Love and Support within Discipline

When the light died down, the heroes found themselves back in the castle courtyard. Their transformations had also reverted and they were back in their original forms. The castle and all of its inhabitants were back to normal too. All of Vaati's spells all over Hyrule had come undone as well as the monsters were gone and the Great Mayfly Fairy was back to her old self.

Even the curse on Princess Zelda was broken. The first sight she saw was the sight of all of her friends. "Link, everyone, have I been asleep this whole time?"

"Actually, a spell was cast on you, but we were able to save you," Max explained.

Link nodded. "It's all over now."

Ezlo jumped off of Link's head and hopped over to the Hyrulean princess. "Princess Zelda, I'm so happy you've been restored."

Zelda was baffled. "A talking cap?"

Ezlo introduced himself, then began apologizing for Vaati's behavior. "I understand Vaati has shown tremendous disrespect. As his master, I am deeply shamed, but will you please forgive him? It's really, truly my fault that he behaved so badly and I bear full responsibility."

Vaati was astonished as he heard his master's words. "Master…" Then the two of them began changing back into their original forms as Picori. Ezlo was a sage again with white hair and a long white beard and was garbed in green robes and he held a staff with a bird's head on top. Vaati's appearances were still the same, but more innocent now that he was a Picori again.

As Max looked at Vaati, her giddiness took over. "Oh, my God, you're just so adorable!" she squealed as she held him in her arms and began hugging him.

Vaati squeaked in surprise. "Lady Max," he groaned. Clearly, he was not used to hugs.

"Come on, Max," said Joey. "Let him go before you squeeze him to death."

Max didn't want to release Vaati, but she loosened her hold on him, allowing him to wiggle free. Vaati got on his knees and gasped for air. Then he looked up and saw Ezlo gazing sternly at him. "Master, please forgive me!" he begged, sobbing.

"Tell me, Vaati, why did you pledge your allegiance to the Dark Lord Cobalt?" Ezlo asked.

Vaati sniffled and answered, "I was frustrated. No matter what I did, it was never enough. You demanded more than what I could do."

Emily was taken in by Vaati's words. She felt the same way towards Robert; frustrated because her best was never good enough for him and he was always demanding more from him. Looking inside Vaati's heart, she could see the anger and frustration he was feeling. She felt she could relate to him.

"I learned about how Cobalt's followers used force and violence to get what they wanted and I got the idea of wanting to do the same thing," continued Vaati. "One night, the Dark Lord visited me in my dreams. He promised to help me get what I wanted if I agreed to serve him. Without thinking, I immediately accepted and the next morning, I saw a Cobalt Star shard. When I touched it, I felt dark power filling up inside of me. After that, the Dark Lord told me to take the cap you made and seek out the Light Force."

Emily thought about it. "Surely the Dark Lord had to have known that the Light Force would have been corrupted if Vaati were to acquire it with all of the evil power in him."

Max was thinking the same thing. "He also had to have known that Vaati would have faced destruction in the process."

Link heard them and asked, "So then why would the Dark Lord put Vaati through all of that?"

"Because the Dark Lord knew that Vaati needed his lesson," Max answered. "A lesson he only would have been able to learn when it would be too late."

"And what lesson was that?" Joey asked.

"Acquiring so much power leads to destruction; especially when ones ideals and ambitions become twisted and warped into a lust for power," Kaiba answered. "Just like what happened with Gozaburo in the Digital World."

That made sense. The same thing did happen to Gozaburo when he became a digital being. And in the process of being reborn as a Digimon, he pledged his allegiance to Cobalt, failing to consider that the Dark Lord would take advantage of his ideals and distort them.

The Dark Lord does have the tendency to do that; that much the heroes had noticed. When someone pledges their allegiance to him, he takes advantage of their ideals and promises to grant them the power to get what they want. He promises his minions and followers power, but he secretly leads them on the path to their destruction. But from what Emily had observed rom fighting her foes in the past, the Dark Lord wasn't leading his minions and follower to destruction to hurt them. He was doing it to help them. Not to achieve their goals, but to save them from themselves. He did that for Fiore to reunite him with Max. He did it for Gozaburo so that his mind and soul could be set free. And just like the girls discussed, he did it to help Vaati learn his lesson about the consequences of acquiring so much power.

And Vaati did learn his lesson. "But all I really wanted was to be strong so I could gain my master's approval."

"You little fool!" Ezlo scolded. "I never thought you lacked skill! I knew you had more potential. I pushed you hard because I wanted to help you."

Emily gasped at Ezlo's words. This caused her to wonder, was that why Robert was always so hard on her? Because he wanted her to succeed in life and not because he thought she wouldn't amount to anything? Naturally, children don't see the concept of their parents or elders being hard on them as a sign of love. That's why children get frustrated and become filled with the faulty thinking that no one thinks that they're good enough. But that's why students and children need to be disciplined by their parents and teachers; so they don't end up taking a wrong turn. If someone is just constantly praised for doing their best, they won't always be motivated to put in extra effort and they'll just constantly try to always take the easy path. But discipline must also be demonstrated carefully and responsibly so as not to cause frustration and making one feel unappreciated.

Link approached Vaati. "Listen, training is hard, but that's why it's called training. But don't look for shortcuts. Focus and push through the hard times and you'll really get stronger."

All of his friends smiled at him. They figured that Link was a lot more disciplined now than he was when they first met him.

Kaiba offered some wisdom as well. "True power doesn't come from magic. It comes from strength of character. That's how my friends and I were able to defeat you."

Vaati smiled sadly as he listened to what everyone was telling him.

Link sheepishly laughed as he rubbed the back of his head. "But I sympathize with you. Ezlo can be a little much," he said, remembering how Ezlo gave him a hard time during the whole adventure.

"You do understand!" Vaati happily cried.

Ezlo didn't take kindly to that remark, but he kept himself calm. "Come along, Vaati. The door will close for another hundred years."

"Yes, Master," Vaati said obediently.

Ezlo turned his attention to the heroes. "I'm sorry I was difficult to all of you."

"Don't worry about it," Joey replied. "You were helpful on some occasions."

"Hold on, Ezlo," Link was saying, "you can't force me to wear you as a cap for so long, and then just say you're sorry and leave. I was starting to get used to you. I was also starting to like having a cap to wear."

Ezlo figured he knew how to take care of that. He used his power to change the magic cap into an ordinary green cap to match Link's outfit. "Link, you taught me the power of the mortal heart and I've decided to treasure it as a gift. Please accept this cap as a gift from my heart. Consider it a 'thank you' for a fun adventure."

Vaati gently pulled Max's arm. "I want to give something to you too, Lady Max." He presents her with his Cobalt Star shard. She takes it and attaches it to the other shards around her neck. "I'll never forget you, Lady Max. And I hope that someday, I can be as great as you."

Max smiled at him. "Well, don't hope for too much. Just keep doing your best." And she ruffled his head.

Ezlo and Vaati said 'goodbye' one last time and shrunk down to their original size. They passed through the door, returning to the world of the Picori. The door also began disappearing within the castle wall.

"Well, that's that," said Kaiba. "The door has been closed for another hundred years."

"Link, are you okay?" Yugi asked.

Link dried his eyes with his sleeve. He turned around and smiled. "I'll be okay," he answered. "It may have been a short adventure – and I emphasize 'short', but it's okay. It's an adventure I'll never forget."

"None of us will forget," said Yugi. All of his friends nod in agreement.

As Link looked up at the sky, he made a promise to himself never to forget Ezlo or the Picori even as he would grow up.