"You sound like Claus when you say things like that."

Kumatora couldn't remember what she'd said exactly. It was right after the Pork Trooper had recognized them and chased them further into Thunder Tower. Since the stupid disguises weren't working anymore, they had ditched them. She'd said something about how she was happy to get rid of them- that they were dumb looking and stank of Pigmask sweat- and anyway, she'd rather fight than sneak around.

She'd been startled by Lucas's laugh- a strangely sad sound coming from the kindhearted boy. "What?"

"You sound like Claus when you say things like that." His smile was sad and happy at the same time. It made her want to grab the missing red head and give him a good punch for leaving his brother behind.

It had taken her a while to admit that part of her anger was jealousy. While most of the anger was because of Lucas's pain (it didn't matter what or who it was, anytime one of her friends was in pain, she got mad), her jealousy added more fuel to her anger. Jealousy of the fact that someone else got to have Lucas as a brother for real and had abandoned him. Even though she knew that in Claus's shoes, if a member of her family was dead and the killer was running loose, she might have done the same thing.

If she saw the redhead, she would do everything and anything she could to protect him and keep him safe- that didn't mean she wasn't angry with him though.

Wait. She shouldn't be thinking about this. There was something more important to be worrying about- what was it?

She pushed herself to her feet, groaning as she did so.

What had happened? Where were her friends?

"Lucas?" she called- her throat feeling rough as if the branches of the surrounding forest were inside her throat ripping it up. "Duster! Boney!"

No response.

She took a step forward, stumbled and almost fell.

Where were the others? Where were her friends?

"Lucas!" she called again- stepped forward and fell, almost smashing her head open on a nearby rock. Where was she? Where were the others?

Thunder Tower. They'd been at Thunder Tower. That jerk Fassad had blown the place up, but they'd managed to escape on the ship Fassad had been planning to use for himself. But the pilot had started shaking them around, and Rope Snake had lost his grip and they'd fallen.

Fallen where? Where were her friends?

Kumatora started to push herself up- almost fell again as she felt something- she wasn't sure what, it felt almost like a soft touch on her shoulder but even as she realized it was there it was gone. Not like movement, like it had never been there at all.

"It's alright," an unfamiliar voice whispered, soft and warm, and Kumatora couldn't keep herself upright anymore. "They're fine. You'll be fine too," the voice continued and that touch on her shoulder returned, "Everything's going to be okay-"

Even as she fell back into confused dreams- even when Doria found her and got her back to the pink shell, the sense of being comforted remained with her. If that was what a mom was like, Kumatora could understand even more why Lucas and his brother missed theirs- wished she could have known her own even more-

"Kumatora, it's time to wake up."

Kumatora pried open eyes that felt like they were glued shut. Part of her wanted to give the older man a half hearted glare, but the memory she'd just re-experienced in dreams made her give him a half hearted smile instead. "Duster."

"It's morning," he said with a half smile of his own as he offered her some water and jerky. "How are you feeling?"

"Awake," she said as she began pushing herself up, then stretched out before accepting the food and water.

The sun glinted from behind the trees, just barely bright enough that they could see.

They ate breakfast or at least the closest thing they had to breakfast. Kumatora only swallowed it down because she didn't want her stomach complaining at her later. Once that was done, they set off again.

Kumatora couldn't help thinking as they walked.

After Thunder Tower, the fall that had split them up had left Kumatora confused and dazed, wandering the realm between sleep and dreams, barely aware enough to worry about her friends. It was then that it had happened. That slight touch on her arm, that warm voice and its reassurances-

Kumatora would give a lot of things to have that reassurance right now. True, they'd stopped at Ionia's again and checked the ball again and Lucas still seemed to be fine, still wearing the same outfit. He also seeming to be looking around cautiously, and it was hard to tell, but it looked like he was working on something- probably on some sort of escape plan.

Even though he was calm, she could still see the worry on his face.

If they didn't find him soon- or if they didn't find him-

Kumatora cut that thought off before it could really get going. She really hoped they found Lucas soon. If they didn't-

"Hey, are we almost there yet?" she bellowed up at Duster.

Duster turned to look at her. "Kumatora, you know the way there as well as I do."

Kumatora scrambled up next to him, scowling as she looked over the landscape. "I was hoping I was wrong."

"We'll get there soon enough. If they were going to hurt him they would've done it by now," Duster told her, before clambering down to the ground below.

"And that makes me nervous too," Kumatora muttered as she joined him. "Why? Are they waiting for something?"

The way he looked at her, she could tell that he'd been thinking about it too, but all he said was "What would they be waiting for?"

"Dunno," Kumatora shrugged as they began moving again, trying not to feel helpless. "Maybe after capturing Lucas, that idiot Masked Man took him to some secret base and locked him up and then he came looking for us, because he wanted to deal with us all at the same time. Hey!" Kumatora said, brightening. "If that's the case, then he'll leave Lucas alone until he captures us, which, of course, won't happen." She cracked her knuckles. "I sure hope I'm right. Getting answers out of the Masked Man should be easier than searching for the place by ourselves."

Duster had a wry expression on his face, but said nothing.

Kumatora looked at him as they walked, surprised that he didn't have anything to say. Despite how long she waited though, he remained silent, so she returned her attention to the path ahead of them again.

Not that there was much to see. The green surrounded them, even blocking out the sky. Most people would've lost their way ten times over by now, but Kumatora had been running around in woods (if not these particular woods) ever since she could remember- sometimes so much that whichever Magypsy she was staying with that year complained- actually, pretty much everyone complained about how messy she was when she came back from her wanderings, but still, it was worth it. Being able to run and shout without being yelled at for being too noisy and being unladylike, being able to breathe without smelling that overpowering perfume-

It isn't my fault, Kumatora grumbled in her mind, when I get excited, I get loud- that's all. I really can't help it.

Kumatora didn't care about what they said about her being a princess. After all, she was princess of nothing but a broken castle. A princess without a kingdom- without a people to protect- was a pretty pointless person after all. So she didn't care when they complained about how she shouldn't get messy, about how she didn't talk or act like a lady- the Magypsies had done their best to raise her (well, most of them had done their best), but in the end she'd raised herself just as much as they had.

Depending on which Magypsy she'd been living with, she'd retreated to the outside every chance she got. Which led her back to now, and how she was good at finding her way around.

Apparently Duster was too.

The Magypsies had been the ones she'd grown up with, but Lucas and Duster were her family now.

Family. That reminded her of what she'd been thinking about in the dream she'd just had.

Kumatora had never met Lucas's brother. The only things she knew about him she'd been told- mostly by Lucas, but some by Duster as well.

"He looks like me," Lucas had explained when they'd first met- when his brother had first gone missing and he was asking her if she'd seen him, "but he's got red hair and green eyes and he's wearing a green and blue striped shirt-"

She tried to picture him sometimes, this stranger who was family to her family. Sometimes she would think that she could almost see him and then she would realize that she was picturing Lucas.

Kumatora couldn't help wishing Claus was here now. Even if she was mad at him, they could use all the help they could get, and she doubted Claus would appreciate some idiot in a helmet kidnapping his brother. She was sure that anyone who had rushed off alone to try to get revenge for a dead family member would be jut as quick to try to rescue a missing one.

That was something they had in common.

"You sound like Claus when you say that."

Kumatora grumbled under her breath and eyed Duster for a moment but he didn't seem to hear, luckily. She had no great desire to explain what was going on in her head.

But Lucas was right, they did have that in common. Heck, if things had happened differently, if she and Lucas had been friends since the beginning and he'd been kidnapped a couple of years ago, she would have run after him all by herself, not waiting for anyone, not even Duster.

Duster, who didn't talk as much as he smiled and who was so talented but didn't act like he was. Those were both things he had in common with Lucas, come to think of it, but there were a number of differences too. Like how sometimes when conversations ended and there was a friendly but long silence between them, Lucas would break it by singing.

Kumatora hissed as a nearby tree branch swung close to her face. She ducked out of the way but even as she moved, Lucas's quiet song echoed in her mind, his voice still the unbroken one of a child, high and sweet as he banished the silence.

Duster, on the other hand, would either hum quietly as he went over the band's songs in his head, or he'd start humming a random tune, then stop and start again, changing it as he went, trying to turn it into a workable song. Magic was the one who wrote their songs, but Duster had told her that sometimes he could come up with something that Magic could use. Kumatora didn't know why he couldn't understand that the ones he gave to Magic became their best songs. It wasn't like she hadn't told him that several times already.

Kumatora's breath escaped in a huff. Guys. She just didn't get them.

Even as Kumatora turned to looked back at her sandy haired friend, there came a crashing noise from somewhere ahead of them- they exchanged a quick glance before darting up into the trees.

Right after they did so, a pair of pink suited Pigmasks crashed out of the underbrush and one of them nearly tripped and fell right underneath Kumatora's hiding place. Briefly, she contemplated jumping out of it and landing on his head and forcing answers out of him- but then more of them walked up- not quite as clumsy, but almost.

Kumatora glared at them.

"Nice one, Herd."

"Shut up," muttered the one who'd almost tripped, brushing himself off.

"Both of you be quiet! Remember what we're supposed to be doing here?"

"Yeah, yeah, searching for the troublemakers while the other group searches for the Ultimate Chimera. Wouldn't want to be in their shoes, that's for sure!"

"Considering that monster's still out there, I'm surprised that we're even bothering about the troublemakers," one of them- Herd, she guessed- said with a shudder.

"Don't be a wuss!" another scolded, slapping him on the back of the head. "Besides, the Commander's out here with us."

"Speaking of which, what's been up with the Commander lately? First he brought that captive back to base and has actually been keeping him, and then he started going around without his helmet of all things-"

"That's because the helmet got broken, bonehead! If you'd been paying attention, you would've realized that his new one arrived today anyway."

"Hey, you know what I heard about the captive?"

"What?"

"I heard that he actually talked to King P himself!"

"Who?" asked Herd, and promptly got slapped on the back of the head again.

"Hey, leave the rookie alone!" ordered the Pigmask in blue. "It's not his fault nobody's any good at explaining around here."

"Well, with a name like 'King P' how much do you actually need to explain?" demanded the Pigmask who had done the slapping.

"Okay, you've got a point there. Still, explanations are a good thing." He turned back to the private. "Okay, listen up! I'm only going to say this once and I'm sure you'd like to avoid getting slapped in the future, right?"

Herd nodded quickly and the other Pigmask continued. "Okay, this is how it is. King P is the ruler of the islands and the one the army serves. Got that?"

"Yes sir! But- what does the "P" stand for?"

"I don't know, private. He doesn't exactly come and hang out with the army. Actually, most of us have never even seen him. Too busy ruling, I guess. He mostly sends his orders through others, sometimes the Commander, sometimes others. You'd have to talk to someone who he actually talks to and I wouldn't ask them either. For all I know, it's something embarrassing like Percival or something."

"Alright sir. But if he doesn't talk to people that much, this captive must really be a big deal!"

"Yeah, probably the only reason why the Commander's been keeping him. Probably trying to get information out of him. Come on, let's get going. We've wasted enough time here."

The Pigmasks crashed off just as loudly as they'd crashed in.

Duster and Kumatora stayed in their hiding places a few more minutes, listening cautiously before dropping to the ground.

"What do you make of that?" Duster asked.

"Do you think there's any chance we could-"

"Sneak up on them and take one prisoner and get answers from them? No Kumatora, I don't. There's too many of them and we can't help Lucas if we wind up captured ourselves."

Kumatora blew out an aggravated breath and nodded, looking over her shoulder at the direction the Pigmasks had gone. "Should we keep going or head back?"

"Might as well keep going," Duster said. There was reluctance in his voice, but he straightened up and looked in the direction of the white building they'd found before, when they had first chased after the Masked Man to try to rescue Lucas. "Let's get going."

"What do you think they mean when they talk about the Masked Man 'keeping' Lucas?" Kumatora asked even as she followed him.

"I don't know, but at least it doesn't sound like the scientists are getting a chance to mess with him. That's something."

"What about this 'King P' guy?"

"...for now, all I know is that there is someone who is either in charge of all this mess or someone who wants people to think he's the one in charge," Duster said as he kept pushing forward, not even looking back at her.

Kumatora gave his back a look, resisting the urge to whistle.

Duster was mad. It took a lot to get the older man mad, but when he got mad he got mad.

He was staring into the distance as he walked, a very intent look on his face.

Kumatora wondered what he was thinking about. Was he worrying about Lucas? Worrying about those weird blackouts where he saw weird memory-not memory things?

She didn't know. In a way, she supposed it didn't matter. They'd already talked about both of them. And there really wasn't any more to be said- she certainly couldn't think of anything else to say. But she wanted to say something- something comforting, the way he always managed to comfort her.

Even though they'd met three years ago, and she'd been looking for him ever since, they'd really only gotten to know each other this past year.

She'd found him by accident, really. She'd walked into town to get something to eat that actually tasted good- she'd gotten really sick of her own cooking- and there he was.

He'd been walking with the rest of the DMCM- even with the dumb afro and the different clothes, she'd recognized him. She'd been so surprised though, she'd just stopped and stared- and then he and the others had walked out of sight- she'd dashed after them, but they were already gone.

She haunted that town for the next couple of days, until she saw him again and got him alone. And when she did, once she finally got to talk with him- he didn't remember the Egg. Didn't remember her. Didn't remember his dad. Didn't remember anything.

She told him then and there that she wasn't gonna give up- that she'd follow him wherever he went.

Dealing with all the girly junk had almost been worth it to see the look on Duster's face when he saw her all dressed up. Lucas's had been pretty funny too, come to think of it- his eyes had kinda bugged out and his mouth had dropped open- but then he'd smiled.

A lot of the guys who'd come to watch the band thought she was pretty. Kumatora might not like that kinda thing- she didn't like it at all- but she wasn't dumb or anything. She knew what it meant when guys gave you that type of grin and said weird things that they thought were compliments and wanted to stare at you, talk to you and talk and talk- if they did it when the band was playing and Duster saw it, he'd get irritated. Then the band would come out and actually mingle after the show, and Duster would head right over to her and scare the guy off. It was irritating, but nice at the same time. Irritating because she wanted to slug the guy in the face and nice because Duster was paying attention to her and she didn't have to.

Oddly enough, she didn't really mind Lucas or Duster thinking she was pretty… maybe because their smiles weren't weird and they didn't say things that were supposed to be compliments but weren't. She'd still been really happy to get rid of those dumb girly clothes, but she'd still think back, sometimes- just a little bit, in between when they were fighting for their lives- it'd been weird, but she hadn't minded too much the way Lucas and Duster had looked at her in the dumb girly outfit. She still wouldn't wear it ever again if she had the choice, but it hadn't been as bad as she'd thought it was going to be either.

"Kumatora."

She blinked and turned to look at Duster. "Yeah?"

"…back in the village…what I saw…I'm not that good with kids' ages, but that baby was young- so young she could only babble instead of talk, so young she could barely crawl. And I know that more kids grow up, the harder it is for them to remember the stuff that happened in their past…"

"But my parents gave me to them right after I was born! And I only left three years ago when I ran into you and the geezer!"

Duster switched his gaze to the distance. He was frowning… an expression Kumatora had rarely seen on his face.

"...What are you thinking about?"

"…you said that Ionia's and Doria's stories don't match. Did any of the other Magypsies ever tell you anything about your parents?"

"Not unless I asked about them. And even then, they tended to be…kinda vague." She was quiet for a moment- pondering, wondering, remembering. "Lydia said- that they were both kind people- that they loved me very much." Traitor voice, going all weird on her like that. Duster was looking at her, but she kept her eyes on the ground. Tripping would be a bad idea, right?

"Did they ever tell you why your parents left? Where they'd gone?"

"…Doria told me that they'd had to go somewhere- that they hadn't wanted to leave me behind, but they hadn't had a choice…I think I knew then, even if I didn't quite understand. Later, when I was older…I talked to Ionia…I asked if my parents were dead." She stopped. It was all she could do to breathe. Duster came to a stop beside her. She didn't turn to look at him- she didn't say anything. He didn't say anything either.

They just stood there- the dying afternoon sun peeked slyly through the leaves overhead. It was cold. Her arms went up around herself, searching for warmth-

A crunch of leaves as Duster stepped closer- Kumatora tensed, and he stopped.

"Sorry," he said softly.

She hugged herself tighter. "Ionia- Ionia always told me the truth. Ionia's always been dependable like that. But that doesn't change the fact that no one will tell what happened to them, because no one knows what happened to them after they left me here."

"I'm sure they were trying to protect you."

Kumatora lifted her head and glared at him half-heatedly. "How can you know that?"

"They're your parents," he said it as if it was obvious. "Parents are always trying to protect their kids. My dad may not be the best dad ever, but- well, you know him. When he used to send me off by myself on training trips, he tried to hide it, but he worried. Even now, even though I'm an adult and can take care of myself, he worries. It's that he doesn't trust me- it's just that he cares about me, so he worries. Every time he sent me on a training trip by myself, I'd come home to find him awake and waiting for me, no matter how long I took. That's what parents are like."

"But you don't know that my parents were like that."

"Maybe, but I believe that."

"Why are you so sure anyway?" Kumatora paused, then asked a question that had just occurred to her. "You never met them, did you?"

Duster looked surprised- shocked. "I- I don't think so. I don't- I don't remember ever meeting them…in fact, as far back as I can remember, the castle's been deserted and empty. I know the other villagers ignored like it wasn't even there. They never talked about anyone living there…it was like it had always been empty."

"…but that can't be right. I mean- you're older than me- and if my parents didn't live in the castle when you were a kid, where did they live?"

"I don't know," Duster admitted. "But my dad knew how to find you when you were growing up, right? Maybe he'll know. We can go ask him when we get back, if you want." Duster sighed. "There's too many pieces to this puzzle- and we don't even have all of them yet." He turned to look ahead, towards where they'd found that old ruin and then turned back and gave Kumatora a wry smile. "Well, we can't figure out the answers yet. Might as well go forward and see if we can pick up that Masked Man's trail and find Lucas."

"Yeah, finding and rescuing Lucas is the important thing right now. Of course-" Kumatora smashed one fist in her other hand and smirked. "I wouldn't object to punching that stupid Masked Man in the face either, but the important thing is to rescue Lucas and get that jerk away from him. Once we've got that done, we can worry about getting other stuff done- but first we need to rescue Lucas."

Duster had that wry look on his face that he got sometimes when she talked tough- and then all of a sudden the look dropped from his face and he was moving towards her- before she could ask what he was doing he knocked her over. They both tumbled to the ground and he rolled them over and over- and something exploded where she'd just been.

The two of them came to a stop and scrambled to their feet.

At the edge of the clearing, a figure slowly emerged from the trees. It was the Masked Man. He stepped out and snapped his sword on but didn't move to point it at them. "Surrender."

"Dream on jerk!" Kumatora shouted, clenching her fists tight. "What'd you do with him? Where's Lucas?"

OoOoOo

ChocolateAntelope once again kindly betaed for me and all remaining mistakes are my own.

Sorry this took so long. Life threw me a couple curve balls that smashed into my face and that's all I'll say about that. I do hope you guys enjoyed this newest chapter!