Chapter 4 - Second Dates
An hour or so later Hammer walks out of a dressing room. She is wearing a little black dress along with some new black heels. She smiles nervously.
“How do I look now?”
“Very nice. But a better question would be how do YOU feel?”
Hammer blushes slightly. “A bit self-conscious, actually.”
“Would you like to try something else on? That’s only the first outfit.”
“No, this is fine. Just let me go pay for this stuff and we’ll be off.”
“Okay. But what about… that?”
He points back into the dressing room at the olive green dress lying on the floor.
“Just throw it in the trash, would you?”
“Sure.”
Hammer turns and walks toward the cashier. Arc steps into the dressing room and picks up the dress as Cherry calls out to him.
“That really is an ugly color.”
Arc sighs. “Agreed.”
“I think there was a trash can near the door.”
Stepping out of the dressing room Arc tosses the dress into the garbage and sits down to wait. A few minutes later Hammer returns.
“Sorry for making you wait.”
“It’s fine, Hammer.”
“Let’s get going then.”
“Sure.”
They return to the Jeep as Hammer turns to Arc.
“So what do we… um… what now?”
“Since you’re feeling more comfortable, how about something to eat?”
“That… sounds okay, sure.”
Arc heads for a nearby restaurant. Pulling into the lot he parks and turns to his date.
“I hope this is okay.”
Hammer looks hopeful. “Do they have more of that pizza and lasagna here?”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “Um… no. This is a steakhouse.”
“What’s steak?”
“Wait, what?”
Hammer looks away. “I just… um…”
“Why don’t we go inside and I’ll show you.”
Opening their doors the pair walk toward the building. Entering they are seated at a small corner table. Hammer looks over the menu, clearly confused.
“Everything on this is just so… brown.”
“Brown?”
She turns the menu toward him and points.
“It all looks like… reddish dirt!”
“I guess it kinda does. But do you smell that?”
Hammer sniffs. “Smell what?”
“Just the air.”
“What am I supposed to be sniffing for?”
Arc grins. “How good it smells in here.”
“They must use really interesting air fresheners.”
“It’s the food cooking, Hammer.”
“It is?”
Arc nods. “Yes. Remember how you liked the smell of that restaurant we went to last time? How much you liked the food there?”
“Yeah! That place was awesome! So what you’re saying is… what though?”
“Taste with your nose.”
Hammer raises an eyebrow. “Come again?”
“If it smells good, give it a chance.”
“So you mean food that smells good will taste good too?”
“Usually, yes.”
“What if it smells bad?”
Arc shrugs. “Well… it might still taste good. Take sauerkraut for example. Smells bad but tastes great.”
Hammer grimaces. “I don’t know what sauerkraut is, but if our Mess Hall food is any indication, bad smelling can still mean bad tasting.”
She looks down at the menu again.
“But that doesn’t really tell me what I should order.”
“How about you let me do that for you?”
Hammer shrugs. “I guess I’ll have to. After all, you were right the last time.”
A waitress walks over to their table.
“Good evening. What can I get you two?”
“I’ll take a T-bone steak, medium, with a side of baked potatoes and steamed mixed vegetables. And my friend here will have a… uh… medium well Prime Rib with a side of mashed potatoes and carrots.”
“And to drink?”
“Coke for both of us please.”
“Yes sir. I’ll put your order in right away.”
She takes their menus and walks away. Hammer looks to Arc relieved.
“Thanks. I wasn’t sure at all how to do that. But what was all that about ‘medium-well’?”
“That’s how cooked you want the meat. The least cooked is called ‘rare’. It’s dark red with lots of juices oozing out. On the other end of the spectrum is ‘well done’. It means the meat is cooked for a very long time, has no red left in it, and can sometimes be a bit dry.”
“So what’s the right way to get it? Medium like you did?”
Arc shrugs. “There really isn’t a ‘right’ way to order your steak. It’s a matter of opinion really. Of personal taste. I ordered you medium-well because I wasn’t sure how you’d react to a lot of pink in your meat.”
The sound of someone clearing their throat loudly is heard next to them. Arc and Hammer turn to look at the man standing in front of their table.
“Good evening, Marshal.”
“Hi, Arc. I thought that was you. Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to ask your friend something.”
Hammer frowns. “Me?”
Raynor nods. “Yes. You look an awful lot like a certain individual who’s been terrorizing Angel Grove.”
Hammer glares at him. “What?! I…!”
Arc holds up a hand for silence. “Easy there, my friend. Let’s hear the marshal out.”
Raynor pulls out his cell phone. “Take a look at this.”
Pressing ‘Play’ they watch Minerva’s broadcast of Hammer’s antics at The Rider’s hideout.
“That looks a lot like you, miss.”
Arc shrugs. “I admit, it kinda does. But weren’t you on duty at the time, Hammer?”
Raynor raises an eyebrow. “On duty?”
Hammer nods. “I’m a sergeant in the military. And yes, I was.”
“Where?”
“The base outside of town.”
Raynor frowns. “I’d ask to talk to your commanding officer if that’s true, but I’ve already tried that.”
“He’s a very busy man.”
Raynor narrows his eyes. “The Shards aren’t looking to make a comeback, now are they?”
Hammer glares at him. “How should I know?!”
Arc clears his throat. “Marshal, I know the Shards were a big problem a while back. However, they haven’t made so much as a peep in quite some time.”
“That may be. But if I catch any of them skulking around I’m still going to question them at the station.”
He turns to Hammer with the cell phone.
“And this is clearly you.”
“Marshal… Jim. I can assure you that my friend here isn’t a threat to anyone. And neither are the Shards.”
Raynor considers this for a moment before nodding.
“Alright. I’ll take your word for it, Arc. But please see to it there isn’t any more… trouble.”
“Yes sir.”
“Have a… nice evening.”
He turns and walks away. Hammer looks to Arc, clearly impressed.
“What the heck was that?!”
Arc chuckles. “Just a little fast talking to keep you out of jail.”
“No, no! I mean how he just believed you so easily!”
“Let’s just say the marshal and I go way back.”
Hammer leans forward and lowers her voice. “So you two have some kind of… agreement?”
“You could say that.”
“Impressive. I can only assume how much that helps your detective work.”
“It doesn’t really. Truth be told, it’s more of an understanding for him to look the other way on a few things.”
A short time later their food arrives. Hammer eyes it suspiciously.
“What’s this called again?”
“Prime Rib.”
“I’ll admit, it certainly smells nice.”
“Try it. I do believe you’ll like it.”
Hammer takes her silverware and cuts off a small piece. Chewing it she smiles broadly.
“This is… this is amazing!”
Arc chuckles as she eats with gusto. “Try combining it with the mashed potatoes for a real treat.”
Hammer grins between bites. “I wasn’t aware something that looks so strange could be so flavorful! Or that potatoes could actually taste good!”
“Mess Hall food memories?”
“You know it.”
“I thought Mio was supposed to be a pretty good cook. How do you not know about Prime Rib?”
Hammer grunts. “Mio doesn’t like the sight of meat. So she never cooks with it.”
“So she’s a vegetarian, huh?”
“Yup. I do like some of what she cooks, mind you. And by ‘cook’ I mostly mean boiling vegetables and package meals. But this is beyond anything I thought possible!”
Arc chuckles. “Be sure to save room for dessert.”
“What’s ‘dessert’?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
An hour or so later the pair leave the restaurant and return to the Jeep. Hammer grins at him.
“That was a meal and a half!”
“You sure can eat though.”
“It’s easy when the food actually tastes good!”
She laughs throatily as Arc starts the Jeep and pulls out of the parking lot.
“So… um… what do we do next?”
“Well… we could go catch a movie.”
Hammer grins. “Yeah, let’s go! The night is young after all!”
A few hours later the pair exit the theater. Hammer happily continues munching on popcorn as she turns to Arc.
“That was great!”
“Let me guess. You’ve never seen a movie before?”
Hammer shakes her head. “Nope. At least not like that.”
“Oh?”
“Sometimes Stingray, Mio, and I will see something on television. But that’s a far cry from what we saw here on that really big screen!”
“It is night and day difference between the two, yes.”
They are silent for a few moments before Arc continues.
“In any case, I should probably get you home.”
Hammer’s eyes grow wide. “Wha-what?!”
“It is getting kinda late, after all. Don’t you have to work tomorrow?”
“I… kinda, yeah.”
“Should I take you back to your apartment or to your sister’s place?”
“Well… I… um…”
“Something wrong?”
“N-no. I just… live in both places.”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “Two apartments?”
“Something like that.”
She sighs.
“But neither of them really feel right.”
“You and your sisters don’t get along, huh?”
“We do and we don’t. Sorry, but it’s complicated.”
“So I should take you back to your apartment then?”
Hammer shrugs. “I guess so. It’s kinda lonely there though.”
She looks out the window and frowns.
“To me, the world’s a really dark and lonely place. I gotta admit, you and your employees seem to really like being together.”
“Yeah. It does make our work that much easier.”
Hammer chuckles. “You looking to hire on more help?”
“Maybe. If the right person presented themselves, that is.”
“I’m joking, of course. Stingray and Mio need me.”
“Of course.”
Hammer is suddenly serious. “But… what’s it like?”
“Working together happily?”
“Yeah. You guys were more like friends than coworkers.”
She looks back to him.
“But then again, I don’t actually know what having a real friend is like.”
“No friends either, huh?”
“Just Stingray and Mio. But I don’t think they count.”
“They do if they care about you.”
Hammer rolls her eyes. “I question that sometimes.”
“You would know better than I would. But to answer your question, it’s awesome.”
“Tell me more.”
“I can always count on them. They’re tireless in their efforts to get the job done. And if an operation I’m doing goes sour, I know they’ll be there to get me out.”
“Like when?”
“Sorry, but I can’t really give specifics.”
Hammer sighs. “I understand.”
Arc thinks for a moment. “Well… without giving any names, dates, or places… one time I was going after a… let’s just say very bad individual. He crashed his… vehicle, and was thought to be dead. We went to check though, and he got out of the wreckage. Somehow still able to walk, this guy still wanted a piece of me for screwing up his plans. My boys surrounded that scum-sucker and took him down.”
Hammer gasps. “That sounds real brave of them.”
“They are.”
“I know my sisters would do the same. But I do wish they’d be a bit more… family-like sometimes. Having someone to talk to about things outside of work related stuff would certainly be nice.”
“Knowing who to trust really is important to make it through life.”
“Yes, well…”
She looks out the window again as her voice trails off. Spotting an empty parking lot ahead she points.
“Would you turn in here please?”
“Um… okay.”
Pulling into the lot Arc parks and turns to Hammer.
“What’s up?”
Hammer looks around nervously. “I need to talk to you about something… let’s just say pretty important.”
“Huh?”
“That and I need it to stay between us.”
She takes a deep breath before continuing.
“I… really need your help.”
Sometime later Arc returns home. He pulls into the driveway and shuts off the engine. Sighing, he leans back in the seat as Cherry calls out to him.
“That… sort of went well.”
Arc groans. “Yeah. Better than I thought it would. Unfortunately…”
“You’re thinking about what Dinky said?”
“I am. As it stands, I’m really just leading Hammer on.”
“And you’re having second thoughts about that?”
“Right. Should I keep going down this path?”
Cherry sighs. “Well, you did agree to help her a little while ago.”
“I suppose so.”
“At the very least, you need to fulfill her request as laid out.”
Arc nods silently as he gets out of the Jeep and walks toward the back door. “That I do. But I need to get changed first.”
“And get a good night’s sleep.”
“It can wait.”
“With as late as it is?!”
“I’ll shower, take a portal back to the campsite, and…”
Ember lands roughly in front of him.
“Woah! Ember?!”
She puts up a hand and grins. “Yo!”
“Where did you come from?!”
“Little bit of everywhere actually.”
Arc frowns. “I don’t understand.”
“The guys keep their magic cloaks hung up in the basement. I just borrowed one and followed you everywhere.”
“Even in the restaurant?”
Ember grins. “I was in the Jeep too.”
“How?!”
“Matter Compacting Spell.”
Arc sighs. “Makes sense. So I guess you heard everything then, huh?”
“Yup.”
“So… is this the part where you tell me my plan’s terrible?”
Ember shakes her head. “Nah. Hammer and her sisters have this coming! Go for it!”
“That… somehow actually makes me feel worse about it.”
Ember frowns as they walk into the house together. “Well, that’s my opinion anyways.”
The sound of Viktor coming up the stairs can be heard. He approaches the pair.
“It didn’t sound like that date went too bad, eh sir?”
“Nah, it was fine.”
Ember shrugs. “What do you think, Viktor?”
“About what exactly?”
Cherry calls out. “Arc feels bad about how he’s leading Hammer on.”
“Truthfully, I don’t like it either. But… we need to find Princess Celestia. This might be the best way to do it.”
Arc sighs. “But… but what am I supposed to do when it’s over?”
Cherry sounds confuse. “Do what, Arc?”
“How do I break it off with Hammer?”
Ember grins toothily. “Easy. Goodbye!”
Arc frowns. “That sounds really harsh.”
“So what? It’s just Hammer.”
“I’ll have to give this some more thought.”
Ember yawns. “You do that. I’m heading to bed. Watching you two all night really wore me out.”
Viktor calls out after her. “Good night, Ember.”
“See ya.”
Viktor turns to Arc as Ember heads for the doorway.
“I recorded everything as ordered, sir.”
“Good. Now we can…”
Ember suddenly calls out.
“Guys?!”
“What is it?”
Turning, Arc and Viktor see Ember standing in the Living Room motionlessly.
“Ember?”
They step into the next room as Ember silently points a claw toward the couch. Wiseman sits there motionlessly. Arc frowns.
“You again?!”
Wiseman nods. “Yes, me again.”
Viktor moves to stand between them. “Your orders, sir?!”
“I’ll handle this. Go downstairs, Viktor.”
“Yes sir. Um… call if you need me.”
He turns and leaves the room as Arc and Ember step forward. Ember groans.
“What do you want now?!”
Arc sighs. “Let me guess. More words of wisdom for me?”
“Just a bit of a talk, actually.”
Wiseman stands and walks over to Arc. Stopping, he puts a hand on his shoulder.
“Hammer may be your enemy. But even she is a human being. More or less, anyways.”
Ember grits her teeth. “She’s trash!”
Wiseman turns to Ember. “Is she now? Do I detect a hint of jealously in your voice?”
“Get the wax out of your ears! Me? Jealous of Hammer?!”
“Yes. Arc’s taken her out twice now, as well as allowed her to spend the day with him and the others on the beach. How many dates has he taken you on?”
Ember clenches her fists angrily. “We’re together all the time!”
“Then why are you so upset?”
“I’M NOT UPSET!”
Arc takes a step back. “Woah!”
Ember fumes as Arc turns to Wiseman.
“Let’s say I agree with you. How else am I supposed to get the information I need?”
“There are always other ways, Arc. You know this to be true.”
“Yeah. But right now I can’t think of anything.”
Wiseman sighs and shakes his head. “Then by all means, continue to toy with her feelings. See how that ends… for both of you.”
Ember rolls her eyes. “Uh… it’s going to end with him rescuing the princess!”
“Is it now? Tell me, Dragon Lord, can you now see into the future?”
“No one can!”
“Remember that fact, and think on this as well. What if you found out that Arc didn’t care about you? That he was only leading you on for your position, or perhaps for your help.”
Ember glares at Wiseman. “He isn’t!”
Arc nods fervently. “Right! Ember’s my friend!”
“I believe you two. But that doesn’t answer my question.”
Ember thinks for a moment. “I’d… um… I don’t know!”
“Yes, you do, Ember. We both know that you’d be very mad and hurt by his treatment of you and your feelings. Such things a hero such as himself would do well to avoid.”
Arc nods soberly. “I’ll… keep that in mind.”
“You do that.”
Ember appears hopeful. “Does that mean you’re leaving?!”
“Yes. Take care you two.”
Wiseman fades away as Ember turns to Arc.
“The nerve of that guy! Suggesting you were just using me!”
Arc looks away sadly. “Y-yeah.”
Cherry calls out. “Arc? What is it?”
“He’s right, you know.”
Ember takes a step back, surprised. “Wha-what?! But… but this is just so sudden, Arc!”
“Huh? No! I mean the other stuff he said!”
“Oh… which parts?”
“All of it.”
Ember frowns. “So you’re taking his side over the mission?!”
Arc shakes his head. “No. I’ll do what I have to. Even if…”
He heads over to the stairs and slowly walks up them.
“…even if what I’m doing here isn’t exactly… right.”
Arc enters the bathroom. Removing his formal attire, he steps into the shower and rests his head on the tile wall.
“I’m sorry, Hammer. But I don’t see any other way to do this.”
Sometime later Arc returns to the campsite via sigil. Looking around he spots Auriel and Sereb sitting in front of a small campfire. Walking over he sits down next to her.
“Couldn’t sleep?”
Auriel shakes her head. “Kinda afraid to actually.”
“Dreams?”
Auriel nods as Arc continues.
“But you are tired, right?”
“Very.”
Sereb turns to her. “Get some rest, my friend. You’ve been very busy lately.”
“Sereb’s right. Come on.”
Arc takes her hand and leads her toward the tent.
“Let’s get you to bed. We have a busy day tomorrow.”
“We do?”
Arc nods. “Yes. But I’ll tell you all about it later.”
“Arc?”
“Yes?”
“I… it’s just…”
She fumbles with her words for a few moments before sighing.
“Never mind.”
“Um… okay.”
Pushing aside the tent flap Arc lays down next to Dinky who is sprawled out on top of her sleeping bag. Auriel lays down on the other side of him and presses her body against his.
“Good night Auriel.”
“Night.”
Meanwhile, Sereb looks into the fire and sighs.
“Auriel. What an interesting young woman. I can’t help but wonder when, or if, you’ll be able to be honest with Arc. Or yourself for that matter.”
The next morning Arc and company sit around the campfire eating breakfast. Max turns to Arc.
“So how was your date last night, sir?”
“It went okay, I guess.”
“Was it fun, dad?”
“Sort of.”
Sereb looks over. “Something happened, eh?”
“I… yeah.”
Dinky appears nervous. “So… what?”
Arc sighs and tosses the majority of his cereal into the fire.
“Hammer, she… um…”
Hugh clears his throat as Arc’s voice trails off. “Sir, we can help if you’ll tell us what to do.”
Xenos nods. “Yeah. We’re here for you.”
“Thanks. Well, you see… last night Hammer… asked for my help.”
Auriel looks confused. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing inherently. But she wants to hire me.”
“Like for a job, dad?”
“Yes. I told her I was a private investigator, and all you guys were my employees.”
Max nods. “So she wants us to look into something for her?”
“That she does.”
Sereb grins. “What is our target?”
“Mio.”
Xenos appears surprised. “Her sister?”
“Yup.”
Hugh frowns. “But why?”
“She claims Mio’s been going out at night.”
Max sighs. “Where to?”
“No idea. That’s where we come in.”
Auriel tilts her head to one side. “Why doesn’t she just ask her?”
“I brought that up. Hammer claims Mio won’t say. She even denies going out at all.”
“Can’t she just follow this person herself, dad?”
“Probably. I’m guessing Mio can sense the magic in Hammer though. Of course she didn’t admit that, but it’s all I could come up with.”
Sereb nods. “The theory is sound.”
Arc sighs. “There’s only one problem though. I can’t do this.”
Xenos raises an eyebrow. “Sir?”
“Mio knows my face. If she spots me, it’ll blow my cover.”
Auriel gasps. “So who’s going to do it?”
“I was thinking Hugh.”
“Sure, sir. All I have to do is tail her, right?”
Arc nods. “And take pictures of Mio to show Hammer what she’s up to.”
Dinky turns to her father. “Pictures?”
“That was something Hammer insisted on.”
Max frowns. “What for? Doesn’t she trust our word?”
“Maybe. But I didn’t want to argue with her.”
Reaching into his ring, Arc pulls out a small camera and tosses it to Hugh.
“This should do the job. Viktor can download whatever shots you get and blow them up before printing.”
“And if she sees me?”
Xenos laughs. “How? You’ll be invisible.”
Max shakes his head. “That won’t work on Mio. Remember?”
Arc nods. “Right. She can sense magical power, or something. So that means the best way to pull this off is to hide in plain sight.”
Sereb groans. “That makes sense. Kind of.”
“We also have another job from her.”
Auriel groans. “There’s more?”
“Yes. She wants us to do the same thing to Stingray.”
Dinky giggles. “Is she sneaking out at night too?”
“After work, actually. Mio and Hammer head back home while Stingray goes somewhere until suppertime. Same deal as Mio. Follow her and take pictures of whatever you find.”
He turns to Max.
“You’ll take that job.”
“Yes sir. When do we leave?”
Arc pulls a paper from his pocket. “She’s been keeping track of their comings and goings. That gives us a bit of a schedule.”
Opening the paper he grins.
“From their past actions it looks like tonight’s a good night.”
Sereb looks over his shoulder. “Did Hammer tell you that?”
“Nah. According to this schedule, they were only doing things on certain days of the month. Today will most likely be them both sneaking out to do whatever it is they do.”
Auriel looks to Arc. “Now we only need to know when Stingray gets off duty.”
“I already figured that out.”
Max grins. “That’s pretty impressive, sir!”
Arc pulls another paper from his pocket and chuckles as he passes it to Max.
“Not really. Hammer gave me a copy of her duty schedule.”
Xenos smirks. “That should make tailing her a snap!”
“Right. Xenos, you drive Max out there and follow Stingray. Drop him off wherever he needs to go and wait nearby. Max will call you when he needs a pickup.”
Max appears confused. “I don’t mind the help, but why two of us, sir?”
“In case something goes wrong. Xenos can get you out of there quickly or even cause a distraction if need be.”
“You expecting trouble, sir?”
“No. But I want you guys to have each other’s backs just in case. Have communicators on at all times and keep in contact. If something goes wrong, call for backup.”
Dinky appears confused. “Backup?”
“That means call and I’ll take a sigil back to town and Blink the rest of the way, sweetheart.”
Auriel smiles. “This sounds rather exciting!”
“Probably won’t be. Stakeouts rarely are.”
Sereb growls. “Shall I go as well?”
Arc nods. “That would be a good idea, yes. If nothing else, you could create a diversion.”
Auriel pats Sereb’s head. “Or be a small scout.”
Arc shrugs. “That too. In any case, everyone take it easy today. And be sure to be well rested for this.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.069 seconds
Total duration
912 users online
453,321 hits today, 2,004,447 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
just what the hell is up with hammer
, this is getting wearder and wearder 
10872102
She's letting he guard down.
The General is using Hammer to get to Arcs crew the same way Arc is trying in reverse, but Arc dont know and the General does?
Wonder if Mio and Stingray are tracking or setting other stuff up that has no relation, confuse and conflict the enemy?
She's already fallen for Arc pretty hard, just as the general planned
I've been waiting for Wiseman to return since I started reading this again and he
DISAPPOINTS ME once again by being completely useless. Actually worse than useless.
If I were Arc and I hadn't yet lost my shit to Wiseman's aloof FORCEFULLY mysterious nature, I would ask him as politely as I could if he would answer the damn question for once. So far he offers nothing Arc doesn't already know if what he says is true, and when he does offer something he doesn't know it's at a completely weird moment where his input is... purely meaningless. His attempt to tell Arc where Celestia (when our hero was HIGH AND ACTING CHILDISH AND DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS WISEMAN) did not result in ANYTHING, and they found the base on their own without a fleeting memory to that soothsayer moment. He interceded with the actually fighting once and basically just abducted the opponent to have a "chat" with her that ended with no effect character-wise since she just showed up again like nothing happened.
That's my biggest problem with Wiseman that I've covered before: I know you want him to be a "mysterious nearly-otherworldly assistant" like in some anime but even many characters that fit that archetype will act directly more often than Wiseman. I just wish he would do more than show up at weird times, say a bunch of bullshit, and leave. Yes he's actually done things a couple times but his dark and mysterious riddling is more frequently seen. If he showed up and, well, actually HELPED before disappearing into the aether every now and then like Fallout's Mysterious Stranger. But right now he's some weird director for Arc, which brings me too what he says in this chapter...
And Wiseman ISN'T toying with the people he's helping by giving vague riddles, talking a lot and saying little, being helpful when it doesn't matter, and then disappearing?
"Can you, Wiseman? Can you?"
All in all I've talked to death about how Wiseman is just not as helpful as he seems to be intended to come across. Honestly it's starting to make me think that the one way his character can be saved is by having him be defeated. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Wiseman gets brought to his knees. He may not die from this, but in this event it is revealed that while he knows many things he is not nearly as wise as his name suggests, nor is he as untouchable as implied. I say this as someone whose mental image of a mysterious character with some inscrutable intent but both an obvious desire to help the heroes AND a wealth of power at his fingertips is the Crystal Exarch, a main cast member for Final Fantasy XIV's Shadowbringers expansion who does not give his name and keeps his face hidden under a hood for most of the story. He ALSO undergoes an event where all his plans are suddenly undone leaving him and others in mortal peril. And perhaps tellingly so, during.just prior to that event his identity is finally revealed.
I can only guess that you're gradually leading up to something like this, but I will say that as he is Wiseman is more of an annoyance than an ally no matter what he claims.
Should be "Stingray and Mio."
11379163
Whoops! Fixed.
11690170
Can't believe I did that not once, but twice!