The Silence of a Somber Day

Hail

"Big Q! Thanks for meeting up with us!" Tommy called out as he entered the dining area of the Needle. He had noticed as soon as he got there that Quackity had been eyeing both him and the railing, but Tommy decided against getting into that. Tommy wasn't there for his past problems. He was there to help Purpled.

"It's my placer, Little T. You said that you had something important to discuss. Does it involve... that person?" Quackity said, gesturing towards the blonde that was leaning against the railing with wide eyes, looking across Las Nevadas with fascination. Quackity was fine with that since the Needle was built for the exact purpose of people viewing the entertainment center, but Quackity had never seen that person with Tommy before.

"That idiot is my cousin, Purpled. We've been job hunting for a little while now. That's when I saw the ad for security personnel at Las Nevadas," Tommy said as he sat down across from Quackity with a collected smile. "Purpled is the man for the job."

"What makes you so sure?" Quackity asked as he took a sip of his beverage. A waitress stopped by to place another cup down in front of Tommy. The teenager smiled happily as he took a sip of his favorite drink, one he liked even more than coke: gapple juice. It wasn't a popular drink choice, but Quackity made sure it was a menu option after Tommy expressed vividly how it was wrong for any establishment not to serve the golden juice.

"I could tell you, but it'd be better to show you. You already have someone hired for security, right? Purpled should take them on in a fight to prove that he has the skills," Tommy said after he enjoyed his drink. If Quackity knew the truth, Tommy would have been able to tell Quackity exactly where all his security guards were, where the cameras were, and the times when shifts changed. Tommy had memorized all the information the day before he and Wilbur came, and he did another check before he dragged Purpled to come along. It was standard protocol in Tommy's book. He had to know where everything was in the case of an emergency.

"In terms of security, our equipo is rather lackluster, but I have an amigo who can take the challenge. If Purpled can defeat her, I'll let him become the head of seguridad!" Quackity exclaimed with a clap of his hands.

Tommy gave a grateful smile as he stood up, picking his drink off the table. "As much as I'd love to watch someone get their ass beat, I have somewhere to be. An exchange of favors, one would say."

"I'll see you around then, Tommy?" Quackity said with a hesitant smile. Tommy didn't reply as he walked away, stepping into the elevator that took him down the Needle. Purpled watched him go, able to see Tommy's frown as the elevator doors closed.

———

It was an engineering marvel, but is was ugly as all get out. Thousands of glass panes were lined up to create a solid surface above the hollowed earth beneath them. The smell of gunpowder never quite went away from the air, and the sky was masked with a gray smog that made the blue less prominent. Rolling hills surrounded the area with a few of the hills being stripped bare of the grass and upper layers of soil.

"Do you know where we are?" Tempest asked as he tapped his foot against the glass he stood on. The danger was equal to standing on a pond with a thin layer of ice forming on the surface. It had withstood many tests to make sure that the glass wouldn't crack, but Tempest knew better than to accept danger assessments at face value.

"Wasn't this where the Bombing of L'Manberg occurred?" Totem said as he looked down at glass, standing on one of the bridges made of compacted dirt over concrete that made strips across the landscape. Totem could see miles down to bedrock that the explosions reached to.

"When L'Manberg was a newly developed colony, when it was fighting for independence from the motherland, a villain had the bright idea to blow up the colony. Do you know who that villain was?" Tempest said quietly. He stared up at the sky, a hand covering the sun from getting in his eyes. "His name was William, the revolution's leader."

"What?" Totem said with a surprised blink. He didn't know the full story of what happened, but he had overheard bits and pieces from civilians and villains, and an occasional remark from a hero.

"Come here, Totem, let me show you something, alright? You're still very new around here," Tempest said, reaching hand back towards Totem. The older hero took the hand, hesitantly walking across the glass to stand beside Tempest. "You see this? L'Manberg?"

"Yeah, I've heard some of this before," Totem reassured Tempest that he wasn't learning off of no information at all.

"This was William's nation. It was William's. Which makes it all the more heart wrenching," Tempest continued as he looked around for other people. This place was considered more of a memorial than a visiting grounds, so there wasn't anyone around them. Distantly, Tempest could hear traffic. "And he decided that even, and he doesn't mean this, but even though at the time when he made this to get away from Essempei's strict laws. Because the Essempei wouldn't let L'Manberg have freedom. Essempei told L'Manberg it had to live under its big iron fist. People like William didn't think that was fair. Do you think that was fair, Totem?"

He was lost in the story that he didn't notice his name was called. Tempest made it sound like he knew William personally, but Totem wasn't sure how that came to be. "No, no, so he was like a revolutionary. A revolutionist, basically."

"So, William made this nation, and it was glorious and amazing. Lots of nations and people challenged it, but L'Manberg never strayed from its core belief of freedom for all... you really don't know the story?" Tempest asked. Totem gave a regretful reply as Tempest continued. "You know the phrase 'treat others the way you want to be treated'? That's a really important phrase. People hear it from their teachers and authority figures, but it's a load of bullshit."

"Why do you think that?" Totem asked quickly. It was strange to hear a hero call out the Golden Rule as being lies. Totem didn't believe as strongly in the philosophy as he once did, but it was strange to hear Dream's former sidekick mutter such a phrase so confidently.

"Honestly, sometimes, I don't know myself," Tempest chuckled as he walked forwards, pulling Totem along with him. They eventually reached the shrine that held memorabilia of the original days of L'Manberg and even a few remnants of William. Tempest held a hand over one of the blocks. "This was where the button that shattered L'Manberg into a million pieces."

They both took a brief moment of silence before Tempest walked away. He didn't drag Totem this time, so the hero had to keep pace without any help. "William was a good man. All throughout his life. That I believe. But he was a bad guy for a very, very long time. There was always good in him. Really, there's still good in everyone, Totem, if they all are assholes and wankers..."

"Do you believe in second chances?" Totem interrupted. All his life, second chances was what Totem truly believed in.

"I don't. I don't really believe in second chances. That's not a thing for people like me, Totem. It's just..." Tempest gave a small sigh. "I like to believe that everyone has a little bit of good in them. I think all William was doing was being a bad guy. That's okay. We're all bad guys sometimes. Everyone messes up. You learn the most from your mistakes."

"Yeah," Totem agreed with a small smile. It was almost endearing to hear this from the infamous Tempest. He was known as the man who utilized his mistakes, whose failings brung about an even more prosperous triumph. Those were what rumors painted Tempest to be.

"This isn't about giving people a second. This isn't about giving them a third chance. It's not about chances. It's about making sure you don't give up on the people you care about," Tempest explained. "So, if you ever care about someone, do not give up on them. Don't give up on people. The moment you do, you're more of a villain than a hero."

Totem continued the trek towards the hills, but Tempest stayed in the middle of the glass. Totem gave him a huge wave. "Thanks for the talk! I appreciated it!"

Tempest didn't seem to be looking at Totem as the hero pulled something from its side pocket. Totem squinted as he recognized the device as a gun. Tempest aimed it right for Totem's head before pulling the trigger. Totem hit the deck, afraid that Tempest was taking revenge for usurping his position.

"Hey!" Someone yelled as the bullet flew right over their head. The dragon who helped take Niki and Jack was there, two steps away from taking Totem's heart.