His eyes snapped open as he jerked awake- shot up as if he'd been fired from the cannon- quickly scanned the room and found it empty of enemies- but not empty of life.

He flung the blanket aside, quickly crossed over to the other's cot and stood over him. He watched him breathe for a moment before slowly reaching out, putting his hand on the other's forehead.

The blond boy sighed deeply- mumbled something that he didn't catch- and smiled. The other appeared to be sleeping peacefully- was smiling, lying still, not restless at all- no injuries or worries that he could detect.

The Commander gave a sigh of his own.

This was the first plan he had come up with on his own. He was still following orders, of course, but this was the first time he'd seen a good way to accomplish his orders so neatly. At least, it had seemed nice and neat when he'd taken the boy- when he'd been bringing him here, and he had sped up and gone even higher, the boy had actually clung to him- still not scared, but worried- cautious-

But then...

He'd begun approaching the base, began going lower- among the trees, not over them- suddenly, the other had begun to struggle- at first, he thought the other boy was trying to escape from him- but the other gripped him even tighter with one hand and latched himself onto a strong nearby tree branch with his free hand- they struggled for a moment- the other refused to let go of him, but also refused to let go of the tree- finally, the Commander got into position and shot the branch off the tree- it took a minute for him to stabilize their flight- and for that moment, the other boy had returned to hugging him with both arms again.

So the Commander had relaxed- and then, as they passed another tree, the other did it again- reached out and latched onto another tree branch while still clinging to him with his other hand. They struggled again, and again he shot the tree branch off, and again the boy returned to clinging to him- but this time the Commander made sure to stay away from the trees and their branches- and this time he thought he knew what the other was trying to do. He wasn't trying to escape, exactly- he was trying to avoid going to the base, but he was also trying to stay with him.

They had to go to the base, of course. Mountain Base was where the Commander had been stationed, so it would be where he would keep the boy.

But he had to stop the boy from struggling- the scientists and the soldiers would take it as more than struggling, would take as fighting- would think that it meant that the other boy was an enemy still- and the scientists might use that against them- might claim that since the Commander couldn't control the boy, he couldn't keep him-

They were approaching the landing site now- the boy wasn't struggling, but he was tense- so very tense- in his arms- and then he twisted, making him tense too- but he seemed to be just looking around- probably trying to find another way to try to prevent them from reaching the base- but the change in position was just enough for the light to glint off of a badge pinned to the boy's striped shirt- he analyzed it quickly- the boy hadn't been wearing it at their last meeting- when they were on the other island- and at that time, he'd used the lightening and knocked out the boy and the ones with him- the ones who had been controlling him.

The badge was what kept the lightening from affecting the boy.

With one quick, sharp gesture, he ripped the badge off of the boy's shirt, tearing it in the process- and then, before the boy could do anything more than give a sharp cry in protest, he hit him with the lightening- knocking him out and making him go limp.

The Commander quickly stuffed the badge away in one of the uniform pockets and then wrapped his other arm around the boy as well- cradled him carefully as he began to land.

The voice was- was not wailing exactly- not complaining exactly- but the voice was not happy. A high worried sound-

Something in him resonated with the voice- he'd been about to congratulate himself on an excellent tactical move, but couldn't, even though this meant the boy was safe-

It was only as his feet hit the floor that he realized that he hadn't really thought this through. The voice would no doubt go into the category of things that he would be sent to the scientists for "a checkup" for if he mentioned it- and the boy needed to be shown that the ones controlling him before would not be able to reach him here, and that he needed to listen to him and behave- and he would have to convince everyone that it was best to let him keep the boy. What would be the best way to do all of that-

"Commander?"

He looked up to find a woman- one of the assistant scientists- looking from him to the boy he was carrying in his arms.

"What's going on?" she asked, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear nervously, "who is that?"

"This is the other- the other who was pulling the Needles," he responded, looking away from her- looking at the other, wondering how to care for him- that was when he saw the injuries. Just bruises and small cuts- the other's healing PSI had kept him from serious injury- but he still frowned when he saw them- the blond boy was his responsibility now- and looked at the assistant scientist. "Fix him."

And they had. The boy's wounds were all cured now.

He took his hand off the boy's head- was about to take a step away, when the boy frowned- stirred slightly in his sleep.

The boy was like him- but not like him.

He was having problems pinning it down- parts of the boy were obvious, and parts of him weren't.

He and the boy had similar powers. One of their attacks- the strongest one- was exactly the same.

And the boy was strong- he had to be, otherwise he would have died by now, even with those others helping him…the boy was strong, but he kept thinking of him as weak…well, now he was weak. The collar placed the boy entirely under his power.

He watched the boy toss in his sleep- the boy was his now- he'd have to take care of him- protect him, keep him safe…

Like he had earlier- when the scientists had found out what had happened, they'd crowded into the room where the other boy's injuries were being taken care of-

The medics were giving the boy something as they were fixing his injuries- something in a needle that they injected into him as the Commander watched- they said it would keep him asleep.

The Commander had watched as long as he could, but then the scientists showed up- so many of them that they couldn't stay in the room. So he had taken them to the hallway outside and listened to them there.

The scientists had wanted to keep the boy, but he'd said no.

Even after he'd said that, they had kept insisting that they should be the ones to keep the boy- kept talking about all the things they could do to him (he vaguely realized that his fists were clenching themselves tight as the scientists kept talking)- all the things they could test on him- and then they'd started arguing over who got to do what with him- even the head scientist got annoyed at them- the third time Dr. Reasoner had told his workers to listen and they failed to do so, the Commander had turned the mechanical arm into its cannon mode and shot it into the air- everybody glared at him, but they did become quiet- then the head scientist spoke up again.

"Thank you, Commander." The head scientist didn't sound thankful. He sounded mad.

He nodded his head in acknowledgment anyway, then stated his case again. "The boy belongs in my custody because the Army had to deal with him, and I am the one who captured him. He is no true threat. He never attacked me- even during the battle at the Temple, he only healed himself and the others who were controlling him- sometimes he would use shields and a few other assist PSI, but that was all. He is also the other one who was pulling the Needles-"

"How do you know that?" challenged a voice.

He couldn't see which of the scientists said that, so he gave the whole room a look. "Because he is."

"At this precise minute, it doesn't matter if he is or is not," the head scientist said, glaring at all of them. "All of you get back to work- except for you, Betz." he waited for all of them to stop yelling, then continued. "The Commander and I are going to call King P- in the meantime, Betz has an experiment he's been wanting to try for some time- an experiment that won't harm the subject even if it doesn't work as anticipated."

One of the scientists stepped forward, glasses glinting in the artificial light. "It's a project I've been working on for some time- how exactly does PSI travel through the body? I believe I've come up with a way to block it. No matter who gets to keep the subject, it will be a good idea to make sure he can't use his PSI- we all know how annoying escape attempts can be, don't we?"

All of the scientists laughed- the Commander didn't.

"Not to mention," the scientist went on, "my latest design is a collar that also works the same as a shock collar. You click a button and zap! Instant punishment. Quite handy for training purposes- don't you agree, Commander?"

He looked at the scientist for a moment- then nodded slowly. He agreed with anything that kept the boy in his care- kept him safe and away from the scientists. And it would be good to have something to show to the other boy to prove that he- the Commander, the strong one- was the one in charge, and the other boy needed to listen to him and be good- shock collars had remotes, didn't they? He would make sure to take it away from the scientist as soon as possible.

Luckily, when Master Porky came on and the Commander explained his plan, Master Porky approved of it- at least, he thought he did. The Pig King had laughed when he heard it, and he'd said that the Commander could keep the other- and that was the most important thing.

The boy was his to keep now.

In the present, the other rocked restlessly, and he moved slightly towards him- he didn't know why-

With something almost like surprise, he realized he was feeling emotions towards the boy- he wasn't supposed to feel emotions. Emotions messed with your head- altered your thinking- emotions were dangerous, keeping you from doing what you needed to do- made you do stupid things…

Awkwardly, he tried to shove them away, but they just bubbled back in under the mental door he tried to shove them behind. He regarded them- he didn't know what to do with them. Unused to feelings, he didn't really know which ones they were, or what to do with them…all he knew was that the boy was- the boy was-

The boy moaned in his sleep, as if something had hurt him, and the Commander found his hand reaching towards him. Surprised, he just watched, making no attempt to stop it- his hand gently stroked the boy's head- it seemed to comfort him- sooth him.

The boy murmured. He sounded sad, but no longer in pain.

The Commander just continued stroking the boy's head- he found himself humming too- why?

It soothed the boy- comforted him. It helped him sleep.

Sleep was good- sleep was important. Soldiers needed sleep to be able to perform their duties with maximum efficiency. The boy wasn't a soldier, but the body still worked the same, right?

The Commander should be sleeping himself- but he wasn't. He had been- but he'd woken up. Something had woken him up… it happened sometimes… he'd wake up, and he wouldn't know why… sometimes he'd find his cheeks wet… he didn't know why. Maybe if he asked, somebody would be able to tell him why…but he never asked.

He didn't know why he didn't ask-but it didn't matter, right? He still did his job, and as long as he did his job, everything was good, right?

The boy shifted, moving himself closer- closer to him.

The Commander heard a soft sigh- realized it came from his own throat.

The head scientist had been unhappy- tried to argue- but Master Porky wouldn't let him. After telling them to report in tomorrow with whatever happened next, he dismissed them.

When he and the head scientist returned to the room where the boy was being kept until he woke up, he discovered that the other scientist had completed the installation of the collar around the boy's neck.

The boy's wounds were all attended to- his clothes had also been taken away- they had put the infirmary patient outfit on him.

He noticed the boy's clothes folded and sitting on a nearby cart- there was a bin next to it.

The two scientists started talking- arguing- over the Pig King's decision.

He ignored them- walked over to the cart and looked in the bin. As he'd suspected, the boy's equipment was inside- some food, one of the zodiac bracelets- a vial filled with something that looked like water...except the color wasn't quite right...maybe because it was in the vial? Maybe the vial was made out of something that distorted the color of the water to his eyes- but it didn't matter. He didn't care about any of these things- the boy wouldn't need them anymore. He picked up the clothes, put them in the box with the other things and picked up the box and walked over to the scientists, who had finally stopped arguing. "Do whatever you want with these."

The one that was not the head scientist- Dr. Betz- snorted. "What would we want with those-"

The Commander held up the vial, and the scientists looked at it.

"It's just water," Dr. Betz said- his tone said he wasn't quite convinced of that, but it wasn't any happier either.

"You wouldn't be able to do more than wet your mouth with that amount of water- there's no reason for carrying that little container with just water in it," Head Scientist Dr. Reasoner said, and took the box and shoved it into Dr. Betz's arms. "Here, run some tests on it."

"I'm not done yet here! I still have to test the collar-"

"The boy is sleeping." the Commander pointed out. It was an obvious statement, but since the scientist wasn't taking that into account...

"That will change with the touch of a button-" the scientist said, holding up a remote, finger inching towards the red button- the Commander snatched it away. "Hey!"

"The boy is mine."

"Maybe so, but the collar is my project! I have the right to test it."

The Commander wavered slightly at that- he wasn't supposed to interfere in the scientists' projects- that was on the list of things he would get in trouble for- but then things went click in his mind. "You can test it- when the boy wakes up, then you can test it. After you test it-" he held up the remote- reluctantly let the scientist snatch it back. "After you test it, the remote becomes mine."

They had argued then- they had gone back and forth for a while- in the end, Head Scientist Dr. Reasoner intervened. First, he asked the Commander what he was trying to do, and he answered, "Trust".

The scientists didn't understand, even though it made sense. He wanted the boy to trust him, and if you wanted someone to trust you, you treated them kindly. If they misbehaved, then you punished them, but you never ever hurt them for no reason.

The head scientist had stared at him silently for a few more minutes- he didn't look convinced, but he didn't argue either. The scientists had left shortly afterwards. The head scientist to return to his duties and the other scientist to drop the box off at his lab, before coming back here.

He knew the scientists were angry that they didn't get to keep the boy- that they were glaring at his back as they left the room- but he didn't care.

The boy was his- would stay safe with him.

In the present, he suddenly realized that the badge that reflected lightening was still in his pocket. No doubt the scientists would be interested in that- but... instinctively, his hand shot into the pocket- wrapped itself around the badge tightly.

...perhaps he could use it as an example- to gain the boy's trust. If the boy continued to behave, he would tell him that he still had the badge- and tell him he would return it to him if he was good in the future as well.

When the boy had woken up, he'd been good, just like the Commander had known he would be-

Things had gone well. The collar had worked- it both blocked the boy's PSI and when the button was pressed, it zapped the boy and hurt him-

When the boy had fallen to the ground, he had ripped the remote out of the scientist's hand- the scientist had glared at him briefly before smiling- a not very nice smile.

The Commander had ignored it and gone over to the boy.

When he'd spoken to the boy, he'd gotten up- didn't even seem to be bruised. After confirming that the boy's PSI was indeed blocked, he'd taken the boy away, taken him to the mess hall- fed him there, and then taken him to the room.

He'd given the boy his nighttime clothes, and the boy had gone into the bathroom to change. The Commander had begun to take off the boots- and then, just after he'd finished that and taken them to their place by the side of the door, he'd heard the sound of the collar activating, and the boy yelped.

When questioned, the boy said he wasn't trying to remove the collar- but he'd also sounded guilty-

The boy had been good- he'd been quiet and stuck close to the Commander- but the Commander had opened the door anyway- he couldn't take any chances with the boy's safety-

The boy had been crying- but he'd also faced the Commander straight on- no shame, no fear-

The Commander was brought back to the present by the boy mumbling something in his sleep- something he couldn't make out- but there was a high, lonely sound to his voice- as if he was calling out to someone-

Finding the boy like that- the Commander had felt almost like he'd been injured and something was digging into the wound- and then the boy had started talking about his family, and the feeling had gotten even worse- as if the girl who had been controlling the boy before had hit him on the head repeatedly- hit him without the helmet protecting him.

He'd retreated from the bathroom- gone into his bed. He needed to stop this feeling, needed to regain perspective so he could fulfill his duties-

The boy had followed him out- had talked about having questions- the Commander had gotten him to be quiet and go to sleep- but he'd had to promise to answer the boy's questions later.

And then the boy had reached out- had taken a hold of the Commander's hand and held onto it as he went to sleep- had continued holding onto it even in his sleep. The Commander hadn't moved away- it would make it easier to keep track of the boy anyway, right?

But the boy wanted to ask questions- well, questions weren't necessarily bad. A good soldier would ask questions to make sure they fulfilled their duty correctly- but the statements the boy made... the effect they had on him... would the questions the boy asked be even worse?

But he couldn't get angry at him- he wasn't supposed to get angry anyway, and just as importantly, the boy was obviously sincere- wasn't trying to hurt him-

"Yes- my brother, my twin brother Claus…he disappeared three years ago, right after our mom died…I believe he's still alive, but everyone keeps telling me to give up on him, that he has to be dead-" The boy shook his head, then faced the Commander again, looking him in the eyes as much as he could. "I believe- no, I know- that my brother is still alive."

The voice was back in his head again. He still couldn't make out the words, but he could tell that the voice was happy because of the tone…the voice was humming the same tune he was…that was strange…strange, but...familiar.

The Commander should be trying to get to sleep- he didn't know why he wasn't. Somehow, the commands wouldn't form in his brain, wouldn't reach his limbs.

"…good boy…"

The voice was happy…was that a good thing?

The voice was happy- the boy was happy- the Commander was…

His train of thought crashed and abruptly restarted.

The soft sound of the boy's breathing filled the otherwise empty and silent room.

The Commander was tired- and night was for sleeping, right?

He should try to get to sleep- he shifted and the boy mumbled in his sleep and grabbed his wrist.

"Dun' go…" he begged.

Startled, he didn't pull away- just watched as the boy clung to his hand like a swimmer to a lifeline.

The voice seemed pleased by this too. "…good boys…proud…"

Proud?

He patted the boy's head and watched him relax and listened to the voice hum softly and happily.

"*****, you're the strong one and ***** is the sweet one- so you have to protect him. He isn't as strong as you, so you have to be careful, okay?"

He nodded solemnly, eyes fixed on the figure above him-

It was dark, and there was some sort of mist surrounding him- he couldn't see, but there were people around- he was aware of a flash of yellow, and realized that the blonde boy was behind the one in front of him, being gently lifted and carried by a tall figure-

But even as he realized that, he focused on the gentle hands on his shoulders and the sweet scent of flowers coming from the figure in front of him-

This time, the pounding on the door woke him up.

"Commander! Commander! We've received an urgent report from the Chimera Research Facility!"

He jerked awake, confused and disoriented, but only for a moment.

He'd been asleep? He'd actually fallen back asleep after waking up? He was on the boy's bed now- the blankets had been tucked around both of them.

Next to him, the boy yawned as he sat up. He turned to face him- the boy was sleepy and discombobulated, but their eyes met-

"Commander!"

The Commander of the Pigmask Army jumped to his feet. He turned away from the boy and walked to the door but didn't open it. "What?"

"Oh, Commander! Thank goodness you're awake! The Chimera Research Facility sent an urgent report! Apparently, the chimeras escaped- they managed to recapture most of them, but they still haven't been able to round up the Ultimate Chimera!"

…of course the Ultimate Chimera was the one still loose.

"I'll be there shortly."

"Yes sir!"

Even through the door he could hear the sound of the salute.

He sighed and turned to face the boy- and flinched slightly to find him right behind him, staring at him intently.

Sleeping in his helmet and uniform had been uncomfortable, but he was rather glad he had…the boy's gaze…it was piercing. The helmet shielded him somewhat from the boy's stare.

After a moment of silence, the Commander turned away. "What do you want?"

"What do you want?" the boy countered.

The Commander blinked. "I don't want anything."

"Then why am I here?"

"So you're safe. You can't interfere anymore."

"If all you wanted was to make sure I didn't interfere, then why didn't you kill me?"

The Commander looked away again, and the boy moved, keeping it so that they were eye to eye still.

"You could've killed me and my friends easily back on Tanetane Island- but you didn't."

"Get out of my way. I need to get ready for the briefing," the Commander said, pushing past him- the boy surrendered ground, but his hands closed around the Commander's wrist and wouldn't let go.

The Commander turned- looked at the boy's hand, then looked at the boy's bright blue eyes, before dropping his head again. "…do you need something?" He must need something with the way he was looking at him, right? "I'll bring you some clothes today, like I promised yesterday. You'll stay here for now- I'll take you to the mess hall after the briefing is over. Do you need anything else?"

The boy paused a moment- things ran across his face so fast, before he focused. "My friends- what are you going to do with them?"

"…that depends on what they do next. Now-" he pulled away, moved to the dresser, removed another uniform set, and strode into the bathroom before the boy could ask any more questions.

What did the Commander plan? He didn't really have any plans…he had been ordered to pull the Needles, and the troublemakers had been interfering- but now the boy, the only other one who could pull the Needles, was his. And now they couldn't interfere anymore, right?

And the boy wouldn't escape from him- couldn't escape from him.

So that was all taken care of…unless the others- the ones who had been keeping the boy with them before- tried to interfere again-in which case he'd have to stop them- that was all.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. What if they tried to take the boy away? Steal him?

He'd stop them. He wouldn't let anyone take the boy away.

The Commander nodded to the him in the mirror and began changing clothes. When he was finished, he removed the badge from his pocket- studied it for a moment.

There was a dark bolt of lightening in the middle of it- behind that, there was a vague shape he couldn't make out...it looked almost like a map, but not of any place he recognized.

The words "Franklin Badge" ran around the edge of it... so that was what it was called.

The Commander put it into one of the pockets of the pants he was currently wearing, gathered up the dirty clothes and put them in the hamper, then left the room.

The boy was sitting on the cot, a thoughtful expression on his face- when the Commander walked back into the room and began heading to the door, the boy jumped to his feet and headed him off before he could reach it.

"What's your name?" The question shot out of the boy's mouth before the Commander could even think of responding. "I'm Lucas- what's your name?"

...name? His name. He- he didn't have a name, right? They told him he didn't have a name-

"I'm-the Commander of the Army."

"That's not a name." The boy said softly. "That's a title."

For a second, their eyes met through the mask- for just a second, the blonde boy's eyes met and held his one uncovered eye- and then the Commander could move again- pushed past him and out the door.

The Commander shut the door behind him- stared at the door for a moment, then remembered to lock it. He couldn't risk something happening to the boy-

Lucas. The boy's name was Lucas.

For a moment, the Commander's hand gripped the Franklin Badge in his pocket- and then he started off down the hallway.

OoOoOo

I am going to be so happy when Claus remembers his name so I don't have to keep typing "the commander" over and over again.

This chapter used to be part of another chapter, until I realized it made a lot more sense here. Hopefully the next chapter will be quicker, but since Real Life is currently trying to kill me, I doubt it.

In case anyone's wondering, that's when the Porky makes his first appearance. Unfortunately, it's not when he dies. Painfully. With extreme amounts of fire so that I can toast marshmallows on him and what the heck I don't even like marshmallows-

I'm not a Porky fan, in case you hadn't guessed yet. One of my favorite things about my other fic "Heart's Desire", is that the twins got to kick his butt twice!