A Legend Chapter Seven
Suggested Theme:
Main Theme- "The Devil's Tears" by Angus & Julia Stone
Exlo Lighthouse is by far one of the rarest scans to get. Tom has no idea which unfortunate player that Klay tortured to get the scan, but he would like to meet that player and show him or her this scan. To reassure the player that someone who isn't oily like Klay can get the scan too. However, Tom is certain that the unfortunate player had to spend months of planning and rigorous training to get to the Location. While Tom got to the Location by dumb luck.
When Tom was helping Bodal take inventory around lunch, he heard that Antidaeon was going to test his upgraded submarine by braving the treacherous waters near Exlo Lighthouse. He immediately took his lunch break and tracked down Antidaeon to get a ride. At worse, they wouldn't make it to the Location, but at least Tom would have the consolation of acquiring a new scan of "The Nemesis". And by the divine intervention of the Cothica, Tom snagged two rare scans in one day.
Now, he's going to get to the top of the ancient lighthouse. He has his Scanner out, recording his time inside the lighthouse. He wants to show Kaz, Sarah, and Peyton that he actually did get the scan by going to the Location and not through some costly trade. Also, it would be like a map for him to look back on before a match.
Exlo Lighthouse is rumored to have been built by the same giants that built Gigantemtopolis. Tom believes the rumor is definitely true considering how big the steps to the spiral staircase are and how many damn steps it will take him to get to the top. Thank goodness, he had enough foresight to bring a bag filled with bottled water and snacks.
It takes him nearly three hours to get about ten giant steps away from the top. He has taken plenty of breaks in between so he doesn't pass out and fall by the time he reached top. Falling in this Location would be a horrible way to go. He's weary and is sick of seeing nothing but stone and raging storms for these past three hours. He knows there's a huge fire at the top, so he'll get to see something other than dreary stones and crackling lightning.
"He said,
'I am the devil, boy,
Come with me
And we'll make many storms.'"
Tom is glad that he has his Scanner out. He'll be the second person to get a recording of Vicious Pegasus singing! Vicious Pegasus has become infamous amongst Chaotic players because of his carvings in certain Locations. So far only nights five and six have yet to be found, but all the other nights have been located. Lots of players have gone to those Locations in order to get another scan of the Location with his carvings. The carvings don't do anything for the Location, but it's like having a piece of history to brag about to your friends.
"He offered me the universe.
But inside my heart,
There's a picture of a…
Girl."
Tom has always been skeptical about the player's motives for pretty much defacing Locations, but he's not about to let this chance go. He has heard this player sing from the video that Elliot shared with his clients who then shared it with practically everyone else in Chaotic. He likes his singing; he likes how Vicious lets his emotions flow freely. Also, it helps that Tom has always liked The Rolling Stones.
"Some call love a curse,
Some call love a thief,
But she's my…
Home."
However, Vicious sounds so much unlike his bellicose and passionate performance from the first night. He sounds…tired. Climbing all these steps would make even the giants tired, Tom reckons. But there's something about Vicious's voice that may suggest that physical exhaustion isn't purely to blame.
"And she's as much a part
For this broken heart,
But see broken bones
Always seem to mend."
This song seems to be about a break-up. Maybe Vicious regrets breaking up with a girl and wants her back…..but that seems too simplistic. It's a pretty song, not overwrought with cheesiness and self-loathing. But he sounds sad…really sad.
"I'll taste the devil's tears.
Drink from his soul,
But I'll never give up…
You."
Tom can see the roaring fire that acts as the literal light for the lighthouse. He's only three steps from the top. And maybe a few more from seeing Vicious Pegasus in action. No one has seen the guy's face. Considering his luck today, Tom believes he'll see Vicious's face tonight.
"I'll taste the devil's tears.
Drink from his soul,
But I'll never give up…
You."
He reaches the top and sees a human shadow moving on the floor. Vicious is on the other side, probably scribbling the lyrics of his song. Tom knows that Vicious will port out as soon as his song is over, so he doesn't hope for the guy to even acknowledge him. However, Tom wants to see the guy's face; it's a mystery that he feels can be solved tonight.
"He said,
'I am the devil, boy,
Come with me
And we'll break many laws.'"
He hurries to the other side. He sees Vicious Pegasus kneeling on the floor and carving with something that looks like a Kindle stylus. Vicious Pegasus is wearing the same outfit he wore on his first night. However, Tom can now smell something faint. Something that smells like some funky flower in the UnderWorld, but it doesn't make his eyes water.
"He offered me eternal life.
But inside my heart,
There's a picture of a…
Girl."
Tom can't get a good look of his face because Vicious's hair is acting like an invisibility cloak. His Scanner is still recording and he decides to zoom to see if he could at least catch a feature of the guy's face. The zoom in allows him to see the thin, crack, bleeding lips of Vicious and his upturned nose. The guy should invest in some good lip balm, Tom jokes inwardly. He has a feeling that Vicious likes to bite his own lips. Was he nervous about something?
"Some call love a word,
Some call love a thief,
But she's my…
Home."
It's eerie, and almost perverse, to Tom how he is just recording some guy singing and writing like he was a voyeur. It must be intimate for the guy to just sing and write his song on some Location. Who sings in a Location? Maybe some Creatures for a concert, but players don't do that. Players are too busy getting scans, hanging out with Creatures, and trying not to get killed. Even Eddie X wouldn't go to herculean lengths to sing in this Location!
"And she's as much a part
For this broken heart,
But see broken bones
Always seem to mend."
This can't be just a publicity stunt like Tom used to believe. Vicious can't be trying to get people to buy his album. There was nothing on this guy on Earth. Not one trace. The only traces of him are in Elliot's video of him and his carvings. He's like an anonymous author to a classic novel; no one will ever know anything about him, but they'll still talk about his work for years to come.
"I'll taste the devil's tears.
Drink from his soul,
But I'll never give up…
You."
Oh. Vicious just did all this to be remembered forever. He couldn't be a conqueror, or a king, or a knight, or even a dictator on Earth. But he could leave his mark on Perim. There will always be players who would spread his legend like they do about the Codemasters. He'll be remembered as though he did something historical. As a legend.
"I'll taste the devil's tears.
Drink from his soul,
But I'll never give up…
You."
Vicious stands up and drops his stylus. He then takes off his jacket. Tom is dumbfounded because Vicious never did this on the previous nights. He just left and never came back. Vicious turns and flings his jacket into Tom's face. Tom can't see for fifteen seconds but doesn't stop recording.
CRASH!
Tom pulls the jacket off him to see a body-shaped hole in the glass. Horrified, Tom goes outside and gets drenched in the storm. He looks over the ledge to see if maybe Vicious grabbed on a vine or something. He sees nothing but a battering of tumultuous waves against the lighthouse. He goes back inside and plays back the footage on his Scanner.
Briefly, he sees the face of Vicious Pegasus. He has an almost heart-shaped face and angular eyebrows. He has brown eyes that remind him of Kaz, but they were so hollow. Like nothing was there anymore. Like he was all used up. And then he just pulls off his jacket, throws it onto Tom, runs into the glass, and leaps over the ledge. He kills himself.
Tom slumps down to the floor. He has never seen a player kill himself before. He has actually never seen anyone die. Even Tangath Toborn can be considered arguably alive in the Spiritlands, whatever the fuck that is. He doesn't cry. Not immediately at least. He just sits there as though he were the one that died. He listlessly looks at the last words that were written in thick letters:
Final Night- Vicious Pegasus
Finally, he cries.
Author's Comments- I had an agonizing time trying to pick out what song Vicious would sing as his swan song. At first, I was going to use "Komm Susser Tod" from End of Evangelion, but it just didn't fit the feel for what I was going and it would give away the ending. Then, I was going to use "Silence" by Lucia, but I decided to use it for something else. I also thought about using "Into My Arms" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, but I felt like I would have to add some levity to the ending and I just didn't want to. So I basically spent about an hour scrolling through YouTube for something until I found this song. It just sounds so perfect for Vicious; it just drew me in lyrically with: "I'll taste the devil's tears. / Drink from his soul," and I just had to use the song.
Also, Antidaeon and his ship first show up in season one, episode thirty called, "The Curse of Kor-bek". I decided to use Exlo Lighthouse because I wanted Vicious to "kill himself" by jumping off something high. I don't think there's even a card of this; it's that rare! Exlo Lighthouse first appears in show in season three, episode sixty-nine called, "Worlds Apart" it also happened to be the same episode in which Jycella, Nivenna, and Aivenna are first introduced and never shown again. For those who are going to point out how melodramatic Tom is being, I'm going to point out now that he witnessed someone commit suicide before his eyes. He had no idea that Vicious was going to jump to his "death", so he couldn't do anything about it even though he feels like he should've. I think that would horrify anyone, especially with someone as sensitive as Tom. I may have also borrowed Tom's sensitivity from his "Grolls and Gorks" counterpart.