Hello! Happy day before mother's day! :)
This story isn't divided into parts, but if it were, this would be the start to part 2 of 3. At this point, the story will contain more adventure elements and the majority of it will take place away from New Pork. In the theoretical part 3, the focus will return to New Pork City for the finale. Just thought I'd give a heads up to anyone who cares.
This one has a bit of fluff, but... I had to put it somewhere, and I figured that it might be a nice break from all of the death/almost death. The beginning of this chapter is a bit darker, but then it lightens up (It's about time, huh?). This might seem pretty egotistical, but I totally lifted my own spirits by writing the happier parts of this chapter! xD
Well, time to respond to reviews!
A Fan: Hey, thanks for the vote of confidence! :) Ooh... how much should I reveal? I want to blurt out everything about this story, but I probably should let people discover stuff on their own. xD I guess one thing that I will say is that OCs or no, I take my own approach with my characters. I put a part of myself into almost every character that I write (Fassad is the major exception here; ew!). For example, I picture Claus as someone who acts before thinking, but I totally can't relate to that, so I make him think a little before he acts. ;)
Hm... It surprises me a little that most OCs hurt their stories. It seems to me that if someone creates a character on their own, they would be more likely to truly know the character. Although, I feel like I know my major characters pretty well... Oh, by the way, you seemed to put a lot of thought into your speculation. It makes me happy to see that people care enough about my story to think like that. :)
Guest: I got your review in my email but not on the actual site, so I'm just going to... act casual.
Thanks for the encouragement! Like I said above, this chapter is a bit slow, but after this the story will continue on its course. I'm actually super excited to write the next chapter after this one; I hope that you'll be satisfied! :)
I was able to finally talk about my feelings to someone, and my visitor even listened.
She had a purpose. Purpose… that word has a nice, foreign ring to it.
(ILH)
Jeff Andonuts covered his face in shame, wondering how this could have possibly happened. Two people, (no, four!) were dead. Words alone could not describe the significance of that event; words alone could not describe the hole that had been left in Jeff's heart. Jeff kept replaying the catastrophic events in his mind. He remembered Ninten's face turn blue and eyes bulging out of their sockets, he remembered Kumatora's mad laughter and mouth that had been twisted in anguish. Both of them had struggled for a way out. If I had been faster, could I have saved them? Maybe… they could still be alive and laughing. That fantasy was so close that Jeff could practically touch it.
Ness entered the room, his face deadly serious and his fists clenched in anger.
"We need to talk," Ness said threateningly.
"Ness…" Jeff said, his heart aching. He hated seeing Ness so cold.
"I'm not safe anymore, Jeff," Ness said, his voice betraying a primal terror. "They brainwashed Kumatora; I could easily be next."
"But your deal…"
"To hell with that! Do you think that they care? I spent time mourning after Ninten's death like a lowly human! The pigmasks may take it onto themselves to correct that error," Ness took deep, heavy breaths, his unchanging iron eyes staring into Jeff's fragile soul.
"I…" Jeff didn't know what to say to that.
"I have a solution," Ness said darkly, looking uncomfortably towards the ground. Jeff's heart skipped a beat.
"This solution… you're not planning on…" Jeff fumbled, his eyes wide open in denial.
"Killing myself? Not right now."
Jeff sighed.
"But I need to make sure that I can if I need to," Ness said, his voice devoid of concern. "You were talking earlier about a poison that you have access to…"
"I said that it was a horrible creation!" Jeff interrupted. "You don't… mean to try to take some, do you?"
"If I get brainwashed, I need to kill myself," Ness said evenly. "Do you deny that?"
"…"
"I need to have this poison on me if I get captured."
"Ness…"
"Don't 'Ness' me! We both know that this is what I have to do!" Ness shouted, losing his temper. He flinched at his own words and looked at Jeff with horrified eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell…"
"I don't blame you," Jeff replied darkly, feelings of betrayal nevertheless flooding through his system. "This city often causes people to yell in anguish. Take some poison with you if you must, Ness. Just promise me that you won't use it until you have to."
Ness smiled sincerely out of friendship and sorrow.
"I promise, Jeff. Thank you for understanding. I… know that it's not pleasant. It took me hours to come to this decision myself."
Jeff went into another room and came back with a bottle of pills.
"Just one of these will kill you painlessly. They melt on your tongue, so you don't need to worry about swallowing."
Ness nodded in appreciation.
"Thanks again."
"It's getting late," Jeff commented. "You should get some sleep."
"Yeah. Good night, sleep tight," Ness said with a sigh of relief as he closed the steel door on his way out of the room.
Just make sure to wake up in the morning, Jeff thought.
(ILH)
Claus appeared on a patch of grassy land, a brick bridge extending forward into oblivion. Empty space surrounded him; Claus saw no other land besides the bridge and his small island. Looking out on the horizon, he saw a lime green sky with no sun. This is a dream, Claus thought. He remembered falling asleep in Twoson. This had to be a dream.
So why did it feel so real?
Claus shook his head. He would find no answers through contemplation alone. He set out walking on the bridge. After what seemed like an eternity, the bridge ended at a patch of … sunflowers? Yes, that was it. Sunflowers, each one radiating light like the sun itself, covering the patch of land completely in their radiance. Memories tugged at his heart; his mother had always loved sunflowers.
On the other side of the sunflower patch was another bridge identical to the one Claus walked on. The sky now appeared a delicate pink for whatever reason. Another person walked onto the sunflower patch from this bridge. Claus would have recognized him anywhere.
"Lucas!" Claus shouted in glee, running forward to embrace his brother.
"Hi… Claus," Lucas said, smiling weakly. "Stop… squeezing me so hard."
Claus laughed, tears of joy coming to his eyes.
"It's really you!" Claus exclaimed. "You're alive!"
"I was worried about you too. Where did you go, Claus?"
"I… kinda jumped out of the building that we were stuck in."
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"I lived, okay! If you eat food after taking mortal damage, you live! I put that nugget of wisdom to good use."
Lucas laughed.
"It's good to hear about more of your antics, Claus. I'm in the slums of New Pork right now. Maybe we should meet up in real life."
"Sorry, I got teleported to a faraway town… wait, what do you mean when you say real life?"
"This is a dream," Lucas replied, seeming surprised that he needed to explain. "It doesn't take a genius to figure it out, Claus. I mean, just look at the orange sky!"
It was true; the sky's now shone a brilliant orange that blanketed the sunflowers in a golden light like a sunrise would.
"But this is no normal dream," Claus maintained confidently.
"Correct," a female voice spoke. That voice… could it be…?
The ghost of Claus' and Lucas' mother appeared, swaying with the sunflowers in an unseen wind.
"Mother!" The two boys shouted simultaneously in a mix of surprise and joy. She looked just like the ghosts from the stories, transparent and incorporeal but retaining all of her features.
"It's good to see you too," the ghost said with a motherly smile.
"Is that really you?" Lucas asked.
"Yes, I am still Hinawa and your mother," she replied warmly.
"Where are we?" Claus asked.
"You are in a place called Magicant." Hinawa explained. "Normally, this place would appear as a world within your mind, but I managed to bring your worlds together and create this neutral zone with the help of an acquaintance of mine." She paused, deep in thought. "Actually, you would normally need the eight melodies to even get here, but… my acquaintance is quite resourceful."
"Who is this person?" Lucas asked. "Can we meet them?"
Hinawa smiled.
"I don't like to hide things from you, but you would really be better off not knowing."
Lucas nodded, trusting his mother's judgment. Claus was less certain of the truth behind his mother's assertion but kept silent. I never doubted her before, he thought. Am I becoming twisted and cynical?
"So," Claus said, attempting to rid his mind of his unpleasant thoughts by replacing them with others. "What's it like after you die? Did you… suffer?"
"I apologize again, but I really am not licensed to tell you that. Information like that could… throw off the balance of the universe." She smiled playfully to indicate that she wasn't being wholly serious and didn't want to fully explain her reasoning. "Being allowed to come to the realm of the living alone is a rare occurrence. I'm so glad that I'm getting the chance to see you two again."
Claus' heart swelled with joy. In spite of all of the horrors Claus had faced in New Pork, he allowed himself to smile.
"However," she continued. "I have another reason for calling you here. You two have possession of an ability with indescribable power, for better or for worse. The power to pull the needles… PK Love… it makes you a target."
Claus and Lucas both nodded. The information did not surprise them.
"Even though you two are worlds apart, you need to establish a strong bond with each other," Hinawa insisted. "If you both hang onto the bond between you two, it will allow you to flourish in the harshest of situations."
"You mean that it will help us resist being brainwashed," Lucas stated. It was not a question.
"…Yes," Hinawa conceded.
How did you know? Claus sent.
I got past Ninten's brainwashing by talking to him about his family and special interests. He was able to muster enough will to kill himself.
So Ninten was brainwashed? Claus replied. That doesn't surprise me.
"However, I am sure that you know why bonds help you to resist brainwashing," Hinawa said.
"If we have more to care about, we hang onto our lives more tightly," Lucas instantly responded.
"Yes," Hiniwa affirmed with another smile. "And you will need to hang onto your lives whether you become brainwashed or not. Your journey will not be easy, I fear."
Lucas nodded, conceding the point.
"I don't think that you have to worry about our bond, mother," Lucas said impishly. "After all, even our names are intertwined. You rearrange the letters of one of our names to spell the other…"
Claus' eyes lit up in surprise.
"You didn't figure the name thing out, Claus?" Lucas teased. "You only had, what, 15 years?"
"I just didn't notice!" Claus said defensively. "Is that a crime?"
Hinawa's ghost laughed.
"It's good to see that you have confidence," she said sweetly. "However, I assume that you realize that names have little to do with the situation at hand."
"Of course," Lucas replied with a grin. "I was just messing around."
Hinawa's ghost nodded, seeming satisfied. "On that note… I must be off. I fear that I cannot stay in the realm of the living for long. You can wake up whenever you want by willing yourself to wake. It was so nice to get a chance to see you two again. I love you both so much…"
She faded away.
"It was nice seeing mother again," Claus said. He stopped, noticing that Lucas' expression had turned downcast.
"Claus, I have to tell you something," Lucas said, his voice shaking. A wave of worry blanketed Claus, smothering him in anticipation.
"Claus, Kumatora is dead."
Claus felt like he had been stabbed. Kumatora… gone? He just didn't see how it could be possible.
"Her last words were about you," Lucas whispered, tears coming to his eyes. "You… meant a lot to her."
"Thanks," Claus said, turning away. I shouldn't have let her go!
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Claus replied with a sigh. "I just feel so powerless."
"You know that her death wasn't your fault," Lucas insisted.
"She predicted her death!" Claus shouted in anguish, "And I let her go! I was too weak to save her. Will you be next, Lucas? Kumatora predicted your death too. Will I be unable to save you?"
"If you give up now, you definitely will be," Lucas asserted with a hardness that surprised Claus.
"I… suppose that you're right," Claus conceded. "You've changed so much, Lucas. Just a month ago, you couldn't talk to strangers, and now…" Now Lucas is telling me to be strong.
"I think that we are both better off now that I finally was pushed out of my comfort zone," Lucas mused. "This way, you don't have to worry about protecting me as much and I don't have to worry about being protected as much. I just… needed to grow up a bit on my own."
Claus nodded, although he did feel a little sad. He enjoyed protecting Lucas.
"It was great to see you, brother," Lucas said with a shy smile. "I don't even know if any of this is real, but… I'm glad that we had this chance to talk." Lucas faded away, returning to the real world.
Claus' heart felt so heavy. Kumatora's dead… will Lucas be next? Despite Lucas' words, he couldn't rid himself of that suspicion. The sky turned black around him. Claus willed himself to wake.
(ILH)
Ness rolled the deadly pill between his fingers, unable to fall asleep in the dark of the night. It would be so easy… just to fade away. That would be nice. He wouldn't have to worry about how his actions would hurt anyone else or whether or not he would even be the same person the next day. I made a promise to Jeff, he reminded himself sternly. He promised that he wouldn't kill himself unless he had to. But still…
Oh, Ninten, how I wish that you were here with me now. You would know what to do. Ninten… what would he want Ness to do?
Nobody should regard death as their friend. Ness heard those words from Lucas, who had been talking about Kumatora. Kumatora… Ness had always secretly chided her emotional outbursts. He remembered when she shoved Claus and Lucas just because she was in a bad mood. That wasn't right, but… wait! Ness had been acting in a similar way! He pressured his friend into giving him suicide pills and got angry when he didn't get his way. Ness had been acting just like the person that he disapproved of.
How did it come to this? Ness thought. Am I the new Kumatora? Will I burn out just like her?
Nobody should regard death as a friend. Maybe… Lucas' words carried more wisdom than Ness had originally thought. He thought about what Lucas must have felt while sending that message… from Lucas' point of view, life was basically good with a few bad parts. Life was good in the past, sucked now, but could easily be turned around later. Kumatora and Ness were just kids. They had decades upon decades to rediscover happiness.
Ness sat straight up in his bed. Why the HELL am I contemplating suicide? I have so much time left that I don't want to give up. If life continues to suck for 60 more years then maybe I'll have this conversation with myself again, but until then I have everything to gain by living. I can't throw this chance away.
It all made sense to Ness now. That was how Lucas could accept the pain instead of burying it like Ness. That was how Ninten could be so cheery in a sinister prison. They looked to the future and saw that life could be turned around with the snap of a finger, and they just need to wait until they could make it happen. Ness sighed in relief, letting his worries float away. He finally understood.
Life was beautiful.
Ness looked back through his memories, reading them like pages in the book of his life, cherishing each one. He wouldn't let death take them this early in life!
Ness put the suicide pill back into the bottle and slipped it back into his pocket. He closed his eyes and soon began snoring peacefully.
