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A new school is scary for any kid, especially when it’s in a new town. But starting in a new school was much scarier for Ness in particular, since he had a much bigger reason to have moved than most.It was because nobody could know that he had saved the world with his chosen friends and psychic powers.Ness, despite everything, was still just a kid unfortunately, and didn’t get nearly as much say over his life as he wished he did. So when Ness’ mom, Paula’s parents, and Poo’s master all got together (no one could find Dr. Andonuts so he didn’t get a say), it was decided through a unanimous group vote that the four children should live out the rest of their childhoods as averagely as possible without seeing each other again or even doing so much as using psychic powers in public anymore in Ness’ and Paula’s cases, there was nothing any of the chosen four could do. The parents had spoken.And so Ness had been moved to Fourside, where rumors come and go quickly so that nobody would truly believe he was psychic even if he slipped up. Paula had been moved to Summers, where word of her psychic powers hadn’t been able to spread, Jeff had been re-enrolled in boarding school with the explanation that he had been out helping his father with a big experiment, and Poo, well… not much about his life was really going to change, except for the fact that his studies would be getting even more intense and he was forbidden from leaving Dalaam, where the other three were forbidden from entering. Not that it seemed like Poo cared as much as the others did, anyway.This is what the adults had decided was the best plan for all four children, so they could have a ‘normal childhood’ before they finally got to decide what they wanted to do with themselves upon becoming adults. Ness didn't think this was at all fair, but what could he do?And so, here he was, walking onto the grounds of Fourside Academy for the first time with non-magical butterflies fluttering in his stomach as he had no idea how to create the facade of an average middle-schooler. It seemed like all of the other kids here knew each other already, making Ness feel very alone. He sat on a bench and pulled out a PSI Caramel to chew on, since they always helped him relax. One of his aunts had made a fresh batch of them for him the other day and had individually wrapped them up so he could spread them out, but Ness had already eaten about half of them in the span of the past two days due to his nervousness.Ness unwrapped the caramel and popped it in his mouth before opening the trashcan to throw away the wrapper. However, when he did, he saw that there was someone inside the trash can just… sitting in there…“Umm… hello?” Ness asked.“Go away!” The boy yelled out, reaching up to grab the lid of the trashcan back, but Ness just held it up higher.“What are you doing in there?” Ness asked.“Hiding from people like you who just want to pick on me!” The boy exclaimed.“I don't want to pick on you.” Ness assured him. “I just want to talk to you. Why don't you come on out?”The boy finally looked up at Ness, showing that he wore big round glasses over red eyes. That with his pale skin and white hair led Ness to believe that he must be an albino. “You look like someone I know…” the boy told Ness. “You look just like him in fact! His name’s Ninten!”Ninten… the name was familiar, but Ness just couldn’t put his finger on where he had heard it before. Instead he held out his hand to help the boy out of the trashcan. “I’m Ness!” he told him.“I’m Lloyd.” the boy responded, cautiously reaching for Ness’s hand. However, just as he was about to take it, he jerked away quickly out of surprise when a different boy suddenly jumped onto the bench Ness had been sitting on, using it to gain height in order to jump on a couple other things so he could jump onto the roof of a door overhang. Annoyed as Ness was in the moment, he had to admit that what that boy did was actually really awesome.“Claus, get down from there!” A worried sounding boy called out, running towards that direction.“Nah, Lucas, you should come up here too! It’s awesome!” the kid on the overhang, who was apparently Claus, called back.Ignoring those two, Ness put his attention back on Lloyd, who had now tipped the trashcan over and was slowly moving away with it like a snail.“And out you come.” Ness said, pulling him out.As Lloyd stood, Ness realized just how short he was. He didn't really look old enough to be going to middle school yet. Was he in the wrong area? Fourside Academy WAS K-12, but elementary schoolers were meant to be in a different area. Ness wasn’t sure he wanted to bring it up, however, since Lloyd didn't seem to like people very much already. If Lloyd WAS a middle school age, there was a good chance he was self-conscious about his height.“...hi.” Lloyd said shyly.“Hi!” Ness said, smiling. “It’s nice to properly meet you now! This is my first year here, so I don't really know any of the other kids.”“Me neither.” Lloyd told him. “The only other person who goes here that I know is Ninten.”“Are you from Fourside?” Ness asked.“No way!” Lloyd quickly explained. “I’m from a city MUCH smaller than this one! It’s called Thanksgiving.”“Like the holiday?” Ness asked.“You think it’s stupid, don't you?!” Lloyd said, making a beeline for the trashcan again before Ness grabbed his arm to stop him.“That's not what I meant!” Ness quickly told him. “It was just a question because I’ve been to a lot of places and have never even heard of Thanksgiving as a city. I’m personally from Onett. It was perfect there. We had so many fun places without any of this city chaos!”“Not a big fan of the city either?” Lloyd asked. “Thanksgiving was always a little much for me already, and that was nothing compared to this! I’d love to live out away from everybody some day…”Ness had apparently lost track of time while talking to Lloyd, because the bell rang signifying it was time for him to head to his first class.As soon as Ness separated from Lloyd, he started feeling nervous all over again. While he had been just fine going to school BEFORE his adventure, the idea of going back to such a rigid schedule was terrifying. Not to mention he had skipped his entire seventh grade year (his mom had convinced the school board he had been ‘homeschooled’), so he was going to be super behind!Ness stopped for a moment to look at the key he wore on a chain around his neck. He had told his mother he’d give this whole ‘normal kid’ thing a try, and he would. However, if there was ever a moment he simply couldn’t handle it anymore, he had a plan.Due to the excessive amount of money Ness’ dad always sent him, he had gotten enough to buy a house in Onett. It had been in terrible condition when he bought it, but he had since hired some people to renovate it. Ness knew very little of what the house looked like now, but he knew if this was ever too much he and his friends could all move in together there and be free to do what they wanted from then on. Just knowing this made Ness feel so much better about his situation.Ness walked into his first class and sat in the very center. He needed to seem average, right? Well good kids sit in the front while bad kids sit in the back, so average kids surely sit in the center! This classroom had its desks in groups of four, though, so Ness had to get his closest approximation to the center.The classroom began to fill up, and who sat right across from Ness but the boy who jumped on the overhang earlier. Wanting to be sociable, Ness turned to him. “So, jump on roofs often?” Ness asked playfully.Claus laughed, but when he turned to face Ness, Ness couldn’t help but notice that one of his eyes was green and the other bright red. It looked awesome, but… if Ness wanted to blend in this boy certainly couldn’t help him.“Just whenever I see a roof worth jumping on.” Claus responded. When he noticed Ness staring at his eyes for just a little too long, he laughed. “You’ve noticed my eyes, huh? Pretty cool, right?”“Yeah, that’s awesome!” Ness responded in a friendly way. “Is that a contact?”Claus laughed again. “Nope! But I’m not really supposed to tell you what it ACTUALLY is, so you’re just going to have to use your imagination!”Ness smiled, but he figured that there was no way that boy WASN’T wearing at least one contact. Heterochromia or not, no one could naturally have one green eye and one red. Claus must’ve just been one of THOSE kids who are determined to convince everyone he meets that he’s something much more spectacular than he actually was. To add to Ness’ theory, Claus wore long sleeves, pants, and long gloves, successfully covering up all of his skin as if he had something to hide.The irony of this boy who wanted to be something supernatural talking to the one kid in the school with psychic powers and a history of saving to world was somewhat humorous to Ness, though he didn’t say anything out loud, not wanting to be rude.The boy who was trying to get Claus come down earlier sat down in the seat next to Claus. “Hey, Claus!” he said. “Sorry, I couldn’t find the classroom.”“Hey Lucas.” Claus responded. “Ness, this is my twin brother Lucas. Lucas, this is Ness.”“Nice to meet you, Ness!” Lucas exclaimed. “Wow, it’s weird meeting new friends. Wait a minute…” Lucas narrowed his eyes at Ness. “Are you who I think you are?”Suddenly nervous, Ness quickly said “I’m sure I’m not!”“Now that you mention it…” Claus added, also looking suspiciously at Ness. “He does look an awful lot like him… but that’s impossible, right?”“Surely.” Lucas agreed nervously.“I’m sure I’m not whoever you think I am.” Ness reassured them. “I’m perfectly average, I promise! I’m not special in any way!”“Way to sell yourself short, Ness.” Claus told him. “But I believe you. You couldn’t possibly have ever been friends with…” he stopped, looking upset. “Well, you know who I’m talking about.”Ness had absolutely no idea what Claus was talking about, but the quicker they got off of this subject, the better. “So,” Ness asked, “are you two from Fourside?”Lucas and Claus both laughed, as if sharing an inside joke. “Not even close!” Lucas told Ness. “We grew up on an island far, far away from here!”“Well, me neither.” Ness told them. “But I am from this continent, so I guess I’m not doing as bad as you two.”“What’s a continent?” Lucas asked.Ness blinked a few times. “Uhh… how do I explain that? A continent is like… a collection of countries?”“What’s a country?”“School must’ve been very different where you’re from, huh?” Ness asked.“We didn’t really have school like this.” Lucas told him. “We learned things, of course, but it was very different.”“And a lot cooler.” Claus added.Lucas continued, “When we were younger, school was kind of a group. All of the kids on the island got together once a week and a different adult would teach us different things. Sometimes it was baking, sometimes it was sewing, sometimes it was farming, and so on.”“Of course we learned a lot at home, too.” Claus told Ness. “Most kids were best at what their parents did. Our dad was a shepherd, and our mom…” he got quiet for a moment, looking kind of sad. “Well, she used to spin yarn from wool and make clothes.”Both Claus and Lucas got quiet for a few moments, so Ness thought he should say something to bring up the mood. “Well that sounds a lot more fun than what school is like around here!” he told them. “We just have to sit in a classroom all day five days a week. It’s boring.”“How do you learn anything?” Lucas asked.“The teacher tells us.” Ness shrugged. “And we write it down.”“Yaaaaaawn!” Claus responded.That’s when the bell rang and the teacher came into the classroom. “Welcome to World History!” the teacher announced, and got right into business. ~~~ After class, Ness was overjoyed. He was so excited for World History this year! It sounded like it was going to be like going on an adventure, just like, through books and stuff. So he could do it while still keeping up his average kid facade! Claus and Lucas, however, were looking over their syllabuses with such confusion that it was as if it were written in a foreign language. They did know how to read, right?After that Ness went to math, where unfortunately it seemed like the only seats left were in the front row by the time he got there. At least he ended up sitting next to Lloyd, so he wouldn’t be completely alone in this class. A few minutes into things, another student pushed the door open, entering late.The teacher sighed. “Did you get lost?”The strange looking girl tilted her head. “No. Welcome to math class!”“So you were just fooling around in the hallway?”“Yes.”The teacher sighed. “I really don’t want to have to write a referral on the first day. Just sit down at that desk.”The math teacher pointed toward the desk on the other side of Ness, and the strange girl walked towards it. With a gold colored dress and eyes that seemed to be pink that faded into purple, she was quite weird looking, but in the sort of way that drew you in. With her overanimated gestures, too, she seemed almost doll-like in nature.“Hello.” She said to Ness. “And… goodbye!”“Hello?” Ness responded, a little confused, but he didn’t get much of a chance to talk to her before the teacher went back to talking about whatever she was showing on the board. Having missed an entire years worth of math last year, Ness was extremely confused by all of this. Math had never been his strong suit BEFORE his adventure, but now he just felt like he didn’t understand any of it at all. He felt like he’d seem to dumb if he asked any questions though, so he kept his confusion silent.After the bell rang, the weird girl looked at Ness. “Numbers are strange.” she told him.“And so are you.” Ness responded.“Mana Mana.” she answered. “I am. And you?”“You talk weird.” Ness told her bluntly as he gathered his things. “It reminds me of a place I’ve been before. I’m Ness, by the way.”“Of course. Who else would be, silly?”“...I gotta get to my next class.” Ness told her, quickly leaving. There was something very unsettling about that girl.Ness headed to his next class, Home Economics. He knew he was probably going to be pretty terrible in that class too, as while he was great at surviving without adults, he had gotten most of his meals at restaurants and sometimes out of trashcans. The only one out of the four who knew how to cook much of anything was Poo, who knew how to make rice and that was about it. Despite Paula’s frying pan weapon choice, she didn’t actually know how to use them for their intended purpose. As for fixing torn clothes, that was Jeff’s job as apparently Tony had tried to teach him how to sew in the past. But Ness knew none of these things, so he wasn’t really prepared for this class.Ness walked into the classroom where there were kitchens set up as well as sewing machines and all sorts of other stuff he didn’t know how to use. Lucas was already in there.“Hi, Ness!” Lucas said welcomingly. “What’s Home Ec?”Ness laughed. “You’re really having a hard time adjusting to Eagleland’s school system, huh?” he asked.Lucas nodded, looking sad. “It’s a bit overwhelming.”“Well, I think you’ll like Home Ec.” Ness told him. “It’s cooking and sewing and all that other homely stuff you seem to like.”Lucas smiled. “That sounds like fun! Oh hey look, there’s the teacher! If my father were here, he’d tell me I shouldn’t be shy and to go introduce myself! So I should go do that?”“Maybe not?” Ness suggested. “In Eagleland, usually the teachers don’t really… want you to introduce yourself personally?”“Oh…” Lucas said sadly. “This is all a lot to keep straight.”“You’ll get there!” Ness encouraged.”So, why DID you leave?”Surprisingly, Lucas just started crying out of nowhere. A couple kids looked over there, and Ness quickly went to comfort him. “Lucas, I didn’t mean to make you cry!”“I didn’t want to leave!” Lucas said between tears. “I just…” he sniffed. “We didn’t get a choice.”“It’s okay.” Ness tried to soothe, immensely confused. “I didn’t know it was such a sore subject.”“I hate the city.” Lucas told him, still crying. “I hate everything about it! I hate the fast cars and the money and the big scary buildings and all the strange technology I can never keep track of. I just want to go home! The way it used to be!”By now all of the kids were looking at Lucas and, by effect, Ness. Ness wished he could just teleport away right now so they’d all stop staring at him like that. But unfortunately, even if it WAS that easy, he wasn’t allowed to since that would make him obviously psychic. So instead, he just stood there feeling like a jerk while everybody stared. When class finally began, Lucas DID stop crying, but Ness’ ability to pay attention too what the teacher was saying had drastically gone down. The rest of class just kind of slipped him by.But finally, after all of that, was lunch time.Ness was happy to finally get a few moments to breathe as he sat down at a lunch table and unzipped his lunchbox. Inside he found a steak with a heartfelt welcome-to-school note, along with a pudding. The steak was a welcome sight, but the pudding seemed a little dull compared to all of the things mom COULD have put in there. It wasn’t even MAGIC pudding! Lucky for Ness he had a peanut cheese bar in his backpack he could eat for dessert instead.As he was pulling out his steak, however, someone sat down across from him. Ness looked up to see someone who looked an awful lot like him, just more serious. And next to him was Lloyd.“Oh, hi Ness.” Lloyd said shyly. “I hope you don’t mind if we sit here.”“I don’t mind.” Ness responded, though it didn’t seem to matter if he did or not. The other boy was already pulling out his lunch and making himself comfortable.“This is Ninten.” Lloyd explained. “The one I said looks a lot like you.”Ness looked at Ninten, and he really did see the resemblance. Ninten, however, just shook his head, silently disagreeing.“Here looks good!” Claus’ voice said from a distance, and he walked over to the table, plopping himself down next to Ness. “Hey Ness.”Coming up from behind Claus was Lucas, who added a sheepish “Hi.” towards Ness and the others, before sitting down on the other side of Claus.Looking around at everyone sitting together at the lunch table like this… it made Ness realize that his mother was right. He wasn’t fated to be lonely forever without his world-saving buddies. Still, despite that, it created a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. It felt like he was abandoning his old friends, replacing them with new ones so quickly as if they never mattered to him at all. It didn’t feel right, and yet, Ness didn’t want to be alone, either. Was it wrong to be okay with making these new friends? He just couldn’t be sure.Ness began eating his steak, and fell into a comfortable and playful conversation with the group. Ninten was completely silent, only nodding or shaking his head, and Lloyd was a little shy, but everyone was still having a lot of fun. It reminded Ness of the way things used to be.Once Ness was done eating his steak, he asked “Does anybody want my pudding cup?”Of course, as soon as he said so, he got the full attention of Lloyd and Claus, as well as Lucas saying “I’ve never had a pudding cup before. Is it good?”“I’ll take it Ness!” Claus said.“Umm… I’d like it, if that’s okay.” Lloyd added.Ninten made eye contact with Ness, then looked at the pudding cup with a single nod.“Okay… umm…” Ness looked at his pudding cup, then at the four people wanting it. “I’m thinking of a number one through-”“Hey that’s no fair!” Lloyd quickly interrupted. “Ninten’s going to cheat!”Ninten gave Lloyd a dirty look.“How could Ninten possibly cheat?” Ness asked. “I’m not writing it down or anything.”“He can-”Before Lloyd could finish his sentence, Ninten covered his mouth, shaking his head.“I can do it differently if you want?” Ness said, confused. “Umm… I could pull a name out of my hat?”Lloyd gave him a thumbs up and annoyed Ninten let him go. Ness then took out a piece of paper and tore it into four pieces, writing a name on each. He put all four in his hat, moved them around and pulled one out. “And the winner of the pudding cup is… Mana Mana?” He looked at the sheet of paper, but it definitely said Mana Mana. Pulling out the next piece, it also said Mana Mana. As Ness quickly learned, they all said Mana Mana.“That’s me!” Mana Mana said, quickly coming up behind Ness and yoinking the pudding cup right off of the table. “Thank you and hello!” she said, before running off into the crowd of the rest of the kids in the cafeteria.Ness just stared at the empty spot where the pudding cup once was. “...did you guys see that?”Everyone else at the table nodded with equally confused expressions.“Well, umm, sorry but… I guess the winner of the pudding cup was Mana Mana…” ~~~ After lunch Ness realized that Claus and Ninten were going the same direction as him. “Do you two have theater next, too?” Ness asked.“Yup!” Claus responded. “Just one question - what exactly do you LEARN in theater class? How to change film reels? How to sell popcorn?”“No, silly!” Ness responded. “How to act!”“Like… how to act when you’re in a movie theater?”“You’ll find out when the teacher tells us.” Ness told him, rolling his eyes.The three entered a large black room with seats taking minimal space along the back row.“Please, come in.” the teacher told the students. “Sit on one of the many yoga mats spread across the floor. We’ll start our class with some morning mindfulness.”Claus laughed, and whispered “Anybody going to tell her it’s not morning anymore?”Ness forced a laugh, but as he sat on a mat he was filled with worry. Being mindful and centering himself and all that seemed like a recipe for disaster for a psychic. He remembered that when he was little his aunt Minnie had suggested meditation as a way to help him channel all of his pent up PSI power before he could control it. But all that had ever done was boost his PSI potential and made it go even MORE all over the place. Ness hadn’t done it since, so he was afraid to do it now. He knew it worked well for Poo, but Ness hadn’t asked him for lessons or anything.“Ms. Teacher!” a familiar playful voice called out. Mana Mana was approaching the teacher, saying “I can’t really BE mindful. It could melt my brain!”The teacher stared at Mana, concerned at her overactive imagination. “Well, I promise you that you will be just fine. Can you at least try to follow along?”“No…” Mana Mana said, looking defeated and going back to her mat..Once the bell rang, the teacher began leading the students through a guided meditation. To try to prevent himself from relaxing so much he accidentally did anything, Ness kept his eyes opened and looked around the room. Thankfully, the teacher’s eyes were closed as she directed the students through breathing exercises, so she didn’t notice. Claus had his eyes closed, but he kept squirming, obviously not wanting to stay still, while Ninten was so still it barely even looked like he was alive. Mana Mana also had her eyes open, looking quite bored. When Ness made eye contact with her, she smiled and waved. Ness rolled his eyes and waved back.Finally the meditation portion was over, and the teacher said “Alright students, I’m going to pass out monologues and I want you all to take a look at them and practice them a few times. When we have twenty minutes left of class I’ll have you all come up here and perform them. This isn’t to test memorization, it’s just so I can see where all of you are in your acting career!”When Ness got his monologue, he found a nice spot to read over it and practice a little. He wasn’t really what he’d consider a ‘good actor’, but he did know a bit about show business, at least where the music industry was concerned, so he figured he was better off than most of these kids. Before time was called, however, he saw Claus walking over to the seats. Weird. He looked impatient, even, constantly looking over at the teacher who was reading a book.About five minutes later, the teacher look up and saw the time, calling all of the students back. “Alright students, I lost track of time so we’re running a little behind. Let’s get going!”“I could’ve told you that…” Claus said under his breath.Ness looked over at him, confused. Why was he so hyper-aware of the time, anyway?As the first few kids went up, Ness quickly realized that everybody had the same monologue, just were all interpreting it differently. Ness hoped when it was his time to go up that his interpretation was unique enough but not so unique that people got suspicious of him. But when he was done, everybody clapped, and there wasn’t a problem. When it was Claus’ turn he somehow already had his memorized, and his performance was full of extra flourishes that made it very entertaining to watch. The teacher just shook her head though, and wrote something down. Weird.Next up was Mana Mana. She got up, without a script too, but instead of performing the monologue assigned to her she started performing something completely different. About halfway through the teacher said “Mana, that’s not what I gave you.”“Ever heard of improvising?” Mana asked her. “I thought that would be fun!”The teacher sighed. “Just go sit down, please.”“Whatever.” Mana responded, though she looked upset as she sulked back to her seat.“Alright,” the teacher said, “next up is Ninten.”Ninten walked up there and started miming. It was obvious he was miming out the monologue, but he didn’t seem to want to speak it. Ness was starting to wonder if he was even capable of speaking. The teacher, of course, was not amused by this, but what could she do?The rest of the class went normally, and then Ness headed towards science class. Even the thought of a science class filled Ness with thoughts of Jeff. This class wasn’t going to be easy…The classroom was made up of various tall counters with the students sitting on stools like they were in a bar rather than a science class. Next to Ness sat a very annoyed looking Claus on one side and an excited looking Lloyd on the other.“You alright?” Ness asked Claus.“I hate science…” he responded, not saying anything more until the teacher came in.When the teacher walked in, he revealed that this class focused mostly on robotics, and Ness felt a little conflicted. On one hand, robotics were cool and all, but on the other, Ness was quite accustomed to anything robotic being his enemy. Lloyd looked very excited at the prospect of this, and Claus just looked pissed.Finally, Ness reached his last class, which was music. Every student was called up one by one to sing a few bars of their favorite songs, though when Ness was called up he had to be careful which one he chose. He couldn’t, after all, choose his song he learned from his Your Sanctuary locations, since that was top secret, so instead he tried to pick the most basic, popular song he could think of.The only kid Ness recognized in this class was Ninten, who, when called up, took out an ocarina. He played the most beautiful song Ness had ever heard, one that somehow felt familiar to him despite him not knowing why.Finally, after music was the end of his first day at Fourside Academy. Ness was absolutely exhausted. Whoever thought going to school would be more exhausting that saving the world?He began walking out of the building, and Claus and Lucas caught up to him. “Hey Ness.” Claus said.“Hey.” Ness responded. “Doing anything cool after school?”Claus groaned. “Wish I could. I gotta get to work, though.”“You work?” Ness asked.“Unfortunately.” Claus responded. “In the big skyscraper.”“The Monotoli building?” Ness asked. “They’re STILL hiring kids?”“It’s a bit more complicated than that.” Claus told him. “But yeah, kind of.”“When I get home I’m taking my dog Boney for a walk.” Lucas added. “After that… well… nobody else will be home so I guess I’ll just… do something? I don’t really know what you’re supposed to do in the city, so…”“Oh, well, umm…” Ness instantly felt awkward for asking now. “What did you like to do for fun on your island?”“Play in the forest.” Lucas answered. “But the nearest one is a REALLY long walk.”“You’d be better off taking the bus.” Ness responded. “I’m not really a big fan of all of those fast-moving vehicles.” Lucas admitted. “They kind of scare me.”“I’m sure you’ll get used to city life soon enough.” Ness offered, not really sure what else to say.“I hope so…”“Well, I should get going.” Claus said. “My ‘employer’ isn’t exactly known for being patient. I’ll see you tomorrow Lucas!”“See you, Claus.” Lucas said sadly.Claus sped off, and Ness couldn’t help but be nosy. “He works all night?”“Weekends, too.” Lucas responded. “He had to really fight to even be allowed to go to school. I wish there was something I could do, but…”“But what?” Ness responded, feeling a little angry. “Who does he work for? I’ll handle things!”“It really isn’t that simple!” Lucas quickly told Ness. “The person he works for is really dangerous! Claus does what he says without arguing and he leaves us alone, and lets Claus have his time at school. If we fought him on this, he’ll take Claus away from us again. Please don’t get involved.”Ness agreed and began to walk home, weighing his options as he went. Lucas had asked him not to get involved, and Ness wasn’t meant to involve himself in the lives of others anymore, but it was difficult for him not to want to get involved at least a little bit. It was who he was, after all.When he got home, his mother was awaiting him. “How was your first day at school, Ness?”“A little exhausting.” Ness said honestly. “But I made some new friends!” Before his mother complained, Ness added “Normal ones this time!”“Glad to hear it sounds like it went exactly how the first day of a new school should have gone. Say, Tracy got back a few minutes ago and asked me if she could go get icecream. I’m a little too busy to take her, so do you think you could?”“Mooooooom, I just got home!” Ness exclaimed. “Plus, Tracy’s eleven now! She can walk to the icecream stand herself!”“Ness, I don’t like the idea of her walking around the city on her own. I’ll give you a couple bucks to buy yourself one, too.”“Do you know how much money dad’s given me?”“Ness, just take your sister to get an icecream! It’s her first day of school too!”“Fiiiiiiine.” Ness said, annoyed. “C’mon Tracy, let’s go.”“Thanks big bro!” she said, coming out of her room. As soon as they left the apartment, however, Tracy turned to Ness. “I can handle myself. Why don’t we both go do our own things, and you meet me back here in about an hour so we can both go in together.”“No way.” Ness responded. “Because I know if I agree you are DEFINITELY going to tattle. Nice try, though.”Tracy rolled her eyes. “Fine, whatever. Just don't talk to me.”As Ness annoyedly followed his little sister, he couldn’t help but wonder for the millionth time what had went wrong. Before he had left for his adventure Tracy had been a sweet, caring sister. Now she still acted like that around mom, but when she was around Ness she was rude and bossy, no longer wanting to spend any time with him. He guessed she must be getting into that ‘angsty teen’ phase, despite her only being eleven.When the two arrived at the icecream stand, Ness was surprised to see Picky Minch waiting there.“Hi, Tracy!” he said, happily approaching her. “Glad you got my message!”“Of course I did!” Tracy responded. “Unfortunately, mom made me bring my brother with me…”“What are you two up to?” Ness asked. Despite him never having done anything wrong, Ness couldn’t help but always be suspicious of Picky after what Pokey had done. It was certainly strange to see Picky here in Fourside of all places.“It’s been a bit since me and Tracy got to hang out.” Picky explained. “So I thought we could hang out and explore Fourside together!”“Do your parents know you’re here?” Ness couldn’t help but ask.“...no.” Picky responded quietly, and then didn’t discuss anything more on the matter. “So, Tracy, where do you want to go first?”And so Ness ended up following the two kids around as they went various different places around Fourside, feeling very much bored. He didn’t exactly want to play babysitter all afternoon today, but what choice did he have? If he did leave Tracy alone with Picky like she wanted, what if Picky revealed himself to be just as evil as Pokey and drag her into another time or something? He was being paranoid, he knew, but he did NOT like the Minchs!Eventually, however, Tracy and Picky’s conversation switched to a topic that very much DID interest Ness.“So, you live in the Monotoli building now, right?” Tracy asked Picky.“Yeah.” Picky responded. “It’s a BIG adjustment, though. It’s HUGE, and super high-tech! I feel like I get lost in there every single day! Doesn’t help that there’s plans to build it up even higher until it’s a hundred and one floors tall!”“A hundred and one?!?!” Tracy exclaimed. “How could ANYBODY fill a hundred and one floors???”“I know someone who could find a way…” Picky told her. “And he owns the place!”Not being able to help but step in, Ness asked “Mr. Monotoli?”Picky shook his head. “Mm-mm, not anymore.” Picky said. “It’s umm… well…”“Can I go inside?!” Tracy asked excitedly. “I wanna go out the top floor and look out the window!”“Definitely not the top floor!” Picky said quickly. “That’s off limits, even to me. As for going in… well… I’ll have to make a call and ask first.”“Okay!” Tracy said excitedly. Then, when she saw Picky pull out a phone, she asked “Wait, you have a mobile phone that can make calls?”“Yeah!” Picky responded, showing her the silver phone decorated with a strange pig nose symbol. “Cool, right?”“Super cool!!”Picky pushed a few buttons and held the phone up to his ear. “Hello? …yeah, it’s me. I was just wondering- yeah, yeah, you’re super cool. I wanted to ask something. Um… actually, you might be happy about this, depending. Uh.. Tracy wanted to see where I lived, so I was wondering if I could give her a quick tour? I’ll only keep her in certain rooms, and- how does this interest you in the least? Well, it’s just that… Ness was told to stay with Tracy, so he’d be coming too. …okay, thank you! Umm, well, we’ll be there in a few minutes!”Picky hung up the phone and turned to Tracy. “Okay! He said you can come! But we will have to be escorted by… well, an escort. And I’m going to warn you, this escort is SUPER intense!! He’s kind of scary, really.”“I can handle it!” Tracy told Picky. “This is so exciting!”“Oh, and Ness?” Picky said.“Yeah?”“Make sure you keep your wits about you…”A little concerned, Ness followed Picky as he walked towards the Monotoli building. Or… what used to be considered the Monotoli building, anyway. Ness hadn’t paid much attention to it recently, but he could clearly see all of the construction being added to it. And the big ‘MONOTOLI’ sign had been covered up, though it hadn’t been replaced with anything new, giving the building an eerily mysterious vibe. Well, even more of one than it already had before.Ness could already tell that this building was very high tech by just the door. It was large and metal, and Picky had to place his hand on something for the door to even open.“Woah!” Tracy exclaimed. “Does it read your fingerprints?”“Yeah.” Picky told her. “Alternatively, it could scan my eyes or my blood, but I find my hand to be the easiest.”“This is so cool!!!” Tracy said, but Ness wasn’t so sure. The protection of this place only added to the sinking feeling that something wasn’t right here.As the heavy metal door opened and the group began to walk in, Ness began to ask “Say, Picky, how did you get to come live here anyway?”But before he was able to get an answer, a strangely militaristically dressed boy entered the room, bowing towards Picky. “Welcome back, Picky Minch.” he said in a monotone voice.“H-hey, Commander…” Picky responded nervously. Turning to Tracy, he said “This is the escort I was talking about. He’s the owner’s personal servant, so he acts really weird around me, too. He’s… a little creepy.”Despite the intense expression, something about ‘the Commander’ seemed familiar to Ness, somehow. He wore a helmet that covered a good portion of his face, but one of his eyes was visible, revealing it to be radioactively green in color. Where had he seen that before?The Masked Man then said “King P has supplied me with a tour route that is suitable for our guests. If you would follow me…”Tracy oooed and ahhhed at the hyper-technological nature of this place, but it only made the dread Ness felt worse and worse, reminding him so much of the alien bases he had seen before.The first floor was fairly basic, being just a cold, modern lobby, but then the Commander (what was with that name, anyway?) brought them onto the elevator.“Next stop: 100th floor!” a cheerful voice exclaimed.“Wait, really?” Tracy asked. “I thought they weren’t all built yet.”“They’re not.” Picky responded. “I think it’s just a running joke from the owner of the building.”“King P sure is known for his sense of humor.” the Commander said drily.The next several floors they saw were full of strange juxtapositions. It was a mix of overly childish, cold gray metal, and regal purple and golds. Whoever designed this place really couldn’t make up their mind.
Hey. Can you hear me?
Ness looked around at all the various bathroom doors that littered this floor, trying to determine where the strange voice in his head was coming from.
I’ll take your reaction as a yes. You need to calm down. You may arise suspicion.
“Who are you?” Ness sent back through the psychic connection. Psychic communication wasn’t typically his thing, but he had done it from time to time. It doesn’t matter. The voice responded. The important thing is that you- the voice cut itself off suddenly. That’s concerning.“Hey Commander, why ARE there so many bathrooms here?” Tracy asked back in the physical plane.The Commander turned his gaze towards Tracy, though Ness was just now noticing that he had been staring him down before Tracy said something. Why?“This is what King P wanted. So it is perfection.”Shaken, Ness asked “Who IS King P, anyway?”With a deadpan expression with his eye staring through Ness like a dagger, the Commander responded “Your best friend.”
You need to get out of here. Now.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Claus watched the horrified expression fill Ness’ face with no ability to do anything about it. Come on, hasn’t he ever learned how to hide his feelings? Acting like this was a sure-fire way to get them both caught!

Ugh, and like Claus expected, instant headache from trying to act on his own accord while he was in this state. What he didn’t understand is WHY he cared so much. He had met Ness only once, and sure, he seemed like a nice enough guy, but Claus was putting a lot on the line to warn him! If King P found out Claus could use his psychic abilities freely while being in ‘Commander Mode’ as Claus like to call it, he’d certainly find a way to take that ability away from him!

It was only when King P told Claus the plan that Claus had realized Ness really WAS the very same Ness King P had been obsessing over for all those years. Knowing that Ness had at one time been King P’s ‘best friend’ caused Claus to be very suspicious of Ness, but for some reason Claus could just TELL Ness was good. Maybe he just didn't realize back then how terrible King P would become…

Trying to keep his composure now, Ness said “Anyway Tracy, we should probably start heading home. It’s getting late, and I don't know about you, but I am READY for dinner!”

It didn't matter if Tracy was going to agree or not, because an all-too-familiar voice spoke into the transceiver located in Claus’ helmet, giving a simple order.

“Don’t let them leave!”

And just like that, Claus was snapped out of his few moments of clarity as his mind was now clouded only with thoughts of serving King P. As stiffly as was typical for him, Claus the Commander claimed “We can supply you with dinner here.”

“Oh, that’s a nice offer, but we couldn’t possibly accept.” Ness responded, looking confused.

“It’s no trouble whatsoever.”

“We ought to be getting home anyway… it’s getting late.”

“Why don't you spend the night here?”

“Our mom would be worried sick!”

“You can call her.”

“It’s a school night.”

“We’ll get you to bed on time.”

“We don't have any clothes here.”

“We have plenty to spare.”

“NO!” Ness finally exclaimed. “We are GOING HOME! Let’s GO, Tracy!””

Suddenly being told about an alternative option, Claus said “Fine. Follow me to the elevator. Picky Minch, would you stay here?”

“Why can’t he walk us home?” Tracy asked.

“It’s necessary he stays here.” Claus repeated.

Ness gave Claus a suspicious look. “I think me and Tracy will take the stairs.”

“We are on the thirty-fourth floor.” Claus informed them. “We do not even have stairs that reach this high.”

“Yes we do!” Picky said quickly. “Commander, what is going on?”

Claus turned his gaze to Picky. ‘The Commander’ was upset by what he said, and everything within Claus was telling him to shut Picky up, but the smallest bit of Claus that was still him knew that if Ness didn’t listen, Picky would.

Get them out of here.

“I’m so sorry about this.” Picky said, before going into one of the many bathrooms and picking up a paper cup and filling it with water. He splashed it on Claus, causing his mechanical parts to malfunction and, essentially, getting him stuck in place. “Let’s go guys!” Picky said, “The stairs are this way!”

“What’s going on?” Tracy asked, running after Picky. “Why are we leaving so fast?”

“I should’ve known he was up to something! He’s always up to something!” Picky told her between huffs as he ran, already out of breath. The group arrived at the stairs and Picky added “We need to go all the way to the first floor. The elevator can’t be trusted!”

“I don’t understand!” Tracy protested, though she was following.

Suddenly, Ness spoke up again. “Picky, I need to know what the threat is. That’s the only way I can keep us all safe.”

Picky stopped for a moment to catch his breath. “Ness…” he paused. Then, he said “...you don’t know who the new owner of this building is yet, do you?”

“No.” Ness responded. “Who? Is that the threat?”

“The owner is… my big brother Pokey.”

Ness gasped. “B-but… how? Last time I saw him, he was…”

“I don’t really know WHERE he’s been.” Picky informed Ness. “But after being missing for all that time he just showed up again. He gave me a place to live and doesn’t tell anybody that I’m here. After all, I… well… my parents don’t exactly know where I am. But he’s a lot different now than he used to be. More obsessive over things and more… well… off-putting. All of his friends are probably the very essence of evil itself, and you remember the Commander? Well, he’s just a brainwashed boy from who-knows-where that my brother brought with him! And I wasn’t supposed to tell you ANY of this, so I really hope I still get to live here with him after this…”

“But why do we need to get out of here all of a sudden?”

“I’m not sure.” Picky responded. “But I just know you need to. Pokey’s really missed you, Ness.”

“Me?” Ness asked, as the group began going down the stairs again. “Why did he miss ME?”

“Because you’re his best friend, Ness!”

“Why does everybody keep SAYING that??” Ness asked annoyedly.

“Well, aren’t you?” Picky asked. “You two were always playing together growing up.”

“Only because he was my next door neighbor!” Ness responded. “Not because I actually LIKED him!!!”

Picky looked very surprised by this, which Ness couldn’t understand. Pokey and Ness had ALWAYS been enemies, since they were little. Pokey would steal Ness’ snacks and play with his things without permission, often breaking them. Disregarding all of Pokey’s evil schemes during Ness’ adventure, Ness couldn’t think of any reason he would EVER want to be friends with someone like Pokey.

“Well you probably should have told HIM that…” Picky responded. “I always thought you two were just frenemies. The ultimate rivals.”

“Look, Picky, no offense, but I am SO DONE with all of Pokey’s CRAP! If he took over this tower and brainwashed somebody, I’m not just going to laugh it off over a nice steak later! We were never friends BEFORE he turned evil, and after everything he’s done now I REALLY don’t want to be friends. Ever. It is FAR too late for that.”

Picky’s expression was just sad. Ness knew Picky was too young to understand, so there was no point in trying to explain it any further.

They three finally reached the first floor, and when they arrived at the entrance, the electronic door just… opened itself. No fighting, no nothing. Ness and Tracy were able to walk out without incident, Tracy giving Picky a hearty goodbye before she left. For some reason, Ness had expected there to be more resistance than this.

Ness and Tracy got home just as a wonderful smelling dinner of steak was put out on the table.

“Where have you two been?” Their mother asked. “There’s no way icecream took that long!”

“Oh, you know,” Tracy responded, “just exploring the city a little bit, getting used to our new home. It was a lot of fun!”

“Well I’m glad to hear you’re adjusting so well.” Their mother said, and things went back to normal like nothing had happened, leaving Ness with the strangest feeling. Yes he had wanted to get away from WHATEVER Pokey was up to, of course, but it was also kind of exhilarating! Now it was over, and any smart kid would just leave it alone. But there was a part of Ness that really didn’t want to! After all, Pokey was brainwashing someone, and by Picky’s description, still had connections to other evil people! How could Ness just let that be?

After dinner Ness went into his room and looked around at all of the maps and globes he had decorated the place with. He had BEEN to a lot of those places, and there were so many more he’d love to see! He felt so trapped, being condemned to living in one place for the rest of his childhood.

He changed into his PJs and brushed his teeth before slipping into bed, staring at the ceiling for a while lost in thought. What SHOULD he do about Pokey? This question kept circling in his mind until he finally drifted off to sleep.
 
BANG!
 
   BANG!!
 
       BANG!!!
 
Ness bolted awake and looked towards his window, where the banging was coming from. His apartment was WAY too high up for that to be a tree, but nothing else really made sense. Ness almost wondered if all of this thought about Pokey had caused him to imagine the same thing that started his adventure, but the banging was still going. Was Ness accidentally using his PSI to cause it? No, that didn’t make any sense either!

The moment of uncertainty was so wonderful that it almost made Ness wish he didn’t have to check. After all, whatever was out there was probably much more uninteresting than he was hoping. But on the very slight chance that it WAS something important, he had to check, just in case!

He crept over to the window, savoring every second, before pulling open the curtain quickly. And, well, what was out there certainly wasn’t normal! It was the Commander from earlier, who had flown up to his window with his jetpack-like wings that he apparently had and was banging on the window. Ness opened it, letting all of the sounds of the city enter his room at once. The Commander entered as well, landing inside his room and holding out a letter.

“Delivery from King P.” The Commander stated in his usual monotone way.

Taking a deep breath, Ness opened it.
 
Dear Ness

Betcha didn’t expect I’D come back, huh? Well TOO BAD! Because I’m back and I’m here to stay!

And oh yeah? You don’t wanna be friends? That’s fine! ‘Cause if were not friends, we’re ENEMIES!!

HA HA HA! This is gonna be the most fun I’ve had in MILLENIA!!!

From: King Porky
 
Ness let out a long, drawn out sigh. “Is this all?” he asked.

“Yes.” the Commander responded.

“Fine.” Ness paused as the Commander began leaving, before he said “Wait.”

The Commander stopped and looked back at him.

“Come back over here a second.”

The Commander walked back towards Ness, and Ness quickly made a grab for the helmet, trying to reveal who the mysterious Masked Man was. Of course the Masked Man didn’t let that happen and instead avoided Ness before rushing to jump out the window. Ness ran up to the window to make sure the Commander didn’t just go splat upon hitting the pavement, but he took out his wings in time and soared back up and towards the Monotoli building.

Even despite all of that, tonight was a school night, so what choice did Ness have now but to go back to sleep until morning.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Alright, day two of school. Ness could totally handle this, despite the fact he couldn’t stop replaying yesterday’s events in his head. Chewing on one of his last PSI Caramels, Ness went out into the courtyard, unsure of what today would bring. And the first thing he noticed is that Claus was acting extremely weird around him, not even wanting to make eye contact.“Hey, Claus.” Ness said, walking towards him.“Oh, uh… hey Ness.” Claus responded awkwardly. “Uh… so… umm… what’s up?”Ness gave him a weird look. “The better question is: what’s up with YOU? You’re acting so weird.”Claus looked to the ground, but Ness caught a good look at one of his eyes. His bright, radioactive green eye. And suddenly a fact that Ness had been forgetting up until now put everything into perfect perspective.“Claus?” Ness asked.“Uh, yeah?”“Didn’t you say you work in the Monotoli building?”Claus gasped, now finally looking at Ness. “I, umm… I did say that, yes.”“All hours of the night, even?”“Umm… yeah?”Ness stared him down for a good few moments before asking “You’re the Commander, aren’t you?”Claus froze in place, clearly not wanting to come up with a response. During that time, Lucas walked onto school grounds and approached. “Hey Claus!” he said, “I brought you some breakfast!”Ignoring everything Ness had said now, Claus turned to Lucas. “Omelets, I hope?”“Of course! What else?”Claus happily took the food container Lucas handed him and found a bench to sit at, and began eating. Feeling clever, Ness walked up to him and asked “Why don’t you just use your wings and fly up to the roof to eat?”“Because I can’t use them at school.” Claus said between bites. “Wait… I mean… what wings?”“Gotcha.” Ness responded playfully. In a more serious tone, though, he added “So you’re the one Pokey has brainwashed.”Claus sighed. “If you mean Porky, then yes. I am. But it’s a lot more complicated than that.” Claus paused, then said “You’re just lucky I didn’t get in trouble for trying to get you out of there! King P wanted to kidnap you and lock you in the tower so you had no choice but to play games with him forever. Anyway, it’s breakfast time, then school time, so I don’t really want to talk about this.”“But if there’s anything else I should know about-”“So long as you stay out of King P’s way, you’re good. Believe me, you do NOT want to get mixed up in all of his shenanigans. Just ask Lucas.”Lucas let out a long exhale. “I don’t really want to talk about it, either. But he’s right Ness. No matter what you do, no matter how much you think you’ve done, there is no stopping Porky. Even resetting the universe isn’t enough to do away with him.”“What?” Ness asked.Annoyingly changing the subject now, Lucas said “Oh, Claus! I was looking at our world history syllabus a bit more, and I asked some of our new friendly neighbors what some of the words meant. When I asked what ‘Eagleland’ was, someone said ‘You’re in it, kid.’ So maybe it’s another name for city?”“Not a word I’ve ever heard.” Claus responded. “There’s some weird slang out there, but eagles don’t really go in cities, so it doesn’t really make much sense.”“It’s the country were in.” Ness told them. “So we ARE in Eagleland, but so are the people in Onett, Twoson, Threek, and so on.”“OHH!” Lucas responded. “Just like how Snowcapped Mountain and Tanetane Island are two very different places, but they’re both part of the Nowhere Islands!”“...Exactly.” Ness responded. Middle school was going to eat these two alive…“That makes so much more sense.” Claus said, and Lucas nodded.“Well, we should probably start heading to World History.” Ness told them.“And I can tell the teacher everything I’ve learned today!” Lucas exclaimed.“Or maybe don’t?” Ness replied.But, sure enough, upon walking into the World History classroom, Lucas went right up to the teacher’s desk. Smiling, he proudly reported “Today I’ve learned what a country is! We’re in ‘Eagleland’!”Unimpressed, the teacher looked up at him. “Is this your idea of a joke?”“No, of course not, ma’am!” Lucas responded. “I just thought you’d be proud to find out that I’ve been learning new things outside of class.”“Go sit down.” The teacher said annoyedly.“Umm… okay.” Lucas said, sadly making his way back to his seat.“Alright students, before the bell rings, please pull out the supplies I asked you all to get.” the teacher announced.Realization suddenly dawned on Ness.He hadn’t got a thing his teachers had asked for!As all of the other students began to pull out their notebooks and pens, Ness just sat there with an ‘oh crap’ expression on his face. Lucas looked over at him. “Could you not get ahold of a notebook?” he asked.“More that I forgot to.” Ness responded. “Yesterday was kind of hectic for me.”“I made some spares, don’t worry!” Lucas responded, handing Ness a hand-bound notebook seemingly made of plant fiber. “I started making these about a week ago because I figured me and Claus would need some for school. I was having so much fun, I just forgot to stop.”“You made this?” Ness asked. “This is incredible!”“Thank you!” Lucas responded. “Feel free to keep that one. I have so many extras. Do you need to borrow a quill, too?”“A quill?”Claus laughed. “You’re probably used to pens, huh?”“Wait…” Ness asked. “You mean like… a feather quill?”“Yeah!” Lucas told him. “When I started preparing for school I took a trip to the nearest forest to forage for supplies, but the forest was SUPER far, so I ended up spending the night. Overnight I heard a creepy sound that woke me up, but when I went out I realized it was just an owl landing on a nearby branch. Knowing I’d need some quills, I asked her for some of her spare feathers and she gave them to me. She even got some from some of her friends’, too!”Ness looked to Claus. “Is he being serious?”“Yeah.” Claus responded. “That’s how we did things back on the islands. At least, before everything changed. Lucas never really bought into all of that ‘innovation’ nonsense though.”“I brought some pens, but thanks anyway, Lucas.” Ness said. “You’ve really got a way with nature, huh?”Lucas smiled widely. “I always wanted to be an artisan when I grew up. Someone who could make ANYTHING!”“As for me, I was always torn between two different things.” Claus added. “Part of me wanted to explore the various islands and forage things to bring back home to Tazmily, and part of me wanted to work with animals like my dad and grandpa. I loved going out and seeing new things, but I also loved helping out dad with the sheep. And grandpa with the cows and chickens. And pretty much everyone else who had animals.”“Claus was always the outdoorsy one.” Lucas said. “I loved playing outside too, but I also loved coming inside in the evenings. Mom would make tea and cookies, and we’d talk about our days while she knitted with the yarn she had spun earlier that day, and eventually, she taught me how to do it too! We’d both knit together by the light of the fire until dinner was ready, which was when dad and Claus finally came in too!”“Wow.” Ness responded. “Life where you’re from sounds so different. So slow paced.”“It was nice.” Lucas said. “Much more relaxing.”That’s when the bell rang for class to begin, and the teacher said “Alright students! Please copy down the powerpoint while I talk about what’s on it.”Right. Ness forgot about what the joys of being a middle schooler was like. At least he had some friends in this class… ~~~ 
I feel like an absolute idiot.
Ness was in math class, taking a quiz that the teacher was using to get an idea of what the students knew and didn’t know, and it felt like something straight out of a bad dream. Nothing made any freaking sense! Why were there letters in the math equations?!? Maybe having skipped ‘pre-algebra’ before taking ‘algebra’ was a bigger problem than Ness originally suspected. And yet on one side of him was Mana Mana, who seemed to be giggling while filling out her paper it was that easy, and on the other side of him was tiny little Lloyd who was writing furiously. It just wasn’t fair.At the end of class Ness turned in his paper, though not having really understood a single question he just felt dejected. Lloyd seemed to have noticed his head hanging low, and walked over to him after the bell rang.“Are you okay?” Lloyd asked.“No…” Ness said. “I’m terrible at math and didn’t understand any of it. I am definitely failing this year.”“Do you need some help? I could tutor you if you wanted.”“Wait, seriously?” Ness asked. “That would be incredible! Are you good at math?”“Of course I am!” Lloyd told him. “You see, I’m only eleven years old, and in my freetime I’ve been taking college courses for math and science. The school wanted me to take a normal math course and science course as well, and since I’m only eighth grade level for reading and history right now, they’ve put me in eighth grade math and science too, but I spend my weekends taking college courses, and I’m hoping to graduate by the end of the year!”“You’re making that up.” Ness said.“No I’m not!” Lloyd insisted. “I’m super, super smart! Really the only reason I even go to middle school at all is because Ninten does and I want to stick with him.”Without much choice but to agree with Lloyd because he needed the tutoring, Ness said “Alright. Well, if you’re willing to be my tutor I could really use it.”“Here are my conditions.” Lloyd said. “1. You supply snacks for every session. 2. You never bully me. 3. If you ever see anybody bullying me you tell them to cut that out. Does that all sound good?”“Uhh, yeah, sure. When’s the next time you’re free?”“Tonight.”“Okay, then here’s my address.” Ness said. “If you don’t mind coming over at, say, 5 o’clock, I’ll make sure I have plenty of snacks.”“Especially donuts!” Lloyd told him. “I’ll see you then.”“See you then.”Ness really hoped this kid was as smart as he was claiming to be, but what other option did he have?The entirety of Home Ec had been taken up by going over safety protocols, and before Ness knew it, it was lunch time. Ness sat down at the same table as he did yesterday, and sure enough, Lloyd, Ninten, Claus, and Lucas all joined him. It seemed as if Ness was starting to become a part of a new group of friends.Having figured something like this might happen, Ness had prepared accordingly. While he was chaperoning Picky and Tracy around the city yesterday, he bought something. Taking out a pack of pudding cups, he handed one to each of the boys around the table. “There.” Ness said. “Now everyone gets one.”“Thank you Ness!” Lucas said happily, though he didn’t seem entirely like he knew how to open it. Seeing this, Claus reached over to help him, but he licked the top after removing it before handing it back to Lucas, giving him a smirk. Lucas playfully rolled his eyes and happily dug in.Lloyd also began eating his, but Ninten paused in opening his and seemingly made eye contact with someone standing behind Ness. Ness looked over to where Ninten was looking to find Mana Mana staring at Ness’ remaining pudding cups.“Do you want one?” Ness asked.“Yes, no, maybe so.”Ness raised an eyebrow at her.“Ugh, Mana, can’t you just speak normally for once?” Claus asked. “She does.” he clarified to Ness.“All you had to do was ask.” Ness said, handing her one.“Welcome to the cafeteria!” Mana exclaimed before running off with the pudding.Curiously, Lucas asked “Do you know her, Claus?”“Yup.” Claus said, sounding slightly annoyed. “She lives in the Empire Porky Building v2, so I get to deal with her ALL THE TIME!!!”“Why?” Ness asked.“Dunno.” Claus responded. “King P isn’t too keen to let me sit in on his meetings anymore, so I only ever know what he wants me to know.”“Who’s King P?” Lloyd asked, and Ninten nodded at Lloyd, seconding the question.“Annoying brat, overly obsessed with pigs… you’d know him if you met him.” Claus explained.“Being near him all the time…” Ness said, “you could keep an eye on his plans, y’know. Work as some sort of spy or something.”“You’re not wrong.” Claus responded. “I mean, I tried to help you out yesterday. And if there was something catastrophic coming our way, I’d find a way to tell Lucas. But be warned - it’s a two way street. When I’m in that state, my loyalties always lie with King P, and I’ll tell him anything he wants to know. So if there’s anything you don’t want him finding out about, maybe just don’t tell me?”“Can do.” Ness responded. “And thanks. For trying to help.”“Wish you listened a bit better.”“How’d you speak in my head though?” Ness asked. From what he understood, only psychics could send telepathic messages. And there was no way Claus was psychic, so-“It’s a secret!” Claus laughed.After that, the conversation fell a bit lighter again, until Ness got a phone call on his receiver phone. “Hold on, I should probably take this.” Ness said.Ness picked up the phone. “Hello?”“Hello, it’s your dad.”“Dad!!!” Ness exclaimed happily. Then, a little confused, he added, “Dad, I’m at school.”“I know, I know, but I had a few free minutes and wanted to hear how things are going for you. Make any new friends?”“Yup! There’s Claus and Lucas and Lloyd and Nin-”“Hold on, one moment, Ness.” Ness’ dad interrupted, before saying to someone Ness couldn’t hear “Can you repeat that? …Huh, are you sure? Wait, seriously?” Back on the phone he said “Sorry to cut this short, Ness, but I have to go.”“Oh… okay then… bye, dad.”“Bye Ness… huh? Oh, umm, Minnie wants to talk to you. I’ll talk to you soon, Ness.” Ness’ father rushed off the phone, and Aunt Minnie took his place.“Hi, Ness! How’s my favorite nephew?”“Hi, Aunt Minnie!” Ness responded.“You’ve been being good, right? No you-know-what at school, right?”“Right…” Ness responded. “Oh, but speaking of, can you ask Aunt Mimmie to make me some more of the you-know-what caramels? I’m down to my last two pieces.”“Already?” Minnie laughed. “Alright, I’ll ask her. You know how much she loves making all of those old recipes. If big brother didn’t stop her, she’d be baking all day and all night! Anyway, I’ll let you get back to whatever it was you were doing. We’ve got quite a bit going on here, so I should get back to it. Bye, Ness!”“Bye, Aunt Minnie!” Ness said, and as soon as she hung up felt an upset feeling creep through him. Of course his dad was too busy to stay and chat. He always was.Ness sat back down at his lunch table, having lost his appetite a bit. “Who was it?” Lloyd asked.“My dad.” Ness said. “He wanted to see how I was doing.”“I wish I could talk to my dad in the middle of school…” Lucas said. “I miss him…”“Lucas.” Claus said. “You’ve LITERALLY seen him THIS MORNING!”“Yeah, but… I still miss him.”Claus shook his head and rolled his eyes playfully. ~~~ The rest of the school day went by pretty uneventfully, and it was eventually time for Ness to finally get to head home. On the way, though, he stopped by the store to buy some snacks for when Lloyd came over.“Welcome back, Ness.” Ness’ mom said as he entered.“Hey mom.” Ness responded. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve invited one of my classmates to come over and help tutor me in math.”“That’s not a problem at all.” Ness’ mom responded. “Just make sure-”“No PSI in front of him, I get it.” Ness interrupted. “It’ll just be two normal kids doing normal math stuff. Gosh I wish I could just drop out of school…”“That’s no way to talk, Ness!” Ness’ mom responded. “What is it that I’m supposed to say? ‘School prepares you for your future’ and all that?”Ness let out a long sigh. “Mom, you and I both know that when I grow up there’s no way I’m going to be doing ANYTHING that school might prepare me for.”“That may be so, Ness, but at least you’ll have had the experience!” Ness’ mom sighed. “Look Ness, when I was your age, I lived a very abnormal life, too. And now that I’m older I regret not getting the opportunity to have a proper childhood. I know you hate this now, but one day you’ll be happy you had an era where the scariest thing you had to handle was your upcoming math test.”“But I already had that era!” Ness protested. “BEFORE I got a mission to save the world!”“But now you’re a teenager, Ness. Now you get to do teenage things!”“What are ‘teenage things’, anyway?”“I have no idea.” Ness’ mom responded. “But, YOU'RE the teenager! That’s for you to figure out!”Ness waited in his room until 5 o’clock rolled around, then made sure he was the one who got the door when Lloyd knocked. He didn’t need his mom to judge his tutor choice or Tracy to distract him.“Hi, Ness.” Lloyd said when he arrived, having a large messenger bag slung over his shoulder.“Hey, Lloyd. Come in. I have the donuts you wanted.”Lloyd and Ness both sat down at the dining room table, where Ness had set out the small spread of various snacks. Immediately, Lloyd happily popped a powdered donut into his mouth. “Mmmmm, perfect!”“Are these snacks suitable?” Ness asked playfully.“Yes!!” Lloyd exclaimed. “Now let’s get down to business! I’ve already made a few worksheets that we’re going to go over together!”“Ughhhhh…”“Nice enthusiasm, there, Ness.” Lloyd said. “Now, the first thing we’re going to solve is this equation: 2x=6. The goal of the equation is to find what ‘x’ is, which in this case is the number that is being multiplied by 2 to get six. So the way we solve it is…”“By dividing 6 by 2!” Ness exclaimed, suddenly getting it. “Ohhhh!”“See, there’s the problem.” Lloyd said. “You were overwhelmed with the more complicated math problems before understanding the basics. It’s just like solving a puzzle. Once you have all the pieces, it fits together perfectly!”“Now I get it!” Ness said. “This isn’t so bad after all! The answer is 3!”“Correct!” Lloyd exclaimed excitedly. “And now, we can check your answer by replacing the ‘x’ with 3. And 2 times 3 is…”“Six!”“Alright, let’s make it a bit more complicated! Our next equation is 2x+1=5…”The two boys went over the math questions, and though each one got progressively more difficult, it didn’t seem so bad when Lloyd was building things up slowly like this. Actually, it was even a little fun. Something about Lloyd’s love for academics reminded Ness so much of Jeff, so it was easy to fall into a similar rhythm with Lloyd. After about two hours, Ness felt like he had a MUCH better grasp on what the heck an ‘algebra’ was.As they were wrapping up, Ness’ mother came into the room. “You must be Ness’...” she paused, giving Lloyd a strange look. “...tutor.” she finished.“My name is Lloyd Andonuts, ma’am!” Lloyd said, standing up.“Wait, Andonuts?” Ness asked. “Any relation to Jeff Andonuts?”“Who?” Lloyd asked.“Ness, sweetie.” Ness’ mom said, “Where did you find this boy?”“He’s in my math and science classes.” Ness explained. “He realized I was struggling and agreed to help me. I had no idea he was an Andonuts, though.”“I hope that’s alright, Mrs…” Lloyd trailed off, looking to Ness for his and his mom’s last name.“Montague.” Ness told him.“Wait, Montague?” Lloyd asked. “Like Ninten Montague? Wait a minute…” Lloyd gave Ness’ mom a weird look. “Ana?!!?!”Suddenly, the front door burst open, out of view to everyone in this room. “Hello, it’s your dad!”“Ninten?” Ness’ mother called out. “You need to come see this.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ness’ father rushed into the room, and looked at Lloyd. Unexpectedly, he put a hand on his hip and in a playfully accusatory tone he said “What are you up to this time?”

“Huh?” Lloyd responded.

“Did you de-age yourself, or learn to time travel?” Ness’ father continued, as if both things were perfectly typical for this kid to do.

“Umm… time travel.” Lloyd responded “You’re Ninten, aren’t you?” Lloyd asked, then turned his attention to Ness’ mom. “And you’re Ana?” Lloyd laughed. “And this is your child, Ness, and I had no idea!”

“Lloyd,” Ness’ mother responded, “you always knew Ninten and I were going to end up together.”

“What is going on?!” Ness asked. “Do you two know him??”

Ness’ father laughed. “We’ll call him a childhood friend. But yes, we know him.”

Lloyd then asked, “So is Ness, you know…” Lloyd  placed two fingers to each of his temples, the way psychics do in movies.

“That’s not for you to know.” Ness’ mom quickly stated. “So did you time travel here by yourself?”

Lloyd shook his head. “Ninten and I were checking out the old fallen portal to Magicant, trying to see if there was anything we could do. Suddenly, we heard a different sort of melody, and next thing we knew we were waking up next to this strange metal thing and Ninten said we were at some sort of ‘sanctuary’. We haven’t been able to figure out how to get home, so we’ve just kind of been… adjusting to life here instead.”

“Hold up, hold up.” Ness said. “There is WAY too much going on that I haven’t been told anything about!” He looked to Lloyd. “You were trying to go to Magicant? And then you went to one of my ‘Your Sanctuary’ locations? And you know my parents?!”

“You’ve met Ninten.” Lloyd said.

“He’s my FATHER from the past??” Ness asked.

“Okay,” Ness’ mother said, “everybody needs to calm down. Lloyd, is it just you and Ninten?”

“Yes.” Lloyd responded.

“And you’re going to school because…?”

“Ninten said we should.” Lloyd answered. “And when Ninten says to do something, he’s usually right.”

“Look, I haven’t heard that boy speak a single time.” Ness said. “And you’re telling me he’s going to grow up to be someone who calls his child every two hours telling him to take a break?”

Lloyd shrugged.

“I was quiet back in the day.” Ness’ father admitted. “I only ever spoke when I thought there was something worth saying. I was a bit edgy as a child, you see. And a bit more mysterious.”

“So you’re saying he’s telling the truth?” Ness asked.

Ness’ father sighed. “I came to Fourside today to try to chase down an anomaly. We’ve been getting strange readings from this area for a while, and another burst of energy occurred earlier today - while I was speaking with you on the phone, actually. We have a location narrowed down, but no easy way to enter it.”

So he was here for work, then. That shouldn’t have come as a surprise to Ness, as his father was pretty much always working. On what, however, Ness had no idea. He knew his father and two aunts worked for the government on some highly classified things, and because they were so highly classified that’s just about ALL Ness knew about what his father did. That, and that it paid well.

“With all of these sudden bursts of energy, it’s no wonder accidental time travel could occur around something so powerfully charged as the portal to Magicant. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was more time travel at play, too. Have you noticed anything else suspicious, Ness?”

“Wait.” Ness’ mom cut in. “Ninten, we talked about this. Ness is a normal boy from now until he turns 18, remember? If he someday wants to follow in your footsteps, that’s HIS decision, once he’s become an adult.”

“But Ana, who knows what could be going on? If people are time traveling all willy-nilly, the fate of the world could be at stake once again! And you and I both know that Ness is ANYTHING but normal.”

“So he IS psychic!” Lloyd exclaimed.

“Shut up, Lloyd.” Both Ness’ mother and father said in unison, as if they’ve done it many times before.

“But that’s for you and Minnie and Mimmie to figure out.” Ness’ mother argued back. “Keep Ness out of this!”

“Honestly, Ana.” Ness’ father replied. “If the fate of the world is at stake, shouldn’t someone with a history of saving it and the power to do so be involved?”

“He’s already done it once, Ninten.” Ana responded aggressively. “We knew he’d have to at some point, because he was fated to. But it’s over now, so he should get to enjoy the rest of his childhood.”

Ness’ father sighed. “Fine. We’ll handle it ourselves then. And Ness, before I go? Lloyd’s a good ally to have. He may seem like a weakling stinkling at times-”

“Hey!” Lloyd interjected.

“But he’s loyal, smart, and always come through in the end, even if you don’t expect him to. He’s a good friend to keep around, especially in uncertain times such as this. Well, I should get going. Tell Tracy I said hi.”

“You’re leaving so soon?” Ness asked. “But you just got here.”

“Really just to see what you knew.” Ninten shrugged. “But this was illuminating, thank you.”

With that, Ness’ father walked out of the room, and Ness heard the front door shut only a few moments later.

“Well then.” Ness’ mom said.

Ness sighed. “He never stays long…”

Ness’ mom then turned to Lloyd. “Lloyd, I know you mean well tutoring my son, but I’d prefer you stay away from him.”

“Huh?” Both Lloyd and Ness asked at the same time.

“Ness, I’d like you to stay away from Ninten, too. Wherever Ninten and Lloyd are, trouble always falls in their wake.”

“But that’s not fair!” Ness exclaimed. “I made new friends like you asked, and now I’m not allowed to spend time with them?”

“Not THOSE friends, Ness.” his mother said. “But your other friends are fine, so long as their perfectly average and from this time.”

Feeling tears forming in his eyes now, Ness repeated “This isn’t fair. You’re deciding everything for me!”

“I’m your mother, Ness. I’m just trying to do what’s best for you.”

“Yeah, well I never asked for your help!” Ness shouted. “I did just fine on my own for a year, and as soon as I come back you’re more controlling than you’ve ever been! You’ve taken away my old life, my old and new friends, and even my chance to actually get to hold a conversation with my father for once! You’re taking everything from me, and it’s not fair! Just because you wish you had a normal childhood doesn’t mean that’s what I want!”

With that, Ness rushed towards the front door. He sprinted down the many flights of stairs and out into the cooling air of the city. The setting sun covered the sky in a pinky orange, and Ness just picked a direction and started running in it. Before he knew it, the world melted away and was replaced by the familiar suburban town Ness had grown up in. He was back in Onett.

Still running, Ness swiftly made his way up a familiar hill. As a child, he had played on this hill quite often, but now it held a very different meaning for him, as it was the location his adventure first started. Reaching the peak, he found himself staring at a large hunk of non-terrestrial rock, now having cooled completely and looking more like a large boulder than a world-changing meteor.

Ness fell to his knees, staring at it. He didn’t think it’d ever cool, and yet here it was, blending into it’s surroundings perfectly. “It’s not fair!” Ness yelled to no one. “None of this is fair!”

“What isn’t?”

Ness turned around quickly to see a very strange looking person staring at him with pure black eyes. He looked a lot like Ninten, just monochrome. Knowing the figure must just be from Ness’ imagination, he decided he might as well talk to him to make himself feel better.

“My mom says I need to be normal. But I’m not. And I don’t want to keep pretending to be, because it feels like I’m losing a big part of myself.”

The strange boy sat down next to Ness, though in a weird position. “You’re Ness Montague, aren’t you?” he asked.

“That’s me…” Ness responded. “Though I haven’t felt like myself recently.”

“I really wanted to meet you.” the boy continued. “On different terms. You have a great deal of potential, you know that? And you’ve only scratched the surface of it.” The boy turned his gaze to the stars as the sky darkened. “I’ve been betrayed before, so I’m not willing to trust you now. Still, maybe someday, we could work together. Do you… want that?”

“I’m gonna be honest, I don’t even know who you are.” Ness said bluntly. “So I have no idea if I want that or not.”

“Fair enough.” The monochrome boy responded. “Farewell, Ness. We will meet again. When I feel it is time. And before I leave-” the boy paused. “Sometimes people make the wrong decision based off their emotions. I feel it’s important to remember that.”

With that, the boy simply vanished.

Had Ness been in a more typical state, he probably would have questioned that whole experience a bit more. But he wasn’t, so he didn’t.

Ness stared up at the stars for a little while until he was ready to return home and face his mother again. He teleported back to Fourside, and looked around, hoping nobody had seen him just appear out of nowhere.

And he found the masked Commander Claus carrying a bag from a toy store staring straight at him.

“Oh gosh darnit!” Ness exclaimed. “Could this night get any worse?”

Commander Claus continued to stare at him.

“Well, go on then.” Ness said. “You’re mind controlled right now, right? So why don’t you just go on your merry little way and I KNOW I’m going to have to deal with this tomorrow! Just please don’t tell Lucas.”

The Commander stared at him for a few moments longer before walking off.

“Great, just great!” Ness exclaimed as he stormed home. “Just one more problem to add to the pile!” He began stomping up the stairs but then lost all of his gusto as soon as he reached the door to his apartment. He had said some terrible things to his mother, hadn’t he? He wasn’t happy with the way she was handling things but… telling her he didn’t need her? That was too far.

Ness walked in to find his mother making dinner in the kitchen. “Mom?” he asked.

“I sent Lloyd home.” Ness’ mother responded. “Dinner will be ready in ten minutes if you want it. If not you’re welcome to go buy some somewhere else.”

“Mom, I’m sorry.” Ness said sincerely. “I took things too far. Of course I’m upset about the situation, but I know you have good intentions. I’m sorry I didn’t remember that.”

Ness’ mother sighed, and turned to face him. “When I was a little girl I wanted an adventure so badly. To get away from my average life in the tiny town I grew up in. I spent all my time daydreaming about what might be out there, knowing that one day I was fated to meet the one who would take me away from my mundanity. And then I had the most wonderful time when he did finally come! I don’t talk about this much anymore Ness, but your experience wasn’t the first time the world was in danger. And after we saved it together, I couldn’t imagine going back to the way things once were. So I didn’t. While the others all grew apart over time, returning the their normal lives, Ninten and I never did. I never went back to being just a ‘normal girl’, if I ever was one in the first place. I involved myself so heavily in all of the stuff that Ninten’s still mixed up in now - the remnants of what his great grandparents left behind - that I just kind of forgot that I was still a child. And when I had you I decided that I wasn’t going to do it anymore. So I’ve refrained from… using PSI. For the past 14 years. And yeah it slips through the cracks here and there when I get emotional, but overall I’ve been able to bury it all and just focus on being the best mother I can be. Because that’s all I want now. That mundanity I’ve chased away my whole life. And I know because of that there’s so many things I never got to experience. That I never WILL get to experience. That’s why, Ness, I’m being so harsh. That’s why I’m making these decisions for you. I don’t want you to have regrets when you grow up.”

“I really am trying.” Ness said.

“I know you are.” His mother responded. “And I’m proud of how much you’ve been giving this your all.”

“Just please, mom. Don’t take my new friends away, too. I really don’t want to be alone.”

“Promise me you’ll try to stay out of trouble?”

“I promise.”

“Then alright Ness. But the second those two try to wrap you up into their mess, you leave, okay?”

“Alright.”

“Good. Now get washed up. Dinner’s ready.”
 
~~~
 
The conversation between Ness and his mother had lightened up substantially during dinner, though Tracy mostly sulked through it. When asked why she stated that it was because she had never gotten a chance to say hi to her father before she left, despite neither Ness nor his mother TELLING Tracy that he was even here. Ness chose to try to ignore her and just enjoy his dinner.

Afterwords Ness decided just to go to bed early due to his exhaustion from the day and he easily fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
 
~~~
 
The next morning Ness dawdled a little in getting ready for school, knowing he’d have to face Lloyd, Claus, and maybe Ninten this morning if Lloyd had told him anything about the events of last night. Eventually however it was unavoidable, and he began walking to school with a still very moody Tracy.

Just as Ness was about to reach the school gates, Lucas’ voice called out “Hi Ness!”

In dread, Ness turned to face him, knowing that standing right beside him would be-

“Ness, buddy.” Claus said, giving him a smug smile. “I think we have something to talk about.”

“First!” Tracy quickly interrupted, looking to Claus. “You’ve given me a letter from Picky before, so could you give him one from me?”

“Gosh, haven’t you two ever heard of a pork phone?” Claus asked annoyedly, though he did stash the letter Tracy handed him away safely.

“No?” Tracy responded, sounding confused. “Anyway, thank you. I’ll come to you tomorrow for his reply.” she said as she was leaving.

“Joy.” Claus stated.

“Well clearly you’re busy-” Ness said, “-so I think I’ll just kind of-”

“Not so fast.” Claus interrupted. “We’re talking about last night.”

“What happened last night?” Lucas asked.

“Should I tell him, Ness?” Claus asked.

“No!” Ness quickly said. “Okay, okay, we can talk about it. In PRIVATE though.”

“Oh don’t tell me Claus has you mixed up in something dangerous.” Lucas said.

“Nah, it’s something Ness did.” Claus responded, as Ness and Claus began walking off. Claus was leading the way and soon brought Ness into a storage closet. “This private enough for you?”

Ness did a quick look for security cameras, but there didn’t seem to be any in here. “Yeah…” Ness responded. “Look, I’ve gotta keep this on the down-low. Can’t have this getting out to too many people.”

“What exactly did you do?” Claus asked. “It was just like you appeared out of nowhere.”

Ness was silent.

“Ness?” Claus asked. “C’mon, I saw you, and I didn’t tell anyone, not even King P, who, might I add, is very interested in everything you do and would have loved that information. Now you have to explain it to me.”

“Why is he so interested in me, anyway?”

“Oh no, we are NOT changing the subject.”

“Fine…” Ness sighed. He leaned in and whispered “I can teleport.”

“No you can NOT!” Claus responded.

“Yes I can!!” Ness hissed, not wanting to raise his voice too much.

“Prove it.”

“Huh?”

“If you can teleport, prove it. Take me somewhere else.”

Ness sighed. “We’d have to go outside for that.”

“Let’s go then.”

“Fine.” Ness said, feeling a little bit mischievous. “Let’s go.”

Ness and Claus left the closet, and even left the school grounds. Ness led Claus on quite the walk to get him away from the sight of any potential people, then said “Follow me. If you don’t keep up I’ll leave without you.”

Ness began running in a circular formation, knowing with mischief that it usually made people a bit nauseous the first couple times they teleported in this way. If Claus was going to demand this from Ness, Ness was going to have fun with him.

Claus, of course, kept up, and before they knew it the two of them were in a freezing, snowy wonderland. Claus immediately started shivering, rubbing his arms for warmth. “Y-you c-c-can teleport.”

Ness gave him a smirk. “Come on, in here.”

Ness lead Claus into the heated drugstore that laid right next to the school Ness could never help but to teleport right in front of. A bit warmer now, Claus repeated in a whisper “You can teleport!”

Suddenly realization dawned on Ness. There were SO many things wrong with what he just did. Teleporting in public, going to Winters, and most of all, revealing his powers to another. Ness facepalmed. “Why did I just do that?” he asked himself out loud.

“Because I made you.” Claus responded. “I’ve never met anyone who could teleport before! So is that the only thing you can do?”

“I’m… not gonna answer that.” Ness responded. Starting to panic now, Ness said “I shouldn’t have done that, I-”

“Ness?”

“Yeah?”

“Chill.”

“CHILL?” Ness repeated. “I just let you trick me into showing you my powers and you want me to CHILL???”

“Look, Ness, I’m sorry.” Claus said.

“I JUST promised my mother last night I’d try to stay out of trouble.”

“How about this?” Claus asked. “You showed me something secret about yourself, so why don’t I return the favor. You’ve kind of already seen part of this, anyway, so I guess you deserve an explanation. We’ll have to go back outside first, though. I don’t want anyone to see this.”

“It’s freezing out there.” Ness complained. “Wait, I have an idea. We’re gonna go somewhere else.”

“More teleportation?” Claus asked.

“The easier kind this time though.” Ness responded. “Let’s go outside.”

Ness went outside and started teleporting the typical way, running in a straight line with Claus following close behind. Before he knew it, the two were back on top of the hill in Onett.

“Much better!” Claus exclaimed in relief. “Huh, and a nice view, too.”

“So?” Ness prodded.

“Right. Promise not to think I’m weird? Weirder than you already think I am, anyway?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Ness responded. “Believe me. I’ve seen enough that nothing surprises me anymore.”

“Okay.” Claus responded. “If you say so.”

Claus began by taking off the white gloves he always wore, revealing one to be normal and the other to be… metallic?

“Is it a prosthetic?” Ness asked.

“Kind of.” Claus responded. “But it can turn into an arm cannon.”

“No it can NOT.”

Suddenly, right before Ness’ eyes, the arm turned into a cannon.

“Wh-what?” Ness asked.

“You stand corrected.” Claus told him. “I’ve also got these jetpack wings, but you’ve seen those.” Claus said, snapping out a pair of metal wings reminiscent of that of a dragon. “This eye,” he said, pointing to his red eye, “let’s me scan my surroundings and get all sorts of data. Gives me a headache if I do it too much, though.”

“No way.” Ness said in awe.

“I got all sorts of other little tricks too, but I try to keep them on the down low, for Lucas’ sake. He hates it when I bring up any of this chimera stuff.”

“That’s… incredible.” Ness said. “And terrifying at the same time. So are you even human?”

“I was born one.” Claus said, shrugging as he returned his arm to normal, placing the gloves back on. “King P decided me being a human was too boring, so he changed me. I’ve kind of adapted to this whole chimera thing now though. It can be fun when it’s not being used against me. I mean, I’ve got wings!!!” As if to prove it, Claus flew up and did a loop-de-loop in the air before returning back to the ground, retracting his wings. “I get it’s crazy to some, but to me, it’s just the way my life is. I’ve been this way for so long I can’t really remember what being purely human is even like anymore.”

“Now I feel like a jerk.” Ness said. “Making such a big deal about the teleportation stuff. I mean, it’s my fault for doing it in the middle of public.”

“It is.” Claus agreed. Punching Ness on the arm a bit harder than Ness assumed Claus intended to, Claus added “But it’s fine. It’s who you are, right? Ness the teleporting master!”

Rubbing his arm, Ness responded “There’s more to it than that, but… thanks. And thanks for trusting me, too. I promise - I won’t tell anybody.”

“Yeah, it’d be pretty bad if this information spread all around the school.” Claus said, before his expression changed. “Oh crap, school! What time is it…?” Claus paused. Not moving, he then said, “Yup, we’re 13 minutes and 12 seconds late to our first class. Now I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not have to explain to the teacher where we’ve been, so maybe we should just skip first period and go straight to second?”

“Wow, you’re a bad influence!” Ness responded. “But my mom DID say I should try to act more teenagery. Let’s go back to Fourside, since I’m not really supposed to be here, but… yeah we should probably skip first period.”

“Yes!” Claus exclaimed. “Alright teleportation master, take us back!”

“You got it,” Ness said, rolling his eyes. After a pause, he added, “Commander.”

“Hey! So not fair!” Claus responded in a playful tone, and the two of them teleported back to Fourside.

“So, what do you want to do for the next for the next 45 minutes?” Ness asked.

“46 minutes and 16 seconds.” Claus corrected.

“Ooo, inexact times bother you, don’t they?” Ness teased.

“Yes, very much so.” Claus responded. “As for what we should do, well… what do you suggest?”

“I wish Fourside had an arcade…” Ness lamented.

“Hey, look over there!” Claus said, pointing at a tree. “Let’s go climb it!”

“Seriously?” Ness asked, but Claus had already run over to the tree and grabbing the trunk firmly, pulling himself up easily.

“C’mon, Ness!” he exclaimed.

“You’re so weird.” Ness said, but he did walk over to the tree. How exactly was he supposed to climb this? He had never been much of a tree climber back when he was little.

It didn’t matter, however, because Claus grabbed him with one arm and pulled him up onto a branch. “Shh…” Claus whispered, putting a finger to his lip. “My dad’s over there. He can’t know I’m skipping school.”

Ness followed where Claus was pointing to see a cowboy-looking guy carrying a large box. “What’s he doing?” Ness whispered back.

“He works for a moving company now.” Claus explained. “Around here, everything costs money, and King P isn’t exactly willing to supply food and shelter for anybody but me. Hence, my dad had to get a job. He doesn’t hate it, but it sucks he can’t be outside all day with animals like he used to. Looks like he’s helping bring some furniture in for a family moving in right there.” Claus paused. “And of course I picked THIS tree to climb!”

“Alright, alright.” Ness whispered back. “I’ll distract him while you get away. It doesn’t matter if he sees me.”

“Thank you, Ness.” Claus responded gratefully. “Alright, you go over there. I’ll climb down when the coast is clear.”

Ness walked over to the cowboy guy, not really sure what he was supposed to do. “Excuse me, sir?”

The cowboy looked over at him.

“I like your hat.” Ness said, grasping at straws. He could see Claus climbing down the tree, but he tried not to let his gaze wander over there.

The cowboy tipped his hat and nodded, and began to turn in Claus’ direction.

“Wait!” Ness quickly said. “Umm… what’s your name?”

“Flint.” the cowboy stated.

“Nice to meet you, Flint. I’m Ness.”

“You know, Ness, you remind me a little of my oldest.” Flint nodded. “Especially in the way he talks when he’s up to trouble. Or…” Flint turned to face Claus. “When he’s trying to distract me from something.”

Claus put a big smile on his face. “Hiiiiii, dad. Funny seeing you here.”

“It is.” Flint agreed. “Considering you should be at school with your brother.”

“Heh heh. Would you believe me if I said I was on a field trip?”

Flint narrowed his eyes.

“Okay, okay, I’m skipping school. But only first period!”

Flint sighed. “Did you at least tell your brother that so he doesn’t worry?”

“He knows I went off with Ness when I left school.” Claus explained. “He’s smart enough to figure it out.”

“You know how he worries about you.” Flint said, though he affectionately messed up Claus’ already messy hair. “You should get goin’, kiddo. It’s not like you get a lot of time with Lucas these days. You oughta make the best of it.”

Claus’ gaze dropped to the ground. “Yeah…”

Flint pulled Claus into a hug so tight it seemed as if Claus’ feet left the ground for a moment, though Claus didn’t seem surprised. “You’re not gettin’ worked too hard, right? And you’re eatin’ plenty and all that?”

“I’m fine, dad.” Claus said. “Now YOU’RE worrying too much, too.”

“Maybe.” Flint said, adjusting his hat after putting Claus down. “I know you’re tough Claus. Just remember to look after yourself, too.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Claus said, rolling his eyes. “C’mon Ness, we should get back before second period. Cya, dad.”

Flint nodded and got back to what he was doing.

As they were walking back towards school, Claus let out a chuckle. “Still smells like sheep.”

“Hey,” Ness said on a more serious note. “If you don't want to work for Pokey, why don’t you just… run away?”

“You know what I am, Ness.” Claus responded. “Upkeeping my mechanical side takes certain equipment I couldn’t have without him. Heck, whenever I sleep I have to charge myself at the same time. Not to mention I have a ton of trackers implanted in me, and Master Porky would not accept losing his favorite toy. It’s just not feasible.”

Seeing Claus’ hopeless expression - it reminded Ness of a question that never fully left his mind. What caused Pokey to go this far? Yes, he was always a menace, but in a childish, annoying sort of way. But this? This was on a whole other level! How did this happen?

The first offense, Ness guessed, was being involved in the Happy Happyism cult. But even that was small potatoes to literal mind control and full body modifications. Not to mention that Pokey must have someone ELSE at his command to be able to make Claus be that way since there’s no way Pokey could’ve.

But the question here wasn’t HOW evil Pokey was. His friendship with Giygas answered that question easily. The question was WHY. And on that, Ness was stumped.

The two eventually arrived at the school, and somewhat concerningly, there was absolutely nothing stopping them from walking right onto school property. They went near the World History classroom and waited outside it. When first period ended and Lucas left the room, he was quick to hug Claus in tears. Claus, seemingly prepared for this, put a washcloth on his shoulder where Lucas was crying to absorb the tears. Weird, but… whatever?

Ness went to second period where the teacher was actually teaching today instead of giving a test, and thanks to Lloyd Ness was somewhat able to keep up. Unfortunately, however, the teacher assigned homework, which Lloyd… cheered about? He literally gasped in excitement and clapped his hands when the teacher assigned it. Lloyd was great and all, but gosh he could be a weirdo sometimes.

In third period, the teacher made an announcement. “Alright students! I have a homework assignment for all of you, and you have until Monday to complete it. I want you all to go home and find an old recipe that’s been passed down through your family. The older, the better. Find something with some real history to it. That way it’ll be all the more meaningful to bring it back to life.”

Ness’ mind immediatly went to the recipe book his Aunt Mimmie was always cooking from. He didn’t really know where the recipes came from, but they were certainly old. Really old. Maybe he could ask her for a recipe reccomendation.

Lucas, however, raised his hand.

“Yes, Lucas?” The teacher asked, already having had learned his name from how friendly and chatty he’s been towards her the past two classes.

“Umm… we don’t really have any records of my family many generations back. The oldest is my grandfather, who wasn’t really much of a cook…”

“What about your parents?” The teacher asked.

“My mom was an amazing cook!!” Lucas exclaimed.

“Do you have any of her recipes?”

Lucas nodded. “She had this great big recipe book that-”

“Lucas, I don’t need your full life’s story.” The teacher said bluntly. “Just pick something from that recipe book.” Adressing the class, the teacher said “Anyone else think they might have difficulty getting an old recipe?”

A few other kids did, and the teacher walked them through what they should do.

“Until then, class, today we’re going to focus on the most basic use of the stovetop - boiling water. We’re then going to use that water to cook basic boxed pasta. Not very exciting, I know, but if nothing else I want to make sure all of my students know how to feed themselves the most basic of meals by now.”

The teacher kept describing this as basic but it didn’t seem very basic to Ness. Actually, he didn’t know how to even turn on a stove. He looked to Lucas for help, but Lucas raised his hand asking for firewood, so that wasn’t a good sign.

Eventually the teacher realized the class was hopeless and explained to everyone how to activate it, but in the process she might’ve lost all of her confidence in today’s youth.

A few moments later Ness noticed that Lucas was pulling out flour and eggs and other things from the pantry and fridge area, but Ness just grabbed the boxed pasta like everyone else.

Of course when Ness poured the pasta in he splashed himself with boiling hot water. He let out a small sound and prepared to psychically heal the burn when no one was looking, but Lucas walked right over to him. “Are you okay?”

Great, now Lucas has seen it and would question it suddenly disappearing. “Yeah, just burnt myself a little.” Ness explained. “No big deal.”

“Here, let me help you.” Lucas said, placing his hand on the burnt skin. He shut his eyes with a peaceful expression, and a pleasant sensation flooded Ness’ body, especially the injured spot. Ness looked at where the burn once was, but it was completely healed. Lucas smiled and put a finger to his lips before going back to his own pasta.

Oh crap.

Lucas is a psychic.

And if Ness were to acknowledge it in any way his mother would want him to stop talking to Lucas altogether.

Okay, Ness figured the best way to handle this is to continue to go about things like nothing just happened. Yup, that was a completely normal thing that any average kid could have done. Nothing strange about that, no siree bob.

Ness went back to his pasta and tried to ignore all of the thoughts swirling around in his mind right now.

Towards the end of class, Ness figured he must’ve done something wrong because some of his pasta was overcooked with some under, and the jarred sauce had separated into water and a thick paste stuck to the bottom of the pan he tried to heat it up in. Ness’ food all around looked atrocious.

Next to him, however, was Lucas, who's food looked perfect. When the teacher walked over to judge it, she asked “Where did you find the flower-shaped noodles? We don't have any here.”

“What do you mean?” Lucas asked. “I shaped them myself. Was I not supposed to?”

“Lucas, did you make this all from scratch?”

Lucas nodded, seeming confused. “Is that against the school rules?” he asked.

“No…” the teacher said, before trying a bite of the food. “This is incredible, Lucas! Where did you learn to cook like this?”

“My mom taught me!” Lucas said, smiling.

“Your mother is a very talented woman, Lucas!” The teacher complimented.

“...was.” Lucas quietly corrected, no longer smiling.

“Oh goodness, I’m so sorry!” The teacher apologized quickly.

Ness felt bad for Lucas, of course, but he and Claus had been kind of skirting around what exactly was going on with their mother for a while now, so Ness was glad he didn’t have to find out in the same way that teacher just did.

However, Lucas began crying, and the teacher began panicking. And that’s pretty much how the rest of the class went.

By lunchtime, at least, Lucas was calm, and Ness walked with him to lunch.

“Alright everyone,” Claus said when the whole group arrived. “On Friday, no one brings lunch.”

“Why, exactly?” Ness asked while opening his lunchbox, and Ninten pointed to him and nodded.

“Because I made the mistake of telling Lil’ Miss Marshmallow how many people I sit with at lunch and now she insists on making it. It’s probably going to be an every Friday thing.”

Ness couldn’t help but wonder what kind of name ‘Lil Miss Marshmallow’ was, but it felt rude to ask.

“Oh no, her?” Lucas asked. “I didn't know she made it to Fourside.”

“Let me guess.” Claus said. “You’ve ticked her off in the past?”

Lucas nodded.

“Who’s Lil’ Miss Marshmallow?” Lloyd asked.

“A robotic maid that I work with.” Claus explained.

“Robot??” Lloyd’s face lit up. “Can I meet her? I love robots!!!”

“She doesn’t get out much.” Claus responded. “But she WILL need to go ingredient shopping soon. If you’re lucky you might run into her at a store. You can’t miss her - blonde hair, blue dress, silver metal skin. Just don't get in the way of her shopping. She takes her job very seriously.”

“When do you think she’ll shop?” Lloyd pressed. “And where?”

“You’re really serious about meeting her, huh.”

“I love anything robotic!!” Lloyd declared. “You work with her, right? Can you arrange a meeting for us?”

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?” Claus asked.

Ninten shook his head, proving this was normal.

“Alright, I’ll tell you what.” Claus said. “When she goes shopping next, I’ll TRY to remember to call you. What’s your pork phone number?”

“My what?” Lloyd asked.

“Uh, you know… pork phone.” Claus pulled out his silver portable phone and showed him. “One of these?”

“That’s AWESOME!!” Lloyd exclaimed. “We only have a basic home phone.”

“What's a home phone?”

“You know, like a non-portable phone.”

“How is that helpful?”

“For making calls?”

Claus and Lloyd both got into a confused debate over this, until finally Claus said “You know what? There’s that big department store not far from the Empire Por- the Monotoli building. I’ll ask her to go shopping there tomorrow. If you want to meet her, be there.”

Lloyd squealed in excitement.

While theater class was mostly uneventful, when science class rolled around Lloyd had a ton of questions for Claus, though since it was science class, Claus was in a bad mood. Music went smoothly, though.

After school when Ness, Lucas, and Claus were all walking together, Claus declared “Lloyd is NEVER allowed to find out the truth about me. If he does I don't think he’d EVER stop asking questions!!”

“Wait.” Lucas said. “Does Ness know?”

“Yeah.” Claus responded. “He would’ve figured it out soon enough anyway. He’s already tried for my mask once before.”

“Oh.” Lucas responded. He looked to Ness as if to gauge his reaction, but since Ness already knew he wasn’t exactly surprised again.

Instead Ness decided to change the subject. “Hey Lucas, I met your dad today.”

That cheered Lucas right up. “You did?”

“Yeah, though his first impression of me DID include me trying to sneak Claus past him so he wouldn’t know Claus was skipping school.”

Lucas laughed. “Claus’ idea, I’m sure!”

“It’s not MY fault he was right by the tree I decided to climb!” Claus exclaimed.

Eventually the three boys went their separate ways, and Ness went home. Wanting to get a jumpstart on getting that recipe, Ness called his Aunt Mimmie quickly after getting home. After Ness explained the situation, she responded with “I’ll be right over!”

And sure enough, within minutes, she was knocking on the front door with a big book in her arms. “Hi Ness!!” she said enthusiastically. “Wow, you’ve grown so much since I’ve last seen you. You look just like your father did when he was your age, you know that?”

“So I’ve heard…” Ness said, thinking about how similar he and Ninten looked.

“But look at me rambling on when we have work to do!” Mimmie said, entering and going to the couch in the main room. “I’ve brought a book full of my copies of all of your great, great grandmother Maria’s recipes she used to make for her most beloved child. I have to warn you though - some of these foods can have strange effects from being eaten…”

“What?” Ness asked. “What do you even mean by that?”

“Is just that the child Maria made all of these foods for was a very bizarre child who had different wants and needs for nutrition than your typical person. Still, it SHOULD be fine. You’ve eaten plenty of Maria’s recipes without complaint.”

“Wait, you’ve been giving me experimental strange foods that have been known to have strange effects?”

Mimmie laughed. “Nessie, your great great grandmother Maria is the one who first made the recipe for PSI Caramels. As well as the cakes I bake for your birthdays every year. Honestly, most of them just boost PSI, so it SHOULDN’T affect your average classmates.”

“Was great great grandmother Maria’s favorite child a psychic?”

Mimmie burst out laughing. “You don't know the half of it. Still, these recipes have the most history you’re going to get. Why don't we take a look through the book and decide if there are any you like the sound of.”

A little nervous but a lot curious, Ness agreed.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Hey, Ness, wait up!”Ness turned around from his walk home from school on Thursday to find Lloyd following him. “Yeah?”“Do you want to come with me to the department store?” Lloyd asked. “To see Lil’ Miss Marshmallow?”Ness thought about it for a moment. He hadn’t INTENDED to stalk the robotic maid, but knowing more about Pokey’s forces could be very useful should Ness ever decide to stop being average and start being a hero again. “Alright,” Ness agreed, thinking that being with Lloyd would make himself seem less suspicious, “let’s go.”The two boys walked to the department store as Lloyd was excitedly chattering about some ‘cool’ book he read. Ness was really just blocking him out, a little nervous now about what he’d see at that store. After what happened to Paula there the store already gave Ness the creeps, and that’s when he WASN’T worried about meeting one of Pokey’s robots. Just how horrifying would this thing be? How many weapons would be attached to it? Ness wished he had the Gutsy Bat he had gotten from one of the krakens in Magicant with him, just in case.Ness and Lloyd arrived at the department store, but it seemed as if Lil’ Miss Marshmallow wasn’t there yet. Lloyd and Ness decided to try to hang out by the entrance of the department store as inconspicuously as possible as they waited for her to show up.Eventually, a very fancy, very expensive looking car pulled into one of the parking spots near the store, the license plate saying ‘PIG LYFE’. Out from the driver’s side came who else but the Commander.“He can drive?!” Ness exclaimed out loud.“Who is he?” Lloyd asked. “He certainly looks interesting!”Ness didn’t answer, and instead watched as the Commander walked around to the passenger side and opened the door. Out stepped a robot exactly as Claus described - blonde hair, blue dress, and, oh yeah, metal ‘skin’.“That’s her!!!” Lloyd exclaimed. “The robotic maid!!”“Weird.” Ness said, really just to himself. “It doesn't have any weapons.”“She’s a maid, not a fighter.” Lloyd responded. “We should stay out of sight for now, to watch her in action!”“Good idea.” Ness agreed.The two followed quietly as the Commander took Lil’ Miss Marshmallow’s arm and they both entered the store together and went upstairs to the grocery section. Lil’ Miss Marshmallow was picking out the produce while the Commander pushed the cart. Eventually, Lil’ Miss Marshmallow stopped. “They do not sell… pork chips! This will not do do, dew doo doo!”The Commander considered the chip section before asking in a monotone voice “Do our guests even enjoy pork chips?”Lil’ Miss Marshmallow looked at him like he was crazy. But after a pause and the sound of whirling servos, she said “You may be righty tighty! I should reconsider the menu!!!”Lil’ Miss Marshmallow looked into the cart. “Ginten likes citrus.” She said, thinking out loud. “And Mana likes sweets. And of course we need… supplies for donuts dough nuts-nuts do re mi fa so la ti donuts!”“There is always a need for supplies for donuts.” The Commander agreed.“Hey, kids!” Some angry adult voice said. The two looked up to see a security man storm towards them. “It’s a little early for Halloween, don’t you think? And stop playing with the merchandise!”“Playing?” the Commander asked.“That’s right! Obviously you have no intention of buying anything! Where are your parents?”“We have none.” Lil’ Miss Marshmallow told him. “We are creations that belong to the great Master King P! We are here on busy-ness business!”Seeing this guy giving the two trouble, Lloyd rushed out into the open. “Excuse me, sir?” he said to the security guard.“What is it, twerp?”Lloyd whimpered in fear, but holding strong he lied “I think I just saw someone run out that door with a bunch of unpaid merchandise.”“I’m on it!” The guard announced, and rushed off.Lloyd then just stared in awe at Lil’ Miss Marshmallow. “You’re incredible!” he commented.“You are the Commander’s friend.” Lil’ Miss Marshmallow responded. “Am I correct?”“I don’t know the-” Lloyd began but was cut off.“Affirmative.” The Commander cut him off. “He is one of the ones I told you about. Lloyd Andonuts, age 11. Favorite food: donuts. Favorite subject: science and robotics. Eye color: red. Hair color: white. Shall I continue?”“Do I know you?” Lloyd asked the Commander. “You seem familiar, somehow.”Wanting to protect Claus’ identity, Ness rushed out. “Uh, alright Lloyd, we helped them, so why don’t we-”Ness was cut off too, this time by Lil’ Miss Marshmallow kicking him in the shin.“Ow, what the heck??”The Commander did the same, and Lil’ Miss Marshmallow explained “That was from Master King P.”“He also has a message for you.” The Commander added.In perfect unison, with zero emotion, both the Commander and Lil’ Miss Marshmallow quoted “Spankety, spankety, spankety.”“Are you kidding me?” Ness asked.“Do you know them?” Lloyd asked Ness.“I know who they work for.” Ness explained. “All too well.”“Now that that’s done,” Lil’ Miss Marshmallow said, “we have workity-work to do!”Lil’ Miss Marshmallow and the Commander got back to shopping like nothing happened.“So coooool!” Lloyd exclaimed.Ness psychically healed his sore shins, now willing to watch the two out in the open. They worked quite efficiently through their shopping, and despite the Commander’s emotionlessness and Lil’ Miss Marshmallow’s dedication to her work, the two still managed to hold a conversation the entire time. Finally they were ready to check out, and Lil’ Miss Marshmallow pulled out a platinum-colored card with a pink pig nose on it, and it worked just fine. Then the two each took a ton of groceries in one hand and each other’s hand in the other, and went down the escalator and out to the car. They put their groceries in the trunk and the Commander got the door for Lil’ Miss Marshmallow to get in, before getting in the driver’s side and driving off at a high speed.“Do you think they’re sweet on each other?” Lloyd asked.“What?” Ness asked. “No way! …right?”“I dunno, they seemed pretty cozy together to me~! Wow, a robot that can love!!”Ness stared at where the car once was in disbelief. Did Claus have a girlfriend? Who was a robot??Well, he IS half robot…“Hey, Lloyd?”“Yeah?”“You and Ninten time traveled here, right? So where do you two live?”“Promise not to tell the police?” Lloyd requested.“Uhh… sure.”Lloyd led Ness to the outskirts of town, where an abandoned apartment building was. “This way.” Lloyd said, leading Ness up a few flights of stairs. They reached a door and Lloyd pulled out a bobby pin, using it to unlock the lock. Clearly he didn’t live here by any legal means…They went into the apartment which had extension cords strung up all around it, supplying it with stolen power. “It’s not much.” Lloyd said. “But it’s a safe place to call home until we can find a way back.”“Okay, but why do you have a kiddie pool in the middle of your living room?” Ness asked.Lloyd laughed. “It’s Ninten’s.” He explained. “It’s a makeshift sensory deprivation tank. Apparently it helps him focus or something.”“Huh.” Ness said. “Never thought of that.”“He likes to sleep in there sometimes, too. Psychics, am I right?”“What?”“Psychics.” Lloyd repeated. “You can't tell me you didn't know! He’s your alternate father, after all!”Ness was silent.“Oh, oops.” Lloyd said. “Sorry, I have a big mouth sometimes. Well, surprise! Both your parents are psychic! Ninten’s one of the best human psychics there are, and Ana’s no slouch either, so I bet your power’s incredible!!” At Ness’ continued silence, Lloyd specified “You are psychic, right?”“You know my mother doesn’t want me to answer that.” Ness replied.“I’ll take that as all the answer I need.” Lloyd stated. “Would you like to see my lab?”“Alright.” Ness agreed, happy to change the subject.Lloyd opened a door and Ness walked into a poorly lit room full of computers and other gadgets all connected to the bright orange extension cords. Looked like a bit of a fire hazard, really. There was also a small bed pressed all the way into the corner as if it were an afterthought.“You ought to meet my friend Jeff.” Ness said. “I think you two would get along great. Actually, wait… you’re probably related to him! You two have the same last name!”“Must be a distant cousin or something.” Lloyd responded. “I don't have any siblings, and there’s no way I could EVER get a girl. Still, I’d love to meet Jeff!”“Too bad I can't introduce you.” Ness lamented. “Really I’m not supposed to be in the same country as him.”“Does he have a restraining order against you?!?”“No, my mom just said I couldn’t.”“Oh. Phew.”“Anyway, I should probably head home.” Ness said. “I’ve got homework to do, and my mom can’t think I was out causing ‘trouble’ with you, and stalking robots and breaking into abandoned apartments is kind of ‘troublesome’. I’ll see you at school tomorrow Lloyd!”“See you tomorrow, Ness!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“So is she your girlfriend, or what?” Ness asked Claus immediately upon seeing him Friday morning.“Wait,” Lucas said, “Claus, you have a GIRLFRIEND??”“Ness, shut up.” Claus quickly said.“Wait, she is?” Ness asked, surprised. “I was just teasing!”Claus looked away as the cheek on the green-eyed side of his face flushed pink. “I agreed to it when I didn’t really know what it meant!” he claimed.“Woah, woah, woah.” Lucas said. “Claus, you didn't tell me anything about a girlfriend!!”“Well, you know…” Claus said, nervously playing with the hem of his glove.“Do I know her?” Lucas asked. “Is it Alle?”“No it’s not Alle!” Claus responded. “But you HAVE met her…” Claus sighed. “Had I known she was going to ask me to come along I never would have invited Lloyd to see her… Thanks for the save yesterday by the way, Ness. And sorry about kicking you.”“It’s not your fault.” Ness said.“Hey!” Lucas exclaimed. “We’re not changing the subject! Does dad know you're dating someone?”“No,” Claus told him, “and we’re going to keep it that way!!”“C’mon, Claus, you have to at least tell me!!” Lucas complained. “I’m your brother, after all!”Claus got quiet. “Promise you won’t get upset?”“Why would I be upset? You have a girlfriend!!”“And you PROMISE not to tell dad?”“I promise, I promise!!”“Well…” Claus paused. “I don't know if you’ll like her…”“C’mon Claus, if she's good enough for you to like-like, I think I can like her well enough to support you.”Claus glanced towards the Monotoli building, which was tall enough to be seen anywhere in the city. “Well… I met her during my time as the Commander. Are you still sure that-”“Claus!” Lucas exclaimed. “Come ON! Whoever it is, I know I’ll approve because she means so much to you!”“It’s Lil’ Miss Marshmallow!” Claus blurted. “She’s my girlfriend!”“The robot?” Lucas asked.Claus glared at him.“I guess I just don't understand.” Lucas explained. “Robot’s can’t love, Claus. And who could love a robot?”“I’M half robot, Lucas!”“Well that’s different!”“Different how?”“The other half of you is human.”“Oh.” Claus said coldly. “So you can only love half of me, is that it?”“No!” Lucas said. “I love all of you, flaws and all!”“FLAWS?” Claus yelled.Ness really wished he could disappear out of this awkward conversation.“That's not what I meant.” Lucas clarified. “I just…”“Just WHAT?” Claus asked. “Whatever. I’m out of here. Ness-” Claus shoved a large, heavy bag into Ness’ hands. “Lunch for everyone.”Claus ran to a nearby alley they were walking past, and a few moments later Ness saw him flying off into the sky with his wings.Ness and Lucas stood there in stunned silence for a few minutes, until it was broken by Lloyd shouting “Hey, Ness!”“...Hey, Lloyd.” Ness responded quietly. Lloyd and Ninten caught up to the group.“How’d your math homework go last night?” Lloyd asked. “I can help you check your answers, if you want.”“I’m good, Lloyd.” Ness responded.“Why do you two look so upset?” Lloyd pressed. “Where’s Claus?”“Probably with his robotic girlfriend…” Lucas responded bitterly.“Wait,” Lloyd said, “there’s MORE robots?”“Lil’ Miss Marshmallow.” Lucas clarified.“But I thought she was with the masked guy she went shopping with!”“They went SHOPPING together??” Lucas asked.“Wait… was that Claus?” Lloyd asked. “He’s certainly got the right idea! I wonder if Lil’ Miss Marshmallow has any science-loving friends that happen to also be female robots? But why did he kick Ness?”“Long story.” Ness responded.“Am I the only one who sees a problem with this?” Lucas asked.No one responded, so Lucas continued “This is the problem! Doesn’t anybody see how easy it is for technology to take over? Even my own brother has fallen in love with a robot!!” He paused. “Of course none of you see it. You haven’t seen what technology did to my perfect utopia I grew up in. You’ve been around this stuff all your life, so you wouldn’t notice! BUT I HAVE!!!”Ness knew today was going to be a looooong day…In first period, before class began, the teacher passed out some fliers that made Ness’ heart sink when he read his. Fourside Academy was a private school, so they had a lot of events there. The first one of the year was…“A back to school dance?” Ness said quietly, looking at the flashy font claiming that dates were welcome. Ness would love nothing more than to dance the night away with Paula, but due to his mother’s rules… Maybe he could appeal to her?Ness then looked at the unclaimed flier on Claus’ desk. Not really able to trust Lucas right now, Ness picked it up. He’d have to deliver it to Claus himself somehow.Lucas, was, of course in a bad mood all through first period, and by the time Ness saw him again in third period his mood hadn’t improved much.However, by lunch, it seemed like Lucas had cooked up a plan.“Before we eat-” Lucas said. “-I want to extend an invitation out to all of you so you can understand things a bit better. This weekend, we go camping! And no one brings any technology or modern things. Just us, some sleeping bags, and MAYBE a tent or two. What do you say?”“I can’t.” Lloyd said. “I need to be on the Fourside College Campus this weekend for an advanced robotics class. Sorry.”“Ness, Ninten?” Lucas asked.To Ness’ surprise, Ninten nodded.“Ness?”“...Oh alright. It sounds like fun.”Lucas smiled. “It will be! I promise! Do you have a sleeping bag?”“Yeah, I do.” Ness said.“Perfect!!”Ninten then reached over and tapped Ness on the shoulder. He rubbed his belly and mimed eating.“Right! Lunch!” Ness said, lifting up the heavy bag he’s had to lug around all day. When Claus was holding it, it looked almost light!Opening the bag, he found fancily wrapped serving-sized plates of food. Unwrapping them revealed them to be mashed potatoes, bread rolls, and many other sides before Ness unwrapped the final one to reveal it as an entire ham. Ness just stared in disbelief for a few moments. “Does Claus get to eat like this everyday?” he couldn’t help but ask.Ninten shrugged and immediatly started making himself a plate, and the others followed his lead. Even Lucas couldn’t hate Lil’ Miss Marshmallow’s amazing cooking.Mana Mana made her way to the table, and cut herself a slice of the pie that was made for dessert.“Don’t you ever have your own lunch?” Ness asked.“No.” Mana responded.“Are you speaking backwards again?”“No.”Suddenly reminded of a saying he’s heard, Ness started “In Moonside-”Mana joined in and they completed the cheer together. “No means yes and yes means no!”“You’re a Moonsidian.” Ness said accusatorily.“No~.” Mana said with a smile.“But how?” Ness asked. “I destroyed the Mani Mani statue. Isn’t Moonside and all of its inhabitants gone?”Mana’s expression darkened, and her ever-present smile disappeared. “Fate is fickle.” she stated. “A hero can become a bystander with a single desicion. Is that wrong, Ness? Much like a bystander can become a villain due to circumstance.”“What are you talking about?” Ness asked, but Mana already returned to her carefree nature.“Who knows? Nose knows! Nose nose nose!!!” And she skipped off.“Why does she have to be like this?” Ness commented.“What's Moonside?” Lucas asked.“Evil, opposite Fourside.” Ness explained. “The creator and center of it all was the source of a lot of problems and evil. A statue the represented the greed in the human heart.”“That sounds terrible!” Lucas exclaimed. “And that girl’s from that awful place??”“Apparently.” Ness responded. “No wonder she’s always acted so weird.” ~~~ Why was Ness being so over-the-top about this, anyway? He could so easily just wait for Monday to give Claus his flier about the dance, but instead he was wearing a dark cloak and sneaking up on Picky from a distance after school had gotten out for the day. This was absolutely rediculous!And yet, much like before, being overly reckless like this gave Ness a thrill he wouldn’t get otherwise. Plus, he needed to return the dishes from lunch anyway.Ness spied as Picky and Tracy were chatting. Since Ness didn’t actually walk his sister home like he was supposed to, he had no idea if this was an everyday after school thing or just a sometimes after school thing. Reguardless, Ness was about to attack a probably innocent eleven-year-old.Ness snuck closer and closer to Picky by hiding behind bushes, before suddenly rushing out, brandishing a knife. He simply ran by with it, getting a nice deep cut and psychically healing it instantly, getting plenty of blood but not keeping Picky injured.Ignoring Picky’s scream and Tracy’s confused shouts, Ness ran to the Monotoli building. He flicked the knife at the tablet, and it accepted the blood as Picky’s.“Welcome back, Picky Minch.” A voice said as the doors opened.Ness made sure his hood was still covering his head well, and walked towards the elevator, which seemed to currently be on the 23th floor. Could that be where Claus was?Not wanting to walk up all those stairs, Ness decided to risk the elevator… ~~~ Already changed into his ‘Commander’ clothing but not yet changed into the ‘Commander’ mindset, Claus sat boredly on one of the operating tables in the lab, propping his head up by having his elbow resting on a nearby REAL table and using that hand to prop himself up. The doctor should have been here by now!In what felt like 50 forevers but was, in reality, 2 minutes and 13.2 secounds, Dr. Andonuts finally entered the room.“Good afternoon, Commander!” Dr. Andonuts said cheerfully. “Or would it be evening by now? When do you suppose that change takes place?”“You’re late.” Claus stated annoyedly.“Well,” Dr. Andonuts responded, “you’re quite a bit earlier than I expected. You should have only gotten out of school recently. You must not have dilly-dallied at all before coming here and getting changed. You tend to put our little check-ups off as long as possible on a typical day. Is something wrong?”“What gave you that idea?” Claus asked grumpily. “Shouldn’t you be HAPPY I’m here on time?”“I see.” Dr. Andonuts said. “So you’re the emotional you right now.”“Well I don’t have to report to His Royal Highness until AFTER we’re done here, so I figured I might as well be the real me for as long as possible.”“Well, I’m quite excited to get to know this side of you, Commander. Could you put your wings out for me? Oh, and remove your shirt.”Claus complied, and as soon as Dr. Andonuts touched his wings, he mentioned “They’re still warm, as if you just used them. Commander, if you were at school then came straight here, you wouldn't have gotten a chance to use your wings at all. You weren’t at school, were you?”“I was going to be!” Claus informed him. “I just… well, I couldn’t be. Not today.” Claus sighed, allowing himself to fall backwards into a lying position on the table. “This emotion stuff is so hard! How am I supposed to know what to do when everything I think is influenced by how I feel?”“That’s what being ‘alive’ feels like, Commander. It isn’t always logical, and the bad moments feel really bad, but it makes the good moments feel all the better. Having emotions means the answers won’t always be clear, but at least they’re answers you got to come up with yourself.”“Being alive is difficult sometimes.” Claus responded.Dr. Andonuts let out a bitter laugh. “Even those who have lived the longest don't really know how to handle their emotions. You’re handling yours quite well for having just recently gained them back.”“Heh, thanks doc.” Claus said, sitting up and spreading his wings out like Dr. Andonuts wanted.“So, how’s school been?” Dr. Andonuts asked as he opened up Claus’ wings to examine their innerworkings and make sure they were in good condition. Unlike some of the other scientists who were all left at New Pork, Dr. Andonuts was always very gentle, treating Claus like a person and not a thing. The careful way he checked each and every wire created a calming feeling much like that of when someone searches your hair for bugs. Reasons like this were why Claus was glad Dr. Andonuts was the scientist selected to come to this time and not anybody else.Claus chattered on about school like Dr. Andonuts asked, but he knew the doctor wasn’t actually listening. If Claus was able to talk normally or not was a quick way to determine if anything had gone wrong or become disconnected. It had been common practice since he first became a chimera, though in the past there’d usually be other scientists for Claus to actually talk TO. Now he was just talking for the sake of talking. Dr. Andonuts was never a small talker, anyway. Not that Claus had been for the past three years either.“Alright, everything’s looking good.” Dr. Andonuts told Claus after a little while, closing up his wing panel.“Cool. Figured it would. Nothing’s felt out of the ordinary.”“Well it’s always better to check then have something malfunction.” Dr. Andonuts said, writing something down as Claus buttoned on his shirt. “I’d like to check some of your vitals too, while you’re here.” Dr. Andonuts added.“You didn't schedule THAT.” Claus said, playfully annoyed.“Time travel isn’t known for being kind to the body, Commander. While the technology used has greatly improved since its infancy, you know better than I do what is possible. I just want to make sure there’s no signs of that within you.”“Yeah, yeah, do whatever you gotta do.” Claus said. “Actually, feel free to take as much time as you want! Not like I’ve got anything more exciting I want to get to!”Dr. Andonuts sighed. “It’s gotta be difficult being so young yet knowing you have no control over your life. No future. I don't know how you handle it.”Claus swung his legs as they hung off the side of the operating table. “I dunno. I guess I’ve just come to accept it. Nothing I can do so might as well make the most of it, right?”“I guess I’m the same way, now.” Dr. Andonuts replied. “A long time ago, I used to be a hero who dreamed of greatness. Over time I watched that dream crumble away, and now, just like you, I’m stuck. If only I could just sing a song and make everything magically fix itself…”Claus let out a laugh. “You say the weirdest things sometimes, you know that? I never really had the will to point it out before, but you were always the most interesting scientist of them all. I’m glad King P picked you to come here and not some other schmuck.”“Dr. Andonuts?” A familiar voice called out.Claus looked over, surprised and somewhat horrified, to see a cloaked figure had entered the room. ~~~ “I’m glad King P picked you to come here and not some other schmuck.”Ness stood there in disbelief at what Claus had said. “Dr. Andonuts?”Both Dr. Andonuts and Claus turned quickly, concerned expressions on their faces.“Ness?” Claus asked. “What are you doing here?”“How did you know it was me?”Claus pointed to his red eye. “I scanned you. How many times have I told you it’s dangerous here?”“I had to give you something.” Ness explained. “But what is Dr. Andonuts doing here?” Ness looked back over to where Dr. Andonuts was just in time to see him shutting the lid of a trashcan onto himself. “And what were you saying about Pokey picking him?”“We have to get you out of here.” Claus said with a bit more urgency in his voice. “He watches the cameras.”“Wait.” Ness said. “Here.” Ness handed Claus the flier he came here to give him. “There’s a school dance on Friday next week. The fliers were passed out in first period so I thought you’d want to know about it.”Looking at the flier curiously, Claus asked “What’s a school dance like?”“There’s rockin’ music and good food and you get to dance with your friends. You dress up and have a good time for the night, and those lucky enough to have girlfriends they’re allowed to see get to invite them. You’d love it.”Claus continued to stare at the flier. “Friday evening, huh? I guess I can see what I can do… anyway, you really SHOULD leave. If we’re lucky, Master Porky might be having one of his many naps, but there’s no telling how long that'll last.”“Say, Claus.” Ness said. “That was Dr. Andonuts, right? Do you happen to know his first name?”“If you’re asking if he’s Lloyd, the answer is yes.” Claus responded. “It’s all a matter of time travel.”“Wait… you know about the time travel stuff going on?”Claus gasped. “I’m not supposed to tell you about that! Umm… thank you for the flier, but…” Claus began to quite forcefully push Ness back towards the elevator. “I’ll see you on Monday, okay?”“Wait, hold on.” Ness said. “Pokey knows how to time travel. Did he-”“Bye Ness!” Claus said, upon pushing Ness into the elevator and letting it close.Hand on his hip, Ness just pushed the button for floor 23 once again, and the door opened.“Claus…”Claus, who had been walking away, quickly turned around to face Ness again. “I’m not supposed to talk about it!” he exclaimed. “What don't you get about that?”Suddenly, there was the sound of an announcement system being activated. In a voice that was only vaguely reminiscent of Pokey, a childish tone said “I’m bored! Someone come entertain me!” followed by some coughing.“Okay, fine!” Claus agreed. “I’ll tell you on Monday. Just PLEASE go home.”“That was Pokey.” Ness stated, mostly unconcerned.“Go!!”Seeing Claus’ urgency, Ness took the elevator back down. Without any trouble, he was easily able to get home, and he wasn't really sure what Claus was so worried about.Still, when he got back to his apartment, Ness picked up the phone and dialed his father. Getting his voicemail, Ness left a message.“Uh, hey dad. It’s Ness. I know mom said I should stay out of all of this stuff, but I think I have a lead on the time travel situation. And what ended up happening to doct- uh, Lloyd Andonuts. I won’t be by a phone until late Sunday though, so if you’re available we can talk then. Bye, dad.”Ness hung up the phone and sighed. Of course his dad wasn’t available when he needed him.Ness did his homework, ate dinner, and then got ready for bed. Unfortunately for him, he got really invested in an adventure book he was reading, and only actually WENT to bed around 12:30. The reason this was a problem is that Lucas showed up in his room just as the sun was rising.“Ness, Ness, it’s time to wake up!” he insisted. “We’re going camping today!”Groggily, Ness glared at Lucas. It was WAY too early for this…

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The Commander stared at the screenshot Porky had put up on a screen for him to see. “Who exactly was that?” Porky demanded. “And how did he get in?”

“Ness Montague.” the Commander couldn’t stop himself from stating. “And his method of entry is unknown.”

Porky’s facial expression changed ever-so-slightly to reflect excitement and surprise. “Ness was here?!” he asked. “Why didn’t you capture him?”

The Commander went silent.

“Tell me!” Porky demanded.

“At the time, I…” the Commander paused, knowing what he was about to say would displease his master. Still, with no choice but to state the truth, he finished “didn’t want to.”

“What?!?” Porky exclaimed, his face now full of fury. “This isn’t fair!” he whined. “Ness doesn’t get to break my favoritist toy!!!”

The Commander blinked at him.

“Well go on then!” Porky demanded. “If Ness wants to play this game, let’s play it! Tell the scientist to add Ness’ DNA to the system. Let him come and go as he pleases! I wanna see what he does!” He laughed, falling into a coughing fit. “This is gonna be great!” he finally managed.

“With all due respect, Master King Porky, are you certain this is a good idea? If Ness can enter and exit freely, could he not interfere with our plans?”

“Just do it!” Porky demanded. “It’s no fun if Ness isn’t playing too!”

“Understood, Master.” the Commander stated, bowing as he exited the room. Despite the strange decision to let Ness in freely, that went much better than he calculated it would. For an unknown reason, he released a breath he didn't know he was holding as he got on the elevator. He also realized he had been fidgeting with the hem of his glove. How bizarre.
 
~~~
 
Ness glared at Lucas, who threw open Ness’ curtains, letting the orangey hues of the barely risen sun enter the room.

“How did you even get in my house???” Ness asked, covering his head with a blanket that Lucas then yanked away.

“Your little sister let me in!” he exclaimed all too cheerfully. “She’s such a little angel! Even told me which room was yours!”

“More like a demon from hell.”

“Oh, don't say that about your own sister.” Lucas said, now trying to pull Ness up. “I used to be a late riser, too, y’know. Drove Claus crazy. Then I realized if I slept in I’d miss the world waking up.”

“Ughhhhh…” Ness finally got up. “Let me pack my bag…” he looked at his stock of recovery items. Holding up a cup of lifenoodles, he asked “Do you think anyone’s going to die on this trip?”

“What?” Lucas asked. “No!!”

“Worth an ask…”

Ness grabbed his clothes and went into the bathroom to change, since it didn't seem like Lucas was going anywhere right now. Due to the cold weather he put on a striped sweater and some regular-length pants. Looking in the mirror he lamented, not for the first time, about the loss of his favorite cap. The one he had gotten from his father as a baby, and had re-found in Magicant. The one that now sat on an empty robot in the Cave of the Past who knows how many years ago. After that it stopped feeling ‘right’ wearing any other hat, and so his messy black hair was on display for everyone to see today like it was any other day.

He tucked his key necklace under his shirt, splashed his face with water to wake himself up, and went back into his room where Lucas was waiting patiently. Ness was then able to pack his bag a bit more sensically, and he grabbed a sleeping bag from the hall closet.

“Alright, I’m ready!” Ness said, now much more excited for this.

“Perfect!” Lucas responded. “Now we just need to go get Ninten!”

As they were leaving, Ness saw that Tracy and Picky were chatting together on the couch. “Picky, what are you doing here?” Ness asked. “And Tracy, why are you awake?”

“None ’ya.” Tracy said.

“Huh?” Ness asked.

“None ’ya BUSINESS!” Tracy helpfully clarified before laughing.

“See?” Ness said, looking to Lucas. “Demon from hell.”

Picky looked at Lucas. “Commander?” he asked. “I’m surprised to see you here.”

Lucas shook his head. “I’m his twin brother.” he explained. “But how do you know my brother as the Commander?”

“Oh!” Picky exclaimed. “You’re the one I’m supposed to stay away from!”

“Let’s go to my room.” Tracy said, and Picky fearfully followed her. Tracy slammed her door.

“Who was that?” Lucas asked.

“I’d better not tell you.” Ness said. “Let's just go get Ninten.”

“...alright.” Lucas said, and the two left the apartment building.

“An ant told me where he lives.” Lucas informed Ness, and once again Ness had to remind himself to ignore the fact Lucas was clearly a psychic. “Ants have a great sense of direction, you know.”

Ness refused to let himself respond.

Finally they reached the building Ninten lived in, and surprisingly, just as they arrived, Ninten was exiting it, dressed warmly and ready to go. He took his sleeping bag and attached it to Ness’ backpack so Ness would have to carry it.

“...thanks.” Ness said.

Ninten winked and did finger guns back.

“Alright, everyone ready?” Lucas asked. When both boys agreed, Lucas said “Then let’s go!!”

Lucas began walking in a direction, and the other two boys followed. After having started on the outskirts of town and walking for about an hour, Ness asked “Hey, Lucas, how much longer until we get there?”

“Oh, did I not tell you?” Lucas asked. “It’s a five hour walk.”

“FIVE HOURS!?” Ness exclaimed. “This is like the Lost Underworld all over again!!!”

“It’s worth it, trust me!” Lucas assured. “Here, are you hungry? I made some nut bread!”

“That sounds great!” Ness said.

Ninten nodded in agreement.

Lucas pulled out 3 loaves of bread, and handed one to Ness and another to Ninten. “I baked these last night, so they're still nice and fresh.” he told them.

Ness took a bite, and honestly, he didn't know bread could BE that good. “Lucas, this is INCREDIBLE!!”

Ninten nodded enthusiastically!

“Thank you!” Lucas said. “It’s the recipe of one of my old neighbors!”

After their breakfast, the boys went back to walking, reinvigorated. Finally, after many hours, they finally reached the woods.

“Here we are!” Lucas announced. “Now it’s just a bit more of a walk to get to our camping site, but at least we’ll be out in nature!”

Ness had never actually seen this forest before, and despite his exhaustion, he was actually starting to get really excited.
 
~~~
 
“So is your brother going to be gone all day?” Picky asked Tracy.

“Who knows with him?” Tracy responded. “You never know with big brothers.”

“Thats for sure.” Picky agreed.

Truthfully, Picky and Tracy were in a very similar situation. They were the forgotten younger siblings, left behind by their older brothers and left with a feeling of missing out. But for Picky it always hit so deeply, since he was RIGHT THERE when everything had happened. When he closed his eyes, he could still see the meteor. He could remember the bright beam of light that had come from the heavens and the bizarre bug that came out from it. And he could remember the strange alien creature that had come to attack them. At the time, he had been so terrified of everything, so he hadn’t chosen to pursue it. To attempt to go with Ness. To do anything. And so he had returned to his falling-apart life just to face extreme regret every single morning when he woke up because he had been too much of a useless coward to change anything. And he had vowed never to make the same mistake again if another opportunity arose.

Tracy, however, had just been full of bitterness since that happened. Not because she didn’t do anything, but because she hadn’t been CHOSEN to do anything. She understood the concept of fate, and her parents had always acted a little strange whenever the topic of Ness’ future came up, but she never thought too much of it. She also as a child never let it bother her that Ness always got more attention from her family members because he was a psychic and she wasn’t. She just let it roll off her back, because that was the way things were and nothing she could do would change it. He was special and she wasn’t.

It wasn’t until he had actually been sent on his adventure that she became bitter.

Being a 10-year-old was no easy feat, balancing fourth grade and a part-time-job she had gotten just so she could help Ness. But whenever she complained to her mother that school was hard or that she didn’t have time for homework, her mom would always remind her that Ness had the fate of the world in his hands and Tracy could at the very least try to get an ‘A’. If Tracy had a dollar for everytime her mother had given her that spiel she might be at least a tenth as rich as Ness! Tracy had just been left feeling helpless and unimportant, and the gravity of the fact that she ‘wasn’t special’ really started to hit her.

Why couldn’t she have been chosen too? Why couldn’t she have super powers? Why couldn’t she travel the world like Ness instead of being told she wasn’t allowed to cross the street without her mother’s help?

All of this lead to the resentment she now felt for Ness and his natural-born ability to save the world.

But because Tracy and Picky both felt so similarly left out, they finally got to be better friends. Back when they were little, Ness and Pokey would play together, and Tracy and Picky would always be minor characters. Typically, Tracy would be kidnapped by ‘Porky the Pig King’ and his underling, and Ness would have to come save her. This lead to Tracy spending the entire game tied to a tree and Picky having to do everything Pokey said while the older boys had fun. Once the older boys had left the two had gained the freedom to do what they wanted and actually got to have their own fun for once.

It was also their newfound ability to think of herself as a person and not just ‘Ness’ sister’ that showed Tracy that fate wasn’t as cruel to her as she first thought. She kept it a secret from everyone but Picky, of course, since she had already been written off as the useless child and so had he, but both of them were quite a bit more unique than anyone could have expected.

“So, do you want to practice?” Tracy asked.

Picky looked around to make sure nobody else was watching, despite Tracy’s sleeping mother being the only other person in the house. “Yes.” Picky agreed. “Do you want to go first?” he asked.

Tracy nodded enthusiastically. She looked towards the deck of playing cards she kept on her desk, and held out her hand. Slowly and unsteadily at first, the deck floated up off of the desk and into her outstretched hand.

“Great job!” Picky exclaimed, clapping his hands. Then, he took the deck from her and took out a card, looking at it and focusing on it’s contents without telling her.

“Uh…” Tracy paused. “Queen?”

“Of?” Picky asked.

“Spades? No- hearts! Queen of hearts!”

“Is that your final guess?”

“Yes!”

“And you’re correct! It was the queen of hearts!”

Tracy happily took the card and placed it into the ‘correct’ pile. For the next one she guessed “Six of spades?”

“No, eight of spades.” Picky told her. “Close, though.”

“I always get those two mixed up…” Tracy placed the card in the ‘incorrect’ pile.

The two continued their psychic game for a while longer, until Tracy declared “Alright, it’s your turn!”

“Are you sure?” Picky asked.

“Of course I am!”

“It’s just that… well… you can’t hurt anybody by reading their mind or floating light objects. What I do is…”

“Just give it a try, Picky.” Tracy told him. “I trust you.”

“O-okay, umm…”

Picky shut his eyes, focusing inward. “A-alright, umm… I want you to… stand up and jump three times.”

After a moment of silence, Picky opened an eye slightly to see that Tracy hadn't moved.

“You’re too against it.” Tracy told him. “It’s not going to work if you don't want it to.”

Picky sighed. “It’s hopeless.” he said. “I don't like my powers. They’re too villainous.”

Tracy shook her head. “See, there’s your problem. You’re so worried about being a villain that you can't see the good you could cause.” She paused, considering. “Why don’t we start with some of your more affliction-based abilities?”

She moved her carpet aside and removed a couple floorboards to reveal her secret storage space, where she took out a basket of various antidotes.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Picky insisted.

“It’s okay, Picky.” Tracy told him warmly. “I want to help you. And I have everything I need here to get better, including stuff I stole from Ness’ room. And if the worst of the worst happens?” she pulled out a cup of lifenoodles. “Give me these, okay?”

“...Okay…”
 
~~~
 
Picky practiced his powers for a while until he was getting quite exhausted and Tracy’s supplies began dwindling a little bit. She was certainly a trooper for letting him poison her, make her cry uncontrollably, hypnotize her, and all sorts of other terrible things all in the name of practice. She took it all with a smile on her face, complimenting him when he did well and trying to give him advice where he struggled. Picky just wished he could practice on some actually bad guys that he didn’t feel guilty about hurting.

“Alright!” Tracy said, somehow still full of energy despite all that. “We’ve both done well today, so now, I have something I took that was totally meant for Ness that we can both try!”

Tracy pulled out a pink box labeled ‘

To Nessie From Mimmie

’ and opened it. Inside were lots of little candies wrapped up in parchment paper.

“What are those?” Picky asked.

“PSI Caramels.” Tracy responded, handing one to Picky. “My brother loves these things. Apparently they help with replenishing your psychic powers when you’ve used them too much. I figured, since were psychic, we might as well have some too!”

“Won’t Ness noticed there’s some missing?”

“Remember my job as Escargo Express?” Tracy asked, and Picky nodded. “Well,” Tracy continued, “because of that, I can still get ahold of certain packages before their delivered. And aunt Mimmie is so busy, it wouldn’t be that unbelievable that she forgot to send the package and then lost it. With no one else having seen this, no one will know I took it.”

“Tracy?” Picky said. “That’s probably very illegal. But also very brilliant!”

“I know.” Tracy said. “So, try one with me?”

“Sure!”

The two put the chewy candies into their mouths and savored the flavor. Since it was a caramel, Picky was surprised by the intense citrus flavor twisted into it. Surprised, but not at all unhappy. It was delicious! And also made him feel a lot less mentally exhausted.

However, noticing the time, Picky said “Well, I should probably get going before your mom wakes up. We don’t need her asking any questions.”

“Oh, before you do!” Tracy said, before turning her gaze to the ground. “So umm… my school. You know my school. Fourside Academy? Well, umm… it’s having this umm… thing. Yeah. Umm… and it’s a… dance. A school dance. And… it’d look like, super lame if I showed up by myself, so like, do you wanna, umm…” Tracy paused. “You know, go…? With me?”

Picky gasped, his face turning bright red like a tomato. “Uh… umm… yeah. I mean, sure. Umm… yes.”

“Cool.” Tracy said, trying to regain her composure. “It’s umm… this Friday. At 6 pm. Okay?”

“Yeah. Okay. I’ll be there.”

“Cool.”

“Cool.”

Picky quickly rushed out the door at this point.

As he was heading home, he noticed the sun had finally risen, and a chilly breeze was blowing through. Fourside was much colder than Onett was, but it felt so lively. Even now, so early in the morning, there were people milling about all over, busy with all sorts of grown-up things. Like always, seeing everyone so busy, Picky felt that detached feeling he had always felt, even back in Onett. Everyone else seemed like they had something super important to do, and Picky had nothing. Especially now that he didn’t go to school.

Picky yawned as he walked. He had only gotten a short nap on the couch at Tracy’s, since they hung out for hours after she got out of school, then he had snuck around the small apartment she now called home until everyone else had gone to bed, so no one would see him there. He had woken up so early in hopes he wouldn’t get caught, but of course the Commander’s twin showed up and ruined that. Not that it caused any trouble, anyway.

Picky wasn’t even sure why he didn’t go back home to sleep in the tower last night. He guessed it was because sneaking around was so much fun! He felt all rebellious and cool, even if it was clear Tracy’s family didn’t actually mind him being there. It was just fun to be secretive!

Lost in thought, Picky wasn’t looking where he was going and ran into someone who smelled very strongly of alcohol. “Oh, umm… sorry, sir, I-” Picky paused, realizing who it was he had run into.

“Picky?” the drunk man said.

“D-dad?” Picky took a few steps back, not sure what to expect after disappearing for so long.

Aloysius Minch swayed unsteadily. “Picky… where have you been?? …We’ve been lookin’... EVERYWHERE for you…”

“You have?” Picky asked. A certain happiness filled him to know he was remembered, and he even felt a little guilty for running off without saying anything.

“Y-yeah.” his father agreed. “After… after all, I figured if I found you, then… then you might know where P-pokey is. I wanted to see if he… he’s rich again.”

Suddenly filled with anger, Picky felt his psychic powers welling up inside him, ready to be used for the most evil power Picky had. Mind control. “Forget you saw me.” he demanded in the irrefusable way. “And go home.”

Aloysius stumbled, and walked off. Still full of rage, Picky punched the wall of the nearest building, which happened to be the very place his father had come out of - Jackie’s Cafe. Picky punched it again, and again, and again, letting out a scream until his rage turned to tears. Then, right there on the sidewalk, he fell to his knees and cried.

He wasn’t sure how long he stayed there for, but he had drawn a small crowd of people. Some were asking him if he was okay, while others were making fun of him for crying in public.

Finally, an emotionless voice cut through the noise to put an end to the chaos. “Step aside.” he commanded the bystanders.

Picky looked up at the owner of the voice, and the Commander stood above him. “Are you injured?” he asked.

“N-no…” Picky responded, trying to wipe away his tears.

“Good.” the Commander responded, before picking Picky up. “Back up.” he warned the bystanders.

The bystanders didn’t really listen but the Commander didn’t care, snapping out his wings and flying up into the air.

“Woah…” Picky said, the cold air seeming even colder with the speed of flight. Still, it was refreshing.

The Commander kept flying up, then towards the Monotoli/Porky building. But instead of going back down, he brought Picky onto the highest scaffolding of the in-construction rooms, letting Picky have a full view of the city below from up here.

“Don’t fall.” the Commander stated, placing Picky down, then landing next to him, keeping his wings out to catch the breeze.

“This is incredible!!!” Picky exclaimed, holding his arms out to also catch the breeze. “I’d SAY I can see my house from here, but I’m standing on top of it!” he laughed.

The Commander kept his blank gaze overlooking the city.

“Say, Commander, you really like flying, huh?”

“I do not have an opinion on it.” the Commander responded.

“You say that, but… I’ve seen you. You’ll fly everywhere you can if you can help it!”

The Commander didn’t respond, but his wings twitched a little, as if he was agreeing without saying as such. Instead, he asked “Are you doing better now?”

“...Yeah, thanks.” Picky responded. “Just… had a run-in with someone I wish I didn’t.”

The Commander was silent.

“So, it’s chilly, huh? That fall weather’s really starting to take over.”

More silence.

Picky realized he wasn’t going to get very far speaking to the Commander, so he just stared off into the distance for a while longer. After about a minute, though, the Commander spoke again. “The cold is nice.” After a pause, he clarified “It’s more efficient for me. Sweat is dangerous, and cold air allows me to use the jetpacks in my wings longer before they overheat. Though it’d take quite a while of using them for that to happen, anyway.”

“Guess that makes sense.” Picky said. “Summer’s always been my favorite season, but that's always been because that was the season I had off of school. Now that I don't go anymore… I have no idea what my favorite is. Then again, I still have no idea if I’m ever going back to school or not yet.”

And once again, nothing but silence.

For a few minutes longer the quiet felt strange to Picky, and then he adapted to it. There was something relaxing about it, even.

Picky sat down on the thin but sturdy metal scaffolding, dangling his legs above the long fall.

“Wanna sit?” He asked the Commander, and the Commander did. And Picky then let his mind and emotions calm down, allow him to mellow out for now and just enjoy the quiet.
 
~~~
 
After a long day full of nature walks through the falling leaves and other such activities, Ness was very exhausted and was READY to get the tent set up to get some sleep.

“It sure is nice to see pure animals again!” Lucas exclaimed as he took off his bag in the camp area.

“What do you mean?” Ness asked.

“It’s just that… where I’m from, the animals didn’t really look like these any more. They’ve been tainted. Reconstructed. So it’s nice to see them as they were. Anyway, we should get some wood to start the fire!”

Ninten made himself comfortable sitting on the ground, and Lucas was busying himself taking out supplies, so Ness guessed he was getting the sticks himself.

As he stepped into the darkness by himself, he got goosebumps, but not from the cold. From the excitement! He could hear Lucas rifling through his bag behind him and could barely see anything since the trees were blocking out most of the moonlight, so just for a moment, he could trick himself into believing he was on an adventure once again. It was dark, and scary, and at any moment something could-

“Ah!” Ness let out, as something actually DID swoop by. Then, he laughed. Just like his old adventures. It was probably just a bat, but still.

He began collecting sticks, but then heard some strange sounding animal sounds. They were familiar, he guessed, but he couldn’t really put his finger on WHERE he had heard them before. They were off, somehow.

Ness shook his head. He was getting way too excited and he knew it. He just picked up the sticks and started heading back, until he saw something strange looking moving away from him.

Ness’ eyes went wide and he gasped silently, trying not to get the creature’s attention. He tried to make his way back to the camp as quietly as possible, holding onto the sticks like they were a weapon.

When he showed back up, Lucas smiled. “Those are perfect, Ness! Ever collected wood for a fire before?”

Ignoring his question, Ness asked “Lucas, if someone were to turn to stone, can you undo it?”

“Huh?” Lucas asked, and Ninten looked over there, confused.

“Could you undo it?” Ness repeated.

“Umm…” Lucas wouldn’t meet Ness in the eye. “I don’t think we should-”

“I need to know.” Ness repeated. “I know you can do lifeup, Lucas. But can you do healing?”

“How do you know what it’s called?” Lucas asked, confirming that he was, in fact, psychic. Ness couldn’t worry about that right now, though.

“It doesn’t matter.” Ness responded. “But there’s a cockatrice in the woods. Have you heard of them on your island before?”

Lucas shook his head, looking concerned. Ninten, however, began looking around.

“If you see something with the head of a chicken, don’t look it in the eye.” Ness told Lucas. “They say anyone who looks a cockatrice in the eye turns to stone. I’ve never seen one before tonight, but I don’t doubt their existence. I need to know, Lucas. If I turn to stone, can you fix it?”

“Y-yeah…” Lucas said, nodding slightly. “I can… but… what happens if I turn to stone?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Ness said. “I know someone who can help you.”

“Who?”

Ness got silent. “...Doesn’t matter. Let’s try to avoid the cockatrice altogether, though, and hope it doesn’t happen.”

A different voice spoke up. One that sounded a lot like Ness’ father, but younger. “I don’t sense such a power nearby.”

Ness looked over at the one other human in the area, who was staring him dead-on. Ninten.

“You can speak?” Lucas asked in surprise.

Ninten gave a single nod.

“Well what else could it be?” Ness asked. “It was a chicken with the body of a snake.”

Lucas looked at Ness. “A what?” Lucas asked.

“A chicken with the body of a snake. That’s a cockatrice.”

“No, that’s a slitherhen.” Lucas said like it was common knowledge. “But what would one of those be doing here?”

“A slitherhen?” Ness asked.

“It’s a kind of biological chimera.” Lucas explained. “But you don’t GET chimeras here. Unless they’re being made again…”

“Is that possible?” Ness asked.

“I don’t know…” Lucas said. “Claus hasn’t said anything about this.”

Ninten made direct eye contact with Ness, creating a terrifyingly intimidating effect. “Is it possible you saw things incorrectly?” Ninten asked.

“I don’t know.” Ness said. “I’m pretty sure I saw a cockatrice.”

Ninten looked unconvinced.

“Let’s try not to think about it too much.” Lucas said. “We’ve seen normal snakes all day, and we can’t do anything about it until we can talk to Claus on Monday. I’d hate to think this place will end up like my old home, but…” Lucas trailed off. Quietly, he whispered “there’s nothing I can do.”

Ninten nodded, and pointed at the pile of sticks in Ness’ arms, symbolizing for Lucas to start the fire.

Was Ness the only one who saw a problem with this??

“Guys, we can’t just-”

They were both ignoring what Ness was saying, Lucas rubbing two sticks of his own together.

“Seriously?” Ness asked, throwing the sticks he was holding onto the ground. “My old friends wouldn’t just ignore this.”

“Your old friends aren’t here.” Ninten stated.

“So you just talk all of a sudden?” Ness asked. “After so much silence, you’re certainly quick to speak just to discount what I saw!”

Lucas said “Guys, let’s just calm down.”

“And YOU!” Ness exclaimed. “You are WAY too fast to decide there’s nothing you can do. Your brother spends most of his life mind controlled, and that’s not a concern of yours? Look at you, you’re just happily camping like everything’s fine! I know if something bad happened to MY sister, I wouldn’t rest until she was back home, safe and sound! Have you even tried to save him?!?”

Lucas whispered something Ness couldn’t hear.

“Huh?” Ness asked.

“I SAID YES!!!” Lucas exclaimed. “Of COURSE I tried to save him!!! I tried to save EVERYONE!!!” Tears began flowing down his face. “But it didn’t matter in the end. We lost everything! I thought at the end, we could be happy again. But we couldn’t. It wasn’t up to me!!!” Lucas dropped the sticks he had been rubbing together. “It’s not fair.” he said, quieter now. “I got the last needle. It’s not fair!!!”

Lucas looked to Ness. “Back where me and Claus are from, there was a legend about a dragon. He who woke the dragon had the power to change the world. And I did it! But… what came next is so fuzzy. I can’t remember a thing! Next thing I know we’re here of all places. I don’t… I don’t understand, but then… Porky said… I don’t know what’s going on Ness, but somehow, someway, it has to be all Porky’s fault! Because he can never just LEAVE US ALONE!!!!!!!”

Suddenly bright lights flooded the area as Lucas screamed. Both Ness and Ninten sustained a heavy psychic attack, falling to the ground at the impact. Lucas floated up into the air, filled with the energy of his own powers. He cried as the lights wreaked havoc all over the surroundings, with no sign of stopping.

Ninten crawled over to Ness, and grabbed his arm. “Fourth D-Slip.” he muttered, and the two of them were pulled into darkness until they were a bit of a distance from Lucas. “Of course I believe you.” he said. “I just wanted to see what would happen if I acted like I didn’t… fellow psychic.”

Annoyed, but grateful for the escape, Ness healed the both of them. “How long do you think he’ll keep that up?” Ness asked.

Ninten shrugged, done talking for now.

After a few minutes, the colors in the distance finally stopped. Ness approached the camp again. “You good, Lucas?”

“I am so sorry!!” Lucas exclaimed. “I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s okay.” Ness told him. “I lost my temper first.”

“Look at all of the destruction I caused to the forest…”

“It’s okay, Lucas.” Ness said, pulling him into a hug. “Why don’t we just go back to camping? I brought supplies for s’mores!!”

“What’s a s’more?”

Ness laughed. “Oh Lucas, you have so much to learn.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Just as Ness was walking towards the door to his apartment after the long and exhausting walk back from camping, his father practically pounced on him in the hallway. “We need to talk.” Ness’ father stated.

“Uh… hi dad?” Ness responded, confused.

“Come with me. And bring a weapon.”

Ness couldn’t help but laugh. Now that he knew Ninten as a child, he could really see the resemblance between Ninten and Ness’ father in that they were both very to-the-point. Not sure what to expect, though, Ness went into his room and picked up his Gutsy Bat. He walked back out. “Where are we going?” he asked.

“You’ll see.” Ness’ father responded. “Now keep up.”

Ness’ father rushed out the door and began running on the sidewalk. Ness was confused as to why at first, until he watched the world melt away. They were teleporting.

When the world reformed around them, Ness found they were on a mountain, near a lake and a house.

“Looks like there’s no monsters right now…” Ness’ father said.

“Were you expecting there to be?” Ness asked. “Earth’s peaceful now.”

“This is a powerful place.” Ness’ father answered. “And strange anomalies have been occuring in Fourside so often, it’s better not to be unprepared. Not here.”

“Who’s house is that?” Ness asked, knowing better than to press about whatever his father was going on about. “Is that where we’re going?”

“No.” Ness’ father responded. “Though I do own it. Actually, I bought the whole mountain. Welcome to Mt. Holy Loly - quite possibly the most dangerous place on Earth back in its prime. But that’s not really why I brought you here. Since there’s no monsters, I feel completely safe in doing this!”

Ness’ father placed a blindfold on Ness. “Dad?” Ness asked.

“Just let me lead you.” Ness’ father instructed. “I’m about to bring you somewhere top secret, and I can't have you going without permission.”

Ness’ father guided Ness a little, then warned him to take a big step. Ness did, and immediately lost his balance, falling into what seemed to be a boat on the lake. How exactly was Ness’ father expecting Ness not to figure that out?

But then eventually, it became clear to Ness that it wasn’t the BOAT that was being kept secret from him, it was what the boat was doing.

It spun around and around and around, faster and faster, until Ness was certain they’d been sucked into a whirlpool. He wanted to remove his blindfold but didn’t, since it’s what his father asked of him and he didn’t see him much. Still, he was at risk of losing his breakfast, which would have been fairy easy since it was just nuts and berries Lucas had found around the woods anyway.

But then finally, it stopped, and it felt as if Ness was falling. He clinged onto his father as they did so, and then he hit solid ground.

“You took me through a whirlpool??” Ness exclaimed.

“Oh yeah.” His father responded. “You WOULD know what that feels like, wouldn’t you. Oops. Well, no matter. Let me lead you into the room you’re allowed to see.”

Wherever Ness was, it was cold, and the floors seemed to be very hard. Maybe metal? Ness’ father walked Ness through several automatic doors, and then finally stopped. “Just a moment.” Ness’ father then said, and Ness heard a few beeps. Finally, Ness’ father removed Ness’ blindfold.

Ness was in a plush room decorated in pinks and light purples. The carpet was thick and all of the chairs and couches were thoroughly cushioned. There were tables with plates piled with snacks, and even some peaceful music playing.

“Dad?” Ness asked.

“Yes, Ness?”

“Why is this room so top-secret?”

“Well it’s the lounge, Ness.” Ness’ father laughed. “We have to have a break room somewhere! And before you ask, my sisters decorated it. Mimmie made some snacks if you’re hungry.”

“Boy am I!” Ness exclaimed. After all that walking back from the camp Ness was starving, and it was about lunchtime. He happily helped himself to one of the many tarts piled high on a plate, and sat on an extremely comfortable couch. He let out a happy sound as he reclined the couch seat back.

Ness’ father laughed. “Long day?”

“Exhausting day!” Ness clarified.

“Well, you can rest there, and we can talk about that lead you called me about?”

“Right.” Ness said, realizing that of course his father would only want to talk to him if there was something important to speak about. A lot like Ninten, he guessed. “Time travel.”

Ness took a sip of a fizzy pink lemonade that had been set out for him. “One of my new friends from school brought it up fairly casually. He said that’s how Dr. Andonuts and Lloyd Andonuts are in the same time.”

“Did he explain HOW the time travel is happening, or who’s causing it?”

“No, but I have a guess.” Ness admitted. “Do you remember our old neighbors, the Minchs?”

“Aren’t they the ones who insist I owe them like, $100,000 because I asked one of them for 25 cents because I didn’t want to have to break a hundred dollar bill at the store one time?”

“That sounds like them.” Ness agreed.

“What about them?”

“Well, their oldest son, Pokey…” Ness wasn’t really sure how to explain this to his father. That Pokey was evil? Mind controlling people? Taking over the most important building in Fourside? No, none of that was believable without knowing much about Giygas, and surely his father knew next to nothing about that. “...is bad.” Ness decided to finish. “And… can time travel?”

“How?” Ness’ father asked, not an ounce of doubt in his eyes.

“A while back ago, Dr. Andonuts made a time travel machine. As in, Lloyd Andonuts, apparently. Your old friend. Pokey took it, and time traveled with it for a while. And my friend, who umm… knows Pokey… brought up time travel so casually like it was common, which leads me to believe Pokey might be behind all of the anomalies.”

“Really?” Ness’ father asked. “And who is this friend of yours with all of this inside information?”

“Umm…” Ness hesitated, not being sure he wanted to answer. If his mother and father talked about this, and his mother found out that Claus was half robot, she would surely put a stop to their friendship. Honestly, after the Ninten and Lloyd incident, Ness would be lucky if his mother still let him live in Fourside if she found out about this.

As if reading his mind, Ness’ father said “I won’t tell Ana. I just need to know. And you know what, if you’re not comfortable with telling me, that’s okay. But where does this friend of yours live?”

“Uhh…” Ness didn’t particularly want to answer this one either. His father would surely find it suspicious that Claus lived in the Montoli building. Especially since it takes only certain people’s DNA to enter. Like when Ness took Picky’s blood to sneak in.

“You don’t have to tell me that, either, if you don’t want to.” Ness’ father assured Ness, but something in his voice almost sounded sinister… “Well Ness, I think I have all of the information I need, so why don’t I go ahead and bring you back home now? And maybe don’t tell your mother that you came here?”

“Okay?” Ness agreed, though he knew he didn’t give his father very much information at all.

Ness’ father blindfolded Ness once again and led him back out onto the mountain, before teleporting him back to Fourside. “I trust you can find your way home from here.” Ness’ father said, before teleporting away without Ness.

“...Yup.” Ness said to absolutely no one.

Ness walked back up to his apartment and came in to see Tracy lounging on the couch with a travel brochure. “How’s your weekend been?” he asked.

“Nothing, nothing, with a whole lot of nothing.” Tracy responded with an attitude, not looking up at Ness. “I’m sure you had a great time though.”

“Yeah, walking through the woods was actually-”

“Oh.” Tracy laughed. “Sorry, did you think I actually cared?”

Ness rolled his eyes as he was walking into his room. “My mistake.” he muttered bitterly.
 
~~~
 
The Commander had made it a part of his schedule to turn off the programing that prevented emotions and free-thinking BEFORE he went to sleep on school nights. He did things this way because as the Commander he didn’t have the ability to dream, and that was apparently something desirable. So he released control to his more creative half.

Claus blinked a few times, as if waking up from a trance. FINALLY it was bed time, and he could get some proper rest. First, however, he did a few stretches. Having perfect posture and making perfect robotic movements for a couple days in a row always left him feeling very stiff. He had no idea how he managed for three years straight, but he never wanted to do THAT again. He changed out of his militaristic clothes and into some soft, comfy PJs. He was still stretching as he went into the bathroom to brush his teeth, then made a few silly faces at himself in the mirror for no real reason.

He re-entered his room and looked around. The room was much nicer and bigger than his one back in New Pork, which was a lot more lab-like while this was a lot more room-like, though it wasn’t particularly decorated. There was a thin blue carpet spanning the ground of the large room, and two walls were taken up by a floor-to-ceiling rounded glass wall which overlooked the city of Fourside. Getting such a nice room was one of the benefits that moving into a pre-established building rather than a new one getting built from scratch offered Claus. Although this room wasn’t very ‘him’, he was very grateful for it. Apparently this was originally the room that Geldegarde Monotoli himself slept in when he didn’t feel like returning to his mansion via helicopter some nights. The bed, of course, had to be replaced with a more platform-like sleeping space to account for Claus’ more chimera-related sleeping needs, but it was quite comfortable for him.

Yawning, Claus made his way to said platform, and plugged the four charging points into the port located on his leg, his robotic arm, and one on each wing. Theoretically he’d be just fine so long as he had them on his wings because the electrical current could travel all throughout him, but he much preferred a nice, even charge. He then laid back, admiring the city view as he drifted off to sleep…

…

…

…

Something was off when Claus woke back up. He didn’t move at first, trying to get a read of the situation without opening his eyes. Listening, he heard the hiss of a ventilation shaft, blowing in air. Could it be that there was no natural air where he was, or that gas was being funneled in? He limited his breathing to the absolute bare minimum, which was quite low since only the human parts of him needed to be oxygenated. He was in a sitting position, he noticed, with his arms and legs tied down to a chair.

He could tell fairly easily though that whoever did this did NOT know how Claus’ wings worked. At his back there was a slab of his skin down the middle reinforced with heavy-duty steel, which gave the optimal durability for his wings to be able to easily slide under his skin when not in use. While this was typically an automatic process, there was a manual way scientists could do it when necessary for maintenance. But that’s not what happened here. Instead they had been somewhat painfully folded up in an unnatural way and bound tightly to his torso with restraints that felt stronger than those used on his arms and legs.

Okay, so he was in a strange place, tied up by people who didn’t know him, and possibly being gassed. He was kidnapped, wasn’t he?!?

Gosh this was annoying.

Claus tried to subtly kick the ground to see if the chair he was in was attached to the ground. Just his luck, it was. With no other remaining options, he decided he could open his eyes now.

Interesting. His kidnapper didn’t even bother to cover his mechanical eye. This would be very useful for getting more information.

He was in a large room with no furniture other than the chair that he was in, which was placed in the very center. There appeared to only be one door, which was made of a heavy metal with a red light on it. AKA, it was locked.

There was a single light actually illuminating the room, which was very bright and right above Claus’ head. It’s focused beam did little to brighten the walls though, which were a drab gray metal Claus has seen in walls a million and one times before. The only thing of note in this room was the huge wall-length mirror in front of him, which he could tell was one-way. Scanning, he could tell that on the other side were three human lifeforms. One adult male and two younger adult females, though they were barely adults. All three of them showed signs of being psychic.

“I see you’re awake.” the male said through a voice changer. It seemed like there was a microphone in his room, and speakers playing it back in Claus’. Claus could assume it also worked the other way around too.

“I am.” Claus responded. “Though I feel pretty groggy. You drugged me, didn’t you?”

“You sound so casual about that.” one of the females said. “Get kidnapped often?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.” Claus responded. “So, why don’t we cut to the chase. Why did you kidnap me?”

“For information.” the male said. “About time travel. We understand you have some knowledge about what - or who - is causing it. Could you illuminate us?”

“I COULD.” Claus said. “As in, I am capable. The proper way to ask is WILL I. And no, I won’t. Also, I can tell you three are psychics, so don’t go expecting to read my mind, either. I think you’ll find that my mind isn’t exactly typical, and psychics tend to find reading it quite impossible, so good luck if you intend on going that route.”

“I don’t think you quite understand.” the male stated. “The situation you’re in, I mean.”

“Oh I understand.” Claus told him. “I just don’t care. I’ve been in worse. What are you going to do, hurt me? I’m sure you can tell just by looking at me that I’ve been cut up and reconstructed before, so pain doesn’t exactly phase me much anymore. And you’re NOT going to kill me, because you want my information, plus dying isn’t so bad, either. And judging by the several mistakes you’ve made so far, you don’t actually know what you COULD hold against me, if there’s anything at all.”

Forgetting to turn the mic off, one of the females whispered “Are we being outsmarted by a literal child?”

“Yup.” the other female responded.

“Hold on, now.” the male whispered. “He can make all the claims he wants, but that doesn’t make them true.”

“All I’m saying,” Claus said, “is that there are quite a few people who would notice I’m missing, and none of them would take too kindly to it. But sure, do whatever you want.”

Not sure how long he’d be here, Claus cut the power to all of his non-necessary robotic components. He only managed to get about half a charge last night, and he couldn’t risk losing it all. As it stood, he should be able to last a week without problem on his most energy-conserving mode, but after that he might start to have some serious issues. Not that he’d let those kidnappers in on that information.

“I think I’ll take my chances.” the male responded. “Nobody can find you here. You’ll talk soon enough. I have all the time in the universe.”

“Heh, funny choice of words there.” Claus said. “But everyone will run out of time eventually. I’ve made it my personal mission to assure that fact. So I’m not worried.”

Claus refused to let the fear he was burying deep into his core show itself in his voice, face, or even in his mind. He’d stay strong long enough, and someone would come find him. Whether it was Porky or Lucas, he’d be safe soon.
 
~~~
 
Alright, week two of school! Ness had this! He got dressed quickly, ate breakfast, and got abandoned by Tracy the second he walked out of the house, as normal.

He got onto school grounds, where Ninten and Lloyd were together, Lloyd going on about something enthusiastically. When Ness approached, he turned to face him. “Hey, Ness!” Lloyd said, huge smiled plastered across his face. “Wanna hear about what I learned this weekend?”

Ninten shook his head, but Ness didn’t listen. “Sure, Lloyd.” Ness said.

And then Lloyd didn’t shut up for the rest of the morning.

Ness was extremely thankful for when the bell rang, using it as an escape from Lloyd. He went into first period, and he sat there alone for a few minutes before Lucas rushed in, out of breath. “Claus isn’t here?” he asked.

“No.” Ness responded. “Doesn’t he normally walk to school with you?”

“Yeah, but I waited outside of the Empire Porky Building v2 all morning, and he didn’t show up. I figured he was still mad at me and came here himself. You’re sure you haven’t seen him?”

“I’m sure, but Lloyd had me distracted all morning talking about positive and negative sides of an electrical current and what conductors and best used with what insulators, so I wouldn’t have noticed. It’s possible he just slept in, though.”

Lucas shook his head. “Claus has never slept in late a day in his life. Not even when he’s sick! He wakes up with the sun, or earlier. And now that he’s a chimera, he loves having a set schedule. He wouldn’t break it for no reason.”

“Okay, Lucas, try to relax.” Ness said. “Maybe Pokey’s making him do something this morning and he’ll show up later.”

“But that’s against the agreement!”

“Do you really expect Pokey to uphold an agreement?”

“...No…” Lucas sighed. “I just wish I could apologize. I don’t agree with Claus’ choice to date Lil’ Miss Marshmallow, but it’s not up to me, and I feel bad for insulting him. It’s hard, you know. Technology destroyed everything I loved, and now one of the people I love the most is made of technology. And doesn’t mind! I’m so conflicted all the time I never know what I’m supposed to think!”

The teacher began addressing the class, and as Ness pulled out his notebook, he whispered “You trust Claus, right?”

“Of course I do!” Lucas whispered back.

“Then if he doesn’t mind being technological, then maybe you should trust that he knows what’s best for him. Even if you don’t like it, you shouldn’t keep telling him you wish he was different.”

“Ness Montague!” the teacher said sharply. “Is there something you wish to share with the class?”

“No, ma’am.” Ness responded, remembering once again how much he hated adults. He saved that teacher’s life among many others, and she won’t even let him comfort his friend!

Whatever. Ness said what he needed to, anyway. It WAS a little weird Claus wasn’t here, though.
 
~~~
 
Ness walked into Home Ec, and handwritten copy of his great great grandmother’s recipe in his backpack. When the teacher asked all of the students what they had found and got to Ness, Ness proudly reported “A cake recipe made by my great great grandmother in the early 1900s, one which I have unknowingly been having for every one of my birthdays.”

“Oooo, so you have experience with this one.” The teacher said. “Very well done, Ness. Who’s next?”

After everyone had reported what they had found, Ness was asked to write down an ingredient list for the teacher to approve. Lemons, oranges, grapefruit… this recipe sure had a lot of citrus, huh? Lots and LOTS of sugar, too. Not that Ness was complaining. He knew this was delicious from many years of looking forward to it. He couldn’t wait to make it!

By lunchtime a realization came to Ness - Claus wasn’t coming today. He still hadn’t shown up. Maybe he forgot it was a school day today? Or maybe Pokey just wasn’t letting him come today? Either way, if Claus didn’t show up again tomorrow, Ness might have to do something about it.

Speaking of lunch, Ness brought cookies for everybody's dessert today. It seemed to become his responsibility to bring something, so he passed them out. Then he took one out, and held it out behind his back. Sure enough, someone grabbed it. Ness turned around quickly afterwards to catch Mana running off with it. What a weird girl.

After school, Ness had agreed to let Lloyd tutor him today. He already felt like he was falling behind in math once again. However, due to what happened last time, Ness came to Lloyd’s house this time, picking up snacks along the way. Ness was starting to realize being the rich kid of the group meant he was always responsible for supplying snacks for everyone. That was fine, he guessed, but he was starting to wish he hadn’t started the precedent.

He entered the abandoned apartment building and went up to the correct door, knocking on it. The door swung open on its own, and Ninten made eye contact with him from the couch with a curious look.

“Lloyd invited me.” Ness explained. “For tutoring.”

Ninten let out a condescending laugh.

“Don’t let him get to you.” Lloyd said, entering the room from his bedroom. “He only doesn’t have trouble in math because he reads the minds of the other students and the teacher. Not because he’s good at it.”

Ninten rolled his eyes.

“I hope this isn’t a touchy subject,” Ness said, “but I’ve been curious. Fourside Academy is a private school, and you two… live illegally in an abandoned apartment. How exactly did you pay for tuition? Or even get enrolled without your parents in this time?”

“Easy.” Lloyd said, grabbing one of the donuts Ness had brought along. “Fourside Academy is SUPER high tech. They keep all their records online! All I had to do was hack their systems and put me and Ninten into it. I’ve also hacked the online banking system to put more money on Ninten’s ATM card, but we decided buying a house would be too suspicious, so we live here.”

“...That’s a felony.” Ness told Lloyd.

“So?” Lloyd responded.

Ness shrugged. “Eh, nothing I guess. Just try not to get caught, okay?”

“I know what I’m doing.” Lloyd said. “I only take a little at a time, so it looks natural and raises no alarms.”

Ness had to remind himself that Lloyd was a supergenius who’d one day find the secret to time travel among a great many other things, and not just your average seventh grader. It DID feel like a bit of a waste of all of that knowledge just to ask for Algebra help, however.

But Ness didn’t want to fail, so he’d do it anyway.

During the time Ness was tutored in, Ninten made his way into the kitchen, where he popped something in the microwave. He walked back out a few minutes later with a Kid’s Cuisine and plopped down onto the couch with a book. Eventually, he walked into his room and shut the door. The sound of it broke Lloyd out of his math-related trance.

“Is it that late already?” Lloyd asked, looking at the time. “Golly, it’s already past dinner time! Sorry Ness, but we’re going to have to pick this up again later!”

“Oh crap.” Ness said. “My mom doesn’t like it when I miss dinner. Or stay out late at all. Thanks for the help, Lloyd, but I need to go face the music. See you tomorrow at school.” Ness said, before muttering under his breath “...if I live that long…”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ness had a bad dream last night.

He couldn’t remember what it was about, but it left a lasting effect on him as he ate his breakfast and got ready for school. He was pretty sure it had to do with Claus, though.

What could it have been?

Left with a bad feeling, he decided he’d take a longer way to school this morning, walking past the Monotoli building to check on things. As he approached though, he heard Lucas’ voice.

“I’m telling the truth! If I knew where he was, why would I be standing here waiting for him?”

“To trick me!” An annoyingly familiar yet terribly exhausted sounding voice responded. The voice of Pokey. “But I’m not going to fall for your tricks!” He coughed. “It belongs to me, you know!!”

Ness walked over there, catching the first actual look at Pokey since the Giygas incident. And he looked… normal. Just like he did LAST time Ness saw him in Fourside. Same clothes and all. “Leave him be, Pokey.” Ness demanded firmly.

Pokey stopped, and turned to Ness. His expression didn’t change in the slightest, but he just stared for a while. Finally, he whispered “Best… best friend?”

“We’re not friends, Pokey.” Ness said, tired of always having to remind people of this.

Pokey continued to stare Ness down.

“What’s going on, Lucas?” Ness asked.

“He’s accusing me of hiding Claus from him!” Lucas said, “But you know the truth Ness! You know he never came to school yesterday!”

“He didn’t.” Ness supported.

“Best friend, why are you taking HIS side!?!?” Pokey asked.

“Because he’s right.” Ness stated. “And to be honest Pokey, I’m pretty mad at you with this whole SITUATION regarding Claus. And pretty much everything you’ve done for the past year. How are you HERE now?” Ness demanded. “Last time I saw you, you were blue!”

Pokey began coughing, though he didn’t really… look like he was coughing? He also made no effort to cover his mouth. “It’s a long story.” he finally managed after a few minutes.

“I think you should tell me.” Ness pressed.

“Can we just focus on Claus?!” Lucas asked. “If I don’t know where he is, and Porky doesn’t know where he is, that means he’s missing! Claus wouldn’t just run off without telling anyone anything!”

Ness sighed. “Alright, let’s get to the bottom of this.” He looked at Pokey with dismay. He’d probably need his help to solve this. “Ugh. Pokey, when was the last time you saw him?”

“Why should I-” Pokey coughed “-help you, best friend!?”

“Stop calling me that!!!” Ness exclaimed. “And because NOBODY knows where he is. Now I’m not ENTIRELY sure what it is you did to him, but I can tell you have at least SOME interest in seeing him again. So I’ll repeat - When did you last see him?”

“Wow.” Pokey said bitterly. “All these years and you haven’t changed your hero act one bit.”

“Pokey, it’s been less than two months.” Ness told him.

“For you, maybe.” Pokey coughed. “Whatever. At least I have my more interesting rival back. All this one’s ever done is cry and give up WAY too easily.”

“Hey!” Lucas exclaimed, after Pokey motioned towards him. “We have a deal! It’s not giving up to honor it!”

“Boriiiiing.” Pokey responded. “You’re so boring. There’s nothing to do here.” Pokey let out an annoyed sound that turned into a cough. “I’ve considered taking the city over again, but that would be-” cough “-nothing new.”

“So you’re just sending a bunch of people through time?” Ness asked.

“Oh yeah, that.” Pokey said. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Anyway,” Lucas shifted, “about Claus!”

“Alright, alright, shut up.” Pokey responded. “Last time I saw it was on Sunday night.”

“Doing what?” Ness asked.

“What’s it matter?”

“JUST ANSWER THE DARN QUESTION!” Ness yelled, little bits of psychic lights coming off of him as he did. Nothing harmful… yet, but it showed Ness meant business.

“Geeeez.” Pokey coughed. “It was reading me a pop-up book about pigs.”

“In his monotone voice?” Ness asked. “You know what, nevermind. Then what?”

“Then it went to go recharge or whatever before school.” Pokey told him. “What do you want from me??”

“Where?” Ness pressed.

“What do you mean where?”

“Take me to his room.”

“No!” Pokey said moodily, though somehow despite all of this his expression stayed the same.

“Yes!” Ness argued back.

“No!”

“Yes!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“N-” Pokey fell into a coughing fit.

“Ha!” Ness said, rather childishly. “That means I win!”

“No it doesn’t!” Pokey countered.

“Yes it does!”

“No it doesn’t!”

“ENOUGH!!!” Lucas yelled, psychic force sending both Pokey and Ness back a bit. “Porky… please. If it will help us find my brother, could you PLEASE just let Ness see what he needs to see?”

“Not if YOU want me to.” Pokey said, stiffly crossing his arms.

Annoyed, Ness said “Pokey I am going to MURDER you.”

“Go ahead and try.” Pokey welcomed.

“ARGH!!!” Ness screamed, sending more psychic sparks flying. “You are so ANNOYING!!”

“Now this is entertainment.” Pokey said smugly, before coughing again. “Let’s see how long I can make this last for.”

“No longer!” Ness told him, approaching the door. “Because I am about to BREAK THROUGH YOUR DOOR! How do you like THEM APPLES?!?!” As Ness said that, he angrily threw his hand down, though it landed on the tablet that reads fingerprints. The door… opened.

“Welcome, best friend: Ness.” the computer voice said.

Ness blinked, and Pokey began laughing until he was coughing. Lucas quickly rushed inside before the door closed.

Now that he was inside, Ness still wasn’t exactly sure of where to go. Luckily he spotted Mana Mana preparing to leave.

“Hey, Mana.” Ness said. “Have you seen Claus?”

“You mean Mr. Yes-Fun? Yes.”

“Where?” Lucas quickly asked.

“Nowhere! Everywhere! Wear-and-tear!”

“She hasn’t.” Ness translated. “She’s just speaking backwards.”

“Oh…” Lucas responded, upset.

“Huh.” Mana said. “He came to school yesterday, didn’t he?”

“No, he didn’t.” Lucas said.

“Oh.”

Ness asked “Mana, can you show us his room?”

“No-can-do!” Mana exclaimed. “Follow me!”

Mana went back up into the elevator and pushed the button for floor 49. The elevator rocketed up at high speeds before finally stopping on the correct floor, even if the automated voice claimed it to be the hundredth. Mana then lead the group to a grand looking door. “Through there.” she said.

Ness opened the door, and could immediately tell something bad happened here. There was a large two-wall length window it seemed at one time, but it was shattered now, and pieces of glass were all over the floor. “Someone broke in.” he couldn’t help but say.

“WHAT?!?!” Pokey exclaimed, angrily pushing past Ness. “No one gets to break into MY-” he fell into a coughing fit “-tower!!!”

Lucas gasped. “But… why? How? We’re on the 49th floor!”

“I don’t know…” Ness said, eying the glass. “But it can’t have been from the inside with all of this glass having fallen into the room.”

Mana picked up a piece of the glass. “The glass might echo of the past. In the right hands, the mystery may not last.”

“What is she talking about?!” Lucas asked on the verge of tears.

“You mean a psychic.” Ness said without thinking to Mana. “You want me to take this to a psychic who might be able to see into the past?”

“No, exactly.”

“Brilliant!” Ness exclaimed. “But usually Paula would be the best suited for such a task. Without being able to contact her…”

“If Kumatora were here, she could probably do it…” Lucas lamented. Having no idea who Kumatora was, Ness chose to ignore that.

“Ginten.” Mana stated.

“Who?” Ness asked.

“Ginten!” Mana repeated. “Ginten Capulet! The strongest psychic on Earth!”

“Ginten… Capulet?” Ness asked. What a weird name… but he was pretty sure he heard Lil’ Miss Marshmallow mention him before, so he must exist. “Can I meet him?”

“Nope! This is the wrong way!” Mana said, running back towards the elevator. Ness and Lucas had to rush to catch up, and Pokey didn’t make it on time. Ness laughed as the elevator descended.

They went to a different floor where the lights seemed to be dimmer for some reason. Mana knocked on one of the doors.

“Hold on, hold on!” a voice from inside said. “Let’s see… Mana… Lucas… and Ness! Was I correct?”

“Nope!” Mana said.

“So is that nope in a good way, or a bad way?”

“A good way.” Ness stated. “Can we come in?”

The door swung open, and Ness could see the inside of the room. It was much smaller than Claus’, but much cozier, too. It was very plush, decorated in light pinks and purples, much like Ness’ father’s lounge. There was a large comfortable looking bed against one wall, and floating above it in a criss-cross position was the gray Ninten that Ness saw in Onett. ‘Ginten’ smiled at Ness. “Hello again, Ness. I guess we’re meeting again sooner than I thought.”

“Hey.” Ness responded. “So you’re name is Ginten, then.”

“That’s what I go with.” Ginten responded. “Though… you came here for something, didn’t you? I can tell by your solemn expressions and the aura surrounding you.”

“...Yeah. Sorry, it seems like we can never meet when I’m in a good mood.” Ness responded apologetically. “I heard you’re psychic.”

“You don’t say.”

Ness let out a small laugh. “I guess the fact that you’re floating kind of proves that. Would you mind using your powers to help us with something.”

Ginten’s expression darkened, and he landed on his bed. “...I see.” he said, sounding quite upset. “What is it?”

“My brother’s missing!” Lucas chimed in. “And Mana said you might be able to find him using a piece of glass found at the scene!”

“I can try…” Ginten agreed. “No promises, though.”

Ness handed Ginten the glass, and Ginten stared at it intensely before shutting his eyes. “A strawberry colored flying machine, propellers spinning on top.” he stated. “A blunt object wielded with extreme force against the glass.”

“This machine… where did it come from?” Ness asked. “And where did it go back to?”

Ginten focused for a while longer. “I smell… salt.”

“Salt?”

“It’s breezy here. And… the sound of the ocean. There’s… a big mountain, I think…”

“By a beach, then.” Ness said. “Summers? But there’s no mountains there…”

“A beach could mean anywhere!” Lucas told him. Turning to Ginten, he asked “Can you see a sign, maybe?”

Focusing even harder, Ginten finally said “V.”

“V?” Lucas asked.

“A. L. E. N… T. I. N. E.”

“Did anyone write that down?” Ness quickly asked.

“Val-” Lucas tried to pronounce. “Valen-”

“Valentine?” Ness asked. “Is that it?”

“Valentine!” Ginten agreed, reopening his pitch black eyes. “Your friend is near the city of Valentine!”

“NEAR Valentine?” Ness asked.

Ginten nodded. “Umm… you will find him… somewhere gray. Near something powerful. I think. I could be wrong about all of this.”

“It’s the best lead we have.” Ness said. “Ginten, thank you.”

Ginten looked a little annoyed but also happy he could help.

“I promise you I’ll try to get to know you a bit better some other time,” Ness said, “but for now I have to figure out how to get to Valentine of all places. You’ve been so helpful though and I’m really grateful. Thank you.”

“Thank you so much!” Lucas added. “We should get going now, Ness.”

Ness nodded, and the two left the room, followed by Mana. “What’s the plan now?” she asked.

“Thanks for your help, Mana,” Ness said, “but I don’t really… think you want to get involved in all of this?” In reality, he meant he didn’t WANT her to get involved, but how could he tell her that nicely?

“I don’t mind being dragged to the ends of the Earth if it means something fun will happen.” Mana stated. “You mind me, though, don’t you?”

“It’s just… this is very serious, Mana. It’s not FOR fun. We can hang out some other time, though. When Claus isn’t in danger.”

“Promise?” Mana asked.

“Speaking like we’re in Moonside,” Ness started to appease her, “No, I promise.”

Mana squealed happily, clapping her hands together. “Perfect!” Mana exclaimed. “Spoken like a true Moonsidian!”

“Wait, can you even leave Fourside?” Ness asked.

“Nope!”

When the elevator landed, Lucas cut the conversation short by grabbing Ness’ arm and practically dragging him out the door.

“Wait!” Pokey’s voice said over the intercom. “You can’t just leave!!!”

But Ness and Lucas left anyway.

“So now what?” Lucas asked after they left. “Where’s Valentine? How long of a walk do you think we’re in for?”

Despite everything, Ness couldn’t help but laugh.

“What?!” Lucas asked angrily. “I need to know how much to prepare for!”

“Sorry, sorry.” Ness said. “It’s just that… Valentine is on the other side of the country, Lucas. It’d take months to walk that far, if not a year. We’re going to need to find some faster form of transportation than that!”

“Oh…” Lucas responded.

“I think we should talk to Lloyd.” Ness said. “If anyone would have a good method of transportation, it’d be him. Maybe a Sky Runner prototype or something. Only problem is, he’s at school. And if we go to school it’s not going to be easy to leave.”

“If we explain things to the teacher-”

“No.” Ness interrupted. “No teacher would believe us. Adults never listen to kids. That’s the way the world works.”

Lucas got silent for a few minutes before saying “Okay. Then… why don’t we make whatever preparations we’ll need to make, and talk to him immediately after school gets out.”

“Do you have a weapon?” Ness asked.

“Yes.” Lucas responded. “Do you?”

Ness nodded determinedly.

“Then we meet in front of the school.” Lucas said. “As soon as it gets out. Have everything you need, because we’re not going back home until we find my brother!!”

Ness could tell that this wasn’t going to be easy to explain to his mother…

Ness went home, and it seemed like his mother was out grocery shopping, so he had the house to himself. Very helpful for his current situation.

Ness went into his room and packed his backpack for a potentially several-day perilous trip. He had no idea what to expect and had to be prepared. After all, if someone had managed to kidnap Claus, they must’ve had some serious skill.

As for what to do about his mother… what could Ness do but form some half-baked lie? So he wrote a note and left it on the dining table.

Dear mom,

Had a thing at school. May not be back for a few days.

Will call you with more details.

-Ness
 
Yeah, that was really dumb. But it’s all Ness could think of with everything going on. He also had to make sure he got out of the house before she came home so she wouldn’t question things.

Once he was sure he had everything he needed, he grabbed his gutsy bat and equipped his star pendant. Doing so, unfortunately, meant he had to take his key necklace off for now, so he slipped it safely into his backpack. Then he guessed he should probably figure something out for lunch.
 
~~~
 
“Okay, good, you’re here.” Lucas said when Ness arrived, before looking around paranoidly. “I was worried you could get kidnapped too.”

“I’m safe.” Ness told him. “And you are too. Nobody’s going to kidnap us in broad daylight.”

Lucas nodded, but didn't seem very convinced.

When Lloyd and Ninten left the school, Ness went to Lloyd. “We need your help. We need a quick way to get to Valentine.”

“Valentine?” Lloyd asked. “Why would you want to go somewhere like that?”

“That’s where Claus is!” Lucas told him. “He’s been kidnapped!”

“Wait, what?” Lloyd asked. He turned to Ninten. “Well Ninten could just-”

Ninten shook his head.

“But Ninten! If Claus is in danger, shouldn’t you-?”

Ninten shook his head more forcefully.

“What is he talking about?” Lucas asked.

“Nothing.” Ninten stated. “He’s just being stupid.”

Lloyd looked to the ground, hurt. After a moment, he said “Well then your best bet would be taking a plane.”

“Seriously?” Ness asked. “Don't you have any cool gadgets we could use to get us there any faster?”

“No.” Lloyd said. “And even if I did, wouldn’t a strange device alert the kidnapper that we’re on to him? On the other hand, planes come and go to Valentine all the time. There’s nothing surprising about that. It’ll be slower, yes, but not at all flashy.”

“True.” Ness said. “How do we go about getting tickets?”

“I can handle that!” Lloyd said. “Let’s go back to my place. I’ll get them on the internet!!! Then I’ll grab my stuff. I want to help too!!”

“Lloyd…” Ness said as they rushed towards the edge of town. “This is going to be really dangerous. Are you sure?”

“I can handle danger just fine!” Lloyd told him. “Me, Ninten, and another girl named Ana saved the world once by singing together!”

“By singing?” Ness asked, unconvinced.

“Yeah.” Lloyd said. “A lullaby made with love drove an evil being away from our planet back when we were all heroes who saved the world and not just a couple kids pretending to be eighth graders…”

“What exactly were you saving the world FROM?” Ness asked.

“An alien named Giygas.” Lloyd said. “He was very angry, and very dangerous, and if we didn't do anything-”

“-he’d destroy everything.” Ness finished. “I know. I’ve… also had to deal with him.”

“Was our song not enough?” Lloyd asked. “Didn’t we save the world?”

“You probably did, at the time.” Ness told him. “And you’ll do it again, Lloyd. Or rather, you’ll someday create a device that lets me travel through time and give me the means to be safe while time traveling so I can go defeat Giygas permanently.”

“Is this really the concern?” Lucas burst out with tears in his eyes. “And spoiler alert, nothing either of you did ACTUALLY worked. The humans destroyed the world, and Porky destroyed what was left. At least, that’s how it will be someday. The unavoidable fate that no one can ever escape! So who cares if some alien does it first? At least then people would actually realize that something was wrong!!!”

“Lucas?” Ness asked.

“We need to go save my brother!! Please. He’s one of the few things I have left to fight for…"

Ness grabbed Lucas’ shoulder, squeezing it in a comforting manner. “We will. I promise.”

The boys grew silent until they made it into Ninten and Lloyd’s apartment, and Lloyd went into his room. Ninten went into the kitchen and made a Kid's Cuisine for himself while Lucas and Ness waited quietly. Nervously.

“Okay, I have tickets!!” Lloyd finally said after about twenty minutes. “We’ll be leaving around 6:30 and are expected to arrive around midnight to 1. It’d be a good idea to sleep on the plane, since it’ll probably be easier to get around Valentine at night. Those streets are ALWAYS overcrowded, but it’ll be a bit thinner at night. Plus if we’re lucky the kidnapper will be asleep.”

“I guess we should head for the airport, then.” Ness said. Despite everything, he’d never actually been on a commercial airplane, so he wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

As they headed to the airport, they careful not to run into Ness’ mother on the way there. Lucas claimed he left his father a note but it WOULD be fine if they ran into him. Regardless, they got to the airport without incident, and had plenty of time to burn.

“Have you eaten?” Ness asked Lucas, and Lucas shook his head. Ness looked around at the various restaurants and found one that specialized in salads. He bought one and brought it back for Lucas, thinking it right up Lucas’ alley. “Try to eat SOMETHING.” Ness said. “You’ll need your strength.”

Lucas looked at the salad, then turned away from it. Ness sighed. “Lucas, please.”

“How can I eat when my brother’s in danger? Last time he went missing… well, you see how he is now. I didn’t do anything back then, and I didn’t find him for three years. I’m not making that same mistake again.”

Ninten made an annoyed sound, picked up a forkful of salad, and shoved it into Lucas’ mouth. “Don’t be a liability.” he stated.

Lucas looked upset, but he did finally begin eating on his own.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the group was finally let on the plane. Luckily, none of the airport staff questioned Ness’ and Ninten’s bats, Lucas’ overly weaponized stick, and Lloyd’s toy gun. At least, Ness was PRETTY sure it was a toy. Regardless, airport security was pretty lax, which was great for them.

They got aboard, and… didn’t really have much more they could do right now. The plane was going to take six hours. It was around now, however, that Ness realized just what he was doing.

He was being a hero again, wasn’t he?

For perfectly good reason, of course. Nobody would just ignore when their friend was in danger, but… a normal kid would have told an adult. Not lead a charge of a bunch of other kids to the other side of the country based off of what a psychic monochrome child said. This was SO against his mother’s rules…

But Ness wasn’t really sure he cared all that much right now. He’d deal with all that later, when nobody was in danger.

He looked out the window. Just like the Sky Runner, the whole world seemed so small from up here. A household full of people seemed completely insignificant with how fast Ness was passing it.

Lloyd said they should try to sleep on the plane, but how was Ness supposed to sleep given everything going on? He was ready for action now!

Since the rows only had space for three and there were four kids going, Lucas had to sit in the row in front of Ness. He was looking out the window too, with a solemn expression on his face. Ness couldn’t imagine a world where Lucas got a wink of sleep until Claus was safe. Maybe he had been a bit harsh on him back in the woods. Clearly Lucas cared, but there was nothing he could do. He didn’t have any choice left in the world, no control over his life. In that, he was a lot like Ness. Just following the instructions of another choicelessly.

At some point, Ness must’ve drifted off, because he was only awoken by the plane making a descent. He buckled up, held on, and when they landed a voice announced “Welcome to Valentine!” over the PA system.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“So what, are you allergic to color, or were you just not feeling very creative when it came to this room?” Claus asked.“Huh?” The female who’s shift it was to watch Claus closed her book. Or at least Claus ASSUMED she did, based off of the sound it made, but his mechanical eye was shut off so he couldn’t be certain. “What are you talking about?” she asked.“Well it’s just that a gray interrogation room has been done to death by now, you know. I’ve seen it so many times before.”“Have you been interrogated before?” the girl asked.“No, but I’ve interrogated OTHERS before.” Claus said. “Always in an uncreative gray room. Bright light, cold air, everything. You’ve even got the unsettling red light above the exit door so I know it’s locked.”“Do you have any tips?” the girl asked, getting somewhat louder. She probably moved closer to the microphone. “I’m not very good at it.”“Oh I was a master at it back in the day.” Claus bragged. “I could get anyone to spill their guts on anything. I’m fairly unsettling when I want to be, though. To be honest looking into the mirror you have here doesn’t really scare me.”“Well we have to hide our identity.” the girl explained.“There’s other ways to do it.” Claus told her. “I mean, the voice changer’s kind of a cool touch. You sound so unnatural it would make someone feel disconnected from society. And I see what you’re GOING FOR with the vibe of the room, and leaving me tied up with no food or water certainly is unpleasant, but most people die within three days without water so honestly you have no choice but to give me some eventually, because you clearly don’t want me dead, but I guess most people wouldn’t be smart enough to realize that. You COULD spice up the atmosphere for your future guests in the interrogation hotel with like, an annoying noise or something? The air vent is actually kind of relaxing.”“I know, right?!” the girl responded. “I love the sound of it, but it always makes me kind of sleepy. Usually I have music playing to keep me alert, but my big brother said I couldn’t while I was keeping an eye on you. It’s boring just sitting here, though.”“So boring.” Claus agreed. “I don’t mind if you want to play some of that music, you know. I’ve got nothing better to do.”“My brother would get angry.” the girl responded. “And he’s kind of terrifying when he gets TOO mad. His psychic powers are so good, they go EVERYWHERE!!”“What about you?” Claus asked. “How good are yours?”“Pretty weak, really.” the girl said. “I mean, I can really only float light objects. I usually use it for my baking! I can stir with my mind while I prepare the next ingredient!”“You like baking?” Claus asked.“I love it!!” the girl happily replied.“I’d love to try it.” Claus said.“I’m not really supposed to feed you anything unless big brother says so.”“Do you do EVERYTHING he says?”The girl sighed. “Alriiiight.” she agreed. “I’ll bake you something when someone else takes over, and I’ll give it to you during my next shift. But I’ll give it to you sooner if you tell us what we want to know!!”“Alright, let me explain something to you here.” Claus said. “I don’t really do much on my own accord. I have someone I have to answer to at the end of the day. And to be honest, he doesn’t really tell me much. I don’t really have the sort of information you want, but I know saying ‘We time travel, and I don’t know how or why’ isn’t exactly acceptable in this sort of situation. So I guess like most things I’ve just gotta wait this out until your big brother or whoever he works for gets bored.”The girl was silent for a while. Finally she asked “Are you telling me the truth?”“I am.”“Then… who do you work for?”“It’s… more difficult than you might expect.” Claus said. “For me to say or do certain things that could end in something bad happening to him or what he’s doing. I don’t know how much you’ve seen, or what whoever brought me here told you, but-” Claus laughed despite himself. “-I’m barely human. My free will is limited at best. So I’m not going to give you any information. You can keep me here, or whatever, but it’s not going to accomplish anything but get the attention of the tyrant that made me this way. Or you can let me go, and I have no knowledge of who you are or where you’re located. There’s no risk in that. You didn’t intend on killing me when you were done, anyway. That’s why you’re hiding your identity. So let’s just end this silly game before something bad happens to either of us.”After a few more moments of silence, the girl said “I’ll put this in my report. I’ll talk to my brother and see what I can do. But it’s not really up to me, either. He’s in charge, and he’s usually not the sympathetic type. But maybe I can help you. Until then, though…”A small panel along the mirrored wall opened up, and a cup of water with a silly straw came through. It floated over to Claus, where he drank it somewhat desperately.“You were right.” the girl said, though Claus could hear her real voice as well as the changed one because of the opening. “We did intend on keeping you alive. You’re a friend of someone important, after all.” ~~~ Lloyd was correct in saying that even at night Valentine was extremely busy. Even just getting out of the airport without getting lost was a challenge. Lucas looked the most overwhelmed out of all of them, clearly not used to crowds.Lloyd laughed a little. “Just like Ana.” he said. “Here Lucas, let’s all hold hands until we’re in a more clear area.”Ness, Lloyd, and Lucas all joined hands. Ninten walked beside them.The four made their way outside, and Ness took in the bright city. He smiled. “A new place!” he exclaimed. “And it’s warm in the fall! And breezy, like Summers! I love it!!!”“This place is a LOT.” Lloyd warned. “And the people here aren’t very friendly, either.”“How are we going to search this whole city??” Lucas asked. “Claus could be anywhere!”Ninten made eye contact with Lloyd. He air-wrote something with his finger. A B? He did it twice.“The BB Gang?” Lloyd asked, looking concerned. “Do you think they have him?”Ninten stared Lloyd down.“I guess it’s worth a check… but…”“What’s the BB Gang?” Ness asked.“The Black Blood Gang.” Lloyd told him. “They basically have control over this city, and we know their leader, Teddy.”“Well what are we waiting for?” Lucas asked. “Let’s go ask him!”Lloyd let out a whimper, then said “The best place to start looking is the Live House. That’s Teddy’s favorite hangout.”“Lead the way.” Ness welcomed, a smile still on his face.Looking very scared, Lloyd began leading the way. Ness, however, couldn’t help but stop for a moment. “Look!” he said. “It’s the Valentine sign!”Sure enough, towards the base of the tallest mountain around was the word VALENTINE written out in silver letters with lights pointed at them. “Sure wish there was a photo guy here…” Ness lamented.“Oh hey, they re-did it!” Lloyd commented. “Last time I was here, the aliens had destroyed that sign. After all, Mt. Holy Loly was the base of their operations.”“Mt. Holy Loly?” Ness asked.“Now’s not the time for sight seeing!” Lucas burst. “We need to get moving!”“Wait…” Ness said. “My dad OWNS Mt. Holy Loly. He works there!”This got Ninten’s attention. “In an underground base?” he asked.“I assume so…” Ness said. “It’s supposed to be a government secret, but since you and my dad are the same person, I guess it’s not really a problem.”“That’s my great grandfather’s lab.” Ninten stated. “Why is he there?”“Maybe he saw something, then!!” Lucas said optimistically. “What better place to see a flying thing than from a mountain?”Ness thought about things for a few minutes. “Wait… but that doesn't make any sense…”“What?” Lloyd asked.“The psychic who told me to come here… he said that Claus was somewhere NEAR Valentine. In a gray place. Could Claus be… no, my father wouldn’t have done that!”“It’s very gray down there…” Lloyd added.Ness paused, then asked “Lloyd, is there a house up there? And a lake with a boat?”“The boat was the way to enter the base.” Lloyd explained. “And yes, there was a house, too.”After a few more moments, Ness came to a decision. “I think we’re going to have to break into my dad’s lab.” ~~~ “Mimmie, what do you want?” Ninten said tiredly as his little sister insistently shook him to wake him up.“I got information.” Mimmie told him. “Kind of. Rather, I got the information that he can’t give us any information.”“Don’t wake me up for that crap.” Ninten said, turning away from her. “Of course he’d say that.”“But Ninten, I believe him.” Mimmie said. “I’ve got the recordings, can’t you look at them?”“Later…” Ninten replied annoyedly, putting a pillow over his face. “Now turn off the light when you leave.”“But… if he really can’t tell us anything, we shouldn’t keep him tied up anymore.”Ninten grumbled. “You care WAY too much, Mimmie. I’ll look at the footage IN THE MORNING. Now let me sleep.”Hoping to get a bit further with her sister, Mimmie went back into the observation room. She pointed at the microphone and mouthed “Microphone off?”“Yeah.” Minnie said. “Our potential informant is currently asleep. I’m considering waking him up and not letting him fall back asleep, though. People say a lot more when they’re sleep deprived.”“He’s a child, Minnie.” Mimmie said, sitting next to her on the comfortable couch.“That’s why I thought this was going to be easy!” Minnie exclaimed. “But he’s stubborn.”“That’s not it.” Mimmie told her. “I got him to talk a little. He didn’t tell us about how his group can time travel, but I don’t think he CAN tell us!”“So naive.” Minnie said, not looking at Mimmie.“No, I’m serious!” Mimmie replied. “I have the recording to prove it.”“You didn’t reseal the hatch properly, by the way.” Minnie stated, still just staring at the kid sleeping in what looked to be a very uncomfortable position to Mimmie. “You know, the hatch you used to give him water.”“How did you-”“Because I WATCHED the footage.” Minnie told her. “And I don’t believe him! And YOU need to be more careful what you say or do! Now he knows your psychic powers can’t hurt him!”“So what?” Mimmie fought back. “He can’t escape, anyway! What’s it matter if I can hurt him?”“He knows you won’t kill him.”“He’s a KID, Minnie!! Why am I the only one who remembers that? We have kidnapped a literal CHILD, so EXCUSE ME if I want to comfort him A LITTLE BIT!”“A child with links to someone with world-bending power.” Minnie reminded her. “I don’t care if he’s innocent or not. What’s hurting one child in the face of saving the world, huh? You knew what you were agreeing to when we started all of this, and you’re welcome to stop at any time, Mimmie.”Mimmie got silent. “I just don’t think it’s fair to him…”“Life isn’t fair. Now get out of here.”Mimmie sulked out, trying to come up with some other way to prove that the kidnapped child couldn’t tell them anything.She, however, wouldn’t need to. Because she had, in fact, had resealed the hatch correctly earlier. It was Minnie who had it wrong when she redid it. And little did Mimmie know, her appeals HAD had some effect. Enough to make Minnie rewatch the recording, anyway. And since the hatch was undone, Claus could hear all of this as he pretended to sleep.He had decided he was tired of waiting around for someone else to save him. And since his guard was distracted…Claus started with giving power to his robotic arm. Once it was online, he could start quietly tugging on the restraint for it. Sure enough, they had underestimated his strength. He was able to break it with a good amount of effort.As he started powering on his leg, he used his free arm to break the other restraints, too. He finished just in time, too, because he heard the girl in the other room (Minnie, he was pretty sure) gasp. She was probably about to enact a security measure, so Claus had milliseconds to act. “PK Love OMEGA!” he screamed maybe a bit too loud, but it decimated everything in the area, creating an opening for him to escape, but also broke through the wall and severely injured Minnie.The damage, however, set off an alarm. “Oh pork.” Claus muttered, as the whole area flashed red and the loud sirens went off. He quickly rushed out of the opening he created, and into the halls. Long and sterile, they looked no different than some of the ones he was used to back home. Unfortunately, that meant they also gave no indication of where he should go. ~~~ “This is where I was before.” Ness said as the group uneventfully had gotten back to the house and lake on Mt. Holy Loly.“This way.” Lloyd said, walking towards the boat. “Hopefully nobody’s by the entrance, because I don’t know if there’s a stealthy way to do this. Also, this is kind of terrifying.”The four got aboard the boat, and Lloyd started the motor. Just like last time, they were sucked into a whirlpool, and before Ness knew it, he had landed safely in a welcoming looking room. However, there were flashing red lights and sirens going off. “Clearly something’s going on here.” Ness commented.“I hope the sirens don’t mean the place is going to flood again…” Lloyd said.“Well, let’s start looking.” Ness said. “And we don’t let anyone see us.”As the group went further into the lab, Lloyd left a… trail of breadcrumbs? Weird, but it WOULD prevent them from getting lost. The halls here were made of gray metal, but there were some very nice large windows showing the fish inside the lake. On one of them there was a sign that said ‘STOP TAPPING ON THE GLASS!!’ but if you looked closely in pink sparkly pen was the word ‘no’ quite tinyily written underneath it.With no idea where to go or what they should do, the group began wandering around aimlessly, hoping to get lucky. Unfortunately, there were no directional signs, and even if there were, there wouldn’t be anything labeled ‘kidnap victims this way’. However, they did eventually see a room with a decimated wall.“What happened here?” Lucas asked.Ness was the first to step inside and look around. The room was mostly empty, save for the chair in the center, which had broken restraints attached to it. Looking over to the wall it was facing, there was shattered glass leading into a comfortable looking room, and passed out on a couch was…“Aunt Minnie!” Ness exclaimed.He rushed over to heal her, but Ninten stopped him. “Ninten, she’s my aunt!” Ness told him.“She’s the enemy currently.” Ninten stated. “She can’t see us here. She’ll report us.”“But-”“Look at the situation. Your friend was there.” Ninten said, pointing to the chair. “Minnie was watching him. She didn’t want him to leave, and if she sees us, she won’t want us to leave, either.”Ness was horrified as the realization dawned on him that Ninten was right. “But-”“Leave her.” Ninten stated. “Someone else will heal her soon enough.”Ness could tell she was still breathing just fine. He felt bad abandoning her, but… the evidence really was pointed against her, huh.“Just great, I went in one big circle!!” a voice said from outside the room.“Claus??” Lucas called out, rushing back out into the hall.Claus held out a broken industrial light he must’ve pulled down from the ceiling like a sword. When he saw it was Lucas, however, he dropped it. “Lucas!!”The two brothers hugged, though Ness noticed for the first time just how much shorter Claus was than Lucas, despite being twins. Now wasn’t really the time to point that out, however.“So, did you come here to break me out?” Claus asked. “‘Cause I’ve already handled that part. I just don’t know where the exit is.”“I have a trail of breadcrumbs!” Lloyd announced. “It’ll lead us straight back to where we started.”“They don’t have very good security here.” Claus told the others. “They probably didn’t think anybody could break out. If we go quickly, we might not run into any trouble at all.”The group swiftly started following the breadcrumbs, but Claus’ hope of ‘no trouble’ didn’t exactly come true. As the group was barreling down a corner, they heard someone question the breadcrumbs a bit too late. Ness suddenly stopped but the others didn’t really get the cue and fell on top of him, right in the view of the one who was there.Mimmie looked at the group in horror. “Uh-umm…” She looked from Ness, to Claus, to Ninten. “Pk Hypnosis!” she said, but she didn’t use it on any of them. She used it on herself, falling to sleep on the spot.Claus smiled. “Must be Mimmie.” he said.“Thanks aunt Mimmie.” Ness whispered, before continuing the lead the charge onward.Finally they arrived back at the beginning, but there was no clear way to get back up through the lake. That is, until Lloyd noticed a suspicious looking door. He pushed a button on it, and it was an elevator. “This way!!” he called out, and the group piled on.“Surface level.” Ness said as he pushed the corresponding button. The elevator started going up, but then… it stopped. In the same voice you’d expect from any elevator that stopped moving, the elevator said “Help is on the way!”“We’re trapped!!” Lloyd exclaimed.“I should’ve known not to trust an elevator!!” Claus added.“What other choice did we have??” Ness asked. “Umm…”Ninten sighed, looking quite upset that he had to help. “Join hands.” he stated.Confused, and without any other options, everyone did.“Fourth Dimension Slip.” Ninten muttered, and before the group knew it, they were on top of the elevator.“Awesome!!!” Ness exclaimed. “C’mon everyone, let’s climb the elevator shaft!”Claus looked to Ninten “You’re psychic?”“Asked the one with PK Love.” Ninten responded.“Touché.”The group ascended the elevator shaft, but when they reached the top, the elevator door was closed. “PK Thunder!” Claus said with a bit of flare, and lightning struck the door, causing it to open.Lloyd looked to Lucas. “Well at least I’m not the ONLY one who’s not psychic in this group.”“About that…” Lucas responded.“Why is it always just me?” Lloyd asked.The five boys exited the elevator shaft and were in a closet. Ness opened the closet door to reveal a small but cozy house. There seemed to be no button the open the elevator door on this side, only a way to leave through it. Regardless, it was nice to be out of that lab. Especially because Ness could see the elevator they were all just on was now going back down.“Now that we’re out…” Lloyd said, before turning to Claus with an excited look. “Are you a cyborg??”“Huh?” Claus looked down at himself. He was wearing PJ shorts and a matching short-sleeved shirt, leaving his mechanical arm and leg quite visible, not to mention the wings that were still tied tightly to his back. He also knew his robotic eye was probably dark right now since it wasn’t being powered. Still, he said “Nope, I’m completely ordinary.”“But…”“But what?” Claus asked.“Claus, you’re kinda short.” Ness commented. “Like, really short.”Claus let out an annoyed sound. “I’m not wearing my shoes…” he said.“You get your height from your shoes?”“I stopped growing when they did all of this to me.” Claus explained. “Back when I was ten. I wear platform shoes to cover up how short I am, and so people would take me a bit more seriously back in the day, but I was kidnapped in my sleep. I don’t exactly wear shoes to bed.” He paused. “Oh pork, I’m out in my jammies!”“So?” Ness asked. “You were kidnapped.”“But my mom said I should NEVER go out in my jammies!!!”Ness couldn’t help but laugh. “I think she’d understand in this case. But we should focus on getting out of here.”“He’d check your house.” Ninten stated. “It’d be better to stay in Valentine for the night to let things blow over.”“You mean my dad?” Ness asked. “Yeah… Let’s get down this mountain first.”The boys descended the mountain, having surprisingly light-hearted conversation for what just happened. At least until Claus dropped this bombshell.“Oh, by the way, if I don’t recharge soon, my internal organs will stop working and I’ll die.”“WHAT?!?!” Lucas exclaimed. “WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY THAT SOONER?!!?”Claus shrugged.“Do you have like, a plug?” Ness asked.“No, but I take USB.”“So you ARE a cyborg!!” Lloyd accused.“Not a cyborg.” Claus responded.“What is a USB?” Lucas asked.Ninten stared at this chaos with narrowed eyes. He just began walking in a direction, and the others started following him, continuing this nonsense. Ninten was tired and he was done with all of this crap and he just wanted to go to sleep. He walked up to a hotel and tapped Ness on the shoulder before pointing at it.“Oh, good idea.” Ness said. “Hopefully they’ll have a USB there, too.”Ness walked in and the front desk lady rudely said “We’re sold out.”“Do you know any hotels that aren’t?”“Kid, every hotel in Valentine is sold out months in advance. You should’ve prepared for this.”“But-”“Get out of my hotel.” the front desk lady demanded.Ness left the hotel, defeated. “They’re sold out…”“Now what?” Lucas asked.“Hey, Lloyd.” Ness said. “What about your friend Teddy? Think he’d have somewhere for us to stay?”“He’s not my friend.” Lloyd told Ness. “Still, I guess it COULD be worth a try. I don’t actually know where he LIVES, but we could check the Live House.”Lloyd led the way through the busy dark streets, but there were lots of people stopping to stare at the spectacle that was Claus.“Maybe we should just teleport home…” Ness said. “We can find somewhere else to hide from my dad…”“Wait, what?!” Lloyd exclaimed. “The Live House, it’s…” Lloyd was staring at a large empty plot of land with a ‘for sale’ sign. “…gone.”Ninten looked at the sign, his face actually changing for once to express emotion. A sense of sadness, a loss of something important. Lloyd’s face looked the same.“Tragic, isn’t it?” A voice asked from behind the group. “That place used to be the best for up-and-coming stars. A lot of people came together there, too.”Ness turned around to see a woman wearing a big floppy hat and pointed red shades. She was hiding her identity, it seemed. However, when the girl saw Ness’ face, she gasped. “You collabed with the Runaway Five, didn’t you?” she said in a much more excited tone. “I remember seeing it aired on the news - you reminded me so much of someone I used to know. I was hoping I’d get to meet you.”“Am I that recognizable?” Ness asked.The rest of the group turned to face the woman as well, and she took off her glasses. “Ninten, Lloyd? How are you kids again?”“Pippi?” Lloyd asked.The woman laughed. “Yeah, it’s me! I haven’t heard anything from you in all these years, Lloyd! At least Ninten writes!”“Wait…” Ness said. “You're Pippilotta Shortstock! The adventure movie actress!”“Shhh…” Pippi said, pressing her finger to her lips. “I’m in disguise right now.”“You’re one of the biggest names in Eagleland!” Ness continued. “You knew my mom and dad? Ninten and Ana, I mean.”“Wait, YOU’RE their son?” Pippi asked. “No wonder you look so much like Ninten! I used to have the hugest crush on him for the longest time, you know. Ana won him in the end, though, and my heart moved on to another. What are you doing wandering around the streets at this time of night, though? Are you TRYING to be kidnapped?”“Actually,” Ness said, “we just saved him from a kidnapper.” Ness gestured to Claus. “And we were looking for a place to stay for the night. Lloyd said somebody named Teddy used to spend a lot of time here, and we were hoping he could help us.”Pippi sighed. “Teddy’s not here anymore.” she said sadly. “Despite everything he’s done, in the end, he was still a gang leader at one time. He wanted to turn his life around and be a performer, but…” She paused, readjusting her sentence. “Valentine used to be a very unsafe place. Full of gang members, it wasn’t really safe to go ANYWHERE here. One day, the government decided to get involved, since it was clear Valentine had a future in the movie industry. So they hunted down the members, and bulldozed their favorite hangout. Teddy had to flee this place, because nobody knew just how much good he’s done. They just saw him as trouble. He offered me a chance to go with him, but… I wanted so badly to become a star, and I was just starting to get there. So I turned him down, and I haven’t heard from him since. I hope wherever he is, he’s able to put the bad parts of his past behind him and start over. Sometimes I wish I followed him, but…” Pippi sighed again. “It’s too late now. I know I could never find him.”Not knowing anything ABOUT Teddy, it was difficult for Ness to feel much for Pippi’s sad tale.“You needed a place for the night, though, right?” Pippi asked, changing tone.“Yeah.” Ness responded.“You’re welcome to stay at my place.” Pippi offered.“Do you have any USB cords?” Claus asked.Pippi looked over at him. “Oh gosh, what did Lloyd do to you?”“Don’t look at me!” Lloyd said. “This is news to me!!”“Wrong Lloyd.” Claus clarified.“Huh?” Pippi asked.“Time travel.” Ness added. “That Lloyd’s from the past. It’s the Lloyd from this time that helps him with his mechanicalness.”“And made him that way.” Lucas said bitterly.“Wait, what?” Ness asked.“ENOUGH!” Ninten shouted. “I am TIRED. We are GOING to BED. NOW.”“That’s the loudest I’ve ever heard you speak, Ninten.” Ness commented. “But he’s probably right. If it’s okay with you, Ms. Shortstock, I think we’d all like to take you up on your offer.”“Please, just call me Pippi.” she said. “And follow me!”Pippi lead the group to a large gated mansion, where she had to push a button just to get someone to come open it for her. Upon going inside, she removed her hat to reveal her ginger gravity-defying braided pigtails she was famous for. She then lead them into a large room that had two full size beds. Then she looked at Claus. “Your wing-things are tied to you, by the way.”“Oh really?” Claus asked sarcastically. “I hadn’t noticed.”“Here, let me help.” Although Claus’ chimera strength hadn’t been enough to do any damage to the restraints at all, Pippi broke them with no problem. Claus stared at her in disbelief.“What?” she asked. “Or right, you need a USB whatever thing. Let me go get a computer in here. And an extra bed.”Sure enough, she came back in carrying a full bed, and then went and got a computer set up. Claus looked at the clunky square monitor confusedly, but Pippi moved on like it was normal, and nobody else was questioning it, so Claus guessed it was normal, too. He was glad USBs existed in this time though, and although he could only get a single USB transferring not much power at a time, it was something and he was grateful for it. He plugged it into one of his wings and laid back without saying a word to anyone else, falling asleep quickly.“Alright,” Ness said upon seeing this, “Ninten, why don’t you share a bed with Lloyd. Lucas, you and I will share.”Before Ness could get too comfortable, though, his phone rang. Not thinking much about it, he picked up.“Hello, it’s your dad.” was on the other line.Ness made a noise of panic, then said “Hiii, dad. What’s up??”“You’ve been out causing trouble for a long time now. It may be none of my business, but don’t you think it would be a good idea if you took a break?”“What?” Ness asked, trying to act innocent. “Uh… well, I’m about to get some sleep, so, that kind of counts, right?”“Ah, I see.” Ness’ father responded, but then said “Well it doesn’t make me happy. Goodnight, Ness.”Ness’ father hung up the phone, and Ness just stared at it in terror for a few minutes.He knows.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ness woke up to the smell of sweet maple syrup and the sound of quiet chatter. For just a few moments he could ignore the past couple months and just imagine himself back on his adventure. He was, after all, in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar city, with an uncertain feeling looming over him pushed to the back of his mind for now. He laid in bed in a dream-like daze for a good few minutes before letting himself wake up to face the realities that he was NOT with his friends and the world didn’t need to be saved.

The syrup smell, he learned, was the smell of pancakes, which were being served with fresh orange juice on a table that must’ve been put in here while he was asleep. Lucas, Claus, and Lloyd were the ones all chatting to each other, eating pancakes while Claus sat on his bed, his wing still plugged into the computer. He looked much more lively today, though, and his red eye shone just as brightly as it typically did. However, Ness couldn’t help but notice the more childish features of Claus’ face now that it had been pointed out to him. He really did look like a ten-year-old.

“Good morning Ness!” the three who were already awake said in various ways.

“Good morning, guys.” Ness responded, helping himself to some breakfast. “Is Ninten still asleep?”

“Yeah.” Lloyd said. “But he’s usually a late-riser when he can help it. How’d you sleep?”

“Amazingly.” Ness responded. “I think I sleep better when I’m away from home.”

“I’m the opposite.” Lucas responded. “I can hardly sleep at all when I’m not in my own bed. I’m surprised my squirming didn’t wake you up last night.”

Ness shrugged. “I used to sleep next to someone who’d get up in the middle of the night because he realized he had a new idea for an invention all of a sudden. Up and down, up and down like a yoyo all night long. I got used to it after a while.”

Claus laughed. “Lucas used to be a sleep-cryer. He’d get a nightmare and burst out sobbing all of a sudden. Even when he woke up he’d run to mom and dad for comfort.”

“I wasn’t THAT bad…” Lucas responded, somewhat embarrassed. “And…” he was starting to tear up, “do you have to bring up mom that casually?”

Claus rolled his eyes but let it go, paying attention to his pancakes now. Ness looked out the window and saw that the sun had fully risen, meaning it was at the very least late morning, if not early afternoon by now. “Guys?” he asked.

“Yeah?” the others responded.

“Are we ever just going to go to school like normal kids?”

Claus laughed. “What about ANY of us makes you think we’re normal?”

“If only it were that easy…” Ness said sadly. “To just decide not to be normal.”

Eventually, Ninten woke up. With not a single word he began helping himself to some pancakes, and he just sat on the bed watching everyone silently as he ate. He looked to be in a bad mood.

Once breakfast time was over, Lucas said “We should probably go home now. Dad’s probably getting worried.”

“And I need to get my wings repaired.” Claus complained.

“Right…” Ness said nervously. “Home…”

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Ness with a sense of pity. He, after all, was potentially about to have to face the enemy again, except this time he’d have to do it alone in a friendly setting.

“Well…” Lloyd said, “you might as well get it over with.”

The five headed out, thanking Pippi as they left. But then Ness got an idea. “Wait, Pippi?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I have your autograph so I can trick my mother?”

“Anything to mess with Ana!” Pippi responded mischievously. She signed a picture of herself, and handed it to Ness. “Good luck!” she told him.

“I’ll need it…” Ness responded.

Ness teleported the group back to Fourside, and the others all started happily heading back to their homes. Ness, however, found himself standing in front of his apartment building with a nervous feeling burrowing deep within him. He slowly walked up the stairs, then stood in front of the door for a while longer before he built up the courage to enter.

“H-hey, mom.” Ness said upon walking into his mother ironing in the living room.

“Ness, where have you been?!” Ana demanded. “You said you’d call me and then you never did! Where did you go?”

“I’m sorry mom!” Ness responded. “I meant to call you, I did. It’s just that my umm… theater teacher had won a meet-and-greet for a certain celebrity, and could bring one student along, and I earned that privilege by doing the most moving monologue. See, here’s the autograph I got. I’m sure you’ve heard of the actress! Pippilotta Shortstock.”

“Pippi.” Ana said darkly. “I can't STAND that girl!! And from now on Ness, you need to tell me these things ahead of time! I can't BELIEVE the school didn't call me!!”

“Well…” Ness trailed off, not really sure what to say. “I got the rest of today off of school, so I think I’m just going to go into my room for now.”

Ness quickly absconded to his bedroom and hoped that was the end of the problem with his mother, who somehow seemed to believe his story.
 
~~~
 
“I call this meeting to order.” the adult Ninten said, sitting at a table with a recently healed Minnie and an awoken Mimmie. “We need to talk about what went wrong and how to prevent it in the future. I also have some recordings to look over with you two.”

Mimmie gulped. “Recordings?” she asked.

“Yeah, Mimmie. Recordings.” Ninten responded. “Like when you put yourself to sleep.”

“N-ninten, I…” Mimmie knew she might as well just tell the truth. “I couldn’t bear to stop an innocent child from leaving this place. I KNEW there was nothing he could tell us, so I didn’t want to keep him here. Plus, Ness and his other friends were there, too.”

“You’re far too much like our great grandmother Maria.” Ninten stated. “Too caring and naive to understand the bigger picture.”

“Maria was NOT naive!” Mimmie defended. “She was loving! She CARED about people, Ninten. Just like she cared about you! How could you insult her like that?!”

“She was a fool who was willing to give up the prospect of humanity gaining amazing power just for the sake of one spoiled little brat’s feelings. I don’t care if she was ‘loving’, Mimmie. Love will only get you so far in this world. And ‘love’ gave us a whole new problem now. Because you ‘cared’ enough about the informant’s well-being, he now knows your name and face. And if he truly does work for somebody else, that person will know soon, too. And before long, our information will be leaked, and everybody will know what it is we’re doing down here.”

“So what do you suggest doing?” Mimmie asked, horrified by the answer she already knew.

“Well, the whole group saw you and Minnie, and can surely connect the dots about me. I’ll have to talk to Ness, and find a way to explain this to him despite his innocent, childish mind. On the other hand, I’m sure the alternate me will have no problem understanding, and I sincerely doubt he cared about the boy we took, anyway. The alternate Lloyd will be trouble, however. Killing him could result in dire consequences for whatever time we took him from, and I wouldn’t want to inconvenience a fellow Ninten with all of that mess. Plus, Lloyd could be useful if used right. Despite everything, he is a genius. The best option is to get him to our side. As for the informant and what seems to be his brother, well… I already have an assassin prepared.”

“I see.” Minnie said, thoughtfully nodding.

“Ninten, please.” Mimmie pleaded. “Surely there’s another way…”

“Are you going to become a problem, Mimmie?” Ninten asked coldly. “Because I don’t like problems.”

Mimmie’s eyes widened. “N-no, big brother…”

“Good!” Ninten said, in a condescendingly happy tone. “I found the assassin a few days back. I had him asleep and planned to use him for some experiments, but this is a much better use of his talents.”

“How well do you think he’ll comply with us?” Minnie asked.

“When I explain the fate of the world is at stake, I’m sure he’ll be more than willing to help. Like you and I, Minnie, he understands that sometimes sacrifices need to be made.”
 
~~~
 
So it was another typical morning, huh? Ness knew that fact as soon as he woke up in his Fourside bedroom, surrounded by decorations he put up himself. He sighed, and got ready for school.

Pretty much everyone else was running late to school, it seemed, so Ness didn’t get a chance to talk to them in the morning, and the teachers were very intent on using every single moment of class today, so he didn’t really get a break until lunch.

When lunchtime rolled around, Ness sat with his group as usual.

“So, how’s everyone doing after… everything?” Ness asked.

“Well I’m doing better than my window is, that’s for sure.” Claus said annoyedly.

“Is Pokey not giving you a new one?” Ness asked.

“Oh, he is.” Claus responded. “I’m just mad.”

“You’re not moving rooms?!” Lucas asked frantically. “Claus, you could get kidnapped again!”

“If these people apparently have a helicopter and can break in and find me on the 49th floor, moving rooms isn’t going to stop them. However, I AM getting stronger glass this time around.”

“You know, I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Lloyd said, “but I’m actually pretty annoyed that I have to do all this make-up work. Algebra is fun and all, but I’d rather be working on my own projects then being slowly taught things I already know.”

“Wait, we have to do make-up work?” Ness asked. “Nobody told me.”

“You have to ask the teacher for it.” Lloyd told him.

“And if I don’t?”

“You fail the class.”

“Well crap!” Ness exclaimed. “I guess I’ll have to get that tomorrow.”

“Doesn’t bother me.” Claus said. “Dr. Andonuts does all my homework.”

“What?” Lucas asked. “No fair!”

“Well I don’t have time for it.” Claus shrugged. “It was King P’s idea.”

“Lloyd does all of my homework.” Ninten stated, and nobody doubted him for a minute.

Though since Ninten had two notebooks open, and was writing in one, Ness asked “What are you doing right now, then?”

“Transposing.”

“Huh?” Ness asked.

“That’s his great grandfather’s diary that was with us when we came here.” Lloyd said, pointing to the old, worn notebook Ninten was reading from. “Most of the writing is messy and faded, but Ninten’s trying to decode it anyway, and is rewriting it neatly in a new notebook. After seeing what his alternate self became-”

“I’m not going to end up a villain.” Ninten stated. “There has to be something here that can help me.”

“Any good information so far?” Ness asked.

“I’ve gotten through two sentences.” Ninten responded.

“Oh.”
 
~~~
 
It was that afternoon that Ness needed to talk to his mother about the upcoming dance. Any later, and there wouldn’t be time for Paula to get there in time for the dance through non-psychic means. Gaining the courage was going to be difficult, though.

Ness’ mother was preparing dinner, and Ness walked in. “Hey, mom.”

“Hey Ness, how was your day?”

“Oh, umm… it was fine. I wanted to ask you something, though.”

“Yes?”

“Well, uhh, you see… there’s this school dance tomorrow  and-”

“Of course you can go, Ness. It sounds like the perfect opportunity for you to have some normal, teenage fun. Actually, I’ve already volunteered to chaperone!”

“Oh.” Ness said, not exactly happy about that. Still, he asked, “So we can ask anybody we want to go, whether they go to the school or not, so I was wondering…”

Ness’ mother put down what she was doing, and gave Ness quite the intimidating look. Despite this, Ness didn’t back down.

“I was wondering if I could invite Paula.”

“Ness.” Ness’ mother said, her aqua blue eyes practically glowing in anger. “What have we talked about?”

“It’s just a dance!” Ness said. “Just for one night! Please mom, I won’t make it a normal thing. I just want to see her again!”

“The answer is NO, Ness.” Ness’ mother informed him, and behind her, the contents of the pot she had on the stove behind her caught on fire. “Don’t MAKE ME say it again.”

Ness felt tears forming in his eyes. He wanted to say something else, fight back some more, but he found that his throat had gone dry and words wouldn’t come out.

“Now look at what you’ve done!” Ness’ mother shouted. “The dinner I was making is ruined! Ness, go to your room!”

The defiance towards power, the courage of a hero, and all of the other traits Ness might’ve gained during his adventure all went out the window as he ran towards his room, slamming the door behind him as tears streamed down his face. It wasn’t fair, he thought, as he buried his head into his pillow. None of this was fair!!!

He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to GO to this stupid dance anymore…

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ness decidedly did NOT want to be here. And yet, his mother forced the issue, and there wasn’t much he could do.Ness and Tracy were sitting to the side while adult volunteers busily put up decorations for the dance. They didn’t really acknowledge each other for the longest time until all of a sudden Tracy asked “Hey. Wanna see a magic trick?”“So you’re talking to me now?” Ness asked.“Or not.” Tracy said. “I don’t really care if you do or not. I’m just bored.”“Fine.” Ness answered.Tracy pulled out a deck of cards, then fanned some of them out. “Pick a card.” she said.Ness grabbed one. The ace of spades. Tracy stacked all of the other cards, and handed them to Ness. “Now shuffle that card in.” she instructed, and Ness did while Tracy looked away. Then, when Tracy got them back, she searched through the deck. “Is this your card?” she asked, showing him the ace of spades.“That’s… actually kind of cool.” Ness said. “Yeah, it is! Did Picky teach you that?”Ness was reminded of back in the day when Picky would pretend to be a magician. He could never actually get any of the proper magic supplies, though, so he was always doing what he could find in books from the library for… mixed results. He got his card tricks to work about 75% of the time though, but usually it was a trick to how he shuffled them. What Tracy did was downright impressive.“No.” Tracy responded. “I taught myself that one, but it was inspired off of Picky.”“Speaking of,” Ness said, “should I be expecting to be getting a new brother-in-law soon?”“Ness!!!” Tracy said, blushing and turning away.“It’s nicer when we get along.” Ness said more seriously. “I miss it.”“Yeah, well, you left for a year.” Tracy replied. “You can’t expect me to be the same little girl I was when you left. I grew up.”“I feel you on that.” Ness agreed. “This whole school thing’s a disaster for me. It’s like mom’s trying to put me back into a box I grew too large for a long time ago.”Tracy snorted.“What?”“That’s such a weird metaphor!” she exclaimed. “You’re so weird sometimes, Ness!”“Sometimes?” Ness asked.“Okay, always. But especially when you say dumb things like that!”“Anyway,” Ness said, changing the subject, “you got any other tricks?”“We could play 52 Card Pickup.” Tracy suggested.“What’s that?”“It’s where I drop all 52 cards on the ground, and you pick them up.”Now it was Ness’ turn to laugh. “What the heck, Tracy?” he asked playfully.“Or,” Tracy suggested, looking a little mischievous, “I could show you how the trick REALLY works…”Before Ness could say anything in response, his mom called out, “Ness, could you help me move this?”Ness let out a sigh, and rolled his eyes where only Tracy could see. Tracy giggled and waved, before turning her attention back to her cards. Ness unhappily helped his mother lift the heavy object she asked him to, but he refused to make eye contact with her, still angry from last night. When he finally got back to Tracy, she said “Guess you’ll just always have to wonder.” and shrugged.Still, Ness was happy she didn’t despise his very being right now. Hopefully it would last.Finally, 6 pm rolled around and it was time for the actual dance, which Ness wasn’t particularly excited for, but at least it was better than having to help his mother. Plus, maybe he could still have fun with some of his friends…There were apparently three dances across the school. Kindergarten through fourth-grade, which was just fast childish music for the little gremlins to run around to probably, fifth through eighth, and ninth through twelfth, fifth being included with the middle schoolers since they were a bit more mature than six-year-olds with too much sugar. That DID mean that Ness was going to have to watch Tracy flirt awkwardly with the little brother of one of his biggest enemies, but there was nothing he could do about it.Even as kids were excitedly flooding in, Ness found himself drawn to the corner where there were some chairs. Lucas was the first to walk up to him. “I’m guessing you don’t have a date.” Ness said.“Nope.” Lucas sighed. “I never really focused on girls or stuff growing up, with my brother missing and all. I think I used to have a crush on a girl named Richie when I was younger, but everything changed after that.”“Well, I’m not allowed to SEE my girlfriend, so we can be alone together.”Ninten plopped down annoyedly in a chair next to them. Following him, Lloyd explained “Without Ana here, he doesn’t have a date, either. And of course no girl asked ME…”“Is Claus coming?” Ness asked Lucas.“He said he wants to try,” Lucas responded, “but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to. But if he does, I bet he’s going to bring-”“It’s Lil’ Miss Marshmallow!!” Lloyd exclaimed. “With Claus!!”Sure enough, entering in such a way that it got everybody’s attention, Claus and Lil’ Miss Marshmallow had arrived. Claus was extremely sharply dressed, with a suit that appeared to be custom-tailored just for him, and Lil’ Miss Marshmallow was dressed in an intricate blue fluffy dress that suited her very well, though did nothing to hide the fact that she was clearly a robot.Claus saw where the others were, and walked over there. “Hey everyone. Some of you stalked her into the supermarket before, but a proper introduction is in order! This is Lil’ Miss Marshmallow.”“Greetings, cheese popsicles!” Lil’ Miss Marshmallow exclaimed.“Hi. I’m Ness!”Lil’ Miss Marshmallow kicked him in the shin again. “That was from Master King P. Spankety, spankety, spankety.”“Are you supposed to do that every time you see me?” Ness asked.“Yes.” Lil’ Miss Marshmallow responded.“I’m Lloyd!!!!” Lloyd said. “And this is Ninten.”Ninten barely even glanced at Lil’ Miss Marshmallow.Lucas crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes. “We’ve met.” he said to her.“Well she’s my date for the dance.” Claus said, narrowing his eyes back. “And my girlfriend.”Lloyd looked to Lil’ Miss Marshmallow. “Would it be okay if I took you apart and put you back together for science?”Lil’ Miss Marshmallow smiled. In an upbeat tone, she responded “If you try, I’ll make your insides your outsides!!!”“Okay,” Claus said, getting in between the two. “Let’s just stop this right here.”“I’m surprised Porky let HER go.” Lucas said bitterly.“He didn’t let EITHER of us go.” Claus specified. “He’s just taking a nap right now. By my suggestion. I just walked in there all stiffly and mentioned he looked tired and read him a bedtime story and by the time I was done he was asleep. Easy.”“Claus, you’re going to be in so much trouble!!” Lucas warned.“Not if he never finds out! Dr. Andonuts agreed to distract him if he wakes up.”“Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky!!” Lil’ Miss Marshmallow added. “Now c’mon Commandery Clausy, let’s go dancity dance the night away!!!”“You guys coming?” Claus asked. “There’s PLENTY of fast songs you don’t need a date for. Or are you just going to sulk around here all night?”“I’m still deciding.” Ness responded.After a few more minutes, Ness guessed he could give it a chance, at least. His friends were here, and he DID like the music playing. He got up, and started letting go. There was no point being miserable just because it wasn’t EXACTLY what he wanted. Lloyd got up too, but Lucas and Ninten stayed behind. Not Ness’ problem.Things were actually fun for a while… until the first slow song.Ness sighed, and the dance floor cleared, leaving only those lucky enough to have a date. Ness headed back to his seat, and watched the cute couples have fun together, smiles on their faces. Ness never got a chance to slow-dance with Paula before.Ness then spotted Tracy and Picky. Picky walked towards Tracy, face bright red with blush. He nervously said something, and Tracy happily agreed, and the two were dancing together. Ness couldn’t help but admit that they were actually pretty cute together.But then he saw it and couldn’t stop it.His mother rushing over there.Ness wanted to warn Tracy to get out of there, but how could he? She was all the way across the large room. There was no reaching her first.Sure enough, Ness’ mom caught up, and she put herself between Tracy and Picky, seemingly lecturing them both. Ness’ mom was very old fashioned in that way - you couldn’t dance with a girl unless you were dating, and the boy should be properly introduced to the parents of the girl ahead of time, too, as a ‘gentleman caller’. Despite the fact she knew Picky for pretty much Picky’s entire life, that wasn’t enough. She hadn’t approved of the relationship, and it wasn’t official.After a few moments, though, Picky looked up to Ness’ mother, and moved his hair aside so that his red eyes could make contact with hers. Something about Picky’s expression in that moment felt scary to Ness. Suddenly, Ness’ mother sneezed. And coughed. Did she suddenly catch a cold? Ness’ mother gave Picky a very surprised and horrified look, seemingly understanding what just happened more than Ness did. However, she had to leave because of it, and Tracy high-fived Picky. What the heck just happened there?Regardless, the two young love-birds went back to dancing.But after that song was another slow song. Ninten seemed fed-up with all of this and simply left the dance, and Lloyd was near the food area with Lucas, so Ness was alone.“Is this seat taken?” a voice asked.Ness looked at the source. “Hey, Mana. No- yes, umm… you can sit there.”“Thanks!” she said, smiling. “Punch?” she asked, offering him a glass. She had another in her other hand for herself.“Why not?” Ness asked, taking it. “I’m surprised you’re not out there dancing, though. Looks like you’ve got a whole entourage over there.”Sure enough, there were a couple dozen boys all watching Mana, all wanting to be the one to dance with her.Mana shrugged. “They’re all just drawn in by my charm. They don’t actually like ME.”Wearing a gold sequined dress, it appeared almost as if Mana herself were glowing. She had her hair done quite fancily, and her make-up was impeccable, so it was surprising she had no one she wanted to dance with. She took out a small, suspicious looking bottle. “Want me to spike your punch?”“What??” Ness asked.“Do you want me to spike your punch? With alcohol. Then you can stop thinking about Paula and just have a good time.”“You’re crazy.” Ness said. Then, after a few moments, with a lapse of judgment, he said “Do it.”Mana smiled, and poured about half the contents of the bottle into Ness’ punch, and the rest into hers. “Cheers!”The two drank, and Ness’ throat burned, but he downed the whole cup.“Aww, nah!” Mana exclaimed. “Ness-Ness isn’t kidding around!!”Ness laughed. “I feel… funny. What was that, anyway?”“Pure vodka.”Ness laughed again. “I LIKE pure vodka!!”“Wanna dance?” Mana asked, standing up and offering her hand.“No!!” Ness responded playfully, taking her hand up. Which he kind of needed, because the whole world felt like that loss of balance he usually only felt for a few seconds when teleporting. It was LIKE the world was melting away, but it wasn’t! Or was it?Ness forgot how to dance, or if he’s ever learned. Instead, he and Mana were just moving to the music… kind of. It was fun, though! The lights the disco ball created were so fun too, Ness wanted to add some lights of his own! “PK Rockin’ Alpha!” he exclaimed without thinking, creating danger lights for the dancers to avoid.“Nice one, Ness!” Mana exclaimed. “Nicess! Nessice!”“What are you even saying?” Ness laughed.“Everyone knows! No one knows! Yes one knows!!!”“Moonside’s funny.” Ness said.“I know.” Mana responded. “I made it.”“Did not!”“Did too!”“The Mani Mani statue made Moonside. Are you saying your the Mani Mani statue?”“No.”“Good.”Mana winked, but Ness wasn’t really sure why.After the slow music had given way to faster music again, Claus went up to Lloyd and Lucas. “Doesn’t he have a girlfriend?” Claus asked, pointing to Ness acting quite strangely with Mana.“Yup.” Lloyd responded. “Isn’t he lucky?”“Sure, but like, I thought he was upset he couldn’t dance with her. Now he’s slow dancing with Mana. …To fast music.”Walking up to the area, Tracy added “It IS weird. He was SO mopey about it earlier, so for him to just forget about Paula like that, something must’ve happened.”Picky looked to Ness and Mana, then back to Claus. “Isn’t Mana an alien?” Picky asked. “Like, with powers?”“Yeah…” Claus said. “What were they again…?” he thought about it for a moment. “Oh pork.”“What?” Lucas asked. “And why do you have to say ‘oh pork’ like that?! Couldn’t you say something else like-”“Lucas, shut up.” Claus said, staring Mana down again. “Mana IS an alien. And I’m pretty sure her powers were charming or mind control or something. She’s got Ness under her spell!”“So we DESTROY her!!!” Lil’ Miss Marshmallow exclaimed excitedly.“And tell King P what exactly?” Claus responded. “He wants her around because she’s useful. We can’t destroy her.”“We can’t let her mind control Ness, either.” Lucas added.That’s when Ness and Mana staggered over to the table, Ness downing some punch. “Ness, we need to talk.” Claus said.“Huh? Yes, not right now… I feel… I feel on top of the planet Earth! Like I’m Giygas swimming in the sky!!!”Picky sighed. “He’s drunk.” he stated.“How do you know?” Lloyd asked.“That’s what it smells like when someone’s drunk.”“Whoopsies!!” Mana exclaimed. “Mighta slipped something in his drink!” she giggled, also clearly drunk.Tracy looked at Ness. “Mom’s gonna kill you.”“Mom doesn’t need to know.” Ness replied, pointing wildly. “And if she has a problem, she can just… just… I don’t know. It’s her fault. If Paula was here, I NEVER would’ve NEEDED to drink my problems away!!!” he laughed uncontrollably.“Maybe I should take you home.” Lucas offered.“I’m fine!!!”While this was all happening, Lloyd couldn’t help but notice someone strange looking enter the dance. It was a little late to enter, wasn’t it? He was dressed in a black leather biker jacket, black pants, a black bowler hat, and black sunglasses. It almost looked like a disguise of some kind. “Hey, guys?” Lloyd asked, not looking away.Claus was too busy asking Mana WHAT was in the drink, and Lucas was too busy trying to convince Ness to go home. Lil’ Miss Marshmallow paid attention to Lloyd, though. “Is there a problem-problem?”“Maybe…” Lloyd responded. “Just a bad feeling I guess. I don’t think I’ve seen him around before.”“Guests are welcome!” Miss Marshmallow reminded Lloyd. “He could be anyone!!”“Then why does he look so suspicious?”The sunglasses guy looked around, and then stopped. He was storming right towards the group!“GUYS!” Lloyd exclaimed.“Little busy!” Claus responded.“We need to leave. Now.” Lloyd warned.Claus looked over there. He noticed the suspicious figure, and stared for a moment. “Male. Late teens. Concealing a sword and several knives.” he stated. “Current target trajectory, body language, and emotional read seems to suggest that he’s attempting to attack us with said sword. His strength levels seem unusually high.”“That’s BADD!!!!” Ness informed the group.“Who’s he after?” Picky asked.“I don’t know.” Claus responded. “But let’s not stick around to find out. C’mon, let’s go.”“Us too?” Tracy asked.“I don’t know!” Claus snapped. “I can’t see his eyes! But we need to get moving!”Claus led the group into a rush towards the door, but the shaded figured threw a knife in front of Claus, which embedded itself into the door.“Goin’ somewhere?” he asked. “Shoulda known you’d see me comin’. I heard you got all them upgrade things. Too afraid to fight as a real man?”“Who the pork are you?” Claus asked. The music was still playing, and none of the other students were paying attention right now. For the best, probably. This guy didn’t have any bombs or anything, so everyone else was safer if they weren’t involved.“Don’t matter.” sunglasses guy said. “Say, yellow hair over there looks an awful lot like you. You two related?”“What’s it to you?” Claus asked.“Oh, nothin’.” Sunglasses said, before throwing a knife, catching Lucas’ clothes and pinning him to the wall. “Yer both gonna be dead after tonight’s done, anyway.”“Well, I can only pretend to be human for so long…” Claus lamented, before turning his hand into his gun-arm, taking aim at the sunglasses guy. “Anything else you want to tell me before I blast you into bits?”“Oh, just that I’m not workin’ alone.”“Huh?” Claus asked, before he was suddenly hit with a PSI attack he remembered Fassad using on him a lot during training. PK Brainshock. Unfortunately, Claus had never actually gotten very good at getting over it. Everything looked and felt strange to him, and it was incredibly hard to concentrate now. He took aim at the sunglasses figure, and shot.And then he heard a scream that told him he did not hit sunglasses, but probably one of the innocent bystanders who were dancing. Whoops.Lil’ Miss Marshmallow, watching this, entered ultra ticked-off mode, taking out her drill and pincers. She lunged towards the sunglasses guy, drill out, but upon making contact she was sent flying backwards, injured. He must have some sort of shield, it seemed.Realizing the shield was physical, Lucas thought that meant this guy surely couldn’t have a psychic shield too. “PK Love Beta!”But he was wrong.The bright lights of Love reflected off and splintered off everywhere, hitting everything BUT the target.“Pretty!!!” Ness exclaimed, and he and Mana attempted to catch the lights.The guy smirked, and pulled out his katana. He approached Claus, who had gotten knocked to the ground by the stray PK Love, attempting to finish him off here. However, Claus wasn’t going down that easy. He snapped his wings out quickly, flying up, though he nearly hit a light fixture in the process.Seeing everything going on, Picky rushed over and removed the knife that was suspending Lucas. “Can you heal Ness?” he asked.“Right!” Lucas said. “PK Healing!”Suddenly, Ness recovered from his drunk stupor. “Oh crap.” he said, realizing what was going on. “Okay, so no physical or psychic attacks. Claus, you know PK Thunder, right? Here, umm… PK Healing!!”Lucas realized JUST THEN that he could’ve done that at any time as Claus recovered, flying straight once again.“Claus,” Ness instructed, “there’s a lot of people in this room. Do you think you can focus on one target?”“Without my sword?” Claus asked. “Umm… I’ll try!”Trying to remember Fassad’s instructions now, Claus tried to REALLY focus. Pick a spot. One focal point. Claus’ eyes landed on those infuriating sunglasses. Of course, the guy was still moving, taunting him at this point while trying to get closer to Lucas, who seemed to be casting PK Refresh at the moment. When Claus was pretty sure he knew where Sunglasses was going to be, he decided to just test the waters a little with PK Thunder Alpha. It’s a good thing he did, too, because Sunglasses apparently knew what to expect. He pulled Lucas to his location, attempting to use him as a shield. Of course, Lucas had that all-too-familiar Courage Badge on, so at least he was going to be uninjured. Claus, on the other hand, got the reflection of the thunder shot right at him, knocking him back onto the ground.Lucas pushed Sunglasses off of him, though the action sent a small feeling of pain from the reflection of the physical impact, then he ran over to Claus, healing him right back up.“So, what, is he just an invincible foe??” Lucas asked.“If we can break the shield, maybe we can get an attack in.” Ness said, “But we have no reason to believe whoever gave it to him isn’t around.”Having watched everything, Lloyd said “He’s not after all of us. Just Claus and Lucas. He hasn’t even tried to attack the rest of us.”“He himself doesn’t seem psychic…” Ness realized. He looked to Claus and Lucas, who were right near each other. He stood in front of them, and cast a physical shield around them. “What now?” he asked sunglasses.“Really, your drawin’ this out FAR too much.” Sunglasses said. “We got the same goal here. To protect Earth, right? Well he’s in on a plan that’ll end in it’s destruction. Gettin’ rid of him’s the best way to prevent that.”“He’s on the side of the planet, too!” Ness defended. “It’s the person who keeps him MIND CONTROLLED that we need to worry about!”“Wait, what?” Sunglasses asked. “I wasn’t told that…”“Well then you weren’t told much!!!” Ness informed him.“Are you sure?” Sunglasses asked. “‘Cause I was pretty sure-”Suddenly, the entrance door that they were fighting near opened, and Ness’ mother was there, no longer sick. She stared at the chaos, and confusion, anger, and concern were all reflected on her face at once.Ness could now see that all of the other students were hiding under tables and such, horrified. He was in big trouble, wasn’t he?“Well,” Sunglasses said, “this is where I take my leave.”“Hold on now.” Ness’ mother said, pissed.“I don’t think I will.”Sunglasses rushed to a window, and broke through, running away.“Hi, mom…” Ness said nervously.“What happened?” she demanded.“Well, umm… you see, that guy… wanted to kill my friends. So, I had to defend them.”“Let’s talk about this at home, Ness.” Ness’ mother said. “Let’s go Tracy!”Tracy looked at Picky. “Right now?” she asked.“RIGHT NOW!!”Tracy sighed. “I’ll see you soon, Picky.”“Bye, Tracy.” ~~~ The walk home was silent. Not a word was uttered between the three the entire time, but when they reached home, they didn’t get a chance to talk, either. Ness’ father was waiting there.“You’re responsible for this!” Ness’ mother accused the second they walked in.“I need to talk to Ness right now.” Ness’ father responded.“No!” Ana argued back. “I want you to keep Ness out of this stuff!”“He involved himself.” Ninten stated. “But I need to make him understand WHY I’m doing what I’m doing. I think it’s time he finds out about what I do, Ana.”“Why can’t you just stay out of his life?” Ana asked. “You left me alone to raise him for HOW many years, and NOW you want to lay claim to him?”“You were happy to be a mother, Ana. I wanted to follow in my great grandfather’s footsteps. I don’t see where the problem is.”“Well, then I’M his mother, and YOU CHOSE to be distant. So STAY distant and LET ME make decisions for MY son!!!”“He’s meant to be a part of this!”“He’s MEANT to get a normal life!”“Both of you STOP!!!” Ness screamed, PK Rockin’ sent in all directions. “Can you stop fighting over who gets to lay claim over MY LIFE?? I just had a DISASTER of a night, I let a girl get me drunk and danced with her and not my girlfriend, then I had to fight an invincible foe WITH NO WEAPON, and NOW I have my psychopathic father fighting with my control freak mother over if I should be AVERAGE or A KIDNAPPER! I want NEITHER! I WANT TO BE A HERO!!!”“You did WHAT???” Ana asked. “Ness, you have to marry Paula! You’ve shared a room with her! You can’t dance with some other girl!!”“IF YOU WANTED ME TO DANCE WITH PAULA, THEN LET ME SEE PAULA!!!” Ness shouted. “YOU COMPLETE, UTTER HYPOCRITE!!!!!!!”“Ness,” Ninten said, “we need to discuss WHY your friends need to die.”“What??” Ness asked. “So you really did send that freak?”“That was Teddy!” Ninten told Ness. “I gave him a Powershield that reflects both physical and psychic attacks, and Minnie did that brainshock to your friend. Unfortunately campus security made us leave before we could help any more.”“Teddy.” Ness stated. “One of your friends from the past?”“That’s correct!”“Nice.” Ness said, beginning to lose it. “You sent a former hero to murder my innocent friends in cold blood. That’s REAL nice, dad!!”“This is why you shouldn’t get mixed up in all of this.” Ana told Ness. “A normal teenager doesn’t have to experience such heart-ache. If your friends were more normal you wouldn’t have to worry about them being the target of time travelers with psychic support. I just want you to be happy, Ness, and being normal would-”“A NORMAL TEENAGER DOESN’T HAVE PSYCHIC POWERS!!!!!!!” Ness snapped. “A NORMAL TEENAGER HASN’T SEEN THE WORLD, AND THUS DOESN’T KNOW WHAT HE’S MISSING! AND A NORMAL TEENAGER IS ALLOWED TO MAKE STUPID MISTAKES, LIKE, like…” Ness began crying. “Like dancing with stupid crazy girls because he doesn’t know how else to feel.” Ness buried his head in his hands now. “I’m such an IDIOT! I’m exactly what I criticized Lucas for being! I hate my situation but instead of doing anything about it I’m turning my back on everything I knew to make new friends and go on new adventures, without the people that meant so much to me. I’m… I’m such an awful friend! I don’t DESERVE to be one of the chosen four!!”Ness was sobbing uncontrollably, and he put up a shield around himself, not letting anyone get anywhere near him. He then ran into his room, and pulled out his photo album. “You should keep it, Ness.” Paula had insisted, tears in her eyes. “I can see it again next time we meet.” That was the last time Ness had seen her. The last time they were ALLOWED to see each other before she moved to Summers. Surely she was doing better, right? Made some new, normal friends, and maybe even figured out what she planned on doing with herself now that the world was saved.He flipped through the pictures, seeing four happy kids that seemed like they lived in a different dimension. The world was in danger, any of them could die at any moment, and yet they were always SMILING. How had they done it? Is that just the advantages to being a kid who doesn’t know any better? Or was it that they had each other, so they couldn’t be sad for long?Ness opened his window, and stared out into the sky. Dear Paula, he thought. I doubt you can hear me. You were always better at psychic communication, after all. I never really got the hang of it, heh heh. I miss you, you know. You said one time that you might want to be a teacher when you grow up, just like your parents. Is that still what you want?
I don’t know what I want at all anymore.

Heck, I don’t even really know who I AM anymore. I think my dad might be evil, and my mom’s lost her mind, too.

We can discuss it over some brainfood lunches, if you want. We could have a picnic in the fields of grapefruit falls, listening and watching the waterfall you said you liked so much. Or we could find some new place we’ve never seen before, too. Just like old times. Wherever you want to go, it doesn’t matter to me. I just want to see you again.

Ah, who am I kidding? You can’t hear me. And even if you could, we both know we can’t. We made a promise, and I guess no matter what, we’ll see it through until the end.

Goodbye, Paula.
Ness closed his window and turned away from it, looking at all of the maps spread across his room.Little did he know, far, far away in another continent, a blue-clad blonde was staring out her window at the same sky Ness had been.“I miss you too, Ness.” she whispered, a tear falling down her cheek.“I miss you.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Honestly, Ness had no idea HOW his mother pulled it off, but none of the students involved in the big fight against Teddy during the dance would get into ANY trouble, legal or otherwise, despite the fact that they definitely accidentally killed at least one person.Or was it his father with his government connections who prevented that?Regardless, after a weekend of moping around his room, Ness was quite ready to see his friends again, even if he felt guilty for having them. But what also made him happy was that Tracy actually walked with him on the way to school on Monday, too.“Okay, so, being a psychic, you’ve probably talked to horses, right?” Tracy asked.“No, I actually don’t think I have…” Ness said, trying to remember if there was a time he’s forgotten.“Well that makes sense.” Tracy explained. “After all, they’re all probably pretty HOARSE!”Ness laughed. “That’s so stupid!”“So,” Tracy said, “I talked to a stray dog the other day. I must’ve said something wrong, though, because he was a DOGGONE mad!”“Are you trying to cheer me up?” Ness asked.“Maybe.” Tracy responded. “Is it working?”“Possibly.” Ness said.After a pause, Tracy asked “Hey Ness?”“Yeah?”“You know they don’t have to know EVERYTHING about you. Or everything you do. I know you’re capable of teleportation.”“I can’t, Tracy.” Ness responded.“What, you don’t break mom’s OTHER rules?”“Well, this one’s bigger than that.” Ness said. “And usually those are by accident or for a good reason. I can’t just PURPOSELY teleport to go see my friends.”“If I could, I would if I were you.” Tracy said. “Just saying. If fate was strong enough to bring you all together, I’d say it’s stronger than a few stern words from mom. I see that key you’re always wearing. You don’t NEED to do what she says, you know. You could run off at any time and she couldn’t stop you.”“Tracy, it’s not that simple.” Ness snapped.“Why not?”“It’s just not, okay? I’m not willing to throw away my family so easily! And that’s what I’d be doing! Yeah, I’m mad at her, but she’s still my mom! And I still love her! If I ran away, even years from now when I’m an adult I’d never really be able to re-bridge that gap. I don’t see her going to visit her parents, do you? We’ve never even met our grandparents, and that’s probably because she did exactly what you’re suggesting I do!”“And if following her instructions makes you lose your mind?”“It won’t.” Ness replied. “I’m fine! I’m completely fine!”“If you say so.” Tracy said. “But if they have to put you in a padded room, I’ll come visit you.”They had arrived at the school, so Tracy sped off to the elementary school area. ~~~ The group came together for lunch as usual, and Ness still wasn’t in the best mood. It looked like he wasn’t the only one who wasn’t, though. Ninten was still working on his notebooks, and he had dark purple bags under his eyes that suggested he had been working on them all night long, too.Realizing what Ness was looking at, Lloyd whispered “I’ve never seen Ninten THIS motivated. I don’t even think he’s slept more than for a couple hours at a time, and you KNOW he likes his breaks!!”“Ninten?” Ness asked.“What?” Ninten asked, giving Ness a glare that felt like it could kill.“You okay?”“Am I… okay?” Ninten repeated menacingly. “You tell me.”“What’s wrong?” Ness asked.“Come talk to me this afternoon after school.” Ninten stated. “I’ll tell YOU, Ness, since he’s related to you, too, but no one else. You ought to know the truth.”“...Okay.” Ness responded, a little nervously.Claus a bit late to join the lunch table, being swarmed with people. “What’s going on?” Lucas asked him.“I took out wings and turned my arm into a gun at the dance on Friday.” Claus told him. “People have questions.”“What are you telling them?”“That someone spiked the punch and they must’ve been seeing things. They think I’m hiding something, of course, but most people would rather believe in mass hallucinations than a psychic chimera. Maybe they’ll think it was something like- what was that place with the weird mushrooms? Tane Tane?”“I don’t want to TALK about Tane Tane Island!” Lucas said quickly.“Did you eat the mushrooms?” Claus asked.“I didn’t have a choice!!” Lucas defended. “I was nearly dead from a tidal wave!”Claus began laughing. “What did you see???”“I DON’T want to talk about it.”“What happened with the dance?” Ness asked. “After I left?”“The adults closed it down early.” Claus told him. “Since I accidentally shot someone to death and all that. But I guess I’m getting away with it, so that’s nice.”“And what happened with…” Ness paused. “Mana Mana?”“I had to walk her home, and she crashed not long afterwards.” Claus explained. “So what was going on between you two?”“I don’t know…” Ness responded. “She got me drunk, and in the bright lights she just looked so…” he paused, readjusting his sentence. “I just couldn’t help myself! But it was a one-time thing! I love Paula, not Mana! I have NO interest in Mana!”“Umm, Ness?” Lloyd said.“Yes?”“You might want to look behind you.”Ness turned around just in time to see Mana crying and running off. “Crap.” Ness muttered, jumping up to follow her. Ness watched her go into the girl’s bathroom. Hoping no one else was in there too, he just went in there after her.“Mana, we should talk.” Ness said.“Yes, Ness, you’re right.” she said, looking up at Ness with glittery tears streaking down her face. “You love Paula, and I shouldn’t have gotten involved.”“I didn’t know you had a crush on me!” Ness defended. “I thought you were just…”“Being weird?” Mana finished. “Nah, I could see how you’d think that. I don’t really know what love IS Ness, but you need to know the truth. About me.”“What is it?” Ness asked.“Have you ever wanted something so badly you’d do ANYTHING to get it? No matter what it took?”“I don’t know…” Ness responded. “I’m not sure I’d be willing to do ANYTHING.”“Well, that’s because you’re pure hearted. You’re one of the chosen four for a reason. It’s also why, I guess, you’re a bit more immune to me than most. Your whole group is.”“What are you talking about?”Mana sighed. “I’m going to talk completely normally for a bit, so you can take everything I say as the truth, okay? You see, where I’m from, it’s not so abnormal to be born with unique powers. It’s expected, really, for you to have SOMETHING you can do. For me, however, that something… is charm. And by effect, group mind control. I can cause mass hysteria just by walking in a room - you’ve seen the way everyone at this school acts around me. But back when I was younger, I had no control over that power. I’d drive people mad everywhere I went. So the supreme council decided that something had to be done about me. Something that made me no longer their problem. So they turned me into a gold statue, and banished me to a planet they wanted to punish for taking information from us long ago. They sent me deep underground, hoping I’d corrupt the planet’s people over time.”“And that’s where I thought I’d stay.” Mana explained. “Forever. But then one day I heard a voice. He was unstable, of course. After all, who would contact me if they weren’t? But he said he wanted to destroy this planet, and wanted my help gathering some people to join him. He promised that he’d have me uncovered, and eventually, free me from my golden prison. What did I have to lose? So I agreed, and he had someone come find me, digging me up out of the ground. Then a bunch of other stuff happened, I ended up causing a cult, and all sorts of other mischief, but it the end, it was you who defeated me time and time again, Ness. Because I’m… I’m the Mani Mani statue. After you broke me, Ness, I was put back together, and brought back to life by someone who believes in second chances.” Mana looked away from Ness. “Do you hate me now that you know?”Ness was silent. This was the root of so much evil, and he danced with her? He found her funny, and silly, and she was the Mani Mani statue?!Ness glared at her. “I want you to stay away from me. And the second you try anything like you did back in the day - I’ll break you again, just like I did before. But this time I’ll make sure you’ll STAY broken. Do you understand me?”She looked at him, her currently dull-looking eyes wide. “You’re not a hero at all, are you?” she asked. “Just like Pokey said.”With that, she vanished in a cloud of golden glitter.Before Ness could even think about anything that happened, the door opened. “Umm, this is the girl’s bathroom.” a girl said, upon entering. “You need to like, get out before I tell a teacher.”Ness left, not bothering to return to the lunch table until the very end to get his stuff.Mana didn’t show up to theater the next period. Ness assumed that was for the best.He still wasn’t in a good mood when he walked into science, but then he heard they were having a guest speaker come in today. And what are the chances, but the child prodigy they had coming in was from Foggyland of all places! Ness couldn’t help but wonder if whoever this was knew Jeff. Maybe they even went to school together!But when the guest speaker walked in, Ness could tell it wasn’t someone who KNEW Jeff.It was Jeff Andonuts himself!Without thinking, Ness jumped onto the floor, hiding under the table, where he could still see Jeff, but Jeff couldn’t see him. Hopefully. Claus and Lloyd gave Ness a weird look though.“Hello, chaps!” Jeff said as he entered. “I’m Jeff! I’m about your age, and- well, I sure am nervous! But, uh… well, I’m from Foggyland! Winters, actually. And, I was invited here to talk about my latest invention, because, umm, well it’s actually a big deal, and I wanted to prove that you don’t have to be an adult to have good ideas, and it’s never to early to start inventing! So, let’s start with a simple question - who here has electric lights in their house?”Of course, every student raised their hand. Who didn’t, after all? Well, maybe Lucas didn’t, but he wasn’t in here.“Of course you all do!” Jeff said. “And who here has other electric appliances?”Again, all students raised their hand.“And have any of you ever been told to turn something off when you were done with it because it was wasting too much electricity to keep it on?”Plenty of kids have, and Jeff’s face reflected the relief of being relatable.“Well, the reason behind that is simple - electricity is a very limited thing. Many of the ways to get it take quite a lot of work, and your parents have to pay companies to do that work for them. Well, I had a similar problem to all of you. At the school I go to, every room has a space heater, because, y’know, it’s bloody cold there! But the space heaters only work for an hour without restarting them, to try to prevent kids from running ‘em all night long. Course we just wake up and turn them right back on, but I asked some of the adults this question: ‘If I can make it so the heaters supply their own energy, then can you turn off the 1 hour limit?’”“They said yes,” Jeff continued, “but of course they didn’t think I could actually do it. The greatest minds for many generations have all been limited by the fact that perpetual motion was not possible… or so they thought.”Lloyd’s hand shot up. “Are you suggesting that you found a way to create a perpetual motion machine, thus engineering it in a way that allowed for a truly infinite power source? Wouldn’t all of that kinetic energy create too much heat, thus causing entropy within your system?”Well, leave it to the future Dr. Andonuts to speak science with Jeff.“You would think.” Jeff said. “But I was very interested in the way magnetic fields can repel each other - with no heat-causing energy source. As such, I created a prototype, which I’ve brought here. I’ve made this wheel out of a material with one polar sway, and when I place it here, next to this rod of the opposite polar alignment, as you can see, it spins. Infinitely. And if I attach a wire to it, and connect it to, say, a lightbulb, it powers it! So long as this wheel and this rod stay in this vicinity to each other, we have infinite power with no human influence, and no entropy!”Claus stared at Jeff with wonder. “Infinite power?” he whispered.“That’s incredible!!” Lloyd exclaimed, enamored.“Well my teachers thought so, too.” Jeff said. “So not only do I get to keep my heater on for as long as I want, but I now get to work on producing these on a much larger scale. My hope is that by the next generation, all things will be powered with magnetic energy! And that means the human race will no longer need to use fossil fuels, therefore preventing global warming as well as the eventual loss of non-renewable resources like coal and helium!”These science words were confusing and all, but it was not lost on Ness just what it was Jeff accomplished by accident. Did he just save the world… again?Claus raised his hand. “Do you think this perpa-whatever would work on ANYTHING? Like… mechanical lifeforms?”“Of course!” Jeff said. “Do you have something particular in mind?”“Can we talk privately after this?” Claus asked, now fidgeting with the hem of his glove.“Sure thing, mate!” Jeff responded. “I’m always happy to hear any scientific inquiries!”“I had a question.” Lloyd said. “Could I see it closer?”“Come on up!” Jeff encouraged. “Anyone who wants to see it is welcome to!”Jeff stepped aside for the line that formed, and that’s when he happened to look Ness’ way. Confused, but not quite sure what he was looking at, Jeff began to step closer. Ness crawled further under the table, then he tried to bolt to the next table. Unfortunately, a student randomly happened to be walking there as Ness tried, and Ness ran right into her.“What are you doing, you weirdo?” the girl asked.That gave Jeff all the time he needed. “Ness?” he asked. “Ness, old buddy! I wasn’t expecting to see you here!!”“You know him?” Claus asked Ness.“Uh, hey, Jeff.” Ness said awkwardly. “Really cool… invention you made.”“Truth be told,” Jeff whispered, “I was inspired off of psychic power when making this. Magnets remind me so much of telekinesis. An invisible force with undeniable strength! And this is just the first of many world-changing inventions, I’m sure! I’ve been considering dropping out of Snow Wood for good soon, and inventing full-time! When my dad disappeared, his lab sure didn’t! I bet I could take the place for my own and do some great things there!”“Heh, yeah.” Ness agreed, taking a small step back. “That sounds… great, Jeff.”“Is something wrong, Ness?”“Well it’s just that you’ve already accomplished so much, while I’m struggling just to not fail algebra!”“Well math was never really your thing, Ness.” Jeff joked.“That’s not what I mean.” Ness clarified. “It’s that… THAT’S my biggest accomplishment recently. That and running off to Valentine to find out my dad’s an evil mastermind who kidnaps people.”“Wait, what?” Jeff asked. “You could’ve led with that!”“Well there’s not much to say about it. I mean, he sent an assassin named Teddy to try to kill some of my friends, but-”“Wait, that was Teddy?” Lloyd interrupted, now back. “Oh no, no, no! Teddy is NOT easy to deal with!”“My mom’ll probably just tell him to go away.” Ness said dejectedly. “If not, well, then I guess there’s nothing we can do since he’s invincible.”“That doesn’t sound like you!” Jeff said. “Wasn’t Giygas an invincible, unstoppable foe?”“Yeah, but that was different.” Ness said. “I had you guys. I had the power of fate! Now I have neither.”“That’s not true.” Jeff told him. “All you have to do is call for me, and I’ll be by your side 100%, just like before! And I’m sure the others feel the same! What happened to the group leader, full of hope and happiness, who could joke in even the most dire of circumstances?”“He became average.” Ness said bitterly, not able to look at Jeff any longer. He couldn’t bear to see the disappointment in Jeff’s ultra-pale icy blue eyes. “Look Jeff, I know your dad might’ve run off to go make chimeras in a high-tech tower, but the second I came back my mom decided that I had to have a ‘normal’ childhood now. And that kind of sucked all of that hope and happiness right out of me, leaving behind… this. A kid who just lives in memories and dreams, trying to ignore the realities of growing up in a normal world.”“Then you just have to put your own spin back on it, eh?” Jeff said. “Like you used to. Think of the normal world as a new foe to fight! You can’t let it break your spirit, just like with Giygas and all of the enemies he sent after us! You may be stuck in Fourside, but I’m sure there’s plenty of new things you can find here, too! New things to try, new people to meet! Like I said Ness, whenever you need me, I’ll be there for you, but it seems like you’ve got a right good group right here, too! And by the sounds of it, you’ve still got plenty of mysteries to uncover WITHOUT the world being in danger. And someday, all of this will be over, and you can be the adventurer you always wanted to be! But when you look back on your time spent here at Fourside Academy, do you really want it to be only the bad memories coming to mind? Or do you want to see the good in things, just like you used to? Just like I know you can again.”Tears in his eyes, Ness smiled widely, pulling Jeff into a tight hug. “I can always count on you for good advice, huh?” Ness laughed. “I’ve been such an idiot lately! Thanks for setting me straight.”“Anytime, best buddy.” Jeff said, smiling back. “I AM the smart one, after all!”“That you CERTAINLY are!!!” Ness laughed some more. “Wow, I feel so light all of a sudden! I feel so good!! I feel so…” A power expelled itself from Ness, and filled the room. Sparkly lights descended, bringing a great feeling to everyone they touched. “Oops…” Ness said. “Lifeup Omega, I think.”“Not the worst thing to accidentally cast!” Jeff told him. Jeff then turned to Claus. “You had something you wanted to ask me?”“Yeah…” Claus said, playing with the hem of his glove once again. “Have you ever heard of mechanical chimeras?”“I’ve heard them spoken of in great lengths in a theoretical sense, but due to the morally gray area that combining DNA falls in, especially between a living thing and more robotic features, there’s not much easily-accessible information about them.” Jeff paused. “Wait, Ness, didn’t you say my father was working on chimeras? Does that mean you’ve found him?”“We’ll talk about that later.” Ness said. “If Claus is about to tell you what I think he’s about to tell you, you’re going to want your full attention on him.”Claus let out a breath. “Hypothetically, if there WERE mechanical chimeras, and instead of their mechanical aspects draining their lifeforce like some might theoretically do, they had to recharge their mechanical parts nightly, would your motion-thingy work of them too, so they’d never have to recharge?”“Theoretically, yes! Assuming they had the space for it, though the previous location of the battery that held said chimera’s charge should do quite well.”“Even if it’s near quite a bit of intricate machinery that allows the chimera’s wings to work?”Jeff gave Claus a confused look. “These are oddly specific hypotheticals.”“We’re taking a scientific journey?” Claus tried.“Well then, to be honest, I wouldn’t know for certain in EVERY case, as it really depends on the situation, though I can say it would be POSSIBLE.”“Can you check the situation?” Claus asked.“Hmm?”“I mean…” Claus sighed, finally just deciding to be honest. “I’M a mechanical chimera. While wild versions just shorten their lifespan dramatically in order to keep powered, since I was built to last I have to charge nightly and without proper charge I will die. But if you can fix that…”Jeff looked at Claus. “YOU’RE a mechanical chimera?” Jeff asked.“...Yes?”“Blimey! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?! Of course I’d be happy to try to help you, but I’d need to get a better understanding of your inner-mechanics first.”“Okay, uhh, I can try to get my specs for you.”“Yes!” Jeff exclaimed. “Yes, yes, yes!! My goodness, this is the opportunity of a lifetime! A proper mechanical chimera, and I get to work with you!!! This is incredible!”“Meet me in front of the school when class gets out for the day.” Claus instructed. “And we can start going over things.” ~~~ When school got out, Ness tried to see what Ninten wanted, but Ninten was walking straight home. So, what could Ness do but follow him?If Ninten knew he was being followed he made no indication of it, keeping an even pace as he walked home. When they finally got there, and he unlocked the door psychically, he opened it but didn’t close it behind him, signifying that he DID what Ness to come in. Ninten sat on the couch, clutching his journal, and stared at Ness for a good few moments before asking “Do you know how you have psychic powers?”“I was born with them.” Ness responded. “I started using them the day I was born.”“Me too.” Ninten said. “But you know, they never really get very good until you start relying on them to save your life. Before then it’s just magic tricks and spoon bending. Lots and lots of spoon bending.”“I didn’t really bend many spoons.” Ness replied. “Not on purpose, anyway.”Ninten didn’t acknowledge that. “Have you ever wondered WHY you were born with psychic powers?”“Of course I have.” Ness answered. “But when I found out I was one of the chosen four-”“It has nothing to do with that.” Ninten interrupted. “Maybe you were chosen BECAUSE of them, but it’s not what caused them.”“Then what is?”“In the early 1900s,” Ninten explained, “a dark shadow fell over rural Eagleland. Shortly after, a married couple mysteriously vanished. My great grandfather George, and my great grandmother Maria. Your great, great grandparents, Ness. That’s where the public information pretty much ends. Eventually George returned, but nobody really knew what he was up to. At least, nobody on the outside.”“You see Ness, I’ve known for a while that Giygas wasn’t born evil. My great grandmother loved him a lot, and raised him like her own child, not wanting anything more from him but to see him happy. My great grandfather, on the other hand, saw his strange otherworldly powers and wanted them for himself. And his children.”“...What are you saying?” Ness asked, concern rising up within him.“I’m saying George Montague used Giygas for his power, and did all sorts of experiments to learn to replicate them in the human race, thus destroying Giygas’ trust in humans and love, causing him to later want to destroy this world. I stopped him, of course, and I think you must’ve as well, but none of this would have happened if it weren’t for what George did in the pursuit of knowledge. And now I can tell that my alternate self, your father, must be following in George’s footsteps. He’s become that sort of villain who will do anything it takes to gain something, regardless of who it hurts. And if I’m not careful, Ness, I could end up that way one day as well.”“But you won’t.” Ness said. “I believe in you, Ninten. You’re a good person at heart.”“I could’ve teleported you to Valentine.” Ninten stated, voice cold as ice. “At any moment. You already knew I was psychic, so I had nothing to lose. I push you, constantly, just to see your reaction, and I do the same to Lloyd, too. I don’t listen to anyone but myself, and always think about myself first. How does that make me a good person?”“You could’ve teleported us to Valentine?” Ness asked. “When Claus’ life was in danger?”“Yes.” Ninten stated, staring Ness down. “Easily. Do you still think I’m a good person?”A sense of betrayal hit Ness. He had come to trust Ninten, but just like Ness’ father, it was all an act. Jeff might’ve said that Ness needed to stop expecting things to be just like they were back on his adventure, and maybe that was true, but one thing that was VERY important to Ness was that he could trust his friends to have his best interests in mind when it came down to it. And Ninten clearly didn’t. Still, Ninten was in a vulnerable position right now, and what Ness said here could really impact how he acts going forward. Wanting to try to give Ninten that same sense of optimism Ness’ friends used to look towards Ness for all the time, Ness said “Of course you still can be. All you have to do is try.”Ninten stared at Ness for possibly minutes before he finally said “You don’t say.”Ninten stood up, and started walking towards his room. He paused in front of his door, however. “People often argue if one’s words or actions are more important. Personally, I believe it’s their thoughts. Thank you for speaking with me, Ness. This has been enlightening.”Ninten walked into his room, shutting his door behind him, leaving Ness standing in the entryway still, full of that same betrayed feeling he just couldn’t shake.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“This place sure is snazzy!” Jeff exclaimed, admiring the lab Claus had brought him to. “And to think this was in the Monotoli building all along!”“It’s actually pretty new.” Claus told him. “We put it here when we got here.” Claus pulled some printed sheets out of the printer and handed them to Jeff. “Here. These explain all of my modifications and their purposes. And these pages over here should help you get an idea of how much space you’re working with.”“These are perfect!” Jeff told him. “Though, if it’s not too invasive, can I… see? I mean, you’ve said your modified, but…”“Right, sure.” Claus responded. He extended out his wings, and held them open. “This is my favorite change.” he said. “Flying’s actually pretty cool.”“Do you have feeling in them?” Jeff asked, getting closer, looking as if he wanted to touch them but didn’t out of respect.“Yeah.” Claus responded. “They’re like extra limbs. I have full feeling in all of my modifications, but the wings are definitely the most delicate. They have to be for the proper aerodynamics.”“That’s incredible!!” Jeff said. “So have long have you been this way?”“Three years.” Claus answered. “It happened when I was ten.”“Can I ask why?”“Well…” Claus sighed, pulling his wings back in. “So I could be easily controlled. And so I’d be stronger.”“Wait… you didn’t agree to this?”“You seem like a nice guy, Jeff.” Claus told him. “If you’re one of Ness’ friends he’s always raving about, that must make you a hero, even. But not everybody wants what’s best for others. And some people are born helpless yet with extreme potential. When someone controlling finds someone worthwhile and easy to control, well… the result is someone like me. But don’t be too worried. I really don’t mind the modifications. Easily accessible information on everything, enhanced strength, instant weapon everywhere I go, and the ability to fly! Even if I didn’t ask for it, that doesn’t mean I don’t want it. And if you can do to me what you did to your little space heater… well… that would be incredible!”“Well, if you’re sure that you’re okay with me looking into making further modifications, I can look some things over, then.”“That would be perfect!”“I have a plane back to Winters to catch in the morning, though.” Jeff warned. “And that’s where I have all of my equipment, so if I DO find a way to do this, you’ll have to come there.”“That freezing place?” Claus asked.“Yes. But I DO have an infinitely powered space heater.”Claus laughed. “Alright, sure. I’ll just ask the teleportation master to bring me there. Do you want my pork phone number to call me?”“So long as pork phones are compatible with regular phones, then yes!” ~~~ Ness was in a very good mood the next morning. He hummed as he got dressed, and had a nice conversation with his mother and sister during breakfast, before happily walking to school with Tracy, making psychic-based jokes the whole way. He felt so happy - like his old self again! He gleefully greeted his friends as he arrived at school with… mixed results. Claus seemed excited yet apprehensive about working with Jeff, Lucas seemed slightly annoyed at Claus for wanting to modify himself further, Lloyd seemed very invested in the book he was reading right now, and Ninten, well… Ness wasn’t really sure WHAT to make of Ninten right now. Currently he seemed to be lost in thought, staring off into space.Well THIS was a cheerful bunch today, huh?“Good morning everyone!!” Ness repeated a little louder. Still, no one really acknowledged him.Ness cleared his throat. “GOOD MORNING!!” he shouted, and not only did he have the attention of his group, but also a few other kids who happened to look over there. Ness… just ignored them.“Good morning?” Claus answered.“Need something?” Lloyd asked.“No.” Ness responded, now feeling a little embarrassed. “I just wanted everyone’s attention.”“For?” Lucas asked.“Uh… to say good morning?”“Alright, sure.” Claus said. “GOOD MORNING, NESS!!” he yelled back.Ness smiled. Playfully he shouted “GOOD MORNING!” once again.“GOOD MORNING!”“GOOD MORNING!”“Guys, shh!!!” Lloyd warned. “You’re getting a lot of attention!”“So?” Ness asked.“Everyone’s watching you!”Ness got a mischievous smile. “Why didn’t you just say so?” he turned to face the crowd. “GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY!!!”Lloyd jumped into a nearby trashcan.Ness and Claus continued the idiocy for a little while longer until a substitute teacher came over. “You two, come with me. We’re going to take a little trip to the front office.”“To say good morning to them?” Claus joked.“No.”The boys were lead to the front office, and the substitute  said “I want you to call your parents and tell them what you’ve done. Heterochromia boy, you start.”“Yeah, problem.” Claus said. “My dad doesn’t have a phone. He probably doesn’t even know what one is.”“Then call your mom.” the substitute said, annoyed.Claus blinked at her. “Do you have a spirit medium on hand?”“Huh?”“My mom died three years ago.” Claus said with an angry smile on his face. “So unless you can resurrect the dead-”“I don’t need your sob story.” the substitute stated. “And why are you wearing gloves? No gloves are allowed in school!” The teacher tried to pull a glove straight off of Claus’ hands, but Claus quickly moved his hands out of the way.“I’m allowed to wear them.” Claus argued. “It’s in my medical file.”“What medical condition could POSSIBLY require you to wear gloves?”Claus smirked. He pulled the glove off of his metal hand. “It’s a prosthetic.” he explained. “It would ‘distract’ the other students.”“What the hell is wrong with your family?” the substitute asked.Claus’ green eye began glowing with stored psychic power, and his hand seemed at-the-ready to transform into his arm canon. “You wanna say that again?” he threatened.“Woah, woah, woah!” Ness said. “Why don’t I just call my mom, and I’ll tattle on both of us!” he offered the substitute.“Fine.” The substitute agreed. “Have her pick both of you up, too.”“Why?”“Because you were being a distraction to the other students!”Ness laughed. “Okay.”Ness dialed his mother’s number.“Ness, is something wrong?” Ness’ mother asked. “Are you not feeling well? Or are you just homesick?”“Umm…” Ness laughed again. “Well, I have to call you to tell you that me and one of my friends were shouting ‘good morning’ to each other in the morning area before school started for the day.”“One of your chosen friends?!” Ana asked quickly. “Ness, we’ve talked about-”“Nope, one of my new friends.” Ness told her. “I met him for the first time at school.”“Alright,” Ana said, “then what’s the problem?”“One of the substitutes must not be having a good morning, because she told me to call you to pick both of us up for yelling ‘good morning’ when no learning was currently happening on the premise.”“I’m on my way.” Ana stated in her protective parent voice. Now all Ness had to do was sit back and wait for her to get here. He wished he had some popcorn…Ness and Claus were instructed to wait in the office with the substitute until Ness’ mother arrived. The substitute looked very smug, but Ness wasn’t worried in the slightest. He couldn’t wait for his mother to get here.When Ana finally did arrive, she asked “Are you the one who asked my son to call me?” to the substitute.“Yes.” the substitute replied, “As long as this is your son, that is. He looks nothing like you.”Ana narrowed her eyes. “Is there something wrong with that? He takes after his father!”“Well, regardless, he was creating quite the scene, disrupting many of the other students.”“During free time, before classes?”“Yes.”“Then I don’t see the problem.” Ana stated. “Do you not want my son and his friend here to have a good morning?”“That’s not it at all!” The substitute claimed. “I just think you need to have your child under better control!”“Oh.” Ana said, her aqua eyes beginning to glow. Suddenly it felt as if it was getting a lot colder in here. “So you’re questioning my parenting, then.”“Well, if your child doesn’t see a problem with shouting in a public area, then yes, I suppose I am.”That was the wrong thing to say.Ana, however, did not lose her temper. Like a switch was flipped, the temperature went back to normal, and so did Ana’s eyes. “Alright boys, let’s go get some ice cream!” she said.“But…” the substitute tried to say.“Before we end up with a giant popsicle…” Ana mumbled, and Ness and Claus happily followed her out of the school.As soon as they walked out, Claus exclaimed “You’re awesome, Mrs. Montague!”“Thank you.” Ana said with pride. “Do we need to let your parents know where you are?”“My dad’s working.” Claus responded. “And I’m allowed to roam the city freely, anyway, so we’re good.”“You’re a little young for that…” Ana said, looking Claus up and down. “But if you’re certain it’s alright. You’re not lying, are you?” the last question had quite a bit of intensity to it.“No, ma’am.” Claus said, seeming a little intimidated.“He’s not lying.” Ness supported. “And anyway, mom, he’s only a year younger than me.”“Are you sure?” Ana said, looking at Claus. “He looks so much younger!”“I get that a lot.” Claus admitted. “But I AM 13.”“Wait a minute…” Ana said. “Weren’t you the boy with the wings at the dance?”“They were robotic.” Claus explained without a moment of hesitation. “Looked pretty nice, right?”Ness couldn’t help but admire Claus’ skill. He knew better than to lie here, but he was talking about it so casually that Ness’ mother couldn’t POSSIBLY think they were anything more than a prop.“Very nice.” Ana agreed. “I assume Lloyd made them for you?”“Yup.” Claus nodded.“Alright. Let’s go get that ice cream I promised!”Ana walked with the two to an ice cream place, and all three of them got three scoops each. As per usual, before eating, Ana prayed over her food and Ness pretended to. Luckily Claus was smart enough to stay silent and refrain from eating until Ana was done.“So,” Ana said, “I never caught your name.”“That’s right.” Claus said. “I’m Claus! And as you could tell from earlier, I’m one of Ness’ classmates.”“Well, I’m glad Ness is making some good friends since moving to the city. Although… you give me a strange feeling, Claus…”“Mom…” Ness said.“Is that so?” Claus asked. “I can’t imagine why.”“Well, I wanted to ask. Why would you wear a colored contact like that? Are you against the eyes God gave you?”“It’s not a contact.” Claus said, and Ness’ stomach sank. Was he going to tell her the truth? Was Ness’ mother going to tell Ness to stay away from Claus, like she tried to do with Lloyd? “It’s fake.” Claus said easily. “I had an accident three years ago when I was stupid and tried to take on a drago by myself. I would’ve died that day if nobody found me. This eye’s a result of all that.”“Oh you poor thing!” Ana exclaimed. “I’m sorry I pushed you to say so!”“It’s fine.” Claus said shrugging. “It’s not a big deal.”“Still…” Ana said, closing her eyes. “I feel there’s something… different about you.”“Mom?” Ness asked. “Could you maybe NOT keep calling my friend weird and ‘different’?”“Right.” Ana responded. “Sorry about that, Claus.”“You bought me ice cream, so I’ll forgive you!” Claus joked.“Well, speaking of,” Ana said, “now that we’ve all finished our ice cream, I was intending on going shopping today. Why don’t you boys help me?”“Yeah, yeah.” Ness agreed.As they walked towards the store, Ness heard Claus psychically say We skip more days of school than we actually go to, don’t we? Ness was ready to tell him he was wrong, until he thought about it.Ness was terrible at being a student, huh? ~~~ While the three were shopping, Claus stopped all of a sudden. He whipped around quickly, catching a knife out of the air that had been thrown towards the back of his head. “He’s back.” Claus sighed.“Who’s back?” Ana asked, concerned.“What did you say his name was, Ness?” Claus said. “Teddy?”“Yeah…” Ness responded. “Darn it, why does it have to be here?!”“Teddy?!” Ana asked. “Why is Teddy after you?”“Dad sent him.” Ness explained. “And makes him invincible.”“You’re one of the ones Ninten wants dead.” Ana stated, looking at Claus. “So you’re not normal at all!”“Sorry, Ness.” Claus said. “I really tried.”“I know you did.” Ness responded sadly.Claus moved out of the way just in time for Teddy to jump up from behind a shelf with a sword. The two stared at each other for a moment in stillness, a smirk upon both of their faces. Prepared this time, Claus pulled out a yellow sword that almost seemed to be made of solidified lightning. He snapped out his wings, and he and Teddy entered a sword fight together, gaining the attention of all of the pedestrians around.“Let’s go, Ness.” Ana said, trying to lead Ness away.“No!” Ness quickly responded. “If something happens to Claus, I want to be here to heal him!”“He’s drawing so much attention to himself, and I don’t want you to be associated.”Ana grabbed Ness’ arm, and tried to pull him away, but Ness pushed her off. “I won’t get involved!” he promised. “I’ll act like I have no idea what’s going on! I just want to be here to heal him discreetly if I need to! If Claus gets hurt, Teddy or dad or SOMEONE will kill him. I just have to support him.”Ana didn’t look happy about this, but she whispered “Take a big step back with me and look horrified. And if you do have to heal him, don’t give a tell.”“Got it.” Ness whispered back. “Thanks, mom.”“I’m going to have to have some words with your father after this.”Ness wished he could help Claus by being a bit more than just backup, but to be honest Claus looked like he was having a good time. So did Teddy. The difference was, Claus was able to dodge into the air, doing fancy maneuvers that seemed to be tiring Teddy out quite a bit. If things kept up like this, Teddy would likely give up eventually due to exhaustion alone.Or, that would have been what happened, if nobody else got involved.But all of a sudden, out of nowhere, while Claus was distracted by Teddy, something came hurling towards one of his wings. A small item that stuck itself to Claus’ left wing. He noticed just in time, tossing it off and into a display of oranges. All of a sudden, it blew up, orange juice splurting everywhere.“So much for a fair fight!” Claus exclaimed.“Don’t look at me!” Teddy said quickly. “I was havin’ fun!”“Yeah, me too!” Claus agreed. “Until the bomb squad showed up!”Another sticky bomb was launched in Claus’ direction, but this time he dodged, and it blew up the pineapples instead. A third time, it landed on a pomegranate and Claus threw it back the direction it came from. The pomegranate exploded, but whoever had launched the bomb had moved on, so it just shattered the window behind that area.“Al’ight.” Teddy said. “I think we should stop here for now since this is starting to become very stupid, very quick. You got moves, kid! It’s rare for me to get to have an evenly matched fight. If you weren’t threatening the world, we might even have had to potential to be buddies.”“I’m not threatening the world!” Claus defended. “I was kidnapped in my sleep by those weirdos you work for with no reason. They only want me dead because I saw their faces.”“Huh?” Teddy said, but before the two could talk anymore it was as if he was pulled into nothingness. The bombs, however, stopped being launched.Claus looked around at all of the bystanders. “What? Never seen a mechanical chimera with a lightning sword before?”Claus smugly put his sword away. He then looked in Ness’ direction, then at his mother. We’ll talk again at school tomorrow. Claus told Ness psychically. Something tells me she doesn’t want me to walk back over there right now. Claus ran towards the broken window, and jumped out. A few moments later, he was soaring away in the sky.“Let’s go home, Ness.” Ana said.“Are you upset with me?” Ness asked. “For making friends with a chimera?”“A little bit.” Ana responded. “But your father’s the one who should be worried right now, sending an assassin near you twice now. He can do whatever he wants usually and I won’t stop him, but the second he involves you I have to put an end to it. We’ll talk about the chimera problem later.” ~~~ “Hey, doc.”Dr. Andonuts jumped when he heard Claus’ voice. He turned around quickly to find Claus lounging in Dr. Andonuts’ favorite spinny chair.“Commander?” Dr. Andonuts asked. “You’re back early.”“I was sent home for shouting ‘good morning’ over and over.”Dr. Andonuts raised an eyebrow.“That’s not why I’m here now, though.” Claus explained, sitting up properly in the chair. “I need a new gadget.”“Oh, alright then.” Dr. Andonuts said, pulling out a notebook. He looked at the chair Claus was currently occupying, and realized he’d have to stand. “What were you thinking?”“I need a stronger shield killer. The one I have currently doesn’t work on the foe I tried using it on.”“It should.” Dr. Andonuts responded. “It should work on almost any shield you could come across.”“Not this one.” Claus said. “I tried. You see, there’s this assassin who wants me dead sent by the person who kidnapped me-”“What?!”“-and he has a seemingly invincible shield. Maybe thunder would work on it, maybe it wouldn’t, but something tells me the only way to get this guy to stop coming after me is by hitting him physically. Beating him at his own game.”“Invincible how?” Dr. Andonuts asked.“Ness calls it a ‘powersheild’, and it seems to counter any physical and psychic attacks dealt to it. The assassin isn’t the psychic one, but all three of the people who kidnapped me are.”“Powersheild?” Dr. Andonuts asked. “That is NOT an easy ability to learn from what I understand. You must be facing a VERY skilled psychic here.”“Well it’s either Ness’ father or one of his aunts. My money’s on his father.”“And who’s his father?”“His name is Ninten Montague.”Dr. Andonuts dropped his notebook. “Ninten?!”“Figured you’d know him. Your past self seems to be best friends with him.”“It sure seems that way, doesn’t it?” Dr. Andonuts said bitterly as he picked his notebook back up. “But no, one day Ninten will decide he’s done using him, and abandon him, running off into research he KNOWS his old best friend could help him out with, but since Lloyd Andonuts isn’t a psychic that makes him nothing more than a weakling stinkling who can’t do anything worthwhile!”Dr. Andonuts accidentally snapped his pen in two, and the ink had gotten all over his hands. He sighed in annoyance, going to wash them as Claus said “Sounds like there’s some unresolved tension between the two of you.”“I should’ve noticed just how much Ness looked like Ninten. I think I always knew, but tried to ignore it. I suppose it makes sense. After all, every human psychic has to be related to Ninten’s ancestors in some way. Even you, Commander. One of your parents must be very, very distantly related to the Montague family, and therefore theoretically capable of psychic power. Unrealized, it seems, since you had no idea. Regardless, Ninten is NOT an easy enemy to deal with, so if he wants you dead it’s not going to be easy to stop him.”“I kind of figured.” Claus said. “And Teddy’s no slouch either.”“How is Teddy involved??”“He’s the assassin. A younger, alt version of him though. He’s not an adult like you. More a late teenager?”“Great.” Dr. Andonuts said sarcastically. “Ninten’s psychic power with Teddy’s raw strength. What next??”“Someone tried to slingshot a sticky bomb onto my wing.”“Of course they did!” Dr. Andonuts exclaimed. “Why not?!” Dr. Andonuts sighed. “I don’t know if there’s anything I could possibly do to create something to nullify Ninten’s psychic influence. Not without a bit more knowledge.”Thinking for a moment, Claus asked “You said it was Ninten’s ancestors that first gained psychic power, right?”“Yes.”“Well, the little Ninten has a journal that was apparently his great grandfather’s. Could that help?”“Yes it most certainly could!” Dr. Andonuts exclaimed. “George Montague was the first human psychic ever! He caused it! If you can get that journal, I just might be able to help you!”“I’ll see what I can do, then.” Claus said, finally getting off of Dr. Andonut’s chair. “See you later, doc! I’ve got a journal to get!”Before Dr. Andonuts could say another word, Claus was out of there. He flew through the open sky until he arrived back at school. Now how was he going to get Ninten?Seeing a nearby clothing store, and idea struck. Claus purchased a large trench coat, a hat, some glasses, a scarf, and some tall boots that were way too big for him. He also asked them to wrap up every single item.He went back outside and stuffed the wrapping into the shoes. If he stood at a weird angle, they made him appear a lot taller. He punched the lenses out of the glasses and put them, the hat, and the scarf on. Finally he put on the trench coat, and hobbled over to the school.At the front office, in the deepest voice he could manage, Claus said “I need to pick up my son, Ninten.”“Are you his father?” the front desk lady ask.“Yes.” Claus replied.“Alright, I’ll send someone to go get him right away!”That was easier than Claus expected…A few minutes later, Ninten walked in, looking confused. He looked at Claus, and paused for a moment, staring him down.“Hello, it’s your dad!” Claus exclaimed.“Your arms sure are short, ‘dad’.” Ninten stated, deadpan.“You know I’m sensitive about that, son. Now let’s go.”Ninten followed Claus out and around a corner before Claus got out of his disguise. Afterwards, Ninten stared at him expectantly.“Alright, so I need your help.” Claus explained. “Or rather, your great grandfather’s.”Ninten narrowed his eyes.“Look, I don’t know what you have and haven’t heard, but your adult self keeps sending an assassin after me - the Teddy from your time. With a powersheild. The adult Lloyd made me a device that can destroy all psychic shields, except that one due to it’s extreme, well, power. We were hoping something in you great grandfather’s journal might be able to help.”“What’s in it for me?” Ninten asked.“Uhh… the joy of knowing you saved my life?”“I’m not a hero.” Ninten stated. “So I don’t care about that. What can you offer me?”“What do you want, Ninten?”Ninten paused, considering. “I want information.” he decided. “About time travel. And everything that happened while you were in that lab.”“Alright, sure.” Claus agreed. “It’s a deal.”Ninten and Claus shaked hands.“I’m not really supposed to talk about this time travel stuff, so it’s almost difficult for me to get the words out. Still, if you can save my life, it’s worth it.” Claus said. He leaned in, and whispered something into Ninten’s ear.“You don’t say…” Ninten said, lost in thought. “Hmm…”“That’s why I have to keep it such a secret.” Claus explained. “As for the lab, well, they kidnapped me, broke my wings in the process because they didn’t know how they worked, and kept me tied to a chair the entire time. They didn’t seem very well-suited for this at all, though, like they expected me to say everything immediately and had no idea what to do when I didn’t. I’m pretty sure Minnie, Mimmie, and the adult you were the only three people in the entire lab. They didn’t seem to really know much about me at all, or how to deal with me. They were constantly disagreeing amongst each other, too. Still, it seems the adult you was in charge around there. And he was FAR too over-confident to a fault. It’s because they didn’t think I could POSSIBLY break through their weaker restraints that they had no contingency plan for if I did.”Ninten nodded as he listened. Then, he said, “I want to meet the adult Lloyd.”“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Claus said. “If Master Porky sees you-”“You’ll distract him.” Ninten said, in a way that sounded more like a fact than a request.“Oh will I?” Claus asked.“You want my help, right? Well I need to see Lloyd.”Claus sighed. He should’ve known getting Ninten’s help wasn’t going to be easy. “Fine…”Ninten smirked, and Claus led him to the tower before letting the recognition-system scan his normal eye. “C’mon.” he said, leading Ninten onto the elevator, pressing the button for the 23rd floor.The elevator ride would have been silent if it weren’t for the familiar tune that played as elevator music on the way up. King P’s theme, lofi version.Eventually, they finally reached the correct floor. Claus walked Ninten out of the elevator. “Yo, doc!” Claus called out.“Hmm?” Dr. Andonuts responded, not looking away from whatever it was he was working on.“Ninten here agreed to help.”That got Dr. Andonuts’ attention as he quickly turned around to face Ninten. “How did you-”“Just don’t question it.” Claus said. “I’ve gotta go distract his royal porkiness. You work with Ninten and make sure he doesn’t get loose in the tower.”Claus left, and Ninten eyed Dr. Andonuts suspiciously. “I can’t read your thoughts.” he finally stated.“I have a way of avoiding that.” Dr. Andonuts explained. “Your adult self and I don’t exactly get along, so I’d rather keep all psychics out of my head.”Ninten crossed his arms.“Perhaps we’ll just have to communicate like any other human.” Dr. Andonuts said. “With our words.”Ninten glared.“Look, I don’t know what the Commander offered you, but you should uphold your end of the bargain, or your little ‘friend group’ will stop trusting you. Is that what you want, Ninten? For nobody to be willing to do anything for you again, knowing you won’t return the favor?”“I agreed to help and I will.” Ninten said. “You’re the one who won’t stop rambling on about nonsense.”“Fine then.” Dr. Andonuts said, walking over to a drawer. “Forget the journal - I know how you can help a little more.” He pulled something out of the drawer.Ninten confusedly glanced towards his school bag that contained the journal, trying to figure out what could possibly be more helpful than it. In that moment of distraction, Dr. Andonuts rushed towards him, putting a syringe into his neck and ejecting its contents into Ninten. Ninten looked at him with a confused, betrayed look right before passing out.

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“Hey, doc, did you ever learn anything from Ninten’s journal?” Claus asked, coming into Dr. Andonuts’ lab the following morning before school.

“Ninten was nice enough to let me make copies of it.” Dr. Andonuts informed Claus. “Before rushing off to go home. Something about sleeping or something. You know how lazy he can be.”

“Meh, can’t blame him.” Claus said, taking a donut off of Dr. Andonuts’ breakfast plate. “I’d take breaks all the time too if I could. Plus, I’m pretty sure he uses his psychic powers like nonstop. Gotta be exhausting.”

“Right.” Dr. Andonuts responded. “Well, you’d better be on your way. You don’t want to make Lucas worry. I’ll let you know when I come up with something for the powershields.”

“Alright. See ya later.” Claus said. “I have a stupid check-up today, don’t I?”

“Oh, right.” Dr. Andonuts said. “Well, I have some things to attend to today. Why don’t we reschedule it?”

“Really?” Claus asked, surprised. “Alright. ‘Til when?”

“Hmm… I have to let you know.”

Claus’ expression shifted to annoyance. He liked having a set schedule, so that even if things didn’t go exactly to plan he knew where to be, when. Still, he knew Dr. Andonuts could be like this sometimes. “Alright.” he agreed. “Just give me proper notice ahead of time.”

Dr. Andonuts waved Claus off, then turned towards one of the closets in the room. He opened it, looking at the person inside. He couldn’t help but smirk as he sarcastically said “I trust you slept well.”

Ninten gave him a tired, annoyed expression. Dr. Andonuts had been working with him all night long, trying to learn more about the psychic power that Ninten contained, since it was the most potent form of it Dr. Andonuts could ever dream of getting to run tests on. When Dr. Andonuts needed a few hour nap, however, he had left Ninten in a room full of sound and light stimuli in order to study how his brainwaves differed when he was overwhelmed, since psychics tended to prefer focus. The results, as Dr. Andonuts could now see, were quite interesting.

While Dr. Andonuts was doing this for the PSI science first-and-foremost, he couldn’t say he took NO joy from finally having control over Ninten for once when Ninten was always the one in charge back in the day. He was too cowardly to stand up for himself then, but not anymore. And turning Ninten’s precious psychic powers against him felt pretty nice, too.

“Well, no more time for breaks, eh, Ninten?” Dr. Andonuts asked, pulling him out of the closet to get him ready for the next test. With no idea how long he had until Ninten inevitably got away from him, Dr. Andonuts knew dawdling wasn’t an option.

“You know, with how good I am at collecting data on psychics, you’d think someone trying to follow in George Montague’s footsteps would like to have me around.” Dr. Andonuts shrugged. “Oh well, guess it wasn’t meant to be.”
 
~~~
 
“I’m worried about Ninten.” Lloyd admitted to the group at school in the morning. “He never came home yesterday…”

“That’s weird.” Claus responded, eating the one of the daily omelets Lucas always brought him for breakfast, despite the fact Claus could easily just eat breakfast at home. “Dr. Andonuts said he left not long after arriving, and I KNOW King P didn’t get him. He was too busy instructing me how to do a paint-by-numbers.”

Ness looked at Claus with a what-the-heck look. “What even IS your job description?”

“Who knows?” Claus said, rolling his eyes.

“And how is it fun to tell someone ELSE how to do a paint-by-number?”

Claus shrugged.

“Guys!” Lloyd said, getting them back on track. “The fact is, Ninten never came home. And if Porky or whoever didn’t take him, that means someone must’ve kidnapped him!”

“Someone like my dad…” Ness realized. “I should go call him before school starts.”

Ness rushed off of the campus grounds and to a nearby phone. “Hello, it’s your dad!” the adult Ninten answered almost immediately after Ness dialed.

“Dad, why did you kidnap your kid self?” Ness asked.

“Huh?” Ness’ father responded, sounding genuinely confused. “Why would I do something like that?”

“Apparently he didn’t go home last night, nor did he show up to school this morning.”

“Knowing me as a kid,” Ness’ father said, “he’s probably off doing something he deemed ‘too important’ to ‘waste time’ explaining to anybody else. Give him a day or two, and he’ll be back, no problem.”

“Are you sure?” Ness asked. “And you’re sure you didn’t kidnap him?”

“Ness, you know Ninten. You know he’d never let himself get kidnapped. If someone meant him harm, he’d be able to sense it, and read their thoughts to know what to avoid. And I would never kidnap myself! I respect him too much.”

“Alright…” Ness hung up the phone. He didn’t really have much more time to worry before school started, so he rushed back. To Lloyd, Ness said “My dad says he’d never kidnap his younger self, and that he probably just had something he wanted to go do.”

“I guess that makes sense…” Lloyd said, but he didn’t seem very convinced.

The day went fairly normally until home ec rolled around, when Ness was finally supposed to start trying the recipe he got from Mimmie. “Now don’t expect to get it the first time.” the teacher instructed the class. “Old recipes are quite difficult to follow, so don’t lose hope!”

This recipe seemed fairly easy to Ness, but he was also a terrible cook so maybe not. He started juicing all of the citrus fruits as that was the first step, thinking he MUST’VE copied something down wrong. This was WAY too much! As he opened a cabinet to pull some flour out of it, he screamed and slammed it shut, though.

“What’s wrong?” the teacher said, rushing over there.

“Um… nothing.” Ness said quickly. “Just… thought I saw a bug. I was wrong.”

“Don’t scare me like that!” the teacher lectured. “I thought you seriously hurt yourself.”

“Heh. Sorry.” Ness said. When the teacher walked away, he opened the cabinet very slightly to make sure he didn’t see what he thought he saw.

Turns out he did.

From inside the cabinet, Ginten waved.

“You can’t be here!!!” Ness whispered, hoping no one was watching him. “How did you even get here??”

“You’re making magic cake, right?” Ginten asked. “I want some, so I 4D-Slipped my way here.”

“How did you even know?”

“I ALWAYS know when magic cake is being made! My mommy always said it was like my seventh sense!”

“What’s your sixth?”

“PSI!” Ginten responded. “Can I come out?”

“No!” Ness said quickly. “Look, you should go home.”

“Please?? I can help you! I used to help mommy all the time!”

“Your mom made magic cakes?”

“Yup!” Ginten smiled.

Ness paused. “Meet me in the bathroom, okay? Do you know where that is?”

“No… um…” Ginten looked at Ness’ backpack, which was sat on the ground near the cabinet he was hiding in. Despite being much larger than the backpack, he somehow climbed into it, zipping it almost the whole way.

Grabbing his backpack and holding onto the straps, Ness said “I have to use the bathroom.” to the teacher.

“You should’ve gone between classes.”

“It’s an emergency!” Ness warned.

The teacher sighed. “Go quickly.” she said.

Ness rushed out of the room and into the nearest bathroom. He made sure all of the stalls were empty before locking the bathroom door. Then, he unzipped his backpack, expecting Ginten to come out, but instead… some creature floated out instead.

“I think it’s time you see my true form.” the creature said… smiling? He looked a bit like a bipedal white hairless cat, with cat-like ears, pure black eyes, and a long tail. “I’m an alien!”

Staring, Ness finally managed to say “My mom can NOT know about this…”

“Most of humanity can’t, really.” Ginten said. “They’d want to use me for their own gain. My father always said I was too trusting. But to be honest, the only person I shouldn’t have trusted was him…” Ginten’s tail dropped as he looked to the ground sadly.

“Well you can trust me.” Ness told him. “I promise.”

Ginten smiled. “Then I guess I should start by telling you my real name! I was told my appearance and name might alarm some people by the strange coughing spider guy, but you seem nice! So, I’m Giygas!”

Ness forgot how to breathe. He took several steps back, horrified. Ginten - or rather - Giygas didn’t seem to notice, however.

“I was sent here through time by mistake. Apparently I’m VERY different in the future, but I’m just me! Your friendly local alien!!”

“F-friendly?” Ness managed.

“Yeah! My mommy’s taught me all about the importance of love and kindness!”

“Wh-who’s your mom…?” Ness asked, fearing he knew the answer from what Ninten said before.

“Oh, she’s related to you somehow, too! She’s a human named Maria!”

“...My great, great, grandmother? Is your mother?”

“Yup!” Giygas said, nodding happily.

“You’re my great uncle.” Ness stated, in disbelief.

“Is that how human families work? If so, then yes! I am!”

“Holy crap.” Ness said, his mind reeling a mile a minute. “But that can’t…”

“Well I’m adopted, of course!” Giygas explained. “My parents were killed by some evil humans a while back when we visited Earth before to borrow some of its inhabitants. And two of those inhabitants became my new parents!”

“This can’t be happening.” Ness said, his mouth going dry. “That can’t be true, because-”

Suddenly, Ness’ phone began to ring.

“Ooo, it’s like a song!” Giygas exclaimed, listening to the basic phone-ringing sound. “What’s that coming from?”

Ness stared at his phone. “Could you… stay quiet for a moment?”

“Sure!”

Ness picked up.

“Hello, it’s your dad! You’ve been at school for a long time now. It may be none of my business, but don’t you think it would be a good idea if you took a break?”

“Dad?” Ness said, not letting Giygas leave his sight.

“Yes, Ness?”

“You know a lot about great, great grandmother Maria, right?”

“Of course I do.” Ness’ father responded. “You know I like to keep up with family matters.”

“Did she ever… adopt… an alien?” Ness asked, watching Giygas making funny faces at himself in a mirror.

“Ness…” Ness’ father responded.

“Please answer the question.”

“What gave you the idea that she did?”

“ANSWER THE QUESTION, DAD.” Ness said, on the verge of a mental breakdown. “Please.”

Ness’ father was silent.

“Ninten already said it was true before.” Ness stated. “I wasn’t sure I believed him, but… Maria took care of him, and George experimented on him, right? To give us PSI?”

“Well, Ness, you seem to be quite busy, so I guess-”

“Don’t you dare hang up, dad.” Ness said. “You knew, didn’t you? And you decided not to tell me that he was FAMILY?”

“What’s it matter, Ness?” Ness’ father asked. “It wouldn’t have changed what you had to do. It made it easier that you didn’t know.”

“What else haven’t you told me?” Ness demanded. “What else are you ‘protecting me’ from? Because right now I’m staring at an innocent, playful child who doesn’t mean harm to ANYBODY. If this who he was once upon a time-”

“Oh come on, Ness. As if you believe in second chances.”

“Of course, I-” Ness stopped.

“I was put back together by someone who believes in second chances. Do you hate me now that you know?”

Ness had responded with hostility.

“I could’ve teleported you to Valentine. Do you still think I’m a good person?”

Ness didn’t believe in him, and gave him empty words.

“Hey Ness, we’re still friends, right? …Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Ness didn’t respond. At the time, he couldn’t find the heart to forgive Pokey, which only drove him further into villainy. And now look at what happened.

“...I don’t…” Ness said finally. “I don’t believe in second chances, do I?”

“Not that you could’ve reached him anyway.” Ness’ father told him. “He was far too gone. But if you want to know the truth, whatever the other Ninten told you is right. Your PSI comes from hurting an innocent being, corrupting him into a life of hatred. …Wait, did you say you were LOOKING at Giygas as a child?”

“You can’t have him!” Ness said quickly. “I won’t let you hurt him!”

“Oh I won’t HURT him Ness. I just need-”

“No!” Ness defended. “You’re no better than George!”

“Never said I was.” Ninten stated. “After all, you can’t tell me your UNHAPPY he did it. One upset alien for infinite generations of untold power is a trade I think is VERY much worth it. I’m happy for it, you’re happy for it, and so will your children one day. And their children, too. You see Ness, it’s-”

Ness hung up the phone, a new determination running through him. “You’ve been staying in the Monotoli building, right?”

“Yup!” Giygas said. “With lots and lots of friends!”

Ness paused, trying to think. “Alright. It’d be good for you to keep your disguise on as much as possible. Do you remember those mean people who kidnapped Claus?”

“I never saw them.” Giygas responded. “But you can show them to me! With your mind!”

“Okay, you’ll need to walk me through how to do that in a moment, because I need you to avoid those people. If they get ahold of you, they’ll do bad things.”

“Should I kill them?” Giygas asked genuinely.

“No!” Ness quickly explained. “They’re still my family! I just want you to avoid them.” Ness found himself fiddling with his key necklace, which reminded him of something. “If they ever do come after you, I want you to go to that spot on the hill you first met me at, okay? And then let me know.”

“Okay!” Giygas agreed.

“Now how do I show you what they look like?”

“Just think about it really hard.” Giygas instructed. “And I’ll read your mind.”

Ness focused, and after a few moments, Giygas said “Got it! I’ll avoid them! I guess I should probably head back home now, but…” Giygas paused. “There’s something strange going on there. There has to be. I couldn’t sleep at all last night because of it.”

“I’m sure strange things happen there all the time.” Ness said. “But, hey… Giygas?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t really know what happened to you. I don’t think I could possibly understand what it was you went through that took you from this to… what you become. I just want to say… I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Giygas asked.

“That there wasn’t a better way.” Ness paused, then he smiled. “I believe in you, Giygas. I believe you can stay good! And if you’re ever having trouble with that, you just let me know, okay? I’ll help you. You can count on me!”

“Like a big brother?” Giygas asked.

“If that’s what you want, then… sure!” Ness agreed. “I’ll be your big brother!”

Giygas gave a wide smile. He floated over to Ness and pulled him into a hug, his tail wagging wildly behind him. Then, Giygas floated back a bit, and vanished.

Ness found himself smiling widely, too. He felt great! He watched his eyes sparkle in the mirror as the familiar green glitter of an accidental lifeup surrounded him.

Maybe the small Giygas wasn’t the only person he’s misunderstood in his life.

Maybe it was time for Ness to learn to believe in second chances.

This pollyannaish feeling didn’t leave Ness in the slightest as the bell rang and he realized he missed the rest of home ec.
 
~~~
 
“Hey Claus, wait up!” Ness called out after school for the day.

“Hey again, Mr. Sunshine.” Claus responded. “Need something?”

“Actually, yes.” Ness said. “I’m going back to the Monotoli building with you. I need to talk to Pokey.”

“Why?” Claus asked.

“Because I just found out that true evil doesn’t exist!” Ness declared optimistically. “People do bad things out of hate and sadness, but that doesn’t make them evil! It just means they need a little extra help!”

Both Claus and Lucas were giving him confused looks.

“Please?” Ness asked.

“...Alright…” Claus agreed. “But… I wouldn’t hold your breath on your ‘friendly help’ resulting in anything more than a chorus of laughter followed by a fit of coughing.”

“I’ll take my chances.” Ness said.

Claus walked with Ness with his glove off of his mechanical hand, looking at it unhappily. “Something wrong?” Ness asked.

“You remember that awful metal-on-metal sound during lunch?”

“Yeah?”

“That was me accidentally scratching my hand with a fork. It made a mark, so I have to get the doctor to buff it out. Only problem is he seems really busy right now.”

“Well I can handle Pokey on my own if you want to handle that.” Ness offered.

“Are you sure?” Claus asked. “He can be really intense sometimes…”

“He’s my old neighbor.” Ness pointed out. “I know how to handle him.”

“If you say so…” Claus said.

“By the way, do you see Ginten very often?”

“Oh yeah, a lot.” Claus said. “Sometimes he’ll ask me to tell him a bedtime story, other times he’ll ask me to buy him some new crayons or something while I’m out. He’s a good kid.”

“I’m happy I met him.” Ness stated.

When they got inside, Claus said “Alright, we only have up to floor 86 built at the moment, so that’s where King P is. I’ll take the elevator with you up to 23, but from there on, you’re on your own.”

At floor 23, Claus got off and entered the lab without making any indication he was there. He figured he’d get a read of things and try to decide if it was worth waiting however long it would take for Dr. Andonuts to stop doing whatever he was doing to help Claus with something so minor as cosmetic damage nobody could see under his gloves. Claus gave his hand another discerning look until he heard “This would go a LOT easier if you’d just work with me!”

Claus looked up, and saw something he couldn’t believe. Ninten was still here, hooked up to a lot of scientific equipment giving all sorts of information on him. Dr. Andonuts was overlooking things with a gaze that showed he didn’t care about Ninten’s wellbeing at all. It was so cold… it reminded Claus so much of the way the other scientists used to look at him back in the Chimera Lab. Like he was an object to work on, not a person.

Furious, Claus brought out his arm cannon and pointed it at Dr. Andonuts, all on instinct. “What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.

“C-commander!” Dr. Andonuts responded, turning around quickly. “I thought you-”

“Answer me!” Claus insisted, stepping closer. “What are you doing to my friend?”

In an out-of-it sort of state, Ninten looked to Claus with surprise and admiration.

“You said you needed me to understand powershield-”

“Through the JOURNAL!” Claus corrected. “That Ninten WILLINGLY provided!”

Continuing to face the canon towards Dr. Andonuts, Claus began to undo the machinery.

“But he abandoned me, Commander! So he didn’t even notice when I was dragged to the future and forced to do all of those awful things! You couldn’t possibly understand what it was like!”

“HE didn’t do anything like that to you. THIS Ninten is innocent. Whatever beef you have has nothing to do with him!”

After freeing Ninten completely, Claus changed his arm back and picked him up. “And to think - I almost saw you as-” Claus stopped himself. “You know what, nevermind. I’m done talking to you.”

“Commander, I-”

“Save it!”

Claus carefully carried Ninten into the elevator, and pressed the button for the first floor. “Are you alright?” Claus asked him.

Ninten looked queasy and exhausted, but otherwise unharmed. He was acting slightly drugged, though. “You’re what a hero looks like…” Ninten said. “I wish I could read your thoughts. I want to know what being a hero feels like.”

“A hero?” Claus asked. “I’m not a hero. I just saw something bad happening to one of my friends and put a stop to it. That doesn’t make me a HERO. I’m sure you’d do the same.”

Ninten’s eyes went to the ground, as if he didn't believe that to be true.

“I’m going to take you home, okay?” Claus said as he got outside. “Are you okay if I take flight?”

“Yeah.” Ninten told him.

“Let me know if it’s too much, then.”

Claus extended his wings, and gently took flight. He went a lot slower than he would’ve liked, but it was still much faster than walking to the outskirts of town.

“How do you know where I live?” Ninten asked.

“I’m the Commander. It’s my job to know everything about everyone.”

“I reeeeeally wish I could read your mind.” Ninten said again, a stupid, tired smile across his face. Claus would tease him for the charisma break later, but he didn’t say anything about it now. “It’s not fair for people to be able to block me out!!”

“It’s not fair that you get to read everyone ELSE'S mind.” Claus said. “I SO wish I could do that.”

“Nah, you don’t.” Ninten told him. “Then you know what people are thinking but are too nice to say. Like when you draw your kindergarten teacher and she thinks it looks like crap. Or when nobody wants you on the baseball team because you have asthma, so you’ve just got to come up with an excuse why you left it because you can’t tell them the truth, and then they’re all happier for it even if they pretend they’re sad to see you go. That sort of thing.”

“Wow, you are REALLY going to regret telling me all of this stuff in the morning.” Claus commented.

“Yeah, probably.” Ninten agreed. “What’s worse than all that though is reading the thoughts of the truly wicked people. Like in Valentine, before they cleaned the place up. Or criminals off the street that are about to steal from or even kill someone. You can’t warn anyone, after all, so it gets to the point you’d rather stay home than feel other people think things that are so terrible it makes you sick, and yet you can’t help yourself from reading the mind of every stranger you come across. Especially when you can’t control it as a child.”

“Okay, okay.” Claus gave in. “I guess I DON’T want to read people’s minds.”

“But I do like knowing everything about everyone.”

Claus finally landed in front of the apartment, and carried Ninten up the stairs. “Do you have a key?” Claus asked.

“The only key I need.” Ninten responded. He stared at the door, and after a pause that was slightly longer than it felt like it should be, Claus heard it unlock. “A key for any door!” Ninten tiredly joked.

Claus walked in and laid Ninten down on the couch. It didn’t seem like Lloyd was here, so Claus asked “Are you hungry?”

“Yeah. I want Prime Ribs.”

“Do you have any?”

“No…” Ninten responded.

“I wouldn’t know how to make them, anyway.” Claus said. He checked the fridge only to find it full of what was called ‘Lunchables’ and a half gallon of milk that expired two days ago, and the freezer was full of ‘Kid Cuisines’ and 2 tubs of ice cream. Not the most functional group, huh? Looking at the Kid Cuisines, they seemed fairly easy to make, just microwaving them for a few minutes, which was really all Claus could handle, anyway. “Uh, do you want Catch a Wave Mac and Cheese or Bug Safari Chicken Nuggets?” he asked.

“Mac and Cheese.” Ninten responded, and after a few moments Claus brought it out for him along with a drink.

As Ninten ate, Claus took a look at his hand once again. In the moment, he had dropped his glove on the ground in the lab, so he could see the scratch clearly. What was he supposed to do about it now? He couldn’t exactly ask Dr. Andonuts to fix it after all of that.

A helpless feeling washed over Claus. A reminded of the position he was in. One little scratch, just one slip of his fork earlier, and he had a permanent mark until somebody else fixed it for him.

What if, someday, people stop wanting to fix him altogether? Would he just deteriorate entirely over time?

No.

Claus was a survivor, and he’s been through much, much worse than a scratched hand. Every time before though, he always relied on someone else to fix his mistakes. The Pork Army found him when he nearly died to that Drago, and… someone saved him that day he tried to kill himself using Lucas’ courage badge. Even on the day he broke out from being kidnapped, he never would have succeeded without his friends’ help. Maybe, for once, Claus should fix his own problems.

After he carried Ninten to his bed so he could get some sleep, Claus walked over to Lloyd’s room. Surely there was something in here that could help Claus figure out how to help himself.
 
~~~
 
Floor 86.

A nervous feeling that Ness didn’t have a few minutes ago settled itself into Ness’ stomach now. As he stepped out of the elevator, he noticed that this floor, though constructed, was not yet ready to be used for what it was intended for. It appeared as if various rides and other attractions were being built here. There were already signs for ‘King P’s Theme Park’ here, though they weren’t lit up. The strange atmosphere did little to quell Ness’ nerves.

“Pokey?” Ness called out, the unfinished room causing an echo. “Are you here?”

“Ness!” Pokey’s voice responded, followed by a cough. “You’re here!”

“Yeah, Pokey.” Ness said. “Where are you?”

“Towards the back, behind the giant pig tea-cup ride. You’ll see a temporary wall.” Pokey coughed again. “I don’t want to have to watch the amusement park being assembled when I don’t want to.”

Ness walked towards said ride, and saw the wall in place. It looked easy to remove and redo, so Ness assumed this wall moved just as much as Pokey did up the floors. There was no construction currently going on at the moment, but Ness decided not to question that. “Why don’t you just pick a floor and stay on it until all 101 floors are completed?” he asked instead.

“Because I should always be-” cough, cough “-on top!”

Ness rolled his eyes, then opened the little door along the wall, expecting to see a make-shift bedroom past it. That’s not what he found, however.

“P-Pokey?” Ness asked, surprised at what he saw. It almost looked like a coffin with legs with the way Pokey’s decrepit body laid under glass. “You… didn’t get better at all, did you?” Ness asked sadly. “You got worse.”

“You ought to have-” he coughed again, the sound echoing in the room. “-found out eventually. But don’t you dare start feeling pity for me! I can still be your rival just the same! Your biggest enemy, your-”

“Pokey!” Ness called out.

Pokey stopped. “What?”

Ness felt a tear roll down his cheek. He hugged one of the legs of the mech. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve said something that day, I should’ve! I never should have let it go as far as it did! I-I…” Ness let go and backed up so he could look Pokey dead-on as he said. “I forgive you. For what happened in Happy Happy Village, Fourside, The Cave of the Past, and everything in between. Even for anything you might’ve done since. I should’ve listened to you, Pokey! I should’ve given you another chance! So that’s what I’m doing now, no matter how late I am in your perspective.”

Ness placed his hand on the glass. “The question is, Pokey, do you still want to be friends?”

There was silence for a few minutes. Ness thought he might’ve been too optimistic after all, until he noticed something catch the light. A teardrop. Pokey was crying, too. Finally, Pokey moved his hand to meet Ness’ on the other side of the glass. “W-we’re still rivals!” he claimed quickly. “But… I guess we can still be friends, too.”

“Alright, then!” Ness responded, so happy that this worked out after all. “How would you put it - bestest friend-rivals?”

“Bestest friend rivals!” Pokey agreed. “I’m still going to cause you hell!” Pokey claimed almost energetically.

“I’m sure you will.” Ness said. “King Porky, prepare to be stopped by the courageous hero Ness!”

“I’d like to see you try! AHAHAHA-” he fell into a major coughing fit “-ha. Spankety, spankety, spankety!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The second Claus entered the Monotoli building, he heard the PA system. “You’re finally back!” Porky said, impatiently. “Get up to me now! As you are! Your weird-” he coughed “-emotional self or whatever.”

If Claus had a heart it would have skipped a beat. Oh pork, he was certainly in trouble. Whether it was for freeing Ninten or being so late to return, he wasn’t sure, but it was definitely bad. Claus got on the elevator and awaited his doom to the theme of elevator music.

When he finally reached the top he stepped off slowly, the eerie darkened amusement park being the only thing between him and Porky.

He stepped closer and closer, until he was finally standing before Porky, not able to stop himself from shaking.

“What happened to your glove?” Porky asked unexpectedly.

‘H-huh?”

Claus looked down at himself. He was still dressed in his school clothes - a striped sweater and more casual orange pants and boots  - so why was Porky so interested in his gloves of all things?

“Well your always fiddling with the thing.” Porky continued. “I guess it finally fell off.”

“I’m sorry, I-”

“Who cares?” Porky asked, before coughing. “You can just get a new one. The mechanical hand looks cooler, anyway.”

Now was REALLY not the time, but Claus couldn’t help but feel the slightest semblance of pride. He had successfully gotten the scratch off of his hand, and it looked good! And now, looking at his hand in perfect condition, he was starting to wonder if it was absolutely necessary to keep it covered all the time…

“Back to the task at hand!” Porky declared. “You were once… ‘troublesome’, right?”

That wasn’t a question Claus was expecting. He stared at Porky with a confused look, his mouth agape.

“Answer me!” Porky demanded.

“Uh, umm, uh… yes.” Claus responded. “I was… am, really. When I’m me, I… yeah.”

“Okay, your communication skills need work.” Porky commented.

“Right… sorry.” Claus said, unable to look straight at Porky. He was so far off his game due to his confusion, and it was really showing.

“Well, usually Picky would be my minion for these sorts of games.” Porky said. “But-” cough “-I get the idea he doesn’t really want to be anymore. But you don’t get a choice! If I tell you to be my minion, you’ll do it, understand?”

“Y-yes, Master Porky.” Claus replied dutifully, though he wasn’t really sure what Porky was going on about. Not that he really ever did half the time.

“Good. Because my minion needs-” cough, cough, cough “-a bit more sentience than a robot. So when we’re plotting against Ness, you’re going to have to be this version of you, whatever your name is.”

“Claus.” Claus timidly said. “My name is Claus.”

“Whatever.” Porky said. “Anyway, taking over Fourside is going to have to take a backseat to playing rivals with Ness. Think smaller. Inconveniences that he’ll know was us, and will annoy him! Pranks. That’s much more fun than world domination!”

“Yes, Master Porky!” Claus agreed, not being able to help himself from seeming excited.
 
~~~
 
When Ness arrived at school, he found Lloyd and Ninten arguing with each other.

“I just don’t get why you’re mad at ME!” Lloyd exclaimed. “I didn’t do anything!”

“What’s going on?” Ness asked upon seeing Ninten’s pissed off expression.

“He’s mad at something my future self did.” Lloyd said. “I don’t even know what, but he’s taking it out on me!”

“But Dr. Andonuts isn’t YOU, Lloyd. Just an alt you. Ninten, that’s like saying you and my dad are the same, and I KNOW that’s not what you want.”

Ninten turned to Ness and glared.

Lucas and Claus arrived, and as soon as Claus saw Ness he got a mischievous smile. “Hi Ness!” he said, waving with one hand while keeping the other in his pocket. He also had a bigger bag with him than normal.

“Hi?” Ness responded, not really sure what the look was for.

Ninten got up and walked straight up to Claus. “Anything you think you heard yesterday, you didn’t.” he stated.

“If you say so.” Claus responded. “Feeling better today?”

“Fine.” Ninten said. “Taking a break can fix anything.”

There were some kids throwing around a beach ball, and it suddenly came straight for Claus. He grabbed it out of the air with both hands quickly before it hit him, and threw it back.

“Claus, your glove!” Lucas exclaimed.

“Oh, yeah.” Claus said. “I lost the one for my mechanical side.”

“Then wear the other one upside down until you can find it!”

“Nah.” Claus said. “Everyone here knows there’s something up with me. Everyone saw at the dance, and I made the news at the store when the assassin came after me, so why not, right? I was even thinking about taking out my wings at school sometimes. They’re a part of me, so-”

“Claus!” Lucas exclaimed. “What happened to trying to pass for human?”

“But I’m not.” Claus responded. “Why should I pretend to be something I’m not?”

Ness knew where this was going. Lucas was going to say something hurtful, and Claus was going to be upset, and the two would argue the rest of the day. At least, that’s what Ness expected, but Claus then said “You know what, don’t answer that. I already know what you’re going to say, and I don’t really want to hear it.”

“But-”

“I’m leaving the glove off, Lucas.” Claus said with finality. “I don’t want to fight about it, but I’m doing it.”

Ignoring Lucas now, Claus asked “Wait, how come they’re allowed to throw a beach ball and I’m not allowed to say good morning too many times?”

When home ec came around again, Ness was actually planning on focusing on completing the recipe today. He juiced all of the fruits, and added all of the other ingredients, but it seemed FAR too watery to actually make a cake out of. Ness called the teacher over, and she agreed. “Are you certain you added the exact correct amounts?” she asked.

“Yeah.” Ness said.

“May I see the recipe?”

Ness showed her the recipe, and the teacher took it back to her desk to look at with her glasses under the light. She came back a few minutes later. “That’s too much juice.” she said.

“I figured.” Ness agreed.

The teacher sighed. “You’ll need to make sure you copied it properly. I can’t see how any of these other ingredients could fix it.”

The teacher walked away, and Ness looked over the recipe one last time. The last ingredient - love. Ness had ignored it before, but if the recipe was made by a psychic…

“Hey, Lucas?” Ness asked, walking over to the next station over.

“Yeah?”

“Could you cast PK Love on my cake batter?”

Lucas gave him a weird look. “Why?” he asked.

“Because it’s a recipe made by a psychic, and she apparently thought it needed ‘love’. Maybe she knew PK Love?”

“I think she more meant, like, the emotion.” Lucas said.

“How would I put an emotion in my cake?”

“I have no idea.” Lucas responded. “You just kind of… do it? But I’ll cast PK Love if you want. I already finished my assignment last class so I’m just making cookies for fun now.”

“Thanks, Lucas.”

Lucas walked over the Ness’ mixing bowl, and looked around. “PK Love alpha.” he whispered, the bright lights landing MOSTLY in the bowl, but a few little bits missing and disintegrating parts of the counter top. “Oops…”

Ness looked into the bowl, and… to be honest it didn’t really seem to FIX the problem. Now there were a few holes in the bowl, and the juice was leaking out. There was a strange colorful film growing on the juice now, though. Not knowing what else to do, Ness poured it into the cake pan and hoped for the best.

Of course, when it came out of the oven, it was mostly evaporated. It didn’t even TRY to bake.

Well, Ness still had several class periods to get this right. Hopefully it’d go better next time…

When Ness got to lunch, he realized the floor was weirdly sticky. Not unmanageably so, but it was a little annoying.

“Where’s Claus?” Ness asked the group a few minutes into lunch.

“No idea.” Lloyd responded. “He’s not usually late.”

“Maybe his teacher needed to talk to him late, or something.” Lucas suggested.

Ness and the others continued to eat, until Ness heard some commotion happening from the other kids. When he looked around, he realized that there was water pouring in, and the sticky thing from before was soap, creating a sort of slip-and-slide all over the cafeteria.

“What the heck?” Ness asked. “Just… why?”

The teachers were trying to get order in the cafeteria, but then it became even worse.

A pig ran in. And then another. And another. Before Ness knew it, there were seven pigs running around the cafeteria, slip-and-sliding all over the place and none of the students could escape.

But then he noticed the collars. And on them were letters.

“They’re spelling out a message.” Ness said.

“What?!” Lucas asked, looking terrified as he climbed onto the table.

“I found an S!” Lloyd announced.

“Okay.” Ness said. “6 more! We need to find them all!”

“Why do you care?” Ninten asked.

“It’s an adventure!” Ness exclaimed, far happier than he should be. “Oh look, another S!”

“You shouldn’t play with pigs!” Lucas warned Ness. “Pigs are HIS favorite animal.”

“Do you think Pokey’s behind this?” Ness asked. “Well then I HAVE to decode it!”

“WHY??”

“Because we’re rivals!” Ness said joyfully. “And if he’d rather send anagram pigs then… whatever it is he does now, I’m more than happy to play along!” Ness laughed. “I guess I forgot how creative he tended to get back when we were kids.”

Ninten let out an annoyed sigh before saying “I found an H.”

“S-S-H.” Ness said. “Ssh?”

Ness got away from the table and began slipping on the ground to find the pigs, getting soaked in the process, but not caring. “LLOYD!” he called out. “WRITE DOWN THE OTHER LETTERS, AND ADD ‘N’!”

“GOT IT!” Lloyd called back.

After a little while longer, Ness ended up with S-S-H-N-!-E-I.

Lloyd, Ness, and Ninten all looked over the letters, trying to figure out their order.

“I found SHINES!” Lloyd said.

“I doubt that’s it.” Ninten stated.

“Wait…” Ness said, “N… E… S… S. Ness.”

“Hi Ness!” Lloyd announced. “That’s what it says.”

Not knowing where Pokey might be listening from, Ness climbed onto his table. “IT SAYS ‘HI NESS!’” he shouted. “SO, HELLO, POKEY. I FIGURED IT OUT BEFORE LUNCH ENDED!”

The door to the cafeteria opened, and Claus dressed in his Masked Man getup flew in, with added rainboots to keep him dry should he want to land. His big smile proved he was NOT emotionless right now, however. He held up a device producing a… holy crap, was that a hologram? A hologram of Pokey, saying “You win this round, heroic Ness, but I’ll get you next time! Just you wait!”

“I’ll always outsmart YOU, evil pig king!” Ness responded playfully, before the hologram vanished.

Lloyd looked at the Masked Man with some concern. “Hate to ruin the moment, but I think your wings are about to trigger the sprinkler system.”

“Oh pork!” Claus exclaimed, before rushing out the door. Sure enough, seconds afterwards, the sprinklers started going off, along with the fire alarm. The kids and the pigs all started losing their mind as teachers tried to evacuate them in an orderly fashion without slipping or being pushed over by pigs themselves. Ness, however, couldn’t stop smiling! That was too fun! He was already starting to feel better about school lately, but if Pokey was going to keep this up, it was going to be even better! Who knew giving second chances could be so rewarding?

When they were successfully evacuated, Ness and the group found Claus in the evacuation area dressed normally once again. “Hey guys.” Claus said, smiling. “What did I miss?”

“Uh-huh.” Ness responded.

Lucas, however, wasn’t nearly as willing to play along. “He’s not supposed to make you do anything at school!” he exclaimed to Claus.

“Oh lighten up.” Claus responded. “That was fun. It wasn’t work.”

“It’s not right!” Lucas argued. “Plus, it caused chaos to the peaceful lunch!”

“It made it so much more fun than it would’ve been!” Claus protested.

“Now you’re starting to talk like him!” Lucas pointed out. “Normal things are ‘boring’ so you have to ruin them with things that don’t belong!”

“That’s not what I said!” Claus responded.

“It’s what you meant!”

“It is NOT!” Claus shouted, lightning striking in the distance. “Look Lucas, for the first time ever, he wanted to speak to me. ME! He wanted MY ideas on a PRANK we could pull because ‘world domination isn’t as fun’. So I’m sorry if you’re upset, but he’s finally changing! This could be what I was hoping for! And I’m not going to let you take it away just because YOU don’t like anything more than basic! Because you know what? I LIKE chaos. It’s FUN when it doesn’t hurt anyone, and it DIDN’T. Sure it’s not status quo, but neither am I, and I’m tired of pretending I am for your sake. Whatever happened after you pulled that last needle gave me a new chance at life and I’m not going to waste it trying to be the same person I was three years ago!”

“That’s not what I-”

“Then why do I have to cover my hand?”

“Because then people will know you’re not human! And they’ll treat you badly!”

“The only person who treats me badly for being a chimera is YOU! Because ‘your missing brother’ wasn’t a chimera!”

Lucas began crying, and Claus turned away from him angrily. “That’s right.” Claus said. “Make it all about you again.”

Other kids came over to check on Lucas, and Claus crossed his arms, storming away by about as much as he easily could while still being in the evacuate zone. Ness was about to go comfort him, but Ninten of all people beat him to it.

“Hey.” Ninten said to Claus. “Sometimes people can’t understand why those unlike them don’t do things by-the-book. But those who are different and have confidence in that - those are the sorts of people who make the best leaders. Don’t forget that.”

Claus smiled. “Heh, thanks.” he said. “Also Ninten, you don’t always have to be nice to be a hero, y’know. Whether everyone knows it or not, if it were to come down to it, I think you’d do whatever it took to put an end to a REAL threat.”

“I thought we weren’t talking about what I said yesterday.” Ninten stated.

“We’re not.” Claus responded. “Just random food for thought, unrelated to yesterday ENTIRELY.”

Ninten played at being annoyed, but he had the tiniest smile on his face.
 
~~~
 
Was it weird that Claus was somewhat looking forward to going back to the Empire Porky Building v2 today after school? After all, he and Porky were meant to talk about how this prank went and then probably rewatch some of the footage for a bit before talking about plans for the NEXT one. Yeah after than he’d have to go back to being emotionless for the rest of the night, but it felt like ‘the Commander’ was coming out less and less and Claus was allowed to be himself more and more lately. And after Ness’ optimism turned out so well, was it that bad for Claus to be optimistic too, hoping for the day to come when he’d be allowed to be himself all day everyday?

Considering Claus may never age, he could theoretically be alive for centuries, maybe longer. It was nice to have hope for his conditional immortality to be fun, full of pranks and laughter rather than full of emotionless stiffness.

Lucas was walking alongside Claus out of habit, but he refused to look at him. Probably still upset about the ‘missing brother’ line. Whatever. If he wanted to be all stormy until tomorrow where he’d either apologize emptily or forget about it entirely, that was his business.

As Claus was walking with a bit of a pep in his step, he was surprised to see his father. “Hey, dad!” he said, running up and hugging him tightly.

“Careful, kiddo.” Flint joked, picking Claus up and spinning him in the air before placing him back down and putting his cowboy hat on him in the same way he’s always done for as long as Claus could remember. “You might be getting stronger than me!”

“Not possible!” Claus responded, adjusting the large hat so it didn’t cover his eyes, like he always did in response. “No one’s stronger than you, dad!”

“Heh, that may be true.” Flint said, taking his hat back and affectionately messing up Claus’ hair. “You seem to be doing well.”

“What can I say?” Claus asked. “Things are looking up!”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Flint replied, “Though you do smell a lot like soap.”

“Oops.” Claus said. “That’s from the slip-and-slide. That’s the sort of thing I’m told to do now! I made a slip-and-slide anagram puzzle today during lunch! Try as I might’ve though, I couldn’t get those pigs back in their crate so they could go back to their farm without getting my clothes covered in bubbles!”

Flint eyes lit up, and Claus could tell he was filled with the same sort of hope Claus was now - that things were finally turning around. But the spark of happiness quickly faded out when Flint said “Actually, I needed to ask you about something, kid. I was hopin’ you might have an answer about it.”

“Hm?” Claus asked. “What is it?”

“You see… there’s been more and more chimera sightings recently.”

“You mean, me? Like at the store?” Claus responded.

“No.” Flint answered. “I mean slitherhens. Flying mice. Even a squawking stick.”

“What?” Claus asked. “N-no. There shouldn’t be anything like that. Not that I’ve been told about, anyway.”

Bitterly, Lucas said “I thought you LIKED chimeras. I’m surprised you didn’t call them here yourself.”

“Shut up, Lucas!” Claus snapped back. “There’s a difference!”

“Is there?” Lucas asked.

“Yes!” Claus told him. “Chimera animals are animals just like any other. But they’re confused and scared, and if there’s more being made, I need to put a stop to it. Not because there’s anything wrong with BEING a chimera, but because it’s wrong to CREATE chimeras.” Claus looked to Flint. “Thanks for letting me know, dad. I’ll look into it and see what’s going on.” He hugged his father one last time. “I love you, dad!”

“I love you too, kiddo.” Flint responded. “Take care of yourself.”

“Will do!” Claus promised, before running on ahead to not be too late for his meeting with Porky. The chimera thing was concerning, though. If Claus had to guess, Dr. Andonuts had to be the one behind it.

And if not, well, then Claus legitimately had no idea.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ness was fairly sure baking this cake was a hopeless cause.

Today he tried again at the recipe, this time WITHOUT PK Love, and it still ended up a disaster. That’s when he remembered that Giygas had said that he helped with baking them before. Maybe he could tell him what he was doing wrong? After all, contacting Aunt Mimmie seemed like a bad idea still, since she was definitely on the side of evil. So, after school, Ness followed Claus towards the Monotoli building, explaining the situation.

“Are you sure you didn’t just mess up the recipe?” Claus asked during the walk.

“No, it definitely seems impossible as it is.” Ness explained. “Everyone I’ve asked agreed. Maybe I wrote it down wrong, but I can’t ask Aunt Mimmie to see it again, since I don’t really want to ask favors from anyone from my dad’s side of the family while they want you dead. So maybe Ginten has the answer.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Well, I fail.” Ness responded jokingly. Most of the kids had already finished their foods by now, and Ness was in danger of falling behind if the teacher decided to move on for everyone else.

Claus opened the door, the two went in, and Ness went to the proper floor for Ginten’s room. He knocked on the door.

“Don’t tell me!” Giygas’ voice responded. “Umm… Ness?”

“That’s right!” Ness told him. “Can I come in?”

The door opened itself. “Yup!” Giygas responded. He was levitating in a laying-on-his-stomach position, also levitating a piece of paper so he could color on it. Several other crayons were floating near him. He was in disguise, at least. “Here, look!” he said, floating the picture over to Ness. “I’m drawing my mommy!”

Giygas showed Ness a picture of a smiling blonde wearing a big poofy pink dress and a crown. “She’s a queen, by the way.” he added.

“She looks friendly.” Ness said genuinely. Something stirred within him, like somehow, someway, he saw her before. But that’s silly. Maria died when Ness’ father was a child.

“So, you have something you came here for, don’t you?” Giygas asked. “I can tell.”

“Yeah.” Ness said, snapping out of it. “You said you used to help make magic cakes?”

“All the time!”

“Well, then maybe you know why I keep messing it up.” Ness said, taking out his recipe. “You see, all of these juices make it too watery to bake.”

“Well, until you add the last ingredient.” Giygas told him.

“Love?” Ness asked. “How do I do that?”

“Mommy used to sing a song!” Giygas said, happily twirling in the air. “But…” he stopped. “I can’t remember it anymore.” he said sadly. “It’s like it vanished from my head.”

“Okay, so a magic song for a magic cake.” Ness said.

“If you do ever figure it out,” Giygas said, “could you sing it for me?”

“Will do.” Ness agreed, and then he left. Where was he supposed to find a magic song?

He went back to his room, and stared off to space for a bit, thinking. When he paid attention once again, he realized his eyes had settled on a picture of him, Paula, Jeff, and… Poo. That’s right! Poo found them because they ATE a magic cake! Maybe he knew the song Ness needed!

The only problem was… Ness wasn’t exactly allowed to go to Dalaam to talk to him. Maybe his mother would understand the situation?

Ness walked into the main room, where his mother was angrily shouting on the phone “My HEAVENS, Ninten!!” she exclaimed. “You want to do WHAT?”

The air in the room was frigid, and Ness was a little nervous to speak up right now, but he really didn’t want to wait, either.

“Hey, mom?”

“Hold on Ninten.” Ana said. “WHAT, Ness?”

“I umm… wanted to ask your permission for something.” Ness admitted, not wanting to look her directly in her glowing blue eyes at the moment.

“Go on.” she demanded.

“Can I go to-”

“Ninten, I said give me a minute!” Ana snapped onto the phone. Looking back at Ness she said “Yeah, sure, whatever. Go.”

“You’re sure?” Ness asked.

“Yeah.” she said quickly. “Okay, Ninten, I get it!” she argued back on the phone.

Ness left quickly, going outside. His mom hadn’t actually heard the question, but it WAS permission. AND it was for school. Not being one to look a gift-horse in the mouth, Ness found an empty area and teleported away.

As soon as Ness rematerialized in Dalaam, his other senses told him he was there before his sight did. The familiar sound of flutes, the thin cold air, the refreshing smell of the grass here blowing in the wind - Ness hadn’t spent a lot of time here, but it was certainly memorable. He took a good, long look at the endless blue sky before making his way towards the castle.

He got a lot of weird looks on the way, but he expected that. Dalaam didn’t exactly get many visitors.

Ness came to the front of the castle, where a guard stood. “Do you have a purpose for being here, outsider?” the guard asked.

“Yes.” Ness told him with a smile. “I’m Ness. One of Poo’s friends - one of his

chosen

friends. I really need to talk to him. Can I see him?”

“Give me a moment.” the guard said seriously. “Don’t move.” he threatened. He went inside the gate, and Ness stayed put. He couldn’t help but consider the fact that this place always had a faint whiff of cotton candy when he had nothing to do but let his mind wander. Was the Pink Cloud ACTUALLY the candy he and his friends joked it looked like back in the day?

A few moments later, the guard said “Alright. The king is busy at the moment. You are welcome to come into the entrance room to wait for him, though.”

“The KING?” Ness asked. “Poo’s the king now? That’s awesome!”

Ness was lead into the entrance room, and waited on a golden bench. Not the most comfortable, but it certainly looked fancy!

Ness was waiting there for about half an hour before finally, he heard a familiar voice. “Ness. So it is true. You did come all the way here.”

“Poo!” Ness exclaimed, jumping up and pulling him into a hug. Like usual, Poo did NOT return the hug. Not really his thing. “I heard you became the king!”

“Yes.” Poo stated. “What we did to protect Earth’s people proved I was ready. Though I don’t have much time, Ness. Did you come for something?”

“Yes!” Ness said, reminded about his school work. “I have a strange question - do you happen to know about a magic song? Maybe one that could let me put the power of love into my cake?”

“The power of love in a cake?” Poo asked.

“A magic cake.” Ness specified. “The recipe was made by my great great grandmother back in the early 1900s. I have so much I need to tell you about that, too! I met the strangest person, and-”

“Ness.” Poo said. “I hate to interrupt, but I really only have a few free minutes. The duties of a king never stop.”

“Oh, right.” Ness said. “Sorry.”

“As for the song - I’m not entirely certain, but I had a strange dream that I felt could mean something important. There was a song, I believe, that felt important. However, I can only remember the first line now.”

“Maybe that’s enough?” Ness asked. “What is it?”

“Take a melody.” Poo stated. “That’s what I remember.”

“Take a melody?” Ness asked. “It sounds… familiar.” Where had he heard that before? “Take a melody~” he sang to a tune that felt right. “But what comes next?”

“Well, I hope that was enough to help you.” Poo said. “But I need to go. It was nice to see you again, Ness.”

“You too, Poo!” Ness said happily. “My mom’s a bit weird about me seeing you guys, but maybe soon we can all hang out together again! We can even find a new place to explore!”

Poo stared at Ness for a good few moments. “I’m not a child anymore, Ness.” he stated. “I cannot just ‘go exploring’ for the fun of it. My place is here, in Dalaam. I happy we met when we did, Ness. I will cherish those memories forever. But the king of Dalaam does not have time to ‘hang out with friends’ anymore. I’m sorry.”

“...Oh.” Ness said, holding back tears. “Right. Sorry…”

“I’m sure you have plenty of important things you must return to as well. Being such a talented psychic, I am sure you are doing a great many things to improve the lives of the others who live on the ground. The magic cake is part of that goal, am I correct?”

“Uhh…” Ness looked to the ground. “Yeah.” he lied. “I, umm… yeah, the power of it will help a lot of people.”

Poo gave the closest thing he ever did to a smile. “I am glad to hear it, Ness. I wish you luck and good fortune on your quest!”

“...thanks.”

Poo had to go back to whatever he was doing, and Ness left, teleporting back home.

Still a little saddened from his lack of importance compared to Poo’s, and still having no idea how he was going to pass home ec, Ness went outside for a bit to practice his baseball swings. Without a ball to hit, though, it felt more like he was training to take down enemies than just playing around. Not that he really played baseball, anyway.

“You don’t?” Ninten’s voice asked. “Then why did you chose a bat?”

“Huh?” Ness asked, turning around quickly to find Ninten staring at him. “How long have you been there?”

“Long enough.” Ninten responded.

“My sister used to play softball.” Ness explained. “I think she did it to get dad to come to the games. He had a HUGE baseball card collection, and- well I guess you do too, don’t you? Or you will.”

Ninten didn’t answer.

“Anyway,” Ness said, “it was short lived because he never actually made time to go to said games and Tracy didn’t really like playing, but she kept the bat in her room for a while. Mom suggested I take it with me the day everything started and well… it was such a good weapon I didn’t really think about trying anything else.”

“Actually,” Ness continued, “my dad gave me a red baseball cap when I was a baby. The same one you’re wearing now, I think. I wore it pretty much constantly until I lost it. Then I’d wear other ones for a while until I found it again, and, well… I can’t really get to it anymore so I stopped. My dad seemed to REALLY love baseball, though. Do you?”

Ninten got a small smirkish smile. He psychically made some little kid’s ball go into his hand, and he threw it towards Ness. Not being good at baseball, though, Ness missed terribly. It seemed like it was probably a good pitch, though?

Ninten looked very disappointed in him.

“I told you I don’t play.” Ness defended. “You do though, don’t you?”

“No.” Ninten said decidedly, psychically putting the ball back where he found it. “Just a fan.”

With that, he walked away.

Ness spent the rest of the day humming that little snippet of a melody Poo gave him to himself, it endlessly stuck in his head with no way to remember what the rest of it was. It was a little maddening, really.

On Sunday Ness was walking around Fourside, listening to some Rockin’ music on his walkman, when suddenly Masked Claus landed out of the sky directly in front of him. Ness quickly paused his music and took off his headphones, startled. “Uh, hello?” he said.

“I require you to relocate me to Jeff Andonuts’ lab in Winters, Foggyland as soon as most convenient.”

“Claus?” Ness asked. “You’re the emotionless you right now, aren’t you?”

Claus did not respond in any way, shape, or form. He just stood there at attention, still as a statue.

“You’re a little intimidating like this, actually…” Ness commented, looking at Claus’ blank stare. He was actually a little grateful for the helmet right now, really. Ness didn’t think he could handle seeing the red eye staring at him with the same intensity the green eye was staring at him with now. Not being able to help himself, Ness waved his hand in front of Claus’ face. No reaction. “Lolly lolly lolly POP!” Ness said, doing the matching hand motions. Not even a flinch. “Alright, I’m going to say a few tongue twisters. Can you repeat them back five times fast?”

“Affirmative.” Claus responded. “I am prepared for the first one.”

“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”

Claus said it back five times flawlessly at a speed Ness didn’t even know possible.

“You know what?” Ness said. “That’s enough.”

“You know what? That’s enough.” Claus repeated back at him five times at extreme speeds.

“No no no… oh crap.”

And off Claus went again.

“Okay, just stop.”

Claus stopped this time.

“You stopped?”

“I assumed ‘a few’ referred to three. Was I incorrect?”

“No!” Ness quickly told him. “You did perfectly!”

Claus continued to just staaaaaare at him.

“Okay, umm… you want me to take you to Jeff, right?”

“That would be most beneficial to my continued usefulness.”

“Okay, well, I’ll only do that under one condition.” Ness stated, feeling pretty smart.

“What is the condition?”

“That you have to return to your emotion-feeling self and stay that way at least until you come back to Fourside.”

Claus seemed to calculate this condition for a few moments before saying “I have determined that your conditions are fair and I agree to your terms.”

Claus closed his eyes, and Ness didn’t notice anything at first, but then suddenly, his facial expression softened, and he opened his eyes and began stretching. Then he gave Ness a look. “What was all of that?” he asked, annoyed.

“Umm… think of it as my payment for teleporting you.”

“I’m surprised I agreed to that - or even snuck out of the Empire Porky Building v2 while still being ‘the Commander’. Guess I REALLY knew how much I wanted this.” he flapped his still-out wings in an excited manner. “Now can you take me? Please?”

“Alright, alright.” Ness agreed. “Are you sure you’re dressed for the cold, though? It’s going to be a bit of a walk to the lab.”

“This jacket can handle any climate.” Claus boasted, dusting invisible dust off of his Commander jacket.

“Alright then, let’s go.”

Ness teleported Claus in front of Snow Wood boarding school, and he knew they had a long walk ahead of them. And while Claus didn’t look cold in the slightest, Ness was still wearing the thin long-sleeve shirt he had put on with early September in Fourside in mind, so he was shivering. Still, he had come here in a short-sleeved shirt multiple times before, so it could have been worse.

Ness quickly led Claus through the forested area towards Lake Tess. Lucky for him, Bubble Monkey was there to help call upon Tessie to get them across, though Claus looked a little terrified of the prospect.

“Hey, umm… I’m not waterproof.” he said. “If I fall I’ll sink.”

“There’s been four of us riding Tessie before, and none of us have ever fallen.” Ness reassured Claus. “Plus, I’d drag you back out before you run out of air.”

“Promise?” Claus asked.

“I promise.”

Ness got on Tessie’s back with ease, then had to help Claus get on due to his aforementioned aquaphobia. Claus held on tight to Ness, which was actually almost causing Ness to lose his balance, but luckily the two got across without incident. Claus seemed very happy to be on dry ground again.

“Actually…” Ness pointed out, just realizing this himself, “you could’ve just flown over the lake.”

Claus stared at him, looking annoyed.

“Well, now you know.” Ness said. “C’mon, the lab isn’t too much further now.”

As the two walked past the Stonehenge base, Ness couldn’t help but wonder if there was somehow a single starman somewhere down there. But he doubted it. They all seemed to have left when Giygas stopped having control over the planet.

The two then entered the lab, which seemed quite a bit different from when Dr. Andonuts used to live here. Now there were projects strewn about everywhere, as well as blueprints and other such things. One of them was labeled ‘Snow Wood Power Supply’ and seemed to be a much larger version of the perpetual motion machine Jeff had brought to show the class.

“Oh good, you’re here!” Jeff said, noticing the two. “Thanks for teleporting him here, Ness. I don’t know how else he would’ve arrived in a timely manner.”

“No problem.” Ness responded.

“Sorry I was a bit, umm… strange when I answered the phone earlier.” Claus said to Jeff.

Ness looked at the blueprint. “Are you going to build this?” he asked Jeff.

“Yes!” Jeff told Ness proudly. “Snow Wood will be the first entire building to be powered by purely magnetic force! I’m hoping to have it complete by the end of this month! And once that’s done, it should be much more streamlined to do it to more buildings in the future!”

“That’s incredible, Jeff!” Ness exclaimed.

“All of this has led to me indeed deciding to stop going to school, though.” Jeff admitted. “I’m simply far too busy! Still, due to my reasoning, Snow Wood has decided to grant me early graduation! I’ll receive my diploma shortly, and will get to participate in the graduation ceremony with all of the other boys from my year when they graduate, too! It’s wonderful, Ness! It really feels like my whole life is falling into place!”

Ness forced himself to smile, despite the sudden not-so-happy feeling assaulting him now. “That IS wonderful!” Ness agreed. “You and Poo both, really. Did you know he’s the king now?”

“He’s the king?” Jeff asked. “I suppose we should’ve guessed he would be by now! He’s quite well-suited to it!”

“Well, I know you have a lot to do, so… I’ll let you get to it.” Ness said.

“Alright!” Jeff responded. “It’d be easiest if I just had him overnight, so could you pick him up in the morning before you head to school?”

“School!” Ness exclaimed, suddenly remembering. “Jeff, do you know any magical songs that start with ‘take a melody’?”

“Take a melody?” Jeff asked, then repeated it in the same sort of musical way Ness had thought of it earlier. “I have heard it!” he confirmed. “Back when I was VERY little, and I mean still lived with my father little. He used to sing a song to himself that sounded something like that. Take a melody~,” Jeff sung. “Simple as can be~. Give it some words, and-”

“Sweet harmony!” Claus added. “My mother used to sing that lullaby for Lucas and I when I was too energetic and Lucas was too… Lucas to sleep. I can’t believe I didn’t remember before now!”

“Do you know any of the other words?” Ness asked.

“No…” Claus said sadly. “But if you figure it out, could you tell me?”

“Can do.” Ness agreed.

“Don’t know how my mother knew a song that’s from this time…” Claus mumbled.

“This time?” Ness asked.

“Oh, haven’t I told you? Me, Lucas, dad, King P, Miss Marshmallow, and even Dr. Andonuts are all from possibly millions of years in the future.”

“Wait, what?” Jeff asked. “But Dr. Andonuts is my DAD.”

“No, you haven’t told me!” Ness exclaimed. “How did that slip your mind?”

“I thought you knew.” Claus responded.

“Anyway,” Jeff said, “time travel is extremely dangerous on the human body! It could-”

“Destroy all life?” Claus asked. “Yeah, I know someone who time traveled incorrectly. But the technology has improved greatly. Neither me nor Dr. Andonuts have any evidence of time sickness, so we assume everybody’s fine.”

“So time travel is… safe now?” Jeff asked.

“Yeah, I guess.” Claus shrugged. “Also, Dr. Andonuts has always been from far, far in the past, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this was actually his ‘present’ if he really is your father like you say.”

“So that’s where he’s been?” Jeff asked. “So he didn’t abandon me again!”

Claus shrugged again. “Guess not.”

“That’s great news!! And I suppose that explains the advanced technology I found while looking into your specs, Claus. Some of the techniques used in your construction are pure genius!”

Claus got a smug smile. “I know. But you’re about to make it even more genius by giving me unlimited power!”

“You’ll still need to sleep like a human.” Jeff explained. “But you’ll have no limit on your electrical aspects.”

“Then let’s get to it!” Claus said excitedly.

“I’ll pick you up in time for school, then.” Ness said. “Though, is Pokey going to complain you’ve been kidnapped again?”

“I left a note.” Claus said.

Ness teleported back to Fourside, and confronted the feeling he felt earlier with Poo being king and Jeff being a successful scientist. He felt… unaccomplished. After saving the world, you would’ve thought he had gone on to do something else great. Like Poo said, he had incredible power. Yet he had no idea what he wanted to do with it. Poo ALWAYS knew he’d be king, and Jeff ALWAYS showed signs of being a great scientist, but Ness? He’s ALWAYS been just an everyday kid who happened to have psychic powers. Now that his adventure was over, that fact hadn’t changed.

Was this what it felt like when your friends grew up? Moved towards some great, important goals while you just felt lost and directionless?

Ness knew he was still just a kid, and shouldn’t worry too much. But he was worried he wasn’t worried ENOUGH. Despite being psychic, he wasn’t really good at anything but arcade games and exploring. And oh yeah, saving the world that was now officially ‘saved’.

Ness couldn’t even tell his mom about his worries, because he couldn’t explain WHY he was thinking about it so much all of a sudden. While she had TECHNICALLY told him he could visit Poo, it didn’t really seem like she meant it. He really just got lucky.

Ness went up to his room, and did the same thing he did last time he was emotional like this.

Looking up at the sky, Ness sent another message to Paula, knowing it’d never reach it’s intended recipient.

Hey Paula. It’s me again.

I saw Jeff. He reminded me that anything can be an adventure, so I’m not so upset about being a student anymore. But I AM still upset that I haven’t got a chance to see you again. Maybe soon.

Jeff’s actually a pretty big deal now. He’s gonna save the world - with science. I don’t understand all of the big words, but using magnets he’s going to create infinite energy, and therefore stop global warming and all that mess.

Poo’s a king now, too. I was surprised, but it makes sense, doesn’t it? He was always going on about ‘when he’s king’ and ‘his goals’.

As for me, I’m still just the same. A kid with no direction in life other than trying to pass my classes. Not that it’s not difficult enough just to do that!

I can’t wait to hear about how things are going for you in Summers. I bet you’re having the time of your life, living by the beach. Maybe when we do meet again you can introduce me to all of your new friends. I’d love to meet them.

Well, until then, you’ll be in my thoughts, Paula.

See you soon I hope.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Hey, Tracy, mind if we leave for school a little early today?”Tracy looked up from her bowl of cereal. “You mean a LOT early? I haven’t even eaten yet!”“I’ll pick you up something, then.” Ness said quietly through his teeth. “Mom can’t know.” he added.Looking interested now, Tracy loudly said “Well I’m not hungry anyway. I’m ready.”Tracy poured her cereal in the trash and followed Ness out the door. “Bye mom!” she called out.The two left the apartment and Ness said “I need to go to Winters to pick up a friend of mine. You’re welcome to come, if you want, but it’s freezing there.”“Wait, Winters like… in another continent?” Tracy’s eyes sparkled. “I’d love to go!!”“Don’t say I didn’t warn you…” Ness said. “Alright, follow me and keep up. This is what PK Teleport is like.”Ness teleported the two to Winters, and sure enough, Tracy immediately starting shivering. Her long sleeve dress over leggings wasn’t quite enough for this place.“Warned you.” Ness said.“W-we’re actually i-in… Winters.” Tracy managed. “Th-this is… so cool!”“You mean freezing cold?” Ness joked. “Now, c’mon. Jeff’s place is heated. We just have to make it there.”“O-one of you ch-chosen friends.” Tracy said. “S-so you took m-my advice.”“No!” Ness defended quickly as the two began walking. “I’m just helping a friend who needed to see Jeff! That’s all!”“W-why didn’t you t-t-teleport closer?”“I don’t know how.” Ness admitted. “Usually I just end up in the same place every time. If there’s a way to control it, I haven’t figured it out yet.”The journey was a freezing one yet still quite fun, and the two eventually arrived at Jeff’s. The second Ness opened the door, Tracy ran in.“Warm air!!” she exclaimed. Then, looking around, she added “Woah.”“Hope you don’t mind I brought my little sister.” Ness apologized to Jeff. “I was supposed to walk her to school.”“Oh it’s no problem at all, buddy!” Jeff replied.Tracy looked at Jeff. “You’re one of my brother’s friends, huh?”“Jeff Andonuts!” Jeff introduced himself. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Tracy. I’ve heard a lot about you.”“Good things, I hope.” Tracy responded.“Of course!” Jeff responded. “If either of you would like before you leave, I made far too many waffles for breakfast. And there’s hot cocoa, too.”“There, see Tracy?” Ness said. “I told you you’d still get breakfast.”Jeff led the two into a kitchen/dining room sort of thing, where Claus was just finishing off his own breakfast. He had a big smile on his face, and when he saw Ness he practically jumped up.“Ness!” he exclaimed. “I feel so great!! It’s like every cell and circuit in my body is electrified with energy!!”“He’ll get used to it.” Jeff said. “I hope…”“I’m glad everything seems to have gone well.” Ness said, grabbing some waffles from the very LARGE pile of spares. “But, knowing you, I knew it would.”“It was a lot scarier than I’m used to.” Jeff admitted. “I’ve never worked on anything alive before. While transferring the power source I had to connect him to a backup one, but one wrong move and well, his bodily functions would have stopped functioning!”“Oh you did great.” Claus told him. “Not a single mistake!”“Still,” Jeff said, “I think I’m happier to stick with non-sentient machinery. I certainly don’t think chimeras are really my expertise.”“THIS is really cool, though!” Tracy said, referencing one of Jeff’s many kitchen contraptions. This one’s only purpose seemed to be to dispense syrup, but it scanned your plate to determine how much you needed based off of your preferences you input.“Thank you!” Jeff exclaimed. “Working in the lab means no easy access to Snow Wood’s cafeteria, so I’ve been creating these over time for a while now.”“And I was trying to ask for 3 waffles and accidentally input 33 on the waffle machine.” Claus explained. “Hence, the large stack.” He laughed. “I’m a little fidgety today.”“I REALLY hope he gets used to it…” Jeff commented again.“I’m sure he will.” Ness assured him. “Though, perhaps you should keep his old power source on hand just in case…”“You can’t downgrade me!” Claus responded defensively.“Not what I meant.” Ness quickly clarified.Ness and Tracy both ate some waffles and drank some cocoa before Ness said “We should probably start heading to school now if we don’t want to be late.”“Thanks again, Jeff!” Claus exclaimed.“Call me if anything goes wrong.” Jeff told him.“I will, but it won’t!” Claus promised.Ness teleported himself, Claus and Tracy back into Fourside. “Do you need to get your backpack?” he asked Claus.“If I go in that building, I’m going to have to face Master Porky immediately. I’m sure I’m fine without it for the day. We need to go by there though since Lucas is probably waiting in front.”“Alright…” Ness said.“I’ll follow you.” Tracy decided. “Seems like adventure follows you wherever you go, big bro.”The group made their way to the ever-growing ever-present Monotoli building, where Lucas was waiting outside.“Hey, Lucas!!!” Claus exclaimed, running towards him, picking him up into a tight hug.“Claus?” Lucas asked. “What were you doing.”“Hehehe!!” Claus smiled mischievously. “Just improving my life dramatically!”“You wanna get changed before school?”“Nah, gray suits me.” Claus shrugged.Lucas looked like he was about to complain, but Ness asked “Before I forget, Lucas, I need to ask you about a song.”“A song?”“Claus said he knew it.” Ness said. “And it’s REALLY important I figure it out if I want to pass home ec. If I sing the beginning, could you tell me if you know anymore?”“Sure.” Lucas agreed. “Though I don’t know what it has to do with your cake.”“Okay, so it’s ‘Take a melody~ Simple as can be~ Give it some words, and Sweet Harmony~!”“I do know that song!” Lucas exclaimed. “Where do I know that song? Anyway, I think the next line was ‘Raise your voices’.”“Yeah!” Tracy agreed. “Then it’s something like ‘All day long now, love grows strong now! Sing a melody of-”“Love.” Ness finally realized. “Oh, Love!”“That’s it!” Claus said excitedly. “That’s how it went!”“I finally remember!” Ness said. “Mom used to sing it to me as a baby. Dad too, I think. All the time.”“Mom sang it for me, too.” Tracy added.“Huh?” Lucas asked. “Where have I heard it, then?”“Mom.” Claus told him. “She used to sing it, too. What I don’t understand is how she knew a song from this many years back.”“Well now I can finish my cake!” Ness exclaimed. “As long as the song is the final ingredient, anyway. It’s a better bet than PK Love.”“Wait, you seriously tried that?” Claus asked. “You do know Lucas and I are the only people in like, all of the universe’s history to have that power, right?”“Oh.” Ness responded, feeling kind of dumb. “My great great grandmother was psychic so I thought maybe she had it.”“No way.” Claus told him. “Lucas, why didn’t you tell him?”“I don’t like talking about it…” Lucas mumbled.“Well, we should probably get going now.” Ness said. “Or we’ll be late.”“I really think you should change, Claus.” Lucas stated a bit more forcefully. “Or at least take off the belt. It has HIS logo on it.”Trying not to lose his temper, Claus said “Lucas, I already told you, I’m not changing.”“Why not?”“Why should I?”“You’re dressed in your uniform.”“Maybe I LIKE my uniform.” Claus snapped back, despite the fact he DID perfer brighter clothing, it was the principle of the matter!“GUYS!” Ness interrupted. “School!”“Yeah.” Claus said, turning his back to Lucas. “Let’s go.”In the morning area, Claus rushed up to where Ninten and Lloyd were waiting. “Hey guys!!!” he exclaimed, waving his hands super quickly.Ninten immediately gave Claus a ‘tone it down’ look.“Drink a lot of coffee this morning?” Lloyd asked.“Nope!!” Claus told him. “You remember how Jeff said he could give me infinite energy?”“Yeah?”“He did it!!” Claus exclaimed, now jumping up and down. “He really did it! And I feel SOO great! SOO POWERFUL!”“REALLY?” Lloyd asked, his eyes lighting up. “So it’s really possible!”“Wait, what?” Lucas asked. “Claus, you… why would you do something like that?”“Uh, why wouldn’t I?”“You’re giving in more to your chimera side.”“Okay.” Claus said. “I’ve decided. I’m just going to ignore all the dumb things that come out of your mouth.”“But, Claus-”“So what did you guys do this weekend?” Claus asked the others, following up on his word and ignoring Lucas.The group starting talking for a few minutes, until suddenly a knife went flying towards Claus. He grabbed it out of the air, and threw it right back. “YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO TRY HARDER THAN THAT!” he announced to his hidden assailant.“Is this happening often?” Lucas asked, now concerned.“Constantly.” Claus responded. “He tried this five times over the weekend alone while I was out doing errands. Once while I was in flight. I was supposed to find a way to counter his shield, but…” Claus looked guiltily towards Ninten. “That didn’t work out so well…”Ninten glared. ~~~ “You ever think this is a bit much?” Teddy asked after the adult Ninten teleported him back to Mt. Holy Loly. “I mean, I can’t hit him in any way that matters, and he can’t hit me. We’re in an eternal stalemate.”“Of course not.” Ninten responded. “The fate of the world depends on you killing him.”“You know if he’s going to say anything, he would’ve done it already.”Ninten sighed. “You’re from a gang, Teddy. You understand the importance of tying up all lose ends. Even if he could have blabbed by now, we still need to kill him.”“Yeah, well, have fun with that.” Teddy said. “I’m out.”“I thought you might say that.” Ninten said, narrowing his eyes. “That’s why I asked one of my associates to collect a certain someone. A partner in crime of yours, perhaps?”“What the hell?” Teddy asked. “You’re messin’ with me, right?”“Minnie, would you play the video?”Minnie took out a remote and pressed play on a video. It showed Pippi, locked in a room. “Hey, Teddy!” she exclaimed. “Uhh, apparently I’ve been kidnapped. I’m supposed to beg you to save me or something? We’ve taken a lot of takes of this… so I don’t really remember what I’m supposed to say. Uh, help?”Ninten looked to Minnie. “Was that the best you could get?”“I left Mimmie in charge of it.” Minnie said with an annoyed expression. “Apparently that was a mistake.”“Regardless,” Ninten said, trying to regain his composure, “we’ve kidnapped Pippi. And if you don’t kill that child and his brother, we’ll kill her. So I think it’s about time you got serious.”Teddy stared at him wide-eyed. Then, he ran at Ninten with his sword, but of course, Ninten had a powershield active, too. Teddy only managed to hurt himself.“You little shi-”“I wouldn’t be so aggressive, Teddy.” Ninten interrupted. “If you want Pippi to be safe, that is.”Teddy’s eyes burned with anger, and his thoughts did too so deeply that it hurt Ninten’s mind that had become more and more sensitive to emotions as his powers grew. But he had to read Teddy’s thoughts for now, to assure he would do as he was told.“...Fine.” Teddy agreed. “But once those two are dead, you’re lettin’ me and Pippi go, or you’ll have hell to pay, do you hear me?”“You have my word.” ~~~ With confidence, Ness began mixing the ingredients for the cake. It was overly watery again, but he wasn’t too worried. Once everything was together, he began singing with all of his heart.And, as if by magic, the cake turned into the proper consistency.Ness stared at it. “Yes!!” he exclaimed, he laughed, so happy that it finally worked! Green glitter flittered in the air from his PSI as he happily and proudly poured the mix into the cake pan. Now just to not overcook it!A small knock was heard from the cabinet Giygas had been in before, and Ness leaned down to open it. “I’ll save you some, okay?” he promised.Giygas gave him a wide smile.“Just wait ‘til after school.” Ness said, closing the cabinet once again.While the cake was baking, Ness had to make the frosting, but luckily he had made it successfully before. It didn’t need love to work, it was just a little tricky.When the cake was done, it was actually solid. Ness frosted it, and told the teacher that he was FINALLY finished.“How did you figure it out?” the teacher asked.“I forgot an ingredient.” Ness said, shrugging as if it wasn’t a big deal.But now was the real test. The taste test, that is. Plus, Ness was a little worried the magic cake could cause hallucinations.The teacher cut off a small bite’s worth, and tried it. “My good gracious, this is a LOT of citrus!”“Always has been.” Ness admitted, thinking back to all of the birthdays he’s had with this intense cake. None of his other party guests liked it other than himself, Tracy, and Picky if Ness remembered correctly. Not even Pokey would eat it, and he literally ate stuff off the floor sometimes if he thought it’d be good. Ness cut himself a bite of the cake and adored it.“Mmm!” Ness exclaimed. “Tastes like memories!”“Well…” the teacher said, “the cake seems to be well-made, even if I don't like the flavor. For facing your challenges and not giving up, you get an A for the project!”“Yes!” Ness exclaimed.“Great job, Ness!” Lucas complimented, coming over. Though Ness noticed that not only did the cake not give a hallucination, it didn’t taste quite like the one he and his friends got in Summers. Was he actually drugged that day?Ness cut off a slice and put it in a keep-safe container, and brought the rest with him to lunch. “I present: today’s desert!”Ninten looked at the pink yet amateurly-frosted cake with great interest.“Hey, you did it!” Claus said.“It looks great!” Lucas added.Ness passed out the slices, though he almost accidentally cut one slice too many. Part of him missed when Mana Mana always showed up to get in on whatever dessert Ness brought. Maybe he should talk to her… after all, he did say he wanted to believe in second chances.“This is great!” Lucas complimented, and Claus made an ‘mmm’ sound in agreement. Ninten even gave Ness a slight nod of approval.Lloyd, however, didn’t seem to be a fan. “Sorry Ness, it’s not really my thing.”“That’s okay.” Ness said. “It’s very hit-or-miss with a lot of people. It’s my favorite flavor, but a lot of my Onett friends hated it, to the point that we had to start having chocolate cupcakes at my birthday parties too.”“It boosts PSI.” Ninten stated. “Only psychics will like it.”“Well, and my sister.” Ness added. “And one of my neighbors.”“No.” Ninten stated. “The magic aspect of this draws out the sweetness to psychics. Any non-psychic would find it far too sour and bitter to enjoy.”“Huh?” Ness asked. “But-”“Are you certain your sister isn’t psychic, Ness?”“What?” Ness asked. “Of course she’s not. She’s never shown any signs of it, so-”“She’s related to you by blood, isn’t she?”“Yeah…”“So she’s a direct descendant of the Montague family. More than likely, that means that she’s a psychic, whether she knows it or not.”Ninten stood up, grabbing Lloyd’s plate of cake away from him.“Where are you going?” Ness asked.Ninten just kept walking, and Ness had to follow him quickly.Ninten walked out of the cafeteria and across the campus, onto the elementary section of Fourside Academy.“We’re going to get in trouble.” Ness warned, but Ninten ignored him entirely.Ninten walked into the elementary cafeteria, where Tracy was sitting off by herself. However, there was a device propped up in front of her, showing camera footage of Picky. They seemed to be talking to each other, too. Some sort of phone call with visuals?Ninten walked over to Tracy and slammed the cake down in front of her. “Eat.” he demanded.“Uhh?” Tracy looked up at Ninten. “Who are you?” she asked. “Ness’ secret evil twin?”“Eat.” he repeated.Tracy looked to Ness. “Is this poisoned or something?”“No, I made it.” Ness explained. “In home ec. Ninten’s just being stupid about something. The sooner you eat it, the sooner he’ll go away.”“Hey, isn’t that the same type of cake that you always have at your birthday parties?” Picky asked.Ness looked curiously at the device. “How are you doing this?” he asked Picky.“Oh, umm… technology my brother gave me.” Picky shrugged. “It’s pretty cool.”Ninten snapped his fingers in Tracy’s face, then pointed at the cake once again.“Okay, okay.” Tracy said. “Ness, be ready to heal me if this tries to kill me.”Tracy took a bite of the cake, then said “Mmm! Ness, this is awesome!”“Psychic.” Ninten stated.“Huh?” Tracy asked.“You’re a psychic.” Ninten repeated. “I could feel the power inside you grow upon having the cake. Plus, you liked the flavor.”“What are you talking about?” Tracy asked. “I’m not psychic. Only Ness is.”“Liar.” Ninten stated. “I can read your thoughts.”Tracy’s eyes went wide.“Tracy?” Ness asked. “Are you actually-”“What’s it matter?” she asked, suddenly on the offensive. “I’m not anything special, like you! I’m not fated for anything!”“Why didn’t you tell me?”“Because there was no point.” Tracy snapped. “When we were little, and dad and our aunts came, they only ever wanted to see you. Because you were ‘so special’, and needed help navigating life with psychic powers. What did it matter if I could lift super light items, or hear the quietest whisper of a thought? You could heal any scratch or scrape or even the cold!”“Tracy… I never knew…”“And I wanted to keep it that way!” she said, tears forming in her eyes. “Forever.”Ness pulled Tracy into a hug. “I’m so sorry.” he said. “I never thought that my psychic powers upset you so much.”“How would you feel if your entire life you were told you weren’t special?” Tracy snapped, pulling away. “Always being second place because you weren’t born strong enough.”Tracy grabbed the device that Picky had been on, and got up, running out of the cafeteria.Ninten watched her leave, then looked at Ness. “Only psychics like magic cake.” he stated, bringing the conversation full circle.Ignoring him, Ness asked “Why didn’t she ever say anything?” quietly to himself.“Hey, you kids!” an adult shouted. “What are you doing in here? Get back to your area!”Ninten started walking out the door, taking his time to do so. Ness ran out, however, and back to the middle school cafeteria. ~~~ The whole group was talking to each other before they started heading towards the gates out of school at the end of the day. It was mostly pointless chitter chatter, but it was just distracting enough that nobody predicted what was coming next.As soon as they stepped off of school property, someone jumped out of a bush with the speed and grace only a well-trained fighter could have. He grabbed Lucas, pulling him into his grasp and putting a sword to his throat in a matter of seconds. “Nobody moves.” he demanded. “Or the kid dies.”Claus froze, a horrified look on his face. Then, his face changed to anger. “This is between us.” Claus stated. “Leave Lucas out of it.”“Teddy!” Lloyd exclaimed. “Why? I thought you were a hero now!”A saddened look crossed Teddy’s face for only a few moments before the determination reappeared and he turned his gaze back to Claus. “Look, I’m done playin’ with you, robo-boy. Let’s make this easy, okay? I need you to make one simple decision. Him,” Teddy offered, gesturing to Lucas, “or you.”Looking pissed beyond belief, Claus looked at the situation. “So if I let you kill me, you’ll leave Lucas alone.”“Claus!” Lucas exclaimed. “You can’t actually-”“It’s for your own good, Lucas.” Claus stated. Claus then looked at Teddy. “Y’know, I was actually having fun with you. I don’t know why you had to stoop to this level.”Teddy didn’t let himself react. “So, your decision?”“Just stab me in the heart and get it over with.”“Hold on-!” Ness exclaimed, but Ninten grabbed his arm and put a finger up, telling him to wait.“...really?” Teddy asked. “You’re going down that easily?”“You have my brother.” Claus stated. “What can I do?”Teddy was silent. He gave Claus a suspicious look as he pulled out a knife.“Promise me, though.” Claus demanded. “Promise me that you won’t hurt Lucas!”Why was Ness the only one concerned by this?! Well, Lloyd seemed to be, too, but Ninten had a tight grip on the wrists of both of them. Even Lucas didn't look that concerned! Just more confused than anything…“Alright.” Teddy agreed, “I promise.”Lucas’ lips moved, as if he muttered something silently. A green sparkly light enveloped Claus, and stayed around him like an aura, but Teddy didn't react, either not noticing or not caring.“Then get it over with.” Claus stated, approaching Teddy with his arms up.The sky was darkening, Ness looked up and noticed storm clouds were forming above. What exactly was going on?Lucas mouthed something again - and this time he gave Claus something Ness actually recognized. Defense up. Was that really going to be enough at this point though?Teddy was oblivious to all of this. He held the knife at the ready. “Sorry it had to end like this.” he said genuinely.He stabbed the knife right through Claus’ chest, and Claus staggered backwards before falling to the ground.“Don’t try to heal him.” Teddy threatened Ninten. “Leave ‘em be and he’ll die fully soon enough.” Teddy then turned his attention to Lucas. “Now it’s your turn.”“What?” Lucas asked. “But you said-”“Well, I lied. Anythin’ you wanna say first?”“Yeah…” Lucas said, before suddenly lunging out of Teddy’s grasp, surprising him into letting go. “Now!”“PK THUNDER OMEGA!!” Claus exclaimed, standing up and then levitating a little off the ground with the power of what he was doing. Constant lightning struck Teddy over and over, knocking him out. He wasn’t dead, but he was close.“Thanks for the support, Lucas.” Claus said, pulling the knife out of his chest like it was nothing. Whatever Lucas did earlier caused the gash made by the impalement to heal immediately, too. He was… perfectly fine.“What just happened?” Ness asked.“I don't have a heart.” Claus said nonchalantly. “So stabbing me where most people WOULD have one doesn’t affect me.”“And how did YOU know?” Ness asked Ninten.Ninten pointed to Lucas, then to his own temples, as if to say that he read Lucas’ mind.“What are we going to do with him now?” Claus asked, referring to the passed-out Teddy.Ninten began approaching him, but then Teddy disappeared once again. Ninten glared at the empty space Teddy once occupied.“Well,” Ness said, “even still, I don't think we’ll be seeing him again anytime soon.”“I hope not!” Lloyd exclaimed.Ness looked at the large crowd of students that had encircled the area. “Hopefully my mom doesn't find out about this…” he commented.“Well, I should get going.” Claus said. “But before I do- Lucas?”“Yeah?”“You do know that it’s thanks to the fact that I’m a chimera that everything worked out so well, right?”Lucas didn't say anything, but you could tell by his face that he realized this.Ness then said “I’ll have to stop by the Monotoli building a bit later to give Giyg- uh, Ginten his slice of magic cake. Maybe I’ll see you then, Claus?”“Probably not.” Claus responded. “King P’s probably going to have me doing something really annoying after sneaking out yesterday. But it’s worth it!!!”The group split up and Claus headed towards the tower, but as soon as he walked in, he found a Porky robot standing by the doorway, one hand on his hip and the other occupied by a note. In Claus’ neatest handwriting, the note said the following: 
Your Royal Highness, Master King Porky,

I have been made aware of an opportunity to become stronger, and I have determined it would be quite beneficial for me to take it.

My deepest apologies for not giving you prior warning. I will return as soon as I am capable.

Sincerely, your most loyal and faithful servant.
 Yeah, Claus could tell he definitely wrote that as the Commander.“You’re not allowed to just run off like that!!” Porky whined. “You belong to me, you know!!!”“I am very sorry, Master Porky.” Claus said with a bow, though he didn't mean it.“Well, whatever.” Porky said. “Just don’t do it-” cough, cough “-again. Now c’mon! Let’s go find Picky! The three of us are having movie night!!!”“...me too?” Claus asked, pointing to himself dumbly. “Like, as I am?”“Don’t make me say it again.” Porky demanded, before coughing. The Porky bot stomped its foot.“Understood, Master Porky.” Claus said, that same feeling of hope flooding through him once again. Once Porky turned around, Claus smiled to himself. Life had sure become fun and exciting since coming to Fourside. Whether it was through the dragon, fate, or some other method, Claus was just happy to be alive in such an exciting time. ~~~ Ness tried to talk to Tracy, but she had locked herself in her room, refusing to come out or even speak, and continuing to try would only get their mother’s attention, and while Ness thought Tracy should talk to mom about this, it wasn’t Ness’ secret to tell.Ness decided just to go give Giygas his cake for now, and try to talk to Tracy again tomorrow.Ness went to the Monotoli building, and hoped that whatever ended up happening with Pokey, Claus was okay. He didn’t run into him on the way to Giygas’ room, so he could really only wonder.Ness knocked on the door, and Giygas played his little guessing game like usual before letting Ness in. “So, do you have the cake?”“Right here!” Ness said, taking the slice out of his backpack.“Thank you!!!” Giygas exclaimed, his tail wagging as he happily floated it to him.“I remember the song, too. Would you like to hear it?”“Yes!!” Giygas exclaimed. “I’ve been trying to remember for so long!”Ness took a breath, and began to sing. “Take a-”“STOP!” Giygas shouted.“Huh?”“Uh, I mean…” Giygas looked confused. “Maybe I DON’T want to remember it…”“Um… alright then.” Ness said. “If you don't want to you don't have to.”“I don’t.” Giygas said decidely. “Thanks for the cake, but…” the container floated back to Ness. “I’ve changed my mind.”“Are you sure?” Ness asked. “You were so excited.”“I think I want to be alone for now.”Before Ness could say another word, he was pushed out by some invisible force, and the door slammed in his face.Was it something Ness said?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

A little under a month had passed, and fall was in full swing. September had been full of fun and laughter and October brought about the same sort of promise as Ness walked to school, crunching leaves playfully on the way. He, as he typically did, took the long way to school so he could walk past the Monotoli building and meet up with the twins along the way.“Hey, Lucas!” Ness called out to the only twin currently outside, who was playing with the leaves.“Hi Ness!” Lucas responded, still throwing leaves into the air to watch them fall. “Just waiting on Claus.”“I’m here!” Claus announced, rushing out of the building wearing a fluffy teal and yellow sweater that was probably designer brand.“Are you running late?” Ness joked.“No!” Claus defended. “I mean, by like a minute and 12.1 seconds, but… it was for hot apple cider!” He held up a thermos. “Right before I left Lil’ Miss Marshmallow offered it to me, and I couldn't say no! And,” he added, “I have an excuse this morning because board game night went on a little long. Even if I don't actually FEEL tired from it.”“All the better.” Ness responded playfully. “The more time you and the evil pig king play board games, the longer the world is safe from your schemes!!”“You never know…” Claus said. “Maybe I’m just trying to trick you into a false sense of security!”“How long has it been?” Lucas asked. “Since he’s made you suppress your emotions, I mean.”“Usually I still have to on weekends.” Claus said. “I think the dynamic schedule of weekdays is more interesting for him, so he's generally in a better mood then. Some weekdays he still makes me do it, but we’ll work on it! We have all the time in the universe!”Like always, Lucas seemed to be conflicted on this matter.The three boys walked to school and met up with Ninten and Lloyd, like always. The former was dressed warmly, but the latter was still wearing short sleeves and shorts.“Aren’t you cold?” Ness asked.“I love the cold!” Lloyd responded. “I can’t wait for winter!”Thinking about where Lloyd was going to move to as an adult, Ness responded “That checks out.”When the students were called inside the school for the day, they were all funneled into the auditorium for an assembly.“I hope we’re getting another guest speaker!!” Lloyd whispered excitedly as they waited.“Maybe a live performance?” Ness suggested.“Or a field day??” the twins said together.Ninten shrugged. “I don't really care WHAT it is. It’s a break from class.”As if on cue, Ness’ receiver phone rang. Knowing it was just his dad calling to tell him to take a break, Ness pressed decline.“Good morning, Fourside Academy!” the principal said, walking up to the microphone. “I hope you’re all having a wonderful day so far! I bet your morning is about to get a lot better, because I’m about to announce the first field trip of the year!”The room erupted into excited chatter. “I hope we go to a lab!” Lloyd exclaimed. “Or a factory that makes explosives!”“Or something normal.” Ninten said. “Like a baseball game…”“Maybe the Topolla Theater!” Ness said, excitement going through him. “Maybe we’ll see the Runaway Five!!”“Students, students.” The principal said. “You haven’t even heard where we’re going yet!”Everybody quieted down.“Alright,” the principal countinued, “I’ll let you know - we’re going to be taking a plane for this one! All of you had to submit a passport when applying for the school, and you’ll need those, too! This field trip will be a weeklong trip to… drumroll please… Summers!”The room errupted into cheers, but not the group. Ninten wouldn’t have cheered no matter where they were going, Lloyd wasn’t sure how much he really liked beaches, Lucas didn't know what a Summers WAS, and Claus and Ness didn’t think they’d get to go, for varying reasons. Claus because he didn't think he’d get permission to be gone for a week, and Ness because he knew it would NOT be easy to convince his mother to let him go to the same city that Paula was in.“Permission slips will be handed out by your first period teachers.” the principal announced. “Make sure to get them signed and pick your groups if you don't want to be randomly assigned! Now please go back to your regularly scheduled class.”“Well this sucks.” Claus complained. “I hope you all have fun in Summers, wherever that is…”Ness sighed. “Well, I’ll be keeping you company. I’m not supposed to leave the country, so there’s no way my mom’ll agree.”Ninten narrowed his eyes at the two of them. “You give up too easily.” he stated.“What can we do?” Ness asked.“Yeah.” Claus agreed. “It’s one thing to sneak out for a couple hours, a day even, but a week?”“You haven’t even tried and you’re already giving up.” Ninten lectured. “Sounds to me like the only thing stopping you is your lack of motivation.”“Claus is right.” Lucas said. “King P’s never gonna let him go!”“And Ness’ mom is really strict.” Lloyd pointed out. “She’s Ana.” he added in a whisper.Ninten glared daggers at Lloyd. “What’s wrong with Ana?” he asked agressively.“Uh, nothing!” Lloyd corrected quickly. “What I MEANT to say is that she’s very stubbo- I mean, very confident in her descions!”“Watch yourself.” Ninten said, before getting quiet again like normal.“I guess I can ask…” Claus said. “Maybe if I skip a few days of school to make up for it…”“Oh I see why you’re so determined.” Ness said to Ninten. “You like the idea of spending a week relaxing on the beach, huh?”Ninten didn't respond, but he had a small smile.“Summers has a beach?” Lucas asked. “Maybe it’s like home!”“Oh yeah, your island was probably pretty tropical, huh?” Ness asked. “Summers is warm with sandy beaches and a relaxing atmosphere. I’ve been before, and though it wasn’t REALLY my kind of place, I still wish I could go on the field trip.”“Ninten’s right.” Claus said. “We have to try!” ~~~ Claus might’ve said that, but each step towards the Empire Porky Building v2 felt like trudging through quicksand. Actually asking Porky for… a vacation? He had made progress with him and all that, but not THAT much progress.Claus finally arrived, and went straight to the newly complete floor 101.He entered the room slowly and quietly until he finally got up enough nerve to ask “Master Porky?”“Oh good, you’re” cough “finally here!”The mech shifted around to face Claus, and Claus could see that it looked like Porky was in a good mood. Better get it over with.“I, uhh… I have a request.” Claus went to fidget with his glove, but since he wasn’t wearing one, he played with the hem of his sleeve instead.Porky started laughing. “A request?” he was still laughing, but also coughing. “From you?”“Umm… yes?”“Well you’re bold, that’s for sure!” Porky laugh-coughed. “So go ahead. Tell me what you want!”“There’s um… this field trip. A school field trip. To Summers.”“Summers?” Porky interrupted.“Yeah, Summers. It’s a week long trip, but-”“You want a week off?” Porky asked.“Yes, but I promise I will work twice as hard, no three times as hard leading up to it, and-”“Fine.”“Fine?!” Claus asked, not sure if he misheard him or something.“Yeah, sure.” Porky said before coughing. “I don’t care.”“R-really?”“But-”Of course there was a but.“When you get back you have to tell me everything that happened in such great detail it’s as if I was there.” Porky demanded. “Reenact certain things, if necessary.”“Deal!!” Claus agreed, a huge smile on his face.“And don’t look so freaking happy!” Porky added. “You’re supposed to be miserable all the time so I have someone to laugh at!” he coughed. “Now go become your miserable self!”“Yes, Master Porky!” Claus said, happily running off towards the elevator. “Whoo-hoo!!” he exclaimed as soon as the door shut.“I can still hear you!!” Porky shouted after him.“Ooops…” ~~~ Ness usually tried to be an optimist, but he knew the chances of his mother agreeing to let him go to Summers were extremely low. But he guessed they were zero if he didn’t ask at all.Ness walked in, and his mother immediatly saw him. “Welcome home Ness! What’s that paper you got there?”“Uh… a field trip form.” he said.“A field trip?” Ana asked. “That sounds great! Where are you going? The museum? The library?”“Summers.” Ness admittied bluntly.Ana’s enthusiam died immediatly. “No.” she stated.“You didn't even hear me out!”“The answer is no, Ness. I told you before, you’re not allowed to leave the country. Especially not to go to Summers.”“But-”“That’s my final answer.” Ana said, turning her back. “Now if you excuse me I have laundry to do.”“But that’s not fair!” Ness protested. “I’m gonna be like, one of the only kids in my grade who don’t get to go!” he complained.“Fine.” Ana said. “You can skip those days, but you’re not going to Summers.”“Mom-”Ana turned to face Ness once again, her face sympathetic. “I know it’s hard, sweetie, but I really don't think it’s a good idea for you to see Paula right now. It’s too soon.”“But I-” Ness felt himself beginning to cry. “I’ve been doing what you wanted! I’m having fun being a student! But all of the other kids are going to be talking about this for weeks! What if I promise to stay away from Paula?”“Ness, I’m sorry.” Ana said. “But my answer is no.”Ness sadly walked to his room, knowing he wasn’t getting anywhere with her. ~~~ At 3 am on the dot, Claus woke up. He had set his internal alarm to wake him up now, when he assumed everyone else would be asleep.He climbed off of his sleeping platform, which was still the same since everybody thought he still needed to charge, and walked across the carpeted floor to grab a piece of paper off of the desk he left it on. He then made his way to the elevator and onto the first floor.The darkened lobby was a little eerie at night with most of the lights off. It made him feel sneaky, but it also made him cringe at how loud it was when his metal foot hit the cold tile. The clank sound echoed each time, so if someone WERE awake, they’d know he was leaving. Luckily nobody stopped him.He breathed a sigh of relief when he successfully exited the building, and then he took to the skies. The cold fall air blowing quickly in his face was so refreshing it didn't feel like he needed sleep at all tonight! Instead he just enjoyed the ride, spreading his arms out to catch the air and doing loop-de-loops just because he could. There really was nothing like flying above the world!He arrived at a basic apartment building, and began circling it, trying to figure out which window was the correct one to enter through. Sure enough, there was only one open, so he figured that must be the right place. He flew through the window and into a cozy bedroom, dark except for the moonlight shining in.His arrival woke up one of the residents, however. A brown dog. The dog started barking and pounced Claus onto the ground.And began licking his face.“Alright, alright, I missed you too, Boney.” Claus said with a smile. “But you’ll startle the others awake!”The others were indeed startled awake. The room had two beds in it, one where Flint had been sleeping and the other where Lucas had been. It was common in Tazmily to share rooms like this, even if the practice felt a little foreign to Claus after all these years. Flint had bolted up and Lucas was holding out a weaponized stick.“Relax, guys.” Claus said, playfully putting his hands in the air. “It’s just me!!”“Is somethin’ wrong?” Flint asked, quickly rushing over to Claus to check him for injuries.“No, no, nothing like that.” Claus responded, standing up and wiping dog slobber off of his face using the back of his fleshy hand. “In fact, just the opposite! Everything is right!!! I get to go on the field trip!!!!!”“You do?” Lucas asked, now having put down the stick. “That’s great news!”“I just need you to sign my form, dad.” Claus said, handing Flint the paper. “Sorry it’s the middle of the night, I just couldn’t sneak out during the day.”“You’re fine, kiddo.” Flint told him. “Whatever’s easiest for ya.”Flint lit a lantern in the room, and signed the paper for Claus. Now that Lucas was up, however, and Claus wasn’t wearing any height-enhancing shoes, Lucas was like half a foot taller than him. Claus looked up at him, annoyed. Lucas looked down at him, also looking upset. At least neither of them approved of the height situation.Boney, however, didn’t seem to care about that, because he started barking at Lucas.“No, you can’t.” Lucas responded. “I’m sorry, but you’re not a student.”Boney whimpered.“What did he say?” Claus asked.“He wants to go on the field trip, too.” Lucas explained. “But even his best disguise wouldn’t fool the teachers into thinking he’s been a student all along.”That is ONE thing Claus missed about not being a chimera. For some reason, he couldn’t understand animals anymore. Just other chimeras. And he’s learned through experience that it’s usually not a good idea to speak with other chimeras.“Anyway Claus,” Lucas yawned, “I’m sleepy. You should go back to bed, too.”“I’m not really tired.” Claus responded. “But I’ll leave you to it. Hopefully tomorrow Ness will tell us the good news that he gets to go too!” ~~~ “Bad news.” Ness said. “I don't get to go.”“What?” Claus asked. “Why not??”“Because Paula lives in Summers.” Ness explained sadly. “So my mom says I can't go.”Ninten looked over at Ness. “Can I see your form?”“Huh? Why?”“Just hand it to me.”“Well, it’s not doing ME any good.” Ness  lamented. “So here, sure.”Ninten yoinked a pen out of Lloyd’s pocket, and signed Ness’ field trip form. “Here, now you can go.”“What? But you’re not-”“I’m Ninten Montague.” Ninten stated. “AKA your dad.”“B-but-”“Ninten, hand it to me.” Claus said. “I’ll give it to the teacher when she calls for everyone’s forms.” Then he turned to Ness. “I will kidnap you if I have to in order to get you on that plane.”“Does that mean you get to go, too?” Lloyd asked.“Yup!” Claus exclaimed. “Didn't even take much convincing!”“Hold on.” Ness said. “I may have a signed form, but I’m not going without my mother’s permission! She said no, and no means no!”“Oh.” Ninten responded. “I just thought you were more adventurous than that.”“If his mom said no-” Lucas protested.“He’ll miss out on so much fun!” Claus defended. “Plus, it’ll be so much more fun with him there!”“Come on, Ness.” Ninten said coldly. “Are you really going to let all of your new friends down?”“All of you stop it!” Ness exclaimed, a few lights of Rockin’ coming out of him. “I… I need to think!”“You’ll get in trouble!” Lloyd warned.“It’ll be fun!” Claus added.“Enough.” Ness said. “I’ll turn in the form, okay? That gives me time to think about it.”Claus offered Ninten a high-five, but just got a long stare instead.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ninten could NOT believe he was up at this hour. It was WAY too early for ANY reasonable person to be awake, but this was important, so he GUESSED it might be worth it.

…maybe.

He walked up to the apartment door in front of him and psychically unlocked it. He then silently shut the door behind him and crept in.

The house was quiet, and the comfy couch in the living area looked ever-so-inviting. A short nap couldn’t hurt, right? He’s been at it for a while, so hasn’t he earned himself a break?

No! He had a job to do! Break time could wait!

Ninten stood by the bedroom doors, and tried to read the dreams of those on the other side. He didn't really want to get this wrong.

One dream seemed to be a sort of twisted memory. It was of the day he, Lloyd, and Ana defeated Giygas. But when Ana proposed like usual, her father appeared, reminding her that a proper young lady never proposes to the boy, and that she was far too young. Suddenly, Ninten and Ana were dragged apart.

The dream proved it was certainly Ana’s room, but it also left Ninten with an unpleasant feeling. Knowing what happened to his time’s Teddy, and through Teddy’s mind, Pippi, Ninten couldn’t help but worry that something bad could happen to Ana if she showed up in the wrong place in this time, too.

Especially in the state she’s in…

But Ninten was surely worrying so much for nothing, right? She was fine, right?

This is why Ninten hated reading dreams.

The dreams of the one of the next room almost tricked Ninten into guessing wrong. At first all he noticed was that this person was on a jungle safari, exploring the unknown. Or so this person thought, because moments later, Ness showed up with a flag that he planted in the ground. “I’ve already explored this jungle! And the rest of the world! You should just go back home. It’s too dangerous for you here!”

Ah, so that must be Tracy’s room. Checking the last dream, he found it was Ness with a few friends (his Chosen Friends, apparently) trying to do a photoshoot but Ness couldn’t get a dinosaur hat off of his head. When the group posed, they said ‘fuzzy pickles!’ and so did the hat.

So that’s what a childish optimist dreams about. Who knew?

Ninten quietly snuck into the room, careful not to wake Ness up. He looked over to the window where he could see Claus doing twirls and swirls midair.

Ninten walked over to the window and opened it. The cold morning air that blasted his face was annoying, but as Claus flew inside, his jet wings let off some nice heat. After he landed but before he put them away, Ninten sleepily grabbed onto one. They were WARM - he wanted to wrap himself up in one like a blanket and sleep.

Unfortunately, Claus took the wing away.

“What the pork, Ninten?” he whispered.

Ninten gave him a ‘how could you do this to me’ look.

“You can sleep on the plane.” Claus responded with a playful shove. “Now to see if this was even necessary.”

Claus looked around the room for some sort of suitcase or other luggage. Finding one, he found that it was, in fact, packed for Summers’ climate. “Huh, guess we should’ve given him the benefit of the doubt.” Claus commented.

“Still, better safe than sorry.” Ninten said. “PK Hypnosis.”

The already sleeping Ness was now in a much deeper sleep. Claus picked him up while Ninten wrote a quick note.
 
Ana

He’s going on the trip.

-Ninten
 
Ninten then grabbed Ness’ luggage and walked back down the normal way while Claus flew out the window with Ness.
 
~~~
 
When Ness awoke, he was immediately assaulted by bright lights and loud chatter. He was in an uncomfortable plastic chair and wrapped in a plain white blanket. What the heck?

“Oh good, you’re awake!” Lloyd exclaimed. “Now we don't have to carry you on.”

“What’s going on?” Ness asked.

“We kidnapped you.” Claus said bluntly. “It was easy.”

“I can’t go!” Ness argued. “My mom will-”

“I’ve dealt with her.” Ninten stated with no further explanation.

“Plus you packed.” Claus said. “So you must’ve been considering it.”

“You guys said he AGREED to come!” Lucas argued.

“Well,” Claus responded, “I lied. But did you really want him to miss out?”

“It’s not good to lie, Claus.” Lucas lectured, but his heart wasn’t really in it. He wanted Ness to get to go, too.

Ninten gave Ness a wicked smirk. “If you really don't want to go, we haven’t taken off yet.”

“Well,” Ness protested, “since I’m already here…”

“That's what I thought.” Ninten stated.

“We already added you to our group.” Lloyd said. “Luckily there was an odd number so they needed a group of five!”

Despite all the rule breaking, Ness couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks, guys.” he said genuinely. “This is going to be fun!”

“Alright students!” a teacher announced. “The Fourside Academy private plane is ready to go! Everybody please get with your groups and we’ll get you boarded!”

“Private plane?” Lloyd reacted. “Awesome!!!”

Most of the groups were seated with two facing one way and two the other, but Ness’ group got the back row, a straight row of five. The seats were very plush and comfortable, and as soon as Ninten sat in his, he was asleep.

“Should’ve figured.” Claus commented, trying to get a window seat. However, Lucas took it first. “Hey!!”

“You’ve been on plenty of flying vehicles!” Lucas argued. “Give me a turn!”

“So you LIKE flying vehicles?” Claus accused.

“I, uh, I…”

Lucas went silent.

“That’s all the answer I need.” Claus laughed, sitting between Lucas and Ninten. Ness rushed to get the other window seat before Lloyd took it.

Lloyd seemed fine with that, though, since he had a book full of information on Summers with him. He first had to reach over and buckle Ninten in for takeoff, though.

As the plane rose, though, so did Ness’ guilt. Should he really be doing this without his mother’s permission? It wasn’t just a matter of sneaking around, he was ACTIVELY defying what she directly said.

Still, as he watched Claus playfully tease Lucas, Ninten snoozing away, and Lloyd getting excited about some fact he read, Ness came to realize just how much he cared about spending time with his new friends.

There was no way he would’ve been happy missing out on a chance to spend some quality, carefree time with them. Maybe there was a benefit to not having an adventure to complete. Maybe it was just nice to be a dumb kid sometimes.

Surely his mother couldn’t be TOO mad about that…
 
~~~
 
Ana wasn’t just mad. She was furious! The note she had found in Ness’ room burned up in her hand as she stormed over to the phone. She angrily dialed a number that picked up quickly.

“Hello, it’s your husband.”

“Ninten, honey.” Ana said in a terrifying calm voice with an even more terrifying smile on her face. “I have a question for you - what, exactly, do you think gives you more authority over Ness than me?”

“Well, I’m sure you don’t ACTUALLY want to hear my reasoning, so why don’t you just tell me what you’re angry about?”

“You KNOW what I’m angry about, Ninten.” Ana responded. “And don’t give me any of your self-centered crap!”

“Look, Ana.” Ninten responded. “Do you know how hard it is to keep Pippi ‘kidnapped’? She’ll only be willing to play lemonade, crunchy ice with Mimmie SO MANY TIMES before she breaks out. And then how will I get Teddy to kill Ness’ friends?”

“How is this protecting ANYBODY?” Ana snapped. “Especially Ness! I understand your job is important and all that, but killing Ness’ friends? What’s the point of protecting the world if you can't protect the most important people within it?”

“Clearly YOU upset him if you’re accusing me of letting him do something you said no to.”

“The field trip, Ninten.”

“What field trip?”

“The one you let him go on!!” Ana snapped. “You left a note and everything!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Ninten responded. “I just finished explaining to you how busy I’ve been. Why do you think I’d care about some stupid field trip right now?”

“Okay, then it must’ve been some OTHER Ninten then!” Ana responded sarcastically. “Wait…”

“And there's your answer.” Ninten pointed out. “Now if you’ll excuse me-”

“Wait.” Ana said. “Ninten, please. I know we don't see eye-to-eye on everything, but Ness can't see Paula right now. It’s REALLY important he doesn’t. I know you’ve taken that trip all over the world so you could teleport anywhere, but I didn’t.”

“I invited you.” Ninten told her.

“Ness was two! I needed to give him a proper structured household. Not a year-long trip to landmarks everywhere!”

“That was your choice.”

“Ninten, I’ve never been to Summers. I can't teleport there. But you can! You can take me there, or even just go get Ness yourself!”

“Why are you so worried about him seeing Paula, anyway?” Ninten asked. “Don’t tell me you’re so hypocritical that you think Ness is too young to date.”

“That’s not it!” Ana snapped, almost freezing the phone. “It has nothing to do with his age! But Ness has been doing so well at this ‘normal life’ thing. If he saw Paula now, that would all fall apart!”

“Ana, you are WAY too involved in Ness’ life. He’s old enough to make his own decisions.”

“You wouldn’t understand, Ninten.” Ana fought. “But it’s a parent’s job to guide their child, no matter how old they are. And Ness is only 14. He’s too young to have to face certain things. Not love. Love’s fine at his age. But other things.”

“All I see is a control freak who regrets her childhood so much that she’s trying to live vicariously through her son.” Ninten stated. “But maybe that's just me.”

“Well how would you know?” Ana asked. “You’re never around to see anything about your family at all. If you won’t help me, fine. I’ll find another way to get to Summers.”
 
~~~
 
“Ninten. Ninten, you’ve gotta wake up. We’re in Summers!”

When Ninten opened his eyes, they were, indeed, in Summers. He slept through the whole trip!

Good. He felt a lot more refreshed now.

“Enjoy your break?” Ness playfully asked.

Ninten gave a nod.

“You missed all the views.” Lucas told him. “It’s INCREDIBLE to be so high above the world!”

Claus smirked at Lucas’ apparent like of planes.

“Alright, students!” a teacher announced. “We’re going to start getting off in an orderly manner, so please grab all of your luggage. And - oh yeah - welcome to Summers!”

The students were filed off and then bussed to the hotel so they could drop off their things. There, the groups were going to receive their schedules of what they were doing for the week. On the bus ride though, Lloyd was playing tour guide to his group.

“I read about that building!” he called out, pointing. “And did you know that rock is historic because-” and eventually it led to “And that’s how the people of Scaraba won the war!”

“What?” Ness asked. “What war? How did you even get onto Scaraba?”

“Weren’t you listening?” Lloyd asked. “I JUST explained it!”

“I might’ve missed a few words…” Ness responded.

“Did you hear what I said about the humans vs. the aliens in ancient times?”

“No?” Ness said. “How many alien invasions has this planet faced??”

“So many, Ness. Why do you think the humans built the pyramids? To hide from the aliens!”

“What?” Ness asked. “No they did it because-”

Ness trailed off, not able to think of a good reason. That’s also when they reached the hotel and all students were assigned their rooms.

“Hey, there’s mints on the pillows!!” Claus exclaimed upon coming in.

“It IS Summers.” Ness responded. “They have some of the fanciest - and most expensive - hotels.”

Claus jumped onto one of the beds and started rolling around. “So soft!!!” he exclaimed.

“So we have two big beds and a little bed.” Lloyd commented. “We should figure out who gets what.”

Ninten climbed onto a big bed, stretching out as much as possible. “Only mine.” he stated.

Ness walked over, yoinked him up, and put him back on his feet. “That's not how this works.” Ness told him.

“I still spread my wings out when I sleep.” Claus said. “So I should probably take the smaller bed for myself.”

“I figured we’d share.” Lucas said to him. “Like we used to.”

“If you want.” Claus offered. “But don't say I didn't warn you.”

Ninten looked between Ness and Lloyd.

“I’m not sharing with him.” Ninten said, pointing at Lloyd.

“Hey!”

“You and I could share then, Ninten.” Ness offered. “So long as I get my full half of the bed.”

Ninten nodded in agreement.
 
~~~
 
The walking tour of Summers was being given to many of the groups at once, so it gave Ness a nice crowd to blend into. Why did he need to blend in? Well, because he realized there was a VERY good chance of running into Paula on the street. In fact, he was a little worried he was about to run into her now.

“As you can see,” the tour guide said, “middle school students are currently leaving SUN, or Summers University.”

“How is that S-U-N?” Lloyd asked, raising his hand. “What’s the N stand for?”

“-Niversity.” The tour guide responded. “Anyway, the middle school students have been attending their classes in SUN after their school mysteriously burnt down one day. Nobody quite knows what caused it, but there’s rumors!”

“Rumors we don't need to get into, perhaps?” one of the teacher chaperones suggested.

Ignoring her, the tour guide said “There have been strange happenings at Sunshine Middle School since class started for the year. For example, sometimes certain areas would be eerily cold with no~ explanation. Other times the fire alarm would go off without reason. Some say it was benevolent spirits warning the students to get out of there, because one day the building suddenly caught on fire, burning to the ground.”

Ness gasped. Paula went to Sunshine Middle School! “Everybody made it out safely though, right?” Ness asked, panicked.

“Almost everybody.” the tour guide said. “But three girls were locked in the bathroom when it happened, and couldn’t escape in time. They say their souls haunt-”

“That’s enough!” the teacher demanded. “What happened at Sunshine Middle is a tragedy and not some ghost story to spread around lightly!”

A sudden feeling of dread filled Ness. What if Paula was one of those three girls? He knew how unlikely it was, but what if that’s why his mother didn’t want him to come here? Because she knew the truth?

How could she not tell him?

No, no, Ness needed to calm down. A lot of kids went to Sunshine Middle! There were PLENTY of girls who could’ve gotten locked in there. And even Ness’ mother would tell Ness the truth if something so terrible happened.

Ness still really wanted to check with Paula’s parents, just in case.

Ness TRIED to enjoy the rest of the tour, but he couldn’t help but worry. Luckily, he found the perfect chance to sneak away when all the kids were brought to the beach for the evening before dinner.

“Hey, guys?” Ness asked the group. “Can you cover for me? After hearing what happened at Sunshine Middle, I can’t stop worrying about Paula. I need to go check on her.”

“Yeah, we’ve got you, Ness.” Claus promised.

Ninten just pointed to a beach chair, and walked over to it. Well at least Ness didn't have to worry about HIM tattling.

“We’re not supposed to wander off.” Lucas reminded Ness.

“Paula is one of my best friends.” Ness told him. “And while it’s nothing official, really we’re…” Ness blushed “more than friends. So I need to make sure she’s okay!”

“We’ll cover for you!” Lloyd said. “Go! Go to your one true love!”

Ness rushed off to a direction he already knew from studying a map. He ran towards Paula’s house.
 
~~~
 
Ana got off a plane, hoping she wasn’t too late. She had no idea where to even START looking for Ness, but as soon as she started walking around she spotted his new friends on the beach. Surely that meant Ness was nearby, right?

Let’s see… little Ninten was relaxing on a chair, little Lloyd was observing a crab, and, oh, perfect! The cyborg boy was building a sand castle with a boy that looked strangely similar to him. A clone, maybe? Either way, it didn't appear that he was doing anything important. Ana approached him. “Where’s Ness?” she demanded.

Claus (who was currently wearing a neck-down wetsuit to protect his mechanical joints from getting sand in them) looked up at Ana with a horrified expression. “Oh pork.”

“Where is my son?” she repeated angrily.

“I warned you not to do it!” Lucas lectured Claus.

“So, umm…” Claus said. “Funny story…”

“Did you bring him here?” Ana asked, pulling Claus into a standing position. “Was it YOU??”

Claus glanced over at where Ninten was, then looked back at Ana. “Yeah.” he said, sticking out his tongue mischievously. “Even imitated Ninten’s handwriting for the note. I did a pretty good job, too, if I do say so myself!”

“I should’ve known not even Ninten would do something like this…” Ana muttered. Then she looked to Claus, her eyes glowing with rage. “Where is Ness now?” she asked.

“Beats me.” he shrugged.

Ice shards were hurled at him. “WHERE IS HE?” Ana repeated.

“Great dragon, lady, chill. Or, in your case, I guess, do the opposite of that.”

“‘Great dragon’?” Ana repeated. “ARE YOU MAKING FUN OF GOD BY CREATING YOUR OWN SAYING?”

“Huh?” Claus asked. “No. I mean, I’M basically god, so…”

“WHAT?”

“Well me and Lucas. We have the power to control the dragon, and the dragon has the power to reshape our world. So we’re gods.”

The look an Ana’s face was indescribable, but Claus could tell he messed up. Lucas, horrified, was backing away as subtly as he could from his sitting position in the sand. Claus, however, was frozen in fear. If he had a heart it’d be pounding, but he didn’t even get the benefit of that.

“I’ll ask you one. More. Time.” Ana stated in a terrifyingly calm voice. Her voice was as icy as her eyes. “Where. Is. My. Son?”

Despite his now dry mouth, Claus managed to gulp in order to get out one word. The only word he needed to get out to save his life. “Paula.” he stated.

Ana’s eyes widened, and she rushed off.

Filled with relief, Claus fell to his knees into the sand. He let out a deep breath. Why did he feel like she might’ve killed him in that moment? She was just Ness’ mom, not so crazed psycho, so why was she now in his list of top most terrifying people?

Well, Ness was totally busted now.
 
~~~
 
Ness knocked on the door, worried about what news might be waiting for him. After a few moments, Paula’s mother got the door.

“Ness!” she exclaimed. “I can’t believe you’re here! Paula’s going to be so happy to see you!!” she pulled Ness into a hug.

“So she’s okay?” Ness asked. “That’s a relief! When I heard her school burnt down, I-”

“Ness.” Paula’s mom interrupted. “...I wouldn’t bring that up to her, if I were you.”

“I’m just glad she’s safe.” Ness said. “Mom didn't say I could come see her, but…” Ness trailed off. He was already here!

“I think it’d be really good for Paula if you visited. I mean, if you want to.” Paula’s mom said. “I’m sure your mother told you what's going on.”

“No, she hasn’t.” Ness responded, confused. “Is something wrong?”

“You don't know?” Paula’s mom gasped. “I thought you knew!”

“Knew what?”

“Oh!” Paula’s mother exclaimed. “I thought, all this time, you mother had been telling you.  You really haven’t heard anything about this?”

“No?” Ness replied. “What should I have heard about?”

“You see…” Paula’s mother started. “Paula is… well, she’s not adjusting to change very well. Her whole life she’s always known she was destined for something great, as well as being allowed to use her psychic powers freely and being praised for them. But now… now that she has DONE said great thing, and she’s meant to hide the truth, well… she’s… she hasn’t been adjusting well.” Paula’s mother paused. “At first,” she explained, “Paula just had a hard time communicating with other kids her age. But then, her lack of friends eventually, well… the other kids at school aren’t very kind to a girl on her own. The loneliness and bullies led her further and further away from who she used to be, until… it’s not for me to say. But seeing you here should cheer her up!”

Ness felt terrible he hadn’t found out about this until now… how could his mother not tell him?! Even if it was to ‘protect him’, it was Ness’ job as leader of the Chosen Four and best friend to all three of them to cheer them up when they were feeling down! And Paula, well… Paula was the one he was closest to of them all.

“Where is she?” Ness asked, and he followed Paula’s mother inside.

“In there.” Paula’s mother responded, gesturing towards the blue door at the end of the hall. Strangely, there appeared to be a mail slot on the ground? Or… it was a little big for mail. What was it for?

Paula’s mother knocked on the door. “Paula sweetie, you have a visitor!”

There was no response.

“Paula!” Paula’s mother cried out. “Please, you have to open the door. He came all the way from Eagleland to see you!”

“I don’t want to see anyone.” A voice from inside called back.

“It’s Ness!” Paula’s mom specified. “He really wants to talk to you, Paula.”

“Ness?” Paula’s voice asked, full of emotion.

Ness heard the sound of several latches and locks being undone, and the big blue door opened just a crack. Only wide enough for a matching blue eye to just barely peek through.

“Ness!” Paula exclaimed. “It really is you! You’re here!” Paula shut the door so she could undo a few more latches, then opened it all the way. She then rushed forward and hugged him. Crying, she said “I missed you so much!” and it felt like, for just a moment, that she never intended on letting him go.

But, of course, she eventually did. She gave him a smile but it was clear that this was an uncommon thing for her to do now. Her shiny blonde hair she had insisted on keeping at the right length all throughout their adventure had grown out and dulled, with no sign of the cheery bow that once sat atop her head through any weather or danger. Instead of a pink dress she wore a blue one, making her look much like she did when she was meant to be a sacrificial lamb for the sake of the happiness of others. Ness had been able to rescue her, then. Whatever she was going through - could he rescue her now?

“It’s been so long.” Paula said, crying once again, an icy air surrounding her. “You have no idea how often I think about you! Everything you’ve said psychically - you’re really adjusting to this ‘new life’ thing, aren’t you?”

“You… you could hear me?” Ness asked. “Why didn’t you respond?”

Paula was silent, until she finally said “Why don’t you come into my room? We can talk.”

Paula stepped inside the void of despair that laid behind her door, and Ness followed. The whole room was various shades of blue, creating a monochromatic display that caused any other color to stand out dramatically. The floor and walls were covered in fireproof mats, and most fabric items had signs of being scorched. A faded red ribbon sat on a small nightstand beside a framed photo - the photo all of the chosen four had of them Saturn Valley, taken directly after they defeated Giygas. The four had been absolutely exhausted, yet they still managed to smile widely for the camera. Smile widely for each other right before they had to say goodbye. The nightstand was by the window, which was opened outwardly towards the view of the endless ocean and the vast sky.

Just like Ness used to, Paula was surely dreaming of what adventures might lie beyond what she could see.

“I don’t leave.” Paula explained quietly. “It’s not safe.”

“Huh?” Ness asked. “Paula, of course it’s safe! Nobody can defend themselves better than you!”

“No.” Paula said. “I’M not safe for OTHERS to be around. I’m an out-of-control MONSTER, Ness! I can’t even let my own parents get near me! I keep myself locked in my room and have them slip meals under the door! You’re the only one I know is safe from me. I know that because you can protect yourself like nobody else can.”

“Paula…”

“I didn’t respond to your messages, because… well, at first it was because I felt the same thing. That inability to adapt to the new world. But then… you were turning your life around, Ness. You’ve made friends, and that’s wonderful! Who would I be to tell you all of my problems when you were doing so well for yourself? And the others, too. You all really have your lives under control, huh?”

“No, Paula, I don’t.” Ness told her. “The others, they do, but me? I have no idea what I’m doing. My biggest goal in life is just to get through the eighth grade! You’re not alone, Paula. At least, you don’t have to be.”

“It’s a noble goal, Ness.” Paula responded. “And a normal one. You’re so good at all of this.”

“I wasn’t at first! And you can be good at it, too. It only takes practice.”

“I tried.” Paula said, turning away from Ness. “What do you think happened to my school? I really tried! Those girls told me they wanted to be my friends. I was so excited, I had finally done something right in this mundane life! But like everyone else at that stupid school, they only pretended to be nice. They had found out the truth about me, and threatened to tell everyone if I didn’t do everything they said! I went along with it for a while, but they just kept making me humiliate myself more and more, and kept threatening that if I didn’t do what they wanted, the government would find out about me and take me away. So I listened to them, for a while, until… I just couldn’t take it anymore!” Paula was facing Ness once again, her blue eyes suddenly shifting red with the flame of emotion she felt as the room heated up. “So I burnt them all down!” she admitted, no longer crying. She began hyperventilating, some crazed laughter sneaking in between breaths. “I locked those girls in the bathroom and burnt down the entire school!” Fire formed in Paula’s hands. “It was incredible! I felt the happiest I felt in so long, until…” she calmed back down, the flames disappearing and her eyes returning to normal. “Until I realized that I became a villain. I was so horrified, that I decided it’d be best for everybody if I never went back to school.”

“My parents tried to homeschool me, at first.” Paula continued. “But eventually… well…” tears began to run again. “Oh Ness, I’ve been such a mess since our adventure ended! A totally out-of-control monster! My powers are way too powerful to live a normal life with! I just… I just want to run away from it all! Haven’t you ever felt that way?”

Ness’ hand instinctively went to his necklace. Despite everything, he still kept the key with him wherever he went. Just in case. “Do you mean that?” he asked seriously. “Would you really want to leave your family behind?”

Paula’s eyes widened. “I…” she paused, considering. “I feel like I’m a danger to them. I do mean it.”

“You’d have to live on your own.” Ness told her. “Upkeep a house by yourself and cook your own meals. You’d have to have all of the responsibilities of an adult, Paula. Are you sure that’s what you want? To grow up?”

“Why are you asking me so seriously?” Paula asked. “I don’t have anywhere I can go.”

“I’m not ready to give up my childhood.” Ness told her. “But if you are… I might have an option for you.”

“What?” Paula asked, staring at him. “Ness, this is all so sudden, and what about what our parents decided?”

“You’re miserable, Paula. And your parents know that. They’d just be happy to see you happy.”

“But it wouldn’t change anything.” Paula said. “No matter where I was, I’d still be dangerous.”

“Only if you have to hide who you are.” Ness told her. “But you won’t have to. Not where I have in mind. And if you’re really that worried about the government, my dad basically IS the psychic branch of the Eagleland Government! Plus, everyone in Twoson knew you were psychic, so it wouldn’t be a big deal here.”

“What are you getting at?”

“Do you remember that house I bought in Onett?” Ness asked.

“The falling apart one?”

“I had it remodeled.”

Paula stared at Ness, silently contemplating what he was saying.

“You wouldn’t have to go out very often.” Ness told her. “I have enough money to buy a small country at this point, so I could surely supply you with enough to buy groceries. We could even pay for someone to get them for you, if you wanted. You’d only have to go out when you were ready to. And when you did - you could be yourself.”

“You’re… serious, aren’t you?”

Paula looked around her room. The evidence of her fall, her failure at living normally. Things just weren’t the same as they were when she was a child. But if she didn’t have to face the world without hiding away from it entirely, then…

“I burnt my father!” Paula exclaimed, tears once again in her eyes. “He was trying to comfort me, and I gave him third-degree burns and now he limps everywhere and he acts like it’s okay but it’s not okay! And I don’t know how to face him or my mother because I’m afraid of hurting them! I don’t want to be afraid but I am. I’m so scared, and…” she stopped, then looked at Ness.

“Yes.” Paula said. “I’m ready to take care of myself.”

“Then pack your things.” Ness said, unclasping the necklace and gingerly placing around Paula’s neck instead. “And you just tell me when you’re ready to go.”

“You really do have all of the best ideas.” Paula said, smiling. “And maybe someday, when you’re ready to grow up, too, you can join me.”

“I’d like that.” Ness responded, blushing.

“Oh, I forgot last time we saw each other, but I have something of yours.” Paula opened the drawer of the nightstand she kept the faded ribbon on, and pulled out a shiny badge. “You lent me the Franklin Badge and I never gave it back. I really did mean for you to keep it, Ness.” she walked over and pinned it to Ness’ shirt. “It just feels right for you to have it.”
 
~~~
 
Ness’ mother has rushed as quickly as she could to Paula’s address without knowing it very well. Her determined expression as she ran through the streets certainly got some strange looks, but she couldn’t afford to care right now. Ness was doing so well. He didn’t need to know the truth of what happened with Paula. Not yet.

Finally she came across the right place, and banged on the door aggressively. A familiar woman opened the door after what felt way too long.

“Cousin Ana!” the blonde woman exclaimed with a smile. “It’s always great to see you!”

“Step aside.” Ana stated. “I know he’s here.”

“Ana… let him be. Paula needs-”

“I don’t give a darn what Paula needs!” Ana snapped. “I only care about my own child. And seeing Paula as she is will destroy him!”

Paula’s mother couldn’t help but let out a laugh, despite the situation. “Even at your angriest you refuse to cuss.”

“It’s unholy!” Ana told her. “Now move!”

“I can’t do that, Ana.”

“Then I’ll MAKE you move.” Ana exclaimed, trying to push against her cousin, but without much success. She never was the strongest when it came to the physical plane…

But that’s when Ness was walking towards the door. He and Paula had decided that he should go about the rest of his field trip as normal, and on the last day before he leaves he would come pick her up so she had plenty of time to say goodbye to her parents and pack her things. But then his eyes came across his mother.

Ness immediately began glaring her down. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded. “Why didn’t you tell me she was falling apart?!”

“Ness, I wanted to-”

“I’m supposed to be able to trust you.” Ness interrupted, pushing past her with force. “I don’t need your protection. I can protect myself. What I need is guidance. But if your advice is to ignore your friends when they’re in need, I don’t think I want it.”

Ness clenched his hands into fists, before making eye contact with Ana. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a field trip to go back to. And when I’m done, I’m going to come back and help Paula. And you can’t stop me.”

Ness walked off with confidence, and he didn’t look back to see if he was being followed.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“THERE you are!” Claus exclaimed when Ness re-entered the room.“We got the lecture of a lifetime because of you!” Lloyd added. “So I hope it was worth it!”“It was.” Ness said, a bittersweet smile on his face. “I’m glad we talked.”Ninten stared at Ness for an uncomfortably long time, then gave him a single approving nod.“What’s that?” Lucas asked, approaching Ness and looking at his Franklin Badge pinned to his shirt. “A Courage Badge?”“Not another one!” Claus exclaimed.“Huh?” Ness asked, looking at his pin. “You mean my Franklin Badge?”“If that’s what you call it.” Lucas said, showing off the old yet shiny pin he always wore. Ness had usually ignored it but upon closer inspection… “I have one just like it.” Lucas explained. “It was my father’s. And we all know Ninten has one.”To prove Lucas’ point, Ninten gestured to the badge that was ever-present on the bandanna around his neck.“All three of us have a Franklin Badge!” Ness exclaimed with more glee than he really should’ve. “For something so rare, it’s amazing that we all have one.”“Whatever you call them,” Claus said, “keep them away from me.”“We’re the courage trio!” Lucas said.“The courageous heroes!” Ness added.“Yeah, sure, something like that.” Ninten agreed.Lloyd looked to Claus. “Get the feeling we’re being left out?”“Nah,” Claus responded thoughtlessly, but after a moment, he added “still, it does sting a LITTLE that Lucas got dad’s precious Courage Badge and I didn’t, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re gone for three years.”“Well I feel left out…” Lloyd said sadly.Ninten turned his attention to Lloyd. “I offered you the fake one we found in that factory. You didn’t want it.” There was no way to tell if he was being serious or mischievous.“I didn’t want a fake one! I want a real one, like yours!”“Then find your own.” Ninten offered.“Anyway,” Claus said, “I saved you some dinner, Ness. It was really good!” he handed Ness a to-go box.“I didn’t really like it…” Lucas commented.“Lucas doesn’t have a very refined palette for these sorts of things.” Claus teased. “He’d rather eat slightly burnt, somewhat unclean nut cookies then anything with real FLAVOR.”“I think it might’ve been a bit too refined for me, too.” Lloyd mentioned.Ninten looked at them like they were all crazy. “The food was good.” he stated, as a fact.“Summers’ food can be a little… much at times.” Ness agreed with the others. “But it can be pretty good, too. I’m not a particularly picky eater, really.”Ness went to the small table in the room, and began to help himself to dinner. It was delicious!The room fell into the pleasant chatter that Ness had come to expect from the group, and a strange sensation washed over Ness. A conflicted feeling he couldn’t help but dwell on. What he had said to Paula - was it really true? He has said it so suddenly in the moment, but… he had chosen his new life over rolling the dice on leaving it. And as a result, the key that had given him comfort in so many items of uncertainty was no longer on him. He no longer had that constant reminder that he could leave at any time.But he guessed he didn’t need it. After all, if he was going to run away from this life, he would’ve done it already.Ness smiled and told a joke to the others. Despite the fact that he lost his escape plan, for whatever reason, he felt lighter. Like, a million pounds lighter. Finally, he was really just living in the moment, and not even considering leaving it.Who cares what the future brings? Ness was just a dumb kid with a bunch of other dumb kids on a field trip with no more purpose in his life than to enjoy his childhood.He let out a laugh and smiled widely at the other boys. “I’m so happy I got to go on this field trip. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!”Claus smiled back. “Glad you’re finally starting to see my point-of-view!”“Huh.” Ness said, considering how Claus faced the uncertainty of his own future with a constant smile and not a hint of fear. “I guess I am.”As it grew later, and the boys grew tireder, they decided to go to bed for the night. Five boys getting ready all at once in one bathroom didn’t go well, and included a lot of ‘hurry ups!’, but eventually they all had brushed teeth and were wearing pajamas.Ninten got on the bed first and tried to take it all again, so Ness gave him a good shove. “Stay on your side or I’ll knock you on the floor.” Ness threatened.Ninten rolled his eyes, but stuck to his own side.Lucas and Claus, however, were having a bit more trouble.“I TOLD you I spread out my wings when I sleep!” Claus exclaimed.“I didn’t think you meant THIS much! Where am I supposed to sleep?”“I don’t know! If I slept on the smaller bed-”“No!” Lucas snapped. “We are sharing! You’ll just have to put them in for the night.”“Lucas,” Claus said, “ever since becoming a chimera I haven’t slept a single night with my wings in.”“Well now's a great time to start!”“Just let me have the single bed.” Claus said. “Then you can have your space and so can I. You can share with Lloyd.”“No way!” Lucas argued. “We WILL figure this out!”“Why are you so caught up on this?” Claus asked. “It doesn’t really matter.”“Yes it does!” Lucas exclaimed. “When we were little, we shared a bed together every night! If we can’t do that anymore, it means something’s changed!”“Something HAS changed.” Claus reminded Lucas. “I’m a chimera now.”“So?” Lucas asked. “It doesn’t have to change anything! Especially now that you have infinite charge. You could go back to being the exact same way you were when we were little, when things were right!”“That’s not how things work.” Claus argued back. “You can’t just live in the past forever. The world keeps moving. If you just dig your heels in, you’ll be left behind, and miss everything. Is that what you want?”“I wouldn’t expect you to understand.” Lucas stated. “After all, I’ve been fighting for things to be the right way for three years now, since those stupid happy boxes first invaded Tazmily. You-”“I was mind controlled and forced to do the bidding of an evil king, and therefore wasn’t there.” Claus finished with some spice. “How dare I, am I right?”“That’s not what I meant!” Lucas interjected. “I just meant that you haven’t seen the world fall apart around you the way I’ve seen it.”“Oh, I haven’t?” Claus asked. “Lucas, I CAUSED it! Believe me I know what happened was bad! I was right in the middle of it! But maybe if the people of Tazmily were more prepared for change, they could’ve been smart enough to figure out what was good and what wasn’t.”“Are you saying it’s TAZMILY’S fault that we were invaded?”“No! I’m just saying that change makes you adapt. And if you don’t adapt, you perish. I’ve learned to adapt to my life the way it is now, Lucas, and make the best of it. Meanwhile you’ll still dreaming of the day you find a way to reset everything back to the way it was three years ago, and refuse to accept anything else!”“Can you BLAME me?” Lucas snapped back. “Change has taken so much from me! Why would I be okay with change when it’s always been so bad?!”“No, it hasn’t.” Claus said in a softer tone. “Tazmily changed, and that was bad. But the Lucas I used to know would never have been brave enough to do anything about it. That was change, too. YOU’VE changed Lucas. You don’t take everything lying down anymore. And yeah, that’s annoying sometimes, ‘cause it makes us fight, but- at least you have something you believe in, and the determination to protect it. THAT’S a good kind of change.”“I-” Lucas stared at Claus, not able to come up with a proper comeback. “Well, I-”“It’s time to SLEEP!” Ninten said aggressively. Suddenly Claus and Lloyd started floating up into the air. Lloyd started screaming, but Claus seemed to think it was pretty cool. Claus was then dropped down onto the smaller bed like he wanted, and Lloyd was dropped on his butt on the floor next to the big bed. Uninjured, just surprised.Ness looked at Ninten in shock. “You can lift TWO WHOLE PEOPLE with your mind at once?”Ninten gave Ness a single nod, then repeated “It’s time to sleep.” in a menacing tone.“But-” Lucas began to protest.“I’d just go with it.” Lloyd suggested. “Once Ninten has decided something, it might as well be set in stone.”Ness’ phone began to ring. “Hold on, my dad’s calling.” he said, and he picked up.“Hello, it’s your dad!” Ness’ father said.“Hi, dad. I don't know HOW you know I’m not asleep yet, but I’m working on it.”“You know how important breaks are, Ness.” Ness’ father lectured.Ness pushed the ‘end call’ button.Ness looked to Ninten. “Does your excess psychic power include the power to know if people are taking breaks?!”Ninten shrugged, then sleepily rolled himself up in a cocoon of blankets, smiling as he settled in. ~~~ Everyone scrambled to get ready in a half-awake daze when the alarm went off, but once Ness was ready he noticed the Ninten-burrito was still present on the bed.“Let’s go.” he said, shaking him gently.“...meh…”“Ninten, you’ve gotta get up.”“Leave it to me!” Claus said, opening the door to the balcony and letting the warm sea breeze blow in. Then he reached over and pulled Ninten out of his wrapping. He carried him as he flew out off the balcony, then up, up, and away. Ninten tiredly stirred and gave Claus a confused look.“Good MORNING!!!!” Claus exclaimed, letting Ninten go, sending him barreling towards the ground far, far below.That certainly woke Ninten up, and for the first time ever, Ness actually heard him scream. Claus, of course, swooped down and caught Ninten before he hit the ground, bringing him back up into the room.Ninten was silent now, but the shock still on his face was priceless.“Shoulda got up when I told you to.” Ness joked.Claus stared at Ninten’s expression, trying to assure that he took the action in good humor and wasn’t upset. But Ninten’s face returned to it’s typical ‘holier-than-thou’ expression as he walked towards his luggage to retrieve his change of clothes, not acknowledging what just happened. Claus smiled brightly. Ninten took it well! ~~~ “Careful as you board the boat. Can’t be havin’ you hurtin’ yerself BEFORE we leave land.” a cheerful, familiar voice said just a little bit ahead as Ness’ group approached the docks at the port town of Toto.Ness paused. “No way… right?”Ness grabbed Lucas’ shoulders and hid behind him.“Huh?” Lucas asked.“I can’t let him see me!” Ness quickly explained. “The ship’s captain! He knows me!”“Wait, are we getting on a ship?” Lucas asked. “Like a real ship?”“Yup!” Lloyd exclaimed happily. “The schedule says we’re going to Scaraba today to see the pyramids from the great war! The only way to get there is by ship!”Lucas gasped in excitement. “We get to go sailing!!”“Yeah,” Ness said, “except last time I saw that captain I fought a giant Kraken using PSI!”Suddenly noticing the group of students, the captain called out “Come on, ya bunch o’ land lovers! I ain’t gonna bite’cha.”“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Ness.” Claus said. “Maybe he won’t even recognize you.”The group rushed over to the boat, and Ness tried his best not to make eye-contact with the captain. But, sure enough, he was recognized.“Hey, it’s you! The hero of the seven seas! I wasn’t expecting to see you here!”“Uhh… hey.” Ness said shyly.“Hero of the seven seas?” a kid from another group asked. “What are you talking about?”“Oh, nothing!” Ness said quickly.“Aw, don’t be so modest!” the captain said. “When I last met him, he was a determined little thing, sayin’ he just HAD to make his way to Scaraba. ‘Course there was a dangerous Kraken in the water, and he and his friends took it out like it was nothin’! It was a sight to see, that’s fer sure!”Ness hid his face behind his hand, as if kids wouldn’t have heard that if they couldn’t see him. There was whispering, of course, but he refused to let himself listen to exactly WHAT they were saying. Whether they believed the captain or not, Ness didn’t want to know.Luckily, the captain stopped talking about the Kraken long enough to get the ship moving, and Ness was able to relax for a moment.“Look, there’s a fin!!” Lucas exclaimed happily.“That’s a shark…” Ness commented. “Hopefully it doesn’t come attack us.”One of the kids from another group looked to Ness. “Oh no, whatever shall we do? If only we had a great hero to help us!!” she over-acted.“Yes!!” Another kid agreed. “If only!!!”A third gasped. “What about Ness! He’s a great hero! He could save us!!!”Ness stood still, petrified. What should he do?Claus stepped in front of Ness. “Don’t you girls have anything better to do?” he asked angrily. “Leave him alone!”“Oh no, I’m so scared!” a girl responded sarcastically. “Cyborg boy’s gonna get us!!!”Claus continued to stare them down, his fists balled. Lloyd looked around. Where were all of the teachers?“Hey now,” Lucas said, “lets not fight! We’re all friends here!”“Friends?” One of the girls asked. “Wow, you’re delusional.”“Hey,” a different girl said, “you like the shark, right?”“...Yeah?”“Well go get a closer look!” she said, pushing Lucas over the side.Not missing a beat, Claus jumped in after him as the other boys ran to the side to watch in horror. Claus caught him and managed to get his wings out just in time to not touch the water. He quickly flew back to the boat and landed, putting Lucas back on his feet. “You okay?” he asked.Lucas just stared back in horrified silence.Looking annoyed, Ninten pushed that girl off the side, and she landed in the water with a splash.“Ninten!” Ness exclaimed. “Don’t stoop to their level!”Ninten pushed another now-terrified girl over. The other two girls tried to escape but Ninten managed to get them in the water, too.“Ninten!” Ness shouted again.“What other group?” Ninten asked, dusting his hands off from a job well-done.“They’re still swimming!” Lloyd called out, pointing to the girls desperately trying to make their way back.Ninten had an amused smile as he watched them struggle for their lives.“Yeah!” Claus shouted. “If you can make it back, we’ll let you live! Just keep trying!”“What are you doing???” Lucas asked.“They tried to kill you.” Claus shrugged. “They deserve it.”“They’re lesser beings.” Ninten added.“N-no!” Ness exclaimed. “You can’t just-”“They started it.” Claus stated.“And now there’s no witnesses.” Ninten said.Lloyd looked scared, but not really surprised. Ness turned to him. “Does Ninten do stuff like this often?”“Not always.” Lloyd told him. “But he DOES see himself above most.”One of the teachers apparently FINALLY heard the screaming, and ran out onto the deck. “What’s going on?!”“They fell off.” Claus said dumbly, playing innocent.“Turn the boat around!” the teacher yelled, running towards the captain’s area. “Turn the boat around!!”Ninten shut his eyes, focusing in. Suddenly, the entire freaking ship 4th-D Slipped right to the coast of Scaraba, leaving the other children behind. He smiled mischievously, and as he opened his eyes Ness could see the last sparkle of his recently-used power fade from his dark green eyes.“You condemned them to death.” Ness stated.“They already saw us push them over.” Ninten responded. “They had to die.”“WHY???” Lucas exclaimed.Ninten and Claus both looked proud of themselves, and Ness saw the other teacher yelling at the captain.“But me ship is SO safe!” the captain defended. “Tell ‘er, Ness!”Ness looked over there like a deer caught in headlights. His mouth went dry as he glanced at his two friends that had committed murder so casually like it was nothing. “The girls were just…” Ness’ stomach felt heavy. “...rough housing. And they fell.”“Just like that?” the teacher asked. “But the rails are too high to just ‘accidentally’ fall off!”Trying to be helpful, Lloyd added “They were looking at the shark! They leaned over too far! We told them not to, but…”One teacher turned to the other. “Get the kids off!” she demanded. “I’ll go back for the girls!”The other teacher quickly ushered the group off, and the ship took off almost as soon as the last boy’s foot touched the dock.Ness knew there was no way those girls were making it, though.Ninten gave Lloyd an approving nod for becoming a willing accomplice, and Claus smiled at Ness. Ness felt a little sick… ~~~ The teacher had taken Ness’ group through the tour of the town of Scaraba as if nothing had happened. Must’ve been a way to keep them calm. With no proof that the group could POSSIBLY be responsible for the death of the girls, it seemed to be written off as ‘an accident’. What worried Ness is how easy that came to Claus and Ninten, as if they saw themselves as beings far superior than your typical person.“Are we wrong?” Ninten asked.“Huh??” Ness looked up from his lunch he had been picking at as he had these thoughts.“I asked - are we wrong?”“Wrong about what?”“Being superior beings.” Ninten stated. “We’re psychic. Important. So if some little nobodies think they can mess with us, they deserve what they get.”Ness looked for the teacher. Seems like she had gone inside to take a call, while the boys were on a picnic blanket in the hot sun. She couldn’t hear Ninten’s admittance of guilt.“We’re not superior.” Ness defended. “Gifted, yes, but not superior.”“That’s what you think.” Claus said, inserting himself into the conversation. “We have the power to shape the world - maybe even the universe!”“But we were born with that!” Ness said. “Being lucky doesn’t make you better!”“Lucky?” Ninten asked.“Yes, lucky!” Ness insisted. “We just happened to be born with it.”“There’s a lot more to it than that.” Ninten stated. “It’s fate. And with that fate, a weight of responsibility. We may have been born with powers, but to earn the right to keep them and our lives, we’ve all gone through trials to prove ourselves worthy. For a mere human to treat us so casually-”“-We can’t let them get away with it.” Claus finished.Everything was all a matter of fate from the start? Ness guessed he didn’t disagree - he had been born to psychic parents with psychic powers and a fate to save the world. But Jeff wasn’t psychic, and he was fated into saving the world too.“Well, yes, non-psychic support characters can be dragged in for our sakes.” Ninten said, once again responding to Ness’ thoughts.“Support characters?” Lloyd asked, looking away from his sandwich.“Yes.” Ninten agreed.“Jeff is NOT a support character!” Ness snapped. “He’s saved my life more times than I can count! Just because he’s not psychic doesn’t make him any less important than anybody else!”“Is that what you see me as?” Lloyd asked Ninten, standing up now. “A ‘non-psychic support character’?”Without caring one little bit about politeness, Ninten gave a firm nod.“I-I see…” Lloyd stammered, tears forming in his eyes. “S-so, I’m nothing to you?”“Not nothing.” Ninten told him. “Just a support character.”“But that’s not fair!” Lloyd told him. “I’ve done everything I can! We saved the world together!”“And you supported me very well.”Lloyd was trying his best not to cry as he fists balled up. “You can be a real jerk sometimes Ninten, you know that?? You’re so awful!”With that, Lloyd ran off into the desert, leaving the rest of the group alone.Ninten took another bite of his sandwich, unbothered.“Aren’t you going after him?” Ness asked.Ninten shrugged.“You can’t just say stuff like that!” Lucas added.Ninten still didn’t care.“Ninten, that was low.” Claus said seriously. “You should go apologize.”Ninten looked up at Claus with a surprised look. “You agreed with me.” he stated. “That humans are lesser beings.”“I said THOSE humans were lesser beings.” Claus corrected. “But Lloyd is your friend! You shouldn’t say stuff like that about him!”“Why are you against me?” Ninten asked. “I thought we were friends.”“We ARE!” Claus explained. “But friends can call friends out when they’ve messed up. Or are being STUPID!”“Stupid?” Ninten asked, confused. “I don’t understand. What did I do wrong?”“You can’t just say stuff like that to people you care about.” Claus said. “Nobodies are fine, who cares about them, but you and Lloyd are really close friends, aren’t you?”“Are we?” Ninten asked.Claus blinked. “You don’t know?”“I assumed we were just like business partners.” Ninten stated. “And once we get back to our own time, we’ll part ways and never see each other again.”“Oh.” Claus responded. “I always just thought-”Ness began blocking things out from there. What Ninten said started swirling around in his head, and he couldn’t stop thinking about it.‘once we get back to our own time’.Suddenly Ness was reminded about the reality of the situation. None of his friends were actually FROM this time. And when they figured out how to return to the time the originated from, they’d leave, wouldn’t they? And then Ness would lose all of his friends all over again.What then? Is that when he does what he suggested Paula do? Is that when he ‘grows up’? After all, he could only take losing his friends so many times before-Before what?Technically, he COULD lose his friends over, and over, and over again, and nothing could possibly stop that. But after losing his friends the first time, he had been left so bitter. If it happened again, could he even recover?He was glad Ninten was distracted and wasn’t reading his thoughts right now, because he suddenly had a very selfish wish.
I wish my new friends would never return to the times they belong to.
 ~~~ Lloyd eventually came back to the group, though he refused to even look at Ninten, and Ninten had not apologized. Apparently he determined that he and Lloyd were ‘not actually friends’, and he didn’t really need to.Usually Ness would play mediator at a time like this, but today had been a difficult day as it stood, and Ninten didn’t really listen to him anyway. Why bother?Instead, Ness tried to pay more attention to the fascinating pyramid tour. He’d been here before, of course, but it was exactly as Lloyd said. The pyramids were once used in the great war between humans and aliens a long, long time ago. The idea of this made Ness giggle a little bit. Imagine if the only thing it took to defeat Giygas was a silly old pyramid. The adults could’ve done it long before Ness and his friends ever had.Of course, the pyramids were more of a safe haven than an actual weapon. A secret base that was used to train the forces who were to fight said aliens, as well as develop anti-alien weapons long ago before Eagleland was even considered a separate country from Foggyland. Apparently the aliens came for this planet many times, though the tour guides who were flown in from who-knows-where (definitely not Scaraba) wouldn’t give Ness a straight answer when he asked them when the last KNOWN alien invasion was.To be honest, something about these people rubbed Ness the wrong way. He felt even stranger when he found out that apparently, although the pyramids were technically in Foggyland, Scaraba and the surrounding desert had been claimed by Eagleland for whatever reason.…Why?“They’re used to be an ancient artifact on display here.” the unsettling tour guide said upon bringing the children to the point where the Hawk Eye used to be kept. “The Eagle Eye. It would allow one to see in even the deepest of darkness.Unfortunately, it went missing recently, and we’re not sure why.”They were lying about the name.Raising his hand, Lloyd said “I read that it was called the ‘Hawk Eye’, but I didn’t see anything about it being missing.”“Did you?” the tour guide asked, stepping closer to Lloyd. “And where did you read that?”The mostly-apathetic Ninten glanced lazily at the tour guide, then all of a sudden gasped, staggering backwards in pure surprise. Ness looked at him curiously. Did he just read that guys mind?Ninten looked horrified. Ninten never emoted that much over a simple mind reading. Something had to be seriously wrong.“A book published by the Scaraba Cultural Museum curator, Mr. Fork.” Lloyd explained. “I was reading it and a bunch of other related history books on the flight here. Usually I don’t care much about history, but Foggyland has much richer history than Eagleland ever did!”The strange tour guides glanced at each other, but seemed to accept that answer. Were they trying to find the REAL thief of the Hawk Eye? Why were they interrogating a bunch of middle schoolers about that?Ness spotted Ninten whispering something to Claus, and then, in turn, Claus whispered something to Lucas. Lucas looked confused, but not that concerned. What was going on here?“They’re with the Eagleland government.” Ninten whispered so quietly into Ness’ ear that Ness wasn’t even completely sure he didn’t imagine it. “Don’t use PSI.”“My dad’s with the government.” Ness whispered back. “They surely know about me.”“Still.” Ninten stated. “I don’t like their thoughts.”Ness looked at the tour guides. There were two of them, both wearing sunglasses despite being underground. They wore casual clothing, but were standing very stiffly. Ness considered before saying “I’m Ness Montague.” quite stupidly to no one in particular.One of the tour guides raised an eyebrow.“Son of NINTEN Montague.” Ness added.“I’m aware.” the guide stated. “We got the list of children we would be giving a tour to.”Ness gave the guide a wink but he didn’t seem impressed.Ninten pulled Ness away from the guide. “Stop that!” he hissed.“But my dad’s in the government…” Ness repeated. “I thought they’d recognize me!”“My dad works alongside the government.” Ninten said. “They’re a shady bunch. They were always trying to get their hands on me. Don't trust them.”Ness was annoyed. It felt SO cool to have government connections, it made Ness feel all secretive! But it did make him wonder what the government was actually DOING here.They weren’t here to try to kill Claus like Ness’ father wanted, were they?During the rest of the tour, Ness and the others stayed on guard, but no attempt on anybody’s life was actually made. Though when they rode the boat back, nobody mentioned the missing girls who were supposed to be taking the tour too. They were actually dead, weren’t they?Later on in the trip Ness would find out that none of the other groups actually got to go INSIDE the pyramids. So what was that about? It was all so mysterious…And maybe, just maybe…It was a little exciting, too.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ness tiredly sat tiredly on the balcony of the Summers’ hotel, listening to Rockin’ music on his walkman through headphones. He was SO tired, but he had no idea when the teachers were going to sleep, and he couldn’t risk getting caught by a hall monitor.

He looked over somewhat jealously at Claus. He would’ve just flown out the window by now.

For that matter, if Ness had Ninten’s level of psychic strength, he could just 4th-D Slip himself on the ground, if that was even something Ness could learn. Or, if not, Ness could just psychically float himself down to the ground.

But no, his powers couldn’t assist him with such particular movements as 4th-D Slip could, and he didn’t have wings, so he was stuck staring out at the slow-moving ocean below until the teachers were surely asleep.

When were the teachers going to sleep, exactly?

Ness went inside to look at the clock for like, the millionth time. It was still only a little past eleven. Adults stayed up that late easily, didn’t they?

What was Ness, on the fourth floor? He peeked over the side of the balcony. It was a long fall, but… Ness was actually pretty resilient after everything he’s been through.

He went back into the room, and opened a closet that had extra sheets and blankets. Was he really going to do this?

Yes, he decided.

It sounded like fun.

Ness took the sheets and starting tying them together in nice, firm knots. Then he let his make-shift rope down, and climbed down to the ground. He got strange looks from the few people who were still walking around, but there weren’t many. Summers was a sleepy town even during the day, so, unlike Fourside, there weren’t many people out at night.

It was nice. Like Onett.

He realized as he walked that he was now able to think fondly on his old hometown without that aching feeling he used to feel in his stomach in the past. He guessed that was part of the joy of letting go.

As he thought about it, the liveliness of Fourside was nice, too. Maybe he was happy he moved, after all. It was in the nature of an adventurer to want a change of scenery!

He arrived at Paula’s house, and knocked on the door, knowing that everybody should still be awake. Sure enough, Paula’s mother got the door. “Ness, you’re here! Why don’t you come in for a moment?”

Ness walked in, and found Paula waiting, her bags to her side. “I’m ready, Ness.” she said determinedly. She was still wearing blue, but she had her proper haircut once again, and a blue ribbon had been tied into her hair. It was a start.

“You be careful out there, now.” Paula’s father said, clearly trying not to cry. “And if you need anything - anything at all - feel free to call us at any time. And if you ever want to come back home-”

“Thanks dad, I know.” Paula said, hugging her father. Sure enough, as Paula had said, her father’s skin was red and leathery, signs of a severe burn. He was sitting, too, as it clearly pained him to move too much.

Luckily, Ness could fix something like that easily.

Ness closed his eyes and thought happy thoughts, putting his energy into healing the burn wounds of Paula’s father. When he opened his eyes, he watched as beautiful green sparkles surrounded the middle aged man, leaving him fully recovered.

“Ness, you-” Paula said, smiling. She pounced Ness into a hug. “Thank you.”

“You healed me.” Paula’s dad said. “Thank you. But don’t think this means you can get all cozy-cozy with my daughter!” he added playfully.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Ness responded, a smile on his face. “You ready, Paula?”

Paula hugged both of her parents goodbye. Then, she grabbed her luggage. “I’m ready.” she stated.

“Let’s go then.”

The two went outside, then Ness began running with Paula following behind closely. Soon enough, the world melted away and into the familiar town Ness knew so well.

“It’s weird to see this place at night when nothing’s wrong.” Paula joked.

“I think you’ll like it here.” Ness assured her, taking her luggage for her. “Now let’s see how well they did with the house!”

The two walked towards the house that had been falling apart last time Ness saw it, but now… flowers of all colors bloomed around it, bringing a lot of color to the already pretty area.

“Huh, I didn’t even HIRE gardeners…” Ness mentioned.

“I like it.” Paula said happily, pulling off the key necklace Ness had given her. “Let’s see if it’s just as good inside.”

Paula unlocked the door, and the two stepped in, flipping on the light. It was very nice in here! It was well furnished, and the place looked quite grand. But something was off about it, too. Ness puzzled over the hat rack by the door, an elegant pink hat hanging over it.

“Does it look… lived in to you?” Paula asked.

“Yeah…” Ness responded. “Umm…”

“It’s perfect, but…” Paula trailed off. “Does somebody already live here?”

“They shouldn’t!” Ness assured her. “I own it.”

As the two looked around, they didn’t notice the blonde coming down the stairs with a frying pan at the ready. That is, until she was close by.

“Who are you!” Ness demanded, quickly pulling Paula out of the way. “What are you doing in my house?!”

“YOUR house?” the girl demanded, not lowering her frying pan. “I live here!”

“I own it!” Ness snapped back. “What are you doing here?”

The girl couldn’t have been much older than Ness and Paula, though despite her lacey nightgown, Ness could tell her stomach was quite large. Was she… pregnant?

“I found the house unlocked.” the girl told him. “I assumed God meant for me to have it.”

“You can’t just-!” Ness took a breath. He knew from his mother that fighting with hardcore christians about what God wanted vs. what was normal was a losing battle. If this girl was ANYTHING like Ness’ mother, claiming that ‘you can’t steal just because God told you to’ wouldn’t be a good idea. Plus, she seemed like she might not have had an option. “Do you not home another home you can go to?” he asked instead.

“No.” the girl responded. “When I noticed nobody seemed to live here, I… I had to take it. I’m sorry.” she added, somewhat shamefully. “You see, I…”

“You’re going to have a child soon, aren’t you?” Paula asked gently.

“Yes!” the girl said, smiling. “I’m going to be a mother! Unfortunately, due to circumstances, I don’t really know how to find my husband, so…”

Okay, so this teenage girl had a husband now, too. It was certainly strange, but Ness wasn’t going to be the one to point that out.

“I really love this town, though.” the girl continued. “I always dreamed of living in a place like this growing up. It seems like the perfect place to raise a child, so please, if it’s not too much trouble…”

And now she was asking for a house.

“I’m Paula.” Paula said, walking towards the girl. “What about you?”

“I’m Ana!” she responded.

“Ana?” Ness asked. “...Ana what?”

“Ana Montague!” Ana exclaimed happily.

“You’re from the past, aren’t you?” Ness asked, surprised. “And the baby you have…”

“His name is Ness!” Ana finished. “How did you know I’m from the past?”

“Ness Montague?” Paula asked, staring in surprise.

“I know where your husband is…” Ness said, taking an involuntary step back. “I’ve met him… we go to school together.”

“Hold on.” Paula said. “Ness, what’s going on?”

“That’s my mom.” Ness stated. “From the past.”

“Y-you’re my future son?” Ana asked. She pushed her hands together. “Oh thank you, Lord, for letting me see what my boy will become!”

“You haven’t told me about any of this!” Paula said to Ness.

“There’s been a lot of time travel going on. But we haven’t really had a good time to talk about it.” Ness explained. “But now that my past mother lives here, we have some complications…”

“Yeah…” Paula agreed. “But… if she’s your mother, she can’t be that hard to get along with, right? …Maybe… maybe I can give this a try. I’d have to be SUPER careful about my temper, because I REALLY don’t want to do anything to hurt her or… you, but… I think I can handle it.”

“I know you can.” Ness assured Paula. “And Ana’s a psychic, too. You can be yourself around her. Maybe you two can even help each other!”

“Maybe we can.” Paula agreed.

“Okay, Ana.” Ness said. “You can live here with no trouble under one condition - you share the house with Paula.”

Ana smiled at Paula. “It’d be nice to have some company.” Ana said. “Alright, I agree!”

“Good.” Ness said, relieved. Now he didn’t have to make any difficult decisions. Then, he added, “I can bring Ninten here as soon as I get a chance. Then he should be able to come here whenever he wants.”

“Are you psychic too?” Ana asked Ness.

“Yes, I am.” Ness responded, not sure how’d she take it.

“I’m so glad!” Ana exclaimed.

“You… are?”

“Of course! You’ve been given a wonderful gift! I just hope it’s more like Ninten’s than mine.”

“It is.” Ness told her. “I’m a healer.”

“I can’t wait until your born!” Ana exclaimed blissfully.

Ness gave her a smile, but for some reason, he felt… bitter, somehow. This was what his mother was like back in the day? She seemed so wholesome, so… happy just to be a parent at all. She was even happy he was psychic.

“Well I’ll leave you two to get settled in, then.” Ness said, faking a smile and getting out of there quickly.

Why was he so envious? It was the same person, but…

Why couldn’t Ness’ own mother seem so proud of Ness just for being who he is?

He felt tears form in his eyes as he walked away from the house, the cold fall air being such a different feeling to the warm breeze of Summers, and just making his tears more obvious to Ness as they were cold on his skin.

It wasn’t fair!

PK Rockin’ expelled itself from Ness, attacking a random billboard as he passed it. A piece of paper fell off of it, having been cut by his power. Ness picked it up out of some semblance of curiosity, and looked at it.
 
Missing: Pokey and Picky Minch

If found, please contact Lardna Minch.
 
The picture was partly cut off from Ness’ temper tantrum, but it showed Pokey and Picky happily playing together.

She seriously didn’t know, did she?

Should Ness tell her that her children were okay? Lardna had always been so unpleasant, but… she should at least know the two were safe. Or well, whatever it was Pokey was, anyway.

As Ness walked up towards the Minch household, he saw his old house. A swingset was outside of it. Ness never had a swingset.

He walked closer, and pressed his face against the cold glass window to peer into the living room. There was a different couch there, and he could spot a little baby walker thing, along with a few toys spread across the floor.

Another family had moved in to Ness’ childhood home.

A bittersweet smile crossed Ness’ face. At least they had kids. More than one by the looks of it.

Those kids were lucky. There wasn’t a better house in all of Eagleland to be a kid in.

Ness decided not to disturb the new family any longer, and instead walked over to the Minch’s home. He knocked on the door. Despite the late hour, after a few minutes, Lardna got the door, though her hair was up in curlers and a green sort of mud was all over her face.

“Ness?” she asked, confused. “What exactly are you doing here?”

Ness held out the torn flier he still had in his hands. “I wanted to tell you… about your kids.”

“Huh?” she asked, looking concerned. That surprised Ness, for some reason. “Do you know where they are?”

“Yeah.” Ness said. “I don’t think they want to be found, but… they’re safe. Both of them.”

“Where are they?” Lardna demanded. “If you know where they are, tell me!”

“I shouldn’t.” Ness repeated. “I really shouldn’t.”

“They ran away, didn’t they?”

Ness stared at Lardna in surprise. He was silent - at a loss for words. He had so often heard this lady saying so many terrible things about how much she regretted having children, how her children didn’t DESERVE to be a part of the Minch family, so for her to seem so distraught about their disappearance now…

“I suppose I had this coming…” Lardna lamented. “I… I guess I should take down the fliers then, huh? Maybe it’s for the best… the whole family is falling apart.”

Ness didn’t say anything for a while, and neither did Lardna. Finally, Ness managed “Well, I should get going…”

“...Thanks, Ness.” the woman who once was an absolute menace during Ness’ childhood said. “I hope they’re doing well.”

“They are.” Ness assured her. “In their own… strange way.”

Lardna went back into her house as Ness walked away, before running off and teleporting to Summers.

However, when he came back to the hotel, he found his rope ladder was gone!

Uh oh…

He stood in place, puzzling over what to do, until suddenly he was swooped up by strong force.

“AHHHHH!” Ness screamed as salty, warm air barreled towards his face at top speed.

“Ahahahah! Caught you!” Claus’ voice called out to him playfully.

Ness looked up, and realized Claus had grabbed ahold of him by the arms, pulling him along as he flew high above Summers. “What are you doing awake!?!” Ness shouted over the wind.

“I could ask you the same thing, you little escape artist!”

“I had to bring Paula to Onett!” Ness told him. “I have an excuse!”

“Me too!” Claus responded. “I couldn’t sleep! We’re about to leave this place, so I want to take it all in before we do!”

Ness laughed, though the sound was mostly lost to the rushing air. “I should have expected this from you!!”

“Your world’s so big!” Claus exclaimed happily. “There’s so much to see, I hope I get to see it all someday!”

“Me too!” Ness agreed. Then, after thinking about it, he said “Hey, can you put me down for a second? I want to talk to you.”

Claus brought Ness down into the soft sand of the empty beach. Now it really felt like EVERYONE else was asleep as Ness looked out into the endless black ocean. Though it was cheerful during the day, the beach was menacing at night. Like something could come out of the water at any time.

“What is it?” Claus asked, clearly not at all unsettled by the dark ocean. He DID grow up on an island, Ness realized.

“...It’s about time travel…”

Claus’ carefree smile faltered. “I’m not really supposed to talk about that, Ness…”

“C’mon.” Ness insisted. “How did you do it? And was it the same way Ninten and Lloyd got here?”

“You wanna get rid of us THAT badly?” Claus joked.

“No! Actually… it’s the opposite. I don’t want you all to leave me…”

Claus gave him a strange look, which was even stranger by the fact that only one of his eyes glowed in the darkness. “You… you don’t want us to EVER go back, do you?”

Ness stared at Claus.

“Well, that’s fine by me.” Claus shrugged. “I’m in no hurry to go anywhere, really. There’s not really much left to go back TO where I’m from, and… the concept of resetting the world kind of scares me. What if I don’t remember who I was before? What if it’s not ME who gets to live a new life? What if… because I don’t have a heart, I don’t get to BE in the new world? Lucas is so certain pulling the last needle is so important, but… I’m finally getting a chance at life again. I don’t want to lose it this time.”

Claus paused. “I’m not supposed to tell you this.” he said. “I’m really not - as a rule. King P REALLY wants everyone to think he has everything under his control, but in reality…” he paused again.

In a low voice, Claus said “In reality we have no more of an idea of what happened that day than anybody else. Master Porky lost his ability to time travel a long time ago and has been stuck in our era ever since.”

Ness gasped. “Then how…?”

“We don’t know.” Claus said, picking up a seashell and skipping it across the ocean. “We don’t know how we got here, or how to get back. To be honest, everyone’s memory is a little fuzzy. We THINK that Lucas and I were trying to pull the final needle when it happened, and I’m pretty sure I died, but we’re not quite sure EXACTLY what happened. King P claimed that HE chose for Dr. Andonuts and only Dr. Andonuts to come with us, but I think that’s as much of a lie as everything else relating to time travel. None of us had any say at all.”

“So if you don’t know, who does?”

Claus shrugged. “Whatever force caused it. I know Lucas really wants to get back home, but as I’ve said, I’d be happy if we never figured it out. I’ve got a whole eternity to live, so I might as well live it somewhere nice and big like this place.”

“A whole eternity?”

“As you know, I don’t age.” Claus said, staring into the ocean now too. “Whatever crazy stuff they did to me back then made sure of that. Otherwise I’d outgrow all of my mechanical parts, you know. So I’ll never get any bigger. I’ll never get to be an adult. It’s a little sad, but when you realize your whole future’s basically spoken for, growing up’s the least of your problems, really. I don’t really like to talk about all this serious stuff, but… if I’m immortal and Porky’s immortal, it means I’ve gotta figure out how to fix things. I’m not willing to give up anymore, so… it means that if I want freedom I need to earn it myself. Because I’ve been given a miracle. And I’m not going to let it go to waste. I’ll never let any opportunity ever go to waste again.”

“If anyone can change Pokey for-the-better, it’s someone like you.” Ness said genuinely. “Your optimism is kind of contagious sometimes.”

Claus smiled, his face lit by his red eye. “I hope you’re right, Ness.”

Ness yawned. “But for now, maybe we should just focus on getting some sleep. It’s going to be an early morning tomorrow.”

“I’m not really tired.” Claus shrugged.

“Then at least drop me off back in the hotel.”

“Can do.” Claus said, smiling before grabbing Ness once again, flying up into the air.

Ness could see why Claus liked flying so much. It really felt like he was on top of the world! Claus left Ness safely on the balcony, before flying off into the sky once again. Ness had to scooch Ninten over, then went to sleep.
 
~~~
 
Ness was awoken to the sound of a scream, followed by sobbing.

“What?!” Ness asked, falling off the bed.

“Claus…” Lucas cried. “He’s missing!”

“Huh?” Ness asked. “He was out flying last night. Maybe he’s still out there?”

“Flying?” Lucas asked. “At night? In a strange area? He should know better!”

“He was just exploring.” Ness defended.

“But so many bad things could have happened to him!” Lucas exclaimed. “What if he was hurt? Or kidnapped? Maybe something killed him!!!”

“Nobody killed him.” Ness assured Lucas. “Claus knows how to defend himself.”

“But what if-”

“Here, I’ll show you.” Ness said, confidently walking towards the balcony door. He pushed the curtains away from it and opened it, and sure enough, Claus was flying nearby in the bright blue sky, doing loop-de-loops and other such tricks. “See, what did I tell you?”

“CLAUS!!” Lucas called out, cupping his hands around his mouth. “GET BACK HERE!!”

Claus flew over and landed gracefully on the balcony, fully dressed. “Figured I’d let you guys get yourselves ready before I came back.” he shrugged.

“You could’ve been hurt or killed or kidnapped or all three!” Lucas lectured.

“Well if I was killed I wouldn’t be hurt OR kidnapped anymore.” Claus joked.

“It’s not funny!” Lucas snapped. “I was worried!”

“When did YOU become the older sibling…?” Claus lamented, walking inside without any more fighting.

“Did you ever sleep last night?” Ness asked.

“Nope!” Claus responded. “Not tired though. Still, maybe I’ll try to get some coffee at the airport.”

“Coffee stunts your growth!” Lucas lectured.

Claus just stared at him silently for a few minutes until Lucas realized what he just said.

“Still! You shouldn’t drink it!”

“Anyone ever tell you that you worry too much?” Claus asked, playfully tousling his twin’s hair.

“Anyone ever tell you that you don’t worry ENOUGH?” Lucas snapped back.

“Uh, yes?” Claus responded. “I just didn’t worry about it.”

Lucas made an annoyed sound in return, though Ness busied himself with getting ready. HE was actually VERY tired, and he might actually try to get a hold of some of that coffee too, even if kids drinking coffee was ‘of the devil’ as his mom would have put it. “Maybe we can stop by a Starbucks or something.” Ness suggested.

“Sounds good!” Claus agreed.
 
~~~
 
After the children had been turned loose at the airport with breakfast vouchers, Ness’ group sat at a table with their various breakfasts. Ness had gotten breakfast at McDonalds, Claus had just gotten a parfait and pumpkin bread at the same time as getting his way-too-sugary coffee from Starbucks, Lucas had gotten some sort of power salad, Lloyd had a breakfast burrito, and Ninten was just… eating prime freaking ribs first thing in the morning. Ness was surprised any restaurant was even offering that this early in the morning.

“You know,” Claus said, sipping his frozen ‘coffee’ that looked more like a milkshake with all the whipped cream and chocolate drizzle on top, “one time when I was eleven, I was given a triple shot expresso.”

“I bet you were bouncing off the walls!” Ness responded.

“Worse.” Claus told him, smiling. “Picture a young, inexperienced psychic with very little self-awareness and great authority running around a serious facility yelling the strangest orders to anybody he could find. Now add the fact that said psychic was sleep deprived AND was upset because psychic training got delayed.”

The group, sans Lucas, all started laughing. “Who gave YOU an expresso?” Ness asked.

“Somebody who was about to be fired.” Claus responded. “A low level pigmask trying to be helpful since I had been up all night the day before.”

“This,” Ninten said, “is why taking breaks is so important.”

“Cheers on that!” Claus replied, holding his coffee in the air before taking another sip.

“My mom thinks drinking coffee is a one way ticket to hell.” Ness added, sipping his own coffee. “That, and Rockin’ music. I, on the other hand, am obsessed with it! I’ve even performed with the Runaway Five before!”

“Who?” Ninten asked with no tact.

“They’re ahead of your time.” Ness responded, more comfortable joking about that since he knew nobody knew how to get Ninten back to the past.

“So is that what you want to do?” Lloyd asked. “Be a performer?”

“Do?” Ness asked. “Do for what?”

“You know, for a living.” Lloyd said. “Your future. I could see it. You have the right personality, and you certainly seem like the type who’d want to tour the world and play for all sorts of people!”

“A performer?” Ness asked. “I… never thought about it.”

And yet he wasn’t hating the idea.

“Teddy used to perform a lot, I think.” Lloyd told Ness. “If he wasn’t an assassin now, annoying as he is, he’d probably be a good person to talk to.”

“I wonder where his adult self went, anyway.” Ninten added.

“Maybe my mom knows.” Ness responded. “I guess I can ask her, but she probably wouldn’t tell me even if she knew. And I KNOW my dad wouldn’t give me a straight answer.”

Lucas was staring at his salad silently, looking sad.

“Upset you didn’t get an omelet?” Claus asked. “Yeah, I looked for them too.”

“No, it’s just…” Lucas looked up at Claus. “You have memories of that time?”

“You mean my three years as a Commander?” Claus asked. “Of course. Messed up as it was, it was a good portion of my childhood.”

“That’s so weird.” Lucas responded. “Because I… I can barely remember those three years at all. And any memories I do have… they’re mostly just me being sad. I didn’t… I didn’t really do much at all for three years, and now I’m starting to wonder if that was a mistake.”

“You were going through a lot.” Claus assured him. “And it’s over now. So you should just enj-”

“HOW IS IT SO EASY FOR YOU???” Lucas demanded, suddenly on the defensive. “You lost everything you had, and you’re just so happy to act like everything’s fine! And I can’t even save you, even now! I just… I can’t understand how you’re always so happy! It’s like everything’s fine all the time! And I guess- I guess that’s why I’m always so hard on you for being a chimera. Because I can’t understand why that doesn’t bother you.”

Claus walked over and pulled Lucas into a hug. “Of course it bothers me that I was gone for three years.” Claus said softly. “I missed so much, and I continue to every day. But there’s no point in just agonizing over something for the sake of it. I’m happy all the time because it’s better to think of the good rather than the bad. And you don’t NEED to save me, Lucas. I’ve got my own plans. You just have to learn to trust me!”

“…I haven’t been trusting you very much lately, huh?” Lucas asked, feeling guilty. “I guess… I guess I can give it a try.”

Claus gained his carefree smile back. “Thanks, lil’ bro.” he said, messing up Lucas’ hair.

“We’re the same age!!!”

“I’m ever so slightly older~!”

“Yeah, well…” Lucas thought of a comeback for a few moments. “At least I don’t have to wear platform boots to be ALMOST as tall as me.”

Claus let out a playful gasp, a huge smile on his face. “You did NOT just go there!” he responded, and started chasing Lucas in a circle around the table.

Ness smiled. It looked like the twins were finally getting along. Now if only Lloyd and Ninten could learn from their example, but Lloyd still refused to look at Ninten and Ninten still refused to apologize.

Well, they’d surely make up, too. They were friends, and friends fight! That didn’t stop them from being friends!

When the children were finally called to board the plane, Ness felt he was so cheerful right now as he took a window seat. It felt like everything either was, or would be going right soon.

Yup, things sure were great!

Nothing could possibly go wrong.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Welcome back, Commander!”As Claus walked into the Empire Porky Building v2 after coming back from Summers he was very much startled by the presence of a pigmask standing by the doorway.“I’m here for extra security!” the pigmask said proudly.Claus just stared in surprise for a good few moments. “...Okay?” he said, before walking off, trying to avoid eye contact. When did Porky get pigmasks in this time?But Claus didn’t get very far, because his eyes were suddenly drawn to a strange to-scale diamond statue of Porky. He stared at it for a bit longer than he should have, feeling a little off.“There you are!!” Porky’s voice called from behind him, and Claus jumped, quickly turning to face the Porky robot behind him. “Where have you been?!” he demanded.Was this a trick question? “Uh… at Summers, your majesty.” Claus said with a bow. “You gave me permission to attend the field trip?”“Right, I did do that! Well then, since you were gone, you missed all of the new changes!”“Changes?” Claus asked, a nervous feeling finding its way into the pit of his stomach as he began to fidget with the hem of his sleeve. “What kind of changes?”“For one, we have pigmasks now.” Porky said proudly. “And Mana Mana has become one of my most trusted advisors! And oh yeah, one more thing…”The Porky bot got so close to Claus that Claus would have felt its breath if it breathed. “Don’t EVER go to floor 101 again, do you understand?”“Yes, Master Porky!” Claus responded quickly, feeling quite intimidated.“Well then, go upstairs. Get changed, and be your more emotionless self! There’s work to be done!”‘...Understood, Master Porky.” Claus said, feeling very much discouraged as he walked towards the elevator. Porky was acting much like the way he used to, before he started changing for the better. What if Claus’ optimism for a better future had been misplaced, after all?Still, he couldn’t tell anybody that. Not when Lucas finally believed in him.Claus unpacked his luggage and stopped at a Summers version of a snow globe, which was the city if it was in the ocean, with little seashells that floated around. It was a weird idea for a souvenir, but Claus had picked it up thinking Porky might want it.Claus angrily shoved the thing into a drawer. He tossed aside the notes he made, and figured he might as well forget about the pictures. Clearly Porky didn’t care about hearing about his Summers trip, after all.Angry tears began forming in Claus’ eyes and he had to wipe them away quickly before they messed with his circuitry. To think he actually imagined a day where things could be different. Happier.Claus could be such an idiot sometimes. ~~~ Ness opened the door to his apartment and walked in, not really sure WHAT to expect from his mother. But not in a million years could he have predicted what ended up happening.“Hey Ness, welcome back from your trip!” Ness’ mother said cheerfully. “I can’t wait to hear all about it!”“What?” Ness asked. “I’m sorry, did you get replaced with the other Ana while I was gone?”“Don’t be silly, Ness!” Ness’ mother responded. “You went on a week long field trip and I’d like to hear about it. Knowing you, I bet you were homesick about halfway through!”“Nope, I was fine.” Ness responded coldly. “But I think I’m a bit exhausted from all of that traveling. I’d like to go to my room, for now.”Ana had a hurt expression, but she didn’t stop him. A few minutes after Ness entered his room, though, Tracy let herself in.“Borrowed your compass.” she said, throwing the heavy metal object on Ness’ bed. “Hope you don’t mind.”“I would’ve preferred if you ASKED,” Ness responded, “but it’s not a big deal.”It used to be a big deal, though. That compass was an expensive present from his father for Ness’ eighth birthday, back when Ness showed the slightest interest in being a boy scout. The compass had been really precious to him back then, like anything else from his father, but now Ness found he didn’t really care.“So how was your trip?” Tracy asked, now sitting on Ness’ bed. “Did you get me anything?”“Yeah, yeah.” Ness responded, pulling out a bag. “All of this stuff was overpriced as heck, so you’d better be grateful!”“Like you don’t have the money.” Tracy joked, opening the bag. The first thing she pulled out was a plush potted palm tree wearing sunglasses. She burst out laughing. “What is this??”“You haven’t even seen the best part.” Ness said, reaching over and pushing a button. Suddenly, the palm tree started dancing.“This is so cheesy!!” Tracy exclaimed. “I love it!!”“Thought you would.” Ness responded. “The other stuff is like, actually good stuff though.”The next thing Tracy pulled out was a souvenir coin. One side said it was from Summers, Foggyland, while the other side showed a picture of the beach.“I know it’s small.” Ness said. “But I figured you might want to maybe collect something small like that, since I’m sure you’ll probably go to all sorts of fancy places some day. I figured I might as well jumpstart your collection. There’s an empty coin collection display in there too, so-”“It’s perfect.” Tracy assured Ness, smiling at the coin genuinely. “Thank you.”“And one more thing.” Ness said, showing her the last item at the bottom of the bag. “I got you a map of Summers.”“What, so I can hang it on my wall like a dork?” Tracy joked, gesturing around to Ness’ decorations. In a more serious tone, she added “I’m just joking. It’s awesome.”“So the government was following us.” Ness said in a bit of an excited tone.“Doesn’t dad work for them?” Tracy asked.“Yeah, but I guess they weren’t high enough ranking to know that.” Ness shrugged. “They seemed unphased when I told them who I was.”“Because you were probably being super weird about it.” Tracy teased. “Still, I wonder what the Eagleland government was doing in Foggyland.”“Who knows?” Ness asked, a huge smile plastered on his face. “Maybe they want to get me into some important government business!”“Psychics and governments generally mix about as well as water and oil.” Tracy warned. “But I guess there’s our dad, so…”“Exactly.” Ness responded. “Anyway, speaking of our dad…” Ness trailed off, not sure Tracy was really ready to hear about all of the time travel stuff. “Uhh, I have to go talk to one of my friends.”“What does that have to do with our dad?”“He just… reminds me of him.” Ness said, before quickly leaving. He didn’t acknowledge his mother as he walked by, making it out of the house without anymore communication.Ness quickly made his way across Fourside, and knocked on the door he knew to be Lloyd and Ninten’s.Lloyd got the door after a few moments. “Hey, Ness! Did you come to hang out?”“No, I came to talk to Ninten.” Ness said, then when he saw the way Lloyd’s face crumpled, he added “Uhh, but this might interest you, too!”As if he heard what Ness said, Ninten walked out of his bedroom and into the main room, looking at Ness expectantly.“I met someone else from your time.” Ness told him. “You never told me you and Ana were officially married, though.”“You found Ana?” Ninten asked. “Is she alright?”“Perfectly fine.” Ness responded. “Though you should probably know if you didn’t already - she’s pregnant.”“You're the baby I assume.” Ninten shrugged, as if that really wasn’t a big deal. “Take me to her.”“Me too!” Lloyd added.“Follow me.” Ness said, leading the two down the stairs and outside. Then he teleported them straight to Onett, and led them to the house, which looked even more colorful in the day.Ness felt a little silly knocking on the door of his own house, but he did it out of politeness, and Paula answered the door.“Hi, Ness.” she said. “Who are they?”“Ana’s friends.” Ness responded. “Well, Ana’s friend and Ana’s husband.”Ninten pushed right past Paula, and looked for Ana, who happened to be nearby.“Ninten!!” Ana exclaimed as the two hugged. “Where have you been?”“Fourside.” Ninten responded. “How did you get to this time?”“I haven’t the slightest idea.” Ana answered. “I just seemed to… appear at a giant footstep, and I had no idea where I was or how to get back. But I’m so happy you’re here now, Ninten!”“Now we can solve the mystery together.” Ninten stated, giving Ana a slight smile.“Hey, Ana!” Lloyd said. “I’m here, too! You didn’t tell me that you were pregnant… or that you two even had your wedding…”“Did I forget to send a letter?” Ana asked. “I could’ve sworn I had.” Ana then turned to Ness. “Thank you so much for bringing Ninten here! I’m so grateful!”“Of course.” Ness responded with a smile. “So, how have you been settling in, Paula?”“It’s only been like half a day.” Paula joked. “But it’s been good! I’ve picked a room on the second floor with a nice view of the water. Like Summers, I guess, but better! I really think I’m going to love it here!”“I’m glad to hear it!” Moving his attention, Ness asked “You can teleport, right Ninten?”Ninten nodded.“Good.” Ness said. “That means you can visit here anytime you want.”Ninten gave Ness a confused look.“What?” Ness asked.“Well, it’s just that you assumed I would continue to live in that falling apart apartment in Fourside. With Ana living here, it stands to reason that I would as well.”“Oh, right.” Ness said, with a slight laugh, despite the fact that he was a little worried about Paula getting overcrowded now. “Well then, it’ll make it so you can get to school everyday, then.”Again, Ninten stared at him like Ness had said something crazy. “Why would I still go to school?”“Wh-what?” Ness asked, stumbling backwards a little. “B-because… that’s what we do… we go to school.”“That’s what I did.” Ninten corrected. “When I had nothing better to do. But now that I know that time travel can happen in multiple locations, there’s no reason for me to stay in Fourside, and now I have something better to do. Be with Ana.”It felt like the world was spinning all of a sudden. Ness stared wide-eyed at Ninten so casually leaving, like their friendship had meant nothing.It felt like Ness would pass out, but really, that’s just what he WISHED would happened. If he passed out, he wouldn’t have to face this moment here and now. But he didn’t pass out. He just stared at Ninten, feeling so utterly betrayed yet knowing that this WASN’T a betrayal. It was the result of his own actions. Ana and Ninten clearly loved each other, and Ness being kind led them right to each other.Ness fell backwards, into a sitting position.“Are you okay?!” Ana asked quickly.Paula, however, looked like she understood entirely.“That’s it, then?” Paula asked Ninten. “You’re just going to leave him? I assume you two are friends!”“So?” Ninten asked. “Are we even friends? How would you define that?”“You’re so awful!!!” Lloyd shouted at Ninten.Ness didn’t say a word as Lloyd and Paula dragged him outside of the house so he could get some fresh air.“Ness…” Paula said, but trailed off, not knowing how to add to it.“He KNOWS people’s thoughts!” Lloyd exclaimed angrily. “He KNOWS how people feel about him! How can he stand there playing oblivious when he KNOWS when people see him as a friend?!?”Ness unsteadily stood up, feeling light headed. “I… I guess I shouldn’t be surprised…” he said finally. “Just like my dad… it’s not that he doesn’t care, it’s just… it’s just that he has higher priorities.”“That is SO not fair!” Paula said. “He can’t just-”“What’s going to stop him?” Ness asked, not feeling at all like himself. “I… I’m going back home. Lloyd, do you want me to teleport you back to Fourside?”“Uh… yeah.” Lloyd said. “There’s not much point to me being here.”“Okay.” Ness said. “Let’s… let’s go.”“I’ll call you!” Paula promised. “Tonight, okay?”“...sure.”Ness half-heartedly teleported to Fourside, and started walking with no balance towards his apartment. He barely noticed Lloyd by his side, saying something-or-other before grabbing his shoulders, trying to comfort him on the walk home.They finally got to Ness’ apartment, and Ness just stared at the lock, and it unlocked itself, and the door swung open without Ness touching it. Ness’ mother said something now, but it didn’t register with Ness, either.He finally made his way back to his room, and collapsed on his bed. After a while of not doing anything, he finally managed to say“My whole world’s falling apart. Again.” ~~~“I’m home!!!” Lucas exclaimed, upon entering the shabby apartment he had been living in since arriving in Fourside. Boney came running, licking Lucas and asking if Lucas brought him back any good Summers snacks, but Lucas was a little preoccupied. “Where’s dad?” he asked.“Out.” Boney whimpered. “Like usual.”“Probably working.” Lucas sighed. Lucas then took a sharp inhale of the scent of the place - despite everything, somehow, someway, anywhere Flint frequented STILL smelled like sheep, despite Lucas not having seen a single one since arriving to this time. Did they even HAVE sheep in Eagleland? Most things around here seemed to be made from ‘polyester’, which must come from some animal or plant that the Nowhere Islands didn’t have.Lucas sat his stuff down unhappily. It felt like his father was never around lately. He seemed out later and later more and more often, and yet here they still lived, in this falling apart building full of holes and cracks with noisy neighbors.This place was a mess, Lucas realized. He should probably clean it up. He picked up a few pieces of trash, then picked up a shirt that desperately needed to be washed. Underneath it, he found a mouse.A mouse with wings.Lucas screamed, startling the mouse into flying.“This can’t be happening.” Lucas told himself. “It has to be a bad dream or something! Maybe I’m still at the Summers hotel, sleeping! After all, this isn’t the FIRST crazy thing I’ve seen today!”Lucas’ mind flashed back to the plane ride from Summers to Fourside. It had been fairly peaceful, until all of a sudden, it wasn’t. The plane had made an awful sound, and an accompanying smell. Looking out the window, Lucas had even seen some thick, black smoke coming out of the back of it.Lucas didn’t pretend to understand vehicles, but Claus’ reaction along with everyone else’s told him that whatever going on was bad news. There was then talks of an emergency landing, even potentially a crash, and the plane was losing altitude rapidly - or so Lucas heard.Lucas had then looked to Claus for advice on what to do, since he had ridden more flying vehicles than anybody, but he found that his twin’s eyes were closed. He didn’t seem to think much for their chances, apparently.But then the plane was suddenly fine.Lucas GUESSED that it meant that the plane fixed itself or whatever, but nobody seemed to really understand HOW that happened. It didn’t seem like that was a normal thing that could happen.But their landing had been a smooth one, so, he had decided not to question it.But now this mouse…Lucas opened a closet, and took out a broom, and gave the mouse a good SMAAASH!Lucas then used the end of the broom to put the body on a plate, and flipped the plate upside down out the window, trying to drop the body onto the ground below.But apparently Lucas hadn’t killed it, because after it fell for a few moments, it started flying again. Lucas quickly shut the window before it could come back in.Still, Lucas let out a sigh of relief, until he found a screwloose was ALSO in here.“Oh great dragon…” he let out in a tired annoyance. ~~~Ness tried to put a smile on his face as he reached the Monotoli building in the morning on his walk towards school, but when he saw Lucas he noticed that he had a weaponized stick in his hands.“Plan on attacking any nearby piñatas?” Ness managed to joke.“Huh?” Lucas asked. “What’s a piñata?”“It’s a cardboard animal filled with candy.” Ness explained.“Is that a kind of chimera?” Lucas asked, horrified.“No, it’s a kid’s party thing. It’s… you know what, nevermind.” Ness said. “Why DO you have a weapon?”“Haven’t you noticed?” Lucas asked. “There’s chimeras everywhere!”“I don’t know what YOU’RE talking about,” Claus called out, exiting the Monotoli building, “but the BEST chimera has just arrived!”“Uh, Claus?” Lucas asked. “You’re in your PJs.”“Oh pork!” Claus exclaimed. “Master Porky’s been running me ragged all morning, I guess I didn’t even notice.” He looked annoyed at the prospect, but he said “I can’t really go back in right now, so I guess I’m just going out in my pajamas…”“You can’t!” Lucas told him. “You shouldn’t ever leave the house in your pajamas! It’s just not right!”Suddenly, the door to the Monotoli building burst open, and a pigmask rushed out. “Commander, you forgot your lunch!” he exclaimed, handing Claus the large lunchbox he usually brought with him.“Uh, thanks…” Claus responded awkwardly, looking slightly embarrassed.“And you forgot to change!” the pigmask lectured. “What kind of impression would you be making if you showed up to school in your pajamas?”Claus was silent.“Well? You should go change, Commander!”“R-right…” Claus said, looking at the ground, his cheeks bright red. “Umm, I’ll be right back, guys…”Claus rushed inside, and the pigmask turned to Ness. This is also when Ness realized that Lucas was hiding behind him. “Are you a friend of the Commander’s?” the pigmask asked.“Uh, yeah.” Ness responded. “And you are…?”“Just a lowly soldier in the Pork Army. But one day I hope to rise the ranks!”“The Pork Army?” Ness asked. “How many members are there?”“Hundreds, maybe thousands!” the pigmask exclaimed. “But there’s only about ten of us here right now, so that’s why I get the honor of working so closely with the Commander! He’s nothing like I’ve heard him described as, though…”Claus rushed back outside, dressed in one of his teal sweaters and typical orange pants. He turned to the pigmask. “Okay, you can umm…” Claus took on an authoritative tone. “Go back to your post!” he commanded.“Yes, Commander!” the pigmask responded, saluting in a strange way before rushing back inside.Claus let out a sigh of relief. “And I managed to get out before King P realized I was back.”“Why are there pigmasks?” Lucas demanded, coming out from behind Ness. “I thought none of them made it here!”“They didn't.” Claus responded. “They uh, got brought here while I was gone.”“And what about the chimeras?” Lucas asked.“What are you talking about?”Suddenly, there was a scream, and the group’s attention was immediately brought over towards an almost mecha-lion rampaging in the city, chasing people.Claus laughed. “Chimeras like that?” he asked.“We have to do something!” Lucas declared. “We have to protect the people of Fourside!”“Nah, he’s fine.” Claus said, making the click-click-click sound one typically makes with their tongue when they try to call a cat over. “Here, kitty, kitty!”“Claus!” Lucas exclaimed. “That’s a lion!”“A type of cat.” Claus informed him.Suddenly, the almost mecha-lion rushed towards Claus. Lucas was ready to attack and Ness was preparing to use PK Lifeup, but neither were necessary. The chimera big cat simply started snuggling Claus like any other cat would.“Come on.” Claus soothed. “Let’s get you away from all these people, huh?”Claus faced the other two. “I’m going to be a bit late to first period. Cover for me, okay?”“Uh, sure.” Ness agreed.As soon as they were out of Claus’ earshot, Lucas said “Okay, I’m trying to be more understanding about Claus’ chimera side, but that was a bit much, right?”“Yeah.” Ness agreed. “A lot much.” he laughed. “And yet I’m not surprised!“Yeah, but…” Lucas look concerned. “There shouldn’t have been a chimera in town at all.”“Is this how it started back on your island?” Ness asked.“No, but, well, kind of.” Lucas stuttered through. “You see, first there was this big fire. And during that time, we saw the first chimeras. Sort of like how we only saw one back when we went camping, it only started with a few. But then, more and more started showing up, until there weren’t many real animals left. I saw a chimera yesterday, along with a purely mechanical creature, and now there’s this. This is what it started getting like a bit later on.”“So the city’s in danger?” Ness asked.“Why are you smiling like that?!” Lucas demanded.Ness hadn’t even realized how excited he had been when he asked.“I mean,” Ness said, trying to correct his expression, “do we need to take action?”“I don’t know.” Lucas said. “I don’t know WHAT to do!”“We should take one to Jeff.” Ness said. “He’ll know what to do! Let’s wait for Claus to come back, then we can catch one of the smaller ones.”“What about school?” Lucas asked.“Who cares about school?” Ness responded. “The world’s in danger! We heroes have to rise up!!! Oh, but we should go get Lloyd. He might be able to help.”“You seem REALLY happy about this…” Lucas commented with concern.“Do I???” Ness said with a smile. “Whatever. I’ll go get Lloyd. You wait here.”“Okay…”Ness rushed off as fast as his still somewhat-stubby legs would take him towards the school.“Lloyd…” Ness panted as soon as he reached Lloyd, out of breath. “The world’s in… danger. We need… your help!”“Say no more!” Lloyd exclaimed, matching Ness’ enthusiasm. “What do you need me to do?”“Let’s go… get Lucas and Claus… then… we’ll talk.”The way back towards the Monotoli building was a little slower with Ness’ exhaustion, but that was fine since Claus wasn’t back anyway.“What if he’s headed towards the school?” Lloyd asked with sudden concern.“He could be!” Ness exclaimed. “Okay, there’s a pay phone. I’ll call him! He always has a phone on him.”“Portable phones…” Lloyd said, shaking his head in amazement. “What a wonderful invention to be widespread…”“What is WRONG with you two??” Lucas asked.Ness rushed to the phone, and dialed the number he knew to be Claus’. After a very short time, Claus’ voice in a very official tone said “You have reached the Commander’s pork phone. This is the Commander speaking.”“Claus, it’s me! Ness.”“Oh.” Claus laughed. “What’s up, Ness?”“We’ve decided the world’s in danger and we need your help to save it! Don’t go to school!”“Those might be the weirdest two sentences I’ve ever heard put together, but sure.” Claus said. “What’s your plan?”“Meet me in front on the Monotoli building, or whatever you call it.” Ness instructed. “We’ll discuss then.”“Okay, let me just drop off this lion.”“Wait!” Ness said. “Don’t drop off the lion! It could help us!”“Okay?” Claus responded. “I don’t know HOW he could help, but I’m on my way back.”Ness walked out of the phonebooth and informed the others “Claus is coming back with the lion!”“A LION?!?” Lloyd exclaimed.“Yeah.” Ness responded. “I was surprised too, but it seems to like him for whatever reason.”“Ness, you’re insane.” Lucas told him. “We can’t bring a lion with us ANYWHERE!”“Good point.” Ness agreed. “It’d be pretty hard to get it on Tessie.”“Are you even hearing yourself?” Lucas asked.“It’s fine.” Ness decided. “We’ll figure something out.”Ness heard a chorus of screams which proved Claus was on his way back. And sure enough, trailing behind him was the large mechanical lion with spikes for a mane.“Good, you’re back!” Ness said, not at all afraid of the chimera right now. “We need to bring the lion and get to Winters so Jeff can see it. Maybe he can figure out what’s causing all of the chimeras to be here.”Claus looked slightly hesitant. “Are we sure we really need a scientific opinion?”“You know Jeff would never do anything that would hurt an innocent creature.” Ness assured Claus.“I mean, he HAS been the one I’ve been going to about repairs…”“Really?” Ness asked. “How have you been getting there?”“A primitive device called a ‘helicopter’.” Claus responded. “I don’t really talk to Dr. Andonuts anymore, so I’ve been getting Jeff’s help instead. I DO trust him, it’s just…” Claus looked at the lion. “I don’t want to scare Spike.”“Spike?” Lucas asked.“I named him, and he likes it!” Claus said. “Isn’t that right, Spike?”Spike snuggled Claus approvingly.“This is so awesome!!” Lloyd exclaimed, looking at Spike in awe. “He’s almost entirely mechanical!!”“That’s why they call this particular design an ‘almost mecha-lion’.” Claus explained. “They’re more mechanical than your typical chimera, but just biological enough to not be a COMPLETE robot.”“Hi there, Spike.” Lloyd said, reaching out carefully to pet the metallic being. Spike let it happen.“Aww, I think he likes you!!” Claus exclaimed.“Why am I the only sane one here?” Lucas asked. “'Almost mecha' or not, that is a LION! I’m all about living in harmony with nature, believe me I am, but everybody knows you don’t pet a FREAKING LION!”“Oh come on Lucas.” Claus said. “We used to play with Dragos all the time and that never…” Claus trailed off, making a face. “Well umm… nevermind.”Lucas just stared at Claus silently for like a solid minute, Claus saying nothing in return.“Anyway,” Ness said, changing the topic, “maybe we can take Spike on the helicopter to Winters!”“I still don’t know about this…” Claus responded. “I mean, Jeff’s great, but…”“Trust me!” Ness assured Claus. “And if Jeff starts going too far, I’ll put a stop to things. I promise.”“Okay…” Claus reluctantly agreed. “We should go to the helipad then.”“Isn’t Porky going to be a problem?” Lucas asked.“We’re just going to have to be stealthy.” Claus shrugged. “I’m sure it’ll be fine… probably.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“That statue sure is unsettling…” Ness said, staring at the diamond Porky statue in the main entrance of the Monotoli building.

“It’s like it’s watching you, right?” Claus asked. “There was one like it in New Pork, too, though that one was giant.”

“I still have nightmares about that thing…” Lucas added.

“It seems a little much, really.” Lloyd commented.

“King P’s a little much.” Claus responded. “So you come to expect this level of vainess from him.” Claus paused. “Wait… I hope he didn’t hear me say that… We should get moving!”

“Where is the helipad, anyway?” Lloyd asked.

“98th floor.” Claus responded. “99, 100, and 101 are all ‘special floors’, so 98 is the last possible utility floor. But we shouldn’t talk about our plans.” Claus said, looking around suspiciously. “Master Porky has ears everywhere.”

Lucas nodded firmly in agreement.

As the boys boarded the elevator, Ness took one last glance at the statue. It gave him the creeps…

After a few moments of the crowded elevator rising, Lloyd looked at the almost mecha-lion with some concern. “Hey Claus?”

“Yeah?”

“Is this elevator suited to carry all of this weight?”

Claus looked at the chimera, then all of the other boys on board. He took a moment to scan the weight of each person, and processed this information a bit slower than he should have. Then, his eyes widened.

“No. It’s not.”

Just as Claus said that, the elevator made a horrible sound as it began to slow, and then suddenly, it began going down rapidly. The boys began screaming and Spike let out a loud roar, but thankfully, the elevator eventually stopped.

Breathing heavily from fear, Lucas asked “Are we good?”

“Well, we’re not falling…” Claus commented, “but the door’s not opening, either.”

“We’re trapped?” Ness asked. “We’re trapped in enemy territory! Just like Threek! How exciting!”

Lloyd gave Ness a concerned look before turning to Claus. “Is there a control panel within the elevator we might be able to use to fix it?”

“No, because that would be too easy, like what a NORMAL person would do.” Claus responded. “There IS a maintenance hatch, however.” he pointed up at the trapdoor above them. “If you and I can get out of here, Lloyd, we can find a way to fix the elevator and get the others out.”

“Wait?” Lucas asked. “You’re going to leave us?!”

“Only for a few minutes.” Claus responded. “SOMEONE needs to stay here and watch Spike, and anyway, it’ll be easier if there’s less of us actually going.”

“What if something bad happens??”

“Here, Ness, trade phones with me.” Claus offered. “That way you can call me if you need anything. Here, let me show you how to use it.”

Claus showed Ness how to use his phone, then looked at the receiver phone Ness gave him in return. “So primitive…” he commented.

“Why don’t you just have a phone built into you?” Lloyd asked.

“Why don’t you?” Claus responded defensively.

“Because I’m not a chimera?” Lloyd answered.

“And I’m not a phone.” Claus responded snappily. “Duh. Now let’s go.”

Getting out, however, wouldn’t actually be as easy as Claus made it sound like it would be. Yes, there was a maintenance hatch on the top of the elevator, but how were they meant to get to it? It was several feet above even Lucas’ head, and he was the tallest of them all (though he only slightly beat Ness).

“Can’t you fly up there?” Ness suggested.

“Yeah, if you all want to be burned to death.” Claus responded. “My wings are really just fancy jets. Plus, there’s not enough room for them to get through the hatch.”

“So now what?” Lucas asked.

Lloyd sized up the situation, looking at the hatch, then the group. “What if we climbed on top of each other?” Lloyd asked.

“Perfect!” Claus agreed. “Alright, Ness, climb on Spike, and grab Lucas. I’ll climb over all of you to get out, then I’ll help pull Lloyd out from there.”

Ness looked at the lion, and got a growl in return. “Nice kitty…” he said. It’s not like he had much room to avoid the giant chimera, but he had been mostly ignoring it until now, and it gave him the same treatment.

“Do you mind helping us get out?” Claus asked the almost mecha-lion in a soothing voice. “We can’t leave the elevator without your help.”

Spike didn’t look happy about it, but he begrudgingly let Ness climb onto him. Lucas seemed even less excited to have to interact with Spike, but he did climb aboard the chimera and onto Ness’ shoulders. “Alright Claus, we’re ready.” Lucas said.

Claus began to prepare to climb them, but looked down at his heavy militaristic boots. They’d make this a little difficult, wouldn’t they? He took them off, losing him about 6 inches in height.

Ness tried not to laugh so he wouldn’t knock Lucas off of him. “You’re so short!!!” he commented. Even though he KNEW Claus was always this height, it was still a strange sight to see.

“Oh shut it.” Claus said, though he looked a little sillier when he was acting mad now. “I’m trying to make YOUR life easier!”

“You look like an angry child.” Ness told him.

“Keep commenting on my height and you’ll see what an angry child looks like when he uses PK Love.” Claus threatened, his eyes narrowed. “Now hold still.”

Claus quite agilely climbed the Spike-Ness-Lucas ladder, and quickly got on top of the elevator. But this plus carrying Lucas was tiring Ness out, and as soon as Claus was on top, Ness fell off of Spike, sending both him and Lucas to the ground. The sudden force sent the elevator down just a little bit.

“Okay, guys, don’t panic.” Claus said. “But if you’re not careful the elevator’s going to fall.”

Lucas’ eyes widened. “Who thought it was a good idea to INVENT these death machines?!?”

“I wonder where we’ll end up when we fall?” Ness asked, his curiosity causing a smile.

“Probably as a puddle of flesh on the first floor.” Claus responded. “So don’t go trying to get it to fall. We’re about 20 floors up right now. Do you think you guys can try to pass me Lloyd?”

“Yeah.” Ness agreed, and he was fairly easily able to pick Lloyd up due to his light weight. Claus pulled him up using only his mechanical arm, and brought him on top of the elevator with him.

“Okay, guys, be careful down there!” Claus called down to the elevator crew. “We’ll be back as soon as we can!”

“Please be quick!!” Lucas called back.

“We will.” Claus promised, and he closed the hatch.

Lucas looked around the elevator nervously. “Have I mentioned I don’t like being trapped in small spaces?” he said to Ness. “Or, you know, being trapped with chimeras?”

“We’ll be fine, Lucas.” Ness assured him. “Claus and Lloyd will come through quickly, I’m sure. Until then, it looks like Claus has a bunch of numbers saved to his phone. Wanna prank call them?”

“What’s a prank call?”

Ness smiled. “Oh, you’ll see.”

~~~
 
Lloyd was VERY jealous of the fact that Claus was easily gliding alongside him while Lloyd had to climb the HUGE narrow ladder that felt VERY easy to fall off of.

“Isn’t there an easier way to do this?” Lloyd asked.

“It IS easy.” Claus told him, looking as if he was lounging mid-air as he slowly floated up to keep pace with Lloyd. “For me, anyway.”

Lloyd turned to throw him a glare, but doing so caused him to slip, almost falling off of the ladder. “Ah!”

“Here, fine.” Claus said, picking Lloyd up. “Let’s go.”

Claus flew easily, going further and further up. This was terrifying to Lloyd, and yet… exhilarating, too! “Hey, so… while we’re flying, can I ask you a few things?”

“Yeah, sure.” Claus said. “Ask away.”

“Okay, umm… did it hurt?”

“Did what hurt?” Claus asked.

“Becoming a chimera, I mean. Did it hurt? Does it still hurt? How long did it take you to get used to it?”

Claus sighed. “I forget you’re a scientist sometimes. Of course it hurt. They literally cut off my limbs to replace them with cold steel. They removed some of my organs, and even my eye. My memories of that day, or days, are fuzzy, so luckily I can’t remember it too much. It doesn’t hurt any more though, it just feels normal. As for how long it took to get used to it - I couldn’t remember what it was like to be human, so it wasn’t too bad. I was a little clumsy at first, but that was also a matter of scientists making adjustments in places were one leg was slightly longer than the other, or a finger wasn’t on quite right. Honestly, I can’t blame you for wondering about it though. I remember wondering if it hurt to have a heartbeat. After all, there’s just always something thumping away in your chest. Sounds like it would hurt.”

“It’s gotta be cool, though.” Lloyd commented. “I mean, being better than human. Having insane strength, wings, crazy powerful vision.”

“Yeah, it IS pretty cool.” Claus bragged.

“So, ignoring all of the bad stuff that happened, which would you rather be? Human or chimera?”

Claus let out a confused laugh. “THAT’S a weird question.”

“Can you answer it?”

Claus paused, even stopping his flight for a moment. “I… I guess I’ve never really thought about it. I mean, it’s never really been up to me. I was born human and forced to become a chimera, and one day when Lucas resets the world I’ll probably either be human or nothing at all. I’ve always just accepted it as it was, never really considering what I PREFER. I guess…” Claus looked at his metallic wings, and thought about all of his other improvements. But he also thought of the fact that he didn’t have a heart, and couldn’t ever grow up or even live normally, even if not for Porky. Still… “...I guess I’d rather stay as I am. I LIKE being a chimera, and I can’t really imagine not being one again”

“I have one more question.” Lloyd said.

“Well, all of the other ones have been pretty deep, so shoot.”

“How do I go about becoming a chimera?”

Claus nearly dropped Lloyd in surprise.
 
~~~
 
“Okay, okay, it looks like this is just a virtual phonebook, so pick any name.” Ness told Lucas. “And we’ll call them.”

“And then what?” Lucas asked. “What do we say?”

“I’ll do the first one, then.” Ness said, smiling mischievously. “Uh…” he looked through the pastel pink list, but most people on it were just under serial numbers rather than actual names. They were color-coded, though. Ness picked a blue name, and tapped (that’s right, it was touch screen!) the call button.

After a few moments, a voice picked up. “C-commander! I-I… hello! Umm… did you need something?”

“Yes.” Ness said, trying to imitate Claus’ emotionless voice. “I need to know - is your refrigerator running?”

“Umm, yes. It is, Commander!”

Ness couldn’t help but laugh. “Then you’d better go catch it!” he declared, before pushing the ‘end call’ button.

As Ness was laughing, Lucas just looked confused. “I don’t get it.” he said.

“Oh, right.” Ness said. “You don’t really know much about refrigerators. Okay, here’s another.”

Ness picked a green name next, and called him. “It is your commander!” Ness announced in his Claus impression again. “And I have a question for you. It is very important you answer honestly.”

“Understood, Commander.” the voice responded diligently. “What is it?”

“I need to know - were you built upside down?”

“Umm… what?” the voice asked, confused. “Commander, I wasn’t… built, at all…”

“Well,” Ness said, “it seems to me that you were built upside down, because your nose runs and your feet smell.”

“Commander?”

Ness quickly hung up again.

It took Lucas a moment, but he actually got this one. “Oh!” he exclaimed, before laughing. “That one’s actually kind of funny.”

“Here, you take a turn now!” Ness said, passing the phone to Lucas. “Your voice sounds more like Claus’, anyway. Just tap and drag to pick a name.”

“Tap and drag?”

Ness showed Lucas how to use the phone the way Claus showed him, and Lucas began looking through the names. But he suddenly stopped when he found one, looking at it with some horror.

In black bolded text, there was a name that Lucas hadn’t heard since he had left the Nowhere Islands.

Locria

Lucas stared at the name with widened eyes for a good few moments, before finally tapping it, then the call button, not sure what to expect.
 
~~~
 
Far, far away, on an island kept away from the rest of the world in a fruitless attempt to keep it safe from all of the corruption of the greedy and evil, many many years in the future, a pink haired tomboy heard a strange sound, almost like music. Where was the annoying yet somehow strangely exhilarating sound coming from?

She looked around, searching for it with caution, but also some excitement since something was actually HAPPENING until she finally came across it. One of THEIR devices. She must’ve taken it from an enemy back when she could still leave this place and not messed with it since, so it was weird that it was going off all of a sudden.

She picked it up, and it had a picture of Lucas’ evil ginger-haired twin appearing the glare her down. Below it were the words ‘
Annoying Brat
’ written in a bold black text.

Whose side was that kid even on anymore?

Heh, didn’t matter. Any outside information would be greatly appreciated at this point. Even just a conversation would be nice.

There were two options. Red symbol and green symbol. Remembering how she had seen previous pigmasks use these things, she touched her finger to the green symbol.

“You!” she exclaimed quickly. “Masked Man or Commander or whoever it is you actually are! You’re gonna start explain’ things RIGHT NOW, got it?” she let out all at once, almost a little surprised by the sound of her own voice.

“Kumatora?” a much more sensitive, kind voice than Kumatora expected asked.

“...Lucas?” Kumatora responded. “Lucas, is that you?”

“Kumatora!!” Lucas exclaimed. “It’s you!!”
 
~~~

A very surprised Lucas looked at the device he was able to talk to his long-lost friend through, and saw a picture of one of those camera things. He pushed it, and suddenly, he could see Kumatora through the device. “It’s been so long!!” Lucas exclaimed, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. “How are things? Where are you?”

“Underground New Pork.” Kumatora told him, her sparkly indigo eyes focused intently on Lucas. “Near the needle. Figured I’d protect it ‘till you came back for it. What about you? Where have you been?”

“The past.” Lucas told her. “In some city called Fourside. My dad and Boney are here, and… so is my brother! I finally get to see him again after all this time!”

“That great and all, Lucas, but this place has kinda fallen apart without you. Tazmily has no hope, and the pigmasks have no opposition…” she paused, considering if she wanted to say this next part or not. Finally, she decided she would. “And Duster went out there and never came back.”

Lucas stared at her in horror. Suddenly all of the time he spent messing around felt like such a waste. As the only person who could save the world and reset back to a better time, he shouldn’t be doing things like going on field trips or even going to school. He should be spending all of his time trying to find a way back.

“Time has been crazy lately.” Lucas explained to her. “I don’t really know how it works, but people have been coming through time, and now chimeras are showing up like it’s nothing. Apparently it’s Porky’s doing, but he won’t let Claus know anything about it!”

Kumatora let out an annoyed sound. “It’s pretty hard for me to figure out anything here, since I’m stuck under New Pork. I’m kinda in the middle of enemy territory here, so if I leave I’ll probably never be able to get back, for one reason or another. Maybe you could do some investigatin’ though.”

“I’ll try my best!” Lucas promised.

Ness watched the interaction with a strange feeling. Lucas NEEDED to get back to his time, it seemed. To save a lot of people. He was talking to one of his fellow heroes now, planning out their next move with a determined smile. Lucas’ adventure wasn’t over yet.

Ness knew the truth that Porky didn’t know how time travel worked. If he told Lucas, he could set him on the right track, and help him save the people who were counting on him. But…

Ness couldn’t help but remember Ninten. He helped him find what he wanted, and he left. If he helped Lucas, he’d do the same, and he would probably bring Claus with him. Maybe Ness would even lose his games with Pokey in the process.

Feeling his negative emotions take ahold, Ness knew he needed a distraction so Lucas would stop talking to whoever that girl was, and quick. The elevator was threatening to fall, right?

So let it fall.

Ness focused his PSI on the top of the elevator, putting a pressure on it. More and more, like the weight of all of Ness’ dark thoughts pushing on it all at once. Sure enough, there was a snapping sound, and the elevator began falling rapidly.

“I’ve noticed that-” Lucas was saying, before he cut himself off with a scream.

Ness put on the perfect act of being surprised, joining Lucas in his scream as they hurtled down, down, down.

Whatever it took to not be alone again.
 
~~~
 
Claus and Lloyd had already left the elevator shaft, so they were unaware of the fallen elevator. Instead, they had arrived at the more industrial floor 76, which was a room that a lot of the electrical stuff was handled in, including the elevator. While there was likely something wrong with the cable itself, they could do a few things about that here. They’d need to reset the elevator to the nearest floor, as well as send a back-up cable down to it, until they could get a maintenance robot to fix it. Both steps they’d need to take could be done fully automatically from what Claus understood, but he’d never actually done it before, so having a scientist by his side seemed like a good idea.

Except for the fact he couldn’t find the words to even TELL Lloyd what they needed to do. Not after what he said.

How do I go about becoming a chimera?

What a weird question to ask. But then again, would Claus had asked the same question if he saw his older self as a child? Without knowing any context, would Claus’ younger self find his current form

cool

?

Yeah, probably.

He guessed, in a way, it should be flattering that Lloyd wanted to be like him. But that sort of compliment felt similar to all of the times Claus was told that his

design

was perfect, or that he was Porky’s

favorite

. It’d be like if he complimented someone for having a heart, or simply being born. It’s nothing they did.

Despite this, Claus meant what he said. He WOULD choose being a chimera over being a human. But even in the theoretical sense that he had a choice, he answered the question as someone who is currently a chimera. It wouldn’t take all the effort to get to that point because he already was one.

Claus hadn’t said a word to Lloyd after that question, and Lloyd clearly thought Claus was angry at him for asking. But he wasn’t. He just wasn’t sure what to say.

He’d rather be a chimera than human. But he didn’t know that he wanted to lead someone down the route of losing their humanity forever, either.

Finally, he came up with a suitable response. It felt a little like a cop-out, but it was true, too.

“I don’t know.” Claus said, and Lloyd jumped, having been looking at some of the equipment here without knowing what he was looking for.

“H-huh?”

“I don’t know how you’d go about becoming a chimera. I’m not the one to talk to about this because I don’t have the power to turn you into one. If you’re serious about it, you should talk to an actual scientist. If you need blueprints or something, I can look into getting you those, but I’m not going to tell you who you should go to or what you should do. If you’re serious enough about it, you’ll have to figure it out for yourself.”

“I’m sorry, I-”

“Don’t be sorry.” Claus assured him. “I guess I can understand where you’re coming from. But it’s not all good, you know. You’ll lose a lot. The ability to grow, the ability to go in water, maybe even your heart depending on how you go about it. You wouldn’t be human anymore, but you wouldn’t be a robot, either. You’d be somewhere in the middle. And it would be HELL to go through. How’s your pain tolerance?”

“...Terrible.” Lloyd admitted.

“Well, that might be a problem.” Claus told him. “You can’t be asleep for it, or even really drugged much. Whoever’s working on you needs to be able to see how much room your internals take up when you’re in a typical state.”

Lloyd looked at Claus with a horrified expression.

“This is eternity, too.” Claus continued. “You’d be conditionally immortal. And people WILL treat you differently. And you could be ‘collected’ for something. If not someone’s toy, you could be kidnapped by the government, or ‘found’ by a scientist. And don’t forget it’s not too hard to ‘reprogram’ the mind of a mechanical chimera. But if you think you can handle ALL of that…”

Claus gave Lloyd a genuine smile. “Being a chimera can be kind of awesome sometimes, too.”

“Heh, maybe I should think about it a bit more.” Lloyd told him. “But thanks… for hearing me out, I mean. Usually my crazier ideas just get shut down immediately by Ninten…”

“Whatever you choose, I don’t blame you either way.” Claus told him. “Just… make SURE you’re sure you want to be a chimera before you do it. There really is no going back.”

“I will.” Lloyd promised. “Now what exactly are we doing in here?”

“Right.” Claus laughed. “Try to find the elevator controls.” he instructed. “Hopefully what we need to do will be clear from there.”

After a little while, Lloyd DID find the elevator controls. Unfortunately, there was an error when he tried to select the correct elevator. “What’s this error mean?” Lloyd asked.

Claus looked at the error, and searched his databanks of information that was USUALLY useless to him, but it could come in handy in very specific situations like this one.

“Let’s see…” Claus said, before continuing in a monotone voice “Elevator or other such cabled vehicle is disconnected from mainframe. Please reconnect to mainframe and try again.”

“What do you mean… disconnected?” Lloyd asked, worried he already knew the answer.

Back to normal, Claus told him “I mean the cable must’ve snapped during the time we were in here.”

“Oh…” Lloyd responded. “That’s not good…”

With wide eyes and a shake of his head, Claus added “Not at all.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Lucas, are you okay?! Lucas!!”“Uuuuh” Lucas let out a groan as he slowly stood up, pushing himself up off the cement ground. He looked at the phone, which was a source of light in the otherwise pitch-black room.“Yeah, I’m okay.” Lucas said, picking up said phone. “But I should go. The elevator moving-box death trap I was in just fell. I’ll call you back later, okay?”“Okay, fine.” Kumatora responded. “Just don’t go dyin’, alright? We’re all countin’ on ‘ya.”“I know.” Lucas responded, before tapping the symbol that looked like it would end the call, and it did! The he used PK Lifeup on himself to heal his wounds. “Ness?” he called out.“Lucas, over here!” Ness responded, putting out a little bit of PK Rockin’ to create some light. He was in the elevator still, but part of the ceiling had caved in, and it was pinning his lower half in place. “Can you… get me out?”Lucas tried to tug on his friend or to remove the steel pinning him in place, but it was no use. “I’ll need to go get help.” he said. “Claus should be strong enough to get you out! I’ll get him! Until I can though… PK Refresh!” Lucas exclaimed, a refreshing feeling overtaking Ness’ body, preventing anything from really hurting. “Feel better?”“Yeah, a lot better.” Ness responded. “That's such a cool power!”“For now, I guess I should probably-”Due to everything going on, both boys failed to notice the lack of a lion. That is, they failed to notice until it growled, attempting to pounce onto Lucas. By instinct, Lucas shouted “PK Love OMEGA!” and decimated it immediately.He stared at what he had done after he had done it. Nothing remained of the lion but a few charred screws. He had absolutely obliterated it in his fear. Despite it being a chimera, Lucas couldn’t help but feel guilty. Claus had loved that thing.“I should go find a way out.” Lucas said with a bit more conviction. “Are you going to be alright here on your own?”“I’ll be fine.” Ness assured him. “But maybe you should leave the phone just in case.”Lucas looked at the device as it put off a slight light from it’s screen. Without it, he’d have to rely on his PSI to light anything he needed to be lit. Still, if it would be any comfort to Ness in a situation like this, he really should be the one to have it. Plus, it’s not like Lucas particularly LIKED electric lights, even if this one would’ve been convenient.“Okay, here you go.” Lucas said, putting the device into Ness’ outstretched hand. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”Taking a page from Ness, Lucas created a small little particle of PK Love, putting a little bit of effort into keeping it present. It wasn’t easy, but it was manageable. It revealed a door in front of him, which seemed to want some sort of access code. He gave it the only access code he had.“PK Love!” Lucas exclaimed skillfully, aiming directly at the numbered buttons. It ‘accepted the code’, and unlocked the door with a small explosion contained to the keypad.Lucas pushed the heavy door open with great effort, though the second he stepped through, the heft pushed it shut immediately behind him after he let go. Ness would be alone. Lucas had to hope he’d be okay.Ness, however, knew he deserved this. After breaking the elevator, he deserved to be stuck under it. That awful feeling that overcame him, he hated it, and yet…Ness looked at the phone. Lucas needed it so much more than he did to make his way through… wherever they were. The basement, he guessed. Yet Ness had taken it to prevent Lucas from talking to his fellow hero and looking for a way back to his time anymore.Stuff like this… it’s what a villain did, isn’t it?Was Ness a villain for not waiting to lose his friends? For not wanting to be by himself?Well, if he was already a villain…Ness psychically lifted a piece of rubble, and took it into his hand. He then put the phone on the ground, and smashed it many times with the heavy piece of ceiling. When he was sure it was fully broken, he left the piece on top.Oops, looks like the ceiling wasn’t done collapsing. Now Lucas can’t call anyone else from his time. How sad.It only just now occurred to Ness that he just destroyed his only light source. And that he could’ve used that phone to call Claus for help.Well, this is what a villain deserves, he guessed…Meanwhile, Lucas crept carefully into the large room that seemed to be full of a lot of strange devices he didn’t recognize. The largest most notable one was a large, spherical… something connected to fleshy looking pipes that didn’t appear to be connected to anything, cut cleanly off at the edges. It looked worn, too, like it had sustained heavy damage. Was it actually made of flesh? Lucas both wanted and didn’t want to confirm that fact by touching it.The dim light of Lucas’ PSI made the shadows play over this thing in terrifying ways, and Lucas got a terrible feeling just being near it. He decided it would be best to leave it alone.Near it, though, was another curious device. Also a bit fleshy looking, it was vaguely reminiscent of the strange device Porky used to get around, though much simpler. It looked like a giant spider, if a spider had a glass dome as a head, and it, too, gave Lucas an awful feeling. He backed away from it without looking away, until he ran into something behind him.“Ah!” Lucas let out, turning around quickly, reaching for the stick he had attached to his pants earlier.“No need to be so scared, Lucas.” A familiar voice said. “It’s only me.”Lucas saw the light of his power reflect off of a set of round glasses, and reveal a white mustache on the face of the person behind him.“Dr. Andonuts?” Lucas asked.“Come on now, what are you doing down here?” Dr. Andonuts asked. “Shouldn’t you be at school?”“There’s chimeras!” Lucas exclaimed. “Everywhere! We found one in town! They’re in houses, too, and the woods!” Lucas let out a small laugh. “I can’t believe I didn’t think to talk to you first. Claus suggested we go all the way to somewhere called Winters to meet some boy named Jeff or something, but you’re a much better choice!”“Yes, I am.” Dr. Andonuts told him. “I WAS a major part of chimera creation, after all.”“Can you help me get my friend out from under the elevator?” Lucas asked. “It broke, and I’m not strong enough to help him myself!”“Of course I can.” Dr. Andonuts helpfully agreed. “I’ll need to get some equipment though. Why don’t you come with me upstairs? There’s no reason for someone as sunshiney as you to be in a deep dark basement, is there?”Lucas laughed. “Guess not. This place kind of gives me the creeps, so the sooner I’m out, the better, really. All off this stuff… where did it come from?”“You know,” Dr. Andonuts responded. “I have no idea!”Dr. Andonuts lead Lucas through some hallways, then asked “Could you close your eyes for me?”“Why?”“Uh… just, confidentiality and all that.” Dr. Andonuts said. “The less you know, the better. If you don’t want King P after you, that is.”“Oh, okay.” Lucas closed his eyes, and Dr. Andonuts guided him a bit more, than carefully up some stairs, and a bit further.“Here we are.” Dr. Andonuts finally told him. “Safe and sound.”When Lucus opened his eyes, he was back in the lobby on the first floor. Just a moment later, an elevator that DIDN’T break stopped on this floor, and Claus rushed out. “Lucas!” he exclaimed, pulling his twin into a very tight hug. “You’re okay!”“Claus!” Lucas smiled widely, his sky-blue eyes sparkling as he couldn’t help himself but to cast an unnecessary PK Lifeup on his brother. “I’m so happy to see you!”“Me too!” Claus responded. “Who knew we had a basement…?”Lloyd stared at Dr. Andonuts in awe. “You’re… you’re me!”“Here’s a tip,” Claus offered, “don’t turn out like him.”“Is that really necessary, Commander?” Dr. Andonuts asked.Ignoring him, Claus continued “He may ACT innocent, but he’s NO DIFFERENT from any of the other scientists King P employs. He’s only out for knowledge, and doesn’t care who he hurts to get it.”“That’s not true!” Lucas told Claus. “He was very helpful to my quest to find the needles. Don’t worry about what Claus says, Lloyd.”“I don’t… FORESEE myself becoming bad…” Lloyd commented.“For one thing, he did this.” Claus said, gesturing down to himself as a chimera. “Regardless of how I feel about it now, I didn’t want it then. He played all innocent and caring for so long after that, until he kidnapped Ninten to experiment with his PSI.”“Commander, if I may,” Dr. Andonuts said with annoyance, “you TOLD me to learn more about Ninten’s PSI. Nothing in that journal had a THING about him in it, since it wasn’t written in his era. I just took the logical next step.”“Torture?” Claus asked. “Is that the logical next step for you?”“Science, Commander, science. You know better than I do that science isn’t always the most comfortable thing. But it gets results. I would prefer if you stopped talking bad about me in front of my past self, though!”“He deserves to know the truth about you.” Claus said with a glare.“I am quite concerned for you, Commander.” Dr. Andonuts said, changing the topic. “Going so long without any sort of maintenance… surely some things are broken by now and need attention.”“I can handle myself.” Claus said with a voice like ice. “I don’t need your help anymore.”“I’m just trying to make sure everything’s alright for you.” Dr. Andonuts said. “I’ve created you, after all, so I want to make sure you’re doing well.”“By giving me parts with low durability, thus assuring they’ll break?”Dr. Andonut’s eyes widened. “I didn’t have a choice, Commander. I had to-”“Wait, what?” Lucas asked.“‘You didn’t have a choice’?” Claus asked. “Oh, did they reconstruct you, erase your memories, and mind control you into submission? I didn’t think so.”“I-I-”“Save it.” Claus said, his naturally radioactive-green eye glowing brightly in his anger. “You’re never getting your hands on me again.”“What are you talking about, Claus??” Lucas demanded. “What’s going on?”“I’m going to go save your friend.” Dr. Andonuts said quietly, before rushing off.“Is he… bad?” Lloyd asked as soon as Dr. Andonuts was gone.“You get a chance to see your future self.” Claus told Lloyd. “So you have a chance to change that future. He says he has no choice but every human does. What’s important, Lloyd, is you take what you see here and prevent the bad parts of what you see from coming true.”Lloyd nodded, looking concerned.“What did you MEAN?” Lucas repeated again. “Your mechanical parts aren’t… durable?”“Nope.” Claus responded. “Jeff told me. I assume it was so I couldn’t ever run away if I ever DID manage to gain my free will back. Any battle I actually get hit in takes serious repairs, and the wings are the most fragile of them all. Not because they have to be - but because they’re easy targets to prevent me from ever escaping King P’s grasp.”“Can something be done?” Lucas asked.“I asked Jeff to look into it, but he says he isn’t really comfortable with making any BIG changes like that. I understand, it’s just a little disappointing.”“But didn’t he give you that infinite power source?”“Shh!” Claus demanded, looking around. “Master Porky doesn’t know about that. If he found out, I’d NEVER get a break.” Once Claus was satisfied that no one overheard, he added “That was a one-time thing. Jeff only really wants to make small repairs now.”“I hope this isn’t me going down ‘the wrong path’,” Lloyd interjected, “but with the right information, I could try to help you.”Claus stared Lloyd down, not really sure what to think.“I-I don’t have to!” Lloyd said quickly, deflating under Claus’ gaze. “It was just a thought.”“No, I’m not saying no.” Claus assured him. “Just… thinking.”Eventually Dr. Andonuts came back upstairs, a small little robot carrying the heft of a sleeping Ness for him.“I found this near him.” Dr. Andonuts said, showing Claus his phone, though it had been thoroughly crushed. “I assume you’ll be needing another?”“What do you think, genius?” Claus responded sarcastically.“I wonder how it got destroyed…” Lucas commented, before turning to Claus. “Hold on, we need to talk!”“Hmm?”“You could call people through time?! Why didn’t you tell me??”“I didn’t think you’d care.” Claus responded easily. “You don’t like phones.”“But I WOULD have wanted to talk to Kumatora and Duster!”“Neither of them have phones.” Claus reminded him.“Well, Kumatora found one.” Lucas told Claus. “She’s been living in Underground New Pork, and when I called ‘Locria’ she answered. Why DO you have someone saved under Locria, anyway? Is that…”“Fassad? Yeah.” Claus responded.“But why?”“Because he has me saved under ‘annoying brat’, and ‘Locria’ was the closest thing to malice I could muster. You do know that Fassad is-”“The seventh magypsy? Yeah…” Lucas responded. “But still! You could’ve at least TOLD me you had contact to our time!”“But I didn’t, okay?” Claus said. “Can you just let it go?” Then Claus turned his attention to Ness. “Why is he asleep?”“He didn’t pass out from the impact of the elevator…” Lucas added.“It’s natural for people to pass out from pain or exhaustion soon after a traumatic experience.” Dr. Andonuts pointed out.“But he was fine.” Lucas said. “PK Refreshed, even. That’s so weird…”“What about Spike?” Claus asked Lucas. “Where’s he?”“Uhh…” Lucas couldn’t look Claus in the eye. “He umm… well… he’s… not alive anymore…”“Elevator crash must’ve did it…” Claus commented sadly, and Lucas didn’t correct him.Lucas instead used PK Healing to allow Ness to recover from whatever it was that put him to sleep. He woke up and then stood, looking around.“Guess we got back just fine.” he said.“It’s thanks to Dr. Andonuts!” Lucas told him.“Dr. Andonuts?” Ness turned to look at the familiar scientist. “Hey, long time no see, huh?”Dr. Andonuts gave a smile. “How have you been?”“Well…” How the heck should Ness answer that?Dr. Andonuts seemed to get it. “Having a hard time adjusting to normal life, aren’t you? I did too.”“How did you manage?”Dr. Andonuts let out a single, condescending laugh. “I didn’t. How do you think I ended up in Winters?”“Right…” That didn’t make Ness feel any better about what he had just done. In fact, a feeling of dread overtook him. If not being able to adjust could lead someone to live in the middle of nowhere and ignore their only family, what could it do to Ness?Well, he had been adjusting just fine, right? Sure, he was a LITTLE clingy to the idea of keeping things the way they were, and preventing anyone from leaving, but wasn’t that normal? Preventing Lucas from time traveling was, in a way, adjusting to normal life and helping Lucas do the same.Right?Ness just needed to keep telling himself that…“Sorry about your phone.” Ness lied to Claus with a bit more guilt than he had earlier. “Uh… rubble fell on it after Lucas left.”“You’re good.” Claus said with a smile. “As long as your okay, that’s all that REALLY matters.”The words felt like a knife going through Ness’ heart, and the genuinity that went behind it just twisted said knife further and further in.Suddenly, Ness was full of the kind of guilt that sank deep into his stomach and threatened to never lighten up again. He must’ve made this clear by his expression, because Lucas took it differently.“Are you feeling okay, Ness? Are you sick?”“Not sick…” Ness responded. “Just…”“Ah, mentally and emotionally exhausted, then.” Lucas said with an understanding smile. “After everything you’ve been through today, that’s natural!”“...Sure. Yeah.” Ness responded, not looking Lucas in the eye.“It’s okay.” Lucas told him. “Do you still want to go to Winters, or is that something you’d like to put off?”“Of course I still want to-”Suddenly, a brattish voice interrupted Ness, shouting “What are you all doing here?”“Master Porky!” Claus exclaimed with surprise, bowing towards the robot that approached them. “I-”“So you decided NOT to go to school today, I see?”“I- uh…”“Well that’s fine by me!” Porky said smugly. “I have plenty of work for you to do anyway.”“Buzz off, Pokey.” Ness snapped. “Does it really matter if Claus goes to school or not? It’s his time off! Let him do what he wants with it!”The Porky bot made a tongue-clicking sound. “That’s no way to talk to a king, is it? Commander, do away with them!”Claus stared at the robot for a moment, a confused expression on his face.“Now, Commander!”“R-right!” Claus exclaimed, standing a bit straighter. “Y-you guys need to-”“Just go emotionless.” Porky demanded. “And get it over with.”Claus turned his gaze down to the ground, and when it came back up, it was that harsh emotionless glare that belonged to the mechanical chimera who only thought of doing Porky’s bidding.“You are required to leave, now.” The Commander commanded. “If you do not, I will have to use force.”“We’re going, we’re going.” Ness responded. “Geez Pokey, this is low, even for you.”“As if I care what you think.” Porky responded back snippily. “Remove him.” Porky added with a wave of his hand.The Commander walked over and plucked Ness right up off the ground.“Okay, okay, I can walk myself!!” Ness exclaimed, but the Commander didn’t put him down until they were outside.Lucas and Lloyd followed willingly, though before the Commander could return inside, Lucas said “I love you Claus! I’ll see you soon.”The door into the Monotoli building shut with a THUD once the Commander got inside.“It’s just not fair!!” Lucas exclaimed as soon as the door was shut. “I just don’t know how he can pretend this is okay!! I have to get to that last needle! Once I pull it… everything will be fine, right?”Lucas sat down right there on the sidewalk, pulling his knees up to his chest. With tears, he mumbled “How could I be such an idiot? How could I ignore it for so long?”“Hey, it’s okay.” Ness assured Lucas. “Claus said he had a plan of his own. Maybe you don’t need to worry so much about that silly needle? Maybe you could just be happy here?”“How could you say that?!” Lucas exclaimed, standing back up quickly, tears still running down his face, though it had shifted to a sort of outrage. “What about all of the people counting on me to save them? I can’t just ignore them!!”“I’m just saying, there’s nothing particularly wrong with this world, is there?” Ness asked. “Sure, the people from your old home aren’t here, but what about all your new friends? Think of all you’d be giving up!”“I’m the ONLY person who can do this, Ness! Don’t you get that?”Realizing he pushed to hard, Ness lightened up. “I’m sorry. I guess I just meant that you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. You’re only a kid, after all! There’s nothing wrong with taking your time to enjoy your life as it is before you go complete your task. That’s how it was for me, anyway.”Lucas’ expression softened, but he said “I understand, Ness, but… so many people are suffering because I’m not there to save them. Including my own brother. Like back in my village, I’m being way too passive about all of this!” That determined look filled his eyes again, and PK Love sparkled around him. “I need to take a stand and protect those I care about!!”It occurred to Ness that keeping Lucas here was going to be harder than he originally anticipated.But he was up to the challenge. No matter what it took.Because that’s what being friends was all about.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

How was it that Halloween was tomorrow and Ness hadn’t even really thought about it until today?He guessed it was probably because of everything that had been going on all October. First the trip to Summers, then Ninten leaving, and then, of course, having to keep a very close eye on Lucas. All of this in a row was so exhausting, it was hard to focus on something ike Halloween.Closing his eyes, Ness could remember last year’s Halloween pretty clearly, mostly because of how chaotic it had been… and that smell!They said Halloween was also known as All Hallows Eve, or the final day before the evil of the world was purged, at least for a little while. And while Ness hadn’t purged the WHOLE WORLD of evil that day, he had managed to save a single town.The town of Threek.He had awoken Halloween morning to having trapped the zombies on the zombie paper in Threek’s circus tent, and then spent that day storming into Master Belch's base in order to free Threek from his curse. When they returned to Threek that evening, it was bright and sunny and free from all of the zombies and ghosts. It was such a wonderful feeling, and to top it off, Ness and his friends ended up getting a ton of candy from the people of Threek as a thank you, so he still got to enjoy that aspect of Halloween.But this year was a normal year again, and he’d get to trick-or-treat like a normal kid his age. So long as his mom didn’t find out, that it…Ness got up off of his bed, where he had been daydreaming after waking up for the morning, and went out for breakfast. Sure enough, his mother seemed a bit more on edge today, as she always did leading up to Halloween. Ness and Tracy had been banned from celebrating it their entire lives, but they usually managed anyway. After all, Halloween was ‘of the devil’, and Ness’ mother was still that ‘good girl’ who grew up in the church, despite the fact she has Ness when she was around the age Ness was now, so Ness couldn’t take anything she said seriously anymore.Once Tracy and Ness walked out of the apartment, Tracy asked “So are you trick-or-treating with your friends this year?”“Yeah, except I should probably get a costume.” Ness responded. “What about you? Are you going to go with Picky?”Tracy sighed. “I haven’t been able to get ahold of him in a little while… not long after you left for Summers, actually. I don’t really know what happened…”“Maybe Pokey’s keeping him busy with something?” Ness suggested. “Whatever’s going on, Pokey’s working on something big. Claus won’t really tell me WHAT, but he keeps alluding to how crazy things have been.”“Hopefully he’ll call me soon…” Tracy sighed, pulling out a pork phone much like Claus’. Could it make calls through time, too? Would Ness have to destroy it? “You okay?” Tracy asked, and Ness realized his expression must’ve changed.“Yeah, sorry.” Ness said, trying to smile. “Just tired.”Ness walked a different direction from Tracy so he could meet up with Claus and Lucas, and Lucas was psychically lifting rocks when Ness got to him.“What are you doing?” Ness asked.“Practicing.” Lucas said, not taking his eyes off the rocks he had moving in an elegant pattern.“...For?”“Just in case.” Lucas told him, still focused. “I need to be prepared for anything when I go to pull the final needle.”“...Right.” Ness stated, then busied himself watching a leaf drift through the wind instead. Was he going to have to do something to prevent Lucas from even practicing PSI now? Was that a threat?He had no idea WHAT to be afraid of anymore…The door to the Monotoli building opened, and Claus walked out, giving a clearly faked smile. “Hey guys…” he said without his normal enthusiasm.“Are you okay?” Lucas asked, rushing over to check on him. “You seem-”“I’m FINE!” Claus snapped. “Just… had a long night.”“What’s going on?” Ness told asked. “If I need to put a stop to Pokey-”“No!” Claus said quickly, looking concerned. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s better not to push things.”“Why do you always feel like you have to hide everything?” Lucas asked.“To protect you!” Claus responded. “Look, there’s nothing you can do, anyway. I just don’t want another war on our hands…”“Do you think that’ll happen?” Ness asked, his eyes wide and his smile wider.“Maybe!” Claus told him, clearly angered by his enthusiasm. “And if it does? I wouldn’t exactly be on YOUR side.”“But… you have to be.” Ness said, not sure how to handle the idea that it could be any other way. “We’re friends! We stick together through everything! If there’s a war, we need to fight it together! As heroes!”“Well aren’t you naive?” Claus asked bitterly. “Let’s just go to school.”“Wait.” Ness said quickly. “Did you have Halloween on your island?”“Halloween?” Lucas asked. “What’s that?”“Let’s get Lloyd.” Ness said. “We’re skipping school!”Ness ran off before either twin could argue the point, and he rushed towards school. “Lloyd!!!” Ness exclaimed, grabbing the albino’s arm. “We need to teleport somewhere.”“Uh… okay?” Lloyd responded, confused.“Claus, Lucas, follow me!” Ness declared, beginning a teleport in front of so many people and not caring. It was time to think about Halloween, not stupid things like hiding psychic powers!He brought the group straight to Threek, and ran towards the graveyard, assuming they were still following him.“Okay!” Ness said, turning to the group once he was sure the atmosphere was suitable enough to talk about this. “Claus, Lucas, I’m going to tell you about Halloween!”“Oh that’s tomorrow, isn’t it?” Lloyd asked.“Yes!” Ness agreed. “And we HAVE to celebrate it! It’s a night where people go door-to-door in costumes, knocking on doors and saying ‘trick-or-treat’ and getting candy. But it’s also a SCARY holiday, where everyone’s trying to scare you!”“So Eagleland DOES have a fall holiday!” Lucas exclaimed with glee.“We were waiting for the Harvest Festival.” Claus added. “Is this similar? It’s been so long since I’ve got to participate in it!”“What do you do at the Harvest Festival?” Lloyd asked.“Oh it’s the best!” Claus said.“There’s games!” Lucas added.“And a maze!” Claus threw in.“And songs!”“And a test of courage!”“And a feast!!”“Ooooh, the feast!!” Claus agreed. “My mouth is WATERING just remembering all of those delicious foods! And even just the way the kitchen would smell when mom was helping to prepare for it!! - Oh, do you remember that popcorn eating challenge?” Claus asked.“The one where you almost made Fuel choke?” Lucas responded.“It’s not my fault he didn’t know how to keep up.” Claus said with a shrug. “Is Halloween like that?” Lucas asked. “Do you do it to appease the dragon in order to ensure a good harvest?”“Not quite.” Ness responded. “Though games, competitions, mazes, and tests of courage CAN all be a part of it, depending on how you celebrate. Feasts are more of a thanksgiving thing, though.”“Thanksgiving?” Claus asked.“I’ll explain it when we get there.” Ness replied.“But if you don’t do it to appease the dragon,” Lucas asked, “how do you make sure all of your crops will do good every year?”“Lucas…” Ness stared at his genuine curiosity, and it was clear he was actually asking. “You DO know most people don’t grow crops around here, right?”“But then where does all of the food come from?”“Well, people grow crops, just… not here.” Ness tried to explain. “Other places.”“How do they get it to everyone?”“Uh… they ship it?”“But there’s no water near Fourside! How do they get their ships close enough?”“Okay Lucas.” Ness said finally. “Why don’t you ask a teacher or something at school next week?”“Good idea!” Lucas exclaimed. “I’d love to know!”“You know, I haven’t seen these ‘ships’ either.” Claus commented. “Are they invisible flying ships?”“You guys have gone COMPLETELY off the point!” Ness told them.“Actually, an invisible flying ship sounds pretty cool.” Lloyd said. “They should make that!”“Yeah!” Claus agreed.“Okay, okay, well, we can worry about that later.” Ness said, feeling like he was reigning in a circus right now. “For now, we have Halloween costume shopping to do! I’m hoping Threek has a good store for that.”“Looks like.” Lloyd commented. “Look at all of the decorations! It seems like they’re going all out for Halloween!”“Perfect!” Ness exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “I’m sure they’ll have a costume store then!”Sure enough, there WAS a costume store here, and, even cooler, it was in a giant circus tent!“Woah!!” Lucas exclaimed. “So many options!”“Go crazy!” Ness told him. “Pick out whatever you want, my treat!”“Really?”“Yeah. All of you! Pick your favorite!”The group began looking around, and Claus was the first to find one he liked. “Ooooo! I can be a dragon??”“You’ve already got the wings for it.” Ness joked.“It looks awesome!” Claus exclaimed.“Hmm…” Lloyd said. “Astronaut or robot? The choices!”“I found a sheep costume!!” Lucas shouted, floating it down from a higher shelf. “Look at how fluffy it is!!”Claus laughed. “Of course YOU would want to be a sheep.”“I can’t believe you want to be a dragon.” Lucas told him.“Why not?” Claus asked. “I might as WELL be the dark dragon himself, since I have the power to control him! Why not dress accordingly?”Lucas looked like he wanted to say something, but stopped himself. At least Claus was happy.Ness burst out laughing when he found an alien costume. With little springy ball-shaped antenna, black oval sunglass and a green morph suit that put some fingers together so there’d only be three, it looked ridiculous, like no alien HE’D ever seen. So, of course, he said “I’m getting this one.”Lloyd joined him in his laughter. “I can’t imagine how Giygas would’ve reacted if he knew THIS is what humans thought aliens looked like! He would’ve destroyed the world right there! That helps me decide, though! I’ll be the astronaut!”Ness and Lloyd high-fived as they became costume buddies.After the group had thoroughly explored the costume shop, it was already lunchtime. Ness took the group to a nearby restaurant, and they joked and laughed and had a good time, reminding Ness what it was he was fighting for. These pointlessly happy moments.
May things stay like this forever.
Little did Ness know, change was on the horizon whether he liked it or not, and tomorrow night would prove to be one to remember.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It’s Halloween morning!

Ness excitedly got out of bed. It’s Halloween morning, he thought to himself again.

The first of many Halloweens with his new friends!!!

He packed his Halloween costume into his backpack, and came out for breakfast, trying to stay cool and calm so his mother didn’t catch on that he was excited.

“What an awful holiday.” Ana was muttering when Ness came out. “Honestly, Halloween is the day when everybody worships satan! Oh, good morning Ness! I’m so glad YOU aren’t so easily swayed by the media surrounding Halloween. Just like you avoid that awful rock ‘n roll music and,” she shuttered, “D&D.”

“Heh, yeah mom.” Ness agreed. “I just plan on having a normal day with my friends today. We’re all staying inside and playing some family-friendly board games.”

“And Ness agreed to take me!” Tracy quickly added as she came out of her room.

“Yeah, I did.” Ness lied. “We’re going over to Lucas’. He’s from a small town and has never even HEARD of Halloween until all of those AWFUL heathens at school told him about it. Like us, he was frankly, appalled.”

“I can see why!” Ana exclaimed, putting her hands together. “Lord please help the lost children find their way, and help them see the light. Amen.”

“Amen.” Ness and Tracy both added out of habit.

“While you two eat your breakfast, I’ll pack you two some snacks.” Ana said with a smile.

When she was out of earshot, Ness whispered “Need me to smuggle out your costume?” to Tracy.

“Yeah.” she responded quietly.

After the two were done with breakfast, Tracy asked Ness to ‘help her with something’ in her room, and stuffed her costume in his backpack out of the sight of Ana. “Thanks.” she whispered, and the two headed out acting innocently.

They got a GOOD walk away from the house before Ness said “Alright, do you want your costume now or do you want to come find me later?”

“I’ll take it now.” Tracy said. “I’m going as a witch! ‘Cause, you know, I’m magic.”

Ness pulled out the costume and passed it to her. “What kind of witch wears pastel pink?”

“A cute one!” Tracy defended. “Shut up!” she added playfully.

“Alright, alright. Maybe we’ll see each other out and about later.”

“Bye, Ness!” Tracy said, running off towards the direction of the Monotoli building. She must’ve been going to go meet Picky, after all.

Ness walked towards the shadier part of town, looking for the address Lucas had given him. They were ACTUALLY meeting at Lucas’, so that part had actually been true.

Finding a worn-down apartment, Ness couldn’t help but wonder if this was really the right place. He guessed he just kind of imagined Lucas living somewhere lush and green, full of plants and life. Not this cracked gray cement building overgrown with dying vines.

Still, Ness walked inside, and found himself climbing the stairs all the way up because the elevator was out-of-order. Not that he was sure he’d trust it, anyway.

Finally, he got to the proper door, and knocked on it. Lucas opened the door, looking so childish in the sheep onesie-costume, which had a bunch of individual fluff balls on it and a hood. Honestly, he just looked like a little kid you couldn’t help but want to hug. His face, however, didn’t quite match that.

“What’s wrong?” Ness asked.

Lucas sighed. “Claus visited in the middle of the night to tell me that he doesn’t think he’ll be able to join us today. He said we should just go without him.”

Annoyance went through Ness. Pokey’s nonsense was really starting to piss him off. It was one thing when it was just… happening, but now? Now it was affecting Ness’ time with his friends!

“Let me get in costume.” Ness said determinedly. “When Lloyd gets here, the three of us are storming the Monotoli building. Pokey doesn’t get to take Halloween from me… I mean Claus! He doesn’t get to take it from anyone!”

Lucas looked nervous, but he nodded, grabbing a fancy stick. “Okay!” he declared. “We’ll go save Claus!”

Ness smiled. Sounded like an adventure!

Ness put on the costume, and though it limited his hand coordination, it looked really stupid so he loved it.

Eventually Lloyd showed up, and the second he did, Ness was practically out the door, dragging the other two along with him. Luckily Lloyd was already in his costume.

Ness ran as fast as he could towards the looming Monotoli building, though Lucas lived pretty far from it so it took some time. When he showed up, though, he found Tracy in her costume sitting sadly on the stairs.

“Wow!” Lloyd exclaimed. “You look like you just stepped out of Magicant!”

“What are you doing sitting out here?” Ness asked Tracy.

“Trying to get in to talk to Picky. The pig themed security won't let me in, though.”

“Well, we’re storming the place.” Ness told her. “You can come too.”

Tracy sprang up. “Okay!” she exclaimed, holding out the wand that went with her costume like it was a weapon. “Let’s go in!!”

Ness had to remove his sunglasses to do the retina scan, but luckily he still had access to the building. The doors opened, and the group tried to go in, but two pigmasks dressed in white with capes blocked the way.

“State your name and purpose.” One demanded.

“Ness Montague.” Ness answered. “I KNOW Pokey has me on a whitelist. Look, I just need to talk to Claus.”

“Who?” one pigmask asked the other.

“The Commander.” Lucas specified.

“The Commander is in a very important meeting right now!” a pigmask stated. “He’s far too busy to deal with the likes of you!”

“Hold on.” the other pigmask said. “Didn’t he say he was expecting guests?”

“Did he?” the first asked.

“Yeah! He said if his guests arrived to send them to Lil’ Miss Marshmallow.”

“Oh, uh…” the first pigmask turned to the group. “Are you the guests the Commander was talking about?”

“Yup!” Ness agreed. “That’s us!”

“Oh, my apologies! Allow me to get someone to escort you.”

As he spoke into his communicator, Tracy turned to the other. “What about Picky? …Was he waiting for anybody?”

“Picky?” the pigmask asked. “Who’s Picky?”

“Pokey’s little brother?”

“Who is this ‘Pokey’?”

Lucas was quick to translate. “She means Porky. King P. She’s looking for King P’s little brother, Picky.”

“King P has a younger brother?!?” the pigmask exclaimed. “This is news to me!!” His voice softened, though. “Let me ask around and I’ll see what I can find out for you.” he offered, before taking out his transceiver.

A couple green pigmasks arrived for Ness, Lloyd, and Lucas. Lucas tugged on his hood, trying to hide more under it. He did NOT like being near so many pigmasks.

The pigmasks took the group into the recently repaired elevator, and there was silence all throughout it until…

“How do you get it to move so fast without being too shocking to the passengers?” Lloyd asked the pigmasks. “The elevator, I mean. And does it use your futuristic technology, or the kind of technology you’d find here in the 20th century? And why does it always say ‘next stop 100th floor’ when it’s clearly not headed there?”

“Shut UP kid!” the pigmask shouted in response. “Do I LOOK like a nerdy scientist?”

“I don't know WHAT you look like.” Lloyd commented. “You’re wearing a mask.”

“So you think you’re funny, huh?”

“No?” Lloyd responded. “Actually I’m not very well known for my humor at all. I was just stating a fact.”

Lucas tried to pull his hood over his face even more.

The group finally reached their intended floor, and the pigmasks were happy to be rid of them when they dropped the group off into a large kitchen. It was absolutely MASSIVE and full of a bunch of appliances that seemed to be cooking things by themselves. You would see ingredients going overhead on conveyor belts automatically being poured into bowls that stirred themselves, which eventually got elevated to be poured into various pots and pans, which brought themselves to their respective stoves and ovens. Overlooking all of this was none other than Lil’ Miss Marshmallow, who lecturing “Faster! Faster! Faster!” to one such appliance.

“Uh, Lil’ Miss Marshmallow?” Ness called out.

“Who, hoo, who are you in my kitchen?!” she demanded, rushing over there.

“It’s me, Ness!” Ness explained. “We met at Fourside Academy’s school dance? I’m one of Claus’ friends. Apparently he wanted us to come see you?”

“I have something-thing for Lucas. Not you-hoo!” she responded.

“I’m Lucas.” Lucas said, taking off the hood. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“Is it really so?” Lil’ Miss Marshmallow asked. “Does Commander Clausy Claus want you to see me? If that’s so that means…” Lil’ Miss Marshmallow gained a stilted horrified expression. “He was right.”

“Right about what?” Lucas asked.

“It will all be explained.” Lil’ Miss Marshmallow stated, walking towards a closet. “In the better letter letter. He just gave me a new one yesterday. He knew.”

“Knew what?” Lucas demanded. “What did he know??”

Lil’ Miss Marshmallow opened the closet, which appeared to contain a few outfits for her, some standing room, and a couple belongings. Was that… her room? She sifted through some things, and pulled out an envelope with a wax seal in the shape of a sunflower. Written on it was the date ‘October 30th’.

“He makes a new one from time to time to time-to-time.” Lil’ Miss Marshmallow explained. “He said if things ever went so bad he wouldn’t be able to speaky-speak to you, he’d send you to me mi me mi me. And I should give you this,” she said, putting the envelope in Lucas’ hands. “An explanation of everything he thinks is going on on on so you’ll know what to do. A warning when he can’t speak. It is easy to assume why he’d send you for it now.”

“Th-thank you, for this.” Lucas said, looking very concerned. “I… I’m sorry I was so harsh on you and Claus being… a thing together before. We should get to know each other sometime.”

Lil’ Miss Marshmallow didn’t respond to that. Instead, she said “One last tipity tip top tip from me.” She leaned in, her disturbing purple eyes boring into Lucas. “Get far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far…” she continued on with many more fars, causing Lucas to think she might be broken, until she finally said “...far, far, FAR away from here before you read it.” She leaned in much closer. “Now.”

“Uh, okay!” Lucas responded, frightenedly rushing towards the elevator as the other two followed.

“Good luck, heroes!” was the last thing Lil’ Miss Marshmallow said before the elevator door slammed shut.

Lucas took the ride silently, staring at the orange sunflower seal on the fancy envelope. He traced it with his fingers, trying his best to stave off the feeling of absolute dread that filled him as he looked at it.

Ness, on the other hand, felt nothing but excitement. What kind of cryptic message could Claus have for them? Some riddle they’d have to solve? Could this be what he was alluding to? Was there going to be a war?

Ness was so excited he could barely contain himself!!

Lloyd didn’t really know WHAT was going on. That kitchen sure was cool, though!

When they made it to the first floor, they saw the Commander there, staring at the diamond Porky statue intently.

“Claus!” Lucas called out, rushing towards him.

The Commander turned around to face Lucas slowly, his eyes immediately falling in the envelope Lucas held. He shoved it closer to Lucas, then said “Get out of Fourside, civilians. And do not try to resist.”

“What?” Lucas asked. “Please! What’s going on??”

Ignoring him now, the Commander’s attention shifted to Tracy, still near a pigmask. “What’s with the child?” he demanded.

“She was looking for King P’s younger brother, sir.” the pigmask quickly responded.

“King P’s younger brother.” the Commander repeated. “Well, where is he?”

“I am very sorry Commander, but I wasn’t even aware King P HAD a younger brother before now.”

“You haven’t seen him.” The Commander stated. It wasn’t a question. He looked at Tracy and asked “He is psychic, correct?”

“Wh-what?!” Tracy’s eyes widened. “N-no!!”

“Are you lying?” The Commander demanded, taking a step towards her.

“What’s it matter if he is or not?” A Porky bot asked, suddenly here. He rushed over and yanked the Commander tightly by the arm. “We weren’t DONE yet.”

The Porky robot then looked to Tracy. “Picky’s not coming out today.” he told her. “But be ready for the night of your life, Tracy!”

“Me?” Tracy asked.

“Yes you!” Porky stated. “It’ll be a real happy Halloween.” Porky’s gaze then went to Lucas. “What is THAT?” he demanded, looking at the letter.

“Umm… n-nothing.” he said. “Just…”

Porky yanked it from him. “Heh, mine now.”

“No!” Lucas cried. “You can’t! I need that!” he tried to grab it back, but Porky wouldn’t let him.

“If it’s ‘nothing’ as you said, then you don’t.” Porky informed him.

Claus watched all of this play out with a secret, subsided horror deep inside himself that he had no way of showing, and was barely even able to feel. He wanted so badly to yank the letter back and give it to Lucas, or just say SOMETHING a little less cryptic. But at this point he could barely move at all. It was like the Porky bot’s hand holding onto his arm was an anchor, forcing him to stay rooted in one spot, unable to fight it. Unable to go beyond it.

He couldn’t move, and couldn’t speak. The only other thing he could do was such a long shot, but it was worth a try.

A sudden bolt of lighting struck the diamond Porky statue, getting all eyes on it. Despite the Porky bot’s limited range of expression, the look Claus got from it was one of pure outrage, though Claus’ quick burst of emotions was already fizzling out, leaving him unable to be afraid. He couldn’t even find it funny when it turned out the lighting bolt made the statue go off-balance, and it fell onto the Porky bot, crushing the robot into a lot of tiny pieces. He could only follow it with his eyes as it fell, and took no pleasure in the spectacle.

Lucas however, couldn’t help but let out a laugh at how ridiculous that whole situation was.

“How was there lightning indoors?” Lloyd asked. “A psychic must’ve done that.”

The nearby pigmasks looked at what happened, then at each other. “Okay, you guys have to leave.” they decided.

“This is so exciting!!” Ness exclaimed. “I bet it was a secret message!”

“OUT!” a pigmask said, beginning to push the group out the door. They finally let it happen, walking out.

Lucas immediately looked to Tracy once the door was shut. “I don’t care if Picky is psychic or not, I just need to know - can he do PK Thunder?”

Tracy’s eyes focused on the ground, not wanted to answer. Finally, she did, though. “No.” she told him.

“And none of us can.” Lucas added. “So that means it had to have been Claus’ doing! …I can’t believe I let Porky take that letter from me…”

“Well now it’s more fun!” Ness assured him. “We have less answers, but we KNOW there’s a mystery!”

“Can you stop talking about FUN??” Lucas asked. “This isn’t about FUN! Who knows what’s going on?! Claus wants us out of Fourside MAYBE because SOMETHING bad is happening, and without that letter we don’t know what! That’s not ‘fun’, that’s dangerous!”

“I think he wanted us to pay attention to the statue.” Lloyd brought up. “Why else would he have kept highlighting it?”

Lucas added “It wouldn’t be the first creepy Porky statue, but Claus already knows I’m suspicious of it. Is there something else about it?”

“Didn’t you guys notice how weird things were?” Tracy asked. “Ness if you’ll calm down for five seconds, didn't you notice that Pokey singled out ME? Usually he’d be messing with YOU.”.”

“Right, he would be…” Ness agreed.

“And we still can’t find Picky…” Tracy lamented. “I hope he’s okay…”

“We outta start making plans.” Lloyd said. “Getting together weapons, even.”

“Yes!!” Ness exclaimed. “Do you shoot bottle rockets like Jeff? I know a guy who can get us a TON of multi-bottle rockets!”

“Hold on!” Lucas shouted. “Just to make this clear, we are NOT hurting Claus. No matter what side he’s fighting on!”

“Of course we won’t.” Ness assured Lucas. “Claus is one of our friends. If anything were to happen to him, it’d tear apart our group even more!”

“Guys!” Tracy exclaimed. “Why don’t we try to PREVENT the war instead?”

“That’s not so easy…” Lucas told her. “You should be REALLY careful, though. If you’re the one Porky’s after, no matter what you do he’ll find you. I know Claus SAID to get out of Fourside, but… if they’re going after you regardless, Tracy, we should stay here. We know our way around this city, and we don’t want to spread this any further.”

“I think we should change costumes.” Ness stated. “These are fun and all, but not very practical. We should all put on our most defensive gear. We need a costume so we can blend in with crowds, but something we can fight in. That should be the best way to handle this.”

“I don’t have any ‘defensive gear’.” Tracy informed Ness.

“That’s fine, Tracy. It’s just like when we were kids, and ‘The Pig King’ would try to kidnap you, so you’d be somewhere obvious so he wouldn’t expect that I was nearby, ready to stop him! You’re the decoy!”

“Joy.”

“My best equipment is a little much.” Lucas said. “It’s a crown and cloak and all of that. I guess someone might think I’m dressed as a king…”

“Perfect!” Ness told him. “Lloyd, what about you?”

“I’ve got a labcoat with a ton of pockets I could put explosives in!” Lloyd told Ness. “I’ll go as a scientist!”

“Okay, good.” Ness told him. “As for me, I’ll…” he trailed off. What WOULD he dress as? His equipment wasn’t costumey like Lucas’, but it certainly stood out. “I guess I’ll be a baseball player…” he decided, which really meant he wasn’t going to be in much of a costume at all. He’d just wear something athletic with a red hat again, and carry around his best bat.

Ness was worried about going back home to get his equipment, but luckily it seemed as though his mother was out telling kids to take off their hellish costumes or something. All three boys ended up getting fully equipped, and Ness got Lloyd those multi-bottle rockets he promised him, and then…

Then they weren’t really sure WHAT to do, for now. At any time a war could start, but the streets were currently peaceful, just full of people making their ways to Halloween parties and getting pre-trick-or-treating lunch.

“We should eat, too.” Lloyd pointed out. “If we’re hungry, we won’t be at our best.”

“It’s hard to imagine just having lunch while peace is hanging in the balance…” Lucas mentioned.

“Nah, it’s fine!” Ness told him. “My friends and I took lunch breaks ALL THE TIME on our adventure!”

“Yeah, but did you take them in the lair of whoever it was you were fighting?”

“Well, no.” Ness responded. “But we should eat. It could be our last meal in a peaceful world!!”

“You’re so weird.” Tracy told Ness. “But I’m starving, so I won’t argue.”

The group went to get lunch, and Ness was super excited the whole time. Any time the door to the diner opened he was ready to jump up and fight whoever came through, but it was always just boring civilians.

“I wish I could’ve seen what was in that letter…” Lucas lamented, picking at the omelet he ordered rather than eating much of it. “Whatever Claus wanted to warn me of - what if we’re making the wrong decision by staying in Fourside?”

“We’ll never know if we leave.” Ness assured him. “To save Claus and the city, we need to be here to fight!”

“Ness is right.” Lloyd agreed. “We can’t just leave! We’re heroes!”

Ness smiled. At least someone got it!

“And it’s not about fun!” Lloyd snapped at Ness upon seeing his expression. “It’s just what’s right!”

“Well this is my first time doing anything like this.” Tracy said between bites of her strawberry waffle. “But, not to sound weird or anything, I can’t help but be a LITTLE excited.”

“Why is Porky after you?” Lucas asked. “It doesn’t make any sense. How well do you know him?”

“I mean, we were neighbors.” Tracy said, “But to him I was always ‘Ness’ sister’, just like he was ‘Picky’s brother’ to me. Picky and I were very close friends, but Pokey usually just ignored me.”

“Picky’s psychic…” Lloyd mumbled.

“Huh?” Tracy asked. “What are you-”

“Quit playing dumb for a second.” Lloyd told her. “Claus made SURE we were reminded that Picky was psychic, and that we haven’t seen him for a while. Could Porky be using that to his advantage?”

“His own brother?” Lucas asked in horror. “I wouldn’t put it past him…”

“The plot thickens!” Ness exclaimed.

“We have to save Picky!” Tracy told the group.

“We need to know what he can do, Tracy.” Ness responded.

Tracy sighed. “All sorts of effects and ailments. He can cause the cold, poison, paralysis, even blindness. But more than anything, he can mind control. He was always afraid that if Pokey found out, he’d want to use him for it. Guess he was right.”

“Mind control???” Ness asked. “Just like Mana Mana…”

“What I don’t understand is what the statue has to do with all of this.” Lloyd mentioned. “It’s the only unexplained part of this all.”

The group couldn’t manage to figure anything else out for a while, and when they were done with lunch, they took to walking around the city, looking for anything suspicious. The only thing Ness spotted of interest was the fact that there were a lot of people in black suits and sunglasses in various places.

Was that… the government??

As excited as Ness was about them, he didn’t want them to step in and steal his thunder. So he gave one of them a hearty wink. “I got this.” he let them know.

He got no verbal response, but Ness gave the government member a nice salute before running to catch up with the others on patrol.

As it got later and later, the streets were getting filled with more and more trick-or-treaters, but there was no sign of the pigmask army. The war WAS going to start today, right? Ness was going to be very disappointed if it didn’t.

But, as it turned out, there’d be another problem before the war even began. Ness spotted someone with a crazy hairstyle that was braided up, defying gravity in a way he had only ever seen one person pull off before. “Woah!” he exclaimed. “How’d you get your hair to do that?”

“Huh?” the girl asked. “Oh, it’s natural.”

“It’s not a Halloween costume?” Ness asked. “You look JUST LIKE Pippilotta Shortstock!”

The girl laughed. “Nobody calls me Pippilotta. Not even my mom. Just call me Pippi!”

“Wait…” Ness looked at her. “You ARE Pippilotta Shortstock, aren’t you? The past version!”

“So you know about time travel?” she asked. “Yeah, I’m from the past! I was just sent out here to kick some villain butt though, so I can’t chat for long. If I knew it was Halloween out here I would have worn a costume, though…”

“Wait…” Ness said. “Were you sent by an adult Ninten Montague to kill a mechanical chimera and his twin?”

“Yup!” Pippi told him. “How did you know?”

“Look, those two aren’t villains. They’re good guys! My dad just doesn’t like them.”

“You’re dad being…?”

“Ninten Montague.”

Pippi gasped. “You’re Ninten’s SON?! I thought you looked a lot like him!!”

“I’ve been getting that a lot recently.” Ness said, somewhat subconsciously fidgeting with the hat on his head. It wasn’t really his thing to wear one anymore, but he needed to in order to convince people he was ‘in costume’. “Look, Pippi, I dunno if you came here with Teddy or not, but could you two just go back home? There’s enough going on today without my dad sending people to kill two of my friends, neither of which have done anything wrong.”

Pippi thought about it for a moment. “Yeah.” she agreed. “Hey, Teddy, you wanna go run off?” she asked towards a bush.

“Hell yeah!” Teddy responded, popping out of the bush holding a katana. “Let’s go catch a bus or something!”

“Thanks whatever your name was!” Pippi exclaimed, and the two ran away.

“Heh, casually saving people.” Ness said to himself. “What a hero I am!”

“Hey hero.” Tracy said sarcastically. “We lost Lucas.”

“Oh crap. Lucas?” Ness called into the crowd, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Over there!” Lloyd exclaimed, pointing. “He’s going into that person’s house!”

“Is he getting kidnapped?” Ness asked, rushing after Lucas.

“And now we’ve split up.” Tracy said, annoyed. “Well, at least you can protect me, Lloyd.”

“Wow, look at that animatronic spider!!” Lloyd awed. “Let’s go get a closer look!”

Tracy sighed. “Guess I’m following you.” she bumped into someone wearing a ghost costume that was just a sheet with eye holes cut into it, then she rushed after Lloyd, not wanting to get split up in the crowd. Porky’s goons could be anywhere.

Meanwhile, Ness ran into the house after Lucas, and was met with darkness. “Lucas??” Ness called out, and his voice echoed back to him. “Lucas, where are you?”

Suddenly, Ness heard a scream from further inside. That must’ve been Lucas! Ness rushed forward, but then suddenly, there was a stupid guy dressed as a clown blocking the way. “Move aside.” Ness said. “I need to get past.”

“If you want to get past, you’ll have to pay the toll!” the clown said in a sing-song voice.

“And what’s the toll?”

“Your life!” the clown declared, pulling out a bloody chainsaw and laughing manically.

Startled, Ness sent PK Rockin’ at the clown without a second thought, running forward as he heard some sobbing from up ahead. This time for sure it was Lucas.

But when Ness approached it, it turned out only to be a little girl facing away from him, wearing a torn gray dress with her dirty hair tied in pigtails. “I lost it…” she cried.

“Kid, you need to get out of here.” Ness told her. “There’s murderers in here! You need to get back out to your parents!”

“But my grandmother’s locket.” the girl sobbed. “I promised I’d keep it safe, and I dropped it over there by that coffin and I’m too scared to go grab it. Could you get it for me?”

“Ugh, fine, but then we have to go!” Ness exclaimed, rushing over to the coffin she mentioned. Sure enough, a shiny silver heart-shaped locket sat on the ground in front of it. When Ness bent over to pick it up, however, the coffin suddenly opened and a guy dressed in a cheesy vampire costume started coming out.

“Who dares disturb my- AH!” the vampire screamed when Ness gave him a good whack in the head with his baseball bat, and the vampire fell to the floor.

Now it was the little girl’s turn to scream, probably because of the ‘vampire’. Now Ness could see that she had a full face of gruesome make-up, so she was likely dressed as a zombie or something. She ran away from the area, terrified.

“YOU FORGOT YOUR LOCKET!!” Ness shouted after her. “Well at least I got her out…”

Ness took the locket with him as he walked further in, still looking for Lucas. This must’ve been the strangest house ever. It was laid out so weirdly, and Ness couldn’t even figure out where like, the kitchen, or the bedrooms, or even the living room was. It was all just ‘creepy house’.

Suddenly Ness came across a long creepy looking hall, but it seemed like there was a curtain hiding a little nook that Lucas could be hiding in. Ness checked in there.

A terrified looking person dressed as a werewolf was cowering in that corner. “P-please.” she said. “D-don’t hurt me…”

“Do you have Lucas?” Ness asked menacingly.

“N-n-no!” she assured him. “I don’t! Please just leave me be!”

“You’d better not be lying.” Ness threatened, but he left the werewolf alone as he walked down the hall.

At the end of the hall was a door, and when Ness opened it, he was back outside, with Lloyd, Tracy, and even Lucas waiting for him.

“That was so scary!” Lucas exclaimed. “Especially the part with the vampire! I went in hoping it’d give me courage, but I think it just scared me more… it seems more like Claus’ kind of thing.”

“Wait, what?” Ness asked. He looked back at the entrance of the house. Above it was a banner that said ‘HAUNTED HOUSE - FREE TO ENTER… IF YOU DARE!’

Ness covered his mouth with his hands in horror of what he had just done.

“Yeah, sorry.” Lloyd said to Ness. “I should’ve realized that before I scared you. I’m sure you realized once you got in, though.”

“...Yup.” Ness agreed. “Let’s go… somewhere else.”

“Back in Tazmily every year on the harvest festival after all the adults went to sleep, all of the kids would sneak out to the forest for a ‘test of courage’.” Lucas said as they walked. “Whoever could last all night there without getting too scared and going home won bragging rights for a full year. I usually never lasted very long, but Claus won every single year!” Lucas sighed. “Even though I always hated the test of courage as a kid… I started missing it so bad when the forest ACTUALLY started being a dangerous place… I guess that’s why I wanted to try that haunted house… the idea behind it reminded me of that. Sorry I didn’t tell you what I was doing, Ness.”

“You’re fine, Lucas.” Ness said, deciding not to tell Lucas about the murders that came out of it. “No harm, no foul.”

Ness chucked the plastic locket into a nearby bush.

The group was out later and later, and with nothing better to do, they were actually trick-or-treating. It was about 10 pm now, and still nothing had happened. Exhausted from all of the walking, the group sat down on a bench in the park that was centralized in Fourside. A central park, if you will.

“Did we assume incorrectly? Lucas asked, absently unwrapping a piece of candy and popping it into his mouth. “Is there not going to be a war today after all?”

“So disappointing…” Ness commented.

“But Pokey literally said tonight would be a night to remember.” Tracy pointed out. “I haven’t even seen a single pig person, though!”

“Is it a distraction?” Lloyd asked. “Are we missing something by being so focused on this?”

“Poor Claus…” Lucas lamented. “Missing Halloween. He would’ve loved this…”

“I’m sure he’ll get to celebrate it next year.” Ness assured him.

“Well yeah, the harvest festival. But there was only ONE Halloween he was ever going to get to experience, and he missed it!”

Ness felt some Rockin’ spark in anger. “I wouldn’t be so certain…” he said bitterly.

“Huh?” Lucas asked. “I don’t know Ness. This was fun, but teaching Tazmily a new holiday? It feels kind of wrong…”

“Not what I meant…” Ness mumbled.

“Woah!” Tracy exclaimed, looking up. “What’s that?!”

Ness looked to where she was pointing, and some devices were flying off of the top to the Monotoli building. They seemed to scatter across Fourside, and one wasn’t too far from the group! It looked like a small, powerful speaker floating in the air.

“Citizens of Fourside!” Porky’s voice announced through it. “This is your new ruler speaking! That’s right! I’m King P, and I have taken over your town! You haven’t noticed I’m sure, but there are a lot of people wearing white sheet ghost costumes! Underneath that, they’re really my soldiers! Soldiers, please reveal yourselves now!”

Suddenly, Ness was painfully aware of how many ghost people he had seen. Even just in the park alone there were two of them, removing their sheets and showing themselves to be pigmasks. Lloyd was right! They really had been distracted!

Ness let out a giddy squeal.

Lucas let out a terrified squeal.

“Now then, as you can see, the town is overrun! If no fearless heroine has come to stop me by midnight, this town will be mine for good! Meet me at the top - if you have the guts!! I’ll see you there! Ahahahaha!”

“...He means me.” Tracy stated. “He wants me to take him on!” Tracy couldn’t help but smile. “All this time, I’ve always just been ‘Ness’ younger sister’, but finally, I’m the fearless heroine! He called ME to fight him!!”

“But…” Ness said. “Pokey’s MY arch nemesis! Not yours!”

“That’s not fair, Ness!” Tracy exclaimed. “It’s MY turn!!”

“Are you two REALLY fighting over this?” Lucas asked. “We’re all going! Strength is in numbers!”

“Yeah, but I’m the leader!” Tracy said. “Just so you know.”

“No!” Ness argued. “You have no experience!”

“Who cares??” Lloyd asked. “We need to go!”

“Why is it so hard for you to trust me?” Tracy asked Ness.

“Because you don’t know what you’re doing! And I’m stronger!”

Lloyd looked to Lucas. “Should we just drag them along? Nothing forces people to get along more than danger…”

“I guess…” Lucas responded, and both reasonable boys dragged along a quarreling sibling each, bringing them to the tallest building in all of Fourside, looming above them, overlooking everything.

“Ness, we need you to open the door.” Lucas told Ness.

“Yeah, because I’M the leader!” he defended to Tracy as he gave his fingerprint to the door. The door, however, seemed to decline it.

“Maybe it wants me!” Tracy said, putting her fingerprint in the same spot, and sure enough, it worked. “Because I’M the fearless heroine!!”

“Welcome in Tracy!” Porky’s voice said over the intercom. “Others.”

Ness balled his fists. “What do you want, Pokey?”

“Nothing from you, Ness.” Pokey stated. “You’re just a spectator!”

“Lucas,” Lloyd whispered, “do you see the Porky statue?”

“No.” Lucas whispered back. “It’s been moved.”

“What do you want from ME?!” Tracy called out.

“I want you to fight my most loyal minion!” Porky’s voice called out playfully. “If you can hit him three times, you can pass him and get to the elevator!”

“Understood!” Tracy exclaimed.

Lucas and Lloyd exchanged confused looks.

“Your weapon will be… this noodle of danger!”

A pink pool noodle fell from the ceiling into Tracy’s hands.

Suddenly, the lights went out. Then, a singular red light glowed in the darkness. When the lights turned back on, the Commander stood before Tracy.

Silence ensued.

“Well?” Porky’s voice asked. “Say your line!”

“You have been a problem for far too long.” The Commander stated. His emotionless voice and expression almost made him seem bored. “On behalf of Fourside’s new ruler, I will stop you here and now. Be ready, Tracy Montague.”

Ness felt honestly offended by all of this. All of this build up and excitement for… a pool noodle fight? Claus didn’t even have a weapon! He was just dodging! What kind of war WAS this??

The Commander dodged Tracy flawlessly for a little while, until he, all of a sudden, stood still and LET Tracy hit him. Then he was on the move again. It seemed like he had a certain amount of time he was supposed to let Tracy try for until she actually hit.

Finally, Tracy hit him all three times, and he just… let himself fall to the floor unceremoniously. He did a quick roll to prevent himself from getting injured, and the monotonely said “No. You have bested me. I should have known there was no stopping the great Tracy. And close eyes dramatically, pretending to be passed out. When heroes get in elevator, take the other elevator so you are present for-”

“That’s enough, Commander!” the intercom voice called out. “You weren’t supposed to say that part out loud!”

“Oh.”

The Commander closed his eyes dramatically, pretending to be passed out.

“Should I get him?” Lucas asked.

“Do you really want to upset Porky right now?” Lloyd asked. “It seems like everything will be fine, and we’ll see him in a few minutes, apparently.”

“Can we take him with us??” Lucas called out.

“Uh… no.” Porky responded. “He’s passed out right now. If you’re lucky, you might see him again, though!”

“...Okay.” Lucas responded, taking another concerned glance towards Claus before the group got on the elevator.

Right before the doors closed, the Commander sat up, saw that the elevator hadn’t left yet, and laid back down.

The elevator began to rise, and the group noticed there were several colored buttons around it. About halfway up, the elevator stopped.

“Oh good!” Porky’s voice said. “The elevator broke, and the great Tracy will never reach me now! It’s a good thing she doesn’t know the order to push the buttons in to fix it.”

One of the buttons lit up blue, and Tracy pushed it. Then it was blue, red. Then blue, red, red. Blue, red, red, yellow. The game of Simon Says continued until Tracy got a score of 20. She always was surprisingly good at that game.

The elevator began moving up again, until it got all the way up to the 101st floor.

The room was dark as the four kids walked into it.

“So, you’ve finally made it.”

Porky’s voice has a strange sound to it now. It sounded like another voice was saying it too.

“Well, now you have earned the right to know the truth. The truth is-”

A spotlight appeared above Porky’s mech, though it laid empty.

“I’m not Pokey at all. I’m-”

All the lights turned on, and a small, thin boy ran towards Tracy, pulling her into a hug.

“Picky!!” the boy said in his own voice. “You did great, Tracy!’

“Picky?!?” the four chorused in confusion.

“I did a pretty good Pokey impression, huh?” Picky asked. “The voice changer certainly helped.”

“I do not understand.” a monotone voice said. Standing beside the Porky statue, which was now in here, was the Commander. “If this was your plan, may I ask what all of the chimeras and soldiers were for?”

“Those were all Mana’s ideas.” Picky admitted. “She wanted things to be REALLY dangerous, but… I changed my mind. Sorry if I’ve pushed you a little hard, Commander. Mana said it was all necessary, and I thought I needed to in order to convince everyone I was my brother so you wouldn't reveal my secret, but really… I just wanted to have some fun! I might’ve been a bit too much of a perfectionist, but- what did you think Tracy?”

“That was so fun!!!” Tracy exclaimed. “I’d love to do it again sometime!”

“So all of this…” Lucas let out a long sigh of relief. “was just a game? There is no war?”

“No.” Picky assured him. “Like I said, Mana was insistent we prepare the troops and all that, and I think I just got a little wrapped up in things. Umm, Ness, could you please fix my brother? I kind of turned him into diamond.”

“Huh?” Ness asked. Then he looked at the statue. “No way - you diamondized him?!”

“...Yeah. I tried mind controlling him, and I found out he was a robot all along. I was so surprised that I came up here, and saw how he truly was. But when he found out I was psychic, I kind of… got scared.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll fix him.” Ness said. As he walked over to diamond Pokey, though, his transceiver phone began ringing. “...Right after I take this call. It’s probably my mom calling to ask where I am…”

Ness picked up the phone. “Hel-”

“Ness, get out of Fourside!” Jeff’s desperate voice begged.

“What?”

“I was messing around with some equipment, and I found that a nuke has been launched from Eagleland’s capital straight to Fourside. It’ll hit at midnight, so you only have about half an hour to get away from there!”

“I will!” Ness said quickly, before hanging up and turning to the others. “Guys, we need to get out of Fourside or we all die! A nuke is headed our way! I have to warn my mom…”

“And my dad!” Lucas exclaimed.

The Commander threw Ness a pork phone, and stated “I will alert him.” before breaking through a window and flying out.

Ness quickly dialed his mother’s number. Luckily, she had returned home and picked up the call.

“Hello?” she asked.

“Mom, it’s Ness. Don’t ask questions, please, just get out of Fourside. It’s about to be nuked.”

For once, Ness’ mother didn’t fight or nag or anything. She simply believed him. “I will. You should leave now, too. Don’t try to be a hero.”

Ness’ mother hung up on him.

“We should go.” Ness said.

“What about my brother?” Picky asked.

Ness went over to the statue. It was heavy as hell, but he could manage. “Lucas, help me with this!” he said, knowing Lucas was fairly muscular himself.

“We’re worried about saving HIM??”

“Yes, I guess!” Ness exclaimed. “Please.”

Lucas didn’t look happy about this, but he said “I don’t want you to be too slowed by him… fine. But only for your sake, Ness.”

“Let’s split the elevator loads.” Lloyd said. “So we don’t break it again. Picky, Tracy, and I on one, Ness, Lucas and the statue on the other.”

The group did split, and hurried down and out of the building. The crowds had thinned some, but Fourside being the city that never slept meant they still had to push through a ton of innocent bystanders who had no idea their demise was so soon.

Quite a few eyes were drawn to the giant diamond statue, and Lucas’ current kingly appearance certainly didn't help. However, the group did manage to get out of the city safely, and just kept going and going in the direction Lucas went when he took Ness camping. It seemed they would be perfectly safe from the blast, though they worried about their family members.

One such family member, Claus, flew through the sky while still in his Commander state. Logic dictated he went AWAY from the city, but he was trying desperately to twist his own logic in a way that somehow convinced himself it made sense to warn Flint about the incoming disaster. It was a difficult fight, but one Claus was winning.

The Commander broke through the window where Flint lived, and luckily he was at home. With no initial explanation the Commander grabbed him and started flying him out the window.

“You wanna give me some context for this one?” Flint asked as the Commander was lowering him down so he could be on his own two feet.

“We must leave Fourside.” The Commander stated. “Danger is incoming.”

“What about-”

“The citizen known as Lucas is already escaping.” the Commander assured him.

“Alright kiddo,” Flint responded, not reacting in any way to Claus’ current emotionlessness other than removing his Commander helmet from him. “Let’s get out of this place.”

Logic stated to abandon Flint now, since the Commander was faster than him if he were to fly.

The Commander stayed on his feet and ran alongside Flint instead.

But then something strange started happening. Screams filled the streets as various chimeras began running out of the city, too. Did they somehow know?

And then there was a sound that made it so that even as the Commander, Claus’ blood turned to ice.

The roar of a drago.

A mecha drago.

The Commander froze, fear beginning to flood through him. It was enough to relinquish freedom to Claus himself, since so much emotion was breaking through at once. Even still, all he could do was stand there in horror as he turned around to face the source of it.

Sure enough, a mechanical drago missing a fang was here, all the way from the Nowhere Islands.

Still stuck in place and shaking violently, Claus could barely hear his father’s voice shout “We’ve gotta move!”

Flint hadn’t noticed Claus had stopped and was rushing back for him now. Just as he was about to get to him, however, the mecha drago crashed into a nearby building, shooting rubble everywhere.

Including on top of Claus.

Flint rushed over, right near the aggressive drago to free his son. He wasn’t letting that thing take another family member from him! He threw the rubble off of Claus, his hat falling onto him in the process. Claus didn’t even know why he grabbed it, but it was firmly in his hands as Flint said “Get out of here. Live your life to it’s fullest. I love ‘ya, kid.”

And just like that, the drago bit into Flint just like it did Hinawa three years ago.

Too traumatized to take flight but not willing to let Flint’s sacrifice be in vain, Claus began running as fast as he could, despite how injured he got from the rubble.

That mecha drago BETTER be caught in the blast.

Claus knew now wasn’t the time to think such bitter thoughts, but really, thoughts of all kinds were zipping through his head like lightning. None of that matter right now, though. He just had to get out of this city and LIVE. Just like his father wanted.

All of the chimeras seemed to be going in the same direction, and Claus was no exception to that. But this was the fastest way out of town from here and most chimeras weren’t actually typically aggressive to Claus, anyway. Just that one. So Claus didn’t care WHAT the other ones were up to.

Just as he reached the edge of the city he saw where they were all heading. The cargo hold of a large aircraft that Claus recognized as being used commonly by the Pork Army. And waiting in front of it were two people. A girl dressed all in gold with horns and magical looking eyes named Mana Mana, and a scientist in a lab coat with round glasses called Dr. Andonuts.

“Oh good, you’re here.” Dr. Andonuts said. “Now we don’t have to track you down.”

He pushed a button on a controller, and suddenly Claus’ whole body went numb, and he was unable to move. No matter what he tried, the mechanical aspects in his body kept him still.

“I’ll bring him inside!” Mana offered, picking Claus up off the ground like some sort of doll or broken wind-up toy. “You just keep collecting the useful chimeras before we have to get out of here!”

She dragged Claus inside the main part of the aircraft and posed him at a seat like he really was nothing more than a toy. She saw the hat still in his hand and took it from him, placing it gingerly on his head. “If it makes you feel any better,” Mana said, “I’m pretty sure your brother got away just fine. So long as he stays out of our way, he’s safe! But we DO need you. I do don’t hope you can’t won’t understand!”

“Alright,” Dr. Andonuts said after a little while longer. “I’ve gotten all I think is safe to get. Too bad the government got involved with all of this. Our plan was flawless before…”

“At least we don’t have everything we need.” Mana said in her playful Moonsidian way.

“Well, let’s get going.” Dr. Andonuts said, bringing the ship into the air and away from the city.

“Farewell to Fourside!” Mana practically sang.

A safe distance away now, Ness, Lucas, Lloyd, Tracy, Picky, and even Pokey watched as a mushroom cloud of an explosion appeared exactly where Fourside used to be.

Just as this happened, the clock ticked over to midnight.

It was now November 1st, or rather, All Hallows.

And Fourside was now gone.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Fourside is gone. Anything that didn’t get removed in time was also gone.Lucas kept looking up into the sky through the tree cover. Despite being far enough away from the blast to live, the group had decided to keep walking in order to distance themselves from the bad atmosphere a nuke going off could create, so they had to keep moving. They couldn’t stop and wait for anyone else to catch up with them.Further and further into the trees the group went. This small forest Lucas had used so often as a reminder of home before was now their only sanctuary from the big cloud explosion. How things have changed.“What if he doesn’t know where to find us?” Lucas asked again. “What if he gets lost?”“We have his phone.” Ness assured Lucas. “Claus can call us when he gets somewhere safe to do so, and we can meet up.”“What about my dad? What about Boney?”“I don’t know, Lucas.” Ness said. “I guess we’ll find out when Claus calls. I’m worried about my mom, too.”“All my science equipment…” Lloyd lamented. “All my research…”“Do you really think everything’s gone?” Tracy asked. “It all feels so… surreal.”“Why did it come from the capital?” Ness couldn’t help but wonder. “It doesn’t make any sense.”“I feel like this is all my fault!” Picky exclaimed. “If I hadn’t distracted everybody so much…”“The capital suggests the government did it.” Lloyd mentioned, ignoring Picky.“But that doesn’t make any sense.” Ness told him. “The government likes me. My dad works with them!”“A miscommunication, maybe?” Lloyd suggested.“I still don’t understand what all the chimeras and pigmasks are for.” Lucas said. “None of them were in your plan, Picky.”“Like I said, Mana told me they were good. And really, since I had no real control over the time stuff anyway, I-”“You weren’t in control?” Lucas interrupted.“Nope. Turns out no one knows how it works. Not even my brother did, apparently. Mana Mana told me that he was actually pretty happy to leave things as they were, but it wasn’t really up to him. When I took charge Mana instructed me how to station everyone, and certain things to have the Commander do, but none of it really made any sense. I just did it because she said it would trick people into believing I was Pokey.”“Speaking of Pokey,” Ness said, “he’s really heavy as a giant piece of diamond. Maybe I should go ahead and fix him.”“Do we have to?” Lucas asked. “Porky is the LAST thing I want to deal with right now!”“He’s gonna be so mad at me…” Picky added.“Yeah, yeah, he’s annoying.” Ness said. “But I’m tired of carrying a diamond statue. And you’re going to have to face him eventually, Picky.”Ness and Lucas set Pokey down, and Ness used PK Healing. Suddenly Pokey’s diamond sheen went away, softening into his awful, deathly looking skin. He immediately went into a terrible coughing fit that everybody could only stand by awkwardly as he had. Finally, he wheezed, and managed to say “Picky,” cough cough, “next time you want to do something for your-” cough “-girlfriend, just tell me!”“Eheheheh…” Picky laughed nervously. “Sorry…”“He’s had me that way-” cough cough cough “-since my robot left for Summers!”“So can you walk?” Ness asked fairly unsympathetically.Pokey fell into an extreme laugh/coughing fit that went on for like, a full minute. “Walk?” he asked. “I can’t even move!”“Wait, if you’ve been like that since Summers,” Lucas said, “you weren’t the one keeping Claus so busy he couldn’t even go to school. Picky was!”“Claus… that’s my robot, right?” Pokey responded, then coughed. “Yeah, that wasn’t me. It seemed to-” cough “-figure that out towards the end, though. But Picky?”“Yeah?”“The Mani Mani statue was playing you for a fool.”“What do you mean?” Picky asked. “She was advising me!”“All the changes?” Pokey asked. “Didn’t you find them suspicious? If she cared so much about your little-” cough “-game with Tracy, why wasn’t she there when it happened?”“I-I don’t know.”“When you’re working with aliens,” Pokey coughed, “you have to keep your guard up. Especially with those who specialize in manipulation. That’s why she suggested you put me in the lobby, too. So I couldn’t catch on. Hopefully my robot has been paying attention. If it escaped the blast, that is.”“He did escape!” Lucas said quickly, his eyes glowing wildly with PK Love in his anger. “I know he did! And he’s not your robot!” then Lucas looked to Picky. “And YOU were being way too controlling over him!”“I’m sorry!” Picky said. “I was just doing what Mana said! Having him help with getting chimeras under control and keeping the army in line and all sorts of other stuff. I didn’t really know what was actually going on - I’m just a kid!”“And Claus is too!”“Guys, we shouldn’t fight.” Lloyd said. “Not here. We don’t want to breathe in too much radiation, and whoever sent the bomb could be looking for nearby escapees. We need to get much further!”“I agree with him.” Tracy said. “We can’t get caught out here.”“The government would help us.” Ness told her.“Would they?” Tracy asked. “They didn’t warn us about this! You think they would’ve mentioned ‘oh by the way get out of town’ if they wanted to protect us. That could mean one of two things Ness. One, we’re not actually protected by the government, or two, they’re actively against us.”“Or they’re just too low ranking to know!”“The people with the nukes are NOT too low ranking to know who they’re supposed to protect!”“Maybe it was an accident?” Ness suggested.“MAYBE,” Tracy said, “YOU’RE IN DENIAL! That or you’re EXTREMELY naive!”As all of this was happening, a drop of water fell. Then a few more. Then suddenly, a cold rain began to pour.Lucas shivered. “I hope wherever Claus, Boney, , and dad are, they’re safe, warm, and dry.”“We should keep moving.” Lloyd suggested again. “If we can find a town, we should be able to find a place to stay for the night.”“...yeah.” Lucas agreed.“Rain sucks.” Pokey complained. “Someone should do something about it!”“Like what, exactly?” Ness asked, picking Pokey up. He was lighter than diamond, but Pokey wasn’t exactly light no matter what state he was in.“I dunno.” Pokey said, coughing. “Turn it off! Get rid of it! It’s stupid!”“Rain supplies water to the plants and animals of the Earth.” Lucas told him. “It’s not stupid.”Pokey stuck out his tongue. “Stick in the mud.” he complained.“He’s light enough now that we can take turns.” Ness offered Lucas. “Unfortunately we’re the strongest two here, so it falls on us.”“Maybe I’ll drag him on my turns…” Lucas said bitterly, and the group began moving once again.Ness recognized all of this as the path they had taken during Lucas’ camping trip, so that was, in a way, a good tell of time and distance. Walking at a reasonably brisk pace, it took 5 hours to get to the campsite, but that had also been with Lucas stopping and pointing things out from time to time. This time they had started by running, but now there was rain and other such things slowing them down. That time they had been camping just for fun, but this time…This time it was a real adventure!Suddenly the rain didn’t feel quite so cold, and Pokey wasn’t quite as heavy. Ness barely even noticed how tired he was!“I know it would’ve felt foolish,” Lloyd said, “but I wish we brought out Halloween candy with us. I’m so hungry!”“I’m not sure we should trust the food of the forest, either.” Lucas said, his eyes dull. “It’s been tainted.”“I have a few protein bars!” Tracy exclaimed. “I brought my adventure pack when I heard about everything that was going to happen today! We can split them next time we stop.”“Always prepared, huh, Tracy?” Picky asked.“You know it! I wish I prepared for this rain, though…”“Wearing glasses in the rain stinks…” Lloyd complained. “My vision is blocked by a ton of water spots.”The kids went through the forest for about an hour longer complaining much in the same way. It was about 1am now, and they were getting VERY tired. This is also when Ness’ receiver phone began to ring.“I need to take this.” Ness said. “It could be my mom.”“Or Claus!” Lucas added.Ness put Pokey on the ground and pulled out his phone. “Mom?”“It’s Jeff, actually.” Jeff’s voice said on the other line. “I just wanted to make sure you got out okay.”“Yeah, I did.” Ness said. “Thanks to you! Once again, Jeff, you’ve saved my life! My sister’s with me too, and I got a chance to warn my mom. She’s probably just not near a phone right now.”“I’m sure she’s safe.” Jeff assured Ness. “Your mom always struck me as the secret warrior type. Anyway, I tried to do some tracking on the origin of the nuke, and it really does seem like it was sent from your government’s personal supply. I doubt they were after you in particular, but I suggest you stay away from them, just in case.”“Don’t worry Jeff, I’ll be fine. I should go for now, though. We’ve gotta cover quite a big distance if we want to get far enough away from Fourside for it to be safe to sleep.”“Stay out of big towns, okay?” Jeff recommended. “Anywhere you’ve made a big splash, even. Keep your head down and stay out of trouble. I’m going to try to learn a bit more about WHY the nuke was launched.”“Alright.” Ness agreed. “I’ll talk to you soon.”“You too, buddy.”And that’s how the group ended up walking through the entire night, passing right through Lucas’ campsite, and finally finding their way to a little town.“FINALLY!!” Lloyd exclaimed. “I felt like my feet were going to fall off!”“Oh your one to talk.” Lucas complained bitterly, dragging Pokey through the mud behind him. He really did mean what he said earlier. “Let’s find an inn.”Ness looked up at the sky. Despite the rain clouds, he could still see some pale morning light shining through, and that filled him with a sense of excitement. A new day, full of new adventures! Who knew what was going to happen?“‘Welcome to the town of I Hate Coriander Day’” Picky read off of a sign. “What’s Coriander?” he asked, looking to Lucas.“It didn’t grow on the Nowhere Islands.” Lucas told him. “So I have no idea.”“We can ask the hotel staff.” Tracy suggested.The group arrived at the ‘Anti-Coriander Inn’ and Ness walked up to the counter.“Woah.” The employee at the desk said, looking at the group. “You look like you’ve been through the jungle!”“Just the forest.” Ness responded. “But through the rain and mud. We’ve walked here all the way from Fourside.”“Do your parents know?” the employee asked, looking concerned.“Yeah…” Ness responded. “The city was kind of… blown up. My mother hasn’t gotten a chance to touch-base with me just yet, but I’m sure she got out of there on time. Anyway, we’ve been running through the forest all night, so that’s why we’re here.”“Fourside… blew up?” The employee asked, horrified. “You’re not pranking me, are you? No… looking at you, you’re surely not. That’s… that’s terrible! You know what, our best suite is currently open, and due to the terrible nature of the night you’ve just had, I can offer it to you, on-the-house.”“Really?” Ness asked. “You really don’t have to.”“It’s the least I can do.” The employee said, grabbing a key. “You all look like you could use a good rest.”The employee showed Ness on the map how to get to the suite, but before the group left, Picky asked the employee “What’s coriander?”The lady laughed. “It’s another word for cilantro. I get asked that a lot, being the first face most people see upon coming to a town that’s only merit is that we hate cilantro. I personally love it, but don't tell anyone.”“Ick.” Picky complained. “Cilantro…”The group went to a large, nicely decorated suite, and looked gratefully at the very comfortable looking beds. Soaking wet and covered in mud, though, they all played rock-paper-scissors to see who got to take the first shower. It seemed like fate smiled upon Lucas, because he won easily without losing a single time.The kids all took turns cleaning up, and Picky just had to help Pokey since he couldn’t exactly help himself. Luckily since this was a luxury suite there were complimentary PJs in the drawers,  and a washing machine for their muddy clothes in a common area of the inn. Finally, after all of this effort, the kids were able to get some sleep. But right before hand, Ness’ phone rung. On the very first ring, he answered “Hello?”“Ness, it’s Paula!” Paula’s concerned voice said on the other end. “Are you okay?”“Yes, I’m okay! I assume Jeff told you?”“It was in the morning newspaper.” Paula clarified. “Does this mean we’re going into a nuclear war?”“Huh?” Ness asked.“Well the bomb was sent from Foggyland.” Paula said. “So if they’re nuking us, are we going to start nuking them? Is either place safe?”“Jeff said it was from our own government.” Ness told Paula. “Did the news really say Foggyland?”“Yeah.” Paula told Ness. “Are you sure Jeff really-?”“What are you saying?” Ness asked her. “Jeff was the one that WARNED me about the nuke.”“I’m not saying he DID it.” Paula quickly stated. “I just… well, it’s weird that he knew, isn’t it?”“I can’t believe you!” Ness said. “Jeff is our friend!”“And that’s why he warned YOU, Ness. But Jeff is also a rising scientist - one of the best ones in the world! And I’ve heard that the Eagleland government has been spotted in Foggyland quite a bit recently. If they were trying to steal his ideas or something, he’d have to fight back! And what better of a statement than to nuke the most populated city in Eagleland?”“I can’t believe you could say something like that, Paula.” Ness responded angrily. He made an annoyed sound, then summed up “I’m fine, thanks to Jeff. He’s warned me that I should stay out of cities I’m well known in, and maybe you should too. If you choose to trust him, that is.”Ness hung up without waiting for a response.“Any word on my brother or father?” Lucas asked him quickly.“No, just Paula being crazy.” Ness replied. “I’ll let you know as soon as I get a call about them, though.”“Claus isn’t waterproof.” Lucas said, looking out the window at the storm raging on. “What if he’s stuck somewhere? He could’ve gotten separated from dad somehow, and he’s alone and scared. I wish I knew where he was…”“But you don’t.” Lloyd reminded Lucas. “There’s no use dwelling on what you can’t control.”“But what if he didn’t get out on time?” Lucas asked.“I haven’t known Claus for nearly as long as you have.” Lloyd told Lucas. “But from what I do know about him, he doesn’t seem like the type that’s content to just die for no reason.”“And if it DID get destroyed in the blast,” Pokey added. “I can always reconstruct it again!”Lucas picked up a pillow and hurled it at Pokey so hard you could hear it as it moved through the air. “You keep your hands off of my brother!” he threatened, a terrifyingly pissed-off expression on his face.“It had to go through quite a few repairs after you fought it for the first time.” Pokey pointed out, coughing. “For a ‘pacifistic villager’ you sure are a nasty piece of work!”“If it weren’t for Ness,” Lucas said, “I would have left you in Fourside, and you would’ve remained a decimated motionless statue for the rest of eternity!”That actually seemed to get to Pokey, and he didn’t even try to hide his horrified expression as he shut up.“While all this shouting is nice and all,” Tracy said sarcastically, “I’ve been up since yesterday morning.”Ness laughed. “Tracy’s right. We should get some sleep.”And so the group slept through a good part of the day, the sound of the rain bucketing outside helping to soothe their otherwise quite distraught minds. Luckily, though, they were too tired to be kept up from worry anyway.Ness was awoken from the sound of his receiver phone ringing once again. He walked into the bathroom and answered. “...Hello?” he said tiredly.“Ness!” Ness’ mother’s voice cried out. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”“Mom?” Ness asked, now fully awake. “You made it out!”“I did! What about Tracy?”“She’s okay, too. Just sleeping. We walked to a tiny town all throughout the night, and we went to an inn.”“Okay, good.” Ana responded. “Be careful, and- until I get a chance to talk to Ninten, maybe you should stay on the move. I don’t know WHY Fourside was targeted, but if this is some ‘government test’...” her voice got progressively angrier as she spoke. “Well, it’d just be better if nobody knew where to find you.”“A government test?!” Ness asked with excitement.“Ness!” Ana lectured. “Don’t go looking for trouble, PLEASE! Let me get to the bottom of things.”“Okay…” Ness responded.After he was done with his mother, Ness pulled out the other phone he had. Claus’ phone. The hyper-technological device was still capable of making calls through time, right? With Ness carrying it with him, what if that Kumatora girl called Lucas again and tried to get him to go back to his time? Now that there was an adventure starting, Ness had to avoid that more than ever.Ness peeked out into the other room. Everyone else was still asleep. Nobody noticed as he left the suite, and went under the awning of the outside walkways. He went through Claus’ contact list, and selected ‘Locria’ just like Lucas had done before. He pressed the call button.“Lucas?” That same tomboyish voice from last time asked over the phone. “Is that you?”“No…” Ness said, forcing his voice to sound sad. “I wanted to call you because I knew you were his friend.”“Were?” Kumatora asked.“The city we were all in got hit by a bomb.” Ness said, forcing himself to sound sad. “Lucas, he… well I told him that we needed to get out of there, but… I couldn’t stop him. He wanted to save his family, and… in the process… he couldn’t save himself.”“What?” Kumatora asked. “N-no. Are you sure he didn’t just… get out of there another way than you? And you haven’t met up yet?”“His body has already been found and identified as him. I’m sorry.”Kumatora was silent, and Ness felt guilt creeping up though him. But to prevent her from ever interfering again, Ness had to sell this lie.“I…” Kumatora paused again. “Thank you for letting me know.” she said, and hung up.Ness let out a big sigh of relief, but then heard “What are you doing out here?”Ness turned around quickly to find Lloyd staring at him with those creepy red eyes of his.“Umm… taking a call from my mother.” Ness said quickly. “She said she’s okay! But that we need to stay on the move.”Lloyd looked at the phone Ness was holding, then back to Ness. “Okay.” Lloyd said, though he didn’t sound completely convinced. “That’s good. I’m glad.”“What are you doing out?” Ness asked.“I was about to go see if I could find some breakfast.” Lloyd said, still acting a little off. “I thought it’d be a nice thing for everyone else to wake up to.”“Uh, yeah, that’s a great idea!” Ness responded, forcing himself to smile. “I’ll help you look.”“Okay, rad.” Lloyd said, also forcing his smile. “Let’s go.”“Yeah. Let’s go.” ~~~ Meanwhile, in a small snowy town right on the Northern edge of Eagleland, a couple large industrial ships touched town into the blank white wonderland.“Woah!!!” Mana Mana exclaimed, being the first one off the ship. “This is so cool! What is this stuff??”“It’s called snow.” Dr. Andonuts said, coming out after her. “And I’m quite fond of it! In a tiny town like this, we shouldn’t be disturbed as we put our plans in motion. We’ll have to switch some things up, since I never planned on losing Fourside, but this may turn out better in the end. No unwanted eyes on us now.”“What’s the name of this town?” Mana asked.“Snowman.” Dr. Andonuts replied, taking in the scenery. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been here.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The rain pounded heavily on the window of the train car as the kids rode through the night.

Almost everyone on the train was asleep, it seemed, but not all of the ‘Courageous Heroes’ were. Ness had decided that was a good name for the group, and insisted they called themselves as such.

Lucas was staring out the window, not able to see much in the inky black darkness that surrounded the train. Still, he continued to watch the raindrops fall, wondering about how his brother might be fairing in this relentless rainstorm.

“Do you think the dragon’s angry?” Lucas asked quietly.

“Hmm?” Ness asked, looking up from the railway guidebook he had bought at the train station.

“It hasn’t stopped storming since the explosion. Maybe the dragon’s mad that humanity let this happen.”

Ness never really understood religion. Despite his mother being so heavy-handed in trying to raise ‘good christian children’, Ness never really bothered thinking too hard about any of that. It was hard to believe in some all-powerful God when you had such strong powers so easily at your disposal. Plus, apparently said God was really strict about what ‘his followers’ could like, so if being christian meant giving up so many things like music and most arcade games, Ness wasn’t really interested, despite what his mother believed.

But what Ness HAD gathered is that people liked to put their faith in SOMETHING. The idea that someone powerful was looking out for them was comforting to a lot of people, so he guessed he understood the appeal. And whatever it was Paula prayed to certainly had some merit. Still, Ness had no idea what Lucas was going on about now.

“Who knows?” Ness responded passively. Hadn’t Claus said something about him and Lucas having control over some ‘great dragon’? Why was Lucas so worried about this, anyway?

“I wonder if this is going to be what causes the world’s end…”

Now THAT was a bit more worrisome. Ness closed his book, giving Lucas a concerned look. “What are you talking about?” he asked.

“I guess you don’t know.” Lucas told him. “One day the cruel humans of Earth are going to turn against each other, and destroy everything they have. Only those with the purest of hearts will be saved, and they’ll ride a White Ship to the Nowhere Islands, where they’ll start a new life for themselves in a village full of kindness and happiness. I don’t really know WHAT happened to the rest of humanity, but I know the Nowhere Islands were the only inhabited place left on the entire planet during my lifetime. I guessed I just figured the fall of humanity happened later than this, though.”

“No.” Ness said. “No, no, no! We can’t let humanity fall!”

“I could be wrong.” Lucas said. “It was only a guess.”

“I won’t let it happen!” Ness said decidedly. “Not now, not ever!”

“Well you can't exactly make it NEVER happen.” Lucas told him. “It’s fated to happen, because it already did. I just really hope it’s not yet.”

“Me too.” Ness said, looking at Lucas.

Just another destiny to prevent

Ness thought tiredly.

The job of a heroic villain is never done.

Eventually Lucas finally fell asleep too, leaving Ness the last one awake. It felt courteous at this point to flip off the cabin light for the others, as this was one of those trains that gives each group their own little enclosed space, but that left Ness in the dark. He considered trying to sleep, but he just wasn’t tired enough to lean his head against the hard metal wall yet. So instead, he pulled Claus’ phone back out, which was back-lit and wouldn’t be a problem in the dark.

This really was a powerful little device, being able to contact any time. Could Ness call himself from the past, for example, or was it more complicated than that? Just to test it, Ness put in his own phone number.

And his receiver phone rang. That shouldn’t have really come as a surprise, Ness realized, as he rushed to press ‘decline’ on his personal phone.

Was there a way to set what year to call? Even if there was, Ness wasn’t sure the phone would label years the same way Ness did now. He messed around on the call screen, though, and did, in fact, find a date select.

Unfortunately, the options were in years ‘AP’, whatever that meant, as well as a weird way of keeping the date. Apparently the phone thought it was year 3 AP currently. So what would happen if Ness called the number of this very phone on this date in year 2 AP? Would he get Claus from a year ago?

Ness got up and carefully made his way out of the cabin he and his friends were in, and walked through the quiet hall until he made it to the bathroom for this train car.

Ness dialed the number, set it to call year 2 AP, then hit the call button.

A monotone voice answered “You have reached the Commander’s pork phone. This is the Commander speaking.”

“Oh my gosh it worked.” Ness said.

“Did you have a purpose for calling me?” the young Commander asked.

“Uhh…” Ness paused. “...Is your refrigerator running?”

“What?” The Commander asked. “How does that matter to you in any way?”

Somewhat embarrassed now, Ness said “I guess it doesn’t.”

“Then why are you wasting my time?”

“I… well, if your refrigerator IS running, you’d better go catch it!”

The Commander thought about that statement for a moment. “Was that an attempt at a joke?”

“...Um, yeah.” Ness responded.

“I do not understand jokes.”

“Clearly not.” Ness responded. “Well, whatever. Have fun doing whatever it is you do, Claus.”

“What did you call m-”

Ness hung up. That was the most unsatisfying prank call he had ever made.

Still, it certainly was interesting. If this device could make calls through time so easily, then how is it that time travel was so out of control? After all, Ness had broken the previous phone Claus had, so SOMEONE had to have built a new one. Someone with enough understanding of time to be able to create a device that could control what time it called someone with ease.

Someone like Dr. Andonuts, Ness realized.

Where was Dr. Andonuts now, anyway? Did he escape the nuke of Fourside?

Either way, it didn’t make much sense to Ness that Dr. Andonuts wouldn’t have been able to figure out what was causing the uncontrollable time traveling when he was the one who first figured out time travel in the first place.

…

No, right?

There was like, absolutely positively no way Dr. Andonuts could possibly in any way be responsible for it, right?

Ness rushed back into the cabin the others were in, and opened the little cargo area Lucas had stuffed Pokey into when he wouldn’t stop snoring earlier.

“Pokey!” Ness said, shaking him awake. “Pokey, wake up!”

Pokey startled awake with a coughing fit that woke everyone else up. “What?” he asked, annoyed.

“I need to ask you - about the time travel stuff.”

“Ugggggghhhh!” Pokey complained. “Time travel is WAY too overrated…”

“Pokey, this is serious.” Ness said. “I know you didn’t come to this time on purpose.”

“So?” Pokey asked. “What’s it matter?”

“What MATTERS is that SOMETHING must’ve caused it, and if it wasn’t you, then it must’ve been some other force.”

“Look, Ness.” Pokey said, before coughing. “Those stupid islands were the weirdest place I’ve seen in all eternity. Time travel there didn’t really make any sense.” He coughed some more. “You could time travel TO the islands, but time traveling OUT of them was impossible.” Cough, cough. “Believe me I’ve tried.”

“Well something made it work.” Ness said. “You made it back here, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, so what?”

“SO whatever was preventing that went away. And something - or someONE - caused you and the others to come to this point in time in particular. And then, that same thing must’ve brought Ninten, Lloyd, and all of their friends to this time, too. And NOW that person is bringing chimeras and pigmasks!”

“And?”

“Aren’t you at least a little concerned about this?”

Pokey laughed, and fell into more coughing. “I stopped really getting concerned about anything a LONG time ago.”

“Lucas thinks if this keeps up the world will end.” Ness stated.

“Oh fu-”

“POKEY!” Picky quickly interrupted.

“Why do you care, anyway?” Lucas asked. “You WANT to destroy the world!”

“Only ‘cause there was nothing cool left of it.” Pokey responded, before coughing. “But I’m not about to be in a doomed time again so soon! This place HAS to have longer in it than that! I’ve been around for a good portion of this Earth’s history, and it lasts for MUCH-” cough, cough “-longer!”

“Maybe in whatever time you might be from.” Lloyd pointed out. “But we don’t actually know if this is the SAME 1990s you lived through. With time travel there’s certainly the possibility of split timelines to prevent paradoxes.”

“What is he talking about?” Pokey asked.

Lloyd sighed. “Okay, for example, Ness’ father is named Ninten. Since there’s a Ninten from the 1980s and one from the 1990s in this timeframe, and the 1990s Ninten has never time traveled before, that means they are not the SAME Ninten. They’re alternate versions.”

“So you think Lucas and Pokey are from an alternate timeline to this one?” Ness asked Lloyd.

“I can’t say for certain. They COULD be. But I don’t know. Were you here in this exact year before, Porky?” Lloyd asked. “Do you remember Fourside being nuked?”

“I was here.” Pokey responded. “But I actively avoided Eagleland during this era. Didn’t really wanna… run into anyone I knew.”

“Then why didn’t you just skip this era?” Ness asked. “And go to the next one.”

Pokey was silent.

“Pokey?”

“Look, what’s it matter?” Pokey coughed. “I just didn’t!”

“Hold on,” Ness asked, “did you lose the ability to time travel?”

“...The stupid machine broke when Giygas emerged from the Devil’s Machine…” Pokey admitted. “It wasn’t until,” cough, “I found out that some of the minerals of the Nowhere Islands had properties similar to Zexonyte that I started bringing things to that timeline, but I couldn’t go back!”

“What’s Zexonyte?” Lucas asked.

Ness explained “The material needed for safe and controllable time travel. Technically it’s not REQUIRED, since the Phase Distorter that Pokey took didn’t have it, but… well, you see what happened to him.”

“Shut it!!” Pokey shouted.

“Anyway,” Ness said, “this just proves the point I was trying to make even more - I think I know a potential cause for all of this time travel now - I think Dr. Andonuts caused it.”

Pokey laughed and coughed very much in unison. “THAT weakling stinkling? He wouldn’t DARE without MY permission!”

“Do I NEVER get to escape that name?!” Lloyd exclaimed.

“Why would he do something like that?” Lucas asked.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Ness said. “It would make sense for HIM to want to leave, maybe with some innocent people with him if he wanted to protect them, but why would he bring Pokey? And now a huge army? And potentially the Ninten, Lloyd, and such from their time too!”

“It just doesn’t line up.” Lucas commented. “It couldn’t have been him.”

“But he MADE time travel. Why wouldn’t he be able to control it?”

Porky’s face shifted ever-so-slightly into one of surprise. “You know… you-” cough “-may just be on to something.”

“But why?” Lloyd asked. “I’m supposed to be a hero - a Warrior of Justice! Why would my future self bring an evil army here?”

Ness thought about it, and he just couldn’t ignore something Dr. Andonuts had said the last time Ness saw him. “...Because he couldn’t adapt.”

“Huh?”

“He couldn’t adapt to normal life. That’s why he could never be there for Jeff, and spent all of his time working on such complex machines. And then… when he was finally ready to adapt, it was…” Ness paused, trailing off a little as he said “...suddenly taken from him so he…” Ness gulped “...became the villain.”

Suddenly it didn’t feel like Ness and Dr. Andonuts were so different, after all.

“So was Claus right, after all?” Lucas asked. “Is Dr. Andonuts someone we need to avoid?”

“It may be worse than that.” Ness said. “Lloyd, how good are your hacking skills?”

“Amazing!” Lloyd told him. “I can hack into anything!”

“Even the government’s nuke silo?”

“Huh?” Lloyd asked.

“Jeff told me the nuke came from the government. Paula said the government claims it came from somewhere in Foggyland. If we’re questioning Dr. Andonuts here, we can’t trust that Jeff ISN’T involved. Do you think you can check?”

“Uh… I’d need a computer.” Lloyd said. “And then… well, I don’t know! I’ve never tried hacking the government before!”

“There should be a library near the train station we get out at.” Ness said. “Do you think that could work for you?”

“I guess I’ll give it my best…” Lloyd promised.

The rest of the ride was spent awake by all of the Courageous Heroes. Lloyd wrote feverishly in a notebook he had picked up at a shop in I Hate Coriander Day, Tracy and Picky were playing with cards, Lucas was absent mindedly staring out the window, Pokey complained a lot, and Ness just stared at his book, lost in thought.

What if Jeff really did nuke Fourside?

What did that mean for the Chosen Four?

What did it even mean if Dr. Andonuts was evil? If a hero like that could fall, how much further was Ness going to fall?

He guessed it was better not to dwell on this stuff too much until he had a solid answer.
 
~~~
 
There wasn’t much conversation as the kids ate their breakfast at the train station the following morning, other than Pokey’s whining that he missed being able to eat. To be honest, Ness found that situation kind of ironic, though he chose not to say anything.

Once everyone was done, Ness said “Alright Lloyd, are you ready to go to the library?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Lloyd responded.

“While you do that, can I have some cash?” Tracy asked. “I’d like to do some supplies shopping.”

“I’ll help you.” Lucas added. “There’s a few things I wouldn’t mind getting.”

“Okay,” Ness said, “but somebody has to keep an eye on Pokey.”

“Me, I guess.” Picky offered. “I can’t move him, though, so we’ll have to stay put.”

“Maybe just stay here in the train station.” Lloyd told Picky. “Once I hack the government, we’re going to have to get out of this town quickly.”

Ness handed Tracy a big wad of bills and whispered “Make sure YOU hold onto this, I don’t know if Lucas fully understands how money actually works.”

“You got it, big bro!” Tracy responded. “Let’s go, Lucas! We’re going to go get some umbrellas and snacks and such!”

“Sounds good.” Lucas said, looking out at the everlasting storm. “It doesn’t seem like the rain’s going to stop any time soon.”

The two left, and Ness found the library on a map and brought Lloyd there. “Now what?” Ness asked.

“Now we do a little manipulation.” Lloyd told him. “So we don’t IMMEDIATELY get caught.”

Lloyd went around to some of the shelves, and grabbed some books from the science section. Then, as someone was leaving one of the computers, Lloyd said “Excuse me, sir?”

“Yes?” the guy responded.

“I umm… this is a bit embarrassing, but you see, I have this report for school I need to do, but I don’t have a library card. Is there any way you could scan yours on the computer so I can do some online research? My mother’s too busy to get me one, you see, and-”

“Of course.” The guy said, and scanned his library card on a computer. “Make sure you log out when you’re done, though. Good luck on your project!”

“Thank you!!” Lloyd exclaimed. As soon as the guy left and Lloyd was near the computer, he put the large stack of books in one particular spot. “Don’t call me by name.” he instructed Ness. “I’ve covered the camera, but public computers record your voice, too.”

“Okay.” Ness agreed. “You seem to know what you’re doing.”

“I do.” Lloyd stated, his fingers going over the keys of the keyboard at extreme speeds. It almost seemed inhuman how fast he was going. Ness had no idea how he was actually aware of what buttons he was pushing without making a single mistake. It was certainly impressive, though.

It already seemed Lloyd was somewhere he shouldn’t be. Instead of the playful design of most websites, it was just a solid colored screen with a ton of white text. Lloyd was just going deeper and deeper into this, too, with no signs of stopping anytime soon. Ness wandered off to go read a comic, now bored. He trusted Lloyd to tell him his findings. Plus, it’s not like Ness could figure anything out by looking at the gibberish Lloyd was going through, anyway.

Finally, Lloyd ran towards Ness. “Let’s get out of this town.”

“What did you-”

“We’ll talk later.”

Lloyd began dragging Ness out of the place with a serious expression, and Ness went along with him.

The two came back to the train station, where it seemed Lucas and Tracy had already returned.

“Hey, Ness!” Lucas called out. “I got some yarn to knit with! They didn’t have any wool yarn, so it comes from some Eagleland plant called ‘acrylic’!”

“Now’s not the time.” Lloyd said. “We need to get on a train NOW. I don’t care where it goes.”

“I’m on it!” Tracy said, rushing towards the train counter.

“What’s wrong?” Picky asked.

“The government will be after us soon.” Lloyd said quietly. “They generally don’t like people hacking into their systems.”

“Oh, Ness, I have something else to show you.” Lucas said, and he pulled out a large rolling suitcase. “I bought this so it’ll be easier to pull Porky along.”

“I-” cough “-do NOT approve of that!” Pokey shouted.

“What are you going to do about it?” Lucas asked.

Pokey fell silent.

“Sorry, Pokey.” Ness said, helping Lucas put him inside. “But it IS going to be a lot more convenient.”

“I am KING P!!!” Pokey exclaimed. “I deserve MUCH better than an OFF BRAND piece of LUGGAGE!”

“And how’s that whole ‘king thing’ working out for you now, huh?” Lucas asked. “I’d quit complaining if I were you. I got one big enough that I could zip it over your head if you get too annoying.”

“We’ll get less questions that way.” Picky pointed out.

“Don’t join HIS side!” Pokey demanded, coughing.

“I’m not joining sides!” Picky told him. “I’m just stating the facts.”

“Bad news, everyone.” Tracy said, approaching the group again. “Due to the storm, the next train doesn’t leave this town for two days.”

“Then we’ll have to walk.” Lloyd said.

“In THIS rain?” Picky asked. “We’ll catch a cold!”

“Then Ness or Lucas can fix it.” Lloyd told him. “Look, I don’t think you understand how much danger we’re in right now. Let’s go get some tents or something, and get moving!”

Tracy passed out some umbrellas and ponchos, and the group walked out into the rain once again to go to the store and buy camping supplies. Then, it was to the woods they went, braving the cold rainy wind to escape the government’s eye.

“Wait, why are we afraid, anyway?” Ness asked. “When they see me, they’ll realize who I am, and let me go!”

“Maybe they’re too low level to know.” Tracy said in a mocking tone.

“Oh, right. Good point.”

“Well,” Lloyd said as they walked, “good news and bad news time. The good news is that you can trust Jeff, because the nuke really DID come from the government. The bad news is that the government nuked Fourside and blamed Foggyland for it, so we’re probably still on our way to World War III.”

Ness let out a sigh of relief. He couldn’t imagine what he would’ve done if Jeff had really turned evil after all this time. Maybe there was still hope for Ness?

“Don’t look so-” cough, cough “-relieved.” Pokey said.

“Huh?” Ness asked.

“Just because your friend wasn’t responsible for THIS doesn’t make him innocent. It just-” cough “-means he didn’t do THAT. Also, it being to government is MUCH worse. Ask Lucas! The people who rule the world are TERRIFYING!”

“Yeah, SO terrifying.” Lucas said sarcastically, purposely running the suitcase over a big rock, shaking Pokey up and sending him into a coughing fit. “You know, typically it’s good manners to cover your mouth when you cough - oh wait, you can’t.”

This was a side Ness never really expected to see of Lucas. He could be naggy at times, sure, but he was being outright aggressive towards Pokey. Not that Ness could really blame him, but it was weird that this was the same boy who just earlier today thought that acrylic yarn came from a plant.

“My dad’s in the government.” Ness told Pokey. “So we should be fine.”

“If you’re dad’s so great and helpful,” Pokey coughed, “why did you need your little nerd friend to tell you to leave the city?”

“It’s a test from the government!”

“Ness,’ Tracy said, “I think we might have to come to a realization here.”

“Huh?”

“We have no actual proof that dad’s in the government.”

“Tracy how could you say that?” Ness asked. “You know what? I’m calling him! Right now!”

Without waiting for a response, Ness dialed his father’s number on Claus’ phone, making sure to set the present time. When Ness’ father picked up, Ness said “Dad?”

“Yes, Ness?”

“Why didn’t you warn us the government was going to nuke Fourside?”

“Wait, what?!” Ninten exclaimed in surprise. “They never told me that!”

“Why not?” Ness pressed. “I mean, wouldn’t they tell someone as high ranking as you?”

“Of course they would.” Ninten responded. “You know what, I think I know what it is - they must’ve put some rookie on the job of contacting us. It happens far too often where a trainee screws something up and doesn’t deliver the message. I’ll tell you what, though, Ness. I’ve got some stuff out that you can’t see, but give me a little bit and I’ll get it all cleaned up for you so you’ve got a place to stay until I can get to the bottom of what’s going on.”

“My friends, too?” Ness asked.

“So long as they stay out of classified zones, I suppose they’ll be alright too. Give me until tomorrow, okay? Then you can teleport here.”

“That’d be perfect, thanks dad! We should get mom, too. She’s out somewhere on her own.”

“...I’ll get in contact with her, too.” Ninten agreed. “Just focus on keeping yourself safe for now.”

“Will do!” Ness promised, then hung up. “See? I told you everything would work out! Dad’s offered us to stay at his place for now!”

“No.” Tracy said.

“What?” Ness asked. “What do you mean no?”

“I mean I’m not going!” Tracy told Ness. “There’s something off about all of this. Whether it’s a secret government base or our father’s man cave, I don’t want to be anywhere near it!”

“Why not?” Ness asked. “He’s our father!”

“I don’t trust him either way.” Tracy stated. “Government agent or not, he’s never given me a reason to believe I should stay with him at such an uncertain time. I’d rather take my chances out here, where at least I know where I stand.”

“Tracy, you can’t just go wandering around the world by yourself!” Ness lectured.

“Then I’ll go with her.” Picky said quickly. “If she wants me to, that is.”

“What?” Ness asked.

“I don’t belong with your group.” Picky said. “You’re all important people with some ‘greater mission’ and all that, and I’m just… me.”

“Picky you can’t just leave!” Pokey told him.

“Yeah, I can, actually.” Picky told him. “Tracy, what do you think? Should our group separate from theirs?”

Tracy stared in horror at what was going on. She never ACTUALLY meant she wanted to split off, and yet…

Didn’t she?

All her life she wanted to be the important one, and it had felt SO GOOD when she had just for that one night on Halloween, even if it was all fake. Now that it was over though, this was the Ness show all over again, and she was just a background character to his narrative.

She didn’t know if she’d actually accomplish anything by leaving. But at least she’d have the chance.

“I love you, big bro.” she said, hugging Ness. “I have your phone number. I’ll call you sometime, okay?”

“Wait, Tracy-!” Ness exclaimed.

“It’s about time I started making my own decisions.” Tracy said decidedly. “Starting with this. It’s not goodbye forever, Ness, just… until we meet again.”

“I-” Ness stopped himself from arguing. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“It is.” Tracy said, now with certainty.

“Then who am I to stop you?” Ness asked. “Alright Tracy. Good luck on your adventure.”

“You too, Ness.” Tracy said, smiling. “You ready, Picky?”

Picky walked over to where Pokey was. “I’m SURE I’ll run into you again.” Picky told him. “But I’m tired of people telling me what to do and where to go. So when I see you next, Pokey, I’ll be just like a real grown-up, and will be making my own decisions.”

“Heh.” Pokey responded. “We’ll-” cough “-see about that.”

“We will.” Picky agreed. “Goodbye, Pokey.”

“Goodbye, Picky.” Pokey paused. After a few moments of contemplation, Pokey finally aggressively said “I like, love you, okay?!”

Picky gave Pokey a wide smile. “I love you too.” he said. “But you’d better be careful! Someday we’re going to see each other again, and by then, I might be the older brother!”

Tracy and Picky both walked together in a different direction, away from the remaining Courageous Heroes, shouting their goodbyes behind them. The Courageous Heroes stayed put until the two were gone, out of eyesight and earshot, before continuing down their own path, deeper into the rainy woods.

Watching Tracy leave like that, for the first time in a while, Ness felt a familiar feeling he hadn’t really felt in this way since some point in his adventure back in the day.

He felt homesick for the way things used to be.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It sure was nice waking up in a proper bed.Ness got up and stretched, then changed into a fresh set of clothing.“Good morning Ness!” Lucas said cheerfully, looking up from his knitting project. Of course, like always, Lucas woke up before Ness.“What’cha working on?” Ness asked.“A blanket!” Lucas exclaimed happily, holding it up for Ness to see. “Ms. Mimmie was able to get me some wool yarn a bit more like I’m used to, so it’s coming along great!”“Heh, looks like Lloyd stayed up all night again last night.” Ness joked, looking over at the sleeping albino. “I bet you he won't wake up until at LEAST afternoon!”Lucas laughed. “Probably not.”Ness and Lucas walked out of the room and through the halls towards the dining room, where an amazing smelling breakfast made specifically with psychics in mind was waiting for them.The Courageous Heroes had been not very courageous for the past week, choosing to stay in the comfortable government lab at Mt. Holy Loly than to brave the seemingly endless storm outside. They hadn’t even gone to the surface since coming down here.“More pancakes?” Mimmie asked, piling more of the pink discs on both Ness’ and Lucas’ plates without waiting for a response. “Growing boys need their nutrients!” she exclaimed.“And growing psychics ought to be eating more foods like these.” Minnie added. “Ana, I still can’t believe you’ve only been serving Ness normal food his whole life! Don't you care about his potential?”“I don't see the problem.” Ness’ mother responded angrily. “Neither me nor Ninten grew up on such sugary citrusy foods like these, and I don't think Ness needs to either. And I would APPRECIATE it Minnie if you STOPPED insulting my parenting!”Despite the arguing, Lucas couldn’t help but smile. It was certainly nice to be doted on all the time again. Things haven’t been like this since…Well, since Lucas’ mother died.Despite the many attempts Ness’ father had tried to make on both Lucas’ and Claus’ lives, there didn't seem to be any hard feelings anymore. And both Minnie and Mimmie seemed to like Lucas, making it clear that he could stay down here as long as he wanted so long as Ness did too, and Ness didn't seem to have any intention on leaving. If Lucas were a weaker boy, he’d make this place his new home and just kick back and relax for a while.But he wasn’t.He knew he needed to leave this place soon. It had been a nice break from all of the chaos up above, but he knew there was no way he was finding his family OR the way to time travel back to his own time down here.He intended on talking to Ness about that after breakfast, but it seemed Ninten had other plans for the two of them today.“Come with me to the meeting room.” Ness’ father stated seriously when the two were done. “Minnie, Mimmie, you too.”Ana let out an annoyed sound. “I’m going to go find a nice reading spot.” she said, storming off.The others, however, went with Ninten into the grand-looking room, where Ninten sat at the head of the table.“Alright, I call this meeting to order. Minnie, Mimmie, please say things in code as we have guests. Minnie, have you heard any new news on the radio?”“The spoonbird has arrived at the cereal bar.” Minnie said seriously. “He is currently awaiting more milk.”“Understood.” Ninten said nodding. “Mimmie, what about you?”“The highers ups have requested we send them… the rocks.” she said dramatically.“Is that so?” Ninten asked interestedly. “Alright, we’ll send the milk and the rocks off tonight.”Ness smiled widely. The government was SO COOL!!!“Alright Ness, Lucas.” Ninten said. “You’re probably wondering why I called you here today. Well, the mission, should you choose to accept it, is simple - you need to go out on an expedition.”“An expedition?” Ness asked excitedly. “For the government?”Ninten laughed. “Ahahahaha! No. This is more of a personal matter, really. Minnie has been working with your time-sick friend, and he has expressed interest in having the grounds where his tower once stood explored, claiming that there may be useful artifacts still left behind. Such things don’t interest the GOVERNMENT, per say, but it could be interesting nevertheless. Are you prepared to take on such a task?”“Yes!” Ness exclaimed.“Wait.” Lucas responded. “Isn’t the air there poison or something?”“Very clever observation.” Minnie told him. “Lucky for you, we have access to top-of-the-line supplies. You’ll each be supplied with a hazmat suit to protect you from all of the radiation.”Mimmie looked at her siblings. “Are we sure about this? They’re only kids!”“Oh, Mimmie.” Ninten said. “You forget - Ness is MY kid. He can do anything! And I can tell Lucas is certainly something special too.”Lucas thought about it for a second. If there was anything that was going to give him more information about time travel, it would have been in that building.“Okay.” Lucas agreed. “I’m in.”“Me too!” Ness added excitedly.And that’s how the two psychics were put into hazmat suits that were a little too large on them and sent straight into the heart of Fourside.The two stood together in stunned silence. There was destruction everywhere, and the sidewalks were covered in the scorched outlines of bodies. Not a single building in the entire city was more than a few stories high now, and rubble lied everywhere.Not all of the outlines were human, however. Quite a few seemed to be very strangely shaped. They looked vaguely to Lucas like chimeras. But why would there be so many chimeras here?“So much is gone…” Ness commented,  looking around at the once-bustling city, now nothing but bits and pieces of buildings. He wanted to check on his old house. See what was left of it. But before he did, he noticed something.The department store had been particularly desecrated, and bits of pieces of merchandise were all over the place. Halloween costumes, pumpkin carving kits, spooky decorations - it felt so strange that all of these people were only focused on Halloween right before they all died. But that’s not what concerned Ness right now.It was what was supposed to be BEHIND the department store.Without warning Lucas, Ness ran in that direction, looking around desperately for the silver thing he was looking for. He tried to move as much rubble as he could to be able to find it, and then suddenly Ness DID see a glint of silver. He picked it up, realizing it was only a small sliver of what it once was.It seems that the building’s collapse crushed and broke Magnet Hill.Ness’ Fifth Your Sanctuary Location was gone.Ness fell to his knees, still able to sense the bit of power remaining in even this little piece. Most of his time spent living in Fourside he tended to forget Magnet Hill was there, but he guessed he could always sense it, like a sort of warm protective hug over the city. But just like the city, Magnet Hill was destroyed now.“Ness?” Lucas asked, now getting to Ness and putting a hand on his back. “Are you okay?”“Magnet Hill is gone.” Ness told Lucas. “It’s gone.”“Magnet Hill?” Lucas asked, looking around. “I’m sorry, I don’t-”“Let’s go find our houses.” Ness said, standing up. The hazmat suits had some pockets for anything of importance they might find. Ness put this piece in his pocket.Ness’ apartment was closer, so they headed there first. Or rather, what was left of it. The lobby was fairly intact, but the next floor up had no ceiling, and the rain was pouring onto everything inside. People used to live there Ness thought. They wouldn’t be happy that all of their stuff was getting ruined. Not that they’d ever know.But Ness’ apartment was pretty high up before, so now it was gone entirely. If Ness wanted to find anything, he’d have to search the rubble.Ness looked around. “Go look for your belongings.” he told Lucas. “I’ll meet you there.”“Are you sure?” Lucas asked. Ness seemed really emotional right now. Did he really want to be on his own?“Yeah.” Ness told him. “Go ahead. I don’t want to stop you.”“...If you’re sure.” Lucas responded, and walked off. It seemed like the typical way to get to his house was blocked off, though, so he took a detour to the right.Ness searched through the wreckage. All of the stuff from his old adventure had been here. His maps, his souvenirs - and most of all, his photobook. There was only one copy of that photo album. And it was in this building.He didn’t really realize he had started to cry until there were tears streaming down his face. It wasn’t fair! Why would the government do something like this? For all of the complaining Ness did, it was fun just to go to school and spend time with his friends. Sneaking around and skipping classes, playing Pokey’s little games, going on field trips - at the time it had felt so normal, but now that he had lost it… now that he had gotten what he wanted and was on a REAL adventure again…He wished he could go back to being Just an Everyday Psychic Kid.Despite the tears in his eyes, Ness spotted something colorful. It was an album, blown open and covered in debris and getting rained on like everything else here.Ness’ photo album.Ness rushed over to it, and pulled it out. It was soaked, and most of it was ruined, but in the very back there was a plastic pocket with a single picture that Ness had taken with a polaroid of the Chosen Four together, which was a bit awkward looking since Ness had just held the camera out facing them, trying to get all four of their faces in the frame. He had managed to do it at the time, but it seemed like some water had seeped in and washed out the part of the picture where Poo had been, so his face was a little hard to make out. Still, it’s what Ness had.Ness put the picture in his pocket and left the rest of the already ruined book.Then one other thing caught the light just right and got Ness’ attention. A small little coin that on one said said Summers, Foggyland, and on the other showed a picture of the beach.Ness had bought it for Tracy, but it wasn’t like she was coming back for it anytime soon, so he took it, too. A memory of the adventures of the students of Fourside Academy.The first and last field trip the kids would ever have as students together.Well, that was enough heartache for one day. Ness got up and started heading towards Lucas’ house, though the way was blocked so he took a detour to the left.As he got further and further on the outskirts of town, more and more was intact. Maybe Lucas would actually be lucky.As Ness walked, he saw full on bodies just… lying places, fully intact. Most human, but some were weird chimeras that made a shiver crawl up Ness’ back. There were certain things that weren’t ever supposed to be combined.But then Ness saw the strangest thing of all. It was large, scaly, and green, and it looked as if someone had just playfully decided certain body parts of it that should be replaced with a robotic counterpart.What was this thing, a robotic dinosaur?As Ness approached the ‘dinosaur’ he noticed there was a red stain down it’s mouth. Wait, was it actively eating something when it died? What was it that it had there?Ness got close enough to check, and nearly screamed.The ‘dinosaur’ had not just someTHING in its mouth, but someONE. And Ness was pretty sure that someone was Lucas’ father.Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, what should he do?! How should he explain this to Lucas? SHOULD he tell Lucas at all??Wait, wasn’t Claus supposed to be helping his father out of the city?What if he didn’t get a chance to leave?Ness began frantically looking around, freaking out at every little metallic piece or child-sized body he found until he got a better look at it. No sign of Claus yet, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t here.Ness began walking towards Lucas’ as he continued his search, and eventually arrived. The building was faring better than a lot of the other ones, but it still had only a few floors, so it didn’t get close to Lucas’ floor. However, many bodies were scattered about, seemingly taken out by the blast. Lucas was sitting outside with one such body in his arms. The body of a brown dog.“Lucas?” Ness asked, approaching.Lucas was sobbing, holding the body close to him. He didn’t say anything, just kept crying.“Lucas…” Ness said softer this time, putting a comforting hand on Lucas’ back. If this is how he reacted to seeing his dead dog, how would he react to…Ness made a decision. For Lucas’ sanity, he wasn’t going to tell him right now that his father was dead. Not until he knew for a fact what happened to Claus.“Oh Boney…” Lucas cried. “I’m so sorry! I promise… I’ll finish what we started. And when I do… I’ll see you again!”Lucas than began to dig away at the wet mud with his hands. It moved easily for him, and he dug a deep enough hole to fit Boney into. “I wish I had a better place to bury you.” Lucas said. “But you’ll awaken in Tazmily soon enough.”He placed Boney in the hole, and covered him back up.“May the dragon guide you as you become one with the Earth.”Finally, Lucas turned to face Ness with his sky-blue eyes dulled. “There’s nothing else here for me.” Lucas told him.“Then let’s go do what we came here to do.” Ness responded, carefully guiding Lucas through a different path that kept him far away from his dead father.The two got to the remains of The Empire Porky Building v2, and immediately got to work looking for things. Ness was just aimlessly looking, really, while Lucas was looking for time travel technology in particular. Now more than ever he knew he had to get back to that needle.Instead, Lucas found something else.A broken, crushed robotic maid.Lil’ Miss Marshmallow.Despite never really seeing her as a person while she was still alive, all of a sudden Lucas was overtaken by yet another sense of loss. Maybe it was in part due to the fact that he was already so emotional after Boney, but really, Lucas had such a big feeling of regret. Claus loved Lil’ Miss Marshmallow. HE saw her as a person, because she was so similar to him. And yet Lucas had never given her a chance, so stuck in the idea that ‘technology is bad’ that he wouldn’t consider anything technological to even have a chance of being good. And now she was dead. It’s not like robots got an afterlife, and she wouldn’t be brought into existence when Lucas reset time, so she really was gone.Despite her robotic nature, Lucas still gingerly touched her face.“May the dragon guide you as you become one with the Earth.” he whispered, for the second time within the hour. It was a silly thing to do for a non-living being, but he guessed he still wanted to say it, as if it made up for everything he did while she was alive.“Hey Lucas, over here!” Ness called out obliviously.Lucas ran over to meet him. “Did you find something?” Lucas asked.“Here, come inside.”The two entered the very unstable lobby floor of the Empire Porky Building v2, and Ness lead Lucas to a closet. And in the closet, behind some stuff, was a secret door. Opening that revealed a LOT of stairs.“The basement!” Lucas exclaimed. “With all of that weird stuff!”“What stuff?” Ness asked. “When I was down there, I was trapped until Dr. Andonuts arrived. Suddenly, I fell asleep and woke up with my neck feeling kind of weird.”“Did he put you to sleep?” Lucas asked.Ness paused. “You know, I think he did!” he exclaimed.“I can’t believe Claus was right about him the whole time…” Lucas lamented. “Well, next time I see Claus he’s TOTALLY going to be all ‘I told you so!’”“Yeah…” Ness responded. If he’s even alive. Ness and Lucas carefully went down the steep stairs that seemed to go on for a VERY long time. Ness wasn’t even sure how far they went down before they finally reached the bottom, opening into a large, dark room.Like before, Lucas used PK Love to give himself a little bit of light. Ness did the same with Rockin’, but to get a good look at everything, he used a quick PK Flash.And he saw things he KNOWS he couldn’t have possibly just seen.“Was that the Devil’s Machine?” Ness asked, approaching where he thought he saw it. Sure enough, it was there, though it looked a little worse for wear. “Why didn’t you tell me about this if you’ve seen it, Lucas?”“I didn’t know it had a name.” Lucas responded. “I just know it gives me a terrible feeling.”“That makes sense.” Ness responded. Looking around some more, he said “That’s Pokey’s old mech! Do you think it still works?”“Huh?”Lucas looked over to the spider-like contraption Ness was referring to. Of COURSE Porky was behind something so horrible looking. “I have no idea.” Lucas responded.“If we can bring this back, he might be able to move on his own again.” Ness said.“Is that really a good thing?”“Unless you want to drag him around in a thing of luggage forever, yes.” Ness told Lucas.“I dunno…” Lucas replied.“He’s on our side now.” Ness assured Lucas. “He kind of has to be - he has nothing else! And that mech can only take so much of a beating before it would just break. I bet if you gave it your all with a PK Love Omega, you’d probably be able to destroy it if he got too out of control.”“Even if I thought this was a good idea - which I DON’T - how would we get it back to the lab?”“Right.” Ness said. “We’d have to teleport it back. Meaning we have to get it outside and somehow get it to teleportation speed. And I doubt the elevator still works, so it’d need to go up the stairs.”“How did it even get DOWN here?” Lucas asked.“I guess the elevator…” Ness responded. “It was probably a tight fit, though, so maybe it put in at a weird angle… Wait, that’s it!” Ness exclaimed. “I have an idea that just might be crazy enough to work!”Ness looked over at the stairway. It WAS narrow, but not to an extreme degree. The oval-shaped mech could probably make it through sideways, though it looked too heavy to lift. Somebody would have to pilot it while the other person guided them. The pilot probably wouldn’t be able to start a PK Teleport very easily, and Ness was the only one would could.So if they wanted to get the mech out of here…“Hey, Lucas.” Ness said, a fake smile on his face. “You wanna try something really cool?”“Not when you have that expression on your face.” Lucas responded, looking worried.“Look, it’d only be for a few minutes.” Ness told him. “Just long enough to get back to the lab.”“What would only be for a few minutes?”“Well, I’ve figured out how to get the mech out.” Ness said. “The plan only requires two things - one person would have to control the mech, and the other would have to be able to use PK Teleport.”“But I can’t use PK Teleport…” Lucas told him.“It’s a good thing I can!” Ness responded, still giving the fake smile. “So that means we just need-”“NO WAY!” Lucas said, backing up. “I am NOT getting in that thing!”“It’s the only way we can get it out of here.” Ness told him.“I don’t even WANT to help Porky!!!”“But,” Ness said, knowing just how to appeal to Lucas, “Pokey might be able to help us find Claus if he could do a little more.”“And how would he do that?” Lucas asked, hands on his hips.“Think about it.” Ness said. “Pokey had Claus built in such a way where it’d be easy to recapture him if he came to his senses and escaped. Do you really think he wouldn’t have had some kind of tracking technology put in him? If Pokey could do more, he might be able to USE that technology to find Claus!”Huh, Ness realized he was actually maybe onto something.And Lucas realized it too.Lucas stared Ness down, the sheer bright color of his eyes reflecting the light of PK Love being a little unsettling at this point. He stared him down for like a minute straight without blinking even once. Then he finally turned his gaze back to the mech.“Do you really think it would help Claus?”“I do.” Ness said with actual honesty.“Then how do I get into that thing?”Ness took a breath. “That’s what we’re going to have to figure out.”It was no easy task, as it turned out, to ‘get into that thing’. It was even more difficult to figure out how it controlled. But eventually they did, and Lucas had it moving.“I hate this so much!!!” Lucas exclaimed for like, the millionth time.“The sooner we get it back, the sooner you get to get out of it.” Ness reminded him.“It’s like it’s reading all my thoughts!!” Lucas added. “And it’s so sticky! How is it this sticky?!”It was pretty interesting how the mech didn’t actually need any physical controls. It was all based off what Lucas WANTED it to do, not any specific action he took like a joystick or a lever. Ness guessed that’s how the unmoving Pokey could use something like this. It was actually impressive if Lucas would quit complaining about it.“I’m SO glad I’m in a protection suit thing right now.” Lucas said.“Okay Lucas, I get it. Let’s start getting it out of here.”Despite his complaints, now that Lucas had the hang of the mech, it was really just like moving normally. He hated how easy it was for him to use it. But not as much as he hated how violated his head felt. It was like this thing was reaching into his thoughts, his very being, and reading it all like he was a book.Lucas got up the stairs reasonably easily, and it seemed like the mech was waterproof when it got outside. Ness teleported the two back to Mt. Holy Loly. Now Lucas got the joy of riding a boat while in this thing, but the second they entered the lab he basically ejected himself, falling out quite unceremoniously with a thud.“You did it.” Ness told him.“We are NEVER talking about this.” Lucas responded aggressively. “Ugh… I need a bath… for my mind.” Lucas made another grossed out sound before leaving.Ness, on the other hand, removed his hazmat suit, brought his keepsakes to his section of the room the Courageous Heroes were sharing, then went to go find the room where Pokey was being kept. He was hooked up to like… heart monitors and stuff? There were definitely at least three different devices that were all heart monitors. Apparently Minnie was trying to get some good information of the effect of time sickness on someone, but it really just seemed like she was getting basic vitals many times over.“Ness!” Pokey coughed. “Finally, some REAL company!”“Actually, I have a surprise for you.” Ness said, unhooking Pokey from all of that stuff. Hopefully aunt Minnie wouldn’t mind…“Anything to get out of THIS boring room. If I hear one more machine beep-” cough “-I’m GOING to lose my mind!!”“Like you haven’t already.” Ness said, carrying him out. “It was a lot of work to get this for you, so you’d better be grateful.”Ness brought him out towards the entrance of the lab. “My old mech!” Pokey exclaimed. “Wow, my first one.” Cough, cough. “This brings me back…”“Figured you could use it so you wouldn’t be a sized-up purse dog for the rest of eternity.” Ness told him. “It seems to be in reasonable condition, too.”Ness put Pokey inside the cockpit of it, and Pokey quite happily began giving it a quick test. But then he sniffed. “Why does it smell like sunflowers in here?”“Well we had to get it back somehow.” Ness told him. “And Lucas was the unlucky one who had to ride it.”Pokey laugh-coughed. “Bet he hated that!!”“You’d be right on that.” Ness said. “Though I KINDA convinced Lucas that you had some sort of tracking technology on Claus and in exchange for the mech you’d use it to find him.”“Oh right.” Pokey said. “I DO have that.”“So?” Ness asked. “Where is he?”“I have a tracker on it.” Pokey told him. “And if I had my good mech I’d be able to bring up its location immediately. But since I don’t, I’m going to have to instruct someone on how to build the reader for the tracker.”“I bet Lloyd could do it.” Ness said.“Where is the little weakling stinkling anyway?”“You should really stop calling him that.” Ness said. “But I’m pretty sure I know.”Ness led Pokey into on of the deeper parts of the lab - a part of it that actually felt lab-like. Sure enough, in one of the rooms, Lloyd was sitting in front of several computer screens at once, typing away like a maniac.“Hey Lloyd!” Ness called out. Lloyd had been a bit of a recluse since they got here, so Ness hadn’t really gotten much time to talk to him in the past week.“Huh? Oh! Hey, Ness.” Lloyd said, swinging his chair around to face him. Strangely, he wasn’t wearing his glasses.“Lloyd?” Ness asked. “Did you get contacts or something?”“...Or something.” Lloyd responded suspiciously. “But the point is, I never have to wear those awful glasses again!”“Wait, seriously?” Ness asked. “How did you manage that?”“Let’s just say George Montague left behind a LOT of useful stuff when he died that nobody is taking advantage of. Speaking of which, Ness, there’s something you really oughta know…”“Can it wait?” Pokey coughed. “I’m supposed to tell you what to do.”“Not really.” Lloyd told him. “Ness, could I show you something?”“Uh, sure.” Ness said. “Just a moment, Pokey.”“UGGGHHHHH!!!!”Ness ignored that and followed the very serious-seeming Lloyd into a more classified area of that lab. “Lloyd?” Ness asked. “I don’t think we’re supposed to be here.”“No, we’re not.” Lloyd told him. “But you need to see it, anyway.”Lloyd opened the door to a room full of radio equipment. It had floor to ceiling radios with a chair to sit at and those headphones with a microphone people who take calls usually use, and a desk to take notes at.“This is the radio room!” Ness exclaimed. “This is where they get all of their transmissions, isn’t it?”“It would seem that way.” Lloyd said, walking over to the notepad on the desk. Each page had who was taking the notes and the time written on it. Ninten’s and Minnie’s seemed very official, while Mimmie’s pages had a lot of little doodles. The notes seemed to align with all of the things they said the government needed them to do. “I’ve watched them do it from time to time.” Lloyd told Ness. “They way they talk and act - I’ve payed close attention to all of it. And it left me feeling… off.”“Off?” Ness asked. “What do you mean off?”“I wasn’t sure.” Lloyd told him. “So I thought I’d look into it. I decided to check out their radio system to try to figure out exactly what was going on, and…”Lower down on the radio system was a little hatch. Lloyd opened it to show Ness the wires inside of the system. They looked old and dusty, like nobody had messed with them in a while.“I thought this looked strange.” Lloyd continued, “so I brought out this little tool here.” he held out a device. “This tool can tell you if something has electric charge or not. See, if I use it on this lamp,” Lloyd pointed it at a lamp and pushed a button, and the device flashed red and beeped. “it does that. It’ll do the same thing for ANYTHING with electricity. Pretty neat, right? So I decided to try it on the radio, and…”Lloyd pushed the button. It did nothing.“I realized it had no power. Looking further at the wires, they looked singed. Like maybe they short circuited a long time ago, and the radio has been broken since.”Ness said “But my dad and aunts were just using it earlier. If it’s been broken for a long time, what are they listening to?”“I don’t know.” Lloyd responded. “I’m not sure if they’ve been listening to anything.”“But then where are they getting the information they’re getting from the government?”“Like I said, I don’t know.” Lloyd told him. “Because they’ll spend hours in here listening to absolutely nothing. The radio doesn’t even have a shot at working. I’ve checked.”Ness took a step back, feeling strange. What the heck did this even mean? His father and aunts were listening to nothing for hours on end, then taking notes on what they ‘heard’?Wh-what?“Ness, are you okay?” Lloyd asked, but Ness didn’t respond. He just stared at Lloyd, horrified.And suddenly it all began to hit him at once.The government never seemed to know him.His father didn’t know about the nuke, nor was Ness warned.Ness had never once seen any proof of what his father was actually doing.Ness’ father… wasn’t in the government, was he?Ness’ father was just running around this empty lab with his sisters pretending to have some ultimate goal but really he was just making up his own government orders and carrying them out regardless of who they might hurt.No.No, no, no. That couldn’t be true.After all, where did all of the money that Ness’ father gave to Ness come from?It surely didn’t come from a bad place… did it?Ness’ father had kidnapped Claus and seemingly had no idea what to do with him. Then there was no other security to stop literal children from breaking in and getting Claus out of there. Then the only people sent to handle the situation were other children kidnapped by Ness’ father. Never once had those other government agents actually got involved with Claus and Lucas. Never once had those other government agents acknowledged ANYTHING Ness’ father did in any way.But if Ninten Montague wasn’t afraid of sending kidnapped assassins to kill Ness’ friends without reason, why should Ness believe he was above stealing money and sending it to his son he never actually talked to as some way to gain his favor?Ness stumbled backwards, PK Rockin’ chaotically dancing around him as his thoughts went crazy. Lloyd’s mouth was moving, but once again, Ness blocked it out.Who the hell could he actually trust in this world?It felt like everyone Ness ever felt close to at any point in his lifetime was secretly lying to him about SOMETHING.So in reality, he truly had no one.Despite being surrounded by people at all times, Ness was all alone.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“And that’s it, right?” Lloyd asked Porky after doing the last step on the tracker reader. “It’s complete?”

“Well,” cough, “you’ve gotta turn it on, genius.”

Lloyd narrowed his eyes at Porky, an action that read much better now that he DIDN’T wear glasses. “You know what I meant.”

“Yeah, it’s done.” Porky coughed in response.

Lloyd turned it on, then said, “Alright, I need the tracking number.”

“Tracking number?” Porky asked. “There’s a tracking number?”

Lloyd face palmed. “Did we do all of this for nothing?”

“No, no.” Porky said. “I VAGUELY remember there being one. I just can’t remember what.”

“Well you’d better remember soon.” Lloyd told Porky. “If Claus got caught out in that storm, for all we know he could’ve been flying and had landed face-down in the mud somewhere, unable to move.”

“Heh,” cough “then it’ll know what it’s like.”

“Porky.” Lloyd said seriously. “I know you and Claus have… an interesting relationship at best, but… I dunno… something about the way you two interact with each other lately… it almost feels like you have to potential of being friends.”

“Friends?” Porky asked, laughing. “Ha! As if I could see that thing as any more than my own personal slave robot!”

“You say that, but…” Lloyd wasn’t certain this was a good idea. It’s not like he knew much about the situation, but he tended to be right on his hunches. So he pressed. “Why did you let him go to Summers? Heck, why did you ever even let him go to school? If you really saw him as nothing more than an object, you wouldn’t care about his happiness at all. And yet you do. So that makes me think you two can be friends someday!”

Porky had become silent.

“You’re both immortal.” Lloyd stated. “You’re stuck with each other for all of eternity, whether you like it or not. Why not let that infinite amount of time be spent having fun instead of both of you wishing misery for the other?”

Porky still didn’t respond.

“Well, I’ll leave you to think.” Lloyd said, getting up. “About the tracking number, I mean. The sooner we find Claus the sooner you get your slave back, right?”

Lloyd smirked the second he turned away from Porky to leave.

Another hunch that he had right on the money.

And man, he felt so cool right now being all dramatic and stuff.
 
~~~
 
Dinner was quiet, save for the clinking of forks on plates. But Ness’ father didn’t really get what the issue was.

“So, find anything interesting?” he asked Ness.

Ness gave him a look like daggers. Ness knew he MEANT in Fourside, but all Ness could think about was what he learned about the radio.

“Wait, you were in my radio room?” Ness’ father asked.

“Stay out of my head.” Ness snapped.

“Ness that room’s classified! It belongs to the government!”

“Oh yeah?” Ness asked. “Tell me more. Who exactly are you talking to in there? A certain branch of the government? The president? Or, perhaps, maybe you’re just talking to yourself?”

Mimmie let out a sound. “Ness, that’s enough.”

“Oh so YOU know.” Ness responded. “You could’ve warned me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Mimmie said, looking towards Ninten with concern. “Everything’s fine.”

“Is it?” Ness asked, his eyes glowing in his anger. “Is it really?”

“What’s going on?” Minnie asked. “Mimmie, do you know what he’s talking about?”

“No!” Mimmie said quickly. “Ness, maybe we should talk.”

“Yeah, we should! We should’ve talked about this MANY years ago, but now’s a good time too I guess.”

Ninten looked towards Ness. “What are you-”

Ness could feel Ninten trying to read his thoughts once again. Without thinking, Ness just wanted him OUT. Suddenly, he sent a psychic wave back at him, strong enough that it made Ninten physically recoil, and fall out of his chair.

While most people looked at Ness in horror, like he was some kind of monster, Porky suddenly rushed into the room. “I remember!” he shouted loudly.

“You do? Perfect!” Lloyd said, rushing out of his seat. “What is it?!”

“P-0-R-K” Porky told him.

“You couldn’t remember THAT?” Lloyd asked him.

“It’s been a while!” Porky defended, before coughing. “When you get as old as me you don’t remember little details like that!”

“You know what, doesn’t matter!” Lloyd said, taking out the tracker reader he built earlier. “Alright Lucas, in just a few minutes, we’ll know EXACTLY where your brother is!”

“Really?!” Lucas said, also getting up and ignoring the Montague family chaos. “Okay, okay, do it!”

“Entering it now!” Lloyd said. “According to this, Claus is… huh?” Lloyd looked at the device. “That can’t be right…”

“What’s it say?” Lucas asked, trying to look over Lloyd’s shoulder as if he’d understand what he was looking at even if he DID see it.

“According to this, he’s… pretty much right on top of us?”

“Is he outside??” Lucas asked.

“But how?” Lloyd asked. “How would he know we’re here?”

“Maybe the government told him.” Ness said bitterly.

“I’m going to go check!” Lucas exclaimed, rushing out of the room and towards the elevator out. Ness, Lloyd, and Porky rushed after him, creating quite the crowded elevator ride upwards. The group then rushed out of the cabin they ended up in, and went outside.

There was something big in the sky above.

“Hey, that’s mine!!” Porky complained. “It can’t just take my airships!”

“CLAUS!!!” Lucas called out, cupping his mouth with his hands. “CLAUS, ARE YOU IN THERE?!”

It turned out that Claus, was, in fact, in there. As he flew out he didn’t even acknowledge Lucas, however, and instead went over to the boat that allowed one to enter the lab. Doing so led to him going out into the rain, but he didn’t even flinch and his flight didn’t falter. It was like water didn’t affect him at all anymore.

“CLAUS!!” Lucas shouted, running after him now. “I’M HERE!!”

Could he not hear him over the rain?

“HEY, YOU!” Porky shouted towards Claus. “GET OVER HERE!!”

“What’s he holding?” Lloyd asked.

Claus landed next to the boat, and Lucas caught up to him, grabbing his arm. “Claus! I’m here!”

Claus turned to face him, but it was like he was staring right through him. Claus threw Lucas off him, sending him backwards a few feet and onto his butt in the mud.

That’s also when Lucas got a good look at what Claus was holding.

A bomb.

“He’s got a bomb!” Lucas called out.

Lloyd began running over, kicking up mud as he ran, and diving into the boat just as Claus threw a lit bomb into it and sent the boat towards the entrance to the lab.

And now Lloyd was holding an active bomb that he’d never seen anything even remotely similar to.

And who knew how long he had to defuse it.

Or how to.

He wasted no time trying to open it up. Luckily he still had a few tools he had stuffed in his pockets earlier, so they could help him here. Once he had gotten inside of it, he saw a blue, a green, and a red wire. He knew how these sorts of things worked. Cut the wrong one, and it explodes. Cut the right one, and it doesn’t.

C’mon Lloyd

he told himself.

Your hunches are always right, remember?

Just as he cut one, the boat went under the water, bringing Lloyd and the bomb whose fate was unknown down into the lab.

“My family’s in there!!” Ness cried out, horrified.

Claus began to fly away, but Porky shouted “I, King P, DEMAND you to come back!!”

Claus stopped, and faced Porky.

“I take orders from a new master now.” he stated in his typical monotone style.

“WHO?!” Porky demanded, coughing.

“The Great Dr. Andonuts, of course.”

With that, he continued his flight back towards the airship.

“Claus, wait!!” Lucas shouted.

But it didn’t matter. Claus was gone.

Lucas let out a sigh. “At least I know he’s okay…”

“Well I’M not okay with this!!” Porky whined.

Ness was too busy being concerned about his family, however. “If that bomb blew up, it would’ve flooded everything. My parents and aunts might’ve drowned, along with Lloyd. I don't even know how to safely check!!”

Lucas thought about it for a moment. “I have an idea.” he looked at Porky.

“What?” Porky asked. “Why are you,” cough, “looking at me?”

“Because you can't drown.”

“What are you getting at, sunflower boy?”

Lucas smirked. “It’s simple - you go down there, and if you come back up, we know it’s not flooded.”

“And if I don't come back up?”

“Then we’ve done the universe a great service!”

“What he means,” Ness added, “is we find a way to come bring you up ourselves. Please, Pokey. I’m worried about my family - and Lloyd! He was trying to save everyone!”

“But why does it have to be ME??” Porky asked. “People are expecting WAY too much of me lately…”

“Because you’re the only one who can do it.” Ness told him, stroking his ego. “The great unkillable Pokey - neither me nor Lucas can survive down there if it IS flooded, but you’d be just fine! That’s what makes you so perfect.”

“That IS what makes me perfect!” Porky agreed. “Okay - I’ll do it.”

Porky strutted his mech over to the boat that had returned in one piece (a good sign) and got in, starting the boat.

“I’ll see you losers later!” Porky shouted, laughing and coughing as the boat entered the whirl pool.

“Good job.” Lucas complimented.

“Now we just have to hope he comes back.” Ness responded.

Ness wasn’t sure what he was going to do if he didn’t.

Ness and Lucas waited in a painful silence as it felt as if an eternity passed. Then, all of a sudden, Porky came out of the cabin.

“Ahaha!” he laugh-coughed. “I bet you idiots were SO worried that-”

Porky cut himself off when Ness ran up and hugged the mech. “I’m so happy everything’s okay!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Porky said. “It was only a small bomb. You should come see for your-” cough “-self, though.”

The three returned to the boat to the lab, and once again started it.

“Ugh.” Porky complained during the boat ride. “I’ve been heroic way too many times today…”

The group arrived in the lab, where Lloyd was SCREAMING! The reason? He was missing both of his hands, trying desperately to put pressure on them by pushing them towards his torso. Ness stood still, his horror rendering him unable to move. Lucas, however, pushed him aside and forcefully grabbed what remained of Lloyd’s arms, and pulled them close to his own heart.

Lucas closed his eyes, and a blindingly bright green aura surrounded the two, just as adult Ninten had gotten there. When the aura dissipated, Lloyd had had hands once again.

“It was… recent.” Lucas told Lloyd tiredly. “You’re… lucky…”

Lucas fell forward, falling into Lloyd’s now uninjured arms.

“Apparently, if I wanted pure potential, I picked the wrong twin…” Porky commented

“H-how??” Ness stuttered out. “That’s impossible!!”

“That was incredible!” Ness’ father declared. “Not even I can regrow limbs!!”

“Dad…!”

Ness ran towards his father, hugging him tightly. “It’s okay that you’re lying. I’m just glad you're not dead.”

“...what?” Ninten asked, confused.

“Psychics will never cease to amaze me…” Lloyd mentioned, in awe.

“Wait.” Ness said. “Pokey, why didn't you tell me Lloyd was bleeding out down here?”

“Meh.” Porky responded. “Why-” cough “-should I care about the lives of mortals? I TOLD you that you'd want to see for yourself.”

“The bomb blew up.” Lloyd explained. “I guess my hunches AREN’T always right on which wire to cut. But I don't think the bomb was actually intended to hurt anyone. My guess is that it’s a show of power. Proof that our location is known. Proof that… it isn't safe down here anymore.”

“What exactly happened?” Ninten demanded.

“I’ll explain everything.” Ness promised. “But first, I should carry Lucas to bed. I don't know how he did what he did, but it seems like it’s taken a lot out of him.”

“It’s so strange…” Ninten commented. “If he really is from as far in the future as he says he is, then he’s such a late-gen psychic. Yet he seems to have more psychic potential than even me. How could that be?”

“I don't know.” Ness responded. “But to be honest, it scares me a little…”

What would happen if Lucas found out what Ness said to Kumatora?

If he turned on Ness, could Ness even take him?

Maybe it was good Lucas was distracted with Claus being brainwashed again. Maybe it would even be in Ness’ best interest to let things stay this way for a little while.

Ness sighed.

He guessed if he wanted to keep Lucas in his group, he had to give up Claus.

Why did this always have to be so difficult?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Lucas woke up in a daze, his whole body feeling like lead and his head aching. He had used up ALL of his PSI, hadn’t he?Sitting on a little bedside table lit by a dim lamp that seemed way too bright right now was a piece of a pink cake and a cup of a pink juice with a little note that said: 
These should help you feel better!

❤Mimmie
 Oh good, psychic boosting foods! Lucas very much enjoyed these and felt much better afterwards. He smiled, knowing how much care went into making these. Not only could he feel it emanating off of them, but Mimmie had taught him the recipes for both during his time here! Funnily enough, the cake was the very same Magic Cake Ness had worked so hard at learning for Home Ec. He had to do so much to learn the secret of how to make it, while Lucas had been taught outright and got it in a day!Feeling more normal again, Lucas walked out to see what everybody else was up to. When he didn't find anyone in any typical place, he wandered around until he heard talking in the conference room. He peeked his head in to find everyone was there.“Lucas, you’re awake!” Ness’ father said welcomingly. “Come in. I’d like to talk to you about your powers.”“They’re amazing!” Mimmie pitched in.“Lucas!!” Lloyd exclaimed, getting up and running over to him. “I wanted to thank you!! I don't know WHAT I would’ve done if you hadn’t helped!!”“I’m just glad you’re okay!” Lucas responded. “Also, you risked your life to try to protect Ness’ family! The least I could do is to do my best to help you!!”“How did you do it?” Ness asked.“I don't know.” Lucas responded. “I didn't know I could. I just really wanted to.”“Hm.” Minnie said. “Could it be that your power came from your good intentions?”“Still a lot of psychic potential for a late-gen psychic…” Ninten mused.“Can we get back on track here?” Ana asked. “Like talking about where we’re going to go now?”“Wait, what's going on?” Lucas asked.“The lab isn’t safe anymore.” Ness explained. “So we can't stay here.”“I guess that’s probably best.” Lucas responded. “We need to track down my brother!”“Right!!” Ness exclaimed excitedly. “That could be a GREAT adventure!!! And figuring out the mystery of what's going on with Dr. Andonuts, too! This’ll be fun!!”“Ness.” Ana said sadly. “I’m… sorry.”“Huh?” Ness asked. “For what?”Ana sighed. “For a lot of things. I wanted so badly for you to get a proper childhood that I pushed you - and Tracy - too far. Then I couldn’t even protect what I strived so hard to create. I… I love you Ness. And I am so unbelievably proud of all of the wonderful things you’ve accomplished. I want you to know that. I haven't always been the best mother, and I acknowledge that, but I hope when I say this you’ll trust me enough to believe it: no matter who you choose to be, I love you.”Ness hugged his mother. “I love you too, mom.”Not long after that, the Courageous Heroes began packing their belongings. They had decided that, at least for now, they were going to split off from the rest of the Montague family. There was a part of Ness that hated that idea and wanted to stay home with the family he had wondered about for all of his life, but not only did he have an adventure to go on, but he still needed time to cool off from learning his father lied to him his entire life.But during this, when Lucas had been left in the room by himself, Porky showed up. “You care about the monster you call your brother, don’t you?”Lucas glared daggers at Porky for a moment before going back to packing. “What do you want?”Porky coughed. “To give you advice!” he said in a fake-friendly tone. “On how to get it back!”“I don't want your advice.” Lucas stated, turning away from Porky in an attempt to ignore him.“So you don't care about it?”Lucas turned around, his eyes glowing with anger. “That is NOT what I said!” he exclaimed angrily. “I just don't trust you!”“You haven't even heard-” cough “-what I’m suggesting. I want it-” cough, cough “-back too.”“Only so you can order him around!” Lucas shouted, slamming his luggage shut.“Yeah,” Porky said, “but I want to keep it in one piece. We don't know what that insane scientist wants. You can trust me to keep it safe.” Cough. “I’ve done so for three years, after all.”“Your definition of safe and my definition of safe are two very different things.” Lucas said aggressively.“He would’ve died if nobody found him.” Porky bragged.“Shut up!” Lucas exclaimed, PK Love scattering about. “Just tell me what you want to tell me so you’ll leave!!”Porky’s face slowly transformed into a smirk “It’s easy to catch it.” Porky told Lucas. “Just go for the wings.”“Huh?”“Go for the wings!” Porky repeated. “PK Love ‘em or somethin’! It can't run for long due to its small lung capacity, so if you break one of its wings off it can't escape you.”“What?” Lucas asked. “No!!”“I’d do it myself,” Porky coughed, “but I don't got any ranged attacks in this mech. We can repair it afterwards, but we gotta capture it first.”“I’m not doing it.” Lucas said, picking up his luggage. “I refuse to hurt my brother.” he added, walking out.“I miss when everyone listened to me…” Porky lamented. ~~~ The leaving of the lab was one of heartfelt teary goodbyes for Ness and a lot more causality for everybody else. Porky actually kind of hated it there, Lloyd only really cared about the lab itself and not the people inside, and Lucas was ready to get on the move. The adults all intended on staying in the lab a little longer to get everything important out of it just in case Claus came to finish the job. But before Ness left completely, he pulled his mom aside.“Well,” Ness’ mother said, “I guess you’re off to go fight some big bad once again. Just like old times.”“Yeah.” Ness said, but he didn't want to beat around the bush any longer. “Mom?”“Yes, Ness?”“There’s something you should know about dad.”“What is it, sweetheart?” Ana asked with concern.“He’s… not actually a member of the government.”“What?” Ana asked, fairly calmly. It hadn’t fully registered with her yet.“He might think he is.” Ness said. “Or maybe he knows he’s not. I’m not sure. Mimmie seems to know the truth, but she acts like she doesn't, so I think dad’s really lost it. He talks to broken radios and never knows what the government is ACTUALLY up to, so there’s really no denying it.”Ana gave Ness a horrified look as the reality of what he was saying came crashing down. “Are you… sure?”“I’m sure.” Ness stated. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way.”“R-right.” Ana responded. “It’s… it’s no problem, Ness. I…” she tried to force a smile. “Goodbye, Ness. Enjoy your adventure.”“Goodbye, mom.” Ness said as he was leaving. “I love you.”“I love you too.”As soon as Ness stepped out of the room, Ana let herself crumple to the floor. All she ever wanted was the perfect family. How is it that she messed it up this badly?For the first time in a long time, Ana let herself remember the feeling that had plagued her early childhood before meeting Ninten.That lonely feeling she swore she’d never let herself experience again.Of course she believed Ness. Thinking about it, she had been ignoring signs all along that something was wrong with Ninten’s career. Just like she had been ignoring the signs that the spark she and Ninten once shared had long since fizzled out, having been destroyed by their difference in opinions and Ninten’s inability to settle into the typical life Ana had always wished for.The two never learned to compromise.And now a broken family was all they had left.So what should Ana do with herself now? She knew, deep down, she and Ninten didn’t really work out anymore, and the rest of her family was gone.She guessed, with no other plans, she could go travel the world once again. Go see some famous sights she always wanted to see, and experience things she could only dream of as a child.Of course, she had always imagined herself doing these things with a proper family alongside her, and had refrained from doing any of them because she had always hoped Ninten would join them and the full family could see the world together, but that was never going to happen, it seemed.Not to mention something told Ana that if she didn’t go do these things now she might miss her chance forever. ~~~ It’s STILL raining.It seemed like it was NEVER going to stop raining.“You should install windshield wipers.” Lloyd joked to Porky.“Don’t worry guys, I have a place in mind.” Ness said. “And it should be safe from all this rain.”“Somewhere warm?” Lucas asked.“Nope. Just the opposite. Follow me.”Ness didn't wait for a response before he took off running, assuming the others were following.Before the Courageous Heroes knew it, they were in a land of light, flittery snow.Unfortunately, they were all soaked, so they were now all covered in ice.“Winters?” Porky asked. “Really?”“J-Jeff m-m-might be able to h-help us.” Ness explained.“Okay, whatever.” Porky coughed. “But this mech doesn’t work well in the cold, and the rest of you might die of hypothermia before we get there.”“W-w-what do you s-suggest?”“I h-have an idea!” Lloyd exclaimed, and pulled out a flamethrower. “P-porky, how f-flame proof is that?”Cough. “Huh?”Lloyd climbed onto the glass part of the mech. There wasn’t much footing, but he could manage. He peeked in at the dials and other information through the glass to check the current temperature the mech was at, then said “L-lucas, N-ness, grab on!”The other two boys weren’t really sure what Lloyd was getting at, but they were freezing and didn't have many other options, so they clinged on too.“I told you,” Porky coughed, “my mech can’t move well when it’s-”Before Porky could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Lloyd starting up his flame throwing, using it near but not directly on the mech.“Thanks to the laws of thermodynamics,” Lloyd explained, “I can use the powers of heat transfer to warm up the mech enough to move freely while letting it warm us!”“Whatever, nerd.” Porky responded. “Why am I ALWAYS being forced to help others?”“Because you’re a Courageous Hero now!!” Ness told him. “Now onwards! To Jeff’s lab!!”“UUUUUGGGHHHH!!!”The ride wasn’t particularly a pleasant one, but Porky DID manage to get the group to the lab. Everyone got off, and Ness opened the door allowing a VERY welcome blast of warm air hit the group.“SOOOO much better!!” Lucas exclaimed.“Great thinking earlier, Lloyd.” Ness complimented, enjoying playing the role of the leader. “And Pokey, way to go helping like that!”“Stop acting like a-” cough “-kindergarten teacher.” Porky responded.Suddenly, the group heard the thump, thump, thump of someone running on the tiled floors of the lab. Startled, the group prepared their weapons, until they heard a shrill boy yell out “JEFF~!!”Suddenly Tony ran out, a big smile on his face, until he saw the group.“Oh…” he said disappointedly. “You’re not Jeff…”“Is Jeff not here?” Ness asked.“No he’s not. He hasn’t been here for- OH MY HEAVENS WHAT IS THAT??” Tony interrupted himself, pointing at Porky.“Nevermind him.” Ness said quickly. “How long has Jeff been missing for?”“A couple of days, at least.” Tony told Ness. “I’ve been waiting around here ever since, hoping he'd come back. You see, he didn't show up to a huge televised news report on his invention, and I thought that was really unlike him, so I came to check on him! And tell him how much I’ve missed him! And-”“Okay Tony, we get it.” Ness said. “Why don't you just go back to school? We’ll find him.”“But what if something terrible happened to him??”“Then we don't want the same thing to happen to you.” Ness informed Tony. “We’re the Courageous Heroes! We can handle anything.”“Speak for yourself.” Porky mumbled. “I’m no hero.”“The Courageous Heroes?” Tony asked. “So you’re doing heroic things again?”“Yup.” Ness responded, though he realized he hadn’t really accomplished much recently. Luckily, he didn't have to explain anything more because he got an incoming call on his personal receiver phone, breaking the flow of conversation. “Hello?” Ness asked.“Ness!” Paula’s voice exclaimed. “Thank goodness! I was worried you could’ve been in Threek!”“Threek?” Ness asked. “What's wrong with Threek?”“I guess you must not have seen the news, then.” Paula responded. “Threek was nuked!”“What?” Ness asked. “By the government?”“By Foggyland, apparently.” Paula responded. “I had to call to make sure you were safe.”“I am.” Ness told her. “I haven't really been keeping up with what's going on with the world. Anything else I should know about?”“Just Threek.” Paula said. “But with all of this going on everyone is certain a war is just around the corner. My parents even moved back to Twoson just to be away from Foggyland.”Ness sighed. “I have it on good authority that if a nuclear war starts it won’t end well.” he looked over at Lucas. “And then only those with the purest of hearts will be saved.”Paula let out a condescending laugh. “Good thing that’s us, right?”“Heh, yeah!” Ness agreed. “Umm, how have you been?”“Great. Just great. Everything’s great.” Paula insisted.“Me too.” Ness told her. “Everything’s totally fine!”“That’s wonderful!”“Yeah, it is! Well I should-”“I’d better go.”“Me too!”“Heh, well umm…”“Bye!”Both former heroes hung up at once. ~~~ Ness had been hoping Jeff would be able to help them figure out what to do about Dr. Andonuts, but with him missing there really weren’t any leads.Worse yet, it seemed like the others were losing their minds here!!Tony had thankfully left, but Lucas wouldn’t stop pacing around and it seemed like Lloyd and Pokey were passing secrets. They had gone to another room to whisper to each other and whenever Ness came near they went silent.Ness knew he was getting paranoid but he couldn’t help but get suspicious. What were they planning?!?Pokey used to be a villain, after all, and Ness knew Lloyd had the potential to be. What if all of the chaos was going to make them switch sides? What would happen to the Courageous Heroes then?Suddenly, Lucas ran up to Ness and grabbed his shoulders. “Ness, sitting still like this is driving me crazy! We need to start doing something! For Claus!”“Lucas?”Ness gave Lucas a concerned look. What if he got impatient and left Ness?Oh god, was everyone going to leave Ness? They sure seemed like it, with their pacing and whispering! Did they not like Winters? Was it not enough? Did they need to be somewhere more EXCITING??Exciting, exciting, where’s exciting?Ness shut his eyes, trying to think of a good place.Finally, he got it.“I think I have an idea where Claus could be.” Ness lied. “It’s worth a check, anyway. We’ll have to walk  around quite a bit to make sure we don’t miss him, though..”“Whatever it takes!” Lucas told him. “I’ll get the others!”Lucas rushed off, then returned with the others almost immediately. “Let’s go!” Lucas insisted.Ness led the group outside and teleported.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Lucas was starting to doubt that Ness knew what he was talking about. Everyday it was a different location, and everyday it was more disappointment. Lucas felt no closer to finding Claus than he did three days ago when they left Mt. Holy Loly!!What was worse is that the rain in Eagleland seems to have gotten even WORSE! And it was FREEZING!!!Lucas missed the Nowhere Islands, where it was always nice and warm. He missed the beach and his home and his family. He wondered how his father was doing. Lucas hoped he was okay. Kumatora too.Wait, Kumatora! Maybe Lucas could try calling her again!“Hey, Ness!” Lucas said, rushing to catch up with him in this land that looked larger-than-life. At least there was no rain down here, and it was actually fairly warm. “Can I borrow my brother’s communication thingy?”“Huh?” Ness asked. “Why? We’re in the middle of checking the Lost Underworld for him!”“I want to call Kumatora. To make sure she’s okay!”Ness froze. “Why?” he asked. What kind of question was that?!“Because I haven’t heard from her in a while!” Lucas told him.“Well there’s no signal down here anyway.” Ness lied to Lucas. “So you can't right now.”“Oh.” Lucas responded sadly. “Alright…”“You shoulda seen this place years ago!” Porky told Lloyd. “You think the-” cough “-dinosaurs are bad, you can't imagine how it was here before the starmen built their base in Winters! They were all over this place!”“That sounds AWESOME!!” Lloyd exclaimed. “Tell me more! What was your time working for Giygas like??”Irritation began to rise in Ness. Those two were having a conversation and not including him!! That wasn’t fair!“Yeah, well, we’re headed for the Cave of the Present.” Ness threw in, interrupting Porky mid-sentence. “Where I fought Giygas as a robot in the past!”“Ooo! Tell me about being a robot!” Lloyd said, turning his strangely non-detailed red eyes to face Ness instead.Ness smirked. “Well, it was stiff. And cold.” …and he realized he didn't have anything more to say on the matter.“So anyway,” Porky coughed, continuing from after Ness started blocking him out. “that’s when Giygas was all like ‘I need you to build me something to keep me sane’, and I responded ‘Yeah, well’-” cough “-‘maybe you just need mental help’. He wasn’t real happy ‘bout that one.”“So did you do it?” Lloyd asked. “Did you really build a device that can contain psychic power?”“‘Course I did.” Porky bragged, then coughed. “I can build just about anythin’. Well, I COULD. Back when I-” cough, cough, “could move on my own.”The conversation had left Ness AGAIN! He turned to look at Lucas, but he was too busy approaching a dinosaur. “Umm, Lucas?” Ness called out. “You shouldn’t-”“Who’s a good dino?” Lucas said, petting the dinosaur’s snout. “You are! Yes you are!! Do you think you could give us a ride?”The dinosaur… nodded? Ness stared in disbelief.“Village kids…” Porky muttered.“Climb aboard!” Lucas welcomed the group, having climbed on himself. “She’s nice!!”“A-are you sure?” Ness asked. He guessed the dinosaurs weren’t under Giygas’ influence anymore. Then he realized - to heck with it! It’s an adventure! Ness climbed on with glee.“This is so cool!” Lloyd added, cautiously climbing up the tail the way the others had.“What am I-” cough “-supposed to do?” Porky asked.In response, the dinosaur wrapped her tail around Porky’s mech, picking it up.And so the Courageous Heroes moved forward in style, riding a dinosaur happily. This is what Ness wanted to get back! This childish sense of wonder that came with being on a playful adventure with good friends! The destination didn’t matter - it was the journey! And what a journey this was! Too bad it was ruined by his receiver phone ringing. He wanted so badly to just ignore it, but Lucas stopped the dinosaur and everything, staring Ness down with those unsettlingly bright blue eyes of his. Ness sighed, and answered.“Hel-”“Ness. It’s Ninten.” The young Ninten said in a serious tone. “You need to come to Onett. Now. My house.”Ness didn't really appreciate Ninten calling it ‘his house’, but now didn't really seem like the time to argue. A terrible feeling was settling itself right into the pit of Ness’ stomach for some reason. He guessed it was the way Ninten said it.“Is something-”“Now.” Ninten demanded. “Teleport.”“Okay, okay, jeez.” Ness said. He then hung up. “We’ll have to come back to this,  guys. Ninten insists we go to Onett right now.”Lucas looked at the phone, then at Ness. “...Sure.” he said, seeming a little off. Maybe he picked up on the strange feeling too?“Okay,” Pokey coughed, “then make this oversized reptile let go of me!!”When Pokey was finally free and the others were on the ground, Ness teleported the group to Onett. Instead of rain, however, they were greeted by a blizzard. Having just come from the warm Lost Underworld, the group was dressed lightly and the cold was quite the shock to their systems. The wind was harsh and freezing, but there wasn’t much snow on the ground, so this must be recent.“Snow!!” Lloyd exclaimed joyfully.“Bit too much snow…” Porky complained.“Maybe I can upgrade your mech to not be so against the cold.” Lloyd mused. “If the blizzards don’t stop, that could be a real problem…”“Lloyd, can you do the flamethrower trick with him again?” Ness asked, his stomach now in knots. “I’d like to get there quickly.”Ness took off his backpack and shoved it into Lucas’ hands so it wouldn’t slow him down, then sprinted off towards the house, feeling very, very wrong now. When he knocked on the door, Ninten got it immediately.“The others will be here soon.” Ness explained.“It’s best you find out first, anyway.” Ninten said solemnly. “For context, you should read the headline.”Ness looked at it and nearly puked, realizing the ramifications of this immediately. 
Twoson DECIMATED

- Nuke Believed to Have Originated in Winters, Foggyland -
 “But Paula’s parents were…”“Come with me.” Ninten said, grabbing Ness’ hand, standing him up and gently guiding him upstairs. Ness was so shaken up he couldn’t resist, or even really think straight.In a zombie-like state, Ness was led right to a door with ‘Paula’ written in cursive on a little chalkboard hanging on the door. Standing right outside of it was Ana, her eyes shut and a cross in her hands. Her mouth was moving quickly but not a single sound came out.Ninten gave Ness a genuinely sympathetic look. “I’m so sorry.” he said, his voice actually emotional and raw for a moment, as if, for once, he finally cared.Ninten opened the door.Ness let out an uncontrollable shriek. He didn't even know his throat was capable of making that sound, especially not at this volume. But it was awful, guttural, and honest.Paula was there, her eyes dull, her faded ribbon tied messily in hair, and her blue dress limp.She was hanging by her throat from a rope.Paula had killed herself.Ness fell to his knees. Why? WHY? He had just talked to her a few days ago, and she had said she was fine. Why did she do this? Why now? Wasn’t she doing better?“I haven’t read it.” Ninten said quietly and softly, dropping a letter into Ness’ lap. His name was written in blue gel pen on the envelope. “I’ll be downstairs.” Ninten added. “Give you space.”Ness heard Ninten walk out of the room, and the door shut behind him.It took Ness awhile to even be able to bring himself to look at the letter. He opened it carefully, not wanting to rip the envelope, and pulled out the note. 
Dear Ness,

I’m sorry I didn’t tell you how I truly felt. I don’t belong here, in a place of happiness and new life. I don’t belong anywhere anymore, it seems.

Jeff killed my parents.

He killed so many innocent people in Twoson, including my parents.

We’re not heroes, Ness. We’re just kids.

Sometimes I wonder if the powers we’ve been given and the destiny that came with them was a curse. We were born to complete a mission, and we completed it. What point is there to us sticking around anymore?

We’re overpowered freaks with the mentality of fighters. That’s why Jeff did what he did. And that’s why I was never going to get any better.

You could join me, you know.

I’m sure there’s somewhere wonderful waiting for us, where we can be together forever.

Whether you meet me there now or whenever it naturally happens for you, I can’t wait to see you again in our next life.

Maybe then we can have that picnic you promised.

I love you, Ness.

You are the only thing I feel guilty about leaving behind.

Love, Paula.
 Tears streamed down Ness’ face as he held Paula’s last words to him closely.Ness looked up at Paula, hanging there. Someone like Lucas or Ninten might have the power to fix her, if they tried hard enough.But that would be cruel. Paula had thought this decision through long enough to write a letter.Ness needed to honor her wishes.Still, he always imagined Paula’s death would be so much more graceful.In his nightmares during his adventure of course he’d see his friends die. It was natural, really, to fear such a thing when you faced the possibility of death every single day. As the healer, Ness had to constantly stress over how much he should heal someone for them to be okay but for him to have the potential to heal something terrible. It was terrifying to have the lives of the rest in his hands, with one slip up leading to their death as well as more than likely the rest of the Earth’s.How did he forget just how stressful that was?
Sometimes I wonder if the powers we’ve been given and the destiny that came with them was a curse.
Ness had refused to ever think that way before, but… was it a curse? To be born to do one very particular dangerous thing, and not knowing how to adapt afterwards?Did Ness even know what it was he was fighting for anymore? The world was threatening to end once again, and this time he knew fate wasn’t on his side.
You could join me, you know.
Ness stood up, and lifted Paula’s chin up so he could look her in her clouded-over eyes.“I’m sorry, but I can’t.” he whispered. “When I die, I’ll die fighting.” he told her with certainty. “Just like I’ve always known I would.” ~~~Ness lied.Lucas knew Ness lied because he got proof of the lie not long after it happened.But why? Why would Ness lie about something like this?Ness had said there was no signal for the communication device thingy so Lucas couldn’t talk to Kumatora, but he used the communication device thingy not long after. Either he didn’t know, or he lied. Usually Lucas would want to give people the benefit of the doubt, but Ness had been acting pretty weird for a while now. This wasn’t the first time he’s tried to stop Lucas from talking to Kumatora.Just like the fact he very fervently insisted that using the tracker on Claus was a bad idea. ‘What if it hurts him?’ Ness had brought up. ‘What if tracking him gives away our location?’ They were both valid points, but Porky had mentioned that he was pretty sure neither were true, and Lloyd said that looking at everything showed no evidence of either.As Lucas waited downstairs in the house Ness had told them to come to for anybody to tell him what was going on, he looked at Ness’ bag.“Hey Porky, do the ‘pork phone’ things have any way of showing someone the conversation someone had with it earlier?”“You mean a recording?” Porky asked, then coughed. “Yeah, they do that. Why?”“Because I wanted to-”Lucas got cut off by Ninten walking down the stairs. “You’re here, too.” he stated to the group.“What’s going on?” Lloyd asked.“Paula killed herself.” Ninten said bluntly.“Woah, woah, what?” Porky asked, while the other two were just stunned into silence.“She hung herself.” Ninten continued. “Because she believed one of her best friends killed her parents.“That’s horrible…” Lucas said, suddenly feeling very guilty of accusing Ness of anything. Lucas didn’t know much about Paula, but he knew that she and Ness were very close.Ninten, too, looked very regretful. “I should’ve paid more attention to her…” he muttered. “Maybe if I did she wouldn’t have…”“She never struck me as the type.” Porky commented. “Last time I saw her, she was so full of hope. How did all of that… go away?”“I think I understand it.” Lloyd said. “She was a hero without a purpose any longer. If she didn’t know what to do from there, it’s only natural she lost her mind. To be honest, if I hadn’t been sent to this time, I… I don’t know what I’d be doing now.”“Ness is upstairs with her now.” Ninten told the others. “The best thing we can do is wait.”And so the group waited in a sad sort of quiet, only interrupted by the occasional cough from Porky. Finally, Ness came down, and Lucas ran straight towards him, pulling him into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry.” Lucas whispered to him.“Not like you did anything.” Ness stated, pushing Lucas off. “We should find a good place to bury her. But first - I want to try to get ahold of Jeff.”Ness took out the pork phone and dialed a number he had seen in the contacts but had never bothered with before, since calling your enemy usually wasn’t a good idea. Still, he had to now. He called Dr. Andonuts.“Umm… Ness?” Dr. Andonuts asked, confused.“Look.” Ness said without much emotion. “I know you’re up to something huge. You have Lucas’ brother and all that, and likely some big master plan. But I don’t care about any of that right now. I need to know if you know where Jeff is. Paula killed herself and Jeff deserves to be there for the funeral. I know he’s not responsible.”“...Paula?” Dr. Andonuts asked, seeming surprised. “But… why?”“What’s it matter why?” Ness asked. “Do you know where Jeff is or not?”“I don’t.” Dr. Andonuts admitted. “If I did I’d tell you.”“Fine.” Ness said, hanging up.While Ness tried to think of another way he might be able to go about getting ahold of Jeff, Lloyd suddenly gasped.“What is it?” Ninten asked him.“It’s just… first it was Fourside, then Threek, then Twoson… Porky, do you know why this town is named Onett?”“Why the hell would I know-”“Because it was first.” Ness said automatically, still void of most emotion. “But why does that matter?”“Because: FOURside, THREEk, TWOson - they’re counting down! So the next one in logical order is-”“Onett.” Ninten said with horror. “We gotta get out of here.”“Wait, what?” Ness asked, snapping out of it a little bit. “The government’s going to nuke Onett next?”“But my parents are here…” Porky said, suddenly seeming like a worried child.“Yeah,” Ness said, “and Frank Fly, and my old friends… they’re all here.”“Then we need to evacuate the city!!” Lucas exclaimed.“How do we do that?” Lloyd asked. “We can’t just tell the people we know a nuke is coming!”Lucas’ eyes fell on the newspaper that Ness had tossed aside earlier. “Maybe they wouldn’t listen to US… but if the GOVERNMENT were to say it-”“We’re not the government.” Ninten interrupted quickly.“Nobody needs to know that.” Lucas told him. “If we write an official enough paper like one of these and spread them around, people will think the government is warning them, and they’ll leave.”“That’s genius!” Lloyd exclaimed.“How long do you think we have?” Porky coughed.“It seems like there’s been less time between each nuke, so - it could be a couple of days, or less.” Lloyd said.“And if we’re still here…” Ninten started.“No.” Lloyd said quickly. “YOU won’t be here.”“Huh?”“Ninten, Ana’s pregnant.” Lloyd responded. “We can’t risk anything happening to her or the baby. You need to take her and go somewhere far from all of this - preferably out of the country. I know you want to help, but-”“My family comes first.” Ninten finished. “Understood.”Lloyd smiled. “I’m glad you understand. You should pack up and get out of here as soon as possible, then.”Ninten looked to Ness. “I’ll call you when I think it’s safe to, okay?”Ness nodded, but it still felt like his head was underwater or something. All of this was happening way too fast! He just needed a bit more time to process things, but everybody was already springing into motion for something else.“That’s what it is to be a hero.” Ninten whispered to him. “No time for breaks.”“But I-” Ness said, not able to find any more words.“When all of this nuking business is over… maybe you should retire.” Ninten told him. “You seem like you could use it.”Tears sprang to Ness’ eyes. “But… I’m a hero! I need to keep fighting!”“I know how you feel.” Ninten told him. “But it’s tearing you apart. Just like it tore my older self apart. Don’t go down that route.”“He’s not even really part of the government, Ninten.” Ness said. “He’s just crazy.”A horrified expression filled Ninten’s face, but then he regained his composure. “It’s okay.” he said. “Just don’t push yourself so hard that you go crazy, too.” He smiled. “Remember the importance of breaks, Ness!”With that, Ninten went upstairs to begin uprooting his life out of Onett.Ness was shaking, trying so hard to prevent himself from breaking down entirely. The others were talking to each other. Planning. Smiling and laughing, even, despite the impending doom. 
“How do you keep smiling like that?” Jeff had asked. “I just freed you from being kidnapped, and you look like you’ve just had the best day of your life!”

Ness and Paula only laughed. “Because you came for us!” Ness said cheerfully. “And we knew you would! You’ll feel this way soon, too! Every little victory feels like another success for the Earth!”

Jeff gave a nervous chuckle. “If you say so, chum.”
 How did Ness go from someone like that to someone like this? When did he lose his ability to spread sunshine wherever he went?Well, even if he didn’t remember how he used to do it, Ness still wanted to be a hero. The kind that was always smiling. And so, he put a big smile on his face, even if it wasn’t real.“How can I help?” he asked in the cheeriest voice he could manage.The other three’s gaze bore into Ness with a concern he wasn’t expecting.Ness forced a laugh. “What?” he asked. “I’m… happy!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Human hands are WAY too inefficient.” Lloyd stated, looking unhappily at the amount of typing he had managed so far. “I can see so quickly now, I want to be able to type quickly, too.”

“You know we can do something about that, don’t you?” Porky asked somewhat menacingly.

“Of course I know that.” Lloyd said, still typing as he continued to talk. The others weren’t here right now, so the two could talk freely. “But it’s different with my hands. There’s nothing ACTUALLY wrong with them. My eyes were faulty, and the other project isn’t actually a body modification. Even though the bomb incident proved my hands aren’t exactly the best either, how would I even replace my own hands without help?”

“I dunno.” Porky coughed. “But your eager inventive spirit reminds me a bit of myself when I was just a little older than you.”

Lloyd let out a nervous laugh. “Is that a good thing?”

“Depends on who you ask.”

“SHH!” An annoyed adult exclaimed. “Quiet in the library!”

Porky rolled his eyes. “How annoying.” he said, then coughed. “I can’t stand adults…”

Lloyd looked at Porky with a curious look. Wasn’t he millions of years old?
 
~~~
 
“Thanks again for joining me.” Ness said to Lucas, standing over Paula’s grave that the two worked together on. “I would’ve liked to bury her in Twoson,  but…” Ness trailed off. “Lumine Hall was a good second choice. Plus, it’s underground, so it should be safe.”

Lucas sighed. “I know it’s hard.” he said. “To lose someone you love. But-”

“Nevermind that.” Ness said, trying to force a smile. “We should go back to Onett! So we can be all heroic and stuff!”

“It’s okay to take a moment.” Lucas told him. “I mean, you just lost-”

“It’s fine.” Ness told Lucas, before grabbing him by the arm and teleporting away, back to Onett.
 
~~~
 
Porky and Lloyd walked outside into the snow to deliver the official looking papers Lloyd had printed out at the library. Porky now had a battery powered space heater strapped to his mech to keep it warm, for now, but Lloyd promised to come up with a better solution later. He was actually musing about what that solution might be when he ran smack into someone, the papers escaping his grasp and covering the snowy ground.

“Hey, watch where you’re goin’!” the person he ran into exclaimed.

“Oh, umm… sorry.” Lloyd said, picking up his papers. The guy, however, picked one up.

“‘Official Government Notice of Evacuation’?” he asked. “The hell?”

“Give me that!” Lloyd said, suddenly standing up and yanking the paper from the person in question. “...Teddy?” he asked, after looking at him.

“Lloyd?” The guy asked. “How are you… still a kid?”

“I time traveled.” Lloyd told him. “But that’s not important right now. What are you doing here, Teddy?”

“It’s Frank Fly now.” Frank told Lloyd. “Can’t risk bein’ Teddy anymore. But what are you up to, time travelin’ and crap? And passing out notices of evacuations?”

“Onett’s going to get nuked soon.” Lloyd informed Frank. “Everybody has to get out of here if they want to live.” Lloyd thought about it. “And I know just the place for you.”

“Huh?”

“Pippi’s waiting for you.” Lloyd told Frank. “In Valentine.”

Frank’s eyes widened. “I can’t go back to-”

“Teddy, the entire country is being nuked.” Lloyd stated. “The government isn’t going to care if ‘Frank Fly’ moves to Valentine. Now’s your best chance.”

Frank was silent, until suddenly Ness and Lucas showed back up.

“Frank!” Ness exclaimed. “It’s been forever!”

“Ness, hey!” Frank responded. “Didn’t think you’d ever be back here.”

“Well, y’know.” Ness shrugged. “Saving the world and such.”

“Runs in your family.” Frank pointed out.

“Okay,” Porky interrupted, “enough with the sappy stuff. We’ve got, ugh, HEROIC stuff to do.” he coughed.

“Right!” Lloyd exclaimed. “Teddy, pack up your stuff then wait here for Ness. He can bring you to Valentine.”

“Why am I doing that?” Ness asked. “And why are you calling him Teddy?”

“Because he IS Teddy.” Lloyd stated. “And he belongs with Pippi.”

Frank sighed. “Alright, you little nerd. I’ll do it.”

Lucas smiled widely. “A happy ending!”

“Oh shut it.” Porky told him. “There ain’t gonna be-” cough “-ANY happy endings once World War III hits. Well, ‘cept for those with pure hearts.”

“We don’t know that’s going to happen.” Lucas told him. “Maybe we can stop it.”

“Of course we can!!” Ness said with an overly-enthusiastic smile. “All we have to do is believe!!!”

“How incredibly naive.” Porky coughed. “And expected from you.”

Ness let out a laugh. It seemed like it was working! Acting happy made him reflect his younger self!

“Well, we should pass these out.” Lloyd said, adjusting his scarf. Thankfully this nuclear winter happened during ACTUAL winter, so the store was stocked up in warm clothing for the group. That didn’t mean they were all USED to wearing such heavy clothes. Lucas in particular hated all of this stuff because the plasticky fibers used to make the ‘knitted’ accessories were quite uncomfortable and itchy to him, but what could he do? Lloyd was worried though - if the weather was this bad BEFORE Onett was nuked, what would happen afterwards? If the wind picked up much more, or if it got much colder, it might be almost unbearable to traverse Eagleland at all.

Porky gave a glance towards the elevated, more hilly area of Onett. Though his face couldn’t emote much, it was still… complicated.

“Do you want to see them?” Ness asked, getting exactly what Porky’s problem was.

“I…” cough “I don’t know.”

Porky seemed to think about it for a while longer. “Maybe I’ll just… go spy on them. Give me a flier.”

Porky yanked a flier from Lloyd with one of his mech’s pincers, and quickly scurried off.

“As for the rest of us,” Lloyd said, handing Lucas and Ness each a third of the fliers, “we should get going. We don’t know how long we have. I’ll take this region, Lucas you go that way, and Ness, over there. Let’s try to make this as efficient as possible.”
 
~~~
 
Porky made his way over to his childhood house, which still looked exactly how he remembered it, save for the strange car in the driveway. There must be a visitor over or something.

Porky peeked through the window, and saw his mother sitting on the couch with that strange black-haired man she seemed to be so fond of after Porky left. His mother seemed to be crying, though, and the man was comforting her. What happened?

Before Porky had a chance to back away, the man happened to glance up at him, and got Lardna’s attention. Lardna looked straight at Porky and rushed to the door. Porky was too stunned to think to move.

“Pokey?” Lardna called out as soon as she opened the door, running around the face what was left of her son.

“I… umm…” Porky coughed.

“What happened to you?” Lardna asked. “You know what, it doesn’t matter. I’m just happy to see you’re okay!”

“You… are?” Porky asked, confused. “Why?”

“Pokey…” Lardna trailed off sadly. “I’m so sorry.”

“A-anyway,” Porky said, coughing, “don’t ask how I know, but,” cough, “this place is about to get nuked. So if you wanna live…”

“You came here to protect me.” Lardna said in realization.

“Umm… yeah, somethin’ like that.” Porky said. “I’d better go now. Umm… bye.”

“Is Picky coming?” Lardna asked hopefully.

“Picky’s probably dead.” Porky told her coldly. “And if not,” cough, “he still certainly ain’t comin’ back.”

“Oh.” Lardna said in disappointment, tears that Porky couldn’t understand forming in her eyes. “Well, umm… even still… it was good to see you, Pokey.”

“Yeah, sure.” Porky said, leaving. “Whatever.”

“And happy birthday!”

Porky stopped. “Happy… birthday?” he asked, but Lardna had already gone back inside now. She hadn’t exactly been dressed for the cold.

Feeling off, Porky began to walk back towards town, but a door opened nearby. Out of Ness’ old house a young kid dressed for the snow walked out.

“Excuse me, mister, what are you?” the kid asked. “Are you an alien?”

“Huh?” Porky coughed, and turned around to face the kid. “You mean me?”

“Yeah!!! You look really cool!!” The kid exclaimed. “Can I climb on you?”

“No.” Porky said, confused. Then, he asked, “Hey kid, do you know what day it is?”

“It’s November 13th!” the kid told Porky happily. “Even though school’s been shut down for weather, I’m still learning at home with my mommy and daddy! Do you want to hear some of the other things I’ve learned?”

“November 13th?” Porky asked. “That’s…” In a moment of realization, the significance of the date finally hit Porky. “That’s the day I was born…”

“It’s your birthday??” The kid asked. “Oooo, that means you should get a birthday present! Stay put! I have just the one!!”

Porky couldn’t help but stay put due to his surprise. He had forgotten when his birthday was centuries, if not, millennia ago. It was today? He was another year older today?

The kid rushed back out with a colorful bracelet made of ribbons tied together in a cool pattern. “Here!” she said, putting it on one of the arms of Porky’s mech. “It’s a friendship bracelet!” she said. “I just made it today!”

“Umm… thanks.” Porky coughed. “Uh… are your parents home?”

“Yup! My mommy, my daddy, and my little baby brother, too! I’m a big sister!”

“C-cool.” Porky said, still very much off his game. “Can you give one of your-” cough “-parents this piece of paper for me? They’ll understand what it means.”

“Okay!” the girl promised. “I will! Goodbye, mister alien!”

“Yeah, bye.” Porky said, before rushing off back towards where the others were earlier. Now there was just Frank Fly.

“So what’s your story?” Frank asked, looking at the abomination that was Porky.

“Time traveled, destroyed my body, can’t die.” Cough, cough. “You know, typical problems.” Porky responded sarcastically.

“Huh, and I thought my life was rough.” Frank responded.

A few minutes of silence passed, then Porky asked “Aren’t you the leader of the Sharks?”

“How would you know?”

“Duh, ‘cause I used to live here.” Porky responded. “Does Pokey Minch ring any bells?”

“Wait,” Frank looked at Porky closer, “you’re that one annoying kid!”

Porky coughed, then looked away in annoyance. “What were you even doin’ walking around in a blizzard, anyway?”

Frank shrugged. “Seems like this weather isn’t going away anytime soon. Might as well get used to it. The wind could be worse, really. Hopefully it’ll be better in Valentine, though.”

Walking back over, Lucas asked “Did you steal that?” to Porky.

“Huh?”

“That bracelet! You stole it from a child, didn’t you?”

“No!” Porky responded. “It was GIVEN to me. ‘Cause it’s my birthday!”

“You have a birthday?” Lucas asked.

“Oh yeah!” Ness said, also approaching the group. “Happy birthday, Pokey!”

“Wish we could do something to celebrate.” Lloyd mentioned, as he rejoined. “You should’ve said so sooner.”

“Meh,” Porky responded, “didn’t feel like it.” he lied.

“This is nice an’ all,” Frank said, “but isn’t there an incoming nuke or something?” He pointed at people all rushing to leave. “We should probably get outta here.”

Ness laughed. “Right, we should go.”

“Do you think we did enough?” Lucas asked.

“We did everything we can.” Lloyd responded.

“Then lets drop Frank off in Valentine, then we can go home!” Ness said cheerfully.

“Home?” Lucas asked.

“The lab! It’s like a home, isn’t it?” Ness smiled just a little too widely. “And it’s safe, so it’s perfect!”

“I wouldn't call it home, but... it IS safe, I guess..." Lucas said sadly.

How could Ness make Lucas feel more at home in the lab? He needed to find a way. Maybe if Jeff had the right equipment to have an indoor garden, or if Ness could get some live animals in there or something? Lloyd and Pokey were easy to keep, but Ness NEEDED to make sure Lucas didn’t slip through his fingers.

“Ha, ha, let’s go!!!” Ness exclaimed happily, running and assuming the others were following for a proper teleport.

He did, indeed, drop Frank off at Valentine, then brought the others back to Winters, though they had to make the trek to the lab. Ness needed to learn to teleport closer to home, he realized.

As they approached the lab, though, a problem became apparent to them. An airship had landed in front of it, and several pigmasks were guarding the place.

Ness laughed. “AhahahahHAHAHA! This is fine.”

“No it’s not!!” Lucas exclaimed. “Porky, do something!”

“Right.” Porky said, making his way over to the pigmasks. “Hey!!” Cough, cough. “Get outta my way!!”

“Is that King P?” one of the pigmasks asked.

“No, that’s the imposter.” Another told him. “We were warned about that, remember?”

“Oh yeah! We were, weren’t we? Well, what should we do?”

“Uhh…” The pigmask considered Porky for a second. “Should we kill him?”

“I dunno man? Should we?”

While this was happening, Lloyd checked his tracking device. “Claus is inside.” Lloyd whispered to Lucas.

Lucas’ eyes widened. Immediately, he began sizing up the guards. There might’ve been more inside, but out here there were only basic pigmasks, though there were about ten of them. Still…

“Be my backup.” Lucas said to Lloyd and Ness, before stepping forward. “Hey, pigmasks?”

“Huh?” a pigmask looked at him. “Hey, Commander!”

Another pigmask shook his head. “Dude, that’s an imposter too.”

“Is it? Oh, then we should DEFINITELY kill him!” The pigmasks all pointed their guns at Lucas. “Any last words?” one asked.

Looking terrified, but trying to be brave, Lucas balled his fists. “Yeah.” he said. “PK LOVE OMEGA!!!”

Porky quickly got out of the way as the sparks of light rained upon the pigmasks, taking every last one of them out.

“Let’s go.” Lucas said seriously, running into the lab without wasting another second. The others, of course, followed, though they ran into another roadblock in the form of more pigmasks, of a higher ranking this time. Lucas’ eyes were glowing with power he was prepared to use, though he surely couldn’t take them all on.

“Go get my robot.” Porky demanded from him. “We’ll distract these deserters! And remember-” cough “-go for the wings.”

Lloyd took out an energy gun and Porky began lunging towards some of these pigmasks, while Lucas had his stick at the ready, trying to slip by. Still, it was hard to get an opening.

But that was about to change.

Ness stared at all of these pigmasks in HIS home. They didn’t belong here! In fact, they had knocked things over and made a mess of the place! That was NOT okay by him.

Ness expected to maybe use PK Rockin’ or something. But instead, something else happened.

Ness floated upwards, his eyes glowing a bright yellow. The words just kind of came to him just like the strange power did, and Ness exclaimed them loudly.

“PK STARSTORM!!!”

Shooting stars fell everywhere - on foes and friends - stopping the fight entirely. When the light show cleared, Ness landed safely on his feet. Lucas was clinging tightly to Lloyd, shielding the both of them with PSI, though Porky’s mech was totalled. The entrance room to the lab wasn’t doing too well, either.

Lucas looked to Ness in horror, though Ness found he couldn’t stop laughing.

“That felt AMAZING!!” Ness exclaimed. “I feel so POWERFUL!”

Was Ness glowing? He was pretty sure he glowed for a few moments before it faded.

“What the hell, Ness?” Porky asked. “Whatever,” cough, “it worked I guess. Hey Sunflower Boy! Now’s your chance!”

“Right!” Lucas exclaimed, quickly getting up and racing further inside.

Lucas tried to push Ness’ outburst behind him, despite the fact it really felt like Ness was getting out of control. The point was, it did the job, and now his focus needed to be on Claus. And it didn’t take too long for Lucas to find him! Claus was typing rapidly on one of those computer things. Who knows what he was up to?

Lucas tiptoed behind him, then wrapped his arms around him from behind. “I got you!” Lucas exclaimed.

And of course the Commander immediately pushed him off because he was much stronger.

Lucas wasn’t really sure what he expected to happen there.

But now the Commander had his sword and gun-arm out, ready for a fight.

“Claus!” Lucas said quickly. “This isn’t you! Remember?”

The Commander did not appear to remember.

“Fine.” Lucas said. “Be that way. But I refuse to hurt you.”

Lucas threw his stick on the ground.

The Commander kicked the stick away, and then didn't seem to perceive Lucas as much of a threat. He firmly gripped Lucas by the arm and moved him forward so that he could see him and the computer screen at the same time.

“Arms up.” the Commander commanded, and Lucas complied.

He won’t fight me, either.

Lucas smiled at his brother, who didn't really seem to care much about him at the moment, typing away once again.

“What are you looking for?” Lucas asked.

“Classified.” The Commander said coldly.

“Maybe I can help.” Lucas suggested.

“You know nothing about computers.” The Commander informed Lucas.

Lucas’ smile widened. “How do you know that?”

“I…” the Commander paused. “Be silent!” he then said.

After a few more moments of standing there silently, Lucas got a mischievous idea. “I’m Claus, by the way.” Lucas claimed.

A confused look crossed the Commander’s face.

“Yeah!” Lucas continued. “I’m Claus, the older twin! I can be really reckless sometimes and terrify my younger brother daily, but deep down I know he loves and misses me and just wants me to come back.”

“I do not have time for this.” the Commander stated, turning and walking away.

“Wait, please!” Lucas exclaimed, rushing after him. “I lied! You’re Claus, and I’m Lucas! Please!”

The Commander stopped and faced Lucas. “Why didn't my security force stop you?” he asked.

Lucas went silent.

“What happened to my security force?” the Commander repeated.

“Cl-Claus…”

“So you are a threat, after all. Initiating battle protocol.”

“W-w-wait!!” Lucas exclaimed.

Luckily, they had made it back to the entrance room, so Ness interrupted. “HE’S not the threat!” Ness declared. “I am!”

The Commander’s attention instantly shifted to Ness, who gave a crazed grin.

This is perfect!!

Ness had realized.

If I can help Lucas get his brother back without hurting him, Lucas will be loyal to me forever!!

The problem in Ness’ plan, however, was that the Commander had no trouble attacking HIM.

The Commander used his lightning sword on Ness immediately, and of course it reflected back at him.

Well THAT lost Ness a few brownie points.

“Why does it ALWAYS start with that?” Porky asked.

The Commander sized up the situation, and decided it would be in his best interest to tactically retreat. He made a break for the doorway, and he spread out his wings the second he got outside, taking flight.

“Go for the-” cough “-wings!!” Porky shouted towards Lucas as he ran outside after Claus.

“Claus!!” Lucas called out, his tears turning icy not long after they left his eyes. “Please, stop!!”

But the Commander was quite far. Further than Lucas’ voice or reason could carry.

Lucas couldn’t lose him again, he just couldn’t!

Somehow, someway, he had to stop him.

“Go for the freaking wings!!” Porky called out once again, thoroughly pissing Lucas off.

“Shut UP!!” Lucas exclaimed angrily, the power of PK Love welling up inside him, ready to burst out.

I can’t lose Claus again!

Despite Claus’ far distance now, Lucas’ wish manifested itself in a way he hadn’t been expecting-

He sent out PK Love and went for the wings.

Suddenly, Claus was falling hundreds of feet out of the sky, hurtling towards the ground at an extreme rate.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Lucas’ eyes snapped open.How long had he been asleep? When did he get tucked into bed? Where is Claus???Lucas got up quickly, rushing out of the makeshift bedroom the group had put together, and quickly looked for someone else - anyone else - to explain what happened.This lab may have been smaller than the Chimera Lab, but it still wasn’t SMALL by any means. Not by Lucas’ standards.The cold tile with the sterile walls made this place somewhat miserable to be in, really. The lab in Mt. Holy Loly hadn’t really FELT like a lab with its darker colors and water windows, but this - it was awful! Knowing that Claus must’ve spent so much time of his earlier years in a lab just like this made Lucas want to cry, scream in rage, or both.But he didn’t.Instead, he kept looking for everyone, and finally, he came across Ness.“Lucas, you’re awake!” Ness said with a smile. “Sorry about the hypnosis, it was Porky’s idea. You were getting pretty hysterical.”“You put me to sleep?” Lucas asked, and Ness shrunk away from the intense gaze of the angry blond.“Like I said, Porky’s idea!” Ness said quickly, though refusing to lose his smile. “You got a good Lifeup off on Claus before I did, though.”“Where is Claus?” Lucas demanded.“That way.” Ness said, pointing without messing around any longer.Lucas rushed in that direction, just now noticing he was pretty dizzy. Rather, he was psychically exhausted, despite the nap Ness forced him take. That meant he must not have been out for long, at least. He quickly burst into the room Ness had told him to go into.And immediately recoiled in shock.Porky was posed in a wheely office chair in front of a screen, the colorful bracelet from earlier now on his wrist. Lloyd was looking at another screen while working with what seemed to be a replica of Claus’ wings. Which was good, because…What was most shocking to Lucas was Claus in the center of the room. There were so many wires plugged into him that it made Lucas uncomfortable just looking at them. Claus, however, had a serene expression on his face, and with his eyes closed he seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Lucas could see he was breathing steadily, at least.But his wings…The wings he was always so proud of…Most of them on either side was missing. And what wasn’t was in shambles, the metal being torn up and singed by the pure light and good intentions produced by Lucas’ PK Love.Lucas let out a whimper.“Lucas!” Lloyd said, getting up quickly to face him.“The hero of the-” cough, cough “-hour!” Porky declared.“Don’t mind him.” Lloyd said quickly. “You did good, Lucas! It’s going to take me some time to repair him, but luckily Jeff had all of his blueprints downloaded already, so it shouldn’t be too difficult! Porky’s actually a technological genius, too, so even though he doesn’t know EXACTLY what the older me did to Claus, he’s pretty good at figuring it out! The thing I’m most worried about is fixing that mind control…”“How’s he doing?” Lucas asked. “I mean, is he injured? Do you think he feels any pain?”“It’s fine.” Porky coughed out, only able to move his eyes to face Lucas. “It has reported on many occasions that when it sleeps in its emotionless form that it experiences nothing at all. It surely can’t feel a thing.”Though these words were coming from Porky, who Lucas really wished wasn’t having any influence over fixing his brother at all, it actually DID bring Lucas some comfort to know Claus wasn’t aware of any of this. Surely by the time he woke up, his wings would be back to normal and everything would be fine! Still, with everything Lucas had done, the least he could do is help him along.Head already feeling heavy, Lucas approached Claus. He grabbed onto his limp hands, careful not to tug on any wires, and he turned his well wishes to a green light that wasn’t quite as bright as it typically was. Not feeling like it was enough, Lucas tried to put more energy into it anyway - energy he didn’t really have to spare. Suddenly, the world was getting dark, and Lucas had a hard time balancing. Still, he kept trying to add more and more power to his healing PSI.“Hey!” Porky said, now noticing. “You got a deathwish or somethin’? Cut that-” cough “-out!”But Lucas didn’t cut it out. He just kept going.“Scientist boy, grab him!” Porky demanded.“Huh?” Lloyd asked, looking up from his work. “Oh! Oh crap!”Lloyd rushed over and easily pulled Lucas away from his brother, and despite the fact Lucas was typically much stronger from the many years of living in Tazmily, his strongest attempt at thrashing away was barely a breath to Lloyd now. “L-let me… go…” Lucas said, his voice barely a whisper.“Let’s get Ness to put him back to sleep.” Porky coughed.“I’ve got it.” Lloyd said, letting Lucas go for a moment. Lucas began to slowly try to drag himself back to Claus, but Lloyd opened a kit and pulled out a syringe and a little individually wrapped alcohol wipe. “Sorry Lucas, but this is for your own good.” Lloyd told him, wiping his arm down before injecting him with the syringe.“I need to h-help… Claus…”Lucas passed out.“Poor Lucas…” Lloyd said, looking at him asleep but not really sure how to easily bring him to a bed without dragging him across the floor.“Why did you do it like-” cough “-that?” Porky asked.“What do you mean?” Lloyd asked.“You coulda just brought him to Ness, y’know.”“Oh.” Lloyd said. “I guess it just… felt cooler that way…” Lloyd admitted. “Like I’m a real scientist!”“Huh.” Porky coughed. “Every time I talk to you, you’re more and more like me.”“It’s not like that.” Lloyd said quickly. “Anyway, it’ll probably keep him asleep for longer, and it stopped his struggling sooner, so it’s better for him. Probably.” Lloyd looked at him now, seeming a little pitiful on the ground. “So what do I do with him?” ~~~ When Lucas woke up again, he felt groggy and very light-headed. Beside the bed he was in was a tray that contained some sliced grapefruit, some orange juice, and a waffle decorated like a smiley face. There was also a note. 
Hey Lucas,

Lloyd told me you overused your PSI! You should be more careful than that!

Anyway, I figured I’d make you some breakfast for when you wake up, but I’m not a very good cook so I just used the waffle machine instead. The rest, well, my aunt Mimmie used to say citrus was one of the best things for a psychic and that logic hasn’t failed me yet!

You should take it easy in there for a while. The only healing Claus needs now is of a mechanical nature, and you’re no scientist.

Just try to relax.

-Ness
 Lucas WAS starving, he realized, so he did eat the breakfast Ness had left out for him. Now he only felt a little light-headed, but he was mostly okay.And he realized that MAYBE he had went a bit too far in trying to heal Claus beyond his means. But he felt so guilty for what he had done! The proud way Claus always held his wings - Lucas had essentially removed Claus’ favorite limbs!Even if Lucas wasn’t going to help psychically, he still wanted to be there. And so he headed out the door.…Or he TRIED to head out the door. It was locked.“Hey!” Lucas called out, banging on the door. “Let me out!!”But it was no use. If anybody was around they didn’t hear him.Lucas would just have to find another way out… ~~~ Lloyd sighed. “My jetpack…” he complained once again, looking at the parts that remained just sitting on the table. He supposed that it was good that he had MADE a jetpack meant to be exactly like Claus’ wings, as it sped up this process tremendously, but… Lloyd hadn’t even gotten to take the thing for a test drive before he had to disassemble it and attach it to Claus.“You can make a new one.” Porky coughed. “After you make me a new mech.”Lloyd sighed again, meticulously checking over his work to make sure everything was attached as accurately to the blueprints as possible. The problem with that was, however, that it seemed Claus had been very heavily upgraded since the last time the group had seen him, so the blueprints weren’t exactly up-to-date. Still, despite having never worked with a mechanical chimera before, Lloyd felt pretty confident in his abilities.“I hope you’re right about this.” Lloyd said finally, manually booting up Claus’ wake-up processes.A green and a red eye snapped open.“Checking systems… complete. All systems in perfect working order.” Claus said montonely, before seeming to wake up for real as himself. Lloyd had, after all, managed to switch his emotions and memories back on, even if he couldn’t undo the mind control.“I’m back!!” Claus exclaimed now, immediately beginning to stretch where he sat.“Here, let me remove those wires.” Lloyd said, carefully unplugging Claus from everything. “How are you feeling?”“Alive, for one!” Claus said happily, now running around the room a little.“So everything’s good?” Lloyd asked. “I didn’t screw anything up while fixing you?”“Well, except for the fact my wings have been downgraded back to normal.” Claus said annoyedly. “I had gotten upgraded wings! They were waterproof and were SUPPOSED to be really durable! I guess it’s a small price to pay for my freedom, but still…” Claus let out an annoyed sigh. “So where’s Lucas?” he asked.“Sleeping, for now.” Lloyd responded. “He really tired himself out with all of his PSI usage.”“Oh, alright then.” Claus said. “I guess I can talk to him when he wakes up. For now though, I’m going for a fly. I could use some fresh air.”“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Lloyd told Claus. “If older me or any of those pig soldiers find you, they’ll recapture you again. You oughta stay inside.”“UGGGHHHH!!!” Claus exclaimed. “If you tell me I have to, then I have to!!!!!” he complained.“Wait, seriously?” Lloyd asked.“Unfortunately.” Claus said, crossing his arms.“That’s how this works.” Porky coughed. “Because of the way it’s programmed, it’ll listen to any VERSION of-” cough “-the one it’s meant to listen to. That’s how it listened to any Porky-bot I used as if they were me.”Claus stuck his tongue out at Porky. “I don’t have to listen to you anymore! I could do whatever I wanted to you and you couldn’t stop me!”Somehow, it was childish mischief in Claus’ voice and not malice. It wasn’t a threat - just a snide remark.“You’re supposed to be mine!!!” Porky complained, equally as childish in tone.“I gotta be careful then.” Lloyd said. “I don’t want to accidentally order you around.”“I’d really prefer if you didn’t.” Claus agreed. “Still, this is going to drive me crazy! I have SO much insider information, and I can’t tell any of you any of it!”“Not even me?” Lloyd asked.“Older you still outranks you.” Claus said. “And since I KNOW you’re not actually on his side, I can’t tell you.”“What if I lied and said I was?”“Doesn’t work like that.” Claus told him. Claus let out a huff, letting himself fall into the chair Lloyd had been sitting in, and leaning back in it. “It’s SO exhausting being the Commander 24/7! No wonder I wanted to sleep forever after being stuck like that for three years!”“Well, feel free to relax all you want.” Lloyd responded. “I’m not really sure what the goal is now that we’ve found you, but before we do ANYTHING more Porky needs a new mech. And I’m thinking of giving myself some new hands.”“New hands?” Claus asked. “Okay, sure. Whatever. I’m off to go… fly around indoors, I guess. With my NON-UPGRADED wings!”“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Lloyd said. “If you can get me the blueprint for the upgraded ones, I can build them for you, how about that?”Claus smiled. “Sounds great!” he said. ~~~ “Ah!” Lucas exclaimed as he fell onto the hard tile of the lab floor. That’s what he got for shimmying through the air vents, he guessed.Ness, who was right there, looked at Lucas with concern. “Are you okay?”Tears had sprung to Lucas’ eyes, and he revealed to Ness that his fall had caused his knees and the palms of his hands to bleed.“Oh.” Ness said. “Let me get that for you.”Ness attempted to heal Lucas completely, and though he shouldn’t have had any trouble, the heal was only partial. Though Ness stopped the bleeding and healed up the broken skin, Lucas’ palms and knees were still red and seemed to be sore.What?Ness gave a fake laugh. “Oops, let me try that again.” he said, and this time, he succeeded. But why didn’t it work the first time?“Thanks, Ness.” Lucas said gratefully, oblivious to Ness’ worries. “I’m still a little psychically tired, so I probably shouldn’t be doing too much myself right now. Have you heard any news on my brother?”Of course Ness had, since Claus had almost ran right into Ness while flying around these halls. Ness was actually headed that direction now to try to question him. “Nope.” Ness said with a smile. “Maybe you should check with Lloyd?”“Right!” Lucas exclaimed, and ran off in the opposite direction as the one Claus went in.Ness smiled smugly, then quickly went after Claus as soon as Lucas was out of eyesight.Claus had stopped flying and had instead settled himself onto a soft couch. He was lounging on it with a dazed look in his eyes and a smile on his face, looking quite comfortable. Still, Ness approached him without a second thought.“Hey, Claus!” Ness said.“Oh, hey, Ness.” Claus responded without getting up. “I’m me again! Sorry for trying to kill you earlier, by the way.”“Meh,” Ness shrugged, “no harm, no foul, right?”Claus smiled. “Right! So, how have things been around here?”“Before we get into that,” Ness said, “can I ask you some things?”“I don’t know how much I’ll be able to answer.” Claus responded, his smile fading just a little bit. “But sure, shoot.”“So where’s Dr. Andonuts’ base?”“Can’t tell you.”“Is he working with anyone else?”“Can’t tell you.”“What did you and the pigmasks come here for?”“Can’t tell you.”“What is Dr. Andonuts’ goal?”“Can’t tell you.”“Gosh darn it, Claus, is there anything you CAN tell me?”Claus rolled his eyes. “I’m still under mind control, remember? I can’t do or say ANYTHING that goes against Dr. Andonuts’ and Mana Mana’s plans.”“Mana Mana?” Ness asked.“Oops.” Claus said mischievously. “Did I let that slip?”Ness smiled widely. “It’s good to have you back, Claus.”Though the name Mana Mana did bring back some pretty bad memories for Ness that he’d rather not think about.“Hey Ness, here’s an idea - we should build a snowman sometime. Underground.”“What?” Ness asked.“Build a snowman underground.” Claus repeated.“That’s not possible.” Ness told him, now thoroughly confused.“It’s not?” Claus asked. “Huh, strange. Maybe you should ask Lloyd. If anybody could build a snowman underground, it’d be him.”“Is this a hint?” Ness asked.“Whatever do you mean?” Claus asked innocently.Ness couldn’t help but laugh. Now he had to solve riddles to know how to continue on his adventure! How fun!!! Though he wasn’t sure he really wanted to have to waste too much time on them, either. Maybe there was a better way instead?“There you are, Claus!!” Lucas voice exclaimed from behind Ness. Guess he finally got the right directions…“Lucas!”Claus bolted up and ran to hug his brother so tightly that Lucas’ feet left the floor.“I’m so happy you’re okay!!” Lucas said. “Sorry about the wings, by the way.”“Aww, that’s no big deal.” Claus responded, letting his brother go so they could see each other as they talked. “You made it so I could be free again! That’s so worth it, especially since Lloyd had like… a replica of my wings just on hand for whatever reason.”“That’s a little weird.” Lucas said. “But I’m glad!!”“Though I know you’ve noticed,” Claus mentioned, “but I’m getting better at being more ‘me’ while under control. I didn’t attack you this time!”“I noticed!!” Lucas said proudly. “You did great, Claus. But… I hate to ask something like this so soon, but… was dad with you?”Claus’ happy demeanor instantly went away. His eyes were wide and a little traumatized. “L-Lucas…”“No.” Lucas said, knowing exactly what Claus was getting at. “He can’t have… he’s dad! Nothing bad ever happens to dad!!!”“The mecha drago came back.” Claus admitted quietly. “It was in Fourside. Came back when all the other chimeras started running out. Lucas, it…” Claus was trying not to cry. “...it was just like before. The drago was after us, and without a second thought dad, just like mom, sacrificed himself.” Claus was full-on crying now, grabbing onto Lucas and hugging him once again. “It’s not fair…”Lucas hugged his brother back, and both sobbed together. Feeling a little awkward, Ness quietly stepped away. Before he was gone completely, though, he heard Claus say “I have to go back to Dr. Andonuts’ base. Dad gave me his hat and it’s there. I need it back.”“We’ll get it back.” Lucas agreed. “I promise we’ll get it back.”Ness quickly turned away so there was no chance either twin would see the crazed smile on his face. This was perfect! A reason they HAD to go on an adventure straight into the heart of danger! Both twins would do it, too, without a second thought! Ness had to stop himself from laughing or skipping as he exited the room quickly to make plans.What’s more, but a few moments later, Lloyd came to him wanting ANOTHER adventure. “We need supplies.” he said.“What kind of supplies?” Ness asked.“Alien technology kind of supplies.” Lloyd responded. “Porky needs a new mech, and it needs to be controlled by his mind. Earth technology doesn’t really do that. We were hoping to go to the Cave of the Present and see what we can find.”“Yes!” Ness exclaimed. “That’s exactly what I wanted to do!”“Okay, good.” Lloyd said. “We just have to figure out how to bring Porky there.”“We might have to use the rolling luggage technique again.” Ness admitted. “But that’s okay! This is going to be fun!!”“I need to talk to Porky about exactly what we’re looking for, so we should be good to go in about an hour.” Lloyd told Ness.“I’ll be ready for it!” Ness said with wide eyes and a wider smile.Ness spent most of the hour pacing around excitedly, ready to get a move on. What else should he do when waiting for an adventure? Maybe a more typical him would listen to some rockin’ music, or try to see if there’s any video games around here or something, but not anymore. This was the ultimate hero - Ness the adventurer - and he needed to focus on his one important role: adventuring!Eventually though his pacing was interrupted by Lucas. “Hey Ness, you want some cake?” he asked.“Huh?”“Magic cake.” Lucas specified. “Baking makes me happy.” he said. “And anyway, I figured since my PSI still needs a bit of recovery it’d be good, and Claus agreed whole-heartedly! So…?”“Sounds great!” Ness exclaimed. “We need to get our PSI ready for the Lost Underworld!”“Lost Underworld?” Lucas asked. “But we already found Claus.”“For a different reason.” Ness told Lucas.“Okay?” Lucas responded, confused. “Anyway, let’s go!”When they arrived in the kitchen, Ness saw the fancy pink cake sitting on the table, ready to be cut. “By the way,” Ness asked, “while you were baking it, did you meet any aliens?”“What?” Lucas responded.“Well there was this boy named ‘Ginten’ who-”Ness cut himself off by Claus’ shift in expression.“You know where he is.” Ness told Claus.“I-I…”“Where is he?” Ness asked. “Is there something wrong?”“Look Ness,” Claus said, “there’s some things you shouldn’t mess with.”“What do you mean?” Ness pressed. “What’s going on with him?”“He’s terrifying.” Claus said, looking scaredly at nothing. “You really don’t want anything to do with him.”“But he’s not terrifying.” Ness said. “Not yet. Unless he is now?”“I don’t think you understand.” Claus told Ness. “He always has been. He just forgot to be, is all.”“What are you getting at?” Ness asked.“I can’t tell you outright!” Claus told Ness quickly. “I can’t! But I can tell you this - Dr. Andonuts is very skilled at giving me the memories I want to have. He can make me believe anything. And so-”“Did he mess with the memories of this ‘Ginten’ person too?” Lucas asked.Claus didn’t respond.“So he did?” Ness asked.“I can’t tell you.” Claus insisted. “I really shouldn’t have told you as much as I have… now I feel all weird.”“I assume he did, then.” Ness said. “But what memories did he change, and why?”“We should stop pressing for now.” Lucas said. “Claus just came back, after all, and if he can't tell us, he can't tell us. Let’s just have some cake, okay?”Ness let out an annoyed huff. This ‘limit’ was really annoying. Especially with Lucas here. “Okay.” Ness said with a smile as fake as fake as Claus’ red eye. “Cake time!”The three ate cake, and Claus and Lucas began talking to each other about light-hearted topics and it was making Ness irrationally angry. Claus knew SO MUCH!! Ness wanted THAT to be the topic.Regardless, after cake, Lloyd entered the room. “Alright, Porky and I have general blueprint of what we want to build and a list of supplies we hope to find. We’re good to go!”“Finally.” Ness said, then he realized he said that out loud. “I mean, alright! Let’s get going!”“Slight issue.” Lloyd said. “After last time, we can't trust leaving the base unattended. We need to leave someone here to keep watch.”“Leave someone here?” Ness asked. But they were the Courageous Heroes! They couldn’t split up!Wait, actually, there were only four Courageous Heroes. The choice was easy!“Claus, you stay here.” Ness instructed.“I don’t think that's such a good idea.” Claus countered. “I’m still mind controlled, so if another attempt was made on this place I would probably open the door to let them in and go with them when they leave. It’s gotta be somebody else.”“I could do it.” Lucas suggested. “I’m not very good at picking out technology or whatever, but I’m pretty familiar with fighting pigmasks!”“No.” Ness told him outright. “You’re coming. You’re a part of the group.”“What, and I’m not?” Claus asked angrily. “It’s not my fault I got kidnapped!”“No, it’s not.” Ness agreed. “But your role in this adventure is just as an informant. You don't get to join the party.”“Ness, this isn't some RPG!” Lloyd snapped. “I don't see the problem with Lucas guarding the place. I don't think we should leave Claus alone right now.”“Really, we should consider moving bases soon.” Lucas added. “The location of this one has been compromised, but if we move on our own accord, we can bring all that weird science stuff that Lloyd and Porky like so much with us.”“But this is our home!” Ness told Lucas. “We can't move out!”“Ness, this is a lab for dragon’s sake!” Lucas snapped. “It is in no way a ‘home’! Nor do we have time for such luxuries! We have to save your world and find out how Claus and I can save ours! Then we can ALL go home!”Ness felt his power sparking, ready to come out as emotion flooded through him. “How could you say such a thing?!?” Ness shouted, throwing his fists back behind him with tears forming in his eyes that were now glowing pink. “We ARE home! We’re adventurers! This is what we do! And when we save the world, there will surely be a new threat once again, forever and ever! You can't ever leave, Lucas! You’re one of us!!!”“What is WRONG with you?” Lucas asked. “You’ve been going on about this nonsense for WAY too long now! You’re losing your mind, Ness! Don't you see that? Look, I want to help you save your world - all of the innocent people of Eagleland don't deserve this fate. But I’m promising you this Ness - as soon as I can pull that final needle, I will. My family and all of the people of Tazmily are counting on me!!!”“Is that so?” Ness asked, now suddenly eerily calm. “Okay Lucas. I understand.” Then he smiled. “Well, if that’s what you want, fine. We’ll move soon. And you can watch the base for now if you’d like. Does that make you happy, Lucas?”“Uhh…” Lucas and Claus exchanged concerned looks. “Yeah.” Lucas agreed. “I guess it does.”“Okay.” Ness said, nodding. “That’s good!” Then Ness looked to Lloyd. “Let’s go get Pokey, and the rest of us can head out. I’ll see you soon, Lucas.” ~~~ Much later that night, after all of the supplies had been gotten, Porky woke up to being carried.“Uh, what’s-” cough “-goin’ on?”“Oh, you’re awake.” Ness said in an unsettling tone. “I need to talk to you. But I didn’t want to wake the others, so I’m taking you somewhere far away from them. A potential new home, even.”“Ness?”Porky didn’t like Ness’ weird, unsteady tone of voice. It didn’t sound much like him at all. Not to mention his eyes. They weren’t just their typical forest green color. It seemed like there was flecks of another color in there too - pink, perhaps? But why?Ness carried Porky outside into the cold of Winters. There was a pretty heavy wind tonight, but Ness didn’t seem bothered. The two walked past the airship that was still there from the pigmask invasion, and towards the stonehenge, which wasn’t a very far walk at all. Without skipping a beat, Ness opened the secret passageway, and brought Porky down there with him.What was this feeling Porky felt? He had always found the stonehenge base to be ‘really cool’ as he had put it plenty of times before, but right now he felt so scared that he’d be trembling if his body wasn’t useless. So if it wasn’t the location he was scared of…“What do you think?” Ness asked. “Do you think it’s good enough for Lucas’ standards? I guess we could make it our new home. I don’t think Dr. Andonuts knows much about this place, after all.”“I’m surprised you’d want to move to a ‘villain base’.” Porky said, trying to keep his voice steady.“Whatever it takes to keep everyone together, right?” Ness asked, his eyes looking especially creepy in this dark setting. He put Porky down in a seated position leaning against a wall. “You get it, don’t you?”“Y-yeah.” Porky coughed. “Sure.”“So I wanted to ask you about some things.” Ness said, now pacing. “You’re quite skilled, after all. So tell me: how did you make the Devil’s Machine?”“H-huh?” Porky asked.“I heard you talking to Lloyd about it. You built a device that could contain psychic powers. Do you think you could build one that could… remove them?”“Wh-wh-why would you want that?” Porky asked, wishing more than anything he could run away. His heart was pounding in his chest so fiercely he was surprised the sound of it wasn’t echoing off of the weird walls of the base they were in. “You love your psychic powers.”“Oh it wouldn’t be for me.” Ness said nonchalantly.“Then who-”“Hey Porky, did you know: we’re the only two of the group that actually know this base is even down here. Isn’t that weird?” Ness smiled widely, his eyes purely pink and glowing at this point.So this is how it felt to be kidnapped.Porky wasn’t used to this sort of feeling. He hadn’t experience true terror like this since Giygas died. But now, here it was again, and the source - his best friend the fallen hero.“Of course, I’ll need your help with something else, too.” Ness told Porky, his smile not fading. “You see - it’s Claus! He’s got SOOO much information in that head of his, but he can’t let any of it out. Now as quintessential as riddles and puzzles are to a good adventure, I can tell everybody’s getting antsy. By the time I solve his stupid little hints, the other’s might’ve gotten distracted by something else. You’ve hacked his mind before, Pokey. I’m sure you could access his memories for me.”Porky coughed. “Ness… what… what’s goin’ on with you?”“This is what a hero looks like, Pokey!” Ness declared. “Pure determination and will power can overcome any obstacle, right? Well here it is!” Ness laughed. “Well I guess it’s hard for you to understand.” he said. “Since you’re so against being a hero and all. But don’t worry! I’ll make sure you become one! And you can do that by helping me! So what do you say, bestest friend?”Porky got the feeling he didn’t exactly have a choice on that matter.“Y-yeah, okay.” Porky agreed, coughing. “I’ll help you.”“Good.” Ness responded, looking quite pleased.Porky knew he was a coward, but he didn’t get this far into eternity by not knowing when to just put his head down and do what he was told when a powerful psychic said he had to. And right now Ness reminded him so much of Giygas that it was no wonder that the two were related.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Claus watched the snowflakes flitter about in the strong winds through the window. He sighed, wishing he could be out there, flying around like the snow. Though he wasn’t even sure that these wings could handle such strong weather. The design for them was made for the ever-temperate Nowhere Islands. The upgraded wings he had been given would handle weather like this with no problem, though. Everything else about him was so durable now, even down to the point that his lungs now filtered all air he breathed in. It was nice that every breath felt as clean as it did back in Tazmily, but really, it was designed so he could handle radiation with no further protection. He guessed he was being adapted to fit the new world as it was now.“I’m ready for you now!” Lloyd’s voice rang out. Ah yes, the real reason Claus wasn’t allowed to do so much as step outside for a moment. Lloyd told him not to. And now…“Do I have to??” Claus asked, acting playfully annoyed but in reality he was ACTUALLY annoyed. “I’d really rather not get covered in someone else’s blood today.”“Please?” Lloyd asked. “You’re the only one who can help me!”“Well you know I can’t actually say no.” Claus pointed out, following Lloyd into the room he had claimed as ‘his lab’ within this lab. “Just so you know this’ll hurt like hell.”“I know.” Lloyd said. “You have the instructions I gave you, right?”“Well you downloaded them straight into my head.” Claus said with an eyeroll. “Okay, hold still.” Claus said with no sympathy, before picking up the tool Lloyd had prepared for him.Lloyd stuck something in his mouth to prevent himself from screaming as Claus began restraining his hands down.“Last chance. Are you sure you want this?” Claus asked.Lloyd nodded.“Okay.”Attempting to focus on nothing more than just the task at hand, Claus began cutting through the the soft flesh and hard bone of Lloyd’s hands, trying to ignore how familiar the sounds and smells of this process were to him. ~~~ “Lucas, I need your help for a moment.” Claus said later, feeling very much not like himself.Lucas looked away from the paper he had been staring at for the last twenty minutes labeled ‘Lucas’ Perfect Plan to Pulling the Last Needle’ with no other writing on it to see Claus covered in blood.“Oh my dragon, Claus!!” Lucas exclaimed, quickly casting PK Lifeup. “Are you okay?”“I’m not the one who needs healing.” Claus explained with a sigh. “Can you come with me?”“What happened?” Lucas asked as he followed Claus quickly. “Was there an accident or a fight or something?”“Nope.” Claus replied. “No accident.” he opened the door to Lloyd’s claimed room. “I just need you to heal Lloyd so he doesn’t have to go through the healing process himself. He’s passed out from blood loss for now, but he should be fine once he’s healed.”Lucas stared in terror. So much blood! It made him a little queasy, really, and he had a hard time preventing himself from throwing up. Still, he focused in on his good thoughts and well wishes for Lloyd’s health, and cast PK Lifeup on him. Something felt a little off about it, though. Almost as if Lloyd wasn’t… complete.“Thanks, Lucas.” Claus said. “Sorry for making you see all of that. Are you okay?”“Yeah…” Lucas responded, though he really wasn’t. “It’s just so… well, it’s a lot. I didn’t really know someone could lose so much blood.”“Yup.” Claus responded, a little bitter. “The human body is actually pretty resilient.”“Oh!” Lucas exclaimed. “I’m sorry, I-”“Nah, you’re fine.” Claus assured him. “I just really hate the sight of all this stuff.”“What happened to Lloyd, anyway?” Lucas asked. He looked find, though it seemed his hands were tied down for some reason, with all sorts of blood-covered tools nearby. Why were labs always like this?!Claus sighed. “I don’t know if I’m allowed to tell you. And since he’s Lloyd Andonuts and I’m just a lowly chimera, I can’t make those sort of choices on my own.”“Huh?” Lucas asked. “Claus, why would you say that? There’s nothing lowly about you! If this is about how I used to act towards you-”“It’s not.” Claus interrupted. “I’m sorry, I’m just… exhausted.” He looked down at himself. “I have to get all of this blood off me somehow…”“You’re waterproof now, right?” Lucas asked.“Other than my wings, yeah.” Claus replied. “Why?”“If we wrap something waterproof around your torso while your wings are in your back, you could take a bath.”“What?” Claus looked at Lucas like he was crazy. “Like, willingly submerge myself in water? Why would I want to do something like that???”“To get clean, silly!” Lucas responded. “You used to love bath time!”“When I was HUMAN!!” Claus corrected.“It’ll be okay.” Lucas said. “I promise.”“Anyway, wouldn’t a shower be smarter?” Claus asked. “The second I get in a bath it’ll be stained with blood, and that’s not really going to help me much.”“I guess.” Lucas replied. “I’ve just never really understood them. Like, you WANT it to rain on you?”Claus laughed, the stress of earlier melting away. “Yeah, right? And this is something people do EVERYDAY! Just summon rain to fall of them for like, ten minutes. And worse yet - typically it’s hot rain!”“Hot rain?” Lucas asked. “Ugh. I can feel that sticky feeling just thinking about it.”The twins laughed as they left the room. ~~~ It wasn’t until much later that Claus returned to Lloyd’s room to check on him. He opened the door to find Lloyd holding a scalpel by the handle in his mouth, trying to cut away at the restraints keeping his hands down.Claus laughed. “Oops.” he said, smirking. “That's what you get, though.”“Can you help me?” Lloyd asked. “I’m a little stuck.”Claus rolled his eyes and undid the restraints. “I am NOT cleaning up this mess, though. I JUST managed to get all your blood off me.”“I’ll get it.” Lloyd said. “But first-”Lloyd held out his hands before him, moving his fingers around to test the feel. Then, he moved them at much higher speeds, faster and faster until they got to a speed impossible to humans. But that wasn’t very easy to keep up.“You’ll get the hang of it.” Claus told him, understanding the problem immediately. “Human brains set limits on human bodies based off of what it thinks is best. You have to learn how to basically tell your brain that it’s okay, you aren't going to break your fingers. I’m sure your eyes took some adapting to as well.”“Definitely.” Lloyd agreed. “The headaches were awful!!”“Now imagine having the ability to see in different light spectrums, as well as being capable of scanning and processing information on pretty much anything.” Claus said. “And then add the fact that only one of my eyes does all that.”“Why?” Lloyd asked. “Why not both?”“Who knows?” Claus responded. “It’s ‘cooler’ this way I guess. Not that I want the other eye to be computerized. I like it as it is. Speaking of ‘cooler’ though, where IS mast- I mean, Porky?” Claus smiled to himself, feeling exceptionally rebellious.“I have no idea.” Lloyd responded. “I haven't seen him since last night when Ness brought him to a bed. And it’s not like he could’ve gotten up and walked away.”“Where’s Ness, anyway?” Claus asked. “After his little freakout yesterday, I’m not sure how I feel about him just randomly disappearing.”“Who knows with him?” Lloyd responded, now running his finger from one hand over the change in texture where his skin stopped and where his new hand began on the opposite arm. The new hands LOOKED real, but the ‘skin’ was just made of a silicone plastic in Lloyd’s skin tone, and it felt quite strange. “Anyway, I’ve got plans to make - Porky’s mech isn’t going to build itself.”“Right.” Claus said. “I leave you to it, then.” As he was walking out though, Claus stopped. “Hey Lloyd?”“Yeah?”“I’m saying this because we’re friends right now, and I want to keep it that way - stop telling me to do things I clearly don’t want to do. I’ve gotten enough of it from Porky, and then Dr. Andonuts, and I really don’t need it from you.”Lloyd looked to the ground shamefully. “Right, sorry.” he said. “I guess I kind of forced you to help me, didn’t I?”“You did.” Claus said with some spice. “I’m willing to let this one go so long as it doesn’t happen again.”Lloyd sighed. “It seems I’m destined to become a villain, huh? I’ve heard so many terrible things about my older self… I hate to admit it, but I can very easily see how I could end up just like him if I’m not careful.”“Destiny doesn’t mean anything.” Claus told him. “And this is coming from someone who was born into a pretty powerful prophecy. Sure, destiny and fate and all that will guide you, but it’s your own actions that really determine your future. I mean, look at me. I was FATED to be nothing more than Porky’s little slave robot until the moment the world ended. But it’s not about what fate said. It’s about what Lucas and I did to combat that fate that allows us to choose our own happy ending. But that DOES mean you can’t go around using fate as an excuse, like you kind of just did.”“Heh heh, right.” Lloyd said. “I AM sorry, Claus. I don’t want to do anything bad. So how do I make sure I don’t fall for my ‘destiny, if you say it’s still going to have its pull on me?”“I don’t know.” Claus said shrugging. “Do something crazy! Unexpected for you!”“Well, there’s this other type of science I was considering researching that has nothing to do with robotics…”“Do that, then!” Claus suggested. “Maybe it’ll be just what you need!”Lloyd smiled. “Thanks, Claus. This whole talk made me feel a lot better!”“Hey, it works in my favor, too.” Claus said. “If you ever find yourself far, far in the future being told by some corrupt kid dictator to turn this other innocent kid into a mindless robot, maybe you can remember this talk and give him just a little bit of free will?”“You mean…?”“Well, if things play out the same way as they did, one day you’re going to find yourself on the Nowhere Islands standing before a ten-year-old me with a bonesaw in one hand and a metallic arm in the other. So maybe remember that fate isn’t set in stone then.”“That’s… gruesome.” Lloyd lamented.“Eh, yeah.” Claus shrugged. “Anyway, see you.”With that, Claus casually left, leaving Lloyd with that image in his head but also time to consider the possibilities of trying something new. ~~~ Late into the night, long after the others had went to bed, Claus flew around the lab wildly not unlike a caged animal might. He wanted so badly to go outside and play in the snow, as he didn’t really have much experience with doing so - but not only was he simply not allowed to, but he could actually unfortunately kind of get where Lloyd was coming from - going outside by himself was a surefire way to be kidnapped, after all.As he was flying around in laps though, he saw Ness come in from outside. “Ness?” Claus asked, landing to talk with him.“You’re still awake?” Ness asked. Something was up with his eyes, though. There were flecks of pink in them.“Yeah, I wasn’t… tired.” Claus said, still staring at Ness’ eyes. “Ness, are you okay?”“Well that’s fine, too!” Ness said. “I can just do this! PK Hypnosis!”Claus fell… somewhat asleep. His human side was completely asleep, as Hypnosis should cause, but Claus was a bit more… complicated than that. If someone were to trigger his mechanical side to sleep they could also easily force his human side to do the same, but only through mechanical means. There was nothing mechanical ABOUT PK Hypnosis though, so it could only affect the biological aspects of Claus’ mind. Meaning, Claus’ mechanical aspects were still active.And it was such a strange feeling. All sensations on his regular skin felt like pins-and-needles, while his metallic ‘skin’ felt normal. His human limbs felt exceptionally heavy, too, though it didn’t matter too much because he was being carried somewhere. If his mechanical eye was open, Ness would realize what was going on, so Claus had to rely on his other senses - which were currently in a dream-like state, save for his chimera-esqe enhancements. For example, while he couldn’t ‘smell’ anything, Claus could get all sorts of data about the air around him.Claus could also tell his coordinates were moving in a steady rate, and now he was outside. The sensation of cold and wind helped proved that fact. Well, he wasn’t breaking any rules if he didn’t come out here willingly!Still, it was quite concerning as to WHY Ness put him to sleep and then started carrying him away.Ness carried Claus a bit further, than started bringing him down somewhere. Why? Where were they?The atmospheric information about this place was quite strange, so Claus had no idea what was going on, except for the fact they were surely underground. Eventually though, he stopped being moved, and then the volume of noise around him fluctuated in a way that suggested speaking. He couldn’t decipher what was being said, though. He needed to figure out how to wake up.More speaking, then suddenly Claus’ hair was being brushed to the side, and something was plugged into his head. Why was something being plugged into his head? Claus was trying not to panic, but with the inability to wake up or even move this was actually terrifying.Then Claus felt his mind being accessed… his memories. No, he was NOT okay with this! He tried to put up some sort of wall or something to block it, but… to no avail. There was nothing he could do to prevent his memories from being seen by… Ness? Surely it couldn’t actually BE Ness, right? Ness wouldn’t do something like this.Right?Claus continued to try to wake himself up, now by trying to use his mechanical hand to tap his human leg in an unsteady rhythm. It seemed to be working, too, as he slowly began to be able to wiggle his human toes ever-so-slightly. He kept all of his movements slight and hard to see so that his captor - Ness or not - wouldn’t know he was waking up. After a while of doing more of these sorts of movements working his way up, Claus finally regained full control, and could hear what was being said.“How long is this going to take?” Ness’ voice asked. “I don’t have all night.”“Probably a couple hours, at least.” Porky’s voice responded, then coughed. “It ain’t quick.”Ness sighed. “Fine. I have some other things to get up to while we wait. Stay put, won’t you?” Ness laughed. “Oh, wait. You have to.”Now it was Porky’s turn to sigh, and Claus heard the sounds of footsteps leaving. While he was considering his next step, Porky’s voice said “I know you’re not actually asleep.”Claus didn’t move.“You can open your eyes now.” Porky coughed. “He’s gone, for now.”Claus still didn’t give a tell he was actually awake.“Fine, I guess I’ll have to wake you up then.” Porky said annoyedly, then started making coughing noises as loud as he freaking could, which echoed off of the walls of this place.“Okay, okay, I’m awake!” Claus admitted in a whisper, opening his eyes.“Figured.” Porky said, with a slight smirk.“May I ask-” Claus started in a polite tone, but changed it when it occurred to him he could just speak normally “-no, I AM asking: why are my memories being copied?”“Ness wants them.” Porky said, now keeping his voice down. “Look, I’m gonna warn you about this and you better be grateful. Ness has gone off the-” cough “-deep end. He’s copyin’ your memories ‘cause he’s lost his patience for-” cough, cough “-riddles and puzzles like he used to like. He’s only gettin’ the past few weeks, not your whole life’s story or whatever, though. But you and that brother of yours gotta get outta here. You can’t stay where Ness can-” cough “-find you.”“Huh?” Claus asked. “What do you mean?”“He wants to learn how to get rid of PSI.” Porky said, coughing. “And I think he wants to get rid of PK Love from your brother at least. Maybe you too. I dunno.”Claus’ eyes were wide. “Th-that’s possible?” he asked.“Yeah.” Porky responded. “And I may or may not have told him how to do it.”“YOU LITTLE-!” Claus exclaimed, rushing forward but being stopped by the wire in his head. Knowing better than to let it get yanked out during a transfer like this at risk of losing his memory, he stopped himself, but he glowed with power.“I didn’t have a choice!” Porky snapped in a whisper. He coughed, then said “You and me - we’re the same now. Immortal beings facing the prospect of a doomed eternity with nothin’ we can do about it ‘cept make it worse. I mean, what else could I do? Nobody but Ness knew-” cough “-I was down here. I didn’t want to rot alone.”Claus glared Porky down. “I don’t intend on letting anything bad happen to me OR Lucas, do you understand me?”“I expect nothin’ less from you.” Porky responded. “Now you should probably go back to pretendin’ to be asleep so Ness doesn’t catch on. After all, I know you don’t REALLY need sleep at all, do ‘ya?”Claus’ eyes widened. “How did you-”“You don’t think I noticed you-” cough “-leavin’ every night? Even before I was stuck as a statue at the entrance, I had cameras. Don’t you think I’d want to keep a close eye on my favorite toy?”“But you never said anything.” Claus replied. “I thought I was so sneaky!”“Not sneaky enough!” Porky said with a laugh.“But you didn’t stop me.” Claus responded. “You were… okay with it?”“More that I didn’t care.” Porky said quickly. “What you did in your free time was of no concern to me.”Despite everything, Claus smiled. “I guess I was right about you, after all.” he said, tears forming in his eyes now. “Things really were going to work out.”“Sh-shut up!” Porky said quickly. “We’re- we’re not friends!”“No, we’re not.” Claus agreed. “But maybe someday we will be.”“Why would you ever want to be friends with me?” Porky asked bitterly. “After everything I did to you? To your family?”“I don’t know.” Claus responded, kicking his legs as he sat. “I guess I just saw this new timeline as a second chance for all of us. …Even you.”Porky stared at Claus for what felt like an eternity before he shut his eyes. Despite his eyes being so extraordinarily dry, Porky could almost feel warm tears form on them, rolling down his face as he made the accompanying noises and breaths. Even though he wasn’t capable of it, in his own mind, Pokey Minch was crying. Crying for all the years that he’s been stuck like this, crying for all of the awful things he had seen and done, but most of all, crying because for so long, he had been alone. Alone until now, when someone he had been so absolutely awful to was smiling at him, offering him a second chance. Ness had been one thing - when he ‘forgave’ Pokey it had been merely a formality. Pokey had done so much more since kidnapping Paula for the sake of Happy Happyism that, although the words were nice, and the regaining of friendship was nicer, it didn’t feel like he was really being FORGIVEN for all he had done. But now, here was the person Pokey had wronged the most, knowing very well all of Pokey’s worst deeds, telling him that it was okay to move on.“I’m so sorry.”Pokey’s voice sounded so small and unsteady, just like a kid’s. He gave Claus a hopeless look, feeling so much regret for everything he’s done to that boy. In the end, despite not even having one, Claus had the purest heart of anyone Pokey had ever met.“Oh don’t go all sappy on me!” Claus said, a sincere smile on his face. “Let’s just focus on coming up with a plan for now, okay?”“Huh?” Porky asked.“To escape Ness and save the world?” Claus responded. “We need to figure out how to get away from him!”“M-me too?” Porky asked with a cough.“Obviously.” Claus responded. “I’m not going to leave you here for all eternity with Mr. Lost It. You’re the one who warned me, anyway, so I might as well take you along when we leave.Porky was silent for a few moments, before finally regaining his gusto. “The plan’s obvious!” he said with his typical smirk. “At some point tomorrow while Ness is distracted, we take the airship that was left here to some new place that Ness has never been to before. You-” cough “-still know how to drive, right?”“Of course I do!” Claus responded. “That’s not going to be a problem.”“Then when you get back, warn everyone to pack everything they need.” Porky said with a cough. “And don’t forget to sneak back down here to get me!”“I won’t.” Claus said, rolling his eyes. “For now though, I really SHOULD pretend to be asleep before Ness finds out we’ve talked.”Claus closed his eyes once again, and went as still as possible. ~~~ What is that SOUND?Lucas woke up, turned on his little bedside light, and walked over to the source of it. It was one of those communication device things, but it didn’t seem to be as high-tech as Claus’. Actually, Lucas was pretty sure this one belonged to Ness. There were only three buttons on it - a green picture of a communication device, a red picture of a communication device, and an almost circle with a line going through it in white. In Lucas’ experience, green typically meant ‘yes’ in most technology, so he pushed the green button hoping to answer the call. It could be important, after all.“Hello, I am Lucas and I am speaking to you through Ness’ communication device!” Lucas shouted into the device. “Would you like to tell me something?”“Oh, goodness!” a strange sounding voice said on the other end. What was it called again? An ‘accent’? “Hello there, chap! This is Jeff! Is Ness available?”“I don’t know where he is!” Lucas shouted again. “I can give him a message, though!”“Righty-o, umm… tell him that Jeff called and would like him to come meet him in the city of President’s Day. Could you get a pen ready so I can give you a phone number he can call me back at?”“Wait, Jeff?” Lucas asked. “Like, Jeff Andonuts?”“That’s me.” Jeff replied.“We’re in your lab!” Lucas exclaimed. “We’ve been looking for you!”“Y-you are?” Jeff responded. “I’m not sure how I feel about that, really. Ness IS staying there with you, right?”“Yeah, he is!” Lucas said, still shouting.All this shouting woke up Lloyd, since all of the beds were in the same room together. “Lucas, what’s going on?” he asked annoyedly.“I am speaking to Jeff through the communication device!” Lucas exclaimed.“Ooo, let me see!” Lloyd said, quickly taking the phone. “Hello, Jeff?” he said at a normal volume. “It’s me, Lloyd!”“Oh hello Lloyd!” Jeff replied. “Well then I suppose it IS technically your lab. Or… a version of you’s, anyway.”“I’ve made the coolest inventions since we’ve last met, you won’t even believe it!” Lloyd told Jeff. “But where have you been? Everybody’s been looking for you.”“I’ll explain everything when we meet in person - that is, if you choose to go with Ness to President’s Day.”“President’s Day?” Lloyd asked. “What are you doing there?”“I shouldn’t explain over the phone.” Jeff told him. Then, he gave Lloyd a phone number which, unlike Lucas, Lloyd diligently wrote down. “I should go now.” Jeff said. “I’ll see you in President’s Day!”Jeff hung up.“But why THERE?” Lloyd asked out loud.“We’ll have to tell Ness in the morning.” Lucas said, yawning. “For now, though, we should get some sleep.”Little did those two know, they wouldn’t be getting much more sleep tonight. Once they had gotten comfortable once again and had just managed to finally fall asleep, the door to the makeshift bedroom opened and let bright light in. Lucas opened his eyes just enough to see one backlit figure walk in carrying another in his arms, and place said person down onto a bed, tucking him in. Strangely, the person who tucked in the other then left the room, and shut the door behind him, leaving the room in darkness once again. Lucas thought that was the end of it and tried to close his eyes once again, but after a few minutes he heard MORE movement, and Lucas could tell even with closed eyes that there was now a bit of light. He opened them, and recognized the source of the bright red immediately.“Claus…” Lucas said tiredly. “Go back to bed…”“Sorry Lucas, no can do.” Claus said, getting up and turning on the bright fluorescent overhead lights.“Ah!” Lucas exclaimed. “Those things are too bright when I’m NOT half asleep!”“What’s going on!” Lloyd exclaimed. “Are the nukes coming?!”“No, Foggyland isn’t getting nuked yet.” Claus assured Lloyd.“Yet?”“But we do have to get out of here.” Claus told him. “Both of you need to pack up everything you think will be useful to you. Once we leave we can’t ever come back.”“Are the pigmasks coming?” Lucas asked worriedly.“Worse.” Claus said. “At least we knew THEY were enemies…”“What then?” Lloyd pressed.“Ness has lost his mind.” Claus explained. “I’m sure you’ve both been seeing it, but now he’s going around kidnapping his quote-unquote ‘friends’ just to use them for information. And NOW he wants to learn how to get rid of PK Love.”Lucas’ eyes went wide. “But if he does that…”“Precisely.” Claus said with a grim nod.“How do you know this is all true, through?” Lucas asked. “Sure he’s been a little strange, but he’d never do anything like that!”“Porky told me.” Claus replied.“And you BELIEVED HIM??” Lucas asked. “Claus, you know better than to trust Porky! He’s Porky!”“Well he did tell me this after I had been kidnapped by Ness so he could copy my memories onto a computer. Porky was also kidnapped, being kept in a secret location that none of us knew about that he had no hopes of leaving because he couldn’t move. So yeah, it wasn’t that hard to believe.”Lucas and Lloyd exchanged worried glances.“So now,” Claus said, “we pack up our belongings, act casual when Ness is around, and steal the airship. We just have to figure out where to go.”“President’s Day!” Lloyd exclaimed. “We should go to President’s Day!”“Where is that?” Claus asked.“In Eagleland.” Lloyd told him. “We might have to take a pit stop so we can get you a map.”“Is Jeff trustworthy, though?” Lucas asked.Lloyd shrugged. “Has to be more trustworthy than Ness right now.”“Sure, President’s Day, whatever.” Claus agreed. “But for now, we need to pack.”And so the three packed. Luckily, Ness assumed they’d all be asleep for the night and didn’t check on them until morning came around, after they had already finished preparing everything but before they got a chance to put anything on the airship.When Ness entered the lab, they all rushed to the kitchen to start having breakfast and look innocent doing so. “Good morning everyone!” Ness exclaimed as he entered, his green-and-pink eyes glimmering.“Morning Ness.” Claus managed casually, but the other two were all awkward about it. Get it together! Claus psychically urged his twin.“Uh… g-good morning, Ness…” Lucas stuttered.Claus rolled his eyes. “Someone had nightmares last night.” he covered.Lloyd didn’t say a word.“Well how did YOU sleep last night, Claus?” Ness asked with a creepy smile.“Huh? Oh, fine, I guess.” Claus shrugged, the sleeves of the oversized red sweater Lucas had originally bought for himself flopping as he did. Claus hadn’t exactly come here with a full wardrobe, and he and Lucas weren’t the same clothing size like they were as kids. “Waffle?” Claus offered casually.“Sounds good!” Ness exclaimed, walking over to the waffle machine. When he did, Lloyd let out a small squeal and backed away from it. “You okay?” Ness asked.“I… umm…” Lloyd was now shaking.“He had nightmares, too.” Claus quickly said. “I swear, I’m the only reasonable person around here. Last night I dreamt I was climbing a tree.”“Well, Lloyd, Lucas, you’d better get over it soon! We’re going on an adventure today!”“We are?” Lucas asked in terror.“Yup!” Ness responded. “I figured out Claus’ clue! Dr. Andonuts’ lab is underground in the town of Snowman!”“Oh, you figured it out, did you?” Claus asked. “I just knew you could sleuth it out! Every great adventurer knows that there’s no shortcuts to getting the right answer - they just have to use their head and think every puzzle through logically!”“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Ness said. “So - adventure! Today! To Snowman!”“When?” Lucas asked.“As soon as we’re ready!” Ness said with a smile.“Oh yeah?” Claus asked. “Alright! Let’s just have breakfast first!”“Oh, you’re not coming.” Ness said coldly.“Understandable.” Claus said with a well-mannered nod. Psychically to Lucas, Claus said When we’re done with breakfast, you and Lloyd need to grab your things while saying you’re ‘getting ready’. Then, if you need to, use PK Flash on Ness and meet me in the airship. I’ll have to go on ahead to grab something. But PK Flash can kill, Lucas responded. I don't want to kill him. Heal him if it does, then! Claus snapped. Then try again! Paralysis would be best. Claus then turned to Lloyd. “I would really like to be able to play in the snow while you guys are gone.” Claus said in a tone as sweet as he could manage. “So may I have permission to leave this building and roam freely once again?”“Huh?” Lloyd asked. “U-umm yes! Yes you have permission to go wherever you want now!” Lloyd had honestly forgotten that was still a thing.“Great!” Claus said with a smile that could rival Ness’. “Well I hope you guys have a GREAT time on your adventure!”Lloyd gave Claus a confused look.Claus felt the same way he did back when he was still in the army and was stuck working with the trainee pigmasks.And so a very tense breakfast proceeded to take place, with Claus trying to hold a pleasant conversation with the crazed Ness, the other two simply staying silent. Eventually breakfast came to an end, and Ness said “Let’s get going!!!” with an excited squeal.“Umm, me and Lloyd need to get ready!” Lucas forced himself to say, his eyes wide. “Right, Lloyd?”“Eeek! Umm… r-right…” Lloyd responded.“I’ll wait by the exit, then!” Ness said. “Do try to hurry!”“And I’m going to go make one of those snow angel things.” Claus said casually. “I’ll see you all when you get back from your THRILLING adventure.”“Goodbye, Claus!” Ness responded. “You’ve done AMAZINGLY as our informant!”“I’m sure…”Claus went outside, having to hope the others could figure out how to make their way to the airship themselves. He had his own challenge, after all.Too bad he left his Commander jacket with Lucas to pack. He looked more casual this way, but this sweater was NOT enough for this cold. It didn't help that there were two large slits cut in the back of it for his wings. The loose sweater just let all the cold air in through them.With the wind getting this bad in Winters, Claus had to wonder if somewhere in Winters had been nuked, or if the atmosphere was just getting so terrible that it was effecting Foggyland too now.Regardless, Claus had bigger concerns right now.He made his way over to the coordinates Ness had gone to before he started going down. Claus found himself standing in the center of some strange rock formation. But he didn't see any way down.Figuring there must be something hidden under the snow, Claus felt around, and sure enough he found a trap door. He lifted it up, and found a very long secret entrance tunnel below a ladder. With not much time, Claus dropped down and began running.“PORKY?!” Claus called out, his voice seeming to echo off of every surface in this strange place. “PORKY, WHERE ARE YOU??”“I’M HERE!!” Porky’s voice called back, but tracking the source was near impossible. Worse yet, this place appeared to be a HUGE maze with clear walls, which was quite confusing to navigate.“Oh pork.” Claus muttered, before spreading out his wings, taking flight through the narrow hallways. “I’M COMING!” he called back, though he had no idea where to head, or even how to get back to the coordinates he was at last night. ~~~ Lucas quickly explained the plan to Lloyd, though he then had to figure out how to help him bring his stuff. Lucas, after all, only had a few items, his clothes that he’s purchased throughout the various places he’s been, and Claus’ things, which there weren’t many of. Lloyd had all of his belongings plus boxes and boxes of equipment.“How are we supposed to get all of this past Ness?” Lucas asked, making sure his Awesome Cloak was on properly to help with the cold they were about to face.“I don't know, but it's all important!” Lloyd assured him.“We’re going to need a cart with wheels or something…” Lucas commented.“Are you two almost ready?!?” Ness’ voice rang out from the entrance he was blocking.“Think we can use the window?” Lloyd asked.“It’s frozen shut.” Lucas told him.“PK Love it!” Lloyd instructed.“Oh yeah! PK Love!!”The window shattered, and both boys began quickly putting their luggage outside of it.“Guys, are you coming??” Ness’ voice asked.“Hurry, hurry!” Lucas instructed Lloyd.The two moved the many boxes as quickly as possible, and they finished just as the door to the room opened.“What are you doing?” Ness asked. “What happened to the window?”“Uh, uh…” Lloyd was at a loss for words. Lucas, however, knew the perfect phrase.“PK Flash!”Ness’ Star Pendant absorbed in the light.“Oh drago droppings!” Lucas exclaimed, seeing Ness’ expression. “Uh, I uh… was practicing?”Making sure not to say a word, Lucas cast a PSI Shield on him and Lloyd.“Lucas,” Ness said, “we’re friends, right?”“Of course we are!” Lucas responded. “Ha ha, it was a joke! Just a joke! I would never actually want to attack you! You know that, Ness!” Lucas defended.Ness was silent, staring at Lucas with a betrayed look. Finally, he said “Why?”“Huh?” Lucas wasn’t expecting that.“I’ve done everything right, haven’t I?” Ness asked, looking hurt. “I just wanted to be a hero again!” he told Lucas. “So why… why are you fighting me?”“Ness…” Lucas said gently. “I don’t WANT to fight you, it’s just that… you haven't been yourself lately.”“Oh.” Ness said, looking down, a few tear drops falling from his eyes to the ground. “I see now.” he said. “Since I’m the hero, and you’re opposing me, that must make you-” Ness looked up, making eye contact with Lucas. Ness’ eyes were now a bright pink, glowing wildly. “-the villain.” he finally said.“Ness, I’m not-”“PK ROCKIN’!”“AH!!” Both Lucas and Lloyd screamed, Lucas’ PSI shield only doing so much to help.“PK Refresh!!” Lucas quickly cast. “I don’t want to fight you, Ness!” he cried. “Please! We’re friends!”“We’re NOT friends.” Ness informed him. “I can't be friends with a villain. PK ROCKIN’!”During this attack, Lloyd jumped out the window. He had left Lucas alone.“PK Defense Up!” Lucas cast. “PK Lifeup!” Lucas then took out his stick. “This is your last warning, Ness. I don't want to fight you, but I will. Please, let’s just talk this out. I’m sure we can-”“I don’t reason with villains!” Ness interrupted. “PK STARST-”“Nope!” Lloyd exclaimed, coming back in through the window with a taser, tasing Ness and breaking his concentration. “Lucas, we need to go!”Lucas nodded, and the two hopped out the window. Knowing the taser wouldn’t keep Ness down for long, they didn't have time to grab all of their luggage. Lucas grabbed his own bags along with the boxes that contained Lloyd’s actual important belongings, leaving him to pick up as much as he could carry of his lab supplies. Hopefully Claus had the air flight thing ready, because Ness would surely be after them again in a few minutes. ~~~ Claus had no idea where he was in relation to Porky. Shouting allowed him and Porky to communicate, but that said nothing about their distance due to the strange way this place carried sound. At this rate, there was no way Claus was going to get back in time to help Lucas and Lloyd!But then he had a realization - if the only thing stopping him from walking from one place to another were these see-through walls, all he had to do was break through them!Claus transformed his arm into his arm cannon, and shot a powerful burst towards the nearest wall.And it broke in a manner not unlike glass, allowing him to go further into the maze.The sound was absolutely awful with this echo, but sacrifices had to be made. Claus heard Porky scream from said sound, which did make him feel better.He shot another shot, then another, brute-forcing his way through the bizarre maze. Finally, he was able to get to the coordinates of last night, where Porky was waiting.“Couldn’t have been any quieter?” Porky asked with a cough.“I’m here to save you, shut up.” Claus responded, picking Porky up. “I could’ve just left you.”“I… thank you.” Porky said.“Did you just say…?” Claus didn’t really have time to dwell on the fact that Porky just thanked him, but it was quite surprising. “My pork you’re heavy.” Claus complained to change the topic.Claus flew through the broken remains of the maze, and he quickly made his way back to the ladder up. It wasn’t easy carrying Porky up a ladder, but he managed. He then ran towards the airship, which Lucas and Lloyd were just now running towards too.“We need to go! Now!!” Lucas called out as they approached.Claus quickly got in, throwing Porky to the side as he got to the console. He started up the airship, but… “The ship needs time to warm up!” Claus warned the others as they got aboard. “How long do we think we have?”“Like 30 seconds.” Lloyd responded. “He’ll be up any second, really.”“Well pork.” Claus responded. He looked at the meters on the ship, and sighed. “Sorry, but we’re going to have to go now.” he said, seemingly to the ship, before attempting to take flight. The engine stalled in protest to the extreme cold, however.Lloyd looked out the window in horror. “He’s coming!!” Lloyd shouted.“C’mon, c’mon, you can do this!!” Claus encouraged the ship. “Just hang in there!!”“What are you-” cough- “DOING?!” Porky asked.“Hyping her up!” Claus responded.“Oh my god.” Porky said with an eye roll.Suddenly, the airship started moving very slightly. Just as it was, Ness had gotten close, and stopped.“He’s casting a psychic attack!” Lucas warned, watching Ness’ feet leave the ground as he floated up. “A powerful one!”“I’m doing my best!” Claus snapped, messing with a few things to try to get the airship moving faster. “Okay, I think I got it!” he exclaimed, and the airship left the ground completely, and began slowly leaving. Just as it did, stars began raining from the sky. The peanut gallery all began screaming as Claus tried to focus on skillfully avoiding the falling stars. He was able to, but the unsecured boys in the back were falling all over the place as Claus quickly moved the ship this way and that, with no regards to stability at the moment. He just had to prevent them from being hit, while still driving against a strong wind. Needless to say, this wasn’t easy.“Okay, all of you SHUT UP!” Claus shouted, a burst of light PK Love going backwards to the group - not enough to hurt them, just knock them around even more. Really, it caused more screams.Finally though, the ship was out of range of Ness. Claus let out a sigh of relief. “We made it.” he told the others.“Next stop:” Lloyd said, “President’s Day!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

How is it that things always escalate so much?Lucas missed the days when he could just carelessly spend his time going to school, doing homework, and learning about this strange, large world. He missed when his biggest problems in this time were all Claus-oriented, as his problems tended to be. Yes, Lucas had a history of having to be the one to save the world, but at least back then the world hadn’t been so BIG!But now…How did Lucas even get to this point?Well, after narrowly escaping Ness’ attacks, Claus had flown the airship all the way to President’s Day - the apparent capital city of Eagleland. The trip had been difficult due to the harsh winds, but what was even more difficult was walking around OUTSIDE after they had been told to land in the yard of some big white house. Claus had gotten ANOTHER communication device when Dr. Andonuts had him, so he had been able to contact Jeff for the exact location.But after they managed to brave the winds that were so powerful you could barely walk against them enough to get INTO said white house, the group had been brought deep underground into some top secret base or something. Apparently, this is where the REAL government had been all along.And that’s where Jeff had been, too.And after that, things had gotten chaotic.“Where’s Ness?” Jeff asked the group as soon as they entered. “I thought he was with you?”The four struggled to then all recount their stories to Jeff, who didn’t seem to want to believe any of it could possibly be true. “Ness is a hero!” Jeff kept insisting. “He would never do anything like that!”That was when some of the other people in that strange underground base got involved. The four newcomers all got dragged to different location, separate from each other. Lucas had been crying from confusion when he got brought into a room and left there, until a nice looking lady in a black suit entered.“Hello there.” she said in a soft tone. “Lucas, right?”Lucas kept crying. “Where’s my brother?” Lucas asked. “What’s going on?”“Your brother is just talking to some people for now. You’ll get to see him again soon, I promise.” the lady assured Lucas. “Here, why don’t you hold onto this teddy bear?”Lucas, wanting something to cling to, took the bear from the nice lady. It was soft and squishy, and he hugged it tightly.“Now then,” the lady continued, “do you mind if I ask you a few questions? We’re just trying to figure out exactly what’s going on.”“Going on with what?” Lucas asked.“With a lot of things. So why don’t we start with this - you’re from the future, aren’t you?”“Uh… yeah, I am.” Lucas confirmed. “Why?”“Do you happen to know how you got to this time?”“No.” Lucas said, shaking his head. “I’m not even entirely sure who’s responsible anymore. I just want to get back.”“WHO’S responsible?” the lady pressed. “So you believe a person is behind it?”“Probably Dr. Andonuts, I think.” Lucas said. “He makes the most sense.”“Can you tell me more about this ‘Dr. Andonuts’?”“Why?” Lucas asked, a bit confused now. Just who WAS this lady?The lady kept a calm expression. “I understand you’re nervous, Lucas. Perhaps I should explain a bit more about the current situation, huh?” The woman gave a smile as bright as the sun. “My name is Kelly Maryanne. You can call me Ms. Kelly, if you’d like. I’m a member of the Eagleland government, and we’re trying to save the world!”“The government?” Lucas asked, his expression darkening. “You’re the ones DESTROYING the world.”“No, no, sweetie, that wasn’t us.” Kelly assured Lucas. “We believe the source of all of the nukes was actually the very same Dr. Andonuts who caused you trouble before.”“But Lloyd said-”“Lloyd Andonuts is a very good hacker, isn’t he?” Kelly interrupted. “Unfortunately, the adult Lloyd Andonuts from this time period is an even better hacker than him. He was able to trick his younger self.”Lucas wasn’t necessarily sure he believed that. “I want to be with my brother.” Lucas insisted.Kelly sighed. “Look kid, I want to do this nicely, but we need to know what’s going on. Now I promise you that Claus is just fine, he’s just talking to another one of our agents right now. In the end of the day Lucas, we both want the same thing - peace for the people of Eagleland, while this ‘Dr. Andonuts’ wants to destroy it. We just need to collect as much information about him as we possibly can to protect this country and planet.”“Well I’m not telling you anything until I see my brother again.” Lucas said defiantly.Kelly sighed. “Fine, stay put. We’ll bring him here as soon as he’s available.”“And just what does that mean?”“When he’s done-” Kelly cut herself off, seemingly listening to something Lucas couldn’t hear. “Oh muffin crumbs.” Kelly sighed. “Well, it seems you aren’t the only one who refuses to speak unless you’re with your other half. Come along, Lucas. I’ll take you to your twin troublemaker now.”Kelly grabbed Lucas firmly by the hand and brought him down a busy hallway full of well-dressed people. Then, she let Lucas into a room much more intense looking than the comfortable couched room Lucas had just come from. Claus was sitting at a metal table in the center of the room across from a scary looking man. Upon seeing Lucas, Claus asked the man “Was that so hard?”“Alright,” the man said, “now tell us what you know.”“I’ve already explained to you I’m physically incapable of telling you most of what I know.” Claus shrugged. “But I’ll do my best, because I know the only nuke your responsible for is Fourside.”“So you DID nuke Fourside!” Lucas accused. “I knew it!”Kelly sighed. “And THIS is why we took them separately.”“They did.” Claus confirmed. “But I know for a fact they weren’t the ones who nuked Threek, Twoson, or Onett.”“You’re correct in that assessment, but how are you so sure?” the scary man asked.Claus looked to Lucas. “Lucas, you probably think I’m crazy, but I actually think these guys DO intend to try to save the planet. So I might need you to fill in some of the blanks for me so I can tell them what I know.” Do you mean it? Lucas asked psychically. I do. Claus responded. I think they’ll lie to us to get us to trust them, but I think they really do have the best interests of the general populace in mind. They nuked Fourside, yes, but only because they wrongly thought it'd stop the spread of the Pork Army and the chimeras. I think we should work with them, for now. They might be able to help us. Lucas sighed. “If you’re sure.” he said.And so Claus explained his mind control to the government, and though Lucas really didn’t think it was a good idea, he also gave them as much information as he possibly could manage to tell them with Lucas’ assistance. By the end of it, one thing was clear - The one nuking the world was definitely Dr. Andonuts.Unfortunately, Lucas couldn’t figure out WHY. And Claus couldn’t tell him.After that, well, Lucas wasn’t really sure WHAT was going on. It seemed like the other three and Jeff were all working closely with the government on SOMETHING, but Lucas wasn’t a part of it. He felt left out, really. But he was soon going to WISH he was still just as uninvolved.A couple days past of Lucas just kind of being pushed to the side. He was able to roam this strange place, but he couldn’t get into most rooms without proper clearance, so all he was doing was walking around hallways, avoiding important people doing important things. He didn’t even really SEE his brother past that initial questioning.But that all ended when the plan was finally explained to him.The four boys were finally together once again for the first time in days, with no other strange adults around, either. Claus wore his Commander jacket and a serious expression that felt so strange to Lucas to see on his big brother when he was free to have emotions. Porky was sat in a chair with wheels on it and Lloyd was standing in a power stance that showed he was acting as brave as he could manage.“We need to talk.” Claus stated intensely, seeming very much like his Commanderish self in that he was so certain about his words. “About the plan to save the world. Lloyd, you already know you're going to be working with me to try to hack into the doctor's systems and weaponry. We need to take all of that offline before we can do anything more."“What about me?” Lucas asked, feeling somehow jealous despite the circumstances. He didn’t want to be left out like this.“Well you, my twin lookalike, are the distraction.”“Huh?”“Don’t tell me…” Porky butted in.“We’ve got a wig and colored contacts for you, Lucas.” Claus told him with a bit more of a grin than before. “And you are going to have to do your BEST me impression.”“But… but…”“I know you can do it.” Claus told him. “Look, we need SOMETHING to take up the attention of Dr. Andonuts long enough for Lloyd and I to sneak in. You can tell him something along the lines of that Lloyd TRIED to give you back your emotions and failed and you returned when nobody was looking.”“I don’t know about this…”“I know, it’s half-baked at best, but we don’t need him to believe it for long. Just long enough to get Lloyd and I in. Just make sure to never stand too close to him. He doesn’t tend to carry ranged weapons around like he seemed to as a kid, so you can easily take him the second he gets suspicious. Just avoid any syringes.”“I feel like this is a bad idea.” Lucas said a bit more forcefully.“I know, Lucas.” Claus told him. “And the last thing I want to do is to throw you right into the fray of things, but you know nothing about computers or anything, while I know the whole secret base top to bottom.”Porky laughed. “I think you’re forgettin’ something.” he said.“Huh?” Claus asked.“No matted how ‘determined’ you are,” cough “so long as your mind controlled, you ain’t gonna be able to do much. Don’t tell me you planned on tryin’ to brute force through that.”Claus didn’t respond.“So that’s it?” Porky asked. “That’s your-” cough, cough “-genius plan?”“What else can I do?” Claus asked. “I’m not going to just ‘stop being brainwashed’ anytime soon, so-”“Maybe I can make that happen.”There was silence in the room, and all eyes were trained on Porky.“Y-you… you can what?” Claus finally asked.“Andonuts might’ve done a lot of things on his own-” cough, cough “-but I’m the one who taught him how to technologically mind control you.”It was so quiet Claus could hear his own filtered breath. He wasn’t really sure what the expression on his face was right now - some mix between surprise, pleading, and wonder. This could be it. This could be his chance to finally be free.“I ain’t too happy with him havin’ control over somethin’ that was meant to belong to me.” Porky continued. “Of course, I could always teach Lloyd here how to just… re-mind control you to follow me again, but… I’m kind of over all that now.” Porky coughed. “It’s just too much to deal with, y’know?”“Porky please.” Claus begged, desperate to get this chance. “Please, please, please, let me be free. Whatever you want, I’ll do it, I just… I want my head to be my own again!”“Yeah, yeah, I was basically already sayin’ I’d do it.” Porky told him. “Besides,” cough “you came back for me when you really didn’t have to. So I guess, what I want is… god this sounds cheesy…” Porky tried to give his most unassuming smile he was capable of. “I want us to be friends.”“Yes we can be friends!” Claus told him. “I promise you we’ll-”Porky cut him off. “We’ll see if you still feel the same way AFTER you don’t need anythin’ from me.” Porky looked to Lloyd. “Scientist boy?” cough “I know you’re takin’ a break from electronics, but-”“I’d happily do this!” Lloyd exclaimed with gusto. “Just tell me what I need to do.”“This ain’t gonna be easy.” Porky warned him. “I never intended to UN-mindcontrol him, so this is gonna be a difficult process. We should go get one of those government labs prepared before you start.”“We’ll be back, then!” Lloyd assured Claus. And Lloyd and Porky left the room.“I can’t believe this is happening!” Claus exclaimed. “I’m so nervous, but also so happy! I can’t believe it - I’ll be ME again! Just me!”Lucas was happy Claus was happy, but he wasn’t entirely sure he believed it could be this easy.“What if it’s a trick?” Lucas couldn’t help but ask.“I don’t think it is.” Claus assured him. “Porky and I have been talking things out, Lucas, and… I think he gave up his whole ‘world domination’ thing a long time ago - ever since we left the Islands, really. He’s turning over a new leaf, and I trust him.” Claus said with confidence. “You’ll see.”Lucas sighed. “I hate it when people mess with your head.”“I know.” Claus responded. “But this’ll be the last time.”After a while, Lloyd came to retrieve Claus, and then Lucas had to wait for what felt like forever for the results. Finally, Lloyd came to get him.“Claus will be waking up soon.” Lloyd told Lucas. “I assumed you’d want to be there.”“Of course I do.” Lucas said, following Lloyd. As they walked, Lucas asked “I trust YOU Lloyd - so what do you think? Do you think Porky had you do things that would help Claus, not make things worse?”“To be honest, I have no idea.” Lloyd responded. “This mind control stuff goes WAY over my head right now. But I guess we’re both about to find out, huh?”“Yeah…”When they finally arrived at the room Claus was in, Lucas found his brother near so many screens and such once again. It felt like Claus was being treated like a robot way too much lately. To the side was Porky, who seemed pretty proud of himself right now.“What’s with the smug look?” Lucas asked with malice.“Just a job well done is all.” Porky responded with a cough. “Don’t give me that-” cough “-face. You need to learn to trust me a bit more than that.”Lucas narrowed his eyes at Porky, but then Claus began to stir, and opened his eyes.“Claus?” Lucas asked. “How do you feel?”Claus blinked, his eyes wide. “I feel… clear.” he smiled. “My head’s so clear, Lucas!” he repeated, jumping up to hug his twin so tightly Lucas couldn’t breathe. “It’s just me now.” Claus assured Lucas. “The only person I have to answer to is myself.”“So, it’s really been done?” Lucas asked once he could finally catch his breath again. “You’re free?”“Yes!!!”“Heh,” Porky said, “told you I’d do it.”“I’m so happy!” Lucas exclaimed. He closed his eyes with a huge smile on his face, clasping his hands together in front of his heart. An extremely bright sparkly green light filled the room, emanating from the smiling psychic. Lucas opened his eyes again, revealing that they too were sparkling. “Finally.” Lucas said softly. “Things are finally starting to get better.”“They started getting better the second we got to see each other again.” Claus corrected with a smile. “But this… it’s incredible! I never in my wildest dreams thought that this was even possible!”Sparkles came from him, too, though they were of more of a yellow color. Lloyd couldn’t help but watch the strange way they stuck to the technology of the room, but he didn’t say anything so as to not ruin the touching moment.Finally, though, Claus turned to face Lloyd and most of all, Porky. “Thank you so much!” he said, his smile still huge.“Oh whatever.” Porky said, trying to play it off, not at all expecting that Claus was going to come over and pull him into a hug. “Hey!” Porky said in a playful manner. “I never said you could do that!”“Well now you can’t tell me not to!” Claus joked back, though he let Porky go.“I guess you were right about him now.” Lucas said, turning his attention to Porky. “Porky… you helped him. Even though you’ve never seen him as a person before, you helped him!”“Yeah, yeah, stop with the cheesy overdramatics.” Porky said with an eye roll. “It was about time I let him go.”The sparkly green light that had just been filling the area before now seemed to be sort of surrounding itself around Porky. Lucas hadn’t even intended for that to happen, but it was in PSI’s nature to follow emotions, and Lucas was legitimately happy with Porky for the first time ever.“Woah, woah, what are you DOING?” Porky asked as the light became stronger and stronger. Suddenly, he had the ability to just barely move his fingertips ever so slightly. He slowly began to be able to do more and more movement with them. A mix of surprise and wonder filling his face.“Porky,” Claus said, “y-you’re moving!”Lucas looked in surprise at this. “Did I cause that?” he asked, looking at Porky’s decrepit form.“Th-this is-” cough “amazing!” Porky exclaimed, not stopping the movement in his fingers, as if stopping would make them lock back up again. “I didn’t know you could do that!”“I didn’t either.” Lucas admitted. “I was just so happy that you helped Claus that… it just sort of happened.”Claus looked to Lucas, then to Porky, than back at Lucas. “If that’s what you can do by accident,” Claus said, “what could you do on purpose?”Lucas stared at his twin with wide eyes. Sure, Porky did one nice thing, but did that really mean he was deserving of Lucas’ most ultimate healing abilities? A single act of kindness doesn’t make someone a good person, after all.But it wasn’t a single act, was it?Claus had been telling Lucas all along that Porky was changing for the better, and Lucas had refused to listen to a word of it until he saw this proof for himself. But now that Lucas thought about it, the proof had been there right along. The games Porky would send Claus to play, the nice room and accommodations Claus had that he had sworn to Lucas that he liked, even the very fact that Claus had been able to go to school and especially the Summers trip in the first place - the old Porky never would have let Claus do that. So did that mean Porky really… changed?Lucas’ mother used to always tell him that it’s important to forgive people when they’ve realized they’ve done something wrong, and give them another chance. Porky had done A LOT wrong, but… did he realize that now?“Porky.” Lucas said in an authoritative tone. “I want you to apologize to Claus. Sincerely. Okay? Apologize for everything you’ve ever done to him. And Tazmily!”Porky gave Lucas a weird look. “Look sunflower boy, apologizin’ ain’t really my-” cough “-thing. And anyway! Haven’t you ever heard that actions speak louder than words?”“I have heard that…” Lucas said. “But are you sorry? For what you did?”“Lucas?” Claus asked.“Yeah?”“What the pork are you getting at?”“He needs to say he’s sorry!” Lucas said, now acting a little childish. “Mom said to forgive people who know they’ve done bad, but I need to know he knows he’s done bad!”“Yeah, pretty sure he knows.” Claus said. “If he didn’t, he would’ve left me mind controlled and wouldn’t have stopped calling me an ‘it’.” Claus smirked at Porky. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that.” he teased.“Well he still needs to apologize.” Lucas said with his arms crossed.“Ugh.” Porky said. “Will it get you to stop if I do?”“Yup.” Lucas replied intensely.“Fiiiiine.” Porky said annoyedly, then coughed. “I am sorry for burning down your forest, kidnapping you, and turning you into my slave robot for three years.” he said to Claus.“And?” Lucas asked.Porky glared. “And I’m sorry for erasing your memories and emotions.”“And???”“And what?!” Porky exclaimed.“You know you were wrong?” Lucas prompted.“Yes, I know I was wrong.” Porky finished. “Happy?”“Yes.” Lucas said, then he clasped his hands in front of his heart once again, this time intentionally. A bright green that grew into an even brighter white surrounded Lucas as his feet left the ground. He levitated there for a few moments, his eyes glowing pure white, before he gracefully threw his arms open, letting the power flow from him to Porky, the light now completely enveloping him.Lucas may have hated everything Porky did to ruin his life for a very long time, but holding grudges made him no better. That wasn’t the way of the Nowhere Islanders. Instead of hate, Lucas wanted to embrace love and forgiveness. And so, he gave healing Porky his all!When Lucas had no more available power to spend without tapping into his own lifeforce, he landed gently on his feet, exhausted.“Thank you.” Porky’s voice said, though it sounded so different from the bitter, jaded, forced voice Lucas was used to. It sounded normal, just like anybody else's. “Goodbye, Claus.”As the light faded from around the newly restored blond boy, he threw his colorful friendship bracelet towards Claus, before time finally caught up with him. His body suddenly disintegrated into nothing as he smiled. Lucas had done the impossible - he had killed the immortal Pokey Minch.“Goodbye.” Claus responded with a salute, before putting the friendship bracelet on his wrist. “May the dragon guide you as you become one with the Earth… friend.”Tears pooling in his human eye, Claus then turned to his brother. “Let’s let you get some rest.” Claus said, picking Lucas up and carrying him easily through the government base, placing him down on the comfortable bed Lucas had been supplied with. “It’s just like you’d say, Lucas - Porky - no, that’s not his name. Pokey got a happy ending, and it’s all thanks to you. It’s the end of an endless era. Now we just have to find a way to get our own happy ending.”“Yeah…” Lucas said, so tired from his power usage that he was already starting to drift off. “The needle…”Claus sighed. “That’s right.” he said, though something about the way he said it seemed like he was a little sad. “Once the last needle is pulled, everything will reset, and anything beyond the Islands will seem like nothing more than just a dream.”Lucas smiled. “Can’t wait.” he said, falling asleep completely.But all of that lead up to now.Lucas was now in what the others called a ‘helicopter’, wearing a replica of his brother’s militaristic jacket made so that it fit his measurements. The belt Lucas wore was legitimately Claus’, though it had the pig nose logo that the whole Pork Army had, so it made Lucas quite upset to wear it. The rest of his outfit was just made up of replicas though, and the boots were not platforms, unlike Claus’. They were still much heavier than Lucas would expect shoes to be though.But the discomfort of the clothing was nowhere near as bad as the awful nervous feeling in Lucas’ stomach that felt like it was doing backflips.“You’ll be fine.” Claus told Lucas in a soothing tone, putting his hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner. “So long as Dr. Andonuts thinks you’re me, you’ll be fine.”“And when he finds out I’m not?”“Hopefully by then Lloyd and I will be a lot further in the lab so he can’t stop us.”Lucas heard another voice saying “Hey, don’t look so nervous.” The voice was familiar, but it was hard for Lucas to put his finger on exactly where he had heard it before, but he knew he had certainly heard it once or twice before today. He looked over to the source, and saw someone he hadn’t even noticed was here before now. Well, the boy never really had much presence before, but the comforting smile was certainly a new sight on him.Child Ninten was here, and he was smiling at Lloyd.“You’re one of the Warriors of Justice!” Ninten assured Lloyd. “A member of the Global Defense Force! This is nothing for someone like you!”“Ninten?” Lloyd asked, looking confusedly at the boy who APPEARED to be Ninten but acted nothing like him.“I can feel your confusion.” Ninten told Lloyd. “I know, I’m different, right? Well, I’m going to be a father soon. If I don’t want to end up like the me from this time, I need to make some changes. And that starts by not being so bitter. My main character syndrome has to go, too. Ness fell down that same trap. That’s why I’m here not to fight, but to do what I was always meant to do. Support. That’s the power I have, and… I think it would make my great grandmother proud to know I learned how to use it right.”Ninten gave Lucas a genuine smile, which Lucas could feel the power behind. A sincere support psychic was a force to be reckoned with, and Ninten always had so much potential he always hid behind a glare and the walls he built. “You don’t need to worry. You’ll all be going in with Powershields! Nothing can hurt you with those.”Lucas smiled back, somehow feeling stronger just by Ninten’s confidence. “You’re going to be a great father, Ninten.”“I sure hope so.” Ninten responded. “I just want my child to be born in a world that ISN’T under constant siege. Just like your parents wanted for you, I guess.”Lucas’ smile faltered for a moment. The reminder of Tazmily reminded Lucas of something else - if he reset the world, wouldn’t he reset Ninten, too? What would happen to the family in the making, the child that would never get to be born? Or would all of that still be allowed to happen, and only the future would be reset?Maybe it would be better not to worry about such things for now. Whether saving Eagleland mattered or not, Dr. Andonuts’ lab would be the best place to look for whatever was necessary for time travel. Maybe Claus knew something about it? Lucas went to ask, but that’s when the helicopter landed.The time for talk had ended, and the time for action had begun.One way or another, this war had to come to ahead.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Lucas’ head itched from the wig, and his eyes felt dry from the stupid contacts that made his vision strange, but he DID look an awful lot like Claus. Not exactly, of course, since Claus’ proportions were that of a ten-year-old and he was quite pale in comparison to Lucas due to the three years spent mostly inside and the limited blood flow a mechanical chimera needed. Speaking of which, obviously Lucas wasn’t a chimera. Luckily the gloves and long pants covered that fact, and some make-up covered his more tanned skin.Despite all of the issues, in the end of the day, the two were twins, so they looked similar ENOUGH if one wasn’t paying attention. And so, Powershielded, Lucas walked towards the entrance to Dr. Andonuts’ base, Lloyd and Claus following him closely. Lloyd used a strange device that Jeff had apparently developed to hack the door open, then quickly hid in the snow while Lucas entered. The other two would be sneaking in shortly after Lucas, taking a round-about way to the important stuff while Dr. Andonuts - and apparently Mana Mana, according to Claus - were distracted by Lucas.Lucas stepped into the base, hating the high-tech feel of it the second he walked in. He pressed forward, ignoring his instincts to run, and walked further in. Claus had given him a general idea of where to go, and Lucas followed that path, not daring to deviate or even look around. After all, an emotionless Claus wouldn’t, and who knew if Dr. Andonuts was using those weird camera things?Finally, Lucas got to the right room. Sure enough, he saw screens of information, and sitting in front of them was a silhouette, turned away from Lucas.“Doctor.” Lucas said as steadily as he could, trying to somehow imitate Claus’ tendency to speak in a low serious pitch as the Commander while having a ten year old's voice. “I have returned.”“Ah, Commander.” the person in front of the screens said. It… didn’t sound quite right. “I’m so happy you’re finally back.”From behind Lucas, the door opened, and Mana Mana walked in, looking much more inhuman than she used to now that she had horns and a powerful golden glow. Lucas tried to keep his expression neutral. “Surely they did not try to give you emotions, and succeeded, wrong? Right?” Mana asked.Lucas’ mind prickled with confusion, but he couldn’t show it. Nor could he show his concern that Mana Mana was now blocking his only exit.“Of course, you just now managed to return.” the person behind the screens continued. “While nobody was looking. That’s the story, right?”Lucas froze. Did he know?“We can’t have the story straight before the end, you know!” Mana added.“Of course, ‘Claus’ you surely knew coming straight here was dangerous, didn’t you?” the screen person asked. “Delivering yourself right to me while the others snuck in hoping I’d be ‘distracted’ because Dr. Andonuts somehow began to see his mechanical creation as more of a son than he ever saw his ACTUAL child. It’s clever, of course, and probably would have worked, if it weren’t for two major problems.”“H-huh?” Lucas asked, his emotionless facade cracking. He took a step back, and ran right into Mana Mana.“One,” the screen person said, “anything said in front of a pork phone is ACTUALLY able to be heard by anybody with the right technology. Of course, that technology is in this very lab! That’s how you were always found by the Pork Army! And two - well, sure you PROBABLY would have fooled that old man for a little while, but too bad for you, I’m not him!”“What?”Mana Mana grabbed Lucas’ arms from behind, holding him still. The chair turned around, and Lucas was face-to-face with glowing pink eyes.“Surprise~!” Ness exclaimed, a creepy smile across his face. “I’m the villain now!” ~~~ After a few minutes, Lloyd hacked the door once again, and he and Claus entered, Claus quickly taking the lead to bring Lloyd down many narrow hallways. Lloyd struggled to keep up, but he had never had much endurance for running before.Is that something he could alter about himself, too?No, now wasn’t the time for such thoughts! He needed to focus!“I expected there to be more guards.” Claus commented, seeming a little concerned. “Usually there are.”He transformed his arm into his arm cannon, ready for a fight, and flicked his wings out for a moment. He was clearly on edge, and that made Lloyd nervous.“Isn’t it good if there’s no guards?” Lloyd asked. “That means there's no one here we have to fight!”“No.” Claus responded, not looking at Lloyd. “There’s no reason there shouldn’t be guards. I could’ve tried to talk my way out of any sort of fight with them, or got the military waiting outside to help us, but this… I sense a trap.”Lloyd looked around. There was no one here. “Are you sure?” he asked.Claus gave him a glare. “When it comes to a battle I know what I’m talking about. We’re being lured further in.”“So what do we do?” Lloyd asked.“We need to stop being predictable.” Claus responded, pulling something out. “We need to do something crazy.”“Like what?”Lloyd got a better look at what Claus was holding. It was a bomb!“Like breaking into the areas we need to get to rather than walking the exact spots that are expected from us!”~~~ “Commander, you’re awake!”Lucas sat up slowly. His head felt so heavy like lead. The whole world seemed to be spinning, and he felt like he could split in two at any moment. “What happened?” he asked, not sure who he was asking the question to.“I’m not quite sure.” the other voice answered. “Ness threw you into that cell than ran off to go ‘deal with the others’ as he put it.”“Cell?” Lucas asked. “Am I in a…?”Lucas looked around. He was, indeed, in a sort of cage, it seemed. The kind of cage they would put the chimeras in back at the chimera lab, meaning it was four walls of metal bars that could be looked into at all sides. “Why am I in a cage?” he asked, feeling off.“I just told you, Ness put you there.” the familiar voice repeated. “I’m glad to see you again, Commander, but I wished I could have warned you not to come back. Ness easily overtook the entire army, and convinced Mana Mana to turn on me. And now I’m stuck here, not able to do a thing while Ness takes everything from me.”Is that what happened? Lucas’ memories were a little fuzzy after Ness revealed himself. Mana started dragging Lucas somewhere, and try as Lucas might, he couldn’t fight her off. He of course had tried to use PSI, but something that either she or Ness did must’ve made it so he couldn’t focus at the time. Then he was brought somewhere… for what?Lucas looked at the source of the voice finally, and rage flew through him the second he did. “YOU!” he exclaimed in an accusatory tone. Lucas was, after all, looking right at Dr. Andonuts, in one of his own cages.“I imagine you’re not too happy with me, are you?” Dr. Andonuts asked. “That’s alright, I expected as much. You have to understand that I did what I had to. I knew you wouldn’t come willingly after what I did to Ninten, though I DID intend on giving you back your emotions once I had completed making this world my own. You would, of course, be the first of many of the perfect species in my new civilization.”“Was that your plan?” Lucas asked. “To turn everyone into chimeras?”“Of course. You knew that. That’s why I’ve been upgrading you so much. To know exactly what a perfect human-based specimen would be. The nukes, of course, were to cut out all the riffraff, lowering the population into a small amount that I could manage. Then we’d create the perfect chimera utopia! I think you’d love it, Commander! So many people, just like you!”“SHUT UP!” Lucas exclaimed, rushing up and to the bars so he could be as close to Dr. Andonuts as possible as he said this. “THAT’S NOT A UTOPIA!!”“Isn’t it, though?” Dr. Andonuts mused. “Like the very concept of Tazmily, I’m killing those who can’t fit into a new world to let everyone who remains have the perfect life. Think about it - a world where everybody’s strong, and nobody ages! All intelligence can be passed through simply downloading files! In a world like that, who knows what could be accomplished?”“I am so tired of people playing dragon!” Lucas exclaimed angrily, though his anger hurt his head even more, making it feel as if a fog was rolling over his thoughts. “The world isn’t meant to be taken and owned by one person - it’s for everybody! And if you were kind and pure-hearted you’d realize that! That’s why those who are were chosen to live in Tazmily! Because they know that the world is one to be shared by all!”Suddenly, in the distance, Lucas heard a large BOOM! Dr. Andonuts looked in that direction too, but he then looked back at Lucas quite curiously. “What an odd thing for you to say.” the doctor said simply.“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lucas asked.“You’ve mentioned your worries in the past that you may not even be ACCEPTED back into Tazmily since you can’t possibly HAVE a pure heart without a heart at all, so it’s bizarre for you to go on about something like that now.”“I… have?” Lucas asked, suddenly realizing that Claus DIDN’T technically have a pure heart any longer. But surely the dragon saw past such technicalities, right? Wait, why didn’t Claus mention these worries to Lucas?“None of that matters now, though.” Dr. Andonuts continued. “It’s more than likely-” BOOM! “-that Ness is going to destroy everything. That look in his eyes… it was like that of Giygas’. That hateful look when he recognized what it was I brought him back for.” Dr. Andonuts sighed. “I so thought the memory-removal would hold. I guess aliens are just a lot harder to modify than humans…”These loud booms were not helping Lucas’ aching head. Still, he asked “You modified an alien?”“Did you forget?” Dr. Andonuts asked, looking legitimately concerned. “I had to pacify Giygas so I could experiment with his PSI in an attempt to gain it for myself and all of the people in the new civilization so there wouldn’t be a single person unfairly living without PSI. You were my assistant.”“You made Claus help you with something as awful as experimenting on other life??” Lucas asked angrily, his head throbbing now. “How dare you?!”Dr. Andonuts stared at Lucas with widened eyes. “You’re not…?”Lucas threw off the wig. There was no point to the disguise anymore, anyway. “No, I’m not!” he declared, now openly glaring at the doctor who had dissected his brother time and time again. “So I’m going to tell you how things are going to work. I’m going to break us out of here, we’re going to find my brother and your kinder self, and you’re going to tell us how to time travel!”“I see.” Dr. Andonuts said. “Clever thinking. The Commander’s idea, I assume? To have you come in disguise, I mean.”“Do you agree or not?” Lucas pressed.“You intend on pulling the last needle and awakening the dragon, don’t you?”BOOM!“WILL WHATEVER THAT IS SHUT UP???” Lucas screamed, now holding his head because it felt like it would blow up if he didn’t. “Fine.” Lucas then said with malice. “If you won’t agree, then I’ll just leave here myself! I’m sure Lloyd can figure it out.”Lucas looked at the bars, and drew forward his psychic power. Or, he tried to, but he felt nothing. Still, he shouted “PK LOVE!”Nothing happened. Lucas didn’t even feel a spark.With widened eyes, Lucas stumbled backwards. Suddenly, he remembered.Earlier, Ness and Mana Mana had brought Lucas to a strange room, and hooked him up to some intense looking equipment. Ness injected something into Lucas’ head, right at one of his temples, and then he and Mana both left, leaving Lucas tied down, then… something in the room activated. There had been such a bright light and it hurt his head so much and then…Well, then he woke up here, powerless.“No.” Lucas said, tears forming in his eyes. “No, no, NO!”Was what Claus warned Lucas about true? Had his PSI really been taken from him?Lucas tried something, ANYTHING, to collect any sort of power within him. And absolutely nothing happened.He curled up in a ball, sobbing. That was it. There was no saving Tazmily now. Everything he had ever worked for was gone, and such an important part of him had been ripped away. He felt so empty. So alone. So disconnected from the world and his emotions.There was nothing he could do. ~~~ “Well, that’s the last of the nukes offline.” Lloyd reported to Claus. “This multi-hacking tool is awesome! I have to ask Jeff for the blueprint!”“Why were we just allowed to take them down like that?” Claus asked. “It’s all way too easy. Something has to be up. Where is ANYBODY?”“I dunno.” Lloyd said with a shrug. “But there’s no time to worry about that right now. Just because the nukes are offline doesn’t make them unusable. We’ve gotta take this whole base down.”“But there’s only one place we could do that from.” Claus stated. “If there’s an ambush, it’d be there.”“Maybe everybody’s out on a mission?” Lloyd suggested.“Everybody knows War 101 is to keep your base guarded at all times.” Claus responded. “Plus, the doctor didn’t have enough vehicles for all of the pigmasks he collected to leave at once. Here, give me a moment.”With all the bombing, there’s no way Dr. Andonuts HADN’T taken notice that something was going on. Maybe Lucas knew something? Luckily, Claus could just psychically contact Lucas and ask!Wait.Why couldn’t he locate Lucas’ signal?Psychic communication was a lot like a radio. You sort of tuned into people’s frequencies to communicate with them, which was easier for some people than others. For example, Lucas could ONLY do it to Claus, and Locria could do it to anybody. Claus could typically do it for any psychic within a certain range, though it could be difficult sometimes. Finding Lucas, however, was almost effortless for Claus. They were twins, after all, and their powers were connected.But Claus couldn’t even pick up the smallest hint of Lucas’ signal.With widened eyes, Claus said “I need to go find Lucas. Now.”“But what about-” Lloyd protested.“Something’s up.” Claus said with certainty. “We’re being led into a trap. Our stealth is gone regardless, so… go get the military.” Claus instructed. “Bring them inside. They’ll deal with the ambush, then you can bring down the main power source. I’ll find Lucas, and we’ll meet up after that, okay?”“But I don’t know where-” Claus had already left quickly before Lloyd could finish saying “we even are…” Lloyd sighed. “And I’m lost.” he said to himself in realization. “I shoulda left some bread crumbs…”Claus flew off, tapping into his chimera-enhanced senses. Scanning with his mechanical eye, he began looking for Lucas’ biometrics. Sure enough, he located them. For some reason he was in one of the chimera storage rooms?Without thinking any further, Claus headed straight there as fast as he could manage. He prepared another bomb, and when he arrived, he bombed the door open. And that revealed Lucas crying in a cage.“Lucas!” Claus exclaimed, rushing over there. Aiming at the bars, Claus exclaimed “PK LOVE!”The bars broke apart easily at the extreme power, and Claus rushed over to hug his brother. “Hey, I’m here now.” he comforted. “I’m so sorry. I never should have thought that my stupid distraction idea would work.”“They’re gone.” Lucas whispered. “I’ll never be able to wake the dragon now.”“H-huh?” Claus got a proper look at his twin. Something about him felt off. Duller than normal. Drained. “Your powers!” Claus exclaimed in horror, somehow realizing immediately.Lucas held Claus tighter as he continued to sob.“Aww, how cute!” Another voice exclaimed. A female voice. “I had no idea you’d come here for him.” she laughed.Claus turned around to see Mana Mana standing in the doorway, just as she splashed a cup of water onto him. Claus went limp in Lucas’ arms, and electricity dispersed from him."You monster!" Lucas exclaimed. "You're so terrible!"“It wasn’t Ness’ idea to remove your PSI.” Mana said with a shrug.“Mana Mana!” Dr. Andonuts exclaimed. “Get me out of here!”“Can do~!” Mana responded with a smirk. “Ness and I aren’t partners now. After all,” she said pointedly. “Even after everything you’ve done, you still are anything but a weakling stinkling.”“Unlike me.” Ness said, coming in there after her, his eyes still glowing bright pink. Though Lucas was free from the cage he had been put in he was far too exhausted to do anything to fight Ness right now. Instead, he held on tightly to his brother.“Now look at the group we have in here!” Ness continued. “What a group of fallen heroes! The weakling stinkling who could never quite find his place in the world, Porky’s broken little slave robot kidnapped due to his own stupidity time and time again, and of course, the little sunflower trying desperately to survive in the cracks of the city street who can’t manage to keep even a single person he cares about alive.”Lucas glared at Ness. That was about all he could do, but he did it well.“You know, Lucas,” Ness said smugly, “I never did tell you about Kumatora.”“What about her?” Lucas asked.Mana Mana looked over to Ness. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” she whispered.“What can he do?” Ness responded. “He’s useless without his special ‘chosen power’.”Ness smirked at Lucas once again. “I wanted so badly to hide it from you for so long.” Ness told him. “I was so desperate for you to stay with me, but you! You were always so selfish! So committed to completing your adventure rather than going on ones with me! I thought that if I got rid of Kumatora somehow, I could keep you from ever remembering to finish your ultimate goal! So I called her up and told her you died, Lucas, and that all hope for the salvation of the Nowhere Islands was gone.”Lucas’ eyes widened. “How could you be so cruel??” he exclaimed.“Oh, you haven’t even heard the best part!” Ness responded with a smile. “When she knew you weren’t coming back, she decided there was no reason to hide anymore. She ran out right into the fray of battle and made her final stand. The pork phone even recorded a video of that little fiasco. Of course, she died. Quickly and ungracefully she was shot down.” Ness looked at Lucas. “Aww, I know that face. You’re realizing now what I had to realize when you abandoned me. You now know that there’s no such thing as a happy ending.”Lucas didn’t have any power of his own to fight with right now, nor did he have much strength due to his exhaustion. But he had adrenaline and a plan, and his brother in his arms.“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!” Lucas shouted, pulling his brother’s lightning sword out, knowing very well not to use it. He could see Ness’ Courage Badge still worn proudly on his unassuming striped shirt that once belonged to a hero. But he DID hold it in the air threateningly. It didn’t spark with lightning like it did when Claus typically used it, but it didn’t matter. The point had gotten across, and Ness got what Lucas was getting at.“Oh sweet, sweet, naive Lucas.” Ness said smugly. “I can kill you and bring you back as many times as I want. PK STARSTORM!”Lucas quickly stood up, now only able to move from adrenaline as he held Claus tightly. Claus somehow grabbed the sword back from Lucas, and Lucas made a break for it.After all, the starstorm merely reflected right off onto Ness and Mana Mana thanks to Ninten’s Powershield.Lucas was just running as fast and as far as he could manage. Even though he felt so drained before, he was reinvigorated by the sort of determination only a hero could feel. Despite losing so much, despite knowing that he could never get the happy ending he wanted, Lucas knew now that he had to protect what he had and take down the villain threatening to take things away from so many others.After getting a good distance, Lucas’ adrenaline began to wear off, and he realized just how heavy Claus was as he slowed down. Realizing this, Claus climbed right out of his arms.“Huh?” Lucas asked. “But you…”“Everything but my wings are waterproof now.” Claus reminded Lucas with a smirk. “So they’re the only broken part of me. Pretty neat trick I did with PK Thunder, right? It looked just like I was malfunctioning!”Lucas let out a sigh of relief. “I can’t believe I forgot that.” he said, feeling a little stupid now with how worried he was.“You did great.” Claus told Lucas. “That trick to get him to use PK Starstorm was perfect. Though it’s not going to stop him for long.”“So what do we do?” Lucas asked. “Do we do the plan as normal?”“We kind of have to.” Claus responded. “Ness seems REALLY unstable. If we leave him with the ability to nuke the entire planet, everyone’s kind of doomed.”“Yeah…” Lucas agreed. “Claus… what are we going to do? Even if we find a way to time travel… I can’t pull the needle anymore.”Claus gave his twin a smile. “We’ll figure it out, right? And, even if we can’t reset our world, at least we’re together.” Claus grabbed Lucas’ hand.“Together forever.” Lucas responded, squeezing Claus’ hand.“We can do this.” ~~~ The government REALLY should have supplied Lloyd with a communication device if they wanted to ‘help’ him and the others save Eagleland. As of right now, Lloyd was lost and helpless, with no psychic or military protection, so all he had was his air gun and his intelligence. Well, that and a specialized device that could hack anything, if only Lloyd knew what to hack.With no other choice Lloyd began to wander, looking for a clue of what he should do. The clue he found was certainly not one he expected.In one of the rooms he hacked into, there was a large machine, though Lloyd couldn’t really tell what was inside it despite the clear glass dome window in the center of it. It was cool, but not particularly helpful, so Lloyd began to walk away.
Wait!
Lloyd turned quickly to face it again. That voice and feeling… they were both familiar.
Llooooyd. Lloyd Andonuts.
“Uh… hello?”
Free me! Free me! Free me! Free me!
“...Giygas?”As soon as Lloyd uttered the name, his body was dragged through the air towards the machine once again.
Get me out of here.
Finally, Lloyd could get a proper look at what was inside the machine, though his mind couldn’t really process what he was seeing. It kind of looked like some sort of gaseous being, rippling and changing constantly. If Lloyd looked really carefully though, in the center of it all, he could see what he recognized to be Giygas.
I am better now. I am better now, see? He will destroy all the worlds, not just your own. You have to let me out. You have to let me out. You have to let me out.
Lloyd really wished Ninten was here right about now.“I-I can’t do that.” Lloyd stuttered out, his voice echoing despite their being no reason for it to.
I promise not to hurt anyone. Free me! Llooooooyd. Free me!
“I can’t!” Lloyd said a bit more firmly. “Let me go.” I will help you. Giygas promised. I will help you save your puny world. Just LET ME OUT! Lloyd took a deep breath. Giygas was getting a bit too fussy, it seemed. “Take a melo-”
Stop it now!
Lloyd was thrown against the wall by the psychic force that held him, then floated back to face the machine. His back took most of the blow, but luckily it wasn’t so harsh that it broke anything. It seemed his Powershield, as always, was useless in the case of Giygas. I am trying to help you here, do you not see that?? Giygas told him angrily, the force of the words almost hurting on impact. If he goes too far, there won’t be a place left in the galaxy safe for anyone. With that girl on his side that I so STUPIDLY resurrected, there is no stopping him. Do you not SEE THAT??? “What is Ness’ plan?” Lloyd asked, not believing that GIYGAS was the one he was accepting help from of all people.
Ness Ness Ness Ness Ness Ness Ness Ness Ness is crazy. The sanity of a psychic is fragile. That is why- that is why… The sanity of a hero is fragile, too! To believe so strongly in good and to experience something bad. I know it too well! The power of Magicant is within Ness now. That Love is a powerful force when weaponized. He did not know what he was capable of before, but that cursed statue can teach him now!
“That still doesn’t tell me his plan…”
He does not have one. He is just angry, and will destroy anything he deems ‘a problem’, which will certainly be the whole Earth one day! He is no better than me, you see!
When he realized he wasn’t going to get the outcome he wanted from Lloyd, Giygas asked Where is my human servant? I remember his role properly now that my memories have returned to me. Porky, as he goes by now. Where is he located? “Yeah, umm… he’s dead.” Lloyd admitted.
Dead? Impossible!
“Lucas did it.” Lloyd responded, almost awkwardly now. “Lucas is a psychic, too, with crazy healing powers. He-”
One of the two wielders of PK Love, correct?
Giygas couldn’t help but remember his time spent as ‘Ginten’ living in The Empire Porky Building v2. Despite the gaudy name, the place had been quite a comfortable place for him to live before he regained his memories and hatred of humanity. Even during that naive era, he hadn’t been able to help himself but to notice the extreme power held by Porky’s ‘toy’. Psychics being used as an asset due to their extreme power angered Giygas greatly, and he felt his power flare out just thinking about it, though it was still locked inside this wretched machine. He had seen that boy since then, accompanying the adult Lloyd Andonuts, but once again, the boy had been treated as nothing more than an object as the adult was using him as an assistant when trying to work with Giygas’ powers, being yet another human who wanted to replicate PSI in himself.Giygas knew that the wielders of PK Love must also be descendants of Maria, and thus, family members. And he also knew from mind reading that the boy from before was named ‘Claus’ and his twin’s name was, in fact, Lucas. And so-
I wish to meet this ‘Lucas’.
“We kind of have a planet to save right now.” Lloyd responded. “So now’s not the time for-”
So let me free. I will help you. I will help you. I will help you save everyone.

After all, with the world already in danger, what do you have to lose?
Lloyd’s eyes widened. He had a point…“If you start trying to hurt people, I’ll sing.” Lloyd threatened.
Let me out.
Lloyd sighed, knowing already that this was a bad idea. Then, he took out his hacking tool. “Don’t make me regret this.” he stated.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Pink eyes. Sincere smile.

“I’m so happy we got to spend so much time together…”
Giygas shook off the memory. He hated to admit it, but that adult Lloyd Andonuts had done him quite the favor manipulating his memories. It allowed him to remember the things he forgot. Happiness. Love. Maria.Giygas forced a scowl on his face when the younger, more controllable Lloyd finally freed him. Suddenly, Giygas had access to his full range of powers, and they surrounded him in a way that was certainly visible to even a human like Lloyd Andonuts. A concerned look fill Lloyd’s face, but Giygas managed to reign it in, preventing destruction to everything except the prison he had been kept inside. Now there was no recapturing him.He had more control now. He was still full of hatred like before, but remembering his past… the good parts of it, anyway… it allowed him to keep his sanity in check. He was still him, at the very least. So? Giygas asked. Where are the wielders of PK Love? “I already told you, I don’t know exactly!” Lloyd snapped back. “They’re not the concern, anyway! You’ll get to meet them when you get to meet them, but for now we need to find our way out of here so we can tell the government to shut off nukes for good!”Giygas gave Lloyd an annoyed look. If he had ANY sort of understanding what a ‘government’ or ‘nuke’ was, perhaps he could have come up with a comeback, or even a way to do it faster so he could get what he wanted faster, but he didn’t so he didn’t say a word.“Do you, uhh… know your way out of here?” Lloyd then asked.Giygas glared.“I’ll take that as a no. Well, let’s go exploring!” Lloyd said with a fake enthusiasm, still not sure if he made the right choice or not by freeing Giygas. ~~~ “So this is the main power of the base.” Claus tried to explain, referencing a lot of complex looking machinery. “It’s not the ONLY power source of the base, but the non-essential technology is connected only to the main power grid. There’s a chance the nukes are some of those ‘non-essentials’, and taking this down will be enough, though we still have to take the others down just in case.”Lucas nodded along, having no idea what his older brother was talking about. It sure sounded important, though!“And you are SO lost.” Claus laughed. “Just back up.”Lucas did, and Claus took out yet another bomb, and prepared to throw it.“Be ready to run.” Claus warned. “When we take this thing down, they’re going to know where we are.”“Where are we running to?” Lucas asked.“I’ll show you.” Claus responded. “I needed to stop by there, anyway, and it’ll be a place they won’t expect.”Claus took a few steps backwards, then activated and threw the bomb. He took off running and Lucas followed as closely as he could as they weaved in and out of corridors to a room quite far away. After a few moments, the lights in the place dimmed, signifying they were running off backup power now. Finally, the twins arrived at their destination, and Claus opened the mechanical door that luckily still worked.“A bedroom?” Lucas asked, looking around at the cold metal room that matched the decor of everywhere else in the awful place. The only thing designating it as a ‘bedroom’ was the platform-like bed in it.“MY bedroom.” Claus specified. “The doctor didn’t really get the memo that this isn’t really my style, I guess. It’s a lot more like the one I had back in New Pork.”When Claus saw Lucas’ gaze fall, he said “Hey, don’t look so upset! I’m free now, remember?”“I just wish it didn’t take so long…” Lucas responded.“Who cares?” Claus said, waving it off. “I’ve got eternity to enjoy freedom for!”“So why did we come in here?” Lucas asked.“I needed to grab something.” Claus explained, opening his closet and reaching into the very back of it. Sure enough, it was there. Luckily even the Commander could recognize the importance of the item and stash it away safely.“I’m not sure you want to hear this.” Claus said. “But right before dad… was murdered,” Claus didn’t choose to use any word lighter than ‘murdered’, feeling it would betray the tragedy of the event, “he gave me something. Something really important.”Claus pulled out the cowboy hat that his father had been wearing in even Claus’ earliest memories.“I wanted to make sure I got a chance to come back for it.” Claus admitted.Lucas began crying all over again. Still, he forced a smile. “He was always putting it on your head.” Lucas tried to joke. “Though it never did quite fit you.”“Still doesn’t.” Claus responded with a melancholy smile. “But, even still-”Claus put the hat on, adjusting it the same way he always did to keep it out of his eyes.“I’m glad to have one last memento.”Seeing Claus like that, Lucas couldn’t help but to sob more uncontrollably.“I know.” Claus said. “But I made him a promise - I promised to live my life to the fullest, and I intend on doing so. That’s why Lucas - no matter what happens…” Claus gave a huge smile. “I’m just so happy to be alive!” he exclaimed in a surprisingly cheerful tone.“Me too.” Lucas agreed through his tears. “No matter how this ends… we’ll make them both proud.” ~~~Lloyd gasped in excitement. “Look at all of these computers! Think of all the knowledge there could be on these!” There are more important things we should be focusing on. Giygas reminded him.“I’ll only be a moment.” Lloyd told him, using the floppy disk equivalent feature on the multi hacking tool to try to download some good information.
Stupid human.
Annoyed, Giygas floated away from Lloyd. He should’ve expected a human couldn’t take something like this seriously, despite his own protests that it was.After a little exploring, Giygas heard the voices of his enemies plotting.“The power hasn’t gone down.” Mana’s voice complained. “They have no idea what they’re doing.”“You think I’m afraid of a cyborg and a crybaby?” Ness’ voice asked in return. “Even if they take down the power, what can they really do to us?”Giygas got closer, careful to stay out of sight.“I know exactly what they could do.” Mana responded. “But it’s definitely good!”Ness sighed. “You said there’s a Plan B?”“Not at all.” Mana responded mischievously. “To get to it, though, we WON’T be going to the Cave of the Present.”“The Cave of the Present, huh?” Ness asked. “Alright, let’s get outside. I’ll teleport us there!”Oh, little Ness Montague thought he could just teleport away, huh? Well, Giygas happened to know of the exact Plan B that Mana was referring to, and he was NOT going to let it happen! If Ness’ plan was to teleport, Giygas intended to stop him!Giygas was a very powerful, extremely untrained psychic. This meant his PSI was always based solely on his emotions, and he himself didn’t know how to control it when he got angry. Hence why he had machines built for that very purpose before.But untamed like this…Giygas threw his arms out, floating upwards as a powerful aura surrounded him. He would NOT let Ness and Mana Mana win. No matter what it took. Pure rage coursing through him, Giygas cast a PSI he didn’t know he was capable of.
PK Braincyclone 𝚿
Screaming. Giygas heard loud screaming. Though the consequences of his actions were just now dawning on him as a shockwave went off.Somehow, his little temper tantrum managed to stop allowing any PSI at all to work, even his own.Giygas fell to the ground, now no longer able to float. Not really accustomed to walking, either, he guessed his only remaining choice was to use his arms and legs in tandem to do what humans call ‘crawling’.Giygas was not amused.He quickly crawled his way back towards Lloyd looking much like an angry cat. He was going to communicate, but…How does one actually talk again?“Giygas?” Lloyd asked, now packing supplies into a big wooden crate he had found. “What are you doing?”Giygas needed to respond, but…He had to look back into his memories to remember something that seemed so useless for so long.“Cuh” he managed.He made the sound the letter C makes.“Umm…?” Lloyd gave him a concerned look. “Are you… okay?”“Ay. Vuh.”“Cuh-ay-vuh?” Lloyd asked. “Cave?”Giygas did what humans call ‘nodding’.“Why are you saying it so weirdly?” Lloyd asked. Lloyd REALLY REALLY wished Ninten had come in with him.Giygas gave an annoyed look. Why didn’t he pay better attention back when George tried to teach him how to speak out loud as a child? Giygas had thought he would NEVER have an opportunity to use the skill, despite George’s protests that it would be interesting if he could. Giygas hated any opportunity he had to admit to himself that George had been right about something, and the pure anger he felt right now would be wreaking havoc on his surroundings if Giygas hadn’t just deactivated his own PSI along with everybody else’s.“Okay, umm… why don’t we try to get back to finding our way to the government?” Lloyd suggested, grabbing his crate.“Cuh-ay-vuh! Cuh-ay-vuh!”“Right…” Lloyd said. “Let’s get going.” ~~~Claus and Lucas had been hiding in Claus’ room to allow time for Mana Mana and Ness to not know where they were or when they were coming to get the next power supply. In this time, Lucas had removed the colored contacts he hated so much, though there wasn’t much he could do about the heavy militaristic clothes he was wearing at the moment.All of a sudden though, Lucas watched Claus grab his head and start screaming. Any other time, Lucas would try to heal him, but now he couldn’t, so he simply hugged him, trying to figure out what was wrong. After a few moments, though, Claus calmed down.“What happened?” Lucas asked.“Didn’t you feel that?” Claus responded. “It was like a huge shockwave!”“No.” Lucas replied. “Are you okay?”“Yeah, I think so…” Claus assured him. “But… I think my PSI is… temporarily shut off?”“It’s not permanent, right?” Lucas asked with concern in his now dull blue eyes.“No.” Claus responded, shaking his head. “I can still feel it present, just… it’s like I can’t focus correctly to use it.”“I think that happened to me earlier, too.” Lucas told him. “Maybe we should go get the government’s help. I know you still have your canon and sword and all that, but your PSI is your biggest defense. And with me completely useless…”“Hey, you’re not useless.” Claus told him. “You got us away from them in the first place, remember?”“Yeah, but only thanks to Ninten’s Powershield…”“And YOUR intelligence!” Claus added. “But you’re right. It’d be safer to get some support now that stealth’s gone, anyway. Who knows what the plan involving my powers being disabled involves?”The two twins left the room behind them, and Claus led the way towards the exit, along the way, they found Lloyd with… something crawling alongside him.“What is…?” Claus asked, then looked closer. “Oh my pork!”“What?” Lucas asked.“Th-that’s…” Claus took several steps back, quite disturbed by the sight of the creature. However, the normal terrible feeling he got from all of Giygas’ bad thoughts didn’t affect him when he didn’t have access to his PSI. Still, Giygas creeped him out.“Lucas, Claus!” Lloyd exclaimed. “I’m so happy to have found you!”“We need to get out of here.” Lucas told Lloyd. “Ness and Mana Mana are after us.”“Ness is?” Lloyd asked. “He’s here?”“We’ll talk while we’re out there.” Claus said, wanting to rush things along. “Let’s go. This way.”Without checking to make sure the others were following, Claus rushed down the corridors, leading the way out as quickly as he could manage.Finally, they made their way to the doors, and nobody stopped them from getting outside, surprisingly. What happened to the pigmasks, Claus wondered. Did Ness slaughter them all? While the pigmasks were on an opposing side, of course, some of those pigmasks had been quite kind to Claus in the past. The closest things to friends he could have as the Commander. Now… every last one of them who had come to this time were dead. All those people who he knew for years. Likely mass murdered all at once without a single thought.Well, that’s war for you.The wind and snow outside was once again unbearable. Not actually strong enough to keep himself in place, the light-weight Giygas began to be swept away by the wind. Lucas was quick to grab him. “I got you!” Lucas assured Giygas. “Wait, what are you?” he asked. “You’re adorable!”“I wouldn’t call him that if I were you!” Lloyd called over the sound of wind. “He’s REALLY dangerous!”“Something that looks as cute as him?” Lucas shouted back. “No way!”The group pressed forward, struggling to move, but the military saw them trying and escorted them to a safety shelter while others rushed inside the base. As soon the group of kids (plus Giygas) started entering, Ninten, who had already been in that shelter, said “So I assume you guys were also affected by-” he cut himself off upon seeing Giygas, who simply stared back. The two stared at each other for like a full minute, unblinking.“What’s going on?” Lucas asked.“Their relationship is… complicated.” Lloyd explained. “And that’s kind of the most evil being in the universe you just picked up and called adorable.”“The MOST evil being was Porky, before he turned good.” Lucas protested.“Where do you think he learned it from?” Claus asked drily.“H-huh?”In Lucas’ surprise, he accidentally dropped Giygas, who skittered around to face him. “Wuh-err-thuh-luh-ess!”All of a sudden, Ninten started laughing uncontrollably. “You don’t know how to speak, do you??” he managed to say within the laughter.Giygas turned to glare at Ninten.“You can’t walk either, can you?” Ninten asked. He walked over and picked Giygas up, who just looked like a large plushie in Ninten’s hands. “You’re really quite pathetic without your PSI, you know that?” Ninten asked, but it wasn’t aggressive. He said it more… brotherly than that. The way Claus might tease Lucas.“We’re both Maria’s children.” Ninten said a bit more seriously. “And something tells me you wouldn’t have stuck around with Lloyd if there wasn’t a part of you that wanted to protect this planet, would you have? You could’ve left the second he freed you from… whatever it was that was keeping you here, right? But you didn’t. Since you’re not a threat right now anyway, I’ve decided to trust you, for now.” Ninten stated. “Don’t make me regret that.”“Ninten!” Lloyd exclaimed. “Isn’t that a little quick?”“If he wanted to destroy the world, he would’ve started with destroying you.” Ninten stated plainly. “Unless he had already lost access to his PSI before you found him?”“No.” Lloyd answered. “But-”“Then it’s settled.” Ninten smiled. “It’s just a pollyanna sort of day, huh?”“How can you say that?” Lucas asked. “Things are going horribly!”“Our PSI will come back.” Ninten said without concern.“Not mine…” Lucas responded sadly.“Huh?”“Ness got rid of his powers for good.” Claus explained.Ninten’s eyes widened. “Th-that’s possible?”Lucas nodded, trying not to cry all over again, and Ninten stared in horror.Giygas was horrified too, and a moment of silence passed due to the terrifying nature of what losing your psychic powers would be like, especially for people who relied on them as much as Giygas or even Ninten did. However, they had to get a move on.“Cuh-ay-vuh!” Giygas finally exclaimed.“What?” Ninten asked.“He keeps doing that.” Lloyd told Ninten. “I don’t know why.”“Cave?” Ninten asked. “Look, Lucas just lost his PSI and you’re worried about a cave?”“Cuh-ay-vuh purr-eh-ss-eh-tuh.”“Whatever he’s talking about, it must be important.” Ninten stated.“Cave purr-eh…” Claus sounded out. “Purr-ehsent? Present?”Giygas looked to Claus and nodded. This was a weird sight to Claus. He was used to the awful feeling around Giygas, but he guessed before then he had just been the childish and helpful Ginten. Even if that was from a lack of memories, Ginten was still a part of Giygas just like the Commander was still a part of Claus. That sort of thing never really went away completely.“Cave Present.” Claus said fully. Where had he heard of that before? Lost in thought, he found himself fidgeting with the friendship bracelet Porky had given him.Wait, Porky. That’s where he heard about Cave Present! But Porky would rant about the strangest things to Claus all the time, so Claus couldn’t remember ANY of the context. Instead, he’d have to try to get the answer from the ultimate being who didn’t know how to communicate.“Has Porky ever been to this Cave Present?”Giygas nodded and bit more fervently.“So it’s a place?”Nod.“And we need to go there?”Intense nod.“Because… there’s something we need there?”Giygas shook his head, looking annoyed that Claus got off the right track.Ninten spoke up. “Because something there is causing PSI not to work?”An even more annoyed head shake.“Because there’s something dangerous there!” Lloyd suggested with full confidence.Giygas thought for a second, then nodded AND shook his head.“You’re on the right track.” Ninten translated.“Because something dangerous is GOING to be there?” Lucas tried. “Like Ness?”Giygas nodded EXTREMELY intensely now.“But where’s Cave Present?” Claus asked. “And why does Ness want to get there?”“Hold on, I have an idea.” Lloyd said.Lloyd went to the crate of things he had plundered from the base, and pulled out a notebook and a pen. He flipped to an empty page. “Ninten, could you place Giygas down for a moment?”Ninten did, and Lloyd placed the notebook and pen down on the ground in front of him. “Okay Giygas, now you can DRAW what you’re trying to tell us!”Giygas struggled a little to draw a diagram, and he really wasn’t good at writing in English (or any language, really), but he managed to get his point across.

Ninten was trying so hard not to laugh at the amateur art project. “Well I think this speaks for itself!” he joked.A bit more concerned, Claus said “They plan to escape the planet?”“And destroy the universe?” Lloyd asked.“Or is it that they aren’t PLANNING to destroy the universe, just that they probably WILL eventually?” Lucas added.Having settled down, Ninten said “Whatever the case, we can’t let them do that. We need to figure out where this cave is so we can beat them to it!”“Unless…” Lloyd said.“Unless what?” Ninten asked.“Well, it’s just that I still don’t know about just following everything Giygas says. If there really IS a UFO there, maybe he just wants us to bring it to him so he can leave.”“Maybe,” Ninten shrugged, “but if his biggest evil plan is to leave, then that’s not really going to hurt anyone. Plus, I still think he would’ve killed you earlier if he was being evil. He’s too impulsive to plan for a long con.”“If he IS tricking us, it WOULD hurt us.” Claus clarified. “If he’s lying, and Ness isn’t going there, then we’re going to waste a whole bunch of time on helping him escape the very planet we’ve been trying to protect!”Giygas glared annoyedly at the humans bickering. There wasn’t time for such nonsense! Ninten got it! Ninten always got it! If these other useless beings we’re going to be the hero-type they always flaunted themselves as, then Giygas was more than happy to forget all of them and just go off with Ninten.After all, maybe… maybe after stopping Ness, Ninten would finally agree to go with Giygas, and they could take that UFO and get off this puny planet together.With no other method of communication, Giygas stared Ninten down, hoping he’d understand.Ninten stared back at Giygas, and Giygas suddenly understood. Ninten WANTED to be optimistic, but it was hard. It’s hard to trust others, no matter how much you want to. Ninten wasn’t actually as certain in his defense of Giygas as he claimed.“Nin-ten.” Giygas managed to say fairly easily compared to other words. “I re-meh-brr Maria.”Ninten stared at Giygas for a little longer, before saying “I want to believe in second chances.” this time he was speaking honestly, not just putting on fronts. “And I know if things keep up like this, the weather will only get worse and we’ll never see the morning sun shine again. If Giygas remembers Maria, well… I believe in the wonders love can do, so… Giygas, even after all of this time, that’s why I believe in you.”The others looked to Ninten when he said this, and it inspired another to speak up.“Claus, I may not know what Giygas did, but… when someone realizes they’ve done something wrong, it’s important to forgive them. Mom said. That’s why I helped Porky. Did Giygas ever actually do anything to hurt you in particular, or are you just worried about what you’ve heard about him doing in the past?”“I…” Claus looked to the ground. “Actually, he’s always been fairly nice. Before he remembered who he was, he used to follow me around sometimes, trying to cheer me up when I was the Commander. He even used to ask me to read him bedtime stories sometimes. He’s… just a kid. At least, he was when he forgot all the awful things that happened to him.”Giygas picked something up and hurled it at Claus, who caught it easily. “Nice try.” Claus smirked. He knew it was a bit deeper now that Giygas remembered everything, because Claus knew so much more about Giygas’ past than he wished he ever had to, but Claus also knew how hard it was to move forward after being manipulated like that. He wanted Giygas to get a chance to be happy again.“I’m still not buying it.” Lloyd asserted. “I know I might’ve had a lapse in judgment earlier by freeing him, but he’s pure evil! He tried to take over the world!”“Just like Ness tried to save it?” Ninten asked.Lloyd let out an annoyed sound. Still, he respected Ninten’s opinion over anybody’s. “Okay… if you think we should go to this ‘Cave Present’ place, I’ll go with you, but the second things look bad I’m stepping in.”“Fine.” Ninten said. “Now we just have to figure out where we’re going.”Lloyd thought about the name ‘Cave Present’. Didn’t Ness say something about something like that before?That’s when Lloyd finally remembered.“The Cave OF THE Present!” he exclaimed.“Right!” Claus agreed. “THAT’S the name of the place Porky would blabber on about sometimes! That and the Cave of the Past.”“Ness brought up the Cave of the Present once.” Lloyd said. “When we went to the Lost Underworld. Do you remember, Lucas?”“I wasn’t really paying much attention at the time.” Lucas admitted. “I was too distracted by the dinosaurs. And the fact that he wouldn’t let me talk to Kumatora, which I guess I finally have my answer for.”“Well, he did bring it up.” Lloyd insisted. “He said that we were headed towards the Cave of the Present, where he once fought Giygas as a robot. Too bad he never showed us where it was in the Lost Underworld. That place is huge!” Lloyd looked to Claus. “Think really hard. Did Porky ever tell you how to get there?”“No,” Claus told him, “but Porky got there due to Dr. Andonuts’ machine. I bet Dr. Andonuts would know how to get there!”As if in response to Claus’ thought, a large explosion sounded, and the ground shook heavily. When it finally stopped, Claus peeked his head out of the tent. “Holy Pork!” he exclaimed.“What?” Lucas asked, running over to check what happened, too.“They blew up the entire base!” Claus informed the others. “And since Dr. Andonuts was locked in a cage…”Lloyd’s eyes widened, the effects of time travel truly showing themselves to him now. Had he not been brought to this time, that would’ve been HIS fate. Blown up in an evil base of his own design with nobody around to mourn his loss.“It’s crazy, right?” Ninten asked, recognizing the expression on Lloyd’s face. “How far a hero can fall?”“That would’ve been me…” Lloyd lamented.“I know.” Ninten assured him. “But it’s not. We’ve been given a chance to see how we would’ve done things wrong, and we get to fix that about ourselves. Something most people only dream of getting to do.”“I’m not going to be like that.” Lloyd told him. “I can’t be.”“And I’m not going to be an awful person who abandons my family to play government by coming up with my own definition of ‘justice’ and upholding everyone to that standard.” Ninten responded. “Although, I kind of like the idea of joining the REAL government. After all, they’re the people with all the information and the means to save the world. And they’re the kind of people who understand things the same way I do - sometimes you have to do something bad in order to protect the big picture. But I’m going to make sure that I still put my family first, unlike the other me did.”“Family.” Lloyd mused. “I hope my parents are okay, and not too worried about me. Speaking of, I kind of want to tell you about something I’ve been working on. I hope you don’t think it’s too ‘mad scientist’ of me, though.”“Lloyd, I already think you’re a mad scientist.” Ninten joked. “But that’s not a bad thing. What is it?”“Well… I kind of want to learn how to… create life. Like, scientifically create a human being. I’ve been researching it, and it actually doesn’t seem too hard!”“Wait…” Ninten said. “You want to be a father?”“Huh?” Lloyd asked. “Is that what that would make me?”“Yeah!” Ninten exclaimed. “No matter how you do it, if you bring a human child into the world, you’d be their father!” Instead of saying it was a bad idea, or Lloyd wasn’t fit to be a father though, Ninten just smiled. “Maybe your kid could grow up alongside Ness. They could be friends! Like us!”“Hold on,” Claus interrupted, “Ninten, you’re brilliant!”“Of course I am.” Ninten responded pridefully. “But what led to you to saying so?”“Because Lloyd Andonuts DOES have a son who was friends with Ness! And he certainly knows where the Cave of the Present was!”“Jeff!” Lloyd exclaimed. “Oh. Right. I guess that must be the kid I’m working on now.”“I’ll call him!” Claus said, pulling out his pork phone.“No!” Lucas screamed, grabbing Claus’ phone and throwing it outside.“What the pork, Lucas?”“Ness can hear everything through those things.” Lucas warned. “Any calls are recorded, and anything outside of a call can still be listened in on. You can’t keep using that.”“Wait, really?” Claus asked. “Oh. Then how do I contact him?”Ninten smiled. “A government radio!” he said excitedly. “Look, over here! Despite the fact there’s better technology out there here in the 1990s, the government still utilizes radio communication, since it can be easier in most cases than relying on telephone lines. They’ve told me all sorts of cool information about behind-the-scenes stuff like that since my other self’s dad actually still works alongside the government. The government is SO AMAZING!”“You really DO want to join the real government.” Lloyd commented.“Here,” Ninten said,  changing the frequency on the radio after checking a piece of paper, “push that button to talk.” Ninten instructed Claus.“Alright…” Claus pushed the button and the primitive technology. “Jeff, are you there?”After a few moments, through a slightly staticy filter, Jeff said “I’m here!”“It’s Claus.” Claus stated. “I need to ask you something very important - do you happen to know how we might get to the Cave of the Present?”“I do,” Jeff told him, “but why?”“Because that’s where Ness and Mana Mana are headed, possibly to try to escape Earth on a UFO and destroy the world. We need to get there first so we can stop them.”“It’s in a place called the Lost Underworld.” Jeff instructed him. “But getting there isn’t easy. You have to go to the Deep Darkness, which you need the Hawk Eye to see through, then you need to go through the shy Tenda Village in order to go through a whole cave system that will lead you to the Lost Underworld, where you’ll have to get past all the dinosaurs to get there.”“Okay, where’s the Hawk Eye?” Claus asked.“I’m pretty sure Ness gave it to Escargo Express? But they’re SERIOUS about who can access stored stuff. You’d need someone who looks EXACTLY like Ness if you wanted to get it.”Claus looked at Ninten. “I think we can handle that.”“That being said, they probably won’t deliver in this weather. If you go to their main location in the city of Boxing Day you they might let the Ness look-alike get it directly.”“And where’s Boxing Day?” Claus asked.“Up North. Shouldn’t be too far from Snowman, actually. Is there a map where you are?”Claus looked to Ninten. “Is there?”“Let me look.” Ninten said, opening the small filing cabinet of survival supplies that the radio sat on. “Yes! And here is it!”Ninten pulled out the map, and located Snowman. Then, he found Boxing Day. “Looks like it’ll take a few hours on train.” he commented.“Okay, after we get it, how do we get to The Deep Darkness?” Claus asked.“Your best bet is to take a boat from Summers to Scaraba and then take a submarine to the Deep Darkness.” Jeff responded.“Submarine?!” Claus explained. “Where are we supposed to get that?”“Well there’s no way anything that can fly can do so in this weather.” Jeff informed Claus. “So you’re going to have to find another way, be it a submarine or other sort of vehicle.”The idea of flying caused Claus to irritatedly think of his wings that were still shorted out. He should be thankful that his power source was protected by a more waterproof method, but it didn't stop him from being angry. Instead he asked “Not even government vehicles can handle this weather?”“Not in the air.” Jeff answered. “You might be able to use them slowly on the ground, though.”Claus let out an annoyed sound. Of COURSE it couldn’t be as easy as flying everywhere. Still, he said “Thanks, Jeff. I’ll contact you via radio if we need anything else. But before I go, there’s something you should know.”“Yes?”“Honestly, I’m not sure how you’ll feel, but…” Claus didn't want to be the one to break the news, but Jeff deserved to know. “Your father died. He was blown up with the rest of his base, with no means of escape.”There was a pause. Finally, factually, Jeff stated “I see.”“I wish you two had a chance to work things out before the end.”“...me too.” Jeff responded. “You knew him well… did he ever bring me up?”Claus went silent. A kinder individual would lie. Jeff would never know, after all. But when it came to such important matters, to Claus it always felt disrespectful to people to lie or even fluff-up such important things with pretty words, so he was as blunt as he always was in these sorts of situations.“No.” Claus told him honestly. “I was only vaguely aware he HAD a son, but he never said much about you and I didn't care enough to ask back then. I’m sorry, Jeff.”“Right then.” Jeff responded. “I’ll be by the radio if you need me.”With that, the radio went silent.Lucas asked “Couldn’t you have eased him into that a bit more?”“How? ‘Good news, Jeff! Your father’s base blew up! The bad news is that he was inside!’” Claus said overly cheerfully. “Like that?”“No, but-!” Lucas didn't finish his sentence, just looking unhappy.“We should get going.” Ninten interjected. “Because now we have a race ahead of us - a race to The Cave of the Present.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The vehicle was slow.

Claus was used to fast, flashy vehicles. The kind of vehicles that called out ‘Hey, look at me! Oops, too late!’. Even when he was the Commander, there was a part of him deep down that reveled in the speed and power of a porkship or porkbean. They were fun, even if he didn't know what that sensation meant at the time.

But this?

This was boring.

It was all Claus could do to keep his attention in front of him and not let his mind drift off as he drove the SLOW all-terrain all-weather military vehicle through the very VERY heavy snowstorm that was nearly impossible to walk through. It was important to get to the train station as quickly as possible but with the wind resistance this stupid thing wouldn’t move any pork darn faster!!!

Meanwhile, outside of the passenger section, the others all waited around nervously. There was no planning they could do, nothing important they could say, so they all had to preoccupy themselves with other things. For Lloyd that was looking over blueprints he stole, for Lucas it was pondering his lack of a future, and for Giygas it was curiously watching Ninten try over and over to bend a spoon with his mind despite PSI being impossible world-wide right now.

Eventually fed up, Ninten threw the spoon and it just barely missed Lucas.

“Hey!” Lucas exclaimed.

“Some race.” Ninten lamented. “You know, I promised Ana I’d stay out of trouble, and here I am, getting into trouble. My kid hasn’t even been born yet and I’m already terrible at putting his needs first.”

Giygas narrowed his eyes at Ninten. “Sa-ay-vuh world, sa-ay-vuh fu-ter. Help nuh-oo Ness.”

“He’s right.” Lucas agreed. “If the universe gets destroyed, your Ness will go with it. Especially since it doesn’t seem like going back to your timeline is possible anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Ninten asked.

“Well, with Dr. Andonuts dead, and all of the equipment he had destroyed, we’re stranded here.” Lucas explained.

“Then Lloyd will figure it out.” Ninten brushed off a bit too easily, not wanting to dwell on the thought. “But what about you? When all this is over, where will you go?”

“I don’t know.” Lucas responded bitterly. “It seems like anyplace I go always ends up getting destroyed. Even if I could get back to my own time, everyone there is doomed anyway.”

“You’re welcome to go back with us.” Ninten suggested. “The timeline Lloyd and I are from hasn’t been destroyed yet, and we know everyone who has the potential to become a villain and how to stop them. Even if it’s not your islands, I think you and Claus would do well with a do-over.”

“I’ll have to think about it.” Lucas responded sadly. “It’s not like I have any other home to go back to.”

Suddenly, the vehicle stopped, and the door the the driver’s cabin flew open.

“We’re here!!” Claus exclaimed in delight. “We’re finally here!”

“Now we just have to walk inside.” Ninten said in annoyance, picking up Giygas. Ninten then held Giygas close to his torso, zipping his heavy jacket around him. Giygas didn't look pleased, but at least he’d be safe and warm.

Lloyd hefted up his large crate of supplies, and Lucas asked “Do you really need all of that?”

“Just for a bit longer.” Lloyd whispered in a hushed tone for only Lucas to hear. “I found something I think your brother will really like. I plan on giving it to him on the train.”

“You’ve been carrying that around for Claus’ sake?” Lucas asked, feeling a warm feeling in his heart. “Let me help you.”

Lucas picked it up with a lot more ease than Lloyd had managed. With a big smile, Lucas followed the rest now as they trudged through the snow, barely able to keep their footing. Claus had a tight grip on his father’s hat, and Giygas was holding onto Ninten quite tightly in what one might describe as a hug. Ninten was too preoccupied trying not to get blown away with the wind to notice, though.

Claus was the first to make it to the door, though it took his chimera strength to get it open. As soon as he DID open it, however, the wind assured it would stay that way.

The group was happy to finally make it into the train station. So happy, in fact, that it took them a few minutes to realize that they were the ONLY ones there. It dawned on Lloyd first.

“Guys?”

“Yeah?”

“What made us think the trains would actually be running in this weather?”

Ninten face palmed. “Of course they’re not.”

While the others spoke about this, Claus’ eyes were drawn to the happy box that had been left on when this place was evacuated.

“And as of 8 am this morning it has indeed been confirmed that the strange flying object that has crashed onto the ground in Chomo was, indeed, a city on a pink cloud.” A woman dressed in a suit holding a microphone stated. “And while it does seem to match the description of the hypothetical city some may call Dalaam quite closely, we have no reason to suspect that anybody ON this aircraft had any sort of magical powers, psychic or otherwise. After all, there is no such thing as psychics. With the increase in wind speeds world-wide and the terrible weather that comes with that, we are under the assumption that the city was just the technological creation of a rich person with far too much of an obsession for fairytales. Unfortunately, however, it does not seem like there were any survivors. Now back to you Gerald, for the weather.”

Claus looked to the others. “What's Dalaam?” he asked.

“Dalaam?” Ninten repeated. “I read about that in my Great Grandfather’s journal. Apparently he once gave PSI to a man and managed to cause a whole religion because of it. Even managed to somehow create a floating city. I tried to research it more but most people call it ‘just a fairytale’, with those who believe in it being considered conspiracy theorists. Guess it was still around though. Was being the key word.”

“Well, no time to worry about that.” Lloyd said. “We need to figure out how to get to Boxing Day!”

“The trains are still HERE, right?” Ninten asked. “Do you think you and Claus could figure out how to get it to run?”

“Maybe?” Lloyd responded. “Trains aren’t really my thing…”

“And the technology here is pretty antiquated.” Claus added.

“But it’s still our best way to Boxing Day.” Ninten insisted. Then, he remembered the role of a support psychic. Even without his PSI, he could still fulfill that role. Ninten gave a big smile.

“I know it’s not going to be easy,” Ninten said sympathetically, “but I know you two can do it! Please, for the fate of the universe, could you please try?”

“When you put it like that…” Claus responded.

“You know what, Ninten’s right!” Lloyd declared. “For the fate of the universe, we got this! We’re… we’re… the Galactic Defense Force!! Warriors of the Universe! And we can do anything!”

“That’s the spirit!” Ninten reinforced.

And so the group ran over to where the train ran between Snowman and Boxing Day. It wasn’t a big train station, so it wasn’t hard to find.

The group rushed up to the conductor’s cabin, where Claus started using his mechanical eye to scan everything to try to figure out what did what.

“I need to upgrade my eyes to do that…” Lloyd lamented.

“You’d need to upgrade your brain to be able to process it while you’re at it.” Claus stated half-heartedly, still focusing on scanning. “Ah-hah! There! That’s how you start it!”

Giygas looked over to where Claus was pointing, and climbed off of Ninten and to the conductor’s seat.

“What are you doing?” Ninten asked.

“Space shuh-eh-puh.”

“Spaceship?” Ninten asked.

“Oh!” Lloyd exclaimed. “It’s like driving a spaceship!”

“Do you know how to do this, then?” Claus asked.

Giygas gave a nod.

“What if he doesn’t actually take us to Boxing Day?” Lloyd asked.

“It’s a train, Lloyd.” Ninten reminded him. “It can only go one way.”

“May he’ll try to get in a train wreck.”

“LLOYD!” Ninten exclaimed. “If he wanted us dead he would’ve killed us already!”

After some consideration, Lloyd said “If you’re sure…” and let it go. “Well if Giygas is driving, I guess you’re available, Claus?”

“...yeah?” Claus responded. “What for?”

“Well, your wings broke.” Lloyd said bluntly.

“They’re dry now.” Claus sighed. “I’m a little hesitant to try to use them again, though. If they somehow glitch my power supply, well…” Claus trailed off.

“You don’t need to bother, really.” Lloyd said somewhat smugly.

“Huh?” Claus responded. “Why not?”

“Because why test your luck with THOSE wings when you could have…” Lloyd pulled something out of the big crate he had been carrying around. “THESE!”

Lloyd held up a very fancy looking wing. It was similar to Claus’ current pair, but much higher quality. Fancier. Grander. If someone with those wings were to fly above somebody quickly, that person might very well believe a dragon just passed by.

“My upgraded wings!!” Claus exclaimed.

“Luckily, the adult me made a spare pair. I have the blueprint, but the design looks REALLY complicated, so maybe try to keep this pair safe?”

Claus rushed over and pulled Lloyd into one of his nearly-suffocating hugs. “Thank you!” Claus exclaimed.

And so the group split across the cars. Giygas stayed up front, Claus went with Lloyd, and Lucas and Ninten went into one of the basic seating cars. Lucas silently stared at the window for a few minutes before Ninten asked “So… what are you thinking about?”

“Huh?”

“It’s weird not knowing what everybody is thinking at any given time.” Ninten explained. “And I don’t know you well enough to read your expression, so-”

“I’d rather not talk about what I’m thinking right now, actually.” Lucas said, turning his gaze back to the snowstorm.

“Do you want to play poker?” Ninten asked.

“What?” Lucas responded. “What’s poker?

“I’ll teach you.”  Ninten promised, pulling a box of cards from the side pocket of one of the seats. “I’m quite good at it, but it really isn’t any fun for me. I can never help but cheat.”

Ninten tore up a piece of paper into a lot of little pieces, and gave Lucas half.

“These will be what we gamble with. First to run out loses.” Ninten declared.
 
~~~
 
“You suck at poker.” Ninten informed Lucas just as the train was stopping.

“I can’t help it!” Lucas exclaimed. “I’m a terrible liar!”

“Well I certainly know THAT’S not a lie...” Ninten agreed. “If the train stopped I guess that means we’re in Boxing Day. Hopefully Lloyd’s finished with Claus by now.”

As if on cue, Lloyd walked in, followed by a very smiley Claus. Then Claus unfurled his new wings dramatically, clearly quite proud of them.

“Aren’t they perfect?” Claus asked. “It’s a shame there’s no way I can fly in a storm like this. Maybe when we get to Summers.”

“I’m just glad you’re fully waterproof now.” Lucas said. “And that you don’t have lesser wings because of something I did.”

“I told you not to feel bad about that.” Claus insisted. “If you hadn’t done that, I would’ve been in that base when Ness infiltrated it. Who knows what would’ve happened to me?”

“Guys, this is touching and all,” Ninten interrupted, “but if we don’t get moving, Ness is going to infiltrate the universe. Then who knows what will happen to any of us?”

“Riiiiight.” Claus agreed. “Let’s go get Giygas and get moving.”

As the group walked towards the front, Ninten told Claus “By the way your brother sucks at poker.”

“What did you expect?” Claus asked in response. “You should play against me sometime. I was the best poker player in all of New Pork.”

“I wonder why.”

The kids arrived in the conductor’s cabin where Giygas was waiting. “Si-imple!” he said pridefully.

“You practiced that word, didn’t you?” Ninten asked, picking up his alien family member.

Giygas didn’t answer.

The group then left the train and went into the station.

“So how do I look more like Ness?” Ninten asked.

“Flip the hat.” Claus instructed.

“Smile more.” Lucas suggested.

“You need a backpack.” Lloyd pointed out.

“Be moe-ruh ah-noi-en-guh.” Giygas added.

“I’ll flip the hat, but I’m not wearing a backpack.” Ninten stated decidedly. “Backpacks are stupid.”

“Okay…” Lloyd said. “I hope they believe you…”

“They’re not going to turn me away over something as simple as a backpack!”

They did, in fact, turn Ninten away over something as simple as a backpack.

“There’s NO WAY you’re Ness!” the person at the front desk of the Escargo Express building exclaimed. “If you were Ness, you’d have your cheery yellow backpack on like you always do! How do you even plan on carrying whatever it is you take out?”

“Do you know how hard it was to walk here from the train station?” Ninten asked intensely.

“Eek! Ness isn’t that scary, either!”

“Right.” Ninten faked a wide smile, but it looked creepy on him. “Please let me access my things!” he requested ‘cheerfully’.

“Ah!” the employee let out. “I’m sorry but I have decided you can’t possibly be Ness. Now if you came back with a backpack, I might change my mind…”

“What?” Ninten asked. “What is this, an RPG Fetch Quest?”

“Where are we going to get a backpack in this weather?” Lucas asked.

“The store.” Claus stated confidently.

“No store’s going to be open with all this snow.” Lloyd pointed out.

“Who said anything about it being open?” Claus asked.

“Oooooh.” Ninten said with a smile. “I see what you’re getting at.” He turned to face the employee. “Alright. I’ll be back with ‘my’ backpack.”

“Oh, and the real Ness doesn’t have a pet cat!” the employee called out as soon as Ninten turned to leave.

“What?”

“If you come back with that cat I’m going to have to turn you away again.”

Ninten pointed at Giygas, once again zipped into his jacket. “THIS cat?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“I am not cuh-ah-tuh!!” Giygas exclaimed angrily. Then he looked to Ninten. “Wuh-tuh is cuh-ah-tuh?” he whispered.

Ninten burst out laughing.

“Fine.” Ninten agreed. “I won't bring any cats in here. I promise.”

And then the group had to trudge outside through the storm they could barely see through, much less walk in. Every footstep they made was immediately covered by the wind, as if they had never been there at all. His very presence seeming inconsequential to the Earth now, Lucas thought again of what he was thinking about on the train before Ninten interrupted him.

What if it was his fate to die here? Even if they succeeded in protecting this place, there wasn’t exactly much to protect anymore. The Earth was doomed, and now, no hero could ever come to save it.

Lucas hadn’t felt this hopeless ever since he re-found Kumatora at age 13. When he did, he had truly begun to believe that things were destined to work out. That despite all odds, those with a good heart were bound to overcome them to live happily.

But that simply wasn’t true, was it?

Lucas’ parents had good hearts, and they weren’t living at all.

Lucas bitterly kicked some snow, though it didn’t matter. He was so cold, and hungry too. This was awful.

Good hearts didn’t matter anyway. Being ‘pure’ wasn’t a character trait, but a state of being. It was so easy to stop being that way. Lucas had believed before it was Porky’s influence, but now he knew it wasn’t. All of the people in Tazmily who turned so quickly on their morals - that was on them. Not Porky.

And Ness had been a pure-hearted hero, much like Lucas claimed to be.

And, like always, being that pure-hearted hero only brought Lucas more grief. He lost his powers. Here Ninten was joking about poker, and how ‘strange it was to not be able to read minds temporarily’ while Lucas was trying so hard not to break down into tears over losing his only chance of having the life he so desperately wanted back the second he lost it three years ago!

Lucas’ head felt so strange. Empty. It didn’t even hurt anymore, it just felt wrong.

But he had to keep fighting, despite not necessarily thinking there was anything to fight for. Because it wasn’t for him anymore.

After all, despite what he wanted to think, Claus wasn’t so wrong.

There was no place for a fighter in Tazmily.

There was no place for Lucas in Tazmily.

“Please dragon,” Lucas found himself saying, despite the fact he was certain his words were being swallowed up by the wind entirely, “I don’t care if it’s in Tazmily. I just want my whole family to get to be together once again in our next lives.”

Claus turned around and faced Lucas. Oops, guess Claus’ hearing was better than most.

Claus scooped Lucas up off the ground into his mechanical arm, and started carrying him so Lucas didn’t have to fight the wind himself anymore. With his human hand Claus held his father’s hat on his head.

“Claus… I can walk on my own!” Lucas protested.

“I know.” Claus responded. “But you don’t have to. Because I promise you Lucas - I won’t ever let you cry alone again.”

“Claus…”

Lucas put his face against his brother, and let the warm tears he had been holding back flow.

“We’re never going home.” Lucas admitted out loud.

“We are home.” Claus assured him. “We’re together.”

“I miss mom.”

The comment had been meant innocently, but it stung Claus much deeper than Lucas had expected.

“Right.” Claus said. “Can’t be home without her.”

“And now we’ll never see her again.”

Claus was glad his brother’s face was buried in his shoulder so that Lucas would never see the tear that formed in the corner of a half-human’s eye, knowing that he’d never be good enough for his younger brother as his tear froze into a snowflake and flew away with the rest, pointless but no less unique.

By the time the group made it to the store, they were exhausted. Ninten sized up the storefront for only a moment before taking a bat to it, shattering the glass front.

“What are you doing?” Lucas exclaimed, but Ninten didn’t hear him in the wind. Instead, Ninten signaled the others to follow him inside.

The group went inside the store that, despite the lack of power, looked just the same as it would any other time. The weather hadn’t broken in, and nobody else was stupid enough to go through the storm to raid this place. It gave the place an eerie feeling, like being somewhere you shouldn’t be after closing time, but not the kind of sensation you’d expect for breaking in to steal something. An inky blackness ate up the majority of the store, however, leaving only the entrance with visibility for those with human eyes.

“Why did you break it?” Lucas repeated, now that his voice was just as sheltered by the storm as he was. Only a high pitched whistle of wind threatened people’s ability to hear him now.

“How else were we going to get in? The door was surely locked.”

Lucas didn’t have a response for that one.

“Anyway, it's as dark as the caves of Magicant in here.” Ninten complained. “Anybody got a flashlight?”

“St-ay.” Giygas instructed, then crawled away from Ninten. He was actually quite agile, considering he was used to floating, leaving Ninten to wonder if maybe Giygas’ species was never meant to be bipedal, and Giygas only tried due to being raised by humans.

But, umm, did Giygas know how to find anything in a store like this?

“We should probably go after him.” Ninten mentioned.

“Already WAY ahead of you!” Claus exclaimed, maybe a little too cheerfully? He tossed something towards Ninten, which Ninten caught easily despite the low visibility due to the practice he did back when he wanted to be a baseball player.

It was a flashlight!

Actually, everybody caught theirs with ease, Lloyd due to his enhanced hand-eye coordination and Lucas due to many years of playing catch the pinecone with a brother who always tried to improve his technique and a father who had quite the throwing arm.

“Good thinking, Claus!” Ninten said supportively, though he couldn’t shake the feeling something was off with Claus.

Not with Claus, with you.

Ninten had to remind himself.

You’re just off your game because you can’t stand not knowing others’ thoughts.

“While we’re here, do you mind if I look for some different clothes?” Lucas asked. “Sorry Claus, but this militaristic look really isn’t me.”

“Now is a good time.” Claus told him. “Gray really isn’t your color.”

“Alright,” Ninten said, taking the leadership role, “Lucas, you find clothes, and then focus on trying to get some food for all of us. At least a few days worth, preferably. Claus, our resident flier, you’re on finding Giygas. Lloyd, you’re with me. We’re going to find a stupid cheery yellow backpack. And let’s try to make this quick? The fate of the universe hangs in the balance.”

With that, the boys split up, flashlights being their only guides. After finding his clothes and a big bag to put a lot of food in, Lucas was thankful that the storm kept it so cold, preventing all of the meats from spoiling. Still, he avoided them. Not only would they not save well as they traveled, but meat was best within a few days of… well, Lucas was going to call it ‘collection’. Even eating meat gathered a week ago would be strange if it hadn’t been made into jerky, right?

Instead Lucas prioritized nuts and dried fruit and other such things. Wait, were those cookies? Those must be terribly stale by now!

Though the colorful packaging suggested otherwise, claiming they’d be best by a date that was months from now?

No matter how long Lucas spent in this time he would never understand certain things about it. Still, curiosity won and he tried one.

And it somehow tasted fresh?

Huh, guess someone must’ve been here more recently than Lucas thought if there were freshly baked cookies! He packed some of those, too.

Meanwhile, Claus was thrilled to get a chance to try his new wings. Unfortunately, his scanners meant it didn't actually take long to find Giygas.

Claus landed behind the alien and was about to say something when he noticed what Giygas was actually doing.

Sadly staring at a pink floofy dress-up dress for children.

“She wouldn’t want you to be sad about her forever.” Claus stated.

Giygas turned to face Claus, his expression unreadable.

“The woman you always used to draw. The one you showed me when the doctor made us connect PSI, that was your mother, right?”

No response.

“I bet our mothers would have been friends, if they existed in the same time period. Both very kind, caring people who would put their children first every time.”

Still nothing.

“But you know, it’s not good to only think about how much you miss someone. Not like that. You can remember the happy times without always thinking about the sadness, right?”

“Yuh-or mother. Tuh-ell me ah-bowt her.”

Claus’ eyes widened. “You want to hear about… mom?”

Giygas nodded.

“I…” Claus smiled, a warm feeling going through him just thinking about her. “Okay, sure.” he agreed.
 
~~~
 
“This one!” Lloyd exclaimed, chucking a large backpack in Ninten’s direction. “This has GOTTA be the closest we’re getting.”

Ninten sighed. “I hate backpacks…” he complained.

“Why?” Lloyd asked.

“Because if I’m wearing a backpack it looks like I’m going to carry stuff!” Ninten whined. “The bigger the backpack, the heavier it can potentially be! I don't want to have to carry anything!”

Lloyd rolled his eyes that softly glowed red in the darkness of the store. “Well you’re not going to have to carry much, but you should probably put Giygas in there.”

“What?” Ninten asked, sounding defensive.

“They’re not going to let you take the Hawk Eye if he’s visible.” Lloyd reminded him. “And besides, it might be easier to carry him in a backpack than zipped into your jacket. Especially if the time comes that we have to get into a battle. You need your full range of motion to fight with your bat, and it’d be better if Ness and Mana Mana didn’t know we had Giygas with us.”

“See?” Ninten asked. “This is why I hate backpacks. Now I have to carry an alien in it.”

Eventually the group all reconvened at the front of the store, ready to go. Ninten looked quite Ness-like now with his hat still the wrong way and now a backpack on his back, and Giygas glared at this fact.

“It’s a necessary evil.” Ninten commented. “One I plan on rectifying as soon as possible. Anyway, you’re riding in the backpack.”

“Hold on,” Claus said, “let me go grab him a blanket so he doesn’t get cold in there.”

“When do you like him all of a sudden?” Ninten asked suspiciously.

Claus shrugged. “I guess we’re not so different, after all.” he said, before flying back into the darkness.

“Speaking of bags,” Lucas segued, “I have supplies for everybody to put in theirs so we have enough food for the next little while! Ninten, since you’re carrying Giygas, I’ll redistribute things with that in mind.”

Lucas began going through his supplies, evenly distributing them for three people to carry. Eventually Claus returned with a small pillow and blanket, putting them in the (unfortunately for Ninten) large backpack.

“These should keep you comfortable.” Claus said, and Ninten batted Claus away before he put any MORE stuff in there. Ninten then put Giygas in the bag.

It was surprisingly comfortable for Giygas, and while it was technically big enough to be zipped up completely with Giygas inside, it was just barely. It was quite cozy though when Giygas stuck his head out, and he turned to face the same direction Ninten was facing, placing his hands on Ninten’s shoulder to get a better view of all of the humans. This was acceptable, Giygas decided, if not a little humiliating.

Lucas passed out the supplies, and the group headed back out into the snowy wasteland. This time around though, they were going more against the flow of the wind, and that combined with the cold made it hard to breathe for anyone! But worst of all was Ninten, who’s lungs felt like they were on a freezing cold fire.

Ninten struggled to get any air to enter his system at all, though the others were all oblivious to this fact due to their own troubles walking.

Just a little further

Ninten told himself.

You can’t pass out here. You have to get inside.

Giygas had already zipped himself in, so Ninten really was alone despite all of his friends being so close.

Still, he pushed forward, and he eventually made it inside, though he nearly collapsed onto the door to get it open. As soon as he WAS inside, he fell to knees, focusing only on breathing now.

The others had to maneuver themselves weirdly to get into the door with Ninten blocking it, but they managed, and they suddenly realized the problem they couldn’t have even SEEN outside due to the low visibility, despite the fact that Ninten had been in the front.

“I’m… here…” Ninten called out towards the Escargo Express worker behind the counter. “I’m… Ness… so let me…” Ninten wheezed, unable to finish his sentence.

“Nin- Ness, are you okay?” Lloyd exclaimed with concern, quick to start rubbing Ninten’s back in a circular motion that was supposedly meant to help him breathe.

“I’m… fine, I…” Ninten took another deep breath, starting to do at least a little better for himself.

Suddenly, from behind the counter, a door opened, and out walked Ness and Mana Mana.

“Oh hi, Lucas!” Ness exclaimed, eyes still pink but not glowing. “Others.” he said, glancing at the rest before turning his creepy eyes back to Lucas. “I heard you guys were trying to steal something of mine. Didn’t your mommy ever teach you that stealing was wrong? Or did she die too quickly to ever get the chance?”

“Why you little-!” Claus exclaimed, but Lucas stopped him from attacking.

“He WANTS us to fight him.” Lucas told him. “Don’t give him the satisfaction.”

“Yeah Claus, listen to your brother for once!” Ness added. “Rushing into battles without thinking it through is how you lost your freedom, after all. Nice hat, by the way!”

Claus continued to glare as Mana said “Anyway, you guys are SO COOL and all, but we have nowhere to be and no timetable to be there by, so hello, and… GOODBYE!”

With that, the villain and villainess both ran out of the Escargo building, leaving their only opposition, therefore by default ‘heroes’ behind. Ninten had finally recaught most of his breath and exclaimed “Damn it!” while punching the ground.

“It’s okay, Ninten.” Lloyd, who had gotten on the ground next to Ninten, soothed.

“No, it’s not!” Ninten snapped. “Had I not been so dumb about the… backpack, we would’ve gotten in and out before… he got here!”

“Hey you kids!” The Escargo Express worker called out. “You were trying to commit a felony! I’d call the police if I thought they’d come out in this weather!”

“Then why are you here?” Claus asked.

“Because we are Escargo Express! Rain or shine, it’s our job to give people their belongings!”

Ninten then stood up, despite Lloyd protesting that he should rest for a few minutes more.

“I’m fine!” Ninten exclaimed, before saying “We need to get going, now. We’ll just have to figure out what to do without the Hawk Eye.”

“How do we get to Summers, though?” Lucas asked. “Last time we took an air transportation device. But without that being an option-”

“We’ll have to go by ship.” Ninten interrupted. “Surely Ness and Mana Mana don’t have anything better than that, so we need to get moving now so we can at least be EQUAL to them. Somehow we need to make more time though, since the Deep Darkness is going to take us much longer than them.”

“A ship in this storm?” Lloyd asked. “Are you sure?”

“We don’t have a choice.” Ninten stated, and he began to leave as if that was the end of the conversation. If he had a more specific plan, he wasn’t saying so, instead deciding to lead the group back outside.

“Uh, Ninten?” Claus asked. “Where are you going?”

“Back to the train station.” Ninten said with authority. “We’re taking the train to a port town.”

“You could’ve said that.” Claus pressed. “You’re not the leader, you know.”

Ninten turned abruptly to stare Claus down with his dull eyes. “And you are?” Ninten asked.

“No, I’m not.” Claus said intensely. “No one is.”

Lucas looked to Lloyd with a concerned look before saying “Let’s all just calm down…”

“Yeah!” Lloyd agreed. “What happened to it being a ‘pollyanna sort of day’, Ninten?”

“We failed our mission.” Ninten responded angrily. “And if Ness wanted to kill me, he could’ve easily because I had another stupid asthma attack. I can’t breath in this weather at all and it pisses me off!” Ninten took a deep breath, this time to regain his composure. “Look, it’s just… it’s my fault we failed and I want to make up for that. And all this… being opened hearted stuff is hard. Especially when I have no idea what anybody else is thinking.”

Lucas’ gaze instantly went to the ground at the mention of lost PSI, but Lloyd went to comfort Ninten. “It’s okay!” Lloyd assured Ninten. “Once we’re out of Eagleland we’ll be out of the storm, too! We’re going to Summers first and foremost, and they’re known for their warm weather and tropical breeze. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

Ninten sighed. “If only we could take a break there.” he said dreamily. “Still,” Ninten looked to Claus. “I should’ve brought up my plan to see if anybody had a better one. Do you have any other ideas?”

“No, I don’t.” Claus told him. “I just don’t like people deciding things for me without telling me first.”

“Then if you don’t have any objections, let’s go back to the train station before we lose any more time.”

Nobody said anything more, so once again Ninten lead the way outside, and the group trudged through the wind towards the train station, hoping this would be one of the last times they’d have to deal with this sort of weather.

“I sure am glad that Eagleland has some stores like back in Tazmily where you can take and leave things as you need them!” Lucas shouted to Claus during the walk.

“Right, just like Tazmily!” Claus exclaimed with a faked smile. Apparently Lucas had no idea they were ever stealing…

Meanwhile an uneasy feeling had come over Ninten that he just couldn’t shake off. They were already falling behind Ness and Mana Mana, and they were only going to do worse as time went on. Not to mention, without his PSI, Ninten felt lost. Was it even possible for them to win at this point?

No, Ninten had to try. He clenched his fists and put a bit more force in his walk. It felt like a fruitless endeavor before, too, back when he needed to save the world, and he didn’t even really know what he was fighting against that time. This time he knew his enemy, and how he fell, and what exactly he was fighting for.

Though Ninten didn’t want to admit it before, there was a good chance he was never getting back to his own timeline. And if that was the case, whatever was left of the world was what Ninten would live out the rest of his life in. And that life, of course, was going to be one of a father. And if there’s one thing Ninten’s adventures had taught him, it was the importance of Love and the power it held. Love shapes the world, and now that Ninten had Ana and eventually Ness he finally understood it. He Loved them and wanted the best for them, no matter how hard the road became.

Ninten put a smile on his face and stood tall as he continued forward, towards whatever it was that was awaiting him next.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Full House.” Ninten said smugly, laying his cards out on the train table.“Ha, you must be so proud!” Claus exclaimed sarcastically.“There’s no way you can beat that.” Ninten told him.“Oh, but there is!” Claus showed his hand. “Straight flush.” he stated.“WHAT?!” Ninten exclaimed. “No way!”“Do you have any idea what's going on?” Lucas asked Lloyd.“Hm?” Lloyd asked, looking up from the notebook he had been drawing diagrams in. “Oh. No. No idea.”Lucas sighed. He had already gone ‘bankrupt’ in poker and Lloyd wasn’t being much conversation. This really wasn’t distracting him much…A distraction DID come in the form of the radio as Claus was happily collecting the majority of a sulking Ninten’s scraps of paper. Suddenly the handheld government radio that Ninten had ACTUALLY BEEN WILLING TO CARRY HIMSELF started making sound.“Global Defense Force? Come in, Global Defense Force?” The radio asked.“We read you loud and clear.” Ninten responded.“But we’re the Galactic Defense Force now!” Lloyd added. “The Warriors of the Universe!”“Riiiight…” the person on the radio said. “Why do I have to deal with the kids?” he mumbled, before saying “Please report.”Ninten sighed. “We couldn’t get ahold of the Hawk Eye before the enemy, so we’re headed to Lobster Day to take a ship to Summers.”“Sailing to Summers would take about 20 days in clear weather!” the government agent protested. “Hang on, we’ll send something your way. You can borrow a military ship that should get you there in less than half the time.”“A military ship?!?” Ninten and Lloyd both exclaimed in delight. It was clear it took all they had to not squeal like little girls in excitement.“Yup.” the annoyed agent responded. “The USS Pirkle, named after a notable mayor who managed to take down a horrible gang known as ‘The Sharks’. It’ll be waiting for you at the port.”The radio cut out, leaving excitement behind amongst the boys.“It’s going to be so fast!!”  Claus exclaimed.“A ship to a better place…” Lucas mused.“Better not let YOU navigate!” Claus joked. “With your pure heart we’d end up straight at the Nowhere Islands!”After a moment of consideration, Lucas asked “Do you think that could actually happen?”“I can't wait!!” Ninten exclaimed childishly.“I bet it’ll be so high tech!!” Lloyd added. “I can't wait to see how it works!” ~~~ Soon enough, the wait was over. Fighting the strong ocean winds, the ‘Warriors of the Universe’ found themselves standing before the behemoth that was the USS Pirkle. A small crew came out to help the children aboard, and brought them to some nice quarters.Once they were inside, Giygas poked his head out of Ninten’s backpack and narrowed his eyes at the military member who escorted them.“Will not luh-as-tuh a day.” Giygas stated.“What do you mean?” Lloyd asked suspiciously.“Pre-dict-ion.”Lloyd looked to Ninten. “Keep an eye on that thing.”“Why would he kill the sailors?” Ninten asked honestly. “He WANTS to get to the Deep Darkness.”Claus looked out a window towards the ocean. “That's a lot of death out there…” he said with a nervous smile.“You’re waterproof now!” Lucas reminded him.“I’d still sink.” Claus informed Lucas. “Plus, do you know how cold that water probably is? If any of us were to fall in they’d certainly get hypothermia at the very least, if they’d even be warm enough to swim back to the boat, which, by the way, is going to be going top speed.”Lucas’ eyes widened and Claus realized he might’ve gone too far.“Uhh… not that that’s going to happen!” Claus assured him. “It’s just… theoretical.”“With these winds are we sure this-” Lucas was cut off by the sound of a horn, and the boat began moving. “...is a good idea?” he finished in vain.“It’s perfectly safe!” Ninten assured him. “We have the military’s protection, after all!”“Wuh-err-thuh-luh-ess.” Giygas stated. “Wuh-erth-less. Worthless.”“He’s learning!” Lloyd exclaimed.“Aww!” Lucas added.“This military is NOT worthless!” Ninten argued. “Come on, Lloyd. Let’s go see if we can get a tour of the ship!”The two left, and Giygas crawled off somewhere, leaving the twins in silence.Finally, Lucas spoke. “I wonder what the White Ship was like.”“Huh?” Claus asked, looking away from the window to face his brother.“I mean, the end of the world was probably pretty stormy, right?” Lucas asked. “It was probably a pretty dangerous trip.”After a pause, Claus said “You know I was joking, right? We aren’t actually going to the islands.”“I know,” Lucas said, “but… would it be so bad? Even if we save the world… there’s not much left to save. The islands are protected, though! Ninten could bring his son and Ana, and-”“And what, I just cease to exist?” Claus asked angrily. “Lucas, I don’t HAVE a pure heart. I can't enter the islands!”“Maybe not technically, but surely the power of the dragon sees beyond that! We could start Tazmily early this time, and have them be prepared for Porky when the time comes! Everything could be-”“I thought you were over this!” Claus snapped.“I am! Or… I was, anyway. But the islands are already there!”“Even if I had a heart I wouldn’t be ‘pure’.” Claus stated. “I like blowing things up and driving fast vehicles. I’m a talented liar and a trained fighter, and I ENJOY that! And, as the cherry on top, I’m a freak! And you want to know one more thing?” Claus asked, stepping closer.Right in Lucas’ face, Claus declared “Even if I could, I wouldn’t WANT to return to life the way it was. Because, unlike you, I LIKE change!”With that, Claus stormed out of the room, leaving Lucas in a stunned silence. ~~~ The food served by the ship’s cook was actually quite tasty, and the boys who actually came to eat it were quite happy about it.“Where’s Lucas?” Ninten asked in between bites.“Probably off sulking.” Claus responded with no more context than that.Giygas had climbed onto the table to partake in his lunch, though he mostly ignored the main aspects of it, preferring to eat the garnish, and then the garnish of the other boys’ meals too.Ninten, Lloyd, and Claus all joked around and spoke fairly lightly with each other throughout lunch, with a few quips from Giygas here and there. After all, they were on their way towards where they needed to go, and they were riding in comfort. So despite all of the current issues the world and their PSI were facing, it was hard not to be in good spirits. All of those problems could be addressed later, when they were closer to their intended location.And so, after lunch, the boys just kind of fooled around all evening. Playing, watching the military, chatting, relaxing - none of it really felt like a waste of time. It was a much needed break, really.When Lloyd went up to the control and navigation area that night, he saw Lucas was already there, and one of the crew members was showing him how the ship automated to it’s location. Lloyd, of course, was very interested, so he approached too.“Ah! Hi Lloyd!” Lucas exclaimed surprisedly, like he was caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to.“Hi, Lucas.” Lloyd responded. “You know it’s okay to have an interest in technology, right?”“More that I have an interest in ships…” Lucas responded, though he didn’t meet Lloyd’s eyes.“Hey, are you okay?” Lloyd asked.“...” There was silence, Lucas not meeting Lloyd’s eyes. Finally, he looked up. “Yeah.” he said, but he was clearly lying.Having seen the boys were busy, the crew member left since the ship didn’t need much assistance anyway, and Lloyd and Lucas were alone right now to speak freely.“Lucas… it’s okay to be scared, you know.”“I’m not scared.” Lucas responded.“When I started my adventure with Ninten, I was terrified.” Lloyd tried, hoping speaking from experience would help Lucas feel related to. “I mean, the world was ending, I was worried my mother would die, not to mention I was always known for being weak and useless. Sometimes I still feel that way. Like I have to work harder than anybody else just to be useful. To make myself not a waste of time and resources. But it’s not true. I may not be a good fighter, but I can puzzle my way out of anything, fix almost anything given enough time, and even just sometimes be good for giving advice. What I’m getting at is - even if you feel out of your element sometimes Lucas, that doesn’t mean all hope is lost. It just means you have to readjust your thought process. Your viewpoint. And then you’ll realize things aren’t as bad as you originally thought.”When Lloyd was done talking, it was as if Lucas was looking right through him. “You think I feel weak because I lost my PSI? Is that what you think this is?”“N-no!” Lloyd protested. “All I meant was-”“I’m fine!” Lucas said with force. “But not everything can be fixed by ‘readjusting your viewpoint’. If I were you, I’d stop thinking about your mother at all. You’re never going to see her again. Live or die, none of us are ever going back home! Haven’t you realized that yet?”“We’ll go home!” Lloyd protested. “Just as soon as we stop Ness I’ll find a way to-”“Haven’t you realized time travel’s a curse?” Lucas interrupted. “Even if you figure out how to do it, it’ll never put things back to the way they were. There’s nothing to gain from jumping around in time! Do you really think you could just go back home and live there? Just like that? Even in the time you’re from life’s too peaceful for a ‘hero’! That’s what Claus has been trying to tell me all along.”“I-I…” Tears began to form in Lloyd’s eyes. He knew it wasn’t good for their cybernetics, but it wasn’t going to break them, either.“Oh yeah - and don’t talk to me about ‘realizing you’re good enough’ when you’re the one cutting off your own appendages just to replace them with ‘better’ ones.”Lloyd looked to his hands guiltily. There really hadn’t been anything wrong with his old ones, had there been? So why… why did he feel the need to make new ones again?“People like you disgust me.” Lucas said intensely. “Playing around with life like your actions mean nothing. What you do to yourself is one thing, but what about the artificial life you’ve been working on? Your ‘son’? What are you going to do, manipulate his genetics to make him ‘perfect’? Just to abandon him when you find another, more interesting science experiment? I may be useless now, but at least I’m not heartless. And if you keep on your current path, you will be, both physically and metaphorically.”Lloyd ran off crying, and at first all Lucas felt was seething anger until he got a moment to breathe.And then…Lucas realized just how awful he had just been.None of this was Lloyd’s fault, and Lloyd had just been trying to make him feel better, it was just…Lucas didn’t want to be told to be optimistic about the future when he knew very well that those fighting to protect the future were the only ones who wouldn’t get a chance at the future they wanted. All those people hiding away from the storm in their houses like cowards - just following the crowd like people always did - they’re the ones who would ACTUALLY get what they wanted. A peaceful life once again with no more threats of bombs and wars. They’d get to go about their happy lives again, spending time with their family and working towards everything they wanted in life.And what would Lucas get when he finished this adventure?Nothing. He had no family other than his brother who was making it quite clear they didn’t have the same wants in life, and nowhere to go but the blown up remains of a city he never even really felt at home in anyway.Angry at the unfairity of life, Lucas stormed his way onto the deck of the ship. The wind was heavy and the waves were agitated, rising high and moving quickly. It was still freezing out here, flurries of snow flittering about to and fro. Lucas shivered and hated the way his breath formed a cloud in front of him. He went to the railing on the side of the violently rocking boat, scrunched his eyes closed, and began shouting what was on his mind.“IT’S NOT FAIR!!!” he declared for nobody but the dragon to hear. “WHY DOES EVERYBODY GET TO FIND HAPPINESS BUT ME?!”The waves continued to roll, the snow continued to fall, and the whole world was exactly the same save for the yelling time traveler.“It’s not… fair…”The wind swallowed his words, and blew away his feelings until he was just too tired to be angry anymore.Lucas’ eyes settled on the ocean. What was it that Claus had said that day that felt like a lifetime ago? ‘I’m going to where mom is now’?Lucas missed his mother so much. If there was nothing for him here, then…Then…The endless black ocean waited below like a void ready to eat Lucas up, and yet that didn’t sound so bad right now.Maybe his body would even wash up on the shore of Tazmily…What a nice thought.Lucas climbed on top of the railing. It was hard to hold on with how crazy the rocking of the boat was, but that was okay. He didn’t need to hold on anymore.Lucas closed his eyes peacefully, let go, and allowed himself to fall into the ocean.Lucas crashed into the cold water. The temperature caused his body to go numb as he sunk deeper and deeper. He was thankful for that. He didn’t think drowning would be so… peaceful.
I’m coming, mom.
But then, Lucas heard his brother’s voice. “I promised to live my life to the fullest, and I intend on doing so. That’s why Lucas - no matter what happens… I’m just so happy to be alive!”
Happy to be alive…

Happy to be…

Yeah, Claus always was the type to just be happy to be alive. That carefree way he always smiled. He never cared when he tripped and skinned his knee when we were little, he would always just get back up and keep playing. What was it that he used to say back when he didn’t want to go to bed? ‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead’? Heh, that didn’t age well…

It sure takes a while to drown, doesn’t it?

Oh, I guess I’m still holding my breath. When I run out - that’s when I’ll die.
“I won’t ever let you cry alone again.” Claus’ voice replayed in Lucas’ mind.
Sorry Claus, but pretty words aren’t enough to bring us home now.
“We are home. We’re together.”
And what was that supposed to mean, anyway?

Oh. I guess I get it now. Home never was a place, was it? It was the feeling of being with those you loved. And maybe Claus couldn’t really keep his promise and stop me from crying alone, but… he tried because he cared. And maybe if I reached out to him, he could’ve helped me.

Instead of me doing this.

Oh, I really need air now. I guess I should breathe in.
Lucas opened his mouth and tried to take in air, but all he got was salty water flooding his mouth and lungs. He wanted to cough it back out as it burned his insides, but he couldn’t. Trying just made more water flood in.
What have I done?
Suddenly, the weight of dying crushed Lucas more than the weight of losing everything else ever could have. And somehow, despite thinking he’d meet his mother this way, sinking deeper just made him feel more alone than ever. I’m so sorry, Claus. Lucas thought, tears springing to his eyes that just joined the ocean as Lucas intook more and more water. He wanted to swim back up to the surface, but he couldn’t feel his body. The water was too cold.
Somebody please…

…save me…
The slight light of the moonlight far, far above Lucas now began to go dim, and Lucas realized he was starting to lose consciousness.
I guess… I guess this is it…

Now the dragon truly will sleep forever.
It was a weird final thought to have, but it was Lucas’ biggest goal for so long, and now it would be unfinished for eternity.As all light vanished, just for a moment, Lucas caught a glimpse of a vibrant red. A fish, perhaps, already coming to eat his body?Maybe he wouldn’t make it to Tazmily, after all.Lucas nodded off, he thought, though the slightest hint of a touch surrounded him now. Some form of warmth, maybe? It didn’t matter. It wouldn’t matter.He nodded off again, then he sensed movement. Then he was asleep again. At least it didn’t hurt anymore…Until suddenly it did. Suddenly, it hurt so bad, his lungs once again feeling like they were on fire. He coughed, but it worked again. Desperately, he took in oxygen, and it actually worked. He was getting air again! How did that happen?Suddenly he was all-too-aware of the pressure around his body. Something was holding him, and that’s what was keeping his head above the water now. Lucas tried to use any strength he had to hold onto it, too.“I’ve got you.” A calming voice soothed. “It’s okay now.”Lucas felt the sensation of the cold water leaving his body. He wasn’t in it anymore, it seemed, but the grip of the one carrying him tightened.He went up, out of the water entirely, then up higher, and suddenly he found himself being pulled onto a solid ground once again. Finally, he managed to open his eyes just a little bit, just enough to see red light flood his vision.It wasn’t a fish or even Lucas’ imagination when he had seen it in the water. It was Claus’ mechanical eye.“C-cla-”“You shouldn’t try to speak right now.” Claus told Lucas. “Just breathe. You’re safe.”Lucas tightened his grip as much as he could into a hug. “I-I’m s-so sorry…” he managed to say as he shivered“For what?” Claus asked. “There’s no way you could’ve known you would fall off like that. Just try to be more careful, okay? You’re lucky Lloyd mentioned having had seen you, and I was able to figure out what happened. I guess it was a twin’s intuition. After that, I scanned for your lifesigns, and when I realized you fell overboard I tied a rope around my waist and jumped down there giving Lloyd the instruction to pull me back up when I pulled on it. He hodge-podged a whole pulley system for it and everything, in only a few moments!”“Y-you t-tied a r-rope around you?”“I sink in water, remember?” Claus told Lucas. “I’m too heavy to float.”“A-and you still went a-after me…” Lucas said. “I’m s-s-so sorry.” he repeated, tears on his eyes. He was clinging onto Claus tightly for any semblance of warmth, despite the fact that Claus was freezing to the touch, too. “Thank you for b-b-bringing me back h-home…”With that, Lucas passed out once again, too exhausted to be awake any longer. Claus gasped, placing his hand on Lucas’ chest. Still a heart rate, though it seemed weaker than most human’s typically were.“Lloyd do you think you can help him?”“He needs to get warm.” Lloyd declared, rushing over to help untie Claus from the rope. “You do too. You only feel okay because you’re running off adrenaline for now.”“I’m fine.” Claus snapped. “Worry about him for now.”As soon as Claus was untied he got up, only vaguely aware of how icy cold his human skin was and how raw it had become. His previous power source produced quite a bit of warmth, but the magnet energy he ran off of now didn’t, and without as many internal organs as the average human, he had a hard time creating heat and his metal components pressed against his fleshy skin were really just making the whole situation a million times worse. Still, he didn’t pay it any mind because his attention was on Lucas and human ‘adrenaline’ was pumping through him like there was no tomorrow. He stood up, Lucas in his arms. “What do we do?” Claus demanded.“We need to get his wet clothes off and wrap him in warm blankets.” Lloyd instructed. “After that, let’s try to look for a heater or something.”However, the boys wouldn’t be running off just yet. Suddenly, from the water emerged a large sea creature that must’ve been attracted by the presence of people in the water. It came up, up, up, until it revealed itself to at least ten times larger than the boat. Large tentacles rose up, threatening to sink the whole boat right away.Lloyd let out a squeal while Claus merely froze. There wasn’t a chance he’d survive if this ship went overboard, and he would be bringing Lucas down with him. That being said, if he flew up right now, the creature would surely swat him right out of the air, also guaranteeing his death.Pork, he hated boats.Still frozen, he watched Lloyd run away. What good was cowardice going to do here? Either they were all going to die or none of them were.Letting his fear take over, Claus was now painfully aware of how every little snowflake made his body feel more and more freezing, threatening to freeze him in place right there like those chimeras they kept in cryostorage back in the Chimera Lab. I have to do something! Claus exclaimed to himself. I have to move, I have to- But he could barely control his body now. Now that he had gone still, it was going numb in a way that was locking his joints into place. In fact, he collapsed to his knees under the weight of his body, and was completely helpless.Worse yet, the creature’s eyes were locked on Claus now, likely seeing him as it’s next morsel. With the shaking of the boat, there was a pretty good chance Claus would end up sliding right towards it, not that it was even necessary. The creature could just pluck him and his sleeping brother right up, and there’d be nothing they could do.So was flying a better option? He could probably manage to do it despite his numbness, but he would be a glowing target then, likely agitating the creature. But the creature was already focused on him anyway, wasn’t it?Just as Claus began spreading his wings, a bright light whizzed by, hitting the creature but not seeming to hurt it. Suddenly, out ran Lloyd, wielding a flare gun that he was quickly reloading. Claus took the opportunity to start flying away, the warmth of the fire his wings feeling both nice and way-too-hot at the same time. Of course, the creature’s gaze went to him, but then Lloyd shot another flare to distract it. Unfortunately, it didn’t even come close to hitting the creature this time because the boat shifted, making Lloyd lose his footing and miss miserably.“Get the military!” Lloyd called out, having a hard time reloading with the unsteady ground. At least his synthetic hands weren’t losing any of their mobility in the cold.“On it!” Claus called back, flying inside as quickly as he could. He held tightly onto his brother as he continued to fly, making his way inside the main part of the ship and quickly to the main crew area. There were only a few people awake at the moment, but it was enough.“The ship is under attack on the main deck!” Claus informed them quickly. “Lloyd is holding it off, but it’s a large sea monster that could take down the ship in one blow.”“Understood!” one of the crew members declared, not a shred of doubt in his voice, and he sounded an alarm while all the crew members left the room. There wasn’t a large amount of people on this ship to begin with, so Claus guessed they just didn’t have the people to spare for someone to watch the front. Hopefully that wouldn’t cause a problem?That being said, without being able to move very easily like this, maybe it was time Claus paid more attention to warming himself and his twin up. The military had this. ~~~ It was all Lloyd could do not to fall right off the ship, so how was he supposed to aim at the sea monster? Where did this thing even come from? Was it something left behind from a previous alien invasion, or was it always in Earth’s waters? Regardless, it was really dangerous, and Lloyd wasn’t sure how much longer he could handle it for.Luckily, out rushed the military, armed with weapons. “Get inside!” one of them instructed him, and they didn’t have to tell him twice. He rushed inside as quickly as he could on this shaky ship and went to go help Claus and Lucas. ~~~ Morning didn’t look much like morning through the window of a ship sailing through the stormy seas, but at least it came with all remaining members of the Galactic Defense Force alive and in one piece. Lucas was still sleeping soundly, though according to Lloyd, his vitals were in a good place now. Claus, on the other hand, just couldn’t seem to feel warm no matter what he did.“I just don’t get it.” Ninten repeated. “So you just KNEW that Lucas fell overboard? How? You don’t have access to any PSI.”“I just knew, okay?” Claus responded, holding a blanket tightly around him and wearing his father’s hat for comfort. “And then the giant sea monster came and the military told us to leave the deck while they handled it.”“It’s such a shame I slept through that battle!” Ninten lamented. “Watching it would’ve been the coolest!”“Since you’re awake now,” Lloyd said, “maybe you could go grab some breakfast for everyone? Claus needs to stay here to warm up, and I want to keep an eye on him and Lucas. Some warm food might benefit the both of them, though!”“Ugh,” Ninten let out, but he agreed. “Alright, I’ll be back.”“Get me a le-mon!” Giygas exclaimed after him. Then, after Ninten left, Giygas added “Did not last a day.”“Huh?” Lloyd asked. “What didn’t last a day?”“I saw the fuh-eigh-tuh. Mil-eh-tear-ee is dead.”“The military died?” Lloyd exclaimed with widened eyes. “All of them?”Giygas nodded.Lloyd made a horrified squeak. “Well, at least there’s the ones driving the ship left.”“No.” Claus told him. “There’s not.”“Why not?” Lloyd asked, terrified to know the answer.“They ALL went to go fight the sea monster. Unless there was some back-up person I don’t know about, I think they put all their troops there. And if they all died…”“Then we’re all that’s left…” Lloyd finished. ~~~ As Ninten walked towards the cafeteria, he didn’t see a single crew member along the way. That’s strange he thought, but he wasn’t too concerned with it. Why would such a small crew be meandering around anyway?But then he got to the cafeteria and there was STILL no sign of anybody. So what, was the entire kitchen staff just slacking off in the break room? Or was this too early in the morning? What time was it, anyway?Well, breaks were important, but…Ninten walked into the kitchen itself, and there wasn’t a single sign that ANYBODY had been in here since dinner time last night. So weird…In the corner he spotted a large container full of brown packages labeled MREs. Wait a minute, isn’t that what the military usually eats on the field?While Ninten, wanting to be a government agent who could tell the military what to do, saw himself as far above such things under normal circumstances, he couldn’t pass up trying these! It sounded so cool to eat like they were on a mission or something!He grabbed enough for the group, and snagged a lemon as well before heading back to their quarters.“So the kitchen staff are all on break, but I got these.” Ninten declared, tossing the MREs out on an empty bed.“Uggghhh.” Claus let out. “At least they aren’t pork flavored…”“You’ve had these before?” Ninten asked, handing Giygas the lemon that Giygas then proceed to bite into like an apple.“On field missions.” Claus responded. “They aren’t terrible, but they’ve got nothing on Marshmallow’s cooking.”“Oh yeah, I guess you used to be a high ranking military officer, huh?” Ninten mentioned. “So cool!”“...Yeah, sure.” Claus responded, opening up the MRE and using the portable heater in it like he was on auto-pilot. “You should probably know though - the military members aren’t ever coming OFF break.”“What do you mean?” Ninten asked, looking over the instructions on his own MRE.“They died fighting the sea monster.” Claus said bluntly.“Really?” Ninten asked in annoyance. “But they were so cool!”“You’re taking this lightly.” Lloyd brought up.“They were only human.” Ninten shrugged. “It’s not a surprise. Just so, so disappointing.”“Ninten!” Lloyd exclaimed. “YOU’RE essentially ‘only human’ right now!”“No?” Ninten responded, then proceeded to ignore Lloyd. “It’s a real shame.” Ninten said casually to Claus.Lloyd turned to Claus. “Okay, how are YOU so casual about people dying?”“Hm?” Claus asked. “Oh, it’s sad, but, I mean…” he shrugged. “It happens.”“But your own family-”“That’s different.” Claus cut off drily with a glare. “You can’t be sad over every little life lost, or you’ll drive yourself insane. I would think a hero like you would understand that.”Claus glared at Lloyd for a few moments more until his food was done heating up. Then he continued light-heartedly talking about death as he began eating.Ninten re-read and re-re-read the instructions, not wanting to admit to not being able to figure out the MRE. Why hadn’t he paid more attention when Claus did it?Lloyd seemed to be figuring his out, so Ninten just watched him. “Which packets do I put in the heater packet?” Lloyd asked.“Just the main one.” Claus told him easily.“Oh, okay.” And then Lloyd was pouring water in the heating packet?Ninten was so confused. He so wished he could just read Lloyd’s mind.
You’re essentially ‘only human’ right now!
The thought pissed Ninten off, and yet terrified him at the same time. Even though he knew he had lost PSI, he hadn’t realized he had fallen to the level of a basic human. Ever since he had been old enough to have an ego he had seen himself above humanity, so to hear that…Ninten slammed his hand down on a table in rage, causing it to shake. “After breakfast we figure out how to control this ship so we can assure our victory. We can’t afford to lose any time by veering off course. And when we stop Ness,” Ninten smirked at Claus and Giygas “we can get our PSI back once again.”“Sounds like a plan!” Claus exclaimed.Giygas decided NOT to bring up the fact that he has no idea how long PK Braincyclone Ψ lasted or that it had no connection to how safe the world was.He REALLY hoped that wouldn’t become a problem later…

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Lucas had been following his brother around much like a baby duck would follow its mother and it was starting to get on Claus’ last nerve. He was certainly thankful his brother was okay, of course, but was this really necessary? It’s been six days!“I’m going to go grab a snack.” Claus declared.“Me too!” Lucas added.“I could just grab you one.” Claus suggested. “What do you want?”“I don’t know yet.” Lucas responded. “I need to see the selection.”“...Alright.”Claus sighed as his brother followed him closely once again. Sure, when they were younger Lucas had been like this, never letting himself fall even a few feet behind Claus back then, but he got over this level of clinginess when they were like, five or six!But he couldn’t fault him for it, either. He DID almost drown.It had taken a few days for the twins to fully recover from their hypothermia, but thankfully Lloyd said that Lucas hadn’t been without air long enough to cause any serious damage. He DID express concerns about the potential radioactivity of the water due to the nukes being used recently, but Ninten promised to use PK Healing on the two of them when he got his PSI back, assuring them that it would fix any potential problems.In the meantime, Ninten, Lloyd, and Giygas had to work together to figure out the systems of the ship. Luckily the radio still worked and Ninten was able to call for instructions, which apparently Lloyd had understood perfectly. The ship was automated, so as long as they checked on it from time-to-time they’d be just fine. It hasn’t tried to veer off course yet!The twins went into the cafeteria, each sitting down with a snack. For Lucas, it was trail mix, and for Claus, it was a ‘military approved’ chocolate bar. As they were eating, Claus pointed up at the wall. “Do you see that?” he asked.“See what?” Lucas responded, focusing on the spot.“That! Right there!”“What?”“RAH!” Claus exclaimed, grabbing Lucas’ arm and playfully startling his twin.“AH!” Lucas let out, before laughing. “Hey! What was that for?”“Got you to smile.” Claus said, taking another bite of his chocolate bar.“You eat too many sweets.” Lucas commented.“What?” Claus asked, ready to be angry.“Yeah. So if you want this one-” Lucas grabbed it “-you have to work for it!”Lucas got up and started running off with the candy, and Claus gave chase, the two twins laughing just like they did as children. For just a few moments, they could forget everything that had happened in the past three years. In those moments, there was no such thing as a ‘chimera’ or ‘PSI’ or even ‘tragedy’. They were just two kids running around playing like they always did, because there was never a care or problem in their world. Tazmily, Fourside, or a ship in the ocean, none of it mattered, because they were together.Until those few moments passed.Lucas stopped suddenly, causing Claus to nearly knock him to the ground. “Lucas?”“Claus, I need to tell you something. About the night I nearly drowned-”“Lucas, it’s fine. We’re both already better now. It’s not a big deal.”“I didn’t fall in.” Lucas admitted. “I jumped.”“Wh-what?” Claus asked, the smile fading off his face quickly.“I jumped.” Lucas repeated. “But I’m better now. It caused me to think things through a little clearer. So I don’t plan on doing it again.”Guiltily, Claus blurted “I’m sorry for being so harsh! I know you want to go back home, and of course I miss mom and dad, I just-”“It’s okay!” Lucas told him quickly. “Because you’re right.” he pulled Claus into a hug. “I am home. And no matter what happens going forward, we’ll always be home so long as we’re together.”“We REALLY need to start being more honest with each other again.” Claus said, hugging his brother tightly. ~~~ Ninten held a spoon out in front of him, focusing. Of course, it didn’t budge even a millimeter, but he tried anyway. Just to do SOMETHING. SOME reminder that he was better than humanity. He didn’t need a lot, just… just a reminder who he was. But as he was doing this, he got a reminder of something else instead.“Galactic Defense Force? Come in, Galactic Defense Force?” the radio Ninten kept with him asked.“Yes, this is agent Ninten of the Galactic Defense Force.” Ninten responded. “I hear you loud and clear.”“Oh good, you’re the one I needed to contact.” the person on the radio said. “I came to tell you congratulations! Your wife just called in . You’re officially a father, Ninten! Your baby was born!”Ninten gasped. “W-without me?” he asked.“Such is the way of those who put the well-being of the world above their own.” the radio person said. “You may miss moments like these, but in the end, you’re protecting your son’s - and everybody else’s - future. Isn’t that worth it?”“Thank you for letting me know.” Ninten stated, but he didn’t want to be comforted by a stranger. He switched off the radio for now, wanting to brood in his own emotions without fake optimism.Unfortunately, that’s when Lloyd came in.“Hey Ninten!” Lloyd exclaimed, sitting down next to him. “How’s it going?”Ninten didn’t say a word, his eyes settling on the discarded spoon that had been the most important thing to him only a few moments ago. Lloyd followed his gaze and picked the spoon up. “Trying again at your PSI?”Ninten remained silent.“Unfortunately, I don’t think you can just force your way to having it back.” Lloyd mentioned. “Which is for the best, right? It means Ness can’t use it, either.”“Ness…” Ninten muttered.“Hey, are you alright?” Lloyd asked.“Do I seem alright?” Ninten snapped. “I’m on the same level as humans, and I can’t even be that! Because humans are there when their children are born! I promised - I PROMISED I’d be a good dad! I wouldn’t be absent all the time like my father was, or like Ness’ father, but an actual good dad who actually cared! But I-” what was this Ninten was holding back? Tears? No, he couldn’t let himself cry! He couldn’t! “...forget it.” he said quietly.“Hold on, I think I have an idea.” Lloyd said. “Give me a moment, okay?”“Sure.” Ninten said emotionlessly.Lloyd left and returned about ten minutes later, Ninten taking that time to simply sulk. When Lloyd returned, he said “Okay, come with me!”Ninten really wasn’t feeling up to Lloyd’s antics, but he went with him regardless because he simply wasn’t in the mood to put up a fight. Lloyd led Ninten to where the cafeteria was, but all of the tables had been cleared, and Claus and Lucas were waiting for him in there. On the ground, four pieces of paper had been taped down to form a large diamond shape that spanned across the room.“What is all of this?” Ninten asked.Lloyd smirked. “Glad you asked!” he exclaimed. “You have your baseball bat, right?”“Yeah…?”“Good, because I found something that’ll serve as a ball.” Lloyd said. “You should get into position.”“Position?” Ninten asked. “Position for…?”“Position to be beaten in baseball!” Claus interjected.Ninten’s eyes widened. “Baseball?”“You like playing, don’t you?” Lloyd asked. “I mean, I know you do. You just have never really been a ‘team person’.” That’s a nice way to put it, Ninten thought bitterly, remembering exactly WHY he wasn’t a team person.“You’ve been so focused on what you CAN’T do lately, you haven’t been focused on what you CAN do!” Lloyd added.Ninten stared at the set-up that his fellow heroes - no - his FRIENDS put together just for him. And he found himself smiling so widely it was as if the sun had come out.“I CAN do this.” he found himself saying out loud. “Because…” Because being human doesn't have to be so bad. “Just so you know,” Claus playfully teased, “we had a game just like this back on the islands, and I was always the first kid to be picked for any team. So I don’t plan on losing.”“And just so YOU know,” Ninten returned, “I’m a master with a baseball bat. So I don’t plan on losing either.”“Two teams!” Lloyd declared. “Ninten and I vs. Claus and Lucas! The rocking of the boat is our current hazard and-”“Current hazard?” Ninten asked.“I’ve played a baseball video game like once.” Lloyd responded. “Cut me some slack.”“Okay,” Ninten agreed with a smile. “The rocking boat is our current hazard.”“And Giygas is our umpire.” Lloyd added.“What?” Giygas looked up from where he was sitting, practicing scrawling letters on a piece of paper like a kindergartener. “Why I am the one you choose?”“You’re the only one not playing.” Lloyd said. “Please?”“I do not know the rules, or what a ‘um-pie-err’ is.” Giygas told him. “But I will watch your fee-ble game if I must.”“Alright Ninten,” Claus said, “do you want to be first to plate or first pitcher?”“I’ll pitch.” Ninten said. “Give you two a chance to get SOME points before I take the lead.”And so the messy game of baseball began, the boys taking position on the shaky ship with small ‘field’. And the competition was fierce! Of course Ninten was the most experienced, having practiced so much as a child with dreams of becoming a professional baseball player, but Claus hadn’t been kidding when he said they had a game much like baseball on Nowhere Islands, so Lucas and Claus were no slouches, either. One would assume that would make Lloyd the worst player, but with his recently enhanced hand-eye coordination as well as knowledge of physics and trajectories, he was actually able to keep up quite well. And the small field size prevented Ninten’s asthma from ever being a problem.At one point, however, while the numbers were quite tied, Claus hit the ball Ninten threw just right so that it hit through the glass window on the door that lead out into the hallway of the ship.“The military ship!” Ninten exclaimed. “You just vandalized government property!”“Guess that’s a home run.” Claus said smugly, before running around all four bases.“Umpire, can he do that?” Ninten asked.“How should I know?” Giygas asked. Then he thought about it. “Ac-tual-ly, I think destruction should give an extra point.” He added an extra tally mark to Claus and Lucas’ side of the scoreboard.“Pork yeah!” Claus exclaimed.“What?!” Ninten exclaimed. “I can show you destruction!” he said, holding up his baseball like a weapon.“Umpire, shouldn’t there be a penalty for threatening people?” Claus asked playfully.“No,” Giygas stated, “actually, Ninten’s team gets a point for that too.”“Ha!” Ninten exclaimed. “Take that!”“Uh,” Lucas said sheepishly, “I don’t think we should be encouraging either thing.”The game continued as a close race, but in the end, Ninten’s team won by a single point. Ninten smirked smugly as the victor, but really, he was just happy everybody had a good time. Ninten often had a hard time playing team games like this because of the memories of his childhood that still tore away at him like enemies he just couldn’t shake. He had shown up to his little-league team meetings ready to work hard to ‘make it to the big leagues’ someday, oblivious at the time just how impossible that would be for him.He couldn’t help but notice, even with his childish optimism, the way the other kids kept glancing at him while the whispered amongst each other, so he dared to read their minds, even if it was difficult back then. And when he learned they thought he was holding them back because of his asthma… well, it had crushed that optimism in him forever.He told his parents he didn’t like baseball anymore, and that he didn’t want to play, despite both facts being so obviously not true. His mom had tried to get him to go back, but without knowing the problem herself she could never truly understand what it was Ninten was going through.That, after all, was Ninten’s turning point. If humans were going to be so cruel to him, he never wanted to trust them again. Turning up his nose at the mere idea of them, hating them for their deepest thoughts they’d never voice and blaming his own mother for not knowing why he felt the way he did. He pulled away from everyone, thinking them all lower than him, never wanting to show any semblance of weakness for fear of being judged by them. He’d know if they did, after all. Thus was the burden of a mind reader.But now, on the same level as the others - a human, a psychic turned into a human, and another psychic currently sealed away - suddenly it wasn’t so hard to connect.This inability to plan and predict the actions of any of those around you, was that what it meant to interact as a human? To be human yourself?Somehow, Ninten found his smile had faded into something else. A single, warm tear rolled down his face, feeling so foreign on his face.“Ninten?” Lloyd asked. “Are you…?”Ninten looked up at Lloyd, his dull eyes meeting the artificial lights of the albino’s fakes. Then Ninten managed a soft smile, looking at his friend without the slightest hint of disdain for quite possibly the first time. Instead, for once, Ninten could recognize the good qualities that made up the human-minded boy, and how, despite everything, despite being surrounded by people who were ‘stronger’ than him in many ways, Lloyd’s heroic mindset never faltered, and he was always so extremely loyal to what he believed in. The friend Ninten never had to wonder for even a second if he could trust or not.Seemingly noticing Ninten’s sincere look, Lloyd seemed taken-aback. Did he, through some form of non-psychic emotion reading, know what Ninten was thinking? Could he tell the sudden burst of admiration Ninten had for him was present in Ninten’s eyes? Or was it all just coincidence.Well, even if it was…“Lloyd… thank you.” Ninten said, smiling. “For showing me what it truly means to be human.”Lloyd froze, a wide-eyed expression on his face. Then, his expression lit up, a large smile filling his face in the way a support person should always cause naturally. He rushed over, pulling Ninten into a hug. “You’re the coolest Ninten, you know that?” Lloyd said softly. “Psychic or otherwise.”“You too.” Ninten responded sincerely.“Awww!” Lucas exclaimed, watching this happily.“You’re such a sap!” Claus told him, punching him lightly in the shoulder. But he was smiling too.“Eww.” Giygas stated, sticking out his weird alien tongue in disgust.All of a sudden, the uneasiness between the members of the group had all but melted away. No more secrets, no more hierarchies, no more anything but friends in even the worst of times. And isn’t that what a group of ‘heroes’ is meant to be, deep down? Friends who could trust the others with their lives all fighting together for the same goal? By that very definition, the four human boys at the very least had graduated from ‘heroes’ by default to… heroes. Plain and simple.As for Giygas, well, that two-way deep-rooted trust wasn’t really present, but even Lloyd had stopped watching his back around the love-hating alien. For the most part, anyway.But every good moment has to pass, and suddenly the kids all heard a loud crashing sound that shook and then stopped the boat.Lloyd gasped. “Did we go off course?” he asked rhetorically, before running towards the control area. Claus and Lucas were quick to follow, then Ninten in the back having had to take the time to snatch up Giygas.The heroes arrived, and what had happened was clear. The ship had run into a small, nearly insignificant island, yet it was JUST significant enough to cause a BIG problem with the speed they were going at.“What?” Lloyd exclaimed. “No no no no no no no, this can’t be happening!”With wide eyes, Ninten asked “What are we going to do? Is the ship going to sink?”“I don’t know!” Lloyd quickly responded. “Uh, uh…”“The hull has been severely damaged.” Claus said monotonely, an expression on his face that made it clear he wasn’t really present in the moment. “A large opening has been created within the ship that is allowing water into the lower decks. Estimated time remaining before the ship is completely submerged: approximately one hour.”“What?” Ninten asked, horrified.“Oh my dragon…” Lucas murmured, his hand over his mouth.After only a moment, Lloyd exclaimed “Lifeboats! They showed us where they are, remember?”“Right!” Ninten agreed. “Claus, are we safe to go gather our belongings?”“Laws of physics state that the side of the boat that has been breached, in this case, the front, will sink first, causing the other side to raise temporarily. Your belongings are located towards the back of the boat. Therefore, you are safer on the back of the boat than the front. Please try to relocate yourselves as soon as possible for maximum chances of survival.” Claus blinked a few times, and shook his head. “In layman’s terms,” Claus said in his usual tone, “let’s go!”“Sounds good to me!” Ninten agreed, now taking off for their quarters, the others following.“I don’t want to go back in the ocean.” Lucas told Claus, clinging to him even as they ran.“You won’t.” Claus told him. “We have an hour and military-grade lifeboats. We’ll be just fine.”“Those lifeboat things looked really small. Will they even stand up to this weather?”“They will.” Claus promised. “Let’s just focus on getting to them, okay?”Lucas managed a nod, and all of the boys began packing their things rapidly, not wanting to leave anything that could potentially be important behind but also not wanting to risk wasting a precious second unnecessarily. Why had they taken EVERYTHING out of their bags?Claus packed his father’s hat away, knowing better to risk it in the wind. After all, despite being so far from Eagleland, the terrible weather hadn’t vanished. While the wind had lightened slightly and the temperature had risen, it was still pouring rain quite heavily.“Lucas, you’re the best runner, go fill this bag with as many MREs as you can.” Ninten instructed, handing Lucas a bag.Lucas gave one more nervous look in Claus’ direction before complying, taking off as fast as he could.It had only been about ten minutes since the impact, and yet the ship was already quite tilted. Lucas was running downhill to get to the cafeteria, and it occurred to him that if the ship titled too much it would make returning to his brother quite difficult. Still, he had to be brave, and entered the cafeteria.As Lucas ran he nearly slipped on a piece of paper still taped to the ground from the baseball game. He paid it no mind now as he entered the kitchen area and started tossing the brown plastic packages in his bag as fast as possible. As soon as Lucas had been feeling better from his hypothermia he had been cooking meals for everyone, so these had gone mostly unused. Which was lucky now.The bag Ninten had given Lucas didn’t actually seal since it was just a tote bag Ninten had wanted to keep as a souvenir, so Lucas grabbed a tarp kept in the more storage-y part of the kitchen and threw it overtop of the food. Then he began running back to the bedroom, though he was certain now the uphill climb was steeper than the downhill one from before. Still manageable, at least.“Got them.” he said as he returned, happy to be back near his twin.“I finished packing your things.” Claus told him seriously, passing Lucas his bag. “Are you ready?”“Yeah.” Lucas said with a nod, not feeling ready at all.“Me too.” Ninten added.“Me three.” Lloyd pitched in.“I had nothing to pack.” Giygas helpfully added.“Right then.” Ninten said, taking charge. “Then let’s go to the lifeboats.”To get to the lifeboats, the Warriors of the Universe had to go out on the deck and experience what it was they were going to be in for during the rest of the ride to Summers. The awful, unrelenting rain.Immediately, Claus began screaming, holding his arms above his head to try to protect himself.“Hey, it’s okay.” Lucas soothed. “You’re waterproof now.”Claus opened his scrunched-shut eyes. “...Right.” he responded a little awkwardly, putting his arms back down. “I’d better get over my fear of water pretty quickly.”“Now’s not really a good time for chatter.” Ninten interrupted. “Lloyd, do you know how to get the lifeboat down?”“Yeah.” Lloyd nodded. “They showed me on the first day. It’s-AH!”The shifting of the boat had caused Lloyd to lose his footing, sliding down towards the other side of the deck. Seeing this, the others immediately grabbed onto the slippery rail.“Are you okay?” Lucas shouted.“Yeah!” Lloyd responded, carefully using the rail to climb back up.Claus paused for a moment, staring off into space. “It seems my previous estimate was too generous. There is approximately fifteen minutes remaining before the lifeboats will no longer be accessible to us.”“Great.” Lloyd said sarcastically as he made his way back up. “Good thing we’ll be out of here in plenty of time!”Lloyd pushed his bags into Ninten’s hands, who was only otherwise wearing the backpack that contained Giygas. He then used the rail to help him get to where the lifeboats were and started working the mechanism that released them.Lucas looked nervously out at the ocean. Thankfully, if they had hit an island, the water had to be at least somewhat shallow right here, but they’d be getting to a much deeper part of it soon. On a small little lifeboat. In a storm.Lucas gripped his brother’s arm tighter.“Alright everyone, get in!” Lloyd instructed the rest. “And hurry! The boat is going to have a hard time getting into the water as it is.”The kids scrambled over to the little lifeboat that looked so, so flimsy compared the the big military ship they had now. Still, they had no choice but to get in it, despite it’s constant shaking in the wind.Once the others were in with their bags, Lloyd got in last and began to use the lowering system to drop the ship into the water. The lowering was terrifying, of course, but what was much worse was when Lloyd had to disconnect the lifeboat from the main one. Now, they couldn’t get back on if they wanted to.The rain continued to pour as Lloyd started up the motor on the thankfully motorized lifeboat, though they just had to just head off in the direction the bigger boat was headed in and hope they were still on the right track.“Claus, can you scan for Summers?” Lloyd asked.“What do I look like, a GPS?” Claus responded. “Of course I can’t. My range is WAY too limited for that.”“Do humans not use the stars to na-vi-gate?” Giygas asked.“Usually, I think.” Ninten responded. “I’m pretty sure Pippi said something about that before. She spent the first nine years of her life living on a boat, and we couldn’t even last a week.” Ninten said almost jokingly, but it was clear he was just trying to make light of the situation. “But look up. There’s no way the stars are going to shine through all of that.”Giygas’ eyes went up to the sky heavy with clouds. “I suppose not.”“I hope the sun shines again soon.” Lucas lamented, looking back towards the large boat they were just on. Now, the nose was underwater and the tip was so high up it almost looked vertical. They were just on that ship a couple minutes ago, and now…“That way.” Lucas said, pointing. “I think… that’s the direction we need to go.”“Huh?” Lloyd asked. “That’s not the direction we WERE going…”“But we must’ve gone off course.” Lucas said with some certainty. “After all, there was an island in our way, and there wasn’t supposed to be. The storm must’ve gotten the ship off course, but I KNOW that’s the way we need to go. I can feel it… in my heart.”Claus looked at Lucas with some concern. “Are you sure you aren’t just finding the Nowhere Islands?”Lucas paused for a moment. Finally, with certainty, he said “I’m not. I know we need to go to Summers to save everyone. That’s… that’s what I WANT to do. So, we need to go that way.”Lloyd looked at Lucas with doubt. “PSI is one thing, but knowing where you need to go solely because your ‘heart’ says it’s right…”“But I know it’s true!” Lucas protested.“Without PSI?” Ninten countered.“If he says it’s the right way, it’s the right way.” Claus argued. “The heart of a Tazmilian is a powerful thing. So if a villager who means well wants to find something, surely their heart would draw them towards it.”“But he doesn’t have PSI.” Ninten reiterated. “So how could his ‘heart’ tell him anything?”“Like I said, he’s from Tazmily!” Claus snapped. “And anyway, do you have anything better? The fact of the matter is, the island wasn’t ‘on-course’ to Summers, so it’s either take Lucas’ advice or shut your eyes and pick a random direction at this point.”“I guess you’re right…” Lloyd admitted. “Despite everything I’ve seen, this still feels like a stretch, but…” he sighed. “What choice do we have?” he then turned to Lucas. “Alright, which direction?”“That way.” Lucas said with certainty once again, and Lloyd changed the direction of the boat.“There’s no way of knowing if he’s right or not for a while.” Ninten commented. “So I guess all we can do now is wait… in the freezing cold pouring rain.”“Wait, I brought a tarp!” Lucas exclaimed, pulling the tarp off of the MRE bag. “We can all go under this!”“Lucas, that was brilliant!” Lloyd complimented.“Thank pork.” Claus added.“Someone will have to peek out from time to time to make sure we’re not going to run into anything.” Lloyd warned. “But other than that, the tarp’ll be great!”Lucas unfurled the tarp and spread it out. The boat was quite crowded and everyone was freezing and wet, but at least they were safe from the rain and wind.“Now that we have a moment, I’d like to make an announcement.” Ninten declared, a bit more comfortable talking about this now.“What is it?” the others asked.Ninten smiled widely. “As of today, I’m officially a father.”Lucas gasped. “Congratulations, Ninten!”“Wow, really?” Claus asked. “Awesome!”“I figured that’s what you were getting at earlier.” Lloyd said. “I’m happy for you, Ninten, and I’m sure Ana’s thrilled. I’m looking forward to meeting your new child. Ness, I assume?”“Yeah.” Ninten nodded. “I’m pretty sure the Ness from this time was born in Summer, but because of the weird time travel situation, this Ness is a Fall baby, I guess. What day is it, anyway?”Claus thought for a moment. “November 29th.” he told Ninten.“November 29th?” Lloyd asked. “That’s it?”“Yeah.” Claus nodded. “It hasn’t even been a month since…” Claus trailed off, not finishing his sentence, but both Lloyd and Lucas knew what he was going to say.
Halloween.
Ninten smiled, however. “Just a few days after your birthday, huh, Lloyd?”“Oh yeah.” Lloyd responded. “Guess… guess we didn’t notice with everything going on…”“Wait, we missed your birthday?” Lucas asked.“I was born on November 24th - Thanksgiving Day that year.” Lloyd explained. “Which is pretty funny, since I was born in the TOWN of Thanksgiving.”“Well, happy late birthday.” Lucas said, seeming sad. “I wish I had known.”“It’s okay.” Lloyd responded. “We’re kind of a little busy saving the world at the moment.”“Well,” Ninten joked, “Ness is going to have the same annoyance as you, Lloyd. A birthday so close to Christmas.”Lloyd laughed. “Yeah. Guess he is.”“I can’t wait to meet him…” Ninten said, somewhat lost in thought. “I hope Ana’s doing okay without me.”Little did Ninten know, on the ship he had just recently fled that was now completely submerged underwater, a deactivated government radio was shorting out. With the sunken ship and loss of contact with the children, the government would soon decide that there was no way the four children had survived.Ana would soon be informed that her husband and father to her child didn’t make it.