Title: A Field of Endless Suns
Genre: Angst/Drama
Rating: T
Pairings: Nothing
Warnings: ANGST, character death, SPOILERS FOR MOTHER 3.
Disclaimer: I don't own Super Smash Bros or Mother 3
Summery: Lucas was in so much pain as he waited for Ness to get back from his match. The pain messed with his head, and made him dream weird things. Like waking up in a flower field with his dead brother Claus.
Inumaru12: Before anyone starts b'aaawww-ing or cursing me out, THERE ARE TWO ENDINGS TO THIS. The first ending, which will be completed in this chapter, is the SAD ending. Chapter two will be the HAPPY ending. It was originally just going to be the sad ending but I decided, why not? I hope you enjoy this! Please tell me what you thought.
A Field of Endless Suns
It had started the night before. Lucas had started to feel a bit sluggish and really tired. He also felt a pain bad pain that he could never really pinpoint. His roommate, Ness, suggested that he was tired from the entire day of smashing and that he should go to bed. Lucas nodded and was so tired that he barely heard Ness tell him that the other boy would be in an endurance smash the next day so he might not be there when he woke up.
Lucas feel into a deep and troubling sleep filled with monsters and an endless darkness that called out his name. When he woke up again, it was morning and everything was wrong. His throat was dry and he felt so hot and was drenched with sweat. The worse part though was the pain. His side was throbbing with pain. It felt as if someone had taken a red hot knife and was jabbing him from the inside out.
He put his hand on the pain and hissed; the shock of pain that went through him was making his body shake.
The boy couldn't move. The pain was too much for him and if he even tried he could barely move without going back to the pain. Eventually it was too much for Lucas, and he passed out back into his dreams.
XxXxXxXxX
Lucas opened his eyes and blinked. Then he blinked again and then proceeded to rub his eyes. Right in front of him was a field of sunflowers.
'Is this real?' He wondered, moving forward to gently touch the stalk of the flower. He gave a small gasp. He could feel it, he could really feel it. Pulling it closer so that the actual flower was near his face he took a deep whiff of its scent.
It had to be real. He could smell the flower and even feel it. So why was he here, and even where was here?
"Lucas!"
Lucas turned out of reflex and froze when he saw who standing a few feet away from him and waving.
"Claus!"
Without a second thought, Lucas ran towards his brother and embraced him.
XxXxXxXxX
Ness sighed and pushed himself to continue down the hallway.
'It's only a few more steps.' He thought to himself, than he'd be able to take a shower and rest.
The young PSI user had been in a long endurance test against Pit, Ike, and Yoshi; the one who could stay standing without fainting or giving up was the winner. It had been close but Pit had won in the end. Ness had worn himself not just physically but mentally too. Using so much PSI in a short amount of time was strenuous but overall Ness was proud of how long he had managed to last in the battle.
Finally at his door, the dark haired boy slid his key card and opened the door. Walking in, he blinked in surprise. Lucas was still in bed? He looked towards the digital that was on the bedside table and frowned. It was already one o'clock in the afternoon so why wasn't he up? Did he not feel well?
Ness suddenly remembered how Lucas didn't seem to feel too good last night, making him worried even more. Walking over to the boy who was hidden by his covers, he pulled them back. Lucas was breathing heavily, giving out painful gasps every few seconds. When Ness put his hand on Lucas' forehead he almost immediately pulled it back. Lucas wasn't just warm, he was burning up. The raven haired boy's concern increased and he flailed around for a moment, trying to figure out what to do. Finally after a moment, he pulled himself together and rushed out the door.
He had to get Doctor Mario.
XxXxXxXxX
Claus held him as he cried on his shoulder. Lucas was gripping him so tightly, afraid that if he let go that Claus would disappear and that he would wake up and find it had all been just a dream. But soon the sobs began to lessen and so did Lucas' hold on his brother. Still clinging to his brother, Lucas looked his brother in the eyes and placed his hand against Claus' cheek.
"You're here…You're really here." Lucas's voice was thick with emotion, and he blinked away tears.
The darker haired twin smiled serenely. Taking Lucas' hands with his own, he began to speak.
"Yeah Lucas, I'm really here…And so are you! We've missed you."
"We?"
"Yeah, me and mom of course! C'mon, we can't keep her waiting."
And with Lucas' hand in his, Claus led the way.
XxXxXxXxX
Doctor Mario panted slightly from being dragged halfway across the mansion by Ness. The boy had burst into his office and said a jumble of words before grabbing him and pulling him away. For such a young boy, he sure was strong.
Now in Ness' room, Doctor Mario could understand the boy's hurry. Lucas was on his bed in what seemed sweat soaked clothes and his face expressed pure agony. Along with the small whimpers and flushed face, it was obvious to Doctor Mario's trained eye that Lucas was in serious condition.
Immediately running past Ness (who was bent over and panting from running from his room and back) Doctor Mario got to work. Thanking whatever deity was watching over him that he had thought to grab his health kit before getting dragged away, the doctor took out the thermometer from his bag and moving the boy's mouth with his other hand, put it under the boy's tongue.
After waiting a few moments, the thermometer beeped and the doctor pulled it out and frowned. Lucas' temperature was very, very high and it was slowly rising higher. The doctor decided that it would be for the best if he moved his patient to bathroom where he could put him in some cold water when noticed something. When he began to move Lucas, the boy began to groan and wince in pain. He was clutching his side unconsciously and the doctor set him back down gently.
Doctor Mario lifted the boy's shirt and poked and prodded a bit until he hit a spot that made the blond haired boy yelp in pain. The doctor frowned even more; this was a lot worse than he expected.
"Ness," He spoke sternly but calmly, "I need you to go inform Master Hand of this situation, and that I'm bringing him to the hospital."
"Hospital?" Ness exclaimed, his worry becoming even worse. "Is it that bad?"
The doctor sighed but nodded.
"Tell him that Lucas is going to need an operation as soon as possible."
XxXxXxXxX
Never letting go of his brother's hand, Lucas let Claus lead him through the sea of sunflowers. They were the biggest sunflowers Lucas had ever seen, and strangely enough, whenever Lucas and Claus passed one, it would turn its head as if it was watching them. Even worse, Lucas swore he could hear voices coming from the sunflowers.
"…His appendix…appendicitis…operation…"
Lucas strained his ears slightly; trying to hear what exactly the strange flowers were saying.
"…Hurry…emergency…could die…"
But even as Lucas paused slightly to try and listen to the voices coming from them, Claus pulled him away. Soon enough the voices were only background noise compared to his emotions. He was going to see his mother again. Lucas squeezed his brother's hand and Claus smiled gently at him. The darker haired twin looked ahead and his smile grew even more. Stopping, Claus pointed to something beyond them.
…Beep…beep…beep…
Beeping sounds were coming from the flowers now, but the blond psychic paid them no mind as he squinted to see what his brother was pointing to. He realized, with a start, just what his brother was pointing to.
Their mother.
Without a second thought, Lucas let go of his brother's hand and ran through the field of strange sunflowers and towards his mother.
"…Anesthesia isn't working…his body rejecting the medicine…can't operate on him…"
Racing through the flowers, his eyes only set his quickly getting closer mother.
"…We're losing him…try another dose…just a few more milligrams…"
His mother's kind smile as she began to hold her arms out to him.
"Don't give up just yet kid…Please…"
An ecstatic feeling of pure joy filled him as he got even closer. Just a few more feet and…
"Lucas…"
"Lucas," His mother spoke so lovingly.
…and Lucas was in her arms, holding her and being held by her. He had forgotten just what it felt like to be hugged by his mom. Clinging to her tightly, he vowed to himself that he'd never let himself forget again.
Beep…Beep…BeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEPPP.
"Time of death?"
"…Two thirty-eight."
"…I'm so sorry…"
The sounds from the sunflowers got softer and softer until they were completely gone. In his mother's embrace, Lucas was completely safe. No more monsters, no more evil Porkey, no more fear.
He was home.
XxXxXxXxX
Master Hand looked into the sea of brawlers, watching their reactions. Even the most cruel hearted smashers were open with their shock and disbelief. How could this have happened, and especially to Lucas?
Slowly, the info sank in and soon they began to express their emotions the only way they knew. Several of the younger brawlers began to cry, while some of the older men grit their teeth and shook with rage at the unfairness. Others were leaning to their friends for comfort in this suddenly painful time.
The only smasher who Master Hand had a hard time reading was Snake.
The mercenary had his back against the wall and was seemingly emotionless. He watched as others grieved as if he was only an outsider, and in a way, he was. Always on his own, only interacting during a few chats between brawlers and the actual fights, Solid Snake was a mystery to most.
But to Master Hand, he knew Snake understood and felt the grief here too. That's why Master hand had chosen the man to help him with a very difficult task.
They need to tell Lucas' father, Flint.
XxXxXxXxX
Boney whined, nudging Flint's hand with his nose, only to get no response.
The man was often changing from sitting down on the couch to pacing in the house. Flint had felt something off the entire morning. It was just a huge bad feeling in his stomach. No matter what he did, nothing made it go away. He could tell it was bad, the last time he had ever felt like this was the time his wife had been killed.
Finally sitting down on the couch again, Flint intertwined his fingers and began to pray that his (only) son was okay. He was broken out of his prayers when suddenly there was a loud knock on his door. It made him jump and blink for a few seconds before getting up and walking towards the door, Boney on his heels.
Opening the door, Flint was taken aback slightly by the unfamiliar man. Standing up a little bit straighter, and a little more on edge, Flint spoke.
"Yes?"
"Hello, you must be Flint. Your son, Lucas, speaks a lot about you." The man said calmly, and Flint felt a stab of fear go through him.
This man knew his son? Then why was he here alone? Where was Lucas? The bad feeling that had been wallowing in him began to twist and turn even worse.
"Now you listen here; I don't know who you are but you obviously know about my son. I have had a bad feeling all day long so don't pussyfoot around the truth and tell me: is my son okay?"
There was silence between the two as they stared the other in the eyes. A glimmer of respect shone in the strange man's eyes along with a sad pitying look.
"I'm truly sorry to say, but your son is dead."
Flint stared at him, uncomprehending the words he had just said. After a while, he gripped the door frame and shook. Lucas was…Lucas was…
He took in quick and shallow breathes, unable to keep his breathing straight.
"M-my son…he's…"
He looked into the other man's eyes, praying for a denial when all he saw was truth.
Flint's world came crashing down around him once again.
XxXxXxXxX
Ness sat on the bench, unsure what to do. He wanted to demand to go into the room and see Lucas' body but at the same time he was so terrified to do so. To see his best friend's lifeless body just laying there; never to move again…The mere thought drove shivers up his spines and tears to his eyes.
A hand squeezed his shoulder and the young boy looked up at Luigi. The plumber gave a strained smile that Ness was unable to return. The man clad in green wrapped his arm around the boy but said nothing, finding nothing meaningful enough to say. He closed his eyes, wondering what he should do when he heard the sudden tapping of shoes making their way down the hall.
Opening his eyes and looking, Luigi began to stand, along with Ness, when they saw Snake walking solemnly with a man neither of them recognized. The man was dressed like a cowboy and his face was blank but his eyes spoke of pain and fear. The two stopped in front of Ness and Luigi, and right in front of the door where Lucas was on the other side of.
Everyone was silent for a while, not knowing what to say. The cowboy shuffled a bit and grabbed the rim of his hat and pulled it down over his eyes.
"Is this the room?" He asked gruffly.
At Snake's nod, the man took a deep breath and walks towards the door and hesitated. His hand on the door knob, he mumbled under his breath a prayer for strength. He then enters the room and closed it behind him. The silence began to stretch between the three smashers before it was broken.
"Oh mio dio, was that-?" Luigi breathed, reverting into his mother tongue in shock.
"Yes," Snake said, slumping onto the bench and rubbing his face with his hands. "That was Lucas' father."
XxXxXxXxX
He couldn't breathe. He couldn't hear. He couldn't move. It was like the moment he stepped through that door everything stopped. He slowly began to move though, but it felt as if his legs were made of lead. He drunkenly made his way towards the bed.
It was rather nice actually; the way they had Lucas. His body was still and there was a sheet over him, covering him from sight but Flint knew his son's shape and with shaking hands slowly brought the sheet down.
It was almost like he was asleep. His eyes were closed and he looked almost peaceful, but despite the serene look on his son's face, Flint felt his heart break. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Flint pulled his son into his arms and cradled him like he had done so long ago.
"L-Lucas." He mumbled, his throat becoming tight as he squeezed the lifeless husk of what was once his son.
His shoulders began to shake and he buried his head in the corpse's neck. Small whimpers and soft sobs were heard coming from the man as his shaking became worse.
He never noticed when his hat fell from the shaking and drifted towards the ground.
XxXxXxXxX
Snake and Luigi stood together, and for once they were both dressed completely in black; but then again, so were all the other smashers. Usually the other smashers weren't allowed to visit other worlds unless it was for a special occasion or if it was part of the area. This time though…
They stood in front of three graves. One was for Lucas' mother, the second for Lucas' brother and the third was for Lucas himself. Seeing the dates on the graves and realizing what Lucas had lost in such a short amount of time was another kick in the stomach for the Smashers. The young boy had never spoken much of his past and now they knew why. They wished they had done something for him but now it was too late.
The funeral was bittersweet. All of the smashers came up and spoke a little of their time with the boy. Some stories were repeated as some of the smashers didn't know Lucas very well but no one minded. They dutifully ignored the tears of some smashers when they were going up to speak.
Ness was up and barely speaking for even thirty seconds before shaking he head and he refused to say anymore. Ike pulled the boy to his side and let Ness cry into his clothes. The respectful silence was broken only once though, when one of the natives of the planets, and Lucas' friend, spoke up. She yelled at Lucas' grave, telling him she thought he was stronger than that. She said she had expected more than some disease to kill him. That she had expected him to grow up and get married and someday have a kid of his own. She just kept yelling forcing herself forward, trying to punch or kick the grave but was held back by several smashers.
But in the end the pink haired girl began to cry angrily and forcefully declined any help from anyone as she furiously rubbed at her eyes. She ran away from the funeral and towards town, a young man who seemed to have something wrong with his leg hurried after her.
Everyone was at that funeral, everyone except Flint.
No one said anything about it though. While some people were angry that the father wasn't at his own son's funeral, no one could really blame him. Soon enough, the service was over and everyone slowly shuffled away. Snake and Luigi walked towards town, just killing time as both were lost in their thoughts and they were waiting for the allotted time that Master Hand said that they'd be leaving by.
As they headed farther south in the town they heard a commotion. Luigi and Snake spared only a glance at each other before rushing forward. They continued down the path of the town and onto a well used dirt path before coming to a house. There was a rather large brown dog howling in what almost seemed like heartache and the pink haired girl was there. She was slumped on the ground just staring blankly.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Snake spoke softly to her, holding her shoulders as gently as possible.
She looked up at him; her eyes were filled with a grief so deep that it made him flinch in surprise.
"T-They're all back together." She hiccupped, letting out a small hysterical giggle after. "They're all one big happy family again."
She then dissolved into tears, which Luigi jumped quickly into action to try and comfort her. Snake was thankful, because he had never been the best at comforting. Walking into the house he saw the man who had chased after the pink haired girl from before was in the house. He was in front of the stairs wiping at his eyes.
"What happened?" Snake asked, a feeling of foreboding going through him. If he was right, then he already knew what happened.
The young man lifted his head wearily, but seemed to recognize him. He gave a weak smile which was more of a wince.
"Flint, he uh-he decided that he didn't want to be here anymore without his family. S-so he d-decided to…" The man stopped as he choked on a sob and he moved away from the stairway.
Snake took his time going up those stairs, knowing what would greet him when he got to the top. He put his soldier mode on and blanked his face. With that ready, he finally made the last step up.
He wasn't disappointed.
XxXxXxXxX
Ness looked at Lucas' newly erected grave and blinked back tears. He had been crying for days now, he just wanted it to stop. Was this how Lucas felt when his brother and his mother died? There were so many things Ness wished he could ask Lucas but he would never have the chance to now.
"Lucas…I'm sorry. I-I wish I had checked on you before I left that morning. I wish I had finished earlier. I wish…I wish you were still alive. You were my friend, and I miss you. It's not the same without you there."
Ness gritted his teeth and shook slightly before he forced himself to calm down.
"I got you something Lucas…I know it's not much, but I remember when you told me that you loved sunflowers, and I can guess why now." Ness crouched down and place the sunflower before the grave marker.
"Goodbye Lucas, I'll never forget you."
Ness left soon after, not wanting to get left behind when Master Hand transported them all back to the mansion. The sunflower laid motionless before Lucas' grave. Soon though, the tips of its petals began to blacken and the wind plucked them off, one by one.
All that was left was the head, and the tainted yellow petals began to float away; never to be part of one ever again.
Owari
Inumaru12: Whoo, man this would be a great shot game. Take a shot of whisky every time something makes you tear up (It made me tear up, and I'm the author!) Don't worry guys, there WILL be a happy ending. I'm just gonna post this now, and then I'll post in a few days when I finish writing it. This part already took me a week and a half to write (though school and work didn't help) Hopefully you'll all look forward to it!
Please tell me what you thought and any questions/comments/criticism would be great. Also, I wasn't sure where to put this in category, so I just put it both in the Earthbound section and the Super Smash Bros. section, since it does contain a huge part of both.
Until next chapter! Ta!
