Chapter 3: The Fortress
When Gill got to an island about halfway between Zora Hall and the Pirate's Fortress, he saw something that surprised him. On the island, there were about three hundred Zoras in battle gear, one hundred of them able to use magic. Gill then turned toward Japas and said "If you have this many Zoras ready to fight, then why am I needed?"
"Right, I didn't tell you, did I?" Japas said. "While these Zora are fighting the enemy on the front lines, we are going to sneak into the fortress and see what they are planning."
"Just what exactly are we looking for here?" Gill asked.
"People have seen a giant, metal mast on the other side of the wall that hides the fortress." Japas explained. "We are going to get as much information as we can on the ship that it belongs to."
"While we are screwing around inside of the fortress, who is leading this little army to battle?" Gill asked.
"I am." Evan, the leader of the Indigo-GoGo's stepped forward, shaking from nervousness. "Even though I am not going to be in the battle directly, I am going to coordinate the troops. Is this our secret weapon, Japas?" Evan asked.
"Sure is. Evan, I would like you to meet the Ocean Master." Japas said with a smile on his face. "Japas, I told you not to call me that." Gill said. "It really makes me uneasy."
"The Ocean Master, eh?" Evan said. "I thought the Ocean Master was supposed to be a Zora."
"You forgot that the prophecy prophecy says that the Ocean Master would be a human who is also a Zora." Japas said. "This human was raised as a Zora and he was treated like one too."
"Why am I thinking that I know the person under that mask?" Evan asked. "Japas, if the elders find out that Gill is helping us in this battle, they will hunt him down and probably us too."
"That is why they will not find out yet." Japas replied. "Gill, are you ready?"
"Just say the word." Gill said.
"The people will know that the Ocean master has arrived when we win this battle." Evan said.
Gill gave an exasperated look toward Evan. "Didn't I just say not to call me the Ocean Master?"
"Well, what else am I supposed to call you? It's not like I can call you Gill, the human who was banished from Zora Hall a few months ago." Evan told him.
"Just call me Fin for now." Gill said. "They won't be able to tell the difference."
"Alright, Fin. Look toward the north." Evan said.
Gill looked and saw a horrible sight. "Isn't that the pirate fleet?"
"Sure is. You need to get over to the entrance to the fortress quick." Evan ordered. "Do not draw attention to yourself and try to back Japas up."
"Aye, sir." Gill said saluting. "Don't do that, Fin. That only makes me more nervous." Evan said.
"It is just a little vengeance on the Ocean Master thing." Gill said.
He swam to the underwater entrance of the fortress as fast as he could go, making sure that none of the pirates on the boats saw him. When he got to the spot where the boards that covered the underwater entrance was, he saw Japas waiting for him.
"I was wondering when you were planning to get here." Japas said. "We need to get in, now."
A few minutes after waiting, the solid, metal wall that blocked Pirate's Fortress from the outside world opened up and sent out five of the tube-like objects. They then submerged underwater and started to head toward the Zora army.
"Gill, I need you to go in without me." Japas said. "I need to warn the army about the incoming objects."
Japas then sped away towards the island where the army was waiting. Gil went underwater making sure to hold his breath like he was taught. With the near expertise of a Zora swimmer, he swam through the gate and easily found his way to the inside of the outer wall of the fortress. He saw there were less boats patrolling than usual. He sat there for a few minutes looking at each boat's route. When he found an opening, he did not take it immediately. He waited and tried to see if it would reappear. When it was time for it to show up again, it did and Gill dove into the water as fast as he could. Luckily, none of the pirates saw him. He sank to the bottom of the water and walked to the area where the switch that stops the water from flowing through the underwater entrance. He found it and made sure that no Gerudo were watching him. When he saw that there were none, he used all of his strength to hit it. As luck would have it, none of his strength had left him since this morning and the switch went down and the water flow stopped. He then went back into the water and swam to the entrance. When he felt something bite his leg, he turned around and saw that there was a Skullfish attached to his leg. Without even thinking, he activated his fins and hit it. He than swam as fast as he could through the entrance, making sure to avoid the mines and made his way to the room with the telescope and waited for Japas to get there.
After about thirty minutes of waiting, Japas opened the door to the room where Gill was and he climbed the ladder.
"Well, it's about time you got here." Gill said. "I was about to go into the fortress on my own."
"And now you don't need to." Japas replied. "Let's look through the telescope first."
They looked through the telescope and saw that the fortress had a makeover. The area was now wider with more buildings, including a beautiful mansion-like home. "That is probably where Aveil lives nowadays." Japas said. "There is even a dock in there now."
Gill looked and he did see a dock where ships came in, but that is not all he saw. Resting in that dock was the biggest ship any of them had ever seen. It was made of metal and it had cannons everywhere. There was also a place where the crew could control all of the functions without exposing themselves. It was a one ship fleet.
"We need to go over there first." Japas said. "I have a couple of grappling hooks that we can use to get on board."
"We may need a diversion to keep them away." Gill said.
"It is not necessary." Japas told him. "They think that their fortress is impregnable."
"But it's not impregnable." Gill said
"They don't need to know that." Japas chuckled. "Let's go. We need to find out what that ship is going to be used for."
"We obviously know what it is going to be used for." Gill said. "They are going to use it to take out Zora Hall so they can rule Great Bay."
"Well, we might as well try to get some schematics of the ship while we are here, then." Japas said
They headed to the door to go out into the fortress. When Japas opened it, he saw a group of Gerudo marching past and he quickly shut the door. The Gerudo did not even notice and continued past them and went up to the ship and got on.
"That was close." Japas said. "We need to be more careful."
"Right." Gill said. "We need to split up and climb on both sides. Then, we can make our way to the bridge of the ship and look around."
"I have an Advanced Pictobox. We can use it to get pictures of the bridge." Japas said.
"Advanced Pictobox?" Gill asked. "What is that?"
"It is a smaller version of the Pictobox." Japas explained. "It can hold twenty pictures."
"Oh." Gill said. "In that case, we need to see if we can find some of the pirate's plans. That way, we can take pictures of them."
"Good idea." Japas complimented.
They then split up and climbed onto the ship. There were hardly any guards on board, but where there were some, Gill and Japas easily avoided them. They quickly made their way towards the bridge and went in. The bridge was completely devoid of any life. Gill and Japas took that as a good omen. They went through the room and saw all of the controls of the ship. Luckily, there were several ship manuals laying around, so they took two to spare the film in the Pictobox. They were still looking around when they heard the door open. They quickly hid and two Gerudo Pirates came into the room.
"We need to get down to the engine room and see what needs to be fixed." one of them said. "There is something defective before the big launch?" The other said. "Why does that not surprise me?"
The two of them headed down some stairs and Japas said "Once again, that was close. We had probably head over to Aveil's house and see if we can find any plans."
The two of them quickly went out of the bridge and jumped overboard into the water. They then swam toward the dock and hid under it and waited for another group of Gerudo Pirates to get on. They headed over to the house that Aveil lived and snuck in through a window that was open. They climbed through and they found themselves in an office. "Aren't we just lucky today?" Japas laughed.
"For every piece of good luck we have, we will have an equal amount of bad luck." Gill said.
"What makes you so sure?" Japas asked.
"Well, if your day has been going bad, something good will happen eventually and if your day was good, something bad will happen." Gill replied. "It's a balance of nature."
"We need to get done before out luck runs out then." Japas said.
They looked around and found a book that said [i]Top Secret: Do not open under any circumstances.[/i] They opened it and found that there was an explanation for why the Gerudo Fortress had a new look and new toys. They were being financed by a secret organization known as Majora's Fury.
"I think that this may be relevant." Japas said. "Look, there are some pages that are highlighted."
They took pictures of every page that had highlights and saw that many of them were.
"We will not have enough film for all of this." Gill said.
"I have several more cartridges of film. If we can get this done quickly, we can get out of here." Japas replied.
They finished taking pictures and started to go through the house. They easily found the front door and stopped. Japas then stuck a gem on each of their items.
"What's that for?" Gill asked.
"These gems will send everything that we have acquired back to Michael's cave." Japas explained. "We cannot risk getting any of this wet."
They then went out the front door and went to the door where they came into the fortress.
"Stop right there!" Someone shouted. Gill and Japas turned around and saw a dozen guards pointing swords at them.
"Aw, shit." Japas mumbled. "I think you were right about the whole luck thing."
"Don't move!" said the guard that had caught them. "You don't think you are going to leave without visiting us, do you?"
"Actually, since we have met up, I guess that we could have a friendly chat, and by that I mean I'm going to kick your ass." Gill said.
"Bring it, kid!" the guard shouted.
The fight broke out in the blink of an eye. The Gerudo had her sword out and was swinging it as Gill and he was blocking with his fins. Just as soon as she dropped her guard on accident, Gill kicked her in the jaw. She just went back a couple of inches and she was ready to fight again.
It went on for about five minutes before another guard picked up a bow an aimed it at Gill's back.
"Gill!" Japas shouted.
Gill could't hear Japas and the guard drew back the bowstring.
"Gill!!!" Japas shouted. Gill was still oblivious to the fact that Japas was warning him and the guard let loose the arrow aimed at Gill's heart.
Japas watched and quickly jumped in front of the arrow. It struck him in the heart and Gill heard him that time, only it was too late. Japas was on the ground, dying. Gill suddenly screamed in anger. He went into a serious Zora-kai stance and shouted "Zora-kai! Wave Dance!"
He started to cartwheel at about twenty miles an hour and mowed down the guards. They didn't have a chance and before they knew what had hit them, they were dead.
"Japas!" Gill shouted as he ran to where he was laying. Japas was struggling to breathe as he tried to sit up. "Don't, you'll only make the wound worse."
"There is nothing that can make my condition worse now." Japas said. "There is another part of the prophecy that not many people know. It says that the Ocean Master will awaken when the Zora that helped bring him into the world died."
"But I'm not the Ocean Master, so there is no reason for you to die." Gill half-heartedly said.
"Yes you are, you just wait and see." Japas said.
"Don't go, Japas." Gill said. He started to cry and held the dying Zora close to his arms.
"I will never leave you." he replied. "I will always be there."
Gill started crying harder when Japas went limp in his arms.
"They are going to pay for what they did to you." Gill said.