Disclaimer: PoM and ToS do not belong to me.
"A cursed weapon that's evil to the core. Use with caution."
Logically, it would be foolish to assume the reason they were on this quest was for the reason they were told. If it were simply dying she was afraid of, she would be more panicked than she was now. Clearly there is an ulterior motive to having them locate these Devil's Arms.
Kowalski liked to think he was an excellent judge of character. From merely one glance, he would be able to tell the good guys from the bad. Something about the baboon set him on full-alert. The others didn't seem to be worried, though. Or maybe they were too worried about other things. So Kowalski took it upon himself to realize the true motives of the baboon under which they were employed.
That day was an excellent opportunity. While searching, magically, for the being that possessed the next of the Devil's Arms they had to collect, she allowed the eight of them to do as they wished. Private, for some strange reason, had climbed into his bunk and refused to come out. Skipper and Rico were trying to coax Private out. The lemurs and Marlene spent the time doing... whatever they do. That didn't matter. The penguin lieutenant was on a mission!
From his perch above the ground, in the trees, he observed the baboon habitat. Darla and her ladies were working on some form of incantation. Kowalski didn't find that relevant, so he paid closer attention to their employer. She was at the top of a nearby tree, seemingly scanning the park.
Suddenly, her attention shifted. She stared back at him, and disappeared from sight. Kowalski took one moment to take this in, and another to absorb the fact that she rematerialized right next to him. He jumped upon coming to that revelation.
"So, you've come to help me get the next Devil's Arm, huh?" She asked. Kowalski subconsciously shivered. Something definitely wasn't right. "What about the others?"
He desperately thought, finally coming up with an excuse. "Er... Private's sick. Yeah, he can't leave his bed. Skipper and Rico have been with him all morning." Well, it wasn't a complete lie. He just added an illness and hid Private's strange hysteria. That's not technically lying. That's rearranging facts for your purposes. Totally acceptable, right?
She shrugged. "Alright, sugah. Whatever floats their boats, I guess." She turned, beckoning him to follow. "Come. I'll show you where the next one is." Rather reluctantly, Kowalski followed behind her.
He followed her up the tree. While the Baboon was able to climb with ease, Kowalski had to utilize his special operations training to keep up with her, flipping and jumping though the twisted branches of the tree.
At the top, they were now overlooking the whole of Central Park. Kowalski's eyes widened in awe. He'd never seen Central Park from this angle before. It was... beautiful. Maybe this was why Private climbed to high places when he wanted to be alone.
Next to him, the female baboon smiled. Not evilly, with just kindness. But still, Kowalski had to repress a shiver. He still believed something was wrong with this lady.
She pointed out a spot in the center of the park. "There. The weapon is being held by a living being. Do you think you can retrieve it?" She looked to the penguin, who nodded. "Good. But you must hurry. Time is running short. The weapons have chosen a new Lord of Darkness to replace Nebilim." For a brief moment, Kowalski wondered who that was. Then she turned to leave. "Find Disaster and bring it back."
And in a split second, she was gone.
Kowalski stood in shock for a moment before looking back towards the park. He jumped down from the tree and began moving to the center of the park. From the ground, he could find his way around pretty well. He arrived at his destination before realizing exactly where it was.
Fred's Tree.
"Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me!" Kowalski shouted in frustration. The stupid squirrel, better known as Fred, poked his head out of the tree.
"Hey," He said coolly. Kowalski sighed.
"Hello," He responded, kind of regretting not bringing someone else with him. Fred could be annoying at the best of times. "Listen, Fred, I'm looking for Disaster. It's-" Realization hit. She hadn't even told him what Disaster looked like. "Well, I know it's a weapon."
He was met with a blank stare. "Alright, listen Fred, and listen carefully. Have you found any, uh, evil weapons around?"
"How can a weapon be evil?" Fred asked.
Kowalski rolled his eyes. "It's a demon weapon."
"But that doesn't make sense. A weapon's not alive. So how can it be evil or demonic? Wait," Fred bit his lip. "Aren't evil and demonic the same thing?"
"No, there is a distinct-" Kowalski stopped himself. They were getting off subject. "That's not the point. Any sign of Disaster?"
"Hmm..." Fred muttered as he thought. Kowalski sat down and started doing calculations for his latest invention. This could take a while.
Three minutes (or hours, Kowalski didn't keep track) later, Fred cried out, "Oh, wait!". Kowalski looked up at him. "I did pick up this weird looking thingy. To be honest, it's more like a toy than a weapon, though."
"May I see it?" Kowalski asked quickly. Moments later, Fred scurried down the tree, carrying something, and handed that something over to Kowalski, who inspected it thoroughly.
The thing reminded Kowalski of a claw. The handle of it was green, with dark purple spots in a pattern down it. The bottom had three bony rungs hanging off of it. On top, the handle spread out into three separate claws, each with a sharp talon at the end, holding a black, spiked ball in place. The ball seemed to pulsate with a strange red energy, and what that was Kowalski didn't want to know. At least, not at the moment.
"Thanks Fred," He turned to the squirrel. "I hope you don't mind, but I'll be taking this."
Fred waved him off. "Keep it. Ever since I found that thing, I've been in three accidents; two almost killing me, and one burning my tail near off." He turned around, showing Kowalski his burnt tail. "Just don't come crying to me if that thing gets you killed."
"No problem," And with that, the penguin departed. Staring at the Devil's Arm. What the others described when they found the others was exactly what he was feeling. The Arm gave off an evil aura, something so clear Kowalski was surprised Fred didn't sense it. Then again, it WAS Fred... but still, it was terrifying. He could feel the power pulsating inside of it. Dangerous, just waiting to be unleashed.
When he returned to the Zoo, the others were waiting for him. Apparently Skipper and Rico had succeeded in forcing Private out of bed. Though the young penguin still seemed troubled, he wasn't acting stranger than normal, trying to converse with the others.
Then he saw Kowalski.
At first, he ran up to him, with a big grin, but froze at the sight of the Devil's Arm in his grasp. Kowalski didn't have the time to be confused; the others ran up to him, talking to him about his find. They didn't seem surprised that Fred had it. In fact, they actually chuckled when Kowalski told them his story.
"Leave it to Fred," Skipper laughed. The only one who didn't join in their merriment was Private. He seemed... distant, almost. As though he wasn't fully there. Kowalski wasn't surprised that he was the only one who noticed. Being a scientist has made him observant, and Private, being the down-to-earth one, was naturally that way. The others weren't as aware as the two of them, something Kowalski felt gave him a connection to the younger penguin.
He poked Private. "Hey, you okay?" At first the boy jumped, then smiled. It was that same, kind smile he gave everyone.
"Oh, I'm alright. Just thinking about what will happen when find the other arms." He then stared out again, distantly.
Kowalski had always been observant, but now, he knew, he wasn't like Private. He couldn't read people like he could a map or reading. This strange, unreadable penguin in front of him was the proof of that.
Okay, the ending notes:
I would like to thank everyone who followed this story despite my writer's block related procrastination. You guys rock!
And for those of you who have never played Tales of Symphonia (probably most of you), I'm making a subtle relation between certain characters in the game and in PoM based on the weapon their chapter is centered around.
Now, I have to finish several other story chapters before I post... better find some good music.