fleets: HAI GAIS. Anyone still here? Still remember me? No? That's okay, because we're almost done kinda-sorta! We're nearing the last chapter, slowly (excruciatingly slowly: I'm so sorryyyy) and I honestly can't wait to get there. I've been thinking about the last chapter since chapter 1! Anyways, sorry it's been so long since an update and I hope you can still enjoy this if you're still here!
I'm tired, hence I'm hyper, and therefore I have not proofread this. This is probably a bad idea, but to Subrosia with it I'm going to submit it KTHANKS
Chapter 20: Defeating Invincibility
Dark's nose wiggled as that tiny itch that sometimes accompanies waking up crawled along his nose. He stretched his hand from under his pillow, soft, but one of those cheap hotel pillows, and slowly rolled over on his bed. He stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, looking at the grey uninteresting slab up above. Where was he? He was pretty darn confused, and the last thing he remembered was… well dang, what was the last thing he remembered?
Before attempting to jog his head on what he could and couldn't remember, Dark took a better look at his surroundings. He wasn't really sure what time of day it was, considering there was no natural light anywhere, except for a screen on one wall with artificial scenery that, upon closer inspection, appeared to change in brightness depending on the hour. It suggested he was probably in a place, maybe even underground, where natural light wasn't readily available… either that, or they wanted their tenants to go crazy from being shut out from the sun. He was in some kind of cell, in a basic rectangular room just large enough to fit about a bed and a half. Furnishings were minimal, and besides the bed there was a concrete stool and desk that was a part of the floor and walls and therefore unmovable, a metal toilet and sink unit opposite the bed, a flatscreen T.V. mounted on one of the walls and something that appeared to be a timed shower of sorts. Maybe it could have been "cozy," but that big metal door locked with heavy-duty high security bolts on one wall kind of ruined that. There were also double-barred windows that let him see outside the room, which wasn't that great of a view considering all he could see was the plain white wall of a hallway.
Despite all of this, he couldn't feel any kind of worry at all. Even more surprisingly, he felt calm, as though this wasn't the first time he had woken up to this scene (even though he could have sworn he'd never seen any of this before). Dark wondered briefly if he'd been drugged, since he couldn't really remember where he was or what he'd been doing. He sat up from the bed and looked down. He sighed. Even his own clothes had changed, and he didn't even remember where he'd gotten them. Instead of his old outfit, with his baggy buckled pants and red shirt with the black vest, he was wearing a simple black t-shirt with a white label that cheekily read "A Captive Audience," and plain blue jeans.
Dark stared at the white label flatly. Then, his hand shot to his pockets when he realized he might not have Bates' stone anymore. As his fingers clawed at the inside of his pockets, they caught the cool smooth surface of the small stone. He sighed in relief, and then briefly wondered why the people who had left him here had allowed him to keep it.
All right, time to find out what the hell happened.
"Bates."
He looked around, and eventually found the sentry sitting on the corner of the bed with his wings curled over himself. His eye peeked over his leathery wings at the sound of his name.
"Tell me what happened," Dark moved over to sit on the other side of the bed, facing the bat eye. He immediately knew something was wrong when Bates turned slightly away, guiltily.
"The same queries every instance…" the sentry let out a small, audible puff of air. The comment caught Dark off guard, and the feeling that he was missing something increased.
"What do you mean?"
"Ah, again the same concerns."
"Bates, I need to know!"
Bates fidgeted, and remained curled up in a ball in the corner. "Lord Vaati ensured that you would remain asunder from deleterious misfortune."
Dark stared at the sentry blankly, and it took him a few moments to understand what Bates was saying. Then he realized that the sentry was telling him Vaati wanted to keep him safe. More than just slightly annoyed, Dark waved his arms at the barred windows of the cell. "And his idea is to lock me up, is it?"
"To be fair, it is common proceedings to stockade those who are deemed threatening to their own persons," Bates muttered.
Dark wasn't convinced. "Right, because I obviously have some kind of psychiatric problem." He crossed his arms, and in a stern tone pressed the sentry for more. Besides the fact that he now found himself locked up in a cell somewhere he didn't recognize, there was something even more off-putting about this situation. He couldn't put his finger on it; he felt that he should feel much more anxious than he was at the moment, but a small feeble voice in his head was telling him he'd been here before.
For several days at least.
"Bates," he shot a searching gaze towards the reluctant sentry, "what did you mean earlier, when you said I'd asked you the same question before?"
Bates tiredly flapped his wings and he fluttered over to the wall by the head of the bed, where there were several notches carved into the wall. It seemed like something a castaway would do, carving notches on the side of a tree to keep track of the number of days they'd been stranded on an island. Dark counted 14 ticks on the wall. "You have been here for 14 days. The reason you have no memories of your residency is because Lord Vaati visits twice a week to wipe away what you may remember. This is the fourth time you have asked me the same inquiries."
"What?!" Dark exclaimed, shooting up from the bed and standing up to confront Bates.
It took several minutes for the sentry to calm Dark down, and Bates sat him down in a well-rehearsed manner as though this wasn't the first time he'd had to do this. Before long, Bates was describing how Lord Vaati was working on plans much bigger than either of them could comprehend, and that the trajectory that Dark, Hawk, and Kestrel were moving towards would inevitably lead to the upset of his plans. Lord Vaati hadn't disclosed much to Bates, as he was but a lowly sentry, but from what Bates could gather his master was collaborating with another powerful individual who may not be as forgiving towards Dark as he. This was the rationale, Bates tried to explain, on why Vaati had locked them up. Hawk and Kestrel had been spared because his master didn't care whether or not they were harmed, and also because Vaati was curious about the progress on their findings.
The whole time Bates gave his heartfelt explanation on the situation, Dark kept an expressionless face, taking in every word with his full attention. He watched as the little sentry flapped its wings earnestly as he described how Lord Vaati was only looking out for their best interests, and that when all was said and done his master was going to reach even higher levels of greatness. It was so heartfelt that Dark almost felt sorry for the eye-bat creature. The teen could see that, blinded by his master's greatness, Bates was incapable of seeing Vaati in serious shit as he undoubtedly was in right now. Bates had Vaati up on a pedestal so high that the fact that maybe, just maybe, Vaati had completely lost control of the situation, was an idea that the sentry couldn't consider.
Dark, however, was beginning to understand the kind of trouble Vaati was in. He could facepalm all day long just thinking about what Vaati had done. And while yes, he was extremely upset about how Vaati had handled the situation (i.e. locking him up), at the same time he could see where he was coming from. Of course, he didn't know the whole situation, but he could at least piece together that Vaati's intentions had been to keep him somewhere where Vaati could keep an eye on him, and at least make sure that whoever had Vaati under a tight leash wouldn't decide to kill him or something. Being the victim of the mess, Dark thought it was an incredibly stupid decision, but after his interaction with Zelda earlier, thinking about how reluctant he had been to trust his friends that they could help him, he could understand Vaati.
Even though he was still incredibly upset at him.
The memory wipes, too, had apparently been done with Dark's interests in mind, according to Bates, and they weren't part of some insidious plan at all. In fact, Vaati had taken it upon himself to completely wipe Dark's memory of his stay twice a week to help keep Dark from going insane from extended solitary confinement: if Dark didn't remember his stay then it wouldn't feel like he'd been here for weeks on end.
"So you see," Bates ended softly, "Lord Vaati has our good fortune in mind." All this time he hadn't even thrown a single insult towards Dark; it was different from his usual way of peppering his conversations with a few jabs at the teen.
Dark eyed the sentry carefully, and couldn't help but feel some pity to the creature for what he was about to do. He sighed, wondering how he could make the process as painless as possible. Dark was going to shatter Vaati's image a little, and for someone who had placed the sorcerer on such a high pedestal this was undoubtedly going to be a difficult pill to swallow. Dark asked slowly, "Do you actually believe that?"
Bates looked up, and tipped a little on his side questioningly.
"Do you actually, really believe that? You think Vaati has our interests in mind?" Dark asked again.
If Bates had a mouth to frown with, he would have. Instead, his voice had a slight edge of offence. "Of course."
"Then why," Dark continued in his slow, deliberate tone, "would he keep us trapped down here for so long?"
Bates eyelid twisted into a scowling squint, and he replied immediately. "Because it is the most optimum procedure – "
"But why?"
"Because it's… because…" Bates faltered, then he fluttered right up to Dark's stern face in frustration, "Well why would Lord Vaati go through the trouble of emptying your skull of memories so recurrently if he did not have our interests in mind, hmm? Why would he waste his seconds on an imbecile like you?"
A sneer passed along Dark's lips. "Exactly."
Bates backed away in surprise and confusion. His wings flapped slowly as he did a small, puzzled circle in the air and gradually floated down on Dark's lap. "What is your dot?"
"My dot, Bates, is that your master is not exactly in control of the situation." The two were quiet for a bit, and Dark watched Bates struggle with this idea. The little sentry averted his gaze and the corners of his eye twitched ever so slightly. Dark continued, a little more gently now. "Remember that conversation Vaati and I had right before I was caught? He's working with the government, Bates, and from what I know about him so far I don't peg him as the type to work with people if he could help it. Why leave Hawk and Kestrel alone if he didn't think that maybe, just maybe, they would turn into some kind of ace which he could use to his advantage against this powerful individual you mentioned? Something tells me that he isn't exactly working with the government because he really wants to."
Bates had squirmed around in place so that his back was now to Dark. The sentry's eyes wandered searchingly, trying to come up with a counterargument. There was no way his master wasn't in control of the situation! Lord Vaati is the greatest of them all. He is always in control. He always knows what he's doing. What the foolish hero lookalike was suggesting was… was… inconceivable! It almost sounded as though the fool was suggesting that… that Lord Vaati was actually in trouble! That someone out there had outsmarted him!
"R-ridiculous," Bates finally muttered, still in denial. However, he didn't sound very sure of himself.
"No one is invincible, Bates."
"Lord Vaati knows… knows what he's doing."
"Then tell me how this," Dark waved his hand towards the bolted door, "indicates he knows what he's doing."
"His grand designs are not something irrelevant servants can comprehend with our miniscule reasoni – "
"There are only two reasons for locking us up here, Bates! It's because your master fucked up or because he doesn't care about either of us anymore!" Dark snapped. He felt a twinge of guilt from the harsh words, but they had to be said.
"N-no. NO!" Bates angrily yelled back. He shot right up to Dark, eye to eye, and for a moment it looked as though the sentry was going to hurt him. Then, the eye bat stopped abruptly in the air, and Bates' eye widened in a stricken daze. "No…" he repeated, much more quietly.
His voice cracked. Bates shot back away from Dark and suddenly began to fly in frenzied circles around the room. "WE MUST ASSIST LORD VAATI!" The sentry gave a terrified wail as he zipped around the room, through the walls, the floor, and the ceiling in chaotic fluttering.
Dark, who had expected this outburst, was standing in the middle of the room. He took a deep breath, and barked sharply "Stop."
Bates froze mid-flap at the commanding voice, and he turned to the teen, still panic-stricken.
Dark knelt down to where the sentry had floated down by his feet, and gently extended his hand. "Stop. Everything's going to be okay," he repeated gently. "We're going to take this one step at a time, alright? Let's first figure out what we can do."
Bates still had his eye open wide, but it was no longer panicked. It was still bewildered, but he seemed to have calmed down with Dark's assertiveness.
"Are you still with me? We're not going to do anything rash, okay?"
Bates stared at Dark for a bit longer. The sentry usually didn't like people other than Lord Vaati ordering him about; he was Lord Vaati's servant and no one else's. Dark was ordering him around now, but for some reason, he didn't resent it. Right now there was so much uncertainty and chaos that Dark's words were… kind of comforting. Bates tucked his wings against his sides and gave a slow nod.
"Good," Dark smiled, relieved that he'd gotten through to the sentry. "Now I'm going to give you two tasks. The first thing I want you to do is to debrief me on everything whenever my memory is wiped out. I need to know everything that's been going on for our plan to work. Can you do that? I know I can't promise that I won't be difficult, because I probably will be," Dark admitted sheepishly, "but for this to work I need to know everything we've talked about today."
"I promise you," Bates assured.
"The second task," Dark explained, "is going to be extremely important, and something only you can do. You said Vaati allowed Hawk and Kestrel to continue their work. Bates, are you still able to see what they are up to and communicate with them?"
"Yes."
Dark's face lit up in hope. "Then help them. I have a suspicion that Vaati is counting on them to start an upset here. Tell them everything they need to know about this facility to do… something. I need… no… we all need you to snoop around and figure out the secrets of this place, and keep Hawk and Kestrel as informed as possible."
Bates nodded eagerly, and the sentry flew up in the air with much more energy than before; filled with purpose. This was, indeed, a job only he could do. It was a job that would help Lord Vaati, and it was a job that no one else could accomplish. "I will begin now." How proud Lord Vaati would be when he informed him!
"Just… don't tell Vaati what we're up to," Dark stopped the sentry. At this, Bates sagged disappointedly.
"Why not?"
"Do you actually think Vaati's pride would let him accept help so easily?" Dark arched a quizzical eyebrow. "He also might be under strict watch, and he might be forced to stop us if they find out about what we're doing. No, don't tell him," Dark shook his head, "but if he asks about it… then you don't have to lie."
If Bates could have smiled, he would have given a small, grateful one. Instead, he gave another small nod. He was about to fly off again, but just before he slipped through the wall, Bates timidly turned around, his wings twitching slightly in the equivalent of a human fidget. "Er… imbecile I have a query." He slipped partly into the wall so only half of him was visible. It reminded Dark of a little kid peeking around a corner to see if his parents were still mad at him. "Do you resent me for assisting Lord Vaati in entrapping you here?"
Dark bit his bottom lip in thought for a few seconds, and then an evil little smirk appeared on his face. Eyes narrowed, he stalked over, leaning forward with his hands in his pockets, all the while appearing to decide how to terrify Bates. Feeling guilty and now somewhat scared by the way Dark was looking at him like a bad cop with all of the incriminating evidence, Bates inched closer into the wall. Finally, Dark threw his head back, laughing loudly.
"Ahahaha! Of course not! I don't hold grudges for something insignificant like that. Who do you think I am, Lord Vaati?" Dark grinned. "Cheer up, buddy. We still might have the upper hand yet, right? We're going to strike them from inside out, all thanks to you. So get going. You'll be the greatest spy in all history."
Bates laughed bashfully, his chuckles as barely audible squeaks. Embarrassed from the kind words, he flew quickly away from the prison cell. Dark was right, he was different from Lord Vaati. Different usually meant bad… but Bates didn't think Dark was bad at all. Lord Vaati was someone Bates could never hope to approach: the sorcerer was incomprehensibly great, and the sentry would never be so worthy as to take up his time. Dark, on the other hand…
Dark was a friend. His first friend in his entire existence. Someone he could talk to, count on, argue with and laugh with.
And that wasn't a bad thing at all.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The usually lonely bar in the vast underground facility was once again not-so-lonely. Lately there was a frequent visitor there, and even if they didn't take a single drink and only sat there to stare miserably at cup filled with whatever was on tap, the visitor almost never failed to show up. If there had been a bartender perhaps the guest would have vented his troubles, but there was no bartender.
Which wasn't a huge problem for Vaati, really. He was used to moping about by himself, venting at the nearest inanimate object. Or maybe 'venting' wasn't exactly the right word. 'Venting' suggested he was actually talking out loud about his life issues, and he rarely spoke out loud. A mutter here, a mutter there, but not really out-loud in-your-face venting. 'Corroding' might have been a better word for it, as he silently ate himself up with singing self-hatred; not exactly burning because there was no fire to his musings, but more like a slothful poison that gradually melted his soul.
He hated everything right now. Absolutely everything. He hadn't felt so lost about… EVERYTHING in ages. Din, he couldn't really remember a time when he'd felt as lost as he did now. Whenever things went wrong, he'd still have some kind of control over the situation. Even when his relationship with Ezlo had become irreparably damaged, he'd had control because he knew he had something to look forward to, something to turn him into the most invincible being in existence.
The Wishing Cap had given him control then, but now… but now that same cap was only giving him doubt and unease.
Vaati pushed the glass away from him and flopped over the counter, a dead fog glazed over his eyes. He was so close to the point of not caring anymore. He hated to admit it, but Thistle had cornered him, and everything was so polished that Vaati couldn't think of any cracks in the system he could exploit against the wizzrobe. It seemed almost inevitable that Thistle would end up having the Wishing Cap for himself, and then becoming truly invincible.
I was invincible once, but then some kid took that illusion and smashed it to pieces, didn't he? A small voice in his head chided.
Defeatist Vaati ignored the voice. That hadn't been invincibility, anyway. He'd made a dumb wish, not well calculated and full of weaknesses which led to his defeat. "Greatest Sorcerer in the World" didn't mean anything if there could be greater things out there to defeat said sorcerer, like a sword-weilding child with divine blessing.
And what if that wizzrobe doesn't wish for invincibility? What if he makes an incredibly stupid wish?
Defeatist Vaati snorted. While I wouldn't put it past him to make a stupid wish, he thought as he imagined Thistle wishing for something like an island made of ice cream, it would only be to spite me. To flip his finger at the object that made me what I am today, to spit on it and wave it in my face tauntingly. No, he won't do that. He acts silly, but that doesn't mean he's stupid. If it comes down to it, he will make a wish that will make him impossible to defeat.
Still with his head against the counter, Vaati pushed aside his drink that was still mostly full off to the side. All the other nights he'd come to the bar he'd done pretty much the same thing, and every night he'd found the glass to be cleaned and put back to its usual spot in the cabinets. Magic, Vaati guessed. If you were a competent enough sorcerer you didn't need butlers or maids anymore to clean the most spacious mansions. The thought reminded him of Thistle, and it upset him every time.
The thing that upset him the most, however, was the whole situation with Dark. It's not like he cared about that kid or anything, he was just as stupid as the real Link, or Links or whatever. Always meddling and getting himself into trouble. In a way he deserved it.
But at the same time, he didn't deserve this. This was his fault… he'd gotten arrogant, and had underestimated the twenty-first century. It was his fault that Dark was now in solitary confinement, and solitary confinement was something Vaati could relate to painfully well. The long years he had been trapped in the Four Sword had been excruciating, and he didn't doubt that he'd suffered some kind of mental damage from that experience. He didn't remember much about it, except the screams of rage, the soul wrenching wails of frustration and agony, the pointless hysterical laughing, and the waiting. Oh goddesses, the waiting. It had been an obsessive waiting, where every shift in the seal that held him, the faint whispers of the maidens who occasionally visited his temple to renew the seal, all of those little sounds and movements kept him at an interminable tension.
No, Dark didn't deserve that. Dark didn't deserve this. So the only thing Vaati could think of was to have the dark haired teen forget his experience of being locked up in a sunless room so it wouldn't feel as long. It hurt Vaati's pride at the same time, however, because the idea of wiping memories had come directly from the way Thistle kept his underlings from getting out of control. During the past week, Vaati had been thinking about his plan to take over Hyrule, and he'd come to the disappointing conclusion that he hadn't put any real thought into what he was actually going to do after he'd succeeded.
In short, it was only now, thousands and thousands and thousands of years later that he was beginning to realize how stupid everything had all been.
Which brings us back to the point on why he hated absolutely everything right now.
He'd never really considered the nuisances required to keep the population under control, and with every passing minute he was becoming increasingly disillusioned by how much effort and bookkeeping was required to rule over a region. He felt lazy just thinking about all the people Thistle must be keeping track of, and making sure the right people were being brainwashed, mind-wiped, or outright eliminated to stay in control. And the only reason Thistle didn't seem to have too much trouble with this, Vaati thought, was because unlike Vaati, Thistle wasn't particularly interested in letting every living thing know who the kingpin was. Thistle was content to just do his own thing out of sight, which was crucial to control an entire country while letting the country think that it still had control over itself.
That wasn't what Vaati wanted. He wanted everyone to acknowledge who he was.
That also meant he'd probably have an entire day to rule the world if he was lucky, and then afterwards be forced to burn everything down to keep everyone 'calm' (i.e. lying face-down on the earth, possibly turned to stone, most likely dead). Terrorizing, he was fine with. Ruling over a bunch of dead people? That was not okay.
And even then that was assuming he'd have the upper hand against all of the stupid-powerful weapons in this day and age. Obviously he couldn't live his life with his guard up 24-7, and it was going to take all but one skilled sniper to shoot him in the head when he was asleep to end his miserable life. Or atomic bombs? Even if he could survive the detonation, he definitely wouldn't survive the long-term aftereffects of radiation poisoning. Nothing like that had existed when he had reigned as supreme sorcerer, so he hadn't even considered a spell to counteract something like that. The direct approach he usually took wasn't going to work here, and when it came down to the indirect approach, Thistle was so much more a veteran than he was.
As Vaati continued to depressingly mope about by himself at the lonely bar, he heard faint footsteps climbing up the stairs to the bar slowly. He barely brought his head up, but perked his ears to the sound. Was it Thyme? She hadn't come to the bar since he'd asked her if she liked Thistle.
The person who'd climbed the stairs wasn't a woman, but a man. To Vaati's surprise, Dugal walked into view. He had one hand propped behind his back, while the other, the prosthetic, held the Phantom Hourglass which was now full of glittering gold sand.
Dugal wordlessly walked over, set the hourglass down in front of Vaati with an unceremonious clunk, and then plopped down on the empty barstool next to him with a bored, don't-give-a-flipping-dolphin-flip look on his face. Vaati sat up straight, and then peered carefully at the Phantom Hourglass. The sand was completely full, and the tiny grains, each a miniscule golden triangle, glimmered through the glass that contained it.
"That was fast," Vaati mentioned skeptically over to the ex-Talon leader who was now pouring himself Scotch. "I didn't see anything in the news about a massacre," he pointed at the hourglass full of sand. Vaati had expected the other man to have to kill at least twenty people to collect enough sand for his project, and he couldn't help but wonder how Dugal had accomplished this in a mere two weeks without a news agency covering the story of a trail of twenty dead bodies.
"You might," Dugal drawled, "see something in the news about two whaling ships going down."
Vaati shook the hourglass, letting the sand tinkle against the glass, and then set it down on the counter again. "Ah. Whales? They gave you that much life force, huh?"
"I joined some black market whalers for a few trips, and then sunk them with their ships to collect the rest."
"Hm. I see." Vaati rested his chin on his hand thoughtfully. Having this crucial piece, the collection of Life Force from the Phantom Hourglass, meant that he was going to be able to move on to the finishing pieces of the Wishing Cap. He was really going to make the cap. He was really going to do it, for the better or for worse…
The two former enemies turned allies turned questionable partners sat quietly for a while; Vaati with disinterested attention at the hourglass while Dugal absentmindedly swirled his glass so that the ice cubes tinkled. The man downed the Scotch, and then waved a hand towards the hourglass standing upright on the middle of the counter.
"So what is the Wishing Cap, exactly?" he asked.
Vaati stirred, and then shrugged. "Exactly what it sounds like. It grants wishes."
"Any wish?"
"Any wish." Vaati nodded.
"Sounds dangerous," Dugal sniffed, smiling unpleasantly. "What's your story with it, if you don't mind me asking?"
Vaati didn't say anything at first, wondering if he should even bother explaining. However, concluding he didn't really care anymore, decided to tell the other man his story. "It has everything to do with me, actually," the sorcerer began slowly. "My mentor, the one who taught me about sorcery, was the one who originally created it. Then I stole the hat to become the greatest sorcerer in the world, turned him into a hat, and then murdered everyone in the village."
"I killed my own father."
"What, are we going to have a 'Who's the more horrible killer' contest now?" Vaati shot sourly.
Dugal chuckled. "No need for that. No, Mr. Engst, I'm just acknowledging the fact that we all have reasons for our actions. I'm not saying our reasons excuse our actions, but that the events that led up to our actions are not as simple as they seem."
"I went to the castle," Vaati continued, more to himself now. "I wanted more. The cap turned me into the greatest sorcerer alive, but I wanted to take what was precious to them and rub dirt all over it. I wanted the Light Force, said to be from the goddesses themselves. I wanted to take that power and become a god using their precious goddesses' own power. I… didn't succeed. I could have stopped, but I kept going and paid for it with my carelessness." He thought to himself some more, and then turned to Dugal abruptly.
"Do you regret killing?"
"Do you?" Dugal replied smoothly.
They were quiet again. The ex-Talon leader sighed, swung around on his seat and leaned back against the counter. "Regret… no Mr. Engst. Because as soon as you begin to think with those kinds of words you destroy yourself. Regret, remorse, they say they are the way to salvation, but we're already monsters ourselves, and to seek salvation is to only destroy who we already are. I rid the world of a blight when I disposed of my father and gained a sizeable inheritance in return – that's all there is to it. Regret? That's only something for a man only looking at his past. The past is where men lose themselves. The future is the only thing that matters."
Vaati mulled over what the ex-Talon leader had said. The past… yes, he knew all too well how much mental anguish he experienced whenever he thought too much about the past. These days, too, it was combined with the confusion of sifting through eight thousand years' worth of memories, most of it from the time when he hadn't known about his own history as the Sorcerer of Winds. All of the joys and pains that came with a lifetime added up to become a schizophrenic experience, and he didn't really enjoy taking a trip down the memory lane. He'd tried remembering historical details out of curiosity, like trying to figure out how magic had become obsolete, but the only thing he could kind of recall was something about a great flood followed by… well… the pain of dying. Apparently he hadn't survived that encounter with the flood. He'd been confused at first, why he couldn't remember particular details, until he realized he hadn't lived very long lives in each lifetime. It had been such a depressing detail that he'd stopped trying to remember things.
Dugal leaned forward now, his left hand on his knee and his right tapping the counter in a matter-of-fact fashion. His eyes glinted behind his glasses. "Now that I know just what, exactly, that cap does, Mr. Engst, I'm going to give you a bit of advice. While I did do my part and collect the sand in the hourglass, I'll say this right now: I don't think you should complete the cap."
Vaati stared at the ex-Talon leader in surprise, and then confusion. His mouth twisted into a frown as he tried to figure out what the other man was saying. "But… that means you'll die? Like pretty soon?" A part of him suspected the sly man to have some kind of trick, but the more he searched the other man's face the more convinced he became that Halstead Dugal was seriously suggesting that Vaati discontinue the work on the cap in exchange for his life.
"Do you actually think," Dugal sneered, "that crazy man would uphold his promise to return my lost time?"
"Not really," Vaati admitted, also remembering Thyme repeatedly assuring him that Thistle was the worst with lies. "But what then? We don't complete the cap, but that wizzrobe still has the upper hand."
"Hmph," Dugal huffed. "I thought you'd at least like to see that bird's face when he finds out he can't get what he wants."
Yes, that would be nice, Vaati thought to himself. But…
"The cap means the end," Vaati said softly, "It's the thing that will make it impossible for us to win, but at the same time it's also the only thing that can put an end to the madness. We can win if we take it."
"And how will you ensure that the bird won't take it?" Dugal asked cynically.
Vaati bit the inside of his cheek. That was the big question, wasn't it? "I don't know," he finally replied, "but it's the only way." He said the last part with finality, and faced the other man challengingly. Dugal looked at him flatly, and then caved, leaning back again with a shrug.
The Sorcerer of Winds took a deep breath. He chuckled, the corners of his lips twisted crookedly into a sad, bitter grin. "I think I know what Link might have faced," he whispered to himself, "Even though I hate the analogy, that kid never gave up even when everything seemed hopeless…"
fleets: Bates breaks my heart, he really does. He surprises me every time I write him. Actually this whole chapter kind of broke my heart while I was writing it. Funny thing though, I can't even put a finger on why. I'm probably listening to too much sad music. Yeah.
But what oh what will the final wish be? Will someone wish for immortality? End of the World? Be the Greatererest Sorcerer Ever? Be Better at Vaati in Everything? Be the Next Pokemon Master? Wish for an Island made of Icecream? So many possibilities! (shot)
Cookie for anyone who gets it right (but seriously I won't tell you for a few more chapters yet so sit tight. Disclaimer: these cookies ain't real).
Anonymous: The mysterious Anon! Hello! You have described Thistle so well I can't even... you summarized him better than I could have done and that makes me so happy :D :D :D You're completely right. Thistle as he is now really doesn't want to stir things up for the sake of stirring things up. He's having plenty of fun just doing his own thing, and like he mentioned a few chapters ago, the only times he really does that whole brainwashing trick is when he needs a certain policy passed, have some legal issues solved, etc. so he can keep doing whatever he wants to do. If people find out about him, then he'll face a really annoying situation that he won't want to deal with. Basically, he's largely harmless if you stay out of his way.
The only caveat is he still has a sense of competition with anything remotely magical (i.e. Vaati) and won't hesitate to get rid of that competition UNLESS there's something in it for him, like the Wishing Cap. If you're an average pizza man living in an average town, you're probably okay.
As for the thing with Thyme, yah that'll come back ;)
Hmm isn't that weird, that Thistle's pursuing all of that about Corbin Robespierre? Doesn't match up with what wizzrobes supposedly do, does it? :P :P :P
Thanks for the review, mysterious Anon! You're really on the dot with your ideas/summaries, I'm pretty darn shocked (in a good way)! Hope you get all the answers by the time the story finishes! (HUGTASTIC HUGFEST FOR U)
Reily96: ThistlexThyme is my not-so-secret-anymore favorite OC pairing. Because it's my only OC pairing AHAHA. Ehrm, anyway, yeah like I said before it won't be fluffy. I can't really see fluffy between those two, and considering what I just said last chapter about monsters and what-not, yeah that would be pretty nonsensical. Even the existence of TxT is kind of weird, given my explanation, but whatever. It makes sense in my ridiculous head :D
The monster thing would come back again. Before the story ends the issue will come up again definitely.
And Vaati doesn't even have to try to be hot. Ok, well, I guess I can come up with story plots that will make him less hot, but it'll be a challenge (and why would I do that). XD
Iris Martinez: And we're back to Dark this time! Yep, Vaati does switch to Gale occasionally. It'd be difficult to dissociate himself from his most recent personality so quickly :) And yep! ThistlexThyme is not exactly a happy fluffy ship (more like a reluctant one that can't even sail from the harbor). I'll sneak it in though, and when I do it'll be obvious (I think). Hmmm, I really wish I could draw it on deviantart. I haven't really had the time to do much drawing lately... but I really wish I could get back to it :(
DarkSakura2256: Aw, thanks! I'm always (pleasantly) surprised whenever someone says they like my OCs :D (hugs!) Sometimes I wonder why people read about OCs when they're on a fanfiction website 'cause I figured they'd come here for the canon characters...
Lol yep, Vaati and alcohol, he says things he shouldn't sometimes XD
And yes! My favorite pairing because I can do whatever I want with it wahaha! It's an odd one though, I admit. It won't be super obvious for a while, if ever.
Sybdoodles: If I was Thyme's real life friend, I would advise her to stay faaar faaaaaar away from Thistle. Far. Away. Unfortunately I can give no such advice and my evil author fingers will continue to type the story as planned. Thyme, I am sorry.
Yes! The Talon guys are going for the chase and little Bates might be able to help. Of course I won't make it easy, but it's good karma to give hopeless characters some hope, ey? :P