Unveiling
Peach was in a pink top and orange leaf skirt. Zelda wore her pink Pianta dress-turned-tank top and jungle green leaf skirt. It was morning, and the princesses had sought the advice of Merlon and Merluvlee. After gazing into their crystal balls, and with some collaboration, they came to a conclusion.
"You must confront the false-shaman," Merlon said. "If you can convince her to help you, you will have your solution."
"Hmhm, and by convince, we mean blackmail," Merluvlee added with a giggle. "Go and expose her secret. She is at her usual spot."
"What secret?" Zelda asked.
"The stars tell us that Peach will know," Merlon said. Peach gave a clueless look. They exited and came across Merlee, sitting just outside the door, laying down cards and switching them around.
"Were their words of any use?" she asked, still focusing on her cards.
"So far," Zelda answered, scowling at the mystic. She was still irked at Merlee for teasing her. Furthermore, her constant rhyming annoyed Zelda. But what had been bothering her ever since she first saw the woman, was the way her face, like the other Shamans, was hidden in an unusually dark shadow.
"Deuce," she muttered, tossing out a playing card that had somehow gotten into her deck. "Keeping this barrier up is more strain than I thought. I don't suppose they mentioned you taking a yacht?"
"No," Zelda said, staring at her hood and veil. She motioned for Peach to continue outside while she stayed behind for a bit. Peach raised an eyebrow, but continued downstairs. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you cover yourself so?"
"It's merely our traditional wear," Merlee said, flipping the cards over and reshuffling them. "Besides, I feel that it highlights my hair."
"May I see your face?" Zelda asked directly. Merlee looked up at her questioningly. "I've been curious ever since I first saw you." Merlee stood up and went inside the room, leaving Zelda feeling as if she offended her. A moment later, Merlee and her sister came out of the room.
"Is it true that you wish to see our faces?" Merluvlee asked. Zelda nodded slowly. "Ah, then, if you would reveal Sheik's face, we would be glad to expose our own. Have him come to our room."
Peach approached the cloaked woman as she stared out at the ocean from her beach chair. "Excuse me," Peach said meekly.
"You again, huh?" the woman said, glancing at her dismissively and turning back to the ocean.
"I was told that you might be able to help my friend and me get to Pinna Park."
"Hmph! Whoever said that deserves to be shot out of a cannon. Even if I had the means to, what makes you think I'd do something as insane as that?"
Peach was frightened by her abrasive tone, but held her ground. "You know this place won't be safe long. In fact, a Ninji and some other creature attacked us last night."
"That would explain the noise," the woman murmured. "Even still, I'm not afraid of a couple of dinky monsters. It takes more than that to frighten the likes of me."
"Who are you?"
"None of your business."
"Have we met before?"
"There was the other day…."
"I mean before we came to the island."
"I don't remember meeting you before that."
"Are you sure?"
"I think I'd remember meeting the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom," the woman said curtly.
"You aren't a Shaman, are you?"
"I never said I was."
"What are you hiding?" Peach cried.
"My fist, that's what," the woman warned. "Now if you don't want that pretty little head of yours planted in the sand, you'd better back off."
"I don't want to fight," Peach said, stepping back.
"Then, go away!" Peach got the message and walked back up to a juice hut outside the hotel. She thought for a moment and got an idea. She walked quietly behind the woman. Then, she charged up her energy. The image of a giant sheep appeared above the woman and bonked her head, instantly putting her to sleep. Peach looked around to see if anyone saw what she had done. With the area clear of witnesses, she slung the woman over her shoulder and slowly carried her back up the long set of stairs back to the hotel.
When she got inside the hotel, a few people looked her way questioningly. She made a stupid smile and said, "She just had a few too many drinks." Amongst a few chuckles, she continued to carry the woman. When she got her to the flight of stairs, the woman began to stir. Peach put her down and used another Sleepy Time spell to send her back to dreamland. She managed to get her up to their floor and heard giggling inside Merlee and Merluvlee's room. She was curious about what was going on, but carried the woman into her room. Then, she laid the woman on her bed. After getting some towels, she began to tie her arms and legs to the bedposts.
"Wha…What the!" the woman exclaimed, awakening to her restrained state. Peach placed a turnip in her mouth to keep her relatively quiet. Then, she began to remove the cloak. The woman struggled as much as possible but couldn't move enough to stop her at all. She had tanned skin, somewhat long dark brown hair wrapped in a bandanna, a sea green tube top, and puffy white pants.
"Hmm," Peach thought. "You do look familiar…kind of like…what's her name……………………………………………Captain Sunny, Soupy, Sippy…"
"Patooie!" the woman spat out the turnip. "It's Syrup! Captain Syrup!"
"You'reone of the peoplewho stole that golden statue of me years ago," Peach recalled. "You were the leader of the Brown Sugar Pirates…What happened?"
"A fat, greedy wacko named Wario," Syrup growled. "He destroyed my entire fortress and devastated my men…twice. The last name we went by was the Black Sugar Pirates."
"Well, now you can help us get to Pinna Park," Peach beamed.
"Are you really that dumb?" Syrup exclaimed. "You knocked me out, dragged me to your room, and tied me to your bed like some kind of freaky sex object!"
"Oh, but I'm going to let you go," Peach said cheerfully.
"And then, I'm going to kill you!" Syrup exclaimed.
"What?"
"I'm a bad guy, remember? I don't let stuff like this slide so easily. And I'll be damned if I start now by doing something as suicidal as taking you to an island that's probably heavily armed and teeming with monsters."
"No need for cursing," Peach said nervously. "So, what were you staring out to sea for? You looked like you wanted to go there."
"I'm waiting for help, stupid. I made a call to some associates of mine to pick me up. They'll take care of whatever's on that island like it's nothing."
"How long ago did you call?"
"About two weeks," Syrup sighed. "No one saw that whole Bowser-assaults-the-world thing coming. The signal probably got jammed or something."
"At that rate, the shield will be down before your friends ever get here," Peach frowned. "I know it's scary, but we have to try…"
"Don't talk to me like I'm a child," Syrup said, attempting to sit up, only to be held down. "And let me out of these blasted restraints so I can smash your face in! You're just lucky I don't have a crew! If they were here, we'd show you." A thought came to Peach.
"If you're Captain Syrup, that means you're a criminal. And if you're a criminal there's probably a reward on you."
"Don't even think about."
"But, if you're willing to help me," Peach said tauntingly, "I could always forget that you're the terror of the seas and ringleader of the Brown and Black Sugar Pirates."
"You think you can blackmail me!" she screamed.
"Oh, well," Peach said. "I guess you'll just have to be locked in prison until Bowser and his minions come and…well whatever they do to the conquered."
"Fine, fine!" Syrup fumed. "I'll take you to the stupid island. Just shut up about the pirate thing and untie me."
"You promise you won't attack me?" Peach asked.
Syrup closed her eyes angrily and cringed. "What did I do to deserve this? Me, Captain Syrup, scourge of the Great Sea, leader of the most infamous band of pirates in the world…I promise…stupid, spoiled, little…"
"Cross your heart and hope to die?"
"Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!" Syrup screamed. "Now, untie me already!" Peach complied and untied the towels. Syrup got up and snatched back her cloak, wrapping it around herself once again. "My ship's in Ricco Harbor. Let's go."
"Hold on," Peach said, following her out of the room. "We have to wait for Zelda."
"Hurry up and look for her!" Syrup yelled, walking down the stairs. "I'll fetch a taxi."
"Zelda, where are you?" Peach whispered, having no idea where to begin looking. Suddenly, Merluvlee and her sister walked out of their roomholdingSheik's arms around themselves. Sheik seemed bashfully embarrassed, but the Shaman sisters were giddy.
"Whoo!" they cheered and laughed. They let Sheik go in front of Peach and pranced back to their room merrily.
"What was that about?" Peach asked, watching the sisters tease and taunthim.
Sheik blushed as the Shamans giggled. "…I'd rather not talk about it."
"Good luck, Sheik," Merluvlee winked.
"Bye bye," Merlee cooed, blowing him a kiss. They then turned to one another, giggled once more, and closed the door behind them.
"…Anyway, did you confront the woman," Sheik asked.
"Uh, yes," Peach answered, still thinking about what was so funny. "We're going to Ricco Harbor first."
Syrup had yelled at Peach enough to keep the ride to Ricco Harbor quiet. She glanced at Sheik's outfit often, but made no comment. Once they reached the pier they all got out and looked around.
"I'll call her," Syrup said, taking out her remote control key. There was a quick beep somewhere amongst the boats and a small, black racing yacht cruised in front of the pier. The entire thing was black and full of bolts along its hull. Even the windows were black.
"Isn't that a bit conspicuous?" Sheik asked. He inwardly noted the accuracy of Merlee's prediction of a yacht.
"Would the trans rather be shot out of a cannon?" Syrup asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"Excuse me?" Sheik said, taking offense.
"Calm down, you two," Peach said, stepping onto the vessel. "This will do just fine. Besides, the cannon in Delfino Plaza is broken. We only need this to get to the beach."
"If she's a pirate like you said, how can we truly trust her?" Sheik asked, glaring at the woman.
"Well," Peach said, looking up in thought. "You remember how the Shine Shield repels evil, right? If she was evil, she wouldn't be here."
"In any case," Syrup said, hopping on, "don't think I'm a goodie-two-shoes. I'll make a quick drive-by and kick you off."
"Hmph," Sheik grunted, folding his arms as he stepped on. He and Peach moved to the back, while Syrup took her place in the cockpit at the helm.
"You might want to hold on to something," she smirked, firing up the engines. "She's a fast one." The boat surged forth instantly, nearly tossing Sheik and Peach out. It began to raise its bow out of the water and quickly neared the Shine Shield border. As soon as it passed through, explosions went off all around the boat.
"What are those?" Peach shouted over the explosions, as the boat was rocked.
"Torpedoes!" Syrup shouted, swerving around the ones in front. Sheik hopped onto the roof of the pilot's cabin to get a better look at the floating bombs. They were popping up everywhere and setting one another off. Sheik collected a few needles and tossed some to torpedoes that were a safe distance in front. The resulting chain reaction cleared the path of explosives.
"How's that?" Sheik said, peeking into the cabin.
"Not bad for a landlubbin' tranny," Syrup smirked. As they neared the beach, a single cannon, manned by a Monty Mole far away from the giant blue gate, began to fire Bullet Bills towards the boat.
"Get ready," Sheik said to Peach. When the boat suddenly turned parallel to the beach, Sheik nimbly jumped out and took out a few Bullet Bills with his needles. Peach landed next to him gracefully a second later, almost as if she had floated out of the boat. Sheik ran straight for the cannon, dodging the clown-faced missiles the whole way. When he got too close to the cannon, the mole hunkered down inside and closed the hatch. The cannon began to pop out Bob-ombs at an even faster rate than it had been firing Bullet Bills. Sheik backed away cautiously.
"Let me handle it!" Peach called, ripping a turnip out of the ground and tossing it at one of the bombs. Instead of deactivating, it turned red and began to charge after her vehemently. Taken by surprise, Peach bent down and backslapped it, causing it to explode on her hand.
"Peach, are you alright!" Sheik exclaimed, running to her.
She winced as he took her hand. When they looked at it, they saw that the glove wasn't even singed. "Hmm, I guess it does double as armor." She then began to smack around the other bombs causing them to harmlessly explode on contact.
While she handled the remaining Bob-ombs, Sheik tossed a Deku Nut into the cannon. The cannon soon backfired when it tried to force out another Bob-omb. The resulting explosion blasted the mole out into the sea. Then, the cannon seemed to cough out a key. Peach picked it up and noticed the absence of the giant sunflowers that had populated this part of the beach. She frowned and looked to the gate.
"The Great Fairy in my dream said her sister is in there somewhere," Peach spoke, as they cautiously walked to it.
"You mentioned something about a Princess of Evil," Sheik said, taking out his large knife.
"I don't exactly know what to expect," Peach said, putting her crown back on top of her head. "But I think I might know who she is."
"How did you do that?"
"What, the crown?" Peach smiled innocently. "Let's just say I learned a few tricks in my dream." To seemingly prove her point, her white gloves transformed into fingerless pink gloves.