[June 5] [Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?/Legend of Zelda] Centennial Lady, chapter 5

[rose-of-pollux.livejournal.com]

Title: Centennial Lady; Chapter 5
Day/Theme: June 5; Discipline
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


There was, however, no other way in. Despairing, the Techie pounded on the door for some more time, but no one answered.

“The direct approach won’t work; we’ll have to move on to something else,” said the Rookie, pressing his ear against the door.

“Can you hear anything?” asked the Inspector.

The Rookie flinched.

“Just his stammering that he’s innocent and didn’t know that he was going to end up releasing a psychopathic witch…”

“Oh, Infy…” sighed the Messenger. “Techie, you’re the one who has the tools to get us in there; do you have your electronic lock picks?”

“We’re in a warlock’s castle…” the Inspector deadpanned. “Do you really think that the doors aren’t going to be further sealed by some sort of magic?”

“Well… Yes!” the Messenger said. “Because who in their right mind would break down a warlock’s door when there’s a whole crowd in the room?”

“I’m not so sure I like what that implies…” said the Rookie, his eyebrows arched.

The Techie wasn’t listening to them; he had taken over the Rookie’s job of trying to hear everything that was going on inside as he dug through his pockets for the electronic lock picks. And sure enough, the Informant was trying to defend his character to the council.

“I thought she was in trouble!” the blond was saying. “How was I to know who she was? It wasn’t like there was a warning on it!”

“That makes no difference!” an older man chided, unimpressed by his pleas. “You cause problem, you fix problem!”

“Now, Mr. Chan…” said van Ghoul. “I’m sure that is what our young friend is intent on doing. Why else would he come here with his friends?”

“To help him make up some crazy story that would try to make it seem as though he didn’t do it on purpose,” another warlock offered.

“No,” said a voice. All eyes turned to a young, fair-haired Egyptian. “He wouldn’t do such a thing.”

“…Marik…?” the Informant asked, in a quiet voice. He had bonded with the Egyptian during a case that had taken him, the Messenger, and the Techie to Domino City.

“You can vouch for him, Mr. Ishtar?” asked van Ghoul.

“I can,” said Marik. “He’s my friend, as well.”

“And mine,” said another voice the Informant recognized as Yugi Muto. And elsewhere in the room, there was an unmistakable nod from Seto Kaiba, who had apparently been dragged to the council against his will.

“I’ve been guilty of releasing great evil, as well…” Marik said. “That’s why I can sympathize with this detective.”

“Detective?” van Ghoul asked.

The Informant nodded, drawing out his badge with the ACME Triangle of Excellence.

“My colleagues and I were on the trail of a felon who stole the artifact that Veran was trapped in. We noticed something odd about it, but then I heard a woman’s voice crying for help, so I did as she begged me to. The next thing I know, I’m getting stabbed by a thousand points of spite. This dumb amethyst is where she’s staying right now, and she’s bonded me to it.”

He placed the amethyst on the table.

“Little Prince, what are you doing? You must get me out of here… You must get us out of here! They will destroy us both; they will destroy you in order to destroy me! ”

The Informant shuddered as the warlocks immediately debated on what to do.

“If they are bonded, the destroying the bond will destroy them both,” said an unfeeling mage, regarding the young agent with derision. He began to advance upon the horrified detective.

“No,” ordered van Ghoul, as Marik moved to shield the Informant from the approaching warlock. “He shall not be a sacrificial lamb—and that is my final word on that matter.”

“Then what do you suggest?” asked the angry mage. “If we let this boy live, there will be no permanent way of destroying Veran. We might find a way to temporarily stop her, but it will only set her back until she finds some way to return!”

“Then it will be a temporary solution,” said van Ghoul.

“No; he’s right,” said another wizard. “Trade one life in exchange for the world!”

Outside, the Techie could not believe what he was hearing.

“They’re going to kill him!” he screamed, his eyes widening in sheer horror. “They’re going to trade his life for Veran’s defeat!”

“Aiyaaaa!” exclaimed Mr. Chan. “I agree that he must fix the problem he caused, but not by death! He has good Chi; Veran cannot feed off of it. That is our angle!”

“I say we get rid of all the ‘Chi’,” a third wizard sneered. “It’s so much easier that way!”

“You can’t do that!” said Yugi, furiously. Even Seto stood up, silently standing his ground. “He has friends—a family! You can’t treat people’s lives as though they’re meaningless!”

“And what about your friends and family?” asked the wizard, who had suggested sacrificing the Informant. “You want them to be safe, don’t you?”

And Seto scowled, unable to hold his tongue any more.

“I would not kill an innocent man for my brother; I’d find a way to save him myself.”

“Can you save your brother from an onslaught of Shadow?”asked the mage. “Can you save him from monsters—the skeletal Stalfos, for whom chasing down other innocents is nothing more than a game? And then there is Veran herself… This boy may be innocent, but she will warp his mind into her coregent. You will see—the very friends and family who supposedly need him will suffer death at his hands!”

The Informant’s eyes widened in horror, and he stared back at the amethyst… Was he right? How far would this go!?

He stared into the polished sides of the stone, which flickered from the lit torches that hung mounted on the wall of the council room. Fire… Suddenly fire filled his entire vision. Fire was surrounding him… But where was he now? This wasn’t the council room… This wasn’t even van Ghoul’s castle…

He was startled at the robe he was wearing; it was dark and shadowy… And he jumped as he saw Veran beside him, but she wasn’t looking at him; she was staring, amused, at a figure kneeling at his feet, sobbing.

Techie…? the young agent’s mind asked. What’s going on…?

“Don’t go…” the Techie pleaded, between his sobs. “I won’t leave you now… I can’t. I can’t live watching you like this.”

The Informant stared at him. But then his next words and actions were completely out of his control.

“Then die,” he spat, coldly, driving the dagger down.

The Informant’s true self let out a silent cry of horror as the Techie screamed his true name one last time before falling limp.

Techie! his mind silently screamed. TECHIE!

But the next words out of his mouth were still cruel and cold. He snapped his fingers, and two armor-clad skeleton warriors—undoubtedly the aforementioned Stalfos—appeared.

“Take what’s left of him,” he ordered them, kicking the Techie with his foot. “He can serve me best as a Stalfos like you. Turn him into one immediately.”

The Stalfos bowed and dragged the Techie away. And at last, the silent voice inside the Informant burst forth as he realized what he had just done to his cherished friend.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!” he screamed. Then he gasped; he was back in the council chamber, and all eyes were upon him now.

Outside, the Techie thought his heart had stopped for a moment.

“Okay, that’s it; forget the lock picks,” said the Messenger, horrified. He turned to the Inspector. “It’s up to you. You lead us; we’re all going to break that door in.”

Inside the room, the Informant was beginning to realize the significance of what he had seen. The cruel mage had been right; if he lived now, the Techie would die.

He shakily pushed Marik aside, walking over to the mage who had put forth the idea of destroying him. The man still regarded him with contempt.

“You’re right…” the Informant said. “One… One life is worth saving the world. I’ll… I’ll do anything to save my brothers.”

“You can’t…” Marik began, horrified. But he knew exactly how the young detective was feeling; he himself had felt as though he had to have been sacrificed to the Shadow Realm when he had seen how his dark side had treated his family.

The Informant shut his eyes, resigning himself to his fate as the amethyst glowed angrily.

“Anytime you’re ready…” he said, softly.

The mage sneered, raising his staff.

“Don’t you dare,” ordered van Ghoul, his eyes flaring.

The cruel mage paid him no heed.

“He has a backbone,” the man said. “I grant him that. And now I grant his wish.”

“NO!” the Techie screamed as he and the others charged through the doors. “DON’T YOU DARE! DON’T YOU TOUCH HIM!”

The Techie launched himself at the Informant, tackling the poor blond to the ground. The staff’s blow missed him by inches.

“Speak to me!” he cried to the younger agent. “Say something!”

The blond looked up at him with haunted eyes.

“I’m sorry…” the young man whispered.

“You… You saw it, too…” the Techie realized. “You must’ve seen the same vision I did… ” He held the poor blond close, whispering his true name.

“I killed you…” the young man gasped, stunned. “Techie… You… You need to get out of here… You need to get away from me.”

“I could never do that…” Elliott sobbed. “Not after seeing what she wants to do to you.”

But the brunet sobered, and now proceeded to glare at the mage standing before them.

“How dare you…?” he fumed. “He’s innocent. That witch is using him, and you want to sacrifice him because you don’t want to deal with her yourself? You may be a mage, but you’re a filthy coward!”

“He is correct,” said van Ghoul, displeased with what had happened.

“So…” asked Mr. Chan. “You both saw visions?”

“That’s right…” said the Techie. “About Veran using him to… to take me out…” The Informant let out a sob, prompting the Techie to hold him close. The Messenger, the Inspector, and the Rookie were right beside them, their hands on the blond’s shoulders.

“Veran has great hatred towards you,” Mr. Chan observed, as he surveyed the Techie. “You have much good and powerful Chi; she sees you as her biggest threat for success--”

“Wait, don’t we have good Chi, too?” asked the Messenger. “We want to help--”

“Do not interrupt Uncle!” Mr. Chan chided, slapping the Messenger’s forehead with two fingers. The agent yelped as the Chi wizard turned back to the Techie. “She wishes to be rid of you. That is why she showed you visions—she is going to get rid of you in the worst way possible: by getting your comrade to do it for her.”

“Then how do we get rid of her without getting rid of my brother?” asked the Techie.

“It would only be a temporary measure, as was mentioned before,” said van Ghoul. “However, if it succeeds, it will reverse the damage that has been done and will set her plans back considerably. She’ll be drained of all her power and will have to start over from scratch.”

“We’ll take what we can get,” said the Inspector, as the Messenger was still glaring at Mr. Chan for disciplining him.

“There are two options,” van Ghoul went on. “Somewhere in Labrynna is the Master Sword, which defeated Veran centuries ago--”

“Will not work!” Mr. Chan insisted. “Not only is she a spirit, but magic must defeat magic!”

“Which brings us to the other option,” said van Ghoul, glancing at the amethyst. “This stone is what binds her to the young detective. If the stone were to be destroyed, it would free him and drain Veran of her powers.”

“Yes!” said the Techie.

“But,” the head warlock continued. “If we destroy it here, it would not reverse the damage that has been done. And with shadows spreading like wildfire, we need to destroy it in such a way that it would reverse everything. And there’s only one way to do that—climb to the highest peak on Labrynna. You’ll find a dungeon there: the Skull Dungeon, a pit overrun by lava that the Stalfos call home. The stone must be thrown into the pit.”

“Lies!” Veran’s voice screeched in the Informant’s head. “What does he know about me? Little Prince, I would not hurt your friend. What you saw was a false vision, conjured by these mages! You cannot trust them! I alone will be able to free your friends and enemies from stone. Please, Little Prince, do not destroy my stone!”

The Informant got to his feet, shakily, and picked the amethyst up without a word.

“Infy’s going to have to do it,” the Messenger realized, softly. “No one else can touch the thing.”

“You’re not alone, though,” the Inspector promised the young detective.

“We’re all with you,” the Rookie agreed.

“Always,” the Techie promised. And the Informant managed a smile at his friends’ promises. They were not going to let any harm befall him… They’d be going with him…

That was when the stone flashed, rising out of his hand. The Techie cried out, unsure of what was happening. He held the Informant close, trying to shield him from the stone.

Veran briefly did appear out of the stone.

“Fools!” she shrieked. “You cannot be rid of me so easily! My Little Prince will not allow any harm to befall me! Not when I control the fates of his friends!”

The stone flashed once more, filling the room with blinding light.

“Techie!” the Informant cried, unable to see. Had she done something to him!?

“I’m here!” he called back. “I’m still here!”

He blinked. Veran had gone, withdrawing back into the stone, which fell back into the Informant’s hand.

“What was that…?” the Inspector grumbled, passing a hand over his eyes.

He froze he heard the gasp from the Messenger.

“What…?”

He stared, stunned at the scene before him. The Techie gasped next, and the Informant let out an unintelligible whimper.

The Rookie was now frozen in time, encased in stone.