December 21, 2012, the fabled doomsday. I figured before everyone dies or laughs because nothing happened, I would provide a chapter for this special day.
Depending on when I can get future chapters finished, there may only be another new chapter for Christmas, unlike last year when there was for both Christmas and New Years. Sorry about that.
Thanks for sticking by and being troopers if you're reading this on the 21st of December of 2012. Thanks for reviewing, favoriting, following and such support. Hope to see you guys on Christmas!
36. Four Years Ago
Drew followed Wilfre up a long ladder, watching as afterward Wilfre opened up a hatch from the top, climbing out and waiting for him to follow. Once Drew got himself out of the hatch and Wilfre closed it, he was met with some kind of cave entrance, only it had a scary face to go with it. All around the opening were long, tentacle-like structures that formed empty, dead trees, colored a deep purple alike the uneven and bumpy ground. From just feeling it on his back paws, Drew could tell it was far from fertile soil - that is, if it was soil at all.
Wilfre padded up and next to Drew, noticing his intent stare at the barren area. As Wilfre looked upon it, he could see why Raposa would find such a place to be terrifying and creepy, and he had to admit that he wasn't quite sure what he was thinking when he thought it looked like home.
If I think this is bad, he thought to himself before taking a deep breath to keep his nerves calm, Then just imagine how I'll see the Wasteland...
"Come along, Drew," he voiced out after a few moments longer, starting to head inside. "There isn't time to waste. The sooner we find clues or even a location, the sooner we can leave this sickening place." Drew woke into reality, following Wilfre without any further hesitation.
"Sorry, I..." he replied as they entered the cave, unable to help watching the empty eye sockets of the face, "For some reason, this place gets to me. Like... Something honestly disturbs me about it."
Wilfre didn't answer, only nodding as they passed through the lengthy tunnel of the cave. To try to ease tension, Drew changed the subject.
"Um..." he began, though a bit shyly, "You know, I've been thinking about things. I know I seem and act pretty chipper and naive, but... I've decided that I don't mind if I don't get my memories back. It would be a perk, but I don't need them to carry on with life. Meeting you guys has made it not so bad... Plus, after everything, I want to be able to stay in the Village. I feel like I belong here, and that makes me happy."
"That's nice to hear," Wilfre finally said in reply, though absent-mindly. He realized that Drew was trying to soften the memory blow by distracting him with conversation, so he respected him for that. "Though, I really hope you do remember your past; you have the right to remember because it's your life we're dealing with. And, I think you would be missed greatly if you left for Lavasteam when... Everything is over." Those last words were said with reluctance, as if there was a downside to that.
"Wilfre, is something the matter?" Drew asked in concern, his ears drooping from Wilfre's previous tone. As much as Wilfre wished to keep it to himself, he paused at the end of the tunnel, where there was a sudden drop into a large room, with parts of the walls broken or crumbled off that revealed a vivid purple haze. Wilfre remembered this place very well, jumping down into the room as he thought about how to word his question.
"Drew..." he said at first, mustering the courage to continue after a few moments, "How would everyone remember me if I died after Sly is destroyed?" Drew's eyes opened wide from the question, not sure how to answer him. Meanwhile, Wilfre began to get lost in his thoughts, looking upward and around the room, envisioning the past and almost seeing it with his own eyes...
"So you made it this far...?" Wilfre cackled as the Creation Hero jumped down into the room and hopping away from the rubble piece in the floor, "My little scorpion friend will take care of you!" As the scorpion appeared in the room, Wilfre floated upwards to enjoy the show, waiting to see how long it took for the Hero to be torn to wooden pieces. It shouldn't take long, and soon the threat would pass. The Hero didn't say a word to him or the scorpion, even seeming to have an angry look in his eyes. Wilfre had to admit, he'd never seen this look on the Creation Hero before, and deep down it scared him, knowing that it wasn't usual for the Creation Hero to be angry about anything. Yet, he didn't let his true feelings show for obvious reasons.
"What? I..." Drew tried to answer, but was still stunned from it all, "What're you saying, Wilfre? Do you believe the others still think you're a bad person or something...?"
To his horror, Wilfre watched as his scorpion was the one who 'tore to pieces'. Also curious was that the Creation Hero didn't hesitate to use violence; which again, usually was a last resort strategy and was only used when there was absolutely no other way to solve a situation, at least as far as Wilfre could recall. The Creation Hero looked up at Wilfre in complete scorn, not seeming to regret doing what he'd just done. He didn't seem to have nary a scratch on his figure, nor his clothes for that matter. Wilfre stiffened up from it all, not sure if he could comprehend the difference in demeanor, but he hid it when he spoke up once more, readying himself to attack the Hero and finish this once and for all.
"Ug!?" he pretended to fume, "This has gone on long enough! I'll destroy you myself!"
"Wilfre..." Drew called again, unaware that Wilfre's mind had drifted off long ago, "I'm pretty sure no one thinks you're bad. I wouldn't know what you did in detail, but it seems to me that you've become good, haven't you? I mean, it's not like you'll go back on your word about defeating Sly and join him..."
No matter how many stars and tridents he threw upon the Hero, they were all missed, while the Hero would jump upwards and slash at him at every direction he flew to. In fact, through it all the Hero didn't seem to lose his angered expression, going in for the attack every chance he got and without mercy. Dear Creator did it scare him to see the Hero like this; when anytime before he was always so happy, so goofy, so mild mannered and... Nice, even towards him. But now, all that seemed to remain for Wilfre was pure hatred.
To be honest, he'd always been afraid to have to confront the Hero himself, thus relying on bigger, stronger creatures to do his bidding. It was also due to Wilfre not truly knowing how to win in a fight of any sort, while the Hero had aquired at least a year's worth of practice, so it was proving to be a disaster. If things kept on like this, he knew he wasn't just going to be defeated.
He was going to die.
"Ooooh!" he yelled out once more, even though he was already in enough pain to support an entire lifetime. But there was no way he was going to show weakness to the enemy, even if the enemy terrified him. "Now prepare to die!"
"Wait, you're asking this because this place is disturbing you too," Drew began to reason, slowly approaching Wilfre by a few steps, "Or maybe because you're afraid to die from possibly losing to Sly, or that he would kill you along with himself? Is that it? ... Wilfre, are you feeling okay? You're looking a bit pale..."
"Ow ow ow!" he hollered in agony as well as confusion, though both were a mere act. "What?! No! This cannot be!"
Wilfre had the suspicion that those words before was more for warning himself than an idle threat to the Creation Hero, as if knowing that he wasn't going to win, or even come close to it. That last hack to his torso was all he could take before he promptly crashed to the ground, on his stomach. Throughout the one-sided battle, Wilfre had come to terms with the truth behind this battle and why it came to be fated to end this way.
The whole time Wilfre had known the Creation Hero, he always treated him like dirt, even though the Hero would always shrug it off and continue being the one person who saw Wilfre for who he was underneath the Shadow Goo - a Raposa. Perhaps it was because the Mayor had explained that he used to be one and technically still is, so the Hero believed that he also needed saving from the Shadow Goo. He wanted to help him and continued to try, but Wilfre would always push him away and claim he didn't need saved...
Many times Wilfre would insult, judge, or otherwise hurt the Creation Hero, but that never bothered him for too long. This time, though... Accidentally killing the Mayor made the Creation Hero snap into this unstoppable rage and violence, and now Wilfre understood the punishment. He wanted to say something as he felt the Shadow Goo melt right off of his Raposa body. Despite all his pain, he managed to get onto his back paws. A look of shock overcame the Creation Hero, and then as Wilfre realized he was disappearing, he could swear he saw despair replace the shocked expression. Before he could get any words out, he was gone, just like that.
Wilfre collapsed to his knees, suddenly letting out a loud wail. Quickly, Drew came over to and sat in front of him, afterwards putting his paws on Wilfre's shoulders in an effort to calm him down. No matter what Drew tried to do, Wilfre would only scream out "I'M SORRY!" repeatedly; so instead, he brought Wilfre into an embrace, waiting it out. Drew shhed him gently as time passed, even rocking Wilfre slightly to help him calm down.
"It's okay, it's okay," he kept saying as well, hoping Wilfre would hear him. "It's okay, Wilfre. Everything's fine..." Eventually Wilfre's wails had died down, even though tears continued streaming down his face.
"I'm sorry..." he whispered out this time, shuttering in his breathing, "I'm so sorry..." Drew continued to hold him closely, stroking his back a little as well now.
"Just try to relax," Drew said quietly, "It's all in the past now; we know you regret it, and that's normal, isn't it?"
"...Y-Yes," Wilfre replied, taking a deep breath and starting to wipe away his tears, "I... I suppose... It's normal to be sorry..."
"That's good, Wilfre," Drew smiled a bit, but kept him close nonetheless, "So, I believe we would remember you as someone who gave their life in fixing their worst mistakes, because you knew it was the right thing to do, even if it wasn't the easy way. I would call you a hero, in fact! But I think you mostly asked this because of where we are... I can't blame you, though. If my memories have anything to do with this, I'm sure I would be crying too." Wilfre wiped off his remaining tears, letting out a sniffle before doing his best to calm down fully.
"Are you sure, Drew...?" Wilfre asked to be sure, "I would understand if all I'm remembered for is the monster I once was..." Drew pulled away enough to look into Wilfre's eyes.
"I'm sure of it, Wilfre," he replied with confidence "Now, if you ever get this silly idea in your head again, just remember all the Raposa who respect you now because of what you did for them, as well as us. I don't want you doubting yourself ever again. Promise me that you won't." Wilfre thought about it for a while, before he put a paw over his heart.
"I swear on my grave I won't doubt myself again," he promised, while Drew grinned wider and helped him to his back paws.
"Alright!" he cheered, and to his amazement, he saw Wilfre grin a little himself, although still a bit sadly. "Okay, so what would qualify as a clue?"
Wilfre frowned but this time in thought, putting his paw onto his chin. It was a good question, as there probably wasn't going to be any obvious hints as to what a clue would be. At last, however, he got an idea.
"Perhaps my old journal?" he chipped in, "Maybe he took advice from it to find a new place to rule in. After all, I did list a few locations to use to rebuild should my old plans fail..." Drew immediately ran off through the room, and into another that probably qualified as a living arrangement. "Drew, where do you think you're going?"
"To find your journal, silly!" Drew answered as Wilfre followed him inside.
"I don't mean to ruin your enthusiasm," Wilfre couldn't help but say, "But how will you know where it is if you don't know what it looks like?" Drew began to rummage through things in the room, to which Wilfre spoke once more, "Try not to make a mess, Drew! I used to live here, you know!"
"If it was your journal, wouldn't it have your name on it?" Drew asked at first, before he couldn't help but giggle from the mess he was apparently making, "Err... Sorry. But if it's any consolation, you're not going to come back to this awful place, right?"
"... True," Wilfre sighed in defeat, before noticing the earlier question. "How do you KNOW that!?"
"Lucky guess?" Drew paused in his search, embarrassment clouding his face, "Another time where I don't know how I guess these things..." Meanwhile, Wilfre merely shrugged, heading off to a different spot in the room, opening a door.
"If it's my journal we need to find," he spoke once more, rummaging through what appeared to be a closet, "We'll have to look in the Wasteland. I would've moved it there." Drew stopped his search, coming over to Wilfre instead with a nod.
"There's no way you're going there alone..." Drew said this as Wilfre pulled out something that resembled a sheet of paper with a map on it.
"I know, Drew, I know," he replied, before holding out a paw for him. "Grab my paw; this paper will take us there, and back when we're done looking." Drew did so immediately without question, and soon enough, they disappeared from the old Shadow Lair.
There wasn't much for Mari and Isaac to do since everyone else were on their merry way, warning any and all people who lived beyond the Gate doors about Sly's possible plans to invade them. Isaac retreated back to the Turtlerock shop to further investigate the ancient journals that Drew gave to him a little while ago, while Mari awaited for any of the sent off villagers to return, safe and sound. For a moment, she began to believe that perhaps the missing villagers were simply locked in cages like a few years back. Though, at the same time it felt repetitive, too familiar and easy, and she was sure Sly wouldn't do anything the same.
When she thought she saw a Shadow Creature, she armed herself with a throwing knife, then another. However, the Shadow Creature seemed nonexistent as it simply disappeared from sight. Mari had a look of confusion for a moment, then decided that she needed to clear her mind, entering the Village Hall to take a relaxing shower. After she finished (which didn't take long), she wrapped her body into a cozy towel, making her way to her bedroom and her closet. While looking through her various outfits, she noticed the gray dress she used to have to wear every Sunday evening, when the Church of Shadow existed.
She pulled it out for a moment, inspecting the dress itself. If the influence behind the memory wasn't so absolutely terrible, she would've found the dress nostalgic. Though, it did seem so long ago since the last day she ever had to wear such a hideous thing.
The day Wilfre awoke from his sleeping curse.
How long ago was that again?
Let's see, Mari began to count after putting the dress back into the closet, The day after he awoke, the Church of Shadow was destroyed and Samuel was saved, only to leave the Village when Sly showed up later that day... It took us a week to get to Watersong, so eight days. We stayed for a day, and took us a week and three days to get to Lavasteam, so that would make nineteen. We stayed for another day, then took two weeks and an extra day to reach URSF, so that's thirty-five. A day and another to get back to Turtlerock, and about three weeks to get back here, so... Sixty-eight days? That's all, really? It feels so much longer...
By this time, she'd chosen an outfit she liked, putting it on and now redressed. A red t-shirt with a yellow feminine tie, similar to the pink tie from her yellow dress; and a pink, knee-length skirt. It wasn't often that she wore this nowadays, and she was surprised she still fit in it, even though the skirt used to reach down the middle of her calves. She recalled that the last time she wore this was just before the day she prayed to the Creator to help restore the Village.
That was about four years ago, now, Mari recalled, looking at herself in the full-size mirror she had, That feels even longer ago than recently. I can't believe I was that immature back then... Well, Jowee was too; we both were.
"I can tell you're not the only one who's noticed the change," a voice interrupted her thoughts. Looking through the mirror, her eyes widened while a gasp came out of her throat, noticing the newcomer right away.
"I-If you're going to try to get me to join you, then you're wrong," she stated as firmly as she could, turning away from the mirror. "You're not going to be able to fool me again." The newcomer snickered from the words, his gears of thought churning silently in his mind.
"This is true; you're much smarter than you used to be, Mayor Mari," he replied, never failing to taint Wilfre's voice as he continued coolly. "But it's a shame that I, once again, will prove to be more intelligent. Believe me when I say this; there will be no fooling. No lies. Only a decision; one I know you'll make in my favor. In fact, it would be absolutely unlike you to refuse."
"Get to the point, Sly," Mari ordered bitterly, "Then get out of my village." Sly tsked a few times, before doing as was asked and pulling out the one and only...
"I'm sure you've been wanting THIS old thing back, hm?" he began as he held the large book in his shadowed paws, "To keep it safe from terrible people like me and anyone who is bold enough to vandalize its contents. The heart of the Creator Herself; the sacred and delicate artifact entrusted by the Raposa to be protected with their lives. Or well, the current Village Mayor Raposa, to be technical..."
"You didn't..." Mari's eyes widened, trailing off before she could finish her accusation. Sly snorted to himself with what appeared to be an eye-roll.
"What? No," he replied, "I didn't do a single thing with it. All the pages are inside, safe and sound. All this time, I haven't harmed it in any way; but the fear from your face suggests that the lack of this book alone made the empty threat succeed..." He paused with a giddy laugh. "Remember all those days without it, and yet the eight of you managed to take away my empire, one city at a time? Did you ever really need this Book of Junk?"
Mari couldn't speak a word throughout the explanation She did feel comforted in the fact that the Book did appear unharmed, but being fooled like this angered her deeply. "But we'll always need it," she finally said in response, "Only the Creator can use it correctly. And if the Book of Life is destroyed, so is She and everything else..."
"Very good," Sly back-pawedly complimented smugly, "So, basically, my idea is simple. I have no use for this Book, and frankly never did. In favor of letting you foolish Raposa have it back, even though you never really needed it thus far, all I ask is for you to change your side-"
"No!" Mari interrupted immediately, "You're not going to fool me again! I said that earlier, didn't I?"
"Whoa, whoa," Sly waved a paw at her to relent, "And I clearly stated that there is no fooling, and no lies. Also, you didn't even let me finish. If you don't accept my offer, I'll have no choice but to destroy everyone and everything in this universe. The Raposa, the Baki, the Creator, you, Wilfre and even I will all die instantly. Seems foolish to destroy even myself in the process, but it's worth it knowing that I'll still be able to grant that one wish Wilfre made..." When Mari was too stunned to answer, he added some more words. "A world without a Creator. Well, there won't be a world anymore, but there won't be a world WITH a Creator, either!"
"Y-You... No, you wouldn't go that far..." Mari tried to reason, making herself feel stubborn as she processed the words, "You're not that desperate...! Wouldn't you want to live through that?"
"Preferably yes," Sly shrugged, "But I'm also willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. The whole point of my existence is to see to that wish being granted. The best part? No one would feel a thing... But of course, if you're reconsidering delaying the inevitable, that's perfectly fine with me. You can either make a future where everyone dies, or you can make a future where everyone survives, but suffers until I win the slower way. The million Rapo Token question is, which do you prefer? I assure you that no answer is wrong."
Mari thought about it for a long time, all the words sinking into her mind, and debating every possible outcome. She knew that if she refused, Sly would do the unthinkable, and she was certain that he wasn't bluffing. "If I join you, what happens to the Book of Life?" she finally asked.
"Like I said, it returns to the possession of the Raposa," he replied smoothly, "But mostly it will be yours to do whatever you wish with it; good or bad, I don't care. I will give it to you after turning you into a Shadow Raposa, no ifs, ands or buts." Mari nodded in listening to the words, before she had to ask something else.
"I heard that when Click was corrupted, he used the Book of Life to alter his tower," she started, "So how do I know you're not lying about you not doing a 'single thing' with the Book?"
"... Right again," Sly clapped a bit in a legitimately impressed way, "I'll admit, that was the only thing I used this Book for; because he himself requested such a thing and couldn't do so with his own power. But I promise that was the one and ONLY thing."
If I did this, no one would have to die because of that kamakazi, Mari thought to herself while continuing to think, But if anyone came around and saw what became of me... Would they think I was a traitor? Dear Creator, I hope they understand what's really going on... If anyone returns to the Village, please let it be Wilfre. Only he will understand.
"I accept," she stated flatly. Sly grinned wickedly, his glowing, twin pools of light now accompanied by an also glowing mouth, before he stepped forward, getting out a large ball of Shadow Goo from his paw.
"Good girl," he cooed quietly, pressing the ball against her forehead before she could react, "Now keep still. It'll be a lot faster if you don't struggle!" A sudden look of fright overcame Mari, a single tear running down her cheek before the Shadow Goo covered her eyes, preventing any more.
What have I done...?