Chapter Twenty: The Calm Before The Storm

That night, after a few Wizzrobes had repaired the damage to the Palace, Raven found Vaati at the entrance to the Palace, sitting with his feet dangling over the edge. He was staring absentmindedly at the moon. "Am I interrupting anything?" she asked.

Vaati turned his head and answered, "No. Not at all."

Raven sat down next to the Wind Mage and smiled. "So, what's on your mind?"

Vaati sighed. "Well…I thought I'd be more happy now that I'm back in Hyrule, but…I…I'm not."

Raven said nothing, preferring to just stare up at the moon as well. "I guess…maybe it's because here, whenever my name is spoken, it's with fear and hatred. Here, I'm regarded as just another filthy villain for the hero to dispose of. But…when I was in your world…I was somebody. You and your friends looked upon me, and you did not judge. And it seemed that I had found a place where I could belong."

The Wind Mage shifted his position slightly. "I know that even if I do help save Hyrule, the people will still regard me with distrust and apprehension, and I'll continue to be alienated."

"You remember what that sword said, though?" Raven reminded. "If we win, your goddesses will send us back, and you won't have to worry about feeling alienated."

"We'll still have that wretch Dethl to worry about, though. And who knows what he's done with your…no…our friends."

Raven sighed and closed her eyes. "I miss them," she said simply.

"…Me too."

Raven leaned her head against Vaati's shoulder and looked into his eyes. "At least I still have my pretty boy with me," she added with a playful grin.

"Why do you insist on calling me that?" Vaati asked, though his eyes were full of mirth. "It's unflattering for the great Wind Mage Vaati to be referred to as a 'pretty boy.'"

Raven put a hand to her mouth in mock horror. "Oh no! Everybody go hide in your homes! Vaati the Wind Mage is on a rampage because his girlfriend called him pretty boy!"

"Aren't you just a barrel of fun?"

"Really? I used to be told I sucked all the humor out of the atmosphere."

Vaati just chuckled some and put his arm around the girl. "The moon looks so beautiful," Raven remarked dreamily as she looked towards the sky.

"Not as beautiful as you," came Vaati's loving reply.

Raven blushed as she gazed at Vaati. Slowly, Vaati lowered his face towards her, and Raven was slightly surprised as her lips interlocked with Vaati's. With the moon as a witness, Vaati son of Dethl and Raven daughter of Trigon shared their first kiss.

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Unbeknownst to either of them, Buster and Link were watching from a window higher up. Link's expression was one of utter surprise, while Buster's was of quiet joy. The Darknut had removed both his helmets, revealing a black, jackal-like face with red eyes. "I…I don't believe what I'm seeing…" Link mused. "I didn't think…he was capable of love."

Buster glanced at the green-clad boy. "Why does it seem so difficult for you to register that your enemies are not always what they appear to be?"

Link returned the Darknut's gaze. "It's not my job to get to know the villain. I'm supposed to defeat the villain."

"Figured you'd say that."

Buster sighed. "Hero and villain, light and dark, good and evil. Why do people portray the world as black and white, while ceaselessly failing to take into account the endless shades of grey in between? A hero may become a hero for all the wrong reasons, and a villain may become a villain because he feels what he is doing is right."

"I didn't become a hero for the 'wrong reasons!'" Link complained. "I became a hero because…uh…well…"

"Because destiny says so," Buster finished for him. "As for Ganon, he originally sought conquest because he wanted a better future for his people. When the Kingdom of Hyrule carried out the genocide of the Gerudo, he went mad with rage, and ever since, he's been seeking the Triforce to exact retribution. As for Lord Vaati, he had a miserable childhood, where he was used and abused by everyone around him because of the traits given to him by Dethl. He took the magic cap to make a name for himself and ensure that no one could ever use him again. Sadly, even then, Ganon found a way to make it happen."

Link just stared at Buster, surprised that such wisdom could come from the mind of one of Vaati's minions. "The world didn't start out black and white, nor will it ever become such. Those who are good may go bad, and those who are bad may redeem themselves. No mortal being is born evil, Link. Such a feat remains only with Majora the Fallen One and beings like Dethl."

Link opened his mouth to speak, but no words came, to his bewilderment. "Consider my words, Hero, and maybe next time Wisdom may favor you."

The Darknut turned on his heel and strode off, leaving Link to process everything he had just been told.

XXXXXX

Meanwhile at Ganon's Tower, Zelda had somehow, considering the fact the was stuck inside a crystal and could not lay down, drifted off to sleep in Ganondorf's throne room while the Gerudo King was attending to other more pressing matters. Visions danced in her head, visions of battle. Strangely enough, all the combatants were monsters. Images of a large bird battling a dragon, a Darknut fighting Onox, Link fighting Ganondorf, and Vaati fighting Shanzom flashed by. Is…is Vaati planning to fight against Ganondorf? Zelda wondered.

Then came one last vision, that of a young girl with pale skin and black hair and a cape similar to Vaati's. She stood against Ganondorf with the same look of determination that she would have seen on Link's face. Suddenly a great black shadow loomed over her, its silhouette mimicking Ganon's, but she could sense that this was a separate entity from the Dark Lord. A maniacal grin was plastered on its pitch-black face, almost as if it were watching the coming fight for its own entertainment, where no one else could see it.

And then she awoke, panting heavily.

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Sorry for the shortish chapter, but I'm anxious to start this freakin' war already! Still, I'm actually pretty satisfied with how Vaati and Raven's first kiss turned out.

On a side-note, I'm really starting to like Buster. :/

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