Warning: Story will contain character death(s), possible cursing, violence, and possible alcohol usage.
Disclaimer: Nintendo owns all characters in this story.
"Thank you." The Vice President muttered to the female agent, who merely nodded in silent response. "You are dismissed." With that, the woman turned on her heel (which was quite impressive given her shoes were high heels) and walked out of the reasonably large office, shoes clicking the whole way. Upon hearing the soft sound of the large, mahogany doors opening and closing, the Vice President opened his cutting blue eyes to inspect what had been placed on his desk. He already had a good guess as to what it was, but he wanted some reassurance.
A small smile of pride flashed across his face, if only for the briefest of moments, as he reveled in his victory of guessing correctly. There, on top of his desk that had been made from African Blackwood, was a sleek black folder that glistened in the light of the chandelier that hung above the VP's head. This single folder held what he had anxiously been awaiting for years; new challenges, new excitement, and most importantly, fresh prey. Excitement flickered in his eyes as he moved to open the folder that held what he'd patiently been expecting.
As soon as he opened the folder, he found himself sitting on the edge of his comfortable, black leather chair, searching for someone he thought could prove to be a threat. The first file was clearly disappointing, but the powerful male didn't let that destroy his hope. No. There was always someone that had the potential to challenge the system. Of course, more often than not, they usually never did, but that could change this year. This year could turn everything upside-down. And that made him excited.
He wasn't excited to be drawn near to death. No. He wasn't suicidal. The Vice President was more of a thrill-seeker, easily bored by his lavished lifestyle and peaceful country. He wanted - no, needed - a challenge. It was simply in his nature. Or so he tried to convince himself.
The second file was nearly as disappointing as the first. Not someone who would question the authority and disrupt the peace... at least, not in a major way, as the man had hoped. Document after document, each one increasing his disappointment until he finally landed on the last file. Thus far, everything appeared to be dull and no one seemed to be much of a threat. There was little hope for this last file, especially considering it was on the bottom, but the Vice President had time to spare and decided that this one may just turn things around.
After a quick glance at the document, a smirk played across his face. The heavy air of boredom that had surrounded the man swiftly let up, replacing it with one of hope. The kid mentioned in the document didn't appear to be much, but the Vice President knew better than to dismiss someone so quickly. Especially someone who seemed to be meek. Years of experience advised him not to get his hopes up too high, but the man decided to make an exception for this child. He was promising. He was different. He could make this little game interesting. Most importantly, he could change everything.
Images flashed through his mind. His friends, the final battle, the needle… He heard someone… Someone saying something that he couldn't quite understand… "…as…" His blond eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "..ucas…" The young boy began to look around, but saw only darkness. Where was this odd voice coming from? "Lucas!" His bright blue eyes shot open at the sound of his name. The first thing he realized was that he was no longer in the dark void he had been in. Rather, the small hero found himself in a cozy-looking room laying on a comfortable twin size bed.
Lucas quickly sat up (maybe a little too quickly as he became slightly dizzy afterwards) to inspect the room he was now in. The walls were stark white and the floor had baby blue carpeting. His bed was pushed up against one side of the wall, while another was located on the opposite side of the room. A window, that poured natural light into the tiny room, was in between the two beds. There were two wooden doors; one on the left side of the room (the side Lucas wasn't on, from his perspective) and the other was on the right (the side Lucas was on).* Other than that, there really wasn't much in this room.
The boy, who had begun to let his thoughts wander, was swiftly forced into reality as the right door swung open in such a motion that it caused him to jump. Another boy had entered the room and was looking at him with an odd expression on his face. Lucas quickly took note of his features. A light tan, deep blue eyes, black hair, a red hat, a yellow and blue striped shirt, denim shorts, and white socks that appeared to have holes in them. 'What a weird color combo…' Lucas thought whilst staring at the odd boy.
The raven-haired kid smiled at Lucas and said, "Oh, good. You're finally awake. Mom was getting worried…" Lucas inwardly cringed when the other boy used the word 'mom', only blinking externally. A frown began to shape on Lucas' young face. His mom had been dead for… quite a while now. Maybe this new kid meant to say 'my' before saying mom? The strange boy continued, realizing Lucas wasn't going to say anything. "Breakfast is getting cold and Mom made your favorite." The other boy, who looked to be a little older than Lucas, grinned even more as though that would get Lucas up.
In reality, however, it did quite the opposite. This new boy, whatever his name was, had just done it again. He forgot to say 'my' before mom. This was so bothersome to the blond that he couldn't think of his other questions, such as 'Where are we?' or 'Who are you?' No, this troubled the young boy too much to let it just slip by. "D-don't you mean your mom?" Lucas questioned, finally deciding to speak up on this worrisome topic. Now it was the other boy's turn to be confused, his dark blue eyes widening in surprise before quickly relaxing again. "Oh, c'mon, Luc'! Don't mess around like that! You know she's our mom." He laughed as though this was some sort of joke.
Something in Lucas's mind told him to go with this... at least until he could figure out what had happened. So the boy with the cow-lick faked laughter, sounding eerily realistic. "Y-yeah... I was just kidding." He smiled in order to back his words up. "I got you good, huh?" The younger boy let a smirk form on his face as the older one seemed to pout in response. "Yeah, yeah... Whatever..." The black-haired boy grumbled before sighing. "Well, you should get dressed and come downstairs. Like I said, breakfast is getting cold." With that, the hatted boy left, closing the door promptly behind him.
Lucas let out a heavy breath he didn't know he had been holding in. Lying wasn't easy, but he'd have to do it in order to get answers. He let his gaze drop to his chubby hands, which were resting on top of a navy blue quilt that had bright yellow stars across it. 'I wish Claus was here... He'd know what to do...' This thought caused Lucas's heart to ache at the newly inflicted wound. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind of his brother's fate. No, he couldn't think like that. That was like pouring salt into a laceration... it burned.
The blond boy looked back up and muttered, "Well, I guess I better get up and change..." He pushed the surprisingly light sheets off of his small body and moved so that his bare feet dangled off the edge of his bed. He glanced down at his PJ's, which were a simple blue, before hopping down onto the soft carpet. A slight frown twitched at the corners of his mouth. 'This place is so different from my home... I wonder where I am...?' Lucas pondered as he began walking towards the left side of the room where the other door was.
Pff... Pff... Quiet spongy noises were made every time Lucas took a step on the fluffy blue carpet. It felt like he was walking on clouds... but he couldn't let that distract him. He had to change before the boy came back. Lucas didn't want to make anyone suspicious (of what, he didn't yet know). The short boy finally arrived at the door he assumed led to a closet. His gentle blue eyes wandered over to the other bed, which had been neatly made and looked identical to his own. He then glanced back at his bed and frowned at the unmade sheets. He'd have to do that after he got dressed.
Finally, he turned back to the door and cautiously opened it, fearing it might creak or make some other hideous, ear-piercing sound. Shockingly, his caution was unnecessary as no such thing occurred. Instead, the door opened easily making no protest whatsoever. Lucas made his way in, soon finding the light switch on his left and flicking it on. Once the room was illuminated, he noticed it was relatively plain, made completely out of light brown wood. It was large for a closet and appeared to be divided into two; the right side seeming to be the other boy's half and the left being his own.
Lucas quickly inspected his side of the closet first. Multiple articles of his clothes were hung neatly on a closet rod, and on the shelf above that there seemed to be some of his belongings, one of which stood out from the rest. Bright eyes widening, he quickly walked over to the shelf, which happened to be pretty high up (at least for him it was). Rope Snake was up there, his tail dangling slightly off the edge. The tiny boy stared up at the serpent longingly, wishing it to fall just by mere willpower. After a minute or two of staring intently at the snake-rope hybrid, realization dawned on the boy that this wouldn't work, and he sighed in defeat, giving up on that idea for the moment.
He turned back around to the closet door that remained open and closed it for privacy. Even though he didn't think anyone would walk in and see him, he wanted to be sure. "Better safe than sorry..." He said to himself quietly. Lucas then returned to his first mission; get dressed. There were many different clothes to choose from, though most looked similar to each other, one in particular caught his eye. His usual outfit, which consisted of a yellow and red striped shirt, yellow and red shoes, denim shorts, and white socks without holes in them.
Another frown came across the Nowhere Islands' hero's face as he pulled down the items, which he could just barely do with the help of his toes. 'How did they get my clothes...? ...Maybe this is all just a crazy dream? Maybe I fell asleep after pulling the final needle?' But Lucas couldn't shake the odd feeling that informed him that he was awake and that this was no dream. He didn't want to consider that to be the truth... It was too confusing... Too much was unanswered right now and he didn't want to feel overwhelmed by the lack of information.
Shrugging off both his thoughts and his feelings, he began to undress, tossing his PJ's into a bin on his side of the closet that was clearly used for laundry. He swiftly put on all of his clothes except for his shoes. The other boy hadn't been wearing shoes so he assumed that they don't wear their shoes around the house here. It was comfortable; exactly like his clothes from his home. Lucas took in a breath and gathered his courage, which he would undoubtedly need in order to face these new (and most likely odd) people. With that, the child opened the closet door and switched off the light, darkening the area once again.
He closed the door slowly behind him, still nervous about trusting it not to make a sound, and walked across the room to the door the other boy had been at. With one last shaky breath, he proceeded to open the door. This door, unlike its sibling, did make a small creaking noise that Lucas was surprised he hadn't noticed earlier, causing him to flinch. The noise it created had been loud enough that someone with mediocre hearing could tell you they heard it. Quickly, the boy spun around and finished closing it to prevent another sound like that. 'Stupid door...' Lucas thought sourly, giving the door a light glare before turning back to the path in front of him.
The blue-eyed boy took in his surroundings, noting that the floor was now wooden, most likely made from Red Oak. The walls remained a sterile shade of white throughout the long hallway that ended with stairs. It appeared that the other boy and Lucas's room was at the very end of the hallway, something that didn't bother Lucas all that much. There were two other doors in the hallway, a little further away from where Lucas was standing and completely parallel to one another. He didn't dare enter either, though. He'd rather play the safe card for now and find out what they contained later. The small boy wasn't in the mood for stirring trouble with people he didn't know.
Deciding to investigate the house later, he continued walking down the hall and soon down the stairs (none of which creaked). The boy stopped at the last step, a familiar aroma filling his nostrils. 'Omelets?' Lucas thought, excitement evident in his crystal blue eyes. That was his favorite dish! Not wanting to wait any longer, the youth rushed through the living area, noting that there was a black leather sofa with a glass table in front of it. His eyes were set forward, where the delicious scent was coming from.
A few more feet in front of the boy was a black, granite counter with four tall stools placed in front of it. Lucas, being the short kid he was, almost couldn't see that the omelet was on a plate which rested on the counter-top. He swiftly climbed up the stool in front of the omelet and sat down, happy to finally eat something. It was then that the PSI-user also noticed something. No one else was around. Where was the boy from earlier? And what about their alleged parents? Where was everybody?
This caused Lucas to feel a little uneasy and quickly planted seeds of doubt in his mind. 'This is too wei-' "Lucas! I'm glad to see you're finally awake!" The honey-coated voice scared the 12-year old out of his thoughts and back into what he assumed to be reality. He quickly turned to face the voice that had come from behind and his eyes visibly widened upon finding its source. A woman stood there, apparently having come from another hallway attached to the living room. This wasn't just any normal woman, though. This lady looked stunning! Her blonde locks were long and flowing, her bangs parted in an odd way that made it seem as though something belonged on the top of her head that currently was missing. Her dress was long and pink, puffing out slightly at her hips, though not indicating chubbiness. Lucas assumed it was just part of the style.
The blue-eyed woman giggled softly in response to his surprise, holding a bare hand to her rosy, pink lips. "Did I really scare you that badly, Lucas?" Lucas stiffly nodded, briefly wondering if this woman was his mother in this world. She certainly seemed the part for that role. "I'm sorry for frightening you. I promise I won't do it again." The lady smiled, making her way into the kitchen, walking straight passed the psychic. Lucas smiled back and replied, "I-It's alright." He then redirected his attention back to the savory food that he had momentarily forgotten and turned back around to face it once again.
It looked good. No. Good was an understatement. It looked as though a chef from a five-star restaurant had prepared it just for him. Yep. That about summed it up. The boy lifted his fork and dug in, quickly devouring the breakfast item and leaving no noticeable crumbs. It was almost as good as his real mom's cooking. Almost. He looked up from his empty plate to find the woman staring at him, looking as though she was stifling laughter. Had he done something wrong? "Lucas, you ate that so fast one would think you hadn't eaten a meal in months." She laughed, snorting a little.
Lucas inwardly sighed in relief. So he hadn't done anything wrong. He smiled at the woman. For some reason, he liked her. She reminded him of his mother, in a strange way. Perhaps it was the kindness in her eyes? Maybe it was simply her voice? Either way, Lucas liked her and that was all that mattered. She seemed... trustworthy. "Yeah. It was really good. Thank you very much." He thanked her shyly, looking at his porcelain plate rather than her. The woman walked over and took the plate from him, walking away with it, presumably to clean it.
"You're very welcome." She smiled, stopping at a sink, where she then proceeded to pick up a wet and soapy rag. "Ness is outside playing with TL. Why don't you go join them?" 'Ness? Was that the capped boy's name? And TL? ...What strange names...' Lucas thought, pondering how unusual they were. He supposed it suited them, though. Ness was most definitely odd and he figured 'TL' would be as well. "Okay." He replied quietly, hopping down from the tall chair he had previously been on. As he began to make his way back to the stairs, his 'mom' called to him again. "Lucas, sweetie. Your shoes are down here, silly."
Lucas paused, a light blush appearing on his round face. He could have sworn he had seen his shoes upstairs... Almost as though reading his mind, the pink clad woman provided an answer. "Your shoes upstairs are for school. I thought we went over that, but I guess not." She gave another melodic giggle. "I'm sorry, Lucas. Your regular shoes are in the closet down the hall." He turned to her and gave her a small, sheepish smile, before heading down the hall she had directed him to. It was connected to the living room and eventually led to the foyer, where a coat rack was placed near the door.
Considering there was only one door in the long hallway before opening into the foyer, it was relatively easy to find the closet that held his shoes. Still using the caution he had formed earlier, he slowly opened the closet which was full of all manners of shoes. Lucas quickly spotted his own red and yellow sneakers and withdrew them from the tiny storage room. He soon found himself inspecting the footwear, looking for any sign of damage, only to find that they looked perfectly fine. Shrugging off the question as to what the difference was between the pair downstairs and the pair upstairs, other than their locations, he slipped them onto his feet, tying the knots with ease.
Lucas closed the closet door softly, as to not startle his 'different mom', as he decided to call her in order to avoid confusion. He walked into the foyer, which was only a few feet away at that point, and found himself staring in awe at the beautifully carved coat rack. Sure, he had noticed it earlier, but he hadn't seen it up close until now. It must have been hand-carved, as it was designed in such a bizarre, yet elegant way that simply couldn't be mass-produced in factories. The coat rack appeared to be made from Redwood and was created to look like a tree. Long, thin branches came off from the trunk, each tilting slightly upwards to hold a coat properly. The rack had curves and intricate spirals all along the trunk until reaching the floor, where the roots twisted out into three separate legs, keeping the rack standing.
The young psychic couldn't help but wonder who had made such a lovely piece. He would very much enjoy meeting the creator of a wonderful work of art. Though Lucas was never one to admit it, he had always had an eye for beauty, especially when it involved nature. No, he wasn't a fan of cutting down trees for poor reasons, but when they were used to make something needed or spectacular, he could hold back his 'hippy' side.
Lucas blinked himself out of his daze and returned to the current task at hand. He reached out to twist the bulbous, bronze knob of the front door, when the woman called out to him. "Lucas?" His arm dropped back to his side and he turned to face where her voice had come from, finding that she was nowhere in sight. "Y-yes?" He called back hesitantly. He hoped this would be a short thing. He didn't want to get roped into a conversation about something he didn't know about, like what had happened earlier with his shoes. "Make sure to be home for lunch! Have fun!"
He felt relief wash over him. His silent wishes had been granted and he replied with a short, "Okay." The blond swiftly opened the front door and exited the large house, closing the door behind him. The fresh air felt great on his face, as it had been fairly stuffy in the mansion-like house. He observed the town from where he was standing, which happened to be on the modestly-sized porch of his house, giving him a little more height to see everything as it was not directly on the ground.
From what his crystal-shaded eyes could see, the town was split into four quadrants and his was either in the upper left or lower right, depending on whether you entered the town from the north or from the south. For his own purposes, he decided to refer to it as the upper left corner of town. The streets were paved with stones, much like how Tazmily was after Porky and his crew came around. It seemed incredibly quiet and Lucas liked that. It enabled him to hear the chirping of the birds from the nearby forest that surrounded the small town.
At the very heart of the town, there was a huge statue standing in the middle of a fountain. Though Lucas couldn't yet see its front, he could tell whatever it was made to look like, it was supposed to be intimidating. He shuddered, clutching his arms close to his chest. Even from a distance, it reminded him of King P's statue and its unpleasant vibe. Maybe in this world statues don't come to life and try to kill children? Lucas could only hope.
To the south of his current home was what appeared to be a small store. To his current left, and technically upper east, of the town was a large field where he spotted two fairly short figures. 'Well, at least now I know where TL and Ness are...' Lucas hummed to himself, continuing to observe the simple town from his doorstep. His wide eyes flicked over to the final quadrant, which was diagonally across from his home. This area held a few other buildings, some of which could easily be identified as houses for other residents of the town, which obviously were scarce.
The youth nodded to himself. He could remember such a plain layout easily enough. With that, he hopped down the steps and began walking towards the individuals in the large field. Lucas made sure to drag his feet along the clean, light gray sidewalk, hoping to avoid the inevitable contact with the other children for as long as possible. This place had a horrible vibe to it. One that gave Lucas chills that he couldn't seem to shake off. Was his old life all just a dream?
It would definitely make sense, considering how far-fetched some of the aspects of his former world were. Pig armies, cyborgs, psychics… that sounds like it came straight from a story, for crying out loud! Maybe this life was his true reality, after all. The town seemed normal enough, if you bulldozed down that creepy statue in the center. Lucas could swear up and down that even though he was not in front of it, as the boy was too frightened to gaze upon its face, he could feel its eyes watching his every movement.
Shaking his head to clear his mind, Lucas continued on passed the large statue and across the street. 'Almost there…' He thought whilst mentally bracing himself to deal with the other children. It isn't that Lucas didn't like people. He was simply shy and worried he would do something that may allow them to get the idea that he was some sort of a freak. He didn't want to screw something up so soon here, if this was to be his new life.
As his shoe-covered feet touched the soft grass of the wide, open field, Lucas lowered his head. 'What should I say?' He asked himself internally. He couldn't just up and say 'Hello' to people he wasn't well-acquainted with, yet. It would only turn out to be awkward and stiff, similar to a robot. '…or a cyborg…' The boy thought glumly.
Thankfully, Lucas didn't need to say a word, as the two boys came rushing over to him, effectively startling him. "Hey, Lucas!" Ness seemed to yell, face bright and brimming with happiness. "You kept me and TL waiting!" The blond psychic visibly flinched at the sheer volume of Ness's voice. "Yeah, what kept you, pal?" TL asked, laughing a little at the other boy's expression. Lucas turned his head to look at TL, only to be forced to suppress a gasp.
TL's ears were pointed; almost elf-like! His expression was akin to a scowl and his blond locks fell into his bright blue eyes. The only odd thing the boy was wearing was a sock-like, green hat. In the boy's left hand was a wooden sword that didn't look like it would hurt much no matter how hard you swung it. "Oh, um… y'know…" Lucas stammered, his words failing him.
Ness rolled his eyes playfully. "You should know by now, TL. Lucas loves his beauty sleep." Both TL and Ness laughed cheerfully, as Lucas looked on, a few steps behind. After the new boys recovered from their fit of laughter, TL spoke, "So… what do we do now?" That left all three kids in silent thought, until Ness suddenly brightened up again. 'It's almost like this boy is like a candle… he can blaze up and die down within seconds…' Lucas thought to himself as he listened for Ness's grand idea. "We should go exploring in the forest!" He exclaimed.
This brought Lucas's attention to the brightly hued forest, looking like it was Autumn even though it obviously wasn't. "Yeah!" TL cried out, shooting his fist into the air. "I heard there's a crazy person living out there!" Lucas paled in anxiety. He didn't enjoy the thought of finding an allegedly crazy person in the middle of an expansive forest with no adults around. That, and he always seemed to have bad experiences when going inside forests.
"C-crazy person?" He stuttered, looking at TL worriedly. A malicious grin formed across TL's round face. "Yeah. I hear she makes poisons and forces anyone she finds in the woods to drink them." TL smiled darkly. Lucas gasped, clearly appalled by the thought. "Why would she do that?" The question formed before he could stop it. "To make sure that they work. Duh." TL shrugged nonchalantly.
Ness rolled his violet eyes and waved TL's story off. "Oh, wow. Did you just come up with that, TL? Was that improv? Because it was soooo original." The dark haired boy said mockingly, clapping slowly as he did so. TL pouted, crossing his arms over his small chest. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. The point is that he bought it." He grumbled, nodding in Lucas's direction.
Lucas's face turned beet red as the duo stared him down. 'Was it really that stupid to believe him? …Of course it was! That's why they're staring at you, dummy!' His mind criticized as his face burned from embarrassment. "Hey." Lucas slowly turned his gaze to the person in front of him. Ness. "That was just some stupid story. TL is a good actor, I'll give him that." TL smirked at this, proud of his skill. "But there's no crazy person in the woods. The Regal Army of Oblivione would have caught them by now." Ness said calmly.
'Oblivione? Is that where I am?' The boy questioned himself, nodding at Ness. "So are you guys still up for it…?" TL asked the supposed 'brothers'. Ness gave Lucas a questioning gaze, which Lucas responded to with a nod. Immediately, Ness lit up, returning to his perky nature. "I guess we are!" Ness smiled. "First one to find a blue grasshopper and bring it back here wins." TL smirked at the other boys. "Game on." He said, getting into a position to run. 'Blue grasshopper? Where do I find one of those?' Lucas's mind fumbled, searching for an answer that would not come. "3." 'Oh, no! He's starting the count down!' Lucas worried even more, eyes searching frantically for a good entrance to the forest. "2." 'There!' He thought, staring at a small opening south east from them. 'I'll go there.' "1." Lucas readied himself to start sprinting. He didn't want to lose. "Go!"
With that, all three boys took off in different directions, scattering across the lush green field and into the diverse forest. Within a few minutes, Lucas had entered the forest and continued running, looking for a place where a blue grasshopper might be. Lucas had gone fairly far into the forest, hopping over fallen trees, dodging eerie looking spider webs, and avoiding holes in the ground created by small animals before he began to realize what a mistake entering an unusual forest was.
The boy came to a halt, out of breath and sweaty. He looked around, desperately trying to remember which way he had come from. Panic began to overtake him as a slight gust of wind blew through the colorful trees, causing a few leaves to come loose. To top it off, he felt as though someone was watching him…
*When entering the room, Lucas's bed is on the left side.
Feedback is definitely appreciated, but not necessary. Updates will be slow as I prefer to take my time with stories. Thank you very much for reading my story and I hope I haven't wasted too much of your time!