Connor the speling pro: Hey, everyone! I'm writing this fanfic with DarkFoxKit. Fox was originally posting this story, but we decided to switch over to me.

DarkFoxKit: Yeah. I was unable to keep the story in my account due to certain circumstances, so we decided to post it on Connor's account. We apologize for the readers who had read and reviewed the first two chapters that were posted on my account.

Connor: I want to say something a whole lot of stuff about the story, but everything that I want to point out is already written into the story. If you guys are curious (or even if you're not), I write Earthbound fanfiction on my own. I have a story called "Ceres" that I'm still working on. Man, I love shameless self-promotion! :D

DarkFoxKit: If you hadn't yet, check out his other Earthbound fanfictions too. Anyways, we won't say too much for this first chapter, so we hope you enjoy and be sure to leave a review on what you think.

Disclaimer: DarkFoxKit and Connor do not own the Mother/Earthbound series. They just do fanfictions of them for your enjoyment.

Connor: You gotta love how we talk about ourselves in third person! Oh wait, I mean, how Connor and DarkFoxKit talk about themselves in third person. ;) But I won't waste any more of your time. Do you have anything else to say, Fox?

DarkFoxKit: Heeeeey, you little jokester! Nobody says anything after the disclaimer! … On with the story!


"Help… help… Wake up… please…"

Huh? … Who's there?

"Hurry… wake up. There's… not much time."

What… Am I asleep?

"Help… please…"


Somewhere in a forest, an 13 year old boy lay unconscious. He wore a red hat that covered his black hair, along wore a white, blue and red striped shirt and a red scarf around his neck. The boy slowly began to open his eyes and groggily sat up.

"Huh…? Where am I…?" he wondered out loud as he looked around. "... Do… do I live here?" He stood up, not sure where he should go. The place looked peaceful enough, and he spotted a cabin nearby.

Might as well check out that cabin, he thought.

The boy paced up to the cabin, feeling a certain level of anxiety well up in his heart. Just what would he find inside? He shook his head. Worry would get him nowhere.

He knocked on the door once, twice, three times.

"Who's there?" came a voice from inside.

"I'm…" the boy paused, cocking his head in thought. Who was he?

I can't remember anything! He realized in alarm. How did I even get here?

"I'm Ninten," the boy said, spouting off the first name that came into his head. "Er… this might be a weird question, but do I live here?"

The door opened slightly to reveal a middle aged man. "... No, I don't think you do. I've never seen you before."

"O-oh… I must've wandered here by accident." Ninten said with a frown. "Um… maybe I live somewhere else…? Uh… is there a town nearby?"

"... Tazmily Village lies not far from here. Are you okay, kid?" The man asked in concern.

"I'm fine… I just… don't remember where I live," Ninten said, feeling rather embarrassed that he couldn't remember something as simple as that.

"That's odd. Maybe you hit your head," the man said with a frown. "Well… if you really do live here, maybe you should walk around. It might help jog your memory. Head that way and you'll reach the village in a few minutes."

Ninten nodded; that seemed logical enough. "Alright, yeah; I'll do that. Thanks!"

Ninten waved and walked away from the man's house, feeling like a fool.

Man, I always get so awkward when I interact with people, he thought with a sigh. At least I remember that much about myself.

Ninten strode through the forest, taking in the fresh air. After a few steps, a giant mouse scampered past him. Ninten had seen mice before, but this one looked gargantuan compared to the ones that he pictured in his mind.

Okay, I do not remember these. I guess that can't really blame myself for forgetting about them… even now, I wish that I hadn't seen that disgusting, oversized rodent.

Ninten shook his head. What kind of place was this? Well, no point in worrying about it now. He had memories to find. He took back off walking, feeling a little less secure this time.

He passed numerous trees, noticing that they were diminishing in number as the dirt path was slowly turning into concrete road. He saw some buildings up ahead and sighed in relief at the familiar sight. But before he could get out of the forest completely something slithered past him. Ninten gave a slight yelp at the sudden creature, he thought for sure it was a snake, but then he saw its head.

Am I losing my mind!? I may not remember much, but I'm pretty sure snakes do NOT have chicken heads! The boy stared at the weird chicken headed snake that was now in front of him. … Is this some kind of alien planet? I'm starting to think it is.

The chicken headed creature started slithering closer to him, making Ninten back up. The boy realized he wouldn't be able to get into the village with this thing blocking his way.

I think this thing is dangerous… I don't want to chance it… Not knowing what to do, Ninten tried to look around for a weapon he could use. He saw a good sized stick nearby and picked it up. I guess it's better than nothing.

The chicken snake hissed and lunged at him. Ninten yelped as he swung the stick instinctively to beat it back. The chicken snake tumbled to the ground, but Ninten could tell that he had only made it angrier. It lunged at Ninten and tried to wrap its body around him. He struggled against the snake creature, trying to wriggle free as it started to peck at his face.

Well, this has got to be the most embarrassing way to go down, he thought wryly.

The thought of losing to this pathetic little excuse for an organism made him angry. With a grunt, he broke free from the creature's grasp.

There we go! he thought excitedly.

The snake-chicken-whatever hadn't resolved its feud with Ninten, though. It lunged at him a second time, its beak outstretched in an attempt to peck Ninten.

"Take this!" Ninten shouted as he swung his stick with both hands like a baseball bat, catching the creature mid-leap.

SMAAASH!

Ninten heard a satisfying crack! sound as the creature flew backwards further than it should have, slamming into a rouge tree.

Okay, that... thing won't be getting up anytime soon. Score one for Ninten! He pumped his fist in the air.

With the chicken snake creature out of the way, the boy decided to run out of the forest before any more weird creatures decided to attack him.

Out of the forest and into the small town, Ninten felt at ease. He looked around before frowning at the realization he didn't recognize this place at all, and for some reason it felt… smaller than he expected. That's weird… Why did I expect it to be bigger?

Ninten walked around the small town before he came to a place where a few people were gathered and listening to a strange looking man. Curious, the boy walked over to the group of people who were listening to him.

"-And the village will never prosper to its full potential if not everyone has a Happy Box. However, we are doing everything we can to help the progress by importing things you've never seen before from the big city," The strange man said to the group of people, who appeared to be hanging onto his every word.

Ninten raised an eyebrow, he had no idea what the heck a 'Happy Box' was or why these people seem to think that it was so important. If anything, it just sounded like something a little kid would name their favorite toy.

Would it be rude to interrupt here? Ninten asked himself. Probably. Should I care? ...I guess I should try not to make a bad name for myself, since I don't know where in the world I am.

Luckily, the strange-looking man saved Ninten the trouble of entering the conversation.

"Why hello there!" he exclaimed in an exaggerated way that made Ninten think that he wasn't completely sincere. "Who might you be?"

Okay, so he doesn't know me, Ninten thought. He looked around at the other villagers. Every one of them regarded Ninten with a curious expression. So nobody here knows who I am. I guess I don't live here…?

"The name's Ninten," he said, not knowing enough about himself to elaborate more.

"Ah, Ninten. You must be new here. I've been in this village for almost two years now and I've never seen you before. In fact, most kids I see are girls, and you are certainly not one of the two boys who I know. Where's your family, kid? Have you picked up your Happy Box yet?" The man asked him in a kind tone.

Why do you care? Ninten wanted to ask and then immediately regretted the thought. The man seemed genuine enough… Ninten supposed that he should try to play along.

"I… er… I guess I am new here," he started, already faltering. "My family? Uh… I don't actually know where they are right now. What's a happy box?"

Great, Ninten thought. Now I probably look like a first class idiot.

As if to confirm his thought, the people around him suddenly gasped in shock.

"This boy doesn't know what a Happy Box is?"

"Has he been living under a rock?"

"Surely you jest, boy!"

The man raised his hands to calm the crowd. "Now, now, remember this boy is new here. Something may have happened to his family and we should respect him for that. A Happy Box is a very happy item, it's something that will keep you happy even in the darkest of days."

I wonder if he could have made that sound any more ambiguous, Ninten thought.

"Er… I gathered that, but what exactly does it do?" Ninten asked.

"Ah, excellent question, young Ninten. Why don't you get one and see for yourself? After all a Happy Box isn't something you can describe; it's something you must experience," The man said with a jolly laugh.

We have a politician here, Ninten thought. Giving me a straight answer seems to be a trouble for this guy.

"I actually have something important to do right now," Ninten lied. "I'll get back to you on this one, if that's all right."

"Sure, sure, take all the time you need to think about it, young man. I just hope you'll learn to see that a Happy Box will help improve your life," The man said with a jolly smile.

Something about this guy seems fake, Ninten thought. He seems too nice… but maybe I'm just being paranoid. Maybe he really does act kind out of the goodness of his heart.

Ninten didn't feel like he knew this place at all, but he did feel a sense of familiarity as he walked around and explored the place, as if he had done something like this before. He knocked on doors of houses to see if anyone knew him.

"Uh… excuse me…? My name's Ninten, do you know where I live?" The boy felt foolish for asking this kind of question, but it was the only thing he could ask to find his home.

A young man wearing a straw hat shook his head. "Sorry, but I don't know any Ninten."

Ninten tried another house, only to get the same results, making him start to wonder if 'Ninten' really was his name after all. He even tried a big, fancy looking house, where a middle aged fat man answered the door. There was something… familiar and pristine about him that Ninten is sure he's seen- and despised- before.

"What do you want, kid? Did you come to deposit some DP into my charity box?" The fat man asked, looking down at the 13 year old boy.

"Uh…" Ninten didn't even know what 'DP' was. "I was just wondering if you knew where I lived. My name's Ninten."

"... Nope, never heard of you. Now unless you have any business with me or you wish to make a donation, get off my property. I'm much too important to deal with a little pest like you." The fat man said with an attitude before closing his door in Ninten's face.

"... Yeah, I think I've seen an attitude like that before." Ninten grumbled.

The boy put his hands in his pocket as he walked to a place called the "Yado Inn". Ninten took out a few dollars he had in his pocket.

"This should be enough to stay in the Inn for at least a couple of nights… hopefully I can find out where I live before I really need it," he said to himself.

Ninten opened the door to the inn and stepped inside. He took in the atmosphere of the room around him, surprised at how posh it looked.

My, my… I didn't expect an inn like this in such a small village. Is that air conditioning I feel?

A wave of dread washed over Ninten. A nice place like this would likely cost a lot of money. Ninten didn't know how long he could last on the cash that he had. Hopefully he could find an ATM soon.

"Hello," a man standing behind the counter said. "I haven't seen you before. Did you come from New Pork City?"

What kind of a name for a city is that?

"No, actually," Ninten replied. "I uh… well, I just can't go home right now. How much does it cost to stay here for the night?"

"For one room… that would be 300 DP," the man answered.

"Okay…" Ninten said, trying not to panic. "Do you accept dollars? I don't have any DP."

The man raised an eyebrow.

"Dollars? I'm afraid not."

"Well, this is wonderful," Ninten muttered. "I'm stuck in a place that I don't recognize without my memory and I can't even buy anything!"

Ninten paused. If he had money that the innkeeper didn't even recognize, he probably came from a remote area. He matched that up to his surprise at seeing such a high-end hotel and it made even more sense. He probably came from a small town that didn't have big, fancy hotels and used archaic currency. Now he just needed to find a way to get back there.

"Well, if you need charity then why don't you go talk to that rural family that refuses to change in these modern times? I'm sure maybe they would take you in, after all they're missing a boy of their own," The innkeeper said rudely.

Ninten didn't really like his attitude, but he decided to excuse it with the stress of having to run such a high-class inn. "I wouldn't want to impose on them, especially if they just lost someone they loved."

"Then I guess you better learn to sleep on the streets or find a job to get money. Now please, don't come back here anymore unless you have the DP," The innkeeper said.

Ninten walked out of the Inn, feeling rather discouraged. He had no leads to where he came from, nothing seems remotely familiar and he was all alone in this strange new place without any currency. What should I do now? … I guess maybe I could just keep walking for a bit…

Without having any destination in mind, Ninten walked past the town and into a more rural place. He spotted a single house atop a small hill. Feeling curious Ninten walked up to it. There was always a chance he could've lived in this house. A doghouse and a sheep pen lay outside.

Ninten took a deep breath before he knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer.

"Father, why are you knocking on the door?" came a voice from inside. It sounded like a boy, maybe someone who was about Ninten's age. "You can just come in. This is your house too."

Ninten awkwardly scratched his cheek with his finger. I hope he's not really my son… I'm way too young to have one… "Um… actually I uh… I'm not your father." he spoke up. "I'm actually lost…"

"Oh!"

Ninten heard shuffling feet approach the door. After a few seconds, the door opened, revealing a blond-haired boy, he wore a red and yellow striped shirt that looked similar to Ninten's. He looked up at Ninten nervously.

"Sorry about that," the boy apologized. "We don't get many visitors these days. So… you said that you're lost? Where are you trying to go?"

"Uh… Home I guess," Ninten said, shuffling his feet awkwardly. "My name is Ninten… at least I think that's my name… and I can't seem to find my way back home. Do you know anyone who might be missing a 13 year old child?"

The boy cocked his head.

"I… don't know anyone who's missing a child, unless you count my father. And I'm pretty sure you're not my brother," he added with a shy smile. "So, Ninten, huh? My name's Lucas. It's nice to meet you."

Lucas offered a hand awkwardly. Like Ninten, he seemed a bit nervous about social confrontation.

Ninten took Lucas's hand and shook it a bit before they let go. Ninten gave a sigh before he said, "Do you know where I could stay tonight? I don't own any of this 'DP' currency and I have nowhere else to go. The adults are kind of rude, but you seem nice."

Lucas blushed.

"I… err… well, you can stay here! Ever since Claus went missing, we've had a bunch of extra space anyway. And my father doesn't always come home at night…" Lucas shook his head. "But you probably don't want to hear about that! You have bigger issues, like finding your way back home! Where do you live?"

"Your father doesn't always come home?" That brought a familiar and somewhat bitter sense to Ninten, but he didn't know why. "That's kind of sad… and I take it this Claus is your missing brother?"

Lucas nodded, staring wistfully at the world outside of the door.

"Yeah… he went missing two years ago. Father spends most of his time looking for him. I can't blame him too much… after losing mother, he fell to pieces. Now all that's left are broken shards of who he used to be." Lucas paused, furrowing his eyebrows. "Nah, it's probably not that severe. Regardless, father did change, and not for the better. But hey, like I said, you have problems of your own. You probably don't want to hear about mine."

Ninten slowly walked into the house, it looked more… primitive than the other houses he's seen, but it had a certain charm and warmth to it that none of the others did. It felt a lot smaller and cramped than what Ninten was used to- at least he assumed so- but that wasn't necessarily bad.

"You sure about this, Lucas? I wouldn't want to impose or anything. I mean, I did just come out of the blue," Ninten said.

Lucas nodded enthusiastically, his blue eyes shining with a level of excitement that took Ninten back.

"I really don't mind!" he exclaimed. "In fact, it would be a nice change of routine. Living on my own gets pretty boring after a while. How long do you think that you'll stay here?"

"Um… I don't know… it depends on how long it takes me to find my home." Ninten said as he lowered his red cap over his eyes, feeling rather embarrassed that he wasn't sure how long he'd have to stay in this boy's house.

"Well, feel free to stay as long as you like!" Lucas said with a genuine smile. "I'm sure that we can make room for you! But I can't imagine that you would stay here too long, right? After all, you'll probably want to head out to other places to search, right?"

"I-I guess so." Ninten frowned. "But… I don't know where to go. I don't even know how I got here. I assumed that I- err… well don't I live here in this town?" The boy figured that he probably didn't live here, but he wanted to make sure.

Lucas cocked his head in thought.

"I don't think so…" he replied. "I've lived in this village my whole life, and I've never seen you before. But wait… are you saying that you don't know where you live?"

"N-no!" Ninten's cheeks began to flush in embarrassment. "I just… wanted to make sure… this wasn't the right town! Erm… I sometimes get confused which town is which."

"Oh, so you've been to Tazmily before?" Lucas asked.

"... M-maybe…?" Ninten looked away, not wanting the other boy to look at his flushed face. "It's just… it looks… um… different…?"

Lucas' face flashed with understanding.

"Yeah, Tazmily has changed a lot, huh?" he asked.

Ninten looked at Lucas as if shocked by this, but quickly cleared his throat and said, "Y-yeah, so I guess you can't blame me for not recognizing it. So what do you eat around here? Maybe we could buy something? I mean assuming you have enough of those 'DP' for food?"

"Oh, yeah!" Lucas exclaimed, who looked like he just had another epiphany. "You don't know about DP! A merchant named Fassad brought a form of money called DP, or Dragon Points, to Tazmily a couple years ago. As for eating… we have the standard foods. Bread, eggs, jerky, all of that. Maybe I'll go out to the store and get some ingredients to make omelets!"

"That sounds good. I've been hungry all day since I woke up in that forest." Ninten smiled before realizing what he said. "I-I mean since I… walked in that forest."

Lucas shot Ninten a strange look.

"Are you okay, Ninten?" the blond asked. "What's this about you waking up in a forest?"

Ninten sighed before thinking to himself. I guess maybe it wouldn't hurt to tell him the truth. I mean, he's been nice enough to let me stay with him and even offered to feed me while I'm lost in this unfamiliar world. The least I could do is be honest with him...

The scarf wearing boy nodded to himself before turning back to Lucas. "Well… Lucas… the truth is… I can't remember anything other than my name and the basic knowledge of life since I woke up in the forest outside of this village a few hours ago."

"Oh!" Lucas exclaimed, looking embarrassed for some reason. "Amnesia! We need to get your memory back!" He stopped himself, taking a deep breath. "But you said that you're hungry, right? Omelets should probably come first."

"Y-yeah… But aren't you a little young to cook? Shouldn't we wait for your dad?" Ninten asked.

"Nah," Lucas replied with an impish smile. "I needed to learn how to cook for myself after mother died and father spent most of his time searching for Claus. It's not that hard. Come on, let's go to the store!"

"Whoa!" Ninten yelped as an excited Lucas suddenly grabbed his arm and practically dragged him out of the house.