fleets: Covercovercover! Gogogo! It's up on deviantart! :D Also thanks for everyone who gave me advice on whether or not I should/could reveal Thistle's actual face (your patience is astounding. It gave me a new idea for OA though so I appreciate that a lot). Thanks!

Chapter 37: Feather Rain

The platform Link and Vaati were on was in a U shape, with Link and Vaati on one side and the moblins on the other. There was a large door near the middle of the "U," and it was going to be a race to see if it was the escapees or the moblins to reach it first. They all began to run at once.

"Vaati, can't you blow them away with the Wind Waker?" Link yelled as he ran. He could see that the moblins were going to reach them as soon as they got to the door.

"This is indoors! It only works outside!" the mage gasped. He ducked as some of the moblins were in range to throw spears.

Link unsheathed his sword as they neared the door and faced the moblin hoard. He swung it a few times to prevent the moblins from circling around him and Vaati. "Get the door, I'll come soon," he ordered. Link took out a bomb and threw it in front of the moblins, causing the group to back up hurriedly. Through the smoke, a few spears flew haphazardly around him as some of the monsters found an opportunity to throw them.

Vaati didn't wait as he sped up the steps to the door while Link held off the moblins. He heaved open the wooden bars that bolted it shut. Vaati struggled against its weight, not used to physical work, but he eventually managed to free it. "Link, get over here."

Link left another bomb behind for the moblins, and then sprang up the steps, flying past the open door as the bomb exploded. The two wrenched the door shut and bolted it from inside. They stood facing it for several minutes as sounds of determined ramming issued from the other side.

The two were surprised when the ramming suddenly stopped.

"Did they give up?" Link took a step towards the quiet door.

Vaati, meanwhile, had turned around and his red eyes were darting from side to side, taking in the surroundings. They were finally inside the tower they had planned to confront the Helmaroc King, and Vaati was having second thoughts about his idea to run here. He didn't like the strangeness of it. And it really was a strange tower – he had imagined multiple floors they would have to scale, not a tower that was essentially a single hollow cylinder. There was a pool of water at the bottom, and an unsteady, broken wooden walkway spiraled up along the walls all the way to the top. A large empty cell also sat at the bottom like an abandoned rat cage. That was it. There was nothing else. What could be the purpose of this tower?

As in answer, there was a grinding metallic groan that pierced the air. Link and Vaati's head snapped up when they noticed the ceiling was opening up, letting in the icy night wind.

"Link, start running. We can't let the bird catch us here," Vaati let out a sharp breath of air as water began to rise.

They began to run up the walkway as a distant screech rang from above. Vaati was leading with Link following closely behind.

Link was trying to focus on not falling off the edge into the rising water when something slammed behind him and sent splinters exploding everywhere. He nearly lost his footing when he chanced a look back and saw the Helmaroc King inside the tower. "Goddesses, the thing's inside!"

Vaati didn't dare look back, but his voice hid a bitter laugh. "Smart bird, right? He was one of my favorites. Too bad he likes Ganondorf better now." He turned his head over his shoulder just long enough to summon some wind to hold back the Helmarc King from advancing, but he was only able to create a slight breeze. While it managed to push the bird down away from them a little, he was able to recover quickly. "Link, I can't use the Wind Waker yet," Vaati growled.

The mage became distracted when the Helmaroc King shot back high over their heads towards the roof, and he wasn't prepared when a bokoblin jumped out of a pot that was sitting on the path. The monster snarled, swinging its cutlass, and Vaati lost his footing and fell down into the water below.

"Vaati!" Link gasped, looking over the edge. He abruptly looked up as a dark shadow hovered above him.

Kreeeee!

"Ah!" Link jumped out of the way as the Helmaroc King made another dive, ripping through the walkway and sending the bokoblin with it. Link barely managed to hang on to the remaining planks, and he pulled himself back up to the broken path, ignoring the splinters that dug into his bare hands. The Helmaroc King flapped its wings and steadied itself until it hovered in the middle of the tower. It turned its attention away from Link momentarily to mark Vaati trying to swim back onto the walkway; an easier target. Link could clearly see the Helmaroc King's eyes, partially hidden by its helm, squint into a look of merciless condescension.

"Vaati! Watch out!"

The mage frantically tried to reach the walkway as the Helmaroc King folded its wings towards its body and plummeted towards him at a terrifying speed. He knew he wasn't going to be fast enough to reach the platform. Crap. I hate my ex-ally.

Out of the corner of his eye, the mage noticed something splashing along side him. It was the bokoblin that had fallen with him, and it was almost within arms reach as it determinedly paddled his way. Vaati made a split-second decision, and he took a deep breath as he dove underwater. I hope this works.

It was like someone with a large wooden board had slammed Vaati's back when the force of the Helmaroc King's impact tumbled him through the water. The bird crashed into the pool, and Link covered his face as water erupted all the way up towards where he was standing. He clung to the edge of the walkway, trying to make out what was going on down below. Seconds later, the behemoth exploded from the pool and flew off holding a struggling figure tightly in its claws, creating a shower with its wings.

Before Link could freak out, Vaati spluttered and coughed, pulling himself out of the water and onto what was left of the path. Link had a look of relief on his face when Vaati caught up, completely drenched but still very much alive.

Even though he could have appreciated a few minutes of rest, Vaati pushed forward. "Come on. He'll come back when he realizes he caught the bokoblin instead of me."

Link went first this time, making sure to smash any more suspicious pots. Some of them had monsters inside, like the bokoblin pot that had caused Vaati to fall earlier. When they finally reached the top of the tower, they heard a furious screech signaling the return of the Helmaroc King. As it flew towards them, Link could see the bloody beak that hinted at the fate of the bokoblin it had captured by mistake. "That was a cute trick, Vaati," the bird sneered.

As soon as Vaati's foot left the wooden platform and stepped out onto the tower ceiling, it started to close again so that there was no longer a gaping hole in the middle where they were at the risk of falling to the water. It appeared to be a good thing if at first: then, Vaati put everything together and realized what a mistake that was. The water had been rising to force whoever was foolish enough to be herded into the main tower to become trapped to where they were now.

I knew there was something fishy about the tower… Vaati thought as he turned circles to reevaluate their situation. Link appeared horrified.

"Uh Vaati? You said you wanted to fight here?" Link yelped as looked around the top of the roof that appeared more like a fight rink than anything, with severe disadvantages to anyone incapable of flying. There were large, bloodstained and immaculately sharpened spikes running all along the railings, and they were all pointed towards the trapped escapees.

"It kind of ended up like this, all right? It's not like I could've known about the spikes!" Vaati retorted defensively.

The Helmaroc King chuckled. "Unfortunately you're no different than anyone else who comes up here without your powers, Vaati." Helmaroc began to beat his wings rapidly to unleash a barrage of sharp feathers, "And that means you will die. And you will die next to him."

Link blocked the rain of lethal feathers with his shield, while Vaati managed to deflect most of them with a small whirlwind. One, however, grazed him by the shoulder, but he didn't know what hurt more: the slight gash, or Helmaroc's words that were thick with disappointment. The sorcerer's cheeks flushed red.

Disappointment wasn't something Vaati had to deal with often, and there was just something about that word that drove him insane. He had always, always, stood on the side of success in his point of view. Even when he had failed he had never found cause to be disappointed in himself; just in other people like his underlings. He was never to blame. He was never supposed to be part of the blame.

And when someone put it so bluntly it hurt like a slap in the face – like a slap by a woman except not as sexy. Just simply humiliating.

His fists clenched so tightly around the Wind Waker it might've snapped, Vaati raised the baton slowly into the air while the Helmaroc King circled for another attack. His face was pulled taut, and his voice shook ever so slightly. "All right, Helmaroc. I'm going to teach you what happens when you disobey."

"Die with the hero, traitorous sorcerer! You were never the same as us!"

Vaati summoned a powerful gust that pushed the bird sharply away from the tower just as it dove towards them. Startled by the sudden wind, the Helmaroc King squawked and retreated. The bird flew in a wide arc, disappearing momentarily into the night sky as it analyzed its next move.

The wind mage, however, knew where the Helmaroc King was. He couldn't see the bird very well, but the wind told him everything: when the bird was beating its wings, and when it was coming straight back towards the tower.

"What do you have in mind?"

Link's cautious question brought him momentarily back out of his thoughts. Vaati noticed the blond already had the heavy Skull Hammer out; Link always did know what weapons to use against boss monsters. Link's expression suggested the other boy was worried for Vaati, as though he didn't trust that the sorcerer could take down the Helmaroc King alone.

While Link did have good grounds of assuming so, in the current situation it just made Vaati even more upset. If he was calm and rational, he would have agreed that he would need Link's help in taking down a monster that was probably even more difficult to defeat than the dragon Argorok.

But he was sick of being calm and rational. He'd had enough of this and if things went poorly then screw the whole universe and everyone in it.

"Keep the hammer out but stay the fuck out of my way."

"Bwha?" Link almost dropped the hammer down onto his foot. He blankly stared at Vaati who turned his heel to stand defiantly in the middle of the roof, completely open to all attacks as though to say 'bring it on.' Vaati was upset; there was no doubt about it. Link had rarely ever heard the sorcerer use explicit language even in the most trying of times, so this was probably a huge deal for him. He wasn't really sure what it was that had Vaati so angry, but one thing was sure: the mage was going to mess up by acting impulsively on his emotions again. That was the problem with Vaati: he was only ever calculating when his head was cool. As soon as something upset him or his plans, Vaati had a tendency to screw things up by acting with impatience. While that worked to Link's advantage when he was the one fighting Vaati, it wasn't a good thing at all when they were working together.

"Vaati wait," Link began, and ran towards the wind mage to join him in the middle of the roof. Just then, The Helmaroc King returned with wings spread wide.

To Link's horror, Vaati turned his back on Helmaroc and raised the Wind Waker at him with a glint in his eye that was near insane. "You will stay out of my affairs, boy, if you know what's good for you!"

Link wasn't exactly sure what had happened next. All he really remembered was that there was a lot of wind batting him around from all different directions like someone had dropped him in the middle of a tornado. He thought he remembered the Helmaroc King sending a mighty gale with the force of its wings, sending him flying precariously towards the spikes. Then, he'd been slammed towards the cold stone where he had lost all sense of direction. The only thing he knew he had to do with certainty was to dig his fingers into the cracks on the ground to stop himself from being skewered by the spikes lining the walls.

Through the whirlwind, Link squinted and looked up to see what had happened to Vaati. His eyes widened in surprise.

The wind mage was standing, calm, as though nothing had happened. The wind was savagely raging around him, but he didn't need to fight against it as Link had done. If anything, he appeared relaxed as he brought up the Wind Waker and waved it sharply downwards, sending the Helmaroc King whirling down onto the roof. The Wind Waker was faintly glowing blue, and the binding curse's bright runes were spiraling madly around the mage's wrists and the baton.

The enormous bird crashed just before the sorcerer's feet, and its startled scream was deafened by the wind's roar. A few of the razor feathers scattered around the arena played against the Helmaroc King when they were lifted into the air and shot through its wings, pinning it to the ground. There was a small flick of the Wind Waker, and Link felt the Skull Hammer escape his hands with a magical gust.

The wind settled as soon as Vaati put the Wind Waker away and picked up the Skull Hammer that had been pushed towards his feet. Helmaroc's unintelligible, angry shrieking was audible now as it struggled to free itself from its own feathers that Vaati had used to pin it down.

Wordlessly, Vaati calmly heaved the heavy hammer over his shoulder and brought it down on Helmaroc's head in an almost detached manner.

There was a hideous crack that made even Link wince and turn away. Helmaroc stopped struggling, and its wings fell limp as its helm crumbled away from its head from the hammer's impact. With that one crack of the hammer, everything abruptly became eerily silent. Link could now faintly hear what Vaati and the Helmaroc King were saying.

"Who's going to kill who, Helmaroc?" Vaati lowered the heavy hammer and it thunked next to his feet.

Helmaroc's eyes slowly fluttered open, and he weakly shifted his head so he could get a better look at Vaati. "But… impossible."

"It's true I'm not what I used to be," Vaati said sternly, "but that doesn't mean I'm completely incapacitated. You never let me explain."

Helmaroc snapped its beak, but its breath was raspy and weak. "You of all people should know that no amount of explaining will excuse you from working with the hero."

"I have my reasons."

"He's the reason for our downfall!"

Vaati took a menacing step forward and brought the hammer back up over his head. "One chance, Helmaroc. Will you help me find Ganondorf or are you going to be stubborn about it?"

"I'll help."

Vaati lowered the hammer, surprised at how easy that had been.

"On the condition that you kill him," Helmaroc added, his piercing gaze moving towards Link who was kneeling on the ground and watching with a mystified expression.

Ah. Of course it wasn't that easy.

Noting the flicker of hesitation passing over Vaati's face, the Helmaroc King let out a small chuckle. "It's either him or me, Lord Vaati. One of us has to go, and it's up to you to decide. I bow my head to you most humbly with my defeat, but no amount of respect will keep me from ripping the flesh off of you if you decide to work with the hero. If you release me now I will come after your neck."

"Helmaroc, I…" Vaati stopped talking. What could he say? That he's just using Link to defeat Ganondorf? That would never fly well with the Helmaroc King, who was strictly against using a pawn for the reason that you weren't able to do the job alone.

He would pick the Helmaroc King over Link any day, except… except he couldn't defeat Ganondorf that way.

Why? Why were there only two choices?

"Just tell me where Ganondorf is. Then I'll leave." Vaati's voice was stiff, but his eyes were almost pleading.

The Helmaroc King gave a harsh shriek. "How many times must you disappoint me, Lord Vaati?"

Again, it was that invisible slap that made him bite his cheek a little harder and avert his eyes a little lower. He couldn't get a handle on his emotions: was he angry? Yes, he was definitely angry, but he wasn't really sure to who or where the anger was directed. He was angry with Helmaroc for not understanding him, he was angry at the whole stupid situation that was the cause of all this, he was angry with Ganondorf for existing, he was angry with Link who was always complicating everything.

He was angry with himself for being so utterly pathetic.

But along with that anger was gut-wrenching pain.

Silently, Vaati lifted the Skull Hammer for the last time. He kept his eyes on the Helmaroc King the whole time, determined not to look away.

The bird lifted its eyes with faint surprise, and then it sneered scornfully. "I see. In the end you side with the hero. You side with Light." It tittered bitterly. "Of course I shouldn't have been surprised, Vaati. You were never truly with the Dark. Your blood is of the race that spawned that nefarious sword…"

Crack!

The hammer fell, striking the Helmaroc King and crushing his skull, killing him. Vaati wished he could have said it fell gracefully, but it was heavy and it dropped crudely. Clumsily. And Helmaroc was gone, just like that.

The hammer dropped to the ground as it slipped from Vaati's fingers. Numb, a part of him was shocked at what he had done. He hadn't expected he would drop the hammer so suddenly – he hadn't prepared himself for that. But then again, who could prepare for something like that? The Helmaroc King's head was gruesomely disfigured, but at the same time he couldn't wrench his gaze away from the corpse. Like some weird form of self-punishment, he couldn't take his eyes away from it.

Just couldn't.

What was it? Why could he still hear Helmaroc's words in his head?

Shut up, leave me alone. You're just a voice. I killed you – get out of my head.

I see. In the end you side with the hero.

That's not true.

You side with the Light.

You gave me no choice.

Of course I shouldn't have been surprised.

You were my favorite.

You were never truly with the Dark.

But I wanted to be.

Your blood is of the race that spawned that nefarious sword…

"No!" Vaati screamed. He reached out towards the fractured beak in front of him, but as soon as his fingers touched the dead bird it oozed into purple smoke and dissipated as all monsters do. The smoke puffed up into the sky, catching the attention of the fortress searchlights that turned towards the top of the tower. The light shone on the soft feathers that had risen upwards with the smoke and were now softly fluttering back down towards the ground. Words screamed through Vaati's head. Relentlessly. Viciously. Crazily.

I didn't have a choice! You gave me no choice. You could have just told me where Ganondorf was. You could have just flown away. It wasn't my fault. It's all because of you. It's all because of Ganondorf. It's all because of Link. It's all because of Link. Link.

Vaati whirled around when he finally noticed Link standing awkwardly behind him, trying to catch his attention. The blond scratched his head while avoiding the sorcerer's gaze and mumbled apologetically. "Hey so… I'm going to see what's up there," Link waved a hand towards a narrow path that had revealed itself with the defeat of the fortress king. "If you want to find me I'll be up ahead."

Vaati didn't say anything as Link hurried away to leave Vaati to himself. Vaati scowled, annoyed, once the boy was gone. "It's not like it's a big deal," he spat.

Feathers. Stupid feathers falling everywhere. Wish they would disappear.

"It's not a big deal. I just killed a stupid bird, that's all."

A small feather landed on his forehead. Vaati brushed it off irritably.

"Not a big deal."

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Lord Vaati, do you remember when we first met? I tried to kill you!" The Helmaroc King laughed in good humor from his perch at the Palace of Winds. Vaati didn't look up, and continued to stare at the horizon with a bored expression.

"Not really. It probably wasn't that eventful to me," the sorcerer drawled, but a very faint curl of a smile found its way on the corner of his lips. "And besides, that hasn't changed much has it?"

"You show me my place every time, Vaati. But one of these days I'll reclaim the sky as my own. I don't like to share."

"Neither do I."

The Helmaroc King stretched its wings, letting the wind coast beneath its feathers. "However, as long as I recognize you as Lord, you can be sure of one thing,"

Vaati glanced up ever so slightly to acknowledge Helmaroc.

"I will be your most faithful servant, Lord Vaati. A good friend. I swear on my honor I won't disappoint you."

The sorcerer snorted, apparently unimpressed. He had his back to the great bird so the Helmaroc King couldn't tell that he was, however, smiling.

"I already know that."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"It's not a big deal…" Vaati repeated quietly, the feathers continuing to fall around him like snow. A long feather was clutched in his hands, and it pricked at his palms so that they bled a little. He didn't care.

A few beads of water dropped onto the feather in his hands, and it rolled down towards the tip as it left a wet trail. His vision was a little blurry.

"My stupid hair… I can't see…"

His eyes couldn't see, yet he couldn't escape the image of Helmaroc's last moments when the bird had looked at him with disappointment and regret in those large golden eyes.

"Stop looking at me like that."

A trickle of tears. No. Those weren't tears. Just some moisture from the air...

I see. In the end you side with the Hero.

The last feather dropped to the ground. Vaati finally raised his head, searching for something, anything.

He let out a whisper.

"What am I doing…?"

fleets: ... Pretty sure some of you are upset with me for going all depressing (hides). It was a little difficult for me to write the section where Vaati kills Helmaroc before Helmaroc has a chance to realize he didn't betray him after all, and that Vaati was just working with Link because he had no other choice. But you know... Vaati wouldn't have been able to give a satisfactory explanation. That's kind of what killed me when I was writing this. Oh and if any of you thought it was odd that Vaati was powerful all of a sudden, don't worry: I have explanations for you (just not in this chapter haha).

If the Twilight Princess Arc was on solidifying the camaraderie between Link and Vaati, I want the Wind Waker Arc to be the arc that undoes it. I don't think I did a good job of that the first time.

The image of the falling feathers is thanks to Bishieluver01! Thanks, I really liked that idea! :D

Reily96: BAWful success?

Blue-Fire-Kitty: Okay! I will (try) to stay patient (distracts herself with something). I think the worst part of highschool is having to wake up early... College gets better as long as you avoid all the early classes (yes, I base my courses around what time they start haha. No classes before noon, awww-yeah!).

Lady Fai: Glad you caught that - I always found it funny in games how you always had a convenient item to get out of an impossibly difficult situation. Of course the boys had a ridiculous stroke of luck that was also akin to game-luck but whatevs. XD Yeah it hurts... because letting someone down is one of my worst fears, this chapter made me sad when I was writing it. Haha that seems to be the consensus! I'll wait as long as I can ;)

msfcatlover: Dethl will definitely return. He/it played a pretty big role in the last story so it'll be difficult to do away with him/it. I still despise him/it. Good point - that actually gave me an idea on when to reveal him :)

torakoh: Hot damn you guys are patient! Unlike me. But that gives me a good lot of motivation to keep the streak of secrecy XD