DISCLAIMER: No, I don't own anything. Well, nothing here, anyway.

—s—t—a—r—t—c—h—a—p—t—e—r—

"I...I don't understand," Lucas whispered, holding shaking hands to his lips in incredulous shock. "If you r-really are who you say you are—"

"And I am," 'Claus' cut in firmly, unwilling to let the matter go.

"How?" Lucas faced him directly now for the first time in a few minutes, when he'd frozen where he stood at the sight of this alleged Claus' most definitely real PSI. "How can you be here right now? It isn't possible! Not even now!" He ran a trembling hand through his blonde hair almost exasperatedly, unable to comprehend it. He must be going crazy. Yes, that was it. It had to be.

'Claus' met his gaze evenly, his ever-emotionless face softening by a mere fraction as he answered. "I'm here because I survived. When the world was reset, I survived. Though it's amazing to me how you've been able to build something as fancy as this city in such a short time," he observed, looking around himself with mismatched set of eyes. "I never would have imagined this. You should show me around some, Lucas." His eyes locked back with Lucas' once more, both confusing and slightly intimidating the boy.

"Short time...?" the blonde repeated, not quite sure he'd heard correctly. Surely the boy (thinking of him as a boy was off-putting, to say the very least) in front of him knew something like this didn't just happen overnight.

"Well, shorter than I would've thought. It can't have been more than a year; it's impossibly impressive," 'Claus' continued, closing his eyes. "So different from our Tazmily. ...I remembered everything, you know. Trapped down there, I had time to mull everything over and explore the parts of my mind that had been blocked by those bastards..." The PSI-user's eyes fluttered back open. "I'm so sorry," he breathed.

Lucas was taken aback by the sudden apology, but something told him that the real Lucas Itoi would know what it was about and appreciate it. "C-Claus," he used the name hesitantly, still not entirely believing what was happening to him, "it's been three hundred years."

'Claus' didn't reply. Instead, he looked at Lucas for a moment, like he was judging the truth of his statement based upon his outer appearance. Then, he did something rather unexpected. He laughed. He literally threw his head back and laughed, chest continuously contracting as he did so. The action seemed very out-of-place for him...almost robotic and forced, like it hadn't been done in awhile. "Three hundred years? That's a good one," he chuckled, holding his helmet to his side nonchalantly.

Lucas shook his head fervently. "No, really! I don't know how you get the idea something like this," he gestured around widely with his arms at the whole city itself, "could happen that fast, but it's been three hundred years!"

'Claus' just shook his head. "There's no way. You look like you haven't aged a day."

Lucas was beginning to get frustrated with the boy in front of him. "Yes, because I'm not Lucas," he insisted, a bit more forcefully than was really necessary. He then thought about that statement. "...well, I am. But, not your Lucas. I'm me. My own Lucas. Your Lucas is dead."

When 'Claus' gave him what was probably the most devastated expression in existence, Lucas was reduced to a stuttery attempt at softening his former words. "Well, y'know, it was th-three hundred years ago..."

This did nothing to help 'Claus's newfound demeanor. "Lucas is...dead?" he asked, like it was the biggest surprise he'd ever heard. Lucas could imagine it being a shock, yeah, but…three hundred years. No one could live for that long, not even the Savior. Not even with all the Pig Nation's gizmos and gadgets could people live longer than around a hundred and thirty. But 'Claus' apparently didn't realize this. The redhead looked up towards the mostly-obscured sky, eyes rather distant. "Dead. I waited for him. And he's dead."

For some reason, a bit of anger flared up inside of the blonde at his tone. "That's not really his fault, is it?" Lucas defended, though it really wasn't his place.

'Claus' gaze snapped back to him, face clearing itself of most it's expression. "I'm not faulting him," he corrected, closing his eyes. "I'm just…angry with fate."

Lucas didn't know how to respond to that. He couldn't even imagine having hope for so long that the one person you still cared about was there, only to find out they're gone, that they're dead, that they'd been dead for almost two hundred fifty years. But he did see 'Claus' carrying his helmet beside him, and it suddenly reminded him of the groceries he'd dropped some time earlier in reaction to 'Claus's PSI. Cursing under his breath, he dropped to his knees to pick the things up, hoping to God they weren't too damaged.

In the midst of his digging around, he noticed two dark gray boots walking away, tapping heavily on the pavement as they went. "Where are you going?" he asked, a little too quickly.

'Claus' did not stop. "I don't know. It's apparent that I've made a mistake. Sorry for troubling you."

And that was when Lucas began to feel bad. It was apparent that the boy was either one, very good at acting or two, was telling him the truth about all this and really was confused and hopeless and lost. Lucas was beginning to bet on the latter. What kind of uncaring, boorish soul allowed someone like that to wander around on their own? Not to mention the fact that he could very well be dangerous with that PSI of his, both to himself and to others. He couldn't just leave him there like that. It wasn't even an option. There had to be a reason that he'd met this boy, this alleged 'Claus Itoi,' today. Some might even go as far as to call it fate.

So Lucas called out to him. "Wait!" he shouted. 'Claus' stopped, just as asked. Lucas picked up his things once more and jogged over to him, panting slightly by the time he'd caught up. "Come with me. You don't have anywhere to go, right? Come to my house. My parents won't mind. We're having lasagna. Maybe we can figure something out together."

'Claus' turned to look at him, with his red eye. "What's up with the sudden change of heart? I don't need any pity." He looked back to the sky. "I made it here on my own. I can make it back."

"It isn't pity," Lucas huffed, though when he got to thinking about it he realized that it might have been something close. "I just can't stand seeing someone like this. So..." he trailed off, meeting Claus' (he had little doubt now that this was THE Claus) eyes. "Come with me."

There was a while in which Claus said nothing, opting to keep his gaze focused on Lucas, and he could tell he was trying hard to see him as his own person. He then closed his eyes. "I might as well take you up on the offer."

Lucas' face brightened. "Good," he said, genuinely relieved. They may have just met, but the boy before him had basically just poured his heart out; the least he could do was try to help. "Let's go, then." He began to walk. The other boy followed suit.

Out of the alleyway, the sun shone down on them almost harshly. Claus' eyes were almost shut completely, he was squinting so hard. The few people that did happen to be utilizing the sidewalks as well shot funny looks towards the redhead's odd getup, but he hardly seemed to notice this, if at all. "Your parents are also as altruistic as you're being now?" he asked, his tone doubtful.

Lucas chose to keep his gaze forward rather than direct his reproach at the boy behind him. "They'd never turn down anyone in need of help."

"But they'll probably ask questions," Claus continued, keeping his pace even with the blonde's. "Are you going to tell them the truth?"

This was a legitimate point. He had never been one to lie to anyone, especially his parents, for no reason…but would they believe him on this? Would anyone, for that matter? Lucas' eyebrows knitted themselves together in a thoughtful frown. "I…I suppose not."

"If it really has been three hundred years, they probably wouldn't believe you." He paused as they crossed a street devoid of cars. "That means you'll have to come up with some other story."

"I know that." He just didn't know what kind of a story yet.

"Perhaps you could tell them that I'm from the Pigmask Army on business, and need a place to stay. They'd have to let me in."

"What?" Now Lucas actually made it a point to turn around and give him an outlandish look. "Pigmask Army? They haven't been called that in ages; they're the Pig Battalion now. And the Pig Battalion doesn't even accept applicants under the age of sixteen."

He looked confused. "Pig Battalion? Huh." His face became a bit darker. "I didn't exactly apply, either."

Lucas' face fell. "Well, even so, they wouldn't believe you."

They were nearly back now. He had to come up with something that wasn't only believable but that would also allow Claus to stay with them for a long period of time—he had nowhere else to go. His frown intensified; he didn't lie very often, so of course he wasn't very good at it.

Claus advanced to his side when they turned in towards Lucas' house. "So what is it going to be?"

Lucas' face was set. "Just follow my lead, and try not to say anything unless you're spoken to."

"Fine, Lucas." He could tell his name was brought up sarcastically.

Opening the door with the tips of his fingers, he pushed it aside with his body and motioned for Claus to follow him inside. The living room was empty, signaling that his father still wasn't home yet, but he could hear his mother's voice from the kitchen. "Welcome back, dear!"

"Hi, mom," he replied, keeping his voice genial. He looked back at Claus, who still carried his helmet, and jerked his head towards the kitchen before advancing there himself.

Hinawa was busy prepping the basics needed for her lasagna. She looked behind herself briefly to smile at her son, but did a double take when she realized he had brought some company. "Oh, my!" she exclaimed, turning around fully to be polite. "Hello there! I didn't know you were bringing company, dear!"

Neither did I, he thought, but smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry for not telling you earlier. Mom, this is Claus," he introduced the boy, hesitating just a tad at his name. "He's a classmate of mine and…likes to cosplay."

"I can see that!" she giggled. "It looks very cool!"

"Thank you," Claus said, voice slightly less monotone than usual.

"I-Is it alright if he stays for dinner?"

Hinawa looked surprised at her son. "Of course it's okay! I'm always happy to have guests over!"

A bit of relief flooded over him at that answer, but he supposed he had better get this over with right then and there.

"Good, but, u-uhm…see, mom, Claus' parents had to leave suddenly for a business trip, and they won't be back for a week. Claus…lost the keys to his house, so he has no way of getting inside. C-Could he stay with us, temporarily?"

At this point, Elle had walked into the kitchen to see what all of the hubbub was about. Her LCDs were focused on Claus, and Lucas realized that he couldn't fool her about Claus; as a robot, she could sense other robots, including metallic appendages and the like. He hoped she wouldn't contest him.

Hinawa held a hand over her mouth at Lucas' explanation. "Oh, you poor dear!" she cried. "You can stay with us for as long as you need to. Should we call your parents to let them know?"

Lucas, panicked at the fact that she spoke directly to Claus, was about to answer for him, but Claus shook his head. "That won't be necessary, ma'am. I've already told them I'd be finding accommodations elsewhere."

She looked a bit relieved. "Oh, good. Well, make yourself at home, dear. And thank you for getting the groceries, dear!" she praised her son as he set the ingredients on the island next to her.

Claus bowed his torso a bit. "Thank you very much, Miss Hinawa." He seemed to choke a bit on her name.

She giggled. "Please, dear, just Hinawa is fine."

"Thanks, mom." Lucas looked at Claus, whose expression was neutral. "I'm gonna take him to my room real quick, then I'll be back down to help you."

"No worries, dear! Your mother can make a simple lasagna on her own!"

As he began to walk towards the stairway that housed the upper rooms of their home, Lucas locked eyes with Elle. He couldn't see much of anything in her shiny blue eye-like screens, but he gave her his best silent plea anyhow; if you know anything, don't say anything.

Her facial panels pulled themselves upwards a bit to allow her to smile at him. Lucas supposed that was a good sign. He smiled back before going to ascend the stairs. Claus followed him up.

"Not bad," the redhead said at length once they'd climbed out of earshot.

Lucas didn't answer. His face felt hot; shame wasn't a feeling he liked.

He reached the door to his room, grabbing the handle and pushing it inwards. He held it open for Claus, who strode in nonchalantly, before closing it quietly behind him. His room was fairly simple. An antique bed sat in the far corner, with wooden framing and a worn mattress. His dresser was also made of wood to match, but the floor and ceiling were both made of a special, matte metal. There were a few scattered posters lining the walls, and a desk and chair combo nearer to the door, but other than that the room was pretty plain.

"Like she said, make yourself at home," Lucas reminded, kicking off his shoes and taking a seat on his bed.

"Thanks." He took a few steps toward Lucas' dresser to set down his helmet before bending over to deal with his boots. "The furniture in here is more familiar to me."

Lucas chuckled a bit. "Yeah. I've always liked the olden style. I'm about the only one, though."

With his boots off, Claus unzipped his jacket rather experimentally. Lucas noticed how dirty Claus' socks were. "Eucch, when was the last time you changed socks?" He made a face when he saw Claus' undershirt, with visible stains even though the shirt itself was black. Now that he thought about it, even his jacket had been dirty, and his pants probably hadn't been that dark an orange to begin with.

"I was stuck in a cave for three hundred years, remember?" He sniffed a bit, and even his face took on a momentary ugly expression. "With no way to bathe, mind you."

Lucas squeezed his nose shut with his forefinger and thumb. "My goodness…then first things first, you need a shower. Let me find you some clothes."

As Lucas rummaged around in his drawers, he had a thought. "How come you were stuck down there, anyway? And how did you end up getting out?"

"I was deep underground. I…I'm not quite sure how it happened, but after I woke up, the last needle was gone and I was all alone down there. Well, almost." He frowned here. "The Pig King was down there, as well. But, trapped inside that capsule, there was nothing he could do, nor I to him, so I was alone."

"Pig King?" Lucas stopped for a moment to look up at him. "You mean…Porky?"

"Yes. Lucas sealed him away." Saying the name 'Lucas' in such away made Lucas start a bit. "Anyway, I looked everywhere for an exit. Scoured the entire place fifty times over, but there was no way out. I can only assume some kind of earthquake had closed off the path that originally led down there."

"Huh…" The thought of something like that scared Lucas. It would be like being buried alive, with a longer time to wait. "How did you…survive all that time?"

Claus looked at him, and Lucas felt so self-conscious that he averted his gaze towards his goal of finding clothes. "As you probably already know, I'm a chimera. As such, I've been altered to be as efficient as possible. I don't require food to survive. My PSI was enough to sustain me, but at some point I lapsed into a long-term sleep of sorts. A big tremor awakened me, and I discovered that there were people digging down towards the cave. Eventually they made it, and I managed to escape without being found by them."

"…and then you came here?"

"Yes. To find Lucas."

"And all you found was me."

Claus didn't say anything, but Lucas got the feeling that yes, it was just him. He'd much rather have found the other Lucas.

He located the last of the things he figured Claus would be needing after he did some major cleaning. "Okay, here. They should fit you," he guessed, handing the redhead his clothes.

"Thank you. Where is your restroom?"

"Out in the hall and to the left, the first door you see."

"Alright." He left the room and shut the door behind him.

Lucas, now with nothing else to do, shut his drawers and went to sit down at his desk. So much had just happened in so little time…and now he was stuck with a boy from another time entirely. They had managed to solve the problem of the short term, but what about the long term? Would Claus be able to adapt and live in Neo Tazmily? With no family, it might prove difficult to find any kind of job, especially at his age…at least, visibly. Lucas had no clue what to do.

When he heard his door open behind him, he jumped and whirled around to see who it was. His mother? His father? Elle?

Claus poked his head into the doorway. "Lucas, how does the…whatever this is in the restroom work?"

Lucas had forgotten about Claus' ineptitude when it came to futuristic technology. He sighed. "…hold on, I'll show you."

—e—n—d—c—h—a—p—t—e—r—

A/N: I really liked this story. I've had the first parts of this chapter written for literal years, haha. Just never got around to finishing it up.

Yay for me picking things back up.

つづく