Chapter 4:
Fighting Pirates
"They left, but not before making known of their arrival," the Lab Professor said eyeing his lab that resembled a pigsty. Mikau looked around the room with a frown on his face.
"I guess I'll have to get them back for you too then huh?" He asked, "Did you manage to see where they were off to? Did you see where they had the eggs?" The Lab Professor put a finger to his chin in a thoughtful manner.
"Well I do believe I saw them go under in that murky water… I know they did. Maybe their pirate keep is hidden somewhere down there?" Mikau nodded.
"Guess that's the first place I'm looking," he said more to himself. He made his way through the mess and headed for the door.
"Don't forget to bring the eggs back here or it may already be too late!" The Lab Professor called after him.
Mikau looked at the water that could be a home or a nesting ground for a number of mutated fish or giant sized eels. The Zora hero looked up at the sky. The moon hovered above him grinning. Mikau wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead and dove in the water.
Elsewhere…
"Thanks Toto. Are you sure about this though?" The band leader asked. The round Zora, Toto, held his cane and nodded.
"I cancelled the show. There's no point if Lulu doesn't have her voice to sing," Toto told. They eyed her room door worriedly.
"How did she manage to get into this kind of condition?" Toto asked. The darker Zora shook his head unable to provide a reasonable explanation.
Meanwhile…
Lulu lied in her bed with her mind and body full of sorrow. She tried to voice Mikau's name but tears streamed down her cheeks and no sound came out. What was the point? Mikau was dead or at least was going to die if he hadn't already.
"You stupid idiots! How'd you manage to lose three of our eggs? Find them, fools!" A pirate cried. All her underlings hurried about to do her bidding. Aveil put a finger to her temple and rubbed it with annoyance. Mikau watched her with immense hate flowing through his veins.
"Where's Mikau? He's been gone for three full hours and goin' on a fourth," Jacques said to their leader.
"He's probably out exploring, you know how he can get at times," the leader said rubbing his temple.
"Well we've got a jam session scheduled. He never misses one…"
"Lulu can't talk! Mikau's missing! What's going on here?" Bass interrupted. The band leader sighed heavily.
"Everyone's fine. Stop being pests. I'm trying to write new songs." Bass and Jacques exchanged looks and silently decided to comply with their leader's wishes. Before leaving, Jacques caught sight of the sheet of music the leader was composing. There were no lyrics for Lulu's voice and there was no extra guitar for Mikau.
"You fool! You thought you could just waltz up to a pirate and ask for their stolen loot? Ha!" Aveil laughed. Mikau stood before her and the expression on his face was the least bit of funny.
"I was saving you from my wrath you sorry wench!" He shouted. Aveil's laughter stopped abruptly.
"You little rapscallion! How dare you below the name of Aveil! I'll kill you!" She claimed as she stood up from her chair and pulled out a sword. Mikau's face became even more threatening than it had been before.
"Rapscallion? I'm an aquatic person. Dummy," he stated in a matter of fact tone.
"Now you insult the intelligence of Aveil, the most dreaded pirate of the nine seas? Die!" Aveil charged at him with her sword, but Mikau dodged the otherwise fatal blow and tripped her with his foot. As the fearsome pirate lost her balance, her sword flew from her hand and was air borne. Mikau caught it and Aveil looked at him with fear evident in her facial features.
"Looks like I'm victorious. Hand over my eggs!" Mikau demanded as he put the blade of the sword to her neck threateningly, "Or I'll exterminate you like the pest you are." Aveil's bottom lip quivered and he smiled triumphantly. Just then, a loud boom resounded and Mikau held his shoulder, dropping to the ground on his knees. Aveil looked up to see her crew and first mate all armed with weapons. Her first mate was armed with a gun.
"Are you alright boss?" Her first mate questioned. Aveil grinned.
"Oh yeah!" She strutted up to Mikau and kicked him in the jaw. He fell back and she pressed her foot against his bullet wound, making him cry in agony.
"No one makes a mockery of Aveil! Tie him up and go torture him, but leave him to me for finishing."
After that, Mikau suffered through the worst kind of tortures, each one more painful and gruesome than the last. By the time he was brought back to Aveil, his skin was soaked with the crimson shades of his own blood, which caused a devilish cackle to escape her lips.
"Serves you right! You never really expected a pirate to hand over their goods now did you?" Her high pitched giggles sent shivers down Mikau's sore spine.
"You take… too much… p…p… pride in yourself," he managed to wheeze. One of the other pirates cracked him upside his head with a stick.
"Silence you unworthy scallywag!" The pirate ordered. Aveil signaled her to shush with a wave of her hand.
"Let us hear what last words he has to say to us."
"… You think you're so bad because you managed to destroy some old guy's home and steal away from him innocent children!?" Mikau cried, coughing blood. Aveil watched him intently.
"…But… I suppose that I should thank you for that. They are luckier not to live now. Not while scum like you walk the earth!" Aveil grabbed a gun from one of her crew members and fired. The bullet hit Mikau in the chest and he screamed such an agonizing scream that Aveil's whole crew turned their heads. Aveil laughed as she delighted in his pain.
"How about some more??" She screamed. She shot him again. Mikau held his wounds and backed up. Everyone watched him. His lip quivered and his vision blurred. He closed his eyes and fell into the sea below.
Back to Zora Hall…
Lulu and everyone else living in the Great Bay heard the agonizing scream coming from the sea and Lulu's worse fears were confirmed that day.
Chapter 5:
The Healing Melody
Lulu watched the horizon from Turtle Island. Her heart was heavy with grief. Her voice was lost from shock. Jacques and Bass were in Mikau's room going through his things. Every Zora in Zora Hall seemed gloomy or worried. Mikau had been missing since the day before and everyone had assumed the worst.
While everyone else feared for Mikau's life, the said Zora male floated on the sea's surface. Pain had taken over his whole body and didn't allow him enough strength to swim back to shore. He stared at the sky and only saw Lulu's pained face. He cried silently and closed his heavy eyes.
Mikau awoke to somebody dragging him though the water to shore. Once on land, he caught a glimpse of a fairy and saw the sun's rays glisten off something green. His vision was dying.
"Stranger… listen to my tale of woo," he mumbled hoarsely.
"Sure," the voice sounded like that of a young boy. Mikau breathed.
"I know someone whose eggs were stolen by rotten pirates. They are mysterious eggs that are… probably the key to saving all of Great Bay from this extreme heat and murky water. Probably one of the many keys to saving the world from that dreaded moon." Mikau wheezed and coughed. The young boy poured water down Mikau's throat, causing the dying Zora to smile.
"…If it's possible, I was wondering if it'd be too much trouble to ask… could you go find the eggs, save Great Bay, and help that young girl I'm too ashamed to leave behind?"
"Link," came a squeaky voice, no doubtedly from the fairy, "heal his heart."
"Right," the boy responded.
"Link, huh?" Mikau murmured. Link pulled out his blue ocarina and played a tune that could easily put the restless to rest, calm the calmless soul, and ease the pain of the weary. Mikau drowned in the music.
"Good-bye… Lulu… I wish I could've jammed by your side one last time…"
Back at Zora Hall…
Lulu heard a distant tune. It calmed her heart only a little, for she knew that Mikau was now and forever gone.
Chapter 6:
The Face of a Stranger
Lulu's POV
I watched the waves crash against the rocks on Turtle Island. It was the last place we had visited together. It would also be our last visit there together…
As I continued to watch the waves crash and return to the sea, I wondered if I would ever experience true happiness again. My eggs. I wondered if they were alright. So much was on my mind that it suddenly just clouded over. My heart still felt like it was sinking into the ocean.
"Mikau! Oh my God he has returned!" I heard a voice shout. I wasn't quick to jump up, for I knew that it wasn't really Mikau. It was him… the figure clothed in green.
I was guided to Zora Hall and everyone was crowded in one spot around the imposter. He was smiling gratefully and acted like he knew who everyone was, like he was an old friend that grew up here with us. Like he was truly our beloved Mikau. I caught his sight and we stared at each other. My heart acted differently then I thought it would. I knew that he wasn't my Mikau, but I still felt so much lifted off my chest. I even cried. He pushed through the crowd and came towards me. The resemblance between him and the actual Mikau was remarkable. Same warm eyes, same smooth skin…
Once he made his way towards me and we were standing near each other, my lost voice quivered and I said, "…M… Mikau?" He smiled Mikau's warm smile. I couldn't help what happened next. The imposter and I were caught in an embrace. I cried. I shivered. He stroked my back gently and comfortingly. It ached my heart more, so I cried harder.
"Lulu, I brought you a present," he said. I looked him in the eyes. They twinkled. I looked at his hands and then my heart stopped. My eggs were no longer eggs but tadpoles. My children. I took the bottle they were in and squeezed them. All my agony was gone, and now there was only guilt. I felt like I was betraying the real Mikau by letting this imposter get to me. I couldn't help my self however. He may not be Mikau but he holds his same spirit somehow. It I didn't know better, I'd think he was arisen from the dead. My sweet, dear Mikau….
Everyone fussed over the fake Mikau for the majority of the afternoon. Some congradulated me for my new babies: Luto, Laruto, Lulu, Lilly, Lu, Lin, and Mikau.
I was outside looking at Turtle Island. I noticed a dark cloud in the distance that was never there before. Ever. The fake Mikau came out and saw it too.
"That's where the temple is isn't it Lulu?" He asked. I nodded.
"… I know you aren't Mikau," I blurted. I wanted to smack myself. Just when I thought he'd deny it and I'd hate him forever, he surprised me when he just smiled.
"No. I'm not. I'm here in his stead," the stranger told me, "I found him in the sea, and I saved him, but it was already too late. He told me about his crisis, about you and all of Great Bay's misfortunes. He asked me if I'd do this for him." I watched his eyes as each word passed through his lips. He wasn't lying.
"Mikau… Mikau…," I couldn't get the words out. I knew that I already knew the answer anyway.
"Is gone," he told, "I'm sorry." My heart sank. I didn't expect my reaction to be so understanding. I thought it would hurt so much more to actually hear that he was truly… gone.
"Lulu, I'm sure he only wanted you to be happy," he said to me. I looked at the stranger and he looked at me. An understanding between us was formed. I smiled.
"What's your name?" I found myself asking.
"Link. Just plain Link," he told.
"Link." I liked the sound of that. I knew the boy was destined for greatness. If I had another child that was a boy, I'd name him after Link.
As soon as that thought crossed my mind, my children glowed strangely. Link and I watched them. They stilled. I thought they had died because of my wicked thought but no. They started moving and even positioned themselves in a certain way. If I didn't know any better, I'd of thought they were positioned as though they were on a music staff. To my amazement, they were doing just that.
They played a song. A song I realized only the members of my family knew. The song that the sage of the temple played to gain passage to the temple. I felt entranced. My voice sung along with them and Link played his ocarina to keep me in rhythm. The Turtle Island started to rise and then to my pure shock, it started talking.
"Who has awakened me?" It asked. Link and I stared.
"Could it be…? Seems to be time of my assistance to the great Zoran Hero. Would that be you?" The giant turtle asked looking away from the dark cloud to Link who nodded.
"I am."
"Mikau. The chosen Zoran hero," I finished for him. Link passed me a grateful look and I smiled.
"Right. It seems the temple is of need of your service. Quick! Hop onto my back and I shall take you to the temple." Link nodded and hopped on. Together into the fog they went. I prayed for their safe return.
Chapter 7:
The Ending
It all happened like a fairytale. A hero from a distant land came to save the Great Bay from the peril it was threatened. The hero battled the evil that sealed the fate of Great Bay and its occupants along with everything else returned to their natural states. In doing so, the hero even restored the life of the true hero who once dwelled there…
Jacques and Bass were walking on the beach. It was late night. They were just some of the many Zoras that had set out to look for Mikau. Mikau was lying on the beach a little ways away from where his fellow band members were. His agonizing pain had left him, but the new numbness ridded him the strength to move. He looked around. Had the boy, the fairy, and the melody all been part of a bad dream?
"Hey… I think I see him! Over here!" Jacques called out to the rest of the search party. Mikau's mind went blank as he tried to recall the way he'd gotten in his rugged state. But all he could remember was the boy and the melody.
"The being that plagued your soul and caused great misfortune upon your people was defeated. All is as it was truly meant to be," a voice said to Mikau. Mikau smiled.
"Thank-you… Link," he mumbled hoarsely, "Now I get a second chance… to live." Jacques and Bass smiled warmly at Mikau when they finally made it to him.
"Wow Mikau. We actually found you!" They said in unison. Mikau stared at them unable to find the strength to do more than that. They helped Mikau up to his feet and walked him back to Zora Hall where everyone cheered and cried with happiness. Mikau smiled when someone caught his eye. He managed to regain enough strength to make it through the crowd to the person.
Lulu smiled warmly and held her babies in the bottle that they were put in. Mikau and Lulujust stared at each other.
"Welcome back home, Mikau," she told him. He smiled and silent tears streamed down his cheeks. Lulu hugged him and he hugged back. Both crying with happiness. Everyone watched happily. They would never understand, however, what the two had truly been through.