A/N: In which we get a new POV-Vaati's!


Chapter 8: Deal or No Deal

Week eight, Wednesday 9:15am

Link and Vaati's room

The sound of heavy breathing bordering on snoring was gradually draining away Vaati's ability to focus. He glared at Link, who was still sleeping the morning away. Midterms had all finished the day before, and the Academy students got to enjoy the rest of the week off. Some had gone home, some had stayed on campus, some were out playing around, and some, like his lazy roommate, were enjoying a bit of extra sleep. Meanwhile, Vaati was using the time to get ahead with his schoolwork. He'd considered going out to the common room to study, only he had a feeling a lot of the dorm guys would be messing around there. The library was another option, but Vaati didn't feel like going all the way there. So, he endured Link's obnoxious breathing for now.

It was strange to think that they were officially halfway through the sixteen-week semester. In that time, Vaati had experienced several unexpected things: getting an unwanted roommate that liked to flirt with and tease him, having a classmate that seemed to always show up whenever Link wasn't around, finding a fairy fountain, and accidentally revealing his biggest secret to the person he least wanted to reveal it.

That was perhaps the most unexpected thing of them all; Link not only hadn't been scared or turned away by Vaati's strange, chaotic ability, but had gone so far as to promise to be by his side as he figured out his magic powers. And Vaati, in turn, had grudgingly accepted that maybe the blonde wasn't so bad.

There was a ping from his Slate. Vaati set his pencil down and checked the screen.

Tiv: R u awake?

He stifled a groan. Unlike with Link, Vaati did completely despise having Tiv around. Thinking about it, the two of them were pretty similar: always hanging around Vaati, being too noisy and too nosy. The difference was that, with Tiv, Vaati couldn't shake the feeling that she was only paying him attention because she was trying to get something out of him; whereas with Link, the guy seemed to stick with Vaati just out of some strange but innocent attraction to the violet haired student.

Vaati internally cringed at the bad choice of words. He didn't really know how else to put it, though; Link just seemed to like being around Vaati, no matter how mean he was to the blonde. It was weird.

-ping-

Tiv: Ur awake right?

Not in the mood to answer, he turned his tablet over so he couldn't see the screen. He really wished he hadn't given her his number; he only did it so they could keep in touch about class. There was a moment of quiet, then another ping, followed shortly by yet another one. Scowling, Vaati flipped his Slate over and messaged the persistent girl back.

Vaati: What do you want

Her reply was immediate. I knew u were awake. I have smthg to give u.

Vaati: I don't want it. He used to try to sound polite to her, but that wore off a long time ago. Probably around about the time she had tried to compare him with the Wind Mage.

Tiv: It's a magic relic :)

That made him hesitate. Likely she was lying and had nothing of the sort; actually, she probably didn't have anything at all to give him. But then again, if it later turned out that she really did have a magic relic, Vaati would kill himself for refusing to go see it. He debated a moment more, then typed, What exactly?

Tiv: I think its shadow era. She was using one of the terms from their mythology class. In the back of the textbook was an incredibly complex timeline detailing the relative times that each story occurred, separated into different 'eras.' Some of them could be matched up to actual historical dates, but it was a highly inaccurate method of dating to use. The Shadow Era referred to the period when both Ganondorf and Vaati were resurrected at the same time, and it was the last time the Wind Mage appeared in the mythological timeline.

This was exactly one of those times that Vaati was certain Tiv had ulterior motives. She was always interested in the evil sorcerer Vaati, and here she was trying to tempt him with a relic that was likely related in some way to that sorcerer. It was like she really thought Vaati from myth and Vaati himself were related. It was ridiculous but also a bit unnerving at times.

Despite these thoughts, he couldn't deny his growing curiosity about whatever relic she had. And if she didn't have anything, he'd just count it as a waste of time and leave. Fine, where do you want to meet

Tiv: :) library!

Vaati confirmed the time and place with her and stood up with a sigh. He grabbed a jacket—the days were starting to get chillier—and called to the dozing Link, "I'm going to the library for a bit."

To his surprise, his roommate groggily opened his eyes and looked at Vaati. "What…?" Link yawned. He was clearly still mostly asleep, as he kept blinking slowly as though he couldn't really see.

"I said I'm going to the library. Tiv bribed me into meeting her there. And no, you can't come. Just go back to sleep." Vaati shook his head; he should've just left without saying anything.

Link frowned slightly, which caught Vaati's attention. He rarely frowned, or had any serious expression really, so it always stood out whenever he did. But it faded just as quickly as it had come, and Link let his head flop back onto his pillow. "Mm'kay," Link mumbled. "Have fun…"


Tiv wasted no time in assaulting Vaati with questions. They were in the library, but her voice wasn't especially quiet as she whined, "Hey, where were you all weekend? I really needed a study buddy for those midterms."

He shushed her. "I was in Kakariko City with Link." Not that she needed to know, but he'd learned that she would keep asking until her questions were answered.

"Hmph, you're real cozy, going on trips together and being all secretive about it," she pouted.

"I wasn't being—we were just going to check out the museum there, okay? Now, what's this relic you supposedly brought?"

"The museum?" hummed Tiv as she dug in her backpack. "The Sheikah one, right? Ever heard the rumor that the Sheikah are actually a spy network that does the kingdom's dirty work? I love conspiracy theories—oh, here it is!" she exclaimed. "Look, look!" The girl held out what appeared to be some sort of amulet. "It's definitely Shadow Era, right? I mean, it has representations of both Ganon and Vaati, and that's the only time they were around at the same time!"

"Quiet down!" Vaati hissed. He looked down at the amulet in Tiv's hands. It was a rather large one, a flat disk about the size of his palm, made of what looked like bronze, judging by the green tarnish. The decorations on the amulet depicted a mandala artfully formed from boars and bats. "Where did you get it?"

Tiv smiled in a rather smug way. "I have a friend that runs a pawn shop. He's always getting neat things like this. It's in downtown Castletown, like, just twenty minutes from here. Oh, oh! We should go! We've got the day off!"

But Vaati shook his head. "I don't have time to go today."

"Aww," the brown-haired girl pouted. "You sure? I'll let you in on a secret—" she actually lowered her voice and leaned towards him conspiratorially "—my friend doesn't just get magic relics like this; he knows how to use a lot of them. I'm betting he could show you how to use magic, easy-peasy." Tiv smirked and placed the amulet in his hand.

Vaati's breath caught in his throat. The metal surface quickly warmed in his hand, and he felt the same sensation running over his skin as when he accidentally used his own magic. So, it really was a magic relic. And Tiv said it came from someone that could use magic…?

"What's the catch?" he asked slowly, slipping the amulet into his pocket, and locking his red eyes on Tiv's brown ones. "You aren't the generous type."

"We-ell… that's true!" Tiv giggled, unashamed, and then tapped her chin as though thinking about his question. "How about, you have to keep it a secret. Even from your roommate—especially from your roommate."

It wasn't exactly what he had been expecting—he thought she might ask him to help with all of her assignments—and he didn't reply right away. "Why would I have to do that?" Vaati finally replied, crossing his arms.

The girl just smiled. "Lots of reasons! Mostly it's 'cause this magic stuff is top secret, members-only, y'know? You can't just go around telling everyone about it." Seeing Vaati still frowning in perplexity, she elaborated, "C'mon, I'm not saying you have to ditch him or anything—but actually, if I were you, I would; he's just a distraction and a waste of time, taking you to museums when you could be handling the real deal and actually getting somewhere."

It shouldn't have confused him so much, and yet Vaati found that he didn't have a clue how he should answer her. She seemed confident that her help would get him to his goal, and that excited him—to have a concrete solution within reach nearly made him shiver with excitement. But for some reason, the other part of her speech—distancing himself from Link—bothered him.

"Give me time to think about it."

Tiv nodded, still smiling confidently. "You have my number, so just give me a call when you decide! Bye, then!" She patted him on the shoulder as she walked past him.

Vaati had originally planned to return to the dorm after meeting Tiv, but he was too perplexed to face Link at the moment. He'd likely end up staring intently at the blonde in an attempt to sort out his thoughts, which naturally would make Link question why he was glaring at him. So instead he stayed in the library, browsing the shelves but not really looking for anything in particular.

Gradually, his perplexity turned into annoyance with himself. It was an obvious answer, wasn't it? His one goal in life was to bring back magic and master the power within himself. For that, he didn't need friends. He certainly didn't need someone like Link, who was too happy-go-lucky, too friendly, too trusting, too honest… Vaati physically shook his head. Why was he thinking so… fondly of the blonde? He meant that Link was too easygoing and lazy and hadn't a clue what he was talking about half the time. It was exactly like Tiv had said—Link was just a distraction. Even if he had declared himself Vaati's ally and friend, being friends was still a hindrance more than anything, wasn't it?

He turned the corner of a bookshelf and suddenly came face-to-face with Zelda Nohansen. They both stared at each other for a moment in surprise; then Zelda dipped her head apologetically. "Ah, sorry." She moved to skirt past Vaati.

"You know, Zelda doesn't want you to bring back magic."

Link's words from their time at the fairy fountain came back to him. Vaati turned quickly and called to Zelda, "Wait."

She stopped, turning to look back a little nervously. Vaati hesitated; he wasn't really familiar with her and he didn't usually talk to people he didn't know. But his question was too important to be worrying about how to go about saying it, so he put it as bluntly as possible.

"Why don't you want me to bring back magic?"

Zelda's face visibly paled when he asked this question. "What do you—who—who told you that?" she stammered, gripping the strap of her messenger bag.

"Link did. He said you think it's dangerous. Is that the only reason why?" Vaati took a step towards her; he wasn't going to let her go without getting an answer.

Her blue eyes darted around, clearly looking for an escape route, and she didn't answer right away. "It… it depends on why you want to use magic. Magic for the sake of magic is—it's very, very dangerous."

"What does that mean?"

"You have to have a good reason for using magic. A purpose… V-Vaati from the myths, he—he sought power just for the sake of having power, and it turned him into a monster."

Vaati's eyes narrowed and he took another quick step forward, voice cold when he replied, "I'm not like that Vaati."

Zelda's volume when she spoke was rapidly decreasing. "Then prove—prove that you're not. It doesn't have to be a noble cause. It could be to make like easier, or for protection, or for—for… it could be for yourself, for someone important to you, or for everyone in general. There just… just has to be a reason!" She finally looked up and met his eyes, and her voice grew a little stronger. "Link—he believes in you. He's always telling me that you aren't anything like Vaati from myth. Please, don't let that faith of his be for nothing."

Then she suddenly ran away, disappearing from Vaati's sight among the bookshelves. For the second time that day he was left standing alone in utter confusion. What was all this about having a purpose for finding magic? Wasn't it natural to want to learn more about this strange ability he possessed? Vaati hated how certain Zelda had sounded when she said it was dangerous and how it could turn a person into a monster. It was clear she had a real fear of magic. Why, then, had she brought up the fact that Link didn't worry about him abusing magic? Zelda didn't believe in Vaati, but perhaps she trusted Link…

Vaati groaned out loud and rubbed at his eyes. He wasn't used to dealing with all the complicated situations that came with interacting with multiple people. Usually, he avoided drama at all costs, but this time it seemed he was caught up in the very center of it.

He took the amulet out of his pocket, turning it over in his hand and rubbing his thumb over its surface. For now, he would keep his conversation with Tiv a secret, but he wouldn't take her offer just yet. If he couldn't make enough progress on his own towards unlocking his magic soon, however, Vaati would reconsider it. He might even think about what Zelda had told him. And as for Link—Vaati would evaluate his relationship with him, and, if it proved to be more of a hindrance than a help… he would end it.