Hello, readers! Just a quick reminder that I do have a second story called "Plot Twist" currently out, and I'd appreciate it if you'd go over and check it out! I am also beginning to take requests for Cover Images. No payment needed, just message me if you'd like to ask for one! If you need to see samples of my art, you'd welcome to check out my DeviantART and see if my style is to your liking. :)

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Ness sat alone, in a tree. The sky was gray, and a small drizzle of rain flurried down. At least the weather matched his mood; completely gray. What was he going to do without Jeff in his life? Then again, what was the army going to do without Jeff? He was the greatest scientist in the world; the only one capable of chimera production. Ness smiled a bit, remembering how bad Jeff was at science when they first met. He constantly blew things up, broke things, and almost set fire to Paula's dress at one point. But he still had that brilliant mind of his.

Suddenly, the familiar scuff of combat boots on tree bark alerted him. He knew that Paula was coming up, so he scootched over to allow her some room to sit.

"General?"

Ness gasped. That wasn't Paula. He turned to meet the red eyes of his Commander.

"Your Highness…! What are you doing outside in the rain, your arm could rust!" Worried Ness, straightening up. He then noticed that the ginger was holding a bundle of green fabric.

"Sir...is that…?"

"Doctor Andonuts' sports jacket, yes."

As the jacket was handed to him, Ness almost burst into tears again. The familiar texture of the jacket revived so many memories.

"Why are you giving me this?" Asked Ness, hugging the coat tightly, as if it was the most important thing in the world. At this point, the jacket was the most important thing, in Ness' world, at least.

"I understand that you and Andonuts were remarkable friends, and a soldier suggested I give you something to remember him by." Explained the Commander. Ness noticed that his eyes weren't as hateful and dark as before. They seemed...softer.

"As if I could ever forget Jeff…" Ness murmured.

"Is that his first name?" Asked the Commander. Ness gave him a sad nod. There was a small drag of silence, filled only by the pitter patter of raindrops, which were thickening. Thunder crashed in the distance.

"General...well, I know this may be a difficult question to answer, but...could you...? Tell me your name?" The Second in Command wondered. Ness' eyes widened, and he searched for an answer. He was forbidden to tell the Commander his name.

"Well, um...you see, sir, I'm not allowed to say…" He stammered.

"I see, you don't want to tell me. I understand."

"It's not that, I just…"

"My apologies. I should go back inside, the rain is thickening."

And he was gone. Ness blinked, watching the door to the headquarters shut. Then, he looked up at the sky and let the rain pelt against his face. Ever since the Commander learned about Claus, he was developing a more warm personality. He wasn't nearly as cold and careless now. Ness liked it.

Lightning struck nearby, but Ness didn't move. Maybe he could get struck himself, then he would die and leave this pathetic life behind. Ness took another look at the green, double breasted jacket, and sighed. He let himself slide off of the tree branch and landed safely. After hanging Jeff's coat on another branch, Ness took off his own and threw it to the wet, muddy ground. That stupid uniform represented his mistake of letting himself join the despicable army.

"Fuck...this...stupid...coat!" He hissed under his breath as he crushed it beneath his foot, letting it tear from the heel of his boot. He never wanted to see that coat again.

When Ness entered the headquarters again, soldiers were shocked to see him wearing Jeff's green jacket, still stained with dried blood and torn from bullets. Thankfully, two bullet holes in the back were just large enough to fit his wings through. He ignored every gossiping whisper, every gasp, and every question. Ness would wear it until he either died or escaped. He'd wear it as a constant reminder for the army, and what they did to his best friend.


"Lucas, honestly. There's nothing we can do."

Three people and a dog sat around a poorly built fire, huddled together to keep warm. The smallest one, Lucas, was in the middle, while two older ones, Duster and Kumatora, shielded him from the cold wind.

"I know, Kuma...but I feel like there's more to that army than just power. Surely, their king had a different purpose for starting it in the first place?" Lucas tiredly suggested, yawning. Kumatora sighed and looked up at the sky. The clouds from the rainstorm earlier were returning, they'd have to find shelter soon.

"Hey, the kid fell asleep." Duster grunted, gesturing to Lucas, who had peacefully drifted off. Kumatora stood up and took the child into her arms, careful not to wake him.

"Umm…" She looked around a bit for some form of shelter, but she was unsuccessful.

"You don't think we're gonna find shelter on the ground, do you?" Duster taunted. He began to press the palm of his hand against multiple trees, until he found one with reasonably hard bark. Kumatora watched, somewhat impressed, as he sheathed his wall staples and began to work his way up the tree.

"Kumatora, it's got a hollow trunk! Bring Lucas up here!" Duster rasped from among the branches. Kumatora hoisted Lucas onto her shoulders, accidentally waking him.

"Luc, I'm gonna need you to hang on." She told him. Lucas nodded, and his grip around her neck tightened. Kumatora climbed up the tree until she spotted Duster, perched on a branch. He pointed to the trunk, which had a reasonably sized hole in it.

"Heh, that was lucky." Grinned Kumatora. She gingerly lifted the sleeping boy and placed him into the trunk. It was just large enough for him to fit cosily. Kumatora sighed and leaned against the trunk on her branch. A few birds chattered and flew away as someone else climbed up the tree; Boney. The chocolate coloured dog scrambled clumsily onto a branch, whimpering.

"Aww, I'm sorry, Boney!" Laughed Kumatora, petting him between the ears. She had completely forgotten about the trusty dog. Boney stumbled over to Kumatora's branch and laid across her lap. The group was soon fast asleep, just as the rain started up. Thankfully, the tree was large, with thick branches, blocking out the rain. As Lucas slept, he had multiple dreams. Disturbing dreams, really. He kept on seeing that boy...the one he had come face-to-face with on the PigMask airship. All he could remember we're sad, sunken violet eyes, and jet black hair.

Then, there was the masked one. Lucas never saw their face, but they seemed so familiar. They seemed young, too. Maybe a few years older than Lucas. He couldn't stop thinking about them. He couldn't stop thinking about the whole ordeal in general.

Then, he had the nightmare.

He woke up in pure darkness. Absolute pitch black. He couldn't even see his own hand in front of his face.

"Hello?" Lucas called out into the void. His voice didn't echo or delay. When he began to take hesitant, small steps, his shoes made no noise. All around him, pure silence hung. Every step was a new risk, as he felt as if he'd drop into a pit if he moved further.

Then, he saw a light. A small, faint light, floating in the distance. His fear was replaced with curiosity, and he began to walk a little faster. The light, as it grew brighter, shined with a familiar, warm glow. Lucas felt safe with this light. It made him feel like he was nine years old again, carelessly living his life, happily with his family. However, as he came into touching distance of the light, it faded to a much lower brightness, almost unnoticeable. Suddenly, a figure was visible before Lucas. The blond stumbled back in surprise from the sudden appearance with a startled yelp.

The figure was Claus, his dead brother. The light Lucas had seen was a reflection. Even thought no light source seemed to be present, the blood trickling down Claus' face had a definite reflection. Lucas stared up at his brother, bewildered.

"C...Claus…?" He breathed. The ginger only gave Lucas a threatening grin.

"Dearest brother…" Claus murmured. His voice faded in and out, from a wispy breath to a loud yell. Unlike Lucas' own voice, Claus' echoed.

"Claus, what happened to you? Where'd all this blood come from?" Fret Lucas, running forward to touch his shoulder. Though, before he could, Claus disappeared from his view. Lucas glanced around, confused.

"What are you doing here?" The haunting voice came again.

Claus' question came from behind Lucas. He spun around to see Claus again, but this time, his face seemed alright. Despite this, a large, open gash tore open his shirt and through his skin, dried blood caking the edges. Lucas nearly vomitted at the horrendous sight.

"I...I don't know! What are you doing here, aren't you...d…d…"

"...Dead?"

"Y...yah!"

Claus snickered and disappeared again, this time reappearing to Lucas' right side. His chest was fine now, but his left arm was missing with the same bloody, torn fashion as the last wound.

"You've been getting into a lot of trouble, I've heard." He said, ignoring his twin's question. Lucas tipped his head to the side.

"Trouble? What do you mean? Where did you hear that?" He asked. Claus reached into his back pocket with his good hand and pulled out a stack of letters. Lucas saw that they had no address, no stamp, no nothing.

"From the mailboxes, of course. Oh! Here...this one says…'The boy named Lucas just comitted murder.'" Claus read off of one of the letters after tearing it out of the envelope.

"What?!" Cried Lucas. Claus disappeared once more, and faded in far behind Lucas.

"'The boy named Lucas has blood on his hands.'"

"No…!"

"'This boy named Lucas killed his mother and brother."

"Stop it! You're not Claus! You're just my imagination…!" Shouted Lucas, clamping his hands over his ears to block out sound. This made no difference, as he could still hear the taunts being thrown at him. They began to slowly get louder and louder, until it was practically screaming. Multiple voices spoke to him. He heard his father, he heard Kumatora, Duster, Fuel...everybody was shouting taunts at him. He even heard his mother's voice.

Strong hands grabbed at his ankle. Lucas screamed and tried to kick them off, but they clung on tight. So tight, his foot began to fall asleep. More hands. Dry, scaley hands with long, sharp nails grabbed at every part of him, and pulled. The pain was incredible; searing burning all over his body. Hands latched onto his shoulders, face, neck, and back. Thousands of evil souls, trying to tear him apart.

He then saw Claus in front of him, perfectly fine. No wounds, no blood, no nothing.

"Claus, please! They're trying to kill me!" Lucas begged, loosing his strength quickly. Claus looked around nervously, as if he was hesitant on saving his brother. To Lucas' relief, his brother began to run towards him. But something wasn't right; Claus was grinning. Horrified, Lucas realized he had a knife. His brother suddenly lunged at him, and the thousands of hands held Lucas steady in a vulnerable spread position.

"Claus…?!" Lucas sobbed. He looked up into the bloodthirsty, crazed eyes of his twin. Claus slowly raised the knife up with two hands, not breaking eye contact.

In an instant, the noise stopped. Claus spoke, in a low, intense whisper:

"I'm not Claus anymore."


"Ah…!"

The Commander sprang up, nearly falling back in the chair he was sitting in. Heart pounding, he looked around the room, grabbing his desk for support. A bead of sweat poured down his face as he gasped for air. Once he realized it was only a dream, he sighed and relaxed.

"Goodness…" He panted. He had just had the most awful nightmare. Which was funny, because chimeras normally didn't have dreams. The ginger glanced down, noticing his desk, papers and books scattered across it's surface. He had fallen asleep while planning a bombing.

Ever since Dr. Andonuts was executed, the Commander had been having frightening visions and dreams. He'd hallucinate often, seeing a chimera Drago speeding towards him. But by the time he had pulled out his sword to defend himself, he would realize the reality of what it was. He'd hear screams, the terrified shouting of what he guessed were a few young boys and an older woman. These malfunctions caused him to be more paranoid, and he knew the soldiers were noticing this. The Commander was worried about what he'd do if he malfunctioned, and Andonuts wasn't there to fix him. Would the Master have him killed as well?

A knock at the door jolted him from his trance.

"Your Highness? It's Soldier #766. The bombing is about to start, you're needed at the aiming pit." The muffled voice called to him.

"Hm…? Oh, yes! I'll be only a minute…" The Commander replied shakily. He cursed at himself for falling asleep right before a bombing.

Within five minutes, he had pushed the memory of the awful dream from his head and was in the aiming pit, seated at a control board. He put on his headset and turned it on.

"This is your Commander, attention. Shoot only where and when I tell you to, and if you fail to hear me over the headset, I will skin you." He announced.

"B...but, sir! This town has canons, what if they hit us?" Asked a frightened soldier over the channel.

"Suck it up, buttercup. Let's move out!"


Ness stumbled a bit from the sudden moving of the airship. He leaned against the railing of a catwalk and glared outside of the window, seeing their target town in the horizon. It looked beautiful, with wonderfully crafted buildings and lush, tall pine trees. All of that was to be destroyed in less than ten minutes.

"Hey."

"I'm not in the mood to talk right now, Polestar."

"Well I am."

Paula's sweet, flowery scent made Ness feel better instantly. She brushed against him and looked at him solemnly, leaning on the catwalk's rail as well.

"Still thinking about Jeff?" She mumbled. Ness only nodded in response. The whole ordeal had happen about a month ago, and he still couldn't let it go.

"I was so used to walking into his office and talking, every morning. Now, I go in there...and I forget that he's gone." Ness recalled. Silence.

"You know...he's got to be a lot happier, now. Up in heaven." Paula told him.

"Yeah, I know. I feel like an idiot, trying to convince him to escape with us." Spat Ness. He jumped at the sound of a loud canon fire, and the earsplitting shriek of a bomb tearing through the air. A quick flash; and with horror, Ness watched the town below them be destroyed. A tall building toppled, and thousands of innocent people sprinted to escape.

Another bomb. Bricks, wood, and metal went flying, while blood sprayed at coated every surface. Ness flinched. After all these years, he still hadn't grown used to the sight of death.

"Poor things…" Paula muttered. Ness knew who she was talking about; two children who looked remarkably similar clung to each other in fear. Probably twins.

Twins.

Two boys.


"Your Highness, what are you doing?!" Screamed a nearby soldier, who watched as the Commander jumped from his chair and pulled down the window latch, jumping out into open air. The soldiers helplessly observed him, and confused, scared chattering filled the room.

Once the Commander hit the ground safely, he began to sprint into the burning town.

"What's he doing?! Is he mad?!" Shouted one soldier.

"Don't shoot!" Yelled another.

They soon saw that their Commander was heading towards two horrified children standing alone in the destruction. He appear to be urging them to follow him, but they protested. After about five minutes of this, the children finally agreed to follow him. They each clung onto one of his arms, as he hurriedly rushed them away from the chaos. The Commander gave a signal to the pilot to land the airship, and the order was followed immediately.

But the time the Commander had made it inside, he was carrying both children, who seemed to be unconscious at this point. As bewildered soldiers surrounded him, he called desperately for the nurse.

"Nurse, come here immediately!" He cried, almost hysterical.

"...Sir? I'm here, calm down...who are these kids?" The nurse came jogging up,

"I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that they're brothers. No questions, just save them! They breathed in too much smoke!"

"But, Your Highness! These aren't-"

"No questions! Just do as you are told!"

At this moment, Ness and Paula came rushing to the main level, where the discord was taking place. As Ness pushed his way through, he grew more worried about all the shouting.

"Commander! We saw you bring these kids in from this window! What happened…?!" Cried Ness. The Commander ignored the question and looked him sternly in the eye.

"I need to speak with you, General. Alone." He simply ordered. Ness didn't protest; he simply followed the ginger to the first room they saw. A weapon storage room. The minute they closed the door, the Commander kicked the wall in frustration.

"I saw them! The two boys I keep seeing in my dreams! They look nothing like those boys, but the look of terror they had! Please, tell me what's fucking wrong with me…!" The Commander shouted, grabbing at his hair and trying to rip it out. Ness ran to him and grabbed his shoulders to restrain him.

"Sir, please calm down! How are you having dreams, you're a chimera! Who are you seeing?" Asked Ness.

"The boys! The twins! Alone, in a forest caught ablaze...a drago! A drago was there! And the woman…the woman was dead! And the boys wept for her! And I keep seeing them!" Sobbed the Commander. Ness was dumbfounded upon seeing tears streaming down the other's pale face, an absolute look of devastation in his eyes, which were darting around the room as if the walls were on fire. Ness wasn't sure what to do; this was so different from his Commander's deadpan, flat personality. He was beginning to think that not having Jeff around to fix things was taking it's toll on the Second in Command's mental state.

"I keep seeing them! And I just had a dream...not too long ago! The boys! The elder one was mocking the younger one, playing some mind trick on him! And the hands...so many hands, General. Dragging the younger one, trying to tear him apart...I don't feel so good…" The Commander fell against a wall and slumped down, hands over his ears, rocking back and forth. He began to mutter unrecognizable speech.

"Sir, your circuits are fried…" Ness figured out. Tiny electrical sparks flashed around his authority figure's entire body, as he twitched violently.

"How could you do that...bad, stop that! Bad, bad, bad...bad...bad...you're being bad! It's your fault, Claus! Your fault! Bad...bad…" The Commander slurred, hitting his arm violently. Ness' heart skipped a beat. Did he just say 'Claus'?

"...Sir?" He stooped down. His Commander grabbed onto him as soon as he was in touching distance. Ness flinched as nails dug into his skin, nearly drawing blood. Concerned, violet eyes met crazed red ones.

"I don't want to go home! If dad finds out...I did a bad thing! A bad, bad thing! Mom, she…! It was because of me! Wait...where am I?! Where's Lucas?! Who are yo-" The Commander suddenly began to choke, but only for a few seconds. After that, he froze, and fell against the shelf next to him, limp. Ness cried out and checked for a pulse. He was alive, much to his relief.

With a grunt, he lifted up the other and used his foot to open the door. A clutter of soldiers still gossiped and chattered about the recent interruption in the bombing. Ness, seeing that the nurse was busy tending to the twin boys, decided to take the Commander to the nurse's room himself. Before he pulled open the door, he caught sight of the laboratory. Maybe he could find some stuff to fix up the Commander. So of course, he veered over there instead.

As he creaked open the door, he expected to see Jeff, sitting in his chair, tinkering with some gadet or whatever. Much to his surprise, there was someone sitting in the room. The person turned their head, and Ness nearly dropped dead upon seeing their face. Large, round glasses, a clean, bowl cut...a cluster of freckles…

No, it wasn't Jeff. It was none other than…

"Orange Kid!" Ness cried in half surprise, half disappointment. The scientist gave him a sly, honeyed grin and stood up to approach him.

"Nice ta' see you again, Nessie! How long has it been, what, a hundred and some odd years?" Orange Kid quizzed, forcefully taking the Commander's limp body into his own arms and rushing him to a stretcher, without questioning the ordeal. Questions flooded Ness' mind so much, he couldn't find an answer.

"I...you...what?! How are you still alive? And so young?! You look no different than how I saw you last!" Ness marveled. Orange Kid only shrugged gleefully and skipped to a cabinet, where he put on a fresh pair of gloves and an apron.

"You didn't think the Master was gonna kill Jeff and not have a backup plan, did you? He had me frozen around the time you were captured, and they just brought me back yesterday to replace Andonuts! And lemme tell ya...you haven't changed at all. You're a lot skinnier, though…" Observed Kid, as he began to inspect the unconscious Commander all over.

All of this sudden information was too much for Ness. He simply sat down at a chair nearby to gather his thoughts and confusion. First, his boss rescues two children from an enemy town. Second, he loses his mind in five seconds. Third, Orange Kid is back and more annoying than ever. Certainly one of the more exciting days in the army.

"Aha! Here we go...his memory wire is damaged." Discovered Kid, observing the circuit board on the Commander's back. He gently lifted a frayed blue wire.

"His what?" Asked Ness.

"His memory wire. It connects to his mind and feeds it the information from the USB containing his fake memories of being here. I think it managed to glitch out and remind him of things that happened before he was in this army, so that's why he flipped out." Explained Kid. The puzzle pieces suddenly fit.

"Oh! So he must've seen those boys, and he might have been reminded of himself and his own twin." Suggested Ness. Kid shrugged.

"Alright, first...let's get rid of this little bugger." Kid reached down and pulled the USB out of the compartment at the back of the Commander's neck. A shiver went down Ness' spine. Suddenly, the USB was crushed in Kid's fist.

"N...no! Don't do that, that's what made him himself!" Cried Ness. Kid scoffed and threw the remains into the wastebasket.

"Chill out, Army Boy. We've got a spare. I'll just have to program it with recent memories, then he'll be back to his old self." Assured Kid, jumping into the spinny chair and gliding to the programming station. Ness flinched. That was Jeff's chair. He walked over to observe Kid's work. His felt a sad pang of nostalgia watching his skinny fingers type, tinker, and write.

"Huh...that's odd…" Kid muttered.

"What?"

"I'm trying to delete this one memory...it's not moving." Kid clicked furiously on the mouse of the computer, trying to remove a file that was stuck on the spare USB's file storage. No matter what he did, it wouldn't move. Ness had a dragging feeling that this was the dreaded memory that caused Jeff's death; when the Commander had eavesdropped onto the conversation about his past self.

"There's no removing that one, Kid. It's stuck there." Claimed Ness. Kid sighed, frustrated, but shrugged.

"Alright, let's hope the Master doesn't kill me, too. It's done." He said, pulling the new, improved USB from it's computer slot. He walked over to the Second in Command, who was still sprawled out, face down and motionless. He clicked the USB into place, and quickly fixed up the damaged wire, before closing up the circuit board and stepping back. Ness sighed in relief as the ginger began to stir. He lifted himself up, groaning, and looked around.

"Goodness...I feel...strange." He murmured. His voice was deeper than usual, and his facial features seemed a bit more toned. Orange Kid flinched, upon seeing this.

"Oops...I might have forgotten to remove the age enhancement file…" He admitted. Ness' eyes widened.

"Well, how old is he now?" He cried.

"I'd saaayyy...maybe sixteen?" Kid squeaked nervously. Ness put a hand to his face in frustration. The Master never wanted his important workers to be more than fifteen years old. That way, their physical and mental abilities would be fresh and loyal. Despite the personality-removing technology they possessed, he was afraid that any higher up position older than fifteen would become rebellious.

"What are you two talking about? What happened to my jacket…?" The Commander lifted himself up, and inspected his uniform, concerned by the burn marks all over it. Ness guessed that they were caused by the fire from the bombs.

"Um…! Accident! That's all, heh…" Stammered Kid. The Commander narrowed his eyes at Kid.

"I suppose you're the replacement to Dr. Andonuts. A pleasure to meet you." He nodded to Orange Kid, who began to sweat nervously, overwhelmed by his authority figure's presence.

"I'm…" Kid gulped, "...I'm Doctor...um...Doctor Kid...ison. Yah! Dr. Kidison." Ness rolled his eyes. Despite Kid's brilliant academic abilities, his social idiocy was incredible.

"I'm grateful for your assistance in whatever you helped me with. Has anything gone wrong from my absence, General?" The Commander sternly asked. Ness shook his head.

"You were only unconscious for a few hours, Your Highness." He informed.

"Wonderful. If you would, could you restock the rifles? I've been forgetting to do it myself for days now." The Commander half requested, half ordered. Ness was slightly afraid that he would glitch out again. He wanted to tell him about how he saved those two boys, possibly because he was reminded of himself and Lucas. He wanted to tell him about how for only five seconds, he was not the Commander, but Claus. But for his friend's safety, he kept his mouth shut.

"Of course, sir," Ness said the familiar phrase with a sharp salute, "At your service."