.
Melissa shrunk herself once more and entered her submarine as she drove into the left ear of the eel. She found the monster's brain once again and took aim with torpedoes, adding more damage. The eel demon shook her out of its head once again, the pain unbearable. With an eerie holler, the eel retreated deep into its hole, and the kids quickly swam after him. They found their selves in a bigger, more open underwater chamber, in which the eel was freely swimming around, his whole body in clear view to them.
They swam after him as quick as they could as he launched more electric spheres from his antenna. Cheren was able to get close enough and Torpedo Spin into the antenna, which seemed to make him wince with pain as he hurriedly swam into one of the many dark holes around the walls. The two searched for him when they heard a roar from behind, quickly swimming out of the way when the monster shot over in attempt to eat them, disappearing into the parallel cave. The eel tried this again, but the operatives luckily managed to dodge again.
When the eel tried to catch them a third time, Cheren noticed its two fins sticking out as it did so. He waited for the monster to charge again and quickly charged at its left fin with a Torpedo Spin, which seemed to make it hurt. Eelion retreated into another cave and attempted his tactic one more time, but failed as Cheren Torpedo Spun into his right fin, making the eel stop in place. Cheren took this time to attack the antenna again, making the eel swim away faster. Cheren kept on the eel's tail, or antenna rather, swimming as fast as he could to keep up with the head. But whenever Cheren got close, the eel would only speed faster to get away from him.
Cheren decided to try a different tactic. When he got close enough to the eel's antenna, he launched his Hookshot and latched onto the antenna just before it sped away. Since it was relatively far from Cheren now, it took a little longer for the Hookshot to pull him towards the target, and Eelion only kept swimming. The eel launched electric spheres in attempt to knock Cheren off, but the boy maneuvered around and avoided, keeping his grip on the Hookshot as it pulled him nearer. The eel failed to protect its weak spot as Cheren finally reached and grabbed hold of it. He drew his blade and cut the light clean off its antenna. (End song.)
"AAAAAAHHHH!" Immense pain was flowing through the eel now, unable to control himself as he swam aimlessly. He stopped when he collided with a wall at the bottom, forcing a huge crack into it. The water quickly began to drain out of the chamber, giving the heroes a breath of air, and leaving Eelion to dry. With the water having been reduced to puddles, the eel demon shrunk down to the puny, shriveled size of a regular eel.
Cheren and Melissa approached the eel, staring unimpressed at its less-imposing size. "I'm just going to assume there was a hidden tunnel behind that wall, and that's where the water flowed to." Melissa commented.
"Oh, goodie! You lads are all right!" They looked up as Rusty Pete dropped down from a secret hole in the high ceiling above, using a rope ladder.
"How'd you get in here?" Cheren asked.
"Oi used the secret entrance!"
"SECRET ENTRANCE?!" they screamed.
"Yes! The secret entrance we pirates use to get to our treasures faster! Without havin' ta go through all that dungeon rubbish." At this, they both performed an anime falling animation. "Anyhow… grab that li'l pest and come with me." He instructed, climbing first up the ladder.
They grabbed the shriveled form of Eelion and followed Pete up to a hidden room that was alit with piles of treasure. "And here it is! The treasures of all the best pirates in the world!" Pete exclaimed as the two's eyes transfixed on the gold. "Of course, that's not all of it. Our real treasure's hidden somewhere else… but I'll never tell. You see, kids, all this stolen treasure isn't meant for being rich, you see. It symbolizes all the adventure we've 'ad over the ages, in all the oceans, all our freedom. It's why this cave is sacred ta us. It was discovered by the Pirate King himself. It wasn't meant for any landlubber who's lookin' ta have us put down, aye? …But take a couple, if ya like! It's what pirates do."
"No thanks. I have enough trouble carrying the items I already have." Cheren laughed.
"I don't suppose the Candy Pirates have a similar stash like this, do they?" Melissa asked.
"Oh, that's on Candied Island, eh?"
"UUUGH! Well, why couldn't we go theeerre??"
Cheren laughed. "Maybe next time." He then remembered the shriveled Eelion in his hand and threw it on the ground. After a quick performance of the Song of Healing, the fallen eel vanished and became a mask.
You've seized Eelion's Remains! You've just freed the spirit that was kept imprisoned within the body of evil Eelion!
"Say, how do you carry all your items, anyway?" Melissa asked.
"My mom took me to Uncle Facilier's to have him cast a spell to give me infinite pockets."
"Ahh… sounds reasonable." Melissa nodded, not fully believing it.
And just like last time, the mask swallowed Cheren in a flash of light. (Play the Giants' Theme from Majora's Mask.)
Spirit World
Oceans surrounded Cheren as pirate ships all around launched firecrackers from cannons. In the misty distance ahead of him stood another one of the red giants.
"Okay… so I wasn't able to stop Majora. I thought I had him. But… Miyuki sounds like she cares about him. I'm not sure if she's hypnotized or… But if she isn't… what am I supposed to do? Would it be wrong to stop the first person Miyuki's ever cared about, in order to save the world?"
"…"
"No, of course it's not wrong! Majora's dangerous. I HAVE to stop him. It's just, if I do… Miyuki might never be happy. And I…I really do want her to be happy. …Or do I. Is that my honest side talking, or is it just that side of me who wants to make myself seem better?"
"Errrr-oo-oo-ERRRR-RR-RR."
"'Do what your heart says…'" Fi translated.
"What my heart says, huh? Heh, it's never a clear answer, is it?" Cheren sighed. "Okay then… I guess I have to stop him. And if Miyuki gets upset… so be it. I can't make everyone happy. But I wonder… what's your play in all this exactly? You never mentioned where you come from."
There was silence.
"What? No answer? Oh well. I'm sure I'll find out eventually. Until then… see you after next world." And in a blinding light, the vision ended. (End song.)
Unknown grassy meadow
The starry, dark-blue sky still hung in the heavens as the bright full moon alit the entire landscape. Miyuki Crystal, once again wearing Majora's Mask, walked out into the vast, empty landscape, their eyes fixed on the moon's lunar glow. "At long last… my spirit has adjusted enough to this body… to enact my final plan. With my enhanced magic mixed with your timebending… nothing should stop me. But first.. I must ask… is this truly what you want? Would you sacrifice all for my wellbeing?"
Surrounded by pure darkness in the confines of her own being, Miyuki drifted in emptiness. "Yes… I understand now that all actions are based from selfishness. All I wish now… is to get back what you've lost."
"Are you sure?" The shadowy silhouette of a being wearing Majora's Mask, as tall as Miyuki, drifted close to her in the darkness. "The gods will not be kind to you. By aiding me… you will have made the ultimate sacrifice."
"I do not believe… the gods show mercy to anyone. I believe that… everyone is meant for Sanzu."
"Hmm… if that is.. what you wish. Let us begin… Operation Moonfall." With that, both beings focused up at the moon and began channeling Miyuki's timebending power. They stood firmly in place, hands aimed directly up as the years of the moon moved forward.