52: Deep in Thought

Deep within Subspace, Falco did some introspection in his cell, as he has been for the past few months. With nothing much to do - aside from the occasional badgering by higher ups, it's how he spent a lot of his time. He sat on the metal floor in his prisoner jumpsuit, legs crossed, eyes closed. It's in his thoughts where he was truly free. Giygas and his cronies may be keeping him down physically, but they can never have him mentally.

He liked to think about his life and everything that had led up to this point. He thought about the universal secrets that had been acquired in the futile attempt to reach the center of the dimensional before Giygas; it was a treasure trove of information, and he could spend days contemplating basic facts in one universe. He's also thought about good places where he could escape to, if any future escape attempt was successful. His number one choice was definitely the Ice Climbers' universe – so irrelevant that his captors wouldn't have a base there, nor even consider that he would escape there.

Sometimes, he liked to think about one other thing.

That red mist that seeps into his cell.

All the cells were like this. The red mist that composed of Giygas' incomprehensible form drifted through the cells, driving prisoners mad. Some prisoners were utterly corrupted and were then freed when they had confirmed loyalty to Giygas and Giygas alone.

Yet, there was no effect on Falco, and even though he's happy about that, he wonders – why?

He tried to think about the aspects of the Giygas gas. As his friends back in the Wind Waker universe (whom he thought about often) discovered, the stuff could be purified to create beneficial, life-giving things. Apparently, "death and hate plus purification equals life". Falco was no scientist, but he thought that it was a load of barnacles. But it's barnacles that works.

He lingered on that thought. Hate. Some construct that inspires anger and irrationality in people. The gas was filled with the stuff….

That's when Falco came to his first revelation.

Maybe the gaseous substance invoked hate in people. Maybe, it strengthened the hate that people have.

That could be why. That may be why the gas makes people go crazy. It just fills them up with hate, to the point that they can't operate rationally.

Still though, that doesn't explain why it doesn't affect him. The avian tries to think about it. Perhaps, maybe, he simply has no hate in his heart.

…

Falco broke out of his meditative state and started laughing. Pfft, that's bs. He certainly hated Giygas, after all.

However, in the middle of his laughing fit, his mind connected the dots, and he gave himself a mental high five.

The gas is an aspect of Giygas, and the gas invokes or strengthens hate. But if he hated Giygas, more than anything else in the whole stinking universe? There's definitely no way the Giygas spawned mist would egg that on.

Falco folded his arms, feeling triumphant. That could be the key to the whole thing. He thought about other people, his fellow Smashers, his friends. If they all have hate and contempt for Giygas, then they will never be affected. Somewhere, out there, there's somebody like him, somebody that's not in a cage that holds Giygas as public enemy number one, and that somebody's willing to fight him and in his stupid empire.

Falco nodded to himself. This was a good introspection session. He'll make sure to double the hate he already has for Giygas from now on.

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