FOR A GOOD CAUSE

Several years ago, a humongous, foul beast and its companions drowned Hargeon in a black sea and unleashed the wrath of waters unknown upon the town. Hundreds died, and only the dangerous etherion cannon wielded by the Magic Council could put the monster, Gargalax, down, at the cost of the town.

The destruction was an event that the townspeople of Hargeon would sooner wish to forget than to remember, and was a day of mourning and anguish when its day of the year came around. There were many charities built from the town's destruction, however. Many of them volunteered and advocated to help families still struggling to make ends meet as a result of Hargeon's collapse, while some inspire others to make a change. Nico, tired but not visibly so, was working a small job for the latter group, in the form of a lighthearted show.

"GRWAAAH!! I AM GARGALAX, BEAST OF THE SEA! I HAVE COME TO BRING DOOM UPON HARGEON! GRAAAAH!!" said a man inside of an average-quality costume, depicting Gargalax's horrific features as innocently as possible, as most of the audience attending were older children and their parents. The young, prepubescent crowd burst into waves of "boo!" and tossed sticks or other harmless objects at the costume on the stage. Gargalax waved its tentacles in the air. "NO ONE CAN DEFEAT ME!"

"I, Dico Nixon, will stop you, foul beast!" Snow suddenly covered the stage as a veiled Nico sprung out from the side, wielding Gelu Morsus and covered in traditional armor. The young crowd suddenly burst into cheers. "Take THIS! ORAAAAA!!"

"Get'em, Dico!" shouted one young boy.

"Kick his butt!!"

Although Gelu Morsus was Nico's actual weapon, he swung it in a way that was both exaggerated and harmless. The man in the Gargalax costume also did his fair share of "attacks", and both were careful not to hurt one another as neither of them had really rehearsed the show they were putting on.

Nico made one swing at Gargalax's tentacles that seemed particularly damaging, causing the beast to throw his head back in agony.

"GRWAAAAH!! DARN YOU, DICO NIXON! BUT THIS ISN'T EVEN MY FINAL FORM!!" Gargalax announced, transforming into some pathetic version of a "final form", although it was just more tentacles, with spikes. He whipped them over Nico, who jerked in feigned agony, kneeling to the stage, weakened.

"Oh no!" a girl yelped in fright.

"Get out of there, Dico!!"

Gargalax began to laugh. "FOOLISH MORTAL! I AM GARGALAX AND CANNOT BE DEFEATED! I WILL BRING DESPAIR AND DESTRUCTION UPON HARGEON!"

"Not so fast!" Nico looked up. The crowd gasped.

"W-WHAT?! HOW COULD YOU STILL BE ALIVE?!!" Gargalax yelled, looking astonished at Nico's clear survival.

"I, Dico Nixon, will never falter against evil! You will fall so others will live! Take THIS!" Nico, with one exaggerated swing, sliced the costume in two from the front. The man inside, unharmed and still in one piece, screamed.

"DARN YOU, DICO NIXON! GWAAAAH!!"

The curtains had fallen, and the crowd roared with cheers, rumbling the pavillion with energetic crescendo.

When the red curtains glided across the stage and sealed the actors in darkness, all of the staff members came out from the shadows to praise Gargalax and Nico with applause.

Nico took off the helmet with only minor difficulty, and his face was red and sweaty. The costume was very stuffy, and so was Gargalax. Both of them revealed their faces and smiled at one another.

"Great job, Nico. You really have a talent for acting." said Gargalax, who was really named Sven Newart. He was a part-time charity worker and full-time actor, so it was only natural that he'd be apart of this event. "You were acting, right? Haha!"

Nico's lips were creased in his usual bubbly grin, scratching the back of his head, embarrassed. "What? No way! I totally believe that's how those wizards were like! Total heroes!"

Both of them were laughing, but the real event wasn't so heroic. In fact, there hadn't been a single victory among the summoned wizards from that time, so the play was a little farfetched as far as validity and honesty went. But, it inspired the audience regardless, and Nico couldn't seem to differentiate his own personality from that of a hero, so the performance seemed and was completely genuine.

"Well, anyway, thanks for coming out today. We were right to ask you to do it since you've been garnering up a good reputation around neighboring towns." Sven smiled, a staff member coming up behind him and handing him a small bag. He handed it to Nico, "Here you go. I feel bad for giving you so little for such an outstanding performance."

With a contagious smile, Nico happily accepted the payment. The crowd was still roaring with applause and cheers, and chatter of what they had just witnessed seemed to already be unfolding.

Nico's countenance softened, leaning over and prying open a small opening in the curtains, looking out at the restless crowd of children. "It's no problem. I like to help people, after all." he looked back at Sven with delight, "No rest for the wicked, right?"

Sven hesitated for a moment before returning the same smile, nodding. "You're right about that one. You're heading out now, right? Come back to us if you ever need a job."

"For sure! I'll always be here or there, so that's definitely something I'll do, Mr. Stewart!"

After completely undressing and stuffing the bag of jewels into his rather large pockets, Nico left the pavillion through the back of the stage. Soon, he'd have enough money to finally attempt to join the ranks of Dies Irae on Amber Island, but he knew that making such a journey was an uncertain one. He couldn't guarantee his acceptance no matter how much he wished for it. He also knew that by embarking on his trip to Amber Island, he'd be abandoning his livelihood on the mainland. Although he knew he could always return to vagrance, it's hard to find jobs once you're out of the loop.

The day had come to a close, and Nico decided not to pay for a room in an inn tonight. Being in Hargeon, so close to the sea, reminded him a lot of Shadow Island. On that island, he was surrounded by water and often went to its rocky, gravelly shores to play in the saltwater. Tonight, Nico decided that he would sleep on the beach, comforted by the waves lapping over each other.