Vengeance is Sweet

Hold up, you're Dragon-Scale Hunter? Laclair, right?

I am. What do you need me for?

I've got a letter addressed to you. Take it off my hands will ya?

I was starting to wonder what he's been getting up to... Thanks.

Who's it from?

My father, my foster father, not my birth one. If it wasn't for him, I would have died that day the dinosaur attacked.

All alone... All alone... Mom, Dad...

This is unreal! I've never seen such carnage in all my days.

Girly, I'mma get you out of here. C'mon, ya don't wanna become dino chow, do ya?! Follow me!

...And that's how I narrowly escaped becoming dino chow.

So you owe him your life... How was he as a father?

I owe him more than just my life, he taught me all the essentials of ranging. He was also the one who gave me the dinosaur scale. He always told me it would lead me to my destiny one day.

That's why everyone has been calling you the Dragon-Scale Hunter this whole time.

The scale has been a symbol of my purpose in life, and my burden.

We've barely ever met since I set out on my journey to track down my enemy. He's something of a wanderer himself. We've kept in touch through letters.

Why were you so eager to get in touch this time?

I told you, we found a very important clue on our trip to Antiquity. Now I have something I have to verify with him. He said in his letter he'll be in Zarbo.

He's not here yet...

Laclair, you've come at last!

How many years has it been? You've grown into quite a fearsome lookin' ranger, haven't ya!

And you don't look a day older. What's your secret to staying in such great shape?

Haha, quite the looker ain't I! Anyhoo, who's this soft-looking fella you've got with ya?

I hope you can wield that oversized sword young man. If not, you ain't worthy of bein' in the company of my daughter, let me tell ya.

I wouldn't say "over" sized. The extra power comes in handy sometimes.

Don't judge a sword by its sheath, you should know that, Father. I'd trust Aldo with my life.

That much? Why Laclair, that's just wonderful. Real wonderful.

To think my loner daughter would ever make a friend... I'm wellin' up. Right, let's go to the tavern right now. I'mma propose a toast to friendship! Aldo, I hope you can hold your punch. *wink*

This is no time to be getting mirthful. I have to ask you about something very important.

Well, go on then. No need to be getting all stiff-like, is there? No sir, there ain't.

It's about the dragon. Or dinosaur even. I have a promising lead.

Ya still haven't given up on that? All you're doing is endangering your life, Laclair. It ain't smart business. You're better off lettin' sleepin' dinos lie. The dead are dead... It'd be so much wiser if you focused on doin' stuff that makes ya happy.

Not a chance. You of all people should understand. I have to put the screaming to rest. Until then, my life won't be anything except a tortured one. You and I both know the only way for me to get closure is to kill the wretch.

That's what I said... And that's what I still believe.

Why can't you be straight with me, even now? You could help me track the dinosaur down if you really wanted to!

Naw Laclair, this one's over my head, I told ya...

Tell me, Father, just tell me. Confirm what I already know. You came to this era through a portal in Antiquity! Along with the dinosaur!

Eh?! I don't see how you coulda...

Right... So you went to the past and saw the old me get sucked into the spacetime whatever? Makes sense now.

What happened after the spacetime rift sucked you in?

The dino weren't with me when I landed with a bump on some wet and miserable mountainside. 'Course I'm no cosmologist, so it didn't occur to me straight away that I'd just travelled across time and space. I was wandering around, cold and hungry. Finally came to a village, thought: "great, this is nice." And there's the dino, wreaking havoc.

......

You'll never forgive me now, will ya? If I'd been smarter, I'd have caught up to the dino in time and warned the village. I'm no father material, I know that. But I couldn't help take ya in, knowing I was at fault for the whole tragedy.

What nonsense. How was it your fault in the slightest? Such empty words... I didn't come here to get an apology out of you, Father. I just want to know... Where is he? You know, don't you?

Thought it might come to this one day... Right, come with me. We're goin' to the Rucyana Sands.

Laclair, how comes you reckoned I would know where the dino is?

You're an excellent ranger. Far superior to me, and you've known all these years what species to look for.

You knew its footprint, the kind of region it's likely to live in, and therefore the sort of prey it hunts. You also have a good idea of how dangerous it is, which is why you tried to keep me away from it all this time... By feeding me false information and leading me down dead-ends...

Too smart for yer own good, that's your problem, Laclair. No use tryna hide things from you, is it. So, this desert is where the dino's been livin' of late. I've seen her dung, but not her herself, which is good 'cos if I had, then my remains mighta been in said dung. She's scarcely been about lately. Might be that she's holed up somewhere. Not sure why that would be though.

I imagined you'd have been able to locate her.

Could if I wanted to, but yeah... This thingy here oughta do the trick. It's a fragrance made from mixing the scents of her various favorite foods. I put this together after inspecting her dung and figuring out what she likes to eat. Impressive, eh?

I really appreciate this, Father.

Shall we get going, Aldo?

Do you think you would want to return to Antiquity if given the chance? We could take you there easily if you wanted.

It's all good, thanks fella. Like Laclair prolly told ya, I'm a wanderer to my core, doesn't bother me if I'm in 20,000BC or 300AD. S'not like I've got anythin' waitin' for me back there. It's been a simple life of hard work and hard partyin' for me.

Uh, okay. Good to hear. (Hard partying, really?)

Sorry if I was a bit hard on ya earlier, calling ya a softie and all that. C'mere, lemme give ya a good bit of advice.

*psst* Right, I've got one more confession... The reason Laclair's so hell-bent on revenge is 'cos of one of my screw ups. After the attack on the village, when we two was on the run, Laclair was all miserable-like.

That's natural. Any kid would have been the same.

I wanted her to snap out of it. Take him down, I said, and that'll solve everything. I wanted to give her hope and all that. Lookin' back, it mighta been better to let her grieve and recover in her own time.

I'm not saying it won't help, I just don't think killing the dinosaur will instantly heal all of Laclair's trauma.

Saying things like that to her... I'm a damn moron. But you're not, are ya Aldo? That's why it's down to you to save the day. Laclair's countin' on ya as well, ain't she?

I always give my all for my friends. The dinosaur will be a tough foe, but I believe in Laclair.

That's the stuff, boyo. Go 'n' get 'im!

Something you didn't want me to hear, Father?

Jus' a spot of manly chat. Desperate to join in, were ya? Anyhoo, one last thing from me... Your target has got a special ability. She can adapt to her environment like no other dino you ever knew. She's been livin' in this desert over 10 years now. No surprise there she's adapted. Let yer guards down and you'll be lunch.

My friends would never forgive me if I got eaten. I'll be extra careful.

You'll be safe from the dinosaur's jaws with me by your side, Aldo. Now let's head into the desert proper!

A footprint. Fresh. It's her, no shadow of a doubt.

It couldn't be one of her relatives I guess, since they're all so far away...in time.

Which direction? Can you tell?

Mother of Gnome...

It's grown even more! It was fairly huge to begin with... We're like gingerbread men in comparison! Can we really fight this thing?

......

All of my dragon-hunting quests, all of my journeying, they've all lead to this! You fall today, dinosaur! Your existence in this time is an aberration... A wrong that I will right by slaying you!

This ends it!

Drrrrrraaaaaaaaaaargh!

It's...dead. Actually dead. Everyone is avenged! Everyone... Mom, Dad...

Yes! Yes! Yeeeeeeeeeeeess! I've done it, Aldo! I've killed it!

Great. (Now try not to kill yourself from overexcitement...)

But, Aldo...

What's up? You're looking down all of a sudden.

I don't understand...why? Why hasn't it stopped? The screaming in my head. And the images of the villagers' faces, contorted with fear, I still see them. Why...

This is what I was worried about. It didn't make any sense to expect killing your enemy to heal all the scars it inflicted on you. That's a separate process you have to address on its own.

Gnawwgh!

What the...

It's not usual for reptiles to be able to breed without a partner, is it? Your father said something about adapting to the environment...

It seems like a stretch to put a fatherless birth down to living in the desert though, doesn't it? Wait...

I get it... It wasn't finished!

Aldo? What stupidity is this? You have no right to stand in my way.

And you have no right to kill this dinosaur without good reason. What would be the point, Laclair? This one hasn't killed anyone's family or wiped out any villages. It's just a helpless child.

It's my enemy, Aldo. It's the offspring of my mortal enemy, so it's my enemy, too. This will resolve everything... How could you betray me right at the end?!

It won't resolve a thing, Laclair. Wake up!

...... You don't think it will?

You honored the memory of the dead by taking down their killer. That's more than enough. Your dad had a point, it's better for you to focus on finding happiness. Now's the time to start!

I...

I can't!

How can I...do anything now? Everything was about this. There's...nothing now!

I've thought of something that might help you get closure. Let's go to the Vasu Mountains in Antiquity again.

Let's end this tragic story with a peaceful gesture. Not a bad idea, right?

The dinosaur's natural home is this mountain. It should have no need to wander. Barring the unlikely event that another spacetime rift shows up, there should be no repeat of the tragedy that befell my village.

How do you feel?

I can still hear the screams...

I see...

However... Since I broke down in the desert like that, they've become fainter.

As pathetic as that was, it was good to let those emotions out. Now when I look back on everything that's happened to me... The pain I feel is dulled. A scar will remain, but I can finally start to recover.

Could I continue to accompany you on your travels?

Sure. The more the merrier and all that, right?

Thank you. Now it's time for me to start thinking about what I want to do with the rest of my life. My journey up until now has made me into a skilled ranger. I want to use my skills to help those who are suffering as I was.

If saving people is your goal you could definitely do worse than tag along with me.

Right? Aldo, are you sure you don't have a trouble-magnet hidden in your jacket?

Heh. You know, I think that's the first time I've heard you tell a joke. Not a bad first attempt, but you'll have your work cut out for you if you want to beat me!

Oh? Well, I like a challenge.

Perhaps my new purpose in life could be to bring joy to others through laughter. That wouldn't be the best use of my bow and arrow skills though. Unless we put together a routine in which I shoot an apple off your head and...

Anyhow, let's replace the screams in my head with howls of laughter instead.

I know I'll be motivated to tell good jokes if it'll get you to laugh more.

I'll try my best, but I'm naturally a bit moody you know.

Yeah I figured... Let's forget about that comedy routine then.

Aww, really?