Chapter Six
Answers and Bitter Truths

Yay, this actually made it to Chapter Six! For a while there I was just… uninspired. Anyway, it's nice to know everyone likes this story so much. I'll try to keep it interesting and original, and I hope you continue to like it.

Note: If you haven't gotten the "tiny" (NOT) clues I gave you in past chapters, then this chapter will really shove the truth in your face, so, as a warning to those who haven't finished Mother 3: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SPOILERS. That is all. Thanks for following this silly little fan fic all the way to this point, I'm really happy everyone is giving out such a positive response to it!

Thank you time!

SuckOutYourSoul
Aw, thanks! ^_^

weeeeeeeeeeee!
It's okay, I'm happy you review at all!

Hehe, yes, I put Lucas in a state of denial. xD
And that reaction is something I'm really excited to write about. Or.. More so what comes after it. You'll understand why after this chapter. :P

Akita Daichu
Ah yes, the commander-learning-of-claus thing. Hehe, that's always something to look forward to. Why am I so amused by that comment? I have no clue. xD

The whole Ness thing gets explained much later into the story, so that's something not-so-important-at-the-moment, yet still clued in every once in a while. I love to foreshadow (if it wasn't obvious,) so there are a lot of hints I throw into every chapter that you might not always get until you read the next one. (-or so I've been told.)

Riku's Music Lover
Thanks! I try to update quickly, but I've been slowing down a bit because I'm getting uninspired. I feel like I'll mess the entire thing up if I write while uninspired, so I wait until I feel inspired, then write. Lol, did that make any sense whatsoever? xD

I do not own the Earthbound/Mother series!

-Commencing Chapter Six: Answers and Bitter Truths, please wait-

As he gently shut the door to his house with a soft 'click' Lucas let out a sigh. After being escorted to his house he said his goodbyes and went inside. The entire way 'Tim' had kept his hood down, making him feel that soft pang he always got when he thought about his twin. They had said that they rescued him from pigmasks… He stopped to wonder why there would be pigmasks at all, but nothing came to mind. How, and why? He pushed those thoughts away and wandered up the stairs to his room almost unconsciously. His father wasn't home yet, but that was normal. Always left early and came home late. He had told him his thoughts about Tim, but the most he did was get a little more quiet. He always tried and did a good job of masking his emotions. Lucas knew that Claus' death was hard on him, too, even if he hid it, so it was easy to imagine he felt slightly uncomfortable around Tim, as well. Unfortunately for Lucas he wasn't good at masking emotions like his father, so Tim had already ended up asking once or twice about it. He always made his reply a half-answer, hiding most of the facts. That was okay, though, right? He didn't have to know, it would probably just make him feel bad for Lucas, and he didn't want that. He wanted to seem strong.
That thought, in turn, made him flick back to how he had been captured. He hadn't been strong at all in that situation. He had to be rescued, and who knows what would have happened if Ness and Tim hadn't been there. He shuddered at the thought.

He tried hard to remember any tiny detail of how he had been captured, but the only thing that came to mind were muffled sounds. A squeal, a roar, a yell, then silence. A voice came after the silence, then more silence followed. After that is when he remembered waking up.
He repeated the noises over and over in his mind, trying to understand them. The first noise, a squeal, was most definitely a pigmask. He'd know the sound anywhere. The second noise, a roar, was more difficult. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. He had guessed that the silence was the time in which he had passed out.
Then there was the voice. His first thought was Claus, and he had tried to call to him at the time, but he was answered by silence. Then the voice continued. He had thought he was dead or dying at that point, but when he woke up he had to rule that out. Was the voice just part of a strange dream he had while passed out? …Maybe.

He sat on his bed and stared out the window for a long time, simply thinking, before he heard the door open and shut. He shoved his thoughts and memories away and headed down the stairs to greet who he knew was most likely his father.
He was correct.

Lucas smiled and greeted him with a, "Welcome home."
His reply was a small, short-lived smile and nod. Always the silent type.
Lucas hesitated, wondering if he should tell Flint about what had happened today, but decided against it. Instead he wandered over to the kitchen and opened the fridge in search of something to make for dinner. He had started making the dinners, as his father's cooking always seemed to be bad in one way or another. It was burnt, undercooked, had too much seasoning, had too little seasoning, you name it; Flint had done it all.

Lucas was definitely better at cooking, but even he couldn't make very good meals if there was nothing to cook with. "Um… Feel like having sandwiches? That's pretty much all I can make with bread, lettuce, a tomato, and some leftover chicken," he said, lifting his head from the fridge.
Flint made a small shrug and answered, "Sure."
By the time they both sat at the table each one had a before-mentioned sandwich on small, neat little plates. They ate in silence, but once they had finished Flint decided to start a conversation, which startled Lucas. "So what happened today?" he asked. Lucas flinched. It was more out of nervousness to answer than anything, but the fact that this time his father was the one to start talking first added to the surprise. "O-oh, n-nothing much," he answered.
"I heard someone mention today that those pig-things are trying to make a comeback," Flint continued.
"R-really? Oh, th-that could be bad. Um… maybe I should ask around tomorrow to see if anyone knows how or why?" the blond boy suggested, trying to play dumb.
"It could be dangerous, and I don't want you getting hurt."
"I-I wont, promise. I'm just curious."
Flint paused, but then nodded, reluctantly agreeing. "Alright, just be careful. …When you do go asking around I want someone to keep you company," he said.
"O-okay. That sounds fair," Lucas stuttered, then smiled.
Flint smiled back. "We should get some sleep now. I'll clean up the dishes tonight," he said.
"Okay, thanks," he said politely, then got out of his seat and headed towards the stairs as his father got up and started picking up the dishes. "Goodnight," he called, and his father mimicked him.

Lucas put his pj's on and did the usual he always did before going to sleep. He then lied down in his bed and closed his eyes as he quietly waited for sleep to come and carry him away.

When he awoke his first thought was to look at the clock next to his bed. His blurred vision forced him to wait and try to blink in order to see it. Once he saw it, his reaction was to groan, stretch, and slowly get to his feet. It was a bit earlier than he would normally get up, but it seemed like as good of a time as any.

He put on his clothes and ate his breakfast, then started out the door. He was caught by his father, who was just now letting the sheep out of the barn for their share of fresh air and light. "Lucas! Already up and heading to town, are we? Well, remember what I said last night, and try not to run into any trouble," he said, slightly waving his hand before going back to tending to the sheep.
"I will," Lucas said, then headed down the road. Before he got too far away he waved and called, "See you later!"

The walk to town was somewhat long, and rather boring, but he didn't mind. The scenery was nice. He headed straight for the town square, figuring that was a good place to start. Once there he was surprised to notice a familiar redhead staring blankly into the well. Lucas thought about turning around and walking away, but something told him not to. He hesitated before taking a slow step forward, followed by another. It didn't take many steps for Tim to notice him approaching. He blinked, silently questioning why he had approached at all. Lucas made a wavering smile and, while hoping it looked convincing, greeted the boy. "H-hi. Thanks again, for yesterday," he said timidly. The similar boy frowned and looked back to the well. Lucas mimicked the action, then looked back to him. "You… seem down. Is there something bothering you?" he asked.
Timothy stayed silent, staring blankly into the well.
"Um… S-sorry…" he mumbled, figuring he didn't want to talk about it. Lucas then looked away nervously.

"Why?"

Lucas jumped, looking up. "H-huh? Wh-what?" he asked, dumbfounded.
"Why do you feel sorrow towards me?" Tim asked, looking to him with that normal deadpan look of his.
Lucas couldn't help but flinch at how much the boy looked like his twin, even if he knew it couldn't possibly be. He was starting to wonder if it was possible, and if so, how? Ignoring that for now, he explained, "Why wouldn't I? You seem upset, and asking about it probably wasn't best choice on my part."
A pause. "You said I reminded you of someone a few days back… and during the 'rescue' you said a name. Could you tell me about him?" Tim asked.
"O-o-oh, um… who?" Lucas asked, feeling a little nervous about what he might of said while he was out of it during 'the rescue.'
"Claus."

Lucas winced. "O-oh…" he repeated, shuffling a bit nervously. "H-he… used to be my brother. Twin, to be exact," he started.
This information was nothing new, so it slightly disappointed the commander, who looked back to the well, frowning again.
"He died… about two years ago. We all thought he died long before that, even, but he didn't. We just never knew," Lucas said, trailing off.
This brought his head back up. "What happened the first time?" he asked. He could feel that urge again. Ness said it was… 'curiosity?' Yes, that. He was curious.
"He disappeared. No one knew where he went but me. He told me… and… maybe if I hadn't of been so scared and weak I could've helped him… maybe even have stopped him, made him change his mind…" Lucas continued, feeling a wave of guilt hit him as he recalled nearly-forgotten memories.
'Tim' was silent, waiting for him to say more. When he didn't continue he got impatient, and urged Lucas to continue with, "Where did he go?"
Another pause. "To drago plateau. He had been trying to get revenge on a drago that killed our mom… but… he never came back," Lucas muttered, slowly getting quieter.
"That is… where I rescued you. …Hm. I… remember seeing marks…" the commander trailed off as two memories started to merge. The one from his dream, and the recent one in which he saved Lucas.

The area… it was the same. The creature… was that a drago? His right hand… the dagger… everything started to become just a bit more clear as he thought hard on what he was being told. The dagger… the hate… revenge… Was he..?
His thoughts were brought to a screeching halt for fear of what he was discovering. He gripped the side of the well with his left hand in an attempt to stop trembling in the fear he was currently feeling. Of course, he didn't know what this feeling was, only making it worse in the process of trying to figure it out.

Lucas noticed him and suddenly snapped out of his memories. "A-are you o-okay?" he stuttered, taking a step closer.

"N-no… S-something's wrong… I… I have to go back," the commander said to himself, ignoring Lucas. He stood up and started quickly walking towards the entrance to the town. "Th-this isn't right.. I have to go back," he continued to say to himself. His one normal eye was starting get misty as he could feel his mental reaching out to the light, even now as he was outside of the dream. He tried to keep it back, afraid of what might happen, but it was hard, and growing harder by the second. He raced out of the town, unable to hear the confused questions from the blond boy that was now chasing after him.
He suddenly snapped and spun around when he felt something grip his arm. In pure panic he yanked his arm away and pointing his mechanical arm at whatever had 'assaulted' him. Instantly all thoughts vanished, and the light faded.

Lucas stumbled back, confused, scared, and now tearing up. Only one person he knew had a cannon for a right arm. "C-Cl…" He couldn't bring himself to say the name, and yet he stood right before him. The fact that he held a metallic cylinder at him proved that fact to his mind, and not only that, brought back memories of the last battle he fought with his twin.
The commander was confused as he looked to the boy. "Who are you?" he asked, deadpan once more.
"C-Cl… You… b-but… you…" the boy couldn't form any true sentences. He knew who he was, didn't he? He rescued him from pigmasks! But… was that him? Nothing made sense anymore. He questioned his entire life. How could he have been so blind? He couldn't take it anymore. Tears flowed down his cheeks and he sobbed. He couldn't look away from his brother, too shocked and miserable to move in even the slightest way.
The commander instantly froze. As the sobs reached his ears his subconscious touched the light, and images suddenly burst before him for the second time that day. Everything flooded into his mind. He saw red words flicker across his robotic eye, but he was too distracted to read them. Everything made perfect sense now. Ness had been right, but also wrong at the same time. He would have died had he not been reconstructed as a chimera, but the price… It just wasn't worth it.

He blinked, and, realizing he still had his cannon pointed to his twin, suddenly pulled it back. "L-Lucas.. I'm sorry… I-I'm so sorry!" he suddenly said, dropping to his knees. "Wh-why did it have to be this way?" he asked himself quietly.

Lucas, looking up, was surprised to hear his twin's apologies. "C-C-Claus! Y-you remember," he muttered, causing even more tears to flow. This time, out of happiness. He quickly made his way over and hugged him tightly, sobbing onto his shoulder. "P-please, don't apologize," he said, happy he finally had his brother back.
Claus paused, dumbfounded, but after a moment, smiled, and hugged back. He couldn't help but mutter another, "I'm sorry."

Both crying, on their knees, and hugging each other tightly, didn't even try to think of just where exactly they were, and if anyone was watching. They didn't care.

Then, finally letting each other go, Claus got up, and then offered a hand to help his twin up. "Thank you," he said.
Lucas, taking the offered help, then asked, "For what?"
"Helping me remember," he said, smiling.
"O-oh," Lucas muttered, then smiled as soon as he saw the smile on his brother's face. "You're welcome."

It was then that Claus finally took the time to read the red flashing words running across his mental screen. 'Hidden memory log has been retrieved. Restricted knowledge. Attempting to delete files, please wait…' His eyes widened as he suddenly gasped and stumbled back. "NO! No, no, no, no! Stop it!" he shouted, making Lucas jump and ask, "What? What's wrong? Stop what?"
He held his head and tried hard to get a grip on his memories, which had now started to slowly slip away again. "No, no, no, no, no!" he shouted repeatedly, trying painfully hard to grip them. He suddenly gasped as he felt Lucas grab him by the shoulders. "Claus, tell me what's wrong!" he said, looking concerned.
"I-I.. don't want to forget. Please… help me!" he replied.
"You don't… want to forget? I-I'm sorry, I don't understand," Lucas said, confused and shocked.

Claus let his head droop, feeling there was no way to save his memories now. "Please…" he mumbled. The scale going across his mind made him feel sick to the stomach as it failed to hear his pleas. Suddenly, it halted. It was barely seconds away from completion. The scale said in the center '88%' but just below it he read as it appeared 'deletion canceled.' His breath caught. It.. worked? Did he really stop it? More words then appeared below that, 'Unable to retrieve lost files.' He frowned. Not everything was saved. Then, he relaxed. "S-sorry…" he quietly said, noticing that he had nearly scared Lucas half to death from the looks of it.
Lucas was utterly confused, now. "C-Claus? A-are you okay? What was that all about?" he asked as he let his twin go.
Claus looked away, but managed to mumble, "N-nothing… Just… malfunctioning."
"Mal… functioning?" Lucas questioned
"Sorry… the… 'chimera' part of me.. It… made a mistake," he tried to explain, though he wasn't quite sure how to.
"Oh… Does.. that happen often?" Lucas asked.
"No… Only sometimes. I-I… don't think it will happen again. Not anytime soon, at least," he lied. He didn't know when his mechanical being would try to delete the memories again, and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out, either.
"Well, that's good… right?" Lucas pushed on with his questions.
"…Yeah," was his twin's short, quiet reply.

Silence.

Lucas tried to lift the awkward and somewhat painful atmosphere with a smile as he said, "D-don't look down, y-you're alive! Everyone was so sad, we thought you had died."
Claus's head drooped once more. Maybe it would have been better if I had… he thought.
Lucas frowned at the reaction. "Aren't you glad to be alive?" he questioned quietly, fearing the answer.
Claus shook his head, but answered with a quiet, "Yeah," hoping it would be enough to satisfy his twin.
It was. "Do you… want to go back to town? I-I'm sure everyone will be happy you're back! Oh, and Dad! He'll be so excited!" he said, setting a hand on his brother's shoulder.
Said brother looked up to the smiling face and couldn't help but mimic the expression. Unfortunately his didn't last nearly as long. "O-okay… I guess owe Ness an apology, too," he muttered, looking back to the ground.
"Ness? Why?" Lucas asked, confused.
"He… He's a chimera, too… but he remembers most of his past. I… I was so taken by false information that I thought he was malfunctioning. I know the truth now, and… I really am sorry for everything…" he muttered sorrowfully.
Lucas was stunned to hear that Ness was a chimera, too, but managed to stay polite and say, "Don't be sorry, nothing's your fault. If anything most of this is my fault."
That, unfortunately, didn't help Claus one bit. "I don't see how that is true in the slightest," he grumbled.
"Like I said before, if I had been stronger, maybe a bit less scared, then I could have stopped you, changed your mind, and then you never would have been turned into a chimera in the first place."
"I don't think you would have changed my mind. I was beyond the choice of 'should I, or should I not' when I left you behind to go to the plateau by myself."
Lucas looked to the ground, cheeks still tear-stained from the shock of finding out his brother was still alive. "But… maybe… just maybe, things would have turned out better," he whispered to himself.
Claus heard him, regardless of how quiet he made it sound, but decided not to respond. "In any case, it's too late now, so let's just go back to town… I… have a lot to do," before it's too late, he then added mentally to himself. After a short moment he took a deep breath and sighed. "Here I go…" he mumbled, then took the first step.

Lucas smiled as his weak, but noticeable determination. It was nice to finally have his twin back after all the trouble that played out.

Of course, something always ruined happy moments like this. One would have thought it would be that he almost lost his memories right after he had gotten them, and still might in the future, but in this case, it was something to do with the younger of the twins. It made him feel sad and guilty, despite the fact that it had nothing to do with him. Even when he was mentally questioning if Tim could be his long-lost twin, he had forgotten just what had happened to him. But.. How could he have forgotten?
You see, Claus was now a chimera, and even if he did come back, would still be one. He was scarred forever, and it wasn't even his own fault. That thought made Lucas subconsciously look to the cannon he had for a right hand.
Noticing this, Claus pulled his sleeve down over it and looked away with an upset frown.
Lucas winced, becoming aware of what he had done. "Sorry," he said, looking to his feet as he followed his twin back to town.
"It's not your fault," was the quiet reply.
"Yeah, but I could have been more sensitive to your feelings, at least…" he mumbled, mostly to himself again.

"You could have."

Lucas looked up in surprise at the curt response, but then noticed that he was smiling. Even though it was likely he was just picking on him, Lucas still felt bad, and so looked away in shame. This quickly made the older twin's smile vanish.
The rest of the walk was silent. They were just about to enter town when Claus saw Ness rushing towards them.
When he reached them he stopped and started to say, "Commander," but noticed Lucas before he could even say "Co." Instead he then said, "Oh, hello, Lucas." He then paused before trying again, this time with his friend's 'temporary name.' "Um.. Tim, where were you? There are-" he was cut off by 'Tim.'
"I-I'm sorry, Ness."

Ness did a double-take. "What?" he asked, utterly confused.

"I remember.. And I'm sorry for doubting you. The pigmasks are bad news."
Ness stood, dumbfounded. "You… remember? What?" was all he could manage to say.
"I-I'll tell you the full story later, okay? Just… You see, I'm Lucas' twin. The one everyone thought was dead. I couldn't remember, but… everything's changing so fast.. I don't know how to explain it… I just remember," the commander tried to explain, although he was doing a bad job of it.
"That's… Uh… Good? If you- Wait, wait, wait! No, We don't have time for that. The pigmasks, they came to the town! They said they have orders to take both you and Lucas back to the main headquarters, and if you don't go they'll start hurting the villagers!" Ness said.
"What?" both boys said in unison.

"Remember what you said? I don't think the 'king' liked your response," Ness whispered to Claus.
"Wait, what? What did you say? King?" Lucas asked, overhearing.
Ness winced. "Ah.. N-nothing, it's just-" he was cut off with a loud shout.

"They've got to be here somewhere, so if you want to make up for your mistakes you'll start looking!" a voice said.

Ness jerked his head around to see a white pigmask in a cape similar to the one they ran into at the drago plateau, but definitely not the same one, yelling at the two from before. Apparently one got a demotion, as he was in a normal pink pigmask suit.
Claus let out a quiet growl as he bared his teeth angrily. With most of his memories now intact he bore a new anger towards the pigmasks. They're the ones who did this to him- made him a chimera for their own enjoyment. He started towards them angrily, swiftly dodging a hand from Ness as he tried to stop him.
"You three! What are you doing here?" he shouted, his left hand curled into a fist.

The two from before squealed quietly in fear, but one managed to say, "C-commander! W-we have orders to take you back to HQ!"
"The king is very upset, and requests your immediate return," the white one said, not showing any fear towards the commander, despite the fact that he looked severely mad at them.
Of course, that only made him more upset. "Forget it," he said sharply.
Both flinched. "S-sir?" one questioned.
"I'm not returning, and I will not allow you to take Lucas," he said.
"Sir, I'm afraid you have no choice in the matter, we were told not to come back without either of you, and were told to use force if necessary," the white one said, taking a step forward.
He clenched his teeth and snarled. "You..." he cut himself off, as he knew what followed wasn't going to be nice. "Then you leave me no choice," he growled.

Lucas and Ness watched in shock as the commander gripped his sword, bringing it forward and allowing it to flash to life. "I-I guess those were some pretty bad memories," Ness said, eyes wide.

The two pigmasks behind the white one both squealed in fear, clearly trying not to run away and simply leave the white one behind.
"S-Sir, sorry to say, but you might be malfunctioning. P-please, just come willingly," one of the pink ones said.
"No, I won't forget! Not again! Not ever!" he yelled, pointing his sword to the sky. Unfortunately this made Lucas go slightly lightheaded as his memories took over.

"N-no! Claus, don't to it!" he shouted, causing said boy to stumble as he stopped in the middle of his attack. He looked back to Lucas. Confusion, anger, and fear swirled in his mind, each fighting for control of his emotions. Lucas looked ready to cry again, and suddenly Claus realized why he was so upset.
He paused, then looked to the pigmasks calmly. "I'll give you one chance. Leave," he ordered, letting himself return to his emotionless state.

"We can't do that," the white one replied, though even he looked scared when the commander was poised to attack them.

The commander's eyes narrowed, but he managed to keep his anger in line this time. His cannon slowly started to glow. "Then I repeat: I'm not returning, and I will not allow you to take Lucas. I will have you know that I am not malfunctioning, and I will gladly allow you to leave and tell that brat-of-a-king that if you wish it. If not I will have to force you to leave. I'll tell you now that if that happens I will not go easy on you and I will not pity you if you refuse to leave," he said monotonously.

The two from before were trembling, but hadn't moved. They both looked to the white one, as if pleading for him to take the opportunity to leave without getting injured, or worse.
Both Ness and Lucas were now feeling bad for the pigmasks, despite what they might have done before. Both could understand his anger, especially Ness, but even he knew violence wouldn't solve anything. Knowing this, he was tempted to try and calm his friend and reason with the threat at hand. In the end he decided to see how the commander, or 'Claus,' would deal with this situation, and only intervene if things got out of hand.
After what seemed like forever the white pigmask finally replied, only to repeat himself from before. "We can't do that," he said.
The commander couldn't hold back a glare as he lifted his sword again. "Very well," he retorted.
"Wh-wh-what?" one of the pink ones exclaimed. Then he realized something. The white one pulled what looked like a remote to something from his pocket, pressing a red button in the corner of it. "We were told only to use this in emergencies… I think now could be considered an 'emergency,'" he said.

The commander paused, confused. Then quickly looked to the corner of his vision as red words appeared in front of him. 'Emergency shut down has been activated. Now cutting off all power,' it said. He barely had enough time for his eyes to widen in shock before he started to feel weak. Soon he found himself falling to the ground, shadows now limiting his vision. Just before the darkness completely swallowed him he was able to hear someone call his name, followed by the pounding of rushed feet quickly approaching. Then the silence swept over him, burying him in the emptiness he knew would follow after he had read those words.

-Chapter Six has been completed, thank you for your time-

Um… Yeah, I'll cut it there for now. xD
I had originally planned to keep writing, but changed my mind.

Just a note: I might get even more slow from here on out because I'm packing up and moving. I won't be packing my laptop, so I'll still write, but it's likely that nothing will get posted until I'm there and settled down again. I'll try to post before then, though.

Also- Review! Yes, yes! I love them! ~3