[May 27] [Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?/Legend of Zelda] Centennial Lady, chapter 4

[rose-of-pollux.livejournal.com]

Title: Centennial Lady; Chapter 4
Day/Theme: May 27; It only hurts when I cry
Series: Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?/The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
Character: The Dying Informant (and company), Veran
Rating: PG13

Will be cross-posted to my journal


Veran now turned to go, heading for the wall.

“Hold it!” ordered the Rookie, determined to finish what the Recruiting Officer had started. He grabbed the special handcuffs and tore after Veran.

“No, don’t--” the Inspector began, but the Rookie paid him no heed.

The Rookie nearly did succeed in catching up with her, but Veran phased through the wall, and the young agent, unable to stop, ended up crashing into it.

“Oww…” he mumbled, rubbing his nose. “I’m going to be feeling that for a while…”

The Inspector tended to the youngest agent as the Techie was still on his knees, praying. The Informant still stood numb, staring at the newest statue of the Recruiting Officer.

And the Messenger could not hold back his feelings anymore. This time, he really did seize the Informant by his shoulders and give him a slight shake.

“Please tell me you’ve woken up now!” he yelled. “You can’t help that witch! You can’t join her! You can’t listen to a thing she says! She’s only going to use you until her plan is complete; and then you’ll be encased.”

“No…” sobbed the Techie. “She’s going to keep him alive and turn him into a monster…”

The Informant glanced at the Techie, then at the Inspector and the Rookie, and then at the Messenger, who was desperately trying to get through to him. They were right… they had always been right… Why hadn’t he listened to them and left that Ouija board alone!?

“I… I’m so sorry…” the Informant whispered, sinking to his knees as he clutched at the Messenger’s wrists. “Please… Please forgive me… I’ll make it right… Somehow, I will… I promise… You can all stay here, and I’ll go stop her on my own… I’ll do anything; just forgive me…”

And the Messenger immediately regretted his harsh words.

“I… Of course we forgive you,” he said, softly. He got down on his knees and hugged his younger brother. “She was manipulating you, wasn’t she? You only wanted to help, and she took advantage of that…” He cursed under his breath, livid that anyone would dare take advantage of his brother’s kindness.

“Will he forgive me, though…?” the blond asked, staring into the stone face of the Recruiting Officer.

“…Of course he will; he’ll tell you that himself when we get him back to his old self…” the Messenger said, hoping that they could indeed find a way.

And the Techie hugged the young agent tightly now.

“And you’re not in this alone; we’d never put you through that…” he said, shuddering at the vision he had been shown. Letting the Informant go alone was exactly what Veran would want; it would be easier to take him under her foul wing…

“But what do we do…?” asked the Rookie, in a slightly nasal voice as he pinched his nose to stop the last of the bleeding.

“As Techie said, it stands to reason that destroying the amethyst will stop her,” said the Inspector. “But that won’t guarantee that everyone who was encased in stone will be restored to normal.”

The Informant trembled, prompting the Techie to hug him close to him; the Messenger could sense that something was very wrong with the brunet. The Messenger let the boy go, and the Techie desperately enfolded him in his embrace, as though Veran wouldn’t be able to take the blond from his arms.

“Techie…?” the Messenger asked, since the Informant still seemed too out of it to notice. “You okay?”

“I’ll be fine as long as he’s fine,” the Techie vowed, still hugging the boy. “As long as he’s with us…”

The Messenger nodded, not convinced. But as he pondered over what to do, he suddenly recalled something he had happened upon a couple years ago.

“Wait just a second…” he said. “I think I know where we can go to find an answer to this problem.”

“What do you mean…?” the Informant asked, struggling to use his voice; all he wanted to do was crawl under a rock and disappear.

“Well… remember a couple years ago when I had to deliver that Snowball-gram from the Yeti?”

“Who could forget…?” the Inspector asked, rolling his eyes.

“Well, I was up in Tibet, looking for him, and getting absolutely nowhere…” the Messenger recalled. “You know, when you’ve seen one mountain, you’ve seen them all, and they all start to look alike…”

“You got lost…?” the Rookie asked.

“Well, I wouldn’t say lost… Okay, okay, so I got a little turned around…” He blinked at the four sets of eyes and their accompanying arched eyebrows. “Okay, I was lost…” he confessed.

“I know the feeling…” the Informant said, glumly. “I’m lost right now…”

“Only temporarily,” the Messenger insisted, placing a hand on his shoulder. “We’re going to help you find your way. But until then, hear me out here… While I was wandering around--”

“Lost,” the Inspector added.

“—I happened upon this little castle-like place; very Gothic-looking thing—Gargoyles and statues… You know, that kind of thing? Well, it was a warlock’s pad.”

“…Really…?” asked the Rookie.

“Yep; he used a crystal ball and showed me where to find the Yeti,” said the Messenger. “And it wasn’t a gag, either; you could really see the image of the Yeti, and exactly where he was…” He shook his head in amazement.

“And you think this wizard might know what to do with Veran?” asked the Techie. He was willing to go to almost any lengths to ensure that the Informant would be free from her.

“He might…”

“Then let’s go…” said the Techie. “Come on; on your feet, old friend. You’ll be okay…”

The Messenger exchanged glances with the Inspector and the Rookie as the Techie helped the Informant up. No doubt about it… Something was up that the Techie just didn’t want to tell them.

***************************************

The five agents, not sure of what else to do, moved the statue of the Recruiting Officer to the Chief’s office to ensure that no one else would see him or touch him.

“She’s going to hate us for this…” said the Inspector, as he moved some heavy furniture in front of the green door.

“But she’d hate us even more for putting the statue in her office,” the Rookie said, throwing some assorted floor lamps onto the pile of furniture.

That task done, the agents then awoke an ACME pilot to take them to Tibet. The agents attempted to sleep, but the Informant could not sleep; he stared blankly out the window, the horrified stone expressions of Eartha, Patty, and the Recruiting Officer swimming in front of his face, haunting him.

He wasn’t the only one awake, though; the Techie, too haunted by his vision to sleep, was wide awake, his eyes scanning the plane, determined to be ready if Veran somehow appeared. Every once in a while, he would glance upon his dearest young friend and pity him, wishing he could free him of that evil that plagued him.

It took the Informant some time to notice that the Techie was awake.

“Why me…?” he asked. “Why did she choose me?”

“My poor friend…” said the Techie, shaking his head in pity. “It’s because you want to believe in people… You want to believe that everyone is as good and kind as you are, and so that’s why someone unscrupulous like Veran wants to take advantage of it, and put you through torment that you don’t deserve…” He held the blond close. “I hate her…” he said. “I hate anyone who dares to hurt you like that…”

The Informant had been holding back his own hurt all this time, too numb from what had happened to the Recruiting Officer and the others. But now a solitary sob escaped him, and the weight of his own plight began to take its toll on him. And it was all the Techie could do not to break into sobs himself at the thought of losing his friend to Veran. He could not let it happen—he could not!

There was nothing more that either of them could say as time passed. The Rookie came awake as the pilot announced that they would soon be landing as close as they could to the location that the Messenger had given him. Realizing that the Messenger wasn’t wearing a seat belt, the Rookie proceeded to prod him awake until he did so.

Now awake, the Messenger wasn’t about to let the Inspector sleep on, and so he proceeded to awaken the older agent with a well-aimed pillow throw. The Messenger sat back in his seat, twiddling his thumbs as he smirked at the sound of the annoyed grunt, which told him that he had completed his task flawlessly.

The Inspector gave the Rookie an accusing look as the youngest agent frantically pointed at the Messenger, mouthing “He did it!” The Inspector rolled his eyes in response and threw the pillow back at the Messenger to get his attention, indicating the Informant and the Techie, whom he had just noticed.

“Infy…?” the Messenger asked, realizing what the Inspector was trying to alert him to.

The Techie looked up, still comforting his young friend.

“He’s going to be okay,” he vowed. “I’ll see to it.”

The Messenger gave a nod, feeling slightly disappointed that there really didn’t seem to be much he could do to help. He had always been able to help the Informant before; why couldn’t he do so now? And what did the Techie know that was making him so determined not to leave the Informant’s side?

He was soon absorbed, though, in leading the way up the snowy Tibetan path towards the castle.

“I’m surprised he doesn’t have visitors swarming this place,” said the Inspector. “You would think people would want to look over a place like this.”

“Yeah, you would…” said the Messenger. “Until you find out that it’s a haunted castle owned by a sorcerer by the name of van Ghoul.”

The others stopped in their tracks behind him.

“That’s his real name…?” asked the Rookie, stifling a snark.

“Are you sure coming here was a good idea?” asked the Informant, speaking for the first time since exiting the plane.

“Sure, I’m sure…” said the Messenger. “He may be a mysterious kinda guy and a bit on the…” He trailed off, searching for the right description. “Eccentric side, but he helped me, didn’t he?”

The Techie, in the meantime, was on alert, and that was when he noticed the numerous tracks of footprints leading up the path they were traversing on.

“Guys… We’re not the first ones to come here…” His blood ran cold. Who was already at the castle?

“This is weird…” said the Messenger, frowning. “He told me I was one of the few visitors he’s had years…” He hoped he hadn’t led his brothers into a trap; that would be disastrous. “Okay… You guys stand back, and I’ll act as though I’m the only one here. We’ll see what’s going on…”

He headed for the door and rang the bell by pulling on a gargoyle’s tongue.

The Informant yelped as a loud scream echoed from inside.

“Nothing to worry about, Infy; that’s his doorbell,” the Messenger explained. “Took me by surprise for the first time, too…” He trailed off as a man in blue-violet robes opened the doors. The wizard’s dark hair was beginning to grey, but there was no doubt of the aura of power that surrounded him.

“Hiya!” the Messenger said, with a cheery wave. “Remember me?”

“The Yeti seeker…” the wizard replied. “How could anyone forget you…?”

The Rookie snerked at the wizard’s tone; apparently, the Messenger had been particularly vexing on that occasion. And with all the snow around, the boy could easily guess how.

“Yeah!” the Messenger grinned. “So how is the old Yeti, anyway? We haven’t heard from him since we rescued him from Wonder Rat--”

“If you don’t mind…” the wizard said, cutting him off. “I have a lot to concern myself with at the moment, and I’m afraid I don’t have the time to entertain guests in a crisis such as the one I am dealing with now.”

“You talking about Veran?” the Messenger asked, as van Ghoul moved to close the door.

The wizard paused.

“How do you know about her?” he asked. “Speak, quickly…”

“My… My brother accidentally set her loose,” the agent explained, taken aback by the sorcerer’s sudden change of mind. “She bonded her amethyst to him; he’s the only one who can touch it--”

“Where is he?” the wizard asked.

“Well, I came here to see if there was a way to get him unbound from the stone,” said the Messenger. “As well as look for a way to get Veran off of his back…”

“It isn’t that simple…” said van Ghoul. “As we speak, Veran is starting her second Age of Shadows-- Shadow’s are spreading from what remains of Ambi’s Tower in what was once Labrynna. The former land of Labrynna has already been veiled in shadows, and it’s only increasing. I am heading a council of mages right now to come to a decision as to how to deal with Veran. Now where is the one she has bound the stone to?”

The Informant wasn’t sure why the sorcerer intended to do; the last thing he wanted was for the council to decide that he, the Informant, was to be the bait in some plan to lure Veran here.

The Techie sensed his fears, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Little Prince,” Veran whispered. “This place is dangerous for you. They might try to inflict harm upon you, in the hopes of destroying me. I am a spirit, and cannot be harmed by anything they try to do to you. But what about you? You are a mere child. Use my amethyst; it can transport you to me if you use it. I will tell you what to do.”

The Informant slowly pulled the amethyst out of his pocket; the Techie was still hugging him from behind while the Inspector and the Rookie watched the scene with the Messenger and van Ghoul, unaware of what the blond was doing.

The Informant was doing as Veran advised; he had to get out of here. The council might try some painful magic probe, or perhaps even punish him for letting Veran free! His fingers slowly rubbed the gem in the pattern that the sorceress was instructing.

And, at last, the Techie looked and saw what the blond was doing.

“NO!” he yelled, without thinking, slapping the Informant’s wrist harshly. The blond cried out, dropping the stone.

Van Ghoul, of course, heard this, and was soon approaching the hidden agents.

“Uh, well, what do you know…?” asked the Messenger, trying to cover this up. “They made it!”

“So I see…” the wizard said, as the Informant picked the amethyst up and slipped it back into his pocket. “And now I must insist that your young friend sees the council.” He guided the blond inside the castle.

“Hey…” said the Messenger, bewildered, as he and the others followed him inside. “What about us?”

“You four may wait in the drawing room,” the wizard replied. “When the council is finished, we will let you know.”

He ushered the terrified blond inside a room, a set of double doors closing behind them.

“NO!” cried the Techie, pounding on the door. “You have to let us in there! You have to; he needs us!” The brunet fell to his knees outside the council room.

The others began to pound on the doors as well, but the Techie’s mind was on his frightened friend.

“I need him…” he whispered, sadly. That was the entire reason why he was here in the first place. Veran needed the Informant for her own reasons. But the Techie did, too. And he was not going to let her win.

He clenched a fist and turned to the others.

“Let’s find another way in,” he said.

The others exchanged glances, surprised to hear the Techie be the one to voice this. But they agreed all the same.

“Hold on, Infy…” said the Messenger. “You’re not in this alone.”

“You’ll never be in this alone,” the Techie mentally vowed. “I’m with you… until the end. And then some.”