Author's Note: I've been waiting to write a certain scene in this chapter for ages! Just for context: Lars should be 20 in this chapter while Gascon is currently 27. Oliver is 13 while Esther is 15. I'm also going to give a warning that there's a bit of body-hate, self-loathing, and a panic attack in this chapter in case anyone's sensitive to that topic. If you are, I would suggest skipping this chapter. I'll do a recap in next chapter's author's notes!
Disclaimer: I do not own Ni no Kuni! That honour solely belongs to Level-5 Studios! If I did, I wouldn't change anything except add a more dramatic conversation between grown Marcassin and Swaine!
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Chapter 2
Belief
They were staring at him.
Lars knew they would. But, it stung nonetheless. Even mere children knew how horrid he looked despite all he'd done to hide his beastly appearance. Swallowing a cry of despair, Lars nervously approached the counter to get his bounty for the week. He just needed to get enough money to afford his next week in the inn. Afterwards, Lars could spend the next week hiding himself from anyone and everyone before he needed to do it all over again.
"H-Hello." Lars mumbled, slowly spinning his wand in his hands.
"Lars… Yuh need a bounty?" The Taskmaster looked at him with pitying eyes, and he hated those eyes. He hated that he needed pity in the first place because of his ugly body. Lars' breathing quickened, and he barely nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Wordlessly, the Taskmaster handed him a bounty and Lars silently took it without meeting the other man's eyes.
He hurried to leave the establishment but paused when he saw a certain picture. Hesitating, Lars turned to face the group of children near the merit awards… who were still staring at him.
"Uh! Sorry for staring at you, Mister!" The young boy quickly apologized, bowing down slightly to his confusion.
"Never mind that, kid." Lars gulped, stomping down his incessant worries for later. "But… um, whose photo did you have there?" He sheepishly asked, shuffling his feet as the boy blinked.
"Oh, that's the Emperor of Hamelin." The boy explained, holding the photo in front of him. Lars tilted his head as he analyzed the photo of his distant older brother. He vaguely recognized some characteristics of the man in the photo from the boy in his memory. For example, Gascon's dark brown eyes with his signature stubborn glare and his unrelenting posture. However, the man in the photo's hair was darker than he recalled. And it was odd but not surprising to see Gascon dressed in regal clothes that their Father would normally wear. Nonetheless, the man in the photo looked like a proper Emperor of Hamelin.
"I see…" Lars mumbled, resentment beginning to seep into his mind. "What could you want with the Emperor of Hamelin?" He snidely interrogated, putting his hands on his hips. The young man failed to notice the Taskmaster's stunned gaze following his actions.
"Well… we need his help to learn magic…" The boy reluctantly explained.
"Oi, Ollie-boy, don't be-" The strange familiar began to chastise before being unexpectedly cut off.
"Are you a wizard, kid?" Lars asked, glancing at the boy's wand which he held. In response, the perplexed boy slowly nodded. "Ha! You think the Emperor of Hamelin is going to willingly help a wizard?" He scoffed while rolling his eyes.
"Hey! What's wrong with being a wizard? His Father was a Great Sage!" The blonde girl stood up to defend his brother.
"Yes, his Father was a Great Sage. The current Emperor despises magic because he has none of it!" Lars made a rude snapping motion to the side as he spoke. Suddenly, all of his previous nervousness was gone, replaced by burning rage. "The only reason that man became Emperor is because his little magic brother vanished on the same night the old Emperor was murdered. And if you haven't heard, he's doing a horrible job running Hamelin! So, there's no way he's helping a couple of kids learn magic!" Lars ranted, the visible parts of his face turning red as he caught his breath.
Maybe once, Gascon had been someone Marcassin looked up to. However, ten years was long enough to change a person. Ten years was long enough for Gascon to become a terrible Emperor. Besides, he probably wouldn't even recognize or accept the bounty hunter as his brother. Gascon had always been arrogant like that. Lars vividly remembered how Gascon despised his lack of magic and how it would prevent him from becoming Emperor. It only made too much sense how that would morph into despising magic itself and the limits it presented to his status. Thus, despising Marcassin's use of magic and by extension him that once prevented him from becoming Emperor.
Lars remember that fateful night in fragments where for some reason he'd tried visiting Gascon. But, for the life of him, Lars couldn't remember why he bothered.
"Hold on, aren't you a wizard?" The blonde girl questioned, pointing at his own wand hidden away at his side. Lars froze, his shame instantly returning as he gasped. His eyes traced the eyes that were watching their exchange in shock. He'd caused a major scene. Now everyone was going to tell the entire area how horrible he was… Lars needed to leave.
"Don't mock me!" The bounty hunter snapped before running out of Swift Solutions in a panicked frenzy. His thoughts buzzed in his head like a never-ending storm. Just as it had for the past five years.
—
Oliver, Esther, and Drippy watched the strange man sprint off.
"Wait!" Their resident wizard called, feeling quite guilty over causing the man panic. "Oh no…" Oliver sighed, looking to his companions for advice. However, they were as equally dumbfounded as him.
"That was odd. His demeanour changed so suddenly." Esther noted, grabbing her chin as she grew deep in thought. They'd only meant to stop by Swift Solutions to turn in their recent bounties before handing their letter to the captain to sail for Autumnia.
"Don't feel bad, boy. Lars has been like that for a while now… poor boy." The Taskmaster sombrely retorted while leaning back in his chair.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Oliver blinked, approaching the counter with the others.
"Aye, about five years ago… I and some others woke up to a destroyed dock. Lars was lying in the middle of the wreckage. When he woke up, boy was acting like a completely different person. Before, he was a bright, polite boy. Always leaving to go on adventures around the world. But, moment Lars woke up he started yelling about how ugly he was… was convinced anyone who said otherwise was mocking him…" The Taskmaster explained in a wistful tone, as if becoming lost in his own memories. "Yuh noticed his wand?" He asked the group.
"Yes?" Esther tilted his head.
"Lars is a wizard, all right. A powerful one at that, one of the strongest if not the strongest one I've met myself. When he woke up, the boy couldn't even call himself that. I haven't seen him use one speck of magic since." The Taskmaster mumbled, shaking his head as a new patron entered.
"Mr. Drippy, do you think he's brokenhearted?" Oliver asked the fairy after hearing the Taskmaster's tale.
"Sounds about right, Ollie-boy. I bet he's missing his belief, he is. Folks can tell how blinking handsome or talented he is till they're blue in the face... but will he believe them? Not a bit of it! Can't believe in himself or anyone else for the matter." Drippy vigorously nodded, causing his lantern to shake around.
"Let's go find some belief and give it to him then!" Oliver passionately pledged, raising his fist in the air. "Mr. Taskmaster, would you mind telling us where Mister Lars has gone?" He asked the disbelieving older man with a bright smile.
"Depends… What are yuh going to do to him, boy?" The Taskmaster questioned with suspicious, narrow eyes.
"We're going to help him!" Oliver earnestly insisted. In response, the older man scoffed.
"Yuh think we haven't tried that already? Nothing has worked…" The Taskmaster grumbled, closing his eyes for a moment. However, when he opened them, Oliver was still smiling.
"You need magic, Mr. Taskmaster! We've seen this happen before and we've helped cure them before. I just need to cast a spell to give him back his belief." Oliver explained, motioning at his wand.
"It's true, man!" Drippy supplied. The Taskmaster stared at them, long and hard. However, he eventually looked around before loudly sighing, beckoning them closer to the counter. Following his gesture, Oliver and the others leaned in.
"Yuh better not make me regret this. I'm breaking one of Swift Solution's policies. But, yuh better help Lars, yuh hear me." The Taskmaster whispered, to which the two children and one fairy nodded. "Alright then, I've been giving Lars the easy tasks. Stuff that he can handle while he's… like that. This week's just outside of the Cove near a small den. He'll be hunting some critters now, should take him an hour or two. Probably started right away to avoid a crowd…" He directed with an unsure tone but determined eyes. "Help him then, boy." The Taskmaster reiterated, returning to his work as the group left to find Lars.
However, as they scavenged Castaway Cove for someone with some extra belief to give the brokenhearted bounty hunter, the cogs in an oddly quiet Esther continued to turn.
"Lars…" Esther mumbled to herself as she searched the docks. "Could he be…?" She wondered.
—
Lars grunted as he hit a pink rat over the head with the end of his wand. He didn't have the talent to cast any useful spells. So, the young man's only way to fight was to psychically smack enemies with his wand. Dirt caught on his black boots and long, light green sleeves. Though, it blended in with the brown tunic that sat above his shirt. It somehow made him even uglier than before.
"-There he is!" Someone shouted, causing Lars to yelp as he hastily looked over his shoulder. Fear seized his chest upon seeing that it was the children he'd shouted at earlier.
"Oh no…" Lars panicked, ignoring the pink rat that was nipping his heels.
"Mister Lars!" The boy called out, moving to stand in front of him.
"W-What do you want with me? Do you want revenge for earlier?" He fearfully asked, retreating away from the group. However, Lars continued before they could respond. "Or… do you just want to make fun of me?" He practically cried, twirling his wand in his shaking hands. His lips trembled as he backed further away.
"No!" The girl shook her head.
"I don't believe you!" Lars shouted back. "Why did this have to happen today? Why do I have to be so ugly and pathetic?" He quietly despaired, grabbing at his face. The young man felt his breath catch in his throat as a myriad of thoughts lapped over each other like crabs in a bucket. Each sentence trying to form over one another, only to coalesce into an incoherent mess. His heart full of ice beat faster and faster. His vision blurred. The surrounding noise turned into nauseating static.
"H-Hey-" The boy tried to mollify
Lars' mind had been a delicate piece of glass ever since he'd awoke five years prior. In the years following, small cracks indented themselves as incidents piled up. The arrival of those new arrivals who were pushing against his thin routine was the final crack needed to shatter the whole.
"J-JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Lars howled, clutching his head through tears. However, a mass of purple and black flooded his vision as he promptly passed out.
—
Lars awoke to a pink rat nudging his head. The young man immediately felt different. He brought a hand to his chest and softly gasped. It felt warm and his mind clear for the first time in five years. It was as if a cold fog had lifted.
"What the…?" Lars mumbled while slowly standing up.
"You're awake!" The girl cheered, clapping her hands together as the children approached him.
"I'm sorry. Can you tell me what's going on?" The bounty hunter prudently asked, grabbing his head as a wave of confusion came over him. However, his fingers brushed against the pig mask he still wore. Lars blinked, before cursing and tearing the headdress off. "What was I thinking with this thing?!" The young man exclaimed in disbelief, staring at the offending mask as if it had personally slighted him.
"You were brokenhearted, Mister Lars! Shadar stole a piece of your heart and caused you to lose your belief in people, including yourself." The boy explained. They were silent as Lars processed the information while twirling his wand in his hands. The bounty hunter loudly sighed, raising his hand.
"First off, please don't call me Mister, kid. I am not that old. Just Lars is fine." He frowned. "Secondly… DAMN YOU, SHADAR!" Lars screeched, snatching and then smashing a rock against the ground. The group was startled by the bounty hunter's sudden loss of composure, proceeding to share a concerned look.
"Stupid, Lars! Why'd you open your big mouth-" He berated as his eyes widened. "Oh, no… Ga-" Lars nearly cursed before his gaze flashed to the children. "Gah…" He awkwardly redirected, fading into a whistle. "Well… I… have to go fix my many mistakes. But, thank you so much…?" Lars fished for a name.
"I'm Oliver! It's no problem! I'm glad you're feeling better!" The boy smiled.
"Drippy, Lord High Lord of the Fairies, mun!" The odd familiar-fairy proceeded.
"Esther…" The blonde girl introduced in a more quiet tone. Though, the name caused Lars to pause. He took a step closer to Esther, studying her face.
"Are you related to Rashaad, the Great Sage?" The bounty hunter curiously asked.
"I am. Are you the same Lars that occasionally joined my Father and I for dinner?" Esther questioned in turn.
"Oi, you two flipping know each other?" Drippy shouted as Lars' face broke out into a charming grin.
"I am." Lars chuckled, ruffling the beaming girl's hair. "It's good to see you again, Esther. I'm sorry I haven't visited in a while. I've been… preoccupied as you can see." He grimaced.
"Don't apologize, Lars. I understand. I was brokenhearted too until Oliver restored my courage. He even inspired Father to come out of retirement!" Esther explained with a hopeful expression. At that, the brows on his face sharply rose. Lars hadn't cared for current events while he was brokenhearted. But, how much had he missed in the past five years? Lars hadn't even heard that the Great Sage had retired! However, Esther's words brought another thought to mind.
"Is Rashaad with you three?" Lars pried, looking around as if the man would appear out of thin air.
"No, he's still in Al Mamoon helping to advise Queen Lowlah for the upcoming war-" Esther sighed. Unfortunately, the rest of what the girl said was drowned out by the sudden buzz in his ears. He harshly coughed, beating on his chest as he coughed again.
"Again, sorry. But, did you say war?!" Lars asked, incredulity smeared across his face. Esther, Oliver, and Drippy nodded in sync. "Like, soldier versus soldier, kingdom versus kingdom, kind of war?" He faintly stretched. They nodded again, in sync. Lars groaned, dragging a hand down his face. How could he have been that out of it that he didn't notice an entire war developing in the background?! "What has he done…?" The young man quietly grumbled.
"Lars?" Esther prodded, leaning her cheek against her palm.
"Just taking this all in… wow." He exhaled, twirling his wand. "Would you mind filling me in on recent history, you three?" Lars requested. The group of three shared a look before a chorus of nods and agreements. "Great, we can talk while I go apologize to Theo…" He went, leading them back towards Castaway Cove.
"Who's Theo?" The group asked along the way, causing Lars to smirk.
—
Lars had to stop himself from groaning by grinding his teeth together. Apparently, Gascon's madness had only flourished in the five years since his belief was stolen. The Emperor of Hamelin was seemingly obsessed with expanding the empire. Which befuddled many due to his lack of thought behind how he would enact such expansion. Apparently, the man would announce taxes before ending them a week later. He'd renovate a new building but never put any care in maintaining them afterwards. He'd send Hamelin's best soldiers on pointless quests. Suffice it to say, the treasury was reportedly suffering in mass.
However, the most concerning news from Hamelin was a declaration of war against Al Mamoon.
"He wants to go to war for babanas of all things?" Lars muttered, resting his forehead against the wooden table the four sat at.
"From what Queen Lowlah told us, the Emperor wants to control the babana trade so Hamelin can control prices…" Oliver similarly explained, rubbing the back of his head.
"This is ridiculous…" Lars pinched the bridge of his nose. "So, hearing all of that, why do you kids want to learn magic from him?" The bounty hunter curiously asked. The fairy and children shared a look before Esther nodded.
"That's only part of the reason we want to meet the Emperor. We think he's brokenhearted too! Apparently, the Emperor only started acting odd five years ago!" Esther started with a determined face.
"That's right, man! Before that he was a proper leader, he was!" Drippy took over.
"So, if we restore whatever piece of his heart that's missing, we could convince him not to go to war!" Oliver nobly finished.
"I can't have you interfere with the Emperor's crusade, Prince Marcassin." Shadar had told him. Lars' mind connected the dots as he mentally agreed with the boy's theory. "And the 'learning magic' part?" Lars fished with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, I need to learn enough magic to defeat Shadar!" The younger wizard exclaimed, a focused yet hopeful look entering his eyes. Lars' mouth fell open. Though he quickly closed it before he accidentally swallowed a bug.
"You're all kids. How are you going to defeat Shadar? He's the one who m-murdered the former Emperor, who was a Great Sage!" The bounty hunter questioned, raising his palms to emphasize his point. However, the group seemed to take his doubt in stride, as if they'd heard it all before. Drippy hopped onto the table to stare Lars head on.
"Oi, don't underestimate Ollie-boy! He's the Pure-Hearted One, you see! The one destined to defeat Shadar!" The fairy energetically warned.
"The Pure-Hearted One? I'm sorry, but do you even hear yourself?" Lars shot back, crossing his arms. "Destined…" His mind bitterly reiterated.
"But, it's true!" Esther interjected. "Oliver's been helping so many people: Me, Her Moojesty, you, and so many more, Lars! He can do it!" The blonde supported, balling her fists in front of her chest. "Besides, he's around the age you were when you and Father met." Esther argued.
"Yes, and I was also defeated by Shadar… Didn't go down without a fight…" Lars shook his head. However, he recognized the girl's logic. "But, I see your point, Esther. I shouldn't underestimate you kids." The bounty hunter slightly chuckled. "Still, defeating Shadar? That's a huge responsibility you've given yourselves. I hope you're not too stressed." Lars worried like a concerned mother, which Gascon probably would've teased him for.
"We're not! It's actually been a lot of fun!" Oliver beamed.
"Well, that's good." Lars nodded, staring off into the distance as a tricky silence ensued. "Gascon probably is brokenhearted based on what they've told me. So, it would be best for Oliver to go help him. It'd be a lot easier for them if they had someone… familiar with Hamelin as a guide." The bounty hunter thought, making his decision. "So, how are you three planning to get to Hamelin?" He inquired. In response, Oliver pulled out a regal-looking letter.
"We got permission from Queen Lowlah to get passage on the Sea Cow…" The boy whispered across the table.
"That'll take you about a week…" Lars frowned. An unfortunate turn of events, since seafaring adventures were extremely exciting. However, time was of the essence since Gascon's safety was on the line. "Do you know the Travel spell, Oliver?" He prompted.
"No…?" The younger wizard answered.
"I can show you it later if you want. It's really useful for getting around the world. But, it allows the user to instantly teleport to places they've been before." Lars candidly explained.
"That is useful!" Oliver agreed.
"Just wait, it gets better." The bounty hunter smiled. "I actually grew up in Hamelin. So, I can use Travel to take you three there and save a week's time. And, if you want, I can help you guys through the empire. Trust me when I say it is large." He offered with a whistle.
"You'd do that for us?" Oliver exclaimed, receiving a small nod in turn. "Well… if you're okay with it…" He looked toward his friends.
"We'd love your help, Lars! Thank you so much!" Esther grinned with gratitude. He nodded again, hiding his inner worries.
"I'll just help them help Gascon and then I'll be off again. I might not even have to reveal myself to Gascon…" The older wizard thought with both relief and guilt. "Okay, just tell me when you're ready to go." Lars proceeded. The others glanced at each other before shrugging. "Well then, grab on!" The bounty hunter instructed, drawing his wand out. "Travel"
—
Author's Notes: If you're wondering why Oliver and co are giving our information so easily, it's because they did that a lot in the game and Lars knows Esther. Also, I know Oliver got annoyed with Swaine for calling him a kid early on. But, here it was excused since Lars was having a moment during most of it. Furthermore, he'll refer to him by his name from now on.
Hope you liked the chapter! Please tell me your thoughts and questions below! Have a great day and until next time!