Updated on 5/3, not as many changes to this chapter as it actually worked on a fundamental level before the update. :)
Thank you for taking the time to read my fanfic. The characters come from the Mother series, but the plot is made up. The backstories of characters are not necessarily the same as in the games. Locations are also from the mother series but again may be different from the actual games, although I tried to preserve the feel of these places.
Nothing seems real. All is ethereal.
Is this the start of a grand adventure? No…
It is the start of my never ending pain, pain borne from longing and isolation.
"I'm exhausted from all of this running," Lucas complained wearily, slouching in the filthy shack that he and Claus called "home".
"Really?" Claus replied, trying to seem upbeat. "I didn't think that you would be so worn out. We hardly had to move around at all this week." Claus felt somewhat obliged to take care of his younger brother Lucas. Whenever Lucas voiced a problem, Claus was quick to respond and give aid. "I mean, I don't want to imply that you shouldn't be tired, but…" Claus trailed off, unable to finish his lie.
Lucas shook his head. His hunched shoulders and sluggish movements gave off an aura of weariness. Claus was hypersensitive to body language like that.
"I don't mean physically, Claus," Lucas said. His depressed voice worried Claus. "But… how long can we live like this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Look at where we are, Claus."
Claus stopped and looked around. The wooden shack had multiple leaks and seemed to be slowly falling apart. He heard the raindrops drip from the leak in the ceiling into the water pail in the center of the room. Drip… drip… drip… just like a heartbeat, omnipresent and easily forgotten about. The wind howled outside, causing Claus to shiver due to the air currents that leaked into their shack. In the corner of the room, two blankets lay messily on the filthy ground, serving as makeshift beds for the twins. Despite all of New Pork City's splendor, most of the city was poor. It made Claus miss his home in Tazmily dearly. He suspected that Lucas felt the same way.
"How long can we live like this?" Lucas asked again. "We're avoiding the pigmasks, but we aren't really doing anything. We can't find a steady source of income. Even if we could, I'm too weak to be able to handle the labor. You… have a better chance in this world without me, Claus."
Claus stomped on the ground in anger, causing Lucas to recoil.
"We are not talking about this again!" Claus shouted, probably louder than necessary.
"But…"
"I don't care if you have the best reason in the entire world. We are not talking about this!" Claus' expression softened as an idea entered his mind. He pondered it for a few seconds.
"I know," Claus said, more gently this time. "How about we go out to eat?"
"What?" Lucas squeaked. "We don't have that kind of money, Claus!"
"To hell with that," Claus said dismissively, unable to keep a smile from popping up on his face. "I'm tired of being stuck in this rotten little dump. Now come on, let's go!"
Claus picked up his jacket and all of the money that they had left.
"Claus, you can't!" Lucas exclaimed.
"Hey, you were the one that said that we needed to do something. I'm simply taking your suggestion," Claus replied, his wicked smile widening at Lucas' shock. He had forgotten how good it felt to interact with Lucas, even if all they were doing was arguing.
(Insert Line here)
"Stop acting so nervous, Lucas," Claus ordered, enjoying the superiority of being able to get Lucas to the restaurant more than was entirely healthy.
"I can't just stop being nervous, Claus," Lucas replied while fidgeting. "It's not that easy."
The restaurant that the twins were eating at was fairly low end (Claus had given into Lucas' pleas not to spend too much money), but it was still far nicer than where they lived. Electric lights lit up the room, masking the dreary world outside. Everyone seemed to be taking the lights for granted, but they amazed Claus every time that he saw them. Overall, the restaurant had a nice, relaxed atmosphere. People were chatting and laughing, kids were eagerly scarfing down food, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Claus sighed in relief, letting out the stress that constantly threatened to break his will.
Claus. What was that? Claus had sworn that he heard his name being spoken from inside of his head. He must be imagining things.
Claus!
"Who's there?" Claus asked, jolting up in his seat. People nearby stopped talking and turned their attention to him. Lucas blushed.
Geez, could you make it any more obvious? The point of telepathic communication is so that nobody else hears what we're saying, Claus heard in his mind.
Claus blinked. Telepathic communication? Who in the world could…? Claus looked across the table at Lucas, who was staring at him intently. Claus then put the pieces together. Lucas was the one sending telepathic messages, courtesy of his PSI. Both Lucas and Claus possessed these psychic powers, which is why they were hiding from the pigmasks in the first place. But how did Lucas know how to communicate telepathically? Neither he nor Claus had ever used telepathy of any sort before. Claus raised an eyebrow at Lucas, hopefully indicating his confusion in the matter.
What's so eyebrow raise worthy? It's like you're surprised that we can communicate like this… wait, how can we do this? I've never used telepathy before. Why is this coming so naturally to me?
Claus shrugged. Normally, new PSI abilities were easy to recognize, as they came with a fever. He had no idea how Lucas had instantly realized this power.
I guess it doesn't really matter, Lucas sent. Claus disagreed but kept his opinion to himself. Anyways, the reason that I started telepathizing… wait, is that a real word? Um… I started sending messages to you because one of the pigmasks at the table over there is looking at us strangely.
So what? It was probably because they were kids and their parents were nowhere to be seen. Still, Claus decided to indulge Lucas' concern and looked over at the pigmask. Sure enough, the snout-nosed soldier was looking at them, but Claus couldn't read the expression under that silly mask. Claus shrugged at Lucas, indicating that he didn't think that it was a big deal. Pigmasks' fascist and pretentious nature caused them to stick their snouts in everyone else's business. Hopefully, this one would leave them alone. Lucas seemed relieved at Claus' lack of concern, but still looked anxious. He continued to fidget in his seat.
The rest of the meal passed uneventfully. Lucas clamored to see the bill and Claus wouldn't let him, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. The pigmask had seemingly lost interest in the twins and Lucas was finally able to relax.
"Ah, that was nice," Claus said as they were walking back to their little shack. "We should do that more. We have to keep our spirits up somehow."
Lucas, however, looked anything but refreshed.
The pigmask from the restaurant is following us, Claus heard in his mind. He stopped, trying to hide his surprise.
We should casually duck into an alley, Lucas continued. Claus was surprised by that message too. Lucas was the last one Claus would expect to risk the bloodthirsty alleys of New Pork City.
"Freeze!" the pigmask shouted in an authoritative voice.
Claus swore under his breath and stopped in his tracks, synchronized with Lucas' halt. The pigmask walked up and inspected them.
"Your names are Claus and Lucas, right?" the pigmask asserted.
"H-How did you know that?" Lucas stuttered.
"I'm Isaac from Tazmilly," the pigmask replied. Claus and Lucas both relaxed. Isaac was someone that they knew fairly well. "And I'm high in the ranks of master Porky's army, so I don't want to see any funny business from you."
"T-Thanks," Lucas managed to get out. "We'll keep that in mind."
Lucas turned to walk away, clearly wanting to escape this unnerving situation. Claus felt a pang of sadness. He hated seeing Lucas like this.
"Wait!" Isaac shouted. Lucas froze. "I'm not done with you kids yet."
"Well hurry it up," Claus snapped. "We're freezing our butts off here."
Issac eyed Claus sternly and then spoke: "You kids wouldn't happen to know PSI, would you?"
Damn! Issac knew about their files. What an unlucky streak. There wasn't much that they could do now. Since he knew of Claus' and Lucas' psychic powers, he wouldn't let them go free. The pigmasks were capturing kids with PSI abilities. Claus didn't know where they went, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that it probably wasn't good for those kids. Claus had seen reports saying that two boys had been captured already. Lucas and Claus looked to be the next two.
Lucas, however, seemed oblivious to the futility of their situation.
"N-N-No!" Lucas stammered. "We don't know about anything like that!"
He was a terrible liar. Isaac sighed and picked Lucas up.
"What are you doing to me?" Lucas asked in terror. Isaac responded by putting a gun up to Lucas' temple.
"Claus. Use PSI. Now," Isaac said without emotion.
"I don't have any whatchamacalit!" Claus exclaimed, adrenaline dispersing throughout his system, preparing him to leap into action. This was not good.
"Don't play dumb! If you don't use PSI in ten seconds, Lucas dies!" Isaac started counting down, showing no hesitation. "Ten, nine, eight…"
Claus could feel the tension in the air. He felt a cage of helplessness close around him! NO! Not this, please… Claus thought. I can't… I can't go through this again! I promised myself that I would never be helpless again. Please, give me a way out!
"Seven, six…"
Lucas' eyes were bulging with terror.
"Five…"
Claus couldn't let this happen, no matter what the cost to himself!
"Four…"
Claus snarled and produced a hexagonal spark above his hand, showing that he could indeed use PSI. Lucas was reduced to quiet tears by this point. Isaac gave Claus a businesslike nod and ordered for him to follow, but Claus barely heard the words. Will I always be helpless to save the people that I love? Is there no way out for me? he wondered.
Isaac offered condolences to Claus, who didn't register the words. Claus was too focused on his own weakness. There should have been a way out for him! Claus shook his head. They were in some sort of flying machine now, but Claus didn't notice his surroundings.
"I'm sorry," Lucas said, averting his eyes from Claus' harsh gaze.
"Sorry for what?" Claus asked in a cold tone.
"I got captured and forced you into a harsh situation," Lucas explained in a self-loathing voice.
"That wasn't your fault."
"But…"
"Just leave me alone," Claus interjected, turning away from his heartbroken twin.
Eventually, Claus and Lucas were forced out of the flying machine (Claus thought that Issac called it a "helicopter," but he didn't care enough to make sure). A boy about the same age as Claus stood at the entrance to the building. Claus barely registered his blond hair and glasses that made him appear geeky at first glance.
"Hello, my name is Jeff Andonuts, and I…"
Claus shoved him out of the way.
"I don't care who you are," Claus said icily and walked through the door behind Jeff, slamming it behind him.
Claus vaguely recalled hearing Lucas talk with Jeff and had no recollection of how he ended up in the room that he was supposedly staying in. The room was gorgeous. Flashy, neon lights lined every wall of the room, and lavish decorations were placed all around. A chandelier hanging from above, chairs lined with velvet, even one of those fancy oven things that could heat up food, it was all there. Robots patrolled the room, minding their own business. Yes, the room was fancy and lavish. It made Claus want to puke.
Claus crawled into bed and was about to turn the lights off (this room had electrical lights!) when Lucas entered, a grim look of determination on his face.
"Claus," Lucas said. "You're holding the pain in. I can see it in you. This rage that you feel… you're letting it simmer. Eventually, you will start to boil and explode like a volcano, molten words flowing freely from your explosive mouth. You can't live like that!"
"You don't understand how I feel," Claus said dismissively.
"Exactly," Lucas said. Seeing the shock on Claus' face, Lucas explained: "I don't understand you. But… you need someone to understand you, someone to connect with you. You taught me that. When I felt that all was lost, you made an effort to learn how I felt. That saved me, Claus. Please, let me in. Explain everything to me."
"It's not that easy," Claus whispered.
"I'm not saying that it's easy," Lucas replied, genuine concern written on his face. "But I was able to do it. You don't want to be outdone by your little brother, do you?" Lucas asked impishly.
Claus smiled.
"Oh, it's on now!" he exclaimed, not even noticing how quickly he had turned from depressed to eager.
Lucas laughed at Claus' competitive pride.
"Well, for starters, I should climb into bed with you. I feel that we will have a long night ahead of us…" Lucas trailed off. Claus nodded in approval.
Claus spent hours talking with Lucas about his inner turmoil. He recounted memories long forgotten and explained the dull rage inside of him that he hadn't even noticed until that moment. Lucas listened intently to every word, catching every implication. By the end of those hours, Claus felt exhausted from all of that talking, but even more than that he felt relieved and rejuvenated.
After taking off his mantle of suffering, Claus felt at peace for the first time since arriving in New Pork City.
I know that this first chapter is fairly long, but I wanted to introduce a character that wasn't from Mother 3. Lucas and Claus are amazing, but they are used very often as far as fanfics go. I promise that I will expand the horizons of this story to include more Earthbound/ Mother 1 characters.
Please write a review if you want to highlight what was good/ bad about this fanfic. I'm a fairly new writer, so I need all of the help that I can get and I really want to improve my writing. Thanks!