Lucas had pulled the final needle, so everything should have been okay. Lucas had pulled the final needle, and so the world should have been reborn. Lucas had pulled the final needle, and all that was wrong should have been righted.
But none of those things happened.
Perhaps no one will ever know what went wrong. The Masked Man's influence may have been more powerful than anyone anticipated. Maybe there had been a failsafe in place, one not even the Magypsies with all of their knowledge could have foreseen. One might even say that King P had power that stretched far beyond his Absolutely Safe Capsule. No one knows, and now that which has been written over might never be remembered. All that has been rewritten is the new reality, and nothing can be done. Maybe, just maybe, this is how the Dark Dragon meant for things to be solved.
Ninten took five steps outside of his house and decided that he was far too tired to deal with any of this. Honestly, he always felt too tired to deal with anything, insomnia did that to you, but he felt especially unmotivated today. Podunk was pouring rain, Ana was telling him some news about the fall of Snowman, and apparently King P was closing in on some rebel kid's location over in Eagleland or Chommo or one of those other regions.
Ana was attentive, always calling around and checking every newsstand in and around Podunk, Merrysville, and Snowman. Ninten was, well, not quite so attentive. All of it merely depressed him. He found himself spending more time hiding over at Lloyd's house than actually doing anything about the situation.
The Pigmask Army had been steadily moving their way across America, having long taken over Eagleland, Chommo, and Foggy Land. The Nowhere Islands, being the army's main base of operations for the past six years now, were beyond saving. As far as Ninten was aware, America was the only country in the world that hadn't been lost to them yet, but that was making a change.
People suspected that the Pigmasks had started with Youngtown, as all of its residents had gone missing weeks before the army showed itself, but no one knew for sure. What they did know was that Ellay had been the first to visibly be invaded. The town had been seen as the most suitable for the Pigmasks' American base of operations, and much of the populace had been quickly brainwashed, while nearly all of the wildlife had been caught and turned into chimeras.
This obviously didn't stop Teddy and the Bla-Bla Gang from fighting against them. Even now, Ana would occasionally pick up news about Teddy and the gang taking out troops or a facility there.
No matter how hard they fought, Ninten never saw any change in Ellay's situation.
Merrysville had been attacked some months ago, and though the Pigmasks had failed to take over due to the combined efforts of Ninten and his friends, Lloyd and his family chose to move to Podunk. Various attacks had been made on nearly every town and city in America, and yet for some reason Podunk hadn't been touched. No one knew quite why the Pigmasks avoided it, but the town's population had been growing in the past year, people moving there in droves looking for safety. It looked like Ana would be next to join that group, having finally lost her hometown of Snowman to the invading army.
"They're already creating and releasing chimeras as we speak," she told him, fiddling with the handle of the umbrella in her hands. Though she appeared calm, Ninten could see how red and puffy her eyes were. "I'm not even sure where my mom is. I think the Pigmasks got ahold of her." Ana paused, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. "I don't want my mom to become like the others."
Ninten understood. He'd been hearing of the devastation wrought by the Pigmasks: the brainwashing, the experiments, and the unhealthy increase in industrialism. Teddy himself had suffered firsthand from the Pigmasks, believing his parents to have been killed by one of their chimeras; losing Ellay and its people to their brainwashing. Despite Teddy's best efforts, Ninten knew the army was going to continue its spread. It would inevitably reach Podunk, even if seemingly no attempts had been made yet.
Somehow, he found himself apathetic to it all, but he had close friends who cared deeply about what was happening to America. Apathetic as he was, he would still put in the effort to help those he loved.
So he took Ana, his on-again off-again girlfriend, into his home and offered her a place to stay while they figured out what to do about Snowman. He grabbed his home phone and called Lloyd over, telling him to bring his drones with him. If they couldn't find Ana's mother using the drones, they could at least determine if moving the rest of Ana's belongings over to Ninten's was feasible.
"They've been getting braver," Ana muttered, hugging her legs to herself as she sat on the couch. "They haven't tried a full-scale invasion since they took Ellay. It has to be that rebel boy, the same one who got Onett put on lockdown. They announced that they think they've found him, so they must think there's nothing else to worry about here in America."
"So, they thought he could have been hiding here?" Lloyd asked, putting the finishing touches on his drones. They'd been damaged a few days ago when Teddy asked to borrow them for scouting in Ellay. When they'd been returned to Lloyd more-or-less destroyed, the poor kid had nearly fainted. "Why wouldn't they have been trying harder to invade all of the towns here then?"
"They're scared of this kid. He's been giving them hell for how many years now?" Ninten interjected.
"Ever since they moved from Nowhere and into Eagleland, I think," Ana replied, hand to her chin as she glanced upwards. "So, maybe about a year after they took over Nowhere?"
"Yeah, so going on five years now," Ninten finished. "They're going to be cautious with this kid and try to take him by surprise, so they need to be subtle, you know? Just attack willy-nilly and this kid might show up and take them by surprise. He's gotta be pretty damn strong."
"It sure sounds like it," Lloyd replied, adjusting his glasses and wiping sweat from his brow. "Did they ever say what this kid's name is?"
Ana sighed, slight annoyance crossing her features. "No, the Pigmasks have been way too secretive about him. I can't find any sources that even describe what he looks like, let alone his name."
"Might be helpful to know if he is the reason the Pigmasks are starting to get bolder now," Ninten cut in. "Where did they say they found him again?"
"Chommo, I think?" Ana shrugged.
"Doesn't sound like there's much we can do about it, then," Lloyd responded, tinkering with the controls for his drones. One began to emit sparks, causing him to grumble and turn it off. "Remind me to never cave in again if Teddy wants something from me."
"Yeah, sure. I've never seen you say no to him before," Ninten snarked at him.
"Well, he's really intimidating! But you're more intimidating, Ninten, he said so himself!"
"Dude's like six years older than me and twice my size. I'm just a tall, lanky stick next to him."
Ana snorted at that, giving off the first smile Ninten had seen since she showed up with the news about Snowman. "He challenges you to a fight every other month and you win each time. That's not much of an excuse, Ninten." Ignoring Ninten's grumbled yeah whatever, Ana continued on, "Lloyd, is it only that one drone acting up? We'll be fine with just the two."
"Well, it'd be nice if I could get all three working. Then we could each use one."
"It would be nice if I could go out and find my mom instead of sitting around here," Ana suddenly snapped back. Ninten could tell she wanted to go on, but she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Sorry, Lloyd," she murmured after collecting herself. "Just, can we please go out and use the two working drones?"
Lloyd nodded, nervous after Ana's little outburst. "Yeah, we can do that. It's fine."
Had Ninten the same amount of tact he had back when he was still twelve and first hearing about the Pigmasks, he might have called Lloyd out on his lie. It was obvious he was shaken by the few words Ana had spoken in anger. Ana was not one for anger, and certainly was not one for taking it out on her friends. It didn't help that Lloyd was sensitive to these issues; he couldn't handle aggression as well as most other people, hence why he was such a popular target for Teddy's bullying.
Ninten had grown these past six years though, and not just in tact. He knew when to keep silent and to not speak his mind. His mother and sisters often told him he was too quiet now. Almost isolating himself. Most people told his family that he was suffering from depression over the Pigmask army's nearly worldwide invasion, and maybe that was so, but he didn't fully agree.
("I think I'd still be like this even if the Pigmasks had never shown up," he once told Ana while they were sitting on a hill overlooking Mt. Itoi. Stars spanned across the night sky, twinkling over them, and he remembered Minnie's shock when she had caught him leaving to see Ana at such a late hour.
"Why is that?" Ana had asked, leaning against him and resting her head against his shoulder. It was one of those 'on again' situations, shortly before their latest breakup.
"I just, I don't know," Ninten shrugged, staring hard at the mountainside. "But every now and then I look over at Mt. Itoi and think about everything that's happened, and it all feels so familiar."
Ana had giggled, interlocking their fingers together in the grass. "Wouldn't that just be déjà vu? Why does that mean you'd still be so quiet now?"
That brought Ninten pause, as he hadn't been sure of how to explain it at the time. "Well, if this were any other time, or any other place, I think something would have happened to make me this way anyways. I don't think I would have ever gotten the chance to keep being some hotheaded, energetic kid. Does that make any sense?"
Ana pondered it, glancing upwards with her lips pursed as she so often did. She made a soft hum, and brought her eyes back to the grass they were sitting on. "I guess, but you're kind of thinking about this too hard, don't you think?"
"Yeah, maybe," Ninten admitted, and left the conversation there. He couldn't properly explain it, and maybe he never would be able to.)
They had all grown a lot since the Pigmasks showed up, it wasn't just Ninten, but he figured that was just how life was. They weren't twelve anymore, so what did their families expect? Everyone in the world was being directly affected by the Pigmasks, and Ninten's friends could and would do something about it. They might not be so successful, and Ninten might no longer see the point of it, but he was still always one step behind them all.
So some hours passed and the three found themselves hiding on the outskirts of Snowman. After a short debate earlier, they had decided that calling Teddy over to help out would be best. None of them knew what stage of the invasion Snowman would be in, and they agreed that some extra muscle might be needed. Teddy told them he didn't know how long it would take him to reach Snowman, but he would do his best to make it. Until then, they chose to remain hidden and let the drones scout for them.
The rain had trickled down to a light drizzle, not quite enough to soak their clothes. Dusk was approaching and the sun was quickly setting, but the darkness would merely help to keep them hidden. Ana had asked repeatedly if Lloyd was sure the drones' night vision still worked, to which Ninten could tell he tried not to make any sarcastic remarks about. The boys both knew how worried Ana was about her mother, and having so much time already pass didn't help. There was no reason to make Ana's situation any worse by snapping at her.
Still, Ninten could see how tense they both were. Ana was worked up and far too close to the issue to be much help. Lloyd was anxious and stressed, perhaps over both Ana's situation and the thought that this could happen to Merrysville and Podunk as well. For some reason, they were the two running the drones. Understandable, considering Lloyd was protective of his equipment (especially now after the damage Teddy had caused), and Ana wanted to be involved in any way she could.
They sent the drones through every nook and cranny of Snowman over the course of an hour, yet there was nothing. Ninten analyzed the drones' footage carefully, but it appeared that Snowman's transformation had been completed. Sure, the town hadn't been expanded upon or given far larger, fancier buildings yet, but the people on the streets acted just like those in Ellay.
"They already did all of their brainwashing? How could they have done this so quickly?" Lloyd murmured under his breath. Beside him, Ninten had to rub Ana's back and remind her to let loose the breath she herself was holding.
What Lloyd had said was true. The people went on as though they always lived this way. Accepting the different technology the Pigmask footmen were delivering to them by the masses. They were praising King P, giving out any information they could about America's other towns and cities, and condemning those who tried to fight the situation. Pigmasks wandered about casually, picking up creatures, objects, and people without question.
Ana's mother was nowhere in sight. In fact, her home was void of life when Ana had brought a drone over to check the place out.
"I…I need to go in there," Ana stammered. "She's not around, what if they did something to her?"
"The worst they could do is brainwash her, and Teddy was able to break the brainwashing on a couple of his gang members and some other people. Maybe she'll show up tomorrow?" Lloyd tried to comfort her, but Ninten knew it didn't make a difference. Ana's breathing was becoming irregular and he could just barely see how glassy her eyes were getting in the dim light.
"But what if they're experimenting on her? Like, turning her into a chimera?" Ana sniffled, setting her drone's controls down and wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater.
"That shouldn't be a problem since they've never turned a human into a chimera before. We would have known by now," Ninten tried to reassure, hoping Ana couldn't tell he was bluffing. If anyone were to know about human chimeras, it definitely wouldn't be Mr. 'hide away and ignore the issue' Ninten.
A few more sniffles came from Ana before she leaned against Ninten's side. "Yeah, you might be right, but what if they've started?"
"I'm not gonna to say it's going to be fine, but we'll figure it out when—"
A deafening crash of lighting struck the area between the three of them, and instantly Ninten's world was engulfed in blinding agony. He could hear Ana's screams and Lloyd crying out, and he could feel himself convulsing on the floor from the force of the PK Thunder they'd all been hit by.
Just before he blacked out, Ninten heard an emotionless, almost robotic voice speak from behind him:
"Target has been apprehended. Returning to Master Porky with him now."